Unexpected Complication

Like gargantuan windchimes distantly jangling from a skyscraper in a frigid breeze, the background clamor of alien speech suffused the otherwise familiar neighborhood with an unsettling auditory backdrop.  Lamps lit the surrounding streets, revealing normal buildings seemingly untouched by the ongoing crisis.  Except for the dread soundscape and lack of any human activity, everything seemed as if it were in pristine order.

Since the three of them had gathered, they had fallen into a silent, but uneasy focus as they traveled along.  With very little desire to discuss what they had gone through, they were heading towards Lucas' parents home.  It was, by sheer luck, the closest location they knew which might shelter them from the malicious darkness from which any number of hostile forces could spring.  It would have been more relaxing had they not had to walk there, but sustained alarm was rather impossible to sustain as the minutes pressed on uneventfully.

Now at the final stretch of familiar roads and feeling more than ever that safety was quickly coming in reach, Lucas could feel his heightened state of tension easing.  Striding along in the middle of the road, they still maintained a studious eye on their streetlamp-lit surroundings.  Other than the relative silence in their immediate vicinity and the cold, something else seemed subtly out of place.

Ryan was the first to dare break the silence among them.  "Hey, Lucas, isn't that your mom's car?"

Down the street, lit by a nearby streetlamp was an achingly familiar vehicle.  Without a doubt, its orange body and contrasting yellow band along the back was quite distinctive in most environments.  But parked within its expected area, it was definitive even from the distance they viewed it from.  "Huh.  Yeah.  It is."  Lucas spoke with mild bewilderment amidst a sudden silence.

The jingling, and surreal alien speech dropped into echoes of itself for a disquieting interval.  Misting breath was lightly restrained and even Ryan's thoughts were held in reserve as their travel continued amid the absence of the peculiar white noise.  Just as it seemed as if it was gone, a solitary fluting whistling signaled the beginning of a newly growing chaotic swell.  Still faded from distance, the alien voices resumed whatever facsimile of meaning they ever resembled.

Lucas had grown somewhat accustomed to the erratic nature of the sound rising or falling in the background like a stormy ocean surface.  But the troughs between peaks still came with a mindful awareness of their helpless vulnerability.  It was amid this recent resurgence that he realized what seemed off about the neighborhood.  Most places that would contain vehicles were empty.  On a normal night, those cars not in garages would be parked in neighborhood driveways or the street.

"Maybe we can use the car?"  Ryan resumed his thought.  "Go back to the highway."

"Evan!"  Jennifer whispered with sudden urgency.  "He's going to drive right into that!  Into..  Those things."

"The aliens, yeah.  With a whole bus load of people."

"We shouldn't have left the freeway.  We have to go back!"  Jennifer replied with purpose replacing anxious fear.  "We've got to warn them!"

Lucas kept up as the other two hastened their pace, despite already being right beside the house.  He struggled to retrieve his keys for the front door.  A growing panic overcame him, to think of something to justify denial of the growing notion between the other two.  In his urgent alarm, he couldn't think of anything but a rather weak excuse.  "They won't be able to get that bus around the cars.  So they're not even going to be following the highway like we were."

"Then we should hurry to meet them back at the cars, before it's too late."

"I think there was enough space, though."  Ryan trailed off.  "I don't really remember very well.  Something was really messed up and weird about that place."

Key in hand, Lucas worked the front door while the other two kept their attention focused on their immediate vicinity.  He bit his lower lip, struggling to think of something plausible to halt their train of thought and redirect it into something more immediately useful.  "I don't know..."  ...if it's a good idea to go back there.  Trailing off as he pushed open the door, he failed to complete his initial thought.  He just couldn't think of a plausible excuse not to go back and do exactly what they wanted.

"Dude, we gotta do something."

"I'm not going to do nothing while Evan and everyone else runs into that without warning."

Flicking on the light in the entryway, Lucas paced inside uneasily, straining to think of an excuse to delay the urgency felt by the other two.  Briefly glancing up the stairway to the second floor, he avoided looking at the set of keys that would be resting on the living room coffee table.  Instead, he advanced further inside to near the kitchen side of the living room.  He picked up the phone with inspired alacrity.

"There's a dial tone!"  Lucas said as he looked back with some distress to see Ryan retrieve the keys on the table.

"I think these are the keys to that car."  Ryan handed them off to Jennifer.

"Then let's get-"

"Guys, wait!"  Lucas dropped the receiver and moved back towards the pair already out the door and walking through the yard.  "There's a dial tone!  We can call someone for help!"

Jennifer turned back to address him directly.  "You do that, then.  We'll be back after we-"

"No!"  Lucas called.  "We should all stay where it's safe, and call someone better prepared to handle this situation."

"There's no time!  Evan's already-"

"He's not coming!"  Lucas shouted out the door into the cold night air.  He huffed out the cloud of vapor as the other two stood beside the car.  "I lied about the bus, okay?  There's no other cars.  Nobody is following us!  We're the only ones out here!"  The shocked silence was only broken by the eerie distant babble floating in the breeze.

"What?"  Jennifer replied after what felt like an eternity.  She stared at him with either outrage or shock on a face clearly lit by a nearby neighborhood streetlight.

Ryan spoke only after Jennifer.  "Whoa.  That is-  Are you serious, man?"

Lucas nervously adjusted his glasses, the alert awareness of their surroundings had been completely shattered.  Both of the others were only focused on him.  A zombie could- No.  Lucas stopped that train of thought and spoke again.  "Come back inside.  It's not safe to be standing around in the open like that."

"Why did you lie about that?  Was Evan killed?"  Jennifer stared at him.

"No.  He's...  Alive-"  Lucas hesitated, looking at the yard between him and the others.  He knew his next words would be critically important.  The shock of their abruptly halted escape and the urgency of their situation had left him without time to consider the scenario taking place.  It was unexpected and happening too fast.

"Did Evan get trapped?"  Ryan speculated.

"Why wasn't Evan with you?"  Jennifer regarded him with sudden suspicion.

"Evan never would have agreed to leave."  Lucas sighed.  "But we needed to get somewhere safer."

"So what?  You just abandoned him somewhere?  Stole the car and made up a story about a bus so we'd go with you?"

"Evan's okay!  You know he'll be fine on his own."

"You can't know that!"  Jennifer shouted at him.  Her voice echoed in their immediate vicinity, but didn't seem loud enough to overcome the volume of discordant, almost musical tones echoing from a great distance.  "Where did you leave him?"

"Between the convention center and the mall.  It was a parking garage.  I don't know the street name or anything.  But it was safe.  We didn't see anything the whole time we were out there."

Jennifer opened the car door and slung the rifle she had into the back with an exasperated sigh.

"Wait!"  Lucas lost his fear of outside as he bounded partway into the yard.  "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to try looking for Zack, then I'm going back to the others."

"Wait.  You're not thinking clea-"

"Don't you dare start that."  Jennifer pointed at him angrily.  "You can shut up and come along, or you can stay right here.  I'm not going to get lectured to by you about what's the smartest thing to do right now."

"No.  Come on-"  Lucas stared in disbelief at Jennifer as she slid into the driver's seat and closed the door, starting up the car without any hesitation.  He refocused his attention on his other friend.  "Ryan...?"

Ryan hesitated with the passenger door and shook his head.  "Not cool, dude."  He entered.

"But we- The phone-"  Lucas stammered, bewildered at the sudden turn of events.  "It's safe here!  There's food and supplies."

"I don't want to be anywhere close to those freaky aliens."  Ryan paused for a moment as if he expected Lucas to reply.  "Are you coming?"

Lucas made a sound as if to speak, but didn't.  Staying here for tonight seemed like it should have been self-evidently the most sensible choice.  Even given that he had lied about the bus, he had no way of knowing their escape would have ended up as disastrous as it was.  Here they had electricity and a working phone.  They could get news from the outside world.  Maybe once they calmed down a bit they would realize that they were acting stupid and come back.  He shook his head.  "I'm staying."

"Okay."  Ryan paused for a moment to set his scavenged rifle and ammunition on the sidewalk beside the car, then closed the door.  The vehicle moved along the street and turned out of sight.

The alien babble briefly halted again as Lucas nervously ventured to the sidewalk to retrieve the rifle then ran back inside and locked the door.  Once he was inside, a piercing scream of a whistle indicated the return of the chiming babble.  Muted by the interior, he could at least pretend it was something more mundane.  He waited a few minutes in quiet solitude at the living room window, watching for the others to return.  They did not.

Delayed Action

The horde strained itself aggressively upon whatever barrier was foiling its progression.  Underneath the parking structure bracing the nearby entrance to the mall, the shadowy cluster was impossible to resolve into individual members.  The size of the throng was obscured within the shadowed interior of an already murky winter daylight.  With their number in that enclosed space, the chorus of their droning call echoed and mingled together, resolving into a voluminous, almost steady low hum with an odd characteristic.

From his vantage point within a shiny red luxury car, Evan studied the roiling mass from a safe distance.  He had brought the vehicle to a careful stop on the other side of a small park, beside a pair of transit tracks running along the center of the split street.  Beyond the park greenery and sparse structures, he could see movements of the assembled crowd.  Occasionally, one figure would move in a way to distinguish themselves as an individual before melting back into the crowd.

It was difficult to estimate the size of the assembled mass from his vantage.  As best he could discern, there had to be at least a couple dozen but no more than around a hundred at the most.  He had briefly considered driving along the road just on the other side of the park to get a closer look.  But he figured the risks of getting the horde's attention wasn't worth the meager precision of an accurate guess he might acquire.  There was no way to tell how well the car could withstand a stampede of that many attackers.  Certainly with how many he thought were there, the windows or windshield would eventually break and expose him to attack.

Something did seem to be keeping the zombies transfixed as their chorus remained steady.  They saw survivors, if Leon's statement about their vocalization was to be believed.  And he had little reason to doubt that was the case.  Apparently at least one or more people were trapped inside and would be in need of rescue.  Other than the continued presence at the precipice, it wasn't really possible to tell how well set up any impeding barrier was.  Evan didn't know the layout of the entire complex very well, but that particular opening was into a department store and not one of the main entrances into the wider interior.  He would only have to hope that the choke point would hold up to that many aggressors.

