by Walls, Annie
When daylight dawned behind the blanket-covered window, I woke both of them. The apartment was thick with anxious tension, but we kept as quiet as possible. In the bedroom, I slipped on my boots and noticed Julie standing in the doorway with a gun. I could almost see her straining not to point it at me. I laced my boots, ignoring the gun. “Get packed.” I doubted she’d done it yet, if she had even started. “We’re leaving.”
“But our things,” she said for some reason unknown to me.
I sent her a scowl, half hoping she would shoot me. She could get away with it now and I’d get out of this situation, both interpersonal and the human catastrophe going on around us, the easy way. After the shit she tried to pull last night, I didn’t have any patience for her. “I don’t give a fuck about this shit. Pack. Whatever you can carry. Now.” I shoved a few bandanas and more T-shirts into my bag I wanted to keep and left her to it.
I put my things on the floor next to the couch. After searching all the cabinets, we were up an unopened box of oatmeal packets and a couple cans of black beans. I dumped long expired milk down the drain and washed the container to fill with water.
“Need help with anything?” Taylor asked from the other side of the peninsula counter.
“No, but I figured we can take the police car. It doesn’t have a full tank, but it’ll get us pretty far. After searching the apartment, we’ll need to stop somewhere for supplies.” I glanced at his grim expression. “I’m also going to apologize in advance. Julie and I…”
“Already act like you’re married,” he stated. “It’s fine. Should have heard my wife and I. It’s a stressful situation. I think keeping our heads clear will be our best bet. I don’t mind acting as a buffer if need be, but you should be thankful you still have each other.” Moisture gathered in his eyes, but he sniffed and clutched his bag. We both went to the window in the living room to check out the situation.
Pulling the blanket and opening the blinds, we could see that a few of them lurked about. Taylor blew out a breath beside me and we exchanged a glance.
Jules appeared with a backpack and shoulder bag. She dressed comfortably and in her running shoes. Her hair was in a small ponytail. The bag on her shoulder dropped to the ground. “I’m ready.”
“Here’s the plan; you two will go first, I’ll be behind you with my bow if any of them get too close. Only use the guns if you have to. Jules, are you okay with using it?”
A small smile stretched across her face. “You know I am.”
I strapped the vinyl bag and my duffle bag across my chest and adjusted the strap of my guitar to fit as well. The quiver I had slid on the guitar strap for my arrows ended up being in an odd place on my back, but I’d make it work. The baseball bat was placed in a secure spot within reach. I checked my range of motion for my bow and I was good to go.
Taylor and I moved the couch, but a gut feeling told me to check the peephole before we went further. Peeping through, my breath came in short pants. “Uh, I have some bad news.”
“What?” Julie shrieked. Even though she tried to cover it, it didn’t stop the zombie from turning in this direction. Its mouth opened and let out a groan. Others soon followed.
6
Then
Still peeking out of the peephole, cold chills swept through my body and into my bones. The muffled moans became distinct as I tried to see how many were out there. From the perception of the peephole, it was a massive group.
The door pushed in as more of them filtered into the small space outside. “Get to the spare bedroom,” I demanded and held the door in place for a minute before letting go and sprinting to the hallway. Glancing back, the entertainment center tipped over and a clammy arm reached through the barely open door.
The bedroom was small and crowded, and I shut the door quietly, locking it. The room still had a slight medicinal smell, but I pushed it out of my mind. I put a finger to my lips and peered at my companions. Julie’s eyes were wide and her body shook. Taylor seemed calm, but his vacant stare didn’t reassure me.
The living room was being invaded by stumbles and groans. The hallway floor squeaked in the weak spot and Julie whimpered. Taylor’s hand shot out to cover her mouth. I waited until the shuffling went past the door and into the main bedroom.
“We’re going through the window,” I whispered, opening the small closet door and rummaging through it. “Jules, where’s the emergency rope ladder?”
She flinched back a few steps. Not good. “Um, I never bought one.”
It was all I could do not to kill her right then. A few months back, an apartment complex down the road had caught fire, killing twelve people because they had been trapped on the second and third stories. After that, we agreed to get one and since she had been dropping by the home improvement store, she had agreed to be the one to do it.
Taylor moved away as I leaned down and looked into her wide eyes. “But when I asked you about it, you said you put it in here. As if you already bough—” I threw up my hands. “Know what? It doesn’t fucking matter anymore.”
Jerking the window open, I stuck my head out to peer down. The decorative masonry of the building would be a useful tool. Bricks were laid sideways so they stuck out, creating a dramatic 3D effect. This could be good, but we needed extra security measures. Boxwood bushes lined the bottom to break any falls.
“Not too far down,” I informed them.
“We’re on the second story. Not far down my ass,” Julie whispered in a harsh tone.
I suppressed the urge to give her an eyeroll. “Only about twenty-two feet.”
The sound of a long rip interrupted her response. Julie and I whipped our gazes to Taylor, who was splitting thick sheets apart and tying them in knots. A bad thing when a bang came from the bedroom door. Fear sprouted on my arms and neck in the form of goosebumps as my heart kicked into cardio mode.
