A Broken World

by Andrew Lauck

  “You were a lieutenant before all of this?” He glanced down and rubbed the single bar with the back of his hand, polishing the outermost layer of gore and dust off, and nodded slowly.

  “When it became obvious that we weren’t getting any reinforcements, five of us were sent out in all directions with command of a platoon. They said it would maximize our chances of success.” He sneered and shook his head. “I can’t speak for the others, but my platoon encountered those…things right out of the gate. We got hit hard, and they just kept hammering on us the whole way, but we made it here and set up a small encampment. Of course, that was after I lost more than half of the men and women under my command, but the higher-ups don’t care about that as long as they get to sit in the comfort of their walls with an army between them and the enemy.”

  “Wait, what walls?” I interrupted, but we had reached the next room to see the three men we had seen earlier at the barricade.

  “Eric, I want you to meet Sergeant Burke, Private Hensley, and Private Ryan.” Schafer pointed to each of the men as he said their names. “We’ve got a fifth man up in the tower, Private First Class Clarke. The kid is one hell of a marksman. You have him to thank for saving your ass, because he’s the one that told us you were out there. Otherwise, those zombies would have cracked your car open like a can of tuna.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” I muttered, trying to remember if I saw anyone up there when we came in. Either I was getting sloppy, or he was well trained in concealment—or both. I had to hope it was just the zombies distracting me that caused my lack of observation.

  “Anyway, that’s the crew, but I’m sure you two are pretty tired from being on the road for a while, right?”

  “As nice as it is to meet everyone, sleep does sound really good,” Kat chimed in.

  “Then follow me.” He walked over to the men and grabbed a few things to shove in a plastic bag before showing us to a room down the hall. A desk had been shoved to the side and a mattress had been put in its place in the middle of the floor. “I know it’s not exactly the Hilton, but we tried to make do with what we had. I’m sure you can understand.”

  “Oh, I believe it.” Truthfully, at this point if Schafer didn’t turn out to be a cannibal he was miles ahead of the competition. “A mattress beats the hell out of the front seat, though.”

  “Well, here.” He handed me the bag, and I opened it to see what he had grabbed. There were a few cookies, two cans of Vienna sausages, a bag of chips, and a warm can of Root Beer. “I’ll leave you to it. Eric, tomorrow you should come with us. We’re gonna scout out some places downtown; maybe hit the park. It’ll be fun!”

  “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Schafer.” He closed the office door behind him when he left, and I handed Kat a can of sausages and the chips. She began to protest, but I held up a hand to silence her. “Kat, as much as I love chips, they don’t give anything nutritious, so I really don’t need them.”

  “So, you’re trying to make me fat?” She grinned, and I could tell she was joking.

  “Yes, Katherine, I’m fattening you up so I can shove you in an oven later.”

  “Well, I guess a trail of bodies is kinda like a trail of breadcrumbs…” She added, thoughtfully chewing one of her sausages. I finished my sausages and drank some of the root beer before handing the rest to Kat, pulling out a stale cookie and taking a bite. “What kind is it?”

  “The extra crunchy kind.” I said, putting a law book behind my head and leaning back against a bookshelf.

  “Eric,” Kat said after a moment of silence, “What do you think is going to happen to us?” I opened my eyes and saw the fear in hers.

  “I wish I had that answer, Kat. If there were some way I could guarantee your safety, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But out here, with everything happening, I don’t know if that’s possible anymore. There are some days I’m surprised I wake up the next morning, but somehow I do, so I figure it’s not my time yet.” I thought for a second. “Lately, I can’t help but feel like our luck is running out.”

  “Yeah…” She breathed, her shoulders slumping as she undoubtedly ran through recent events in her head.

  “But,” I waved her over, and Kat sat down by me to let me put my arm around her, “I can promise you that as long as our luck holds out and I keep waking up, I will keep you safe. I won’t fail you like I did with…” I trailed off. Kat picked up on my silence like a cat sensing prey.

