by Jaron McFall
He didn’t stop as he looked at the bay that the ladder was standing in front of. He saw a good spot to aim his landing. Ross ran as hard as he could toward the end of the bay he was on, and at the last moment, pressed his right foot hard on the edge of the metal.
The air seemed to completely leave his body as he realized he jumped too hard and had overshot his landing spot. Luckily, the other bay was against the wall which meant he wouldn’t go over it, but instead, he made complete contact with the wall. He collapsed onto the bay, spread eagle with a gash busting open on his forehead where it had hit the wall. One of his legs was hanging off the side of the bay, threatening to pull him down.
Sue watched with shock as Ross hit the wall with enough force to rattle the pipes running through it. She screamed as he fell unconscious onto the bay. Sue had stood as he had been running but now fell onto her knees as she sobbed. Her great plan had backfired completely. Her only hope was that Ross could have gotten the ladder and made a bridge with it. Now Ross laid where she could not get to him, with blood pouring from the gash on his head, probably even a concussion. What now, she kept thinking to herself. She knew his injury was only serious in the fact that head-wounds just bleed a lot. There was no real danger from the opening itself, just the loss of blood. The possibility of a concussion, though, was a different story entirely.
“I have to get to him,” she said to herself and continued, “This is all my fault.” She contemplated making the jump herself to try to close his head wound and wake him up. After all, she didn’t have to worry about making the same miscalculation Ross did since she was nowhere near as physically fit as him. The thing she had to worry about, though, was not even making it to the other bay.
Just as Sue had started to run so she could jump, she saw Ross’s arms beginning to push himself to his feet. Sue stopped. Ross stood and lost his balance; he was still dazed from the hit. He quickly grabbed a pipe above his head to steady himself. He felt the blood running down his face and in his eyes. Ross pressed the palm of his hand to the injury. The oils and salt from his hand made it burn, but at least it helped the bleeding. He knew he did not have the strength needed to jump back to the bay Sue was on, so he stepped onto the ladder and pushed his foot against the bay. The ladder swayed slowly for the briefest of seconds but then gathered speed as it fell toward the bay Sue was on.
Ross wrapped his arms around the ladder rungs preparing for impact. The ladder hit the shelf just down from the top of the bay and shuttered, but Ross managed to keep his hold and not fall. The infected below him shrieked as they saw their meal moving above them and Ross’s blood fell on them, driving them into a frenzy.
Sue laid on the bay with her arms outstretched pulling the ladder to her, the feet of it scraping a high-pitched noise as it scooted along the concrete floor. When she had straightened the ladder, Ross climbed back onto the bay and laid on his back pressing his hand to his forehead again.
Sue pulled her smock apron off and poured the contents of its pockets over the side of the bay before using it to help stop the bleeding. She had rolled it up and tied it around Ross’s head like a bandana. Sue then used her sleeve to wipe the blood from his face.
“Thank you, boss,” He said as she leaned over to look at him better.
“Ross, I am not your boss anymore. Riding Big Blue like that is something that will get you fired,” she laughed in response. “And… I quit anyway. We have some pretty crazy customers here. I don’t think I can handle that anymore.”
Ross joined in the light, but forced, laughter with her as she helped to pull him to his feet. “Help me will you,” Sue said grabbing the ladder. Ross grabbed the other side of the ladder and together they hoisted the twenty-five-foot metal ladder onto the bay and dropped it. The sound of the metal ladder on metal bay shelving sounded like lighting had struck inside the stockroom as it reverberated off every hard surface. The sound hurt Ross’s already buzzing head. He had lost a lot of blood and a headache had now hit him like a ton of bricks.
Ross gritted his teeth to fight the urge to throw up. He hadn’t eaten in over twelve hours because of his shifts and felt very sick now for many reasons: his blood loss, empty stomach, thoughts of seeing Rosy being eaten, fear, and now the loud noise had just pulled everything together. He pressed the palms of his hands into his temples and squeezed his eyes shut.
