Dead Last, Vol. 3

by Quaranta, Marc

  I rubbed my face and slowed my breathing down. Each breath followed a laugh. I had panicked for no apparent reason. For a moment, I had lost total control of everything. It was different than before. Back at WTIX, I had completely lost myself. I wasn’t the same person that went into the building. This time, I was scared and lost awareness of what was going on, but I still felt like me. It was a relief of normalcy.

  I walked over to the windows and looked outside. It was like looking over the town from a small family-friendly movie. It reminded me of movie families would watch during the holidays. I always remembered there being a wide shot of a neighborhood from ever Christmas movie ever made. It was so important to those movies that the entire neighborhood was shown. The director needed to show how seriously the neighbors took Christmas with all the lights and decorations and that it snowed more in that place than any other neighborhood.

  District 7-1 didn’t have the snow or the decorations, but my apartment did give me that same wide shot view of the whole town. There was some movement below. People were filtering in and out of stores and restaurants. I could see the lights from the sign below me shining up.

  I grabbed my shoes and barely had them on before I walked out of the apartment and down the stairs. I wasn’t too used to living above a public bar. It felt weird walking out of my place and right into the liveliness of the bar. It was like people were staring at me as if I was the Grinch walking down from his mountain.

  I smiled at some of my new neighbors but didn’t speak. I sat down at the end of the bar and was genuinely filled with joy when I saw Sarah working behind the bar. She was with a middle-aged couple at the far end of the bar and they were having a good conversation. They weren’t laughing hysterically, but their conversation was light-hearted and filled with jokes. I could tell by their expressions that Sarah was a great conversationalist.

  It was weird to see people having normal, enjoyable conversations. I wasn’t sure how they were still doing it. They weren’t talking about survival. They weren’t debating harshly the right or wrong way to handle a situation. They weren’t picking sides. They weren’t arguing. They were being friendly. They were eating dinner. He was finishing up a messy burger licking his fingers and the woman next to her had barely touched a quesadilla.

  I asked myself where the hell I was, but I didn’t care. Because I think I was home.

  “Scott, right?” Sarah asked with no smile on her face.

  “That’s right. Sarah.”

  “Great memory,” she said sarcastically.

  “This is still so weird to me,” I said. I looked around the bar and at more of the people enjoying dinner. Some of them looked at me again, too.

  “You know what’s weird to me?” she asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “A guy that sits at the bar and stares at the bartender without ordering a drink.”

  “I’m sorry.” I looked at her and then looked at the selection behind her. There was a lot to choose from. “Can I just have a beer?”

  She nodded and didn’t let me choose what kind. I didn’t care. Whatever she handed to me was going to be the perfect beer. Any beer was going to be the perfect beer. As long as it was cold.

  She dropped a Miller Lite in front of me and then waited. Once again, I did what she asked me not to and stared at her.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Eight dollars,” she said. Her tone immediately had dropped. She sounded pissed off. The little “cat and mouse” game that the two of us had been playing was quickly over.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think I have any money. I can’t remember the last time I saw money.”

  “Seriously?” That tone again.

  “I’m sorry. I can work it off.”

  She started laughing. “No, seriously as in why can’t you take a joke? I’m just messing with you, Scott.”

  “Oh. Oh, okay. Good because I really wanted this beer.”

  “You can have it. I guess you’re going to need some time to adjust to my personality, huh?”

  “I guess so. I think I’ve got the time, though.”

  She cleared some plates off to the side and dropped them into the sink. She looked at me a couple of times while doing that and then poured herself a shot.

  “So, you were saying this is weird for you,” she said before taking the shot.

  I nodded as I drank the Miller. I swallowed and reiterated, “Yeah. It is. Isn’t it crazy how something so familiar can be so strange? I mean, I’ve been coming to bars since I was 21, even before that if I’m being honest.”

  “Hey, I won’t call the cops,” she said.

  “But being back in one now is so weird. It hasn’t even been that long since I was last in one.”

  “The world has changed a lot. Nobody could have ever predicted this happening.”

  “Yeah, I guess the last few weeks have made the old world feel much older.”

  I had almost reached the bottom of the bottle without really paying attention to how fast I was drinking. Sarah noticed, though, and twisted the cap off another bottle and slid it in front of me. I finished the first with a final gulp and handed her my first empty.

  “It’ll probably feel weird for a few weeks. You’ll probably need to come in here as often as possible. Ya know, so your adjustment can be smooth.”

  I smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “Yeah, we’ve got some good service here.” She was flirting with me. I couldn’t believe it. I liked it, though.

  “Good beer, too.” I held the bottle up and took a drink. She scoffed at me and I almost spit the beer out mid-sip.

  Suddenly, though, her expression changed. She stopped laughing and the smile even disappeared rather quickly. She looked at the door and as I turned, I almost bumped into the man that had just come in. Glen. He patted me on the shoulder and sat down next to me.

  “Hey, Sarah. How are you?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, Glen. What can I get you?”

  He looked up at the selection just like I had before even though he probably knew what was on that bar. “Double scotch, please.”