To stay in control of the horror about to happen, I grabbed the sheets and helped Taylor. Trying to keep my breathing even and focus on one thing at a time, I said, “Julie, you’re going first.”
We made quick work. As soon as we were done, Taylor put his weight against the door. I tossed the knotted sheet out. It was good enough to hold Julie, maybe Taylor, but I’d most likely be climbing down on my own.
I took my bags and guitar off and tossed them into the bushes out of the way. I winced, hearing the hollow guitar flip from the bush onto the ground. It would be hard climbing down with them attached to me. Julie did the same, leaving her gun in her pants. My bow followed suit.
Julie crawled out and took the sheet rope in her hands. I wrapped the other end around my hands. Worry etched her features. “Please don’t drop me.”
I met her scared gaze with my determined one. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She searched my face before nodding. I jerked my chin outward. Her lip trembled as she turned to look. Zombies shambled around, getting closer. The gasp she let out was fearful. “Shit.” Her voice broke and her body shuddered, making me hate this situation more.
“When you get down there, cover us.” In a calm manner, I pointed. “Use the bricks. Think of it as rock climbing.”
“I’ve never fucking been rock climbing!” If we were in a different situation I would have laughed at the incredulous look on her face.
“First time for everything, Jules. Just remember I have the other end of the sheet.” I showed it to her for reassurance.
The beats and thuds on the door became heightened and wood cracked. Taylor looked over his shoulder. “We need to hurry.”
When I glanced back at Julie, she had already made it down a fourth of the way. Her limbs quaked as she held on to the scattering of bricks and the sheet rope at the same time. It surprised me, but more than that, I was proud.
She finally jumped the last six feet or so and looked at me. With a red face, she gave me a thumb up and immediately watched for lurking zombies. “Let’s go, Taylor.”
As soon as he moved away
from the door, it cracked in. The muffled moaning filled the room and bloody fingers made their way through the splintered opening. A marred face poked through. I froze, dropping my end of the rope, and I didn’t know why. Could have been fear or maybe I was waiting on it to say, Here’s Johnny. The only thing missing was the leer.
Taylor didn’t waste any time throwing his legs out the window, and I climbed out right behind him. Going down a couple of bricks, the door split wide open and zombies toppled in over each other.
“They’re in, go!”
Taylor’s voice strained as he replied, “I’m trying to stay calm.”
“I don’t give a fuck about calm right now.” I felt a sliver of guilt for the tone of my voice, but the sheet rope was worthless and hanging by my side as both of us strained to keep hold of the bricks. The brick bit into my palms as a zombie grabbed my left hand. It leaned halfway out the window as more zombies took their place beside it.
Blood rushed to my head and rang in my ears, drowning out the zombies’ hungry groans. My vision wavered watching its mouth open near my hand when a gunshot rang out. A hole appeared above its eye, splattering me with blood and who knew what else, as its grip loosened. I jerked my arm away from it and continued down. The dead zombie fell from the window, bumping me against the brick on the way down and I lost my footing.
It took endless seconds to regain my stance on the side of the building. Looking down, Taylor kneeled in the grass. I finally made it to the first-floor window and chanced a glance upward only to see another falling zombie. This time, it took me with it.
More gunshots fired as we crashed into the bushes. Branches dug into my back and I flailed around with the zombie on top of me. More zombies slammed on us, weighing me down. At one point, my leg bent, sending more pain through my body. The bush felt like a bed of spikes being jammed into my backside, but I held the zombie away by the shoulders. Its teeth snapped at me. Spittle flew against my face. Gunshots split through the air and one by one, the zombies stilled. The head of the zombie on top of me whipped sideways and the body slumped.
Gunshots were still ringing out, but someone yelled my name as weight was lifted. Zombie fluids trickled down the side of my neck, and I tried pushing the zombie off with shaking hands. Wiggling any more was out of the question. Someone had mercy and the zombie was pulled off of me.
Stomach turning over, my mouth filled with saliva. I rolled out of the bush, landing on all fours, and vomited.
A heavy thud landed in front of me, I looked up in time to watch as Taylor used the baseball bat to give the fallen zombie an uppercut to the chin. My gaze dropped back to the ground.
“Rudy!” Julie’s shoes stepped into my peripheral vision. “Are you okay?” My only response came in the form of puke. Zombies kept falling from the window and the unmistakable sound of a wooden bat beating would follow.
Even though her question was obviously rhetorical, a harsh laugh escaped me. “It was raining zombies. On top of me. And I just puked my guts up.” My body protested as I stood and brushed myself off. “No, I’m not okay.”
I glanced at her, and she gasped at my appearance before looking around. Somewhere along the way, she gathered everything we threw out, holding her gun and my bow in her hands. Everything else was hanging from her body like a pack mule. A zombie scrambled around in the bushes, making them rustle. Her gaze swept my body. “I meant are you okay to run?”
She turned behind her, and I followed her gaze. Blinking at the sight, adrenaline surged through me. Dozens of zombies shambled through the parking lot toward us. The only thing on our side was the fact I had parked the cop cruiser near the breezeway.
