by Travis Tufo
“We need to go now!” She practically pushed Eli aside and threw the door open.
“No!” Eli tried to stop her, but had no hands since he had grabbed his bags again. He was worried that the parking lot group of fungal monsters would still be out there, but to his relief, they were not. He was dumbfounded, standing there with a clueless smirk on his face, his knees almost buckling under the weight.
“Could you snap out of your trance and get the hell out of here with me?” Niva was in a justified rush. Before he could answer, something caught his attention on the blacktop off to the left, only a few feet away from where they stood. It was shiny and hard to see in the setting sun, but then it hit him like a blessing from above. Eli was staring at his Taurus .357 Magnum. He just looked at it in all its beautiful glory.
“Eli! What the hell is wrong with you? Did you forget the world is falling apart right behind us?” Niva was panicked but Eli never took his loving gaze off the weapon. He dropped the bags in front of Niva and nearly dropped Aurora as he bent over to grab it.
“I missed you so much.” It was a truly magical moment for him.
“You have got to be kidding me! Let’s go, you idiot!” She struggled to get the bags in the air, but she managed. She slung them over her shoulder and together they snuck off into the rising moon, avoiding any further confrontation.
Within a half mile of Walmart, they had made it back into the deeper part of Portland, surrounding themselves with tall buildings and broken-down or abandoned vehicles once again.
“I…I can’t carry her any longer. My adrenaline tank emptied a few hundred steps ago.” The sweat on his face said it all. Niva’s expression showed more than just relief at stopping for a break. They scouted out the area; there were shadows moving all over the place. It was far from safe right in the middle of the streets. Eli put his finger to his lips to indicate they should be quiet, though the only noise coming from the three of them was Eli’s heavy breathing. They snuck up to a large black Jeep. Eli tried the door, and much to his surprise, it was unlocked. He set Aurora down in the back seat; there was just enough room for her to lay fully extended. Niva jumped into the passenger seat as Eli propped up Aurora’s head with a bag full of supplies. It wasn’t a great pillow, but it would serve its purpose. Eli placed a kiss on her forehead then climbed into the front seat.
“Eli, I hope you aren’t planning on starting this thing. It’s the middle of the night and every last one of these creatures will be attracted to it.” He looked at her with confusion.
“Start this thing? No way!”
“What on earth are we doing here then?”
“Say hello to our less than five star hotel room for the night,” Eli said, smiling. She had no response, but there was a look of disapproval on her face.
“Hey, it’s no suite, but it does come with doors that will keep the flesh eating monsters at bay,” he said. Niva rolled her eyes but instead of starting a fight, she looked back to Aurora.
“I sure hope she wakes up. She was less than nice to me, but she means well, I can see that. That, and I see how much she means to you.” Eli smiled at Niva.
“I sure hope so too. Plus, if she doesn’t, who the hell is going to protect us?” They laughed.
“Seriously though, she’s savage,” Eli said with a stern face.
“Eli, what’s it like?” Niva asked.
“What is what like?” There was a puzzled look on his face. “Killing?” His eyebrows raised and he averted his attention outside to a wandering infected stumbling along the road. He reclined his seat so that it wouldn’t see him in the Jeep. Niva did the same. Eli then rubbed his eyes for a few prolonged seconds.
“It’s like…” he broke the silence in a raspy voice.“It’s like you’re invincible for a second. It’s like I am the one playing God and deciding who lives or dies. It…it’s awful.”
“I couldn’t even imagine.”
“No, not until you’ve done it. And you wanna know the worst part?”
“What?”
“The shock of killing someone hasn’t even hit me yet.”
“What do you mean?” Niva asked. Their voices were starting to fog up the glass, if anything it would act as camouflage.
“Like, I haven’t felt the remorse or…I don’t even know. But what I do know is that some night I’ll wake up in a cold sweat crying because I took away a future.” Eli looked out at the darkening streets. Niva took in a deep gulp.
