The Zombie Apocalypse Plan: Accumulation

(Check out the previous post before reading this one!)

_ Accumulation _

I sat on the blue plastic seats and faced the inside of the train.  Jay stood in the middle of the car, one arm grasping the metallic bar, his gun hanging from the other.  I rested my own hand, still holding its gun, on my knee.  I leaned forward trying to breathe slowly. 

My breaths became regular, but my thoughts still raced.  What now? 

“This shit’s crazy.” 

I looked to Jay.  He was tall enough to have to cock his elbow as he reached for the red bar on the ceiling of the MetroLink car.  His red shirt lifted enough to expose a triangular section of his flat, muscular stomach and grey boxers that peeked from his black wash jeans.  “This shit… I don’t know man.  What the fuck is going on with this world?”

“I don’t believe it either.”

“Oh, I believe it.  I just didn’t think that this movie shit would actually come true.  I bet them movie guys is trippin’ now.”

I stared, confused.

“You know, they got all kinds a zombies in them movies.  Fast ones, slow ones, smart ones, nasty ones.  Well, all of ‘em be nasty.  Shit man, I hope these ain’t the 28 Days Later ones. They be fast and smart.  The Return of the Living Dead ones are too…”

I realized there was a whole sub-genre of movies I never got into.  “Yeah,” was the only response I could muster. 

He continued his chatter about the plethora of zombie movies. 

I looked out the scratched and slightly yellowed windows.  Some panes had initials etched into them.  Graffiti tags.  Pronouncements of existence.  I looked further.  Downtown rushed by.  Old buildings.  Ones boarded up.  Ones with their own more colorful graffiti.  Ones that housed businesses which were struggling to hold on.  They all seemed empty. 

It was a short ride; Union Station was only one stop away.  Jay quieted as we slowed down.  We shared a look.  We didn’t say anything. 

But what would we have said?  Sure hope there’s no walking dead inhabiting this place.  Gee, that’d be swell. 

But I did hope that.  Even if instead as the doors hissed back open I said, “I think we should get off here.” 

Jay’s apprehension spread across his face.

“I think we should find a car instead of hoping there’s no zombies hanging around the Metro stops.”

“Okay.”  Jay’s expression didn’t change but he followed me off the car. 

We walked towards the former shed of Union Station.  It housed cars now instead of trains.  I appraised the vehicles.  Jay stopped at a bright yellow Mustang convertible. 

“Shi-it,” came his soft two-syllable expletive.  He was rubbing his hand on the sides of his jeans.  I could see the cogs of his mind turning: if we have to steal a car anyway, why couldn’t it be this one?

I was scoping for something a little more practical.  I wanted the closest thing we could get to a tank: a big, maneuverable SUV.  I was looking for a Hummer.  I picked one out – navy blue near the entrance to the mall that they converted part of Union Station into.  I pointed.  “We want that one.”

Jay looked.  It was still a ways off, “Which one?”

“Navy Hummer.”

“Why not this one?”  He motioned to his convertible. 

“It’s a convertible.”

He smiled, pleased with his choice. “Yeah.”

“And if we get attacked, they’ll punch through the cloth roof.”

“Oh.” 

“Let’s get the Hummer then.” 

We walked toward it.  My eyes searched for movement, scanning the doors to the mall.  There had to be people in there.  But were they zombies yet? 

I heard a guttural sound from behind us.  “Keep looking ahead,” I instructed Jay.  I turned to inspect our six.  I began to wonder if it was some sort of animal. 

Through a car window I saw a shape move.  “Hey!”  I shouted.  The shape moved again.  It was definitely a person.  I cocked my gun and brought it up to aim.  “Show yourself.”

The silhouette darted again.  “That be somebody,” Jay said. 

I rounded on him.  “You’re supposed to be watching – ”  I fired two rounds.  One at each of the approaching zombies that had come through the Union Station entrance. 

Jay turned to see them.  “Thanks, man.” 

I was already focusing my gun on the one that had distracted us.  “Keep an eye on that door.”

“Yeah, man.”

