“I came home from work – I’m an accountant at a small firm about twenty miles away – and found my wife had turned into a zombie.” He paused and swallowed hard. “She’d been bitten while she was out at her yoga class or something and had come home and turned before Elaine got home from school. She must have jumped Elaine as soon as she’d come through the door. I found her hiding in the coat closet, bitten and horribly sick.”
“What happened to your wife?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know, but still curious.
Clay cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to the empty water bottle in his hands before he continued with his tale.
“I’d heard about the zpoc on the way home – all the news stations were broadcasting about it and I could see the world starting to melt into ruin all around me. I rushed home and was surprised to see my wife clawing at the door Elaine was hiding behind… At first I didn’t know what to do, but then I saw Elaine’s backpack on the floor and a blood trail leading to the closet. That’s when I knew I had to act…”
Clay stopped talking. We sat in silence for a couple minutes as tears dripped from his eyes onto his glasses before falling to his shirt. He didn’t seem to notice them, or he just didn’t care that he was crying – I couldn’t tell which.
“I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to do something. She was already a zombie. I couldn’t save her, but I had a chance to save Elaine.” He sighed. “I’m not a strong man or one of those hard-ass types, but I’ve always been protective of my daughter. Something changed inside me when she was born. When I knew she was in danger, that she’d been hurt, something just…snapped inside me and I knew I had to save her.”
I nodded, but didn’t say anything. Dad had always seemed extra protective of my sister, so I figured it was a father/daughter relationship thing.
“I grabbed something…a heavy crystal dish my wife had sat on a table in the entry for our keys and change, and just attacked. I beat my wife’s head in with it, roaring like a crazy man the entire time. I actually scared myself.” He chuckled.
Clay’s hands were shaking and he dropped the bottle he’d been holding; it clattered to the floor and the sound it made seemed to break him out of his trance.
He bent down, picked it up, and stood it on the coffee table. Then he removed his glasses and proceeded to clean them.
“I found Elaine in the closet and I panicked,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought for sure she’d die, but she didn’t. She just got sicker and sicker. I listened to the news like it was God speaking directly to me and my life depended on the information being given. I heard about a safe place for survivors, so that’s where we were heading. I ran out of gas…” he nodded toward the boarded up window, “…I saw the window was broken and figured I could get in here pretty easy. I thought we’d be safe enough until I could find another vehicle to take us the rest of the way.”
“Where’s the safe place?” I asked, wanting to kick myself yet again for not thinking of something I should have, like checking the news to stay updated on what was going on.
“At a shopping center about fifty miles from here that had a couple of those bulk food stores…” Clay said, wiping his face and putting his glasses back on. “Apparently the military has built a temporary base in the parking lot and is feeding everyone from the surplus at the stores.”
“Oh, I know where you’re talking about,” I said. “We go there to shop once a year. It’s Washington Center.” Right after I said it, I thought about who the “we” was and how “we” would never be going there to shop again. My heart was sad for a moment, but I tried to push it aside.
“Yeah, that’s the place,” Clay said. “You know where it is?”
“Yes, I just said I’ve been there,” I said, and stood. I walked away. It was easier than facing the emotions my memories were stirring up.
I heard Clay follow me as I went to the kitchen.
“How long were you sick before you got better?” he asked.
“Three days,” I said, not turning around. I headed into the pantry to take stock of what food there was.
“That means Elaine should be better any time…” Clay said.
“I suppose so,” I replied. I looked back over my shoulder at him. “You should go and check on her.”
“When she gets better, will you help us get to Washington Center?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t have any better plans. I was just going to go out into the world and hope I found others like me, that could survive in the new world. Elaine was the first possibility of one of those others, so I guess it would make sense for me to stay close to her.
“Sure,” I said. “I’m going to make lunch. Canned ravioli and fruit sound good?”
“Sounds good,” he said just before he turned to head back out to the stairs to go check on Elaine.
<+>
By the time Clay came back downstairs I had lunch ready for the two of us. I assumed that if Elaine was well enough to eat that she would have soup.
“How’s she doing?” I asked Clay as we sat on the stools at the island in the kitchen to eat.
“I think her fever broke,” he said before shoving a spoonful of food in his face like he hadn’t eaten in a while.
“That’s a good sign,” I said, and started eating too. “We’ll have to find a car and get ready to travel. If she’s doing better by tomorrow, we’ll want to start thinking about leaving.”
“Great,” Clay said around a mouthful of canned peaches. “Wouldn’t it be easier to find gas for my car?”
I shook my head. “I think it would be easier to get the keys to one of the neighbors’ cars that didn’t come back than it would be to find and syphon gas.”
Clay swallowed and nodded. “I guess so.”
We didn’t talk for the rest of the meal, so I ate my food and let the plans I needed to make formulate in my mind.
When I was done with my food, I went and got a notebook and a pen. I returned to the island to write down what I’d planned to write down the night before. I just had to make some changes that included two other people…and a car.
