Dead Winter

by Aline Riva

  “What's going on?” asked Poppy from somewhere above.

  Sage told her to go back upstairs, and then she went up with her as Mickey and River made their way down. Curtis ran quickly down the steps as Sage led Poppy up, she shot him a glance and then went on her way. He had seen the look in her eyes, this was bad...

  As they all gathered by the lift, it was Joy who stepped forward first and placed a hand on his shoulder as Chris knelt there cradling his dead friend as the stink of the corpses and fresh blood filled the lift.

  “I'm sorry, but she's dead,” Joy said quietly, “You can't help her, you need to get out of here and let us deal with the bodies...Step back from this, Chris. There's nothing you can do.”

  Mickey looked into the lift, taking in the sight of the dead woman and the shot corpses, the blood was shining beneath the light and scarlet against silver clashed with the pallor of the dead woman's blood spattered face as she stared lifelessly upward.

  “Maybe I can find something to wash the blood away,” he suggested.

  “Yes, good idea,” she said, then as River joined her and helped Chris to stand, tears streaked his face, running from behind his dark lenses as he stepped out of the lift. But River was still holding his arm, guiding him as he stumbled, forgetting everything, even the route to get to the stairs, as he wept for his lost friend.

  “I'm going to take Chris upstairs and help him get cleaned up,” she said, “Then I'll give him something for the shock.”

  “I'll help move the bodies,” said Curtis.

  They reached the stairway and as they began to climb, River looked back at Joy, who was moving Bonnie's corpse from the lift first.

  “The other two have bullets to the head,” she reminded her.

  Joy looked up, slowly nodding, understanding what had to be done. Then River led Chris back upstairs, heading for the toilets to get him cleaned up, because he was covered in Bonnie's blood.

  Mickey was about to go up to the next level and search the open stores for disinfectant, but then he saw Curtis and Joy standing over the bodies. They had moved the zombies out and left them against the wall as they laid Bonnie on the floor outside the lift, then they stood over her, looking sadly at each other.

  “I've never shot an unaffected person,” said Curtis, “I know she's gone, but I know she'll come back as one of those things if I don't do it... it's not like shooting a creature, this is Bonnie... was Bonnie... “ he shook his head, “I...I can't...”

  “I've had to taser suspects a few times,” Joy said, “Under relevant circumstances. Sometimes you have to use force. But putting a bullet in her head? She's dead in front of us, and we have to shoot her... she's not even turned yet, oh, this is hard.”

  “Sometimes the dead don't turn, not when they've been ripped apart.”

  “But she's got a bite,” Joy reminded him, “I've seen the living wounded turn and the dead too - with single bite wounds... it's usually the partially eaten that don't revive, but I'm no expert...”

  “Excuse me.”

  Mickey pushed past them, stood over the body, took steady aim and fired, punching a bullet through Bonnie's temple as her body jerked with the impact.

  “Situation resolved,” said Mickey, then he put his gun away, turned around and headed back towards the stairs as Joy and Curtis shared a look of disbelief. Joy watched Mickey walking stiffly up the stairs without a backwards glance as she shook her head.

  “That guy is unbelievable!”

  “Tell me about it!” Curtis exclaimed, then he looked down at the body.

  “We should shift the corpses now, starting with Bonnie.”

  “Yes, let's get it over with,” agreed Joy as together, they lifted Bonnie's body, heading for the butcher's shop, and the cold storage room.

  “Bonnie had a throat wound, not a bite, a gouge. She had minutes to live from the moment that happened. The bite to her leg would have turned her had she not received the fatal wound...Chris, she died quickly. And that shot we heard? That means she won't be coming back, I know a lot of the dead don't return, but we had to be sure for her sake... Are you listening to me?”

  For the fourth time River emptied the now clean water from the sink and ran the tap to wash away the traces of soap, then paused to run his glasses under the tap, to clean away a splash of blood. Then she grabbed a warm towel and wrapped it around his lower body as he grabbed the ends and secured it around his waist.

  “Thanks for helping me. I couldn't see the blood and there's no showers here.”

  “I'm sorry about your friend.”

  “So am I,” he replied quietly.

  River handed him clean clothing grabbed from his wardrobe on the way to the toilets, and he placed them on the edge of the sink as she turned away as he started to get dressed.

  “Why did she do it, Chris? It's pitch dark up there!”

  “And I told her to let me do it, I'm at home in the dark. She wanted to go up, use the light from the lift to catch a glimpse, to estimate how many were up there. She said forty before she died. She didn't expect it to end this way, neither did I.”

  He was dressed now, and he paused to wipe his eyes, then he reached for his glasses and put them on.

  “I don't think I can stay here alone,” he told her, “I'll go crazy... just me in here and those things outside, everywhere, not knowing if it's true that this could end in a year. What if it never ends?”

  “I have thought the same,” River admitted, “We don't know how accurate the information was before the media shut off. We just have to hope the research team was right.”

  “I never thought I'd be here alone, possibly forever – or at least until the food runs out,” he said.

  River put her arm around him. Chris was still shaking as she led him out into the mall.

