by Josh Vasquez
***
“Hey!”
Tori ignored Lexx, who she could feel was closing the distance between the two of them.
“Tori stop! Where are you going?”
She didn’t know where she was going. Away from him? She felt his hand grab her right shoulder and she yanked it away from him.
“Tori! What is wrong with you?”
That made her stop. She about-faced and stared holes into the man. Her face was flushed red; her expression set. It was clear that she was angry, but the tears in the corner of her eyes betrayed her.
“Nothing is wrong with me Lexx,” she said with an eerie calmness.
Lexx was unsure on how to answer that. It seemed like a trap. He did not like traps.
“Um, what I mean to say is, what is bothering you?” He asked, slowly and carefully.
“What is bothering me, Lexx?” She asked.
He didn’t like the way she kept using his name. There was a hint of contempt hidden in it. Another sign of a trap.
“I… I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
She snickered.
“You want to know what’s bothering me, Lexx?”
Yep, this is a trap, he thought.
Although there was a part of him screaming not to do so, he slowly nodded his head.
“Well, what’s bothering me is that I don’t know a FUCKING THING ABOUT YOU! You were in the Army? Were you ever planning on telling me that? Oh, and you were fucking engaged? Was that ever gonna come out?”
She paused, but not for Lexx to answer, but to take a breath.
“And here you are, just spilling out your whole damn life story to Chris, you two best-buds, just laughing it up and having a grand ol’ time. And you haven’t even as hinted about any of this shit with me? Fuck you, Lexx, fuck you!”
Lexx stood there as Tori yelled. He was slightly concerned with the amount of noise she was making, but decided that maybe it wasn’t the best time to bring it up. He just made sure to keep an eye out through his peripheral for anything that might still sneak up on them. Although, perhaps zombies were not the scariest thing he had to worry about right now. His shoulders relaxed.
“That’s it?” He asked.
“UGH!” She huffed, pushing him in the chest with both hands and turning to walk off again.
Why did I say that? He wondered to himself.
“Wait, I’m sorry!” He said, grabbing her shoulder again before she got too far away.
He spun her around and placed both hands around her shoulders. He looked her in the eye and made a quick smile.
“I’m sorry I haven’t told you any of that stuff. It just never came up…”
“It just doesn’t bother you,” she interrupted. “That we don’t know anything about each other? I mean, we’ve humped like rabbits, but I don’t even know your last name!”
She sighed, her body relaxing. Lexx moves his hands down her arms, stopping above the elbow. He smiled.
“It’s Thompson.”
This was able to make her smile briefly, but eyes dropped and her brow furrowed again.
“Hey,” Lexx started softly. “I understand what you mean. It’s just that, until we got here, we haven’t had time to really stop and talk about that kinda stuff. We’ve been on the run and more concerned with staying alive, you know? But now that we’re here, we can actually relax a little bit. I slept like a baby last night. It’s been awhile since I could say that.”
“Really? Because I slept horrible last night! Anytime I could finally relax and fall asleep, I fell back into the same damn nightmare.”
“Nightmare? About what?” He asked.
“About you dying.”
Now it all made sense to Lexx.
“And that’s why you got so upset?
She nodded.
“Maybe. I don’t know. Shut up.”
Lexx could not help but smile.
“Look,” she continued. “I know, if that this was in normal times, that if there weren’t zombies, I would sound like a total basket case, and you would be smart to dump me. We’re not even a week into our relationship (She uses “air-quotes” on the word relationship.) and I’m going ballistic on you for not telling me about yourself? I know I sound crazy. It’s just that, we aren’t in normal times anymore. Everyday could be our last and time is so valuable now. Every time I would wake up from my nightmare last night, I would look over at you and wonder, ‘How long til that side of the bed is empty?’ I just don’t know what to think anymore Lexx.”
He smiles and inches closer to her.
“We’re in a relationship?” He asked playfully.
“You know what I mean doofus.”
His grin grew wider.
“I just didn’t know we were in one, that’s all. So, are we exclusive?”
“Stop,” she said. “You’re not funny.”
She went to push him away, but he pulled her in closer. This time she did not resist. She looked up at him, at his infectious smile. His dumb, adorable, infectious smile. Despite the whirlwind of crazy in her head, she felt safe, right here in his arms. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“This past week has been insane. You’re right. And now that we can actually stop and breathe, maybe now would be a good time to get to know each other more. Especially since we’re in a relationship now.”
She laughed.
“Seriously, stop saying that,” she said. “You’re ruining it.”
“Well, you know, since it is the end of the world and all, maybe it’s not such a good idea to be putting labels on things. I think all the rules of dating went out the window last week when people started eating each other. I’ll just be your man and you can be my woman.”
“Oh, please. So what? We’re cavemen now?”
He stepped back and beat on his chest, making gorilla-like hooting noises. This made her laugh. Again, her soul felt lighter.
He is so goofy.
He stopped his grunting and held out his hand.
“Lexx Stewart Thompson. Pleased to meet you.”
