by Bryan Mosier
Resuming his search Justin turns his attention to a large metal shelf standing in the corner of the garage. “Whew, you figure as rich as these people are they could afford to have someone dust out here” he complains as he opens one box after another. “Hmm, looks like we got some old welding gloves, that is a maybe” he says as he tosses them off to one side. Running through the inventory, more much for his own sake than for Helga Justin continues“A bunch of old cables, mostly old extensions cords for Christmas lights” until finally,“Hey, what do we have here?” Handing his light to Helga and with a strained grunt Justin heaves a small box from the shelf, its size belying its obvious weight. Dropping the box on the painted concrete floor with a heavy thud Justin motions for Helga to shine the light on the box. Pulling the cardboard flaps open, Justin reaches into the box and pulls out a large metal spike its surface grooved with spirals running the length of the shaft.
“There mustbe fifty or so of these things.”
Looking up atHelga with a smile, Justin says“Surely we can use these for something. Oh, I got an idea!” he says, with excitement in his voice. Sifting through the pile of clutter from the shelf Justin pulls out the gloves he had found earlier. Looking them over more carefully this time Justin is pleased with what he finds. The gloves, designed for welders to use to protect their hands from molten metal, are made of thick leather with an insulated inner lining to help dissipate the heat. Looking closer Justin sees that the knuckle and palm areas are reinforced with a denser material, making him smile even wider. “Kevlar. Yes!” says Justin, jumping to his feet. Grabbing a handful of the large metal spikes he found earlier, Justin leads Helga over to a nearby work bench and lays the gloves out on the table. “Okay, all I need now is…. yes…. right there give me that hammer” he commands motioning to Helga, who responds in kind by handing him a screwdriver. “No, the hammer” Justin says again, this time holding up one of the metal spikes and miming the action of swinging a hammer. With a look of recognition Helga turns again and this time hands Justin the hammer. “Alright, so this is what I am thinking” he explains as he slides one of the dusty leather gloves over his hand. Grabbing three of the metal spikes from the table he shoves them between the closed fingers of his gloved hand. Closing his fist,he holds his hand up for Helga to see. The spikes, now pointing outward from his knuckles Justin smiles and looks at Helga. “What do you think?” he asks, not really expecting an answer. When he receives one, his jaw nearly hits the floor. With one single word Helga replies“Snikt?” Mouth agape, Justin looks at Helga and says“Helga, I think I love you.” Seeing an unexpectedsmile of understanding come over her face Justin’s face flushes red with embarrassment. “I…um…I.” he starts as he turns away trying frantically to take the glove off, dropping the metal spikes as they clatter onto the bench. “I mean I didnnot…you know…I um…I was just…we just met and…” he continues to stutter as he continues to not make eye contact with Helga. Finally having the courage to look at her his heart drops into his stomach when he sees her face. Her usual smile having left, her face is contorted into an expression of hurt and confusion. Pain piercing his gut and wanting nothing more than to apologize, Justin feels his heart sink even further as the tears begin to roll down Helga’s cheeks,freezing the words in his chest. “I…I…” he starts but she turns and disappears into the darkness, the sounds of her sobbing fading away before he can get the sentiment out. Turning back to his work, Justin stops for a moment to lift his glasses from his eyes and quietly dabs his eyes and after a few moments of solitary silence“…crap, got dust in my eye”.
With their flashlights scanning ahead, Darla and Alex work their way through the darkness of the garage. Watching the light from the other’s flashlights move about the room, Alex asks“Darla, can I ask you a favor?”
“Well I guess that depends on the favor?” she says giving him a nervous smileas she leans in close to his shoulder. Looking up into his face, made stark by the harsh light of the flashlight, Darla is startled to see the seriousness of Alex’s expression. “What is it? What’s bothering you?”
“Just in case…” he starts. “Just in case something doesn’t go right and I don’t…if I don’t…” he continues, afraid to say the words out loud as if doing so might initiate some horrible self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Nothing is going to happen” she says, a look of determination on her face. “We’re going to get out of here, save that girl and everyone will be just fine.”
