by White, A. L.
A brick façade covered the front of the building with a large overhead door on the right side. Window slits rose from the ground up to eaves on either side of a glass door on the left. Looking through the windows revealed nothing, the light entering from the headlights cast a faint glow illuminating a single desk. Charlie put his hands on either side of his face, pressing against the glass hoping that any movement would stick out. He leapt back raising his pistol when Virginia shook the door hard, trying to force it open. “Sorry.” She whispered.
Charlie rolled his eyes at her.
“We could just bust it open?”
“You take the dogs and go around that way. I will meet you in back on the other side.” Charlie said. “Be careful Virginia.”
Virginia took the lads and went around the corner and then stopped. “Perseus, go with Charlie.” The dog looked back at her, then Zeus, and then he was off around the front to catch up with Charlie.
Zeus’s pace was brisk because he wasn’t picking up anything in the air that told him danger was near. The side of the building was an unbroken line of corrugated metal that Virginia thought went on for miles. Out of the shadows a figure on four legs came towards them at full speed. Zeus wagged his tail and set off after it. Perseus had decided that he would save everyone the trouble and went past Charlie around the building until he found Virginia again.
“I guess the way is clear, boy?” Virginia asked Perseus as he tried to get Zeus to play with him.
“There is a metal door back here that isn’t locked.” Charlie said from the corner.
“Are we going in?” Virginia asked.
“We can follow the dogs in and see if we can open the overhead up front.” Charlie replied.
Chapter 32
The overhead door went up and two silhouettes came out framed by orange and red flickering light. Tressa and Lori raised their guns up until two smaller shapes came running up from behind.
“I found some broken up pallets, so I dumped the trash out of the metal cans.” Charlie said pleased with himself. “We get light and heat!”
“I will get the others and meet you inside.” Lori said.
“No need, we can pull the truck in so that we have more light for the surgery and back the RV in. There is plenty of room for both.” Charlie replied. “Keys are in the truck; I will take care of the RV.”
No one said a word as Charlie climbed out of the RV and pulled the overhead door closed crashing with a slight bounce when it met the pavement. Pulling a screwdriver from his pocket that he had removed when opening the door, Charlie slid it back into its home securing it from opening. Tressa ran the extension cord from inside the RV out to an old wooden table they had found and placed directly in front of the truck. Jermaine sat there tightening some cargo straps they had found to hold his arm down securely; one across the bicep and the other just below the elbow. Tressa checked them when he was finished and gave the thumbs up. “Are you sure about this?” She asked softly, so just Jermaine could hear her.
“As sure as I will ever be.” Jermaine replied. “My other choice is for you to take that pistol out and bury a bullet in my brain.”
Tressa bent over and gave him a hug without saying another word. She moved out of the way as Zoe came out of the RV, holding her hands up like a surgeon. “Zoe, we are using an old beat up circular saw. Do you really think your hands being clean with stop me from getting an infection?”
“I tried to clean the blade, but it is stuck on there.” Zoe replied as she picked up the saw, hands shanking from the weight. Placing his free hand on top of hers, guiding the saw back down onto the table, Jermaine reassured her. “I got this Aunty, you just be ready to step in when its done.”
Tears began to flow as she set the saw down and brushed her aging hands across his forehead and nodded ok. Lori stepped up and placed the bottle of vodka down next to Jermaine’s free hand. He could hear the cap unscrew as she pulled it off and set it down.
“Thank you, Lori.” Jermaine said as he raised the bottle up and took a large gulp then slammed the bottle down on the table. “Let’s be done with this then.” Picking up the saw, Jermaine squeezed the trigger once and the saw sang out as the blade took off. Smiling once at everyone around the room he motioned his head towards the bottle. “Could someone move that please? I don’t want it to get broken or anything. I figure I will need it in a moment.” Just as Lori lifted the vodka up the saw sang out again as Jermaine raised it above his elbow and then plunged it down. Blood showered over everything, flying off the blade in an arc as it bit into his flesh, coming to a stop as it hit the bone. Screams echoed through the warehouse as Jermaine became lightheaded and consciousness slipped away.
