Kick at the Darkness (6 page)

“I’m Carey,” the blonde answered. “As in Mariah, not Underwood.”

Lauren’s voice wavered and she tugged on one braid. “What the hell happened? We tried calling nine-one-one a million times and it just kept beeping this loud noise, and now it won’t connect at all.”

Sweat beaded on Parker’s forehead. “What about your cells?” He pulled his out and swiped his finger across the screen.

“They have bars, but no one’s picking up anywhere.”

Parker paced up and down the football aisle and tried all his numbers again. Then he tried his roommate Chris. He barely knew the guy, but would love to hear that he was alive. Straight to voicemail. He left a message just in case.
Chris is probably dead. They’re all probably dead. Please don’t let them be dead.

We’re dead too. It just hasn’t happened yet
.

He took a deep breath and blew it out. He couldn’t panic. That wouldn’t help anyone. Eric was in some bomb shelter. He was okay. Their parents would be safe at the Cape house. They had to be. Dad would have been at work, so maybe he’d left early. Maybe Mom had picked him up on her way out of the city
. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe
.

He rubbed his face and rounded the hunting aisle, calling to Adam. “Want to try Tina again?”

Carey was showing Adam the shotguns while her friends watched. Adam took the phone and tapped in the number. After a minute he silently handed it back, unmistakable resignation pinching his face. Parker wanted to say something, because it had to really suck to be separated from your girlfriend when this shit was going down, but they were supposed to be boyfriends. Besides, what could he say? It sucked for all of them to be separated from people they cared about.

“Do you have the key for the shells?” Adam asked Carey.

She hesitated. “I do, but…are you sure it’s a good idea? Do you guys know what you’re doing?”

Parker found himself laughing. “Of course we don’t. But there are
zombies
out there, for lack of a better word. They’re killing everyone, or infecting them, and I think we can skip the background checks.” His laughter echoed.

The girls edged away, eyeing him uneasily, and Parker recognized there was a tinge of hysteria to his giggles. Yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Then Adam was there, standing right against him, his palm cupping Parker’s cheek.

“In and out.”

His breath was warm on Parker’s face, and Parker closed his eyes, leaning into him for a moment. He opened his eyes and looked into Adam’s. “Okay. I’m good. Sorry. I won’t freak out. How are you so calm?”

Adam smiled for a moment. “I told you—I’m not. But we can’t fall apart right now.” He dropped his hand from Parker’s face.

“Right.” Parker glanced at the girls. Carey and Daniela watched him warily, each with an arm around Lauren, who was crying. “I’m sorry. It’s going to be okay. We’re all scared. I was being a douche.”

Lauren sniffled and wiped her nose. “Are those people really zombies?”

Parker shook his head. “They’re…something. We don’t know.”

“I can’t get in touch with my parents.” Lauren hiccupped with fresh sobs. “I can’t get in touch with anyone. None of us can.”

“Me either. I talked to my brother for a minute, but that’s it.”

Daniela looked to Adam, who stood awkwardly by the shotguns. “What about you?”

Adam shook his head.

Carey blew out a loud breath and knotted her hair into a bun with lightning-fast fingers, the pink stripe hanging down by her cheek. “Okay. Let’s do this. Guns, bullets, knives. What else?”

“Food and water,” Daniela suggested.

Parker realized he wasn’t hungry, which was a bad sign. He was always hungry. He surreptitiously felt his forehead. Was it warm? He felt tired and shaky all over, but that was to be expected, right? 

Carey started handing out orders. “There’s a bunch of granola bars and chips by the cash, and some soda and water. You guys eat, and I’ll get the keys for the ammo.”

“Oh!” Parker called after her. “You don’t have any swords, do you?”

Carey grinned humorlessly. “This is your lucky day.”

“That’s not how it goes.”

Adam gave him the stink eye. “Yes. It is.”

“No. It’s
not
,” Parker insisted. “I know you’re a real tough guy, what with your leather jacket. I mean, as tough as a documentary MFA candidate can get, that is. But that’s not the way it goes.”

