Containment (7 page)

The quiet in the van that followed was not full of hopeless despair as it had been earlier. They weren’t the only ones still alive and Maggie was proof of that. Their lot was bad, there was no denying it, but perhaps there was that outside possibility that there were others.

Seizing upon the more open mood of those around her, Emma said, “So, is it just me or does calling those things zombies just seem...I don’t know...weird? Maybe a little hokey?”

Jerry asked, “What do you want to call them?”

“I don’t know. But, I mean, we don’t even know for sure what they are? Do we? Calling them zombies...we might as well be calling them boogie men.”

Jerry said sarcastically, “Well calling them mindless, fearless, merciless killing machines is a bit of a mouthful.”

Dr. Caldwell suggested, “How about zekes?

Both Emma and Jerry, incredulous scowls on their faces, asked, “Zekes?”

“Yeah. Zombie. Z. Zeke.”

Neil said, “Pretty clever, Doc.”

“I can’t claim credit for it. Flyers in World War Two in the Pacific called Japanese Zeros ‘Zekes’. For a while, Zekes ruled the skies. They killed everything in their paths.”

Neil asked, “For a while?”

“Yeah, the American pilots and aviation engineers figured out a way to best them every time. It took some time and some tragedy, but they figured out a way to beat the seemingly invincible. They proved that it could be done.”

Dr. Caldwell looked over at Neil, smiled, and said, “They didn’t give up. They beat the bastards.”

Neil smiled back. “Yeah. I guess anything’s possible.”

Emma asked, “History Channel?”

Dr. Caldwell replied, “Bingo.”

To which she said, “Zeke works for me.”

“So, zeke it is,” Neil said, ending the discussion. “Thank you Doc. Now where to?”

Dr. Caldwell smiled and to Neil he joked, “Sorry my friend. We’re just like Congress. We can only do one thing at a time and it’s usually not what really needs attention. We just gave you a name for our foe. Time for our recess.”

Neil said, “The park it is.”

Malachi and Maggie were closely following the van in the dusty black Passat. Malachi was finding it easier to stay focused and anchored to the present by staring every now and again at the Jesus statuette on the dashboard. It became his reality beacon and seemed to be working. It was comforting to know where and when he was. It was also much more comfortable to be back on the road again. There was something soothing about the vibrations from the road racing by beneath him. Perhaps, in some preternatural way, he was reminded of gliding around in his mother’s womb.

When Maggie began to sing “Jesus Loves Me”, he joined in almost immediately, as pleased as a schoolboy at recess. They sang refrain after refrain, each with more gusto than the previous. And when Maggie stopped singing and started to speak, Malachi couldn’t stop himself from booming out still more of the song.

“
...this I know. For the Bible tells me so...”

It took Maggie practically slapping him to get him to stop. Whether she was a God- fearing woman or not, her slapping him sent a sour tone all through his body. She began to speak, but all of his focus was on the dashboard Jesus in front of him and he was unable to follow any of what she was saying. In his mind, he was still singing the song loud and clear. He was hanging on to the present, but his anger was muddying his judgment.

Maggie repeated, irritation surfacing in her voice, “I said are you in or not?”

Having not a clue as to what he was agreeing to, he simply nodded his head.

Maggie smiled at him, the pleasantness returning to her tone, “I knew that I could trust you, Brother Malachi. I could just see the light of the Lord in your eyes. Besides, when it’s done, it’ll just be better. They’ll be happier too. I mean, they’ll be home.

“And you and me can go right on down the road spreading His Word and preparing souls for their final journey. Salvation.” She winked at him and then launched into
Amazing Grace
.

They drove west and then south until they got to Raspberry Road. On the corner at the intersection sat a small strip mall which housed several other businesses, including a small traditional ice cream shop called Tastee Freez. In better times, the shop’s loyal clientele kept its mostly pubescent workforce hopping, creating delectable frozen treats and better than average greasy spoon food selections.

