Macey thought it over, "Yeah, you're right." She rolled the hatchet around in her hands nervously as she and Theo both looked up the stairway. "What was this place?" She asked Theo.
"My guess? Some type of business."
"Where is everyone? I don't even smell any dead things around."
"This place was probably closed when this crap started. Although there are those boarded up doors and that banner. Someone's been in here."
Theo tapped his crowbar on the stairwell railing, the sound echoed all throughout the building. Theo and Macey waited for any rotters to come barreling down the steps towards them, but there was nothing. Theo tapped for a second time and waited. Eventually, he called up the steps, "Hello? Is there anyone in here? We saw your banner out in front."
Macey and Theo stared at one another and waited. Then they heard it; a faint, soft voice that called down back to them, "Up here."
Theo and Macey began to storm up the steps, but then Theo stopped. "Wait, let's calm down. We don't know what's up there," He whispered to Macey
Macey nodded. Her and Theo then slowly walked up the steps, stopping when the two of them could peer over the top stair.
The room was gigantic with four large pillars near the center. On the floor were bedspreads and sleeping bags scattered all over the place. Sitting in an office chair near one of the pillars was an older woman. She had dark brown hair and was wearing a gray t-shirt and blue jeans.
She noticed Theo and Macey peering over the top step, "You can come up here, it's safe. There are no eaters up here."
Theo and Macey looked at one another, confused. "Eaters? Theo muttered quietly to Macey.
"The dead things," Macey whispered back.
"Oh. Duh."
Theo and Macey walked up to the woman, she had a shotgun resting in her lap, and a thin piece of gauze wrapped on her right forearm.
She noticed Theo and Macey looking at her bandage, she looked up and smiled at them, "Don't worry, I wasn't bitten."
"Okay. Good," Theo replied. He slid his crowbar into one of his belt loops and extended his right hand. "How's it going? I'm Theo, and this is my buddy, Macey."
Macey waved at the woman, "Hi. Nice to meet a fellow survivor."
The woman shook both of their hands, "I'm Jennifer, you can call me Jen if you'd like. Macey is it? That's a pretty name."
"Thanks."
"We've got two more friends in the truck outside, Erica and Silvia. They're waiting for us to get back to them," Theo told Jen.
"I'll go get them," Macey volunteered.
"Okay, but be careful out there," Theo said.
Macey smiled at Theo. "Always."
Macey headed back down the stairs, leaving Theo with Jennifer.
Theo looked at the bedding that lined the floor of the large rooms, "So where is everyone else?" He asked Jen.
"Gone," Jen replied bluntly.
"Uh gone as in 'dead?' or Gone as in 'went to go grab a bite to eat?'"
"Dead,"
"Shit, sorry."
"It's alright. Not your fault."
"So what happened? Why are you the only one left?"
Jen took a deep breath. "We were down to the last nine people of the group. From the original twenty-five."
Theo covered his mouth, "Holy shit."
"Yeah, I know. The last people from the group, they went out to scavenge for supplies a few days ago, and they haven't returned. My daughter was in that group. I don't know if she made it or not."
Theo changed the topic, "I take it you're the one that made the sign out front?"
"Yeah. It was an act of desperation. I didn't know what else to do. I was hoping someone passing by would spot it."
"You know Jen, my group and I have lots of food and drink. We could spare some for you."
Jennifer's face lit up, "Really?"
"Totally."
"Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it, Jen."
Macey returned with Silvie and Erica. Theo introduced them to Jen. "Guys, this is Jen. Jen, this is Erica and Silvia."
"Hi Jen," Silvie and Erica said almost in unison.
"I told Jen we'd let her have some of our supplies," Theo said.
"Sure. There's plenty," Erica replied.
"Silvie and I will go get the stuff," Macey said.
Erica looked around the room, "It's just you here, Jen?"
"Sadly," Jen answered.
