“I’m glad you know the area here,” said Hector. “I could really go for some food from home.”
“I tell you, Hector, this place is the absolute best,” Carlos said, winking. “The rest of them wouldn’t appreciate good Spanish food.”
“How about Manuel?” asked Hector.
“Nooo,” said Carlos dismissively. “He is just coming off guard duty and wants to get some sleep. You know these Army guys, all regulations and no time for fun.”
“Okay,” nodded Hector.
“Follow me and don’t make a sound,” said Carlos conspiratorially. “We don’t want to wake anyone.”
The two men quietly made their way toward the back of the hotel. The back door that went to the pool was broken. Carlos had noted that fact earlier. They went out into the dark night. Carlos gestured over to the right. “This way,” he said.
They made their way through the palms to the hotel property’s edge.
“I don’t see anything,” complained Hector.
“Don’t worry; it’s about fifty feet down this path.” Carlos looked at Hector, who was now smiling gratefully. He couldn’t wait. Carlos smiled at him and put his hand on his shoulder. He couldn’t wait either.
What Carlos knew that Hector didn’t was that there was no Mexican restaurant down the stark path. What was there was an abandoned building. Earlier in the kitchen, Carlos had found a multitude of sharp and fascinating instruments in the drawers. Knives and picks and a wonderful meat cleaver. All were now in the camera bag he was carrying. He just couldn’t wait to get started using them.
Steve stopped the caravan at a zombie-free area of the road. He and Luke got out of the Toyota and walked back. Josh was riding with Karen now. She had taken a liking to him at the condo building, and they both had flirted with each other. Back at Home Depot, she had asked him if he would ride with her. He jumped at the chance.
The six of them stood in the street, looking around. The sun was rapidly sinking on the horizon, and they needed a place to spend the night.
“What are we doing, guys?” asked Josh.
“Any ideas?” asked Luke.
“I see a strip mall down the block,” said Steve. “Let’s try to spend the night in one of the stores.”
“What about going into one of these communities we keep passing?” asked Max. “I’d sure prefer a comfortable bed over a floor.”
Looking sideways at Josh, Karen said, “Yes, a bed sounds good to me too.”
Steve snickered and then said, “So would I, but I think there’s more of a chance of running into zombies in there. Lots of houses equal lots of people.”
“Not necessarily,” said Josh anxiously.
“Do you want to go knocking on doors to find out?” Ana asked. “Steve’s right. We are safer in an empty store.”
Looking around, Max said, “Let’s make up our minds. I don’t like standing out in the open like this. It’s like whistling in a graveyard.”
“Yeah, literally,” said Steve.
Looking disappointed, Josh said, “Okay, strip mall it is.”
Everyone got back in the cars, drove to the next block, and then pulled into the parking lot. Getting out again, Steve pointed. “Look, Dunkin’ Donuts.”
“There’s an Italian deli also,” mentioned Max.
“Great,” said Steve, smiling. “We’ll hit Dunkin’ first and then the deli. Whatever we don’t eat, we’ll take. There’s got to be cans of food in there. Let’s go.”
As they all strode toward the empty shop, Josh pulled Karen back. “Hey,” he whispered, “look over at the far end of the row.”
Karen looked to her right and then, with a big smile, looked back at Josh. “Mattress World.”
Josh smiled back and wiggled his eyebrows. “Sneak off a little later on?”
“Yeah,” she said mischievously, “after we eat. You’ll need your strength.”
The Dunkin’ Donuts shop turned out to be a bust. There were plenty of doughnuts left, but they were all as hard as rocks. The rats had visited also and, not being as fussy, had a feast. There were still one or two rodents in the back, and the hungry group of survivors quickly left. One thing they had noticed after the Pandora outbreak was that the rats had become emboldened. With fewer live people and dwindling food sources, the rats were starting to lose their innate fear of humans. Even with the zombies, somehow the vermin knew they were much faster and even smarter. It was not unusual to see them scurrying about the streets right under the zombies’ feet. The undead clumsily chased after them but usually to no avail. The rats were much faster. However, every so often an unlucky rat was caught. It was horrifying to see the zombie holding the squirming rodent up to his face to eat it while at the same time the rat was biting the ghoul’s face.
