by Morse, K. A.
I follow Harris into the building; this one’s door is closed. He slowly opens it, and there is no movement to be seen right away. I flank to the left as Harris goes to the right. Metzger goes down the middle. This space looks like a supply building.
“Jackpot!” I hear Harris yell from behind me. I roll my eyes; that dip shit.
All I have found so far are BDU jackets and pants. What I wouldn’t give to find some underwear. A hot shower would be wonderful at this point, too. I start rummaging through the pants finding my size close to the top and then Harris’s size is a bit further down. I have bought many of his outfits for dates, so he won’t look ridiculous, therefore his sizes are engraved in my head.
“Metzger, what size pants do you wear?” I yell back as I’m grabbing a couple of shirts for us. I lay them on the table behind me.
“Wanting to get me out of my pants already, Carter?” Metzger whispers in my left ear. I elbow him for sneaking up on me.
I turn around to see the surprise in his eyes as he holds his groin. I snicker having forgot how much taller he is than me, and that wasn’t his tummy.
“Next time, I guess you won’t sneak up behind me, will you, fool?” I tell him cruelly as I walk on to the next bin that has men’s underwear. “You can find your own pants in that bin, and underwear are over here, douche.” I grab Harris’s size and walk on without another word. I find some socks and, finally, women’s underwear. I would have just worn the men’s if nothing else. Once I find my size, I get all I can since I don’t know how long it will take to get home. I can deal with old clothes but not undies. Harris runs up to me with an arm full of MRE’s and a big smile on his face.
“I found the food,” he informs me.
“Well, I one up you. I found the clean undies. Plus socks and clothes in general,” I inform him as I throw some clean underwear in his face, making him also drop the food.
“The hell, Carter?” he says as he settles the stuff in his arms. “I did find your favorite beef stew in all those.” He’s now grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah, that’s your favorite one, so hand over the spaghetti, ass.” The smile now emerges on my face as I reach my hand out for it.
After Harris hands over the chow, he picks up the underclothes, “Shit, you got me women’s underwear again?” He’s now laughing.
“Damn, I threw Metzger’s at you. Since he keeps acting like a little bitch, I got him and me matching panties.” I can’t even say it with a straight face no matter how hard I try. Tears are streaming down my cheeks from laughing so hard.
“Did you find a duffle bag, so we can stock up on this shit?” I question Harris.
“I’m sure we can find something here. Then find the ammo dump after we eat. Once we stock up on the bullets, we will find the first small town and pray the EMP didn’t go out that far. Then, we can get a car.” Harris smiles as he opens his beef stew.
We quickly eat our meals, then discard them in a trash can close by. Metzger has found the bags we need. Once they are loaded to the brim with MRE’s and fresh clothes, I find the most secluded corner I can find and ask them to turn around and not stare at me as I quickly change into new undergarments as well as BDU’s. I have told them they should do the same. Who knows how long before we can take a shower, unless this was contained to just this area. I hope and pray it is and my daughter is safe and having a good time with Jenn and her family. I hear someone whistle at me, bringing me back to the task at hand.
“Fucker, I said keep your fucking eyes in your head and not on me.” I quickly throw my shirt on then turn around and shoot them both a dirty look. “Now keep the fuck up, cuz I’m not waiting for either of your bitch asses.” I zoom past them and make a beeline for the door we came in. My pack is being put back on and then I grab the bag filled for me. My M4 is sitting on the table next to it. I pick it up and hustle out, on to where I might have seen the ammo dump when we flew over. I’m so sick of their lollygagging, those fuckheads. I don’t have time for that shit. I need to see how far this has spread. If the rain has gotten out of Colorado or if it has only stayed in this state. I wasn’t sure how the bio weapon would be unleashed. Damn Dumalski died before any more questions could be asked of her, like how far and fast it would spread. Once I reach the door, the heat from the sun hits my face.
Wow, I wish I had my favorite baseball hat. It’s going to be a bitch today. My pace is faster than it was before, my gun is up in case any infected are out here roaming free. Thankfully, we haven’t seen any yet, but I’m sure we won’t always be that lucky. Heavy footsteps are now to my rear. Metzger then jogs in front of me; as he passes me, I see a smirk on his pretty boy face.
