I Am Zombie Bait

Chapter 7

I don't know how many people have ever tried to set up a ladder on a dumpster, but it is not easy. It was a new day and I still had the same goal, find food. I was surprised I was able to get any sleep last night I was so hungry. I suppose I could have gone out looking for something to eat, but roaming around in the dark didn't seem like the best idea. Especially with whatever got those zoms last night out and about. So there I was, first light, trying to balance this stupid ladder on a stupid dumpster.

It felt shaky no matter what I did. I thought of trying to put the ladder on the ground, but the angle was too steep and it kept sliding down. Nearly dropped it the first time I tried. That would have been bad. I suppose that I could risk the fall since my overall goal is to get down anyway, but there were still zoms down there. Crippled, yes, but not dead. As I got frustrated I began slamming the ladder down on the dumpster. The plastic lid quickly crumpled and the ladder sank into the trash. It didn't sound good, but the plastic of the lid actually wrapped around the bottom of the ladder, so it was quite sturdy. Who knew being hangry could be so productive?

I climbed down and carefully lowered myself to the ground. I then proceeded to stomped in zombie heads. It took longer than I thought it would, mostly because a, stomping a skull in is really exhausting and difficult, and b, I wanted to crush every skull dead or undead. I had been through too much crap already to survive, so I wasn't about to start taking stupid chances. In the end, it took me a few hours. My legs were really sore by then, but I luckily found my bat. I instantly felt safer with it in my hands. Now it was time to finally find food. My mouth watered at the thought. Even the bloody carnage of the zoms in the snow didn't stop my stomach from growling. Even with all the red, the brain bits, and the smell that would wake the dead, and I was still hungry. Not sure what that says about me, but I'd ponder over the moral ambiguity of my desires later. Time to find food, now.

I looked around the crossroads at the buildings to see if any looked to have a snack in it. One was the apartment building I'd been stuck on. That one was high risk, high reward. I could probably find food, but I'd definitely find zoms. I'd like to eat, not get eaten. So I looked on. A few of the buildings were shops and one was even a hair place. I kept moving. I could worry about getting conditioner later. I picked a street at random and went down it. I still had no idea where I was, so all I could do was head in a direction and hope for the best. I did have the presence of mind to go in the direction opposite where the drag marks went, left by the things that took the zoms the night before. Yeah, wanted to stay away from that.

About halfway down I stopped. In between a few buildings someone had walled off a piece of land. The stone was a dull grey, but it looked sturdy and it reached pretty high into the air. High enough that you couldn't climb over it. As I walked around to get a better look, I came to the iron gate, reaching as high as the wall did. There was a sign next to the gate that read St. Peter's Orphanage. Inside there was a large yard spotted with trees. A stone walkway led up to a large house with a faded blue paint job. It was two stories tall and looked perfect. This was it. This is exactly the kind of place I'd been looking for. Plenty of space, easy to defend, and more than capable of keeping zoms out.

And in, apparently. There was a small horde wandering around the yard. It looked like there were at least 20 of them. Maybe small wasn't the right word. I saw movement through the houses windows, which meant more were inside. That was a lot of zoms. A chain had locked the gate from inside. I was betting I wasn't the first survivor to come across this place and think it looked like a good spot to stay. A group probably set up here. One probably got infected and came home before he turned and it spread from there.

Or maybe they drank the water from the taps. The group I was with discovered early on that tap water wasn't safe to drink. Those who had a sip got infected and turned. Don't know how, but it looked like the zoms found a way into the water supply. That's how so many people ended up turning in their homes. No one knew any better. Either way, this orphanage would be a perfect place to stay for the long term. It would take a while to clear it out though. Lucky for me, I'd already found the perfect spot nearby for me to stay while I worked on it.