by Brett, Cal
One morning he walked out of the greenhouse where he found Kelly and the Baldwins having breakfast at a small card table.
“Good morning, ladies,” Robbie said as he dropped his pack and pulled up a chair to the table.
“Good morning,” they all replied.
Beatrice took a plate and spooned some scrambled eggs onto a slice of toast then slid it over to Robbie as he sat. “We’ve been talking about your problem,” she said.
“My problem?” Robbie asked.
“Your problem” she pointed at both he and Kelly, indicating she meant the two of them.
“Oh?” Robbie said, “…and what is that?”
Kelly looked at the older two women conspiratorially and said. “We’ve been talking about the best way to get over to our building.”
“Oh that,” Robbie replied, “I’ve been thinking about that too. From the roof I’ve been watching several groups of the undead but they are mostly out in the streets in front of the warehouses. I was thinking we might be able to slip down behind the warehouses and work our way along the waterfront. The building is only a few miles away and near the water so we could...”
The three ladies looked at each other and Beatrice spoke. “Well, we discussed that but unfortunately the waterfront is broken up into different piers and docks. Most of the docks are fenced off with heavy gauge fencing topped with razor wire or have steel buildings that run out over the water. It would probably take days just cutting through and moving from lot to lot.”
“What about a boat?” Robbie asked with a mouth full of eggs. “We could find a boat and row down with the tide.”
“It’s an industrial ship yard man,” Sunshine said. “Can you pilot a container ship? There aren’t any rowboats down there.”
“Ok.” Robbie said realizing they had already figured it out. “So what is the plan?”
“We think,” Kelly began, “that if we can create a small distraction up the main road a bit, this will draw all the undies away so you and I can slip out. After that, we can make our way east down to Riverside Avenue. Riverside runs along the water between downtown and the shops on the boardwalk. From there we can find a spot to climb over the wall and get into the building.”
“A small distraction?” Robbie asked. “How are we going to do that?”
Beatrice answered, “Sunshine and I will slip over to the other side of the warehouses. There is a little store over there that sold wind chimes. We hang one up on the gate and jingle it a few times. It’s just loud enough to capture the interest of the undies nearby and when they move, any others within sight will follow along. You hide out on the roof and when you see them wander away you climb down and head east.”
“Ok, but,” Robbie said, “once they start moving how will you get away and back here?”
“We cleared out the warehouses over there back when Jose was still with us.” Beatrice explained, “They are all locked up and zombie free. We thought maybe we would come back and turn them into more greenhouses at some point. We can just make our way back through the warehouses and cut across back here when the coast is clear.”
“But,” Robbie countered, “what if they see you?”
“We ain’t as slow as we look, man!” Sunshine cackled, “’sides it’s only maybe 50 yards between Hinson’s back door and our front door. We can make it and once we are inside it won’t matter. They can’t get through these walls.”
“Well I guess so,” Robbie said unsure, “when would we go?”
“Soon,” Kelly said, “maybe tomorrow if you are up for it.”
“I’m fine,” Robbie assured then looked at the Baldwins, “are you ladies ready?”
“We will be tomorrow,” Beatrice answered nodding to Sunshine.
“Well then, thanks for everything. Really,” Robbie said. “We really appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it,” Beatrice smiled, “it’s been nice having some company for a while.”
“But you know what they say about company and fish!” Sunshine laughed and they all joined her.
“Seriously,” Kelly added, “you saved us and we wouldn’t be here without you, so if you ever need anything just let us know. We need to work out a way to signal each other.”
“How about we plan to meet here once a month to catch up on gossip and trade vegetables?” Sunshine offered.
“Sounds good,” Robbie and Kelly agreed.
“I guess that means we’ll need to find a calendar,” Robbie added.
“Yes, you will,” Beatrice said. “Let’s finish breakfast and we can start getting ready.”
Robbie had trouble sleeping that night and lay on the couch staring up at the ceiling. He had studied the old route map that the Baldwins had posted near their loading dock and was confident he knew the way and a few alternates. So much had changed and there were so many variables, he worried about what they would find once they set out. Streets could be blocked and unpassable. Zombies could be lurking around every corner.
He and Kelly had braved and survived these things for the last few years, but now he felt somehow different. Like he had something to look forward to. In the past he felt as if Kelly was taking care of him. Now he felt like he needed to watch out for her.
Robbie heard the Baldwins in their kitchen before dawn and began to smell breakfast cooking. Kelly, who had been sleeping on the floor, sat up and stretched.
“Let’s go get some eggs,” she said sniffing the air, “I don’t think they are going to serve us in bed.”
Chapter 12
By the time sun came up the next morning, Robbie was fully kitted up and peeking out onto the main street in front of the warehouses. Kelly was a block behind, keeping an eye on their rear. Robbie could see the backs of the trailing end of the neighborhood zombies as they lurched away north towards the tinkling sounds of wind chimes. He hoped the Baldwin ladies could get away before the ravenous group arrived.
