Dead Aware (Novella): Dead Aware [Vagrant Youth]

by Merry, Eleanor

  “What are you doin’ here, girl?! What the fuck wrong wi’ you?” He growled.

  She held her hands up in mock surrender. “Shit got bad in our house. Me, Ike and Tara gotta go. We need some weapons. Can you let us in for a sec and help us out?”

  Rock paused for a moment, considering her request. For the last two weeks, he and a few of his buddies had been holed up in his place getting high and generally avoiding anything to do with the virus and outside world. He had food, electricity, weapons, and drugs and felt no need to go anywhere. Normally he wouldn’t even considering giving away any of his precious weapons, but he liked these kids and was riding a good high.

  “Hurry up and get in,” Rock grumbled as he stepped aside. Abby turned and motioned for the others to follow. They all stepped inside; Ike keeping his hood lowered like Abby told him.

  Abby looked over at the familiar faces sitting around the room, including Rock’s old lady, Paige, who was sitting at the table giving Abby a death glare. She knew that Paige was not to be trifled with and turned her attention to Rock.

  “So, what do you think? Can we have a few weapons? We got nothing but this baseball bat. Help a girl out, huh?” She exaggeratedly fluttered her eyes at him, causing the big man to let out a small laugh.

  “Yeah, little girl, I got something for you. Yo, Moe!” he hollered at one of his friends. A large brown man walked over to them, ignoring the others as he looked at Rock. “Grab me one of them machete’s, a couple switchblades, and one of our glocks with a few boxes of rounds.” Moe grunted and walked off into one of the other rooms.

  Rock turned back to them, sizing up their pathetic group. He smirked as he looked over at Ike.

  “What up, buddy?” Rock laughed, looking at the boy hunched over with his hood covering his face.

  “N-nothing,” Ike stammered. Rock narrowed his eyes at the boy then looked to Abby, who had paled considerably. He reached over, tearing back Ike’s hood and immediately growled. Jumping back, he raised his gun.

  “What the fuck, bitch, you bring a fucking zombie in here!” he yelled. In an instant, his crew jumped to attention behind him, some with weapons raised, others with their hands raised, ready to use brute force alone if necessary. Abby jumped in front of Ike and held her hands up.

  “No!”

  Moe walked back into the room, a bag in one hand and his gun raised in the other. Paige, who had jumped in fright when Ike’s hood was thrown off, walked over cautiously to stand nose to nose with Abby, her eyes filled with disgust and hatred. Tension practically dripped down the walls, and everyone within the room seemed to stand still.

  “R-rock,” Ike stuttered slightly, making the big man narrow his gaze. “I not hurt you. Know me. We go now but need help. Need weapons.” While Ike didn’t remember Rock, as he didn’t remember much of his former life, Abby had told him that he knew the drug dealer. He hoped she was right and that Rock would overlook his appearance and still help them.

  After a few more beats, Rock lowered his gun slightly but continued to glare at the trio in front of him.

  “Ain’t never heard of no talking zombie before,” he finally said. Paige took a step back into Rock’s arms, her eyes still narrowed. Abby breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Us neither. But he does, and he won’t hurt no one. We wouldn’t have brought him here if that were the case,” Abby stated, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Rock. Didn’t think you’d understand. We’ll get out of your way now…” She moved towards the door, indicating Tara and Ike do the same. She was happy to leave behind the weapons if it meant they wouldn’t harm Ike.

  “Hold up, bitch,” Rock said with a sigh as he nodded to Moe, who threw a bag at her feet. Inside were the weapons. “You lucky I like ya, girl. Now get the fuck outta my house.”

  Chapter 10

  As soon as the trio exited Rock's house, they rushed over to the house next door, hiding in the bushes. Abby handed them each a switchblade, gave Tara the machete and took the gun for herself. It had been years since she had held a gun, but her father had taught her when she was young, and she thought of it as one would think of riding a bicycle: you never forget. She thought of the moments of her father teaching her gun safety as fond memories, and for a moment, she allowed herself to wonder if her father and mother were still alive. She shook the question from her head, hefting the gun in her hand; the heavy cool weight of it was familiar and reassuring.

