by Stevie Kopas
“Be my guest.” He said as he offered the bottle up to her. She lifted the bottle to her mouth and tilted her head back, gulping the hot liquor down. “Hey, hey, go easy.” He leaned forward and eased the bottle away from her.
She coughed harshly, gasping for air. “Thank you.” The words were barely a croak escaping her lips. She caught her breath and with the sleeve of her sweater, wiped her eyes. “Tequila was always Desmond’s drink.” Ben nodded, pulling the pack of cigarettes Michelle had given him from his pocket and lighting one up. He held the pack out to Catherine. “No thank you.”
“Mind if we turn the music down a bit?” He cocked his head toward the roof ledge, “You’re causin’ quite the commotion down there.” She leaned forward and went about turning the phones off. “Couldn’t decide on a song?”
She shook her head, “No, I just didn’t want to be able to focus on anything.” They sat quietly together on the roof, listening to the raucous all around them. The putrid stench was something that your senses eventually got used to, it was always in everything; the air, your clothes, your hair. It was the sound of them that a person couldn’t wrap their mind around. They never grew silent, they never grew tired. No matter where you went, it followed you because it was the sound you grew to know so well that you heard their moans even when they weren’t around. It was a never ending orchestra of death that became the soundtrack to all of their lives.
Catherine sighed, grabbing the bottle from between Ben’s booted feet and sipped this time. “I knew this day would come.” She finally spoke, her voice monotone. “I’ve been sitting up here for what feels like an eternity, overthinking, overanalyzing. That’s what I do.” Ben wasn’t sure how to respond, he had just met these people a few hours ago. He just listened, nodding in response. “I used to feel this emptiness. We never had children. I couldn’t have children. But I have never been more thankful in my life than I am right now for my infertility. You have children?” Ben shook his head. “Good. This is not the world for them. Hell, I’m not even sure if it was a world for children before people started turning into monsters and eating each other.”
“You’re probably right. I don’t like to think about it, but, I saw more dead kids when I was overseas than I have since this whole thing started.” He flicked his cigarette butt over the roof ledge and hoped it would somehow catch the horde of eaters on fire that had gathered below them.
“I had no control over losing my husband today. I don’t like to think about trying to keep a child safe.” Veronica’s face flashed through both their minds. They were silent for a few more moments. “Des was such a careful man. I’ve already accepted it, I accepted it the moment I saw her get out of that car without him and Francis. I will just never understand it because I don’t want to hear about what happened from her.”
Ben raised an eyebrow at her last sentence but decided against exploring the subject matter of Michelle. “Gary lost his wife. You should try talkin’ to him about Desmond.”
“I’m not in the mood to bond with anyone over a shared tragedy.”
“Isn’t that what we’re all doing?”
“I suppose you’re right,” she chuckled in discomfort, “so I’ll just keep talking to you if it’s all the same.”
“That’s what I came up here for.”
“I thought we were going to be okay here. I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay anywhere to be honest, but I just…” She paused momentarily and her entire tone of voice changed. “Will you take me with you back to wherever it is you came from? This place is death.”
Ben thought about what she said. He couldn’t help but want to respond that everywhere was death but he knew that it wasn’t what she needed to hear. “I feel like if we didn’t, our whole trip down to this shopping center from hell would have been for nothing. Of course we’ll take you with us.” He thought about Samson being eaten alive, the pain it caused Veronica, the loss it caused their group, because of Gary’s quest. But then he thought about how if it weren’t for Gary they would have never come to this place, they would have never found other people, they would have remained alone, locked in a tower. In fact, if it weren’t for Gary they would probably still be on that boat, out of gas somewhere in the gulf...
Ben shook his head rapidly, he was the one overthinking and overanalyzing now. They continued to talk in the humid darkness on the gravel covered roof, inadvertently bonding over shared tragedies. A cloud covered sky blocked out the stars and the ozone was thick with the scent of an impending thunderstorm. On the other side of the roof, Michelle glared out at Ben and Catherine in envy. An unexplainable anger brewed inside of her. Perhaps it had been Ben’s rejection of her sexual advances or maybe it was because she wasn’t the center of attention she had hoped she would be when she returned today. She stumbled down from the roof, half drunk, and stomped off toward the salon, slamming into Gary as she turned the corner.
“Jesus Christ!” She yelled at him, falling back onto her ass on the hard tile.
“Oh, sorry love, let me help you up.” Gary couldn’t help but giggle, feeling the full effects of the alcohol he’d consumed. Michelle angrily shoved his hand away and got up from the floor on her own, smoothing out her clothes. “I was just wandering around trying to find some place quiet to have a piss.” He slurred his words and seemed preoccupied with her breasts.
“Come with me.” She roughly grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her.
“Whatever you say!” Gary cackled and followed behind her like a puppy.
