by James Master
“Ashley now is not a good time.”
John tilted his head as far as he could before Roland’s gun poked into his head. “Hey Roland, maybe you should let that girl interrupt you. You don’t need her seeing this. Take her into that drug store and by the time you get back, we can discuss everything.”
Starke sneered at the man, “The girl will be safe and sound, but that won’t apply to me will it Johnny? Suppose Roland does put that hand cannon down. Would you lay down yours? No, I think you’ll make me a religious man. You know….holey? He will kill me if you lower your gun, Roland. Please don’t do it. You still need me.” Roland looked past the man Starke had called Johnny.
“What do you mean I still need you?” Johnny grunted, “He’s playing games man. That’s what he does. You should just let me put him down like Old Yeller.”
That’s when Ashley heard the moans. She whirled around towards the dark alley, she was barely able to make out several dark outlined in the blackness. She didn’t have to tug on Roland’s sleeve this time. Roland swung the revolver to the left of Johnny’s head and fired. Johnny didn’t see the zombie that had almost reached him because of his focus on the standoff. Two things happened simultaneously: Starke jumped to his right when Roland fired and Johnny instinctively fired his gun. The end result of both actions caused Starke to remain in the land of the living.
Realization dawned on Johnny as he turned and watched the zombie fall dead to the ground behind him. He was about to turn around and thank Roland when he saw a zombie dangerously close to Ashley. Johnny aimed at the undead and dispatched it with one shot between the eyes. Starke knew this was his opportunity. Slipping silently between abandoned cars, he vanished into the street. Johnny turned and saw the bastard escaping and was going to do something about it when Ashley tapped him on the shoulder.
“Mister, don’t waste your bullets. You’re gonna need them in a minute.” Johnny followed Ashley’s stare. Twenty zombies of different decomposition had spilled into the street from all around them.
Roland noticed this as well. “Let’s get back in the drug store. The last person in closes the door. Hurry up John.” The three quickly made their way back the way they came into the drug store.
Being the last one to enter the drug store and with John’s help, they barricaded the windows and doors with the moveable aisles. Roland picked up his rifle. “That should give us some time to escape.” He started to head to the stairs when Ashley interrupted him. “Go up the stairs, and then destroy them?” Roland smiled and ruffled her hair; Ashley smiled at the sign of affection.
“No Ashley I have a different plan. Let's hurry up the stairs to the roof.”
When they reached the roof, Roland carried the ladder to the edge next to an adjacent building. Extending the ladder to its full length and laying it so it was resting on the roof next to their building, Roland gestured to Ashley. “Get across to the other side now!”
Ashley started to cross the ladder, crossing the makeshift bridge after a couple of minutes. Roland nodded to John. “Mind if I cross and you hold?” John nodded, stepping to where Roland was and taking hold of the ladder. He was half way across when the door to the roof burst open, spewing zombies on to the empty rooftop. Hurrying across the rest of the way he motioned for John to start crossing the bridge.
The undead were starting to make their way towards John and the ladder, Roland glanced around at Ashley. “Ashley, take my rifle there and start shooting them.”
Ashley tried to argue, but Roland cut her off. “I can't hold the ladder still and shoot zombies. I'm a good shot, but not that good. Get with the program here, they’re almost here.” Ashley quickly grabbed the rifle and started shooting. The first zombie was only a foot away from the ladder when it was shot. To Ashley’s dismay, it was only a neck wound so the zombie was still shambling towards Roland. Ashley took careful aim and fired again, this time shooting it in the nose, severing its spinal column. It wasn't dead, but it fell down, unable to move its body.
John crossed with shaky legs, only able to stand with Roland's help. Ashley went over and pulled the ladder across before any undead could try to cross. John looked around the top of the building they were on.
“Damn fine trick, but there isn't a way off, unless you plan to do it again?”
Roland nodded taking the ladder from Ashley. She hung back watching the zombies as the two guys began setting up the next bridge. Roland had the ladder set up when he looked over at Ashley.
