Lake Yixa

by Harper, Cameron

  "There . . . there are . . . zombies in . . . stairwell." Sarah gasped for air. Liam got to his feet and rushed over. He looked down at the group of zombies starting to make their way up.

  "What happened?" Liam asked as he moved back to the tent.

  "I went down to the basement."

  "Why did you go to the basement alone?" Liam snapped.

  "I figured we needed these," Sarah replied, holding up the tubes.

  "What are they?"

  "They are plans for the whole city and the surrounding area."

  "What?"

  "Layouts of houses, buildings, everything," Sarah said, putting the tubes into a bag. Liam wasn't really sure how useful they could be, but he didn't say anything. He returned to the door. In his hand, he held a heavy wooden leg of a chair.

  "We are going to have to kill the small group and seal off the basement level."

  "Okay," Sarah said, picking up her own chair leg. They slowly moved their way down the stairs, keeping an eye on the zombies making their way up. A floor above, they waited for them to come up.

  The first one rounded the corner. Thump. Liam slammed the leg of the chair hard into the skull of the first zombie. It toppled backward onto a few of the other zombies. Sarah smashed the head of one that had fallen. Liam looked over at her. He was unsure that Sarah would have the stomach to kill a zombie, but clearly, he didn't have to worry about it. Another reached out for Liam, and he kicked it. It rolled down a few stairs before it stopped. They swung this way and that, smashing the heavy chair legs into the zombies.

  "Duck," Liam shouted as he swung the leg. The cracking of skull could be heard. After a few minutes, all the zombies lay dead on the ground. Both Liam and Sarah were breathing heavily. Liam sat down just a few steps up from where the pile of zombies lay.

  "Holy shit, that was a workout."

  "I'm sorry," Sarah said, sitting next to Liam. "I didn't mean for them to get in."

  "It's all right. We just have to be careful. I would have come down to help get the plans."

  "I know," Sarah said. Liam put an arm around her and squeezed.

  "Let's go make sure the basement’s sealed." The two of them got up and stepped over the bodies, doing their best to not step in the pools of blood. They ran into two more zombies and quickly killed them.

  Back on the roof, Liam lay back under the tent. Sarah sat outside the tent, digging in the bag full of tubes.

  "Here," she said, holding one in front of the tent. "The plans for the town." Liam sat up and pulled the large, rolled-up plans out. He rolled them out in front of him.

  "How old are they?" Liam asked, looking for a date.

  "A few months old."

  "What are they doing in the library?"

  "They had a small flood in the City Hall. They moved a lot of plans here for safe keeping while they remodeled. Look here." Sarah pointed at the layout of the town. "Right by the harbor is a new store. Should be loaded." She pulled another tube out. "And here is the store layout." She rolled it out on top of the other one. "We shouldn't have any problem finding a way in."

  Liam looked over the plans. It was a smart idea. The two of them went over the plans as night fell. They made out the route they would take to the harbor, along with a few key buildings that could offer a good amount of supplies. They would gather up everything they could from the library and then make their way down to the harbor. They would find a boat and stash the stuff, and then, if it wasn't too hard, they would go back to the stores. Liam and Sarah spent the next day gathering items. They got things they would need and things to throw off the roof.

  They awoke early the next morning and ate a small handful of trail mix that Liam had found in a desk.

  "Will you be okay, Sarah?" Liam asked, finishing the last few M&Ms he had saved for last.

  "Yeah."

  "Okay, let me get the rest of the stuff to the side door." Liam stood and picked up a few bags. It didn't take them too long to move the shopping bags of items. Liam wished they had found another backpack, but they only had the one Sarah had found. Liam returned to the roof, leaving Sarah by the front door. He walked to the front of the roof.

  "AHHHH!" Liam screamed at the top of his lungs. He lifted a metal folding chair up and dropped it over the side. "Come on, you sons of bitches! Come get me!" He watched as the chair hit a few feet from the front door.

  "AHHH!" Sarah came screaming from the front. "You want some of this!" she shouted as she smashed a flower pot on the ground. She continued to scream and throw things at the closest zombies. Liam moved to the side of the building toward the door they planned to leave from. He could see a few zombies milling about. He threw a few items and shouted. They slowly started to move toward the front of the alley. He threw the last of the items and looked over the side of the building. He smiled at the sight. It worked for the most part—only a few zombies remained close to the door. He turned and headed down to meet up with Sarah.