The deli proved to be a treasure trove of gourmet goodies. All of the fresh foods had long since rotted, but a virtual cornucopia of packaged and canned foods was more than edible. It was now nighttime, and the group was seated in the back of the store. They had candles lit and were just finishing their varied meals.
“Oh man,” said Luke, burping, “that was incredible. I can’t remember the last time I ate that much.”
“Me too,” Steve chimed in. “That really hit the spot.” Gulping down the last of a bottle of cola and belching loudly, he said, “I’m stuffed.”
Ana shook her head but smiled when she said, “Ugh, men are such pigs.”
Everyone laughed. They were all feeling pretty good now. It was amazing how a good meal and a full belly changed your whole outlook on life.
“You know,” said Steve, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, “I’ve been thinking—”
“Uh, oh!” said Luke, feigning wariness.
Smiling, Steve gave him the finger. “Maybe we should think about going to the west coast.”
“California?” asked Karen, wide-eyed.
“No,” Steve said, looking at her askance, “the west coast of Florida. There were always fewer people there. Maybe it would be safer there. A little, anyway.”
“That’s an idea,” said Max.
“How would we go?” asked Ana.
“Well,” continued Steve, “we’re already in Delray Beach. Let’s get to the Florida Turnpike. Probably fewer zombies. Then we’ll go down to 75. You know, Alligator Alley.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Josh.
In the candlelight, they talked about the plan. Max had fallen asleep. Ana went off to a cot she had seen in the back office. As Luke and Steve were huddled, speaking in low whispers, Josh used this lull to nudge Karen and motion his head toward the front entrance. She smiled, nodded, and quietly got up and left with him. Exiting the deli, they held hands and snuck across the strip mall to the far-end store. There was a car sticking halfway into the store window from the lot. Both doors were open, and blood smears were on the upholstery. Josh went in first. He had taken a flashlight, and creeping among the display beds, he found the store to be empty. Whoever crashed through the plate-glass window had long since gone. Moving to the back of the mattress store, Josh beckoned Karen in. As Karen came up and looked around, she turned to Josh and said, “Want to test out these mattresses?”
“You know I do.”
They came together and kissed, tenderly at first but then with mounting passion. Soon they were pulling off their clothes. Fumbling at the buttons, they both fell back onto the mattress. Laughing, they renewed their efforts, embraced lustily, and then made love.
11
The morning dawned. The sun was at last peeking through the dissipating cloud cover. Tommy and Manny looked out the third-floor window.
“What you think?” asked Manny.
“I think we need transportation,” replied Tommy. “We can’t walk down the street with a group this large without attracting attention. Way too many chances to get spotted.”
“Agreed,” said Manny, “but I don’t think we should stop at each car and stand around while we see if they start o
r not.”
“No,” said Tommy. He stood there thinking. After a minute, he turned to his number two and said, “Manny, take Jamal and Paul. See if you can find us three cars we can use. Leave now, and hopefully by the time everyone is ready to move out, we’ll have wheels.”
“Roger that, Sarge.” Manny rushed out to find the two privates and recon the area. There didn’t look to be much zombie activity in the immediate area, so maybe they could catch a break.
Little by little, the rest of the now well-rested group filtered down to the small breakfast alcove off the lobby. They didn’t want to press their luck and risk being visible to any wandering zombies. Mike and Susan walked in. They noticed Konrad, Carol, Malik, and Carlos were there already. Carlos was sitting alone, sipping a warm soda he had found. As Mike passed him, he patted him on the back and said in passing, “Hey, how are you doing, pal?”
“Oh, good, Señor Mike.”
Mike continued walking and took a seat with Carol and Malik. Soon they were deep in conversation. Susan, who stopped to take two Pop Tarts they found, sat next to Carlos.
