by Jeff Olah
Wanting to see how it would respond, Justin began to tap on the glass again. He also began to laugh quietly as this seemed to snap it out of its trance.
With only a two inch thick sheet of Plexiglas between them, the Feeder began slamming its arms into the door and bit at the frame, trying to find a way in. With each blow it landed, Justin moved a few inches back. It continued to batter the door, even after it was obvious one of its arms was broken. With its wrist bone now visible through the skin, it increased the force of each blow, although the sound radiating from the door changed to a low thud.
Justin very quickly realized his mistake as the top portion of the door began to bend inward. Without thinking, he turned and ran back to the store as the sound continued to chase him.
43
The store offered everything the group would need to survive for many weeks if not months. The building was warm, secure and had the necessary facilities. There were tons of clothes, shoes and many ways to fight off boredom, which would inevitably set in at some point. With plenty of comfortable places to sleep and seemingly no opposition to fight for occupancy, this seemed to be the perfect place to wait out the infection until civilization once again reigned. This place was perfect; except for one thing… their current supply of food would only last for a few days at most.
William sat quietly with Mason, trying to come up with a plan that would keep the group safe. He knew that staying in this building would mean continual trips outside to find more food. Where would they go to find more? Who would they risk to send out each time? Once the ammunition was gone, they would have to go out unarmed. The city had been picked clean in the first few hours after the world went crazy and the amount of Feeders continued to grow with each passing minute. The idea of an isolated area away from the city began to make more sense.
As Adam walked into the stockroom, he had a smile on his face. “Here’s the aspirin.”
“Thanks,” William said. “What’s with the grin?”
“Nothin, she’s just really nice.”
“Who?” April said as she stood and walked to the door.
“The girl with the hurt leg… Savannah, I think.”
“Oh boy… on that note, I’m going to find my son.”
Adam turned and responded. “I think he’s over by the shoes.”
“Thanks.”
William and Adam went through a mental inventory of everything the store had that they would find useful and how to best proceed for the next few days until the group could decide what they were going to do. No one had slept or eaten anything since yesterday and would probably make much more rational decisions with something in their stomachs and at least a few hours of rest.
Adam slid the bags over containing the protein bars and other items his co-workers had brought back on their first trip out. William asked him to pass out a little to everyone and kept a small supply for himself and Mason for when he woke up.
Not wanting to leave Mason unattended, William followed Adam only to the doorway and stopped. He wanted to let everyone know of the plan to stay put for the next few days until he could get Mason back on his feet and asked if they would be ok with deciding at that point what to do next. Everyone was in agreement, even Randy, who came walking into the area halfway through the conversation. “I’m good with whatever you all decide. I don’t have anywhere to be!”
“Good,” William said. “Adam, are the showers working?”
“Yep, but I don’t know for how long and…”
“And what,” William said.
“The water’s gonna be COLD!”
“Ok, you all heard it. If you want a shower, get in line and go as quickly as possible. I think Mason is going to want one when he wakes up.”
William turned and walked back into the stockroom as the others laughed, smiled and pleaded with one another for position in line to wash the bad memories of yesterday away… for a short time anyway. None were so naïve as to think that this nightmare was over, although for a moment these people were happy… happy just to be doing something normal.
. . .
April passed Randy on her way to find Justin and he merely nodded, not really wanting to make eye contact. She watched as Justin stumbled out from behind a rack of last season’s ski apparel. His face was flush and he appeared to be sweating. Randy turned as well and looked at April, waiting for her to speak.
“Justin, what’s going on? Where were you?”
“Nothing… I was just messing around.”
“You need to stay with the group. No one has checked the store yet. We’re not even sure it’s safe,” April said as she finally acknowledged Randy.
Randy was hesitant to initiate another conversation with April, partly because of the history they shared and the fact that she never liked Mason living in the same building as him. He knew they would talk when the time was right and was ready for any apology he needed to make.
“I’m on it,” Randy said. “Is it ok if Justin tags along?”
“I’d rather he get cleaned up. I’m sure you just heard about the showers?” April said.
“I sure did.” Randy said with a slight smile. “You all go take advantage of it. Not sure how long the water will be on. I’ll walk the store to confirm everything is good to go.”
“Hold on for just a second,” April said. “Justin, go with the others and get in line for the shower, I’ll be there in a few minutes. I need to talk to Randy.”
“Ok,” Justin said as he headed off to meet the others.
April waited until Justin reached the others before she spoke, somewhat due to the fact that she didn’t want him to hear their conversation, but also because she had no idea how to put into words what she needed to say to this man that stood before her.
