“How’s that?” Tom asked, shaking his pinky in one ear. “Any better?”
Joe nodded, helping Noel to her feet. “Hi… sorry about the door,” he said and pointed at the barricade. “My name is Joe Montoya, and this here is Noel. I never did get her last name.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, shaking hands with her new shirtless friend. “You can just keep it simple. Noel is fine.”
“I’m Tom… I’m the pastor here… or well, I was.”
With the alarm no longer booming in the background, the growing pounding at the door seemed louder. Confident that the dead outside couldn’t get in, Tom steered them through another door that led to a narrow hall reaching the back of the church. To the right was a set of gender specific bathrooms. To the left there were two other rooms, probably about the same size as the restrooms. One room looked like a small office that had the words Pastor Tom on the door. The other was clearly a play room for toddlers and younger children. The room was small, but looked like it had a lot to offer in the way of children’s entertainment.
“Here, step into my office. Take a load off and have a seat.”
The office space was small, making the oak-wood desk seem much larger than it actually was. On one side of the desk was a very expensive looking brown leather chair and a book shelf behind that. The shelf was loaded with books by authors that Noel had never heard of. On the wall beside the shelf were plaques with Tom’s name engraved on them, along with a framed newspaper clipping.
As Noel sat down, she said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, Tom… but, do you always strut around in here after hours with your shirt off?”
He laughed, taking a seat. “Oh… no, young lady. It’s kind of a long story.”
“Young lady? Who is this guy, the Pope?” Noel thumbed at Tom while smirking at Joe. “Noel is fine.”
“Okay, Noel. Well…” Tom sighed. “It’s rather obvious as to who I am.” He waved the contents of his office. “And I see that you are a cop.”
“Yeah,” Joe said, “believe it or not, today was actually my first day on the freaking job.”
Tom nodded his sympathies. “And what about you, Noel. Who exactly are you?”
“What do you mean, who am I?”
“You know… what do you do?”
“Art major. I'm going to school.”
“A muse,” Tom smiled. “We are all muses in one way or another, are we not?”
“I don’t mean to butt in, but…,” Joe said, changing the conversation. “Do you know at all what’s going on out there? What happened here, to you? What do you know so far about anything?”
“You know…, Joe. I can tell I am already going to like you.” Tom leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. “Straight to the point. No beating around the bush. I like that.”
Noel rolled her eyes, but only Joe caught that she had done it. She couldn’t stand religious people. They were always so damn judgmental. Joe smiled at her in an attempt to have her at least give this guy a chance.
“Well… What happened? Obviously, something went down. You aren’t wearing a shirt and you’re covered in blood. And it’s obvious that it isn’t yours. I may not be a detective, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. Those things out there drove you in here, didn’t they?”
“If you got my story figured out already, then why not skip the pleasantries and let’s hear yours.”
Joe glared at Tom from across the desk.
“Okay, look. I feel like we are somehow getting off on the wrong foot. You should be thankful, I even let you in here.”
“You didn’t!” Noel insisted. “We had to knock the damn door in ourselves!”
Tom threw his hands up in surrender. Things were going south and quick. He closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment. Noel was right. He hadn’t let them in, which definitely gave them the wrong impression about him.
“You’re right.” Tom said calmly. “I’m sorry. I truly am. And I wouldn’t doubt it if I have to answer for that when I finally do get to go home to the Lord. I should have let you in. But to be honest… I was scared. Scared out of my mind in fact.”
Tom proceeded to explain to them about his earlier encounter with the man who attacked the woman, and how she changed and attacked him. He explained that he wasn’t sure what was going on and that he had been too afraid to even go out the back door back to his home across the parking lot. He even divulged his theories about it being the rapture and that he had been left to deal with this seven year terror. He was excited to meet them, because that clarified a lot regarding those assumptions. If what was happening was everywhere, he was worried for his wife who was only a few counties over at a women’s retreat.
Joe accepted his apologies for both him and Noel. Tom's fear was understandable. Had he been alone holed up in a secure place, he couldn’t say he would have let anyone in either.
Having heard how much Tom cared for his wife, Noel felt a lot better. It let her know that he was a real person, not like so many of those other church goers, only eager to increase attendance. As much as she didn’t want to, Joe encouraged her to explain what had happened to them at the cemetery. She was about to begin, but lost it when her thoughts returned to Kelly, Trevor, and… Jared.
“What’s happening?” she whimpered between sobs.
With his hand on her back, Joe comforted her.
“For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”
“What?” Noel looked up, her eyes swollen and red.
“Luke 21:22,” Tom said with a grin. “What if what’s happening here is for a reason? What if it’s part of God’s judgment to man?”
“But what about the meteor shower?” Noel asked. “Could that have something to do with it?”
“God’s wrath can come in many forms, little lady.” He paused. “Sorry… Noel. In the end times, a lot of crazy things are going to happen. Like the dead coming to life. You know… the Bible says that in the end, man will seek death and not find it. They will cast themselves upon the stone and not die. I honestly think this is what’s happening.”
