He managed to push the full cart back to the golf cart, but did not see Mary or her cart. He shined the light around the store but could not see her. This was a little strange he thought as he started walking he knew better then to call out. He walked around the outer walkway that separated the sections of the store and started to look for her. He found her almost full cart in the women’s department, but not her. He made his way through the racks of clothing heading for a small walled off area in the center of this department and into one of the biggest surprises of his life. Dan could not say what startled him more. The scream Mary let out as she ran past him wearing only a sheer black lace bra and matching thong. The embarrassing look on her face as she saw him watching her large breasts bounce wildly or the two zombies chasing behind her. One old man wearing a store vest was making an almost nonexistent low pathetic moaning sound. From a hole in his throat. The other was another security guard that had his throat slashed open making his head lean to the left. Dan barely had time to pull the Springfield Armory G.I government model nineteen-eleven forty-five caliber autoloader from under his left arm. Pulling the black parkerized spur hammer back as he cleared the Blackhawk black nylon shoulder holster, as he snapped it up, flipping off the safeties to line low profile military sights up. He fired straight into the first zombie’s skull sending a two-hundred and thirty grain full metal-jacketed bullet traveling at eight hundred and forty feet a second. This bullet caused the back of the older zombies head to blow apart in a spray of dead decaying gray matter. Before quickly lining up the sights on the security guard pulling the trigger causing another shower of dead decaying gray matter onto the clothes racks around them. It took a moment for the loud report the gun had made to clear from his ears as he watch the smoke produce by the bullets rise into the air. He scanned the area but saw no other zombies as he turned to see Mary had vanished. He found her standing behind a clothing rack behind him on his left as he turn to face her she lowered her self-down to take cover behind they rack.
“Where are your clothes,” Dan asked with a smile, he was going to teach her a lesson. He could see her face was red and could hear the embarrassment in her voice.
“In the dressing room,” she said.
“Why,” Dan asked he was enjoying this.
“What do you think,” Mary started to shout at him the embarrassment fading and her anger rising.
She did not notice, she had stood up and started around the rack towards him. At six feet two inch, she stood a good two inches over Dan. And he had to admit while she was a large woman his eyes took in her sheer bra nearly transparent showcasing her large breasts with hard nipples poking through. The thong she wore was just as transparent showing a mound of hair at the junction of her legs. She was attractive but he did not want to find out how strong she was.
“Sexy underwear,” Dan said grinning as he backed up a few feet to put some distance between them. His comment snapped her out of her anger bringing the embarrassment back as she looked down at herself. Turning giving him a good view of her pale butt with a thin black string disappearing between her cheeks as she took off running for the changing room.
Dan watch her go before turning his attention to the zombies, he went for the security guard first who had fell on his back with most of his head gone. He was wearing body armor from an armor car company with the company logo on it, while he was removing it. Dan could see the damaged flesh of his throat. He next removed the gun belt with fully loaded nine millimeter Beretta and extra clips. He finished searching coming up with nothing else of value. The old man who wore the store vest had a small key ring that was full. Dan had a rough idea of what happened. The armor car guard was either making a delivery or pick up. When attacked probably during the first few months of the plague having his throat torn out by an attacking zombie.
The older guy and the store security guard he had taken care of earlier probably bringing him inside to help, but with the plague. Starting any help coming took a while. This person died turning into a zombie attacking the other two taking them with him. Dan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Mary standing there; she had put her clothes and body armor back on. Her eyes downcast and she almost seemed as if she was going to cry.
“I am sorry,” she started to say.
“For what,” Dan said standing up and moved to toss the body armor and gun into the cart.
“I messed up and then got mad at you,” she said and he could hear the emotion in her voice. He turned to face her and said.
“Look at me,” Mary’s eyes came off the floor and she looked him in the eyes. He remembered times like this with Manny when he made a mistake.
“What did you learn from this,” he asked.
“That I got greedy and careless and it almost cost me my life,” she responded quietly.
Dan smiled she had learned her lesson and would not forget it any time soon.
“Oh that works, I thought it was not to use a dressing room unless you have back up,” he said smiling; bringing a smile to Mary’s face.
“You are not going to tell anyone about this,” Mary asked Dan with concern. Dan turned his head to look at her.
“Just your Dad,” he said. He wished he had a camera to take a picture as the color drained from her face and the look of shock that replaced. Mary was speechless.
“Just joking, after your dad chase your last boyfriend around when he caught you two kissing. Do you think I am going to tell him I saw you running around almost naked?”
After a second, the look of shock turned to laughter and Dan joined her. He waited as Mary finished filling the cart with women’s clothing. Dan felt uncomfortable as he watched Mary pull women’s underwear off the racks. Mary still checked the size before tossing them into the cart as he had down earlier. As they pulled the full gray cart to the golf cart Dan commented looking at the woman’s underwear in the cart.
