by Steven Till
“You risked our lives for cigarettes?” she asked incredulously.
“Listen lady. This has been a pretty shitty day all around. The car needed gas, because we ain’t gonna last too long without it and I needed smokes, because I ain’t gonna tolerate you too long without them. Got it?” Sam pulled out a fresh pack of Winston Lights, tore open the package, and slid a cigarette into his mouth. He pushed in the car lighter and a moment later, sucked down long, deep drags of the noxious smoke.
She coughed and opened her window. He made a quick glance at her and opened his window as well. “You’re not one of those health nuts are you?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to preach to you about how you’re killing yourself,” she replied.
“Good,” was all he said. The cold winter air billowed throughout the car. Evelyn shivered against the chill. She wished that she had opted for her heavy coat. She didn’t expect to be gone long, so she had only grabbed a light fleece jacket when she left for Julie’s place.
The man must have noticed this and cranked up the heat, aiming the vents her way. “Don’t worry Evelyn, we’ll get you some warmer clothes. We have another stop to make.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, thankful for the blast of heat hitting her. The events at the apartment complex played through her head.
“Um, hey, thanks for saving my life back at the apartment.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said, shrugging. “That ain’t no way for a lady to die. No way for anybody to die, really.”
“Well, I do appreciate it. So where are we going?”
“The mall. We need to get you some clothes, and some other supplies if we’re going to get through this mess.” And with that, they sped on.
CHAPTER 15 MAN’S BEST FRIEND
Boomer finished scarfing down his Busy Bone and now stared out the large picture window by the front door, as he often did. Lady seemed upset about something. He didn’t pay too much attention to it though, as she had given him a bone. Besides, Lady got upset about silly things a lot. Like when master would leave his drink cans on the coffee table. She really hated that and would always yell at him for it. Master would laugh and pet him on the head and would whisper funny things in his ear. “Uh oh, looks like Daddy is in trouble again,” he would say.
Lady had left the house in a hurry. This was strange to the dog. Although Master was the one who usually took him for walks, Lady would take him out sometimes and walk him. She would take him down the street to the other woman’s house and the two of them would talk and laugh while he sniffed for little treasures under the bed. He didn’t like Lady’s friend, but was able to tolerate her. She was loud all the time and talked like a baby to him. Only Master was allowed to baby-talk him. She also stank of flowers, but not flowers that he smelled when Master walked him. He didn’t know where Lady went off to, but she had gone in a hurry and that was unusual; out of the ordinary. He didn’t like things that broke from routine.
A loud noise boomed outside and Boomer perked up. He saw one of the neighbors run outside, heading up the steps which led to the parking lot. It was the nice woman who owned the little black and white Cocker Spaniel a few doors down. She fled from the man who lived with her. Something was different about that guy. Immediately, the dog's instincts kicked in. Sensing something was wrong, Boomer barked. The strange man tackled the woman and swung his hands at her. Blood sprayed all over the snow as the woman screamed. Her wails stopped and the man began to bite her; eating her while she bled all over the sidewalk.
DANGER! The man looked odd to Boomer. He didn’t look like any type of human he had seen before. He had long sharp claws and pale skin. The man looked up from the dead woman and turned his head towards the direction of the loud barking. He saw the dog standing in the window, got up, and headed towards the apartment.
The hackles on the back of the dog’s neck raised. His bark become more threatening and he bared his teeth as a warning. The bad man moved up the steps and stood on the front porch. The only thing that prevented the dog from attacking was the closed door and the large picture window, which the bad man now tapped with taloned fingers.
The bad man wants inside, Boomer thought.
It was his job to protect Master’s house. The bad man pounded the window and the glass shattered. Boomer yelped and darted off the landing and into the hallway. Turning back towards the door, he continued to bark ferociously. The stranger was inside the house. The bad man is not listening to me. I will make him listen. Boomer lunged at the intruder and bit down on his ankle with all his might. Teeth penetrated the flesh and he could hear a snap as his jaws shattered bone.
The man made a weird noise, then kicked out his leg, which sent the dog flying down the hallway and into the living room. He rolled and flipped back up onto his feet. The stranger came at him, but was too slow. Boomer circled around and bit down on the man’s ankle again, tearing more flesh away from the bone. This man tastes like dead things. The intruder reached down with one of his clawed hands. The scrappy pooch saw it coming and released his vice-grip on the ankle and dodged to the right.
Although he was able to avoid the brunt of the blow, the man’s sharp claws managed to graze him, cutting him on his shoulder. He yelped in pain, but kept moving, running around the room to avoid another attack. The stranger surprised him by leaping over the couch, but missed him within inches. Not being a stupid dog, he knew that he couldn’t take down the man, even though he caused significant damage to his leg. He turned and ran full speed towards the broken window, jumping over the shards of broken glass and onto the front porch. Following the path that he and Master always took on their walks, Boomer ran to the parking lot.
He paused when he reached the dead woman. She was a nice lady. He gingerly stepped around her entrails and nudged her head. When he was sure that the woman was in fact dead, he licked her on the cheek and continued to the steps. The intruder had just emerged from the apartment and gave a loud wail. He then jumped down from the porch and gave chase. His ruined ankle snapped in half from the impact of the fall; his foot bent at a complete ninety degree angle.
