Dead Winter

by Aline Riva

  “What car park?” asked Poppy, and Sage turned back to her, giving a sigh.

  “There's a multi storey car park at the back of this shopping centre,” she said, “But it's open access from the ground floor – the zombies have got in.”

  Poppy thought about it.

  “But there can't be that many – not as many as there are in the town centre.”

  “There's enough,” Sage replied, “It's too dangerous, we want to figure out a way to get up there and find some better vehicles, but we don't know how to do that yet.”

  Poppy finished her breakfast and smiled as optimism shone in her gaze.

  “You'll think of something,” she told her.

  Sage smiled back, wishing she could be as hopeful as her younger sister, but right now, she couldn't see an answer to the problem.

  The day passed by peacefully, it was a of peace and quiet with no threat of attack. Outside, the sounds of the dead as they moaned and bumped against the entrance, sometimes scraping hands against the shutter, echoed up through the mall, but nothing could penetrate this place, and the sense of safety wrapped around every one of them, making the thought of leaving seem like insanity, as much as they knew it had to be done.

  Sage took Poppy to a clothing store and found her new, thicker snow boots and a new hat. She wanted to keep her coat because it reminded her of happier times, and as it wasn't old or damaged, Sage told her to keep it. Then she cast aside her own old coat in favour of a thicker one straight off a clothing rail, pausing to reach into the pocket of her old coat to pull out a picture of Bess. She stood there for a moment looking at the image of the two of them embracing by the sea as they smiled for the picture. She used to have this one in a frame, next to their bed for the days when Bess was away and working in the city. She needed that constant reminder of her loved one's presence, a captured moment of happier times. Even before the outbreak, she had found separation from Bess painful. She didn't want to think about the possibility that Bess was dead, and she didn't want to cry in front of Poppy...

  She put the picture safely in the inside pocket of her new coat and then they left the store, going up to explore the second floor, where Bonnie had said over break fast, they would find some great places. She wasn't wrong. There was toy store up there, and many small shops, one sold books, another sold comics and further along was an arts and crafts store. They spent a while up there looking around, enjoying the freedom to linger and wander and take what they needed. Bonnie had told them to have fun. This was the reason Sage kept her heartache locked away and shed no tears: Poppy was young and still had hope. She didn't need a reminder of how hopeless it was out there and exactly how many people had died...

  Mickey was sitting alone in the cafe having late breakfast. Bonnie had agreed to cook for him as Curtis was in bed all day on Rivers advice, and he needed to eat, too. So while she cooked for Curtis she cooked for Mickey, then she took the food to Curtis and left Mickey in the cafe. Then Joy walked in. Mickey set down his mug of tea and glanced up at her as she stood there in the doorway.

  “How's the hangover?”

  “Better,” he replied, “And yes, before you say it, I know I stink and I need to get cleaned up and changed. That's my next plan.”

  “There's a clothing store on the other side of this floor,” she told him, “Try and resist the off license or you'll never get there!”

  There was a brief flash of anger in his eyes.

  “I'm not a drunk, Joy!”

  “You were last night.”

  “That was a very good bottle of whiskey. I have good taste, I was raised to appreciate the finer things in life.”

  “But you still became a criminal.”

  He smiled.

  “Yes, and a very good one. I see there's still that line between us, Joy. You need to change the way you think, this is the apocalypse, it's not a game where you pick your dream team of survivors. Who gets to live is random. That's why people like me have to get along with people like you! In the old days, before all this happened, I'd be avoiding you and everyone else with a police ID, and your lot would be gathering evidence on me to try and send me down for a long time for illegal weapons smuggling. But that's gone now. The common enemy is out there, and we have to stick together, all of us – if we stand a chance of coming through this!”

  Joy stood there in silence for a moment.

  “Yeah, we can do that,” she told him, “But only as far as Whitling, right? Then you're off.”

  “And you have a village to get back to and people who are depending on you,” he reminded her, “We all have our priorities, Joy.”

  “And yours should be to have a wash and put on clean clothes,” she replied, “You stink of sweat and stale booze. I can smell it from over here.” Then she walked off, leaving him with that parting shot.

  By evening, Curtis was fully recovered from the concussion. By now Mickey had got cleaned up and taken a change of clothing from the store close by, he had grabbed thermal socks and gloves and dark jeans and a new padded snow coat with bigger pockets that held his stolen jewellery more securely. Bonnie had reminded all of them to take what they needed before they left, and today was the best time to do that, because tomorrow, they had to think of a plan. Sage and River had talked quietly that evening about how time was short – not for them, but for those back at the village. The car park was still their only option... Later that night, after the skies had darkened and Poppy had gone off to bed early, the others gathered in the seating area as the fire glowed, and began a discussion.

  “So, what are our options?” Joy asked.

  Mickey said nothing as he sat by the fire, having claimed the armchair as his own. Tonight he was drinking tea to prove to Joy he wasn't a drunk, and he looked around at the others, waiting for someone to speak up.

  “The car park is the only way we can get a vehicle quickly,” Sage said, “We just have to figure out a way to distract the corpses.”

  “The alarm system.”

