Our Dead Bodies [Anthology]

by Wright, Jerry

  “Was she going to tell your wife, Frank?”

  The man’s eyes narrowed. Hal knew he’d hit a nerve but the man replied evenly. “Right now, you and your pets get to live. We’ll take the RV and the supplies and we’ll leave. You want to change that? You want me to put a bullet in your brain and have more than one pair of docile legs to spread whenever I want?”

  His instinct was to leap up and attack but Hal fought down the urge. Then, he saw Clara in the doorway. He took a deep breath. “Don’t you love Clara?”

  The man laughed. “Love? That was all she wanted before this shit happened. Look, I loved the way she could move her body, I’ll give you that. I loved that I could do anything, anything at all. If my wife didn’t give it to me, Clara would. Sure, she’s more like some fucking plastic blow up doll now but that’s better than nothing.”

  “Don’t you give a damn about how she feels?”

  “How she feels? Grow up. Jesus. Listen up, Boy Scout. I really care about how she feels when I’m screwing her. How’s that?” Clara’s eyes were sad, not quite filled with tears but sad. Hal watched her step away and to cover the noise he stood up. Immediately, Frank trained the gun on him and said, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Hal lifted his hands. “I want to go downstairs and get you keys so you can leave.” He wanted to add how much Frank sickened him but he didn’t. “Unless you want to try them yourself,” he said.

  Frank eyed him narrowly and said, “Okay. Let’s go.” Hal walked carefully past him and out of the bedroom. The man walked behind him, making his steps obvious, making sure Hal knew he was there.

  “Is it Frank or is it Nathan?”

  “What?”

  “Your real name. Which is it?”

  “Why the hell does that matter anymore?”

  Hal shrugged. It didn’t matter, not really. “Were you in love with your wife before this happened?”

  “You talk too much.”

  “What if they can still think? What if they can still feel?” It was a pretty damned stupid question, really. The man didn’t give a damn about her thoughts and her feelings before.

  “Have you ever had an affair?”

  “No.”

  There was a pause. They were near the door to the backyard now, and Hal could almost see the expression on Frank’s face in the glass door. It was indecision. “You know,” Hal began but the man interrupted him.

  “When you’re married your wife has expectations all the time. Then some beautiful young girl shows up at your office and she adores you, she wants you without all those expectations. You don’t have to prove anything to her. You don’t have to be anything than older and her boss for her to love everything about you.”

  Hal reached the door. “It’s not too late to give her a real reason to love you.”

  “Just get the keys, and don’t try anything.”

  Hal slid the door open and stepped out. He walked to the RV, moving slowly in the hopes a brilliant plan would spring to mind but nothing came. He could take Frank, Nathan. He could take whatever the hell his name was but he wasn’t sure he could do it without a wound and he wasn’t confident he could keep that wound from pushing him into sepsis. “Listen. This is a bad choice—”

  “Just shut up! This is happening and you can either live with it or die right here.”

  He sighed again and made walked to the driver side door. He opened it and pulled down the visor. The keys were gone. “You already took the keys?”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about?”

  He turned to face him. “What kind of game are you playing? The keys are already gone.”

  Frank looked nervous, frightened. “I may not be the kind of guy who stars in blockbusters but I have the goddam gun and I’ll use it.” Hal wasn’t certain if he’d really use it but he was certain the man had no morality left.

  “I don’t have them. They’re gone.”

  “I will kill your daughter and then your—”

  “Hid… them…” Hal turned to see Clara. She had her arm up and pointed at Hal. She repeated the words and an eternity passed as she did. Lori and Kaylee stood next to her, looking scared.

  Frank/Nathan smiled and walked toward them. “You’re going to tell me where you hid the damned keys or you can just say goodbye to one of them. Which one Hal? You want to say goodbye to your already dead wife or your already dead daughter?” He shouted the last words and raised the gun. Hal prepared to leap toward him as his heart raced but Clara stepped in front of her ex-boss.

