Ashton Memorial

by Robert R. Best

  “Here!” said Dalton, running up and putting a pair of pliers into her hand.

  “Where'd you find those?” said Angie, struggling with the corpse.

  “Drawer.”

  “Okay. Thanks honey, now stay out of the way.”

  Dalton nodded and ran farther back into the room, away from the corpse.

  Angie brought the pliers up and shoved the point into the corpse's eye. The corpse groaned and fell back, working its jaws limply. Angie grabbed both handles of the pliers and shoved them deeper into the eye socket of the corpse. She wrenched the pliers open, hearing bone crack and something squelch. The corpse gurgled and slumped to the floor, its head inside the door and the rest of its body outside on the porch. Angie kicked the corpse's head outside and shut the door.

  She turned. Dalton stood against the wall, looking warily at the door. Caleb stood next to Shelley. Shelley stood, arms crossed and looking shaken, staring at Angie.

  “Thank you,” said Shelley. “Now please leave.”

  “What?” said Angie.

  Caleb put a hand on her shoulder. “Now, wait a second, honey.”

  Shelley pulled away and glared at him. “Don't you honey me! You can't trust these people!”

  “Who are you even talking about?” said Caleb. “Do you even know any more?”

  “Her!” yelled Shelley, pointing at Angie. “Them! Everyone! And don't you dare give me your college bullshit like you're some goddamned psychiatrist! You study animals, Caleb. Stupid animals! Not me!”

  “Okay, sweetie,” said Caleb, an edge creeping into his voice. “You need to calm down.”

  “No,” said Shelley, “what I need to do is get the fuck out of this place! I hate this fucking zoo! I only work here because of you! I don't even like animals all that fucking much!”

  Caleb stared at her. “You think I don't realize that? You think I haven't thought about how easy it would be to leave you? How easy it would be to go out with any of the girls at school? Someone with my interests? Someone more at my level?”

  Shelley pulled back as if she'd been struck. “You motherfucker.”

  “Wait,” said Caleb, turning red. “Wait, that came out wrong.”

  “Fuck it did,” said Shelley. She stomped to the door, flung it open and ran outside.

  “Shelley!” yelled Caleb, following her.

  Angie watched them go. She stood, dumbfounded, staring at the door for a moment. “Well shit,” she said.

  “Shit,” repeated Dalton.

  “Watch your mouth,” said Angie, a little shocked. She'd never heard Dalton swear. Maylee, all the time. Never Dalton.

  She looked down at him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Look around here and see if you can find any trace of your sister or Park. I'll go check on the crazy twins. Got it?”

  “Got it,” said Dalton, nodding. He ran off to check out the office and Angie turned back toward the door. She nearly ran out after them, then thought better of it. It would be better, she realized, if she found a weapon first.

  * * *

  Lori snapped her head up as she heard the door shut. She'd been pretending to sleep, head propped on her chest as she sat upright in the chair. Her legs and back ached. She longed to be free.

  She looked quickly around the room to confirm what she'd heard. Gregory was nowhere in sight. She heard his footsteps receding from the door.

  As quickly as she could manage, terrified she would run out of time or be discovered, she fidgeted in the chair until she got her hand in her hip pocket. She found the phone and pulled it out. The screen lit up as she clicked the keypad, showing a low battery and several unanswered texts from Ella. Ella was worried and clearly upset, but Lori was relieved at the evidence she was still alive. Or at least, she was alive at the time the texts were sent. Lori pushed that thought down and opened a new text message.

  She typed furiously, hitting several wrong keys and almost losing the message several times. Her hands were wet and they slipped across the keypad, making typing harder than usual.

  She heard movement outside the door and hurriedly sent the message. She was hitching up one hip to slide the phone back into her pocket when the door opened and Gregory walked in.

  He saw her. And the phone.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said, closing her hand over the phone and pressing it against her hip. She knew it was too late. She knew he saw it.

  “Is that a phone?” he asked, stepping farther into the room and shutting the door.

  “No,” said Lori. She pressed the phone further against her hip, trying to flatten her hand out. Trying to make it look like there was nothing there.

