When the Dead

by Michelle Kilmer

  “We have fire escapes from our balconies,” Isobel pointed out.

  “Ah, we can climb right into the arms of the loving dead,” Edward said poetically as he walked toward 206 and to bed.

  An hour later, Isobel was standing at her living room window, looking into the pitch black night.

  “Do you think we did the right thing?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure if Ben was still awake.

  “What do you mean?” Ben asked, from the couch-turned-bed behind her.

  “Leaving Jill out there. Do you think she understands why we couldn’t come after her?”

  “It was a suicide mission to begin with and she didn’t look back, not even once, to see if anyone would come for her. Go to sleep Isobel.” Ben turned over and pulled his blanket up to his chin.

  “What happens if she tries to get back in?”

  “She dies trying. Even if the door wasn’t boarded up, she doesn’t have any keys. Even if she had keys, we filled the stairwell up.”

  “So that’s it? We just move on without her?”

  “No. I didn’t say that. It’s been a long day and I think we’ll be better equipped to tackle the problem with some rest.”

  “See you in the morning then,” Isobel sighed and walked to her bedroom.

  An Inquiry

  “Don’t you have a wife, Jeff?” Markus asked as they brushed their teeth.

  “Yeah . . . I do. She’s out of town. I haven’t heard from her,” Jeff answered quietly.

  “I hope you do then. Hey, thanks for letting me stay here. That second bedroom of yours is really nice.”

  “Kind of crazy how most of us were just names on mailboxes to each other before,” Jeff reflected as he stared at the younger man. Warmth emanated off of Markus, an instant likeability that Jeff found refreshing, especially when compared to the cruel relationship he’d recently found his way out of.

  “Yeah, we can’t ignore each other now,” Markus smiled and left the shared bathroom.

  Lullaby

  Jill watched the lights go out in the building for the night. She was lucky that she kept a fleece blanket in the backseat of the car for emergencies. It was turning out to be a cold evening. She draped the blanket across her belly, closed her eyes and envisioned her warm bed on the third floor. She didn’t dare hope though that she’d see it again.

  “Go to sleep and good night, go to sleep little baby,” she sang aloud to her unborn child, repeating the only line she knew, over and over again until she passed out from exhaustion.

  The Sixth Day

  The First Meeting

  On the morning of the sixth day, the residents gathered in the common area of the second floor for breakfast and a meeting.

  “Everyone looks like crap,” Isobel noticed.

  “Huh?” Edward asked as he removed ear plugs.

  “Didn’t anyone sleep well?” she asked.

  Most didn’t answer and those that did confirmed insomnia.

  “A pregnant woman had to sleep in a car last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Markus grumbled over his coffee cup.

  “Yeah, that was tough,” Rob said.

  “Well, was anyone able to come up with a plan or the courage to go outside for her?” Ben asked.

  “Nope,” Jeff said. Moira just shook her head.

  “Keep thinking on it then. How is everybody?” Isobel changed the subject to something she hoped would be more positive.

  Ben stood up like it was an AA Meeting introduction, which made a few of the residents laugh until he started talking. “I miss Anna. I can’t stop thinking about her.” Ben looked down at his hands, the ones that had gripped the gun that killed her. “This is crazy.”

  “I’m sorry you had to see her like that in the end,” Moira said.

  “I’m glad she didn’t bite anyone,” Ben shook his head, “she wasn’t a part of the problem, you know? That is all the comfort I can find in it.” He started tearing up and sat down. Moira dragged her chair closer and put a comforting arm around him.

  “Like I said yesterday,” Markus chimed in, “I’m just happy to see living people. I rented that apartment downstairs because of the view . . . so much for that.” He laughed but his voice took a quiet and serious tone as Ben’s had before him. “Thank you for coming downstairs, any one of us could have easily ended up like Juan or Katie.” He stood up, and walked around to Ben, Jeff, Rob and Isobel, shaking their hands in appreciation. Once he was back to his seat, Rob spoke up.

