Alan also found a few shirts. They were pretty non-descript, just being a variety of colors. Meanwhile, Kendra looked around and found a couple pairs of pants in her size, as well as a few tops. She didn’t think that they looked very good on her, but Alan was confident that she would look great. He always thought she looked great, regardless of what she had on.
“Find what you needed?” Kendra asked as she gathered the things she was taking.
“Yeah, this should work for now.” Alan replied. “I hate to ask, but is there anywhere else we need to go in here before we leave?”
“We should do a run-through of the mall. Lets raid whatever we can, and leave.” Kendra suggested. “I know you don’t like it, and it’s dangerous, but it’s better to be prepared in the long run.”
Alan hated how right she was. He just wanted to get out of the mall, but he couldn’t fault Kendra’s logic. There could easily be other things in the mall that they could use. Alan went and grabbed some of the biggest bags he could find behind the counter.
“We’ll need these, then.” Alan said, giving some of the bags to Kendra. “Lead the way.” He continued, holding out the flashlight for her.
Kendra nodded and took the flashlight. She walked out of the clothing store and continued down the row of shops. Most of the stores didn’t have anything terribly useful. Under normal circumstances, Kendra would have loved to go to the bookstore, but this was not the time to do so. The toy stores and novelty shops wouldn’t hold anything useful. Just when she was beginning to think that it was turning into a fruitless search, Kendra had an idea.
Kendra picked up the pace, and Alan followed her, still being careful to make as little noise as possible. Kendra was running towards her new idea. She remembered that malls always had big department stores in them. She reached the nearest one, and as Alan caught up, she explained her reasoning to him.
“These department stores…” She gasped, slightly out of breath from running. “They have all sorts of things. We could find some essentials here. Flashlights, tools, the possibilities are endless when you think about it.”
Alan was impressed. “Let’s get to it then.” He said, walking into the department store.
“Let’s stick together.” Kendra said. “If someone else is around, we’ll need to have each other’s backs.”
Alan followed Kendra as she searched for flashlights. With the amount of time they’d already spent in dark places in the past few days, he knew they’d need more than just the one flashlight. Kendra found them fairly quickly, and grabbed a couple flashlights, and enough batteries to last them a month or two. Alan looked around nearby and found rolls of duct tape. He wasn’t the smartest person in the world, but he knew that duct tape could fix anything. He started gathering up the rolls, hoarding as many as he could.
Kendra turned around. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Duct tape!” Alan exclaimed.
“Duct tape?” Kendra voiced her skepticism.
“Yes! Anything is possible with duct tape!” Alan proclaimed.
Kendra shook her head with derision and continued searching the aisle for anything else they might need. Unfortunately, she was suffering from the age-old syndrome of only knowing what you need when you aren’t looking for it. She ran through every scenario she could think of as she looked over the inventory of items before her, but she had trouble finding applications for anything that she saw.
Alan finished collecting the duct tape and looked around to see what else he could find. Searching was difficult with only a flashlight to aid him, but it would simply have to do. He looked over the items and couldn’t find much of anything. It wasn’t until he heard a click behind him that he realized the truth of the situation. He hadn’t found something. Instead, someone had found him. In the few seconds of thought that followed, he registered the sound of the click. It was the all too familiar sound of a revolver’s hammer being pulled back.
Kendra hadn’t heard the click, but what she had heard was the simple sound of nothing. She heard silence, and it was unsettling to hear. She wasn’t sure if it was just paranoia setting in or not, but she called out to Alan. When no reply came, she went into a slight panic. She slowly began to sweat and her breathing was heightened. She left the aisle she’d been standing in and went to look for Alan. She’d specifically told him not to split up and now they were in trouble because he’d gotten too sidetracked. Her search became frantic, and she held her sword tight, ready for whomever… or whatever, came her way.
Alan tried to keep calm, but he couldn’t help but tremble in fear. He was always afraid of the things in the dark, and now one of those things managed to find him, and also hold him at gunpoint. The unknown gunman took Alan’s flashlight and shined it right into his face. The light was blinding and his eyes were starting to hurt. Alan had heard Kendra beckoning him, but he dared not answer. He only hoped that she could find him in time. Alan finally got the nerve to whisper to the shadowy figure holding the gun.
“Who are you?” He asked in a hushed tone.
“That is not for you to know.” A distorted voice replied.
Alan knew that this voice was not natural. No human could sound like that on their own. He knew something was off with this person, but he didn’t want to risk asking another question. He thought it best to remain silent for the time being. He would have to bide his time and think of a way out.
Kendra moved silently through the store. She knew Alan couldn’t be too far away. The silence was maddening, and her chest felt tight. Her stress rose, and fear began to seep in to her mind. Even in the midst of the zombie apocalypse, an assailant in the dark was still a terrifying thing to face down. As she wandered through the aisles, she saw a dim light. As she ventured towards it, she saw a larger open area of the store, and in the middle of it, Alan, on his knees, with a shadowy figure holding the light straight at his eyes.
“Give me everything you have taken.” The distorted voice demanded.