Veronica groggily stared up at the ceiling of the deluxe spa room. She still felt the sedatives but couldn’t seem to drift back off to sleep. She’d been startled awake by a woman yelling and cussing earlier, she had neither the energy nor the curiosity to get up and find out what was going on. If it had been serious enough, someone would have come and gotten her. Her eyes drifted to the corner of the room with the flashlight turned up at the ceiling, it intermittently flickered. The batteries were dying. She wondered how long she’d been asleep for; she felt like she was in a different universe in this room. Visions of Samson’s demise would creep into her mind and she would force them back out again, only to be replaced by her own father’s death, and then Isaac’s. It was a vicious cycle in her mind that she could only block out by counting to ten over and over again. Mindless counting. She imagined that this was what hell was like, lying in a dark room with nothing but your own hideous mind. She wished she had any other thoughts but her own.
Veronica jerked her body, startled by a slamming door somewhere in the spa beyond her private quarters. She heard a man laughing hysterically and a woman talking. She strained her ears, trying to make out what they were saying. All she could hear was mumbling and laughing, she urged her body to roll over and get up, she nearly collapsed to the floor but held on to the edge of the massage table tightly. She silently forced herself to move toward the door, her lethargic movements resembling the shuffling of the dead, stopping short when she recognized the man’s voice.
“But what about Veronica,” Gary laughed, “we’ll wake the poor girl.”
“Catherine’s got her so doped up she probably won’t even remember her name when she wakes up.” Michelle replied, hastily unbuckling Gary’s belt and unzipping his trousers. He sloppily kissed at her neck and his drunk hands fumbled around clumsily on her body. Frustrated, she shoved him back onto one of the tables. “Hands off.”
Gary grinned ear to ear, “Yes ma’am.” He placed his hands behind his head and cackled again. Michelle rolled her eyes as she pulled her panties down her long legs and kicked them off to the side. She crawled up onto the table seductively and Gary let out a low whistle. “Shut up. Not another word.” She mounted the Brit and let out a hushed sigh.
Veronica cringed in disgust as she realized what was going on in the other room. Their moans of excitement and pleasure filled the air and grew louder with each second. She collapsed back onto the massage bed and pulled her pillow over her face, dr
owning out the mid-coitus moans. She preferred the moans of the dead any day. She realized that the phrase ‘Be careful what you wish for’ rang true as she tried to force memories of her father and Isaac back into her mind. She tried to concentrate on the day that she spent with Samson on the bay, fishing and laughing, but every time she seemed to finally block out the animalistic sex occurring within earshot, one of them would express their satisfaction with an overzealous grunt.
I really am in hell, Veronica thought to herself as she tugged the pillow down harder onto her face and pressed it up against her ears.
VIII
The best part about waking up each morning for Veronica were the few seconds that she forgot about the end of the world. The moments she shared with herself as her eyes fluttered open and the calm she felt before anything current in her life had the chance to register were the best. No matter where it was that she found herself waking up, whether it be a floor, a stranger’s borrowed bed in an abandoned home, or a massage table, she always imagined that she was at home in Columbia City in her own bed and her father James would enter her room at any moment to wake her for school. But that moment when James would tap at the door lightly and sing her name, announcing that it was time for breakfast, would never come. Just as soon as the waking seconds were there, they were gone, and the horrors and tragedies of reality came rushing back in, taking their place once more in the forefront of her consciousness. That was the worst part about waking up each morning for Veronica.
She stretched and felt the pull of her aching muscles, she had slept and been still for far too long. Feeling the urgency of her bladder, she found her shoes in the dark and crept out of the private spa room as quietly as a mouse. She didn’t know this building, but she remembered where Doctor Catherine had told her their bathrooms were. She braced herself for the onslaught of foul stench and pulled open the café door. The ripe, sickening scent met her nostrils and she tried her hardest to ignore it. Holding her breath, she finished up her business as quickly as she could and found her way back out to the fire corridor. She slammed the door behind her and took a deep breath of the stuffy yet refreshing air that greeted her. A door down the hall opened and she took a defensive stance, relaxing once she saw Ben turn the corner.
“I thought that was you, how’s the face?” He smiled when he saw her and she grinned back, her face still swollen where the stitches were, but she looked much better. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her clothes looked a size too big.
“It hurts, but it’ll be fine. I can’t believe I slept that long, what have ya’ll been doing? Did the rest of Dr. Catherine’s group get back yet? How are they? Are these people good? Will they be coming back with us?”
Her rapid questioning was too much for his head to handle all at once. Ben put a hand up and chuckled, “Alright, alright, slow it down. Let’s get you something to eat and we’ll go over everything.”
The door to the salon opened and closed again and Andrew joined them in the corridor. “Hey there darlin’, how ya feelin’?” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
“I’m feeling fine, thanks. What about you?”
“Hangover, but it’s nothin’ I can’t kick.” The big man stretched his massive arms and followed Ben and Veronica in search of some breakfast.
The three chatted while they ate. Ben explained the unfortunate circumstances of only Michelle returning yesterday afternoon and Veronica put two and two together, guessing that the woman with Gary last night would have been Michelle. She shuddered at the memory as it emerged in her mind and shook it off. She felt terrible for Catherine, no one got the chance to say goodbye anymore, she knew what that felt like. They all did.
“I say we leave as soon as we can. I know she’s safe with Clyde, but I can’t be away from Juliette for much longer.” Andrew chewed his food loudly between words. “Gary kept rambling on about that bank across the street with all the money trucks last night. I’m thinkin’ that’s our best bet.”
