by Bryan Mosier
Lowering her voice to a whisper, Carla leans in to Darla’s ear and says“that was when there were only four of us….and I don’t imaginethese guys are used to missing meals if you know what I mean.”
Hearing every word, Alex jumps in with a suggestion“Why don’t we try to get the All-Mart up on the hill. There should be plenty of food there.”
“We told you, big stores like that are too hard to defend” warns Carla.
“I’m not saying we stay, we just go get some provisions and come back here.”
“Besides” adds Bryan,“we can’t just leave a bunch of girls here alone to fend for themselves. It wouldn’t be right.”
“He’s right…” starts Alex,“I wouldn’t feel right…” but is cut short when, hearing the chauvinisticwords come out of Bryan’s mouth Darla feels her cheeks get warm. Her temper flaring,she turns on the boys“What’s with all this WE crap? Who says that we even want you guys to stay here with us? What, you think us little“girls” need some big strong men around to protect us. We did just fine without you.”
“Darla, wait...” chides Carla but the damage is done.
“I was just gonnasay…” starts Alex but with feelings hurt he concedes “If that’s how you feel then, fine, we’ll be outta your hair first thing in the morning.” With that Alex gathers himself and starts making for the double doors at the end of the room. “C’mon guys, we can stay out by the front of the building. Besides, we need to get our stuff together so we can leave as soon as the sun comes up.”
Sharing a compliant look between them, Bryan and Justin get up and follow Alex out the doors. Brandon is the last of the boys to get up to leave and as he turns to go he hears Melody say“C’mon Brandon, you don’t have to go.”
“He’s my brother… he needs me.” With that he disappears through the doorway.
“What the hell was that” cries Melody, tears forming in her eyes. “Why did you have to be such a…such abitch to them?”
“Watch your mouth, you’re still my little sister and I’ll…”
“What…you’ll tell mom and dad. Mom and dad are gone and they’re never coming back” screams Melody, tears streaming down her face.
“You shut up, they are too coming back. They wouldn’t leave us here all alone.”
“We weren’t alone, we had them…they coulda…we couldahad friends for once.”
With her words catching in her throat, Darla turns and walks away, both frustrated in the knowledge that everything Melody said was true and sad, knowing that she had hurt the boys’ feelings. Even though she had only known the boys for a little while, she had already begun to sense a kind of kindred spirit in them. Now with tears starting to well up in her own eyes, she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You know you don’t always have to be so tough. You can try to just be normal sometimes” says Carla as she sits next
“Normal? What is normal? We grew up planning for this exact scenario. How many times did mom and dad drill us on what to do when things go totally crazy? For crying out loud, we spent a whole summer vacation living in a falloutshelter in the back yard. Who does that?”
“They were only doing what they thought was right…and as it turns out, they were.”
“But did we have to always be so…so alone? Did they have to isolate us from all the normal things kids get to go through? For crying out loud, you didn’t even get to go to your senior prom.”
“You know, you’re right. We didn’t have a normal childhood. We missed out on all kinds of things that“normal” kids get to go through, but I’ll take our weird, dysfunctional world over“normal” any day. You know why? Because I got to be part of a family that loves each other more than anything…so much that they would go through crazy evacuation drills and stock pile tons of canned beans just to make sure that we were all taken care of and that we could still be together no matter what happens. And as for normal…in case you didn’t notice, our screwed up way of life is the new normal, so be glad that we were prepared. But just because it’salways been that way for us, doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. We can change the rules if we want.”
With a sigh, Darla gives her older sister a hug, squeezing her to the point that Carla starts to wonder if she’s ever going to let go.
“Thanks sis.”
“No problem.”
“So what do we do about the boys?”
“I think that tomorrow, we go see what the rest of this town looks like.”
“You’re not scared of what might happen.”
“I’m more scared of being holed up here with Melody…she is pissed!”
“Okaythen…tomorrow. Let’sget some sleep, tomorrow’s going to be an interesting day.”
As the first rays of light filter in through the windows, Alex is the first of the boys to stir into consciousness. As he rubs the sleep from his eyes, he is surprised to see a pile of backpacks piled up near where he and the other boys were sleeping. Still half conscious and feeling confused he sits up and starts looking around.
“Itsabout time you woke up…I thought you wanted to get an early start.”
Recognizing Darla’s voice, Alex immediately turns and asks“What do you think you’re doing? I thought you didn’t want us around?”
“I didn’t say that I didn’t want you around…I just said that we didn’t need you around.”
“No, I’m pretty sure you said want.”
“Well, if I did, I’m…I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t….I didn’t mean it.”
Giving Darla a quiet nod and a grin, Alex quietly says“Oh. Okaythen.”
“That’s it. That’s all you need?”
“Yep, we’re good. So, I guess this means you’re going with us up the hill.”
“Yeah, Carla and I decidedthat we might need to rethink our plan a little. Besides, I think Melody was gonna force me to eat dog food if I didn’t make things right with you.”’
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what Brandon was gonna do to me but I’m pretty sure it would have involved the loss of a minor appendage.”
