Cage The Dead

by Gary F. Vanucci

  She gave thought to the idea that they might not be stay that way for long. But, who knew? They might stay on for the foreseeable future. But what if they weren’t? Gaia remembered the generator beneath the lab that Nick spoke of that could power everything, but she would need to check on that to make certain.

  Not now, though, she decided. She spun to see Justin and Solomon standing in the threshold of the doorway. Gaia searched through the many crates stacked on skids and eventually found a bag of nuts and a bushel of bananas. She scooped them up and paused at the freezer door. Opening the massive door, she saw many things inside, including several things that she would be able to cook—at least for the boy. She would come back for them and to confirm that the generator worked at a later date.

  “C’mon, boys. Let’s get inside and get settled. Then she heard a growl and Solomon was beating his chest. She knew whatever it was outside had Justin frozen in fear, and Maye ran into the shed and hid behind a crate. She dropped her supplies and quickly retrieved two frozen sides of meat and ran outside.

  There were two lionesses creeping slowly toward them.

  Gaia recognized these two specifically, having visited them many times over, and even more recently, on an educational tour where Nick went over some things about the big cats.

  These two fascinated her, and she remembered them distinctly.

  “No, Allie. No, Misty. These are your dinners,” Gaia said, rolling two huge frozen chops of meat toward them.

  “Justin, take Solomon by the hand and walk him toward the house, honey. Take him inside.” Justin touched the finger of the huge silverback and looked to Gaia who signed to him. “Follow Justin,” she said, shooing them away. Eventually, they did just that, and Gaia looked back to see if she could locate Maye.

  “Maye, come.” The capuchin leaped up and onto her shoulder as the lionesses licked at and began biting at the frozen meat. She watched as Solomon had to turn sideways and duck to enter the house, and that particular image looked absurdly comical to her in that moment. She slowly followed them, but her mirth quickly faded as a low growl sounded from behind her.

  She slowly turned to regard the source. She was both relived and then horrified to see one of the lionesses had sprung on a zombie. It must have appeared from around the corner of the shed only a few seconds ago. It was at one time a young boy. The lioness pounced and pinned it to the ground in one brutally graceful effort.

  Gaia no longer wanted to see what happened next as she ran forward and entered the house, not looking back.

  It took tens of minutes for her heartbeat to slow once again to a steady rhythm as she considered the actions of the big cats.

  Do they like zombie meat? What is it doing to them?

  She knew that lions and tigers and such did not prefer carrion, but she supposed, they did what they had to in order to survive.

  Gaia led Solomon around the house and they gathered up the zombie bodies that were lying around, including Nick’s, and the four bodies that were upstairs, and brought them out to the screened-in porch area outside. Solomon was so strong that he could carry two at once.

  Gaia looked out back and saw nothing in sight, and so she decided to drag the bodies out toward the burnt remains of the barn and drop them there--all except for Nick’s.

  She retrieved the rounded edge shovel and picked a spot outside the screened in porch area in the backyard under the shade of a large tree.

  She began to dig.

  ***

  Several hours later, as the sun waned in the western sky, Gaia had carved out something that resembled a pit. It was at least three feet deep or more, she believed and she felt the sting in her back to remind her. She regarded Solomon and Justin watching her from inside the porch area, Justin offering on more than one occasion to help her, but Gaia refused, needing to work out her frustration. As she felt the ache in her back, she briefly considered rethinking that offer. She stared into the windowpane, seeing Solomon shove leaves into his mouth and then curl up on the floor to take a nap. She had seen Justin nod off a few times, but now stood vigilantly observing her.

  As the gloom replaced the light a bit more, making it more difficult for her to complete her task, Gaia turned on the porch light out back and then found a floodlight that shed some light on the back where she worked. She would not allow herself to stop until Nick was properly buried, even though doing this was a reckless move. She considered that it might very well attract zombies, but she did not care in that instant, and so she continued.

  A moaning sound broke the silence out back mere moments later, followed by increasingly rapid footfalls on the soil in the gloom. A heartbeat later, a zombie entered the outer edges of the light. She recognized that the creature wore garb similar to hers, signifying that this one was an employee at the zoo, though she didn’t recognize who it was.

  Gaia stepped backward in an attempt to back away from the onrushing creature. Suddenly, she felt her footing go out from under her and the cold soil against her hands as she tried to stop her fall.

  She screamed and felt her vision become cloudy as her head hit the hard dirt wall of the pit.

  She heard Justin’s voice, but could not comprehend the words.

  Through that hazy vision she witnessed brief images of Solomon’s teeth biting and fists pummeling the creature. Gaia was malnourished, exhausted, wounded and more. She fought to keep conscious. But her senses betrayed her.

  Then there was blackness.

  ***

  Light penetrated her vision and Gaia squinted against it, attempting to force it away. She shot up in a panic and subsequently regretted that as her head throbbed once more against that sudden effort. She stared at Justin, who sat in a chair beside her, the silverback gorilla resting on the floor in the living room beside them both.

  “The pit? Nick?” Gaia asked.