  “Don't lie to me, Lori.” He strode over to where she sat, leaned down and snatched the phone from her hand. He looked at the phone, turning it over and over again in his hand and frowning.

  Then he spun and flung it against the wall with such force it broke apart. The sudden violence of the motion made Lori jerk in her chair.

  He turned back, red spreading across his face, and looked down at Lori. “I thought I could trust you more than that, Lori. Not only are you just as flighty as your sister, you're as deceitful as your mother.”

  Lori said nothing. She stared at the broken remains of the phone in the corner. She felt her heart draining out of her. The phone was gone. Ella was gone. Even if Lori could figure out where she was now, how could she get the information to Ella?

  Gregory knelt down like he had before. But this time there was nothing kind in his look. Now his kneeling looked more like a crouch. Like a threat.

  “That's it,” he said, his voice almost a hiss. “I'm done trying to talk to people. Trying to explain things to them. To you. I'm done explaining. You don't want to understand, fine. Don't understand. But you will do what I say. Everyone will.”

  He stood and looked down at her. Lori looked back, her breath ragged and her body sore.

  “Everyone will,” he said.

  * * *

  Caleb ran out onto the metal stoop of the Communications Office, almost slipping in the rain. Tom's dead body swung back and forth from the tree in front of him. Caleb ignored it, looking around for Shelley.

  “Shelley!” he yelled, looking around.

  He felt terrible for what he'd said. He didn't know where it came from, what even made him think such terrible things. He loved Shelley, he'd loved her since they both were kids. Long before he'd even dreamed of going to college and being a vet. He had always known it would be him and Shelley. Always.

  He heard her crying to his left. Farther away than he would have liked.

  “Shelley!” he yelled and ran off of the stoop, past Tom's swaying body. Oh god, how it smelled. Caleb continued toward the sound of Shelley’s cries.

  The sound of Shelley crying cut into him like something physical. He hated to hear it. He always had. And now, now that the world was ending and nothing made sense anymore, he hated it more than ever.

  He took a few more running steps and saw her. She was up by the red panda exhibit. The small, fox-like creatures were one of the few animals at the zoo Shelley liked. She had her back to him, looking into the exhibit.

  He ran up to her and stopped. He knew she heard him. She had to. She was just ignoring him, staring out into the exhibit.

  “Shelley,” he said, quietly.

  “These things are cute,” she said, staring into the exhibit. “I like these guys.”

  “I know you do,” said Caleb, happy she wasn't screaming. He followed her gaze to the red pandas. They were clinging to the trees in the exhibit, baring their teeth and hissing at Caleb and Shelley. They growled and snarled. Caleb felt like he was losing his mind. Rain fell lightly around them and the adorable red pandas wanted to kill him and the woman he loved. The world was over. Caleb knew it.

  “I didn't mean those things I said,” said Caleb.

  “Yes, you did,” said Shelley, turning to him. “But it’s okay. We decided we would be
together as kids. We didn't know. It doesn't mean we have to stay together now.”

  “But I want to stay together,” said Caleb, putting his hands on her shoulders. She tensed at first, then relaxed. “I love you. I've always loved you.”

  She started to cry. “I'm sorry I don't love the animals like you do. I'm sorry I'm not like the smart girls at your school.”

  “Oh sweetie, sweetie, no,” said Caleb, pulling her to him. They hugged, clutching at each other desperately. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” said Shelley. Then she jerked and let out a scream that clutched at Caleb's heart.

  “What is it?” he said, jerking back and looking around.

  Then he saw it. A corpse with no legs had crawled its way to Shelley and sunk its teeth into her calf. Red blood ran down her zookeeper pants and onto the walkway, mixing with the rain in long thin streaks.

  “Oh god no!” said Caleb. He kicked the corpse away from her. Shelley screamed as the corpse tore away from her leg, taking a large hunk of cloth and flesh with it. It rolled onto its back, staring dumbly up at the rain and chewing.

  “Oh god oh god oh god,” he said, holding her close. “We've got to get out of here. Get you to a hospital. You'll be okay. You'll be okay.”