Boomer bounded up the steps and into the parking lot. There was a lot of noise as men and women screamed all around him. More of those strange people were hurting the others. None of them were his Lady. He could detect the faint odor of her scent and began to follow it. Running full speed, he sprinted down the road. There were a lot of those strange people outside. Some of them had noticed him running and had started to give chase.
As he ran, the scent of Lady was fading. The smells of blood, death, and those strange people flooded his senses. It became difficult to pinpoint Lady’s direction. More of those creatures now chased him and, although he was fast, he knew that he would not be able to keep up this speed for long. Changing directions, he darted off the road, into the snow covered grass and up the hill. Soon he reached the edge of woods which surrounded the complex. Weaving between trees and brush, he made his way deeper into the woods. After a few minutes, he stopped and looked behind him. The strange people were no longer in sight.
The dog turned and trotted through the snow and soon emerged onto Cemetery Lane. He sniffed the air, hoping to catch a scent of Lady. No trace. He needed to make a decision. I need to find Master. He will know what to do. Letting instincts take over, he ran down the road towards the highway to find the human who was his best friend in the whole wide world.
CHAPTER 16 SHOPPING SPREE
Within minutes, Evelyn and Sam reached Northway Mall. It was by no means the biggest mall in town, but it had a couple decent stores there. The car sped through the parking lot, weaving around cars that their owners left behind. Not a soul stirred.
“It’ll be dark in a couple hours, we need to hurry,” Sam said.
He stopped the car and got out. Evelyn followed. They had parked in front of the Dick’s Sporting Goods entrance.
“Your one stop zombie apocalypse shop. Planning on starting a pick-up game of ho
ckey?” she asked sarcastically.
“Quit your sassin’ lady,” he snapped. “This place has guns and ammo that we need, plus it will have decent outerwear that will keep you warm. So if you don’t mind, how about you move your pretty little ass inside before we lose the daylight.”
She frowned at the abrasive response, but complied; not being able to argue his logic. They walked to the locked doors. After cursing some ineligible words, Sam picked up the ashtray which sat a few feet away and proceeded to smash in the glass door. They entered the store and crept their way towards the hunting department.
“Stick close, there’s no tellin’ if they’ll be more of those creepers in here,” Sam said in a whisper. Evelyn had to stifle a laugh as the irony of whispering after smashing through a glass door was completely lost on the old timer.
A moment later, they were in front of a gun case. Sam used the butt of his pistol to break the display glass. The noise seemed loud in the silent store and the two survivors looked around for someone or something to investigate the commotion. After a minute, they began to pull various guns from the case.
“I think we’re safe. If no one came to greet us after crashing through the door, I doubt a display case would attract much attention,” observed Evelyn.
Sam grunted in acknowledgement while he grabbed shotguns, rifles, a crossbow and bolts for the crossbow. He also managed to scrounge a sizable cache of ammunition, gun bags, and several cleaning kits. Once he was confident that he had enough weaponry, they moved on to the camping gear. He grabbed a shopping cart that sat in an aisle and began to fill it up. A tent, lanterns, flashlights, rope, sleeping bags, emergency first aid kit, and a few boxes of protein bars.
“I think this should be good. I’ve got other supplies at the shop already. You better go find yourself some better clothes. Be quick about it.”
“No problem, I’ll be fast,” she replied.
Evelyn found the women’s section and began to scan the racks and shelves for some good outerwear. Five minutes later, she was clad head to toe in the latest outdoor survival apparel. Warm, waterproof, and ready to get the hell out of the creepy abandoned mall, she found Sam by the broken door they entered in.
“Okay, I’m all set to go,” she said.
Without a word, the two walked out into the parking lot and loaded up the car with their new gear. Somewhere in the distance, horrific cries echoed. She thought of Nathan. Worry flooded through her. She pushed back the urge to cry and prayed that her future husband was still alive and someplace safe. He’s barricaded himself in his office at work, she thought, to reassure herself. Sam closed the trunk and noticed the look of worry on the woman’s face. He walked around to the passenger side and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t you worry, I’m sure your man is alright. I bet he’s got a good head on his shoulders; I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid to get himself hurt.”
She forced a smile and wiped her eyes. “Thanks Sam. You’re right, he’s probably safe and sound at work.” This man obviously didn’t know Nate. Yes, Nathan was intelligent, but he was also impulsive. Knowing him, he would have thought of a way out of downtown and most likely would have attempted to reach her. He wasn’t the sit-and-wait kind of guy. Maybe he made it out. Maybe he was trying to make his way back to the house. The house which was now teeming with dead, murderous creatures. A tight knot formed in her stomach as she opened the car door and got in.
Sam closed his door and started the car. They drove down the hill and turned onto McKnight Road, the main drag which cut through the North Hills of Pittsburgh. Lined with various malls, shops, plazas, restaurants, and bars, the six lane road was usually packed with cars shuttling tweens to the mall. Today was no different. Vehicles filled the roadway. All abandoned, some were askew in the road, and others were even flipped over or on fire.
