by Morse, K. A.
“Okay, so motel again? Maybe see if we can find one with two stories?” I question them.
They all just nod their heads like idiots. I motion for them to take the lead. This way one of them can get eaten before me. A laugh escapes my lips with that thought. The new guy looks back to me and smiles, he probably thinks I’m staring at his ass. Well, it is a nice view from back here. But how can those two fuckheads be so trusting of this new guy we don’t know? Carson, I think he said his name is, but I’m going to call him Rockstar, since he likes those stupid drinks like Metzger.
Ugh, get out of your head, Carter, and get into the game.
This town is three times bigger than the first two we came across. So, this means more infected to be on the lookout for. What good is Rockstar for, any fucking way? He doesn’t have any weapons, what's he going to do, hug them to death . . . again? I feel a laugh about to come out but stop myself as I see a horde of infected just roaming the street. I decide it’s best not to make any sound, we aren’t sure what attracts them. Harris gives me a signal to come in tight behind him. At this point, I’ve lifted my suitcase off of the ground, so the roller will stop making noise, handing it off to Rockstar since he doesn’t have a weapon, so I can bring my M4 out.
“Rockstar,” my voice is as low as I can get where he can still hear me. “I’ve got to get my M4 out and some ammo real fast.”
He just nods once he realizes I’m talking to him, stopping to hold it for me as I try to unzip the suitcase as slowly and quietly as possible. He’s just staring at me. Or I feel like he is. I’m not looking, even though my eyes want to take him in again, my brain says it’s a bad idea.
Loading up, I secure the M9 in my shorts and strap the M4 around me. My mind blanks, and I zip up the bag fast.
“Fuck,” slips out of my mouth as I do it.
The horde doesn’t seem to notice the noise that was made. Now I look Rockstar in the eyes and wish that it didn’t happen. He gives me a weak smile and doesn’t question anything I’m doing. My guard is starting to drop some, but it did with Metzger, and that fuck-head pulled that crap at the motel. With a nod to tell him I’m done, I motion for him to stay behind us, and he keeps holding the suitcase. This fucker is not going to die under my watch. Shit, momma bear is coming out in me again.
Metzger is being an asshat again and taking a giant lead in front. What the fuck is wrong with him? Has all his training gone out the window? Not knowing this area, it’s best not to wander, but that fucker couldn’t care less. I’m not sure why I give two shits about him, anyway. All I need is Harris, he’s my rock and always has been.
As Harris and I slowly start into a sprint, Metzger is in full-on attack mode. If that dick lives through this, we will have fucking words, and it won’t be pretty. Well, unless Harris stops me, he does know when to pull me back. Metzger hits the horde. I watch him come down with his stupid fucking beating stick, or whatever the fuck he’s calling it, on one of the infected. They stagger but turn their attention to him. Asshole, we could have just gone around them and been fine, but, of course, this douche had to go in head on. More of the infected have realized that he is there, while he is still trying to kill the first one.
“Fucking idiot,” comes flying out of my mouth without thinking, causing an infected to look at me.
I know I’m fucking delicious but not on the menu today, or any day for that matter. M4 in hand, I squeeze the trigger, letting off a round into the one closest to me. His head explodes next to Metzger, who hardly notices as he’s still trying to kill the first one with that fucking stick.
“Use your gun!” comes out of my mouth as I take down another one. “Or at least go for the fucking eyes, so you can get to the brains. Have you never seen a zombie movie?”
“These aren’t like in the movies,” Metzger says as he finally brings it down.
“Duh, these are infected. Much like said zombie but fresher,” Harris states as he takes out two with one shot. “See, Carter, all those fucking video games did some good.”
“What about your real fucking training with a fucking gun? I don’t think a video game could really let you hit something with that accuracy. Ass.” He always has jokes at the worst time.
