by Brown, TW
“Yeah,” Kevin said, agreeing with both sentiments.
The two hugged each other close until Catie finally pulled back and looked up at Kevin with tears in her eyes. “Heather?”
That name hung in the air, and Kevin wanted to answer, but he had to try and figure out a way to do so that would not send this woman into a spiral of self-incrimination. He knew firsthand just how bad that could tear a person up on the inside. Eventually, he did the only thing he could think of; he shook his head.
“Aleah and Rose were here,” Catie finally said with a sniff. “I had them stay behind so that I could try to find you…but it all went so wrong. Nothing worked…and when I got back, they were gone.”
That news actually brightened Kevin’s outlook. That meant it was still possible that he could find them. Everybody had been well versed in the route he would be taking to South Dakota. He would follow it and look for them along the way.
***
Room after room, Heather opened doors using the set of keys she had found on the desk just inside the long corridor-lined with doors on both sides to discover groups of individuals huddled within. Some darted past her and outside without so much as a word of thanks. Some cowered in the corners and stayed that way after she left them. Others hugged her and told her she was an angel sent to deliver them.
Of all the reactions, while she appreciated the sentiment, the smell made her wish they would just hurry on their way. After opening the last door, she fell in with the group and followed. She had no idea what to expect and wanted to try and simply meld in with the crowd.
The first breath of fresh air was perhaps the sweetest that she could remember in a long time. Now that she was outside, Heather scanned for an exit. She could not believe her luck. The watch tower closest to her was currently empty.
Not wanting to question her good fortune, or give it time to change, she took off at a sprint. Quickly scaling the ladder, Heather was up, over, and out before anybody seemed to notice. The only problem now was that she had no form of protection, no supplies, and absolutely no idea where the others might be…if any of them still lived. Her only choice was to make the big circle around the compound and hope that she could eventually catch Catie.
She knew where the first meet up location was, and so that would be her goal. Making her way through the bumper-to-bumper vehicle barricade took time, and when she came out, she realized that she was very near to where they had originally met up with the residents of that compound. The overpass was just ahead. She would make for that and use the elevation to hopefully get a better look at her surroundings.
As she neared, something underneath the overpass caught her eye. She recalled when they had first arrived and Kevin had sent them up the overpass while he went to investigate something. Seeing the bodies with the signs around their necks swinging in the steady breeze, now she knew why he had looked so drawn and pale when he had caught up.
Making her way up the surprisingly steep grade, she at last reached the crest and paused to look. The plume of smoke from the compound was already diminishing. Maybe the damage was not as bad as it had seemed. Of course the entire stock of propane was gone, but maybe that was just a setback. No matter, she was not going to be sad to put that place behind her.
Movement in the distance caught her eye, and Heather had to cup her hands to block out the little bit of glare that the afternoon sun was providing. It did not help much, but it was something. Spotting a huge warehouse complex in the distance, she made that her visual landmark and set off in the direction of where she had seen something that was moving way too fast to be a zombie.
It ended up being farther away than she first thought, and soon, Heather was forced to slow her pace to a brisk walk. She was thankful for that when a group of armed people popped up into her field of vision.
“Probably from that damn compound,” she hissed as she crouched low and watched them split into two groups.
She moved up beside a derelict delivery van and observed the one group that would pass closest to her. For some reason, one of their group was way ahead and did not seem to have any intention of waiting for the others.
Heather rubbed her eyes. It couldn’t be! She was about to jump to her feet and shout Kevin’s name when something grabbed her ankle. Heather choked on the name that never made it past her lips as a mouthful of saliva went down the wrong pipe.
Choking and sputtering, she crab-walked away from the legless zombie that pulled itself out from under the van. It had been a very emaciated Asian man, and that had to be the only way he’d fit under that van sitting on four flat tires.
By the time she recovered herself, Kevin and the people who appeared to be following him had vanished into the warehouse complex. Giving a nasty glare to the zombie that continued in futility to try and reach Heather, she gave it one kick for good measure and took off at a run.
She reached the entrance to the rows of long warehouses and slowed. This would be a terrible time to run into a zombie or three unawares. She’d just had a reminder about how a person needed to remain vigilant at all times.
Looking down the long, empty alley that ran between two huge gray buildings, Heather instantly spied one door that was wide open. That seemed like as good of a place to start as any. Slowing as she reached the door, Heather chanced a peek inside. A hand reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, yanking her off her feet and sending her sprawling on her belly.
Heather glanced up to discover herself looking up at the barrels of several assorted rifles. Oddly enough, she only gave the weapons a cursory glance.
“Kevin!” she exclaimed.
A moment later, she was swept up in a three person hug. She noted that both of them initially stared at her with open-mouthed amazement like she had performed some miraculous feat before they rushed her and wrapped her in their arms.
“I think we can stand down,” a voice said, but none of the trio noticed.
“I thought…” Kevin looked at Heather, his eyes darted to Catie and then away. Heather had no idea what that was about. Maybe she would ask later, but at the moment, all she cared about was being back with the group. Only…it still wasn’t the group.
