Dead Heat: A Hollow Dead Novel

by Young, D. M.

“Now, that’s an offer I’ll take you up on,” Ray said.

  “I can get it,” Alicia said standing. “Where’s the bag.”

  “It’s downstairs in the closet,” Adam said.

  She hurried down the stairs. When she returned a few minutes later, she handed Ray two aspirin and a bottle of water. He downed then pills and then sank down in his chair and closed his eyes. Alicia sat on the arm of the chair and laid a hand on Ray’s shoulder.

  The others worked out a plan for the grocery run. Matt, Adam, and Ray would drive to the end of the gravel road across the highway from the truck stop. From that distance, the noise of the car shouldn’t draw any unwanted attention. If the parking lot was relatively clear, they’d get the food. If not, they would return to the cabin and figure something else out. They didn’t want to risk a noisy battle pulling more of them in, so, if they couldn’t do it quietly, they couldn’t do it at all.

  When they were done discussing the food run, Matt followed Adam back downstairs to run the plan by the rest of the group. Edward and Booger offered to come along to keep watch, but Matt felt that more people would only complicate the situation. Besides, he argued, they needed the space in the car for the food. The older men conceded that both points were likely true, and they said nothing more of it.

  Margaret handed her car keys to Adam. “I’m not asking you to take any chances to do it, but, if you can get my car and bring it back, it will give you more room for the food. It’s also closer to the store, if you need to get out in a hurry.”

  Adam accepted the keys and thanked her. He and Matt walked into the living room, away from the others. Matt spoke in a low voice, “What do you think about Ray?”

  “I think he’s an alcoholic who hasn’t had a drink in a while. I doubt it’s anything else, but that’s enough of a problem, especially since he’s determined to go with us tomorrow,” Adam said.

  Matt glanced toward the loft. “If you think he should stay here, we’ll just tell him he’s not coming. You and I can go alone, or we can ask Edward. We need to sneak in and out without making a scene.”

  “I get that, but he’s on edge right now, and an alcoholic going through withdrawal is never a fun person to deal with. If we make him mad, it will be worse,” Adam said.

  Matt shrugged. “He might throw a fit, but it’s not like he can do much else.”

  “We have ten people crammed into a cabin designed for half that number. The situation is already mildly unpleasant and likely to get worse as we get tired of looking at each other. I’d like to avoid any unnecessary friction, if possible. If he’s in a lot worse shape tomorrow, we’ll make him stay, but I don’t see any reason to pick that fight tonight. Otherwise, none of us is going to get any decent sleep,” Adam said.

  “You’re the doctor. It’s your call. Just let me know. Also, what about the dog? Do you think he caught it?” Matt asked.

  “Sammy? I’m not a vet, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me think he’s sick. Maybe dogs can’t catch it, or maybe it just works differently if you’re the one doing the biting.” Adam said smiling.

  The group at the table stood up, signaling that bedtime had arrived. Edward and Margaret took the dogs outside for their last break of the night while Booger stood watch on the porch. Plato was less than happy about the leash situation, but Margaret was taking no chances this time. Fifteen minutes later, Margaret carried the little dog back inside, grabbed a puppy pad from the cabinet, and headed off into the main bedroom looking disgusted.

  Since the younger men were making the run the next morning, Booger and Edward agreed to split the night watch into two shifts. Edward took the first. The sofa in the living room had two recliners. Matt and Adam each took one. Ray took the separate recliner across the room, and Booger stretched out on the little cot Margaret had pulled out of the closet earlier in the day.

  Upstairs, Rose disappeared into the small bedroom. Kim and Alicia shared the sofa bed. Gracie stretched out sideways in the chair with Sammy curled up below her feet. In the living room, Edward carried a kitchen chair to the window and lowered himself into it, watching. The cabin fell quiet as everyone drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 24

  Around 6 a.m., Matt woke up. Ray was sitting at the kitchen table with a can of soda in front of him. Ray looked like hell. His face was still red, and his hands were visibly shaking. Matt pushed the footrest of the recliner back into place and made his way to the bathroom. When he was done, he grabbed a cereal bar and a bottle of water and sat down across from Ray.