  “Eric, what happened in Chicago wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could have done, especially since you didn’t know what was going on back then. No one could hold that against you.”

  “I just can’t help but wonder, ‘what if?’ You know? Like, what if I had gotten to Samantha sooner? What if Anthony hadn’t picked me up? He’d probably be alive instead of me right now.” Kat reached up and put her hand on mine.

  “You told me what happened, right? I know everything you did, every decision you made. And after hearing it all, my opinion of you hasn’t changed.” Her tone softened. “Eric, you’re only human. There are some things you’ve done that I’m in complete awe of, because I don’t think I would have been that strong. Your actions saved Captain Murray and his officers, Eric. You should be proud of that! In the short time that we’ve been together you’ve had to do things that I could never go through with, but at the same time I understand that you were forced to do them to survive, or to help me survive. Honestly, sometimes I don’t know how you manage to keep going, but I’m so glad that you do. If you hadn’t made it out of Chicago, you wouldn’t have saved me, and I’d be dead. Either way, you couldn’t save everyone Eric.” She waited for my reaction.

  I just sat there for a moment, staring at her and reminding myself that she was only nineteen. I guess that was the price people paid to live in this new world. I reached out and hugged her to my side, astonished at her wisdom.

  “When did you become such a profound teenager?”

  “Around the time that cannibals started kidnapping me, and the closest thing I have to a parental guardian started burning entire towns to the ground like a maniac.” She grinned at me, but I knew she was just as affected by all of this as I was.

  “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t found you in that fort.”

  “I know. That’s what makes me special!” She perked up at the end, and I laughed. “But…it’s been almost forty-eight hours.” I looked over to find her staring at the bandaged wound on her arm.

  “You’re fine, don’t even think about it.”

  “But what if I’m not? Eric, what if one of them scratched me, and I’m infected? I don’t want to hurt anyone, Eric.” She started to tear up and shoved her face into my chest.

  “Kat, you’re not infected. You’re stronger than any damn virus I’ve ever seen, okay? And I’m sure that when you go to sleep, you will wake up tomorrow and continue your way to being a stubborn, old woman. There’s not a doubt in my mind.” Except that there was. After a minute, I felt her stop crying, and pull back to wipe away the tears.

  “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have makeup on, huh? I’d look even worse.”

  “Hey, stop that. You’re beautiful, Katherine. If we ever find a normal guy your age, he’ll tell you the exact same thing.” I smiled reassuringly and hugged her again.

  “Thanks, Eric.” She paused and her lips lifted into a mischievous grin. “It’s really good to see you getting in touch with your feminine side.” She laughed and went to the mattress to lay down.

  “Ouch. Way to kick a guy when he’s down.” I stood up and stretched. “But when we do find that guy, I get to sit down with him and ask about his intentions with you, right?”

  “By intentions, you mean scare him don’t you?”

  “Well, duh. Personally, I’d prefer to put the fear of God into him if he hurts you, but I guess I’ll settle with something simple. Probably just let him know if he screws up I’ll kill him.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Kat’s e
yebrows pinched together with worry, and she rolled on her side. “Eric…you’ll be here when I wake up, right? If…I wake up?”

  “You will wake up, Kat, and when you do I’ll be right here. I promise.”

  “Okay.” She gave a tired smile and closed her eyes. “Just so you know, I don’t know what I’d do without you either.” That took me by surprise, but gave me a warm feeling. I took off my long-sleeved shirt and draped it over her, tucking it in, before returning to sit across from the mattress with my back against the wall.

  I sat there for a long time, fighting exhaustion and sleep deprivation, just watching her sleep. It was amazing how peaceful she looked, despite the carnage outside. At one point in the night, I think she had a nightmare because she turned and mumbled something incoherent before she pulled my shirt closer and seemed to calm down. I couldn’t help but smile.

  After I was beginning to wonder if the night would never end, sunlight slipped in through the blinds and crept across my face. The dull light of dawn cast the walls in a pale orange glow, and I was able to finally exhale the breath I had been holding all night.

