Lakewood Memorial (10 page)

"Fuck you."

Park looked to his left and saw the rounded
top of a metal ladder bolted into the roof. "That would be the
ladder," he said.

He went to the ladder and looked over the
side. The ladder ran straight down to the pavement of the parking
lot. He looked around and saw his truck, parked over by the
emergency room. Even with the ladder depositing them right onto the
parking lot, it would still be quite a run. The few corpses
wandering around would have plenty of time to notice and come after
them.

Moe had barely been able to talk. His voice
had sounded like he was choking.

"Okay," said Park, pointing. "There's the
truck. We'll have to move fast."

"Fuck," said Sam, looking from the bottom of
the ladder to the truck. "You would have to park so far away."

"Yeah, I should have considered having to
climb down from the roof to avoid walking corpses. Now shut the
fuck up and let's go."

Park climbed onto the ladder first, swinging
around to face Sam and putting his feet on the topmost rung.

"Okay," he started, then stopped when the
lights on the roof and in the parking lot flickered.

"Shit," said Sam, looking around. "Be all
we'd need to have the fucking power go out."

Park grunted and nodded.

And down they went. Slowly, hand over hand,
Park descended the ladder. Sam was several rungs above him. Park
could smell rotting flesh and blood, but the moans were still
relatively far away. So far, so good. As long as the light
held...

And then the lights went out. All around
Park went black. Seriously black. No nearby lights worked and the
sky was overcast, obscuring moon and stars.

"Shit!" said Sam from above. "Can't see a
fucking thing!"

"Damn it!" Park said, stopping his climbing.
"Just stop up there. Hopefully it'll come back."

"How far did we get?"

"Not sure. Close, I think."

"Shit. Maybe we should jump for it."

Park's hands were slippery with sweat.
"Don't be a fucking idiot. If you sprain your ankle or some shit, I
ain't stopping for you."

"Let's go back up."

"Dammit, just stay where you are... wait, do
you smell that?"

"What?" said Sam. "Just the same stink of
those rotting fuckers."

"Yeah, but it's stronger..."

The lights flickered back on just as Park
was looking down. A corpse closed its hand on Park's foot and
pulled him off the ladder.

Park hit the pavement stomach first. It hurt
and the air rushed from his lungs, but there was no time to worry
about it. The corpse was behind him, moaning and squeezing his leg.
Soon it would be biting.

Park rolled over as best
he could and kicked at the corpse. It was a man, bloated and slimy.
He wore a blue button-up shirt that was torn and rotted. Fresh dirt
clung to his body and clothes in thick clumps.
This one's been buried a while
, Park
thought.

He took a quick glance up
and saw Sam still clinging to the ladder, looking down with wide
eyes.
Useless
.
Park kicked at the bloated man with his free leg. The bloated man's
head whipped back with a cracking noise and he let go. Park pulled
his leg away and stood. The bloated man squirmed on the pavement,
his head lolling around loosely. Park kicked again, hard. The man's
skull caved on one side and he was still.

Sam was climbing down the ladder behind him.
"Thanks for all the help," said Park, turning to look at him.

Sam blinked and turned red. "You know damned
good and well that happened too fast to do anything..."

"Whatever," said Park. "Just don't shoot
yourself from shaking so bad when you get a gun."

Park turned and headed for his truck. Why
was he even bothering? He'd been planning on killing himself
earlier today, why hadn't he just let the bloated thing do it?

Damn it, Moe had looked bad.

"You know what?" said Sam from behind him.
"I'm getting really sick of your bullshit."

Park stopped and turned. Sam stopped and
looked at him. "You really want to do this now?" said Park. "You
want to have this discussion right fucking now?"

And a corpse came out from behind a car and
grabbed Sam from behind. It was a young girl in a cheerleader
outfit. One of the two Park had seen earlier.

"Shit!" yelled Sam. The cheerleader moved
her mouth to Sam's neck. Park stepped over and punched the girl in
the forehead. She stopped, blinked and hissed at him

Sam pulled away and stepped back. "Damn it!
I can't take this disgusting shit."

