Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse (Episode 5)

by Mortimer, L. C.

  When she finished, she went back inside the cabin and sat down on the cot. She pulled out a worn-out book and started to read. It seemed silly, trite even, to be reading during the apocalypse, but it gave her a sense of normalcy. It gave her something to do.

  Besides, it’s not like she had anywhere to be.

  By the time Kyle woke up, it was mid-morning and Torrance had finished half of her book.

  “Any Z’s?” He asked, sitting up. He stretched, and she stared at his flat stomach. Maybe that’s what she would look like after she’d survived a little bit longer. She was curvy, and it had always bothered her a little bit. Losing the baby weight, especially in her tummy, had been harder than everyone said it would be.

  “I haven’t seen any,” she said. “I went outside earlier.”

  “I need to, um, go outside, too.” He blushed and stood up, grabbed his crowbar, and headed outside. He was a little louder than she had been, closed the door a bit too fast. She cringed at the sound even though it wasn’t really a big deal. If there were Infected here, she would have seen them by now.

  She’d been peeking out the window all morning.

  When he came back, they ate granola bars together in silence and finished their water bottles.

  “Do you want to explore the other cabins?” She asked. “Or should I take you home?”

  “To the library?”

  “That’s where you live, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know if that will be safe anymore.”

  “Should we check?”

  “Let’s give it another day.”

  “Cabins it is,” she said. She put her backpack on. Who knew if they would be spending another night here? She didn’t want to risk losing her stuff. The extra weight was annoying, but not impossible to carry, so she brought it with her.

  They left the cots out and closed the cabin door. They left Torrance’s shirt taped over the window. She thought about taking it down, about trying to wear it, but she already had pretty terrible luck. The last thing she needed was to miss some of the shards of glass and have one cut her.

  She would remain in her bra for a little while longer.

  It was ironic, really, she thought. She had met Kyle because she was flipping him shit for being in his undergarments and now she was in the exact same position.

  Oh, how the mighty have fallen, she thought glumly.

  They tried the doors of several other cabins, but they were all locked. Despite the trees surrounding the other buildings, Torrance and Kyle had a clear view of the cabins without using the flashlight. The mid-morning sun was high enough to shine brightly through the branches and leaves that still clung to the trees.

  Leaves crunched beneath their shoes as they walked from building to building. From peering in the windows, Torrance and Kyle could tell they were all about the same. Each cabin had cots, along with a table and chairs. If there wasn’t food in the first cabin, she doubted any of the others had food, and she didn’t bother looking.

  “How often do people come here?” He asked.

  “Used to be all the time. All summer, this place would be packed.”

  “Then it stopped?”

  She nodded, kept walking.

  “A few years ago, the number of people who wanted to come out to Bumfuck, Nowhere kind of started to decline. There’s an amusement park that opened up about thirty minutes away. People started spending their vacation time there. There’s a hotel. Air conditioning. Pool. Much more fun for kids than hanging out at a lake.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Kyle kicked a rock as they walked toward the lodge. She remembered the way. “I always thought camping was the best part of summer as a kid.”

  “Same. That was a long time ago, though. That was before cell phones.”

  “I miss when childhood was simple,” Kyle said. “Hell, I miss when the world was simple.”

  Torrance did, too. She missed a lot of things. She’d taken Brandon camping once. The campground had already shut down from lack of business, but they’d pitched a tent in their backyard and spent the night outdoors.

  He’d loved it.

  They’d roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories and stayed up way past his bedtime. It was one of her favorite memories because the world had been so simple. The entire experience had been simple.

  She hadn’t spent a lot of money and it hadn’t taken much time or effort, yet Brandon had enjoyed himself so much. They both had.

  “There it is,” Kyle said. He pointed to the lodge. It was a two-story log building with a wraparound porch. There was a big wooden front door and windows that lined the porch. Despite the fact that it had closed a few years ago, there was still furniture outside. Torrance noted two porch swings and a couple of tables out front. There was a picnic table off to the side of the building.

  “Let’s see what’s happening,” she said. “It’s possible we just found ourselves a new home.”

  “It’s a good location,” Kyle agreed. “Isolated, but close to the lake.”

  “I like it better than the office, better than the library.”

  “We’ll have a water source,” Kyle said, looking back toward where they’d come from.

  “And plenty of firewood during the winter,” Torrance nodded toward the trees. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, really couldn’t afford to, at this point, but she did. She looked at the lodge and she felt hope.

  She felt hope that somehow, everything was going to be okay.

  Chapter 9

  It had been a long night, but Alice and Mark had survived.

  Somehow.

  Somehow, they’d slept half-sitting, half-lying on each other, and they hadn’t woken up screaming.

  Mark hadn’t woken up screaming.

  Alice was relieved. She’d been nervous to sleep with him in such a precarious situation. His nightmares were bad, but for some reason, he hadn’t had one last night. Maybe he hadn’t fallen into a deep enough sleep or perhaps he just hadn’t slept. She wasn’t quite sure, didn’t want to ask.

