by David Menard
“Green!” they both said simultaneously. The both of them laughed, throwing their heads back. They found that they had a lot in common. Discussion about their childhoods and family followed. Is this what I have been missing? Cindy thought with a smile.
When John called out for lunch they both stood up. As Anthony was leaving, Cindy stopped him and got on one knee. “Anthony as a fellow survivor, do you promise to keep my back?” she asked humorously, her arms wide open. Anthony laughed loudly at this and got on one knee as well.
“I do,” he replied as they both fell into a fit of laughter. They both stood and walked towards the camping display, forgetting the world behind them.
….
One hour earlier
“So did you serve in the military Burt? If so, what branch? You look like a military man,” John asked as he flipped a burger. He liked having an older person to talk to. His company over the last few days were kids, Cindy the most mature but only on the cusp of thirty.
“Marines, what about you,?” Burt asked from a lawn chair, sipping cola that John gave him from his mini fridge located in his office. Burt enjoyed the comfort of a chair after the whole ordeal in the parking lot. He was getting too old for all the action he had endured over the last few days.
“Army for me,” John responded paying close attention to the beef he was cooking. He noticed the burgers were going to be small but it would do. There was still enough to feed everyone, and the chips Burt’s group brought would help fill everyone. “You know it was very nice of you to take in that Kelly girl and keep her safe,” he added admiringly.
“I could say the same for you taking in Cindy and that other girl,” Burt replied forgetting the quiet girl’s name. He took another sip and looked into the clear sky. The breeze was nice at his current altitude.
“Melody. And I had to, it was my responsibility, I just wished no one died under my watch,” John responded sorrowfully. The pain of losing his wife was becoming real again it was only a few days ago but it also felt like years.
“I know what you mean; I lost a close friend too. If I hadn’t lost my hand to one of those fuckers I would have been the one lost instead of Marcy,” Burt said angrily looking at his stub. He blamed himself for Marcy’s death, she took his place in the formation. He placed the bottle on the roof and slicked his hair back. “I am sorry about your wife” he added sadly.
“It’s okay, it was no one’s fault. Sharon didn’t know that she would become one just from dying normally. I just wished Marie never went to check on her,” he said flipping another burger. It felt good to talk about his loss. He didn’t speak of it in front of Gabe because he didn’t wish to upset his son.
“I was meaning to ask you about that. How did she turn? She wasn’t bitten?” Burt replied to John curiously. He did not like the idea that any dead could come back. It was a harrowing thought, no matter where they go, the undead could rise. John told him Cindy’s theory almost verbatim. He watched as Burt tried to make sense of it all. Burt was stroking his white beard thinking about it. This reminded John of the growing stubble on his face. He wanted to shave badly.
“We have to make sure to avoid cemeteries then,” Burt said half jokingly. He was serious though, he did not want to chance the undead reaching out of the ground trapping them. He stood up because he saw John had cooked the last burger and walked towards him.
“Haha lets avoid that at all costs,” John laughed back enjoying Burt’s company. He didn’t want to leave his store but he also knew they had to leave to experience a normal life again. If there was a normal life left to go to.
Chapter 17: Distractions
They were now playing the game HORSE. After Gabe beat the girls in archery, they moved to the basketball hoop. Currently Melody had the lead. Melody was going to be the clear winner in this game. It was her turn, she dribbled the ball a few times and performed a running hook shot. Her shot was perfect, the sound of the net swishing was heaven. Gabe shot after Melody. He attempted the shot, sending the ball over the backboard. Melody giggled at his horrible shot and Kelly grinned.
“Nice shot Gabe, hahaha” Melody said as she couldn’t stop laughing. Gabe was blushing but also laughing. He looked over to Kelly and saw that the laughing had become contagious. Kelly was trying not to, but she couldn’t help it.
“Why thank you Melody,” he said sarcastically and humorously. He passed the ball over to Kelly. “At least the ball was within twenty feet of the hoop,” he added smiling even more. Gabe never pretended to be good at basketball, he played because Melody loved it.
Kelly looked at the ball in her hand was contemplating what her shot should be. She started to dribble when Melody interrupted her train of thought. “So what did you do before this?” Melody asked Kelly curiously. Kelly then placed the ball between her hip and her arm and tried to figure out where to start.
“I was just an everyday teenage girl. I was a senior in high school with a decent amount of friends. I played volleyball for my school team. I was a straight A student who never got into any trouble. I don’t know, I was just a plain old teenager,” Kelly replied in short. Her life held nothing of substance, only school, gossip, boyfriend and sports. A stereotypical teenager. It seemed like years since she went on social media to talk with her friends after school. “The one thing I will miss more than anything is baking with my mom. Every weekend we would just bake like crazy; we would use everything over the course of a week,” she added starting to realize she would never see her mom again.
“I am sorry,” Melody responded, replying to that last part as she looked at Gabe who also felt sorry for the girl in front of them. “My life was very similar, except I was a college freshman, playing basketball. I went on a scholarship and was going to be scouted by some professional teams before all this. I wasn’t much of a partier, college parties just weren’t my thing. So after schoolwork and practice I would maybe hang out with some friends or go on the computer, like you,” Melody added.