"Goddammit, get something heavy!" yelled
Park.

Sam glared at him, then rushed off. From the
corner of his eye, Park could see Sam rooting around in the back of
a nearby pickup. Park watched the girl. She moaned and reached for
him, but slowly enough that Park could keep clear of her. Finally,
Sam rushed back over with a crowbar.

"Here," Sam said, handing it to Park.

Park glanced over at Sam. "Really? You're
giving it to me? She's right there. You could do it."

"I can't handle this disgusting shit!"

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," said
Park. He took the crowbar and slammed it down on the cheerleader's
head. She shook from the force. Her arms twitched. Then she
collapsed to the ground, still.

"Go team," said Park.

He turned to look at Sam. The big man was
adjusting his glasses and staring at the collapsed cheerleader.
"Here," said Park, handing him the crowbar. "This is for
cheerleaders. Now let's go."

They walked the rest of the way to Park's
truck in silence. It sat where Park had left it, crooked in a
handicapped spot in front of the emergency room doors.

"Nice parking," said Sam from behind him.
Park fished out his keys and unlocked the door. The door creaked as
he pulled it open. Park reached inside and found the two hunting
rifles he and Moe had been using.

Moe had barely been able to speak when Park
had last seen him, lying on the hospital bed in that empty
room.

Moe's lips had been dry and his voice
hoarse. "I'm not going to make it, Park."

"Sure you will," Park had said, knowing full
well it was bullshit but not knowing what else to say. Not knowing
what else to think.

"You know better than that," Moe had said.
"Listen, Park. If you get a chance to get out of here, take it.
Don't die because of me. Just go."

In the parking lot, Park turned and handed
Sam a gun. "Here. You can use this on cheerleaders too." He set the
other gun down in the passenger seat, then leaned over to open the
glove compartment. He pulled out a box of ammo and straightened
back up.

He turned and handed the box to Sam. Sam
slung the rifle over one shoulder and took the box.

"You might want to put the ammo in your
pocket," said Park.

"Why?"

"So you don't drop it."

"Why would I drop it?

"Because I'm about to punch you in the
face." And Park did. As hard as he could.

Sam staggered back,
surprised. Park took the moment to climb into the truck and shut
the door.
Just go
.

"What the fuck?" Sam sputtered from
outside.

"Best of luck," said Park, starting the
engine. He'd take a short drive home, then off himself on his own
terms. He was done. He'd been done all day, he'd just been
delayed.

Park put the truck in
reverse and backed out of the spot.
Surprised I didn't get a ticket
, he
thought, smirking to himself. He pulled away, driving for the
road.

In the rearview mirror, Sam was screaming
something at him. Park watched Sam's face turn red. Finally Sam
gave up and ran back for the ladder.

"Best of luck," Park repeated to the empty
truck.

Park reached the road and stopped out of
habit, looking for oncoming traffic before he turned. He looked in
the rearview mirror and saw Sam reach the ladder. He was climbing.
Two corpses had followed him and were grabbing at his legs. A third
was approaching. Sam was struggling.

Park sighed at the mirror. "Dumb ass." Then
he looked at the road again. It was clear. He could turn.

But he didn't. He looked at the mirror
instead. The corpses were still grabbing at Sam. Sam was still on
the ladder but probably wouldn't be for long.

Park looked back at the road.

Then at the mirror.

"Shit goddammit hell," said Park, and threw
the truck in reverse.

He spun around in the parking lot and sped
for the ladder. The truck groaned and clattered as it hit bumps and
potholes, but Park didn't slow down. Sam saw the truck coming and
started climbing as fast as he could. Park chuckled, sounding and
feeling a little crazy. Not really knowing why, he reached down and
fastened his seat belt.

"Gotta buckle up," he said to himself.

Then he slammed the truck into the bottom of
the ladder. The corpses went splat underneath him. One flew off to
one side, groaning as its legs came free from its torso.

