The Remnants of Yesterday

by Anthony M. Strong

  Now that we were on pavement, I settled into the seat to the right of Clara, across the aisle behind the passenger door. J.T. was still in a world of his own about half way back. Darwin and Emily took a seat together at the back, next to the rear door. Under other circumstances, I would have made a joke about that, but now was not the time or the place, and I was in no mood to fool around.

  “How much gas do we have?” It occurred to me that we would need to either refuel at some point, or abandon our escape vehicle. With no prospect of getting anything else running, that would mean we were back to walking, something I was not keen to do. How we were going to get gas into the bus if the fuel pumps had no electricity was another matter. We could worry about that when we needed to.

  “Half a tank.” Clara glanced down at the fuel gauge for a moment, then returned her eyes to the road ahead. “I have no idea how far that will get us. I can’t imagine this thing gets good mileage.”

  “I’m sure it’s horrendous. I’d be surprised if we get six to the gallon, especially on these roads.” I remembered an old truck my father used to own. It was a guzzler, getting about nine in the city and eleven highway. This was a much heavier vehicle, and judging from the cloud of diesel fumes that I could see spewing behind us, it wasn’t exactly running lean. “It should have a pretty big fuel tank though, at least sixty gallons, so that should net us about a hundred and fifty miles if we’re really lucky.”

  “How far away is New Haven?”

  “If we were on the Interstate, maybe a hundred and seventy miles, give or take,” I said. “but we’ll need to take back roads all the way, with the main roads impassable, and that will up our distance considerably.”

  “So we’ll run out of gas before we get anywhere near.”

  “Unless we can somehow fill up.” I leaned forward. “But the big problem is that we don’t know where we are right now. We’ll need to get a map or we may end up miles out of our way.”

  “Well that much I can help you with.” Clara eased up on the pedal, slowing the bus. “Look.”

  Up ahead, on the right, we were approaching a building. It was set back from the road, with parking for six or seven cars at the front and another parking area to the side. A few cars occupied the closest spaces to the door, one with its door wide open, but there was no sign of life. As we drew closer, I could read the lettering above the door.

  GIBBS GENERAL STORE

  Est. 1958

  Hand stenciled signs hanging in the windows advertised local cheese, beer, and farm fresh eggs, all of which sounded great, except the cheese and eggs were, no doubt, long past their prime since they were festering in a building without power. Beer though, even warm, sounded like a good idea.

  Clara maneuvered the bus to the side of the road and into the gravel parking area, brought it to a halt, and applied the parking brake. Then she fiddled with the wires until the motor sputtered and died.

  I jumped from my seat and descended the two steps to the door, looking for a handle to open it. “How does this thing open?”

  “I don’t know,” Clara scanned the dash, looking for anything that might operate the door. “I don’t see anything.”

  I pushed on the door but it did not budge. “Maybe those creatures broke it when they rammed into it.”

  “Maybe.” She looked up, noticing a lever above the windshield. “Hold on a second. Maybe this is it.” She pulled on the lever. The doors swung open with a quick whoosh of air.

  It was time to shop.

  58

  “WHY DID WE STOP?” Darwin made his way down the aisle, a puzzled look on his face.

  “I want to pick up a map so that we can figure out where we are, and which direction to head in.” I nodded toward the store. “Plus we can stock up on supplies while we’re at it. We finally have room for more than granola bars and baked beans.”

  “Well I’m not complaining about that.” Darwin stretched, grunting as he did so. “But let’s be quick. Knowing our luck the place will be infested with Crazies.”

  “Looks pretty much deserted to me,” I said, stepping down out of the bus with Darwin right behind. “But we’ll keep things brief anyhow. I don’t want to linger too long in any one place. Every time we stop bad things happen.”

  “Maybe this time our luck will change. We’re due for it.” Clara hopped out of the bus, put an arm around me, and dropped a light kiss on my cheek, the gesture intimate and loving.

