I felt the thump of my backpack against my lower back as we descended the mountain together. The road was rutted and muddy from the earlier rain. If we wanted to follow the trucks that stole our supplies it would be easy enough, at least until they got to pavement. Hopefully they didn't pass by the gas station and empty it out already.
Tracy watched the treeline carefully, her eyes shifting left and right. "Relax" I reassured her. "If we do encounter any we'll hear them long before we see them." She gave me a look of incredulity. "Famous last words of every dead person in a horror movie." She said. I had to admit, I loved her spirit.
I tried to strike of conversation as a distraction. "Remember when Jeff gave you that little tub of bath salts?" Tracy instantly burst out laughing. "What a moron!" She said between giggles. "I NEVER gave him any indication that I was even remotely interested in being friends, let alone getting in a relationship with him." I smiled, remembering how she looked at me that day, how I felt as the two of us playfully bantered back and forth. "You know I met him in the city before I left." I said, my tone more serious. "He had gathered a bunch of guys a built a barricade, like a fortress. Seemed like they were thriving in a diabolical and heartless way." Tracy was looking at me in surprise. "What do you mean thriving?" She asked, and almost dread in the tone of her voice. "I mean he had gathered a whole bunch of men together and they were doing whatever it took to survive, with no thought for anyone outside their little group. In fact," I said, pausing for just a moment. "They attacked me, and try to take the supplies I was bringing with me."
Tracy chewed her lip for a moment. "You don't suppose it's that same group who attacked us earlier do you?" I thought about it for a moment. I guess it was a possibility but the guys that showed up yesterday seemed a bit more organized, a little less reckless and a lot more military. " no, I don't think it's the same group of people. Though heaven help us if the two groups find each other. They would either be an all out war or they would combine forces and create a whole new government." Tracys serious demeanor broke as a smile emerged on her face. "Can you imagine Jeff as the president of the new world order?" If there is one person that lacks leadership skills it is him!"
I thought of the experiences I had and what I learned about the virus underground and realized I hadn't told Tracy about any of that. "do you remember when I went down the hatch? I forgot to tell you everything I learned down there." I spent the next hour describing the cages, the map showing the infection spreading, about my mother, and how quickly everything changed. She related to me how she had been waiting for me in the jeep, when suddenly people walking down the street seemed to twist up into horrible shapes and suddenly become mindless monsters.
I reached out and took her hand as we walked. My fingers slipping between hers. I could feel her once soft skin now rough and calloused. My knuckles were bloodied and bruised, but neither of us cared. Up above, the sky was a brilliant blue, with fluffy clouds floating softly over our heads. No matter how bad it got down here, it seemed the world itself had not changed. The mountains were still standing, the oceans and rivers still flowing, the deserts still hot and dry. As we walked through the forest I admired the majesty and resilience of the forests, and began to reflect on the frailty and temporary nature of man. "We truly are small." I said as we walked. Tracy looked at me quizzically and I nodded toward the trees. "Look at those trees. They are older than either of us, and they will be here long after we are gone. I think sometimes we, and I mean humans in general, are so filled with our own self importance that we sometimes forget what a marvelous and powerful planet we live on." Tracy smiled, looking up at the sky. "You're right. We think we're amazing because we can build a skyscraper, but a hurricane can take out an entire city, a tornado can do widespread devastation in a matter of minutes, and this tiny little virus will probably decimate our entire race." I nodded gratefully, knowing that our survival was a gift, one I did not intend to squander.
"There it is, up ahead!" I called out, pointing at the top of the gas station poking out through the trees. "we don't know what we will find there, so let's approach through the forest."
We ducked into the trees on the left and began making our way through the forest underbrush. Stepping first on the side of my foot and then rolling it down I was able to muffle the sound of my footsteps as we approached. Whether living or dead, I did not want to attract the attention of anyone wondering outside. We paused behind a few large trees, hidden behind the thick trees. "Do you see anything?" Tracy whispered as she peeked her head around the trunk. "nothing yet." We sat for a full five minutes, just listening and watching. Satisfied that no one was moving near us or towards us, I picked up a nearby rock about the size of a grapefruit and threw it toward a sedan parked behind the gas station. It hit the hood loudly and rolled down to the ground. We waited for any sign of hostile movement and I could feel my heart beating loudly in my chest, but nothing emerged. I stepped out from behind the tree, waiting for something to hit me or cry out. Still nothing. I took a few steps forward, cautiously, as though I was navigating a minefield. Tracy watched from behind the tree. "Should I come too?" She whispered and I waved my hand back at her, signaling for her to stay hidden.
