Caroline and the Deserted Town
Chapter 3
A noise had startled Caroline, awakening her. "Richard! Did you hear that?"
Richard, sleeping more soundly than Caroline, had only been roused by Caroline's alarmed voice. "Hear what?"
"It sounded like a window breaking." She heard another sound. "There it is again!"
"It's probably the storm, Caroline."
"What if it isn't?"
"What else could it be? All the people are gone, Caroline."
"What if…what if they're coming back?"
"Who?"
"The sick people! What if they're coming back?!" Caroline's voice was becoming hysterical.
"If it'd make you feel better, I'll check."
"I'm not staying here alone. I'm going with you."
"Suit yourself."
They put on their shoes, then Richard slowly opened the door. Then he heard them. He heard several of them, the same pitiable moans that he had heard earlier. He quickly shut the door.
"What is it, Richard?"
"They're out there, several of them."
"Oh god… What are we gonna do, Richard?"
"Uh… Let's push that dresser against the door and barricade ourselves in."
"What good will that do? We can't stay in this room forever!"
"Remember what the paper said? They only attack at night. Daylight must drive them into hiding. All we have to do is last 'til morning."
"Okay."
Just then, a rock came crashing through the window. Caroline screamed.
Richard thought a second, then spoke quickly "Okay, it looks like even if we barricade the door, they, whoever they are, can still get in through the window. So, here's Plan B – We make a mad dash to an upstairs bedroom, and barricade ourselves in up there. Are you game?"
Caroline took a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's do it."
"Okay, it's dark out there. Hold onto my hand tight."
"I will."
"Okay, on three – One… Two… Three!"
Richard threw open the door, they dashed out into the hallway – only to plow right into one of attackers. Richard's momentum bowled it over, he fell atop it, and Caroline fell atop them both.
The flashlight shining upon its "face", Caroline saw the most repulsive sight imaginable. Putrid flesh rotting on its face, one eyeball barely hung in its socket, attached by a single vein.
Caroline thought "He can't be alive… but… but… he's moving. Like… like a zombie."
Though underneath both Richard and Caroline, the zombie tried to "embrace" them both. Though the zombies were slow and clumsy, they were powerful. Caroline screamed. Richard used the flashlight to bash its arm, scrambled up, and managed to pull Caroline away. As they got up, they heard the sound of step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… from the opening to the lobby. They would have to go through them to get to the stairway!
"Come on!"
Richard and Caroline ran down the hallway into the lobby. A flash of lightning revealed three zombies there.
"I need my hand, Caroline. Hold onto my belt behind me and run!"
Like a blocking back, Richard put his arms in front of him square to his shoulders and plowed through to the other side of the lobby. Caroline followed in the hole he created. They ran up the stairs, down the hall into the furthest bedroom, and barricaded the door with a dresser.
Breathing heavily, Caroline asked "Do you think that will hold them off, Richard?"
"I don't know. All we can do is push against the dresser ourselves and hope for the best."
Like the calm before the storm, Caroline and Richard just rested, their back against the dresser.
"Why don't you look out the window, Caroline? Maybe if they start to push through the door, we can climb down and run away."
Caroline went to the window and peeked through the curtains. When lightning flashed, she gasped audibly. "Oh my god!"
"What?"
"There're dozens of them out there, Richard. We're stuck here."
"Okay, then. I guess we'll just have to wait and hope that daylight comes before they can get through."
Caroline and Richard waited… and waited… and waited. It seemed like an eternity, but it was probably only 15 minutes before they heard sounds from the hallway. The zombies were strong and determined, but not very smart or fast. They heard the step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… of the zombies' movement, then the opening of the door closest to the stairway. The fact that Richard had purposely chosen the bedroom furthest down the hall had bought them a little time. After a little while, they heard another door opening, and then another. Finally, they heard the handle on their door turning…
"This is it!" Richard whispered.
The handle turned again, and again. Caroline and Richard heard a loud groan of frustration, then pounding on the door. Soon they heard another set of fists pounding, then another.
"Not too bright, are they?" quipped Richard.
Just then, the handle turned and a determined shove moved the dresser, Caroline, and Richard back an inch.
