A Rose by Any Other Name

by Landra Graf

  ***

  Emma possessed a good deal of confidence walking out of the store, gun at the ready and prepared for a zombie ambush. Surprisingly, they made it to the car without incident. Looking out for her lover was Emma’s single top priority, even though her heart ached at having put a bullet in another person she’d known since childhood. Just another one on the list of people they were removing from the Earth today.

  “You know, I saw someone playing a zombie-killing game back in college. The guy always smiled like a sick pervert and talked about his ninety percent killing accuracy like it was the single biggest accomplishment he’d ever had—”

  “Probably was,” Jason said with a laugh. She heard the trunk open and the rustle of boxes and plastic canisters as she continued to look every direction. The streets were empty.

  “True, but I tried to look at this situation like that one. You can’t compare the two. When it’s your family, your loved ones, coming at you, their eyes nothing but soul sucking portals to their hunger pangs…it’s not like the video games.” She shuddered.

  The trunk closed with a slam. “All right, we’re ready to go.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Then she heard the moans, dozens of moans. The visual was worse. At least twenty townspeople were headed toward them. At the very center stood Rose, her hair a lot longer than she remembered and dingy with clumps of dried blood stuck to it. The hospital gown hung from her, dirty and torn. Her exposed skin, devoid of color, displayed various sized pits and oozing boils all over. But what really captivated Emma was the way Rose walked; a slow gait, head lolling from side to side. Intermittently, her friend’s head would suddenly stop moving and look straight ahead, the red eyes connecting with hers like a search beam locating a target.

  She’d thought fear would’ve consumed her upon seeing her childhood buddy for the first time since the disaster at the gym memorial, but along with the fear came pity. She also felt an overwhelming desire to run up and wrap her arms around the person who’d shared first crushes, concerts, sleepovers, driving lessons, and dozens of other activities over twenty eight years. Her gun arm fell to her side. The feeling of emptiness without this close friend next to her came to Emma as naturally as breathing, dangerously easy to get wrapped up in.

  The crowd came closer with each passing second, and Jason tugged on her arm in attempt to snap her out of her haze. A feral screech rent the air, and Mrs. Hopkins came charging forward. Another tug from beside her, except this time Jason’s hand reached for her gun.

  “Do something or let me!” His voice, like a beacon in the dark, broke through her concentration on the former prom queen. She snapped her hand away from him, brought the gun up, aimed, and fired. Mrs. Hopkins fell in a heap. This time, when he grabbed hold of her arm, she let him pull her toward the car.

  “What the hell happened back there?” His breathing heavy, words labored, he jumped into the driver’s side seat beside her. She could tell by the firm set of his shoulders and flushed face, he was pissed.

  “I don’t know, except the whole thing happened like you described.”

  “Like I described what? I don’t think I described wanting to lose you anytime soon.”

  She shook her head. “No, I meant like you described Rose. She looked worse, but I just…. I wanted to be with her. Wanted her with me. Does that seem morbid?”

  “No, it’s natural. I had the same urge when I saw my parents.”

  “What do you mean?” A knot lodged in her stomach.

  “I mean they’re gone. I saw them at the house yesterday.”

  She brought her hands to her mouth. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

  “What could I say? You lost your parents, too. Hell, I killed one of them.”

  “Yes, but you….” Just when she thought all the bombs had been dropped, another emotional nuclear weapon exploded. The nightmare wouldn’t be over until everyone in the town was dead.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I couldn’t kill them.” They were in the school parking lot now, car parked, and Jason grabbed her hands. “I wasn’t able to go through with it. They were wandering around the backyard, chasing my mom’s cat, and I locked the doors behind them. They wandered off within minutes.”

  “What’s the difference between them and mine?” She didn’t mean to sound cruel with the question. Nonetheless, he looked away, hurt by her tone.

  “A personal connection to our own parents. Why couldn’t you shoot Rose?”

  She sighed, edging a finger underneath his chin to bring his gaze back to hers. “A personal connection, and, to be honest, we need to end her with this explosion. I could bring myself to shoot just about anyone here except for her. I froze once, and I’ll freeze again. There’s some sort of binding power between us. That’s the only way I can describe it.”

  “I understand.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “But that’s why love is a great thing. It gives you someone to share the burden of responsibility with, and I plan on lightening your load.”

  “I love you.” An awkward time to give such a proclamation, but she wanted it said in case the worst occurred. No sense in denying the re-awakening of her feelings either. Life continuously proved too damn short.

  He smiled. “I love you, too. Now would you care to cover me while I unload all this stuff?”

  Chapter Ten

  ‘Til at last she came to an old tower around which there was a narrow staircase ending with a little door.

  “Hand me a cap-thingie, will you?” Jason pointed at the pack of electrical grounding caps on the floor. Emma grabbed a cap with one hand, the gun still in the other, and placed it in his. Once the last piece was put in place, the whole building would finally be wired to blow.

  “Explain to me how this works again.” She went back to looking for zombies, glancing left to right down the hallways.