“Ashley, what are you waiting for, let's go.” Instead, she spoke, still watching the undead. “Roland, do they have any intelligence?”
Roland watched the zombies as Ashley did earlier. “I think they only have the basic instincts. Why?” Ashley gestured to the mass of undead that now populated the rooftop. “Wouldn't they fall off the roof trying to get at us? Wouldn't it take some kind of reasoning to figure out that they can't follow us? Look, some of them are going back down the stairs. If they follow us to the next roof, wouldn't it mean that they are reasoning?”
Roland stopped and thought about it and realized Ashley's point was true. If they reasoned that we were going to another rooftop, then they do retain some intelligence. Roland shivered at the thought. John shook him. “I think we should get across the roof before they figure out that bit of knowledge.”
“Right.” That was all Roland was able to say.
*** 5 ***
Starke ran down the street in the opposite direction of the zombies and crazy people. Diving into the nearest building served him well. It broke any possible lines of sight John or Roland might have. He didn't think Roland was the sort of guy who shoots a guy in the back, but he was thinking some things were even more possible than others these days. He left the building through the back door making his way down the alley into one of the only ten main streets Rochester had. Roland and John, it seems, don’t know the same people as Starke. He briskly walked down the street and then he suddenly stopped, seeing the most beautiful sight. Up ahead of him at the stoplight, the yellow glowing double arches were like a beacon of hope. Mainly just a beacon of hunger, McDonald's, home of the Big Mac stood before Starke.
“God I hope they're open. I mean, it's only eleven in the morning. I hope they are still serving breakfast.” He laughed to himself as she walked across the street.
Entering the restaurant, he did two things: one he took out his handkerchief and wrapped it around his face like a robber, second he took out good old dead Ed's Magnum. The first was for one type of attack, smell. Starke didn't like zombies, they creep him out even if they didn't try to eat him. What he hated more than zombies was their stench. He groaned when his eyes glimpsed over the dead bodies that littered the booths and floor of the restaurant. How was he supposed to eat food with the smell of decaying flesh clogging his sense of smell? The second thing he did was search for any zombie that might be in the diner. Even though he didn't get attacked, it didn't mean he couldn't get rid of them. He looked around seeing no undead, seeing plenty of other dead bodies. They were everywhere. “That would suck. Dying at Mikey D's, not from one of their burgers, but from the zombies. That is pure irony.” Starke carefully walked over the dead making his way to the counter. As he did, he made sure to listen for any undead movement or moan. Starke almost opened the register to collect money, but he figured there was no use.
Instead of the register, he walked back to the kitchen. Unlike the front, the kitchen was almost clean of any dead bodies. Surprised, Starke did what he was trained to do when he was a punk kid that found employment at McDonald's. He was a fry cook but had learned how to make several of their tasty selections. A half an hour later, Starke had made three cheeseburgers, three large fries, and about sixty chicken nuggets. Gathering his feast in his arms, Starke went to find a place that didn’t place house to the undead or normal dead. He looked in the manager’s office, finding no dead body or gore, sat down in the chair with his greasy feast.
Two cheeseburgers, one large
fry, and about ten nuggets later, he left the office and out into the front in search of caffeine. He grabbed two thirty-two ounce cups, filled them and turned to retreat to the office to finish his meal. He turned almost to the kitchen and turned around. He raised one of the cups.
“Cheers! To all who had it their way! May your bodies rot where they will get fed on by other McDonald's customers!” He chugged half the contents of the Mellow Yellow-Coke suicide mix. He returned to the desk and finished his meal in dead silence.
*** 6 ***
Ben drove his Kabuto around the perimeter of the twelve-foot tall wall that kept him and his daughter safe from the zombie horde that had gathered around the mansion. His routine every day consisted of at least three trips around the perimeter making sure there weren’t any breaches from the horde. He woke up every day at exactly five thirty. After making his first pot of coffee, he would then make his first trip around the perimeter. Ben was a coffee fiend, making and drinking over three pots a day. Once, when the horde was first gathering, he had made up to four and five pots. Those had been a couple of long days.
