COLD FAITH AND ZOMBIES

by Sean Thomas Fisher

  Paul surveyed the place and noticed Dan surveying the busty blond with eyes as blue as the crisp sky earlier that afternoon.

  “So what’s your plan?” Paul asked.

  “Plan?” Wendy said, trading her gun for what looked like a glass of whiskey sitting on the wooden bar. “Who said I have a plan?”

  “You could come with us,” Dan suggested.

  Her forehead wrinkled. “To where? The Gulf?”

  “Exactly.”

  “And do what? Live happily ever after?”

  Dan shrugged. “Or you could freeze your butt off here and play pool all day.”

  Wendy snorted and took a drink of the brown liquid.

  “We’re going to find a beach house or something, put our backs to the ocean and go from there.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a plan, Don,” Wendy snorted, setting the glass back down.

  “Dan - and it’s more of a plan than you’ve got,” he said, glancing to his wing-man for help.

  Paul raised his eyebrows at Dan and shrugged.

  “I think I’ll take my chances here. This is my home.”

  Silence ensued. The kind when a date isn’t going so hot.

  “Well, you mind if I use the bathroom then?” Dan asked.

  “Toilet doesn’t work anymore but knock yourself out. Other side of the pool tables,” she said, nodding towards the door.

  Paul watched him go and turned back to the blond. “So I take it you work here or something.”

  She laughed. “Used to! My brother in-law owns the place and I had my own key. Have you come across anyone else? Any other survivors?”

  Paul and Sophia traded looks. “Two boys and their mom,” Sophia said heavily.

  Wendy stared at Sophia and opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  “We lost them taking a car at a gas station this morning,” Sophia said.

  Wendy took another swig and swallowed. “That’s horrible.”

  “Yeah.”

  In the glow from the flashlights, they studied each other through the oppressive shadows.

  “You look hungry,” Wendy concluded.

  “Been running on candy bars all day,” Paul said, holstering his gun and plopping down on a bar stool with an exhausted sigh.

  Wendy laughed again. “We got those too!” she said, disappearing through a set of swinging doors behind the bar.

  Sophia secured her weapon and took a seat next to Paul. They traded looks and continued scoping the place out. It was a total dump and had to smell even worse when the heat was on.

  “Well, this is weird,” she whispered.

  “Tell me about it. I bet Dan’s lovin it though.”

  She snorted. “Could be the last woman on the entire planet too.”

  “I bet he still blows it,” Paul whispered.

  Sophia giggled. “If he does, it puts all the pressure on us to repopulate.”

  Paul frowned. “We should get him a lap dance.”

  She laughed and quickly covered her mouth.

  “You got any ones?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I catch you getting any lap dances and mankind will definitely be doomed.”

  Dan came back from the bathroom and looked all around the bar. “Where’d the hot chick go?”

  Paul cocked his head towards the wooden bar doors.

  “Man, she has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen,” Dan whispered, taking a stool next to Sophia and setting his flashlight on the bar. “We have got to get her to come with us. Mankind could depend on it.”

  Sophia tilted her at him. “You think you’re up to it?”

  Dan shrugged. “If I have to take one for the team, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Well, we can’t just leave her here alone,” Paul said, trying to regain his wing-man status. “She’ll never last.”

  She nodded. “We can ask her.”

  “Ask her? I’m gonna Jedi mind trick her, if I have to. That girl is hot!” he said, then blowing into his cupped hands and rubbing them together.

  “And here we go,” Wendy said, popping back through the swinging doors with a huge cardboard box. “Take all ya want,” she told them, dumping the box’s contents out onto the long bar. “We’ve got a ton of this stuff in the office.”

  Beef jerky, bags of chips, chex-mix, peanuts, gum and more candy bars spilled across the glistening counter top.

  A big smile swept across Dan’s unshaven face. “Jackpot!” he said, rubbing his hands together again and deciding on a bag of cool ranch Doritos, beef jerky and peanuts.

