Survivors in a Dead World

by Gary M. Chesla

  A smile spread over Carrie’s face.

  “If you want, I’ll go find your shirt so you can go back to your own bed,” Bob said.

  “If it’s alright with you,” Carrie said, “I’d like to stay here.”

  “Before you say that,” Bob said looking guilty, “I do have one confession I should probably tell you about. You know, in case you want to change your mind.”

  “And what would that be?” Carrie asked sternly but the smile on her face let Bob know she was just acting.

  “I really enjoyed you sleeping next to me last night,” Bob confessed.

  “Could it be because I kept you warm,” Carrie grinned, “or could it be because I wasn’t wearing a shirt?”

  Bob grinned, “Both. And by the way, your ribs felt great.”

  Carrie laughed out loud, “I’m glad you thought so and I forgive you, if you will forgive me for what I was thinking.”

  “OK,” Bob said, “I’ll go find your shirt.”

  “I don’t think I need it,” Carrie smiled, “Not after last night anyhow. It would be like closing the barn door after the horses were already out.”

  “What if Tom gets up?” Bob asked.

  “He is already running around telling everyone about my ass,” Carrie smirked, “so who cares?”

  “I do,” Bob replied. “I’ll get your shirt.”

  Bob walked over to Carrie’s bed and bent down to pick up her shirt.

  He looked over at Tom.

  Tom was wide awake. Tom looked at Bob and winked.

  “Shit,” Bob thought as he smiled back at Tom.

  Bob walked back over to where Carrie waited.

  “Gabby is already awake,” Bob whispered. “I guess we might as well get up and go to work.”

  Carrie laughed, “How about holding our blanket up so I can put on my shirt?”

  Bob held up the blanket so Carrie could sit up and put on her shirt.”

  “My God Red, you’re going to corrupt me,” Bob smiled.

  Carrie looked up and laughed, “Don’t you think it is a little late to be telling me that. You should have said something yesterday.”

  “Sorry,” Bob said.

  “I bet you are,” Carrie smiled. “Say do we have any more of those wafers? I could use something to eat.”

  “I think I saw a few more tins up in the sanctuary,” Bob replied, “I’ll go check.”

  “You can skip the wine this morning,” Carrie said, “I think I should be on the wagon for the next few days.

  “Good idea,” Bob laughed.

  “Again Bob,” Carried said softly, “I’m sorry I got drunk and crawled into bed with you.”

  “Don’t be sorry, Red,” Bob smiled, “I’m not.”

  Carrie looked up at Bob and smiled back.

  She wanted to get up and hug him, but she had already made a fool out of herself. She hoped a smile would be enough for now.

  After a light breakfast of about a dozen wafers each, Bob, Carrie and Tom sat up in the choir loft and looked out the window.

  The choir loft was the only area that had a clear glass window instead of the stained glass that was in all of the other church windows.

  It was also a good vantage point to study the street out between the church and the hospital where they needed to go.

  It was about a hundred and fifty feet between the church and the hospital.

  Between the church and hospital sat the wreckage of their helicopter, along with a few hundred of the staggering dead.

  Half of the dead were going down past the church and half struggled against the others moving in the opposite direction.

  In amongst the dead were cars. Most of the cars apparently had run into other cars. Many of their doors hung open as if the passengers had tried to get out and make a run for it when it was clear they wouldn’t be going any further in their cars.

  The blood splattered windows and interiors in the cars told Bob that those people hadn’t fared any better than the people that just stayed locked in their cars.

  The cars with their doors still closed, had their windows smashed and the bloody interiors were clearly visible from the choir loft window.

  “Any ideas?” Bob asked. “Other than just trying to run across the street and hope we make it before those things catch us?”

  “It sort of reminds me of our problem back at Mercy,” Tom replied. “We haven’t been able to figure a way around that problem yet either.”

  “The morning we left,” Bob said, “I think the doctor had come up with something to get out of the hospital. I wish he would have said what it was.”

  “It probably had something to do with a skunk,” Carrie laughed.

  “If we could find a skunk, I’d be willing to try anything,” Bob laughed.

  “What about a skunk?” Tom asked.

  “It was just what Red here was telling the Doc before we left,” Bob laughed.

  “A few guys were coming towards where I was hiding. I knew they would find me if I didn’t do something,” Carrie laughed. “I was cornered behind this shed. I didn’t have anywhere I could go. I saw a skunk was behind the shed with me, so I kicked it. The smell was so bad, those guys decided not to look behind the shed.”

  “I don’t think that would work here,” Tom laughed. “I don’t think they care how bad we smell.”

  “It gave the Doc some kind of an idea,” Bob said. “He took off and said something excitedly about having to go try something.”

  “I hope it worked out for him,” Carrie smiled, “because if we can’t get back, they need something to work for them.”

  “Well, thinking about skunks won’t help us now,” Bob said. “Beside those damn things out there have probably already eaten all the skunks in town.”