She smiled and reached out for his hand in return.
“Victoria Rebecca Hays.”
They shook hands and he pulled her into a hug.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hey,” she whispered back.
They kissed.
Chapter Nine
“This is it?” Jeremy asked.
The “job-site” that Josh had been talking about was more like a mud puddle in the middle of the woods. The steel erections of the building were up, but not much after that. There were several shipping containers and office trailers located around the yard, plus the few backhoes and other construction equipment.
“Yep,” was all Josh said, as he pulled their truck through the open gate.
“And there’s stuff we can use here?” Jeremy asked, his eyes looking around for anything of value.
“Oh yeah.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. The place was a ghost town and it did not look like anything of use was there. Maybe one of the backhoes, but what were they going to do? Drive that noisy thing all the way back to the cabin?
Josh pulled the truck up to one of the large, steel shipping containers. It was a mix of blue and rust.
“C’mon, let’s go,” he said.
They both got out the truck and looked around, making sure that the coast really was clear. It was and they continued. Josh led them to one of the office trailers and began walking up the creaky metal stairs.
“I have to get the key to the container. Should only take a second,” he said as he reached for the doorknob.
The door swung open and out stumbled a well-decomposed zombie. With a hard hat on its head and orange reflective vest, there was no doubt that at one time this was one of Josh’s co-workers. Josh grabbed it by the vest and swung it in Jeremy’s direction. Not missing a beat, Jeremy brought his machete down on the creature’s head, splitting the skull open right between the eyes. Its da
rk, black eyes rolled back into its head and the body fell limp to the ground. Jeremy reached down, yanked the blade back, and there was a sickening slosh of brain-juices as the machete exited.
“Good teamwork,” Josh said.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t really have a choice when you chunked that thing at me.”
“My bad, I thought you knew what’s up.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes again. The gesture did not seem to bother Josh at all. He opened the trailer door all the way, slightly more cautious this go around. After peeking his head in and taking a look, he motioned it was all clear and Jeremy followed him.
The room smelled of death. The zombie must have been in there for a good while, because the room was dank with the scent of rotten meat. Over in one of the corners, Jeremy saw the remains of someone else. It was impossible to tell who it could have been. Any kind of distinguishing features were now long gone, given way to bite marks and decay. Jeremy felt his stomach turn, which surprised him, because it had been a while since the gore did that to him.
Guess there’s still stuff that can gross me out. That’s good news, I guess?
Josh didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care. He went straight to a small, metal cabinet on the far wall. It was cracked open. He swung the door open and rows of keys filled the cabinet.
“Hmmm…” Josh said. “If I had to guess, I would say… This one.”
He pulled a key ring with several keys on it.
“What makes you so sure,” Jeremy asked.
“It has a tag on it that says ‘Container’,” he said.
“Fair enough.”
The two of them walked back outside, which was literally a breath of fresh air. Jeremy rubbed his nose, trying to knock out the last bits of stink molecules. It seemed to be working, or maybe he was just telling himself that. They walked back over to the container’s doors and after several attempts; Josh finally found the right key. He swung open the massive doors and Jeremy understood what all the fuss was about.
Sitting towards the front of the container, was a large, square, metal box. It was on a two-wheeled trailer, red, and one side filled with switches. Two flat, black panels were on top of the box, slightly tilted upwards.
“Is that… Is that a generator?” Jeremy asked.
“Yep. A solar powered one too,” Josh replied, his smile making its way back to his face. “C’mon help me pull this thing over to the back of the truck. It’s not too heavy on the trailer.”
He was right. On the trailer, it didn’t seem as heavy as it looked. The only obstacle was when it came down the step into the container, but they took it slow and easy. Once it was hooked up to the trailer hitch, Jeremy looked at Josh.
“Now what?” He asked.
“Let’s grab some of the tools. We can use them for the fence.”
A crack of thunder ripped through the sky. The sky had grown darker since they first pulled onto the construction site. Jeremy felt a single, cold drop of water hit his cheek. Josh looked up and panned the sky.
“We better hurry,” he said. “We don’t have long.”
They ran back to the container, the wind picking up as they did. Once inside, Josh started pointing at what to take and what to leave behind. Extension cords, spare rechargeable battery packs and chargers, and of course, power tools. Impact drills, band saws, and a large, concrete buzz saw. It took two hands to hold and looked rather intimidating in Jeremy’s hands. It would make a decent zombie-slayin’ weapon. A good alternative to a chainsaw. Another crack of thunder, this one much closer than the last, signaled to the two men that it was time to leave.
The rain was picking up speed.
“C’mon, let’s get this stuff on the truck and get out of here,” Josh said.
A flash of lighting lit up the sky. The bolt had struck the steel girders on the building, sparks flying off the hot metal. The corresponding thunder followed milliseconds after.
“Holy crap!” Josh yelled. “That was way too freaking close!”
A chorus of moans answered the thunder.
Oh shit, Jeremy thought.