Three and a half are down, the half is Metzger’s, since he took forever to take it down. We have about six more. Could have just fucking slid around them unseen, but shit, Metzger has to show how manly he is or some crap. Harris just starts shooting like he’s fucking Rambo or some shit. Once he’s done shooting, I go slap him in the back of the head, because he fucking hates when I do. Yeah, he may have taken out the rest of them, but he also made so much fucking noise the whole town knows we’re here now.
“What the fuck, Carter?” comes flying out of his mouth.
“Maybe you could fucking think next time before you fucking start shooting and letting all the infected know where we are.” I’m beyond furious with him, Metzger has the nerve to laugh, so now I turn my attention to him. “Oh, what are you laughing at, fuckhead?”
“Um . . . I . . .” Metzger’s mouth is wide open with surprise.
“Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought. If you want to go and get yourself killed, please be my guest. I don’t like you. You know why. But I will not watch you fucking die!” My jaw is starting to hurt from gritting my teeth. “Now move the fuck out, we need to find somewhere to sleep and hide in case the infected come looking for us.”
Fuck Boys
Carson aka Rockstar
I run to catch up to Carter, Harris, and Metzger; these guys are intense. Carter seems to really hate Metzger. As I reach them, she’s biting his head off. I don’t know the dude, but I feel like I need to say something. Then again, her wrath might come at me. After just now finding anyone alive, I’ll keep my mouth shut for the moment.
“Woah, how about you only kill the fuckin’ undead. Let the living live,” I suggest, putting down the suitcase.
“Let’s call them infected, please. That way I won’t feel as bad killing them before they get me,” Carter remarks as she grabs the handle on her suitcase and storms away. She just rolls the case over the bodies and keeps going. That woman has a lot of fire in her soul; makes me want to know more. Just following her lead, I'm ready to get out of these clothes and relax.
Damn, I’m hungry. Hope we find a place to bed down soon.
This town looks pretty normal, other than the dead people I had to just walk over. It seems a lot more modern than the last piece of crap place I was in. Road tripping is my passion, but I fucking picked the wrong time to travel this year.
“So, Carter, do you know where we're going?” I ask, trying to start some small talk with her.
“Like, in this fucking town, or in general?” she mumbles, not looking at me at all.
“What is your goal in general? What state are you guys heading back to?” This woman is no nonsense and always on task, it seems.
“The two fuck boys back there didn’t tell you?” I see an almost smile crack her lips as she gets that out.
“Wow, ‘fuck boys,’ how many boyfriends do you keep?” My lame attempt at a joke falls flat, now I feel stupid for saying it.
“As many as I fucking like. I got bills to pay, bitch.” Now she can’t help but laugh. “One of them might want to be a fuck boy, but it sure as shit will never happen. Harris is like my brother, so we might joke, but I couldn’t kiss my brother.” Carter shrugs.
“So, as for the original question?” I prod, but try to get back on track.
“Kentucky, that’s where my heart is.” That’s all she gives me and clams back up as soon as she sees a nice hotel sitting to our right.
“Harris, Metzger, stop dilly-dallying and get your asses up here!” she yells almost in my face, making me take a step back.
All I know is I don’t want any of her wrath aimed at me. She is now putting into motion a plan of how we would enter the building. Each detail to a T, like she knew the layout already or some shit.
This hotel is newer, so it more than likely has electronic keys. With no power, we would have to break into the rooms and hope there wasn’t a fucker in the room we pick, waiting for us.
We are just about to enter the building when I blurt out, “So, are we all sharing a room or multiple rooms? I think I missed that in your huddle.”
“That’s why you’re the fucking light holder,” Carter growls at me. “We need to be aware of any shit all the fucking time if we want to live. So, please fucking listen the next time I’m talking.”
