Part 16 (1/2)
Thump...thump... The guys ducked behind the isles while trying to maintain a full view of the room. Guillermo snuck around into the isle where Jonathan was. He slowly lifted his head up over the shelf and looked to Deacon, who pointed at the cooler door directly across from him with a huge smile on his face. Thump...thump.
On the other side of the gla.s.s door was a fiend trapped in the cooler. He was b.l.o.o.d.y and rotting, as they all are. His right side was split open from the combination of his rotting flesh and the pressure caused by being smashed between the door and the drink racks. There was not much room to move, but he was able to lightly pound his fist on the gla.s.s.
After a look around, Deacon confirmed that the rest of the store was clear, and Jonathan and Guillermo followed him up to the gla.s.s. Deacon tapped lightly on the gla.s.s where the fiend's face was pressed up against it. He seemed to be enjoying seeing the dead man like this.
A mop was pushed through the handle of the cooler door, running along several other handles to keep it shut. A thick brown film lined the inside of the gla.s.s around the fiend. Thump. He continued to hit the gla.s.s with his fist. The moans he let out were m.u.f.fled, and the skin on his face rubbing against the gla.s.s created a squeaking sound.
”He must've been forced in there,” Guillermo observed. ”He wouldn't have just fit himself in there like that.”
”It is d.a.m.n funny,” Deacon said. The smile on his face had not faded.
”Yeah. It kind of is pretty funny,” Jonathan expressed as his own smile spread. ”I wonder if it was the same people that are piling them up.”
”Too bad the power is out. How much more funny would this be if he was all s.h.i.+vering in there?” Deacon added with a hearty laugh.
Jonathan and Guillermo both laughed with him. The three of them really need this, a time to laugh right in the face of the problems of the world. The horribly grotesque man behind the gla.s.s tried to move his arms, but it was too cramped for him to do much more then slide his hands around at about chest height.
”It would be even funnier if he had icicles hanging from his face.” The female voice came from behind them, causing them all to spin around quickly. They had been so caught up with the cooler fiend that they had not heard the woman walk right into the store and stop directly behind them.
The warm smile on Mrs. Johnson's face as she stood there before Jonathan was enough to make his eyes water. He made quick work of the six steps between them and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
”Easy now,” she conveyed happily. ”I'm an old woman, you know.”
”I am glad to see that you are alright. Are you out here alone?” He asked with concern.
”No. There are a couple of others with me. However, I am far from alright. The loss that we have all endured is terrible. We may survive this thing, but we will never again be alright,” she stated firmly.
Jonathan took this in for a moment, and then realized he had not introduced the others. ”This is Deacon and Guillermo. It is because of them that I am here today.”
Deacon reached out to shake the woman's hand. ”He's just being modest ma'am. He saved us.” He decided against mentioning the house until Jonathan does. Although she seemed like a good person, Deacon would hate to be the one to tell a group of bad people that they had a safe house with years of supplies.
”It's nice to meet you, Deacon,” she replied, ”And it's nice to see you again, Guillermo. My yard hasn't looked the same since you stopped coming around.”
”Sorry Mrs. Johnson. My schedule has been full, but I'll get around that way as soon as your neighbors stop trying to eat me,” he said with a smile.
”Who are you with?” Jonathan finally asked. The question has been on his mind the whole time.
”I'm with a young couple from Thousand Oaks that survived the attacks on a tour of Alcatraz Island. As it turns out, they were there touring the prison when the disease hit San Francisco. They managed to stay safe there. Hungry, but safe. Until one of the dead washed up on the island.
”There's also a man who was an army ranger before landing a job with the secret service protecting the president,” she replied, seemingly proud of this man's accomplishments. ”I survived the attack locked in the attic of my house. The moment everyone started killing each other and breaking into houses, I climbed up, pulled the steps up behind me, and didn't come down until I was sure I was going to starve to death.”
”I am sorry to hear that. While surviving alone in my home, I thought many times that I had it bad, but now I see that I was wrong,” Jonathan replied, feeling ashamed that he could have ever been so selfish.
”My husband had gone into work early that morning. As a police officer, he was called to come in when things went out of control.” The pain she still felt for the loss of her husband was evident on her face. ”I didn't even wake up to say goodbye to him. There isn't much crime around here, so I a.s.sume he didn't want me to worry about him, or he thought it was just a training exercise.”
Deacon took her soft hand in his, but no one said anything for several moments. Thump. The soft thuds coming from the cooler reminded them that this was not the place for heartfelt reunions, yet they were interrupted as they continued their search of the gas station.
