Fifteen

     My fingers traced the bronze frame of the open stained glass window. The Gothic architecture of the manor was phenomenal; albeit this particular arched window with the pointed top had lost its beauty. I looked through it to see the bodies of three individuals below. Edvard and Aaron were each clutching a side of the crosscut saw that they were using to sever the sweetgum trunk. Their backs were hunched over the device as they took turns pushing forward and pulling back so that little shavings of wood were slowly blowing into the wind. The third body belonged to the Reverend. He was standing near the iron gate, Bible in hand. His lips were moving in a breathy prayer for the two people we had lost. Their bodies had been too far devoured for a proper burial, so they had found themselves midst the burning pile of zombies.

            I reached outside for the little knob on the window and pulled the glass back to its frame, lightly altering the noise of the saw against the tree. There had been talk weather it was necessary or not to board up the window. Such an idea had been rejected and we had all come to the agreement that it was best just to let the memory of Destiny and Andrew be set free and not tied to the stained glass window. I hadn’t spoken much in the past two days. Such guilt had consumed my gut that it seemed inappropriate for me to speak my sorrows. Lainey had been the only one to truly know the pair, and even she had kept her thoughts mum on their passing.

            A low sigh left my lips as I turned into the second floor hallway. I could her voices drifting up from the open living room. My presence was made known as my feet began the descent down the grand staircase. Becky, Hannah, Harry, Brandon, and Toner were all gathered in the living room, sprawled across the furniture. Their conversation faltered for a brief moment upon my arrival, but it quickly picked up once they realized I wasn’t coming to speak with them.

            Daniel and Kora were standing at the base of the steps in a heavy conversation. Kora seemed to be going over a list with him. Her eyes bore into Daniel like that of a teacher demanding the attention of her pupil. Daniel kept his eyes down; his mind deep in thought at he listened attentively. To the right, near the front door and open weapons closet, were Hector, Cory, and James. There were two large black duffel bags at their feet. James and Hector were sifting through the weapons, occasionally handing one or two to Cory who then packed them neatly into the bags.

            “Another raid?” I questioned no one in particular.

            Daniel and Kora, along with Cory, looked towards me. Hector and James continued with their current mission. Daniel turned so that his body was facing me, a sign of his full attention now put onto me. Kora didn’t seem to mind. She was such a patient woman. There were times when I envied her composure. She was such an old, beautiful soul.

            “A supply trip,” answered Daniel.

            “Where to?” I inquired. I remained standing on the bottom step, my left hand resting on the rail. The added height gave me comfort, adding confidence to my voice as I spoke more than two words within the last forty-eight hours.

            “Target, just a few miles from here,” he said.

            “I’d like to go,” I stated. My eyes didn’t falter from his gaze, but the comment had been enough to catch the attention of Hector and James. The two men stopped their retrieval of weapons and instead focused on Daniel and me.

            Daniel let out a short, wavered laugh. “It’s too dangerous,” he said.

            I didn’t like his excuse. “Excuse me, but I spent numerous days out there and survived just fine.”

            “Five days hardly counts as numerous,” scoffed James.

            “Audrey, it’s connected to a mall. There is no way I’m sending you there,” Daniel stated, his arms folding against his chest.

            “We could go to a different Target,” Cory piped in. His suggestion got him a heated glare from the man before me, but that didn’t seem to silence his commentary. “There is one in Sarasota Springs.”

            “That is a good twenty additional miles,” growled Daniel. “And also next to a mall.”

            “But not connected to one,” Cory continued. “And it’s next to a Home Depot. If we are going to build up the doors and windows, we need to stop there anyway.”

            “That’s a trip not for Audrey to be with,” pressed Daniel.

            “Daniel,” I said, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. I could feel the mussels under his skin loosen a bit. “I need to go out there.”

            Daniel looked from me to Hector. The cadet raised his brows, obviously not wanting to be pulled into this. “Audrey, give us a list. We can get what you need.”

            “Can you?” I spat. “Can you find nine different bra sizes? Thirteen different styles of underwear? Nighttime Maxi pads with wings? Perhaps pearl tampons and not the ones stuffed in cardboard?”

            It was now my turn to cross my arms and stare the man down. There was a palpable uneasiness now present amongst all the men in the room. Both Becky and Kora shared a silently amused expression. It was Hector’s turn to then shoot Daniel a gaze for help. His hazel eyes were wide, his lips slightly parted. His tongue twitched within his mouth, lost for words. Daniel was biting the inside of his lip. He didn’t seem as uncomfortable as the other men, but I could tell he was still upset about the idea of me going. His eyes were now looking to the ground at his left.

