When the Dead

by Michelle Kilmer

  Isobel’s heart was racing as she stepped in from the balcony. The room was silent. No one said anything. Ben and Isobel contemplated going upstairs. Ten minutes passed, it felt like an hour. And then, a gentle knock at her door. Markus jumped up to answer.

  “No, I’ll get it,” Isobel said, remembering that Tom wasn’t interested in the other residents. Isobel stepped out into the hallway and there he was, just Tom.

  “Oh my god, did she make it?” Isobel asked, wringing her hands from the anxiety as she looked from one end of the hall to the other; Jill nowhere in sight.

  “Calm down. She made it just fine. She had to climb slowly, her belly made it hard to reach the rungs of the fire ladder. But she made it and now she’s upstairs in her apartment.”

  “With the baby and all those emotions she is carrying, she shouldn’t be alone. I’ll ask Molly if she’ll take a roommate.”

  “Whatever. I’m going back to my place.” Tom left as though he hadn’t just saved a life; two lives. He didn’t wait for a thank you and he didn’t want one. Isobel went back inside to the group to deliver the good news. The group broke up and Molly and Isobel went upstairs to see Jill.

  In Good Hands

  “I don’t mind having her as a roommate. It isn’t my apartment anyway. I think it will be great for her to spend some time with Gabe too,” Molly decided as they walked the last few feet towards 305. “She has her first baby coming and she needs to focus on that . . . instead of Austin.”

  Jill’s apartment door was wide open. They found her passed out in the master bedroom, luckily on the bed. She was breathing softly, a men’s blue dress shirt, darkened in areas by her tears, was pressed to her nose.

  “I’ll stay here and wait for her to wake up,” Molly offered.

  “She’s in good hands with you, Molly. Thank you.” Even though Molly was young, twenty-two Isobel thought, she was smart, kind and she wouldn’t leave Jill’s side.

  “Well, it will be good for me too. More than you know,” Molly smiled gently.

  On her way out, Isobel closed Jill’s door and glanced at Vaughn’s across the hall. She considered thanking him but alone she didn’t feel as brave.

  Molly Mathay, Caretaker

  Evening. The rescue earlier brought attention to the building again. The pounding was the loudest it had ever been. Ben had been trying to trick his mind into all sorts of alternative sources of the noise. Construction, a loud horror movie, etc . . . but it only worked for a few minutes. He resorted to wearing earplugs, like some of the others, while he read a novel he’d borrowed from Edward. The story made him smile and it felt good to do so. Isobel had left to check on Jill again before going to bed for the night.

  The door to 305 was closed so she knocked and it took only a second for Molly to open it. Her eyes were watery and red, as though she’d been crying. Isobel followed her into the living room where Jill was sobbing heavily. Tissues were strewn across the couch, the coffee table and the floor. The men’s dress shirt from earlier had followed Jill into the living room. She had it draped over her belly. It felt wrong to Isobel to be intruding on such a personal moment.

  “Sorry for the mess,” Jill acknowledged her without looking up.

  “You don’t need to apologize. I’m really happy you made it back. Can I sit?” Isobel asked as she gestured to the couch.

  “Yeah, um . . . yeah,” Jill said, pushing a bunch of used tissues from the cushions to clear a spot, adding them to a pile on the floor.

  “Have you had a chance to eat?” Isobel asked. She saw a bowl and plate on the side table.

  “Molly heated up some soup and toast.”

  A film had formed on the top of the soup as it cooled and the slice of bread was only missing its crust. She had barely touched the meal. Molly felt hungry still and planned on eating the leftovers later.

  “Did Molly tell you about moving to the second floor? We think it would be good . . . for when the baby comes.” Isobel asked.

