by Jean Booth
Michael jumped into the cab of the pickup truck, and Kevin pulled himself in next to him and immediately rolled the window down. Emery revved the rig’s engine twice, giving the other men the signal that he was ready to roll out. Michael and Kevin led the way into town, easily avoiding the few pileups on the side of the freeway. Kevin lit a cigarette and smiled as he took his first puff.
“You know you’re not supposed to do that,” Michael said. He was desperate that this raid go off without seeing any of the infected. They looked so human, so normal. At least for a few seconds, before you caught sight of their decaying skin, rotting teeth, and their glassy-eyed stare.
“Fuck off. We’re not at the compound right now. If I see any of those bastards I can pop ‘em before they even realize they’ve been spotted,” Kevin replied.
Michael ground his teeth, but kept his mouth shut. It was best just to ignore Kevin, and concentrate on driving. He had to make sure the semi behind them could get through to where they were headed. The first store they were hitting was only another mile away. If luck were on their side, they’d be in and out of the store with everything they needed and no interaction with the zombies. The longer they were in town, the greater their risk of getting caught.
They drove in silence for a few more minutes, until Michael spotted the store. His pulse quickened. He could finally prove to the others that he wasn’t just someone to take care of, that he could truly help the other survivors. He smiled as sweat started beading on his forehead. The terror was there, certainly, but there was a thrill that Michael felt as well, and it was intoxicating.
“Feels good, don’t it?” Kevin whispered next to him. “The excitement, the fear. You don’t know why your heart’s pumping so erratically, but it’s awesome. It could be from terror, could be the excitement, but your whole body’s tense with anticipation. This is living.”
“We may die today,” Michael whispered back.
“It’s worth it. Feeling like this at the end, totally worth it.” Kevin smiled as he lit up another cigarette.
His eyes glazed in a euphoria Michael had only known during sex. He also finally understood why Kevin always volunteered for the raids. This rush was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
All too soon, Michael found himself pulling into the parking lot of the store. Michael and Emery maneuvered the trucks so that one entrance was blocked by the pickup, and the semi’s rear was blocking the other.
There weren’t enough living brains to go around, so Michael was hopeful that any zombies they encountered wouldn’t be as intelligent as the original infected were. The groups would have to be extra careful now though as they’d be considered a delicacy. With the increase of zombies and decrease of humans, the zombies had proven themselves to be more violent and less cunning than they were during the initial outbreak.
“If we can find a forklift to carry pallets of wood into the truck, that’d be best. We’re going to need a shitload of the two-by-fours Sarah wants. We also need a few dozen plywood boards. Those’ll be heavy and if we can use a forklift, that’d save time and energy. Let’s get to the lumber section and get that shit together before we head out anywhere else.” Emery was a no-nonsense person and the unofficial leader of this small group. He’d been on earlier raids and knew what needed to go where in the semi. Michael looked at him in admiration, grateful that he was willing to take charge, because while Kevin was a good shot, he was no leader.
They entered the home improvement store with their backs together, and guns pointed out in every direction. It was quiet. Michael’s pulse thundered in his ears. The only light was coming in from the open skylights above; the power had blown months before. They made their way as quickly as they could to the lumber section. There, in the middle of the isle, was a forklift.
“Hot damn. We must be the luckiest sons-of-bitches known to man!” Kevin whispered.
“Either that, or someone’s setting us up,” Michael replied.
“Don’t be ridiculous man. The infected can’t think that way. They haven’t had enough to eat in the last few months. No way they’d know how to set this up for us. This is simple dumb luck.” Kevin lit another cigarette, ignoring the scowls the other men shot him.
“Let’s hurry. It may not even work.” Emery ran over to the forklift, while Michael and Kevin kept watch.
Michael was a bundle of nerves as Emery looked for a way to start the forklift. This was too easy. There had to be a catch, had to be a reason they weren’t encountering any trouble. No one was ever this lucky. His heart pounded at the sight of blood coating the seat. The keys were still in the ignition; a remnant of a decaying hand still gripped the lever.
