Chapter 2
The breeze kept the foul odor of the slop away from the truck cab. As long as it kept the monsters away from their car, Sid and Gerald felt as safe as they could be. The night was dark and smelt of death. As cliché as that may sound, Sid and Gerald were still afraid of what they might find in the depths of their old home.
For a while, the roof of PS 118 was their safe house, until they ran out of their special slop concoction that covered their human scent with its foul odor. Sid's truck still had a few buckets of it in the back, which kept them safe as they drove through 34th street, looking for any survivors.
"There's nothing here Gerald. You're not gonna find what you're looking for."
"Sid, keep it down with the pessimism would ya? Arnold's out here, he wouldn't abandon his home that quickly. Double back onto 33rd again, maybe something's changed." Gerald said. Sid sighed with exhaustion and turned at the next corner. 33rd was just as dead. Sid looked at Gerald in discomfort, with eyes of reassurance. "Flash the headlights." Gerald ordered.
Sid pulled the switch and the beams of light shot outward. Any zombies in front cleared from the pain of the brightness. Gerald stuck his head out the back window and took a whiff out of the slop buckets, graceful yet disgusted that they were still giving off their strong odor which continued to block their scent. Sid clicked the lights a couple more times until he began to hear something. He stopped clicking the lights, and turned them all the way off.
Gerald pulled his head back in, "What is it?"
Sid said, "Out there, by Mr. Green's shop." He pointed to the right. Gerald leaned forward and squinted. Sure enough, there were four figures on the roof of Green's shop, hopping up and down, waving their arms. Surrounding them was a horde clawing at the sides of the building, hungry for their meal. "Let's go." Sid said. Gerald nodded in agreement.
They slowly pulled up and stopped the truck a few feet from the horde that surrounded Green's shop, wanting the flesh on the bones of those four standing on the rooftop. "I'll toss a slop bucket on them, you find a way up to that rooftop." Gerald reached under his seat and pulled out his makeshift machete. Sid and Gerald piled out of the truck. Sid hopped in the back and picked up a bucket. Gerald dashed for the side of the building, jumping a couple blocking his path, running for the side of the building.
"Arnold! Arnold you up there man!" Gerald called. Sid took the slippery bucket in his hands and cast the slop inside onto the horde. Slowly they began to disperse, the slop's odor sealing up their hunger and they began to roam again.
"Arnold!" Gerald called again. A few seconds later, a football shaped head peaked over the side.
"Gerald!" He said. Next, Stinky stuck his big pencil head over the side.
"Well if it ain't Geraldo, in the flesh. You're lookin good sonny boy! Lose weight?" Stinky said to lighten the mood.
"I'd be lankier than you Stinky, who's there with you." Gerald said.
"Stinky, Harold and Eugene. You got room in your truck?" Arnold responded.
"Just enough for the four of ya. Can you handle the smell of slop?" Gerald said.
"What?"
"Slop. I'll explain when I get up there witcha."
"Sure, those bins to your right we used as a ladder, knocked them down so they couldn't get us." Arnold said.
"Copy that Arnoldo." Gerald said. He quickly started to create a makeshift staircase out of the bins and cans piled up at the building corner.
"Got maybe five more minutes before the slop wears off Gerald!" Sid called. Gerald began to hustle and slowly began his ascent up to the building.
The boxes suddenly jerked from under him and before he could topple with them, Arnold was there to grab his hand and helped him up. Gerald found himself on top of the creaky rooftop of Green's shop to see Arnold and Stinky standing beside him, Eugene standing on the edge with his hands in his pockets. Harold was leaning against the exhaust vent, clutching his hand. Gerald started to march towards him.
"What's with big boy Harold?" Gerald asked.
"Oh it's nothing; he had an accident trying to get up here. Broke his finger" Arnold explained.
"Why's there blood all over him? He needed a band-aid for something broken?" Gerald asked, more suspicious.
"Really Gerald it's nothing." Arnold said again.
"Sure don't sound like nothing to you or me." Gerald said, he leaned down and snagged Harold's hand, pulling it away from his own clutches. In horror, Gerald stared at Harold's left hand, missing a finger and green pus pulsating from the open veins. Gerald dropped it and backed away in disgust.
"He got bit." Arnold said sullenly, his head started to droop. Gerald looked at Arnold and back down at him. Eugene noticed them and started to walk towards them.
"It was a good cause Gerald. He did what he could to save us from Arnold's boarding house." "You lost the house?" Gerald asked.
"It's gone Gerald. We had to get out or we were gonna die."
"So you baited our friend to save your own skins…" Gerald murmured.
"I wasn't bait Gerald," Harold spoke up, grunting, "It was the best I could do and my hope got the best of me. Dad always taught me never let hope turn into expectations."
"How much time you got left?" Gerald asked bluntly. Arnold tapped his shoulder roughly.
"Maybe half an hour. If it wasn't for Arnold's pairing knife and cutting off my finger, I would've turned by now."