Arriving from the first trip, he would start making breakfast. Jessica usually wakes up at seven but never left her bedroom until almost eight thirty. After clean up from breakfast, he does surveillance on the front gate. Brian has video cameras set up along the wall every five miles. Finishing his first pot, he does a head count of the number of horde roaming around the wall. Most of the wall isn’t as populated as the front gate. Keeping track of the number of hordes at the gate Ben makes the second pot.
Around ten thirty, Ben makes an effort to get some exercise by jogging to the front gate. Once there he arms himself with his pump action twelve gauge he stored in the guardhouse. He makes sure that he keeps a tally of how many he killed. Two hours later, he jogs back to take a shower. After that, he prepares lunch for the two of them. He usually takes lunch with him when he makes his second trip around the wall. With the exception of the moaning, it’s usually a nice picnic. Sometimes, Ben will even bring a book with him. Taking a break in the afternoon, he usually plays chess on the house computer or watches a movie in his theater. He mostly watches Ghostbusters or Indiana Jones. Before the outbreak, he liked the Romero zombie movies.
Ben prepares dinner promptly at five every night. Jessica and Ben eat dinner together. The conversation usually is one sided with Jessica mainly talking about herself. Ben loves his daughter, but he is almost at the breaking point with her patience wise. If he knew that she was going to become this vain, he would have hired a live-in stylist and masseuse. That way she would at least be partly comfortable while waiting out the outbreak. After he cleans the dishes and puts the food away, he brews the final pot so that he always has a thermos full on his last trip around the wall.
Instead of parking the Kabuto in the garage, he drives it to the storage facility located underneath the mansion. The storage facility was pretty much a huge building that holds all of their food supply. There he does the inventory for all of their supplies. This he only does once a week and only on Mondays. After the inventory is completed, Ben takes a shower and does any extra maintenance before going to bed. He wakes up in the morning to do it all over again.
*** 7 ***
While Starke was having it his way, Roland, and his crew were enjoying dinner on the rooftop of the Rochester Mall. Roland had raided the food court and managed to find some Chinese food from the Panda Express. Ashley munched on orange chicken, mixing it with some white rice. John stuck with just sweet and sour chicken. Clearly, he was unsatisfied with the selection Roland had found.
“Roland, why couldn't you have brought pizza or you know something American. I'm not trying to sound racist or nothing, but there had to have been something.” Roland ate some chicken, teriyaki is his favorite and finished it with a sip of unsweetened tea.
“Well, besides the fact that this food was the first I was able to reach, it's healthier for you than Pizza King or Burger Joint. Plus, I didn't want to create noise or any smell. The undead is perceptive to those things.”
Ashley finished her meal and placed all the trash into a garbage bag Roland had also found. An idea came to Ashley as she was cleaning her mess. “Roland, couldn't we just live here until help arrives, like in that movie? I mean we have everything we need.”
John was nodding his agreement. “Yep, I think she's right man. I lived here in Rochester my whole life. I know this mall like the back of my hand. This place has everything we would ever need. I always take my kids here every Saturday after they watch their cartoons. My boy never misses that Avatar show. It's his favorite.” John noticed that he was using the present tense to describe his boys, his eyes started to tear up.
“I mean, they used to do that. I don't think they will be airing that show much more. Anyway, as far as convenience goes, this place is great. It even has a sporting goods store. I used to buy my ammunition there when deer season began each year. Don't know if they sell guns, though.” John seemed to notice he was talking just for the sake of talking, Roland thought it might be because of his mentioning of his sons. “Where were you two heading anyway? We haven't had much time to get acquainted.”
