by Sean Kidd
Thurman stepped forward, “Thank you, kind sir,” and smashed the glass with the butt of his rifle. He reached in through the window and pushed the automatic door opener, “Apres Vous, Messieurs.”
“Nice key,” I said as I walked through the open door, with Chevy at my side.
Thurman followed us into the warehouse.
“I want to take the Lamborghini for a spin,” Chevy begged.
“We’re here to get the Hummer.” I said.
“Oh, come on, Dad.” Chevy prattled.
I wanted to drive the Lambo too, but we needed to get the Humvee and meet back up with the rest of the group. It was a lucky coincidence for Chevy, that the only car between the garage door and the Hummer happened to be the Lambo.
“I’ll let you if you want. We need to move the Lambo, so find the keys. You can drive it to the supermarket and leave it there. Thurman and I will drive the Hummer over.”
Chevy disappeared to the back office in search of keys. I could hear him opening and closing cupboards.
“Found the Hummer keys,” he called out.
“How long have you guys been friends?” Luther asked.
“For as long as I can remember.”
“Has he always been like that?”
“You mean a dumbass?” I said laughing, “For as long as I can remember. Thurman, I am sorry about the things we said before. Maybe we can all start over. I’ll talk to the group and explain what happened when we get back. I’ll make sure we keep your secret, so we don’t upset Herman.”
Thurman paused, “The whole group thinks I’m a psycho?”
“Let’s just say, they’re not sure what to think of you. After I tell them what happened, I think they’ll agree they would have done the same thing.”
“Thanks, Ty. I appreciate-"
I was interrupted when shots rang out from the back office.
“Chevy!” I screamed.
Thurman and I sprinted through the parked cars toward my friend. The sound of gunfire stopped, replaced with Chevy's screams. I ran as fast as I could and felt like I was moving in slow motion.
“Chevy!” I yelled out again.
There was no response. When I got near the office, I saw a zombie lying dead on the floor. He was half out of the office. When I stepped in, I realized the office doubled as an efficiency apartment. It was one room with a single bed, a kitchenette, and a TV. There was a door inside the office that opened up into a small bathroom. The dead man must have been the vehicle's and garage's caretaker, and in return for his meager pay, he got the free amenities.
Chevy was sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. He looked petrified and pale.
He let out a little chuckle as he spoke, “The fucker came out of nowhere.”
“Are there anymore?” I asked.
“Not that I saw. Just the one I shot.” Chevy whimpered.
I laughed, “You scared the shit out of me, Chevy. Let’s get the keys and get the hell out of here.”
I reached out to help Chevy up when he yelled at me, “Stay back! He got me...”
“He what?” I asked
“You heard me, Ty. He got me.”
“What do you mean, he got you?”
“Come on, Ty. You know what I mean.” He held up his arm. Blood dripped from the bite-shaped mark.
“Nooooo….” I cried. I felt my heart drop into my stomach.
“Ty, it’s okay, man. You know I love you, brother. It's nobody’s fault but my own. I got so caught up with the thought of driving the car I wasn’t paying attention. I sure wish I could have driven that Lamborghini. Get to the girls. Keep them safe and find your dad. I can’t go with you. Now get out of here and don’t forget to tell Mom I love her.”
“I can’t do that, Chevy. I’m not going to leave you here. Why did this have to happen to you? Why? There must be something we can do.”
“You know there’s not.”
“Bullshit. Watch me.”
I grabbed Chevy under his arms and yanked him to his feet, “You can walk, can’t you?” I urged.
“Yeah, the zombie bit my arm, not my legs.”
“Where are the Hummer keys?”
“In my pocket, but I couldn’t find the Lambo keys, and it's in the way,” Chevy replied.
“I don’t care about the fucking Lambo. Now move your feet.”
I helped Chevy walk while Luther carried all the guns. It was a long way back to the Hummer and dragging Chevy made it even more difficult. When we got to the black civilian version of the Hummer, I unlocked the back door and helped Chevy climb in. “You’re putting everyone in danger. Just leave me.”
