by Russ Watts
Rilla was the last to leave. Charlie had heard how she had fainted before, but she seemed better now. She was nice, friendly even, and it was rare to find that. Charlie had spent so many days cooped up in her room since her mother had died that she had forgotten what it felt like to see genuine warmth on someone else’s face and to feel a loving touch. Kyler hadn’t exactly made them feel welcome, and Charlie felt like Rilla was actually talking to her instead of at her. It was rare to find someone who cared—about as rare as it was to find anyone alive—and Charlie suddenly felt very alone. Once Rilla left the house it would be just her and her father again. How long would it be before they had another chance? How long would it be before her father lost his temper and did something he would regret? Charlie knew what she wanted, and her mind was made up.
“Dad, I’m going too,” said Charlie, as Rilla walked to the doorway. Charlie had nothing with her except her father’s old fishing cap and the crowbar he had given her earlier. Her room was full of photos and books and CDs and a ton of stuff that meant nothing to her now. She didn’t need to pack anything. She just wanted to leave. She wanted to find herself again away from the hatred and tension that living with her father brought. “I’m sorry, but I have to.”
Rilla paused in the doorway and waited for Charlie. “You realize that we are going right now? Don’t you want to get your things? Shouldn’t you discuss this with your father?”
Charlie looked at Kyler. He remained by the sink and said nothing. In the darkness she couldn’t see his face or read what he was thinking. Why didn’t he say something? Why didn’t he shout and curse and tell her how disappointed he was in her? Why didn’t he hit her or do something, do anything, to let her know that he still cared?
“No, let’s go. There’s clearly nothing here for me now,” said Charlie. She couldn’t believe he was going to let her go just like that. No matter what had happened between them, no matter how bad things got, underneath it all she still loved him. They had too much history to throw it all away like it was nothing. “Jesus, Dad, did you hear me? I’m leaving. I’m going with these people, and you can’t stop me.”
Kyler calmly bent down and opened the cupboard beneath the sink. Charlie heard the chink of glass and then watched as he drank straight from a bottle of whiskey.
“Rilla, come on, hurry up.” Schafer’s voice outside was muffled, yet the urgency was clear. It was time to go.
“Um, look, I need to go. Are you coming?” asked Rilla gently. She understood that the situation was serious and hadn’t intended to cause any kind of rift between them. Charlie was kind, and even though Kyler had his defenses up, she could see kindness in him too. She wanted them both to come, but didn’t have the time or energy to fight about it now. They had done all the talking that needed to be done. Now it was time to go. Rilla slipped her hand into Charlie’s. “Are you coming?”
Charlie looked at Rilla, her eyes welling up with tears, and then looked back at her father. “Will you come too? Please, Dad. Don’t let it end like this. Come with us. With me.”
“Take care,” said Kyler, as he took another gulp of whiskey. It burnt his throat as he swallowed, and he let out a small cough. He remained standing by the sink. “Just remember everything that I’ve taught you.”
Charlie wanted to laugh but knew if she did that she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. Her father was behaving absurdly. This wasn’t just stubborn; this was plain old mean. She wasn’t just a disappointment to him, she was nothing. The only thing worse than being hated was not being cared about at all.
“Remember what you taught me? What’s that, Dad? Misery? Hate? How horrible you are to me? Fine, stay here and rot. See if I care.” Charlie sighed. “Let’s go Rilla.”
“What about your father?” asked Rilla.
Charlie looked at Rilla and the open door and shook her head. “He’s dead. He died when my mother did.”
Charlie left without looking back and followed Rilla outside. The stars were out in force now. The fresh air wrapped around Charlie’s face, and she saw the others looking at her.
“Okay then,” said Schafer. He nodded warmly at Charlie. “You take care of my daughter now, you hear?” Charlie knew he had accepted her without judgement and appreciated him not asking where her father was. He obviously understood what was happening and may have overheard some of the conversation.
