Breathless Bodies

by Brigit Levois

  "Alex, please be careful, I'm worried." I looked at Steven and in my most confident and cocky voice,

  "Hey, it's me. They're the ones that should be worried." I gestured to the space above us as I strapped a knife to my hip. I stepped into the elevator and went up. By the time we got to the entry level, I had myself in the mind state of kill or be killed. If I died, so did my family. I loved my brother but I couldn't see him holding back the zombies for too long. I don't remember reaching the door, but there I was, sword in hand. I opened it. It was colder than I thought it would be and I was wearing a short sleeve shirt. I didn't hear or see anything so I walked out. The door closed and I began to enter the lift code. 1.. 5.. 7.. growling. That didn't sound human, and my worst fear was about to come true. I turned and saw a cougar, half its side missing. Its head looked like it had been boiled, the skin was sloughing away, exposing maggot filled muscle, and at the top, the skull was showing. It was missing toes as well as half its tail. Needless to say I was scared shitless.

  I started to raise my sword but realized I didn't have time for it. As it lunged forward, the world seemed to slow. I could feel my heartbeat; I could see its chest heave as it lunged at me, what was left of its muscles ripple. The hair in between its empty eyes moved in the wind, back and forth, then exploded as two rounds caught it in the forehead. It came to a tumbling halt at my feet. When did I pull the gun? I didn't remember. Looks like uncle Tony did his job of training me very well.

  Dragging the body to the slope on the west side of the mountain, I made certain to give it a hefty push so it tumbled down as far as possible. Time to get back to work. I finished the code for the lift, there was a low rumble and a section of the mountain to the left of the door surged forward. I stumbled backwards as chunks of rock and earth tumbled from ten feet above my head. Most of the debris was clear of the doors that appeared with the exception of a few large boulders. The doors slid with a rusty grind that said they hadn't been opened in years. Now I wondered what this place had originally been used for. Where had Tony gotten the location of this place? The lift was large enough to fit a tank. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that he was into some military coup. It would explain a lot actually.

  It took half an hour to move rocks to clear a straight path. As soon as I was finished, I hopped in the truck and drove it into the lift. The ride down to B deck was smooth, no more hitches except the squirrel that tried to eat my boot before I got the doors closed. The doors opened as I arrived to B deck and I drove the truck into the room. My brother wasn't there.

  "Oh for crying out loud Steven, you couldn't stay put for one flipping hour?" I was yelling to myself as I went to the elevator going up. I was worried that he had tried to follow me. As soon as I got to elevator, the lift from C deck opened and out stepped my brother.

  "Jesus, where were you!"

  "I had to take a piss, sheesh, calm down." He was right, we were safe here. Well, for the time being.

  "Alright, let's get started on this baby. I'm going to go downstairs really quick to get a smoke and some coffee. I'll be right back." I had been smart enough to save my cigarettes until a time I really needed them. This was one of those times.

  We worked for the rest of day, cutting and placing the armor for the truck. My brother left to go get dinner and didn't come back. My assumption was that he had passed out. As I started to drill holes for the larger machine gun that was to be mounted on the truck, I heard the lift from A deck start up. I froze. There is no way they're that smart, I thought to myself. I crouched in the bed of the truck and picked up the sawzall, ready to cut some heads. The lift stopped, the doors opened and Uncle Tony stepped out.

  "Oh thank god." I heaved a sigh of relief. He came towards me, his face red and windblown.

  "Damn girl, I know I'm not the most handsome man but ya don't have to cut my head off." He chuckled and helped me out of the bed of the truck.

  "How have you been? How did you get here?" He took his flask out of his back pocket and took a long pull from it.

  "I've been surviving. Damn mongrels got my dogs, poor bastards. Less mouths to feed I guess. Stole a horse and made it halfway up the mountain before we were attacked." He shook his head. "Ah well. Where's your ma and family?"

  "Down on C deck."

  "Alright, I'm gonna go say hi and be back here to sharpen my sword." I heard a high pitched sound. Was that squirrel chatter? I'm hearing things.

