As they crested the staircases, James stopped at the top of the east staircase and dropped to his knee. Barry did the same on the western side of the mezzanine. The old marine pointed at an overturned couch where two sets of socked feet protruded from underneath. James motioned for Barry to move forward as he did the same. Both men moved to the backside of the couch that covered the victim’s feet. Barry flipped over the couch and James swung his shotgun towards the opposite end of the feet where a head should have been. As the couch tipped over, there were two sets of unattached legs with no bodies. James motioned for everyone to move up.
The groups ascended three small steps to the second floor proper. Posted on the corner of the wall was a “You Are Here” map of the hotel. Barry wiped the dust off the front glass cover and both groups tried to familiarize themselves with the layout. In front of them was an area marked as “The Diamond Ballroom.” Management offices were on the west end and guest rooms on the east side of the building. Farther down the same hallway leading to the guest quarters was a large room marked as the “Exhibition Center.” A small room directly behind the ballroom on the map indicated an area of great interest to everyone - “Banquets.”
December 2, 2013: Monday, 6:28 PM – Second floor of the Historic Gemini Hotel – east side of the building …
Corbin handed a sleeping baby Megan to her mother. “Let’s find us some rooms to put our stuff in and then we can figure out what our next plan is,” Corbin said as he moved towards the guest rooms. There were bedrooms on the second floor ranging from rooms 209 to 218. According to the hotel map, the management offices were numbered 200 to 208.
Kara reached into her backpack and handed flashlights out to everyone. Corbin and Barry led the way down the eastern wing of the second floor. The bright beams of light crisscrossed one another racing up and down the stygian hallway. Each dark forest green door proudly displaying large golden embossed numbers set at eyelevel. The doors boasted silvery metallic swipe sensors for the guests to slide their cards through for entry into their rooms. With no power to the building, the electronic locks had operated on reserve battery power for a few hours. However, after the batteries wore down, the locking mechanism on many doors became stuck. Signs of forced entry into most of the rooms on the second floor were quite obvious – broken doorframes and splintered doors littered the hallway.
A flowery blue suitcase wedged between the door and the frame of room #209 appeared like a tongue sticking out from a semi-closed green mouth. Corbin stood outside the room next to the hinged side of the door. Barry stood on the handled side of the door. Rodney and Booger held their flashlights steady. Barry kicked open the green door and Corbin followed him inside. The room was empty except for two coverless queen-sized beds. Corbin moved to the small bathroom and checked inside – it was clear as well. Both men exited the suite and nodded that it was OK.
Kara and Nikki walked into the room. “We’ll take this room,” Kara said.
Corbin and Barry split off to check the rooms on the left side of the hallway. Rodney and Booger checked the right side. James stood by room #209 and covered their backs. Most of the remaining rooms the men inspected were covered in ankle-deep water from a sewage line that broke at some indeterminate time in the past. They neared the end of the hallway where the last room should have been numbered “218” but the “8” had fallen off.
“Hey, Booger,” Rodney began, “it looks like your uncle-dad Jim-Bob numbered this room!” Rodney smiled as he inspected the faded out area of the door where the missing “8” should have been.
Matt paused. He looked at the door then back at Rodney. He was pretty sure that skinny fuck was making fun of him, but he wasn’t quite sure how. Numbers had never been his specialty anyway.
The hallway past room #218 bent into an L-shape just past the final guest room; the group turned their attention towards a sign with an arrow directing guests to the Exhibition Center. The men rounded the corner working their way down to the Exhibition Center, but the double doors were chained closed. The hallway ended abruptly. On the wall opposite the Exhibition Center, two bathrooms without doors stood silently. Corbin checked the men’s bathroom while Booger giggled slightly checking the women’s bathroom – both were empty.
Rodney and Barry shined their flashlights around the Exhibition Center’s doors but chose not to disturb the locks - just in case someone had chained them for a reason. They could check out the Exhibition Center later – nothing was getting in or out with those thick chains interlaced through the door handles.
“We can check that place out in the morning,” Barry said.
“I agree,” Corbin responded. “Let’s get this last room checked out and get some sleep. What’s ever back here can wait.”
The group of men returned to the last unchecked room. Rodney jiggled the door handle of room #218, but the door refused to budge. Corbin and Barry highlighted the door with their flashlights. Booger shouldered his way through the door into the room. He almost immediately stepped back out as he vomited onto the pastel colored carpet. The rotting stench of decayed human bodies flooded the hallway.
All four men covered their mouths and noses with the front of their shirts as they entered the room. A pile of bodies in the final stages of decomposition were clumped up at the foot of the bed; a revolver clinched in the bony hands of the largest skeleton. Three smaller skeletons had their arms wrapped around another adult. The men had all seen similar stories like this played out before – most likely a desperate father had killed his family and finally himself to free them from the incoming horrors to soon be visited upon the Earth – a darkly poetic end to the worst vacation ever...
“We’ll take this room,” Barry said as he opened the window for a breeze to pass through.
“What the hell?” Rodney complained. “It smells like rotten ass dead people in here.”
Barry looked out the window to the street below. The cool, odorless breeze invigorated him slightly as he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. “Well you got two options: this room with dead people or the other rooms flooded with shit. You choose.”
