by Ike Hamill
He slid his window shut again and waved to her. She gripped the steering wheel. The attendant waved again, drawing Marta’s attention. He was making a show of flipping open his phone and holding one finger up to the keypad. Marta rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated breath. She decided to take a chance.
“WHO IS IT?” LYNNE SHOUTED through the door.
“It’s me. Just let me in,” Carol hissed.
Lynne felt her way over to the door and located the handle. She opened it and Carol pushed her way in, out of the dark. Lynne raised her arm to shield her eyes and then turned back towards the bed. She felt her way across the room and slid back on top of the bare sheets.
“Lose your key?” Lynne asked as Carol shut the door behind her. When she heard the door click shut Lynne said—“Wait, is Domi out there? I think he wants to come in."
Carol pulled the door open a couple inches and the cat slipped through. Carol closed the door again and opened the blinds to let in enough moonlight for her to find the furniture.
“No, I’ve got my key, but the power’s out. Everywhere. I was lucky—I bought this stuff just before the registers shut down,” said Carol. She sat down with her bag and Lynne returned to the bed. Carol dug through her bag as she spoke—“I’m surprised the keycards don’t work. I figured they would have a battery backup or something. What were you doing? I’ve been banging on the door for five minutes.”
“Sorry, I was asleep,” said Lynne. “Well, sort of. I’m not sure it was exactly sleep." She propped her head up with a pillow. “It was more like a trance of some kind.”
“Really,” said Carol. She wrestled open the plastic packaging and tried to get the battery compartment open on the new cell phone. “I’m never going to be able to get this working without lights. They’re out everywhere. Oh! Look!" The cellphone lit up and emitted a happy jingle.
“Did you get the phone number?” asked Lynne.
“Yeah, there’s a library right down the street. I got there just before the power went out. I had twenty-three-hundred emails, can you believe that? This whole waking-dead thing is really lighting up the world of human resources. Took forever to find the phone number in my archives. I don’t know how the world is going to keep functioning. Everyone’s taking off work, waiting for the apocalypse.”
“Maybe the world’s not going to keep functioning,” said Lynne.
“Huh?”
“Well, all the lights are out, right? How many gas stations did we have to go to for our last fill-up? Looks like things are grinding to a halt already,” said Lynne.
“Hope this works then. Not much charge on this battery,” said Carol. She used the glow of the phone’s display to read the phone number from a scrap of paper. Lynne looked up at the ceiling while the side of Carol’s face was illuminated by the phone. “Straight to voicemail. Damn. Should have known.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” said Lynne. “If you’re on the run, you probably don’t have your phone with you. They can probably track down exactly where you are.”
“Probably left it at home,” said Carol.
“Exactly,” said Lynne. “I don’t think you’re going to need it though. We’re not going to use a phone to find this Marta woman.”
“Why’s that?” asked Carol.
“That trance I mentioned,” said Lynne. The cat jumped up on the bed and curled up next to Lynne.
“What do you mean?” asked Carol.
“When you were gone, I thought I’d lay down for some rest. Every time I close my eyes all I see is flashing white lines of the highway,” said Lynne. “Anyway, before I knew it, I was slipping off, like I was drifting out of my body. I felt like I had to, to get away from the highway. It was really odd. Eventually, everything blacked out and the darkness was very peaceful.”
“That’s great,” said Carol. “Shouldn’t we be planning what we’re going to do tomorrow?”
“Just wait a second,” said Lynne. “I think this is important.”
“Fine,” said Carol.
“So listen, everything was black except for this light right in front of me. I was dozing, so I thought it was the overhead light here. I got up and turned it off, I turned off all the lights, and I tried to fall asleep again. Before I knew it, I was back in that place with the bright light in front of me again. I couldn’t get it to shut off, but I figured out how to turn away. That’s when I saw the second light. I saw your light.”
“Huh?” said Carol. She set the phone down on the nightstand.
