Lost in the Apocalypse

by Mortimer, L. C.

  The group walked in silence for about an hour. Their pace was steady, but tiring. They weren’t running, by any means, but Emily’s exhaustion was beginning to catch up with her. It was difficult to keep up with the airmen. It was difficult to accept the fact that she didn’t have as much training as them. She had never considered herself to be out of shape, but soon, every step was a struggle. Her feet were sore and she was sweaty, but the group pressed on.

  Nobody talked.

  It gave her plenty of time to think about what she wanted to do with her life and how she had failed up to that point.

  Who was she going to be now?

  She had been on “go” mode for the last month. Since the first reports of a deadly infection had started to roll in, Emily had barely slept or eaten. Her clothes were baggy and her hair was stringy and greasy. She suspected she’d have dreadlocks before long.

  All she wanted to go was curl up in front of a fireplace with a kitten and just sleep until the world came back.

  Only the world wasn’t coming back.

  “These roads are shit,” Cody observed after awhile. He kicked a loose piece of gravel and it went careening into a ditch. Only a month, and it was already overgrown from rain. The road looked much more abandoned than it actually was. It looked like no one had driven down it in years: not weeks.

  “Yeah, they really aren’t used for much,” Emily said.

  “Not too many people driving around in rural Kansas?” Neil asked with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Not anymore.”

  “What about before the apocalypse?” Kari asked. She hoisted her backpack up over her trim hips. Emily thought that in a former life, Kari could have been a model. She knew the woman had been a airman, but she carried herself with such grace.

  Was that a byproduct of military training or something more?

  “This land is all owned by a guy who is never around,” Emily pointed to the right side of the road. “And I have no idea who owns that,” she pointed to the left. “You have to remember that land is high value property. Even if you don’t put anything on it, you keep it for hunting or fishing or just to say you’re a landowner.”

  “Seems like a good place for squatters,” Robert frowned, staring into the lightly wooded area. This part of the road had many trees, but wasn’t so thick they would call it a “forest.”

  “When I first moved in, the sheriff came by to warn me that if I saw any campers on my property, I needed to call him right away,” Emily remembered.

  “Campers?” Robert asked.

  “Apparently there’s a problem with meth in the area. Well, there was. People would camp around and make it in tents. There’s so much empty land out here that most people don’t even notice if someone hangs around for a few days or even a week.”

  Robert grunted. Emily made a mental note never to piss the guy off. He’d make a mean sheriff and an even meaner supervisor. She wondered what, exactly, he did in the military.

  The group kept walking.

  Minutes turned into hours and by the time the sun started to set, they were all exhausted.

  “We need to find a place to hole up,” Neil finally said. They were at a four-way intersection. All the roads were gravel. “I know I’m not the most familiar with the area,” he admitted. “And we don’t have a fucking map,” at that he rolled his eyes and Emily wondered if there was a story behind that. “What do you think, Emily?”

  Five pairs of eyes turned to her and she blinked, unused to the attention. She tried to recall which roads went where, but she so rarely came out this way on these back roads that she really couldn’t be sure.

  “There’s a town that way,” she finally said, pointing south. “I’ve only been there once. Drove through it. I can’t remember exactly how to get to it.” She blushed. She was turning out to be a piss-poor guide. How had she managed to find her sister, again? Sheer dumb luck, was it?

  “We don’t really want to be staying in a town, love,” Butter said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Too many Infected and it’s probably got other scavengers close by. I haven’t seen a farmhouse in over two hours. Any idea which direction would be best for that?”

  She thought for a moment, then pointed, once more, toward the town.

  “There should start to be sparse houses as we near the edge of town,” she said. “And you have to remember that this is rural Kansas. When I say, “town,” I mean a population of 500. This isn’t Howe.” She smirked at Neil. “You guys really trying to tell me you couldn’t take out a couple hundred Z’s by yourselves?”

  “Don’t call them that,” Robert grumbled and started walking.

  “He really hates the nicknames,” Kari added. She hoisted her bag up once again and soon the sun had set even more. Darkness began to fall and the first stars came out. Emily wondered how they could dare to even shine when there was so much garbage in the world right now.

  “Still, you guys are airmen, right?” She sneaked a glance at Kari. “Airwoman?”

  Kari snorted.

  “Female airman, love. There are male airmen and female airmen. No airwomen, thank-you-very-much.”

  “ Aren’t you like, killing machines?” Emily asked.

  “Your ignorance is astounding,” Robert muttered, but ignored her. Kari just rolled her eyes.

  “You seem like a nice kid, but you really have no idea. Airmen just don’t go around killing things. I was an analyst. You know what that means?”

  Emily shook her head.

  “It means I sat around in a building all day staring at my computer. It means I can’t tell you anything else about what I did, except that I definitely did not engage in battle and aside from P.T. tests,” Emily looked at her questioningly and she said, “physical training, I spent most of the day on my ass.”

  “But,” Emily suddenly bit her tongue. She had been about to say that in movies, the airmen are always fast and huge and fierce, but that would just make her look even dumber. She opted for silence instead.

  Emily just nodded and kept walking. The silence was deafening.

  After awhile they came across a house just off the road.