  “I was worried about Gabe. This is scarier than single-dad type worries. Molly has been so gracious in watching him and keeping his mind off of the serious stuff. I feel like we can make it through this, now that I can focus on helping.”

  “Speaking of Molly and Gabe, where are they?” Isobel asked.

  “This is a tad too heavy for Gabe so I asked Molly if she’d play a board game with him.”

  Moira, who was still comforting Ben, turned her attention to Jeff. “Where is your wife Sheila? We haven’t seen her since this started.”

  “Don’t you mean we haven’t heard her?” Edward muttered.

  “Edward!” Moira scolded.

  Jeff started to explain. “It’s fine Moira. Sh . . .” But he stopped mid-sentence, his face a stark white.

  “She went out of town with the dog to visit her parents the day this started, didn’t she Jeff? We haven’t heard from her or seen her yet. Jeff is a bit distressed about it,” Ben completed Jeff’s sentence.

  “Well rightfully so! I bet she is just fine though. She’s a tough lady. Anyway,” Moira moved on, “we like the new place. It certainly is easier to sleep without worrying about those assholes crashing through the windows.”

  “Moira! Keep your mouth clean. God might still be listening,” Edward seized his opportunity to scold her back; using his cane to gesture towards the sky.

  “I don’t know that He is listening anymore. Though if He is, maybe He can finally hear us now that the televangelists have shut up,” Rob said.

  “Nah, the moaning of the dead is even louder,” Ben’s tears had dried and he let out a little chuckle at his joke.

  “No more heavy topics like religion and politics. They are a quick way to breed disagreements. Who hasn’t checked in?” Isobel asked, looking around the gathering.

  “I didn’t really,” Jeff said. “It’s nice to have Markus with me. We’re getting along well. It feels like college.”

  “Agreed,” Markus smiled.

  “So what about Jill? Should we risk our own lives to save someone who completely ignored our pleas to stay inside? Should we let her stay there to starve or attempt an escape on her own?” Isobel repeated her worries of the previous night aloud.

  “If we are going to save her we should make a decision before tonight. She could go into labor any time now. If it happens out there it will be much harder to rescue her and the baby. She will be exhausted and unable to move quickly. The baby will need to be carried and it might make noise. The issues will multiply.” Ben had considered so much more than she.

  “So, tonight or never?” Edward surveyed the group. “It sounds reasonable.” Everyone responded in favor of the timeline.

  Moira closed the meeting with appreciation. “Thank you, everyone. It’s a shame the world had to end for us to meet you all. Let us pray to the Lord that we have some time to know each other, if He can forgive me for my dirty mouth.”

  After the meeting the group left to their own apartments to brainstorm any possible rescue options. It was quiet that morning. The sun was shining for some unknown reason. The heat of it made the stench ten times more unbearable. The corpses in the street paid no attention to the rays beating down on their decaying, dripping skin.

  Noise Complaint

  The Cabels could hear movement upstairs.

  “What could be making all of that noise?” Moira asked as she looked worriedly at the ceiling.

  “That Tom Vaughn lives up there. Gruff guy if you ask me. He doesn’t hold d
oors.” Edward furrowed his brow.

  “One person can be that noisy?”

  “Maybe someone else could go upstairs and see what’s going on. I’m too old to climb more stairs.” Edward rubbed his knees. He was sore from moving house the night before.

  When Edward didn’t move to find a volunteer, Moira stood up and walked across the hall to Isobel and Ben.

  “It’s kind of you to be worried about Vaughn, Moira. But he wouldn’t do you the same favor,” Ben said.

  “Oh I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about what could happen if he brought someone else into the building. He could expose us all. Who knows what type of people he might be friends with too? I’m not eager to meet them.”

  “Ha. I’m fairly certain he doesn’t have any friends,” Isobel scoffed at the idea.

  “We’ll go up there after lunch if it makes you feel better,” Ben assured her.

  “Just ask him to keep it down,” Moira requested.

  After eating, Ben led the way upstairs to the third floor.