Returning his focus to his immediate surroundings, Evan geared the car into motion.  Investigating if there were other such clusters blocking the rest of the entry points.  Carefully driving at low speed he circumnavigated along the nearby roads, keeping as far as possible from the mall's outer walls.  Skirting the perimeter, he drove slowly around the streets in a broad loop, stopping occasionally to gaze towards any openings he could identify across parking lots or from an intersection a block away.  He was extremely cautious not to get very close during his survey, until the loop was eventually completed.

He did see other figures, rare individuals moving alone beside the walls or gathered in tiny numbers between two and six around other entrances.  Undoubtedly, it would not be possible to approach without being noticed by at least one collection.  And if it was true that sound they made drew the others' attention, being seen by one would ensure an avalanche of trouble would arrive from nearby.  It would be no simple matter to approach the building.  Nor to liberate the people contained.

Within the safety and mobility afforded by the vehicle, escape was finally within reach.  Yet the only question on Evan's mind was what he could do to help with this new situation.  If the people trapped within the mall were somehow removed, presumably the surrounding figures would begin to scatter in all directions and resume actively seeking new victims.  Until that point, however many were currently gathered here were at least not attacking anyone else.  They might even be drawing others from the surrounding area to gather here as well.  In the short term, it might be keeping the surrounding area safer.

So any attempt to help those trapped inside should probably begin with an effort to destroy every one of the zombies lingering at the various openings.  Yet to enact any plan, he would have to spend considerable time preparing.  He didn't have the ammunition to destroy nearly that many with the pistol, but it might be possible to scavenge more.  But lacking sufficient weaponry was not the only problem a rescue attempt would have to grapple with.

Although they did destroy a number of zombies the previous day from within the shelled safety of a car, he doubted the same tactic would work as well in this circumstance.  They had simply waited until the few undead approached the vehicle and fired in a trajectory up and away from the dormitory where people were congregated.  Against several times more and with the layout of the mall, it was doubtful there would be a way to guarantee that the direction of shooting would always be away from the hiding survivors inside.  Additionally, he wasn't sure if the car would hold against several dozen of them piled up against the windows while he destroyed them each one at a time.

Besides that, firing the guns off in the confines of the car hurt like hell, so he would definitely have to get ear protection before another such attempt.  Although he couldn't be certain about the best course of action right now, he was certain enough that any reasonable attempt would take considerable preparation time.  And possibly to follow through with as well.

As Evan passed the minutes ruminating over possible options, a garishly yellow sport vehicle pulled up alongside him.  Its passenger window rolled partway down, and Minoko looked out at him from an otherwise empty, but lavish interior.  He obliged by lowering his window enough to hear her.  "What did you find out about the noise?"

"It's several dozen of them, at least.  I think it's just that with so many of them in one place, combined with the echo in there, it's making them sound a bit different than we're used to hearing."

Minoko nodded, without commentary and looked across the park on her left.  The possibility of that was anticipated, so she wasn't surprised by the revelation.

Out of habit, Evan motioned across the empty park to the covered area.  "There's other groups of them around the whole place.  Looking for a way in.  I think that means there's people trapped in there."  He paused after that, waiting for Minoko to look back towards him.  "Anyway, how's everything else going?"

"So Leon and I went back to Mansfield.  Jennifer and the others are missing.  They didn't go to Blackwood either."

"Lucas probably took them with him when he left."  Evan replied after a moment's consideration.  He might have retained enough sense to at least take Jennifer and Ryan out of harm's way when he left.  "Us four have known each other since grade school."  He could at least hope that they were already somewhere safe.

She hesitated before responding to his casual suggestion.  "Anyway, everyone else was still there.  We brought some of them back to pick up more cars.  Then we're going to figure out which direction to travel.  Are you coming?"

"You go on ahead.  I'll figure out what to do about this."

Minoko gazed towards the mall, as if considering the situation for herself.  She returned her focus to him.  "I can't see them, but there must be a lot.  I don't think-"  She exhaled nervously.  "I'm not sure there is much that can be done if there's dozens gathered here."

"I can't just leave when those people are trapped."

"They should have plenty of supplies.  More than we had, at least.  They might not need to leave for a while.  At least until we get someone to come back for them."

"But they haven't done anything about the zombies being all clustered around the building.  Whether or not they have supplies, that's still dangerous."

"Maybe they're leaving them there on purpose?  Making sure all of them in the area are gathering in one place until someone can do something about them."  Minoko paused, during which time Evan didn't respond.  "Anyway, they probably have a better idea of their own situation than we do.  I think if they really needed to do something about it, they would."

Evan didn't know what to say to the series of statements but wanted to protest.  "I don't think it's a good idea to just leave this dangerous situation as it is."

"Right now it seems pretty stable.  If there's nothing you can do about it, then the best thing you can do is just trust they know what they're doing and not get involved.  Especially if someone in there decides that you're the one really in trouble.  Besides, it's not like you can do anything about it right this moment."

Even though she raised a valid point, leaving would still be abandonment.  Evan sighed as he considered the situation in relative silence.

Minoko seemed to realize what his thoughts were.  "The best thing you can do for them is to make sure the rest of us escape so that we can get emergency help to come back.  A whole team of people will be better prepared than just yourself."

Evan tore his attention away from the mall with a concerted effort.  He looked at his hands as he thought about the people who he had already freed.  They now had access to enough cars, vans and trucks to transport everyone remaining in the dormitories.  They were prepared to drive safely out of the affected area.  It seemed to him like there was little point to involving himself further in their plight.

But all of the others might not easily trust that this was the end of their days-long ordeal.  Maybe Evan could still provide a calming voice to smooth the evacuation process.  It didn't seem likely to be necessary, but it was the notion that he felt he needed to justify leaving.  Maybe Minoko herself was nervous, and it was what drew her here to convince him to go.

"You're right."  Evan smiled to Minoko.  "Let's get out of here."

Survivors

Lights shifted in distant symphony, their faded echoes dripping from distant reaches too vast to comprehend.  A conduit in the Earth burst regularly, spawning swirling rivulets of traveling, icy energy.  It gathered along invisible skeletal digits, coalescing and escaping into the emptiness beyond, becoming something new.  Chimes pulsed commands with a regularity like a heartbeat, some absurd nugget of purpose buried inside.  The sum of these forces conspired to produce a fissure in the thin veil of interpretive cognition, inflicting a kind of malevolent rawness.

Meaningless noise interjected rudely.  An intruder stirring within the structured cacophony of meaning.  A shambling thing snared in the imprecision of flesh.  Its scaffolding overlaid with stretched skin and hanging, fibrous material.  A sheen of moisture glistening over a smooth off-white sharpness.  Embracing tightness clasped as a dull greenish scent injected itself.  Teeth had finally arrived to deliver terrible, vigorous animation.

But then it was gone.  Withdrawn, lurking within a concealing membrane.  The hint of its presence still dominated, blotting the choral message of the twinkling void.  It floated aimlessly, revealing itself in glinting flashes, delivering rancid bites to the air.  Aggressive little punctures clotted the melodious, distant cracks and rustling chimes.  Infecting the world with aimless, malicious gnawing.

Time slowly clawed back into coherence, bringing with it a world of tangible, plausible things.  Cold wormed from the ground, pressing up into weakened flesh.  Weight pressed down upon dulled nerves as a sense of self coalesced.  Thoughts jarred upon an unusual encounter with something unreal, the lingering shock of survival replaying a strange event.

Lucas rested on his back, staring up at the clear night sky with unblinking eyes.  Ryan was whispering and looking at him with fear.  He could feel the cool grassy ground around him, bristles of bush pressing against bits of cold-numbed skin.  The restless piping chords still reached out  towards them, carried by the breeze.

An insensate pressure of time gradually bubbled up, forcing thoughts to turn towards plausible, practical things.  The reality of the situation was beginning to sluggishly flow through Lucas's thoughts.  Escape was still critical, but the means to do so and how was evidently more problematic than initially thought.

Lucas laughed, suddenly and loudly.  As he was laying there wondering what to do, something terrible had occurred to him.

Ryan regarded him with a wide-eyed mix of relief and shock.  "Lucas!  You're okay!"  Ryan whispered to him, kneeling low to the ground.  "Shhh...  They're still nearby..."

Lucas couldn't stop.  Nervous anxiety and his horrible epiphany had prompted a fit which demanded laughter as the only release.  He couldn't even will himself to stop while listening to the aliens still speaking to one another.  Ryan spent some time frantically trying to calm him, but before too long he seemed to have given up and moved away.

Finally, the spastic fit passed and Lucas was able to relax.  Just for a moment, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.  Muscles stirred as he rustled against the bush he was partially shrouded within.  He blew out into the frigid night and pushed himself upright.  He could smell the faint odor of plant life about himself.  Then he straightened his glasses.

Looking around, Lucas found himself within a broad, grassy field.  He could not see the offramp for the highway from here, but could make out the bridge of an overpass.  The road meandered off to the left and led downhill towards Hillsboro.  Amidst him the scattered remains of their vehicle was evident but he saw nothing moving unprompted by the wind.  After a moment, he rose to his feet to step out of the bushes.

It wasn't long before Ryan approached from somewhere.  "Lucas!  Are you okay?"

"Yeah."  Lucas resisted the urge to laugh again as he realized there was only a single tree to hit in this entire grassy lot.  As if the field itself was another enemy thwarting their escape.  "Did the aliens get Jennifer?"

"I hid under the car.  I didn't see what happened to her or Zack."  Ryan replied in a lower voice.  "What do we do now?"

Lucas hesitated.  "I- I don't know."  He considered against standing up on the hill so he could get a view along the highway.  "But the radio mentioned a boundary.  I think the aliens have set up some kind of border zone and we're inside it.  They won't let us leave."

"So we go back, then?"

"It's too far to walk."  Lucas wasn't sure of the exact distance, but many minutes of driving at high speed translated into many hours of walking.  "First, we find Jennifer."

"Dude, whatever happened, she's long gone.  Zack too."

Ryan was right.  Whatever the situation, there were only the two of them now.  "Okay...  Then let's find some weapons and a place to hide."