“Go ahead take the lead,” I call to him. “We do need bait in case anyone pops out.”
Don’t laugh, I remind myself, but Metzger’s smug look is gone.
Harris is now at my side, a smile spread over his face. I bring my gun down as we come to a clearing. The ammo dump is now in sight. I'm getting a little too giddy when I see it, breaking into a jog now to get there. Without thinking I pull the door open; as it swings clear, one of the infected comes right at me. A scream escapes my lips as I try to step back to get away from this thing.
The infected hand wraps around my wrist; trying to break free of it’s grasp is harder than I expect. Meeting his eyes is a mistake, all that is in them now that the virus took hold is hunger. Now I know I need to get out of his grip or Lacey is on the menu, and that isn't about to happen. Metzger finally gets to me after what feels like an eternity, tackling the infected man and pinning him to the ground. Harris walks up like it’s nothing and puts a round in his head, and then without saying anything, he enters the ammo dump. Metzger immediately starts stripping his shirt, and then pants. He digs through his bag for fresh clothes, but picks his old dirty shirt back up to wipe his face off first.
“CLEAR!” Harris calls to us.
I’m liking the show of Metzger’s half naked body. I thought he would have been a boxer kinda guy, and where’s his body hair? My eyes take him in as he dresses, but I remember what the goal is and bring myself back to reality. Ammo is number one, now more than ever.
How many more infected will we find?
“Carter,” Harris calls again. “I promise there are only guns and ammo in here now. So, get your ass in here and get what you can carry.”
Ghost Town
Brandon Harris
My bag is half-full by the time Carter’s ass gets into the dump. She comes right to me, knowing we love the same guns.
“So, can I get that grenade launcher now?” I ask, giving her a wink as I grab one close to us.
“Go ahead, you idiot, but I will not help you carry the fucker.” Carter smirks as she finds what she needs and fills her bag. “But know, sure as shit, you will carry mine if I say. Since I outrank you and all.” She sticks her tongue out as her pack is about to overflow with bullets.
“Metzger, it’s nice of you to finally join us.” I try to hold my laugh but can’t.
“Shut it, you son of a bitch,” Metzger mumbles as he collects what he needs.
Carter is already back outside. I’m quick to follow her.
“So, are you not going to wait for your best friend?” I question jogging to catch up to her.
“Ellabee is with the Freemans. I need to fucking get to her. God knows how far this shit has spread. She could be in danger, and I’m fuckin’ stuck here with wanna be G.I. Joe and you.” The desperation in her voice is devastating for me to hear. “If you were at least there or . . .,” her voice trails off.
I know she is about to say Jason’s name then remembers he never came home from war.
“You know Jenn treats her as her own when we are away! So, she’ll move heaven and earth for Ellabee, until we can get to her.” My voice wavers as I speak, hoping she doesn’t notice.
“I fuckin’ know, but we might as well be in Egypt since that damn EMP hit.” Her pace is quicker as we are coming to the exit for th
e base.
“I’ll go to hell and back to get you back to Ellabee! To get us both back to her. She feels like my own kid. You know that’s how I feel,” I promise her and myself this, not knowing what awaits us outside the gates.
Metzger finally catches up to us as we pass the guard tower. He seems pissed we haven’t waited for him, but we don’t even know this douchebag, so we don’t owe him anything. Sure, he’s helped out some with these infected, but there’s still something about him I don’t like. Mostly, he wants to get into Carter’s pants, and I don’t feel he’s good enough for her. No one probably will be as good as Jason in my eyes. Hell, I’m not even good enough for her.
The sun is beating down hard on us today as we come to the first fork in the road. I look to Carter to see which way she thinks we should go. She doesn’t even hesitate and takes off to the right like she knows where she’s going. Not asking questions, we just follow her lead. We trek along for what seems like an eternity, the sweat keeps rolling down my back, finding its way to my ass crack.
“Once in town, can we please find some cooler clothes? If not, you'll be able to swim with all this sweat in my ass . . .” I’m laughing as I tell them this.