Zoe stepped up and managed to press on Jermaine’s finger as she lifted the blade up enough to free it from the bone. Leaning forward, placing all her weight into it, she pressed down. Blood showered over her and into her eyes as she pushed down then lifted, pushed down and lifted again until pieces of wood from the table could be seen in the thick pool of blood. Setting the saw on the ground, Zoe undid the strap from Jermaine’s bicep and looked over at Virginia. “Child, did you put that piece of metal into the fire like I asked you?” Virginia nodded her head yes. “Be careful now and get that for me.”
Virginia grabbed the blankets that Zoe had given her earlier and wrapped them around the part of the flat metal not in the fire. Pulling it out the fire barrel, the glowing red end smoked as it met the chill of the air. Walking it over to Zoe, Virginia started to hand it off.
“Charlie, I need you to help me hold this arm still. Tressa when I say go, you slap that iron onto the stump.”
Tressa moved forward and took the bar from Virginia, being careful not to burn herself or the girl. Holding it just inches above the stump she was shaking like it was a stick of dynamite ready to explode.
“Now child, do it now.” Zoe commanded and Tressa brought the glowing metal down to meet the bloody stump. Jermaine screamed to consciousness as the sizzle of hot metal met the tissue, filling the air with an overpowering smell of burnt flesh. His head raised for a moment while screaming then Jermaine collapsed back onto the table.
Looking over the stump and poking it with her fingers Zoe though the wound looked decently cauterized. “It looks ok as far as I can tell. Let’s get him cleaned up and into the RV. He will need to rest now. I will keep an eye on him.”
Charlie helped carry Jermaine into the RV and placed him in the back bed. He was surprised when Todd moved in and helped. For an instant he saw Todd as one of the adults until Todd smiled at him the way a small child does when they are pleased with themselves for a job well done.
Zoe sat on the edge of the bed with a damp cloth wiping the sweat off of Jermaine’s brow. “I will holler if I need you guys.”
Charlie nodded his head OK and followed Todd out into the warehouse. Lori and Tressa had taken blankets and the few sleeping bags that they had and were setting them up in a circle around the barrels. Off away from everyone else a couple of sleeping areas were made up for Lori and Walter. When Charlie objected Lori shut him down before he could present an argument. “Walter and I were covered by Jermaine’s blood too. It’s not as easy for us to just ignore that like the rest of you. We will be better off over there for tonight. Charlie, please don’t argue this.” The one thing Charlie had learned about Lori was that she rarely changed her mind once it was made up. This was one of those times so Charlie let it go.
Chapter 33
Tressa found some old shop rags in the closet of the front office and a bucket. Kneeling on the concrete, she scrubbed the blood and bits of bone and flesh into a small pile. Scooping them up with a dustpan, she emptied it into the fire. After thirty or forty minutes the spot was still visible but not to where it would scare Todd every time he walked by. There were no words to describe how proud she had been when Todd jumped in there to help Charlie move Jermaine into the RV. Every now and then a part of Todd would sneak out to offer tiny glimpses of the man he would be i
f not for his condition. It was that part of him that carried Virginia and Zeus back to the school with the herd on his heels the entire way. Across the way, sitting too close to the fire, Todd was playing with his cars trying to lure Walter into a game with him, parking one of the cars next to Walter’s leg and talking to him like it was his car. Now and then Walter would answer in a made-up voice that would send Todd howling with laughter. Walter would smile and shove the car back over to Todd causing the whole process to start over again. Charlie had walked by during the laughing attack and ruffled Todd’s hair as he passed.
Tressa would have never thought that there, in the midst of death and ruin all around, that Todd would find his place. If something happened tomorrow, Tressa thought, she could rest in peace knowing that Todd would be taken care of. Tressa climbed to her feet as one of her knees let out a loud pop. Stretching for a few minutes to work out the kinks, she motioned to Todd. “Todd, we should turn in now. May be a long day tomorrow helping Jermaine.”