  Liam grabbed a few plastic shopping bags of items, including the remaining trail mix, while Sarah picked up the last of the shopping bags and the backpack that had a few books and the city plans. Liam didn't really want to carry the books, but at the same time, he knew they would get bored on the boat once they just sat out there. Sarah had made sure Liam would understand the need for the books. The two moved down the stairwell and toward the side door. Liam looked back at the front door. Dozens of zombies banged on the glass door. There is no turning back now, he thought. They each picked up their wooden chair leg and headed toward the side door. Liam slowly pushed the door open with his chair leg. It made a creak, and they both winced. Liam looked out, seeing one of the zombies only a few yards away. He pointed at it, and Sarah nodded. He pushed the door the rest of the way open and went left, away from the zombie. Sarah went right and smashed the chair leg into its skull before it even knew what happened. Liam smashed his own club into a zombie that was even closer. They both started to move down the alley away from the front. Liam stumbled sideways as a zombie reached out for him from behind a dumpster, but Sarah was already on it. The thump of the club hitting hard sent it crashing to the ground.

  "Thanks," Liam said, smiling at Sarah. She smiled back. Liam turned and paused for a moment. It was odd how they had grown so comfortable killing zombies—they could even smile at each other after the death of one. They were once people. Sarah pushed him softly, and Liam snapped out of his thought. It is war, he thought. They moved slowly down the alley, keeping an eye out for any more zombies. They killed two more before reaching the end of the alley. Liam stuck his head out, looking for the closest zombie. It stood just behind a car in the middle of the street. They moved slowly along the road. The zombie moaned and turned toward them.

  "Shit, shhh," Liam said. The two of them waited to see if it would start toward them. Time seemed to take forever to pass. It finally turned its head away and remained by the car. They both let out a soft breath and started to walk again. The sound of a tin can being kicked made them look down.

  "Fuck," they said in unison.

  "Follow me," Liam said, and they both moved quickly along the road, trying their best not to get noticed by any others. The zombie by the car had started to move toward them as quickly as it could. Luckily, it was slow—very slow. Just as they were about to duck into a building, Liam turned to see the zombie round past the car. Liam let out a small laugh at the sight of a cast on the zombie’s leg. He ducked into the building.

  "Any zombies?" Liam asked, looking around. The room sat in darkness with shafts of light spilling in through the front windows. They looked around the tiny store. It was some kind of baby store. Liam hadn’t wanted to come to this building, but it did lead to a hardware shop just on the other side. Sarah was right again. Liam saw a few bags sitting on the shelves. They would be great for carrying supplies. He gathered up two large bags and one medium bag and moved to the back of the store where Sarah was standing.

  "Here," he said, handing her one large bag. They b
oth moved the contents of the shopping bags into the big bags. Liam took a bit longer to move his stuff over, leaving Sarah some time to look around the store again. She stood there looking at a tiny stuffed elephant. Reaching out, she could feel the soft fabric. Her mind started to drift back to when she was a kid.

  "You okay?" Liam asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sarah snapped out of her thoughts. She looked over at Liam, nodded, and then looked back at the elephant.

  "All right—to the back door then." Liam turned toward the back. Sarah started to follow him when she stopped and turned around. She grabbed the stuffed animal and pushed it into one of her bags. They pushed open the back alley door and peeked out.

  "No zombies," Sarah said as she pushed open the door. They moved across to the door just on the other side. Liam pulled on it.

  "Shit. It’s locked." Liam opened up one of his bags. It had a large tiara stitched on its side with the words little princess printed under it. He pulled out a hammer and a flathead screwdriver. He tapped the end of the screwdriver. They looked around for any zombies attracted to the sound. Sarah nodded, and Liam did it again. He waited again. Still, there were no signs of any zombies, so he finished off a few more taps. He pulled and pushed on the flathead until the door popped open. He tucked the tools back into his bag and ducked inside.