  “You…don’t…love…me?”

  Frank lifted up his hands. “Of course I do,” he said sweetly. “I’m doing all of this for you.”

  “Heard… talk… him.”

  “Darling,” he said. “Anything you heard I only said because he’s dangerous. That’s why I need the keys, to get away from him.” He lifted his arm and pointed the gun at Kaylee. “You have three seconds, Hal.” Hal prepared to attack but Clara put her hand on Frank’s wrist.

  “I… know… hid… them…”

  Frank smiled and the smile grew malicious as he turned to Hal and said, “See. She knows her place.” He gestured with the gun and Hal followed the direction until he stood next to Lori and Kaylee. Frank turned his attention back to Clara. “Where did you see him hide them?”

  “No… I… hid…”

  Something was wrong. Hal didn’t know what it was but Lori wasn’t afraid. She was sad. He was pretty sure she was sad. It was possible he misinterpreted her expression but he didn’t think so. He’d seen that expression time and time again. Lori wasn’t afraid.

  Kaylee was.

  Kaylee was afraid. She held tightly to Lori’s hand and stared at her father expectantly. She expected something from him, something miraculous. Hal wondered for a moment why he still found it so difficult to accept his daughter’s disappointment, even now when life itself was nothing but disappointment. He sighed and said, “You can still stop this, Frank.”

  “You don’t know anything,” the man said. “My name isn’t Nathan or Frank. That was my company.”

  “Frank and Nathan’s? The video stores?” Hal tried to remember the press releases. The places would be out of business but they kept their adult choices long after the larger chains bowed to pressure. Then, abruptly, the firm announced some kind of accounting problems. Hal shook his head. “The infection was the only thing that kept you out of prison.”

  “Like this isn’t prison?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “Now give me the keys.”

  “I don’t know where they are.”

  “I… know…”

  The man nodded. “Get something to tie him to the RV.” Clara looked around in confusion and the man snapped, “Rope damn it. Get some God damned rope or something.” The girl jumped (as much as someone in her condition could) and then went to the RV, opening one of the side compartments and rummaging around. That just didn’t make sense.

  Didn’t make sense?

  That was bullshit.

  She wouldn’t have thought to look there. What the hell was going on? He turned to look at Clara but couldn’t see anything of note. He turned to look at Lori. She still looked sad but there was definitely no fear. Clara stood up.

  Christ.

  She had a gun, a shotgun. It wasn’t one of Hal’s, and Hal hadn’t seen it with Frank/Nathan’s things. It wasn’t too surprising that there’d be a gun on property in this part of the country or really in any part of the country in a home so secluded but it was surprising Clara found it instead of Hal.

  “Not…” Clara began as she pointed the gun at Frank/Nathan. “Not…”

  “Steal,” Lori said.

  Clara nodded slowly. “Yes. Not steal RV.”

  Frank looked incredulous and Hal understood. Were they getting better or were they always better? Were their minds just stiff, needing stretching? It was impossible. None of it made sense.

  Except the guns.

  They made far too much sens
e.

  Frank/Nathan’s face remained incredulous for a moment and Hal looked back at Clara. He doubted she’d ever used a gun in real life. He knew Lori hadn’t. The shotgun was a pump shotgun and from the state of the RV, Hal doubted the man who’d owned it was the type to leave a shell in the chamber. He looked back at Frank and watched his face grow angry. The man trained the gun on Clara, murder evident in his expression.

  “Wait,” Hal said softly. “I know where the keys are.”

  “No!” He turned to look at Lori. She hadn’t managed that level of intensity in her voice for a very long time.

  “Where are they?”

  “I’ll show you,” Hal said.

  He wasn’t certain what the hell he was going. All he knew for certain was that if the situation remained as it was Frank would fire and it was likely Clara would die. It might be too much of a stretch for Frank to accept that Lori and Clara had collaborated on the little insurrection but the risk was too high. He had to get the man to follow him and somehow find an opportunity to get the gun away from him.

