by Thomas Baker
"A romantic winter getaway in the mountains. You know how to touch a woman's heart," Hannah said, smiling.
JT chuckled. "Sure, we can pretend." He squeezed Hannah's hand. The sudden show of affection was surprising and welcomed.
"It better have a fireplace, Captain Morgan, and some snow bunnies," Gus said.
This got him a light punch in the arm from Linda. Hannah and Linda both laughed at Gus's over the top outrage as he rubbed his arm.
"Seriously though, I just hope we find someplace safe," Hannah said, pulling away from JT. "There has to be someplace isolated enough up here. One that few people were around when the Outbreak started. I'd think the rough terrain would hamper any zombies or people left around. Like we are now. I'd love to find some food and supplies in a place that hasn't been raided yet. The mountains still seem like our best chance."
"Yeah," JT agreed. "Maybe we can have a chance at something like a normal life."
"This is all fine and dandy, but I'm freezing my man titties off here. Can we get to moving before my blood freezes too?" Gus said.
"You always become a grumpy old man when it gets a little cold outside?" JT asked.
The finger was Gus's reply.
"You doknow that before you were born I walked over mountains like this barefoot to go to school both ways? Let me show you kids how it's done," Gus said, walking off up the incline.
"Don't blow a gasket Gus," JT called. "You might have your own personal nurse now, but that doesn't mean you need to show off and overdo it."
"I just want to find someplace to get inside before it gets dark," Gus said, his breathing already getting heavier. "It will be real cold out here tonight. I can feel it in my bones."
They walked on for most of the day as the shadows lengthened behind them. Clouds gathered among the peaks. A light snow fell as the sky darkened towards evening. Hannah led them off the highway heading up into the mountain and down a dirt road that led to a rather large house at the end. The group took a long staircase up to the red-stained front deck, which wrapped around the side of the building. Hannah tried the front door. It was unlocked.
"Hello...Hello..." Hannah called out as they entered. JT was right behind her.
"This is quite a swanky place. Back before, this house was easily a million bucks," Gus said.
The four gathered in the large living room, which did indeedhave an ornate brick fireplace. Pictures of a happy family lined the mantle along the top of the fireplace. It also had huge windows running along one side of the room. The four of them stood at them and looked out at the land below them. The nearest city was just dots in the far off distance.
"Isn't it strange?" Hannah asked. Her voice sounded as if she was far off, lost in thought.
"What's that?" said JT.
"From up here, the world doesn't look any different."
Hannah turned away with what seemed like a struggle. JT looked at her and looked out the window. The city far below almost didn't look real. More like a model someone had put together.
"Nobody has answered us. Guess the place is empty," Hannah said.
"Let's go check it out Hannah," JT offered, pulling himself from the window. "We'll want to make sure there are no surprises."
They left Gus and Linda downstairs to check things out while they went up. The wood floors creaked with every step. JT gave up trying to move quietly. Hannah was right, if something or someone was here, they would have known it by now.
The first room they investigated had to have belonged to a kid. It had Mario decals on the walls, a desk with Lego pieces scattered all over it. The floor was a mess of clothes and bed sheets. Hannah looked at JT as if to say what the hell. JT went inside, poked around the piles on the floor, checked out the closet.
"It's clear," he said, coming back out.
They moved on. The next door down the hallway was closed. Hannah turned the handle slowly while JT covered her. It was locked. Hannah switched places and with a mighty shoulder rush JT banged the door open. A huge bed with a solid oak headboard and footboard dominated the middle of the room. They could make out shapes under the heavy red comforter. Next to the bed the window was open. The curtains flapped and there was a puddle on the hardwood floor under it.
"Hello," Hannah called out.
Nothing stirred. JT was not liking this. He felt like he had just entered a slasher flick. They stepped inside, got closer to the bed. The sheets were pulled all the way over the bodies, only a little hair was sticking out the top. There were red stains on the white pillowcases. Hannah reached for the comforter.