"She's the last one of her group," Theo said. He almost blurted out that Jen lost her daughter to the dead things, but he stopped himself. Theo didn't know that for sure.
"Oh man."
Jen sat back down in her chair, "So where were you guys heading?"
"We were on our way to Beakman's park. Ever hear of it?" Theo asked Jen.
Jen shook her head, "No."
"It's a park on the river rouge. We figure we can try to get on the water."
Jen thought about it for a couple of seconds. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. One group of survivors I came across were trying to get to the airport. Nobody in the group could fly a plane of any kind."
"Desperation is a stinky cologne," Theo quipped. "I had a few girlfriends say that about me."
Jen laughed. "That's a good one."
"We figure the river's our best bet for the time being. Get away from those hordes of dead things."
"You've seen those too?" Jen asked Theo and Erica. "Just a huge swarm of eaters. I've seen those things surround a building as big as this before and start climbing over each other to get at someone. It looked like the entire mob swallowed the place whole."
"That's what we're trying to get away from," Erica said. "Can't get us on the water. I hope."
"Yeah, and the small groups of dead pricks that break away from the group. Those can be just as bad," Theo added.
Macey and Silvia came back with a couple of bags of food for Jen. "Go ahead Jen, have at it," Silvie said.
Jen began rummaging through the bags for some food items. She didn't take too much; just a few packs of chips and a couple of bottles of water.
"This is plenty, thanks," Jen said.
"Go ahead, take more," Theo insisted. "We have enough to last us a long time."
"Why don't you just come with us to the river?" Erica suggested to Jen.
"Yeah," Theo said. "Come with us."
"There's room for one more in the Blazer. No point in staying here all by yourself," Silvia said.
Jen looked down at her feet and then across the room at two sleeping bags resting on the ground. "I can't go," She told the group.
"Why not?" Macey asked her.
"It's my daughter, she still might be out there," Jen answered, pointing at the sleeping bag that was her daughter's. "I think she's still alive. I can't leave. Just in case she makes her way back to me."
Erica knew that feeling all too well. "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"She went out to go and get supplies. She was part of the last group of people that headed out there."
Theo took a deep breath and then exhaled quietly. "Jen, at the risk of sounding like an asshole..."
Erica stopped Theo, "Theo, don't."
".....She might not have made it," Theo said.
"The thought did occur to me, Theo. I know what it's like out there. It's okay. But I don't want to leave this place in the off chance that my daughter is still out there."
"Do you know where she went? To go and get supplies that is," Macey asked Jennifer.
"We had been trying some of the stores up and down this road here," Jen answered, pointing out of the windows. "Sometimes, people would come back with stuff, sometimes they wouldn't. And sometimes, they just never came back."
Erica noticed Jen trying to wipe away a tear. Erica knew what she was about to suggest could draw the ire of the others in the group. "Jen, what if we set out and tried to find your daughter for you?" Erica felt Theo looking at her, but he said nothing.
"I can't ask you guys to do that. We
just met."
"It's not a big deal," Erica said.
"It's not?" Theo asked Erica, he had a large smirk on his face.
"And after we come back from finding your daughter, can we leave Theo with you?" Erica asked Jen.
Jen nodded, "Yeah, he's cute. Funny too."
Erica, Silvie, and Macey began to razz Theo. "Uh oh, Theo. This cougar has eyes for you," Silvie said.
"No offense, Jen. MILF porn wasn't really my thing. Back when the internet was still up and running that is."
"I liked it," Erica said under her breath.
The group all looked at Erica with stunned looks on their faces. "What?" Erica asked them. "We all have our fetishes."
"Erica, I'm gonna need you to have a seat right over there," Silvia said.
"What am I missing?" Jen asked the group.
"Erica's a lesbian," Theo answered.
Jen raised her eyebrows at Erica, "Hot."
Erica rolled her eyes. "That's it! Let the damn rotters have me."
