Better off Undead

Chapter 21: Alone

Eli decided that his first goal should be to try and get back to the police station. This was assuming, of course, that he would be able to find it. He had no real concept of the layout of the town, or even where in the town he was. Everything looked mostly the same in small towns; a bunch of antique stores and specialized shops, a bunch of crumbly old buildings, and plenty of random little shady spots where they had decided to leave some trees standing instead of putting up a building. As he peeked out of the relative protection of an alleyway to make sure the street up ahead was clear of zombies, he wondered to himself how people got by before being able to look up directions on the internet. He could hardly recall a time that he had ever driven anywhere without looking it up online first or being led by his phone.

Sufficiently satisfied that the street was clear, he burst out of his hiding spot and crossed over to the next line of buildings, quickly ducking down an alleyway before anything could see him. He had already been at this for an hour, and was beginning to question whether or not all this cloak and dagger was even necessary. Ever since shaking that first group of zombies he had been pretty much in the clear. Not a single zombie – let alone a massive wave of them – had bothered following him since. It actually seemed rather strange, all and all, since his experience so far had led him to believe that it was essentially impossible to be outside without getting mobbed by hunger mad zombies. Now he was beginning to think he could walk around just as casually as he pleased without being bothered by anything.

Of course, if he did run into anything, he had absolutely no idea how he was going to fend off attacks. If it was just one or a handful of zombies, it would probably be easy enough to simply run away, but if he got surrounded, he had no real means of fighting his way out. So all told, he decided, it was probably better to err on the side of safety.

His stomach growled for probably the tenth time in as many minutes. He attempted to wipe sweat from his eyes and as he did noticed his vision blurring. He leaned back against the alley wall and waited a moment, trying to catch his breath. In the past forty-eight hours he had barely had anything to eat whatsoever. He had perhaps never in his life gone so long without food, and doing so now was really wearing on him. His entire body ached from want of food. His stomach churned unpleasantly as it attempted to consume food that was not there. Eli decided that unless he happened to stumble across the police station on the next street, his first goal should probably instead be finding food.

With that thought, he stepped over to the end of the alleyway and peeked out. No police station, but there was a gas station with a small store just a short distance down the street. Before he even fully realized it, he was dashing down the street in that direction. When he reached the front door he grabbed the handle and pulled with all his might.

The door was locked.

"No!" Eli cried, collapsing into the door. He raised one arm and pounded his fist repeatedly against the glass, eliciting another "No!" for each hit. He sunk to the ground, exhausted, overheated, starving, and defeated. For the first time, he did not even care if the zombies came. Let them, he figured. They could put an end to his misery and let him begin a new life as the mindless walking dead. It was beginning to look like a fairly attractive prospect.

After about ten minutes of sitting there waiting for the end to come, he decided he had given enough time to self-pity and defeatism and just wanted to get out of the damnable Texas heat. With great effort he pulled himself off the sticky pavement. The sun was still low enough that the back of the store could potentially afford some shade, if he could make it there. He leaned heavily on the wall for support, more sliding along the hard, unyielding concrete than actually walking. Step by step he made his way to the back of the store. Turning the final corner after what seemed like hours, the first thing he noticed was a delivery van. It was sitting there with its rear doors open and delivery ramp still extended. His tired mind attempted to process what that could mean, and after a moment he stood up straight and looked to the back of the store. The delivery door was propped open, wide and ready, like a siren welcoming him with open arms. Suddenly there was strength in his body again, and he ran full out for the door.