“Fine! What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your father. You and your old man were pretty close, right?”
“We had to be. We only had each other. My mother died when I was four, giving birth to my baby sister, but she also didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It was just the two of us. My father became my world and I became his world. He taught me martial arts, some defense techniques, a lot of those kung-fu, taekwondo, kickboxing thing… At first I thought that was silly, but now it’s paying off.”
“And what did your father do for a living, I mean, besides being the Australian version of Bruce Lee?”
She smiled.
“He worked in a large telecom industry. Actually, it was the Australian branch of a big American company. He was a competent bloke, that’s why he was given this opportunity to work here. Actually, I was even more excited than him. As you can imagine, I went where he went.”
“What about the plague?”
“It was starting in Australia. We had news of a new fatal disease spreading countrywide like mad, rumors about folks rising from the dead and eating the living. Of course we didn’t take such talks seriously, but we were glad to leave the country on those conditions.”
“And then you got to another country in even worse conditions.”
“Something like that, yes. We heard some folks coughing and sneezing on the plane, but nobody died during the trip. But things were different once at the airport. Chaos was already all over the place, dead people running around trying to dine the living. We heard the locals liked barbecue, but that was a little too much!”
Clark smiled.
“I know what you mean.” He said. “Anyway, something tells me you made it out of there alive.”
“Daddy could be pretty resourceful when he had to. He was also a kind, loving man, but regretfully some people mistaken this for lack of nerves. Some of his work colleagues who also came to America made fun of him because of that. But my father always knew how to deal with extreme situations, like the one we’re facing now. He even modified this truck to make it what it is now.”
“Yes, I’ve been meaning to ask you exactly this, I don’t suppose you brought this car all the way from Australia, right?”
“No, we did not. It’s a good old American model we acquired in here.”
“Then how come the steering wheel is on the right side?”
“My father changed it too.”
“Your father changed it?!”
“He could never get used to this driving on the left thing. Honestly, neither could I.”
“But how he did it?!”
“He never told me all the particulars on how he did it, but you got to admit, we’re sitting on the results.”
“That’s for sure.”
He took a deep breath.
“How did your father die, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Daddy and his colleagues were getting some grub in a snack bar, trying to figure out what was going on, how come dead people were simply rising to eat the living. I was with them. Eventually, the place was overrun by zombies, and they cornered some kids. My father wanted to save them and he asked his workmates to help him. But the same ones who mocked him for his sobriety were too spineless to do it. They just hid behind a table, crying like babies and screaming for help. My father had to save those kids on his own. I begged him not to go, it was too dangerous, but nothing could stop him. He was just that kind of man.”
“And the zombies killed him.”
“Not quite. Because he was the Australian version of Bruce Lee, he managed to keep the beasts at bay for awhile, giving the children time to run back to their parents. But there was this one little girl who was too scared to move. My father got distracted comforting her and a zombie bit him.”
“Oh no!”
“He eventually took the child to safety, but we both knew it was all over for him. We had already learnt that whoever got bit by the dead also turned into one of them, and we had to destroy their heads. And my father didn’t want me to see him as those things and I was the only one who could stop that. He asked me to bust his head somehow.”
“It must’ve been terrible.”
“One of the customers in the snack bar was a hockey player and he fled leaving his bag behind, with a new kind of modular stick inside. Now you can guess what happened next.”
“So, your father was the first one you killed like this.”
“My world finished that day.”
“You had to do it. There was no other way.”
“I wasn’t so sure, I died with him.”
“But you were born again after what you did in the elementary school.”
Lily didn’t answer.
“Yes you were.” Clark insisted.
“I guess daddy would’ve liked to see me doing something like that.”
“Of course he would!”
“So, how did I do in the department of talking about me and my past?”
“Extremely well!”
“Oh thank you.”
“But you still look like a badass road warrior.”
ACT 5
“Do you think we lost them?” Paul screamed in despair, hands compressing the steering wheel to almost squeeze it.
“How the heck should I know?” Nick retorted. “Do you want me to go out there and check?”
“Yes, why don’t you? You’re surely not helping any in here!”
“Oh, this is great! If you didn’t drive like a pregnant hippo, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place! Do you want me to drive?!”
“No, I want you to shut the fuck up!”
“Stupid ninny!”
“What was that?!”
“HEY!” Susan yelled. “Would you stop that? We got way bigger problems!”
“Yes we do!” Becky said grinding teeth. She was sitting by Susan with arms embracing her knees. “We got nothing but cowards in here!”
With furious eyes she looked at Frank, sitting across them. His tearful eyes could not return her punitive look.
“Asshole!” Becky said.
“Stop it!” Susan ordered her.
“Don’t you dare to defend him! He killed Lucas!”