“How are you, Carlos?”
“I am good, Susan,” he replied. “I had a good night.”
“So you were telling me on the boat that you were a doctor?”
He smiled. “Well, actually, I was just finishing medical school. Going into residency.”
“Wow,” she said encouragingly, “that’s great. I was a nurse.”
“Oh, we have something in common,” he said.
“Yes,” she said. “So tell me, what field did you want to specialize in?”
Carlos looked down into his lap as if thinking and then, smiling slightly, said, “I have always been interested in pain management. Fascinated, really.”
“That’s an interesting field,” she said.
“You know, everyone has their own um…personal…um—”
“Tolerance?” Susan guessed.
“Yes,” said Carlos, “tolerance. I’ve been working on that. I really enjoy helping people with their pain. I find it very rewarding.”
Looking over at Mike, who was motioning her over to his table, Susan stood and said, “Well, maybe someday I can help you with that.”
Carlos looked up at her brightly. “Yes. Maybe you can.”
Meanwhile, Manny, Jamal, and Paul were two blocks away, sneaking from car to car.
“I can’t fucking believe it,” complained Jamal. “All these cars sitting here, and the only one we could use was a Mini Cooper.”
“Yeah,” Paul chimed in. “All the rest either were left running and had no gas or wrecked. Why are we passing locked cars, Sarge? Why not just break the windows and check them out?”
“Pipe down, guys,” said Manny. “Noise control. If we start smashing windows out, making a racket, we’ll have every one of those zombies we see inside the buildings on our asses.”
The three soldiers continued to move stealthily up the block.
“Hey, Sarge, look!” said Paul, tapping Manny on the arm and pointing.
Looking to where the private was pointing, Manny saw a city bus sitting in the middle of the road.
“I bet we could all fit in there,” Jamal whispered excitedly.
“Okay,” said Manny, “keep down and follow me.”
They crept over to the vacant bus, using the vehicles in the street for cover. Motioning for the two privates to wait, Manny edged over to the open bus door. After poking his head around the doorframe to make sure no one was there, he spun his body around into the bus portal. Pressing himself to the partition, Manny slowly peeked around the corner. The bus seemed empty. Continuing down the aisle, Manny checked all seats. There was nobody on board. He gestured for Jamal and Paul to come over.
“It’s clear,” said Manny, “but there is no key in the ignition. That means the driver shut it down, which is good, but I wish we didn’t have to try hot-wiring it.”
“We may not have to,” mentioned Jamal. “I noticed the driver. He’s standing about eighty feet away.”
“He is?” questioned Manny.
“Yeah, but he’s dead. Well, I mean not really…He’s a zombie.”
Manny walked down the aisle and looked out the rear window. After staring for half a minute, he walked back. “Yeah, it’s him,” he said, “and he has keys hanging out of his pocket. But there are two other zombies out there with him. If we walk out there and they start moaning and growling, we’ll be fucked.”
“Crap,” said Paul dejectedly.
“Wait,” Jamal said. “I have an idea. Come on.”
Crouching behind the side of the bus, they looked around the back. The driver was just standing there. He had a huge bite mark, and a piece of his neck was gone. The entire right side of his uniform shirt was covered with blood. It was already dried and stiff. He must have been bitten by a passenger, drove his bus on, and then, when he was dying, stopped and turned the engine off. He must’ve gotten off to get help before dying. About twenty feet away from him were two other zombies. Both were diametrically different from each other. The first, a woman, was about sixty. She had platinum-blond hair and one too many facelifts. Her lips were puffed out with collagen. With her mouth opening and closing constantly, she looked like a fish. The amazing thing was that she didn’t have a mark on her. No bites, no blood, no torn clothes. If it weren’t for her grayish skin color and sunken features, she would look like any other south Florida dowager out for a stroll. The other zombie, a man, was totally different. He was in his twenties. His hair was cut in one of those buzz-cut pseudo-Mohawks. He was absolutely covered in blood. As he staggered around, his ragged bare feet left bloody imprints wherever he stepped. His nose and entire lower jaw were gone, leaving his tongue hanging like a necktie down his neck. Both arms were also ripped or chewed off, one below the elbow and the other at mid-bicep.
