by Chesla, Gary
“Shit!” Shaun cursed. “Where they heading towards or away from Latrobe?”
“They were heading away from Latrobe. I didn’t tell Lisa. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t let her know what I told you.
The number of those things roaming through here the last week has her shaken up pretty bad.” Doug added. “By the way, how did you do today? You run into any more trouble?”
“No Today was good. I brought Meg back smelling as good as she did when we left.” Shaun laughed.
“That’s good!” Doug laughed. “She was smelling pretty ripe when I saw her yesterday.”
“Alright you two, enough of the smelly Meg jokes!” Megan laughed. “Hey Doug, why don’t you and Lisa come over for dinner tonight? We had a good haul, we can afford dinner tonight.”
“That sounds good. I think it will do Lisa good to come over and talk with someone else other than me. Maybe you can calm her down.” Doug smiled. “What time do you want us to come over?”
“I can light the fireplace around eight, you know so the smoke won’t stand out in the sky. Why don’t you come over then?” Shaun added. “That way we can visit and eat and still get you home before it gets too dark.”
“Sounds good, see you then.” Doug answered.
“How’s the door and window supports holding up for you?” Shaun asked.
“They’re great.” Doug answered. “Thanks for helping me do that. It really makes Lisa feel a lot safer.”
“You’re welcome. See you later.” Shaun replied. He watched until Doug crossed the street and went into his house before he closed the door.
“You think I’m bad. Lisa sounds like she is driving Doug crazy.” Megan said.
“I don’t think you’re bad.” Shaun said as he came over and gave Megan a hug. “You just have a habit of getting yourself a little smelly sometimes.”
Megan pushed him away from her. “Get away from me.” She teased.
“You know I love you, no matter how bad you smell.” Shaun now teased her back. “But I wish you would learn how to run around those dead things instead of always running into them.”
Shaun tried to hug her again. “If you don’t like me when I stink, you can just stay away from me now, too.” Megan smiled. “And don’t try to say you’re sorry, because I don’t believe you!”
“But!” Shaun started to say.
“No Buts! Go bring in some firewood for the fireplace while I go find what we are going to have for dinner.” Megan laughed.
Shaun laughed to himself as he headed out to the garage to bring in the wood.
When he came back into the living room with his arms full of wood, Megan was in the kitchen opening some cans.
As he set the wood on the hearth, he called out. “What did you decide to make for dinner?”
“It’s a surprise!” Megan shouted back.
“Can you give me a hint?” Shaun asked.
“It’s smelly!” Megan said sounding sarcastic.
“That’s good.” Shaun laughed. “Because I like my dinner like I like my women, smelly!”
Megan burst out laughing. “You wait until the next time you come home a smelly mess.”
Shaun walked up behind Megan. “I hope neither of us has to come home with that smell on us again. I shouldn’t be joking about that. I’m sorry.”
Megan turned and smiled at him. “I know, but it was funny.”
Megan turned and looked out the window. “I think it’s dark enough to light the fireplace. Why don’t you get it started so I can get the water boiling before Doug and Lisa get here.”
The water was starting to boil and Megan was adding the rice as they heard a tap on the front door. Shaun checked the peep hole, then opened the door. Doug and Lisa came inside.
“Hi Lisa!” Megan called out from the fireplace.
“Hi Meg. Thanks for inviting us over for dinner. I was going stir crazy over in that house.” Lisa laughed.
“I’m glad you could come over. Dinner isn’t going to be anything fancy, but it should be filling. We found some things at a little deli I think you will like.” Megan replied.
“Doug told me about what you ran into yesterday. That must have been horrible?” Lisa cringed.
“It was bad enough, but I just try not to think about it. As long as you don’t let it get to you. Those things are ugly and really gross, but as long as you keep your head about you and don’t panic, you’ll be OK.” Megan answered.
“I don’t know how you do it. Six of those things walked by the front of the house today and I just froze.” Lisa added.
“Doug told us about that. You don’t have to worry. Doug and Shaun have your house secured really well. No one can get in. If you just stay quiet those things will just wonder away. Hey Lisa, will you bring me the two cans I have open on the sink?”
Lisa walked out to the kitchen and brought the cans back to Megan. “What’s in this one can, it smells?” Lisa said wrinkling her nose.
“No stinky jokes, OK Lisa. Megan has heard all the smelly jokes she can handle for one day.” Shaun said as Doug started to laugh.
Megan smiled as she took the can of beans and sardines and mixed it in with the rice.
“Why don’t you guys have a seat at the table? I think dinner is ready.” Megan said as she picked up the pot off the fire and carried it over to the table. She picked up a large spoon and started dishing out large portions for everyone.
Lisa was the first person to say anything. “This actually tastes very good.”
Doug laughed. “Hey Shaun, I was meaning to ask you how is your water holding up?”
“We’re down to our last five gallon can. We will have to go refill our cans soon.” Shaun answered.
“We’re down to our last gallon.” Doug added. “I was wondering if you would want to go out with me tomorrow to get more fresh water?”
Shaun looked over at Megan. “Meg, are you up for a quick trip out to the dam tomorrow? Our water supply is getting low too.”