“I’ll take the first watch tonight,” Corbin said. “We can split up in four or five hour shifts. I’ll head back to two-oh-nine and let them know the plan.”
“Rodney will join you on the first rotation,” Barry said. “Then early in the morning after sunrise, we can scout around the place for supplies.
Corbin left the last room on the right side of the hallway and returned to the first room they had checked. He informed Nikki and his friends of the watch duty rotations. Nikki had already snuggled Megan into a warm section of blankets that she had packed in her backpack and Kara had placed her and James’ bags on the other bed. James stood like a watchdog outside the room.
“James, come in and get some sleep,” Kara said. “You’ll need all the rest you can get before going on the second watch.” She smiled shyly at her brother for volunteering him for the pre-dawn assignment. He reluctantly walked into the room and sat in a surprisingly comfortable recliner. He placed his shotgun on his lap and rocked back and forth.
Corbin left room #209 and rejoined Rodney at the midway point between the two rooms. Two chairs were placed back to back for them to sit in. The old hotel creaked and moaned as Old Man Winter tugged and pushed on the outside of the building. Drafty, cold breezes raced up and down the hallway; both men covered themselves with blankets to ward off the effects. Their five hour shift ended just around midnight without incident and they each returned their respective rooms.
Nikki, Kara and Megan peacefully slept; none of them stirred as James and Corbin swapped out roles. James exited the room and closed the door softly behind him. Corbin walked to the window pushing the thick curtains to one side as he peered down at the street below. Snow and ice had piled up in two inch high mounds on the window ledge. The moon sat quietly in the sky judging the frozen world below. Corbin closed the curtains and crawled into bed next to Nikki. Megan whimpered sli
ghtly but her father’s caring hand placed on her chest appeased her and she quickly fell back to sleep.
Chapter 22
December 3, 2013: Tuesday, 12:33 AM – Second floor of the Historic Gemini Hotel – room #218…
Rodney sluggishly walked into his room after his long watch. He kicked the side of Booger’s bed multiple times to wake him. Booger tossed and turned but the embrace of comfortable sleep refused to let him go. Rodney bent over and slapped the man on top of his bald head.
“What the hell?” Booger grimaced as he sat up.
“It’s your turn, fat boy – get out there and keep me safe.”
“I fuckin’ hate you, Rodney.”
“Would you two shut the hell up? I’m so tired of hearing y’all bitching all the time,” Barry said as he too sat up in bed. “I swear to God that if I didn’t need you guys I would have allowed you to kill each other. More than likely I would have slit your throats myself while you slept.”
“He means he would have killed your skinny ass,” Booger said pointing at Rodney.
“Go on, Matt,” Barry said. “Get out there on guard duty. Rodney and I have some things to discuss. We’ll fill you in on the major details at sunrise.”
Booger put on his jacket and grabbed his .357 from the nightstand. He laced up his combat boots and snuggly fit a wool hat over his head. The temperature had dropped tremendously over the past five hours. Matt ruffled around in his backpack and pulled out the pack of smokes from the cartons that he had found earlier. He lit up one cigarette and exited the room closing the door behind him.
“So what’s the plan?” Rodney asked.
“We need to get them to split up. Somehow convince them that forming two or three separate groups would increase our chances of finding food, water or clothing.”
“I just don’t get it, Barry. Why do your plans have to be so complicated? Why can’t we just walk down to their room in the morning and shoot those dudes in the face?”
“Be my guest, but I guarantee you that old military prick will see it coming a mile away. You’ll be dead before you hit the ground if you pull some gung-ho bullshit like that.”
Rodney conceded and listened to Barry go over multiple plans.
December 3, 2013: Tuesday, 3:18 AM – Second floor of the Historic Gemini Hotel outside the guest rooms by the doors leading into the Exhibition Center…
During the second watch, James paced up and down the long, dark hallway. Booger sat in one of the chairs Rodney had brought out during the first watch. Both men were quiet but James could tell that the redneck wanted to talk to him. James kept his distance – he had no real intentions of interacting with any of the three screw-ups that now shared the second floor with him.
“Do you ever get lonely out here?” Booger asked the old marine as the war vet passed close by. James didn’t answer; the redneck didn’t even seem interested in an answer – he had posed a rhetorical question…not that he understood or knew the meaning of such words. He just continued talking while James watched for any signs of trouble.
“I mean, don’t you get lonely out here? All I can think about is getting with one of them – you know what I mean? I’ve got these urges…”
“What are you talking about?” James replied finally tired of hearing the redneck’s inane ramblings. “One of those girls is my sister and the other is a new mother to that baby back there.”
“No, I’m not talking about one of those girls with you. I mean one of those zombie bitches. I’ve seen some of them that still look pretty good if you know what I’m saying. And they are always moaning…it makes me hard sometimes…”
“You’re a sick freak, boy – you know that?” James walked to the other end of the hallway completely disinterested in hearing any more of Matt’s sick fantasies.
“Oh don’t be all offended and shit,” Booger yelled as he remained seated. “I’m not talking about anything gross - just dippin’ my pecker into one of them zombie chicks. I’m not crazy. I’ll wear a rubber!”
