The Dark Times: A Zombie Novel

by Dane Hatchell

  “I… I don’t know,” Steven said, his bottom lip quivered. “She needed her shot. Diabetics need their shots!”

  Bruce Lee leaned in close over Rico’s shoulder. He said something in his native tongue. Rico ignored him.

  “How much insulin did you give her?”

  “I don’t know,” Steven said. “I’m not a doctor. I’m just a cashier, remember?” He straightened his chest and pointed at his nametag as if to prove a point. “I was just trying to help!”

  “Calm down. I’m not blaming you, but they told me you had some type of medical background,” Rico said.

  “I told everyone I had some first aid training back when I was a Boy Scout. You know, cuts and breaks, CPR, that sort of stuff.”

  “If she’s not breathing, why aren’t you doing CPR?” Rico felt for a pulse in her neck.

  “I already did . . . It didn’t work. She’s dead.”

  The Asian spoke again, pointing at the woman. Rico thought he picked up the word ‘no,’ but it might have just been in his head.

  Ignoring the man again, Rico focused on Steven. “Where’s the needle you used?”

  Steven lifted a bag of drugs the plastic syringe and insulin bottle had been shoved under. “I used this one. It was clean, I swear. Had to take it out of the plastic and everything.”

  “It’s okay,” Rico said, taking the syringe. “A dirty syringe wouldn’t have killed her. That’s a big syringe, though. I thought diabetics shot up with smaller amounts. How much drug did you give her?”

  “I don’t know, man.” Steven ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes fixed on Malinda’s unmoving eyes.

  “How much, Steven?” Rico shook the cashier, pulling him out his haze.

  “I don’t know. The syringe took a lot to fill it up. I found two different types of insulin. One said it was rapid acting, so I used it. Malinda has been out for a long time, and I had to hurry and save her before she died.”

  The glass insulin bottle looked almost empty.

  “Please tell me you didn’t use all of that?”

  “Not at first. I gave her one shot and she started to stir. Her eyes opened but it was like she wasn’t awake and was fighting to gain consciousness. As she drifted back to sleep, I figured I didn’t give her enough. After the second shot, she went into convulsions and stopped breathing.”

  “Steven, you shouldn’t have gone at this alone. Why didn’t you ask us to help?”

  Steven rocked back and forth and shook his head. “I… I was only trying to help. I swear.”

  “It’s okay,” Rico stood to his feet, pulling Steven along with him. The three men paused for a minute in silence. “It’s not your fault. Like you said… you were only trying to help.”

  Steven nodded.

  “But right now, I need you to go get us some blankets to cover her with.”

  Steven nodded again, gave one last glance at Malinda’s corpse, and walked away.

  Rico needed the young man to leave for what was going to come next. He turned to Bruce Lee and pointed at the empty drug bottle. The poor woman had died of an overdose.

  Despite the langue barrier, Bruce Lee understood Rico’s point. He grimaced and shook his head. “No good.”

  “That’s right,” Rico said. “No good at all.” Death wasn’t the only fear now. The rising of the dead had to be dealt with. This was no time to get others involved to discuss the ‘proper disposal’ of a potential zombie. There was no way to know how soon she would turn.

  Rico covered Malinda’s head with a pillow so blood wouldn’t splatter. He pulled the new 9mm from its holster and aimed.

  “Better safe than sorry, my ex-wife used to say.”

  Bruce Lee nodded his approval.

  ***

  Steven was past the center of the store where the grill and supplies were stored. With a blanket in his hand, he turned, making his way back to the break room.

  When the gun shot went off, its report echoed across the store, ringing like the shrill call of a bat deep in a dark cavern.

  Chapter 24

  Angie had drifted off into a slight doze when the abrupt noise jerked her awake. Q was still by her side and looked as surprised as she felt. “That was a gunshot!”

  “Some shit must have gone down, yo.”

  “You don’t think zombies got in, do you?” Angie gasped.

  “I doubt that, plum.” Quin put his hand on Angie’s thigh.

