Love in the Time of Zombies

by Cassandra Gannon

  Scotlyn winced. “Sorry.”

  “Right now, bodywork is the least of my worries. After the zombie apocalypse, I’m deducting it from your salary, though.” Zeke reached up to brace a hand against the roof as she got them back down to the street. “I’m pretty sure there’s a law that says you’re allowed to run over any monsters trying to eat you, so let’s try not to waste time dodging them.”

  “You seriously want me to run people down?!”

  “No, I seriously want you to run zombies down.”

  “This can’t really be happening.” She sounded like she was hanging on by a thread and trying to come up with a non-insane explanation for what she was seeing around her. “They can’t be zombies.”

  Zeke couldn’t really blame her for the denial, but they didn’t have time for it. Macreadys were a pragmatic bunch. They had to be. Survival meant adjusting rapidly and not questioning whether something was scientifically possible when it was happening right in front of his eyes. “They’re fucking zombies, Trix.”

  “They might be zombies, but we don’t know for sure. How can they really be zombies, for Christ’s sake? And even if they are, maybe they can be cured. Maybe I’d be running down people who are only --like-- temporarily zombies.”

  “They’re eating corpses! How do you think they can recover from… Look out!”

  Scotlyn slammed on the brakes as a blue Toyota careened straight in front of them. The SUV fishtailed to a stop, narrowly missing the smaller car. Inside the Toyota’s interior Zeke could see two passengers attacking the driver. Blood was splattered all over the windshield like a grisly abstract painting. The car plowed straight through the front window of a bar, never slowing. Half the building fell down in a waterfall of glass and plaster.

  …And still he could see the beings in the cars feeding on the body of the driver.

  From every direction, more zombies came shuffling in to join the frenzy. Several of them began inching towards Zeke’s SUV, their hands scratching at the windows trying to get in. The whole car rocked.

  Zeke swore quietly. “Alright. Shit. Alright. Just,” he tried to think, “just get us going again.”

  Scotlyn sat there frozen, her fingers clenched white around the wheel.

  “Scottie,” Zeke reached over to brush a hand over her hair and swore the warmth of the strawberry blonde color heated his palm, “we’re alright. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He meant that and he’d never cared about anyone else’s safety before. “We just have to get out of here.”

  A zombie climbed onto the hood and Scotlyn stared at it, her eyes glassy with shock. The creature pulled itself up the shiny black metal, its lips pulled back in an inhuman snarl. One of its eyes was missing and, judging from the teeth marks on its forehead and cheek, it had been eaten right out of its skull. The other eye glared from its socket, the translucent white color like the undercooked edges of a fried eye.

  “Trix, put the car back in gear.” Zeke said quietly.

  “They really are zombies.” She gave a jerky nod like she was finally convinced. “I mean, it’s one thing to say that they are… But, they really are. These people are already dead… Only they’re not dying.”

  “I kinda picked up on that, too. Put the car in gear.”

  The creature on the hood slammed a fist against the windshield trying to break through.

  “Fuck!” Zeke lifted the gun and prepared to shoot it. “Put the car in gear!”

  Scotlyn’s jaw firmed. “Buckle up.” She reached around to fasten her seatbelt. “I think I can run them over now.”

  “Good. Do it.”

  The SUV roared forwards and the zombie went tumbling off with a shriek. There was a sickening crunch under the tires, but Scotlyn didn’t slow down.

  Zeke stifled a wince as two more creatures were flattened. One of them she actually swerved to hit. “Take the second right.”

  “I know how to get to Wal-Mart. I drive this way every day.”

  “Fine, so drive. But try not to pop a tire, because I’m not getting out to change a flat.”

  She gave a semi-hysterical laugh. “Don’t worry. We can call a mechanic. My ex-boyfriend bought me a AAA membership for Christmas last year. Stupid unromantic bastard. I dumped him by New Year’s Eve.”

  Gee, Zeke was just sooooo sad to hear that. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s probably a zombie, now.”

  “No, it doesn’t make me feel better!” Scotlyn snapped. Then, she hesitated for a beat. “Maybe a little better.”