  “I want you to lie down and rest,”she told him, “I'll give you something to help you sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

  Chris still felt shattered by grief as River steered him towards the furniture store. They said nothing on the way back, as River thought about their situation: Bonnie had died trying to find them a way out. And it seemed the parking area was their only real hope. It was certainly the only way out without risking this place getting over run, and they couldn't take that chance, not when Chris had nowhere else to go...

  As they walked through the store, the others were in the seating area. They said nothing, sitting in silence as River led Chris over to the back of the room. He thanked her for her help, then she gave him pills to take with water and he took them and laid down, taking off his glasses and leaving them next to the bed.

  “River?”

  She was about to leave him to sleep but as she turned back, he spoke up again.

  “Maybe there is a way out of here, I've decided on a plan.”

  He had said it with such finality, as if a decision had already been made.

  “And you can share it in the morning,” she said softly, “You've had a terrible shock today. Get some rest.”

  Chris gave a sigh as he turned on his side, feeling tiredness creep up on him thanks to the sedatives. River left him to sleep and went back to join the others, it was growing late now, but no one wanted to sleep yet. It felt better to sit together, the living staying close by the fire, as it gave off warmth that assured them the cold was as much held at bay as the zombies outside. And River said nothing about Chris having a plan. So far, plans had gone badly, and she hoped tomorrow wouldn't see more death, but there was no way around those creatures up in the parking area. If they got out of here, it would be tough - and she had the awful feeling that Bonnie wouldn't be the last to die...

  Chapter 6

  Next morning, the mall was quiet. While the dead rattled the shutters and scraped and made low moans, on the floor above, the living awoke to a day filled with memories of the night before and Bonnie's horrible death. Poppy was up early and went straight to the cafe, feeling sad to see the empty counter. She had barely known her, but Bo
nnie had seemed like such a nice person, she had made them so welcome... Sage saw the sad look on her face and forced a smile and said she would cook that morning. Soon River and Curtis came in, followed by Chris, who stood there in the doorway and shook his head as River reminded him that he needed to eat.

  “Just sit down,” he said, “I have something to say to you all.”

  “Maybe you need to wait -” River began with caution, but he shook his head again.

  “Please sit down, just let me speak,” he replied.

  River gave a heavy sigh as she took a seat.

  “Chris, everyone is here - apart from Joy and Mickey. We all went to bed late, and they're both still sleeping. Maybe we should wait.”

  “No, I'm saying this now and getting it over with,” Chris replied as he stood there looking towards them as they were met with his black lenses, “I've decided what should be done. It's probably your safest way out of here, too.”

  “What's the plan?” asked Sage as she came out from behind the counter and stood beside Poppy's table.

  “We grab some supplies, load up the van, leave room for Poppy and one other in the back, then you and a passenger get in the front. I'll open the shutters and you drive out of the town centre and get on to the road behind it, and wait. I'll set the alarm as the shutters go up, and flood the mall with zombies. Then I'll join the rest of you taking the lift to the parking area. I'm hoping the alarm will draw them away from the roof level, we'll have to shoot our way through otherwise. But three of us with machine guns can do this. And there will be vehicles up there, you can find a suitable one and we can drive away from here.”

  River stared at him.

  “You're flooding the mall?”

  “I can't live here alone for a year. And if this goes on longer, I'll run out of supplies. It's time for me leave and I want to come with you.”

  “Fine,” Curtis said speaking up first, “I'm happy for you to join us.”

  “So am I,” said River, “And I'm sure Joy and Mickey will agree too,”

  “I'm happy about this,” said Sage.

  “And I think we should wait for Joy and Mickey before we decide who takes the van and who goes for the roof,” River added.

  Chris paused for a moment, taking off his glasses before speaking again.

  “There's something else I want you to know. I can hear them coming and I can shoot them – you've seen me do that. But I'm also blind.”

  There was a stunned silence. Then Poppy spoke up.

  “You can shoot the monsters even though you can't see them?”

  “Yes,” he replied, “I can hear them coming, I know where they are. I've been blind for many years – that's why I wear dark glasses, because I can see light and dark and it's easier for me to be in the dark when I know zombies are close by, I can hear them much better that way.”

  “I think you're clever!” said Poppy.

  Chris smiled.

  “No, it's called making the most of what I can do, I think we all do that in this difficult times in our own way,” he told her.

  “And we still have to think about getting out of here,” Curtis reminded them, “This is going to take a lot of planning.”

  No one spoke as the only sound to cut through the air was a chair scraping back as Chris took a seat. Sage turned back to the cooking then switched the kettle on to make more tea. The cafe was silent now, as everyone in the room thought about the escape plan. It wasn't going to be easy...

  Joy turned over, closer to warmth and companionship. Then she opened her eyes just as Mickey blinked away sleep. She stared at him and he looked wide eyed back at her, then he shifted back as she raised her head from his shoulder.

  “Sorry,” she said quickly.

