“I can definitely feel a violent energy, though,” Daisy replied, nodding sagely.
“How?” Benjamin asked.
“I just feel it in the air,” Daisy said. “I have a good sense for this sort of thing.”
Right. Because clearly, that was a good, scientific way of knowing that something was horribly wrong. Some sort of pseudo-magical instinct that something was awry. What was Daisy going to do next? Pull out her healing crystals? Hold a séance?
“But it almost feels like everything that happened with Ted was all just a bad dream,” Amber said. “I feel out here as thought the world is normal.”
“Holy crap!” Alex exclaimed. “What if everything is fine? What if we killed Ted by accident, and this is our subconscious trying to help us reconcile the guilt of murder?”
“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Elijah said, sounding quite freaked out by the notion.
“So we’ve invented some sort of collective narrative wherein our murder of Ted is justified?” Amber asked. “God, I really wish you hadn’t brought that up. Now, I’m going to worry about it. Great.”
“Very David Lynch. Or maybe Sigmund Freud,” Daisy said. “I mean, I suppose it’s possible.”
“No, it isn’t!” Benjamin argued. “That’s not how it works!”
“Well, what if we all got high or something?” Amber asked.
“Either way,” Sara said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I really need a drink now.”
There was a mumbled assent of agreement. A drink would definitely be lovely. Even if the Teds weren’t real, Ted had still—in fact—been killed, and that was not a good thing. Jerk or no, Ted hadn’t deserved to fall prey to some terrible virus or to be murdered. Or both. And wow, alcohol really was sounding like a wonderful idea at the moment.
The frightening thing was that the idea that they had all somehow constructed an elaborate scenario wherein Teds existed in order to cope with killing Ted actually made quite a bit more sense than there being some sort of zombie virus-carrying fog infecting the population of New York City. Benjamin wondered why exactly his entire life had suddenly just stopped making sense, and it would be really wonderful if everything could go back to normal.
CHAPTER FIVE
As the group neared the Queen Vic, they kept their masks on and their weapons ready. Thus far, though, there seemed to be nothing wrong. On the contrary, it continued to be a lovely night. And considering the lack of New York City traffic, it even appeared to be a lovelier night than normal.
“So how far away are we?” Sara asked.
“Not far. We just have to turn around the corner of this street,” Elijah replied.
“So why is it called Queen Vic?” Amber asked.
“It’s named after Queen Victoria,” Elijah said. “The owner thinks he’s English because he’s been to England once. Don’t ask him about it unless you want to stay and listen to him for years because he never stops talking about it.”
“Wow. Sounds like a character,” Sara said.
“Oh, definitely,” Elijah replied, “But he’s always got good alcohol at cheap prices.”
“And he never closes,” Alex added. “That’s a nice plus.”
“Sure, but he’s never had to deal with a Ted invasion before,” Amber replied.
“I hadn’t really thought of that,” Elijah said.
Benjamin sighed. Well, at least, their breathing masks seemed to be working. None of them had turned into Teds yet. Benjamin just hoped that there wasn’t some sort of delayed reaction to contracting the virus through the air rather than through the fog.
“But we’ll see,” Sara said. “It’s better than sitting around and doing nothing. At least, we can say we tried to improve our situation.”
They turned the corner. Elijah stopped abruptly and backed up, holding his arm out. Benjamin bumped into him and nearly voiced his displeasure. “Quiet!” Elijah hissed, pointing.
Alex put a hand over his mouth, clearly meant to muffle a shout of surprise. When Benjamin peered around the two men, he understood why. There were a group of Teds wandering around. They moved in sluggish, aimless circles. These Teds had decayed more than Ted, or any of them that Benjamin had seen before. Some of these Teds were missing limbs. It seemed they were continuing to decay, which made Benjamin wonder just how long someone could survive as a Ted. Were the Teds a problem that would end itself? Just massive amounts of people dying? How horrifying.
“What now?” Sara whispered.
“I don’t know,” Elijah replied. “They don’t really seem to be looking at us. Maybe we can sneak past.”