He could see she was struggling and began. “April, I’m sorry. I should have taken care of those men before they hurt Mason. I feel…”
April interrupted, finally finding her voice. “You have no reason to be sorry. When my husband left last night I should have known what he was up to. Looking back at it now, I realize he was going after you. He knew all along we couldn’t survive without you and by my count you have saved my husband at least twice!”
Swallowing the lump that began to form in his throat, Randy tried to speak. For the first time he could remember, a tear gathered in the corner of his eye and broke free, running down his left cheek. He never let his emotions get the better of him because he thought it was a sign of weakness. This was new to him.
April continued. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am for judging you so harshly in the past and wish I could take it back. Please forgive me… please stay here with us. I know you don’t have much of a choice, seeing as how we’re locked in here with nowhere really to go. I just want you to know that I understand what you have done for my family.”
“We need you...”
44
Savannah watched as the others lined up to wash off the remnants of the past day. She sat with Joe in beach chairs outside the bathrooms as the others picked through apparel in the store for something clean to wear. Most parts of the store were untouched, since the majority of the employees simply ran out at the first sign of chaos. In other areas, the store looked like a bomb went off.
While his co-workers were out locating food, Adam decided to rebel against his now deceased managers and reorganize the aisles and shelves the way he saw fit. The shoe department and men’s clothing took the brunt of his frustration. He hadn’t anticipated this group showing up and now helping April sift through the piles trying to find something for Mason was laughable.
Adam held up a tie-dyed volleyball shirt for April to examine. “So, just anything in extra-large?”
“Seriously?” April said.
“It’ll look good on him.”
“Never mind, I’ll find something for him. Can you help Justin when he comes out?”
“Sure.”
April continued to dig through the mess on the floor and wa
s startled by a crashing sound coming from the behind the shoe department. She looked at Adam as he stopped and turned toward the sound.
“Is that Randy?” he said.
“I thought Randy was on the other side of the store checking all the doors.”
“I’ll go check it out.”
“Alone?” April said.
“I’m sure it’s fine, this place is locked down pretty tight. Those things wouldn’t have any reason to come through that way; no one has been over there.”
“Alright, I’ll go with you, but I’m taking this,” she said as she picked up a small aluminum bat she found earlier.
“Ok.”
. . .
Walking the perimeter of the store, Randy was impressed at the level of security this place offered the group. Most windows and doors, with the exception of the entrance, had metal security gates behind them and were locked tight. Nothing short of a car at full speed would get through.
The only concern he had were the two service doors located at opposite sides of the building that were little more than thick plastic sheeting in a metal frame. These doors would keep people out, but not those things outside. They would be in here in under an hour if they spotted anyone at those doors. This worried Randy and he needed to let William know.
As he made his way back through the ping pong tables and outdoor gear, he noticed Justin and Karen coming out of the break room having just showered. He laughed and shook his head at the contrast between the two of them and William standing less than fifty feet away looking vaguely like one of the Feeders from this distance. He called out to William as he continued toward him.
“The store is locked down tight. Just a few small potential problems…”
They were interrupted by a cry for help that reached every corner of the building. Randy put his hand on Williams shoulder and told him to keep Mason safe. As he ran past Justin and Karen, he told them to get inside the break room and lock the door behind them. He only had one pistol with him and had no idea what he was running toward.
“Help, please someone HELP. They’re inside!” April shouted.
When he reach the shoe department and turned the corner, he could see two Feeders already inside and countless others pushing forward against the broken door, furiously trying to get at Adam. April stepped back and swung on one of them, making contact just below the chin and sending it crashing backward into Adam and knocking him to the ground.
Randy stepped forward, grabbed April by the arm and in one motion tossed her behind him like a rag doll. He picked up the bat she dropped and made short work of the two Feeders hunched over Adam, although another had already managed to squeeze partway through the door and was now stuck.
Randy pulled the weapon from his waistband, raised it to this thing’s head and with one shot blasted it free of the doorway knocking it and two others back into the parking lot. He turned and helped Adam to his feet, who was now completely covered in blood. They worked together to right the door and push it back into place as the next wave of Feeders converged on them.
As April stood by, Randy asked that she get the others and bring over anything heavy they could find to block the doorway.
The two continued to push back against the growing crowd outside and knew they couldn’t hold them off for much longer.
“Randy, we have an old vending machine in the stockroom we could put in front of the door that would work,” Adam said.
“OK, who’s going to get it?”
“William could bring it; there’s a hand truck sitting right next to it.”
Randy looked back at April, asked her to go to the stockroom and have William bring the vending machine.
“We can’t hold them off much longer. GO!”
April ran off and as she was passing the break room, Justin opened the door to see what was going on. He quickly shut it again when he saw his mother running by. As she bolted through the doors and recapped what just happened, William readied the hand truck and strapped it to the machine.