  “We’ve got whiskey or some water I left out back in the sun all day that isn’t quite frozen yet,” Wendy said.

  “Water!” the three replied at once, feeling dehydrated.

  They ravaged the snack food and bottled water like they just won a reward challenge on Survivor.

  Wendy snatched up her glass of whiskey and pulled out a cigarette. She blew some smoke out and told them she decided to leave her apartment when she began hearing windows breaking out in the units around her. She knew that Joe kept a pistol in the bar, and coming here was the only plan she could come up with on her own.

  “Where are your sister and Joe at now?” Paul asked, gnawing on some tough beef jerky.

  “Haven’t seen em since the day before I left the apartment and lucky me, my car was still in the shop so I had to walk here. Actually, more like run here. Peter Bowers, our local cable guy, tried to kill me along the way.” Her voice lowered and her eyes narrowed. “Only that wasn’t Peter Bowers anymore. And I should know, we went to grade school together. I don’t know what that was, but either way, I was glad I wasn’t wearing heels!” she snickered.

  Sophia laughed with her. As a proud owner of a huge shoe collection back home, she could relate. Paul thought she could fare pretty well in high heels if she had to, but luckily she never would. Outside of the boots she was wearing right now, she would never see any of her beloved shoes again.

  Wendy went on to tell them that uninvited company had dropped by the bar a few times with the same sloppy fist pounds on the solid metal doors outside. After awhile though, the slugs had moved on and searched for their dinner elsewhere. The whiskey had loosened her lips and Paul could tell she was scared, even though she pretended like she wasn’t.

  “So what the hell is going on out there anyway? Do you have any idea?” Wendy asked, snuffing her cigarette into a black, plastic ashtray on the bar.

  “Not really,” Sophia said with a mouthful of peanuts.

  Wendy shook her head, exhaling smoke. “None of it makes any sense.”

  Dan watched with puppy dog eyes as she poured more whiskey from a nearly empty bottle of Jack Daniels.

  “You get a flu shot this year?” Paul asked.

  “Flu shot?” She shook her head. “Not me, I hate needles.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Even with the cold, the dressing room still smelled like perfume and farts from years of dozens of girls getting dressed, putting their makeup and perfume on, devouring KFC and Taco Bell, then putting their makeup and perfume back on again. Wendy and Dan huddled beneath blankets on the scuffed up tile floor. Wendy seemed to have no problem sleeping next to someone she had just met. Dan didn’t seem to mind either. Body heat was a luxury you didn’t turn your back on now. Not at night.

  Paul and Sophia were dead tired, but understanding of their fragile situation now. The barbarity they had witnessed over the last few days had changed their perspective on everything. No longer taking each day for granted, confident there would be another, they waited until Dan and Wendy fell asleep.

  “I love you,” he whispered through the darkness, stroking her cheek and silky hair.

  “I love you too,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Her hand caressed his face.

  “You’re never going to have to find out.”

  “You promise?”

  “Of course I promise.”

  She let out a soft sigh a
nd that night, they quietly made love beneath musty blankets on a weathered couch like there was no tomorrow. And for all they knew... there wasn’t.

  The dark windows made it impossible to tell if it was morning or still pitch black out when Paul woke up. He prayed it was morning and checked his Nike watch. 7:23a.m. lit up in indiglo blue. They had made it to another day.

  As far as he could tell, everyone else was still asleep. Happy to have a good night’s sleep under his belt, he gently peeled back the blanket and fumbled for a flashlight, cupping the glowing end with his free hand. He had to take a leak, and bad, but he wasn’t going anywhere without strapping his gun on first. On the way out of the dressing room, he noticed a tattoo of a purple butterfly peeking out on Wendy’s lower back where her blanket had slipped off. He snorted, and quietly went out into the cold, dark bar.

  The good old tramp stamp and on a stripper too, he thought. “What’s next?” he mumbled. “A cop with a donut?”