  He loved how they worked together. After three hours of intensive labor, surprisingly, only a few zombies had gotten in the way. The sad part— he’d stopped referring to the people of the town as people he knew. Now they were just zombies.

  “All right.” He stood up, dusting off his jeans. “I’ve placed a line of accelerant around the entrances to the gymnasium. Once we turn on the music from the AV booth and get everyone in here, we fire one bullet to ignite it. This will prevent anyone from leaving, and we let them burn or pick off what we can with the guns.”

  He paused for a second, thinking he’d heard something from behind him, but there was only silence. Stuffing his all-in-one tool into his pocket, he grinned. “Then the easy part. I’ve rigged everything so we can collapse all outside entrances with the push of two buttons.”

  “You’re a genius.” She flung her arms around him and locked on tight. A rush of contentment passed through him, and he would’ve been happy stuck in this position forever. Being with her meant more than anything, and in two hours, they’d be free. Based on his wristwatch, the sun was already beginning to set. The only thing left to do was hightail it to the AV room above the gym and start making noise.

  “Thanks, but you’re not so bad yourself. Ready to get the party started?”

  She sighed, stepping back. “Are you sure we’re going to get everyone?

  “I’m sure, but if you think we missed anyone we can stick around for a few hours afterward and check things out.”

  His words were meant to relieve the tension building around them, but when she handed him the gun and started pacing, his belief in the whole plan started to unravel. “Don’t you feel sick talking about maiming at least a hundred bodies like we’re assembling a tree house or putting on some sort of performance? Every time I think I’m okay, you say something else, and then I’m not,” she said.

  There was a point to her thoughts, and he believed the same, to an extent. At least he didn’t think their behavior to be normal, hadn’t from the moment Rose bit into the sheriff.

  “I feel sick about al
l this, yes, but, again, we don’t have a lot of options here. So how can I make this better for you? How do I make this all right?”

  She stopped pacing, and walked up to him. “Just keep reminding me that we’re on the same page. Then I don’t feel like I’m going insane or that I’m the only one seeing all this as wrong.”

  “It’s more than wrong. Honey, it’s a catastrophe, and we’ve got to put a stop to it. When you’re backed into a corner, the only way out is to give up or fight. I almost gave up once with my knee, and I’m not doing it again.”

  He snagged her hand and gave the back of it a quick kiss. If there were time, he could invent countless ways to spend the evening hours with her, but procrastination only left room for them to screw up or become complacent. With the whole town zombified, it was possible that, after tonight, the hunger pangs would send zombies beyond Charming’s borders.

  “Em, if I had the ability to change all of this, I would. I’d do anything for you. Don’t doubt that please.” He scanned her face, looking for a sign of doubt, mistrust, or anything to give him an idea of the true thoughts rambling through her mind. If she wanted to question things, he’d let her; their humanity required it.

  “I don’t.” The words rang true, her eyes shining without doubt or hesitation. They were ready to go.

  “Then let’s get to it.”

  ***

  The music blasted from the speakers in all four gym corners. The spinning disco ball gave the room a high school dance setting. Emma remembered all the dances and how she’d spent most of them up here, playing deejay. Now she stayed up here out of a need for survival; a little ironic. Zombies filed in at a steady pace, and she’d already counted seventy-five residents of the town. Three-fourths wasn’t bad after one hour since they didn’t seem to move very fast unless food presented itself.

  They ran into walls and each other, snapping their teeth a bunch. The stench of decay quickly became a bit overwhelming.

  “Have you seen Rose?” Jason’s question came on a whisper as he sat down in a chair next to her.

  “No. She hasn’t made an appearance yet, but I expect her. Other than her, the sheriff, and Doc, everyone else is here, including your parents.”

  He didn’t react, but merely peeked over the edge of the AV booth and looked around. Watching loved ones act like mindless fiends, he found the sight hard to look at for more than a second.

  “The whole thing reminds me of drug addicts, people distracted by everything until you put the one thing they want in front of them and then try to take it away. Only this is ten times worse because you can’t reason or fight.”

  “True. A battle you can’t win.”

  He laced his fingers with hers. “I plan to at least win some part of it.”

  He leaned in to kiss her, but, at that moment, she caught sight of the captivating woman before whom all the other zombies cowered as if she were royalty.

  “She’s here.”

  Emma couldn’t look away from her again, the image reminding her of prom night and Rose’s regal entrance into the dance. The same scene, just more blood and decay involved.

  The cock of a gun broke her focus on her friend. “What are you doing?”

  “No time like the present. That’s everyone, right? The sheriff and Doc just entered through the other door.”

  “Yes, but can’t we—”

  “You know we can’t.” His eyes turned sympathetic. “Waiting gives one of them the opportunity to get away. I know what seeing her does. Remember, you’re not the only one suffering.”

  He didn’t wait for additional comments, just aimed and fired. A small roar exploded as the can of paint thinner caught fire and a blazing ring quickly spread around the room. Screeches and roars of pain sounded at once, filling her ears with an awful buzzing. The smell of decaying, burning flesh became worse as more bodies ignited, causing her nostrils to burn.

