by Jack Flacco
Matty stood silent taking in the words like sharp knives to her belly.
“You don’t trust me.” Ranger pointed his finger at her face.
“What?”
“If you trusted me, you’d let me go to do what I do best. You don’t trust me and that’s the real reason you want to come with me. You seem to think if you come, he’ll drop this little standoff he has with you and return to us. But you know what I think?”
“What’s that?”
“I think if he sees you, he’ll do nothin’ more than run away again.”
“I’m that bad, huh?” Matty couldn’t look at Ranger anymore. In some weird way, she felt he had said the truth. She wouldn’t want anything else other than to see Randy return. She locked her hands behind her head like someone arrested.
“Think whatever you want to think. Just don’t follow me.” Ranger scanned the kids’ faces and continued, “That goes for the lot of ya. Everyone stay here. Is that understood?”
No one answered. They thought he had asked a rhetorical question.
“Do I make myself clear?” Ranger placed his hands on his hips and tapped his foot.
“Fine.” Matty said.
“Right. Fine. Okay.” Silver, Sunglow and Jon said.
“Good. Now lock the door behind me. I’ll be back soon.”
Just as Ranger left the casino, and Matty was about to lock the door behind him, the little dog that had made the hotel its home scooted through the crack and ran into the street to disappear around the corner of the intersection.
“Hey! Come back!” Matty called, hoping the dog heard her.
“I guess he didn’t like our company.” Jon said.
“Lock the door, Matty.” Silver said, not wanting to give her an excuse to chase after the mutt.
It took her a moment, but she finally locked it. She still couldn’t shake the thought that because of her, the dog might have ran away.
* * *
Walking through the lobby of The Egyptian Tomb Casino, Ranger could tell by the broken glass on the door, the flickering lights and the torn carpet that it was not as luxurious as the Costavano Hotel he had come from across the street. He noticed how small everything seemed in comparison. Standing in one spot for a minute, he gathered his bearings. On the wall opposite the cash booths next to the slot machines, he spotted a map of the casino. He strolled over then studied it. From memory, he followed the path through the gaming area, climbing the steps to a bank of elevators. Just as he was about to press the elevator button, on his right he noted a familiar sight. A trail of green blood stained the otherwise clean floor. He stepped into the stream, scuffing the floor with the fluid. It was still fresh.
Around the elevators, Ranger went until he found a dead body with a wound to the skull. A smile floated on his face. He thought Randy couldn’t have gone far. All he had to do was follow the trail of dead bodies. Sure enough, that was exactly what he did. He discovered another body straight ahead next to a set of stairs leading to the next floor. Ranger nodded to himself thinking Randy wanted someone to find him.
Ranger climbed three flights of stairs, with every flight having its own body count he had to hop past. The last body he leaped over had something awful done to it. That was what Ranger called it when he didn’t have words to describe it. Something awful. It was that something awful that caused him to clench his belly with his hand to settle his nerves. If Randy had forged a trail of dead zombies so that someone could find him, his last victim didn’t deserve what happened to it.
Its head ended up stuck on the stairs’ newel post.
When Ranger reached the top, he scanned both directions of the long hallway, lifted his cap with one hand and with the same hand scratched the back of his head wondering where he should go next. It was then he noticed the green stains on the walls leading toward one direction. His face brightened with the prospect Randy would soon appear.
One thing he hadn’t counted on had to do with the trail of dead bodies. Ranger assumed Randy would have been obvious with his hints as to where he would have led others next. The bloodstains on the walls ended and he had no other choice than to check each room himself, since the hallway connected the casino’s hotel rooms together. The first door on his right, Ranger slowly turned the knob, but unlike the hotel he stayed at across the street where all the doors would open, this one didn’t. The next door on his left did not budge either, as didn’t the rest that he attempted to open. The only unlocked door he found led to a custodian closet—not a place he would have found Randy. The kid didn’t like tight spaces. A broom sat in a bucket in the corner and cleaning supplies covered the shelves.