“Tell that to Suzie-Steve or Larry” says Alex, the last image of the little bus being swarmed by a mass of undead bodies still fresh in his mind. “They’re dead…” he starts but is quickly interrupted“We don’t know that!” scolds Darla, the tone of her voice not having near the confidence that she had hoped it would.
“Just promise me…if something happens to me that you’ll take care of Brandon.”
Looking at Alex and seeing the concern in his eyes Darla concedes“Don’t worry. No matter what happens out there, his safety….and the safety of everyone else in here…. will be the only thing that matters to me. But you have to make me the same promise. If something happens to me, Melody and Carla, you have to take care of them.”
Nodding in agreement Alex tries to lighten the mood“Like that could happen. I mean you girls are like total badasses.” Satisfied by her smile Alex puts his arm around Darla’s neck and tries to change the subject,“We’re not gonna get anywhere if we don’t find something to fight with, unless of course zombies can be struck down by ruggedly handsome good lookscause then I am quite literally a living weapon.” With a smile on his face Alex shines the light around the room. As the light flashes on boxes and plastic totes, he catches a glimpse of a large shape in the middle of the floor. Sitting where in the empty bay where a third vehicle would normally go, Alex shines his light over the object, its form obscured by a heavy black tarp.“What do you think this is?” asks Alex.
“Only one way to find out” says Darla as she grabs the lower edge of the tarp. “C’mon, help me get this off.” Moving to the opposite side of the object, Alex grabs the lower edge of the tarp. “Ready?” he asks Darla as she nods in agreement. Giving the tarp a hard jerk upward and over the object, Alex chokes as dust fills the already stale air of the garage. Coughing and fanning at the air to clear his view he is pleasantly surprised when he finally is able to see what was concealed under the tarp. Sitting in front of him is what looks like a cross between a go cart and a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle.
Running his flashlight down the length of the tubular metal frame, painted a mix of fire engine red and a deep jet black he stops and lets the beam of his flashlight play over the word painted on the molded plastic side panel of the machine. “Rzr?” he says, questioning what the odd combination of letters mean. “R Z R? What does that stand for? What is this thing?” he asks. “It’spronounced like Razor” comes the voice out of the darkness. Turning around Alex shines his light in the direction of the voice, knowing full well who he will find. There in the darkness, their flashlights off and at their sides, Brandon and Melody stand in silence, the looks on their faces confirming Alex and Darla’s fears. “How long have you two been back there?” he asks, knowing the answer before he even asked the question.
“You two shouldn’t talk like that” says Melody. “No one else is getting hurt. We’re not losing anyone else” she continues as tears start to flow down her cheeks.
Looking at Brandon, Alex can see the tears starting to well up in his eyes as he struggles to keep his composure, not wanting to look week in front of Melody. Looking at the two children the reality of how young they are and just how frightened they really must be hits Alex and Darla hard. With tears welling up in her own eyes, Darla walks over to Melody and puts her hands on her little sister’s shoulders. “Don’t you worry. Everything is going tobe just fine.” Looking at Brandon and then to Alex Darla continues“No one is getting hurt. Understand?”
“How can you be so sure?” asks Melody as sh
e lifts her knitted scarf to wipe the tears from her eyes and the snot running from her nose.
“Because I’m your big sister and I say so” comes the confident reply followed by a caring smile. Tussling his little brother’s long,thick hair, Alex puts his arm around Brandon and reaffirms Darla’s sentiment,“Nothing to worry about. How many times do I have to say it? We got this.”
Seeing the smile come back to the youngsters faces, Alex and Darla agree that it’stime to go back and see how the others have fared in their search. Seeing the lights from the others starting to gather near the entrance where they came in Alex motions for the others to follow. “We probably shouldn’tleave the others alone for too long. Come on, let’s go see what kind of luck the others have had” says Alex as he leads Brandon and the girls back towards the other end of the garage.
