Haven (The Breadwinner Trilogy) (7 page)

III

No one spoke.  Lulu curled up on the couch and stared at the television, awaiting an anchorman to appear on the screen and inform everyone that the situation was under control.  Zach cleaned up Lulu’s vomit and joined her on the couch.  Michelle had retired to her room and sat in her computer chair by the open window.  She was serenaded by the sounds of the chaos outside.  A Diet Coke can sat on the window sill and acted as her makeshift ashtray.  She thought of her parents, her sister, all of her other family members and friends.  She couldn’t help but wonder if they were safe, but decided that worrying about it was useless and wouldn’t change the situation.  She was in Florida, they were back home in Chicago. If the rest of the country was in any sort of similar situation as Haven, there would be no way she could get to them safely.

She spent quite some time by herself in her room, smoking by the window, staring at nothing.
 She racked her brain for a plan, trying to figure out what they should do, where they should go. She wondered what the roads were like, whether or not they should even attempt to leave town.  There was no way that they could stay where they were, she hated to admit it but Zach was right, they had nothing of sustenance in the house.  A few cans of soda, beer and a couple snacks.  Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday.  She dropped her cigarette into the can and headed for the kitchen.  Lulu was still blankly staring at the TV set and Zach sat with his head back and his eyes closed.  He opened them when Michelle entered the living room and watched as she ignored him and went to the pantry.  

She set a box of Oreos down on the counter and pulled two out.
 Zach joined her at the breakfast bar and she pushed the box toward him.  

“Thanks.”
 He pulled a few cookies out for himself and opened the fridge.  

“Can you grab me a soda?”
 Michelle asked, her mouth full of cookies. He pulled three cans out and handed one to her.  

He walked back to the living room and set a can in front of his cousin.
 Her eyes didn’t move from the television.  He grabbed her face gently by her chin and her eyes met his.  He motioned toward the soda.  “Drink something.  Please?”  She nodded and he popped open the can for her before returning to the kitchen.  

Michelle slowly chewed the last of her second cookie.
 Zach stood beside her and put his hand on her back, “How are you doing?”

She flinched and shoved his arm away from her.
 “Don’t touch me.”  He looked confused, maybe even hurt, but she didn’t care.  

“What’s your problem?”

She laughed at the question.  A genuine, hearty laugh.  “Is that a serious question?”

He shrugged his shoulders, awaiting her answer.

“Everything is my problem.”  She stormed off and stopped at the couch, looking down at her friend.  “You need to get your shit together.”  Lulu watched as she disappeared down the hall.

Michelle locked her bedroom door and started up the shower.
 She sat on the floor of the tub and cried until the water ran cold. When she was done dressing and drying her hair it was completely dark outside.  She smoked another cigarette and returned to the kitchen.  Zach had put a DVD in after giving up on getting any useful information from the news networks.  Lulu was in the kitchen, heating up some Ramen noodles.  Michelle grabbed a packet for herself and waited her turn.  Lulu hugged Michelle tightly without saying a word.  Michelle reluctantly held her in her arms, she was no good at comforting others.  Lulu silently left the kitchen and joined her cousin on the couch, eating her noodles and watching the overrated comedy he had chosen.

Michelle brought her food with her to her room and closed and locked the door again.
 She ate in silence and thought about packing up and leaving in the middle of the night by herself.  She thought about trying for Chicago, how easy it could be just going it solo and not having to worry about anyone else, but she couldn’t convince herself to leave Lulu here.  It was almost as if Lulu had been reading her mind as a soft tap was heard at her door.  She got up and opened the door.

“Can I come in?”
 Lulu looked even smaller than she normally did as she leaned against the wall outside Michelle’s room.  Michelle waved her in and closed the door again.

Lulu scrunched her nose up at the bed in disgust, thinking of Michelle and her cousin together, and sat in the computer chair. Michelle crossed her legs on her bed and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. Lulu studied her for a moment, trying to figure out how she was so relaxed. “Is the world ending?"

