She felt like she was being watched. Keely looked around, pointed the flashlight here and there, but saw no movement. The store wasn’t very big. “Garrett?” she called.
“Over here. Something wrong?”
Keely found him quickly. “The meat department’s been cleared out.”
“Strange,” Garrett said. He was packing a few cans of coffee into a bag.
“We should find Vince.”
“I still think we’re okay. The zombies got smarter, but the day they learn how to ration food… Well, we may as well just give up. Odds are, they ate that food years ago, and starved to death soon after.”
They met up with Vince in the clothing section. He was stocking up, glancing now and then at a list of everyone’s sizes.
“Why are we limiting ourselves to sizes?” Keely asked.
“What do you mean?” Vince said.
“Just grab whatever. When we need clothes, we can use whatever we have to make our own, or just repair the older ones.”
“Not a bad idea,” Garrett said. “But we can’t exactly fill the car up with clothes. Still, we can grab some extra.”
A metal clack! echoed through the supermarket. The three of them looked to where it sounded like it had come from, but all three looked in a different place.
“Maybe we should go after all,” Garrett said.
“Yeah,” Vince replied.
Garrett and Keely helped him gather clothes. When they could fit nothing else in their bags, they headed for the front of the store.
“I’m starting to like this idea of expanding New L.A. more and more,” Keely said.
Garrett laughed. “Tell you what, maybe I’ll—What the fuck!” He dropped his bags and stepped through the hole that once was a door. Vince and Keely followed.
“Son of a bitch!” Vince said. The car was gone.
****
Luckily, they hadn’t gone far into the town. They ran into a few zombies early on, but once the road passed into the hills, they found no signs of life.
Keely’s bag was heavy from the batteries. She stared at it from time to time.
“I don’t believe this,” Vince said. His face was covered with sweat. “Who the fuck would take our car?”
“Someone who needed it,” Garrett said.
“We need it.”
“We got more cars.”
“You’re awfully calm about this,” Keely said.
“Getting angry isn’t going to keep us from having to walk home. I like to think whoever took the car really did need it. And if they didn’t… Like I said, getting angry won’t get us home. Best to just suck it up and keep walking.”
Keely unzipped her bag and upended it. Dozens of packages of batteries fell onto the asphalt of Interstate 5.
“I could’ve carried it for you,” Garrett said.
“No point,” Keely replied. “There’s just no fucking point. They’d all be gone someday, and we didn’t have them before today, so it’s not like we’re losing anything.”
“Someone back home might want them if you don’t,” Vince said. Keely already felt bad, but she kept walking.
“We can drive back and pick them up if we need to.”
“Yeah,” Garrett said. He shoved the batteries to the shoulder, set down a bag of extra clothes, then he and Vince caught up with her.
They stopped to camp around eleven at night. It was cold.
“We should light a fire,” Vince said.
“I don’t think so,” Garrett replied.
“You really think there are zombies out here?”
“I can handle zombies. But somebody took our car, and it definitely wasn’t a zombie.”
Keely thought about the noises in the supermarket, and for a second she wondered if they were being followed, but she brushed the thoughts aside.
“I thought you were hoping whoever took the car was nice?”
“I am,” Garrett said. “But I’m not willing to risk our lives for that hope. Besides, you just never know. Maybe whoever took our car was running from someone a lot less nice. We’d be leading them right back to New L.A. if we set a fire. Best for them not to know where we are.”
“What if they wait for us?” Vince asked. Garrett gave an exaggerated laugh.
“If they’re that determined, maybe they deserve whatever they get from us. But I don’t think there’s anyone out there, in any case. Just not worth the risk. We got clothes.”
They did have clothes. Bagfuls. They had passed them around as they walked to lighten the load.
“They had to have been watching us,” Keely said. “How else would they know the car worked?”
“Might’ve been a lucky guess,” Vince said.
“If they didn’t have a car of their own, they couldn’t have been watching too long,” Garrett said.
“Which way do you think they went?” Keely asked.
“Does it really matter? They have our car, and they’re long gone by now. If they had followed us out here, we would’ve known.”
“Yeah.” Keely wasn’t so sure, but she trusted Garrett.
The three of them used the clothes and bags to cover themselves and make pillows, but there wasn’t enough to spare lying down on, so each chose the softest spot they could find, several yards off of the road. It was uncomfortable, and when Garrett whispered in Keely’s ear, “It’s time to go,” she wasn’t sure she had even slept. She must have; the sky was brighter, but it sure didn’t feel like she had.
It didn’t even take an hour for her feet to start hurting again. Her muscles ached, her clothes were chafing her, and she was thirsty. They hadn’t brought any water, but they found a small stream from time to time, which was better than nothing.
Around one in the afternoon, just past the outskirts of Santa Clarita, Garrett stopped them.
“What are we stopping for?” Vince asked.
“We’re coming up on San Fernando. You’re going to hate this, but I think we should wait until night. We can walk until we reach the edge of town, but then we should wait for dark. Should take us about six hours to get to New L.A., give or take. We can head out after the sun goes down.”
