Deadies: Run for Your Life (3 page)

The duo made it down the steps. Both men were short, no more than five foot eight. All the attention was on me. It was not that bad, they were men. It kind of reminded me of my previous good life.

“
Hi,” said the black guy. “I’m Ray, this is Naveen.” He tapped the Indian guy on his shoulder.

“
Hi, I’m Jesse.” I waved.

“
Hey,” Naveen said as he drooled. I tried to ignore it. Like most men they stop staring after they get to know me. I’m a regular person. Don’t judge me by the way I look. Don’t judge me by my nipples in this see-through t-shirt.

“
Nick found Jesse and brought her back to our little party.” Doctor Mark announced as his daughter began to wake.

“
Huh, that doesn’t sound like Nick. He’s not really a good samaritan type of guy.” Ray raised one of his perfectly coiffed eyebrows.

“
Look at her. Isn’t it obvious? You know why he brought her back.” Naveen gave a universal wink and it was clear the other men agreed with him. I could have told them that it was a life or death situation. I could have told them he saved my life and any partially decent human being would have intervened but I decided against giving out additional information. I’m new here and I just want to fit in and survive to see another day.

Ray pondered. “No matter how you made to here, Jesse we welcome you. Mi casa es su casa.”

“
Gracias Ray.” I was truly thankful. I feel good about this group. The last group that took me in were savages. I escaped. I hope I never ran into them again. It is wrong to wish they were eaten by the deadies? I guess so, very unchristian-like. Monsters eaten by monsters, poetic justice, as far as I’m concerned.

“
It’s no problem. You seem harmless enough. I’m sure Nick would never bring anyone dangerous back to the house.” Ray added.

“
You’re right. I’ve been thoroughly checked for bites.” I explained to help reassure them.

The doctor’s eyes went straight for my boobs. His daughter was awake now. She was groggy but alert enough to see me, the new girl.

“
Hey,” she mumbled to me from the couch as she sat up and pushed her hair back off her face. Kaitlin was extremely cute and very Italian looking. She resembled her dad.

“
Hey,” I replied back as casually as possible under the weird circumstances.

“
Where did you come from?” Kaitlin asked in an inquisitive way, not at all rude.

“
Nick picked me up on the side of the road.”

“
Okay cool. I knew there were more people out there somewhere.” Kaitlin rubbed her eyes and laid her head on her father’s shoulder.

Naveen left us and ventured back up the stairs. Ray took a seat across from me at the table. “You hungry?”

“
No thanks. Nick gave me something a little earlier.”

“
Good. So did you meet everyone?” Ray asked.

“
I think so.” I wasn’t sure. How many of them were there?

“
She didn’t meet Malik.” The doctor said.

Ray grinned and a perfect dimple popped out of his cheek. “Don’t hold your breath if you want to meet Malik. He sleeps during the day. He’s an alright fella, he’s just lazy.”

I automatically believed Malik was a black guy. The name was the dead giveaway, of course. I could be wrong but that was highly unlikely.

I caught Ray staring at me. Oddly it was not in the lustful manner I had grown accustomed to over the years.

Ray’s eyes raised and formed three distinct wrinkle lines in his forehead. “You know you look really familiar.”

“
People say that about me quite often.” I blew it off. I really didn’t want to be recognized. I wasn’t any big deal. It’s just my past life. I didn’t want to talk about it or think about it. If I thought about the past I would cry or worse feel sorry for myself.

My terror fueled me. I didn’t want any reason to break down or lose it, not in front of strangers. I was a survivor of this horrific ordeal and I wanted to keep a survivalist attitude.

Nick and G.I. Joe walked in and disrupted Ray’s quizzical gaze.

Nick stood near me and I felt like he was checking up on me, making sure I was alright. “Me and Joe did a quick inventory of our remaining supplies. We are running low on a lot of stuff. So tomorrow we got to make a run.”

“
Just you and Joe?” Ray asked.