Sue reached over and grabbed his shoulder, “Are you okay?”
Ross stood still and waited for his stomach to calm before he was able to open his mouth, “I think I have a migraine. I haven't had one of these in years.” He opened his eyes and everything appeared in a glowing spectrum as if there was diamond dust on it. He could see rainbows around certain things but others he couldn’t even focus on. He turned his head to look at Sue, this was a mistake though because the motion threw him off balance and he fell. He landed on his hands and knees, vomit spewing everywhere beneath him.
The sight and sound made Sue begin to feel sick now. Even though she had been through parenthood and most mothers could deal with vomit and other body fluids, she never could. Sue turned and walked away. Ross couldn’t have been happier that she did. This made him feel weak and embarrassed.
After Ross was able to get a hold of his stomach again, he crawled a few feet away and laid down on his back. He couldn’t remember when the last time was he felt this bad: was it three years ago, during the summer when he was in football training at Morristown West? Ross laid on the bay for ten minutes before taking a deep breath and standing up. His vision was somewhat of the way back to normal, but his head still throbbed.
Sue walked over and put a roll of BreathSavers in his hand before asking, “How are you feeling?”
Ross took a deep breath before answering, “Good enough to do this. We have to do this.” He put a few mints in his mouth and handed the roll back to her.
Sue shook her head as she began speaking, “Not right now, we don’t. We can wait.”
“And if we do, then there will be more of them,” Ross jabbed a finger at the edge of the bay, “out there waiting on us. No, we have to do this today! Right now!” He walked over to the middle of the ladder before turning to where Sue stood, looking at the ground. “Can you give me a hand? I can do this by myself but I would rather not.”
Sue walked to the opposite side of the ladder and they picked it up carrying it to the edge that faced the walk-in freezer. The ladder was twenty-five feet long and the gap between the bays was only around twelve: so they had no problem creating a bridge.
Ross looked at Sue and said, “I will go first. If it can hold me, then it should definitely hold you. I weigh probably a hundred pounds heavier than you do.”
“No. This was my idea and if it is not going to hold someone, then let it be me,” but she was too late because before Sue even finished her sentence, Ross had climbed on top of the ladder and was working his way toward the top of the freezer. He was on his hands and knees crawling from rung to rung with his eyes closed. He knew he could not afford to become dizzy in this spot. He was sure that the fall would kill him, which was better than being eaten alive, but he still wanted to live.
He was just wondering to himself how far the end of the ladder was when his hand landed on the cold, solid surface of the top of the freezer. He opened his eyes as he crawled onto it and turned to look at Sue. “Your turn boss,” he said in a quiet voice as she climbed up on the ladder.
Sue did what Ross had done with one exception: she kept her eyes wide open, staring at the ground. Halfway across the ladder, she froze as she saw the gruesome remains of her employee, Rosy, directly below her. She felt the strength in her arms leave as she stared below. The image blurred and tears filled her eyes.
Ross was staring at Sue as she stopped halfway over. He followed her gaze to see what had caught her attention until he spotted the mess on the floor. He quickly looked back at Sue and saw that all color had left her face. “Sue! Look at me.” Ross called, but Sue continued to stare down. At th
at moment, the strength she had left could not hold her up and her arms gave way under the pressure.
She struck her chin on a rung of the ladder and instinctively rolled sideways before she realized what she had done. The upper half of her body experienced the feeling of weightlessness as it rolled over, off the ladder. The feeling only lasted a portion of a second until a splitting pain ran through her leg and ankle. Sue’s body jerked and she found herself looking up at the concrete floor. The whole action had taken Sue by surprise and it took her a moment to realize her leg had got caught in the ladder when she rolled.
Sue tried to look toward where Ross was standing, but he wasn’t there. Before she had time to look around for him, she felt hands grabbing her by the belt and pulling her back up. When Ross had her halfway back up, she grabbed a rung and finished pulling herself to the ladder. Ross crawled back to the top of the freezer, Sue a few feet behind him, and rolled over.
