“I could only get four screws out, the others were in too tight,” Devon said.
“Four will keep it in place as long as we don’t have a mob of those dead things out here ramming into the door,” George added.
“Just get the damn thing back on its hinges,” Jamal complained.
Finally Devon and George had the door back on the frame and opened and closed the door to test that it worked properly.
“At least the door opens outward,” Devon said. “Those things can only push but they can’t pull so it should keep them out until we can find some more screws.”
“Now all we need is five more screws and a car.” George sighed.
Jamal thought for a minute, “While I keep an eye on the center, I want you two to walk down the road and see if you can find us another car.”
“By ourselves?” Devon said nervously.
“It’s either that or you could call a taxi,” Jamal said sarcastically then walked into the center and closed the door.
George looked at Devon, “Do you know where we can find a car? I really don’t want to go out there on foot.”
“I don’t either,” George said nervously, ”But I don’t want to go back in there with Jamal if we don’t.”
“I know what you mean,” Devon replied. “Let’s at least go down the road a little, maybe we will get lucky.”
“OK,” George said, “You lead and I’ll follow.”
We both go together and keep our eyes open,” Devon added.
George nodded and the two started walking out to the road.
“How’s it look out your way?” George asked.
“Good so far, but if we see anything we go back to the center,” Devon said.
“That’s fine with me,” George replied as he stared off across the field. “I’m not going to get eaten by one of those things just because those bastards stole our car.”
They walked down the road slowly, looking for a reason to turn around and run back to the community center, but it was quiet around the center this morning. They kept moving.
They had gone almost a quarter mile when Devon stopped George,” Over there behind that building.”
George stared nervously, “I know that car, that’s one of the cars we took that night we all went to Ligonier.”
“Yea, let’s go get it,” Devon said.
“Do you think they left the keys in it?” George asked.
“Probably not,” Devon answered.
“What are we going to do with a car without keys?” George asked.
“We start it,” Devon smiled. “I’ve been known to hotwire a few cars in my time.”
“That’s good,” George laughed, “All I know how to do is take off the wheels and pull the stereo.”
“That sounds like six months at Camp Hill, Devon grinned.
“No only five months. They let me out a month early for good behavior,” George laughed.
“They mustn’t have thought I was as well behaved as you,” Devon laughed, “come on let’s go check this thing out so we can get back. It’s creepy out here in the open like this.”
They walked around the small shack and looked at the car.
“Do you think we should take this thing again? Look at it,” George asked.
“Do you want to keep walking around out here?” Devon asked and looked at George and smiled. “I didn’t think so.”
Devon walked over and reached in through the open window on the driver’s door and unlocked the door, “I can’t believe they locked this thing.”
“Maybe they didn’t want anyone to steal it,” George grinned.
Devon grinned at the joke then slid inside and pulled the wires out from under the dash. Ten seconds later the engine in the little car chugged weakly but started on the fourth chug.
“That was fast,” George said.
“If you are going to steal cars you better be fast,” Devon smiled, “slow car thieves soon have to find another line of work or learn to like spending time at Camp Hill.”
George ran around to the passenger’s door, reached in through the open window, unlocked the door and crawled inside.
Devon was already putting the car in drive. They pulled out through the grass and got on the road and drove back to the community center.
“Go get Jamal,” Devon said, “I’m going to sit here for a few minutes and let the battery charge.”
George had just gotten out of the car when Jamal came out of the center, stood and stared at the car.
“What the hell is this?” Jamal asked then laughed.
“It’s a Toyota Echo,” George replied. “It was all we could find. We were lucky to find this and even luckier that Devon could get it to run.”
“Can we all fit in this little thing?” Jamal asked.
Devon got out of the car but left it running.”
“Yea, it has a back seat and everything,” Devon answered.
“But it doesn’t have any windows,” Jamal said as he walked around the car to look it over, “Someone smashed out all the windows.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Devon said. “Maybe we will see a car with windows when we are out driving somewhere.”
“I hope it will go faster than it looks,” Jamal added, “the dead can crawl right in if they catch us out in this thing.”
“It should do about fifty,” George laughed.
“Well fill up the gas tank and let’s go,” Jamal said.
“Where are we going?” George asked.
“If we don’t see any of those things staggering around down on Route 711, we’re going to go to New Florence,” Jamal answered.
“Why New Florence?” Devon asked.
“First to find another car with windows,” Jamal said, “then we are going to go look for our two hillbilly friends.”
“Do you think they would go to New Florence?” Devon asked. “We came up empty the last time we went there. Didn’t the runt say he wanted to go to some Ross Mountain Park place and go fishing?”
