REM

by Valentine, J. D.

  They all watched as the girl ran to the right, down the street. She was screaming as the group was closing in on her.

  "Please help me!" she cried out.

  Her voice was so desperate. Danny walked away not wanting to see the impending massacre.

  "Dan, get back here," Eric whispered.

  Lights emerged as Danny peered out the window. A man and woman ran out, yelling at her to get in.

  "Bad fucking move," Eric mumbled.

  The girl made a beeline for the garage. The group was fifty feet behind her and closing.

  "Come on. Close it. Close it." Danny cheered silently as he watched with wide eyes. The garage began to descend slowly. The group was so close now all they had to do was get under. The light disappeared, and all six of the crazies slammed into the door. They pounded at it, screaming for a few seconds then they all stopped and looked at each other.

  It fell quiet.

  The hairs on Danny’s neck felt as though they rose one at time. Giving him the feeling of pins and needles running down his spin. A little laughter began to erupt from the group that grew louder until they all sounded like a pack of hyenas. The pins and needles felt nearly overpowering now.

  "Something doesn't sit right with me, Etter," Eric said.

  One of the windows in the home lit up, and the sound of a gunshot went off. A few more flashes erupted coupled with more gunshots. The group started to jump up and down now. The garage door slowly opened again cascading a warm light over the group of crazies that were dancing and laughing. This time the girl walked out holding something in her hand. It didn't register to Danny what it was until the girl threw it on the ground. It rolled like on the ground slightly then settled in the center of the group that sat outside.

  "Eric? Is that—"

  Eric wouldn't let Danny finish. "That's someone's head."

  Chad swallowed heavily as he retreated into the living room. He took a seat on the couch and pulled his helmet off. Danny and Eric kept staring out.

  The group grew hysterical as they jumped up and down. They kicked the head almost as if they were playing a game of soccer. Danny watched a side window open. A woman fell out, but she quickly picked herself up and ran down the street. She was holding something in her hand as she started down the street, but she was limping. The girl pointed at her, and the group fell silent. The head spun until it settled in the storm drain.

  Suddenly, they all ran for her.

  Their screams echoed off the homes making it feel like the group was everywhere. The woman was crying hysterically as she looked back in horror. The screaming grew louder as the group drew nearer to the woman. She stopped in her tracks and lifted the object in her hand.

  No.

  A spark of light erupted at the temple of her skull, and the woman sank to the floor. The group overwhelmed her and Danny watched in horror as they began to dismember her body on the street. Danny looked back not realizing that Chad had come back to see what was happening, but he quickly retreated again as he started gagging.

  "Fucking savages," Eric said.

  The girl started to skip down the street again. A crunching pulled Danny back to the group as they started to throw body parts all over the street.

  What has the world become?

  The group was laughing almost like they were playing with one another. A faint whistling pulled Danny’s eyes back to the street lamp. The girl swung back and forth to her own little tune. She was under the streetlamp again, and the hairs on both men's necks stood up as she began whistling and dancing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A FEW FLIES would occasionally buzz past Danny’s ear making him swat at them out of impulse. They would land on his face and neck, which made him more pissed off instead of grossed out. Danny tied off the plastic bag and knotted it so it was airtight.

  Here we go.

  He lifted the five-gallon lid and quickly tossed his bag in with the rest of the men’s waste. Danny could see one of the bags had ruptured making him close the lid extra quickly. A quick mist of lavender spray covered his retreat as he ran for the door and shut it behind him.

  "Damn," Danny whispered to himself.

  He rubbed some hand sanitizer over his hands before grabbing his rifle that was propped against the door. His hands could feel the coarse stubble on his face as he walked down the hallway. Danny would love to have a shave, but sadly Eric didn’t keep any razor blades.

  The savage.

  Danny sighed as he walked into the main living room. Three beds were laid out on the floor adjacent to one another. The first two beds were neatly made, but Chad’s still looked the same as it had for over a week.

  "How was it?" Eric asked as he studied a map at the kitchen table.