“Fine.” Adam handed over the twelve-gauge semi-automatic shotgun and scope he’d been attempting to mount for five minutes. “Please show us all how it’s done.”

With a flourish, Parker lined up the scope, slid open the joint, and snapped it into place. “Voila. Please hold your applause until the end of the performance.”

Daniela giggled, and to his credit, Adam actually cracked a smile.

“Have you handled a lot of shotguns?” Lauren asked.

“Nope.” Parker waved the manual. “I just read the instructions. It’s a bold choice, I know.” He handed it to Adam with a smirk, and Adam began poring over the pages.

Carey returned from the storeroom with a box of protein bars, which she dumped in the middle of their circle. “There are a few more back there. I guess it just depends how much we can carry.”

They’d barricaded the front and back doors and created a nest of sleeping bags in the rear corner of the store by the emergency light. In the afternoon they’d heard the distant beating of a helicopter, but hadn’t been able to spot it from the parking lot or the service alley behind the store.

As night fell, it was uncannily quiet. They weren’t sure where the infected were. Parker hoped that whatever madness had seized them had proved fatal. A stab of guilt followed the thought. He didn’t wish anyone harm, but those people…didn’t seem like people anymore. He just wanted life to go back to normal. Would things ever be normal again?

Daniela hefted her knapsack onto her back. “I dunno. If I had to run with this thing I don’t think I’d make it far.” She pulled it off and began sorting through the contents.

Much of the afternoon and early evening had been devoted to stocking up with supplies. Dried food, water purifying tablets, lightweight shirts, jackets and sleeping bags, and of course weapons. Parker had a machete (an actual
machete
) with a back strap ready to go. It wasn’t quite a sword, but it was pretty close. He’d tested out handling the blade and hoped to God he would never have to use it on anything living. Or possibly undead or whatever.

Now they were examining the guns. Parker tested the weight of the handguns and went for the lightest. He’d watched his father skeet shooting with rifles over the years, but had never tried it himself since Eric was an amazing shot and Parker hadn’t needed to be found lacking in yet another arena.

It was surreal holding a gun. He read the manual and practiced with the safety before loading it and tucking it away in the side pocket of his pack with boxes of bullets, making sure it was within easy reach.

Seriously, how was this
his life
?

“That’s a really cool motorcycle,” Daniela said. “Harley, right?”

“Yeah,” Adam answered. “Softail.”

“Cool. My dad would…” She blinked and tried to smile. “He would totally love it.”

In the silence that followed, Parker managed to swallow down a cough. The congestion was getting worse, and his nose was running. “It’s definitely cool. Really classic. Um, everyone have enough bullets? Not that I know what ‘enough’ is.”

“It’s not like we’re going to have to use any of this stuff.” Lauren shredded a granola bar wrapper into long silver slivers. “This isn’t like… Someone’s going to come for us. This isn’t a movie. The army will take over and rescue us. They have to. It’s their job.”

They all looked at each other around the circle, their faces creased and tired.

“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll come tomorrow,” Adam replied. “We should hang tight and be prepared. Just in case.”

After an awkward silence, Daniela shivered. “It’s getting cold in here.”

“Sorry,” Carey said. “The electricity’s out. The emergency light is powered by the backup generator, but there’s no heat. It’s been a warm September, but you know how the temps dip at night here.”

“Why would the power go out?” Lauren asked.

“It wouldn’t take much,” Adam said. “One pole gets hit by a car, and the line’s broken. And if the people in the power plants get infected…”

“But if the lines are okay, the power should still run, right?” Parker asked. He’d never really thought about how electricity worked. Sometimes it went out, but it always came back on before too long.

Adam shrugged. “For a little while, I guess. But those power plants don’t operate on their own. I don’t know much about them, but I remember visiting one on a class trip when I was a kid. They seemed pretty complex. They gave us a demonstration on how one little thing going wrong could trip the whole system. And the grids are connected. They said it was only as good as the weakest link. That’s why blackouts can happen over a wide area.” He shook his head. “I don’t know why I remember that.”