"All kidding aside. This is not going to be easy. What's your daughter's name first of all?" Theo asked Jen.
"Sonya. She looks a lot like me. Straight and long brown hair. Dark brown eyes."
"Guys, can I talk to you over here for a minute?" Silvia asked Theo and Erica. She pulled the two of them off to the side and they were joined by Macey.
"What's wrong, Silvie?" Erica asked.
"Look, it's not that I don't want to help Jen out. I do. It's just that the likelihood of us actually finding Sonya alive are Jack and Shit, and Jack just left town."
Theo giggled. "I love your references, Silvie."
"Thanks. Anyways, where are we even gonna look for her? I mean she could be anywhere, or worse, even among the ranks of the undead."
"Jen needs our help," Macey whispered. "Hey, Alan and Brittney helped us when they didn't have to."
Theo popped his head up from the group huddle and looked at Jen, "Hey Jen? I know this is gonna be a fucked up question, but what if we find your daughter and she's you know, one of the undead? What then?"
"Do what you must," Jen answered solemnly. "I don't want to see her like that."
Theo returned to the huddle, "Well that's settled."
"So we're doing this?" Silvie asked the rest of the group.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I am," Erica replied.
"Me too," Macey said.
"I'm in," Theo answered.
"Silvia, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Erica said. "You can stay here with Jen until we get back."
"Nope. I'm going," Silvia told them.
The four of them walked up to Jennifer, "Okay Jennifer, where do we start?" Erica asked.
Chapter 23
Jennifer couldn't be completely certain where her daughter was. The last she knew, Sonya and two others from the group left to check out a small market that was three blocks from the building.
"Okay, do you know which market the group decided to check out?" Silvia asked.
"I know that there was one that was about three blocks away from here, that's it," Jen answered.
"Which direction?"
"I don't know. I'm really sorry guys. I wish I could be more of a help to you all."
"It's okay, Jen. Just try and relax. We're gonna be doing all the heavy lifting here. Just try and stay calm," Theo told her.
"I think there was an old fruit market not too far away from here," Macey said.
"Oh yeah, the smell of expired fruit AND the smell of the undead. Kick out the jams," Theo quipped.
"The only thing I can think to do is split up," Erica suggested. "Cover more ground that way."
"Too risky," Silvie said. "I say we drive a few blocks in one direction, and if we can't find Sonya, head a few blocks in the opposite direction."
"I'm with Silvie on this one," Theo told Erica.
"You'll get no arguments out of me," Erica said.
"Let's get going then," Theo told the rest of the group.
Before the four of them walked downstairs and headed outside, Jennifer handed Theo her shotgun, "Just in case."
Initially, Theo refused, but after some prodding by Erica and Silvie, he relented and took the weapon.
"I'm not too good with guns," Theo said.
"Neither am I. But it's a shotgun, you don't have to be," Jennifer replied. "There are only four shells left, so try and be a little selective."
"You got it." Theo slung the shotgun around his left shoulder and the group headed outside.
The group got back into the Blazer and Theo headed down the street. Theo drove for a few blocks down the road while the girls looked on both sides of the street for any type of market or store.
"I'm not seeing anything besides abandoned restaurants and storefronts," Macey said. "It's a ghost town."
"Nothing on this side either," Silvie added.
"I haven't been out here in a long ass time. I don't remember where anything is. Buncha garbage and bullshit if you ask me," Theo said. He looked over and saw Erica staring at him, "What?"
"You really have a way with words, you know that?" Erica asked him.
"I can be articulate. I word good."
Silvie tapped the back of Theo's chair, "We can play scrabble when we get back to the office building. Look over there," Silvia said, pointing to a building that was off in the distance.
Sure enough, it was a market, and it was surrounded by the undead. A group of about forty to fifty dead things had encircled the store and were starting to climb over one another and up the sides of the building in an attempt to get to the roof.
Theo leaned forward and squinted, "Is- Is that someone on the roof there?"
