Trying to Survive (Part 1) (9 page)

   He handed the last six of them to me and said “You’ll have to keep them away from the side of the building until I get back up… and remember, try to save at least one for when Melanie gets back.” He turned to Melanie. “When you get back from leading them away, just pull the car right up to the ladder – but not too close. They might be able to use it to get up here.”

   Walt made sure his rifle was fully loaded, slung it around his back and then picked up the shotgun. “I’ve decided I want to do this now.”

   “Whoa, man, what the hell? We gotta wait a little longer, Walt... I know you’re scared, but it’s still too early. The ones inside the building aren’t going to come out.”

   He lunged forward and interrupted me. “I’m not fuckin scared! If Melanie doesn’t make it to the car and lure most of them away, this isn’t going to work… Look, if she can’t get enough of them to follow her, she’ll just have to find a place to hide out and come back when it’s dark. We need her to make it to that car James.”

   I started to nod as I recognized his sound reasoning. “You’re right, that’s a much better idea.”

   My stomach was in knots. If it wasn’t empty, I wouldn’t be surprised if I threw up. Just the thought of losing Walt made me sick. Knowing he would be down there alone would be torture to say the very least. I couldn’t help but feel that he’d end up running into a few that stayed behind...

   As I watched the side of the building and Walt walked over to the front of the roof, the feeling only worsened. I don’t know if it was mainly due to the heat and my thirst, but I actually started to feel dizzy… I shook my head, clenched my fists and took a deep breath as he lit the first fuse.

   The moment it started to go off, they all began to slowly head toward the noise. I yelled over to Walt. “Wait to throw another one! They’re still moving really slowly!”

  
Fuck. I knew we should have waited longer…

   Within seconds, they lost interest and I could see them starting to look up at us again. I watched as one of them alerted the others with a series of growls and loud chattering of its teeth – purposely directing their attention back to us.

   Melanie and I moved back and I called over to Walt – now doing my best to keep my voice lowered. I started waving my hand and shaking my head. “Stop.”

   He rushed over. “What’s the matter? It’s working on my end, a bunch of them are already in the road.”

   “Don’t lean over – they’ll see you… It only got their attention for a few seconds. I think we need to wait a little while longer.”

   “Fuck that. I have an idea.”

   Walt lit another one, leaned over the wall and threw it down the side and towards the front of the building, but not hard enough to make it past. “This’ll get em to the front – then I can lead them out to the parking lot with the others.”

   After a few seconds, Walt’s face went blank and his jaw began to slowly drop. “Why… the fuck isn’t it working.”

   Melanie and I exchanged fearful glances…
That’s two wasted…
“I told you it was too early, man.”

   “No… No, it worked before. Could they be catching on?”

   “Just get away from the edge. They’re like wild animals. They aren’t figuring shit like that out. It’s just too damn early.”

   Walt shook his head and continued staring as he backed away. “You’re wrong, James. They’re communicating with each other. All it takes is for one to figure it out and tell the others. Then it spreads through the crowd.”

  
Maybe he’s right. I’ve already seen signs of simple communication… Fuck, they really might be a lot smarter than we think. Even be able to learn along the way.

   Melanie softly said, “What are we going to do now?”

   “We think… If they are in fact getting smarter, it means we have to get smarter too.”

Chapter 10

   The sky was beginning to turn gray, and I could hear the packs of the infected becoming more active. Fights were breaking out and the frequency and volume of their growls and groans had increased. We’ve had to listen to three of them being eaten in the last fifteen minutes.

   Anthony and Clara covered their ears while Melanie held them, but I knew the roars and devilish screams easily pierced their thin little hands. Anthony was in a constant state of petrification, whereas Clara fought to keep herself from trembling.

   I hadn’t seen either one of them cry for quite some time. While it saddened me to know that two children were having to acclimate to such a hellish new reality, it also gave me a sense of comfort because I knew it meant they were getting stronger.

   I wanted to be more interactive with them, but I just couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t either a blatant lie or too harsh of a truth. They were past the point of believing comforting lies. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they were ready to hear the whole truth and start learning to defend themselves. It was just going to take a little more time.

   I was only twelve when my father taught me how to use a rifle and took me hunting for the first time
… They’re close enough…

   Walt had been staring at me for what felt like five minutes straight. His agitated and impatient state was beginning to make me nervous. His left foot was wiggling back and forth and his hands never stayed still. I could see the kind of wild look in his eyes that generally leads to rash decisions, false confidence and carelessness…
He’s already wasted two of our firecrackers because he went against my advice.