  There were zombies all over the road, feeding on the bodies of dead motorists… some of whom were already stirring back to unlife. Everywhere he looked there was chaos and blood and monsters. The pink stuff had been what infected some zombies, but they were now biting humans and turning more zombies on their own. This plague was spreading like fire. It would burn until there was no one left to feed the flames.

  The SUV sailed through a zombie crowd, knocking bodies sideways and taking the right turn on two wheels.

  “You crash and we’re going to be in even deeper shit.”

  “Did you tell me to go faster or not?”

  Zeke automatically checked the position of the pink cloud. “Yes. Fuck. Go faster.” He set the sawed off aside and started reloading the revolver.

  “Now what are you doing?”

  “When we get to the freeway onramp, it’s going to be packed solid with cars. Long before we reach it, traffic will be stopped.”

  “We’re not getting on the freeway.”

  “I know, but we have to get through that backup. The store is on the other side of it and so is your apartment. We leave the car and it’ll be one or two blocks on foot. There’s no other way fast enough.”

  “I don’t even want to go one or two steps on foot!”

  “We’re not going on the main road. We stick to the side streets and move fast and we’ll be okay. We’re running just ahead of the worst of it, I think.”

  He hoped.

  “I was supposed to be off at ten.” Scotlyn announced grimly. “Did you know that? I bet you didn’t know that. I’m supposed to be home searching the internet for a better job, right now, but you were napping and I stayed on for overtime.”

  “Be glad about that. By the time I drove over to your apartment to get you and then went to the store, we’d both be choking on pink zombie fumes. My nap saved our lives.”

  Her eyebrows pulled together. “You would’ve come to find me?”

  Zeke snorted. “What to do you think?”

  Scotlyn shot him a quick look and then refocused on the road. She was silent for a long moment. “Traffic is definitely getting heavier.” She finally reported.

  “I see it.”

  The vehicles were like a solid mass, now. Other cars were driving on sidewalks and median strips, trying to pass each other. Horns honking and people screaming and the rapid fire of guns. A pick-up sideswiped them, the driver not seeming to even notice. Scotlyn swore as she braked to avoid a BMW and a Hummer slammed into her from behind. That sent the SUV jolting forward into the BMW, the BMW into a Saturn, and the Saturn into a Lexus.

  The driver of the Lexus got out, raised a pistol, and started wilding firing at the other cars.

  “Get down! Get down!” Zeke grabbed Scotlyn and pulled her sideways. A bullet impacted the windshield, spider-webbing the glass. Several other drivers burst out of their cars to tackle the guy, beating him with their fists. At this point, the panicked humans were almost as dangerous as the zombies. The whole situation was unraveling at a faster pace than even he could’ve predicted and Zeke wasn’t an optimistic guy.

  They had to get out now.

  Zeke reached over to turn off the SUV and then popped the lever to open the rear hatch. “Climb through the car and out the back. We’re about to start walking.” Up ahead, more gunfire sounded. “Scratch that. We’re running.”

  Chapter Three

  Bright side to the zombie apocalypse:

  You’re now
the only one who remembers how dorky you looked in your eighth grade class photo.

  Shopping at Wal-Mart during a zombie attack was a bizarre experience.

  The twenty-four hour store was filled with an uneasy mixture of panicking people grabbing everything they saw, oblivious late night shoppers wondering what the hell was going on, and apathetic clerks listening to headphones while they stocked the emptying shelves.

  Scotlyn had no idea what she and Zeke were even doing there.

  She hurried after him, doing her best to keep up with him in her super expensive, super uncomfortable heels. They were made for looking cute, not jogging. Getting to the store had been agony on her toes.

  “What are we looking for, again?”

  He sprinted by the toy section and into hardware. If Zeke passed up the opportunity to browse for new plastic robots, you knew he was focused. “We need duct tape, tarps, and flashlights. Grab those batteries, too.” He unzipped the duffle bag he carried and started stuffing in more supplies.