“Never!”
I jumped in the driver’s seat and started the engine. It turned over slowly like it hadn’t run in a while. I hoped the alternator still worked, or the vehicle would be useless to us.
I waited for Thurman to climb in and close his door before moving.
“Put your seatbelt on, you’re gonna need it,” I said
I knew we were facing west because the afternoon sun blinded all of us as we looked out the garage door.
Thurman shielded his eyes from the sun and pointed out the windshield, “What about that?” he asked.
“What about what?” I growled as I slammed the accelerator on the floor. I struck the Lambo from behind. Its tires squealed as I pushed it out of the way. It was no match for the powerful engine and torque of the Humvee.
“Oh, no, Ty” Chevy cried.
I turned back, “Are you okay?”
“You killed my car, Ty. Why did you have to kill my car?”
Chevy watched, with his mouth wide open as the car slid off the road and careened into a tree.
“Why? Oh, that beautiful car. Why?” Chevy blubbered.
I kept my foot on the floor as we came out from behind The Magic Land Motel. I knew exactly where we were. We were on the main road only about a mile from the park, and closer to the supermarket than I thought, a little bit of luck.
“Everyone hold on. I’ll have us at the supermarket in five minutes.” I said, as I turned onto the main road squealing my tires.
Chevy slid forward in the seat so he could see out the windshield, “How do you think the girls are doing?”
I anted up a comforting smile, “Better than we are, I’m sure.”
I turned forward again as a thundering explosion in the distance shook the Humvee. We watched in awe as an enormous fireball rolled into the sky.
CHAPTER 25
Daniels walked around offering everyone more bottled water. It took about five minutes for them to go from starving to stuffed. The plan was to start moving again, but their bellies told them it was time for a nap. It wasn’t safe in the city. It would be safer to take advantage of the daylight and move out in five minutes. There'd be time to sleep when they got out of the city. Daniels reached in his shirt pocket and pulled the phone out again. It hadn’t rung, but with the cellular networks sporadic service, a message might have been received without the phone recognizing it. Daniels hit the home button. There were no new messages. A searing twinge of fright shot through his body. The thought that they hadn’t answered because they were dead, made him weak in the knees.
“Knock that shit off,” he thought to himself. It had to be the goddamn cell service. It didn’t work that well before all this started. He wasn’t about to let shitty service get to him now. He scrolled down to the last message he sent. Below the text bubble it said, “Delivered.” All the messages above it all said, “Read.” There were a thousand reasons why he wouldn’t have read it. Daniels ran through them in his head. Maybe they were on Interstate 87. There’s no service on that road. That had to be it. He touched the text bubble; the keyboard rose from the bottom of the screen, “Ty. We made it to Bryant Park. We’re heading for the tunnel. Please reply when you get this, pal. I’m worried about you. Love you. Dad.”
Daniels hit send and followed the delivery bar across the top of the screen. The phone dinged when the mess
age finally sent.
“It hadn’t made that sound before.” Daniels thought. “Maybe the previous message didn’t send after all.”
The most he could do now was to hope for a quick reply. Ten minutes later he found himself still staring at the screen.
“This is ridiculous,” he said aloud.
All eyes in the room looked at him.
“What did you say?” Bunker asked.
Daniels put the phone back in his pocket, “It’s time to go I said. Everyone on their feet. I’ll be right back.”
Daniels left the solarium and went to the employee break room. Earlier, when he was clearing the building with Bunker, he stumbled across a lost and found clothing box. With a little luck, maybe he could find something to carry the food. He rummaged through the box. It didn’t take long for him to come across a couple of student's backpacks. With the number of kids that came to the park daily, there was no doubt they’d leave their stuff behind.
Daniels hustled back to the café after finding the packs and tossed them to Ceci and Kaden, “You guys stuff those with some food and water. We’re bound to be hungry again at some point.”