“Where are Aleah and Rose?” she asked. She also wanted to ask Catie where the rest of the kids were, but she did not want to spoil the good vibes that were being shared at the moment. Besides, she had a feeling that she knew.
Catie briefly explained everything up to where she departed to be captured. She was vaguely aware that the strangers from the compound had gathered around to listen as well.
“You actually let somebody stab you?” one of the riot gear clad men asked with obvious awe in his voice. “Damn…remind me not to ever piss you off. You are one bad chick.”
At that moment, the door swung open wide. Guns came to bear on the opening which revealed two females being escorted at gunpoint; each with looks of surprise on their faces. Those expressions quickly shifted and the trio became a quintet. More tears spilled and each of them talked over the other as the onlookers stepped back and watched the scene unfold.
“Finally!” Aleah crowed through her tears as she kissed Kevin for at least the twentieth time.
“I know,” Kevin agreed. “I thought that I might never see you again.”
“No” Aleah shook her head, the smile on her face growing even wider. “We get a happy reunion…”
“Just like in the movies!” Rose, Catie, Heather and Aleah all sang together.
The group paused for a second, and then they all burst out laughing. The gang who still stood back a bit watching it all shared looks of confusion.
“Must be an inside joke,” Dr. Miriam Reno said with a shake of the head.
“Well I hate to break up the happy reunion,” Adam whispered, “but we need to put some distance between ourselves and this place as soon as we can. That blast will have drawn every zom for miles…and if that massive horde from before comes back…” He left those words in the air for the oth
ers to ponder.
“I think we can give them a few minutes,” Miriam whispered. “Considering what they’ve just been through, five minutes won’t kill us.”
“Maybe that used to be the case back before the zoms,” Adam quipped, “but these days, I’m not so sure.”
“Five minutes,” Miriam insisted.
True to her word, the doctor kept her group back as the five weeping, laughing, hugging individuals a few feet away reveled in each other’s company. At last, she gave a nod to the others and stepped forward.
“I really do hate to be the wet blanket,” Miriam spoke in a tone loud enough and with a certain degree of sharpness to get everybody’s attention, “but we must be going. There is little doubt that blast will bring a lot of the undead in the area to investigate.”
“We?” Aleah spun on the doctor. She recognized the woman as one of the people who had tended to her and drawn blood. That instantly classified her as an enemy. “I think you have done enough.”
“Aleah,” Kevin leaned in close and whispered in the angry woman’s ear, “this one rescued me. She is not part of the bad guys. I will fill you in on the road, but these people are okay.”
Just that quickly, the bubble of happiness seemed to deflate. The reunion was over, and now it was back to the task of survival.
“I think we all have a lot to explain,” Aleah said, this time her gaze directed at Catie.
“Are we really going to do this now?” Rose muttered.
“No,” Aleah said with a shake of her head, “you’re right. I think I am just a bit overwhelmed. Sorry.”
“So,” Kevin turned to face Miriam, Adam, and her band, “perhaps now is a good time to introduce ourselves.”
“Let’s do it while we walk,” Adam said with a wave towards the door. “Barney, you and Shauna take point, get out about a hundred yards ahead.” Two members of the group started to exit, but Adam grabbed them by the shoulder to get them to hold up a moment. He turned back to Kevin. “Which way did you say we are headed?”
***
The rest of the afternoon proved blessedly uneventful. As promised, everybody was introduced as they moved north using the elevated train tracks as suggested by Catie to get them all the way to Interstate 90. Along the way, they passed through several neighborhoods. The devastation was on a scale that Kevin had not yet witnessed; and by the looks of it, the undead were only a small fraction of the problem.
They passed houses with graffiti scrawled on every exterior surface with cryptic messages, open threats, and gang tags. Large areas were simply burned to the ground. All along the way, Adam would send a pair of his people every so often to scout into the surrounding neighborhoods for any signs of supplies. Each time, they came back empty handed.
“I can’t believe it,” Kevin eventually whispered.
He had always figured that the zombie apocalypse would be able to wipe out humanity. However, from his vantage point, it looks like the zombies really were not the problem.
“Yeah,” Dr. Miriam Reno was walking beside Kevin and Aleah, “this place was a real war zone when things went south. The military evacuated two days after martial law was declared because they were outgunned. I was actually trying to go north and to Chicago Memorial when I and the group I was travelling with were stopped by a convoy of Army vehicles heading south. In fact, it was maybe just around here.” She looked out toward where Interstate 90 could be seen in the east. “They said that gangs had taken the Southside and that all military as well as community services such as police and fire were being pulled out. Of course, by then, there wasn’t much left of those support services.”
“I just don’t understand,” Aleah said with a sigh.
“Simple,” Rose piped up. “If there ain’t nobody to enforce the rules, then there ain’t any. I don’t want to come out and make a guess, but I am going to bet that none of y’all ever been on welfare…stood in line for ten hours at a free clinic, or been sitting in your living room when the power gets shut off ‘cause you are five months behind on the bill.”
“But why destroy everything?” Aleah asked.
