Fun World

by Kirk Withrow

  Leaning against the wall to catch his breath, Eric said, “This is it. Are you ready?” Too tired to speak and breathe simultaneously, Lila simply nodded. He opened the door slowly, as though expecting something to come flying through the doorway. When nothing did, he leaned into the hall and shone the flashlight in both directions. Although it was far messier than the lobby or the stairway, he saw no movement within the dark corridor. Considering the condition of the rest of the resort, it seemed to him like they were moving toward the madness rather than away from it.

  Across the hall was a sign on the wall indicating that Room 504 was to the right. They were forced to navigate a veritable luggage minefield that made it look as if every bellhop in the hotel had been hard at work and then suddenly decided to go on strike. In actuality, Eric envisioned frantic guests trying to leave with their belongings before being told by the military that there was only room for them, not their luggage. If there was any blood in the hallway, the maroon carpet made it impossible to tell.

  Eric counted off the rooms as they walked. 514, 512, 510, 508, 506…504. The off-white door was identical to all the others in every way except for what might be behind it. Truthfully, he didn’t know what, if anything, lay behind the door. The best-case scenario would be a note telling them that Melanie had hitched a ride with the military guys and would be waiting for them at home. The worst-case scenario—he didn’t want to think about it.

  Hand in hand, Eric and Lila stared at the door for a long moment. He wondered what was going through his little girl’s mind, and he hoped she wasn’t experiencing the same gut-wrenching tension that he was. Sensing her father’s unease, she stood silently by his side.

  Steeling his nerves, Eric finally mustered the courage to knock on the door. As he waited for a response, he turned his ear toward the door, trying to hear any sound coming from the other side. Silence. When a minute passed and nothing happened, he reached out to open the door. Just as his trembling hand touched the doorknob, a low thud came from inside the room. His heart raced as the rest of him froze.

  Lila squeezed his hand gently. The simple gesture ignited a spark that dispelled the fear paralyzing his body. His breath evened out and the tension in his body waned. He twisted the knob and nudged the door slightly. With a low creak, it opened to reveal a quiet room shrouded in shadow. An unpleasant smell like that of food left out for far too long and something even more foul he couldn’t quite identify wafted through the open door. Eric always hung the Do Not Disturb sign on the door as soon as he settled in to a hotel room. The idea of a stranger rifling through his things never set well with him. This smell was bad enough that he immediately reconsidered that policy; he couldn’t imagine ever turning another cleaning crew away again.

  Standing in the open doorway, Eric couldn’t bring himself to enter the darkened room. He held the flashlight at his side, its beam pointed uselessly toward the ground. Up to that point, Lila had taken her father’s lead, but she was growing impatient. More than anything she wanted to see her mother, and if she wasn’t in the room then she wanted to find out where she was.

  “Mommy?” Lila called softly.

  Together, they stared into the darkness, waiting for something—anything—to happen. Lila reached toward the flashlight in Eric’s hand, which was still directed toward the ground. She abruptly stopped mid-reach and snapped her head toward the other side of the room as if she’d seen something.

  By the time Eric caught sight of it, Lila had already pulled away and was racing into the dark room. Overcome with emotion by the prospect of reuniting with her mother, she moved with remarkable speed. The burst of adrenaline that shot through Eric’s body was one step behind as he chased after her. As his arms pumped, the flashlight’s beam filled the room, highlighting only bits and pieces of the scene like a strobe light. Inside was a mess. Dirty clothes and towels lay scattered everywhere. The stained bed sheets were heaped on the floor at the foot of the bed. At the far end of the small room stood a lone figure, tangles of matted blonde hair draped over her face.

  Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Eric saw his wife raise her arms to accept her daughter. For the first time, Melanie looked up, revealing her dusky, gray skin. Oh, God! Melanie! No! Her blue eyes, arguably her most notable feature, were no more, replaced instead by a pair of vacant, lifeless orbs. He watched as his little girl raced toward the thing that had been her mother, oblivious to the danger she was facing. Either Lila didn’t notice or didn’t care, because she seemed content wrapped in her mother’s undead arms.