Benjamin nervously ran his thumb over the handle of the knife he held. Could they risk it? He didn’t know enough about this virus to make that kind of call. He needed a larger sample size before he could say anything for certain about these Teds.
“If it’s like in the movies, they should be slow,” Alex replied quietly. “We can try sneaking past them, and if we’re caught, we should be able to run past them.”
“I think it’s worth a try,” Daisy added. “They’re far enough away that I think we’ll manage okay.”
“We’re in agreement, then?” Elijah asked.
Benjamin felt Elijah’s eyes fix on him. “I don’t like it,” Benjamin said, “But if the group is going, I’m going, too.”
“Same,” Amber replied.
Elijah accepted their answers with a nod. Then, he crept forward, inching closer towards the Queen Vic. As Elijah moved, he hid behind anything he could—postal boxes, trees, and parked cars. It was a strategic move, keeping things between him and the Ted’s.
After scarcely a second of hesitation, Alex followed. Thus far, the Teds didn’t appear to see anything. Although this was obviously good, Benjamin’s heart raced, beating in his chest like a swarm of butterflies aching to be released. At any second, this could go terribly wrong. There were at least ten Teds, and Benjamin knew he would be no help in a fight.
Daisy followed, a death grip on her baseball bat. For all her talk earlier about wanting to slay some Teds, she seemed like the rest of them—resigned to the fate of hiding and trying to evade the Teds.
Next, Benjamin went. He tried to stay as close to Daisy as he could without it being creepy. Daisy could wreak havoc with that baseball bat, and if Teds potentially might come after them, Benjamin would prefer they come after him with Daisy at his side. She would be able to take out at least a couple of them, while he screamed in terror and likely did very little. God, he really was such a coward, wasn’t he? Benjamin didn’t want to be a coward.
But he also didn’t want an infected to eat his brains, and that didn’t seem like such an unreasonable desire.
Sara followed, and she kept close to him. Benjamin heard the soft sound of her breathing, quicker with the adrenaline of having seen more Teds. Up close, he could still see the flecks of blood from their earlier fight with Ted. The original Ted.
Lastly, Amber came, and she remained as quiet as the rest of them. It seemed like they really might make it. Then, something terrible happened. A Ted stopped, paused, turned, and looked right at them. Benjamin froze.
An ear-shattering groan split the air, rising into a chorus like some sort of macabre choir. The Teds then shuffled forward. “Run!” Elijah yelled.
Not that anyone needed to be told. Even Benjamin, who considered running to be his mortal nemesis, took off at the sight of Teds running after him. Benjamin’s shoes pounded on the concrete as he raced after the others. He was clearly the slowest. And wouldn’t this be the most absurd way to die? In his early twenties while being chased by a group of people infected with something that everyone was going to call the zombie virus?
And Benjamin realized this was an insane thought. Hysterical laughter bubbled from his throat.
The sign for the Queen Vic appeared finally, and everyone rushed to the wooden door at the pub’s entrance. They fell against the door in a flurry of screams, fists, and pounding. But there
was no answer. Elijah tried the knob, but it didn’t budge.
“What do we do?” Amber screamed.
There was nothing they could do. Benjamin looked behind him. The Teds were coming closer. Any second, the Teds were going to reach them, and there was no way to avoid them except to keep running.
Benjamin tore off, fleeing as fast as he could. Elijah passed him in seconds, followed by Sara and Daisy. Alex and Amber kept pace with Benjamin. It quickly became clear, though, who could run and who couldn’t. Although there were Teds behind him and his pulse was racing a million miles a minute, Benjamin’s legs hurt. His chest felt as though he was being engulfed in flames. His breath came in ragged pants, and the Teds were tireless. They kept coming and coming and coming.
And this was really how it was going to end. He was going to die like this. He rounded a bend with everyone else and slowed for a half-second. Amber looked back at him and brandished her wok. Sweat dripped from her red face. Her chest heaved. She couldn’t run anymore either, and if they couldn’t run, their only option was to fight the Teds that were growing steadily closer.
“Let’s do this,” Alex said, holding his machete before him.
