boxes the post office tries to sell.
“Victor, grab those and take them to the fire,” Kyle said.
The boy rushed into the room and grabbed as much as he could carry, and then walked them back to the fire. On the far right corner there was a dried-up potted tree. It was only a bit shorter than the ceiling. It was perfect to burn. Kyle was thankful that no one had maintained the plant and that it was dry and dead.
“Chet, can you get that plant over there and take it to the fire?” Kyle asked.
“Yes, of course. Anything to keep that fire going,” Chet responded, taking the orders well. He leaned the plant down to fit it through the door and dragged it back to the fire.
Kyle walked further into the room and jumped over the counter. Once on the other side, he saw mountains of priority shipping boxes, all different shapes and sizes. There were also a few wooden chairs that would be easy to break and burn. He began stacking boxes on the counter as Victor came back and began taking them to the fire. He tossed the wooden chairs over the counter and let them fall to the ground. They were flimsy, and they dismantled on contact. Chet came back into the room and began picking up the pieces.
Kyle wanted to explore the building for more useful items but thought against it. The building was pitch-black farther in. The fire did a good job illuminating the room, but that was it. They had enough cardboard to burn for a few hours. Kyle jumped back over the counter and began walking back to the fire.
A loud moan erupted from behind the counter. He quickly turned with the Winchester drawn. An Existing Dead stood right where Kyle had been standing only moments before. The female monster was wearing a postal service carrier uniform. Her long dark hair was tied back into a pony tail, exposing her neck, which had a large hole on the left side. Loose skin flapped to the side of the wound. She had probably been bitten on her mail route and had come back to headquarters to find some help. The creature looked at Kyle with wild and hungry eyes. It tried to walk toward him, but the counter was in the way. She just continued to struggle, trying to climb the counter and head toward Kyle. She continuously made loud gasping noises as if she were trying to remember how to breathe.
Victor ran into the room and saw the zombie behind the counter. “Holy shit, shoot it!” he yelled.
“Don’t worry, it can’t get to us. It needs to climb over that counter, and it doesn’t look like it has the brain power to do that,” Kyle answered.
“But still, you should get rid of it. It might call some of its friends.” As Victor said that the zombie let out another terrifying moan. “You see? The moan is like a calling thing. I heard them do it a lot when I was at the gas station.”
Kyle had never thought about that.
“Is everything all right?” Chet asked from the other room. He had been breaking apart the palm tree to use as firewood, as well as throwing pieces of broken chair into the flames.
“Everything is fine. There’s just one of
Kyle pumped the shotgun and pulled the trigger. The blast hit the creature dead center in the face, completely obliterating the head, spreading the nearby area with gore. The body fell back as everything went silent.
“Ahhh,” Victor yelled as he held his hands over his ears. Shooting a high-powered shotgun in an enclosed area could shatter the ear drums of anyone. Kyle could hear nothing but a faint hum. He shook his head a few times until his hearing returned. Victor no longer had his hands over his ears. His arms hung by his sides.
“Remember,” Kyle said to Victor, “never fire a gun in an enclosed area unless you have to.”
Victor nodded, shaking his head. They walked back into the other room, where Chet was finally putting the tree into the fire. Kyle swung the door behind them closed and walked toward the fire, bare-chested and shoeless.
Chapter Twelve
They huddled around the fire. The storm continued outside, blowing the trees to the point of breaking. Kyle’s clothes were finally dry enough to put on. Holding them closer to the fire had really helped. With his clothes on, he felt much more secure.
A few large stacks of boxes, wood and other burnable items were placed behind them. There was enough fuel to last a few hours if they managed it properly. Throwing in a few more sticks, wood and cardboard as needed would do the trick. They also used the chain that had been holding the trash can to wrap around the door to keep the wind from closing it. Leaving the door open was not safe, but it was more dangerous to keep the smoke building inside the room. They would suffocate faster than an Existing Dead could eat a body.
“So, you’re headed to Vegas, huh?” Kyle asked Chet.
“Yes. What about you two?” he answered, shoving a couple of mixed nuts into his mouth. He chewed vigorously, like he hadn’t eaten in a long time.
“We don’t have plans to go. I’m headed to California to find an ex-girlfriend and my buddy, Victor, here, well, he wants to go home so I’m taking him,” Kyle said, looking at Victor, who was drifting into a nap. It looked like the effects of the power tablet were finally wearing off.
“What did you do before all this, Kyle?”
“I was a welder, more or less a construction worker. I had a wife and kid. I lost them yesterday.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I lost my family as well. I’m all that’s left. How are you coping with it?”
“It’s hard. I blame myself mostly. I try not to think about it. I got that kid over there to keep me company.” Kyle pointed toward Victor, who was now asleep and snoring faintly. Kyle was happy to see that the boy felt comfortable enough to sleep, even knowing that there were dead creatures wandering around outside.
“Yes, it is hard, but I’ve found a way of coping with it.”
“What’s that?” Kyle asked.
“It’s nothing, really. Just some personal things.”
Kyle backed away from the conversation. Life was different now. He knew that people had to cope with emotions differently than they had before.
“I haven’t been able to get a good night’s rest in a long time,” Kyle said, breaking the stillness in the room.
Chet reached into his pants pocket and brought out some green gel tablets encased in a plastic bottle. He tossed the container over to Kyle, who examined the pills. There were no words indicating what the tablets were, only numbers.
“What is it?” Kyle asked.
Chet smirked and said, “Nyquil. Take two of those and it will give you a good night’s rest. Believe me, there’s been times where I’ve wanted to stay awake, but they put me to sleep.”
Kyle looked at the tablet again. Although it was tempting, he didn’t think it was wise for him to fall into a deep sleep. The post office might not be as secure as he thought, and he’d never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Victor.
“Nah, I can’t take them. I’ll need to stay alert in case something comes in through the door.”
Before Kyle could toss the plastic bottle back to Chet, the man said, “I’ll go ahead and take first watch. I’ve been asleep most of the day and I’m not tired. It’s okay; if anything comes in I’ll wake you up right away.”
Kyle still wasn’t sure. How well did he know Chet? Well enough to trust him to take watch? Chet hadn’t given Kyle a reason to why he might be untrustworthy.
“All right, but I’ll just take one,” Kyle said finally. He opened the bottle and took out one tablet. He closed the lid and tossed it back to Chet. Kyle put it into his mouth and took a large drink of water.
“Before it kicks in, I’m going to find more stuff to burn. I’ll be back,” Chet said. He stood up and walked through the open door that led into the front office.
Kyle made a makeshift pillow out of Victor’s still-damp clothes. He reached for his shotgun and laid it down next to him. He wanted it within reach in case there was a rude awakening. Victor was still asleep across from him. All the kid wanted to do was to go home. It would have been an easy task if the world was normal.
Victor began to grunt in his sleep. Kyle laughed as he closed his eyes. He felt the medicine and exhaustion taking effect. His eyes quickly opened as Chet came stumbling into the room with more cardboard boxes and a
