by Lake, D. K
“Let's start walking, maybe we'll find it before sunset.”
Twenty-Five Minutes Later.
“I don't see this safe house anywhere.” Lane complained. “I think we missed the turning.” he added. “I doubt it, there have been no other roads leading off.”
“Hey, Alex,”
“Yes?”
“Can we split a cracker now?”
I slowed down and lifted the flap on my messenger bag, finally giving into Lane. I'd had enough of his whining and listening to his stomach rumbling.
“Here, you can have two. Will that shut you up?”
“Yes, ma'am.” he said, taking the crackers from me.
I didn't have any crackers, instead, I took a sip of my water. I only had half a bottle of water left and Lane was drinking a bottle of Coke he had found in the last vehicle we had come across. He gave me a look when he realized I wasn't going to eat anything.
I shook my head. “I'm fine.” I said.
“Now you've made me feel like a greedy pig.”
“It's okay, I'll probably find some berries later.”
“I hate berries!” Lane grumbled.
“You may hate berries, but they have been keeping us alive.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, barely a smile. I could tell he was feeling down today. He had days like that. Lane was usually the sunshine for both of us, telling jokes, mostly inappropriate jokes, making me laugh, making me smile, then there were days like today when he just looked sad. I was probably the cause of his sad eyes today.
“Lane,”
“Hmm,”
“I'm not mad with you anymore.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “Just promise me no more toilet trips in the middle of the night.”
“I'm sorry.”
“It's okay. I'm sorry I said horrible things to you.”
“You're only saying that because if I get killed in the next five minutes you'd feel bad for being such a bitch to me.”
“Maybe, but you're a real dick sometimes.”
He smirked at me and I returned his smile.
We were still smiling at each other when we heard the sound of an engine. Up ahead there was a turning, a vehicle had just pulled out and sped off down the road.
“Did I just imagine that?” Lane asked.
“Nope. I saw it too.”
“They looked like they were in a hurry.”
“Maybe there's a zombie parade heading this way.” I said, looking sideways at him. His eyes darted back along the road.
“I was joking.” I said, nodding my head to the road.
He followed me and we hurried to the turning.
“Do you think they saw us?” Lane asked.
“Probably not, they probably didn't even look both ways, what's the point? There isn't likely to be any other vehicles coming.”
We stopped at the turning, hidden amongst the greenery was a sign.
Lakewell Science Laboratories
“Well, we found the Lab instead of the safe house.” I said.
“There's probably nothing in there, that's why they were leaving, or it's full of zombies and they wanted to get away.”
The bushes and shrubbery had grown wild on either side of the road leading to the Lab, I didn't even know how far down the road the Lab was.
“What are you thinking?” Lane asked.
I was still staring down the road in the direction the vehicle had gone.
“We should check it out,” I said.
“Why? There's nothing down there.”
“We won't know until we see for ourselves.”
“Alex, there was a reason why the Jeep drove off in that direction.”
“I'm walking, you coming?” I asked.
“You're wasting your time.”
“You can wait there if you want.” I said, resting my weapon on my shoulder, walking away. I knew Lane would follow me no matter what.
He stood on the same spot, grumbling to himself, and after a couple of minutes, he was walking beside me with another cigarette in his mouth.
He put one hand in his pocket and held his shovel in the other.
“Nothing down here,” he mumbled with the cigarette still in his mouth.
“I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Try talking without your mouth full.”
He took the cigarette out and blew smoke in my direction.
“Thanks, that was nice,” I said, pushing him away.
“Who do you think was in that Jeep?”
“I dunno, maybe the Terminator.” I joked.
He chuckled. “Maybe it was Buffy the Zombie Slayer.” he added.
We walked for another ten minutes and I was starting to wonder where the Lab was. “I don't see no Lab,” Lane said.
“It's got to be down here somewhere.”
“This was a bad idea.”
“Will you stop moaning, you're like an annoying kid.”
“Are we nearly there yet?” Lane said, trying to be funny.
We walked around another bend in the road and the Lab finally came into view in the distance. As we got closer I could see the Science Lab consisted of one large building with more adjoining smaller buildings, and a large parking lot with a chain-link fence around the perimeter. Rattle-Rattle-Rattle
We heard them before we saw them.
My feet became rooted to the ground. Lane froze beside me.
“What the hell is that?” Lane asked.
“Humans did that.” I said, moving closer.
“Whoa, wait,” Lane grabbed my arm and pulled me back a step.
“Lane, it's okay, they're all chained to the fence. They can't get us.”
Lane reluctantly released my arm and I gingerly walked closer to the fence.
One-Two-Three-Four,
I counted seven zombies in total, all chained to the fence by their ankles. Then I remembered the zombie from last night had also had a chain around its ankle. It must have come from here. “Why would anyone want to chain zombies to a fence? What's the point?” Lane asked. “It's a distraction.” I replied.
“What?”
“To keep people out, or zombies.”
Out of the seven zombies, only four were interested in us. The other two were crouched down, possibly asleep, and one was lying face down on the asphalt, possibly dead.