Ignoring the scrap, Lucas used the starlight to scan the immediate area, finding some ammunition and a single rifle.  The echoes of alien chatter continued to resound from a place too close for comfort.  Ryan seemed flighty and not very attentive until Lucas handed him the rifle he found.  They hastily progressed downhill together, away from the noises without a further exchange.  If those things crested the hill and saw them in the darkness there would be nothing they could do.

"So do you think anyone else is out here?"  Ryan ventured as they met with and followed the nearby road, continuing in a general southwards direction.  They passed a scattering of buildings.  A gas station, convenience store, some fast food places and other businesses.  Soon they would be walking in a suburban area more familiar to Lucas.  Notably, there were much fewer abandoned cars upon these streets than in Portland.

"No."  Lucas recalled the phone call from his mother.  "This whole area has been evacuated.  I think it was before the aliens set up this...  Perimeter."

The sounds of chatter still hovered about them although their distance increased.  Lucas ventured a look backwards and didn't see anything suspicious.  The invaders spoke very loudly; it wasn't too surprising that their voices carried.

"So if nobody's here who left all the lights on?"  Ryan asked.

Lucas hesitated mid-step, peering about with a fresh eye.  "I..  Uhh.."  He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.  These streetlights were lit!  "There's still power!"  He gasped, suddenly excited.

"Hello?"  Came a familiar voice.  "You're alive!"  Jennifer came out from around a corner ahead, running to join up with them happily.  She was still carrying one of the weapons from their vehicle.

"Dude!  We thought we lost you!"

"Do you know what happened to Zack?"

Solemnly, Ryan shook his head.  "I didn't see anything."

"The aliens took him."  Lucas blurted out.  They couldn't waste time looking for someone.  Especially someone who was already injured and probably gone anyway.

Jennifer and Ryan shared a look of resigned sadness.  They continued onwards without needing to exchange any further words.  They all knew they needed security before any other concern.

"So, we're going to your place, right?"  Ryan asked as the group moved with alacrity, making turns along increasingly familiar roads.

"Yeah,"  Lucas replied.  He had no idea what to do once they got there.  Unless they bypassed something similar to the cars on the way there, he had a suspicion that they would still be firmly within alien claimed territory.  At the very least, they would be accompanied by that inhuman, musical chiming.

Helping Strangers

A sugary smell erupted from the display case.  After a momentary consideration of a pastry, Evan selected a ripe banana instead.  He returned to the table with the others and sat, gazing out at the business across the street.  Leon polished off the last of a beer while Minoko nibbled on the remains of a pastrami sandwich.

Leon was in the midst of a story.  "...holding it all wrong, like he doesn't have any clue what he's doing.  So Ernie just says, 'Give me that!' and just grabs the guy's wrist and wrenches the knife free.  Then he grips the knife properly and points it right back at him and says, 'No!  You give me your wallet.'"

Minoko laughed.  "Oh my!"  Minoko almost took a drink of her bottled tea, but halted once a fresh giggle broke free.  "What happened then?"

"What do you think?  The guy threw his wallet at him and ran off."  Leon laughed and made a bending motion with his hands.  "Then Ernie broke the knife and tossed it in a bush along with the guy's wallet.  Then he just staggered back home and passed out."

"No way!  That's too crazy."

"When Ernie told me the next day, I figured he made it all up.  But later on when I went out drinking with a few of the other guys, we happened to pass through the same area.  I actually found a bush with a wallet and broken knife."

Evan chuckled along with Minoko as they finished their selected meals.  Other than the carefully selected fruits, the food was a bit stale, but the drinks and the idle banter led to a pleasant morning.  After the laughter settled, Evan took a drink from a bottle of water and gazed at the business and lot behind the showy, but short fence across the street.  Now that they were finished, thoughts began to return to plans and goals.

Evan tossed his refuse, then approached the windows for a good view of the street layout.  A slow inhale led to quiet contemplation for a moment.  "Everything looks okay out there.  Is everyone ready to head out?"

"I'm good."  Leon tossed an empty bottle into a nearby bin as he walked past, then hesitated in mid-step and changed course.  "Oh.  I guess I should've recycled that."

Evan turned back towards Leon with a quizzical expression as he dug the bottle out and tossed it into another nearby bin.  Minoko laughed at the effort.

They collected their various weapons and gathered around the stairway leading back to the entrance.  Evan descended after everyone indicated they were prepared, and while the others watched the doors, he pushed aside the overturned tables and chairs to clear a path.  Glass crunched underfoot as objects were rearranged to accommodate the bypass.  Beyond the immediate, the eerie distant sound lingered.

Leading the way with his hands tense, Evan stepped through the broken doorway and into the nearby intersection, keeping watch along the streets.  After the others emerged and took grip of their rifles, he led them towards the building opposite, moving around the open gate and into the lot.  They proceeded slowly, carefully squatting to check under parked vehicles and peering around the cars dotting the area.

The path was clear.  The building, featuring more of the locally common wide windows had a broad but shallow front room with chairs lining the window spaces.  In the back there was a desk with an assortment of signage nearby.  Evan knocked on the chilly glass doorway, waiting for any kind of reply to materialize.  Nothing did.  He stepped aside for Leon, giving a silent nod.  Everyone was familiar now with their break-in procedure.

Leon let his weapon hang from his shoulder strap, promptly approaching and nudging the door.  He looked back at the others as it opened without difficulty and shrugged, then went inside.  As Evan followed, he was careful to remain vigilant.  "Looks like the lock here is by key only."  Leon said once they were all inside.

"Someone left it unlocked on purpose, then?"  Evan inquired as he walked the length of the room and eyed the few doors leading elsewhere into the building.  He didn't trust the unexplored chambers.

"Looks like."  Leon stood by the doorway, surveying the street.

Minoko disappeared behind the desk and rose to her feet a moment later holding something.  "Hey, the safe is open!  There's a bunch of keys here.  It looks like they're all numbered."

In that moment, Evan felt a bit of happy kinship with whoever had left this place.  "Get one for each of us and let's get out of here then."  Evan backtracked cautiously, still wary.  Glancing outside he observed the vehicles all bore a license plate with two letters and a double-digit number.

"Already on it."

They retreated quickly enough, Leon returning outdoors ahead of the others with Evan trailing.  Minoko eagerly distributed keys once they were all together.  Performing a quick count of the remaining vehicles, Evan attempted to recall the number of refugees requiring transport.  It seemed adequate.

"So, I guess we head back now and get ready to leave."  Leon ventured as the trio walked into the lot.  A click emanated from a black, boxy SUV not too far away from the front entrance.  That strange, persistent sound still lingered from somewhere unseen.

"Okay, that one's mine."  Minoko said as she approached, swinging the rifle onto her back.  She opened the driver's door and jumped inside without hesitation.  Soon, the window was rolled down just far enough to exchange words.  "Are we going back together?"

Leon took a step towards the SUV and spoke.  "That's probably a good idea."

Evan glanced at the key in his hand, his thumb lingering over the unlock function of the fob.  He found himself barely vocalizing a thought.  "We're going to need to come back here."

Surprisingly, Leon replied to his thought.  "Yeah, I think so."

Evan spoke at a more even volume.  "Actually, you two go on ahead.  I should go check on something."

Heading towards a click, Evan confirmed the identifying plate of a typical 4 door red car.  Leon followed after, speaking out with a delay as if he had to consider his reply.  "There seems to be a popular idea that the zombies do their moaning to attract others."

Evan paused beside the car door to look at Leon.  "We haven't seen any zombies out here."

"But we have been hearing something."  Leon finished.  After a moment, he added.  "There was a rumor going around that they only make that sound when they see someone."

Recalling his own encounters with the monsters in the dark, Evan nodded.  "Yeah.  I've been wondering about that..."

Silence followed between them while the eerie babble lingered in the air.  The smooth, almost uniform sound of that peculiar ambience implied a considerably more sizable threat than any he had seen before.  Even as escape for everyone was on the horizon, Evan felt like he had to know if there were yet more people who needed assistance.  He couldn't turn away from that kind of possibility, especially considering the safe.

Close Encounter

"Alien activity appears to be limited to the boundary region."  Came a dry voice in an echoing cadence.  Or perhaps a spontaneously generated thought formed from pieces of the fragmented radio signal.  Sharp whistles and a clicking rasp suffused the air.

Lucas stared in shock, his heart pounding in his chest.  Before them, splashed in the vehicle's bright headlights, was a squat purple thing standing in the middle of the freeway.  It was large, with a central, tightly domed carapace covered in ridges and spines.  Sturdy appendages, fiercely jagged jut out from the structure of the monstrosity at a wide angle, granting it a reach either a lane or two lanes wide.  It had no discernable head and bore only the vaguest resemblance to a giant, stout crab.  Its many legs nimbly flickered and flexed as some nimble, strange dance made it twist in place, growing.  No!  It ran!

A shriek came, words mingling with the otherworldly noises as the aberrant thing twisted and charged.  "It's coming!  It's coming!"  Terrified hands tried to grab at controls as a tumultuous uproar pulsed.  Brakes locked as tires skid upon pavement.  A hard erratic twist made them whirl around and skid into a concrete barrier.  Glass rained inside, snapping and chiming pierced the cabin as the shape of the frame buckled.  It drew closer.

Fighting for coherent thought as much as grasping, terrified hands, metal scraped and tore as tiny pebbles flew about.  Lucas closed one eye against swirling grit as he directed their vehicle to turn away.  They crept forwards as the engine sputtered.  The radio, untouched, was just barely audible beneath shrieks and the monstrous noises outside.  Ice enveloped exposed skin, but it hardly registered in the moment.  Anonymous voices were trapped with him.

"Faster!  It's coming-  It's closer!"

"Oh god, there's more!"

Adrenaline forcing a zealous focus, Lucas dared not to look backwards, at whatever was producing the crescendo of riotous madness.  His entire leg ached as muscle overstrained to depress the accelerator.  Biting air found its way around his glasses and licked at the edges of his eyes.  Yet the intrusive sounds did not falter into the background.  Their maximum speed had been viciously attenuated.

"They're so close!  Speed up!"

"It can't!"  Lucas screamed as loud as he could, hoping to be heard above the furor.  He could hear the stampeding footfalls of their pursuer.  Pursuers.

"Our guns!"  Came an identifiable scream.

