Urban Decay

by Paxton Matthews

  "I'm surprised we made it back here in one piece."

  "Haha. Very funny. Wisecracking even after I gave you a quick little tour of the street that I grew up on."

  "How sweet."

  Theo brought the truck to a halt right along the back fence. Erica and Macey were waiting for them near the garage.

  Silvia exited through the passenger side, and Theo was about to follow suit when he was startled by a corpse that threw itself up against the driver's side of the Blazer; It was Mike.

  "Theo, get the hell out of there!" Erica yelled.

  Theo sat back in his seat, looking up at the roof of the Blazer, and listening to the growls that Mike made as he frantically slapped the driver's side window. Theo turned and looked at Erica, "Don't worry about it. I'll handle him."

  Once Macey got a glimpse of who the rotter was, tears filled her eyes. "Oh no, it's Mike."

  Theo took a deep breath and grabbed the door handle. He flung the driver's side door open, knocking Mike to the ground. Theo got out of the Blazer and readied his crowbar.

  Mike's appearance had gotten a lot worse since Theo last saw him. Mike's entire right ear had been missing, as had several fingers on both of his hands. There were deep slices all along the front of Mike's torso, indicating someone tried to fend him off with some type of a blade. Mike struggled to get to his feet, and Theo just stood there waiting for his friend to rise.

  Theo looked up and down the alley to see if there were any more rotters heading towards him, there weren't any. It was just him and Mike now. If having to put down Mel was painful, this was going to be excruciating. Mike got back to his feet and turned around to look at Theo. Theo searched inside himself for the right words to say, but he couldn't find any. It didn't matter anyhow.

  "Sorry Mike," Was all Theo could muster.

  Mike lunged forward, Theo swung the crowbar in a sideways motion hitting Mike in the head and causing Mike's head to jerk to the right. Swinging his weapon once more, Theo connected with the curved end of the crowbar on the back of Mike's skull. Mike dropped face first to the alley. Theo finished the job by sending the pointed end down through the back of Mike's head. Mike stopped moving. Theo took a deep breath then exhaled sharply.

  Macey walked out towards the alley, "Where are you going?" Erica asked her.

  "To help Theo," Macey answered. "We can't leave Mike there in the alley."

  Erica understood. "Just be careful."

  "I'm sorry Theo," Macey whispered. "Mike was a good guy."

  "Yeah, he was," Theo answered.

  Macey and Theo grabbed Mike's body and carried him into the backyard of the house across the alley from their home, laying him down in a patch of overgrown grass.

  "And to think, I came all the way back here to hang out with him," Theo said.

  Macey sighed, "Yeah."

  "Joanie's still around here somewhere. She's one of the rotters too if you didn't know."

  All Macey could do was shake her head, "Bullshit."

  "Got that right."

  "I used to see them all the time in the stores around here. Always nice and friendly. I think I even saw you guys playing street hockey from time to time."

  Theo smiled at the memory, "Yep, every Sunday."

  "You looked ridiculous in all of that goalie gear."

  "Ha. Yeah, but it was a good workout. C'mon. Let's get back home."

  "Yeah, I hate it out here."

  "I'm starting to as well.," Theo said.

  Once everyone was safe and sound back inside the home, Theo made everyone sit down at the kitchen table. "I think it's time we had a meeting," He told the ladies.

  "What's up?" Erica asked him.

  All four of them sat down, Macey to Theo's right, Silvie to his left, and Erica sitting directly across from him. Theo looked at Erica, "I'm leaving."

  Chapter 16

  Erica was somewhat frustrated. "This again?" Was all she could muster.

  "Yeah," Theo answered. "That was the last straw out there. I can't put down another one of my undead friends. I want out of here and I want out now."

  "So what are you gonna do, leave us behind?" Silvia asked him.

  "If you don't want to come along with me, then yeah, I guess so. Macey, if you would be so kind as to let me have your dad's truck?"

  "Um, yeah. I guess," Macey replied.

  "What do you want to do? Fill up a few bags of food and head out the door?" Erica asked.