            I walked down the last step and directly towards where the other three men were standing. I stopped before Hector and held out my hand, expectantly. Hector hesitated, but eventually reached into the closet and handed me the 9mm baretta that I had come here with. It felt heavy in my hands. I looked it over.

            “We’ll keep an eye on her, Daniel,” Hector tried to assure him.

            “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Daniel murmured. His gaze towards the man was hard.

            I slowly turned my head towards him, a dark look plastered across my face. His words had been sharp, their meaning unintended for my interpretation. Daniel took a sudden breath, realization hitting him. He made to apologize, his arms falling to his sides and his head beginning to shake.

            “Don’t,” I spat. I turned back to Hector. “I’m ready when you are.”

            “We should be done in about two minutes. You might want to say your goodbyes,” Hector said as he went back to shuffling through weapons with James.

            “There are none to say,” I responded. I could sense that Daniel was still behind me, his expression probably twisted with hurt. I considered meeting with Brittany and my siblings before I left, but I didn’t want to get pulled back and think about the mistake this might be. I had intentions for what I was doing and I needed to be focused on just that.

            When they were done, James and Cory each slung a black duffle bag over their shoulder. I silently followed Hector and the other two men towards the door that led to the deep garage. Hector flipped a switch along the cold stonewall. Only the lights along the first part of the grid nearest the garage door flickered on. Their lighting was a low warm color. For a moment I felt like I was in the underground tunnel of some Italian city.

            Hector led us through the trail of cars until we reached the one next to the bus. It reminded me of a car one of my neighbors had at West Point. This particular one looked to be a 1998 black Buick Lesabre. It was large and heavy, very spacious for three structured men and two bags of weapons. Hector opened the trunk for Cory and James to drop the bags in. Each of them already bore a few weapons on their persons that they were to keep with them in the car. Hector then moved to the driver’s seat where he started the car. The engine screeched before settling into a steady rumble. James took the passenger’s side seat, while Cory slid in the back behind Cory. That left the seat behind James open for me.

            The light from the manor shown into the garage from where Daniel and a few others were watching from the doorway. I refused to make eye contact with him and instead focused on the interior of the car. It was a gray upholstery fabric with tiny black diamonds adding to the design. Part of the ceiling fabric was pulling loose and there were a few stains here and there.

            “Whose care is this?” I asked.

            “The Reverend’s,” Cory answered.

            I nodded in response. This seemed liked the type of car that a man like him would drive. It was an older model, and the Reverend didn’t seem like he was into modern and flashy things. There wasn’t even a CD player, just a slot for a cassette. A sudden click alerted me that Hector had locked the doors. I shyly pressed down on the silver button for the windows. He had locked those, as well.

            “Ready?” Hector called out. He turned in his seat to look me in the eye. “Hope you didn’t have to go to the bathroom.”

            He was only picking on me, but I couldn’t help but feel a sharp pain in my bladder. It wasn’t because I had to go, but it was the sloshy, sharp feeling that occurs when fear begins to set in. If my greatest worry on this trip was where I would stop to pee, then I’m sure I would be fine.

            “I’m good,” I shook my head.

            Hector nodded with a slight grin and playful gleam in his hazel eyes. He confused me. One minute he was loud and domineering, and the next he seemed to enjoy amusement in teasing others. He was only twenty-five, the military being his whole life. After becoming a cadet, I’m sure his playful nature as a young adult had been curbed by the structuring of military enforcement. He was at that in-between stage where all that he had known had been striped from his lifestyle and he was unsure whether or not he should let go or carry his training through to this present day. But I could see every day that he was trying and that was enough to earn my trust.

            The garage door rattle open, each gear moving the heavy, wide door open another inch. I looked through the back window, watching the light from the gray sky land across my skin. These late September days were growing colder and colder. I felt a shiver race across my skin. I was wearing dark jeans and a black long sleeve v-neck shirt. Part of me wished I had grabbed a light coat. Only James seemed to be dressed for the chilly weather. But then again, he was always wearing that long trench coat. As Hector backed the car out, James reached up to pull his long black hair into a low ponytail that rested at the nape of his neck. This highlighted his square jaw.

            As Hector backed the car around the fountain in the courtyard, the Reverend lifted a hand in our direction. I couldn’t tell if it was meant to be a farewell wave or a gesture for a goodbye prayer. Either way, his expression was solemn. Edvard and Aaron had pushed the tree down. They were now working on cutting the sweetgum into smaller chunks.

            Hector turned the vehicle so that we were now pulling away from the manor. Little rocks kicked up from the wheels of the car as we moved forward. There was a slow movement near the front gate. Hector removed the safety lock for James to roll down the window. He casually set his right hand outside the window, and as we neared the two brick pillars, he fired a round between the eyes of the male zombie. The creature fell to the ground, causing the car to bounce a bit as the wheels drove over its body.