"Hannah, what the hell are you doing?"
She pulled it back without hesitation. JT raised his weapon. Two people, surely husband and wife, lay dead on the bed. A gun lay between them. They were surrounded by a red bed sheet which at one time had been white. Both figures had traumatic head injuries.
"Gruesome," JT said, turning away. "That makes me not want to sleep here tonight."
"We don't have much of a choice," Hannah said, covering them back up. "That's sad, to be so desperate and out of hope..." She trailed off.
"Let's not tell the others what we found Hannah. No reason all of us have to be disturbed by this."
Hannah nodded her head, and the two went back downstairs after checking the last room, which was an empty bathroom.
Gus called over from the fireplace when he saw them. "If you wouldn't mind JT, can we see about getting this started before it gets fully dark out there?"
JT stood looking out the window, disturbed by what they had found upstairs. Some thought was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't wrangle it. With an effort he tore himself away.
"Sure Gus, let me get on that."
"You want any help?" Linda called out. JT was just leaving the room and twirled around, wincing as he did. "Your knee could use a rest."
"No, I got it Linda," he gave a weak smile. "Thanks."
He could go out, get some firewood, and also some sips of a nice whiskey he had stashed at the bottom of his pack. He had found it at the army base in Carson. He thought no one had seen him swipe it and stash it away. He was rationing it, there wasn't enough there to get blackout drunk, but he could get a good buzz going. After everyone else was asleep, he could search around the house. A nice place like this they surely had some quality liquor around.
He went down some stairs and out a door to the garage. He waved his flashlight around. Inside sat a nice Audi in one spot, the other was empty. On the wall across from him, tools were arranged neatly on a pegboard. One of them was an axe. Just what he wanted to find.
JT stood in the doorway, digging out his whiskey, and took two shots. The warmth ran down his throat and into his belly. Taking the pack off, he stuck the whiskey bottle in his coat pocket, went over, and grabbed the axe.
JT pulled the cord to the garage door and pushed it up by hand. It rattled and squeaked on its track. JT took another look around with his flashlight, hoping to find something like a sled, to pull the wood back. The mountain wind whipped around his legs and he shivered.
I need to warm up. He took another two shots from his bottle, feeling a slight buzz coming on. He enjoyed the feeling. It had become a comforting friend. In front of him, at the back of the garage, was a long wooden bench. Under it he was rewarded with what he wanted to find, a kids plastic sled, round and red. He grabbed it and pulled it out, swaying a little as he squatted and then raised himself back up. That's when he had a thought come back to the tip of his tongue. He took a few steps back and bumped into something.
"Damn it, Hannah, don't sneak up on me like that." He whirled clumsily. It wasn't Hannah his flashlight lit up.
It was a zombie. A boy who looked to be ten or eleven. The right half of his face was scarred like it had been charred in a fire. The eye socket on the ruined side was empty. The boy stumbled back a few steps. Its mouth opened like it was hissing at him, but no sound came out. It lunged forward.
Its mouth clamped onto JT's coat an
d ripped. White fluff, so much like the snow outside, drifted through the air as the zombie pulled back. JT tried to fight through his foggy brain. It was like sirens were going off in the distance, fighting to make it through air made outof cotton.
It lunged again, shreds of fabric still between its teeth. JT dropped the flashlight and used both hands to bring up the axe. Light skipped around, like what was going on was some kind of rave or dance party.
JT blocked the zombie. Its face smashed into the wood handle. Teeth, cracked and shattered, fell onto the floor. The boy's jaw jutted out the side at a weird angle. It still worked though, it gnashed its jaw as best it could as it made another run at JT.
JT swung at it with the axe and missed wildly. It banged off the concrete, making small sparks in the dark.
The zombie was behind him. He twirled, almost losing his balance. It was already coming again. JT lifted his left arm, blocking without thinking about it. The boy dug into his coat again. JT held his arm up and swung low with the axe, cutting through one leg. The boy was wearing shorts, so there wasn't much resistance.
