Emalynn sat down beside him at the window and pressed her warm body into his. She had fallen in love with him months back, but he explained to her that it couldn"t happen like that. He told her he would keep her safe, and soon she would find love. Although it was not exactly what she was looking for, she knew that she could trust this great man with her life. "What"s that?" Emalynn pointed off toward a small building with some kind of plant growing out of the window.
Bradley had been so concerned with finding the signal by the hills that he wasn"t even paying attention to the city anymore. That plant was not there yesterday he was pretty sure. If it had been then it sure was not there the day before. He stared at it for a long time before Emalynn had spoken up.
"I think it is a tomato plant," she said excitedly. "We were growing them this semester in Ag cla.s.s."
"Why would there be a tomato plant sticking out the window of a building?" he asked more to himself than to her. His eyes squinted and his head c.o.c.ked to the side slightly. "There must be someone there. I don"t really know much about plants, but it seems strange to me that one has survived this long on its own. I need to go there tonight."
"What if it is just a coincidence? What if there is someone over there and they are hostile? What if you don"t make it back? What if-"
Bradley cut her off there by placing his hand on her face and staring into the depths of her brown eyes. With the lack of water, dirt had managed to build up in the wrinkles on his knuckles and under his fingernails. She too was slightly dirty, yet her beauty couldn"t be marred by it.
"I have to go Emalynn. It could be any of the possibilities you can think of, but it could also be our ticket to salvation. Besides, the fiends are thinning out again, so as long as something else doesn"t happen to stir them up I can make my way through just fine."
Together Bradley and Emalynn sat and watched out the window. They split the little food that was left, and the wheels turned in Bradley"s head as he planned his move to the other building. The streets were as clear of the undead as they would be, so he knew he could make it in a straight shot. Now he only hoped there was a way in. When the plant was pulled back into the window they both smiled. It wasn"t necessarily a sign for help, but it was a sure sign that someone was indeed there.
The sun was rising higher over the city. There was still plenty of sunlight left in the day, yet he wanted to move as soon as he could. Depending on how long it took to make his way there, he might not make it back until late in the afternoon. Without street lights the town became very dark at night. Bradley knew how well he could see in the dark, but he had no clue about the fiends.
"What do I do if you don"t make it back?" Emalynn asked. She had been crying despite this not being the first time he has set out into the city. Her eyes were red, and her dirty cheeks still wet with tears even after being wiped away.
"I will be back for you. I promise."
"What if Roger comes out?" The fear in this question froze Bradley in place. He had not thought about Roger. Emalynn panicked as she sensed his hesitation.
"He doesn"t know that I"m leaving. We haven"t seen him in days. If it will make you feel safe you are welcome to hide anywhere you can. I will call for you when I return."
His chance to move was quickly pa.s.sing by, yet Emalynn wrapped her arms around him tightly. He could feel her body against his, and all the love she possessed washed over him. He wanted to stay with her forever. There was someone better for her out there than him, and he knew it. He kissed the smooth skin on her forehead, looked into her brown eyes, and said, "I"ll find you a place to live outside of this h.e.l.l. You will find peace and happiness there."
"I want my peace and happiness with you," Emalynn replied.
Bradley"s heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest. He loved her, and he couldn"t deny it. This is why he wanted what would be best for her. "Let me find a place you can call home once again. When I get you out of this h.e.l.l we will have more time to focus on us. Right now, I just want to keep you alive."
Bradley checked to make sure he had the machete he found on his first trip outside for food, slid out of the window, and made his way down the ladder he had made from curtains and chair legs. Looking back up at Emalynn one last time he smiled than made his way to the end of the alley. Emalynn pulled the ladder up to the height that Bradley suggested to keep it from being noticed and sat back down by the other window to watch.
As he approached the end of the alley he looked up and down Ocean Drive. No fiends in sight, He thought. Holding his breath, Bradley listened for any sounds. Feeling satisfied that now was the best time he would have to move.
He had made his way around in the few blocks around the news building many times in the past on his hunt for food and water, so he felt confident that he could make it the nine blocks to the plant building. Running across the street he ducked into Joe"s Bait Shop. He had checked every building he could for weapons over the past year, but when the fiends attacked most places were cleaned out by people trying to defend themselves.
From the bait shop Bradley could go up through the ceiling and back down into a small clothing store that faced out on the other side of the building. He had cleared much of this store bringing clean outfits for Emalynn. It wasn"t long after the attack that their clothes became tattered and faded, even smelling a bit. Roger never once asked for new clothes, and he was lucky Bradley even brought food for him.
