III - Rabid Dog
-Four Days Later-
A pair of circular sunglasses was placed down in a table on a room on the second floor of an apartment building in the city of Philadelphia. The sunlight peered through the white curtains and reflected off of the sunglasses.
Preston sat down on a couch as he looked at the glasses. He then folded his arms by his chest and closed his eyes as he softly prayed.
In the next room was a darker room, with Jace lying down on a couch. Luna walked inside, untying her tiny tail of hair behind her head. She lifted Jace's head up and sat where it lied before releasing it, placing his head on her lap.
"I know who you're thinking about," said Luna. "It's not your fault she died. And don't say anything because I know you're gonna say I'm wrong. But just hear me out."
Jace looked up at Luna as she stared at the dark curtains.
"You told me countless times that Leni shoulda' went with you rather than sending her off with Carol and Haley alone. You said if you hadn't, she wouldn't have died. And that's true."
Luna's voice lowered and softened.
"Leni went to save the rogue prisoner. Oliver Jett, in case you forgot his name."
"I haven't," said Jace.
"Haley went to rescue my sister Lynn. So, Leni was safe with Carol, Dr. White, Lisa, Clyde, and some others. But she chose not to go with them. Not after she found the rogue prisoner. And what she wanted to do was do the last good thing she would ever attempt in her life."
Luna sniffled.
"To save a bloody rogue who probably woulda' spit at her the moment he was freed. But Leni still wanted to free him. She didn't care if she died for him. In fact, she stayed even when she knew the buses would leave."
Luna let a tear fall from her eyes.
"Maybe she woulda' lived if she went with you. Maybe not. But you are not at fault, Jace. She chose to stay behind… even when she had the chance to escape."
Luna wiped the tear from her cheek.
"What I'm telling you is that she was gonna pull something like that eventually. If it wasn't then, it would probably be later. She was too good for this world and there's nothing you coulda' done about that."
Jace stood up as Luna sniffled once more.
"I miss her but I also miss you, Jace. You disappear too much on your own. Leni wouldn't want this. I don't want this."
Jace hugged Luna. He closed his eyes and sniffled. From the door, Sam watched the two hug each other in reassurance. She struggled to smile and walked away into the next room.
She gasped as Preston opened his eyes and unfolded his arms.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt…" she stammered.
"It's okay. I just finished praying."
Preston picked up Leni's glasses and placed them in a case.
"Wanna try?" asked Preston.
"Never been a big fan," said Sam. "I always thought God has already damned me to the inferno. I don't think he would wanna hear a lesbian get all straight with him."
"Don't be silly."
"The church's words. Not mine."
"The Lord loves you, Sam. Have a seat. I'll help you out."
Sam sat. She folded her arms as per Preston's instructions. She closed her eyes, even though she felt humiliated doing this. But she would take any chance to move past the loss of her family.
Candy wrappers and tin cans rolled around the streets as a few roamers wandered around the streets. Some moved faster than others, though those that did seemed to look more decayed, with the exception of one roamer, who seemed to have hard fruiting bodies growing in its head, like hard mushrooms.
Lori and David approached from the corner of the alleyway with the group hiding in the shadows, finding a few roamers more than a dozen yards away from them as they peeked at the streets.
"We have to be as quiet as possible," said Lori. "If we want to reach the grocery store at the intersection, we gotta sneak past the roamers."
"What? We can totally take them out," said Becky.
"Don't tell me you've grown scared of them just because they run fast," said Lynn.
"It's not just that," she said. "We're in a city with possibly millions of roamers. Last thing we want is firing a gun and letting the entire city know we're here."
"I see your point," Lynn whispered. "Lead the way."
Lori waited until all the roamers faced away from the alleyway before she crawled across the sidewalk. David, Becky, Bobby, Lynn, and Kotaro followed her, each taking cover behind the wreckage of a car in the middle of the street. They quickly crawled to a parked car next to a fire hydrant. Then, Lori crawled behind a police car, placing each foot in front of the other as softly as she could as she kept her back lowered. David sprinted to the car, though her footsteps were as light as feathers. Next, Bobby moved slowly across the sidewalk as Lynn quickly passed him with quieter steps. Kotaro attempted to cross to the back of the police car, but one of the roamers turned around. It growled, limping down the street away from the intersection.
Kotaro looked at Lori as she held her hand up, peeking through the windows of the police car, noticing the roamer walk towards the parked car. He sat still with his back placed on the side of the car, as the roamer walked to the front of the car.
Lori grabbed her hatchet, squatted, and walked towards the car. But the roamer growled once more, and moved away from the parked car, heading into an alley. After more than a couple seconds, Kotaro quickly moved behind the police car.
"That was close," he mouthed.
Lori nodded as she led her group across the intersection. She arrived in front of the door and noticed the lack of roamers.
"Quick, get inside," she whispered.
Kotaro, however, placed his arms in front of Lori and stopped her from opening the door. He pointed at the top of the transparent door. There was a bell on top of the door.
"Good eyes," she whispered. "Quick, to the parking lot."