Sue stared at Ross for a moment before saying, “Thank you. You saved my life.”
Ross didn’t respond but continued to lay on his back. His exhaustion overwhelmed him and he passed out cold.
Sue walked back to the edge of the freezer and looked down at where Rosy’s body should have been, but it was gone. She looked to see if she could find it, but it was nowhere to be seen. Am I losing my mind? She thought to herself.
Sue walked over to the wall and sat down with her back against it. She knew that Ross needed to rest, but she was impatient to leave. Impatient to be on the move, to feel sane again. She let her own exhaustion get to her and fell asleep.
Chapter Five:
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
The first thing Cedric did when he got out of the shower was to get his laptop from his bags. He checked the internet status to find it was still up, which was surprising considering that the cable TV was out of service. He didn’t give this much thought because he didn’t care why it worked; just that it did. He logged onto YouTube to find it was still up, which he knew meant that the infection hadn’t reached San Francisco, where YouTube HQ was.
All of the spotlight videos were labeled things such as “Houston Infection Spreads” or “Zombies Attack.” A chill ran up his spine again at the sight of the word Zombie, but he began watching them all. When Jack approached and inquired about what he was doing, Cedric responded with one word, “studying.”
A look of comprehension spread across Jack’s face as he sat in the chair next to Cedric at the kitchen table and began watching too. After a few moments, Cedric said, “Do you notice what they’re doing?”
Jack’s face was white with disgust as he replied, “Eating people.”
“But how they’re doing it. Look at where most people are getting bitten at: arms, legs, and shoulders. A few are getting it in the neck. No chest or abdomen bites. And look how they move. It’s like a drunk man when they move but a rabid animal when they fight. No thought to their action.”
Charlie had walked up behind them while Cedric was talking. “Why are you wanting to know all this?”
Cedric looked up at his brother and responded, “Chinese proverb, know your enemy.”
“Kind of like Confucius say man who fly plane upside down have crackup?” Charlie laughed referring to their dad’s favorite joke.
“Not really,” Cedric replied, “but that’s the reason. Way I figure is if we protect our legs, arms, shoulders, and neck we probably won’t be bitten.”
A loud, rasping voice came from the living room, “Or if you just leave that damn gate up, then you won’t be bitten either!”
Cedric leaned his chair back to look into the living room as he heard the door slam behind Ben, who had just gone outside. “He seems to be in a better mood,” Cedric joked as he looked back at the computer screen and hit play.
For the next couple of hours Cedric, Charlie, and Jack watched videos of the attacks caught online. Ben had come back inside after Sherry had gone out to talk to him.
Denise, Eliza, and Julie were in the living room playing Rummy and the boy Cedric had rescued lay asleep on the couch. Denise had guessed the boy was around seven or eight and Julie confirmed by saying that he rode her bus and was in the grade below her. She didn’t really know him, but she did know his name was Adam.
Cedric got up from his chair when the conversation at the table had gone from the infected to what kind of work his brother did. This was the first time Charlie and Jack had really talked. Cedric walked over to the couch and knelt down beside Adam. He lightly shook the boy awake and said, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up a little.”
The boy didn’t speak, but just got up to follow. Cedric led him to his brother’s bedroom. He dug around in Charlie’s clothes until he found a pair of jogging shorts and a small t-shirt. He handed them both to the boy and said, “Is your name Adam?”
The boy nodded and Cedric continued, “Do you want to tell me anything? Is your family OK?”
Adam shook his head and spoke for the first time in his slightly high voice, “Dad was sick. He bit my mom. Then he chased me down the street when you came.”
Cedric felt his heart sink. He knew that if that was the case, then he had killed the boy’s father. Did he see me do it? He wondered and then asked, “Did you see what happened whenever I came to you?”
Adam shook his head no again. “All I remember is running away. I tripped and fell. Then I woke up here.”
“What did your dad look like,” the question slipped out before Cedric thought about it.
