by M. E. Betts
"What about you two?" Hugo asked Shari and Daphne.
"I don't know," Shari said, glancing at Daphne.
"Don't worry about me," Daphne said. "I'm gonna take Finn back to the room as soon as we're done eating, call it an early night. I want to be able to wake up early in the morning."
"Okay," Shari said, turning toward the rest of the group. "I guess I'm hanging out you guys."
After the group bid Daphne and Finn a good night, they made their way across the commons, where a man was doing a stand-up comedy routine. Viewers were seated around him, some at tables and some lounging on cushions scattered on the floor. Most of the audience, all adults or near-adults, had drinks in their hands, and a haze of smoke rolled up from the crowd and toward the fifty-foot ceilings. Shari and her companions chose a table toward the rear, where it was fairly dark.
"So I can smoke," Shari whispered as they sat down.
"Shari," Phoebe said, "it's the apocalypse, remember? You really think anyone's gonna care?"
"Maybe," Shari said, her eyes scanning the area before she lit up. "I don't know. Old habits die hard."
Phoebe grinned. "Don't they, though? And on that note, I think I'm gonna make my way over to the bar."
"I'll go with you," the Professor said.
"Me, too," Hugo chimed in. "For something non-alcoholic, of course."
"You want anything, Shari?" Phoebe asked.
Shari paused, contemplating whether she wanted to open Pandora's box and risk suffering a hangover the next morning, her first full day at the convention center.
"Maybe just some water," she said. "I'll stick to my smoke."
"Suit yourself," Phoebe said as she, the Professor and Hugo started toward the bar.
Shari settled back into her seat, taking in a long, deep drag. Laughter rippled through the audience around her. Shari started laughing with them, her lungs still full of smoke. She continued laughing through the ensuing coughing fit.
The Professor and Hugo returned a few minutes later, bottles in their hands.
"Here you go," the Professor said, handing Shari a bottle of water.
"Thanks," Shari said. "Where's Phoebe?"
Hugo pointed. "Still by the bar."
"You know how talkative she is," the Professor said, sipping his beer. "I was still ordering my drink when she started chatting up two gentlemen sitting at the bar."
Shari smirked. "It takes her no time." She shook her head. "If you ask me, there's time to socialize later. Tonight, I just want to chill out, smoke and enjoy the living shit out of this mediocre comedy."
"That makes two of us," the Professor said, holding up his bottle.
"Three," Hugo chimed in, lifting his bottle of water as the three of the clinked their drinks together."
"To better times," the Professor said.
Shari awoke shortly before sunrise the following morning. She swung her legs out of bed, which was no easy task given how comfortable it was. She shuffled over to the window, looking out over the inky, pre-dawn lake. A thin band of pale blue sat at the horizon line,where the sky met the water. She sat for fifteen minutes, her mind inert, watching as the light blue transformed into a golden rim of fire, followed by the disc of the new morning sun as it began its ascent into the sky. She stood taking in the sunrise, wearing only her panties, when she saw a figure just beyond the perimeter of the convention center, strolling outside of the northern blockade. As he gazed into Shari's room, she realized he was the same sadist who had been plaguing her since Champaign. She was finally certain that she was hallucinating. She squeezed her eyes closed, only to open them and see the same smug expression grinning up at her.
She heard a faint knock at the door. The sudden noise startled her back into her surroundings, and she banished the sight from her mind.
"Hold on," she said, crossing the room to peer through the peephole. When she saw that it was Daphne, she opened the door before crossing the room to take a tank top from the dresser.
"I see you haven't been awake very long," Daphne noted, staring as Shari slid her top down over her torso.
"Just long enough to catch the sunrise," Shari said, rummaging through drawers. "I see you opted for regular clothes today. Think I might do the same. It'll give me a chance to wash my smelly leather stuff." She glanced down at Daphne's feet. "Really, Daphne? You're gonna walk around here barefoot?"