In unison, the reconciled duo sigh and admit“Those kids just ain’tright”.
Once the rest of the boys are rousted from their slumber and informed that everything has been made right between the two groups they start to devise a plan.
Alex begins. “I reckon it’swhat, about a mile, mile and half to the All-Mart.”
“Yep” confirms Bryan,“but it’spretty much all up hill.”
“And, unless you ladies have some type of transportation that you’re not telling us about, we’re walking the entire way.”
With a shake of their heads, the girls shatter any faint hopes that the boys had for not walking.
“Brandon’s 4-wheeler still runs don’t it?” asks Bryan.
“Yeah, but I don’t like the idea of him being separated from us toomuch. He was lucky yesterday but who knows when we’re gonna run into a bunch of zombies…”
“Stumble bums” corrects Melody.
“…a bunch of stumble bums that he can’t handle on his own. I think its best that we leave it here, at least that way we’ve got it in reserve if we need it later.”
“Good point, so I guess all we need to do now is gear up and start walking.”
With that the group starts assembling their gear. Bryan helps Carla with her back pack, a little surprised at how heavy it is and even more surprised at how easily she carries it.“I’m really gonna have to start working out” he says to himself as he starts to collect his own gear. Once everyone is ready, they, one at a time make their way out the front door. Once the entire group is outside, Alex whispers“Okay, we take it nice and slow and….
With that Brandon and Melody leap up and yell“We got point…try to keep up loooooserrrrs!”
“Damn it Brandon, get back here” yells Alex.
“Melody Lucille get your buttback hear this instant” echoes Darla.
Ignoring the commands from their older siblings Brandon and Melody begin their comical
trek up the hill. Running in a half crouch with their swords extended behind them like a cartoon ninja, Brandon and Melody duck from one cover to the next. First finding a parked pickup truck then bolting to an electrical pole then runningfull tilt, diving into a far to expertly handled front roll landing up against a chain link fence. Throwing up a series of military looking hand gestures, the meaning of which is lost to the rest of the group it’s Justin whopoints out“They do realize that they areusing a chain link fence as cover, right?”
“Maybe zombies can’t see through chain link” says Darla with a sarcastic expression on her face.
“Do they think they’re ninjas?” asks Carla“OhmyGod, those kids are soooooshort bus.”
“Hhnh, short bus……short bus ninjas” quips Bryan.
With a collective chuckle the group starts again, following the lead of the delusionalduo. “Så vi följer de små ? " asks Helga. " Normalt skulle jag tror att det är oklokt men att se hur de har visat ett sådant lämplighets med sina vapen de verkar de mest lämpliga ledamöter i vår grupp att fungera som spanings” she continues.
“That’s right Helga, something just ain’t right about those two.”
“Hey Justin, you take up the rear” says Alex as he turns to go.
“Heh, he always takes up the rear, or should I say takes IT up the rear”
“You are horrible people” says Justin, the defeated tone coming back to his voice.
“What the heck is that all about?” comes the disgusted tone from Carla, giving Bryan a furious look. Turning her gaze on Alex and seeing his smirking approval of Bryan’s verbal assault on Justin’s sexualityshe continues her own. “What do you guys have against gay people? I mean this is the twenty-first century, being gay is accepted now. What are you, a bunch of homophobes?”
“Oh no” says Alex, his tone very matter of fact. “We love gay people.”
“Especially Justin” adds Bryan with a chuckle and a sly smirk on his face.
“Horrible…horrible people” declares Justin once again.
“So why the jokes, you know their insulting, right?” asks Darla.
“We don’t mean it that way.”
“Then why?”
“It’s kind of like a friendly contest. We like to see who can make the worst or most creative joke at the others’ expense.”
“Well, why not callhim fat or stupid or something?”
“Well that would just be easy, stupid andmean now wouldn’t it.”
“Huh?” says Darla, the look of confused exasperation on her face.
“Look at him, he is fat, and calling someone stupid that’s just…that’s just stupid. I mean if they are then would they even get the joke?”
“Let me see if I can explain this” says Bryan. “When we pick on each other, we have to find some way of demeaning the other person without really hurting their feelings. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but we’re not what you would call social butterflies. We know this and we’ve accepted that fact. We’re not athletic, we don’t have rugged good looks…”
“Speak for yourself” says Alex in mock conceit.
“…our fashion sense is non-existent and we don’t have any money so all in all, we rank pretty high on the pathet-o-meter. So, when it comes to picking on each other, having nothing to start with, what can we take away from each other. The only thing we got left is what little masculinitywe have.”
“Speak for yourself, I’m totally the bomb” says Alex, again feigning conceit.
“So when we call each other gay, it’s not a jab a gay people, it’s a jab at the only thing we have to pick at each other with without really hurting anyone’s feelings because deep down, we know none of us are gay to begin with.”
“Well, Justin I’m not toosure about” says Alex.
“Hor…ri…ble” comes a final exasperated declaration from Justin.
“So you guys are okaywith gay people?”
