(Book 2)What Remains (27 page)

“He’s hinted at the same with me. I thought I
nipped it in the bud, but apparently not. Aside from Maddox bugging
you, why do you think we need to stop? Our supplies aren’t in that
bad of shape… correct?” I asked, trying to recall a mental
inventory of what we were able to escape with.

“Toilet paper.”

“You mean to tell me that we have gas, food,
ammo, water and God knows what else but fucking toilet paper is the
one thing we forgot?”

Sarah smacked my arm for the volume of my
profanity. “No, we didn’t forget it. There was easily two months’
worth in the car. Are we in our car?” I rolled my eyes, ready for
her trademark sarcasm. “That’s right, we’re not. Including the few
rolls I grabbed from under the sink in our bathroom, we have two or
three weeks’ worth. I’m sure your parents have some but with four
extra people there we’ll go through it fast.”

Now it was my turn to raspberry because she was
right. “What else do we need?”

“If the pharmacy isn’t picked over we could use
some antibiotics, prescription pain killers and whatever else you
can find. When you were recovering you ate through the majority of
the old drugs we had in the house. We need to start thinking about
the long haul. Who knows what we might need in four months?
Assuming we can stock up now then we have to take that chance.”

Calise popped into the driver’s cab with a
massive smile beaming from ear to ear. She passed a plate over
Sarah to me. “Here’s lunch! I made it special for you, Daddy.
Because I’m a great sandwich maker.”

I took my eyes off the road for a second to see
her creation. The bread was cut to make a very geometric heart
shape. Peanut butter lightly outlined the crust removal. I imagined
her carefully cutting the crust off with the same knife she had
just used to spread the filling. If I wasn’t tied up that the wheel
I would have smothered the sweet thing with kisses. “Thank you,
Princess! It looks amazing! Go on back with Monkey and eat. Mommy
will be there in a moment.” She scooted past her mother to plant a
kiss on my scruffy cheek then disappeared into the back giggling.
That girl had always had a skill to persistently melt my heart and
frequently used the ability at its fullest.

“That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,”
Sarah said quietly.

“Yeah…” I sighed. “Yeah it was.”

One of the infected fell out from behind an
abandoned eighteen-wheeler and appeared in our field of view so
suddenly that I had to jerk the wheel to avoid a collision. In the
split second it was visible we saw its horrid figure. The
creature’s jaw hung down so low I’m surprised it was still attached
and not only was its left arm missing, so was enough of its
shoulder to leave a jagged collarbone sticking out.

Sarah practically fell into my lap. “Whoa! Baby,
I don’t know that this is the right place for a move like that,” I
said trying to conceal any sign of being startled.

She smacked me in the same spot our daughter had
just kissed. “We’re stopping at the pharmacy, right?”

I grumbled at her persistence. “We will check it
out. Maddox can help if it looks clear enough.”

The parking lot was empty. Plywood covered every
glass entry to the tiny, freestanding building. At first glance
from our idling position at the entrance off Route 58, the place
looked entirely untouched. Sarah was back at my side after giving
Maddox a stern lecture about following my instructions.

“What do you think?” she asked while retying the
bindings keeping the homemade armor attached to my forearms.

“I think it looks clear. I’ll back the truck up
to the side there.” I pointed to eastern side where the road
wrapped around to the back for a possible delivery entrance.
“There’s gotta be a back door. I’d rather not break into something
that faces the main road. If we find trouble then the truck will
point to the way out so we can escape in a hurry.”

“Please take one of the walkie-talkies with you.
When you’re inside you can signal me if there’s trouble. Are you
bringing the rifle or the shotgun?”

“No, not with Maddox there. I’m not risking any
crossfire. If blades can’t do the job then we won’t get the job
done. And yes for the radio; that’s a good idea.” I backed 522 next
to the building. “Keep her idling. Watch the mirrors. The radio
will be on but avoid using it unless it’s an emergency.”

I shifted the LLV into park while surveying the
area. A lone zombie shuffled towards us from the street. “Hun, I
need to go clear the front. I’ll be back in two minutes.”