  Scotlyn’s mouth fell open. “You can’t just take that stuff!” She sent a quick glance around the maze of aisles, expecting store security to be bearing down on them with handcuffs. “We’ll get caught! I always get caught when I do something wrong, so just…”

  “I don’t have time to pay.” Zeke snagged a screwdriver and added it to his haul. “If we live through tonight, I’ll mail Wal-Mart a check.”

  She highly doubted that. “No, you won’t.”

  “No, I won’t.” He agreed. “Do you have a hammer at your place?”

  “A hammer? No. Why would I need a hammer?”

  “To barricade doors.” He grabbed one and some nails, then moved on to air masks. The most expensive one on the shelf got ripped open. Zeke tossed the box aside and scanned the directions.

  Scotlyn cast a look towards the cameras set up in the ceiling. Insane as it was, she was more nervous about getting busted for stealing than the zombies. Petty theft was at least something real and normal and human to focus on. “We’re going to get arrested. They’re probably taking our pictures and calling the police, right now.” She gave the camera a sheepish “sorry we’re looting you” kind of wave and hoped she didn’t look as bedraggled as she felt. When it came time to show the tape in court, she at least wanted the evidence to prove she wasn’t an ugly felon. “I told you I once got busted for shoplifting, right?”

  “Yeah, I saw that you dutifully confessed to the lipstick robbery on your employment application. You’re a real criminal mastermind, Trix. Luckily, I think the cops have bigger problems today than your reign of terror.” Zeke finished fiddling with the mask and handed it to her. “Put that on.”

  A loud scream came from the direction of the greeting card aisle, the sound of it cutting through the muzak playing over the speaker system.

  Scotlyn’s head whipped around, her heart pounding. “Zeke, they’re inside the store.” She whispered fiercely. “They must’ve figured out the automatic doors.”

  Zeke seized her arm and pulled behind a rack of light bulbs. “Do you know how to shoot?”

  “Of course I do. You pull the trigger.” It wasn’t nuclear physics.

  Zeke stared at her for a beat and then shook his head. “I’m gonna call that close enough.” He handed her the revolver. “Just try not to shoot me. That’s the safety. Leave it off.” Not satisfied with her pace, Zeke adjusted the air mask over her face himself. His hand briefly touched her hair. “Whatever happens, you stay right behind me, got it?” He repeated.

  Scotlyn nodded.

  Zeke yanked his own gas mask on and then started off again, passed the automotive and paint departments. Rather than go towards the front of the store, he led her parallel to the back wall.

  Looking down the length of the aisles, Scotlyn could see zombies gathering at the registers, grabbing at fleeing shoppers. One woman plowed her shopping cart into a creature dressed in torn jeans, knocking it off its feet as she raced for the door. Scotlyn didn’t see how that would do her much good. The zombies had to be in the parking lot, too.

  Two guys in sporting goods had broken open a glass gun case and were fighting over the last rifle. The taller of the two wrestled it away from the other man and sprinted off. The smaller guy cursed a blue streak and started after him, only to pause when he spotted Scotlyn’s revolver. His eyes glowed with something like gold fever; a lustful, insane need to possess.

  He lunged at her and she saw he was carrying a hunting knife. “Give me that gun!”

  Scotlyn stumbled back in fear and surprise. The swinging blade missed her by about two inches. She instinctively raised the gun and yanked back on the trigger. A bullet went ricocheting off the back wall, missing the guy by a mile.

  He ducked to the side, looking shocked. “You tried to kill me!”

  “Son-of-a-bitch.” Zeke backtracked to level the sawed off at the guy. “Back the fuck up, before I shoot you right here in aisle ten.”

  “That bitch just tried to kill me!”

  “You tried to attack me!” Scotlyn shouted back.

  “I need that fucking gun!” The guy raged.

  “And I need her.”

  Scotlyn blinked at him, amazed that Zeke would say something like that. He didn’t need her, at all. Obviously, he would be doing much better on his own. She was only alive thus far because Zeke hadn’t abandoned her back at TGW. It was so… gallant of him. So different than she’d ever expected from her careless employer.

