End of the Line (40 page)

“What happened?” I asked Princess. Her perfect clothes and hair were ruffled but the bitch didn’t have a scratch. 

             
“The driver panicked and we crashed.” she said. She climbed into the truck not accepting Jim’s help. Jim looked confused, but I think he guessed what happened to Maddie and Sachi.

             
I went back to the passenger side of the truck and took my place next to Dave. He was off before I even got my seat belt on. We hit zombies left and right but a lot of them were probably attacking Robert, Harlan, Maddie and Sachi. I didn’t like to cry in front of people, and I wasn’t gonna start now.

Chapter 26
             

             
You couldn’t stop and mourn anymore. I’ll miss Maddie the most. I knew Rachel was crying back there, probably worse than Eric. But she’s gotta get her shit together. We need her to lead.

She didn’t even challenge me that we stopped off at the camp in Northport to check on the girl. Give her and her family a ride if they needed it. Rachel was out of it. She didn’t come out of the truck to check the camp. We pulled the truck up to where the tank was. We saw less zombies. Guess they went for that human token thing.

             
It was beginning to get dark. The back of the truck opened and Princess came out but she didn’t move from her spot. There were no sounds coming from the camp. No one yelled not to move and the gate was wide open. I looked inside the truck. Eric sat next to Jim with his face in his knees while Rachel stared at nothing even with Dan’s arm around her.

             
I looked back at the empty camp. I was thinking zombs got them that we had left Aisha to die but as I walked closer to the gate, I saw the big white sign.

             
GONE TO MONTAUK.

             
The clock in the truck said it was 7:38 and Dave was going slow. The road was really bumpy. Olive barked at me and I petted her. It was getting dark and I could barely see the two way road. Dave was weaving around broken down cars.

             
The truck hit a large bump and Dave stopped.

             
“What’s up?”

             
“I’ve been avoiding more and more cars, driving on sidewalks, grass and shoulders, and I can’t see a damn thing and this road is falling apart. I think a lot of people came here to escape.”

             
“What do you think?”

             
“We might have to leave the vehicle and go on foot.”

             
“We should wait for morning.”
             

             
Dave looked straight ahead. “We’re so close. We’re 15 miles away. I can be there in 45 minutes. I bet Rachel thinks we should go all the way through.”

             
“Fuck Rachel, she’s in her own world. Dave—you shouldn’t be driving in the dark. If we get stuck in some kind of jam and have to walk, we should do it in the morning.”

             
That was how we ended up in a seven bedroom house by the water. Rachel didn’t argue but we had to leave at dawn which sucked cause this house was fucking huge. Princess took the master bedroom, a suite bigger than my mom’s apartment, before anyone could ask. I let Dave take the next biggest bedroom because he looked pissed that Princess took the suite. While Eric and Jim, Rachel and Dan each shared a rooms and Annemarie apparently moved on with Henry. She loved a warm bed, I guess.

             
I got a room of my very own, even though I got watch until 2am and then it was Dan’s turn. I slept in the truck, so I was good. I locked Idiot in the room with food, decided I was gonna try to keep her. The rest of the cats wandered the house and we planned to let them go in the morning. I heard a lot of crying from behind closed doors. I was gonna miss Maddie. I wondered how my life would have been like if someone like Maddie was my mom. She would have been good to me and I would have turned out better.

             
Eric could fall apart ‘cause Maddie was his momma, but Rachel needed to get it together. No one liked losing people but sometimes you gotta be the strong one especially if you’re in charge. Jim and me were decided stuff and I didn’t want to be leader.

             
Since we lost half our supplies from the other truck, I figured I’d gather more stuff. I found a big suitcase in my bedroom. It looked like whoever lived here cleared out but didn’t need it.

             
I dragged it down the stairs, careful not wake anymore.

             
I wondered if we were far enough away. Dave said we were a good fifty miles or so from the city. We had another day until the bombs fell. We would be at Port Jeff and hopefully on a boat by tomorrow. Never been on a boat before.

             
I went into the kitchen; it was fucking huge, hundred times bigger than the kitchen in my place. Things were thrown around, but there was still some canned food so I put it in the suitcase.

             
I thought about Robert and this morning. Now he was dead.
             

             
I went into the bathroom, flashed the light on the medicine chest, grabbed some Band-Aids and couple of bottles of pills.
             

             
I found another closed door next to the bathroom. This looked like a cellar. I flashed my light on it.

             
I saw lots of shiny things reflected back. I walked down the stairs thinking I found a cache of gold—not that it meant much now, but as I got closer I saw that it was wine. A fucking lot of it.

             
I didn’t know about wine, maybe I could ask Jim about it. I wonder if the family here took the good bottles.

             
I grabbed one and headed back into the kitchen and was greeted by one of the cats. “You hungry?”

             
Abruptly the cat hissed, arched its back and ran away.

Then I saw the shadows. The moonlight lit them up. I saw three. I turned off my flashlight and waited, hoping they go.

They didn’t look like they were going away, they moved about the outside. They probably smelled us. Not far from the window was a door leading the backyard. I ducked down and crawled to it. I flashed my light on the knob and tried to turn it. Glad to find it’s locked.

