by Zuko, Joseph
Would he go alone?
Without backup, going alone might be a death sentence.
There was no one else to send. Troy was laid out on the couch watching cartoons with the girls. He was one notch above a teenage babysitter at best. He was in no condition to run and fight. Was it worth the risk to step outside and help Leon find them a ride, just so they had a chance to escape if the worst was to happen? The worst almost happened earlier today when the apartment was smashed in. If it wasn’t for Troy they would have died.
Running on foot with the girls is not an option.
If they found a decent set of wheels on this block, depending how fast Leon was able to hotwire the vehicle, they might make it back in under a half an hour. The first thing they needed to do was clear out the garage to fit the new car. Plus they would need to find Penny’s spare garage door opener, so that if a legion of the dead were in hot pursuit they wouldn’t have to get out of the car to get back inside.
Leon peeled off his sweat soaked dress shirt and laid it on the kitchen counter. His undershirt was a tank top that revealed his lean muscular arms. A poorly drawn black tattoo covered his left shoulder. It read “Light on my feet, but heavy on the gas”.
The wording perplexed Karen so much that she couldn’t help herself but ask, “What’s that mean?” She pointed at his shoulder.
Leon looked at his shoulder as if he totally forgot that he was the proud owner of this baffling work of art. He grimaced. “I was drunk and I thought I was being clever. The first line is about being a thief, like faster than the law. The second line was to symbolize my skills behind the wheel, you know how I’m good at high speeds and racing.” Leon flashed a crooked unsure smile at Karen.
“Oh, okay I get it now.” Karen couldn’t hide the smile that grew with every passing second.
“Yeah, that’s what it was supposed to mean, but when you read it sober it sounds like I’m a dancer and that I have a digestive track problem.” Leon’s crooked smile changed to a pout.
The smile on Karen’s face exploded into a full blown laugh at the top of her lungs. It was her first real laugh in quite a while, but she felt bad that it was aimed at Leon’s misfortune, “I’m sorry, that’s not funny.” She bit both of her lips together to keep them from grinning ear to ear.
“It’s alright. It is a little funny. That’s the problem. Guys read it and they no longer take me serious.” Leon could see how hard Karen was fighting to keep a straight face. “It’s fine, get it out of your system.” As she giggled it made him start to giggle too. It was contagious. He pointed at his other shoulder, “I thought about getting the words Twinkle Toes and Toot Pants on this shoulder.”
That made her laugh even harder. Karen needed it and it helped wake her back up.
“That’s so funny. Sorry. Thank you for that.” She covered her mouth and got control of herself.
“I’m glad I could help. Now what do we need to do?” Leon said as he picked up his shirt and slid it on to his thin frame. He did it only to cover up the bad tattoo because he was still hot as hell from all the construction work.
“Let’s clear a space in the garage for our new ride. Then we’re hitting the street to find us something just in case we need to get the fuck out of here in a hurry.” She talked as she headed for the garage door.
“Alright, that sounds like a plan. We already cleared up space by using all of the wood so it shouldn’t take too long.” Leon followed right behind her.
Karen opened the door to the garage and kicked on the light switch, “Some of this is mine and my husband, Jim’s, old furniture.” She headed for an old sofa and end tables that sat close to the garage door. “Maybe we could put these where the stack of wood was and then pile everything else onto it?”
“Let’s do it,” Leon gave his back a quick pop and then was ready to lift the hunk of furniture.
They worked quietly and moved the junk away from the garage door. Some of the possessions were still brand new in their boxes. Leon lifted one of the old boxes and looked it over. It was an old fashioned popcorn machine and the box had never been opened. Karen noticed Leon inspecting it.
“I once said to Mama that it would be fun to do movie nights at her place and we should make popcorn. The next week she got that, but we never scheduled a movie night to use it.”
Leon set the box down on the sofa and then picked up another box with a bird feeder in it.
