Urban Decay

by Paxton Matthews

  "But then again, where would we go?" Erica asked Theo once more.

  "I suppose we could try and get into another house around here," Silvia suggested. "If they're clear that is."

  Theo turned to Macey, "Macey, you said that you and your family were leaving, right?"

  "Yeah," Macey answered, finishing her breakfast. "We were trying to at least."

  "Where were you guys trying to get to?"

  "My brother suggested we try to get to a lake or a river. I think my dad was going to try and get us to the River Rouge."

  "Did you guys have a boat?" Theo asked.

  "No. We were going to try and buy our way onto a boat or something like that. We were all in panic mode, and we hadn't really thought it all through. Just get out of the city, get away from people. Something along those lines."

  "That's not a bad idea though," Erica said. "When you really think about it."

  "Does anyone else in the room have any type of seafaring vessel?" Theo asked.

  Silva and Erica both shook their heads.

  "Does anyone know anyone that has a seafaring vessel?"

  Nobody said a word.

  "Well, there goes that."

  "But, there might be boats on the shore," Macey said. "Boat launches and things like that."

  "Yeah Theo, ever hear of a dock?" Silvia asked jokingly.

  "I'm smart, I know things," Theo insisted. "Sometimes."

  "We don't even have the keys for that truck out there," Erica said.

  "The spare's in the house somewhere, right, Macey?" Theo asked.

  "Yeah, it should be," Macey answered.

  "We should at least go over there and find that damn key. Just to be on the safe side," Theo told the ladies.

  Erica sighed, "Come on, let's go. We should at least try and humor him."

  "Erica, if you weren't a lesbian, I'd marry you," Theo quipped.

  "Ew."

  "Erica, you're gay?" Silvia asked.

  "Yeah."

  "That's hot."

  "That's what me and Macey said too," Theo told Silvie.

  Erica groaned. "Oh come the hell on."

  The morning air was warm and dry. Clouds were rolling past in the sky, blocking out the sun from time to time. And it sounded like there were more than a few rotters that were nearby.

  "Listen to those bastards growling," Silvie said. "You guys think this is a good idea? Maybe we should wait for a few."

  Theo hopped up on the privacy fence that separated the two yards, "Macey's yard is empty. And I don't see any dead pricks in the other yards. I think we'll be okay."

  "He's like a dog with a bone, isn't he?" Erica asked Macey and Silvie.

  "Erica, you're the one that wanted to, 'liven things up' not me. I'm just thinking ahead is all. I don't see you coming up with any contingency plans."

  Erica pointed to the pistol sticking out of the waistband of her pants. "My contingency plan is to put a bullet in your leg and watch the dead things tear into you. That sound like a good plan?"

  "No not really," Theo answered. "And besides, I probably taste like shit anyway."

  All four of them laughed at that. Erica didn't want to, but she couldn't help it. "Okay, that was a good one."

  Theo and Silvie pushed open the back door to Macey's former house. They checked to make sure no dead things were inside. The place was empty, just a slight odor of rotten food and nothing more.

  "Alright Macey, where would the spare key to the truck be?" Theo asked her.

  Macey stood there trying her best to remember. "I don't think they were in my parents' room. They were either in one of these drawers or out in the garage."

  "Is the garage unlocked?"

  "No. My dad had the only key, which was on his key ring."

  "Of course it was," Theo replied. He tossed Silvia his crowbar, "You two try and get in the garage, Macey and I will look around in here."

  "Alright. Keep the kitchen door open, just in case," Silvia told Theo.

  "Anything happens, just yell," Erica said.

  While Silvia and Erica got to work on trying to get inside the garage, Theo and Macey began rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen. "Macey, could they be in the basement?" Theo asked.

  "No, there's nothing at all down there except for a furnace."

  "Damn."

  Outside, Silvia was having a rough time with the locked garage door. "This is really starting to piss me off. How in the hell does Theo do it?"

  "Here, let me try," Erica said.