  “You sure you want to go today? You look like maybe you’re not feeling up to it,” Matt said.

  Ray’s face got redder. “I’m fine. How ‘bout you worry about your own self?”

  “I am,” Matt said. “I’ll be out there with you, and, if you screw up, it’s my ass on the line. Adam’s, too.”

  “Oh, that’s it, of course. Cops are always in fear for their lives. Let me guess, you have a right to go home safely tonight? That why you and your asshole partner thought it was a good idea to put a bullet in the head of a five-year-old?” Matt was speechless as Ray continued, “I mean, we all know you had no choice, but y’all didn’t know that at the time. You shot her and her mother all the same, though, didn’t you?”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Matt whispered, breaking out of his shock. He stood from the table and looked up toward the loft, listening for any sign that Gracie might have heard the conversation.

  Booger pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the table. He leaned down close to Ray and spoke in a low voice, “That’s about enough of that shit,” he said. “Now, I know you’re needing a drink real bad right about now. I’ve even sort of been in your shoes before. It’s miserable, but we’re all in a bad spot right now, that little girl more’n any of us. She’s lost just about everything. So you need to get your shit together and shut your damned mouth.”

  Both Matt and Ray stared at him in surprise. There was no hint of the friendly, humorous man they’d met yesterday. At this moment, he was dead serious. The contrast between this version of Booger and what they assumed was his normal good-natured personality was enough to get through to even Ray. He grabbed his can of soda and walked into the living room, sinking into the recliner to stew. Matt was content to let him, as long as he did it quietly.

  A while later, other people began to visit the kitchen, making a breakfast of whatever they could find. Matt didn’t see Gracie come down. He told Melissa what had happened with Ray. She was angry but thought it was unlikely that Gracie had heard anything since she was still curled up on the chair when Melissa left the loft. Matt relaxed a little and went to wake Adam. They needed to be ready to go when the time came.

  * * *

  Once Adam had gotten a bite to eat, he returned to the living room, where Matt was digging through a bag of ammo. A black handgun lay on the sofa beside him. He looked up when Adam walked in, “You know how to handle a gun?” he asked.

  “Sort of,” Adam answered, “My dad took me to the shooting range when I was younger, but I never got into it. I don’t have a gun myself. I know that puts me in the minority around here, but I’ve just never seen the need for one.”

  “But you know the basics, right? I mean, do you feel you could safely carry one and use it, if you had to?” Matt asked.

  “Yeah, I know that much – safe direction, finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire, all that. My dad was really big into shooting. Actually, I was a pretty decent shot back then, but it’s been a while.” Adam said.

  Matt opened a case and pulled out a smaller grey and black gun. “This is Bill’s. I took what guns and ammo I could find from his house last night. I didn’t know what we might need. You can take this one.”

  Adam’s face went pale, “Is that the gun he used when…” Adam didn’t finish the sentence. He knew he sounded silly. As a doctor, he wasn’t usually squeamish about these things, but he didn’t really want to carry a gun that a man had used to kill himse
lf just hours before.

  Matt seemed to understand, “No, that’s not it. He had several different handguns. This is just one he kept around the house for Susan to use if she needed one.”

  “Do you mind walking me through how to use it? Like I said, it’s been a while,” Adam said.

  Matt held it up so Adam could get a good look at it. “There’s no manual safety. You have ten in that magazine. I haven’t chambered one yet. I hope there won’t be any shooting. If there is, that’s not going to last very long. I’ve got one extra magazine for you, but…”

  Adam took the gun and looked it over, to be sure he remembered how the thing actually worked. “Let’s just hope I don’t have to use it,” Adam said.

  Matt handed the gun over. “Sorry I don’t have an extra holster.”

  Adam shoved the gun into his belt at the small of his back.

  “We’ll work with what we’ve got. I’ll try not to shoot myself.”

