The Week of the Dead (37 page)

“It’s getting dark. We should stay put for the night,” Tripod said.

“I agree,” Redbeard said. “Oh look, they still might have power,” he said looking at the Louie’s sign.

Devin came alongside the door armed with a pistol and flashlight. The two college kids came behind him. The one with the weed-whacker shotgun had the word “
Devastator
” scratched into the barrel. He took the other side of the door. Razor stood in front of the door with his shield. Devin gave a head wave, and the college kid stood back giving room for Razor. Razor readied his feet of a kick but stopped. He came back to the wall and extended his hand. He turned the doorknob without any resistance. He looked at Devin and shrugged. The college kid pushed open the door with a creaky joint.

First went Razor as he stood in the doorway with the shield. He had to alternate corners because his shield was too big to walk it through. Devin came behind him with the flashlight pointed over Razor’s head. The other college kid came in behind them. He had a flashlight on the end of his M14. Devin looked at the young man and nodded as they broke into teams. Devin and Razor secured the kitchen side, while the college kids swept the bar. The “all clear” was given from the bar. People came pouring into the bar. They were all weary from the skirmish that just took place. Many found a new form of hope knowing there were more humans other than those in their group. Clint and his family all held hands as they made sure each other was OK. The college kids stood behind the bar and marveled at the fully stocked bar. Walker felt the refrigerator. Its fan vibrated against his hand. He took the pin out of the walk-in cooler door and let out a scream.

Clint, Devin, and the college kids came to the sound of Walker’s scream guns blazing. He was sitting against the shelving pointing his flashlight into the walk-in cooler. The group came forward to see for themselves. Inside the walk-in was a bald head. As the flashlights moved down, they saw wheels. The bald head tried to turn around, but the wheels of the wheelchair were locked. The chubby kid walked forward and aimed the shotgun at the back of the disabled zombie’s head. “Hey, don’t do that, dickhead!” Clint’s voice was piercing inside the walkin fridge.

“Why not?” the curly bearded face said.

“Cause you’ll get blood all over dinner. The fridge is running; this food isn’t spoiled.” The college boy turned.

“Oh. Yeah. I guess you’re right.” His face showed a sign of disappointment.

Devin grabbed a roll of trash bags and ripped one off. “What are you doing?” The tall one said.

“Fuck this, I’m hungry,” Devin said as he placed the black trash bag over the bald head. He stopped. He saw the creature had a name tag.
Louie
. He didn’t give it a second thought as he pulled the trash bag over the hands and secured it in a knot. “Wheel his ass out of here, and
then
you can shoot him.” This statement brought light back to the young man’s eyes. The tall one came to Devin.

“William,” he said as he extended his hand.

“Devin.”

“His name is Chaz.” Devin watched as Chaz whistled as he rolled the wheelchair containing the moving plastic bag out of the cooler and through the lobby. There were a series of screams and hollers as Chaz pushed the wheelchair into the street.

“Son of a bitch,” Devin said. William gave him a puzzled look. “Oh, not him. I was talking about the guy who created these things. He said the weak were going to be killed off. I guess it’s hard to push an old man in a wheelchair while everyone else is trying to eat you,” Devin explained.

“You saw the ‘Darwin’ video too?” William asked.

Everyone met back at the bar. Chaz walked in with his shotgun around his waist. At the sound of the creaking door, he was met with a mob of barrels pointed at him. The initial shock caused him to fall backward on his back. Most of the group let out a laugh as Gavin closed the door and placed a booth seat behind it. Devin came around and extended a hand and pulled Chaz to his feet. “How’d it go?” Devin asked.

Devin even let out a smirk on his face. “Dude, you wouldn’t believe it. I pushed him into the middle of the street. I made sure the coast was clear, and I executed it.” Chaz began to laugh. “But…,” he chuckled, “I forgot to put the brakes back on the wheelchair.” People began to snicker. Redbeard was behind the bar with William and handed Chaz a glass with dark liquid in it. “So the motherfucking wheelchair rolled down a hill and smashed into a car!” He laughed as he raised his glass to Redbeard and took a big gulp. He pulled the glass away. “What’s in this?”

Redbeard looked down at the seated man. “A real man’s drink!” he said with a toasting gesture.

The House Is Buying

Chapter 76

Friday 1930 CST

Elizabethtown

A
fter Chaz eliminated the reincarnated Louie, a few creatures stumbled out of the shops and surrounding homes. There was only one Alpha hiding in the town. She was wearing the remains of a tattered business suit. She let out a shriek as she and a group of smaller creatures dressed as construction workers tried to attack the bar. Unfortunately for them, the humans rallied. The Alpha female screeched, and the humans stopped unloading vehicles and lined up outside the bar door.