  Tom looked out the window and studied the street.

  “I see some manhole covers out there,” Tom said. “Two are out on the street and one is about ten feet out from the church in the grass. Does that give anyone any ideas?”

  “We might be able to get over to the hospital through the sewers,” Bob said. “But of course we can’t get out there to go down through one of those manhole covers.”

  “Where does the sewer come into the church?” Carrie asked.

  Tom and Bob looked out the window.

  “It looks like it comes in through the right front corner of the church,” Tom said.

  “Maybe they have a basement and the sewer comes in through some kind of utility room,” Bob said. “I doubt the pipes coming into the church would be large enough for us to crawl out through, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look.”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” Tom said.

  Bob got up and started down the steps from the loft.

  Tom and Carrie followed.

  “The church probably has some kind of social hall in the basement,” Bob said. “We’ll probably find two rest rooms down there and the utility room should be between the restrooms. All the pipes should run into the utility room. Hopefully that will be where the main water and sewage connections will be.”

  “I didn’t know you were into plumbing and that kind of stuff,” Tom said.

  “I’m not. I couldn’t fix a leaking pipe if my life depended on it,” Bob laughed. “I’m just guessing because that was how the plumbing was set up where I worked.”

  Tom laughed, “That’s more than I know about plumbing.”

  “I can turn a faucet on and off,” Carrie laughed, “but even that isn’t of any use anymore.”

  “Well if we find the bathrooms, you can turn the faucet on and see if we can get any water out of them,” Bob said, “I guess if that doesn’t work, we still have one bottle of wine left.”

  “Speaking of wine,” Tom smiled and looked at Carrie, “Anyone have a hangover this morning.”

  “Not me,” Carrie smiled back, “I don’t think there were any negative effects at all from the wine.”

  “Hmmm,” was all Tom said in return as he looked at Bob and then at Carrie,
but Carrie could see him smiling out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t say anything else, not wanting to give him anything else to tell the other guys back at Mercy if they somehow managed to get back to the hospital.

  They walked down into the basement, after trying a few different doors, including one door to the church confessional. Bob quickly closed that door without making any comments. He had already done all the confessing he planned to do for one day.

  They soon found the doors to the bathrooms and the utility room.

  “This looks like where the pipes go out to the sewer line,” Bob said. “As I expected, we could never get out through these. Even if we could, we don’t have any tools to get into the pipes.”

  “Back to the drawing board,” Tom sighed.

  They went back to the window in the choir loft.

  Tom stared out at the manhole covers.

  “You don’t think we could get to that cover outside the church before the dead got us?” Tom asked.

  “One of us might be able to get there,” Bob replied. “But then how long would it take to get the cover off the hole, get down into the sewer and pull the cover back over the opening?”

  “I see your point,” Tom answered.

  “I think we can rule out the sewer,” Bob said. “What else do you see that we could use?”

  They sat staring out the window for s few more minutes.

  “How about using that plan we did to get those things off of the helipad?” Tom spoke up again.

  “No helicopter,” Carrie replied.

  “We could do it without a helicopter,” Tom added. “Someone could hang out one of the windows and distract the dead. If we could get them to go around to the other side of the church, then the rest of us could run across the street to the hospital.”

  “I see two problems,” Bob responded. “The first problem would be there are too many of those things out there. If the ones way down the street followed the others to the church we would end up with more of them out there than we have now.”

  Tom nodded, “That would be a problem.”

  “The second problem I see could be that maybe the ones that are running around out there that don’t know we are here, will know where we are,” Bob added. “That way we would again end up with a lot more of them out there and even if two of us could make it over to the hospital, then how would we get our decoy out of the church?”

  “I guess we would have to create another distraction over at the hospital to draw the dead over there and away from the church,” Tom replied. “That way the decoy could get out of the church.”

  “Too many things could go wrong,” Bob said. “But not bad, Tom. If we can’t come up with anything else, I guess we would have to give it a try.”

  Carrie stood at the window and looked outside. She started shifting her position, trying to look at something outside the window at different angles.

  Finally she turned and looked at Bob.

  “Bob, come here and look at this,” she said.

  “What do you have Red?” Bob asked.

  “Look out the window, to the left and down about three feet,” Carrie said.

  Bob moved over and looked down through the corner of the window in the direction Carrie had mentioned.

  “That looks like an electrical wire coming into the church,” Carrie said. “Follow the wire, it runs out to that pole and then over to the side of the hospital. Anyone here good at doing a high wire act?” Carrie smiled.

  Bob looked at the wire and followed it across to where it went to the power pole next to the road. Another wire then led form the pole over to the hospital.

  “That could work, Red,” Bob replied. “I don’t know where that window leads but we won’t know that until we get there. I would need something to break the window so I could crawl into the hospital.”

  “If you can’t get in through that window, there are other wires down a few poles that lead near some other windows that we could use to try to get through,” Tom added. “But again by going out on that wire, the dead will know we are here.”

