End of the Line (24 page)

             
She stayed calm. “I told you before, you’re young. You have your whole life. Don’t throw it away. I don’t know if Martin is still alive, but I know for a fact that everyone in Manhattan is dead. Besides even I’m smart enough to stay away from the cities.”

             
“Jim,” Tanya said. She took my hand. Her dead serious face and her calm tone gave me reason for concern. My heart began to beat a little faster, not out of fear but knowing I was about to get bad news. “You know New York City don’t have a lot of survivors right? I’ve never meet anyone who came from the city, ’cept Queens or Brooklyn.”

             
I didn’t respond.

             
She squeezed my hand tightly. She spoke slowly and softly. “Jim, you gotta know Cameron’s dead, right?”

             
That’s when I knew. I knew it. The truth. If Cam was alive, he would come home.

             
I broke down and started crying. I didn’t want to admit it but she was true. I sobbed as hard as Ashley when she found Katie. So hard that if the zombies came right now, I wouldn’t even defend myself.

             
Tanya embraced me and I felt someone rubbing my back, probably Ashley. Mike and Dave looked concerned. For all I knew Mike was a raging homophobe who would shoot me in my sleep.

             
I should have cared that I didn’t look manly but the idea of never again waking up next to Cameron devastated me to the core. Ashley said I was young, but how was I ever going to get over this? For a year, I kept up hope that Cameron and I would be reunited, hope that I knew deep inside wasn’t true.

Chapter 15

             
“Okay, here’s my list,” he said, giving it to me. Mike had come over to our apartment near dawn. I could see the sun low in the sky through the dusty windows and candles illuminated the dark room. I had barely slept last night.

             
I looked it over. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so upset about Cam. With a few exceptions, we had everything at CostKing.

             
Mike gave Dave a bag. “You’re gonna need a lot of the stuff at the Shop Smart. They got 40 or so people holed up inside. We trade with them for food but they ain’t good people. They won’t murder you or anything, but they’re cheaters. Be careful of them. Don’t let them haggle you down for what I wrote as a fair trade. They need the bullets.

             
“There’s an A&P on Jericho,” he continued, “abandoned, might still have some food. There’s some auto stores on Jericho, grab some jumper cables if you can find them.”

             
“Anything else we should be aware of?” I asked.

             
“Yeah, don’t go to Hillside Avenue until you get to New Hyde Park road. There was a massive pile up and a fire that burned for days. It’s inaccessible.”

             
I nodded. Mike pulled out a radio. “Dena, we clear outside?”

             
“Yes,” said a sullen teenage voice. I didn’t know how many people lived with Mike.

             
“You come back, and we’ll do our trade. If you come back, I’ll make it worth your while.”

             
“Thank you,” I said.

             
Mike softened. I don’t think he was a bad person but I didn’t blame him for being suspicious. “No, thank you. I’m glad to not have to put my family in danger for a change.”

             
After
Ashley promised, she would lock the door and not run away, we piled into the convertible. I sat in the back and allowed Dave and Tanya to have the front. Dave drove, Tanya kept her gun out, watching for zombies but with only ten bullets left, avoiding them would be our best option.

             
It didn’t take long to get to the Shop Smart. We parked in front of a blockage of cars and a tower of carts. Someone had knocked off the P in shop and spray painted a T, rename the store, Shot Smart. Tanya opened the door, pulled her gun and went first. Zombies milled around in the street in front, but not near the store. I saw a number of dead bodies around it. I didn’t know if all of them were zombies. A man on the roof with what looked like an assault rifle might be the reason the zombies weren’t coming close. Tanya waved at him three times and he waved back twice. That was the signal we were here to trade and the two waves back meant trade was available. We walked to the pile of shopping carts and began to climb.
             
             

             
When we reached the top, a man stood there wearing a Yankee hat and holding a the rifle in the air.

             
“Whatcha want?” He looked me over, then Dave. Then he licked his lips and looked at Tanya.

             
Tanya did the talking. “We’re here for Mike. He needs five cans spam, two towels, four cans of pears and olives.”

             
“I don’t know if we have them,” he said.

             
“He says you do.”

             
“What have you got for me?”

             
“Five boxes of shells he says fits your guns.”

             
“I don’t know. That’s a lot of food for such small boxes. How about a little boob touch,” he said, looking at Tanya.

             
“Sure, if you want to trade hitting you in the balls.”

             
This was different from the Tanya offering Mike the bj. The man didn’t get mad, he got excited.

             
“I like you,” he said. “Just a little touch? Over the shirt and I promise no haggling. Mike gets the entire list.”

             
Tanya rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “You get ten seconds. Get the stuff first.”

             
He nodded. “Wait here.” There was a ladder at the top of the carts that lead to the entrance of the store. He went down it, then pulled the ladder away. Even so, there were still two guys down there with guns. In the background I could hear music and male laughter.

             
“You don’t have to do this,” I said.

