“We are,” Josh said. “Want to take a fast shower?”
I looked up at the kitchen ceiling. Remembered what was upstairs. A shower sounded better than coffee and a cigarette. “I’m going to pass,” I said.
Josh said, “How far, exactly, to your kids?”
I looked at Allison. Knew what she was thinking. They weren’t there last time I talked to Charlene. They’d had to flee. My daughter was using an ax. “Near the lake. Big house, at the end of Dewey.”
Josh looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. “That’s still a few miles.”
“We should try and get another car.”
“Bet the people that lived here have one.” Dave started opening drawers.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Car keys. They must be around here.”
By the phone on the wall near the back door was a key chain rack. I walked over, lifted a set off the hook. “Like here?”
Dave beamed. “Exactly.”
I shook my head. Was going to be a long day.
We stopped at the garage door. I pressed an ear to the wood. Behind me, they were all ready with their garden tool weapons. “On three,” I said.
As slowly as possible, I disengaged the deadbolt. I turned the lock on the knob, and then pulled open the door.
Dark, but clearly empty. Where was the car?
“The driveway?” Allison said.
Made sense. They had car keys. There must be a car. If not in the garage, then in the driveway. We left the kitchen. Walked in a line.
Allison smelled like Pert Shampoo. She’d showered. I must smell like shit.
Three of us huddled between the front door and staircase. Josh stood by the picture window. With the back of one hand, he parted the curtain and chanced a look outside.
“Well?” I said.
“Still looks clear.”
“We should go, then. While we have the chance,” Dave said. He looked at me and nodded. His tongue might as well be dangling out of the corner of his mouth, and his nose wet. That’s how much he reminded me of a giant sheep dog.
“I agree, but maybe now is the best time to try the television. See what the news is saying.” Josh let the curtain fall closed.
He also stared at me. Got the feeling if I said, No, that would be the end of it. And we’d venture outdoors, blind.
“Good idea. Keep it low. Very, very low,” I said.
Dave walked toward the couch.
“Uh-huh, Dave. We’re staying right here. By the door. Away from the windows,” I said. “We can see the set fine from here.”
Josh stayed low. He squatted in front of the television and turned it on.
We all stared as he flipped through channels of nothing but white-snow-static.
Until he stopped on what seemed to be the only channel still . . . alive and working.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fox News Reporter, Jeremy Thomas sat in front of a green screen. A helicopter’s view of Washington was displayed behind him. Chaos ensued on the White House grounds. Secret Service used automatic rifles to fire strings of shots at zombies.
“Recent reports indicate that the President is safe. While the nation’s capital is under attack, both the president and vice president have been taken to separate secure undisclosed locations. All branches of the military are working together to combat the common enemy. It is advised that everyone remain indoors until the situation is controlled. Phone lines are down. Cellular towers are working, but sporadically. The National Guard and all branches of the military have been deployed on US soil. Safe-compounds are being set up in the following states and cities. . .”
Static - white snow. The signal lost.
Josh banged the TV.
It was a flat screen. It did nothing to fix the picture. Instead, it wobbled on its base and fell forward.
“What the fuck, Josh,” Dave said. I couldn’t have said it any better.
Josh picked the set up. Set it back on the stand. The screen was not broken. White snow filled every bit of the 52 inches.
“Check through the channels again,” Allison said.
Josh had the remote pointed at the cable box, and was scrolling. “Nothing. We got nothing.”
At first, I thought it looked and sounded hopeless. I’ll admit the US military never entered my mind. They were a positive ray. If anyone could thin out the heard of zombies, those boys could. Would. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had the training and weapons.
“Where do you think these camps are?” Allison said.
“I’ll bet one is in D.C.,” Josh said. “Probably one somewhere in New York, too.”
“But we don’t know where,” I said. “Let’s look around. See if this couple had a transistor radio. My guess is they will. And batteries. That will at least give us some way of keeping a pulse on what’s happening.”
“It’s a good idea,” Josh said.
We scattered. The scavenger hunt had begun.
Then something exploded.
The house shook.
Allison screamed.
We all ran back into the living room.
“You okay?” I asked, looking at everyone.
“It came from outside,” Dave said, pointing at the picture window.
I peeked out. I couldn’t see anything. “I’m going out,” I said.
“We don’t know what that was,” Allison said.
“It’s why I have to check,” I said.
I had my shovel. “Lock this door as soon as you shut it, got it?”
She nodded. I didn’t believe her. “Dave, you make sure this door is locked once I’m outside.”
“You got it,” he said.
I stepped out onto the front step. Didn’t need to go much further to notice three things. There was no car in the driveway, and the house next door was on fire. Colorful flames licked at the afternoon sky. Heat rolled off the burning clapboard and hit me like a wave in the face and chest. Third, the loud boom from the explosion was bringing curious zombies out of the woodwork. They were still a ways off, but they were coming.
I turned, knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
“Fuckin’, Dave, let me in!”
The door opened. I’d only just stepped outside. Josh said his brother was a bit slow, but this was a bit ridiculous. He might have saved my life last night, but I’d bet money he’d also be the cause of my death. “We have to get out of here.”
“What was it?” Josh held a plastic bag in his hands.
“House next door. Gone. Coulda been a natural gas leak. Which means, we’re not safe in here. Not anymore,” I said. “The gas lines run from house to house. No fire department is coming and RG&E isn’t going to shut the gas off, if you know what I mean.” I started toward the kitchen, and back door. They followed.
“What about the car?” Josh said.
“Isn’t one.”
“Where is it?” Dave asked.
I ignored him. “Zombies are coming back. The sound. It calls them. Noise does. So we have to be fast, and we have to be quiet. Shut the two-ways off.”
Josh and Allison switched off the radios.
“I don’t think staying close to the houses is going to be smart. Not right now. We need to put some distance between us.”
Another explosion, then two smaller ones rattled the walls of the house we were in.
“What was that?” Allison said.
“We have to move, now.”
In a line, me at the front, Allison behind me, followed by Dave and Josh, we moved like a snake towards the back of the yard. Going around front didn’t make sense, it was where I had seen the gathering of walking dead. Running through yards and jumping fences didn’t seem easy either, but right now, it was the only option I could think of.
The other explosion was another house. The two, side by side, were now fully engulfed. Black smoke rolled into the air. Inside the houses, white sparks and pops sounded. It was loud. The roar of the fire was deafening. Glass broke inside. Shattered. Sounded like ceilings caving, or staircases crumbling. Even at the edge of the yard, we could feel the heat. I don’t know how firemen run inside those things, wearing all that gear, and breathing into a tiny face mask.