by J. Okuly
Chapter 17
The sun came up and the birds sang to the heavens as if this was any other day in the history of the world. We loaded the SUV and the Olsons packed their stuff into their Lexus. We drove to Mrs. Keith's house and waited as Dharma packed clothes and other items she and her daughter would need. Mark and I stood guard over them and I was about as nervous as a whore sitting in a church pew. I couldn't blame myself considering our last experience in this house. Thank the Lord, Dharma packed in record time. Then our caravan headed for the presumed safety of the bank.
Chompers had no respect for the laws of the road. They shuffled along at a snail's pace wherever they chose to go, even if that meant the middle of the highway. We swerved around the creatures to avoid splattering their guts all over our windshields. The rules of the road were now a thing of the past. So many things were now a part of the old world, and I wondered if they would ever return.
When we reached the bank, I lost my enthusiasm and almost regretted wasting my vote on this place. Mark had made it sound like some sort of secure paradise. My first thought was … it's ugly. It was a boxy building surrounded by a nondescript parking lot. Abandoned tools cluttered the asphalt as if a giant child had left his Tonka toys on the ground after he tired of playing with them. The only thing that made the structure appealing to me was its strength. Not even an 18-wheeler could take this place down. I wasn't sure about a tank, but to my knowledge there wasn't a military base around for at least a hundred miles.
The bank was almost completed when the Chomper Apocalypse descended upon the world. The floors were dull concrete and pieces of plywood and slabs of marble lay in the lobby area. The front doors were not locked so we strolled into the building. Mark pointed out the roll-down security gate constructed of galvanized steel with a chain hoist. This gate was a secondary level of protection for the glass front doors which were the building's only vulnerable spot. Later we discovered the doors were constructed of bullet-proof glass so they weren't so vulnerable after all.
There were windows on the second and third floors but none on the first. This made me breathe easier because the less we had to defend, the better. We walked the perimeter as I struggled to develop a positive attitude about this place. Then we turned the corner of the building and I saw the alluring park with its mature oak and pecan trees. A gentle breeze moved through the leaves and then blew across my face. A healing sense of peace came over me and I amended my first impression. What had I been thinking? This place was perfect!
I turned to Mark who was watching me. “This is wonderful,”
He grinned and displayed his gorgeous dimples. “I'm glad you like it.”
“I could live here,” said Kitty.
“Me too,” said Breanna.
With that, we started a new chapter of our lives.
Chapter 18
“Mom, we're coming to get you and Steve.”
My mom pressed her lips together as she stared at me from her computer screen. “No, no honey. Steven and I are doing fine. I don't want you to chance it.”
I tried not to show my annoyance as we spoke to each other on Skype. Since she could see my face, I wanted to present a calm and pleasant demeanor. The reality was my guts churned with worry. The electricity and the internet still hung on, but I wanted to rescue my mom before we lost our communication links.
I looked around the second floor of the bank. “We have a safe place now. I want you both here before we lose the internet and everything else.”
My mom's mouth tightened until it was the size of a cherry tomato. “Well, I don't want you to risk it and that's final.”
“It's not only you, mom,” I explained in my most patient tone of voice. “We want to get Kitty and Rebecca's parents as well as Bonnie's aunt. We have room for everyone and we can defend this place easier than a house. We have a tribe and soon we'll have a village.”
I thought about what we had accomplished in the weeks since we had moved to the Future Site of Shady Grove Credit Union. Opening soon! That was what the large sign in front of the building declared. My guess was this place would never open for business in our lifetime.
We discovered the vault and I declared it the safest place I had ever seen.
“It is safe,” said Mark.
As I stared at the dark, cavernous maw, my childhood claustrophobia returned to attack. I took a step away from the opening. I turned to leave the area but Mark touched my shoulder.
“Don't go,” he said. “Let me show you how this vault is going to help us.”
I took another step backward.
“This is where we'll store our food and weapons.” He ignored my desire to flee and continued to talk. “What I mean is our extra food and weapons. The vault has a time lock and is set to open eight hours after closing. It can't be opened before then. If we get overrun, the first thing we need to do is shut the vault door. Then we can come back the next day and our food and weapons will be safe unless the intruders figure out how it works.”
I looked at him wide-eyed. “You're a genius!”
“No. A genius would build a rocket and get us off this planet.”
“Stop being modest.”
“So you think I'm modest.” His voice was silk and it pulled me toward him like a shiny hook enticed a fish. He stepped toward me. I closed my eyes.
“Dinner's ready!” Bonnie's voice boomed through the building's intercom.
I sighed in frustration as we stepped away from each other.
“She has great timing, doesn't she?” Mark took my hand and we walked up to the second floor employee break room.
My attention returned to the present as my mom talked about her garden.
“We have a garden also,” I said. “It's in Zephry Park behind the bank. The area is so huge, you can't see the garden from the bike trails or the playground. So it's hidden unless you know where to look. Not that anyone ever goes to the playground or the park,” I added. “And we use the bank vault to store our canned food and extra stuff.”
