In the Lone and Level Sands (42 page)

Less than half an hour later, his car pulled
into a nearly deserted parking lot, and he parked as close to the
door as possible. John thought about the knife in his pocket, but
figured it wouldn’t be as efficient a weapon as he might need. He
remembered his golf clubs in the trunk; he’d gone just about every
weekend, bringing his family if he could.

John popped the trunk and climbed out of his
car. He reached for his golf bag and grabbed his 9 iron. John
rubbed the shiny blunt end for a moment, and then hurried
inside.

The first place John had in mind was
customer service. He went around the counter, but found nothing. He
looked around. From where he was standing the building looked
mostly empty, but there were a lot of places to hide.

As he went around the customer service
counter, John saw a zombie wandering close to the pharmacy. It was
almost as if it were browsing the aisles. John stepped on a broken
bottle. The loud crunch alerted the zombie.

The zombie hobbled quickly toward the sound,
and John looked for a place to hide, but there was no use. The
zombie had definitely seen him. Its face was snarled and bloody.
The man it used to be wasn’t quite as tall as John, but was
younger. Still, John wasn’t afraid. He swung the club hard, as if
it were a baseball bat, and hit the young male zombie in the face.
It fell to the floor, down but not out. John backed up a little and
smashed the club into the zombie’s left temple. The zombie
collapsed, and didn’t move after that. Blood leaked out of its head
onto the floor. John breathed heavily and looked down at his white
shirt. It was decorated with speckles of red.

John moved on to check the break room, then
Vince’s office, and then all of the departments. He took a side
trip when he got to the pharmacy. Beyond the counter he found the
small orange bottle he was looking for, put it into his pocket for
later, and then resumed his search.

He found Carol in wine and spirits. He
looked down at her partially eaten body. Her eyes stared blankly up
at the ceiling. John wept for his wife for a moment, and then heard
something farther off, behind him. It sounded like something had
been knocked over. He turned around and saw the entrance to the
wine and spirits storage room.

John sneaked over to the doorway and
entered. Not far into the room was Vince. He was hunched over a
corpse, eating the near-rotting flesh of what was probably once a
female bagger. John turned away, fighting back tears. He even
thought of forgetting his mission and going back, but he decided
he’d come too far to do that.

He would have called out his son’s name if
it
was
his son, but this creature no longer was. Vince was
gone. This was only a deranged humanoid, at best.

“Hey,
thing
!” John said. He smacked a
nearby metal shelf several times. The loud metallic cracking sound
got Vince’s attention. He saw John and grunted excitedly, then
jumped up and shambled toward John. John glared through fiery tears
and readied the golf club. When Vince got close, John swung as hard
as he could. Vince crashed to the floor, bleeding and
motionless.

Tears came down as John found something in
which to wrap Vince and Carol. He moved them out of the store one
at a time via a cart he’d found in wine and spirits, then loaded
them into his car. He drove off with the perfect burial place in
mind.

There was a spot where John and Carol would
take Vince when he was younger: Watkins Mill. They would walk
around for hours at that old mill, they’d sit and have a picnic in
the field, feel the breeze and the warm sun shining down on them.
Many times, they’d sit under a weeping willow, especially if it was
hot. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, and this made it
a wonderful place to bury his family. They could be there
forever.

Watkins Mill was never busy, so it was
completely empty when John got there after a fairly lengthy drive
that was made longer by blocked and crowded roads. He drove to the
spot he felt was the best.

The tree’s drooping limbs swayed in an
untainted breeze. John knew he could be all alone with his family
here. He smiled as he surveyed his sanctuary.

He buried them under the willow, and then
used his knife to shave away some of the bark, inscribing their
names in the tree’s flesh. When he was finished, he sat down
between the shallow graves, the shovel sticking out of the ground
next to him. John leaned against the tree for quite a while,
feeling the cool breeze. Next to him was the plastic pill bottle.
It rested on its side, empty.

John looked up into the tree’s branches. He
could see little crevices where sky poked through. John sighed, the
sweat beneath his white dress shirt dripped down his body. He felt
hot and sleepy, so he decided to lean his head against the tree,
close his eyes, and let the breeze cool him down a little.