            I looked through the back window one last time at the ornamented manor before disappearing through the trees. As if the afternoon sky wasn’t dark enough, the overhanging limbs of the trees added to the amorous atmosphere. I let out a sudden shriek as the wandering body of a zombie rolled against my window. It spun around and fell to the ground, but eventually up righted itself. There were many that hovered along the side of the road. If they weren’t in our direct path, Hector would just graze by them with the vehicle, causing their sluggish footsteps to falter.

            Cory let out a light chuckle and I turned to face him. “You make cute noises when you’re scared,” he teased.

            “Shut up,” I pouted, crossing my arms and falling back into the seat. “This is not going to be a trip where you pick on me the entire time.”

            “What are your intentions for coming with?” Hector wondered, looking at me through the rear-view mirror. “Other than to piss of Daniel.”

            “It’s just something I have to do,” I murmured as I looked back out my window.

            The trees along the road began to clear out and the gravel soon turned back to pavement. For a moment my breath escaped me as I looked out on the main road. In just two weeks so much had already changed. Signs had been dented, written over, and even removed. Piles of rubble and abandoned belongs littered the sides of the road. Even the grass looked dead. Clouds of smog and smoke drifted in the distance. Cars were deserted.

            The men didn’t seem phased by the scene before them. Of course, they had been privy to seeing the decay of Queensbury suburbs as their supply runs and zombie hunts took them away from the manor every other day. I tried maintaining my shock. My eyes drifted upwards just in time to catch the stare of James as his emerald green orbs looked at me through the mirror. He blinked, opening up to reveal that his gaze had shifted out his window. I turned my head, focusing on the patches of zombies that found interest in our car.

            Hector was driving at a steady pace. It was balanced enough to get us through the maze of obstacles that were strewn across the streets, but slow enough to give me a fright every time we passed a nearing zombie. Being tucked away in a three story building with several feet of thick brick guarding us gave more comfort than being in a moving vehicle with many glass windows.

            “Turn here,” Cory said, directing Hector through a blocked intersection. “We’re going to see how far we can get without taking I-87. It will add a couple minutes, but there is no way we are going to be able to get a car through that mess.”

            “What did you study at West Point?” I asked. His sense of direction was impressive.

            “Environmental Science, with an emphasis in Geography, mapping, charting, and geodesy,” he answered proudly.

            “Are you from this area?” I asked.

            “Nope,” he grinned. “I’m just really good at ready signs.”

            “Oh,” I mused. “And you, Hector?”

            “General Management,” he said.

            “That makes sense,” I nodded. “What about Edvard?”

            “Foreign Area Studies, focusing primarily on language. He can speak Portuguese, German, and Russian,” Cory informed.

            “What? No way,” I snorted. “He barely speaks in general.”

            Both men laughed. Hector went on to say, “Ask him to say something for you sometime. It will probably be really offensive, but he makes it sound good.”

            “I don’t believe you guys,” I narrowed my eyes. “Too bad no one studied Electrical Engineering. That’s a degree that would have come in great use right about now.”

            The conversation died down for a moment. A feeling welled up inside me that I tried squashing, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for not including James. I sucked up my pride and leaned forward so that my chin was close to the left side of the headrest on his seat. “And what did you study?”

            “It doesn’t matter anymore,” his icy voice said.

            I instantly regretted asking and immediately sat back in the seat. The ride was quiet from then on out. If my eyes weren’t staring down at the baretta in my lap, they were gazing out the window at the fleeting scenery. Cory directed us down a back road parallel to the highway. I leaned forward so that I could look over Cory’s chest and through his window at the Aviation Mall. There was in fact a Target there, as well as a Victoria’s Secret, Maurices, Debs, and numerous other shops that would have caught my fancy had this been a regular outing.

            But it wasn’t, and instead we were out looking for practical and necessary attire. I had never been the type to get all fancy or fawn over a one-hundred-dollar pair of jeans, but a part of me would have liked to be able to get dressed up and feel what it was like to be able to own anything I wanted. There was a very minimal amount of cars surrounding the large lot. What was there were primary abandoned vehicles or cars parked with a complete disregard to the white outlines of each space. Parked in a hurry, these cars had been left by their owners or current vehicle-hopping occupants in a vain attempt to scavange what was left of the skeletal mall. The idea of looking there was too new, the first thought of almost all survivors, and would therefore be one of the unsafe places to go.  Practicality and security were not friends at this present moment.

            “Look at them all,” Cory murmured, almost to himself.

