Life Among The Dead (17 page)

He walks through Matilda’s place, all eyes are on him. He shrugs his shoulder a couple times as feeling returns to it. Dan is able to place the rifle on the little round dining table. This comes as a relief to the man; he feared his arm might be out of socket.

The soldier doesn’t say a word. He closes his lighter then opens it again while licking his fingers. He touches the moistened tips to the metal and it sizzles. The refillable cigarette lighter is hot to the touch.

“
Nobody go in there.” He tells his crew finally.

“
What happened?” Lindsey asks.

“
Matilda, my neighbor, was one of them.”

“
What about the thing that bit her.” Becka pipes up, obviously scared.

On the counter that divides the kitchen from the living room Dan sees a pill bottle spilled over. Tiny white pellets litter the Formica. The plastic container read: Nitroglycerin.

“
Natural causes.” Dan tells her while he scoops the spilled medicine back into its home and pockets the pill bottle. “Looks like it was her heart.”

Dan surveys the faces of those under his care. They all look so tired and frightened.
This must be how I look to them,
he figures.

“
My place is number 314. Other side of the hall, three doors down to the right.” He tells them while plodding to the front door. Its peephole gives him a fisheye view of darkness. “Bring the candles. If you can find more that would be good.”

Dan stays by the door while the others search for more light sources. Bill readies the spent rifle. Barbara locates a big block of wax with three wicks. The large, red candle smells like Christmas when they light it. Lindsey has found a flashlight.

They gather at the portal leading out into the hall. The yuletide candle is set on the floor. Dan and Bill take up positions on either side of the door facing each other. Barbara is reminded of police shows on TV where the cops are entering buildings. Lindsey is armed with the third rifle as she turns the knob between the men and cracks the door open. She backs away and aims her weapon.

Dan uses his foot to pull the door the rest of the way. It swings wide, they wait. After a second the soldier pushes the candle out and the hallway is bathed in amber light.

“
You’re clear on this side.” Bill tells Dan after popping his head out briefly. Dan performs the same move to check the right hand side of the hall. He creeps out slowly following the muzzle of his gun, his keys dangle from his left hand.

Bill gives the soldier a head start before he emerges, facing left. He crouches on the industrial carpet and covers the rear so Lindsey can lead the remaining survivors out.

Lindsey stands by Dan as he fumbles in the dim light to find the applicable key. He starts to slide it in when he sees her tense up in his peripheral vision. He pauses. “What’s up?”

“
I think I see something.” She whispers.

A figure is in the darkness, slowly moving closer to them. Bill leaves his post and gets in front of the pack.

“
Say something.” He commands the shadow. The shadow says nothing. The older man raises his rifle. “Then say good night.”

“
Wait.” Dan tells the gunman. His hand touches the barrel and pushes it to the side.

“
Hector?” Dan addresses the approaching form. “Wave your…” He stops speaking as he switches on the flashlight. He shines the beam upon his own face. “Wave your arms.”

The beam is then directed at the incoming stranger who has a familiar face. His arms are above his head waving back and forth. The dark haired young man squints as the light hurts his eyes.

“
Hey, Hector.” Dan smiles as the man joins them. “It’s good to see you.”

Dan opens his door and enters with the new comer of their group. The others file in.

“
God, man! I could have killed you.” Dan can hear Bill say to Hector who says nothing in return. Dan doesn’t care about any of that now. He leans his rifle against the wall and walks with ease through the dark apartment like a blind man in a familiar setting.

“
Honey?” He calls out. The flashlight dances over the couch in the living room. He enters the bedroom, but finds it empty. The bathroom is also unoccupied.

The survivors settle in giving the apartment the same golden glow Matilda’s had. Dan’s worried expression looks ghostly in the unsteady light.

“
She isn’t here?” Lindsey asks, knowing the answer already. Her voice is low and sympathetic.

“
No.” Dan replies. He has no idea where she might have gone. The others stand at the counter except for Becka who is seated on the couch. Dan passes the crowd and enters the kitchen.
Of all the days to have gone out,
he thinks.
We’re sorry, Mario, your princess is in another castle.

He walks to the refrigerator. The door is a tapestry of memos and coupons, pictures and greeting cards, all held firmly in place by magnets. He searches the collage with the flashlight knowing that if she needed to leave him a message this is where it would be. He discovers a newly posted note that he snatches down letting the lady bug that held it fall to the floor. He reads:

Babe, I went into labor about a half hour after you left. I tried to call but you didn’t answer. Mrs. Weider is taking me to the hospital. I will see you there. I love you.

“
I must have lost my phone sooner than I thought.” Dan mutters to no one in particular.

“
What’s that?” Bill asks.

“
Maybe at the depot when I got my gear.” He explains to Bill who hasn’t a clue to what he is talking about.

“
I’m sorry, son. I don’t follow.”

“
She tried to call me.” Dan tells him.

“
Heather did?” Bill inquires.

“
Yeah, she went into labor. She’s at the hospital now.” Dan says hurrying through the living room on his way to the bedroom. The flashlight is left on the counter top along with the note from his wife.

Dan sits on the darkened bed, his clothes still damp from the incident with the fire truck. He opens his nightstand and takes out a slim metal box. He sets the container on his lap and lets his hand explore it, his fingers fit into four indentations. At the tip of each digit is a round button.

He remembers how Heather had laughed at him for sitting for hours with his eyes closed, practicing for this exact moment. His fingers are in their respective grooves as Dan presses the buttons in sequence. He told her it was important.

The man sits in near total darkness tapping out the combination. The box unlocks with a click. He opens the lid, finding the 9mm Beretta contained inside. This is one thing he refused to get rid of when they had married, and it made his wife furious. She had insisted on the box.

