Lake Yixa (5 page)

     
"You
okay?" Liam asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sarah snapped out of
her thoughts. She looked over at Liam, nodded, and then looked back at the
elephant.

     
"All right—to
the back door then." Liam turned toward the back. Sarah started to follow
him when she stopped and turned around. She grabbed the stuffed animal and
pushed it into one of her bags. They pushed open the back alley door and peeked
out.

     
"No
zombies," Sarah said as she pushed open the door. They moved across to the
door just on the other side. Liam pulled on it.

     
"Shit. It’s
locked." Liam opened up one of his bags. It had a large tiara stitched on
its side with the words
little princess
printed under it. He pulled out a hammer and a flathead screwdriver. He tapped
the end of the screwdriver. They looked around for any zombies attracted to the
sound. Sarah nodded, and Liam did it again. He waited again. Still, there were
no signs of any zombies, so he finished off a few more taps. He pulled and
pushed on the flathead until the door popped open. He tucked the tools back
into his bag and ducked inside.

     
They set down two
large bags and started to move into the tiny hardware store. The sounds of
zombies could be heard coming from the front of the store. Liam wondered if
there would be too many for them to handle. It sounded like more than just two
or three. When they finally stepped out of the back, they saw the store. Unlike
the last place, this one had a car sitting inside of it. Bodies were lying all
over the place. Shelves of stuff now littered the ground.

     
"Maybe we
should take the other way," Sarah said as quietly as she could.

     
"Yeah,"
Liam replied. "But let me grab a few things first," he added, looking
around. He saw a few packs of batteries lying on the ground not far away. He
started to make his way over to the bodies. Sarah looked around where she was
standing. She started to pick up things—a saw blade, a pipe, and a box of
nails. Sarah wanted the rope, but she didn't try to get it. The rope was at the
bottom of a pile of stuff. She looked back at Liam, who had made it about
fifteen feet into the store. Liam picked up as many packs of batteries as he
could. Then he saw an axe lying close to the front window. He started to work his
way deeper and deeper into the mess.

     
"Get out of
there," Sarah whispered as loud as she could. A few zombies stood around
outside.

     
"Shhh,"
Liam replied, looking at the zombies through the hole in the wall. He picked up
the axe and saw a flashlight and a head lamp; he smiled and scooped them up
too, sticking everything into his bag.
 
Liam turned and started to make his way back when he felt something grab
his boot. Liam looked down to see a zombie holding on. Liam wanted to take off
in a run but did his best to remain calm. He slammed his heavy chair leg into
the zombie, but it was too late.

     
"Get out of
there now!" Sarah screamed. The bodies started to move around him, and the
zombies from outside started to walk in.

     
"Fuck."
He smashed his boot into another zombie trying to get up. It fell to the
ground. Liam stepped over the dead zombie, but more seemed to be coming back.
Sarah grabbed the rope and then started to smash her chair leg into the few
zombies close by.

     
"Come
on," Sarah said as Liam finally made it back to her. She turned and went
toward the back, scooping up one of the bags. Liam did the same, and they went
out the back. Zombies had made it into the alleyway.

     
"Shit. This
way," Liam said as he started down the alley. They had planned out a
number of ways to get to the harbor, but it seemed to quickly be going to hell.
They didn't think there would be so many zombies in the area, but they found
themselves running into large amounts of them. They rounded the alley to find
themselves standing in front of a few zombies clothed in army uniforms.

     
"Holy shit.
Where did they come from?" Sarah asked as she swung her chair leg into the
head of one of them. It stumbled sideways but didn't fall. "Fuck,"
she added as she realized they had on helmets.

     
"Come
on," Liam said, grabbing her hand. Liam led them toward the other side of
the street, every now and then pushing a zombie back with his club. They ran
along the street. The sound of zombies growing in numbers filled the air behind
them. Liam looked back to see the street filling with zombies coming from
buildings, cars, and alleys. They were able to outrun them, but Liam felt
himself getting tired. His age was starting to show. The lack of a good meal
and a full night’s sleep wasn't helping him much either. Sarah started to
overtake him as he felt himself slow down.

     
"Come on,
Liam. You can do it. Just a few more blocks," Sarah said, slowing down
herself.

     
"Just go
ahead of me," Liam said as he dropped into a light jog.

     
"No."

     
"Go ahead.
Find a boat," Liam said, pulling his hand away from hers.

     
"Fuck
that," Sarah said, stopping in front of him. "I won't leave you
behind. That is just asking to get you killed." Liam stopped and looked
into her light blue eyes. He knew he wasn't going to be able to talk her into
going ahead. She reached out and took his bag. He gritted his teeth. He wanted
to take it back and tell her to fucking go away, but her face said,
say one more thing, and I kill you myself
.

     
"Okay,"
he replied. A small smile cracked her lips before vanishing just as fast. He
started to jog again, and she followed after him. They moved down street after
street. Liam wished the harbor was as close as it looked from the roof, but the
zombies made them go a roundabout way. They turned down a street, and the
harbor sat in sight of them.

     
"Thank
God," Liam said, sweat pouring off him. A couple of zombies stood in front
of them, but Sarah had moved in and taken care of the two of them.
She doesn’t even look that tired
, Liam
thought as he rested against a car. As if he said it out loud, she turned and
said, “I work out a lot.”

     
"Yeah, it
looks that way," Liam said before heading across the parking lot. They had
lost sight of the horde of zombies a few blocks back.
 
Liam was sure they hadn't seen the last of
the zombies. It would only be a matter of time before they would catch up with
them.
                                                                                     

     
"Shit,"
Sarah said, shaking the metal gate that stood in front of them on the dock.
"What are we going to do now?" She slammed the chair leg into the
lock over and over. It just rattled and remained undamaged.

