“Funny-I left all this to Elspeth back at the warehouse. I was too drunk to care the last few months.” Ryan looked up, his eyes red with tears. “I just wish I’d spent the time with her rather than getting pissed into oblivion.”
Cahz wasn’t a counsellor. He didn’t want to get wrapped up in this stranger’s regrets, but he didn’t want to be heartless and just cut him off. He knelt down in front of him, about to give him a speech about everyone having it tough, when his nostrils twitched.
He screwed his face up. “What’s that smell?”
“Jesus.” Cannon opened one eye and snorted, “That’s vile.”
Ryan took in a sniff. “It’s her. She needs a change.”
“Don’t suppose you brought a nappy bag?” Cannon chipped in.
“God, that’s rank,” Cahz said as he stepped away.
Ryan looked blankly at Cahz, “What do I do?”
“Looks like you’re due some quality time with your daughter,” Cannon smirked.
“I’m serious. I’ve got no idea.”
“No kiddin’,” Cannon said. “I’ll help.”
Ryan started to offer the child over.
“No, no, no. I said I’d
“I’ll find some paper,” Cahz volunteered, mostly so he could escape the smell.
Ryan started tugging at the poppers on the babygrow.
“And make sure when you undress her you keep her clothes clean,” Cannon warned.
“Okay,” Ryan said. He slowed down, taking more care.
Like a bomb disposal expert Ryan started on the undergarments. He gently ripped the sides of the disposable nappy and lifted the now squirming giggling child’s feet into the air. “God, would you look at the colour of that,” he said rhetorically, sliding the soiled nappy out from under the girl.
Cannon knelt beside him. “That’s nothin’. The first banana is what scares the bejesus out of you.” He unfurled a large sling style bandage and started folding it.
“How do you know so much about kids?” Ryan asked.
“Some paper towels.” Cahz offered the bundle to Ryan and shook his head.
Ryan looked at Cahz for a moment, puzzled by his stern look. Cannon was silently working his origami-like magic with the square of cloth.
Ryan went back to cleaning the baby. He made the first wipe and then sat looking around, perplexed as to what to do with the dirty paper.
“Stick it in to the nappy,” Cannon snapped.
“Yeah, okay,” Ryan said hesitantly. Gingerly he continued cleaning the mess.
Cannon nodded at the triangle of cloth on the floor in front of him. He said, “You ready for this?”
When Ryan nodded, Cannon slipped the improvised diaper under the child’s bottom. Cannon then placed a sheet of gauze between the girl’s legs. With a few deft folds and a safety pin, Cannon managed a neat fit.
“That’s impressive, old boy,” Cahz said.
“Thanks, boss,” Cannon replied. Then he turned to Ryan and motioned at the used diaper. “Now would you get rid of that?”
“Yeah, sure,” Ryan agreed.
Clasping the diaper between thumb and forefinger and carrying it at arms’ length, Ryan marched over to a window. When he flung the window open the constant moaning grew louder. Ryan popped his head out and looked down at the assemble cadavers.
“Hey pus face!” he shouted.
The zombies below raised their arms and burbled unintelligible sounds from dead mouths at the human beyond their reach.
“Little present,” Ryan said, dangling the nappy at arms’ length. “Bombs away!”
And with that, Ryan let go.
The excrement-filled ordnance plummeted down the side of the office block. With a satisfying splat it landed square on a zombie’s head and ruptured open. The shit-smeared towels blew off, sticking to the zombie’s shoulders and a few adjacent zombies as well. The nappy sat on the zombie’s head, steadily releasing a stream of khaki brown gloop down its face.
Ryan beckoned Cahz and Cannon over. “Look at this poor fuck.”
The zombie looked bemused, not comprehending what had happened or how it should react. It looked to and fro as if expecting a helpful suggestion from one of the surrounding creatures.
The three men hung out of the window and laughed while the zombies continued their futile clawing at the air. A gust of wind whipped a shit covered towel and slapped it clean across a zombie’s face. Blinded, the creature moaned more franticly and stumbled around. Not intelligent enough to pull it free, the blind zombie jostled the others in the crowd, striking out randomly, bumping like a wild pinball. The three men fell around in fits of laughter, pointing and snorting as they tried to catch their breath.
“Ah, classic,” Ryan gasped as he returned to his daughter.
The baby was merrily kicking out on her back like a stranded turtle. She wore a smile that exposed a few peggy teeth as she empathically joined in with the mirth. Ryan picked the tiny girl up and held her under the armpits, looking at her angelic smile. The girl met his eyes with a mesmerising stare. Her blue eyes locked onto his in an intense unblinking gaze.
Ryan’s smile widened as he studied his rosy-cheeked girl. Then his joy collapsed as he remembered the significance of the scratch down the right side of her face. He pulled the baby close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. The baby flung an arm out and grasped tight to the arm of Ryan’s t-shirt before nuzzling into his neck.
“There, there,” Ryan said instinctively as he gently bounced the child. “There, there.”
The baby smacked her lips and closed her eyes, calmed by her father’s warmth.
“What now, boss?” Cannon asked.
“Nothing, I guess,” Cahz replied. He nodded to Elspeth’s quarantine. “We wait for her.”
“You want to take turns watching?”
“No need while she’s locked in there. But I guess we’ll all feel safer if one of us keeps an eye on her.”
“Who’s up first?” Cannon asked.
Cahz looked at his watch. “I’ll do it for the next hour.”
Cannon sauntered back to his spot on the floor. “Give me a nudge then. I’m going back to sleep,” he said.
Cahz turned to Ryan. “A nap is a good idea. It could be anywhere between nineteen hundred and o’six hundred before we get picked up. Best we’re rested and alert for tonight.”
Ryan nodded and went back to sitting against the wall, cradling his child.
“Cannon!” Cahz shouted through the smoke. “Where are you, buddy?!”
Cahz edged forward, heading for the stairwell, praying it hadn’t caught fire too. He called out again, “Cannon!”
But the only thing he could hear was the crackling of the flames.
Cahz reached the fire doors and swung them open. The way ahead was clear. He held the door open and called into the thick smoke, “Cannon!”
A figure emerged from the billowing black clouds.
Elspeth’s eyes were blank but her lips were drawn back, exposing sharp needle teeth.
“What the-”
Before Cahz had time to think, Elspeth had leapt on top of him.
Cahz tried to throw off her cold grip, but he couldn’t shift her rigor mortis fingers. Flailing wildly, he toiled to
