by Tahnee Fritz
“Let’s get back to the hotel. Once the sun comes up, we’re leaving and never looking back.” Dad says and I nod in agreement.
Dad doesn’t say much on the walk back to the hotel. We get to our rooms and he kisses me on the forehead and closes the door to the guys’ room. I go to the girls’ room and quietly shut the door as well. Sherry is sitting on the edge of the bed, rocking back and forth. Her mother sits next to her with her arm around her shoulder, an ill attempt to comfort her. The second I close the door, both of them turn their eyes to me and Sherry jumps off the bed and rushes across the room. She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. Hug number two for the evening.
“I am so glad you’re okay,” she says then backs away, “After we got separated, I was so worried that you got caught up with the vampires or something. I didn’t see you or your dad.”
“We got out okay, almost okay anyway.” I reply
“Did you have a daring escape?” she asks, sounding intrigued.
“I guess you could call it that.”
She smiles a bit, “I love hearing about these things. You have to tell me everything.”
We wait until her mother and her cousin are asleep before we talk about what happened earlier in the evening. I glance at my watch and it’s almost one in the morning. We have a tall candle burning on the nightstand next to the bed we’re sitting on. Both of us have kicked our shoes off and sit with our legs crossed in front of us, Indian style.
I keep quiet as I tell her what happened at the tent when we got separated. The horrible shrieks coming from the people who were being attacked, how hard it was to get out of that place without getting trampled. I told her how I lost my father and didn’t want to come back to the hotel without him. She hung onto my every word when I told her about the young vamp standing outside with me. The one thing I left out was how scared I was to kill it when I had the perfect chance.
“I can’t believe it was that close to you.” She says when I finish telling my story.
I’ve never had anyone to tell these crazy things to before. Other than my dad, of course, but he was normally involved in it with me. Having Sherry there to talk to about all this, made things a lot better.
“You know, I’m not gonna lie, but that younger vamp was actually pretty cute. If he wasn’t all veiny and crap.” Sherry smiles as she speaks.
I giggle, “He did have that sort of hot bad boy look going on.”
“And he talked to you? I didn’t think either the vamps or the zombies were able to do that.” She states.
“I could tell he had to really force the words to come out, but I have heard them speak before running into this last one. The zombies can’t articulate anything even if they wanted to. I think there’s something that gets shut off in their brain when they turn into one of those things.”
“A lot gets shut off when either monster comes to life. I wonder sometimes if the people left inside even know what they’re doing while they’re doing it. Like if they are in their somewhere trying to stop themselves from eating people or sucking the blood out of them.” Sherry says.
“I’ve thought about that too. I’ve had this feeling that the vamps sort of do, but the zombies I always figured were too far gone to realize anything. But the other day, we ran into three of them and two were the normal zombies, but the third one was kinda different. She hesitated, almost like she was weighing the options on attacking me.” I explain.
She cocks her head to the side and says, “Weird. I can see the vamps doing that, but definitely not the zombies.”
I nod, but don’t say anything. I turn my head toward the candle, wax is dripping on the wooden table. The flame’s shadow dances on the wall and flickers a bit. Living in this new world with monsters that could take you out in a matter of seconds makes me feel wild, much like the flame on that candle. In one quick second, the candle stick could fall over and that small flame would have the choice to take the entire hotel out or dissipate the second it hits the ground. There would be nothing to stop it. I might not be as destructive as a fire, but sometimes, when I’m faced with those horrible things lurking in the shadows, I can feel that destructive fire burning in my heart and I can’t wait to take those monsters out. Maybe it’s because I have seen them do horrible things to the human population. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen both the zombies and the vampires destroy my family and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I’d have to go with that second thought over the first.
I look back at Sherry, she’s scratching at her scalp where her braids have been pulled too tight. I haven’t told her that my dad and I are leaving in the morning. I know it will be a hard thing to do, which is odd because we’ve only just met. It just feels like we would be great friends, the kind that grow old together and always stay in touch. Every friend I’ve had in the past is gone now and having Sherry around brings a part of them back. I’m not ready to lose that, but I know my dad will never go for hanging around too long. We tend to not stay in a town or city for more than a day or two.
“Sherry, which way are you guys headed?” I ask.
Her eyes snap up and meet with mine, “West to California. Why?”
I lower my head, my hopes shot through the roof and are gone in an instant, “We’re still headed North. I was hoping you would be going the same way.”
She nods, “Yeah, that would be nice. My dad knows a few people out there and they found a safe place. That’s what he believes anyway. We can still hang out here for a while though. We aren’t leaving for a couple days.”
“My dad and I are leaving when the sun comes up. After what happened with those vamps at the tent, he doesn’t think we’ll be safe here for very long.” I reply.
A sad look crosses her face, “That sucks. I don’t want you to leave yet. I want to keep hanging out. I want us to travel together.”
I nod, “Me too. You’re the first real friend I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to lose that.”
A small smile forms on her lips, “I’m your friend?”
“Well yeah. Unless you don’t want to be.”