I avoided mentioning our stockpile of weapons. I didn't want mom to see me as some sort of Rambo or G.I. Jane. My mom would never see me as anything except her little girl, and I didn't want to destroy her illusions. At least not yet.
“Stay safe,” I said. “Mark and I are coming for you soon.”
“Mark sounds like a good man,” she said.
“He is. You'll like him and so will Steve.”
I blew her a kiss and closed the laptop.
“We've made this place about as safe as we can,” Mark said to us later that night.
Once again, I was thankful for the found treasures from looted furniture stores. Everyone had their own bedroom suites courtesy of Ikea. I had no doubt that if Carnival had been a larger city, every single store in town would be looted by now. Since half the town transformed into Chompers, there weren't that many people around to do the looting.
We had removed the desks from the offices and turned the areas into private bedrooms. We had comfortable sofas scattered around on every floor and we had a 75-inch TV thanks to Sears. The only things we lacked were a shower, a stove, and a washing machine and dryer. We got by with the sinks in the restrooms and the Coleman cook stove Mark had found in his foraging/scavenging missions. As for washing our clothes, Mark was working on getting us a washer and dryer.
Bonnie and Dharma tended the garden but only when there were two armed guards to escort them. Kitty enjoyed being on guard detail so she often went to the park with Bonnie and Mr. Olson as the second guard. For an older guy, Mr. Olson was full of energy and an expert marksman. He had a wicked sense of humor and Mrs. Olson chided him about his off-color jokes, especially when Breanna was around to hear him.
I turned my attention back to what Mark was saying.
“We all know how to lock this place down in case of emergency,” he said. “We've drilled until we can do this with our eyes closed. We all know how to use a gun and a knife and how to protect ourselves. We're
flying under the radar and not drawing attention to ourselves. So I feel secure enough to head to Austin and pick up your relatives.”
After the excited murmurs died down, Mark continued. “We'll find one of those vans that hold a bunch of people, like an airport shuttle, and we'll drive down there and get them.”
“I'm going with you,” said Kitty.
I frowned. “We need people to stay here and protect our home.”
Kitty's mouth set in a firm line and there was no arguing with her. “Not negotiable. Someone else can do it.”
The next morning we loaded up Dharma's Prius. We needed to steal a van from the airport and ditch the other car. Dharma had no problem with that idea since her car was a piece of junk.
I hugged my Nova and she gave me a wet, sloppy kiss. Then I hugged my human friends and Mark and I and Kitty got into the small car.
With a chorus of “Good Lucks,” “Be Carefuls,” and “Hurry Backs,” we left our secure fortress.
Chapter 19
“Step 1, steal a van,” I said.
“Borrow a van,” Mark amended. “If civilization ever comes back, we'll return it along with the deed to the bank.”
I laughed. “I would hand it over in a second if the world would return to normal.”
His voice grew serious. “You're holding on to that hope, aren't you?”
“Aren't you?”
He seemed to consider my question. “I've accepted the world for what it is. This might end up being our reality until we're old and gray.”
“Gosh, I hope not.”
His mouth turned up at the corners. “There's that word again. You keep hoping for both of us. Okay?”
We drove to the airport and it took a long time to get there with all the Chompers clogging the roads.
My heart sank. “It's going to take us forever to get to Austin.”
“You have somewhere else you need to be?”
“I wish. Even a visit to the dentist sounds good right about now.”
We found a bunch of locked shuttle vans at the airport, but some stood abandoned with the doors wide open. We chose one that was full of gas and still had the keys in the ignition.
“Step 1 complete,” I said. “Step 2 - take extra fuel with us.”
We found a boarded-up convenience store which still had gas in the pumps. Mark filled three of the plastic containers he had brought with us. He then stored them in the back of the shuttle van.
Then we headed to the freeway on-ramp.
“Step 3,” I said “navigate around stalled cars and Chompers.”
“This is going to be the hardest part,” said Kitty.
And it was.
Mark was a cautious driver, but by late afternoon we had only traveled a few miles. The entire trip should have taken less than four hours. Our frustration grew as we dodged abandoned cars, Chompers, and burned-out wrecks. Sometimes we had to drive in the grass median between the lanes. Sometimes we had to exit the freeway to avoid wrecks and then get back on it miles later. The mangled mess littering the freeway bore witness to the panic which had overtaken our city. Across the entire planet, abandoned and wrecked vehicles were our legacy to the next generation.
“This is what we have to show for our time on earth,” said Kitty with her uncanny way of reading my mind.
“Are you psychic or something?” I asked her. “You can tell me if you are. I won't judge you for it.”
She shrugged. “What if I told you I'm a bit psychic?”
I grinned at her in the rear-view mirror. “I knew it!”
I looked up as a Chomper stepped from behind a burned-out bread truck. “Watch out!” I yelled.
Mark swerved to avoid the creature and jerked the steering wheel to the left. In doing so, our tires caught a patch of oil which had leaked from one of the of the cars involved in a collision. Mark struggled to keep control of the van, but it was a hopeless cause. We hydroplaned across the road and the vehicle started to spin. We ended up laying on the side of the highway like a dead armadillo on a backwoods country road.