Compared to the frigid morning, the air had
warmed significantly. There was a slight breeze but nothing like
the brisk winds we felt when the snow was approaching. Cloud cover
had grown more frequent; few beams of light escaped the dismal
looking sky.

By the time I exited the truck the single
infected attacker was in the parking lot. “You’re a fresh one,
aren’t you?” I said in reaction to the surprisingly nimble beast.
The infected could be evaluated in many ways, most of which were a
result of how badly decayed or damaged they appeared to be.
Compared to the seasoned members or the horde I’d seen recently,
this poor guy was a rookie.

My emergence from the truck combined with
arrogant teasing had the rookie excited. He growled excitedly while
snapping his jaw hard enough for me to hear it chattering. The
trusted Kukri and I waited for our moment to strike. I pondered
what brought the dead man to this point while he closed the
distance between us. His dress was that of someone who knew
something about surviving. A dark grey balaclava exposed only the
wild black orbs of his eyes. In life this protected him from the
elements; in death the fabric covering was nothing but a thin
muzzle. Behind it I saw the sunken area of his mouth eerily
fluctuating with rabid biting motions. All that I saw hinting
towards injury was the rust-colored smear of dried blood down the
front of his zipped jacket. The poor bastard must have survived
many encounters before his luck ran out.

He neared lunging distance. I beat him to the
punch by jolting forward with a wide swing of steel. The beast also
lunged, but my preemptive strike cancelled his out. My body was
well out of the way from the place he targeted. Instead, the Kukri
met him at his right eye. Maximized by our combined momentum, the
impact hit with devastating force and blazed through his skull,
meeting little resistance. The knitted side of the balaclava
bunched up along the blade’s edge then resisted with a slight pull
once the metal passed completely through his cranium. It was enough
to keep his re-killed corpse from continuing forward; instead it
yanked it backwards in the direction of my attack.

I panted, standing above the corpse feeling very
glad that my assault went as I imagined it. The rookie’s remaining
eye stayed open, while the one that met the Kukri oozed black down
the trench I’d carved through his skull. Viscous tar coated the
steel of my precious deadly companion. I wiped it against his
jacket to keep Maddox from asking questions.

“Sorry, man,” I mumbled down at the still body.
“I have a feeling you would have done the same to me if the roles
were reversed.” I considered coming back to check his pockets if
the pharmacy raid was successful. Looting my kills was a deplorable
thing to consider and I knew it, however, survival didn’t always
mesh with morals.

With the front of the building clear I jogged
towards the back. Thankfully there wasn’t a soul in sight. All that
was back there was a dumpster and some stacked boxes. I could see
the back door that we’d attempt to break through. At the truck I
cracked the door to grab the crowbar off my seat then called to
Maddox. Sarah looked out at the newly placed cadaver where we
entered the parking lot then looked back at me. Her face was ripe
with worry over a task that she had originally suggested. I started
to press the buttons on my wristwatch while I talked. “Sweetheart,
you can’t do that to yourself. I’ll be right there with him. We’ll
be driving again in a few minutes. In eight minutes I’ll radio in,
assuming we’re not back by then. If we’re not back in ten minutes
then lock Calise in the truck and come after us with the
rifle.”

Tears welled in her eyes; the last part of my
instructions came out like an acknowledgment that a problem was
possible. Even though problems in the plan
were
entirely
possible, Sarah didn’t need to think about it. “If there is a
single sign that this isn’t right, you know I’ll pull the plug on
it. We’re not here out of desperation, we’re here out of
convenience. Eight minutes, promise.”

She nodded and handed me an empty backpack for
anything we might find. “Come on, Monkey. Daddy is ready for
you.”

Maddox materialized in a flash with his machete
in hand. Knit gloves with skull and crossbones covered his hands.
The hood of his jacket covered the mess of hair that topped his
eager face. “Ready!”

Sarah stopped him on the driver’s seat. “Stay
with your father.
Do everything he says
.”

“I know, Mommy, I know,” he said, trying to
conceal his exacerbation. “Just like we talked about.” He kissed
her on the cheek before he jumped out.

