Four (Their Dead Lives,1) (40 page)

“I need your help. I can’t do this alone. We leave as—”
 

“GET OUT!”
 

Jeff vanished.
 

Alec slammed the door, hunching over with a hand wrapped around the handle. His forehead pressed against wood, his chest heaving. With his eyes closed, the room spun, but he forced himself to anchor, fighting to keep from screaming. If he could take Nicole and hide, or flee into the night, he would. But his body slid back on the stool and he grabbed her, alone with his love once more.
 

Another knock on the door awoke Alec sometime later. Dr. Dylan hobbled in with his wooden cane. Without saying a word, he lifted Nicole’s eyelids, shining a small light as he examined her.
 

“How does she look?”
 

“She’s stable.” Dylan clicked the light off and turned to Alec. “How are you?”
 

“She’s what matters.”
 

“How are
you
, Alec?”
 

“I’m dead without her.”
 

Dylan rubbed his beard. “Look, what you’re feeling is expected, but what you need is to take a walk, clear your mind, and—”
 

“My mind is clear. Why leave her side? What good will that do?”
 

“There is nothing you can do for her. Only time passing will heal her. I highly recommend you—”
 

Alec wasn’t interested in hearing what the doctor was recommending. He stood and went to the door, holding it open for Dylan. “I appreciate you checking up, I really do. There’s no need to diagnose me.”
 

“Right.” Dylan cleared his throat. “Well, if you need me, shout.” He paused. “Actually, best to keep quiet with zombies on the loose...but you know what I mean.” Dylan limped down the hall, past the receptionist area, and into the exam room where Deputy Miller was recovering.
 

As he pulled back to Nicole, Alec looked into the waiting room. Jeff and Evans unstacked chairs, clearing them from the glass entryway.
 

Leaving. Why would they leave? No matter, stay inside with her.
But Alec did the opposite. He went into the waiting room.
 

Jeff’s face registered surprise, but all he said was, “Good to see you.”
 

“Heading out?”
 

“Yep, we’ll bring you back something good to eat.”
 

Alec grabbed his arm, staring up at him. “Look...”
 

“Don’t worry, I know this is hard on you.”
 

“Jeff, I can’t leave her. I can’t lose her. If I do, I’m done. Maybe I’m weak for that, but losing her will crush me.”
 

Jeff touched his shoulder. “I know, keep her safe. We’ll return soon.”
 

“And about Kale.” Alec paused as Evans opened the glass doors.
 

“Make it quick,” the Marine said and quietly slipped outside.
 

“What about him?”
 

“I’m thankful he saved us, you know that. But the chances of us finding him, I mean, Jeff...”
 

Jeff smiled. “Our lives have never been up to chance. Fate guides us.” He went for the door. “Be back soon. Stack the chairs behind me, will you?”
 

Alec stepped to the glass and watched Jeff and Evans leave. The streets had no sign of the dead. Across from the clinic, a curved apartment complex stood. A yellow fire hydrant glowed at its side. The fact that it caught Alec’s eyes left him baffled.
 

Jeff and Evans disappeared behind some wrecked cars, and Alec whispered to himself, “We leave as four.”

KALE
 

Sunlight stinging his eyes and a splitting headache crushing his mind, Kale rolled over, arm pressing against a hard surface. Gashes on his back burned. His eyelids were so sticky, almost impossible to open, and he wanted to cry.
 

Heroes don’t cry,
he reminded himself, and focused on his surroundings. He was on a roof. Wobbling to a stand, crisp air flowed around him. He overlooked a sprawling city. A line of shops faced him, abandoned, save for several stumbling corpses. A female zombie smacked and clawed at an overturned taxi cab.
Food in there?
Her attempts to get in were futile.
 

He guessed he was at least ten-stories high.

A footfall behind him, Kale spun to see the flapping black cloak wrapping around the Embracer’s mammoth of a body. He knew he should be scared, but if it wanted him dead, he already would be. “Where am I?”
 