  She nodded and turned away. It was strange. She wasn’t being rude to Glen, but the same friendliness I’d seen from her talking to me and the other couple was gone. It was more business-like. Was she worried about her job? Was Glen really able to fire her? Would he do that? I didn’t think that job security would be such a concern in the afterworld.

  “How’s the place, Scott?”

  “It’s good. I’m getting settled.”

  “Great. You’ll need to just let me know if you need anything. We have a lot of resources. I’ll make sure somebody brings you by a toothbrush and makes sure the kitchen and bathrooms are all stocked accordingly. That sound alright?”

  “Sounds great.” Sarah put the glass down in front of him. He thanked her, but she didn’t respond. She smiled at me and then went all the way back over to the other side to clear the couple’s plates.

  “Remember the conversation we had about working a job?” He continued before I could respond, “I was thinking about your expertise as a manager and overseeing other people and think I’ve come up with a great job for you. It’ll bring respectability back to your name.”

  “Sounds great. Like I said, I’ll do anything I can to help out.”

  “I’d like to add you to the security team.”

  “Like the army?”

  “We don’t call them that. They may look like military, but none of those guys are really military trained save for a couple. Anyway, I’d like you to join that security team. We’ll start you off small with some surveillance and patrolling the town, but it could grow into a more prominent role.”

  He took three sips of the scotch and smacked the table lightly. I could tell he enjoyed a good drink.

  “Darren Kendrick was the man in charge of that unit, but with him having to be removed, that spot is open. Now, I’m not saying I want you to run security, I mean, I don’t know you for
squat and you don’t know anything about this place, but with some time spent, you could gain my trust and who knows.”

  He wasn’t in the mood to hear my opinions. He just kept going.

  “Again, it’ll be some simple work in the beginning. I’d like to have you working by my side mostly and we’ll see how things go. How does all of this sound?”

  “I think it sounds good. It’ll work.”

  “I think so, too.” He took a large drink to finish off what was left in the glass and dropped it to the table. “There is a Town Office in the center of town, you can’t miss it. Meet me there tomorrow morning and we’ll go over assignments in more detail.”

  He reached out and shook my hand and was gone before I could thank him. I wasn’t finished with my beer yet so I stayed to sip at it. It was another ten minutes before Sarah finally came back over to me.

  “You need to be careful,” she said.

  “I’m not driving.” I joked.

  “I don’t think Glen is really a trustworthy guy. Probably should be careful around him.”

  “You know him well?” I asked.

  “Pretty well,” she said without looking at me.

  “Wait, like…” I didn’t feel comfortable asking her who she had dated. It wasn’t my place to pry. We’d flirted, but really, we had known each other for ten minutes. She knew what I was instantly thinking, though, before I finished my thought.

  “No. God, no! It’s not like that. I was,” she stopped and thought. I could see memories replaying before her eyes. “I was good friends with his wife.”

  “I see,” I said. I left some beer in the bottom of the bottle, but was ready to head back upstairs and give Sarah some space. I didn’t want to come on too strong, but before I could say goodnight, she opened up another Miller Lite and put it in front of me. I smiled at her smile and started on the third bottle.

  13

  Jack Scoville

  I t had been a long time since I experienced a period of personal time. I’d taken quick showers at WTIX when we were there and have had some time alone, but showering inside the house that we were gifted by District 7-1 was different.

  I was able to shower in a clean bathroom that had a door that locked. The tiles were smooth on my feet and clean. The towel could hang on a hook and would be there when I was ready for it. It was dry, too. Clean as well. I was able to have privacy and not worry about any of the outside distractions of the new world.

  I stepped out and threw the towel over the top of my head. The lights went out as I rubbed the material on my face. Immediately, I could feel the warmth from the towel. After a moment, I dried off the rest of my body and threw some clothes on. I kept that towel around my neck, though. It was a bit damp, but the warmth of it was still there and I wanted to keep that feeling with me.

  I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to grab a beer. It felt like we had an endless supply of beer and food. I knew eventually that wouldn’t be the case, but somehow District 7-1 was keeping every house equipped to operate.

  My moment of privacy was continuing. I was seeing less of the people I lived with even though we were living under the same roof. WTIX was a lot bigger than the houses we lived in now, but it seemed like I saw more of my group back at the station. We were all busy doing stuff now, I guessed. People were trying to get back to normal lives.

  We had our own rooms and own bathrooms and there were stores and bars and things to do that resembled normalcy. Sitting around in a group trying to survive wasn’t on our list of things to do anymore. We just didn’t need each other as much as we did outside District 7-1 walls.

  I wasn’t even a mouthful into my beer when I heard the front door open and just as quickly slam closed. The footsteps of the house’s new visitor were loud like bricks walking across the hardwood flooring. The bottle on the counter was rumbling like a drinking glass from a dinosaur movie.

  Emily burst around the corner and into the room. My moment of privacy was finally over, but the look on her face made me wish that it hadn’t ended. I smiled at her but immediately regret it. She was pissed about something and I had this gut feeling that I already knew what it was about.

