The Famished Trilogy (Novella): Bailing Out into the Dead

by Walls, Annie

  My neck flamed under her scrutiny. I shook my head at her. She rolled her eyes as if I were being ridiculous, which I wasn’t. As far as I knew, she didn’t know any other teenage boys to compare me to. She didn’t make too much of a fuss over Curtis and Julie, probably to keep my embarrassment to a minimum.

  “Rita,” Barbara said.

  Her curt tone made mom cross her arms and look at Barb with an expectant expression. She knew Barb would have some quip to throw at her. “Barb.”

  I tried not to smile. Barbara hated being called Barb.

  Barb’s eyes flashed. “I hope you’re finished with your floozy ways.” She turned to me, but my mother cut her off.

  “Shove it up your ass, Barb.”

  She decided ignoring my mother was the best way to go. “Call me when you get to Rita’s.” It didn’t escape my mom’s notice she didn’t refer to it as my home. With that, she turned and went into her house.

  After hugs from Julie and Curtis, we were on our way. Mom looked at me in her childlike, fond way she had. “I’m sorry, Rudy. I’ll make it up you, sweetie, I swear.”

  “Nothing to make up for.”

  She didn’t say anything for a long time. “Wasn’t so bad this time? It’s Julie, isn’t it?” She glanced sideways at me with amusement in her eyes. At the time, I just peered at her, wondering why she could possibly think that. “Fine. Don’t answer. Let’s rent some movies and get some frozen custard when we get back. I’m way behind on the times.” I didn’t know it then, but Julie was a big part of why it was different every time I went to Barb’s from then on. Eventually, Curtis was another reason.

  Although my mother kept fucking up, I never stayed with Barb indefinitely. I had always lived in between them. When I thought about it, I had the best of both worlds. My mother loved me unconditionally and nurtured me as much as she could, although loosely in terms of parenting and more like a close friendship. Barb gave me the guidance and structure my mother severely lacked. I had to admit if it weren’t for Barb, Curtis, and Jules, my life could have taken a much different direction.

  Thinking about my mom brought a slice of pain through my chest like a freshly opened wound. I kept myself from bending over and clutching myself.

  “Hello? You there?” Marie waved her hands in front of my face. Taking a deep breath, I focused on her face. She was incredulous and humiliated I stood her up when she wanted me to “check her pipes.” I couldn’t fault her for assuming. It just took me getting away from her, more specifically, getting her away from the button on my jeans, for me to think about it clearly.

  The whole situation left a bad taste in my mouth. Sticking my hands back in the sink to resume washing a T-shirt, I said, “It’s just not a good idea, Marie. I told you I couldn’t give you anything more.”

  “And I told you it’s not like that,” she snapped.

  “Maybe it should be,” I snapped back. I let her draw her own conclusions on what that meant.

  She was silent for a while. “Oh. Then there is no need to be weird about it.” She didn’t know me, so I stuffed some bitterness down. She cleared her throat, bringing my attention to her. “Anyway, the cafeteria is handing out cuts of meat to everyone. You know? To grill before it gets cooler. Maybe we can get everyone together. Including Taylor.” My stomach flipped. “Michelle would like it if we did.”

  I didn’t say anything. As much as I liked the little girl, going over there for a barbecue with Julie in tow sounded like another bad idea. She must have seen something on my face. “It was a suggestion, Rudy.”

  The front door opened, and Mac marched in wearing generic clothing. He had showered, which he usually did after running into zombies. They’d make him do it before returning inside the base, for everyone’s protection.

  He paused, glancing between Marie and me. Marie looked back at me. “I better go. I’ll get everyone rounded up for tomorrow?” She left before I could process and tell her no.

  “Huh. I wondered if you were getting any from the blonde. Guess that answers that.”

  I sighed. “Not from either one if I can help it.”

  The next morning, I found Mac in the yard shooting arrows at the target, wincing when I noticed he was using my bow.

  “Where did you get this? I can’t find one like it anywhere,” he asked, pulling the bowstring. He gripped the bow tight and I suppressed a laugh and stood back to watch his shot fail.