  Shoving his hand away, she got to her knees and started crawling toward the tent flap. Did Q ever get excited over anything? Perhaps he was too cool for his own good.

  “Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave,” Quin muttered under his breath.

  “What?” Angie looked back.

  “Nothin’,” he said, setting the portable DVD player aside. “Let’s go see what’s going on, you feel?”

  “Whatever,” she rolled her eyes and stepped out of the tent.

  Quin smirked, licked his lips, and grabbed at the bulge in his pants. When he was out of the tent, Angie was putting on her new shoes.

  “Well, at least we know the zombies didn’t get in.”

  “How do you know that?” Angie asked, looking up to see Quin trying terribly to sneak a peek down her shirt.

  She pulled up the neck of the shirt with one hand.

  Quin looked away. “Because, yo. Ain’t none of the other muthafuckas running amok all screamin’ and shit, you feel? If the undead did get in, it wouldn’t be this quiet. People would be shouting and firing guns and whatnot.”

  “You have a point.” She stood to her feet and looked down. “Lucky guess on the size.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now, let’s go see what the hell that was all about. I hope no one shot himself.”

  Quin nodded. “You lead the way.”

  “Why, so you can stare at my ass the whole way there?”

  “No… and even so, what’s the harm in looking, yo? You got the goods to make a man sweat.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She knew what it meant. And even though he was acting inappropriately, she couldn’t help but feel flattered.

  Quin didn’t reply. Instead, he just smiled.

  Angie blushed, which only made Quin smile even more. She turned her gaze to the floor and started walking.

  It didn’t take long for them to make their way across the store. When they reached the commotion, Drew Finley and his daughter were standing next to Steven. Sarah tightly hugged on the young man.

  Steven was in near hysterics—in full blown breakdown mode—crying his guts out. He shook and sobbed. All the while, Sarah Finley patted him on the back and let the tears soak her shoulder.

  “What happened?” Angie asked.

  Before anyone said anything, Rico and the Asian man stepped out of the break room and started toward the group.

  “The school teacher didn’t make it,” Rico said, coming to a stop just a few feet from Steven and Sarah. He put his hand on Steven’s back. “We need to do something with the body.”

  “It was all my fault,” Steven cried out in a gurgling release of sorrow.

  The emotional flood ran anew. Sarah didn’t seem to mind. She softly spoke words into Steven’s ear and gave Rico a displeased glance.

  Rico stepped back and looked to Quin and Angie. “Where have you guys been?”

  “We was watchin’ a movie, yo. You ain’t the law in here. No need to keep no tabs on me.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” Rico said.

  “And where was you?” Quin puffed out his chest. “What the hell happened? Who fired off a round up in this joint?”

  Rico sighed, his gaze dropping to the floor. “I had to do what needed to be done.”

  Steven cried harder. “I… I was only… trying to… help!”

  “We know, dear.” Sarah patted his back. “We know.”

  “What the hell you mean you did what had to be done? That bitch didn’t turn, did she?”

  “Watch your l
anguage around my daughter,” Drew said.

  Quin looked to Debra and nodded.

  “We just had to be sure,” Rico continued. “She died peacefully. There was nothing we could do. We were just too late getting her the medicine she needed.”

  Patrick pointed at Steven and said some words no one else seemed to understand.

  Steven burst out into violent sobs. “I murdered her. I’m… a… murderer.”

  “No you’re not, honey,” Sarah assured.

  It was obvious Steven wasn’t listening. He was too busy crying.

  Rico gave Drew a concerned glance.

  Drew nodded.

  “Look,” Drew said. “Maybe it would be better if Steven took a walk. Took some time to cool down and clear his head. We can talk about what to do with Malinda after that.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Angie said, stepping over toward Sarah to help. “Let us ladies handle this.”

  No one disagreed. Angie, Sarah, and her daughter Debra joined Steven in one big group embrace. After the hug was over, the three women led the grief stricken cashier away.

