David Bernstein - Machines of the Dead

He went over to the window and found the security gate had a thick lock on it. Per NYC fire department rules, all security gates on windows leading to fire escapes had to be of regulation, and easily opened from the inside. Standard key locks were not allowed to be used. The gates were designed to keep the burglars out, but to allow easy exiting in the event a fire broke out. Knowing what went on in the apartment, the bastard torturing those women, the guy wasn’t worried about getting out during a fire. He only wanted to keep his captives from escaping.

Jack saw Maria eying him. She shrugged, asking him what was wrong. He grabbed the lock, bringing it up to show her. She frowned.

Jack mouthed for her to wait, then walked around the apartment, looking for the keys. He checked the drawers in the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom. Nothing. Then it dawned on him. They were probably on the dead guy.

Not wanting to waste another moment, he hurried down the hall to where the dead male’s body lay. Bending down, the body ’s putrid odor more pungent, he stuck his hand into the man’s right pants pocket. It was empty. Putting his foot on the corpse’s back, he reached down, slid his hand into the other pocket, and felt pieces of jagged metal. Grabbing one of the objects, he pulled out a set of keys. Careful not to jostle them, he headed back to the window and tried different keys until one fit. With a turn of his wrist, the lock popped. He opened the gate and raised the window.

Maria handed the backpacks to him before she and Zaun’s climbed inside.

“Damn, man,” Zaun said, rubbing his arms. “What took so long?”

“Yeah, everything all right?” Maria asked.

Jack had the others take seats. He grabbed a bottle of water from his pack and told them everything.

“Holy shit,” Zaun said. “I can’t believe there were people in there.”

“You’re lucky, Jack,” Maria told him. “You could’ve been killed. From now on we need to stick together.”

Jack nodded, feeling the cool water travel down his gullet.

“Why don’t we stay over there?” Zaun asked.

“I thought about it,” Jack answered. “Wanted to know what you guys think, but I say we remain here. There’s no way out of that place if the hall fills with undead. At least here we have two ways out.”

“I agree,” Maria said. “Makes sense; we just have to be quieter here.”

“I don’t know guys.” Zaun blew on his reddened hands. “It sounds like we’d be safer over there. No need to worry. We could wait out the undead with peace of mind. It’d be like being in a bank vault; nothing could get to us.”

“Yeah,” Maria agreed, “but if we run out of food before the zombies leave, then what? We have no idea how they operate. They might not be able to get out of the building, the damn things too stupid to do so.”

“But back in the alley they left after what… a couple of days?” Zaun asked.

“That was different,” Jack said. “One easy way in and out. Here, we’re in a building with other apartments and floors. Those things might be stuck in here forever.”

Zaun sighed, looking defeated. “Whatever you guys think.”

Maria patted him on the knee. “As long as we’re quiet, we’ll be fine right here. Don’t worry.”

“I guess you guys are right,” Zaun supposed. “But hearing about that place makes me want to be there… and out of all the apartments, why’d this one have to be the one we stay in?”

“Yeah,” Jack said, “but it is what it is. ”

“This place creeps me out,” Maria added, “but we’re shit out of options.”

“Did you get a chance to check out 3F, Jack?” Zaun asked.

“Just the living room and kitchen. Not much there, just an upscale apartment.”

“What would a nice place like that be doing in this part of town?” Maria asked. “Yeah,” Zaun said. “We’re in a warehouse district, not exactly the area a person would come if they had money. You said they were armed, had guns stashed all over?”

Jack nodded. “The guy came at me with a sawed-off. 12 gauge. He had a handgun taped to the bottom of a desk, and another under one of the couch’s cushions.

“So what do think that place is?” Zaun asked.

“No idea,” Jack said. “Don’t care either. I just want to get the hell out of this city.”

“Amen to that,” Maria said.

Jack saw his friend thinking. “Forget about that place. We’re here. We’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

They cleared some floor space in the living room and decided Zaun would take up the next watch, allowing Jack and Maria to catch some shuteye.

Lying on his back, Jack couldn’t get to sleep. He kept thinking about the people he had just killed. It was self — defense; he was in the right. But still… they were people. He kept replaying the scenes in his mind, but there was nothing else he could’ve done. In less than twenty — four hours, he had killed a number of people. When he thought about it like that, he felt hollow inside, as if he might lose his mind. He had to remind himself that every single kill was in defense of his and the others lives. His kills across the hall were justified. He still felt awful, as if something was weighing him down, but knew he had no choice. If he hadn’t acted, he’d be dead and his friends would be stuck outside. He also had a sister to get to, to help, and Maria had a daughter.

Shaken, he thought about his wife and their time together. He thought about his sister, about how he had to make sure she was okay. He feared he would never get to sleep, but eventually, weariness overtook him and he drifted off to sleep.

Not wanting to touch anything, and with nowhere to go and nothing but crinkled porn magazines to read, Zaun grew bored. He was a little tired, but the few hours of sleep from earlier had done wonders. With nothing else to do, he found where the floor creaked, marking the places with pieces of paper he found in a notebook. He’d tell the others about it when they woke.

He checked the peephole, always finding the hallway empty. He thought it strange, or was it amazing that the undead hadn’t come upstairs? He guessed climbing steps was something like an obstacle to them, and the simple-minded things needed encouragement to do so. He supposed one could wander up, but so far it seemed like the third floor was safe.

An hour passed by, seeming like two. How many times could he walk around the apartment? Everything was disgusting, property of the scumbag who lived there. He should’ve grabbed a book from his own apartment before leaving. Now he understood the whole e-reader thing. Sure, it’d have to be charged once in a while, but he’d have his whole library on it, taking it with him wherever he went.

Standing by the front door, peering through the peephole, Zaun suddenly had to use the restroom. His stomach was gurgling. He must have eaten something bad, or maybe it was all the pressure and nerves from everything. Either way, he had to shit.

He headed to the bathroom, but stopped himself before entering. The dead female was there, and even with the pine-scented air fresheners, the corpse was stinking up the already grime-covered, filthy room. He couldn’t go in there, but the urge to defecate was coming on strong.

He had an idea.

At the front door, he looked through the peephole, and saw the same empty hallway he’d been seeing since he took up watch. Then his eye focused on the beautiful steel door across the way. 3F spoke to him, telling him to come and use its bathroom. No one would know. He could use the facilities in peace, in cleanliness.

He had wanted to check the apartment out anyway. A place so well-secured it had to have something important inside. He could kill way more than two birds with one stone-relieve himself, satisfy his curiosity, and pass the time. Maybe even find something the group could use.