The Human Spring

by Hollingsworth, David

  “And yet it paid off,” Ehsan countered jokingly, pretending to flex his muscles. “You think guns like these just happen by themselves?”

  “Embracing your second amendment rights, I see,” Mateo joked. Ehsan and Fatima laughed. He looked outside. “Anyways, it’s a beautiful day out. Wanna take a stroll?”

  “Actually, we were hoping to ask about cleaning,” Fatima told him. “We want to be able to do something useful while we wait to take the kids home.”

  “I like the enthusiasm.” Mateo paused. “Now that I think about it, it’s been a little while since we cleaned the windows of the classrooms.” He grinned. “Thirty two classrooms in total. Think you can handle that?”

  “Try me,” Fatima answered with a grin of her own.

  “Don’t ask me to count that high, but I can definitely clean that many,” Ehsan joked.

  Mateo laughed. “Cool. I’ll join you two for a bit.”

  The three of them went outside to one of the custodian closets where the group kept the cleaning supplies. Ehsan grabbed a handful of rags while Fatima took two bottles of Windex. They decided to start with the classrooms at the back of the school, Ehsan and Fatima cleaning the outside of each window while Mateo kept them company. They made small talk while they cleaned, though Mateo’s mind seemed to be somewhere else. When asked what he thought about the drawing from two days before, he said his head had been too foggy from the infection to give it serious thought.

  The three of them made it to the library, Mateo often stopping to look around the school with a thoughtful look in his eyes. As they finished wiping down one of the library’s windows he finally spoke up. “Y’know, things really look different after you’ve had a close brush with death.”

  “I bet,” Ehsan said as he finished rubbing off an especially stubborn spot on the window in front of him.

  “Anything in particular on your mind?” Fatima asked.

  “Just thinking about how much I appreciate this place.” He paused. “Everything from these classrooms, to the garden, to everyone here. Including you two.” He looked at them with a smile.

  Before Ehsan could make a joke about appreciating Mateo more than his sister, Sarah turned the corner with a colorful bag of tissue paper. She waved as she approached. “You guys excited for the party tonight?”

  “Party?” Mateo repeated, confused.

  “Oh, yeah. I didn’t mention it earlier because I figured someone else had told you, but I guess you’ve been in your room resting,” Ehsan realized as he finished cleaning one window and moved to the next. “Cecilia agreed to a party for all of us newbies.”

  “Awesome,” Mateo replied. He turned to Sarah. “I’m guessing you’re helping set up?”

  Sarah nodded. “I’m taking these to the kids. They’re also gonna help.”

  “Awesome,” Mateo repeated, finishing the window in front of him. “Want me to come with you? I’d like to lend a hand, too.”

  Sarah smiled, and Mateo smiled in turn. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

  “Well then, I’ll leave you two to cleaning the windows,” Mateo told Ehsan and Fatima. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

  Mateo and Sarah walked in the direction of the classrooms. Ehsan glanced at his sister, who looked disappointed to see them leave. Ehsan felt bad for her, but didn’t know what to say. “Mateo’s a great guy, but there’s tons of great guys out there. Not as great as me, obviously, but that’s an impossible standard.”

  Fatima gave a half-smile as she sprayed more cleaner on the window in front of her, recognizing what Ehsan was trying to do. “I appreciate it, Ehsan. But I promise you I’m not into Mateo.”

  Ehsan paused. He’d never known her to lie whenever she used the ‘I promise you’ line, but he saw the way she looked when Mateo and Sarah walked away. For now, he decided not to push it. “Welp, either way, just know you’ve got the greatest guy in the world right here at this very school with you.”

  “You mean Andrew?” Fatima asked with a playful shove. Ehsan laughed. “But seriously, thank you, Ehsan.”

  Ehsan and Fatima managed to get the twenty classrooms on the larger side of the school done before lunch. They decided they’d clean the remaining twelve on the other side of the school after they returned from taking the kids back. When they walked up to the lunch tables, the aroma of the food made Ehsan’s stomach quake. The menu consisted of fish, rice, strawberries, and an avocado and tomato salad. He complimented Deon on how everything looked.

  “By the way,” Fatima began to Deon as she looked at the fish, “when will Ehsan and I get the chance to meet the fishermen?”

