by Russ Watts
“Buckle up,” said Erik.
“Sir, yes, sir!” Quinn and Dakota giggled, and then Quinn held up her hands in surrender. “Sorry, must be all that fresh air.”
“Or that sugary snack,” muttered Erik.
“Maybe you’re just glad to be alive?” Jonas put the SUV into drive, and took them out of the field and back onto the road. He couldn’t catch Dakota’s eye in the rear view mirror, but he was pleased to see she was smiling. Being with Pippa and the kids was good for her. He didn’t want her stressed any more than she had to be. It was going to be difficult enough with the baby, and worrying about where they were spending the night, how many zombies were waiting for them, or where their next meal was coming from was something he wanted to take care of for her.
A couple of hours passed, and they drove cautiously. Jonas kept checking the mirror to make sure Gabe was still with them. Erik eventually found the river, and they followed it a while before coming to a bridge where they could cross over into Indiana. From there, Erik tried to hug the Interstate, although it was difficult. A few times they came across a blockage that they couldn’t get past, and they were forced to turn around. Jonas wanted to get at least as far as Indianapolis by nightfall, but they lost a lot of time going over their tracks. It was mid-afternoon when Jonas noticed the headlights flashing in the mirror.
“That’s Gabe. I think he wants to stop.” Jonas pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Erik jumped out. They were in between towns, surrounded by a few abandoned vehicles and not much else. There was a signpost indicating they were coming up on Greenwood in ten miles, but as far as Jonas was concerned, they could be on Mars. Erik reassured him he knew where they were going, but driving blind was unnerving. Now and again they saw zombies. Occasionally the dead would stray into the road and sometimes give chase, but they never caught up with them. Jonas was relieved that the zombies were always in the distance, never close enough to do any damage. He wasn’t reassured, though, by the fact that they hadn’t seen anyone else alive. There hadn’t even been a single trace of anyone else living. No moving cars, no lights, no signs for help; it was as if the whole world was dead.
“I’ll go see what he needs.” Erik cocked his gun. “I know. Be careful.” With that, he jogged back to see the others.
“Hey, Erik, we’ve been coasting on fumes for the last ten minutes,” said Javier. “I was hoping we’d come across a gas station, but it looks like we’ve run out of time.”
Erik nodded and looked at the road ahead of them. “There’s a town a couple miles ahead, and I’m sure we’ll find a gas station. Gotta be worth trying. Think you can make it?”
“I guess so. I’ll flash again if we have to stop.” Gabe banged on the panel behind his head. “We’re stopping in a minute folks,” he shouted. “Just hold on a few more minutes.”
Erik looked at the van, puzzled.
“They’re not too happy back there,” Javier explained. “Fair enough, really. Can’t be too pleasant being cooped up in there.”
“Let’s be quick then,” said Erik, and he returned to the SUV, leaving Javier and Rose alone.
“We stopping?” asked Quinn as Erik got into the car.
“No,” said Erik. “They’re running on fumes, but we’re going to try to make the next town, see if we can’t find a gas station there. When we stop, we need to switch over vehicles too. They’re cramped up in the back of the van, and it’s no fun for any of them.”
Jonas cruised the next few miles with little trouble, and finally came upon a road sign welcoming them to Westport, Indiana, population 1663. The town border was desolate and dusty, and the welcome sign was riddled with bullet-holes. A lone crow picked at something red and fleshy which Jonas hoped was just road-kill. The bird abruptly flew up and settled onto a telegraph pole when they drove past, watching them from a distance. As the number of buildings began to increase, Jonas began to hope they would find a gas station soon. Driving down the main street, nobody came out to see them. Nobody from Westport came out to welcome them, but nobody came out to attack them either. Jonas really didn’t want to get sucked into the town center where there was more risk of being attacked.
“Looks deserted,” said Erik.
“Think there’s anyone around?” Dakota leant forward. “Anyone living here?”
“Doesn’t look much like it.” Jonas eased off on the gas. He wanted their arrival to be discreet. It was best to get in and out quietly and quickly.
