Tainted Reality (The Rememdium Series Book 2) (3 page)

Susie cried the entire, four-minute drive, and no amount of comfort offered by Jesse seemed to help. Regina remained silent, using all her concentration on navigating the clogged roads full of stalled vehicles and the dead. However, the minute the familiar location appeared, the girl’s tears dried up. Regina almost laughed at the absurdity.

Welcome to Walmart. Get in and hunker down as the world ends! That should be their new motto.

Regina scanned the area. Very few cars were parked in the spots. Even without all the crazy shit happening, it would still be eerie to see the vast expanse of blacktop so empty. The only other time she’d seen so many available spaces was after the building suffered major damage from an F-3 tornado in 2003.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

Jesse leaned forward and peered out the window. “I think we’ll need to use the back bay door in automotive.”

Regina slowed the Humvee down to a crawl. Following Jesse’s gaze, she honed in on the glass doors. Inside the first set were countless bodies in various states of dismemberment. A throng of at least fifteen creatures gathered around the pile, ripping and chomping their way through the bloody mess.

Susie screamed.

Regina’s heart skipped two beats when the ghoulish diners turned their attention to the noise. “Hush, Susie!” Regina whispered.

Jesse climbed into the backseat and cradled the terrified girl in her arms, trying to quell her fears. The gesture didn’t work. Susie continued to scream at the top of her voice until Jesse clamped her hand over the girl’s mouth.

Regina tromped on the gas pedal and jerked the wheel. Zigzagging through the parking lot, she headed for the back of the store.

“Hurry, Mom! Look! Only one bay door is open!”

Seconds later, Regina pulled into the spot, thankful all the other doors were shut and no one was inside. She jumped out of the Humvee and whispered, “Stay put.”

In a few steps, she was at the bay door. As she grabbed the latch to pull the roll-up metal door down, Regina felt a cold shiver race up her spine. The sounds of feet running and the disgusting, mewling grumbles grew louder. Refusing to look and see how close the horde was, Regina focused all her attention on securing the bay door. The second it was shut, she stole a peek through the small, dirty window. Her mouth went dry when she saw the mob of dead less than twenty feet from the door.

Spinning around, Regina eyed all the remaining doors. Though closed, they weren’t locked. She took off, head pounding and heart racing, until all the metal doors were sealed tight. While jogging back to the Humvee, the weird mixture of Jesse cooing gibberish to Susie and the primal gurgling of the dead made her head swim.

Yanking the side door open, Regina latched onto Susie’s trembling arm. In a low voice, she whispered, “Susie? Susie! Look at me. Stop cryin’, we’re safe. I know this is terrifyin’, and believe me, I’m scared just like you. Now isn’t the time to fall apart. We’ve got to get inside and make sure others who are just as frightened have a safe place to go. Okay?”

Susie clamped her eyes shut, her frail body shaking. Regina felt the tension in her muscles, the racing pulse. At the same time Susie’s eyes opened, so did her mouth, gulping in a huge intake of air.

Regina knew what was coming next. She’d witnessed panic attacks happen to Jesse hundreds of times throughout the years. Over the din of the clanging, grunting monsters pounding on the metal doors, and the fear of any inside the building within hearing distance, Regina had no choice. She balled up her fist and caught Susie right under the chin, knocking her unconscious.

“Glad you never did that to me when I freaked out,” Jesse muttered.

“Always the comedienne. Stay here with her until I secure the waitin’ area inside.”

Jesse’s eyes were wide and full of fear, her pale cheeks tinged in red. She nodded once and moved closer to Susie’s limp body, adjusting her head to a comfortable position against the backrest.

Shutting the door after retrieving the rifle from the passenger seat, Regina mouthed
I love you
to Jesse then locked the doors. She had to force herself to calm down and control her labored breathing. Blood from the cut on her head skimmed the edge of her eye, making it burn. Blinking to refocus, she stepped over to the door leading inside and peered through the glass.

Nothing but automotive equipment, an empty register, and spilled coffee in the waiting area.

Thank God!

Stepping inside, Regina swept the area, making sure nothing was hiding in the shadows. The sounds from outside were muffled, and new ones caught her attention. The distinct noise of someone sobbing emanated from further inside the store. Assuming the noise was from terrified shoppers, Regina tuned it out. The obnoxious Christmas music over the loudspeakers blared. She honed in on the noise closest to her.