Using the butt of his AK-47, Emery knocked the hand loose from the lever that raised and lowered the forks. He climbed into the lift, kicking the hand out of the cab just in case it didn’t realize it was dead. Emery turned the key and the forklift started right up, complete with lights and beeps. The sound echoed through the building.
“Fuck, man! Do you want to bring them down on us? Turn that shit off!” Kevin screamed at Emery above the noise.
Emery quickly turned the key into the off position. He was pale and shaking. Michael silently prayed they hadn’t been heard, but he knew they couldn’t be that lucky.
“Sorry. I don’t know how to disconnect the sound or the lights. Unless you do, I think we’re stuck doing this the old-fashioned way,” Emery said.
Michael pointed down the aisle, to a dolly that they could set plywood and lumber into and still move about. They’d still have to work quickly to load everything and get back to the compound before nightfall.
“I’ll go get that, you find the wood you want and I’ll meet you there,” Michael said to Emery, hoping his voice didn’t shake as much as the rest of him. He needed to move for a minute, expel the waves of terror racing through his veins. Without waiting for a response from the others, he ran over to the cart and started dragging it back to the lumber.
KEVIN
Within minutes the men were loading wood onto the dolly. Kevin kept watch at their backs as the other two loaded and unloaded the lumber. He continued to chain smoke, blowing smoke rings, and watching them disappear.
About two hours later they had the semi loaded with all the lumber they needed. Michael and Emery were panting and sweating, and Kevin was bored. He’d been hoping for at least a little action today, after all, he wouldn’t be seeing anything exciting until spring. He prayed there would be a reason for a raid before then.
They all took a break and downed water that’d been left behind. It was room temperature, but still satisfying.
“Ok, I think we should split up for the rest of the stuff. Kevin, you go with Michael and grab the supplies we’ll need for the plants, I’ll go get the plumbing supplies and some more power tools. Remember to over-stock and get more than you think we’ll need. We won’t be coming back here for a long time if we do this properly. But hurry, I don’t know how much longer our luck’s going to last.” Emery didn’t wait for a reply, but made his way to the plumbing section.
Kevin felt himself bristle at being ordered around. Emery was right, but Kevin didn’t like being told what to do. He sulked while Michael traded in the lumber dolly for a regular cart. Together they went to the garden section. There, Kevin watched as Michael gathered pipes, hoses, and enough material to irrigate more land than they had.
Kevin leaned against an end-cap, alternating between watching Michael work and eyeing the lawn furniture and grills to the side. He’d love to grab a set of both of those but knew Sarah would find the grill an unnecessary luxury. She would deem the smells of grilled food too dangerous to have in the compound, no doubt.
There were days he hated her.
Lost in his own thoughts, Kevin was unaware of the zombie that had made its way next to him until he heard the groan. The zombie was staring at Michael, its nose flaring and saliva dripping from its mouth. Kevin tilted his head to look back at Michael
, curious as to how he would react.
He saw Michael tense at the sound of the light groan. Michael let out a gasp when he caught sight of the zombie. He fumbled for his gun, hands shaking.
“Shit,” he exclaimed as the weapon dropped to the floor. The zombie started to shuffle toward him, bloody drool dripping from its mouth.
Kevin watched as Michael struggled to grab and keep a hold on his gun. He laughed to himself at the incompetence of his partner. The zombie shuffled ever closer. Michael swore, sweat dripping down his head as he held out the weapon, hands shaking too much to pull the trigger. Kevin waited until the zombie was almost upon Michael before he raised his weapon and casually shot it in the back of the head.
“Oh my god. Thanks, man. I don’t know how you can do that.” Michael said in a yell. He wiped the blood splatters off his face, wincing as chunks slid down his neck.
“You’ve really got to get ahold of yourself dude. I don’t understand how you managed to survive this long with your fears.” Kevin shook his head. “We should hurry up, the gunshot is sure to bring more.”
