by catt dahman
“How big is the lake?” Wicket asked, “and where does it go?”
“I saw it in the daylight, and it’s more of a huge pond or a tiny lake,” Cody said, “That way and there is a sloping swamp full of slime and mud that doesn’t look as if it can’t be slogged through.”
“I’ll slog before I get eaten,” Todd snapped.
Cody shrugged, “That way is sheer bluffs, as in upwards, and it can’t be scaled unless you happen to have climbing gear. That way is woods and bluffs or the hot springs if we aren’t very far across. You know what’s behind us. Not that we could go that way since there’s no water.”
“You’re really a riot, kid,” Todd said.
“I could be helpful and sit here and worry myself sick that my parents are upstairs, asleep and missing all this or being chased through the hallways. Would you prefer that instead?”
“No, keep being helpful, Cody,” Mira said.
They watched the shore as several shamblers walked and stumbled along the sand, reaching out as if they could touch those on the sailboat. One shambler that was ignoring the water, shuffled and splashed into the lake water. He didn’t back out of the water but didn’t seem comfortable in it either.
“Will he drown?”
“Jill? Right? I don’t know,” Cody said, “in some movies and books, they can walk along the bottom and do fine since they don’t need air, but in some….”
Wicket rolled his eyes, raising his voice, “I’d rather not depend on a freakin’ movie or book. If they can stay under, they can’t swim, no brains to know how, so maybe they’ll sink into the lake mud.”
Watching the zombie, they saw him go under the surface and vanish.
“That one is floating. What the hell?”
The next few that shuffled into the water floated on the surface, kicking and waving their arms, but still a threat. Todd held up a foot, “We’re flooding. What’s wrong with the boat?”
Dan and Jimmy tossed trash and branches from the boat, trying to decide what the problem was. In the middle of escape, they must have missed a sign saying the boat wasn’t seaworthy, but the wooden craft was littered with old foliage, trash, and junk, and part of the bottom was rotten with age and weather. It was there for decoration, not for real use, but now was a little too late to wish they had read the sign.
Jimmy held up some of the wood, letting it crumble to dust in his fingers, “we’re going down soon. Which way do we want to swim?”
“Swim? Those things are in the water,” his wife, Abi, protested.
Mira searched for life preservers and came up with nothing, “I suppose we have no choice.” She saw Sarah and Dan slip over the side and hang on to keep the boat afloat a little longer. She dove in, spun in the water, and came up so she could hang on. The water was freezing cold.
After Dan, Sue, Shannon, and Wicket got in, they kicked hard, trying to drive the boat to where the woods began. Todd complained and refused to get into the water, sitting there beside Abi and the baby until Wicket splashed him. Once he was soaked, he grumbled, climbing into the chilly water with the rest.
On the beach, some had shambled back out of the water, and, since they had lost their prey, the small group of zombies moved back the way they had come, looking for fresh meat.
“Stay very quiet and still until we have a plan,” Dan suggested as he helped everyone get into the edge of the tree line where they sat on pine needles and shivered.
“We can stay out here and freeze in wet clothes and hide like animals being hunted, or we can get out of here. Even though there are Z’s up at the lodge, at least it’s warm there, and we can find dry clothes and make a…well a safe area,” Jimmy Park said.
“Three minutes, three hours, three days, three weeks,” Mira said softly, thinking.
“Huh? What are you saying?” Wicket asked.
“We can survive only three hours without air, which we have here. Better than to be in the water where we could lose that. Sorry, I’m analyzing.”
Cody nodded at Mira, “I get it. Then it’s three hours without proper shelter. Having wet clothes and out here is bad because we can get hypothermia. Notice the lightning? Dangerous to be out in a storm under the trees, and we’ll get wetter and colder. We need shelter.”
Wicket snorted, “That’s fine, book worms, but we’ve got time before the storm gets here. The lodge is overrun.”
Jimmy turned to Mira, “We would have the water and food thing solved if we can find the right shelter.”
“We are not going to the lodge. Don’t be stupid,” Wicket snarled. He was tired, irritated, and afraid of those creatures.