            He was referring to the gargantuan mass of meandering bodies that snaked their way through the obstacles of cars. There had to of been a good two hundred or so. By the way they each were dragging themselves in no particular direction led me to believe that there was no living being close by, nor had they caught scent of a target to pursue.

            “Let’s hope they wander south,” Hector said. “Because that’s too many for even the manor to hold off.”

            As if being a few hundred miles from a very populous city wasn’t enough, Queensbury was surrounded by numerous malls and popular shopping outlets. Although the manor was hidden away in the middle of a small forest, location meant very little when dealing with creatures that traveled primarily on sound and smell, sight being a very minimally advantageous sense.

            Had this been a beautiful and standard outing, we probably would have reached Sarasota Springs within the typical twenty-nine minute drive. Instead, we arrived in the picturesque city in just less than an hour. The scenery was as gorgeous as could be expected after the tragedies that occurred within in. Certain streets reminded me of Highland Falls and similar quaint historical locations. Each building held so much rich character.

            “This probably isn’t the best time to say that Sarasota was named one of the top ten places to live in New York and holds a heavy tourist population,” Cory leisurely said. James turned eerily slow and shot the boisterous cadet a narrowed look. Cory quickly added, “But that was several years ago, so who knows what it’s ranked now…”

            My eyes drifted towards a group of horses grazing in a pile of flowers alongside the road. Their bodies were sleek and muscular, glossy with sweat. A smaller black one was stripped free of all equipment except for a harness dangling from his muzzle. A splatter of blood was crusted across the rump of a simple brown mare. We had passed a race course previously, evidently part of Sarasota’s attractions.

            “We’re here,” Hector said. He had pulled the Buick into a wide parking lot. Several other retail centers surrounding us, including a Rite Aid and a Barns and Nobel.

            “Fan-f*****g-tastic,” huffed James. “There’s a goddamn cemetery. How ironic.”

            James pushed the passenger side door open, spun out, and put a bullet right through the soft skull of a zombie. His movements couldn’t have been any smoother. Thankfully, there weren’t that many other zombies close by to gather any attention, despite the mall being just a few roads to the east of us. Hector walked around to the trunk of the car and started going through one of the duffle bags. He began passing weapons out like candy, gearing James and Cory up. I waited patiently until he had emptied the duffle bag. He threw the empty bag over his shoulder and shut the trunk.

            “What about me?” I asked.

            “You have a gun,” the cadet said, gesturing to the baretta idling in my right hand.

            “Yeah,” I huffed. “A weapon. Just one. You guys look like you walked out of an Expendables movie and here I am looking like the princess of the dead.”

            “Don’t worry,” James glowered. “We’ll protect you.”

            I didn’t like how he had talked down to me, but it was evident that I wasn’t going to be given another weapon. I was more than just disappointed. Anger and even a pinch of hurt soared through me. I couldn’t let myself feel pity or regret towards the very situation I had put myself in, so I swallowed my pride and silently followed them towards the front doors of the Target.

            As we approached the four red cement balls that decorated almost every Target nationwide, I looked down at the body of a team member that was strewn across the brick building. He had an orange safety vest pressed into his stomach, his lower jaw missing entirely. He hadn’t changed. He was merely an empty corpse.

            “Well that’s not good,” Hector said as the front entrance doors slid open.

            “What do you mean?” I asked.

            “Because if they opened for us, they’ll open for anything,” the man answered. His grip tightened around the long barreled rifle that he was clutching. He walking through the doors first, followed by James, then me, and Cory heading up the back. The once white tiles of the Target floor were now spotted with red, another shade to add to their customary color of choice. My eyes saw nothing at first, no swift moments to alert us of any company, albeit it friend or foe, alive or dead.

            This place had clearly been raided before. Racks of clothes and shoes had been thrown to the ground. The glass cases that held the jewelry were shattered. Soda bottles and candy bar wrappers were littered amongst the registers. Even money was plastered to the floor by globs of cranberry red blood. We found ourselves passing through the clothing section, the dressing rooms directly ahead. There was a dead woman seated behind the counter entrance to the women’s dressing rooms. A few plastic multi-colored numbers were scattered across the top of the counter. An old school corded telephone was perched at the far end.

            The dead woman in the seat twitched. She slowly raised her head to reveal a set of clouded eyes and dried lips. Her hair was straight and weighed down by strings of flesh and cheek tissue. Her beige pants were soiled and her red polo was torn. Her white and red nametag read: Fran.  Her gurgles were coarse and slow. She reached her arms out, her boney fingers waving as though they were crippled by arthritis. James stepped forward, drawing a dagger from his belt, and piked the woman in the forehead. Black blood gushed from her molded skull. She fell across the counter in a clump.