Destiny stood up waiting to help, “What do you need me to do?”
“You’re my navigator, goose. Tell me how to get from here to the Lincoln Tunnel.”
“From here, it’s easy,” she pointed out the window, “we go west until we get to Eleventh Avenue, and then turn south, and we’ll be on the tunnel road.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Daniels said, looking out the window.
The kids came back a few minutes later, loaded with food and bottled water. Bunker tightened up the backpacks so they would be easier to carry.
“We’re ready.” Bunker said.
Daniels looked out the huge tinted window, “It looks safe outside. Let’s move.”
They hadn’t been in the solarium very long, but now they all had an uneasy feeling. The light breeze had stopped, and the air felt stagnant. A fetid aroma assaulted their senses. Their movements were slow and cautious as they left the park. Up ahead of them, Bunker saw four dead crossing the street. The dead had their noses raised like rabid dogs searching for prey.
They were walking toward Daniels’ group but hadn’t seen them yet.
“Do you see them?” Bunker whispered.
Daniels nodded his head and reached into his back pocket, “I grabbed these in the café,” he whispered back.
Daniels handed Bunker one of the two carving knives, “We know these things are attracted by sound, and I’m pretty sure by smell too. Let's try not using the guns unless we have to. I know the knives are small, but they should get the job done.”
Bunker handed his M4 to Kaden and took the knife from Daniels. He examined the blade and felt its weight in his palm, “This will work. You take the two on the right, and I’ll take the two on the left.”
“Remember,” Daniels said, “these things die when you destroy the brain. So don’t play around with them. We’ll circle wide and try to kill them before they even see us coming. Destiny, you distract them by walking straight at them. That will give us the advantage. If things don’t go right, don’t be afraid to pull out that little P32 you’ve got hidden in your purse.”
“Don’t you worry, Sugar. I’ll smoke those bitches’ asses.”
“It’s now or never, Bunker. Stay wide.” Daniels said.
Bunker broke into a quick jog and made his wide approach. Destiny waited until they were clear of her and she started her babbling, “Oh, shit. You zombie bitches don’t know what’s comin'. That’s right. You just keep comin' over here to eat me. We got a little surprise for ya.” She didn’t just get their attention. She pissed them off. They staggered toward her, waving their arms and moaning.
The plan was working. They never saw the men approaching from behind.
Bunker made it there first. He looped all the way around, paused briefly, and then drove the knife upward from the top of the dead female’s neck. She fell at the feet of the second zombie, pulling his attention away from Destiny. The zombie turned in time to catch Bunker’s blade as it entered the top of its nose. Black fluid gushed out the wound as Bunker retracted the knife. He watched as it fell dead.
Daniels wasn’t as lucky. He thrust his knife into the zombie’s skull killing it instantly. When he pulled it out, to his surprise, the blade was gone. The cheap cutlery broke at the handle leaving the blade inside of the dead man’s brain.
The second zombie turned and grabbed at Daniels’ shirt. He was off balance and in trouble. Where the hell was Destiny with that P32. Daniels punched at the zombie’s head and waited for the sound of Destiny’s gun as they both fell to the ground. It wasn’t the shot that killed him. It was Bunker’s blade.
“Thanks, buddy. I thought he almost had me.”
“No problem,” Bunker chuckled.
“Are you gonna make Bunker do all the work?” Destiny joked.
“Ha, ha, funny. Where the hell were you with your gun?”
“I put it away. Bunker was kickin ass, so I just watched the show.”
Bunker let out another little chuckle, “I was kicking ass, you know.”
“Yeah, I must have missed it,” Daniels smirked, “get the kids over here and I’m going to run up to the next corner and see if there are any threats.”
“Honey, maybe you better bring Bunker, in case you need someone to save you again.”
Daniels looked back, but did not give her the satisfaction of a response. Bunker motioned for Ceci and Kaden to come over and watched as Daniels ran down to the corner.
“Where’s he going?” Ceci asked.
