It was raining.
The first day after the dead had risen, it was raining. It was a complete downpour, accompanied by rain and thunder that I used to love watching next to my window. There’s something so wild about thunderstorms, rainstorms. They make you feel that, if you go out and just enjoy the rain, it’s natural – a cleansing, I guess.
I’m not one to be religious. I’m not one to search for signs. But, honestly, it felt so fitting to have such a fierce storm after… that day. The rain was pounding down harder than ever, with the winds trying to threaten our current hiding place.
It reminded me of someone trying to scrub a stain out of a carpet. No matter how hard, how much effort, how many cleaning chemicals, some stains never truly vanish. It felt like whatever the hell is up there was trying to wash away the terrors of the virus, and that’s a stain that will never fade.
I guess when you really think about it, it could be that higher being was washing away the traces of the world that existed before the dead rose. Depends on how you look at things. I’m not sure where I stand on that yet. There are so many things about this that I know. There’s even more about this that I don’t know. There’s a lot I don’t know period.
I do know that day was the first of many adjusting to my new life.
I do know that it was raining.
Monday, April 16, 2012
12:30 p.m.
Two people lay almost completely intertwined on the floor of the store; both were caught within the blissful ignorance slumber provided for them. A large golden retriever lay closely next to the young man. The blonde canine happened to be the only one awake and peeked her head up every now and then in a silent watch till her master awoke again. Peaceful looks were set upon two sleeping faces, as the young man’s arm went over the girl’s body. He shifted a bit before becoming still once more. The arm, however, jolted Riley out of her dreams and thrust her back into reality.
She awoke with a start from that motion that morning – well, afternoon, once she checked her watch. She jerked around, confused at her surroundings, confused at seeing someone asleep next to her. The scene around her startled her: a dimly lit store, illumined only from what peeked through from outside. The daylight barely reached where she sat, giving the area a more dusky setting. Her hand reached for the flashlights she and Nick had found yesterday. Even from where she was at the back end of the store, she could spy overcast clouds outside. From above came the pitter-pattering of rain tapping steadily on the roof, followed by the booming of thunder and flashes of lighting that lit up the store better than anything else.
Rubbing her eyes, she focused, as everything came rushing back to her. Her mind flashed back to images from the night prior: the armies of the undead coming to meet her, finding Nick, escaping there. Stretching a bit, she spied Nick, lying closely next to her. It’d been he who had accidentally woken her up, she realized. He looked so peaceful right then, a smile creeping gently across his face. It was almost cute; he looked so innocent, young, and free, momentarily, from the horrors of the walking dead.
They hadn’t been able to sleep immediately yesterday. First, they’d had to pull down the gates in front of the store and kill any random zombies within the building. It’d been hours before they both felt they had cleared out the Target of any danger. While what they’d faced hadn’t come close to all they’d seen roaming outside before, it had been enough to remind them that there was no safe place for them anymore, only safer. Once they had finished, they had agreed they needed some sleep. So she had followed Nick to the sporting department, covered the floor around them with sleeping bags, and finally lay down to rest. As they’d fallen asleep, Nick had told her more about himself, and even though it felt wrong, she’d shared very little of her own previous life.
One of them, however, was supposed to have stayed up and kept watch, and then they would switch off. Riley couldn’t remember who was supposed to have stayed up last, but she cursed their stupidity. If anything had gotten in, they would have been sitting ducks. But it did confirm that they’d cleared the store for the moment, because any zombie would have smelled them out while they’d been sleeping. Grabbing her crowbar, she stood, deciding to see if she couldn’t get a change of clothes before Nick woke up. It would be less awkward, she knew, and why wake him when he was sleeping so soundly?
I’ll hear if anything’s roaming the store. Won’t happen if they didn’t eat us while sleeping. Even if I do, I’ll run right back to him to make sure he’s safe. It’ll be fine. Plus, Spunky’s there with him… I’ll hear her if something happens, right?