“I could see through the walls and trees and everything, and I saw a light. It was your light, I know it was,” said Lynne. “There was a third light. It was very dim, so I think it’s pretty far away, but I’m pretty sure it’s Marta. All we need to do is go out and track her down. We’re so close, if we can just get the three of us together, I think we can finish this.”
Carol sighed and ran her fingers through her hair—“We’ve been through a lot together in the past couple of days,” said Carol. “You’ve been the strong one, the sane one. I’ve really leaned on you when I was about to freak out and fall apart. But everything you’re saying now is a tiny bit crazy. We have no idea what’s out there, and there’s no power anywhere. As far as we know we’re being hunted by zombies. We’ve got Strikers and Changelings after us. The police are probably trying to track us down for Jenko’s murder, and the most powerful immortal in the world recently had you kidnapped and is probably chasing us down as we speak. With all that going for us, you want to go out into the night because of a trance you had where you saw lights? Does that seem logical?”
“You’re missing the point,” said Lynne. “We’ve got all that shit going against us either way. The only good shot we have is a long shot. There is no ‘logical’ in this situation.”
“That makes a surprising amount of sense,” said Carol. “But if you only saw her while you were in a trance, how are we supposed to find her? And what if there are zombies out there?”
“Well,” started Lynne, she rolled over on her back and rubbed her eyes. “Second question first: I can see those zombies from a pretty good distance because of the Sparkle. It works in the dark, and I’m one hundred percent sure that my capability is in good working order. That’s the good news. The bad news is why I’m so sure—when you came in I saw a couple down there somewhere. They were pretty far away, but the Sparkle was unmistakable.”
“What? Were they following me?” asked Carol.
“No, they were just milling around,” said Lynne.
Carol crept over to the window and peeked between the blinds.
“Now, the first question is a little more complicated,” said Lynne. “I’m not sure exactly when, but sometime between when you left and when you came back, I acquired the ability to see our lights even when I’m awake.”
“Oh yeah?” asked Carol. Her attention was still focused outside.
“Yup,” said Lynne. “Only our lights. And the Sparkle, of course.”
“What do you mean?” Carol asked the window.
“I mean I can’t see anything else,” said Lynne. “Just our lights and the Sparkle. First I thought it was just too dark, but then I realized there has to be some light or you would have never made it back here.”
“Wait, you’re saying you’re blind?” asked Carol.
“Yes,” said Lynne. “Except for our lights and the Sparkle.”
“So you can’t see the moon there?" asked Carol. “Can you at least try?”
“You’re too bright,” said Lynne. “I don’t think I could see anything over there regardless. Your light is like looking directly at a spotlight from this distance. It’s just as bad if I look down at myself.”
“So I appear to you as light?” asked Carol. “I’m all lit up?”
“Yes,” said Lynne. “It’s like a nondescript blob of light, centered at about your torso, I’m guessing. I get a little Sparkle from Domi as well, but he’s pretty dim. No offense,” she said to the cat.
“Huh,” said Carol. “Okay, so you’re blind, we’ve got Sparkly zombies, and we’re following the light of a woman who we presume is the third part of our triangle in a blackout in Pittsburgh.”
“She’s that way,” said Lynne.
“I can’t see where you’re pointing,” said Carol.
“Neither can I,” said Lynne. “I think we should leave right away. Take advantage of the night and the blackout.”
“I guess I’m driving,” said Carol.
Lynne laughed and sat up.
“SLOW DOWN,” LYNNE URGED. She sat on the edge of the car seat and turned head from side-to-side. Her eyes were closed.
“I can’t slow down too much, there’s a car behind me I think,” said Carol.
They’d picked up the new rules of the road pretty quickly. It seemed everyone had. The zombies had left their graveyards and now patrolled the streets, but none of that was reported on the radio. Lynne and Carol had scanned all the stations.
“Then pull over,” said Lynne. “Maybe we should be on foot.”
