by Dziekan, PJ
“Ben!” Sarah yelled as she took a step back. Ryan was too close for her to risk a swing. Two zombies converged on her while one sought out Ryan.
Ben sagged against the wall, his eyes wide, the tire iron all but forgotten in his hands. He watched as Sarah spun, avoiding the outstretched hands of the creatures. She drew up her foot, catching one zombie in the abdomen and pushing it back a few feet. Ryan backed up quickly, a creature moaning after him. With one swing of his bat, the zombie was down, brains splattered across the wall.
Knowing Ryan was out of the way, Sarah gripped the pry bar in both hands and let fly. One zombie’s skull caved in and dropped to the floor. She pivoted on her heel, bringing the bar back, the tip punching into the other zombie’s skull. With a yank, the bar was free and the creature fell over. She looked down at the things that were once people, then at Ben.
Biting back her anger, she said “You cannot open a door without checking to see if there’s something behind it.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
“Furthermore,” she interrupted. “When you see someone who needs help, help. Don’t cower in the fucking corner.”
Ryan stepped forward. “Sarah, maybe –”
“No, Ryan. He needs to learn. He needs to do this. I’m not going to carry these people.” She wiped the gore from her pry bar on the back of the sofa. “If I can do this, if Jack can do this, then he damn sure can.” She looked at Ben. “If you can’t do this, tell me now so I can get my people together and get the hell out of here.”
“I can do it,” he said sullenly.
“Then do it.” She moved past him into the room where the zombies had come from. Throwing her weapon on the bed, she first opened the drapes, letting light into the room. She began to open drawers, searching for anything useful. Every time she slammed a drawer back closed, a tiny bit of her anger dissipated. By the time she was feeling calm enough to face Ben again, she had collected two flashlights, a pair of eye glasses from the bottom of a drawer, some pain medication and two boxes of condoms. Shoving all her booty into her backpack, she headed into the adjoining bathroom.
The over the sink cabinet was full of prescription medications. She swept them all into her backpack, trusting Michelle and April to sort them out. From under the sink, she took the stash of toilet paper. You could never have too much of that. Turning her search to the small linen closet, she found feminine supplies that went into her bag. In the back of the closet was a small tote with a red cross taped to the lid. She popped it open and saw a well-stocked first aid kit. Smiling, she lifted the tote, her flashlight dangling from her wrist, and headed back to the main room.
Sidestepping the bodies on the ground, she put the tote by the door just as April walked in. “What do you have there?” She asked.
“Homemade first aid kit. I also have a shitload of prescription meds in my pack.”
“Great, I’ll check them later.” April saw the bodies on the ground. “Trouble?”
“Not much.”
“There’s some outside. Bobby and Jack hauled up the supplies, but they stirred up a handful. I dodged them getting here, but it might be tricky getting back.”
Sarah blew out a sigh. “Great.”
“We should probably clean this place out quick and get back across.”
“Think we have time to get the whole building?”
April shook her head. “I don’t think so, but you never know.”
“We should at least finish this floor.”
Ryan and Ben emerged from the kitchen empty handed. “Only a few cans of ravioli and a jar of peanut butter,” Ryan said. “But a ton of take out menus on the fridge.”
“I got some meds from the bathroom, so at least it wasn’t a total bust,” Sarah said. “We’ll finish off this floor, then head back. April said there are some out there.” She ignored the look of fear on Ben’s face. “Let’s get going before they herd up.”
♦
Three apartments remained on the second floor. One was full of moaning when Sarah knocked, so they passed it by. One yielded water and more canned goods. The other was already cleaned out, presumably by the original occupants. The only thing they took from that one was a back pack.
In the second-floor hall, Sarah redistributed their remaining salvage into four backpacks, the three that they always carried and the one they had picked up for Ben. “Always have a backpack,” she said to the big man as she shoved cans into his. “You never know when you’ll come across something you can use and with a backpack, your hands are free.” She tried not to pack his too heavy since he wasn’t used to it. But she didn’t want to leave anything behind. She ended up shoving more cans in hers and Ryan’s pack.
