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.