  Jason and Emma just stood in silence as the plan took hold, zombies burning when attempting to escape and spreading their flames to others, similar to how they’d spread the disease. She gripped Jason’s hand, and he squeezed back. They fed each other strength and love to keep from becoming two emotional messes.

  The end was near, the majority of the bodies covered in an orange and yellow blaze, when Rose leaped over one of the flames and skidded to a stop outside a gym door. A glimpse of her stained dress and long hair was the last Emma saw of her.

  “Damn. Come on. She’s getting away.” She ran down the stairs, making a quick check, once she reached the bottom, for other potential escapees. Then she charged off into the night after Rose.

  ***

  “Where are you—” Jason cut off as his girl disappeared down the stairs. He grabbed a handgun and rifle and took off after her, but by the time he’d reached the bottom, she’d disappeared.

  Torn between going after her and securing and blasting the doors to the school as planned, he settled on cleaning up the mess in front of him. The wrong choice could cost him, but the world’s future rested in his hands for the moment.

  Bowing his head, he silently prayed his sweet Em would remain safe until he could follow her. Depleted of regrets and hesitation, he charged off to start chaining doors. At least there’d only be only one zombie to contend with once he finished.

  Chapter Eleven

  Then he went on still further, and all was so still that he could hear every breath he drew….

  Emma’s breath came in heavy pants, and she finally came to stop at the edge of town. She’d followed Rose, but couldn’t find a trace of her. She had also forgotten the most important thing, her gun. Running down main roads and cross streets seemed futile at this point. With over thirty empty buildings, there were plenty of hiding spots, except she’d counted on her friend being hungry.

  The outline of Charming Chemical lingered in the background, only a half mile of open field separating it from the town. Inoperative, it really stood out as an eyesore, another decaying symbol of what the town had become. From the crumbling walls to the dead overgrowth that crept across parts of the bricks to the rusting metal—who knew what chemicals the building leaked into run off water? She took a couple of deep breaths to slow her heartbeat, and then a warning growl rent the air.

  Rose stood at the opposite end of the street, a good twenty feet away. Now the debate began. Should she run or try to find something to climb? Running seemed like the more logical choice because trees were scarce, and she failed to control the ability to scale buildings with her bare hands. Her only hesitation lay in the inability to predict how fast her friend’s zombie body could react.

  Another growl, and Rose took two steps forward, her head swinging. She appeared agitated, hands clawing at the air for something, anything, to grab hold of. It was heartbreaking to see her like this, and Emma experienced a deep, desirous urge to help until the dead nurse’s screech rent the air, deafening and unnatural. The sound confirmed a lack of humanity and freed the guilt she’d harbored.

  Not missing a beat, she turned and ran toward the field. She’d give everything to get to the chemical plant. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she dialed Jason’s number.

  “Where the hell are you?” The question possessed a small amount of irritation.

  “What, no hello?”

  “Not when you run off and leave me behind. Are you all—”

  “I’m leading your ex to the chemical plant.” She blurted out, cutting him off. “There might be a way to trap her there. Do you have any more blasting supplies?” A snarl sounded beside her, and she wanted to look, but knew it would only slow her. The goal—to keep running, don’t look back, and hope she’d be faster than a zombie; the best possible plan.

  “I’ve got the supplies. I can be there in fifteen.”

  “Great.” The word escaped on a breath.

  “Don’t do anything crazy, okay?”

  “I think I passed crazy when I thought I could outrun a zombie over
half-a-mile. This isn’t a sprint like the ones I medaled in back in track.” Although her attempt to make a joke and keep her feet moving was feeble at best, there was truth there. Getting old changed things in big ways. The call ended, and she shoved the phone back into her pocket.

  The entrance to the plant only a few feet away, she scanned for closed fences; surprisingly, there were none. Again, the small town mentality had kept everyone from locking things up. As she got closer, the sound of Rose’s movements diminished. She noticed graffiti on a few walls. Rusting pipes and cracks in the concrete acted as further signs the buildings could not stand immune to Mother Nature.

  Her legs were like dead weight, but, with every step, she summoned more strength to keep going. She didn’t want to be like everyone else in the town, didn’t want to desire the taste of human flesh. Dashing into the first building, she wove down the halls, searching for anything to protect herself or for a room to hole up in. All the offices had windows, which wouldn’t benefit her. Charging through one set of double doors led her to the main plant floor. Big vats of liquid nitrogen loomed in front of her. She knew they were filled since Rose’s big push for grant money had involved using the funds to sell or disperse the remaining chemicals in the plant that posed a danger to the town. Outside the doors, she heard a crash, most likely her friend come to find her. Emma looked around, desperate for a place to hide. Then she saw the ladder against the right wall.

  Hand-over-hand, she climbed up the ladder to the catwalks. Once on top, she carefully guided herself through the railed metal walkways carefully positioning herself between two of the nitrogen vats. She saw the evidence up close; these were extremely dangerous with only glass tops to keep the liquid from being exposed.