  He felt her shaking her head against his shoulder and he knew she was right. They heard what bites meant before the radios went out. He knew Shelley was gone.

  “No, sweetie, I won't,” she said, crying into his shoulder.

  He pulled back and put his forehead to her. Her tears were hot and wet against him. He couldn't help it. He started crying too.

  “I'm so sorry,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For leaving you,” she said.

  “No no no,” said Caleb, holding her tight. He knew they should be running. He knew they didn't have much time. He could feel her blood seeping from her leg, pulsing with heartbeat against him. But he knew there was nowhere to go. “Please don't say that.”

  “I'm so sorry,” she repeated.

  Groans came from all around them. Caleb pulled back and looked. A group of corpses, jerking and shuffling in the rain, were coming toward them. Fear gripped him briefly, but then sadness overwhelmed it.

  “You need to run,” she said.

  “No,” he said, moving back and holding her close. “I'm not going anywhere.”

  “I'm so sorry.”

  “Please stop saying that.”

  He felt cold hands close on his shoulders. He jerked and let out a sharp cry as cold teeth bit into the back of his neck. The pain was worse than he could have imagined, but he felt relieved. Now he would die with Shelley. It was decided and he could relax.

  Then Shelley screamed and he screamed too. The corpses tore into them in a slow ecstasy of feeding. Hands tore and mouths bit. He held Shelley tight as long as he could. Before long he grew weak and dizzy. Shelly's screaming grew fainter. They fell away from each other and onto the ground.

  Caleb's head lolled around limply. He felt things pulling on him, tearing at him. But the pain was duller now. He knew he was going into shock. He felt cold. He couldn't hear Shelley anymore. All he heard was groaning and chewing.

  A corpse, an old woman with dark blood matted in her blue hair, crawled over and looked down into his face. She hissed. Then her head jerked sideways as a dart embedded into it.

  More shots were fired from somewhere Caleb couldn't place. His head was swimming and he pawed limply at the pavement beneath him. No, no, he thought. Let them finish.

  The corpses he saw from where he lay each jerked and slumped, one by one, as darts thudded into their heads. One by one each groaning throat was silenced. Finally, there were no more. He heard footsteps approaching. Not the broken shuffling footsteps of corpses. The steady pace of a living human.

  The woman who had shown up earlier came into view. Was her name Angie? She had a tranquilizer rifle and looked around. Her son clung to her side.

  Angie looked around one more time, then down at him. She frowned.

  Please, he thought. He couldn't speak no matter how hard he tried. Finish it.

  “I'm sorry,” she said down at him, cocking the rifle. She aimed it at his head.

  “Look away, baby,” said Angie. The boy did. Angie fired. Caleb felt a sharp pressure against his forehead. Then nothing.

  * * *

  Maylee woke with a start and sat up. Her back ached from the cold hard floor. It was raining hard outside, making it too dark to know for sure, but she could tell it was late morning. Park snored from the other side of the alcove. Ella was nowhere in sight.

  Then she heard Ella from outside, in the rain. She was crying.

  “Ella?” said Maylee, climbing to her feet and grabbing her bat. She walked out, blinking and sputtering in the rain. Ella stood, head down and staring at her phone.

  “What's the matter?” said Maylee. She stepped closer.

  Ella saw her coming and wiped her eyes. Even in the gray light and pouring rain, Maylee could see how red her eyes were. “It's Lori. She texted me and I missed it. I missed it and now she won't respond!”

  Ella held out the phone to show Maylee. Maylee took it and stared at the screen. It showed a text from Lori and several frantic ones sent by Ella.

  “It's okay,” said Maylee. “I'm sure it’s okay.”

  Ella shook her head, gulping down tears. “No. No it's not.”

  “No, no, it is,” said Maylee. She slid Ella's phone into her pocket. “I'm not stealing your phone, I'm just making sure it doesn't get any wetter, okay?”

  Ella nodded.

  “Now listen,” said Maylee, stepping closer and setting her bat against the wall. “This way you at least know she's still alive, right?”