Clay had disappeared by the time I’d returned. He’d placed his dirty dishes in the sink, which I thought was thoughtful and funny. It wasn’t like we were going to wash the dishes, or that it mattered what we did with them. We were leaving everything behind and nothing mattered, at least not the material things. Food and life were all that mattered.
I figured I’d be the one going out to find the car we’d need for traveling, after all, I was immune to zombie bites. I didn’t know if Clay was… That meant it was better for me to go out and do the risky stuff. It made me feel strong and powerful, but kind of weird at the same time. I was used to adults doing the important stuff and making me stay where I was safe. Now I had to go out and put myself in danger to save others…people I didn’t know. It was backwards and felt that way.
I decided to make a list of things for Clay to get ready here while I was away. That way I didn’t have to do everything by myself. And we could travel sooner, because all we’d have to do was load up food and other things we would need when I got back.
I folded the weapon list and put it in my pocket. I gathered up the other two lists and headed upstairs to see if Clay was all right with my plan. I assumed he’d gone upstairs to sit with Elaine – I was right. I heard his voice through the mostly closed door of my sister’s room. And I heard a young, female voice respond.
I paused in the hall, not expecting to hear Elaine awake; it was a good sign.
I walked the last few steps to the door and knocked lightly.
Moments later Clay opened the door with a huge smile on his face.
“She’s awake and fine,” he said, stepping back and sweeping his arms toward his daughter on the bed.
She had blue eyes – beautiful eyes. Her cheekbones were sunk in and her eyes were ringed with dark circles. Her dark hair was limp and stringy from her fever sweats
. She was pale and looked fragile, but I thought she was gorgeous.
“Hi,” she said weakly, trying to sit up straighter on the pillows Clay had propped her up against.
“Hi,” I said, and smiled at her. I felt breathless, like I’d been punched in the gut. I turned my attention to Clay with some effort. I held out the plans. “Check these and see what you think. One is for me and one is for you.”
“What are they?” he asked, taking the papers from my outstretched hand.
“Plans, for tomorrow, it would seem,” I answered, and threw a smile toward Elaine. She looked miserable. “You can take a shower – we still have electric so there’s hot water – and feel free to go through my mom’s clothes to find something to wear.”
Clay was reading through the plans while I spoke, but I had the feeling he’d heard everything I said while taking in the information on the papers.
“Sounds good,” he said, handing back my paper. “When do you want to do all this?”
“Tomorrow morning,” I said. “We’ll get some rest, get Elaine ready, and do everything in the morning. We should get to Washington Center tomorrow before dark.”
Chapter 10
I heard the water running as Elaine and, I hoped Clay, took a shower upstairs. I didn’t know why I was so drawn to her. I’d seen pretty girls before and hadn’t been this taken with them. There was just something about her that I couldn’t put my finger on…
I decided to sleep in the laundry room again. For some reason I just felt safer here. I also didn’t want to sleep in the living room, because that’s where all the giggle-slut action had happened; I didn’t want to sleep in my parents’ room, because that’s where I killed Dad; and I didn’t want to sleep in my room, because I’d thrown up in there.
I laid down, ready to sleep, but couldn’t. I was excited about going out into the world in the morning. I hadn’t been outside since I’d been bitten. I didn’t know how bad it had gotten out there. It had only been about a week, but it seemed like forever. I also had to admit I was excited about traveling with Elaine. I was eager to get to know her. The drive to Washington Center took about two hours normally. I didn’t know if it would be longer or shorter in the zpoc. There would be less traffic, but there could be unlimited other difficulties. I couldn’t help but wonder if we were making the right decision.
In every zombie movie I’d ever seen the “safe zone” was anything but safe. If we walked into anything like what was in those movies, we’d be fucked. I knew me and Elaine could survive the zombies as long as we weren’t overwhelmed by numbers or aggressive, murderous humans. Those could be the serious downfalls. Clay on the other hand, could be anyone’s guess. I knew the immunity wasn’t a genetic thing – proven by Dad. I didn’t know why some of us were and weren’t immune. I hoped that if the safe place was actually safe there would be others and I could get some answers. I wasn’t the only one, and I don’t think Elaine and I were the only two. I started to wonder what percentage of the human race was immune.
I had a lot of questions and I didn’t know where to get answers. I hoped Washington Center had the information I needed.
The sounds of people moving around upstairs stopped. I listened intently for a moment for any other noises that would alert me to danger and resisted the urge to do a perimeter check. I didn’t hear anything and I was too tired to expend the energy for an imagined threat.
After a huge yawn, I gave in to my exhaustion. If I was going to do everything on my plan list tomorrow, I needed to get rest. The floor wasn’t that uncomfortable anymore…
<+>
I woke up while it was still dark. I lay still and listened because I didn’t know what had woken me so swiftly. I felt alert and alarmed.
I heard a thump in the kitchen.
I slowly got to my feet, clutched the revolver in my right hand, and opened the laundry room door that I hadn’t shut tight on purpose. With other people in the house and having secured the windows earlier, I didn’t feel I needed to be sealed in for safety.
Someone was in the kitchen.
“Hi,” Elaine said, sticking her head around the corner to smile at me. “Sorry I woke you.”