As Alex, Darla, Brandon and Melody make their way back to the entrance of the garage the first person they meet is Justin. “Where’s Helga?” asks Darla, a look of genuine concern on her face. “Oh…um sheis…um…she is over….” he starts but suddenly her familiar tall thin frame emerges from the darkness, the white blood splattered image of Hello Kitty seeming to glow in the dim light. Even in the dimness of the garage the puffiness of her eyes and cheeks make it clear to everyone she has been crying. “What’s the matter with her?” asks Darla, giving Justin an accusing stare. Looking at Justin, the hurt still burning in her eyes, Helga brings her arms forward to show her friends what she has found. In her hands Helga holds two razor sharp machetes, the light of the flashlights reflecting off of the shiny metal surfaces. Looking at Justin she says something that he does not understand and, at the moment, is glad of that fact.
“Helga, I just want…I just want to say I’m sorry. If feel like…I feel like…” starts Justin but is suddenly interrupted as Helga squeals in heavily accentedEnglish“a little pussy!”
“Well yeah…what? No that is not what I…” mutters Justin, stumbling over his words.
Rushing over Helga greets Carla and immediately takes her new found friend from her, bringing it to her face and cradling it like a child.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” asks Bryan as he moves into the light and drops his haul onto the floor.
Seeing Bryan’s axe handle-saw blade contraption, Alex picks it up from the floor to appraise his work. “Not bad” he says, offering his approval. “Have you thought about a name?” asks Alex.
“Um, a name? What do you mean?” mutters Bryan.
“Uh, dude. You know the rules. You said it yourself, all great weapons have got to have a name. Arthur had Excalibur, Beowulf had Hrunting, Gandalf had Glamdring. C’mon, you gottagive it a name.”
“Oh, it’salready got a name” offers Carla. “Tell them the name of your mighty weapon ohgreat slayer of the undead menace” she continues, trying to hold back a chuckle as she does.
Whispering Bryan finally offers a barely audible“Walter”.
“What was that?” asks Alex“I couldn’t hear you.
Again Bryan offers the name of his weapon, this time louder. “Walter” he says, pausing for the expected laughter and ridicule he knows is coming.
“Walter” says Alex in a flat, indistinctive tone.
“Walter” repeats Justin, adopting the same dead pan tone as Alex.
“Not really the most dread inspiring of names but I guess it’ll do” Alex manages before losing his composure and bursting into laughter along with the rest of the group.
Trying to change the subject“Well what did you guys come up with?” asks Bryan, noticing Alex’s conspicuously empty hands.
“We found some type of four-wheelerover there but that won’t help us fighting zombies. How about you Justin? Anything?”
Bringing both fists up to his face to reveal his spiked leather gloves Justin answers“Oh, I think I did okay.”
“Nice” offers Bryan“but what about you and Darla” he continues, looking at Alex. “You guys can’t go out there empty handed.”
“We’re not going to” he replies as he turns to look at Brandon and Melody.
“What?” asks Brandon, feeling the tension build.
“Brandon…Melody…. Darla and I... wedecided…we decided that it would be for the best if you two didn’t go out there. That you stay in here until the coast is clear.”
“No flippinway!” declares Brandon, a sentiment that is immediately echoed by Melody.
“You can’t make us stay in here…what if something…. whatif something happens?” she cries as tears start to well up in her eyes again.
“That is exactly why we want you to stay in here. We need you two to stay here and, heaven forbid, if something did go wrong, at least you two would be safe. You could take the four-wheeler thingand get out of here.”
“No, I’m not stayin in here while you guys go out thereand fight and maybe get killed” declares Brandon, his voice raising with each word that comes out of his mouth.
Placing his hands on Brandon’s shoulders, Alex calmly says“Brandon. Please listen.” Leaning in closer Alex whispers into Brandon’s ear.“Think about Melody. You have to protect her no matter what.” Pulling away from his little brother, Alex looks him in the eyes, eyes wet with tears, and says“Please?” Blinking his eyes to clear away the tears, Brandon quietly nods his head.
“So, how about you loan me that sword of yours so I can go take care of business?” he says, offering a confident smile.
