This is Chapter 3 of a post-apocalyptic zombie novel. Please see here for Chapter 1 (should probably read that first!). View my profile for all the chapters.
Billy
Left Behind
In the morning, I found a map and laid it out across one of the desks. It made the city look a lot bigger than it actually was. Kid, I said, come here. She stood slowly like a zombie rising from the grave. When she finally reached my side, I asked her, Where does your family live? She stared blankly at the map and didn’t answer. Where’s your father? Was he on the bus?
No, she said, weakly.
Does he work downtown?
I don’t know.
Realizing this was going nowhere, I got on one knee so I could look her in the eye. Listen, I need to take you to your father. He must be really worried about you and I need your help. Still she showed no signs of life. Where do you live? I asked again.
Regina, she said.
What?
We came here to meet my dad. We were going to see him. I was…going to meet him for the first time. My chest tightened. Even if she still had family in Regina, that was something like a seven-hour drive with no stops or incidents along the way. Unlikely. Impossible.
Al… alright. Sit down again a minute while I figure this out. She sat down at the next desk over. I could leave her here. She’d be safe enough. This wasn’t my crusade. This girl wasn’t my responsibility. She was no one to me. No one. Fuck it. I picked up the bag and the shotgun and headed for the parking lot door. I opened the key locker next to the door and grabbed the last and only set of keys left in it.
Are we going? I turned around and saw the girl was right behind me.
Uh…yeah. I said. Listen, I’m gonna get the car ready and make sure the road is clear. I’ll be right back. You need to lock the door behind me just in case.
I’ll come with you.
No, I said sharply. I mean, it’s not safe. It’ll be easier if I don’t have to watch out for you while I pack the car. Just stay here. I opened the door and shut it behind me as quickly as possible, making sure I didn’t even catch a glimpse of her face. I waited a moment with my back to the door until I heard her turn the lock and bolt the door behind me.
It was a cloudy, cool day. There were no screams. No incessant car horns from the angry morning rush hour.
I walked forward onto the tarmac slowly with the shotgun raised. No one in sight. I hurried over to the lone cruiser in the lot and unlocked the door. There was a rugged, rubber-cased laptop sitting on the passenger seat.
I grabbed it and popped the trunk open. In the trunk were extra sets of handcuffs, police tape and other useless items. I threw the laptop on top of them and shut the trunk quickly. I lay my bag on the passenger seat and took one more look at the police station, my hand resting on the top of the car door. She’ll be ok. Someone else will find her, I lied to myself and without another thought I got in the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition.
Don’t worry. Keep your eyes forward. The girl will be fine. Not your responsibility. I drove out of the parking lot and onto the first main road. It was mostly clear with just a few abandoned cars and one serious car wreck. A small, black, hatchback fender-bender around a telephone pole. Glass everywhere and the driver’s dead body hung limp, half outside the smashed driver’s-side window.
Someone stood in the middle of the road. Shit! I slammed on the breaks as quickly as I could, and the cruiser screeched to a halt.
It was a girl, maybe in her early teens, brown hair and her body thin as a stick. She hung her head and her hair fell about loosely, covering her face. She was shuddering, crying maybe. I rolled the window down slowly, just enough so she could hear my voice. Hey! Get out of the way! She didn’t move an inch. I honked lightly and when she wouldn’t move, I slammed the horn with my palm.
Her head jerked up instantly, like a dog hearing a whistle. But there was something wrong with her. Her teeth were clenched and blood dripped from her lips. Her eyes were red as the blood that had fallen from her mouth onto the dry tarmac. Before I could react, she lunged forward and jumped onto the hood of the car. I put the car in reverse and pumped on the gas, but the girl had her hands gripped tightly on the hood along the bottom edge of the windshield. Damnit. I raised my pistol and aimed it at her head.
No, I thought. Losing the windshield would render the car useless. As she struggled to maintain her grip, I rolled the window down all the way and checking the rearview mirror to make sure the road was still clear, I pumped on the gas some more. Carefully, I stuck the pistol out of the window and her eyes caught sight of the gun. Instead of flinching away from it, she moved toward it as if I had offered her a treat.
I fired and the bullet went through her teeth and out the back of her neck.
She went limp and slid off the hood of the car. Her blood was smeared across the windshield. I slowed the cruiser to a stop and made sure the coast was clear before getting out. I grabbed the shotgun off the passenger seat and exited the car. When I got to her, I saw that she was much younger than I thought, couldn’t have been much older than the girl. Fuck, I looked around and still saw no one in sight. I grabbed her legs and dragged her body off the road onto the sidewalk.
I got back in the cruiser quickly and turned the windshield wipers on full blast, but the blood smeared and refused to clear off the glass. I brought the cruiser to a slow roll and looked at the girl’s body as I drove past. What in the hell was going on? Where were the police? The government? Damn it! I took another look in the sideview mirror at the corpse I’d left on the side of the street and abruptly turned the car around.
***
I pulled up as close as possible to the back door. I left the car running and hopped out. I banged on the door. Hey kid, it’s me. Open up. No answer came from inside. Again, I hit the door with my fist. Hurry up damnit!