The sounds of movement and mechanical clicking prompted something inside Lucas.  Either another reconstructed memory or a fragment that was just coming through the radio now.  "Do not approach or use firearms against the alien creatures."  The black note!

"No!"  Lucas screamed as he forcefully swerved the vehicle, weight grinding hard into the safety restraints.  Vicious thumping came from behind as deafening gunfire roared.  Expecting a world-shattering flash to strike, Lucas grit his teeth.  Regretfully, the frantic bid for survival mercilessly progressed.

"Hold steady!"

"Keep firing!"

Swerving across the lanes, Lucas could only hope to retain critical distance.  "Stop!  Stop!  Stop!"  Lucas chanted with furious madness, uncertain if his vocals could amount to anything.  Perhaps it was already too late.  Although his throat hurt, he wasn't even sure if he could hear himself over the bleeding feedback from his own ears.  Words materialized out of the piping, crackling chaos.

"-are you do-"

"-it's reaching!  Oh go-"

"Hold still!"

Hands once again tried to grasp the wheel, but Lucas struck out as hard as he could and they withdrew.  Weaving from side to side, heavy belts tightly pushed into his body.  A thin line of cloying air came through the chasm where formerly there was a windshield.

Despite his best efforts, the overwhelming shriek of close proximity gunfire continued.  Still conscious, aware and in a terror-stricken moment of lucidity, he recognized that either the gunfire had somehow all missed their marks, or these aliens did not defend themselves with it.  He could not gamble on the latter.

Struggling with rational thought, Lucas sought any desperate means of escape.  There has to be a way off this damned freeway!  In his panic, he wasn't sure if he had bypassed any exit and had only veered along the direct path.  He knew he had traveled under some overpasses, but which ones and when?  Lucas wracked his mind, attempting to do everything at once that could ensure precious seconds of continued life.  I have to find an exit while going at top speed and fighting the others and swerving the- the- car- car before-

The moment of coherence fractured as despair flowed free.  I can't get around- I can't even look at those wrong cars!  Without awareness of his steering, the crumpled front bumper tore through a frail metal barricade.  The front of the car rocked upwards harshly in a steep ascent up a grassy hill.  A pummeling whiteness filled Lucas's vision and kicked his head and arms forcefully.

A reverie, the world had become a weightless, tensionless haze.  Aches registered in limbs and joints.  Black shapes swam through vision as fingers slipped away.  One way or another, everything was finally ending.

Battering forces interlaced randomly, forcing joints to move in uncomfortable ways.  Fabric stroked over skin, and moving shapes registered.  A weight pushed his spine against the material of a seat.  Still moving!  Not over!  Tension returned to the world.  Both legs were stiff, as if each had been locked in place by an omnipotent entity.

As the sensation of acceleration rushed back, fingers groped blindly for purchase upon the wheel.  Craning his neck to look to his side, Lucas tried to use what he could see to guess where the road might be.  Both legs ached with tautness, it was impossible to recall which foot was depressing the accelerator.  Induced tinnitus and fierce battering made the world a disorganized, isolated place.  But Lucas thought the others were still close by.

Eventually, a sudden expulsion of air from lungs arrived alongside a dizzying haze.  A rough column of brown lay ahead, unchanging.  Barely able to function, Lucas managed to spit out a word as eyes turned to gaze behind.  "Run!"  He wheezed and pushed at his door.

Lucas fell onto grass and crawled away.  By the time his body refused to move any more, he discovered he had somehow ended up inside a bush.  Gasping and wheezing, Lucas rolled onto his back, utterly alone and waiting for an event to end him.  Spying a sudden movement, he fell deathly silent.

Beyond the jabbing, scratching overgrowth, something huge lurked in starlight.  Its multi-limbed exoskeleton twisted as it moved, approaching the wreckage in a quarter-spiral.  Three smaller, grasping appendages unfolded from beneath its central body.  Each one ended with an absurd amalgamation of sinuous tendrils and long, skeletal digits.  Between the spaces where each elephantine limb emerged from its central body were spiny protrusions inset with pairs of little black dots.

It halted briefly, during which Lucas could feel a stare like his own coming from those dots, piercing him.  A compulsion to run fought, but fear induced a paralysis so intense he couldn't even breathe.  Staring with wide eyes, he was locked as an observer in his own body.  Underneath the hallucinatory ringing in his ears, Lucas could hear echoing notes, as if gargantuan chimes were ringing in a distant hall.  There was motion of something like mandibles or a beak protruding slightly from where the arms had been folded underneath.

Once the alien thing resumed motion, odd exoskeletal digits and tentacles traced upon the vehicle as if inspecting it.  Violet carapace idly shifted one way, then the other, spinning nimbly as it beheld the abandoned object.  With an intense grip, it moved the entire wreck several feet away from the tree in one powerful motion.  Thumping transmitted through the soft dirt and into Lucas's useless bones.

Then those strange appendages began prying apart the car.  Hinges protested, but ultimately gave in to superior force.  Pieces were ripped free twisted in the air and ultimately discarded carelessly as the alien voice blew out its surreal, musical tones.  Movement traced the periphery where there was nothing to see.  Sensations echoed as severe light-headedness clouded his perception.

Or perhaps those were the others?  Gathering to inspect their kill.

Eyes locked in place, Lucas only witnessed one working at deconstruction of the car.  Its purple legs were marked with harsh black patterns of sudden stripes and slashing swirls.  As time pressed on and he thought he had his hearing again, the rustling boom of distant chimes only continued.  It rang out like a madman's participation in a chorus of one.  Accentuated with the piercing snaps of a spectral giant's fingertips.  The sounds came from nowhere at all.  They just were.

Unable to hold his breath any longer, Lucas gasped.  His breath billowed forth in a dense cloud.  Closing his eyes, he could feel the alien grip enveloping his frail body.  When no further motion came, he opened his eyes to the stars.

The alien thing was gone.  The car was gone.  Everything was gone, but the stars above.

Shivering, Lucas was alone laying in a bush beside a tree.

Unknown Unknowns

Daylight came in through the tiny windows of the impromptu shelter, falling over Evan just enough to wake him.  He deftly arose, careful to allow the other two a few minutes more rest underneath their heavy winter coats.  Immediately inspecting their surroundings, Evan found the overturned table and folding chairs just as they had left them the night before.  Outside appeared to be unchanged save for the morning daylight casting aside the memory of shadow.

He collected the holster and pistol discarded last night, then found the stairs and ascended.  Brisk air greeted him on the rooftop.  Although his breath was coming out in visible puffs, the feel of the sun on his skin and clear skies suggested the coming day would be warmer.  Although their plan was to return, it couldn't hurt to look around and consider other options, if there were any worthwhile ones.

The surreal emptiness still enveloped their refuge like a sinister presence.  Desolated streets, the occasional abandoned car or bit of debris on the roads.  The unidentified white noise was still persistent and ongoing.  Across the street lay a large office building with a modest parking lot.  Flickering flags perched atop its considerable peak.  Another parking structure on the other side from the one where they had come from.  Another parking lot beside them serving the nearby collection of businesses.  Not too far away lay the tracks for the city's trolley.  The surroundings were liberally accompanied by a smattering of skeletal trees.

From this vantage point he could see the collection of buildings and bridges crossing the river, but not the river itself.  The curved edges of the convention center and the pointed glass spires surmounting the indoor sports arena drew particular attention.  Apartment buildings, office buildings and hotels of varying sizes dotted the mid-distance.  Not too far away, the pavement of a highway lay inert like an empty vein.  Although the brisk air was fresh, traces of a faint acrid odor wafted in with an occasional breeze.

Although Evan had visited this area of the city before, he only had a vague idea of the general layout before now.  There didn't appear to be any defensible location nearby for them to consider.  He remembered there was a coffee shop not too far away, along the path they had taken to arrive.  Perhaps before starting their walk, they could break inside to see about acquiring a bit of food and water.  Something for the hour's walk ahead of them.

By the time Evan had satisfied his own curiosity and descended, Minoko and Leon were up.  They were in the process of collecting what little gear they had when Evan opened the door.  He jerked back slightly as a rifle was quickly raised, then lowered to aim at the floor.  "Sorry, just a bit jumpy."  Leon said.

"Just seeing if we're clear."  Evan replied as he flexed his arms and legs to limber up.  "It looks okay.  I think we can probably check out the shop nearby, see if there's something there we can take for our walk."

"Water, at least."  Leon examined his rifle for a moment, then swung it over his shoulder.  He hesitated before pulling the overturned table away from the door and listened.  "That sound is still there..."

Minoko had a worried look on her face, but didn't speak.

"Well, the sooner we start."  Evan could feel the lingering remnants of various minor aches from yesterday's activity.  He could trace his finger slightly over the fading evidence of a scratch above his eye from the tumble he had taken on pavement two days earlier.  But he was as ready for this as possible.

Confidently striding outside, Evan thoroughly inspected each direction from the intersection and suspiciously regarded the parked cars.  Turning back the way they had arrived, he led them downhill just beyond the parking garage where they had been abandoned.  Beside it there was an enclosed square with greenery placed in brick-sided planters.  Capping the far end was a squat, almost overly glassy looking structure.  Its architecture was accentuated with sharp lines of white metal and its second floor was on the ground level with the square they had bypassed.

"Hey, this place says it's a café."  Evan walked into the intersection and took a good look in each direction as Leon approached the building at the corner.

"Looks good to me."  Leon tested the handle, then hammered at the door with the butt of his rifle.  A vicious cracking spread over the surface.

Minoko approached Evan, a look of distraction on her face.  "Is- Is that a car dealership?"  She pointed to a modestly sized fenced-in lot with a building at its center just across the street.

Evan turned to look at the building, stunned for a moment.  "I...  Uh, I think it's a...  Car rental..."

The glass shattered, and Leon looked up.  "Damn..."  He broke into laughter.  "How did nobody notice that?  It was right by us this whole time."

Evan shook his head in disbelief.  "I thought it was a bank."  The gate for the fence had been left open.  The cars inside were luxury, in good condition and varied in model and color.

"There's still a lot of cars in there."  Minoko observed.

"Okay, new plan.  We eat something, then go get ourselves a car."  Leon chuckled.

