Nightmare-Z

by S. A. Lowry

  Before Audrey walked up to him, he began thinking of his time in Iraq and all of the warning sides that were right in front of him. The seizures in the DFAC, the sick insurgents surrounding him at the gate and the man whom was grunting and groaning at him across the fenceline. It all makes sense now the more he thinks of it. He also realizes that his senior leadership was lying to him and his men the entire time. He also begins thinking of his soldiers and his brother still back in Iraq and wonders if they are still even alive. That is when Audrey sits down beside him, smiling.

  “Hey Andrew. How are you?” Audrey asks with concern on her face.

  Andrew shakes his head and gives a thumbs up. “Yeah me too. How else are we supposed to feel? Some pretty wild stuff going on out there right now you know? You’re a soldier though. You should be prepared for this type of stuff,” Audrey boldly states.

  “Ha, yeah right. I was never trained on how to deal with the dead walking or whatever the damned radio said. Thanks for the compliment though,” Andrew jokes.

  As a result, Audrey begins laughing.

  Moments later, the child on the bus approaches Audrey in the aisle. He looks at Andrew for a brief moment.

  “My name is Andrew too. I am going to be like you some day!” the child states with laughter. This puts a smile on Andrew’s face and makes him feel slightly uncomfortable. “See looks like you have two fans now. Your fan base is growing soldier boy,” exclaims Audrey as she studies Andrew.

  A few seconds of silence passes as Andrew begins to blush. While the boy is occupied in conversation with the two, Linda decides to walk over to Cynthia and have a word with her. Linda approaches with caution, not sure of how Cynthia will react to her due to the fact she sort of lied about the where abouts of her children in order to protect her. Linda decides she needs to set the record straight so there is no more animosity between the two.

  Linda takes the seat next to Cynthia, whom stares out the window all in her lonesome obviously deep in thought. She has now stopped crying and weeping. It is apparent she is doing a bit better than before as now may be the right time to approach her. Now or never Linda tells herself as she formally introduces herself personally to Cynthia. Silence follows.

  “Hunny I want you to know something. I only said those things earlier to save your life. You couldn’t have stopped what was going on. It was too dangerous. I didn’t even know you back there and I didn’t want to see you throw your life away for a lost cause. I am so sorry hunny . . . . ,” Linda states with a look of regret on her face. She awaits Cynthia’s response impatiently.

  Moments pass until Cynthia addresses her. “My children were not a lost cause. It was my right to die for them. You robbed me of that,” Cynthia sharply states with a look of anger and despair on her face. Linda appears shocked by her response.

  “Again I am sorry. I hope you find it in your heart some day to forgive me. I will not bother you again until you want to talk to me about it. I am here for you hunny. I promise you that,” Linda promises as she rubs the pain stricken woman on her shoulder and walks off back to her seat to over watch Andrew play with his new friends.

  Cynthia stares her down as she walks away.

  “Aunt Linda, Aunt Linda. My new friends are awesome!” Andrew states with excitement in his eyes. “The man is a soldier, like I will be some day and the girl is a nurse! The both of them say they will train me some day so I can fight and heal! What do you think?” Andrew goes on in excitement.

  Linda hugs Andrew with content as a response. She tells him that is wonderful and he will grow up to be a very resourceful young man someday. Linda, knows this boy is strong willed and eager to help in any way he can. She fears however, the time he will ask for his mother and his other family members. She will not have a response for him when that time comes.

  “Yo Riggs, we got something. What you all think of this exit?” Dwayne alarms the group as he slows down the bus so the group can read what the warning sign to the upcoming exit says.

  Riggs and Andrew lean closer to the right side windows of the bus to observe the sign.

  “How long have we been going for man?” Andrew asks Dwayne. Dwayne informs them they are around forty-five miles outside of the city. If they are to re-supply, it has to happen now. Riggs expresses to the group his bad feelings about the operation, also reminding them how dangerous it could be with the ongoing chaos. While Riggs and the rest of the group are weighing their options, Randall contemplates an idea.

