7. Deep Into The Mess

A Chapter by Dr.Vishnu

Now is the deepest shock they ever had. Neil and John worked out on the window and closed it with wooden planks.

“Be sure that no one comes in!” said Stanley and left the room. After finishing their work, they came to Stanley and Neil asked,

“We have to go to the city ASAP! Do you have any plans?”

“What are you talking ‘bout huh? Plans to go outside! Where will you go? Straight in to the hell hole? Come on Neil, we are unredeemed!” shouted Stanley.

“cuál es el significado de ‘unredeemed’?”, asked Neil to Bob.

{ What is the meaning of unredeemed? }

“Como castigo eterno en el infierno. -que significa que vamos a sufrir por mucho tiempo aquí y morir”,, said Bob.

{ Eternal punishment of hell. That means- we are going to suffer here for long and die.. }

“No, you don’t understand, we can’t stay here. It’s far dangerous. Actually- beyond dangerous!” said Neil to Stanley.

“Where is not? They might be wandering all over the city. Do you think the smoke didn’t go up to the city? It’s everywhere dude!” said John.

“I think there are people at the church, hiding like us. There is a bachelor party going on over there! At least we can go there for more safety” said Betsy with a deep tone.

Stanley shook his head and said, “I don’t have any plans. If any one had let’s share.” It seems no one had ideas. They kept silent.

“Hey bob, you watch lots of movies right? So tell me some big escape plans from them” said Stanley.

“Okay okay” said Bob and others also joined the discussion. Bob started to tell his best plots ever.

“In the movie-Dawn of the dead- people inside the store prepares a big bus and travel to….”

“Negative. We don’t have big bus. Another plot?” said Stanley.

“In the movie- Shaun of the dead- the people ACT as Zombies, and walk in between them without creating any doubt. At last they are….”

“Unsuccessful! I watched that movie. They didn’t make it, the zombies found out later. So, this doesn’t work” said Lucy.

“Huh! Okay, then in movie-planet terror- they shoot zombies with guns…….(thinking for a while)…we don’t have guns and these are not zombies. So this won’t work even!” said Bob.

Everyone looked in to the faces.

“See, this is new. No movie can give a solution. We have to think new. That’s it!” said Bob.

* * *

Bob looked outside by opening the curtains, and screamed, “Hey it’s Rhodes outside!”

Then others also went and saw Rhodes wandering in the surroundings. Betsy stood up to see his husband, but they didn’t allow it.

“Hey guys, close the drapes. I am getting a sort of heebie-jeebies here!” said john.

Still they were looking. “Come on, for Betsy sake!” said john. Then they looked at Betsy and closed the curtains.

“Not just going to church is our only problem. We need that diamond too. Without that, we have to stay forever” said Bob.

Neil realized something and asked, “Don’t you guys have phone or something?”

“Nope.. bob’s land is also dead.”

“Rhodes had a satellite phone” remembered Betsy.

“Really?where?”

“In his pocket!”

“What else did he hide in his pocket?” shouted john and frustrated by that, “Man, I want that pocket!”

“We need that phone, I will call my father!” said Lucy.( I can say that was the most beautiful mistake ever done)

“What? You are kidding, you won’t call your father!” exclaimed Stanley.

“Why?”

“Come on Lucy, you can call 911……but not your father!”

“911 is trash. You know what they will do. They won’t believe us, and they send two filthy police officers to look after this condition! But my dad can understand me and he will come prepared!”

“Yes, he will. He will come and kill me. And will take you away. That’s what these rich b******s do!”

Lucy’s face turned red. She came forward and said,

“Stanley that’s not fair. Even though I left him, I still love him. Don’t use that to my father.”

“Come on Lucy he threw me away from your home. He is headed with his ego!”

“Enough Stanley, that’s not my father’s fault you not being rich!” tongue slipped Lucy…Stanley looked at her like hell.

“So now you are mocking at my status! That’s what Susan told about you rich girls. You rich people are studded with ego and minds filled with money!” said Stanley with frustration, angry, sadness.

“Oh. Uh…I left everything for you and now you are…( her voice suddenly went high pitched)Fine it’s my mistake to love you”

“Hey I too left my everything for you… don’t you feel that you are the one who made the sacrifice.”

Stanley is frustrated and Lucy is insulted.

Lucy came forward to say something that can hurt Stanley’s feelings. Stanley was also ready to fight with Lucy, so he also came forward.

But suddenly John came in between and shouted, “Hey hey…stop it!” they stopped moving and looked at John. Again they looked at each other.