  “Solomon helped me bury him after we brought you in the house,” Justin said with a certain unexpected maturity that again had her dumbfounded. “Well, he tried to help, anyways. We had to do it in the dark, ‘cause the light was making the bad people come.”

  “Smart.” Gaia gazed from him to Solomon and then back to the boy again. “You really are fond of the gorilla, huh?”

  Justin smiled and nodded. “He’s really cool.”

  Then Gaia panicked again and looked around. “Where’s Maye!?”

  As if in answer to her question, the capuchin appeared from the kitchen with a handful of mixed nuts, some of which she ate, and some she tossed about here and there. This time Gaia chuckled for a few long minutes. It was the first time in days that she had done that.

  She slowly stood, leaning on the arm of the sofa as she got her bearings. She felt a rumbling in her stomach and realized that she hadn’t eaten in a while and, most likely, neither had Justin. She grabbed her jacket, the gun, still in its holster, and the binoculars from the table. “Did you eat?” she asked him, finally able to stand on her own two feet without aid.

  “I had some cereal I found in the cabinet.”

  “Was there any milk in the fridge?”

  “Yup. I checked it. It’s good for a few more days. Solomon ate almost all the fruit though.”

  “All right. I’ll get more. Why don’t you take a nap while I shower, okay?”

  “Sure. I am kinda tired.” Gaia smirked at him and then checked the gun, making sure that it was still loaded and that the safety was on. It was just as she’d left it.

  “And thanks for helping last night.”

  “Welcome, ma’am. I mean, Miss Gaia,” he corrected with a sheepish grin. She gave him a mocking, narrow eyed look, shaking her finger at him, and he smiled back at her and then took her spot on the sofa. Gaia covered him up and then began a perimeter check. She tested the front door, and then peered out the side window, careful not to move the curtains. She did see a zombie wandering around outside by itself with half its arm missing, gore covering its body. She hoped one of the animals had done that. Out the back window on
the porch, she noted the loose soil that covered Nick’s body, and was grateful that Justin was able to finish the job.

  She placed the binoculars over her eyes and noted a pair of tigers off in the far distance along the tree line. They were near the gap in the fence though they did not exit. Instead, they lay in the grass as peacefully as ever, allowing Gaia the briefest of respites from the reality of their situation.

  In that moment of peace, she remembered Adam, and how much she missed him. The next thoughts were of her family—her mother and father, her cousins, aunts and uncles—and she wondered if they were still alive. She had to hope that they were and that sooner or later, they would be reunited.

  She checked the backside door peering across to the shed and veterinary facility and saw nothing out of sorts.

  She wanted to make sure they would remain safe for the foreseeable future, and methodically went about checking everything, including locks on doors and windows, as well as to make sure that the electrical system and plumbing were in good shape.

  She longed for a shower. That also made her wondered if the house had an oil or electric heater. She took a walk down into the basement, assuming it would be down there. The stains from the zombie attack were still there, dried and sticky, and try as she might to not remember, the images came flooding back anyway. She tried to ignore them as she went about checking all the pipes down there, and then she finally came upon the water heater tucked into a far corner.

  It was electric heat and the tank felt warm to the touch. She was thankful for that, knowing relief might soon be coming to her aching muscles.

  Then she wandered over to the gun safe and retrieved the case she originally took, found another clip and went about testing it, ejecting it and so on for a few moments. It worked just fine. She also grabbed another of the hard shell cases on the top shelf and opened it. Inside were the manual, certificate and the pistol itself—a Colt Mustang— along with a handful of magazines and loose slugs inside. She grabbed that and took it with her, turning the lights off as she left.

  She wandered upstairs and found a bedroom that she decided would do nicely for the time being. There were old clothes in the closets, some never even worn it seemed, and the top shelves of the chest of drawers were loaded with female undergarments and bras.

  Maybe they were Kristen’s? Gaia thought as she held up and pair and held them up to her. “Yep, gotta be Kristen’s!”

  She was never happier to know that the two of them were of similar builds.

  She opened a window, lit a cigarette and lay on the bed next, testing its firmness.

  A few minutes later, she found the master bathroom, turned the water on, and was delighted to both see and feel hot water that gushed forth from the spout. She quickly undressed and found a reflection of someone alien in nature staring back at her from the mirror that hung from the back of the bathroom door.

  She stared at the image of a woman that had been to hell and back in the last few days. She assessed her image, seeing dirt and dried blood in her hair. She peeled back the bandage that covered her wounded forehead, which had closed up nicely. Her eyes were bloodshot, bags under her eyes, and her face was spotted with soot and dirt.

  She felt her nipples harden as a breeze came in from the window and she spun and strode right into the shower, no longer wishing to gaze upon this image of herself.

  The heat of the water gave her respite from the horrors of the last few days as she allowed that warmth to wash away the dirt, the gore and the bitterness of her recent past.

  She allowed herself the time to recall images of Adam, and basked in the love that they had shared over the past years as the water afforded her a much needed tranquility.

  Thoughts of beaches and family gatherings entered her consciousness, along with vacations they’d shared. One particular vacation came to mind, last year, when they had gone to the islands, where the two of them had spent the first day and night in the hotel room, in the Jacuzzi, making love all day and night, ordering in room service and having bottles of wine sent up to the room.