Michelle chuckled and looked at her roommate. "The internet is gone. It might as well be ending."

Lulu pulled her feet up onto the chair and rested her arms over her knees. "What are we going to do?"

“Beats the shit out of me." Michelle closed her eyes again. "You got any bright ideas?"

"Maybe." Lulu shrugged her shoulders and looked down at floor, embarrassed of the plan she'd been rolling around in her head.

"Well let's hear it, Lu."

"We go to work. Like literally go to work.
 The salon.”

Michelle opened her eyes and made a face.
 “Why the hell would we do that?”

“Because the building is perfect!”
 Lulu suddenly sounded excited.  “Think of the other stores that share the building with us! A jewelry store, a vitamin shop.”  Her excitement grew with every word as she continued explaining her idea. "And there's a restaurant and a cell phone store.  Do I need to keep going?”

Michelle snickered, “I hate to break it to you but cell phone service is non-existent and diamonds aren’t going to help you, no matter how much you like them.”
 She reached across the bed and grabbed her cigarettes.  

Lulu handed the can of cigarette ashes to her.
 “No, you’re not thinking about this." She dropped her feet back to the floor and leaned forward on her knees. "The glass is shatterproof in both of those stores and what do you think they have?  Secure inventory rooms.  Hellooo? Safety?  Ringing any bells?”

Michelle nodded her head, a line forming in her brow. Lulu had definitely piqued her interest.
 “Target is across the street.  And there’s roof access too.”  She was starting to work out the details of Lulu’s strange plan in her head when a long howl was heard outside followed by a series of growls and screams.  “Shut the lights off, now!”  Lulu jumped up and rushed out of the room, flipping the light switch as she went.  Michelle heard her calling to Zach to turn everything off.  She peeked out the window into the parking lot.  There were a few people milling about, looking disoriented.  All the other apartments she could see were dark.  
We must have been the only assholes with our lights on
, she thought as she shook her head.  Lulu returned to the room and stood at the window with Michelle, watching the strange behavior of the people in the lot below.  They seemed to almost sniff at the air, wildly waving their arms and heads around.

“What do you think they’re doing?”
 Lulu whispered.

“You wanna go ask them?"

She looked at Michelle, her eyes full of fright. "Leaving suddenly seems like a really bad idea."

“Well,” Michelle took one last drag off her cigarette.
 “At some point we aren’t gonna have a choice."

IV

Michelle, Lulu and Zach spent the rest of the evening in the dark, working out their plan in the living room.  Zach brought up the fact that they’d have to make sure they had supplies once they got to the gigantic outdoor mall that Michelle and Lulu worked at. 

“We’re gonna need to make sure we’re prepared just in case once we get in we have to stay in for a while.  Or, I mean, something could happen along the way, we get stuck or we have to hide or something.  I don’t know how any of this shit works, but we should probably stop somewhere and stock up.”  Zach was nervous and it showed in how fast he was talking.  It was driving Michelle crazy.

“Yeah.  I see your point there.  We don’t have much here,” Michelle threw Zach a dirty look he couldn’t see in the darkness of the room, “You already pointed that out.  So we’ll hit the gas station up on the corner on our way to Emerald Park.”

“What do we do about the crazy people out there?”  Lulu’s voice was shaky.

“Keep the hell away from them.  You saw what they did to a child out there this morning with your own eyes.  They’re obviously out of their minds.”  Zach reached a hand out and squeezed his cousin’s shoulder reassuringly.  “If the psychopaths out there are out for blood, then we do what we need to do to defend ourselves.  I’m assuming you don’t have any weapons here?”

“I have a broken pool stick.  I keep it under my bed in case anyone breaks in.”

Michelle rolled her eyes at her roommate.  “No Zach, we don’t have any weapons.”

