Parish (14 page)

              “You bastard!” Wren cried out as she lifted the crowbar above her head and brought it down with a wet thwak, breaking through the bone and into his brain.  The zombie fell yet Wren did not permit his demise to interfere with her mission.  Repeatedly she raised the crowbar up and brought it down again, over and over, the dead man’s face smashed and putrid black blood spilled out along with the remains of his brain and bone bits.  She felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun around, her eyes crazed.

              “You got him.” Wade attempted to pull his sister back from the brink of madness.  Wren wrinkled her brow as she searched her brothers’ face.  The realization of her overkill settled in on her and she lowered the weapon.  “Come on.”

              Wade reached down and took his sister by the hand and lead to her to the cab of the box truck.  Artemis was already inside, waiting for them to follow before starting the engine.  Wade opened the passenger side door and pushed Wren up into the cab before following her.  When he closed the door, Artemis turned the key causing the engine to roar to life.

              Wade looked over at his sister, who was sharing the passenger seat with him.  She held the end of the crowbar with both hands, the other end rested upon the floor of the truck.  Wren stared ahead but her grip on the crowbar was tight.  If it were human she would have strangled it. 

              “Wren?” Wade kept his voice calm.  She had never been the one to lose control of herself.  She was always the good girl, the obedient daughter.  Seeing her in the state she was in concerned Wade.  He knew they had to change, adapt to their new surroundings but he didn’t want her to lose herself in the process.  Her goodness is what Wren, Wren and if she lost that, if that light flickered out within her, Wade realized that the zombies and the virus would take her from him too.  He didn’t want to face this new world alone. “Wren?”

              “What?” Wren replied. Her stare did not break as she spoke.

              “You wanna talk about it?” Wade reached over and placed his hand over hers.  The action of his hand touching hers caused her to finally break her stare and turn to her brother.

              “There’s nothing to talk about, Wade.” She replied flatly.

              “Wren, please don’t do this.  You’re my best friend, I can’t lose you too.” He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.  It felt like a massive weight was taken from his shoulders as he spoke his truth.

              “You’re not losing me.  I’m not going anywhere.” She reached up and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, breaking contact with him.

              “Really?  What was that back there?” He motioned behind them with his right hand.

              “I killed a zombie.” Wren shrugged.

              “No, that was more than just killing a zombie.  You were back there pulverizing his face.  You did more than just kill it.” Wade frowned as he watched her flinch.

              “I just had to let off some steam.  Once I hit him, I couldn’t stop.” She dropped her gaze.

              “That’s what I’m talking about.  Wren, if you get lost in your hate or your frustration…whatever it is your feeling right now, I will lose you.  You won’t be the same.” Wade watched as her shoulders dropped.

              “I just really miss Jamie and Dad.  I can’t believe Mom was responsible for this.  Jamie didn’t do anything to deserve that.  Dad didn’t either.  Wade, what the hell is this?  What are we doing?” A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye and ran over her cheek. 

              “I miss them too.  I don’t know.  I’m not sure of anything right now.” Wade replied looking past Wren to Artemis hoping he had a few words of wisdom to interject.  Artemis sat silent, driving.

              “What if, after this, people figure out what caused it?  What if Mom’s name is dragged out?  She’s gone, but a lot of people lost their loved ones.  They’re going to be out for blood.  If we make it to a refugee center, if there is one, and we give our names, people will know we’re her kids.  Do you know how people will react to that?  Will they come after us to quench their bloodlust?” Wren reached up and rubbed the palm of her hand on her throat.  Her chest heaved from the anxiety of considering the possibility they might have a lynch mob of real living people after them.

              “I hadn’t thought about that.” Wade replied, his voice low.  He looked away as he considered what she had pointed out.  He knew she was right.  If they did find survivors, they may kill them in retribution for their mother causing so much death.

              “You do have an option besides that.” Artemis finally interjected.  The twins both looked at him in unison as he spoke.

              “If you have any suggestions, please by all means.” Wren raised her eyebrows.

              “Change your names.  I’m the only one who knows who you are.” He shrugged a shoulder.

              “What if we run into someone who knows us?” Wade asked.

              “Hey, I didn’t say my plan was fool proof.  I just said I had a suggestion.” Artemis adjusted the side mirror.

              “At least we have a starting point for a plan though.” Wren turned to her twin.  “I think he’s right.  We need to change our names.”

              “Okay.” Wade shook his head.

              “Also…” Wren reached down and grabbed the knife from Artemis’ leg holster.  Reaching up she freed her long blonde hair from its pony tail causing it to cascade down over her shoulders and back.

              “What are you doing?” Wade sat up a bit straighter as he watched her regard the knife.

              “This.” Wren replied as she lifted the blade to her locks and began to hack off chunks of her hair.

              “Whoa!” Wade reached out and took hold of her wrist to stop her from going any further.  “What the hell?”

              “You’re right.  Changing our names isn’t enough.  We have to change our appearances too.  I’m cutting my hair off.” Wade released his grip on her and she grabbed another handful of her hair, raised the blade and sliced through it.  Wade sat in shocked silence as he watched her mutilate the hair she had once been so proud of.  By the time she was finished it was almost as short as his own.

              “You do look different.” Artemis chuckled.

              “When we go to make camp tonight, we need to try to find a retail store.  We need to dye our hair, the blonde stands out too much.” Wren replaced his knife in the holster.

              “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” Artemis nodded.

