by DeLeon, Jon
"We're too far to see," Teo said.
"Kurt isn't blond." Teo seemed not to understand. Joe pointed at his own hair. "Brown hair."
Teo nodded understanding, seeming relieved.
"Joe. Look at that, have you ever seen something like that?" Ricahrd was pointing across the lake at a small island. A small horde of zombies were walking in a circle in unison.
"What the hell?" Joe said under his breath.
"Dios mío," Teo said out loud.
"I'm sorry, bro," Ricahrd said, putting his hand on Joe's shoulder. "If your brother was here and had to leave in a hurry, he probably went to that island."
"He's not there," Joe said.
Ricahrd shook his head. "Look, man, I've come all the way to Russia with you, but this is our only lead. There is nothing else we can do. We don't have any other options. I think it's time to let him go."
"I'm telling you. Kurt wouldn't put himself in an inescapable situation. He knows better."
"We need to get back to the heli," Teo said.
"He's right, we can't be out here long. We gotta go," Ricahrd said.
"Okay, but we do what Kurt would have done. Find a way out of here, safely."
"How would he have done that?" Ricahrd asked, even more doubt in his voice this time.
Joe was thinking hard. "We do what Kurt would have done." Joe scanned the lake until he saw the outlet river now flowing well, from the lake overspilling from the snowmelt. "We follow the river to the coast."
"How do you know he would have done that?" Teo asked.
"He's my brother. I just feel it," Joe said, nodding.
Teo gave him a strange look.
"Look, man, I can't explain it. We have always known what the other was going to do. When we were on the same basketball team, I could pass the ball to an empty place and he would show up out of nowhere. Either way, it's still heading the same path out of here. So you get what you want, and we get to look for signs of my brother."
Teo shrugged his shoulders, okay with the decision.
"All right, let's follow the river," Ricahrd said.
"Let's go," Joe said, turning away from the lake.
The Russian River: Outbreak Day +102
Tyler and Kurt looked around. There were cliffs on either side of the lake inlet where their canoe had come out of the rapids.
"What do we do?" Tyler asked, concerned.
"Row, I guess," Kurt said, unsure of his answer.
After a few minutes of rowing, the water level in the boat was increasing faster. The paddling was causing them to sink even quicker.
"Kurt—" Tyler started to ask.
"Just keep paddling," Kurt said, determination masking his fear. He was rewarded. As they made progress away from the rapids, the fog started to lift. Without the white mist of the river, Tyler and Kurt could see clearly around them. They could see that the lake was a very thin oval shape. Across the lake on the far side was a building of some kind. It was very simple in design, gray cement poured into block shapes that formed a very industrial look.
"Is that a hospital?" Tyler asked, pointing at a row of what looked like ambulances that were parked along the side of the building.
"Is that a beach?" Kurt asked back, pointing at the shore just a few hundred feet from the building.
"Row!" they yelled in unison.
As they picked up their cadence, the boat sank even more rapidly. It was a race that they had no chance to win. The canoe sank about fifty feet from shore, forcing the two to swim to the beach. The canoe was gone now.
Kurt and Tyler slogged themselves out of the lake and up the beach.
"Shit," Kurt exclaimed.
"What?" Tyler said, shivering from the cold. "Are you good?"
"I lost my backpack."
"Ha ha ha," Tyler laughed. "I guess now we're truly fucked."
Kurt sat on the beach, staring at the lake. "I wonder if I could find it."
"Sorry, man, I don't think you're going to get it back this time," Tyler said, standing up and offering his hand to Kurt. "Come on, man, let's see if any of those ambulances still run."
Kurt stood up with Tyler's help, and they both jogged to the ambulances.
Kurt tried the first of the three vehicles. It was locked. "Tyler, check the next one."
Kurt moved to the third ambulance as Tyler tried the second. They were both locked as well.
Tyler joined Kurt at the third vehicle. "Any luck?"
"No, this one is locked too."
"Should we break in and try hot-wiring them?" Tyler asked.
"Can you hot-wire a car?" Kurt asked back, slightly judgmentally.
