by Noah Porter
Finally having an accurate idea of the situation, Dylan ran at the closest zombie, jumping over a person on the floor, and swinging his display sign with full force. The board drove into the undead skull and stuck. Quickly, Dylan kicked out, knocking the creature backward into several of its companions. With several others closing in on either side, Dylan grabbed the closest thing he could reach. He swung what turned out to be the leg of one of the posed displays. As the rest of the exhibited body tumbled on top of the fallen person he had jumped over, Dylan swung the leg into the head of the closest mindless adversary. It stumbled back, giving him time to charge forward to the next pair. Using the leg like a jousting pole, he rammed it into a head.
By now, his companions had charged into the room. Paige and Kyle paused momentarily to process what they were seeing, but Conner and Ben, enraged, charged into the closest group. They accidentally knocked over one of the living in their rush to get at the zombies. The person fell into another display, causing it to totter and fall on another creature. Momentarily distracted, it began trying to eat what had just fallen into its lap. Shaking his head, Kyle moved to help Dylan take on the largest undead group, roughly five of which were still moving. Paige began directing the living to safety and blocking the zombies’ progress into the exhibit. No one stopped to check how injured the newcomers were; they had to wipe out the immediate threat first.
Still swinging the leg, Dylan finally broke through to the back of the undead. They were now moving in every direction, breaking up what little semblance of organization they had. This made it easier for the group to finish them off. Once all of the zombies were on the ground, the living smashed their heads to make sure they would not rise again.
Dylan looked at the door. “I don’t think we should barricade it because others might need to get in. At the same time, we need to get somewhere these things can’t just shuffle into.”
“We stopped at a ramp. I think we should see where that goes.” Paige said, finishing off the last of the creatures on the floor.
Kyle looked up and wiped his face on his bicep, “I think we need to get back and plan the next move. Anyone still alive, come with us.”
The group followed Kyle and Paige. Dylan and Conner stayed at the back, making sure no more bodies, cold or warm, followed.
When they reached Candice, Karen, and Chuck, Kyle greeted them with, “I think we need to continue on. There has to be a back way out of here.”
“I agree,” Paige said. “We can’t stay here.”
Dylan arrived, bringing up the rear. “We need to get a new head count first.” He looked over at the new group of people and began counting them. It was obvious that they were not all acquainted, so they let Dylan take charge while they tried to catch their breath.
When Dylan finished counting, a skinny guy in a long red trench coat asked, “What is going on here? Where did these things come from?”
All around, people shook their heads, shrugged, or ignored the question.
Dylan spoke up, “That’s not about a priority at the moment. Next we need to find out who, besides Chuck, is injured and the severity of the injury.”
Four people stepped forward. One had blood running down the side of her face that was not part of her pirate costume, the guy in the red trench coat clearly had a broken nose, and two others were cradling wounds so that it was difficult to tell what had happened to them.
Dylan tore down a dark curtains and began to tear it in strips. Paige and Conner stepped up to help him, while the others sat back overwhelmed.
Dylan looked at the woman with the head wound, “What happened?” His first priority was to determine what kind of damage each had sustained, especially if they had been bitten.
“When we got through the doors, I tripped and fell into a glass case, head first,” she replied.
“Ouch. Sorry. Here, I’ll get it wrapped up.” He turned to Paige, “You know basic medical stuff, right?”
“Of course. And yes, I’ll check her for a concussion, since that’s what you really want to know.”
“Thanks,” he said. He gently wrapped the wounded area and she headed over to Paige. Next Dylan asked the guy in the red trench coat, “Just the nose?”
“I think I twisted my ankle too, but it doesn’t hurt too bad.”
“All right, then first things first, this is really going to hurt,” Dylan said checking out the guy’s nose from several angles.
“It’s fine. It’s been broken before. Just please be-” before he could finish, Dylan had another strip of curtain on his face and he forced the nose back into place. To his credit, the only noise the guy with the red trench coat made was a sharp gasp as Dylan acted. “Yeah, that was pretty good,” the guy said, tears now streaming down his face. He held the curtain against the fresh stream of blood now pouring from his nose.
Dylan looked around the room, “We need to find you something to help you walk.”
Kyle took the post he had been carrying, “Not the best, but probably the best we will find in these conditions.” The guy nodded and moved to sit down near some of the other survivors.
As he expected, the next two had been bitten, one on the arm, the other on the side.
One of the newcomers asked, “So what are we supposed to do with these two?”
“We need to leave them here,” one of the other new arrivals said.
“No way,” Conner responded.
“Oh, you want to bring along a zombie do you? Haven’t you seen what happens?” the guy asked. A couple of others agreed with him.
Dylan looked at him, “We don’t even know what is going on.”
