NINETEEN
“Dan? … Dan, who is it? … Who’s down there with you?”
Liv gets no answer this time; she can sense Dan is no longer below her. He probably climbed down the ladder and has walked back down the tunnel to meet whoever came down from the house.
Liv hopes very much it’s the guy and that he’s changed his mind. That he decided to trust Dan anyway and will be letting him out. That would also mean they could help Liv get out, too.
But she feels very deep in her gut that that’s not what’s about to go down. In fact, she has a very bad feeling. She looks to the house. Even though the windows are still boarded up, she can all too easily recall the dead stare from the woman just minutes ago.
“Fuck,” she mutters. “This is not good … this is not good at all …”
She tries to think, tries desperately to come up with some way of helping Dan, but there’s just no way for her to get out of the van without—
Plonk!
Liv snaps her head around at the sound. Something hit the van from behind. It wasn’t the zombies; the noises from their fingers are a lot softer. This sounded more like metal or stone.
Before Liv can figure out what made the noise, it comes again.
Plonk!
What the hell?
Liv gets to her feet and walks back to the rear doors. She looks out the window, which is high enough that she can see over the heads of the zombies, the only thing obstructing her view being their hands fumbling over the window.
She can see the other end of the courtyard and the gravel road leading down to the highway. But she can’t see what produced the sound.
Then, suddenly, over by the trees, a guy pops out, waving at her.
He’s a few years older than Liv and sports large tattoos running up and down his arms. Over his shoulder is a rifle. He’s wearing a Guns ’n’ Roses T-shirt. Dan never described William to her, but he did mention his German shepherd, which is sitting right beside him, staring menacingly at the zombies, looking like he’s just waiting to be given the green light to launch at them.
“William?” she exclaims.
The guy shrugs, then places one hand behind his ear.
Liv forms a funnel around her mouth with both hands and shouts: “William?”
He nods and shows her a thumbs-up. He then mouths: “Dan?”
Liv shouts: “Dan’s in danger! We have to help him! Get me out of here!”
She’s not sure if all the words reach William through the moans and groans of the zombies, but the main message seems to get through. He glances briefly at the house, gives the dog a command, then steps into the courtyard.
Almost immediately, the zombies by the van seem to sense the more accessible prey and turn their attention towards William. He comes a little closer still, drawing the last of them. Then, once he’s sure the entire group is headed for him, he turns around, whistles at the dog—who follows him only reluctantly—and runs out of the courtyard and down the gravel road.
The zombies stagger after him as William disappears out of sight. Liv watches the zombies follow him, counting her heartbeats, knowing that if she opens the car door too soon, they will turn around and come right back, and she won’t have time to move the van.
“Come on, come on,” she chants.
Then, as the last of the zombies finally disappear from view, Liv opens the door and jumps out, breathing in the fresh air in a big gulp.
She runs around the van, places her hands at the hood and begins pushing. Her feet slip on the gravel and the van doesn’t move an inch. “Come on! Come on, damnit!”
Steps running across gravel make her look up in alarm.
William comes around the van, stopping as he sees her, panting and holding the rifle. “Good, you’re out! Where’s Dan? Is he in danger?”
“Yes! He’s down there,” Liv says, pointing. “Help me move this thing.”
They both place their shoulders against the van and push in unison.
“You sure you put it in neutral?” William asks, heaving for breath as he strains to push the van.
“I double-checked,” Liv says, biting down hard. “Come on, just push!”
For a moment, she’s sure it won’t move.
Then the van—very, very slowly—starts rolling.
TWENTY
Dan senses the person before he actually sees them.
He wasn’t sure if he really heard the lock click from down the other end of the tunnel, but as he climbs back down the ladder, he can tell the glow from atop the staircase is brighter than before.
And then he sees the pair of legs coming down the steps, slowly, methodically, as though choosing every step with great care and consideration. The person is wearing a white, knee-long dress, which tells him right away it’s not Dennis.
As her flat-chested torso comes into view, Dan is struck by how tall Birgit is; he’s only seen her from the window. But now, as she finally comes into full view, stopping by the end of the staircase, she looks almost freakishly tall in the dim light. As she’s standing there, looking at him through the tunnel, she seems like something out of time. Like an evil spirit from ancient worlds come to haunt him.
“I knew you’d be back,” she says.
The words seem to leave her mouth without her having to move her lips, reaching Dan by snaking their way through the tunnel.
Dan has to pry his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “I’m not here to fight.”
Birgit doesn’t seem to hear him. “I knew some of you would be back, but I have to admit, at first I was surprised it was you.” She takes a step closer. It looks more like she glides across the floor. “Then I remembered seeing you in the car. You saw me too, didn’t you?”
Dan nods.
“And I remembered,” Birgit goes on, talking slowly and taking another step towards him, “how
