Lark of the Fence

Togeather We Fight

Dusk is starting to give away to darkness. I can feel the fall breeze brushing away my cares. The crisp sharp feeling that leaves a prickly spark on your nose. No water, ehh. Slowly starving, pffft. Zombie Apocalypse? No problem. But the one thing the wind can't do, is blow the menacing situation that is about to occur around the corner.

I feel the growling, it kindles deep within me, causing my senses to become alert and sensitive. It's different from a drunks slur, it's deep and powerful, as if a lion were about to turn that corner and attack.  

The store is darkening by the minute. The sun commences its decent into oblivion, drowned by the dark. My phone is a little under half charged. The flashlight brightens the ransacked isle, illuminating a figure towards the end. Eyes flashing, it seems to be a wolf by its proud stature, but it is to petite. 

It is scarily silent. 

I want so badly to run, call for help but I can hear a drunk babbling just around the corner. An idea pops into my head. The dark figure at the end of the isle and I are at a stand still. In a moment, I jump into motion, scrambling up the isle towards the frozen section. I can hear slobbery barking follow closely behind. Not daring to turn around, I focus on the signs that lead me towards the back of the store. I can hear claws sliding over the tiled floor. A drunk appears in front of me. It reached for my pink flesh. It grabs my knotted hair and attempts to take a chunk out of my shoulder. The "wolf" is still on my ass so I spin us around as if we were dancing the tango. The wolf starts to bite the leg of the drunk and my hair is released. 

I dive to the frozen isle section and open one of the doors. I push the cart out of the way and close the door behind me. I can hear the drunk and wolf still thrashing around. 

The room is freezing considering the power is off in this part of town. The crisp air outside seems to be warmer than the powerless freezer. It also smells like something died in here. All the food is spoiled and moldy. I reach into my pocket for my phone. My heart sinks when it isn't there. I frantically search for my makeshift flashlight. Apparently in the zombie apocalypse, you can still lose you phone. It's not on me anymore. I reluctantly turn and look towards the isle I had just recently escaped from death. The flashlight of my phone is facing face up, causing the ceiling to glow in weak, florescent light. Shadows of the quarrel between my enemies display a terrifying image upon the ceiling. I'm attempting to get it through my head. I had misplaced my phone, under the drunk and the wolf who both wouldn't mind the taste of my blood. I'm so screwed.

I decide that it's really not worth my life. Half of my battery and maybe never play those stupid little games again. I can live without them. I can live without them.

Everything gets real quiet. The skirmish, I believe, has ended in the defeat of the wolf.  Heartbreaking whimpers stake my heart. Covering my ears, I try to ignore the high pitched plead. There's nothing I could do. 

There's a new sound. A very familiar sound. A song, actually. It takes a few seconds to comprehend with my brain. It's the sound of my phone ringing. Someone is calling me.
My stomach drops, my eyes widen. Could it be my parents? Did they make it somehow? Could it be one of my friends? Who? 

Frantic, I open the glass door and bolt around the corner to access my situation. The drunk is in the cleaning isle gaining on the injured wolf. The wolf is scrambling away, limping heavily on its back left leg. My ringing phone is about a foot in front of  the drunk. I was in track and could probably run and grab it. The drunk is distracted. But what if it grabs me? That's game over.
This is the cleaning supplies isle and a bent, green mop lean against the shelves. An idea pops into my head. I firmly grasp the top of the mop and stomp on the other end of it with my boot. Still clamping on to the handle, I twist the two ends in different directions until they break loose from each other. The haves come apart with a snap leaving a jagged edge. The mop handle will now be my makeshift weapon. The enemy still is not aware of my presence.       

For all I know, these drunks are indestructible, and the one from the van was just a fluke. I sneak up to the sprawling creature and take a stab at its back. All that does is piss it off. It turns to me and swipes at my leg. The mop is placed in his back looking like some messed up antenna. I have the other end of the mop but it is inverted on the edge. It will have to do because the drunk can pull its way across the floor faster than a snake. Before I know it its on me, seeking the flesh of my calf. Closing my eyes I take a mighty jab at its head. The isle goes silent.  

I take a second to regain my lost breath. The reason I had come into the isle in the first place has stopped ringing, making it scarily silent inside the convenience store. The wolf has dropped to the floor and is breathing heavily. Something is pooling beside it. Now my phone stares at me from the other end of the isle. Steering my self towards the fallen object, I carefully recover the misplaced property to my shaking hands.                     

Opening my phone revealed one missed call, unknown caller number. I swipe right and type in my code. It was my address number. Old address. I tap on the phone app, then missed calls. I press on the unknown number to call back just as my phone dies.