“Just a few more items.”
“That's what you said half an hour ago.”
“That was barely two minutes ago, dear.” Her mother said, chuckling.
The cart's wheels rattled, and squeaked. The sound stretched and morphed until it resembled more of a static filled pulse. The rattling faded while the pulsing sound maintained a continuous rhythm. Scrape...scrape...scrape.
Her boots thudded on the wooden platform as she scrambled up to a seated position. The sound was still there. Scrape...scrape...scrape. Trying to get up, her right arm tingled almost painfully with each slight movement. The pain faded as the circulation was slowly returning. Retrieving her spear in her left hand, the point scraped across the grains of the boards as she crept to the edge.
There was a lump in her throat when she saw someone, something, mindlessly trying to get up to her. It was trying to both climb and walk up the trunk of the tree simultaneously. Dressed like a security guard, its shirt was caked in dried up mud, blood, and whatever else was tossed this thing's way during general mayhem. The finger tips of the lifeless husk's hands were worn down to the bone. The flesh that was torn away still clung to the bark of the oak tree. How long has this thing been trying to reach her? How did it know she was there?
She moved to each edge, carefully looking for any others. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing that this was the only one at the moment. The treehouse was no longer a safe spot. It was time to move on. If she stayed up here any longer, the visitor count could reach well above what she would be capable of dealing with.
It was blocking her only way down, and the last thing she wanted to do was to use her pistol, to let every creature in the area know she was here. Tossing her bag down as gently as she could from this height, she hoped to get its attention away from the trunk. The thing turned to face the sound, and moved to investigate the muffled clattering behind it. Skipping the small ladder, she reached out for one of the larger lower branches, and swung down. Her descent was uncontrolled, and she hit the ground hard, falling to her hands and knees. She frantically looked around for the makeshift spear, and saw it laying next to her right hand. She snagged it, and shoulder rolled away from where she tossed her bag.
As she came up, she saw the ghoul moving to grab her, and she shuffled around to put the tree trunk between them. Her body shuddered as she tightened her grip on the Point and prepared to strike. This never gets easier, she thought to herself, watching the awkward movement of the soulless humanoid form. It snarled as it awkwardly moved around the trunk.
“Now or never.” She said, steeling her self.
Gauging the distance, she waited for the attacker's lunge, and shuffle stepped back as the thing's hands grasped at the space she once occupied. As quickly as she moved back, she rebounded forward, driving the tip through the soft palate. It wasn't a clean strike by any means. The path of the weapon knocked out one of the incisors, and she neglected to turn her hands over, like she was taught. Nevertheless the hefty weapon easily accomplished the task, and sunk deep into the brain stem, seemingly deactivating the organic automaton, causing it to crumple into a heap.
She stuck her foot into the thing's neck, pulled the weapon free, and wiped as much of the gore off using the uniform of the motionless corpse. She plunged the spear into the soft earth a few times to wipe away what was left. She quickly hooked one hand into the strap of her backpack as she jogged by. If this thing came from the house, her best bet was to go out the way she came in, and move on.
* * *
The sickly staggering gait of five of the creatures filled her view through the monocular's lens. She knew there were more in the area, but it was hard to determine just how many, without taking the time to make note of each one. Maybe ten, maybe twenty. Definitely more than five. This was the most she had seen at any one time on her solo trip. It was a bad idea to keep moving in this direction, but everything had been picked clean back the way she came.
There were several key items she needed from the list. The list! Her pulse raced as she searched all of her pockets. It was gone. She had been holding it before she fell asleep in the treehouse. She closed her eyes shut, and thumped her forehead repeatedly with the heel of her palm. It was too great a risk to backtrack all that way, in the small hopes that it was still there.
She decided she didn't need the list, especially since the major list items were easily memorized by everyone that made supply runs. Food, water, batteries, fuel, ammunition, and medicine. It was the small items, the items that made life just a little sweeter, that always seemed to be bumped further down the list. Books, candy, toys, and games. The items that made this life bearable.