              “I’m not going to dye my hair.” Wade shook his head.

              “Oh yeas you will.  I’m going to cut yours shorter too.  We need to change out of these clothes too.  I’m not going out by the hands of an angry mob.  You better start thinking of a name you want too.  We need to practice with them before we get anywhere so none of us mess up and call each other by our real names.” Wren brushed some remaining hair off of her legs.

              “You got it all planned out, huh?” Wade shook his head.

              “We have no choice.  This is the only way, and even then it could still fail.  If we use our real names or if we run into anyone we’re related to, it could cost us our lives.  We have no family now.  Wade and Wren DeLasalle died with their mother, father and little brother.” Wren pushed herself up from the seat and made her way back into the cargo hold of the truck.

              “She reminds me of your mom.” Artemis smiled.

              “Yeah, she’s always been like this.  She’s always been decisive.  The one who had outlines and schedules.  Not me, I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of guy.” Wade laughed.

Chapter Twelve

“Well, there’s your retail store.” Artemis parked the truck and leaned on the steering wheel as he scanned the area.

              “Alright.  We need to make camp in there.” Wren nodded.

              “That is a huge store.  There could be a ton of zombies in there or other survivors.  At this point I don’t think I would trust living people any more than I would the dead.” Wade frowned.

              “We have to do this.” Wren’s attention snapped to her brother.

              “She’s right.  I hate to say it, but she’s right.  I don’t want to go in there, but I will if it means we can change your appearance enough that it saves your lives.” Artemis reached down and grabbed the butt of his weapon.

              “Too bad you couldn’t just say we’re your kids.” Wade looked to their last hope in this world.  Artemis laughed.

              “You got two things wrong on that one.  First, I ain’t old enough to be y’all’s Dad.  Secondly, there is no way neither of you could pass for being half black.  How old do you think I am?” He chuckled heartily.

              “I don’t know, like what forty?” Wade shrugged.

              “I’ll try not to be offended by that.” He was still laughing. “Guys, I’m only twenty-two.  Damn, y’all.  Way to make a guy feel ancient.  You know it may be a compliment to y’all for someone to think you’re older but…damn…forty?” Artemis laughed.  “Naw, if anyone asks you were some kids I saved and then we just stuck together after that.  How does that sound?”

              “Like, it’s close enough to the truth that we could remember it.” Wren nodded her approval.

              “Good.  You ready to go in there?” Artemis reached down and put his hand on the door handle, poised to open it.

              “Let’s just get this over with.” Wade sighed as he opened his door.  At the sound of Wade’s door opening Artemis opened his.  They all jumped down from the cab, and tried to quietly run towards the store.  As the got closer to the main doors, they slowed down.

              Beside the retail store sat a daycare center, and from where they stood they could see the small playground that sat behind the building.  The bright colors of the towers, slides and swings were hard to miss.  But something more grabbed their attention.  Milling about the playground appeared to be about forty child and toddler sized zombies.  Wren frowned as she turned to the others.

              “We can’t do anything about them.” Artemis shook his head as she whispered.  “Come on, once I open this door ain’t no telling what’s gonna be on the other side.  All hands on deck, let’s roll.”

              “Fine.” Wren spat as she once again lifted the crowbar up.  Wade crouched a bit as he lifted his knife up, preparing to start stabbing if they were rushed.  The doors were automatic, but the power must have been cut because as they got closer the doors did not budge.  Artemis places his hands on the glass panes and forced the doors open. 

              A foul stench met them as the doors opened.  Artemis bent down and picked up a few small rocks that were laying on the large doormat, and he threw them in.  Their tiny thuds echoed through the large building.  He held up his hand in a fist to indicate that no one moved until he gave the say so.

              Just as they thought the store was safe, ten zombies, dressed in their uniforms came out of the darkness, arms raised and eyes focused on them.  They could hear a few of the gurgling groans coming from further into the store.  They exchanged a look before walking a few steps into the store.

              Artemis took the lead, raising his gun up he began to shoot them in the head.  The backs of their skulls exploded, dropping each one like a fly.  Wade and Wren flanked him, taking down as many as they could. In no time the ten that had come forward lay upon the floor, their motor oil blood pooling around their truly dead corpses.

              “Come on.” Artemis turned and closed the doors behind them, reaching up he pulled out a flashlight from his belt, bringing light into the vast darkness.

              “This is creepy.” Wade whispered as they ventured deeper into the store.

              “Yeah it is.” Wren agreed.

              “There’s your hair dye.” Artemis sent the beam of light to illuminate the shelves with the boxes of smiling females.  Wren grabbed a few and shoved them into bag.  They didn’t stop, instead the moved forward, towards the gurgling noises. 

              “It’s coming from over there.” Wade walked up beside Artemis and pointed.  Slowly they walked forward, finding a shelf toppled over and a female zombie trapped underneath.  She was on her belly.  They watched as she reached out, pressing her fingers into the tile in an attempt to crawl out from underneath the shelves.  There were smears of black blood where she had broken off her decaying fingernails in her attempt.  Her white soulless eyes looked up at them, one hand reaching up towards them.

              “I got it.” Wade stepped into the beam of light and brought his knife down into her skull.  Her head collapsed, jaw open, truly dead.

              “Alright, listen.” Artemis cast the flashlight to the floor, sending everything back into darkness.  The sound of their breathing seemed loud in comparison to the silence that surrounded them.  “Sounds like we may have got them all.”