Lost in the Apocalypse (5 page)

Emily shot Kari a questioning glance, but Kari didn’t explain. Butter sat in the cab and Neil came out of the house, closed the front door, and came to the bed.

Emily gave him brief, but accurate directions, and he nodded. He climbed in the front of the truck, started the engine, and then they were off. She tried not to stare at her cabin as it disappeared from view, but she couldn’t help herself.

This had been her home.

She hadn’t even been home for an hour and she was leaving again.

The wind was whipping her hair around her face and by the time they reached the house, Emily was ready for the apocalypse to be over. She pushed her hair back again and again until she finally gave up and decided to get used to the taste of it in her mouth.

Kari took pity on her and handed her a hair band.

“Is this the place?” Neil asked. Everyone got out of the truck and looked at the house in front of them. Emily nodded.

“I don’t know the new owner. I was only here once.” It was last year for a church barbeque. She had spent the day hanging out with families and couples. No one cared that she was single or that she was new. They just made her feel welcome.

She had seen the basement because one of the kids was excited about a new video game console his dad had bought. She had carefully sneaked down the rickety stairs with him to see the new setup. A few months later, the mother had gotten a job in a new city and the family had moved.

She didn’t know who owned the house now.

“Doors?” Butters grabbed a gun and motioned for the rest of the crew to do the same.

“Front and back,” she said. “There’s one staircase inside that leads to the second floor and two staircases to the basement. One in the living room and one in the kitchen.”

“Got it.” Neil led the way to the house and the group acted like they’d done this a million times before. Emily felt out of her element and decided to try to stay out of trouble, instead walking the perimeter of the house with Robert.

She wanted to ask how he got his scar, but she knew it was rude. Maybe they’d find some Scotch in the basement and everyone would start talking, but she doubted it.

She tried to focus on taking in her surroundings as she walked around the large farmhouse with Robert. It was a faded blue that had probably been beautiful once. Now the paint was chipped and water damaged. She hoped the new owners had left before the infection started.

She hoped they had gotten out alive.

Robert led Emily carefully around the house. The two of them eyed the property carefully. Unlike most of the farmhouses, there were no outbuildings. There wasn’t even a garage. The people who lived at the house had worked in town and spent most of their time at their offices. While many rural townspeople tended to have gardens or chickens, this family hadn’t taken to farm life very well. They didn’t even have a dog.

“It’ll do for the storm,” Robert eyed the road warily. “But I don’t like how visible the house is from the road. Didn’t these people ever think of planting fucking trees?”

She had wondered the same thing. The house was only about 50 yards from the highway, which meant anyone driving by could see it. She doubted any Infected would be wandering this far from town, but other survivors weren’t exactly people you could befriend.

Emily and Robert moved the truck behind the house so anyone passing wouldn’t be able to see it.

“Don’t know if we’re gonna survive this storm,” Robert muttered, “but we sure as hell ain’t gettin’ eaten by no cannibals.” Emily wanted to point out that hiding the truck wouldn’t necessarily mean people wouldn’t stop and search the house, but she didn’t bother. The wind was picking up and they needed to get inside. No one would be wandering around during the storm.

No one smart, anyway.

She eyed some of the lower clouds warily. It wouldn’t take long for funnel clouds to begin to form. This was Kansas, after all. Though Kansas didn’t get nearly as many tornadoes as people liked to believe, it still saw a fair amount.

“Let’s go,” Robert said. He grabbed a couple of bags from the bed of the truck and hauled them to the back door. He dropped them down, then headed back to grab more bags. Emily followed suit. After a few minutes, the back door opened up and Neil appeared.

“House is clear,” he said. “Let’s get it inside.”

The three of them carried the supplies down to the basement where Kari was waiting. She had found some candles and lit them. The room now had a soft, eerie glow.

“You’re going to burn the whole place down,” Butter shook his head, but Kari just shrugged.

“There are worse ways to die,” she told him. Emily wanted to ask how, but she was still the new girl. She didn’t want to press her luck.

