She looked around then her head bolted up, “Yes! I saw a random reflective vest in the basement. Hold on.” Chelsea disappeared back into the kitchen. I heard her footsteps going down the basement stairs, something falling with a light thud, a curse or seven, then her steps coming back up the stairs. “Here,” she said, handing me the vest. “What do you need it for?”
“I’m going to try and signal him to drive right to the back yard. If we can get the car off of the street it will be for the better,” I said.
“We’ll need to cover it with something,” Chelsea said. “Is there a tarp or drop cloth in the shed out back?” She asked.
“I think so, let’s go see,” I said. We both went to the back door and out to the back yard. Once we reached the red and grey shed, I opened it to the smell of gasoline, grass clippings suck in the lawnmower, and moth balls. Lovely.
“Over there!” she said, pointing to the corner of the shed. “Get it and I’ll keep watch.”
So I did. Needless to say, the shed was not particularly organized, but instead a mass of things Tetris’ed to fit. I had to move the lawnmower to the side and a bike or two just to get enough room for my legs to move forward. I was finally able to shift and sift my way through the shed until I reached the corner where the tarp was. I grabbed it and managed to pull myself out.
I looked around on the outside grass, “Take some of these rocks so that we have something to weigh the tarp down with,” I said to Chelsea. “Four or so should be okay.”
She picked up four fist sized rocks and cradled them in her arms like a baby with her bat poking out from under her arm, “Okay we’re ready?” she asked and stated at once. I loved her efficiency with words.
“Ready,” I said as we made it to about half way to the house before I picked an open spot and lay the tarp on the ground with the rocks next to it. “Okay, you wait in the house at the front door to signal him to the back, and I’ll be waiting for him here.”
She nodded and went inside. I looked around the yard. There was nothing strange about it and hopefully Zach would be able to drive right up to me without any problem. As long as he lost his entourage of cannibal followers, he would be okay.
I heard the car coming moments later and poked my head around the side of the house. Chelsea was visible from the porch, crouching down to avoid being seen by any potential passing contaminated. She waved the reflective vest at me in a playful manner. I laughed and waived back.
Suddenly the green sedan pulled into the driveway. Chelsea’s hand holding the reflective vest flailed back and forth very rapidly, but instead of pulling all of the way into the driveway, Zach pulled back onto the street and pulled away. Three contaminated followed him down the street.
I ran out to the road and signaled behind him. My arms moved and flailed in whatever best way I could convey for him to pull all of the way up to the backyard. He beeped once and pulled away from the street to turn around through a side street, but the contaminated did not follow. Instead they turned around and began to walk towards the start of the street, trying to cut him off.
I barely had enough time to make it back to the porch without them noticing me. I poked my head above the porch wall to see the three contaminated moving quickly by.
“What happened?” Chelsea began.
“Sorry, no time,” I said as I ran inside. I needed to find a way to distract the group of contaminated before they cut off Zach and damaged the car. I bolted into the kitchen, “Where is it?” I yelled to Chelsea.
“Where’s what?” she yelled back, making her way inside.
“The air horn!”
“Drawer,” she pointed next to the stove.
I ripped it open to see the white air horn with a red nozzle. I grabbed it and a roll of packaging tape and ran outside. My fingers fumbled with the tape, trying to find an edge to pull. Once they did I ripped a big piece back and cut it with my teeth.
My legs carried me through the neighbor’s yard and the one after that. When I was two houses over, I planted the tape on the base of the horn. Looking around to make sure that I was alone, I pressed down the nozzle, an obnoxiously loud screeching breaking the dim day. I closed the two ends of the tape together around the top, forcing the nozzle down to release the noise. I made my best Nolan Ryan impression and threw the horn as far away from the house as I possibly could.
Not waiting for it to land, I sprinted back to the house and onto the porch. Chelsea was there looking out onto the street, “Did you see where the contaminated went?” I said through shortened breath.
She nodded, “They went through the yard as soon as you used the air horn. No hesitation either, just – oh here’s Zach!” The green sedan had just turned the corner to the street and was making its way towards us.
“I’ll be in the back,” I said, the air horn still echoing a few hundred feet away. I ran to the back yard and into position. Zach pulled the car in and was waived forward by Chelsea.
