Dead Paper Birds

by Megan McKinney

  I had to make my shots count. I didn’t have enough arrows to take them all out. That just means I have to take out as many as I can. My first arrow got one right through the head. Not a single one noticed their comrade go down, one of them just took its place trampling its lifeless body into the ground. I strung another arrow, aimed and took another one down. As I was reloading my third arrow, Rick pulled out his knife and started taking them out one by one. He was stepping just close enough to jam his knife into the tops of their skulls. As soon as they fell their places were filled by the ones in the back. They didn’t care that he was killing them. They were just following their instincts, trying to feed.

  I aimed for the ones on the outside of the group. The one’s that he couldn’t reach. As soon as one arrow would hit its mark, I’d have another one ready to go. Some arrows hit them in the heads or the throats, both killing shots. But some landed in their backs or even the ground. I reached back for another arrow and couldn’t find one. I looked over my shoulder to see the quiver was empty. Damn, time to get close and personal I suppose. I pulled my machete out and stepped in to finish off the last few that were still standing. Rick saw me coming and he jumped off of the truck attracting the last few to come to him and away from me. I growled and moved faster. He kept backing away, letting them get close before killing them. He finished killing them before I could get to him. “Phew. That would have been a sticky situation if you weren’t here.” He grinned.

  I turned away, ignoring him. I started picking up my arrows. Jerking them out of bodies and the ground. Behind me Rick whistled. “Remind me not to piss you off. Nearly all of those were head shots.”

  I looked over my shoulder to send him another glare. More barking caught our attention. Weren’t they just here? No, I didn’t actually see them. Rick looked around startled before taking off, following the barking. I ground my teeth together, something seemed off. Where had the infected come from? We would have noticed if there was a group this large following us. But a group like this just doesn’t come from nowhere. I picked up my last arrow and followed Rick, a stringing it. Just in case. I followed him behind the hotel towards the restaurant that was on the other side.

  Rick was sprinting to the back door where Rum and Coke were jumping and whining. Rum scratched at the door frantically. Rick reached the door unceremoniously pushed them aside to open the door. The door opened to blackness, both dogs raced inside without hesitation. Rick nodded at me before he disappeared inside. I looked around but there was nothing moving. Then why did I feel like I was being watched? I sprinted through the door and pulled on it behind me.

  Stale and corrupted air filled my nose. It was so unexpected that it made me gag and dry heave. It had a faint copper scent to it but mostly it smelled like rancid sweets. I couldn’t describe it. I put a hand over my mouth and forced myself to breathe through it instead of my nose. If I even tried to take another whiff through my nose, I’d lose it. One hundred percent. I’d lose it. Some poor animal probably crawled in here, got stuck and died. It only smelled so badly is because there was no air ventilation. No way for fresh air to come in and ventilate the smell. On top of the smell it was pitch black in here. I couldn’t even see a foot in front of me. Anything could be in here and I wouldn’t be able to see it. Chills ran down my spine, even as I broke out a sweat. My throat constricted, just breathing was a chore. I needed to calm down. I reached out for a wall that had to be there. It was cold and damp to my touch. But it was secure, almost like a security blanket. It was a barrier that I could count on, it wouldn’t trip me or attack me and it wouldn’t move on me. I ran my hand along the wall to follow it down the hallway. I slid my feet, not daring to pick them up from the ground. The last thing I wanted was to step or trip on something, like a body. Something about the dark. There was always something about the dark that scared me deep down to my core. It was about not being able to see what was going around me. Anything could be around me, circling me and watching. If I can’t see what’s around me how can I stop it?

  The wood on the wall was soft under my finger but the grain stood out against my fingertips. After a few steps I could hear whispered voices and it wasn’t quite so dark. A bit of light was trying to illuminate the dark hallway but it couldn’t reach very far. I stepped across the line of light. I was able to hear that it was Dean and Rick that were speaking in hushed tones. I came around the corner on tiptoes with an arrow drawn.