  As Melanie’s gaping maw moving steadily closer to Lila’s soft skin, he lunged forward. Just before she sank her pernicious teeth into Lila’s neck, his hand shot out like a secret service agent taking a bullet for the president. He felt the sharp twinge of pain as Melanie’s teeth punctured his skin, her powerful jaws clamping down on the muscle and bone just below his wrist. Lila screamed as he yanked his hand back. A hard shove sent the zombified Melanie to the ground next to the bed. He dropped the flashlight in the process, its beam coming to rest on the opposite wall and casting the room in ominous shadows that danced menacingly with every movement.

  Melanie was already trying to get back to her feet. Still screaming, Lila took one step forward before stopping, one hand over her mouth and the other extended toward the thing that used to be her mother. Eric saw his daughter’s confusion and indecision, and couldn’t risk her endangering herself again. Bleeding profusely, he leapt forward, stepping between wife and daughter. Melanie reached out to him, and he took the opportunity to grab hold of her wrist. With his free hand, he opened the balcony’s sliding glass door. As Melanie continued pushing toward him, he redirected her momentum and shoved her onto the balcony. He slid the glass door closed and flipped the lock.

  Sobbing uncontrollably, Lila rushed over and threw her arms around her father’s waist. Eric’s arm was bleeding profusely, leaving trails of blood all over the room and Lila. She’d seen her mother bite him, and he didn’t try to hide that fact from her. Lila leaned back to look up at her father, and said, “I was so scared when I thought you were bit back on Adventure Island, but I’m not scared now. I know you might get sick and be mean, but I don’t care because I know you’re not bad. I love you, Daddy, and I’m not leaving you.”

  In a way, Lila’s innocent words made the reality of the situation even more painful than it already was. Eric knew there would be a time in the near future where he would be forced to break his daughter’s heart. As hard as that was to imagine, hearing her sincere expression of love almost made it worth enduring all the heartache. They sat in silence, backs against the glass door, as Melanie pressed toward them on the other side. Though neither of them verbalized it, Eric imagined that somewhere inside both Lila and Melanie was the understanding that this was the last time they would be together as a family. He certainly felt it. Holding one another in a tight embrace, Eric and Lila cried profusely. Their sobs were full and deep, as if arising from their very souls. Throughout it all, Melanie tried to join them, scratching and clawing at them through the glass.

  Between Eric’s arm and Lila’s palm, there was blood everywhere inside Room 504. Lila took the kitchen knife from the pack and cut a strip of bed sheet to use as a bandage for his arm. “We need to wash it first,” she said in a serious tone.

  Taken aback by her words, Eric replied, “Lila, honey. I…I don’t think soap and water is going to help a bite much.” She looked at him as though he’d just beheaded her favorite baby doll, and he immediately regretted opening his mouth. Hoping to salvage the situation, he reached over and opened the minibar door. He grabbed one of the exorbitantly priced mini bottles of alcohol and added, “This will work way better.” His words had the desired effect as Lila’s expression softened considerably. She twisted the lid off and poured the entire bottle over the bite wound.

  Not wanting her to know how badly it burned, Eric gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound. Instead, he grabbed another bottle ou
t of the minibar, opened it, and downed the contents in a single gulp. When he noticed Lila eyeing him, he said half-jokingly, “It helps with the pain. You want one?”

  Lila ignored his comment, and satisfied with the state of his wound, she began bandaging his arm. As she worked, he couldn’t help noticing that the watch might have protected him from the bite had it been on his other arm. Larry, once again you’re a good-for-nothing bastard… He let out a chuckle so small that Lila didn’t seem to notice. When she was finished, he wrapped Lila’s hand with a clean bandage. He looked at his watch.

  4:58 a.m.