“It’s not the living I’m worried about,” said Quinn as she scanned the empty streets.
“There,” said Erik, “pull up by that campervan.”
Jonas stopped a few feet short of the van, which was parked underneath a billboard offering ‘tomorrow’s real estate at yesterday’s prices.’ The gas station was offering two for one soda, and Jonas scanned the forecourt. Everything was still. As they watched the white van pull in and park by the nearest tank, nobody came out of the small store attached to the garage.
“I’ll go help,” said Jonas.
“I’m going to check out that store,” announced Terry. “They may have some gear we can use.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Dakota yawning. “I’m feeling a bit car sick, so I could do with stretching my legs.”
“Me too.” Quinn opened the car door. “I’m not waiting in here; I’ll come with you.”
“Okay everyone, just be careful, and don’t go too far.” Erik wound down his window and reclined his seat. “I’m going to close my eyes for a minute. I’m exhausted. Yell if you need me.”
“You take it easy. We’ll be back in five.” Jonas picked up his axe and turned off the engine. He jumped out of the car and strolled over to the van where he could see Gabe trying the pumps. He watched Terry, Dakota, and Quinn head over to the store. It was small and appeared to be deserted. The large window offered a pretty good view inside, and all he could see were a few empty shelves and an open cash register. They might come back with a few Hershey’s bars, but he doubted they would find much of real value, like medication or water.
“Anything?” Jonas approached Gabe who was thrusting the nozzle of the final pump back into its slot.
“Nothing. All empty.” Javier looked at Jonas and wondered what it would be like watching him die. Right then he wanted nothing more than to pull his gun out and shoot him between the eyes. Progress was slow, too slow, and maybe his idea of having help wasn’t going to work out. They were all too casual, too carefree. What were the others doing going into the store? And it looked like Erik was having a nap. He was going to need to shake them out of their comfort zone. Maybe when they realized they hadn’t any gas they would realize the severity of the situation.
“How much you got left in the tank?” asked Jonas as he opened the back doors of the van.
“Squat,” said Javier. “Unless you want to push us all the way to Canada, we are not going anywhere.”
Jonas watched Peter, Freya, Pippa, and Mrs. Danick clamber out of the van. They all looked tired too. Their night at the golf course seemed like an age ago. Before and since then, they had been fighting and traveling, and one night’s rest wasn’t enough.
Jonas watched as Pippa, Freya and Peter went over to see Erik. Freya was twirling the keychain in her hand as she walked, and it reminded Jonas of what they were doing. The keychain from Fort William was a reminder that Janey and his nephews were still out there waiting for him, relying on him, and he couldn’t afford to get slowed down by anything. “Can you siphon some out of another vehicle? We shouldn’t hang around here too long.”
“You think?” Javier sighed. He looked back at the street. There were a couple of cars parked close by. “I guess. I’ll get Mara to help me. We’ll go check out those cars first of all, then…”
Two screams simultaneously filled the air, causing Jonas to spin his head, firstly in the direction of the store, and then in the direction of the road. Someone inside the store was in trouble, but he couldn’t see who or wha
t was happening. The second scream was from Pippa. The door to the campervan they had pulled up beside was now open, and a man was stepping out. He practically fell out, and stumbled towards Pippa who managed to push Freya away. The man’s face was peppered with scratches, and as he got to his feet Jonas knew the man was dead. Peter charged at him, not waiting for the zombie to attack, and then Jonas heard another scream from inside the store. This time he knew who it was: Dakota. The scream was definitely one of terror, and it ended abruptly, the echoes of it ringing in his ears, leaving scars across his worried mind. He sprang to life, and sprinted for the store, hoping he wasn’t too late.
CHAPTER FIVE
A bell tinkled as Jonas pushed open the door and entered the store. The air smelt warm and stale, and he saw Terry straight away. He was stood in an aisle with his back to Jonas. He held a large knife above his head and was walking backwards slowly.
“Terry, what the fuck is going on?” Jonas gripped the axe in his hands, looking for Dakota and Quinn.