"No," answered Tyler. "But I could try."
"I don't think it's as easy as they show in the movies," Kurt said.
"Okay then, genius, what should we do? I'm freezing and we need to keep moving. Do you have a better plan?"
Kurt looked at the abandoned Russian building. The dark windows and doorways stared out at them. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. "The keys could be inside."
"You want to go inside?" Tyler asked, suddenly whispering.
"Do we have a choice?" Kurt asked back, surprisingly calm.
Tyler unconsciously stepped between Kurt and the building. "Dude, you know what this place is? Look at it and think. Look, the windows are barred. It's in a remote location surrounded by nature. And there are ambulances outside. Dude, this is a mental hospital."
"You don't know that. Unless you can read Russian," Kurt said, pointing at faded-black block-print lettering on the outside of the building.
"Look at it, dumbass," Tyler said back.
"Okay. But even if you are right, I don't think crazy people can be worse than zombies."
"What kind of zombies do crazy people make though?" Tyler asked excitedly.
"Come on," Kurt said while taking confident strides toward the building.
"Argh, wait for me," Tyler said, following Kurt.
Kurt and Tyler surveyed the building as they moved inside. The entry hall was very plain. There were no pictures on the walls and no waiting chairs. About ten feet in was a set of bars that sat open. A key stuck in the locking mechanism from the inside. Someone had fled this place.
"See, Kurt? What kind of hospital has bars inside too? A mental hospital," Tyler whispered in Kurt's ear.
"Keep your eyes open," Kurt said back through gritted teeth as he walked farther inside. As he passed the metal gate, Kurt pulled the key out of the door. Might need this.
Down the hall about ten feet was a locked door. Kurt tried the key. It worked. "This must be a skeleton key for the whole place," he said as he put it back in his pocket. The office they entered was a security room. A few batons and helmets were on a shelf in the back, while a set of car keys hung on the wall.
Tyler grabbed them. "They look right. Let's get out of here." He turned and ran out of the room, Kurt fast on his heels. They got to the ambulances and began trying the key. It opened the middle of the three ambulances. Tyler climbed inside and turned the key in the ignition. The gauges lit up and the engine started. Tyler hit the steering wheel in happiness. "It's working."
Kurt smiled. "All right, let's get out of here."
Tyler looked at the gauges. "Hold up."
"What?"
"We need gas. This thing is almost empty."
"Where are we going to get gas?"
Tyler thought for a second. "Go find me a hose, and we can suck the fuel from the other ambulances and put it in here."
"Oh no, I'm not doing that again," Kurt said, thinking back to his experience with the fuel tanker.
"Fine, I'll do it. Just go find me a hose."
"Where am I going to find a hose?" Kurt asked.
"They have to have a utility closet or something in the basement. Go get the hose. I'll get everything ready out here."
"Back in the looney bin, are you serious?" Kurt wasn't convinced on this plan.
"Go!" Tyler said with a playful command.
"All right! Fine," Kurt said in a huff. He turned and ran back inside the hospital. The eerie quiet and dim light shining through security-glass windows gave the whole building a ghastly appearance. There was no basement, but Kurt found the employees’ wing. Metal bars sealed it off. Kurt pulled the key from his pocket and opened the wing. He passed a few doors that opened into small bedrooms. He stopped at a steel door with a sign that had a picture of a wrench on it. Looks promising, Kurt thought as he opened the door.
Outside, Tyler was opening the gas caps of the other two ambulances to syphon the fuel when a noise from inside made him look to the second floor of the building. A diseased face stared out at him. There was a zombie inside. Shit, Tyler thought. Then a second and a third face popped into other windows on the second story.
Tyler froze. What do I do? I can't yell for Kurt without causing a zombie charge. Well if he comes out, we'll need to make a fast getaway. Tyler sprinted to the ambulance he had the key for and fired it up. He looked up at the windows. The zombies were gone. What can I do? What if he doesn't make it out? I have no idea. I'm going to need help. Maybe a Hail Mary will help. Tyler grabbed the radio and turned it to a random channel.
