by A. Giacomi
“Cam let’s move,” she says as wipes her face and stands.
I don’t say a word, I simply turn to leave. If I spoke, I might have thrown up right there and then. I walk quickly across the lawn to my car. We get in and I drive like I’m a Formula 1 racer for the first time. I liked it a little too much.
CHAPTER SIX
EVE
I bolt out of the car and slam my fist on the front door of my childhood home. No one answers my frantic pounding, which makes my fists fly all the more hysterically. I nearly punch through Alex’s face when she answers the door. Luckily she had better reflexes than I recalled and moved out of the way just in time.
“Eve, what in the hell?...What’s wrong?” Alex blurts out semi-pissed off as she adjusts her gold locks behind her ears.
I push my way inside and Cam closes the door behind us. I didn’t want to say anything outside for fear that someone was out there, listening, waiting for their chance to strike.
My father enters the room next. He sees the distressed look on my face and comes over to me immediately and embraces me. “What’s wrong, honey? What happened out there?”
It was slightly hilarious to me that he still felt the need to offer me comfort. I suppose I was still his daughter and he was just acting like any concerned parent would, but it was still amusing that he thought he could make it all better with a hug. I missed those days, there was a time when a hug was truly all it took. It was medicine for a broken heart, or a failed test, or a fall from my bike. But now it just served as a reminder of what I’d lost.
“Dad, Alex. We need to leave tonight. I think CSIS caught my scent. They could be here already. Take an hour to gather your things, and then we’re leaving.”
We didn’t have a plan for where exactly we were going to go, but anywhere seemed safer than here at the moment. Everyone scatters in different directions, but me. I stand watch. The front door is no longer an entrance, it is our safety net. As long as it remains there in place, it stands as evidence that we are alright, that we’ll make it. As long as that door stands…I can’t finish my thought. My brain starts to go hazy and I collapse to the ground. I can still see the ceiling and the house is still quiet, but my legs won’t work and my arms feel heavy.
The first to rush to my side is my father. He kneels beside me and cradles my head in his lap. I know he’s saying something to me. Perhaps like, “Are you ok?” or, “What’s wrong?”
I nod hoping that that’s an answer to whatever question he was asking, but he only looks more concerned. Next Cam appears above me. I can’t hear him either. I squint trying to read his lips, but it all begins to make me dizzy and I have to shut my eyes. I want to tell them to leave me, to go, but my lips won’t move, not a single part of me was cooperating at the moment.
When I open my eyes again the two men I care about most continue to stare anxiously at me, I needed to show them I was alright. As I try to focus my energy on trying to get back up, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. It’s not Alex. My eyes go wide with terror, but I can’t move to warn them. A figure in a ski mask appears behind Cam and bashes him over the head with something. Cam falls away; he is no longer in my field of vision. I shift my eyes toward my father who is no longer looking at me; instead, he is watching the man who struck Cam. I move my head slightly to see a few more men appear behind Cam and drag his body out of the room. I want to scream, I want to go after them, but I can’t. My body remains as stiff as a statue.
My father embraces me, I feel his warmth surround me, like a blanket of protection, but unfortunately love was not a force field. He falls away from me too, and although I’m not shrieking on the outside, my insides screamed with hatred and pain. The darkness claims me, and soon the screams are all I have.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALEX
I was about ready to head downstairs when I hear men in the house. I peek downstairs, but remain hidden from view. I see Mr. Brenner holding Eve as a man clunks Cam on the back of the head. He goes down hard and I have to clasp my hands over my mouth to make sure I don’t scream and reveal my location. I see them drag Cam away, where were they taking him?
The men begin to scream at Mr. Brenner, “Let go of the girl, we only came for her and the dark haired male. We don’t have to kill you if you comply.”
The way these men talked, I knew they were government agents working with CSIS. They repeat their orders, but Mr. Brenner clutches to his little girl as if they were lost at sea and she was his life raft. I plead with him in a whisper, “Mr. Brenner, just let her go!” but of course, he couldn’t hear me, and even if he could, I’m not sure he would have listened. He had already made his choice.
Mr. Brenner looks to Eve giving her a brief grin and then returns to look at the men holding him at gunpoint. “Don’t you see I can’t let her go? She may not be the same, but she’s still my baby. I let her go once and I never knew it, so excuse me, but I’m not letting her go now, not ever… I love you, Eve,” he whispers to his daughter’s limp body.
I want to jump in, I want to help, but I couldn’t find my courage or a decent plan that wouldn’t get me killed.
The two men tell Mr. Brenner that they were going to count to three and then they would fire. When they get to three, a bullet first strikes him cleanly in the chest and the next right through his temple. The bullets knock his body backward and Eve now lays there exposed and in a pool of her own father’s blood.
I grab at my mouth to the point it hurts. I needed the pain to remind me to shut up. They would do the same to me if they found me.
They drag Eve out the door and soon after I hear a car start and speed off. Cam and Eve were gone and I couldn’t bring myself to check on Mr. Brenner, I knew already what I would find. I simply couldn’t face reality right now, so I curl up into the smallest ball I can make and sob quietly into my shirt.
