Steam began to rise from the water in the coffee pot. Mitchell turned off the burner, then removed the pot from the heat just before it came to a boil. He slowly poured the hot water through the coffee grounds, filling the empty pot with dark, rich coffee. The strong smell of brewing coffee filled the air around them. It reminded Ed of Saturday mornings at home, back in his previous life, when he still had the luxury of taking freedom and safety for granted.
“It ain’t so bad in this place,” Mitchell continued as he poured the hot water through the coffee grounds. “It's drafty and cold in the winter, but pretty damn nice right about now. Damn near anything you’d need too; food, supplies, or what have you.
“I sleep up high, on the tip top of one these shelves. It’s high enough to be out of the way, but also high enough to make me a bit nervous. The deadwalkers don’t seem to come in here too much, but every now and then one of those poor bastards will wander around until it finds its way back out again.”
“Did you come from one of the border towns, or were you just unlucky enough to get left behind with the unwanted few?” Brenda asked.
Mitchell poured the rest of the water through the coffee grounds, then proceeded to pour the coffee into the Styrofoam cups. He handed a cup to all the adults, then he turned to Zach and Jeremy. “Since you boys likely don’t drink coffee I think I might be able to round up some juice boxes, maybe even some candy bars once we get through all our jabbering here. Provided it’s okay with your dad.”
Ed nodded. Zach and Jeremy beamed at the opportunity for sweets.
Brenda thought Mitchell had forgotten about her question until he finally answered. “I never made it to the border. I lived in West Virginia, which ain’t that far away from all those towns that sprung up around Virginia Beach right after the outbreak”
He sat down on the floor, leaning against the shelves, then continued. “Back before the government disappeared they were sending folks to the coast in army trucks. I headed west; business to take care of. Turned out that didn’t quite work out for me, so I just kept going. I guess I’ve been on the road for about three years now.
“One thing you got wrong though; there were more left behind than went to the coasts. There were lots of reasons; not enough trucks, not enough money to bribe the army, or just not important enough to take. Most of the ones left behind aren’t around anymore to tell you themselves. Most of the ones that didn’t take sick shortly after the outbreak were ate by the ones that did.
“I can tell you this, though; they’re dying off. It’s slow, but I think it’s happening. That first year, I ain’t quite sure how I made it. I guess the good Lord musta been watching out for me. They were everywhere then, and they were in better shape too. A lot of ‘em wasn’t even paralyzed yet. They were pretty fast.” He chuckled lightly. “I guess I was faster.”
“That business you had to take care of; when that fell through why didn’t you go back to the coast?” Trish asked.
“I guess I could probably ask you the same question,” he replied, smiling.
“Fair enough,” she replied.
“Wasn’t no sense in it. I was by myself, the borders were more than full, and I figured I’d do just as well out here on my own. Seemed I was better off seein' to myself than having someone see to me.”
“Amen to that,” Tammy chimed in.
Mitchell turned his attention toward Tammy. “She speaks!” he joked. “What's your story, young lady? How’d you end up out here in these badlands?”
“Army trucks saved the trailer parks for last,” she replied. “And by last I mean not at all. We were kinda like third class on the Titanic; just weren’t enough life boats left.”
“Sink or swim,” he said thoughtfully.
“And I’m swimming,” she answered.
Mitchell nodded. Silence ensued as the adults drank their coffee. Zach played with his toy car while Jeremy played with the three army men he carried everywhere. No one spoke for several minutes. The light was beginning to wane outside; subsequently the skylights were losing their power to illuminate.
Dave spoke, breaking the silence. “Look, Ed, I apologize for what happened back there. I’m not bad - we’re not bad - people here. I just lost my wife and our friend to some thieves in a standoff just like that one. It was sorta deja vu back there, and I guess I went a little nutty. These girls saved my life, so I wanted to protect them. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes as last time.”
Ed looked directly at him. He gently moved the boys out of his way, then walked over to where Dave sat. He extended his hand; Dave shook it.
