19. Chapter 19 #2
“Boys and Girls Club,” the man says and although I don’t see any fencing, a shiver crawls up my spine at the thought of a horde of hungry children heading our way.
“Thanks for the heads up,” Larry says. “What’s your plan?”
Smiling humorlessly, the man raises his palms and says, “Survive.”
Larry chuckles and I eye him for a minute, thankful for his ability to make small talk with a stranger. As it stands, I’m uneasy. I don’t sense anything off about either of them besides the woman’s fidgety behavior but I’m probably mirroring it. So, there’s that.
“We don’t know where to go,” the woman says softly, and Zoey squeezes my hand.
When I look down into her sweet face, she points at her sister and says, “Maybe they need help. Just like us.”
With a scowl, Amanda bows her head and it’s on the tip of my tongue to deny her even though I hate to disappoint when Cason rasps, “We’re heading south, if you want to join us.”
Once again, I’m surprised by his behavior and school my expression before looking up.
On the one hand, I’m charmed by his need to please Zoey, but I dread the insertion of new people whom I have to somehow trust. I suppose the same could be said for me and let’s face it, I’m the liability in this scenario.
To his credit, the man looks appropriately wary when he says, “This all of you?”
At Cason’s nod, he looks over our little group, surveying the men first, and seeming to ease when he studies the children before saying, “We’d appreciate it. It’s not safe, just the two of us. This is Elaine.”
He gently pushes her forward and she nods, with her head still to the ground. “I’m Jason.”
Nora summons the same benign smile that I recognize from when I met her before making the introductions. After that, we create a loose circle while discussing the best place to spend the evening before venturing into more populated areas.
To my surprise, Elaine is the one who speaks up first although she doesn’t make eye contact. “Down that way, about three blocks, there’s a funeral home," she whispers and I stiffen. A what now?
“Is it empty?” Nora asks and Elaine hunches her shoulders.
“I think so." When Jason nudges her, she shifts and says, “Yes. Yes, it is.”
Wait . . . we’re not seriously considering hunkering down in a fucking funeral home. Right?
“Hm,” Cason mutters, looking back at the street where a horde of children are trapped behind the fence, for now.
When I glance around, no one shows any signs of disturbance. Even Nate merely stands quietly with his typical sullen expression.
“The place has a wrought iron fence. Ain’t nothing getting through there,” Jason says.
“Gah,” Nate interjects and a chorus of heads swivel in his direction where he’s batting his hands in the air.
The culprit as it turns out is a spider web hanging from the tree near his head and when Zoey stifles a giggle behind her hand, Jason cracks a smile and apparently, it’s contagious because I do too.
Maybe it’s because this is easy compared to everything else. I don’t know but having a plan fills me with relief despite the location.
“Okay,” Cason says. “We’ll hunker down there for the night. In the meantime, we shouldn’t waste daylight. Is there a store around here where we can stock up on supplies?”
With his question, my relief fizzles like a balloon and tension stiffens my spine. A store? There could be some of them inside.
Although Elaine’s face pales, she reluctantly nods and says, “Yes, south of here.”
“We’ll split up,” Cason says. “Drop half off to get settled while the rest find the store. Who wants to be on scavenging duty?”
Reluctantly I raise my hand. I know he’s going to volunteer and as of right now, if I can help it, where he goes, I go.
Dammit.
Cason eyes me for a second too long before nodding and I turn away to hide my panicked thoughts. Does he not want me to go? Is it because I’m clueless? Or something else?
Shit. I hate being a fucking burden.
When Larry, Nora, Lance and Jason all raise their hands, I glance at Zoey and Amanda. I can’t leave them alone with Nate and Elaine because Nate’s an ass and I don’t know Elaine at all.
Now I have to fucking choose and even though I don’t think I’m going to be the deciding factor against Nate if he tries anything, I can’t leave it to chance.
“Maybe I’ll go with the girls,” I say, both relieved and stupidly disappointed when no one protests.
Cason
I don’t like the thought of leaving Shelby and the girls alone with Nate and a stranger, but I also can’t pass up the opportunity to find supplies. I’ve put it off this long because every time I hoped to do some scavenging, something fucking happened.
Now, my skin itches as we approach the funeral home and I pause at the wrought iron gate surrounding it, eyeing Shelby’s pale countenance before saying, “We’ll check it out first.”
The irony isn’t lost on me but it’s not the truly dead we have to fear. At this rate, it may be safer than a lot of other places. Who would think to come to a funeral home at a time like this?
The edge of the courtyard is surrounded by trees and a decently sized wall that intersects with the wrought iron and continues around the side of the property, easing some of my fears.
Although we don’t have the key to secure the gate, so far none of those fuckers have been able to use fine motor skills. As long as the gate stays closed, there’s no immediate danger.
Still, the sound of hundreds of them buzzes in the distance increasing the odds that with any noise, they’ll be surrounding this place if we’re not careful.
By silent agreement, we follow Elaine through the back door. It’s quiet and the faint scent of something I can’t identify assails my nostrils as we step down the darkened hall.
At the entrance to a small supply closet, I flip the light switch down and then up again, confirming the power is out. Is that contained to this building or a new issue we have to contend with?
After checking the darkened bathrooms and office, I stop by a small table in the lobby upon which a vase of white flowers is slowly dying. Beside it a small bronze statue stares out over the room and I glance over the guest book opened to a new page.
Maybe it’s the complete silence or the soothing atmosphere but it sends a wave of calm through my chest before Nate ruins it by stepping into my line of sight.
Of course, he refused to help find food. If it came down to it, I have no doubt he would sacrifice anyone else to save his own ass which means we’re better off out there without him. But what about Shelby and the girls?
Spinning in a circle, I stop on Shelby standing under a stained-glass window. Her hair shines under the multicolored lights, alternating between golden brown and silvery blonde while her porcelain skin glows in the ethereal light.
She looks so small against the backdrop, and my chest tightens at the sight, before I cock my head when she touches her wrist.
Is it a nervous habit? Or is she trying to hide her wounds while she stares at the depiction of Christ, hanging from the cross above the lectern.
Is she religious? Or maybe like me, she’s questioning every-fucking-thing.
Shaking my head of the thoughts, I back out of the room and follow the hall to a small kitchenette where snacks rest in a bowl on top of the wood table. The now defunct microwave and refrigerator sit against the far wall with a sink between.
When Elaine points to the door opposite, I stop beside her and she says, “That’s where they store the bodies.”
When a shudder rolls through me, I rock back on my heels. This may be the last place anyone would think to come but it’s also really fucking weird to be standing here talking about dead bodies when the undead or whatever they are roam beyond these walls.
“Have you been down there?” I ask, eyeing the lock on the door.
“Not since,” Elaine whispers, "well, you know, we locked it up.”
“Are there any other exits?”
“There’s a door that leads to the loading area, but you can’t enter without a key and Mr. Watkins made sure everything was closed up.”
If there is anything down there, it’s locked up tight. As long as no one opens the door, we should be fine. I hope . . .
“We should go before we lose the light,” Larry interjects, tapping my shoulder and I turn away. I can’t be everywhere, all at once. Maybe Shelby and the girls are safer here.
At least that’s what I tell myself when I nod at Shelby standing at the end of the hall and walk away.