by Tim Moon
Satisfied, Ben faced the incoming zombies and ended two with three shots. Anuhea took down another one. The fallen body tripped the two infected behind it and like the old man zombie they had seen earlier, it was lost under the mob. More and more zombies trudged after them, eager for fresh meat.
“We have their attention. Let’s fall back,” Ben said. “Keep an eye out for fast movers.”
Anuhea nodded and jogged beside him towards the back of the hospital. They stopped halfway back to wait for them. The torn, ravaged and infected bodies soon filled the small road, corralled by the building and a thick row of hedges.
Nervous energy rushed through Ben even though he knew he wasn’t in immediate danger. He squeezed off a few hasty rounds, ending one zombie, but generally just making sure the crowd followed them away from the front entrance. It looked like it was working.
“Okay, let’s move,” he said.
Anuhea turned and began to jog towards the back of the hospital. As they ran, a zombie lurched out of the hedges. Anuhea dodged to the side. Ben ran and smashed into it with his rifle raised sideways. The AR-15’s top rail and upper receiver smashed into the face of the infected. Teeth crunched, and its nose bent sideways. The force of the blow knocked the infected backwards.
“Are you okay?” Anuhea asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. You?”
“It didn’t touch me.”
Ben stomped hard on the back of its neck for good measure. The body stiffened and then went slack. It stopped moving so he stepped away and motioned for them to go.
They ran to the back of the hospital without incident, hugging the building to stay away from the hedges. When they stopped to catch their breath, and turned around, it was clear that they had succeeded in drawing away the bulk of the crowd. With the horde far enough down the small road that circumnavigated the hospital, the main horde wouldn’t be able to reach them even if they had to shoot their way to the van.
“I gotta catch my breath,” Ben said, bending over to put his hand on his knee. His rifle was in his other hand. He gestured at the infected. “Looks like the plan worked.”
Anuhea nodded as she caught her breath. “Thanks for watching out for me back there. Again.”
Ben waved away the thanks. “You’ve done the same. Let’s keep moving.”
16
Running around the hospital was more arduous than Ben had anticipated. They passed another parking area with a few zombies that they dodged past. A legless zombie crawled out of the bushes near the ER doors; a sight that Ben knew would haunt his dreams.
The plan worked though. All the infected had cleared out by the time they reached the front. Several crows swopped overhead and cawed loudly.
“Meds,” Anuhea said.
Ben held a finger up as he took deep breaths.
“Watch my back,” he said.
“Sure.”
He dashed inside for the crate of medicine and returned a few seconds later. After loading it in the back, he ran to the driver’s side and climbed in.
They drove away a minute later, tires squealing as they turned onto Mill Plain. Ben dodged random infected in the road that must have been drawn by the gunshots. A weight seemed to lift from Ben’s shoulders as they left the hospital in the rearview.
“Do you still want to hit up the BigMart?” he asked, relaxing into his seat.
Anuhea nodded. “I think we need to.”
He groaned. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Don’t be scared, Ben. I’ve got your back.” Anuhea winked at him.
Ben chuckled and grinned. “Thanks.”
Anuhea lifted her rifle to the window as he slowly wound through the abandoned cars.
“Not too long ago, all these cars would have been rushing about. People picking up turkey for Thanksgiving or presents for Christmas,” Ben said with a wave of his hand at the vehicles. “Someday we’ll have to get out here and move these.”
“What do you miss the most?” she asked.
“Good food and not having to constantly watch my back. You?”
“Surfing with my friends and hanging out on a warm, sunny beach,” she said with a sad smile. “And yeah, good food.”
Ben turned off at the next intersection, passing by a gas station before he turned into the parking lot of an oil change and tire store. BigMart sat back behind the buildings but this way they could get a better look at the situation before venturing closer. As he cut through to the main BigMart parking area, movement made him stop the van.
“Do you see that?” Ben asked.
Anuhea grunted and watched intently through the window.
Everything was just as bleak and depressing as it had been the whole day. Every damned place they went there was going to be a problem. Ben saw one zombie shuffle out of the store’s shattered front doors while at least ten others wandered the parking lot. Getting to the front door could be a little risky, even if there weren’t more infected in the building.
The cost of trying to survive in the city, Ben thought.
Not wanting to get the vehicle trapped in the lot, he turned right past a pawn shop and turned onto NE 106th Ave, facing Mill Plain. Fast food joints flanked the tiny road that was more like a driveway, Jack in the Box on one side and Arby’s on the other.
“What I wouldn’t give for a juicy roast beef sandwich.”
“Don’t think about it,” Anuhea said. “It’s just torture.”
The sky darkened as they climbed out. Thick, gray clouds blanketed the sun making the mood even more depressing. Ben led Anuhea over to a row of bushes and they took stock of the situation.
“I count fourteen infected,” he said.
“And that doesn’t count any that are sitting on the ground or leaning against the car and not moving,” Anuhea said. “Are you still game?”
Ben smirked at her. “We can get past most of them without a fight. Coming back out with our loot might be a problem though. If we have no choice, we’ll just off them quietly so the others don’t surround us.”