  “We should go down one of these side roads,” Emily suggested helpfully. “Don’t you think they’ll be less likely to have been scavenged?”

  “We aren’t rats,” Robert muttered.

  “Sorry,” Emily looked embarrassed. “Is there a different word I should use?”

  “You’re fine,” Robert said. “I’m just particular.”

  Neil looked at her warily. “We don’t want to get far from the main road,” he explained. “But you’re right. The ones here on the edges have probably been gone through or maybe they haven’t, and we’ll be walking into houses of the dead, but it’s worth a shot.”

  They turned and passed the first house. No lights were on, but that didn’t mean much. It just meant there was nothing living inside.

  “I don’t want to have to clean out a house in the fucking dark,” Butter protested. “We still have a little bit of light left. Why don’t we search this one and just stay here for the night?”

  “He’s right,” Kari said. “Who knows how far it’s going to be until we see another one? And this close to civilization, there are going to be lots of wanderers around.”

  “Wanderers?” Emily asked. “Isn’t that just another nickname for zombies?”

  “Stop with the naming!” Robert protested. He threw up his hands and marched toward the house without waiting for Neil to give him permission. Robert rooted around on the front porch for a bit until he found a little stone statue. It looked like a garden gnome, only it was made out of rock instead of ceramic.

  He rang the doorbell, then waited. After a minute, he reached for the knob and turned, then pushed the door open. He rang the doorbell again. Sure enough, after a few more seconds, an Infected came wandering out, bringing new depth to Kari’s nickname.

  Robert hit it over the head with the statue. The infected stood still in
shock for a second and he hit it a second time, definitely getting the brain. The creature fell to the ground with a loud thud.

  A second came out, followed by a third, and Robert killed each of them quickly and efficiently.

  “Not an analyst,” Kari whispered to Emily as they climbed over the bodies and into the house.

  Chapter 9

  The first floor of the house was ordinary enough, but it smelled like piss and blood. Emily gagged at the scent, but her stomach was empty, so she didn’t puke. Just as she was feeling relief that she managed to keep herself from vomiting, Kari rushed outside. The men said nothing as they silently listened to her heaving outside.

  The family Robert killed had likely gotten infected around the same time most of the world did. Emily thought the infection had started around the same time as the release of the AIDS vaccine, Artovax, but Kari said that was too conspiracy-like for her taste. She said it was aliens experimenting on the world.

  Emily didn’t think that was much better.

  No matter what, the fact was that there were two types of Infected. She had seen more than enough on her journey to save Melanie to tell the difference.

  The originals, the ones who turned from the source of containment, were slow and ordinary. She considered them to be “normal” zombies, the type you read about in books or watched on your favorite television shows. The other type included the ones who had been bitten or exchanged bodily fluids with someone who was a carrier. They were faster and more alert.

  They still couldn’t match a human speed for speed, but they were fast enough that they worried Emily. They made her nervous and itchy. They were the ones that filled her nightmares, that made her freak out when nothing else did.

  They were the stuff of legend.

  When Kari returned, she left the front door open. The night breeze blew through the house, relieving some of the smell, but not eliminating it. They would probably have to burn the damn house down to be rid of the smell of death. Luckily, they were only going to stay one night.

  Hopefully.

  Robert disposed of the bodies on his own. He said he’d handle it and Emily expected Neil to insist on helping, gentleman that he was, but he didn’t. He had simply shrugged and headed inside, allowing Robert to do whatever he wanted with the corpses.

  They all had pent up aggression and emotions to deal with. Maybe Robert was trying to get the creatures out of his head by beating them up. She wasn’t sure and was too tired to care.

  Neil and Cody searched the first floor for Infected while Kari and Emily looked through the cupboards for food and supplies. Kari found a box of tampons she shoved in her backpack. Emily found heart medication, fever reducers, and bandages. There were several bottles of water and although neither one of them wanted to open up the fridge, they were glad they decided to because they found a 12-pack of soda.

  Kari almost screamed as she pulled the case from the fridge. She slipped one can from the pack and put it in her backpack.

  Emily pretended not to notice.

  If Kari didn’t want to share all of the soda with the guys, that was her prerogative. She had nothing else left in the world. Was hogging a freaking can of pop really worth arguing over? Emily knew it was the kind of thing that could destroy a group. Jealousy, lying, secrets: these things had no place in the new world order, yet they were things you couldn’t completely eliminate.

  Robert returned and closed the front door. He was covered in blood, but no one commented on it. He helped the men search the first floor and after ensuring it was clear and Infected-free, they locked the front door, moved a sofa in front of it, and headed upstairs.

  “This is what I’m talking about,” Kari squealed, running into the master bedroom and bouncing on the bed. The bed was perfectly clean and tidy, as if someone had made the bed that morning. Aside from a thin layer of dust, you’d never know it belonged to a dead person.

  “Dibs,” Cody said, and went into the room with Kari. He closed the door behind them and Emily heard an audible locking sound.

  “See you in the morning, guys,” Kari called out. Neil and Emily exchanged glances.

  “Are they…?” She asked.

  “Fucking?” Robert filled in the blank.

