by Henson, Lynn
The overwhelming urge to run set in and he shuffled backward while trying to free his leg from the straps of the sports bag. Tiffany tried to move towards him but was unable to get up because her seatbelt was still buckled. Oh yeah, right. Calm the fuck down doofus. He took a deep breath and started to analyze the sports bag, trying to figure out how best to disentangle himself from it. Then he heard a wrenching noise and looked up in time to see Tiffany rip her seatbelt from the wall and stand up. “Oh, fuck,” he observed, getting to his feet and running into the cockpit, sports bag still tangled around his ankle and catching on everything. He rushed into the cockpit where Lisa was trying to help Kim get Bree up and out of her seat. The side Bree was sitting on had caved in, the windshield was gone, and a half-broken branch still attached to a tree now hung inside the cockpit.
“Come on, we gotta get out of here!” he heard himself say, “There’s a zombie inside the plane!”
“Shoot it?!” Kim suggested. Blood covered half of her face.
“Go out the cockpit window!” Blake insisted.
Lisa and Kim finally managed to get Bree upright and they helped Lisa to clear away the little bits of glass left in the windshield frame before boosting her up and out. Next Kim helped a disoriented Bree out the windshield. Bree was so out of it, Kim and Blake basically poured her out of the plane. I hope Lisa caught her before her head hit the ground. He checked behind him and the cockpit was still empty so he turned and boosted Kim up and she thrust one leg out the window followed by the other. She then slid down the nose of the plane and out of his sight. He climbed up into the seat, hopefully, the last one left in the plane, when suddenly he was pulled off the seat and onto the ground. He turned onto his side and looked up to see Tiffany had grabbed the sports bag that was still entangled around his ankle and had used that to haul him off the seat. She crouched down and reached towards his belly with both hands, mouthing hungrily. He pulled his knee to his chest which blocked the hands and he grabbed the sports bag and jammed it into Tiffany’s face. He scrambled out from under her while she was distracted by the bag and ran up onto the seat and dived out the cockpit window. For a brief moment, he saw Kim’s eyes grow wide and then she jumped out of his way as he crashed into the ground.
Fortunately, the plane had rolled off the road at some point and he landed on, the more forgiving to people that jump out of plane cockpits, grass. He lay there for a moment as the back of his shirt felt cold and wet. Have I hurt myself again? I can’t tell, I feel like shit warmed over. Kim and Lisa appeared over him and tugged on his arms. He looked at them confused. They tugged harder and he was pulled upright. Kim said something to him that he didn’t catch and they let go of his arms to do something else. Blake’s legs folded underneath him and he flopped into a cross-legged position. His butt grew damp and he looked down. Oh. It’s dew. Lisa and Kim got Bree to her feet, though she was definitely favoring one leg over the other. Something jumped into his lap and he looked down stupidly. Bob was looking up into his eyes and meowed. He then walked in place a little giving Blake the impression that he was being encouraged to pet him. Distant noise from behind him made him turn to look at the back of the plane where it seemed the rest of his comrades had managed to unload some of the supplies. He watched Herbie come out of the back with a crate and when he set it down, he turned around and shut the door behind him. Tugging at his arm redirected his attention again to Kim who was saying something to him again and pointing behind her. He looked and saw Lisa supporting Bree as they were walking and further back was the road that they probably landed on. The road was covered with debris and had long black skid marks going as far as he could see. Also partially on the road and, in some cases, completely off the road were car wrecks. And the figures that were slowly going around those car wrecks was probably what Kim was urgently trying to draw his attention to. Shit. I guess they’re not emergency rescue people. He got up shakily much to Bob’s great displeasure and nodded at Kim. She clapped him on the shoulder and hurried to catch up to her sister and Lisa. Blake hobbled after them feeling as if his entire body was on the verge of having a massive cramp.
They caught up with the rest of their comrades and everyone seemed to have been slightly injured in some way except for Gao. And Gao, even though he seemed uninjured, moved with the same urgency and speed of someone who was. Doris, Clayton, Herbie, and John were going through the stuff they had unloaded while Gao shuffled around nervously. A little ways from the group Curtis was on his knees next to someone who was lying under a tree.
“We can’t carry all this stuff, so try to find food, a weapon, a jacket, water and anything you think might be useful and load ‘em in a small bag,” Clayton ordered. Agreeing with that, Blake managed to locate some snack cakes and a couple of bottled waters when he stumbled upon his backpack. He opened it finding his stuff all in there and went ahead and added his food and water to it. Unexpectedly finished, he sat down next to Bree who was still out of it and tried to re-center himself.
“Well?” Bree asked him while staring into space.
He looked at her. She just continued to stare off at some distant point. After a moment he said, “Huh?”
“We’re here,” she replied as if this should’ve been obvious, “So now what?”
“Now? Now...” he said in thought. He looked around and there was a whole lot of nothing. A road, grassy plains and sparse clusters of trees. “Um... where are we anyway?”
“Is that a joke?” she asked, still staring off into space with a slight smile starting to form on the side of her mouth.
“I guess it’s not really relevant at the moment,” he admitted, “Well, if it were up to me, I’d say we should make for those trees.” he continued pointing across the street.