“I told Mama we should try and get some more birds to come around to her house because the girls would think it was fun. So she got that, but we never got around to putting it up.”
Again Leon set it down and went to move another never opened box. This one was a kit to make clay pots. He picked it up and looked at Karen, “Told Mama it would be fun to make your own pots and then she got this?”
“Bingo. Mama, had such a big heart and she…” Karen struggled. She had made the deal with her tear ducts and she was about to break it if she wasn’t careful. “She did her best to make everyone happy.”
“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” Leon set the box down on top of the others. They lined the walls and stacked everything up to the ceiling. Karen tried her best to turn off her thoughts. It took them only a few minutes to get the room cleared out enough to handle any sized ride they came across.
Karen could feel her ass dragging along the floor. She was beat. Today had been like running a marathon, but she had done nothing to train or prepare for it. She limped her way into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Leon leaned against the fridge and rubbed at his neck, “What do we have to drink around here?” He didn’t mean water or tea.
“I think we got a couple bottles of wine in the cupboard.”
“You think the stores around here would be thick with biters?” He waited for Karen to move away from the sink so he could get his own glass.
“I don’t know. Why, do you want to make a pit stop and get a bottle of booze?” Karen said with a laugh.
“After the day we’ve had. I could use a stiff drink. How about you?” Leon slurped down his water.
“I could use six stiff drinks, but I don’t want to leave the girls for that long.”
“Maybe we don’t have to go to the store. I bet one of the neighbors has a liquor cabinet we could loot.” Leon raised his eyebrows at her.
“I bet you know how to pop open doors too, am I right?”
“I’m no lock picker, but today if no one’s home, I think we can just walk in and take what we need. In and out real slick like before any biters notice.” Leon mimed pouring a drink into his glass, takes a sip of his fake drink, licks his lips and rubs his belly. “Yummy mind numbing booze.”
“Mama said a couple times that the neighbors five houses down throw a lot of parties. We could hit it first. See if anyone’s home.”
“Sounds good. Let’s gear up and head out before it gets dark.” Leon put his hand up in the air for her to give it five. Seeing Leon’s hand up in the air reminded Karen of Jim. Her husband prided himself on giving the best high-fives. Karen raised her hand to meet his in the middle of the kitchen.
Slap!
It was a damn good fiver.
Jim would have been proud.
Karen searched the kitchen drawers. She dug to the back of every one of them until she found the second remote to the garage. It was in the last drawer. Of course. She checked it to make sure it had a fresh set of batteries. She tapped the button and heard the garage door start to open. Karen quickly tapped it again and it came to a stop. One last tap and the garage closed. She tucked the opener into her pocket. Karen checked and then rechecked all three magazines for her gun. They were loaded and ready to jack up any infected monster that crossed her path.
Leon slid his suit jacket back on. He grabbed a set of pliers and a few screwdrivers from the tool belt and tucked them into his jacket. Then he slung one of Troy’s bandoliers over his shoulder. He looked the shotgun over and familiarized himself with its workings and po
pped a few new shells up into the pipe.
Click Clack! Leon was ready to roll.
Karen took a knee in front of Troy. She had a fresh icepack for his head, “I have to step out for a minute to get us some new wheels.” Karen helped him replace the pack on his forehead, “Don’t go outside, just stay here and watch TV with the girls?”
“Okay, I feel a little better than before.” Troy had a sharper gaze than he did an hour ago, but he wasn’t all the way back yet.
“That’s good. The girls have been fed and I just took them to the bathroom.” She switched to her girls and drew their attention off the TV with a snap of her fingers. “Girls, Uncle Troy is still hurt. I need you to be good and keep an eye out for him. You’re my little doctors, so take care of him, okay?”
“Yes, Mama. Can we still watch Dora and take care of Uncle Troy?” Valerie’s eyes darted around the room from Troy, to the TV, to Leon and then back to her Mama.