“Cody is rooting through the kitchen,” Neil told her. “The house was empty.”

“I guess no one new ever moved in after the last family left,” Emily said.

“No,” he said again. “The house was
empty
.”

“You think the owners will come back?” She asked, but Neil shook his head.

“It’s been ransacked by at least one group of survivors, maybe two. Upstairs is trashed. Not by Infected, either.”

“It looks awful,” Kari agreed. “Trash everywhere, garbage, even shit. Just all over.”

Emily hadn’t gotten a good look. She had followed Neil in through the back door, then down the kitchen stairs. Now she wondered what she had led the group into. Would the other survivors come back? Would they want this house?

“Don’t look so worried,” Neil said gently. He patted her gently on the shoulder, then motioned for her to take a seat. She hadn’t slept well in days and the sofa in the center of the room looked very inviting.

Emily shot him a worried glance, then sat down. She might be making a mistake choosing to fall asleep in the company of strangers, but she didn’t have much choice. She was tired and exhausted and dirty. She didn’t think Neil would hurt her, but then, she had never been the best judge of character.

Neil stared at Emily. The little waif looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her eyes were hollow and sunken with dark, deep circles around them.

“Who would have thought?” Robert said, coming up beside him. He grabbed a blanket from a pile and laid it over her frail figure, deep asleep on the couch. “The owner happens to be a hot piece of ass who isn’t a complete bitch.”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Neil said. Robert gave him a knowing grin, and Neil knew he had walked right into the man’s trap. Fucking spooks.

“Storm’s gonna be on us anytime,” Robert said. “I’m gonna go look around.” He slapped Neil on the shoulder and left, heavy boots pounding as he made his way up the stairs.

Cody came downstairs with a couple of flashlights and tossed one to Neil, then placed the others on a table in the corner. He made himself comfortable on a chair and pulled out a couple of small juggling balls. Then, to Neil’s surprise, Cody began juggling them.

“You’re a clown now?” He asked. He had never seen Cody do anything besides moon over Kari.

“Gotta do something,” Cody shrugged. “I’m bored, man.” He started with two balls and quickly added a third. He was sloppy and his technique was poor, but after a few minutes he started to get the hang of things. “I found them upstairs,” he said, catching the balls. He held them out to Neil. “Wanna try?”

Neil took the weighted balls in his hand. The soft leather that covered them was stitched together. Colorful leather for colorful balls. Maybe the owner
had
been a clown, or at least had a child. He lifted the balls and carefully tossed one in the air, then the next. Soon he was juggling, just as Cody had.

“Not bad, boss,” Cody said when Neil finally handed the balls back. He continued practicing in the dimly lit room. Neil figured they’d both be better when it was light outside.

Butter and Robert stomped down the stairs then. Neil turned to look at Emily, but the kid didn’t even stir. How long had she been gone for? More importantly, where had she gone? The cabin had been well cared for, but had a thin layer of dust on it when they arrived. They’d been there only one night when she showed up. Had she simply been scavenging?

Or had she been on some sort of mission?

She looked well enough, Neil thought. No major scrapes or bruises, no bite marks, to be fair. She had kissed him like a hungry wildcat and he wanted more, but the truth was that she was a stranger. A wildcard. It probably wasn’t safe to let her stay with them and if Neil was smart, he’d put her down quietly. The rest of the group wouldn’t ask questions when he said she had left. They knew better than to pry when some things were best left alone.

He couldn’t, though, and not just because she was gorgeous or had a smart mouth. The truth was that Neil wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be the guy who saved someone, even just one person. Robert, Butter, Cody, even Kari: they had saved Neil as much as themselves. What would he have done if they hadn’t found each other wandering around outside the base?

What would any of them have done?

“Doors are locked,” Robert commented, making himself comfortable against a wall in the middle of the room. He had a flashlight in hand, flicked it on, and waved it from one staircase to the next. Strange the house had two sets. It wasn’t a setup you often saw.