“But then, on the other hand…” Eli continued his monologue, “…sometimes I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, you know? Like, am I here to exterminate this abomination? Are these things in pain, and I’m putting them out of it and sending the real person, the one that they once were, to heaven? The hardest part is I have no idea.”
“What do you think you are doing when you kill them?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’d like to believe that I am sending these suffering people off to a better place, but I just don’t feel that way when I squeeze the trigger or swing a pair of goddamned scissors.”
“I was never one to believe in violence myself,” Niva said thoughtfully, “but given the current circumstances, I think that you are making the right choices, Eli. I think you should do what your natural instincts tell you to, and if that means killing, then do so. As much as I’d love to believe it, I just don’t think we can run away from all of them.” The two of them quieted as the wandering infected shuffled down the road just next to the Jeep. They waited till he was a few yards away.
“You’re right, we can’t run from them all, that would be too easy,” he grinned. “And maybe you’re on to something. Deep inside, my instincts...they are what are acting when the fight is going, not me or my conscious thoughts. I just do as my insides guide me.” It went silent in the car, and for the first time in a long time it was quiet outside.
“Eli?”
“What is it?”
“Do you think it’s safe to sleep here?”
“No.” His answer was like a swift punch to the gut. Niva felt uneasy about the his words, but had nothing to return with.
“…but I do think it is our best bet right now. Hopefully, in the morning we will all wake up and travel to our next destination where ever that may be. I don’t think I’ll be able to carry her much farther, so tomorrow morning might be rough.” He looked over his shoulder to Aurora in the back seat and sighed heavily. He then gave Niva a half smile and slumped into the seat and began to drop off to sleep.
Niva spent the next half hour lying awake, wondering if anything would ever be the same again or if she’d even make it out alive. She thought to herself that she needed to toughen up if she were to survive against the unrelenting hordes of the reanimated.
“I have to pretend that they were never human…” she whispered to herself as she finally relaxed. The three of them managed to sleep through the night unhindered by any unwanted guests.
Chapter Eighteen
ELI AWOKE FIRST at the sight of the rising sun; he must have gotten at least eight hours of sleep, giving his body a good chance to recuperate. He woke up with a large stretch and almost a loud yawn, but he stopped when his mind caught up with his body and reminded him that it wasn’t the best idea. He was greatly surprised to see that there weren’t hundreds of fungal infected monsters outside lined up and ready to eat them. He looked over to Niva, who was still sound asleep. She was producing a cute little snore, almost like a purr. Eli smiled and looked back to Aurora. The second he cocked his head back to check the back seat, his heart started to race, his eyes were met by hers.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Aurora said in a low tone, pain obvious in her voice. Eli had so many emotions firing off he didn’t know what to do with himself, so he just laughed, a kind of internal panic laugh, but a laugh, nonetheless.
“You…I can’t believe you’re…damn, Aurora, I’m just happy to see you conscious.” They exchanged smiles.
“I uh…I’m pretty surprised too. Th
ere were a few seconds when I felt like I was going towards the light.”
“How are you feeling?” He got up in his seat a little more.
“Well, I’d rather be out there being eaten alive just to keep my mind off the pain, but other than that? Never better.”
“Hey, at least you didn’t turn into one of those things. I would have a hard time explaining to my parents that I’m dating a blood sucking mushroom.”
“Wait, dating?” She raised her eyebrows just as Eli’s cheeks turned rose red.
“Well…I…you know…. Just go along with the joke, damn it,” he stuttered like a child.
“No, no Eli. I think I like the sound of that.”
“Really?” Eli had never been more excited in his life.
“Well, it could be because I’m in an excruciating amount of pain, or maybe that you’re probably the last man alive, but yeah,” Aurora said quietly.
He squinted at her. “I’m not sure if I should be offended or…” He hesitated; she laughed.
“Just smile, Eli!”
“I’ve tried way harder than this to get a girl before and still failed.”
