by Evans, Mike
Joey said, “You were over there talking to Mr. Clary and Aslin. You said that they told us we could go out on a special trip and that we were going to be going more often.”
Greg said, “Yeah I know Joey, I lied. I asked them and they said that they’d think about it. They had only wanted to talk to me about training. Starting tomorrow they wanted to have me and most likely you guys help on the range. There are some kids that don’t seem to get the process of shooting and well it’s something that can get fixed. They just need more hands to do it.”
“So as of now there’s nothing that we can do to get help. We are stranded, snow is starting to fall harder and it’s freezing outside. Seems like a great day,” Ellie said.
Shaun looked behind him at Ellie and Joey. He could see their worry and fears. He said, “It’s ok, we aren’t going to try walking back. We can take shelter somewhere around here if we want for the night and let this weather pass. We aren’t going to starve in one day’s time. I know where we are and if we can just make it a couple blocks, we will be able to see if it’s safe there.”
Greg hit the wipers on the truck and looked out and around. He asked, “Where are we going to go that you think is safe?”
“Simple, we go up to the grocery store. It’s not like those things are going to be eating Cheerios on the shelf right?” Shaun asked.
Ellie asked, “How much ammunition can we carry with us?”
“As much as we possibly can. I don’t want to be hurting for anything. I think we can carry two to three thousand rounds a person.”
“You are kidding me right? I mean that has to weigh hundreds of pounds Shaun.” Greg laughed.
Shaun stared at him and it wasn’t a look filled with joy. He said, “Ok if you are going to be helping people at the range than you better learn something that is quite simple. Each can of ammunition holds a thousand rounds. Each one of those cans weight right about ninety pounds. Is it going to suck to carry that much? Hell yes, but if you think about all of these things out there, wouldn’t it be smarter to strain in pain for a bit then to have to worry about running out?”
Greg thought about having almost an extra hundred pounds and looked at Ellie. “So what are we going to do in the event that we come up to a horde? We’re going to have to ditch everything to be able to make it. Think about it, with snow and an extra hundred pounds, we might as well scream for them to come after us.”
Joey said, “I don’t shoot so let me carry extra ammo cans and we’ll be ok. I’m big enough I can carry as much as the two of you I bet.”
Ellie patted his shoulder. “You know he probably has a point. I wouldn’t want to have to try and out lift this man. He has some serious guns going on him.”
Shaun said, “What if we each just take one ammo can, then we won’t be impacted too much? The snow will still be something that we will have to deal with. Other than having a car not crashed, thank you for that Greg, there isn't a lot that we can do about it. Unless we want to sit here until spring, which would be great if it wasn’t for you know, dehydration, starvation, and hypothermia eventually.”
Greg wished he could grab the words back out of his mouth as they left. He said, “You know all of these options seem to suck pretty bad.”
“Says the douche who puts us in the middle of a zombie filled city in winter and with no way to call for help,” Ellie retorted.
Greg shut his mouth and opened up the Humvee door. He went to the back, swung the rear open and grabbed an ammo can. He slid it into his pack as the rest exited the truck and made their way around back. Greg didn’t say anything, he simply spun them around and put in the cans making sure that they were secure. Joey picked up an extra can and Shaun opened up an extra taking as many magazines as he could fill his pockets with. When he was done he nodded and the four started walking towards the grocery store.
They kept their heads down trying not to let the frigidly cold, Iowa February air cut through their clothes. The Midwest was a brutal place to be in winter. They took their time, going the long way and staying close to the sides of buildings but out of shadows. When they got close to the store things still looked clear with no Turned to be found. They entered through the front, sliding the doors apart and then pushing them back together. Greg said, “What do you want to do?”
Shaun said, “Let’s check the place out; it’s been awhile since we’ve been anywhere. Let’s get some supplies gathered up for the others. Hopefully we can find a way to get home in the morning or if we get lucky maybe we will get a radio response soon, I hope that we have enough battery in these things.”