How do I know it’s really you? Her muffled voice came from behind the door.
Huh? Then I realized she really had no way of knowing. I’d been gone nearly 15 minutes. She could recognize my voice maybe, but we’d barely spoken. We didn’t even know each other’s names for Christ’s sake. She was being careful. She was smarter than she looked.
We met outside the bus depot yesterday. You live in Regina. After a moment, I heard the door unlock and she opened it just enough to see my face through the crack.
Why’d you take so long? She asked. I looked at her.
There was…um some trouble down the road that I had to take care of.
What trouble?
I ignored her, Come on, let’s go. I pulled the metal door open and beckoned her to come out. Before she got in the car, she spotted the blood on the windshield.
What is that?
It’s nothing, don’t worry. Shut the door. Again, I tried the windshield wiper fluid, but it only helped a little. We got out onto the road and I couldn’t help but glance when we passed the body of the girl I’d put down earlier. It was eerily quiet and again, not a soul in sight.
Where is everyone? she asked in disbelief.
I don’t know.
***
We’d been on the road just eight minutes when we came upon a man holding a girl on the sidewalk. There’d been a car wreck and a small, grey hatchback had been overturned. From the hood of the car, smoke rose into the cool afternoon air. He was on his knees looking up at the sky, as the girl lay limp in his arms. The black smoke continued to rise. Shouldn’t we help them? the girl asked as we drove by.
I didn’t answer. Soon, I noticed a red light pop up on the dash. It was the low-gas warning. Less than a quarter tank left. I kept my eyes open for a place to fill up and stopped at the first gas station that we came upon. I pulled in slowly, keeping my eyes open for any people.
I rolled up to one of the pumps and brought the car to a slow halt. Listen, I gotta fill up the tank. Stay in here with the doors locked, alright?
Do you want me to help? I can pump the gas while you pay inside. It was then I realized that she didn’t have a clue how dire the situation was or maybe she was still in shock.
No, that’s alright. Just stay put. Try to take a nap if you can. Neither of us slept much last night.
She nodded and turned her head away from me, gazing out the window. She put her feet on the car seat and brought her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. I imagined her mother scolding her for getting the seat dirty. I shut the door and pressed the lock button on the key set just in case. I brought the shotgun with me and flicked the safety off, checking our surroundings.
There was a cool breeze and the air smelled fresh, but the silence was unsettling. I twisted the gas cap off quickly and put the pump nozzle in place. I lifted the handle on the pump rest and heard the whirring of the machine come to life. The LED display showed multiple zeroes. Thank God the pumps were still running. I squeezed the handle and put the auto-latch in place.
I walked around the cruiser, looking in all directions. The coast was clear. I looked at the store and although the sign read, Come in, there were no lights on and the door looked to be covered up by something inside. For a moment, I thought I saw movement: a shadow, a flicker. I tightened my grip on the gun, but I was interrupted by the sound of the car lock disengaging. The girl had leaned over the passenger seat to open the door. Didn’t I tell you to stay inside? I asked, irritated. But immediately my anger turned to concern when I saw the worried look on her face. What is it?
There’s someone out there, she spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper. She pointed at the road ahead. A woman in a pink hoodie and gray tattered sweatpants stumbled about in the middle of the street, almost drunkenly. She had her hood up all the way, but her honey blonde hair fell out of it over her chest.
Stay inside, I said, shutting the door softly. As quietly as I could, I switched the gas pump off and pulled the nozzle out. The woman slowly stumbled closer and closer toward us. When she was just ten meters away from the car, I raised the shotgun. Don’t come any closer, I warned her. Are you alright? I thought she’d heard me, because for a moment she stopped in her tracks, but after a few seconds she took another slow step forward. I said stop! I’m warning you. She took another step and just as I was about to pull the trigger, a voice came from behind me.
Don’t! The voice called out. I zipped around quickly, the front door to the store had opened and a woman in her late forties held a small revolver in her hand. I raised my shotgun at her. You’ll just bring more of them, she hissed. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide and she looked like she was watching a tsunami wash over her. Look out! She yelled. But I barely had time to turn. The woman in the road had closed the distance between us and lunged at me.
Fuck! I stepped back and fired, the force of the shotgun and my imbalance knocked me to the ground and the woman’s blood splattered onto my face and the cruiser. She fell onto her back, wriggling, as her life’s blood seeped into the tarmac. Her eyes were red, and dark purple veins protruded from her neck. For a moment, I was stunned and then I heard footsteps behind me.
Are you OK!? The girl had exited the cruiser and saw the dying woman on the floor. Oh no– What’s wrong with her?
Yeah, I’m fine, I grunted and got back to my feet. Get back inside.
They’re coming! The woman at the door looked more scared than ever and she waved her hand, beckoning us into the store. Quickly!
What are you talking about, lady? I called out to her. Then, screeches in the distance, but not the screech of rubber tires burning out on the road. Screeches of pain and suffering. I looked around and dozens of people emerged onto the road, some running, some stumbling, but all making their way towards us. In the store, now! I grabbed the girl by the arm and hurried her forward. She ran into the store, and I followed close behind her.
