The Dead in River City (5 page)

“You’ve done well to survive so long, but this is
the end for you.”

8

Alan had never been quite so dumbfounded as he was
right at this moment. Kendra was just as shocked, and neither one of them could
explain why the Dead weren’t attacking. This man who stood before them acted as
though he controlled the Dead Ones. He seemed to hold some sway over them that
was difficult to explain. The only way to obtain answers was to ask questions.
Alan slightly stepped forward.

“Just who the hell are you?” Alan nervously asked.

“Me? Oh, I’m nobody. Just the man pulling the
strings; a puppeteer, if you will.” The man replied, pacing around the room.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kendra interjected.
“You control these walking corpses. Tell us how.”

“Oh, I’d love to tell you my evil plan, but it never
really works out for the maniacal mastermind, does it?” The sarcasm in his
voice was palpable.

Alan rolled his eyes. “Let’s start small. Who are
you? What’s your name?”

“Not that it matters to you, my name is Malcolm
Graves.” The man replied.

“I’m Alan, and this is Kendra.” Alan replied.

“Two more insipid survivors. The one in the store is
bad enough.” Malcolm said.

“Was.” Kendra interjected.

“Was?”

“Yes, was.” She continued. “She’ll likely be dead
soon. She’s bleeding out.”

Malcolm scrunched his face, and two Dead Ones
proceeded into the store to find the girl they’d just incapacitated.

“Where are you from, Malcolm?” Alan asked.

“Alan, this is truly pathetic. I know how afraid you
are, and you’re trying to stall, trying to get on my good side. It won’t work.”
Malcolm deduced. “You’re just another pawn; another piece on the board. This is
all much bigger than the two of you. You have no idea just how big this really
is.”

Alan was disappointed that his veil had been seen
through. It was a last ditch effort, but it was better than nothing. Now his plan
had failed and he was certain that the Dead Ones, or Malcolm, would kill them.
Malcolm’s silhouette turned to leave.

“Have fun, Alan and Kendra. It was lovely to meet
you.” Malcolm said as he walked away.

Malcolm disappeared deeper into the shadows. Once he
was out of sight, the near motionless Dead Ones began to move again. One by
one, they began to shamble towards Alan and Kendra. For a moment, they were
both stunned, nearly unable to move. Then, in one single instance, they both
attacked the small horde of Dead Ones. Alan raised his shotgun and proceeded to
blow off the head of each Dead One in his line of sight. Kendra leaped forward
and started the slash the walking corpses, dismembering them of each and every
limb, and decapitating them as their heads came into reach.

What should have been the final moments of two
survivors quickly became a bloodbath, filled with zombified corpses. The Dead
Ones died again, this time for good. Minutes passed, and the small crowd of
Dead Ones was now little more than a pile of flesh. With a shared look, and no
words between them, Alan and Kendra broke for the door. They knew there had to
be more Dead Ones hidden in the mall, and neither one of them really wished to
stay around any longer.

They ran through the mall, and out into the parking
lot. The outside world seemed even emptier than it already was. Not even the
Dead Ones were near them. It was an odd circumstance, but neither of them
wanted to question it. They headed back to the car, threw their weapons and looted
goods in the back, and climbed in.

“That was odd.” Kendra broke the silence.

“Which part?” Alan asked. “The man controlling the
corpses, or the woman you pretty much left to die?”

“Both.” Kendra said. “And I had very little choice.”
She added.

Alan thought before speaking. “There was probably
another way, but this kind of scenario changes the way you think. It changes
you from the inside out. I understand why you did it. It was survival, without
outright murder.”

Kendra turned away and looked out the window as Alan
started the car and started pulling out of the parking lot. Kendra and Alan
both silently contemplated the recent events. Alan wondered who this Malcolm
Graves person was, and how he controlled the Dead Ones. Kendra glazed over that
thought, instead remembering the situation with the woman in the mall. It
seemed like this whole ‘end of the world’ ordeal was causing her to commit
darker and darker acts. Death might have been kinder to the woman. Kendra
didn’t know if the woman would survive or not. She hoped she’d never have to
find out. Then almost at once, both of them realized they didn’t know where to
go next.

“Where do we go now?” They said simultaneously.

They giggled at their shared thought. “I think we
should find out more about this Malcolm Graves guy.” Alan said.

“Sounds like as good a plan as any. Something wasn’t
right about him.” Kendra replied.

“I’m not sure where to go though. Tracking down info
could be difficult.” Alan mused.