“Do we got to, Tressa?” Todd asked, pleading for more time. “Wally and I just started playing is all.”
Tressa noticed the slight look of irritation on Walter’s face, but he didn’t correct Todd. If anyone else had called him that, including Lori, there would have been a swift rebuke. “Yes, come over here. I made your bed up and brought your pillow out for you. You can play with Walter in the morning if he wants to.”
“Can we. Wally, can we play in the morning like Tressa says?” Todd asked.
Walter rolled his eyes a little. “Sure we can, Todd, as long as I get the blue car.”
Todd looked at both of his cars for a second, trying to decide if that was agreeable to him then replied. “Doc told me to never let anyone else play with the blue car.” Turning it over slowly in his hand, he looked it over. “I guess he would be ok with you playing with it. Do you want to sleep with it?”
“That’s ok, Todd. Why don’t you hold onto it until the morning?” Walter replied as he got up and walked away.
“Ok, see you in the morning, Walter. You can wake me if I am not up, ok?” Todd yelled out as Walter laid down where his bed had been made up.
Lori came out of the RV and sat down next to Charlie. “Virginia and the dogs are going to stay in the RV tonight, in case Jermaine turns.” She paused to see what Charlie would say. When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “I was hoping you could stay in there as well.”
“Believe me, I think Virginia could handle anything that came up in there.” Charlie replied.
“I believe she could too, but Jermaine is a big guy and really strong. Sometimes, when they first turn, they still have all that strength. I am not sure that Virginia and the dogs could handle that much brute force alone.”
“If it makes you happy, Lori, I will go stay in the RV tonight.” Charlie replied smiling. “Besides I think the vodka is in there.”
“Save some of that for Jermaine. I think he is going to need it when he wakes up.”
Charlie climbed up into the RV and found the dogs sleeping on the table which had been made into a bed. Virginia was sitting on the floor in the hallway leading back to the rear bed where Zoe still sat next to Jermaine. He was out like a light. Deciding that the best place for him would be the passenger seat up front, Charlie first grabbed the bottle of vodka off of the counter. He plopped down into the seat and swiveled it around so that he had a good view of the entire RV, all the way to the back. Reaching into the glovebox, he pulled the map out and opened it to where he thought they were. Charlie traced his finger to where the next stop on old Bob’s map was. If they took turns and drove around the clock, they could possibly make it in the next day, depending on the roads getting better the farther south that they went. Leaving the truck here would give them three drivers, possibly four, depending on how Jermaine felt. Charlie was getting tired of driving and never getting anywhere. It was starting to seem to him that their lot in life had become nothing more than to wander around until they were bitten and turned or eaten by the same creatures. The next place that he found to look safe, the type of place that they could live without issues like today happening, Charlie was going to push for them to stay and make it work at all costs. If no one else wanted to stay then so be it, he would do it alone. Taking a gulp from the vodka bottle, Charlie enjoyed how it burned going down and warmed up his stomach.
“Lori said to remind you to save some of that for Jermaine.” Virginia said.
“When did she say that?” Charlie asked.
“Just before she went out to ask you to come sleep in here.” Virginia replied.
“You two have me all figured out, do you?” Charlie asked starting to laugh.
“She also said don’t think she will be easy on you tomorrow if you’re hung over.” Virginia added. “And we both know that she meant it.”