The light was working its way through the town quite rapidly now, and he had only made it through one block. He had to pick up the pace if he was going to make it to the plant building. Sliding up to the window facing out of the front of the store he could see that the street was clear. Bradley stayed low anyway and reached up to grab the bell that rang when the door opened as he had done many times before. Except this time he did not have to. The piece that held the bell over the top of the door had been bent upwards.
Maybe it was the group living in the plant building. But why would anyone do that? he thought. Shrugging this off, he slowly pushed open the door, checked the street again, and stepped out. He jogged across the street and rolled into some bushes that lined the park. Laying in the gra.s.s he did one final check of the street behind him and stood up to make his way through the large park that would take up most of his journey to the plant building.
As he turned around, he found himself just two feet from a grotesque man looking back at him through one sunken gray eye. The other eye had recently popped, running down his face like a disgusting clear slime. Most of the flesh on its cheeks was missing, providing a look at the brown and yellow teeth in the back of the mouth. The mucousy looking discharge from the eye socket ran into the mouth, making Bradley feel like he would vomit. Before he had a chance to react, the dead man standing before him lunged, grabbing Bradley by the shoulder and falling on top of him.
Bradley had taken some martial arts cla.s.ses just months before the attack. He was taking the cla.s.ses only to help stay in shape. He had not been taking the cla.s.ses long enough to be a master by any means, but he did pick up a few things. He jammed his thumb into the fiends arm just under the inside of the elbow. A move that causes the arm to bend and go numb, yet it had no effect on the dead man.
Discharge from the eye, along with small bits of decayed flesh, dripped down onto Bradley"s face as he lay on his back with the dead man on top of him. The moans and gurgles that made their way from the fiends throat brought up a stagnate liquid from his stomach. This liquid mixed with the eye discharge found its way into Bradley"s mouth, causing him to vomit while lying on his back.
As he spit and choked trying to clear his mouth and throat of the vile liquid from his own stomach the weight was lifted from his body, and he was able to sit up and allow the contents of his stomach to flow freely onto the gra.s.s.
His eyes were too watery to see much more than the liquefied silhouettes of everything around him. The fiend seemed to have disappeared. Then the hand grabbed his shoulder again. In one last attempt to break free of his attacker he threw a punch with his right fist which landed right in the fiend"s jaw. Bradley grabbed the machete out of his pack and raised it high, ready to bring it down with all his strength.
"WAIT!"
Bradley froze. His experience told him the fiends could not talk, but he wasn"t ready to let his guard down. He quickly checked his surroundings and wiped his eyes clear. Through still blurry eyes he could see a Hispanic man with short curly black hair and a s.h.a.ggy goatee. He was laying on the soft gra.s.s at Bradley"s feet breathing hard and holding a hand out in front of him in an attempt to protect himself from the long blade. The fiend that attacked him could be seen lying in the gra.s.s a few yards away with what appeared to be a lawnmower blade sticking out of his head.
"My name is Guillermo-Guillermo Alvarez. I don"t want any trouble. You looked like you could use a hand," the man said in between breaths. He stood up and walked over to the inanimate fiend, pulled his blade from the split, oozing skull and turned back to Bradley. "The devils are not fast, but it won"t be long before they come out to see what is going on. We need to move now."
Bradley was too dazed to argue, and followed this strange man through a series of buildings. As they approached what he could tell was the plant building he had been heading for it occurred to Bradley that this may be one of any number of other survivors. They approached a truck sitting behind a garage. On the side of the truck was a sticker that advertised Alvarez Landscaping. Bradley had heard of Alvarez.
"You own the landscaping company? You have a great reputation. I lived in an apartment though." Bradley said.
"Yes, but the garage isn"t secure enough. I"ve been hiding out in the small building across the alleyway. I was able to use many things from my garage to secure the building and stay alive. Luckily I was preparing a garden for a client when the devils came, so I have been living off of vegetables," Guillermo stated proudly.
"Devils huh? I"ve been calling them fiends."
"I suppose what we call them doesn"t matter, but I"ve meet a lot of fiends growing up in Mexico. None of them ever tried to eat me. On that note, I guess I"ve never met any devils either."
Bradley couldn"t help but smile. Chunky vomit and an unidentifiable slimy gunk dripped from his face, but he smiled through it. It felt great to smile like that. He knew too many things were taken for granted before, now the little things, like the opportunity to smile, really do count.
"How many are in your group?" Bradley asked as Guillermo set up a ladder to a second floor window and signaled for him to climb. He was sure the plant was seen in a window higher than this. This building was only two stories high. He couldn"t even see the roof of this place from the news building.