Quickly, they made their way down the driveway, and Charlie kept hold of Rilla’s hand. It felt comfortable and natural. She felt more secure than she had for months. A part of her kept screaming to go back, to go home, and that her father needed her to look after him. Yet the stronger part of her mind told her to go on; if she went back now she would never leave that house, at least not alive.
The gate was open and the road clear. Charlie could hear faint groans on the wind from far away. The others ahead were on the road looking back at her through the fence. Once she stepped out onto the street, there would be no going back. She couldn’t believe it had come to this. She couldn’t believe that her family was gone, that her mother was dead and her father as good as. These people were her future now. She was putting everything she had on the line to join them, and they were strangers. As she looked at them, she realized she couldn’t even remember Jeremy’s wife’s name. She had hardly spoken more than three words to her or to the little girl. Yet she was journeying out into a world full of walking corpses and relying on them to get her to safety. The world was far different to the one she had grown up in. Peterborough used to be a nice small town that grew in summer when the tourists came for the fishing, hiking and cycling. Half of those tourists were still there, their dead bodies unable to go home. Although there was doubt in her mind, Charlie knew she was doing the right thing. The house she had called home was her past, and everything in it was of no use to her anymore. It had stopped feeling like a home a long time ago. She squeezed Rilla’s hand as they stepped through the gate and onto the sidewalk.
“Charlie?”
Footsteps came running down the driveway, and suddenly Kyler appeared at the fence. “Wait up.”
Rilla slipped her hand out of Charlie’s and watched as Kyler stood before his daughter. The half crescent moon gave her enough light to see that he carried a hammer in one hand.
“I’m sorry,” said Kyler as he faced Charlie. “I’ve fucked up a lot of things in my life, but I’m not about to fuck you over. You want to go, we’ll go. I’ve got your back. Always.”
Charlie was pleased he had come out to her. It didn’t even matter why; she was just grateful that he had come to his senses. “Fight or die, right, Dad?”
“So you do remember what I taught you?” Kyler turned to Schafer. “Right then. Let’s go pay Attwood a visit. Let’s turn this fucking road red.”
CHAPTER 8
The streets of Peterborough were unnervingly silent as the disparate group made their way through them. Charlie thought she heard dogs barking somewhere in the distance and the occasional groan of a zombie, but it was strangely beautiful in a way. When she had been in her room and looking out on the zombies at the gate she had seen how horrible it was out there and assumed the town was full of them. Yet the quiet streets were as charming as they were dangerous. She hadn’t seen Peterborough like this for a long time. She hadn’t seen the town itself for months, not since they had barricaded themselves in at home, and as they crossed an intersection she wondered if anyone else had made it out.
“Mind out for that truck,” said Kyler.
“I got it.” Charlie passed the abandoned truck cautiously, avoiding its closed doors for fear of alerting anything to her presence. The windows were smeared with dirt and as she looked up at the mirrors she thought she saw blood splattered on the passenger seat. She moved on quickly.
“You doing okay?” she asked Rilla.
“Yeah, I just want to get there. I don’t like being out in the open like this.”
They passed in front of a grocery store and Charlie paused by a baby stroll
er. It had a large brown hood with penguins on the side and a teddy bear tied to the handle with a red ribbon. The stroller was jammed up against a low brick wall and one of the wheels was missing. It felt surreal to see it abandoned like that and Charlie felt like she had to make sure there was no baby inside. There was no way a baby could still be alive, but Charlie was drawn to the stroller and wanted to make sure, to know for certain they weren’t leaving a child behind.
“Don’t,” said Rilla, putting an arm over Charlie’s.
“I just thought, you know, there might be a chance. . . ” Charlie stared at the stroller and reached a hand out to it. As she wrapped her fingers around the handle she thought she heard a faint gurgle from inside. She looked further under the hood and saw a pile of blankets and a cream cardigan stained with blood. Something moved underneath the pile of blankets.