"That's for damn sure." Gerald responded, he turned and pulled Arnold aside. "Arnold we can't take him with us. No chance to find a cure in that time. We either take care of him now, or let him suffer."
"Two more minutes guys!" Sid cried from the truck.
"Arnold we gotta do it now or never. Harold's a walking time bomb, we can't take him with us!" Gerald raised his voice. Arnold started to speak. But Harold coughed.
"I'll go out there." Harold said. Everybody turned toward him, "I'll go out there and drive them away as far as I can. I'll run south, you guys take the truck to Stinky's house get his truck and get the hell out of here." Harold finished.
"Harold, no, there's got to be some other way."
"One minute!" Sid cried.
"Arnold, you've always had my back for better or worse. I owe you my life anyways for San Lorenzo." Harold said with a smile, "I'll drop down and drive them away. When you hear me hit the ground, you take off and go." Harold stood up with strain but Eugene helped him up on his last leg. Harold looked at everybody and then walked to the ledge of the building.
Arnold looked at him, "Harold..What about Rhonda?" Harold stopped, looked forward and then back at Arnold, "I knew she always liked me. If you see her, tell her I still remember the Tunnel of Love." Harold said. Before Harold turned back towards the horde down below him, Arnold saw a tear shining off his cheek from the dreary sunrise.
"Good luck big boy." Gerald said.
Harold said, "Shoulda seen me earlier Gerald, I was a beast, drove them off a mile."
"Always had it in you Harold." Arnold said with a smile.
"Bye guys, keep me in your thoughts and stay alive." Harold said. With that, he leaned forward, shouted "Geronimo!" and landed on the pavement, thirty feet below him. The zombies barely noticed him as the odor of the slop was slowly wearing off. Harold looked around for a moment, regained his bearings and started to sprint down the street to the left, "COME ON YOU CREEPS! COME GET YOUR MEAL!" Harold cried. Slowly but surely, the horde started to draw away from the building and began to pick up Harold's scent. They started to growl and snarl, before long, they were sprinting down the road after their newfound bait.
The group still on the roof took their moment of silence and Gerald spoke up, "That's that, let's get moving." He turned around, and leapt off the rooftop to the side, Arnold, Stinky, and Eugene followed suit. They ran back around to the front of the building where Sid was waiting.
"Let's get the he double hockey sticks out of here!" Eugene exclaimed. He, Arnold and Stinky hopped in the back of the truck, and Gerald slid into the passenger seat. Sid struggled with the key.
"Come on Sid let's go!"Gerald cried.
"The engine's not sparking! Key won't start the damn thing!" Sid said as he gruntingly turned the key repetitively.
"Let's goooo!" Gerald cried again. Sid continued to struggle until he stopped. A sound echoed down the street, distant at first but slowly started to grow louder. It was a howling screech, like a derailing train scraping the rails as it tumbled. Everybody in the truck slowly turned toward the direction of the sound. What they saw was horrifying. Arnold stared in horror as what appeared to be thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty monsters sprinting down the street charging directly at the truck.
Sid sat in the driver's seat, dropping the key to the truck floor, to no avail.
"Is this really happening fellers?" Stinky asked, his voice shaking and lip shivering.
"I think so Stinky.." Arnold mumbled. Before he knew it, a hand grasped Arnold from behind and pulled him off the truck bed to the floor. Arnold looked up at his captor and horrifyingly gasped at the sight of a zombified Harold, breathing, his chest pumping in and out, white shirt coated with viscous saliva still drooling from his mouth. Arnold could only stare at the stars above as the horde slammed into the truck, overtaking his friends, and Harold bending down to tear open Arnold's throa-
The truck bounced from a rock on the street, the bounce slammed Arnold's head against the window and woke him up.
"Rise and shine Arnold! You done near passed out as soon as we got to the truck." Stinky said, his hands gripping the wheel. Arnold panned his eyes over to the passenger seat, Eugene leaned around and took a look at him.
"Looks like you needed that rest Arnold." Eugene said with a smile. Arnold then looked over to his left side and saw Harold there, his arm resting on the window sill and looking out to the night sky.
"Whe-where are we?" Arnold choked.
"35th street, Harold was lucky he didn't get caught up in his sprinting, getting to the truck wasn't so hard, now was it?" Stinky responded.
Arnold looked out, the apartment buildings towered over, businesses were closed for food, and blood was scraped and caked along the sidewalk, "Go back to 33rd."
"33rd? Arnold, we just came from 34th, what makes you think going deeper into Hillwood's gonna help us?" Stinky asked.
"I just have a feeling. Don't worry, I think we're in the clear. I feel like there's something we have to do there. I don't know what." Arnold thought of his dream, of Gerald and Sid, of Mr. Green's meat shop.
"Whatever you say Arnold." Stinky said. He sighed with exhaustion and turned at the next corner.
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To be continued in Chapter 3