Benjamin suddenly wondered if Alex even knew how to use a machete, or if the weapon was something Alex just happened to keep around. Like people who collected medieval weapons but without any intention of ever using them.
Boldly, Elijah, who showed no signs of tiring, strode forward.
“You could keep running,” Amber said.
“Yeah, I know,” Elijah replied, brandishing his baseball bat, “But I’m not going to leave anyone behind. This was my idea! We’re in this together!”
“’Let’s go it!” Sara exclaimed.
“Definitely!” Amber replied. “Ted’s! It’s time for you to see the light and realize that you shouldn’t have messed with me!”
Benjamin shivered as he held up his knife and the pan. He was breathing so hard that his breathing mask was uncomfortably hot and damp from his own breath. This was it. Their final stand. They were all going to die.
CHAPTER SIX
The Teds ambled forward, and for the very first time in his life, Benjamin realized just how horrible decaying flesh smelled. The Teds smelled like some horrifying mixture of an over-used cat box in desperate need of changing and his grandmother’s car, forever filled with half-eaten fast food. Daisy screamed a war cry and didn’t even wait for the Teds to reach her. She leaped forward with her bat and brought it down hard into a Ted’s skull.
“For the promise of beer!” Elijah exclaimed.
He joined Daisy in her bashing, and by then, the Ted’s were on them. Benjamin struck blindly with his pan, waving it as frantically as he could in the hopes just hitting something and not getting bitten. He was vaguely aware of Sara nearby, slashing with her knife. Blood flew everywhere, falling to the ground like ruby cabochons. Benjamin hoped the Ted virus couldn’t also be contracted through blood, which was likely if saliva could carry it.
But there wasn’t much time to think. It was only a flurry of rotting flash, followed by the metallic clang of his pan. He tried to use his knife, too, striking out. But he wasn’t good with it. His movements became all tangled up.
Alex slashed and swiped with his machete, trying to carve forward a path. But he failed to make much ground. There were just too many Teds, and they were too strong. No matter how many stab wounds or how many bashes were delivered to them, they just kept coming. A Ted managed to get past Benjamin’s pan.
Benjamin yelled in surprise and arched his back, trying to get as far away as he could from the sharp, yellowed teeth that snapped closer and closer to his face. In his panic, Benjamin dropped his pan. He slashed wildly with his knife. The blade struck flesh and went deeper still, striking something hard. Benjamin made to pull his knife out, but it wouldn’t come easily. He grunted and pulled hard, finally managing to free his knife. When he did, the blade swept back, cutting a swath through Benjamin’s mask. He gasped.
A flash of black and blonde. And Daisy was there with her baseball bat. She brought it down on the Ted’s skull, bringing it down with one fell swoop.
With his mask cut, it wasn’t safe. He might not be safe anyway. Benjamin had dropped his pan. When had that happened? Where was it? He had his knife, but he was terrible with it. And there was Daisy and there was Sara, and they were fighting like a pair of war goddesses. And Benjamin, what could he do? Nothing at all.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He ran.
Benjamin ran right past the Teds, who turned slowly to follow him. The Queen Vic came into view, and this urged Benjamin faster. He ran as hard as he could and slammed bodily into the door. He shouted and pounded against the wood with his fists. They had to let him in! They had to!
He looked over his shoulder and saw three of the Teds coming closer. Benjamin screamed and resumed pounding and punching and yelling. The knob twisted, and the door opened. And there was a shotgun pointed right at Benjamin’s chest.
But Benjamin hadn’t quite expected for the door to open, so for a split second, he stood and gawked. Very slowly, the wheels in his mind began to turn. This wasn’t a Ted. This was a human being with a gun.
“Get down,” the man said in a very clearly fake British? Scottish? accent.
Benjamin ducked, and a loud boom filled the air. The man, presumably the pub owner, felled a Ted with a single shot. Then, another. And another. They fell before him like wheat before the scythe, and Benjamin was so happy at not being Ted chow that he nearly cried with relief.