"Hello, is anyone there? This is an SOS. I am a survivor and not infected. I need help. I'm at . . ." Tyler looked at the name of the hospital, but it was in Russian. "I'm at a hospital on a lake at the bottom of, shit, downstream of a satellite installment. I need help."
Tyler watched as the truck died out. The fuel was finished. In the now-deafening silence, a new noise intruded from his right.
Something in the back had woken up.
Tyler turned to see a face pop up from the back, in between the two seats. A rotting hand grabbed at him. The firing of the ignition had woken it from some sort of hibernation. Tyler fell out of the door, narrowly avoiding the grasp of the attacker. As he fell, he hit the siren switch. The lights flashed and horns blared. A wailing noise echoed out. Apparently the sirens ran on a different battery than the rest of the vehicle.
Tyler scooted backward, twisting away from the ambulance. Faces popped up in the windows of the first floor now. The building was completely infested. Tyler scrambled to his feet and turned to run to the trees, but the zombie from the ambulance blocked that path. Maybe he could run through the building. Maybe there was a back door. He had to hurry. Tyler took off in a full sprint. The zombie chased him at a slow pace, having lost an ankle in its previous life.
Inside, Kurt heard the alarm wailing. That can't be good.
A zombie's wail and screams came echoing down the hall. Kurt ran to the metal gate and locked it shut. Wails and footsteps were coming closer. Kurt retreated from the bars. He strained to see what was coming from the other side of the gate. Tyler rounded the corner, grabbing and pulling at the bars. "KURT, OPEN THE GATE!"
Kurt ran back up to the gate.
"Hurry, man! This whole building is infested. I tried to escape, but a zombie from inside the ambulance cut off my run to the forest."
Kurt stopped. He had the key about an inch from the lock. He pulled it back.
"What are you doing?" asked Tyler.
"Did you just say you tried to escape?"
"Yeah, but I mean, I was going to be leading them away from you."
"You were going to just leave me here?"
"But I was going to come back for you. Come on, man, open the door. They're coming!" A wail came from behind Tyler.
"Come back for me? Come back for me!" Kurt's face turned red. His body grew hot and his eyes widened. "Come back for me! I got you off that island when the zombies came. Then I dragged you out of the river and helped you heal. I didn't leave you behind. And didn't we just promise not to leave the other behind, no matter what?"
"That was different."
"Different?"
"Yes!"
"Was it different with Liz too?" Kurt spat back at him.
"What?" Tyler was caught off guard.
"I've been doubting what you told me was true. Did you just leave her behind too?" Kurt asked.
"I didn't leave her behind. She was gone," Tyler said back.
"What happened?" Kurt asked with a hard face.
"I told you," Tyler said, nearly pleading for Kurt to stop asking.
"Bullshit you did! What actually happened? I don't think she sacrificed herself to save you." Kurt’s head was pounding. The blow from the rock made his head feel a size too big.
"It's the truth." Tyler was almost crying.
The zombie from the ambulance was getting closer. Tyler and Kurt could hear its bone scraping against the floor, inching forward.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want the truth!" Kurt screamed at Tyler.
"Fine!" Tyler screamed back. "Fine, I . . . I'll tell you." Tyler's shoulders sank.
"What happened?" Kurt took a step closer to the bars.
"I . . . I had to survive," Tyler said, defeated.
"What did you do?" Kurt asked, scared of what the answer was going to be.
"I . . . I . . . I pushed her."
"You what?" Kurt was shocked.
"I pushed her into the zombie."
The Settlement: Outbreak Day +65
Tyler fired a round, killing a zombie that had half excavated himself. "Let's go, Liz!"
"What about Philip?" Liz was still holding Philip’s hand.
Tyler took a quick glance at the now-unconscious man and shot him in the face. "Run!" Liz was frozen in shock at watching Philip's face explode in front of her. Tyler grabbed her. "Come on!"
Tyler yanked her violently from the ground. He pulled her for the first few steps, almost dragging her until she got her feet back under her and started running.
"Tyler! Kurt said to meet at the RV! We're going the wrong way!" Liz yelled at Tyler as they ran.
