Dead Hearts Grow Cold: A Post-Apocalyptic Novella

by Stacey Slothlief

  “Anything?” Noah asked, with a hint of a smile growing across her face. I shook my head in response, and Ben suggested we all take a look and gather some supplies. I decided to run to the bathroom, mostly for safety but partially so I could stop myself from sweating everywhere. I made sure to check the women’s first, while I was sure neither of the girls were in, last thing I want that isn’t related to dismemberment is for one of them to think I’m a pervert. Both bathrooms were safe, though whoever cleaned them last left just enough stench for it to ferment into something quite formidable two months later. As I was passing by the clothing racks on my way back to the group, I heard a light rustle to my right and stopped in my tracks. Drawing my hammer, I slowly moved towards the sound. The racks were only five-or-so-feet tall, but there were no discernible figures from the aerial view. I crouched down, hoping to see a pair of familiar feet, but a rack of winter jackets ahead obscured my view. The rustle happened again, this time more violently, and accompanied by significant movement by a rack of jeans three rows ahead. I snuck my way up, hammer in hand, careful not to act too quickly in case it was another Coop scare. I felt like a mongoose, silently but swiftly moving through the bushes, stalking its prey while the snake lies, hopefully, unaware. The rack jostled again as I was feet from it, this time I could make out a small figure positioned close to the ground. I crept closer to the rack, grabbed the top with my left hand, and in one fluid motion, tipped it to its side. I was met with a flash of white skin, a shriek of terror and a sharp pain as Freja’s nails scratched at my exposed calf. “Get the hell out of here!” She shrieked, covering herself with one hand and hurling hangers with the other as I retreated, apologizing as loudly as I could.

  I spent the next couple hours thumbing through magazines on the other side of the store. I never thought I’d get nostalgic over anything Kardashian-related, maybe there are a few positives that came from this whole mess. I started drifting off a few lines into an article about John Mayer when I heard the sound of metal on metal several aisles down. “DINNERTIME!!” yelled Noah and Ben, continuing their clanging for several seconds after it had become officially annoying. I shuffled my way to the “ethnic foods” section where Ben and Noah had set up four plates in front of four lawn chairs placed in a circle; Cooper situated himself comfortably on a pillow behind Ben’s chair. I plopped myself down in one of the two empty seats.

  Noah smiled, “It’s been awhile since we’ve had a family dinner.” Her smile quickly broke me out of my funk, and I smiled back - I even caught Ben give a little smirk before it disappeared behind his stoneface.

  “Where’s Freja?” Noah asked, and as if on cue, Freja appeared at the end of the aisle. She briskly approached the remaining chair to my left and sat down, adjusting ever so slightly so that I could barely see her face. I could feel my cheeks reddening as Noah and Ben stared, trying to understand the situation.

  “Well now,” said Noah, quelling the awkwardness as best she could with a terrible British accent, “we have prepared a glorious spread for the feast tonight!” She reached behind her chair and, with a beaming smile and exaggerated gestures, pulled out cans of fruit and vegetables, displaying them in a small pyramid at our feet. When she finished dishing us up, we muttered our thanks to her and started eating. I briefly glanced up from my plate to see Noah still watching us, the smile had once again disappeared from her face. Ben must have noticed as well, as he brushed her hair over her ear with his free hand. She leaned her head into his palm and closed her eyes, and after a few seconds, the smile had returned. We ate the rest of our meal in silence.

  Freja finished early and excused herself from our makeshift table, Ben was next and left to find Coop some water. That left Noah and I with clean-up duty. Noah said she had found a large sealable container in the pharmacy that we could use as our temporary trash bin - so as not to stink the place up while we’re here. Once we made our way into the pharmacy, Noah stopped. I kept walking.

  “So...what’s up with you two?” She asked. I knew this was coming.

  I stopped and stared at the ground, “What do you mean?” I asked, feigning naiveté.

  “Come on, since you guys met it's been obvious what’s been going on. I mean, seriously, this morning you two were like a couple of bunnies running around I’m surprised you both even remembered we were still here!” I could feel my face getting warm, “She likes you, Jake. And you obviously like her. So why are you both acting so weird?”

  Though I couldn’t see for myself, there was no way my face wasn’t beet red at this point. “I don’t want to talk about it.” I mumbled, knowing she wasn’t going to back down.

  “Jake, this is the first girl I’ve seen you talk to in, like, ever. You really think you can’t talk to me about this?” She ruffled my hair, “All the other boys your age would kill to have girl advice from an actual girl.”

  “All the other boys my age are dead.” I replied, sassily.

  “So are all the other girls, all the more reason you need my help.” I raised my eyes from the ground to see that all-too-familiar grin of hers, burning into my resolve.

  “Ugh, fine.” I sighed, and I reluctantly told her about the changing incident. After the story was finished, I stared at Noah, trying to read her face for any reaction. Seconds passed, my face was on fire, she lowered her eyes, put her hands over her face, and burst into laughter.