"It"s just me. I"ve been going crazy up there by myself all this time. You wouldn"t believe how many conversations, even arguments, I"ve gotten into with myself over the past few months." He leaned closer to Bradley as he said spoke, as if to keep anyone else from hearing. "But seriously, I"m not crazy or anything. Is there anyone else with you?"
"I have two others." Bradley was becoming slightly uncomfortable with his situation and quickly regretted saying there were only two others. "A man with years of combat training," he lied, "And a teenage girl are waiting in the news building. I need to go back for them as soon as possible or they"ll come looking for me. Were you the one who fired the gun a few days ago?"
"That was not me, but I heard it. That is when I realized there may be others out there, so I used the only signal I could think," Guillermo answered as he climbed the ladder behind Bradley. "I began placing one of my plants on the window hoping that only a living person would be smart enough to notice that it was alive and someone was here."
"That is how I found you, so I suppose it worked."
Bradley climbed through the window and looked around. He hoped this isn"t really where Guillermo had been living all this time. Most of the inside of this building had been ripped apart, and body parts rotted on the floor.
"Oh, keep moving. To the other side of the building we go. I don"t clean this area. I figure it may act as a security system to keep devi- fiends and intruders away." Guillermo motioned for him to follow as they walked through a door into an office. A long plank rested on the desk facing the window. Guillermo slid it out of the window and set the far end down on a window in the building across the alley.
"I came to this amazing country with dreams of making my family proud. I wanted to go into business, be a big shot in a corner office. Making enough money to move my parents to this great country. Instead my office is in the corner of a two car garage," Guillermo said with a laugh.
"You seem to be doing well though. Not many people have their own business, and you"ve been in business for quite a few years if I"m not mistaken. That makes you pretty successful."
"After arriving here I got my GED. Then I spent the next 5 years in college to earn a bachelor"s degree in both horticulture and landscaping, with a few business cla.s.ses thrown in. I"ve worked hard for my business." Guillermo was obviously very proud, and rightfully so. He turned as he made it through the window on the other side of the alley and motioned for Bradley to follow.
As Bradley slid to the end of the board, he pulled himself through the window in the second building. Guillermo pulled the plank through the window behind them and placed it along the wall on the floor under the window. "Welcome," his arms outstretched, "to mi casa."
Bradley was stunned as he looked around. Guillermo was living in the apartments above a furniture store, and he was living comfortably. He had turned the top two floors into one large apartment. "This is incredible," was all he could manage to say, taking a wet towel from Guillermo.
"The gunshot came from the south east. I was lucky enough, I suppose, to have actually seen the flash. On top of a roof, just over there. Maybe two, three-hundred yards away. I used to care for a couple lawns in that area. Most houses are surrounded by five and even six-foot walls, but I guess they won"t cause much of a problem." Guillermo nodded in the direction of the shot. "I was on the roof. That is where most of my plants are growing. Whoever it was shot a trash can on the street corner just below us."
"So they were aiming at something?" Bradley was finally able to take a good look at the man who saved his life.
Guillermo was shorter than Bradley, standing just over five and a half feet tall. He was much more muscular then Bradley had first thought also. His nose was flat and wide, and the white around his dark brown eyes had a tint of yellow.
His clothes, with the exception of the recent addition of blood and flesh, were clean. He wore light brown Wolverine work boots, relaxed fit blue jeans, and a maroon b.u.t.ton up shirt with the American Eagle logo on the pocket.
"Suppose so. Can"t imagine what though. It was one h.e.l.l of a gunshot, so I a.s.sume they may have been protecting themselves from someone."
"A tank judging by the sound of the shot," a hint of sarcasm was found in Bradley"s voice. "Do you know exactly what house this shot came from? How long will it take to make it there?"
"Like I said, I estimate it between three and four hundred yards. Our only real obstacles are going to be the devils trying to rip us apart. What are you thinking?"
"I"m thinking I need to make my way back to Emalynn and Roger soon. Can I bring them here?"
"Absolutely. I can go with you and cover your back. I have guns you can use if you"d like. I prefer to cut personally. My a.r.s.enal of gardening tools hasn"t let me down yet. There are several pistols and a shotgun I salvaged from some folks who wouldn"t be needing them anymore in that shelf over there." Guillermo pointed to the corner of the room.
