“That’s kinda funny,” chuckled Zach.
Cale agreed. Part of him felt bad to laugh at what this man had become. But he could repent for it by ending its existence.
“Hey,” said Cale.
The man looked at him just in time to recieve a knife through the bottom of his jaw, which penetrated his soft palate in his mouth, and pierced his brain. He slumped to the ground at Cale’s feet. Among the debris he’d left was an open wallet. Cale wasn’t sure why, but he picked it up. He pulled out a couple of one hundred dollar bills, a few crumpled twenties, and let them drop to the ground. A photo with a bent corner stuck out of a small pocket. A man and what Cale speculated to be his son posed for a picture. The son wore a US Army uniform with sergeant rank on his chest and the name Krummel. He returned the photo to the wallet and placed it on the man’s chest. As he turned he noticed the RV had the word “Freedom” printed in big letters across the back. He smirked for a moment, as he was reminded of the yacht in Tel-Aviv.
Cale could see the car. Three undead clawed at the windows. The engine’s rumble had attracted them. He casually strolled up to dispatch them. The first he grabbed by the shoulder and spun around. His knife went through her ear canal and she slid down the side of the vehicle. The two men on the other side had become aware of his presence. Both men circled the Saab at opposite ends.
“Divide and conquer. Thanks guys,” Cale said before approaching the man at the front of the vehicle and stabbing his face.
The other man tripped over the woman’s body. Cale stomped his head into the pavement. He huffed to catch his breath, then opened the door. He reclaimed his rifle and both their bags. He left the car to run as he closed the door and went back to the RV. JoLynn still sat inside holding his iPod. The screen had entered its battery saver mode but she seemed just as content as when he’d left. She looked up and smiled at him.
“Hi,” she said gleefully.
“Hi,” he reciprocated.
“This is my favorite song,” she beamed. “You want to hear it?”
She held up one of the buds. Cale knelt down and listened. It was “Under the Sea.”
“That’s my favorite too,” he chuckled.
Cale sang along. JoLynn giggled. He gave her the bud back and emptied their bags. None of her clothes were in suitable condition. Even though he’d washed her legs, her body, face, and hair were still filthy.
“Hey,” he got her attention.
She lowered the buds to listen to him.
“I’m going to go across the street to the gas station and see if there is some food or water there,” he explained.
“Can I go?” she asked.
“No,” replied Cale. “You’re not dressed. I’ll be quick. Just gonna go look and I’ll be right back.”
“I want to go with you,” said JoLynn.
“I know, but why don’t you just stay here and listen to more music.”
“Okay,” she conceded. “Can you get me a candy bar?”
Cale laughed.
“If they have one, I’ll get it for you. Just stay in here and you’ll be safe,” he told her.
JoLynn nodded. Cale smiled and she returned to listening. He rummaged through the external pockets of his bag for the boxes of 5.56 ammunition. There were only sixty three rounds left. He used the stripper clips to speed load thirty rounds into two magazines. The last three he put back into the pouch. He was down to his last mag of pistol ammo. He was going to have to find more or a replacement weapon. Cale donned his empty pack and prepared to leave. JoLynn was still lost in the world of The Little Mermaid.
“Don’t open this door,” he said to her.
But she wasn’t listening. Cale figured she already knew not to leave. She was smart. He stepped out once more. The clouds were now over head. The sky was completely grey and the wind gusted out of the south.
“Better hurry if you want to beat the rain,” suggested Zach.
Cale walked across the road and up to the flooded parking lot. He’d rather not get wet, but there was no avoiding it. The water gradually rose as he waded further toward the gas station. It was up to just above his knee when he passed the pumps where a body bobbed face down in the water. The back of her skull was already blown open. Someone had shot her in the face. Inside the Pilot Travel Center station, two infected pushed themselves into the door. From his side, Cale could see that it said “PUSH TO OPEN.” The undead were able to get in but not out. He entered the flooded foyer. Here he raised his rifle. He aimed at one of the men on the other side. His weapon recoiled. The door shattered but didn’t fall and the man flew back into the water. The other man turned and watched his comrade float for a moment before smashing his face against the glass again. In that time Cale had already taken aim and squeezed the trigger once more. This time the door rained tiny shards of glass into the water and the man joined his friend.
