Survivors in a Dead World

by Gary M. Chesla

  If there was anything inside, he didn’t want to help them come out after him.

  It didn’t take long to reach the window.

  Bob looked in the window. It looked like some kind of records office. There were three desks, each with a computer screen in the center of the desk and about a dozen file cabinets.

  On the other side of the room was a closed door.

  Bob breathed a sigh of relief. He had been hoping he wouldn’t have to retrace his way back out to the pole and work his way down the street and try another window.

  Bob slid the hammer out of the waist band and smashed the window.

  After crawling inside, he sat on one of the comfortable looking chairs for a few minutes. The idea about crawling across the power line to the hospital sounded a lot easier than actually doing it.

  Bob forced himself out of the comfortable chair and opened the door. The hallway outside was empty.

  Bob walked out into the hallway and looked at one of the doors to see the room number, the door read room 310.

  He was on the third floor. He couldn’t remember how far it was up to the roof, fifteen or twenty floors, but at least they could walk and not have to climb another power line.

  Bob walked back to the room and closed the door, pulled a chair over to the window and signaled to Carrie and Tom. Now he sat back and relaxed as he watched the others crawl across the power lines.

  Carrie made the trip quickly.

  Bob was impressed how agile and nimble she was.

  Then they both sat and watched Tom.

  Tom was a different story.

  Carrie laughed, “Remember the story about the tortoise and the hare?”

  Bob smiled, “Are you comparing Tom to the tortoise?”

  “No, I wouldn’t want to insult the tortoise,” she giggled.

  Tom eventually made it into the room with Bob and Carrie an hour later.

  It was another hour before Tom could get off his chair.

  “It would have been easier to stay at the church and starve,” Tom finally said.

  “There was that one last bottle of wine,” Bob joked.

  “I wished you would have told me about that before I got out there on that power line,” Tom laughed.

  Carrie leaned over and whispered to Bob, “Half way across he would have probably taken off his shirt and then fell asleep. We would have been waiting over here all day.”

  Bob laughed out loud, “At least out there he couldn’t crawl in bed with me.”

  “I thought you liked it when someone crawled in bed with you,” Carrie whispered then gave him an ornery grin.

  “Some people yes, but not Tom,” Bob smiled back.

  “Hey what are you two laughing at?” Tom asked.

  Carrie smiled at Bob, “We were just laughing about your climbing skills.”

  “Or more like your lack of climbing skills,” Bob added.

  “Laugh all you want,” Tom grinned, “I made it didn’t I?”

  “Has everyone recuperated enough so we can move on?” Bob asked.

  “Not yet,” Carrie smiled and jumped up and started going through the drawers in the desks.

  “What are you looking for?” Tom asked.

  “The secretaries over at the station always kept snacks hidden in their desks,” Carrie replied. “I could sure go for a candy bar, even if it is a year old.”

  Bob got up and decided to help her look through the desks. He also liked the idea of finding a candy bar.

  Carrie quickly rifled through two desks by the time Bob finished checking the drawers in his.

  “I guess none of these people were on a diet,” Carrie sighed.

  “Not all of them,” Bob said as he pulled a pack of cheese crackers out of the bottom drawer.

  He ripped open the pack and handed two crackers to Tom and Carrie.

  Tom bit into his cracker, made a face but kept chewing.

  “What do you mean none of these people had been on a diet?” Tom asked. “Didn’t you mean they were on a diet? If they were on a diet they wouldn’t have food hidden in their desks.”

  Bob laughed, “Tom, you obviously have never been around women on a diet.”

  Tom looked confused.

  “Tom, women on a diet are only on a diet when someone is watching them,” Bob grinned. “When they think no one is watching they eat everything they can get their fingers on. Isn’t that right Red?”

  “So you’re an expert on women now too,” Carrier smiled looking at Bob.

  “By no means,” Bob laughed, “but I know a few things,”

  “Then maybe you can answer a question for me?” Tom started.

  “Maybe we should go,” Carrie said and stood up, “before you guys embarrass yourselves, or me.”

  Bob smiled, got up and moved over to the door.

  “When I crawled in through the window, I went out to check what floor we are on. We are on the third floor. We need to find the stairwell. Stairwells are usually located in one of the corners on each floor. It’s not on this corner, so I think we should go down the hallway outside this door and see if it is down that way.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Carrie said.

  Bob opened the door a crack and looked down the hall.

  “Red, you follow me. Tom you take up the rear. Keep your eyes and ears open,” Bob said and then he slipped out of the room.

  They moved slowly down the hallway.

  All that was down this corridor was empty hospital rooms.

  At the end of the hall they came to a set of double doors.

  Bob moved over to the double doors and looked through the two small windows.

  “There is another hallway on the other side of these doors,” Bob whispered. “I can also see a gurney and what looks like two food carts. It must have been lunch time when the shit hit the fan here.”

  “I wonder if they have a cafeteria and supply room like we found over at Mercy?” Tom asked. “If they do maybe we could all move over here.”