Megan wrinkled her nose as she looked unsure. ”I guess so? We aren’t going to try going anywhere are we? I was hoping to get a few days off before we had to go around those dead freaks again.”
Shaun smiled. “I feel the same way. I promise, it will be a quick run out to Kingston Dam. No side trips!”
“OK. I think I can get up for that.” Megan answered.
“What time did you want to go tomorrow?” Shaun looked at Doug.
“How about 9:00 AM?” Doug answered.
“Early sounds good to me. How did you let your water get so low?” Shaun asked. “You would have been in trouble if we would have had to stay inside for a few days.”
“I know.” Doug answered sheepishly. “I just got careless and wasn’t paying attention.”
“We got careless yesterday and it almost cost us big time.” Megan added.
“Yea, I know. My fault. I should know better.” Doug added.
“It’s easy to let it happen. I have been so busy thinking about food, I let our water get down too low too.” Shaun laughed.
“I’ll pick you up around 9:00 AM.” Doug said.
“How about I drive?” Shaun said. “My van is bigger than your little Kia. I want to take a lot of jugs to fill up, plus your jugs and the four of us, I think the van will work out better.”
“The four of us?” Lisa asked warily.
“You don’t want to stay here by yourself do you?” Megan asked.
“I thought you would stay here with me?” Lisa said wide eyed.
“Shaun and I made a promise that we would always go on supply runs together.” Megan answered. “Whatever happens we want to be together.”
“A ride will be fun, Lisa.” Megan said. “It will be good for you to get out of the house for a little while.”
“OK, I guess so.” Lisa answered, but they could tell she was worried.
“Maybe we can do some fishing while we are out at the dam.” Megan said sounding hopeful. “It’s been a while sin
ce we had fish.”
“Good idea.” Shaun said as his eyes lit up. “I’ll put the poles in the van tonight.”
“Sounds like fun. Don’t you think Lisa?” Megan said looking at Lisa.
Lisa smiled weakly.
“I think we better go back over to the house.” Doug said as he looked at the fading light coming in through the windows. “I want to get back before it gets too dark outside.”
They all got up from the table and walked to the door. After saying their good nights, Doug led Lisa out the door.
Shaun and Megan watched until Doug disappeared inside the house across the street.
As Megan closed and locked the door, she turned to Shaun. “Did you see how nervous Lisa got talking about going out to the dam?”
“She is going to have a nervous breakdown if she doesn’t relax a little. I know things are bad, but she better pull herself together, or she and Doug are going to be in a lot of trouble.” Shaun replied. “I’m starting to worry about those two.”
“Maybe a trip to the dam will help?” Megan said hopefully.
“I hope so. Let’s hope things are clear out there tomorrow. If we run into the dead out there, it might make things worse.” Shaun said sounding concerned for his neighbors. “Come on. Help me load up the van, then we better turn in.”
Shaun and Megan went down to the storage room and carried all their empty water jugs out and put them in the back of the van. Shaun put four fishing poles in the back of the van along with extra lines and hooks. Shaun added an extra gas can, just in case.
“I hope we get to fish tomorrow.” Megan said as they walked up stairs towards their bedroom. “I’m excited about tomorrow. It’s been a while since we have gone out and had fun.”
“Me too!” Shaun answered. But he was worried. Not too much had gone as planned lately.
The little wind up alarm clock went off at 7:00 AM sharp. Megan crawled out of bed and went to her closet. She opened the door and stood sadly staring at all the brightly colored dresses hanging in her closet. It had been over six months since she had worn a dress. Around the house she always just wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Whenever she went on runs with Shaun she always wore heavy jeans, boots and a heavy jacket, in case one of the dead managed to get close enough to try and take a bite out of her.
She missed wearing pretty dresses and all the places she and Shaun had gone when she wore those dresses.
She pushed the thoughts of what used to be out of her mind as she selected an old heavy pair of jeans and pulled them on. Next she pulled a heavy sweatshirt down over her head. She grabbed her heavy jean jacket and carried it down stairs and draped it across the back of a chair as she went into the kitchen.
Ten Minutes later Megan shook Shaun gently to wake him. As he opened his eyes he saw Megan smiling down at him.
“Good morning.” Shaun smiled.
“I made you a surprise this morning.” Megan beamed as she stood in front of him with her hands behind her back.
“I like surprises.” Shaun chuckled.
Megan brought her hands around her sides and set a bowl of oatmeal, with a spoon sticking out to one side, down on his chest.
“Breakfast in bed! I’m surprised, especially after all my stinky jokes yesterday.” Shaun said.
Megan smiled. “Do you want to eat it or do you want to wear it?”
Mike quickly reached out from under the covers and grabbed the bowl. “I think I would prefer to eat it.”
“I thought so!” Megan laughed. “I hope you like it. It’s cold. It would be a lot better if we had hot water. We should look for one of those little propane camping stoves the next time we go looking for supplies. It would be nice having hot meals during the day.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a propane stove anywhere. Even longer since I’ve seen any of those little green bottles of propane.” Shaun said as he took a big bite of his oatmeal breakfast. “But, we still might be able to find a hibachi and charcoal.”