  If she asked him whether or not he’d slept, Mark would feel mothered. He would think she was treating him like a child, and she wasn’t. Instead of asking questions, Alice wiggled noiselessly in the dark shack.

  She had to pee and her legs hurt. Her whole body was sore. Fuck. She hoped Mark had rested, at least a little, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized he probably hadn’t. He’d probably been too afraid, probably been too worried he would wake up and give away their location.

  “They’re still there,” he said.

  “All of them?” She was surprised. Alice thought they would have left by now.

  “Not all of them. Some of them left during the night. There are still about 10, maybe a dozen.”

  “We could take them,” Alice said, suddenly feeling hopeful. 10 wasn’t so bad. Between the two of them, that was only five each.

  “Absolutely,” Mark agreed. “We could take them, kill them quickly, especially if we shoot.”

  “I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

  “But I think we should run for it.”

  “Why?”

  “If we shoot, if we fight, it’s going to make a lot of noise and more of them might come back. They’ve been behaving so strangely lately. I don’t trust them.”

  “Did you trust them before?”

  “No, but their behavior was predictable,” Mark said. He was choosing his words carefully. He was considering the situation.

  “And predictable is good,” Alice said. “Because it makes it easier to choose your next move. Like in chess. You don’t want to go up against an opponent you can’t read.”

  “Exactly.” He went over to the door and peeked out once again. “I say we run toward the back fence, jump it, and keep on running.”

  “And go where?”

  “Back to the library.”

  “Won’t we lead them there?” She didn’t like the idea of getting stuck there, didn’t like the idea of making i
t back only to become surrounded by zombies.

  “Let’s try to lose them.” Mark adjusted his gun. It was still in his waistband. Alice had taken hers out of her pants while she slept. Now she stood and shoved her gun back in her jeans. It rubbed against her legs. The metal was cold and irritating. She would be glad when this was all over.

  If it was ever over.

  Right now, it seemed like this nightmare would never end.

  “What happens if we don’t make it?” Alice asked.

  Mark didn’t answer her. He just grabbed her instead. Kissed her. Ran his hand through her hair and cupped her cheek.

  Then he opened the shed door slowly. It creaked. She saw the zombies by the house turn to look at them. Mark started running toward the back fence and Alice hurried after him. She didn’t watch the zombies as she scurried away. She just moved. Moved her feet. Moved her body. She ran to the fence, grabbed it, and climbed over.

  Her hands hurt and she realized she was tired and out of shape. She heard the zombies coming behind them and she tried to move faster. Her clothes caught on the fence, but she yanked until the fabric ripped. Then she kept going.

  Mark was up ahead of her. The next yard was empty, save for a sandbox that had once probably been well-loved. There was nothing else but overgrown grass. They moved through it and hopped the next fence.

  Alice risked a glance back. She counted about eight zombies. Four of them had managed to climb the fence and were near the sandbox now.

  “Move it,” Mark said, and grabbed her hand. They ran together through that yard. There was one more fence. They climbed it and landed in the grass on the other side. Now there was a sidewalk and a road. Several Infected lingered. These ones looked like they were slow, but Alice and Mark were too scared to do anything but keep running.

  Mark held her hand tightly as he ran and Alice moved to keep up.

  She had to keep up.

  Chapter 10

  Mark hauled Alice down the road with him.

  The fuckers were everywhere. Why were they everywhere?

  He had a general idea of where he and Alice were. The library was just a few streets over and if they could get there, they’d be fine. Safe. They’d be able to hole up for awhile. They had some food and some water inside. Yeah, much of it was still in the car they’d abandoned outside, but they had enough indoors to keep them going for awhile.

  They just had to get there.

  He hadn’t slept the night before. Alice probably knew, but he’d never admit it. Not even to her. He was tired now, and slow. He probably should have just tried to sleep, but Mark didn’t want to risk it. The idea of hurting Alice didn’t sit well with him. The idea of waking up screaming and drawing the Infected to their hideout made him feel sick.

  Nauseous.

  He wouldn’t puke.

  He pushed down the anxiety building and tried to focus on what they had to do. The library. They needed to make it to the library. His legs were still burning from the day before and he was sure Alice’s were, too. Neither one of them had eaten since the day before. Neither one of them had even peed.

  The apocalypse wasn’t exactly a time to be healthy.

  They turned down the road and dodged the few Infected standing around. They didn’t have time for killing, but he pulled his gun out of his pants just in case he needed it. It felt better in his hand.

  He noticed Alice was holding the hammer she’d found in the shed. There should have been more tools there, but Mark had searched the place before Alice woke up, and it had been empty. There had been nothing: just an old lawnmower and some shovels.

  What kind of idiot didn’t keep tools in the tool shed?

  There was no time to worry. They had to keep going. Mark was concerned they would spot one of the weird zombies, one of the creatures who seemed too quiet, too observant, but they didn’t.

  They only saw the normal ones.

  “Mark,” Alice said, suddenly slowing her pace. She held to his hand and forced him to slow down, too. “They’re gone.”