April helped him get it onto the wheels and then helped pushed it out of the stockroom and into the store. She watched as he made his way through the store and then disappeared into the shoe department.
Turning the corner, William slowed as he came upon Randy and Adam. Starting to lose their battle, the two were being pushed back as the horde now had the upper hand. The door was bending in every direction possible. It wouldn’t hold them out much longer. With a thud, William dropped the machine back into an upright position and moved in behind both men pushing with everything he had.
Randy asked Adam to clear the aisle of boxes and as soon as it was done he wanted William to break off and the two of them to bring the machine into place.
As Adam moved away they began to slide back under the mounting pressure and once the path was clear and William broke free, Randy pulled the pistol from his lower back again, shoved it into the opening and emptied the remaining rounds into the first row of Feeders on the other side. This gave the men enough time to slide the weighty machine into place and reinforce it with the large shelves that contained hundreds of pairs of shoes.
As the last shelf was moved into place, they stepped back to assess the likelihood of those things pushing through the obstruction they had designed. After a long winded pause, Randy finally spoke. “That should hold ‘em for a while… not forever, but for now anyways.”
45
As the gunfire stopped and the room became quiet, Justin cracked the door. The light of day weaved its way through the store and slipped in just enough to mute the darkness they had been sitting in for the last few minutes. He continued to slowly open the door, now just enough to stick his head out. He stood from his crouched position looking out over the floor, opened it the rest of the way and stepped out. Confused, the others began to follow him to the door.
“What are you doing? Where are you going… and what was that?” Savannah asked.
“I don’t see anyone, and the noise stopped. Let’s go find out.”
“I don’t think so; I say we wait here for someone else to come out. I heard gunshots.”
William came walking back as Randy and Adam stayed behind to be certain their makeshift barrier would hold off the growing horde fighting to get in. The shelves shook every few minutes, although they didn’t appear to move even an inch.
Randy looked over, extended his right arm and shook Adam’s hand. “Good work kid. You go get cleaned up. I’ll take first watch. When you’re done, you can take over.”
“Sounds good. What are we going to do now? We can’t stay here much longer.”
“I’m not sure, but I think Will has a plan.”
“Good deal, when you guys leave, do you think there’s a chance I could come too?”
“How much money you got?” Randy said.
“Like ten bucks…”
“Ok, hand it over.”
“Really?”
Randy laughed. “Go get cleaned up. You’re coming with us.”
William made his way back to the stockroom and was clearly shaken. He walked straight over to Mason, checked his pulse and asked April to have everyone come back into the stockroom. He wanted to discuss what they were going to do next. He figured they didn’t have more than a few hours left in this place. They needed to gather what supplies they could and get out of the city by nightfall. He didn’t really want to travel at night, although their chances for survival here with the building already compromised weren’t much better.
The group filed into the stockroom one at a time, most taking the time to see how Mason was doing. William didn’t waste any time and got right to the point. “We can’t stay here. The building is not secure and we’ve already had a few Feeders get through. That’s what all the noise was about earlier. I would like to leave here within the hour so we can be on the road before dark. Is everyone ok with this?”
Randy appeared in the doorway, but didn’t step through.
Looking concerned, Adam a
sked, “Who’s taking watch?”
“I can see the tops of the racks from here and if they move, I’ll get back over there quick.”
William continued, “If everyone is ok with this plan, we need to get all the supplies we can and bring them to this room. Those of you who haven’t cleaned up, let’s get it done quickly and then help out the others.”
“Will, where are we gonna go… If you don’t mind me asking?” Randy said.
“My original plan was to head to the coast, so at least we have the ocean to our backs and hopefully don’t have to worry about those things coming at us from the water.”
April smiled. This was perfect. “I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this earlier. My father has a house on the beach, only an hour from here and I know it has a basement that he said was some sort of safe room. Being in the military he was very protective.”
“Your Dad was in the military? That makes two of us,” William said.
“Three,” Randy said.
April, looking rather uncomfortable, continued, “My father is still in the military. What’s left of it anyway? I have a key to the house and if we can get there soon, it might be safe.”
Randy, still keeping a watchful eye on the other parts of the store, still had questions. “William, it looks like you got some medical training in the service?”
“Yes sir, Army Combat Medic, although it’s been 15 years… You?”
“Special Forces and a few side projects for the private sector, discharged just over 8 years ago.”
Savannah smiled and pumped her fist in the air. “Looks like we’re in good hands. We even have the Sportmart employee of the month who appears very handy with a fire hose.” Everyone laughed as William directed his question at Adam. “Why does a sporting goods store have a fire hose on the inside of the building?”
“I asked my manager that same question when I first started working here. It looked really out of place. All he told me was that whoever occupied the building before had some very expensive merchandise that was also highly flammable. He said it was required by the owners of the building for insurance.”