As if she had heard Riley’s thoughts, Spunky stood, trotting around to Riley and plopping down in front of her. It hadn’t taken long for the dog to take to her. Not to mention, Spunky had an innate ability to sense the presence of anything undead before she or Nick could. Watching Riley, she gave a tilt of her head; clearly, she wanted some affection. Obliging, Riley patted her with a smile. She reminded Riley of younger days with her brothers and the loyal German Shepard they’d once owned together. She bit her lip, as the memory tore open the emotional wounds of just a day before, of the knowledge that her brothers had been left back in the home she’d grown up in, left to rot. But no, they wouldn’t even get that privilege; they were likely roaming the world with the other members of the living dead, rather than resting in the peace they deserved.
With a quick glimpse at Spunky, once she left her dismal daydreams, Riley pulled herself back into the present, where she needed to be. “Keep an eye on Nick for me,” she told Spunky, careful to stay quiet, so as not to wake Nick up. Taking the dog’s soft whine as a yes, she watched as the retriever calmly walked back over to him and curled up beside him as she had before.
“Smart dog…” she mused and then crept cautiously to the women’s clothing section. Riley wasn’t exactly concerned about how she looked. It was more the idea of ditching the clothes that had witnessed so many horrors. They had been covered in a mix of her blood, as well as the congealed fluid of the undead. They had been torn, ripped, and probably smelled horribly if she took a whiff. Personally, she didn’t wish to know.
As she thumbed through the clothing racks, she kept herself blocked by them, in case any of the zombies could see her through the windows from outside. It was doubtful, given the help from the gates, as well as the distance mixed in with the storm outside, but she knew to be careful. Another flash of lighting zipped outside, causing her to turn and just watch the front of the store with interest. Always, she’d been fascinated by storms. When she was younger, she used to worry her father constantly by trying to play out in the rain. It was a habit that never completely died, for when she was older, she’d often go on drives in the rain, finding them peaceful in a way that made sense to no one but herself. As she inched closer towards the front doors, crowbar still in her hand, she watched the downpour wistfully, and the urge to go out in it rose once more. She couldn’t, no matter how tempting it was; it’d be her death, and she knew it.
Riley turned away, frustrated by the limitations forced upon her. Nothing was hers anymore, yet somehow, everything was, in an annoying contradiction that only served to frustrate her more. She sighed a bit; her shoulder still throbbed some, not that she’d tell Nick that at all. Skimming through the racks, she searched for a shirt to fit her. When she saw one she’d make do with, she stripped off her tank top, having left her hoodie back with Nick and Spunky. It revealed a slim body that had been used to playing sports, and often. Riley was about to put the new shirt on, when the smallest noise caught her attention.
It was miniscule, nothing more than a footstep, she figured. In times before, it would have meant nothing. Only now, it meant everything. She ducked down immediately, crouching low and inching her way towards the source of the sound. Still in just a bra and pants, she gripped the crowbar tighter than ever and lunged for the source, once close enough. She didn’t take a good look at what she was attacking, but she knew what it had to be, as she tackled it to the ground.
“Whoa! Riley! Wait!”
Her hand flew in midair, ready to slam the crowbar down upon the undead. It was only seconds before forcing it down, that she realized it was Nick she saw below her. It was on his chest she sat, not a ghoul’s. It was him she had almost killed, not some member of the living dead. The metal rod fell from her hands in shock and clanged angrily against the floor. Slowly, her eyes crept downwards, till her gaze met his, as she felt her cheeks grow warm.
“Sorry,” she apologized almost inaudibly, still in shock that she’d almost accidentally killed her one companion left in this hellish world. Spunky had heard the commotion and had run up, barking excitedly until she discovered who her master’s attacker was. She then sat, titling her head as if she, too, was asking how Riley could make such a mistake. Riley of course, was asking herself the same thing. She should have known better.
Nick simply smirked at her, teasingly; his eyes were twinkling, playful now. For a moment, everything felt as normal as the situation could allow. “That’s the second time you thought I was a zombie. Do I really look that bad?”
Laughing, she shifted her hair out from in front of her eyes. “Nah, see, yeah… I knew it was you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I was just testing your reflexes.”