  “Thank God,” I whispered, tilting my head back. The forty-eight hours were up, and Kat had made it through without any indication of infection, so the wound had been just an ordinary injury. While I was relieved at the fact, I didn’t forget how close I had just come to losing Katherine and the very real fear that came with that idea. “Thank you, God…” I repeated, letting my eyes drift closed and relaxing into much-needed sleep.

  Chapter 44

  Day 186

  The sun strained my eyes when I woke up and I reflexively checked my watch for the time, forgetting momentarily that it was still dead. I felt like it had only been a few hours, but that was all the sleep I could afford for the day as I didn’t completely trust our host yet. Nudging Katherine awake, she sat up and looked outside with her eyes cracked half-open.

  “Am I a zombie?” she asked in a yawn.

  “You sure sound like one,” I laughed. “But no, you’re still you, though I’m not sure that’s much of an improvement.” That earned a punch to my arm, but she sat up and laughed with me. It was a moment we both needed after so much tension and stress from the night before. I stood up and stretched out my arms, feeling the joints pop from being cramped up for the entire night.

  “Are you okay over there, old man? You sound like a walking bag of Pop Rocks,” Kat said from across the room, peeling the wrapper off an energy bar she picked up in front of the door. She held up another one for me. “Schafer must have left two of these for us.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I took it and rubbed my jaw. “Listen, I’m gonna go downstairs and check out the situation. Stay up here, and make sure no one comes through the door.”

  “But they’re military just like you. Don’t you trust them? The bond of brotherhood or something?”

  “Yeah, or something. Just stay in the room.” I left Katherine and walked to the rail overlooking the ground floor. Schafer was putting the final touches on assembling an M16, and Hensley was busy loading magazines. I didn’t see the rest of the team. Katherine wasn’t wrong about my thoughts. While I would have loved to trust them, something just felt off about Schafer. I went down the stairs, and Schafer turned to face me, the M16 neatly cradled in his arms.

  “Well, glad you finally decided to join us. We were just about to leave without you!” He walked over and patted my shoulder.

  “Where are you planning to go?” I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice. He must have caught on, because he laughed.

  “Oh, we’re not leaving the city or anything. I meant we’re going on patrol. Every few days or so I take half the team and we scout around the town and see what’s what. I thought you might like to join us since I figure it’s been a while since you’ve been part of a team.”

  “Sounds like it could be fun. Let me just go up and tell Kat. Last time one of us disappeared, there were cannibals involved.” Hensley glanced up on that note and then to Schafer.

  “Well, I promise we’re not cannibals, Eric.” He grinned. I nodded and headed back up to the room, finding Kat sitting in a chair with the shotgun not far from her reach. She was learning, and I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Schafer and a couple of his guys are planning to head out on a patrol around the town. I’ve been invited to tag along, but if you don’t feel comfortable…”

  “I’ll be fine, Eric. Besides, it might be good for you to be around some of your people for a while.” She laughed. “I’ll find something to keep me busy.”

  “Alright,” I begrudgingly said. “But if anything happens, get out of the courthouse, and find somewhere to hole up. I’ll haul ass back here and take out anything that moves.”

  “Okay, Rambo. Now go kill things.” I grabbed my .22 rifle and made sure it was still loaded before heading back down to meet up with the team. That left Kat with the shotgun if anything happened.

  “Ryan and Clark will hold down the fort here while we’re out. If anything happens, one of them will fire three shots from the tower. Don’t worry, Eric, she’ll be safe.” Schafer shifted his M16 and pushed open the door. “Let’s move.”

  Hensley and Burke took point, leaving me to hang back with Schafer. To say he was talkative was an understatement. As we were crossing an intersection, we passed by a Ferrari, and Schafer let out a low whistle.

  “Some loaded son of a bitch must have been passing through town or something when the shit hit the fan. I gotta say, if I ever find him I hope he’s a zombie so I can have his keys.” He nudged me. “Old habits die hard, you know?”