  They set down two large bags and started to move into the tiny hardware store. The sounds of zombies could be heard coming from the front of the store. Liam wondered if there would be too many for them to handle. It sounded like more than just two or three. When they finally stepped out of the back, they saw the store. Unlike the last place, this one had a car sitting inside of it. Bodies were lying all over the place. Shelves of stuff now littered the ground.

  "Maybe we should take the other way," Sarah said as quietly as she could.

  "Yeah," Liam replied. "But let me grab a few things first," he added, looking around. He saw a few packs of batteries lying on the ground not far away. He started to make his way over to the bodies. Sarah looked around where she was standing. She started to pick up things—a saw blade, a pipe, and a box of nails. Sarah wanted the rope, but she didn't try to get it. The rope was at the bottom of a pile of stuff. She looked back at Liam, who had made it about fifteen feet into the store. Liam picked up as many packs of batteries as he could. Then he saw an axe lying close to the front window. He started to work his way deeper and deeper into the mess.

  "Get out of there," Sarah whispered as loud as she could. A few zombies stood around outside.

  "Shhh," Liam replied, looking at the zombies through the hole in the wall. He picked up the axe and saw a flashlight and a head lamp; he smiled and scooped them up too, sticking everything into his bag. Liam turned and started to make his way back when he felt something grab his boot. Liam looked down to see a zombie holding on. Liam wanted to take off in a run but did his best to remain calm. He slammed his heavy chair leg into the zombie, but it was too late.

  "Get out of there now!" Sarah screamed. The bodies started to move around him, and the zombies from outside started to walk in.

  "Fuck." He smashed his boot into another zombie trying to get up. It fell to the ground. Liam stepped over the dead zombie, but more seemed to be coming back. Sarah grabbed the rope and then started to smash her chair leg into the few zombies close by.

  "Come on," Sarah said as Liam finally made it back to her. She turned and went toward the back, scooping up one of the bags. Liam did the same, and they went out the back. Zombies had made it into the alleyway.

  "Shit. This way," Liam said as he started down the alley. They had planned out a number of ways to get to the harbor, but it seemed to quickly be going to hell. They didn't think there would be so many zombies in the area, but they found themselves running into large amounts of them. They rounded the alley to find themselves standing in front of a few zombies clothed in army uniforms.

  "Holy shit. Where did they come from?" Sarah asked as she swung her chair leg into the head of one of them. It stumbled sideways but didn't fall. "Fuck," she added as she realized they had on helmets.

  "Come on," Liam said, grabbing her hand. Liam led them toward the other side of the street, every now and then pushing a zombie back with his club. They ran along the street. The sound of zombies growing in numbers filled the air behind them. Liam looked back to see the street filling with zombies coming from buildings, cars, and alleys. They were able to outrun them, but Liam felt himself getting tired. His age was starting to show. The lack of a good meal and a full night’s sleep wasn't helping him much either. Sarah started to overtake him as he felt himself slow down.

  "Come on, Liam. You can do it. Just a few more blocks," Sarah said, slowing down herself.

  "Just go ahead of me," Liam said as he dropped into a light jog.

  "No."

  "Go ahead. Find a boat," Liam said, pulling his hand away from hers.

  "Fuck that," Sarah said, stopping in front of him. "I won't leave you behind. That is just asking to get you killed." Liam stopped and looked into her light blue eyes. He knew he wasn't going to be able to talk her into going ahead. She reached out and took his bag. He gritted his teeth. He wanted to take it back and tell her to fucking go away, but her face said, say one more thing, and I kill you myself.

  "Okay," he replied. A small smile cracked her lips before vanishing just as fast. He started to jog again, and she followed after him. They moved down street after street. Liam wished the harbor was as close as it looked from the roof, but the zombies made them go a roundabout way. They turned down a street, and the harbor sat in sight of them.

  "Thank God," Liam said, sweat pouring off him. A couple of zombies stood in front of them, but Sarah had moved in and taken care of the two of them. She doesn’t even look that tired, Liam thought as he rested against a car. As if he said it out loud, she turned and said, “I work out a lot.”

