After the End (15 page)

Lila grabbed Deb's arm. "Where's Ari?"

Deb shook her head. "Don't know," she panted. "Out there. He may be all right." But the look in her eyes expressed her doubts.

Lila's gut churned. "What happened? How did you get separated?" She couldn't curb her accusatory tone.

"We got the hard drive." Derrick held up Mrs. Scheider's beige leather purse. Carl took the purse from his blood-stained hand, while Mrs. Scheider offered water bottles and rags to the three so they could wash off the blood.

Derrick took a deep drink of water, dampened the cloth and wiped off his face before continuing. "There were zombies. We had to fight our way out of the building. We heard more coming and Ari stayed to give us time to get away."

"I knew them," Julie said softly. "The ones we killed. Carol Stokes' desk was right by mine. I talked to her every day. There was our office manager, Sam Masters, and the janitor. I can't remember his name, but I knew him."

Deb pulled her girlfriend into her arms and held her tight. "It's okay. We're safe now."

Julie broke down then, sobbing into Deb's shoulder. The rest of them turned away, giving the women their privacy. But Lila wasn't finished questioning Derrick. "So what exactly happened? What was Ari doing when you left?"

"I don't know. I was first out the door. I didn't even know he'd stayed behind until after we were a block away. Deb said he was going to hold them off. That's all I know."

Lila bit her tongue. Derrick sounded upset and she could only imagine what horror he'd been through. Bombarding him with more questions to which he had no answers wasn't fair. It wasn't his fault Ari had decided to try to be a hero. If he was here now, she'd shake him until his teeth rattled then kiss him until their mouths fused together from the heat of it. But more than likely he was gone, just gone and she'd never see him again even to say goodbye. She felt sick.

"We shouldn't linger here in the lobby," Joe pointed out. "There are too many windows. We might be spotted." He and Carl blocked the door again, then ushered everyone into the theater.

"I'll stay here and continue my watch," Lila insisted. "You can spell me in a couple of hours." But she knew she'd stay here for the rest of the afternoon and all night, waiting for Ari to return.

The lobby was quiet once more after the door closed behind the others. Lila exhaled a shaky breath and breathed in slowly, but this time her anxiety wouldn't alleviate. She exhaled again and sobs came from her in staccato bursts. She put her hands to her mouth trying to hold them back, but now the dam had finally broken she could no more hold back her tears than stop a river from flowing. Her shoulders shook as sobs wracked her body. Her knees gave way and she sank down onto the floor, covering her face with her hands. She cried for the loss of Ari but also for the loss of an entire world, swept away in the blink of an eye.

 She huddled on the floor by the candy counter and cried until her eyes and her head ached. Afterward, she wiped away her tears and sat staring at the colorful candy bar wrappers, granola bars for the more health conscious, displayed in the case. There was a prominent sign on the door "No food or beverages in theater please" and she imagined the patrons between acts, milling around the lobby having their snacks or going outside to smoke a cigarette. The familiar patterns of life—a Saturday evening out for dinner and a movie, or dinner and a stage show, club hopping, dancing, drinking, bowling, shooting pool, shopping, hanging out with friends—all gone forever.

Lila shook off her incapacitating sorrow, grabbed hold of the candy counter and dragged herself to her feet. This was why she hadn't allowed herself to cry before now. She'd known if it took hold of her, if she allowed herself to experience the full impact of loss, she might not be able to do what needed to be done. Right now that was standing watch. She'd assured Joe he could trust her to keep a sharp lookout, and all she'd done for the last ten minutes was cry like a baby.

Blinking away the last of her tears, she scanned the street, shaded by the buildings across the way. It was late afternoon, edging toward evening, and with every second that ticked past it seemed less likely Ari would return. Lila looked down the street in the direction from which Deb and the others had come. There was no movement, and then, suddenly, there was—right next to her, coming from the opposite direction. She whirled around to see Ari and a few other people running past the window toward the front door. He banged on the glass, demanding entrance. Lila didn't take the time to call for Joe to come and help. She pushed the candy display with all her strength, nudging the cabinet away from the door a few feet then she unlocked the door and stood back.

One by one the newcomers slipped through the narrow opening. There was a plump woman, perhaps in her thirties, carrying a blanket-wrapped infant in her arms. She was followed by a heavyset man of about the same age. Her husband? The pair squeezed with difficulty past the display. Behind them came a young Asian woman who appeared to be in her twenties. Her hand was wrapped in a bloodstained cloth.