            We didn’t get very far, because a few steps later we heard more familiar heavy gurgles and a few rattling doors. There was no door or hidden hallway that led to these changing rooms. The entrance was more of an open area, and if one stood perfectly angled by the counter, a clear shot inside the dressing rooms could be seen. There were four red doors on each side of the walkway, a mirror standing at the far end of the wall. A few of the doors were shaking and it was clear that inside each one was a zombie.

            “I got it,” James said.

            He walked around the counter, stepping over a precarious pile of abandoned clothes that had been knocked down from the returns area. He approached the first door on the right and watched the knob jiggle from the consistent pressure coming from the other side, each time the woman threw her body against the door. James waited a few more thuds before kicking the door in. A female zombie came flying out, all of her weight propelling her straight into the blade James had up. The man yanked the blade from her skull and kicked her body down to the ground. He proceeded to the second door, pausing again to count the slams echoing from the other side.

            I turned to face Hector and held out my hand. “Give me a blade,” I said. It wasn’t meant to be a demand, but it seemingly came out as one.

            Hector looked to Cory before facing me again. “James can take care of it,” he said.

            “That’s great. So can I,” I responded. “Blade, please. Now.”

            Hector inhaled sharply, a great debate occurring within his head. He reached for the dagger stuffed within his own belt and held the handle out to me. “I’m going to get my a*s handed to me,” he whispered.

            I said nothing; Daniel’s reaction of no concern to me. I pivoted, finding my legs directing me into the changing area. James had just drove his dagger into a third zombie, the tip of the blade exiting through the bridge of the woman’s nose from where had had drove it up her chin. He pushed against the woman’s shoulders, knocking her down before looking in my direction. I locked eyes with him briefly before turning my attention on the second door on the left side. I faltered, a few trepidations occurring to me at that present moment. I held the blade with a balled fist, like I would about ready to punch someone. My right arm was close to my ear, knuckles white and fingers sweaty. A sudden gush of adrenalin fueled my leg and I kicked at the door. It swung against a body, allowing the dead woman inside to get a good lunge at me. I faltered for a moment, her arms getting past mine and sliding across my face. It was like she was coming in for a kiss, her mouth wide and aimed right for mine. I brought the blade down through the top of her head, a startled shriek escaping my lips.

            James did nothing. He waited for the women to fall at my feet before going for the fourth door on his side. As he went for his fourth kill, I prepared myself for my second. There was an exponential difference between killing a zombie with a gun and killing one with a blade. Not only were the interactions physically different, the emotional result left a pretty big impact. With a gun, the bullet would push the creature’s body backwards, but with a blade, it would almost pull them closer. There was no shock or pain evident in their eyes had they been truly alive, but there was a sense of recognition and that was unnerving.

            Nothing I could do could possibly prepare myself for a second kill, so I moved on with adrenalin propelling me. I kicked down the next door, this time revealing one of the thinnest creatures I had ever seen. Part of me felt that she had been ghastly skinny before turning, but size mattered very little at this time and I easily took the opportunity to attack first, slamming the creature into the mirror and stabbing the blade between her eyes.

            I retreated from the small space just in time to catch James getting ready to kick in the last door. It was the last one on my side and I sent a small territorial glare but it didn’t seem to faze him. He held his blade up and kicked at the door. The woman that fell forward had brown curly hair, once fluffed out by what looked like almost an entire can of hair spray. She wore only a bra and pair of jeans, clearly having been caught off guard and attacked during the middle of a fitting. Satisfied with her second death, James let the door fall back. He narrowed his brows as he started to walk past me.

            The tinniest cry froze us both. It was light, but still equally breathy as the others. James and I exchanged looks before both turning in the direction of the door he had just pushed through. We took cautious steps forward. James reached out, pressing against the glossy red door.

            “Oh my God,” I whispered.

            Before us sat a child. Its body was small and thin. She couldn’t have been more than two-years-old. She was buckled into an orange and pink flowered stroller. There was a thick line of blood seeping through her white lace dress, as though she had struggled to pull free from the strap that held her back. There was a bow a top her head pulling a few golden curls into what looked like a little fountain of hair. There was a large gouge in her head, as though she had been locked away with her mother and had found herself a snack. Now, the little toddler’s skin was a sickly grayish green. Her cheeks had hollowed so much that the edges of her facial bone were poking through. Her tiny hands were reaching out to us, not with desire to be held but with a hunger twice her size.