“We need shelter. Period.” Mira said, “I think we can quietly make our way back along the shore, hiding in the trees.”
“Let’s go towards the boathouse,” Jimmy said.
The twelve of them moved silently, almost crawling, ducking behind trees and staying behind the underbrush. Jimmy and Dan, looking all around, went to the back of the shed and peered in. With the moonlight on the glass, they could see nothing even as they cupped their hands. Motioning the rest to be prepared to run, the pair shifted to the front of the building and turned the metal handle, opening the door.
Dan had wiped his lighter and blown onto it until it was dry. Flicking it in the dim golden glow, the men could make out a small room with junk everywhere, some neatly store, and some thrown about on a wooden floor. It took several attempts and a lot of cursing, but Dan managed to get an old lantern lit. He turned it very low and whispered for Jimmy to get the others.
After blocking the door with some of the junk, they sat back.
“That little bit won’t help much,” Mira said.
“We can’t move enough and make noise,” Todd said, “but it’s the best we can do.”
He and Wicket found an old knife, and Wicket used his own pocketknife on a pair of old boat oars they found. With a little work, they would soon have makeshift spears as weapons. Dan found a heavy pipe he tested, swinging it through the air.
Shannon and Sue pulled out an old towel and canvas that they wrapped themselves in, with hopes of warming up.
“Now what?” Wicket asked Mira.
“Why are you asking me? I don’t know. I am in the same place as you are. All I know is it is a little warmer here, and if it rains, that will be good; we need water for sure.”
“And a bathroom,” Sarah noted.
Todd held his hand up, “Shhh.” He pointed, indicating a problem was right outside. They could hear the monotonous moaning. Every eye turned to the door, hoping it would hold. Maybe the creatures wouldn’t try to come in.
The handle wiggled.
The door creaked as something leaned against it.
If they stayed quiet, maybe there would be no more curiosity. Collectively, they held their breaths, hoping and praying. In a few seconds, the moaning was farther away, and everyone relaxed a little.
“Make sure you get warm. We can try for the lodge again, but make sure you have the warmth first,” Dan suggested as he hugged Sarah close under an old towel.
Sue made room for Jill, but Jill made a yelping sound and pulled away.
“What’s wrong?”
Jill hugged her knees to her chest, “Nothing. I’m fine.”
“Because we’re gay?” Shannon asked, leaning over Sue.
“What? Oh, my God, no. You can be gay. I just scraped my side, and it’s sore.”
“Can I see?”
“No, I’m fine,” said Jill as she pushed Sue’s hand away.
“Jill?” Mire leaned down and then stood eyes wide. She had smelled something familiar. Bad. But familiar, “Are…what happened to your side? Were you bitten?”
“No, when one of them fell, I got scraped but there wasn’t a bite; that would hurt.”
“We need to see,” Wicket said, “you can show us, or we’ll hold you down and look, but we gotta know.”
“You asshole,” Jill snapped, “if you touch me, I’ll scream….”
/>
“And bring those things back? I’ll pop your head, girl,” Wicket said.
Sue held her hands out, “Calm down. No screaming. Jill, you are with us. If anyone has a wound, we deserve to know about it if it could be infectious.”
Jill glared. Sullenly, she stood and lifted her shirt to her bra, exposing her stomach and ribs. A line ran only two inches across her side, but it was bright red and swollen and leaked infection down her side into her jeans and onto her shirt. Besides the obvious, it looked very painful.
“I washed it off in the lake. It felt better then.”
“We swam in that water,” Sue said angrily, “You washed it off there? What if one of us was close and swallowed that water or got it into a scratch? That’s pretty irresponsible of you.”
Jill glared back, “I’ve never been in this situation before, have you? How did I know that? It itched and hurt, so I scratched and washed it. It’s done. I can’t take it back. Why are you staring at me? I’m sorry, okay? What?”
Wicket shrugged, “You’re infected.”
“I’ll get antibiotics. What?”
“You know what. You’re going to turn. And you didn’t tell us,” Sue said. Shannon put an arm around her to calm her.