“Put some furniture in front of ‘em, just in case.” Butter added. Neil nodded. It was a good idea. Then again, Butter was full of them. The guy looked like he was in a motorcycle gang or a bouncer at a seedy club, yet he was one of the most loyal men Neil had ever met.

“Better get some shut-eye,” Neil said. “Who knows how long the storm is going to last?”

“I always sleep better in storms,” Kari added. She curled up in a ball on the floor. Neil tossed her a blanket and she yanked it over her body. Within minutes, she was snoring, oblivious to everything around her.

Cody looked at her, then turned to the guys.

“Um,” he hesitated for just a second. “Anyone care if I sleep there?” He pointed to the other end of the couch where Emily was passed out. He looked like he was going to say something, but Neil didn’t make him explain. Cody tried to be tough, but the truth was he’d messed up his back in high school and had never quite recovered. He would sleep on the floor and he’d do it with a positive attitude, but he’d be sore for days.

“Go for it,” Neil nodded, looking away, trying not to make a big deal about it. Butter made himself a bed on the floor and soon it was just Neil and Robert, sitting in silence, listening to the wind howling. He’d heard Kansas storms were a bitch, but this was his first experience. The weather was unpredictable in Colorado, but it was never quite as loud as the weather in Kansas was turning out to be.

“I’ll take first watch, boss,” Robert said, and Neil knew there would be no arguing with the man.

“Let me know when you’re ready to switch.” He climbed onto the recliner and closed his eyes, yet sleep eluded him for a long time. When was the last time Neil had just…been?

The world had changed in the blink of an eye and while he was grateful to be alive, he sometimes wondered what the point was. They had been traveling for a month, trying to find a place to live, to be, to escape.

They hadn’t found an escape.

The whole world, as far as they could tell, had been taken. The world had been overcome, at least in the Midwest, and help was not coming.

They could keep pushing, he knew, and try to get to a coast. Then what? They’d still be boxed in. They’d still have to deal with hurricanes and tropical storms, earthquakes, Infected.

What was the point?

Soon the leaves would begin to fall and winter would arrive: a harsh bitch of a cherry to top off the zombie sundae he’d been eating all month.

Would they make it to a coast in time?

Should they go south?

Somehow, Neil didn’t think it really mattered. There was no such thing as the “right” choice anymore. Just look at Emily. She had gone somewhere, she’d gone somewhere for a whole month, and she had come back alone.

What had she been doing?

What had she encountered?

He wished he knew her better so he could pry, carefully extricating information that might make it easier to know what to do, how to proceed. He wanted to know what he should tell his men. He wanted to know how he should lead them.

Maybe they should just hunker down somewhere and let the world pass them by. Maybe they could make a life in Nowhere, USA.

Maybe they could find a way to live in spite of their surroundings.

Maybe.

**

When Emily woke up, the candles were out. One lone flashlight shone in the middle of the room. Around it, everyone was asleep. Cody was curled up on the other end of the couch. Neil was passed out in a recliner. Kari and Butter were asleep on the carpet, covered in blankets.

Robert sat up next to the flashlight, gun in hand, eyeing the staircases. His eyes flittered back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

He looked tired.

Outside, the storm howled and the house shook. Plates fell and cracked upstairs. Pictures fell off the walls and the sound of frames shattering could be heard throughout the basement.

Still, the group slept.

Emily wondered how long it had been since they had a decent night’s sleep. Were they like her? Were they wandering around, trying to return home?

She had heard once in an English literature class that the most important element of a story was the journey home, but what happened when you had no home to go to? What happened when your home was gone? What happened when your home was destroyed?

What happened when everything you held dear vanished?

Then what were you supposed to search for?

“You can come over here if you’re scared,” Robert said. He didn’t look at her, he just kept moving his eyes back and forth. “I don’t bite,” he said.

Emily hesitated for a moment. Robert reminded her of a boy she knew once who had gone into the military. He had returned home years later a changed man. He still looked the same, but there was something about him that was different, something hard.