            I swallowed, a clump of saliva nearly choking me. I looked to James, eyes wide. He was staring down at the little creature, his own eyes twisted with a look I had never seen present. This was not a quick kill. This was a matter of inner moral dilemmas. And the mirror reflecting his pending action didn’t help. The knife hovered in James’ hand. His brows were furrowed, but for the first time relaxed. The strain was present in his eyes, not wrinkled in his skin. This was an action not spurred from hate, but of compassion, a trait I never thought this man to be capable of.

            The little creature continued its cries, huffing and puffing as though it was a great and mighty thing to be feared. It was almost heartbreaking to see it struggle against its seatbelt. I wanted James to just put her out of her misery, but words were failing me and I could tell that James was already struggling with the necessary deed. Instead of fabricating forceful and panicked words, I reached out to set my hand on his left forearm. It was meant to be a light and gentle act, a gesture to let him know that this was okay and that no one would hold it against him. He faltered for a moment under my touch, but it was the right thing to do. Without a second thought, James brought the blade down on the child. Its sputters were instantly muted and the little creature fell limp against the stroller. Its tiny plump lips were parted into a perfect circle. It lay there in a warped sense of peace, its big eyes forever frozen wide.

            James then jerked away, pushing past me with a returned coldness. This time I couldn’t hold it against him. I quietly followed him out of the dressing room. Hector and Cory were waiting for us. They perked up at out return, two new bodies lying at their feet.

            “All clear?” Hector inquired.

            “All clear,” stated James.

            “Mind if I keep this?” I asked, holding up the bloodied knife. Not only was the blade and handle covered, but those two kills had rendered enough blood to also splash across my fingers and palm.

            Hector dropped his lips, seemingly impressed. He threw his hand up. “It’s all yours.” Stepping back, he continued. “Cory and I are going to fill the duffle up with food. James will go with Audrey as she gets stuff for the girls. We’ll meet up front in ten minutes, okay.”

            James seemed displeased by his new assignment. “I did not sign up to be her body guard.”

            “I’ll help Audrey pick out panties,” Cory stepped in, cheerfully.

            “James is going with Audrey. You’re coming with me. End of discussion,” Hector said. Before anyone could throw out another word, the cadet had turned around and was heading down the white tiled pathway. Cory seemed a bit dejected, but sent me a pervy half smile before jogging after Hector. James was clutching his rifle with such force I feared he might break it in two. He was seething.

            I said nothing to him as I decided to get what I needed; with or without him. He followed a good fifteen yards behind me as I weaved through the racks of clothing. At that present moment, I regretted not asking for a duffle of my own. I stuck the blade along the side of my belt as I began sifting through rows of shirts. I wasn’t focused on sizes and for a brief moment, I found myself amused by all of the back-to-school clothes that Target had. I grabbed a few shirts, even a few sundresses, and slung them over my shoulder. Practicality had long since gone out the window.

            Every once in a while, I would catch the vibrant green eyes of James following me as he kept his distance. I wasn’t sure whether he was doing it out of a protective nature or if �" like Hector �" there was a small part of him that carried concern with what Daniel might do to him should they return without me. Either way, I pushed the thoughts from my mind as I crossed into the intimates section. I found it a tad bit awkward that James was here with me as I went through the bins of underwear that Target had. Their “5 for $20” had always drawn me in.  I myself wasn’t familiar with the styles that all of the girls wore, so I found myself grabbing bunches of all different colors and cuts.

            Picking out the bras was the best part. James’ breathing was getting deeper and shorter, his lips growing tighter and tighter. I could just imagine how many times he had killed Hector in his head. I reached for a midnight blue bra that had black lace along the bottom. Finding alluring bras my size had always been a hassle, so naturally I had to scoop up ones like this. The awkwardness then drifted my way and I soon also hated Hector for sending James to accompany me. I would have much rather been paired with Cory’s perverted comments than James’ heated glares.

            “I’m going to get tampons,” I said, my desire for more clothing soon subsiding.

            James didn’t say anything; he just kept his distance and followed me. I was thankful for the abandoned Target basket left in the main aisle and dropped the close into it. My arms no longer cramped, my skin pink and texturized from clinging to the clothes. I picked up the basket and headed towards the pharmacy. I turned down the feminine aisle where they kept not only the pads and tampons, but also the condoms and lubes. I always thought that to be a peculiar pairing of items. James stood at the end of the aisle with his back to me. I took that as my chance to act on what I truly came along to do.

            My whole intentions for the day had not been to get more clothes or feminine necessities for the girls and me, but to instead raid the pharmacy for the medicine that would help my sister’s behavior. The medicine she had been taking at home to help with her Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as well as her Borderline Personality Disorder. I also hoped to find something to fight depression. I wanted to do this without interrogation, so I prayed that James would not turn around and notice I was missing.

