“Let’s just get this all taken care of and then figure out what our next step is.”
“You got it boss. Do you really think that we can get away from here?”
Neil had his doubts; they all did. He had to believe that it was possible though. If he couldn’t believe that, then why was he down in the garage loading up the van?
Back upstairs, all of them were in the living room trying to decide the answers to Neil’s questions. Officer Ivanoff had joined them again, though he sat on the floor at the top of the stairs away from the larger group. He was sharing the same room, but the distance separating him from the others was still all but insurmountable.
Rachel asked, “Why don’t we just sit in here and shoot all of them down from safety?”
Kim joined in, “Yeah, maybe if we kill enough of them then the others will get the point that we’re not on the menu. I mean...any reasonable—”
Jerry jumped on that comment. “Reasonable? Don’t kid yourself. Don’t any of you make that mistake. They...these things don’t have the faculties for reason anymore. C’mere.”
He led Kim to the window and directed her eyes. “There. That one. Look at it. Do you see it? The one that used to be a bald guy? Looks like he might be wearing a butcher’s apron...how fitting. Do you see the one I’m talking about?”
“Yeah.”
“Look at his eyes. I mean really look at them. Do you see any inkling of reason left there? Look. Try to see any semblance of humanity.” To everyone else he continued, “These aren’t people anymore. They’re just barely animals. At least you can scare an animal off if you do the right things. These things don’t scare. They don’t reason...weigh their options. More importantly, they won’t hesitate and they won’t show you any pity. If you see one of those things that looks like someone you might have known, don’t expect it to show you any mercy. I’m only saying that to remind everyone how bad it can get if we’re not all on the same sheet of music. We’ve been relatively safe and very lucky so far. Don’t let that get any of us complacent.”
Answering Rachel’s original question, Neil said, “We don’t have enough bullets to shoot all of those things, and anyway, with each shot, we’ll probably attract more of them.”
Meghan asked him, “What are you thinking Neil?”
Remembering that hesitation kills, Neil jumped right into the obvious, “We can get all of us in the car and haul ass outta here. Getting started is going to be the hardest part of it. Once we get going though, if we don’t slow down at all, I think we can get away from the crowds. The only question is which direction? I think it’s safe to assume that both highways outta town will be jammed with stalled vehicles, so the car is only going to get us so far.”
Tony suggested, “Why don’t we just get away from these things here and find ourselves another hiding spot somewhere else?”
Dr. Caldwell asked, “And then what?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, after we find another hiding spot, how long do we stay there? We only have so much food and water. We can’t wait indefinitely.”
Kim asked, “What if we find another supply stash somewhere? Another store with some more food. Maybe we can find enough to...ah, never mind.”
Neil rubbed his chin and thought. That wasn’t a half bad idea. They could just get away from this crowd, avoid being seen by others, and then find a spot to hide away for a bit. If they chose the right spot in the right part of town, they could get close enough to a Fred Meyer or Carr’s to go scavenging for supplies. Maybe they could see if there was a way to wait this all out.
That was a big list of maybes. Perhaps the biggest list of maybes since Thomas Jefferson last walked through one of his busy cotton fields. Perhaps even a bigger list of maybes than when Neil went shopping for condoms for the first time before what was to be a very promising weekend—it wasn’t. With maybes though, there were options and with options there was the scant possibility of hope. Those thoughts ran through his head as a smile, the first in several days, spread, slowly and tentatively, across his face.
“Kim, that’s not a half bad idea. Let’s talk about that for a bit. We can take it a little bit at a time. No need to be in a rush. Let’s figure it all out, and, believe me, there’s going to be a lot to figure out before we hightail it outta here. I think the first thing we should get settled is where. Where do we head?”
Chapter 56
They talked and talked. Everyone more or less agreed that they should start heading north. There were more avenues of escape in that direction...more options. Neil was really starting to appreciate options.