  Emerging from the bathroom, he went behind the bar and stuffed two frozen bottles of water in his coat pockets, hoping his body heat would thaw them out enough for at least a few drinks. Otherwise they’d have to rely on the squad car’s heater again. He grabbed a Snickers Bar, sat down at the bar and unfolded a map of Missouri he had found in the glove box. The map spilled over into Kansas just enough to give him a good idea where they were and where they could pick up Interstate thirty-five again. Wendy could probably tell them how to get there as well. After all, this was her home.

  The dressing room door clicked open behind him and Dan sleepily walked out and gently shut the door.

  “Mornin Chief,” Paul said, returning to the map on the bar.

  Dan yawned. “Still alive, huh?”

  Paul chuckled and nodded. “You get any sleep?”

  “Some. But all I could think about was that hot chick sleeping next to me. How about you?”

  “All I could think about was the hot chick sleeping next to you too.”

  “What was that?” Sophia said, standing in the doorway to the dressing room.

  Paul’s heart jumped. “I was kidding.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said, going back into the dressing room and shutting the door.

  Paul turned back around and leaned on the bar. “Oh man,” he grumbled, massaging his prickly face.

  “Nice job, Romeo,” Dan said heading for the restroom.

  Paul went back to his candy bar and shined the flashlight around the gloomy room. A darkened Golden Tee sat in a corner next to a poker machine that had already dealt its last winning hand. Next to it, was a quiet KISS pinball machine that Paul figured was probably a collectible by now, if it even still worked. He wondered if Wendy really would stay here. Not only was it depressing, but her snack food wouldn’t last forever. Neither would her bullets. She’d never make it on her own. They would have to try and talk her into coming with them and not just for Dan, but for all of them. The last thing they needed to be doing nowadays was splitting up.

  “Oh man, I really do not wanna do this anymore,” Dan said, coming back out of the bathroom with a disgusted look on his face. “That is quite possibly one of the nastiest places I have ever stepped foot inside.”

  “Hey, at least you don’t have to go to work today though.”

  “That is one silver lining about this whole thing,” he said, taking a seat next to Paul. “I will never have to see my boss again.”

  Paul smiled.

  “I couldn’t stand that guy.”

  Paul’s brow dipped. “I thought he couldn’t stand you.”

  “He couldn’t, which is why I couldn’t stand him.”

  Paul chuckled.

  “I probably would’ve called in sick today anyway,” Dan said, massaging his noggin. “I’ve got another stomach ache.”

  Paul returned to the map in the flashlight’s glow.

  “So how far do you think we can get today?” Dan asked.

  “We should drop into Oklahoma sometime later on this afternoon and, with any luck, we can ditch these heavy coats and boots soon. We’ll have to pick up some real food somewhere along the line too. I can’t take chips and candy bars for breakfast, lunch and dinner much longer.”

  “I heard that,” Dan said, carefully biting into a cold Baby Ruth bar.

  “We’ll also need to get her a gun.”

  Dan stopped chewing and slowly turned his head to Paul. “Who?” he croaked with his mouth full.

  “Wendy.”

  He squinted at Paul. “Wendy?”

  “If she comes with us.”

  Dan exhaled and resumed chewing. “She’s gonna have to. I know this is her home and all, but there’s no way she can stay here.”

  “I know. She’ll never make it.”

  “Not by herself.”

  The dressing room door clicked open and Wendy stumbled out with her blonde hair in a tangled mess.

  Dan whipped around so fast he accidentally knocked Paul’s flashlight to the ground with a clatter. It rolled, flashed and went out.

  Wendy laughed with sleepy eyes and went into the bathroom.

  Paul slowly looked to Dan.

  Dan stared back. “Oops.”

  Sophia came back out of the bathroom and released a breath she had apparently been holding for several seconds, maybe even minutes. “That is so nasty.”

  “Sorry Princess, but the Marriott is another town over,” Wendy snapped, eating a Mars Bar.

  Sophia shivered and joined them at the bar. “I need a shower so bad right now,” she moaned, wrapping her arms around her chest.

  “Me too,” Wendy said.

