Nothing is Certain

by Shawn C. McLain

  Next to the woman sat a young boy of about ten. He had unkempt blond hair. A young woman sat next to the boy. She had her arm around him. His eyes were filled with fear as he nuzzled against the girl. Nikki recognized the girl’s blue eyes; she was the one who had gone back for the boy. Nikki had an immediate dislike for her that she couldn’t explain. The girl had brown roots showing from a black dye job that had grown out. In the black dye there were purple streaks. The girl pulled off her gloves, and as Nikki suspected, she saw chipped black fingernail polish.

  Nikki ’s attention was pulled from the girl as a young man with the same dazzling blue eyes pulled off his hat and scarves. Nikki smiled at him; he returned it. Both Shane and the black-haired girl frowned. The young boy whimpered.

  “Easy, Squeaker.” The girl spoke in a soothing voice.

  “Hello, I’m Shane, and this is my friend Nikki.” Shane’s jovialness broke the silence.

  Nikki frowned again as she heard Shane emphasize “friend.” It wasn’t as if she was interested in him, but did he have to be so blatant? Seriously! We are on a rescue mission in a city of the dead. Calm your raging hormones, she thought.

  The woman with spiky hair looked over at Shane. “Thank you so much for stopping. My name is Hayley. This is Chris.” She gestured to the young man, who nodded at both of them. His eye lingered on Nikki, and he smiled. She smiled back; he was kinda cute. Before Nikki could chastise herself for acting like Shane, Hayley continued, “That is his sister Mary.”

  Mary gave a noncommittal acknowledgment. Nikki returned it with a feeling of satisfaction that she was just as Nikki expected her to be and also Chris’s sister. Mentally slapping herself, Nikki turned to the young boy. “Hi, what is your name?” The boy shuffled closer to Mary.

  “We call him Squeaker. He doesn’t speak, so we don’t know his real name,” Mary huffed.

  “ I ran into these two about a week after it all started. We picked up Squeaker a few days later. There were more of us at first. We were holed up in an apartment house at first, but they got in,” Hayley explained.

  “Do you know of any other survivors?” Alistair called from the front.

  “There was this couple we were talking to on these two-way radios,” Chris explained, pulling a radio out of his pocket, “but we haven’t heard from them in a week or so.”

  “Why do you still have that?” Mary hissed at her brother.

  “Let it go, Mare,” he glowered back.

  “Mare?” Shane questioned.

  “Probably short for Nightmare,” Nikki whispered as she rolled her eyes.

  Mary looked over with a sneer. “Not all of us could be cheerleaders.”

  “I was never a cheerleader!” Nikki shot back.

  “Does it matter?” Chris jumped in. “Seriously!”

  Shane caught Hayley’s eye and smiled.

  “We haven’t seen anyone else alive in weeks,” Hayley spoke up, trying to calm the tension. “You guys aren’t the army, so who are you?”

  Shane and Nikki explained about Alistair and how they had ended up at his house in the woods.

  “So you were hiding in the attic above the convenience store over on Fernwood?” Chris asked Nikki. “Did you go to Glendale?”

  “Yeah, where did you go?”

  “Forest Hills.” He smiled. Mary just shuffled in her seat and glared at the floor.

  Nikki laughed to herself. Forest Hills had been the “rich kids’” school. Typical,she thought.

  “So you just drive through the city looking for survivors?” Hayley asked. Shane explained the reason for their trip from the safety of the compound.

  “Alistair, where are you? Ray just called, and they are still waiting,” Rebecca’s voice crackled over the radio.

  “We got sidetracked and picked up four more friends,” Alistair replied into the handset.

  “Are they all OK?” Rebecca asked. Alistair turned and gave Shane a look. Shane nodded and stood up.

  Where Are They?

  Ray trudged back out to his waiting family. The wind and the zombies howled. The snow had begun to fall fast and heavy. Dude scratched at the inside of the cardboard box Krissy and Kyle had forced him into.

  “Are they coming?” Jen asked her husband. Pounding met their ears as the zombies behind the gate heard her words. Krissy clung tightly to her brother.

  “Rebecca says they got detoured on the way here and found some other survivors. They are over on Moknocker drive now,” Ray shouted over the wind and moans.