Ari entered behind them and locked the door. He and Lila heaved the display case back into its fortifying position then he turned to her and offered a Schwartzenegger impression. "I'm back."

She pounded a fist against his chest before throwing her arms around him and hugging him fiercely. "Where were you? What happened?"

"Let's get these people in back first." He gently extricated himself from her fierce hug. Together they led their guests into the theater.

The camp site was set up in the dressing room, but the group was currently gathered in the theater seats. Ronnie sat at one of the cafeteria tables of the stage set, coloring, while Mrs. Scheider sat beside her, reading her survivalist guide.

At their arrival, everyone jumped up from their seats, clamoring questions.

Ari introduced the strangers. "This is Doug and Gloria Patton and their baby, Ian." He pointed to the dark-haired woman, who was unwinding the bandage from her hand. "And Sondra Chin." The newcomers murmured a ragged chorus of "heys" and "hellos".

Ari perched on the edge of the stage and drank an entire bottle of water before telling his story. "I thought I'd buy some time for the others, slow down the zombies by shooting them up and then run like hell. I nearly shot these guys."

Doug interrupted. "When we heard people moving around in the building, we thought it was the monsters at first, but then we heard y'all whispering. I wasn't sure yet whether we wanted to get too friendly so we followed you. Then we heard the sounds of a fight, a woman cussin' a blue streak and knew for sure you were human." He shook his head. "I shoulda called out right then, but I was still being careful. Lucky I did finally shout a 'howdy' as we came through the door or your boy here woulda blown my head off.

"By the time we talked a while and exchanged stories, it was too late to catch up with the rest of you," Ari continued. "And then we had to take a couple of detours on our way back so it took a while." He looked at Deb. "You made it back with the hard drive though, right?"

Carl held up the purse. "Right here."

Lila busied herself with passing out water bottles to their guests. She noted the supply was getting low, but they should have enough to make it through the night and tomorrow they'd be on their way out of town. They could pick up more supplies then. She stooped to check out Sondra's damaged hand. Jagged red marks scored her palm and the flesh around them was an angry red. "What happened?"

"Cut it on the edge of a piece of metal just before I met the Pattons." Sondra tipped the bottle, spilling water onto her hand. "I was shopping when the attack happened. Trying on clothes in a dressing room. Do you like this top? I never even had to pay for it." She glanced down at the splashy flowers on her blouse and shook her head. "It does nothing for me."

Lila appreciated her dry humor. Then she glimpsed Sondra's expression and realized the woman wasn't joking. She was actually thinking about fashion in the middle of all this.

"When the screaming started, I stayed right where I was and waited until it died down. Then I came out and saw…everything. I made it back to my street only to find my apartment building on fire and the street in front of it full of zombies killing people as they came out. I met the Pattons when we all spent the night in the same empty warehouse." She held up her hand. "That's where I got this cut."

"I can take care of that." Mrs. Scheider produced the first aid kit she'd taken from the employees' restroom at the sport shop and knelt beside Sondra to treat her hand.

"We're tourists, just in New York for a couple of days," Doug took up the story. "We were sightseeing, pushing Ian in a stroller, when we saw this gang of…well, I thought they were addicts or thugs. I knew something was wrong with 'em so we headed the other direction." Doug put an arm around his wife, who remained quiet, focused on rocking her baby. "And then things started happening all around us. I grabbed Ian from his stroller and we ran for the nearest building. Nearly run straight into one of the things and that's when I realized they weren't human. We barely got away."

"How'd you end up at the lab of all places?" Deb asked.

"We spent yesterday running and hiding, not knowing where to go or what to do," Doug said. "Saw some grisly sights I can tell you. Saw some helicopters too, flying low and shooting at anything that moved, living or undead. Saw some soldiers come barreling out of the back of a troop truck and fanning out over a city block. I was going to go to them for help, till I saw them shoot a few unarmed civilians. They weren't taking any chances and weren't too particular on whether they were killing zombies or people.

"I figured we'd better get out of the city so we headed for the waterfront. Spent the night in a warehouse where we met Miss Chin. The next day we were walking down an alley when we got chased by zombies. The exit door to a building was hanging open. We ducked in, pulled the door shut and barricaded it." He nodded at Ari. "And then we met your friend, here."

"What about you folks?" Doug asked. "Ari says you were all on the subway together, and he explained about the lab and the anti-virus, but we didn't have time to talk much."