  Everyone looked at Mickey as he sat there with his weak leg resting on a footstool, reclining in the chair as if this was a palace and he owned the whole damned place.

  “That's a good idea!” Joy replied, turning her head, “We could do that, Bonnie.”

  Chris was shaking his head as he said nothing, sitting there in his shades as he looked downward.

  “It's not a good idea,” Bonnie replied, “Every zombie in the town centre would come at the building. Those shutters, under that much pressure, could cave in. All it would take is one of them to get in and the others will follow. We'd be over run.”

  “This is why no one visited the ground floor, when the glass doors were visible?” said River.

  “Yes,” Bonnie replied, glancing over at her, “The shutters are very tough, they can stand up to a lot – but not the whole horde coming at us.”

  Sage paused for thought.

  “Maybe one of us could take the van and drive out, find a bigger vehicle and bring it back.”

  “Then we have to open the shutters twice,” Chris added, “And more of them will get in. We could still be over run.”

  There was an impatient sigh heard from the direction of the fireplace, and everyone looked at Mickey, who shook his head.

  “This is insanity. You have a way to do this! Open the shutters, take the van out, plough through anything in your way and go out there and find a bigger van! Then you can transfer the supplies and come back for the rest of us. Killing a few more of those things is no challenge at all.”

  “But there are so many more of them out there since they saw us come in!” Joy reminded him.

  Mickey gave a shrug.

  “Then go with my idea, use the alarm system to distract them.”

  “And either way, we get over run!” Bonnie reminded him.

  Mickey looked to Chris.

  “How many machine guns do you have?”

  Chris hesitated.

  “I have a small stock locked away in case
of emergency. But I don't want to create a situation. This could end badly!”

  Curtis had been deep in thought.

  “Bonnie, do you have CCTV working?”

  “On most levels, yes. Why?”

  “We could use it to see just how bad it is in the parking area.”

  “No, we can't,” Bonnie replied, “Shots were fired up there in the days before the evacuation and the cameras were hit.”

  Curtis gave a sigh, shaking his head.

  “So we'd have to go up there not knowing what's waiting when the lift opens.”

  “Maybe we could take the van and go out through the town centre,” Sage replied, “I could do it. I just have to drive around until I find a bigger vehicle, then come back for everyone else.”

  “Two of us could go,” Curtis agreed, “I could take the van with the supplies and Poppy in the back, you take over driving while I find a bigger van, then we just search for a second vehicle and I'll go back alone to pick up everyone else.”

  “While the new vehicle gets damaged smashing through gathered undead,” River added, “So we possibly end up with another bashed up vehicle left in the mall, not road worthy, meanwhile we've opened the shutters and fought off the undead again – twice. No, it won't work.”

  Bonnie looked about the gathering, then she drew in a tight breath.

  “Maybe one of us could take the lift to the top, just to see what it's like up there. The doors will open as it stops, but if you're quick, you can close them again and hit the down button. You'd get a few seconds to assess the situation on the top level, but I remember before the cameras went out, there was a lot of vehicles up there. Floor three is where you need to go and maybe there's less of those creatures all the way up there – I just don't know.”

  Chris had been listening and turning it all over.

  “I'll go.”

  Bonnie shot him a horrified glance.

  “No, Chris – it's too dangerous!”

  “So one of these people should do it instead because they're the ones who need to leave? No, I'm not allowing that. I'm fast with a gun, you know that. I'll hear them as the doors open, I only have to listen to the sounds outside to estimate how many are up there! I could open the doors a fraction just to listen then close them again!”

  “No,” Bonnie said, “You're not doing this!”

  She got up and walked out of the store. Chris got up too, hurrying after her. River watched as he trailed a hand along the outside of the store window, listening as he quickened his pace, following the sound of her footsteps, then they faded out.

  “I think Chris should go up there,” said Mickey, “Or Bonnie – either of them, they know this place well, we don't.”

  “And no one knows how dangerous the car park is!” Joy said angrily, “Why don't you go, Mickey?”

  “My hand is weak, I might not hit the button in time to close the doors. And how am I supposed to defend myself if the zombies pile in?”

  “You could take a gun!”

  “But my hand?”

  “You've got the other one!” Joy said sharply.

  Mickey looked away.

  “I'm just trying to be practical.”

  “And staying alive doesn't mean making everyone else take risks for you!”

  He looked back at her sharply as anger flashed in his eyes.

  “I took a risk to steal the diamonds! We might need them to trade on the way to the coast! It could even save our lives if we ran into the wrong kind of people out there!”

  “And if we did,” Joy said angrily, “You'd probably join them!”

  He straightened up in the chair, pausing to stretch his back.

  “My aim is to survive, Joy. But it doesn't mean I've lost my standards along the way.”

  “You mean you actually have some?”

  His eyes widened as he opened his mouth to speak, looking genuinely offended by her remark, but then Sage cut in.

  “This is getting us nowhere. I'm still willing to drive out with Curtis and find a bigger vehicle. I could take Poppy with me, she would be safe, we could wait out of town while Curtis brings the main vehicle back to get the rest of us.”

  “I think we can do it,” Curtis added.

