Haven (The Breadwinner Trilogy) (9 page)

VII

Michelle gently eased the car up beside another and the two women climbed out quietly.  They carefully took their belongings out of the trunk and cautiously loaded up as much as they could from the plastic bags into bags they could more easily carry.

“You seriously didn’t need to bring this much stuff.”  Michelle rolled her eyes as Lulu reluctantly parted ways with half of the clothing and cosmetics in her duffle bag and filled the empty space with the things they had scavenged from the corner store, setting the bags behind the other car.  They both were down to their socks and Michelle hastily rigged the steering wheel with the shoe laces from their sneakers.  Lulu handed Michelle her cousin’s phone and she plugged it in to the auxiliary cable.  She grabbed the remaining garden light from the already opened package and smirked at it. 
Who knew how useful these things really were
, she thought to herself as she prepared to set it up on the accelerator.

“Oh my god.”  Lulu whispered and tapped Michelle on the shoulder.

Michelle froze, expecting the worst.  She slowly turned on the balls of her feet, still crouched behind the car door, in the direction Lulu was now pointing.  Two people were hiding beside a truck on the opposite end of the parking lot.  The woman was peering over the bed of the truck, scoping out the position of the eaters and the man was waving at them.  “No way.”  Lulu scowled at Michelle.  “I said no way, Lu.  Have you already forgotten the last time we ran into somebody?” 

“Of course not!  But we can’t just abandon them out here!”

“Goddamnit, keep your voice down.”  Michelle poked her head up to check for danger but they remained unnoticed.  “We can abandon them.  And we will.  I’m not fucking this up for strangers.” 

“I won’t go with you then.”  Lulu’s eyes began to get watery again and Michelle clenched her fists. 

“Un-fucking-believable. You are unbelievable.  You know that?”  Michelle shoved her over in the direction of the other car.  “Get over there and stay there.  I’ll handle this.”  Michelle crab walked over so she was in plain sight of the couple.  They were both looking at her now, she put a hand up, signaling them to wait.  She laid her body down flat and pointed to the ground, imitating a crawling motion, hoping they understood.  They both laid down and waited for her signal.  She popped back up and had another look at the group of eaters milling about in the road up ahead.  She motioned for them to head toward her.  The man began crawling quickly but the woman had gotten up and started toward her in a sprint.  Michelle panicked and put both hands up, she was full of anger and she hoped the idiot could see.  The man grabbed her leg and was saying something to her, she looked around and dropped down on her belly again.

Michelle glanced back at the dead, they were somehow still oblivious to the shenanigans occurring in the parking lot.

It took five more minutes for the couple to finally make their way across the parking lot.  They had to keep stopping and laying still when Michelle would notice eaters randomly turning in their direction.  To Michelle, those five minutes felt like an eternity. 

The man began to speak to Michelle when they were safely behind the abandoned car with Lulu.  Michelle shook her head.  “We don’t talk now.  You follow me and that’s that.  Understand?”  The man and woman both nodded.  Lulu and Michelle gathered their duffle bags and strapped them to their bodies.  Michelle pointed at the few remaining plastic bags and then pointed at the woman.  She wasn’t carrying anything and Michelle decided she needed to make herself useful.  Once everyone was in a ready position and away from her car Michelle went back to the driver’s side and picked up Zach’s phone.  She turned the volume all the way up and simultaneously pressed play and shoved the garden light into place on the accelerator and the hybrid’s engine whined to life in time to the sound of the music.  “I hate the Smashing Pumpkins!”  She angrily punched the steering wheel twice, the second time letting her fist linger and allowing the horn to blare.  The attention of the dead was definitely aroused and their ravenous wails filled the air.  She slammed the gear shift into drive and rolled away, the car took off across the parking lot as planned but didn’t slam into the shoe store.  “Shit shit shit, keep going.”  Michelle willed the car to keep moving as it plowed into the undead at full speed, bodies crunched and flew over the Camry as it drove off down the road.  She didn’t care where it went, as long as it kept them chasing it.  “Let’s go!”  The group jumped up and ran full speed toward their destination.  A loud crash followed by broken glass and grinding metal could be heard, yet the music still played.  The dead roared and howled, causing a raucous unlike any the living had ever heard.  It sent a rush of chills down Michelle’s spine as she silently said goodbye to her beloved red car and pulled the set of keys off her finger.  They had just made it by the set of dumpsters and a small delivery dock for the restaurant when they heard an extra pair of footsteps behind them.