“I do, it’s just,” she begins, “this might seem hard to believe, but before all this happened, I only had my one friend. The one who killed herself. I wasn’t a very popular person in school or anything and I got made fun of a lot because I tend to talk too much. People don’t really like that, I guess.”
“That’s because they’re stupid. I like that you talk a lot. It gives me the chance to hear about someone else’s life other than my own. I don’t care that you didn’t have a lot of friends back then, it doesn’t matter now.” I say.
“You are right on that one. Did you have a lot of friends?”
“Eh, I tried to be friendly to everyone. It didn’t matter to me if they were poor or rich or weird or anything. As long as they were nice to me, I considered them my friend. So, yeah I was kinda popular in school and whatnot. Not the preppy annoying kind or anything. The normal kind.” I joked.
The more we spoke, the harder I knew it was going to be to leave in the morning. Learning things about each other and getting to know that neither of us wanted the other to leave, made this life harder to live. It is bad enough trying to survive each day without getting eaten or sucked dry, but knowing that there is another person out there in the world that you care about or have cared about, makes things worse. You’ll never know if they’re okay. You’ll never know if you’re ever going to see them again. And you’ll never know if they are thinking about you like you are thinking about them. I’d like to hope that Sherry will be one of those people who will think about me from time to time. The crazy, brave friend she once had who stood up to two zombies and a vamp in the two short days we spent together. She’ll always be my somewhat annoying friend who always talked way too much for her own good. Not a complaint.
Eventually we fell asleep next to one another on the bed. Neither of us wanted to, but our eyes couldn’t take it anymore and we had to give in. I didn’t dream or anythi
ng, at least I don’t remember it if I did. Normally I dream about my mom or my sister and brother. Most of the time it ends in a nightmare about how they died and I wake up with tears in my eyes and dad there to console me. This time, I woke up to the sun shining through the cracks of the boarded up window on the wall. Birds are chirping outside and I sit up on the bed to stretch.
I put my feet on the floor and reach down for my boots. I must have shaken the bed a little, because Sherry starts moving around as well. I turn my head and see her raising her arms over her head with a yawn. I try to smile when our eyes meet, but inside I don’t want to. I know I’ll be leaving shortly and there’s a good chance I’ll never see her again. I turn back to my boots and zip them up once they are over my feet and calves.
“I can’t believe it’s morning already.” She says.
“I know.” I stand from the bed and walk over to where my bag is sitting.
We hear a slight tapping on the door and I turn my head. Sherry is the one who gets up and walks across the room to answer it. She pulls the door open and forces a smile at my dad. He’s all ready to go with his bag on his back. He’s even wearing a nice looking leather jacket. Not sure why, when it’s actually pretty warm outside.
He steps into the room and looks at me, “You ready to go?”
“Already? I figured we would eat breakfast first.” I reply.
He shakes his head, “We’ll eat on the road. We need to get going, Bridget.”
I fling my bag over my shoulders and say, “I guess.”
“Wait for me to get my shoes on. I at least want to walk with you outside.” Sherry insists.
“Totally.” I say with a smile.
She has them on in no time and the three of us head out of the hotel room. We follow my dad through the short hallway and down the flight of stairs to the lobby. The place seems to be empty and the girl who was sitting behind the desk isn’t sitting there this morning. Either it’s too early for her to be working or something else is going on entirely.
Dad pulls the door open and allows us to step outside first. We are greeted with the morning sun and a small crowd of people walking together down the middle of the street. They are all headed to where the tent was setup last night.
“What do you think is going on?” I ask when dad joins us.
He shrugs, “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out on our way out of town.”
“I’ll come with you.” Sherry adds.
She sticks by my side as we follow the people down the street. We get to the empty lot where the tent is in the process of being taken down. A few young men and boys are busy folding up the sheets and taking posts out of the ground. They pay no attention to the people scattering around the area. I happen to catch a glimpse of something lying on the ground. It’s covered up with a white sheet, a few blood stains seeping through the fabric. After I notice the first body, I see a few more spread out on the grass. Each covered with a light colored sheet or blanket.
Women are crying as they kneel next to their loved ones lying dead on the ground. Their sobs are quiet, but loud enough for everyone to hear. I count at least twelve bodies and I’m sure three of those are the vamps who did all of this. A few people are gathered around the stage still setup in the grass. The cage is still knocked over and blood stains the wood around it. I’m used to seeing this much blood and gore in one place, just not in a place that should have been safe from things like this. Those vamps never should have been brought here, they never should have been captured.
On the stage, everyone is glaring at the one and only Henry Johnson. He is forced to stand in front of the crowd and I assume apologize for the mistake he made by bringing those monsters to the town. Instead, he keeps his mouth shut and watches as a bigger man approaches him. His hair and beard are red and his biceps bulge out of the sleeves of his black t-shirt. The expression on his face is that of despair and rage. I’m glad I’m not the one who’s going to be on the brute end of his force.
“I hope you’re happy with what you did here last night, Henry. I told you from the very beginning, capturing those things was a bad idea. You should have known something bad was going to happen.” The red haired man says.