The creatures came from down the street, passing by the corpse of Louie in the bag. The current geographical situation caused the zombies to bottleneck in between obstacles coming down the sidewalk. The sun was still up, and their red eyes shone with a form of reflection in the setting sunlight. “We got this,” Reynolds said as he made eye contact with the men of his group. They all took a knee with rifles aimed downrange. “Not so fast,” a voice said behind them. Reynolds and Ethan felt something pressed against their back. Behind them stood Jamison, William, Devin, and Faith with their rifles pointing downrange. A noise clattered to the left as Clint and Chaz stood on the hood of a truck and aimed at the horde. “In case they get too close!” Clint shouted before William let a round downrange.

“Aim for the head of that bitch!” Ethan shouted. The humans were in two rows. Like Gentle’s warfare from the Civil War, one row knelt, and another row stood behind them.

Ahead of them stood thirty or so corpses, including the She-Alpha that marched ahead. She had elongated arms that dragged the ground if she didn’t keep them in attack stance. They began forward with her call. A bullet ricocheted off a hard hat that was still strapped to the creature’s head. Williams’s M14 spent shell bounced off Reynolds head. Reynolds didn’t care as he too bucked back with his recoil.

One by one they fell, except for the She-Alpha. Her skin absorbed rounds as she continued to run and shriek wildly. Jamison, Ethan, and Reynolds emptied their magazines and went to reload as the features on the Alpha became more apparently. She had grown a pointy chin, and her hair had fallen out. Her skin had become green with purple veins exposed. Her elongated arms had thin skin on them, like underdeveloped wings. As they reloaded, the bird-like creature got closer. She raised her left hand to bring it down like a scythe. Ethan saw the shadow of the arm clear his vision. Only the arm never reached Ethan. It was cut in half by Clint and Chaz as they hopped off the truck, firing their shotguns in unison. Clint hit the ground first since he was more agile. Chaz seemed to take a second to balance his feet when he jumped off the hood firing his weed-whacker shotgun. The rifles stopped firing as Clint, Chaz, and William formed a new line. They stood over the Alpha and emptied their weapons until the head became mush. William turned to see a creature running awkwardly toward him. His M14 was empty. He simply dropped it around the sling that clapped against his back. He reached into his thigh holster and pulled his sidearm out. He put four rounds of his Ruger into the creature until it dropped.

“Shots all around!” William called out. The bar full of glasses was being emptied on to the counter. Redbeard took a random bottle and began pouring from the spout. Their mouths watered as they crowded around the bar. Everyone, except Gavin, Paul, Erica, Rune, and Raine, took a shot glass to their lips. Before anyone drank, Ethan stopped them. He stood on the bar. “Friends, new and old, to the ones we love and the ones we’ve lost,” he said with a cheering motion. He was still saddened by the loss of Josh. Jenna came next to him at ground level and placed a hand on his calf. Redbeard took the words to heart all too well, as did they all. Reynolds was the first to slam his glass down on the bar. “Another!”

After a few rounds of relatively cold beer, food from Clint’s awesome culinary skills, and the securing of the place, many of the humans made beds out of the booths and floor of the area. The tables that weren’t being used were hoisted up to block windows and fortify fire doors. Clint came from around the kitchen area. He had taken the vest and gun belt off and kept two pistols under his arms. He made the bend toward the bar. “Awesome food, Chef!” Chaz exclaimed.

“’Ey, where’s my fuckin’ drink?” Clint said with open arms throwing a sweat rag over his shoulder. Redbeard reached into the small ice machine and brought out a frosted mug of tequila and margarita mix with a tiny umbrella sticking out. “Ah, wonderful!” he said as he took a stool at the bar and drank from his curly straw. Razor and Raine had taken their turn at keeping watch from the port windows on both sides of the door. “Back door is bolted shut,” Clint said as he took a sip of margarita. “If you hear any clattering, I put all the dirty dishes against the door so if anyone comes in, they’ll make noise.”

“Those were some creative ass vehicles you guys have,” Ethan said. “How’d y’all do that?” He continued.

“We shacked up at a hardware store for a night. That’s where I met these Vikings,” Devin responded.