            I had figured that both weaponry and a grocery store would be the two most heavily raided areas during any apocalyptic event. Such places would be closely followed by a pharmacy. The desire for drugs during such a time would not only be sought after for true medical reasons, but also by those who were addicts. And just as I had feared, this particular pharmacy had not bee saved from the desires of such individuals. Bottles were scattered across the floor, pills of all colors, shapes, and sizes crushed to powder beneath my feet. A strong, pungent smell struck my noise. It smelled like insulin, the kind my diabetic grandfather would fill his needles with. The packages of medicine were no longer labeled and organized. I felt dejected, my mission becoming one of time and turmoil.

            I craned my neck to look over the counter and past the four rows of medications. Seeing nothing, I pushed open the low, swinging door. There was a Target name badge abandoned amidst a pile of orange triangular pills. There were also draglines of blood. But there were no bodies, so I tried putting those thoughts aside as I racked my brain for the names of the medicine that my sister had been taking. Part of me regretted not caring about her more, but that was quickly buried by the memories of how hateful she could be. Nevertheless, she was my sister and one of the last two parts of my family left.

            The medicine that she took for her ADHD hadn’t been one with a long, nonsensical name. It was simple, fairly easy to pronounce. I push my brain harder, thinking about the few times I had knocked the pills bottles from the cabinets as I had tried reaching for a glass. Vivance. She was taking Vivance. I had no idea how pharmacies organized their medicine, whether it was alphabetical or by disease. I suppose that it didn’t matter much at this point considering more bottles where on the floor than there was on the shelf, but nevertheless, I found myself walking back towards the last aisle. I bent my knees, hovering over the bottle sprawled at my feet. They sounded like maracas as I picked them up and read over each label. I could pronounce none of these, but tried my hardest to peruse for those that began with a “V.”

            I slowly began scanning the metal shelves, my eyes starting to cross. Just when I felt like giving up and knocking the shelf down in exasperation, my eyes landed on the familiar word. At the far end of the third shelf sat a single bottle of Vivance. A huge grin splashed across my face.

            “So we’re a drug addict now,” a cold voice shot through my moment of victory. My heart jumped and I almost dropped the bottle. I looked out over the counter to see a less than amused James.

            “They’re not for me,” I found myself saying.

            James rolled his eyes, a smirk forming across his lips. “Of course they’re not.”

            Instead of using the small door, James swung his legs over the counter, his stance not even faltering by the bottles that lie on the other side as he landed. He dauntingly walked towards me, rifle slung over his shoulder. He walked all the way to me, his hand reaching for the bottle in my hand. I didn’t let go as he turned it to face him. He read over the lable.

            “An amphetamine. Nice,” he chortled.          

            I didn’t know which I hated more: the fact that he was standing so close to me, or what he had implied based on the way in which he had said that. “They’re not for me,” I repeated, this time more sternly.

            James smirked. “Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

            I didn’t feel the need to entertain him with a response. His presence there made me feel incredibly uneasy. I tried to focus on the other medications that my sister took. I went through all the common depression medication through my head, hoping to recall what their lengthy medical name was.

            “Who are these for?” James pressed.

            “None of your business,” I huffed as I continued to peruse through the bottles remaining on the shelf.

            “The only person who seemed to have needed these is dead.”

            I spun around, shooting him a hateful glare. I so wished that looks could kill in that moment. “They’re for my sister!” I spat, each letter dripping with venom.

            His lips changed from a curved smirk to a simple line. He eyes darkened. I didn’t care that he did not approve of my tone. I didn’t particular approve of his curiosity.

            “What are you looking for,” he monotone asked.

            “Sertraline,” I answered, quickly. I was right. That was exactly what I was looking for. Taken back by how instantaneously I had remembered that, my face lightened.

            James walked away, disappearing into the next aisle. I heard him shuffling around, picking at the bottles on the ground with the nozzle of his rifle. Just a few short moments later, he rounded the shelves and tossed a bottle in my direction. I almost dropped the first in preparation of catching the second. Looking down at the label, I was flabbergasted by how easily he had found it.

            “Anything else?” he snarled.

            I looked up, overwhelmed. I shook my head. “That’s all I can remember,” I said, my voice a great number of decimals lower than it had been before. “I don’t know what else she was taking.”

            “Um, this does not look like where they keep the n****e discs and butt floss,” a jovial voice interrupted.

            James and I both turned to see Hector and Cory standing on the other side of the counter. Hector was carrying a bulging duffle bag against his back while Cory stood there grinning like an idiot.

            “Little miss priss needed some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,” James said with an upturned lip.

            “Ooo, sounds dirty,” Cory grinned, wiggling his brows.