“What about the first aid kit?” April asked.
Sarah was half tempted to have Ben carry it, but he needed to be able to fight. “Can you carry it? We’ll cover you.”
“Sure.”
“I think it’s mostly bandages.” Sarah shrugged into her pack, adjusting it until it was just this side of bearable. It was more weight than she usually carried. “If you get stuck, don’t hesitate to drop it and run.”
“Take my bat.” April extended the bat to Sarah.
“Sure.” She slid the pry bar through a loop on her backpack, tightening the Velcro to hold it tight. She took the bat, gripping it loosely in her right hand. “Let’s go.”
Sarah led the way down the staircase. The pry bar banged against her thigh as she moved down the steps. That’ll leave a bruise or two, she thought as she moved off the last step to the doorway. She held up a hand and went to the door. She peered through the dirty glass and saw half a dozen zombies shambling in the streets. They were pretty widely spaced, but she knew there were more that she couldn’t see. She turned her back to the glass and whispered, “I see about half a dozen. We can probably dodge them, no fighting, if we move fast. Ready?”
Nods all around, Ben’s just a bit hesitant. “There’s one to the left, so go right,” Sarah informed them.
She slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. A one-armed zombie was about four feet away. Holding tight to April’s bat, she motioned the group through the door. Ryan went first, followed by Ben, then April. Ryan easily sidestepped the creature, Ben practically following in Ryan’s footsteps. April slid past him then it was Sarah’s turn. He was much closer now, but she didn’t want to take the time to fight him. She pushed him away with the bat and kept moving.
However, his moans of disappointment gathered others. The six quickly became eight, then ten as more creatures became aware of them. “Speed up!” She called and Ryan started jogging, Ben wheezing behind him. April picked up her pace, her long legs eating up the ground. Sarah kept glancing back at the four zombies on her tail, but her pace never wavered.
Until the zombie stepped out between two minivans, right between Ryan and Ben. Ben froze, staring at the scrawny teen zombie reaching for him.
“Ben, hit it!” Sarah yelled. She started running, passing April who had veered around a corpse on the road. But it wasn’t a corpse. The zombie reached a hand up and grabbed April’s ankle. She went sprawling, the first aid kit flying from her hands and popping open as it hit the road, bandages flying everywhere. She rolled to her back, her legs twisted, the zombie fingers digging into her ankle.
Ryan turned when he heard Sarah’s call. He was nearly to the apartment building. “Shit,” he muttered and turned back. He saw April go down. “Sarah! Get April!”
Sarah looked over her shoulder and saw April on the ground, kicking at the creature with her free leg. “Fuck!” She cried. She turned back, April’s bat swinging by her side. As she reached her fallen friend, she gripped the bat with both hands and swung it like a golf club. The zombie’s head was nearly torn from its shoulders. One more swing and the head flew down the street, coming to rest in the gutter on top of a sewer drain.
“You OK?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah.” April pulled her leg from under the headless zombie’s a
rm.
Sarah turned, running towards Ben, who still stood motionless, the zombie just a foot or so from him, groans coming from its tortured mouth. “Ben, kill it!” She yelled. Ryan was still half a block away.
“Kill it, you fucking idiot!” Sarah was panting as she ran. Too much weight. She hoped she could reach him in time.
Ben finally moved, taking the tire iron in both hands and raising it above his head. With a loud roar, he brought it down and buried the sharp end in the top of the zombie’s skull. The tool pulled free as the zombie fell. His gaze found Sarah’s, a look of stunned surprise in his eyes.
“Good job, Ben.” She was breathing heavy as she stopped in front of him.
“Pep talk later, Sarah. We gotta get.” She turned at Ryan’s voice. He had an arm around April’s waist; her arm was slung over his shoulder.
Before Sarah could ask, April spoke. “I twisted my ankle when I went down. But we need to go. They’re coming out of the woodwork.”