“He’s heading down to the next corner, to make sure the coast is clear.”
They all snapped their heads toward Daniels when shots rang out from around the corner. Not just one or two, but a full magazine worth. Bunker grabbed the M4 from Kaden and sprinted toward Daniels. Shots echoed off the buildings. Then paused, Bunker knew it was for a mag change. The firing started again, a full mag worth. Bunker was almost to the corner, a few seconds away. He raised his rifle and flipped off the safety. Daniels appeared, running a dead sprint. He screamed something when he passed Bunker.
It sounded like, “RUN!”
CHAPTER 26
The ringing in Sidara’s ears had dissipated. Pressure from teeth biting her arm slowly brought her out of her unconscious state. The pain subsided, and again she felt teeth bite down on her shoulder. Still partially knocked out from the explosion, her mind became aware of her surroundings.
“Explosion. Zombies on fire. Biting my arm.”
Consciousness returned like a tsunami, crashing against her, bringing her to full alertness. She opened her eyes expecting to see the burning zombie eating her. Instead, she woke to that beautiful gray-haired Weimaraner, pulling her away from the burning building to safety. She was alive. The zombies were gone. She had no idea what had happened to them. She reached back and rubbed Charger’s head, “Thank you, girl. You saved me.” Sidara rolled over off her back and fought to get up on her feet.
The three burning zombies were all lying on the ground still on fire. Across the parking lot, Jen and Sage were dragging Luther away from the inferno. His face was black with soot and some of the hair on his head burned away. Sidara staggered over to help, “What happened?” she asked.
Luther shot the propane tanks to save us all. I’m not sure if he’s breathing. We need to get him away from the heat of that building.”
They pulled him a few more yards, and Jen dropped to her knees and started CPR, “Come on, Luther.”
She pumped on his chest and breathed clean air into his lungs. He didn’t move. The compressions expelled black smoke from his nose.
“I think he’s dead. Stop before he bites you,” Sage said, as she covered her mouth with her hands.
Jen looked up in mid-compression, “He’s not going to change, they didn't bite him. He’s going to make it. He just needs a second.”
Jen gave two more breaths and looked up as a vehicle came to a sliding stop, a few feet from her.
“What happened?” Cowboy yelled as he jumped out of the vehicle and charged toward her. He dropped down to his knees and grabbed Luther’s face with his burly hand, “Luther, buddy. Come back. You’ve got to fight.” He pulled the mammoth hand back and slapped Luther across the face.
Jen continued compressions and watched as Cowboy shook and screamed for the lifeless man to come back. Cowboy pulled back again and slapped Luther a second time. This time as hard as he could. He wound up a third time and stopped when he saw Luther’s eyes open. Luther sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly, throwing him into a coughing fit. Black mucus flew from his mouth. He rolled off his back into a fetal position, coughing, as Cowboy patted him between the shoulders.
“You scared me there, buddy.” Cowboy said continuing to pat his back.
The coughing subsided, and Luther sat up rubbing his face, “Did you have to hit me so hard?”
Everyone chuckled with relief.
Cowboy helped Luther to his feet and brushed off his shoulders, “Are you sure you’re okay pal?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
Luther rubbed the bare skin above his eyes where he once had eyebrows, “Do I look stupid?”
Cowboy moved in for a closer look, just inches from Luther’s face. He examined the seared stubble, “No, you don’t look any more stupid than you looked before, buddy. Maybe a little silly, though.”
“Oh great,” Luther said rubbing the bare skin again.
“Is everyone else okay?” Cowboy asked looking at Sidara’s soot covered face.
“We’re all fine. Just a little shaken up,” Jen explained as she put her arm around Luther, “He saved us.”
Half of Luther’s face was glowing red from Cowboy’s slap. Now the blushing made the other side match.
“I told you, gals. It’s a good thing you didn’t leave him in that hole back on the highway.”
Jen laughed as she walked back to the Humvee, “Don’t worry, Luther. We would have never left you in that hole.”