  “ Moknocker? That is at least twenty minutes away. We should go back in and let them calm down.” Kyle motioned to the gate. Ray nodded. It was best to let the zombies forget why they were so interested in the gate. Jen picked up Dude’s box, but the cat shifted and she lost her grip. The box tumbled from her hands and Dude ran free.

  Krissy ’s cry gave way to a laugh as the cat jumped up, hopping around in the deep snow. Kyle ran after the animal. Ray followed, trying to wrangle the flailing cat. Kyle gave a spectacular dive. The air was full of flying snow and howling cat. Clutching his pet to his chest, Kyle rolled over in the snow, shushing the meowing cat.

  “Shh, Dude, shh. They’ll hear you,” Kyle cooed.

  Krissy ’s laughing died in her throat as the pounding on the gate and the moans from over the wall intensified. Ray ran to his daughter as her head spun from left to right, looking for an escape. Wrapping his arms around the struggling girl as she panicked and tried to run for the house, Ray looked through the blowing snow at Kyle as each struggled with his charge.

  “Krissy, Krissy!” Kyle yelled. “I need your help with Dude.”

  She whimpered in her father ’s arms. Jen knelt down beside her. “Honey, your brother needs your help with Dude Cat. Can you help him?” Krissy looked over at her brother as he struggled with the small cat. Krissy nodded. Ray held her hand as she slowly approached Kyle. He held out the cat to her. Dude seemed to resign himself to be held and allowed Krissy to take him from Kyle.

  Struggling to his feet in the deep snow and wind, Kyle checked his watch. “Well, that killed some time. I don’t expect there to be much traffic, so Uncle Alistair should be along anytime.”

  More Than Expected

  Shane looked over at the four newcomers and then gave Nikki a significant look. “Is everyone OK? Anyone hurt or bitten?” he asked.

  Hayley’s head turned quickly, her eyes searching his. “No one has been bit. We know what happens to those who have been bitten.”

  Shane looked over at Mary. “Are you OK? You seemed to have some trouble.” Mary glared at him.

  “She is just a klutz, and she always skipped gym,” Chris defended.

  Nikki laughed. Mary’s glare turned to her immediately. “Relax; I hated gym, too.” Nikki smiled. Mary, in spite of herself, smiled back.

  “So you are OK?” Shane asked Mary.

  “I hurt my ankle falling off the ladder. Thanks for pointing it out,” she grumbled. Shane toppled backward and grabbed the handrail on the ceiling for support as the Bradley lurched to a stop.

  “Shane, Nikki!” Alistair called from the front. Nikki, Shane, and Hayley all rushed to him. Through the wipers brushing the fast-falling snow, they saw what caused Alistair to stop.

  “Oh my God,” Shane whispered.

  “How are you going to get through that?” Hayley breathed.

  Through the swirling snow, they could see the high walls of Alistair ’s downtown compound—the walls that Ray and his family were waiting behind. Before them was a sea of the undead. They seemed like a school of sharks circling the perimeter.

  “ It’s like they know there is food in there,” Hayley spoke. “Just like when we were in the apartment—just one or two at first. We thought they would go away once they knew they couldn’t get in, but the longer we were there, the more would come.”

  “Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd,” Alistair commented. “It’s pack mentality, I think.”

  “Whatever it is, that is a shi
tload of zombies!” Shane pointed out.

  “And behind that shitload is our family. Family we are not leaving here!” Alistair replied angrily.

  “Never suggested any different, Uncle. Just need a better plan than charging straight in,” Shane defended, holding up his hands.

  “Why not do what we did back at Hayley’s place?” Nikki asked.

  “That did seem to work rather well,” Hayley agreed.

  Arrival

  Krissy screamed and Dude yowled as several explosions echoed outside the high walls. Kyle ran to the gate, throwing open the portal. Instead of the usual dead eyes glaring back, confusion met his gaze. Kyle ducked as several more explosions sounded outside. Dirt and debris flew through the hole.

  “ I think Uncle Alistair is here!” he yelled, wiping dirt and some blood from his face. Several scratches from flying rocks welled up. Krissy cried and squeezed Dude. Jen pulled the cat from her daughter, and Krissy grabbed her father’s arm and crushed it. The family ducked as more rounds hit the crowd, and the gate rattled. Kyle returned to the lookout. “They are moving off. They are going after the…the…tank thing he is in!” Kyle cried.

