Only The Dead Don't Die (12 page)

“You know where people are? Then what are you doing here?” Scarlett couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, there are plenty of people out there all right, hiding in the hills—so to speak. Small gangs here and there, but they’re none too friendly if you know what I mean. They’re—let’s say, territorial. If you go wandering into another group’s territory, well, let’s just say you might get shot—like in the head.”

Scarlett gasped.

“These days they might as well shoot you in the head like a
Walker.
” he spouted off.

“Walker?” Scarlett grimaced.

“Ya know,
Walkers
, as in the zombies from
The Walking Dead
show?” Sam seemed a bit irritated with her.

Scarlett noted the tone of sarcasm in his voice. “Oh, yes, I’ve heard of that show, but I never actually watched it. I heard it was gory and violent,” Scarlett responded in her defense.

“Well Scarlett, we would’ve never made it
this
long if we hadn’t watched that show. Shit-yeah, now that show’s practically a frickin’ documentary,” he laughed a very loud, uncomfortable laugh.

“Don’t mind him. Things have been so crazy. I’m afraid we’ve totally forgotten our manners,” Sonia said, attempting to smooth things over.

I’m not so sure I like Sam,
she decided. “You’re the first people—living people—I’ve met.” Scarlett looked wistfully out the window and promised herself she wouldn’t cry, no matter what they had to say.
No matter how bad things really are.
“So, do you know what’s going on?” Scarlett asked, bracing herself for the news.

Sam and Sonia exchanged quick glances. Scarlett thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of insolence in Sam’s eyes, which she chose to ignore. His somewhat childish behavior reminded her of the sarcastic attitude students often had when they thought their teachers and grown-ups, in general, were stupid.

“You
do
know about the Super-Summer flu?” Sam asked slowly like she was a first grader.

Sonia took over the conversation. “Sorry, we’ve had a very bad day, so please excuse my rude husband.” Sonia gave him “the look,” the look a spouse gives after the other spouse has completely embarrassed the other.

“Actually, I read about the Super-Summer flu, afterwards—that is.” Scarlett took another sip of the sweet Moscato, savoring its delicate flavor. “All I know is, one day I had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted. A horribly painful experience I might add. I took some painkillers that really drugged me-out. When I woke up or rather, became coherent five days later . . . society had disappeared or gone mad,” Scarlett explained, making it sound so simple. It had all been much more devastating at the time: being jilted and heartbroken, the desperate texts from Kevin, Miss Purlie’s death, and the incident with the hermit neighbor. But they didn’t need to know about all of that. She had a funny feeling Sam could care less about her personal feelings.
I don’t like him very much.

“Shit-yeah, that’s about all there is to it. California collapsed in five frickin’ days,” Sam said, calmly pouring them each another round of wine.

“Sam, you don’t have to be so blunt,” Sonia scolded.

“Now Sonia, Scarlett needs to know how things are. And things are FUBAR. Looks like you’ve been doing pretty well for yourself,” he eyed the stacked tubs of supplies. “Let me give you some friendly advice,” he paused and peered directly into her eyes. “You should hook-up with a gang. A woman like yourself—hmm, what you need is a man. A man can protect you. Cause I’ll tell you what, you sure as hell won’t last long on your own.” He guzzled the last of his wine and sat the glass down a little too hard.

Now Scarlett
definitely
didn’t like him.
How the hell do you think I’ve made it so far
, she wanted to scream. She never did have much tolerance for male chauvinists.
Chivalry is one thing, but he’s a bit of a jackass.

“What are you guys doing here—in Natomas?” Scarlett asked abruptly.

“We were in Redding. We were with a small gang of survivalists. They let us stay until the baby was born, then kicked us out,” Sonia almost cried again, tears clinging to her lashes.

“But they said we could join them if we found medical supplies,” Sam said confidently. “We’ve been hitting every hospital and Evac Shelter, no luck yet.”