When Ranger stepped back into the hallway, a knife appeared in front of his face. It had all but stopped short of actually slicing the undead killer.
“Ranger.” Randy said.
“Easy there.” Ranger stood erect not moving from his spot.
Randy put the knife away and smiled at the zombie slayer.
Wiping his face of the sweat that had suddenly covered his face, Ranger stepped from the closet and gently closed the door behind him. He could have lost his life, but he didn’t want the boy to see him worried.
“I’m not coming back. If that’s why you’re here.” Randy said, strolling through the hallway, seemingly leading the way.
“Stop for a minute.” Ranger said.
Randy kept walking forward.
“I said stop.” Ranger swung him by the arm to face him. “I don’t know what went on between you and Matty. I’m sure it had to do with you likin’ her, she likin’ you, you both not likin’ each other. Like I said, I don’t know. Whatever it is, be the bigger one. Come back and forget all about it. It’s not worth throwin’ your life away.”
Randy didn’t answer right away. Ranger’s words lingered in his ears until he finally said, “You’re right. You don’t know. If you did, then you wouldn’t be standing here attempting to convince me to come back. So, no use trying.”
“Now you hold on there.”
Not a word Ranger said kept Randy in one place. At the end of the hall, the teen climbed a set of stairs while Ranger tailed him. As he climbed, Ranger asked him to remember how they had beaten one chewer after another together. Yet, Randy didn’t deviate. He followed the stairs to the top where it led to another long hallway with a crowd of zombies lying on the floor dead. Randy had left behind another trail of anger for Ranger to see.
Somehow, Randy knew where he was going. He led Ranger through the door of the presidential suite; a room recognized more by name. It had a hot tub, a large king size bed and plenty of room for parties. Other than that, whatever made it presidential was lacking. The wallpaper was loose, the bathroom tile had dirt caked on the grout and the tap to the bathroom faucet dripped.
Randy slipped outside to the balcony where he faced the Las Vegas’ strip, a series of hotels and casinos fit for the visitor willing to depart with their money. At least that was the way it used to be before the change turned everyone into maggot packers. The teen leaned his elbows on the railing and took in the view. The freedom of being alive washed over his senses.
Slipping his hands into his pocket, Ranger saw why Randy enjoyed the view. It was calming and it set his mind at ease. As long as he could get rid of the undead, he could stay up there forever.
The sunlight from the morning hit Randy in the face spawning a partial smile. Peace washed over him knowing he didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the moment.
Without saying a word, Ranger joined the teen, also setting his elbows on the rail. He understood Randy and wanted to give the kid as much time as he needed to rest.
After a moment, Ranger said, “Jon thinks of you as his brother. Did you know that?”
The smile never left Randy’s face as he remembered Jon and his excitable ways.
“He always liked you. I can’t blame him. I’ve always liked you.” Ranger didn’t say anything else for a while since he wanted the words to linger in Randy’
s head. “I’m not goin’ to convince you to come back anymore. Y’all are old enough and y’all have your own life to follow.”
Still, not a sound came from Randy. The gentle wind on his face comforted him.
“Can I say one thing, though?” Ranger asked expecting a response.
“Go ahead.” Randy said, turning to Ranger.
“Seein’ how you lost your family in the change. And seein’ how we became the closest thing to family you’ve ever had. Did you ever feel part of it?”
Randy tucked his chin to his chest and stared at his feet.
“I mean, the idea of you leavin’ without so much as a good-bye don’t bode well with me. Didn’t we mean anything to you at all?”
“You do mean a lot to me. That’s just the thing, Ranger. I don’t feel I should have to get hurt anymore by seeing those I want to protect not care anymore.”
“You’re speakin’ in riddles, kid.”
“Look, I don’t want to get hurt anymore. Okay?”