“Well as for me, I was working here. I was trying to get into a school for engineering, but no acceptance letters would ever arrive. I am pretty good at running the store, but I really wanted to fool around with cars,” Gabe said in response to both the girl’s stories. He felt stupid being around them because they had bright futures and he was likely going to run a sporting goods store.
“Wow you two had nice lives,” said Kelly truthfully. They had known what they wanted to be, but she had no idea what she had wanted to do. She knew she would have gone to college but she didn’t know for what, she just knew she should go.
“Any life is better than this one,” Melody said darkly. Everyone had been thinking it, so she had to say it. She stood in place and looked at the barricaded front door. Seeing that barricade made her feel like humanity was all but gone, pushed into a small corner of the world.
Gabe knew this conversation was going to a dark place. He didn’t want them to be thinking negatively before discussions for their escape plan. The negativity might affect the others. He ran and stole the ball from Kelly and took a shot. “I thought you guys were athletes? This hick here just stole the ball from you,” he said dribbling the ball. “Come on try and get it,” he added playfully. His plan had worked; the girls were smiling and were chasing after him for the ball.
They stopped when they heard John yell for lunch. Gabe dropped the ball and walked towards the camping display together. The time for fun was over, now things got serious.
Chapter 18: The Escape Plan
Lunch was a pleasant gathering. The survivors were talking to their new acquaintances and learning more about them. Kelly sat with Gabe and Melody, they discussed how humorous the internet was and the latest movies that had come out that they had seen. Kelly enjoyed talking to her own age group, she had been traveling with older people since the dead took the town.
Cindy was sitting with Anthony. They were talking about their college days and their jobs. They also spoke of their past relationships, o
pposite ends of the spectrum. Anthony found Cindy’s lack of dating to be absurd, as he admired her appearance. Cindy made sure to sit next to Anthony during lunch, their legs touching.
Burt and John were conversing about how horrible the eighties were. The topic of how kids were getting fresh these days came up and they both laughed; they would have been struck if they shown such attitude to their parents. John commented on the “silliness of the internet” and Burt nodded, as if a sermon was being preached. As dinner dwindled down the time had come for serious discussion.
“So let’s get down to business,” Cindy said breaking the silence that came after eating. She shifted slightly in her chair so that she was leaning forward. She looked towards John and Burt first. She looked to them because it appeared Burt was the leader of the other group. “What is the plan?” she added.
Burt looked at Kelly briefly then shifted his gaze to Cindy. Whatever the plan was he wanted Kelly safe, same went for Anthony. He stroked his beard a few times, like he always did then stood up. “I think it would be wise to obtain food first. That means we have to make a food extraction mission at one of the stores nearby. We won’t be able to survive anything without an adequate amount of food,” Burt said pacing as he said it.
“That’s a good plan, we have been getting by on scraps the last few days,” replied Kelly supportively. She would always back Burt up, he had yet to steer her wrong. Anthony nodded his head in approval to the plan.
“I like it,” Cindy said. She knew it was a good idea, she herself had a similar idea but it was difficult with a few people, now they were larger in size. “Quincy’s is the ideal destination. I know the floor plan and the grocery section is rather large. I think a small group should get food while the rest attack from the roof,” she added. She knew all of them wanted to stay away from the horde outside. She was curious to see who would volunteer to go out.
“Well I’m done being cooped up in here. I am going,” said John Stenson confidently. He stood up and walked over to his gun display and started laying out weapons for the scavenge group. He was loading up some shotguns waiting for the next volunteer. John was a man of action, he wanted to contribute even more for the group.
“I will too. I have dealt with them more than anyone. I will push my luck a little further,” said Anthony as he stood up and met John at the counter. Anthony saw the shot guns and knew he would use one of them instead of Burt’s gun, they were an upgrade. His pistols were just about out of ammunition, causing him dispose of them in favor of John’s weapons. He inspected and equipped two new pistols and holstered them.
“Since Quincy's will be the only place with food around here I am coming too,” Cindy said walking towards her two comrades at the counter. She was afraid, but who wasn’t, it was her turn to help out in a big way. No way I am letting you out of my sight Anthony!
Kelly saw the volunteers grabbing their guns and was about to stand when Burt stood up. Kelly knew he did it on purpose, the odds of everyone coming back was small. He wasn’t going to allow her to participate in a possible suicide mission. Burt didn’t say anything he just joined the group of volunteers. He knew his firing capability was pointless, he needed a melee weapon. He picked up a machete and turned it over in his hand, inspecting the blade.
“We should do this now, before it gets dark,” said Anthony as he stepped away from the counter. He held the shotgun in his hand, it would deal severe damage to the dead.
“Melody, Gabe and Kelly, go to the rooftops with the rifles,” Cindy said authoritatively as she loaded her weapon. The three of them gathered up the guns and start heading up to the roof. “Gabe, make sure to get down to the door when we are on our way back, we don’t want to get trapped out there” Cindy added. Gabe looked at her and nodded, awaiting further instruction.