Derrick answered for everyone, succinctly explaining about the A7 antidote with its disastrous consequences according to Carl's theory. Then he proceeded to give thumbnail sketches of each of them that made Lila smile.

"This is my sister, Ronnie. She's eight. Over there is Mrs. Scheider. She's rich and smart and doesn't put up with bullshit. Dr. Joe is a dermatologist not a real doctor so he can't fix anything. Ari's in the army and always acts like he knows what to do. Deb is kind of bitchy but she's cool, and that's her girlfriend, Julie. She's a secretary at the lab with Carl, who's kind of a scientist." Derrick concluded with. "Lila goes to college. She's pretty nice."

"Pretty nice? That's all I get?" Lila asked.

"Better than being the designated bitch," Deb said.

"There used to be more of us," Derrick added. "Ann worked at a museum, but she…died. And Hector was a cool old dude who left to go find his family."

Lila was concerned by how silent and withdrawn Gloria Patton was acting. The woman sat in one of the plush theater seats beside her husband and patted the blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms. Little Ian had been so quiet since they'd arrived Lila began to have the horrible suspicion Mrs. Patton was carrying around a dead child. She went over and offered the woman a packet of trail mix and peered into the blanket at the sleeping baby's face, round-cheeked and rosy. He was snoring slightly and the tightness in her chest eased.

"Does your baby need anything? We don't have much an infant can eat. How old is he?"

Gloria looked up at her with a blank gaze. Doug rubbed her back. "Honey, Lila's talkin' to you. Tell her about Ian."

"He's six months. He's on breast milk and cereal now, too."

Lila glanced at Doug. "I suppose you'll need diapers and stuff."

He indicated the bag he wore over one shoulder. "We have a few left, but we'll need supplies tomorrow." He paused then added, "So, do you people have a plan in mind?"

"Like you said, to the waterfront to get a boat," Ari said. "We'll head to the mainland and try to find out more about what emergency plans are in place, and get Carl to the authorities so he can share what he knows."

"Wish I could see the data right now," Carl complained.

"You can," Derrick said. "I've got the laptop and cables. I can connect the hard drive if you give me a few minutes." He set to work with Carl leaning over and giving him suggestions that made Derrick's shoulders grow tenser by the second.

"I think Carl's going to get his head bit off in about a second." Lila sat down beside Ari. The rest of the group had broken off into side conversations and at last she had a moment to talk to him privately.

He looked over at Derrick. "He was amazing today. Saved my ass. I had a zombie at my throat and he finished it off."

"Really? I didn't hear about that." She studied Derrick. "It looks like he's dealing with it all right. That had to be tough." Then she turned her attention to Ari and realized he was as blood-splattered as the rest of the strike team had been when they returned. "You should clean up and get some rest."

She rose and held out her hand to him. Ari took it and she pulled him to his feet and led him back to the dressing room. There was a sink with no running water, but also a cooler to draw water from.

"I'll find you something clean to wear," Lila promised as filled a basin with water for him to clean up with. She glanced over to find Ari shirtless, and her stomach did an acrobatic series of sommersaults. For a moment, her gaze was glued to his chiseled pecs and abs and, oh God, those powerful shoulders. She swallowed and looked away.

Lila carried the basin over to where Ari leaned against the counter while he unlaced his shoes. She set the water down, keeping her eyes averted, but couldn't help inhaling his scent—male sweat that wasn't at all unpleasant but tugged on a spot deep in her belly. Heat blossomed through her and her body tensed with want.

"I'll, uh, get you some clothes," she repeated lamely, and hurried off to the wardrobe room. Everyone was wearing clean clothes, courtesy of the theater. Racks of costumes from a wide variety of productions made for some interesting outfit choices. Lila's favorite was Joe's circa 1970's powder blue leisure suit. It had been the only garment large enough to fit his lanky frame and it gave the reserved man an amusing flair.

For Ari she found a vaguely Robin Hood looking costume. She passed on the tights, but thought the collarless, long sleeved shirt with a tunic style vest over it actually looked comfortable. She also grabbed a couple of pairs of pants for him to try on. They all needed to stop by a store tomorrow for a fresh change of underwear. Not that it was a top priority by any means, but if they had to get other supplies, they might as well be clean and comfortable.

When Lila returned to the dressing room, Ari was finger combing his damp hair back from his face. He'd stripped down to his undershorts so Lila got another pleasing eyeful of male flesh—good, strong thigh and calf muscles and a pair of oversized feet.

