Mark Tufo - Alive in a Dead World

“How far are we away from our locker?” I asked BT.

“A ways,” he answered.

“How did you find me?” I asked him suspiciously. “And better yet, why?”

“Mike,” BT started. “You’ve gone through a lot in the last few days.”

“Keeping tabs on me, man?” I asked, more than a little hurt.

BT didn’t dance around the bush. “Yeah, actually I am. Do you blame me?”

I was a second or two away from flashing into anger and then it dissipated like fog in a hot summer sun. “You know, fundamentally, I’m still the exact same person I was. You know that, right?” I asked him, seemingly for his approval.

“I hope so, Mike. Because I can’t imagine doing this shit with anyone but that crazy bastard.”

“What’s going on?” Gary asked, somewhat out of breath. He took in the whole scene quickly. One dead zombie, me with a slightly wilted look and BT very standoffish. “Everything cool?”

“I hope so, I really do,” BT said, walking back towards the locker.

“Mike?” Gary asked.

“BT isn’t all that enamored with my upgrades,” I said, walking over to the fence to see if I could figure out if Re-Pete had a thicker skull.

“Anything I should be concerned about?” Gary asked, coming up to my side.

“Not yet, brother.”

“How much time we got until Eliza comes?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Do you think we’ll need more weapons?”

“I’ve got a little surprise of my own set up. We should have plenty of guns for what I want to do.

“What about the zombie?”

“He’s dead now,” I said, walking back towards the shed. I could not see anything more in the dark.

Paul met me about halfway back. “Hey, buddy, do you need any help?” he asked still fumbling with his pants.

“It looks like you’re the one that needs a hand. Now, I’m not offering, I’m just saying.”

“Go figure, I find a camp potty, toilet paper, a small flashlight and some damn comic books. The night couldn’t be any quieter and I find the perfect spot to take care of some personal business.”

“Sorry, man, but you should know better by now,” I said. I felt for Paul I truly did. Women don’t really get it, but a man’s time on the throne is one of relaxation, a time when he can let go, both literally and figuratively. Not bathroom humor, just fact.

“I’m going to see if the office is open. Maybe there’s actually a door to the bathroom there.”

“Be careful, my friend.”

He waved a hand at me, I hoped it wasn’t the one he had been using for other needs earlier.

Mrs. Deneaux was sitting outside in a plastic lawn chair, smoking a cigarette, I couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. The fluid motions she made when extracting the smoke from her lips and flicking the ash was a much-practiced maneuver. It was her own small dance of death.

Mrs. Deneaux magically produced a half-empty pack and one cigarette leapt out at me. I took it much like a drowning man would take a glass of water, or an apple from a serpent. You decide.

Gary had grabbed my shoulder and gave me a brotherly squeeze as he went back into the storage unit. Brian walked by, stopping only long enough to tell me he would take over the patrol. I thanked him as Deneaux lit my smoke.

“BT doesn’t trust you,” she said after a few peaceful moments. She wasn’t looking at me, but rather up at the sky and the blazing stars.

“And you?” I asked, taking a heavy intake of smoke, also marveling at the sight above us.

“All I know is that if you turn me into a vampire and I’m stuck in this old wrinkled body forever, I will make sure to never leave your side. I’m no longer a Miss Stewart.”

I started laughing. “I’ll keep that in mind; and who is Miss Stewart?”

“It’s of no concern now. So how are things, Michael?” she said. At some point, she had stopped looking at the stars and her eyes sparked brightly as they focused intently on me.

“That’s quite a gaze you’ve got going on there,” I said, trying to deflect some of that attention.

“It is not every day that someone has their soul stripped from their body. I have also given mine up, but I fear I will have to atone for it a lot sooner than you, I expect.”

My mouth opened to ask her what she had done, but she cut me off at the pass.

“It is not something I wish to discuss. Perhaps I will write it down in a journal. I see you scribbling in that thing all the time. I would love to know what you think of me.”

“No you wouldn’t,” I said.

Now it was her turn to laugh. “No, perhaps I wouldn’t. Do you lead us to salvation, Michael?” she asked in all seriousness. “Is that even possible?”

“To be honest, Mrs. Deneaux…”

“Vivian.”

“Vivian,” I said. Her name felt like I was swirling broken glass around in my mouth as I tried to say it. “I’m just trying to make it through tomorrow.”

Her gaze shifted back to the heavens. We actually enjoyed an easy silence for a few moments before she stood up. “I’m going to get a few more hours of sleep. I believe that we will make it through tomorrow,” she said, heading back into the shed.

And then what? I wanted to say, but I wished her a good night and I meant it. I stayed there, looking at the stars swirling overhead until the morning sun began to bathe my face in its presence.

“You out here all night?” BT asked, stretching his arms wide.

“I guess so. I think I might have discovered a new planet.”

“Okay, so it’s early and now I’m not truly sure if this is sarcasm or are you telling the truth?”

“He’s full of shit,” Gary said coming up from behind. “So what’s on the agenda today?”

“Is Brian back?” I asked, I hadn’t seen him since he had taken over patrol duty and how long ago was that? Four or five hours at least.

“He’s not in there. Probably couldn’t handle Mrs. Deneaux’s snoring,” Paul said.

“Vivian,” I corrected.

“Who the hell is Vivian?” Paul asked.

“That’s Deneaux.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Mrs. Deneaux’s first name is Vivian,” I clarified.

“Okay, but what’s that got to do with Brian?” Paul asked.

“Nothing.”

“Maybe we should worry less about Vivian and more about Brian,” BT said forcefully. “He could be hurt and you two are worried about someone’s first name.”

“Who’s hurt?” Mrs. Deneaux asked, coming up from behind BT.

“Nobody we hope,” I said “But Brian hasn’t come back from patrol.”

Mrs. Deneaux immediately went back into the shed and began to put on all her clothes as well as strapping on her pistol.

“Good idea,” Gary said. “No guarantee we’ll be coming back.”

Within five minutes, we had all our meager supplies and mini arsenal of weaponry ready to go.

“Okay, once around silently. Hopefully, he’s just holed up somewhere, getting some shuteye. If we don’t find him and the perimeter looks safe enough, we’ll call out for him. Sound good?” I asked.

I got terse nods in reply. We all knew this wasn’t good. Most folks don’t stray too far when a zombie apocalypse is going on and Brian knew enough to come back to the shed to get relief if he was tired. He wouldn’t just fail to let his guard down. We walked for a few minutes, but the only noise were the sounds of zippers striking rifles or an occasional boot scuff. Conversation was non-existent.

“Mike?” BT said, softly coming up to my side. I stopped. “Isn’t this where we met Re-Pete?”

I looked around. It was still a storage facility and everything looked pretty much the damn same, but I would bet money that this was the exact spot, with one notable exception. Ree was missing, not the blood spot he had left behind, but his body was most assuredly not present and accounted for.