The First Days: As the World Dies (18 page)

1. A Taste of Hell

    

    Katie sat at the kitchen table taking a long sip of her very hot, slightly bitter coffee. It almost scalded her tongue, but it felt deliciously good going down. Nearby, Nerit was finishing up the breakfast dishes. Katie had offered to help her, but Nerit had gently rebuffed her. The last few days, it was fairly obvious that Nerit had enjoyed nursing Katie back to health, fussing and fretting after her, and making sure she rested.

    Despite her abrupt return to the realm of consciousness, she had still remained weakened. Dizziness, nausea and the occasional fever had haunted her up to thirty-six hours ago. Now, at last, she felt stronger and the sickness was finally behind her.

    The old hunting dog strolled in, slow and steady on his stiff legs, and up to his water bowl to get a drink. Katie let her fingers brush over his back as he passed her by and wondered how Jack was doing. She had been able to talk to Jenni for twenty minutes the night before and she couldn't remember if Jenni had mentioned the dog. Jenni had mostly talked about how they had corralled the zombies and how someone had been stupid enough to try to "save" his family from the mass of zombies. That, of course, had not ended well. Jenni also talked of how they had fixed up the fort, roping off areas as "living" areas, while others were strictly security or construction related.

    Katie had seen Travis making all sorts of drawings and writing down odd equations. She knew that he and Juan spoke a lot late at night. Though he hadn't said as much, she had a feeling Travis had plans to make their new home even more secure.

    Standing up, holding her cup tightly in her slim fingers, she strolled over to the counter and leaned her hip against it.

    "Nerit?"

    "Yes, dear?"

    "Why won't you and Ralph come to the fort?"

    Nerit hesitated in drying a plate and looked up at Katie. "This is our home."

    "But once we leave, you'll be here alone."

    Nerit nodded and put the plate up. Picking up a glass, she began to dry it. "Katie, Ralph has three sons. I have two sons. We have grandchildren. We do not know where they are. If they are safe, alive, on the run, or…They will come here if they can. At least Ralph's sons will. Mine are in Israel. I have very little hope of hearing from them."

    Katie looked down and her vision blurred just a bit from the tears she felt starting to brim. "I see."

    "This is all we have left now. If we leave, we leave behind all of it. We are very old and all we have is this shop. This little town. The hope that our children may still be alive with their children somewhere out there."

    Katie pressed her lips together, then nodded. She couldn't blame Nerit.

    If she could have holed up somewhere with Lydia, safe and secure, and ride this out, she would have. "I understand."

    Travis leaned in the doorway. "Katie, how are you feeling?"

    "Good. Good."

    "I could use your help," he said. "If Nerit doesn't mind you abandoning her."

    Nerit laughed and shooed them away. "Go, go, do what you need."

    Katie walked out into the hall and looked at Travis. He looked surprisingly sheepish.

    "Okay, Ralph and I have packed up all the guns, ammo, and clothes from the shop that we think the Fort needs. We're heading over to the grocery store for anything else we may need." Travis blushed even more now. "Uh, there are…um…things." He was now looking everywhere but at her face.

    "Uh…women things."

    Katie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, my God, Travis. Didn't you ever buy tampons for a girlfriend."

    Travis winced. "I try to block that memory."

    Katie brushed past him laughing and headed down the stairs. Bill and Ralph were in the store, both dressed up in hunting outfits, rifles slung over their arms casually. Katie looked out the window to see the old white truck was in a new position and Travis had evidently constructed a sturdy pallet on the truck bed to carry the haul back to the fort.

    "I hear we're going shopping?"

    "Yep, next door. Put on a jacket and grab a gun," Ralph said with a grin at her.

    "I thought you cleared out the town?"

    "Can't take a chance," Ralph answered.

    "There are probably more out there wandering around," Bill added. He pulled a baseball cap on. "There are lots of farms and trailer parks out in those hills. We can't let down our guard."