  “Are you serious?! That’s it?” She asked, barely containing herself, “Listen, in the grand scheme of things, both of you have been through much, much worse. This is only awkward because you’re both making it that way. Just talk to her like everything is normal and everything will be normal. There’s only 5 of us, we can’t have the two of you not speaking if we’re going to bunker down here for a while”

  My ears perked up. “Who said anything about staying here?”

  Noah flinched, “We’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, Jake. We really have something special here. We all know we got incredibly lucky finding this place untouched, so why not stay for a while and rest up? Put some muscle back on? Not see a dead body every ten minutes?”

  “Every hour we stay still, Mom could have moved another mile from us. I…”

  “I’m not saying forever, just a few days. That’s all.” Noah interrupted with a defeated tone.

  I eased up, now was not the time for this argument. She had a point, after all. “Let’s enjoy the rest of the night here and talk about it tomorrow, okay?”

  Noah nodded feebly, and I took our trash and sealed it in the bin. As we were heading towards the door, Noah stopped again. “You’re a great guy, Jake, any girl would be lucky to have you. I’ve known that for years.” She grabbed my hand, “Let’s go, I’ll help you out with Freja, just don’t screw it up!” She smiled, and we walked out of the pharmacy.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  I looked up at myself in the bathroom mirror. My face hadn’t changed at all since the night before, or the night before that, or any of the nights we’ve been wandering. I always check the mirror when I brush my teeth, and I’ve been brushing my teeth three times a day since I learned how to do it myself. Even with all the chaos and carnage around us, there’s no need to neglect dental hygiene. I’d hate to make it past all the zombies and crazy people out there just to die from gum disease.

  Now fully prepared for bed, and dressed in a silk shirt with cotton polar bear pajama bottoms, I headed to the bedding section, where the others had likely already figured out their arrangements. The first person I saw was Noah, who was already fully tucked into the kind-size display bed at the end of the section. Coop was coiled up at the foot of the bed, as usual. I opened my mouth to ask where everyone was and she raised her finger to her lips, pointing her other hand towards the other side of the bed. Ben was already sound asleep, marking the first day in months that he fell asleep before I did - I guess even he can’t resist the allure of a high-quality
mattress pad. Noah pointed back towards the other end of the section, “You two are back there,” She smiled.

  Uh oh. Two?

  I tiptoed my way to the end of the section and spotted a flattened-out futon decked out with a plethora of pillows and blankets and Freja, curled up at one end of the bed, back turned towards me. I looked around; there was nothing else even remotely resembling a bed in this surprisingly sparse Wal-Mart bedding section. For a moment I wondered if I could spend however many nights we’re here sleeping on the carpet in the men’s section if it saved me from having to deal with this situation, but thinking back to Noah’s words from before, I mustered up all the courage I had and slipped under the covers, trying to stay as silent as possible in case she was asleep. I heard a rustle as she curled up even tighter, I guess she wasn’t asleep after all.

  “Look,” I started, hoping to explain myself.

  “Sorry I scratched you,” She said

  “Who the hell changes in the middle of the store like that?”

  “Wasn’t exactly expecting someone to try to creep on me, what were you doing in the ladies section anyways?”

  “I, uh…I thought you were a zombie,” I said, wincing at my own stupidity, “Why were you trying on jeans? It’s like 100 degrees outside.”

  “I don’t know, it beats stealing from all the dead people’s closets. Plus, I never got to have all the nice new stuff the other kids did growing up. Mom could never hold a job long enough to make much, and after she died my stepdad took what little we had saved and went straight to the liquor store. I don’t know what she saw in him other than the fact that he was present. If she would’ve lived a little longer I’m sure she would’ve seen through him.”

  I rolled over, “Is that why you haven’t tried to find them?”

  She turned toward me, “Honestly, I know it sounds bad, but part of me kind of wishes they didn’t make it. So many good people didn’t make it, so why should he? If there is still a world after this, I don’t want to live in one where only the selfish people survived and people like you or your mom…Jake, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way I’m sure she’s fine I ju…”

  “It’s okay. I’ve known for a while the chances of finding her are low. Ben and Noah have been humoring me for weeks. I just know deep down that she’s out there, you know? I’ve felt it since the beginning. Somebody’s got to believe in her, or else she’s just gonna be forgotten and spend the rest of her life wandering around looking for us. And even if I’m the only person who still believes, I will not give up on her, because I know she wouldn’t give up on me.”

  Freja stared into my eyes, with an intensity I can only assume she was returning from me. She grabbed my hand, nestled closer, and kissed me. “I’m going to help you find your mom.” She placed her head on my chest and closed her eyes. I stroked her hand lightly with my finger. This time, my heart was calm. I put my arm around her and pulled her in a little closer, closed my eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  Without the gleam of the sun to force you awake, there was no real way to ensure an early rise to make the most of the morning. For once, I could not have cared less. That was the best sleep I’d had in my entire life, hands down. I wouldn’t be surprised if a full day had passed. I didn’t even feel Freja get out of bed. I sat up and stretched, craning my neck to catch a glimpse at the other bed across the way.

  Looks like I’m the last one up.