“We thought for sure we’d find refuge or supplies with the Natomas Evac Shelter.” Sonia was crying again, “Sorry, it’s my hormones. They’re still out of whack from my pregnancy. The nurse said I’d feel like crying all the time for a while. She called it postpartum depression.”

“I take it that’s why you’re here too?” Sam asked Scarlett, ignoring his weeping wife. “You said you’re from Roseville. Did you come here for the Natomas Evac Shelter—only to find it blown up?”

Scarlett nodded. “So now what?” she questioned, looking from Sam to Sonia, hoping they had a solution.

“I got a list of all the hospitals in the Sacramento area, if no luck, we’ll try the medical lab at U.C. Davis, I guess,” he didn’t sound too convinced. Now he seemed to be upset. She remembered that feeling of devastation upon finding the Natomas Evacuation Shelter completely destroyed.

“Do you think our military actually bombed it?” Scarlett almost whispered.

Sam shook his head with a definite yes, “Bombed the bejesus out of it. We’ve heard the rumors.” He seemed scared for the first time since they had met. He busied himself by opening the second bottle of wine.

“Go on,” Scarlett urged.

The sound of shattering glass interrupted the intense conversation. Scarlett jumped up, “Oh Shit, the creepers can’t possibly break in, can they?” Scarlett grabbed the rifle and peered down the stairway, Sam right behind her. The banging intensified.

“Good thing you boarded-up the window and the door,” Sam whispered as they crept downstairs.

The rhythmic pounding continued. “Sounds like their hitting the door with a hammer or something,” Sam speculated.

“But I’ve never seen them use a tool or pick up anything, except food,” Scarlett said, suddenly more afraid than ever.

“Well, they only broke the window. You’ve got it all boarded-up securely from the inside. We’re fine. They can’t actually break in. Let’s go back upstairs,” Sam said reassuringly.

“Everything’s all right,” Sam announced to Sonia, convincing her with a big, genuine smile.

Scarlett thought,
Aw, now I see what Sonia sees in him. He’s quite attractive when he’s not being an ass
. Then she realized,
he does have a wife and a baby to protect. It must all be extremely difficult for him.

Sam held the bottle of Moscato up to her, silently asking if she needed a refill.

“Why not?” Scarlett needed something to calm her growing anxiety.

“How long do you plan to stay here?” Sonia asked. “Ya know, you should come with us. Once we find the medical supplies, I’m pretty sure the Redding camp will let us all stay,” Sonia said.

Scarlett was stunned, not sure of what to say. Redding was in the wrong direction. Besides, she wasn’t sure it would be such a good idea to live with a bunch of survivalist types. They had apparently thrown Sam, Sonia, and a newborn baby out to fend for themselves. It really didn’t sound too promising.

“It’s something to consider,” Sam’s tone actually seemed disappointed. “The Redding gang is
very
selective on whom they let in, and I can tell you without a doubt that you’d be an asset,” he said staring intently at her.

Is he staring at my breasts? What a creep!

They all sat in the living room enjoying the second and last bottle of wine. The pounding finally ceased. Had the creepers given up? Scarlett was even more puzzled now than before. She thought about accepting their offer and going to Redding.
It’s safer to be with people.
Or was she better off here? But, what about Cyndi and her family?

The three of them sat in the living room and reminisced about the good ole’ days, funny how their eyes all seemed to focus on the blank-blackish-grey TV screen, an old habit. After a couple of hours of much-needed chit-chat, the baby’s cries interrupted them, and the couple excused themselves.

It would be dawn soon, time for sleep. Scarlett felt the tendrils of the wine relaxing her entire body as she crawled into bed. No, tonight she wouldn’t have to toss in bed for hours listening to the creepers’ cries in the deadly dark night—their endless cries of hunger that terrorized her soul.

