Walking with the Dead Page 2

  While Sarah packed, Ryan searched the kitchen. “She wasn’t kidding,” he muttered to himself. The sum total of canned food was a couple cans of chicken noodle soup and a can each of green beans and peas. In the cupboard, he found two boxes of crackers, a box of cereal and some macaroni and cheese. But he did find most of a case of water. He had it all sitting on the kitchen table when she came out of the bedroom with a pack slung over her shoulder and a baseball bat in her hand.

  “I’m ready.” She crossed the room and put the backpack and bat on the already crowded kitchen table. “Just need to change my shoes.”

  “Do you have a duffel bag or something to carry this stuff?” Ryan indicated the supplies on the table.

  Sarah shook her head. “Duffel bag won’t do. You might need your hands free.” She looked down at the meager assortment of food. “That’s pitiful.” She shook her head and moved to a small closet next to her front door.

  “Sorry, that’s all there was.” Why Ryan felt the need to apologize, he didn’t know. It was her apartment, her stuff.

  She came back to the table with another backpack and a pair of boots. “Fit what you can in my backpack and put the rest in here.” She handed the pack to Ryan and sat down.

  While Sarah changed her footwear, Ryan loaded the backpacks. Remembering her weakened physical condition, he put most of the heavy stuff in his pack, leaving her to carry the boxes and soup. He lifted her pack and while it was heavy, he didn’t think it would be too much for her.

  Sarah finished tying her boots and stood up. “Ready?”

  Ryan handed her the backpack and watched as she put it on. “Not too heavy?” He asked. Sarah shook her head. “Then we’re ready to go.”

  Sarah headed to the front door with her baseball bat, Ryan right behind her. He picked up the bloody bat he had left at the front door. As Sarah undid the locks, he put a hand on hers. She turned to look at him. “What?”

  “Are you sure you can handle this?” Ryan asked. “It’s not pretty out there.”

  “I know, Ryan,” she said softly. “I was out there, too.”

  “We’re going to have to move fast and you may have to use that bat.”

  Sarah looked at the object in her hands. “I used to play softball. I think I still have a pretty good swing.”

  “I just…….” Don’t want to be responsible for anyone else, Ryan finished in his head. He shook away the thought. “OK. We’re going to move fast back the way we came. Quiet, too.” He took his hand from hers. “They’re pretty slow, so we might be able to avoid them.” He looked down into her hazel eyes. “You ready?”

  Sarah nodded. She opened the door and after looking up and down the hall, Ryan stepped out. Sarah looked back at her apartment, wondering if she would ever see it again, knowing deep down the answer was no. Smiling sadly, she stepped through the door and pulled it closed.

  CHAPTER THREE

  They moved quietly and without incident through the apartment building. Ryan stopped at the exit to the outside and peered through the glass door. Nothing. He opened the door and stepped out. From his right came what once was a teenage girl, arms bloodied, and a big flap of skin hanging off her cheek. A gnarled hand touched him and he pulled quickly away, a sound between a moan and a cry escaping him.

  Sarah stepped out from behind him, bat at the ready. With one swing, she smashed the bat into the zombie’s head, crushing its skull and scrambling the brain underneath. It dropped, hands spasmodically clutching at nothing.

  “Thanks,” Ryan whispered. Sarah just smiled.

  They made their way down the street, moving quickly but quietly. They saw two zombies on the other side, but neither noticed them. Sarah knew who one of them used to be, a nice elderly lady who used to walk her little dog. Sarah didn’t know the breed. She just called the yappy little thing a drop kick dog. Every time Sarah stopped to talk to the woman, the dog yapped and wound his leash around her legs. Sarah wondered where the dog was now when she saw the former woman – whose name she never knew – staggering along the sidewalk, blood staining the whole left side, right hand still holding the dangling leash. She opened her mouth to say something to Ryan then closed it. There was really nothing to say.

  They had just passed the pizza shop when Ryan slowed. “Mick’s building is half a block down,” he whispered. “My car is that one.” He pointed to an older green Jeep Cherokee. “You wait there and I’ll get Mick.”