  ***

  “Jesus! They just keep coming!” Shane called out as he reloaded the gun. He fired several more rounds into the horde as they swelled forward.

  Alistair and Hayley watched the zombies moving toward their position. “It doesn’t look like we are going to get as a clear shot as we did with you.” Alistair looked over at Hayley. Her face was pale, and her hands shook. Alistair reached out and placed a hand on hers. “I didn’t get you out of there to let you die over here. We will get out of this, all of us,” he reassured her.

  Nikki pushed up another ammo box to Shane as he reloaded the main gun again. The Bradley shook, and the shell casings clanked over the side. Nikki now knew why they called the young boy Squeaker. He was huddled under his seat, covering his ears and making squeaking, whimpering noises. Mary was right beside him, whispering comfort to him. Nikki decided the girl couldn’t be too bad if she went out of her way to comfort a scared child.

  ***

  Kyle watched as the zombies thinned outside the gate. “They are going to run out of ammo before we run out of zombies,” he noted as he reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. Placing the barrel through the opening, he fired.

  “Kyle, don’t!” Ray yelled. “Let them be distracted by one commotion!”

  Kyle looked back out the portal and knew his father was right. Several of the undead had stopped moving off and were now approaching the gate. Kyle slammed the peephole shut and backed away. “Yeah, that is a good plan, Dad.” Ray shook his head.

  ***

  “This looks as good as we are gonna get!” Shane called as a mass of zombies approached through the billowing snow.

  The walls were still surrounded by hundreds of ghouls even as the mass began to reach the armored car. Shane had changed over to his handgun as hands began to beat on the side of the vehicle. Mary’s face was hidden as she comforted the scared boy. Chris’s eyes again darted all over the interior as the thousands of fists beat and began to rock the heavy car.

  Nikki moved over to Chris and held his hand. “It is gonna be fine. I promise.”

  “You better be right.” Mary stared up at Nikki.

  “Listen, it looks like I could use your help,” Nikki explained.

  “What can we do?” Chris asked, trying to appear braver than he felt.

  ***

  “They’re coming!” Kyle yelled.

  Ray handed his daughter to Jen, who now had both the struggling cat and the terrified girl to contend with. The look she gave her husband told him he was asking a lot.

  “Kyle, collect your sister or your cat,” Ray called as he moved forward to the mechanism that held the gate shut.

  Kyle grabbed the box that had once held Dude. He collected the cat. “It’s only for a little bit, man. Relax.” Dude meowed at him and allowed himself for to be shut in the box. Kyle then grabbed his sister’s hand.

  Krissy cried freely next to him. “I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna…I don’t wanna play with Billy.”

  “You won’t have to. Uncle Alistair is coming, and you’ll meet some new friends,” Kyle assured her. A rumble outside the gate and gunfire announced the arrival of Uncle Alistair.

  Departure

  “ Ray! Open the gate!” Alistair’s voice boomed over a loudspeaker. Ray struggled with the bolts. Jen strained next to him. They fell into the snow as the mechanism gave. Scrambling to their feet, they began to pull the gate back.

  “ Get ready, Krissy; time to go.” Kyle squeezed her hand. Tears still ran freely down her face. The gate slid back, and the rear of the armored car pushed into the opening. The roof scraped on the top of the wall. Shane was firing all around the front and sides of the Bradley.

  It was a tight fit, but not tight enough. On the left side, there was enough space for…“They’re getting in!” Kyle screamed and reached for his gun. Krissy screamed and ran toward the house.

  Kyle fired, and the first zombie fell. Behind, four more had entered the courtyard. Kyle caught sight of black-and-purple hair flying past him. Another girl was shooting at the other zombies in the yard.

  Nikki fired another round and screamed at the two adults, “Get into the car!”

  Jen and Ray grabbed their few belongings as Chris ran forward, grabbing what he could and throwing it into the back of the Bradley. He lost his grip on an oddly balanced box and jumped as a cat emerged and darted past him into the back of the vehicle. Once inside, Dude howled out to the family as if to call them to the safety.

  “Krissy! Krissy!” Kyle screamed, scanning the courtyard for his sister as more zombies clawed past the vehicle.

  Jen was in the back, calling out for her children. Nikki swore loudly and threw her empty gun at a zombie and ran while she pulled out another gun.