  “You won’t. I won a custom design at a tournament from a guy making a brand for himself. One of a kind.”

  The arrow flew and hit the target off-center. He scowled at it. “Not as easy as it looks.”

  “Here.” I placed the riser between his forefinger and thumb. “You’re causing torque. Don’t grip, just let it rest. Point your other three fingers out while you’re learning. Keep it consistent and work on your form of release. The trick is to train yourself not to know when the shot goes off.”

  He dropped his arms and looked at me. “That sounds fucking complicated.”

  I shrugged. “If you practice enough it’s like second nature. Don’t you ever sleep?” I asked him.

  “Couldn’t sleep. And there’s no beer.”

  “Yeah, well. Most of what you’ve been bringing back….” Most beer had gone bad and tasted nasty.

  Mac jerked the arrows out of the spray painted plywood. “I have an idea. Let’s go find some.”

  My interest perked immediately. I locked my hands on top of my head, holding my hair out of my eyes. “As in, leave the base?”

  “Yep. We’ll have to sneak out… it’d be a lot of trouble to get you through those gates. If we’re only gone a day, we shouldn’t have a problem. But you’d miss Marie’s dinner.” I told Mac about Marie’s antics last night. He used his fingers for quotations and gave me a serious look. “You could use a haircut. Want me to buzz it?”

  “Want me to buzz yours?”

  He laughed and walked back into the house. I geared up in a hurry, liking the idea of getting out of this stifling environment. I couldn’t wait to see what was happening on the outside and what it looked like after almost five months post-outbreak.

  14

  Then

  “You come out into this all the time? You have a death wish?” I asked Mac, riding down a road on the outskirts of some town in Kentucky. Zombies clumped together. He took out a few with the Highlander. The jeep bumped up and down, jarring me in my seat. It felt weird to be riding in a vehicle. I didn’t like how unfamiliar it had become.

  “Since you mention it, I guess I could commit suicide by hitchhiker now. Never worked out before. You know there’s never a homicidal fiend when you need one—just the grateful bastards happy to be getting a ride. Want me to pick one up?”

  I laughed and looked out the window. “You’d pick up more than one.”

  He followed my gaze. “Noticed that, did you?”

  “Wasn’t like that before. They were only grouped if they were going after the same thing. What do you think it means?”

  “From the labs, it’s a form of adaptation.”

  I assumed this was being studied, but to actually know was a relief. Maybe even contributed to a little hope. “What else is there to know?”

  His hands clenched the wheel. “You’re looking at it,” he said with a grim face.

  And the hope part died.

  Now

  Hope. A feeling lost in the wave of famished I stare at, milling about like robots. They go one way and then they turn and go another. The sight is enough to send chills through my body. I’ll admit going to the quarantine saved my life as well as many others and I miss the security, but it was a stifling, nerve-wracking time. I don’t know what I was thinking. I can’t go in there alone. I sigh, knowing I’ll do what it takes. She came for me after all.

  I stared at the eviction notice taped to the front door longer than it took to read it. When I snapped out of my stupor, I ripped the paper off before punching the rotting door open. It swung back, cracking aga
inst the wall with a wooden groan. Seven weeks left before graduation and she did this, wherever the fuck she went. It was all that mattered, graduating. I’d already been accepted into college—my ride out of here. Upon turning eighteen in a few weeks, I’d get the money Barb left me. Not that I wanted to use it to stay in this shithole any longer. Any money I’d made doing odd jobs dwindled. I never had much to begin with.

  After doing the little homework I had, I went out back to the concrete patio and turned on the radio. A few yards into the backyard was the swamp with cypress trees and Spanish moss towering over it. I was listening for a System of a Down song, so I could record it and learn it on the guitar—acoustic style—a favorite pastime for me.

  I plucked on it, throwing Slash nibbles of cat food every now and then. I knew he wanted some marshmallows, but I didn’t have any. I jumped when the front door opened, but Julie only walked slowly to the back door. She had on those short soccer shorts she wore for dance practice. I hadn’t seen her in a good three months, so it was hard to believe she drove all the way here.