  "Yeah, it looks that way," Liam said before heading across the parking lot. They had lost sight of the horde of zombies a few blocks back. Liam was sure they hadn't seen the last of the zombies. It would only be a matter of time before they would catch up with them.

  "Shit," Sarah said, shaking the metal gate that stood in front of them on the dock. "What are we going to do now?" She slammed the chair leg into the lock over and over. It just rattled and remained undamaged.

  "Stop. That won't help," Liam said, putting his hand on Sarah’s shoulder. "Follow me," he added and headed along the waterfront. They passed a restaurant and a clothing shop before stopping in front of a small shop. The front window read Jimmy's Bait Shop.

  "He lent me a key last year when I worked on a boat."

  Liam jiggled the handle, but it was locked. The crash of breaking glass filled the air. Sarah reached in and unlocked the door. Liam moved past her and went behind the counter.

  "Shit. There are like twenty keys back here." Liam didn't notice the sign for small boat rentals.

  "They are here," Sarah said. Liam looked up from the counter of keys. The horde of zombies had finally caught up to them.

  "Shit, shit, shit," Liam muttered under his breath when he looked out the window and saw it—a truck with a winch on it. Liam ran out the door with Sarah right on his heels. She reached it and pulled the cable and started toward the gate. Liam cracked a zombie close by in the face with his chair leg. The zombie dropped, and the chair leg broke.

  "Fuck!" Liam shouted. He dropped the bag he was carrying and pulled the axe out. He was hoping to save it for more than just killing zombies, but he needed a weapon. A group had started to make its way through the parked cars. He moved forward and swung. The axe smashed into a skull. The zombie dropped instantly.

  "Wow," Liam said.

  "It’s hooked!" Sarah shouted as she got out of the way. Liam made his way back to the front of the truck and flipped the switch on the winch. It slowly started to retract. The gate groaned in protest as the cable pulled on it. The steel mesh snapped and sent the hook flying back a few yards.


  "Shit."

  "Fuck." Sarah rushed back and grabbed the hook again. Liam switched off the tiny motor. Sarah pulled it back, and this time, she hooked it to the steel frame. Liam flipped the switch and started the process all over again.

  "Watch out!" Sarah shouted. Liam turned to see a zombie reaching out for him. He stumbled back and over the cable.

  "Ah!" Liam shouted as he hit the ground. The cable bit into his legs, ripping cloth and flesh alike. Still the zombie moved after him. It fell over the cable, sending it falling onto Liam. He barely caught it by the throat with the axe handle.

  "Liam!" Sarah rushed over toward him. Liam struggled under the zombie. Sarah pulled on the clothing, trying to get it off Liam.

  "Ah!" Liam and Sarah screamed in unison as they pushed the zombie to one side. Liam rolled away, and Sarah smashed her heavy club into the zombie’s skull. The gate cracked and popped and came off. Sarah helped him up, and they moved quickly. The zombie horde was almost to them by this point.

  They moved along the dock. Zombies reached out for them from boats. Some made it to the dock. Others tumbled into the water. Liam finally saw a boat with just a single zombie on it. It had become caught up in a fishing net.

  "Get the line!" Liam shouted as he jumped onto the boat. He moved quickly to the struggling zombie. He pushed the zombie against the side of the boat and patted its pockets.

  "Bingo," he said with a smile. He pulled out a set of keys. He then pushed the zombie overboard. Sarah had finished unhooking the boat and got on board. Liam pushed away from the dock. The boat barely moved. The two of them pushed hard, and the boat slowly drifted. A zombie stumbled over and fell onto the boat while another crashed onto the side and fell into the water.

  Liam slammed the axe into the zombie before it could get up.

  "Let's get this boat moving," he said as they both moved into the tiny cabin. Liam turned the key. The sound of churning water and the roar of the engine made them both smile. Liam guided the boat slowly away from the dock while zombies continued to try and get on the entire time, only to fall into the water. They made it out of the harbor and into the open waters of the lake. Both let out a sigh of relief. Liam sat down in the captain’s chair. His leg was burning from the gash. Up until then, he hadn't noticed the pain. Sarah had already started to look for a first aid kit. It didn't take her long to find one. She patched Liam up the best she could, and sat down in a seat just on the other side of the tiny cabin.