“Wait here. I’m going to take a peek,” Jack said and jogged toward the light. The closer he came to the exit the more the air freshened. He couldn’t help but take in a couple deep breaths. When he was within twenty feet of the opening, he slowed and marveled at its size. The exit was at least ten feet in diameter. He could have driven a car into it.
Outside, he could see a dry creek bed that was hidden by dense bramble and bushes. The creek bed extended about a dozen yards before it continued into a large culvert beneath a highway. The culvert was as deep as the highway overhead, which meant that it wasn’t more than hundred feet through to the other side. He could see what appeared to be a parking lot on the other side.
Jack moved to the lip of the opening. To his right, beyond the bramble, he could see the back of a commercial building. It was a two-story structure. Large commercial air conditioners sat upon the roof. There were few windows in the back and those were tinted dark. A line of green-grey dumpsters was situated against the building to one side.
To his left, a stand of trees rose high above the bramble. Through the low hanging branches, he could see a parking lot that serviced a large apartment complex. A swing set was nestled against one side near the wooded lot. The highway embankment was overgrown and marked the back of the property line.
There was no movement of any sort. From where he stood, he could see the roof tops of several cars that had been abandoned on the highway above him. Jack stepped out from the opening onto the dry creek bed. The gravel crunched loudly under his feet.
He stood for several minutes without moving. He needed to be sure that there were no trouble in the immediate vicinity. There was nowhere to run if the creatures were to show up suddenly. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of running back into the pitch-black sewer.
Finally, Jack waved the small family to join him. Carol and the kids were squinting in the light as they approached him. Once they were standing next to him, he said, “I’m going to look around. Have a seat and I’ll be back shortly.”
“See if you can find some food,” Carol said.
“Hey,” Steven said quickly. “No whining about food. You’ll eat when we eat.” His last words were spoken as he dodged a swipe from his mother’s hand.
At first, Jack had the notion that the two were playing, but there were no smiles coming from either of them. Apparently, Steven was pushing Carol’s buttons. There was a contest of wills taking place and Jack figured it had been going on for a long time.
“Hey, Steven, why don’t you come with me?” Jack said in a moment of inspiration.
Steven shrugged and said, “Sure. Anything to get away from here.”
“Watch your mouth, boy,” Carol threatened.
Sheri put a stop to it. “That’s enough,” she said.
Jack watched in amazement as Carol crossed her arms, raised her chin, and turned her face away, while Steven bit his lip and moved past Jack to stand behind him looking the other way. Sheri sat with Charlie on her lap and didn’t even look up at the two when she spoke to them.
Jack shook his head and put his pistol away. Then he moved quietly down the creek bed and into the culvert under the highway. He wanted to see what the parking lot beyond the highway might reveal. Steven followed closely behind.
“Does your sister always wear the pants in your family?” Jack asked.
“She thinks she does,” Steven responded.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
W ith the exception of two narrow escapes, Randi managed to evade her pursuers. She could push along on her skateboard tirelessly. The occasional thrust to maintain momentum was not as tiring as running and she could really fly when she found a nice steep hill to assist her in her escape.
Jack was upset with her, she knew, but it was the only way for them to escape. She was sure that if she had went down that hole with them the creatures would have followed along. They would have opened the manhole effortlessly. She was able to maintain enough of a distraction that the horde followed her.
Now she found herself standing inside a gas station drinking a warm soda she’d pilfered along with a couple candy bars. The place was open and thankfully vacant. Out through the glass she could see a couple of creatures of the slower kind. She called them “Lurkers” in comparison to the other more aggressive sort that she labeled “Ragers.”
Her primary regret, now that she was relatively safe, was that she’d not made a point to plan a rendezvous with Jack and the Mason family. She was so bent on helping everyone stay alive that she failed to consider the fact that she would find herself alone in a city full of dead people. Sure, she was a scavenger by heart and was reasonably confident that she could survive on her own, but she didn’t want to survive on her own.
Her thoughts slowly turned to her mother. For sixteen years, her mother had always been a strong presence in her life. It felt strange not having her around to tell her what to do. Over the last year, all Randi could think about was getting out from under her mother’s influence. She wanted to be on her own and now that she was, she would give just about anything to have someone tell her to brush her teeth.
The afternoon sun peeked out from under the clouds making the colors in the city around the gas station brighten. Across the intersection and up the hill she could see a long shopping center. Its parking lot stretched for a quarter of a mile and ended up against what look like a movie theater. Advertised on the shopping center’s marquee was a sign that read, “Sporting Goods & Military surplus.” There was a pizza joint to her right across the street, and to her left, a car wash.
Randi stuffed the last of the candy bar in her mouth so that her right cheek protruded grotesquely and then raided the chip and candy racks, stuffing her pack with the salty and sweet treats. Adding large bottles of water to her stash, she threw the pack over her shoulder and headed for the door.