  Smiling, she looked me up and down. “You keep…” Small hands motioned in a big circle. “Filling out.”

  “I know.”

  Her gaze took in my radio and guitar before she crashed into me for a hug. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for two weeks. Your phone was disconnected again.” Turning her face up to me, she said, “You know how to make someone worr—Where’s Rita?” Pulling back she looked out at the swamp as if my mom would suddenly appear. “Uh, Rudy? There’s a gator right there,” she mentioned, pointing to said gator. Surprised he stuck around, I glanced over to see eyes sticking above the water watching us. He wanted some marshmallows bad.

  “That’s Slash.” I named him after the guitarist, and also he had a scar down his side.

  Her eyes bulged. “That’s Slash! From the way you talk, I thought he’d be a monster!”

  “Hey. He can hear you, and he’s around seven years old. They just don’t grow very fast their first decade or so.”

  A laugh escaped her and she rolled her eyes. “Where’s Rita?” she repeated.

  I shrugged my shoulders and sat back down with my guitar. “I haven’t seen her in a little over three weeks.” I watched myself pluck strings, listening for the right note. It had to be somewhere on the sixth fret. I lifted my head to her when I realized she didn’t respond. Horror was written all over her face and tears gathered in her eyes. “She’s done this before, Jules.”

  Taking the guitar from my hands, she sat in my lap. The little shorts rode high on her thigh. “Not for long. You need to go to the police.”

  “She’ll be back, although I’ll have to use Barb’s money to pay the rent,” I said absently, running my hand over her smooth skin. If the blood weren’t running through a happy part of my body, I would’ve known she knew exactly what she was doing. She shifted and everything changed between us after that.

  I wouldn’t put teenage years on my worst enemy.

  The next day, I grabbed a ride home from Delphine, a raven-haired girl I grew up with. If I’d known who sat on my front porch when I got home, I would’ve walked. Not that I was afraid of Del, but her crazy Cajun daddy with a shotgun—a notorious alligator skinner and airboat tour guide—was definitely on my list to avoid. He spoke fluent Cajun French, which is best described as mostly French without syllables. You wouldn’t know his brain could rival Einstein’s by looking at him. Anyway, he still roasted muskrats over fires and served it in gumbo. Anyone with that much Cajun ancestry in them was best to keep as a friend.

  “Qui c’est q’ca?” Del spat, her dark eyes blazing and glued to the porch. The words were only reminders of why I wanted to leave the swamp. I loved it here, and the people, but always wondering if any of them was my daddy dampened the sense of close community. Right now, Del was getting a little possessive and territorial.

  “Cut it out, Del.” I guessed she wasn’t talking about the older guy, but the short blonde standing next to him smiling at me. My chest expanded and a grin formed on my face even though I knew why they were here. “It’s Curtis and Julie.” I hopped out before she could get in another word, slamming the door.

  The grim look on Curtis’ face made me slow my step. “Rudy. Barbara wouldn’t want this,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Barb died,” I reminded him, casting a glance at Jules who watched Del pull off.

  “I thought Rita owned this house.” There was no way I was telling him she sold it to the nearest opportunistic son of a bitch under some extremely fucked up circumstances. Fucked up had been my normal. Curtis waited for me to say something but sighed when I didn’t. “I would take you back to Baton Rouge, but you’re graduating soon. I’m going to make some phone calls.”

  “I already made some today. I start a steady job tomorrow after school.”

  He was already shaking his head, “You’ll have plenty of time for a steady job. You need to keep your head in the game, son. If it makes you feel better, you can work for me this summer just like last year, okay?”

  With that, he stepped off the porch. I watched him walk to his truck while pulling out his phone, amazed. Julie picked up a plastic sack. “Come on, I brought some fresh fruit,” she grinned. “And marshmallows.”

  When we went into the house, I grabbed her by the waist and loved the feel of it. Of her.