“Lots of reasons.”
“Such as?” Dr. Reno cast a curious look at the young girl who seemed suddenly to be wise beyond her years.
“Pissed off at the system that left you to die a slow death of poverty…pissed off at the police who give you a hard time just because they can…or just plain pissed off,” Rose answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “You all lived what were probably normal lives…didn’t have to be rich, but you wasn’t poor or you wouldn’t be asking these questions. It is hard not to be mad when your country worries more about starving kids in a country most of y’all can’t probably find on a map than you do about the ones in Chicago, Philly, or Atlanta. And it ain’t even gots to be about race, I had lots of broke ass white friends, Mexicans, Asians. Poor is probably the only thing in this country that really wasn’t racist. Poor loves everybody…at least that was what my mama used to say.”
The group continued on in relative silence for the rest of the afternoon. By the time darkness was stretching the shadows, the scouts had returned with a good location to stay for the night.
The group climbed down from the El tracks and waded into the neighborhood. The scouts pulled up in front of a mostly intact tan building.
“Mama Tu’s Korner Store?” somebody quipped.
“Don’t knock it,” one of the scouts said over her shoulder, “whoever was here last did a damn fine job of barricading the upstairs apartment.”
The group climbed in through the busted out front window, glass crunching underfoot. None of them paid any notice to the small cluster of rotting corpses just inside.
The narrow stairs were a real challenge as they were strewn with broken furniture, shelving, and even the bumper of a car. All of it was laced with barbed wire to make it just a bit more treacherous.
“So why are we doing this?” Heather complained as she carefully plucked the hem of her jeans free from where they had gotten snagged.
“Because it would be nice to sleep through the night without having to deal with any nosy zombies,” the scout, Heather thought his name was David Semmet, called from the doorway. “Besides, wait until you get up here.”
First of Kevin’s group, Heather was at last out of the obstacle-laden stairwell. She walked into the small studio apartment and gave an appreciative nod. Still, her eyes could not help but fixate on the corpse curled up in the fetal position under the small coffee table.
She walked over to take a closer look and was puzzled. The room had boxes of canned goods, cases of water, and a rack full of assorted rifles with metal cases of ammo underneath, each clearly marked as to their caliber.
One by one, the rest of the group made it to the room. Soon, everybody was standing in silence, staring down at the corpse on the floor. There were no signs of a bite, or any sort of external injury.
“What the hell?” Catie finally breathed, nudging the corpse with the toe of her boot.
“Diabetic,” Dr. Miriam Reno announced, elbowing through the crowd. She held a ragged cardboard box in one hand, a hypodermic kit still in its plastic seal in the other. “The poor guy ran out of insulin. He probably went into shock after some very painful hours of sickness, and then into a coma.”
“Jesus,” Adam said with a shake of his head.
“Are we just going to leave him there?” Heather knelt by the figure, casting a glance over her shoulders at the others.
“S’matter, sweetheart, does he give you the creeps?” David Semmet guffawed.
Heather popped to her feet and spun on the young man who was not that much older than she. “I got news for you, you little toy soldier, I have done more and seen more since this popped off than you better hope you ever witness. A dead body does not bother me…but it would be an act of decency to at least wrap this poor man up in a sheet instead of leaving him here, stuck to the floor in his own putrid filth. You got a problem with that
?”
“Nope.” David took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. “None at all.”
A moment later, Rose appeared with a blue plaid sheet in her hands. Together, the pair actually managed to mostly straighten out the body and then wrap it in the clean linen. The entire time, Kevin sat back and tried to get a bead on his new companions.
There was Dr. Miriam Reno; she had been the first voice he heard after coming out of his medically induced coma. She claimed that the uprising in the compound was really just a minority. Kevin could believe that. In his experience, the fewest people could often ruin things for the majority.
Adam Scott. Kevin almost laughed every time he thought of the guy. Seriously, he was like a bad 80s action movie hero come to life with his long blond hair, blue eyes, and laid back attitude. Still, there was an alertness in the man’s eyes. Even when he was smiling, you felt like he was studying everything around him. He wondered what the man had done before the zombie apocalypse.
David Semmet was about Heather’s age and carried himself as if those guns on his hips and the one over his shoulder made him invincible. He wore a Marine-style crew cut that only showed off the odd shape of his head and the three rolls that looked like sausages on the back of his neck. His brown eyes were a bit dull and Kevin did not care for the young man.
Shauna Galin was a mystery to Kevin. She seldom spoke except in the line of duty. Her hair was a dirty blond that was almost sandy…but not quite; which only added to her generic looks. Still, she had eyes similar to Adam in that they missed nothing.
Barney Gresham looked like a news anchor with his clean appearance and obscenely well-kept hair. Kevin had no idea how the guy pulled it off a year plus into the end of civilization, but this guy never looked ruffled. His dark hair had a tinge of gray that highlighted his steel blue eyes. His voice was deep and at just over six feet tall, he had an athletic body that moved with grace. That last bit was something Kevin had really noticed when they had made their way up that cursed stairwell.