Chapter 32 - Pick up and keep moving on

Image by - Martin from Germany http://www.youtube.com/captainstrykerofdoom

Chapter 32 - Pick up and keep moving on

Chris rolled over and hit his forehead into the base of a diner stool. His eyes opened and he saw his reflection staring back at him like a fun house mirror image. His tongue was like sandpaper and his lips were stained red from the wine they had drank the night before. The light of the rising sun was just starting to come through the diner windows on all sides. It would probably be a very bad idea to stand up. Instead he rolled over rubbing his head and came face to toe with Grace’s feet. She was still asleep on the floor next to him. She had a grease stained apron over her upper body and an almost content, angelic look on her face. Chris leaned up and could see Dennis crouched down against the far wall peeking over the edge of the window at something outside. Chris slowly crawled over to Dennis who waved him to stay low. Outside there were two zombies lurking about. Neither one seemed particularly interested in the diner and yet neither one would leave the parking lot. It was like they were stuck in a sort of perpetual tango.

“What’s going on?” Chris asked.

“I dunno, it’s weird. These two showed up about an hour ago heading straight for the diner. Almost like they had a purpose and now...well...now, you can see what they’re doing now. Just stuck in the parking lot like a couple of ...well...zombies.” Dennis replied.

Chris snickered at Dennis’s bad pun and continued to observe the dead walking outside.

“So what do you think of Grace?” Chris asked as he slid his back down the wall and sat on the floor wishing he had a cigarette.

“She’s okay. I wish she would tell us more about herself but I’m sure being locked up with that psycho can’t help her with trusting strangers.” Dennis said as he sat down next to Chris and they both stared across the diner to the woman seemingly sleeping silently on the floor.

Something about the acoustics of the diner enabled Grace to hear their conversation quite well, even though they weren’t talking very loud. Maybe it had something to do with the rounded edges of the diners ceiling or maybe it was because of the complete lack of other noise. There wasn’t your usual background hum of electricity or chirping of birds. There was just Dennis and Chris’s conversation landing on her most awake and open ears.

“So what was it like getting bit by living humans?” Dennis asked as Chris touches his face.

“It was fucking terrifying! I had no idea they were alive until they obeyed Frank and stopped. We both know a zombie would never stop feasting just because we ask.” Chris touches one of his bite wounds and it feels hot and burns a little. The skin is just beginning to heal and itches in all the most inopportune place.

“So, do you think we should take Grace with us all the way to the house or should we take her somewhere else and sort of, “screen her”?” Chris asked as he watched Dennis play with the lead pipe in his hands. It had occurred to Chris that bringing a random person to the house might be a bad idea since the last random person to show up kidnapped Evie. Dennis just kept messing with his pipe and staring at Grace before saying that he thought it would be okay. Especially after seeing the way Frank had treated Grace in the basement. He did  think however that they should see how she felt about children since children were and are a touchy subject. After all, Evie might be the last one alive in the world.

Grace held her breath. A child. There was another living child in the world besides her own. How could she betray these people with a child , even if it was to save her own son and sister. Grace slowly moved acting like she was just waking up. Chris and Dennis stopped talking. She sat up and heard Chris give out a little “shhhh” noise and wave her to stay down. Grace replied with a head nod and smile. Grace knew Frank couldn’t be far or at least knew where they were. She was going to have to change his plan somehow. She couldn’t live with herself if Frank got his hands on another child, let alone a little girl. So young and innocent. She just hoped that her sister was with her son, like Frank had told her, watching over him. As she removed the greasy, oily, slightly smelly apron from her shoulders she tried to think up what she could do to help these two men without getting her family killed. Frank had told her that if she delivered more living people to him, then he would let her son and sister go free. But after walking through Frank’s “hall of horrors” she was doubtful that he would actually keep his promise. Maybe she could do something with her ability? It was an ability that had proved to be her saving grace, more than once. Perhaps it would save her again. Grace crawled over to Chris and Dennis while wishing them a good morning.

“Morning Grace.”

“Morning Grace.”

Grace leaned up and glanced out the window. An undead woman in a a Who tee shirt dragged her broken foot behind her and her lower jaw was chewed off. As an undead black man with a chewed out Adam's apple and a torn out right arm danced around with her in a disgusting dance of the dead. Both had been dead for a while and neither one would be winning Dancing with the Stars anytime soon.

“So...what’s the plan...where are we heading today?” Grace asked.

Chris and Dennis looked at each other. “First thing, we have to get past the two outside with out attracting any attention. Daylight might be good for us but it’s god for them too. They can spot us easier.” Dennis said.

“...Second,” Chris interrupts,” we’re gonna take you to our hide out, it’s just a place we can go to collect our thoughts and supplies before we move on...”

Grace leans up again to look out the window. “The outside should be easy...the black guy is missing his vocal chords and...” Grace’s voice trails off as she spots Frank’s outline in the bushes and trees just beyond the parking lot . There’s another familiar human outline not far from him, appears to be lead on a sort of leash and bound. Grace’s heart skips a beat. Did Frank really bring her? Why? For what? At least she was still alive but where was...

“Grace...Grace...what were you saying? and what?”

“Huh, um...oh...I dunno...it should just be easy with only two of them outside.” Grace slid back down against the wall and smiled and the two men next to her. If she was outside maybe she could save her.

Chris and Dennis told grace to prepare herself for their dash outside. Dennis would go out the back while Chris and her went out the front. Dennis would make his presence known so they could come up from behind and smash the undead’s heads in. The beating would be severe but well warranted. Then they could run to the next “safe house”. Grace agreed and prayed that maybe “she” would get loose and over power Frank or maybe they could stop Frank without her direct involvement so she could find out where her son was being held. Today was going to be a very interesting day.