“There’s a gate across the entrance now and it will hold a few of them. We weren’t sure it would hold a huge group of them.”
Palen and Frankie looked to Johnny and Levi. It wasn’t that they were purposely trying to keep the other group at arm’s length, but when it came down to it, they knew and trusted the people they started out with. Frankie assumed the other group was the same way. There was a bond that neither group could deny.
“We're going to see if we can block the entrance. We can take cover for tonight here, and when it is safe, we can leave in the morning.”
No one knew where else they could go or had any type of plan. Frankie and Palen were the only leader types in the group as far as they could see. The new group seemed like decent people, but that didn’t mean that was how they really were. It was hard to tell what type of person anyone was anymore when the world was ending and chaos was everywhere. Normal, upstanding citizens could quickly become criminals, taking whatever they could get their hands on without thinking about the consequences. Frankie thought back to how New Orleans became a terrible place after Katrina hit. People who were neighbors, who should have helped each other, we're fighting in the street. Businesses were closed due to damages from the weather but were being looted and destroyed. Frankie hated to think the town could be reduced to such miserable circumstances, but they had to prepare for every situation.
“We need to move inside,” Frankie spoke, his eyes scanning the parking lot, shifting from side to side. “You should get the rest of your group." He said to Kimber. There were still two boys and two girls in the van, as well as the baby. Frankie couldn't believe the other group was going to travel with an infant, but he assumed that they didn't have a choice.
Kimber and Drew went to the van. Kimber explained to her brother what was going on. She half expected him to object. They have been ready to leave, though she wasn't sure they were completely prepared to do so. When the zombies came they were only half prepared and rushing to the van. With the arrival of the new group, they would be given more time to get ready. The only problem was nobody seemed to know where they should go. But they all agreed on one thing, it wasn't safe to stay there.
Eli didn't object, in fact, he seemed relieved. He handed Cash, the new tiny baby boy to his sister. In her arms, the baby felt so tiny, unlike anything she had ever felt before. The sense to protect the new baby was overwhelming. Even though he was not her own, Kimber new that he needed all of them just to survive. Cash was born into a world that was unlike anything she had ever known, she didn't even know if it could go back to the way it was before.
Eli and Drew began to help Rion. Carefully they supported her weight and dressed her again, even though the lower half of her body was covered in blood. It was hard to watch the new mother as she struggled to get dressed, moving slowly the immense pain written across her face. Kimber couldn't imagine dealing with everything they have gone through the past couple of days and then on top of all of that, becoming a mother. She knew that this was not how Rion had pictured the way her baby would be brought into this world.
Jasper and Carin we're talking to Frankie and Palen. The vehicles had to be moved to the back of the building and pulled inside so that no one would steal them. When they were safe inside the entrance would have to be blocked to keep out the infected. The groups were blending together, though Kimber could see that they did not quite trust one another yet. There was a lot to do before they could rest for the night. Plans were being made around her, people were moving toward the building, but all she could do was look at the tiny face snuggled in a blanket in her arms. How unfair it was, she thought, that this was the world that he would know.
“Are you coming with us?" Eli asked her, his arms wrapped around Rion whose weight was pressed against him as she moved slowly with Drew on the other side of her. “Or are you just going to stare at that baby all day?" Eli cracked a grin, knowing exactly how Kimber felt when she looked at that fresh face. A lot had happened, but for some reason, the baby was keeping them grounded as if he was a sign of a hopeful future.
Chapter Three
Jasper wasn't usually one to complain. He was used to having bosses who ignored his ideas, even know they were brilliant. He imagined that guys like Frankie and Palen were the type who would have said the Jeep idea was ludicrous. No one would've thought the filling a Barbie Jeep meant for a toddler full of explosives and sending it into a horde of zombies would have worked. That was why Jasper didn't even try to explain it to anyone, there wasn't any time for them to disagree. But he knew but his idea would work. He was used to people shooting him down and acting like he didn't know anything, instead of appreciating him for the genius that he was.
So when Frankie started to order them around, telling them how to secure the front door the zombies have broken, Jasper didn't even try to tell him that he was wrong. He figured that the soldier thought that he knew best because he was trained to be a leader, even though Jasper didn't know him from Adam. But after stacking furniture, carts, and anything else they could get their hands on into a mountain of chaos in front of the shattered glass doors, Jasper just couldn't keep quiet.
"This is completely wrong," Jasper said, turning to face Frankie. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Is this something you do in your spare time? Build walls to keep an enemy out so you can keep people safe?" Frankie asked, his voice filled with indignation.
"No, but there is no reinforcement to the structure. If they create one hole then they can all get through." Jasper couldn't believe that he had to explain himself, but he should have known. He had encountered so many people like Frankie and Palen over the years.
"He's right." The voice came from behind Frankie and Jasper. Levi has spoken up for the first time since they had entered the superstore. While Frankie and Palen knew that Levi had probably thought this through a hundred different ways, Jasper did not.