“Is that what this is all about with you and Matty? Not wantin’ to get hurt? ‘Cause if it is, you haven’t grown up like I thought you had.” Ranger leaned into the boy. “I lost my wife, but I’m not sulkin’. Got that? You gotta grow up and realize what we have here is not a throwaway friendship. Do you get that?”
Randy went back to scanning the Las Vegas panorama, not paying attention to anything else.
By now, Ranger shook his head at the kid’s stubbornness. He had dealt with Randy before, but never quite like this. He would have preferred hunting raccoons in the woods with his bare hands than having to put up with teenage angst. His slow release of his breath was evidence of that. He tightened his cap and flexed his muscles in his shirt to adjust the awkwardness he felt standing there as Randy ignored him.
Minutes went by and Ranger needed to get back. He didn’t say good-bye, have a great life or see you in a bit—nothing. He didn’t say anything to the teen. He simply walked inside the presidential suite and headed toward the door.
“Ranger.” Randy said. “Wait.”
Ranger stopped halfway to the door and inspected the ceiling with annoyance.
Randy ran to stand between Ranger and the door. “Do you really think Jon thinks of me as his brother?”
“I know he does.” Ranger set his gaze on the teen. “He may think of me as his hero for fightin’ zombies, eaters and chewers, but he thinks of you as his family. That’s a big deal.”
“Huh, I would never have thought of it.”
“Yeah, life does that to people sometimes.” Ranger said, then pushed the teen aside and opened the door to the hallway.
A loud scream penetrated their ears as one of the undead, with its white eyes and rotting teeth, pounced into the room on top of Ranger. The stench of its clothes soaked Ranger’s nostrils as he choked to hold back his breakfast. It snapped then wailed at wanting to dig its teeth into its meal. But before it could do any damage, Randy’s knife met with the back of the intruder’s head. Emerald liquid poured from the body, Ranger tossed the body on the floor with a huff.
“I thought you’d gotten rid of ‘em.” Ranger said.
“Only the ones that crossed my path.”
“You could have told me.”
“And miss all the fun?”
Ranger pressed his fists on the carpet and rose from the floor. He shook away the surprise attack. He blamed himself for the lack of attention on his part. Next time he’ll be more careful, he thought.
Had he thought it sooner he would have been ready. Five draggers flooded the room from all sides of the hallway. They must have heard their brother scream a breakfast bell for others to enjoy.
Three of them went after Ranger as two caught Randy by the arms.
Working from instinct, Ranger shoved the three on the floor and pulled his knife. He had fought worse, and three undead seemed mild in comparison to how many he had fought in the past. Randy didn’t have a problem with two either. He pulled them together and pushed them aside as quickly as Ranger. His knife came out and there wasn’t anything to prevent him from ending the melee.
What the boys didn’t count on were the others flocking through the doorway when thinking they had a chance for a quick escape. Soon, the boys didn’t have five or ten to worry about, but a swarm of eaters slamming into one another attempting to get into the room to feed on the last humans remaining in the casino. Screeches, hollers, and screams greeted the boys in the fray.
Ranger slashed through three of them without trouble. Their bodies fell by the weight of their dead limbs. Randy did his part and slit a couple of throats. But they knew they had one of two choices: First, use their guns and attract more of them. Second, run.
There was a third option and they both thought of it together. Shoot their way through the undead mess.
Like a choreographed ballet, they hid their knives while pushing and shoving the zombies away. After having retrieved their guns, shots blew through skulls and dead tissue matter. They lay waste the crowd at their feet. The more they fired, the more appeared at the doorway and into the room. The longer this went on, the further into the room they backed away from the door. It wasn’t until their shoulders hit the glass sliding door to the balcony that Randy said, “Ranger! Out here!”
Glancing at the teen, Ranger stomped his way to the balcony where Randy quickly slid the door closed to the thump of a body slamming into it.
The solutions came to Randy without thinking. He wedged a chair he had taken from the furniture set against the edge of the door. He then took a breath of relief, hoping they’d have an idea as to how to get out of the jam.