“Is it far?” Bree asked.
“No clue,” he shrugged. “I just have a strong feeling to go that way. Probably going to be up to us to figure out what that means.”
“Well, guess that’s that,” she turned her head to look at him which somehow made him feel a lot better. “We can rest soon,” she said sounding slightly upbeat.
Even though his body hated him for it, he stood up and held his hand out to her. She looked up at him, thoughtful, then took his hand. When she pulled on it to stand up, his legs buckled and she let go of his hand. “It’s ok,” she told him, “I can get up.”
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly as she gingerly got to her feet and started limping around experimentally. Kim walked over with two packs and watched her briefly before saying, “Can you walk?” Bree nodded in reply, “Slowly. If we need to go faster, I’m going to need help.”
“Ok,” Kim nodded. “What about you?” she asked Blake.
“I’ll manage,” he told her.
“Don’t get all macho now. If you need help, ask. Alright?” Kim insisted. He nodded in understanding. “Ok.”
Everyone had almost finished packing and so Blake started walking in the direction he felt was right. Bree, Kim, and Lisa followed after him without question. “Hey! Wait up!” someone called after them. They looked back and saw Kyle and Clayton having an animated discussion about something. “What’s wrong?” Blake asked.
John looked at him and said, “They're having a disagreement about what to do with Angel.”
“We should put a bullet in her head,” Kyle said hotly. “Actually, that’d be too good for that bitch. Shoot her in the stomach and let her bleed out. If she’s lucky the infected won’t find her and eat her alive.”
“That’s pretty cold,” Clayton objected, “Shouldn’t we just bring her along for now and get her side of the story?”
“You want her side of the story?! We picked her up on the side of the road when we could’ve just left her to the god damned zombies. She eats our food. She drinks our water. Then as we’re taking off, she kills my brother, stabs me, and if we hadn’t stopped her none of us would’ve gotten out of Nevada, so no, I don’t think we should fucking bring her with us much less listen to her bullshit,”
Kyle countered.
“I’m not saying she didn’t do all that stuff,” Clayton said diplomatically, “All I’m saying is we don’t want to do nothing rash. We need to find shelter and then decide as a group what to do with her.”
“And I’m saying there’s no reason to even go to that much trouble. Let her rot here. She isn’t even worth the bullet,” Kyle spat.
“You ain’t thinking straight. You lost your brother and I’m just asking that you don’t do nothing you’re gonna regret,” Clayton reasoned.
“I don’t think so...” Kyle said angrily.
“It’s not gonna hurt nothing to give it a day,” Clayton said reasonably.
“Fuck,” Kyle said as he angrily shouldered his backpack by one strap and stormed off in the direction Blake had been heading. “Fuck!” he added.
“He’ll be ok, but we have to get moving,” Kim said trying to spur everyone into action. She walked over to where Angel was sitting, her feet still bound together with duct tape and produced a roll of it from her jacket. “Nothing personal, but show me those hands.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Angel replied holding out her hands anyway, “I ain’t gonna run. Where would I go?”
Kim still taped her wrists together, “Sorry, but I’m not going to be the one that answers to Kyle if you take off.” After she was done with her wrists, she pulled out a knife and cut through the duct tape that bound her ankles. Kim helped her up then hurried off in Bree’s direction. Blake, who had watched the entire process, shook his head at her. “We tried to help your guy you know? What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“He died in my arms!” she snapped at him with a ferocity that made everyone within earshot look. “And then when I found out that those two pricks were the ones who attacked him, I fucking swore that they’d get what they deserved. You and your bitches ain’t any better neither. You wouldn’t have lifted a finger if I didn’t hold a gun to your head. And when the shit hit the fan, you left us for dead! So why don’t you just piss off?”
Angel got behind Clayton and stared defiantly at the ground as everyone started to head in the same direction.
“Why are we going this way anyway?” asked John who was walking in front of Clayton. “Shouldn’t we be sticking to the road so we can get to a town or a city?”
“Most people probably thought like that too, so most zombies are probably on the roads,” Kim answered.
“Besides, he’s the man with the plan,” Clayton pointed at Blake.
“I am,” Blake confirmed.
Blake looked periodically at the zombies on the road to make sure their group wasn’t going to get overtaken. They had left the road and were walking towards them, but since they hadn’t dilly dallied and gotten their stuff together fairly quickly, they had a good head start on them. Bree, Kim, and Lisa were in front with Blake a little of the way behind them, ready to offer navigational input. Kyle was a few feet behind him, looking tired and angry. People were definitely giving him his space. A courtesy few feet behind Kyle, Herbie, and Cammy waddled along the grass hand in hand, a perky looking Bob with his tail held high walked by the little girl’s side. John from accounting was behind them, then Clayton, then a blood-splattered Angel. Curtis trudged along with his assault rifle handy and helmet on, looking kind of like he was on patrol in a combat zone. Wait, what happened to Marie? Was she the one under the tree? Fuck. Behind him were Doris and Gao. He couldn’t see them very well as they were all the way in the back, but Doris looked to be carrying two bags in each hand as well as her backpack. Blake wondered if Gao was even wearing a backpack. I have to wonder how long he can just be leeching off the group. Has he done anything at all that was for the benefit of the others? I guess he drove a couple of times. The group had received its share of lumps from their rough landing, but considering their pilot had never flown before, it was miraculous that they were even alive.