"Yeah.  Or three..."  Evan was still rather shocked at the fortuitous nature of their discovery.  Maybe there were enough cars there to move everyone at once.  Even though their original plan was a work of clever ingenuity, the sheer happenstance of accidentally finding this relatively mundane place could prove to be of far greater benefit.  Though drawn by the allure of hunger and thirst, they were compelled to check out the café first.

The glass had shattered into a slicing rim of daggers, but the opening was almost as big as the door's frame.  After reaching inside to check on the lock, Leon instead pounded away the few larger remaining fragmented edges and cautiously ducked inside.  He waved to the others.  "It doesn't have a deadbolt."  He moved up the stairs on the right, weapon in hand.

Evan followed the taller man inside, his shoes crunching on shards of glass.  He peeked through the door ahead just inside, quickly concluding it led to all the back room areas of the business.  The stairs to the side led to the dining area and the front desk where orders were made.  The upper level was ringed with glass-adorned walls, presenting a good view of their surroundings.

Just after Minoko cautiously navigated through the opening, Leon had brought a table to the hallway entrance to serve as a barricading obstacle.  Together, they worked at establishing a barricade that satisfied all of them and quickly navigated through the whole place to ensure it was secure.

The interior of the café was cold due to the frigid temperatures of the past days.  The pastries and prepackaged sandwiches were a bit stale but still readily edible.  There was a nice selection of fruits to eat.  A broad selection of bottled drinks complemented their available choices of foods.

After they gathered their meals and sat around the table, the trio again looked out across the street.  They discussed how they might find keys in the abandoned building and just simply drive everyone out in one big convoy.  Spirits were high as they recovered from the previous night's dour mood.

"Hey man, that friend of yours just might have accidentally saved everyone."  Leon laughed between sips on an alcoholic beverage.  "You know, if he can do that then maybe he's not really so bad."

Despite his feelings, Evan smiled.  Betrayal or not, it was Lucas's ideas that had brought them out here and given them real hope for escape.  That was something evidently at the forefront of all of their minds.

Into the Fire

The highway swerved gently through the wooded hilltops, weaving through a valley out of the city.  A lone car made its way along the curved path, bright beams sharply cutting into empty darkness.  Occasionally, an odd bit of refuse littered the side of the road, but there were no obstructions upon the road itself.  One car rested along the shoulder of the freeway; abandoned for no reason that could be intuited quickly.

A slight misting had begun to build upon the windshield, but the traces of growing heat seemed to be keeping it from getting much worse.  As Lucas allowed himself to ease up on the accelerator his sense of nervous tension melted away.  As scenery changed, the extremes of the evergreen dotted hills gradually gave way to gentler slopes.  This freeway led westward out of the city and away from the northward bound river.

The survivors listened in silence as buzzing static came through the speakers.  When comprehensible words finally emitted from the radio within the static, a collective welcome sigh of relief passed through each one.  Evidence that the civilized world was still out there.

"I got something!"  Exclaimed Ryan as he adjusted the dials.  The occupants listened with hopeful fascination as a thin voice became audible.  The signal was interspersed with static, even while the voice came through in decipherable bursts.

"...curfew enforced for those within fi..."

"...limited to the boundary region..."

"...not approach or use firearms against the..."

"...activity within the quarantined zone..."

"They mentioned a quarantine!  That's going to be a safe place, isn't it?"  Ryan exclaimed.

"We're inside it.  We just need to get out of it."  Zack replied.

Something rankled as the words rattled in Lucas's mind.  He grit his teeth, dismissing the sensation as the lingering guilt of a betrayer.  Nothing could avert the course laid out.  The entirety of his being needed to concentrate on the final resolution of their nightmare.  It must end.

Shapes ahead prompted Lucas to first ease his pace, then halt.  There were a number of cars obstructing the route.  Each one rested perfectly within the guiding lines of the freeway in both directions.  Side by side they sat in a pristine row, suggesting deliberate placement.  Beyond, another row sat.  And another.  The path leading up to this point had been mostly devoid of vehicles.  From what the headlights revealed the area ahead was also clear.  Although he could observe no dents or scuffs, something had apparently been punctured inside.  Large pools of oil stretched over the pavement.

Lucas examined it all studiously, as if a critical answer were hidden within the spectacle.  Yet there was something subtle underneath it all which forced a blink.  An attempt came to wipe his glasses free of smudges.  Then another view without glasses.  A whine and a scraping of the windshield.  Nothing worked.  The bewildering impulse could not leave, yet the compulsion to examine only intensified.

Something is very wrong with those cars, blew a chill like a whisper.  A gnawing terror grew, consuming his heart as it enraptured him.  His mind strained in agony, reaching for something concrete to resolve his senses into.  Struggling to create something comprehensible, a label for the strangeness, just so he could blink again.

The oily blackness ahead was a nothingness leaking into the world.  The voids within each car sang harmoniously.  The mundane road beyond became a grotesque painting.  The emptiness surrounding them glistened with malice.  Only the cars existed.  All of it was true for an instant, then it all fell apart.

 A label finally arrived.  "Go back!"  Jennifer.

"No!"  Came a scream.  Or was it a thought?  Maybe within the proximity of those cars, there could be no sound.  It was impossible to know.

A sudden jolt of activity pulsed as air surged back into the universe.  Gasping, Lucas hammered the accelerator and veered off road, careful to avoid seeing the anomalous discovery.  Shaking, riotous movement slammed into him as wheels jounced on wildly inappropriate terrain.  Thunderous screeching.  Screaming could exist again.

"What the fuck was that!?"

"We have to warn Evan!"

"Bad...  Really bad trip..."

"We're past it now!  He'll get past it too!"

Their vehicle swerved from side to side as bodies throttled into restraints.  Somehow, the wheels found a strait path and tore down the freeway.  The cacophony of screams continued, growing louder as bewilderment became terror.  Whatever strange affixion that place held over Lucas, it had apparently impacted all of them.  Ignoring the others, he steeled his mind upon his task.

Ryan's voice cut through the maelstrom.  "It's not following us!"  Nobody questioned the usefulness of the statement.

Recovering from the encounter, it was difficult to tell how long it had been or how far they had traveled since that blasphemous thing.  At some point, Lucas became aware of the radio, producing flurries of speech between intervals of static.  He begrudgingly allowed the car to slow to a more manageable speed.

Lucas realized with a start that he was still upon the familiar highway.  But even better, somewhere ahead was a tiny smattering of dots.  Lights.  He couldn't tell how far away they were, only that they would soon be there.  Checking the fuel gauge, he felt a confidence they would make it.

Then the high-intensity beams illuminated something large standing in the road.  Something moving.

Agitation

Evan awoke alone in a shapeless, cold void. For just a moment, fear of isolation prompted a sudden jarring impulse to be alert. By the time he could feel the slight traces of warmth coming from his nearby companions, he had already risen into a seated position. Breath came in practiced, slow waves, his urgent instinct to fully stand gradually faded.

A faint draft drifted over Evan as he listened to the distant white noise within the sealed abode. In disquieting time, traces of vision came to his eyes. Drowsiness had departed him as he gradually came to the realization he could just barely see. Starlight filtered inside, even as his mind was lost amid intruding thoughts in the lonesome abyss.

Evan stood and stealthily moved, making his way along the dark interior staircase and onto a flat concrete rooftop. He recalled the area was clear from before and felt no fear of any lurking terror. It was in a way, a refuge from recent events, from people and things. Walking to a boxy, jutting shape he sat and stared into the sky. Unfamiliar fires hung in the deep reaches of the sky, poking through sparse clouds.

Staring up for a long while, Evan never faltered in his waking state. Lost before the immensity of the structures overhead, thoughts wove together in oddly relaxing forms. His own microscopic existence, and miniscule world grew smaller as the Earth's grasp weakened over him. Everything would be okay because nothing really mattered.

He had not been aware of anything until a moving shape flicked through his perception. For an instant of fatalistic acceptance, he had no reaction. Heavy fabric rustled.

"Couldn't sleep?" Came a gentle vocalization.

"No." Evan answered, peering into an unfamiliar, yet well-known sky.

"I couldn't either." Minoko's voice returned softly.

Evan thought he had committed himself to some socially required response, but later on, he wasn't quite so certain he had spoken. Either way, silence lingered whilst the lightweight girl picked a place to sit. Breath billowed out, mingling while dispersing into the still air.

"I don't think your friend is a bad person." Came another statement with that minimal accent.

Evan allowed the words to linger between them for a while. As if the longer the sounds remained aloft, the truer their meaning would become. Finally, he spoke. "He could have waited until we found another car." There was a period of relative silence punctuating each fragment of thought. "Left some water. Food. The ammunition. The rest of the keys. Anything..."

Thinking fell into a temporary lull as he just stared into the tattered, unpolluted sky. He spoke again with a shake of his head, not looking towards his visitor. "No. Leon is right. A good person wouldn't have done that."

He could feel the weight of Minoko's gaze upon his side, but he couldn't quite look at her. He had the uncanny feeling she wanted to speak, but couldn't. He inhaled sharply before his voice flicked out from his throat. "I'm not angry. I thought I could trust him. I thought I could trust my judgement."

Evan hung his head with a heavy sigh. The thoughts which had been keeping him awake remained. He couldn't lie to himself; he actually was angry with Lucas. He couldn't force the emotion away, but he knew it also couldn't solve anything. The only thing it could do is distract his mind from the situations that he could still influence.

Whether Lucas would return or not, that was out of his control. Either outcome didn't matter, the memory would forever linger that his trust was misplaced. They were thirsty, hungry and their plan was derailed. He was just as angry at himself that he didn't foresee that outcome and prevent it.

"I- I almost did the same thing today." Minoko replied with a quivering voice. "When we first got to the car. I- I hesitated before unlocking the doors. If I didn't- reconsider- I would have abandoned you."

Evan sat upright, staring off towards the nearby buildings reflecting starlight. A tension shot through his palm, but he hid it from her.

"I- I was afraid. I was-" Minoko continued after clearing a lump from her throat. "Escape felt so close. I wanted it so bad." She paused there, as if expecting Evan to ask a question. "But then I thought of how Robert acted, when... It happened. The attack."

Minoko struggled to speak. She sniffed and wiped tears away, but Evan had the distinct impression that she wasn't done speaking. So he waited for her to continue while still staring ahead.