“You said it’s too far,” said Carol.
“I know, but this is completely nerve-racking,” said Lynne. “Just let these people go by.”
Everyone drove with their lights off, navigating by taillights and the full moon. Headlights made the zombies swarm. Lynne and Carol had found that out the hard way. It seemed that all the other drivers who’d made it to the main roads had made the same discovery. Carol crept along, trying to avoid the other near-blind drivers and taking direction from Lynne, who had the ability to spot the zombies no matter where they lurked.
Carol found the switch to turn off the dashboard lights of Billy’s car, and it felt like she was driving through a black fog.
“He’s going around,” said Carol. She nosed the car back into the travel lane.
“They’re moving off,” said Lynne. “There’s more of them though.”
“How are we doing on Marta?” asked Carol.
“Still ahead and left,” said Lynne. “And lower than us, significantly.”
“I hope she’s not on the other side of the river,” said Carol.
“Why are we slowing?” asked Lynne.
“Brake lights,” said Carol. “People backed up at the exit.”
“To the right?” asked Lynne.
“Yeah.”
“Big concentration of zombies down there,” said Lynne. “Go around.”
“But what there’s not another exit? This is a major road,” said Carol.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Lynne. “We can always come back around.”
Carol picked up speed as she navigated around the cluster of cars gathered at the exit. Lynne twisted around and focused back on the knot of zombie Sparkle. It was definitely a swarm—she could discern a large number of undead and they were grouped in a pack, but she couldn’t see what they were doing. The grew smaller very quickly as Carol moved on.
“Oh shit!” Carol screamed. They weren’t moving very fast, but when she slammed on the brakes it sent the back of Lynne’s head crashing into the windshield. Behind Lynne, the cat slammed into the back of her seat. “Sorry, sorry,” said Carol.
“Ah. Dammit,” said Lynne. She gingerly touched the back of her head. “Jesus. What happened.”
“I didn’t see them. We almost crashed right into them,” said Carol.
“Into what?”
“Cars,” said Carol. “They’re everywhere. There’s a big pileup.”
“Where are the drivers?” asked Lynne.
“I don’t know,” said Carol.
Lynne spun around, looking every direction, and then looked up and down. “Nothing,” she said. “Let’s go see.” She opened her door and stepped out onto the pavement. She held on the side of the car to orient herself and made her way to the front of the vehicle.
From behind Lynne, Carol yelled as she got out—“Lynne! Look out, run! RUN!”
Lynne shot a look back at Carol and then stumbled forward. She ran in a hunched shuffle, her arms out in front of her, looking for obstacles. Her only landmarks were Carol’s close, bright light, the dim light she could make out from Marta, and the Sparkle from the zombies they’d passed earlier, which were just visible behind them. She heard the rolling tires above the sound of her own panting and understood the threat. She hit the Jersey barrier with her hands and pressed herself against the concrete.
She heard the rolling car crunch into something. Carol’s light approached fast—Lynne turned away, it was too bright to look at. At her feet, Lynne felt Domi rub against her leg.
“You okay?” asked Carol. “He just hit us.”
“Who? What happened?” asked Lynne.
“I don’t know for sure. That car just rolled up and crashed into us. It was moving slowly, but I figured you couldn’t see it.”
“Where’s the driver? What’s he doing now?” asked Lynne.
“I don’t know, I can’t see him. Is he a zombie?” asked Carol.
“No,” said Lynne. “Let’s go see. I have an idea.”
Carol touched Lynne on the arm and they linked hands so Carol could lead her. She ran Lynne into the bumper of Billy’s car on the way, but soon became better at leading.
“Take it slow,” said Lynne. She squeezed Carol’s hand as they crept up to the idling car.
“He’s slumped over,” Carol whispered.
“He’s dead,” said Lynne.
“You can tell that?” asked Carol.
“No, I can’t see anything, but I think that’s what happened,” said Lynne. “But why not us?”