  "Okay, guys," Abby whispered, "we gotta try to make some ground tonight while it's dark. Closer to dawn, we can find a place to hole up for the day; too dangerous to be walking these streets in the light. Follow me and stay quiet. We got this." Tara and Ike nodded in agreement. With the utmost stealth, they made their way through the neighborhood that had housed them for years and into a city they no longer knew.

  It was slow going, staying in the shadows, but Abby was pleased with their progress. Even though Ike had forgotten a lot, she noted how well he navigated the familiar streets and put new value on the idea of muscle memory.

  The entire city still had a reek of decay and death surrounding it, and unlike her previous outings, corpses were more numerous. For the most part, it was quite obvious to see how people had died. The bite marks, or the overly pale skin and weapon damage were the most obvious causes of death, but those dead of the initial virus were common as well. The virus had struck so hard and fast, the city had no time to make formal arrangements for their dead. Cars were stopped in random places on the streets, some with bodies still inside. Abby shuttered every time they passed one and did her best not to look too closely after seeing one with a definite childlike silhouette in the backseat. She thought of little Benny and for the first time was grateful he hadn't woken up. It didn't seem like Ike’s experience, of retaining anything from before, was common.

  Small groups of infected wandered the streets along with them. They were generally easy to avoid, being less than quiet or coordinated. Abby wondered how they ever managed to kill people at all, as slow as they were. Then she remembered being chased by the one group of them. And Ike and Joshua… Swallowing, they continued on.

  They had been traversing the shadows of the streets for over an hour, and the adrenaline was starting to wear off. Abby could feel the cold seeping into her bones, the sweat turned cool, and she looked over at Tara to see her shivering slightly. Ike, however, didn’t seem to sweat or shiver, and Abby wondered what other differences there were now that he had woken up.

  “We should try to find some better clothes,” Tara whispered through chattering teeth as they hung back behind a house, waiting for a small group to pass them. Abby frowned a bit, knowing stopping anywhere wasn’t a good idea. Even though Vancouver wasn’t as cold as a lot of the country, their group had rarely gone out at night when it was the coldest, generally wanting to avoid the unsavory characters who tended to come out after dark. Most of their clothing were cheap hand-me-downs and thrift store finds, and wouldn’t hold up long outside in a British Columbia winter.

  “You’re probably right,” Abby replied, “but where can we go?” Ike stood silently watching this exchange, not remembering enough to be able to offer any real input. Tara seemed to consider this for a moment before brightening, “I have an idea!”

  It wasn’t long before the trio found themselves at the back door of a sports store. They had gone into the nicer downtown area, which was dangerous in itself but noted that there seemed to be slightly less of the infected wandering the area.

  “Back before all of this,” Tara whispered to them as she carefully pushed a nearby garbage bin down the alley to a specific spot, “I used to know the owners’ son, Darryl. We went to school together before I found ya’ll. Nice family. Me and Darryl used to sneak into the back of his dad’s shop after hours to drink.” Satisfied with the placement, Tara jumped up on top of it and deftly pulled off a grate that was about ten feet off the ground. Turning back to her friends, she lifted her arms in victory.

  “Stay here, guys. I’
ll be right back,” she said as she pulled herself up into the duct and was out of sight.

  Abby chewed her nails as she waited for Tara to reappear. It seemed to take forever, but in reality, it was only about five minutes, before clicks of locks could be heard from the door in front of them. Tara popped her head out and gave them both a brilliant grin. “Come on!”

  They all entered the dark store, taking a moment to pull out their extra flashlights. Abby scanned the store and noted how well it had all been closed up. The racks of clothes and shoes sat neatly, just waiting for the owner to return and flick on the open sign. The smell of decay that was ever present outside seemed to have left the shop untouched. It was a strange sense of normality that made Abby feel vaguely uncomfortable, but she couldn’t say why.