  “If we can all get into the hospital it won’t matter,” Bob answered. “If we can all get over to the hospital and get to the helicopter and if it will run, it won’t matter how many of the dead hang around out there.”

  “And if the helicopter won’t fly?” Tom asked.

  “”One problem at a time,” Bob replied, “but at least we will all be together in a larger building. If we have to, we would stand a better chance of finding more than wafers to eat in the hospital until we can figure out our next move.”

  “OK, only one other problem,” Tom said nervously. “I’m afraid of heights.”

  “It’s not that high,” Carrie said. “Besides you weren’t afraid to fly in the helicopter.”

  “In the helicopter I sat in the back and was surrounded by the sides of the cabin,” Tom replied, “Besides, I kept my eyes closed most of the time.”

  Carrie laughed.

  “We can use the cords from the priest’s robes to tie ourselves to the wire,” Bob said, “That way you can’t fall. In fact I think all of us should do that. Do you think you can handle that?”

  “I don’t think I have a choice,” Tom replied. “I don’t plan on staying here. I just don’t want to go first.”

  “I’ll go first,” Bob said. “After I get inside the hospital, Red you will come over next and Tom, you bring up the rear.”

  “I can go first,” Carrie said.

  “No, I’ll go,” Bob smiled, “It could take a little more muscle to bust out that window. Let’s go back down and see if we can find something for me to use to break out that window.”

  “Those cords you were talking about will hold me, right?” Tom asked.

  “No problem,” Bob replied then grinned, “Just try not to hang from them for very long.”

  Chapter 20

  Jamal finished driving down over Fairfield Hill. When he reached the bottom he pressed down on the gas pedal.

  “Why are you driving so fast?” Devon asked as his grip on the arm rest tightened.

  “The road looks clear,” Jamal answered.

  George looked at the few dead that wandered through the fields along the highway.

  “I don’t know where you’re looking, but I can see those bastards out there,” George said.

  “I see them too,” Jamal replied sarcastically, but they are in the fields and not on the highway.”

  “But if one of those things sneaks out on the road and we hit them at this speed, this tin box will probably crinkle up like an accordion,” George replied.

  “At this speed, they will never get close to us,” Jamal laughed. “Would you rather poke along and have them jump in through our open windows?”

  “I would rather have another car,” Devon added, “A real car with windows and made of metal instead of this plastic shit.”

  Hey, it runs,” Jamal replied. “Would you rather be walking?”

  “No, but I don’t want to be dead either,” Devon shot back.

  Jamal slowed down, “You pussy! Feel better now?”

  “I still want a car with windows,” Devon said.

  “When we get to New Florence you can find us one since you don’t like this one,” Jamal smiled.

  “Maybe I will,” Devon replied, now breathing easier.

  Jamal laughed, “You were wrong.”

  “What?” Devon asked.

  “I said you were wrong,” Jamal laughed, “You said this car could only go fifty miles an hour, I had it up to fifty-seven. I thought you would want to know since you’re our car expert.”

  Devon stared out the window for a minute, then he started to laugh, “That’s good to know in case I see another Echo with windows driving down the road. I could chase it down on foot.”

  “That’s my man,” Jamal laughed again. “Quit being a pussy and get your mind back in the game.”

  Devon chuckled, “It would be a lot easier if I wasn’t hungry.”r />
  “Something tells me when we get to town we will be eating real well for a while,” Jamal laughed.

  Then his smile turned to anger,” I can’t believe that runt came out of Trimbal’s and bluffed me about there not being any food in that store. ‘You can go look for yourself,’ he said. I wonder if he would have shit himself if I would have got out of the car and went over to the store?”

  “He and his brother got what they deserved,” George said from the back seat.

  Devon turned back to look at George, “You’re just bitching because you lost your shoes on that stupid bet.”

  “Well if there is food in that store and I find a bag of chips, I want my shoes back,” George said.

  Devon laughed and turned to face the windshield.

  “We haven’t found anything yet,” Devon laughed.

  “I have a feeling we will,” Jamal said, “I just know that bastard was hiding something. I can feel it.”

  “I don’t know,” George added, “I don’t think that runt had the guts to try and bluff you.”

  “But I hope so,” Devon added, “I’d gladly give these cheap shoes up for a bag of chips.”

  “They weren’t cheap asshole,” George protested.

  “How would you know how much they cost,” Jamal laughed. “You told me you stole them out of Macys.”

  “I did,” George smiled, “But I looked at the price tag first. I wasn’t going to steal the cheap ones.”

  Jamal laughed, “I appreciate a man with taste.”

  “Only the best,” George laughed.

  As they reached the small hill that led down into New Florence, Jamal stopped the car, “That trip wasn’t bad. I knew those things were moving on.”

  “If we hit it big today, I think we should go back to the city like you said before,” George said.

  “I agree,” Devon added, “It sure would be nice to meet back up with the guys on the north side. I wonder how many of our guys survived?”