If there were more in the mall, we would have to turn back and find another car.  As I searched for the other zombie, I realized what a mistake I had made coming in here.  I would need to think more tactically.  I would now assume they were everywhere.  If I had done that from the beginning, I wouldn’t have led us here.  I knew better.  This was the perfect location for an ambush: a limited space, cover provided by the cars, and an unknown number of reinforcements from the mall area. 

I saw the third zombie and shot.  Jay couldn’t help turning around to see if I made contact.  I didn’t.  But more zombies poured out of the doors. 

“Run!” 

We ran out of the covered area, angling west.  The zombie was waiting between two cars and lunged as we passed it.  Jay popped it in the head before it reached him.  Blood and brains splattered the pearly white Buick behind him.  We continued running. 

(2: Avoid places of mass transit.)

We slowed when we reached the open street.  Standing in the middle of the street, I looked for another suitable car.  There was a screech as a black Escalade rounded the corner.  It headed straight towards us. 

Had they figured out how to drive?  Jay and I stood frozen. 

“We move at the last moment.  You go right, I’ll go left.”

“So that only one of us gets hit?” Jay asked.

He was catching on. 

But the Escalade slowed.  I decided this was no better of an outcome. Unless, this wasn’t a zombie driver.  The black SUV turned slightly and stopped a few yards before us.  The driver’s side window rolled down. 

A woman in her late forties with short brown hair leaned out.  “Zombies?”  Her voice was loud but it sounded tentative. 

“Nah,” said Jay and he approached the car. 

The woman leaned back in.  “Stop.”  Jay stopped and looked at me.  I shrugged.  She inclined her head to the backseat of the car.  There were other passengers.  They must have been talking to her.  “Can you prove you’re not a zombie?” 

Jay’s head cocked to one side, “I’m talkin’ aint I?  What more proof do you want?” 

The woman’s skepticism remained plastered across her face. 

“We aren’t zombies.  But there are some in Union Station.  We need to get out of here,” I said stepping towards the car.  I hoped my urgency didn’t scare her away.

The woman turned to the backseat.  Jay started toward the car again.  I held him back.  I wasn’t about to start harassing a woman. 

“Look, lady we got guns,” Jay said.  I wanted to hit him.  “We can protect you.”  I closed my eyes, sure the soccer mom wouldn’t take it that way. 

The woman turned her head back to us.  “Do you know your way around here?”

“Yes,” we both answered.

“Get in.  Quick.”  Her eyes moved toward Union Station, no doubt hoping we hadn’t led them to her car. 

I got in the empty passenger seat.  Jay climbed into the backseat, which was already occupied by two teenage girls.  They were wearing school uniforms.  Navy polos and plaid skirts. 

“Make a right up here,” I said.

“Okay.  Who are you?” the woman asked. 

“Garret.  This is Jay.”  I pointed. 

“I’m Denise.” 

I almost said, nice to meet you, but I stopped myself.  There was very little ‘nice’ about our situation.

The blonde girl in the middle backseat said, “I’m Morgan.”

The girl sitting next to her with the brown hair said, “Tracey.”

Denise explained, “Morgan is my daughter.”

I inclined my head in understanding.  “Make another right here,” I said.

“We were just on Market.”

“Were there zombies there?”

“Some.”

Jay piped up from the backseat, “We shoulda stayed on the Metro.”

I clenched my jaw, but let it go.  “We can take Market to 40.” 

“Okay,” said Denise, trusting my judgment, being in unfamiliar territory. 

This would be easier if I was driving. 

“How did you end up here?”  I wanted to know why two schoolgirls and a mom had ended up downtown during school hours.

“We had a service trip,” Morgan said.  “My mom was driving us there.  But we got a little turned around.”

“And then this body hit the car,” Tracy said.  Her voice picked up speed.  “So we stopped and we were about to get out but Denise said not to.  And all of a sudden the guy got up again.  Even though we though we just hit him and like he was dead.” Her eyes got big, “But he wasn’t and then we saw he was like all messed up and bloody and we drove away.”

Morgan’s lips were pursed.  Her storytelling thunder was stolen from Tracey’s energetic outburst. 

Denise took over, “We saw more of them and I tried to get away from them, but everywhere we turned the zombies seemed to be there.  Then we found you guys.”