  "It was good. Not too hard and not too soft. Just perfect."

  Eric lowered the map and looked over at Danny. "I was talking about the spray."

  Danny stood there for a moment still rubbing his hands. "Oh, it was...pleasant."

  A subtle laugh came from Chad who looked out the window from the shadows. Danny walked up to the table and pulled a chair out. He rested his rifle on the table and sat across from Eric.

  "You weren't kidding about having toilet paper," Danny said as he sat back.

  "Yeah well after that coronavirus bullshit I thought it was best to always have a month of shit paper ready to go."

  "Smart man," Danny laughed. He looked up at the ceiling with a sigh.

  "You hanging in there, chief?" Eric said as he made a note on the map.

  "I’m getting antsy is how I’m hanging, Eric. It's been a week. You and I both know it’s a good enough time as any to leave."

  Eric’s eyes fell on Danny. "You can’t rush things like this, Dan."

  "Look, the longer we stay here eventually those things are going to find us. We have the truck all packed up and ready to go, so let's just hit the road already."

  Eric placed the map on the table. "If it hadn’t rained the past couple days, I would say we would have to move, but those fires have started to slow, which means we have time to plan as much as possible." Eric set his finger on the map. "Which is what I am doing, Etter."

  A watch started to beep quietly making Chad rise from his chair. "Stew is done, boys."

  He quickly walked into the kitchen and grabbed three bowls and quickly filled them from the pot that was on a little propane stove. Eric set the map down and poured more white vinegar into the bowl that sat in the middle of the table. The smell alone masked the smell of the stew. It was so strong it nearly made Danny’s eyes water as he set the table.

  Chad passed around bowls of beef stew and took a seat next to Danny. He would have eaten by his post, but the vinegar masked the smell of the food, plus Danny could see outside from where he was sitting. Eric hefted a spoonful of stew into his mouth. A dab of it fell into his beard, causing him to clean it with his tongue. Danny reached over and grabbed the map.

  "We have two options to get up to Tahoe," Eric said, swallowing a spoonful of stew.

  Chad raised his hand with the spoon in his forefinger. "I want to say something."

  Both Danny and Eric looked at him.

  Chad set his bowl on the table and stood up. "Okay, I have decided that leaving is a good idea."

  Eric looked at Danny, then back at Chad. "I'm so glad we have a genius here."

  Chad shrugged as he looked at Danny. "Well, I mean things really died down, so I think it's safe enough, but I want you both to know this is my choice. I’ve accepted that Franchesca is not going to return. So, with that, I think it’s best that I carry on not only as a strong lover but as a man. I want everyone to know it wasn’t because Eric forcing me into it." He sat back down looking back at Eric with his head held high. "Plus, I am out of weed, which you two already know."

  Oh, brother.

  Eric looked over at Danny. "I told you he would eventually cave."

  "I didn’t cave," Chad whined. "This was my decision."

  "Sure it was,
you sheep. Anyway, Dan, we have two options."

  Danny laughed as he took another spoonful of stew. He set the spoon down and looked at the map. "Which are?"

  "We either bring a lot of water or a lot of ammo."

  Eric took a giant bite wincing at how hot it was. He immediately took a swig of his Nalgene to cool his mouth and stomach.

  "I would like to have both," Danny said, raising his eyebrows. "Alright, enough with the plot building, just shoot it to me straight here."

  "Alright. Alright. You old folks get impatient about shit." Eric grabbed the map and set it in the middle of the table. He used the sharpie to trace the routes. "Los Angeles is a shit show, so no way we will get through there." Eric drew a full circle and crossed it out in the center. He leaned in now, tracing a path East. "If we avoid all the highly populated areas, that means we go east, but the issue with it is, once we pass Lake Elsinore, it's all desert. Plus, you got Camp Pendleton, which is a wildcard that could seriously ram us in the ass."

  "Yeah being around the military doesn’t exactly give the warm and fuzzies," Danny said. "I want to avoid Pendleton at all costs."