“That we do, Virginia, that we do.” Charlie replied putting the cap back on the bottle. “I said I would sleep in here, but I didn’t mention that I would be taking the occasional walk to do my rounds. Someone has to keep watch while everyone is asleep”
Chapter 34
After an hour of sitting there, staring off into space, Charlie thought it would be a good time to make a round. Leaving the RV as quietly as he could manage and closing the door slowly behind him, he stepped out into the warehouse. Turning to the overhead door, he made sure that the screwdriver was still secure. From there he followed the wall until the door to the front office came into view. Cracking his knee on a desk, he sat down in the chair and looked for movement outside of the window. Satisfied that there was nothing out there sneaking around in the dark, he made his way back into the warehouse. Halfway down the first aisle he came to a whole section of what as best he could say was dry dog food. Not much of the light from the fires made it that far down so he wasn’t certain. After the fourth aisle, he was certain that there was nothing there beyond livestock feed. Once he reached the end near the first fire, he went and sat down. The only sound was the crackling coming from the barrels as the fires began to die down. Moving over by the back door he found more broken-down pallets. He picked up a few pieces to add to the barrels. It wouldn’t build a raging fire, but he thought it would keep them going for a while. Putting a large piece in each barrel, he stopped upon coming to the one that Walter and Lori were sleeping by. Walter was on the other side from where he stood and from where Lori was laying. Carefully placing the wood inside the barrel then stepping back a few feet, Charlie stopped and looked down at Lori.
In this light Lori’s skin looked soft and youthful. Her hair was flowing off to one side, leaving her neck exposed. A smooth line ran down the curve of her back, slightly bulging over her behind, then flowing down to her ankles. Often Charlie had felt the same level of attraction from Lori that he had from His Annie. Deep down he was sure that Lori had felt the same way about him, she had said as much. He had caught her watching him countless times when she didn’t think he was paying attention. The way she cooked, his plate always seemed to have just a little more food than everyone else’s. When she sat next to him there was always some kind of subtle contact made.
He looked around the room to see if anyone else was awake and watching him. Charlie felt it would be safe enough to lay down by her if he didn’t touch and wake her up. What possible harm would there be in him sleeping on the concrete?
Not long after Charlie laid down and fell asleep, he could feel a light breath blowing on his cheek. Opening his eyes, he found Lori had rolled over and was now laying close by. She then threw her arm over him and slid in closer. Slowly Charlie worked his arm under Lori so that she was cradled in his arms. Lori pulled herself in closer, molding their bodies together. Sleep came easy to Charlie as he listened to the Lori’s heartbeat softly in her chest. Feelings that had long been shoved down into the darkest places of his heart after Annie died, screamed to be released. The warmth from being held while holding someone brought Charlie a feeling of wholeness that he had not felt since he lost Annie
. A leg sliding over the top of his caused Charlie’s heart to race in anticipation. He felt Lori’s hand pull their bodies together tighter.
***
Lori’s nostrils were flooded with the scent of sweet, fresh meat. It was strong enough that she could taste it with each inhale. Her breathing surged to the point of panting as she tried to get more. Before she could react, the other half of her brain pulled Charlie in closer and tighter, throwing a leg over him, locking the prey in place. Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub, her heart pounded faster and harder, threatening to burst free from her chest any moment. She fought to regain control, to slow down the changes that were erupting from inside. She was screaming inside her head for Charlie to wake up and run. No way was left for her to control what was about to happen. Feeling her body slide closer, inching its way over the top of Charlie’s pelvic bone, she thrashed within herself to stop. She found herself chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis, on top of Charlie. Placing her hands firmly on Charlie’s shoulders, she pushed up until she was arching her back. Head raised to the heavens, Lori opened her mouth and roared so loud that it reverberated through the warehouse. Charlie’s eyes sprang open to find a creature of Lori sitting on his chest. Saliva slid down her fangs, dripping into his eyes, as her soulless eyes zeroed in on the pulsating veins in his neck. The nails on her hands dug deep into Charlie’s shoulders pinning him down.
Within a moment Virginia was there, aiming the cross bow at Lori while Zeus and Perseus took up positions on either side. Zeus’ body tensed as he readied to pounce when Virginia fired. Perseus worked his way over to the other side of Lori, waiting to attack. As she arrived on the scene Tressa raised her pistol in trembling hands, and moved next to Virginia, trying to hold the gun trained on Lori’s head.
“Stop!” Charlie screamed. “Don’t shoot.”
Virginia moved around the barrel, kicking Walter as she passed. He was cowering out of Lori’s sight. Virginia brought the crossbow up, aiming at Lori’s eye. If she had to shoot, she wanted to make sure that Lori didn’t suffer