Blake just shook his head. He hadn't heard what he said."I think we can get out if we need to," Lou said a little louder,though it didn't make a bit of difference to Blake.
"What about above us?" Katie asked.
"What do you mean?" Lou asked.
Katie pointed up. "Shouldn't we see what's above us?Maybe there's some supplies, something we can use."
Lou looked up between the rails of the stairwell, tryingto see above him. "Let's not push our luck. Those dead things that wekilled in the stairwell came from somewhere, but it clearly wasn't the thirdfloor. I don't want to kick the hornet's nest if I don't have to."
He could tell by the look on Katie's face, that shedidn't like the idea, but she didn't push it. That was good. He didn't likewhen people pushed it. If everyone would just listen to him, everything wouldbe ok. The problem was that not everyone seemed ready to listen to him, andsome of the people were already doing their own thing, like that Chloe girl.Boy, did she have a temper on her. He would hate to get on her bad side, asRudy so often seemed to do. Rudy was an alright guy. He wasn't made for thisworld, but that wasn't his fault. The way Chloe always snapped at the guyseemed unnecessary, and blasting out the windows was absolutely uncalled forand only served to draw more attention to their location.
Fragility and impulsive actions could lead to the deathof them all. They stepped back and closed the stairwell door. They began pilingfurniture up against it, their guns tucked into belts or leaning against thewall. Lou fumbled with some cubicle walls, trying to find the trick fordisconnecting them. Blake leant him a hand, and soon they were pulling thepanels apart as if they were nothing, carrying them over to the door andstacking them up. The partitions were long enough that they could be sandwichedperfectly between the stairwell door and the hallway, jamming the stairwelldoor shut. If they took apart enough of them, there would be no way for anyone,living or dead to make it through that door.
When they were done, they were sweating in the heat ofthe third floor. Lou wiped his brow, and said, "Let's get back to theothers and see what they found. We'll stop by that break room and see ifthere's anything good. I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too," Mort said.
Katie and Blake just followed along, not saying anything.They walked to the break room and threw the door open. It was just as empty asthe rest of the third floor. The break room was a windowless,ten-by-fifteen-foot room. One wall was lined with cupboards and cabinets, and arefrigerator stood in the corner. Lou eyed the refrigerator with skepticism. Hewould let someone else open that bad boy. Whatever was in there was most likelyspoiled by now, the electricity having gone out two weeks ago.
Lou moved to the cupboards and began opening them. He wasgreeted by row after row of plain white coffee cups. That meant there had to becoffee. He wouldn't mind a cup of coffee right now. Although, he doubted thatthe coffee pot worked without electricity. That would mean boiling water...that would mean a fire, which was probably not the best idea given theircircumstances.
He found the coffee in the next cupboard and pulled itout. If he could carry it with him, he would. He turned to set the red coffee canon the counter, and then he was assaulted by the rotten smell of therefrigerator as Blake pulled it open.
"Ooooo-wee. That is ripe," Blake said as hebent down to examine the contents of the fridge. He pulled his white t-shirtup over his face, and rummaged through the rotten milk, forgotten lunches, andspoiled vegetables. He held up a bloated container of yogurt, the foil on thetop of the plastic container bulging outwards as whatever rotten concoctioninside struggled to find its way out.
"Man, shut that thing. Nobody wants anything from inthere," Lou said.
"I'm going to throw up," Katie added.
Blake did nothing. He had his back to them. He couldn'thear them. So, Lou just went about his business, trying not to think about thesmell that was assaulting his senses. He was on the edge of vomiting. He pulledopen the next cupboard in line and found a collection of cereals, granola bars,and some more sugary snacks. He pulled them out and placed them on the counter.He looked at the cereal, and silently wished for some milk. He wondered if thiswas how life was going to be for him, one part good news accompanied by onepart bad news. You have coffee, but no hot water. You have cereal but no milk.You have a safe place to stay, but you're trapped inside by a legion of thedead.
He felt anger rise up inside him, irrational,uncontrollable anger. He grasped the edge of the counter and tried to let itpass. Leaders weren't supposed to feel this sort of rage. Zeke never showedanything like what Lou was now feeling. Maybe Zeke had felt it, but he hadnever let anyone know. Maybe that's what a leader was, someone who was willingto put their own worries and concerns on the back burner so that others wouldhave someone to at when they started having doubts. He had to be the rock. Sohe hid his anger. He denied his impulse to pick up the box of cereal with thebig red letter K on it and throw it across the room.
They packed up their meager haul of food and headed backto the others. They set the food down on the ground, just as Clara and Joanwere getting ready to enter the last office.
"You guys find anything good in there?" Louasked.
"Plenty of pens and notepads. Blake should be happy.As for anything useful, not really," Clara replied.
Lou watched them work. They knocked on the door andwaited to see if there was any response from within. It was a good technique.He would have to remember that one. After waiting a few seconds, they threw thedoor open and entered the last office.
****
Clara threw the door open, and