“Why should I give you anything?” Alan inquired. “You hide in the shadows. You won’t even show yourself. Maybe if you’d asked for help, you’d have gotten some!” Alan’s anger rose with each word.
“I don’t need your help.” The voice retorted, full of disdain. “If you will not surrender your loot and your weapons, then I will simply relieve you of them by force.”
Kendra took that as her queue. It was now or never, and she chose now. With a fierce roar, she ran forward, towards the darkened figure, and tackled the assailant to the ground. She held her blade against what she believed to be their throat. Alan took the opportunity to retrieve his flashlight. He picked it up and shined it on the attacker, and saw the form of the person who nearly killed him.
The person wore a mask, and looked like they were utilizing a voice changer. Alan quickly deduced that this was the source of the distorted, inhuman voice. The figure was actually quite small, and Alan noticed that this was no man. This assailant who would’ve seen him dead for a few weapons and department store wares, was a woman.
Kendra held her down as Alan tore off her mask. She couldn’t have been much older than 20. From the looks of it, she’d been hiding out here for at least a few weeks. Alan suspected that the bodies in the store, and even some in the rest of the mall were the remains of her victims. He couldn’t make out many of her subtle features though, due to the damage that the flashlight had done to his eyes. It would likely not be permanent, but his vision wouldn’t be at full capacity for the time being.
Kendra held the blade still against the girl’s neck as she spoke.
“Who are you?” She asked, her voice dripping with venomous intent.
“That is not your business.” She replied flatly.
Kendra used her free hand to punch her straight in the mouth. “I’ll ask again. WHO! ARE! YOU!?”
The woman spat out some blood. “Get the hell off me!” She said with a growl.
Kendra pushed the blade as close to her neck as she could w
ithout making her bleed. “What should we do with her?” she asked, turning to look at Alan.
“Neutralize her and lets leave.” Alan replied.
Kendra wasted no time following Alan’s suggestion. She rapidly used the sword to slash across her right arm. The blood flowed quickly and she screamed in agony. Kendra stood and looked down on the woman.
“You’re bleeding significantly. If you don’t fix it soon, you’ll bleed out and die. Good luck finding medical attention, and avoiding the Dead Ones in the process. Whether you live or die is completely on you now.” She said coldly as she walked away.
The woman felt weak, and knew she’d never be able to shoot either Kendra or Alan, much less aim the gun in her current condition. She struggled to her feet and got away as fast as she could. Kendra kept on her way out of the store, with Alan following behind.
“That was a little extreme.” Alan remarked.
“Yes, and she was a little annoying and uncooperative… and murderous, don’t forget that.” Kendra replied, defending her actions.
“Fair enough. Let’s get out of here.” Alan said, following her out.
As they reached the main hallway of the mall, Alan and Kendra heard an all too familiar growling noise. They each looked around with their flashlights and confirmed the worst; Dead Ones surrounded them. They readied their weapons and prepared to fight, but in the most bizarre circumstances, not a single Dead One moved towards them.
In the silence of the room, they heard applause from a single person, followed by a voice. A figure stepped out from the shadows.
“You’ve done well to survive so long, but this is the end for you.”
8
Alan had never been quite so dumbfounded as he was right at this moment. Kendra was just as shocked, and neither one of them could explain why the Dead weren’t attacking. This man who stood before them acted as though he controlled the Dead Ones. He seemed to hold some sway over them that was difficult to explain. The only way to obtain answers was to ask questions. Alan slightly stepped forward.
“Just who the hell are you?” Alan nervously asked.
“Me? Oh, I’m nobody. Just the man pulling the strings; a puppeteer, if you will.” The man replied, pacing around the room.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kendra interjected. “You control these walking corpses. Tell us how.”
“Oh, I’d love to tell you my evil plan, but it never really works out for the maniacal mastermind, does it?” The sarcasm in his voice was palpable.
Alan rolled his eyes. “Let’s start small. Who are you? What’s your name?”
“Not that it matters to you, my name is Malcolm Graves.” The man replied.
“I’m Alan, and this is Kendra.” Alan replied.
“Two more insipid survivors. The one in the store is bad enough.” Malcolm said.
“Was.” Kendra interjected.
“Was?”
“Yes, was.” She continued. “She’ll likely be dead soon. She’s bleeding out.”
Malcolm scrunched his face, and two Dead Ones proceeded into the store to find the girl they’d just incapacitated.
“Where are you from, Malcolm?” Alan asked.
“Alan, this is truly pathetic. I know how afraid you are, and you’re trying to stall, trying to get on my good side. It won’t work.” Malcolm deduced. “You’re just another pawn; another piece on the board. This is all much bigger than the two of you. You have no idea just how big this really is.”
Alan was disappointed that his veil had been seen through. It was a last ditch effort, but it was better than nothing. Now his plan had failed and he was certain that the Dead Ones, or Malcolm, would kill them. Malcolm’s silhouette turned to leave.
“Have fun, Alan and Kendra. It was lovely to meet you.” Malcolm said as he walked away.