Jill stood up, grimacing with the pain. She used a finger to point, “I am all of a sudden the bad one? All you care about is your family, Jimmy. Wicket, you and Todd love killing with a license now. Queerness is just fine because you like Sue and Susie. It’s just wrong you turning on me this way.”
“Shannon,” Sue said. “Her name is Shannon.”
Mira stood. She didn’t like the way this was headed, “We’re going to make a run for the lodge. Jill, I don’t think any of us want you coming along with us. I wish you well, but you can’t some with me.”
“We agree,” all of the others said. Some didn’t look at Jill.
“If we leave her, she’ll turn and just be another one to deal with….” Wicket raised a sharpened oar.
Jill shoved past him, dodging Cody and Todd as she reached for the door. She started to yell, and Cody slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the noise. “Heyyyy,” he said as he groaned and pushed her to the ground, “she freakin’ bit me.” He waved his hand around, letting blood plop to the ground.
Mira tossed him a rag.
Wicket fell on Jill, smashing the breath out of her. Todd joined him, holding Jill’s head back with a hand under her jaw so she couldn’t bite. “Now what?”
“She done bit Cody; that’s akin to murder.”
“I’m not dead; I’m….” Cody was like a cartoon character when his jaw dropped open and his hands fell to his sides; he shook his head comically and then raised his hand to look at the bloody rag. He knew he was infected and had minutes or hours to live until he began to eat people and maybe get his head mashed in. If he could only turn back time a few minutes, he would be okay. Maybe he wasn’t infected; they didn’t know for sure. Maybe he could refuse to be a zombie.
Without thinking about it, Cody grabbed one of the sharpened oars and stepped forward quickly. He shoved the end into Jill’s eye socket as she stared up with shock. Shoving, he pressed his weight onto the spear until she stopped moving. If nothing else, she wouldn’t bite anyone else. Maybe everyone would be impressed that he took action and eliminated her as a threat.
Todd and Wicket jumped back.
In the corner, Abi and Jimmy held their daughter close and stilled her sobbing. Shannon and Sue whispered, averting their faces from the carnage.
“Is this who we are? This what we do?” Mira asked, shaking, “We need to get control of ourselves and behave logically.”
“Really?” Wicket glared, “We ran along with you and had to get into a stupid boat. Then we got into the middle of the lake and found that the boat was rotten and leaking, so we jumped out and got cold and wet. That ain’t bad enough so we ran through the woods and came here to a shed that’s dirty and cold and has no back door.”
Mira started to interrupt, “Hey….”
“No. Let’s see…we find one of us is bitten, and she bites poor ole Cody, and now he’s infected. And your advice is we need to act logically? It seems your ideas just suck, lady.”
“Really? Then you come up with a plan.”
Wicket gave Todd a nod and turned to catch Cody with both hands. Deftly, he snapped Cody’s neck to one side, breaking the man’s neck. After lowering Cody to the ground, he looked at everyone in the shed, “Anyone have a problem with that?”
Cody was dead. Just that fast.
Shannon held up a hand, “Can I make a suggestion?”
“Speak,” Wicket leaned against a wall. He glared, eyes narrowed.
“Why are we so focused on getting to the lodge through the back doors? Those things are all over the place, and a lot of the guests were back here and were attacked. What if we somehow get to the side and around to the front and try that way to get inside?”
“I agree,” Mira said.
Taking charge, Wicket reminded them to stay quiet and to follow him. He liked the idea of sneaking around the side and to the front. Anything had to be better than the leaking boat and ghouls wandering around back here.
He peaked out and saw nothing moving.
“Come on. No noise.”
Mira walked with Wicket and Todd in the lead.
Sarah screamed as a zombie, moving from behind a tree, shuffled to her. Everyone groaned because her noise would bring the horde back. Sarah didn’t stop her screams as she backed away, trying to avoid the claws reaching for her. Dan tried to grab her, and the three bodies became locked in a dance to the death.
“Hey….”Wicket began but stopped. He saw all three vanish. With a shrug he whispered, “There’s a cliff. Be careful.”