             
“I hope you do kick that guy in the balls,” Dave said. Tanya seemed surprised that he came to her defense.

             
“Shit, I’ve dealt with much worse. A little touch won’t hurt me. Besides I can’t hit him in the balls and jeopardize his deal with Mike.”

             
“Still ain’t right.”

             
“What’s right about a world filled with zombies? Besides we need ammo.”

             
The leech man came back with a plastic bag filled with stuff. He opened it so we could see the supplies were inside. Everything was there.

             
“Now, let’s have the bullets and the touchies,” he smiled. I wanted to throw him off the roof.

             
“Jim, Dave, turn around and count to ten,” she said.

             
I looked down and began counting to myself. I think Dave did as well. The guy giggled like he was a fourteen year old getting boob for the first time. I did everything in my power not to take a crowbar and bash his brains in like the zombie in the garage. When I reached ten, I heard a slap.

             
I looked up, the man held his cheek. Tanya had the bag of supplies. She left the boxes of bullets, then hopped away down the carts. We followed, when we were all safely at the bottom, she pulled out a cart causing a bunch of them to collapse.

             
“Feisty!” the man yelled but Tanya wasn’t listening. “Come back anytime!” We walked quickly back to the car and were glad to see zombies heading to the carts after being attracted by the noise. I wished they would tear him to shreds. When we got to the car, I heard shots. I got in without looking back.

             
It didn’t take long to get to the A&P. The front was completely smashed open and it looked like most of the shelves were empty.

             
“Nothin’ here,” Tanya said.

             
Dave pulled the car as close as possible but the parking lot was a mess of cars. A single zombie littered the parking lot was no threat to us since someone had removed its arms and legs possibly as a joke. Tanya smashed its head in with a crowbar instead of shooting it. I admired how brave she was while I had a panic attack trying to kill one almost broken in half.

             
We made our way to the A&P. The shelves weren’t completely empty and the place smelled like moldy bread, rotten milk and animal feces. I found a partly opened bag of rice on the ground that looked like someone dropped it and it opened. I tied up and put it in my bag.

             
“Hey,” Tanya said, she held up two dented cans with missing labels. “Mystery food.”

             
“Stop joking around,” Dave said. “Let’s get what we need and get out. This place is unsecure.”

             
“Yes, dad,” I said.

             
Dave gave me a funny look.

             
“Bet if we lived in a state with a smaller population, there would be plenty on the shelf,” he said.

             
“I like our CostKing,” I said. “Plenty of food and good people.”

             
I looked and began moving towards the back of the aisle, surveying the shelves for anything. I found more dusty mystery cans.
             

             
“Jim—“ said Tanya’s voice. I turned to her. She stood a good ten feet from me. She stood straight, at attention with a horrified look on her face. Her handgun was out.

             
“Jim—“ she said. “Don’t move.”

             
“How many?”

             
“Ain’t zombies,” she said. “Dogs.”

             
Dogs? Doggies. I had a dog growing up, named Butch. He loved me. He liked to lick my face. Cameron wanted a purebred dog, I wanted a cat.

             
I heard a growl. No one moved.

             
“What should I do?”

             
“Walk over to me slowly.”

             
I nearly seized up from fear. “How many dogs?”

             
“Three.”

             
“Small ones?”

             
She shook her head.

             
I took in a deep breath and walked down the aisle to her. The growling got louder. Dave stood behind Tanya. Then I heard angry barking.

             
“Run, Jim!” She screamed.

             
I did, but halfway down the aisle something large leaped on me, knocked me to the ground and I whacked my head hard against the floor. I felt something heavy on my back and clawing on my jacket, biting and snarling and drool.
             
             

             
Then there was gunfire, a lot of it. Tanya must have used all ten bullets. I heard a whimper then the sound of dogs running off. My head felt heavy and my back was on fire.
             
             
             
“Oh god, Jim,” Tanya said. They ran over to me and lifted me up. Something wet was in my eyes and it wasn’t water.

I could see the dog on the floor, it didn’t even look like a dog, it was emaciated mutt and besides the bullet holes, it was covered in cuts and old lacerations. The creature whimpered in pain. It was still alive.

             
“Put it out of its misery,” I said.
             

             
Tanya had to hit it because she emptied the clip. She smashed her crowbar against the head of the poor thing until it was dead.

             
“Jesus, Jim,” Tanya said. The world around me blurred.

             
“Maybe we shouldn’t move him,” Dave said.

             
“And what? Wait for the ambulance?”

             
Dave didn’t say anything.

             
“Help me lift him.” Dave grabbed my left arm and Tanya took my right. When the lifted me up, the pain turned to agony and I would have slid to the floor if they hadn’t held on.

             
They carried me to the car. My back hurt with every step.  “Sit towards the window,” Tanya said, “so I can look at the wound.”

             
I did what she said as they loaded me in the back. Tanya moved in behind me.  Dave got into the driver’s seat and was out of the parking lot immediately.