     
"Stop. That
won't help," Liam said, putting his hand on Sarah’s shoulder. "Follow
me," he added and headed along the waterfront. They passed a restaurant
and a clothing shop before stopping in front of a small shop. The front window
read
Jimmy's Bait Shop
.

     
"He lent me a
key last year when I worked on a boat."

     
Liam jiggled the
handle, but it was locked. The crash of breaking glass filled the air. Sarah
reached in and unlocked the door. Liam moved past her and went behind the
counter.

     
"Shit. There
are like twenty keys back here." Liam didn't notice the sign for small
boat rentals.

     
"They are
here," Sarah said. Liam looked up from the counter of keys. The horde of
zombies had finally caught up to them.

     
"Shit, shit,
shit," Liam muttered under his breath when he looked out the window and
saw it—a truck with a winch on it. Liam ran out the door with Sarah right on
his heels.
 
She reached it and pulled the
cable and started toward the gate. Liam cracked a zombie close by in the face
with his chair leg. The zombie dropped, and the chair leg broke.

     
"Fuck!"
Liam shouted. He dropped the bag he was carrying and pulled the axe out. He was
hoping to save it for more than just killing zombies, but he needed a weapon. A
group had started to make its way through the parked cars. He moved forward and
swung. The axe smashed into a skull. The zombie dropped instantly.

     
"Wow,"
Liam said.

     
"It’s
hooked!" Sarah shouted as she got out of the way. Liam made his way back
to the front of the truck and flipped the switch on the winch. It slowly
started to retract. The gate groaned in protest as the cable pulled on it. The
steel mesh snapped and sent the hook flying back a few yards.

     
"Shit."

     
"Fuck."
Sarah rushed back and grabbed the hook again. Liam switched off the tiny motor.
Sarah pulled it back, and this time, she hooked it to the steel frame. Liam
flipped the switch and started the process all over again.

     
"Watch
out!" Sarah shouted. Liam turned to see a zombie reaching out for him. He stumbled
back and over the cable.

     
"Ah!"
Liam shouted as he hit the ground. The cable bit into his legs, ripping cloth
and flesh alike. Still the zombie moved after him. It fell over the cable,
sending it falling onto Liam. He barely caught it by the throat with the axe
handle.

     
"Liam!"
Sarah rushed over toward him. Liam struggled under the zombie. Sarah pulled on
the clothing, trying to get it off Liam.

     
"Ah!"
Liam and Sarah screamed in unison as they pushed the zombie to one side. Liam
rolled away, and Sarah smashed her heavy club into the zombie’s skull. The gate
cracked and popped and came off. Sarah helped him up, and they moved quickly.
The zombie horde was almost to them by this point.

     
They moved along
the dock. Zombies reached out for them from boats. Some made it to the dock.
Others tumbled into the water. Liam finally saw a boat with just a single
zombie on it. It had become caught up in a fishing net.

     
"Get the
line!" Liam shouted as he jumped onto the boat. He moved quickly to the
struggling zombie. He pushed the zombie against the side of the boat and patted
its pockets.

     
"Bingo,"
he said with a smile. He pulled out a set of keys. He then pushed the zombie
overboard. Sarah had finished unhooking the boat and got on board. Liam pushed
away from the dock. The boat barely moved. The two of them pushed hard, and the
boat slowly drifted. A zombie stumbled over and fell onto the boat while
another crashed onto the side and fell into the water.

     
Liam slammed the
axe into the zombie before it could get up.

     
"Let's get
this boat moving," he said as they both moved into the tiny cabin. Liam
turned the key. The sound of churning water and the roar of the engine made
them both smile. Liam guided the boat slowly away from the dock while zombies
continued to try and get on the entire time, only to fall into the water. They
made it out of the harbor and into the open waters of the lake. Both let out a
sigh of relief. Liam sat down in the captain’s chair. His leg was burning from
the gash. Up until then, he hadn't noticed the pain. Sarah had already started
to look for a first aid kit. It didn't take her long to find one. She patched
Liam up the best she could, and sat down in a seat just on the other side of
the tiny cabin.

     
"Are we
finally safe?" Sarah asked, looking at Liam. Liam looked back at her.

     
"As long as
we are the only things on this boat." Only then did Liam realize they
hadn't checked the rest of the boat for zombies. They both looked down the tiny
steps into the blackness.

     
"There is a
flashlight to the right of you," Sarah whispered. Liam turned and found
the one she pointed to. He flipped it on. The light fell onto a pair of shoes
sitting in the back of the tiny area. He slowly moved the light up from them
only to find them empty.

     
"Oh, thank
God," Sarah let out.

     
Liam picked up a
rather large wrench. He moved down into the tiny space. It didn't take very
long for them to clearly see all the places a zombie could be. They both
relaxed a bit for the first time in weeks. He turned and headed back up to the
deck.

    
The boat rocked
beneath Liam as he sat in the captain’s chair. He could hear Sarah moving
around below. Every now and then, he could see a glimpse of her going from one
end of the cabin to the other. The bang of pots and the smell of something good
made Liam's stomach ache. It had been almost a week of dried fruit and trail
mix. Whatever Sarah was cooking, he knew it would be good. He thought about the
news report about over-processed foods. They had done their best not to eat
chips, soda, candy, and just about any other junk food that was lying around.
It was very hard, and they had failed to resist a few times. They both agreed
if it was canned food, it should most likely be okay. He steered the boat along
the coastline toward a cove they would set anchor at for the night. It wasn't
too late; they had a bit of sun left in the sky, but in another hour or two, it
would be dark.