Terry whirled around. “Hamsikiker? I think…I think she’s…”
Jonas saw Terry’s eyes dart to a door at the back of the store. “What is it? Are they in there? What’s through that door?”
Jonas walked past Terry who wasn’t answering. The man looked petrified, and Jonas couldn’t afford to waste any more time. If Dakota was in trouble, Terry would just have to take care of himself. Jonas put his hand on the blue door. It was cold, and it creaked as he opened it. Beyond lay a narrow corridor, and Jonas could feel the air get cooler with every step he took on the tiled floor. Another door to the left was closed, and Jonas called out softly. “Dakota?” There was no answer, and he tried the door, but it was locked. Up ahead lay another blue door, and he heard noises on the other side. Voices. They were faint, but he wasn’t imagining them, and he hoped it was Dakota and Quinn. They were too muffled to be heard clearly.
He pushed the door open slowly. “Dakota?”
As the door opened and revealed the room beyond, Jonas was taken aback. He stepped forward into a large garage with a roller door to one side and walls with metal shelves surrounding him loaded with tools, cans of oil, dirty cloths, and spare tires. A large A-frame ladder rested by one wall, and a car stripped of parts lay in the center of the garage like a rusted dinosaur with nothing left of its body but bones. In the middle of the garage were Quinn and Dakota. All around them, suspended from the ceiling, hung dead bodies, all of them naked. Jonas counted five in all. Four of the bodies were twitching, their legs and arms jerking spasmodically. This wasn’t the last desperate attempt of a family trying to avoid becoming part of the undead, but a cynical murder. Someone had forced them up there and hung them, leaving them to forever hang in suspense, never able to free themselves. The four twitching bodies belonged to men; some old, some young. The fifth body, the one not moving, was a woman, and it looked like she had a bullet hole in her forehead.
There were a few bloodstains on the ground which Jonas tried to avoid as he approached Dakota. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
Dakota flung her arms around her husband as she sobbed. Jonas looked to Quinn for answers, searching her face for clues as to how these people had ended up like that.
“They were all like this when we found them. Dakota came in here first and got quite a shock. I’m guessing you heard her scream.” Quinn looked shaken. Jonas couldn’t recall the last time he had seen her looking so upset, so tired - so beaten. “Who would do such a thing? They must’ve pissed someone off. Who would kill these people and just… Jesus, just when you think you’ve seen everything.”
Jonas had to admit, he couldn’t understand why anyone would hang four men and leave them to die and then to return. Stripping them naked just seemed malicious. It was as if the murderer wanted them not only to die, but to be humiliated too. He couldn’t fathom as to why the woman had been spared the ignominy of returning as a zombie. She had been hung, but shot in the head. What was the point? Perhaps Jonas was wrong to feel sorry for them. Perhaps they deserved it. Who was he to know what those four men had done? Perhaps they were the evil ones, and they deserved what they got. The smell of the oil and the blood took Jonas back to Jeffersontown, to the day when he had gone into a garage with five other people but had only come out with one other man still alive. The smell forced him to remember Cliff. Was what had happened to these men really any worse than what he’d done? He had killed Cliff and left him to rot. The method was different, but the result was basically the same.
“I heard two screams,” said Jonas. The coolness and stillness of the garage was unrelenting, and he found himself wanting to leave. The bodies above were uttering faint moans, and the movement of their bodies caused the rope to make groaning, squeaking sounds.
“Me again,” said Dakota as she pulled away from Jonas. “There’s a body over there in the corner.”
Jonas looked and saw an old man dressed in dungarees and a red and white striped shirt. The top of his head was caved in, and blood streaked his face.
“He wasn’t like that when we found him,” said Quinn. She held up a bloody crowbar. “The first scream must’ve alerted him to our presence. He was dead and came out of nowhere. We figured he must’ve been trapped in here. You would’ve heard Dakota’s second scream when he jumped her.”
Dakota wiped her eyes. She had stopped crying, although Jonas could see she was still shaken. “I just saw him come out of the shadows at me. Thank God that Quinn was around.”