“He did,” Jamal replied, “but while you two were out getting a car, I was thinking. I think they pulled a fast one on us. Little Ricki has been planning this, I know he has. We didn’t go into that Trimbal’s store or into Peck’s groceries. Only the runt went in those places. I bet those places were packed full of food but when he saw how much food was there, he hatched this scheme so he and his brother could have it all for themselves. I bet if we go to New Florence we’ll find those two down there stuffing their faces. Maybe we can even get our car back.”
“I’m not betting anymore,” George said, “and if we go down there and find them stuffing their faces, I want my shoes back because that means our last bet wasn’t fair.”
Devon laughed as he looked over and saw George’s shoes. He had on an old holy pair of New Balance cross trainers that were about two sizes too small.
Don’t just stand there with that shit eating grin on your faces, go get the gas can,” Jamal yelled.
Jamal got behind the wheel of the Echo.
“Damn this thing is small,” he bitched. “This damn thing was made for short people.”
Devon sat in the passenger’s seat and looked out between his knees, “Yea it is a little cramped in here, but what bothers me the most is there aren’t any windows. If we run into another mob at the bottom of the hill they’ll crawl in here on top of me.”
“Then you better hope we don’t run into any,” Jamal replied.
They drove to the intersection with Route 711 and turned left to go down over the hill towards New Florence.
When they were two thirds of the way down the hill, Jamal pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped the engine.
“Why are we stopping?” George asked from the back seat, “Don’t tell me this damn thing broke down already.”
Jamal laughed, “Look down the road on the right side of the road.”
Devon sat up as George pulled himself up between the two front seats. They looked out the wi
ndshield and down the road.
“I see the front end of a car sticking out from behind the bushes,” George said.
“Are you thinking we might just be able to get ourselves another car?” Devon said hopefully, “maybe one with windows.”
“That’s not just any car you nitwits,” Jamal said, “that’s our car.”
“Are you sure?” Devon asked, “Why would the runts steal our car and then just drive out here and park it?”
“It’s blue and the left front headlight is busted out, that’s our car,” Jamal said. “I bet those assholes came out here and feel asleep. Grab our clubs and let’s go get our car back.”
“Let’s beat the hell out of them,” George said.
“They’re not getting off that easy,” Jamal swore.
“Good, we’re going to kill them,” Devon laughed, “We should have killed them months ago.”
“Killing is too good for them too,” Jamal smiled, “We’re going to beat the crap out of them for stealing our car then we are going to tie them up and drop them off at the bottom of the hill for the dead.”
“If we get our car back and have windows again,” Devon smiled, “maybe we can stick around and watch.”
“I bet those things eat little Ricki first,” George said, “He looks like a little girl.”
“What do you want to bet,” Devon smiled.
“Nothing,” George said looking serious, “not until I get my shoes back. This one is just a friendly wager.”
“If you two don’t stop yacking, they are going to wake up and drive off before we get down there,” Jamal said. “Grab the clubs and let’s go.”
Jamal picked up his club and started running down the road towards the car. When they got closer to the car, Jamal signaled the others to be quiet.
When they were all gathered by the shrubs that stood between them and the car, Jamal whispered, “Devon, you take the passenger side, George you come with me, we’re going to grab the driver.”
Devon and George nodded.
Jamal flashed one finger, then two and then three.
The three guys ran around the shrub and ran at the car.
Jamal stopped in front of the car and put his hand over his nose.
“Damn this is gross,” George shouted.
In front of them sat their car. The driver and passenger’s side windows were smashed out. The inside of the windshield was covered with streaks of blood.
The driver had been pulled half way out of the car. The flesh that covered the head and upper body was gone.
The remains of the driver, was still held inside the car by the jagged glass remaining in the window.
The passenger or what was left of the passenger lay on the ground outside the car. Not much was left of either body.
The inside of the car was a bloody mess.
“Shit,” George said, “I guess we don’t have to worry about tying up these two and feeding them to the dead.”
“I don’t think we want our car back either,” Devon said then looked at Jamal, “Do we?”
“Not with the windows busted out like this and all that blood covering everything.” Jamal replied then turned and walked back out to the road. “Let’s go to New Florence and see what those two were hiding from us. We’ll find a better car down there.”
Chapter 16
Bob walked through the church looking at all the statues and paintings on the walls.
Listening to the dead groaning outside reminded him of how the hero in many of the horror movies he used to watch before, had always ended up at a church.
At the point where everything had gone completely wrong and mankind was nearing extinction, the main characters in those stories always found themselves holding up in a church.
He guessed that was supposed to symbolize mankind in their darkest hours turning back to God.
In the next scenes, a miracle would happen to save mankind at the last minute.
