“I get it now, Sonya,” Ally said. She had seemed contemplative during the walk. She hadn’t attempted to drink the rain like a moron. Things were on her mind. “You’re right.”
“About what?” Sonya said.
“After I lost my mom and then my dad. After I lost Kyle. I felt all of it was unfair. I’ve been so pissed off about everything, always have been, but I was still afraid of everything. I couldn’t do anything about losing my entire family. I had no control over that.”
“You didn’t. When horrible, shitty things are gonna happen to us anyway, there’s no point in being afraid of anything.”
Ally nodded. She smiled suddenly, as though a good thought came in mind. “I understand that now. I just feel so pissed off. I’ve been keeping it in most of my life.”
Sonya remembered what Ally did to Tristan in the Mustang. She must’ve exploded that time, allowed all her pent-up rage to come out. It was for the right reason, Sonya thought. “Be pissed off, then.” Sonya told Ally. “All of that anger is yours. It belongs to you. Unlike all the unfair things that has happened to you, you have control over that. When you find a place for it, use it.”
Ally nodded again. “I wonder if Charlene feels this way, and if Kasey does. If Joni does, too. They’ve all lost everyone close to them. They must be pissed off, too.”
“I guess everyone copes with it differently. All three of them have lost a lot, but they still have you. I still have you.” Sonya felt icky with those words, but it was something Ally should hear. Charlene, Kasey, and Joni loved Ally, because of her capacity for compassion, because of the goodness in her heart. “You’re strong in your own way, Ally. Everyone appreciates it.”
Ally smiled with saddened eyes. “Don’t they all see how pissed off I am? Don’t you know how pissed off I am?”
“Well, I do now.”
That made Ally laugh a little. “You seemed to have been pissed off way before all this happened, Sonya. Why? I never knew why.”
Sonya thought about it. She had never known a day where the tiniest bit of anger and cynicism wasn’t in her. “I’m not sure, really. My dad was a druggy and a drunk, wasn’t around much when I was growing up. When I was eight, my older sister ran away from home because of him. Never saw her since. My mom finally left my dad when I was eleven, and she became a depressive wreck after that. She was difficult to tolerate at times, but I did tolerate her. I loved her, even though her outlook was often bleak. She hated her life, but she cared much for mine at least.”
“I never knew anything about your upbringing. It all sounds terrible.”
“Yes, it sounds bad, but it was nothing to me. It was what I was accustomed to.”
“Despite all of that, Sonya, I believe you’re a good person.”
This time, Sonya smiled sadly. “Thank you. I try.”
Sonya listened in on Lawrence and Tristan, both still had mouths to the rain.
“If only you still had your pot,” Lawrence said to Tristan, “we could capture rain in it and drink properly.”
“It’d be a good idea,” said Tristan, “but, I don’t know. My head was sweating in, badly.”
The two boys were having another airheaded conversation it sounded.
“Tristan,” said Lawrence, “I’d drink the water in which you’ve bathed in.”
“That sounds sexy,” Tristan replied.
And they were being gay with each other as usual.
Suddenly Lawrence gasped. “Oh.”
Sonya and Ally snapped into vigilance and looked in all directions of the neighborhood. There were no dangers anywhere.
“I have duct tape,” said Lawrence. He looked back at Sonya and Ally. “What? Why do you two look all scared and surprised suddenly?”
Sonya sighed. I wanna shove that duct tape roll up your ass. “It’s nothing.”
Lawrence took the duct tape out of his bag. “I don’t think those things are around. We should take advantage of that and rest for a bit. I can craft some cups out of duct tape and we can catch some rain to drink.”
Tristan, Sonya, and Ally agreed.
The group went for shelter from the downpour, to the nearest house that had a porch with an overhang. Once settled, Lawrence began pulling strips of tape, rolling and folding them until it formed a cone. He handed it to Sonya and got started on a second one.