Jamal reached down and picked a rock up off the pavement. Focusing on the driver intently and judging the distance, he threw his arm back and then whipped the projectile at the ghoul. The stone flew in the air and hit the driver in the upper back. The zombie turned around and, looking around at first, started shambling over to the bus. The other two were totally oblivious to what was transpiring.
The three soldiers moved back a few steps and crouched down to wait for their mark. As the driver stumbled around the corner, Manny shot up and simultaneously swiftly shoved his combat knife through the underside of the zombie’s chin and grabbed him around the collar. The blade pierced the creature’s brain and, as he collapsed, Manny gently set the body down on the pavement, causing no noise or commotion. After going through his pocket, Manny lifted up a set of keys and said, “Bingo.”
They quickly entered the bus. Manny sat in the driver’s seat, and, crossing himself, he inserted the key and turned it in the ignition. It took two tries, but the engine finally roared to life. Swiftly putting it in gear, Manny drove the city bus down the block and back toward the hotel. In their wake, the undead slowly emerged from the stores and buildings, looking for the source of the diesel roar.
Tommy and Sean got everyone together and ready to go. They put any new foods into bags to take with them. Jack walked over to them. “Hey,” he said, “we can’t find that guy Hector.”
“What do you mean?” said Tommy. “He’s gotta be here.”
“We searched all the rooms,” Jack said. “He’s gone.”
“Shit,” said Sean. “Ask Carlos if he knows anything. He’d been talking with him. See if Hector told him anything.”
As Jack walked over to Carlos, who was standing with the others, Mike came over also. “Hey, Carlos,” said Jack, “we can’t find Hector. Do you know where he could’ve gone?”
“No,” said Carlos, looking between the two men.
“Did he say anything to you yesterday?” asked Mike.
“Well,” said Carlos, “he did say he felt kind of separated from us. His lack of English, you know. I tried to make him feel comfortable, but he kept talking about
family he had near here. I told him not to even think about looking for them. I guess he did anyway.”
“Dammit,” cried Mike. “We don’t know where he is, and we can’t wait for him.”
“How does he expect to last out there?” said Jack.
“You know,” said Carlos, “I don’t think he’s going to come back.”
Sean came walking up to them. “So, what’s up?”
Mike turned to his friend and said, “Hector took off. Carlos says he went to find his family or something.”
Sean looked at Carlos with squinted eyes. “Is this true?”
“Yes,” said the small man. “He left, and he is not returning. I’m sorry.”
“All right,” said Sean. “It’s not your fault. He made up his mind, and that’s that. We can’t worry about it.”
At that moment, Regina turned from the entrance and said, “Hey, gang, there’s a bus barreling down the street toward us.”
Tommy ran and looked out. “Ha.” He laughed. “It’s Manny. And he has a ride. Looks like we’re going to be taking a tour bus excursion to Zombie City.”
Two minutes later, the bus pulled around the circle in front of the hotel. Paul jumped out and ran inside.
“Let’s get our shit together and go. I think we picked up a following.”
Everyone quickly gathered his or her stuff and loaded it onto the bus. Travis now rested and on land, was feeling much better and volunteered to do a final check. Once everyone and everything was on board, Manny threw the bus back into gear just as the first of the pursuing zombies rounded the corner. With a cloud of diesel exhaust, the bus moved forward, away from the approaching zombies. They were going to go around the block to avoid the zombie parade they had caused.
Turning back onto the main road, they drove up the street, trying to avoid the many zombies and abandoned vehicles in their way. That was no easy feat. The constant veering back and forth was very taxing and exhausting. To make matters worse, the city bus was very top-heavy. A couple of sudden zigzags almost toppled the swaying equipage.
Pandora 2: Death is not an Option Page 10
