by Chesla, Gary
Shaun pulled Lisa in through the window, grabbed her by her legs as he let go of the rope.
Megan held her steady as Shaun undid the belt around her waist.
Lisa cried uncontrollably as Megan hugged her.
“One down.” Shaun said as he looked at Megan.
Megan looked concerned. “Doug weighs a lot more than Lisa. He is going to sink a lot lower than Lisa.”
“I know said Shaun.” As he thought about their problem.
He grabbed the pad and began to write.
“What are you writing?” Megan asked.
“I’m telling Doug to wrap his arms and legs around both ropes, not just the one where the belt is attached, so he won’t sink down as far when we pull him across.” Shaun said as he attached the note next to the belt and began to send it back to Doug.
“Get me another metal pole.” Shaun ordered as he continued to pull the rope through the window.
Megan sat Lisa down in the corner and told her to stay put that she had to help Shaun. Lisa shook as she sobbed, but stayed put on the floor where Megan had put her.
Megan came back a few minutes later. “You want me to stand by the window to knock off any of the dead that grab Doug?”
“No, give me the pipe.” Shaun said.
Megan handed him the pipe and watched as he put the pipe between the incoming and outgoing rope and stretched the rope as he pulled the pipe over to the doorway and wedged the rope against the outside of the doorway.
“I need you to stand here and hold the pipe so it doesn’t come loose. This stretches the rope and maybe takes away ten feet off the length. That and if Doug holds on to both strands of the rope, should hopefully keep him from sinking down low enough for the dead to grab him.” Shaun answered.
Megan went over and held the pipe as Shaun went back over to the window to check on Doug’s progress getting the belt on.
Shaun had just come back to the window when the rope jerked three times. It was Doug’s signal that he was ready.
Shaun started to pull. Between Doug’s added weight and the rope dragging as it slid around the pipe, Shaun had to strain hard to get the rope to move.
Shaun had Doug about twenty feet from the window when he saw the dead begin to flood into the room and appear at the window. As the dead began to crowd into the room, the dead closest to the window were pushed against the open window and started to fall out the window and down on top of the mass of dead on the ground below.
Doug began to get nervous as the rope began to sink down closer to the dead below.
His eyes got large with fear as he dangled a mere two feet above the outstretched arms of the dead glaring up at him.
He started to feel more at ease as the distance between him and the dead mob below began to get further and further apart.
Shaun was sweating heavily as he struggle to get Doug closer to the window. Six feet from the window Doug looked at Shaun and gave him a smile. Relief was showing on his face as the prospect of being hauled in through Shaun’s window looked like it was actually going to happen.
That is until the pulley broke loose from the wall in Doug’s house. Doug’s eyes got wide as he fell, swinging down as he bounced off the bricks on the side of Shaun’s house. The air was knocked out of him and he couldn’t breathe. If the belt would not have been tight around his waist, he would have fallen into the waiting outstretched arms of the dead below. He looked down into the black dead eyes staring up at him three feet below.
“Help me!” Shaun called out as the rope pulled Shaun against the window seal, painfully driving his shoulder into the wooden frame.
Megan ran over and grabbed the rope and started to pull. Her efforts steadied the rope until Shaun could regain his balance.
He got back to his feet and pulled. A few minutes later he grabbed Doug’s outstretched hand and pulled him through the window.
Doug fell to the floor and rolled over on his back as he looked at the ceiling trying to catch his breath.
Chapter 5
Shaun brought another two cups of hot oatmeal over and handed them to Doug and Lisa.
Doug and Lisa were huddled together on the couch with a blanket draped over their shoulders, trying to recover from their ordeal escaping the dead.
They had been shaking so bad after Shaun had pulled them in through the pulley room window, Shaun and Megan had to help them walk down the steps.
They were still shaking as they sat, wide eyed and jumping in their seat every time one of the dead banged against the bars covering one of the doors or windows.
Lisa reached up from the couch and took the cup. Her hands were still badly shaking.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to stop shaking.” Lisa managed to say. “I don’t know which was worse. The dead breaking into our house or hanging from the rope with those damn things trying to grab me.”
“We were getting worried too when we saw the rope stretching and you dropping down closer to all those hands reaching up for you.” Megan smiled at Lisa.
Lisa shook all over. If it wasn’t for the fact she was dry, she would have looked like someone that had just come out of the Allegheny River in January after doing the Polar Bear plunge. She shook all over.
“We had to think fast before we sent the belt back for Doug. We knew his weight would pull the rope all the way to the ground.” Shaun added.
“How the hell did you come up with the idea to use the pulley system to get us out of the house?” Doug asked.
“Sending all those messages back and forth made me think of it. I just wasn’t sure if it would work. We never sent anything across heavier than a bag of rice.” Shaun answered.
Lisa’s eyes got wide as she turned and looked at Doug. “You told me you and Shaun pulled a fifty gallon barrel across the ropes.”
“I figured Shaun knew what he was doing and I needed to convince you to put on that belt.” Doug replied. “Besides, we didn’t have a choice at that point.”