***
When daylight finds me, so does my shame. The house was quiet and stained with memories of the night before. The stench of death filled the house. My tears return as I spot the body near the bottom of the stairs. I force my legs to move forward, but they are slow, and stubborn, and shake as though they were new.
I was no hero, I was the biggest coward today and I felt it. The hero lay at the bottom of the stairs drenched in his own blood. He had hoped to protect his daughter; he had died for someone who was already dead. I’m not sure it was worth it, but I also wasn’t a parent. I couldn’t know what it was like to hold her, see her helpless like that, and then be asked to simply leave her.
I walk toward him and kneel at his side. I begin to stroke his gray hair, almost as if I could comfort him. I liked to believe he was already somewhere more comfortable.
“I guess you’re with your wife now, huh? Well, I hope so anyway,” I say through sobs. I look away when I spot the bullet hole in his head. He hadn’t deserved this fate. I thought of all the sickos out there and somehow they lived while good people died every day.
I start to feel a bit of survivor’s regret as I pack my things. Mr. Brenner had died and I was pretty sure Eve and Cam weren’t coming back from wherever they went. I wish it weren’t true, but somehow I simply knew it. This was it; I would never see them again.
As I walk over to my house, I replay the night over and over, trying to think of ways I could have saved them, or at least given them the opportunity to escape, but every angle I came up with resulted in me getting killed. I don’t know at what point my life became more valuable than theirs, but I suppose I deemed it a priority, and for that, I felt immense shame.
***
When I return home, I am shocked to find my father sitting in the kitchen with my mother and sister. He had left us when he finally got fed up with Mom, we hadn’t heard from him much, but to be honest it was nice having a quieter house. All the arguing they did was exhausting for Janna and I.
“Dad? W
hat are you doing here?” I ask genuinely confused and completely deflated.
He gives a pain riddled smile. “Well, I came back for you gals and your mother of course. I know we haven’t seen eye to eye, but I think we need to stick together right now…I’m sure you know what I mean.”
“Is this about the zombies, Dad?” I ask blatantly.
He nods. “Yes. I’ve seen some actually. I didn’t believe they were real…but then I saw some with my own eyes and you can’t un-see that…they ate…they ate Carol.”
I had never seen my dad look so frightened before. Usually, he acted like the big tough guy who knew everything and couldn’t give one shit about anyone else’s opinion but his own. This was a different man in front of me, a weaker man, a broken man. I realize right then and there that he wasn’t here to help us; he was here hoping we’d protect him.
I didn’t have the energy to call him a coward and start a big fight, so instead I change the subject entirely. “We need a plan to get out of town. A quiet place we can go. Do you guys know anywhere like that?” I ask my parents.
My mother chimes in. “Yes, there is Arthur’s boss’s cottage. Do you work for the same company, Arthur? You used to know where he hid the key.”
My dad almost looks upset. “Really Dina? Do you want to go now? You know how many times I asked you to go up and you never did? I wanted to make a good impression on my boss, I wanted to bring you there to help my career…but nooo Dina always has better things to do than help others. Now that we’re at the lowest of lows, now you want to go?”
My dad slaps his forehead, and my mom prepares to attack… “You’re an asshole! Don’t you think I know that you were banging the boss’s wife? You really think I wanted to hang out with her? Spare me your bullshit, Arthur, it’s gotten old.”
I think Janna’s jaw hits the table. This revelation sure made our father look shoddier than ever. I had pegged him for a lot of things, but not an adulterer.
“Dina, for the 700th fucking time, I did not sleep with that woman!”
My mother crosses her arms, and to be honest I was much too tired of all the drama to ask about it further or care. I tell Janna to pack her things and as soon as she leaves the room I decided to give my parents a quick pep talk.
“Alright you two, we are in a massively shitty situation. Now I know your arguments seem so important right now, but I’m asking you to please…shut…the fuck…up!”
My parents stare at me in complete shock. I had always been a very polite girl, but after the shit I’d been through, my patience for stupidity was at a zero. Luckily, they keep their traps shut. If they had said another word, I’m not sure I could have refrained from punching them. This is not exactly how I wanted to spend the apocalypse.
“Now you two go pack your things. We’re leaving for that cottage as soon as we’re ready. It seems like our safest bet at the moment.”
They obediently take off in search of useful items and I am left to sit and sulk for a few minutes that is until Janna pops out of nowhere asking me how Eve was doing. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, not because she couldn’t handle it, but because I couldn’t handle it, not yet anyway.
“She left with Cam and her dad, Janna. Now it’s our turn to get out of here. We’ll be safer in smaller towns away from the city.”
Janna doesn’t ask anything further. Instead, we sit in awkward silence. Janna with her fears and me with my nightmares. I still felt a need to protect my sixteen-year-old sis. She sure acted tough, but her life experience was ranked at about a two out of ten. She was about to learn about life very quickly. With the threat of a zombie takeover looming, she would soon know pain, fear, and yes, death. I couldn’t promise that we’d all make it. If Eve couldn’t make it, and she had some crazy powers, then the rest of us didn’t stand much of a chance. I had been counting on Eve to get us out of Little Lake safely. We were going to grab my mom and Janna on our way out of town and head to safety all together, but that didn’t happen. The backup plan left me as the leader, well more like the babysitter. I didn’t know what I was doing, I wasn’t brave like Eve. As her name slid in and out of my mind, I thought of the horrible ways they might try to kill my friends, and I feel sick.