  Silvia handed Erica the crowbar. Erica took a few steps back from the door and swung the crowbar at the doorknob, breaking it in two. "There, much easier."

  "Impressive."

  The air inside of the garage was stale and warm. Silvia and Erica had to wait a few minutes before they could enter.

  "Damn that's rank," Silvia said.

  After a few minutes, they walked into the garage. Inside was a small workbench with a toolbox on the ground beside it. Erica began searching through the toolbox. Silvia looked around in the rest of the garage, trying to find something useful. She spotted a hatchet that was hanging on the wall.

  "I think I found a suitable weapon for Macey," Silvie told Erica.

  Erica smiled. "Damn, I should've called dibs." Erica popped open the toolkit and was greeted with a small key ring with one set of keys. "Got em!"

  Back inside, Theo and Macey gave up their search and were prepared to head outside and help out Silvie and Erica. A rotter moving down the alleyway saw Theo standing in the back doorway.

  "Oh not good," Theo said when the corpse spotted him.

  The rotter dashed into the backyard, making a beeline towards Theo. It was a skinny shirtless guy with spiked brown hair and tattoos all over his rotten flesh. He had bite marks on both of his wrists.

  "Hey Theo I got the-" Erica tried to say.

  The rotter stopped charging towards Theo and turned towards Erica. The corpse lunged towards her, grabbing onto her by the shoulders. The two of them fell down to the grass. Theo flew out of the house, running as fast as he could. Erica kept the corpse back, using both of her hands to keep the dead thing from chomping down onto her neck. Before Theo could reach Erica, another rotter then came in from behind the garage and ran into the yard.

  A short stocky guy missing his left arm at the elbow, he tried to grab at Theo. Theo kicked the corpse in its chest, causing the dead thing to fall backward.

  Erica's grip was loosening, and the dead thing was closing in on her face. She could see the flesh and pieces of cartilage inside the corpse's mouth. Silvie grabbed the dead thing from behind and pulled him off of Erica. Erica shot to her feet and kicked the rotter in the back of his left knee. Using both of her hands in a downward swing, Silvie brought the hatchet down into the middle of the rotter's skull. The corpse stopped reaching for her and fell on its side.

  Theo was still dealing with the stocky corpse, "A little help here? I'm tired of kicking this prick down to the grass."

  Silvia tossed Theo his crowbar, he took the pointed end and thrust it into the corpse's right eye. Putting the rotter down for good. Theo extracted the crowbar and ran towards the alleyway. Theo looked up and down the alley for any more of the undead, but it was all clear for the time being.

  Erica looked at the two rotters splayed out on the back lawn, "Now what in the hell was that all about?"

  Silvia pulled the hatchet loose from the dead thing's skull, having some difficulty. Theo couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "It's not as easy as it looks, huh?"

  "Yeah, and it's gross as hell," Silvia answered.

  Macey joined the rest of the group out in the backyard. "Sorry guys, I panicked. I wanted to run out here and help but I...."

  "Don't worry about it," Theo tried reassuring her. The girls found you a weapon. Slightly used, however."

  Silvia wiped the rotter's brain matter on the grass and handed the hatchet over to Macey. "Sorry about the gunk on it."

  "Thanks?" Macey s
aid. She took a few practice swings with the hatchet.

  "Your form could use a little work there," Erica joked with her. "Aim a little higher, try for the head."

  "Did you guys find the keys?" Theo asked Silvie and Erica.

  Erica tossed the set over to Theo, "Yep. Try not to lose those. They're the only ones that we have."

  The four of them returned back to their home, with the keys and hatchet in hand. Silvia taught Macey a few defense moves in the living room while Theo and Erica were sitting in the kitchen. Theo was trying to convince Erica to leave.

  "Now that we have the keys, we can get out of here," He said.

  "This again? Didn't we just talk about this crap in the morning?" Erica asked. "Getting old already."

  "I still think it's the best play, Erica. I really do. Look at what we just went through out there."

  "We'll be dealing with that stuff for who knows how long."