“I know where to go!” Kendra exclaimed.

“You do?” Alan looked at her, surprised.

“We go to the best source of information in the
city.” She explained. “The Library.” She said with an air of confidence.

“Of course! I always forget about that place.” Alan
said, realizing his own stupidity.

Alan drove towards the nearest library he knew. He
wasn’t sure about how successful this trip would be though. Society had pretty
much collapsed, so the Internet services were likely inoperable. There was no
guarantee that they could find anything in books about him. They might find
something in an old census or something, but really, Alan saw this as little
more than grasping at straws, even if it was the best place they could look.

As they drove through the desolate city under the
grey sky, Kendra slept in the car. Deep inside her mind, her nightmares began
to take hold while she slept. The twisted visions in her mind, filled with
death, blood, screams, and corpses, became rooted deep in her brain. She
sometimes whimpered as she slept, and her muscles would twitch. She never
tossed and turned, but it was obvious that she was restless. If you looked hard
enough, you’d even notice that sometimes she cried in her sleep. In the times
that Alan would observe her as she rested, he noticed these things, and he
began to realize that Kendra wasn’t the hard-edged person he’d met in downtown
Louisville. Beyond the cold exterior, there was a softer center. He liked the
idea of getting to see the real Kendra, the one beneath the surface. He also
knew not to push it. She’d show herself eventually. Until then he’d do what he
had silently promised himself he would do since he defended her at the hotel.
He would protect her.

9

The chartreuse-colored car pulled into the empty
parking lot of the local library. Alan shut off the car and lightly shook
Kendra, in an attempt to wake her up. She resisted at first, just wanting to
sleep. Eventually, after a few attempts, Alan succeeded in waking her up.

“Ughhhhhhh.” Kendra moaned out. “Where are we?”

“Library.” Alan replied. “You alright?”

“Yeah… I’m fine.” Kendra said, unconvincingly.

Alan ignored her obvious lie. He opened the door and
exited the car, grabbing the shotgun and flashlights from the back seat. He
eyed the crossbow pistol, and grabbed it as well. He figured it could be a good
area for a field test, should they run into any more Dead Ones.

Kendra exited the car after Alan, retrieving her
sword from the back seat. She made a mental note to acquire some ammunition for
the pistols she’d taken from the goons outside the old peddler’s mall. She and
Alan slammed their doors shut, and then the area fell silent. No matter where
in the city they went, they never got used to the silence of it all. This
wasn’t the sound of a sleeping city… it was the sound of a dead city. Alan
began walking to the library’s entrance, and Kendra, still half dazed, followed
him.

As they reached the entrance, Alan tossed one of the
flashlights to Kendra. She nearly dropped it, as she didn’t expect a large
plastic light source to be flying at her face. She flashed a pissed-off look at
Alan, but quickly calmed herself, realizing he didn’t mean to irritate her.
Alan swung open the door, surprised that it was actually open. He walked
inside, with Kendra a mere 2 steps behind him.

“Think anyone is in here?” Alan asked in a whisper.

“Not sure.” She began. “It’s not a place most people
would loot. Anyone that was here is surely dead now. Probably not many Dead
Ones, if any at all. We might be safe here.”

Alan acknowledged her statement, and turned on the
flashlight. Scanning the room, he didn’t see any threats, but he knew there
could easily be anything hiding in here. Alan thought it best to split up, and
divide their tasks so that they could find what they were looking for. They
would need to check anything that might have a record of Malcolm Graves.

“Kendra, check around down here. See if you can find
anything on Malcolm Graves. I’ll check the second floor. Come find me if you
find anything.” Alan said, heading towards the staircase.

“Alright.” She replied, hesitant to split up. “Be
careful!”

“I will.” Alan replied, walking up the stairs.

Suddenly, Kendra was all alone. There was a time,
just days ago, when she would have welcomed this solitude. Now it just felt
unsettling. Alan had shaken up her life pretty well, and that’s saying
something in a zombie apocalypse. Kendra didn’t know how she was supposed to
find anything in this place. She was frankly surprised that the books were
still in halfway decent condition. She finally decided to try booting up one of
the librarian computers. With any luck, she could access the book archive.
Maybe she’d find something that way. Hunched over the computer in the dark,
run-down room, she prayed that the computer would work.