Lulu inevitably screamed when she saw the eater in pursuit and to Michelle’s surprise the woman who had joined them grabbed her and covered her mouth, talking softly to her and trying to calm her down.  “Get that door open!”  The man called to Michelle and dropped his bag, pulling a hand hoe out of his cargo shorts, he plunged the small tool into the side of the eater’s head as it arrived.  He quickly pulled it back out with a grunt and the hideous thing collapsed to the ground. 

“I love garden tools so much right now.”  Michelle said to herself excitedly as she turned the key and pulled open the back door to the building.  “Everybody in!”  It was a miracle that she got the door closed in time as the eaters finally lost interest in the Toyota and were swiftly making their way to the group’s location.  They savagely beat on the fire door, their screams similar to the howls of demons.

Lulu whimpered and the woman held her tightly, stroking her hair.  She was a short woman like Lulu but Michelle could tell she was in her 40’s.  She had dirty but nicely manicured nails and wore her red hair in a short bob.  The man was probably the same age as her, with a farmer’s tan and long brown hair pulled back in a low pony tail.  He wiped his hand on his already dirty brown shorts and held it out to Michelle.  “I’m Desmond.  This is my wife Catherine.”  Michelle shook his hand and waved at Catherine. 

“That’s Lulu, I’m Michelle.” 

“Thank you for helping us out there.”  He placed the garden hoe back into his pocket and Michelle nodded.  “You ladies have a plan?” 

“This is it.”  She shrugged and looked around the bright white hallway.  The power was still on but she knew that would be a short lived commodity.

“How did you get here?  You look like you’ve been through hell.”  He narrowed his eyes at her, examining her state of disarray.  Desmond and Catherine didn’t look nearly as rough as Michelle and Lulu did.  Michelle’s multicolored curly hair was all over the place, Lulu’s face was swollen from crying and both of them were coated with the mark of the apocalypse:  blood, sweat and grime. 

“That was my car out there.”  She pulled her hair tie out and tried to get her hair under control.

They were all startled and Lulu let out another scream when the jewelry store’s door burst open at the end of the hallway.  An overweight security guard stood with a gun rattling in his shaky hands.  He lowered it when he recognized the girls.

“Francis!”  Lulu pulled away from Catherine and sprinted down the corridor, throwing her arms around his neck.  She sobbed into his chest, in happiness of seeing someone she knew alive, and in misery for the loss they’d all endured.

“Oh my god, are ya’ll alright?”  The chunky guard holstered his weapon and hugged Lulu tightly.  “Where did you come from?”

“Our apartment.  We didn’t know where else to go.”  Lulu answered him, her voice muffled in his chest.

Michelle folded her arms.  She disliked Francis in every sense of the word.  “And now we’re here.”

Francis introduced himself to Desmond and Catherine, ushering everyone into the back room of the jewelry store.  He’d obviously been camping out there, food wrappers littered the floor along with empty water and soda bottles.  The toilets still worked and the four newcomers took turns relieving themselves in the bathroom.  Francis was running low on his supplies and handed the last of his beverages out.  It felt good to just simply sit and not feel the sense of urgency to flee anything.  Michelle had washed her face in the sink and sat in a desk chair rubbing her temples.  She hadn’t counted on running into any other people.  She hadn’t counted on having to take in to account any other person’s wellbeing.  She wasn’t that type of person.  She felt she was lucky enough to be able to get Lulu this far with her.  She sighed and
sat up straight, staring into the weary faces around her.  Those that she knew, those that she didn’t.  Regardless of how she might have felt in that moment about anyone, she knew she had to get the gears moving.  She clapped her hands together and got everyone’s attention. 

“Break time’s over.”