And they were. Zombies were approaching from all directions. Skeletal ones, oozing ones, burned ones. Christ, was that a fresh one? “All right, let’s move.” She turned to Ben. “Come on, Ben. You get the rear.”
The path to the building was getting crowded. With April’s injury, they wouldn’t be able to move fast. Taking a deep breath, ignoring the pain in her shoulders, her back, her thigh, Sarah took off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
With a swing of the bat, she knocked one down, but another was right behind. She pushed him out of the way, smiling grimly as he tripped over the curb and fell on his back. There was a narrow path and she yelled, “Move it, people!” They moved as quick as April could hobble, but the path began to close. A fat creature with a ripped open stomach and an arm hanging by sinew moved directly in front of her. The first hit with the bat did nothing but move it back a step. She relaxed her grip and swung again, harder. She bit back a cry as her back spasmed in pain. The zombie dropped, its brains leaking from its ruined head.
“Come on!” They were half a block from their apartment building. Breathing heavy, she pushed on. A raggedy skeletal zombie popped in front of her. She brought the bat up, but the pain in her arms arrested her swing. She slammed the fat end of the bat into the former person and pushed hard, the zombie stumbling backwards. She kept pushing at it until Ryan and April passed her then sped away. She got to the door, mercifully free of zombies, but they were only a few feet behind Ben. She opened the door, her head moving from side to side, tracking the advancing ghouls.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!!” Ryan and April stumbled to the door. A loud cry caught her attention and her head whipped around. A zombie the size of Ben had both of its rotting arms on his arm, pulling the man despite Ben’s efforts to get away. Ryan and April were blocking her path; she would never get to him in time.
“Ben, turn your head!” She unholstered the gun, flipped the safety and took the shot, the report echoing off the buildings. The zombie dropped with a neat hole in his temple, nearly pulling Ben down with him. “Run, Ben!”
Ben, his eyes wide, his chest heaving with every breath, made it to the door. “Thanks,” he muttered as he pushed past her.
Sarah nodded as she pulled the heavy door shut, leaning against it, breathing heavy. “Well, that was fun,” she quipped.
Heads turned at the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs. Mick appeared, baseball bat in hand. “What happened?” He demanded. “I heard a shot.”
Sarah shook her head as she pushed off the door. “Nothing, babe. I just didn’t have the room to swing.” Or the energy, she thought.
“Where’d you go? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We just went hunting supplies. No biggie.” She tried not to wince as she walked to the stairs.
She failed. “What did you do to yourself?” Mick asked, trotting down the remaining steps and going to her side.
“Nothing!” She pulled away from him, causing another spasm of pain. “I’m fine!” “Sarah…” He shook his head at her. “Fine. Did you do any good?”
“Not too bad.” Gripping the banister, she pulled herself up the stairs. “Didn’t even go far, just up the street. There’s more in there.”
“I suppose you’re going back?” Mick asked, walking behind her.
“Hell, no.” She deadpanned. “I need a bath. Find someone else to do it.”
Mick laughed. “’Bout time.” She turned her head and glared at him. He laughed harder. “What?” He protested, still smiling. “I meant, it’s about time you take a break.”
“Uh-huh.” Sarah resumed her slow climb up the steps. “Sure you can’t fix that elevator, Ryan?”
♦
Food was distributed between the groups. The eyeglasses weren’t the right prescription for Grant, so they put them aside in case they needed them at another time. Michelle checked April’s ankle, pronounced it sprained and wrapped it. Since she was immobile, April went through the medications Sarah had found, not finding vitamins, but there were some antibiotics and painkillers that would start their new pharmacy. After some deliberation, Sarah handed over one of the boxes of condoms. “Sure you don’t need these?” April smirked.
Sarah grinned. “Kept a box for myself. Of course, as sore as I feel, we won’t be using them for a bit.”