  “I feel so gross.”

  “I do have toothpaste,” Wendy said with a smile.

  “You do?”

  “Water’s frozen again though.”

  “I’ve got some thawing out in my coat,” Paul said.

  “We think you should come with us,” Dan said to Wendy out of the blue.

  Wendy paused and took another bite off the Mars Bar and didn’t respond.

  “You’ll never make it here by yourself.”

  “Oh trust me, I’ve dealt with bigger creeps than those things out there.”

  Sophia and Paul laughed.

  “How many bullets do you have left?” Dan asked.

  Wendy shrugged. “Enough.”

  “How many are enough?”

  “A box or so.”

  “And when your food runs out?” Sophia said.

  “I’ll run down to Chuck’s down the road.”

  Dan’s eyes thinned. “Chucks?”

  “It’s a grocery store not far from here.”

  Dan laughed. “On foot? You’re crazy.”

  “We need your help just as much as you need ours,” Paul said.

  She watched them in the mirror behind the bar. The four ate their candy bars and chips, pondering what to say next. Paul was already running out of persuasive ideas.

  “You won’t last longer than two weeks,” he finally said, crunching on a mouthful of salt and vinegar chips.

  Wendy snorted and kept chewing.

  Paul peeked out the cracked open back door. “It’s clear,” he whispered.

  One by one, they tip-toed to the cop car beneath a sky filled with rumbling gray clouds. It seemed colder than the day before even though they had made some decent ground south.

  Paul grabbed Sophia by the hand before getting into the car, pulled her to him and planted a big wet kiss on her. “I love you.”

  She smiled. “I love you too,” she said, kissing him again.

  He got in the front seat while she got in the back with Wendy. Dan immediately hit the electric locks button.

  “It’s funny, all I’ve been able to think about over the last few years is getting the hell away from this dump and now that I’m actually doing it, I...” Wendy said, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks as the car pulled away.

  Sophia took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

  It hadn’t taken Wendy long to d
ecide she was “all in” on the road trip south. Paul was right, she had concluded, she wouldn’t last two weeks on her own. It was hard for her to just take off with complete strangers and leave her hometown like this but what else was she going to do? Try to find her family and friends on her own? She may have been a topless dancer but she wasn’t stupid. Her odds were much better with these strangers who were already right here with guns, ammo, and a cop car with nearly a full tank of gas. Not to mention heat. She hadn’t been warm in days.

  Every so often, Dan would sneak a quick peek in the rear view mirror at the lovely Miss Wendy. He couldn’t help himself. She had the prettiest blue eyes he’d ever seen. Then she busted him and his eyes quickly shot back to the road. For no reason at all, he tried the cop radio again. Still silent. Paul smiled and shook his head.

  It was funny, Paul thought as they motored down a barren highway back to the interstate, how they ended up together into this road trip from hell. The four of them against the world. In a way, it was almost romantic. Almost.

  “I’m hungry!” Sophia announced.

  Paul turned around. “Yeah? What do you want? Pizza?”

  “Sonic!”

  “Oh, how sweet would that be right now?” Dan said, smiling back at her in the mirror.

  Paul raised a finger into the air. “How about Long John Silver’s?”

  Sophia scrunched her face up. “I still wouldn’t eat that stuff if they were the last place open on the entire planet.”

  “Not even a hush-puppy?” Paul asked.

  “Those things are so gross. What are they anyway?”

  “Well, they’re balls made out of very quiet little dogs, is what they are,” Dan said flatly.

  Wendy folded her brow and laughed. “I say we hit a Culver’s!”

  “Ooh yeah, or how about Chipotle?” Sophia said, as Dan stole another glance at Wendy.

  “Get off at this next exit,” Paul said.

  “Why?” Dan asked.

  “We’ll get some gas and food in this next town before we get too close to Wichita.”

  “Yes!” Sophia rejoiced.

  “Keep an eye out for a gun shop or a sporting goods store too,” he said, turning to Wendy. “You’re going to need a better gun than that.”