“You know, you can keep my fifty percent of those,” Dan told Mary pointing at the underwear this caused another round of laughter between them. They used some rope he had taken earlier to tie the carts together. Securing them to the trailer for towing. Using some of the plastic tarpaulins they had taken they covered everything to keep that rain off and the items dry.
“You drive,” Dan told Mary. “I will get the doors and keep a look out,” he finished moving for the doors
The golf cart pulled slowly forward in the hallway between the registers and the shops set into the wall. They past the customer service department where they had pulled the carts behind them and was passing a post office type-shipping store. When Dan looked at Mary.
“Stop,” he told her.
“Let’s see if we can get some boxes out,” Dan said motioning to the store. “They would come in handy later when we packed everything up for the trip home,” Marry agreed with him. After a few minutes work breaking the lock for the roll up gate. He finished sliding the gate up. After they finished a large pile of flatten boxes covered in plastic sat secured to the gray carts with several rolls of bubble wrap and tape. They now headed past a fast-food restaurant that sat next to the exit doors. Dan got out of the cart and turned the handle on the dead bolt lock and pushed the inner sliding doors open. He walked through the same style of alcove they had enter through to turn the bolt on the outer doors. He peered out into the rain as best he could before he slid the doors open and motioned Mary to pull out. She got the cart through the doors and into the parking lot, as Dan slid the doors closed. He was just getting into the cart when he heard moaning and motioned for Mary to go.
As they drove on the sluggishly responding cart through the parking lot towards the inclined road that would lead them out onto the main road.
Dan could see the number the shambling undead had doubled in the parking lot since they had entered earlier. He checked his watch and was not surprise to find they had been in the store for several hours. He figured the old saying was true; time flies when you are having fun.
&n
bsp; “That one will get us,” Mary said as her hand went for the assault rifle.
Turning Dan looked at the man approaching the cart. The torn and dirty clothes matched the emaciated face of the man who approached faster than the other zombies.
“I always wonder why some of them move faster,” he said reaching for the hilt of the Katana on his back.
“Head for the street I will meet you there,” Dan said jumping out of the still moving cart. Running a few feet to keep his balance before pulling the black blade from the sheath. With a slight metallic hiss before Mary could respond.
The cart pulled through the parking lot swerving slowly around two zombies as Mary headed for the exit to get to the street. Dan moved the blade up with two hands in a baseball style stance moving for the agitated zombie.
Staring as the bearded man came closer wondering if he wanted to know what the debris in his beard was. Deciding he did not Dan swung the blade as the mans stumbled on a beer bottle left in the parking lot. Causing the swing to hit the side of his skull above the ear instead of his neck. The blade cut the rotten flesh as a metal on metal strike rang out. The black blade of the sword deflecting up the skull slicing off a large part of the scalp and matted black hair. Revealing a metal plate covered in a yellowish sap bolted the man’s skull. The agitated zombie gave him no time to register this fact as he closed causing Dan to lash out with his foot kicking the zombie in the hip. Knocking the zombie off balance away from him into a abandon car. Noticing several more zombies closing in on him. He took off running past the few cars in the parking lot towards the street spotting the golf cart makeing the exit and started up the incline to the road.
Almost making the road he heard the growing frantic moan behind him. Turning to see the faster zombie with a large chunk of his scalp hanging off closing on him.
“Damn it,” he swore stepping forward to swing the blade violently at the zombie’s leg. The black blade cutting the dirty pants and rotten flesh to brake the man’s left femur. Failing to sever the leg completely as the zombie fell to the parking lot.
Dan turned and ran for the cart as Mary made the street. Jumping in as Mary turned to head back to the police station. Sitting down he pulled a rag out to wipe the foul smelling yellowish sap that passed for blood in the zombies off the black blade.
“Trouble,” Mary asked looking at him.
He glanced over to her as he finished wiping of the sap on his blade replacing it into his sheathe on his back.
‘That one had a metal plate in his head,” Dan said amused.
Mary turned her attention from driving to stare at him before returning her eyes to the road.
“That is just wrong,” she said.
They made their way slowly onto the street. Turning right heading back to the police station that was their base. With the weight, they were towing the cart they just barely made ten miles an hour at best.
At this speed will take us an hour he figured as he made himself comfortable on the golf cart seat. The rain stopped just as they drove past Meller Park mall as they traveled down West Avenue when the faced a large group of zombies milling in front of them on the road.
“Must be close to two hundred,” Mary said with some concern in her voice.
“Right,” he said as Mary looked at him strangely.
“Right turn," Dan said almost casually pointing to a side street.
Mary maneuvered the sluggish cart on to the small two lane road. Flanked by large groups of trees was small single story residential homes sent among them. Before they made a left turn on to another two lane road called College passing several homes and small businesses and even a church. Fewer of the undead where moving on this street and they could easily avoid them at their slow speed. After passing a car wash and getting ready to start up a portion of the road on a slight hill.
“What is that,” Dan heard Mary exclaimed. Dan turned his head to look at what had caught Mary's attention a smile breaking out on to his face.