Ellie pulled Shaun away knowing it would be best if he got some distance from Greg. Greg asked, “So is there a reason that we don’t want to try and find a ride immediately?”
Shaun said, “Because we need to get a place locked down and secured if and when we don’t find a way home today. It’s better to have some plans Greg than just making up shit as we go.”
Chapter Eight
Greg walked through the aisle looking around and not knowing what to take. He watched Joey taking things off the shelf, acting like a kid in a candy store, happily dumping the items he was selecting into the cart. Joey said, “You know I haven’t had Spaghettios in forever, I really think everyone is going to be happy we got so many.”
Greg looked over the cart seeing how many he had in there and patted him on the back. “You are going to make a feast for everyone.”
“You know the best thing about these?” Joey asked.
“What’s that Joey?”
Joey started laughing hysterically. Greg just watched in awe and when he looked up the smile on his round face was nothing but infectious. Joey said, “No eggshells from Mr. Aslin.”
Greg just stared at him, thinking how there wouldn’t be any eggshells in the Spaghettios and then thought of his famous crunchy muffins. Greg shouldered his rifle, nodded and said, “Hey, I’ll push the cart. You get whatever you think everyone will like. We’ll figure out how to get all of it back once we get all the food that we can. Who knows if it will still be here the next time that we come back.”
Joey said, “Thanks for letting me come with you. I always got to go to the store with my parents.”
Greg said, “Don’t worry about it buddy, you know you and me are tight. There’s no way I’d trust you staying there by yourself, you’d have all the girls hitting on you by the time that we got back.”
Greg knew it was coming but could see nothing through the thick military parka that Joey was wearing, but watched anyway as Joey turned around flexing his muscles in a pose that reminded him of any wrestler he’d ever seen on television before day one hit. Joey said, “Look at these guns, Greg.”
Greg said, “Yep you got me beat buddy. You need to teach me your trick.”
Joey said, “Well that’s simple, I go to the weight room every day. I don’t like guns and don’t go to the range.”
Greg said, “You probably ought to learn how to shoot bud or you might end up in some serious trouble.”
Joey held up a metal baseball bat proudly. Clary had modified it and put an eight-inch spike on the end of it so that Joey would be able to put it through one of the Turned’s skull or swing it normally to break it open. Greg said, “Still, it might not be a bad idea buddy. I’d hate to see anything happen to you brother.”
Joey gripped him in a bone crushing hug, lifting him off the ground and holding him tight for a moment until Greg patted him back. When he put him down the two finished strolling the aisle with Joey leading the way, grabbing items like it was the last chance he’d ever have to get the canned goods. Greg kept an eye open while walking through, not hearing Ellie and Shaun and wondered if they’d went to make out instead of trying to gather food. Joey ran up ahead of him to the end of the aisle and Greg had only a moment's notice when he saw a can rolling across the floor from an aisle that cut through the middle of the one they were in.
Greg made the mistake of trying to grip his ri
fle when he should have gone for his sidearm, but he was already within reaching distance. One of the Turned, dressed in a store employee’s uniform, grasped his parka and roared at Greg as he lifted him off of the ground. Greg stayed quiet, not wanting Joey to come running back, and to give him a chance at getting out of there. He fumbled for his pistol but the Turned gripped his arm with its free one, squeezing until Greg thought that it was going to snap under the pressure. Joey spun around with a smile while holding up a can of raviolis. His smile melted and his lip quivered as his eyes filled with tears. He slowly shook his head ‘no’ and dropped the can of food on the floor and let it roll away. Joey, not hesitating for even a moment, sprinted towards the Turned. Joey screamed at the top of his lungs and said, “Put down Greg now!”
Joey's war cry did little in the way of intimidating the dead. It held Greg in front and moved him to the side so that he could see Joey. Joey’s face was growing shades of red that Greg was unsure he’d seen before. Joey didn’t slow until he got within a foot of the one holding Greg, who was dangling inches off of the ground. His final step was almost a jump and he leapt as high as his short frame would take him and the look of determination on his face was all that Greg needed to see to completely trust his short friend.