The group moved to the parking lot behind the grocery store, now gone from sight of the roamers in the street.
The clock in the living room remained frozen as the batteries were long dead. Lincoln sat on the couch, staring at his own reflection in a small TV. He sighed and grabbed his backpack, rummaging for anything that could take his mind off the worry he had for his group.
"Linky?" called out a voice from the stairs.
Lincoln looked at the stairs and smiled.
"Hey, Lily. Feeling a little thirsty?"
"A little," said Lily as she grabbed a tiny canister. "You look sad. Are you sad?"
"A little," said Lincoln. "We lost a lotta people lately. But I'm mostly worried."
"Are you always sad? Even before this world?"
"What do you mean before this world?"
Lily sat next to Lincoln with the canister in her hands.
"Before the monsters," she said. "When dead people are not monsters."
"There were always monsters," said Lincoln, looking away from Lily. "This is how life is, you know."
"Nuh uh," said Lily. "Leni said there are no monsters before. You're not being right."
"You mean, I'm not telling the truth?" said Lincoln. "Leni… was right. There used to be a world without roamers. I only lied because I didn't want you to be jealous of not knowing how the old world used to be like."
"Jealous? What's that?" asked Lily.
"It's when you're angry or upset about something that you don't or can't have."
"I not feel jealous. I like what I have."
Lincoln looked at Lily and nodded. He grabbed Lily and placed her on his shoulders, reflecting on what she just said.
A flashlight lit up the cabinets in the kitchen. Lana walked away from the kitchen and passed the living room, going upstairs into the hallway.
"Izzy? Lizzy? Where did you girls go?" she called out.
She looked at the end of the hallway and found that the door was opened, revealing stairs that led to the attic. She approached the stairs and sighed.
"I guess I gotta ask Weber," she muttered to herself.
Lana walked up the stairs, lighting up her flashlight. She turned it off as light passed through the circular window to the attic. She saw Weber, who was frozen in place where he stood, holding two living creatures in his hands.
"Weber? What are you doing with Jace's lizards?"
Weber's eyes remained fixated on something past the attic window. The two lizards squirmed around in his hands.
"Hey, man, I asked you a question," said Lana. "What are you looking– AHH!"
Lana's shriek spooked Weber as he gulped. Lana cried out in panic, as she looked at the hanging body in the corner of the attic. The blonde hair covered her neck, though the dark line of the rope could be seen even in the shadow.
"Guys, help! Help!" yelled Lana. "Someone help Carol!"
Weber looked away and dashed out of the attic, bumping into Luan and Benny as they ran up the attic. Lana grew tears in her eyes as her heart began to beat fast. Carol's eyes were shut and drool leaked out of her mouth as her skin began to shift colors as her sneakers hovered above the ground.
"Lana, go!" exclaimed Benny.
Lana ran out the attic as Luan unsheathed her katana. She quickly swung the sword sideways, slicing the rope, and causing Carol's body to drop to the floor. Dr. White walked inside the attic with a gasp as Carol's body thudded against the floor.
"Weber!" yelled Lana.
She ran across the street and made a turn. The roamers from the next street were misled by the sound of her yells as they all headed in different directions.
"Where'd you go?" panted Lana.
Lana looked behind cars, at driveways, passed by lawns, hopped across fences. Then, she heard the barking of a dog.
"You got some explaining to do!" she said as she walked to an alley. "Weber!"
A stray pit bull growled and barked at Weber as he stood against a fence. Lana's presence did not faze the dog as it continued to approach Weber. Weber then tossed one of the lizards in his hands at the dog, causing it to let out a large bark before it chomped on the green reptile.
"No! Why'd you do that!" yelled Lana.
"I'm sorry, the dog scared me!" exclaimed Weber.
Lana shook her head as she saw Lizzy being ripped to pieces by the dog's teeth. She grew angry at Weber and walked closer to him and the dog.
"You're killing a bunch of animals– kinda sick, but are you going to move to humans too?" hissed Lana.
"I didn't hang Carol," said Weber. "She did that herself."
"You left her there to die! Do you understand?" yelled Lana. "She could be dead right now!"
"That would hurt the group a lot, right? Not my dad's death but her death?"
Weber looked at the lizard he held in his hand.
"No one cares about my dad. Not even… this… stupid… reptile!"
Weber then tossed the other lizard in his hand at the stray dog. The dog panted and leaped towards the other lizard, sinking its teeth and ripping its flesh apart. Lana shrieked as the dog munched on Izzy. Her face reddened as she ran towards Weber.
"YOU PSYCHO!"
Lana shoved Weber against the fence and punched his head. She then shoved him in the ground and began to kick him.
"Stop! Please!" yelled Weber.
"Why are you like this?" cried Lana. "You killed Jace's lizards! You're so messed up in the head!"
Weber kicked Lana's shin and pulled her hair to the ground. She yelped as Weber began to slap her over and over. She then punched him in the stomach before he tried to crawl away.
"Come back here!" she spat.
Weber then pulled out his large Bowie knife from his belt and pointed it at Lana. She gasped and slowly crawled back.
