by Raymond Lee
“Yeah, that was not as fun as I thought it would be,” Damian agreed.
“Did you actually quote Friends?” Cruz asked Raven now that they were all standing and no one appeared to be injured.
She handed him his backpack and slid her arms through hers, making an adjustment to the katana she’d managed to sheath at her back despite the bulky coat. “Habit,” she said.
He shook his head, grinning in amusement before the sound of a door opening drew their attention.
A woman with brunette hair pulled back into a long braid stuck her head out of the door to the house they’d seen someone waving out of earlier. Her wide eyes moved side to side, scanning the area before finally stopping on them.
“I only have two granola bars, half a sleeve of crackers and some very questionable Cheerios,” she said with an accent Raven placed as even more southern than her own. “There is nothing here worth the trouble of steal… holy rat turds, are you Clay Westing… I mean Cruz Thom… I mean you look just like Cruz Thomas, that guy who played Clay Westing, but not as arrogant.”
Raven laughed until she snorted, earning a bemused look from Cruz.
“I am Cruz Thomas,” he said, walking closer. “We aren’t here to steal anything. Are you the person who waved to us earlier?”
She stared at him, open-mouthed for a moment before shaking her head. “Oh, yes. Yes, that was me. You’re really you. Why are you here? In Kansas?”
“Just trying to survive, like everyone else,” he said. “Do you need help?”
“We all need help,” she answered, opening the door wider. “Come in from the cold.”
The group exchanged looks. Pimjai and Janjai huddled together, shivering. Carlos and Elijah avoided each other’s gazes. Damian frowned, studying the house. Hal nodded at her and in return she nodded at Cruz, who stood waiting for what she thought.
“Thanks,” he said as he led them up the back steps and into the house. Raven went in after him, her hand gripping the handle of the sword at her back. She couldn’t slice it through the air as quickly as she normally could with the thick coat weighing down her arms, but she could still do some damage. She noted Damian, Cruz, and Hal all held their dominant hands slightly above a coat pocket where they’d placed either a blade or a gun. The others, not as skeptical as them, or maybe just too cold to think defense, walked in oblivious to any dangers that might be hiding inside.
The room they entered was the kitchen, a very messy kitchen with a dented refrigerator and a broken kitchen table.
“This room has seen some action,” Cruz commented.
“A whole herd of them came through here not long after the outbreak,” the woman said, burrowing inside the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Almost everyone in the neighborhood died in a matter of days. Many were infected and stayed around, eating every last survivor they could find.”
“Did anyone survive with you?” Raven asked, noting her thin frame and haunted eyes.
She shook her head. “I was here visiting my cousin. This was her house. I tried not to … I had to kill her. She turned into one of them.”
“I understand. You will not find many people alive who haven’t had to do the same thing. I’m Raven, what’s your name?”
“Leah,” the woman introduced herself, “Leah Prescott.”
“I’m guessing you’re a long way from home.”
“Louisiana.”
“I thought so.” Raven paused as a rumble sounded and the woman rubbed her belly. “When is the last time you had a good meal, Leah?”
“Oh, ages ago,” she said, her voice almost wistful. “This whole area was crawling with infected so venturing out to find food was practically suicide. I’ve noticed a decline in the amount of them outside since the weather grew cold, but I know they are still around, waiting in the very homes I would be looking for food in if I tried. I have no real weapons, just what I found in the knife block. My cousin was never a fan of guns. I’ve resorted to eating every other day to make my meager supply last.”
Hal withdrew a couple MRE’s from a coat pocket and placed them on the counter near Leah. “Eat. You can leave with us. We will furnish you with a weapon.”
Her eyes grew wet as she looked at the MRE. “I’ve never been one to chance taking food from strangers, but I am too hungry to worry about the chance you might be trying to poison me. Besides, I mean … Cruz Thomas isn’t exactly a stranger.”
“You don’t have to fear us,” Raven assured her. “We know the infected are not the only people we need to protect ourselves from. We’ve met some bad uninfected since this thing started, but we’re not that way.”
“How do you know you can trust me? Trust is a dangerous thing to just give away in times like these.”
“I can’t see a dangerous person starving to death. I definitely can’t see them announcing what little food they have left to a group of strangers.”
“Maybe I’m just a stupid bad guy,” she said, smiling as she tore open the MRE.
“Well, if you’re too dumb to be lethal that works in our favor too,” Raven joked back. “Eat up. We’re heading for a military base in Nebraska. We can’t drive due to the snow and we can’t travel outdoors for long stretches unless we want to die of exposure so the sooner we leave and start our house-hopping expedition, the better.”
“Do you have a winter coat?” Hal asked. “Some boots?”
“I can use my cousin’s coat. I saw a rather puffy one in one of the closets. It’s funny. I couldn’t fit her things when I arrived, but I have lost so much weight I believe I can now. I would say fate was looking out for me … but then I would be saying fate saw to her death, wouldn’t I?”
“Nothing makes sense in this world now,” Raven advised. “Thinking along that way will only make you want to blow your own brain out.”
She caught Hal and Cruz slipping suspicious looks her way.