"I think so," Erica replied.
"Yeah, sure looks like it," Macey said.
"Might be our girl," Silvia added. She reached down on the floor of the Blazer and pulled out the scoped rifle that they took from the masked men. Even looking through the scope it was difficult to tell who was on the roof of the building.
"This scope sucks," Silvie grumbled.
"It's just too far away to tell," Theo answered.
"Even if it's not, we have to do something about that. We can't let whoever that is up there be taken by the rotters," Macey said.
Theo remembered what happened to his friend Thomas back in the old neighborhood. He didn't want to see that happen to anyone else. He looked down at the dashboard of the Blazer, there was slightly over half a tank of gas left. Theo put the truck back in drive. "You guys might want to put your seat belts back on."
Theo stepped on the accelerator, speeding towards the market parking lot.
"Theo, what are you doing?" Erica asked as she hung on for dear life.
"Luring the dead pricks from that building," Theo answered calmly.
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"You'll see."
The Blazer hopped over the curb and into the parking lot. Theo stopped about a dozen feet away from the building. The four of them got a glimpse of the person that was standing on the roof; a skinny bald guy wearing a tank top and blue jeans. He was waving at the truck, in his left hand was some type of small revolver.
Theo rolled down the driver's side window and popped his head out, "Hang tight, we'll get rid of these things!"
"How?!?" The guy shouted back.
"Don't worry. We got this." Theo rolled the window back up. "Okay guys, here we go."
Theo turned the Blazer so that the truck was facing away from the building, he took a deep breath and then slammed on the horn. The noise echoed all around them and drew the attention of the undead.
Macey and Silvia saw the corpses streaming towards the vehicle, "Holy shit!" Macey shouted.
"Theo are you fucking crazy?!?!" Silvie yelled at him.
As the dead drew nearer, Theo stepped on the gas and sped away from the market, laying on the horn as he did so. All of the corpses that had gathered around the building were now chasing after the Blazer. Theo let off
the horn once he was confident that all of the corpses were chasing after the truck. The Blazer barreled down a side road with a majority of the dead things in tow.
"Keep an eye on the dead pricks," Theo said to Macey and Silvie.
"Theo, I think you've alerted every rotter in a ten-mile radius right to us. What the hell are you doing?" Silvia asked him.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing...I think."
"Well that's really reassuring," Erica said.
The group was now several blocks away from the market, and the dead things were still giving chase after them.
Theo looked in the rearview mirror, "I guess you could say we're meals on wheels." Nobody laughed at his joke. "You'll find it funny later."
"If there even is a later," Erica replied.
"There will be."
Once Theo felt confident that they were far enough away from the market, he turned down another street and ditched the corpses. He pulled over to the side of the road and watched as the rotters ran right past the street.
"We lost them. We actually lost them. Theo, you wonderful little psycho," Silvie said. "I was getting ready to shoot your ass you know."
"Just like ex-wife number one. Anyways, let's get back to that market," Theo replied.
Theo drove up to the market, and the guy on the roof was nowhere to be found. The four of them tried to look in the windows of the store, but they couldn't see any movement; the windows looked to be covered by makeshift barricades. Theo then drove around the building to the back and got out of the truck. He knocked on the back door with the crowbar.
"Anyone home?" He asked.
"Don't tell me the rotters got that guy," Macey said.
"Who the hell knows," Silvie replied.
Theo looked around the area anxiously. The back door of the building was a light blue steel door that was covered in bloody palm prints left by the dead things, or at least Theo hoped they were left by the dead things.
"If there's anyone inside, open up. We're here to help," Theo said.
There came a rattling noise from the other side of the door, then it sounded like something heavy was being pushed aside. The back door opened, and Theo was greeted by the guy that had been standing out on the roof.
The two men stood there staring at one another for a couple of seconds, then Theo eventually just said, "Hi."
Urban Decay Page 21