Daphne nodded. "Yeah, unless someone says something."
"Where's Finn?" Shari asked.
"With the Professor and Hugo," Daphne said. "They said they'll let him tag along with them today, maybe see if they can find some kids for him to play with. I think we can safely assume that Phoebe will be sleeping in today."
"So it's just you and me," Shari said, "although I suppose we should at least check in on Phoebe." She buttoned her jeans, then slid on her boots. On her way out the door, she grabbed her leather hat and followed Daphne down the hallway.
"So how late were you out last night?" Daphne asked as they continued down the long, tastefully decorated corridor, past the elevators and toward Phoebe's room on the opposite side of the floor.
"Not late," Shari replied. "I think I got back around midnight. I wasn't trying to be up all night. Don't get me wrong, it was really cool to sit around with a huge group of people, everyone just enjoying themselves. Everyone in the moment, not worrying about sadists or the undead. But as nice as that was, I was more worried about getting some rest in that amazing bed and getting an early start on my day today."
They arrived at Phoebe's room, and Shari issued a sharp knock. After several seconds of silence, she knocked again. She and Daphne heard a faint rustle of movement from within the room.
"It's us," Shari said. "You okay, other than the monstrous hangover I can only assume you're suffering from?"
Phoebe responded with a loud, angry grunt.
"Yeah," Shari said, turning to head back toward the elevators, "everything seems to be in order in there."
She and Daphne took the elevator down to the lobby, then took the skywalk across the street to the convention center. As they entered the commons, Shari looked around for the coffee she immediately smelled. After a moment, she located the source, a row of coffeemakers on a counter in the main dining area. She made her way over, picking up a decanter and filling a styrofoam cup.
"Smells good," she said, inhaling from the plume of steam rising from the cup.
"So let's find this directory Maximus was talking about," Daphne said.
"Let's see," Shari said, "it's probably that sign hanging from the ceiling, the one that says DIRECTORY."
"Could be it," Daphne said as they headed in the direction of the sign. To their left, a group of early morning diners watched Daphne and Shari as they passed.
"Good morning," one of them said, a male of around forty with graying brown hair and kind, tired eyes.
"Good morning," Shari replied.
Once they were past earshot, Daphne smirked. "They must not get new people very often," she said.
"You saw what it was like out there," Shari said. "I don't think there are a lot of people left to show up here, at least in the areas we've been through."
"Yeah," Daphne said. "That's why they had to get on the radio to try to get some new recruits."
They reached a large, LED-lit directory board. It depicted four buildings connected via walkways. There was the eastern building, through which they had entered the complex. The southern building was, by far, the largest, and bordered I-55. The western building also stretched down south to the Interstate. There was a fourth building, north of the Hyatt, in addition to three parking garages and the Arie Crown Theatre.
"Largest convention center in North America," Shari said, sipping her coffee. "A lot could be done here."
They walked around to the other side of the directory. It showed a map of the area around the convention center. There was a hospital to the south, just on the other side of I-55, along with a handful of clinics and labs in t
he surrounding neighborhood. The map also pointed out various shops, eateries, hotels and services in the area.
"A whole city worth of resources," Daphne muttered, "there for the taking."
"One thing at a time," said a male voice from behind them. "We're still working on the convention center."
Shari turned to see a man, roughly her age, with dark skin and closely-cropped hair.
"Hi," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Shari, and this is Daphne." Daphne offered a silent smile and a wave.
"Nice to meet you, Daphne and Shari. I'm Neil. I'm basically the guy who keeps inventory of people and recruit people to the jobs they seem capable of doing. When you have a minute, do me a favor and come by my office, just so I can get some basic information and see where you'd be best suited here."
"Okay," Shari said. "Where can we find your office?"
"See those restrooms over there?" Neil asked, pointing. "It's the office to the right of the mens' room."
"Alright," Shari said. "We'll stop in soon. I just want to get the rest of this coffee in me, feel a little more coherent."