  “No,” Joy said, “You can't do that. We can't split up, we are strong together, if we start going off separately, we're so much more vulnerable. We have to stick together.”

  Down on the ground floor of the mall, the sounds of the dead echoed from beyond the shutters, wheezes and groans and moans and the eerie sound of thumps and scratches on the outside as they refused to leave, knowing fresh meat was still inside. As they stood together by the door of the lift, Chris felt rising fear as he turned to Bonnie, fearful of the crazy idea she had just shared.

  “You can't go up there, let me go instead!” he told her, “I don't even have to open the doors, I don't need to see them to get an idea how many are out there, I just have to listen! If it sounds like it does down here, I won't even have to open the doors at all! I can keep the doors shut, then hit the down button, we practised this when I first got here, learning the keypad in case we ever needed a way out through the roof!”

  “And that was before they gathered like this!” she told him, “And we've not seen that top floor since the cameras went out! You can't go up there, I won't risk you like that, I can see them, you can't!”

  “And you know I can hear them far better than you ever will!”

  There was a louder thump against the shutters close by as Chris raised his voice.

  Bonnie gave a sigh.

  “Wait there.”

  He heard her walk away, counting her steps as they echoed on the polished floor, she opened up the office and went inside, he heard her lift a weapon and then he heard the jangle of a set of keys.

  “Don't do this, Bonnie!”

  “I'll be gone two minutes,” she told him, “Wait here...” She pushed a weapon into his hands as he quickly got a feel for the machine gun and gripped it tightly as he broke into a sweat.

  “You might not come back!” he warned her as he heard the key slide in the lock and then turn. The lift doors slid open.

  “I have a gun, I'll be fine!” she told him, then the doors closed again and the lift began to ascend as Chris stood there, trying to ignore the sounds of the undead on the outside as he waited for the lift to return, hoping he would only hear Bonnie exit when the doors opened up once more.

  As the lift slowly glided upward, Bonnie's guts twisted with fear. She placed a hand on her holstered weapon as she kept the other on the keypad, ready to hit the button to close the doors when she reached the top and they began to open. She was ready, breathing hard as she stepped closer to the door, her hand still on that keypad, and ready to catch a glimpse and no more as the light from inside the lift would cast a glow across the darkened parking area. All she had to do was look, and estimate, and go... The lift had not been used for months, if there were any undead up here, they would not be expecting the doors to open...

  The lift reached the top floor and there was no more time to think as the door began to slide back and light spilled out to a scene of carnage amongst the parking spaces where devoured bodies were scattered, blood spattered the cars and suddenly the shadows moved as the undead turned towards the light, snarling, then lunging, rushing at the lift as she jabbed the button – but not fast enough as they pushed against the closing doors.

  “No!” Bonnie screamed.

  She pushed back against undead hands that reached in, but still they piled up against the gap. She pushed against them again, a hand shot forward and clawed at her throat as pain hit then something hot began to run from the wound as she coughed and dragged in air, jabbing the button as the doors jammed, then began to part again. She reached for her gun, firing off round after round as two felled zombies that made it inside slumped bleeding, then the doors closed and she hit the down button, trembling as she holstered the weapon. Her face was spattered with blood and she wiped it awa
y with her sleeve, standing there in the corner of the lift as it began a downward glide... There were forty, maybe fifty of them up there? All starving, picking clean the bones of old kills as they waited among the cars for fresh prey to show up... Her neck was throbbing and she felt weak. The sound of the lift descending began to settle her shattered nerves. Safe now, safe... She could get this wound wrapped, it couldn't be that bad, she was still standing...

  Then as a dead hand grabbed at her ankle she screamed and coughed blood, ripping her gun from its holster as it dug in sharp nails, giving her leg a tug. She hit the floor with a dizzying thump as the creature lowered its head to the heat of warm flesh, biting through clothing as pain shot through her leg. The lift passed the first floor and she weakly yelled out in pain as she aimed the weapon and fired, blowing off the back of its head as blood and brains spattered the silver walls..

  The lift hit ground floor and the doors opened. Her vision was misty as Chris ran towards her, he had heard the muffled scream and the shots as the lift came down and he could smell fresh blood and the stink of the zombies. She raised a hand to grab his arm as she coughed and more blood came up from her throat. Chris placed a hand on her upper chest, feeling the flow of blood, then higher to a hole gouged deep in her throat.

  “Forty...” she whispered,. “They're... starving... Chris, help me...”

  Chris gave a sob, kicking aside a stinking corpse as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. She was bleeding out all over him and he heard running footsteps on the stairway as the others hurried down after hearing the scream and the shots.

  “Oh god...” Joy gasped.

  Her hand flew to her mouth at the sight of Bonnie, a hole gouged in her throat as she lay on the floor of the lift as Chris cradled her weeping. A dead zombie was slumped against a wall, the other one was on the floor of the lift, its mouth still clamped to her leg, its head blown part with remaining brains exposed. A choking sound came from Bonnie's throat as she took her last breath, then all that could be heard was Chris sobbing as he held her, kneeling on the floor as she bled out on to his clothing and on to the floor of the lift.