  “Hey guys I have a question for all of you. Doesn’t Wal-Mart sell guns and ammunition?” Randall asks with a sense of calm in his voice.

  Riggs and Andrew stare back at eachother with an apparent bright lightbulb shining bright in their eyes.

  “Yes they do. There is also a Wal-Mart not too far from that gas station slash plaza whatever the hell you call it,” Lance reminds judging off the signs he just studied.

  The rest of the group agrees if they are to make it to the only closest safe zone in the southern United States, they are to stock up on some serious supplies and weapons.

  “Yup, we can obtain fuel cans, food and much needed ammo for the journey,” Riggs agrees as he taps Dwayne on the shoulder and gives him the thumbs up to pull in. As the vehicle ascends up the on-ramp at a creeping pace, the men of the bus go to pick up their baseball bats in preperation. Riggs draws his pistol out in the open and now holds it in his hand. What they see off into the distance is an abandoned gas stationed followed by a gigantic Wal-Mart supercenter in the backdrop seperated by a sea of asphalt which is used as a parking lot.

  Just about the entire parking lot appears to be emptied out with the exception of a few vehicles still parked there. Shopping carts are scattered all about with apparent blood stains on them as well. Many bodies also linger all about and at all ends of the parking lot leading into the store.

  “We need to go for the gas station first, it’s closest. Hopefully the pumps are still on,” exclaims Audrey as she picks up a bat from behind one of the seats.

  The rest of the group agrees. Riggs tells Dwayne to pull the bus up to the pump. Riggs goes on to instruct the group. “Myself and Andrew will go check out the store. All of you stay here and keep watch. If someone spots one of those things or anyone else, yell for us and we will double time back. Got it?” Riggs exclaims.

  Everyone agrees with the exception of Dwayne and Lance.

  “Why the hell do I have to stay here man? What makes you leader?” Dwayne disagrees in frustration as it is directed towards Riggs.

  Lance interferes in the argument and backs up Dwayne.

  “Because I am the man with the gun. You are the driver. Lance, your fiance is sitting right next to you. Must I go into further detail?” a now impatient Riggs explains.

  None of them respond. They proceed to take their seats and keep watch.

  “Come on, lets check this out,” Riggs tells Andrew followed by a wink. Andrew raises his bat in self defense as Riggs takes lead with his pistol at the high ready. They cut across the pavement into the entry way of the store caustiously in a file as Riggs gently opens the door with his right foot pushing into it.

  Both of them enter with impunity as they clear up and down the aisle ways and check the back rooms leading into the garage. Nothing is found. Andrew walks back to the bus as the group watches on. Riggs hops the counter and activates the pump for dispensing. Once he does this, he walks back outside to link up with the rest of the group.

  Andrew fills up the bus while Riggs keeps watch. “This is good. Now all we got to do is hit that store and take what we need. Try to get as many fuel cans as possible then bring them back here to fill up,” Riggs explains. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea. We are going to have to bring more people into that store though, just not going to be us,” Andrew adds.

  Riggs nods his head in agreement.

  “Yeah thats what i’m worried about though,” he nervously adds. Andrew smiles. The pump now stops. Andrew shakes the remaining drops of fu
el out of the pump and places it back on its rack. The pair mount back up while Dwayne starts up the bus.

  “Looks good so far. Got a bad feeling about that super center though. We’re going to really have to be on our toes here guys,” Riggs adds as the bus moves slowly out of the gas station parking lot and turns into the Wal-Mart parking area.

  Tammy tells Dwayne to take the perimeter road which goes around the parking lot to avoid the bodies. She does not want to see them close up.

  Dwayne obliges.

  Andrew turns back to the survivors on the bus and addresses them. “Who is going with us in there to gather supplies. We need to keep some back to sound the horn if something is going down. We also need some people to help us pull security and carry supplies back,” Andrew informs.