Robert didn’t scare her, but she thought he probably should.

After a moment’s hesitation, Emily decided that if he was going to rape her, he would have done it while she slept, so she was probably safe. Well, safe enough, anyway. She slipped from the couch and walked across the room to the chair. She sat down next to Robert and watched as he stared at the two entrances.

“We should have barred one,” she commented, realizing their stupidity, but he shrugged.

“No point,” he said. “If an Infected managed to make it all the way out here, I’d shoot it easy enough.”

“And survivors?” She asked.

“Throwing some furniture in a stairway wouldn’t do much to keep out the kind of survivors we’d want to keep out, now would it?”

She nodded and reached for a bottle of water. She opened the top and took a sip, then handed it to Robert. He set his gun down and took the bottle from her.

“Thanks,” he said after he drank. He handed it back to her and she silently finished off the bottle. It was probably wasteful to drink the whole thing, but she didn’t really care too much. They would all be dead soon enough, anyway.

“What did you do for work before this whole happened?” She asked. It was a bullshit question, but small talk was all she had right now.

“Air Force,” he grunted.

“Were you guys all in the Air Force?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Except for Cody.”

“What did Cody do?”

Robert’s eyes twinkled. Even in the darkness of the basement, Emily thought that in another life, Robert would make a very good Santa Clause. He could dress up in a suit and promise little children to give them their heart’s desires and if his eyes twinkled like that all the time, the lines would be very long all of the time.

“He worked at the CDC,” Robert said. “Child development center. Air Force daycare,” he clarified when Emily looked confused.

“I guess I don’t know a lot about the military,” she admitted. She knew there was an Air Force base that wasn’t too far from Howe. It was five, maybe six hours away by car pre-apocalypse. She didn’t know how long it would take these days. She had tried to drive to Worthington to get Melanie, but shortly after making it through Howe had abandoned the car. There were too many roadblocks and too many abandoned cars and too many damn Infected.

“Most people don’t,” Robert said. “Only what they see in movies, but we all know that movies ain’t worth shit when it comes to information.”

“I dunno,” Emily said. “They seemed to get it right when it came to zombies.”

“Zombies?” Robert laughed. “Call ‘em what you will, sweetheart.”

“What do you call them?”

“Infected is fine enough. No reason to glorify what they are.”

She stared at Robert for a minute, but he looked away. His eyes never stopped roaming from one staircase to the other.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Outside, she could still hear the wind howling and the storm crazing. She didn’t know how they were going to get out of this alive, but at that moment, she had a more pressing question.

“Who did you lose?” She asked softly, but her words hung in the air. Robert’s body tensed and she wished she hadn’t asked. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business,” Emily said quickly. “I’m sorry.” What was wrong with her? Robert didn’t want her here anymore than she wanted to be here and she had to start with the
which-of-your-loved-ones-died
question?

Fuck.

“It’s fine.” Robert gruffed out. He was probably only 31 or 32, Emily thought, but he was harsh and edged. There was something dark about him, something broken that she thought he had probably lost long before the apocalypse happened.

Robert had lost someone. That much was obvious, but Emily didn’t think they had turned into a zombie or an Infected. No, his loss was more personal than that. His loss was more sacred to him.

She turned back to the room and stared at the sleeping bodies. She knew she should go back to sleep, but she had too much on her mind now. That was the problem with sleep, Emily knew. If you were
too
tired, you couldn’t think about anything. If you weren’t tired
enough
, you thought about everything.

Each person in this basement had a story just begging to be told. Emily was a writer. Telling stories was what she
did
. Now that she had calmed down, she wanted to find out why this group was together. Why them? Where were they going? What had they left behind?

What secrets did they carry?

What burdens did they hold?

“You should get some sleep,” Robert’s voice broke the silence and she nodded quietly.

“Okay,” she whispered, and went back to the couch. Emily curled up on her end and leaned her head on the armrest. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the howls of the storm as she thought about a better time.