He stepped through the hole he’d made, ducking under the metal push bar. Bottles and bags floated throughout the store. Cale grabbed one of the bottles of blue Gatorade. He moved toward the sales counter and threw it with his bag on top. He could hear splashing at the back of the store.
“Hey motherfucker,” he called out to its source.
The splashing continued, but remained localized to the same area. The shelving for each aaisle were only as tall as his armpits. Cale couldn’t see anyone. Or anything.
“It might be nothing,” said Zach.
“Vigilant,” Cale whispered to himself.
He slowly walked by each aaisle to find the cause of the noise. Two decapitated bodies floated in the first aaisle. The second was empty, as was the third. The last one was against the wall.
“There you are,” he said when he’d identified the culprit.
A pair of arms reached out of the water and splashed the surface. The owner of the arms was pinned under the water by a beverage dispenser where costumers would have gotten fountain drinks. Cale pulled out his knife.
“What are you doing? It’s trapped. Just leave it be,” Zach stated.
“I don’t want to risk it wiggling free somehow,” responded Cale.
“It’s been stuck there for how long though?” argued Zach.
“Vigilant,” Cale said as he shot Zach a stern look.
He seized the creature by its hair, carefully avoiding the flailing arms, and pushed his knife into its brain. The arms went limp and moved no more. Cale went back through the store and searched for any other “drowned zombies” and found only another body and the two missing heads. The coolers were completely empty, including the alcohol. In the first aid aaisle he was able to obtain a bottle of peroxide, gauze, Band-Aids, and a bottle of generic pain relief medicine.
“I’d kill for a bottle of Pepto right now,” he muttered.
It would certainly make JoLynn’s predicament easier. Cale scavenged what he could and went to the next aaisle. The shelves once housed gum, sunflower seeds, and candy bars. But were now barren. He feared the look of disappointment on JoLynn’s face when he returned without a candy bar. He continued searching. His foot stepped on a cylindrical object beneath the surface. He held it in place as he rolled up his sleeve to grab it. It was a tin can. The label had been removed by the water so he had no idea of its contents. He brought it up to his ear and shook it. Whatever it was didn’t slosh.
“Chili maybe?” Zach speculated.
Cale shrugged and searched for more. Nothing.
“Damn it,” he cursed.
He placed the can along with the rest of what he’d found and searched another aaisle. Many of the items were ruined by the water or were completely useless to him. He circled to the back of the store. Dog and cat food were stacked on the shelf. Large soggy pieces clung together in clusters on the water. Cale sighed. He was hoping to find more. He returned to the checkout. The shelves behind it, where the cigarettes were stocked, were even empty. He sorted through his find and placed the heavier items at the bottom of his bag. Just as he was about to walk away he n
oticed three plastic objects bobbing behind the counter. More water bottles.
“Thank God,” he said as he went around to retrieve them.
He discovered the clerks “secret stash” under the counter as he bent down. Two rolls of toilet paper, a pack of Sharpies, three containers of baby wipes, medicated body powder, a single pack of cigarettes, a Monster energy drink, and exactly what JoLynn wanted. A candy bar. He smiled as he placed all but the cigarettes into his bag. Even though he’d still hoped for more, he was excited to award JoLynn with her candy bar.
Cale waded back to the door, under the pull bar, and back outside. He was only two steps out the door when he felt a cold metal object press against his neck.
“I should thank you,” said a man. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to get past those rotters for a few days now.”
Cale slowly turned and the man pointed the gun at his face.
“Give me the bag,” he demanded.
