The Dark Trinity (Book 1): Shuffle (28 page)

CHAPTER 37 
  HANG IN
THERE

The three travelers made their way down Lincoln Avenue in
Bellevue; the main street which ran through the heart of the small
municipality. Like everywhere else, the ravages of war had left their mark.
Bodies of the dead, the truly dead, littered the street and sidewalks. The
storefronts of all the various shops, diners, and cafes which lined either side
of the road had all been shattered and destroyed. Nathan and Ronnie moved
cautiously as Boomer kept a vigilant watch about eight feet in front.

There hadn't been a single sign of anyone, human or
otherwise, moving about the town. As far as Nathan could discern, the three of
them were completely alone. Ronnie paused a moment, kneading his stomach with
his knobby claw-knuckles.

"Hey bro, hold up a sec," he said. "I'm hungry
as shit, dude. Can we stop and eat something?"

"Sure thing," Nathan replied, feeling the familiar
twang of pain in his gut start to surface. He looked around for some suitable
non-human foodstuffs for them. "Hey, that looks promising," he said,
pointing to an alley which ran next to a Chinese restaurant.

"Oh hell yeah!" Ronnie exclaimed.

They hurried down the short alley, which opened up into a
small parking lot behind the buildings. Along the back wall of the restaurant
sat several large dumpsters.

"Where there's Chinese food, you can bet there are cats,"
Nathan said with a coy grin.

Lifting the lid to the closest dumpster yielded nothing, but
when he opened the next one, three strays leapt out and bolted for the closest
cover. Nathan missed them as they darted out. Ronnie managed to step on one of
them, crunching its head into the pavement. Boomer gave chase after the
remaining two, bringing one of them down after a short sprint. The dog trotted
back to his master, carrying the cat in his mouth. It squirmed and meowed in
vain. Boomer bit down, snapping the neck of his master's supper as he proudly
set the catch at Nathan's feet.

"Good boy Boo!" Nathan praised, giving the dog a
hearty rub behind the ears with his knuckle. Boomer wagged his tail and gave a
satisfied grunt.

They sat in the alley and devoured their meals.

"I just love me some General Meow's Chicken!"
Ronnie jibed, chuckling at his own joke.

"Ugh, that was awful," Nathan said, rolling his
eyes at his friend.

The sound of a door slamming shut, followed by a glass bottle
clanging, echoed down the alley. Immediately, Nathan and Ronnie were alert.
Boomer began his low, menacing growl as he skulked down the alley towards
Lincoln Avenue.

"Boomer, stay!" Nathan pleaded in as loud of a
whisper as he dared. He didn't know what caused the noise, but whatever or
whomever it was, he didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

Determined to protect his pack, Boomer ignored any
inclinations of obedience and continued down the alley. Nathan dropped the
remnants of his cat and gave chase. He managed to catch up to him just as they
both emerged onto the sidewalk. They froze where they stood; Boomer's defensive
growl continued, his long fur puffed up, almost doubling his size. Teeth bared.
Nathan was always amazed at how intimidating his happy-go-lucky dog could
become, if need be.

Standing there before them, in the middle of the street to
their left, was a young man, no older than eighteen. His red varsity jacket was
in tatters; blood smeared all over the white, pleather sleeves. They stared at
each other with equal bewilderment. Wide, petrified eyes bulged out from behind
a pimple-ridden face. Something clicked in the human's brain. His left arm
jerked up. Nathan instantly spotted the revolver in the trembling hand.

"No wait!" Nathan screamed as he threw his hands up
in a sign of surrender.

BANG! BANG! BANG! CLICK...

The terrified teenager unloaded the last three bullets from
the revolver into Nathan. Two in the chest, one in the leg.

"Jesus Christ kid! Do you have any idea how tired I am
of getting shot? All I wanted to do was talk to you, but NOOOOOO, you had to be
a big man and pump me full of lead..." Nathan berated the kid as three
deformed bullet slugs emerged from the new gunshot wounds. One by one they hit
the ground with a dull thud. The high school senior stood in horror as the
bullet holes healed in front of his eyes.

Before he could turn and run away, a monstrous claw burst
through his chest. The talons opened, dropping his heart on the pavement.
Ronnie pulled his arm back through the teen's torso and tossed the young lad's body
onto the sidewalk.

"Dude, you don't have to kill EVERYBODY we encounter,"
Nathan said, shaking his head. "It would be nice to talk to someone who
isn't dead."

"That asshole just shot you bro. I was just watching
your back," Ronnie replied, licking the warm blood off of his fingers.

Nathan grunted and started walking towards the Family Dollar
across the street. The glass doors which stood vigilant for this fortress of
retail discount were shattered. Broken glass crunched underneath his feet as he
entered. Ronnie contemplated the heart laying at his feet. He knew that he
shouldn't eat it, but he also knew that it would taste so damn good. Leaving it
where it lie, he turned and followed Nathan into the store.

"So what are we shopping for?" Ronnie asked.

Nathan replied with annoyance. "I'm sick and tired of
getting shot every time we encounter a human."

Ronnie couldn't respond on account of his hysterical
laughing. "Dude, I'm gonna start calling you 'Swiss Cheezy'..." he
finally managed to blurt out before falling into another fit of cackling.

Ignoring his friend, Nathan found his way to a small clothing
rack and began sifting through the tee shirts which hung there. Much to his
dismay, they were all geared towards kids. Most of them were some abhorrent
shade of pastel with various sparkle-encrusted unicorns, princesses, and
kittens. His hopes rose when he spotted the only white shirt in the lot,
although they fell once he saw the cartoon panda on the front. The character
was hanging from a tree branch. Above it, the words “Hang In There” floated in
big balloon letters.

"Jesus Christ..." Nathan whispered under his
breath.