   Walt’s eyes followed in anticipation as I reached back and used the wall to pull myself up. “It’ll be dark soon – let’s get into position.”

   Melanie eased Anthony and Clara away so she could stand. “Just stay right here and keep each other safe. We have to go get the water now.”

  When Walter walked past me on his way to the front of the building, he mumbled “I’m tellin you man – they know.”

   I didn’t doubt that he was probably right, but I still felt the need to try so I just ignored his comment. “Don’t throw more than one for now. You need to get that ladder up and we need to make sure Melanie gets to the car.”

   Walt simply scoffed “Yeah” and continued on.

   I slowly peered over the edge of the wall. There were so many of them, I could barely even see where the ladder had fallen. As soon as they saw me, every single one scrambled towards the wall and tried to climb up. Their fingernails scraped away small bits of the concrete as if they were made of steel.

   My heart skipped a beat when one of them managed to make it halfway up a large pipe running down from the roof. By the time I raised my rifle, the pipe had torn away from the wall and sent it tumbling back into the crowd of them. It startled the others and they immediately reacted by tearing it to pieces.

   I glanced over at Walt, just in time to see him hurl the first firecracker into the parking lot. The popping brought all of them to a halt and they jerked their heads toward the noise in unison… but they didn’t move. Their glowing eyes just slowly panned back to me.

   Walt yelled out “It’s not working at all now!” as he ran back over to me and Melanie.

   “The ones over here barely reacted… You’re right, they’ve figured it out. They fucking figured it out.”

   Melanie wiped the sweat from her forehead as she said “So, what do we do?”

   Walt was standing there with his eyes to the ground, so I bleakly replied “Nothing… except drink our second portion of water for the day and try to come up with a new plan.”

   We all walked back to Anthony and Clara, side by side, slowly dragging our heels in defeat. After we had our half cups, I examined the dangerously dwindling gallon jug of water. At best, there would be a little left for the kids after tomorrow. Walt and Melanie were staring at it, trying to calculate how long it would last as well.

   Clara’s voice was delicate and laced with worry. “We can’t get any more water?”

   I tried to come up with an answer that wouldn’t scare her and Anthony, but nothing even remotely comforting was entering my mind. I was so relieved to hear Melanie answer her. “We just have to try again tomorrow. We’ll get more.”

   Anthony said pleadingly “Why do we have to stay up here? It’s so hot, it just makes me more thirsty.”

   Walt replied “Don’t worry big guy – we won’t have to stay up here much longer. We’re just hiding from those things for a little while.”

   I interjected. “We have to be quiet from now on… and no more walking near the edge of the roof and looking over. Maybe they’ll forget about us after a while and move on. If they can figure out the firecrackers are bullshit, maybe they can figure out we’re a lost cause and they’ll keep moving.”

   I knew I was grasping at a ridiculous fantasy, and the look on Walt and Melanie’s faces told me they felt the same way. Not that it wasn’t a relevant idea – they would eventually move on if we stayed invisible. We were all just doubting that it would happen in the next three or four days… and that’s about all we had left.

   Even though I’d just had a decent amount of water I was still thirsty. My throat and lips were already dry again and I felt like I hadn’t had any at all. That was the worst part about Florida – even when the sun went down the brutality of heat was only dulled.

   The air was dead and shockingly humid. I could feel that every inch of my body was covered in sweat and continuing to perspire, regardless of the drop in temperature. There was no question that we were all losing more water than we were able to take in. By the time we did run out, we’d probably be half way to dead already.

Chapter 11

   As the sunlight crept across my body and reached my face, it caused me to crack open my eye. I could feel my lips struggling to peel away from each other as I used my tongue to search for any saliva left in my mouth.

   My very first thoughts were about water and how hot it was already. The beads of sweat on my forehead felt like they were being flash-heated to a boil.

   I was soon greeted by the horrible burning in my leg, and a feeling that surpassed the worst hangovers I’ve ever had. I didn’t even have enough spit to swallow any of the painkillers. I’d have to wait until the others woke up and we had our first portions of water for the day.

   Walt, Melanie, and the kids just so happened to pick spots where the wall was still casting shadows. We all had a hard time falling asleep last night. The noises never stopped for long… Every time I felt myself starting to fade, the screams would jerk me wide awake.