“I don’t mind waiting,” Keely said. “I’m tired.”
“I’m thirsty,” Vince said.
“I know, man,” Garrett replied. “Which means if we get caught by zombies, you’ll hardly be able to run. We should use the darkness to our advantage.”
They walked a few more hours until they came up on San Fernando, then they waited off the road again. When it was dark, they headed out.
The main road got too dangerous, full of stopped cars, broken glass, and the occasional zombie, so they walked the hills along it. It was hard and it hurt, but there were no zombies out there. They stuck to some woods just outside of town and walked for hours until they met up with Interstate 5 again.
The going was slow through tall grass and over uneven earth. Weariness was interrupted by a loud boom that made the three of them flinch. They turned toward the sound, and in the distance they saw fireballs raining from the sky, making a slow-motion descent into the ocean.
“Another satellite?” Vince asked, and Keely noticed they’d all stopped to watch.
“Probably,” Garrett replied. The small orange streaks disappeared into the water, and the group started moving again. The hills gave way to streets, and soon, even though it was dark, the streets began to look familiar.
“Up ahead,” Garrett said.
There was a group of zombies wandering between the buildings, and one in the road.
“What do we do?” Vince asked.
“Detour?” Keely said.
Garrett shook his head. “I’m too fucking tired. There’s not even a dozen of them.”
“Our shots might draw more,” Vince said.
Garrett sighed. “Yeah.”
“There,” Keely said. She pointed to a building only a few yards from the zombie in the road. It was two stories, but there was a ladder on the outside.
“We can go over them.”
“Works for me,” Garrett said.
They ducked between the cars to keep from view. It was dark but there was power, and the streetlights were bright enough to blow their cover. Quietly, they shuffled to the ladder. Keely went up first. By the third rung she regretted the idea; she felt like her arms would give up and she’d fall and that would be it, no energy to get up or fight the zombies that would surely come.
She made herself hold on, and in a blindness of exhaustion, finally pulled herself onto the roof. Garrett and Vince followed.
“We’ll… have to jump…” Garrett said.
“Yeah,” Keely replied.
The next building was so close it was nearly touching, but it seemed a football field away. They walked to the edge of the building they were on and tossed their bags over. Keely felt a drop of rain and grumbled. In Seattle she could always tell when it was about to rain, but not in New L.A.
“So much for going back for the batteries,” she said.
Vince jumped over first. He made it across, and rolled when he landed. For a moment he didn’t get back up.
“Vince? You okay, man?”
“Yeah,” Vince said. He made to his feet and picked up his bag.
Garrett went next. He didn’t fall to the ground like Vince had, but the jump looked like it took a lot out of him. He turned and motioned for Keely to jump. She sized up the space between buildings.
“I won’t make it.”
“Come on,” Garrett said, “don’t give up on me now.” He held out a hand, but Keely knew how tired he was. He could never catch her, she’d drop through his grasp or he’d fall with her.
“Maybe I should climb back down and sneak around.” The rain was starting to pick up. Keely looked up, opened her mouth, drank as much as she could. It was so refreshing, but at the same time did little for her. Her hair began to droop into her eyes. She brushed it aside, more annoyed with it than ever before. Thunder rolled in the distance.
“I think you can make it,” Garrett said. “But if you’re sure.”
“I am. Besides, I can defend myself now. These things may be smarter, but they still can’t tell gunfire from thunder.”
Garrett nodded, and he and Vince headed off. Keely turned around and climbed back down the ladder. It was wet now, and hard to hang on, but finally her feet touched ground. She went around the back of the building and found only one zombie. Keely raised her gun.
The zombie turned and noticed her. It started toward her, slow and weak, it looked like it hadn’t eaten in days.
“I know how you feel,” Keely said. She pulled the trigger, and the zombie fell.
Keely reached the alley between the buildings and looked back. Some of the zombies had wandered behind the building, but none noticed her. Ahead, Garrett and Vince were waiting at the base of a ladder.
Rain was pouring when they reached the newly latched gate into New L.A.
“What time is it?” Keely asked.
“Seven A.M.,” Vince said.
“You guys go on. There’s one last thing I gotta do.”
Vince and Garrett headed for the living complex, and Keely headed for the radio station. She wanted nothing more than water, little more than to lie down and sleep, and she could go for a good meal as well, but this came first.
Keely entered the lobby dripping wet. Warren was sitting in a chair listening to Layne’s broadcast. He stood up when she entered.
“We were worried,” he said. “Are you guys all right?”
“Peachy,” Keely said. She walked past Warren, hoping she hadn’t hurt his feelings. She went through the main station and into the recording booth. Layne stopped in mid-sentence and looked at her, relief clear on his face. Before he could ask her if she was okay, she grabbed the microphone and pulled it to her mouth.
“And to the asshole who took our car,” Keely said, then brushed wet hair from her eyes and thought of the things Garrett had said, “we forgive you.”
11
On a Delivery Route
Georgie watched for a long time.
His bike lay in the road a few feet away, along with the package. He was kneeling behind a car with his rifle propped on its hood, aimed at the man several yards away.