  Eric opened the map showing a desolate landscape with a few highways that cut across. "But, let’s say we are lucky enough to get past Lake Elsinore, there isn't a spring or fucking lake for days if we have to walk. I don't know about you both, but that is a sure way to get killed."

  Danny studied the map as he stuffed stew into his mouth. "And we still have to cut through some populated areas just to get to the desert."

  Eric tapped his index finger on the table. "It’s a shit show what can I say."

  Chad pulled the map closer to him. "What about the ocean?"

  The table fell silent for a moment as each man thought about the idea. Eric looked over at Danny, who had his eyebrow raised.

  Eric spoke up. "It's not the worst idea, but before the power went out, I was able to find a news article that said the Coast Guard had cut off all major ports. I don't know about you, gentleman, but I'm not a fucking pirate."

  Chad lowered his head and sighed heavily.

  Danny rubbed his light beard. "Chad, it was a good idea, but I'm afraid Eric's right. There are too many unknowns with that option, and we haven’t been seamen since we were in our Daddy’s nutsacks."

  Chad smirked as he dug into his stew.

  Eric put his spoon in the bowl and set it down. "Let's get back to the two options. The chances of us getting very far with the truck are slim. I imagine with how all the roads are that we will get bogged down really quickly. So, walking in the desert sounds like a suicide mission because by that point we won't have enough water to get us there." He picked up his spoon and resumed eating.

  Danny tapped near the crossed-out portion of the map. "So, we have to skirt east of Los Angeles."

  Eric's spoon clinked on the bowl. "It’s the plan with the lowest amount of risk."

  "Suicide is the lowest risk?"

  "Just hear me out. No need to get your panties in a wad," Eric said. He leaned in showing a path he traced that cut through Glendora. "All we have to do is make it through this little patch of cities, and then we will be able to follow the Sierra Nevadas all the way up to Lake Tahoe."

  "We gotta climb into a valley and go through two heavily populated cities. If we are lucky enough to even get that far then we gotta climb a mountain to get out," Danny said in disgust. "If we are walking, that altitude is going to be a real bitch."

  "Well, what other option pokes out to you, Dan?" Eric said, throwing the map across the table. "Look if we wait a little longer all those masses of people will dissipate."

  He rubbed his hand through his beard. The idea had flaws, and Danny knew that, but there were really no other options. Everything seemed like a suicide mission, but what could they do. If they sat there, they would run out of supplies sooner or later, and then everyone would be in trouble.

  "Fine," Danny said. "We go through Glendora. But if we get ambushed, I’m telling you I told you so right before I get shot in the face."

  "I second that," Chad said as he stuffed another spoonful into his mouth.

  "Come on, gentlemen, have a little faith," Eric said as he started to chow down on his stew.

  Chad finished his bowl and looked up. "So, when do we leave?"

  Danny was licking his spoon casually. "Tomorrow morning?"

  "One week," Eric said as he stared down Danny.

  ***

  The green light lit up from the watch on Danny’s wrist. The time was nearing midnight as Danny bundled up on the chair. He pulled Jazzy Bear close to his lap as he ran his hands through the bear’s soft fur. It had started to become a habit whenever Danny thought about his family. Unfortunately, being on watch only made those thoughts fill his head with worry and doubt as he tried to keep his eyes trained on the gate entrance. He thought about Ken, Ishita, and the boys. When he had enough torture thinking about that whole night, his thoughts shifted to Kevin and Anna. It was an endless barrage of guilt and shame. One thing that bothered him especially was the man he gunned down in the street.

  Was it murder?

  It didn’t feel like he murdered the man. Danny still had no idea if the guy was reaching for a gun, but it looked like he was grabbing a pistol from his beltline.

  Why does it matter? My life is more important than some idiot who couldn’t follow a simple command.

