Dead Living

by Glenn Bullion

  She took another look at the undead in the living room while grabbing the roof ladder. They still waited for her. Sam had no idea how she would get back home, and tried to push back the hopelessness she felt.

  But she knew she wanted to go home.

  The cool breeze touched her face as she took a step on the roof. The sun was setting, giving the sky a pretty orange hue. The only thing that ruined the sight was the sound of the undead all around them. Once again, her jaw hung open when she saw what Aaron had done. He had yet another mattress, some lawn-chairs, a grill, some plastic sheets, more water bottles, a few end-tables, a stack of wood, and a large umbrella.

  “Wow,” she said. His back was toward her as he worked on the grill. “You got a little paradise going on up here.”

  He turned to face her with some deer steak on a plastic knife. He was surprised at what he saw. She was beautiful before, but even more so now. Her wet hair clung to her face. She had decided on a pair of shorts, and her legs were very nice and shapely. He smiled at the Baltimore Orioles shirt.

  He caught himself staring, and mentally slapped himself for it.

  “Want some dinner?” he said, handing her the steak. “It’s actually pretty good. Salt and pepper will fix anything. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find salt and pepper.”

  She took a bite. He handed her a glass of water. It was quite good.

  Sam gestured around them. “Where did you get all of this?”

  “Just around,” he said, grabbing a steak for himself. “There’s plenty of stuff here.”

  “Yeah, and there’s plenty of walkers too. How do you do it? You don’t even seem afraid. I know people back home who still cry themselves to sleep every night.”

  He bit into his steak. “We’re moving out of the basics again, Sam.”

  “Samantha,” she corrected once more.

  There were sixty people at Lexington, and Sam figured she’d met twice that many people over the years on her own. Never once did she feel the need to explain herself to anyone. She kept to herself, people left her alone, and that was that.

  With Aaron, she wanted to talk.

  “I know how I come across,” she said. “I really do. I know I’m not very friendly. It’s just that I don’t really trust people a whole lot.”

  He smiled and gestured around them. “Look where I live. I understand. I’ve got people issues of my own.”

  She nodded. Something about Aaron made her feel at ease, took the edge off a little. “You can take two people who have been friends forever, put them in a room of undead, and they’ll kill each other trying to get out. Friendships end very quickly. I’ve found there’s no point in having friends.”

  Aaron swallowed hard as he thought back to his family. “That’s not true. My whole family died because we wouldn’t run from each other.”

  “Then they were idiots.”

  He stopped eating and froze completely, holding her gaze. “Excuse me?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with not having friends,” she said. “Nothing wrong at all with looking out for yourself. That’s why I’m alive today.” She was trying to convince herself more than Aaron.

  “Sam, please don’t call my family idiots. Also, the reason you’re alive is because a complete stranger saved your life.”

  “Which was a stupid thing to do. You don’t even know me. Hell, even if you did, I wouldn’t risk my life for you.”

  He shrugged. He didn’t exactly risk his life, but she didn’t know that. “My family was killed by a man looking out for himself. But that doesn’t mean that everyone out there is like him. I’m not a people person either, but I haven’t given up on them yet. It’s a shame you have. If I can save someone’s life, I will.”

  She was quiet for a moment, and just watched him. There was a calm, a peace about him that was almost contagious.

  She struggled to find words. “I don’t understand you, Aaron. You seem like a good man, which is hard to find now, but you live out here with the walkers. Why?”

  He smiled and took a drink of water. “The basics, Sam.”

  She almost hit him. She only had herself to blame. He wasn’t going to tell her anything. Ironically, she wanted to know.

  They ate in silence as the sun continued its journey over the horizon. Sam thought of how quickly life could change. The night before, she was getting ready to walk the Lexington fence. Now she was away from home with a strange man who somehow lived among the undead.

  Aaron leaned back in a lawn chair and looked over a pile of books and games he’d moved to the roof earlier. He lit a candle and set it down carefully. Soon, that and the moon would be the only light they had.

  “Do you play chess?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Checkers?”

  She shook her head.

  “Any games at all?”

  She gave him a look. She was a little jealous of him, of his ability to smile at everything. “It’s hard to concentrate on games, Aaron, when there are a million walkers between me and my home.”

  “And what is home for you?”

  She sat in the lawn chair next to him and talked about Lexington. He listened to every word. She told him about the people, and how they actually managed to work together in the world of the dead. She told him about how Richardson had taken an old high school and made it into something special. She even described her room, and the little things she’d done to make it hers.

  “It sounds like a nice place.”

  “Yeah, it is. I didn’t really know how much till I got stuck here.”

  Sam tried to think of how she could get back. If she could find her way to Interstate 295, she could find her way home. She couldn’t read signs, but she knew the way back from memory and landmarks.

  The biggest problem was the undead in the way.

  “So what do you do for fun?” Aaron asked.

  “For fun? Well, I don’t know. Most of my fun time is taken up by trying to stay alive.”

  “You don’t have any hobbies?”