“He had to, can’t you see? He got bitten!”
“We could’ve at least tried to think of something, maybe amputating his leg, I don’t know!”
“He begged us not to do it! He didn’t want to turn into one of these things, he wanted to die!”
“He wasn’t thinking! He was scared! And you didn’t even try to help him, none of you! All you could do was running scared!”
“Everything happened so fast, Becky. Please, I… I don’t pretend to know how you feel, but…”
“Then don’t! ‘Cause you’re right! You have no idea how I feel! I loved Lucas!”
“Really?” Frank decided to join the conversation. “Well, I didn’t see you being there for him! You ran away too, remember?”
“SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!” Becky jumped to Frank, angry teeth occupying most of her face. She slapped and kicked him with all she got. He raised hands to protect his head against such attack.
“Back off! BACK OFF!” Susan screamed, getting her arms around Becky, trying to pull her away from Frank.
“He was my best friend, okay!” Frank shouted. “It was very hard for me too! And yet, I was the one who had to put him out of his misery!”
“Enough!” Susan screamed her last ultimatum.
She managed to hold Becky down, and the girl burst into tears on Susan’s right shoulder.
“This won’t bring him back.” Susan whispered.
“This won’t bring Joyce back either.” Frank murmured. “And she was only thirteen.”
“Where we go now?” Becky asked, trying to get a grip on herself.
“Far from those dead bastards!” Nick said.
“Oh no, No, NO!” Paul suddenly shouted, hitting hard the
steering wheel with his left hand.
“What…? What happened?” Nick mumbled.
“Right now, we’re not going anywhere. We got a flat.”
“Ah Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus…!”
Paul was about to lose control of the vehicle. The van veered off harshly, almost overturning. A few yards from the main road, he finally brought the vehicle to a halt.
“Are you alright?” He asked everybody.
They all nodded a yes.
“This is great, this is just great!” Nick grunted. “What now?”
“Now we run!” Paul said.
“What? Are you crazy? Those freaks will eat our guts, like they did to Joyce!”
“Not if we run.”
“I say we stay here.” Becky suggested. “Come on, they can’t get in with all doors locked.”
“And how long are you planning to stay in here?” Paul retorted “Until we starve to death? We have to try to make a run for it.”
“Run where?” Nick intervened. “We are in the middle of fucking nowhere! As far as we know, those things can be everywhere!”
“My point exactly! We’re not safe in here. They’ll turn the car around, they’ll break into here.”
“Only if they see us.”
“They will find us eventually. They can also smell us.”
“But they can’t get in!”
“Oh I think they can. Those fuckers are strong!”
“They are rotting corpses. They can’t be stronger than a human being!”
“They seemed pretty strong to me.” Frank opined. “Besides, there’re too many of them. They might as well open up this truck like a tin can.”
“Well, you pricks do what you want.” Becky said. “I’m not moving from here.”
“We can’t stay here forever!” Paul spoke.
“Alright, then you go out there and see if those monsters listen to your bullshit!” Nick replied. “Maybe you’re lucky and they don’t eat sissies.”
“Hey!” Susan protested, while Becky opened a very tiny smile.
Paul jumped to Nick and pushed him violently. They both crashed against the side of the van, shaking the vehicle and making a thunderous noise.
“Break it up, you’re crazy?” Frank hopelessly tried to separate the two fighting men.
“Hey! Stop all of you!” Susan interrupted them loudly. “Look!”
Everybody looked out of the window, to the direction she was pointing at.
“That’s beautiful!” Nick gasped “If we can make it there.”
“The lights are on.” Susan spoke. “There must be somebody inside. It’s not that far. I think it’s our best shot.”
“Maybe our only shot” Frank agreed.
“Right on!” Paul said.
“I’m in the mood for a movie anyway.” Nick spoke.
They turned to Becky. She hesitated, but finally said:
“Fine, let’s go. At least a Cinemark is big enough so I don’t have to look at your ugly faces all the time.”
Very slowly and with extreme caution, Nick opened the van left door. He peeked outside. No sound. He waited.
“I guess we’re good to go.” He murmured to the others.
They stepped out of the vehicle one by one, as if such order was necessary. But they barely set foot on the floor and a symphony of snarls deafened their eardrums. Horridly deformed silhouettes grew bigger as they approached fast.
“Shit, RUN!”
They ran, trying not to trip on their own ankles.
“Did you close the doors of the car?” Nick asked.
“Of course not!” Paul replied. “I didn’t exactly have the time!”
“Then we can’t go back to the van anymore! Nice doing, genius!”
“Shut up and run you too!” Susan screamed.
Arguing in the middle of a run almost caused Susan to trip and fall down on the grass. But she managed to restore balance and kept on running.