The treat shop was now dark and deserted, something that Neil couldn’t remember having ever seen. He was momentarily reminded of better days and the craving for a chocolate milkshake suddenly hit him.

From behind him, Jerry suggested, “You know, there might be canned food in there. We are running low on supplies. We should probably stock up everywhere we go. There might even be bottled water in there. Probably worth a look.”

Dr. Caldwell said half-jokingly and half-accusingly, “You guys are just jonesin’ for chocolate milkshakes and are hoping for some still partially frozen ice cream at the bottom of a freezer in there. I can see right through both of you. And I think it sounds like a hell of an idea.”

Meghan, who had been looking from Jerry to Neil and now at Dr. Caldwell, asked them all, “Are you guys out of your gourds?”

Dr. Caldwell defended them with, “Actually, Jerry is right. There’s a good chance that this place has been free of looters way out here and might just have some goodies inside that we could use. Besides, the toilets might still have water in the reservoir. You could use a flushing toilet again. Remember what that was like?”

Son of a bitch knows the way to a woman’s heart
, Meghan thought to herself. Any of her protests melted away with her innocent and simple observation, “Toilet paper.”

They pulled into the parking lot, circling once to look at each of the storefronts in the plaza, all of which still had intact windows. It did appear as if this location was largely untouched by the calamity that had wrecked most of the rest of Anchorage. The two vehicles pulled up alongside one another in front of the ice cream shop.

Maggie rolled down her window and addressed Dr. Caldwell. “What are we doing here? You know, they won’t be serving ice cream anymore.”

Dr. Caldwell, never taking his eyes off of the darkened windows of the shop in front of him, said, “Yeah. We get that. We’re just looking for supplies is all. There might be cans of food and possibly water in there, and we need both.” And to no one in particular he asked, “How are we going to get in there?”

With Jerry back on his roost on top of the van and acting as a lookout, the others assembled in the parking lot and started to discuss their options.

Malachi asked, “Why don’t we just smash in a window?”

“We could,” Neil said, “but if we could find another way in without making as much noise, I think we would all be better off.”

Kim suggested, “Maybe we could just punch a hole through one of the windows big enough to fit one of us through and then that person could open the door.”

Dr. Caldwell, peering in the large windows and trying to see any threats lurking inside, said, “That isn’t a half bad idea. But who is going to go in?”

Emma said, “It should probably be someone who is smaller so that we can make the smallest hole possible. I guess that means me.”

“I’ll go.”

Everyone turned to the voice of the volunteer. It was Danny. He had been sitting in the van but was now standing in the lot next to Neil. He repeated, “I’ll go.”

“No,” Emma said adamantly. “We don’t know what’s in there. It’s too dangerous. Hell, I don’t even want to go in there on my own.”

“I’m not afraid. Besides, if I can get in and open those doors fast enough I won’t be in there by myself for very long.”

Neil was shaking his head but saying nothing.

“C’mon, let me do my part. If I thought I could get hurt in there, do you think I’d want to go? I won’t be out of sight one bit. If one of those things is in there, you guys can shoot out the windows and come and get me.”

Without thinking or saying a word, Neil walked Danny over to the glass door. He kneeled down with Danny and knocked a small hole in the glass with the butt of his shotgun. The first couple of strikes cracked and shattered the glass, but it stayed in its metal frame. With his third hit, he was able to punch through. The hole was right at ground level, so any falling glass wasn’t able to make much of a sound.

Neil looked at Danny. “You crawl through, stand up, and open the door. You don’t even take a step away. Do you hear me? You get through and open the door. Nothing else. Okay?”

“Gotcha boss.”

Neil smiled, mussed Danny’s hair, an action that he had never performed and had never considered doing in his life prior to that moment, and then stood up. He swallowed hard and tried to keep the anxious vertigo at bay and hidden from the others.