  Richard was hiding behind a booth, while Rick and Dean were up against the wall near the windows. Most of which were covered in posters, while what little wasn’t covered had layers of grime on it. It was no wonder that so little light could pierce the dark in here. I crouched down when I realized what they were hiding from. I crouch ran to where Richard was hiding, just in time too. An infected bumped into the window and walked along it, rubbing its face and shoulder along the glass until it was out of sight. It left a smear of blood and other bodily fluids along the glass, adding to the grime. There was a good chance they wouldn’t be able to see us but it was best to not take the chance. They generally didn’t have great eyesight but all it would take would be just one of them to even see movement and they would all come. The million-dollar question was: where did they all come from? Again, there was just too many of them to have been wandering around who just happened to hear the commotion. Angrily I rubbed my eyes, causing galaxies to swirl behind my eyelids.

  I glanced at Richard. He was white faced and trying to keep his ragged breathing quiet. He was going to be no help here. I glanced at the front where the other two were crouched. “Rick, you got any ideas?” I whispered.

  He looked back at me and shook his head. I nodded towards Dean. He shook his head too. Great. I sat back against the booth. “What about you Richard?”

  He looked at me. His eyes were wide and he was shaking. I’m not sitting here, doing nothing. Sometimes it was better to make it up as you go. I peeked up from around the back of the booth to look out the window, it was clear. I got up from my position and headed back down the hallway. It gradually got darker the farther away I got from the windows till I was back in the pitch black again. My breathing went from steady to ragged. I hated the dark. I kept my hand on the wall. When my hand hit the door frame I clumsily ran my hand down the door looking for the handle. When I finally found it pulled the door open a crack. Bright light spilled inside the hall revealing dark green walls and a white tiled floor.

  I poked my head out. There was nothing moving. I looked to my right towards the front of the restaurant. There were three infected that I could moving around but they had their backs to me. I looked left again. That’s when I realized that there was a ladder heading to the roof. I grinned to myself. There we go, get up high and take them out that way. I glanced back to double check that they still weren’t looking. I shut the door firmly once I slid out from behind it. I slung my bow on my back before climbing the ladder. It was rusty under my hands but there was no reason why it shouldn’t hold. At the top I peeked above the wall just to make sure it was empty before I finished climbing the rest of the way up. The roof was flat but it had walls that stood up around it creating a small barrier. The walls only came up to the middle of my shins. Softly I walked to the front of the restaurant and looked out. I crouched down with my butt near my heels, just because they couldn’t get to me up here didn’t mean I should expose myself like that. Infected weren’t the only ones out here.

  Down below me there were at least a dozen infected shambling around in between the restaurant and the back of the hotel. I ran a trembling hand down the side of my face, pain was still radiating out of it. This situation could still be worse. I watched the infected wander around, bumping into each other and the buildings. Some wandered around the corners of the buildings and out of sight. Most of them still had pieces of clothing still stuck to their bodies, while others were baring it all. One was a man, or used to be a man. He was walking around completely naked but it was his arm that caught my attention. Hi
s left arm was hanging limp at his side. Near the elbow it was bent at an odd angle with a bone protruding from the skin. He turned towards to face me. His right eye had been gouged out, leaving a gaping hole where his eye should have been.

  A woman bumped into him, knocking him off balance. She walked with a limp, her foot was bent outwards causing her to walk on the side of it instead of the bottom. Her skin was grey and diseased looking. What was left of her hair was scraggily, wrapped around her neck.

  I pulled an arrow out of its sheath and used it to move the leaves around. They were bright reds and yellows. Those things down there used to be people. They used to have families and jobs. They had passions and joys that brought life to their everyday lives. Some were depressed, some were alcoholics, and they each did what they wanted. Their lives were how they shaped them. Now they, they might as well be walking corpses. They feel nothing. No pain or fear. They wouldn’t stop until they’re dead.