“
Well, at least three of us. Me and Joe plus one more.” Nick clarified. I wondered why Joe barely spoke. Was Nick the leader? Was there a leader? It was too soon to tell.

Michelle sauntered in with one hand on her hip. It was clear she had heard about the run for supplies. “Why you and Joe? I would feel safer if one of you guys with a gun stayed here. It only makes sense.”

From what I could see I didn’t like Michelle but her statement was logical.

Nick crossed his arms on his chest. “Well who’s going to volunteer to take one of our places?” There was silence. “We need two drivers, one for both trucks. Plus we need someone to watch out for freaks and watch the trucks while two people go in and gather up the goods.”

Naveen walked halfway down the stairs and sat in direct view of the group. “I’ll go.” He offered without any expression.

“
I know the area so I’ll go. That’s me and Naveen.” Nick’s eyes darted around the room. There was another lapse of silence.

“
I’ll go.” I raised my hand, not too sure why. I lowered it and couldn’t believe I had opened my big mouth and volunteered to go on a death mission. What the H.E. double hockey sticks was I thinking?

“
Okay it’s settled.” Michelle all too eagerly concluded.

“
Wait, wait, wait a goddamn minute.” Nick interrupted the flame throwing redhead. “Jesse, come on. You have already been through a lot.”

Michelle took two steps forward like a real live tough guy mafioso. “Are you kidding me? We have all been through a lot. What makes the beauty queen exempt?”

“
Not in the last few hours. Give the girl a chance to breathe.” Nick defended me. I thought it gallant. “You didn’t have twenty--”

“
Nick.” I stood and grabbed ahold of his forearm. “Let’s talk in private.” He gave me a curious look. This time he followed me. I lead him to the kitchen. I could see the wonderment in the group’s eyes as we trotted off. I don’t know what possessed me to touch him but it wasn’t weird until I realized what I had done.

We were in the kitchen standing face to face. He was giving me a confused hard face and I tried to give him the ‘
you’re not the boss of me
face’. “I want to go.” I finally said.

“
Why? It’s stupid. Did you hit your head when you fell out the car?”

“
Did you?” I barked.

“
First you’re a girl and second it’s dangerous. You might not come back.”

My brave heart took control of my frightened mind. “I know but I don’t know this group. I want to go where you go.” I knew I kind of sound like a lovesick schoolgirl. My words came out completely different then I meant them. “Didn’t you promise to keep me safe for the next twenty-four hours?”

“
Yeah but--”

“
Well let’s make it forty-eight hours.” I flirted by puckering my lips and batting my eyes a few times.

“
Baby girl you’re more trouble than the freaks.” Nick half smiled and shook his head. He looked around the room. He was contemplating the things I had said. “Well one things for sure, you can run your ass off. Can you shoot a gun?”

“
A paint ball gun,” Nick’s eyes shot up to the ceiling. “I’m a fast learner, really I am?” I stared at him as he thought about it.

“
Okay fine just as long as you do everything I say.”

“
Yeah okay,” I probably shouldn’t have agreed to that.

“
No I mean it. No one dies on my watch.” Nick stressed through a frown.

“
Okay sure. Maybe you can also teach me to use that ax.”

“
One thing at a time baby girl… You’re going to give me a heart attack. I really want to arm wrestle you but you’re too goddamn pretty.” A compliment from alpha male, I was beaming inside and out. I felt safe with Nick. This time I couldn’t hold in my smile.

“
Wipe that fuckin’ smile off your face. They’re going to think we were in here making out.”

“
Okay sorry.” I wiped my smile away with my hand.

Nick snickered. “You’re a clown. Let’s give the group the verdict.”

I turned to head toward the common area and Nick playfully shoved me in my back. I turned, looked back at him and grimaced. It was nice to have a playful moment in all this chaos. For a few minutes I had even forgotten that I almost died a few hours earlier.

All eyes were on us when we reached the living room. Michelle had her arms tucked tight under her huge boobs. I wondered if Michelle and Nick have a thing. She was pretty and curvaceous.