  “You know, he’s got more guns than I can count. He could have killed us all and had the whole building to himself.”

  “Can we have a bit of hope then since he hasn’t?” Isobel said cheerily.

  “I just think we shouldn’t give him a reason to change that. Proceed carefully.”

  “Proceeding carefully,” Isobel said as she knocked lightly on Tom Vaughn’s door. Ben had his hand on his gun but he moved it when he saw the look on Isobel’s face.

  No answer. Isobel knocked once more and waited.

  She tried the knob and it was locked. Ben pointed to her jacket pocket.

  “Use the keys from the office,” he said.

  “I thought you didn’t want trouble.” Isobel smiled as she unlocked the door and opened it as slowly and quietly as she could. Whether a living or undead Tom Vaughn greeted them, she decided, she would be equally terrified.

  “Tom?” Isobel whispered. No reply. It seemed as though he wasn’t home.

  “Where is he?” Ben asked.

  Vaughn’s apartment was messy; at least it looked like a mess. On closer inspection it was incredibly well stocked. He had at least 15 guns and their respective ammunition, boxes of canned goods stacked in one corner, almost to the ceiling, and a lot of survival gear. Isobel was stunned.

  “It looks like a fucking bomb shelter in here.”

  “Yeah, kind of like he knew something was going to happen; like he’d been preparing for this for a long time.”

  Tom Vaughn’s 1st Assignment

  Tom had had a successful run. He’d managed to gather a lot more food for himself and also spend a few minutes in the sporting goods store down the main road. He was clutching a new machete as he climbed the fire escape to his apartment. He threw his duffel bag into the window and entered after it. Sweat was running down his face. As he wiped it off he noticed he wasn’t alone.

  “What the fuck are you doing here? How’d you get in?” He still had the machete in his hand, his knuckles white from the tight grip he had on it.

  Isobel was looking at the machete as she answered. “We have keys from the office. We heard a lot of movement a little bit ago and wanted to check on things, you know? Make sure you were all right.”

  “How sweet of you both, really. But if you didn’t look around, I’m doing just fine.”

  “What was all the noise about?”

  “Just trying to organize my loot.”

  “So you really have been leaving the building?” Ben asked.

  “It’s a free country man. I’ll leave when I want.”

  Isobel had anger rising in her. She was so pissed off it made her forgot for a moment that Tom Vaughn was holding a machete in a room full of loaded guns.

  “You could have exposed us to the infection! Not only that, you are bringing attention to our hideout. The dead will follow you back and destroy the building trying to come after you! How could you be such an idiot?”

  Vaughn didn’t know what to say. He’d never been reprimanded so sternly by a woman, especially while he was holding a weapon. He stared her down while he thought of his reply.

  “I didn’t bring the infection. I’ve brought medical supplies and food. Besides, staying cooped up just pisses me off more. I feel better now that I’ve had some fresh . . . well, outside air. I wouldn’t call it fresh; it smells like something died out there.” He let out a huge laugh.

  “The Sergeant has a sense of humor. Who would have guessed it?” Ben said under his breath.

  “Hey, I was thinking about using one of the other apartments up here to store some of this stuff in. My place is getting kind of cramped.”

  “Everyone has moved to the second floor so that would be fine if yo-”

  “I wasn’t asking for your fucking permission,” he scoffed. “Who died and made you Building Manager? I was going to ask if you guys could help by moving a few boxes.”

  “Could you spare a few guns in exchange for the help? We don’t have much downstairs in the way of weaponry.”

  “Sure. But don’t give them to the women. No offense Isobel, is it? You all get too emotional.”

  Isobel ignored the comment and she and Ben moved some boxes into 302; making small talk with Vaughn as they did.

  “What’s with the fat girl in the car? Isn’t she from across the hall?” he asked.

  “She isn’t fat Tom, she’s pregnant. She tried to leave with her husband. He didn’t make it and neither did the car keys. She is stuck out there and we are trying to decide if we can pull off a rescue.”

