Chapter 83- Eye of the Hurricane

I woke up with a start, sitting up rapidly in my seat. It was quiet. The pouding on the door was gone, and I reached up to turn on my headlamp.  I pressed the button several times but nothing happened. Had I left it on?  The batteries must have died...  How long was I asleep?  I rubbed my eyes, trying to push away the fog in my brain and help my vision see in this thick darkness. I shook my head, wishing away the cobwebs that clouded me.  I remember dreaming of Tracy.  She was walking in a forest wearing a white dress, carrying a basket of flowers.  

I reached for my bag and found it sitting on the seat where I had left it. I fumbled in the darkness, my fingers searching for the batteries in the front pocket. I wrapped my hands around a plastic box that rattled when I picked it up. Flipping the plastic clasp upward I reached in and grabbed three triple A batteries.  I pulled the headlamp off my head and blindly tried to find the battery compartment. This was ridiculous, I needed light. 

I turned the key and saw the familiar dials light up, illuminating the cab in green and blue. I could see well enough to get the battery cover off and I tossed the dead ones into the passenger floor before replacing them with fresh alkalines. Clicking it on, I looked around. Everyone seemed intact. I turned the key off and stepped out of the van, looking at the door for signs of damage. 

I immediately noticed light at the bottom edge. It looked like sunlight.  Had I really slept all night?  Perhaps I had underestimated how exhausted I was.  I looked at the light, waiting for the shadows of feet shambling by.  Nothing.  Had they really moved on?  If I had been asleep all night, silently snoozing away in my cozy little cab then there was a real possibility that something else had caught the horde's attention.  Then again, I could raise that door and be greeted by hundreds of undead faces waiting just around the corner.  

I debated internally.  I could wait longer, get some kind of confirmation that they had truly left, or take my chances.  My stomach rumbled.  I must have been asleep for a while because I was starving again.    

I climbed back into the van and reached into the box of MREs in the back.  I stuffed two in my backpack to replenish the ones I had eaten last night.  I needed that bag to be ready to go in case I needed to abandon the rest of the supplies.  I grabbed a third MRE from the box and flipped my knife open, slicing its little plastic belly to get to the goodies inside. I removed the largest packet, inspecting it to understand its contents.  Salsbury Steak.  Not the ideal breakfast, but under the circumstancesI was  grateful to have food at all.  I thought of the kid on the roof of my building.  Was he still alive?  I gave him a chance to come with me, to enjoy a delicious Salsbury Steak dinner.  He chose to stay on the roof.  I shouldn't feel guilty about my meal, should I?  I found it more difficult to swallow the next few bites, and thought through the logistics of sharing at least a few packets of food with him.  Was that merely prolonging the inevitable?  No, it was just human. I bowed my head and whispered a silent prayer over my food and asked for a watchful eye over my young friend.  

I finished my meal and turned my attention back to the decision at hand.  Open the door or stay inside? It was worth a peek at least, right?  I couldn't see any shadows, which either meant they were gone, or the light was positioned in such a way that their shadows wouldn't be cast my direction.    Having no idea what time it was I couldn't tell if the shadows should be there.

I laid down on the dirty concrete floor, angling my head to try and get a glimpse of the road outside.  Pressing my face on the ground, I moved my head left and right, forcing my eye to it's optimum angle in an attempt to get the best view of the exterior.  I could see a few inches out, but no further, and I didn't see any sign of walkers. 

Hopping to my feet, I reached into the can of the can and retrieved one of the rifles. Checking to make sure it was loaded and the safety was off I stood near the corner of the door and reached downward to the handle. I unbolted the gate and lifted slowly, trying to minimize the amount of noise I made.  After lifting up up a few inches I stopped, waiting for the inevitable crash of infected bodies attracted to the sound.  I kept the barrel of my rifle trained on the sunlight streaming through the opening, hyper alert to every sound, but only the soft whisper of a warm breeze pulled in, making a low mournful hum as it slipped past the door.  I reached down and lifted a bit higher, this time about waist high. 

I crouched down and gasped. It was like a tornado came through while I was inside. Garbage was everywhere, strewn across the street like the aftermath of a horrible concert. The smell was awful. Piles of rotten...  What was that exactly?  Small piles of something putrid and black  sat spaced out every few feet. Was it zombie feces?  It would make biological sense, but I had never seen or heard of anything like that. Most of the zombies I encountered were wearing pants too, so unless a number of naked walkers were through here I didn't know how that could even happen. I pulled my shirt out of my jacket and stretched it over my nose, hoping to mask some of the horrible stench. It didnt seem to help. 

Raising the door all the way I stepped out cautiously.  There was no sign of the horde that had been banging down my door just a short while ago.  Had they moved on?  I peered down the long aisles toward the entrance.  Still no sign of life, if you could call it that.  I rushed back to the van and turned the key in the ignition.  The engine roared to life and I shifted into gear and headed toward the entrance.