In War of the Worlds, mankind was saved by the simple cold virus which killed off the Martians.
The people came out of the church to see the Martians crashing into the streets as they died from the virus.
In Armageddon, after the population of the world turned to God to pray, the main characters miraculously were able to blow up the asteroid and save the earth.
Independence Day ended like War of the Worlds with mankind being saved at the last moment by a common virus.
Bob said a little prayer as he walked through the church. The eerie silence inside the church made him feel obligated to pray.
The only thing wrong in this scenario was that as far as he knew, mankind was already extinct. That is aside from him, Tom and Carrie and maybe a few other small pockets of people that had managed to survive in what was now a dead world.
There would not be any mass celebration by the populations of the world. Not even if by any chance he walked out in front of the church and saw all the creatures out there falling down dead, killed by the common cold virus.
Even if that were to happen, it was far too late for mankind.
If that did happen, at best it would be a thousand years before mankind could ever recover and move back to the top of the food change.
Maybe even longer than a thousand years, Carrie was the only woman that he was aware of that had survived. There could be other women that had survived, but in all likelihood there wouldn’t be many.
When the world went to hell and the roving gangs of human scum began to ravage what was left of humanity, women were the first targets and the first casualties.
Bob knew that all too well. His wife and two daughters were one of the first to be lost to those kinds of people. He found them dead and brutalized after returning home from what was his last day of work at South Hills Ford.
That sight had haunted him for most of the last year.
The sight of the dead staggering around Pittsburgh was hard for him to watch, the hardest was the small children that staggered around with all the others.
It made him think of his own two little girls.
The sight of the dead children out on the streets would have driven him insane except for the knowledge that his family had never became one of those things. The only thing that allowed him to hang on to what little bit of sanity he had left, was that his family had not been killed by the dead. They had been killed by human scum.
His family was now at peace, buried out behind his former home. He had buried them himself.
It had taken him weeks to find the will to live again.
Bob still didn’t know what kept him struggling to go on. All he knew was that he had to live. He was meant to live and maybe one day he would find out what that reason was. For now, all he knew was that he had to go on.
It was a miracle that Carrie had survived and had found her way to the hospital and Bob’s group.
Bob had to laugh to himself every time he would see her get defensive at something he or Tom would say. But after what she must have experienced, he couldn’t blame her.
After the incident where she wanted to wring Tom’s neck for something she thought he had said about her, she had finally started to calm down and relax around him. His little talk with her must have reached that part of her, the person she had been before the world had changed, that she had been trying for so long to hide from the outside world in order to survive.
As far as the dead all succumbing to the common cold virus, that wasn’t likely. The dead were one bloody mass of sores and infections. Bob doubted that there was a bacteria or a virus that could survive contact with the dead.
No it was too late for a miracle to save mankind. The only thing Bob could hope for was a miracle to save him and his little group. Bob felt his group was so inconsequential that God wouldn’t waste his time to save them. Or in Carrie’s words, God wouldn’t waste her time to bother saving such a small group.
Bob looked around at his surroundings. These kind of thoughts were too depressing and he always tried n
ot to dwell on the past. It was hard enough to live in the present, to find a reason to go on.
Next he walked up the stairs to the choir loft.
He walked over to the window and studied the street outside between the church and the hospital.
There had to be a way to get over to the hospital.
There could be a number of ways to get out of the church and make their way back to Mercy Hospital where Doc and the rest of the group were waiting. However the only way with any chance of them living through it, was to get over to the helicopter on Allegheny General’s helipad.
After two crash landings in a helicopter over the last week, Bob wasn’t anxious to get in another helicopter. But that was still preferable to trying to walk through Pittsburgh, to get back to Mercy Hospital.
Barring a miracle, which Bob didn’t expect to happen, he would have to find a way to get everyone out of here and back to the rest of the group if he could.
Looking out the window, other than just trying to run across the street through the dead, it didn’t give Bob any ideas. The only thing that came to mind was that they would be spending the night here at the church. It was starting to get late and they couldn’t take the chance of going out there at night. Besides, Carrie and Tom would need at least one night to recover from the rough landing.
Bob turned from the window and started down the stairs. Looking outside at what remained of their helicopter and all the dead staggering around only frustrated him.
He decided to go down and check on Tom and Carrie.
When he got to the bottom of the stairs he saw Tom and Carrie were awake and talking quietly.
“I’m glad to see you two are finally awake.” Bob said. “How do you feel?”
“I feel good,” Tom replied, “I just feel tired. When I saw the street rushing up at us in the chopper, I figured I was going to end up with at least a broken leg or something.”
“How about you Red?” Bob asked.
Survivors in a Dead World Page 19