Now here she was, looking at the sparsely populated parking lot of the only chain retail store in a 50 mile area. If this place wasn't gutted by the panicked masses, the lower list items would all be in there. Such a terrible idea. Such a needless risk, taking on possibly dozens of those creatures for some sodas and magazines. Each step she took she reminded herself why this was a bad idea. Each step putting her one step closer to danger, all for a chance. A chance at something to get her mind off of how dangerous this life was. Something to remind her why everyone struggled to make it one more day.
Her hands shook. It was the fear of what she would find beyond the broken glass doors. The fear of not taking this chance, and returning with just enough to survive, rather than live. She hadn't had a substantial meal in weeks, and it was starting to wear on her. Does she even have the strength to bring even one of those things down, if it stepped in her way? Only one way to find out.
She took a mental inventory of her weapons. The Point of No Return, the P226 on her hip, and a Ka-Bar fixed-blade fighting knife that hasn't even left the sheath since she started this adventure. Without a sound suppressor the pistol was a last resort weapon. Even with the suppressor, it only prevented the report of her firearm from reaching much further out. It would still be easy for anything in the building to hear. The knife was something the guys at camp seemed to really love. It was a light, single-hand weapon that could be used for many things, other than sinking into the skull of any creature reaching out to touch someone. She didn't have the strength or experience to use rely on it.
That left her trusty makeshift rebar spear. She spent hours training in its use. It has saved her life more than other weapon she has ever carried. But it was heavy, uncomfortable, and both too long and too short in various situations. Still, its heft and sturdiness was much more comforting in her calloused hands.
She weighed the pros and cons of leaving her pack here to come back for it later, but she had no idea how much she would have to carry. She didn't even know if she would be coming out the front door. If she needed to make a quick break through an emergency exit, it was best to have everything with her. The toughest decision was to fully secure the backpack, waist strap and all. The risk was great, giving a much larger surface area to grab onto, and bring her down. But she had to be able to move without readjusting constantly.
Taking a long pull from her canteen, she held the lukewarm liquid in her puffed out cheeks. After three slow even breaths through her nostrils, she swallowed the water and started circling out along the right side of the parking lot. There were hardly any cars, but most of the ghouls were gathered around them. Their last meals had been pulled from the shattered windows of those unlucky few that were unable to get their vehicles started. She had no choice but to stay along the edge, close to the bushes that could possibly hide her movement.
Kneeling behind the shrubs with the best vantage point to the door, she looked through her monocular. The path was mostly clear, nothing coming in or out. Timing the ebb and flow of the crowd on the far side parking lot, she moved as the majority of them faced away. She bolted to the side of the building, and peered around the corner, waiting for the next wave to make her move.
Nothing greeted her beyond the shattered glass entryway. She kept low, ducking into the mini food court, which gave her a g
ood position to see what awaited her deeper in the store. With no power or lights, the darkness swallowed the back half of the store. The entrance was on the clothing side, so anything she was looking for was on the opposite end of the building. Great. At least she could start in the small kitchen, and perhaps hit all the impulse racks at the registers.
The place had been torn apart, everything of use already pilfered. Her heart sank, as she dropped to her knees in despair. The spear clattered loudly on the floor. Her pulse raced, and it was difficult for her to breathe. She wiped away sweat and tears with both hands, about to give up all hope. Then she spotted something under one of the racks. It was a pack of Tic Tacs, and some sugar-free gum. Such a small find, but enough to lift her spirits, and reinvigorate her. It reminded her of why she walked through those doors. She snapped them up, stuffing them into her pocket.