“I don’t know what I believe,” Joe said. “Meteors or the bible. At this point, all I care about is what we are going to do from here. There is no telling how many of those creatures are still headed this way.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because, Tom. That alarm was pretty freaking loud. And if it were up to me, we would think about what we are going to do and move on, before too many of those things come around for us to handle.”
“Well, whatever we do, I want to get to my wife.”
“You said so yourself. She is pretty far away. Before we do anything drastic like that, I'm with Noel. I want to figure out what the hell is really going on here and maybe get in contact with someone that can help.”
Noel smiled, pushing back her tears. She liked seeing that Joe had her back. At first, she hadn’t liked Tom, but the more they talked, he seemed all right. A little set in his ways, but alright all the same. She smiled at him too, glad that she found a new friend. She just hoped that they would make it through the night. Even with the door to the office closed, more than fifty square feet between them and the dead at the front door, she could still hear their persistence. The whole thing just made her uneasy.
“So… Joe. You seem pretty confident about all of this…”
“Confident? What the hell makes you say that? I’m on pins and fucking needles here.”
Tom grimaced.
“Sorry… freaking pins and needles. What makes you think I have it figured out?”
“Honestly, I don’t,” Tom said. “But I guess a part of me just assumes that if any of us has it together, it’s you. You are the one with the gun and the badge.”
“This is true,” Joe smirked.
He took out his gun and checked the clip. He only had three bullets left and one final clip with twelve
rounds in that. He grimaced, slamming the almost empty clip home.
“Do you have a working phone?”
“Sorry, Joe. I don’t. The lines are down. I tried it a few times, here and at my house.”
“Your house?”
“Yeah, you weren’t listening when I mentioned that I live just next door?”
“Please tell me you have a car,” Joe said.
“I do. Full tank, the last time I checked too.”
“Well, if y'all are up for it,” Joe said, standing to his feet. “I say we go on a little road trip!”
“To where,” Noel inquired.
“The precinct house, for starters… I think we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on from there. That, and I would feel a hell of a lot better with some more guns and ammunition.”
“Only if I get a gun too!”
“At this point, Noel. I don’t see that being a problem.”
“Well, it beats sitting around here, right?” Tom pushed his chair back, standing up. “I need to get next door and into a shirt anyway.”
Tom forced out a smile hoping that the remark would have made his new friends laugh. It didn’t. They just looked him once over, in an odd and silent way agreeing with the statement. As they exited the office, the mood changed and the feeling of safety no longer was present. The sound of the dead outside grew louder as the three survivors quietly crept down the narrow hall.
With Pastor Tom in the lead and Joe following up the rear, Noel rubbed her burning eyes, fatigue starting to really catch up with her.
The last place she wanted to be was back outside with them.
NINE
“And when did you say these reports were coming in?” Benjamin Watts demanded.
Benjamin was the CEO and head director of Golden Arches Co. in West Virginia, otherwise known as the G.A.C.. They were the fastest growing fast food chain in America, next to Burger Queen. That didn’t matter though, because competition was a good thing. It kept businesses from resting on their laurels.
The average G.A.C. factory processed nearly five hundred thousand pounds of meat per day. That much couldn’t be said for the competition.
Ben was over six feet tall and had an athletic build. He had class, boyishly good looks, and of course… money. His hair was dirty blond in color and cut short to perfection. His eyes were light green and his completion fair. He presented himself in a way that demanded others to perceive him as being successful. His handsome features only added to his allure.
In truth, Ben was a workaholic. The exorbitant amounts of time he had put at work paid off. Although, the higher-up’s loved him, those that worked for him felt just the opposite. He was rude, easy to anger, and never appreciative of their efforts.
Benjamin had earned his way to the top at the ripe age of 28. In just ten years, he had worked his way up the corporate ladder, going from a factory maintenance hand to plant manager. Buying a large share of stocks in the company had bought him a seat with the big boys. It was his instinct and willingness to take chances that pushed him to become head CEO of the lead factory in West Virginia. The factory was new, only two years old. As CEO of the plant, against his wishes, he was forced to also act as head director of the new factory. The hours were long but the pay was amazing. If things worked out as he planned, he would be able to retire in the next five years. He was proud to say he would be the first Watts family member to retire before the age of thirty-five. It was of the upmost confidence he believed that nothing would be getting in the way of that goal. Nothing.
“Answer me when I’m talking to you, woman!” Benjamin demanded.
“It’s… umm… it’s been more than a few hours ago, sir.” Chelsea cringed.
She hated herself for taking the job as this swine’s assistant. The pay was great and during the interview, Mr. Watts had been such a gentleman. She learned quickly that it had all been a front. Aside from his constant disrespectful demeanor, and caustic attitude, his sexist ways were constantly pushing her to the edge. Had she not been locked into that damn mortgage, she would have left a long time ago. The last six months had been hell, but she did her best to bite her tongue and get by.
“And you are just telling me this now?”