  "Wait." I called after him. "I've got some questions for you. How did you know about this place? Where did you get all this info?" He stopped and looked at me. He looked tired, like he was hiding something.

  "You always were too curious. Alright, you need to know anyway. I used to work for the government, back in Nam." He walked over to the truck and sat on the tailgate.

  "Back in '69, we were getting our asses handed to us pretty good, we couldn't find Charlie no matter how hard we looked. So, in a fit of pure genius, the up-in-ups decided to make a chemical weapon." His voice dripped sarcasm and disdain. "Well, they caught wind that we were planning something so they decided to make their own. Government didn't like that and took steps to make sure that a small bit of the population would be safe if something ever did happen." He shook his head and dropped it.

  "A couple years later, Operation Ranch Hand started. We were supposed to spray this crap that would kill all the greenery, but there was something not quite right about the whole thing." He pulled out his flask and took a pull from it. "I was put in charge of making sure that the important people in the lower half of California got to safety. They built the bunkers and forgot about them after the war was over, or so I thought. You see, there was this one guy about three months ago that came looking for me. He wanted to know which bunker the President would be taken to, the vices, all the people that were in charge of running the country. Told him I lost the paperwork after the war ended but he didn't seem to convinced. Anyway, there's more to the story but let's talk after some food. I 'm going to go say hi to your ma. See ya down there."

  "I'll be there soon." What in the actual blue blazes was going on here? I shook my head. As Tony was in the elevator, I thought I heard some banging but it was probably just my imagination. I walked to the phone and called Sean.

  "Hello?" He sounded like he had just woken up.

  "Hey, how are you?"

  "I'm doin' good. Been planning on how to get to you and the kids. I saw a route to get to you. It's going to take me a while to get there, but I'll make it."

  "About how long do you think?"

  "If the gas stations aren't dry, then four days. If they are, then it might be a month if I can get a horse or a bike. The route takes me through mountain ranges so hopefully the snow will have melted by then" I was actually kind of happy at the thought of seeing him so soon.

  "That sounds great!" I told him about what we were going to do to the truck, about putting armor on it and the like. He gave me a great idea about ice tires and chariot wheels. We talked for about an hour before my stomach voiced its opinion about our nutrition situation. Sean and I hung up and I glared at my belly.

  "Well if you're going to talk to me like that, I'll make you wait longer." On the way to the elevator, I thought about my mom's meatloaf. The doors opened while I drooled over my thoughts of food. I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to go down. Then I saw a red splotch on the wall. Looking at it, I had a moment to realize it was blood. The doors opened and something flew at me accompanied by the sound of screaming. Ducking, I drew my gun. On the rail in the lift now sat a flying squirrel. It was cute in the get-too-close-and-I'll-eat-your-face kind of way. I shot it just as my mom rounded the corner. She fell over in a faint.

  Stepping into the hallway, my kids come running up to me.

  "Mommy! Uncle Tony's gone crazy!" Shit.

  "Grab your brother and go to mommy's room Lin, I'll be right there." She picked
him up and ran in that direction. As I peeked around the corner, I could hear footsteps down the hallway. I swung around the corner and aimed...at my brother.

  "Where is he?" I asked in a low voice, pointing my gun at the ceiling.

  "He's in the living room, coming this way." Just as Steven finished his sentence, Tony came into view. I pulled my brother behind me and looked at my uncle. His neck was torn open from where the squirrel had bitten him. It was kind of ironic how my uncle had gone through a few tours of Vietnam and come back alive, yet a tiny flying squirrel had taken him out. I searched my uncle's face for any sign that he might recognize me, but there was none. Hands shaking, I raised the gun that he had taught me to shoot with and did exactly that. I shot the man that had taught me to survive twice between the eyes. He didn't flinch. Of course, Tony would be the one that you have to decapitate to kill him. He started to walk towards me as I pulled out my bowie knife.