  “I think my luck changed last night.” I let my hand wander up her back.

  “Cut it out. There will be enough time for that later.” She squirmed out of my grasp, grinning. “You know what I meant.”

  “A guy can try.” I saw J.T. stand and walk down the aisle, his figure dark through the bus windows. He appeared in the doorway. That just left one person. I turned to Darwin, “Where’s Emily?”

  “Still on the bus.” He scratched his head. “She wasn’t feeling well, said she had a headache. I told her to stay where she was and rest up. There’s no need for all of us to go in, right?”

  “No.” I hoped it wasn’t anything serious. We’d been pushing ourselves for days now, and it was bound to take its toll eventually. “Maybe we can find some aspirin while we’re in there.”

  “I’ll stay here.” J.T. looked down at me from the bus doorway. “I can keep an eye out, make sure we aren’t surprised.”

  “Up to you.” I shrugged. “But are you sure you don’t want to come in and pick up some stuff for the road?”

  “Yeah.” He met my gaze. “I’m sure.”

  I sensed an edge of hostility in his voice, but I was too road weary to bother pressing the issue. I turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

  We set off across the parking lot toward the store. It was a little dilapidated, the paint peeling in a few places. Hopefully it would have all that we needed. As we walked, Clara turned to me.

  “Can we trust him?”

  “Who?”

  “J.T.” Clara looked worried. “He seemed awfully keen to stay with the bus.”

  “He did rather, didn’t he?”

  “I hope he’s not up to something. He’s not exactly enamored of you.” Clara had also noticed the hostile edge to his comments.

  “He blames me for leaving his friend back in the clearing. He thinks we should have saved her.”

  “There was no saving her. She was one of them.” Clara took my hand, squeezed it, reassuring. “If that beast hadn’t gotten to her, we’d have had to take her down. Either way, she was as good as dead the moment the virus hit her.”

  “I know.” We were nearing the store. “Try telling that to him though. As far as he’s concerned I let her die, I murdered her.”

  “You didn’t,” Clara said. “Of course you didn’t.”

  “He’ll come around. This is all new to him, the world as it is now.” We reached the store. I mounted the steps and tried the door, pleased to find that it opened easily. “Unlocked.”

  “See, things are starting to go our way,” Clara replied.

  “Of course, if we can get in, so can Crazies,” Darwin added. “So maybe we should be a little less enthusiastic.”

  “Who said I’m enthusiastic.” The last thing I wanted to do was step inside a darkened building, an enclosed space, when there might be one or more insane killers inside just waiting for a hapless passerby to walk into their spider web. “In and out, okay. No lingering.”

  “Right,” Clara said. “Apart from anything else I don’t want to leave J.T. with control of the bus for too long. We’re screwed if he decides to take off with it and strand us.”

  “Don’t forget that Emily is still on it,” Darwin said. “She wouldn’t let him do that.”

  “She might not have a choice.” I stepped into the blackness inside the building and held the door wide for the others. I waited a moment for my eyes to adjust, then looked around. The store was small, at least by big city standards. Four rows of goods separated by metal shelves stretched away from us to
ward the back of the building. A row of freezer cabinets occupied the side wall, their contents thawed and spoiled no doubt. On the other wall, next to a service counter stood an ice cream cooler, and several vending machines that seemed to dispense everything from bubble gum and bouncy balls to souvenir pennies. I wondered who would bother buying a souvenir penny of such an out of the way place. An odor of rancid meat and rotting vegetables hung in the humid air.

  “That looks like a map rack over there.” Clara pointed at a rotating display stand on the counter.

  I walked over to it, pleased to see that it did indeed contain maps. I turned it until I found what we needed. “Perfect.” I pushed the map into my back pocket, and then turned back to the others. “Now, let’s stock up. If it looks useful, take it.” We had the bus now, so there was no point in packing light, and I’d rather have it with me and not need it, than the reverse.