44

On the Other Side of the Bridge

“Okay guys,” Dex said. “Best Seattle
band.”

The group was heading northeast along
Kingston Ferry Road. They had left the bridge behind them, and the
twisting forest trail had put it out of sight. The cars were still
numerous, and the survivors had decided to wait until traffic
thinned down before trying to find a few they could take to
Seattle.

“And don’t everybody say Nirvana.”

“Death Cab For Cutie,” Lacie said.

“Death what for what?” Garrett said.

“I think I’d have to say Nirvana,” Jessi
said.

“I’ve always been partial to
Queensr
ÿ
che,” Kyle said.

“Who?” Layne asked.

“I don’t know what
any
of you are
talking about,” Warren said.

“Aw, come on,” Dex said, “you have to have
heard of Nirvana, at least. Or Alice in—”

Layne stopped walking and raised his hand
for silence.

The fog was much thinner, but didn’t show
any signs of going away. It was dark out, and beyond the first line
of trees beside the road, it was nearly impossible to make anything
out. To the right was nothing but water, but there was road in
front and behind, and to their left was a gigantic forest.

“Did you hear something?” Garrett asked.

“I don’t know,” Layne said. “I can’t say,
for sure.”

“Maybe it’s best if we keep quiet, guys.
There may be more of them in those trees.”

The group went on. Every sound made them
jump, but most were passed off as branches in the wind or a bird
taking flight. There was, of course, the occasional sound that
remained inexplicable.

It was getting cold. Most of the group was
still wearing wet clothes, and Layne could tell this would be a
problem. Just as he started a list of solutions in his head, he
heard a shuffling sound from the forest up ahead. He stopped
walking, and everyone else did as well.

“What was that?” Katie asked.

“I don’t know,” Layne said. “But maybe it’s
time for us to get into some cars and drive.”

There was another shuffle, this one
louder.

“Good idea,” Garrett said.

The group had lost many of their guns in the
fall, and most of their ammunition had been discarded near the
bridge, rendered useless by the water. Most of the zombies had been
killed by the blast or attracted to the fire, and the stragglers
had been taken care of. But the survivors were far from that now,
and Layne feared that the group didn’t have enough ammo to get them
to Seattle, much less to keep them safe in such a big city.

“This one has a key!” Lacie said, standing
next to a minivan. “And it’s an eight-seater.”

“That means our second vehicle can be just
about anything,” Layne said.

“So long as it’s not a motorcycle,” Garrett
said.

“Well, damn,” Warren said, smiling.

“Here’s one,” Jessi said. She was pointing
to a small car about twenty feet behind the first.

“Okay, let’s split up,” Layne said. “These
cars may need to last us all the way to Seattle, or at least the
outskirts.”

“In other words, don’t get in a car with
anyone you can’t stand,” Garrett said. Dex laughed. Layne figured
he would have as well, had he not been scared out of his mind by
the now eerily absent shuffling they had heard.

“Katie will need to be in the first car,
since she knows the way,” Layne said.

“What do you mean?” Katie asked. The others
looked at her.

“You have family in Seattle, right?” Garrett
said.

“Yeah, but I’ve never driven there,
especially not from Astoria. I have no idea how to get to Seattle
from here. And once we’re there, I really only know how to get to
my girlfriend’s house.”

“Girlfriend?” Ralph said. He sounded shocked
and offended.

“Shut up, that isn’t important right now,”
Kyle said.

“Not important? The fate of her immortal
soul isn’t important?”

“Hey, shut the fuck up for a second,”
Garrett said. “I think I hear something.”

Garrett had a way of saying things that
should’ve sounded offensive, but never did. And in this case, it
worked. Everyone was quiet. The shuffling was loud now, and more
continuous.

“I think we may have a friend,” Layne said.
“Let’s just drive along this road and see where it takes us, for
the time being. We’ll worry about the details when we get somewhere
safer.”

“And warmer, preferably,” Warren said. “It’s
getting cold out here.”

“Good idea,” Garrett said.