“And I guess the internet won’t work without power,” Carey said. “I mean, if you had electricity, you could post something, but our ISPs need power for us to read it.” She took out her phone and tapped it. “The network’s still up, but I can’t connect.” She smiled wryly. “I guess we get to find out what life’s like without smartphones. My mom’s always saying I’m addicted.” Her smile wobbled, and she took a shuddering breath. “Daniela, let’s go get hats.”

They disappeared down one of the aisles. Lauren started on another wrapper, and Parker toyed with the laces of his sneakers, tying and retying them.

Carey and Daniela returned with a selection of hats and gloves for everyone. Carey pulled a blue ski hat over her bright hair. “What do you think?”

Lauren frowned. “I don’t know. Try the green one.”

Daniela rolled her eyes. “Is it warm? Because I don’t think the zombies will be judging our fashion sense.”

Carey pulled off the hat and patted her hair, tucking stray bits behind her ears. “I guess they won’t.” Her eyes glistened. “How is this real?”

Lauren’s lip trembled, and Parker had to take a deep breath and beat down the rising panic. They were all on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and it wouldn’t do anyone any good. He snatched up one of the hats, which had ear flaps and a pink pom-pom on top. He went up to his knees and pulled it over Adam’s head. “Yes or no? I think it really brings out his eyes.”

Adam scowled, but didn’t take off the hat. As the girls laughed, he watched Parker intently, and Parker’s heart skipped a beat. Crap. Was Adam actually mad?

But then Adam lifted his chin and said, “Only if there’s a matching scarf. I have standards.”

Parker joined in as the girls laughed harder, and Carey ripped open new bags of tortilla chips and Cheetos and passed them around. The store only carried the small size, so they’d gone through quite a few. Parker ate a handful, chewing them well and wincing as he swallowed. He found himself shivering, and hoped it was because of the temperature and not his worsening symptoms. The chips weren’t helping his sore throat, but he’d never been able to resist salty goodness, even when he wasn’t particularly hungry.
Just be normal. Everything’s fine
.

He glanced up and found Adam’s gaze on him. Adam had taken off the pink hat, and a bit of his hair stood up at the back. Parker leaned over and smoothed it down, wondering what kind of shampoo he used to get his hair so thick and glossy. When he sat back, he shifted uncomfortably under Adam’s stare. “What?” He swiped at his mouth. “Do I have Cheeto dust on my face?”

Blinking, Adam shook his head and looked away.

“Aww. You guys are the cutest,” Carey said with a grin.

Although Adam’s head was low, Parker could swear he was blushing, and that he’d tensed up. Before things could get weird or awkward, he elbowed him. “Aren’t you going to give me your jacket again, Boobear?”

Adam bit back a laugh and nodded to the green nylon coat folded on top of Parker’s new knapsack. “You’ve got your own now.”

“True.” Parker shrugged it on over his new long-sleeved Dri-fit shirt. “But it’s not as warm as leather. Come on.”

“Forget it.”

“Fine. I’m totally getting a new boyfriend when this is over.” Parker crossed his arms with an exaggerated huff.

“You guys will just have to cuddle,” Daniela said with a wink.

“You know what? You’re right.” Parker nudged open Adam’s bent legs and jokingly tried to crawl between them. “He’s not much of a cuddler,” he stage whispered to the girls, who giggled. It was fun teasing Adam, and they sure as hell could use the distraction.

“That’s because you’re so ticklish,
darling
.” Adam’s deft fingers slid up beneath Parker’s shirt, rough on his skin but touching him lightly.

Parker made an extremely undignified noise. He really was ticklish, and he hadn’t expected Adam to actually pull him close. He squirmed in Adam’s grip, now locked between his powerful thighs. By the time he was able to get Adam’s hand away and sit back between his legs, they were all laughing.