Benjamin’s friends, drawn by the sound of gunfire, approached, Teds following in hot pursuit.
“Get in!” the pub owner exclaimed, grabbing Benjamin’s arm and throwing him in.
Benjamin stumbled back, getting out of the way. Daisy, her hair stuck to her face with sweat, ran in first. She held the baseball bat, now covered in blood and gore, tightly in one hand.
Sara followed with Amber at her heels. And all the while, gunshots rang out with a practiced efficiency.
Finally, Elijah and Alex burst in.
“That’s everyone!” Benjamin exclaimed.
The pub owner felled one more Ted. Then, he pulled the door shut and locked it. Benjamin leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath. “Th-thank you,” he gasped.
The pub owner nodded curtly. “The name is Darrell.”
“Benjamin. Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah!” Elijah exclaimed, laughing. “It’s really—”
Darrell pointed the gun right at Elijah. Benjamin shrieked and ducked, although he was nowhere near the firearm. “You two—” Darrel began, indicated towards Elijah and Alex. “If you don’t have your wallets, you’re not staying here.”
“But there are Teds outside!” Elijah protested.
“That’s not my problem. I’m not giving you anything after you left your tab open last time and then got into a fight with a fire extinguisher!”
Elijah groped the back of his jeans. “Rain check?” he asked.
Darrell put a hand on the door knob.
“Wait! Wait!” Alex exclaimed. “I—oh, crap!”
Benjamin reached into his back pocket and produced his wallet. “I have mine,” he said. “Please, let us stay.”
Benjamin offered his debit card, which Darrell accepted with a nod. “Very good,” he replied, sauntering to the bar as if he hadn’t just pointed a gun at two people or slain a bunch of Teds.
“Evil capitalist,” Alex said, “Taking advantage of the little guy!”
“It sounds like you kind of had this coming to you,” Daisy replied. “Sometimes, karma strikes when you least expect it.”
Benjamin pulled off his breathing mask, and with the danger removed, he really had his first chance to look the pub over. There were a scattering of people. Some had makeshift face masks, like Benjamin and his friends did. Others didn’t. Some were fast asleep at their tables, while others danced drunkenly; they must
have been in the pub before the virus spread.
“Finally, we at least, can get some good alcohol,” Sara said.
They made their way to an empty place at the bar. Darrell smiled, seemingly more than hospitable now that he had money. “What would everyone like?”
Daisy hopped onto the stool. “I want a pickleback,” she said.
“A what?” Elijah asked.
“It’s what I usually get. You know. Whisky and pickle brine. It’s really good.”
“Huh,” Elijah said. “I’ll try that, too, then.”
Benjamin spotted a menu of mixed drinks and skimmed over the list.
“I’ll have a beer,” Sara said. “I’m not picky about what kind.”
“My, too!” Alex said.
“Irish coffee,” Amber said.
“And I’ll have the Little Pink Bikini,” Benjamin replied, setting the menu back on the table.
Darrell arched an eyebrow and looked at Benjamin like he was a total weirdo, but Darrell didn’t say a word as he went to make the drinks. “So…uh, nice drink choice,” Elijah said.
“It sounded good,” Benjamin said defensively.
“Yeah, if you’re a girl,” Elijah replied.
“Hey!” Sara exclaimed, making a show at looking at her knife. “What’s wrong with being a girl?”
Benjamin smiled to himself. Elijah, the self-proclaimed ladies’ man, had really walked into that one, and now, he’d offended Sara. Now that the threat of Teds was gone, Benjamin could focus on other tasks—like trying to forget the betrayal of his ex and trying to get Sara to notice him. She was a smart woman; surely, she would appreciate Benjamin’s great intellect.
“Nothing,” Elijah said, spreading out his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying that it’s a weird drink for a guy to get.”
“That weird drink actually has more alcohol content than what you got,” Benjamin said.
“Yeah, but is it really worth the cost?” Elijah asked.
Benjamin rolled his eyes. “We were almost killed by the infected. I will get the girly drink if I want to get the girly drink.”
The Fog (Book 2): Beer Run Page 3