  She licked her lips. “Who was that?”

  “Delphine.” I’d told her about Del before.

  “Oh. I thought—”

  “I know what you thought, and I wouldn’t go there. I’m not my mom.”

  When you’re young, you don’t know shit.

  I stand and nock an arrow, striking one in the head—a female with fair hair. Just in case, but I know it’s not her from the lack of curls. When the body slumps to the ground, the others around it move away like a flock of startled birds, but soon return to their eerie, synchronized meandering.

  I head down the rickety staircase of an old warehouse I use to watch them. The warehouse is less than a few miles to the spot Mac and I used for escaping the base to loot. There are thousands of famished here.

  I feel bad for what I’m about to do, but Mac leaves me with no choice. If he’s not going to help, then I’ll go straight to the source. The Coalition.

  Then

  “Do you have it, yet?” I yelled upward, letting an arrow fly into the nearest famished. Several ran through the trees toward me, but I nocked and released arrows in a fluid motion to keep them at bay. Bodies slumped to the ground, snapping twigs and dead leaves in their wake.

  Mac laughed from high in the tree. “You should see this little fucker. Ow, fuck! The bastard’s clawing me.”

  I kept my sight on the famished and shot my last arrow. They were getting too close for comfort. Their snarls got closer, sending a healthy dose of fear into my spine. “If you don’t hurry up, we’ll have to use it for bait. I’m out of arrows.” Blood pumped through my veins with the urge to run.

  “Not after you had me climb this damned tree to get him, we won’t.” His voice was closer, and he dropped down beside me with a thump. I looked for the kitten on his person and found a wiggly spot in his canvas jacket. Mac expertly scanned our current situation. “Right. Let’s get the fuck out of here. You go first.”

  I took off as a few gunshots echoed in my ears, but then I heard Mac right behind me. We made it to the road. Zombies were farther behind, loping to get to us.

  “You drive!” he yelled, taking more shots.

  I jumped into the driver’s seat, turning the key and watched him skid across the hood. Several zombies hit my window and a few more went over the hood in the attempt to follow Mac. He finally bounced into the seat next to me.

  Speeding off, and after several zombies rolled off the hood, I said, “That was close. Too close.” I guessed he was used to doing things like that, but I wasn’t. My heart pumped in triple overtime, so I gripped the wheel.

  He laughed. “I
t’s good. We had plenty of time. I’ve been through worse. Trust me. Weren’t that many.”

  “No, I think they’re getting faster.”

  He tilted his head toward me. “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t tell you how many I came across getting to the base, and they were never fast.”

  Mac stared out the front windshield, lost in thought. He shook his head. “I don’t know, man. They’ve been that wa—Ouch! Fuck!” He patted his jacket, taking out the orange kitten. It mewled and clutched to his hand as he held it out to me. I laughed when I noticed the black rings of fur around his eyes like glasses.

  He blinked big kitten eyes at me. I grinned and scratched its little head for a second. “See? Worth it.”

  “Whatever. If it shits in the house, you’re cleaning it up.”

  Then

  Although we were late and Mac would have to rush to leave, no one noticed we were gone, except for Julie. She stood on our porch as we strode toward our house. Mac held out Poindexter and hissed at her before going into the house. Her eyes followed him with a glare before returning to me.

  “Where have you been?”

  I shrugged and didn’t say anything for a minute. “Practicing the bow on moving targets.”

  Mac came back out with his bag. “Gotta go. See ya man.”

  “You took him off base!” Julie hissed at him.

  Mac froze and turned to her. “Even if it was your business, which it isn’t, keep your mouth shut.”

  Julie bristled and shifted her weight to her other leg. “I’m not going to say anything. It’s just dangerous. There’s a reason for rules.”

  Maybe so, but I was already ready to leave again. “I’m fine, Jules.” Even I sounded tired to my own ears. I pushed past both of them. “Later, man.”

  Dex sniffed around the place as I passed by to get in the shower. I felt like passing out and I had no idea how Mac could keep on going like he did. The dude never sleeps.