“We're good,” Ed reassured him. “Nobody got hurt. We can thank Mitchell here for that.”
“Here, here,” Brenda said emphatically, raising her coffee cup and smiling. “And thanks for the joe.”
Mitchell smiled back. “You’re welcome, missy. It’s nice to have visitors, despite the circumstances under which we made our acquaintance. And seeing those boys just made my day. Reminded me of...well, never mind all that.” He trailed off, staring into the distance, lost in thought for a few moments. He then stood up, groaning as his knees and ankles popped and cracked. He surveyed his guests, smiled, then spoke again, clapping his hands together. “Let’s eat.”
They ate a hearty meal, at least by post-outbreak standards, consisting of canned tomatoes and corn, Vienna sausages, and strawberry preserves. As promised, Mitchell had a stack of candy bars that the boys were allowed to choose from. Jeremy chose a Snickers bar, and Zach had a Butterfinger. The boys were ecstatic to have such a treat, particularly after meals were so sparse during the winter.
The group made idle chat during dinner, with periods of silence falling in between. They discussed things like the coming spring and shared some anecdotal accounts of their time spent on the road. Those stories consisted mostly of long periods of boredom, scattered with intense interaction with the infected. It was very much like war in that sense, Ed mused.
Dave did not mention what he thought he’d heard the child carrier in the 7-Eleven say; he wasn’t sure anymore if he’d actually heard it at all. He had been through a lot of stress over the past month. That added up, and it could have a strange effect on a person. It wasn’t impossible that given enough stress a person could start to hear things. Maybe they could even see things that weren't quite there.
The light inside the warehouse faded even more quickly than the light outside the building. The skylights were almost completely dark by the time they finished with dinner and discussion. Mitchell produced a flashlight so they could find their way back to where he slept. He told them he had dozens of flashlights; along with enough batteries to power them for a “good long while”. Just one of the many benefits of shacking up in a warehouse super store.
Mitchell led them through a series of aisles until he arrived at the aisle containing the shelf on which he slept. There was a long, aluminum ladder leading up to the top shelf.
“That’s where I sleep,” he told the group, shining the flashlight on the shelf. They could see various items placed on the shelf, one of which was a cot. “I used to pull that ladder up every night, but for a man my age that’s a lot of work. Plus, I was afraid that one day I’d just fall right off on my damn head trying to lift it. All that’s changed now.”
He beamed with satisfaction as he shined the light on a rope tied to the top of the ladder. It ran through a support joist in the ceiling, the other end lying on the shelf above them.
“Now I use a rope. I pull this rope and it lifts the ladder off the ground, then I tie the rope off to the shelf. It keeps the ladder out of reach of those pitiful things out there, should they decide to pay me a little visit during the night. Helluva lot easier on the back, too. They can’t seem to climb too well, least not these shelves, but I don’t want to make it any easier on ‘em by giving them a invitation.”
He shined the flashlight up toward his shelf again, then scanned the group. “I could probably fit two of you up there, if you want. It’s
up to you folks. You’ll probably want to bunk in one of these shelves, just to keep yourself off the ground. That's my advice, at least. As for me, I’m going up. I hate to be a party pooper, but I ain’t twenty years old anymore. You all got flashlights?”
They answered that they did.
“You folks are welcome to stay the night. You’re also welcome to stay for a while longer if you like. Again, that one’s up to you folks. I do enjoy the company though, for what it’s worth. 'Night.”
The group said goodnight to Mitchell as he climbed up the ladder in the darkness. Once he got to the top, he pulled the rope, which was attached to the top of the ladder he’d just climbed. It rose into the air about seven feet; just outside their reach.
“Ain’t it brilliant?” Mitchell called down to them, chuckling as he said it.
Ed couldn’t help but smile. “Ingenious,” he called back to him.