He scanned the road for any stragglers, but saw none ahead in the direction they were headed. He took longer than he may have in the past, wanting to be sure, before they stepped out of hiding. They had been safe and, he hoped hadn’t grown soft, over the last few weeks. He didn’t want that to lead to any stupid mistakes. But, other than the chimes, the road was quiet, so he motioned Kelly forward.
Kelly moved up next to him, took a quick look around, stepped carefully out onto the sidewalk and began walking in a low crouch. Robbie scanned up the windows in the buildings across the street looking for any movement or shadows that might mean trouble. Seeing nothing, he turned to watch as Kelly moved out to the curb and followed it east, away from the direction they had sent the mob of undead. As she approached abandoned cars, she made a wide arc around them, careful not to move back too close to the building.
In the early days of the outbreak, they learned the hard way that the undead didn’t mind flinging themselves through upper windows to land on their prey below. They had lost friends to this kind of attack. That continued to be an issue, but as structures aged, they had the additional problem of actual pieces of the buildings falling off. Even a small chunk of concrete falling from a skyscraper could crush a skull. A sheet of glass falling from several floors up could slice a person in half or cut them up badly if they were too close to the exploding shards.
Kelly’s eyes moved left and right as she patrolled forward. She made a quick inspection inside, between and under the dusty parked vehicles as she moved slowly down the street. Most of the shop windows were covered in a film of dust and mold at street level but she made an effort to look for shadows and listen for movement as she made her way along. Approaching the large entrance of what had been a chain clothing store, she paused under the awning. Two of the big double doors had been crushed inward and two others hung open, their glass in tiny fragments all over the once trendy tile entry way.
She peered into the dimly lit store and saw several figures standing in the gloom. She waited and watched, but they did not move.
&nbs
p; ‘Mannequins?’ She asked herself. The figures remained still. She picked up a small square of glass and tossed it down the store’s main aisle. It made a small tap, tap as it rattled along the tile. The noise didn’t carry far but would perhaps peak the curiosity of any undead within earshot. None of the figures moved. ‘Mannequins,’ she decided. ‘Probably mannequins,’ she reassured herself as she stepped out around the glass and continued to the corner.
Robbie stepped out of hiding when he saw Kelly go around the store front and moved quickly to meet her on the sidewalk. Reaching the corner where she crouched, he slowed and made eye contact. Kelly signaled to move on. All clear so far. Robbie hustled to the other side of the street and began slowly clearing the way as Kelly had done before.
They took turns leap frogging past each other as they made their way down the street. Each scouted ahead while the other covered their rear. It was a technique they had developed for patrolling that provided some security from both the dead and the living. If the one in front ran into any living people, the other could try to move unseen and provide backup if needed. If they ran into the undead, the scout would try to lead them away while the other could either hide or attack from behind.
They were several blocks into their journey before they spotted their first undead. The remains of a cab driver, who sat forever strapped into the front seat of his car. His pasty skeletal hands slapped at the raised window as they quickly maneuvered past. Their second encounter was a woman who must have spotted them from a condominium across the street. They didn’t notice her until they heard the window shatter high above and saw her plummet to the pavement with a loud slap, followed by the clatter of pieces of glass and metal as they followed her down.
“Go!” Robbie shouted before the echo of the creature’s plunge had subsided. “Every damn thing within a mile will be coming this way now.”
They sprinted ahead half a block before a lanky creature stepped out of a store front and right into their path. Robbie barely had time to turn his shoulder into it as they collided, but fortunately, the thing, mostly skin and bones, was hammered back onto the sidewalk. Robbie leaped over it before it could recover and kept running.
“You ok?” Kelly asked as they ran.
“Yea.” Robbie said. “Think he got the worst of it.”
“Good,” Kelly replied, taking a glance back to see the thing struggling to get back up. She also noticed that several dozen had emerged from the shops they had just run past and now seemed locked onto their trail. “More coming. We need to get off the street.”
“It’s two blocks to our turn,” Robbie panted, “can you make it?”
“Yes,” She gasped, “You?”
Robbie didn’t answer, just kept running. Kelly stayed with him but knew they couldn’t keep up the pace much longer. She realized they had no idea what was beyond the turn. She started looking around for a way to climb up into one of the buildings but didn’t see anything. They would need to go inside somewhere to find a staircase. Going inside had its own dangers.
They dodged several more undead who stumbled from doorways in search of whatever was causing the commotion. Kelly noted that the crowd behind them was growing. Most were shambling slowly but a small group were moving faster than the others and making it harder for her and Robbie to duck out of sight and lose them.
“Turn up here on Canal Street,” Robbie pointed.
Robbie turned onto the road sloping to the river just ahead of Kelly but quickly adjusted back and continued straight across the intersection. A second later, Kelly saw why and followed him back along the sidewalk.
At the bottom of the hill, a crowd of undead milled in the low spot where the road turned and ran along the river. They had seen it before. The creatures followed the path of least resistance downward until there was no further to go. Then, they just stood around until something motivated them to go back up the hill. Even if they did not see Robbie and Kelly race by, they would certainly notice the pack of dead shambling along in their wake. That would be enough to get the creatures curious and moving.