  “Hey, Angie,” Rico called out.

  She turned back, leaving the two other women as they continued on with Steven.

  “Can you give him something to calm down?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded with closed eyes. “We got plenty of downers from the CVS.”

  “Good. Make that happen.”

  “The man needs to rest. Maybe he’ll wake up with a clear head tomorrow,” Drew said.

  Q put his hands on his hips. “Hell, we all need some rest, yo. Give me some of what he’s havin’.”

  “Not a good idea, Q,” Drew said. “We need to have our wits about us. The world is an unmistakable danger. Like a mirror we can’t see through quite cle—”

  “Yeah, yeah, preacher man.” Quin tossed up a hand. “No drugs. I get it.”

  With that, Angie turned away and jogged to catch up with Steven and the other girls.

  “So, what are we going to do with the body?” Rico kept his voice low. He was tired and didn’t want to draw this out any longer than he had to.

  “Did you seriously have to shoot her in the store?” Drew asked.

  “What would you have rather I did?” Rico grumbled. “I didn’t want to take any risks with her waking up. I’ve already taken too many chances since everything folded. Besides, what’s done is done. So let’s get past that and talk about this corpse in the break room. I don’t know about you, but I don’t intend to wait for Steven to come back around. He might start a scene. If Angie gives him a strong dose of drugs, and I think she will, he’ll be knocked completely out until tomorrow. By then, the body will start to smell. So, we need to do it now, while he’s away, and get the body out before things get nasty.”

  “No good,” Bruce Lee said.

  “Yeah, what he said,” Rico said.

  “You have a point,” Drew agreed.

  “For real, yo. I don’t want no stinky bitch near my digs.”

  “I feel,” Rico said, not caring if Q thought he was mocking him.

  “So then, what do you have in mind?” Drew asked.

  “I say we move her now,” Rico said

  “Where to?” Drew asked.

  “What kind of question is that?” Quin threw up his arms. “Anywhere but in the store.”

  Rico nodded. “Think it’s safe to sneak her out back?”

  “Now?” Drew asked.

  “Yes, now.”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “Good,” Rico said. “Between the four of us, it shouldn’t take long. She didn’t seem like a heavy woman to begin with, but the extra hands will get it done quickly. The blankets and stuff that she was using in the break room are good enough to wrap her up in. We can use that to take her outside.”

  “Then what?”

  “As much as I want to be holy—no offense, Drew,” Rico shrugged.

  “None taken,” Drew said.

  Rico continued, “I don’t see that we have the time or resources for a funeral. I’m not going out there and digging a hole when we have an entire parking lot of undead just on the other side of the building. I want to spend as little time outside as humanly possible.”

  “For real, yo.”

  Bruce Lee nodded.

  “Okay then,” Drew said. “So you want to wrap her up, tote her outside, and just leave her in the grass?”

  “Well, I think we’d be better off if we just tossed the body in the dumpster out back,” Rico said. “I know it sounds like crap when I say it that way, but what else are we going to do? Did any of you really know the woman? Did Steven even know her? It’s probably 50 yards from the back lot to the grass area. There’ll be stragglers for sure and there’s no need to risk our lives over a dead body.”

  Drew and Quin nodded. Bruce Lee just stood there, clearly trying to make heads or tails of everything. From what Rico could tell, the man was picking up on what mattered. Move the body. Be quick about it.

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Drew said. “Let’s get this over with before Debra comes back. I don’t want my little girl seeing this.”

  Rico motioned for them to follow him to the break room. Malinda’s excretory muscles had loosened and wet the makeshift bed. Bodily gases floated in the air, encouraging everyone to work faster in removing the body.

  “That’s some funky shit already up in here.” Q coughed a little and spit in the sink.

  “Drew, gather the sheets at top—help me wrap her up.” The two had her wrapped tight like a mummy in little time. “All right, Q, you help Drew at the top and lead the way. Ready? Okay then, lift.” Rico lifted the legs and followed the two from the break room.