Mitchell then flipped off the flashlight. Ed liked Mitchell already, despite just meeting him. He really seemed like the real deal. Ed removed his flashlight from his back pocket, then shined the light around in search of a suitable place to sleep. He noticed Dave and the girls were also searching for the same thing.
Eventually he spotted an empty shelf; it wasn't as high as the one Mitchell slept on, but it was off the ground. “Trish, you and the boys could sleep here,” he suggested. “What do you think?”
Trish walked over to the shelves and looked up. Ed shined the light for her to see. “I think we can fit, but you’ll need to give us a boost.”
“I can manage that,” Ed replied, smiling. He handed Trish the flashlight, then boosted her up to the shelf. He waited for her to climb in before lifting up both boys. She helped them into the shelf, then waited as Ed tossed up their backpacks. She began removing the blankets from the packs for their bed.
“How is it up there, boys?” Ed asked.
“It’s like a tree house!” Jeremy exclaimed.
“Yeah, Dad, this is cool!” Zach added.
Ed smiled.
“Are you coming up?” Trish asked. “There’s room.”
Ed looked over briefly at Dave and the girls. They were less than twenty feet away, their dim flashlight bobbing in the darkness like a firefly. He needed to keep an eye on Dave; Ed wasn’t quite convinced that he wasn’t really batshit crazy. He and Trish could rotate guard duty, just like any other night, in case any of their new acquaintances decided to pay them a visit during the night.
“I am,” he replied, then climbed up to the shelf to join them.
During the night the rains came. Water dumped from the sky as if a dam had been opened. The falling rain made a surprisingly loud roar as it fell on the roof of the building. It continued throughout the night and into the following morning at an almost invariably steady rate. Ed found it hard to stay awake amidst the lull of the beating raindrops above. It reminded him of rainstorms from his youth, culling him to sleep in his upstairs bedroom.
The following day each group stayed mostly to themselves. Ed, Trish, and the boys walked to the front of the store to assess the weather situation. The rain was ceaseless and torrential, so Ed decided they should stay inside, at least until the storm passed. The others agreed. They’d been caught in rainstorms like this before and he didn’t want to repeat the experience if they could avoid it. It soaked everything and chilled to the bone.
Around midday Mitchell invited everyone to meet with him for lunch. They were served canned vegetables and fruits along with mashed potatoes from re-hydrated spud flakes. Thanks to Mitchell’s propane camp stove their meal was piping hot. It was the first hot meal any of them had had in longer than they could remember.
The boys were beside themselves. The truth was, so was Ed. Between saving Trish's life, then finding the RV, and now the wonderful hospitality Mitchell had shown them, life wasn’t quite as bad as it had been during the winter. The weather was improving as well; Spring had sprung, and the rains had come as if to prove it.
Throughout the day Ed watched Dave carefully. He kept his distance so as to not provoke. He didn’t want another standoff, nor did he want any other sort of confrontation, not yet. Dave seemed to be behaving normally, interacting with the girls like a reasonably well-adjusted person, or as well-adjusted as a person could expect to be in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The conversation over lunch had been benign enough. Mitchell spoke of his time in West Virginia, living in a trailer in what he referred to as a “holler”. Mitchell’s opinion was that the world had dismissed his state and its people as insignificant. Ed wondered though if Mitchell didn’t also admire this fact just a little bit. It did make them an exclusive group.
Dave, on the other hand, spoke of his time in the border town. Ed noticed that he avoided discussion of his wife. No doubt this was an open and festering wound, but he seemed in control of himself during the telling of it. He watched his new acquaintance closely, focusing on his body language and eye contact. Dave didn’t seem to want to look Ed directly in the eye; perhaps it was due to embarrassment over the way he’d behaved the prior day.
Ed did notice, however, that Dave made plenty of eye contact with Brenda. There seemed to be something there, if not a romantic interest then a friendship. This was also a good sign; he felt it spoke for Dave’s character and suggested that he could actually form relationships with other people. Ed began to think that maybe this guy wasn't so unstable after all.