Ben nodded, “Yeah, there are enough of us, we just need to figure out a game plan and get on the move. I don’t want to be out here much longer either.”
As they finished breakfast, one by one the remaining survivors woke up and joined them. Veronica avoided eye contact with Gary and expressed her condolences to Catherine silently with just a nod. The woman understood, she gave Veronica a soft but weak smile and nodded in return. The last of the group to join was Michelle.
“You must be the youngin’.” She smirked, grabbing a paper plate and fixing herself something to eat.
“Veronica.”
Michelle walked over and held out her hand, “Welcome Veronica, I’m Michelle.”
As Veronica shook her hand, there was something about the woman she instantly disliked. Although she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, she didn’t feel the sense of trust she’d felt when she met Catherine or Lulu. Something seemed a little off in the way that she was reminded once more of the way people crack under disastrous circumstances.
Gary looked pleased that Michelle had finally joined them, smiling at her as she took a seat beside Lulu. Michelle expertly ignored him, his smile disappearing. “Well, now that we’re all here in one room, let’s take this opportunity to discuss what we plan to do.” Gary looked at everyone as he spoke, awaiting a response.
“Ben and I already talked about getting out of here today, as soon as we can.” Andrew was the first to speak, Ben nodded in agreement.
“What you were talking about last night,” Lulu chimed in, “the trucks? I think that’s a good idea.”
Catherine looked a little confused and Gary quickly filled her in. They would ready the supplies that her group had already stockpiled in the building, making them easily accessible to the truck so they could be loaded as quickly as possible. At least three people would have to go get the trucks, two drivers and one to cover their backs and keep the eaters at bay. They would back one of the trucks up to the building and load their supplies, the other truck would come pick everyone up. The easiest and least risky way to get everyone inside would be from the roof of the building. The emergency hatch on the top of the armored truck would serve its purpose, their situation was definitely an emergency. The gated parking garage across the street from Emerald City was their destination, the gates were not down which meant the dead had probably already wandered inside, but the group would worry about that after both trucks were in and the gates were down and locked. It would be a tedious task, but they would carry the supplies via luggage carts across the sky bridge that connected the central building with the garage.
“No matter how long it takes, it will get done. Weapons and ammunition weren’t the only reasons I had you two help me clear the central building.” Gary beamed at Ben and Andrew, his crazy little plans all coming together and making perfect sense.
“Yeah, that worked out perfectly. Almost got Clyde killed.” Ben remarked, lighting a cigarette.
“Hey hey, thought we put that behind us? It did work out perfectly. Clyde is fine.” Gary’s smile hadn’t decreased in size. Ben waved a hand at him and Andrew shook his head.
“So let me get this straight,” Michelle finally spoke up in an aggressive tone, lighting a cigarette of her own. “We march into the financial building while avoiding hordes of dead cannibals, swing by and pick up the supplies along with the rest of these misfits, plow through a city of the undead and assume the throne in the fortified rich bitch condominiums that are The Emerald City?” She blew a puff of smoke out, staring directly at Gary, an amused look playing across her face.
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
She took another drag off her cigarette and exhaled, “Alright, I’m in.”
IX
Andrew and Ben were the best shots by far, both expertly trained in firearms. They argued back and forth over who would stay and cover from the roof and who would go in the trio to retrieve the trucks. Veronica piped in that she was the fastest and most agile, but Ben poin
ted out that she didn’t know how to drive.
“I’m going.” Michelle interrupted the men. “Ben stays here to cover from the roof, you were military, so you’re probably a better long range shot than the cop. It’s Gary’s plan so he’ll come with me and Andrew. The rest of you, just be ready.” There was no further argument, she’d made her point rationally and was ready to do business.
The group worked quickly, piling up the food, water, medicine and other supplies they’d gathered during the last several weeks at Emerald Park. Just as Gary had instructed, their spoils were stacked neatly and organized, easily accessible to the truck once the entrance to the fire door was opened and the truck was backed up to the building. Andrew slipped away momentarily into the showroom of the jewelry store. The room had an eerie feel to it, it held a dusty coldness that gave him chills. The multicolored paint on the large windows reminded him of the abundance of stained glass in the churches he attended once upon a time. He could hear the faint sounds of the undead outside, shuffling about pointlessly and moaning in unison. He silently thanked God that they were unaware of his presence as he scanned the glass cases of engagement rings. He slipped behind the counter and slid the back open, reaching in and pulling out a stunning white gold ring with a breathtaking solitaire diamond, it sparkled even in the dimly lit showroom. The ring would need no resizing, it would fit perfectly on Juliette’s delicate finger. He grinned and slipped it into his pocket, patting it and turning to leave. Ben stood in the doorway and smiled, clapping Andrew on the back as he passed, “Congrats dude.”
“Don’t be congratulatin’ me yet, might be the end of the world but she still might not say yes.” Andrew responded with a laugh.
The men met the rest of the group on the roof once all the supplies were stacked and ready. They could hear Michelle screaming before they even made it all the way up.
