Shelter In Place: Last Coors Banquet Series Part 2

Shelter in Place Chapter 5/14

"Hey!" Johnny shouted as he banged on the bedroom door. "Let me out, man! There's a bucket of piss in here and it stinks!"

He waited, raised his fist to hit the door again, then stopped when he heard a noise as it finally opened.

"Did you trap me in here?" Johnny asked angrily, looking at the rope that lay on the floor outside the door, one end tied to the door handle of the bathroom.

"I had to be sure," Kreese said, as he walked away.

"Yeah, well as you can plainly see, not a zombie," Johnny said, as he picked up the bucket and took it through to the bathroom. He tipped it into the toilet, then sat the empty bucket in the bath, then walked through to the living room.

"How's your arm?" Kreese asked, as he handed Johnny a bowl of cereal, doused in milk so watered down it was almost clear.

"I can barely move my fingers," Johnny said, as he sat down at the table.

Johnny opened his mouth to speak again, then stopped as he heard a sound in the apartment above them them. He looked up and asked, "What the hell was that?"

They listened as feet moved about on the floor, then the sound of moaning and scraping, as something clawed at the upstairs door.

"Is that a zombie?" Johnny asked anxiously. "Are we living under zombies?"

"It is," Kreese replied, as he sat down and tucked into his cereal.

"But there was like maybe a hundred people living in this block," Johnny said. "Are they all zombies now?"

"Probably," Kreese replied. "This whole place is filled with the dead, waiting until they learn how to open doors. There are hundreds of them ready to spill out."

"What?" Johnny asked. "We're supposed to bring Robby here today. You brought me back here because you said it was safe, and now you think it's filled with zombies?"

"Maybe we need to find a new place," Kreese suggested. "Somewhere with walls, where he'll be safe. Plus the boy needs his own room. If we bring him back here I'll have no option but to share with you."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Johnny chuckled, as he popped open a can of Coors Light. He paused a moment. "Actually... I think I might know a place."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there's a house in Encino," Johnny said. "This big white mansion with walls all around it, and a really good security system. Huge place, with the biggest garage I've ever seen."

"Sounds good," Kreese said. "What about the owners?"

"Pretty sure they'll be dead," Johnny said. "They were both vegans, so they probably didn't have the strength to run away from the zombies."

Kreese laughed. "Well, today we'll take care of that arm. Tomorrow, we'll go find your boy a new home."

They woke before dawn and started loading up the car with the few supplies they had left, the tools, and a bag of clothes.

Johnny took the photo of Robby off the refrigerator door, safely placed it in an envelope, and pushed it into the inside pocket of his red jacket. He replaced it with a note that he scribbled on the back of an overdue bill, telling Robby to go to Shannon's and that he'd come find him, just in case.

"Look," Johnny said, as they left the apartment for the last time, quietly locking the door behind them.

In the half light of dawn he could see a female zombie sat outside the door of the apartment opposite. Its long curly hair hung in tendrils, as it clawed at the door, letting out moaning cries.