  The rain was coming down in large swaths. Occasionally, Danny would look over at the condo that had been overrun by that group of crazies. The head of the man still sat out there as little waterfalls traveled down the driveway and into the gutter. The woman's body was gone, but a few limbs remained now gray and decaying. Maybe in a couple of months that whole murderous scene would be cleaned up and it would look like nothing bad had ever happened. Hell, in a couple of hundred years, nature might erase the entire existence of humanity.

  Funny, I would have been craving for a drink right about now thinking about this crap.

  Danny tried to think of taking another sip, but Maria’s voice sounded like a siren in his head. An image of Ken being covered with a blanket ran through his mind poisoning that desire to down a fifth of Jack. In truth, Danny was scared to death of taking another drink.

  I guess one good thing came out of all this.

  The pitter-patter of rainfall overhead drowned out the soft footsteps of Chad. Danny looked over his shoulder to find the young Asian man yawning as he walked up in underwear with a blanket wrapped over his shoulders.

  "You look like hell," Danny said as he gathered his things.

  Chad said nothing as he plopped into the chair.

  "You awake?"

  "Etter, I'm good," Chad said in a low voice.

  Danny took one last look outside and stopped in place. A group of what looked like twenty or so crazies were shuffling slowly down the main street.

  Chad looked out and quickly dove low in the chair. "Holy shit. That's a lot of them."

  "I haven't seen that many together at once," Danny whispered as he crouched low.

  They watched the group walk past.

  Danny could hear them yelling and screaming among one another, but the rain made it all incoherent.

  "It’s like they never sleep," Chad said.

  Danny looked at the group with a blank expression. "That’s because they don’t."

  Something jingled inside the house. Danny's eyes were pulled from the window, and he searched for the sound. It fell silent, but Danny could have sworn it was something unnatural. His eyes scanned the living room and a small movement caught his eye. The doorknob to the patio door.

  "Chad," Danny said in a near whisper, "the door."

  Chad's eyes went wide. Danny quietly crept over to the door with his rifle at the ready. He pressed up against the wall next to the door.

  "It won't open," someone whispered from the other side.

  Danny set his rifle on the sofa and slowly pulled his Ka-Bar from his sheath. He tapped Chad's shoul
der and pointed to the other side of the door. Danny was just about to grab the deadbolt latch, but it quickly clicked open.

  Not in here. Don't come in here.

  "Jason, we have to be quiet," A woman whispered under her breath.

  "Marlene just shut up. You saw how many of those things are out there," the man said in a hushed whisper.

  No. NO! GO AWAY!

  The door slowly popped open, and a black barrel emerged from the door. Danny stayed close to the wall, trying to hide in the shadows.

  What do I do? Maybe they just need help?

  "Please don't come any further," Chad said from the kitchen.

  Shit.

  The man quickly swerved his muzzle to Chad, who was still hiding in the window sill in the kitchen. A dull thud erupted, and Danny heard two men fall to the floor. Heavy grunts came from both men as they wrestled one another on the floor. The woman ran into the room with her back to Danny. She was pulling a knife from her sheath as she started towards the two men.

  "Jason—"

  Danny's knife went deep into her side, puncturing her kidney and seizing her body. She was about to cry out when the blade was pulled and then thrust into her throat. Her scream became nothing, but a bubbling wind that quickly died out as she hit the floor shaking.

  Danny didn't hesitate as he grabbed a handful of hair from the man on top. He caught a quick glimpse to see it wasn't Chad. The blade was thrust into the man’s collar bone. The wound sent warm liquid pulsing on the walls as Danny kept jamming the knife in the man's spleen. The man fell on Chad, who was still thrashing at the man with closed fists.

  "Chad, he is dead," Danny whispered, patting him on the back.

  Chad stopped, but he was breathing so heavy that he started to wheeze. Danny quickly ran to the window. The horde was still walking along the street. The main group had moved past as the few stragglers were following up in the rear. Danny let all his stress fall from his body as he slid his back down the wall and sat on the ground. His senses started to come back to him as the slippery handle of the knife fell on the rug next to him. His hands were covered in thick coagulated blood that almost felt like wet flour on the tips of his fingers.