  “We should split up. It’ll make things faster.” Darwin grabbed a cart.

  “Good idea.” I didn’t want to spend any longer than necessary in this place. It gave me the creeps. I walked back over and took a cart of my own.

  “I’ll take the left aisle, you can take the right,” Clara said to Darwin.

  “I’ll do the middle two.” I stepped further into the store, scanning the shelves. Thankfully, the place was brimming with packaged foods. Places like this always carried lots of stuff that had a long shelf life and didn’t need refrigeration. It made sense given the low foot traffic the store must get, being so out of the way. All the fresh produce would come from local farms, which made it easier to reduce spoilage. I spotted a pack of Twinkies and my stomach growled, reminding me that we hadn’t eaten anything all day. Breakfast had taken a back seat to escaping with our lives. I grabbed a pack and tore it open, pulling a cake out and ripping off the clear plastic wrapping, then bit into it. The taste of sponge cake and sugary cream filled my mouth. It was all I could do not to wolf the whole thing down in one bite. I finished it and plucked out a second one, which met the same fate, before I grabbed several more boxes and dropped them into my cart. It wasn’t exactly health food, but who cared. If ever there was an excuse for eating Twinkies in guilt free abandon, the world going to hell just might be it. Several boxes of chocolate chip cookies followed the Twinkies into the wire basket on wheels.

  In the next aisle, I heard Clara filling her own cart. I called over to her. “You want a Twinkie?”

  “Seriously?” There was a hint of mirth in her voice. “You’re over there eating junk food?”

  “Not just eating it.” I looked down at the cart, at the twelve boxes of cakes I’d dropped in there. “I got some for later too.”

  “Well in that case-”

  “So, you want one or not?”

  “Sure, throw it over.”

  “Here it comes.” I took a cake from the box and flipped it up and over the shelf unit. It rose in the air then fell out of sight. I heard her catch it and rip the wrapper off.

  “Thanks.” There was a moment of sloppy munching from the next aisle, and then a contented sigh. “Looks like you got the good aisle. All I have is breakfast cereal, sugar, and cake mixes.”

  “Sorry,” I replied, wheeling my cart further along. “But that’s just the luck of the draw.”

  “I’ve got bread over here.” Darwin’s voice drifted toward us. “It still looks good, the date on it is next month.”

  “Take it.” I reached the end of the aisle and turned to find Clara next to me. Her cart was full of corn flakes, breakfast bars and canned goods. I spotted several cans of Spam. I looked at her. “Spam?”

  “It’s protein, and it won’t go bad.”

  “I’m going to have to get damned hungry to eat that. I hate Spam.”

  “Well too bad.” She flicked her hair from her face and grinned at me. “You will eat what I give you.”

  “One night of sleeping together and suddenly you’re acting like a nagging wife?”

  “Damn right,” She said. “I don’t see anyone else looking out for you.”

  “True.” I leaned in and kissed her, my lips lingering on hers. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Hey.” Darwin rounded the corner, his cart filled to the brim with beer, bottled water, sliced bread, and jars of pickles. “Get a room will you?”

  I released Clara, my eyes meeting hers for a moment as I did so. Despite everything, even more than before, she looked beautiful. My heart started to beat a little faster. Finally, knowing we should get back to the bus, I turned away. “Do we have everything?”

  “I think I’ve covered all the bases.” Darwin held up a roll of toilet paper. “Could have used this a few nights ago in the woods.”

  “No shit.”

  “Actually–”

  “Funny.” I noticed a pile of first aid supplies in the trolley. None of it was prescription, just off the shelf stuff like antacid and painkillers, but it was all useful. When we came across a pharmacy, we could raid it for the stronger stuff. “Let’s go back. Emily could probably use some of those pain killers right now.” I turned my cart toward the door.

  “Right behind you, boss,” Darwin said, following along.

  As we stepped out into the bright lunchtime sunshine, Clara looked down at her loaded cart. “This has to be the worst case of shoplifting in history.”