“Don’t do this,” replied Cale. “I’ve got a sick little girl with me.”
“I’ve got kids of my own man,” the man stated. “We do what we have to to survive. Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield.”
He stared at the man. Scars covered his face and he had a John Deere hat pulled over his head.
“We can split it,” Cale offered a peaceful solution.
“Why when I can just take it all?” sneered the man.
The barrel of his gun shook in Cale’s face. He didn’t want to shoot him. He just wanted what was his.
“Cale,” said Zach. “he doesn’t even have a magazine in his gun.”
Cale looked at the firearm again. Zach was right. He smirked.
“Looks like we’re both bugs today then,” said Cale coolly. “Your gun isn’t even loaded.”
The man didn’t even look at it. That was why he’d been trying to figure out how to get inside safely.
“Well,” he said smugly. “That’s why I have this.”
He pulled out a three inch knife.
“You have kids. I’ve got a kid. Let’s just share what I’ve found and we can both get back to them,” Cale tried to bargain.
“No. Give it here. All of it,” he replied. “And that rifle there.”
Zach laughed. Cale stared at the man. He’d been too busy waving his gun around and getting his knife out, he hadn’t realized Cale pull his 9mm from its holster.
“You sure you want to do this?” inquired Cale.
“Yep,” the man retorted.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t come to an agreement,” Cale said to the man before raising his gun and shooting him.
The man fell back dead, before he knew what happened. Blood trickled out of the bullet hole in his forehead and swirled in the water. It was his choice to kill or be killed. Cale was only playing by his rules. By the road Cale could see that the man had parked a bicycle with a child carrier on the road. The water splashed as he moved toward it. The carrier already had plenty of supplies in it.
“That dumb fuck,” sighed Cale.
“He had plenty,” Zach stated. “Well, at least its yours now.”
“I’m not taking it,” he confessed.
“Why not?” demanded Zach.
“It’s not why I killed him—” explained Cale.
“Greed killed him. Not you,” Zach reasoned.
“Either way. He may have been telling the truth,” said Cale.
“About the kids?” asked Zach.
“Someone might come looking for him. They might need these supplies.”
“That’s if he was telling the truth!” Zach argued.
“I’m not taking it,” asserted Cale.
He left the supplies in the carrier and walked back to the RV.
“Cale come on!” shouted Zach.
“I won’t become them! That’s not why I’ll take someone’s life! Not to just take stuff!” Cale stopped to shout at his hallucination.
But Zach was gone. He was alone in the road.
“Great,” he grumbled. “Talking to myself in the street.”
Cale walked past the still running car. His boots sloshed with each step. The scream of an undead woman carried to him on the wind. She came into view, scratching at the side of the RV. Cale pulled out his knife.
“Hey!” he shouted at her.
She snapped around to face him. The woman was recently resurrected. With an arrow sticking out of her chest. Fuck. She charged at him at a speed walk. Cale easily out maneuvered her and pushed her to the ground. The blade punched through her skull and she stopped resisting. He wiped his knife on her jacket then pulled out the arrow. Cale analyzed the projectile. There was no way to confirm his fear. He looked around to see if he was being watched. His heart was racing.
“Fuck,” he hissed as he threw it to the ground.
It was impossible. He left the woman’s body and opened the door to the RV. JoLynn wasn’t on the seat anymore.
“JoLynn!” he called to her.
She didn’t answer. He frantically searched for her. What if he took her?
“JoLynn!” Cale shouted again.
He checked the latrine and the bedroom. Empty.
“JoLynn!” he screamed.
He jumped down the steps and back outside.
“JoLynn!”
“Cale calm down,” Zach said to him.
“No!” seethed Cale.
“Relax. Just take a moment to think rationally,” he cautioned Cale.
“Tell me she’s real!” demanded Cale. “Tell me I didn’t imagine her!”
“Take a deep breath,” urged Zach.
“Fuck you!” he threw his bag on the ground.