Together they gathered the rest of the gardening equipment they could find and ran to the front of the store. All three men arrived at the front of the store just in time to see a horde of zombies swarming around the semi.
“Shit!” Kevin exclaimed, as he saw them struggling to get into the store around the semi. “There’s no way we’ll get past this crowd into the cab. We’re going to have to blast our way through; kill them all.” Michael and Emery paled at this suggestion.
Kevin’s pulse quickened. He’d never seen so many infected in one area before. He wasn’t sure they had enough ammo to make it through the crowd, but he knew they needed to get the supplies into the truck and hightail it out of there. If they couldn’t get the truck loaded, they’d have to go to another store and take this risk again. While he wasn’t that concerned, he knew the other two wouldn’t be able to handle that risk.
All three pulled out their guns and waited for the crowd to swarm closer. The zombies poured through the entrance, groaning. The men pushed the carts out of the way, all taking shooting stances that were quickly becoming second nature.
Kevin fired first, his dual pistols shooting almost simultaneously and blasting holes into two separate zombies’ heads. Their brains splattered out onto the infected behind them. He continued to fire round after round into the mass of zombies, completely ignoring the two men next to him. He only had eyes for the creatures in front of him. His guns clicked empty and the horde surged forward.
“Shit! I’ve only got two more mags! I wasn’t expecting there to be so many of them. How are you guys with ammo?” Kevin yelled at his partners.
“I’m down to my last magazine. I don’t know how much Michael has, but he’s not doing so good.” Emery grimaced at Kevin, jerking his head in the direction of their third cohort.
Michael was openly weeping, so scared, he screamed as each shot blasted out of his guns. The zombies kept coming. His gun clicked empty and he crumpled to the floor, sobbing.
Kevin growled in disgust. Slamming his last fifteen-round magazines into his guns, he sauntered over to Michael. Grabbing him roughly by his shoulders, Kevin hurled him to his feet. “Get a grip! We have to run for the pickup! Go!” He shouted at the man. Checking that Emery was following, he dragged Michael though the store, toward the entrance with the pickup. They could hear the zombies following close behind.
They reached the truck at a sprint. Emery grabbed Michael’s clenched fist and peeled the keys out of his grasp. Kevin shoved Michael into the passenger seat and jumped into the bed of the pickup, and immediately began shooting the zombies surrounding the truck. Emery slammed the pickup in gear, stomped on the gas, and sped out of the parking lot, running over a few stray zombies as he did.
Kevin jolted forward as the truck lurched into gear. Quickly, he grabbed hold of the side of the truck bed, holding himself steady so he could still shoot. He kept one arm clenched to the side of the truck and the other clenched to his gun. He’d hoped for some action on this trip, but he wasn’t expecting this. This was too close for comfort.
JENNIFER
Jennifer kneeled in the back of the pickup as they sped down the freeway. Her curly brown hair escaped her tight ponytail and whipped against her cheeks. She wasn’t looking forward to driving, but was excited to be included on the raid. She hadn’t been out on many, but she enjoyed the thrill. The excitement that shot through her veins as she risked her life, her sanity, and her very existence to gather supplies for the survivors was one of the only things she looked forward to these days.
The truck jumped onto the 395-South freeway toward the car sales district. Jennifer knew Mark was headed to the dealership that was closest to the furniture store. She really hated driving with all her bolts on her leg. Hell, now she just hated driving, period. It was strange to be the only car functioning on the freeway. There were still piles of cars smashed into one another along the sides of the road, some almost completely blocking the path. It was surreal to watch as tumbleweeds tumbled past them to gather in clumps near the piles of cars along the road.
She tried to ignore the pangs of jealousy she felt as she saw Kaitlyn reach over and hold Mark’s hand. She, too, felt their sorrow, their pain at everything they had lost in such a short time. There’d been such hope, such joy in finally discovering a cure to an illness that’d been plaguing the world for decades. With the introduction of the AIDS vaccine, there was hope that there would eventually be cures for other illnesses. No one was prepared for it to go this badly. She didn’t even think anyone knew exactly how or why it happened, although she hoped someone, somewhere, was finding out.