Carter laughs at me and just shakes her head, but Metzger doesn’t know what to do with my comment.
“Good thing I have my swimsuit packed then.” Carter flashes a smile at me. “Look! I can see the outline of a town. Finally!”
“Thank the heavens. I’m starving and ready for a stiff drink,” Metzger blurts out as he hurries in front of us.
Metzger loves to be in the front when we come up on something new. Probably to show off in front of Carter. That shit won’t impress her. My mouth flies open to call him out, but I see movement in my peripheral to the left of us. The M4 automatically comes up, almost robotically.
“Carter,” in a hushed voice. “Carter, I have movement to the left of me.”
Her gun now comes up, too, as we get closer to town and to whatever is moving. Metzger hasn’t slowed his pace. Actually, he’s going faster now. Heading right toward whatever was moving.
“Metzger!” I whisper-yell trying to get his attention. “Metzger. What the hell are you doing? Get the fuck back here. We need to stick together, asshat. We are stronger in numbers.”
Either he hasn’t heard me, or he’s just being his douchey self. Metzger’s hero complex must have kicked in. All his fuckin’ training has gone out the window. Metzger is about where the movement was. We aren’t too far behind him. Gunfire rings through the air. This brings me to the realization that there's no noise anywhere else. Ann must have spread to this town as well. Carter and I reach Metzger. All of a sudden, he stops, putting his hand up, making us halt as well. There’s a man on the ground covered in blood and not moving. Probably what Metzger shot.
After waiting for what feels like forever, I get tired of his bullshit and move in front of him to see why we haven’t gone into the town yet.
The town is empty, there are a couple vehicles abandoned in the middle of the road. The doors on most of the cars are wide open, and we look into them as we walk past, making sure no one is stuck inside.
“Whoa,” comes out of my mouth. “This place is a ghost town. Like they fucking just stopped in the middle of what they were fucking doing. Dropped the shit where they were doing it and said fuck this shit. Then walked away.”
“Do you ever think of what you fucking say before your word vomit comes out?” Carter questions, but I can hear the disdain in her voice.
“Not really, nope,” I reply a smirk on my face.
Metzger is just shaking his head at us, “Really, you two? I was trying to fucking see if the sound from the gunfire would bring anymore of those things around. Or maybe anyone in general.”
This town isn’t very big, so we check the main street for anyone. I’m starting to get creeped out by this town.
“Anyone else a bit freaked out, or just me?” I question them in a hushed voice as we are about to enter an older gas station.
I slowly open the door. My mind is waiting for the ding, but it never comes. This place is a mess. The shelves are empty as the contents are all over the floor. The silence here is deafening. I was hoping to at least hear the hum of a refrigerator, more like praying they had power. No such fucking luck. Flanking left, Carter goes down the middle and Metzger goes to the right as we slowly make our way to the back of the convenience store.
“Carter, can you fucking make any more noise?” I hiss as I keep moving forward.
“You try going down this shit without stepping on anything!” Carter yells in a whisper back to me. It takes everything I can to not burst into laughter. Mostly, I’m scared shitless one of the infected is going to pop out at any time. Then they will hear me scream like a little pansy girl or some fuckin’ shit. The opening to go back to where the cashiers work is clear, so I make sure no one is hiding back there before going back to my aisle. I quickly clear the area, to find nothing and no one was behind there. Letting out a sigh of relief, I turn back to my aisle. I don’t have much longer until I get to the cooler doors. I make quick work of it and meet Carter and Metzger at the back.
“The sun is going down, so we need to go ahead and get what we need here, if anything, and find a place to sleep for the night,” Metzger tells us as he opens one of the cooler doors and grabs a couple Red Bulls out.
“Fucking knew you were the douche that took my parking spot back on home-base,” Carter sneers at him and walks away.
“Damn, bro, now you’ll never get her panties to drop,” I shrug and start to walk to see if I can find a Dr. Pepper or four. But not before I turn back to tell him, “So, fuck off, Jim.”
My drink was easy to find just a couple doors down from where I was. I always hated missions where I couldn’t find a fucking Dr. Pepper on tap. Cracking it open, the twenty-ounce bottle is gone in no time.
