Holger takes a few deep breaths, scratches his neck and glances at the car. Two white butterflies whirl across the courtyard in a carefree dance, and William is reminded how surreal the situation is. It might look like an ordinary summer’s day, but nothing might ever be ordinary again.
“All right,” Holger finally mutters. “They can stay for now.”
“Thank you, Holger,” William smiles.
“Shall we go inside?” Holger suggests, nodding towards the house. “I could really use something to drink.”
TWENTY
They enter what seems at first glance like a pretty normal home. But Dan already notices the subtle signs in the hallway. The front door, for instance, is reinforced on the inside with a heavy iron grid and has three large sliding latches. He looks up and sees a camera in the ceiling, staring down at them.
Holger kicks off his shoes in the corner before going into the kitchen. “You guys just wait in the living room,” he calls back.
Dan and Mille both look to William, and he waves them discretely into the adjacent room. Ozzy follows close to William while sniffing the air curiously.
The living room is pretty big, but it seems smaller due to all the stuff taking up every available surface. Shelves, chairs, windowsills, the couch, even the floor is crammed with all kinds of stuff, not to mention the dining table in the middle of the room, which is covered in book piles and cardboard boxes reaching almost to the ceiling. Holger has collected all kinds of things, tools, accessories, electronic devices, and objects Dan can’t even identify. There are also quite a few plates and cups strewn about, and flies are buzzing in the air. It smells like it’s been weeks since a window was opened. Holger is pretty obviously a bachelor.
But there are no apparent signs that Holger’s home should be the zombie-proof fortification William hinted at. The only form of protection Dan can see is the metal grids barring the windows and making him feel like he’s in prison. Oh, and more cameras in the ceiling.
He begins to seriously consider if he made a mistake going with William. Maybe he should have taken the chance when William offered to drop him off.
“Sorry for the mess,” Holger calls from the kitchen. “Try to find a place to sit down. Just don’t break anything.”
William clears a couple of chairs and offers Mille one of them. Dan moves a tower of books off the couch’s armrest and sits down.
Holger brings in a large pitcher of red lemonade and takes a glass from a cupboard which he fills and chucks down in one go. He burps and pours himself another glass before sitting down at the corner of the coffee table.
“You know, I always knew this day would come,” he mutters into the glass before taking another big swig—the sight of the lemonade has suddenly reminded Dan how thirsty he is, but Holger doesn’t seem intent on offering any of his guests something to drink. “It was only a matter of time.”
“Yeah, you were right all along,” William says, getting up. He takes three glasses from the cupboard and hands them to Dan and Mille, before he takes the pitcher from Holger, who barely seems to notice.
“Now I guess they wish they’d listened,” he says, staring into the floor.
William pours lemonade for the three of them, and Dan immediately gulps down the sweet, synthetic-tasting liquid. Then he licks his lips and stares longingly at the pitcher, which William hands back to Holger, who pours himself a third helping.
“Cheers,” William says, raising his glass, looking around at them with a pale smile. “To the end of the world.”
“Cheers,” Holger mutters, as though not really listening.
Dan glances at Mille, who has found her phone and is checking something on it. She sips her glass but doesn’t seem to like the taste. Ozzy is slinking around sniffing the surroundings.
“Well,” William says, going to the window. It’s not easy getting a clear view, because the curtain is hanging down on one side, and the other is blocked by more books. “This is like the beginning of a disaster movie. Four people and a dog hobbled together in a fight for survival. Now all we need is the zombies.”
Dan can tell William is trying to make a joke out of it, but he doesn’t really feel like laughing.
“Excuse me,” Mille says. William turns to her, and Dan can see how Mille strains to talk calmly. “I’m glad you helped me. I think you saved my life.”
“I think so too,” William says, neither shame nor pride in his voice.
“But,” Mille goes on, “I really don’t see how we’re anymore safe out here than at our own homes. Is it just because we’re outside town or what? Because if the whole world is going to end, like you say it is, then the zombies will probably come out here too at some point. And if I had to choose, I think I’d rather be somewhere I know.”
“It’s not just because we’re outside town,” William says, finding his cigarettes. “Okay if I smoke in here, Holger?”
“Please don’t. It’s unhealthy.”
“I know,” William sighs, putting the pack back into his pocket. “But why stop now?”
“Then how are we more protected out here?” Mille exclaims, throwing out her arms. “As far as I can tell, this is just a regular house with barred windows.” She glances at Holger. “No offense. It’s nice of you to … let us stay here.” Those last words sound like they don’t want to come out.
Holger avoids her gaze and says nothing.
William empties his glass, wipes his mouth and gets up. “What do you say we show them the place, Holger?”
Holger looks around at them uncertainly, then he nods and gets to his feet. “Follow me. We’ll take the entrance in the bedroom.”
“The entrance?” Mille repeats, but since neither William nor Holger replies, she looks to Dan.