“I don’t understand,” said Carol. She sucked in a startled breath.
Lynne clamped down on her hand. Carol felt a wash of warmth, starting in her chest, flow through her body in five quick heartbeats. The first wave cascaded through her arms, she second into her belly. When the third wave swept through her legs, Carol thought she might have wet her pants. The fourth wave of warmth flowed up through her head and the last brought all the earlier flows back to the center of her chest. Only her hand was cold, where Lynne’s hand gripped her own.
Carol sighed.
“Lynne? Lynne?” she asked, shaking her friends hand. Lynne was rigid next to her.
“What?” asked Lynne eventually, shaking her head.
“Did you feel that?” asked Carol.
“Of course,” said Lynne. “I think that’s her.”
“Marta?”
“Yeah,” said Lynne. “I think we just survived what killed all these other people." She motioned in a blind circle around herself.
“Oh,” said Carol. “You mean she just killed this guy?" She looked down through the window of the idling car.
“Yeah,” said Lynne. “We’re on foot from here. Let’s go.”
“What about the cat?” asked Carol.
“What about him? He’ll be fine,” said Lynne.
“No, I mean why is he still alive?” asked Carol. “Shouldn’t he have been killed when that guy was? Or when she tried to kill me?”
“I don’t know,” said Lynne. “Maybe she didn’t want to kill him.”
Carol led the way as the two women walked hand-in-hand through the wreckage of idling cars. Carol noted that each vehicle contained at least one hunched corpse. She shivered in the moonlight.
“Let’s go further down towards the river,” said Lynne.
“What if she’s on the other side?” asked Carol. “We’re leaving Billy’s car behind.”
“We’re inside the kill-zone now,” said Lynne. “There are plenty of cars around, right?”
“I guess,” said Carol. She led Lynne over to the highway divider and helped her climb over. The other lane of traffic had a similar cluster of vehicles. The two women ducked under a billboard and found themselves standing on railroad tracks.
“Why did you stop?” asked Lynne.
“These tracks curve to the right,” said Carol, “and it’s hard to make out, but it looks like there’s
a trestle where they cross over the river.”
“Can we walk on it?” asked Lynne.
“There are gaps between the rails, you know? It will be slow going,” said Carol.
“Let’s give it a shot,” said Lynne.
The tracks curved away from their highway and joined another set before the ground fell away. Carol led Lynne down a thin section of boards that ran parallel to the tracks. The center of the tracks were only supported every couple of feet, but on the side their narrow walkway offered more substantial footing. Lynne tested each step before committing her weight, and Carol stared straight down, wishing for a handrail.
They crossed an overpass, bridging a local road that ran next to the river.
Carol slowed—“There’s so many,” she said.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” said Lynne. She took the opportunity to reach out with her foot and find the edge of their walkway.
“I’m sorry,” said Carol. “It’s just… There’s so many people down there. They’re just lying on the ground.”
“Dead? Are they dead?” asked Lynne.
“Yes, I think so,” said Carol.
“Then we’re headed the right direction. Let’s get moving.”
“But what if she decides to kill us too?” asked Carol.
“She already did,” said Lynne. “But she failed, and she hasn’t tried again. I don’t think she can kill us. So let’s go find her.”
“Oh,” said Carol. She began shuffling forward again, shoulders hunched with concentration. She pulled Lynne along slowly.
When their bridge began to cross the river, the wind picked up.
“How much farther?” asked Lynne. She could smell the cold river far below. The flowing water made a strange sound, like a far-off hiss, whispering to them.
Carol looked back and then ahead—“About as far as we’ve come,” she said.
“Jesus,” said Lynne.
Carol waved her arms around to keep balance in the crosswind. Lynne moved her grip up Carol’s arm so she wouldn’t be thrashed around with the hand-waving. They shuffled across the bridge. Lynne glanced back to verify that Domi was still with them. She could see his dim Sparkle hovering just behind them.