Reaching the top of the staircase, Alan stepped into
the vast second floor of the library. There wasn’t much up here besides a
gargantuan collection of books. Alan was actually pretty clueless as to how to
find what he needed in this place. This was Kendra’s idea after all. He would
just have to roll with it. Stepping towards the old desk where the librarians
would sit, Alan noticed a large phone book. It was the only lead he had, so he
sat in the old, creaky chair at the desk, and started searching. Looking under
the name Graves, he saw a few names, but no Malcolm. His only idea had ended
before it really began. Alan stood and wandered around the floor, pondering any
other potential ideas

Suddenly, a noise from the stairwell caught his
attention. He turned and saw Kendra racing through the doorway. “I found
something!” She was shouting as she ran to him.

“What is it? What did you find?” Alan asked in rapid
succession.

“Well, I got the computer downstairs to work, and
was able to access the library’s book archive. It shows every book they have. I
did a keyword search on Malcolm Graves, and it came back with a single result.
It’s a non-fiction book, something about sciences and diseases. Should be
somewhere up here.” Kendra told him about her discovery.

“Lets start looking then!” Alan became renewed in
his enthusiasm.

Minutes of searching ensued. Each of them starting
at one end of the non-fiction range and working towards the middle. They looked
for the approximate area of the mystery book that referenced Graves. Their
search seemed fruitless until Alan and Kendra both met in the middle of the
non-fiction section. Scanning the shelf, they found the item they needed.
Amongst all the old, damaged books, there was one that was a fair bit newer
than the rest. Removing it from the shelf, they saw it was a book about
diseases: particularly, the fatal kind. These diseases in the book were ones
with no definitive cure. It covered all sorts of things: cancer, HIV/AIDS,
multiple kinds of STDs and tons of genetic disorders. Flipping through the
book, they found on one page a name. That name was Malcolm Graves.

Each of them reading to themselves, Alan and Kendra
looked over the page. The name of Malcolm Graves belonged to a man who worked
as a scientist, trying to rid the world of one of its many diseases. It looked
as though Graves wasn’t American. Thinking back to the mall, Alan remembered
the voice of Malcolm Graves, and it did seem off. It seemed as though he was
from a European country, but he couldn’t quite tell which one. Really, this
book mentioned very little about Graves living in America. According to the
book, after his major attempt to cure a rare genetic disorder failed, he just
vanished without a trace. No one knows what happened to him.

“This doesn’t really seem all that helpful.” Kendra
stated.

“I agree.” Alan replied. “All it tells us is that
Graves isn’t from around here, and that he used to be a scientist.”

“Well, do we really need to focus on him?” Kendra
inquired. “Our main goal should be survival.”

“I suppose you’re right. Something just doesn’t sit
well with me about that guy.” Alan said.

“Well this trip was a bust. Should we get going?”
Kendra asked.

“Yeah, I guess.” Alan said, disappointed at their
lack of findings. “If there’s anything you want to grab on the way out, I’d
suggest you do it now.”

Kendra silently acknowledged him and descended the
stairs. She decided to snag a few books on the way out, maybe something that
could keep her mind from falling into complete insanity. Armed with only a
flashlight, it was difficult to find anything. She heard Alan come down the stairs
and she quickly met up with him.

“Let’s go.” She said.

“Ladies first.” Alan replied.

Walking towards the sturdy glass doors, both Alan
and Kendra stopped dead in their tracks. Standing outside the door was another
small horde of Dead Ones. At the head of their pack was a man in a duster
jacket, average height, and medium length brown hair. The man made eye contact
with Alan, and Alan began to put the pieces together. The Dead Ones weren’t
attacking, or even moving. He was sure that this must be Malcolm Graves.

“Stay here, Kendra.” Alan said, walking towards the
door, shotgun in hand.

“Malcolm Graves, I presume?” Alan said as he walked
outside, the cool air hitting his face.

“How perceptive, Alan. You must be a very
intelligent individual.” Malcolm replied.

“What do you want? Why did you follow us?” Alan
questioned him.

“Well, you survived my creations at the mall, and
you almost killed someone very dear to me. I’m not a forgiving man.”

Alan was slightly taken aback. “Are you talking
about the woman we found at the mall?”

“The very same!” Malcolm said. She was resistant to
my advances, but I am very persistent.”

“So that’s why she was in the store. She was hiding
from you, and thought we were helping you.” Alan realized what had actually
happened.

“She’s much more cooperative now.” Malcolm casually
remarked. “The point is, your little girlfriend in there nearly killed her, and
I had to save her.”