            “Audrey, if you needed anything you could have just asked. Is that why you came along?” Hector asked. The bag of food looked really heavy, but he supported it with such ease. It made my own shoulders hurt and the only thing they carried was a sizable rack.

            “It was something I had to do,” I stated.

            I looked at Hector with a pleading expression, silently begging for no more questions to be asked. The cadet seemed to pick up on it and did not press the matter any further. Instead, he adjusted the duffle bag and turned away from the pharmacy.

            “We should go,” he said. “We have been here long enough.”

            James and I walked back around to the front of the counter. I dropped the two bottles of pills into the red basket with the clothes and followed behind the men. As we neared the front of the store, we heard the sliding and screeching of the front doors. We paused, waiting until they closed once more.

            “It’s just one. We should be good,” Hector said, assuming only one zombie had entered the building.

            Before any of us could take another step, we heard the doors slide open and closed yet again. “We can take two,” shrugged Cory.

            But then it opened again, only this time, we never heard it close. I saw Hector and James exchange a look, and as if they were on the same page, they each readied their rifles. I didn’t even want to try to guess what the name was of the one in Hector’s grasp. It was bulbous, the barrel thick and the stock long. He looked mighty intimidating, but I was confident that intimidation meant nothing to the horde of creatures that were beginning to enter into the large retail store.

            “We should go. Like now,” Cory said, backing up.

            One by one, the zombies who had entered the building began rounding the corner of the main walkway. As each one caught our scent, they let out a heavy gruff, their pace hastening as dinner became visible. There had to be at least twenty of them.

            The four of us turned, each weighed down by some item we had been carrying. I pulled the red basket of clothes and pills close as I chased after the men. We were headed towards the back of the store. Cory turned down an aisle of soup, leading us along the far edge of the store until we got to the double doors that led back to the freight room.

            The creatures stumbled behind us, their broken ankles tripping them as they tried to meet our pace. Their dull chomping teeth snapped behind us. We pushed through the clear, dangling plastic strips of the freight room. Cory lifted his small pistol and shot three rounds into a turned Target employee. The creature fell back into a flat of rice.

            As we ran past the green baler in the back of the room, three pairs of hands reached from inside the grand machine. I shrieked as one pulled at my hair. James spun around, instantly bringing his knife down on the creature’s arm. It was immediately cut from its body, its fingers opening to release my hair. James pushed me ahead of him, running backwards so that he could fire a few rounds at the group of zombies that was persistently following us.

            There was an emergency door in the back corner. The moment Cory pushed on it to open it, an ear shattering alarm sounded. I slammed my fists against my ears, almost tripping as the loud noise made my eardrums rattle. The men’s eyes crinkled as the alarm blared. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that such a loud noise was not what we needed at the moment. It was more than enough to attract more of these beastly things.

            Hector pushed the door closed once we were all out. It wasn’t enough to end the alarm, and it surely wasn’t enough to stop the zombies. Their sudden pressure against the push bar was all it took to open it once more. The four of us continued running along the lengthy side of the building. We broke out into the parking lot, the horde of creatures there not any better than what was behind us.

            “F**k!” Hector roared.

            His rifle was an automatic, spraying a load of bullets into the mass that had suddenly consumed the parking lot. Hector was ahead, with Cory at my left and James at my right. I felt useless, knowing full well if I tried to join in on the shooting while running, I would probably shoot one of the guys.

            There was no time to throw the items into the trunk. Hector threw the duffle bag of food to Cory who tossed it right into the back seat. He held the door open and pushed my basket and me into the back, quickly closing the door behind us both after he slid in next to me. The duffle bag was pushing into my side, and I was half sitting on Cory’s legs. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t care at the moment. My heart raced as I waited for Hector and James to get in the car.

            Hector was next, jumping into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. A few bodies had already reached the trunk and were trying to climb over the car. Their dull fingers slid across the metallic paint, but it was still horrifying to watch. James backed against the door, his left hand reaching behind him and struggling to find the handle as he tried to hold off the pressing creatures. Hector reached over to push open the door. James fell in and Hector took off before he could even close the door. James threw the rifle to the ground, holding the door open to knock a few of the creatures down as Hector took off.

            I watched as the door sliced a few of the creatures right at the ankles, their feet left standing in the parking lot as their decaying bodies were forced to roll over the pavement. By the time James had closed the door, his window was painted with dark blood, all visibility removed. The man threw his head back, eyes closed.

             “F**k the power of the Home Depot,” James breathed. “Take us back!”

Reviews

[The Purple Witch]

I do believe.......with genius writing such as this......you could put Stephen King out of business and he's my idol. lol (applauds) Fantastic job!!!! :D