“When I saw we had used half inch nylon rope I felt we should be OK.” Shaun smiled. “I forgot how much nylon rope stretched though.”
“We’re just glad it worked.” Megan smiled at Lisa who continued to shake.
“Not half as glad as we are.” Doug answered.
“This hot oatmeal is good.” Lisa finally spoke again. “I think it’s starting to make me relax a little.”
Lisa jumped as another loud vibrating clang sounded from the living room window. “Are you sure we are safe here. I mean, they can’t get in? Right?” Lisa looked fearfully in the direction of the sound.
“We’re fine.” Megan reassured her.
“We thought we were fine too.” Lisa said. “But I guess I forgot to close the outer back garage door.”
“And I forgot to double check everything before we went to bed. It’s my fault too.” Doug added quietly.
“Just forget about it for now. You’re both safe. That’s the important thing right now.” Shaun said trying to get them to relax.
“I’m sure the next time you will both remember to do what needs to be done.” Megan smiled.
“Talking about next time. Our house is wrecked. Those bastards smashed up or slimed everything.” Doug said staring at the floor. “I don’t know what we are going to do.”
“It smelled so bad I thought I was going to throw up.” Lisa added.
“When do you think we will be able to go over and see what is left?” Doug asked.
“I don’t know.” Shaun answered. “I have never seen so many of the dead at one time. Not even when we went down into Latrobe. It could be a day or two before they clear out. Hopefully not any longer than that.”
“Where do you think they all came from?” Doug asked.
“The way we have seen the dead moving through the area, they could be from anywhere. Before we came down stairs I thought I saw one of the dead wearing a McKeesport Taxi uniform. The other day I saw some that were wearing Pittsburgh police outfits. They seem to be coming f
rom everywhere.” Shaun sighed.
“Where are we going to live?” Lisa asked Doug as she listened to him and Shaun talking.
“I don’t know. Maybe when we are able to go back to check things out, the house won’t be as bad as think it is.” Doug replied. “If it is as bad as we expect, maybe we can move into one of the other houses here on the street. There are four empty houses here. They all have the same basic design, so maybe we could do that.”
“It wouldn’t be the same.” Lisa said sounding sad.
“It could be worse!” Shaun smiled.
Lisa smiled. “Yea, I could still be hanging out there like a zombie piñata.”
Everyone started to laugh. The tension hung in the air all around them, but the atmosphere in the living room started to feel more relaxed.
“Maybe now would be a good time to talk about the fort in Ligonier?” Megan asked looking around at everyone. “What do you think?”
“Now is a good time for us, but you two still have a good place to live. Is this something you are ready to do?” Doug asked.
“We’re not sure. Like you said we have a nice place here. But that’s not the biggest problem. The problem is the number of dead. Look at it outside right now.” Shaun started to say.
“I’d rather not!” Lisa chimed in.
“Places to find food is getting scarce. We could probably stay safe, but we could end up going hungry.” Shaun continued.
“Don’t forget about the gangs!” Megan added.
“They are getting bolder. If they find us out here, we would be in big trouble.” Shaun said.
“The idea of going to Fort Ligonier sounds like it would solve all our problems.” Megan added.
“It sounds good, but I’m leery about just picking up and moving without knowing more about it.” Shaun said.
“We know what we have to deal with here. Who knows, maybe it might get better.”
“You don’t believe that do you? You said yourself you thought it was only going to get worse.” Megan said.
“It probably is only going to get worse, but what do we really know about the fort.” Shaun said. “All we know is what that guy Fred told us. All he knew is what some other guy told him. Just rumors! For all we know the fort doesn’t even exist. It could have been overrun by the dead months ago. I’d hate to give up everything we have here and go to the fort only to find things are worse there than they are here.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” Megan answered.
“Me either.” Doug said. “That would be a disaster.”
“How far away is Ligonier?” Megan asked.
“Maybe fifteen miles.” Shaun answered.
Could we make a trip to check it out?” Megan asked looking at Shaun.
“Maybe?” Shaun thought. “The easiest way would be to go down Route 30, but that damn gang seems to be out there running up and down 30.”
“We could go out to the dam and hide in the woods. We could watch until we see them going towards Latrobe, then we could get in the van and go towards Ligonier?” Megan asked sounding hopeful.
“But how about when we come back. We would be driving blind into the intersection at the damn.” Shaun answered.
“How about finding a back way to Ligonier?” Doug added.
“That might work. If nothing else we might discover some other places to look for food. But as bad as we know it is around here, It’s the unknown that I worry about.” Shaun answered.
“If we stay here we are going to need to find somewhere else to find food. We could go towards Ligonier to look for food. That way we can find out if the fort is what Fred said it is like. If not we will at least know if there is any food out that way.” Megan smiled.
“I think the idea of being with a group of people in a secure fort is worth checking out if we can. While we still have time!” Megan said looking at Shaun, almost pleading.
