“There’s someone on the first floor by the door,” he whispered. I knew he was not describing a “live” person.
“Can we sneak past them?” I whispered back, although I was aware of the obvious danger. He shook his head “no” in response. I thought about us turning around and going down at the front using the elevators; sure it would take a little more time but it would be worth it if there weren’t one or more of those things wandering around on that end.
“I think this is our best bet for now––get ready to swing.” Ronny grabbed his nightstick after securing the first-aid bag over his shoulder. He opened the door and we both slowly descended down the stairwell. Thankfully the stairs were concrete and sturdy so we didn’t make much noise. I wasn’t sure if Ronny was going charge the person or wait for them to attack us first. The hallway was small enough so it would be easy to sense someone coming. In anticipation, I held my hands around my baseball bat tight until they were nearly drained of all blood. In a few steps we were now less than fifteen feet from what I could see was only one man, his back to us, dead but moving. Oddly, I could smell him now, the sight of dead flesh reanimated is a kick to one’s senses. I knew we were being stealthy enough that even the Navy SEALS would be proud, but just as instinct helps a predator to its prey, he automatically turned to our direction and let out a groan.
As if to serve his best interest the man rushed not after Ronny, but me. He attempted to come around Ronny and lunge right at my face. I don’t know if it was because I was the weaker prey or if he was still into women or whatever but I’d swear he had a choice—and it was me. Ronny took the man by his arm, swung him around until he forced the dead man to land violently on his backside hitting the stairs. I had no choice but to jump backward, which caused me to trip up the stairs. I scraped the palm of my hand on the concrete face of the stairs making it about half way up, dropping my bat and keys in the process. All I was able to do was to look on in shock. I didn’t recognize the dead man, aside from noticing the extent of his wounds. One of his eyes were swollen causing it to bulge out of his head. He had a long gash extending from the front of his neck to his shoulder and his hair was matted with blood possibly from various other head traumas. The smell was unbelievable now as he was just inches from me. He smelled like rotted meat mixed with clay or Play-Doh.
Ronny may have knocked him off of his course but the dead man did not lose his any of his determination. Without any reaction of being in pain, he turned over onto his belly and began reaching for my legs, groaning and growling at the same time. Ronny hit him on the back of his already bloodied head, exposing more skull; this slowed him only slightly. The dead man kept reaching and grabbing while I tried to kick my legs defensively as a moving target. I feared what might happen if he caught a good grip. My purse and backpack seemed only to be helpful in keeping me from getting further up the stairs as my arms flailed about in the loose straps of both. It took both of Ronny’s hands on the nightstick drawn over his own head and a final plunge down on the man’s head before blood came squirting out and his movements came to a sudden halt.
I stared at the now dead, dead man for a few seconds. Part of me was too afraid to move even with the continual flow of blood coming from his head. It took Ronny about half of the time to regain his composure before he realized that we weren’t yet finished with our task. He reached out, grabbed my arm and I could feel determination in his strength as he quickly hoisted me over the man whose blood now covered most of the bottom four stairs.
“I told you they’re something,” he said as he leaned over the man and picked up my keys and bat and handed them to me.
“Why’d he come after me?” I asked as I tried to catch my breath. “Did you see how he came around you? It was like you weren’t even there… but I do thank you,” Ronny knew not to take it personally; it was a valid question.
“Please don’t drop your keys again,” he said nonchalantly. I’m sure that would’ve annoyed me too.
Because I couldn’t handle it, Ronny again was the one who opened the door and to both of our surprises, there appeared to be nothing in sight. Mind you, my car was still around the building’s corner, but not having to come out swinging made us both feel better. By now my adrenaline was revved up again and it made me noticeably shiver. We both headed out and turned right, heading to the building’s edge where Ronny peeked around the corner. He leaned back quickly to tell me what to expect.
“There are two of them but they are wandering away from the building and your car,” he reported quickly.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
“If we’re quiet enough we should be able to make it without them noticing. I’m parked right on the street in the front. Seanna, please-”
“I know––I’ve got the keys,” I interrupted him.
Like I had something to prove, I jumped out in front of him with my keys in hand, rounded the corner, spotting the wandering two he described and took off, jogging as quietly as possible. Ronny was easily right behind me, his long legs keeping up with my quickened pace. My car was about thirty feet from me. It was noticeably dented on the passenger side and I could see some wider smears of blood spread over the side and hood. As long as it was drivable I wasn’t worried about anything else. I unlocked the doors using the remote control. Ronny was right at my heels and almost passed me when we made it to the car. We both opened the doors at the same time and of course, the combined effort made enough noise for us to be noticed by the two dead ones wandering nearby. They both turned to face us and came stumbling our way––quickly. It would take only a few seconds and I now understood firsthand what my neighbors, the Mercados, went through earlier while I was watching from the safety of my kitchen window.
