Hell Bound (Book 2): A World Apart (5 page)

So the darkness shall be the light and the stillness the dancing.  - T.S.Elliot-

We pull into the very quiet parking lot of the grocery store. It’s empty except for all of the vehicles that people left behind, a graveyard of vehicles. Slowly cruising the SUV, Mathew finally finds an empty parking space in front of the store’s entrance.

“Kat, could you stay in the SUV while we search inside?” Mathew questions.

“Yes, besides Johns asleep again. I don't want to wake the poor kid.”

“Just honk the horn if you see anything strange and here are the keys. Just in case,” Mathew says, handing the car keys to her. 

“Take my gun too, I’ll use the hunting knife and bat,” I add holding out the gun to her.

“Thank you. Please hurry up, this place gives me the creeps,” Kat says, staring out towards the empty parking lot.

“Everything gives you the creeps,” I say jokingly. Kat gives me a dirty look and sticks out her tongue. Shaking my head giggling, I jump out of the SUV. Walking quickly behind Mathew, Jake, and Devlin we jog to the entrance of the grocery store.

Putting my face to the dirty glass doors I wipe some of the dust off of the door to get a better look inside. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. There are shelves near the front, a dairy sign in the back of the store, and a produce sign on the opposite corner.

Moving my face away from the glass I look from left to right, no zombies, and no signs of the living, nothing. Birds don't chirp happily in the trees, dogs don't bark in the nearby yards. Kids don't cry and scream for candy or ice cream. This new world we live in is dead. Will I ever get used to the way this world is now? Quiet, lonely, and always scared for our lives?

“Stay together and listen for signs of danger. We will grab a cart once we check the perimeter and start loading foods that will last a long time.” Mathew says, his face serious.

He’s back to military Mathew. Mathew and Devlin slide the doors open. We walk inside of the very eerie grocery store, the only sound I can hear is the sound of the heels of our shoes hitting the tile floor.

The air is stale and reeks of rotting produce. Wanting to gag from the smell, I manage to hold in my granola bar that I just ate. Mathew walks slowly down the first aisle, then the second, then the third. Until each aisle is checked and empty.

The next room we need to check is the loading dock. Hoping that the loading dock is empty and we can just get the food in peace and get the hell out of here.

Mathew holds up three fingers and puts his body against the double doors to the loading dock. He counts down three, two, one then swings the double doors open. It’s empty. Boxes of food wait to be unpacked and put away. Produce sit in crates, rotting away, and mold forms a home on the edges of the produce.

Mathew and Jake walk inside and take a look around. I stay back with Devlin, knowing I can’t stomach the smell of the rotting food. Several seconds later Mathew and Jake come walking out.

“Clear” Let’s grab some carts and go shopping,” Jake says as he sprints to the shopping carts. Each of us grabs a cart and walk to different aisles.

I go straight for the beauty products and toilet paper. Knowing that Kat and I will eventually need some girly products. I grab toilet paper, paper towels, and several kinds of feminine products, not knowing what exactly Kat uses. Better to be safe than sorry. Having two moody women is going to be Hell for the guys.

Giggling, I walk to the next aisle, I start grabbing chips, pretzels, Pringles, and anything else that seems good. My cart barely has anything inside of it other than snack foods, I decide to go help out Devlin in the can food aisle. He's throwing anything and everything in the cart.

“Hey, didn’t your mother ever tell you to never get a dented can?” I say jokingly walking up to him. Devlin jumps and turns around.

“You scared me, don't sneak up on an old man. I can have a heart attack at any given moment.”

“Oops, sorry, didn't realize you’re that old,” I say giggling and smiling at him.

“Need any help?”

“Sure, you start grabbing. Even though there isn’t much left.”

I reach my arm in the back of the shelf, pulling out a canned corn and throw it in my cart as well. Remembering the episode at Walmart a couple days ago. I laugh at the memory of that stupid woman. God, she was mean. I wonder what happened to her. Is she alive or dead? The thought makes my smile disappear. Mean or Not she doesn’t deserve to die.

“What’s wrong little lady?” Devlin asks, with a questionable look on his face.

“I was just thinking of all the people who died. It’s horrible, how can something as little as rabies cause a worldwide disaster…I lost my best friend today.” I add thinking of Jennifer, wondering how she died and if she died a peaceful death.

“It is sad, it’s the end of times. Like the good book predicted in Revelations. That’s my theory. God is tired of our shit down here.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, I do. Think about it. Everyone worships themselves or idols. Not the big man up above.” Devlin says while pointing up towards the roof. “We drink, do drugs, have sex before marriage, orgies, you name it. Everything we shouldn't do. I think this is a punishment.”