While lost in my thoughts, I finally lose it, the tears I had been trying so desperately to hide come out like a tidal wave. Janna doesn’t ask, but to my surprise, she hugs me. Janna didn’t do hugs, but I suppose if there was ever a time for them it was now. I nestle closer to her and accept her comfort. I needed it.
***
The days that followed were filled with terror. Nearly everyone had already fled Little Lake by the time we had left. I spotted a few elderly people in the streets looking lost and confused. Perhaps they had escaped the local Retirement Home when they realized that the staff had left them for dead. I suppose they had lived a good life compared to the rest of us, but I didn’t envy what would become of them. They appeared food deprived and stumbled around weakly with their walkers. They were easy targets and might as well have been zombies already.
The sight was heartbreaking as we drove through town. I had to close my eyes. Once again I had placed the value of my life above others. I look around in the car, my mother and father sit silently in the front seat as we move forward. I couldn’t even be sure I would save them if the time came for me to choose. I look over at Janna who had somehow found a way to sleep through all this. I envied that. If there were anyone worth saving it was her. I may not have been brave enough to save Eve, Cam, or Mr. Brenner, but I would sacrifice myself for her if the time came. She might have been a pain in the ass these past few years, but it wasn’t always that way. When we were younger we would play dolls together, tell each other secrets, do each other’s make-up. I had hoped that once Janna had grown up some more that we would be friends again. I dreamed of helping her pick out her wedding dress, and going for shopping dates, and having the kind of relationships that all sisters should, but instead, we were dealt a shit hand, and the future didn’t seem to hold much else besides running.
After driving through the night, we reach Muskoka, also known as cottage country in Ontario, I feel a bit more relieved; we had nearly reached our destination. From my father’s descriptions, the cottage was beautiful; a little beauty at a time like this couldn’t hurt. My favourite part perhaps was the barren roads. There was no other car, no zombies, absolutely nothing. I guess I felt safe.
As we reach the driveway of the cottage, we are relieved to find no other cars on the property. If my dad’s boss had been here, I worried that he might not let us stay. We were extra mouths to feed, extra bodies to accommodate, and well human. Humans tended to look out for themselves, and would most likely do anything to survive. If it came down to them or us, well why the heck wouldn’t we pick us?
My dad quickly runs around the back of the property and returns promptly with a key. It seemed silly that such a large and modern cottage would have such a stone age back up plan. What about key code doors instead? Punching in a bunch of numbers or letters, or even a password seemed much safer than a damn key under a rug, but hey, who am I to argue? We had a great place to hide out in, thanks to their lack of security.
When we enter the house I’m surprised that no alarm sounds. I suppose people felt pretty safe in Muskoka, I heard that people didn’t even lock their doors here.
This place was a rich man’s playground. When you walk in past the staircase, the first thing you saw was a giant television screen and a long fancy Italian leather sofa sitting in front of it. If you looked beyond the sitting room there was a high tech looking kitchen, it was so modern that it reminded me of a spaceship. I head over there next and find stainless steel appliances. There is a long dining area complete with see-through furniture. Yes, see through! There was a long rectangular table with egg-shaped chairs. They must have been made of a high-tech plastic because it didn’t clink like glass when I tapped m
y nail on it.
Janna opens the fridge. It wasn’t exactly stocked with items, but there were bottles of water, cheese, condiments, bacon, eggs, and some wine. At least it was something, we’d have to see if they had any canned items anywhere, like in a pantry or something, because the fridge would only sustain us for about four or five days.
I decided to take Janna on a tour with me, my mother and father were already arguing about the food situation and I wasn’t in any mood to hear it. We explore the upstairs which had a grand total of eight bedrooms. Although we had more than enough room for everyone to sleep separately, I still ask Janna to bunk with me. I wasn’t about to sleep alone in a strange house during the zombie apocalypse. It still sounded strange as I thought it. You watch so many films, read so many books and you laugh it up. You never really think a zombie apocalypse is going to happen, and then when you’re in it, it just feels like a really weird dream.
Janna picks the largest of the eight rooms, as I thought she might. It’s the master bedroom; complete with a king size bed and a sitting area. My favourite feature of the room was the closest; it was like its own bedroom, a sleeping place for clothes and shoes. There was even a freekin’ television in the closet!
“How long are you supposed to spend in a damn closet?” I say out loud while rolling my eyes.
Janna giggles at my sarcasm. I guess she was thinking the same thing.
The ensuite bathroom to this place is another world! It has a gigantic walk in shower with glass doors. Not very private, but perhaps they weren’t very shy people. The shower heads were located in the ceiling giving the water a rain effect.
Janna sits on the rather glamorous toilet seat, which seemed like the only way to describe it; it was sort of like a throne. Janna giggles and asks, “Do you think they took golden dumps in here?”