Roland stretched out, his legs popping as he yawned. He looked up at the sky and pointed. “Don't think the cavalry is coming. Reason I say that is I have not seen one airplane or helicopter since it began. I don't think the reason is because they are conserving fuel either. There are two reasons I can think of. Either the outbreak has spread further than Indiana and the government couldn’t handle it or we are in quarantine.”
Ashley sat back down on the ground next to Roland. “What would the government quarantine?”
Roland chuckled. “That only buys the government some time, not much, but a little to solve the zombie problem.”
“What do you mean solve the problem? You mean sending troops in and killing all the bastards?” Roland shook his head. “Solving the problem the easiest and fastest way would be to napalm the quarantined area.”
Ashley stared at Roland in disbelief. “That would kill everything in the state, not to mention the neighboring states.” Roland nodded, “They can't possibly kill every zombie in the state, and a quarantine this size still has holes. So if they napalm the state including some of the states around Indiana, they would be almost guaranteed everyone dead. Problem is that the time is wrong. They would have already of done that. Nope, something else is wrong.”
*** 8 ***
John leaned forward pointing the plastic fork he was eating with at Roland. “You know what man? You sound like one of those conspiracy theorists I watch sometimes on television. Rochester has had I mean, a show that has two of those nut jobs and they argue the entire hour about what is happening in the government. It's kinda entertaining. Well, that's what you sound like.”
Roland watched him for a second. “I’m glad you think that the government napalming us is amusing.” He sighed and wiped his brow. “Maybe I am crazy and think that the government is planning to kill us all. At least I don't try to shoot people in the back when they are running away.” John stood suddenly, causing Roland to do the same. They stood an inch away from each other. Neither one of them backed away from each other, Ashley sat wide-eyed and afraid to say anything.
“Listen you son of a bitch. Starke killed my family and friends. You should have let me kill him.” Roland had to tilt his head up to look John in the eye.
“Only a coward would shoot someone in the back. Even if that person is a criminal.” John suddenly pushed Roland, sending him a foot backward. “You know what Roland? You can go fuck yourself okay? Starke is a sneaky, manipulative son of a bitch and I’m going to kill the fucker.”
Roland walked up to John and with sudden agility and kicked John's feet from under him. He landed on his face, hitting the ground with a grunt. John got up after a couple of shocked seconds. He faced Roland and cracked his knuckles, getting into a brawler stance. “Seriously man, you don't want to fight me
right now. Just let me go find Starke.”
Roland stood his ground. “John, the last thing we need is to be fighting each other. Please, just sit down and we can discuss what to do next.”
John laughed. “The only thing I'm going to do is find that bastard and show him his balls after I pull them out through his mother fucking mouth.” Roland moved quickly, punching John lightly in the face. “
Watch your language John, there’s a lady present.” John stepped over to Roland and slammed his fist into his face, sending Roland down to the rooftop. “What the hell. Are you seriously trying to piss me off?”
From his position on the ground, Roland began laughing like a crazy person. Ashley was silent through this fight, but she was worried about Roland. John started to move towards him. “Man, you are crazy as a cat in heat.”
Roland moved again so fast Ashley never saw it until John had fallen beside Roland on the ground. Roland was on top of John with his fist an inch from the man’s face. “Listen, you could go after Starke. You might just find your vengeance, but at what cost? What will you do then? Why don't you stay here with us for awhile? After we loot the mall, I will help you track down Starke. The reason being is that I want my brother’s gun. It's sort of a family heirloom. I'm a pretty good tracker. What do you say?” he stood and held a hand out to John.
The man seemed to be thinking his options out when he stopped and took Roland's hand. “Alright fine, I'll stick around, but if we catch up with Starke, you promise me I get to kill him. However, I want.” Roland pulled up, helping John to his feet.
They both sat down and started back on their previous discussion. “The mall isn't where one should go if the undead have escaped from the quarantine. That's my point. I think the government is in disarray and is going to collapse soon if they haven't already.”