He looked towards the building. Shadows began materializing from the darkness and made their way towards the truck. Jeremy didn’t have to squint through the rain to know what the shadows were. They marched forward in unsteady unison. As far as he could tell, Jeremy couldn’t see any runners. But in the darkened skies and downpour, the slower undead looked more menacing than ever.
Jeremy and Josh began piling their loot into the back of the truck, not taking any time to secure it for the ride back. They just knew they had to get out of there. With the rain still picking up, and the dead growing closer, time was short. They rushed back to the cab of the truck and Josh wasted no time cranking it up. The closest dead were no more than twenty feet away. Josh put the truck in drive and floored it, sending mud flying from the back tires.
“Ah crap,” Josh muttered.
“What?” Jeremy asked, but knew the answer as soon as he did.
The dead were blocking the road out.
Josh looked at Jeremy. Jeremy looked at Josh. Both nodded in agreement and Josh floored it into the crowd of z’s. The first few went flying over the hood, but the others were all crushed beneath the bottom of the truck. Jeremy thought about the time he played chicken with the zombie at Forsyth Park.
Good thing Tori’s not here, he thought.
She most likely would have not appreciated Josh’s running over of many zombies.
Jeremy was amazed at the number of them. They just seemed to keep coming out from the darkness, not concerned that their associates were becoming body speed bumps. The fact that the dead were not deterred by anything is what made them so damn scary. You could shoot them, hack off vital body parts, run them over with a fucking truck, and yet, they still kept coming. What other enemy in the history of mankind could do that? Never give up, never falter; the only thing that stops them is a bullet to the brain.
At least before, people would surrender.
Finally, the blockade of dead began to diminish. Jeremy turned to look out the back window. A trail of mangled bodies, mud, and death followed them. He looked over at Josh, whose hands tightly gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white. His face was ashen.
“You okay man?” Jeremy asked.
Josh loosened his grip on the steering and forced a fake smile.
“Yeah, just shook up I guess.”
The clouds began to part and the storm, which raged on just minutes before, now seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared.
“Hey.”
Jeremy looked over at Josh.
“Don’t tell my wife about this.”
Chapter Ten
CJ watched the dark clouds pass from a distance. They didn’t seem to be headed his way, but whichever way they were headed was in for some serious rain. The air had grown cool with the passing storm and he rubbed the chill from his arms.
I should get a coat, he thought.
He was sitting on a small flat part of the roof. He discovered it the other day and had made it his lookout perch. It was located near the highest point of the house, giving him a clear view of the surrounding area. The .30-06 sat next to him, ready in case anything unfriendly popped out from the wood line. The fact that no dead had wandered onto the property both comforted him and worried him.
Are we really that far out into the country?
He had never really thought about the location of their cabin. Most of the rides here, he was either playing on his phone or listening to music. And on his most recent ride here, his mind was elsewhere. Everyone’s was.
Things were still off. His mom had still yet to speak. His grandparents for the most part seemed to avoid his Dad. And his Dad. His Dad seemed to busy himself with every chore, trying to avoid the silence. CJ was there and knew it was not his Dad’s fault. He did everything he could to protect them. CJ had watched as his Dad ran out of ammunition and proceeded to cave in zombies’ skulls with his pistol. It all ju
st happened so quickly. No one saw the half-corpse crawl from underneath the car and grab his sister’s ankle. Too quick.
And just like that, she was gone.
His sister’s absence had created an emotional hole in his family’s psyche. He sat and wondered if they would ever be back to normal.
CJ looked towards the driveway. His Dad, and the man and woman were walking back from working on the fence. CJ tried to remember their names, but nothing seemed to come to mind. The guy seemed alright, a little goofy at times, but normal. The girl on the other hand, CJ was unsure on how to read her. He could tell that the wheels were constantly turning in her head, despite how she tried to hide it. He recognized it because he was the same way.
As they passed by him into the house, she glanced up at him and flashed him a quick smile.
She’s pretty too, he thought.
***
“Man, I am sore,” Chris said, as he sat down on the bed.
Amy was lying down on the opposite end, her back to him. She had a pillow clenched up to her chest. She had been crying.
Chris turned to look at his wife and frowned. She had been taking Hailey’s death hard.
She’s at least moving around on her own now, he thought.
For the first few days, she seemed to be stuck in some sort of catatonic state, only moving with the help from others. It wasn’t until the day before Josh arrived that she started moseying around the house. She would eat, but not much. Chris worried about her. His wife was normally very out-going and sociable. He’d never seen her like this before.
But, they have never seen hurt like this before.
Even his own heart ached for the loss of his daughter, his little girl. Hailey had Chris wrapped around her tiny fingers from the day she was born. She was her daddy’s princess. What he would give for a hug from her right now.
He felt tears welling up in the corners of his own eyes and quickly clenched them shut, forcing them to retreat.
He had not cried since the day they lost her.
The day he lost her.
If he had just been quicker. If he had just paid more attention to the situation. She would still be here.