  Theo nodded, "Yep. That's what I'm going to do."

  "And once again, where are you going to go?"

  "To the river."

  Erica groaned. "The river."

  "Hey, I think it's a good enough plan. Who the hell knows, maybe I'll get lucky and there will be other survivors out there on the water."

  "I doubt that."

  "How will I know if I don't at least try? I can't stand it here another minute, and I want out. Someplace safer than this hellhole. You three are more than welcome to come along with me. In fact, I'd prefer it. But if you guys don't want to, I get it."

  Silvie, Macey, and Erica sat there in stunned silence for a few minutes. Then Macey looked up from the kitchen table and looked to Theo, "I'm coming too."

  "Seriously?" Erica asked her.

  "Yeah. I want out of here."

  "Wow, I was not expecting that," Theo told Macey.

  "You really want to leave, Macey?" Erica asked.

  "Yeah. After everything that's happened? I think I need to. My family was torn to shreds not more than fifty feet from here."

  Theo looked at Silvie and Erica. "I won't pressure the two of you. I'm not heading out right away. Two to three days. It'll give me some time for Macey and I to plan."

  "I really don't know about this," Erica said.

  After thinking about why Erica didn't want to leave, Theo finally came out and just said it, "Erica, I know why you don't want to get out of here."

  "And why would that be?"

  "You think your friends are coming back."

  Erica's jaw almost hit the floor, but she managed to keep her composure. "Yeah, so?"

  "I'm just sayin."

  "Well they might. You don't know."

  "You're right Erica, we don't know. Theo's not saying anything bad. They might come back here, they might not. Who knows? They might be somewhere safe and sound," Silvia told Erica.

  "And if they're not?"

  Silvia shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There's nothing we can do about it either way. Do you think you can head out there and try to find them?"

  "I guess you're right."

  "And besides, if they're out there somewhere, they'd probably want you to do whatever it took to survive. Wouldn't they?" Theo asked.

  "Yeah but-"

  "But nothing. Erica, my mind is made up. As I said, If you want to stay here, that's perfectly fine. I'd miss you like hell, but I'm going with or without you. Same thing with you Silvie. You have some time to make up your minds. Right now, I'm going to sit out on the roof and try and relax a bit," Theo said and he retreated to the upper flat to head outside.

  "I really wish the two of you would come along," Macey said to Silvie and Erica.

  Erica looked at Silvia, "What are you thinking?"

  "I don't know right now. I don't blame Theo, he's been through a lot. We all have. Maybe taking off out of here in search of somewhere safer is the right move," Silvia answered. "All it takes is for one of those damn rotters to find out we're in here."

  "Yeah, and what if one of those swarms stumbles down the street?" Macey added.

  Erica took a deep breath. "The river? Hell, I'm the only one that knows how to swim here and I'm not too certain I wanna go."

  Theo popped his head from around corner upstairs, "I'm open to suggestions, Erica."

  Erica began to blush, she stifled a smile and turned to look up the steps at Theo. "You eavesdropping you little shithead?"

  Theo chuckled. "Sorry. Had to. Now I'm going out on the roof for a minute."

 
; "I thought you said he grows on people?' Silvia asked Erica.

  "He does," Erica replied. "Like cysts."

  Once he was out on the roof, Theo sat back up against the chimney and looked towards the downtown skyline. He thought about Mike and Mel, and any of his other friends that could be wandering around there among the undead's ranks. Theo began to formulate a plan in his head. He knew of that park that was on the river. Across a city filled that was with the rotters, it could be a problem, but Theo felt that he needed to try. To him, it was better than having to sneak out and try and get supplies every few days.

  He watched as a corpse that was across the street stumble off of the front porch, flipping over the railing and landing head first in the nearby bushes. The dead thing struggled to get free from the shrubbery.

  Theo scoffed, "Poor bastard."

  "Hey Theo?" Erica whispered from the upstairs window.

  "Yeah?"

  "Want some company?"

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah."

  "Need some help?"

  "You better believe it."