“Look, I said I was sorry,” Henry raises his hands in protest, “but you have to understand, everyone was in love with the idea just as much as I was. As far as I can tell, you were the only one against it, Tom.”
The one he called Tom lowered his head, “Nine of our people were killed last night by those damn things you brought here. One of those people killed was my daughter, Becky.” He motions toward one of the bodies lying on stage, her red hair sticking out from under the sheets.
“I know I can’t take back what happened. I wish I could, but you’ll just have to give me another chance. I can prove to you that I can put this town on the map. I can make this place famous.” Henry says.
Tom shakes his head, “We don’t care about any of that. We were fine before you got here and we’ll be find when you’re gone.”
“You’re kicking me out of town just like that?” Henry questions.
“No, we’re not kicking you out of town. That will just give you the opportunity to ruin someone else’s home.” Tom replies.
“I see,” Henry takes a deep breath, “then what does the future hold for me?”
“This.” Tom raises a gun and doesn’t bother making his aim perfect.
The shot echoes through the air around us and Henry’s body falls limp to the stage. I jump a little and Sherry lets out a slight gasp. I’ve never seen one human murder another. Killing zombies and vamps doesn’t count as murder when they are trying to kill you as well. This is different. This is what shouldn’t happen at all. Humans need to survive.
“Let’s get out of here, Bridge.” Dad says.
I follow him away from the massacre and we walk back to the street. He starts heading the way we need to go, North, and I stagger behind. It’s time to say goodbye. We get to the edge of the small town and I stop walking entirely. Dad keeps going, but makes sure he stays within my sight. I turn to Sherry and can already feel the tears building in my eyes.
“I know we only just met, but I’m really going to miss you, Bridget.” She says.
I nod, “Me too. I wish the world was different and we could be friends forever.”
“Yeah, it kind of sucks right now. Maybe we’ll run into each other again someday.” She says, wiping at her eyes.
“I hope so. Just make sure you keep yourself safe and try not to get eaten.”
“I don’t have to tell you to do the same. You’re good at doing that already.”
I shrug and glance down at my feet, “So, I guess this is good bye.”
“I guess so.”
I close my eyes and let a stray tear drift down my cheek. When I open them again, I reach out and wrap my arms around her and squeeze her in a bear hug for once. She hugs me back and all I can think of is not wanting to go. I love being with my dad, he’s the best, but there comes a time in every girl’s life where she needs more than just a dad to be around. I need a friend and I wish there was a way to talk my dad into going with them to California. It would be impossible, to say the least, and I know we have to stick to our plan and keep going north. No matter what might be up there waiting for us, we have to risk going there in order to find safety so we can survive this world.
I peel myself away from Sherry and we both wipe tears from our eyes. I take a few steps away from her and smile through my tears. She does the same and I keep walking.
“I really hope we see each other again someday.” I say as I continue walking backwards.
“Me too.” She replies.
I have to force myself to turn around and walk quickly in order to catch up with dad. I’ll never forget the last two days I spent with another human being I am proud to call my friend. If I do ever see her again in the future, I hope our friendship still remains and we can pick up where we left off here in this town. As for right now, i
t’s just going to be me and my dad on the road again. Just the two of us trying to survive this crazy, hellish world.
We spent over half the day in silence. It was awkward. The only time I opened my mouth to speak was to ask for the water and to tell my dad I had to go to the bathroom. My mind is just so wrapped up around how I actually met someone I got along with greatly and I had to leave just like that. Sure, I could try talking my dad into turning back and joining Sherry’s family on their journey to the west coast. That would be like asking for the winning lottery numbers right before the drawing.
It’s just not going to happen.
So, I keep my mouth shut and wallow in the fact that I’ll never have any friends so long as there are zombies and vampires ruling the world. A horrible truth to live with, but one most humans are stuck with. At least us travelers anyway.
We make it to an old rest stop in the middle of nowhere. An overturned semi takes up two parking spots and its trailer blocks the rest of the parking lot. A few cars are still parked with a layer of dust and grime covering them. Dad glances inside the windows of a few, checking for keys or any kind of supplies that would be useful for us. As usual, he comes up empty handed. I walk to an old vending machine with the glass all busted and lying in fragments on the floor. Everything is cleaned out except for a few empty wrappers.
One of the things I miss most is chocolate. I could have ate chocolate for every meal of the day and still not get tired of it. I miss the taste, the texture, the way it melted in my mouth with every bite. And there, lying at the bottom of the vending machine is the empty remains of a chocolate bar that would have made this day so much better. The damn thing is taunting me. I’m sure if the candy was still in the machine it would probably be expired, but I think I would have eaten it anyway. That’s just how much I love that stuff, kind of like a drug to me.
I take a deep breath then turn away from the machine. Dad comes up to me, sweat dripping off his brow and chin. He’s still wearing his jacket while the sun beats down on us. Night will come soon and the air will get slightly cooler, but I would love to know why he insists on keeping the jacket on.