   Their strength and stamina made it take substantially longer for them to die while being eaten. Last night, my morbid curiosity forced me over to the wall so I could watch as one of them was being devoured. The roars didn’t stop until the others broke away its ribcage and ripped out its lungs.

   The largest and healthiest shredders got first pick of the internal organs, while the weaker ones fought over the rest. Their behavior reminded me of a documentary I watched about the lives of wolves, shorty before everything went to shit… Apparently, the shredders actually recognized and respected “alphas”.

   I still wondered if any of their old selves remained...
Does the original consciousness vanish? Or are they trapped and forced to watch and understand what they’re doing? Do they just go insane, or are they taken over by something?

   When I really thought about it, I began to suspect that the people who turned had the worst fates of all. Starvation, blind rage and insanity was their entire existence – only to be put to an end by a bullet or the long process of being torn apart by their own kind...

   It was infuriating to think that if we just had a few more gallons of water, we might survive long enough for them to move on, or even thin the pack enough to where we could make a run for the car during the day...
We should have stored some up here in preparation for this type of situation… Idiot…

   As I sat up, the scraping of the loose gravel underneath me woke up Melanie and Walt. He shot me a dirty look, rolled over and turned his face to the wall so it would help block the light. Melanie stood up, let out a long yawn and began to stretch.

   She threw her arms above her head and reached to the sky, then suddenly froze, leaving them in midair. As her arms slowly lowered to her sides, she blurted out “Look!” Then covered her mouth for a second and nervously whispered “Clouds in the distance.”

   Walt looked back and snapped “Who cares. Keep it down. I didn’t fall asleep until a few hours ago. Those things never shut the hell up.”

   I immediately made the connection and got to my feet. The wound on my calf caused me to stumble over to the wall so I could lean against it. “Walt, we can collect rainwater.”

   He rolled over, sat up and began to blink and widen his eyes in between rubbing them. “Holy shit, you’re right… Sorry, Melanie.”

   Melanie replied “Just cut a few inches from the top of the gallon jug to widen the opening.”

   I walked over to the duffle bag and collapsed as gracefully as I could. The sounds of our movements were starting to wake up Anthony and Clara. “Let’s empty out the food from these containers and set them up too. We might be able to get enough for a few days this way.”

   Walt derisively remarked “A few days?.. Man, this is Florida – it usually just downpours for five minutes and then goes back to ninety-nine fuckin degrees.”

   Melanie turned to Walt and glared as she said “Water is water.”

   “I’m not saying it won’t work… I’m just saying don’t expect too much. That little storm might not even come by us. It’s still miles away, so let’s not start cutting up our water jug and emptying out food just yet.”

   I ignored his negativity (
even though he was right
) and continued looking through the duffle bag to see what could be used to collect water. Even if it only rained an inch – I knew if we put out enough different things to catch the water, we’d end up with a decent amount.

   Melanie came over and sat down next to me. “We don’t wanna use anything that has salty food in it.”

   “Good point. I was just thinking we could empty out these chips and use the bag… Whoever drank out of that would be sorry.”

   After a few minutes, we’d found three other things that could be used to collect rainwater. A plastic container with some turkey that went bad days ago, the small plastic box that held some of the medical supplies and a plastic grocery bag. Everything else would either leak or salt the water.

   Melanie said “I’ll just have to stand there and hold the bag open.”

   Walt added “Looks like we might luck out after all. I can feel the wind blowing in our direction and the clouds seem to be moving towards us… It’ll be nice to be rained on and get a break from the heat too… Oh yeah, and make sure to let as much rain fall into your mouth as you can. Might make it so we can pass on our half cup this morning.”

   Walt started walking toward the edge of the roof. I snapped “Walt, stay away from the edge.”

   Melanie whispered loudly. “And shouldn’t we be whispering? Those things seem to hear really well.”

   Anthony sat up and began nudging Clara. She got upset and started to slap at him, so Melanie went over, calmed them down and reminded them to be quiet.

   Walt groaned, let his ass thud against the roof and scraped his heels across the noisy, loose gravel. I looked over at him in a state of confusion, due to the fact that it seemed like he did in purpose. “Come on, Walt, you know how much noise you just made?”

   He mockingly put his hands up and rolled his eyes. “Sorry…” Then lowered his voice so the kids wouldn’t hear and added “They aren’t leaving James. They aren’t gonna forget we’re up here.”

   “Yeah, maybe, but it can’t hurt to try.”