As I made my way toward the gas station I could see movement inside, the same slow, ambling walkers I had seen the first time I came through. They were still trapped inside, wandering aimlessly through the aisles. Food and snacks were piled high on the shelves, and my stomach grumbled in response. I ran around to the front of the store, seeing the small, dirty sedan still sitting by the pumps. The lights on the pumps were still illuminated, which meant they still worked. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a car than run.
I ran back to the trees, crouching down behind their thick trunks. "The food is still there!" I said enthusiastically. "but there are at least 3 zombies in there. We will have to do something about them before we can get to anything." Tracy looked around. "Should we start with the vehicles? Let's find something that runs and has gas, that way if we get in a pinch we have a way to escape." I nodded pointing to the front of the building. There's a sedan up there that's fully gassed up. I don't think they keys are in it, but the pumps are still working we could take any of these cars." Tracy nodded. "Worst case scenario we have to get inside and kill those walkers. Odds are at least one of them has keys in their pocket."
I picked up a thick branch laying on the ground. It forked at the end and I hefted it to make sure it wasn't too unwieldy. "You can use this to push them aside while I hit them with a tire iron from the trunk of one of the cars. If we are careful it shouldn't be too difficult." Tracy looked at me with hesitation. "A stick and a tool only a foot long? Sounds sketchy to me." I looked around, knowing she was right. "Okay, let's search the cars. There's bound to be something useful."
We split up, checking each of the abandoned cars, gathering anything we deemed useful and bringing it back to the area by the trees. When we were done we had a case of water bottles, a pocket knife, two flashlights but no batteries, an opened pack of beef jerky, a blanket, a rain jacket, a pair of leather work gloves, a tow strap, a Hello Kitty backpack with a pink soccer uniform and some random school supplies, and the coup de grace: a machete. I strapped the shin guards onto my forearms and pulled on the leather gloves. With the knife in one hand and the machete in the other, I approached the front door of the minimart, eyeing the rubber hose tied around the handles. I quietly sliced through the rubber while Tracy held the doors closed, trying not to attract the walkers shambling inside. Once I had cut through it Tracy pulled the door silently and I tapped the glass. They all turned and advanced on us quickly, and as the first one emerged Tracy quickly closed the door behind it. I kept it's focus on me, calling out and smacking the knife against the machete blade while Tracy shoved the tree branch into the handles to secure the door. The zombie hissed at me, it's rotten mouth gaping open in a putrid black hole. I swung at it's head, grazing it's cheek and slicing through the front of it's nose. Thick black liquid oozed slowly out of the cut but it didn't slow its pace. I circled around the sedan, being sure to keep the beast away from the unarmed Tracy. I swung my machete again, connecting with it's skull. The dull blade bounced off the hard bone, but the force knocked the zombie to it;s left agains the car. It's shoulder slid along the window and it righted itself, looking confused but undeterred. It advanced again, hissing with a wet, guttural tone. I swung a third time, slicing it's neck through which poured more of the thick gelatinous goo. "Stop trying to kill it and slow it down!" Tracy called.
I realized I had been going about this entirely wrong, and I leaned down to hack at it's leg, just above the knee. It crashed to the ground, still reaching for me, but now significantly slower. I swung the machete down hard and finally penetrated the skull with a sickening crack. It instantly stopped moving and slumped to the earth.
I relaxed a bit, looking over at Tracy with gratitude, who wore a tremendous smile. "See, that was;'t so hard!" she said. her smile was the same one she wore the day she showed up on my doorstep that early Saturday morning, one of hope and enthusiasm. "one down..." I called out. Tracy pulled the branch from the handles and the door burst open "And two to go!" she yelled with a gleeful smile, as though this were just a big, fun game. I felt my stomach turn as I lurched forward, eager to protect Tracy. As soon as they emerged she spun around, closing the doors in front of her and flipping the deadbolt latch, locking them outside. They banged on the glass fruitlessly as Tracy grabbed a Twinkie from the display stand next to the register and ripped open the package. "Oh man, that's good!" she called out with a mouthful of the sugary treat. "You'd better hurry and dispatch those two or there won't be any left!" How does she do it? Lighten any situation, take the street out of it, even making it a game? She smiled at me, raising her eyebrows as she finished off one and opened another. I smiled back but that smile quickly faded. "Tracy! I called out in horror. Behind you!!"
