Our Undead (26 page)

Margaret:
I think I understand, and… I'm with you.

Billy:
You
don't have to come, but I appreciate that.

Margaret:
No, I'm serious. There's no way I'm staying here by myself,
anyway… But uhmm, … you think we could at least stay here for, I
don't know, a few days or so? Just to rest a bit, you know? My
ankle and stuff? It's crazy out there for a lady.
(winks)

Billy:
Mmmm, I guess so. It would be good for your ankle. Plus,..
what's the rush, right?

Margaret:
Exactly!
Let us take advantage
of this gift that the universe chose to so generously bestow upon
us. Let us not slap it in its face and say, "No!" We'll stay and
eat like a king and queen, and sleep thusly!!… Uh, but just for the
next few days.

Billy:
How
can I decline when you make it sound so satisfying… but what about
Abe? There's no flesh here.

Margaret:
Hmmm… maybe there is.

In another part of the
store, the trio stands in front of the frozen food section filled
with packaged meat and fish.

Margaret:
It's a freekin' zombie buffet!!

Billy:
(holding his nose)
You think
this stuff is still fresh?

Margaret:
Okay, so it smells pretty rancid, but does it
matter?

Margaret puts on a pair of
rubber dish gloves and rips an 8oz steak out of one of the
packages.

Margaret:
This isn't much, but let's see what you
think.

She offers the small red
piece of raw meat to Abe. It takes a few seconds of persuading, but
Abe eventually takes it, puts it in his mouth and begins to
chew.

Margaret:
Ah-ha, see? It's fine. See, Billy? He likes
it.

Billy:
Mmm, I wouldn't go as far to say he likes it, but he
definitely doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I guess it'll
do.

Margaret:
Hey, you're free to sacrifice yourself to him, you know, if
human flesh is really what he needs and all.

Billy:
Mm,
I think I'll pass.

Margaret:
Yea, I thought so. Look, I'm sorry Abe, but this is the best
we can do. The good thing is that you have all that you need,
okay?v

Abe stares at her and eats his uncooked piece of steak. It is
hard for him to deny the feeling inside that tells him this is
wrong. This raw meat is nothing compared to the sweet taste of a
human flesh and brain. The smell haunts him still. How could it
not, following these two young bodies around? To make it worse,
because of their age, their scent is that much stronger and that
much more appetizing, but there is another something in him that
keeps him in check. Something in him keeps him from ripping these
kids apart. He doesn't understand it, any of it, but he obeys it.
He looks at Margaret's face smiling ear to ear, and has no
intention of feasting upon it. For now, the rotting sirloins will
do just fine.

LEFT 4 DEAD

So the crew of three settle
down for the next few days in their cornucopia of produce, their
sweet distraction from the world outside. There is no lack of
things to do. They even set up a small entertainment section in
their living area, equipped with a sixty-inch flat screen
television, DVD player and Xbox 360. Searching through the video
games, Billy introduces Margaret to two of his most favorite video
games of all time.

Billy:
"Right 4 Death 2", and… Oh, my God… I haven't even played
this yet!

He holds a copy of
"Inhabitant Devil 6" up to Margaret's face, and she smirks
awkwardly. She plays with him and enjoys herself for
almost
half a minute but
ends up wondering to herself how he can play this stuff when he is
now living in the same world the games are depicting.

Billy:
I
don't know. Why did people ever play GTA when they could just step
outside and hijack cars for real?

Margaret has no idea what
GTA is, so she excuses herself and goes exploring. She has her own
fun with the clothes and makeup and returns to Billy, who is still
sat in front of the television, in whole new attire from head to
toe. Even her hair is cut a little short.

Margaret:
What d'you think? Much better, no?

She wears a bandana around
her head just like Billy, but hers is pink and white and partly
covered by golden bangs dangling from each side of her head. On her
torso she wears a simple tight fitting white tank top and her legs
are covered in loose fitting camouflage cargos, just like Billy's
except in black, white and grey.

Billy:
I
don't know how well the pink headband will do for keeping you out
of sight, but you look… pretty much like me.

Margaret:
(walking over to him)
Good.
That's what I was going for. I'm keeping the bandana, though. Uhh,
may I make a suggestion?

Billy:
Sure, I guess. What is it?

Margaret:
Change your clothes and take a bath… like, a sink bath. Now
that I smell good, you smell like garbage… and I think there's a
little fish in there too.

Billy:
Uhh, okay... Let me just get past this next
part.

Margaret:
Ugh, fine…

After forty-five minutes of
playing, Billy finally leaves to go clean himself up. Margaret
waits in her beanbag chair, skimming through the current issue of
US Magazine.

Margaret:
Yeesh, Selena… Why would you even
think
of wearing something like
that?

It doesn't take to long for
Billy to return. When he does, Margaret tosses the outdated
magazine aside and gives Billy her full attention.

Billy:
So?
They had exactly what I needed.

Billy stands before her,
arms spread. He does a casual three-sixty spin so that she can take
in the whole outfit, which is exactly the same as the one he had
been wearing a half an hour before, only with fresh
garments.

Margaret:
It's… perfect... And I can hardly smell you… You..
did
use the soap
I left by the sink, right?

Billy:
(taking a seat in his own bean chair)
Yea, but the smell isn't just gonna disappear after the first
wash.

