by Paul Z. Ford
“No, now wait a second. You know where this place is?” Kimble nodded. “Okay, and we know the Escape will probably be parked there. Maybe they haven’t unloaded it yet?” Kahn gestured toward Kimble, seeking support for his fledgling plan.
“That’s probably true. I saw this woman named Melissa Judge get killed in the parking lot. She was the only one who checked in supplies. If she’s dead, it’ll take them a day or so to figure out who will take over her job,” Kimble stated. “They don’t keep a lot of guards at night because it’s pretty secure on its own. They have some people stationed on the roof I think, but they’ll be looking out. Not in. Plus, they keep it dark so they don’t attract any unwanted attention.”
“Yeah, but can we get anywhere near the place? You said it was easy to spot people walking up. Open fields and all that,” Ash said as Kimble shook his head again.
“No, I mean the dead walking up. They just stagger toward noise or lights when there are any and will just walk toward the fence until someone takes care of them. The sightseers on the roof spot them and radio down so Llewelyn’s soldiers can kill them. But, there’s a wastewater ravine that leads back into some woods. It goes right up to the back part of the fence. The dead wouldn’t stay in the ditch, but we could. We could park down the road, out of sight, take the long way through the woods and up the ravine, cut the fence, open the gate, and drive away in the car before they even know what happened.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. This just seems like a lot of effort. Why don’t we just find some food somewhere else?” Ash was shuffling his feet uncomfortably at the confrontation this conversation would lead to. With his brother-in-law or with the Neighbors. He wasn’t ready to bring Kahn into a fight. It seemed too risky.
“Where?” Kahn asked. “It’s been weeks. I think any place we know to look will be cleared out by now.”
“There are also other groups,” Kimble interjected. “Not all of them are dangerous. But if we go poking around looking for food we’re likely to run into one that we don’t know anything about.”
“That’s right, we know the people and the compound. We know a way in. We know there’s supplies in the car. And we have a spare set of keys in the safe, right?” Kahn held his palm out to Ash. Ash suppressed his objections and came to a reluctant conclusion. He reached out and slapped Kahn’s hand in a high-five.
“Right. If we’re going to do this, we need to get some rest right now. Few hours of sleep and then we head out so we get there before sunrise,” Ash commanded.
“I got my watch set.” Kimble’s face was illuminated briefly by the green glow of his wristwatch. He knelt and got in his cot carefully, with a lot of grunting and creaking plastic joints. It would have been amusing if this was just a normal campout. When he was settled, his flashlight clicked off and the room became slightly darker. Ash nodded at the bulky stranger, thinking his plan was solid. They would be armed, so not totally defenseless if things went wrong or if they were spotted. He walked to the front corner of the building where he had set his cot. Kahn was nearby.
“You sure about this?” Ash whispered.
“No,” Kahn replied. “I don’t know. I think so. I think it’s our best bet to get what we need to survive.” He looked at his brother-in-law’s shadowy face. “I want to go home. I can’t stop thinking about Aisha and Daniel. But I know if we go back now we’ll just have to leave them again to go get food. She’s got to be worried sick.” He shook his head. Ash reached over and touched his shoulder.
“I understand if you need to go home. I think we should go directly home. But it’s your choice. I’ll support whatever you decide.”
Kahn was silent. A myriad of thoughts cluttered his head. It was dumb to go confront the Neighbors, he knew that. It seemed easy in theory, sneak in and grab the food and weapons they would need to survive. But there were weapons here they could scavenge. They would hunt for more food somewhere, after they checked in with Aisha. Images of torn flesh and bloody figures struggling to walk interrupted his logical train of thought. The pop of the gunshot over Kimble’s radio rang in his memory. The growls and screams from the crowd of Neighbors drove a sense of urgency beyond reuniting with his wife. He couldn’t go home empty-handed. The risk of searching for supplies while his child starved did not outweigh the risk posed by the group of Neighbors. He told them he would come back with food, so he would. He met Ash’s gaze.
“It’s risky, but I think we need that food.” His brother-in-law nodded. They both paused thoughtfully in the darkness.
