As Cold As The Dead Read online

“We were in the Mall of America,” I said, tears rolling down my face. “People were running past us, screaming, yelling about zombies in the amusement park. Rainey and I got separated. She got bit!” I started bawling. “I tried to save her…when we got back here, Uncle Kent had you tied up whipping you. I needed to help you.”

  Ben stared down at Rainey.

  I said through my tears, “She turned into a zombie! She crawled up the driveway and attacked your Mom.”

  Ben asked quietly, “I shot Rainey?”

  “Yeah you…you killed her and…and your Dad.”

  “A zombie bit her…” He trailed off, his face blank.

  Snow came driving in like a white powder dust storm. Wind howled through the trees. Ben and I loaded the dead bodies of Uncle Kent, Aunt Brenda and Rainey onto the hay cart. Bernie, the horse, pulled us out to a drainage ditch along a tree line on the east edge of the farm’s boundary.

  Ben stood at the head of the bodies, I went to their feet. I couldn’t look at their faces, especially not Rainey’s. I wanted to remember her pretty face. My eyes flooded with tears, my mouth plastered shut. If I opened it I’d scream in sorrow.

  Even Bernie didn’t seem very happy. He neighed nervously.

  “Calm down Bern,” Ben told him, his breath blowing out in plumes. “I know you don’t like it out here either, boy.”

  We rolled Uncle Kent down into the ditch. His body had already stiffened.

  Ben didn’t cry. He was either in a state of shock or the death of his family hadn’t sunk in yet. I hadn’t seen him shed a single tear. I know he had to feel something.

  On the slow cold ride out to the ditch, he told me that he had been contemplating killing his Dad for a long time. Ben accepted the fact that he would, and was willing to go to prison for the rest of his life for the murder.

  “At least I would be away from him and his fucking belt. He wouldn’t be able to touch me anymore or manipulate me or force me to do things I don’t want to do. I’ve been ruled by his fucking belt for too long, Jon. It stopped me from going into the Army. I could have seen the world. But no. I had to go into the reserves. I had to be a mechanic in a fucking motor pool.”

  I didn’t care about Ben’s story. I didn’t care about Ben, either. I didn’t care about anything because my heart was broken. My Rainey was gone. She was gone! Really gone! I was going to miss her terribly! More than I could imagine. More than I could even stomach. I felt sick. I wanted to go home. I didn’t want to be here anymore.

  We picked up Aunt Brenda’s body and rolled her down into the ditch.

  Looking over his shoulder Ben said, “It’s alright. Nobody ever comes out here. It’s a no man’s land. I don’t like to even come out here. Place gives me the willies. It stinks. I think Dad brought some of his other beatings out here – after he beat them to death.”

  My voice cracked. “Other beatings?”

  He shook his head angry at himself for saying something he shouldn’t have.

  We quietly rolled Rainey down into the ditch.

  I cried. I couldn’t help it.

  Ben stood next to me, his arms folded over his chest. He still hadn’t shed a tear.

  Bernie calmed down the further away we got from the ditch. I didn’t know how Ben was going to explain any of this to anyone if they came asking. I asked him, “Are you going to call the police?”

  Without looking at me, he said, “No.”

  By the time we got back to the house the ground was already covered in snow.

  Rainey had meant so much to me. I had held her so high. With her deeply caring personality, her great sense of humor and her selflessness when it came to her handicap. Her cuteness. Her dimples. Her so very addictive laughter. I didn’t want to admit it but I did fall in love with her.

  Again.

  For the second time. I fell in love with her when she and her Mom came to California, too.

  I had made the choice! I was going to take her to California with me! I had settled it in my mind. I was going to give up my freedom, my single life, to take care of her; to protect her, keep her safe from the reach of her father’s fucking belt.

  But the reach of the zombie’s arm went further. The son of a bitch killed her. The zombies took her away from me!

  And I would never forgive them for that.

  Never!

  That night the snow came in like a thundering avalanche. We were buried under two feet of snow.

  We listened to Uncle Kent’s wide band radio while preparing for the incoming apocalypse.