"I don't know who you are, but I like your ideas kid.” Jasper's hand went up into the air, a clear signal for a hi-five, but Levi ignored it and walk to the doors. He moved around the barricade that was poorly built, studying it. The things they had found to block the door where just thrown in a pile, on after the next. After a few minutes of thinking, Levi ignored the fact that Jasper had brought it up first, again explained that they were doing it wrong.
"What are you thinking, Levi?" Palen asked, knowing that if they were going to build the right, Levi was the one to tell them how to do it.
"Is this some Rain Man kind of shit?" Jasper asked, noticing that Levi was a little off.
"Dude shut the hell up." Palen was pissed and didn't like this kid. He was loud and obnoxious and acted like he was the only one who knew what they should be doing. Palen didn't like the way he talked to Levi, even though maybe he didn't realize Levi was a little different.
"It's okay Palen, he doesn't understand." Levi almost sounded defeated when he spoke and Palen assumed that he had said that line a million times before. Watching Jasper's ignorance made Palen angry and he wondered if Levi always had to deal with this kind of thing.
"We need to fix this. The base needs to be larger and things need to be sacked in an organized manner. Then we need to brace it from the back."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Jasper said, trying to ignore the fact that he wasn't really getting along with the other group. He'd seen this movie, he knew what came next. It didn't take a genius to know if the group didn't like you, you were voted off the island and he couldn't afford that. He may be smart, but Jasper had no skills needed during a zombie apocalypse. With some thumb strength from playing video games and a pale complexion from spending too much time inside, Jasper would have bet that he would be one of the first to die if you were watching this movie at home. So he knew he had to make things right, even if it meant swallowing a little pride and eating some crow.
"Look, man, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be mean, I guess I can just rub people the wrong way, you know?"
Jasper said to Levi.
Palen didn't know if Jasper was being sincere, but they didn't have time for any of this. He nodded his head and headed towards the barricade at the door to put Levi's plan in motion. His eyes found Frankie's and he shook his head. There were plenty of guys in their unit like Jasper, the know it all types who thought they knew best. Those types of guys were the ones who talked behind the lieutenant's back, bucked against authority, and put their units in danger. The feeling crept up inside of him that he couldn't trust Jasper, that when it came down to it he would only save himself. If you can't count on someone in your unit, you're always in danger, and Palen felt that as long as they had Jasper in the group they would always be in danger.
Johnny walked up to help the guys having finally settled Sada down with the other girls. He was followed by Eli, who had been helping get Rion into a comfortable place to rest with the baby. When Frankie saw the two guys coming he turned to Jasper.
"You can go, we can handle this." He dismissed Jasper like a teacher dismissing a student in class, no emotion or remorse to be had.
Jasper was mad but he couldn't fight Frankie on this. He didn't have the kind of upper body strength that they were going to need, but he couldn't help feeling offended when he was basically told to go play house with the girls. He was just as much of a man as any of them were, maybe more because he was intelligent. But jock type army guys only seem to value physical strength not intelligence and Jasper would never measure up in their eyes.
It wasn't a new story to him, just as people wouldn't listen to his ideas because he was young and weird, he was used to being dismissed because he wasn't strong. His own father had spent most of his life doing it to him, picking on him and calling him a weakling. Once his father had grabbed him by the hair on the back of his head, pulling his face back at the kitchen table. With his face only centimeters above Jasper's his father had told him how disappointed he was that God had given him a girl dressed up like a boy for a son. It wasn't fair for God to play such a cool trick on an honest man. Thinking about it now as he walked back to where the girls were, Jasper couldn't help but laugh. His father had been anything but honest and had spent most of his life drunk and sitting on the couch in front of the TV. While Jasper worked from the moment he turned 14 and his mother worked a full-time job every day of her life, his father sat down and drank himself to death, having the audacity to tell Jasper what a disappointment he was as a man.
"Jasper, you okay?" Carin asked. She was sitting on the floor with Drew, Kimber, and Sada, folding clothes to put into bags. It wasn't surprising that Carin could tell that something was wrong. Jasper had known Carin for years and they had worked at the superstore together for most of them. She was the kind of girl who finished his sentences, who knew what kind of soda he liked and bought it for him just because she knew it would make him happy. She was sweet and nice, and probably the most genuine person Jasper had ever known.
He nodded but his eyes never left the floor. He didn't like to look at her when he lied to her, something he rarely ever did. Carin never judged him or made fun of him, and he can always tell her the truth. But for some reason he didn't want to tell her this. He didn't want her to think any less of him, or to see him any differently.
Jasper drifted away from the group, heading toward his favorite part of the store. The electronic section was sometimes the only place Casper felt at home. Carin followed, knowing that something wasn't right. When they both reached the movie section, Jasper started sorting out the DVDs.
"Jasper, please tell me what's wrong." Carin's voice had a pleading quality to it. She watched as his hands moved from cover to cover, making sure each movie wasn't the right place.