The beast only stared beneath its dark hood.
 

“Right, you don’t speak, do you?” Kale’s surviving hand formed a fist, not that he’d be able to vanquish the demon. “Why did you bring me here?”
 

Silence.
 

“Where is this supposed Eradicator? Your boss, right?”
 

Silence.
 

“Why be here if you say nothing!”
 

Silence.
 

Kale’s weak legs had enough and he slid to the floor. His stump fell on his lap, a bandage still wrapped around half his forearm. The temptation to grab things with it was more frustrating than the silent beast staring at him.
 

When he looked up from his lap, the Embracer was gone.
Asshole
. His back to the rest of the city, Kale faced the ocean several miles away.
Are they still close? Are they even alive?
He had no idea how much time had passed since he was taken from the yacht. The last thing he remembered . . . the dark pit, the hissing whispers, the . . . tentacles.

A dream, maybe?
A nightmare.
 

A loud gunshot caused Kale to cower, and he peeked over the roof to see the zombie woman’s body slide off the taxicab. Another gunshot came from a sidewalk. A man led a woman and a young boy, shooting at the stumbling dead following them. The man forced them in the closest store, a shoe store. Slamming the glass door shut, he yanked its blinds closed.
 

Kale counted five corpses, dragging themselves for a fresh food supply. They banged and moaned against the shoe store’s windows and doors, unable to see the tasty treats inside.
I should help, I . . .
 

Erica’s face . . .
 

I know I can help.

His severed hand . . .
 

I’m not weak.

Scot, Alec, Jeff . . .
 

They don’t know what I’m capable of.
 

Kale grabbed his forehead, fingers sliding up his skull under his jet-black hair. Thick, oily strands of hair stuck to his forehead in clumps.
Bet I smell like a big ol’ pile of deer dung.
 

On his feet again, Kale counted the zombies weakly attacking the shoe store. Six, a seventh was on its way. He figured they would break through the display window relatively soon.
 

And I will stop them.
Outside the building he had awoken on top of, Kale hurried across the street, ducking low. The store was the last shop on the street, behind it, a green park. Kale flipped around the store’s back. He caught his breath and went for a light blue door.
Locked.
He smacked his palm against it once out of frustration, knowing he would have to lead the zombies away from the front. A thick branch was the only weapon he found. He slid flatly against the store, inching for the front.
 

Kale smacked the branch against the corner of the store. He tried to make as much noise as possible. “Come on! Yeah, you, come on!” He waved around, getting the attention of three zombies. The others soon followed.
 

Kale backed away, yelling for them, “Come on!” His legs sped, twisting around, eyes clearing his front, side, and back. A quick turn to face the stumbling horde caused him to trip over himself. The branch flew from his hands.
Shit!
He crawled on the grass toward the park.
 

The dead closed in.
 

Kale snagged the branch and swung in time to knock the first stumbler over. He fought to his feet and screamed at the others, running quicker around them.
 

A rotten hand swiped from the side, but a quick duck dodged the attack. He fell on grass, rolling, evading, and panting. Back on his feet, he threw the branch at the closest zombie and sprinted for the shoe store.
Please let me in, please let me in.
He smacked against the door and tried to keep his voice low. “I led them away, open quick.”
 

No response.
 

The moans were a good distance away behind the store. The zombies were unable to see Kale.
 

“You have to open the door now, or they will hear me enter. Please!”

Blinds swooped up. The door swung open. A tall, lanky man wearing a trucker hat yanked Kale inside.
 

They ran behind a shoe aisle and ducked in the shadows, staring at the light blinds. The man covered the faces of the woman and the child.
 

Silence. No movement. Sweat dripped down Kale’s temples.
I smell even worse now.
The first silhouette stumbled outside. A second followed, moaning. They lingered in front of the store for only seconds, before continuing their decaying journey.
 