"Here you go," she said overly brightly as she handed him the pile of clothes. "There's kind of a bizarre assortment of stuff back there."

He held up the shirt and vest and looked at them doubtfully. "No kidding."

"Look at it this way. Who've you got to impress? We could all wear clown suits or muumuus every day and it wouldn't matter any more. There've gotta be some perks to an apocalypse," Lila teased.

She was rewarded with a smile, a big beautiful smile that lit his shadowed eyes and made them sparkle. Her heart flipped like a landed fish. She hated the way her body betrayed her, suffering all the pangs of a childish crush, her hormones rampaging beyond her control.

"How do you like my outfit?" She strutted an imaginary catwalk and posed, hoping to earn a full fledged laugh from him.

"Very sexy. I especially like the sparkly unicorn." He indicated the image on the front of the T-shirt Ronnie had picked out for her to wear. His words were joking, but his eyes lingered on her rainbow and unicorn emblazoned chest a few beats longer than necessary, checking out her attributes as she had his.

"Wonder what play this was used in." Lila picked at the rhinestones studding the unicorn's horn and made small talk to quiet the rapid beating of her heart. But though she tried to pretend everything was normal, the air between them was charged with enough electricity to light the building.

Ari moved closer, filling her vision although she didn't look up. She felt him there and it was almost as if he'd already touched her. "I thought you weren't coming back," she said softly. "You scared the hell out of me. Don't do that again."

"I don't plan to." He reached out and picked a loose piece of glitter glue from the unicorn's tail. His fingers happened to graze her breast in a completely accidental way.

Lila's lips twitched in amusement. She looked up at Ari and all the oxygen was sucked from her body at the searing heat in his gaze. What the hell? This had escalated so fast and so unexpectedly she felt like she was sliding inevitably down a mudslide into a yawning pit from which there was no escape. But it was a tumble she wanted to take.

She licked her lips and his attention dropped to her mouth. She leaned toward him and his hands slid around her waist. And then their faces were inches apart and Lila's eyes began to close.

The door slammed open and footsteps entered the room. "Ari, are you here? Oh!"

Lila opened her eyes and stepped back, blood rushing to her cheeks. She ducked her head. "Yeah. So, I'll, uh, do that." She looked over at Sondra as if only just realizing she was there. "Oh. Hi."

Transparent, stupid charade. As if anyone looking at them couldn't tell they were about to kiss. Why was she covering anyway? It wasn't anyone's business what they chose to do. But she certainly wasn't going to kiss in front of a complete stranger and didn't really want to have the entire group gossiping about them.

"I'm sorry." Sondra smiled. "I just wanted to ask Ari about the plans for tomorrow. I need some things from a store and wondered where exactly we'll be shopping."

Lila stared at her. Shopping? Was this girl serious? She acted as if they were going on a spree rather than foraging for necessary supplies. It was a wonder she was still alive.

"I don't know. It depends on what happens on the way. We'll make it up as we go along." Ari sounded impatient. He wasn't any happier than she was about being interrupted.

"Because I was thinking," Sondra continued, "We're fairly close to Humboldt's and that would be—"

"I'll keep that in mind." He cut her off. "Look, it's been a really long day. If you don't mind, we can discuss it tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

Sondra's perfectly shaped brows drew together in a petulant frown. "Sure. I understand. I just thought we could all use new clothes." She nodded at Ari's odd attire and laughed. "I mean,
really
use new clothes. Is that all you could find?"

Her brilliant thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and more members of the group trooped into the room. Disappointment and the remnants of desire swirled through Lila. She and Ari were clearly not going to get a chance to pick up where they'd left off.

"Carl's taking first watch," Derrick reported. "Doug's next, then Joe. The Pattons say they'll sleep in the theater, because their baby wakes up at night. Ronnie's staying with them. She likes the baby, and that Gloria has a real 'mom' vibe even if she is a little out of it."

"Sounds good." Ari accepted his report. As Derrick turned to prepare his bedroll for the night, he added, "By the way, thanks for today, man. You saved my ass."

"No problem." Derrick tried to sound casual, but Lila could tell he was pleased Ari had recognized him.

Her moment with Ari was past. With people milling all around there was no more time to talk, let alone do anything else. Perhaps she could've given him a nod and gotten him to go someplace else with her. It was a big theater with lots of private spaces. But Ari was practically swaying on his feet with exhaustion. He needed to sack out not make out.