"I'm sorting out movies and no even knows if people will be able to buy movies again."
Carin wanted to push but she knew that if she kept on pushing him when he didn't want to talk Jasper would just shut down. For as long as she could remember, Jasper had been the type of person who would talk on his own but if you tried to force him he would clam up entirely. So she waited, as the minutes ticked by as he sorted out several sections of the movies. She found comfort watching him do the everyday task that was his responsibility when the store was open. After a few moments of past, just for spoke again.
"They think I can't do anything. They waltzed in here and saved us and now they think we're helpless." His voice was filled with fear and it cracked with the emotion when he spoke. "Do you realize that they are going to take over? Eli was our leader but now he's so wrapped up in Rion's new baby that he isn't leading us anymore. They're going to step in and start calling all the shots, and they don't even want to know our opinion."
Carin didn't know what to say. Her feelings conflicted with Jasper's and she knew that he would feel betrayed if she told him. Palen, Frankie, and Johnny seemed like the type of guys who would be great leaders. When it came to making decisions, Sada said that they thought about the entire group not just themselves. They were trained and knew how to fight, something that no one in their group had. But she didn't know how to explain this to Jasper in a way that he would understand.
"Maybe, they are what we need," Carin said softly.
The betrayal was written on Jasper’s face when he turned to look at her. Under a crinkled brow line, his eyes bore into her causing her to pull away from her friend. She knew that this was going to be a fight from the moment she opened her mouth and maybe there was no way that she could avoid it. But she had to try and make Jasper understand.
"This isn't personal, Jasper, it's about our survival. Combining with the other group gives us the best chances of making it out of this thing alive. Is it worth it to be proud if it means you're going to lose your life?"
Jasper looked down at the DVDs in his hands moving them back in place. Carin could feel that she was getting through to him, little by little. She began to sort out the DVDs just like he was, her hands remembering the simple movements and doing them all on their own.
"Well, when you put it that way." Jasper smiled when he looked at her, his eyes brightening a little. Her friend was back, though she assumed they would have to have this conversation again maybe multiple times until he really came to terms with what it all meant. Carin knew how hard this was going to be after growing up with a father like Jasper's, who made him feel like he was never going to be a man. Struggling to find his place in this group was going to be hard and as a friend, she was going have to help him every step away.
Chapter Four
After building a wall in the entrance where only hours before the glass sliding doors came shattering down, the group gathered in a makeshift living room area the first group had left behind. Cash was sleeping in Rion's arms and Eli watched them both. She was already so good with him even though she had only just become a mother hours before. Eli had wondered when he first met Rion if she was cut out to be a mom so young, but watching them together every doubt was cast out of his mind.
They had all gathered to have a conversation about what to do next. Now that they were safely locked away in the store it was time to figure out some sort of plan. While it wasn't ideal to leave the safety and supplies of the superstore, they all knew it was only a matter of time before someone came for them. Whether it was the infected or more people like them looking for supplies and safety, they weren't going to be alone in the store forever.
Frankie stood up with Palen at his side, the duo that never seemed to separate. The two of them had made themselves leaders of the group. No one verbally objected to this decision but that doesn't mean it was a unanimous choice.
"We can't stay here." Frankie was blunt about it, deciding that there wasn't time to sugarcoat anything. Before the meeting he had talked it over with Palen, both of them deciding they had to make this group see that the only place to go with south. The further they got from the infected, the better their chances were of surviving. Once they put some distance in between them and Ground Zero, they would look for an army base. The arm
y was there to protect civilians and they both felt that they were called back to service, not wanting to abandon their duty.
"Traveling is not optimal," Levi said in his robotic-like tone. Frankie had known that Levi was going to be against leaving. It was harder to calculate the odds, he had said, outside of the store. It was much easier to barricade themselves inside until a cure was found for the infection.
“Levi,” Frankie said," we talked about this. I know that you think it's going to be safe to stay here but it's not." He turned to address the rest of the group "if I were a civilian out there and I was faced with the kind of monsters we have seen, the first place I would go is someplace like this. I would stock up on supplies, stealing everything that I could, and then barricade myself somewhere in this town. People are going to come here and we can't fight them off. Our best chances are to leave."
"Some of us have family here," Kimber said, standing up. "Our mother is somewhere in Dubuque. Are you asking us to leave without her? Because I’m not willing to do that.”
“We can’t go wandering around the city, trying to find people who are missing.”
“Eli, you can’t honestly think that we should leave and forget about our mother.”
Eli didn’t know what to say. He saw both sides, but his fierce loyalty to his family outweighed the common sense decision.
“She’s right, we can’t leave without her.”
Looking around the circle, Eli tried to remember who there still had family that was alive. After the destruction of Dyersville, presumably, it wasn’t many of them. Drew’s dad, Jasper’s parents, and Rion’s mom and sister all resided in their hometown and could be assumed dead after the explosion they saw from the outskirts of town.
Alive Page 2