  Ray grabbed Kyle and tried to pull him to the open door. A zombie lurched forward, trying to grab the men. Kyle smashed it upside the head with his empty gun. He lost his footing, falling in deep snow. Ray was pulling him through the snow now. Jen was being restrained by Hayley and Chris while she screamed for her family.

  “ I’ve got her! I’ve got her!” Mary called as she ran past with a struggling Krissy, who was flailing her arms and legs, trying to hit every inch of Mary she could. Mary threw the struggling girl into the back of the vehicle as Kyle struggled to his feet. Now he was pushing Ray forward.

  Nikki was cut off, stuck behind several zombies that were between her and her escape. She fired several more rounds, and the slide slammed back. The clip was empty. Frantically she searched her pockets. The only weapon she had left was the knife Shane gave her.

  The closest zombie dropped. Kyle ran forward; everyone in the back of the car was screaming. The zombies seemed confused. Several went for the two in the snow; several others tried to get at the closing door of the rescue vehicle.

  Kyle grabbed Nikki ’s arm, and they ran toward the car. Kyle was ahead and elbowed a zombie out of the way. It spun comically on the spot, but then its hand caught the collar of Nikki’s coat. She gagged as it cut into her throat. Her legs flew out from under her in the snow and she landed hard on her back. Nikki gasped for breath, trying to get to her feet as the zombie that had grabbed her hit the ground next to her.

  She could smell its decay as it rolled over to face her. Nikki screamed. It moved over her. An eye hung from its socket; greenish yellow teeth hung from blackened gums. An ear hung from a flap of gray skin that was barely attached to its skull. Three fingers and a thumb reached for her as she flung up an arm. The zombie sunk its teeth into the down filling of the jacket. The tearing of the material filled her ears.

  Screaming, she flung her other hand out and hit the zombie. Undeterred, it tried to bite at her again, but she was sliding quickly away. The zombie followed its prey with white, dead eyes, and then its skull exploded in gray and black. Nikki looked up as Shane pull
ed her by her jacket and fired at the closing zombies.

  She was in the air and hit the floor of the Bradley hard; her arm exploded in pain. Shane hit the ground next to her. The interior darkened as the door shut. The floor rumbled, and the machine gun blared as they pulled away.

  “ Oh God, oh God!I’ve been bit!” Nikki wailed. She tried to pull off her coat, but the pain in her arm sent stars before her eyes, and she felt as if she would be sick. She looked up at Shane’s stricken face as he pulled a knife. This was it. Her friend, the one she had made it to safety with, the one she had survived with, would be the one to end her life. It seemed fitting. Tears streamed down her face. “It’s OK, Shane,” she whispered. The knife flashed; Nikki closed her eyes tight. The ripping sound forced one eye open to see Shane cut the sleeve off the coat and examine Nikki’s arm.

  “I’m glad you’re the one to do it. Thanks for trying to save me.” Nikki cried and shut her eyes tight again.

  “Hey, Nik, um, I think I broke your arm.” Shane half-laughed, half-cried.

  “ What? I’m not bit?” Relief washed over Nikki. The pain throbbed again. Through gritted teeth, she added, “You broke my arm! It is so totally Nikki!” Her pain-blurred eyes looked up into the tearstained face of her friend, who immediately pulled her into a painful hug. “Ow! Ow-ow, you big dork.” Nikki laughed and cried into his shoulder.

  Hayley and Ray helped her to a seat and fashioned a sling for her. Alistair assured her that Rebecca would be able to set it once they were home.

  Introductions were made and stories were told. Krissy and Kyle were playing with Dude with some of the torn fabric from Nikki’s coat. The young boy edged forward to play with the cat. Krissy smiled at him. He gave a weak smile back.

  “This is Sparky the cat, even though my silly brother calls him Dude Cat. My name is Krissy. What’s yours?”

  Hayley leaned forward to explain that the boy didn’t speak when he croaked, “Brian…can I play with Sparky?”

  Home

  Alistair put his arm around Rebecca as they opened the high window to the spring breeze. He looked out over the courtyard and smiled. Krissy and Brian played king of the mountain on the rusty overgrown car as Sparky Dude Cat ran after some field mice. Mary and Kyle were sitting in a dark corner of the courtyard, playing with a deck of tarot cards and occasionally laughing.