Malcolm disappeared deeper into the shadows. Once he was out of sight, the near motionless Dead Ones began to move again. One by one, they began to shamble towards Alan and Kendra. For a moment, they were both stunned, nearly unable to move. Then, in one single instance, they both attacked the small horde of Dead Ones. Alan raised his shotgun and proceeded to blow off the head of each Dead One in his line of sight. Kendra leaped forward and started the slash the walking corpses, dismembering them of each and every limb, and decapitating them as their heads came into reach.
What should have been the final moments of two survivors quickly became a bloodbath, filled with zombified corpses. The Dead Ones died again, this time for good. Minutes passed, and the small crowd of Dead Ones was now little more than a pile of flesh. With a shared look, and no words between them, Alan and Kendra broke for the door. They knew there had to be more Dead Ones hidden in the mall, and neither one of them really wished to stay around any longer.
They ran through the mall, and out into the parking lot. The outside world seemed even emptier than it already was. Not even the Dead Ones were near them. It was an odd circumstance, but neither of them wanted to question it. They headed back to the car, threw their weapons and looted goods in the back, and climbed in.
“That was odd.” Kendra broke the silence.
“Which part?” Alan asked. “The man controlling the corpses, or the woman you pretty much left to die?”
“Both.” Kendra said. “And I had very little choice.” She added.
Alan thought before speaking. “There was probably another way, but this kind of scenario changes the way you think. It changes you from the inside out. I understand why you did it. It was survival, without outright murder.”
Kendra turned away and looked out the window as Alan started the car and started pulling out of the parking lot. Kendra and Alan both silently contemplated the recent events. Alan wondered who this Malcolm Graves person was, and how he controlled the Dead Ones. Kendra glazed over that thought, instead remembering the situation with the woman in the mall. It seemed like this whole ‘end of the world’ ordeal was causing her to commit darker and darker acts. Death might have been kinder to the woman. Kendra didn’t know if the woman would survive or not. She hoped she’d never have to find out. Then almost at once, both of them realized they didn’t know where to go next.
“Where do we go now?” They said simultaneously.
They giggled at their shared thought. “I think we should find out more about this Malcolm Graves guy.” Alan said.
“Sounds like as good a plan as any. Something wasn’t right about him.” Kendra replied.
“I’m not sure where to go though. Tracking down info could be difficult.” Alan mused.
“I know where to go!” Kendra exclaimed.
“You do?” Alan looked at her, surprised.
“We go to the best source of information in the city.” She explained. “The Library.” She said with an air of confidence.
“Of course! I always forget about that place.” Alan said, realizing his own stupidity.
Alan drove towards the nearest library he knew. He wasn’t sure about how successful this trip would be though. Society had pretty much collapsed, so the Internet services were likely inoperable. There was no guarantee that they could find anything in books about him. They might find something in an old census or something, but really, Alan saw this as little more than grasping at straws, even if it was the best place they could look.
As they drove through the desolate city under the grey sky, Kendra slept in the car. Deep inside her mind, her nightmares began to take hold while she slept. The twisted visions in her mind, filled with death, blood, screams, and corpses, became rooted deep in her brain. She sometimes whimpered as she slept, and her muscles would twitch. She never tossed and turned, but it was obvious that she was restless. If you looked hard enough, you’d even notice that sometimes she cried in her sleep. In the times that Alan would observe her as she rested, he noticed these things, and he began to realize that Kendra wasn’t the hard-edged person he’d met in downtown Louisville. Beyond the cold exterior, there was a softer center. He liked the id
ea of getting to see the real Kendra, the one beneath the surface. He also knew not to push it. She’d show herself eventually. Until then he’d do what he had silently promised himself he would do since he defended her at the hotel. He would protect her.
9
The chartreuse-colored car pulled into the empty parking lot of the local library. Alan shut off the car and lightly shook Kendra, in an attempt to wake her up. She resisted at first, just wanting to sleep. Eventually, after a few attempts, Alan succeeded in waking her up.
“Ughhhhhhh.” Kendra moaned out. “Where are we?”
“Library.” Alan replied. “You alright?”
“Yeah… I’m fine.” Kendra said, unconvincingly.
Alan ignored her obvious lie. He opened the door and exited the car, grabbing the shotgun and flashlights from the back seat. He eyed the crossbow pistol, and grabbed it as well. He figured it could be a good area for a field test, should they run into any more Dead Ones.
Kendra exited the car after Alan, retrieving her sword from the back seat. She made a mental note to acquire some ammunition for the pistols she’d taken from the goons outside the old peddler’s mall. She and Alan slammed their doors shut, and then the area fell silent. No matter where in the city they went, they never got used to the silence of it all. This wasn’t the sound of a sleeping city… it was the sound of a dead city. Alan began walking to the library’s entrance, and Kendra, still half dazed, followed him.
As they reached the entrance, Alan tossed one of the flashlights to Kendra. She nearly dropped it, as she didn’t expect a large plastic light source to be flying at her face. She flashed a pissed-off look at Alan, but quickly calmed herself, realizing he didn’t mean to irritate her. Alan swung open the door, surprised that it was actually open. He walked inside, with Kendra a mere 2 steps behind him.
The Dead in River City Page 4