  “Stay away from Minneapolis. Zombies have taken over the city. The National Guard has been called in. Several units were wiped out in minutes. Reports are coming in: Zombies are killing, moving quickly through the city. They are now moving toward the northern suburbs. If you can hear this message and live in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis, do whatever it takes to protect yourself and your loved ones. The zombies have evolved into an advanced type of human being with an insatiable appetite for flesh. They have longer legs and longer arms. The added length in their legs gives them the ability to run faster than a man. Their long arms enable them to reach farther so please, if you hide somewhere, make sure you hide somewhere far away from a doorway or a window. Do not hide in your vehicle. The zombies communicate with one another by clacking their teeth. When thousands of them clack their teeth at the same time it sounds like locusts…”

  Locusts, I thought. Thousands of them undulating, chirping, the sound swishing through the trees like a chilling whisper.

  It reminded me of Rainey.

  When they clack their teeth it makes the same noise!

  It gave me goose bumps.

  We brought all of the weapons in from the barn including pitch forks and shovels, gathered all of the food in the kitchen storing it in the fridge and keeping the bottled water and canned goods in the pantry.

  We stuffed backpacks full of extra clothes, flashlights, batteries, and other necessities and set them on the couch in case we needed to make a quick run for it.

  We went through the house collecting coats, scarfs, gloves, boots and heavier clothing that had been stored away. Ben let me borrow two of his coats since he was wearing his from the reserves. He also let me use one of his hoodies and a pair of long underwear.

  “You’ll want to wear a stocking cap or a ski mask too,” he told me. “You’re not used to this cold. Bundle up extra if we need to go out in it again.”

  We lost communication with the outside world when the power went out three days after the blizzard started. We assumed everyone in the city was either dead, hiding or running for their lives. We knew eventually that zombies were going to make their way out of the city and into the country.

  We needed to be ready for them.

  Jeep headlights appeared out in the churning blizzard. Ben pulled the curtains open to see who was driving. One person got out, then another. Two girls. We could tell they were female by the way they held out their arms when they stepped through the deep snow.

  Ben’s brow crossed. He asked, “That’s not Lisa is it? And Wendy?”

  I shrugged. I had no idea who they were and couldn’t have cared less because in the back of my mind I had been thinking about California. I should have flown home tonight. The phones had been down now for two days. Getting reception out here on my cell phone had been hard enough. Now it was nonexistent. I never got a chance to call work to tell them I wouldn’t be making it back in time.

  I wondered if zombies were in California, too. I hoped Waters and the guys at the dock were ok.

  Loud banging on the front door. “Ben? You in there?” A girl’s muddled voice.

  “That’s Lisa, the chick from St. Cloud I told you about,” he said. “I wanted you to meet her, remember? I met her barhopping a long time ago. I’ve been seeing her every now and then. Told her if she ever needed help with anything to give me a call.”

  “Did she call?”

  “Yesterday. But I didn’t know she was going
to bring her sister along, too.”

  Louder banging on the door.

  “Our food’s going to go a lot faster with the two of them here,” I whispered.

  “Maybe they brought supplies.”

  I said, “I Doubt it.”

  Double fisted banging on the door now.

  Ben yelled, “Jesus, hold on!” He got up, throwing blankets to the side.

  We had been sleeping in the living room by the fireplace under a ton of blankets. Ben had strung some of the blankets up on bailing wire, creating a smaller room to contain the warmth. When he pulled back the blankets, cold fell in like a teetering ice block.

  He unlocked the front door.

  A girl said, “Ben, let us in. It’s cold. We’re cold.”

  “Please,” another girl’s voice shivered.

  He asked, “You got any food or anything in the Jeep?”

  “I got a full ten gallon gas can and you can have the Jeep. We just want to get somewhere warm. Please.”

  “Alright. Come in.”

  They came in stomping their feet knocking snow off their shoes. Once inside Ben slammed the door shut and latched the locks.