"It works," said Weber. "I told you. I only needed this to protect myself."
"You killed Lizzy and Izzy…" sniffled Lana. "Why…"
Weber realized how troubled Lana felt from the deaths of the lizards. He walked towards the dog and thrust his knife up the dog's throat. The dog yelped as it leaped towards Weber, trying to chomp him, but Weber turned it around and continued stabbing the dog in its stomach.
"NO!" cried Lana. "Why would you do that!"
Tears ran down Lana's cheeks as she continued to cry out at Weber.
"I hate you, you stupid idiot!"
Weber dropped the dog's bloody carcass in the ground and frowned, rubbing his nose as he looked away from Lana. She began to sob softly as Weber wiped his knife on the dog's gray fur.
Sweat dripped from Lori's face as she placed her back against the wall of the grocery store where garbage piled up. The group looked at the backdoor and found the bloody mark that they encountered many times since their arrival at the dust zone.
"Another damn X," sighed David. "Something tells me we're going to find the fuckers that are leaving these X's all over the damn place."
"I bet there's a dead body behind the door," said Kotaro.
"Only one way to find out," said Lynn.
Bobby placed his hands on the door handle while David aimed his pistol at the door. Bobby backed away and pulled open the door, hearing a small clutter of noises by an abandoned car as a string tied to the door was pulled as well.
Then, the car alarms went off and multiple roamers stood up from where they were hiding– behind the abandoned cars in the parking lot and inside the grocery store. David fired one shot at a roamer inside the grocery store before lowering his gun.
"Shit," he muttered. "It's a fucking trap!"
Becky released a couple shots from her sidearm before grabbing her machete, the group backing away from the parking lot and into the sidewalks. The group looked at the intersection and saw roamers crawling out of alleyways, limping down the streets, revealing themselves from inside other buildings.
Luan and Benny stopped jogging in the middle of the road as they looked around, hearing the car alarms from blocks away. They both grabbed their swords and continued jogging in the streets.
"Go around this block," said Benny. "Lana and the boy have to be close."
Luan nodded as she ran off in the other direction.
George walked outside apartment building and looked at the direction of the car alarm. Vonda walked out with him, though he held her back.
"Something wrong happened," said Vonda.
"I can tell," said George. "It's coming from where the others said they were gonna go."
His walkie-talkie crackled as David's voice spoke.
"Put all your stuff back into the vehicles!" he exclaimed. "We're leaving the city! Hurry!"
Vonda gasped as she ran inside the house.
"Everyone, we have to leave!" she yelled.
Lincoln and Lily looked at each other with worry in their eyes as Dr. White kept applying chest compressions to Carol. Lisa manually kept Carol ventilated as Reggie whimpered in sickly worry. Luna, Sam, Jace, and Preston walked downstairs, finding Carol in the couch. They all gasped and ran towards her, though Vonda insisted that they pack up their things. Jeffrey ran into the living room with a canister, pouring some water on a rag before placing it on top of Carol's head.
"Roamers are coming, you know," said Vonda.
"They heard," said Hana as she walked out of the apartment building with Kimi.
The car alarm continued to blare throughout the area, causing Lana and Weber to look at the direction opposite of the fence. A roamer growled as it tried to crawl its way through the fence, though Weber and Lana were on the floor on the opposite side. Then, Luan peeked at the alleyway and ran inside, using her katana to stab the roamer through the fence.
"What the heck happened here?" asked Luan, causing Lana to stutter. "On second thought, you can tell me later. We have to go, you can't be running off like that."
Weber placed his knife back in his holster in his belt and held Luan's hand while Lana held her other hand.
Luan and Benny ran back to the vehicles, Lana and Weber with them. They found the group members running inside the vehicles, including the ones that were on the supply-run.
"What happened to Carol?" exclaimed Lori.
"She hanged herself… but she's still alive," said Dr. White. "Breathing at least, her pulse is normal, but we don't know how long her body has been deprived of oxygen."
Becky and Bobby carried Carol inside Hana's RV. Dr. White walked over to the RV before turning towards Lori.
"She's very lucky to be alive. But it's possible she suffered brain damage. We don't know if she'll ever be the same again when she wakes up."
"She won't," said Lori.
Dr. White walked inside Hana's RV and closed the door as Lori ran to her seat in Vanzilla. She entered her keys in the ignition switch and started the car, pressing her foot on the gas pedal. The cars behind her followed her as they drove away from the car alarms.
"Wait!" yelled a voice from the sidewalk. "Take me with you!"
Lori looked at the middle-aged man carrying a backpack and a rifle with him though her open window. She grabbed a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.
"Don't stop for him."
The vehicles continued driving past the survivor as he cried out for help. He ran after the vehicles before falling to the ground, cutting his knee. He groaned as a few running roamers that were chasing after the vehicle began to lunge towards him. He yelled as the roamers piled on top of him, diving their teeth into his flesh.
Lori sighed and turned the steering wheel, leading all the vehicles away from the city. The day has yet to be finished, but the group were all out of energy and morale.