"Robert was strong like you. Not physically. He had asthma. He couldn't lift me. But he wouldn't- He didn't hesitate." Evan looked over at Minoko as she set her face in her hands. His fingers unclenched as he offered an arm in a attempt to console. She leaned in, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I couldn't.. Let his final act be for nothing. It couldn't be meaningless."

Evan ruminated over the confession, wondering just why she was giving it. Perhaps she felt an irrational jealousy towards Lucas. Maybe she felt guilty that her impulse was to do the same thing. "So, you tried to act like Robert would have." Evan finally concluded.

"No. I'm- I'm not that kind of person." Minoko's voice hitched. "It was Evelyn. Robert died to keep her alive. If she had been in the car, then I would have..."

Evan allowed Minoko's sudden outburst of emotion to flow. She needed it, and as strange as it was, listening did make him feel a little better. Occasionally a breeze would sweep by, adding a bristling of branches to the distant, continuous babble.

Minoko was the first to speak again, sounding much better now. "Thank you. Your friend.. Lucas..." Minoko seemed unsure of what she was going to say, then resumed along a different line of thinking. "Your friends. They all think so highly of you."

Evan acceded to the statement with a brief nod. He wasn't quite in agreement with the sentiment, but there was no denying they often spoke highly of him. At the very least, they believed it.

"I think your friend.. Lucas. I- I don't think he's a bad person. But... If I thought about Evelyn the same way that your friends think about you... Then I wouldn't have needed to have her with me..."

Evan sat in silence for a long while with Minoko, looking into the partly obscured starlit sky. Agitation continued to linger but it felt less volatile, less personal now. He could finally rest.

Out of the Frying Pan

In the middle of an intersection a few blocks from the university's grounds, the stolen car idled.  Cab light from inside spilled out as the lone figure inside maneuvered from front to back, establishing a fragile semblance of order.  Everything which had been haphazardly discarded needed to be visibly passable as pre-arranged.

After one final examination, Lucas returned to the driver's seat and extinguished the cab light.  Taking a deep breath to calm himself he focused his mind upon the coming evening.  Satisfied with the reading on the fuel gauge, he geared into drive and allowed the car to slowly coast forwards.  Approaching the Mansfield building, he parked the car along the curb just outside the sealed metal gate.  Even inside the car, the noxious odor of decay greeted his senses.

With the last vestiges of light fading from the sky, Lucas killed the engine and carefully examined his surroundings.  Feeling a momentary sense of dread, he extinguished the cab light and sat in darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the traces of starlight.  Knowing he- alone- was in control of his own security in the dark was a terrifying thing.  Stained sheets nearby concealed lumpy remains, but nothing he could see was moving.

An initial shock gave way to relief as a spark of light sprang up from within the building.  After a moment it spilled down the walkway, illuminating the car.  Lucas waved to whoever was there, and cautiously emerged from safety.  To maintain an illusion of confidence he retrieved a rifle, although feeling the weight of its carrying strap pressing into his shoulder felt awkward.  Approaching the building, he scanned his eyes over the surrounding streets and sidewalks.

Jennifer approached the gate wrapped within a heavy grey coat.  A strap from one of the scavenged rifles crossed over her ample chest.  Wide hazel eyes peered through the bars hopefully as she gripped the lock.  "Where's Evan?"

"We-"  Movement suddenly drew Lucas's attention, spurring him to whirl around.  After a few seconds of staring at the surrounding emptiness he concluded he had overreacted to shadows cast by the light source Jennifer had brought with her.  "We found a working bus."

"A bus?"  Jennifer regarded him with a curious look, her straight, medium length dark hair fluttering in the light breeze as she unthreaded the steel from the gate.  She rewove chains effortlessly through the iron lattice once he slipped through.  "So why didn't the others come back with you?"

"We found supplies too.  More guns and ammo and water."  Lucas fidgeted with his glasses as he tried to recall what he had planned to say.  "I mean, it was all abandoned stuff that was probably brought in to help the trapped people.  I guess they just left it behind when the black notes hit.  He- er, we were- are- the others are gathering some before they head this way."

"In the dark?"  Jennifer asked with a worried tone in her voice.

"There's floodlights that were set up.  On a jeep crashed near the bus.  Anyway, we turned it on and it lit up the surrounding area."  Lucas added with what he hoped was an air of confidence.  "Evan sent me here so we can leave now.  He'll be going out to Blackwood dorm with the bus and the rest of the supplies.  We're going to check the path ahead is clear so the bus won't get stuck."  Lucas proceeded towards the building with Jennifer trailing.  Ahead, he could see Ryan peering out at them.

Ryan opened the door with his eyes wide.  "Dude!  You guys find anything?"  He stepped outside just enough to hold the door open, snugly wrapped in his mildly tattered blue-grey winter coat.

Lucas made a sweeping motion with his arm, pointing out.  "A bus!  We're leaving tonight!"

"Score!"  Ryan took a step outside with a goofy grin, but halted mid-step and stepped back.  "Whoa, almost forgot."

"If we're leaving, we can't forget someone."  Jennifer proceeded past Ryan into the building.

"Oh yeah!  That too."  Ryan withdrew, leaving Lucas alone in the chill.

A growing sensation of alarm welled up within Lucas as he halted.  He hadn't seen anyone else here earlier and hadn't considered that possibility.  Too many others would delay this course of action by an unacceptable margin.  Time pressure was mounting and in his imagination he could picture Evan catching up with him at any moment.  Alternatively, the others could grow suspicious of him or ask too many questions he couldn't convincingly answer.  Lucas forced himself to steady his breathing with considerable effort as he waited.

It wasn't long before Ryan emerged with an overloaded backpack and held the door.  Jennifer followed with a light in one hand, assisting a broad-shouldered, but slightly shorter man at her other side with his right arm in a splint.  She spoke words which hit as a wave of relief to Lucas, "Okay, let's get out of here."

With few spoken words passing between them, they departed in an orderly fashion.  Jennifer unsealed the gate, handing her light off to Ryan in the process.  With zealous focus, Lucas advanced and hasted to activate the vehicle.  Locks clicked; the engine flared to life in a gratifying burst of activity.  Headlights threw their illuminating glare on the building ahead.  The others packed their gear with alert haste and secured themselves inside.  Soon the quartet were fully prepared for exodus with no signs of trouble.

As anticipation of successful escape filled his mind, Lucas thought about the route ahead.  He did not have much direct experience with driving, but the only path he had considered taking was also the most familiar one.  If there was a blockage or trouble somewhere, he would find an alternate path through.  He just had to hope that the evacuated, dangerous zone didn't extend too far outside Portland.

"Which way are we heading?"  Jennifer asked from the back seat as she rearranged the various weapons Evan had successfully recovered.

"Past Hillsboro."  Lucas replied, taking them around the corner slowly.  "Along sunset highway as far as we can take it."

Beside him, Ryan looked up.  "How far do we have to go?"

"Hillsboro was evacuated."  Jennifer responded.  "So at least that far."

"That's not too bad."  Ryan declared as a momentary lull overcame the occupants.

Lucas thought he glimpsed a standing figure somewhere along the streets.  As he discovered the freeway onramp he dismissed the vision from his thoughts.  If something or someone was lurking in the city, it was now too far away to matter.  Accelerating down the freeway onramp prompted a release of anxiety like a pressure valve being toggled.

They hurtled through the dark tunnel separating downtown Portland from the surrounding area,  Emerging on the other side, the car traced the freeway's winding path.  It ran through the narrow, wooded valley between the hills dotting the edge of downtown Portland's western flank.  Although the light posts dotting the sides of the freeway were dark and the asphalt was atypically empty, the natural scenery did promote a degree of comfort Lucas hadn't realized he was missing.

As Lucas eased the car along at a steady pace, Ryan reached forwards from the passenger seat to turn on the heater.  Without speaking, he also turned on the radio and fiddled with the controls, seeking a signal.  Trying not to distract himself too much from the drive, Lucas briefly wondered why he hadn't thought to try such things.  As they listened to static coming out of the speakers in a slowly warming environment, Lucas grew more and more at ease with how the night was resolving.

Having other people around to help was wonderful.

Betrayal

As soon as Evan heard the burning squeal of tires upon pavement, he realized what was going wrong.  Without a moment's delay, he ran to obstruct the escape, but with an energetic swerve and a near-miss, the vehicle broke away at a good clip.  Futilely, he shouted, dashing down the asphalt and arriving at the ramp into the garage several seconds behind the car.

Pursuing after the sounds of frenzied, erratic driving, Evan believed he would sight the vehicle ahead until the moment he could see it tear onto the street.  Slowing his pace to a walk, then resigning himself to failure, Evan came to a halt midway towards the slope leading to the first floor.  Nothing he could do now but salvage the outcome.

As the sounds of the vehicle diminished Evan tried to set his mind on what could be done.  He warily eyed his surroundings and called out to the others.  "He's gone.  I'm coming back!"  A shout of recognition returned.  Now they were only accompanied by the low hum of the nearby river.

Evan had made a terrible mistake.  With uncanny clarity, the sudden shriek of rubber combined in his memory with Lucas's declaration that 'someone like him' could survive here.  In retrospect, the eagerness to help out despite the seemingly morose mood made a lot more sense now.  In his own way, Lucas had almost given a warning of his intention.  But as aggravating as it was to know his trust had been woefully misplaced, being angry with Lucas right now could not solve any problem.

Careful to remain wary of his surroundings, Evan ascended to the top floor of the parking garage.  The others were waiting anxiously just at the peak of the ramp, weapons drawn and ready.  Leon spoke out when he spotted Evan walking up the sloping ramp to the roof.  "Wasn't that guy a friend of yours?"

Evan exhaled wearily as he brought the white hood of his coat over his head.  "Yeah.  Lucas is- uh, he's a really good guy.  He's just..."  Sighting the keys he had been tinkering with on the ground, Evan moved to retrieve and pocket them.

"When things get tough, people show you what kind of person they really are."  Leon shook his head in exasperated fashion.  "Damn it, I left my backup ammunition clips in there."

Evan made a sound as if to reply, grasping for a response.  He believed his friend was better than that action would indicate.  Certainly, once Lucas returned to his right mind he would realize this was a terrible mistake.  Evan just realized it wasn't the time to tell that to the others right now.