VIII

The group got busy exploring the remaining stores in the building.
 Michelle and Lulu went to work filling all the sinks in the salon and spa.  Francis unlocked the door to the vitamin shop so Catherine could get busy organizing what was needed and what could be tossed aside to make room for more essential nutrients.  Desmond wanted to get into the cell phone store to make sure as much technology was charged up as possible before the power went out and Francis went to work in the breakfast cafe in order to salvage the perishable food for the group.  Michelle reminded everyone to keep as quiet as possible and stay low near the windows to remain unseen.  Once it was dusk, Francis killed the lights and they set upon spray painting the jewelry store's windows.  It was a tedious task.  They kept having to stop and duck down as eaters would shamble by the store front.  Some would pass immediately, easily fixated on something in the distance and others would dilly dally, either staring up at nothing or turning mindlessly in slow circles before moving on.  The fumes from the paint were getting to everyone and they decided that the jewelry store would be enough painting for one night.  They sat quietly in the kitchen of the cafe as Francis and Lulu utilized the still working stoves, cooking them a lavish meal of eggs, grits, hash browns, biscuits and a variety of breakfast meats.  They stuffed their faces and ate as if they were on death row and this was to be their last meal.  The group soon became sleepy and made their way to the spa section of the salon, using massage tables and waxing beds to sleep on.
 

Before joining his wife, Desmond stopped by the cell phone shop.
 One by one he unplugged the phones, charging cases, back up batteries, and music accessories.  He was in the middle of turning them all off when he heard someone behind him in the dark.  He turned quickly and recognized the tall silhouette of Michelle and the long, curly hair that framed it.
 

"Why are you doing all this?"
 She asked him quietly.
He continued to power down his plethora of electronic devices.  "The way I figure it, we don't have many days left with power.  This stuff is more useful than you think, even with the cell phone towers off."
 

She shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the floor with him.
 "Is this what you did for a living or something?"  She began helping him with powering everything down.
Desmond chuckled.  "Nah, more like a hobby.  Once upon a time I wanted to work with technology.  Build tech, fix tech, the whole nine.  But then I met a pretty little red head who stole my heart and I decided to become a doctor so I could get to know her better.  Over a hundred grand in debt between the two of us, but it was worth every penny."
"A doctor?"  Michelle ignored the love story and raised her eyebrows.  "Wait, so, you and Catherine are both doctors?"
"That's right.  Ain't ya'll a lucky bunch, huh?"  He smiled at her.
"Yeah, I guess we are."
The two finished up in the cell phone store and let the back door close behind them.  Desmond followed Michelle down the brightly lit fire corridor toward the salon.  The lights went dim and flickered for a few seconds before coming back on in full.  Michelle exhaled loudly and shook her head.  

Michelle took the deluxe spa room in the very back of the salon.  She valued her privacy and all the other sleeping arrangements had already been made.  Her mind was busy, running a mile a minute, but her body was exhausted and she soon fell fast asleep.  The rest of the group was high on the elaborate meal they’d just consumed and slipped off soundly into food comas, with the exception of Lulu who sobbed silently to herself.  She mourned for Zach, and for the rest of the lives lost in whatever this sickness was that seemed to be taking over the world. 
How many people are dead?  What are other parts of the country like right now?
 
What is causing this?  Is help going to ever come?
  A million questions drifted through her mind.  She said a silent prayer for the world and drifted off, snoring softly.

It seemed as if only a few minutes had passed when Lulu was woken up by Michelle gently tapping her arm.  “Good morning sunshine,” Michelle paused and pretended to look at a watch on her naked wrist, “or should I say afternoon?”

“Afternoon?”  Lulu rubbed her eyes and sat up, stretching and yawning.  “Jesus, I feel like I didn’t sleep at all.  Sorry.”  She lowered her socked feet to the floor and stood up, stretching once more.

“I wouldn’t sweat it, it’s barely past noon.  Come up to the roof, Desmond had a great idea to help us get around from building to building.”  She glanced down at both her and Lulu’s feet.  “Plus, we need to figure out the shoe situation.  Can’t be runnin’ around in socks during the apocalypse.”

Lulu cringed, “Don’t say that word.  We don’t know what this is.”  She rubbed her eyes once more and followed Michelle out of the salon toward the roof access door.

Up on the roof, Francis and Desmond were fussing with something on the far end to the north of the building.  Lulu winced at the gravel digging into her feet.  “Definitely need shoes.”  She stopped a few feet away from the men and smiled at Francis.  The chubby man grinned back at her and gave her a wave.  Lulu peered over the side and immediately pulled back, there were about a dozen eaters directly below them milling about.  They hissed and groaned, desperately looking for the source of the survivors’ sounds and unable to locate them.

“Don’t worry about them down there, check this out.”  Francis called her over.