What Chelsea wanted to say was how she had tried to call him earlier, but he was too damn stubborn and never seemed to answer his cell after hours. How he could expect her to be on constant call and him not, was beyond her.
“I’m just finding out about it myself, Mr. Watts. Honestly,” she said.
“Unacceptable!” Benjamin shouted, slamming the glass of bourbon onto his table.
Chelsea winced against the sound of colliding glass and wood. Benjamin’s office was unnecessarily large. The walls were plain, white lined, with various framed photographs. Each picture was of Benjamin shaking hands with random people of power throughout the world. The head CEO of Econoline, Disney, the President of the U.S., and more. The room was mostly empty. One small chair sat in front of a desk that had a minibar on the side, which was where Chelsea was now sitting next to Benjamin. His chair, like the room, was much larger than the one she sat in. The wall behind Benjamin was made of solid glass, which overlooked the factory’s meat processing area. With his office on the second flood and the entire plant at ground level, he was able to overlook every little thing that happened in the plant.
“But…” Chelsea started to say.
Benjamin pushed his chair back and stood to his feet. Making his way to the minibar, he topped off his bourbon, and then made his way to the window. With his nose almost touching the glass, he looked down on the hundred-plus employees who worked third shift. He hated coming into work this late, but sometimes he just had to. He had no choice after catching word of what happened, he got up out of bed and came down to the factory. Everything on the ground level seemed to be running smooth. With tired bags under his eyes, he took a sip of bourbon.
“Who authorized this little mishap?” Benjamin asked, not looking away from the window. “We need to clear this all up tonight.”
You mean to tell me you are going to do what you always do, Ben? Place the blame elsewhere? Really… you wouldn’t be that shallow would you? You don’t remember signing off on waste management contracts that allows countless pounds of contaminated meat to be dumped into the Elk River to cut financial corners? It’s not connected to the drinking water, you had said… Chelsea thought, rolling her eyes.
The relatively new factory was fifteen miles south of Clarksburg in the outskirts of Stone Wood, near the Stonewall Cemetery. The Elk River was a narrow waterway that ran past the factory, alongside the cemetery and even worked its way through Clarksburg and the surrounding cities. It had been a major tourist attraction for hikers and canoeing campers for over a decade, but that had been shut down shortly after the Golden Arches Co. established itself in the area as the largest factory in southern West Virginia. Not only did the factory buy up most of the land south of Stone Wood, they also purchased a major chunk of the Elk River. It was quickly closed off to the public. Within the first six months or so after the factory began to manufacture its product, the local area tried to stop it, wanting back the rights to use the section of purchased river. The public protest was brought to a quick end. Ultimately, the factory had given more than half of the Clarksburg area and beyond the potential for new job opportunities. With the economy in its current slump, that wasn’t something to pass up. Needless to say, G.A.C. won and the people were silenced by the State. Money bought power. Benjamin knew how to play that game all too well.
“Well…” Benjamin said, turning away from the window and sitting back down behind his desk.
“Honestly, Mr. Watts… I don’t know.”
“Who is the floor manager tonight?”
Chelsea gritted her teeth. Benjamin wasn’t about to pin this mess on someone else. She looked down at the manila folder in her lap, thumbing through. After a moment of scanning the third shift manning list, she looked up.
“Paul Tanner. He’s worked for the G.A.C. for more than twenty years. His life is invested into this company. He’s the best we have.”
“That’s too bad,” Benjamin said between sips. “Go get him for me.”
“You can’t fire him!”
“Oh, I am going to do more than fire the man. I woke up for this. Someone is getting fired. Do you want it to be you? Now, do what I tell you, woman!”
Chelsea’s jaw hurt. She had been grinding her teeth. It was something she found herself doing when she was in this man’s presence. Well, she was finished with bending to his every whim. She was going to stand up for herself and for the loyal employees of this corporation.
“No… I…” Her voice wavered.
Benjamin leaned back in his seat, surprised. No one had ever talked back to him like that.
Finding her voice, she continued. “No. I’m not going to go get that poor man so that you can fire him for a mistake that you made! This is a result of pouring our waste into the river, not the result of some shift manager. He has a family and kids in college. We can’t just drop people at a whim, just because you are losing some shuteye.”
Benjamin smiled. He was getting an erection. Her sudden outburst was something he had never expected from the little red head. It also helped that one of the reasons he had hired her, was because she was easy on the eyes. Sure, she could stand to change it up a little with the wardrobe. Something a little less was always better. He had hinted at it a few times, but she never did get it. She was plain in his eyes. But that could easily be changed, if she just wore something a little tighter, and more revealing. Hell, he’d even consider giving her a raise then.
“And…” She continued, not realizing that Benjamin was smiling at her. “If you don’t recall, it was you that decided it was best in the interest of the company to dump our excesses into the river… Not Paul the shift manager! I think you need to man up, Mr. Watts, and either admit that you made a bad decision or get off your ass and clean this up yourself!”
Rancid: A Zombie Novel Page 10