  He’d have to kill him.

  Hal felt horrible about it but there wasn’t any choice. He had to kill him. The man would always be a threat and he’d be a greater threat in close quarters. He turned to Clara. “Lower the gun, Clara.”

  “No.” He thought for a moment her eyes glinted with tears.

  “Please, Clara,” he said. “It will be okay. We’ll all be okay.” It seemed to take forever but the barrel of the shotgun finally came down.

  “Show me,” Frank said. Hal walked around the front of the RV with no real idea where he planned to go and caught movement in the distance. He paused and stared. There were dozens of them. Maybe tens of dozens. “What the hell are those?” Frank asked.

  “Goats,” Hal said.

  “Then why the hell is there grass? That many goats would have decimated this place. It should be dirt.”

  Hal shrugged. It was a good question. There was no reason for the goats to leave… Hal sighed. “The keys are this way,” he said as he walked into the grass and then turned toward the barn. He walked and counted the steps. Frank spoke about five steps sooner than he’d expected him to.

  “Wait!” Hal stopped and turned. Frank looked at him narrowly. “You think you’re so damned smart, don’t you. You have a gun stashed? Hung the keys up next to keys? You want the harem to yourself, you asshole?”

  Hall shook his head sadly. “There’s no gun.”

  “Bullshit. Where are the keys?” Hal sighed, shook his head sadly one more time, turned and pointed. Frank smirked slightly and said, “Okay. You move toward the left for me. I’m going to walk ahead but this gun will be on you the whole time. Don’t get any ideas or I won’t just take the damned RV. I’ll put a god damned bullet in your head and leave you right where it’s parked.”

  Hal didn’t reply. He sighed and stepped to the left and then watched as the man stepped next to him, moving at a slight angle so the gun remained trained on Hal’s body. Now was the time. A quick strike with his leg to the knee would incapacitate him, and if he got a shot off it would go wide, very wide. Nothing about the man was physically imposing. A quick kick and a quick follow up with his fist would incapacitate him, eliminate the threat, and diffuse the entire situation. The kick would take less than a second.

  He didn’t kick him. Instead, he walked along sadly. “There’s still time to stop all this,” he said softly. Frank stopped and turned fully toward him. There was just a little bit of uncertainty in his eyes. That was enough. A quick fist to his throat would incapacitate him with no real damage. A simple motion, really. A step forward, putting his weight on his right leg and a straight jab to ensure he hit the throat and not the side of the next. Frank would probably drop the gun but it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t. He’d be useless. He’d be utterly useless.

  Hal desperately wanted to jab at his throat. All morality suggested he should but he didn’t. Frank walked backward, the gun trained on Hal and he scowled. “You’d like that, right? We all go our merry way and I spend every second wondering when you’re going to shoot me in the back of the head. That’s what this is all about, you just waiting for the chance. You’re lucky I don’t just kill you. It’s mercy to let you live. You’d never do it for me.” Hal stopped moving. Frank stopped as well but then smiled. “Don’t you dare try anything.” He kept the gun trained on Hal before he turned around.

  Before he turned around and screamed.

  Before he turned around and the female put her teeth into his calf and tore a chunk of it out. The gun fell to the ground and bounced slightly. Hal felt a wave of guilt as Frank lunged for it, succeeding only in falling to the ground and making it possible for the male to get to his arm as the man screamed and flailed about impotently. Frank screamed primal screams, wordless screams.

  Panicked screams.

  Hal might have been able to save him before the male got involved. He couldn’t now. He couldn’t even offer him a release from the pain. The gun was too close to the two infected. He wanted to shoot him, to give him that mercy but the gun was too close. He stared, though he desperately wanted to look away. He stared and considered it penance that he should watch a man eaten alive, a man murdered by Hal.

  Murder?

  Self-defense?