Once in her bedroom, she looked longingly at the tub. A long soak would do wonders for her sore bones and tired muscles, but they couldn’t spare the water. She sat on the bed with a sigh. Maybe Ryan and Bobby could rig a water tower to get water for bathing. They could recycle the bathwater into the gardens, once they were planted. She didn’t realize she was drifting backwards, falling onto the bed.
That was where Mick found her, feet on the floor, back on the bed, sleeping soundly. With a smile, he removed her boots and holster, placing the gun on the nightstand. He moved her legs up on the bed. She immediately turned to her right side, bringing her knees up nearly to her chest. He covered her with a thin blanket and placed a kiss on her dirt smeared forehead. He left the room, silently closing the door behind him.
♦
Sarah woke with a groan two hours later. Her body ached from the soles of her feet to the top of her disheveled hair. She bit back another groan as she pushed the blanket aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Slowly, she stood, ignoring the sharp pain in her back, the tension in her arms, the ache in her legs. She twisted her body, moving her shoulders, shaking out her arms. After a few minutes, the pain subsided, just a dull ache left in her shoulders and back. She sat back on the bed and laced up her boots. She looked again at the tub just visible through the bathroom door and sighed in disappointment. She stood again, taking the gun and holster from the nightstand and strapping it on. She walked slowly across the room. By the time she opened the door, she had forced the pain down and was moving at her normal pace. No one would know she wasn’t at one hundred percent.
She walked into the kitchen to see Donna shelving cans. “What’s happening?” Sarah asked.
Donna’s head flew up. “Mick found some canned chili. With meat.” Donna smiled.
Meat wasn’t something they saw a lot of. Sarah smiled back. “Is he around?”
“No, he and Steven and Claire and Jack went back out.”
“Do you know where Ryan is?”
“I think he’s at the other apartment.”
Sarah murmured her thanks then moved into the living room, where April sat on a beat to hell reclining chair, her bandaged ankle elevated. Michelle sat on the sofa, digging through a tote. “How’s the ankle?” Sarah asked.
April rolled her eyes. “Fine, but she won’t let me move.”
“Oh, quit whining,” Michelle said. “It’s only for a little bit. I swear, you are such a baby!”
Shaking her head, Sarah turned away with a smile. It was hard to believe that a short time ago, April held a gun on Michelle. “I’m going to find Ryan. Play nice, OK?”
She left the apartment, the hall slightly chillier than the
apartment. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt as she walked down the hall. She stopped at the closed door of their second apartment and knocked twice. Waiting just a few seconds, she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Hi, Sarah,” Dominic said from his seat on the sofa. He was surrounded by books, then in turn by the kids.
“Hey, Dominic.” She smiled at the youngsters. “What’s going on?”
“I’m learning to read.” Elizabeth lisped.
“That’s great, Elizabeth!” Sarah exclaimed. “Do you want to read me a book later?”
Elizabeth thought for a moment. “OK, but you might have to help me.”
“It’s a deal.” She looked up at Dominic. “Everything OK? Do you need some help?”
“Christa’s helping.” He smiled at the young teen. “I’ll make a teacher out of her yet.”
Christa murmured something as she ducked her head, her long dark bangs obscuring her face. “Thanks, Christa,” Sarah said softly.
“You’re welcome.”
Sarah turned back to Dominic. “Have you seen Ryan?”
“On the roof.”
Sarah silently groaned. She dreaded the idea of the steps. “OK, thanks.”
With no one in the stairwell to see her, Sarah moved slowly up the steps. I should have grabbed some aspirin while I was down there, she thought as she rounded the last set of steps. She stopped at the door leading to the roof and took a deep breath. Blowing it out slowly through her nose, she opened the door and stepped through to the roof.
In less than twenty-four hours, it had changed. The plastic chairs were stacked and sitting against the wall of the elevator housing, the table in front of them. The weeds were gone from the expanded plot of dirt, Grant raking the remaining soil. She saw a few bags of soil and Becca’s bucket. Bobby and Ryan were diagonal to Grant. Bobby was cutting lengths of board with a handsaw while Ryan measured others. She saw another stack of lumber nearby.