As opposed to me, thought Jonas. “Thank God you were,” he said.
Quinn shrugged. “Let’s get the hell out of here. This place is horrible.”
“Shouldn’t we do something,” asked Dakota feebly, “about, you know, them?” She looked down at the ground, but pointed above her head.
“It’s too risky,” said Jonas. “We shoot, and we risk bringing more of them here. It may not feel right, but this is not our argument.”
They made their way back through to the store. Dakota and Quinn continued outside whilst Jonas checked on Terry.
“So I take it you didn’t find anything useful in here?”
Terry looked disconsolate. “No. The place has been turned over, but there’s nothing. I’m sorry, Hamsikker. Truly, I am.”
Jonas looked outside. The zombie that had been attacking Pippa was lying on the floor, and the others were crowded around the campervan. He would have to check on the situation, but right now Terry needed help. The man’s usual demeanor had been replaced by a look of weariness that Jonas was beginning to see all too much of.
“What is it, Terry?”
“I can’t do this anymore. After we lost Randal, I didn’t know what we would do. Then when we came across Saint Paul’s, I thought we’d be able to survive this. Today, right now, I’m not so sure anymore. I heard Dakota screaming, and I froze. I’m ashamed to say that I let Quinn run in there after her, and I stayed here. I’m a coward, Hamsikker. I left a pregnant woman alone. The thought of seeing just one more zombie…”
“I don’t think you’re a coward, Terry. You’ve done more than enough to prove to me that you’re anything but.” Jonas remembered how he had been the first one to try and help Randal when he was attacked. Terry had certainly changed though. He used to help look after Freya, but now he kept his distance. It was as if Terry was cutting himself off from the group.
“I just can’t face being responsible for other people’s lives. I couldn’t help Randal or Tyler, and the rest of you are so good that… Look, I’ve been thinking about it a while, and I think it’s best if I leave.”
Jonas stepped forward and opened the store’s door. The voices of the other’s talking became clearer, and Jonas held it open. “Terry, those people need you. I need you. We’re a team, and any talk of leaving is just crazy. So you froze up, so what? We’ve all been there. You think I don’t get scared? You think you’re any worse than Erik or Quinn? There’s nothing to worry about, Terry, we’re all with you, we’ll all help you. Come
on, let’s get back to the others and see if we can’t get on the road again.”
Terry joined Jonas at the door and looked outside at the rest of the group. “No. I’m leaving, Hamsikker. I’ve always thought we should head for the coast.”
“Terry, not that again. You know how hard it will be to…”
“Don’t, okay? Just don’t.” Terry took a step outside, and Jonas followed him, letting the door close. “I know you think I’m mad, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I kept going along with everything, but I have to go. I need to. If I stay with you I’m just going to end up driving myself mad or do something worse, and someone will end up getting hurt. I’ll go tonight. I don’t want any long good bye. I just want to slip away, so do me a favor, and don’t tell anyone else about this, please. I need to be on my own, and this is what I want to do. Honestly. I’m going to get myself to the east coast, find myself a boat, and take it from there.”
“Sure.” Jonas didn’t know what else he could say. He knew it had been on Terry’s mind for a while about trying for the coast, and it seemed like the man had made his mind up. “Just do me a favor, Terry, and don’t disappear before I get a chance to say goodbye. I’ll sort you out a few supplies, enough to last you a few days at least on your own. Deal?”
“Deal.”
As they walked back towards the others, Jonas wondered if there was anything he could say to convince Terry to stay. He couldn’t blame the man for freezing back there, nor could he blame him for wanting to try to make it on his own. It wasn’t easy being thrown together with a bunch of strangers and putting your life on the line every day with them. He doubted Terry would change his mind, but he would give him every chance to reconsider.
“Everyone good?” asked Jonas as he approached Gabe.
“We’re fine. Pippa got a bit of a fright, but no harm done. This guy came off worse.” Javier pointed to the zombie that had emerged from the campervan. Prostrate on the ground, his head was nothing but a pile of red and white gore, his brain mashed into the sidewalk. “Peter was quite the hero.”