  “We go on trading missions every Saturday. You’ll be able to meet ‘em then,” he explained as he handed her a plate. “Just know they’re as salty as the ocean behind ‘em. You won’t get no pleasant conversation over there.”

  The two of them thanked him and went to look for a seat. They didn’t see Mateo or Sarah. They decided to sit with Julie, Ana, Estefanía, and Lucero, who sat at the table closest to the blacktop.

  “Mister Ehsan!” Estefanía exclaimed. She ran up to high five him, with Ana following behind her. Estefanía high fived Ehsan enthusiastically, jumping as she did so. Ana high fived Ehsan not with her hand, but with her forehead.

  “Hey ladies,” Ehsan said as he approached the table. “How’s it going?”

  “All’s well,” Julie answered with a smile. “We were just talking about the possibility of a treehouse.”

  “Oh, a treehouse?” Fatima repeated. “That would be neat.”

  “Right?” Lucero said. “We were thinking about using the big tree in the garden. We could make it into a total VIP experience!”

  Ehsan chuckled. “That sounds like a great idea. What would you do up there?”

  “Well, of course we’d have club meetings and all the standard stuff,” Lucero answered. “We’d also have a bunch of cool books up there to read whenever we want, and maybe even a lookout tower. We could help spot nasty-looking zombies.”

  Lucero and Julie told them more about the plans for a treehouse as the group ate lunch. Afterward almost everyone played the usual game of soccer. Mateo and Sarah showed up after finishing some of the preparations for the party. Mateo decided to stay out of the game, joking that he would be a cheerleader for Sarah. Ehsan and Fatima ended up on Manuel’s team this time around. The game ended 3-2 in favor of their team, with Deon having made two shots and Natalia the third. Sarah and Sebastian each scored a point for the opposing team.

  Ehsan noticed once more how confident Manuel looked during their soccer game. He reminded Ehsan of a general, one who understood the strengths and weaknesses of each person on the field, and knew exactly where to put them. Even with his jagged English, he gave commands that always ended up working for the better of the team.

  “You’re really good,” Ehsan told him as they walked off the field. “You weren’t kidding about being a captain back in Mexico.”

  He smiled. “Gracias.” He gestured toward his kids. “My kids play good, too.” He balled up his hand and brought it to his chest. “It makes me, ehh, proud, to see them.”

  Ehsan nodded. “I bet. How old were you when you had them?”

  Manuel furrowed his brows in confusion. “How old when…?”

  “Sorry, uhh…” Ehsan tried to think back to the Spanish he’d picked up living in Southern California. “Cuanto años tienes…” He trailed off. He remembered next to nothing. “Cuanto años tienes when, uhh, your kids were born?” He gestured once more to Gustavo and Natalia.

  “Ahh, very good Spanish,” he replied with a grin. Ehsan knew Manuel was just being charitable and that he sounded like a frat boy trying to order drinks in Cancun. “I was, ehh, thirty two when I first have Natalia. Thirty four con Gustavo.”

  “Wow,” replied Ehsan. “How about your wife?”

  The smiling, confident demeanor ebbed from Manuel as he answered. “She is, ehh, four years less than me. Her name es Dolores. I miss her very much.�
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  Ehsan grimaced. “Sorry to bring it up,” he apologized.

  “No, es okay.” He sighed. “I no see her for a long time. Even before the, ehh, things happen. She got…” he lowered his voice. “She got deported to Tijuana. She live there for two years when things happen.”

  “Wow.” Ehsan shook his head somberly. He thought of his Uncle Parshan, his mom’s older brother, who got deported when Ehsan was eleven. His Uncle often took him and his sister out to the movies, and always made them laugh by impersonating everyone from family members to celebrities, and told them he loved them every time he departed. By the time he started to uncover what his brother-in-law routinely did to his sister, he got booted from the country.

  “That’s so sad,” Ehsan said after almost mentioning his Uncle, but deciding not to. “I hope she’s okay.”

  “Me too,” he replied. “I also have three more kids con Dolores. The two, ehh, oldest, are with her in Tijuana.”

  “How about the other one?”