Reaching over his shoulder and pulling the sword from its sheath, Brandon holds it out, offering it to his brother. As Alex reaches for the sword, Brandon pulls it away and offers“You will give this back to me, understand” he says, waiting for a nod from Alex to be sure the intent of his words are clear.
“So, how about helping a sister out” says Darla as she moves closer to Melody. Looking into her sister’s little round freckled face she smiles and whispers“No worries, I’ll bring it back” she offers.
“I don’t care about the sword. Just make sure you come back. You promise me! Promise you’ll come back” pleads Melody as a fresh stream of tears rolls down her puffy freckled cheeks.
“I promise” says Darla and with that Melody relinquishes the sword.
“Okay, so are we ready to do this then?” asks Alex as he surveys the group.
“As ready as we’ll ever be” adds Bryan.
Walking over to Melody, Helga kneels down still cradling the little orange striped kitten in her arms. Pulling it away from her body, she offers the tiny, helpless creature to Melody along with two, simple yet heavily accented words. “Keep…safe.” Nodding her head Melody takes the kitten and, opening her faded green army jacket, places the kitten inside allowing it to nestle against her chest.
“Okay, so once we go out there you shut this door and lock it back” says Alex as he looks to Brandon for confirmation that he understands. Receiving a reluctant“Yep” he looks to the rest of the group. “We stay together. Keep your backs to one another and don’t let those things get behind you. We work together and we’ll be just fine.” Looking around the group, examining each individual face and seeing nothing but resolve and determination, Alex continues. “Darla and I’ll take the lead. Justin you and Helga watch the left flank, Bryan and Carla you two have the right. Everybody clear?” With a collective nod the group acknowledges the plan. With one last look to Brandon, Alex gives the order“Okay, let’s go.” And with that he unbars the door and pulls it open leading the group out into the darkness.
As the last person steps through the door Brandon fulfills his promise and pulls the door shut, firmly securing it once again. Walking over to Melody, still cradling the kitten in her coat, Brandon quietly looks at her and asks“Are you thinking what I’m thinking Pinky?” Looking up from the purring kitten resting against her chest Melody offers the only logical response“Sure Brain, but where are we gonna findrubber pants our size at this hour.”
“Well, I guess its plan-B then” says Brandon, a grin on his face as he looks across
the garage at the all-terrain vehicle sitting silently still in the darkness.
Chapter 33
Once he sees that the door is safely secured behind them Alex pauses the group to assess the situation. Looking over at the bus, turned over on its side, the metal escape exit door hanging open, its entrance packed with corpsessends a horrible shiver down Alex’s back. Seeing the bus, his heart sinksas thoughts of Suzie-Steve and Larry and the horrible fate they must have suffered start to fill his mind. Forcing himself to look ahead, trying to purge those images from his mind with thoughts of his family and friends, people who need him now.“Okay, we move as a group. Remember, form a perimeter and keep them outside of it. Don’t let them break up the group. Got it.” Not waiting for a response he turns and aims the group towards the front of the house.
Looking ahead, scanning with his flashlight Alex sees that the horde of zombies that were once fixated on the bus have now lost interest and are back to ambling aimlessly around the yard. Trying to make a mental estimate of their numbers he begins to doubt Suzie-Steve’s earlier estimate of a couple hundred. “Looks more like three hundred or more, not counting the ones we took out with the bus” he thinks to himself, a twinge of doubt trying to take root in the back of his mind. “Let’s be quick and quiet about this guys. If we can’t take them all we should at least be able to make a path through to the house.” Shining his flashlight directly ahead, Alex is momentarily startled when one of the stumbling figures suddenly stops and turns in the direction of the oncoming group. “Oh shit, I think they see us” warns Alex as one zombie after another slowly turns and starts walking to meet the group. With a sea of glaring red eyes now fixated on the them, moaning and growling at the acquisition of new prey, the low groan of the crowd slowly increases to a nerve shattering roar as more and more of the undead turn their attention to the group. Within moments dozens of zombies are heading towards them.