  Bruce Lee led them toward the back and eased the door open. With a quick glance outside and a sweep with his gun, he looked back in and waved the men to move. They were outside and had the body in the dumpster in a matter of moments. The breeze was light and felt good against Rico’s skin. It made him wonder how long it would be before they could come out of hiding and enjoy the world once again like before.

  As they ran back toward Bruce Lee and the open door, Rico glanced to the sky. He wondered for a moment about dying himself. About becoming a corpse. About roaming the wastelands of America forever. About the pain. About what it must feel like to feel yourself rotting away. He thought of the galaxy. Of the space dust that caused all of this. Of what things out there might be far worse. He didn’t like being outside. It was starting to get to him. As soon as he found himself rushing past Bruce Lee and stepped back into the store he felt better. Secure.

  “Let’s go ahead and remove anything in the break room that will remind Steven that Malinda was in there.”

  Everyone nodded, and the four men made their way back to the room.

  “I have a feeling it doesn’t matter what we do,” Drew Finley said. “Steven was pretty shaken up. Come tomorrow, we are going to have a lot to deal with on our hands.”

  “I know,” Rico said. “I know.” He turned from the hall into the break room and saw the three girls standing by Steven, who was sleeping in his bed. “What the…?”

  “You took care of Malinda?” Sarah asked.

  “We took her outside. Don’t worry about her. She’s at peace.”

  Q poked his head over Rico’s shoulder. “Why you bring him back here?”

  “Right after I gave him some pills, he insisted he wanted to go back and be with Malinda. We told him the plan to move Malinda out of the store. That didn’t seem to bother him too much, but then he said her spirit still lingered in the room and he wanted to be there with her. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer. We barely got him back here before the drugs kicked in. He’s down for the count,” Angie said.

  “You know, I’m too tired to give a rat’s ass about any of this now. I need sleep. We all need rest. Tomorrow will come and we’ll deal with it then.” Rico pushed his way past Q and headed into the store.

  Drew called out, �
��Good night.”

  Rico threw a dismissive wave into the air and immediately felt like a heel for storming out the way he did. Everyone in the group had basically been nice to him and they were concerned over Malinda and Steven. Tomorrow, he would make it a point to apologize to everyone. Blame it on fatigue. They’ll understand.

  He heard the doors opening into the store from the hall. Q led Angie by the hand toward their tent.

  Q saw Rico staring and winked. “Good night. Don’t let the zombies bite.” His laugh faded as they strode away.

  “Yeah, fuck you too, asshole,” Rico said, only loud enough for him to hear.

  Chapter 25

  Rico slept until around noon. He woke and found the others pretty much just keeping to themselves in their own tents. This did seem a bit odd, but he guessed it was none of his business how others spent their time. Still, with ‘no one minding the store,’ so to say, the group was vulnerable to the unexpected. There really was no one in charge and no one held accountable to keep current of the situation. What of the storefront? The barricade still in place holding tightly? Any other possible entrances they had to worry about? How about food? He knew there was a supply, but he had never taken inventory.

  Steven was still sacked out in his bed in the break room. He didn’t even stir when Rico heated a can of ravioli and ate his lunch.

  After he ate, Rico made a quick inside perimeter check and verified all was well. He avoided spending much time at the front, and spent even less time when he neared Q’s tent. Fortunately, there was no activity inside to set his imagination into action.

  ***

  When darkness fell, there was a feeling in the air totally different from the night before, despite the fact it all looked the same. Everyone was out and about. Dinner had become the social hour. They sat around in the center of the store, each in their own lawn chair. Patrick, aka Bruce Lee, stood by the grill making everyone grilled cheese sandwiches with the last of the bread. Everyone sipped on drinks and made small talk while the food was being cooked. The groans and moans of the dead outside lingered in the air like a thin mist. The noise threatened to become thick fog and engulf everything in the store. The zombies wanted more than anything to get inside, but they couldn’t, so the mist would just have to remain as it was.