"Oops…! I spoke too soon… c'mon, Caroline, let's shove it back!"
Richard and Caroline pushed mightily and almost entirely closed the door. The zombies shoved back and opened the door a crack again, Richard and Caroline responded again, and the processed repeated, seemingly endlessly for several minutes.
"I'm getting tired, Richard."
"Hang on, Caroline!"
Unfortunately for our pair, that's when the zombies decided to try something new. They pushed they door open a little and this time, Caroline and Richard couldn't shove it back all the way. Two of the zombies had continued pushing after their shove.
"I was wondering when they were gonna try that" Richard grimly commented.
Then they heard the third zombie step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… BAM! The door opened a little more. Step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… BAM! A little more!
After ramming a couple more times, the door was forced open enough for one of the zombies to stick an arm through.
"Hit its arm with the flashlight, Caroline! I'll keep pushing!"
Caroline grabbed the flashlight, but fumbled and dropped it. "Oh no!"
"Hurry, Caroline!"
She grabbed the flashlight again and swung it down in an arc towards the blindly groping arm. The blow didn't have much of an effect, but something else did. The light hit the zombie's eyes, temporarily blinding and startling him. He scrambled away. Caroline saw what was happening, and shined the light in the faces of the other zombies, who were also startled, and scrambled away. This allowed Richard to push the dresser against the door, shutting it.
"Whew…! That was close" Caroline said, relieved.
"You just startled them. They'll be back" Richard assessed.
Caroline and Richard sat on the floor, backs resting against the dresser, and relaxed.
Caroline started sobbing quietly. "We're gonna die, Richard."
Richard put his arm around her. "No, we're not."
"Yes, we are! And it's all my fault… I'm sorry, Richard, that I dragged you along, to die because of my stupidity."
"First of all, we're not going to die…" Richard gazed directly into Caroline's beautiful brown eyes, lit only by candlelight. "Secondly, when I do die, I can't think of anything I'd rather see in my last moments than your face."
"Richard…" Caroline responded tenderly. Her lips came closer to his, but…
Richard shook his head. "I'd love to pick this up later, Caroline. But right now, we don't have the time. We need to think of a Plan C. They're stronger than us, they'll eventually get through."
"You're right, Richard". After a minute of silence, she offered "I think I saw a chain on the ceiling in the hallway. It's probably a pull down stair to the attic. Maybe they won't find us there."
"Caroline…! That's brilliant!" Richard was so excited, he kissed her. "Oh, uh… sorry."
"No, Richard… that's okay. I enjoyed it… We'd better go now before they come back."
They moved the dresser, Caroline carefully peeked out.
"Okay, the coast is clear. Let's go."
Out they went. Caroline shined the light on a spot on the ceiling.
"There it is, Richard. Pull it down."
Richard pull on the chain, a pull-down stair to the attic came down. Caroline scampered up, followed by Richard, and they pulled the stair up behind them.
Caroline whispered "With any luck, Richard, they won't find us until morning, and we can escape."
Richard whispered back "Let's listen through the cracks by these stairs. Maybe we can tell what's going on."
Caroline and Richard stayed as still as they could and listened. After awhile they heard several sets of step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… then some confused groans. Then more movement, like all the bedrooms were being searched. Finally, they heard movement away.
"I think we'll be okay, Richard" Caroline said, keeping her voice low.
"I won't feel safe until I see the morning light."
"I know what you mean… Richard – what you said before… did you mean it?"
Richard teased "What did I say?"
Caroline playfully hit his arm. "You know."
"People can say all sorts of things when they're under stress."
"Richard!" Caroline almost raised her voice.
"What I really meant to say was… was… that I love you, Caroline. I've loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you."
"Oh Richard…" Nothing interrupted them this time. They shared a passionate kiss.
"I love you too, Richard."
***
"I love you too, Richard…" Caroline mumbled.
"Caroline… Caroline!" Richard whispered, as he shook her awake.
"Wha…?"
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We're here."