"No rush," Neil said as he turned to head back to his office. "I'll be there 'til at least noon. Catch you two later."
"Later," Shari called after him before carefully sipping her piping-hot beverage. She and Daphne continued to study the map, noting that the entirety of the northern and western buildings was marked off-limits. There were large, red skull and crossbones drawn over those sections of the map with with dry-erase marker. There were also a few parts of the eastern and southern building which were designated as off-limts with a red X. Shari saw that this included the section of the eastern building that the group had been led through the previous day by the riot gear-clad guards. The accessible parts of the building where entry was permitted were marked by large, green check marks. This included most of the Hyatt, the majority of the eastern and southern buildings, and the outdoor area near the marina, between the two blockaded ends, wherethey had anchored the plane.
"Even with just the accessible parts," Shari said, "that's a lot of space. This place is even bigger than I imagined."
"Mm-hmm," Daphne said. "No wonder those other two buildings are marked as deathtraps. There's no way they're in need of that much space yet, so why bother securing them?"
"Not with just a thousand people," Shari said, "and a hotel more than large enough to house them all in." She gulped more of her coffee, which was no longer scalding. She noticed Daphne gazing behind her, and she turned to see a woman headed in their direction. She appeared to be in her forties, and she had a vague look of distrust on her well-lined face, made worse by the ponytail pulled way too tight at the top of her head, stretching her eyebrows up and out.
"You two new here?" she asked.
"Yeah," Shari said, offering her hand. "I'm Shari."
The woman glanced at Shari's outstretched hand, but made no move to offer her own. "How'd you guys get here?"
Shari smirked. "Is there a reason you're asking?"
The yet unnamed woman placed her hands on her hips, inching forward until she was staring down at Shari, who stood at least a half-foot shorter than her.
"You might want to answer the question," she said.
Shari saw Daphne move in close from the corner of her eye. "We don't respond well to threats," she said.
"And I don't respond well to outsiders who won't answer questions," the woman said.
"So does that mean you interrogate everyone new like this?" Shari asked. "Look, I--"
"New?" the woman interjected with a bitter laugh. "We don't really get new people, not anymore, at any rate. So how exactly is it you two made it here? People are saying you started out in Kentucky, and you made it all the way to Chicago." Her face contorted into an expression that was a mixture of profound sorrow and anger. "I lost my whole family just trying to make it here from Lincoln Park! And not because of the zombies, no--because of human scum. They seem to be the only ones who can even attempt to go anywhere."
Shari scoffed. "Are you implying that you think that's who we are--some of those people, those sadists?"
"Lady," the woman said, "I don't know you from Adam. As far as I'm concerned, anyone and everyone is the enemy until I know otherwise."
"That's a poor attitude," Shari said, "especially in a world with so few good guys."
"Well, I couldn't give two shits how you feel about it," the woman said, "and I have no reason to believe you're a good guy. You haven't even answered my question."
"Not that I feel obligated, since I have no idea who the hell you are," Shari said, "but if it makes you feel better, I'll indulge you. We avoided having to go through any of the suburbs or the city itself by taking a Cessna from central Indiana. I didn't really suppose that would be any big secret, since our plane had to have made a shit ton of noise and garner a bunch of attention."
"Yeah," the woman said, "but that still doesn't prove that we can trust you." She turned and began to walk away. "I'll be watching you," she called over her shoulder.
"Watch away," Shari called back. She drained the last of her coffee and turned to Daphne. "On that happy note, let's go talk to Neil and get that out of the way."
"I wonder if that's how they all feel about us," Daphne said.
Shari shrugged. "No telling." She leaned in close to Daphne to ensure no one would overhear her next statement. "Frankly," she whispered, "they can partake in my phallus, if that's how they feel about it. At least the others have been civil, though."
They knocked upon reaching Neil's office.