    "Makes sense," Katie sighed.

    Travis handed her a hunting jacket and she shrugged it on. Picking up a gun, she looked over her shoulder at the men.

    "So, basically, I'm risking my life because you pansies don't want to pick up the tampons," she said with a grin.

    All three nodded.

    "Yep."

    "Pretty much."

    "Uh huh."

    Katie shook her head and looked out the front door at the grocery store across the way. It was very small, old fashioned. The road was clear except for the truck. She had heard, through her fever, that Ralph and Bill and dragged the bodies onto the back of a truck and drove a ways out of town, before dumping them into a ditch. This was not a time for proper burial.

    Ralph and Bill were the first ones out the door, followed by Katie, then Travis. Travis walked stiffly, the gun in his hands obviously making him uncomfortable, but it was equally obvious that Ralph had been working with him.

    Ralph swept his gaze over the few buildings that made up his town and motioned it was clear. One by one, they passed into the small grocery store through the rotating door. Inside, it was in shambles. Dark brown blood smears were everywhere. Bits of flesh were rotting on the floor.

    Katie coughed and covered her mouth with her hand. Travis pulled a bandanna from a stand near a sunglass rack and tied it around her head, making sure it covered her mouth and nose loosely. He then did the same for himself. Bill and Ralph just seemed to deal with it. Katie could still smell the stench, but not as strongly. Mostly she smelled the fresh, starchy smell of brand new cloth.

    Grabbing a cart, she started to walk down one of the four narrow aisles.

    There were lots of cans and boxes on the floor, but there was still a lot of stuff crammed on the shelves. She looked for the medicinal/hygiene area and began to load up. All sorts of vitamins, cold and flu remedies, allergy medicine, and cough medicine all went into her cart. The men busied themselves sorting through the food items.

    It was still cold in the store, the air conditioner whirring away. How long the power grid would stay up was anyone's guess. They were all surprised it had lasted this long. She started shoving shampoos, deodorant and all sorts of hygiene items into the cart. It filled up pretty quickly. She returned to the front of the door, trying not to look at a small gray hand tucked under the edge of the front counter, and took another cart.

    It was about ten minutes later she heard a noise coming from the back office. She motioned to Travis and he crept up beside her. She motioned to the door and took a stance that showed she was ready to shoot. Ralph had said the store was clear, but they couldn't take a chance.

    Travis leaned forward, turned the knob, and shoved the door open. It was the manager's office and two little black and white TV sets were on. The office looked empty. They both looked at each other and shrugged.

    Then they head the whispering. "Not fast…enough…not fast…enough… not fast…enough…"

    Both of them slid into the office, nearly filling the narrow space with their presence. Drawing close to the desk, Katie and Travis both looked over.

    They saw the tip of a woman's pink shoe.

    "Hello?" Katie's voice cracked slightly.

    "Not fast…enough…not fast…enough…"

    A woman's pale face drew out of the shadow's long enough to gaze up at them then she retreated back under the desk.

    "Not fast…enough…not fast…enough…"

    Katie moved slightly to peer further under the desk and she could see the woman's eyes glinting with the light from the twin TVs. She looked over and saw that the security videotape was on. It showed what had happened on that horrible first day. It would play a scene, then rewind. Katie saw the little red light of the remote control glowing under the desk. The woman had it clutched in her hand.

    Looking back at the screen, she saw the security camera point of view of the entire store. A man was lying on the floor, having a violent fit. People were gathered all around him. Then he stilled. And even though she knew it was coming, when he sat up and grabbed the nearest person and bit into him, Katie jumped. Some people ran as others just stood and gaped. The man stood up after wresting a huge chunk of flesh from his first victim.

    A woman turned and ran. Behind her, a boy turned and followed. They were almost to the back of the store and out of view when the first zombie grabbed the boy.

    The VCR rewound.

    "…not fast…enough…" the voice whispered from under the desk.