  He pursed his lips and shrugged. “No sé. Alejandro es en high school. Pero, it is far to walk to the school. I go once a few months after things happen, but, ehh, no one was there.” He smiled sourly, and Ehsan noticed his lower jaw tremble ever so slightly. “Pero, they did leave una nota. They go to Camp Pendleton. Pero, I do not, ehh, know if they get there, or if Alejandro was with them.”

  Ehsan nodded. “I’m sorry to hear about that.” He paused, trying to think of what he could say next. “Who knows? Maybe when everything is better, we can find him.”

  Manuel smiled and nodded. He put his hand on Ehsan’s shoulder. “I hope so. And other families, too.”

  Little happened during the rest of the kids’ school day. When the time came to return the clinic kids, Ehsan and Fatima joined Sarah to round up Lucero, Juan, and Andrea. They got Lucero and Andrea from the blacktop while Juan came from the garden with Deon, a freshly picked red flower placed behind his left ear.

  “I like the flower, Juan,” Fatima complimented. “Was Deon teaching you how to grow them?”

  “Yep!” he replied enthusiastically before starting a conversation with Lucero about the very important topic of what team of Pokemon she would use if she could be a Pokemon trainer. After saying goodbye to Ryan and Josue, who told them they were looked forward to the party, the seven of them were on their way. All four adults had their weapons at the ready. Though the morning trip had given them no cause for alarm, they still felt on edge after what happened Tuesday.

  Deon and Sarah led the way. They went through the first row of houses without incident. When they reached the end and looked outside through the second story window, they saw two zombies standing in the street. Sarah led them away while Deon and the others watched from the second story, going downstairs when Sarah and the zombies no longer remained in sight. They crossed easily to the next row of houses, waiting for her. When she came back they proceeded through the next row. When they reached the end they looked through the second story window. They saw only one zombie standing in the street outside.

  “I got this one,” Deon told the group. He left the room. Seconds later Ehsan could hear his footsteps as he walked downstairs. Ehsan then heard the front door open and close. The group watched from the window as Deon emerged onto the yard below them. Deon clapped his hands and the zombie turned around, but it didn’t walk toward him.

  It sprinted.

  “What the hell?!” Fatima exclaimed as it raced toward Deon.

  Ehsan had never seen a zombie so much as powerwalk; he’d never even fathomed one capable of sprinting. A deep, heavy sense of dread settled in his stomach, a dread which made his anxiety from the herd the other day seem like a fond memory. His stomach felt like it could plummet from the second story of the house to the center of the earth. He stared in disbelief as a confused Deon sprinted up the street from the zombie, which was gaining on him. The zombie’s sprint itself also horrified Ehsan: it hunched forward while its arms limped unnaturally by its sides, wiggling its shoulders in an odd, inefficient figure eight to maintain balance. Its face remained as expressionless as any other zombie’s.

  “We have to help him!” Sarah cried, grabbing Ehsan and shaking him out of his shock.

  “Right,” Fatima agreed quietly. Ehsan looked over to see her wide, horrified eyes staring outside.

  “Over there, in the window!” Lucero exclaimed, startling everyone. Ehsan looked over to see a figure watching from behind a curtain.

  “Oh hell no, not now,” Sarah lamented.

  “Okay, we should think about this ration-” Fatima began.

  “There’s no time!” Sarah bolted from the room. They heard her footsteps as she thundered down the stairs.

  “Ehsan, we need to keep an eye on whoever is over there, or else they will slip away,” Fatima explained, her voice shaky. “I’ll watch that house while you go downstairs. When you get to the front lawn, you watch the house while I come downstairs. When I get outside, you can help them finish off this… thing.”

  Ehsan agreed. He sprinted downstairs, his mind a chaotic scramble, his hands barely able to hold Dragon Hair out of panic. He had no idea how much help he could even be in this state.

  He emerged onto the porch to see Deon coming back up the street, the zombie right on his tail, with Sarah sprinting to intercept it. He ran onto the front lawn and turned to Fatima on the second floor window, giving her a thumbs up. She disappeared from the window and Ehsan turned toward the house across the street, scanning the window carefully. He had definitely seen a figure there before, but it wasn’t there now. He heard a yell from the street and glanced at Deon and Sarah, who were taking turns leading the zombie around while the other tried to attack it from behind, only for the zombie to notice the sneak attack and turn around. It showed no signs of slowing down. Ehsan wanted to do something, despite his terror, but he knew he couldn’t afford more than that momentarily glance in their direction. He had to stay focused on the house across the street.