“It’s strange to see how desolate it is here. I still can’t believe this happened. Just a few months ago we could barely drive through these streets because of the congestion. Now...” Kaitlyn’s voice trailed off as she looked across the vast expanse of devastation.
Jennifer looked around, this time not looking for zombies, but at the scenery around her. Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes as she took in the mutilated cars. Body parts were decaying and splattered all around like so much waste. There was dried blood everywhere. Even the carrion birds refused to touch the remains of the dead.
Jennifer remembered hearing Kaitlyn talk about their experience. The only reason Kaitlyn and Mark were still alive was because he happened to choose the day of the outbreak to stay home with her. They were practicing the acts that newlyweds are famous for when they heard a crash at their front door. They had managed to escape—barely—and met Sarah and Matt almost a week later as they were searching for food. Kaitlyn had told Jennifer that they would be forever grateful for that chance meeting. Sarah and Matt had given them a purpose, hope for a future they’d thought was lost forever. They joined this raid to repay the two young leaders for all their kindness. Jennifer tried not to be jealous of the newlyweds. This wasn’t the kind of world one wanted emotional ties in.
She tensed as they passed the store where they planned on gathering the fridge and freezers. There was a car smashed into the front of the building, and wet blood glistened on the windshield. She shuddered. She wasn’t sure if the blood was fresh or freshly wet from the morning’s dew. Either thought unnerved her.
They pulled into the parking lot of the car dealership, which was just down the road, and Jennifer jumped out gracefully sweeping the lot with her loaded crossbow. She preferred the crossbow to a gun for a few different reasons. First, she simply loved the feel of the bow in her hands. It was like an extension of her arms. Secondly, the soft twang the bolt made as it left the bow was too quiet to bring anything else running. Lastly, she didn’t lose her hearing for precious seconds like she did when she shot the gun. She appreciated the stealth of the crossbow in these strange times.
She walked backward toward the entrance, Mark and Kaitlyn flanking her. Together the three of them walked into the dealership in search of the keys that’d unlock a
couple of trucks in the lot.
It was dim. Their eyesight was compromised for a few precious seconds while their vision adjusted. Jennifer’s hands trembled with nerves as she waited for her vision to clear.
Kaitlyn let out a soft gasp as the dealership came into focus. It was a mess. Couches and tables were thrown everywhere, fixtures dangled precariously by thin wires, and body parts were strewn about in the chaos of the room. Everywhere they looked there was blood. It had congealed in long, thin strips from the hanging fixtures. It was splattered in dry clumps on the walls and Jennifer saw a thigh chewed off and thrown haphazardly over a broken chair. The carnage was intense and violent.
There was a soft “swoosh” as one of Jennifer’s bolts left her bow. In the center of the room, a zombie was feasting on the remains of what appeared to be a salesman. Her bolt struck true and the arrow protruded almost comically out of the creature’s head. The zombie fell face first into the dead man’s torn stomach.
Jennifer looked around for anything else that moved as she loaded another bolt into the chamber. She shot it into the dead man’s brain, just in case, and loaded her crossbow again. She did her best to ignore the gore splattered around her. She knew if she took time to process what she was seeing, she’d never be able to do what needed to be done. She forced herself to focus on what was important, and not the carnage that had happened before they got there. They couldn’t do anything to undo the past; they could only hope to prevent it from happening to them.
“Thanks,” Kaitlyn whispered.
Jennifer shook her head. “No worries. Let’s go find those keys.”
Together the three of them split up to search drawers, walls, and whatever pockets they could find for car keys. Mark hit the mother lode a few minutes later during his search of the financial office. He was opening all the drawers when he reached a locked file cabinet. This had to be where the keys were kept. He smashed the small lock that held the file cabinet closed and carefully pulled out the drawer revealing a large selection of keys, complete with small labels that had the vehicles VIN numbers on them.