  "You always were a stubborn son of a bitch." I moved toward him as he made a lunge for me. Ducking and rolling behind him, I sprang up and severed his spine at the neck. His head fell forward attached by a few muscles and some skin, the job was done and we were safe. I collapsed on the floor next to Tony and felt my eyes well up with tears. How many more times was I going to have to do this? I didn't want to kill anything, let alone the people I loved.

  "It's safe Steven." I yelled down the hall to my brother. I stood up and went into the bedroom where my kids were.

  "We're safe now baby" I whispered to my daughter as she clung to me.

  "I don't like it here. I want daddy." I started to tear up again as she cried on my shoulder. Seeing my daughter so scared brought out a feeling in me I didn't think was possible outside of movies. It was a sense of determination, that anything that got in my way was going to die. It was either us or them and I'd be damned if anything hurt my kids. With that feeling, I put them to sleep and went back to Tony's body.

  "What are you going to do with it?" my brother asked in a disgusted voice. My mom poked Tony with the mop handle.

  "Well he's dead, get him out of here so I can mop up the blood." She looked pale and queasy.

  "Mom, Steven can mop. Why don't you go relax for a bit? I'm sure you need some coffee." She gave me a look of gratitude. I went to the kitchen for a potato sack to keep his head attached to his neck. As we dragged him into the lift, my brother started mumbling to himself.

  "Why do I have to clean up the zombie blood, I didn't kill him. She made the mess, she should clean it up." I couldn't help it, I dropped Tony's body as I collapsed into a fit of laughter. The stress and sleeplessness of the last few days made my brothers grumblings more funny than they really were. Knowing that, I was sent into another round of laughter that left me clinging to the wall with tears streaming down my face. It's amazing that no matter how faced with danger and death a person is, there are some things you just can't change.

  After I composed myself and we got Tony's body outside, I went down to B deck to mount the gun. I also considered what Tony had said. Who wanted the information and why? Was someone planning an overthrow? Whatever it was, it's too late now.

  I worked for two days, with little food and less rest to have that truck ready. At the end of the second day, I went to the kitchen and stuck my head under the faucet.

  "What are you doing?" mom asked in a confused tone. I looked at her from under my mass of wet hair.

  "Cooling off. The shop gets hot."

  "Then go take a shower." She replied in that mom tone that points out the obvious.

  "Not enough time." I turned off the tap and squeezed water out of my hair. "I'm going to go into town to pick up a few things. There's a CB in the truck so you can reach me from A deck. I shouldn't be gone more than a day. I'll wait till the kids go to sleep, then leave. If I see any survivors, I might bring them back." She looked at me with worry.

  "At least take a small nap before you go. Don't want you getting into a crash." Well, when she put it like that, I couldn't argue. I laid my kids down for bed, read them a story, kissed them then shut the door, hoping it wouldn't be for the last time. Sean wasn't happy with my plan -- as I knew he wouldn't be. We talked for a few minutes, then hung up so I could sleep before the trip. I set my alarms for three hours.

  As soon as the first one went off, I was up and heading to the truck.

  The moon was full when I drove towards the town of Tehachapi. It was difficult to believe we had been underground for just over a month: It felt like years. I hoped that I would find someone alive, someone that had a will to live.

  Chapter 6

  The sun was just coming up as I made my way to a shopping plaza on the edge of the town. The plan was to hit the coffee shop for mom, then the home improvement, sporting, and grocery stores. Before I headed back out, I hoped to stop by the movie rental and build up Kaylin's cartoon collection.

  I made the turn into the coffee shop. It had been a month and three weeks since the initial attack and it showed. I hadn't seen a single soul yet; I was hoping not to see one now. I stopped the truck and surveyed the lot. Nothing. I stepped out and closed the door quietly. Still no sound. I walked up to front and went through the broken glass door. There was a body in the lobby. At least I think it was. Well, it was kind of spread out all over. There were bags of coffee beans on the wall shelves.