“Now hold on, I liked Lulu’s answer a little better.  You have to get creative.  Let me ask a better question.  What do you have in the apartment that can be used as a weapon?”

“Like Lulu’s pool stick?”  Michelle couldn’t help but be amused. 

“Yes, like Lulu’s pool stick.”

“Let’s see.  We’ve got a toolbox outside in the closet on the porch.  That’s probably got some useful stuff in it.  We have a bunch of knives in the kitchen but they can barely cut a steak.”  She lit a cigarette as she thought of what other items in the house might serve as weapons of defense.  “We have a couple of tennis rackets in the closet and I have a big ass mag light in my car, but other than that I think we’re fresh out of ideas.”

“Alright.  Well that’s gonna have to work until we find something better.  Let’s try to get some sleep, we’re gonna need our wits about us when we leave in the morning.”  Zach went to get up but Lulu grabbed his hand.

“Will you sleep in my room?  Please?”  She sounded like a child as she asked.  “I’m really scared.”

“Of course.”

Michelle left the living room with a sigh.  She felt like she was trapped in the apartment with a bunch of babies.  She locked her bedroom door and brushed her teeth in the dark.  When she was finished, she curled up in her bed and out of habit, reached for her cell phone.  She remembered that it was still outside on the porch with a shattered screen.  She mumbled cusswords to herself and rolled over, falling almost immediately to sleep.

She woke the next morning to knocking at her door.  “Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?”  Zach’s muffled voice travelled through the crack in the door’s frame.

“I hate him so much.”  Michelle said to herself as she stretched in bed and tossed her blanket to the side.  He knocked again and called her name.  “Yeah!  Alright!”  She angrily stomped into the bathroom and turned on the light.  She washed her face and threw her thick curly hair back in a ponytail.  She put some mascara on and brushed her teeth, faking a smile in the mirror before turning out the light and getting dressed.

Lulu and Zach were waiting for her in the living room with a mound of luggage piled around the coffee table.  Michelle made a beeline for the coffee pot, “Are we going camping?”  She smirked at Lulu as she poured herself a cup of breakfast blend.

“Did you even pack anything up?”  Zach fiddled with his glasses as he spoke.  “You already overslept, we need to get a move on.”

“As a matter of fact I did put a bag together.  I don’t know where you think we’re going but it ain’t on vacation.”  She gulped down the hot coffee.  “We don’t know what to expect out there, or how long it will be until help comes along and clears this mess up.”  She thought of the words that just left her mouth, would there be any help coming?  She pushed the fear from her mind and finished off her liquid breakfast.  “I’m just not too worried about my carryon luggage at the moment.”

Lulu looked at all of her bags, suddenly embarrassed.  “I just wanted to make sure I have clean clothes.”

“Yeah, and I don’t even have any other clothes.”  Zach stood up and pointed at the coffee table.  “Take the hammer Michelle, and grab your bag.  I’m ready to get out of here.”

Michelle retrieved her overnight bag from her bedroom and looked around one last time before shutting her door.  She didn’t know if she’d ever set foot in her own bedroom again, but for the most part she just didn’t care.  Back in the living room she noticed that Lulu had set all but two bags to the side, one that she carried and one that Zach had shouldered.  “Are you driving?”  Lulu looked at her, broken pool stick in hand. 

Michelle nodded and grabbed her keys and the hammer from the coffee table.  She looked from Zach to Lulu and back to Zach again.  “Here goes nothin’.”  She unlocked the front door and pulled it toward her.  An assortment of sounds hung on the air and an awful odor greeted them on the second floor landing.  Michelle cautiously descended to the first floor and looked around, not a soul to be seen.  She avoided the pile of remains in the courtyard of Janice and her son, she hoped Lulu would choose to do the same, she didn’t want her holding them up by vomiting again.  The trio walked in silence down the sidewalk around the building, not knowing what to expect around the corner in the parking lot.