The seat belt dug into Park's shoulder as
the force of the crash flung him forward. The engine sputtered and
hissed. Park eased himself back and shut off the ignition.

"You goddamn crazy fucking trailer trash
idiot!" came Sam's screams from above him, up on the ladder. "What
in the holy name of fuck is wrong with you?"

"Just saving your ass," said Park, unhooking
the seat belt and reaching for the rifle next to him. "Fuck knows
why, but that's what I'm doing."

Corpses were already
closing in on the truck.
They must be
coming from inside
, Park thought.
All this noise must be bringing them
out
.

The ladder creaked above him. "Dammit!"
yelled Sam. "You knocked the ladder loose!"

Park looked out the
windows to each side. Two or three corpses were clawing at the
glass.
I could shoot
them
, he thought as he opened the glove
compartment and pulled out a second box of ammo. He stuck the ammo
in his pocket.
But no point in wasting
ammo
.

He slid down in the seat and kicked at the
windshield. With a few kicks the glass splintered and came
free.

The ladder creaked again. "Shit!" said
Sam.

"Just hurry and get up the fucking thing!"
yelled Park. He climbed out the window and onto the hood. Corpses
reached for him but the hood was too wide.

"Where the fuck were you going?" yelled Sam
above him, climbing.

"A party," said Park.
"With ice cream and a fucking clown. Just get the fuck up there!"
He walked across the hood to the ladder and took hold. It gave a
little too much. It
was
loose.

He looked up. Sam was halfway back to the
roof. Park slung the rifle over his shoulder and started
climbing.

From below him, Park heard his engine hiss
and sputter, even though he'd turned it off. He doubted it'd be
running again any time soon. Corpses groaned down there, too. Park
didn't look.

The ladder swayed as he climbed. He got
several rungs up before realizing Sam had stopped.

"What the hell are you doing?" said
Park.

"We're gonna have to slow down," said Sam.
"This thing's gonna give any second."

"Fuck it is. Fucker's made of steel or some
shit. Just go!"

Sam grumbled and resumed climbing.

Park swore under his breath and
followed.

The ladder gave a loud groan and separated
from the roof.

"Shit!" yelled Sam as the ladder leaned
backward. The corpses down below moaned as if waiting for the meals
to drop.

Park swung around on the ladder, grabbing
hold of the back. He leaned back toward the building as hard as he
could. The ladder stopped, suspending them both in midair. "Do what
I'm doing, dickless!" he yelled.

Sam did, climbing to the back of the ladder
and leaning toward the wall. The ladder creaked and fell back the
other way. Park's back slammed into the hospital wall.

"Ow!" yelled Sam.

The corpses below moaned.

"Now go!" said Park. "I'll hold it!"

Sam squirmed out from behind the ladder and
climbed back onto the front. He climbed up as fast as he could
until he reached the roof. Park saw him jump onto the roof, then
turn to grab hold of the ladder's rounded top.

"Come on!" yelled Sam.

"I'm touched, Shuab," said Park to himself
as he spun to the other side of the ladder and climbed. He made it
to the top and hopped off next to Sam.

Sam let go and the ladder fell away from the
building. With a loud creaking groan, the ladder dropped onto
Park's truck. "Damn it, you broke the fucking ladder."

"Don't need the ladder anymore," said Park,
smirking. "We have these." He patted the rifle on his shoulder.

Fifteen

"Dalton!" came Maylee's voice from the
darkness.

No wait, not
darkness
, Dalton realized. His eyes were
just shut. And his chin
really
hurt.

He opened his eyes. He was on his back in
the basement, looking up at the hole he had made. He blinked at the
blurry light from the hole. A shape was looking down at him. He
blinked again and saw it was Maylee. He groaned and sat up.

"Shit," said Maylee. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" he asked.

"You fell. And you've been like that for
like ten minutes. I thought you were dead."

Brooke's head appeared next to the hole. "Is
he awake?"

Dalton nodded up at them.

Brooke sighed. "Thank god. Now get back up
here before you get really hurt. This was a terrible idea."