On her skateboard, she managed to glide past a number of the Lurkers and was forced to kill three Ragers before she rolled into the parking lot of the shopping center. The parking lot was crammed with cars and trucks. She was surprised at the sheer number of corpses that were scattered all over the place. Some were leaned up against cars as if they had crawled to that spot before dying. Others lay sprawled across the pavement with their limbs going every-which-way. A few of the corpses had been chewed on — their body cavities open to the air. Large black and shiny green flies swarmed the corpses. The smell of rotting flesh was overwhelming.
Randi wretched and then washed her mouth out with water. So much for supper, she thought grimly.
She rolled up to the entrance of the Sporting Goods & Military Surplus store and stepped off her board. Her ammo was in short supply and she had no idea if the store would carry machine gun bullets. She didn’t even know their brand name. The front of the store was glass and she could see past the mannequins dressed in camouflaged hunting gear into the dark store beyond. She stood there looking for movement of any sort. The last thing she wanted to do was get herself caught inside the store with no place to run.
She half expected to be hit by a blast of cool air when she entered the store and was surprised to find it muggy. It smelled like a closet that hadn’t been used in a while. The ceiling was high and in the darkness above, she could see conduits and air ducts worming across it above shaded signs with white writing on them meant to guide shoppers to their wares. High in the back, she caught sight of the one she was looking for. It read, “Guns & Ammo.”
Her feet squeaked on the tiled floor. She passed rows of sports and military paraphernalia from balls to bats, from canoes to rafts, from fishing equipment and supplies to weight training equipment. She stopped in the camping section and picked up a second satchel. In it she placed a couple of flashlights and batteries, larger binoculars than what she was carrying, a two man tent, a couple canteens, rolls of string and a fifty foot length of nylon rope. She even managed to find a battery-powered LED headlamp, which she quickly strapped around her head to light her way. Hal
f a dozen of them went into the satchel.
Arriving at a counter at the back of the store, she saw guns of various makes and models standing upright along the wall behind glass encasements. There were compound bows, and colorful arrows without arrowheads. In the glass under her fingers, she found a wicked looking bowie knife that was nearly as long as her forearm. She smiled as she thought about how much easier it would be to kill those monsters quietly with it in her hands.
She leapt over the counter, slid the knife on her belt, and tied it to her thigh. Next, she found an AK-47 hidden behind the glass. The tag on it identified the weapon and the ammunition it used by serial number. It didn’t take her long to find the large boxes of ammo she needed and she dumped a number of them into her second satchel after loading the four empty clips she had been carrying around with her.
Into the bag went four nine-millimeter pistols with holsters and ammo, several banana clips for her AK, two more Bowie knives, a compass, a tray of lighters, and a hand held crossbow that she fired across the store to get a feel for it. It would come in handy when she needed to put down a zombie quietly. Finally, she stumbled upon olive green packages of food labeled “MRE,” which she used to fill the remainder of the pack.
The satchel wasn’t light, but she just couldn’t make herself leave any of it. She hefted it over her shoulder so that the pack hung behind her back and headed for the door. Her hope was to head back along the route she had been following. Jack would eventually have to come out of the sewers and when he did, she wanted to be there with her goodies.
A flash of light stroked across the ceiling when she turned off her headlamp to leave the building. At first, she thought it was a reflection of her own light, but when she turned to look around the store, she saw a second flash. It was coming from a window high up on the back wall. It was most likely the manager’s office. He would be able to see the whole store from that vantage point. This also meant that someone else was in the building and had probably seen her scavenging supplies.
Every fiber of her being told her to run, but in this new world where living breathing humans were a rarity, she couldn’t make herself leave knowing that someone else was near. She had to check it out. Laying her gear near the door, she pulled her rifle to her shoulder, muzzle aimed at the floor. She moved between the shelves and racks of clothing toward the right side of the store. Her goal was to move toward the office along the wall from the right side on the chance that whoever was there hadn’t seen her yet. The light flashed sporadically and she got the impression that she was sneaking up on burglars. The hair on her neck stood up at the prospect.
It took her several minutes to work her way beneath the huge picture window where she found a narrow hallway that lead into the darkness past a water fountain. In the hall, an opening to her left revealed a narrow stairwell angling up and disappearing around a corner. Its only destination could be the room where she saw the light.
Randi felt her stomach clench in fear. Her hands were sweaty as she pulled back on the lever chambering the round in her weapon. She moved up the steps slowly, taking them one at a time. Around the corner, the stairs lead up to a grey-painted door with a silver doorknob. There was a red faded sign that read, “Management.” The door was ajar.
At the top step, Randi listened. Something rustled in the office and then there was a whimper. It sounded like a woman in pain. The sound was enough to move her to action. The door slammed inward as she kicked it. Stepping into the room in a low crouch, she brought her weapon to bear on the couple standing against the far wall by a paper-strewn desk.
