CHAPTER 15: THAT'S THE WAY IT IS
September 4th, Late Afternoon
The group slowly made their way north, looting farmhouses and abandoned vehicles as they went. As much as Harlan and Anthony warned against passing through Fallas Lake, it was also the fastest way to Riverside.
But making the journey on foot? Grueling, to say the least. Everyone was tired, but Hilda lagged especially behind with Junior.
As the sun started to set, the weary group spotted a large farm off one of the back routes. A couple houses, some stables, a barn, and no unwanted visitors in sight. Harlan's aching feet carried him towards the darkened complex as the rest of the group followed.
He tried the front door, locked. Front windows wouldn't budge. Except, the back door was left wide open.
"This doesn't smell right to me," Carr said, fingering her rifle's trigger.
"We can try the other houses," Anthony offered, "Or the barn. I've never slept in a barn before."
"It's every bit as glamorous as you've been told." Harlan grabbed the door's handle and slammed it as hard as he could, opened it again, and waited. Anthony shone his flashlight into the house. Deeper inside they could make out a small laundry room connected to a longer hallway. After a few moments, a man in bloody coveralls staggered into view, making Junior scream. Hilda pulled him away from the house as the other three prepared to take him down.
The man's bushy beard was caked with dried blood, his mouth gnashing at the potential of another warm meal. He passed through the laundry room and into the yard, only to get whipped in the back of the skull by Carr's gun.
He fell, Harlan swung his axe, and he was gone.
Before they could celebrate, another two gurgled into view. Anthony kept his light trained on them as Carr and Harlan took them down. A third tumbled out of the laundry room, followed by another, and another.
"Alright, fuck this!" Carr whipped her rifle around, planted the stock on her shoulder, and opened fire. Her muzzle flashes briefly illuminating the gruesome scene as undead bodies stacked up next to the door. Gunshot after gunshot rang out as Junior continued crying in the background.
Once the dust settled, there were more than a dozen expired deadheads laying on the ground. Carr spat on them. Anthony gingerly stepped over one of the corpses and rapped his hand against the door.
"Exterminators! Anyone home?"
Silence. He shrugged. Carr slung her rifle around her back and pulled out her pistol.
"Skinny, you stick with Hilda. Harlan, come with me."
"My name's Anthony."
"His name's Tony." Both men spoke over each other, eliciting an eye roll from Carr.
"Okay, Tony, you babysit." She waved at Harlan to follow her inside.
Immediately, they were hit with the stench of rot. Passing through the hall, everything inside seemed quite pristine for this deep into the end of the world. At the end of the hall was a staircase. Harlan kept his light trained on the handrail as they came around, upstairs was pitch black.
He put a hand on Carr's shoulder and passed her, brandishing his axe in both hands as he began climbing. The steps squeaked underneath him, the stench growing stronger as he reached the second floor.
Harlan felt his heart beating in his hands. At the end of the second floor hall was a door, stained with blood and scratched by undead hands trying to get inside. Carr was close behind, pistol in hand. The two sweeped the other rooms, finding a few beds and a bathroom, before standing before the bloody hall door. Harlan held his hand up, pausing for a moment, and knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
"You know, the definition of insanity is-"
"Yeah, I know Mrs. Carr."
"It's Miss Carr now, Mr. Delgado." Harlan gave her a sarcastic thumbs-up and tried the doorknob. Locked. He stood back, raised his axe, and began chopping at the wooden door. After a few swings they could peer inside, finding the source of the smell.
A very small woman in the fetal position, long deceased. An empty bottle of bleach laid next to her. Neither of them spoke as they headed downstairs and back outside.
Anthony was sitting in the grass with Junior, showing him some kind of game where you clap your hands together with the other person. Hilda sat quietly next to them, smiling.
"Hey, uh," Harlan hated to interrupt the fun, "This house is no good, let's check out the others."
The group obliged, and soon set up for the evening in one of the neighboring homes, blinds drawn, doors locked. Carr, Hilda, and Junior took the only bedroom, leaving the two men to sleep in the living room. They split a can of corned beef from the cabinet and threw some blankets around to make a semblance of a sleeping space. Harlan rested his head on Anthony's chest and wrapped an arm around his partner.
"Are you gonna tell me what was wrong with the other house? You know, the one with beds for everyone?"
"It stunk to high heaven up here. We found a dead girl in the closet." Harlan rolled onto his back and stared at the pitch black ceiling. "I think she killed herself because she got cornered by them."
"Jesus," Anthony sighed, "It smelled that bad?" Harlan playfully slapped his chest.
"If you want to marinade in the stench of death, that's on you. But don't expect any hugs from me." Anthony rolled over onto Harlan and kissed him.
"When you put it like that, the floor's not so bad." They held each other for a few minutes and traded kisses before dozing off.
Part-way through the night, Harlan was woken up with a shake of the shoulder. He shot up.
"WHA- Wha. What? What is it?" He couldn't see in the dark, until a beam of light illuminated his nighttime visitor.
It was his nephew, squinting in the harsh light.
"Hey, what's going on? Where's mami?" The commotion roused Anthony from his sleep.
"She's sleeping." Junior sat down on the floor next to them. "I had a bad dream."
"Wanna tell us about it?" Anthony asked.
"No. It had monsters in it."
"Well," Harlan put his hand on his nephew's back, "You're awake now, and you're safe. The monsters aren't gonna get you." He looked at Anthony. "None of us are gonna let them get to you."
"I don't like monsters."
"No one does, kiddo." Anthony said. "They smell so bad, don't they?"
"Yeah, they made mami sick."
Wait.
"They made mami sick?" Harlan kept his voice down.
"Yeah."
"How?" Harlan felt a ball forming in his gut. Anthony leaned in.
"She threw up."
"She's throwing up?" Worry crept into Anthony's voice.
"Yeah. When I throw up at school they send me home. But we can't go home now."
"Harlan," his uncle began, "Did any of those monsters ever touch your mom?"
"I don't know." Harlan shot a worried glance at Anthony. "But she's sick."
"It might be an infection," Anthony started, "Your uncle had a nasty one last month."
"Maybe." Harlan thought for a moment, "Does she have any boo-boos?" Anthony looked at him funny and he shrugged.
"I don't know."
"What if she's pregnant?" Anthony asked aloud.
"Then we've got a whole other world of problems coming our way." Harlan laid back on the ground. "Either way, we'll have to deal with it tomorrow. You head to bed, kid."
Junior turned and slowly walked back to his shared room, closing the door behind him. Back under the blanket of darkness, Harlan searched for Anthony and rested his head on his chest.
"I don't know what the fuck I'm doing."
"No one does, Harley, not a single one of us."