"We don't have lights!  What should we do?"  Minoko spoke as she fidgeted with her blue coat.

Leon sighed heavily  "I don't think we'll be able to make it all the way back before the sun sets."  He gazed off in the direction of the university grounds, over the Willamette river and many city blocks distant.  "Shit, do you think zombies can see in the dark?"

"They have the same eyes we do."  Evan wasn't certain, but even at a quick pace he thought it would take about an hour to return the way they had come.  Lengthening shadows of evening were crawling across the landscape.  Glancing up, Evan saw dark clouds littering the sky in artful smatters, threatening rain.  "But it's still probably not a good idea to travel in the dark.  We should find shelter somewhere as soon as we can."

"Sounds like a good idea."  Leon approached the edge of the structure and gazed at the street below.  "I don't see any zombies down there.  But I hear something."  He gazed in one direction away from the river.

"That's not the Willamette?"  Minoko's eyes became wide with sudden alarm.  She turned towards the direction Leon had subtly indicated.  Evan knew there was a mall somewhere close by over a gentle hill, though it was obscured by trees and buildings from this vantage point.  He could see a big hotel and an office building over in that direction, though.

"It does sound like the river...  But it seems like there's something else too, I think whatever it is must be a ways off."  Leon added.

Now that someone had suggested something more sinister, Evan began to reevaluate what he had been idly dismissing.  Being more skeptical, he couldn't discern the direction of whatever the source was...  "Hurry then.  First thing that might work, we go for it."  Evan glanced sideways towards Minoko, giving her a chance to speak.  She shook her head, remaining silent, apparently content to let him and Leon decide their course of action.  She still seemed genuinely uneasy with the firearm she carried, nervously inspecting it now and then.

"Well, if either of you see somewhere that might work, say something."  From their vantage point, Evan examined the nearby blocks in the direction they had arrived from.  They didn't have much time to delay, so he scanned hastily.

They needed somewhere suitable to hide from whatever would be lurking in the dark.  The majority of structures in their vicinity were considerably smaller than the dominatingly large convention center.  Dismissing the larger structure, Evan examined what else laid around, reasoning that the smaller buildings would be more likely to be safe.  Yet as far as he could see, the businesses nearby were also broad-windowed in design, easily providing a view of the interior.

Trying to recall the recent sights upon their arrival to the area, Evan sighed.  Each business he remembered within a minor walk, from a bank to coffee shop to fast food restaurants and a marijuana dispensary all seemed unsuited to their needs.  Every place he could recall had big windows so they seemed impractical for hiding.  They might have to just return along their course of arrival and duck into the first suitable building they found.

Just as Evan turned back to face the others, Leon gave a cautious shout and waved.  The slightly older man had progressed a little ways along towards the further end of the structure. He pointed downwards, to something very close.  "Hey, what about there?"

Leaning over to better see what was indicated, Evan peered at a flat-topped squat building with crimson walls just on the other side of the street and hugging the far intersection.  The layout was rectangular with one section in the middle sticking out.  "What is that place?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't have huge windows."  Leon stood up tall and reclaimed his weapon from his shoulder strap.  "Just very small windows.  It looks like."

"Well, the sooner we begin..."  Evan motioned to the others as his voice trailed off.

Evan led the two at a brisk pace, keeping just enough of an eye upon them to make sure he wasn't leaving the others behind.  They progressed through the parking structure and emerged onto the street.  Leading them along the center of the road hurriedly, Evan turned towards the near corner.  Hastily edging forwards he proceeded into the intersection, checking in all directions before waving the others towards him.

Directing his attention towards the structure, it appeared as if it had been closed for a while.  Something about the exterior coat of paint looked old, but it wasn't yet cracking or peeled.  The tiny fraction of interior he could see through the small window on the door had a peculiar air of disuse.  A sign on the door indicated it was available for lease.  Evan tested the handle before facing the others.  "This could work for tonight.  Given the window, I think we can keep the lock intact."

"Got it."  Leon stepped forwards and motioned the others away.  Evan watched him take steady aim at the window and deliver a crack of violence to the glass.  Once more, and the spidery web that had formed had a secondary webbing.  Leon frowned and took another step back, firing twice more.  Then he raised the butt of his rifle, bringing it down hard on the tiny window with heavy blows.  "We're lucky we have these guns.  Sheesh."

Evan looked around, pausing to nod confidently at Minoko, who seemed quite anxious.  He didn't like the way that cascading series of echoes had seemed to fill the city.  But there was nothing he could do about it but remain alert.  Still nothing in the area from what he could see.  When Leon finally forced a few chunks to loosen, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Leon paused briefly to inspect the tattered, uneven fracture, and turned to look at the others.  "Shit, anyone have gloves still?"

Evan flinched slightly as Minoko replied.  "They were in the car."

"Right."  Leon set down his rifle carefully and flicked off his heavy sweater.  Now with the grey thermal undershirt, he wrapped the black fabric quickly over his arm and hand.  Gingerly pushing through the opening of glass, an audible click came after a moment.  Withdrawing his arm just as cautiously as he had pushed it through, he shoved the door open and stepped back.

Although Leon had already ventured his hand in there, Evan was ready for the signal; entering the small structure with his pistol drawn.  Quickly walking through the open, dim interior, he looked around what corners and hidden spaces there were in the mostly open structure.  Slightly discolored regions on the white walls were the only shapes he saw and there was nothing moving he could see.  There were a couple of doors, but Evan only checked they were secure before moving on.  A faint scent of musty paper wafted in the air as he stepped over a few scraps.  A fine sheen of dust laid on basic furnishings too old or cheap for the former user to want.  As he turned back, Leon and Minoko were already inside the doorway, alert but hopeful.

"Safe.  Looks like it's been empty for a while."  A look of eager relief passed over the others.  Leon reset the lock and walked inside to look around.  Minoko placed her rifle aside, taking a breather against the wall.  Evan exhaled slowly, suddenly aware how it felt easier to breathe.

Holstering the weapon, Evan proceeded to a worn but sturdy table and tested its weight with one arm.  Zombies seemed to capable of operating door knobs and handles, but he wasn't sure if reaching inside a door's broken window to twist a deadbolt lock would be similar instinct.  It seemed at the very least to require a little thought to be capable of such a thing.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Minoko had come to the other end of the table and positioned herself as if to move it.  After a moment of what must have been a confused look, Minoko spoke.  "Just in case, right?"

"Right."  Together, they effortlessly moved the table into the entryway at an angle to obstruct the door.  They worked with it until it was wedged tightly against the door and wall, creating a barricade for the door.  Minoko took a step back and leaned against the wall.

Just in time, Evan thought as he looked around.  Although it hadn't been too long, they had just about lost the last of the light.  Shuffling over and standing up tall, he peeked through one window.  From it he could see the parking garage across the street, but visibility was very poor.  It was definitely the right call to find somewhere to shelter during the night.  In a few more minutes it would probably be almost completely dark.

Leon returned and set up a few folding chairs.  "Looks like this used to be an art gallery.  I found a storage room in the back.  Also, there's an access to the roof."

Evan slumped into one of the chairs, allowing nervous tension to fade which he had not realized was present.  Hopefully, Lucas would survive on his own until he either escaped or decided to return.

Leon carefully checked on the door, ensuring the lock and barricading table was in place.  He took a scrap of paper he had found to the tattered, torn sections of bullet resistant glass and taped it to drape over the cracks.  The extra effort made them completely concealed.

"So what do we do in the morning?"  Leon's barely visible outline returned to a chair.

"Probably head back.  Let everyone know we're okay."  Evan replied.  "How much ammunition does everyone have?"

Leon checked his pockets and tossed something against the nearby wall with a jingle.  "Whatever's left in the rifle.  I think it's something like six or eight bullets.  The rest was in the back seat."

"I only fired a couple times."  Minoko added as she watched the door.

"I think I have a couple shots left."  Evan sighed as he unclasped the holster for the pistol and set it aside.

"What do we do with the keys we still have?"  Minoko whispered.

"That was just a trick to get us out here to steal the car."  Leon gestured.

"Maybe..."  Evan briefly considered the idea.  Lucas had once told him that the best deceptions were the ones partly based on truth.  "But I don't think he would have suggested it in the first place if he didn't think the plan was reasonable."

"We have less than half of what we started with."  Leon continued.  "Good idea or not, we're less likely to get a hit now."

"On foot, it would take us longer to search..."  Evan began, but shook his head.  "No, I think we should head back in the morning.  Maybe we can come back to this when we're better prepared."  Or maybe, Evan thought to himself, if Lucas returned with the car they could get back to their plan.

The three of them sat in the dark quietly for some time, listening to the steady white noise in the distance.  Idle talk came now and then in whispers before they finally decided it was time to try sleep.  Evan tried not to think too deeply about the soft noise that lulled him to sleep.

Necessary Action

Despite a pervasive twinge of unease, Lucas knew the hard task which laid before him.  He just had to keep his wits about him and seize the opportunity when it came.  He just had to make sure to do it right.  He'd only have one chance.

With his thoughts coming into focus, Lucas examined his surroundings with new awareness of his situation.  The others were speaking to Evan as they loaded bags into the car.  Still lounging in the vehicle, Lucas took in a deep breath of air and adjusted the positon of his glasses.  Although they were exposed here, he knew Evan would be well alert.

The others finished loading the trunk, sending the carts clattering to a noisy rest in the entryway of the store.  They then piled inside the car, continuing a conversation which had been going on briefly away from Lucas's attention.  The doors were locked, windows raised until only a slim crack of air was allowed through.

"So if this whole area is under some kind of quarantine, what's the new plan?"  Leon asked after he locked his front passenger's door.  "We can't fit very many people in here."

"Everyone who can walk, gets out on foot."  Evan replied from the driver's seat, turning so he could look at the others.  "Use the car to make sure the path ahead is clear, and everyone follows behind with something to defend themselves."

"You can't be serious."  Minoko replied with a hint of emotion in her voice.

"I am."  Evan regarded Lucas with a solemn look.  "If we can't rely on outside help, that's the only option we have."

"I don't like that idea."  Leon shook his head.  "How many of us even know how to defend ourselves?  One mistake and we're all in trouble."