“How?” Anuhea held her hands up. “I don’t have a knife. Do you?”
“Of course,” he said. He reached into his pocket, but it was empty. He patted down his pockets and slowly shook his head. “Shit, I must have set it down at the pharmacy. Sorry.”
Looking around, he considered the fast food places but dismissed them. The best thing they’d have is a mop handle or the metal spatula for flipping burgers. What about the tire shop and oil change place? At the very least the tire place would have wrenches and possibly a crowbar. Then Ben’s eyes locked on the pawn shop.
He pointed. “Right there. That’s where we get our stealth weapons.”
Anuhea tested the front door of the shop and to Ben’s amazement it was open. Two men were dead on the floor. Both appeared to be employees. They detoured around the bodies and tried not to breath too deeply.
However, it paid off because they had all kinds of great stuff. Anuhea took a wooden baseball bat signed by someone neither of them had heard of, while Ben opted for a golf putter. It was long and heavy enough to do wicked damage. He couldn’t play golf for shit, but he could hit zombies.
They also scavenged a shotgun from behind the counter plus a few boxes of 10-gauge shells, a nice addition to their armory back home. Ben spotted a sweet Nintendo Entertainment System and two stacks of games that made him relive his childhood for a few seconds.
“If we had electricity, I’d take all of that in a minute.”
“We used to have that track and field game with the pad thing-”
“The Power Pad,” Ben said, lighting up at the memory.
“All the neighborhood kids would come over to play,” Anuhea said. Her voice turned dreamy. “Good times.”
Ben checked for a Gameboy or another handheld system, since batteries were easy enough to find, but struck out. A video game caught his eye. No, not one game but three games sitting together on the display. Had the owner heard about the outbreak and th
ought hey, The Last of Us, Left4Dead, and Lollipop Chainsaw are really going to make a comeback?
“You know, the zombie apocalypse isn’t as cool as games and movies made it out to be,” Ben said.
“It seemed cool to you?” she asked in a skeptical tone.
“Well, yeah, in a way,” Ben said, feeling sheepish.
“Men,” Anuhea said with a grunt of disgust. She shrugged and went back to searching for useful gear.
Ben frowned and continued his search of the pawn shop. Shelves and display cases were filled with things that were basically useless these days, such as jewelry, TVs, surround sound speakers, and power tools. Cameras and cell phones filled a case next to shelves filled with DVD and Blu-Ray movies that took up most of one wall. There was even a modest selection of CDs and vinyl records.
The gun collection was nice, so he selected a few more from there to go along with the shotgun. Next to the pistols was a broad selection of knives. Anuhea saw the Bowie knives and looked at Ben. He nodded. Together they began to carry the weapons and ammo to the van.
“Do you think anyone will be inside?” Ben asked. “I have a can of soup that says there’s at least one survivor inside BigMart.”
“I didn’t know you were a gambler,” she said. “Let’s make it two cans of soup.”
“You’re on.”
With sheathed Bowie knives on their belts, rifles across their backs and melee weapons in their hands, Ben and Anuhea began the trek across the parking lot to BigMart. They walked in a low crouch to stay out of sight and took cover behind cars to avoid being spotted by roamers, or to rest. Ben didn’t know how it was for Anuhea but hunching over was killing his back.
“You go first since you’re faster,” Ben said, peering over the hood of a car. “Once you’re there, I’ll follow.”
She took a big breath and prepared herself.
None of the zombies were an immediate threat at that point. They could easily outrun them back to the van. Assuming none of them were sprinters. Being spotted would complicate their raid and it would mean fighting, which Ben intended to avoid.
A slight chance still existed that a group could be hiding inside BigMart. They knew it was a risk, but it was one they were both willing to take. BigMart was a gold mine, the apocalyptic version of the Powerball jackpot. And if they could get past the infected, it was theirs for the taking.
“Here goes nothing,” she said just before she dashed away from the car with her baseball bat in hand and Bowing knife slapping softly against her hip.
Ben alternated between watching her and checking on the infected. Everything looked good so far and she was already halfway to the next set of vehicles. One of the zombies facing their direction twitched, and then turned sideways and shuffled away on an endless circuit.
Anuhea ducked and knelt behind the car. Ben let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as relief flooded over him. She waved at him to join her.
Ben took a deep breath, eyeing the twitchy biter wearily, and was just about to stand when a creaking sound and a shattering window made him flinch back. Chunks of safety glass bounced across the concrete and dead groaned in anticipation of new prey. Talk about shit timing. He nearly pissed his pants.
Ben took a knee and looked at the building. He saw Anuhea glance back at him with wide eyes. He pointed two fingers at his eyes and then pointed them towards the building, indicating that she should keep an eye out. Whatever was happening was far more important. With a nod, she turned and watched.
The infected were already moving towards the noise. Their target seemed to be somewhere inside BigMart’s main doors. A shout echoed from the darkness and then six people burst from the building. A jolt of energy hit Ben.
He ran over to Anuhea. No one was going to notice him at the back of the parking lot with that kind of racket. Stopping beside her, he leaned against the car to catch his breath.
“Shit,” she hissed. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he said with a grin. “Looks like you owe me some soup.”