“Not that I’m saying anyone here wants to do that.” She looked at them pointedly until they removed their questioning and overprotective gazes from her. “It’s pretty cold in here. We didn’t notice any smoke from the chimney.”
“When the outbreak happened, no one would have been thinking about firewood, and of course the heating and air conditioning systems no longer work without power which went down a long time ago. I stay bundled up in blankets, not wanting to dress for outside unless I have to go out in it. My mother always told me that wearing a coat inside defeated its purpose, something about your body getting used to it so if you then wear it outside it will be like you weren’t wearing a coat at all.”
“How have you not frozen to death?”
“It honestly has not been that cold before these last couple of days, and other than writing on an old typewriter and reading, I do nothing but stay wrapped in blankets. I believe I would have died of hunger before succumbing to the cold, if not for you.”
“I believe that’s how it works,” Raven said. “We find each other when we need to. I was alone in California then I found Damian and Cruz when they were surrounded by the infected and needed a hand.”
“I’m Damian.” Damian raised his hand. “We met Pimjai over here when, uh, when a situation occurred with the people she was with. They didn’t make it.”
“I met Janjai when she was in need of help,” Hal continued, nodding toward Janjai, “and amazingly, when we found the superstore Carlos and Elijah over here were staying at, she was reunited with her sister.”
Carlos grumbled under his breath and moved out of the kitchen. Raven didn’t need to hear him to know he was complaining that he hadn’t needed their help. She looked at his son, saw the anger and pain in his eyes. The father and son team had needed them whether Carlos was willing to admit it or not.
Leah, dressed for the weather, fed, and more than willing to follow their lead, met the group back in the kitchen.
“That looks warm,” Hal said, checking out the coat she wore. “Can you shoot?”
She nodded and he handed he
r a small gun.
“It’s loaded. Here are some more bullets and a blade. We don’t use the guns unless we have to. We like to save our bullets and the noise also attracts more zombies.”
“Are people actually calling them zombies?” Leah asked. “Our television went off the air pretty early on and Elizabeth didn’t have a radio. I haven’t had any contact with anyone to know what is really going on other than what I could see from the window.”
“We call them zombies, infected, monsters, walking dead…,” he advised. “Zombie tends to roll off the tongue a bit easier, but whatever you want to call them works. I don’t believe anything is official.”
“It’s officially too damn cold,” Damian interjected, standing by the door, his hood pulled up and a new scarf he found in a hall closet wrapped securely around the bottom of his face, muffling his words. “Let’s get moving.”
Damian opened the door and peeked outside, scanning the area. “Looks good so far.”
He stepped outside and the rest followed, Raven bringing up the rear, her hand clenched around the handle of her katana, ready to unsheathe it if needed.
“That’s a good way to give yourself a cramp,” Cruz warned her, falling back to walk at her side.
“This coat is too bulky. I need quick access if something jumps out at us.”
“I really don’t think anything is able to jump out,” he said as they trudged through the snow to where the street should be but was now buried under a fluffy white blanket. “Those zombies we saw this morning were barely moving.”
“But they were moving. You don’t see them now.”
“No, I don’t. I think they slid down the street. My point is, even though they were moving they were moving slow. They’re already dead. They don’t have sense to keep warm. Their blood is just congealing in their veins. This is probably the safest we’ve been since the virus was activated.”
“Except, ya know, for the fact we could freeze to death ourselves or starve.”
“Well, yeah, there’s that, but starvation isn’t going to jump out at us. We can see the snow.”
Janjai screamed, pushing her sister out of the way as she fell backward. The group quickly rushed around her to see a rotten hand gripped around her calf.
Raven swung her katana down as quickly as the puffy coat would allow, connecting with the arm. It made a clinking sound as the metal hit the cold bone but effectively sliced the limb. She raised the sword once more, judged where the head would be as the snow shifted, and with a two-handed grip, plunged the blade into the zombie’s brain.
“Too bad we can’t see what’s under the snow,” she said as she jerked the katana free. “Still think we’re safer than we were before?”
“Maybe not,” Cruz conceded, adjusting his gloves as he gripped his gun, not bothering to return it to his pocket.
“How long does it take for these fuckers to freeze?” Damian asked. “This is like walking through a field of snakes. One bite and we’re fucking dead.”
“We have hiking boots on,” Hal reminded them as he helped Janjai up.
“I’d feel safer with my cowboy boots I left at home,” Raven commented.
“Maybe we’ll find some. There any western wear stores near here?” Hal asked Elijah.
The teen looked around, brow scrunched in thought. “No, not nearby. We’ll pass one on our way to Lincoln but it’s not gonna be for a few days at least.”
“Then everyone be extra careful,” Hal said, shoulders slumped, as he started walking again.
“I thought we were already doing that,” Damian muttered.
“Duct tape,” Leah said.
“What?” Raven looked at her for a brief moment before returning her attention to the snow covered ground before her, afraid her next step might be her last.
“We duct tape the bottom of our pant legs,” she explained. “If we find duct tape before we find boots. The tape will offer protection from bites.”