"What?" though Caroline. "Was it all a dream…? But it all seemed so real… not only all the weird things that happened, but Richard, especially Richard. I mean, Richard, complaining and cynical as always, was always there for me, like he always is. And I know why now…because he loves me! Or does he? After all, I only dreamed it... But they say, the subconscious can sometimes pick up on things that we're too distracted to notice while awake. Maybe Richard has given subtle signals that I haven't consciously noticed – but I subconsciously have. Or maybe I just want Richard to have feelings for me. It's so confusing…"
"Are you just gonna sit there all night, Caroline? I mean, you're the one who wanted to come here. Come on, up and at 'em. I'll get our luggage from the trunk."
Jostled from her reverie, Caroline got out of the car. She started looking at Richard with a different attitude.
Richard remarked "Ah, beautiful downtown Kulawakee Lake. Hah, compared to this place, even Peshtigo looks like a bustling metropolis."
"That's what you said be-…" Caroline stopped herself when she realized her "memory" had come from a dream… or had it? After closing the car door, she looked at the hotel in shock. It was the same hotel, down to every last detail, as in her dream. She looked at the sign. "Look, Richard… the Kulawakee Lake hotel."
"Yeah. No extra points for originality, huh?"
Caroline looked at Richard strangely, which he noticed. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing." Caroline thought "It's just a coincidence. I mean, of course it's called the Kulawakee Lake hotel, and of course Richard would make a remark about the name. As for the similarity in the hotels – well, there're a lot of old Victorian houses that have been converted to hotels around here, it's not that uncommon. It's pretty dark in real life now, it was even darker in my dreams. The buildings are similar, nothing more. It's all in my imagination." Still, Caroline had an intense feeling of déjà vu.
"Are you okay, Caroline?"
"Yeah…" Caroline looked at the house. "It's just that… I mean, I'm still just waking up."
"Okay, well let's go inside and check in. It's cold out here and the bags are heavy."
They walked towards the entrance. Everything seemed eerily familiar to Caroline, the stairway, the porch before the front door, the ornate trim. But she couldn't be sure, she hadn't paid much attention to the details of the house during her dream. And, it being a dream, the memories of it were beginning to fade.
"Could you open the door, Caroline? My hands are full."
"Of course." Caroline went ahead and opened the door, but jumped back, startled, as a cobweb brushed her face.
Richard shook his head. "I guess there'll be no tip for the housekeeper, huh?"
Caroline was about to shout "You said that in my dream!" but suppressed herself, knowing how ridiculous it would make her sound. Besides, this Kulawakee Lake hotel wasn't deserted. The lights were on – very dim, which was damned unusual for a place of business, but on. Which meant someone was here. This was nothing like her dream.
They went to the front desk and Richard put the bags down. Since they saw no one there, Richard pressed the service bell. Caroline became very nervous when she heard the footsteps of a man with a noticeable limp approaching from the back. Step, slide… step, slide… step, slide… She was on razor's edge when she saw outstretched arms appear in the doorway. A split-second later, she bolted through the front door when she caught a glimpse of a ghoulish head.
"Excuse us" Richard said, then gave chase. He caught up to Caroline by the passenger side car door, breathing hard, pulling on the handle, unable to get in because Richard had the keys.
"Richard…! Let's get in the car and go, NOW!"
"Calm down, Caroline, calm down. We can't just leave, our luggage is still back there."
"Forget the luggage! We have to get away before the zombie comes out!"
"Caroline… what's the matter with you?" Richard asked, genuinely worried. "He's not a zombie… It's Halloween."
Epilogue
"Oh, uh… Mr. Zombie?"
"Please, it's Marvin. Sorry if we frightened you. Our Halloween effects never did get quite that reaction before. I guess the dim lighting, the fake cobwebs, and my costume were pretty effective."
"Yeah… Marvin. I just… well, never mind. Anyway, I wanted to ask you, have you heard of the "Caroline in the City" comic strip?"
"Love it. Read it every day."
"Gosh, I'm flattered to hear that. I draw that strip, I'm Caroline Duffy."
"Really? I'm proud to meet you! Let me shake your hand."
After they shook hands, Caroline asked "Why would the "Kulawakee Lake Gazette" drop my strip?"
"Oh, the "Gazette" didn't exactly drop it. They were bought out last week by the "Salamanca Press".
The end