“Shut up.”
They watched the scene unfold before them. A tiny voice in his head urged him to help. He wanted to kill the undead. It was the only way to secure their future. That’s what it came down to now, the living versus the dead.
But another voice also spoke up. The other voice was thrilled the people were there. It was the perfect distraction. Live bait to lure the infected away from BigMart and make it easier for them get the stuff they needed. After all, Ben had his own group to worry about.
Anuhea glanced at him.
It was like she read his thoughts. Ben furrowed his brow and he shook his head emphatically.
The group looked like a family. That made watching their inevitable demise more difficult. The desperate folks clung to their loot even though the bags slowed them down.
Ben heard a crash, and then a gunshot. More screaming and yelling came from inside and then he saw two people sprint out of the store. Then another pair came out, bringing the total number of survivors to ten.
One of the last two was injured. The guy’s bright green jacket had a sleeve torn off, exposing a limp arm marred by terrible gashes. His buddy held the injured man up and practically dragged him along. The injured guy looked weak and his head lolled as they moved. Ben wanted to yell at them to stop looking over their shoulders and just run.
The front of the store had turned into a small battle with the first six survivors positioned behind a car. They were not faring much better than the latecomers had. The parking lot zombies had swarmed on them like flies on shit and were slowly surrounding them.
One man ditched his bag, raised his rifle and began shooting. He was too distracted to see the infected closing in on him from behind.
“Rumble in the ‘Couve,” he whispered.
“What?” Anuhea asked.
“Oh shit,” he gasped as two forms rushed out of BigMart at a sprint.
Ben squinted his eyes not quite sure what he was seeing. Then he remembered the fast zombies and the feeling in his gut was like sitting in a roller coaster just before a hundred-foot drop. He nearly vomited on the pavement.
The sprinters were zeroed in on the laggards. A woman behind the car screamed as a zombie sank its teeth into her arm. The man beside her raised a pistol and squeezed off two shots, freeing her. The guy that had been shooting his rifle seemed to be fumbling with a jam.
One of the sprinters latched onto the injured guy in the green jacket. The rifleman cleared the jammed weapon and shot the zombie attacking his buddy. The zombie collapsed to the ground. It was a great shot, but he was too slow. The man in the jacket was no doubt infected.
A soft click-click-click caught Ben’s attention. He turned around, raising his golf putter, ready to brain the shit out of some infected but was met with the curious stare of a small, fluffy white dog. The kind his grandma might have had if she was still alive.
The dog stuck its tongue out and panted, staring at him like, “Hey, what’s up?” Ben let out a breath and grinned.
Gunshots started cracking off in quick succession. Ben glanced back at the battle for a second. Anuhea was still watching like a kid mesmerized by a horror film. He checked on the dog, but it was gone.
That was weird.
The group in front of BigMart was succumbing to the onslaught. Both the injured man and guy helping him had fallen. A couple of the people hiding behind the car must have been taken down too. Only six remained. The man with the rifle was swinging it like a club.
It was a losing battle. Only a matter of time before the rest of them were bitten or torn apart. Seeing that their friends were beyond saving, the rest began to break away and run.
The rifle man over extended and was mobbed by three zombies. As he collapsed, his companions that had been bitten and turned rose to their feet and began to pursue the survivors running away. Most of the zombies chased after the group, with the slow-moving infected following in the wake of the lone sprinter. Sever
al infected remained hunched over bodies, feeding.
A chubby guy ran for his life; body parts jiggling and flapping all over, before he stumbled with a shrill yelp. The sprinter caught him, flailing at him wildly before biting his neck like a vampire. It didn’t stay to feed though. It released him and continued the chase.
Anuhea tugged on his jacket.
“Holy fuck,” Ben muttered to himself. “Did you see that?”
“Come on, what are you waiting for?” she asked. “This is our chance.”
His mouth gaped open as he looked at her.
“Did you see that? It bit him and ran away. The runner infected the man and then continued hunting.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I saw.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we make our move and hope it doesn’t come back.” Anuhea placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve got your back.”
Ben blinked a few times. He wiped sweat off his forehead but nodded and stood up. “I’m good. I’m with you… Fucking shit, man. That was crazy.”
Now that most of the infected had cleared out, save for the three that were eating the victims, they didn’t need to sneak in. Ben jogged slowly behind Anuhea. The group and the other zombies were out of sight, lost somewhere in the neighborhood.
“What if there are more fast zombies inside?” Anuhea asked as she slowed down and stopped behind a tall SUV.
Ben stopping beside her, was secretly grateful for the rest. “If any more were here, they would’ve chased after the group with the other two. I don’t think they would stay back. I mean, just because they run doesn’t mean they think strategically, right?” He laughed nervously.
How shitty would that be? Zombies that could think and lay ambushes.
“Right. But what I mean is, just in case… If there are more fast zombies, we are going to need to shoot them. You know that, right? It’s too dangerous to fight them like normal.”
Fair point, he thought. The runners moved so fast that beating them to death was extremely risky. Outrunning them would be almost impossible, especially if they carried anything more than a gun.