”You won't find anything else useful here,” the strong deep voice said.
Deacon jumped and spun around. ”Jesus. How does everyone sneak up on us? Even more important, how did we survive this long with everyone sneaking up on us?”
”My name is Master Sergeant Elliot James, former Army Ranger and Secret Service agent.” The tall African-American man reached out with his strong hand to shake theirs. His face was cleaned shaved and showed signs of aging, however, gray streaks were subtly taking over his short black hair. He was about four inches taller than Deacon, who shook his hand first.
”Deacon Belle, Clay Hills Fire Department. This is Guillermo Alvarez, and Jonathan Sawyer.” Deacon introduced them while keeping a protective stance as he did so.
Elliot picked up on it, and he had to respect a man who would protect his friends from an Army Ranger, especially one his size. ”Sawyer, huh? Name sounds familiar. Pretty common name, I suppose,” he said as he shook Jonathan's hand, ”Let's talk somewhere else, shall we?”
The group walked out through the front door of the gas station, and out into the light of the warm day. Parked just around the side of the building was a white Prius. Standing next to it was an average sized man with blonde hair, much younger than Elliot, and he was holding a small caliber rifle.
In the driver's seat sat a young woman who also had blonde hair. Her face was tan, and her eyebrows were well maintained. She looked too high maintenance to survive in this world. Jonathan a.s.sumed this was the young couple Mrs. Johnson had spoken of.
”You drive a Prius?” Deacon asked, as his eyebrows rose. ”At the end of the world, you chose a Prius,” he repeated, this time as a statement.
”It belongs to them,” Elliot pointed at the young couple. ”Eco-friendly types. Hippies. I wanted a bad a.s.s truck. The only plus side is how quiet the d.a.m.ned thing runs. You didn't hear us coming.”
”Yeah that is a nice advantage; however, I have a truck I think you'll like.” Deacon smiled wide and led the way to the Tundra.
Chapter 23.
Just under an hour later they found themselves at the Clay Hills Public Library. The large white building had been fortified to keep the fiends out. The entire place was livable, and everyone had their own s.p.a.ce. Jonathan and Nora sat in a large office that she had taken over. A large wooden desk sat in the middle of the room while a fire crackled in the fireplace on the far wall.
Jonathan stood by an extravagant window, admiring the simplicity of the barbed wire and spikes that kept the fiends out of the library. In the west parking lot, he could see a fiend caught in the wire. The dead man made feeble attempts to walk backwards out of it, but he was stuck. His skin was shredded as he continued to move.
”This is pretty nice,” Jonathan said with a smile. He enjoyed the library, but probably not as much as he should have. Most of the books he read were on the shelves in his own home. ”Where did you even find all that barbed wire?”
”Elliot found most of it around a s.h.i.+pping yard outside of town. The rest of it he made using regular wire, adding his own barbs and razors,” Mrs. Johnson stated. She stared deeply up at the sky through the ma.s.sive window, and then looked to Jonathan, ”So I a.s.sume your family is at home waiting for you?”
”No. My father did not make it. My mother and Michael left for Iowa before this happened. I do not know if they are alright or not, but I have the feeling that Michael is fine, at least. I was at the gas station to pick up any supplies I could find for the road. I am heading out to find them,” Jonathan replied. He tossed a piece of wood into the popping fire.
”It's pretty dangerous out there,” she said with concern.
”I have Guillermo. He has been a great friend to me.”
”What about Deacon? Is he not going?” She asked.
”Oh s.h.i.+t!” Jonathan jumped to his feet. ”I mean c.r.a.p,” he felt uncomfortable swearing in front of his teacher. ”Sorry Mrs. Johnson. We have others waiting for us to return.”
”Please, call me Nora,” She declared warmly.
”I will try, but it is kind of habit.” His face contorted slightly. ”I have to find Deacon.”
”I'll come down with you so I can see everyone off.”
They turned from the low flames in the fireplace and walked to the door that led to the administrator hallway. The hallway was filled with other offices for the various people that oversaw the day to day activity of the library. Some of these offices had been used by the group as apartments.
The hallway ended as it connected with the large marble staircase that led down into the library. The white walls were clean, tall bookshelves created rows of infinite knowledge, adventure, mystery, and romance. A few of the tables appeared to have been used to sort through their finds when they returned from scavenging. Deacon's voice grew louder as they walked down the stairs to the main level.