  “Tara,” Abby began, “I feel bad stealing from your friend’s family.”

  Tara smiled sympathetically at her friend. While she also never wanted to turn into that stereotypical street kid, she also knew that sometimes rules had to be broken in order to survive and told Abby as much. With a sigh, Abby agreed, and they set out to find some better layers and warm clothes.

  Abby was standing by a row of coats, trying to find something suitable, when she heard a faint noise coming from the back of the store. She looked over at Tara and Ike where they were fitting him into some new shoes, not seeming to have noticed. She heard the noise again; a small cough.

  “Guys,” she whispered, on high alert as she raised her gun, “I think someone else is in here.” Immediately the others dropped what they were doing and rushed over to her, their weapons raised as they looked around the dark store.

  “I don’t hear anything,” Tara said after a moment, looking at Abby skeptically, “maybe you’re just hearing things.” Abby shook her head and pressed forward towards the back of the store, her friends at her back. They found themselves in front of a locked door, leading to another back room of some sort. Abby carefully pressed her ear to the door and listened. She could hear very faint whispers coming from the other side.

  “Hello?” she called out tentatively, keeping the gun raised. The whispers stopped.

  “Just take what you want and go!” A voice called back. Tara stepped forward, “Darryl is that you?” Silence.

  “Tara?” The voice replied.

  “Yeah, man, it’s me! Sorry for breaking in. It’s just me and my friends, we really needed some warmer coats.” A moment later, the sound of the locks opening was heard followed by a single figure squeezing through the door and shutting it behind him.

  “Sorry, guys, we thought you might be… What the fuck!” Darryl exclaimed, raising the tyre iron in his hand as he moved his own flashlight and saw Ike standing behind them.

  Tara raised her hands, “It’s okay! He isn’t like the others!”

  Ike stayed back, starting to understand the hesitancy most people felt when they saw his pale, sickly skin. “Hi,” he said simply, trying to talk and act as normally as possible.

  Darryl’s eyes were huge as he looked at the talking zombie before he barked out a laugh. “Talking fucking zombies, eh? Well, that’s a new one.” He lowered the tyre iron slightly but kept his gaze on Ike. Abby sighed and wondered if they would ever find any other people who had gone through this. People who could accept them, and Ike, for what they were.

  “We don’t know much,” Tara replied, “but most of our friends didn’t wake up like this, and half of them didn’t wake up at all. We are all that is left.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Joshua?” Darryl asked tentatively. Tara shook her head sadly. Sighing, Darryl lowered his weapon the rest of the way. “Sorry to hear.” Awkward silence filled the room.

  “Listen, I should go tell everyone what's going on. Stay here, okay?” The three nodded, letting Darryl go back through the back door. Muffled voices could be heard through the door, punctuated by a shout at the end before Darryl came back through the door, followed by another man.

  The man stared at them with narrowed eyes, a Beretta in his hand. He looked over the trio, stopping his eyes on Ike. “I’m Bill,” he said after a moment, “I own this store. What are you all doing in here?” Darryl stood behind his father, head hung slightly in shame.

  Abby and Tara exchanged a glance before Abby replied, “Sorry for breaking in. We needed warmer coats, it’s too cold outside. We are heading to the docks and Tara remembered this place.” She kept her head up, showing a confidence she didn’t feel.

  Bill shifted slightly, “Why did you bring a zombie in here?”

  Abby sighed. “He isn’t like the others.”

  “Be that as it may, he has to go. If you girls want a place to stay, you’re welcome. We have plenty of food and supplies. But he has to go. He can have what he wants from the store before he leaves.” Abby’s face reddened at the way Bill was speaking about Ike, like he wasn't even there. Like he wasn’t a person. Her entire life she had known prejudice, whether as a brown girl, or a street kid. She knew it all too well and had no tolerance for that kind of attitude.