Joey rose into the air then came down with the bat above his head bringing it down with everything that a pro ball player would want in his swing. The bat connected and cracked, echoing across the aisle and the one next to it. Joey was breathing heavy and fighting back the tears from flowing. The immediate idea of one of his best friends getting killed by one of them like his sister did just feet from his eyes was more than he could emotionally handle at the moment. He stood there watching the Turned. A green ooze came down the front of its face and the legs began to wobble. The hand that was clenched around Greg’s throat went limp and Greg dropped to the ground gripping his neck as he sucked in a deep breath of cool air. It burned but it was the best burning sensation he’d ever felt.
Greg and the Turned had both fallen to the ground. Greg was clenching his neck, doing his best to keep from hyperventilating. The Turned lay on the ground and the brains slowly started to slide out of its head. Joey knelt down and cradled Greg in his arms while rocking him back and forth and patting his arm. Joey asked, “Hey, hey are you ok Greg? Did he hurt you?”
Greg whispered lightly under his breath, “You’re squeezing me Joey. I thought you were going to kill me.”
Joey stopped squeezing him and set Greg back on the ground. He patted him on the shoulder and shook his head. “Nope, while you guys are busy downstairs in the shooting range, I'm upstairs with my bat and Clary has shown me a bunch of cool stuff.”
Greg looked over his shoulder at the Turned and saw the brains getting dangerously close to them and said, “It looks like you definitely know what you are doing. What did he teach you Joey?”
Joey smiled and tapped Greg on the head. “You gotta hit them right here, and Mr. Clary said if you do it hard enough Joey that you crack their head open.”
Greg went to say something but the Turned that had fallen dead slid past the two of them. When the fact that something slid past them registered, the two stared at each other as they pushed up from the ground. Joey asked, “Can you run Greg?”
Greg kept his balance while wobbling just a bit and said, “Do I have a choice in the matter?”
Joey looked around the corner and saw that the one he had taken out had friends, and in no shortage. He said, “Doesn’t look like it.”
Joey pulled him the rest of the way to his feet and Greg went to shoot but Joey yelled, “Greg don’t shoot them, you’ll bring the rest of them if there’s more.”
Greg gripped his rifle and the two sprinted through the aisles in the opposite direction that they were being chased. Greg looked over his shoulder and slowed down just a bit for Joey and saw the Turned running behind them and leaping across the top of the shelves. When one of them was within the same aisle as them, Greg pulled his pistol and fired over his shoulder twice, missing with the first shot and putting the second into its kneecap. Its leg gave out and it disappeared, collapsing onto the floor screaming at them. They looked down the aisles and found that there were dead everywhere starting to follow them.
*****
Shaun and Ellie snapped their heads around when they heard the gunshots but both were unsure where they’d come from as they echoed filling the large store. Ellie whispered, “What the hell’s going on Shaun?”
He looked at her while shaking his head and put a finger to his lips. He saw Greg and Joey both running towards them not holding anything back and both knowing that they were running for their lives that they desperately wished to continue. When he saw them he pulled Ellie to the side and against one of the racks. He peered around the corner, waiting a second for Greg and Joey to fly past him, and then held out the rifle and rested it against the shelf.
The Turned were running with so much force that it never knew what was coming. Greg looked over his shoulder at the sound of Shaun’s grunt and saw possibly the worse and greatest thing ever as he knew how close he was to dying. The Turned ran directly into the bayonet attached to the end of Shaun’s rifle and with all of the force behind their speed, decapitated itself. The liquid that left its body was blackened. There was almost no reddish tint to it whatsoever. The Turned’s head rolled backwards into the next aisle over while its body fell limp onto the ground, sliding and streaking the white tile floors with its blood.