The zombie dropped, pulling JT's arm down with it. JT yanked, ripping the coat open again as he backed up, panting. The boy attempted to pull himself along the concrete. With little to grab onto and with a half a leg missing, it more wiggled back and forth making JT think of a snake.
JT raised the axe up with trembling arms and brought it down, splitting the zombie's skull in two. It stopped moving. Huffing and puffing JT stumbled over and leaned against the car. He cursed himself for being sloppy. For getting soft. He cursed the zombie. Cursed the world.
Once his tirade finished, he scooped up the flashlight. He scanned the whole garage again, even under the car, axe in hand. He took a few steps outside of the house, casting his light around. He saw nothing.
Going back inside, he grabbed up the sled, rolled the zombie onto it and pulled it out into the snow. It still tried to reach out to him. He thunked his axe into its skull and pulled on into the woods, where he planned to dump the body.
Maybe I should cut back on the drinking. That was too close.
By the time JT got back with the load of wood he had chopped, the whiskey bottle was empty.
JT decided it best to stash his war tattered gear in the garage before lugging the wood inside. The snow had picked up since their arrival but he was sure he could find a replacement in the house. When JT returned to the living room area, he found the other three had arranged two couches and a love seat around the fireplace. Gus shuffled over to help JT as the two of them got the fire going pretty easily with the matches they had found.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen we are in for quite the treat tonight, not only did we get lucky with the matches but in the pantry off the kitchen I found one box of unopened graham crackers, some hot cocoa, and the main event..." Linda modeled each item like she was on The Price is Right. Gus cheered outlandishly as Linda showcased a five pound can of baked beans with bacon and a mostly full jar of extra crunchy peanut butter.
"Sweet mother of the legume world we thank you for your gift." Gus mocked a cheesy prayer making the room fill with laughter. JT was feeling good enough now that his laughter was genuine.
Gus and Linda went to the kitchen to find a big pot to used to prepare their meal in the fireplace. JT put his leg up, relishing the heat and the relief. He ravished the peanut butter and crackers in record time. While they sat around the fire each enjoying their bowl of beans, they discussed their plans to move further up the mountain after everyone had a chance to rest. They all liked this oasis they had come upon but were all in agreement the house was too close to the main road to stay for long.
Later that night, as Hannah laid snuggled up on the love seat and Gus sawed logs from the couch nearest the fire, JT got up to relieve Linda of watch duty. Linda offered JT the last of the cocoa but he declined saying to save it for one of the others. Besides, he had plans to do some deeper searching into the cabinets over the sink where he had spotted some promising looking bottles earlier.
JT sat in the chair Linda had positioned to look out the large window towards the road. If he wasn't mistaken he even heard the distant call of an owl over the crackles of the fire. He waited awhile, watching the snow continue to fall and build on the trees and the ground, before going on his adult beverage recon.
Satisfied he had waited long enough JT lurked his way over to the kitchen area. On his way there was when he noticed a wine cabinet tucked neatly between two oversized fake potted plants. He slowly slid the wooden door open and saw what he desired The good stuff, the smooth stuff. He quickly decided on the bottle of Amaretto and went back to his perch for his watch.
He twisted the cap off and took one swig. He was about to take another when a hand fell on his shoulder. He jumped, spilling some Amaretto on his lap. He turned in his chair.
"Hannah! What the fuck?!" He fumed.
She said nothing, just pressed a finger to his lips to quiet him. She moved the bottle to a nearby shelf and adjusted her blanket as she crawled into JT's lap.
"Not tonight, please," Hannah somberly requested as she snuggled her head into his shoulder, while intertwining her fingers with his.
"Ok." That was all JT could muster up to reply.
A different warmth spread through his body when Hannah kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. Feeling overwhelmed JT adjusted his seat and leaned in to kiss Hannah. She met him with no hesitation. There was such a rush between them JT wished he could pick her up and carry her to a bed. Perhaps even the floor right here. JT was sure Hannah could feel his arousal. He wondered what she exactly had in mind.
