Dead Aware (Book 1): Dead Aware [A Zombie Journey]

by Merry, Eleanor

  She had pulled out a map of Canada, a lucky remnant of one of Chip’s school projects, and was thinking of ways her new friends would possibly be able to make it across. Max stared at the map with interest but tried not to interrupt Sue’s train of thought.

  Suddenly, she straightened up and walked towards the front door. Max followed, curious of the sudden call to action.

  Pressing her ear against the door, Sue listened for a moment before entering the store. She quickly moved to the front and pulled a road map off a rack and rushed back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

  Grinning, she looked at Max. “I have an idea!”

  Two days later, Sue’s plan was ready to go. With Jay distracting the children, she had taught Max the basics of reading a map and using a compass. He would no longer need to rely on the sun to find out where they were going. While he hadn't yet figured out reading, she also showed him how to match letters to compare words.

  Sue’s best idea, however, had come when they had been reviewing the route that seemed best for directness without as much human, or even other infected, interference. It was then they found the train. It was a route that went almost straight across the country,

  Unsure if it would still be making its cross-country route, Sue also took the time to teach Max the basics of how to operate a car using one of Chips toys. The basics of key, pedal, and wheel, anyway. If it was in more open areas, he should be able to figure out a vehicle well enough. The train would be the best scenario, but Sue and Max agreed it would be best to avoid people going forward; not everyone would be as accepting as their family had been.

  There was no way to determine if or how they would get on the train, whether it would stop somewhere they could get on it, and all the other factors. If nothing else, they found that if Max and Jay followed the tracks it was a relatively direct and hopefully easy way to guide them across the country. Max was incredibly grateful for everything Sue had done and came up with a plan to help the family that had been so helpful.

  “Out of the question, Max! It is way too dangerous out there, and we have enough food to last a few weeks, at least!” Sue argued. She and Max had been fighting the entire evening before.

  Max, however, was not to be dissuaded.

  He knew Sue wouldn't risk leaving the kids alone to find supplies. The least he could do for them after Jay and his abrupt entrance into their lives was ensure they had food. Then a better barrier at the front of the store.

  Once Sue gave up arguing about him leaving, she tried to convince him to take her bat to protect himself, the one real weapon they had. Once again, Max refused.

  Had Clara been there, she would have told Sue that Max was stubborn, and once he set his mind to something, it was almost impossible to talk him out of it.

  Leaving Jay with the children was also a request he made, not wanting to worry about him while he looked for supplies. Max was hoping for quickness and stealth, neither being very realistic with a shambling teen following him. Despite Sue’s misgivings about Max being in the outside world on his own, she understood it would be safer to leave Jay and quickly agreed to let him stay with her and the children.

  The next morning, Max set off on his own back onto the gloomy streets of Toronto.

  CHAPTER 21

  The compound was quiet, sedated by the lateness of the hour. Downstairs, the infected slept, and only a few soldiers remained awake to keep watch over their sleeping comrades.

  Rachel left her room and shut the door quietly behind her before moving down the hall. Guards and soldiers still patrolled, and while she had a pretty good idea of where what she needed would be located, she knew timing this perfectly was key. Curiosity and a desire to help drove her forward, despite the very real knowledge that if she followed through with her plans it would be considered treason.

  Creeping down the halls feeling very much like a criminal, she made her way towards Wolfe’s office.

  Rachel heard about the earlier display of aggression in the holding area, and by the description she had been given—“Blonde smarter one with the fuzzy robe”—she knew that it was Clara. While Rachel didn’t have access to the security footage, she imagined the woman must have been provoked in some way to have reacted in that manner. She hadn’t been aggressive at all with Rachel, other than the one moment she felt threatened.

  After dodging a few of the guards, including a less than elegant scurry into a janitor's closet, Rachel finally arrived in front of Wolfe’s office.

  Luckily for her, the narcissistic asshole didn’t think anyone would truly go into his office and, as such, the door was unlocked. Careful to keep the door from slamming shut, Rachel crept into the room, keeping the lights off in case anyone wandered by at this late hour. Sweat ran down her neck. She had never really been one for breaking the rules and she could feel her heart pounding in her throat.

  Making her way over to the desk, she prayed it would be unlocked like the door had been and was quickly rewarded for her prayers.

  He really doesn’t think anyone would come in here, does he? she mused as she pulled out the records she was looking for.

  Since the beginning, the soldiers had been instructed to make a note of where every infected they picked up had come from. This had been on another researcher’s suggestion, figuring that they may eventually be able to use the data to differentiate aspects of the virus based on location and other factors. Rachel hoped that the ones who had picked up Clara had filled out their paperwork.

  Flipping through, she finally found the reports from the few that had been picked up in Vancouver. Obviously, there weren’t names, but luckily for her, only three female zombies had been in the van with Clara, and one of them was listed as being black prior to infection, leaving only two addresses.

  Excitement shot through Rachel as she rushed to write down the information and put the reports back in the door. Distracted, she left the reports she had copied on the top of the pile and shoved them back in the drawer. While she didn’t yet know what she was going to do with this information, she had a vague idea and knew that now was her opportunity. Making her sneaky exit, she went back to her room to silently celebrate her success.