  “Not really.” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why Richardson is always asking me to walk the fence.”

  “Let’s play some checkers.”

  “I told you. I don’t play games.”

  “Eh, you’re right. You’d lose anyway.”

  It was a calculated statement his father had made to Aunt Denise many times when she refused to loosen up. It worked with Sam too. She looked at him a moment, then a small smile touched her face. “Teach me how to play.”

  They played long into the night. Sam managed to win her fair share. Aaron noticed her finally relaxing, at least just a little.

  The moon was high overhead when Sam’s body told her it was time to sleep. She stifled a yawn.

  “Is it okay if I sleep in one of the rooms?”

  “Of course, but you won’t sleep. The undead will keep you up all night. Only freaks like me can sleep with the noise. You can have the mattress up here.”

  “And where will you sleep?”

  “Right here in the lawn chair.”

  She didn’t like that. “I always sleep alone. I don’t like people near me.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. Either room is fine. I’m gonna sleep up here. It’s a beautiful night. I’ll walk you down.”

  “Why?”

  “To make sure nothing happens to you. Why else?”

  Sam held his gaze a moment, making Aaron uncomfortable enough to look away.

  Richardson isn’t even this nice.

  She didn’t understand it at all. How could someone who lived the way Aaron did be so personable? She wanted to like him, but was afraid to. She was afraid to really like anyone.

  Sam knew that like everyone, he would find a way to disappoint her. Everyone always did. Trust was a hard thing to come by. She had to watch Richardson for years before she even began to think he was trustworthy.

  Aaron led her back to the house, careful not to touch her along the way. It was pitch black, and he
wanted to make sure she didn’t fall to the living room. He knew undead behavior better than anyone. While their numbers were thinning from Sam being on the roof for so long, there were still a good number in the house. The undead would leave an area if they couldn’t see their meal after a while.

  “Good night,” he said.

  Sam collapsed on the mattress. “Hey, Aaron?”

  “Yeah?” He had almost closed the door.

  She almost said it. She almost threw out a thank you. She decided against it. “Good night to you too.”

  Aaron closed the door and stopped at the hall closet on the way out. He didn’t need any light. He knew where every single thing in his house was. He grabbed an extra pillow and sheet for when Sam inevitably decided to come up to the roof.

  * * *

  Sam knew she didn’t sleep long. The little bit of sleep she did get was full of nightmares of the undead. She could hear them as she sat up on the mattress, even with the door closed. She didn’t want to admit it, but Aaron was right. There was no way anyone could sleep very well with the undead so close.

  She carefully made her way through the hall and followed the moonlight to the open roof access. The undead still shuffled mindlessly in the living room. Even the sound of their footsteps made her hair stand up.

  Aaron was fast asleep. He slept on the mattress with the sheet stopping at his waist. He slept shirtless, and Sam couldn’t help but take a peek at his upper body. He was attractive.

  A spare sheet and pillow waited in the lawn chair.

  Asshole, she thought, angry that he was right once again.

  As she settled into the chair she tried to think of how she would get back home.

  Nothing much came to mind.

  The only plan she had that was even possible was to just survive until Lexington went on another supply run. She could get Garrett’s attention somehow. Lexington didn’t exactly have a schedule, so she had no idea of when that would be. Even if Garrett did see her, in the vast city streets, would he stop for her? She knew she wouldn’t stop for him.

  “I’ll never see home again,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  Aaron’s voice startled her. She looked down at him as he looked up at her.

  “I can’t get home,” she said. “It’s about a thirty minute drive down 295. There’s no way I can walk it, not with all the undead. And shit, I don’t even know where 295 is from here.”

  “Can you drive a car?”

  “Of course I can. Why?”

  Aaron stood up and stretched his arms. He motioned for Sam to follow. “Be very quiet. Don’t stir the corpses up.”

  She followed him across the long roof, until they neared the end of the block. He carefully looked over the side.

  “Do you see that red car there?”

  With just the moonlight, Sam couldn’t tell what was red and what wasn’t. She just followed his finger to an old Honda Civic parked across the street. She had to look over the walkers to see it. “Yeah.”

  “That car still works.”

  She searched his face for his strange sense of humor. He looked serious.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I had a few houseguests that showed up in that thing. They stayed with me a few nights while searching for some gas. They actually filled the tank up a little, but then they decided not to listen to me, and went out looking for food. They never came back. The keys are in my bedroom. I haven’t started it up in a while, but it did run.”

  Sam was excited, but guilt started to seep in. “Listen, I don’t have anything to trade. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be worth a car.”

  They walked back to Aaron’s end of the roof. They no longer had to whisper.

  “I don’t know how to drive,” he said. “Just take it. It doesn’t do me any good.”

  Sam started to feel hope. Maybe, just maybe, I can get back home.

  She looked at Aaron as he settled back onto his mattress. She was too energetic to lie back down.

  “Okay, I just gotta find a map I can actually read. Hell, one street over is probably a sign pointing to 295.”