  She distinctly remembered the incredible sex they had that day, the two of them both unable to be sated. It ranged from animalistic to tender throughout the day and into the night.

  Gaia felt herself moisten as she recalled that day’s events and for the first time in many days, she allowed herself to be free. Her hand slid down and between her legs and she allowed the heat of the water to beat on her, her fingers slipping in and out of her in rhythm with the water pulsating over her.

  She was lost in the moment as all troubles and future obstacles disappeared under both the sensation of the hot water splashing against her skin and the movement of her own hand as her fingers continued to move in and out of her. Gaia’s left hand travelled up and found her breast and the hardened nipple that sat atop it. She pulled at it, that one first, then back and forth, slowly and softly, and then harder as the seconds passed.

  She remembered what Adam felt like inside of her, driving her rhythm faster and faster until she moaned as an intense climax assailed her senses, causing her to shudder. Her legs became like rubber suddenly under the immeasurable heights of ecstasy that enveloped her. She released her nipple, having to quickly brace herself against the wall as her fingers finished their magical journey. She stood and let the water continue to cascade over her back and neck for the next few minutes as several more climaxes followed.

  Several moments later, the harsh realism that she would never again feel Adam’s touch, in any sense, devastated her, and she wept sorrowfully in that unpleasant knowledge.

  Gaia was unaware of anything else or how long she had been standing in the shower until she found herself shivering under the suddenly cold water that spilled over her, waking her from her emotional reverie.

  She turned the knob as the water ceased its flow in response.

  And again, she wept.

  ***

  She had been lying on the bed for a long time after her shower, feeling happy and sad, horny and then horrified. She would masturbate and then fall asleep under a mountain of grief that seemed to follow. This sequence went on for some time until she finally decided to get up and do something else.

  With a cloth robe now covering her bare skin, and a dirty pile of clothing in her arms, Gaia finally made her way out of the bedroom and into the hall, searching for a washer and dryer.

  After a brief trek through the upstairs hall, she found a stacked washer and dryer set in a closet, which seemed out of place for the age of the house and the state in which everything else was left. She could only guess that the caretakers of the house had asked Kristen for this, but who knew? In a closet on the opposite side of the hall, she found towels, detergent, fabric softener and clean sheets.

  She tossed her clothes into the washer, poured in some laundry detergent and watched the hypnotic cycle of spinning clothing until her heavy eyelids got the best of her.

  She opened her eyes again as the washer stopped, the sound of the cycle coming to a halt waking her from her brief slumber. She stood and moved the clothes to the dryer and went back into the bedroom.

  She found a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, though none of the bras did her any justice, finding them a bit tight, she eventually found a tube top and decided to use that for the time being until her own ‘delicates’ were dry.

  She made her way downstairs and saw Solomon and Justin playing together, along with Maye. They had pushed the furniture against the wall and the trio was chasing each other around the spacious living room.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “We’re just playing, Miss Gaia. That okay?”

  “Sure thing, little man. I’m going to see what I can make you for dinner.”

  Gaia quickly found and removed the first thing she saw in the freezer, a roast. She removed it and placed it in the sink and began to run hot water over it. Next, she scoured the cabinets, and found a crockpot under the sink. She thawed the meat in the microwave for
a few more minutes and then tossed it in the crockpot. She found a few cans of gravy and mixed that in with some spices, placed the lid on and took everyone out onto the porch.

  She lowered the shades out there to mask their presence from whatever was out there, and was happy to see both Maye and Solomon eating from the plants that lined the walls of the spacious area. It seemed to Gaia to be just as Nick had said, some kind of altered greenroom, as there were more plants back here than furniture. Only a patio table and chairs, along with two lounges were in the center of the potted foliage.

  It wasn’t long after Solomon had his fill that he went back into the living room. He began to jump up and down on top of one of the four sofas until the springs gave way, popping through the underside fabric, as Gaia watched him through the windowpane.

  Justin stared at Solomon’s display while he shoveled mixed nuts into his mouth and subsequently spit them out in a burst of laughter.

  Solomon beat his chest, seeming to Gaia as if he was asserting his dominance of the home. Gaia stood and made her way back into the kitchen, allowing them all to have their fun, which was few and far between these days.

  She opened the freezer and saw a few packages of chicken and other meats that she could thaw and cook for him. Inside the refrigerator were some lunch bags, no doubt left by the crew. There were also a good deal of mixed vegetables, beans and soup cans in the cabinets that she could eat, being a non-meat eater herself.

  And there were plenty of fruits and nuts for Solomon to eat, in the basement and in the food storage shed. Both he and Maye would have plenty to eat for a while at least, until she figured out how they were going to get out of here and on the road. She wanted to see her family, but had the sinking feeling that she might not want to see them, if they were…not alive. She hadn’t even given that much thought in the past few days and felt guilty about that.

  She would also have to figure out if the roads were even safe to travel, or if they were clogged with broken down vehicles and other wreckage, making it impossible to travel.