  Starting to feel a very light wave of shame wash over me, I got to my feet and made my way towards the bathroom to wash up. Someone had freshened the place up this morning - must’ve been Noah, Ben was obviously not going to clean anything and after our incident the day before I doubt Freja would come anywhere near the men’s room. Although she had definitely done this in a sly attempt to make me feel more at home here, I appreciated the effort, and definitely the smell. I thought back to the night before, how she immediately wanted to help with Freja, and all those nice things she said. Sometimes it felt good to know she thought of me more than just her boyfriend’s little brother. As I packed up, I heard Cooper barking. Then Ben calling for me. I ran out towards their voices, and found them by the back of the store. Cooper was barking furiously at a large metal door we had left shut. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I took Coop outside to get some air and on our way back he started freaking out.” Ben responded, out of breath. “Where are the girls?”

  I looked at him blankly. We both realized at the same time, and heaved the door open. In front of us was a sizable warehouse containing aisles upon aisles of merchandise stacked to the ceiling. The door we entered sat in the middle of the room, from what we could tell, with a narrow passageway in front of us separating the aisles. Ben held tight on Cooper’s leash as he barked and snarled at something to our right, where a forklift sat perpendicular to our path, blocking it.

  “Shut that damn dog up or we’ll kill them both” A voice shouted over a megaphone.

  Ben and I exchanged worried looks. I huddled next to Cooper and calmed him down.

  “What do you want?” Ben yelled. “You can take the store, we won’t cause any trouble. We just want our friends back.”

  “We don’t need this place. We have more than enough food, and water, and guns. What we don’t have, unfortunately for you, is somethin’ only these two members of your party can provide,” the man’s words, coupled with his thick southern accent, bounced off every wall and down every aisle. “Now out of the kindness of my heart we left you alive - I never like killin’ living folk - but let me tell you: if you pursue us, we will kill you. Then we’ll have to be extra rough with your friends here” A muffled cry let out in the background.

  “I have a cure,” Ben yelled back, “our mom works at the CDC, I’m immune, and we have a cure.”

  Silence. A terribly elongated silence. Ben and I remained motionless, unsure of the next step.

  “Well maybe we do have somethin’ to discuss. Come to the loading dock. Don’t try anythin’ funny”

  Ben took a step forward before I grabbed his shoulder. “If it comes down to it,” I started, “you need to give Noah or Freja the cure. Okay?” Ben nodded, reluctantly. “You promise?” He looked at me for a second, grabbed my hand, and pulled a vial out of his pocket.

  “Here,” he said, putting the vial in my hand, “be smart, Jake.”

  I put the vial in my pocket and joked, “Don’t worry Big Bro, biology says I’m probably immune anyways.” He gave me a half-smirk and we set off toward the sound of the megaphone. At the end of the aisles were half a dozen rows of pallets of various goods, spanning almost wall-to-wall, with a forklift at the end of each row. Further ahead, there were five large, metal doors, about fifty feet from the furthest row of goods. In front of the middle door were six people: Noah and Freja, bound at the wrists and gagged, two short, chubby thirty-something white men, a tall, slim black man in his twenties, and an equally tall, muscular, middle-aged white man with a cowboy hat on his head and a megaphone at his side.

  Cowboy Hat set the megaphone down. “See, isn’t this much nicer? Now we can talk like gentlemen. Now, what’s this I hear about a cure?”

  Without skipping a beat, Ben responded, “Our mom works at the CDC. She made a cure out of my blood after I got bit and didn’t turn,” He held out his forearm to show the scar. Cowboy Hat nodded at one of the short guys and pointed him in our direction. He scurried over, skirting the far wall to avoid climbing the pallets. He was red-faced and out of breath when he got to Ben, who showed him where the hole in his arm used to be. Shorty gave a thumbs-up back to Cowboy Hat and started walking back. Ben started again, “I have a cooler full of them about ten miles west. I can take you to it if you let them go.”

  Cowboy Hat stared at us intently. He leaned over to the black guy and whispered something, to which they both nodded. “Oh where are my manners fellas? We haven’t eve
n properly introduced ourselves. Name’s Tex, this long fellow here is Dale, and the two piggly ones over there are Geo and Remy. Now I did not get this far in life by putting my trust in every smooth-talkin’ stranger who happens to have just what I need, but I believe there may be some truth to what you’re sayin’. And furthermore, I believe you care a lot about these people, and you wouldn’t do anything to make things harder on them. There’s worse things out there than death, you know,” He lingered on that last sentence for a while. “So here’s what we’re gonna do, I’m gonna send you to your lil’ hiding spot with Dale and Remy, while Geo and I keep your friends company. Now like I said, I don’t trust strangers, so I’ma be checkin in on ya’ll with this walkie here, and if I suspect somethin’s up, you can believe I’ll be out of here faster than you can blink, and I’m takin’ your girlfriends with me. Understood?”

  “Understood,” Ben replied.

  “Good,” Tex motioned Remy and Dale over towards us. “Trucks are parked out back, so if it takes you more’n a couple hours I’ma start gettin’ antsy.”