  “Sorry,” he added politely, then she got up and grabbed a change of clothing and left the room as Mickey sat up feeling awkward as he prepared to get up and start the day. He had no idea they had got so close in the night, while they slept. Then he laughed as he shook his head, worst things could happen, this was the apocalypse. He would say that to her if she mentioned it later. He was just glad the others hadn't seen them like that, sleeping so close as if they were a couple. He didn't doubt there would be some teasing and it would all come, most likely, from Sage or Curtis. His mood was light as he got up and waited for Joy to return from the toilets before taking her place in there to wash and get changed.

  Joy was first to arrive in the cafe, where the others were gathered. It was warm and breakfast and coffee aroma clashed together in a way that made it hang in the air as if no disaster had ever struck, right now there couldn't have been a scene of more normality, with the others sitting about and drinking tea and coffee while their breakfast plates were finished with and pushed aside. Sage offered to cook once more, saying it was no trouble at all.

  “There's a plan,” River said.

  “What plan?” asked Mickey as he walked through the door.

  “Ask the blind man,” said Curtis.

  “He means me,” Chris explained, and he leaned back in his chair, looking towards the door way.

  “You're blind?” Joy sounded surprised, and Chris smiled.

  “And I can hear them coming, don't worry about that. Just keep out of my way when I start shooting!”

  Mickey took a seat at his table, looking at Chris, unable to see his eyes covered by the dark lenses.

  “I saw you shoot the ones that came in after we did,” he said, “Nice work. And I just want to say I know how challenging it is to have a disability and deal with a fucking apocalypse.”

  “I don't see it that way,” Chris replied, pausing to sip from a mug of tea, “In this situation, I have the advantage. I can hear them coming far better than they can hear me.”

  “I don't share your opinion,” Mickey replied, “I seriously doubted I could out run that horde in the alley. If I'd had a suitable weapon, it would have been different...” then he recalled what River had just said.

  “What does this plan of yours involve?” he asked.

  Joy looked over at Chris as the others said nothing, and he explained again.

  “There are seven of us here. Poppy and River and two others can fit in the van. I can open the shutters and set off the alarm as they drive out. The mall floods with zombies pouring in as the rest of us go up to the roof with machine guns, kill what ever is up there and grab a decent sized vehicle. The way out should be more or less clear, once that alarm goes off they're coming inside, and we're on the roof level, leaving by the back the way.”

  Mickey stared at him. Then he slowly looked to Joy, then the others.

  “So four people get to ride out of here safely and the other three have to shoot their way out?”

  “We have medical supplies taking up room in the van. But we can fit two people in the back too. The van is already partly damaged, but it works. And once we're out of here, we can replace it along the way. But we need a bigger vehicle for transporting the food supplies when we find them. This is the best way now – and Chris is coming with us,” said Curtis.

  Sage set a mug of tea in front of Joy, then did the same to Mickey.

  “I definitely think Poppy and River should be in the van, River's never fired a gun and Poppy needs to be kept safe. But I can shoot, you all know that – I want to take the rooftop.”

  Poppy shot her a look of alarm.

  “Sage, no! It's dangerous, that's why Bonnie died!”

  “Bonnie didn't have a machine gun,” she reminded her, “And she wasn't ready for what might be up there. But I am. Don't worry about me.”

  “I'll take the roof too,” said Joy.

  Mickey looked at her sharply, silently wishing she had not said that.

  “What?” she asked him.

  “Nothing,” he replied, “It's just that as much as I like the daily opportunity to quarrel with you, I'd also hate to see you get chewed up by those corpses.”

  “How sweet of you,” she said flatly, “But I'll take my chances, tha
nks!”

  “And I'm taking the van!” Mickey replied, then looked away.

  “It was my plan, I should be on that rooftop too,” said Chris.

  Then Mickey felt a prickle of guilt.

  “No.”

  Chris had been relaxed as he sat there at the table. Suddenly he tensed as he sat up straight, dark lenses set on the shadowy shape he saw seated opposite.

  “What the fuck do you mean, no?” he demanded, “No one put you in charge. We make decisions together. And by the way, now I'm a part of this group, I'll remind you I don't have a sympathetic bond with you because I'm blind and you have a degree of weakness in two limbs. We both got this far because we handled the worst in our own way - and I have nothing in common with you! My lack of sigh doesn't give me a ticket to the safe way out, I can shoot as well as everyone else in this room who has weapons experience!”

  Joy and River exchanged a glance, then River spoke up.

  “It's pretty clear to me what we need to do here – we need at least two people with us in the van who can handle a gun because we have to drive through the city centre again. So, Curtis can drive, armed with a hand gun. I'll be in the back with Poppy and the supplies, and Chris can be in the front with Curtis.”

  Mickey's mind was made up now as he looked at Chris.

  “How many machine guns do you have?”

  “Five,” he replied.

  “Three for myself, you and Sage, and one for you, Chris. The spare can go in the back with what little weapons you already have. I say we get ready to leave before it gets dark, because Chris is the only one who doesn't need to see them coming. The rest of us do, and it's going to be tough out there.”

  As she sat at her table, Joy stared at Mickey.

  “You're actually taking a risk?”

  He smirked.

  “I know my weapons,” he reminded her, “As long as we have decent guns, we have the advantage. The rooftop shouldn't be too much of a challenge. I'll see you up there.”