  Captain Jeffrey Wolfe sat in his private quarters with a small screen in his lap, watching the cage with interest. Luckily for Rachel, he hadn’t switched views in a while, intent on watching the zombies. In particular after the day’s events.

  Despite what he had told the doctor, he absolutely had special interest in the smart zombies he knew she was studying. Not only did they not feel pain, but they also seemed to be stronger, impervious to cold and, hopefully, malleable enough to be the perfect soldier.

  Wolfe stared at the screen, watching the blonde zombie who was sitting between the old man and the black zombie, all holding hands like some little nursery. That made him chuckle.

  In a few days’ time, his current round of private ‘experiments’ would be complete, and he would be ready for a new specimen. This time, he wanted to see the true capability of the smarter ones, and Wolfe knew he could be much more persuasive than the doctor.

  CHAPTER 22

  Max made his way down the lifeless streets, keeping in mind shops and landmarks as he passed so he could find his way back. Most of the shops seemed to have broken windows and the post-virus wreckage was evident everywhere he went. The rain had washed away most of the blood, leaving only wet debris and corpses behind. The smell of rot was now mingling with something akin to the scent of a wet dog.

  While making his plan to leave, he and Sue had decided that Max would attract less attention on foot and was more likely to find somewhere promising nearby. While keeping a slow, watchful pace, he looked for places that appeared like they would contain a decent amount of food for Sue and the children.

  After a while, he began to feel like he was being watched and stopped to look around. Noticing a slight movement from his right, he slowly approached the alley to investigate. When he was only ten or so fe
et away, a filthy brown dog jumped out from behind a garbage can and growled at Max. Unsure of what to do, Max stood still, and a moment later the animal barked loudly at him before running off. Not wanting to waste time in pursuing it, Max continued on.

  He came across a grocery store about ten minutes later, and while the door was broken, it looked like there was still a lot left. Max thought he heard something behind him, but scanning the parking lot he saw nothing.

  Deciding he didn't want to be surprised by anything, he poked his head inside the door and looked around. Seeing nothing in the dimly lit shop, he shouted, “Ahhhhhhh!!!!” He kept his ears open for any sound of movement and one foot out the door in case he needed to bolt. Nothing. He tried once more.

  “Hellloooo?”

  Again, silence greeted him.

  Staying at the front of the store, he walked along the aisles, peering down each of them. Many of the shelves and racks had been tossed around, but Max couldn’t yet see any signs of blood or anything more than the typical whiffs he got outdoors of the uninfected. Satisfied there was no immediate threat, he started down the first aisle, pleased to see he was correct; a lot of food remained on the shelves. It seemed that a benefit of the fast-moving virus, at least for the survivors, was the lack of time people had to loot.

  Since his reading ability hadn’t returned, Sue had shown him some of the non-perishable food she had in the house so he would know what to look for. With that in mind, he pulled out one of the backpacks he brought and started loading it with cans. Quickly noticing the backpack was getting heavy, he moved down the aisle to other dry foods, like noodles and rice, which Sue had also shown him. He quickly finished filling one backpack and went and placed it by the front door before grabbing the second and returning to the aisles to fill it.

  As he wandered down another aisle to see what else was left, he heard a noise coming from the back of the store. He warily placed the backpack down on the floor and stayed completely still, listening to see if the noise would repeat itself. After a moment, it happened again, and seemed to be coming from behind some doors off to his right.

  Max looked around for a weapon, but only found a broom. Picking it up, he approached the doors while holding the broom out of in front of him. Using the long handle, he slowly pushed the doors open and waited.

  Silence.

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the back room, waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the even dimmer lighting. He quickly found the source of the sound. In front of him, an infected man sat staring blankly at the floor while scratching absently at the ground beside him. The man didn’t seem to be injured but was so insentient he barely seemed alive.

  Scratch – scratch – scratch.

  “Hello?” Max inquired, slowly approaching. The man gave no reaction to Max’s voice.

  When he was a few feet away, Max stopped and knelt, looking the man over.

  Based on the pale skin and dirty appearance, Max knew the man was like him; however, the blank look on his face rivaled even Jay. The man didn’t seem to be aware of anything around him. Suddenly, a slight grumble came from the man and Max quickly moved back before realizing it was coming from his stomach. He chuckled to himself.

  “Hungry, friend?” Max inquired rhetorically. “I be back.” He stood up and walked back through the heavy swinging doors in search of something to eat.

  Based on Sue’s revelation about protein, he decided to look for cans he could open easily that had some kind of animal on them. He figured that would be the best way to determine what would be good without being able to read the labels or having to smell them.

  Wandering through the aisles, he finally found some small cans with tabs on the top and small felines on the label. Testing them, he opened one, pleased it was easy to open and that it had the smell he now associated with protein. Perfect, he thought to himself.

  He made his way back to his new acquaintance bearing gifts of cat food.

  In the back room of the wrecked grocery store, Max opened half a dozen cans of cat food and sat down beside the infected man, who immediately accepted his offering. Other than the slurping sounds the man made, they enjoyed their meal in shared silence.