I thought about taking them on, but it was night and there were other people to think about. So I crawled out of the kitchen and stood up when I got to the next room.

This house seemed a million miles long from the kitchen to the stairs. I should have gone to Rachel, but instead found myself at Jim’s door. Jim answered the door wearing no shirt. He came out and closed the door behind him. I never told him he had a fine looking body even for a white boy.

“Tanya,” he said, his eyes bleary. “What’s going on? What’s with the bottle?”

“Zombies.”

“How many?”

“At least three, maybe more.”

“So what’s with the bottle?”

“Found a bunch of it in the basement.” I handed it to him. “Is this a good shit?”

He looked it over. “Fuck if I know—Cam was into wines. I liked drinking them.”

“What about the zombs? Shooting them might bring more.”

“I have an idea,” he said. “Hold on for a sec.” He went back into the room. I saw Eric asleep in the bed, also half robed. He grabbed a shirt from the bed, put it on and headed out, closing the door behind him.

“Come on. Don’t mention the wine.” He shoved the bottle in a bureau outside the room.

I followed him to the master bedroom. He knocked three times.

We waited a minute but she didn’t answer.

“Bitch is probably asleep.”

Jim shook his head. “She never sleeps at night.” Another minute passed before the door finally opened. Princess stood there, long blond hair down, combed and beautiful, wearing a silk nightie that barely covered her coochie.

“The fag and his hag,” she said and didn’t wait for a response. “James, why do you ruin my night?”

“We need a small favor from you, for which we have a small reward.”

Princess licked her lips. “Nurse Ratchet won’t let you give me anything, so what do you have?”

“Something nice, but I won’t tell you unless you are quiet as possible and kill the three zombs outside.”

“James--,” she said. “After this, I believe I shall take my leave of you all.”

“Worry about that later,” he said.

She smiled. Even though she was young, my age, her smile looked old and worn.

“Perhaps you would like to come with me Tanya. You are not a great shot, but you are a least better than what we have.”

I could tell she was drunk and probably took one of her pills. I’ve seen that look before in the people I sold to.

“No, thanks,” I said.

Princess laughed. “Not a thug—not really. All an act.”

“Princess, please, the zombies.”

“Yes James, I will kill the zombies for everyone.”

She retrieved her rifle, not the assault one, the nice one, and walked out of her room, not bothering to cover herself. I could see her white underwear as she went.

I took them downstairs, walked the long path to the kitchen. We got close to the windows.

They were still there in the moonlight. When they saw us, they started to move to the windows. Princess went to the back door and unlocked it. She opened the door and there were three discharges.

She slammed the door shut and walked over to the sink and leaned against it with the gun facing down. She didn’t break a sweat.

“All gone.”

             
An arm smashed through the window behind her. A decaying hand grabbed her by the shoulder and began pulling her to the window. She screamed and dropped the gun. It didn’t discharge. 

I nabbed the cold decaying arm that despite being dead was fucking strong and yanked it off, freeing her. It left decaying material on her pale shoulder. The thing kept trying to grab at us but the size of the window blocked the way.

Princess grabbed her gun off the ground. She opened the door and fired again. Though the window I saw the bullet entered the side of its head and it fell out of sight. Princess came back in and slammed the door shut.

             
“You okay?” Jim asked.

             
It was obvious she was shaken up, couldn’t deal to be out of control for a moment.

             
“I’m fine,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I could have handled it.” She got herself together and smoothed out her hair.

“One day all the bullets will be gone,” Jim said, “Then there will be no one here for Princess.”

“Poor sweet James,” she said, touching his face. He pulled away.

“Tanya, why don’t you show Princess her present?”

I headed to the back of the kitchen and opened the door to the cellar. I shined the light down.

Princess’ eyes widened when she saw the bottles. The shakiness vanished. She took the flashlight from me and headed down the stairs. Jim and I followed.

Princess looked over the bottles and randomly picked out one. She held the flashlight over the label.

“Take what you want,” I said.

“This is Roederer Cristal 1990. Daddy had five bottles.”

“Worth much?” I said.

“Not much, about $7000,” she said then she threw it to the ground. It smashed in a million pieces. The smell of booze filled the air and Jim took a step back. I always figured her as a nut. “Daddy opened one once, for my 16
th
birthday. I said it was wonderful. I thought it tasted terrible. I didn’t like wine, but Daddy did and I loved him.” She turned to Jim. “Thank you,” she said her voice a whisper.

I walked back up the stairs, sick of the crazy bitch’s ranting. I’ll grab some wine later.

The house was still quiet, so I guess no one heard the shots. Probably ‘cause the bedrooms were three miles from the kitchen.  

Except one person.

Dave stood at the bottom of the stairs. He looked calm for a change.

“Zombs?” he asked.

“Four. Princess took care of them. We’re going to have to board up a window.”

“Wow,” he said. “I’m shocked she came out of her drug stupor to help.”

“We found a wine cellar.” I didn’t mention the smashed bottle.

“She must be in heaven.”

“I’m gonna to grab a few bottles. You don’t mind?”

“I ain’t gonna drink it all if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll stay up here.”

I heard sounds behind me. Princess walked by us without acknowledgement and headed back up the stairs.