“Before we go, I have an idea,” Anthony said with a big smile. He walked over to the propane tanks that John had for sale. “Anyone up for a barbeque?” he asked holding up one of the tanks. Cindy saw this and knew exactly what he meant. He intended to use one as a bomb.
“That is a great idea! We, the scavenge group, will wait by the back door and Melody will be there to lock it after we go. Kelly will be on the roof picking off any zombies in the back and when she is done Gabe will toss the tank as far as he can off the roof and shoot it once it lands. After the explosion we go out ready to fight. Melody make sure you get up to the roof after locking the door and Kelly cover the front with Gabe after you finish clearing the back,” Cindy explained thoroughly. This plan was going to go off without a hitch. She presumed that the explosion would take out a large number of them and the snipers would cover them all the way to Quincy's. The noise would distract the dead and lure them to the flames. She was nervous, because she wasn’t sure how many of them were lurking inside the store.
“You heard the lady, get into your positions,” Burt said sternly. He held his machete up to his face and looked at his reflection in the blade.
….
Kelly was on the roof looking down at the hundreds of dead swarming the parking lot. She hoped that the propane idea would annihilate a large amount of dead and give the scavenge group a chance to get there and back. She saw Gabe was in position. Upon seeing this she went on the other side of the roof to gaze into the back alley. There was only eight straggling around the back door. This would be easy for her. She took her first shot and missed, the kick back surprised her, she had no idea how strong these rifles were. Eight of her next eleven shots were right on target. “Get better real quick Kelly, their lives depend on you not fucking up!” she whispered to herself. She reloaded the gun and ran to the front with Gabe. “We are all good, lets fry these assholes,” Kelly said excited to see the explosion. She propped her gun up on the ledge and was ready to fire.
Gabe was holding the tank, it was heavier than he imagined. He didn’t mind because its weight would work in his favor. He backed up a few steps and started spinning, he was going to throw it just like the discus toss in the Olympics. After three good spins he released the tank into the parking lot. It hit an undead in the head and knocked it over, snapping it’s neck. The tank bounced a few feet and started hissing. Gabe cocked the rifle and aimed. He had to kill a few of the infected first before he could see the tank, delivering bullets into their skulls. Once the tank was in sight, he pulled a flare gun out of his pocket and shot the tank creating a blaze of flames to shoot out and engulf the dead.
Chapter 19: The Mission
Burt lead the group out of the store. With him having only a blade he wanted to be up front to clear up a path while the others shot away any that could surround them. The group made their way around the side of the store and viewed the main parking lot. The burning dead were fixated unto the fallen that lay on the ground engulfed in flames. The propane worked but it didn’t kill them all, they still had to run across the parking lot. The infected within close proximity of the tank died instantly, their bodies, kissed in flames, acted as a beacon for the remaining undead.
Cindy already had their way back route planned. They were going exit through the back door of Quincy's and run behind the buildings to avoid the horde. She ran alongside Anthony as John was in the rear. She held a shotgun, its weight caused her to shift her weight unevenly as she ran. Her weapon could fire ten times before reloading, she had to make each shot count. The group kept a quick pace, they could not survive being surrounded. They made it halfway to Quincy’s before needing to fight any infected. The three snipers performed a great job keeping the number of zombies coming at them to a minimum. Burt easily cut down a few coming his way. He chopped their heads clear off, the neck spraying blood like a geyser. Anthony covered Burt’s blind side by blasting away a few that neared him. Two quick blasts and they were on their way.
Cindy only fired five times on the trip to the store. As the group progressed she would shoot either side of her to keep them from surrounding. She had John behind her to protect her as she switched sides and kept the dead
at bay. Cindy fired a blast at two approaching undead, obliterating their skulls simultaneously. Their heads exploded on impact, showering the group in blood.
The mini battle lasted three minutes in total. It was a well organized plan; by killing only approaching infected, they were able to focus clearly on their mission. Anthony dispatched five more undead quickly with his pistol as the group arrived at Quincy’s. They reached the automatic doors and stepped into the store.
Cindy ran to the side of the door and flipped a switch, shutting the power off from the door. They had to be fast if they wanted to make it out alive. The doors were not very strong and could be easily dislodged from the tracks. The zombies would be flooding into Quincy’s within minutes. Cindy lead the way towards the grocery section. On her way she shot three undead in the head, one of them was the last customer Cindy remembered, the rude woman with over ten items. Her brains splattered against bags of pet food.
The group traversed past the greeting card section in quick fashion, Anthony killed a monster that tried to trip up Cindy. In true action hero fashion, he slid across the blood stained floor, took aim and shot the crawling zombie through a narrow opening between shelves. Another trap by the undead. Soon after they entered the grocery aisles and found canned soups, pasta and water. Anthony and John started packing everything they could need into a duffle bag.
“So far so good everyone,” Anthony said as he zipped up the bag and put it on his shoulder, its weight making him unbalanced. He started to reload his weapons. Cindy knew this was a good idea so she did the same. As they reloaded shots echoed in Quincy’s. Cindy looked up and saw a few zombies heading down the aisle. The freakish way in which they approached them made her, sick especially the wobbling. Burt chopped down a few who tried to get them from the other side.