“That’s not a bad idea at all,” Cruz said. “Plus it should protect us from wetness seeping into our clothes.”
“And don’t even get me started on how bad it’ll be if we wear boots and snow gets down inside them,” Damian added before calling over to Elijah who walked ahead of them. “Elijah, any place around here we can get duct tape?”
“Maybe,” he called back. “There are some little convenience stores we might pass.”
“We might find it in a house,” Hal said.
“There was plenty at Wally’s Club,” Carlos added to the discussion, prompting Damian to ball up his gloved fists and stomp forward.
Raven grabbed his shoulder. “Let it roll off you. I have a feeling he’s going to complain every chance he gets no matter what we do or say.”
“I’m getting tired of it.”
“We all are. We have to get through this together though.”
They moved forward in silence, stepping cautiously, but at a steady pace. Their desire to get out of the frigid cold matched evenly with the fear of stepping on a body hidden under the fluff. They followed Elijah as he led them toward his house, remaining vigilant of any threats that may pop out at them. They walked in the street, dodging abandoned cars and occasionally stumbling over something underfoot, hidden by snow. Raven kept her katana sheathed, afraid to carry it lest she slip and fall on it or slash someone else on her way down. The cold air chilled their exposed faces and leeched what energy they had.
“I don’t know how much farther I can go,” Raven admitted after they’d walked what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than one. “It’s too cold.”
“I know,” Cruz said, his voice shaking. “It wouldn’t be so bad if we could walk like normal, but with all this snow we’re doing more of a march. My hamstrings are on fire and I’m a pretty fit guy.”
“I’d take five back to back Zumba classes over this shit,” Damian complained. “I’d cry like a bitch right now but I’m afraid my eyes will get frozen open and I don’t want to have to see any more of this powdery white evil. Where the hell is your house at, man?”
“It’s too far,” Carlos said. “We need to take shelter in one of these houses.”
“No,” Elijah argued. “We can keep going. We can make it. You would say anything to stop from going back home.”
“Elijah, we’re freezing,” Hal interjected. “We’ve already agreed to go back to your house and let you get what you need. We’re keeping our word on that, but your father is right. We can’t do long spells out here. We’re freezing and we’re tired. We need warmth and rest, we need to find someplace to take a break.”
“Fine,” Elijah snapped, turning a corner. He came to a standstill and pointed.
The others caught up to him and followed the direction he’d pointed to see three infected people standing on the street they were about to turn down. Two men were in the street, and what looked to once be an attractive blonde woman was on what Raven estimated to be the sidewalk. They were up to their knees in snow and seemed to be frozen midstride.
“Are they finally frozen?” Damian asked, his tone hopeful.
“Should we find another way?” Elijah asked. “We haven’t seen any until now. This area may have more, but it’ll get us where we need to go faster.”
“We don’t need to go out of our way,” Hal advised. “We can’t afford any added time in the outdoors with temperatures this low. They don’t appear to be moving so let’s just take them out so they don’t come back to bite us later … literally… and take shelter in one of these houses. I’m growing sleepy, not a good sign when it’s this cold.”
“Everyone, stay alert,” Cruz said, stepping forward. He put a hand on Hal’s shoulder and squeezed. “We’re going to take out these zombies and head toward … that yellow house right there up ahead.”
“The front door is open,” Damian said. “Anything could be in there.”
“Well, people definitely won’t be so we won’t have to worry about getting shot,” Cruz explained, “and
if there’s no food source in there and an easy way out I don’t see why any zombies would stay in there. If there are any, we kill them before they kill us. It should be as cold in there as it is out here with the door open. Any in there should be in the same condition as these guys, easy to handle.”
“It’s too cold for me to try and fumble around with picking a lock,” Raven added. “We don’t want to bust out any windows if we’re not sure we can board them up. I agree we should try that house. What do we have to lose? We’ll be popsicles if we stay out here much longer.”
Damian took in a deep breath, shook his head, and then nodded as much as his coat and scarf would allow before testing the weight of his rock hammer in his hand. “I hope these zombie-pops don’t break my hammer. I’ve gotten attached to it.”
“They may be frozen, but I don’t think they’re actual ice.” Raven pulled her katana free of its sheath and marched forward to take care of the dead infected woman while Cruz and Damian moved toward the men.
The woman made no attempt to move as she approached, her body frozen as if her blood had just iced over, freezing her in place naturally as she’d been hobbling along looking for another meal. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, stained with dried blood and other muck, and a small pile of snow had accumulated on her head like a little cap. Raven’s curiosity got the best of her as she reached the woman and she hesitated, taking a moment to peer closer at the raw patches she could see under the dusting of snow on the woman’s green-tinted skin. Tiny ice particles clung to the woman’s skin and seemed to eat away at it. Raven let her gaze rove up the woman’s body until she saw the milky white eyes. She’s noticed the white eyes before but had never been able to get such a close look, not bothering to study them after they were dead since there’d always been more ready to succeed where the dead ones had failed.
Raven stepped closer, looking closely at the eyes. This close, she could see the irises were a light silver and the milky appearance came from a white cataract spread over the eye, covering the pupil completely and branching out past the iris.