  Ray sauntered over. “Got one for me?”

  Matt glared at him for a moment. “Can you keep from killing anybody with it?”

  Ray smirked, “I know how to handle a weapon, and it would be stupid to go out there without any kind of protection.”

  Adam could see that Matt didn’t like the idea, but he walked to the sofa and picked up the black gun. “This is the only one I have left. Can you handle a .45?”

  “Yep, my old man had one.” Ray said taking the gun from Matt’s hands and shoving it into his waistband.

  Sammy padded down the stairs, and Plato ran toward him barking. Margaret yelled his name from the kitchen, but the little dog ignored her.

  Ray turned and looked at the dog. “Shut the hell up!” he yelled and then looked at Margaret who was staring in surprise from the kitchen. “My goddamned head is splitting, and I can’t take any more of his yapping. I swear to God I’m going to kick the shit out of him if he doesn’t stop.”

  All eyes were on Ray now, and he realized he’d crossed a line. Margaret hurried toward Plato and scooped him up. She grabbed his food bowl and filled it. Then she took him in the bedroom to eat. Once he was settled, she came back into the living room and looked at Ray. “You’re a grown man so I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but here we go. This is my cabin, and that is my dog. You are a guest. If you don’t like something, you are free to leave, but you will not threaten me or my dog. Are we clear?”

  Ray looked to the others for support and found none. He looked back at Margaret. “He’s making too much noise. There’s fucking zombies outside! He can’t keep barking,” he said. Margaret stared at him and said nothing. He turned to Edward, “You saw it yesterday. He drew that thing right to you with his barking shit. You could have been killed.”

  Edward met Ray’s gaze and held it, “Like Margaret said, we are guests here. Everyone else seems to understand that.”

  “Whatever,” Ray said and looked out the window, ignoring their stares.

  Adam approached Margaret as the others returned to their various tasks. “Hey, do you have any bags we can pack the food in? Some of it might be in boxes, but we need a way to carry the stuff we pull off the shelves. I don’t think those flimsy little bags they’ll have at the store are a good idea. They tear too easily.”

  “Sure,” she said throwing one last dirty look in Ray’s direction before opening the closet door to see what bags she could find.

  Now that the shouting had stopped, Gracie appeared at the top of the stairs. She made her way to the kitchen where Rose sat a granola bar and a bottle of orange juice on the table in front of her. Gracie thanked her and picked at the small breakfast. Adam could see that her face was red and puffy. It looked like maybe she’d been crying, but he couldn’t be sure. It made sense, of course. After all she’d been through, he was surprised she’d held up so well for this long.

  She was a brave kid, but she looked so small and vulnerable right now. He thought of his niece. How would she handle something like this? Adam wasn’t a grief counselor, but he figured he might be the closest thing to it in this situation. He made a mental note to try to pull her aside and talk to her this afternoon when he got back. She was still technically his patient, and he wanted to make sure she was OK.

  CHAPTER 25

  Ray shoved a handful of bags in the backseat beside Adam, and climbed into the passenger’s seat of Matt’s car. The interior of the car was scorching hot. The air conditioner was going full blast, but it wasn’t working fast enough. This heat was doing nothing for Ray’s headache, and he cracked the window for a minute to let some of the heat out. They pulled out of the driveway and crept down the gravel road, keeping an eye out for anything that might be lurking in the brush on either side of the road. So far it was clear.

  Matt slowed as they neared the intersection where the county road met the highway. He turned the car around, facing back toward the cabin. “I’m going to leave the car back behind the tree line. Hopefully, the noise won’t be enough to catch anything’s attention. I’ll go and check the parking lot out. Wait here.”