  “There’s a gas station down the block. Maybe there’s some maps there.”

  “Why don’t you come with me?”

  He laughed. “Your first joke. I’m so proud.”

  “I’m serious, Aaron. It’ll be good for both of us.”

  “How so?”

  “I won’t lie. If I try to go alone, I probably won’t make it. I have a better chance if you come along.”

  “Yeah, right. So if the corpses get close, you can shoot me in the stomach and leave me for dead.”

  “No, that’s not it at all. I’m not gonna risk my life for you, but I won’t hurt you.”

  Her honesty was surprisingly refreshing.

  “And what do I get out of our little trip?”

  She laughed too. “Away from here, for starters. A place where there’s some people. You wouldn’t believe all the things we have at Lexington. You won’t have to be in danger hunting deer on the streets.”

  He smiled. She didn’t know why.

  “What do you think, Aaron? Shit, if you don’t like Lexington, just hitch a ride back on the next supply run. Maybe you can score some supplies yourself.”

  Aaron thought about it for at least a minute without saying anything. He eventually decided he would go with her, for two reasons. The first was boredom. He’d been in Baltimore for at least four winters now, and could use a little change. The other reason surprised him, but he knew it was there.

  He didn’t want anything to happen to Sam.

  “I’ll go with you on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I get to call you Sam with no complaints.”

  Sam smiled. She had smiled more with Aaron in one day than she had the past year. “Deal.”

  Chapter 7

  Preparations were slower than Sam expected, but perhaps that was her excitement. The mid-morning sun was up. She waited on the roof and watched walker movement while Aaron gathered some things from the house. He packed some books, bottles of water, a pocket knife, a lighter, his solar-powered watch compass, the car keys, and perhaps the most important thing, his framed Polaroids of his family. He also grabbed his quiver of arrows and compound bow.

  He joined Sam—who looked impatient—on the roof.

  She gestured to his bow. “Where’s your gun?”

  “Don’t have one. I never liked guns.”

  “You don’t like guns?”

  He shook his head.

  “It’s amazing you’re still alive.”

  “Can you drive that car?” he said. “I mean, really drive it?”

  “I can go fast, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Good. We go down together, and run like hell. We’ll hit the gas station at the end of the street, so I can grab a map. I’ll get us to 295. After that, it’s all on you.”

  “I’ll do my part. We’ll be at Lexington in no time.” She had a much better view of the car than the night before. “It doesn’t have any windows. I’m not gonna be able to stop at the station long, so you’d better be quick. If we can’t find a map, we keep moving.”

  He nodded. “No problem. You’re the boss.”

  Aaron turned and put a hand on the roof access of the closest house to the car. Sam stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder, then quickly pulled it back.

  “Aaron, listen, and you’re not gonna like this,” she said, her pretty face hardening. “There’s forty walkers down there on the street, and who knows how many till Lexington. I’m not a hero. If you trip and fall, or slow down at all, I’m not waiting around. I won’t come back to get you. Understand?”

  He smiled, which surprised her. “I know where I stand with you. You’re honest.”

  She returned his smile, glad that was out of the way. “Okay, let’s go.”

  The house they used to get to the street was empty. They slowly made their way to the front door. Aaro
n gently pushed Sam into the corner and peeked out the front window. There were plenty of walkers on the street, but most were still gathered at the other end, near Aaron’s home. Only ten or so were near the car, with only three or four right in their path.

  “We’ve got a pretty clear shot. We’re gonna have a few seconds to get to the car. They smell you, right now, but they don’t see you. Once we get to the street, they’re gonna go crazy.”

  “Why do you keep saying me? They smell you too.”

  He gave her an annoyed look. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m gonna open the door and take a few out while you hit the car. You ready to run?”

  She nodded.

  Aaron opened the door casually. Sam ran down the steps and across the sidewalk. Aaron fired three arrows at a speed Sam didn’t think possible. She’d seen it the day before, but it amazed her all the same.

  Three corpses fell to the ground. One was directly in front of Sam. She heard the arrow cut the air next to her ear. She hopped over the corpse and jumped into the Civic.

  The undead perked up.

  They shuffled toward the car, their song making Sam’s hands shake. She put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine started right up. She was shocked. In the back of her mind, she didn’t think it would be that easy.

  Aaron ran across the street. He didn’t bother running around to the passenger’s side. He jumped head first through the broken rear window and landed on the back seat. He lost a few arrows in the jump, but had plenty more.

  “Go, Sam, go!”

  She floored the gas, burning tire rubber as they soared down the street.

  “Aaron! The window!”

  He looked up to see a corpse hanging halfway out of the passenger’s window. Sam tried to lean to the side as it moaned and reached for her. One of its eyes fell from its skull and landed on the seat.

  Aaron casually reached over the seat and grabbed it by the back of what used to be its shirt.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Sam screamed.

  He tossed it out the window.

  Sam was definitely driving fast, running over any undead that were in the way. Others reached for them, but had no chance. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel it.