by Gayle Katz
“I’ll be here,” John promises.
“I hope so,” Jack stares him down for a few seconds.
Jack unlocks the car doors.
“Let’s go.” Jack says.
John gets out of the backseat and looks around while waiting to take over in the driver's seat. Mallory opens the front passenger side door. There are a couple zombies staggering about, but they don’t seem like a threat, at least not at the moment. Jack exits, comes around the vehicle, opens my door and grabs my hand. The three of us sneak through the sliding glass doors and into the supermarket. Looking back, I see John get back into the car behind the wheel and pull his seatbelt across.
Chapter 10
________________________________________
The lights are still on in the store, which is a nice surprise. Once inside, we make a beeline to the pharmacy area. No one is there, so we lift the little barrier and start going through the medications that were left behind.
“Are you in any pain?” Jack tries to better assess what we're dealing with.
“Yes. My arm is throbbing and it’s still bleeding.” I show him the nasty bite and the growing black and blue mark surrounding the bandage.
“Ugh. It looks like it’s getting worse. Stay here. Let me see if I can find some rubbing alcohol and bandages, and I’ll be right back.” Jack looks at Mallory. “Search through the shelves. See if you can find something for treating infections like an antibiotic—maybe penicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, or something similar. I should only be gone a few minutes.”
Jack looks back at me. “Why don’t you think about our wedding plans,” he says as he touches my face.
I sit down on the cold, tile flooring. What’s that look on his face? Worry? I really can’t tell and I can’t believe what he just said.
“You feel a little hot,” he mumbles under his breath, “Stay with me, OK? I’ll be right back. Keep your mind active. Think about what colors you want, OK? What kind of dress? You know, all that stuff I’ve been putting off until the right time?” he smiles.
“Uhhhh,” I smile back at him. Then he’s gone.
We’re getting married now? When did that happen? I always wanted a nice outdoor wedding—to feel the warm sun on my skin, a breeze in my hair. What will we eat? What should I eat now? I’m starving. What am I thinking about? Eating seems to be the only thing on my mind right now. I’m ravenous. And I think I hear my stomach growl.
Without a word, Mallory heads over to the back of the pharmacy and disappears into the many shelves of drugs and pills. I can’t see her anymore, but I can hear her or, what might be more accurate, I can hear what she’s doing. Pills rattling around inside little plastic bottles like maracas. A few empty plastic bottles fall to the floor with a tap, tap, tap sound that invades our silence. Those aren’t so loud. It’s the bottles filled with pills that make the most noise. All the pills smashing against the inside of the bottle hitting the floor at once makes quite a ruckus.
“Shh,” I say.
Her constant clatter stops. There’s silence. Then Mallory speaks.
“Yes. Yes. I know. If we’re quiet, they won’t hear us,” she responds.
“I don’t know, but noise is… it’s bad.”
“Is the door locked so they can’t get in?”
“Huh? There’s no door to lock here.”
“You’ve gotta lock the door so they don’t hurt us.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Barricade it with a desk. Hurry!”
“What are you talking about? Who are you talking to?”
“We’re running out of time. Don’t let them get me.”
I look around and see no one. Wait. What? Did I just imagine that entire conversation? I don’t know where Mallory is right now, but I’m trying hard to concentrate on my thoughts and help her keep focus on her task.
“Mallory. Remember what Jack said? Look for antibiotics. Please.”
“Yes. I remember. Going through all these bottles takes time.”
I have no idea if she’s OK, but at least she’s not rambling on and making noise anymore.
Just then, I see Jack sneak back into my cozy spot here on the chilly floor of the pharmacy.
“I found a few supplies that should help.”
“I’m hungry, Jack. Really hungry. All I can think about is eating.”
“I hear you. I brought you a couple granola bars and some beef jerky. Also, drink this. It should help.”
I grab the bottle out of his hand and down all 32 ounces in seconds flat. “Was that a sports drink?”
“Yeah, it’s supposed to give you a kick of electrolytes in order to keep all your fluids in balance. Here’s another one when you need it,” Jack says as he sets it down next to me. “I also found medical wipes, replacement bandages, and some gauze.”
Jack pauses for a moment.
“I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but we gotta change your bandage again to keep it clean.”
“Yeah. I figured as much. Go ahead. I’ll be fine.” I close my eyes.
He pushes back my sleeve, slowly peeling off the bandage.
“How does it look? And be honest with me.”
Jack sighs. “It doesn’t look good.”
I open my eyes and look down at the bite.
“Ugh. That looks horrible. Why is it so black and blue?”
“It’s infected and it looks like the infection is getting worse... We need to get you to a real doctor and hospital.”
Jack takes the blood-soaked gauze from out of my wound.
This may burn, but that means it’s working, OK?”
“OK.” I prep for the pain, remembering the last time he changed my dressing.
Jack grabs a wipe, unwraps it, and starts cleaning my bite wound.