“Sure, we love gay people. Especially the lesbians.”
“Oooohthe lesbians” adds Alex with a dreamy smile spreading across his face.
“Oh brother, why are men so pathetic” growls Carla as she walks off with Helga in tow.
As they start to leave again, Darla catches up to Alex and whispers,“You’re wrong you know?”
“About what?”
“You guys aren’t as pathetic as you think.”
Trying to hold back a smile,“Really? Thanks” says Alex as he stands a little straighter and begins to walk with a little more pep in his step.
Chapter 13
As the group makes their way up the winding road leading to the All-Mart, they can see the net effect that the chain superstore had on this small community. The town’s largest building, it boasted everything one mightneed for a backyard barbecue, including the grill and lawn furniture, but you could also, before the end of the world that is, get your eyes checked, have your prescriptions filled, get your tires rotated and oil changed, pick up dinner from no less than three fast food chains and if you’re not in too much of a hurry, get a loan to buy a new car or, orif you’re really feeling adventurous, mortgage a new home. When it was first announced that the All-Mart was coming to town, practically everyone was thrilled, everyone except a few prominent families, including the Maynard’s, who owned most of the businesses in town who felt that the big box store would ruin their businesses. As it turned out, the Maynard’s and the other families made a killing by selling off some of the property they owned so that the county could make new, wider roads for the delivery trucks to have access to the store. In the end, most of the families ended up selling what properties they had left and moved away, leaving the town with a bunch of empty store fronts. Some people tried to open up new businesses but they just couldn’t compete with the discount prices that the All-Mart had to offer.
“Man, this place looks like it was in pretty rough shape even before it was filled with a bunch of undead, brain eating stumble bums” says Darla.
“Yeah, this town had seen better days I guess. Mom and dad used to tell us stories about how back in the day, this place was booming. They even once talked about putting a state university here.”
“Really, what happened?”
“The county was dry, no alcohol, and they wouldn’t change it.”
“But most college kids aren’t even old enough to drink legally.”
“Yeah, but the hooty snooty professors are and they wanted to be able to go out to fancy restaurants and have a sip of wine with their supper.”
As they walk on, Alex taps Darla on the shoulder and points to a plain looking building made of painted cinder white blocks. With a simple painted wooden door and a solitary metal framedwindow with the words“Logan’s” painted in plain block letters, the building looks much like the others they had passed.
“That was grannie Logan’s restaurant” says Alex. “Mom and dad used to take us there to eat at least once a month. That is before the All-Mart came to town.”
“What happened?”
“Grannie…she wasn’t our real grannie, that’s just what everybody used to call her…she owned a big farm out on route seven. For years, her and her family raised all sorts of animals. Cattle, chicken, pigs, you name it. Well, rather than buying her food for the restaurant from some big company that fills it with all kinds of chemicals and stuff, she would just have Sam, the local butcher…”
“Sam…the butcher…really?” asks Darla with a whimsical smirk on her face.
“Yes, Sam would go out and butcher a beef or pig or whatever she needed and she would serve that in her restaurant. Man it was the best stuff you ever eat. Everything just tasted so fresh.”
“Sowhat was the problem with that?”
“Well, when All-Mart came to town, they got their fingers into everything, including town politics and for whatever reason, they set their sightsof grannie. Well, they knew she wouldn’t sell out and leave so what they did was they got the town to pass an ordinance saying that al
l foods served in restaurants within city limits had to be certified as USDA approved. Well, that was gonna cost grannie toomuch, so she ended up having to close up shop.”
“What happened to grannie?”
“She died about six months after she closed her place. Dad said that it was like she lived for running that restaurant and when it was gone, she just didn’t have anything to live for anymore.”
As he walks past the old, plain looking white block building, Alex can’t help think about all the times that he and Brandon had there with their parents. Feeling a wave of emotion starting to come over him Alex begins to wonder what happened to his parents and if he will ever see them again.
As the group makes the last turn near the top of the hill, they see Brandon and Melody crouching by a box truck whose driver, now probably one of the walking wobble heads, apparently lost control and ran into the ditch. Melody waves to the rest of the group to get down and puts her finger to her mouth, indicating for them to be quiet. As the group crouches low and slowly walks up to where the two youngsters are huddled they see why they have suddenly become so cautious. The expansive parking lot is cluttered with at least a hundred or so automobiles of all makes and models, seemingly parked at random with no regard for the orderly yellow lines indicating the rows of parking spaces. Looking beyond the cars, what must have once been the owners of said vehicles, a mass of stumbling undead seem to have gathered around the front of the building.
“Holy crap that’s a lot of freakinstumble bums!” exclaims Bryan.
“What, is it the first of the month?” asks Alex with nervous chuckle and affirming look towards Bryan.
“Would you quiet down…do you want them to hear?” chides Darla.
“Now what do we do…there’s no way we’re getting through with all of those undead ugliescrowding the front door.”
“We gottago back” says Carla, the fear clearly evident on her face. “We’ll find somewhere else to get some food.”