  I sucked in a deep breath, filling as much of my lungs as I could with the cold air that swirled around me. Above me dark clouds piled themselves like the scene of a play. There was worse weather coming, this was a bad time of year to be out here. I picked up my bow and loaded my arrow. I lined up with the man who had the broken arm. I softly blew out a breath of air and fired. With a small hiss the arrow hit its mark, the man fell to the ground with my arrow sticking out of the side of his head. I chose the woman next. I picked target after target. There were about five of them left when Dean and Rick burst through the front door. They were both wielding knives. I lowered my bow and watched them finish off the last few infected. After cutting down the last one Rick turned to look at me. I offered him a small smile and he offered a small wave with two of his fingers. Dean was slowly turning in a circle to look at the infected lying on the ground. Even from here it was obvious he didn’t like what he saw. His eyebrows were furrowed together and he was stiff. Just slowly rotating his head from side to side, looking at them.

  Rick approached him and said something. Dean brushed him off. Rick shrugged before turning away. Time to get down I suppose. I reattached my bow to my backpack before starting the climb back down the ladder. I swung my legs carefully over the low wall, ensuring that each foot was secure before starting down. The wall was a few rungs above my head when out of the corner of my eye I saw something move. I jerked my head to look and something hot grazed my face. I yelped and instead of holding onto the ladder I let go. Instinctively I grabbed for the ladder. My hand wrapped itself around a rung, my whole body jerked to a stop almost making me let go again. My arm was almost yanked out of socket, blinding pain radiated from my shoulder before my whole arm went numb. Even through the numbness of my arm, pain radiated from my shoulder through my chest and shoulders, almost wiping out the pain in my face. Almost. Even though it was numb I dimly felt my hand losing its grip. It let go. I fell the last few feet. I landed momentarily on my feet before falling against the building and sliding down it. I pulled my injured arm to my chest, trying to take deep breaths to control myself. I wanted to scream from it. I bit down on my lips to hold the scream in. Breathing heavily through my nose.

  Over my breathing, footsteps were rushing towards me. I opened my eyes expecting to see either Rick or Dean. But it wasn’t either one of them. The person who was now standing over me was built like a man but it could have easily been a woman. Whoever it was, was wearing a poncho over a dirty, ragged sweatshirt with the hood pulled up to cover his face. He lifted the rifle in his hands aiming it directly for my face. His finger was already on the trigger. I closed my eyes. I had no chance of getting to my pistol in time. By the time I reach for it, I’ll already be dead. I blew out my breath, clearing my head. Just get a clean shot. Just get it over and done with.

  There was a shot but it sounded wrong. There was no new pain, just the same ones that were coming from my shoulder and head. Slowly I opened my eyes. I was expecting to see the poncho guy standing over my still, maybe a smirk on his face or some kind of remark leaving his lips. Instead he was lying spread eagle on the ground in a growing puddle of blood. There was a hole in the middle of his chest that left no imagination as to how he died. Slowly I turned my head, almost as if my head was swiveling on rusty gears. Dean was standing several feet away, both hands clasped on his gun with his feet spread apart. He lowered the gun, breathing heavily. He was staring at the body with almost morbid fascination.

  “Dean?” I called softly.

  He jerked. Ripping his gaze away from the body he looked at me. He was paler than usual, his dark eyes stood out in contrast to his face. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” He took a step back and turned away from the body, his arms stiff at his sides. His head drooped, it looked like he was giving himself a mental talking to.

  Very faintly I heard it. Dean must have too because his body went ridged. Rick’s truck was being started. Immediately following it there were gunshots and shouting that couldn’t be ignored. Dean took off running following the sounds. Ignoring my shoulder, I pushed myself to my feet. The world swirled around me, I followed Dean. The ground was tilting this way and that but I pushed myself through it. My feet dragging on the ground or stomping when the ground comes to meet my face. There was a loud whistling in my ears. The ground tilted unexpectedly, it came rushing up to meet me. I landed on the ground with a soft moan. Over the whistling in my ears the engine of Rick’s truck revved up, there was the sound of gravel hitting the building that was blocking my view of what was happening. There was more yelling, with Rick’s voice thrown into the mix.