“
So?” Michelle was the first to ask what the others dare not.

“
So, Jesse is coming. She’ll help me gather up the stuff.”

“
How did she convince you?” Michelle growled through gritted teeth.

Nick ignored Michelle. “Everyone write a list. Do not ask for anything stupid.”

“
What do you consider stupid?” Michelle was like the Energizer bunny. She just would not stop. She had attitude overload.

“
Nail polish,” Nick said. Ray barely withheld his laugh. Kaitlin giggled out loud. Nick purposely turned his back on Michelle. “Ladies if you have personal female items you need, give the list to Jesse. We will try to get as much as we can. Before nightfall somebody please talk to Malik and ask him what he needs.”

“
I will.” Ray volunteered.

CHAPTER 3

The day went by quickly although there was little to do. We all ate early per Joe’s strict instruction. It was nearing nine o’clock and that was when Nick took the first three hour nighttime shift as deadie look out. The wee hours of the night seemed to be the time when they were most active and ultimately more deadly.

I had spent most of my time with Kaitlin Ashley Ruffalo. I learned that her birthday was June ninth and she was seventeen years old. June ninth was the day before the deadie came to the front door of my loft apartment in downtown Chicago. Kaitlin did most of the talking and I realized how incredibly difficult this had to be for a kid. Her father stayed away from us. I think he was elated that Kaitlin had someone to talk to. I was that someone that could take her mind away from the dead creatures that incessantly shuffled outside the windows and doors at any time, day and night.

Kaitlin recalled her difficult days during the dead uprising in vivid detail. I empathized as she remembered her mother’s death. I earned the right to call the teen Kait. I didn’t mind entertaining young Kait. It wasn’t like Michelle was going to have anything to do with me. Our conversation pushed the day’s events into the back of my mind and for that I was grateful.

Kait fell asleep on the couch swaddled in her Hello Kitty blanket. I sat quietly leering at an old plastic circular wall clock that was nailed to the wall. The second hand was hypnotic but not enough to produce slumber.

Nick walked into the common area as he descended from the staircase. He came over to me and knelt. “Did anybody show you around the house?” He whispered. He didn’t want to wake Kait.

“
No.”

Nick offered me his hand and I grabbed it. He pulled me up instantly. He was stronger than he looked and he looked really tough. “Follow me.” We went down the hall, He pointed to the closed door across from the kitchen. “This is where Malik hibernates.” We turned and retraced our steps. “The doctor sleeps in the living room, Joe has the dining room.”

We marched up the stairs. At the top off the landing a replica of a religious painting hung on the wall. The depiction appeared to be an angel pointing a spear at the spine of another angel. When I stepped closer I realized I had seen it before in The Louvre in Paris.

“
You like?” Nick asked.

“
I’m not sure what it is.” I lied. I had an artist ex-boyfriend.

“
It’s the Archangel Michael slaying Satan by the Renaissance painter Raphael, just so you know, I’m not smart. Naveen told me. He’s Muslim but he knows a hell of a lot about Christianity. He is the resident nerd.” Nick turned back to the picture. “I think it’s weird.”

“
I think it’s, well, I don’t know. Are we Satan and the deadies the angels? Maybe the dead were sent here to slay us.” That was my best summation.

“
My best guess is that this zombie thing is some laboratory experiment that went bad. They probably injected some dead people with something trying to bring them back to life and it back fired. They have been freezing people for years so they can be revived when they find a cure for cancer or some nonsense scientist cooked up.”

“
Cryogenics, maybe, it’s possible, Hope we live to find out.”

“
Naveen thinks this epidemic is related to religion, the Doctor thinks it’s scientific, Joe thinks it’s an alien attack. I try not to think about it at all. As far as I’m concerned, they are here. We kill them. It’s survival of the fittest. I know for damn sure I’m way more fit than a dead man.”

I followed Nick a few paces down the hall.