While they discussed it, Neil, Jerry, and Dr. Caldwell started piling firewood from the garage against the front door to try and shore it up a little. The physics of the porch out front made it all but impossible to have more than a couple of those things exerting pressure against the door, but they all decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. The added weight from the piled firewood helped to add a little security.
More of the ghouls had come to help with the siege and still more were on the way. A few remained in the street, but the vast majority of them were pressed against the front three walls of the house, pounding against them with their firsts, their heads, and their bodies. With all the pressure, Neil and the others were starting to get worried about the window downstairs. They’d covered it over with a large sheet of plywood and then covered the inside with a tarp, but it just didn’t seem enough to any of them anymore.
And it wasn’t. On the second day of packing and planning, the window, which was behind the plywood, shattered. It was still in its frame, but the glass was as webbed as an arachnid’s home. With no other options to cover the potential weak spot, Neil and Dr. Caldwell elected to remove a bedroom door from its hinges and hang it across the inside of the window.
The doctor said as they worked, “You know that if they get through the plywood outside that this door isn’t going to hold them at bay for very long don’t you?”
“Hopefully we won’t be here long enough to test that limit.”
“Yeah...hopefully.”
Sitting in the same room while they worked but never getting up from his roost on the small couch, Officer Ivanoff didn’t participate in the conversation and seldom took his eyes from the blank television screen. He would alternate between reclining back on the worn cushions of the seat and leaning forward with both of his hands on his knees. Several times, Neil and Doc Caldwell looked at one another when the man changed his position. The police officer was a problem all his own. Neil had heard the story about what happened between Emma and him. Dr. Caldwell had related it as candidly and dispassionately as he was able.
Neil wasn’t quite sure what to think or how to treat the situation. Officer Ivanoff wasn’t making it easy either. His behavior had all of them on edge. In fact, most of the people in the house, including those who weren’t privy to the details of the goings on in the other house, just kept their distance from him. Neil knew that they weren’t going to be able to avoid Malachi for long, but for the time being it seemed to be the best thing to do. If Malachi was having a psychotic episode though, the pistol on his hip made both Dr. Caldwell and Neil very nervous.
Chapter 57
“I think we’re ready.”
Neil looked at Emma and then at Meghan, who had just spoken. He, of course, had been dreading this moment. Secretly, deep down he guessed he’d been hoping that things would have changed before then so that they wouldn’t have to go outside and confront the horrors that awaited them. He could only hope that he would rise up to the challenge. He knew that if he did, it would happen without his thinking about it. If he had to think about it, then there was little to no chance that he would be able to act. Just imagining going outside had kept sleep at bay a number of times since he and Tony had ventured down the street. Even Meghan sleeping next to him hadn’t allayed his fears much. While they worked, it was easy for him to stay occupied and avoid thinkin
g about the possibility, but as the work was eventually wrapping up it became increasingly difficult to find distractions. And now, with Meghan’s statement there would be no more denying the reality of their situation. They were soon going to be on their way.
Tony asked, “Has anyone thought about how we are going to get out?”
All eyes turned to Dr. Caldwell and Neil. Neither of them had even begun to think about that. They’d been busy plotting a route away from their sanctuary, trying to avoid the main streets and the most likely spots of high vehicle congestion. They’d considered what of the dwindling supplies to load into the vehicle and where to sit people to maximize their limited space. They’d thought about all of that, but hadn’t given much thought to their very first step.
Kim suggested again, “Maybe we could just shoot a bunch of them and make it so that we can get out while they regroup.”
Neil, doubting the effect of that ploy, said nonetheless, “Yeah, maybe.”
Kim, like a dejected child said, “Well, it was just an idea.”
Sensing her disappointment, Neil followed up with, “Kim, it isn’t a horrible idea. I just don’t know if it will work. Have you ever seen any war movies about the Revolution or the Civil War or anything?”
“I guess so. Why?”
“Well, I’m afraid that what will likely happen, just like with those lines of soldiers from those movies, that as one of the things is shot down from the front rank another of them will move forward and fill his space. There may be no way to shoot enough of them fast enough to make an opening.”