"Thank you Guillermo." Bradley walked over to the shelf. Not knowing much about guns, he picked a nice looking handgun. "I feel like I should tell you something. The awell trained man" back at the news building, well he is just a lazy big shot in a corner office. He only survived because of the sacrifice of others. I"m glad you"re not that."
Emalynn sat against the wall looking out the window, her head resting on crossed arm. The gentle breeze swept across the green gra.s.s. The birds chirped as they swooped from tree to tree, as if they didn"t have a care in the world. The sun shone bright, as it almost always did.
The black Subaru pulled into the driveway. Every time she saw it the commercials popped into her head. It was a nice car, but she wasn"t too fond of the idea of her parents giving it to her. The parents on the commercials always say they are leaving the Subaru to the child.
Luckily for her, that didn"t happen. On her sixteenth birthday, her parents bought her blue Jeep Wrangler. It was a few years older, but she loved it. Her parents aren"t loaded, after all, and it was more then she expected.
She never put the top on it. Every weekend she would pick up Khloe and Amber, her two best friends, and head for the beach. The boys would always stop her and flirt, but she felt she had too much living to do. Boys would only bring drama.
Jared Austin climbed out of the driver"s seat of the Subaru. His black suit made him look official. He was tall, with short brown hair, blue eyes, a lean body, and a very handsome face. Although he wasn"t a big player at the station, he presented himself with the pride of a man who works hard for his family.
At sixteen, Emalynn was still always excited when her daddy comes home. Emalynn and her mother, Grace, had prepared Jared"s second favorite meal for supper. Tomorrow was his birthday, and they would make his favorite then. For tomorrow, Emalynn has a surprise visit to the office planned so she can bring him lunch.
She stood up and stepped back from the window. Racing through the living room to the French style doors she almost knocked over a lamp. Her hands wrapped around the cool bra.s.s door k.n.o.b. She opened both doors wide. The bright world came bursting in to greet her.
As her eyes adjusted, she found that she was still sitting against the wall of the news building, staring out into the town. Her wet cheeks were a sign that she had been crying. She dozed off shortly after watching Bradley enter the bait shop across the street, and this is the last she would see him until he came back through.
Her love for him rocked all of her senses. Even though he had told her that it wouldn"t work between them she still felt that he was the one for her. She did wonder from time to time if maybe he was right, and that her love for him was just teenage hormones or a survival instinct. In her heart, however, she knew their lives were meant to be shared.
Until the day he realized that, she was perfectly content resting in his protective arms. With him watching over her she knew she would be safe and well taken care of. After all he had kept her alive this long. She couldn"t wait for him to make it back so she could wrap herself in his warmth.
Occasionally a fiend would shamble past the building. Emalynn found it confusing that she felt awful for them. They are monsters now, but before all of this happened they were people who loved and cared. They had families and friends. She lost herself in thoughts of her own family and friends.
"Bradley"s out?" Roger"s voice startled her as it broke the quiet of the building. His voice wasn"t necessarily deep or powerful. It was soft with a strange gruffness that sounded as if his throat was dry, which it might have been.
"Y- Yes," she replied as she moved to her feet.
Roger had lost about half of his weight over the last year. Weighing around 170 pounds now, his faded blue b.u.t.ton up shirt hung off of him like a blanket, and he had to add notches to his belt to hold up his now baggy pants. The waist of his tan khakis was bunched up under the belt. Bradley offered on several occasions to bring back fresh clothes for him, but Roger only grumbled, "Just bring food and water."
"Whatever," Bradley would say, and with that he would pa.s.s by the men"s clothes unless he needed something himself.
He stared down at Emalynn with almost lifeless eyes. He started to lose touch with reality early on, and he always made Emalynn feel uncomfortable. Recently, however, he has become far more reclusive. When he did come out it was only briefly. His mouth hung slightly open and he looked like he had not slept in days.
Although he lost the weight well, there was still extra skin that hung loosely from the bottom of his face. He probably stunk a little, but Emalynn and Bradley were acclimated to it if he did. Roger was much dirtier than the other two. Caring much less how he looked, he sure as h.e.l.l wasn"t wasting water, or even time, to clean himself up.
"I thought I heard you crying. Is everything alright?" No concern showed on his face.
Emalynn slowly started to slide her way along the wall and out of the corner. "Yeah, I"m fine. Thank you. Bradley should be back any minute," she lied. She could hear it in her own voice and hoped that Roger didn"t catch it. "He was only going a couple blocks to look for food for the next couple of days." Roger wasn"t much taller than she was, and even though he didn"t weigh what he used to he could certainly overpower her quickly.