  There was no rationalizing it, as much as he wanted to. He’d consciously decided to kill him, consciously decided to do so with the husband and wife zombies who themselves deserved the mercy of permanent darkness. He looked at Frank. The man beat at the male eating his arm but he couldn’t have much strength left. Anything he gained from adrenaline was counteracted by the loss of blood. Already, the woman had a large portion of his calf stripped from the bone so that sickly white mingled with the red and black gore.

  He could chance the gun. He could move in, grab it, back off, and put a bullet in Frank’s head. Perhaps that would be the only thing that allowed him to sleep soundly ever again. It was too close. The male might be distracted by his meal but Hal couldn’t risk it. If he were killed, or even hurt, the chances for Lori and Kaylee grew slight and that wasn’t acceptable. There was no choice but to—

  His ears seemed to explode with pain as he watched Frank’s head disappear into red vapor. He turned, a little deaf, and saw Clara holding the shotgun. He wasn’t certain if he’d ever experienced such profound gratitude and profound guilt at the same time. Surprise, too. She’d known how to chamber a round, perhaps even how to load the gun. Frank didn’t scream anymore but the meal continued and he held out his hand. Clara seemed relieved to give him the weapon. He trained it on the male and then the female, awarding peace to the two of them but still leaving images in his head he knew would linger. He looked at Clara. Her expression was unreadable.

  “Sorry,” she said. Hal didn’t know if she said it to apologize to him or to Frank.

  “I’ll bury him,” he said.

  She nodded and said, “Them… too.”

  “Yes,” he said. “Can you, can you go back to the RV? Can you make sure Lori and Kaylee know you’re fine, know I’m fine?” She nodded again and seemed grateful for a purpose as she walked away. Hal leaned against the side of the barn and slowly slid to a seated position, holding his head in his hands.

  ***

  “Why don’t we stay?” It was early, and Hal opened his eyes to see Lori staring back at him. She seemed normal again, normal but for the pink pupils. She seemed normal and he was certain there’d been no hesitation in her voice.

  “What did you say?”

  “Why don’t we stay?” He sat up and stared at her. The bodies were buried and buried deeply. He’d done it unnecessarily, really. He’d dug deep for his own benefit, to make the task somehow more meaningful, more profound. He hadn’t done it to keep the bodies from attracting other infected but it would have the same effect nonetheless. He’d finished and somehow leaving didn’t make sense and they all ended up remaining for one more night.

  One more.


  “What if he was right, Lori?” he asked. “What if there’s a place in Canada where they’re trying to find a cure. What if there’s a safe haven.”

  “He was a liar.” Again, her voice came so naturally, so perfectly that he felt a flood of sudden and desperate desire for her. He reached for her and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. They made love, and this time without the almost overwhelming urgency they’d shared at the side of the road by the truck. Instead, he explored her slowly and wept when they finished so she held him and stroked his hair as he faded to sleep again. He awoke to the smell of coffee. He’d need to start rationing things.

  He made his way down and to the kitchen. Lori sat at the table and smiled at him. “Why don’t we stay?” she asked again as she got up and walked to the coffee pot. She poured him a mug and handed it to him. “Why don’t we stay?”

  He looked out the sliding glass window and saw Clara playing with Kaylee. Even happy, Kaylee always had a haunted look but it didn’t seem to be there at the moment. Surely it was his eyes and not her expression but he didn’t mind. “What if there’s a haven out there?”

  “Here is a haven.”

  He smiled but kept his eyes on Kaylee. “Is Clara okay?”

  She didn’t reply so he turned to look at her. “Here is a haven,” she repeated.

  It was secluded. There were goats that would last for some time, perpetually if he managed the stock and bred them. He could probably get a garden working. They could always leave later. They could keep the RV stocked and ready to go at a moment’s notice. On the other hand, they could likely gather others to the place.

  “Here is a haven,” she said insistently.

  “I suppose it is,” he said. Lori reached over and put her hand over his, squeezing gently.