“Yes, you can keep watching the show, just stay here in the living room with him.” She stretched her arms out wide to give both girls the same hug. Robin noticed the wrap on her wrist.
“Mama, you hurt?” she could barely focus on the hug she was so caught up with the wrap on her Mama’s injured wrist.
“Yep, Mama has a hurt wrist, but it’s okay you don’t have to worry about it.” Karen smooched both girls on the top of their little heads. Robin already forgot that she asked about it and was pulled back into the epic drama of Dora the Explorer. Swiper the Fox was up to his old tricks.
“I love you girls. Mama will be right back.”
“Love you too, Mama,” the children didn’t break away from the TV screen. Karen thought maybe in this instance that was okay. They wouldn’t let her go if they really knew what she was up to.
Karen clutched her keys and headed for the front door. She checked the peephole and it was still clear out in the street. She swung the door open and Leon stepped out onto the front porch. He kept the shotgun up and ready. Karen pulled the door closed and clicked both locks into place. She checked the door three times.
One. Two. Three. It was locked.
She slipped her keys into her front pocket and pulled out her Ruger.
“Show me this party house,” Leon clicked off the safety and jogged across the lawn towards the street.
“It’s the house with the RV parked out front.” Karen kept pace with him and pointed to the house down the street.
“RV?” Leon’s breath was already labored.
“I know, I thought about that, but it’s too big to fit in the garage,” She was at the end of her candle, Karen’s feet felt like blocks of cement. A strong breeze could knock her to her ass. They crossed the street and headed for the targeted house.
An infected woman tossed itself through the living room window of the house next door.
There was a goddamn infected next door this whole time?!
The sudden noise and scare of the blood covered body crashing to the ground woke Karen all the way back up. She had another adrenaline charge left in her system. The window shredded chunks of meat off of her body and she gushed black sludge out onto the lawn. Leon took point and rocked it with a blast from the twelve gauge before it got to its feet.
Karen pushed herself harder and got her legs chugging. She really hated being out in the open like this and wanted to be indoors as quickly as possible. They raced up the driveway next to the RV and headed for the garage door. Leon pressed his nose to its window and covered his forehead to get a better look in the garage.
“What do they have?” Karen puffed out the words and watched their backs.
“It’s a Jeep.”
“That’s good. They can go off road.” Karen backed up to the garage’s window and took a look herself. It was a new model Jeep but the rag top was off.
Damn!
That was almost perfect.
“Let’s try the next house.” Karen stepped away from the window and made straight for the next house on the block.
“Didn’t you want to look for the booze?” Leon followed after her.
“Not until we have a ride to load it into,” she called over her shoulder at him. Karen hustled across the lawn and hit the next house down. The garage was empty.
Hells bells!
“Keep going. It’s empty,” Karen leaped over a shrub. The sun was no longer directly above them. The air had cooled by ten degrees and the breeze felt wonderful on her skin. The sun was now dropping out in the west and it cast creepy shadows that played with Karen’s mind. It looked as if there was an infected around every corner and one hiding behind every tree.
The next house had its garage door raised a foot. Karen dropped to the ground and laid herself flat in front of the opening. A set of tires greeted her, but she couldn’t make out what kind of car it was at first.
BOOM BOOM! Leon cycled through a set of shells. Infected bodies fell and slid across the asphalt. Karen looked back to check out the action. Two teenage girls laid at the foot of the driveway.
“What’s in there?” Leon asked as he pulled a shell from the bandolier. Karen inched a little closer to the door to see the front of the car.
“Subaru, looks like a wagon, I think I can fit in here. Should we see if anyone’s home?”
“Yep, let’s see if Sue and Bobby can come out and play.” Leon reached down and helped Karen to her feet. They headed for the front door. Karen peeked through a diamond shaped window decoratively placed in the door.
Nothing.
“Looks clear,” she whispered.