  “Keep an eye on the directory and those signs hanging around,” Bob replied. “That’s a good idea, but today unless we find it on our way to the helicopter, we need to get up to the helicopter. If everything works out, we can come back some other time to check it out.”

  “If things don’t work out then that should be our next destination,” Carrie whispered.

  “Be positive Red,” Bob whispered back.

  Bob pushed through the doors and they began down the next stretch of hallway.

  When Bob reached the end of the hallway, he turned and whispered, “The stairway is right around this corner.”

  Carrie, standing right behind Bob, nodded.

  Bob looked back to make sure Tom had heard him too.

  “Where is Tom?” Bob asked.

  Bob and Carrie looked back towards the other end of the hallway when they heard glass breaking.

  They saw Tom searching one of the food carts that was sitting in the hallway.

  Tom looked up when the glass fell to the floor and shattered.

  Bob started waving at Tom to get up with him and Carrie.

  Tom shrugged and started to walk up the hall.

  “I think Tom is hungry,” Carrie whispered.

  “Tom is always hungry,” Bob said. “In fact that was all he ever talked about until that day he saw you in your sheet.”

  “Well I’m glad to see that his mind is back on food again,” Carrie replied.

  “Come on Tom,” Bob shouted in a loud whisper. “I found the steps.”

  Tom picked up something off of one of the food carts and shoved it in his mouth then started up the hallway.

  “You wouldn’t believe some of the things I’ve seen him eat,” Bob laughed.

  Carrie started to laugh, but her and Bob’s light mood quickly ended.

  A groaning sound started down the hall near Tom, but they didn’t hear it before a gray boney grotesque body fell from the doorway to the left of Tom. Its skinny arms grabbed onto Tom and they
both fell to the floor.

  Bob started to run towards Tom.

  Two more creatures followed through the doorway and fell on top of Tom.

  Before Bob reached Tom, two of the creatures bit into Tom’s arms.

  Blood started spurting over the creature’s faces, driving them into a frenzy.

  Bob grabbed the gurney that sat against the side of the hallway and pushed it into the dead, knocking two of them off of Tom.

  Bob reached down and grabbed the third creature by the arm and pulled it off of Tom and shoved it into the wall.

  Carrie was now at Bob’s side, beating a creature over the head with a tray from the food cart.

  Bob stomped on the heads of the two creatures that were flailing their arms and legs, trying to get back at Tom.

  Carrie was finishing beating the other creature, splitting open its skull with the tray.

  Bob ran over and closed the door where the dead had come from then ran over and knelt down next to Tom.

  Carrie came up behind Bob.

  “He looks bad,” Carrie whispered, “We need to get him up to the helicopter and get him to the doctor.”

  Bob looked up at Carrie, “It’s too late.”

  Tom moaned and opened his eyes.

  Bob picked up Tom and put him on the gurney.

  “Let’s get him back to the first room where we crawled into the hospital,” Bob said looking at Carrie.

  Carrie walked next to Bob as he pushed Tom through the hall.

  When they were back in the room, Bob closed the door and picked up Tom and sat him up in the corner on the floor.

  “How are you doing buddy?” Bob asked.

  “I’ve been better,” Tom forced out the words and a smile.

  “Just try to relax,” Bob said.

  “How long do you think I have?” Tom asked weakly.

  “Hang in there Tom,” Carrie said. “You’ll be OK.”

  Bob looked at Carrie and shook his head, “Maybe an hour buddy.”

  “Tom and I made a pact a long time ago to be honest with each other if this time ever came,” Bob said sadly looking at Carrie. “It’s better to know. It’s a guy thing.”

  Carrie nodded.

  “Thanks,” Tom smiled. “We figured someday it would probably happen to all of us.”

  Bob smiled softly, “There is so much bullshit to deal with in the world. We decided when our time came, that we didn’t want to go out listening to more of it.”

  “At this point there isn’t anything we can do about it,” Tom said in a whisper, “All you can do is accept it and go out like a man.”

  “You are a good friend, Tom,” Bob said. “I owe you for all the times you had my back.”

  “Not as many times as you’ve had mine,” Tom added. “Sorry I screwed up.”

  “Water under the bridge, buddy,” Bob replied.

  “I’m glad you guys didn’t get hurt,” Tom said and started to cough.

  A gross black liquid dripped out from the corners of his mouth. His flesh was now a light shade of gray and his eyes were glassy.

  “I think an hour was optimistic,” Tom coughed again. “I can’t feel anything now.”

  “I just want you to know you were the best friend I ever had,” Bob said as a tear escaped from his right eye and ran down his cheek.

  When Carrie saw Bob’s tears, tears started down her cheeks too.

  She had never seen anything affect Bob like this before. He had always been a rock. Everyone always looked to Bob whenever there was a crisis.

  “Same here,” Tom said. His words were now almost garbled nonsense. “Just remember our promise.”

  “Rest easy buddy,” Bob said. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Bob sat next to Tom and watched Tom’s chest rise and fall.

  His breathing was becoming more and more shallow.