Mark unbuckled his seat-belt. “Is everyone okay?”
“I hit my forehead,” I said.
“You're bleeding.” His face held concern as he examined my head.
“I smell gas fumes.” I looked into the back of the van and saw Kitty wasn't moving.
“Kitty!” I screamed. “Mark, help her!”
At the sound of my voice, nearby Chompers turned their heads and gave me their full attention.
“Oh God!” I whispered. “We need to get out of here.”
Mark finally got the back door open. “She's unconscious.”
The Chompers advanced on us with their stupid shambling gait. As they neared the van, pain sliced into my head like a sharp blade slicing a honeydew melon. I started to count as I helped carry Kitty off the road. Then I saw they had surrounded us.
“No guns,” he said. “We don't want to draw more of them.”
He pulled his knife out of its sheath and then his nose began to bleed.
I wiped my own bleeding nose on my sleeve. “We can't leave the van or the fuel!”
“No choice. Kitty can't move and we need to get off this road. These Chompers will forget about us by the time she wakes up. Then we can come back.”
He turned and punched a Chomper in the face. It crashed into another creature and they both fell to the ground. As they struggled to stand, we dragged Kitty towards the woods on the side of the road. We moved fast and after awhile the monsters seemed to have lost track of us.
“50, 51, 52 ...” I stopped counting as we lay her on a pile of leaves.
I touched her cheek. “Please wake up.”
She fluttered her eyelashes and struggled to keep her eyes open.
“We'll wait here until they scatter,” said Mark. At the moment, there are too many of them clustered around the van.”
As we watched from the safety of the trees, they dispersed and went back to walking down the highway.
Finally I said, “It's as safe as it's ever gonna get.”
I stood up but Mark grabbed my arm. “Not yet. I hear something.”
Then I heard it too. The sound of approaching feet. Many, many feet. My blood turned to ice and I stood frozen in place. He took my arm and moved us further into the tree cover. Then he crouched low to the ground and I did the same.
A large group of men weaved between the abandoned and burned out vehicles. They had guns strapped to their thighs and slung over their shoulders. They looked military with their short haircuts and orderly precision line. But they weren't wearing uniforms. They wore Army type boots with jeans and tee shirts.
A Chomper approached one of them, but he dispatched it by thrusting a knife into its ear. It's brain destroyed, the creature slid to the ground in a mass of flesh. The men on the road were adept at their work and this made them seem all the more menacing. Organized as they were, they went about their task without speaking. Instead, they used hand signals to convey their intent to each other.
Their leader looked up and down the road as if he sensed us watching him. I recognized the camouflage jacket and the fatigues. It was the guy from the monster truck who had stolen all our food. Stoner Dude. The doper disposition must be an act. It seemed ridiculous that a pothead would be in charge of these well-organized men. There must be a reason he was in command, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Then he turned his gaze to the woods where we hid. and I felt his eyes bore into mine. I froze like a deer in the headlights as chills racked my body. Then he turned back to his men and gave a signal for them to follow him. My relief was so great I grabbed a tree to keep myself from falling to the ground. We were too far away and hid under too much tree cover for them to see us. But for a moment I could have sworn he DID see me.
Mark and I waited in complete silence until we were sure they were gone.
Kitty sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Are we there yet?”
I checked her pupils and her pulse. She a
ssured me she was fine.
I told Kitty to rest while Mark and I went back to the van. She slid back in the leaves and closed her eyes.
The Chompers had scattered so we tried to flip the van back onto its tires. We realized it was too heavy for us. We struggled with all our strength but it was impossible.
“The only thing we can do is find an abandoned car and go back to the bank,” said Mark. “Then the rest of the gang can help us get the van back on the road.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
Mark and I started checking cars for keys left in the ignition.
“I found one,” he said. “And it's full of gas.”
“Terrific!” I said. “Let's go.”
We went back to the woods. I looked around but didn't see Kitty laying in the leaves.
“Kitty,” I said. “Let's go.”
She didn't answer. Maybe she had to pee and walked further into the woods. I glanced toward the trees which were now a darker hue of green as twilight descended. Fear shot through my body like an electric charge. Where was Kitty?
Mark and I searched through the grove but we couldn't find her. We waited near the van but she didn't return. We searched the road again and we even searched under the cars. No Kitty.
We walked back to the woods where we had hidden from the group of men. Mark knelt and looked at the ground. Finally he said, “Look at this.”
“What?” I stared at the ground but couldn't see anything unusual.
“Boots,” he said. “These are boot prints. That group of men circled back around and took her.”
“No, no, no!' I imagined gruesome things happening to her.
I burst into tears and he took me in his arms.
“We'll get her back.” His voice was firm.
“There are so many of them,” I stammered. “We're outnumbered, way the Hell outnumbered.”
“Remember your favorite word,” he said. “With hope, anything is possible. But if hope doesn't work, there's always extreme fire power.”