  The first girl who came into our enclosure was about my age, maybe a little older. She was a short stocky girl with pale skin, buck teeth, a pug nose and hazel eyes. She was homely looking and I sincerely thought at the time that she probably never had a date in her life; not to be mean, but she was not an attractive woman. She had a horses’ face, long nose, pugged at the end, and a short chin. Her gums showed mostly when she smiled; that and her crooked yellow buck teeth. Her cheeks and lips were chapped red. She didn’t have any make-up on at all. She wore several heavy coats, gloves and an orange and yellow ski cap. Her long greasy sandy hair hung down out from under the ski cap.

  The second girl coming in stood thinner but taller and prettier than the first. She wore a lot of heavy coats but no gloves. She had short black spiked hair and dark red lipstick. Her teeth were strikingly white. Her fingernails were painted black and a small silver crucifix hung from her left earlobe.

  Ben said, “Jon, this is Lisa and Wendy Lewis. Lisa, Wendy, this is my cousin Jon from California.”

  The one with the spiky black hair said, “I’m Lisa. Whinny’s my older sister.”

  Wendy shot her sister a dirty look. “You know I hate being called that. I really do. I wish you’d quit it.”

  Lisa gave her an indifferent smile. “Oh shut up, Whinny.”

  “Stupid bitch,” Wendy said under her breath.

  I acknowledged the two of them without a care.

  Ben pushed the blankets back. He sat down. Immediately, Lisa sat right next to him. Wendy stayed standing.

  “Sit down, Wendy,” Lisa said nodding toward me. “He won’t bite.”

  Wendy shuffled her feet around a little. She quickly sat down right next to me. Snow melted on her shoes and dripped on the carpet.

  Lisa asked, “You guys got any beer?”

  “Nope,” Ben said.

  “That’s lame,” she said, her shoulders slouching. “Thought you’d have at least some beer or something.”

  “No,” Ben said. “We have food stocked. We have weapons. That’s all.”

  Another knock on the front door.

  Ben asked, “Seriously? Somebody else is with you?”

  Disgusted, Lisa said, “Yes. It’s Gale. She’s Wendy’s friend.”

  Wendy said in a nasally voice, “I was over at her house when the blizzard hit. Lisa picked us up and brought us over here.”

  Ben went to let her in.

  “She’s on the rag,” Wendy whispered leaning toward me, her glove cupped to the side of her mouth. I smelled cherry cough drop.

  Ben let Gale in. She walked into the center of our blanket covered chamber. “Thanks for leaving me out in the cold, Wendy,” she said with a fake lisp. “You know you could have at least told me you were coming in here.” She wore glasses. The lenses had steamed over. Gale had crooked front teeth, wore a coat which was too big for her and a ski cap that had a fuzzy red bobble on top.

  Wendy said, “I did tell you.”

  Gale sat down hard on the carpet.

  Lisa rolled her eyes. She asked Ben, “Where are your folks?”

  He said, “They went into town yesterday and haven’t come back.”

  “What about Raaainey,” she asked in a stuck-up childish voice. “Is she locked up in her jail cell?”

  I asked, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Lisa sat back quickly. “Well, she never goes anywhere.”

  “Doesn’t mean it’s a cell,” I said, pissed.

  “Damn dude, calm down,” Lisa said scooting closer to Ben, “Wow, what’s up with your cousin?”

  Ben said, “He and Rainey were close.”

  “Were?” she asked.

  “Are!” He corrected himself. “Rainey went with my folks into town. It’s just me and Jon here now.”

  “Oh nice,” she said cuddling closer. She put her arm around his back. He flinched a little. “Oh, sorry, did I hurt you?”

  “No, I scraped my back the other day.”

  “Want me to rub it?”

  Ben laughed. “Nah. It’s ok.”

  “I can rub other things too, you know.”

  Gale watched them intensely. Her gloved hands dangled at her side, her glasses still steamed over. Wendy was quiet. Honestly, I was ready to get up and head out into the blizzard.

  “Maybe later,” Ben said with a smirk.

  Lisa asked, “Well Jesus, what do you got to eat then? I’m starved.”

  Ben held his hand up to her. “Did you come here to survive or just to get fucked?"