    Travis looked at Katie and then back at the screen. "Oh, God."

    Katie took a deep breath. "Ralph! We found a survivor!"

    The minute the words were out of her mouth, she wondered if it was true. For from beneath the desk came a voice devoid of life whispering "Not…fast…enough…"

    

    

2. The Abyss

    

    "…not fast…enough…not fast…enough…"

    Katie wedged past Travis and moved so she could kneel down and see the woman hunkered under the desk.

    The young woman flinched when she saw Katie and turned her head to one side, her body quivering. She kept one eye firmly on the TV sets as she tried to draw her legs under the desk.

    "C'mon," Katie said.

    "…not fast…enough…" she said again.

    One hand was curled around the remote control. The other hand was thrown up against the side of the desk. She was a young woman who now looked very old. Her skin was stretched tight and taunt over her facial features, her arms and legs emaciated. She reeked of urine and shit and Katie could see she was sitting in a nest of her own filth.

    Katie ran a hand over her face, pulling her bandanna from her nose and mouth so it hung loose around her neck. The smell was awful, but she needed the woman to look at her and not the TV.

    "My name is Katie. This is Travis. Our friends Ralph and Bill are here, too. We're going to take you somewhere safe."

    The woman shook her head violently, but her eyes never left the TV.

    "…not fast…enough.."

    Katie looked over at Travis. "This isn't going to be easy."

    He looked perplexed and out of his depth. "Just tell me what to do."

    Katie edged forward and reached out to the woman. "We're going to take you away from here. Please, give me your hand. You can take a shower and eat some food."

    The woman again shook her head; one bright blue eye fastened determinedly on the TV.

    Katie looked at the image replaying once more on the grainy black and white set. Sighing, she said to Travis, "Get ready."

    He blinked, confused.

    Katie twisted around and ejected the tape from the VCR.

    There was a hoarse scream and almost immediately the woman was on her. Her bony, desperate hands clawed at Katie's, trying to wrest the tape from her fingers. Travis grabbed the bone-thin woman about the waist and lifted her up into the air and over the desk.

    Kicking and screaming, the woman languished in his arms. Her body twisted into odd angles and dried bits of excrement fell from her dress and legs.

    Katie gagged but managed to get to her feet despite the woman's kicks.

    The woman's eyes were wide, terrified, uncomprehending. Katie handed her the tape.

    The woman instantly went limp, holding the tape against her heaving chest along with the remote control. Her eyes wide, staring, unseeing of anything beyond the black and white image replaying in her mind's eye, she began to murmur, "…not fast…enough."

    Katie took hold of the woman's arm and Travis set the woman down slowly. The woman swayed, but stood, staring blankly.

    Ralph and Bill stood in the doorway, both wearing looks of utter shock and revulsion. Finally, Bill said, "It's Laura Matthews."

    "Shit, I opened the door and nothing ran at me or answered when I called out. I didn't think to look under the desk," Ralph said remorsefully.

    "I'm sorry, Laura hon. I didn't know you were hiding."

    Laura didn't move. She showed no recognition of her name.

    "She had a son?"

    "Younger brother. She basically raised him after their mom died." Bill shook his head sadly. "We dumped his body with the rest of them a few days back."

    "How did she live?" Bill looked amazed.

    Ralph pointed toward a water dispenser tucked near the desk. "Probably drank water. Don't need food as long as you got water. At least for awhile."

    Laura just stared, slightly swaying.

    Katie gently pulled on her arm and Laura stumbled forward, but managed to walk. Katie carefully led her through the store, trying to not smell the utter reek of the girl or look into her blank eyes.

    Once outside, the girl shuddered and grabbed tighter to the tape and the remote. Katie looked at Travis to see that he was quite ashen. She somewhat smiled at him and they began to walk across the road.

    The shriek was what made her jump and drop the girl's arm. A flash of movement had her twirling around, gun raised.