  Ella nodded, still sobbing but slightly less so.

  “And we'll get to the office today, right? You said we were close.”

  Ella nodded, calming further. “Yeah,” she said, gulping. “We could have made it last night if it weren't too dangerous in the dark. It's just that way.” She pointed behind her, out across the bear exhibit and down the walkway that led past it.

  “Okay,” said Maylee. “See? It's fine. We'll get there today, regroup with my mom, then we'll find your sister. You did a good job getting us there.”

  “Thank you,” said Ella. She sniffed and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her jacket. “People think I'm not good for anything.”

  “I told you not to say that,” said Maylee. “I think you're great. You're smart and funny and cool and I like you.”

  Ella stared at Maylee, then rubbed her eyes and sniffed. She rubbed her hands on her pants. She looked like she was about to say something. Then Ella leaned in and kissed Maylee. Quick, awkward and uncertain. It was over in less than a second. Maylee didn't know how to react. They both pulled back, staring at each other in shock.

  “Oh god,” said Ella, stepping back. She put her hands over her mouth and her eyes grew wide. “Oh god, I'm sorry.”

  “No, no,” said Maylee, stepping back. Her mind was blank. “No, it's...”

  Ella backed up farther, almost to the edge of the overhang. “I'm sorry. I...”

  Then rotting hands reached down from the upper level and closed on her head. Ella screamed. A second pair of hands reached down and grabbed her head.

  “Ella!” yelled Maylee, rushing forward.

  It happened fast. Ella was pulled upward, her head disappearing from view. Maylee grabbed Ella's kicking legs and pulled. However many corpses had hold of her, they were too strong. Ella screamed and kicked.

  Then Ella shrieked and thick red blood ran down her torso. It ran onto Maylee's hands and arms.

  “No!” screamed Maylee. “Oh god no!”

  Ella shrieked and bucked. More blood ran downward, splattering onto Maylee's cheeks. Ella’s screams grew softer and wetter. More gurgles than screams.

  “No!” Maylee screamed, pulling as hard as she could. She heard moaning and chewing from up above.

&
nbsp; “What the fuck!” came Park's voice from inside the alcove. Ella was pulled upward, out of Maylee's grip. She vanished from sight.

  “No!” Maylee bellowed. She ran over to the wall and grabbed her bat. She ran to the ladder that led to the upper level and grabbed hold. She swung out over the bear exhibit and climbed. She could no longer hear Ella screaming.

  “Ella!” came Park's voice from below her. “Kid!”

  Maylee climbed, rain pounding down around her. Her hands slipped on the wet rungs but she managed to hold on, even with her bat tucked under one of her arms. She reached the top of the hill and climbed over. A group of corpses surrounded a broken, bloody form on the ground. Maylee knew what the form was but refused to look at it.

  “Fuckers!” yelled Maylee, slamming her bat into the nearest corpse. It fell to one side, still clutching at the torn form of Ella. A second corpse turned to hiss at her. Maylee screamed at it and slammed her bat into its skull.

  The rest of the corpses groaned and turned to her. She knew there were too many to take on herself. She didn't care. She swung like a crazy person, slamming into every corpse she could.

  “Kid!” came Park's voice from below, sounding closer. Maylee heard him grunting, heard the ladder creak, and knew he was climbing up after her.

  “Fuck!” yelled Park behind her, clear and unmuffled. “Fuck! No!” His voice sounded thick, choked, and Maylee knew he'd seen what was left of Ella. Maylee refused to look fully at it. She forced the image to remain a vague mass of red and rumpled clothing. She screamed and kept swinging. She knocked one corpse aside but three more drew close. She knocked another one down but five more took its place. She screamed into the pounding rain, beyond thought or caring.

  “Kid!” yelled Park, his voice still thick and hoarse. “Get out of there!”

  Maylee ignored him and kept swinging. Her bat thudded into corpse after corpse, sending jolts up her body. She refused to look at Ella's body.

  “Dammit kid!” yelled Park. Maylee heard him pull himself the rest of the way up the ladder. She felt his hand close on her jacket.