  Ehsan heard the door behind him open and close. He turned around to see Fatima emerge. He also saw the kids peeking from the window of the front porch. “Go help them! I’ll keep an eye on the house!”

  Ehsan ran up to the scuffle. He had no idea what he would do when he got within range. This wasn’t like fighting normal zombies, or even like fighting people. Getting lost in his thoughts, Ehsan dropped his shovel as he got closer. The clank drew the zombie’s attention from Deon to Ehsan. It charged. Ehsan’s heart felt like it stopped beating. He couldn’t move.

  Deon ran up and swung at the legs of the zombie. A chop to the back of one of its calves sent it tumbling to the ground, only an arm’s length in front of Ehsan. Deon jumped on its back before it could get back up. “Hurry!”

  Ehsan snapped out of his paralysis and grabbed its feet to help restrain it. His palms felt clammy from the horror of feeling the creature thrash around underneath him, but seeing Deon try his best right next to him gave Ehsan courage. Sarah ran up and hacked off its head. When it stopped moving, Ehsan rolled off its legs onto the street.

  “What the fuck?!” Sarah exclaimed as she sank to the ground.

  “Fuck,” Deon gasped. Though his actions had been brave, terror drenched his voice. Ehsan looked over to see Deon’s hands trembling uncontrollably.

  “Th-that was… wow,” Sarah muttered, her voice shaky. She looked toward the house. She took a deep breath and puffed out her chest, then exhaled. “Damn it. I know we’re all shook, but we need to check that house. There was definitely someone in the window.”

  “Shit.” Deon looked back over at the dead sprinter zombie. “As if that motherfucker wasn’t enough.”

  The three of them took a few seconds to collect themselves. Ehsan picked up his shovel. Once ready, they walked to the house across the street. Fatima decided to stay on the porch of the house they came from to watch for anyone trying to escape, as well as keep the kids safe.

  Deon led the way into the house. Silence. They ta
pped the walls with their weapons. Ehsan hoped more than anything that only a normal zombie awaited them, or perhaps a person who had wandered into the house and had nothing to do with everything else going on, but they didn’t hear a thing. Deon put Ehsan in charge of guarding the entrance to the house, just in case Fatima needed help or someone tried to escape. Meanwhile, he and Sarah checked downstairs.

  Nothing.

  After checking the first floor, the three of them moved cautiously up the stairs. They approached the door of the room where the figure had stood. Closed. Ehsan and Deon crept up to it, Sarah waiting by the top of the stairs to make sure no one tried to sneak away from any other room. Deon moved his hand toward the doorknob. Ehsan could see Deon’s face, solid as a stone statue, petrified at the thought of what was on the other side of the door. He gingerly turned the knob, then swiftly shoved the door open and leapt back. Nothing attacked them.

  They walked in and Ehsan smelled it before he saw it: two corpses on the ground. The two of them walked over. As they got closer, Ehsan recognized them as the trenchcoat zombie and Viking zombie that’d stood out to him from the pack they encountered two days before. The two zombies now laid face down in front of them, inanimate. The smell overwhelmed Ehsan’s nostrils. While zombies smelled bad no matter where they were, the small room with the closed windows concentrated the smell to the point of inducing nausea. Ehsan, having the longest weapon, walked up and poked at them with the Dragon Hair as he held his breath. They didn’t move. He hit the Viking zombie hard with the flat side of his shovel. Still no response.

  “They’re dead,” Deon declared.

  “Also, they’re no longer zombies,” Ehsan half-joked.

  “We gotta check every other room on this floor,” Deon decided. He looked out the window, then turned to Ehsan. “Go ahead and get back to guarding the front door. Me and Sarah got the rest of this floor.”

  Ehsan did as instructed while Deon checked the rest of the upstairs. A fear he hadn’t felt since the first days of the outbreak engulfed him as he walked down the stairs: the fear of the unknown. Since the fall of society, Ehsan had seen the ugly side of humanity- greed, hate, cruelty- but he’d never encountered anything mysterious. Deception and trickery, yes, but nothing truly unknown. Only the zombies shocked him, but with time, he came to understand what they were and what they weren’t.