  Matt opened the door and climbed out. In his hand, he carried a pair of binoculars. He moved silently to the tree line. He was gone for a minute or two. When he returned, he motioned for the others to get out of the car. “The parking lot is still a mess. There are even a couple of cars blocking the highway. I don’t see any of the dead, but there’s nowhere to park the car close to the store. We’ll just leave it here. I saw a few of those things down the hill toward the lake, but they aren’t too close. If we’re quiet, I don’t think they’ll notice us. The trucks parked in the back lot should block us from view for the most part, even if one wanders up that way. Still, we need to keep our guard up. If something goes wrong, drop everything and head for the car. I’ll leave the keys in the ignition. The first one to the car can jump in the driver’s seat and be ready to go when the other two get here.”

  They pulled the empty bags from the backseat. Matt popped the trunk and grabbed the crowbar that was inside. Together, the three men moved across the highway and into the parking lot as quickly as possible. From this perspective, the infected were hidden by the semis parked behind the store and the downward slope of the land.

  Ray peeked through the glass door. A lone zombie wandered aimlessly through the store. He recognized her as one of the clerks he’d seen working the day before. Matt held his hand up and slipped quietly into the store while the zombie was facing the opposite direction. Ray saw him lift the crowbar and bring it down hard on her head. The zombie fell to the floor and a shelf blocked Ray’s view. He saw Matt swing the crowbar several more times before motioning for Ray and Adam to join him.

  With the store clear, Matt and Adam began gathering food from the shelves. Ray headed straight for the beer cooler. He pulled the door open and grabbed a tall can of beer, downing it immediately. Ray saw Matt look at him, but Matt said nothing. When Ray reached for the second can, he saw Matt’s eyes narrow. Ray smirked and held the can up, tipping it toward him. “Cheers, motherfucker,” Ray said as he popped the top and took a deep drink.

  Matt shook his head and continued shoving food into the bag. When Ray had finished his second can, he shoved three six-packs of beer into his own duffle bag. Then grabbed a 30-pack of beer and headed toward the door. Matt stopped him, “Care to pick up some actual food while you’re here?”

  Ray pulled a single candy bar from the display and dropped it into the bag, smiling. Then he stepped over the body of the zombie and headed back to the car, pausing at the corner of the store to be sure they were still alone. At the car, he unloaded the duffle bag, placing the beer in the trunk. When he was done, he moved back across the highway. Adam and Matt emerged from the store, their bags stuffed with food. Each of them also carried a small, unopened box of canned goods they’d found in the kitchen.

  Ray left them to it and went back inside. Before they returned, he grabbed another can of beer and drank it as he filled the duffle bag with an array of food items – candy bars, snack
cakes, and bags of various types of nuts. By the time the bag was full, Ray had finished his third can of beer. He sat the empty can on the shelf in front of him. He was feeling much better now that he had a decent buzz beginning. Ray walked back to the beer display and grabbed another case of beer just as the other two walked back into the store.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Matt asked.

  “What the hell does it look like? I’m stocking up for the zombie apocalypse.” Ray replied.

  “You don’t even know how long we’ll be there. We could be home in a few days,” Matt said.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. If we are home in a couple of days, then I’ll take it with me,” Ray said.

  “We need the space in the car for food. Put that shit back,” Matt said through clenched teeth. “You can carry a box of food from the kitchen instead. There’s still a lot of it back there, and we need to get this finished and get out of here.”

  “What-the-fuck-ever,” Ray said setting the case of beer down on the floor and following Matt to the kitchen.

  Matt handed him a box, and Ray left the store and headed back toward the car. They repeated this exercise until the trunk was full. Ray downed another beer as he shopped. Finally, they all stood at the back of the car as Matt closed the trunk. He looked at them, “I think we can make about one more trip. After that, we’ll have to start loading stuff into Margaret’s car. You did pick the keys up, right?”

  Adam tapped his pocket, and the keys jingled.

  Back inside, Ray filled his bag and walked out to put it in Matt’s car, while the other two dug through the storeroom and freezer. Ray stuffed the food into the backseat and walked back across the road. Sweat was running down his forehead into his eyes, and he wiped it away. His headache had eased some, but he was feeling a little lightheaded. As he stepped back into the parking lot, he tripped over the curb. He managed not to yell as he steadied himself just before he crashed into the hood of a black car parked in front of him.