End of the Line (30 page)

             
She didn’t respond, instead got out of the car. She pulled her handgun that now had lots of bullets. She went to the door and knocked.

             
I got out of the car and saw Annemarie come out on the terrace. She smiled then disappeared.

             
A minute later the door opened. Annemarie and Jake stood by the door. I got out of the car and so did Jim. I opened the trunk.

             
“We got more guns,” I said.

             
We quickly got the guns and ammo out of the trunk and back into the house without a word.
             
             

             
“Where did you get all these guns?” Annemarie asked when we were inside. “And what happened to Jim?” She looked over his head which now had a smaller bandaid.

             
“We met a nice family,” I explained. “We did some errands for them for guns but Jim got attacked by a dog.”

             
“Shit,” Annemarie said.

             
“I’ll live,” Jim said. Annemarie looked at the Olive who was standing next to me.

             
“Not this dog,” I said. “We found her in Westchester, abandoned.”

             
The kid came running down the stairs. She barreled into Tanya and embraced her.
             
             
“Be care of Jim,” Annemarie said when it looked like she planned him. “He got hurt.”
             
“Where’s Dot?” I asked. 

             
Annemarie didn’t respond.

             
“Dot?” I asked again, both panic and anger filled my voice.

             
“I’m sorry, Dave.”

             
“They got in?”

             
Annemarie shook her head. “It must have been a heart attack or something or maybe she did have cancer. We wrapped up her body in silk sheets, and left it in the basement.”

             
I didn’t say anything. I liked that old lady and we could have been together when she died. Instead she died alone while we helped another old lady go off to her doom.

             
“This is all your fault,” I said to no one in particular.

             
“Dave,” Annemarie said. “She was old and she died comfortably. Trust me.”

             
I didn’t respond. I wanted to blame them all, especially Jim who dragged us on this stupid trip and we didn’t even find his stupid gay husband.

             
Instead I marched up the stairs with Olive happily running at my heels. I barely noticed Chinakitty on the stairs, who hissed and ran off.

             
Once upon a time I was happy. I had a loving wife and a wonderful little girl, but I always liked to drink and became a mean drunk. It got so bad my wife left and my kid barely spoke to me. I think that if I ever find her, I’ll will actually be a sissy and let her know how much I love her.

             
The only person I was close to in CostKing was Eli. I guess we were kind of the same. Eli had money before, his wife and kids didn’t leave him and he wasn’t a drunk. I missed that SOB. I also liked Mindy in more ways than one. I wanted to be her victor when Tom hurt her. She appreciated me looking after her but Abe was her hero and she only wanted sex with Jake. All the girls wanted to be with Jake and look at Jim.

             
I went to the master bedroom, threw everyone’s stuff out, locked the door and made myself comfortable on the king size bed. I didn’t think they would leave without me.

             
I was surprised there was no fanfare when I heard someone come up the steps.

             
A moment later there was a knock on the door.

             
“My room now!” I said. I knew I was acting like a kid but I didn’t care.

             
“Dave?” It was Jim’s voice.

             
“Sorry,” I said. “Not into guys.”

             
“Dave,” he said. “You couldn’t have saved her. Even if you were here.”

             
“Leave me alone!” I shouted. I was glad to hear him walk away from the door.

             
Silence afterwards. I stretched out on the bed. Olive jumped up and sat beside me. Poor thing was probably starved for attention.

             
I missed my wife. She always took over most of the bed. That was early in our marriage when she loved me and I drank socially. Olive settled in next to me and put her snout on my leg. So this was it, me and a dog.

Chapter 19
             

             
Rachel lived on a cul-de-sac of attached brick houses, and Dan lived on the other side. I made a k-turn so we were facing out in case we left in a hurry.  Rachel insisted not to bother. She had a strange blank look when she said it. I always thought she was a weirdo. Jim insisted we try. Dan’s daughter was missing and Rachel said both her daughter and husband were dead. Dan originally said not to bother but changed his mind and told us both their addresses.

             
The place was deserted. I stopped the truck. Annemarie, rifle in hand, got out.

             
I looked around and opened the door. No zombs in sight. I wasn’t as pissed off as I was last night, but I kept quiet.
             

             
“Come,” I told Olive. I put her on the leash. I heard the back of the truck open and moved in that direction.

             
They were already outside. Annemarie, Jake and Tanya had their guns out. Aisha was milling around the back of the truck holding the cat carrier.

             
“Maybe the girl should stay in the truck,” I said.

             
“I wanna stay with Tanya.”

             
I didn’t press further and she was right. We should stick together. She took the carrier with her and came off the truck. Jake closed the truck door. Jim looked pale and sweaty but it was a hot day. The back of the truck must be a sauna.

             
Tanya moved towards Rachel’s house. The door was closed, but when she pushed at it, it opened.

             
“Hello?” Tanya said. No response. Chinakitty meowed and Olive yipped in response.
             
I moved into the house with Tanya. Nothing but a lot of dust. The house smelled faintly of decay but not enough to be a dead body. There were flies around, which meant a zombie was here or had been. Zombies could smell us, but sometimes we could smell them.