***

What was that?
Scarlett thrashed about under the covers. The sound of screeching tires? Reluctantly, she dragged herself out of bed in a half-dazed state and ambled to the living room, noticing how untidy the place was. Odd, she thought, rubbing her eyes; she always kept the place in tip-top shape, one of her habits that had always annoyed Kevin. She focused in on the wine bottles and wine glasses cluttering the dining room table.

A pleasant smile widened when she remembered last night.
I have guests!
Hmm, what should we have for breakfast?
Still half-asleep
,
she began clearing the table from the previous night’s dinner and decided a cup of coffee was required before attempting the mess. She searched the kitchen cupboards unable to find the handy-dandy, propane, Coleman coffee maker she had acquired. “Now where can it be?” She rubbed her temples and ignored the slight hangover that threatened to invade her pleasant drowsiness.

A startling realization overwhelmed her. “The plastic tubs? Where’s all my FOOD?” Had they been moved last night to make more room in the dining room? No, there was plenty of room.

She nearly stumbled over her own two feet like a creeper as she dashed to the spare bedroom to confront Sam and Sonia. She hastily rapped on the door. “Good morning—”

After no response, she swung open the door. Sam, Sonia, and the baby were gone. Did they go to check on their truck—to maybe unload their truck?
No!
A voice inside her head shouted, causing a sharp pain in her head. They wouldn’t have taken the baby to retrieve their supplies.

Now she was wide awake, a chemical much stronger than caffeine alerted her senses: fear. Rushing down the stairs, she noticed the wood of the door frame, near the hinges, had splintered. It definitely wouldn’t withstand another creeper bombardment. She needed to find more wood today and should probably just board-over the entire door. That meant the door would no longer provide access, but she could still exit by way of the garage door.

She stole a quick glance out of the peephole. Scarlett screamed. There, on the front porch and walkway, were hundreds of creepers festering about. At the sound of her scream,
they
all began crowding to the front of the door like a group of deranged concertgoers rushing the stage. Only, she seemed to be the stage. She leaned heavily against the front door and felt the vibrations as their persistent pounding started again. She noticed that several of the creepers were using bricks (landscaping bricks from the rock garden) as
they
banged on the door and at the sides of the townhouse.
They learned to use tools!

“Where the hell are Sam and Sonia? Oh, Dear God, I hope the baby’s all right,” she whispered, finally gathering her wits. She decided to check out the garage.

She opened the laundry room’s door, leading to the garage. “What the—” she whispered in disbelief. The garage door was wide open.  And she was unprepared to see several packs of creepers heading directly for the garage—now that
they
saw her standing in plain view. Sam and Sonia must have just left, or surely the garage would be full of creepers by now.

Scarlett reached for the manual garage door cord and somehow managed to close the garage door just as a mob of creepers crashed into it, denting the door. But what was most disturbing of all, the Hyundai SUV that she had been preparing for her journey was gone. Sam and Sonia had stolen it along with all of her supplies.
It’s all gone!
After weeks of planning and weeks of dangerous scavenging trips, now she had nothing . . .

“The rifle!” She ran upstairs to retrieve the Remington. Besides the food, it was her most valuable asset. She had left it by the door to the balcony, always handy and always loaded. But, they had taken that too.
Really, how could I be so flippin’ stupid
! She wanted to scream; instead, she stared out the window overlooking the field. Creepers swarmed the field, coming from all directions. Were they all coming for her?

The sickening sound of splintering wood alerted her spider senses. She dashed back down the stairs to see the front door’s hinges giving way to the pressure from the growing pack of creepers congregating on the front porch.
They
knew she was inside.
They aren’t giving up this time!

I’ve got to get the hell out of here!
A numb automatic-pilot-mode took over while she threw on a pair of jeans, a pair of Sketchers, and crammed a travel bag with basic supplies, not even aware of what she grabbed. Then, she searched the kitchen cupboards for food. She found one single box of granola bars used as a paperweight. A note awaited her: SORRY, I BEGGED HIM NOT TO DO IT.