  “How the fuck could you do this to me?!” She shouted. She picked up an apple from the fruit basket on the table and chucked it at me.

  I wanted to react, but I had no chance of catching it. I put my hands up and moved my head to the side. I tried to contort my body in such a weird way that the apple wouldn’t come close to me. It hit the outside of my pinky finger knuckle and must’ve hit a sweet spot. Hit hurt like hell. I grabbed my finger to squeeze out the pain, but also looked up at her in time to dodge another piece of fruit.

  “What the hell!” I shouted back. She threw another. I didn’t have an opportunity to look, but I knew there were already pieces of smashed fruit dripping down the walls. “Stop!”

  “My daughter! Are you sneaking behind my back with my own fucking daughter!” She grabbed more fruit but didn’t throw.

  “No! Emily! Stop throwing fruit.”

  “You’re right.” She dropped the fruit. “I should just be punching you in the face.” She walked around the counter and even as I backed up, she was able to hit me in the arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She hit me again.

  “I’m not doing anything! Would you just fucking listen to me!” I backed up and moved around the counter. It was like playing Duck-Duck-Goose with the island between us. “Stop hitting me!”

  “Emily, Elyse has lost her fucking mind!” I had to blurt it out.

  She finally stopped swinging. Her breathing was rapid, but it wasn’t angry anymore. She rubbed her face and eyes. She was torn between relaxing and beating me up. She was scared. She knew there was more to the situation, but she wasn’t ready to hear it all.

  At this point, we were on opposite sides of the counter. I was by the fruit and she was by my beer. To make it a complete reversal of the situation, I should have grabbed the fruit. Because she grabbed my beer. She tilted it back and finished it.

  “Emily, I’m sorry you had to find out whatever it is you found out.”

  “Haylea told me what she saw.”

  “Of course, she did.” I shook my head. I’d deal with that later. “Well, she wasn’t very clear with you then what she saw. I didn’t do anything. Elyse has been coming on to me and coming on to me strong.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Jack,” Emily said.

  “I’m not. Emily, I swear. I’m not lying. I don’t know why but we had a really good relationship and then all of a sudden, she snapped and starting taking our relationship and turning it sexual. She thought every nice thing I was doing was my way of hitting on her. She kept telling me ‘I know you want me’ and other weird shit like that.”

  “You weren’t hitting on her? You never touched her?”

  “Jesus Christ, no! I never did anything like that. Emily, I looked at Elyse like a daugh…like a friend. She was somebody I could look out after and help take care of, but after she started acting like this…it got fucking weird.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “We know what happened. She’s not right, Emily. She’s not okay after…you know.”

  “I can’t believe this.”

  “She’s lost sight of real feelings and real emotions. She doesn’t understand anymore. She’s damaged, Emily. She’s…she is not herself.”

  “I know,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying to fight it and act like everything is normal, but it isn’t. I’ve either been treating her like everything is okay or I’ve been ignoring her. I just haven’t been able to break through whatever she’s feeling.”

  “You’ve got to talk with her,” I advised.

  “I don’t think she’d want to talk me. Not about this.”

  “Well, don’t be detailed. Leave me out of it. Just ask her how she’s doing. Figure out what’s going on. Maybe this place has a therapist or someone that can help her.”

  “Yeah, I don’t know.”
>
  “We’ll figure it out. It’ll be okay, Emily.”

  She began walking around the counter and slid the bottle along with her. She got to the other side, closer to the entrance to the kitchen, and let go of the bottle, but she kept on walking. Her head was down and I didn’t know whether to speak or to let her continue with her thoughts.

  After a minute, she was back to where she had started and set both palms on the smooth surface of the granite. She finally looked up at me and spoke without hesitation, but with some caution.

  “Jack, do you love me?”

  I didn’t speak. My mouth dropped slightly and she took that as a bad thing.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. ‘Love’ is a strong word. It is a silly word. I’m sorry. Forget that I ever said that. Just forget that.”

  “Emily,” I interrupted. I dropped my head forward.

  “I just mean…Do you care about me, Jack? Do you care for me?”

  “You know I do,” I said.

  “You’ve been there for me—for us since Sam died. Jack, I’m not supposed to have these feelings so soon, but, Jack, I need to know if you care for me.”

  Her voice changed. It was shaky and uncertain. Her eye contact broke from me and she spun in a circle unsure of how to stand.

  “I look at you and I get this feeling,” she continued. “It is probably wrong, but I can’t help it. You’ve been so great and every single time I try to ignore it, it grows. Jack.”

  I slowly moved around the counter like walking toward an animal I wasn’t trying to scare. I reached my hand out and walked closer to touch hers.

  When my hand made contact with her skin, she stopped talking. She finally settled and I could see her body relax. She looked up at me.

  “Emily, I do love you.” was all I needed to say. It was all I’d felt and to finally say it to her was a weight off of my shoulders. I felt my heart flush the blood through my system.

  She didn’t say it back, but she smiled. The weight fell off of her shoulders there, too. She almost collapsed in my arms. I put my hands on her cheek and felt like I was holding her up and lifting her to me.