  “Huh. Every time I ran by she was talking to herself. I thought she was crazy so I left her alone, you know? Maybe she’d been bitten or something.”

  “She is fine. We watched her get in the car. They didn’t have a chance to bite her. They were after her husband.”

  “Do you think she wants back in? I can get her if you guys want.”

  “Really? Tom that would be great!” Isobel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tom wasn’t known for selfless acts. She dropped the box she was carrying and embraced him quickly to show her appreciation. He pushed her away.

  “Hey, just because I’m going to get the fat girl doesn’t mean I want to join the girl scouts. I’m not interested in making friends. I could use a little excitement, is all.”

  Isobel picked the box back up. Everything Tom did was about him, always. He didn’t care for Jill or for anyone in the building unless it benefited him in some way.

  “There isn’t a way in through the first floor. We boarded everything and blocked the stairwell,” Ben got back to business.

  “She’ll have to climb the fire escape like I do. If she doesn’t make it, well, she wouldn’t have made it in the car either,” Vaughn shrugged.

  “When are you going out for her?” Isobel asked.

  “Before dinner, before the sun goes down.”

  “Thanks. We’ll tell the others,” Ben said.

  “Hey,” Vaughn said before they returned to the second floor, “you can come back and visit if you want. I hate to admit it but, it was nice to see your ugly faces.”

  “You don’t mind?” Ben asked.

  “Don’t bring anyone else and never, ever, let yourselves in again!” Tom stipulated.

  Run, Fat Girl

  Ben and Isobel carried a handgun and two shotguns, plus ammo for everything, to Isobel’s apartment. They went door-to-door on the second floor to tell the others about Tom’s offer to rescue Jill. Isobel’s apartment afforded the best view of the street and the Cooper’s car so everyone gathered there in eager anticipation for the event. Isobel went out onto her small balcony to get a better view and to keep an eye out for Tom. They only had to wait a half hour before he came running around the building. His skills were impressive, using the trees to stay out of view, moving quickly and silently until he was at the passenger side door of the car.

  To Tom Vaughn, the lady looked like she was asleep, something he didn’t have
time for. He pounded on the window, startling her from rest. Tom pointed at the door lock. Jill only looked up at him in confusion. She couldn’t figure out how she knew him or if she really did.

  Come on Jill, Isobel thought from her balcony, think straight. Unlock the door. Isobel willed for Jill to hear her silent plea. Unlock it! The dead started moving toward the car. Tom saw this and pointed determinedly at the lock once again. Jill saw the zombies coming back and shook her head. Near paralyzed by fear, she just sat there shaking her head no.

  “Hey! This way, come over here!” Isobel started yelling in an attempt to distract the zombies; buy Tom some precious seconds to alter his plan. They turned towards the building for a moment but again focused their attention on Tom and Jill. Tom wasn’t going to die for this woman. He took out a crowbar and started smashing it against the window. Jill cowered in the front seat, shielding her body with the blanket she’d slept under. He hit the window until it broke.

  Tom reached into the hole he’d created, unlocked the door, yanked it open and grabbed Jill’s wrist violently to drag her out of the car.

  “Snap out of it you bitch!” Tom was closer to death now than he had ever been, weighed down by an unborn child and its mother’s fear. Some of the zombies were nearing grabbing distance.

  The baby kicked in Jill’s belly, bringing her into the moment and awakening Jill’s instinct to survive. She started running, but just as suddenly as it came it left her and she stopped. She was staring at something in the distance. Tom followed her gaze and found it resting on the partially eaten body that was walking straight for her.

  “Do you know him or something?” Vaughn couldn’t tell who it was, or who it used to be. “That one got pretty mangled, huh?”

  “Austin!” she wailed.

  “Your guy? Holy shit.” Tom wasn’t sentimental or sympathetic. He was on a mission to rescue her and stay alive, both he didn’t plan on failing. He yanked her hard, away from Austin’s walking corpse and they disappeared behind the building.