Sonya admired Lawrence’s skill with duct tape crafting. The cone was quite sturdy and appeared well-sealed enough to hold water. She held it out to the falling rain, where it filled up in less than a minute. She took in a few gulps, then passed the cone to Ally. After the drink, Sonya felt relaxed. She no longer had any fear of the dead. If those things were to spot the group and come charging toward them, she’d know what to do. She learned the dead were easy to put down. The dead were predictable and couldn’t fight properly. They could only attack, with clawing hands and constant attempts at biting. They were incapable of sneaking up behind or using weapons. But if twenty of those things were to show up…That’d be another story. Right now, Sonya rested, not feeling a horde attack was likely. And what if there were more people with monkey masks or any other hostile kinds of people with guns? She didn’t care to think about that. She was just glad to have survived the last confrontation, and to now have the chance to rest.
“I wonder what’s over there,” said Lawrence. He drank from his tape cone and gave it over to Tristan. “Clearly the market wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the apes.”
“What if that place is locked up?” Tristan added. He drank. “Or what if the glass is smashed and it’s already raided?”
“There could be an entire army of those apes,” said Ally. Her arm was outstretched to the rain to refill the cone. “What if they’ve taken the market? What if they’ve settled there and we walk into a slaughter?”
“All of this we could’ve considered days ago,” said Sonya. “We’re here now, with no car, and nowhere else to go but back home. But we shouldn’t go back home empty-handed.”
If they were to succeed in raiding the market, if luck were on their side, they’d still have a long, on-foot journey to return to the house. Sonya didn’t feel so rested anymore when she thought of it. Her mind became filled with trepidation again.
“What if we wait till nighttime to go to Valley Market?” said Tristan. “The dark will hide us as we get there.”
Lawrence started to pace, slowly back and forth. “That’d be several hours from now, Tristan.”
“We could get inside one of these houses and take a nap.”
“You’re forgetting that there’s no electricity. There aren’t any streetlamps and porchlights. I’ve been out at night before, if you guys remember. The streets will be pitch-black, Valley Market, the shopping center will be pitch-black. We have a flashlight, but it’ll draw attention in the dark. The dead don’t sleep—they’ll get us. If we were to fight those things off at pitch-black night, in close proximity to one another, we could be hacking each other up in the dark and not know it. And I don’t wanna go into one of these houses anymore, Tristan. I don’t wanna risk running into people like Anderson, or Meredith, or Bambi—they were just wacky, and I don’t wanna run into anymore wacky characters, okay? Because, by the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if we came across some super muscular, seven-foot-tall, crossdressing, little boy, wearing an eyepatch for no apparent reason.”
“Okay, you made your point, Lawrence, we won’t go out at night.”
“Yes, Lawrence,” said Sonya, “you over-made your point.” She knew that Lawrence was in his trancelike state of thinking, with the back and forth pacing and the unnecessary amount of energy in his ranting. “How do you suggest we go about doing this?” Ally handed her the filled duct tape cone. “Do you happen to have an ingenious plan involving duct tape?”
Lawrence paused from his pacing and looked at Sonya. “Sonya, I feel you should have a bit more respect for me, and for the duct tape. Have respect for the duct tape, Sonya.”
�
��You’re right.” Sonya did feel sheepish for her sarcasm. She looked at the cone in her hand. “I should respect you, Lawrence,” she spoke sincerely. “Thank you for making these things out of duct tape, so that we could drink rainwater, I guess. I do respect…duct tape.” Okay, I can’t believe I’m saying this kinda shit. “You are…skillful in duct tape crafting. Really. Thank you, Lawrence.” She saw a smile grow on him, with a bashfulness in his eyes. “You’re a great guy.” She smiled back at him, and for a moment, stared into his gaze. Suddenly embarrassed, she quickly averted her eyes to the tape cone and drank from it.
“Yeah,” said Ally, “thanks, Lawrence. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Sonya controlled her face muscles to not make a sickened expression. Well, this is a very touching moment we’re having…over duct tape.