  “Yeah.” I agreed, though I’m not really sure what I was agreeing to. What habit was he referring to? I checked around us until we had made it behind the cover of foliage. “So, where are we heading?”

  “Erlenbach Park. I split up the town into quadrants, and we rotate which ones we patrol on which day. In this case, it’s been a week since we hit the park.”

  “I don’t get it, though. If you’re not foraging for supplies, then why leave the safety of the courthouse?” Schafer stopped and grabbed the front of my shirt, a crazed look in his eyes.

  “Have you ever seen a thousand of those things together? It looks like one solid mass moving against you, spreading like a biblical plague. Once that mass hits something, the screams begin. The cries of fear and panic, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it, but you just keep firing because that’s what you’re told to do. Blood and death fill the air until you can practically taste in on your breath, but all you can do is hold your ground and pray that the last body drops before you run out of bullets. So, we go out and kill a few of them every other day to keep the numbers down.” He let go of my shirt and resumed walking.

  “I’m sorry, Schafer.” I realized now that he had obviously been surviving just as long as I had. Maybe in a different way, and he hadn’t been alone, but I guess in a way we were all alone out here no matter what company we were in, because we all carried our own burdens.

  “Forget about it. Let’s just keep moving.”

  After that, we made it to the park in short time. The entrance had a huge sign to greet us, and at another time the park was probably vibrant and beautiful and peaceful. But now, despite the rain, the months without care were taking their toll. Not to mention the bodies that littered the area and turned Eden into the seventh level of Hell. Blood left smeared trails leading to countless bodies; rotting flesh scattered across the ground. The grisly image marred the scene of tranquility.

  I was about to ask why they didn’t burn the bodies or try to get rid of them somehow, when Schafer put a hand to his ear and tightened the grip on his M16.

  “Hensley reports five tangos in a clearing up ahead. Game on, Eric. Time to shake off some of that rust.” He jogged ahead, and I followed, finding Burke and Hensley waiting behind opposite trees on the outskirts of the clearing. Burke held up three fingers and fanned them in a wave past his tree, signaling that th
ree of the zombies were on his side of the clearing. I edged out to see the zombies, one of them kneeling over another body and chewing on the flesh like peeling plastic off the energy bar from earlier.

  “You see, Eric, before we were stuck in this hellhole, we were back in a compound, part of a company ordered to hold and protect the civilians there at all costs. Then, some dumbass at HQ decided to send out scouting platoons to the four corners and report back what we found. I left that compound with eighteen men under my command. Day one, we had been out for a few hours, and the sun was coming down. It was like an ambush. We saw most of them coming from all over, but some of them came out from behind the rocks, hidden in the shadows like some kind of fucking nightmare. The sounds of gunfire only brought more of them down on us…” He paused and gave a short wave to Hensley and Burke, who pivoted around the trees and fired suppressed rounds simultaneously. Two of the zombies collapsed, their brains spraying the grass behind them. “By day three, I had lost seven soldiers, and we were low on ammunition from all the fighting, but we knew if we tried to double back, those things would be all over our trail. So, I ordered them to push on trying to find shelter to barricade until we could find a vehicle for transport back to the compound.” Behind Schafer, the three remaining zombies had taken notice and were coming our way.

  “We were forced to scavenge ammo off the dead, Eric. Men that I had known for years, fought next to, their lives thrown away on some bullshit order from a guy safely tucked away in his bunker surrounded by concrete and soldiers. When we made it to Crown Point, my platoon of eighteen was cut to six. I lost twelve men just getting here, Eric. And lucky thirteen happened the night we took the courthouse. It was a fight every second to take this place, and I’ll be damned if I let another of my men die.” Schafer brought up his M16 and fired off three shots in rapid succession. The three zombies fell in their tracks, pools of blood escaping from their skulls into the grass and dirt. “That, Eric, is why I go beyond the safety of the courthouse. What you encountered on your way in was one week without a patrol.”