“Wait…” Alan said. “Why didn’t she kill you?”

“I was the only thing holding the Dead Ones at bay.
They would’ve eaten her alive without me keeping them on a leash. Your little
harlot of a girlfriend nearly killed her. I nearly lost her entirely.” He
elaborated.

“I can’t say I feel sorry for you.” Alan’s tone
became condescending. “She’d be better off dead than around a psychopath like
you.

“I’m afraid you don’t quite understand, boy.”
Malcolm said, snapping his fingers.

At once, a single corpse from the small crowd began
to shamble forward. This one looked newer that the rest. Some hair was still
clinging to the body, and the flesh was less decayed than the others. Alan
observed the body as it moved and noticed that it had a very distinctive
feature. It had a slash across its right arm.

“Hello, darling.” Malcolm spoke to the living
corpse. “Alan, this is Jessica, AKA the girl you met in the mall.”

“You saved her… by making her into a zombie?” Alan
said, very confused.

“Precisely. I have trapped her in this state of
un-death, rather than lose her entirely.” Malcolm confirmed. “It’s better to
have loved a zombie than never to have loved at all.”

“I don’t think that’s the right saying.” Alan said.
“You’re a sick man.”

“I’m paraphrasing of course.” Malcolm replied. “Now
enough idle chit-chat. It’s high time I added you to my little army of the
dead.”

With a snap of his fingers, the Dead Ones behind
Malcolm began shambling towards Alan. If Malcolm wanted Alan and Kendra to join
his undead horde, he’d have to make an effort. Alan retreated back into the
library, and yelled out to Kendra.

“Bar the doors!” He shouted. “He’s going to have us
under siege.”

Kendra wordlessly searched for something to hold the
door shut with. Her first instincts told her to use a broom or iron rod,
neither of which she would be able to find in this infernal darkness. She went
for the next best thing. She ran to the door, and shoved her katana into the
door handles, preventing the door from opening.

“That will hold for maybe… 5 minutes.” Kendra said.

“I’m loving the confidence, Kendra.” Alan said
sarcastically.

Alan stood at the door, aiming his shotgun at the
sluggish horde. “Kendra, go upstairs, quickly!”

“But…”

“Don’t argue, just go!” Alan shouted.

Kendra dropped the argument and ran. Never had
anyone been so forceful with her. It was new. She actually enjoyed it on some
level. She bolted up the stairs, hoping that Alan had some sort of plan.

He didn’t.

Alan stood like a stone wall, waiting until he’d
have to start shooting. Doing the math in his head, he reckoned that he had
roughly seven shots left before he needed to reload, and unluckily enough, the
rest of the ammo was in the car. Knowing that facing them down was suicide, he
very quickly rethought his plan. He needed a distraction: some thing loud, and
preferably very, very hot.

He ran from his spot by the door and used the
flashlight to find another door to the building. A minute of searching revealed
a door in the back, where the staff once worked, that let out into the parking
lot. Malcolm’s undead army wasn’t near this door, so it was his best shot at
his new, yet unlikely plan.

Propping the door open with a nearby chair, he went
outside. Looking at the eyesore of a car they’d been driving, he saw that it
had a leak underneath it. He didn’t know what it was, but he hoped it was
flammable. He aimed the shotgun at the car, and began to open fire.

Blast after blast hit the car and the ground beneath
it. The car’s body was riddled with holes, and sparks shot up off the ground
beneath the car. One of the last shots produced a spark that caught the
underside of the car on fire. Luckily, whatever the crap-mobile was leaking, it
was flammable. The Dead Ones definitely heard the noise, and would soon be
shambling around the corner. In just a few minutes, Alan knew that car would be
going up in flames, and he didn’t want to be outside when it did. He ran back
inside, and un-propped the door, letting it slam shut.

Running back out to the main area, Alan saw that the
Dead Ones were close to breaching the door. He had one last-ditch idea to stop
them in their tracks. Alan knew that some places had security systems that
would lock down a building in the event of an attack bombing. Unfortunately for
the people that had been here, the system was never activated. He wasn’t even
completely sure if a public library would have it, but he knew that if they
did, it would be under the front desk.

Frantically searching the front desk, he found the
switch for the lockdown, and silently thanked God that it existed. He just had
to hope it would work now. He flipped the switch, and instantly, he heard the
sound of heavy locks activating. The glass windows had metal blinders that
dropped down over them, rendering the glass unreachable. Now the library was
locked and they were trapped inside.