"Come in," he called from inside the room. "Have a seat. How's the morning treating you?"
"Well," Shari said, "the coffee's great, so that's a plus. On the negative side, we just had a pretty tense confrontation with someone."
"Who was it?" Neil asked.
"I don't know," Shari said. "She wouldn't tell us her name. I introduced myself and tried to offer my hand for a handshake, but--well, let's just say she was less than receptive."
"Middle-aged woman?" Neil asked. "Hair pulled back so tight, it looks like she's trying to scalp herself, thereby explaining her mood?"
"Sounds like the one," Shari said.
"That's Vicky," Neil said. "Try not to worry too much about her. If it makes you feel any better, she doesn't really like anybody. It's not just you."
"She seemed to think we're untrustworthy," Shari said. "Like we're the type to kill people and take their shit--the type of people we call sadists."
"Because that's who killed her family," Neil explained. "They hunted them while they were trying to get here, picking them off one by one until it was just her. One of our scavenging teams found her and brought her back here, and she's been making our lives hell in one way or another ever since."
"Oh," Shari said. "Okay. We were just afraid that it would be the general consensus around here, that we're sadists."
"No," Neil said, his smile warm. "Thankfully, Vicky doesn't speak for everyone around here. Now, getting down to brass tacks...." He tapped the keys of a laptop on the desk in front of him. "I'll need your full names and ages."
"Shari Crawford. That's S-H-A-R-I. 27 years old."
"Daphne McAllister, 19."
"Alright," Neil said. "Now Shari, what's your work history? Any relevant skills?"
"Not really," Shari said. "I mean, maybe, I don't know. I ran the high school library near where I lived, in rural Kentucky. The town was so small, it also served as the town library. I think my more relevant skills would be the ones I've acquired since all this started."
"And what would those be?" Neil asked.
"I'm a pretty decent shot," Shari said. "I mainly use an AK-47 and a .357 revolver. I'm also very good with a bow. I have with me a very high-quality recurve bow given to me by a dear friend. More to the point, I have, along with this woman sitting next to me, used these weapons to defend myself from many, many sadists, sometimes dozens at a time. And, I'm sorry to say, we encountered these gro
ups all the way here, from Kentucky, 'til central Illinois. That was shortly before we got on the plane. And so I'm very confident that our skills could come in handy here, since they're what kept us alive for hundreds of miles of zombie wasteland."
"I see," Neil said. "Not to discredit you, but you know it's a very different ballpark here in the city."
"I'm sure," Shari said. "And there are also more people here in need of protection. There are precious few humans left. I've seen the evidence of that. I've been on the ham radio, networking with people from all over the continent. It's the same all over, and as best as anyone can tell, the other continents haven't fared any better. Every day I wake up into this nightmare, one thing makes me get out of bed to face another day--and that's to do my part to help protect the precious few of us who are left. Protect them from our mortal enemies."
"Okay," Neil said. "You've convinced me. Thing is, though, it's not my decision to make. Security and patrol work is given out solely at the discretion of Maximus." He turned to address Daphne. "You don't talk much, do you?"
"No," Daphne said, "not much."
"What about you?" he asked. "Any work history?"
"I never entered the work force before all this happened," Daphne said. "I do have a handful of skills, though. I specialize in throwing weapons and knives, and I know how to hunt, trap, follow tracks, stuff like that. And stealth work."
"Huh," Neil said. "Impressive. Where'd you learn that stuff?"
Daphne looked him in the eye as she responded. "Practice."
"Okay," Neil said, "this is what I'm gonna do--I'll get a hold of Maximus and let him know I think you two are good candidates to work with him. You should be hearing from him soon."
"Alright," Shari said, rising from her chair. "We'll be waiting."
"Feel free to explore in the meantime," Neil said. "You saw the directory in the Commons. The lake is beautiful this time of day, if you're up for a walk."
"Thanks," Shari said just before she exited the office, "we might do that."