Since they were all on the same page and under the same roof, Redbeard decided to introduce himself. Redbeard began telling the story of being a lawyer before he became a Viking. Devin told the new folks about how they came to be. Ethan explained how they were in Memphis and made it to Mud Island, which brought Reynolds up to a stool. Reynolds told the new folks about the Fort’s demise. Mr. Harrison, who had remained quiet through most of the evening, was sitting at the end of the bar.

After a dark beer and a few shots of what Redbeard called “Four Horsemen,” Mr. Harrison attempted to explain their situation. His drunken tongue was too much for Phil to bear. Phil, who was holding the sleeping Paul’s head in his lap, began to talk about how they escaped Philly with a snowplow. This got a nod of acceptance from Devin and some of the others decided that was an interesting idea. Tripod explained how when he left the fort the vehicle he was driving got demolished by one of the Alphas. So he took off on foot. That’s when he found himself in an orchard. He grabbed an apple and right as he was about to bite down on it, there was a creature on his tail. He took off running again. He told them that he was running and suddenly a single shot rang out, and the creature dropped to the ground. “And that’s were all these guys came in,” he finished. Chaz began talking about how he and William went to college together. They hung out a few times, but when the shit hit the fan, they ran out of the building and jumped on a train. “How many have you killed?” asked Tara openly to the group. Everyone guessed except for Devin who lifted his sleeve. His whole arm was covered in tally marks. “That’s fucking wicked!” Ethan exclaimed.

“Why would you do that?” Ashley asked sheepishly.

“Something that I owe God when I die,” he said as he downed an amber liquid. That wasn’t the real reason. He didn’t want anyone else to know why he kept count.

Jamison broke the memory making talk with his tone. “Are we sticking to the plan?” he said as he cradled his rifle from the window.

Devin nodded. “We’re so close,” Devin said.

“Close to what?” Ethan added. Devin looked at him and sized him up. Erica, who was quietly lying in a booth, got up and placed the burn phone on the bar. Most everyone was puzzled except Ethan. He reached into his cargo pocket and pulled out an identical cell phone. Chaz looked at the two phones and then to William who stood there sipping a cup of coffee. William walked forward and placed a third cell phone on the pile. “Well, isn’t this a treat?” he said as he sipped on his mug.

Serious Downtime

Chapter 77

Friday 2345 CST

Elizabethtown

F
aith had come from the window. She ran her fingers across her husband’s shoulders in a playful motion. She walked back toward the kitchen. Clint placed his margarita upon the bar and patted both hands on the bar. “Well gentleman, it has been a wonderful evening, but I’m afraid there is still work to be done. Dishes and such.” He trailed off as he stood up and followed his wife toward the kitchen.

“Stay inside,” Mr. Harrison shouted at them in a playful but seriously drunken tone.

“Aye, he’s a cheeky bastard!” Ethan said as he kissed Jenna softly on the neck.

Devin was still eyeing Chaz and William. “How do you know Phoenix?” he asked. William sipped his coffee and danced his eyebrows up and down. Chaz pulled out a small bag of marijuana and dropped it on the bar. “We are his…constituents, per se.” Devin placed his hand on his pistol. Jenna grabbed a backpack and brought out the bag of marijuana from Parker’s pack. “This was one of his as well.” Chaz looked at the backpack. “Oh no! Not Parker!” he exclaimed. Ethan looked at him with sad eyes. “He helped us get out. The bag had that and the cell phone. We told Phoenix.” He looked at Devin who was next in explanation. Erica was standing there downing the rest of Clint’s margarita. “Our coworker had the phone in a hidden compartment of his truck.” William stopped moving and eyed Devin. “A white dually pickup with a fake backseat?” William asked causing Devin’s eyes to dilate. He removed the pistol from his side.
Frank’s .357.
He placed the pistol on the bar and slid it toward William. William felt the air leave his body.

In the kitchen, Faith was playfully walking around the island of the kitchen. When Clint made it to the island, he began following his wife. She was slowly dragging her fingertips across the shiny metal surface. Clint caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. He smelled her hair as he softly kissed her neck. She felt his hands slide up her rib cage. Her black wife beater was removed with ease as she raised her hands and moved them down the back of his head. She grabbed his ponytail, and he let out an exhale. “Oh, you’re going to get it now!” he said as he spun her around and forced his lips onto hers. With his face currently being connected to hers, they blindly attempted to remove belts and pants. Clint’s pants dropped with the sound of his belt hitting the concrete floor with a
clang
. She was coordinated enough to calmly step out of hers as she leaped onto her husband and wrapped her legs around and hooked on his protruding hip bones.