“What? Harder than saving her life by carrying her bloody body through a Walmart packed with flesh eating monsters? That’s pretty pathetic.”
“Well...” Eli stammered. “Not every girl gives you that chance, I guess.”
“Yeah, it’s probably the last man alive thing,” she said, grinning.
“Hey, if you want there’s still that psycho out there.”
“You know, now that you mention it…”
“Shut up, just shut up now.”
“Why don’t you make me?” she said in the most provocative voice she could muster, though it was a weak attempt; she still sounded like a dying frog. Eli, without hesitation, leaned back towards her face and puckered his lips. She was just leaning forwards to meet his with hers when, to no one’s surprise, Niva woke up. Not only did she wake up just in time to ruin their moment, but she woke up in a panic.
“Where are we? Eli!” she yelled in the closed environment. Eli placed his hand over her mouth.
“Quiet!” he whispered. “We are still in this damn Jeep. What’s the matter with you?”
“Oh, I must have had a bad dr…Aurora! Are you really alive? Oh my god! I’m so happy you aren’t dead.” Aurora calmly nodded her head.
“Eli! She’s alive! She made it!” Niva was bouncing around in her seat.
“Who made it?” His smart ass comment killed her joy.
“Oh Eli. You should be more excited that you don’t have to bury her. Oh, and how are you feeling, Aurora? I hope you don’t feel like a zombie or anything.”
“I feel fine, thank you.”
“Niva?” Eli asked.
“What is it?”
“Shut up.” He ended that conversation quickly.
“So…” Aurora coughed up from the back seat.
“So what?” Niva asked.
“What’s the plan?”
“We don’t exactly have a plan. Hell, I’m still surprised we made it to this Jeep in one piece,” Eli stepped in.
“Was it hard getting me out of that store?”
“You don’t even want to know,” Niva answered sending shivers down her own spine.
“Yeah, it was rough,” Eli answered.
“Eli, did you ever catch that psycho who…you know...Shaun?” Eli took in a deep breath. Aurora moved her attention to Niva, who shook her head “no.”
“I almost had him. I mean I could have killed him, but…” his voice trailed off.
“It’s okay, Eli. We will get that bastard eventually,” she reassured him before he lost it. Before anything more could be said, a faraway horn could be heard. It was similar to the one from the previous night.
“Is that…a car horn?” Eli sprang up in his seat to get a better look. The noise was coming from behind them and it was quickly getting louder.
“Why the hell would someone be laying on the horn like that?” Aurora struggled to get herself up so she too, could see. Within a few stress inducing seconds a heavily customized armored truck sped by, blowing its horn the entire time. The group of three in the Jeep all sunk into their seats so they wouldn’t be seen.
“Did you see that thing? It had barbed wire on the grill and it was a bloody mess!” Niva looked panicked.
“As long as they didn’t see us we should be fine. Just stay still.” Eli tried to calm her down.
“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Eli,” Aurora spoke up. She was just barely peeking out the back windshield.
“Why not?” Eli was puzzled as he hadn’t noticed the approaching horde following the trail of the killer vehicle that had just passed.
“Look.” Aurora simply pointed out the window. Eli did as he was told and his heart nearly stopped. There were hundreds of runners coming down the road. He watched as they bumped into cars, fell on the ground, and even got trampled under thousands of pounding feet as they sped down the road.
“We have to get the hell out of here right now!” Eli opened his door without warning and headed to the back to help Aurora. They could have maybe driven off but Aurora was too weak to try and hot wire it in the given circumstances and the keys were nowhere to be found.
“Can we please stay, Eli? They won’t see us in here!” Niva was still panicking.
“We can’t risk that, Niva we have to move!” Eli reached for Aurora to help her to her feet but instead she shoved the bag full of supplies in his face.
“If I can’t carry myself, then I’m no use to the group.” She fought to her feet, but once there, she looked as good as new on the outside. However, the inside was a different story. She grabbed her gun and looked to Niva.