“What do we do after this?” Ash posed the hushed question as he settled into position for some rest. Both lights clicked off as the men were ready to sleep in their makeshift beds. Kahn shrugged in the darkness.
“We take care of Aisha and Daniel. Whatever it takes.”
Kahn awoke sometime later. He was disoriented and unsure of where he was for a moment. Then he heard the soft sound of Ash breathing nearby and remembered. He peered around the dark room, not seeing anything and only hearing the almost silent breath rising and falling from his brother-in-law.
But there was something else. Again. Now he remembered it was the noise that woke him. A small cry somewhere distant. He sat up quietly in his bunk, trying to minimize the creaking noise and pushing his senses to hear the noise again.
There it was again! It was a small cry, like an animal’s cry. Kahn stood up and creeped across the dark room toward the hallway. The cry sounded again as he entered the hallway. It was definitely coming from outside the door. He felt compelled to move forward toward the noise. His heart pounded in his ears and he heard the occasional small sound only over the throbbing of blood pumping through veins and his own shuddering breathing.
He reached the back door and pushed it open into the night. Everything was silent. There were no bugs, no sounds of cars, no sound from the door hinges. Only the slight crunch of his boots as he walked across the parking lot.
The faint cry sounded again, closer this time. Too close. How did that happen? He looked to the dark edge of the tree line, trying to find the source. It sounded again and he saw the small figure now, moving in silhouette against the dark line of trees. Kahn rushed to the shape, recognizing it and the voice all at once.
“Daniel?” Kahn exclaimed in a hushed tone of surprise. He took the small boy in his arms. “What are you doing out here? Where’s mom? Are you hurt?” He hugged the sobbing toddler against his chest briefly before pulling him away and looking at his face, holding his tiny shoulders. “Where’s mom?”
Daniel’s face was slick with tears. Kahn thought they must have made it to the gun store, thinking he might be there. But where was Aisha? He looked around the woods, trying to see anything in the darkness. When he looked back at his son, the boy was reaching up and scratching at his cheek while sobbing softly. Kahn watched as the boy’s tiny fingers scratched and scratched at the delicate skin. He tried to stop Daniel from scratching, but the boy began to struggle wildly and claw at himself more frantically. Blood, black in the night, rose from the boy’s fingers and flowed down his face. Kahn grabbed at his hands but couldn’t keep ahold of him. More blood came as Daniel continued to scratch, and Kahn became frantic and frightened. He couldn’t keep a grip on his son’s small hands anymore as his blood made both of their fingers slick and slimy in the moonlight.
Kahn watched, horrified and unable to intervene, as Daniel stuck his hand into his open cheek and howled. His skin parted as he gripped at the wound with small fingers. His flesh tore away, downward, exposing his teeth and the white bone of his jaw. Kahn tried to stop the flow of blood, but the boy shook his head from side to side and reached back into the gaping hole in his face. He grabbed at bloody teeth and dug his fingers into soft tissue and bone. His jaw came loose in his hand as he pulled it out of socket. It hung down as Kahn watched, frozen in fear and pain for his boy.
Daniel gurgled, drowning in his own lifeblood as he tried to cry out again and again. His hands tore into his
eyes and pulled away his ear. Kahn was helpless, sobbing over the ruined face of his son as the boy’s tiny body went limp and slumped to the ground.
Kahn looked up through spit and tears and saw several figures in the woods. He held the body of his son as the guttural sounds of the dead approached. He cried out in pain and welcomed the gruesome creatures. He turned at the sound of a low growl and found a body dragging itself toward him, wrapped and covered by the store’s logo. Blood and dirt stained the banner, as the moving corpse reached hungrily for the father and his child. He sobbed and stayed still, blinking away tears and waiting for the pain the ripping, biting teeth would bring, and the release of deserved death.
“Hal? Hal, you okay? Kahn, wake up!” Ash was shouting in his face and shaking his body. His eyes opened and saw his brother-in-law standing over him with concern across his face. Kahn bolted upright and looked at his hands, unable to shake the disturbing dream. The room was dimly lit by Ash’s flashlight as he rose to a sitting position on the cot. He saw Kimble over by the display case strapping on a pistol belt before raising the barrel of a rifle into the air.