I yelled that they were coming and Ronny got into his seat, throwing my bag into the backseat. I, on the other hand, had a few more items to juggle as I tried to take off the backpack and purse and slip into the front seat, simultaneously. Ronny grabbed all of the items and I was able to close my front door about a second before the dead two got to my window. I locked the door and quickly put my keys into the ignition as they clawed and pounded at my window. I didn’t want to look at them up close and see the disfiguring trauma that most likely caused their deaths; It was impossible to know if they knew each other personally before all of this happened. All I knew was that they were working together to get at us. As soon as the engine came to life I put the gear in drive and hit the gas. The dead couple soon disappeared from the side leaving a bloody mucous smudge on my window and a slight hairline crack on the top corner of my door side window from their efforts. It was only another two hundred feet or so to get to Ronny’s pickup truck.
“You got your keys, now?” I asked him. I was frantically looking around for more of them nearby. If I had to double back around to buy time, I would.
“I’m good to go. Remember what I said earlier, you’re more than welcome there,” he said as I pulled up next to his truck and hit the “unlock” switch of my own.
“I know you want to check up on your folks but please, be careful, Seanna.” He leaned over and quickly kissed my forehead.
“You too. Thanks for coming to check up on me, Ronny. I may end up heading out your way with my family once I track them down. Hug Deanna and the kids for me.” He nodded his head, accepting my decision, got out of my car and quickly slipped into his truck. He started it right up and I gave him a thumbs up. He smiled, nodded and I took off again making a U-turn right away. He headed eastward and I went west. Though Allentown was notoriously quiet, it was an entirely different scene now than what I was used to seeing. More than one burning car was cast aside on the street Graham and I used to take walks down. The only people now walking down the street were the dead ones, the people no longer interested in keeping the town or its remaining live population safe. It was a fitting term and definition for them. I was confident it would stick with me forever.
As of now, I wasn’t completely confident with any answer reg
arding whether or not I’d see Ronny Bowen ever again.
Chapter Three
A drive that I’ve made at least a hundred times over the last two years that ordinarily took less than fifteen minutes, curb to curb, I could tell might’ve taken much longer or been a lot shorter depending on where I would finally stop. Voluntarily, I would end up at Graham’s doorstep and into his reassuring arms where at least I’d be with one person I love. Both involuntarily and a much more likely option it seemed, I could also end up in a ditch or T-boned at an intersection. After Ronny and I parted ways I learned right away that traffic laws were no longer being obeyed. From now on, all of the lights stood for ‘Get there the best way you can.’ Ronny and I were not the last ones alive in the area because there were quite a few cars and trucks moving, all of them were in a hurry.
There were several people running around on the streets and I had the misfortune of seeing just how vicious the dead ones could be. It didn’t take long before a young man no older than twenty, while running away from one dead one, turned a corner and ran directly into another dead one. I saw him get grabbed, and just like my own experience, the dead one went right for the vascular area of the neck, except this one was successful at hitting his mark. Aside from the blood gushing out of the young man’s neck I got to see how such an attack provides such distraction along with the obvious pain. He didn’t have time to fight off being eaten alive because he was too consumed with stopping the massive bleeding from his neck. Of course while the young man was down, those few seconds provided enough time for a few dead others to join in and they just started grabbing and biting wherever they could. His fingers, hands, legs and stomach all became a palatable experience for the growing group.
After being honked at I hit the gas, driving as safely as I could to avoid any cross traffic in the intersection. There was no time now to reflect on what I’d just seen, only thoughts about the next few miles of my journey to what I hope would be the next safe place. Any other day I had taken the same roads running errands, going to and from work, riding around in the ambulance going to and from calls––it seemed so mundane then. Now everything seemed so unfamiliar and so out of my hands. I also discovered quickly that I should take the side streets and avoid the main avenues because of the congestion and noise from people honking and yelling from their cars. This seemed to catch the attention of any dead ones nearby in the area. From my estimates there were dozens on this avenue alone. As the cars stopped for whatever reason, the dead ones would attempt to get at the occupants of whatever vehicle was closest. I had a direct view to see one of the dead breaking the window of a car and start attacking the driver, causing the rest of the passengers to flee. Of course, this made them vulnerable to attack while at the same time attracting even more dead ones. Even though I was at least four hundred feet away, I could hear very well the screams and failed pleas to be left alone. The dead ones had no reservations either on who they would attack. Children, disabled, and the elderly like Ruthie made for even easier targets, which was incredibly sad because if you tried to stop them, you were voluntarily giving up your own life as well. I saw several people’s lives end this way on the street that I had driven so many times before.
There were also many injured people along the way. It was easier to tell the difference between them and the dead because you could see they were in pain or, at least in shock. In my short drive I saw that the dead ones could be missing an arm or have a foot-long gash and not pay a bit of attention to it. I noticed that they were disabled only due to physiological limitations but were not bothered by the sensation of pain. The paramedic in me wanted badly to pull over and help someone but I had to remember that hospitals were no longer an option. Instead it was safer to keep on my route and ponder how I could be of service to somebody later during a more planned rescue. I thought about Ronny now too. I knew that he was struggling with the same issues I was. Here I was capable of helping someone just the day before and now today it was in my best interest to flee. Wishing the same for myself, I just wanted Ronny to be safe and to get to Deanna and the kids because his family needed him the most right now. I knew my family, Graham included, needed me too.