  21

  The sky brightened slightly as the first rays of morning sun emerged far beyond the horizon. With only three hours until Operation Fat Lady, Eric began to feel increasingly anxious. He wasn’t certain how far away he needed to get Lila to ensure she was safe; it would depend on the exact epicenter of the detonation. Not knowing that, he decided the farther the better. In the back of his mind, he also recognized that he was now working against a new timer as well.

  More tears flowed as they each kissed Melanie through the glass and said their goodbyes. “I love you, Mommy,” Lila bawled. Racked by sobs, she could barely get the words out. After Eric ushered Lila out of the room, he asked if he could have a minute alone with Melanie.

  Standing across from his wife, their hands pressed together through the glass, Eric said, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I wish I would’ve been here for you.” He wept quietly before sniffing hard and nearly choking on his mucous like a blubbering baby. “I‘ve done everything in my power to keep Lila safe. The military is going to bomb this place in order to contain the outbreak, so I don’t have much time. I have to get her out of here before that happens. I love you,” he said, his voice barely intelligible through his tears. He turned and walked to the door. Before he exited the room, he rubbed his throbbing arm and said, “I think I’ll be seeing you again real soon.”

  With the clock ticking down, Eric and Lila raced through the resort’s empty corridors. To Eric’s surprise, they encountered a small horde of zombies in The Estuary’s lobby. Considering that they hadn’t seen any undead since escaping from Fun World, he wondered if the zombies had somehow followed them to the building. He panned the flashlight around, hoping to find another way out. A sign on the wall directed them to a service entrance at the back of the resort.

  When they emerged, the predawn air was cool and damp with impending dew. Several heavy boxes were stacked against the wall outside and Eric slid them over in an effort to block the door from opening. Although it was still dark, hints of the morning sun provided a little more light than when they’d entered the building. To the left, a short set of stairs led down to the loading bay. A UTV laden with bags of dirty linens sat near the far end of the service area. Remembering the last time they’d found such a vehicle, Eric glanced around, halfway expecting to see Larry the Lion come charging out of nowhere to steal his ride once again. “There!” he said pointing to the vehicle. “Let’s hop in that thing and get out of here.”

  The UTV was roughly twenty yards away, and fortunately they saw no sign of danger. Eric felt increasingly weak and was forced to steady himself by placing an arm on Lila’s shoulder as they walked. It had been less than an hour since Melanie had delivered his death sentence, and he felt as if he was already feeling the first manifestations of the virus destined to overtake his body.

  Having seen no movement in the loading bay, Eric was surprised when a lone zombie stumbled around the building as they approached the UTV. Even in the low light, he recognized the thing almost instantly—neon swaths of pink, yellow, orange, and green combined to make a sort of anti-camo that made her safari uniform glow like a Christmas tree. The only thing missing was her ultra-friendly, unflappable smile, which had been replaced by a driveling, slack-jawed expression that made her looked stoned. “Tina? That’s impossible,” Eric mumbled, awestruck by the coincidence. Of all the places she could’ve gone, what were the chances that she would end up in the same place as them? About as likely as a zombie apocalypse at Fun World, I suppose. I guess you can’t count anything out these days.

  While zombie Tina moved slowly, Eric was moving nearly as slow. Given their respective distances from the vehicle, it seemed likely that they would have to deal with her in order to get to the UTV safely. “Lila, you have to take her. I’m too weak.”

  “I’m not sure I can, Daddy,” Lila said.

  Just as he was about to try to rally her with words of encouragement, a heavy thud rang out and zombie Tina crumpled to the ground. In her place stood another figure that Eric thought he recognized.

  “What? How did…?” he stammered in confusion.

  “Good to see both you guys still alive and in one piece,” Frank said with a toothy grin.

  Well, mostly alive. “I thought you were dead?” Eric replied.