I ponder on what Devlin just said. Could this be a plague from the big man up above? Is it a punishment for our sins? I was never a big church person. But we did go to church and send our kids to church camp. I was never a horrible person, but I made mistakes. Will my good deeds out way my sins? I guess time will tell.

“Don't worry your pretty little head about why this is all happening. There is a reason some of us are still alive. A bigger purpose. Some day we will know what that purpose is.” Devlin says patting my arm. We finish our shopping in silence and meet up with the others at the entrance of the store. Combined we are able to fill up a half of cart. Not much, but it’s something.

“Now what?”

“Gas, then we go as far as we can on what we have before we stop again,” Mathew says.

I knock on the window of the SUV, Kat is rubbing Athena’s fluffy head. She waves and unlocks the car doors. She jumps out of the car with Athena behind her. John is still sound asleep spread out on the back seat, a tiny snore escapes his lips. Poor kid has gone through too much for such a young age. And our journey through hell has just begun.

“Hey beautiful we missed you in there,” Jake says to Kat. Shaking my head at Jake’s silly attempts to win over Kat. I start packing the SUV with groceries.

Devlin punches Jake in the shoulder, “Help us pack Romeo.”

“Missed you too,” Kat flirts back.

“Oh god they are going to give us trouble, aren't they,” I say to Mathew rolling my eyes.

“Looks like it, they better be safe. We don't need little babies running around.” He says with a smirk.

I grab the empty cart and push it out of the way. The cart rolls across the parking lot towards a little red Honda. Amused, I watch as it picks up speed, running into the bumper of the car. Leaving a scratch, I'm sure. A week ago I would have got so pissed off at anyone who did that but now I can care less. The car doesn't belong to anyone, not anymore and probably never again.

“Let’s go, we need to hurry up if we want to get some distance between the horde and us,” Mathew says shutting the cargo door to the SUV.

“I’ll stay with Kat and John,” I say walking to Mathew.

“Sounds good to me,” Kat says, walking back to the open car door to sit with John.

“Stay safe, beautiful,” Jake says checking out Kat’s behind.

“Stop kid you’re trying too hard,” Devlin says, patting Jake on the back. He walks away shaking his head.

“See you in 30 minutes or less baby, if we are not back within an hour. Leave don't come looking for us. Our boys need at least one of their parents alive,” Mathew says seriously. I wrap my arms around his waist, pulling him closer to me.

“Mathew, unless you’re dead. I will never leave you behind.  So if you ever ask me to leave you behind again. You are never getting laid again. Comprenda?”

“You will give it up no matter what. You’re easy,” Mathew jokes.

“But not sleazy,” I giggle back, giving him a kiss before letting him go. I watch them walk away to the gas station across the street.

Even though it’s at least a hundred feet away from us it feels like its miles away. Letting out a breathe, I walk back to the car and get in.

~Don’t go around tonight. Well it’s bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise. -Creedence Clearwater-~

“So you and Jake are already smitten on each other huh?” I question Kat.

“Kinda I guess, I wasn't really thinking of a relationship right now. Or the old fairy tales about living happily ever after.”

“Maybe you can. Maybe you can't. This Hell has to end sometime, right?” I say looking out the windshield.

“But damn he is hot!” She says, giggling like a little school girl.

“Yeah, even I have to admit he isn’t bad to look at.”

“Oohhh I’m telling Mathew!”

“No man can replace that hunk of sexiness. Plus, you don’t know the real reason why I love him.” I say winking at her.

She burst out laughing. “What?  His money?”

“You’re kidding me, I make more money than him. He's with me for my money,” I say laughing really hard.

“Oh goodness, you’re horrible!”

“I'm joking, I'm joking. He is my everything,” I say, wiping a tear from my eye.

It’s nice joking like this. I miss it, I use to joke this way with Jennifer all the time. Damn, I miss her, I wish I knew what happen to her or if she died peacefully. She deserves a peaceful death. Steve pops on the radio silencing our laughter.

“Well hello survivors, I obviously didn't go to my local high school. I thought about it, I really did. I even had a couple bags packed. But I just couldn't leave this house. Too many memories within these walls. It still smells like her...her perfume.

“So as many of you know, the National Guard kept to their side of the bargain and took all the survivors to Fort Detrick, Maryland. Well, for the ones that didn’t make it to their local high school in time I hope you found peace and safety somewhere. Well, that's it, I have no new news for you. Stay safe.”  The station goes back to static.

“Well, at least he is safe.”

“Yeah, but alone. That can’t be pleasant.”

“No, I couldn't imagine doing this on my own.”