  "True, but we really should think about getting somewhere safer, and I think that the river is the best bet."

  "For me maybe. I'm the only one that can swim. I'll be halfway over to Canada while the rest of you are being devoured back on the shore," Erica quipped.

  "If it means seeing your ample backside in a bikini, I'm all for it," Theo replied, winking at Erica.

  "Guys, would you miss Theo if I shot him right now?" Erica asked Silvie and Macey.

  "Why would you waste the bullets?" Silva asked. All the while smirking at Theo.

  "Exactly.....wait, what?" Theo said. "Anyhow. What about you two? What do you think we should do?" Theo asked Silvia and Macey.

  Macey shrunk in her chair and just shook her head. "I don't know. All I ask is that whatever you guys do decide on, you let me come along."

  "Of course we would. What about you Silvia? What do you think?"

  Silvia looked around the room nervously, "I um. Well," She stammered. "I'm just happy to have a place to lay low for the time being, and I don't have to deal with that asshole Jack anymore."

  "But I thought that you were going to leave your group and head out on your own?" Theo asked her.

  "Yeah but that was to just get the hell away from Jack. I didn't have any plans to get anywhere or anything like that."

  "So your plan was to get away from Jack by running out into a city filled with thousands of dead creatures that kill on sight?" Erica asked Silvia.

  "Pretty much. Jack was that bad. I was thinking about getting to a house or someplace and lay low."

  "Kind of like we're doing right here?"

  "Yeah, exactly."

  Theo exhaled loudly out of frustration. "Great."

  "Theo, it's not that I don't see your point, I do. It's just that there's really no place else for us to go," Erica said to him. "Those rotters are everywhere."

  "We don't know that for sure. And besides, the river's not that far from here. There's a park that I'm thinking of. My folks used to take me there when I was a kid. It's only about a twenty-minute drive."

  "In this day and age, it might take hours if not days," Silvia said.

  "We can't exactly go on a nice Sunday drive now can we?" Erica asked.

  "I know what the deal is," Macey said quietly.

  "What?" Theo asked.

  "Theo, you just want to get out of this neighborhood again. You moved out a little while back. Returned to just visit, and you're stuck here again. And now, you want to leave no matter the cost."

  Theo was taken aback by what Macey told him, "Whoa, I hadn't looked at it that way. That might be true, but lets at least think of a backup plan. Just in case. There might come a time where we have to get the hell out of this place, and when that day comes, where are we gonna go?" Theo sat there and waited for an answer, but he didn't get one. "See what I mean? Now that we have enough supplies for a little while, we have to think of these type of things."

  "Look at Theo being all proactive here," Erica finally said. "I kinda like it. And Theo, promise me something."

  "What?" Theo replied.

  "No matter how bored you get here, I want you to swear that you're not gonna take that truck out for a damn joyride. I can already see you running down the dead things, and trying to make sport of it."

  "Please Erica, I'm not that fucked up."

  "Yes you are. Now, promise me."

  "Okay Erica, I promise."

  "Good."

  "But you did give me an idea."

  "Oh great."

  "We should probably move the truck to the backyard, we can use it to block the fence back there or something. Or even better, drive it up to the front porch steps. The rotters would have a rough time trying to get around it. It could keep them off the front porch."

  "He's right. That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Silvie said.

  "Yeah until you start the engine and lure every corpse around here right to you," Erica answered. "Didn't that happen to you once before Theo?"

  "Yeah. Not my proudest moment, but how in the hell was I supposed to know that starting my car up would bring them right to me?" Theo said. "I say we park the truck in the alley, keep it out of sight. Just in case."

  "Can we try that tomorrow?" Erica asked. "I'm getting kinda tired over here."

  "Okay, if it's relatively clear around here in the morning, we'll move the truck into the alley. It'll only take a minute or so."

  "Theoretically speaking."

  "Yeah, Theoretically speaking of course," Theo said.

  "Macey, how's the truck on gas?" Silvia asked.

  "Almost a full tank if I remember correctly," Macey answered.