Michelle watched as Lulu gracefully made her way toward Francis and knelt on the gravel next to him.  She rolled her eyes, there was no way Lulu could have a thing for him.  Francis was a high school dropout who got his GED at 23 and became a security guard at a high end shopping mall.  He lived in a trailer park about a half an hour from Emerald Park and could barely even claim the city of Haven as his hometown.  He was the stereotypical overweight hillbilly that Michelle hated about the south, not to mention he had written her about a hundred parking tickets since she’d started working at The Luxe Salon & Spa.  Yet Lulu had always been so sweet to him whenever he’d come in and ask Michelle to move her car.  She’d always make sure her lip gloss was on just right when she’d see him ride up on his Segway.  She’d flash him her pretty Lulu smile and even give him a hug on the occasion.  Michelle secretly seethed as she listened to Francis explain Desmond’s plan.  She didn’t even hear Catherine come up next to her.

“I’m happy to say we’ve got enough supplements to last us about a year!”  Catherine said excitedly.

Michelle jumped slightly, startled by Catherine’s presence and enthusiasm.  “Don’t vitamins expire?”

Catherine chuckled, “It’s all a money game.  As long as you consume them within a safe period of time after expiration, there’s nothing to be scared of.”  Catherine’s green eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Whatever.”  Michelle mumbled.  “Are we ready to get this show on the road?”  She looked at the others expectantly, hands on her hips.  “Mama needs a new pair of shoes.”

Desmond looked up at Michelle, blue eyes squinting in the afternoon sun, “I’m pretty sure there are more important things than shoes in these stores, but let’s get to it.”  He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and stood up.  “Somebody’s gonna have to stay put.  We’re gonna need to be let out, locked out and then let back in.”

“I vote Francis.  I can’t imagine he’s very fast.”  Michelle looked directly at him as she poked fun at him with a smirk on her face.

“Yeah, and who’s got the gun?”  Francis shot back.

“I’ll stay.”  Catherine put a hand up.  “I’m not very familiar with the shopping center, I don’t have a weapon, and frankly, I don’t know if I’m quite ready to be back out there.”  Her eyes suddenly looked sad.  Desmond walked over to his wife and kissed her gently on the forehead.  He held her close and rubbed her back with both of his hands.

“Alright then, we goin’?”  Michelle began walking back to the roof access door.

“You know the plan babe?”  Desmond asked his wife.  Catherine nodded and they embraced once more.  “I’ll give the signal, we should be ready in about twenty.”

Lulu caught up with Michelle at the door.  “I don’t know if I’m ready to go back out there either.”

Michelle kept walking, but called back to Lulu, “Whether or not you are doesn’t matter.  The world obviously isn’t waiting around for you to be ready.” 

Michelle disappeared through the door and Lulu felt Francis put his arm around her shoulder.  “Don’t worry, we’ll split into teams.  I got ya.”  He winked at her and she smiled, but on the inside she was terrified.

Back down in the jewelry store, the group gathered whatever empty bags they found in the building and readied themselves to venture back out into eater territory.  Desmond and Michelle would head to Target and Francis and Lulu would check out the building directly across from the one they were in.  When Desmond gave Catherine the signal, she turned on two different cell phones Desmond had taken from the shop and plugged them into the rechargeable music speakers on the roof.  She set them on the ledge and put her fingers to her mouth, whistling loudly.  She whooped and hollered, getting the attention of the majority of the eaters aimlessly wandering in the parking lot.  She pressed play simultaneously on both phones and preloaded pop music blared from the speakers.  Leaning over the side, she nervously watched as the door opened and her group slipped out.  She pulled the key Francis gave her from her pocket and patiently waited for the four of them to creep silently into the depths of their separate destinations.  She spat out over the roof onto the eaters and cursed them.  Desmond’s plan was working. 

Catherine ran across the roof and slid carefully down the ladder into the hallway below her.  She got to the exit door and slipped the key in, turning it and locking herself inside.  Her hands shook as she climbed the ladder back up and made her way back toward the commotion she was causing.  A much larger group had formed below the north corner of the roof now.  She followed Desmond’s instructions; she was to turn all the electronics off and await his signal once they were finished scavenging the selected buildings.

With the music off, the eaters’ screams were a hundred times louder.  Her skin crawled and shivers ran down her spine.  She backed away from the ledge and crossed her arms, humming softly to herself in hopes it would take her mind off the howls of the dead.