  The bus is now pulled up to the front entry way of the store and remains parked with the engine running. Randall is the first one to volunteer to stay on the bus with Linda, the child and Cynthia. Everyone looks at him as if he was a coward, however, agree to it. Dwayne volunteers to go inside, however is stopped by Riggs because he argues someone needs to be on the wheel at all times and he obviously knows how to operate the bus well.

  This angers Dwayne who argues his help is much needed in there as well. Riggs ignores it as Dwayne gives up and remains behind the wheel. His frustration grows. Lance decides to go along with Audrey. Tammy doesn’t respond which leads everyone to believe that she is staying.

  Tabatha attempts to go with Lance until he orders her to stay there out of fear for her safety. She unwillingly complies after a brief argument. Riggs tells everyone they will do about two or three trips. If anything goes wrong, honk three times and the group inside will go sprinting back to the bus.

  Once the teams are set, the scavanger group which consists of Riggs in the lead, Andrew, Lance and Audrey armed with baseball bats in the back walk off the bus caustiously. The scared group which remains on the bus overwatches their every movement as their fears of being split up grow into near panic.

  As the group approaches the front entrance, they notice windows knocked out, automatic doors locked into position due to dead corpses blocking it’s path. The horrible stench of death fills the air. Lights are knocked out inside along with broken glass everywhere on the ground.

  Once they enter the front door, they notice a thick pile of blood filled with various human organs laying in the middle of welcome center as they walk in. A blood trail leads away from the pool of blood as the group slowly approaches it. Riggs takes aim in the direction of the gory mess when the group notices that it forms a trail. Upon clearing the adjacened walls which obstructed most of their view of the store, they now have full view of all the check out counters and most of the sections of the store.

  The blood trail which leads away from the pool of blood and various organs scattered about leads all the way past the last check out counter down the hallway, which started at the first checkout counter near the group’s position. Riggs is unaware of where the blood trail leads because it curves on the backside of the last checkout counter into the rest of the store.

  “Oh my god. Should we follow it?”, Audrey fearfully asks.

  Riggs shakes his head.

  Andrew says no. “Lets just keep our eyes on the prize. Get what we need and then get the hell out of here,” Riggs exclaims as he picks up the pace and heads straight for the sporting goods section of the store.

  Most of the store seems to have been ransacked and destroyed. Items are displaced everywhere as products have been knocked off the shelves onto the floors. Clothes are also ripped down from it’s hangars as well. In addition, a large portion of the food has been cleaned out as well.

  The group comes across various scattered body parts in the aisle ways such as limbs and teeth. It is an apparent gruesome scene. They ignore what is around them as they focus on the task at hand.

  Riggs tells the group to stay close together and not to seperate for any reason. Andrew comes across a shopping cart on the way to the sports section. He begins rolling it in the direction of the group as they move. As he moves, he crosses paths with a shelf of TV series on sale. He notices season five of the show Desperate Housewives and it reminds him of his brother.

  Just before reaching the sporting good section however, they pass the infant/toddler section of the store. Andrew notices a baby carriage left abandoned. He only has view of the backside of it and notices there are specs of blood all around it. He decides not to inspect it and continues pushing along with the group ignoring the obvious gruesome scene.

  Once Riggs reaches the counter of the sports section, he notices many of the shotguns still left intact in it’s case. Riggs and Andrew decide on what they want and attempt to open up the glass windows.

  Once they realize it is locked, Riggs tells the three to step back. Andrew tosses him his bat while Riggs tosses Andrew his pistol. The aeriel exchange is quick and effective. Riggs begins beating in the glass window display cases with ease. Usually taking them out on the first two swings. Once enough are openeed, the group tosses their bats into the shopping cart. Lance finds various rifle carrying bags and cases and throws it on top of the counter. Riggs tosses each survivor a shotgun or rifle as Andrew asks what caliber they are going for.