“What the heck is wrong with you guys? You are fighting over a goddamn Satellite phone that’s not yet in our hands!”

This time both of them went in to little guilt, but still their anger at its highest point.

“Are you lovers or enemies? This is not fair guys…you have to be……” then they turned opposite and moved away. Stanley went to the left side, and Lucy went to washroom. They thought she is crying over there.

John went to Stanley who was sitting and smoking seriously. After some thought he felt guilty for that. John said, “Come on Stan. You can’t live without her. Go and apologize, please. Not a problem!”

Hearing that, Stanley stood up and threw the cigarette away and left for Lucy. Lucy wanted to say sorry, so she was also coming to him. Suddenly on the way, another mess happened.

Neil suddenly approached Stanley and said, “Hey may be I should go to the church and bring some help back”

“You? Really?” asked Stanley, while he was looking at Lucy who was coming nearer.

Others heard that and asked, “What? Neil wants to go to church? But how?”

“There is a bike outside. Whose bike that one?” asked Neil.

“That’s mine. So?” said Lucy coming nearer to them.

“I will go to church on that one and there should be cars right? I can bring them to you and….”

“Flip over?” interfered john.

Neil looked seriously at john. Stanley turned Neil towards him and said, “Neil, that’s impossible! Okay. Bump that idea off”

“Why? What’s wrong?” asked Neil.

“There are lots of them outside Neil. Even you couldn’t manage them with a car, how can you manage them with the bike? And if you go outside, you can’t come in. They might notice us in here” explained Stanley.

And others also agreed with Stanley. Neil looked at all of them seriously. He was desperate with that idea. He definitely thought of doing that. And Stanley started saying sorry to Lucy now, but Again�"Neil interfered between them and asked Lucy,

“Gimme the keys.”

“Neil I already said. I am not giving you” said Lucy, waiting for Stanley’s sorry.

“You have to” warned Neil showing his fist to her. Others were looking shockingly at them. Stanley became angry and shouted,

“Neil, I am not afraid of your biceps like john did”

The Neil suddenly took out his gun, pointing at him and said, “Then afraid of this gun, Stanley!”

Everyone stepped back on seeing that.

* * *

Stanley’s anger crossed the limit. He staggered at Neil in order to stop him. But Neil was too strong for him plus he had the gun. Stanley forgot me (gun). If I have individuality like you humans, I would have shot him in the head. Neil was adamant about that idea. But Lucy was still resisting. Bob tried to calm his Spanish friend,

“Neil, que fue descortés de you.they se estaban buenas para usted, deje que!”

{Neil, that was rude of you. they were being good to you, stop that.}

“Estoy tratando de hacer el bien para todos. Déjame probar a mí mismo”

{I am trying to do good for all. Let me prove myself.}

“no se puede. thats riesgo”

{ you can't. thats risk!}

“If you can’t help, stay away amigo. Don’t interfere” told Neil to Bob. Bob shook his head that he couldn’t manage him.

Stanley thought for a while and said to Lucy, “Give him the keys Lucy!”

“What? You don’t tell me what to do. That’s my father’s gift!” replied Lucy.

“Father again. you see john (looking at john), you asked me to say sorry. See this. Father’s gift!” exclaimed Stanley. Lucy looked seriously and said, “What’s your problem Stanley? I said it’s a gift. I don’t want to give that to stranger!”

“But your life is at risk, that’s why. And I don’t have a problem with your father’s gift!” shouted Stanley.

She looked at everyone. No one had idea what to do. She was helpless. Neil was firm. Stanley was supportive to Neil. So she took the keys out of her pocket and threw it to Neil and said,

“Be careful Neil, that’s a remote control key system!”

“I will take care of that” said Neil and looked at everyone. They definitely hated Neil. John was still doubtful about him. He knew that Neil wasn’t getting any help, he is just running away.

He thought, “At first he screwed my car, and now he screwed us, a definite screwdriver”

Neil slowly opened the glass door to outside and scanned the surroundings for the dombies. No dombies is looking at him. They were wandering aimlessly all over the area-on the road, besides the bare land, over the raised lands, the burial grounds….Neil felt the right moment and took four steps towards Lucy’s bike.

People inside the store slowly opened the drapes and hid behind them. Then they peeped outside to see how Neil is going to escape them. Lucy was mad at Stanley as he didn’t support her last time.

Neil scanned the streets and again took two more steps. Then he stopped and looked back. Lucy suddenly reminded of something and said, “Oh my god, the alarm of the bike was on. If he touches the bike without unlocking, it will scream!”