“I’m okay. It was just a bad dream.” Kahn searched for and turned on his own light and drank from a bottle of water on the floor. He kept picturing Daniel’s face. Melting and torn, the dead closing in to kill. He shook his head trying to get rid of the nightmare image.
He stood. Ash watched him carefully before turning to finish packing up his gear. Kahn walked down the hallway to use the restroom. His face and body were sore from yesterday’s fight. He ran his tongue across his teeth and found they felt loose in his skull. It felt good to press on them tightly, and he sensed a metallic taste of fresh blood on his tongue. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he entered the bathroom, strangely lit because of his flashlight’s bouncing beam. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was unkempt, and his beard seemed to darken his gaunt and unrested features. His brown skin danced with bruising over the bridge of his nose, giving his eyes a sunken appearance. He tried to ignore his dread thoughts, think about his family, and focus on their stealthy mission ahead.
When they were loaded up, they piled into the cab of Kimble’s red truck. Kahn carefully checked the doors throughout the store and locked the heavy deadbolt on the back door before jumping in the front seat of the running vehicle. Kimble navigated as they drove on the silent nighttime roads toward their rally point near the factory. It took about 20 minutes before he pulled over on a gravel shoulder and turned the truck’s engine and lights off. Ash pushed the passenger seat forward and followed Kahn out onto a grassy field next to the highway.
Fog filled the bowl of the green space adjacent to the quiet highway. Trees were barely visible above the low mist, as far as about the length of a football field. Kahn tried to fight his nervousness as he stomped his feet against the cold, muggy air. The three men checked their pistols and extra ammunition they each carried, hoping they wouldn’t have to use them. Kahn looked to Kimble to lead the way as his large companion loaded the carbine and locked the truck. The rifle looked small as Kimble slung it over his massive shoulder, but Kahn knew the three identical rifles they carried were highly effective weapons. Ash had picked and prepared the carbines for their mission, choosing the same model he had carried during his apartment escape. Kahn unslung and checked his again, glancing at Ash doing the same.
“Let’s go,” Kimble said in a low voice as he started walking into the translucent air. The two Assyrians followed, keeping their steps quiet. Their visibility faded and the red truck quickly disappeared into the early morning darkness. Distant buildings were covered by the vapor as the ground dipped down. The men were isolated by the fog, only sure of the next step. They walked in a line, stealthily whisking their legs and boots through the tall grass. It took them about ten minutes to reach the edge of the haze as the trees broke the gray morning mist and their visibility improved. Kimble turned back for the first time.
“Do you know where we’re going?” Ash whispered.
“It’s through here, we’ll have to walk west this way.” He chopped at the air to indicate their direction of travel. “I don’t know when we’ll catch the ravine, but we should be able to see it if we just keep heading this way. When we get out of the trees we’ll only be 200 feet or so from the rear of the factory. You have the keys?” Kahn patted his pocket and nodded. “You have the cutters?” Ash nodded the same. “Okay, stay quiet and follow me.” He turned back and took the first tentative steps into the small forested area.
It was much harder to walk in line through the bramble and rough ground of the wooded patch. All three men crunched branches underfoot and staggered from side to side searching for steady footing. It was much slower going than before, and the faint glow of night barely illuminated their way. Kahn struggled and started to sweat in the cool air. Kimble led the way still, but the distance between them began to grow as he and Ash moved to each flank of their leader. Kahn walked with his head down, trying to keep his steps even and as quiet as possible. His foot came down hard on a root hidden by leaves and he twisted his leg around to avoid hurting his ankle. He lost his footing and went down in a jumble, losing the rifle off his shoulder in the hard dirt. He stayed down, staring at the dim sky through the trees, listening to the crunching of footsteps getting closer. A dark figure crunched into view.