“That still hurts. Less so than the alcohol before, but it’s still painful.”
“That’s good, I think,” Jack nods, reassuring both of us. “I hope that means it’s helping. I haven’t lost you yet.”
He inserts new gauze into my wound and covers it up with a clean bandage.
“All good.”
“Yeah, right. Don’t kid yourself. I’m far from good.”
“I’m referring to the bandage. I also found some painkillers when I was searching the store,” Jack breaks open the bottle. “Why don’t you take two of them with another swig of the sports drink?”
“OK.”
“Drink up!” Jack kisses me on the forehead.
Mallory comes out from the shelves of drugs and medications.
“Did you find any antibiotics?”
“I think so.” Mallory hands Jack a whole bunch of translucent orange pill bottles with opaque white caps.
“Good job. Thank you.”
“Want me to keep looking?”
“Yes. It can’t hurt to have an additional supply.”
Mallory goes back into the depths of the shelves again. Jack turns his head back to me, looks at one of the bottles, and twists the cap off. He opens his hands and a bunch of pills slide out. He puts all of them back into the bottle except for one.
“Here. I’m hoping the antibiotic will keep the infection at bay until we can get real help.”
I take the pill from the palm of his hand and put it in my mouth. I pick up the sports drink bottle next to me, unscrew the cap, and gulp down the liquid with the pill.
“Have you given some thought to the wedding?” he asks as he fills up his backpack with medications, bandages, and sports drinks.
“Uhhhh,” I reply. “I don’t know. It seems like an odd time to start talking about it. And I’m having problems concentrating.”
“That’s OK. It’s a lot of work to plan a wedding. We’ll do it together. How about getting married on the main lawn of the university? You’ll be gorgeous, dressed in a lovely white gown. I’ll be in my best tux. How does that sound?”
“Sounds nice.”
“How are you feeling?”
&
nbsp; “Better than I was, but I have to pee.”
“I can imagine. Let’s see if we can find a bathroom for you.”
Jack wraps his arms around me and helps me up. We exit the pharmacy area and look around for a bathroom. We spot one around the corner from the pharmacy area and walk toward it. Jack helps me to the door. He opens it and begins to come in with me.
“It’s a ladies room,” I say, “you can’t come in here with me.”
“Really? Are you serious?” Jack eyes me incredulously. “I don’t see anyone else around. Don’t be silly. I’m coming in. We have no idea what’s in there. We can’t be sure about anything right now. Plus, I want to keep an eye on you.”
“Fine, but I can go to the bathroom by myself.”
“Sure.”
The bathroom is in shambles. It doesn’t look like anyone has cleaned this place in a while, but I can’t be picky since I have to pee so badly. I make my way over to the bathroom stall. I’m exhausted and my arm still hurts. I stop at the door to catch my breath and turn back to Jack to let him know I’m doing fine. I know I’m not, but I hope to be doing better soon. I’m not an invalid after all.
I open the door to the stall and once inside, habit kicks in and I look for the toilet seat covers. They’re out. I turn to the toilet paper dispenser and start tearing off long sheets of them to cover the seat.
“What are you doing in there?”
“Covering the seat.”
“Covering the seat? We can’t waste time. Pee and let’s go.”
I manage to get half the seat covered, but then I start to get dizzy.
“Is it hot in here? Jack…”
I touch my forehead. It’s cold and wet. I’m sweating. The room is getting blurry and it feels like I have cotton balls in my ears. I’m losing control of my body.
Everything goes dark.
When I open my eyes, I’m on my back and I see Jack looking down at me. His lips are moving, but I can’t hear him. I do my best to focus on his words. After a few minutes, I’m able to hear again.
“Jane? Jane! Can you hear me? Can you see me?” He’s waving his hand in front of me.
I nod. As I regain what little dignity and composure I have left, I notice that I feel damp and uncomfortable. Not only that, I’m laying on the dirty bathroom floor.
“What happened?”
“You passed out.”
I touch myself and my hand is dripping with stinky urine.
“I didn’t make it to the bathroom?”
“No. No, you didn’t. I’m sorry. I tried to get to you in time, but you had already passed out. I only managed to prevent your head from hitting the floor. Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure. I feel so disgusting right now.”
“Don’t focus on that. Can you stand?”
“Maybe. I think I need your help, though.”
Jack helps me up from the floor. I look down to see the mess I made.
“What’s happening to me?” I mumble under my breath.
“You’re sick. That’s what’s happening to you, but we’re going to make you better. You seem fine now, but your clothes have seen better days.”
“That’s OK. I didn’t like this outfit anyway,” I say as I choke back tears. I’m embarrassed.
“Let’s get back to the pharmacy, grab Mallory, and head back to the car.”
“Uh-huh. Do you think it was a good idea to leave John alone in the car?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. My only thought right now is saving you.”
“That’s sweet, but leaving them alone is part of the reason why we’re in this predicament.”