Danny was through the small opening in just a few wriggling seconds. Inside, it was dark; darker than it appeared from outside because of the sun-dimming tint on the glass. There was an overwhelming sweetness that filled the air inside the shop. The odor, strong and not entirely pleasant, tickled his nose and throat. He stood slowly, trying not to make a single sound. He was afraid that his thumping heart was reverberating through his chest and drawing unwanted attention to himself from whatever was lurking in the shadows on the other side of the counter.

He leaned into the door handle but nothing happened. He panicked for a moment and was set to crawl back out to the others. Before he was able, he saw what resembled a key on the metal doorframe. He turned it, pressed the handle again, and opened the door, allowing Neil and Dr. Caldwell to enter quickly and for him to start breathing again. The two men stalled immediately, their eyes trying to adjust to the unexpected low light inside. Neil moved Danny behind himself and the doctor. Emma, still outside, then grabbed Danny and pulled him back into the sunshine with the others.

Meghan, with an automatic pistol held in both hands and pointing toward the counter, was the next inside. She looked much more imposing than she felt. The guns afforded a sense of personal security but the reality was that she was anything but competent or even experienced with firearms. Regardless, she stood in the doorway, while Neil and Dr. Caldwell made their way deeper into the seating, which formed an inverted L shape down and around the front counter. Dr. Caldwell stopped just at the angle of the L while Neil continued down and around, disappearing from sight for just a second or two. He reappeared shaking his head and pointed at the counter. Behind it was the unknown.

Emma, now at the front door, was holding it wide open to let in some light. She was brandishing her heavy, shiny revolver in one of her hands as a precaution as well. Holding at bay her frustration with his apparent cowardice, Emma shot a disapproving glance at Malachi, who was standing next to Maggie in the parking lot. He wasn’t making even the slightest motion to go into the ice cream shop and help. She only spared a heartbeat for her chagrin and refocused her attention on the task at hand.

Dr. Caldwell, armed with a revolver the size of a cannon, stood at a swinging door leading to the rear of the store behind the counter. It was darker on the other side and much of it was out of view. There was only so much light coming in through the open front door and that was restricted further by the counter and tall kitchen equipment.

Neil raised the shotgun to his shoulder as the doctor went through. They were both holding their breath and walking at a snail’s pace. Like two scared deer at a watering hole frequented by predators, their eyes darted back and forth. Soon both of them were through the door. Meghan now entered the shop and stood at the counter, looking as if she was ready to rob the joint.

Danny, largely unattended and free to move about, joined Emma at the door. He looked at the menu board and felt his stomach begin to churn with promises of cheeseburgers, chili cheese dogs, French fries, sodas, and ice cream delights. He looked back at Jules who was still sitting with her legs dangling from the open side door of the minivan. He thought to himself that she looked tired and something else, though he couldn’t quite figure out what else it was. Maybe she was just hungry but he found himself getting worried about her. He had promised Mr. Houser that he would look out for her and he took his promises seriously. He stepped away from the teasing menu board and sat next to her.

She said to him quietly so as not to draw attention to them, “I miss my mommy. Do you think she’s really in heaven with Grandpa?” She never looked up from her fingers while she spoke.

Danny, looking at her thin fingers with dirty nails, said reassuringly, “Yeah. She was always nice to everyone. She shared with everyone. I think she’s up there.”

“I still miss her.”

“Yeah, Jules. I know.”

“What about Alec? What do you think happened to him?”

Danny wasn’t sure about that. Alec was Jules’ older brother who had stayed behind at the cabin down in Seward when the rest of the family took Martin to the hospital in Anchorage. Danny hadn’t really thought about Alec since leaving Seward. As far away as Seward was from Anchorage, there was a good chance that he was still okay. Of course, the “caveman” that the children had disturbed in the melting glacier who was responsible for Martin’s injury and the start of all of this was still down there. Maybe Alec had found his way into town when his family didn’t return right away. Maybe he was still at the cabin and getting by on the supplies that had been left with him. Danny wasn’t entirely sure.