  As Max ate, he considered the man at his side, who seemed to be capable of feeding himself when food was presented, but otherwise remained unchanged.

  Even at the beginning, Jay had more sense of humanity than this, Max thought. He thought about the different infected he had met so far and the varying degrees of intelligence and memory they had shown. While he was the only one he knew of who could really speak, it seemed there was more variation than he first anticipated. As he watched the man finish off his third can of cat food, he wondered what Clara would be like when he got back to her.

  Would she still be healthy, hiding in their home like Sue? Or did the virus infect her too? If it did, would she be hungry and angry? Slow and stupid? Or maybe, just maybe, would she be like Max? Considering the number of people he had met so far and knowing none were quite like him, he felt as though the odds were against him. Sighing, he handed the rest of his cans over to the other man, who quickly devoured them with every evidence of enjoyment.

  “I go back, need get more food for others. I come back to you,” Max told the other man, who didn’t even look up much less acknowledge his statement as he licked the bottoms of the cans to get every remnant of food out.

  Max wandered back into the shop and went back to filling the second backpack, making a point to fill a third extra one with the cans they had just eaten for Jay and himself to take on their upcoming journey. Knowing they contained some kind of cat protein and that they were easy to open made them an ideal food for infected-on-the-go. He was so engrossed in his task he almost didn’t notice the back room doors swing inwards towards the back. Seeing this, he wondered if his new acquaintance had just joined him, but couldn’t see his head over the aisles.

  Curious, he put the bags down and walked to the back, only to find the man still sitting exactly where he left him.

  Frowning, Max looked around.

  “You move, friend…?” He began to ask when a large furry body slammed into his, crashing him into the ground. Max’s instincts kicked in and he quickly brought his arms up to his face as he wrestled with the heaving, snarling body of the dog that had been following him. Keeping his forearm over the dog’s throat, he strained to keep the sharp teeth from his face but was quickly losing his strength.

  Suddenly he felt the weight of the dog lift off him and looked up to see his acquaintance hurl the rabid dog across the room. The man growled at the dog, who got up shaking his head. The dog snarled back completely unphased, furious at the intruder who had interrupted his hunt.

  Max watched paralyzed by fear and surprise, as the two adversaries stared at one another, readying themselves for the attack. Even though he was watching closely, the moment they both sprang at one another happened so suddenly that Max felt as though he didn’t even see them start to move.

  As he watched the once-stationary infected man, he was amazed at the speed with which he attacked the animal. The two rolled and struggled, growling at one another until finally the man got a grip on the animal’s head and stunned it by slamming its head against the concrete flooring. One more solid hit and the animal was done, its bowels emptying onto the floor.

  In an instant, the infected man's demeanor changed again. A small whine in his throat could be heard as he shuffled over to Max and went down on his knees, his head hung low to his chest. For a moment Max couldn’t move, still stunned by what had just happened.

  “You save me,” Max finally croaked. The infected man whined again before Max realized he was looking for…acceptance? Approval? He wasn’t sure, but the posture reminded him of when Jay had done things he knew Max didn’t like.

  “It okay,” Max coaxed as he stood up and wiped away the dog drool that still covered his face. Helping his infected savior up, he led him back over to the pallets where they had bee
n sitting previously. Still the man refused to lift his head and look at Max.

  Unsure of what else to do, Max opened another can of cat food and handed it to him. The man took it slowly and mindlessly put the food into his mouth. Max watched this with interest before carefully grabbing the man's chin and lifting his head until his eyes to meet his own.

  A bit of sadness lay behind those blue cloudy eyes, but mostly just a glazed, far off look. Dropping his chin, Max let the man finish his meal as he sat down beside him.

  “Thank you,” Max finally whispered, not actually expecting a response. Still not reacting, the man finished his cat food and curled up on the ground beside Max and closed his eyes. Unsure of what else to do, Max joined him.

  Max opened his eyes an indeterminate amount of time later to find that the other man was no longer beside him. Sitting up, he looked around and noticed the dog was also missing. With concern, he stood to get a better look before hearing some faint rustling noises from further down the large store room.

  Max moved cautiously towards the noises. After a moment, he looked behind one of the stacks of pallets and found what looked like a large nest in a concealed corner of the room. The infected man had clearly been sleeping here for a while, which was evident by the scraps of food and clothing that littered the floor.

  The man himself was occupied, covering up the corpse of the dog. Whether for burial or a later snack Max couldn’t tell, but noticing the blood on the man’s chin that hadn’t been there before, he could take a guess. Not being one to judge, Max left the man to his business and went back into the store, determined to finally complete his mission.

  A short time later, he had the last backpack filled with dried and canned food, which he put by the front of the store with the rest. Finished with what he had set out to do, Max debated what to do with his infected rescuer. While the man seemed timid, it certainly hadn’t taken him long to jump into action either. He also didn’t seem to respond to any basic instruction and Max assumed the protection was his rudimentary method of thanks for the food. Or perhaps it was just a rudimentary survival instinct. Max would never know for sure.