“Even warm Mr. Pibb ain’t got nothing on a Dr. Pepper,” I say to myself, releasing a nice burp, not knowing Carter is behind me until she gives me a slap to the back of the head.
“Really, Carter? What was that shit for?” I ask her, turning around to see she’s got the biggest grin on her face.
“You’re fuckin’ disgusting. Say ‘excuse me’ or some shit. You know your momma would kill you if you didn’t. Asshat.” A scowl is on her face. “Anyway, I found my favorite snack, Reese’s Pieces, so I grabbed all the bags they had. Plus all the ibuprofen for my side. It hurts like a bitch. Also left some money on the counter just in case. I also found a map to help us get home.”
Metzger scoffs behind us, “Like they are going to come back to collect the money you left there. My bet is this whole town is dead. By the fuckin’ looks of this shit-hole, they haven’t been in here in a couple days.”
“Aren’t you a big shitball of sunshine and unicorn farts?” Carter shoots at him. She looks pissed, too.
“If this place is cleared, let’s just grab some shit we want and head out. The sun will be going down soon, so we need to find a place to hole up for the night.” Grabbing a couple more Dr. Peppers, I quickly cruise the aisles, finding some cherry Pop Tarts and Zingers. I’ve hit the jackpot, grabbing all that’s there and shoving them into my ammo bag.
We meet at the front of the store with our loot. I exit the building first, not letting Metzger take the fucking lead this time. Slowly pushing the door open, I slacken my pace to check the area before fully emerging from the building. There is no movement in sight yet, so I motion behind me for them to follow. We make our way further into town, the scene something of nightmares.
“Have we just stepped into a horror movie set?” Carter whispers from behind me.
Still trying to take in what the fuck I’m seeing, no words seem to make it out of my mouth. We’ve just come upon a small playground, blood seems to be smeared everywhere. The merry-go-round has two bodies that look to be half eaten laying on it. As I get closer to them, the merry-go-round moves, making me jump. One of
them is a woman; even with half her face missing and her stomach ripped open, exposing her insides, she’s still trying to reach for me. No words, just moans. A smell brings the taste of throw-up to my mouth. I just can’t keep it down. Trying to choke it back down, I get another whiff of what turned my stomach to begin with. The infected woman is slowly inching her way to me as my vomit comes out. Carter comes to my left, right as it comes out, I splatter all over her pants and shoes.
“Fuckin’ shit, Harris!” she yells at me as she jumps back before my second wave hits.
Carter must’ve seen the merry-go-round woman. She walks around the puke, pulls out her M9, and puts a round in the infected’s head. She’s no longer moving towards me but I’ve got to get away from the smell of my up-chuck and whatever made me do it, or there will be more soon. The second one’s a man, but he’s not moving.
Carter puts a round in his brain then hops off the whirligig. She’s now whistling something as she’s walking on. I hurry beside her as I wrestle to get some water out of my backpack without slowing down, not giving a fuck if Metzger is even with us or not.
“You wouldn’t have grabbed any fucking gum while in the store did you?” I question her as I swig some water, swishing it in my mouth then spitting it out.
“Out of luck, buttercup.” Carter winks at me. She looks like a woman on a mission.
Looking up, I see exactly what she’s got in her sights. A crappy motel that looks like it was built in the 1950s. The upkeep doesn’t look that great. The paint is starting to peel off the walls, exposing how many times it’s been painted over. Also, the roof is missing some shingles. Right now, a bed has got to be better than the hard-ass floor again.
Cheap Motel
Lacey Carter
As we approach the motel all my thoughts just keep going to Ellabee. I really hope Ann hasn’t spread that far, and the military has gotten this contained. But sleeping in a bed will be wonderful. We are now upon the entrance of the building, I go in to see if there are keys. Hopefully, they have actual keys and haven’t upgraded it to electronic. If they have, we will have to break a door in. The issue with that is we’d have to block the door since it’s broken, so not easy to get out of fast. I move around the check-in desk as I see keys just hanging behind it. Going at a slow pace, I make sure nothing pops out at me.