  The next morning brought with it humid, damp air and thick cloud cover. It looked like it was going to start pouring any second, but it didn't dissuade Theo, he wanted to move that truck. He stood out on the roof to try and get a better view and see if there were any rotters around. The dead things were always nearby, but as long as there weren't any near the truck, Theo would be okay.

  "Anyone feel like being my copilot?" Theo asked the girls.

  "I'll pass," Erica replied.

  "Me too," Macey said.

  Theo shook his head at the two of them. "Silvia?"

  "Sure why not?" Silvia answered.

  "Be careful Silvie," Erica said. "I've seen Theo's driving skills. They're the shits."

  "Should I make sure my life insurance is in good order?"

  Erica nodded, "Oh yeah."

  "You two do realize that I am still in the room, right?" Theo said. "Keep this up, and both of you will be getting sternly worded emails. I will underline words if need be."

  "Oh no, please don't," Erica said in an unamused tone.

  The four of them walked out into the backyard. The plan was for Erica and Macey to keep an eye out for any of the undead that might be lurking in the alley or neighboring yards. Theo and Silvia meanwhile were to sneak out to the front of the home, get into the truck, and drive around the corner and into the alleyway. Of course, it sounded simple enough. Doing it would be a whole other story.

  At the garage, Erica peered both ways up and down the alley, she looked back at Theo and Silvia and gave them a thumbs up. Theo and Silvia hopped out of the yard and crept in between the two homes, sneaking towards the street out in front of the houses. The two of them hurried over to the passenger side of the Blazer. Theo quietly opened the door and he and Silvia hopped inside of the truck.

  "Oh man, it's hot as hell in here, damn," Theo said.

  "The damn thing's been sitting out here for weeks," Silvia replied.

  "I hate the heat. Smells like a rancid fart in here too."

  "Just start the damn truck!"

  Theo chuckled quietly to himself. He put the key in the ignition and started the truck. The vehicle didn't start up right away. "Dammit, come the hell on!" Theo yelled, trying to get the Blazer going.

  Silvia looked all around them, it appeared that the corpses were starting to come out of the woodwork. A rotter stumbled from out in between the houses a few doors down from them. A pair of corp
ses turned the corner. "Come on, start," She thought to herself. After a third try, the engine roared to life. Both Theo and Silvia let out sighs of relief.

  Theo revved the engine a couple of times. Something slammed up against the back of the Blazer. Theo and Silvia turned around and saw a rotter, smacking the back windshield.

  "Oh great, we're drawing a crowd here," Silvia said to Theo.

  "Relax, it's just one of them," Theo answered.

  "Yeah, one right now."

  Theo shifted the truck into drive and slowly pulled away from the front of Macey's house. He had a clear shot all the way to the end of the block. The corpses that were nearby were beginning to follow the truck; slamming up against the sides of the Blazer. Theo stepped on the gas and began to speed away from the dead things. He was traveling so fast, that he missed the street he was supposed to turn down, driving right past the front of his former home.

  "Theo? What the hell are you doing?" Silvia wondered. "That was our turn."

  "If I turned, the corpses would follow us. I don't want to lead them right to Erica and Macey. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Theo answered. He kept an eye on the rear view mirror, watching the rotters chase after the truck. "Keep an eye on the houses for me. See if any dead pricks come streaming out after us."

  "Will do."

  The end of the road was a T-section. Theo made a right hand turn into the alleyway, and then another quick right. He sped down the alley and headed in the direction of their home. The Blazer rocked and swayed with every pothole that Theo drove over. The truck kicked up pebbles and dirt in the alley as it steamed along. The garages and backyards flew past both sides of the vehicle, neither Theo nor Silvie could see if there were any rotters around.

  Silvia turned and looked behind the Blazer, there weren't any corpses giving chase. "Theo, I think we lost them."

  "Told ya," Theo said proudly. "Did you see that car sitting in the intersection back there?" Theo asked Silvie.

  "Yeah. Was that yours?" Silvia replied.

  "Yep. All me."