  “12 Gauge and .308 will do,” Audrey states as she begins familiarizing herself with the weapons she will be carrying. Riggs asks her if she and Lance knows how to use these weapons. Lance doesn’t seem sure, however, Audrey gives him a blank stare and tells him she has been shooting since she was a kid.

  This made Lance feel inadequate. Andrew begins running his arms across the shelves tossing down boxes of ammo into the shopping cart. He also goes for slugs as well. Once Andrew tosses in almost fifty boxes of ammo into the cart, he rolls it up to the counter where the rest of the group resides loading shotguns and rifles into carrying cases.

  “When the hell did Wal-Mart stop selling pistols?” Andrew frustratingly asks.

  Audrey laughs at him as she loads the weapons into the cart. “Hold on a minute. I didn’t see that earlier,” exclaims Andrew appearing shocked.

  Riggs and Lance asks him whats wrong.

  “That AR-15 right there. I’m definately taking that,” states Andrew.

  Riggs tells him to hurry up. The AR-15 he sets his sights on has an iron sight flip up sight with an apparent rail system on the barrell and a collapsable buttstock. No other apparent attachments are present. Andrew notices there are only two magazines next to it. He also proceeds to rip the tag off it and inspect it for caliber type. Once he does this, he quickly runs back over to the ammo shelf nearby and searches for any remaining .223 caliber rounds.

  He notices there is only a few boxes left. He quickly grabs them and begins loading the magazines which he obtained. The group is almost done loading their weapons as Andrew finishes loading his two magazines full of .223 caliber ammunition.

  Once he does this he grabs one of his synthetic mossberg shotguns. He loads five in the tube and chambers one followed by slinging it across his back. Andrew decides to carry the AR-15 at the low ready.

  Once the group is loaded up, they swing over to the auto section as Lance is now rolling the cart. All of them are pulling security at the high ready covering every aisle they pass as they move. On their way to the auto zone section to grab additional 15/40 engine oil and gas cans, Audrey notices the blood trail from before. Only this time is from the last checkout counter leading into a different section of the store.

  She informs the group. Once this happens, they tell her to ignore it and keep moving. This apparent blood trail she keeps coming across is obviously starting to make her uneasy. It appears fresh and only recently established. After a minute or so goes by however, she is able to block this out of her mind.

  Upon reaching the auto section, to the group’s dismay, they notice there is no oil to take with them. Riggs tells them he didn’t see any at the gas station either. Also, they notice there isn’t very many fuel cans le
ft either that they can take with them. Only four to be exact as they are not anywhere close to being what they need. The group throws them in the cart anyway.

  “One more stop. Food section,” Riggs orders with a sense of urgency as they turn around and double back to the location they just came from.

  Andrew reminds them of a map they will need to acquire on the way out. Riggs informs him, however forgetting to tell him earlier that he acquired an Atlas map book of the American southern states just before leaving the gas station. This relieved Andrew. Riggs appears to be on his game and thinking about these things. Andrew realizes that Riggs already earned his respect and established himself as a person who can be depended on and listened to.

  As the group keeps pushing along and watching their flanks and rear, they come across the frozen food aisle. Once reaching this section of the store, they come across the blood trail once again.

  The group now realizes that they have to go into the direction of the blood trail and face whatever it may be waiting on the other end. They all get on line with eachother with the exception of Lance who watches their rear and rolls the cart forward slowly. They are now all positioned at the high ready once again and are slowly following the blood trail to the section it leads to in order to gather the rest of their supplies.

  Once they reach the end of the aisle and turn the corner, the end of the blood trail is spotted. What they see shocks them. There appears to be four Wal-Mart employees, blue vests, red shirts, name tapes and all, gathered around one half eaten, devoured obese man laid out in the middle of the hallway by the frozen meats shelf. They are digging into his torso and quickly returning the meat that is collected up in their hands to their mouths in order to digest it. One of the other employees, appears to be gouging the corpse’s eyes out as he presses in deep with his thumbs to extract the overweight victim’s eyes balls out for consumption.