  I saw the red truck barrel by and disappear around the trees. I stared at the trees where it had disappeared before lowering my head down onto the ground. I inhaled the smell of dirt and grass. It was almost sweet, it smelled like home. Mom working in the garden. Pulling weeds, planting vegetables. Sweating and laughing in the sun. I slowly closed my eyes, inhaling the scent, letting the memories swallow me.

  Someone was shaking my shoulder. I pried my eyelids apart, they felt gritty almost like I’d been crying before closing them. I looked up to see that Richard was shaking my shoulder. Concern and fear fighting for control over his face. When he saw that I was awake he stopped shaking me. “Are you ok? That’s a stupid question but I don’t know where else to start.”

  I rolled over and pressed my hands to my face. “Help me up.” I pressed a hand into his and he pulled me into a sitting position. “Ok, wait a moment.” The ground was tilting around me again.

  “You’re white and it looks like you were hit by something.” He crouched down in front of me.

  “I think it was a bullet. But listen I need to know what’s going on. C’mon help me up.” He nodded stiffly before pulling me the rest of the way to my feet. I swayed and would have fallen if he didn’t wrap an arm around me.

  “You should probably sit back down.”

  I shook my head vehemently. “No. Just help me over there.”

  Richard sighed as if it was going against his judgement but he grabbed my hand that was wrapped around his shoulder and he placed a hand around my waist. With his help I made it around the building. The truck was gone, that was the most obvious. But what was surprising was that Rick was sitting on top of a stranger, pelting him with his fists. The stranger was lying on his back, pleading with Rick to stop in between punches. Rum and Coke were circling Rick, every time Dean tried to intervene one of the dogs would jump forward; growling and baring its teeth at him. He was reduced to trying to convince Rick to stop by yelling at him.

  This is ridiculous. I let go of Richard, he hesitantly let go. I stalked forward, my anger propelling me forward. The two dogs let me pass, they didn’t so much as growl at me. I grasped Rick by the back of his shirt and yanked him off of the stranger. He yelled in surprise and tried to get up off the ground but Dean stepped in and put his foot on Rick’s chest. Rick stopped moving, staring daggers up at Dean. I turned back to face the stranger, I squatted down next to him. I pulled my pistol out and pointed i
t right between his eyes. His face had been almost obliterated by Rick’s fists. There were white specks on his tongue from where his teeth had been broken and shattered. His eyes could only open to slits because of the massive swelling that was already taking place. His nose more or less resembled a smashed tomato. He had to breathe solely through his mouth because there was just no way for air to pass through his nose. His face was covered in blood, there was even blood draining from his ears. He laid on his back like a child crying and snuffling. There was no pleading or begging, just sobs ripping through his chest.

  I poked him with my gun. He turned his head to look at me. “Puh-puh-please.” He kept repeating over and over. His voice becoming thicker and thicker. He blocked his face with his hands.

  Speaking very quietly, I leaned forward. “If you tell me everything I want to know, you’ll be able to walk away from this. Do you understand?”

  He nodded while hiccupping.

  “Where did they take our truck? And our supplies?”

  He only hesitated a moment before answering. “Our camp. It’s about f-f-f-five miles that way-“ He pointed in the same direction that they had driven off in.

  At least he’s quick about spilling his guts. I stole a glance at Rick, he was now sitting up free of Dean’s foot. Dean was still standing next to him ready to throw him back down if he tried to intervene. Rick was staring at the man with absolute hatred in his eyes. Dean was trying to keep his face blank, but there was a twitch under his left eye. They were both stiff as cardboard, neither was moving.

  I turned back to the man. He was spluttering again. I cut across him. “How many people?”

  “I-I-I d-d-don’t know.”

  I took my pistol and smacked him across the face with it. He cried out, and tried to roll away from me. I dropped to my knees and pulled him back to face me. “How many people are in your camp?!” I screamed.