  “If it wasn’t for Tom,” Bob said. “I would have never made it into Mercy. I was about out of energy. Tom ran out of the hospital and took out the two creatures that were ready to grab me. He helped me get into the hospital. We became good friends after I recovered. The other guys were OK, but Tom and I just sort of hit it off. I guess he and I just had a lot more in common than we had with the others.”

  Carrie put her hand on Bob’s shoulder.

  “I often wondered why you two always seemed to work together,” Carrie said.

  “It’s tough losing a friend,” Bob said. “Especially when there are so few friends left now days.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a friend, it’s been so long,” Carrie said.

  “You don’t consider me a friend?” Bob asked, “even after we sort of slept together?”

  “Of course I consider you a friend,” Carrie replied, “But being a girl, it’s different. You can’t trust anyone to have your back because it’s usually not your back they are really interested in.”

  “Red, just because someone finds you attractive, that’s not always a bad thing. With the world the way it is, none of us can make it on our own for very long,” Bob said. “You have to learn to trust someone. Not everyone is out to get you.”

  “Like I said before, for a guy you can be pretty level headed sometimes,” Carrie smiled.

  Bob smiled sadly, “Don’t worry Red, even though you have such nice ribs, you can trust me to watch your back.”

  Carrie blushed.

  Bob noticed that Tom’s chest wasn’t moving any longer.

  He looked up at Carrie, “Red, why don’t you go over and look out the window for a few minutes.”

  At first Carrie didn’t understand and was going to ask why he wanted her to look out the window.

  Then she saw the knife in Bob’s hand.

  Carrie nodded and walked over to the window and looked at the dead staring up at the window from down on the street.

  The sight was sickening but not as sickening as the next sound she heard.

  When Bob pushed his knife into Tom’s skull, right behind his left ear, the pop made Carrie throw up the crackers she had eaten earlier.

  Bob walked over and stood behind Carrie.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I knew what you were going to do but I didn’t expect it to affect me like that.”

  “When it’s personal it can have that effect sometimes,” Bob replied.

  “I like that pact you and Tom had,” Carrie said. “Can we make that pact too? I mean to always be honest with each other. You know just like if I was one of the boys.”

  “Honestly Red, I could never consider you to be just one of the boys,” Bob replied, “But you are someone I will always be honest with. Can you be honest with me?”

  “I’ll try,” Carrie answered.

  “I guess I can live with that,” Bob replied. “Are you ready to go?”

  They walked out of the room. Part of Bob and Tom’s promise to each other had been to bury the other person so they could rest in peace, if it was possible and didn’t cause the other one to put themselves at risk.

  Leaving Tom back in the room was the best Bob could do for now.

  He would try to do better later if he could. If not at least he had left his friend where nothing would bother him.

  Bob and Carrie retraced their steps to the entrance to the stairway.

  They both stayed alert whenever they passed any open doors.

  They entered the stairwell and climbed the steps.

  They finally reached the top of the stairwell.

  Bob led Carrie out into a hallway.

  “Room 1312,” Bob pointed to the number of the first door they came to. “We still have a few more floors to go before we get up to the roof.”

  Carrie pointed to a dark exit sign at the end of the hall.

  “I think the next staircase is down there,” Carrie whispered.

  Bob led the way down the hall.

  They entered the stairwell and started to climb again.

  “I never appreciated elevators before now,” Carrie whispered.

>   “What’s an elevator?” Bob joked then added, “I don’t think they will be invented for another few hundred years.”

  “They should have waited to invent twenty story buildings until after they invented the elevator,” Carrie laughed.

  “But until twenty story buildings existed they didn’t need elevators,” Bob replied.

  “Things only work that way in a man’s world,” Carrie smiled, “Maybe the new world will be a women’s world and things will be done right this time.”

  Bob smiled and kept climbing.

  They finally reached the top of the staircase.

  “I hope we are finally to the roof,” Carrie said. “I don’t think I can do this again.”

  “Then let’s hope this staircase was designed by a woman,” Bob replied.

  “Shut up Bob,” Carrie laughed, “or I’m going to honor our pledge and tell you what I honestly think of that last comment.”

  “This door could solve all our problems,” Bob grinned. “If it was designed by a woman then it should open up into the shopping mall at South Hills Village.”

  “That would be better than being designed by a man,” Carrie replied. “We’d probably find ourselves in the middle of Heinz Field right on the fifty yard line.”

  Bob signaled Carrie to be quiet as he reached for the bar that would open the door.

  “Heinz Field,” Carrie whispered.

  Bob grinned and pushed the bar.

  The door opened and the low light of evening came in through the door.

  “I can’t believe it has taken us all day to get up here,” Carrie said.

  “I can’t believe we are finally here,” Bob said looking at the helicopter that sat fifty feet in front of them on the roof.

  Carrie grabbed Bob’s arm and pointed to the creature that stood by the helicopter, “That I can believe. That’s the one we weren’t able to knock off the roof when our helicopter decided to break down.”

  “Stay here,” Bob said and picked up the broom that leaned against the wall next to the door.