  “I was going to say ‘seeing each other,’ but sure. Fucking. Why not?”

  “Be a grownup, princess,” Robert smiled. Emily thought it was the first time she had seen a real, genuine smile from him. “Nobody dates in the apocalypse.” He opened the next door in the hallway. It appeared to be a guest room. He walked in, looked around, and closed the door. That left two more doors.

  One was a bathroom that had obviously been empty since the infection began because unlike most post-apocalyptic houses, this one was clean and tidy. No Infected had been rambling around in there, vomiting or bleeding on things.

  Butter pushed the last door open. Emily held her breath, hoping it would be a guest room or even better: a kid’s room with bunk beds. How great would it be if they could all actually spread out comfortably? Her heart sank when she saw what type of room this was.

  She released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

  The pink-and-white paint on the walls revealed a nursery carefully designed for someone’s baby girl. Emily’s heart sank as she looked around: bookshelves, a rocking chair, a dresser with pink bows and ribbons on the top.

  Emily, Neil, and Butter quietly entered the room, but knew what they would find before they even walked over to the crib in the corner.

  Neil looked first and quickly backed away, pushing Emily out of the room.

  “You don’t need to see this, honey,” he whispered. Butter peeked into the bed and sighed, but dutifully followed the others back into the hallway. They closed the door.

  “Tell Robert to stay out of this fucking room,” Neil said quietly to Butter. Emily almost didn’t hear him, but Butter just nodded and went to the guest room.

  “Should we sleep downstairs?” Emily asked.

  “The smell will make you sick,” Butter said over his shoulder. “I’m sure Robert will share the room with you. I’ll keep watch here in the hall.”

  Emily exchanged looks with Neil before shaking her head.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “He could probably use the privacy.” She doubted that Robert had had two minutes to himself in the prior weeks. Maybe he just needed to be alone, even for a little bit. She slumped onto the carpeted hall and tried not to look at the family pictures that lined the walls.

  Butter knocked on Robert’s door and when it opened a moment later, the two spoke quietly. Robert peeked out at Emily, then said something else to Butter and closed the door again.

  Butter came over and sat at the top of the stairs.

  “You can go in if you want,” Butter said. “He promised to keep his pants on.”

  Emily chuckled, but shook her head.

  “It’s okay. I’m fine here. I’m not a princess,” she added. “Not really.”

  Neil sat next to her and she leaned against him, very aware of the way she smelled and the way she looked and the way she hadn’t stopped thinking about his kiss.

  “Everything is going to be all right,” he lied to her. She knew it wasn’t true, but the comment made her feel safe, so she closed her eyes and fell asleep, wondering what the hell they were going to do the next day.

  **

  Gunshots woke Emily from her nightmares.

  The house was swarming with Infected and the creatures were trying to climb the stairs.

  “Definitely picked a bad house,” Butter grumbled, firing into the group at the base of the staircase.

  “Can we shoot through them?” Neil asked. Butter shook his head.

  “There are at least 15, probably more.” He fired another shot and a thump sounded as the body hit the floor. The bedroom doors opened as Robert, Cody, and Kari appeared, peeking into the hall.

  “Fuck it all to hell,” Robert groaned. He disappeared back into the room and reap
peared with his weapon.

  He lifted his gun to fire but Kari stopped him.

  “Don’t waste the ammo,” she said. “Come on through here.” She motioned to the window in her and Cody’s bedroom. Emily grabbed her back and followed Kari into the room. The first rays of dawn were shining through the window. It was bright enough to reveal several more Infected wandering toward the house.

  “Where are they all coming from?” Emily asked. “Town? Seriously?”

  Kari shrugged. “You never know where these fuckers are going to come from. Town, the woods, other houses.” She raised the window and kicked out the screen. “Anywhere.” She put her head through the window, as if testing whether or not it would work. “We can go through here.”

  “What? And just jump?” Emily peeked out of the window, too. They were on the second floor, but she knew there would be no way to land without hurting herself. Would she really be better off with a broken ankle? Or worse?

  “No, dumbass,” Kari held up a length of rope. She had tied one end around the claw foot of the dresser. She tossed the other out the window. “Cody!” Kari called. “Show the lady how it’s done.”

  With the precision of a rock climber and the grace of a dancer, Cody grabbed the rope and climbed carefully out the window. He dropped almost effortlessly to the ground, then motioned for Emily to follow.

  “Hurry up, ladies,” Robert yelled from the hallway. “They’re coming up the stairs.”

  “Fuck,” Neil growled. The three men stormed into the room and slammed the door behind them. Neil pressed the lock button, but they all knew it was just for show. The Infected couldn’t turn doorknobs, could they? Doubtful, but they could definitely push through the thin wooden planks of the door.

  Emily tossed her bag out the window. She cringed as it fell. Hopefully the water bottles wouldn’t pop open. Not that it really mattered. If she didn’t survive the jump, having water wouldn’t help.

  She grabbed the rope. She straddled the windowsill and took a deep breath, then hoisted her legs out and turned so she was facing the wall. With a grimace, she allowed herself to start sliding down the rope, immediately wishing her arms were stronger. The rope burned against her hands as she held her weight up and slowly slid down.