“I think that might work. Going in the back way will let us see what is happening a little further out. That will tell us a lot that will help us decide if we should move on. If the fort is everything Fred said it was, I agree it might be time. OK, let’s do it.” Shaun smiled.
“When can we go?” Lisa asked.
“It depends on them.” Shaun said pointing at the sounds coming from outside the window.
“Are you sure we are really safe here?” Lisa asked as she listened to the steady groaning coming from the dead.
“Pretty sure.” Shaun replied.
Fear flashed across Lisa’s face.
Shaun stood. “Since we can’t do anything but wait, I’m going to make myself useful. You want to help me Doug?”
“What do you have in mind?” Doug asked.
“I thought we could get the van loaded. When these dead things clear out, we will be ready to head out towards Ligonier.” Shaun replied.
“Sure. It beats sitting here listening to them all out there.” Doug said.
“Do you need us to help?” Megan asked looking up from her chair.
“No. You two just relax a little more. We can handle it.” Shaun replied. “If you want, you can clean up my mess in the kitchen. Sorry. I didn’t empty the ashes out of the hibachi and the pot is still dirty.”
“I’ll take care of it. Go ahead and load the van.” Megan smiled.
“OK, Thanks.” Shaun smiled back. “Come on Doug.”
Shaun led Doug down into the garage.
Shaun picked up four more metal poles. “Here, put these in the back of the van.”
While Doug put the poles in the back, Shaun popped the hood and started to check the oil.
“This thing is amazing.” Shaun said as he looked at the dip stick.” Over a hundred fifty thousand miles and it has never used a drop of oil.”
“They don’t make them like this anymore.” Doug added.
Shaun laughed. “They don’t make them at all anymore.”
“You know what I mean.” Doug laughed.
“Yea, I know what you mean. They hadn’t built them like this for years. I almost traded it in on a new one a year or so back, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I guess it grew on me. I’m glad I hung on to it.” Shaun said looking at the van affectionately.
Shaun let the hood fall back and listened as the latch clicked into the locked position.
He walked over and slid open the side door.
“What do you think we should take with us? We should be gone most of the day.” Shaun asked.
“A change of clothes for Meg!” Doug smiled.
Shaun laughed. “That’s a given. Anything else you can think of beside maybe something to snack on?”
“Not that I can think of.” Doug replied.
Shaun walked over to the shelving unit against the front garage wall. He reached around the corner of the shelf and moved his hand on something on the wall. Doug heard a click and was surprised to see the middle section of the wall swing out like a door. The shelf was still attached to the wall as it swung open.
“Wow! What’s this?” Doug said as he walked over to take a closer look.
“This is my storage room. When things started to go to hell, about five months ago I put this hidden door in here. The room was always here, but I thought it would be a good idea to put a camouflaged door on it. If the house was breached I thought it would make a good place to hide. It also keeps our supplies hidden in case the house would get robbed while we were out looking for supplies. The dead are too dumb to get in the house. But the living could figure a way to get the bars off the windows and get in.” Shaun said as he started to go in the room.
Shaun picked up a pile of clothes. “Here put these into the van. Just in case more than Meg gets stinky. And here, take these blankets too. In case we have to spend the night somewhere, it gets chilly at night.” Shaun added as he picked up a can of gas and a box of crackers.
“It looks like you have enough stuff here to spend a couple of weeks in here.” Doug said as he looked around the room.
; “We used to have about two months worth of supplies in here. Pickings have been slim over the last month. The way things have been around here the last few weeks, we will soon be looking at just getting by, day by day. That is why we have been thinking about possibly moving on. How are you and Lisa on food?” Shaun asked.
“We have, well we had enough to get by for another six weeks. I had worked for Giant Eagle grocery chain when the plague hit. My store was down in Derry. We had just gotten a big truck load of groceries in. So I just made a few trips down to the store and hauled everything from the truck up here and put it in my basement. There were no employees left. If I wouldn’t have taken it, someone else would have taken it. That’s why Lisa and I never had to go out on supply runs.” Doug replied.
“You were lucky.” Shaun said.
“We know. Especially after what we saw when you and Meg took us out with you. We were going to offer you some of our food, but you seemed to be doing OK. Unfortunately we also could see a time when we would run out of food too. Maybe after the dead are gone, we can see if there is anything left at my place that we can salvage and you can bring it over here and stash it in your safe room?” Doug said.
“That sounds good. If we decide to go to Ligonier we can pack as much of it as we can get into the van. If Ligonier doesn’t work out, we can put it in whatever house you decide to move into.” Shaun said.
Doug put the clothes, blankets and food in the van while Shaun poured the five gallon can of gas in the van.
Doug walked up to Shaun as the last of the gas drained into the van’s tank. “I only have one more five gallon can of gas left. Most of the cars we find abandoned have been drained dry. I hope this fort thing works out. In another week or so we might find ourselves walking everywhere we want to go. I’m not looking forward to walking. Can you imagine carrying water back from the dam?” Shaun said as a tired look spread across his face.
“Carrying heavy water jugs as we run from zombies, definitely not something I want to think about.” Doug laughed.