Lila turned her attention to redistributing bedding so the newcomers would have places to sleep. She carried the blankets she'd gathered into the other room where Gloria and Doug were preparing a spot to sleep. Doug had found a sofa bed in a prop room and dragged it backstage. The little family probably had the most comfortable bed in the place.

"Got everything you need?" Lila asked as she offered them the bedding.

"Yes, thanks," Doug said. "We're so grateful to be here and thank y'all for taking us in like this."

"I got my princess nightgown on." Ronnie stood up from the cushions she'd laid on the floor beside the sofa bed and spun around. She was wearing a woman's white, lacy negligee that swept the floor on her small body.

"Very pretty," Lila said. "I want to thank you again for picking out this great unicorn shirt. It's very cool."

 "I still think you should wear one of the ball dresses. You could look like a princess, too." Ronnie referred to the chiffon prom dresses hanging on a rack in the dressing room awaiting their scene in the zombie play.

"Yeah, well, I don't think those would be too good for hiking in," Lila said.

She glanced at the Patton family, their combined weight making the sofa bed sag deeply. Gloria was feeding the baby. Finally animated, the kid waved an arm and snuffled loudly as he nursed. Doug had an arm around his wife and Lila's heart melted a little. It was nice to see an intact family. She prayed hers was. Her throat tightened as she thought about her parents.

 "Well, if you guys have everything you need. I guess I'll say goodnight." She made a hasty exit before she cried in front of Ronnie and got the little girl started again. It was a pleasure to have her happy—or at least content in the moment.

Lila returned to the dressing room to find everyone mostly settled for the night. Sondra sat cross-legged on Lila's bedroll, talking to Ari, who lay on his back with an arm over his eyes. When she saw Lila, she waved her over.

"I saved you a spot here." Sondra patted the sleeping bag on her other side.

Lila forced a smile. "Thanks." She eyed the new sleeping arrangement and the flat pillow Sondra had generously allotted her and decided Sondra was a complete douchebag—as if she'd had any doubt.

She lay down on the sleeping bag with no cushion beneath it, and covered up with a trench coat from the costume rack.

"Tell me more about yourself." Sondra was as chipper as if she was on speed. "Where are you from? I can tell you're not a native New Yorker."

"How?"

"You have some kind of flat accent. Midwest?"

"Ohio. I'm going to college at NYU. Was going."

"What's your major?"

"Undeclared. What about you?" Lila didn't feel like talking and guessed Sondra was the type who'd be only too happy to take the burden of conversation and run with it. She was right.

"No college for me. I've taken a few classes here and there, but mostly I'm working on my modeling career. Hands not face." She held up her bandaged hand. "God, I hope this doesn't leave a scar. You've probably seen my hands in ads before. You know Staunton Jewelers? My hand was featured in their fall catalogue. Just last week my agent landed me a choice gig as
the
hand model for Ogilvie lotion. That's nationwide exposure, not just local." Her dark eyes suddenly glistened with tears. "Of course, all that's fucked now. That's so my luck. I finally get my big break and the world goes to hell."

Lila grunted. She had no comforting words to offer.

"It'll get better though, right?" Sondra leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. "It has to. The government will find a way to fix everything. Or that Carl guy will."

The echo of Ann's constant insistence help would come reminded Lila of her, and of the way she'd died. She looked over at Ari. He glanced back at her from beneath the arm across his forehead.

"Things will work out," Lila said. "I'm sure you'll model again some day."

"That's what I think, too. And hey, probably the competition will be less fierce." The tears were blinked away and Sondra smiled again.

Complete douche
, Lila confirmed to herself.

* * * * *

Chapter Ten

Ari fell asleep to the drone of Sondra's voice explaining how hand modeling was different from what people thought, and woke to the sound of Doug coming in to tap Joe for the last guard duty of the night.

Ari rose from his sleeping bag. "I'll take his shift. I can't sleep any more." Better to be doing something useful than lying sleepless and restless.

He walked with Doug out of the dressing room to the backstage where Gloria and Ian slept peacefully on the sofa bed. Ronnie had crawled in beside them, leaving no place for Doug to lie. The man shrugged. "Guess I'll use your bedroll for the rest of the night if that's okay."

"Sure. Anything happen outside tonight?"

"Some noise in the distance; gunfire, some explosions like grenades going off and a larger one like maybe a gas line blew up. There was a glow in the west that could be from a fire. Nothing nearby though," Doug reported.