“Yeah,” added Tracey earnestly.

“Shi-it,” said Jay. 

“A service trip?” I asked.

“Yeah, our school does community service trips once a semester.  We were going to the Ronald McDonald House to make food for them.”

I nodded.  “Turn left here,” I said as we reached Market. 

A phone rang.  A heavy beat rap song.  It was Jay’s. 

“Hey, baby.”

It was woman’s voice, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

“Nah, baby, I’m fine.  Actually you won’t believe where I’m at now.”

He paused. 

“Sure, we can come pick you up.

“I know you’re scared.  We’ll be right there. 

“I’m with some people – but we’ll be there soon.  Hold on a sec.”

He covered the speaker with his finger and lowered the phone from his ear.

All of our eyes were on him.  “It’s my girl.  Neisha.  She’s in trouble.  We gotta go get her.”

I didn’t like this. 

“She’s at Washington and 22^nd.  That’s not too far.”

Distance was not my concern.

“Can we go get her?”  Concern colored his face.  The women in the car were sympathetic.  The girls looked at the woman, pleading in their eyes. 

“Sure,” Denise said.  She looked at me.  I wasn’t sure if it was for approval or directions.

I had a bad feeling about this. 

But I said, “Take a right on Jefferson.”

Jay put the phone back to his ear, “I’m in a black Escalade, sweetie.  Look for us in a couple minutes.”

“Tell her to start walking towards Jefferson,” I said.

“Baby, we comin’ down Jefferson, can you walk there?

“Good.  Wait for us there.  I call you when we get close.”

He hung up. 

He looked at all of us in the car.  He smiled his gratitude.

“Jay – ” I started. 

“ Man, I know it’s not convenient, but – ”

“Jay,” I said louder.  “Can I borrow your phone?”

“Oh, yeah, man.”

He handed it to me, and my hand shook as I typed in Hannah’s number. 

“Is this where I want to turn?” Denise asked.

I glanced up while my fingers continued typing, “Yes, this is Jefferson.”

I could feel her eyes on me, wondering who I was calling.  I ignored them and hit Send. 

It rang.  Her phone kept ringing.  All my muscles tensed.  I just needed a “Hello” and they would relax.  Just pick up the phone, honey, I pleaded.  Just answer it.  The silent prayer repeated endlessly in my head.  The “Please leave a voicemail” message began.  Maybe she didn’t answer because she didn’t recognize the number.  So I left one, “Hannah, my phone is dead.  Call me back on this number as soon as you get this message.”  I took a breath and, despite my audience, said, “I love you.” 

I handed the phone back to Jay. 

I felt Denise’s eyes again.

“My wife.”  I answered her unspoken question. 

Denise nodded. 

“Oh my god, Mom” Morgan said.  “Where do you think Dad is?” 

Denise’s mouth hung open for a few seconds, “I’m sure he’s at work.  I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Yeah,” Morgan’s voice trailed off.

“He works in Clayton.  I’m sure they haven’t gotten there yet.”

“You need to call him?” Jay asked.

“Oh,” Denise paused in thought.  “No.  I can call him later.”

Morgan got her phone out.  She held the phone up to her ear in silence.  “It went straight to voicemail.”

Following suit, Tracey got on her phone. “Hey, Mom, do you know what’s going on?

“There’s like zombies, running around the street.

“What do you mean you have a meeting?  Look outside!

“No, Mom I’m not kidding. 

“Turn on the TV. 

“Then look up the news.

“Just look it up.

“Fine.  I’m calling Dad.

Tracey hung up and dialed her father’s number.  “Dad? 

“Uh, okay.  There’s a problem.

“No, I’m fine.

“No, I’m not in trouble.

“Dad!  There are zombies running around downtown. 

“Da-ad, no, I’m not on drugs.

“I’m serious. 

“Geez, Mom didn’t believe me either. 

“I think you should get out of your office.  Yeah, I’m serious.

“Dad.

“What do you mean the lights just went out?  Are you?

“Dad?

We could all hear the busy signal as she put the phone down. 

“We can go get your dad next,” said Jay.

“I – I think the zombies just got him.  Anyway, he works in the city.  Back that way.”  Tracey gestured to downtown. 