  "Well, mom will be happy." I unraveled a trash bag and threw as many in as I could. Things had been very quiet and I started to get on edge. As I was carrying the bag out of the store, I heard the uneven pace of something. I dropped the bag and drew my gun. He came up on my left. I turned and found myself in the crosshairs of a really big assault rifle. We stood there for a second. I lowered my gun first.

  He was by no means a small man: five-foot-forty with the complexion of a Viking, all blond hair and blue eyes. Ragnar was a generally happy person, but his temper matched his size. My brother was no one to be messed with.

  "Holy hell! I thought I would never see you again!" I took his hand and hugged him.

  "Ya know lil' sis, I'm not too surprised you're still alive. You always were the ornery one out of the group."

  I had met Ragnar when I lived in Little Rock for a while. He had induced a fight between myself and another girl, to see how I handled myself he claimed. She was a feisty thing, but no match for a tree branch. We became like brother and sister after that, always talking about different ways to torture people and hide them in the desert. Good times.

  "I'm headed to Uncle Tony's, want to come?" He didn't know. I told him about the flying squirrel and I thought about telling him about the man looking for the bunkers, but if Tony hadn't told him already then there was probably a good reason. After I told him how Tony died, I didn't get the reaction I had anticipated.

  "Haha leave it to Tony to get killed by a squirrel! Well, that kind of puts a cramp in my plans but no matter, we carry on!" He lifted one large fist and shook it.

  "Where are you planning on going?"

  "Oh, I don't know, maybe the Horseshoe Mountains. I hear it's lovely this time of year." Wait, that's right next to Sean.

  "I have an idea. Sean Is in a bunker by Burnt Lake. Why don't you join us? It would be easier than trying to survive on your own. Then we could start our own community." He stroked his chin with a smirk on his face, as he always did when he wanted to build the tension.

  "That sounds like a plan to me." He walked to the bag I had dropped and chucked it into the bed of the truck.

  "Let's hit some other shops lil sis." Yup, just like that.

  We got building supplies, seeds, tools, and such at the home improvement warehouse, food things and blankets at the general market, then some guns and fishing poles at the hunting store. The bunker was well-supplied, but there was no sense not taking advantage. As we parked in front of the movie shop, we saw a woman come running round the corner, a pack of zombies shuffling grotesquely at
her heels. She tripped and never had a chance.

  "Well, well. well, isn't this the perfect opportunity to try out my new gun!" I gave a mad chuckle as Ragnar took over the wheel. Climbing through the cab and out the window, I aimed the big machine gun at the downed woman's forehead and opened fire. At least her suffering was over. It only took a minute to splatter zombie parts all over the parking lot, but the noise would soon attract more. As I scrambled back in the cab, a few more soulless bastards rounded the corner. My brother looked like it was normal and asked "Well, are you gonna run them over or not?" Ragnar grinned and gunned it. The cow catcher tore through them with ease. As we sped through a few more soulless bodies, I saw a woman carrying a gun. She was running the other way when I pointed her out to Ragnar.

  "I'll open the back door as soon as we get close enough." He said. As we got closer to her, the truck slowed. The door popped easily and she sprang in on the run. As soon as the door closed, I turned in my seat and pulled my gun on her.

  "Are you bitten or have a chance of being infected?" She looked surprised but answered quickly.

  "No I haven't." I lowered my weapon and Ragnar turned around in the parking lot to get the walkers he had missed.

  "I'm Liz, I'm the only one left out of my group. There were eight of us, all my family. I never thought I would have to kill my mother." She continued to ramble for a bit so we let her get it out of her system.

  "Where were y'all bunkered up at?" I finally interrupted her.

  "The bar." Liz and her family were holed up at a bar. I started to giggle a bit.

  "How is that funny?" She asked in a confused tone.

  "I'm sorry but it reminded me of a movie. One of the lead characters is Liz and they hide from zombies in a bar...ever seen it?" She shook her head and looked at me like I was nuts. Ragnar gave a chuckle and I laughed harder. As we drove, I got to know her a bit more. She was young, 22, lost her family and dog, and was barely staying alive. She looked like she hadn't had a good meal in weeks.