  Sarah shook her head. “We go together.”

  “No, you should stay here,” Ryan said. “You’re not one hundred percent. You should –”

  “We’re better off together,” Sarah interrupted, her voice low. “You watch my back; I’ll watch yours, OK?”

  Ryan sighed. “OK. But stay behind me.” He stopped at an apartment building. Both stared at the carnage that was reflected there.

  The glass doors of the vestibule were shattered, the spikes of glass remaining painted red with gore. Sarah saw an arm – just the arm – on the doorstep. She swallowed, hoping she wouldn’t lose the omelet. They moved slowly closer, stepping over the arm and into the entry. Bloody handprints of varying sizes dotted the walls. Both gripped their bats tighter, readying for a swing as they moved further into the building.

  The elevator dinged its displeasure as the doors tried to close, but were prevented by the headless body blocking them. Sarah swallowed again, her eyes glued to the corpse. It looked like a male, but she couldn’t tell. She just didn’t know.

  Ryan touched her arm and she jumped, whipping her head around to look at him. He pointed to the door marked “Stairs.” She nodded and followed him across the lobby. She held the bat ready as he slowly pushed the door open.

  The stairwell was barely illuminated by dim lights set into the wall. While there were specks of blood and other thicker, darker substances that Sarah couldn’t identify, the stairs appeared empty. Ryan held up four fingers and pointed up. Sarah nodded, but inside she cringed. Fourth floor? She didn’t know if she had the strength.

  They slowly ascended the stairs, past blood smeared walls, stepping over black piles of slime. They had reached the second-floor landing when they saw their first body. The head and torso were on the landing, legs dangling down the steps. Ryan stepped over the body, Sarah followed.

  A hand reached out and grabbed her leg. She bit back a scream as she pulled against the zombie, who had lifted its head to take a bite of her calf. Ryan was back in an instant, bringing the bat on the zombie’s head, flattening the top with a loud crunch.

  The hand released her and Sarah stumbled back, catching herself on the wall. She was breathing heavy, adrenaline coursing through her veins. She looked at Ryan, who was staring at the body on the floor.

  “Fuck!” Ryan said, turning away from the corpse.

  “What? What’s wrong?” She asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

  But she didn’t. “It’s Mick’s roommate, Joey.” His voice was low, but full of pain. Ryan looked back at Sarah. “If he’s dead….”

  “You don’t know that.” Sarah spoke softly. “You don’t know that at all.” She pushed off the wall, the cans in her backpack clanking together. “Let’s go find Mick.”

  ♦

  No other surprises awaited them in the stairwell. Ryan pushed the fourth-floor door open, avoiding the streak of blood that bisected the door and peered into the hall. His heart dropped at the carnage he saw. No way could Mick be OK. Ryan stepped into the hall, Sarah right behind him. He walked toward Mick’s apartment, avoiding puddles of blood, his heart heavy.

  When he reached the door, he groaned, “No.” The blood smeared door was hanging open. When he looked in, he shuddered. The place looked like a slaughterhouse. Blood was everywhere, pooled on the table, on the floor. He moved through the shattered door, his eyes darting around the large room. Chairs were overturned, throw pillows on the floor. Blood was sprayed across Mick’s collection of sci-fi movie posters. “Mick!” Ryan called, pressing further into the room towa
rds the bedroom, the door slightly ajar. “Mick!”

  “Ryan,” Sarah started, following him inside. “Ryan, maybe you shouldn’t…”

  The bedroom door eased open. Ryan turned to the door, the smile dying on his face as he saw Mick’s neighbor, Kelly, come out of the room. He didn’t see a mark on her, no blood, no wounds, but she wasn’t alive. Her cloudy eyes, her grey pallor all attested to the fact that she was dead. “Oh, Kelly,” he said softly to the girl he used to date. “Kelly.”

  The creature reached for him and Sarah was there, pushing it with the tip of the bat. It stumbled backwards into the bedroom. Sarah kicked the door shut with her foot and leaned against it.