“Just don’t.” Rilla shook her head and pulled on Charlie’s arm. “Let’s catch up with the others.”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.”
“It’s gone,” said Rilla quietly. “Whoever she or he was, they’re gone. They’re in a better place now.”
“I guess,” said Charlie, mourning the child she never met, and never would.
“And so will we be soon. Come on. We shouldn’t let ourselves lag behind.” Rilla took Charlie between two parked cars. It looked as if they were taking a short cut through a parking lot. There was a huge shopping mall to the east, and her father had weaved a path between the vehicles to a side road on the other side of the parking lot. “I don’t think it’s too far from here.”
“I’m glad we didn’t come across that group of zombies your father told us about. I don’t think I could handle it. It’s weird just being near the shops and houses. I keep thinking we’re being watched, you know? It’s so quiet that it feels like I’m trespassing or something.”
“This place is not nice. It’s not how it used to be. But my father knows where he’s taking us. We’ll be fine.”
The tall glass doors to the shopping mall were open and a zombie ran out into the lot. A second followed it, and then half a dozen more followed behind. Most were women, but some were children. Some ran, some walked, and some just seemed to lope lazily along, but one thing united them: all were dead. Charlie opened her mouth to scream but Rilla slapped a hand over her mouth.
“No. Be quiet.” Rilla shoved Charlie roughly against a blue transit van. She poked her head around the rear of the van. “Shit, they saw us. They’re heading this way.”
Charlie’s palms felt sweaty. “All I’ve got is this,” said Charlie holding up the crowbar. She wanted to run back home, but knew that it wasn’t a real option. “What do we do?”
“My father is coming. He saw them too. We stand a better chance with the others.” Rilla kept one arm across Charlie’s chest, as if she could protect her by just holding her away from the zombies.
Charlie pressed her back against the side of the van and closed her eyes. They were coming. The dead were coming. She could hear them; hear their footsteps, their moaning and their deathly march across the parking lot. Yet as she concentrated on listening she heard the others. She heard her father calling for her. She heard people running. Rilla was right. They would be better off fighting as a group. Charlie was terrified and yet Rilla was there. She hadn’t run or left her. Rilla had stayed and given her some hope.
“Dad?” As the first zombie came running toward them, Charlie thought momentarily that Kyler had reached them first. The man wore a loose-fitting shirt and was of a heavy build, like her father. Unlike Kyler, though, his lower jaw was missing and his rubbery tongue hung uselessly over his bleeding gums. His pale eyes looked directly at Charlie and she raised the crowbar in her hands that she had last used when entering Mr. Riley’s house.
“I can’t. . . I can’t. . . ” Charlie froze as the dead man lumbered toward her.
Rilla swung the brass base of the lamp and hit the approaching zombie in the face, dismantling the rest of its jaw. Teeth scattered around the tarmac and the zombie smacked into the side of the van as Rilla pushed Charlie out of the way.
“Quick, get to the others,” shouted Rilla as she swung the lamp at the man’s head. He was already getting to his feet and clawing at the side of the van.
Charlie turned around and saw a woman meandering toward her, long strands of golden hair swaying in front of her face, her murky eyes appearing from behind the curtain of hair only intermittently, her teeth bared and clacking together. Charlie stepped back, afraid of the woman, and lifted the crowbar again. She had to do it. She had to defend herself and Rilla. But it wasn’t what she had expected. These people, these shoppers, were real and present. Unlike the baby she hadn’t seen, these people were in her face and all too real.
As the dead woman reached out a hand to grab Charlie a hammer struck the woman on the side of the head, and the zombie crumpled to the ground.
“Charlie, get out of here,” yelled her father.