  Frank chuckled and said, “They haven’t found a way to kill me yet. Come on. I’ll tell you all about it on the ride out. We need to get going. I’ve learned more about Operation Fat Lady.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Eric said, as he and Lila climbed in next to Frank, who took a seat behind the steering wheel. “Karma’s a motherfucker, eh, bitch?” Eric added as they passed Tina’s lifeless corpse. He hoped Lila hadn’t heard him, but unfortunately, the electric vehicle made very little noise as it sped off. Switching to electric vehicles had been part of the green initiative that Fun World had undertaken several years ago. The park was now trying its hand at a red initiative, Eric mused darkly.

  True to his word, Frank gave them a brief synopsis of how he’d come to be outside The Estuary. “I thought I was a goner down in the tunnels until the zombies forced me into one of the janitorial closets. I stayed there for hours, thinking about how terrible it was going to be to die alone in that cramped little room. I looked up and told Betty I was coming to join her, but she must’ve thought it wasn’t time, because she showed me the ventilation shaft above me,” Frank said, shaking his head in amazement as he drove with the lights off. “Anyway, I had a vague idea of where you two were heading. Between that and following the trail of dead zombies, I caught up with you guys about the time you slipped out through the culvert. That was a hell of an idea, though I thought I was going to have to try to save Little Bit back there from that gator.”

  “Gator?” Eric said with surprise, as he slowly put two and two together. He’d assumed the soldiers had spooked Lila, and had been the reason she’d shut down when he asked her if she was okay outside the culvert. Learning about the alligator, he tried to imagine what it must’ve been like for her to face such a dangerous animal, as he turned and regarded her with a silently questioning expression. With a stony face, Lila held his gaze momentarily before turning to stare into the passing darkness.

  The despondent look in her eyes hit Eric hard, causing a rash of emotions to flood his brain. He was heartbroken at not having been there for her when an alligator had nearly eaten her. Remorse and guilt gnawed at his mind when he thought about the fact that he would never be there for her in the future. As a father, he felt like a failure knowing that even if she made it out of this nightmare alive, it would be without either of her parents by her side. Perhaps most pressingly, he worried to the depths of his soul about her continued safety after he was gone.

  Turning back around, Eric tried to muster something that resembled a weak smile, and said, “Frank, you’re one tough codger, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told. Say, you don’t look so hot. You feeling okay, Eric?” As he spoke, he noticed the bandage on Eric’s arm. Frank leaned away instinctively as he slowed the vehicle to a halt.

  Before Frank could say anything, Eric said, “It’s a bite, Frank. We found Melanie.”

  “Christ on a crutch, Eric. I’m so sorry. And Lila…” Frank said, turning to face the little girl. It was then that Frank noticed her bandaged hand.

  Eric instantly sensed the change in Frank’s demeanor
and assured him that Lila hadn’t been bitten. Even though Frank took him at his word, he was reassured to see that the little girl wasn’t displaying any of the symptoms that her father was suffering from. Eric glanced at his Larry the Lion watch.

  5:43 a.m.

  “Listen, we don’t have much time. I’m not sure what you learned about Operation Fat Lady, but you two need to be far away from here before 8:00 a.m.,” Eric said earnestly. If he’d been hoping Lila wouldn’t pick up on the details of what he’d said, he was sorely mistaken.

  “You two? What do you mean? You’re coming with us,” she said as tears began welling up in her eyes.

  “Lila…” Eric’s throat tightened so intensely that he found it hard to breathe, let alone talk. Powerless to intervene, he watched the tide of emotions wash over her as she realized there was no other way.

  “Daddy, I need you to keep me safe from the monsters,” she said, crying almost hysterically now. She buried her head in her hands.

  “Lila, I was bitten. I don’t have long. I can feel it. You’ve seen what happens. If I left with you guys, how long would it be before I became a danger to you? Then what? I know this is hard, but you and Frank are okay. Your lives don’t have to end here. Frank’s a good man. He’ll look after you and take care of you just like I have,” he said looking at Frank as he spoke those last words. Although he’d yet to ask the older man to take on such a heavy burden he already knew what his answer would be.