The guy snorted, “I know a zombie when I see one. What are you, a special kind of stupid?”
Paige looked at them, “I’m looking at a special kind of stupid. Your references are movies and video games, which clearly you don’t understand are made up. Until this evening zombies didn’t even exist. These things are real and we have no way of knowing for certain what they are or what a bite will do.”
The guy held up his middle finger, “You may be hot, but you are a bitch, aren’t you?”
Dylan stood up, “You are free to leave. And if this is how you are going to behave, I strongly recommend that you do.” He towered over the man and his two followers.
“Think you are a tough guy just because you’re tall? Well, I think I-”
Dylan swung and hit the man on the side of the head with the leg from one of the displays. “Leave now. If you stay, I’m adding your body to the pile where we should have left you.”
The guy scuttled off, cursing at the group. A couple of others followed him, all of whom were uninjured.
“Losers,” Kyle turned to the remaining newcomers, “Well, that was great and all, but we need to get moving now.”
The two who had been bitten looked at each other. One of them finally voiced their concern, “You mean, you aren’t going to leave us behind?”
Dylan was at the bottom of the ramp looking up, but he turned to look at them. “Why would we? Like Paige said, there is no way to know what those things are or what will happen if you get bit. If a horse bites you, are you afraid that you’ll become a horse?”
They shook their head, somewhat baffled by the logic.
“Alright then. Given we have no information to go on, I don’t see why we should assume the imagined rules of zombies are true. Certainly not to decide who can stay and who has to leave. I prefer to leave that to a person’s merit. Some are clearly lacking,” he said nodding to the exit used by those who just left.
“It’s ok, you can stay with us and we’ll see what we can do to help,” Candice said, placing a hand on the concerned man’s shoulder.
“Now,” Dylan said, “Kyle’s right. We need to find somewhere safer, then we’ll handle introductions and try to think of a plan.”
Quietly, the group made its way up the ramp. Near the top, they noticed a door. Conner and Kyle slipped through to make sure everything was clear,
and reported back that the room on the other side led to an office.
“Before we go, everyone with a weapon should space themselves within the group. Try to protect those who are injured or impaired,” he looked at Karen who was fawning on one of the new guys.
The extra precautions ended up being unnecessary; no one else, living or dead, had made it this far into OMSI. Surveying the group, Dylan shook his head. They weren’t what he was used to fighting alongside, but the entire situation was bewildering. He tried to open the office door but found it was locked. Muttering under his breath about their luck, Dylan looked around for another way in. He noticed the large ceiling tiles and had an idea.
“Paige, if I boost you up, could you climb through and see if you can get into the office?”
Paige looked up, “Sure. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Kyle and Ben helped Paige onto Dylan’s shoulders, then stood on either side of him while he straightened. “Well, that makes for a really interesting first date story,” Ben said as she disappeared into the ceiling.
Karen wasn’t standing too far away and tottered over at this remark, “I know. It’s been a lot of fun for a first date. Hasn’t it, Dylan?” She put her head against his chest, smearing fake blood on his white shirt. Ben looked at the two of them and started laughing.
“What?” Karen didn’t understand what was so funny. “It’s a great first date. I hope to have lots and lots MORE!” She’d lost all volume control and she nearly screamed the last word as she held out her arms and twirled around. Dylan grabbed her and tried to calm her down. One of the new arrivals came forward. “Need some help with her?” He asked.
“All I can get,” Dylan responded quietly. He’d had enough of Karen’s drunken behavior even before the night turned surreal. Drunk was never cute, and now it was detrimental. He couldn’t get mad at her, though; it’s not like any of them had known how the evening was going to turn out.
The doorknob clicked and then Paige was standing there looking at them. “Come on in. The water’s fine.” She stepped back into the room as the others entered.
“Wrong horror movie, honey,” Ben said as he passed her.
“Eh, they’re all the same to me.”
People spread out in the office. It was actually a pretty good size with windows along one wall. Instinctively, Dylan was drawn to the window and he tried to see what was going on outside. The mist made it impossible to see the ground, even though they were only on the second floor. Paige stood beside him.
“And it was such a lovely evening,” she said looking down.
Dylan turned to look at her as she continued, “Come on. I think that they are waiting for you to get started.” Dylan looked around. The door was shut and locked. The survivors were watching him look out the window.
“I guess we should introduce ourselves. I’m Dylan, and my date over there is Karen,” she put her head up and waved, then flopped back into a guy’s lap.
He looked at Paige, “We should just go around the room from here.”
She smiled, turned to the group, and said, “I’m Paige.” “Kyle.” “Conner. And that over there is my coworker, Chuck,” Chuck appeared to be drifting off to sleep. “Ben.” “Candice.”