Then all the others wanted to warn Neil by opening the door, but it was too late-Neil touched the bike. The alarm went off. The people inside the church already heart broke. Dombies looked at Neil. Neil had no idea what’s going on. He became tense. He tried to stop it, so he pressed a button, then suddenly the engine started. Even though he was a mechanic, his mind stopped working. He couldn’t help the bike. Dombies were coming towards him. Bob wanted to call him in, but dombies already surrounded Neil.

Then Neil took out the 12-catridge pistol and shot two bullets at two of the dombies. Stanley told others to move inside the store as there is a danger of dombies seeing them. Neil again shot a bullet at one of dombies, But�"

Misfortunately that bullet missed the dombie and hit the fuel pump. THE FATE! A nano second of silence then a BIG BLASTTTT…..the whole gasoline pump exploded heavily.

The dombies split to pieces and fell far away. No traces of Neil. Lucy’s bike was dragged some distance and fell away. Rhodes damaged car also flew away and after few seconds, it also exploded. The same is the case with john’s car. The gasoline was spilled all over the area and so there are flames everywhere and the ambience is filled with petroleum smoke. This smoke displaced the red cursed smoke. So the dombies in surrounding area fell down with the lack of smoke.

The glass doors and windows of the store were blown away. Actually there is no front part for the store. The store was completely exposed from the front. People inside the store were luckily safe, as they moved inside before the blast. They were under the fallen racks and items of the store. Some parts of the store were also on the fire. Because of the smoke nothing can be seen. Stanley slowly moved behind the fallen racks and lifted them up in order to come outside. His forehead was slightly bleeding. He coughed for a moment because of the smoke. And then he shouted, “Lucy…guhh..hugg..Lucy, john..!”

He heard some whining noises under some racks, so he took them out. There was John and Bob. He lifted them up and asked them to look for Lucy. Then Lucy came from nowhere towards them and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yes, we are” replied John. They slowly moved from there and came outside. Betsy also joined them. They were all injured somehow at someplace.

“Betsy, are you ok?” asked Lucy remembering that that there is one lady to look after and we forgot her.

She nodded her head. Then Stanley looked at the mess happened. The whole area was ruined. Bob didn’t understand the situation as he was not crying. He forgot that it was his store and his gas station that exploded. Now nothing’s left for him. But he couldn’t digest the concept.

Stanley observed the situation deeply and said, “There is no cursed smoke now. It’s filled with petrol smoke.”

“So, there will be no dombies in this area for sometime until this smoke clears” cleared John. Hearing that Betsy looked around for his husband’s body. But in the smoke it’s cloudy.

Bob said, “We have to go to church, this is the right moment.”

“We can’t make it to the church and we can’t stay here, we’re exposed” said Stanley.

Bob then ran towards the road and shouted, “Let’s just run to the slaughter house, it’s not far away. We can make it!” They don’t have time to disagree, the smoke is already clearing up and the red smoke is filling the area.

With that thought, they ran fast to the slaughter house. They crossed the road and climbed a small raised land. Now they can see it. It’s true, not far away. So they took the chance and started running. Stanley was holding Lucy’s hand in order to protect her. But she was daring enough, so she ran faster than him leaving his hand..

Then Stanley suddenly realized that they left Betsy behind. Lucy also stopped reminding that. They both looked back. Distantly, out of their reach Betsy was lying besides Rhodes body and she was crying, saying something to him…inaudible�"“I missed you, its all my fault!” something like that. Stanley took a step to bring her, but in the nick of time, the smoke entered Rhodes body and he began to move. The Dombies all over the place began to move. Stanley understood the severity of the situation, they have to run. He signaled Lucy to run, but she didn’t. Betsy tried to leave Rhodes as soon as she observed the movement. He suddenly caught her at the neck. He was a full dombie. Then she unintentionally grasped his pocket. There was the diamond; she ripped the pocket with the diamond. Rhodes went forceful. Stanley and Lucy couldn’t help her as the dombies surrounding her already rose towards them. Betsy looked back-there was Stanley and Lucy looking for her. She threw the diamond to them and within seconds the dombies covered her. Stanley ran forward and took the diamond and caught hold of Lucy’s hand and ran towards the slaughter house. Bob and john were already inside the House. Stanley and Lucy ran hard and entered inside who were received by John. Seeing both of them John asked,

“Where is the old lady?”

“She is dead and…” said Lucy. And Stanley showed the diamond to them. They were actually happy but shouldn’t be, because they lost two people here. Then they looked all over the place, it’s clumsy. Then they heard some noise from inside. There was a group palpitation!!!