Morgan put her arm around her friend, “I’m sure he’s fine.  I’m sure he’ll get out.”

“This is just so weird,” Tracey whispered.

Denise looked at Tracy through the rearview mirror, “Sweetie, I know it didn’t sound good, but there are a number of things that – ”

“Denise!” I interrupted.

There were a pack of three zombies that wandered onto the road.  Denise swerved wildly. 

“Shi-it,” said Jay.

“They came out of nowhere!” said Denise.

I couldn’t help myself, “This isn’t a good idea.”

“We’re almost there,” Jay said as we ignored a red light to cross Locust.  He picked up his phone.  “Baby?  We almost there.  Where are you? 

“Okay good, stay on the phone.

“We’re in the black Escalade.

“Yeah, one more street.

We arrived at the corner of Washington and Jefferson.

“Baby!”

Jay open the door before Denise could stop and jumped out. 

Neisha was limping.  Jay ran to her and they embraced. 

I scanned the street.  It didn’t look like any were here. 

Jay and Neisha were talking.  I was impatient though.  I rolled down the window, “C’mon, Jay.”

“We comin’”

He put his arm around his girlfriend to help her to the car.

“Oh my god,” Tracey blurted out as she propped open her door.  “She’s bleeding!” She grabbed her school sweatshirt from her backpack and got out to staunch Neisha’s bleeding leg. 

Neisha convulsed.  “Jay,” I started, but I couldn’t get the rest of the question out.  Was she bitten?  Is that really how this affliction was transferred? 

Her leg was wounded on her thigh.  Her jeans obscured it, so I couldn’t tell if it was a bite mark.  Their progress was paused as Tracey tied the sweatshirt around her leg. 

Then, movement.  A block away.  “Jay!” I shouted this time. 

“Man, we comin’ as fast as we can!”

“Zombies!” I pointed. 

Jay glanced behind and, with a look of terror, tried to move at a faster clip. 

Neisha stopped as a shudder racked her body. 

“Is she like going into shock or something?” Tracey asked.  

“Grab her other arm and help me get her to the car!” said Jay.

The three were moving too slow though.  The band of five or six zombies was closing the distance. 

I looked at Denise, “Get ready to peal out of here.”  I turned around to Morgan, “Keep a lookout around us and shout if any more come from another direction.”  They nodded respectively, their eyes wide.  I raised my .9mm and held it out of the window to aim. 

Jay was urging Neisha on, “Baby, I know it hurts but we got to go.”  He allowed himself another look back.  “Shit, they halfway down the block.  Neisha!”

She let out a gutteral scream and dropped to the ground.  In pain?  I was aiming at the approaching zombies, but wondered if my gun should be trained on Neisha.  I fired.  The frontrunner dropped.  Denise jumped in her seat. 

“Get back in the car,” Jay told Tracey. 

“I – I, what about…”

“Go now!”

Tracey bent down to Neisha, “You can’t lift her by yourself.” 

Jay bent down too, “Fine, on three.  One.”

I fired again.  Another dropped.  “Jay!  Get out of there!” I shouted.

“Two.”

Neisha’s eyes closed, and she made a sound like a low growl.

“Three.” 

They pulled her up.  The remaining zombies were tens of feet away.  But I trained my gaze on the three of our party.  Neisha’s convulsions had stopped.  But she turned on Tracey and, with a roar of attack, lunged at her.  Wriggling away, the sixteen year old screamed. 

“Niesh’?”  Jay released his support of his girlfriend. 

She stood.  On her bleeding leg. 

Jay stepped away.  Not letting himself believe it.  Not running.  Yet.

Tracey dashed to the car. 

“Jay, we have to go now!” my voice rang out. 

“No, baby,” Jay’s voice pleaded.

Arms outstretched, the new zombie leapt towards her former boyfriend.

“JAY!”  My gun was already aimed.  Cocked.  All I had to do was pull the trigger.

So I did. 

Jay was moving away from her.  But the gunshot shook him, as if I had been aiming at him.  He ran to the car. 

Tracey’s door closed.  Moments later so did Jay’s. 

“Drive.”  I reminded Denise.