“He didn’t look like himself. He was covered in blood and he looked like he does when he doesn’t sleep.” Adam was staring at the floor.
“I mean, his hair color and size. What did he look like on a normal day?”
“He shaves his head and he is about that other guy’s size. The big one in there. The one that hates me.” Adam sounded like he was about to cry and Cedric noticed.
“Come on. I said we have to get you cleaned up. Let me show you where the shower is.” Cedric grabbed Adam’s hand and led him to the bathroom down the hall.
As Cedric was handing the boy a towel and rag, Adam asked, “Will you wait outside the bathroom for me. I don’t want to be alone. I won’t lock the door, either.”
Cedric stared at Adam for a moment and said, “I will wait right here, I promise.” Then he ruffled the boy’s hair just before he pulled the door shut.
Cedric sat down next to the door and thought about what he said the man looked like. He remembered vividly every face he had struck, and he knew he had killed Adam’s father. It was the man he had kicked in the stomach and then hit on the back of the head. He made a note to never tell anyone this; he didn’t want the boy to know what he had done.
After about ten minutes Cedric heard the shower cut off and another four minutes later the boy emerged from the bathroom. The clothes were too big. The shorts came halfway down his calf muscles and the shirt almost looked like a dress, but it kept him covered up at least. Adam looked at Cedric who said, “See, I promised.”
Adam was holding a bundle of his clothes and the towel he used. Cedric took the bundle from his hands, “I’ll get these washed up for you so you have clothes that fit. What do you want to do next?”
Adam looked down the hallway and said, “Did Julie see me crying? I don’t want people to make fun of me when I go to school tomorrow.”
Cedric smiled and said, “Julie won’t tell a soul and I promise she won’t pick on you.” He extended his pinky finger and Adam took it in his.
“Pinky promise,” Adam said and smiled.
Charlie came up from behind Cedric and said, “Besides little man, school is canceled until further notice. With all the…” Charlie stopped his sentence when he saw Cedric turn around with wide eyes and shake his head. He thought for a minute and said, “You know, since the pipes at the middle school all burst. Bad plumbing job if you ask me.”
Adam looked from Charlie to Cedric and back to Charlie, then said, “It’s OK. I know about what’s happen
ing. That’s what happened to dad. That‘s why he bit mom.”
Charlie’s face went from cheerful to sad and he said, “Did you see him do it?”
Adam shook his head, “I was outside. I heard her scream and a few seconds later dad ran outside and fell off the porch. He had blood on his mouth and teeth. Mom ran onto the porch and yelled at me to run. So, I ran from him because I had seen the news and what they said. They said don’t fight them, just run.” Then he looked back at Cedric and said, “But you didn’t run. You came to help me.”
“I’m just glad we are both safe,” Cedric mumbled.
“Me too,” Charlie agreed.
“So, you never did answer what you wanted to do now,” Cedric asked forcing a smile.
“Can we play cards?” Adam asked, “I mean if you want to too. I don’t want to play with just a bunch of girls.”
Cedric really did smile this time as he said, “You’re a smart man, Adam. You never want to play a game of cards with nothing but girls. They will always win. They cheat!” Cedric turned on his knees and added, “Wanna piggyback ride?”
He felt Adam’s arms wrap around his neck and he stood up. Cedric was always great with kids. He walked to the laundry room and dropped the clothes and towel into the washer. As he was adding detergent to the load he heard Adam whisper, “You know how to do laundry?”
Cedric chuckled and answered, “Since I can remember. I can even vacuum and do dishes.”
Adam laughed, “My dad can’t even do that. You must know a lot.”
Cedric laughed again and said, “I know quite a bit about everything.”
Then he heard Denise laugh from the doorway, “Not getting cocky are you?”
Cedric turned to see that his sister-in-law was carrying her little sister on her back as well. He raised one eyebrow and said, “We should just open up a taxi service for all these little monsters.”
Adam and Julie both laughed and Denise responded, “She saw you carrying Adam and wanted me to carry her.”