Leon took a look for himself and he agreed, “Step aside.” He whispered and Karen moved to the edge of the door. He crashed the butt of the shotgun down on the knob, but the brass fixture held firm. “Damn!” he clobbered it again and it left a dent, but didn’t break the seal on it.
“Just shoot it!” Karen was getting anxious and ready to be back home.
BOOM!
Leon wrecked the knob and the door swung open. Karen stepped slowly through the doorway. She didn’t bother to call out a hello or anyone here? She felt like the knocking and shooting of the front door was enough. The living room was clean. No signs of a struggle or turned family member that needed to be snuffed out.
Leon sped past her and headed for the garage, “Check the kitchen cabinets,” he said as he exited the living room. Karen inched her way through the strange house. The smiling faces in the family photos haunted her. It was a young family with children close to the same age as Valerie.
If they weren’t home then where were they?
Dead? Just like so many others in this neighborhood.
The place was so clean. That’s what really stood out for Karen. They must have had a professional maid come by weekly and give this place a solid once over. No way could a mom with young children keep a home this clean all by herself. It would have taken an army of Karens to do this level of work and her place was half the size of this home. The kitchen was immaculate. Every little thing had its perfect little spot. She checked some of the cabinets and they looked like a magazine shoot of someone’s fake kitchen.
Who would spend that much time organizing every shelf in their kitchen?
They must have suffered from O.C.D.
Karen opened a cupboard close to the refrigerator and JACKPOT! It was the good stuff, not the shit on the bottom shelf at the liquor store. It was mid to top shelf booze, baby! They had full bottles of Absolut vodka, Beefeater gin, Johnny Walker Black scotch and a Patron tequila. Karen needed to find a sturdy bag to carry all this in.
“How are you doing in there?” She called to Leon as she searched the pantry for a bag.
His voice was muffled. Leon’s head was still stuck under the steering column, “Almost got it!” he grunted to her.
“We hit it big here! They had a sweet stash. I’m bagging it all up now.” Karen found a heavy duty canvas bag and carefully loaded out each bottle one at a time. It occurred to her that if the world stayed on this course this
stuff would become liquid gold.
It might be a good idea to store one or two of these away for a rainy day.
They could use it to barter for food, weapons or ammo. People will definitely be needing strong drinks. So many loved ones lost today. That’s a lot of mourning. The Subaru’s engine purred in the garage. Leon had it running and was ready to hit the road.
“Hurry up!” He called to her as he pulled the driver’s side door shut.
“I’m almost done,” Karen removed the last bottle off the shelf and slid it into the bag with the others. She double checked the cabinets to make sure she got them all.
BOOM!
A bullet ripped passed Karen’s head and punched a hole in the perfect cabinet door. Karen ducked down behind the island in the center of the kitchen.
What the fuck was that?
Chapter 10
Jim weaved the PT Cruiser around a couple of destroyed cars blocking the street. He pulled back into the parking lot of his apartment complex. On the ride back Sara and Frank kept themselves busy loading the rifles and shotguns. Sara found a killer Glock 17 that she fell in love with. Frank walked her through a quick tutorial and she pushed the fully loaded seventeen round magazine into the bottom of the gun. Sara found the matching holster and strapped it to her hip as they entered the parking lot.
Jim had begun to feel nauseous. His face felt like it was about to explode from his throbbing sores. The wounds on his forehead and nose radiated a heat he had never experienced before. Most of the day he had suffered with the broken nose. The injury to his nose gave him a sweet set of black eyes to complete the loser boxer image he had going. Then a few hours ago he got the gash on his forehead from the car wreck. He caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror. He looked like a monster. His appearance and the way he reeked made him look and smell more like the infected zombies roaming the streets than a normal human being. He longed for an hour to himself. One hour where his life wasn’t in danger. One hour where he didn’t have to kill an infected. Sixty minutes so he could eat a real meal and clean the foulness that encrusted his body. More than anything he wished he could be home with his wife and children. It felt like a lifetime ago when he kissed his wife goodbye for the day.