The balcony rested high above. There was ten to fifteen feet between the next balcony on either side and another ten to fifteen feet above and below.
They were stuck without a way to get out.
Chapter 12
The sound of gunshots tore through the silence from across the street to where Matty sat on a pool table staring at the floor. Silver and Sunglow leaped to their feet clasping their guns in terror.
“I heard it, too.” Jon said.
Matty followed but her mind wandered. She wasn’t quite the same without Randy telling her how she looked good with a ponytail. As simple as it sounded, Matty, who thought she didn’t need anything in the world, needed Randy. She tried to focus, but the cloud in her eyes hadn’t lifted. She went through the motions of gathering in the center of the casino foyer with the others. The fog in her head made her useless. She had nothing to give to the conversation.
“We’ve got to do something.” Sunglow said.
“If that was Ranger’s shotgun, then I don’t think we need to do anything. Did I ever tell you what happened one time when chewers had our truck surrounded in the middle of a barn?” Jon asked.
“Now is not the time.” Matty said.
“I think now is the time.” Jon waved his hand dismissing his big sister. “Chewers had chased us into a barn where we hid in our truck. It was me, Matty, Ranger and Randy. We dove into the truck and they had us trapped in there for a good long time. There must have been two dozen of them. No fooling. They were slamming into the back. Clawing at the hood of the engine and pushing each other against the sides where they had us all pinned. We didn’t know what to do. Randy was in the back saying his prayers while Matty and I were trying to calm each other with thoughts of how wonderful it would be once everything goes back to normal.”
“That’s crazy.” Silver said.
“It was.” Jon rubbed the itch from the bridge of his nose. “But Ranger? Nothing seemed to bother him. He sat there, relaxed and watched the show from the driver’s seat. I could see he was thinking things through, putting things together and making plans for what he would do next.”
“You must have wondered what was going through his head.” Sunglow said.
“More than that. For some reason, I wasn’t bouncing in my seat anymore. He watched through his windshield almost getting a kick out of the whole thing.�
�
“Enough, Jon.” Matty nudged him.
“What happened next?” Silver asked.
“Matty couldn’t see it. She began screaming, getting all emotional. ‘We have to do something, Ranger. We have to do something!’”
Sunglow and Silver smiled.
“‘We can’t just sit here and wait until we’re a meal.’ She screamed.”
“Well, what did he do?” Sunglow asked.
“He said for us to cover our ears.”
“Cover your ears?”
“We covered our ears and he shot out the windshield to the truck. He climbed on the hood and began shooting at anything that moved. It was great! Anything he couldn’t shoot he kicked in the head. I’ve never seen so many green explosions in all my life! They tried to grab his feet, his legs and some even jumped on the hood, but he had it in his mind to take ‘em all on.”
“Did you crawl out to help?”
“We didn’t have to. By the time we found the courage to do anything, Ranger had killed them all. It was awful for the undead. Bodies had jammed up the wheels to the truck and we couldn’t move. But that’s another story for another day.” Jon smiled then opened his arms as if he had wanted a hug. “You see? Ranger’s going to be fine.”
Seconds later, pressing her thumb against her temple, feeling a headache coming on, Sunglow said, “As wonderful as Ranger sounds, and I’ve seen him do all sorts of crazy things since we’ve been together, I think in this case, he’s going to need our help.”
“I agree with Sunglow.” Silver said.
Matty’s head swam with Randy’s rejection. She couldn’t think straight and her will to help anyone disappeared. She would have rather stayed in the hotel, for once listening to what Ranger had asked her to do than to cause a stir by showing up where Randy didn’t want her. She had no reason to make Randy think she was pining for his affection. If it were another lifetime, maybe she would’ve gotten involved, but she needed the time away from the teen in order to mend. The thought that she had caused Randy to run away ate at her stomach. Her hands turned clammy and her face became as flour. The only thing she could have done was separate from the others to sit by the Blackjack tables while they whispered behind her back.