“Yeah. I agree with you and I’m really, really sorry about what happened, but without us, they’re screwed too.”
“Do they know that?”
“I hope so. They’ve got nowhere to go without us. They have to stay.”
“Maybe, but if they leave with the car, we’ll have quite a hike back to our place.”
“I’m betting they won’t leave.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Either way, we’ll be fine. We’re survivors, you and me.” Jack looks me straight in the eyes.
“Have you noticed anything strange about Mallory?” I ask.
“No, but I haven’t given it much thought either. I've been a bit preoccupied lately.”
“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something off about her.” I say.
“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open.”
“Let’s get her, head back to the car, and see if we still have a ride waiting for us. I wanna get home and check on Rocky.”
Chapter 11
________________________________________
We quickly stroll back to the pharmacy to find Mallory in the fetal position with what seems like a thousand pill bottles surrounding her.
“What happened here?” I say to myself.
“Mallory?” Jack calls out to her.
“You left me here,” she bemoans.
“No. That’s not true. We had to find a bathroom.”
“You left me here,” she repeats.
“That wasn’t our intent. We’re back. See?”
“People always leave me.”
“We’re not leaving you.”
“Then I get hurt.”
“Hurt? Who hurt you?”
She’s rocking back and forth on the pharmacy floor.
Jack looks at me. “Will you be OK for a minute? I’m gonna see if I can help her so we can get back to the car.”
“Sure.”
Jack leans me up against the wall, walks over to Mallory, and kneels down beside her. He talks softly.
“We didn’t leave you. We want you to come with us.”
“You do?”
“Yes. We do. Are you OK?”
“I guess so. Just scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of right now. Let’s gather our stuff and head back to the car... together.”
Jack packs up the rest of the supplies, grabs me, and we hightail it back to the front of the store. We peek out of the glass doors where we entered. No car in sight. However, there are zombies hovering around the parking lot.
“Shit! What are we going to do now?” I ask.
“Let’s give him a few minutes and the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it became too congested and he needed to circle the block? Just chill out and relax,” he says as he holds my hand in his. I look at Mallory. She seems fine now. I don’t know what happened back there. I look back at Jack.
“OK. Sorry. I’m a little on edge.”
“That’s understandable,” Jack acknowledges as he holds my hand tighter.
About two minutes later, we see John pull up. We take a quick look around and then we run out of the supermarket to the car. Jack opens the back car door and I follow him in. Mallory takes the front seat again.
“Lock the doors,” Jack insists. We try to make as little noise as possible.
“Sorry if I worried you.” John says.
“Not a problem. We’re just happy you came back.” Jack replies.
“I didn’t mean to leave, but I couldn’t stay. The car would have been overwhelmed with those things if I didn’t move. You’ll notice more dents and blood spatters. The zombies who are just loitering around aren’t such a problem. You can probably out walk them, but some of them are different. I’m not sure why, but some of them can run... and fast. I found out quickly that those guys are a big problem and the reason why I had to keep moving. Otherwise, they would just keep running and banging into the car until they found a way in or broke the engine.”
“Well, thanks again for coming back for us.”
“I’m not going to leave you for dead. Like you said, we need to stay together in order to survive. Did ya get everything we need?”
“We did. Now let’s get going. You’re in the driver’s seat. Take a left when you pull out of the parking lot, and then make a right to get back on the main drag.”
> “Sure. Ummm… What’s that smell?”
“It might be urine or some other delightful fragrance. Don’t ask.”
“OK.”
“Just drive the speed limit and avoid hitting zombies on the road, if possible. We don’t want to attract any more attention than we already have.”
Jack holds my hand and then puts his arm around my back, pulling me closer. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he whispers in my ear.
I pull away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“If I’m turning into a zombie, I don’t want to hurt you so I don’t want to be that close to you. What happens if I bite you? You won’t have a chance if you’re so close to me.”
Jack keeps to the other side of the car backseat. As John drives us home, I stare out the window. A horde of zombies catches my eye. They are face deep, feeding on someone. Maybe it was a person? It could have easily been simple road kill or something else. All I can tell is that it’s a bloody mess. Just then, I see a hand and it falls to the ground. I get closer to the window to sneak a better look. One of them pokes their head up and sees me. Immediately, I pull back hoping it doesn’t notice me. No luck. It bolts at the car and hits the window.
“Drive faster,” I shout.
The zombie smashes into the car again. I can see his friends in hot pursuit after us. The third smash breaks the other backseat window. The zombie punches through the broken window and grabs me.
“Why are you running away from us? We don’t want to hurt you. Stop and join us. Are you hungry? Of course you are. Bring your friends and feed,” it says.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing and hearing. I can’t speak.
“Maybe she’s not ready to join us yet,” it says to another zombie who magically appears at the window.
“She will be.” It says. “And we’ll make her bring her friends.”
“No! Go away!” I shout.
“Jane? Are you OK? What’s wrong?” Jack asks.