As I continued on, I saw more attacks before I made it on to the Lehigh College campus where Graham and his other graduate school friends rented a house nearby. The campus was apparently on lockdown but it seemed like there wasn’t a person in sight, living or otherwise. The only sign of living, breathing humans was a checkpoint that I could see from a block away where a campus security vehicle along with two squad cars from the city of Bethlehem was parked. Since I didn’t have to go through campus to get to Graham’s, I didn’t bother to keep going straight; instead I turned right and went over a few blocks where his house was a few properties from the corner.
I did not see Graham’s car parked, which made me nervous as I pulled alongside the curb in the front, looking toward the house for any sign of trouble at the same time. I paid special attention to the windows as I shut off the engine and grabbed my purse, first aid bag, and bat. I figured if there was any commotion inside there might be a chance that I’d get some warning ahead of time. I looked around the immediate area for any dead ones. It appeared safe so I got out and ran straight up the porch steps to the front door. I rang the door-bell and knocked quietly but the screen door was locked and made a noise. Looking around behind me for any trouble, I walked across the open porch to get a peek into the living room window but the blinds were closed shut.
Anxiety began to build in me as I fiddled around with my ring of keys to find the one that would open the door. I couldn’t help but wonder where Graham might’ve gone or why he would leave. Perhaps his roommate Darin’s condition turned for the worse and they were forced to leave. It was hard to think about the possibility that we may have unknowingly crossed paths and he might be at my place now. I kept turning around every few seconds to make sure no one was behind me because it seemed as if one of the dead ones would stagger into the lawn at any second and I’d be too consumed with worry to even notice. Though not as successful if it were a timed test, the right key fell into place but there presented another problem; I only had a key to the oak door, not the screen door, which was never locked but for good reason was locked now. The locking mechanism was solid on that door and by the looks of it I’d have a lot more trouble trying to pry it open without a crowbar.
Fearing I was going to be seen by someone any minute now I decided to head to the back door where I was sure my key would work right away. I was sure that screen had no lock on it and anything was better than just hanging around making noise at this door, waiting for something to happen to me. Before I could get around the corner of the building I heard a familiar sound coming and I froze.
Graham’s car is a sweet-looking metallic, midnight blue ’69 Chevy Chevelle SS that once belonged to his father, who kept it in pristine condition after he restored it. Graham received it as his high school graduation present under the condition that he continued to take absolute care of it. Until now, I was never fond of the noise the aftermarket dual exhausts made when he revved the engine because that, along with the white stripe down the middle, the thing screamed, ‘race me!’ every time he turned the engine on. Because of my job working in trauma services I was never completely comfortable riding in it either. It was all muscle and no airbags. Graham was always responsible in most of the things he did but the influence of his friends was always a reason to worry. Because of the upgraded 396 engine his father added I could hear him coming from down the block. It was the same noise I thought I heard now.
I leaned out toward the street in time to see Graham swerve around the corner. The car fishtailed slightly and roared a final time as he accelerated a little before coming to a stop in front of the house. He pulled up right behind my Escape and quickly shut off the engine before I could make it to the curb. I dropped everything and ran for him. By the time I made it to him, he was already out with his shotgun in hand.
“Graham, thank God!” was all I could utter as I ignored the weapon and wrapped my arms around his neck. We kissed and embraced each other for a brief moment. He was always warm, which made my heart flutter and I could feel the metal of the gun barrel pressed against my back. Honestly, they both made me feel safer now. His five-inch height difference was almost no match for the energy behind me holding him so tightly. He gave me another quick kiss before cautiously looking around for any dead ones, just as I had to do earlier.
“I just came from your place, I left just after the phones went dead,” he said as he bent down to help me to pick up my things while keeping one arm around my waist. I wanted to be upset at him for leaving his place, especially when told him I was heading to him but none of that mattered now.
“How’s Darin?” I asked.
“Not good. We need to get inside.” He handed me my items and pulled his keys out. We went around to the back door of the house, using extra caution before turning the corners.
Once we got by the back door, he opened the door and looked around the immediate space before stepping inside. I followed and locked all of the locks behind us. I must’ve been using a little more of my own instinct because without thinking I laid down all of my belongings except for the bat and waited for a cue from Graham as to whether or not the house was still safe.
“April, I’m back now. Seanna is here too…April?” He called out.
There were just a few light footsteps but we could hear them approaching us in the silence. I couldn’t remember April’s relationship to any of the people that lived here but I had met her once about a year ago and all I knew was that she was a sophomore at Muhlenberg College and a little on the ditzy side.
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