Margaret:
Mine did.

Billy:
(picking up an Xbox360 controller)
All of that scented lotion and perfume you're wearing helps,
buuuut…

Margaret:
(gasps)
Really? Are you
serious?

Billy nods and un-pauses
his game so he can continue his ID6 adventure. Margaret takes a
couple of mini whiffs of her underarm, and on closer inspection she
understands what Billy means. She shrugs, leans back, and watches
him play for the rest of the evening.

They fill their days with
play, finding those guns that shoot Styrofoam bullets and firing
them on each other as if they are the things they are hiding from.
They fire on Abe as well, flanking the oblivious rotting flesh bag
who gets shot in the face multiple times. Yet remains his usual
clueless self, chewing on a piece of raw meat while getting pelted
in the head. They also test out the real guns from the hunting
section. Margaret remembers the three 9mm bullets she has in her
bag and she makes Billy load them up into their respective
firearm.

Margaret:
(aiming into a wall of mattresses)
So, I've never done this before. Any
pointers?

Billy:
Mmm, I not fond of guns, myself. My foster dad took me to a
range a couple of times. I just never really got into them. There's
something about them that seems too easy. No skill required… sooo,
yea… The only thing that might surprise you and that you should
probably be aware of is the recoil. That, and breathe slowly. Fire
on the exhale.

They had both expected the
noise, but what they didn't expect is the echoing effect the empty
store would have on it. It is incredibly loud and scares the crap
out of the both of them.

Margret:
Uhh, maybe you're right. Maybe we shouldn't use these after
all.

Billy:
Fine by me. I hate these things anyway. Too easy. Too loud.
Does this place have any swords?

Unfortunately for Billy, it
doesn't. Next, they play floor hockey down one of the aisles,
taking turns between attacker and goalie. Margaret attempts
multiple times to perform the famous knuckle-puck, made famous by
Steven Brill's D2: The Mighty Ducks movie; a unique slap-shot
invented by a feature character named Russ Tyler. In the movie Russ
would stand the puck up on it's side and whack the bejeezus out of
it. The result would send the puck twirling at the goalie on it's
horizontal axis while at the same time moving up and down, like a
yo-yo on an invisible string. Margaret fails to get it right each
time. She clumsily tries to set up another puck the way Russ does
it in the movie, with his hockey stick but gets frustrated and
gives up, using her hand as an alternative.

Margaret:
Dammit! I could never get this right!

Billy:
Try
this. When you're winding up to take the shot, bring the stick more
up and above your head, rather than bringing it behind you're
back.

Margaret:
Like this?

Billy:
A
little more vertical. Almost straight up and right behind your
head… Good. Now, keep your eye on the puck. Hit it square, but give
it a little lift. Clear your mind, and just
relax.

Margaret stares at the puck
and begins clearing her mind. She isn't sure what that means
exactly, but she gives all of her attention to the fluorescent
orange puck standing on the floor in front of her. She remembers
hearing something about how watching your breath is supposed to
help you center yourself, so she tries this too, in an attempt to
"just relax". It isn't long before she finds her thoughts
wandering. The first thing that comes to mind, brings her back to
the miserable alley where Roger the fat-man got her father
infected.

<><><>

Everyone leaves the
darkness of the alley and enters the building while Margaret holds
the door open. Her face is cherry red and almost trembling in rage
as she watches Roger slide his thick body past her, trying to get
himself to safety, but it softens when her father enters holding
his forearm. Gary is followed by the brave Australian man, who's
name is Benjamin; Ben for short. She holds the door for them and
closes it behind her, leaving the approaching zombies outside to
bang hopelessly on its heavy metal.

The door leads them to an
emergency stairwell. Roger and the women are already sitting on the
stairs, trying to catch their breath. The women make way for
Margaret's father when they see that he is injured. Roger stays
where he is until he realizes that there is no way both he and Gary
can fit on the stairs. He begrudgingly moves up a few steps so that
Gary can sit down.

Mariam:
Oh
God, Gary! What happened!?

Gary:
I'm
okay. I'm okay.

Mariam:
What happened?!

Gary sits down on the
stairs, and Mariam takes a spot on them beside her husband. The
young girl named Lynn, who is around Margaret's age, stands with
her mother, Karen. The two of them are locked in a hug, watching
Mariam touch and caress her wounded husband's blond head. Margaret
and Ben stand by the rumbling door, watching Gary in just as much
shock as the others, excluding Roger. The handsome Aussie tries to
explain.

Ben:
He
was outside, and…

Margaret:
HE WAS OUTSIDE, AND THAT FAT
FUCK
PULLED HIM DOWN WHEN DAD
WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP HIM!
HE
DESERVES TO BE OUT
THERE!
HE
DESERVES TO HAVE
HIS
ARM SCRATCHED BY ONE OF THOSE
THINGS!

Margaret charges toward
Roger who is sitting a few steps above her father. Ben stops her
before she can even get up one step. Everyone shoots concerned
looks in Roger's direction.

Roger:
He
reached out to help me, so I took his hand. I accidentally slipped
and pulled him a little too hard. It's not my fault. He slipped on
his own.

Margaret:
YOU PULLED HIM DOWN YOU
FUCKING
LIAR!!