“Mine," was all he said as he motioned for Mary to stop the cart.
“What,” Mary asked stopping.
Dan looked over the zombie before him shaking his head there always one zombie that stood out from the rest. Everyone had a story they exchanged about these zombies dressed in unusual outfits. Naked zombies, zombies with strange items stuck in and out of their bodies. Strange places you found one, this zombie was definitely a good story. The sluggish figure before him appeared once to have been a muscular man now the pale grayish flesh was sagging giving an emaciated look to it. It was wearing a pink one-piece bodysuit with a dirty floppy pink ballerina skirt covering his feet and hands were plastic looking covers that look like the hooves of a horse. He could just see a pink color horse’s tail strapped to his backside. On his withered face sat a pink horse's head with a mane of the same color hair a golden horn jutting out of the head. As the pony man zombie turned his translucent milky white eyes towards them his aimless moving starting to take on more of an excited movement.
Dan could now make out a black leather saddle strapped to the zombies back. He shook his head sometimes he wondered what they were doing when they became a zombie. Or what happened to justify how you found them but this one Dan did not even want to know what he was doing when he turned. Reaching up to grab the familiar black leather hilt of the sword as he pull it free with a slight metallic hiss from it sheath. Gripping it with both hands held slightly away from his body as he took a few steps away from the cart doing a quick scan of the street. Making sure no other zombies were close enough to be an issue. Dan seemed unconcerned by the jerking frenzy movement of the pink clad zombie as it approached now his low pitiful moaning turned into more of an excited groaning as it neared him. Dan advanced a few more steps before he swung the sword with a two-handed arc at his neck. The black blade impacted on the zombies neck causing him to jerk to one side but did not cut through. The leather reigns hanging from the zombie’s mouth stopped the blade from cutting.
“Damn,” he thought as he spun away from the plastic covered hands of the zombie as it lunged for him. The turn he had made put Dan slight behind and to the left of the zombie. He wasted no time in making a savage downward strike to the pink clad calf of the zombie. Feeling a reverberation in the black blade as he felt the bones snap from the impact.
The pony man fell hard as his leg twisted nearly severed. Dan moved as he struggled to get up using his foot to press the golden horn on top of the strap on the horse head of the pony man to the asphalt. He looked around noticing the positions of the other undead. How fast they were moving and even the startled look on Mary’s face as he placed the slanted tip of the blade to the pony man’s ear. With a practiced ease Dan leaned forward feeling the snap of bone as the blade penetrated the skull into the rotting brain. Before removing his foot from the golden horn of the now still zombie he used it to brace it to the ground as he pulled the blade free. Dan took the time to wipe the yellowish sap that passed for blood in the undead off his blade on the pony man’s pink outfit before returning to the golf cart. Sitting down he look at the still slightly shocked face of Mary.
“Let’s go,” making a jester with one hand. Mary looked around quickly.
“Why,” she motioned to the zombie. Dan looked at her.
“Are you going to tell me that one will not make the campfire stories tonight,” he asked. Mary looked at him then back to the road as the cart started forward.
“True,” she said.
Finally making the top of the hill to start down the other side picking up speed. They continued passing homes and business and even a small park. Dan consulted the map of the town he had. As they made a left on to Mount Holley road while the falling rain started turning in to a heavy mist. They followed the road until it turned into West Faulkner making a right to the police department.
Pulling the loaded golf cart to the guarded gate, they could see several other groups starting to return with their finds.
“Hi Mary,” the gu
ard at the gate greeted her.
“Hi Mark,” she responded.
“Looks like you scored well,” he said motioning to the load they carried.
“Did good,” Mary said a little quietly.
“Will you tell me where you got that stuff, shift change is in two hours and I want my chance out there?”
Just then, another truck pulled up behind them.
“See me later,” Mary told him with a smile as he opened the gate to admit them.
Dan suppressed an urge to speak at that moment and just grinned as they pulled forward. They pulled the overloaded cart and trailers into the compound and headed for a fifty-three foot trailer hooked to a big rig to one side of the makeshift parking lot. Stopping in front of a makeshift ramp that lead into the trailer. They could see Commander Hudson talking to one of the city personnel before turning his attention to them.
“Marry, Dan,” he said as a way of a greeting he knew every one of his troops first names.
“Commander,” Mary answered back.
“This is the trailer the city promised to the troops,” he continued. “You will find containers over there,” he said motioning to a stack of large plastic stacking containers.
“They will have your name on them, Put what you want to take with you in them. When they are full we will load them in the trailer.”
“Yes commander,” Mary responded.
“As for you,” he turned his attention to Dan. “We have sectioned off the space the town promised in the trailer already. Load when you want,” he was telling Dan, but his attention was on the golf cart as Mary removed a tarpaulin to start unloading revealing the rifles they had found.
The Aftermath Trilogy (Book 2): The Aftermath [Town of the Dead] Page 14