They plodded on along a flat, grassy plain with a cluster of trees to their right side. The zombies behind them continued to be a source of pressure, and it was hard for people not to frequently look back at them. A sudden yelp from Cammy caused everyone to look in her direction. She’d gone around to Herbie’s left side and clutched at his leg as she pointed over to the trees. Framed in the golden light of the setting sun, figures were emerging from the brush and walking towards them, their clothing filthy, their hair disheveled, and their faces decaying. Blake picked up the pace and kept going roughly in the direction he felt was correct, but angled them away from the trees and the zombies that were starting to trickle out of there.
Only Curtis had his weapon ready. He took careful aim at the closest one and fired a shot, shattering the quiet of the countryside. The old undead man’s bald head rocked back from the bullet impact and he crumpled to the ground. The heavy set guy behind him continued to move forward with complete disinterest in his comrade’s demise. Another shot rang out and the heavy set guy’s face caved in, toppling him over like a chopped down tree.
Blake picked up the pace, much as that outraged his body and reminded him that he was feeling like a giant pile of turds. He heard someone else start shooting from behind him and he turned and said, “We gotta keep moving, don’t stop to shoot if they’re not close!” Then he continued to move aggressively forward to show that he practiced what he was preaching.
Kim and Lisa got to either side of Bree and were almost carrying her into a faster walk speed. Further back, there was sporadic shooting, which he hoped meant that they weren’t losing ground to the sluggish infected. He looked ahead and saw like a barn or a warehouse peeking out from behind some trees that were ahead of them. Maybe that’s where we’re going! It’d be nice if this place was close, I don’t really want to hike for days. And with the condition we’re in, we really need to find a zombie-free shelter for the night. Better if it was like two days and a bucket of pain relief gel. But even as he thought it, he wasn’t feeling it. The building up ahead wasn’t their sanctuary.
He heard the sound of running behind him and he looked back to see Clayton running up the line. He did a quick bow with a flourish of his hand as he passed the three girls behind him and slowed down to walk at Blake’s pace. “How far is this place?” Clayton asked.
“Well... I know it’s this way. The plane, uh, landed in the right general area so it’s just a matter of finding it,” Blake answered carefully.
Clayton gave him a slight look of disbelief, “Alright... so how do you know this place is still safe?”
Blake thought about that before answering, “I guess we don’t. We’ll just have to see when we get there.”
Clayton snorted, “Hope you have a plan B ready, pardner.”
“Plan B is find someplace we can barricade and rest up in. Then once we’re in relatively good condition we come up with Plan C,” Blake said wearily.
“Sounds good for the time being,” Clayton replied, sounding unconvinced.
The group hurried along and gradually the gunfire stopped altogether as they outpaced their undead pursuers. It took them about ten minutes to reach the structure they’d seen as they speed walked past the cluster of trees. From far away all they could tell was that it was a single story structure. Up close though, calling it unimpressive was high praise. As storage sheds went, it was a big one. It sat on about a fourth of a cracked concrete foundation in the corner farthest from them. That foundation was parallel to another one, slightly bigger, in similarly cracked condition though that one lacked a shed of its own. The people in the lead slowed down as they walked on top of the concrete and started looking around. This allowed the people behind them to catch up to them and then similarly walk around on the hard surface.
Blake saw Curtis hanging back, looking depressed and walked over to him. “You alright?”
Curtis shook his head sadly. “She’s gone. The world went to shit, but I found the bright spot in it all. And just like that...”
“Sorry, man,” Blake looked down, suddenly reminded of Ti
ffany.
“Did you need something?” Curtis asked quietly.
“Yeah, sorry, can you help me clear that shed?” Blake pointed over to it and Curtis nodded. It had two bays separated by a couple of rusted poles. There was an old shredded tire sitting against one wall and the wind had piled up dry leaves in the corners. They made their way carefully over to the shed’s set of double doors and Blake put his ear to one of them. After a moment he shrugged at Curtis and tried to slide the door open. It was unlocked but the doors were made of flimsy metal and had no rollers on the bottom judging by how loud the scraping noise was when he slid one open. Blake winced but continued to push on the handle until it was wide enough for a person to go inside. Curtis pushed Blake to one side and shined his flashlight in. When Curtis didn’t jump back and start shooting, Blake stuck his head inside to take a look as well. The shed was largely empty with the exception of some very worn gardening tools that were scattered along the wall, a couple of bags of manure, one of which had ripped open causing the contents to spill out, and some outdated furniture badly in need of a new coat of paint. “Curtis waited until Blake was satisfied then dragged the noisy door shut. Clayton had just walked up as Curtis closed the door and asked, “What’s in there?”
“Trash,” Blake told him. “It’s not even fit to sleep in for the night.”
“Well, is this it?” Clayton asked Blake.