James stayed at the opposite end of the hallway while Matt continued to watch the area closest to the Exhibition Center. The next five hours passed by quickly. James had to intermittently walk to the end of the hall closest to the Exhibition Center to wake the fat redneck…but for the most part – Matt did a decent job of being a lookout. The next hour brought out the sunshine and the rest of their group woke from a relatively peaceful night’s sleep.
December 3, 2013: Tuesday, 7:23 AM – Second floor of the Historic Gemini Hotel – outside room #209…
Barry and Rodney walked down the hallway away from their room. James and Corbin were already standing outside of room #209; James watched the two men coming towards him. Rodney accidentally made eye contact with James and quickly looked away as the old man’s stare penetrated deep into his mind. James knelt down and shoved his survival knife into its sheath on his left boot. He stood up pumped his shotgun and let the weapon dangle idle by his side. He never once broke eye contact with the two men.
The ladies joined them a few moments later; Megan gleefully cooed as she rode in a baby carrier strapped to Nikki’s back. The early morning sun shined into the hallway through the doorways sans doors. The chill from last night had lessened slightly but everyone’s breaths lingered like cottony clouds in the thin cool air. Delicate patterns of multi-colored carpet, previously obscured by the inky night, now danced from side-to-side the entire length of the hallway.
“I’m hungry,” Booger said as he nonchalantly joined the group.
“Well, let’s make that our first course of business this morning,” Corbin responded. “We should check out that Banquet area we saw on the floor plan.”
The group retraced their steps from late yesterday afternoon and arrived back to the corner where the wall map hung. They turned right towards the glass lined ballroom doors. Each person gasped slightly as they saw their own reflections. They appeared tired, dirty and much skinnier than they realized. Months of being on the run had worn down their spirits but also the lack of nourishment had taken a physical toll on their bodies as well. After a slight pause, Barry closed the distance to the ballroom doors.
“If we go through here,” he began, “it will lead us to the Banquets area.”
“That’s not on the map,” James said.
“Trust me. I worked here as a high school student. If we go through the ballroom, there will be two doors leading to a staging area; a place where the food service folks would prepare the meals prior to bringing out the entrees to the guests.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you worked here?” Nikki asked.
“It was fifteen years ago and I didn’t see any relevance to it until now.”
“Fine, but you three lead,” James said as he pointed at Barry, Rodney and Booger. “We’ll follow behind you.”
“How do we know you won’t shoot us in the back?” Rodney asked without making full eye contact with the old vet.
“You don’t.”
Barry pulled open the double doors and propped them open with the foot stands. Windows from either side of the ballroom had long since been busted out; light and wind passed casually through the expansive room. The ballroom was completely empty except for some knocked over tables and chairs. Dull warped mahogany planks ran lengthwise from the entry door to the opposite end of the room. The elements had wreaked havoc onto the once gorgeous dance floor. The group walked cautiously along the floor to the back of the room where two doors awaited – just as Barry predicted.
The group proceeded to the doors at the opposite end of the room. As promised, the narrow doors did indeed open up to a small staging area; stairs descended in the back right corner to some unknown depths. The light from the ballroom fearfully stopped at the edges of the door as if afraid to step foot into the new area. The group stood still momentarily allowing for their eyes to adjust to the darker room; they pulled out their flashlights and flicked them on.
Banquet trays, silverware, pots and pans clutt
ered the ground. An old conveyor type dishwasher stood against the main wall. Rats bounded to and fro as the new light sources swept through the room. Old tablecloths and napkin dispensers lined a wooden shelf on the backside of the wall. Two large walk-in freezers occupied the far left corner opposite the staircase.
“We should see what’s inside of those,” Booger observed.
“I don’t know about that,” Kara replied. “Anything of use spoiled a long time ago once the power went out.”
Booger walked over to the freezers and grabbed the handle of the left door, but it wouldn’t budge. It had been locked securely. Booger tried to force open the lock but without the key or using brute firepower the contents of that first freezer would remain a mystery a bit longer. Booger jiggled the handle of the right door and pulled it open. Stale air rushed out but no sounds of movement from within. He shined his flashlight inside.
“Hell yeah!” He exclaimed. “Take a look at this.”
Booger walked into the freezer and backed out pulling a service cart. On top of the cart were hundreds of packages of salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard and other varied condiment packets. The group gathered around. On the second shelf, unmolested bags of coffee and tea sat perfectly arranged. The lowest shelf of the cart had two full packages of peppermint candies. For months they had eaten nothing but bland canned food – their mouths began to salivate just thinking about the possibilities.
Corbin grabbed two large tablecloths and placed them on the ground next to the cart. He helped Matt sweep everything into two neat piles. Corbin grabbed the four ends of one table cloth and Matt followed his lead on the other. They tied the cloths into two large bundles securely holding their newfound treasure.
“We’re not going down this way,” James said from the other side of the room by the staircase. “Standing water about midway down the stairs – that whole area back there is flooded with sewage.”
Z1N1: The Zombie Pandemic: 2012 Was Just the Beginning Page 22