Michelle’s red Camry Hybrid sat crookedly in its space, the result of a night of drinking.  The majority of their neighbors’ cars were still in the lot, none of them brave enough to leave after what happened to Janice, or perhaps none of them lucky enough.  Michelle absentmindedly played with her car keys as she walked, unknowingly pressing the alert button.  The car’s alarm went off, startling all three of them.  “Oh shit!  Sorry!”  Michelle dropped the keys and bent down to pick them up.  She fumbled with them and finally got the alarm turned off.  Violent cries erupted all around them.

“Oh Jesus Christ, no.”  Lulu grabbed her cousin’s arm and began crying.  The maniacal screams grew louder and the three companions could now hear the sound of rapid feet slamming against the pavement, headed their way from all directions.

“Get to the car!  Hurry!”  Michelle broke away from her companions and headed to her car, the hammer clattered to the ground behind her but she ignored it.  Her heart raced as she finally saw what was after them.  Vicious, mangled creatures that looked like something out of a horror film raced toward her, growling and hissing all the way.  She yanked her car door open and threw her bag inside, slamming the door and screaming for Lulu and Zach to hurry up.  The two barely made it to the vehicle in time as the first of the eaters pursuing them slammed its body into the driver’s side door and pounded its fists against the window.  Lulu screamed and continued to cry in the passenger’s seat.

“Lulu!  Shut up!”  Michelle yelled at her and threw the car in reverse.  She put her foot on the gas and smashed into the body of an eater.  One of her front tires ran over it and Lulu screamed again as Michelle put the car in drive and took off toward the exit of the apartment complex.  She checked the rearview mirror and was not surprised that the group of dead still chased the car.  Some of them were dismembered, some of them half naked, but all of them equally terrifying.  Every corner she turned in the complex on her way out it seemed as if more and more of the crazies were appearing out of nowhere.  “There’s so many of them.”  She whispered to herself.  Her mouth hung open, she was dumbfounded.  She had no idea it would be this bad. 

“Michelle!”  Lulu cried out and Michelle brought her eyes back to the road just in time to see the disfigured, half eaten teenage girl charging the car head on.

“Fuck you!”  Michelle pushed down on the accelerator and the Camry plowed into the girl at 50 miles per hour.  The girl’s body smashed into the windshield and rolled up and over the car.  Lulu’s screams were endless.  Zach was yelling for her to stop.  Michelle’s adrenaline was
pumping full force.  She checked the rearview mirror and couldn’t believe her eyes.  The girl she’d just run down with her car was getting back up.  “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”  She slowed the car just a bit to navigate the final turn for the exit and sped back up, making a left out of the complex and heading toward Emerald Park.

Zach turned around in his seat to see what Michelle was talking about but she’d taken the turn too fast.  “What happened?  Is the girl dead?  Are they still back there?”  Michelle ignored his questions and kept driving.  She passed the gas station.  “Hey, what are you doing?  I thought we were going to stop there?”  Zach was clearly in panic mode.

“I’m not stopping anywhere until I know those freaks aren’t following us anymore.”  She took a series of turns, Zach was glad she knew where she was going and that Lulu had finally stopped screaming.  As they sped through the streets of Haven, Michelle dodged scattered groups of people as they ran.  People were either being chased, hiding, or dying right before their eyes.  Michelle took one last right turn that took them the wrong way on a one way street.  She scanned the area and pulled the car off to the side of the road, right in front of a corner store about two miles from their home.  She was still breathing hard and her hands were shaking.  She had a sinking feeling that nobody would be coming to help them.  “This is where we stop.  Get in there, get whatever we feel like we’re gonna need and get the fuck out.”  She turned around and faced Zach, her face flushed and her palms sweaty.  “I hit that crazy chick doing fifty and watched her ass bounce on that pavement.  That would have killed anyone.” 

“Yes!  We’re all aware of this!”  Zach shouted at her in anger.

“Yeah, well, what you’re not aware of is the fact that she got right back up and started chasing us again.”