  “Hopefully both,” she said with a stupid smile. “But I guess I can go without fucking for…”

  “Listen,” I said. “I don’t think you guys get it!”

  Gale asked, “Get what?”

  “There’s fucking zombies out there and she’s worried about beer or getting fucked?”

  Angrily Lisa said, “Hey, we haven’t seen any zombies. I think it’s a gag, you know, like somebody messing with people.”

  “It’s not a gag!” I said under my breath trying to control my rage. I was livid.

  Ben stood up. “Alright, fuck it.” He reached down for Lisa and pulled her to her feet. He took her by the hand and led her out from under the blankets.

  Gale asked, “Where you going?”

  “We’re taking care of some business upstairs,” Ben said. “We’ll be back in a while.”

  Lisa giggled.

  Their footsteps clunked up the stairs.

  “Just us now,” Gale said.

  I said, “Yep” and didn’t say anything else.

  Wendy finally said, “I’m sorry Lisa bad-mouthed Rainey. She always talks shit on people. Lisa’s the kind of person who thinks her shit doesn’t stink. Are you and Rainey close?”

  I nodded.

  Gale said, “That’s cool.”

  “Yeah,” I breathed.

  Wendy added, “Rainey’s a sweet girl. I met her once…a couple years ago. She came to St. Cloud with her school on a field trip. She made everyone’s day.”

  I nodded again. I was trying very hard not to cry.

  “Rainey’s very pretty,” Wendy added with a smile, her gums and the tips of her buck teeth showing. “I loved her dimples.”

  I was trying to think of anything else to say just to change the subject, but Rainey was staring me straight in my memory’s face. I could see her face perfectly after we had held our foreheads together at the mall. Her eyes had been like stars.

  “Who’s Rainey?” Gale asked.

  “Ben’s sister,” Wendy said.

  Upstairs, a steady squeaking noise came through the floorboards.

  I stood up. “Ok, um, you guys want to get something to eat?”

  Gale said, “Yes please.”

  “Ok, let’s go in the kitchen. Might be quieter in there.”

  The three of
us walked through the cold house into the kitchen. I opened some of the cabinets. I asked, “You guys hungry?”

  “Sure,” Gale said and curiously walked over to a sliding glass door which led out onto the back porch of the house. The glass in the door had frosted completely over. She started drawing a large circle in the frost with her finger. She drew two eyes and a large smile under it. Her mittens dangled from her wrists.

  Wendy stood next to me by the refrigerator. Pulling six slices out of a sealed package of bread I asked her, “Have you guys heard anything at all about what’s going on in the city?”

  Wendy said, “No. We haven’t heard much of anything. TV’s off. Cable’s out. Internet’s down. Can’t use our cell phones. Only thing working is the radio in the Jeep.”

  I asked, “What are they saying?”

  Gale made one of the eyes bigger on her drawing with her thumb. She leaned forward looking out the eye through the window. The red fuzzy bobble on her ski cap plopped forward. She answered, “Nothing. We’ve been listening to a George Michael CD.”

  I grabbed three paper plates, put the bread on them and grabbed a jar of mayonnaise out of the fridge. Wendy handed me a plastic bag full of sliced deli meat.

  Gale started breathing heavier against the glass. Quietly she whispered, “I see some people out in the snow. I can barely see them. They must be lost or something.”

  “Let me see,” I said.

  She moved over in front of the other side of the glass door. She started drawing another face on it.

  Wendy stepped closer to get a better look.

  Through the eyeball of her first scrawled smile face, I pressed the tip of my nose to the cold glass and peered out into the blizzard. Gray shadows of trees in the dim white distance were shrouded in blowing snow. Layers of wind driven snow spread across the yard folding into drifts next to a fence.

  People outside limped through the deep snow, hunching down, leaning forward.

  Zombies!

  Fresh foot prints had broken the smooth cover of snow on the back porch.

  Gale said softly, “Hey wait a second…”

  A zombie punched through the glass on her side. It grabbed her by the throat. She gargled, screaming, “Zombie! Zombie! Zom…”