  “If you don’t mind,” Abby responded curtly, “we’ll all grab jackets and be on our way. We aren’t leaving our friend behind, zombie or not.” Bills eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t say anything, just gestured towards the store. Brushing past him, Abby made her way back in and set out in search of supplies without guilt.

  Twenty minutes later, all three of them had been outfitted with new layers and winter gear, including good quality hiking shoes. Bill stayed by the back door with his gun in hand watching but not saying anything. Darryl also helped them replace their backpacks with better quality ones, as well as gave them some good water bottles, compasses and a few other handy pieces of outdoor equipment. While going through the bags, Darryl leaned over to Tara.

  “You could stay, you know,” he whispered, “you are more than welcome here.”

  Tara quickly shook her head without hesitation, her eyes sweeping over to where her friends stood arranging their new clothes. She couldn’t leave Abby or Ike after all they had done for her.

  They thanked Bill and Darryl and left.

  ✽✽✽

  Back on the street they all remained quiet, with Abby leading the way. She seemed focused yet angry, and while Ike didn’t comprehend all the nuances of what had happened, he did understand that he was the reason they weren’t staying.

  “S-sorry,” he finally spat out when they stopped a few minutes later. Abby’s face softened as she looked at her friend. She looked to Tara as well, who nodded and smiled.

  “Ike,” Abby began as she grabbed his hand, “we love you. Don’t be sorry. People are dicks and don’t understand. We won’t ever leave you, okay?” Ike gave her a small smile back as she leaned forward to hug him. “We’re family,” she whispered into his ears, “and family always takes care of each other.”

  Chapter 11

  It was in the early morning hours when Abby got an idea of where they could hide out at daybreak. She knew the city well and recognized the area they were in. Turning to her friends, she relayed her idea.

  “Not far from here is that church I used to go to. The pastor let homeless kids stay there in the winter. If he’s there, I’m sure he would let us crash for the afternoon until tomorrow night.”

  “Other people not like me,” Ike replied sullenly. Tara put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly before turning back to Abby.

  “I think it’s a good idea. We’ll go in first, and if it looks dodgy or people are there, we can find another spot, okay?” Ike agreed and followed the girls as they led towards the familiar church.

  It was still dark when they arrived, but Abby knew morning wasn’t very far off. They watched the heavy mahogany doors from across the street for several minutes, waiting to see any signs of life. They moved quietly until they stood in the shadows of the trees in front of the building. They could hear nothing from within the church, and even outside, all was quiet with no signs of movement in the area. They carefully made their
approach up to the imposing doors, Ike taking the rear in case any people inside thought he was trying to break in for sinister purposes.

  Abby was pleased to find the door unlocked and pushed it open a crack, peering her head inside. A faint smell of decay and blood washed over her, but it wasn’t much stronger than the smell already lining the streets. Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating a few sleeping figures in the pews. She turned to Tara and Ike, instructing them to stay quiet and keep their flashlights off for now.

  The trio entered the church, carefully closing the door behind them. They stood in the entrance letting their eyes adjust. Ike watched the girls as they hunched over one of their bags, whispering quietly to one another. Then he heard a quiet sniffing sound to their left, followed quickly by another. Ike looked around but couldn’t see anyone in the darkness of the foyer in front of him. Curious as to what this unseen person smelled, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before recognizing the smell that he had since grown accustomed to. It was the girls.

  Shit.

  Opening his eyes, he turned and looked back towards them, and this time saw a silent, dark figure approaching behind them.

  “W-watch out!” he shouted as he rushed forward, tackling the infected man just before he grabbed Abby’s hair. Groans and more audible sniffs filled the room around them. Tara ran over, shouting as she kicked the infected man off of Ike. The sleeping figures began to rise, shambling their way towards them.

  “Time to go!” Abby exclaimed as the three rushed out the heavy doors and back into the dark streets. Fists pounded the doors behind them.