“Good idea. I’ll put that on our list so we can look for one the next time we go out.” Megan stopped for a minute. “Crap. I think I saw one in the back of that little deli we were in yesterday. I must be going senile. I should have grabbed it, but I was too worried about getting out of there. Damn. By the way, how’s the oatmeal?”
“Not bad.” Shaun replied as he finished the last spoonful of his breakfast. “Thank you!”
Megan smiled. “You better get up and get dressed. Doug and Lisa will be here soon.”
“OK.” Shaun started to sit up. “Did you have some oatmeal too?”
“I had my oatmeal earlier. I couldn’t wait to have some since we found it in that deli yesterday. I’m glad you liked it. We have a lot of it.” She smiled as she picked up Shaun’s bowl and headed back down to the kitchen.
Shaun got up and dressed in his heavy “supply run” clothes and came down to the kitchen a few minutes later to see Megan staring out the window.
“What are you looking at?” Shaun asked concerned how intently she was staring out the window.
“Come here and look at this!” Megan said sounding disgusted.
Shaun went over to stand behind her and looked to see what Megan was looking at.
“Look at how she is dressed!” Megan said as she stared at Doug and Lisa walking towards the front of their house.
Shaun looked to see Lisa walking beside Doug. She was wearing a little pair of blue shorts and a light blue t-shirt that only covered half of her mid-section.
“She could get herself in trouble dressed like that.” Shaun said.
“She could get us all in trouble dressed like that.” Megan said sounding upset.
“In her defense, she doesn’t go out much.” Shaun replied. “Maybe you could suggest she change clothes before we go. I don’t think it would be my place to say anything about how she is dressed.”
Shaun looked down at Megan’s bare feet. “Talking about how people are dressed?”
Megan looked at Shaun and followed his gaze down at her feet. “I left my boots in the garage. I’ll put them on before we leave. I didn’t want to get you wound up with anymore stinky jokes before we left.” Megan smiled.
“You answer the door and take Doug out to the garage. I’ll take care of Lisa!” Megan said sternly.
Shaun smiled to himself as he went over to open the door. He felt sorry for Lisa. Megan took these trips as serious as he did.
Shaun opened the door and greeted Doug and Lisa. “You are right on time!”
“I think Lisa is excited about getting to go fishing today.” Doug laughed. “She was ready before I was.”
Shaun laughed as Megan whispered behind him. “That’s because she didn’t bother to get dressed.”
“Doug, could you help me in the garage for a minute before we leave?” Shaun asked.
“Sure, what do you need?” Doug asked.
“I need some help lifting some iron bars. Come on.” Shaun said as he started for the garage.
Doug followed Shaun into the garage.
Before closing the door behind them, Shaun saw Megan standing with her hands on her hips staring at Lisa in her little shorts.
Shaun closed the door to the garage, turned and stared at Doug. “Are you crazy?”
Doug looked at Shaun and took a step back. “What?”
“I asked if you are crazy?” Shaun repeated. “You can’t take Lisa out dressed like that! It’s not safe. One of those things could bite or scratch her. Can you imagine the trouble it would cause if some of those gangs saw her? What were you thinking?”
Doug looked down at the floor. “I know you’re right. She seemed to be excited about going out this morning. After how afraid she has been, I didn’t want to scare her.”
“I think it is better to scare her than let her go out like that and have who knows what happen. Come on Doug. You are better than that. What’s got you distracted?” Shaun asked.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so worried
about all those dead freaks coming through here lately, I haven’t been thinking straight. First letting the water run out, now this. Sorry man.” Doug said. “I’ll go take her home and make her change.”
“It’s OK. I know where you’re coming from. Don’t worry about it. Just get yourself together.” Shaun smiled. “You and I are going to wait down here for a few minutes. Meg will talk to Lisa. I think it will be better for both of you if she handles this.”
Doug’s face relaxed and he smiled looking relived. “Thanks. You’re right I think that would be better too. I’m sorry. Thanks for the pep talk. I think I needed that to get myself back on track.”
Shaun and Doug had just finished talking when Megan and Lisa walked into the garage.
“You boys finished?” Megan asked.
“We’re all done.” Shaun replied as he and Doug turned to see both girls standing in front of them. Lisa was now dressed in jeans and a heavy sweatshirt.
“Hey you changed.” Doug said sounding surprised and relieved.
Lisa smiled. “Megan suggested when we go out to play with the animals, that I should wear something to keep me from getting scratched up! And if I get that dead slime on the jeans I can always throw away the jeans, but, if I get it on me, I will stink for a week.”
Shaun smiled at Megan as she grinned at Doug.
“And.” Lisa continued. “Only a complete moron would go out there dressed in little shorts and a half-t! I’m sorry I don’t know where my head has been the last week. Honest, I’m really not this stupid.”
Doug laughed. “Gee, I thought Shaun was tough on me!”
Lisa looked at everyone and laughed. “I think we deserved worse. I am sorry. If you would prefer, Doug and I will stay here until we can get our act together. I know how serious going out on supply runs is. I’ve only been out a few times, but I really do know better.”