  “Yeah she did. I’d rather not stay up here. Even though Tom saved my life, it doesn’t make up for the years he’s been a complete asshole. When he came out to the car to get me I didn’t want to get out because he’s been indecent to me in the past. Austin and I almost moved out of this complex because Vaughn tried to force himself on me in the stairwell last year. No one knows about it because Austin thought it would only cause more trouble for us, and Vaughn would just claim he was drunk anyway. Now he might think somewhere in his messed up head that I owe him. I can’t sleep with him across the hall. Besides, this apartment is full of Austin.” Jill looked around and started crying again and Molly came quickly to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “There is plenty of room Jill. We can bring down stuff for the baby too. We can decorate Angela’s place just how you want it,” Molly said happily, trying to move Jill’s thoughts away from her dead husband.

  “It’s getting late. Can I help you two bring anything downstairs for the night?” Isobel asked.

  “There’s some stuff ready to go in the bedroom. Toiletries and clothes.”

  Molly was alone with Isobel in the bedroom. “I don’t know how you convinced Tom to get her but thank you. She would have died out there," she said as she grabbed a blanket.

  “Don’t thank me,” Isobel threw her hands up in the air, “it was Tom’s idea. He thought it would be fun.”

  “Fun, huh?” Molly huffed. “That guy is a dick.”

  “Yeah. The definition of the word.”

  When Isobel returned to her apartment she found that Ben had fallen asleep on the couch, his bookmark fallen to the floor. She picked it up and eased it into place where his thumb was still tucked in the pages. She set the book next to his handgun on the coffee table.

  Outside, the front passenger door of Jill and Austin’s car was still open and the dome light was on, lighting up a bit of the dark night; a tiny hope that hadn’t quite flickered out.

  Macabre Parade

  The next day the sun was gone and replaced with clouds and the promise of rain. In 201, Markus was looking out the window and it made Jeff very nervous. Sheila could be in the area still. He felt close to Markus and strangely wanted Markus to feel the same about him. He didn’t want to lose his trust.

  “Looks like it might rain, huh?” he asked Markus, attempting to engage him in conversation and divert him from staring at the faces of the dead below.

  “Hopefully it’ll wash some of the stink away.” Markus laughed and turned toward Jeff. “What do you want to do today?”

  “Get to know each other better,” Jeff said.

  “Like twenty questions or something?” Markus asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I guess I’ll start by asking the one question I am sure everyone in the building wants the answer to. Why in the hell did you marry a woman like Sheila?”

  The question made the brown hair on Jeff’s arms raise in prickly goose bumps. He wasn’t angry about the question. He had often wondered the very same thing. “Long story short, our parents are friends and they pressured me into accepting. She proposed and I obeyed my folks. Let’s stay off the topic of Sheila though.” Jeff didn’t want to lie more about Sheila’s whereabouts if he could help it.

  “You’re right. Sorry. Ask me a question.”

  “How long have you known that you were gay?”

  “All my life.”

  “And have you ever been with a woman?”

  “Hey, it’s my turn to ask! Have you ever been with a man?” Markus smiled.

  Jeff could feel his face get hot and only part of him hoped that Markus didn’t notice.

  Isobel ate breakfast, cold cereal, on a stool she had brought onto the balcony. She had decided to spend the morning watching the dead.

  “I might as well see what you are up to.” She knew she was talking to herself.

  One of them was stalking a cat. From what Isobel had seen so far the plague didn’t affect animals but they still seemed to be desirable as no
urishment for the zombies; second choice on the menu when human was fresh out. The fumbling hands of the corpse caught the cat but Isobel wasn’t sure how it happened. The cat looked pretty confused too. Angela Turner, her former second-floor neighbor, was using the sidewalk today, though unintentionally. The sun from the day before had done something terrible to her exposed skin. It was sliding off of her in small patches. Isobel knew from watching crime shows that there was a special word for that stage of decomposition but she couldn’t remember it. Angela’s arms were spotted. The white of her skin and the fading crimson of her decaying muscle in strong contrast to each other.