“Hey, Niva, thanks for being bait and allowing us to get away while that parade of dead came to eat you,” she said to the girl watching her. Niva’s eyes turned into fishbowls.
“I’m coming!” She shot out of the Jeep like a rocket and sprinted around to meet up with the other two.
“We won’t be able to get too far with you and your leg the way it is, so let’s pick a building,” Eli said as he surveyed their surroundings.
“That one! Or that one! Any of them!” Niva was ready to run in any direction. The horde was still a decent bit away, but they were gaining ground fast.
“Follow me!” Aurora said as she tried to run towards a nearby hardware store. However, just a few steps in she realized running wasn’t going to be in her immediate future. Instead she limped over to the hardware store door and tried to open it, but of course, it was locked. She raised her rifle up and forced the wooden butt of the gun down onto the knob, breaking it clean off and sending the door swinging open.
“Alright, that works,” Aurora said. Eli and Niva followed her inside, closing the door behind them and placing a doorstop against the foot of the door to act as a make shift lock. They then quietly looked around the dark store. The windows had shades, but none of them were brave enough to open them, and for good reason; it wouldn’t take much to shatter the windows and have them quickly overrun.
“We’ll just wait for them to pass and we will be on our merry way,” Eli said, feeling slightly better about the situation.
“Where exactly is our ‘merry way’’? Niva said she knows where to go or where they were sending the refugees, right?” Aurora directed her cold stare at Niva.
“I uh…” she began, but before she could answer a thud echoed throughout the store. It was coming from the back room. Eli raised his revolver and pulled the pin back. The three of them slowly crept to the back room doorway. Eli led the way with Aurora close behind, within grabbing distance, and Niva was far behind her, cowering in fear.
“Be careful.” All Niva could do was offer words of encouragement. Eli placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted. There was another loud thud from the room; it was like someone was throwing something against the floor. Eli was a fraction of an inch away from unlocking the doo
r, they could hear the tiniest clicks of the mechanism inside the knob, when Aurora interrupted.
“Wait a second, Eli!” He let the door go and turned to her.
“If you shoot that gun we will surely get some unwanted attention,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. He raised his eyebrows and quickly wiped the dumb look off his face.
“Holy shit, good call.” He put the gun back in his pocket and stepped away from the door.
“Well, we are in a hardware store. I’m sure we can find something a little quieter,” he said as he walked back to the shelves to look for something like an axe or hammer. As the last words left his mouth, whatever was on the other side of the door started to violently pound against the wall. Chunks of drywall flew off the wall and the vibrations even started to knock tools off their hooks. It was a symphony of bangs, thuds, crashes, and slams. Eli paid no attention to the rumbling; he was too preoccupied watching the hundreds of passing shadows at the front of the store. Eli noticed a few of the shadows stop, and one even walked up against the window. A few more followed the example and were soon banging up against the glass, they must have heard the ruckus from inside the store.
“We have to kill that sucker right now,” Eli quietly stated. They all started franticly looking for anything to kill the infected on the other side of the door. It didn’t take long for the three of them to notice a pattern, though. Most of the tools were missing, and it wasn’t like the store hadn’t kept up with their inventory; it was more like someone had come in and stolen everything from buzz saw blades, to the hatchets, the nails, almost everything was missing.
“Where the hell is everything?” Aurora said as she threw trash bags and pieces of tile around as that was all she could find. A loud roar could be heard from the front of the store. Eli looked up and saw that there were now infected in double digits standing in front of the windows. He could barely make them out in between the panels of the shades. Then it hit him, a shiny little sparkle caught his attention from the corner of his peripheral. It was a hammer that the workshop bandit must have left behind on accident. He grabbed it. A trembling groan came from the other side of the door. Whatever was back there was different from the normal infected he’d encountered, but he had no time to think about it. He rushed to the door and swung it open. He was met with pitch black and a large gust of decay. He had no idea how big the room was, or where the monster was.