“Right.”
“I was!”
“You just wanted to jump my bones. It’s alright.”
“Sorry, Nick, not my type.” And it wasn’t a full lie. In the world before, as she was already starting to think of it, that was true. Nick would be the guy she’d glance over, think was cute, but not worthy, and then walk away. It was a bitchy way to think, but Riley knew that was just how she’d been. How she was. But she had come to feel comfortable with him in their short time together, and that was a relief.
There was a silence between them, then, as they simply took in the sight of the other. It soon grew awkward, as she noticed Nick’s eyes travel down, reminding her that she’d lunged for the “zombie” in nothing but a bra and jeans. She felt her cheeks flush and was annoyed at her face betraying her the way she knew it had. Riley didn’t like people being able to read her. She climbed off of Nick and reached her hand down towards him. Gripping it, he let her help him up, and she painfully tried to fill the odd quiet.
“I’m going to, well… finish… changing, and… you have Spunky, too, so, I’ll just take the crowbar and go change.”
He nodded, looking at a loss for what to say, much like herself. She turned back towards him, concerned that she’d hurt him. “I didn’t make you hit your head, did I?” She didn’t know much about his head injury, just that it had been bad and the reason he’d been in the hospital to begin with.
“No, but the bandages are dirty as hell; I need to take ‘em off.”
His hand felt the back of his head, beneath his tousled blond hair, where the bandages still were. Nick winced a bit at his own touch, as she watched him. She stepped around him, glimpsing the injury for herself as he carefully peeled the bandages off. It revealed quite the head wound; blood had dried in his hair from the wound reopening, probably when she’d crashed her car. It looked like someone had tried to kill him, rather than some accident, like he’d described earlier.
“Jeez, Nick, what happened? What kind of accident just were you in?”
Nick sighed and shook his head, looking very disgusted with whatever answers flitted through his head at her question. “I thought you were gonna go change.”
His sharpness surprised her. Nick seemed to be able to take things and still keep his head up; at least, that was how she had read him in their short time together. Riley, so used to being the one on the offense, rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m going. I was just worried. Okay? But forget it.”
Riley felt herself walking away, irritated, back to the clothing she’d been thumbing through earlier. Not one glance was spared back at Nick. To be honest, she knew she was probably too angry just because Nick was irritated about her question. Still, she was just so frustrated. She had no one left in the world, but this man she’d met only a day and a half before. So in the end, she was so scared of ending up alone again. That fact alone made her want to rage at the world. She’d liked priding herself on being so independent before, even if it had cost her everything she’d never appreciated until the zombies took it all away. Her independence was all she had left.
Her hands reached for the t-shirt she’d dropped earlier, pulling it on snugly, as she stood there amongst the racks, watching the rain again. Steady footsteps headed her way, as she continued to watch the rain, ignoring the presence that came up beside her. It had too much coordination to be a member of the undead.
“Sorry I snapped at you.”
“Sorry I cared.”
“Oh, come off it, Riley. It caught me off guard, aight? We just met, damn; don’t expect me to just want to share everything. It’s not like you have. All I know about you is that you’re a damn journalist. And the way you like to keep poking in my life keeps reminding me.”
Riley remained silent as she watched Nick from the corner of her eye. “I love the rain.”
It was almost amusing, seeing the puzzled expression arise on his boyish good looks. He raised a brow at her, as she kept her eyes turned at the windows, at the storms she so adored.
“I love the rain; I love the wild way it feels. It’s just… so freeing. It’s nature unleashing its rage on the world, and I love every minute of it. I always would go out driving in it, out to this hill overlooking the beaches. I’d get out, sit in the downpour, and watch the lightening come down.”
“I wonder if it’s trying to clean the world,” he said softly.
“No, if there’s a God, He’s trying to wash humanity away.”
The two were silent once more, until Nick spotted an overturned cart amongst the clothing section. His hand grasped hers gently, and Riley gave him a look as he pulled her over to it. They sat next to each other, both remaining silent. Together, they watched, as the rain continued to fall.