  “Move at her again and I won’t miss.” Zeke kept the shotgun aimed at the man, even as he turned his attention to Scotlyn. “Trixie, start walking away from him.”

  Scotlyn backed up, swallowing hard. “I shot, but my aim sucks.” She looked over at Zeke. “Sorry.”

  “We’ll work on it.”

  A frantic voice crackled over the intercom: “Attention shoppers, we are experiencing a mild disturbance and we’d like to ask all of you to exit the store in a calm and orderly… Oh my God! Oh my God, NOOOOO!!! Run, Betty! RUN, RU…!!!”

  The announcement cut off on another scream and the cheery boy band music automatically started back up. All around them, hysterical people began racing for the exit.

  The gun guy took off towards the front of the store, randomly waving around his knife like invisible enemies were encircling him and he needed to fend them off from all directions. Two zombies tackled him as he passed a display of back massagers, dragging him to the ground. The guy clawed at the floor as they pulled him towards the pharmacy.

  Scotlyn cringed. “We have to help him!”

  Zeke lowered the shotgun and looked at her like she was crazy. “You don’t help people at the end of the world.”

  “What better time to help them?”

  “The zombies just ripped out the guy’s goddamn throat. He’s already gone. Even if he wasn’t, you think I would risk our safety for that dickhead? He just held a knife on you, Scotlyn!”

  “I know, but…”

  “Forget it. We’re leaving.”

  The store was huge, with a hundred things all happening at once. Zombies were staggering through the furniture department, picking off the shoppers and employees who were trying to climb up the shelves of computer desks. In electronics, three men continued to loot TVs, piling them into shopping carts. A crying woman in crafts was trying to hide beneath a pile of fabrics. Displays were knocked down and merchandise scattered as people fled through housewares in terror.

  Zeke propelled Scotlyn passed all of it, dragging her towards groceries. As they went speeding by the pet section, Scotlyn grabbed a box of cat food off the shelf.

  Zeke shot her an incredulous look. “Really?”

  “We might need supplies.”

  “I’m not eating cat food unless I’m really hungry and completely out of…”

  “For Pucci, not you.”

  Zeke’s eyes scanned down the aisles as they passed them. “Fine, but…” He stopped abruptly, his hand coming up to stop her progress.

&n
bsp; Scotlyn ran right into his arm, barely noticing. All her attention was on the zombie straight ahead of them.

  It was dressed in a nightgown and was missing half its arm, but that wasn’t slowing it down. It had climbed into the refrigerated meat case and was crouched there, eating raw steaks straight from the packages. It gnawed through the styrofoam and cellophane, ripping free bloody chucks of meat with its teeth.

  Zeke swore softly.

  The zombie’s head slowly swiveled around to face them, blood dripping from its chin.

  Zeke gauged the distance to the emergency exit on the far wall. “It’s in our way.” He lifted the shotgun, again. “We don’t have time to screw around. That pink shit is headed this…”

  The front of the store was suddenly rocked with a hail of automatic gunfire. Scotlyn dropped to the ground, her arms coming up to cover her head. At the same time, she heard the wail of sirens and the shrieking of humans and monsters alike. The police were outside, firing at the zombies and mowing down Wal-Mart shoppers as collateral damage.

  “Fuck.” Zeke flung himself on top of her. His body covered hers as debris rained down on them. He rolled them both behind a refrigerated case full of cookie dough and tubes of unbaked dinner rolls.

  Scotlyn could hear bullets impacting the other side of the metal freezer. “I told you the police would show up!” She shouted. Her eyes squeezed shut against his chest and she instinctively brought up her palm to shield the back of Zeke’s head, trying to protect him.

  He shifted his face so it was right above hers and she could tell that he was smiling behind the mask. His own hand went back to cover Scotlyn’s, his fingers sliding between hers and locking tight. “Yeah, you were right. They’re fucking tough on shoplifters around here.”

  The man was insane.

  Whatever caliber ammunition the cops were using, it was powerful enough to shred the clothing department and everything south of the snack aisle. Bits of fabric flew everywhere, mixing with glass and potato chips and blood and bone.