They reached the movie theater and tried to open the door, to no avail.
“Hey! Open the door!”
“You guys, please, open the goddamn door!”
“They’re going to kill us! Open the door please!” Their voices overlapped.
Only Susan didn’t say a word. She frenetically waved arms and hands to a camera just above the heavy, thick gates. They heard a click sound. The doors unlocked and they ran inside. Frank had to kick one of the hungry beasts that kind of got caught on him.
Another click sound and the huge gates were locked again.
“Thank God for surveillance systems.” Susan said breathless.
“Are you alright?” Paul asked Frank. “Have you got bitten… or scratched?”
“No, but that thing touched me!”
“It was a female dead.” Nick noticed. “Guess she liked you.”
“Yeah, maybe it was your sister!”
“Or your mommy!”
“Enough, you too!” Susan scolded them. “Damn it, you’re such a bunch of kids!”
“And assholes too!” Becky seemed to agree, but her insult sounded general.
They walked around the lobby.
“Look at this place.” Paul said. “Lights are on, everything’s neatly organized, definitely not Hurricane Katrina torn apart and upside down like all other places we’ve been.”
“We’re surely not alone here, dude.” Nick concluded. “Somebody’s giving this place a lot of love.”
“Maybe a movie fan” Frank proposed.
“And what are they showing tonight?” Paul queried.
“I hope it’s not a zombie movie, we got plenty of that outside.”
The men laughed boyishly.
“Shut up!” Becky said.
“Hello!” Susan shouted “Anybody here?”
“Hey, not so fast, sweetie” Nick interrupted her. “We don’t know this people, or their intentions.”
“That’s right.” Frank agreed. “What if folks here are into one of those apocalyptical cults in which mutants probe normal people’s asses?”
“You’re in the right place, dude.” Paul spoke. “You have been seeing a lot of movies.”
“Whoever they are, they opened the door and saved our lives.” Susan replied. “Maybe they didn’t show up because they are worried about our intentions.” She raised her head and her voice again “Hello there! We mean you no harm, our car broke down! We just want shelter!” And, after a pause: “Thanks for letting us in!”
Only silence responded.
“Maybe they’re just shy.” Nick proposed. “I’m sure they’ll come to us at their own convenience. In the meantime, let’s eat!”
In less than ten minutes, they were all occupying the most comfortable seats in the biggest cinema of the theater, M&Ms, ruffles and pounds of popcorn all around them, not to mention gallons of soda pop distributed in five king-size plastic cups. They were feasting at will, but not watching anything in particular on the giant white screen.
“We could try to get into the projection booth.” Frank suggested. “See if we can watch something.”
“That’ll be great to blow off some steam.” Nick said.
“Only with the kind permission of our hosts, whatever they are” Susan replied. “We’d better get to know them first.”
“They don’t seem to have a problem with us devastating their food supply.”
“Do you even know how to work a projector?” Becky asked.
“We figure it out. It can’t be that hard. Today, everything’s digital. It must only be a matter of pushing a couple of buttons and run some software.”
“Like the movies you illegally download to your laptop?” Susan spoke.
“Precisely!”
“Maybe some other time” Susan decided. “Let’s finish eating first.”
“That’ll take days!”
They all laughed, except for Becky.
“You got to eat something.” Susan turned to her. “Come on, join the party.”
“Unless
there are vegetables in there, I pass.”
“Popcorn comes from corn.” Paul joked.
Becky just twisted her lips, and not to smile.
“You might as well put some weight now.” Nick spoke to her. “It’s not like the model agencies are hiring too much these days.”
“You might end up like those zombies out there if you don’t put some flesh around your bones.” Paul agreed.
“Yeah, thanks for reminding me that everything’s hopeless now!” Becky complained. “As for the zombies, even their rotten dicks are bigger than yours!”
“Nice.” Paul muttered.
“She got a point there though.” Nick said.
“About their dicks being bigger than mine?” Paul asked.
“No, about everything being hopeless.”
“Are you going all pessimistic on us now?” Susan queried.
“No, not pessimistic, just hopeless. See what we’re doing now, hiding like rats, always running from one shelter to another. We’ll probably have to run for the rest of our days, if we survive.”
“Yes, it’s tough not to be on top of the food chain anymore.” Frank said.
“Right” Nick continued. “We’re practically slaves of those dead fuckers. They appear, we run scared.”
“They dilacerate our bodies if we don’t.” Susan spoke.
“My point exactly” Nick whispered. “They say jump, we ask how high. I’m sorry, but that feels pretty pointless to me.”
“And to think that perhaps all we need to turn this tide is a hockey stick.” Paul said.
Nick frowned “What are you talking about, dude?”
The Sunshine Dame of Doom Page 3