Light breathing, and the faintest recitation of The Lord’s Prayer.

Edging past the counter, she peered over. Crumpled into a tight ball, back pressed against the wall leading to the automotive bay, sat a frightened older woman. Dressed in the traditional blue vest worn by all employees, mounds of thick, gray hair stuck up in all directions, her face buried in wrinkled hands.

Moving closer, Regina stopped when she was about five feet away and whispered, “Ma’am, it’s okay. Shhh, be quiet now. I’m a cop and I’m here to help.”

For a few seconds, Regina wondered if the elderly woman heard the words. Finally, the lady raised her tear-stained face from her hands. Her terror switched over to relief and she asked, “Chief Parker?”

Regina forced herself not to gasp. “Mrs. Singleton?”

“Oh, thank the Lord above!”

Regina squatted down while motioning for Mrs. Singleton to be quiet. “Where’s the button to release the gate?”

Mrs. Singleton pointed behind Regina to the right. Without a word, Regina stood and stepped over to the other side of the counter and pushed the button. The metal gate appeared from its hiding spot in the ceiling. Regina cringed at the noise and slowness of the descent. Once closed, she walked over and peeked through the slats. Seeing nothing but racks of shelves, she rushed back over to Mrs. Singleton.

Keeping her voice low, Regina asked, “Are you injured?”

Mrs. Singleton shook her head.

“Good. Okay, I’m bringin’ in Jesse and another young girl named Susie. Are you up to watchin’ over her while Jesse and I secure the rest of the buildin’?”

Still shaking and gaunt cheeks pale, Mrs. Singleton replied, “Sure thing. What’s it like out there, Chief? It’s been somethin’ straight outta the bowels of Hell itself in here. I done seen awful things worse than any nightmare or scary movie could ever imagine. Been hidin’ here and prayin’ my heart out, just waitin’ on my turn.”

“Things are…difficult. We’re roundin’ up as many as the place can hold here. For the time bein’, until this mess gets sorted out, we’ll all be safe huddled here.”

“What happened to them, Chief?”

Taking a deep breath, Regina leaned closer and patted the frail woman’s hand. “I don’t have an answer to that, Mrs. Singleton. Let’s concentrate on one thing at a time, okay?”

“Chief?”

Regina held her breath, knowing what the question would be before even asked. A heavy sense of sorrow made her chest clench. Scanning the old woman’s features, Regina worried additional bad news would cause a heart attack or stroke. She made up her mind to answer with a bald-faced lie. “Yes?”

“Is Roger with you?”

Unable to look the sweet woman in the face while she lied, Regina stood and moved toward the side door. “No, he’s helpin’ rescue others, and a group of them will be here any minute. We’ll talk later once we’re all safe. Okay?”

“Sure thing, Chief.”

Ignoring the painful interaction, feeling like a huge ass for being so deceitful and the knowledge she killed Mrs. Singleton’s only living relative, Regina opened the door. She helped Jesse gather Susie’s limp body from the Humvee. Their movements and sounds of their footsteps on the concrete riled up the unwanted guests. Their racket from earlier hit a fevered pitch. The noise was enough to drive a crazy person sane.

Once back inside, they deposited Susie on a cracked, well-worn couch in the waiting room. Mrs. Singleton followed them, a cup of water and a few shop towels clasped in her hands.
Jingle Bell Rock
thrummed from above.

Mrs. Singleton said, “Take that door right there. It leads to the second floor. First door on the right comes out in sportin’ goods. That way, you won’t make more racket messin’ with the gate.”

Jesse reached over and hugged the woman’s neck. “Hey, Mrs. Singleton. Sorry to see you again under such…”

With a wave of her arm, Mrs. Singleton brushed Jesse’s hug away. “Ain’t got time for pleasantries, Jesse. I’ll tend to this here youngin’. You two get about dispatchin’ the sick. Lord, I prayed for a miracle and He delivered. He surely did. Now scoot!”

Regina and Jesse exchanged glances, a hint of a smile danced on Jesse’s lips. Without a word, mother and daughter disappeared through the door and headed to the alternate entrance to sporting goods.