The pistol is already loaded. He takes his spare clip out of the box and finds a carton of ammunition in the nightstand. He stands and considers changing his clothes, but opts not to even bother since he will probably just get dirty again. He returns to the others.

Lindsey now sits on the couch with Becka, her arm is around the girl’s shoulders. Dan passes Barbara who is seated on one of the barstools by the counter, absently swiveling around on the cushion. Bill and Hector lean against the counter.

The soldier opens up his fridge and takes out a few beers. He opens his and slides the men each a cold one.

“
What’s with this guy?” Bill asks hooking a thumb at Hector.

“
He’s deaf.” Dan tells him. “He can read lips, but he doesn’t talk much, especially around new people.”

Hector doesn’t like to talk because all of his life people have made fun of how his voice sounds. The man prefers to write his communications. It always amazed Dan and Heather that he can read lips in several different languages. They didn’t see how he could differentiate between them. They had asked him, he didn’t know how he could do it either.

Dan takes a long swig from his beer draining almost half of it. His journey is far from over. He wants to get to his wife and baby.

“
So, I gotta get to the hospital.” He tells the room, fearing the reaction the information will receive.

“
That’s not a smart idea, son.” Bill tells him. “Chances are…”

“
I’m going to the hospital.” He says, cutting the man off, not wanting to face where the sentence was heading.

“
I’m just saying, it will be dangerous.” Bill explains.

“
I know it will.” Dan finishes his beer and places his bottle in the sink. “You all can stay if you want. There’s plenty of…”

He opens the door to the fridge and looks inside for what he has to offer them in ways of refreshments. It is bare. Heather and Dan were supposed to go shopping today.

“…
Baking soda in the fridge. Or, you can go home. I have a gun and can find a car. If I find help, I will send them your way, I swear.” Dan holds the door to the cooler open as he grabs a second beer.

“
We’re a team.” Bill states. “We’ll travel with you at least as far as the hospital. From there we’ll head home. You and your family can join up with us there.”

“
Fair enough.” Dan closes the refrigerator door and his eyes fall on one of the papers that litter the surface. It’s a picture postcard from his Uncle Bruce. The photo on it is his uncle’s ranch out in New Castle.

“
Bill, do you know where New Castle is?” Dan asks.

“
I think so. Why? Do you want to go there?”

“
Yes, my uncle has a ranch out there.” Dan offers the man a look at the picture. “It’s very secluded, and from Olive Grove hospital it’s a straight shot to the Washington Bridge, and then north to New Castle.”

“
It should have electricity.” Bill says, pondering the notion. “They say Parson’s Dam can run…”

“
Indefinitely.” Dan finishes the thought.

“
It’s a good plan. So grabbing your wife is the biggest obstacle.”

“
Let me worry about Heather. I want you guys to drop me off and just head to the ranch. Tell my uncle I sent you, and that we’ll be along soon enough.”

“
So, Hector,” Bill turns to the deaf man. “Does the ranch sound good to you?” He wishes he had put more thought into that sentence before he had said it. The silent man just nods. Hector has no family in the city, and nothing keeping him here.

“
Will Lindsey want to go?” Dan asks Bill.

“
She’s always wanted to live in the country.” Bill states before finishing off his beer. “What about Becka?”

The men look towards the girl on the couch with Lindsey. She has her head on the older lady’s shoulder; it looks to them like she’s crying. Dan hates the idea of disturbing her, but he needs to know if she’s in, or if she wants to be dropped off at her home. He walks over to them. Lindsey is whispering to the girl. “It will be all right. Just give it to me.”

Dan is about to speak when he sees the girl is holding a straight razor in her hands. The unfolded blade reflects the dim light of the candles. He doesn’t hesitate to snatch it away.

“
We did not save your life just so you can take it.” The steel sinks into his thumb as he closes his hand around it and pulls it from the frail girl’s grasp. He lets out a hiss of pain through his teeth.

Blood flows from the thin wound as he heads to the counter. The slit drips scarlet drops onto the floor. Becka watches him walk away with her knife, her eyes wide with fright.

“
Blood! He’s bleeding! We have to stop it! Stop bleeding!” Becka’s words become more and more frantic. She is on her feet backing as far away from the rest of the people as she can. The wall prevents her from retreating the room entirely.

Dan is running the incision under a cold tap. The water enters the gash bringing a fresh sting. He pats his hand dry and watches the girl meet the wall with her back. She slides down hysterically crying.

“
It’s all right.” He tells her. “I’ve had worse.” A towel from under the sink is wrapped around the infirmed finger.

“
You don’t understand. It’s the blood. They can smell it. They follow the blood.” Becka chokes the words out. Lindsey is at her side trying to soothe her. Barbara has joined, hovering just out of reach. She isn’t sure what she can do to help.

Dan squeezes his thumb inside the towel to maintain pressure.
They can smell blood?
He looks to Bill and Hector for corroboration. Bill offers a noncommittal shrug. Hector nods.

“
Tell me.” Dan says to his old friend.

Hector removes a small notebook from his pocket and waves for Dan to come closer. He writes upon the paper with a four-colored pen. The soldier watches a word appear in red above a stick figure of a man:
Derosso.
Hector’s boss.

Hector works in a small Italian restaurant on the first floor of this building. He does prep work, keeps the place clean, and washes dishes.

A second figure takes form on the page. Above it, scribbled in blue, is the word:
Me
.

Behind the representation of Derosso, a rectangle appears. The man’s empty circle of a face is given a frown and a cloud hangs over him.

“
Derosso came in feeling under the weather?” Dan deciphers. Hector nods. Red teardrops fall from the stick man’s thin arm.