  Theo slid down the roof and over to the awning and eased Erica out of the bedroom window. He guided her up to the center of the roof and the two of them sat down by the chimney."

  "Not too bad out here," Erica said. "Fresh air is nice."

  "Yeah. If you can learn to ignore the dead pricks. So why'd you come up here? Trying to change my mind and get me to stick around?"

  "No Theo, it's not that. I'm just curious to see what you're planning is all. This magical park that you're talking about. What's it like?"

  Theo laughed, "Tell me bout dem rabbits."

  "Oh stop it. Tell me about this park."

  "I haven't been there in a little while. I'm sure it's still there, but the last time I was in that area, it was a small park with two huge abandoned factories on both sides of it. There's a narrow driveway and........" Theo was having difficulty remembering.

  "Yeah, this is gonna go great," Erica said sarcastically.

  "So that means you're coming too?"

  "No. Not yet anyway."

  "Cut me some slack Erica. It's been a while since I've been to that place."

  "There's a boat launch, right?"

  "Last time I was there, yes there was." The more Theo thought about the area, the more he began to remember. "But there is something that just popped into my head that can be useful to us."

  "Which is?"

  "Across the street from the park, there's a row of houses. Condos really. They were just finishing them up the last time I was there. If we manage to get to the park, and the river is a total no go, we can always get to one of those houses."

  Erica could tell Theo was excited, but she was still apprehensive. "It sounds so simple, doesn't it?"

  "I think we can do it."

  "Silvie did say that it was pretty bad out there."

  "True, but Silvia hasn't ventured too far out. She hasn't seen every damn thing."

  "Yeah but neither have we."

  "As I said, you don't have to come along."

  "I know. But if I don't, who are you gonna call on to save your bony ass?"

  "So that means you're coming along?" Theo asked her once more.

  "Nope. You're really not the greatest salesman in the world."

  Theo chuckled. "My last boss told me that too."

  "What did you do before all of this bullshit started? If you don't mind me asking."

  Theo looked up at the sky and thought about Erica's question. "Let's see. I painted houses for a bit, got fired from that. I worked in a radio station for a minute, got fired from that. Worked in a warehouse, got fired from that. I worked in a nightclub, I-"

  Erica cut him off, "Okay, I get it. You got fired from that one too."

  "Actually, I quit that one. I hate clubs and club music."

  "Me too."

  Theo looked over at Erica. "I really do want you to come along. It would suck if you didn't."

  "I think Silvia might go with you. Seems to me like she's leaning that way."

  "Then you should come too. We'll both have something to look at."

  Erica laughed. "She does have a great rack."

  "Once again, so hot."

  Erica groaned. "Maybe I'll stay."

  With the sun beginning to set, The two of them went back inside. Erica was clutching onto Theo's arms the whole time, hanging on for dear life. "You can deal with being surrounded by a bunch of reanimated bloodthirsty corpses, but you can't handle a little height?" Theo asked her.

  "Gravity and I don't get along," Erica answered. "I have no intention of falling down and breaking a leg or two and be a sitting duck for the rotters. No thanks."

  Macey and Silvie were both sitting in the kitchen, finishing up their dinner when Erica and Theo made it back to the lower flat.

  "What did Erica decide?" Silvie asked Theo.

  "She hasn't yet. Don't worry, she has a day or two," Theo replied. "So do you, Silvie."

  "Theo, when we do leave, where exactly are we headed?" Macey asked.

  "There's that park I talked about. I forgot what it was called. Maybe you've been there though. Two big factories on both sides and Erica helped jog my memory, there's a row of condos that are right across the street."

  "Beakman's park?"

  Theo pointed at Macey, "Yep, that's the one."

  "Yeah, there's a swing set, a slide, all kinds of stuff."

  "Oh man, now I really can't wait to get going," Theo said. He looked at Erica and Silvia. "Now you two both HAVE to come along. You can take turns pushing me on the swings!"

  Silvie and Erica looked at Theo with the most unamused looks on their faces. "Or we can just stay here and not have to deal with your asinine bullshit," Silvia said.