“You think there are human survivors in there?” Lane asked.
“Yeah I do now, especially after seeing this. If other zombies were to come down here a couple of these zombies might tickle their taste buds so they wouldn't be interested in what's over there.” “I don't like the way they're looking at us.”
“And what way is that?” I asked, keeping my distance from the fence, but still walking forward. “Like we're part of the menu. This is really freaking me out, we should get out of here.” “In a minute.”
“Alex,”
“I wanna know what's in there.”
“Don't you think this is a little weird?”
“No, I actually think it's really clever.”
“It's really fucked up is what it is.”
I ignored the zombies as they desperately tried to reach for us, all gurgling or making weird noises that sounded like they were possessed. They must have screamed themselves out, and they didn't look like newbies anymore. Torn clothes, patches of hair missing, dried blood smeared down their chins, dirty skin, dirty overgrown nails, bloodshot eyes, and gaunt bodies.
I stood at the gate inspecting the loosely tied rope holding either side together.
“You think the Jeep came from here?” Lane asked.
“The road leads to this Lab, there's nothing else down here.”
“Do we go in?” he asked, looking through the chain-link fencing.
“I dunno, I'm thinking, what if they think we're zombies and shoot us on sight?” “If they have guns,”
“Most people have guns.”
“I don't have a gun,” Lane said.
“You do realize you c
an find a gun pretty much anywhere, people leave guns behind all the time.” “Well, I never found one.”
“Too busy looking for smokes,” I said, winding him up.
He was about to say something to me, probably something that would start another argument between us... Vroom
We both heard a vehicle approaching. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be seen straight away. I was considering diving into the hedges opposite, but the Jeep cruised around the bend and whoever was behind the wheel would have seen us by now.
The Jeep slowed down as it approached. I stood a few feet away from Lane, my hand resting under my denim jacket, ready to reach for my gun.
“Just because they're humans doesn't mean they're friendly.” I whispered to Lane before the side door swung open.
Lane gripped his shovel and I tightened my grip on my own weapon.
A boy not much older than us hopped out. He had a grin on his face, short dark brown hair and was wearing military camouflage gear. He jogged over to us and I got a glimpse at the others inside the Jeep. Another older man behind the wheel and a teenage girl in the front seat.
The boy slowed down in front of us, keeping his distance. To be honest, I would be a little wary of us as well, Lane and I did look a little hostile, holding a shovel and a handmade weapon. “Hi,” the boy said.
“Hi,” I replied, letting my weapon fall against my leg.
“You guys all right?” he asked.
“Err,” I let out a shaky laugh. “I've been better.”
The boy smiled. “It's okay. You're safe now. I'm Scottie.”
“Are you military?” Lane asked.
“Um, no, these are borrowed.” he answered, referring to the clothes he was wearing. Borrowed?
“Help me with the gate.” Scottie said, nodding his head at Lane.
Scottie untied the rope and they both pushed the gates open.
I moved aside and the driver of the Jeep swung the Jeep around the bend and through the gate. I noticed through the windows the backseat was filled with boxes. I hurried through the gate, and Lane helped Scottie close the gates again.
“What's with the zombies?” Lane asked.
“To keep the other zombies entertained.” Scottie replied, smiling over his shoulder at me. I felt Lane tugging on the back of my jacket, pulling me back a step to him. Scottie secured the gates with the rope again and we followed him along the road. The Jeep had driven around the back of the Lab and out of sight.
“You have vehicles here?” I asked.
“Yes, but they're running on fumes now,” Scottie answered.
“Did you see the plane?” I asked.
“Yes, it was delivering our supplies.”
“Is that where you've been?”
“Uh-huh,” Scottie said, just as two men walked around the building on the left, holding guns. “The patrols, we take it in turns to wander around the perimeter.”
“So this is a safe house?” Lane asked.
I gave him a look. I wasn't sure either, but he didn't need to sound so suspicious. “Um, it wasn't at first. The safe house was about a forty minute walk from here, but it got out of hand and overrun. I was there when it went down. A group of us left and relocated here.” “And the delivery drops?” I asked.
“Before the shit hit the fan the main operating base was informed to continue making the drops, at the time it was still a functional facility. Then we lost radio contact, and had to evacuate, but they still leave the drops. We just have to make the journey to collect the supplies.”
Something about Scottie's story didn't sound right to me. I noticed Lane watching me, probably thinking the same thing.
We reached the main doors and another man walked out followed by three other men. “Scottie,” the man greeted Scottie.
The man was tall with strong features, looked to be in his late forties, with a smooth face and chocolate brown hair and looked like an older version of Scottie, he also had a gun tucked into his waist belt.
“Hey, dad, this is um,” Scottie looked at me.
“I'm Alex and this is Lane.” I said.
“Well, Alex and Lane, we are always pleased to welcome new guests to our Lab. I'm Dominic and this is Tim, Maxwell, and Ron,” he said, tilting his head to the other guys. I recognized one of them from the Jeep.