“Next street!” Robbie said gasping.
Two blocks later, they noticed that the street seemed to be rising away from the river.
“Crap!” Kelly panted. The pounding was causing her ankle to ache again. “We can’t keep running. We have to find a place to cut through!”
“Up here,” Robbie grunted and motioned to a falafel shop with a steel door. The door was closed but its windows were set at about chest height and they were all broken out. “This way,” he called out as he leapt up and pulled himself over into the shop.
Kelly, having little choice, flung herself in right behind him.
They quickly gained their footing on the inside and prepared for anything that might come at them. Luckily, nothing did. They ducked behind the counter as the faster of the zombies reached the front of shop.
“Stay down,” Kelly whispered, not sure if the things could see into the shop. “Is the front door locked?”
Robbie took a quick peek around his side of the counter. “I don’t know but the closed sign is up and the shade is drawn,” he said quietly.
“Ok, ok,” Kelly sat down with her backpack against the counter while she tried to quietly catch her breath.
They could hear the zombies outside the shop but couldn’t tell if they were gathering or walking passed. It was loud as the things crunched through broken glass and debris while muttering their growling, moaning sounds.
They sat still and waited for the creatures to start their banging on the door and walls but, after an eternity, the noise started to die down and it gradually grew quiet again.
Robbie waited ten more minutes before he risked another look. Quickly pulling back he turned to look at Kelly. “Clear,” he whispered through clenched teeth. His injured ribs burned from the exertion.
Kelly pulled herself onto her knees and crawled to the edge to get a look for herself. She couldn’t see much through the small area of safety glass in the metal door but there were no decrepit heads visible through the broken shop front windows. She could still smell them on the wind but not as strong as before. She nodded to the back of the shop.
“Wait here, I’ll look around,” she said as she crept towards a swinging door she guessed was the kitchen.
Pulling her small solar powered flashlight from her belt she shined it under the door. There was about an inch of clearance but all she could see were the greasy reddish floor tiles and the bottoms of some shelves. More importantly the light did not cause anything to react on the other side.
“I think it’s ok,” she said, reaching up to put her hand against the door. “Ready?”
Robbie nodded and she softly rapped her fingernails on the door’s Formica façade. It made a click, click, clicking sound that didn’t carry far but would likely cause anything undead on the inside to reveal itself. After a moment of silence, she lightly pushed at the door to see if the hinges would squeak when it moved. They did, but not much, Robbie and Kelly both froze and listened to see if anything outside might have heard. They listened for a few beats to the sound of the breeze thumbing through the old flyers and other papers that littered the street. When nothing more menacing seemed likely, they nodded to each other in agreement to go ahead.
Kelly rose up into a crouch with her hand still holding the door ajar. Robbie braced himself while she pushed open the door, which produced a high-pitched whine, until it was all the way open. Kelly held her light up and stepped inside. The room was small and had been used as an office and storage space. Boxes of plastic forks and plates sat deteriorating on rusting metal shelves. “It’s ok,” she said.
Robbie leaned in, took a look around, and moved a trash can up to keep the door propped open. “Is there another way out?” He asked.
“Two doors in the back,” Kelly answered as she shined her light around, “keep an eye on the front and I’ll check it out.”
Robbie eased back over to keep an eye on the
outside.
Shining the light on the door at the back of the shop, Kelly saw that it was mostly blocked by brooms, mop buckets and cleaning supplies. There was also a row of wire shelves, stocked with precariously leaning boxes, pushed up against its edge.
Kelly turned and took in the other door. It was narrow and covered in novelty calendars depicting colorful scenes of dark skinned people frolicking on beautiful exotic beaches. The fanciful writing looked Arabic so she had no idea where those places might be. ‘Far away,’ she thought, ‘in places that aren’t there anymore.’ But then she amended her thought, ‘the places are still there. But, the people are gone.’ She wondered if she would ever see such a sandy beach again.
“Psst,” Robbie interrupted, from the front of the shop. “What are you doing?”
“Just looking around,” she answered. “Everything ok out there?”
“So far,” he said.
Kelly tapped on the narrow door, and waited for any response. When none came, she reached out and turned the door handle slowly. When she heard the lock disengage, she pulled the door slowly open. To her relief, nothing leapt out at her. Shining her light inside, she saw that it was a small bathroom.
A body, the really dead kind, sat slumped back on the toilet. The apron wearing figure had been there so long he had dried out completely, so there was almost no smell. On the grimy yellowed wall behind its head was a brown halo where its brains had blown out.
“Eew”, she whispered.
Finding bodies didn’t shock her. She had come across similar scenes so often in the last few years that it was almost a relief that they were completely dead and not a danger. The gun lay on the floor near the dead man. She reached down and picked it up. Several bullets were still visible in the chambers. She didn’t know much about guns, but it looked like it would probably need some work before being safe to fire. Still, she knew enough to find the safety button and click it into place, just in case. She stepped back and closed the door, leaving the shawarma cook alone in his tomb.