  Isobel wished that Angela would go somewhere else in town. She hated recognizing the faces of the dead. It reminded her that it could happen to anyone. Austin had wandered away, which was probably for the best.

  “Do you want to play with me?” Gabe asked Jill. She and Molly had gone over to visit with Rob and his son. Molly and Rob were in the kitchen talking with one another. She was left on the couch; the child sitting on the floor by the sliding door, playing with action figures.

  “Hmm?” Jill looked toward the boy. She had been daydreaming again or mourning, she wasn’t sure which. Her due date was only two days away and with each passing hour she was thinking more of her dead husband and less of anything else.

  “I saaaaiid, do you want to play with me?” Gabe certainly did not like repeating himself. He was used to a lot of attention from whatever adult was around him. Jill wasn’t interested or interesting at all. “Don’t ya have a baby in there?” Gabe pointed to her belly.

  “Uh huh.” Jill barely said it loud enough for Gabe to hear but she nodded her head at the same time.

  “Maybe the baby will play with me!”

  “Do you like girls?”

  “No! Tell her to stay in there.” Gabe turned away in disgust.

  Jill sighed. “I already tried.”

  “Are you guys having fun?” Molly had joined them in the living room. She brought with her some goldfish crackers and fruit snacks for Gabe. He took them happily but shook his head no and went back to playing alone with his toys.

  “What’s up with him?” Molly asked Jill.

  Jill shrugged and excused herself to the bathroom.

  Urges

  Later in the day, Molly could feel the pressure building; the stress that drove her to make bad, unhealthy decisions and think slightly evil thoughts. Jill was napping in the second bedroom. Molly stood in the doorway watching her breathe slowly. Dumb bitch, she thought. I wouldn’t have run outside with a baby inside me. Molly caught herself there. She needed to leave the apartment before this continued. She knew just where to go and just what to do.

  She slowly opened her apartment door and checked the hallway for anyone. It was empty, which was common for that time of day. She walked briskly to the stairwell that led to the third floor and the common area there, where they stored all of the food.

  Standing on the top step she was filled with elation. Stacks of canned and dried goods stood before her. Food made her happy and happiness was all she wanted to feel right now. Molly grabbed six cans of pears, some beef jerky, baked beans, granola bars, and chips and stole away to her old apartment. She had food there too that she knew she could rely on if the group’s stockpile ran low.

  Once inside, she sat on the kitchen floor and gorged. It felt so good to be full and to make choices without anyone else giving their opinion. Jill would wake up soon and wonder where Molly went. Molly didn’t care. She wanted only to take care of herself.

  She sat for ten minutes and then she grabbed a large garbage bag, vomited out all she’d consumed and then threw the knotted bag in her old bathtub. She cleaned up and left to return downstairs but she ran into Tom Vaughn in the hall.

  “You’re back. I thought I scared you away.” Vaughn tried to touch her hair but she moved to avoid his hand.

  “I’m not back; I was just leaving.” Molly kept walking but Vaughn caught her arm and pushed her against the wall.

  “What were you doing in there?” Vaughn questioned her, his face only an inch from hers.

  Molly turned her head away to try to get some breathing room. “I felt sick. I wanted to be alone.”

  “Hmm. You don’t look sick. In fact, you look really healthy to me.” Vaughn reached a hand under her shirt. Molly gasped and Vaughn put his other hand over her mouth to stifle the noise.

  “Molly?” a woman’s voice called from the stairwell.

  Vaughn groaned unhappily and released Molly from his grip. He disappeared back to his apartment before the source of the voice, Isobel, arrived at the top step.

  “There you are. I went to check on you and Jill but no one answered the door.” Isobel looked Molly over. “Are you ok?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s go back downstairs.” Molly smoothed out her shirt and followed Isobel. She didn’t want her savior to see her body trembling.

  Vaughn was fuming. He got what he wanted, especially in this new world. He was so close to having her and he knew if they hadn’t been interrupted he would be enjoying her right now.