He wandered, looked into cars. He was slow, his movements unsure. If he was a zombie, he wasn’t one of the old ones. He had blood on his shirt, and it looked fresh. He didn’t look armed.
Georgie thought about calling out, but everyone always told him to stay low if a zombie was nearby. Georgie rarely ran into them at all, and when he did, he usually just rode away. None of them could keep up with his bike.
But this one was in the road, and the ground to the sides was rocky. Georgie wasn’t a genius, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that a sharp rock could pop a tire, and a bike with a flat tire wouldn’t get him past any zombies.
The thing ahead bent down, and when it came back into sight, it was holding something. It brought the thing to its mouth and took a bite. Georgie’s finger twitched. The trigger was firm in his hand, nice and springy.
He waited a second longer. The thing looked around, still facing away from him. It didn’t know he was there.
Georgie pulled the trigger. He didn’t mean to; he actually meant to stand up and call out. Only he had been thinking of pulling the trigger, and it was like his hand listened to the old thought instead of the new one.
The thing ahead fell to the ground and said, “Ah, mother fucker!”
Georgie’s heart leaped into his throat. Zombies couldn’t talk, everybody knew that. But it had looked like one, acted like one!
Georgie rushed along the road. “I’m real sorry, mister. I could’ve sworn you were—”
“Sorry? You’re fucking sorry?” The man was crawling backward, holding his side. He propped himself against a car. Blood soaked through his shirt in the front and back. Georgie felt queasy.
“I am, really,” Georgie said. “Stay here, I’ll get help, I promise!”
“What help? We’re in the middle of the fucking desert! Oh, God, it hurts!”
“I have a friend, he’s only a day or two off, I can take you on my bike!”
“A day… Bike…” The man looked sleepy.
“I really am sorry, mister. I didn’t know, really.”
The man didn’t say anything.
****
He went cold before long. Georgie pulled a bumper off of a nearby car and used it to dig a hole by the road. It was hard work because of all the rocks, but Georgie felt terrible, and he owed the man at least that much.
The hole was barely deep enough, but Georgie was able to completely cover the body, and he was glad. He was too tired to unbury the man and dig again. The fresh dirt over the body was discolored and rose up a little bit, like in a cartoon. Georgie almost wished life was a cartoon. Then it would all end soon, and he wouldn’t be afraid of zombies and he wouldn’t have just killed a man.
Georgie wiped the sweat from his face. He looked around. A cool breeze was blowing, and the world was still. Nobody would ever know the man was there or that Georgie killed him, and that made Georgie feel worse. He didn’t even know who the man was.
He felt like he should say something, since they always did that when people got buried in the movies. He opened his mouth and didn’t know what to say, so he just said, “I’m real sorry, mister.”
Georgie left the mound behind him and continued on. Even riding didn’t make him feel better, for once.
****
Georgie’s friend Layne let him stay the night, that night. He didn’t ask a lot of questions, and Georgie was glad for that. He just said Georgie looked really tired and Georgie said he was, and that was that. In the morning, Layne invited Georgie into the studio with him.
“I have a good friend with me today, guys,” Layne said to the microphone. It didn’t say anything back. “I also have a special treat. I’m sure a lot of you know that some places still have power and som
e people still have computers, among other things. And I’m sure a lot of you know there’s a band out there still making music. Well, they’ve put together a little compilation they recorded and had it shipped to me, so I’m going to play a song for you. Here’s BAZK or ‘Bad-Ass Zombie Killers’, I hope you all enjoy.”
Layne pressed some buttons, and Georgie heard the song start playing. Layne turned his microphone off.
“Thanks again, Georgie. You need anything?”
Georgie thought for a while. “Can I have some food and water? I think I’m going to make a trip.”
“Of course you can,” Layne said. “Where are you headed?”
“Dunno, really. I’m a little tired of the Southwest, I think. Maybe I’ll switch routes with another carrier for a while, spend some time somewhere far away.”
“Sounds good. We sure will miss you around these parts, but I understand. There are times I wish I could go far away for a while, too.”
For a second Georgie thought about asking Layne to go with him, but he decided not to. Layne couldn’t, Georgie knew that. And besides, Georgie wanted to be alone for a little while.
Layne and Georgie left the station to gather supplies for a long ride. Layne gave him food and water from his own supply in his room, then said his goodbyes. On the way out, Georgie passed one of Layne’s friends. Her name was Katie, and she was always really nice to Georgie. Georgie thought she was awful pretty, too.
“Oh, hello, Georgie,” she said.
“Hello,” Georgie replied. “I was just on my way out. I’m going to take another route for a while, so I won’t be back for a while.”
“Aw, we’ll miss you,” Katie said. She gave Georgie a big hug, and he hugged her back. He felt a little better about everything. “Is Layne in there?”
“Yeah. He gave me some extra stuff. You need him?”
“Yeah,” Katie said. “I have something really important to ask him. I’m kind of nervous, actually.” She smiled, but it didn’t look so happy to Georgie.
Zombiemandias (Book 2): In the Year of Our Death Page 6