  “We have to go, Ryan.” Her voice was almost drowned out by fists pounding on the door.

  Ryan sighed. “I know.”

  “Maybe he got out,” Sarah said. “Maybe he went to the army base.”

  “Maybe.” Ryan didn’t sound convinced. He took a last look around the living room/kitchen area and sighed. Without another word, he headed for the door. Sarah was right behind him, avoiding the debris and blood puddles on the floor.

  Out in the hall, Ryan headed for the stairs. Sarah grabbed his arm. Ryan turned to her, pain filling his light blue eyes. “We could see if anyone’s still here. Maybe they know where he went.” Her voice was soft and soothing.

  “Do you really think there’s anyone left here?” He responded. “Look at this place.” He flung his arms out, dislodging her hand. “There’s no one here.”

  “We don’t know that. Let’s just check the next apartment.”

  “Whatever.” He motioned for her to go ahead, but he held his bat at the ready as she did.

  Sarah moved slowly down the hall. The door opposite Mick’s was also open, revealing a room strewn with furniture and a corpse with its brains spread on the floor around its misshapen head. She averted her eyes and continued down the hall.

  The apartment next to that one had its door standing slightly open. Sarah pushed the door fully open with her bat, immediately pulling it back in preparation for a swing. When nothing came at her, she stepped inside. “Hello,” she called softly. “Anyone here?” It was a feminine place, pastels and flowers everywhere. The only disarray was a chair on its side, in front of the door.

  “This was Kelly’s place,” Ryan said, his voice quiet. He stayed in the doorway.

  “I don’t think there’s anyone here,” she said, scanning the room. “I’m sorry, Ryan.”

  “Let’s just check the last place and get out of here.”

  They moved together across the hall to the last apartment on the floor. The door was closed, a bloody handprint smack in the middle of the white paint. Sarah reached for the knob and turned it. The knob moved freely but when she pushed on the door, it didn’t move. “It’s jammed or something.”

  “Let me try.” Sarah stepped back and Ryan turned the knob. Again, it moved freely but the door wouldn’t open. He leaned on the door with his shoulder and pushed. Once, twice, nothing. He pulled back from the door and hit it square with his shoulder. It flew open.

  His momentum carried him inside the room and he stumbled over the broken remains of the chair that had been wedged under the door knob. He lost his balance and fell hard, his hands barely stopping his face from smacking the linoleum. He turned his head to see a figure run out of the apartment, straight for “Sarah!”

  She jumped when Ryan went through the door and took a step forward to follow him, to cover him. A man came tearing out of the apartment, a butcher knife in his upraised hand. She reversed quickly until her back was against the wall, bringing her bat up crosswise in front of her face. “I’m alive!” She screamed, scrunching her eyes closed, hoping those weren’t the last words she ever spoke.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Alive?”

  Sarah opened her eyes to the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. Rich, bright blue, a little strained, but still beautiful. They were in the face of a big man, bigger than Ryan, with a neat goatee and an incredible need for a shower. “I haven’t seen anyone else alive in two days.” His voice broke as he spoke.

  Sarah’s eyes left his and darted to the knife he still held upraised over her head. He followed her gaze and lowered the knife. “We’re just looking for someone, me and my friend.” She kept her voice calm, sensing he was on the edge.

  “Everyone’s dead.” His voice was matter-of-fact. “Or undead. Who are you looking for?”

  “Mick!” Both turned to Ryan, who had managed to get to his feet and into the hall, his bat raised. It dropped when he saw his brother.

  “Ryan?” The knife dropped to the floor as he grabbed his brother in a bear hug. “I thought you were dead!”

  Ryan hugged his brother, squeezing his eyes shut in relief. “Man, when I saw your place…”

  With a big sigh, Mick pulled away. “I tried calling your cell, got nothing.” Mick wiped his eyes. “I called your neighbor, Dan, and he said he hadn’t seen you in days. I wanted to go look for you, but I couldn’t get out. This place—this place was crawling with them.”

  “Uh—guys?” Sarah said. “Hate to interrupt, but there’s one now.” She was looking down the hall, where a man was shuffling towards them, his head canted to one side due to the huge chunk missing from his neck.