I throw my hands up as if to say ‘sorry’ or ‘I surrender.’ She just shoves a camping lamp at me and tells me to shut the fuck up. I need to crack her shell, maybe she wouldn’t be such a bitch. But then again, it might be part of her training, and she just doesn’t know when to let it go. If we are going to be around each other for awhile, I really don’t want her to be yelling like I’m a child. I’m a fucking grown-ass man. A scared grown-ass man at the moment as we cross the threshold of the hotel. The lamp shines in bright arcs across the entry. So far, so fucking good. Harris is in the lead with a light out, too, as we look for the entrance to the stairway. Elevators won’t do any good without power, so stairs are the only way to go. With this fucking heat and humidity, I’m already sweating my balls off. Not looking forward to finding any infected trapped in any of these hot fucking rooms.
Harris finds the door to the stairs at the end of the lobby as he turns the corner. As he reaches for the handle, I sneeze. Everyone turns and stares at me.
“What? It’s bad to hold it in,” I try to explain.
They all fucking glare at me. But it was a good thing I did let it out; there's a noise on the other side of the door. It’s like a scratch, scratch then bump, thump on it. Carter and Harris just look at each other and nod like they have an unspoken language that I’m not privy to. Harris slowly turns the handle then swings the door open quickly toward us. The infected comes wobbling through the door but doesn’t make it far as Harris takes a shot and gets it in the head the first time.
“Fuck, do you guys ever miss?” slips out of my mouth without thinking.
“Fuck, no. If it’s them or me, shit, I’m picking them,” Harris blurts out with no hesitation. Then he brings his gun back up as he steps over the body to start up the stairs.
After readjusting my backpack, I offer to take Carter’s suitcase. She shakes her head no, but I take it anyway, since it will be easier for her to hold her gun. I’m stuck in the middle as Metzger takes the rear. Getting to the second floor is easy with no more surprises. The hard part is getting through the door thanks to the electronic lock. I do my best not to laugh at them. Metzger is trying to use his metal stick to crack the lock, while Carter is yelling at him to stop, so she can just shoot the lock.
“The longer you take and the louder you get, the more of the infected will hear us,” I manage to yell at them over their bickering. “So, how about you guys calm down and figure out what the fuck we need to do?”
All eyes are on me now, but I couldn’t give two shits, they need to hurry the hell up, it’s getting hot in here. Fresh air would be wonderful right now. Finally, they stop fighting and go with Carter’s idea. I stand back as far as possible; if the bullet ricochets, I don’t want that shit to hit me. Closing my eyes, I hear the shot go off. Then more trash-talking.
“How can you fucking miss standing that fuckin’ close?” Metzger is pissed as he states that more than asks.
“How bout you shut the fuck up?” Carter comes back quickly.
“Hey, Jim, fuck off, we could have all missed. We are fucking hot and tired. Yelling at each other isn’t fucking helping anyone, assface.” Harris now steps between them. “So, give her some fucking space, shithead, and pray she doesn’t miss again on purpose. Cuz if she does, it’s only to fucking hit you, ass.”
Harris is next to me now, we're waiting to see what she shoots. It’s disappointing when she doesn’t at least nick him with a bullet. But she does get the door lock with this one.
“Okay, fucker, go,” is all that comes out of Carter’s mouth, and she points down the hallway.
“Can’t I get some light in there?” Metzger asks as he peers through the doorway.
“Oh, what, is the big bad Army Ranger scared of the fucking dark?” Carter makes fun of him, and Harris is now laughing.
“Better that fucker than me,” Harris whispers to me as we make our way back up to them.
Carter is already in the hallway with another lamp on and heading to the first door. This woman is on a mission, must be tired or hungry. Could just be ready to get away from us guys, too. It can’t be easy being the only woman in this chaos surrounded by us dickheads. Metzger is close behind her as she is now upon the door. Carter fucking knocks on the door.
“Are you kidding me right now?” comes flying out of my mouth.
Cold Shower
Lacey Carter
Rockstar’s words catch me off guard, “How the fuck am I supposed to know if one of the infected is in there or not?” I look at him wondering what the fuck he’s thinking. “Should I say, ‘Mister infected sir, are you in there? Please don’t bite me if I fucking blow a hole open in your door.’”