  He needed a prostitute; someone he could pay to let him do anything he wanted. He picked up his phone and tried in vain to reach any of the old numbers he’d been able to rely on in his times of need. He thought of running to Aurora Avenue, a popular place for street walkers, but thought better of it. They’d all be dead; wearing high heels or hooker boots was a quick way to end up a meal for the undead.

  He did the only other thing he could do, turn on a dirty movie and take care of himself.

  “Jill’s baby will be coming soon. I think I want to volunteer to help,” Moira suddenly said after a long silence; she had been concentrating on her knitting project, a hat and booties for the expected newborn.

  “You bore three. I think that means you have the most experience,” Edward said between drags on his pipe.

  “We’ll have to get some supplies together. And I’ll need some help during the labor.” Moira set her knitting project aside and grabbed a pen and paper to start planning.

  The Second Meeting

  Moira had made a hasty list and asked the residents to gather before dinner, with Jill, to plan the home birth.

  “Hi everyone,” Moira started. “Welcome Jill to our group, or back to it, I suppose.”

  There were nods in the circle. Isobel waved. Jill smiled warmly but with a hint of sadness.

  “Thank you for trying to warn us. Austin and I should have listened in the first place and stayed inside.” Jill’s voice grew weak as she spoke the last sentence, “He would still be here if we had.”

  “Looking to the future,” Moira said brightly, “Jill’s baby is due in two days and I would like to act as midwife, if that is alright with you, Jill?

  Jill nodded in acceptance. “This is my first child. Half the people in this room must know more than I do about children, you most of all, Moira.”

  “We’ll need some extra sets of hands; someone to assist me, someone to care for Jill, someone to document the birth, maybe another.”

  “I want Molly to be there for sure,” said Jill. Molly smiled. She figured she’d be included since they were sharing an apartment.

  Rob raised a hand to offer his help. “I was there when my wife gave birth to Gabe. I went to those labor classes and know the breathing techniques. I can help if you don’t mind Jill.”

  “That would be great, Rob, thanks,” Jill said as Moira wrote Rob’s name onto a clipboard she’d brought to the meeting.

  “I can come,” Isobel volunteered. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

  “Thank you Isobel. I think that should do it,” Moira smiled as she went over her list a final time.

  “Now that we have that sorted out, how are things going with everyone?” Ben asked.

  No one had much to say. Markus smiled. Jeff shrugged. Edward asked Ben if he liked the novel. It seemed like getting Jill out of danger had helped everyone to calm down a bit.
Leaving her out there must have weighed heavily on their heads. Still, the world was not right yet and many couldn’t help but have a sense of foreboding.

  “Things might not always be smooth like today. We need to stay prepared and alert. If there is an end to this, we have a very real chance of making it in this building,” Ben reminded everyone. “If we are smart about our food consumption and the barricade holds, It‘s possible that our lives could return to normal.”

  Molly’s heart started pounding in her chest. She wasn’t smart about her food consumption. Did Ben know? She wondered as she scanned his face but he didn’t look her way. Markus, who was seated next to Ben, was looking straight at her though.

  “One day at a time.” Moira shook her head a bit and took a drink of water to swallow the medicine in her hand.

  DIY Birth

  Everyone at Willow Brook settled in during the next couple of days. The pounding died down; the undead having realized they’d have to work extra hard for the meal inside the building. It was late in the evening when Jill’s fatherless child decided to come into the world.

  “Her water broke!” Molly was running down the hallway knocking on doors and yelling. “The baby is coming!”

  Moira gathered the home birthing kit that she had created. It was an impressive spread that reflected her creativity and resourcefulness during the end times. She brought it to 204 and put it all on the couch.

  The kit included:

  - Petroleum jelly

  - Gloves for sanitation

  - Iodine for sanitation

  - Towels of assorted shapes and colors for cleanup

  - Sterile gauze pads for cleanup

  - Turkey baster to clear the baby’s nose and mouth