   Melanie reached out and pushed Walt, forcing him to reach his hand back to stop himself from falling. “Come on Walter, don’t be like that. We need to stay positive.”

   He laughed and leaned his head back. “Are you kidding me? What world do you live in?”

   I could tell his comments and attitude were upsetting Melanie, so I cut in to try and prevent the argument I saw developing. “Stop… Let’s all just shut the hell up and hope the rain comes. The more we talk, move around and get all worked up, the more it’s gonna stress us out and quicken the dehydration.”

   Just as I finished speaking, I felt a moist, cool breeze pass over me. Walt said “Did you feel that?”

   “Let’s get everything ready.”

   As the minutes passed, the winds continued to pick up and the temperature was noticeably dropping. The massive, gray clouds now looked as though they were less than a mile away, and I could hear the rumbling in the distance getting louder. The combination of the breeze and knowing the rain was coming right for us was reenergizing.

   It was amazing how something as false as hope could make such a difference in the way a person felt. It wasn’t something real – it was nothing more than an optimistic view of the future. Though I was finding it to be one of the most important things to have in a situation like this.

   Hope is what got me and Walt out of my house, it’s what led us to try and help Melanie and her husband… and it’s what made us risk ourselves to save Anthony and Clara...

   Walt started to work on cutting away some of the gallon jug to make the opening wider. I cleaned out the plastic food container with a rag, emptied out the medical supplies and Melanie stood ready with the plastic bag.

   Within ten minutes, the sun was being completely blocked out by the clouds. I began to feel the first wave of the light drops that usually come before a storm. I imagined them sizzling away the moment they reached my boiling skin. Instead, the light mist and wet winds started to make me feel like I might catch a chill.

   As I looked down and saw the small droplets forming at the bottom of the two containers, it began to heavily rain. It suddenly grew even darker, and the thunder was so loud and frequent that it seemed to be right over our heads. A streak of lightning flashed nearby, split three ways and angrily shot across the sky in different directions until it reached the ground.

   Anthony was happy to be in the rain, but Clara became frightened when the thunder really got going, so I offered to take over the duty of holding open the plastic bag so Melanie could sit with her.

   Walt and I just stood there with our heads leaned back and our mouths wide open. I was so desperate for even the smallest drop of water that I almost forgot about swallowing a couple of the painkillers. It reminded of the way the infected will press their faces to the concrete to suck up every last drop of blood. Even lick it off the walls, cars or whatever else it happened to be smeared or splattered on.

   I turned back to Melanie and the kids. “Remember to keep your mouths open so you can get some water!”

   It felt like a small hurricane was upon us, but it wasn’t doing much to fill the bag. Close to five minutes had gone by when I looked down at the plastic containers again… They hadn’t even hit a ¼ inch yet. It was starting to look like Walt was right – Melanie and I really overestimated how much we might collect.

   Either way, we were all getting some much-needed relief from the heat, and even some enjoyment. The thunder was still sounding off like nearby explosions and the lightning continued to flash, but Clara soon stopped caring. She stood there with the rest of us, just enjoying the rain and letting as much of it into her mouth as she could.

   It didn’t last long – which as Walt pointed out, was usually the case in Florida. The strong winds coming from the ocean made them fast paced.

   The weight of the plastic bag was depressing to say the least, and when I checked the small containers only about a half inch of water had been collected.

   Walt shook the water from his head and walked over with the gallon jug. He grimaced and set it down on the ground so I could empty the bag and two containers into it. When I was done, it was about an inch past the halfway point.

   Walt shrugged. “Well, that’s not too bad. We won’t need any water again until tonight and that should give us another day and a half.”

   Clara said “Maybe it’ll rain again tomorrow. My mom always said August was the rainiest month of the year.”

   Melanie smiled, squeezed her hand and replied “Well, she’s right, and I have feeling it
will
rain again tomorrow.”

   We all knew exactly what happened to their parents, but none of us ever brought it up. Sometimes I wondered if it was the right thing to do. It was something I struggled with because they were so young.

   At this point, I just try to follow Melanie’s lead. Since the very beginning, she’s been to one to comfort them and ensure they gradually open up to us… I think they helped her heal too.

   It was easy to see that she’s a very strong person. I highly doubt I would be as mentally stable as she is if I lost my spouse and two children in a matter of days. There was a lot to be said for her resolve, bravery and attitude. If she hadn’t spoken out against Walt, we may have never gone back to save them.