As she stood, she was greeted by a tall lanky lurker. It's flesh was a mottled greenish-gray, and the stink of rot hung heavily around it. She batted away its gnarled claw, as it tried to grab her. She backed up toward the cash register, drawing it in. Once she rounded the corner, she dropped low and moved quickly along the other side, circling behind the creature. It hadn't yet made it around the corner, so she was able to move up behind it, and swung her weapon, like a club, striking it at the base of its skull. The force of the blow sent it staggering to the ground, where three more solid blows finished it off.
She knew the noise would be enough to draw more to join in, so she moved quickly down the main center aisle. Once she reached the middle of the store, she paused behind an empty clothing rack and watched as two more slouched figures moved to investigate all the sound from the earlier battle. She kept her eye on the scene, and noticed one more arrival, as she moved further back into the store. The only windows were the doors in the front, so she had to fish out her flashlight, using it sparingly to help find her way around.
This place had been looted far worse than she had hoped. All the batteries, light bulbs, and even extension cords had been taken. She evaded a few more lurkers, but saw no point in taking any further risk to tear the shelves apart for a few scraps of food. Approaching the front entrance, she saw that the crowd had grown. The commotion had pulled in more of those things from outside. She had made the right decision earlier to bring her pack with her. Her only option was to find the back exits.
The warm yellow beam of her light revealed that the warehouse receiving area was also victim to the looting. She found a fire exit, and spent a few seconds wondering if there was any emergency power that could possibly set off the alarms. She just wanted a nice calm stroll as she left the store.
Before opening the door, she glanced down the main warehouse section, seeing a few small boxes still on the high shelves. Her hand was resting on the push bar to open the door, as she craned her neck, looking for any movement. Her hand slowly lifted away, as she crept to the back. Maybe there was still something back here she could pick up. She pointed the flashlight low, letting the beam reflect off the floor. Her stomach churned as each step clomped impossibly loud in her own ears, no matter how softly she attempted to put her foot down.
The large rolling stairs generally used to reach the higher shelves were either missing, or knocked down. She didn't want to waste energy, or make a lot of noise lifting one up. Calling more of those things back here was dangerous. The shelves had boxed her in, creating a choke point between her and the emergency exit. Moving from aisle to aisle, she saw that most were picked clean except for a few items she was able to grab. Several travel-size bottles of shampoo, a pack of ball point pens, and some Hot Wheel cars found their way into her pack.
Reaching the last shelf, she caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. It was a figure silhouetted in the entrance. Her legs were restless and her mouth was suddenly dry. Who or whatever it was made its way toward her. She had been making too much noise grabbing the stuff. With nowhere else to go, she moved deeper into the last aisle, and started climbing the shelves as carefully as she could. Once she reached the top, a raspy moaning sound called up to her. It was one of those things. She wasn't sure if it would be able to climb after her, but she couldn't sit there and wait.
Frantically looking around, she tried to come up with an escape plan. Several ideas sprung to mind, only to be squashed just as quickly. Swinging from one of the overhead lighting fixtures? What if it couldn't bear her weight? Leaping across to the next shelf? Over and undershooting would be equally disastrous. Climbing down was her only option. She would have to climb down the other side, and make her way out quickly, before the gravelly howls were heard by this thing's buddies.
Scrambling down too fast, her foot missed the last shelf, and she collapsed nosily to the ground. She had to get to her feet fast, and move before she was trapped. She hobbled around the collapsed frame of the large ladder that filled the aisle. Grabbing her spear with one hand, and holding the flashlight with the other, she made it to the end, and pointed the beam toward the entrance, making sure the coast was clear.
She spun and saw the figure emerging around the corner behind her. The beam of her flashlight was centered on the creature's face and chest. She had a hard time processing the image it revealed. She knew him. Or at least she knew who he used to be, before he vacated this reanimated husk. The face was masked by decay, but the build, the outfit, and the hair were all recognizable. It was Spencer. Her last boyfriend, who disappeared when the outbreak occurred.
“Is this really the movie you want to see?” Spencer asked.
“Yes, what's wrong with it?” She answered, feigning incredulity.