The three men come jogging back to the car. Devlin jumps in the very back of the SUV and Jake sits next to Kat. Mathew jumps in the front seat and starts the car.

“Were you able to find some gas?” I ask.

“Yeah, not much, but some. But we need to leave. Someone is burning bodies over there. The smell is really bad. That's probably what we smelt earlier.”

“Oh god, zombie bodies or do you think they were alive and people are killing Innocent people?”

“I don't know, but I'm not willing to find out,” Mathew says as he starts the SUV and peels out of the parking lot.

We drive away from the town taking a back road that follows along the freeway. Mathew found another map that goes from Nevada to Colorado. I'm not thrilled about driving cross country with all of these crazy people around us. Or how long it would take for us to get there.

Jake and Kat talk quietly together in the very back seat. Kat giggles at whatever Jake is telling her. John sits next to Devlin playing with the monster trucks that I grabbed for him. He still hasn't mentioned his mother, but he won’t stop talking about his daddy. Telling Devlin all about how strong his daddy is or how tall he is. That kid really looks up to his father. It's so cute.

Watching him play makes me ache for our boys. They are way too far away for my liking, but they are still safe and that's all that matters. My parents are also safe and I know they are protecting our kids.

I rest my head against the back of my seat and close my eyes. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I feel my eyes drooping closed. Feeling someone shake me awake and disturbing my dreams I slowly open my eyes to see Mathew leaning towards me.

“Your turn to drive sleeping beauty.”

“Where are we?” I question looking out the windows.

“Just reached Nevada. But I need some sleep.”

“Okay, let’s switch spots.” Mathew jumps out of the car and comes around my side.

Getting out of the car I stretch my arms and legs. Looking out towards the sunset, pretty shades of yellows and red shade the sky as the sun goes down behind the mountain. This was always my favorite time of day.

“It’s beautiful, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it is. Such a shame that we can’t enjoy it.” Mathew says as he nudges me towards the driver’s side. I ignore him for a couple of seconds enjoying the view. Knowing my time is running out I walk to the driver’s side and jump in.

“Are you okay, Sam?”

Smiling, I look at him, “Yes, I'm okay.

Just too far away from our family.” He gently rubs the side of my face, I turn the key and drive.

The drive is lonely and quiet. Only the empty cars on the side of the road keep me company. I've seen several zombies walk by, but no zombie hordes. Steve pops up on the radio, interrupting my thoughts. Feeling thankful to hear something other than the sounds of snoring and the silence of the world around me:

“Hello everyone, I’m witnessing some strange behavior from our zombie friends. First off I went into town earlier today to get supplies. And there was no dead bodies, no dogs, no cats or anything alive. Isn't that strange? When this first happened and I ventured off into town I would see dead bodies and dogs roaming the streets. But now nothing. I personally think it’s the zombies taking the dead bodies. Where, you ask? No clue. Maybe they are not taking them anywhere but eating them. I have no clue. All I know is its making me nervous.

“The Second thing I've noticed is that the zombies are hiding, all the zombies that were at the end of my road are gone. And I haven’t seen a zombie in sight for a couple days. At first I thought that they grew so hungry from lack of humans that they went looking for live meat. But today, I went by a clothes store and I saw a bunch of them inside. Luckily I saw them before they saw me or else I would have been zombie chow by now. There was at least a half a dozen inside. I think they are waiting for us, to trap us and eat us.

“Now for the good news, I found some survivors today, a family of four. Mom, Dad, and two teenage girls. They were traveling by the clothes store when I spotted them and told them what’s inside. I offered them to stay at my place. So now I got some company. Well, that’s it for me, keep your eyes open everyone until next time. Sleep tight and don’t let the zombies bite”

Great, just great it’s not like we don't have enough shit to deal with now we have to look for zombies making a trap. These things are evil and I hope they die off.

Driving for what seems like forever, I look down at the clock on the dashboard its only Nine in the morning. I have been driving all night and I didn’t even realize it. Kat’s turn to drive.

“Kat It’s your turn. Kat wake up.” I say a little

louder. Devlin wakes up.

“What’s wrong?” He asks drowsily. “Nothing, I was trying to wake up Kat”.

Devlin straightens up a little bit and looks behind him at Kat. She’s snuggled up against Jake’s chest, John is snuggled up against Kat. They look cramped.

“Let the young couple sleep, I’ll drive. They both can have the evening shift.”

Agreeing with Devlin we switch spots. Not really feeling tired I stare out the window thinking about the long journey we have ahead of us. Hoping boredom will take its toll and pull me into a deep slumber. But unfortunately, it doesn't. Giving up I just stay quiet and stare outside day dreaming about our life before the apocalypse.