“A little late,” Mira snapped.
“Move,” Shannon pushed at Mira’s back. She looked all around, “It’s clear, I think.”
“Feel free to check it out,” Wicket grinned.
They walked faster, trying to watch the shadows and avoid the creatures that crawled along without legs and seemed to come out of nowhere.
Moans filled the air, and half a dozen zombies appeared. Wicket said not to waste energy fighting, but to outrun them and go. At two miles per hour top speed, the horde wasn’t a threat, yet. The uninfected humans ran across the lawn, an open patch that was easy to navigate in the moonlight.
“Kara?” Abi cried as she fell, tripped up. Her baby flew out of her hands and cried loudly. Jimmy tried to help his wife and child, but by the time he got Kara, he found that what tripped Abi was the top half of a body, its hands and arms twisting and clawing for flesh. Its teeth clacked and nipped; it was somewhat immobile but still a deadly threat.
Soothing Kara, Jimmy sat on the grass and stared into the night. He was so tired, and his heart was sick with fear and dread. He didn’t know how he could be so sad and still be alive.
Shannon and Sue paused.
“She’s bitten,” Jimmy said. Abi had kicked the crawler away, but it was creeping back, “Can someone hit it? I don’t want it attacking us.”
Mira popped it a few times until it stopped moving, “Hey, Jimmy, I’m sorry, but you can bring the baby and….”
“I can’t get up. I’m done in. Abi….” He clutched his wife in his arms, wiping away blood as she winced. The bite was to the bone and a nasty wound that caused him as much pain to see as it caused her to feel. He sat, stroking Abi’s hair, crying as he soothed the baby.
“Try,” Mira begged.
“Nothing left in me,” Jimmy said sadly.
“We’re out of here,” Wicket said. He and Todd ran, and after a split second, Mira followed. Sue and Shannon looked at one another and shook their heads. Whatever was about to happen, they didn’t want to see it. Abi would attack her husband and baby without meaning to, and it was going to be awful. Jimmy knew, and he was too tired to care. He stared at his baby, thinking it was unfair and she deserved better, but he couldn’t get up, and he c
ouldn’t bash in his wife’s head. If one of the others had, he might have been able to go on, but no one hit Abi.
They ran.
Wicket grinned as he leaned back on the wall of the lodge. To his left was the corner, and then around that was the front of the building and doors where they could get inside and find safety, “This is it, kids. We done it. Let’s go. Be careful, and move fast. We’ve made it.”
“I wish Jimmy and his family had. I wish he had come,” Mira said.
A small group of zombies were walking around towards them, so it was time to round the corner and get going. Wicket motioned with his arm to follow him, and they ran.
There were biters everywhere, wandering, in search of food.
In front, a horde gathered. Too late, the group saw they were trapped and there was nowhere to run.
Mira closed her eyes, “You’re a dumb ass, Wicket.”
“Yeah? My mom always said that, too.”
“Now what?”
“We fight,” Wicket said.
He fought, but in the end, he screamed a long time. They all screamed as they were torn apart.
Chapter 8
Stereotyping…Ornaments To Weapons…Biters
“We can’t stay in here forever,” Hank said. He passed out bar snacks, water, soda, and fruit juice. Outside the doors, hands battered at the wooden doors. They were too compacted in the hall to get enough momentum to break in, but the sheer weight of bodies would eventually force the doors open.
“I am not going back out there,” Bristol said, “those things…those people…whatever they are, will tear us apart.”
“How many do you think are out there?”
Hank looked at Norman, “Too many, but what else can we do? They’ll get in eventually when they finish off all the other people.” They heard screams in several areas around the hotel. Thuds and running footsteps filled the air as well.
“I am guessing either everyone will turn or be, ummm, eaten.”
Hank glared at Nick Hoyt.
“I am figuring the best idea here. I didn’t think Ines would be eaten. Good Lord, she was supposed to get out with us. Now, we’ve got the Zeds on one side, and if we get to the outside, we may be shot and killed before we can possibly spread the infection.”