“Okay. I see your point.”
Dr. Caldwell interjected, “What we need is a distraction.”
From the window, Tony said in a matter of fact manner, “I’ve done my part with distractions. No more going out there to start another fire.”
“Maybe we could just forget about the car and make our way out on foot,” Emma suggested. “Go out the back and sneak away.”
Rachel said dryly, “And how far do you think we’ll get before they smell us out? And then where will we be, huh? On foot and out in the open? My fat ass—sorry kids—can’t move that quick and what about the kids? How long can they keep up?”
Emma shot back, “Well, what’s your idea? We’ve gotta be able to open the garage door and get out. We can’t do that with those things standing out there, unless you’re planning on opening the door for the rest of us.”
“Not likely.”
“That’s what I thought. If we can’t get the door open, then we’ve gotta think of other options. Right?”
Danny, sitting on the fringes of the group and watching Neil, got an idea. He got up and ran downstairs to the bookcase in the hallway. He remembered seeing some keys there and thought that they might be Meghan’s. He found the keys on the top of the low bookcase and, peeking in at Officer Ivanoff as he darted by, ran upstairs with the keys jingling and jangling as he went.
Neil asked, “Whatcha got there Danny?”
“Keys.”
Meghan, recognizing the Hawaii key chain her fiancée had gotten for her from a trip down to the island paradise a number of years back, said, “Those are mine.”
“Yeah. Does this alarm thingy work?”
“Well, yeah. Why? You afraid someone is going to try and steal my car?”
“No but...”
Neil saw where Danny was headed and finished his thought for him, “But you can set off the alarm with your panic button can’t you?”
“Yeah,” Meghan said, realizing the possibility too.
Neil began, “Well, we can hit that button and see if it draws those things away. Then we can get that door open and get the hell outta Dodge.”
Neil looked over at Danny and gave him a thumbs up sign. “Good job, Danny. You may have just come up with the opening that we needed.”
Danny smiled and felt more a part of the group finally. He’d contributed and maybe saved all of their lives. And more importantly, he’d impressed Neil. Regardless of the situation, Danny felt like Neil and Jerry were the two coolest adults he’d ever met. They were smart and nice and listened to what he had to say. And the cool thing about that, to him, was that he wasn’t a son, a nephew, or any other relation to these guys other than just a kid that got hooked up with them under some pretty bad circumstances. They didn’t have to show him any attention or any respect and yet both did. He was glad that, if he had to be trapped with anyone, at least he was spending his time with these two guys. The others weren’t bad either, although that cop really kind of freaked him out a little. When he went downstairs to get Meghan’s keys, that cop was just sitting there. It looked like he was watching TV, but that couldn’t be possible. Danny wasn’t even quite sure that the cop noticed him when he looked in at him, even though he’d stood in the doorway plain as day. That guy just gave him the creeps. The others were all right, he guessed. They weren’t mean to him or to Jules, but they treated both of them the way most adults treated them. He’d heard the phrase, “Children should be seen and not heard,” before and he felt like most of the people in the house lived by that standard. At least they had since he’d been around them. Neil and Jerry though were different. They were good guys and he knew that he could trust them to look out for him and Jules. In movies and in games, for the most part, kids didn’t die and he thought that if anyone could help that to become a reality it was Neil and Jerry.
Neil took the keys from Danny and gave them to Meghan. “Will the alarm still work with the car problems you’ve been having?”
“Yeah, the alarm was never the problem. It was always the engine...the fuel pump to be exact. What are you thinking then?”
Chapter 58
It was decided that Tony would open the garage door. He was the strongest and most fit person in the group, and therefore, stood the best chance of getting the door up quickly and getting himself into the van. Kim wasn’t too thrilled with the idea, but even she conceded that he was the most likely choice. Dr. Caldwell offered to help in getting the door up, but having to get a second person into the car and then get moving quickly just didn’t seem to make much sense to any of them.