  “Let’s get back inside,” Mick said. He scooped up his knife and waited until Sarah stepped into the apartment. He followed, watching Ryan as he grabbed his bat from the floor and backed in, his eyes never leaving the zombie who was edging closer.

  Mick closed the door behind them, leaning against it. He put his knife on the counter. “Grab that chair.” He indicated with a nod to Sarah. She set her bat on the floor and slid the wooden chair to Mick. He kicked the remains of the previous chair from the front of the door and wedged the new chair under the knob. He turned back and grinned at Ryan. “Man, it’s so good to see you!”

  “Same here, brother.” Ryan grinned back. “What the hell happened at your place?”

  Mick’s grin fell away and he moved to the sink. “It was insane,” he began. “I was watching what was happening online. Thought it was bullshit. Joey and I went out to get some beer and it was insanity.” He pulled a glass from the counter and filled it from the tap. He drained it, then resumed his story. “People running, crying, screaming. Some girl came up to us and bit Joey. Just took a bite out of his arm.” He stopped, remembering how that once pretty blonde just dug her teeth into his roommate’s arm.

  “Then what happened?” Ryan asked softly.

  Mick jerked his gaze to Ryan. “We came home.” His voice was low, but full of pain. “We just came back home and cleaned the bite and put a bandage on it. A couple hours later, he was so sick; we decided to go to the hospital.” He shook his head. “Stupid move, but we didn’t know that. The elevator was taking forever, so we took the stairs. I was supporting him the whole time. We made it about halfway down and his legs just gave out. The last thing he said to me was ‘She fucked me up, Mick.’ Then he died.”

  Mick shuddered, swallowed. “He woke up. I thought maybe I was wrong, maybe he wasn’t dead, but I knew he was. I knew it. He—he tried to bite me. He pulled himself to me and tried to bite me.” Mick looked down at his feet. “I pushed him away. I pushed him down the steps. I could hear him hitting the steps. I could hear his bones breaking. I could hear…” He trailed off.

  Mick took a couple breaths then continued his story. “He was crawling up the stairs after me, trying to get to me. I ran back up and locked myself in my apartment.” He looked up at Ryan. “I tried to call you. I kept trying to call you.”

  “I’m sorry, Mick,” Ryan said, his voice raw with pain.

  “I just wanted to be sure you were OK. I was getting ready to come look for you when you busted my door down and I almost killed your friend.” He looked over at Sarah and smiled slightly. “Ryan’s never had any manners. I’m Mick.” He held out a hand to her.

  “Sarah Louis.” She shook his
hand, her grip firm. “What happened in your apartment?”

  The smile left Mick’s face and he pulled his hand away from hers. “After I couldn’t get Ryan, I decided to go look for him. Neil, the super, came up, pounding on my door. Then the guy from across the hall, Bill. We were trying to figure out what was going on when there was another knock, more like a pounding, and Neil opened the door.” He shook his head. “This—this thing came in and just attacked him. Bit him. Blood everywhere. We just stood there, in shock, until finally we started hitting the thing with whatever we could find. We pulled it off of Nick and it came after us. It bit off Bill’s fingers. We ended up pushing the guy out the door, but it was too late.” He sighed. “Bill went into his apartment. I heard a gunshot later. I don’t know. Nick got up and started after me. I went to the hall, but there were more of them. I went looking for Kelly, but she wasn’t home, so I—uh—knew the Parkers were out of town, so I broke my way in here and blocked the door. That was yesterday.” He pointed to the duffel bag by the door. “I was getting ready to go looking for you when I heard you guys outside.”

  “Now you don’t have to look for him,” Sarah said. She looked over at Ryan, who was staring at his little brother, a look of pain in his eyes. “Right, Ryan?”

  “Right,” he answered.

  A loud bang sounded on the door and they all jumped. “It knows we’re here,” Sarah whispered, moving away from the door.

  Another thump on the door. They watched the chair shudder. “We have to get out of here, back to Nina’s,” Ryan said.