“Grab a machete. We can’t risk shootin’ them. It’ll just draw more to the sound. Use both hands and swing with everythin’ you have toward the head. Pretend you’re carvin’ a watermelon. Don’t scream or make any noise. Can you do that?

Jesse’s jaw clenched with anger and a hint of annoyance. “If it means makin’ this place safe for all of us—hell yeah. I come from tough stock, remember?”

Regina let go of the doorknob and pulled Jesse into a bear hug. “If I haven’t mentioned it already today, I’ll say it again: I love you, and I’m so damned proud to call you daughter.”

Jesse pulled back and let loose one of her trademark smirks. “Yeah, yeah. Say that again when other people are around to hear you, Mom. Let’s get this over with. I know the code to lock the front doors, so let’s make our way to customer service. I’ve gotta get upstairs and get the front doors locked before those things make it inside the store.”

Nodding, Regina opened the door and the duo stepped out. Regina in front, Jesse right behind. Glancing both ways, ensuring they were alone, they both crouched and ran toward the end of the aisle housing camping equipment. In the knives and tools section sat a freshly stocked display station full of cutlery-grade, stainless steel, molded grip machetes. Regina held in a sigh of relief they weren’t in packages. They hung from strips of leather attached to the handles. She almost laughed at the bright words emblazoned on the front reading “Perfect for use while riding horses, cars, trucks, and boats!”

Hmm, no mention of how they’ll stand up to slicing through craniums. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

Regina smiled when Jesse dangled a canvas backpack in front of her. With quiet movements, they each crammed the bags full of blades then put them on. On the shelf to her left, Regina noticed several cans of safety air horns. She didn’t question the reasoning for their placement. Instead, she snatched two up and motioned for Jesse to turn around.

While stuffing them inside Jesse’s pack, Regina whispered, “I’ve got an idea. They are attracted to noise.”

“Let’s hope they hate Christmas music,” Jesse muttered.

“Funny girl. Is there a window facin’ the front of the store from upstairs?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah, but it’s really small.”

“I’ll only need enough room to chunk these suckers out into the parkin’ lot. The noise will draw them away from the door.”

Blades raised and footsteps quiet, they made their way through the store. The sounds of faint whimpers from before were gone. Being inside the giant space with only holiday music and not bumping into frazzled shoppers was strange. Without the ding of registers, mumbled conversations of others, or even the occasional voice announcing a sale over the loudspeakers, made walking through the place feel foreign.

With every step, Regina swore the music grew louder. The bright, overhead fluorescent lights shined down on nothing but two scared women and the silent, unmoving stock on the shelves. A fleeting thought of whether the retail giant would ever be full of harried shoppers pushing overstuffed carts around made Regina’s heart sink.

Nothing will be the same again. Ever.

They made it past the toy aisle. Regina stopped, motioning for Jesse to freeze. A familiar, yet out-of-place sound, reached her ears. Holding her breath, Regina peeked around the end display.

About ten feet away, crouched next to center display rack of vitamins, was a man dressed in a Malvern Police Department dark blue uniform. The noise she’d heard came from his leather Sam Brown belt while he moved to reposition himself. Though Regina couldn’t see his face, she recognized the thick mop of curly black hair, the black edges of a tribal tat peeking above the collar, and broad shoulders.

Kyle
Pender!
Thank God!

His arms were raised, his service weapon pointed toward the front. Even though the place was temperature controlled, Regina saw droplets of sweat on the back of his neck. Following the trajectory of the gun, she scanned the area to see if Kyle’s attention was locked onto yet another mangled corpse.

Seeing nothing but rows and rows of makeup, hair products, and medicine, Regina contemplated the best way to signal to him without making noise. Turning back to Jesse, she held a finger to dry lips. Reaching past Jesse, Regina grabbed a small, pink stuffed bear from the shelf.

Jesse mouthed,
“What’s wrong?”

Regina pointed to her chest and mouthed back,
“Cop.”

Jesse closed her eyes and nodded. Regina saw her shoulders sag with relief.

Squatting down, Regina stole another peek. Kyle was still in the same position as though his boots were glued to the polished floors. With one swift move, Regina slid the pink toy across the floor. It stopped less than a foot in front of Kyle.

The reaction was immediate. Kyle’s head moved a fraction toward the bear and then over his shoulder. Knowing her face was a swollen, bloody mess, Regina waved, motioning for him to come their way.