Charlie watched as Kyler grasped the hammer and sunk it into the back of the zombie’s head. He smashed its skull open until it stopped moving and then whirled around as another zombie appeared from behind the van. A girl, no more than six or seven, stumbled straight for Kyler. The dead girl wore a pretty light blue dress adorned with large white spots. There was a hole in her stomach and a gaping wound in her neck. Charlie saw her father smash the girl’s head open with the hammer and she took another step back. Blood flew around everywhere and as Charlie turned to run the other way she found Magda thrusting a screwdriver through the temple of another zombie. A tall, thin girl, no older than Charlie herself had her arms around Magda, but as the screwdriver penetrated her brain the zombie let go and fell to the ground.
“Come, quick,” ordered Schafer. He and Jeremy had opened up a pathway through the cars to the far side of the lot. Magda was already running through it toward Lyn and Victoria who were waiting safely in the distance. Charlie saw Rilla follow her mother and then she heard footsteps behind her.
“Dad, thank God, come on, Schafer’s got a way through.” Charlie spun around to take her father’s hand and found a small boy grasping it. His black eyes looked up at her and his grin revealed a row of rotten yellow teeth. His cold fingers intertwined with hers and Charlie only had a moment to take in that he was wearing a superhero costume with a massive tear in one side. There was a raw gaping hole in the side of the boy’s neck and his hand was cold to the touch.
Charlie screamed as the boy lunged forward and wrapped both small hands around her wrist. His teeth neared her skin and she knew that if he succeeded in biting her then she was as good as dead. In a second she raised the crowbar and smashed it across the boy’s face. His cheekbone cracked as the boy’s head whipped back and the crowbar gouged out a large chunk of his forehead. The boy’s hands slipped off her and Charlie swung again, bringing the crowbar down on the boys’ fragile head. The skull imploded with a popping noise and Charlie staggered back in shock. The boy fell to his knees and raised his hands to his face. Blood and brains spilt from the top of his shattered head over his face and his black eyes seemed to look at her accusingly, as if she was to blame for his death.
A moment later and Charlie saw Kyler crack his hammer around the boy’s face, sending the zombie into oblivion.
“Come on, Charlie, take my hand.” Kyler grabbed Charlie and pushed her away, toward the others. “You have to fight. You have to,” he said as they ran together through the parking lot.
When they reached the far side Charlie glanced back. More zombies were spilling out of the mall and spreading throughout the parking lot. They had been drawn out, away from hunting for bargains and into the hunt for man.
Schafer helped Charlie over a wooden fence and then she found herself back with Rilla.
“Are you okay?”
Charlie looked at Rilla feeling sick. “I think so.” Charlie rubbed her wrist where the boy had grabbed it. “Yeah, I am. I’m okay.”
“Great.” Rilla put an
arm around Charlie’s shoulder.
“Hurry,” said Schafer. “We need to hurry. If we can get around the other side of that building we’re almost there.” He pointed to an apartment block opposite where they were standing. “They won’t be able to see us and if we can stop those zombies following us to Attwood’s then we might just have a shot at making this work.”
“You’d better be right,” said Jeremy, the frustration evident in his tone.
As one they all followed Schafer, pleased to be leaving the mall behind. Charlie kept glancing over her shoulder, worried that they were being followed, but it seemed to have worked. Once they were on the other side of the apartment block she lost sight of the zombies. At one point her father and Schafer worked together to kill a couple of zombies who had wandered out from one of the many quiet shops. At an intersection Kyler took out another zombie, one crack over the head with his hammer doing the trick. After the horrors of the mall they were pleased to encounter fewer zombies and their path became clearer the further they got away from the center of Peterborough.
As they reached the edge of town, Charlie noticed the house on the hill and forgot about the dead boy who had almost killed her. With Rilla beside her she felt better and she knew Kyler was watching out for her too. She had frozen back there but as she looked at Attwood’s house she began to feel better. The end was in sight. Their destination was dark, the house obscured by trees, but she knew Attwood was there. He would let them in despite what Kyler thought. When it came down to it, having money didn’t necessarily mean you were an asshole. Nor did not having it mean you were scum. She had read about Attwood’s generosity and philanthropy. He had donated a lot to the area over time, and she saw no reason why he wouldn’t help them.