“Thank you, Lawrence,” said Tristan. “You’re the best, man. These duct tape cups are really something.”
Oh, great, now we’re getting sentimental about it, and we totally forgot that we’ve watched people get eaten alive by zombies today.
If I fucking hear the words “duct tape” one more time…
“Hey, you guys,” said Lawrence, “it’s nothing, really.” His smile became a smug grin. “But, please continue kissing my ass when we’re back home. What an amazing thing duct tape is.”
Those goddam words! It triggered Sonya’s slumbering aggression. She winced and fidgeted from suppressing agitation. She clenched her fists, causing the tape cone to crumple in her left hand and the water within to splash out. “We’ve rested long enough. We should move on.”
“We don’t have a plan yet,” said Lawrence. “I was thinking we could try hotwiring a car out here or something. Me and Tristan could probably figure it out.”
“No way,” said Tristan. “I was always way too high in my tech class to remember anything about wiring. That’ll take up time, and I don’t feel like getting electrocuted this week.”
“The point of us stopping here was to rest,” said Sonya, “and we did that. Forget about hotwiring a car, because we don’t have the tools for it, anyway—is Tristan gonna trim some wires with a fucking sword? We need to get moving, get this over with.”
“She’s right,” said Ally. “There’s no other way to do this but to keep going.”
Ally
Ally felt recharged after drinks of water and brief rest. The group resumed their walk down the street. As minutes passed, the rainfall softened. The neighborhood they strode through was empty, though the dead could be heard groaning and growling someplace far-off, and their treads were noises just as slight as the rain hitting the ground. For now, the group was seemingly safe, unless there came a gunshot, a car horn, a scream from Lawrence getting excited over duct tape, or any other loud noise, the flesh ravenous monsters would come, rushing out from backyards or climbing out from shattered house windows.
Ally heard a passing vehicle, another sound that was far-off, probably a few streets away. She looked over to Lawrence, Sonya, and Tristan, who all seemed to have heard it, too. They all had the look of surprise. Lawrence shrugged it off, and the rest of them paid it no mind, not speaking of it. They continued. The shopping center was up ahead.
They came to Westerly Acres Shopping Center. It was empty and quiet. A few cars remained in the parking lot, long abandoned. Though the plaza was only a few miles away from where Ally had lived most her life, she had never set foot in the area. Aside from Valley Market, there was a café, a dental office, a doctor’s office, a dry cleaner, and a salon, all of which appeared intact. There were no indications that the stores had been raided. Ally had expected the area to be ravaged, but it seemed Lawrence was right about the area, that it’d be empty. The only thing to worry about was if the market was locked or if the owner had taken all food and supplies already.
The group approached the front of Valley Market.
“It still looks normal,” Lawrence whispered. “There’s stuff inside.”
Through the market’s glass front, Ally saw something stir within.
People were inside.
The four of them paused when a man and woman appeared at the front door. Lawrence and Sonya pulled out their guns, seeing that the two strangers were armed. The man had a shotgun, the woman with a small snub nose revolver. They pushed open the double doors and came outside.
“This is our place,” said the man, his tone already hostile. He was haggard, with a large beard, dirty and tangled, clothes stained brown and crimson with dirt and blood. “I suggest you all go, before I start blasting away at the four of you.”
“Go away,” said the woman. She was equally haggard, with hair sloppily gathered in a ponytail, clothing also stained.
“Wait,” said Lawrence. “We’re not here for trouble. We’re trying to survive out here, like you.”
The market door opened again. A small boy, perhaps seven or eight years old, peeked out. “Mom, Dad?” the kid called, sounding and appearing more confused than fearful.
The man looked back at the kid. “Chuck, I told you to fucking stay inside,” he scolded. “Get your ass inside.”
“Chuck,” said the woman, calmly, “get back inside, sweetie.”