Shaun looked back to see Ellie was aiming a rifle directly over his shoulder. Shaun felt a hand on his shoulder which instantly went limp once Ellie’s rifle erupted. When they looked at Joey’s face his expression screamed that the two who’d been sent to their final resting place were absolutely, by no means, not alone. Ellie pulled Shaun behind her and the four sprinted through the store. Greg started to lag behind and Shaun screamed, “Don’t slow down Greg, don’t ever slow down, remember -”
Greg snapped over his shoulder, “For God sake’s Shaun, I’ve been doing the same PT that you have for months on end.”
They both spun on a heel when they heard Ellie scream in pain. Shaun saw more than just one thing that scared him. He was having serious deja vu from when his dad had been bitten on the ankle on day one. He walked forward a step, not feeling threatened by the Turned that was standing behind Ellie and roaring at the four of them. Time was passing as if the hourglass was full on both ends. Shaun didn’t know if he had said the words aloud or if he had only thought them in his mind.
Shaun stared at Ellie and his entire world stopped as he watched each and every drip of her blood hitting the floor and causing it to splash into a small, dark pool. Ellie’s face was losing color and fading into a sickly white and was getting more and more pale by the second. Her legs began to wobble and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fell forward. Her rifle fell to the ground as she followed suit.
Shaun stuck his arm out to catch her, bringing Shaun mere feet from the Turned. As it reached forward for Shaun, he extended the rifle one handed and rested the end of the barrel under its chin.
Shaun stared into its dead eyes that were peering back at him as he squeezed the trigger once, sending a single, full metal jacket through the back of its head and covering the ceiling ten feet above with rotted brains and scalp fragments across the previous aisle.
Shaun yelled over his shoulder, “Joey come and pick her up, she’s hurt!”
Joey did as he was told and the sound of food being kicked off of nearby shelves was an unwelcomed noise that was getting closer and closer. Greg yelled, “Shaun, we need to find a new place to hold up, come on dude, we need to get out of here. Shaun can you hear me? They’ll be here in seconds!”
Shaun pointed to Ellie hanging limp in Joey’s arms. “Look at her for God sakes we aren’t going anywhere! The truck is ruined. The ground has six inches of snow on it. Where are we going to go with her Greg? Huh, can you tell me that God damn it?”
&nbs
p; “Well then, tell me what do you want to do? She got hit by one of them; she might start turning herself any minute if she did. That isn’t something we can take with us,” Greg said.
Shaun walked forward and grabbed Greg’s parka tightly. He never stopped his momentum and slammed Greg into the shelves. He screamed, “We aren’t leaving her until she rips flesh from her own arm and we aren’t counting her out!”
Greg stared at Shaun, dumbfounded. The two of them had never had any serious type of altercation and had never honestly thought that they would have one. “What do you want us to do Shaun? We can’t stay here much longer with these things running throughout the building.”
“Go find yourself a cooler or a closet to hide her in. Greg, you give her the chance though, don’t put her out of a misery that we don’t know is really coming. You don’t do it Greg. You know the signs and you wait for them damn it! She probably just hit her head really damn hard”
Greg asked, “Then you are planning on coming with us aren’t you?”
“I need to secure the doors if we are staying. Those gunshots aren’t going to help us stay safe for long. They sure as hell aren't going to go unnoticed by anyone or any thing out there.”
The sounds of the Turned running towards them were getting closer by the second. Joey said, “Greg we need to go, she’s bleeding pretty bad. I don’t know what to do for her.”
Greg pulled out a field kit, grabbing out gauze that he could stuff into the wound as they ran towards the back. Shaun watched, making sure that Greg was listening. When he could see that they were looking for somewhere safe and weren’t going to stay by his side to try and fight, he turned around, shouldered his rifle and walked back towards the sound of the Turned who were quickly making their way towards him. Greg looked back as they ran for safety while watching his best friend in the world walk into the fight by himself and knew that if anything permanent happened to any of them that it would be his fault. Greg looked at Ellie, taking in her pale complexion which did nothing to make him feel better.