Turning on his heels, he walked down the aisle labeled
"Office Supplies" and grabbed a large black Sharpie marker off the
rack. The elongated bones at the ends of his fingers made it difficult to open
the plastic packaging. After a brief struggle, he had freed the marker and
popped off the cap.

"Not to be a dick or anything, but aren't we wasting
time here? I thought we needed to get to your lady?" Ronnie asked.

"We do," Nathan replied. "In a sec."

He laid the shirt flat on the ground and began scribbling all
over the front. Once finished, he took off the tattered remnants of his shirt
and replaced it with the panda tee.

"Well, what do you think?" Nathan asked.

Ronnie read the sentence that Nathan scrawled across the
front.

DON'T SHOOT! I'M A FRIEND!!

He then saw the cute little panda-wanda hanging from the
branch.

"Bro, wearing THAT shirt, even I wouldn't be your
friend," he said with a chuckle.

Nathan replied with a deadpan stare and then headed out the
front door. Boomer had been standing guard outside and gave a little huff as
Nathan approached.

"Good boy," he said, giving the dog another rub
behind the ear. "Time to go. Let's find Mommy."

Boomer perked up, gave a soft bark, and trotted towards
Interstate 279 without hesitation. The two zombies followed, hoping that their
journey would continue without any more incidents.

****************

Approximately ten blocks down Lincoln Avenue from Nathan,
Ronnie, and Boomer, Ali Slavka crouched behind the 2003 Mazda 6. She hugged the
small husky puppy tightly inside her coat. Her eyes darted around, searching
for any sign of the monsters that had been slaughtering everyone all night. She
reached for the closest door handle and gave it a tug; expecting it to be
locked, but by some small miracle, it opened. Within seconds, Ali lay stretched
out across the back seat of the car. The puppy that she managed to save from
the animal hospital where she worked was whimpering beneath her jacket.

“It’s okay little one, we’re alright,” she whispered to the
pup.

She was relieved that the horrid screams outside were finally
fading, even though that signified the demise of those still human. A loud
noise outside startled her. Not wanting to risk looking out the window, Ali
slithered onto the floor in an attempt to melt into the darkness of the car.
The little husky was oblivious to what was going on and hadn’t heard the
commotion outside. A second noise sounded, but this one was all too familiar.
Ali held her breath as the zombie released a long, guttural growl right next to
the Mazda.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she waited, not daring to
exhale. The creature let out a loud, blood-curdling screech. The little husky
perked up immediately and began barking the fiercest bark its little lungs
could muster.

“SHHHHHH...No, no, no...” Ali frantically whispered,
attempting to quiet the dog. “Oh God, please be quiet...”

Long bony claws scraped across the hood of the car as the
thing screamed again. Several other zombies emerged from the darkness and
encircled the Mazda.

Fifty yards away on a nearby rooftop, silver eyes watched the
things surround the human. Muscles tightened across the broad shoulders of the
observer. Claws dug into the ledge of the building as its senses perked. The
human was an innocent. He should intervene.

The crowd of ghouls were toying with Ali; pounding on the
car, shaking it, and hissing at her through the window glass. The door by her
feet crunched as a zombie ripped it from the car. A large, cold claw wrapped
around her ankle with a vice-like grip, pulling her out of her hiding spot. She
screamed as she tried to kick herself free, but the creature’s grip was too
strong. A moment later, she was on the ground. The husky pup bravely stood next
to her barking at the vile creatures attacking them. The circle of zombies
converged around Ali and her little protector.

On the rooftop, the air shuddered as the massive creature
that had been standing there leapt from its perch. Within seconds it had closed
the distance between the building and the human girl.

Ali was paralyzed with fear. She had seen what happened to
people who got caught by these things and the mental pictures of her
disembowelment terrified her. Movement caught her eye, just behind one of the
zombies to her left. She wasn’t sure what she saw; it was as if the air itself
shimmered for a split second.

A fountain of black blood sprayed from one of the zombies as
its legs disappeared from beneath it, removed by some unseen force. Another
flew into the air as its torso separated from its lower body. A deep, loud roar
bellowed, but it wasn’t from any of the things attacking her. This was different...
Something else. A zombie head landed next to her face, staring up at her with
blood-red eyes.

Ali scooped up the pup into her arms and backed herself up
into the damaged car. The unexpected carnage that unfolded before her
captivated the young vet tech. The shimmer appeared again and with it, more
blood erupted from several of her attackers. Body parts fell like rain. The
unexplainable shimmer began to take form as it was sprayed with a deluge of the
dead's blood.

One zombie remained. A large claw grasped the top of its head
and in one effortless motion, the zombie’s head and spine went flying through
the air as the body fell limp.

Her eyes grew wide. Her savior was even more terrifying than
the things that just tried to devour her. Standing before her, bathed in the
pale light of the moon, was a hulking beast. Broad muscular shoulders, immense
claws, and razor-sharp teeth set in a long snout weren’t even the most
intimidating attribute. Silver, penetrating eyes glinted in the light. She
stared in disbelief. The little husky had stopped barking and looked quizzically
at this new monster before them.

“D...D...Don’t kill me...please...” she whispered.

The beast backed into the shadows until only those silver
eyes were visible. Then, it spoke. Not with words, but with thoughts. Ali heard
a deep, powerful voice inside her head.

[“Do not be afraid. I will not harm you. This is not a
safe place for you. You must run. Travel north, far from this city.”]

The pale eyes closed and just as quickly as it appeared, the
beast was gone. Ali stood there for a moment as she tried to reconcile what her
eyes just witnessed. A soft puppy tongue began to lick her cheek, bringing her
back to her senses. She navigated over the broken bodies of the dead. Clutching
the dog close to her chest, she ran, with no intention of stopping.