Evan hesitated.  "Well, it's either that, or there's going to be a lot of people left behind.  They'd have to raid the nearby stores and malls for supplies.  With the hope to wait it out until this is all over."

"Maybe," Leon tentatively began, "We use the car to take a lot of shorter trips?  Find a relatively safe place five miles away and return.  Transport everyone a short distance in small groups, then go on from the new point."

"I think we've got about fifty people in total..."  Evan paused.  "And we don't know how far it is we have to travel.  We'd run out of gas before getting very far."

"When we run low on fuel, we should be able to salvage something from all these vehicles around, then continue."  Leon speculated.  "Make short hops like that in a secure car instead of having all of us outside in one big group."

"Um.."  Lucas didn't like where the conversation was going, but what could he say?  The plan seemed fundamentally sound as it was coming together.  Just too slow and indirect as far as a tolerable solution went.  Although, maybe Lucas could direct their focus.  "We could look for other cars to use."

There was a brief exchange of glances as those gathered were clearly confused by the proposition.  "You mean, like hotwiring?"  Evan asked.  "Do you know someone who can do that?"

"Uh-  Someone might, but I wasn't thinking of that."  Lucas pointed to the keys in the front seat.  "I mean, those..  Well, those don't have it, but you know those beeping things keys sometimes have on them?  So the car makes a sound?  Some of the zombies may have those..."

"So we go search the-"  Leon hesitated.  "Remains, then if we find keys with those, we bring them with us..."

"And try using them to find other cars."  Evan added, but shook his head as he turned to look at Lucas in the back seat.  "But even if we do find keys with those remote chirpers, the car it goes to could be anywhere.  I don't think those have very good range."

"When I watched the news on that first day, there were a whole lot of people trapped in the convention center.  Some of the zombies we've seen may have come from there.  Probably a lot of them, even."

"Oh, so it's likely any keys we find would be for something parked close to the convention center."  Evan concluded.  "In one of the lots nearby..."

"Even if we just find one car, that would cut our time to escape in half."  Leon looked at Evan, clearly regarding him as the one in charge and his own thoughts as mere advice.  "It's worth a shot."

"Aren't there going to be a lot more of the- things there?"  Minoko had remained silent until now.

"They seem to walk around randomly if they don't see anyone."  Leon suggested.  "If we're lucky, there might not be many of them around."

"What about the aliens?  If we've been abandoned, isn't this their territory now?"  Minoko crossed her arms over herself, though not because of the freezing air.

Evan turned in his seat to address Minoko.  "We've seen no more signs of them since those black notes hit us.  But if we do see anything strange or hear something, we'll head back."  Evan paused a moment, then thoughtfully added.  "Since we don't know anything about them or what they want, we can't really know how to avoid them.  So, worrying about it won't help at all.  Right, Lucas?"

Lucas held his tongue, nodding silently.  Privately, his mind weighed the unknown threats against the possibility of escape.  The only certainty was that the black notes were last fired when there were a lot of people exploring the immediate area.  If his wormhole theory was accurate, by venturing elsewhere in the city, they might accidentally stumble across something and trigger another black note.  And with it, an uncertain fate.  But as far as he was concerned, any risk that would get him out of this zombie-infested zone was a required gamble.

The others made plans without his input, and began to go about their heroism.  Lucas had nothing to contribute to their ideas for proceeding, nor the execution of their ideas.  He merely had to tag along, helping, while remaining vigilant.  Evan would keep them safe, so he merely had to concentrate on not seeing the things passing in front of his eyes.

With clarity of purpose, Lucas saw the actions being taken as if he were even watching himself.  The group brought supplies to the Blackwood dormitory.  Weapons and food were given, although Simon still regarded Evan with a dark gaze.  Plans were discussed both with the people in Blackwood dorm and the few remaining in the Mansfield building.  If there was any objection, the arguments from others were seemingly minor and brief.

Finally, bloodied remains were examined for keys.  That last step before the crucial plan was laborious, eating up a great deal of daylight.  Numerous bodies in front of each dormitory were searched with gloved hands while their safe haven was parked nearby.  Knowing he would be useless on lookout Lucas forced himself to search, frequently gagging or vomiting when he accidentally saw too much.  Then they drove to a few other locations with a number of downed figures and searched through those.

Keeping his mind singularly focused upon imminent escape, Lucas worked through every unsettling sight and rancid odor.  Eventually the others decided they had what they needed to make the attempt and indicated it was time to proceed.  Lucas discarded the grimy gloves he had been using and returned to the car.  Leon offered him a squirt from a bottle of hand sanitizer as Lucas finally allowed himself to see.

The size of their collection of keys with the remote beepers was really quite surprising.  As Evan drove the vehicle down the street and began their journey to the convention center, Lucas felt a gnawing discomfort of internal tension.  Considering the shock of greater success than he anticipated, niggling doubts coalesced.  Thoughts whirled around for brief moments before Lucas arrived at a renewed, resolved confidence that this could only be a good thing.  Considering his friend's capabilities, this meant his envisioned ultimate outcome was only more certain.

When Lucas returned to his senses, they were already over the river and in the midst of crossing a smaller bridge over a highway, the sprawling convention center ahead on their left.  The sounds of keys jingling filled the vehicle as the others handled multiple sets.  Leon's voice was coming from behind.  "...until then."  Lucas realized with a momentary sense of bewilderment that he had been sitting in the front passenger seat.  He grasped a couple of the keys and held them up, finding the beeper buttons with clumsy fingers.

The car slowed to a crawl upon nearing the adjacent intersection, windows lowering just slightly to allow sound to pierce inside.  Evan gazed intensely down the streets and along the sidewalks.  "No zombies yet.  Everyone stay alert."

"No sounds, either.  Moaning, anything."  Leon added, over continued activity with various keys.

Lucas exhaled tensely, gazing about with something else in mind as the vehicle edged forwards.  The convention center was surrounded on the edges with well cultivated greenery.  Though out of leaf now, at other times trees would color the streets and shade the pedestrian traffic.  Other than the convention center itself, the buildings around here were smaller in scale with some service business and several tiny lots, dotted with cars.  Parking areas were around the larger structure, but the population of cars currently present all were distressingly sparse.

Although the city was still eerily empty, rare signs of the peculiar malady and the resultant abnormality of their locale seemed slightly more common in this area.  One vehicle had crashed into another vehicle on the road; neither contained bodies.  Personal items such as purses, umbrellas and bags of collectable junk were dropped in abnormal locations.  Of particular distracting focus Lucas saw what appeared to be a sword stuck in a bush.  Not far from one motionless body slumped against the building there was a single severed arm.

Without any sounds other than their engine, Lucas felt a hitching moment of dread and excitement as he spied what was necessary.  He pointed off to the right, a short distance down a side street.  "There!"  He motioned to Evan, who drew the vehicle to a slow stop.  "Back that way!"

Evan glanced back to Lucas peering in the indicated direction down the street.  "What is it?"

"Parking garage."  Lucas paused briefly, then added.  "There's going to be a denser population of cars inside.  So we're more likely to get a good response there."

"Good thinking."  Evan turned the car around easily and guided them towards the three story structure in silence.  The others appeared to have no qualms over that particular tactic.

Lucas maintained fumbling with his share of keys as the car circled back around the block to arrive at the sturdy, square structure.  Strong wired rails lined the broad, open faces of the structure, occasional stony pillars of beige standing strong.  Although the deeper interior of the structure was difficult to make out in the evening light, a casual look suggested that Lucas's prediction was accurate.

"We should have brought flashlights with us."  Minoko commented.

"We might have to come back tomorrow."  The headlights came on as Evan drove carefully inside.

Evan drove within, bringing them deeper to some arbitrary point in the middle and idling the car in park.  Lucas breathed in deep to ease his nerves, listening and watching their surroundings as the others attempted triggering various beepers in safety.  From what reflected from outside and their headlights, vehicles were in maybe slightly less than half the spaces.  Better than outside lots, but not as much as it first appeared.

After securing a few keys in one hand, Lucas chanced to unlock his door and swing it open in one swift motion.  With alarm, Evan placed his hand upon Lucas's shoulder and hesitated.

"What are you doing?"  Leon asked from the back in alarm as Lucas threw open the door and swung his leg out.

Striding out a few steps into the dark garage, Lucas turned to face the others before replying, trying not to let his uncertainty come out in his voice.  "What?  If any zombies were nearby, they would have come to us by now.  Our car is the only thing that's making any noise in the whole city."  Lucas then held up a remote beeper and pushed at the button on it.  "Besides, I'll be able to hear anything better standing out here."

Disbelieving looks were exchanged as the others didn't seemingly know how to reply, but to Lucas's relief, Evan soon followed suit.  "Okay, but we still need to be super careful about this.  There's not much light to see by."

Leon and Minoko were more wary of such activity, but they seemed satisfied to let their oddball companions take the risk and be lookouts while handing off keys to be tested.  They tried each beeper in turn, keeping track of what had been used so far before entering the vehicle again and driving to the further end of the building, still on the first floor.

That time, with the slightly upward sloping street now cutting off the open walls, the only light they could see by was secondary; reflected shadowy dimness gleaming off of various surfaces.  Still, Lucas repeated his act, casually stepping into danger with a madman's confidence: only possible by knowing it was a required step in an important plan.

Nothing came of the second point, yet they all seemingly were marginally more at ease with what Lucas was doing.  But there were two other floors and rooftop to go to.  Lucas became silent again, waiting for the needed criteria as they proceeded to check the other locations.  Light was rapidly leaching from the sky as they came out onto the roof, providing a much clearer view of substantially fewer vehicles.  Success was least likely here of all, yet they began again.

Just as Lucas was beginning to despair that things would be inevitably postponed, everything fell into place.  While he had been searching through those mutilated, bloodied corpses, Lucas had numbed his mind and tried to become blind to his surroundings.  Activity became a deliberate and necessary awful thing he could not allow himself to linger upon.  If he had not done so earlier, he simply wouldn't have been able to function.

The moment right now was such a time, yet Lucas couldn't quite recapture the same sense of numb blindness to what he saw.  He was trapped in an inevitable flow with only one possible outcome and nothing could be done differently.  Yet he wasn't watching himself this time.  He was watching someone despicable betraying a close friend.