They made it about fifty yards before the road became too congested to continue on. Sam stopped the car and looked around for an alternate route. The daylight was waning and shadows grew darker. Evelyn knew that they needed to get to wherever they were heading, and get there soon. Sam gave a grunt and backed the car up about twenty feet, then turned right down a side street. A burning garbage truck blocked their path.
“There’s no way we’re gonna make it down McKnight,” he said, irritated. “We’ll need to double back.”
Sam put the car in reverse and backed up about twenty yards, then threw it into drive and turned down an adjacent side street, which doubled back to Babcock Boulevard. The two survivors drove towards the dangers that they had escaped just a short time ago. Evelyn looked out the passenger window as the car sped down the road. Suddenly, the car careened to the left and then hit what appeared to be a man standing on the berm.
“Jesus Christ!” she yelled, as the body rolled up onto the hood. Then time seemed to slow down. The face of the man plastered against the windshield slid up the glass, leaving a slimy, bloody smear as he flipped over the roof. During this split-second of slow motion, she could just make out the name tag of the gas station attendant who had given chase the last time they travelled this road.
Sam let out a loud, cigarette-crackling laugh as the zombie continued up over the roof and onto the pavement. Immediately, he slammed on the brakes and proceeded to back the car over the dazed creature. Popping it back into drive, he floored the gas and spun the wheels, peeling flesh and gore from the clerk pinned beneath. A red mist of nastiness spewed forth from the churning tires until finally, the wheels hit pavement, catapulting the car forward.
“Damn, that was fun!” Sam hollered as they continued on.
“Holy shit, Sam! Was that necessary?”
“No, I suppose not, but it sure helped morale now, didn’t it?” he asked.
She gave him a disapproving look. “We're in the dark about these things. For all we know, some kind of new disease is turning people into these godforsaken things. If that’s the case, we don’t know how it’s spread. Splashing blood and guts around might just be making things worse.”
The old man glared at her. “Worse? Worse? How in the hell could this get worse?”
“Well, for one, we could get infected blood in our eyes or mouth and end up turning into one of those fuckers ourselves.”
Sam opened his mouth to retort, but closed it, aware that she was right. He felt like an ass. The fact of the matter was that they didn’t know why people were ghouling-out. If it was due to some kind of virus, making a mess every time they encountered one probably wasn’t the best idea. He turned his attention back to the road and brooded quietly as they continued their journey.
CHAPTER 17 THE MARATHON
The dog ran at a steady pace down the median of Interstate 279 South towards downtown Pittsburgh, cutting a narrow path through the snow. The highway was a venerable battlefield, with cars jamming all outbound lanes. Some cars even used the inbound lanes to flee the carnage that was transpiring in the city. This of course, caused many pile-ups, as those escaping crashed into the oncoming drivers who weren’t aware of the situation in town.
Horns honked, people cursed and yelled at each other, and in the distance, Boomer heard humans screaming. Nobody took notice of the mutt as he continued to run south, determined to find his master. His shoulder ached from the wound inflicted by the strange intruder. Luckily, the gash wasn’t deep and had already clotted, despite the heavy exertion.
There were more of those strange humans with the dead smell here on the road. They moved through the sea of cars, attacking people in their vehicles or among the gridlock. Blood flowed, painting the snowy landscape of the interstate with red. Boomer paused behind a piece of wreckage as some of the dead things ran near him. Once he was confident that he wasn’t spotted, he pushed forward. The little dog stayed focused and continued towards the city. Towards Master.
CHAPTER 18 THE QUEEN
The young zombie stood at the top of the staircase at the Steel Plaza subway station. She knew that her prey had eluded her
. She could sense the anger and frustration in her followers below as they tried to pursue the man down the train tunnel. It was unfortunate that her minions were stupid. It made her angry that, for all their physical perfection, her warriors couldn’t figure out how to get through a train door.
She opened her grotesque mouth and screeched down the stairs. The scream echoed throughout the zombie-filled station as she pivoted in place and walked out onto the street. She closed her eyes and allowed the cold winter air to blast against her alabaster skin. She couldn’t feel it, of course, at least not like a human would feel it. Her nerves tingled as snowflakes landed on her cheeks. As she stood there, she could feel the man. He was still in the tunnel, although he had managed to put some distance between him and the station. She sensed the infection spreading through him, already starting to reconfigure his DNA structure.
Soon, she thought. Soon his transformation would be complete, and then he would join her ranks. She didn’t know why it was so important for her to turn the man. He looked like any other prey that her horde had overrun and converted; nothing special or extraordinary about him. Something in her senses told her otherwise though and that drove her to capture this human. At all costs.
The Horde made its way up the stairs, onto the street and spread out behind her like obedient drones. She was their queen. Their brains. They stood there and waited for her command. Sunshine opened her eyes. There was a presence nearby, different from the others. It wasn’t one of her brood, nor was it human. She moved her eyes up the facades of the buildings in front of her and scanned for movement or a heat signature in one of the countless dark windows. As she continued to probe with her senses, she gleaned no other stimuli aside from that strange presence and the unquestionable feeling that someone was watching her.