"We need to get out of here, Liz!" Tyler yelled back.
"But Kurt—" Liz started before getting cut off, as Tyler yanked her behind a tree.
He held her tight and spoke angrily. "It's every man for himself at this point, and we have a clean shot to the woods. The RV is back through camp. We need to get out of here now."
"We can't just leave him," Liz said back.
"Yes we can!" Tyler said, turning to run and pulling on Liz.
Liz yanked her arm free. "What is wrong with you? We have to get Kurt."
Tyler was extremely angry at this point. "What is wrong with me? What is wrong with me?" A zombie heard the yelling and came running toward Tyler and Liz. Tyler raised his gun, aiming at the zombie racing toward them. With a squeeze of the trigger, its undead skull exploded into the air. Without pausing, Tyler went back to his tirade. "Maybe it's watching my wife on top of another man while I'm freezing my ass outside in the rain. Maybe it's watching you flirt with Kurt every day while I sit there just having to witness it and act like everything is okay. Maybe what's wrong with me is believing you still loved me and I was just in my head. But now, when we are literally about to die and every second I spend here risks my life having to save yours, all you can think about is risking everything to save him. Would you be so adamant about saving me? No, I don't think so. So what is wrong with me? Nothing!"
Liz started to say, through tears pouring down her face, "Tyler, it's not like that! I—"
"Save it! I've dealt with this long enough!" Another zombie, drawn by the noise, was coming after Liz and Tyler. Liz turned to run, but before she could take a step, Tyler grabbed her arm and pulled her close. "I loved you," he said with spite. Tyler then shoved Liz with all his force into the coming zombie. Liz collided with the undead freak, both of them falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"Tyler!" Liz yelled, half in surprise and half pleading for help, as she fought the thrashing zombie. "I love you! Tyler! Don't do this!"
Tyler saw two more zombies coming toward Liz. "I know you did. Now you get to sacrifice yourself to save me! That's your last act of love!" Goodbye, he thought to himself as he turned and ran into the woods.
The Russian Mental Hospital: Outbreak Day +102
"I . . . I can't . . ." Kurt murmured in disbelief and shock.
"It's like I said . . . she sacrificed herself for me," Tyler said, trying to convince himself more than Kurt.
"She sacrificed herself?" Kurt's blood was beginning to boil. "No! You sacrificed her!"
"Same thing!" Tyler snapped back.
"How could you do that?" Kurt asked.
"Oh please. I saw you and her in the RV. She wasn't my wife anymore. I sat in the rain and watched you two. Do you know what that was like?" Tyler was crying now.
Kurt's stomach rose in his chest. "Tyler, you don't understand."
"Kurt, I don't blame you. I heard it all. I watched her seduce you in your sleep. You said no, but she took advantage of you. I saw you give in. I saw you kiss her and take off your clothes. I walked away, into the woods. I thought about killing you both then and there. But it wasn't right. So sitting in that rain, I swore to God I'd take revenge, and I did!"
"So you killed her?"
"She killed me first!" Tyler screamed.
"Nothing happened!" Kurt yelled back.
"Nothing happened?" Tyler said, cocking his head to the side. "I saw you!" Tyler thrust his finger through the gate, pointing at Kurt.
"I stopped it. I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that to you! I thought you were a good guy." Kurt pointed back aggressively.
Tyler's face reflected emotions of confusion and anger. "It doesn't matter what happened, Kurt."
"How can it not matter?"
"She broke my trust. That whore deserved to die! You do too! But I forgave you! You should be thanking me!"
"I should be thanking you?" Kurt asked.
"Yes! You're alive because I have chosen to keep you that way!"
"Really? That's why I'm alive? Okay, and why are you alive?"
"Because I'm strong. I have the will to survive!"
"The will to survive? You're alive because I saved your ass!"
"After you stole my wife!"
"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Kurt's blood was at full boil.
The shouting match had attracted the attention of every zombie in the building. Footsteps echoed from behind Tyler. There was a large group of zombies coming. It wasn't just the injured creature anymore.