             
Jim sneezed.

             
“I think one of thems here,” Tanya said, her voice a whisper.

             
Rachel’s house had a common blueprint. Hallway, living room on the left side, continued hallway until it reached the kitchen. I bet there were three bedrooms upstairs.

             
I walked ahead to the kitchen. It seemed to be the prime spot for notes. When I got there, I saw that it was empty. Nothing was here, no sign of life. No notes. Not even notes from Rachel letting others know where she was.

             
“Damn,” Jake said, looking at pictures on the wall. “She said she was a lesbian, but she has a family.”

             
“A daughter and husband.” Jim looked at Jake. “She didn’t want to have sex with you.”

             
“I didn’t need an excuse, she could have said no.” I didn’t think he cared. As long as he had someone’s pants he could get into.

             
That’s when I heard the footsteps. They were light and coming from upstairs.

             
Everyone stopped talking.

             
“I’ll dispatch it,” Tanya said. She headed up the stairs, followed by Annemarie and myself.

             
As predicted there were three bedrooms upstairs and a full bathroom. All but one had open doors.

             
When we went to the closed door, I could hear it. It began pounding at the door, making that horrific moan. 
             

             
“Kill it,” I said, trying to keep panic out of my voice.
             

             
“Ready?” Tanya said to Annemarie. She nodded. Tanya kicked open the door.

On the other side was a little girl, a zombie, emaciated, sagging skin, sunken eyes but no visible wounds. She shot out the door as soon as it opened but headed to the wrong person, Tanya. Tanya aimed the rifle and fired. She flew back into the room and against the bed. She didn’t get a head shot, but because the thing was so emaciated it didn’t get up. It still moved. Tanya slammed the door.

“What are you doing?” I asked. “Finish it.” Jim came up the stairs.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Tanya pointed to a picture on the wall of Rachel and family. I looked at it. Even in this picture, Rachel looked like a sour puss. Her’s husband was taller than her, had a big smile and his arms wrapped around her with one hand on the little girl, the one that Tanya shot.
             

“Jim, Rachel’s daughter’s in the room. She’s a zombie.”

“It’s not her daughter anymore,” I said. “Put her out of her misery.”

“Maybe Rachel couldn’t do it,” Annemarie said. “Let’s do the deed while it’s down.”

“Or maybe she left her here alive because she wanted to.”

What was her problem? I saw Tanya as a person who would shoot her own mother if she was a zombie.

“Come on,” Tanya said. “Let’s get the fuck out of here and check Dan’s place.”

“No,” Jim said. “We shouldn’t leave her. Please Tanya, Annemarie, finish the job.”

Tanya and Annemarie looked at each other, then Tanya opened the door. The thing that had been Rachel’s daughter looked so emaciated, she didn’t get up. Instead she clawed the air. One shot and she was gone.

  Dan’s place looked similar to Rachel’s, only the living room was on the right side and empty. No people, no bodies, no zombies. Pictures on the wall showed a smiling Dan, a black haired bronzed wife and a cute teenage girl with big smile. There was a note from Dan telling his daughter he was at a house with an address in Commack. Jim crossed it out and wrote CostKing.

Tanya seemed pissed for having to shoot Rachel’s kid.

I sat in Dan’s kitchen while the others searched the house. I dry swallowed a caffeine pill. This trip had been rough. I was sleeping worse than ever. I missed that stupid CostKing bed.

             
I heard them walking around upstairs and doors opening. I knew I should search the kitchen for food, and only decided to when Olive gave me a sad look. I searched the shelves. They were empty, but I found a dusty can of sardines missing the key. I used my Leatherman to open it and gave it to Olive. She barked and then wolfed it down.

             
“You gotta take it easy,” I told her. I looked around for more food and came across a bottle of cheap whiskey. All I wanted to do was have a drink for old time’s sake. I preferred beer but I figured it would be hard to find a cold brewski.

             
I thought about my ex-wife and my daughter and how I might be with them now if I hadn’t had so many brewskis.

             
It was tempting; I was stressed, tired and I wanted a stiff drink to loosen me up.

             
I was interrupted by Olive. She yipped. I put the whiskey back and closed the cabinet door. No more food searching. 

             
I heard sounds on the stairs. I moved to the kitchen and found the others already in the hallway.

             
“Place is empty,” Jim said.

             
I was in the back this time. Jake drove while Tanya rode shotgun. Despite the caffine pill, my eyes still felt heavy. The heat didn’t help. I slept on the mat with Olive besides me in a twilight but never deep sleep. That dog loved me. I guess I was her savior.

             
I wanted a drink.

             
The road was bumpy, keeping me awake, but I didn’t want to deal with the people in the back. I didn’t mind driving, as it was hot and stifling. The small window wasn’t helping and it was a long trip to the Centereach. Jim leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, while Aisha sat in the middle working on a crossword puzzle with Chinakitty in her lap. There was some hissing and howling between her and Olive but it seemed to have settled down with Chinakitty engaging in an intense staring contest. Annemarie dozed, occasionally letting out a light snore.