  For the first time since they’d started running, he allowed himself to look back. He looked behind them and saw that she was right. They were gone. The zombies were gone.

  He came to a dead stop in the center of the road and just looked around them. Mark felt nothing but absolute, blissful relief. He could laugh or cry and wasn’t sure which would be more appropriate, so instead he said nothing. He didn’t make a sound. He just looked around and saw that they were finally alone, and Mark was happy.

  “Let’s go home, Mark,” Alice said. She reached for his hand once more and he gripped it, happy to have her by his side. They walked quietly back to the library. Alice stopped twice to kill zombies with her hammer. By this point, she made it look effortless.

  Killing was really her thing.

  They walked quickly, but quietly back to the library. When they were close, they stopped at their car and grabbed some of their supplies from it. Mark noted Alice mostly took food, which he was happy about. Maybe they wouldn’t have to go out for a couple of days.

  Maybe they could just stay inside.

  The road between the library and the county offices had three zombies. A few more seemed to be wandering in and out of the county offices building. Mark set his stuff down on the library porch and turned around. The Infected were already heading toward him. He raised his gun and fired three shots, then a fourth. He took down the ones in the center of the road, then he turned to Alice.

  “Come on, baby.”

  They went inside.

  Chapter 11

  The inside of the lodge was dusty. They’d broken another window to get in. Kyle was tired of breaking windows and he was sure Torrance was tired of it, too. Considering she only had a pair of jeans left, she hadn’t offered to give up anymore of her clothes this time, but he’d carefully scraped the glass out of the window frame using a stick and a rock.

  It was messy, but it got the job done, and soon the two of them had climbed inside without cutting themselves. That was all that mattered.

  “It’s old,” Kyle said. “Looks sturdy, though. There aren’t any animals inside.”

  As if on cue, a squirrel ran by in front of them.

  “Guess again,” Torrance said. “Getting that thing out of here is going to be a bitch.”

  “Let him stay.”

  “Squirrels carry diseases.”

  Kyle raised an eyebrow.

  “Really?” He asked. “You really want to go there?”

  Torrance just shrugged and headed further into the center of the lodge. The main room was large and spacious. The high ceiling, which extended to the second story, made the room look incredible. After spending the night in the little cabin, such a big space felt like a castle to Kyle. Stairs on the left side of the room led to a second-story loft and Kyle guessed there were bedrooms up there.

  Torrance confirmed it.

  “Bedrooms on both floors over there,” she pointed to the left side of the room. “Kitchen on the right. There’s a mudroom, too. Laundry room.”

  “Bathrooms?”

  “Doubt they’re in service, but they’re sprinkled in over by the bedrooms.”

  Bedrooms.

  They could each have their own damn bedroom.

  How long had it been since Kyle had had any amount of privacy? He was starting to get excited. He looked around the lodge. Despite the dust, it seemed to have a decent setup. They would probably need to board up the windows.

  Definitely.

  They would definitely need to board up the windows.

  They could set up lookout areas on the second floor to watch for Infected, but really, the lodge was located in a perfect spot for hiding away. Kyle didn’t think much looking out would be required.

  The lodge was close to the curve of the lake, which meant they only had to watch two sides of the building: the sides that faced the woods. Unless humans decided to canoe across the lake, which was technically possible, they didn’t need to worr
y about it. Zombies would come at them from the forest. As far as he could tell, zombies couldn’t swim.

  “I like it,” Torrance said thoughtfully. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, but it’s in good condition. Look,” she pointed to a stone fireplace against one wall. “We won’t even have to worry about freezing during winter.”

  “Don’t think you’ll be cozy enough with just a quilt?”

  “Have you ever been through a Kansas winter? Trust me. We’ll want the fireplace.”

  The two of them walked around the living room. Kyle examined a bookshelf. There were several volumes that looked interesting. Luckily, he was going to have plenty of time to read in the next few days, weeks, months.

  Years.

  He was going to have plenty of time to read during the next few years.

  They had found it.

  They’d finally found a home.

  Torrance and Kyle sat on the couch for awhile and just looked at the fireplace. Neither one of them talked, but it was fine. He liked that she didn’t feel the need to fill the silence all of the time. Talking was overrated.

  He wanted something to smoke or maybe even just a glass of wine. He wanted to lean back, close his eyes, and just relax. Soon he would be able to. They had found their place.

  The lodge was close to the lake. They’d be able to get water. Yeah, they’d have to figure out a way to filter it, or maybe just boil it, but they wouldn’t die of dehydration. They could go hunting if the animals hadn’t all died, if they hadn’t turned. They could plant a garden.

  For the first time in a very long time, Kyle began to feel excitement about the future. Maybe things weren’t going to be all bad. Maybe they weren’t going to be awful. Maybe, just maybe, the future was going to be brighter than he thought it would.

  Chapter 12

  Torrance left Kyle sitting in front of the empty fireplace and walked around the lodge. She peeked in the kitchen and looked at the industrial-sized ovens. What a waste. She ran her hand over the metal, disappointed she didn’t have electricity for baking.