Before he can say anything stupid, I just go back to what I’m doing. Being tired and hungry is not a good combo, for them, anyway. I put my ear to the door and listen, not hearing any movement, so I go ahead and shoot the lock. Grabbing the handle, I turn the knob and slowly let the door swing open. Thankfully, nothing comes at me, so we head in to clear the room. This hotel doesn’t have a balcony, but it will have to do; hopefully, the windows at least fucking open. The room is easy to sweep; there are two beds to the left of me. A dresser with an older TV on it to the right. Harris checks the bathroom and comes out smiling, finding the water is still on. It’s the fucking small things we are thankful for.
“The fucking water might be cold, but at least we can shower,” Harris is super pleased with himself.
“Alright, me and Harris got this room. Do you need help picking out a room?”
My focus is now on Metzger.
“Wait, what?” Rockstar blurts out; this dude has no filter and just talks. “Why don’t I get to have a say in who I room with?”
“For one, asshat, I don’t fucking know you. Two, this fuckhead over here is the only fucker I trust with my life. Three, after what Metzger pulled last night, he’s fucking lucky I don’t put a bullet in him for good measure,” I explain to him as I put my back on the bed closest to the window. “So, you can room with Metzger or out in the fucking hall. You pick, my guess is when he gets drunk, he won’t try to feel you up. I’m not taking any more chances.”
Harris lets me know he’s going to help Metzger clear a room for them. So, I close the door behind them, then lock it at the top-latch lock. While I wait for Harris to return, I go to the window and see if it will open. Pulling the curtains back, I view the window, thankfully, it does open. The room feels hotter than it did outside, so I pull the window open as far as it will go. A gust of hot air hits me only making me sweat more, but it’s not as stale in here now. Taking in the view, I decide the town wouldn’t be a shit-hole if all those infected down there would fucking leave. The sunset is beautiful tonight, but I can’t enjoy it. All I can do is stand here wishing my sweet, sassy Ellabee was here with me. Safe and in my arms, or us fighting over who’s going to sneak into Harris’s backpack while he’s in the shower and get his last package of Pop Tarts.I smile but am brought back into reality when there’s a noise at the door.
“Harris, is that fucking you?” I call out as I slowly move toward the door.
“Who the fuck else would it be? You have a fucking hot date you didn’t inform me about?” Harris is going on while he waits for me to let him in the room.
“Maybe. So, you might need to find a different room, so I can have alone time with him or her,” I tell him dryly as I pull the door open.
“Wow, did it get fucking hotter in here?” Ha
rris remarks as he re-locks the door behind us. “Oh, wait it’s just me.”
“Yeah, your sweaty ass made it ten degrees hotter in this already unbearable room. So, I’m going to find something else to wear and get one of them cold showers, food, then that fucking bed is calling my name.” Rummaging through my bag, I collect some fresh clothes and grab one of the lamps not in use.
“If you could hurry, I need to drop a deuce,” Harris remarks as I shut the door.
“Real fucking classy!” I yell as the lamp brings light into the bathroom.
The shower is just what I need. So refreshing; thankfully, they had soap and shampoo in the bathroom. Now going back into the room, I’ll know what Harris is going in there for, at least I’m done in there for now.
“Please don’t fucking stink it up too much. I’d like to brush my teeth without gagging too much.” I glare at him as I spot one of my MRE’s on my bed. I rip it open and make it. I was wrong before, spaghetti every meal is going to get real fucking old, but better than nothing.
Harris hops up as soon as I’m sitting on the bed, slamming the door behind him. He is trying to talk to me while he’s on the pot. Rolling my eyes, I yell at him to shut the fuck up till he’s done in there. My spaghetti tasted really good tonight, not sure why since it’s what we always have in the field. It’s gone before Harris is off the pot.
“Damn, Carter, you already done with your food?” Harris almost yells at me as he finally comes out of the bathroom, making me jump a bit on my bed.