During this observation he also noticed that Tammy seemed to be distant. When Dave would make eye contact with Brenda, Tammy looked uncomfortable. She’d often look down, or even look away altogether. He wasn't entirely sure what was driving the dynamics of this group's relationships, but there was something under the surface causing some strife. Question was, how was that helpful in determining their intentions? Ed didn't have an immediate answer for that one.
After lunch they split up again, each group searching through the store for supplies. “Take anything you folks need,” Mitchell told them. “There’s more than enough for a geezer like me to live on. God provides, even in the worst of times.”
Ed stocked up on batteries for their flashlight; it was a necessity in the near-complete darkness of the warehouse after sundown. The four of them found more clothing to replace the tattered and filthy clothing they were already wearing. They kept their coats, however. Those were specialty items; very warm and very hard to come by. Ed even picked up a bottle of propane and one of the small stove tops attachments Mitchell used to heat their food. He thought it would be nice to cook a meal or two for Trish and the boys after they got back on the road again.
They passed Dave, Brenda, and Tammy twice while gathering supplies. Both times they nodded and waved. There was no hint of gun play, no standoffs, and no aggressive behavior. Ed was feeling better and better about these people.
As the second day came to a close the rain persisted. It wasn’t the downpour it had been the prior night, but it was still significant enough to drench everyone completely should they venture out. The moderate temperatures wouldn't be warm enough to offset the cold the soaking would bring, so they decided to wait until the storms passed.
As darkness fell and stole all the available light, Trish and the boys returned to their designated shelf. Ed gave both the boys hugs, then boosted them up to the shelf where they had set up their sleeping bags again. This night, however, they were in new sleeping bags, discovered in the camping section.
Before giving Trish a boost up to the shelf, she turned to him and asked him if he was coming up as well. He looked over at Dave and the two girls he traveled with. He watched their flashlights flicker and bounce in the darkness, just as he had the other night.
“I will in a bit,” he replied. I think I might have a chat with our new friends first.”
“Okay. We’re going to turn in then,” she replied. She touched his shoulder. “You be careful, okay?” He returned a touch to her shoulder in response.
Jeremy and Zach both waved
and said goodnight from the shelf above. Ed then boosted Trish into the shelf. She handed Ed the flashlight, then covered the boys with their sleeping bags before covering herself. They all lay down as Ed walked over toward Dave and the girls.
“Need any help?” Ed asked as he approached Dave, Brenda, and Tammy. Brenda shined the flashlight his eyes; he instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light.
“Sorry about that,” Brenda apologized as she moved the light down from his face. “I think we’re good here, but thanks anyway.”
“Sure thing,” Ed replied. He paused for a moment, then spoke.
“Hey, Dave,” he began, “we usually have to rotate guard duty amongst ourselves while we’re on the road. I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind alternating with me while everyone gets some sleep.”
Dave looked at Ed. “You sure about that? I mean, after what happened earlier...”
“I’m sure.”
Dave turned to Brenda. “What do you think?” he asked.
“Fine by me,” she replied. She turned to Ed. “Thanks,” she told him.
“No biggie,” he replied.
Tammy silently continued about the work of preparing their bedding and organizing their supplies. She was disengaged from the conversation, and Ed suspected it was not because she was engrossed in the work.
Ed turned to Dave. “Wanna shoot the shit? I gotta stay up anyway.”
The hard lines in Dave's expression lighted; his muscles relaxing a bit. It was significant enough for Ed to notice, even in the dim light provided by the flashlight beam.
“Sure,” Dave replied. “Why not?”
Ed and Dave found themselves sitting alone at the end of the aisle upon some large buckets of economy-sized laundry detergent. Ed turned his flashlight on from time to time, scanning the aisles for activity as far as the beam would penetrate. He saw no movement, nor did he hear any sounds to indicate the movement of any uninvited guests. Neither man said anything for a while. Dave stared after the beam into the darkness of the warehouse.
Into the Badlands Page 18