Chuck nodded and went back in.
“Is it just you three here?” Lawrence asked.
“Our friends will be back,” the man replied. “You’re getting yourselves in some shit. They’re not far,” he warned. “When they get here, you’re all in deep shit. I told you all to fucking leave.”
Ally’s thoughts were on the confused boy. “You have a son,” she said.
“Ally,” said Lawrence. It sounded like a mild scold from him, as though to shut her up.
“Lawrence,” she threw him a sharp look in response. He didn’t protest. She studied the man and woman, who both might’ve been decent people months back. Ally had the feeling they weren’t the violent types. The couple were understandably afraid right now, perhaps they also had a run-in with the apes, and it was unlikely this family had others with them, friends who were coming back. “We don’t intend any harm and we don’t want trouble.”
“There’s gonna be trouble,” said the man. “I’m gonna start shooting. I’m warning you.”
“Do you really wanna start shooting?” said Tristan, he pointed at the store. “You’re boy’s in there, man. If you start shooting those things will come.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I’ve killed a hundred of those things. My boy’s already seen me kill a hundred of them.”
“Hear me out first,” said Ally. “This area isn’t safe. Why don’t you and your family join us? We have a house with windows and doors secured.” Ally looked around and noticed two cars close by. “If you have a car, we could carry all the store’s supplies out to our place. There’s no reason for us to fight. We could survive together. We could help keep your son safe.”
“There’s strength in numbers,” Sonya added. “We’ll have a better chance out here together.”
“You two bitches should shut up,” the man gave a crazed glare. “You think we fucking need any of you? Do you? I fucking told you to go.” He was now shaking, now agitated, apparently. He looked close to exploding into a fit. “Get out!”
His woman shushed him. “Curt, not too loud.” She appeared fretful. She looked around, nervously. “The zombies will hear you. Not too loud.”
“Shut the fuck up, Donna!” Curt raised his shotgun and aimed at Ally. “I already fucking warned all of you!”
“Curt, no!” Donna screamed.
Ally didn’t think to run away. She opened her mouth to scream.
The gun blast came.
Curt’s head swung sideways as his nose blew off from his face with a blood spray.
Lawrence had fired the shot.
Curt dropped down onto his back with the shotgun still in his grasp.
“It wasn’t loaded,” said Donna, starting to tremble. “He was only bluffing—his fucking gun wasn’t loaded!”
&nbs
p; Donna raised her pistol. Ally and the group started to back away, ready to flee.
“No,” said Sonya, lifting her pistol. “Put it down!”
Donna fired her weapon while screaming, “I’ll fucking kill you!”
Ally ran back a few feet and ducked down.
Another un-aimed shot came from Donna. Neither of the bullets struck anyone, or seemed to strike anything.
Lawrence and Sonya retaliated, lifted their guns and fired. One bullet hit Donna in the belly, the second went to her chest, and a third hit her shoulder. With the three shots in her, she staggered back. Her gun still pointed at the group. Her trigger finger started producing clicks in her revolver. She fell over. She squirmed on the ground, then went still.
Lawrence tucked away his gun and zipped open his shoulder bag. He started toward the market entrance. “We gotta move quick. Gather all the stuff we can.”
“What about the kid?” said Tristan.
Ally was still shaken up by the brief shootout. She knew Lawrence was right, they had to move fast. With all the screaming and the guns firing, the dead would come soon.
The group rushed into Valley Market. Lawrence and Sonya, who each had one of the gym bags, started for the aisles.
“We need to get the kid out of here,” said Tristan.
“See if you can find him,” said Lawrence. “Grab him if you have to.”
Lawrence and Sonya went one way and Tristan went another. Ally decided to follow Tristan to find the boy Chuck. The market was small, roughly one-third the size of the average grocery store. It wouldn’t be hard to find the kid.
Flesh Ravenous : A Zombie Horror Series -Book 2 Page 7