The man was skinny and filthy. His bare chest was covered in dark patches that looked like dirt or oil. His trousers were piled around his ankles and his knobby knees protruded below yellowed boxers. The man was hiding behind a woman who wore nothing more than tattered brazier that did nothing to hide her nudity. Her dark hair was mussed and hung over one eye that was swollen shut. The other held such terror that Randi swallowed hard. The woman’s hands appeared to be tied behind her back. Duct tape secured her ankles. Her face, abdomen and legs were heavily bruised and her lower lip stuck out like a purple slug.
Randi brought her weapon to bear on the man and stepped forward aggressively. He smiled. His toothless grin held no fear.
“What—,” Randi started to say when she was suddenly struck from behind. Her gun fell from her hands as she fell forward into unconsciousness.
* * *
Billy was lounging in a lawn chair in what appeared to be a camping display in the store. His cutoff jeans were ragged about the edges and he wore a dirty wife beater. Scratching his bald head with one hand, he patted his pockets and realized that he was out of smokes. The store was quiet except for the occasional scream that echoed from the manager’s office above him. His cousin Daryl was having a sweet time with the woman they’d picked up a couple of days ago. She’d been hiding in a Quickie Mart. She had played at being friendly until he made a move on her. It turned out that she was a tease. He didn’t like women who played with a man’s emotions. So, he taught her a lesson — a long lesson. Now she learned her lesson about two or three times a day since.
Grabbing his shotgun, he started for the front of the store intent on slipping next door to get a pack of cigarettes, when he noticed a cute girl with dark hair and a skateboard standing in front of the building. He ducked behind a rack advertising deer scent and watched to see what she would do.
The girl spent several minutes watching the interior of the store and when she thought it was safe enough, she pushed her way in past the heavy glass doors. The first thing he noticed was her rifle and she seemed to hold it as if she knew what she was doing.
Billy backed away slowly and once he was out of her range of sight, he tip toed to the back of the store and headed up the stairs to where Daryl was taking his pleasure with Denise.
Without knocking, Billy crept into the office. Daryl gave his cousin a dark look at the intrusion, but quickly set aside his frustration when he noticed the look on his cousin’s face.
“What is it,” Daryl whispered as he pulled his boxers up and stepped away from Denise who was bent over the desk. Her lip looked freshly cut and her body was marked with several new bruises.
“We’ve got company,” Billy said pointing out the window.
The two men watched the girl moved about the store. She was young and cute. It made Daryl smile. He turned to look at Denise, who wavered on the edge of unconsciousness, and said, “Looks like you just got demoted to cook.”
Billy gave Daryl a knowing look and the two chuckled at their fortune and waited. They needed a plan if they were going to have the girl join them without having her use her rifle and ruin their day. The girl began filling her gunnysack with supplies. When she turned the headlamp on, the two ducked below the window for fear that she would see them. Then they inched their way back up and watched as she disappeared from their view over by the Guns & Ammo Department.
Watching her lamp flicker over the walls and ceiling gave Billy an idea. He leaned in close to his brother and they whispered. Daryl looked over his shoulder at the door and then at Denise.
“I think it will work,” Daryl said placing a finger on the side of his nose.
Turning back to the window, the men were surprised to see the girl getting ready to leave. Daryl quickly stepped over to the desk and picked up his flashlight. Billy nodded and Daryl flicked the switch on and then off again. It was just enough to catch the girl’s attention because she stopped at the exit and looked back. Daryl gave another flash. This time the light caressed the ceiling before he extinguished it. The girl took the bait.
They watched her stalk around the store to their left where she disappeared. Billy rubbed his hands together in excitement and said, “It’s my idea. I get first dibs.”
The door into the office swung inward and Billy stood with his shotgun held against him to the left of the door. When the door opened, it would effectively conceal him. Daryl grab
bed Denise and held her in front of him as he stood facing the door by the desk. Denise stood there shaking. Together they reeked of stale sweat and sex.
Through the crack of the door, Daryl saw some movement. Denise whimpered and his pants chose this moment to slide down to his ankles. Then the door flew open with a kick and the girl prowled in like a commando. She was younger than he’d thought, probably not much older than sixteen, but there was something dangerous in her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile when Billy stepped up behind her and clubbed her with the butt of his gun. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
J ack’s first thought when he looked out from the culvert over the acres of parking lot was to run. The parking lot surrounded a vast shopping mall. Automobiles were scattered sporadically across it giving the landscape a dash of color where the grey of the concrete seemed to dominate. Wandering across the desert of pavement were thousands of walking dead. Most were the slow moving types who had yet to experience the mutation, while others moved in fast erratic motions that were almost ape-like as they pounded their fists on others zombies around them.
Jack couldn’t help but marvel at how they sniffed at the air constantly or how they turned their heads as if listening for some sound that would send them off on a hunting spree.
Steven crouched below him, caught up in the sight of so many flesh eaters. It was the closest he’d been permitted to stand next to the boy and Jack couldn’t help but wonder at what could have caused the boy to put up so many walls. The kid had no stability in his life and it pained Jack to know that his mother was probably the cause. Jack extended his hand to place it on the child’s head and then thought better of it. Baby steps, he told himself. Baby steps.
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