I pushed her in the right direction, and I grasped my bow and an arrow from the quiver still attached to my guitar she had strapped to her.
Taylor was right behind us as we made our way, jumping over the corpses littering the ground.
A zombie stumbled out from behind an evergreen tree and ran into Julie. She screeched as she fell from all the weight she carried. With practiced speed, I had the arrow through the zombie’s head before it did any more harm. I picked her up by the duffle straps and we continued to the car.
There were a few of them shuffling around the cruiser, and Taylor made more use of the bat while I helped Julie into the backseat. All the stuff weighing her down wouldn’t fit through the door. It took a few seconds to get it all off and shove it in first. I shut the door behind her in time to open my door, but a zombie lurched forward. Using my fist, I punched it in the chest and it stumbled back enough for me to hop in and close the door.
Taylor said nothing as he slammed the passenger door shut behind him. My knee bounced in nervous anticipation. “Jules, the keys are in a side pocket in the duffle.”
She searched through as I watched zombies beat on the windows. More of them surrounded us and the car rocked with the motion. “Hurry,” I urged right before she tossed the keys in my lap. I couldn’t see out of any of the windows as I turned the engine, but I reversed anyway.
Some of them hit the back windshield, some were knocked out of the way, but by the bump and juts of the car, most of them were run over. After a few yards, the parking lot opened, allowing me to steer better. When I had enough room, I pulled the car around and made for the open street.
We were on the road for about fifteen minutes before someone finally spoke. Julie’s arm came around my shoulder. “Here, to clean your face. I packed them.”
Glancing down, I saw she held wet wipes. “Thanks.” With one hand, I scrubbed my face and neck. The wipe turned dark red almost immediately. That was when I noticed my arms were covered in small blood drops and the backs of my forearms were red and had scratches from the bush.
A sudden worry had me slamming the brakes. Julie squealed and Taylor braced himself on the dashboard. “What the fuck, Rudy?”
Ignoring her question, I said, “Hand me the jug of water.”
It took her a minute, but she relented and I stepped out of the car. Taylor realized what I was doing and jumped out with me. “Wait! That’s our only water! If you’re infected with anything it’s not going to help to use it, anyways.”
He had an excellent point, but it didn’t stop my glare. Checking out the scratches, they weren’t deep, but the skin was broken. Blood covered my arm and I couldn’t tell if it was a zombie’s or mine.
I probably lost my mind. It was apparent Taylor thought so already—maybe even thought of going ahead and getting the job done. I stepped to him, jerking the gun out of his pants and cocking it. Handing it back to him butt first, I advised, “Better do it then. Might save you two some grief later on.”
Taylor stepped back as Julie hopped out of the car. “Rudolph Garret Hawthorne! Stop it!” My glare swung her way, but before I could get a word in, she went on, “This is not happening right now. We don’t know for sure. You’re acting like a moron.”
“You’ll think differently when—”
She cut off my words with her hand, ignoring me. “We’ll find somewhere for you to clean up. So get in the car. I’m driving.” With that, she turned and got in the driver’s seat.
I didn’t move, just glared at her, but she had no problems returning it. “She’s right. We don’t know for sure.” Taylor spoke quietly as if afraid I would turn on him again.
Not saying anything to him, I stalked to the car and sat in the back seat. I was vaguely aware of Taylor getting back in and the two of them conversing. Maybe I should use some more wipes to clean myself. Maybe I should rant at Julie for not buying the fucking emergency ladder like she said she would. Maybe I should get some sleep. Maybe I should tell them where to go. None of it mattered, so I didn’t bother.
Remembering the few months Julie’s father suffered in the spare bedroom, he hadn’t cared about much. It had nearly killed me to watch him. I thought it was because he didn’t have the energy to do anything. I understood now. Nothing mattered when you were waiting to die.
7
Now
The T-shirts I shove into my duffle aren’t clean, but I don’t care. I need to get away from this place for a while.
Grabbing my gear, I walk out into the community’s parking lot to wait on Tweedledum and Tweedledumber to bring gasoline. After throwing everything in the front seat, I close the door and jump back upon seeing Mac leaning against the truck’s hood.
He kicks a rock away with his boot, but I just shake my head at him. “You’re not talking me out of going.”
“I don’t know, man. I have a weird feeling this time.”
I cross my arms. “Fine. Give me a reason not to. Tell me how you know Julie’s fine where she is.”
His cheeks puff out with a gust of air. “Truthfully, I don’t. But right now, the base and a few other communities are a priority. In fact, we were alerted to something crazy going on not far from here. Someone has been sent to check it out. You wouldn’t believe the shit going on…a group under the pretense of religion, no less. In a nutshell, they force themselves on women in exchange for security.”
“And you think this will make me stay? You’re out of your mind.” I pause as his words sink in, and shudder. “I hope the situation gets taken care of soon.” I walk around and tug the driver’s door open. I realize he followed me when his hand shoots out and slams it shut.
“It’s being dealt with. Most of those people are completely brainwashed. It’s taking forever to gather census information.” He gets back to his argument. “How do you expect to get in?”