“I just didn't think you would want to watch a vampire movie.”
“I'll take vampires over zombies any day of the week,” She punched him playfully with her forearm. “Besides, its not like I'm dragging you to a Twilight movie.”
“Ha ha, true enough.” His fake chuckle punctuated that he caught her not-so hidden dig, making fun of him for a previous movie choice with another date.
“I think you'll actually like this. It's got vampire hunters and stuff, I think.”
They were there with one of her older brothers and his date. She felt she was a bit old to be chaperoned, but mom felt different and sent him along. At least they were kind enough to sit several rows back. Probably so he could keep and eye on Spencer. Figures.
The movie was terrible, but she hardly noticed what was going on. This was her first date with Spencer, and they kept catching each other, glancing over during the movie. Then they would both shy away, like cartoon characters, embarrassed to actually say anything.
As far as she was concerned, this was the best vampire movie she had ever been to.
* * *
“What a let down.” She said
“Tell me about it. Where were all the vampire hunters and stuff?”
“And what was that crap about the cure being the cure?”
They stood on Spencer's porch talking. Her brother waited in the car, letting her say good night before heading home. Standing silently looking at each other, she didn't want this evening to end. She tried to think of more things about the movie she could complain about, but neither had really paid close enough attention to nit pick the plot.
Looking down at her feet, she brushed some of her hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. “I guess this is...”
“Good night?” Spencer finished. “I had a wonderful time, even though the movie could have been better.”
They smiled at each other, unable to maintain eye contact for any appreciable length of time. Then, he made the move she had hoped for. He placed his hands on her shoulders, unsure of his actions, and leaned into kiss her. She slowly closed her eyes and leaned into meet him.
Her head snapped forward from the momentum of the figure rushing her. She and “Spencer” fell to the ground, hitting hard and almost knocking the wind from her lungs. The only thing that separated the two was her weapon, braced diagonally across the monster's
sternum and right collarbone. Out of instinct, she formed a frame using her arms and the weapon, to prevent its bite from reaching something fleshy. She wasn't strong enough to heave it off of her.
The creature that wore Spencer's body snapped its jaws, letting forth a dry whispering snarl with each bite. She was able to prop one end of the spear on the ground, freeing her right hand to grab the knife. Every attempt to stab upward met with ribs, upper arm and jaw bone. She didn't have the angle or leverage to drive the blade into its head.
She let out a curse and flung the knife to the side. The blade clattered and echoed, adding to her own unintended growling and snarling. She was angry. Angry at Spencer for letting this happen. Angry at herself for taking the stupid risk. Her hand found the grip of her Sig Sauer pistol. Tucking it firmly into the web between her thumb and fingers, she held it tight, and drew as smooth as she could.
The awkward position forced her to bring her shoulder up to free the weapon from the holster. The movement knocked the butt end of her spear, causing it to slip, as the menacing jaws lunged again. She needed some space to bring the pistol up, finding the strength she needed in her intense anger. Letting out a primal scream, she twisted her body to the right, levering the thing's upper body up with the shaft of the spear, she brought her other hand up, propping the barrel under the creature's chin.
The thunderous sound of the shot filled the room, bouncing off of the bare shelves and concrete walls. She felt like she was underwater. Her breathing was labored. Her ears rang making everything sound fuzzy. Her vision was blurred. That shot was the dinner bell that the rest of those things were waiting for. She slid and kicked her way out from under Spencer's twice-dead corpse, and ran to the emergency escape. She had to leave the knife behind, but she held the pistol in one hand and the Point of no Return in the other.
It was difficult to see, so she was moving toward the small faded patch of light at the end of the room. Her vision finally snapped back when she saw another figure cut into the light. Two shots dropped it like a sack of potatoes. She clumsily hurdled over the heap and bolted for the door. The room was filling up quickly, as all the guests made their way from the front.
Monsters Heroes Cowboys & Zombies Page 7