I looked at Sarah through the glass. She held up
eight fingers back at me. I nodded, pointing at my watch with the
Kukri. Then we were away. I guided Maddox to the end of the van. He
tried to say something but I cut him off, “No talking until I say
otherwise. Talking makes noise. We don’t want noise. Stay beside
me. If you see something then you tap my arm. We’re going to try
the back door. If we get in then you guard the door while I run
inside. While you’re there if something comes then you get my
attention however you can. One sign of trouble and we’re done. Got
it?”

He swapped the machete from one hand to the
other in order to give me a sweet salute. “I don’t want to remind
you that you’re here as a lookout -
not
as a fighter. If you
won’t accept that then get your butt back in the truck.” He didn’t
move, so we carried on.

We stealthily walked side by side around to the
rear of the building. Trees backed up to the pharmacy past the
loading area. The setting was reminiscent of my trip to the post
office, in many ways. Much like my time there, the back of the
building was entirely vacant. Maddox did his part in staying at my
side with his weapon at the ready.

Two minutes later we were at the rear door. I
motioned for my soldier to freeze while I tried the doorknob.
Surprisingly, the handle twisted without any resistance, which
meant it wasn’t locked. I gradually turned it, recalling how loud
doorknobs can sound when you’re sufficiently paranoid. With bit of
pressure the metal framed door cracked open. Such an easy entrance
was startling; I expected a deadbolt to be in place, at least.

Time was against us, and there wasn’t enough of
it to question the good fortune of a door that was likely left open
in the panic of those first days. Keeping my hand on the knob in
case it had to be quickly shut, I turned my ear towards the
darkness inside. Maddox looked at me quizzically. I shrugged, and
then licked my lips enough to direct a quick whistle through the
crack. Then we listened again only to hear nothing back.

It was empty. If a reaper had been inside the
building it would have made some reaction to the sudden noise at
the back of the store. I pointed at the ground to remind the boy
where he needed to be. He nodded. We both looked at my watch, which
showed five minutes and a few seconds before the scheduled check
in. Again I felt my heart pound so vigorously that my vision
practically blurred. The crowbar slid through my belt to make room
for a flashlight in my left hand. Some kind of light was glowing
from the inside but otherwise it was a festival of shadows.

When I cleared the door it was the smell that
hit me first. Stagnant rot permeated the musty store. I’d entered a
malodorous mass of air that was pungent enough to trounce the rest
of my senses for several seconds. I gagged, then regained my
composure. A stink that powerful couldn’t have been from rotten
food; there was something dead in the store. Reanimated corpses
didn’t even smell like that, the virus probably stalled
decomposition long enough for it to spread to other hosts. Ripe
corpses, that hadn’t been polluted by the infection, would still do
as nature intended. Since the air inside had to be fifteen to
twenty degrees warmer than the outdoors it made sense that a body
could still create such an odor.

I looked at the door to see Maddox pan his head
back and forth as he kept watch. Having him out with me was
terrifying. Although, I wouldn’t have ventured inside the store if
someone hadn’t been there to watch my back. Since Calise shouldn’t
be alone, I knew it had to be him. I was as furious with myself for
allowing it, as I was proud of him for rising to the task.

Stock was knocked into the isles. Much of what I
could see was in total disarray. All things considered, though, the
store hadn’t been looted. Randall’s suggestion to stop here was a
good one. Everywhere I looked there were items worth taking: a
six-pack of meal replacement shakes for dieting, mixed nuts,
batteries. The bag quickly filled with goodies to the point that I
needed to hold off on more to save space for prescription
drugs.

The pharmacy counter occupied a rear corner of
the store on my right side. A skylight, the light I’d seen from the
doorway, glowed off center towards that area. My flashlight beam
danced along the floor as I quickened my pace in fear of our
remaining time. I continued to seek supplies while expecting to see
the mystery decomposer that was the source of the noxious odor
choking my airways.

Something caught my eye on a shelf to my left. I
turned the light at it to see a tiny stuffed lion. An unavoidable
smile grew at the thought of a little girl that would happily give
the plushy animal a home. I tossed a bag of cheese puffs out of the
backpack to make room for it. The bag crinkled on impact with the
tile making me cringe. I looked down at it and noticed spots
dotting the speckled floor that I assumed came from a bag of
instant rice that scattered when dropped.