The woman with the head wound was Trish, she seemed the most confident of the new group. Frank and Kimmy were the bite victims, a married couple that seemed inclined to keep to themselves, although it was hard to tell if that was normal or a result of the current situation. The other three were local college students who had spent the previous day together at OMSI. They were Griffin, Justin, and Seth. Seth was the most vocal of the small group, or maybe just the most noticeable, because of the red trench coat and matching Rudolph nose.
“Well, now the introductions are out of the way. What next?” Kyle leaned forward from his seat on the desk.
Dylan had returned to the window. It was hypnotic the way the fog moved below them, occasionally giving glimpses of the ground. Between the fog and the night, it was too dark to see anything, but the wandering fog enhanced the surrealism of the night’s events. Dylan noticed his mind drifting and tried to shake it off.
“I think it would be best if everyone tried to get some sleep” he held up his hands to the expected protests, “It was already after one o’clock when all of this started. We can’t stay in this office, and there is no telling when we will get another chance to rest. It might be a while before we find anywhere this safe again. I’ll stay awake so that nothing happens while you sleep.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes, “Are you sure you are ok for that? You’ve been more active than most of us.”
“It’s not anything new to me. Honestly, minus the walking undead part, I’ve been in combat and I’m conditioned for endurance and sleep deprivation. Depending on how it looks in the morning, I might shut my eyes for a bit. Why doesn’t everyone just try to relax and see if you can sleep? I promise, nothing is coming in here while you are resting.”
The others began quietly chatting, and, for the most part, they settled down to get what sleep they could under unexpected and horrific conditions. Most of them couldn’t imagine anything worse than this. A few made quiet phone calls. Most texted messages to let others know they were all right. There was no way to know what was going on outside.
Karen had nestled in against Griffin and was already asleep. Chuck’s snoring told them he was already out. The snores were rhythmic and soft, like a whisper, and it served as a soothing background.
Paige sat next to Dylan. “You sure you’re going to be alright?” She asked, wondering if she should stay awake to help him.
“Fine. Well, as fine as can be. At least it’s easy to tell who the enemy is and, hey, they aren’t packing anything other than teeth. What gets to me is that it’s happening here, at home, instead of somewhere abroad.”
Paige knew what he was thinking. Nothing was going to be the same. She patted him on the shoulder, stood up, and sat down with Kyle, Ben, and Candice.
The rest of the night, members of the group quietly drifted off to sleep. Dylan spent the night listening to faint screams and other distant noises but nothing sounded close. Several times Dylan felt guilty about staying in the office; however he knew he couldn't abandon the group now. He didn't know the layout of the museum and had no idea how dangerous it was beyond the office door.
After a few hours, people started to wake up. "Man, I had hoped it was just a really bad dream," Seth muttered from the floor. Across the room, Chuck moaned, "Those were the worst shrooms ever. I'm never taking Camie's word again. I feel like I've been beaten. Black and blue."
Ben had been walking around the room and was close by when Chuck was waking up. Patting Chuck on the back, Ben said, "That's because you were man. You were." Chuck responded with another muffled moan and put his head back down.
Others were less vocal. Kyle simply stood up and moved to the window. Paige followed him.
"After all these years, it takes an apocalypse to get you to sleep with me," he said, not looking at her. She let out a low chuckle.
"See, nothing to it." She grinned at him. They had been friends since elementary, he was a couple years older and she’d had a prolonged crush on him. It had taken her a long time to realize he would never settle down. He refused to date her because he knew they wouldn't be friends when it was over.
"Have to admit, you know how to show a girl a good time."
He glanced at her, a smile passing across his face, before his attention returned to the world below. Paige stood beside him looking at the new Portland. Ben, Candice, and Dylan joined them. Not one of them knew what would come next, and only Ben was really well equipped to deal with uncertainty.
"What are we looking at?" Seth asked, sidling up to them.
"A brand new future" Ben answered.
"More like a bleak new future," Kyle muttered to a couple of sniggers.
"Time to start planning our next move," Dylan said.
The mist from the night befor
e was gone, and the landscape it left behind was disheartening. The lurching below was what you’d expect on a Saturday morning, but it used to be the drunk and hungover making their pained way home. Now it was the undead stumbling without much purpose.
"Should we be planning while people are still sleeping?" Paige asked.
"I don't see why not. Seems like all of the decision makers are up." Kyle was as impatient as ever to move on to the next thing. Granted, it made sense under the circumstances.
"We need to get somewhere safer. Who know this city?" Dylan looked at the others for ideas.
Behind them Trish was stirring. "I know a museum not too far from here. We can pretty much stick to the river to get there."
Ben groaned, "Why a museum?"