  "Yeah, that too."

  "Do you remember how to get to the park? Because I don't," Macey asked Theo.

  "I'm pretty sure."

  "Because it would suck if we got four blocks away from here and wound up getting lost."

  "Oh don't worry, Macey, we'll be at least ten blocks away before that happens."

  Macey looked at Theo with her mouth agape. "You cannot be serious."

  "Of course I am. I have no clue what I'm doing. I'm surprised you three haven't figured that out yet."

  Erica slapped Theo's arm, "Theo, you're scaring her."

  "I think I might be sticking around here after all," Macey said.

  "Relax, Macey. We'll be okay."

  Theo stayed up for a good part of the night, thinking of all the things that he and Macey would need to bring along. That is if it were just the two of them.

  The next day during breakfast, Theo asked Erica, "So Erica, did you do any more thinking about coming along?"

  Erica was still tired. She hadn't had the greatest night's sleep. "Theo, I don't even know my name right now."

  "Fair enough. What about you Silvie?"

  "I haven't made my mind up one way or the other," Replied Silvia.

  "Okay, I'll check back with the two of you during lunch."

  Macey glanced out of the back window, "Oh crap, Theo, look." She was referring to the corpse that was wandering down the alley. It sauntered on up to the Blazer. It was a tall older man wearing a brown overcoat. Theo checked to see if he recognized him, but Theo didn't.

  Theo watched the corpse lightly push on the driver's side door. "Let's hope he doesn't try to steal it."

  "Theo, please," Erica replied.

  Theo was actually relieved that he didn't recognize that particular rotter. After pushing on the vehicle for a few seconds, the corpse continued on down the alleyway.

  "Those dead things are very peculiar aren't they?" Macey asked.

  "I've seen them do some weird shit out there," Silvia replied.

  "Theo and I didn't even bother trying to figure those damn things out. Why waste your time?" Erica said.

  "Hey, you never know. Someday, we might be able to train those things to do our evil bidding," The
o answered.

  The girls just looked at him, puzzled. "Just a thought," Theo said.

  "So just when are we leaving?" Macey asked Theo.

  "One more day, and then we're outta here."

  "I've decided that I'm coming along too," Silvie said. "I don't wanna be stuck here, there must be something better out there for us. There has to be."

  Theo looked at Erica, "What say you? Or do you still need time?"

  Erica leaned up against the kitchen counter and sighed. She was still having a difficult time coming to terms with her decision, but with Silvia joining Theo and Macey in leaving, it made things a little easier for Erica. "I'm coming too."

  "Good," a relieved Theo replied. "I really didn't want to leave here without you, Erica."

  "Ew. Now it's getting all sappy and mushy in here," Silvia replied. "Cut it out, we've got a road trip to start planning."

  The four of them combed the entire house, gathering up every possible thing that they felt would be useful on their trip. Macey found some scrap paper and a pencil, she and Theo drew a crude layout of the park the group would be heading to. Rather than stick around for an extra two days, the four of them decided to head out bright and early the next morning. The rest of that day was spent loading up the truck with their supplies.

  Chapter 17

  There was no way Theo would be getting any sleep that night. He was too wound up. Theo was actually excited to be leaving. This time, he'd be leaving the neighborhood once and for all. As soon as the sunlight began peeking through the light cloud cover, Theo woke up the rest of the group.

  "You guys ready?" Theo asked the girls. He did his best to mask the excitement in his voice.

  "Yeah," Erica replied. "Theo, you're like a kid on Christmas morning."

  With everything packed up and ready to go, the group did one final sweep of the home before heading out to the truck. There was nothing left for them to do besides hit the road.

  As they were walking through the backyard, Erica stopped and turned to look back at the home.

  "What's wrong?" Theo wondered.

  "I think I should leave my friends a note. You know, just in case," Erica answered.

  "Go for it. I'll keep an eye out." Theo then motioned towards Silvie and Macey who were already sitting in the Blazer. "Erica needs a sec."