And just as suddenly as he fell, he was fighting for his life. With a groan and exhaling growl, the figure knelt down over Kahn and grabbed at his chest and neck. He reached up, shocked into action, and held the fighting body back away from him. It bore down with all its weight, chomping its teeth and exhaling foul, cold breath into his face. The attacker pushed closer as he struggled, not in any position to move or defend himself other than pushing back with his arms and hands. Snapping teeth got within a few inches and Kahn braced his failing muscles against the heavy biter above him. Suddenly, the corpse flew off him to the side. Kimble’s boot came down on the ground next to Kahn, having kicked the undead assailant away. It moved like a turtle stuck on its shell as it scrambled to right itself in the dark bramble and uneven clay of the ground. Kahn heard Ash running carefully through the trees toward the action, and he tried to roll out of the small crevice he had landed within. Ash drew his pistol and clicked off the safety, aiming at the moving creature.
“No, wait!” Kimble quickly drew a knife out of a small sheath strapped to his leg and raised it toward the monster. It growled with a wide open mouth as Kimble grabbed its shoulder to steady his aim and drove the knife into the top of its skull. It immediately stopped moving and fell limp to the ground.
Ash replaced his pistol in the holder on his side and helped Kahn stand. Kimble struggled to retrieve the knife, working it back and forth, splitting the hollow bone and spilling blood onto the ground. He cleaned the weapon and his hand on the corpse’s dingy clothes as the other two men caught their breath. He rose and turned back the direction he came. Kahn grabbed his arm.
“Thank you, again. Thank you,” he gripped the man’s fleshy arm with sincerity. Kimble pursed his lips and nodded.
“Just keep your eyes peeled. Let’s go.” He stepped away from his partners and continued on their path.
Kahn fell back into step hesitantly, thinking of the close call with the creature and how silently it was able to approach. He peered into the darkness, seeing shapes and humanoid shadows around every tree. He looked to his left, trying to find Ash in the darkness. He saw the moving shadow that was his brother-in-law and realized the sky was getting lighter. Dark shadows were starting to reveal natural color through the new light.
Kimble stopped and turned his head to check on his companions. He gestured and resumed walking in a new direction, sharply to the left of where they were heading. As they walked, the ground began to slope steeply downward. As everything became slightly more visible in the early dawn, Kahn could now see they were heading diagonally into a winding ravine with a small, dry creek bed along the bottom. The trees began to
thin and Kahn strained to see the building he expected.
Then, Kimble stopped and came to an unsteady rest by awkwardly bending and sitting on his side along the slope. Kahn and Ash each approached and waited, slightly panting from the exertion. Kahn regretted not bringing any water for the walk. He expected they would have access to the food and supplies in the car shortly.
Kimble, Ash, and Kahn rested quietly for a few minutes. The sky continued to lighten as sunrise approached, and the cool air was quiet and still. Kimble nodded and rose up, ready to move. The three men walked slowly toward a curve in the creek, and an opening in the trees. The building was a few hundred feet away. The rear of the structure was heavily constructed with tan brick. Two stories tall, it sat dimly against the navy-colored sky from their concealed position in the ravine. The ditch itself ran in a straight line to the rear of the building, where it met with a silvery drainage structure built into concrete on the corner of the building. The fence Kimble had described was only a few feet up an embankment. Several cars were visible parked in a line, but they were dark and it was impossible to tell which was the Boomstick one. The flimsy, metal enclosure ran around the building to the front, providing a large, secure parking area for employees. Now, it provided protection to the Neighbors that lived here.
There were no lights on or around the facility that they could see. They couldn’t see any people at all. Naturally, they all hesitated to execute their plan. Kahn remembered how easily the order to execute him came from Llewelyn, and he had no desire to confront anybody. It was quiet and dim, easy to sneak in and out. Kahn pushed away his apprehension and thought about feeding his family with the food he had put inside the car. He stepped forward, hoping to motivate his two partners. Kahn’s silent order moved Kimble and Ash to join him. They walked out of the cover of the trees and stepped quickly toward the building.
Nothing happened on their short trek. They stood at the bottom of the six-foot concrete slope in the shadow of the drain. Kahn and Kimble leaned into the heavy welded metal that served as a grate, blocking entry into the building’s water drain. Ash looked carefully before scrambling up the steep, smooth surface and placing himself quietly in front of the fence. He pulled the small cutters out of his cargo pocket and leaned his rifle against the fence.