Just then a coughing fit from Gus froze them like teens caught by their parents. Gus, still asleep, called aloud, "Linda honey bear, come back to bed and keep papa bear warm."
Hannah and JT covered their mouths to stifle their laughter. As they regained their composure JT tried to get back to where they left off, placing his hand on her inner thigh. Hannah seized the moment, taking his face in her hands, "not here, not like this, okay?" JT complied giving her one more long kiss before she snuggled back into his lap.
Not long after sitting there, holding her in his arms as she breathed the softness of sleep, JT looked at the bottle just out of reach through bleary eyes. He longed for the taste and comfort of alcohol, but he even more so craved what lay in his lap right now. JT wondered if he would ever let his desire to drink to get to the pointwhere that changed?
JT didn't recall nodding off at all. He woke now only because Hannah was climbing out of his lap. The morning light was bright through the large windows. JT stood and stretched, looking out into the forest. The sun glistened off of the snow which made a white blanket over everything. Hannah stood beside him looking too, then walked off to the kitchen.
Gus and Linda were already up and around. Linda was sorting through what appeared to be a folder full of brochures. JT got up and looked over her shoulder. They pitched things from around the area, anything from restaurants in the town below to avalanche survival training.
"Well, good morning to the two of ya'!" Gus said cheerfully. "I was going to relieve whoever had the last watch this morning, but the dawn was already rising and you two just looked more snug than two kittens in a mitten."
JT just smiled as they shook the sleep off. He wondered just what all of that was about. Was Hannah trying to come on to him? Keep him from drinking? Both?
After breakfast, at Hannah's request, they spent the rest of the morning turning the house upside down looking for anything useful. Nothing much came up they didn't already have. JT found a new winter parka. It was a bitsnug but it would do.
Linda came up with the idea to put snow in the pot over the fire, melt it, bring it to a boil and then use towels for warm sponge baths. There were no complaints from anyone about that. JT even gave Linda a giant hug when she told him to wrap his knee with one of the hot towels. He sat looking out the window again, enjoying the relief.
"H
ey there partner," Gus said, taking a seat next to him. "Good to see something other than a scowl on yer face. The women are upstairs in the bathroom. You want to have a chat with me?"
JT looked at Gus out of the corner of his eyes. "Depends, honestly?"
"Look. I get it. I do. What happened to Tyrone, well it sucks donkey balls is an understatement. I've lost lots of people and it ain't any easier from the first to the last. I've learned to deal with it though. You've got to as well."
"Oh yeah? How so?" JT couldn't believe Gus.
"For one thing, you can't go around being angry all the time. The situation we're in is grim but will go on carrying this boulder around on your back until a zombie gets you? You gotta deal with it bud, not drown in it." Gus put a hand on his knee. When JT turned to look at him, Gus raised an eyebrow.
"I hear you, Gus. All right? Geez." JT turned away before scowling.
It felt like Gus would say more but Hannah came bounding over, looking almost radiant.
"That was wonderful. I feel like I've removed a pound of grime and zombie goo. What are you two up to? Manly talk?"
"Ah, you know," Gus said, getting up. "Just chewing the fat."
"Before you go, Gus, I've already told Linda I think we will stay here one more night and then continue on tomorrow morning. What do you think?"
"That's fine with me, little lady. It's warm in here."
JT grunted, indifferent to either option. Gus had gotten under his skin and he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.
"Okay. I'll take that as a yes. It's too bad we can't stay here longer but there's no way we could survive the whole winter here. If we try to go up further and the weather doesn't cooperate, this at least is a good place to fall back on."
The two then left. JT continued to sulk and stare out into the whiteness. He looked around and couldn't find the bottle he was going to start on last night. Hannah had probably hidden it. Maybe even threw it off the deck for all he knew.