  “Probably,” I replied, struggling to push my cart across the gravel toward the bus.

  Darwin glanced down at the gun lodged in my belt. “Actually, I think that piece you’re packing technically makes what we just did armed robbery.”

  59

  THE BUS WAS still sitting where we left it. Our misgivings regarding J.T. and his motives for staying behind seemed to have been unfounded. I left my cart near the front passenger door, scooped up an armful of goodies, and mounted the steps. No sooner had I boarded, than I sensed that something was different.

  The bus appeared to be empty. There was no sign of either Emily or J.T.

  “There’s nobody here.” I called back through the door. “It’s empty.”

  “That’s impossible,” Clara replied. “I don’t know about J.T., but there’s no way Emily would leave the bus. Besides, she had a headache.”

  “Well, she did.” I dropped the groceries on the nearest seat. “Do you see them anywhere outside?”

  Everything was quiet for a moment, then Clara responded. “No.” She climbed into the bus with Darwin right behind, and the three of us stood looking down the empty aisle.

  “Where are they?” Darwin sounded nervous.

  “Maybe they went to the bathroom?” Clara offered.

  “Together? That doesn’t seem likely.” Darwin shook his head.

  “Safety in numbers?” It was all I had. “All I know is they’re not in the bus.”

  “What’s that?” Clara pointed toward the back of the bus.

  I looked, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. “What?”

  “There,” She said. “On the floor near the back seat.”

  This time I saw it. A dark stain between the rows, almost unnoticeable in the gloomy interior unless you were looking right at it.

  “That looks like-”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions.” I interrupted Darwin. I took a step forward, keeping my eyes on the dark spot as I made my way down the aisle. Reaching the stain, I stopped, hesitant, not wanting to know what the shiny dark splotch might be, fearing that I already knew.

  Clara pushed past me. She knelt next to the strange mark and extended her hand, touched it. Her fingers came away stained a sticky dark red. “Blood.”

  I looked around, my eyes alighting on the rear seat where we’d left Emily, a cold dread clutching at me as I saw what lay on it. “There’s more on the seat. A Lot of it.”

  “I knew it.” Darwin wailed. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

  “We don’t know that.” I hoped it wasn’t true, and I didn’t want to get his hopes up, but the likelihood was that
they were. I could think of no other reason for so much blood to be in the bus, or for our companions to be missing. Had a band of passing Crazies killed them, or a pack of beasts attacked the bus and dragged them off while we were inside? Either scenario seemed possible.

  “We have to find them.” Clara stood up, her face a picture of resolve. “Even if they are dead, we have to find them.”

  “About time.” Darwin turned to make his way back along the bus, intent upon finding the missing members of the group. He took a step, then stopped. “What the…”

  I glanced around, and froze.

  Emily stood in the aisle, near the front. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, her hair unkempt. The front of her shirt and jeans were dark with blood. It was hard to tell if it was her own blood, or someone else’s.

  “Thank God.” Darwin took a step toward her.

  “No.” I exclaimed. I had seen that look before. “Darwin, don’t.”

  He wasn’t listening. All he cared about was reaching Emily. He took off down the aisle, opening his arms to embrace her, to make everything better.

  She stood, unmoving until he was almost upon her, and then flew forward, a mindless grunt escaping her lips.

  Clara screamed.

  Everything slowed down, a slow motion version of life. I saw Emily leap toward Darwin, saw him try to stop, surprised, as she reached out to claw his face. He twisted and attempted to escape the oncoming fury, but he was too slow by a mile. She hit him hard, her fingers scrabbling at his skin, gouging and raking. Rivulets of fresh blood sprang up on his face, on his arms, as he fell backwards and hit the deck. She stood over him, her teeth bared in mindless, unreasoning rage, eyes darting from side to side. She babbled forth bursts of incoherent sounds. She was wild, and she was about to kill Darwin.