The portly teen stared at the tall grass at the back of the building and the dumpster beside it. He swung the nine millimeter back and forth between the small gap at the edge of the building and the lid of the trash receptacle. Ray’s heart was pounding so loudly that for a moment, he thought the sound was coming from somewhere else. His eyes darted back and forth until he was sure there was no threat, and more sweat dripped into his eyes. After he blinked, he could have sworn he saw the dumpster move.
Ray attempted to keep moving forward and realized he couldn’t. Something was in the dumpster, of that he was certain. All he could think was how stupid it had been to come back here and how he was going to stand there, frozen in fear, as a swarm of ghouls came climbing up out of some trash bin to tear him into bite-sized pieces.
He barely heard the noise behind him as he began to hyperventilate. Swinging around, he almost pulled the trigger on the Beretta. The diminutive figure pressed up against the wall behind him ducked, almost diving to the pavement.
“Jesus, Ray! What the fuck?”
Ray gaped at Teddy, his weapon pointed at his friend’s head. His finger remained rigid on the trigger, but his eyes swelled with recognition. He moved the gun until it was pointed at the ground. Ray’s legs felt like water, and he nearly slid down the wall but managed to stay upright.
Teddy peeked out from behind the shield of his arms.
“S-s-sorry, man,” Ray stuttered. “I thought you were one of them.”
“You thought I was one of them?” It took a moment for what Ray said to sink in. Teddy’s fear departed, and a warm trickle of anger took its place.
He stood up and gave Ray his most irritated look. “You’re fucking crazy, man.”
“I said I was sorry! You didn’t want to come and then you sneak up behind me. What did you expect?”
“Well I didn’t expect you to shoot me!”
They stood across from one another, silent. Slowly, Ray began to smile. Teddy saw it, and his lip began to curl up. He resisted, trying to look like he was still upset, but in a matter of moments, a smile was in full bloom.
They laughed quietly at each other, and Ray stuck out his free hand. “Truce?”
Teddy stared at the hand and then nodded. They shook on it. “Truce.”
“I’m sorry I tried to tell you what to do,” Teddy said after a few moments, his smile fading. Ray looked away, embarrassed by the apology and trying his best to act nonchalant.
He shook his head. “No problem. It’s cool.”
The smile returned to Teddy’s face. “So let’s check this place out, together.”
Ray’s eyes brightened. “Awesome!”
Teddy glanced past Ray toward the dumpster and door. “You check the door yet? Is it unlocked?”
Ray shook his head and looked slightly embarrassed. “I didn’t get that far.”
Teddy nodded. “You were playing it safe. Probably a good idea.”
Ray nodded vigorously in agreement.
Teddy walked past Ray. “So let’s check it out.”
Ray looked surprised at his friend’s relaxed attitude and watched as the smaller boy moved toward the door, the rifle loose in his left hand. He ran to catch up just as Teddy jiggled the handle. He glanced at Ray and shook his head.
“Locked.”
He moved toward the dumpster, but Ray put a hand on his shoulder. Teddy turned with a question on his face.
“I think there’s something in there.”
Teddy tried to crack a smile, thinking it had to be a joke, but his lips tightened as he saw the serious expression on Ray’s face. The smaller boy swiveled his head to look at the dumpster, shifting the rifle up to his shoulder as he did.
Ray moved beside him, the Beretta pointed at the metal box. He looked over at Teddy and whispered, “I heard something, I’m sure. I think a slug crawled in there and is just waiting for us to get close.”
“Are you positive? Wouldn’t the dumpster be moving? I mean, it would have heard us talking, right?”
Ray paused, considering as Teddy inched forward. He swallowed hard as he walked next to his friend. Ray was the closer of the two to the dumpster, and with every step they took, he could feel his heart beating faster. They stopped when they were about ten feet away. There was no movement or sound coming from the metal box.
“Switch places with me,” Teddy said.
“Huh? Why?”
“Because I have the rifle,” Teddy explained. “I’m going to lift the lid with the barrel. That way if one of those things is inside, it won’t be able to grab me.”
Ray nodded. “Okay, good plan. But before you do, I’m going to check around the corner. Last thing we need is one of those things springing up on us while you’re checking out the dumpster.”
Teddy nodded and moved forward a little, angling away from the building. Ray inched toward the edge of the building, holding his pistol out like he had seen every cop and criminal do on TV and in movies his entire life.
Tensing, Ray sprang to the corner. He remembered the pain from before and gently pressed against the brick surface instead of slamming his back against it this time. He absently pushed his glasses up his nose with the barrel of the gun. Tightening his grip on the weapon, he paused, listening. Nothing. Not a breeze, not even the sound of a cricket. He blinked several times and swiveled his head around the corner.
He pulled back quickly, expecting a hand to be reaching for him. When one didn’t, Ray swallowed hard and tilted forward again.
The high grass ran all the way across the back of the general store. It was thick in most places, but there were several bald spots where gravel was mixed in with soil. The grass was thick enough to hide someone, but there was no movement. Ray looked at the field that stretched back behind the building and let his breath out. His shoulders slumped as he relaxed. Lowering the gun, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his other arm.
“All clear.” He turned to face the dumpster, but did not raise his gun again.
Teddy nodded. The muzzle of the old Springfield dipped toward the overhanging lip of the right dumpster lid as he prepared to flip it open. Looking one last time at Ray to make sure he was ready, Teddy sent the lid flying up and over the iron box.
It slammed into the back of the dumpster with a resounding BOOM that echoed off the buildings surrounding the two teens. Both boys jumped at the sudden noise. It was the loudest thing either had heard in a long time.
Teddy saw nothing from his vantage point and stepped forward, moving the rifle into the container. He had kept his distance when flipping the lid, but the loud noise changed his perspective on things. They needed to get back to the front doors of the store before the adults discovered them screwing around. He knew that Jeff and George had probably heard the noise, and Marcus might have as well.
He surveyed the darkened dumpster and saw it was halfway filled with trash. Teddy did not bother lifting the other lid, giving the other side only a vague glance. Instead, he turned to Ray.
“We need to get back to the front of the store, now. This shit is going to-”
Ray was nodding when Teddy cut off and stumbled forward. He slipped and fell, jamming his left arm up against the metal edge of the dumpster. His rifle kept moving forward, and he almost lost his grip on it.
Ray stepped away from the wall, ready to laugh at the klutzy maneuver, just before he saw a hand reaching out of the dumpster.
He watched in horror as the appendage landed on the top edge of the container next to his friend. Teddy didn’t react immediately as another hand became visible, the one that had yanked on the barrel of the rifle.
Teddy noticed the first hand about a second after Ray, but he did not move, even as it slid toward him. The other hand still had a hold on his weapon, to which Teddy now barely clung. He did not see the head that followed both hands out into the light like Ray did. Teddy adjusted his grip on the rifle, pulling on it hard, which helped yank the man who had a hold of it free of the prison in which he had been trapped for the past few weeks.