“Cale,” Zach replied. “Calm down. She is real. Now just think.”
“About what? She’s gone!” Cale said angrily.
“When you were a child where did you hide from the monsters?” Zach posed the question.
Cale pondered the question for a second before scrambling back into the RV.
“JoLynn!” he called on his way to the bedroom.
He lay on the floor and looked under the bed. JoLynn had the buds clenched over her ears and her eyes squeezed tightly.
“JoLynn,” he reached for her.
She screamed as soon as he touched her. JoLynn fought as he pulled her out.
“It’s me! You’re okay!” he soothed her.
She opened her eyes then hugged him. He embraced her tightly.
“I heard a monster,” she sobbed.
“I know. It’s gone,” he told her. “It’s gone.”
He stroked her ratted hair. He could feel her little heart beating rapidly. Cale held her for a few minutes.
“Alright,” he said. “I got you something.”
She wiped her eyes and smiled.
“I left it outside,” he explained. “be right back.”
He went back out and grabbed his bag. Cale paused to look at the dead woman. The hole in her chest hadn’t bled and he now noticed a bite on her leg. A part of him was able to relax a little bit. The arrow could just be a coincidence. JoLynn was standing in the doorway holding his iPod. Cale presented her with the candy bar and she squealed.
“You can have half now,” cautioned Cale. “We’ll save the rest for another time.”
“Okay,” she said gleefully.
He ushered her back in and unpacked his findings.
“Drink this,” he opened the Gatorade and offered it to her.
JoLynn took the bottle with both hands and sipped it. Cale knew she had to stay hydrated if she were to get better. He watched as she scarfed down half the candy bar then handed it back to him. Cale wrapped it up and sat it on the counter.
“I think you should call it a day here,” said Zach, who was sitting next to JoLynn.
There were still a few hours of light and he still wanted to scavenge the other side of the interstate. But with a storm moving in it would have to wait till the next day.
“Yeah,” he replied. �
�I think so. There’s stuff I can do on this side anyway.”
JoLynn looked at him funny.
“Just thinking out loud,” he lied. “I’m going to go back outside, but I’m not going to go far. Okay? In fact you can watch me from the windows.”
“Okay,” she smiled.
Cale opened the blinds for her and dug out another sleeve of Saltine crackers.
“Keep drinking,” he told her.
She took another sip and he went outside. Tiny drops of rain fell intermittently. Cale went to the Saab to shut it off. As he did, he noticed that the man’s bike was gone. Someone had taken it. He looked up and down the road, but didn’t see anyone. His next order of business was to search for fuel cans. Cale went from RV to RV using his knife to pop open the latches on the undercarriage cargo doors. Most were empty save for a jack, some jumper cables, and a spare tire.
“You’re going to have to go inside the dealership. Besides, you’ll need keys,” Zach reminded him.
“Yeah,” replied Cale as he wiped rain out of his face.
He looked to see if JoLynn was watching him. She wasn’t, however, he could see her listening to music. She wouldn’t notice if he stepped inside really quick. Cale approached the glass door. He laughed when it opened. The large windows allowed plenty of light to enter. He hurried over to the main desk where a tin box of keys sat. Cale took the entire box and went back out to the RV. JoLynn didn’t even look up as he tried each key in the ignition.
“Nope. No. No,” he piled the keys that didn’t work on the passenger seat.
After a few more keys one of them worked. The needle gauges moved, but the engine didn’t start.
“Low battery,” Zach read from the dash. “Not enough charge.”
“Damn,” whispered Cale.
“You could daisy chain it,” suggested Zach.
“I could what?” Cale inquired.
“Daisy chain,” he repeated.
“Like an IED?” Cale was confused.
“No,” laughed Zach. “Hook multiple batteries up to charge one vehicle. You only need the battery to get it started. Then you let it run and the alternator takes over.”
Z Plan (Book 3): Homecoming Page 31