Roger nodded while continuing to stare at her. If there was any thought process happening at all he didn"t show it in his cold, emotionless face. "How long can we keep a.s.suming he will come back? One of these trips out will be his last. He is going to have to go further to find food, and that is when they will get him," Roger spoke softly, running his hands along the makeshift ladder that hung from the window by a four-by-four Bradley had found on the roof. "Bradley"s been going further and further each time, only to find less and less."
Chills ran down Emalynn"s body as he talked. The voice coming out of the man standing just a few feet in front of her seemed to come from a source far in the distance. Like every word he spoke was just a memory. Noticing the tremor that crept through her he stepped forward and placed both dirty, sweaty hands on her shoulders. This close, Emalynn inhaled the smell drifting off of him, and it caused her to gag. She could taste it on her tongue.
"I can keep you safe too, you know?" The expression on his face never changed. "I just want us to be friends."
"We are friends, Roger," Emalynn replied forcing a smile, yet the terror in her voice couldn"t be hidden. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought of kicking the man hard in the b.a.l.l.s and running for the window. Taking her chances with the fiends out there seemed like it would be better than dealing with the fiend in here.
Before she could act Roger stepped backed. He looked at her once more with that blank face, than turned and walked away. Emalynn slid to the floor and buried her face in her knees. She couldn"t hold back any longer. The flood gates lifted and she allowed her sobs to pour out.
The exchange only lasted a few minutes, yet Emalynn felt like it went on for hours. Although she was very nervous around him, she never wanted to think she would need to fear that man. He used to be a nice man that greeted her pleasantly when she stopped by to see her father. Resting her head back on the windowsill she continued to watch for Bradley through teary eyes.
Before closing the door to his office, Roger stopped to listen to the young woman cry. He had no plan. Although she was beautiful, he didn"t desire her s.e.xually. He wasn"t even entirely sure why he left his office, but for the first time in weeks a thought worked its way into his head. The empty expression on his face never changed.
Bradley stood watch at the bottom of the ladder as Guillermo made his way down from the garage. The darkness was disheartening. Even though the moon was shining bright, without street lights, neither one could see past the building next to them. The only advantage they have is the fiends do not care about staying quiet.
"I should have asked earlier, but how many of these devils, fiends I should say, have you dealt with?" Guillermo asked in a whisper as they moved slowly between two buildings.
"Only a few, counting the one in the park. You?"
"Enough. The most I know is that they go down with a chop to the head," Guillermo whispered confidently while making a karate chop motion to his own forehead.
"I"m glad to have found you. It will be great to add another capable pair of hands to the group." Not only did Bradley think he could be more than useful, but he also enjoyed the thought of having a friend. It wasn"t that he didn"t think Emalynn was a friend. Bradley just really liked the idea of having a guy friend again. Someone he could talk to about football while drinking a couple of beers.
"I think it was I who found you, but that"s beside the point." A c.o.c.ky smile crept across Guillermo"s kind face as he said this.
"And I"ll never be able to thank you enough. Through here." Bradley led the way back into the clothing store through the front door. "We are coming back into the boundaries I"ve been gathering from. Over the past couple of months I"ve had to reach further, but not by much yet."
The clattering sound of an empty clothing rack landing on the hardwood floor of the store made both men instinctually crouch down and freeze in place. The metal clothes hangers scattered about. Guillermo dropped down onto his stomach and glanced across the floor. The small bare feet were lightly covered in dirt and dry blood. A faded pink dress fluttered just inches above the dingy ankles.
Guillermo made the sign of the cross and kissed a silver crucifix that hung at his chest as his heart sunk deep into his stomach. "It"s a little girl," he whispered.
Both men had seen children of all ages roaming the streets through the past year, and the sight never seemed to become easier. Bradley had always tried to avoid any interaction with the children. He always waited them out as they pa.s.sed by him. It may have just been in his head, but Bradley could swear the hint of terror and agony still lingered on the children"s faces more than any others.
Guillermo, however, felt that their torment should be ended regardless of how much pain it brought him. He took no joy in what he had to do. It"s what he believed was right, and he wanted to live his life doing what was right.
"I"ll do it, but never think that I wanted to." The sadness cracked through Guillermo"s voice regardless of how strong he tried to stay.
"Wait, do what?"
"Put the child to rest."
"You can"t kill a child! We can easily move past her without giving ourselves away." Bradley felt the tension in his stomach and thought he would be sick.
"No. The spirit may still be trapped in the body. I cannot allow the child"s spirit to be forever consumed by that devil. I wouldn"t want my own children to wander this earth as a demon."