The man released his grip on his family and grabbed Kale’s shoulder, startling him. “Sorry,” he whispered.
 

Kale turned back. “All good.”
 

“Thank you for that.” The man gave his hand. “Henry.”
 

“Kale.”
 

Henry got a good look at him. “Christ, kid, what happened to you?”
 

“A lot.”
 

“I’m sure,” said Henry, holding the woman close. “My wife Polly. This here is our son Benvolio.”
 

Benvolio? WTF?

Night came swiftly.
 

They hid in the back of the store, safe from the dead. The Wright family had few supplies. Food: granola bars, flavored waters, and an apple. Benvolio devoured the fruit. He was no older than ten, Kale guessed. As for weapons, a handgun was their sole protection. Henry kept it in a shoulder holster covering his pink and white polo shirt. He wore a trucker hat backwards, hiding most of his shaggy salt and pepper hair.

“Were you a cop?” Kale wondered because of the holster.
 

“Me? Ha. No.”
 

Polly and Benvolio giggled.
 

“I take it you did something else...”
 

“I, well, it doesn’t really matter now. I got my family this far.” He bit the granola bar.
 

“He owned a fashion company focused on toddler clothes,” said Polly. She had shorter hair than her husband, brown too. She was also heavier, but much shorter.
 

Henry crossed his hairy legs covered in cuts and bruises. “Where did you come from?” he asked Kale.
 

Kale drank the flavored water. He despised the lemony taste, but his dry mouth and throat needed anything. “From Green Hills.”
 

“This far, alone?”
 

Kale twisted the cap on. “I lost my group a few days ago, I believe.”
 

Benvolio dropped the apple on his lap. “What happened to your arm?”
 

“Benny.” Polly gave him a stare.
 

“It’s fine,” Kale said, unintentionally raising the stub. “I was bit.”
 

On instinct, Henry went for his gun but Kale assured him they were safe. “The infection, or whatever, left with the rest of my arm.”
 

Henry went back to his granola bar. “You said you saw us up on a roof. Why were you there?” He spoke with a full mouth, crumbs falling off his lips.
 

I have no idea.
“Wanted to survey the city, plan my next move.”
 

“Thanks again for helping us.” Polly’s plump cheeks dimpled as she smiled. “We haven’t caught a break.”
 

Benvolio played with the remains of his apple. “Why do they want to eat us?”

“They’re sick, honey.” Polly wrapped a small blanket around him.
 

Eventually Polly and Benvolio went to sleep in the manager’s office, while Henry kept first watch. Kale was invited to sleep in there as well, but chose a corner in the main store. He curled into a ball, pressing his stub to his chest. Shivers ran across his skin. Frozen whispers swirled in his mind, but they were only memories. Was it real?

The Eradicator of Life, it had called itself. What had it done to him? He felt almost the same as he did on the yacht, full of dread.
 

Something big would arrive soon, he knew.
 

Sleep evaded him. The shivers, the whispers, the fears, and the wonders refused to give Kale rest. He walked through the lightless store, hand sliding against a wall, bumping shoeboxes. One almost fell over but he caught it and made sure to move more quietly.
 

Henry was on a stool customers had used to try shoes on. He leaned against a counter, head nodding. Sleep wanted him, but he started up as Kale grew closer.

“Hello?” he whispered.
 

“It’s Kale.”
 

“Ah, can’t sleep?”
 

“Nope.”
 

“Pop a squat then.”
 

Kale dragged a stool around with one hand and sat across from the Ashton Kutcher lookalike. Henry’s leg jittered like Homer’s had always done in high school. “How many have you killed?” Kale asked him.
 

A long breath escaped Henry’s mouth. “Enough to save my family. They’re all that matters when the world ends.”
 

But not otherwise?
Silence between them.

“And yourself?”

Kale realized he’d yet to kill a single zombie. After all, being shackled in Miller’s cuffs never gave him the chance. But he had taken life.
Erica was turning, I never had a choice.
“One.”