I gasped, jumped backwards, and raised the gun.
Once I realized it was her, I lowered the weapon quickly, before I could accidently pull the trigger in surprise.
“Holy shit!” I said. “Don’t do that! I could have shot you.”
“What? You have a gun?”
I held it up, pointing the muzzle at the ceiling.
“Damn,” she said, stepping around the corner and taking a couple steps toward me. She was thinner than I’d originally thought, and taller. “I didn’t know you were packing heat.” She looked at the gun and giggled.
I shook my head in disbelief and tucked the gun in my waistband at my lower back.
“What are you doing down here in the dark?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I woke up and I was hungry. I thought I could come find something to eat without waking anyone up. I guess I was wrong.”
“There are a couple of apples in the fridge drawer,” I said.
“That sounds good,” she said, turning away to check what was in the fridge. “You got any junk food?”
I watched her, enjoying how the light in the fridge illuminated her face in the darkness.
“Yeah, there’s a couple bags of chips in here,” I said, and pointed into the pantry.
“Awesome,” Elaine said, biting into an apple as she closed the fridge door and headed back toward me.
I stepped back to give her access to the pantry and the food it contained.
“Can I turn on the light?” she asked, pausing in the doorway.
“Yes, there are no windows, so no one outside should see the light,” I said, stepped forward, reached inside, and flipped the switch on the wall. “There you go.”
“Thanks,” she said, and started looking at the stock on the shelves.
“The chips are up there,” I said, and pointed at the top shelf in the corner. “My mom put them up there so my sister couldn’t get them.” Thinking about Mom made me a little sad again.
“Ah, okay,” Elaine said, glancing back at me as she reached up for one of the bags. “My mom was hella cool about everything except junk food. I had to buy it on the sly and hide it in my room.” She giggled, but her smile quickly turned to a frown. I assumed she was thinking about losing her mom too.
“It doesn’t look like your junk food addiction hurt you any,” I teased, trying to cheer her up again.
“No,” she whispered, “it didn’t.”
She looked around some more, grabbed a can of fruit cocktail, and heading back out to the short hallways between the kitchen and laundry room where I was standing, waiting for her.
“I read your plan for tomorrow,” she said, walking past me into the kitchen.
I reached into the pantry and turned the light off before I followed her.
“Oh? What did you think?”
“I liked it,” she said, shaking the can of fruit before pulling the ring on top to open it. “Spoon?”
“Top drawer,” I said, and nodded toward the line of drawers beside the stove.
“Thanks,” she said, turned, opened it, took out a spoon, and closed it again. She stepped back over to the island where she’d set down her food. “It’s a smart plan…but can I ask you a favor?”
My throat tightened, but I nodded yes.
“Sure. What do you need?” I asked.
“Can you make sure nothing happens to my dad?” she asked, not looking up from her food as she began to eat the canned fruit between bites of apple.
“I can do my best…” I said slowly. I walked over to the island to stand across from her. “I can’t promise anything.”
She nodded and looked up at me. “That’s all I can really ask… You’re only human after all.” She grinned.
“And so are you,” I said, and smiled back.
She grew somber. �
�Seriously though, I don’t think I could handle losing my dad after…”
I nodded in understanding. I knew she meant after her mom attacked her and her dad had to kill her mom to protect her. I could only image how painful it was for her; it had to be more painful than not knowing what happened to my mom. Her just not coming home was far easier to process than having one of my loved ones kill another of my loved ones in an effort to save me. That seemed like it would be all kinds of fucked up.
I didn’t know what to say, so I grabbed the bag of chips and opened them. We ate together in silence until I noticed Elaine was getting drowsy.
“I think it’s time for both of us to go back to bed,” I said. Eating in the near-blackness of the kitchen had been nice, but we needed to get much needed sleep. We’d both been very sick recently and we had a lot to do tomorrow. “Do you want me to walk you back upstairs? Or can you find your way okay?”
“I can make it,” Elaine said, licking salt and seasoning off her fingers. “Can I take the rest of the chips with me?”
“Sure,” I said, and chuckled. “You might want a bottle of water too.”
She nodded, grabbed the chips off the counter, went to the pantry to get a bottle of water from the case just inside the door, and then headed down the hall towards the stairs with a wave.
With a sigh, I headed back to my bed on the floor in the laundry room. I liked Elaine even more after our late night encounter. She was funny, charming, and confident and vulnerable all at the same time. And she was pretty on top of that. I was in serious trouble, and the threats of the outside world were the least of my worries.
Chapter 11
I was wired with excited anticipation when I woke up and saw that the sun was shining beyond the small window of the laundry room. I climbed to my feet, stretched, smiled, made sure I had my gun, and headed to the bathroom. I toyed with the idea of taking a shower, but I quickly put it from my mind. I planned to take a shower right before we left. I needed to find a car and get it here without attracting too much attention. The plan was to pull whatever vehicle I found into the garage for easy loading – the garage door would also keep whatever zombies followed me back blocked out.
Zpoc Exception Series (Book 1): Re-Civilize (Chad) Page 4