“I’ll take the minivan,” Layne said.

“I’ll come with you,” Katie said. “For all
we know, we’ll be in these cars until we get to Seattle, so I guess
it is best if I’m in whichever car is leading. Who knows? Maybe
I’ll catch my bearings somewhere.”

“I’ll take the small car,” Garrett said.
“Should be easy to follow you guys.”

“I don’t want to be separated from Mom and
Dad,” Dex said. “So I’m going in the minivan.”

“Me too,” Lacie said soon after.

“You all are making me feel so loved,”
Garrett said.

“I’ll be glad to keep you company,” Warren
said.

“I think I’ll ride in the minivan,” Ralph
said. The others looked at him.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Garrett
asked. He was thinking about what Ralph had said to Katie just a
few minutes earlier.

“Positive. Yeah. I mean, it’s my choice,
isn’t it? I want to ride in the minivan.”

“Then I will, too,” Kyle said.

“Kara and I will go with Garrett, then,”
Jessi said.

“Okay. Any last revisions?” Garrett
asked.

A moan came out of the trees nearby.

“I think we should probably just go,” Layne
said. “Now.”

The groups checked the vehicles for any
threats, then they got inside, and were off.

After a few minutes of driving, the last
remaining cars faded out of sight, and, except for the random car
every few miles, the road was clear. The sky was almost black, and
both drivers relied on their high beams for vision. It was getting
even colder, and Warren was the only one wearing dry clothes. Even
though both cars had their heaters on, some of the survivors were
shivering.

“Maybe we should’ve grabbed some clothes off
of some… people who don’t need them anymore,” Garrett said. “Kara
isn’t looking so good.”

Despite being quiet, Kara was shaking
uncontrollably.

“You okay, honey?” Jessi asked.

Kara looked up at her. She seemed tired.
“I’m cold.”

“Here,” Warren said. He took off his shirt,
turned to the back seat, and handed it to Jessi. “The kid’s going
to get hypothermia if she doesn’t get out of those clothes and into
something dry. It’s way too big, but it’s dry, and it’ll keep her
covered.”

“Thank you,” Jessi said.

“We won’t look,” Garrett said. “Promise.” He
reached up and turned the rearview mirror upward. “Not that we can
see a damn thing anyway.”

“Okay, honey, I’m going to need you to put
this on, okay?” Jessi said.

Kara was silent for a moment, then said,
“It’s too big.”

“I know, I know. But if you keep your wet
clothes on, you’re going to get sick, and we don’t want that. And
I’m sure if you curl up into a ball, and you stay here on my lap,
it’ll keep you nice and warm, okay?”

Kara took the shirt and started putting it
on over her wet clothes.

“No, honey, that won’t work. You’re going to
have to take the wet clothes off.”

Kara looked up at her, and then at the two
men in the front seats. Her eyes started to get teary.

“Honey, it’s okay. I promise, okay? You’ll
be okay. They’re not going to look, and I’m going to keep you safe,
okay? I need you to do this, because I don’t want you to get
sick.”

After a few minutes of shuffling around, the
passengers were all once again situated. Kara almost started to cry
at one point, but instead gave in to her sleepiness, and took a
nap. A few more miles went by.

“Thanks again, Warren,” Jessi said.

“Not a problem at all. I just wish I had
more to give.”

“I hope the guys in the other car have
figured something out,” Garrett said. “It’s getting colder by the
minute, and we may not find anything but trees for hours.”

The car ahead of them suddenly slowed, and
then it came to a stop. Garrett stopped behind it and cautiously
got out of the car. Ahead of him, Layne was getting out.

“What’s up, man?” Garrett said. “You
cold?”

“Freezing,” Layne said.

“I can see your nipples.” Layne looked at
his shirt, then laughed.

“There’s a town up ahead. Looks small. We
should see if we can find a map. And maybe a clothing store.”

Garrett looked up the road. It was hard to
see, but the moonlight was just enough to make out the vague shapes
of buildings.

“It’s pitch black,” Katie said from the
other side of the car, “the power is probably out in the whole
town. It’s probably dangerous.”