Everyone except Neil, Dr. Caldwell, and Tony loaded themselves into the vehicle. Neil took a moment to take Lucky the dog into the backyard and drop him over the fence. It wasn’t ideal, but they all felt like the dog would have a better chance than being left in the house or in the backyard with no food or water. Jules wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but they all agreed that it wasn’t practical to take the dog with them.
After caring for the dog as best as Neil was able, he joined Jerry in the living room. It took both Jerry and Neil to coax Officer Ivanoff out of his room downstairs and into the van. When they entered the television room, he looked at them with confusion in his eyes at first. Neil was convinced that the man either wasn’t hearing or didn’t understand him when he first began to speak. Finally, after explaining the plan and the need to get going right away, the police officer stood up and walked out to the garage. When he saw all the people in the van, he turned around and started to walk back inside. He didn’t say a word to anyone.
Jerry, who was coming back downstairs after a final walk through of the living room and the upstairs bedrooms, caught sight of him going back into the downstairs room again. “Officer. Officer. Hey, Mal, where’re you goin?”
“I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”
“That’s why we’re leaving. None of us are supposed to be here. This is all just a mistake of colossal proportions. We need to get going right away, though. Do you think you can get yourself into the van so we can get to it?”
“The van?”
“Yeah. The one out in the garage. We need you to sit on the middle bench seat and be ready to close the door after Tony gets in from opening the garage door.”
“Tony?”
“Yeah. You know. Tony. The big guy.”
“He’s going to hell you know.”
“What?”
“Well, I don’t know anything about that.”
“I do. They’re all to be damned.”
“Mal, can we worry about that later. Right now, Tony is going to help all of us get out of here and for that I think that we all can cut him a little bit of a break. Don’t you?”
The police officer shuffled back out toward the garage mumbling unintelligibly for the most part. He sat himself down in his assigned seat and didn’t say a word to or look at anyone around him. Jerry climbed into the small space set aside for him in the back seat next to Emma and Kim, who each had a child in her lap. Rachel was supposed to be sitting on the bench between Meghan and Officer Ivanoff, but was presently standing/stooping partially between the two front seats, appearing to be anxious, worried, and unable to sit.
Neil, Dr. Caldwell, and Tony were all standing in the upstairs window looking down at the yard and street below them. It was amazing to think and remember that those things that were even then hungering for their flesh were once ordinary human beings. The vibrations in the air from their constant moaning had continued to rise in amplitude.
Tony said to the others, “It’s a good thing that we’re leaving. I don’t know how much longer I can take that sound.”
“Or the smell,” Dr. Caldwell added, “and I’m a doctor. But the aroma of rotten flesh is downright overpowering for even me. I can only imagine what it’s like for everyone else.”
Neil jumped in, “Hopefully we won’t have to deal with much more of either. If we can get ahead of those things and just keep them behind us, we might just be okay. It’s not the sound or the smell that bothers me the most. It’s their teeth that worry me. We ready?”
The other two nodded and stepped away from the window. Neil lingered just a second longer. He hoped they were making the right decision, afraid that there would be no recovering from it if this was a mistake. And if it were a mistake, the error would be fatal for all of them. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. He wasn’t much for praying. He wasn’t even much for believing in that sort of thing, but he found himself wondering more at that moment than he had in decades. And then he wondered about those ghouls outside. If there was a higher power of some sort, had their souls ascended or were they trapped? Trapped? He remembered a scene from the movie The Exorcist in which the little possessed girl’s mother showed the attending priest her daughter’s stomach. At first there was nothing, but slowly, and with the appropriate accompanying music, the words “help me” appeared on her skin from the inside out. That scene had always tugged at the terror strings in his own belly. She was still in there and the demon was tormenting her. She was still in there but had no control whatsoever of her body or her faculties. She was still in there. He wondered for just a heartbeat if those poor souls out on the front lawn were still in their battered and decomposing bodies. Was it a form of purgatory or damnation? He couldn’t even begin to imagine and hoped that he would never have to find out for himself.
Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse Page 20