I gave a curt nod. “And you've already met Scottie, my son.” he said, ruffling Scottie's hair. A girl walked through the doors, she had short straight cut dirty blond hair and was super skinny, dressed in jeans and a large sweatshirt, she was the other passenger in the Jeep.
“Ah, Carmen, we have new arrivals.”
She smiled and joined Dominic's side. The two patrolmen walked toward us, the older one flashed me a smile and said something to his friend, they both walked passed chuckling to themselves, and the older one looked back over his shoulder at me.
“Don't mind them, that's just Darren and Jeff. Shall we go inside,” Dominic said. I hesitated and felt Lane bump into me.
“You can leave your weapons outside. You won't be needing them.” Dominic said. I looked down at my most treasured possession, it had saved my life so many times, and I'd become so attached to it I had even named the thing Butchy. Lane looked down at me, waiting for me to make the first move. I smiled politely at Dominic and stood my weapon against the wall, and Lane placed his shovel beside it. Then we followed the others inside.
Chapter 9
We walked into a large dull grey corridor, tall cabinets lined the walls on either side and at the end I could see a reception desk, where another man was chatting to a young woman, they glanced in our direction, but soon went back to their conversation. Then I realized the place was lit up. Lights. I looked up at the fluorescent lights.
“You have electricity?” Lane asked, looking at the same thing I was.
“Generators.” Dominic said, not wanting to go into detail.
He stood in front of us and folded his arms. I stood awkwardly beside Lane.
I knew what they were waiting for. I didn't think Lane had a clue as he kept looking back and forth between Dom and me.
“Sorry, it's protocol. We don't want any contamination getting in. If you could just remove your outer garments.”
I looked up at Lane and nodded. What else was I supposed to do, make a mad dash for the exit? This was supposed to be the safe house, of course, there would be a certain protocol. I wouldn't want anyone infected getting in either.
I shrugged off my denim jacket and Lane pulled his hoodie over his head.
I pulled off my own hoodie, tugged at my laces, and kicked off my boots. Then I casually glanced up at Dominic who was watching me like a hawk. I pulled the gun out from the back of my belt. Dominic nodded his head at Scottie who came over to me and tried to take it from me. I was reluctant to let it go.
“Alex, it's okay, you won't need it here,” Scottie said reassuringly.
“And we don't allow minors to have guns.” Dominic added.
Minor? Really? Even during a zombie invasion, they were putting age restrictions on things. Lane and I were both eighteen, but I wasn't about to kick up a fuss right now.
Scottie smiled at me, still trying to pry it from my hand, I finally let go, and Scottie tucked it into the back of his belt.
Dominic was still waiting for me to undress. Lane was already standing in his boxers. I reluctantly removed my jeans and T-shirt. I stood in my panties and vest. Dominic held up his hand and wiggled his finger, motioning to me to take off my vest.
I felt Lane tense next to me. I lifted my vest over my head, glad I was actually wearing my bra today. So was Lane by the looks of it.
“Both of you lift your arms,” Dominic ordered.
We did as we were told. Not one of the guys even turned around or looked away. The three men behind Dominic stood there getting an eyeful and I could practically feel Dominic's eyes roaming the length of my body. I caught him goggling my breasts, not that there was much to look at. “I think everything looks
in order.” Dominic said, and signaled for the other guys to leave. They walked off down the corridor and I quickly pulled my vest back on.
“It's nice to meet you both, oh, I forgot to ask how you two know each other?”
Why does it matter? I thought, fumbling with my T-shirt.
I noticed Carmen looking between Lane and me trying to work out what we were to each other. “We're married.” I blurted.
Lane grunted, and it sounded part laugh, part cough.
“Married?” Dominic said skeptically.
Carmen raised an eyebrow and looked amused by something.
“Yes, our parents let us get married right before the world fell to pieces.” I said.
Dominic looked between us, trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.
“You don't have any rings,” Scottie said.
“I lost mine in the river. We've lost weight since then.”
“Me too.” Lane said, backing my story up.
Dominic nodded. “Well, you're the first married couple we've had here, what's your surname?” “Walker.” I replied.
“Okay, well, welcome Alex and Lane Walker. I'll leave you guys to finish dressing, then Carmen can give you the grand tour.”
Carmen crossed her arms and gave us a tight-lipped smile.
“Scottie,” Dominic called him away. He was still standing a few feet away, staring at me. He smiled and walked around us, taking my gun with him. Dominic gave me a wink and tapped Carmen on the bum before leaving. She didn't look too pleased about it but didn't make a big deal out of it either.
“I'll be waiting by the reception desk.” Carmen said.
I quickly pulled on my jeans and Lane shuffled closer to me, zipping his jeans up. “That was...”
“Protocol.” I said.
“Pervy protocol.” Lane said. “Did you see the way those men were looking at you?” “I was pretending not to notice. They took my gun! Who cares whether I'm a minor. Those guys don't even look like real military. They didn't even have tags.”
“I'm just glad you didn't put those lace panties on this morning, you know, those see-through ones you have in your bag.”
Trust Lane to make a joke right now.