This is the fourth chapter of the zombie serial The Dead Life. You can learn more about the story over at the project hub. This series originally ran on Haunted MTL but is being edited and updated in the lead-up to new installments to continue the story.
You can read the prior chapter here.
Day 14
Rounding the corner onto Lyon Avenue, Danielle was relieved that there were no cars in front of the Family Storage that her parents owned – had owned. She had worried she would not be able to get close enough if some cars had been abandoned near the front entrance. Yet, it seemed that at the end of the world nobody returned to grab their things from storage, or even really tried.
Dani drove the Focus into the small lot in front of the office and parked the car at the gate. There appeared to be no power to the complex, as nothing appeared on the code readout and the keys did not beep. She would need to open the gate by hand.
She was beginning to despise rolling gates.
She wondered about the people who used to work here. Her parents more or less gave up on managing the business themselves years ago, instead letting an older woman named Sandy Gunderson live on the property as the manager. They were content to let her run the business and simply collect their checks as silent partners.
Then, of course, was old Bob the security guard – Bob Clark. He used to show Danielle his collection of Vietnam stuff. He even taught her how to shoot, at her father’s insistence. She saw this as him overreacting to the riot coverage of ‘92. But she appreciated the shooting lessons regardless, though she had never owned a gun herself.
She hadn’t seen them in years, even though they were literally just around the corner. She didn’t use the storage unit her parents kept on hand, either. It was their stuff, then. She hadn’t heard from her parents since all this went down, even during the final hours of that first day when it seemed obvious communications were going down. There was no cavalry. She didn’t care to think about their fate; they had been separated for a few years now, and as far as she knew, they occupied different parts of Arizona.
For what it was worth, Danielle also hoped that Sandy and Bob were still alive. There was no sign of them, though. The world was so quiet and the storage units equally so.
She cut the ignition and stepped out of the car. She looked around – down Lyon were some older houses in a development that had been around since she was a kid. In the distance, she could make out figures that were already approaching. In the other direction, past Acacia and down toward Esplanade, the main street of the city, more figures were also heading her direction. Behind her, across from the storage yard, was the district office and nutrition center for the schools – she would need to see if she could find some food there later.
There were a couple of ghouls within the gated facility who were already lurching toward the Family Storage, lured by the sound of the Focus. The only exit for them appeared to be a broken gate that was partially blocked by an abandoned school bus.
She shut the car door and walked to the gate. She hooked the end of the gate with the crowbar and began to pull.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Dani whirled toward the sound of the voice to her left and saw an old man, shotgun raised. He’d come from just around the corner, where the office and residence met the entrance gate. His wrinkled, black skin and salt-and-pepper beard were instantly familiar.
“Holy shit, Bob!”
Bob lowered his shotgun and laughed.
“Danielle? Is that Danielle Kim?”
Danielle lowered the crowbar and grabbed at the gate with her fist. She was laughing. “Bob, Jesus! Help me open the gate, please.”
Bob stepped forward and placed a worn and wrinkled hand on hers. “Kid, just punch in the code in about a minute.”
“You have power?”
“Only as long as I got fuel. I got that generator hooked up so I can get some food here and there when we need it.”
Bob shuffled over to his left, following a power cable that had been hooked up to the gate control box. Dani hadn’t noticed that. He vanished behind the outbuilding. Soon enough, the sound of a gas generator filled the area. Danielle hurried back into the car, punching in the code as the system rebooted. The gate slid open, and she drove in. She parked just in front of it as it closed. The chugging generator fell silent. Bob walked toward her and wrapped her up in a hug.
It was the most comforting hug in her goddamn life.
Bob was deceptively strong for how frail he looked. The man was close to his 80s by now, she had figured.
“Bob, you’ve been here the whole time?”
“Danielle, I live here. Your parents hired me as security, remember?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know you fucking lived here. Did you marry Sandy or something?”
Bob laughed and shook his head. “I can’t stand that woman. Hell no. I was living on the lot in my R.V.” He jerked his thumb back behind him; a few rows back she could make out the large area where customers were able to store their vehicles.
Danielle raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t an R.V. park.”
She paused and rubbed at her temple. “I can’t believe I said that, like it fucking matters. I am just so glad to see someone who isn’t covered in blood or trying to kill me. The shit I have been hearing about-”
Danielle wrapped her arms around Bob and fell silent. The old man gave her a reassuring pat on the back, shotgun still in hand.
“C’mon, kid, let’s go have some tea with Sandy.”
…
Sandy Gunderson sat at the kitchen table, staring at Danielle Kim, the owners’ daughter. She wasn’t aware Danielle even still lived in town. Bob sat next to the young woman, pouring some whisky into her mug of tea. Danielle smiled and took a sip.
“I’m so glad you’re alive, Danielle.” Sandy took a sip of her own tea. She set down the cup. “Bob and I have been keeping this place locked tight. Nobody was coming here when everything went south.”
Bob scratched at his eyebrow. “Well, nobody living, that is. I’ve mostly been killing those bastards as they come and dragging the bodies over to that old drainage pit near the railroad tracks next to us. I keep meaning to burn them, but I worry it might draw them here.”
“We’ve been keeping quiet, so they’ve not been coming around as much.” Sandy sighed. “But, well, since you got here you’ve probably dragged a few of them behind you. I suppose it can’t be avoided.”
To Dani, Sandy sounded annoyed, like someone had been inconsiderate of her space. Dani set her mug down. “I’m sorry if my coming here is a problem.”
Sandy smiled. “Not at all, it’s just that I hope you’ll do us a favor and help clean up before you leave.”
Bob’s eyes met Sandy’s. “Before she leaves? Hell no, it’s her place; she can stay if she wants.”
“I’m just saying we only have enough supplies for myself and you, Bob…”
“We can get more supplies.”
Danielle removed the hair tie that had kept her ponytail up, and she let her hair fall to her shoulders.
“Look,” she said, slipping the tie over a wrist, “as far as I can figure it’s finders keepers now. I barely had any involvement with this place since my parents’ divorce, so as far as I am concerned, this is your place. I am just here for my Dad’s gun. I’ll gladly help take care of those things that I brought to your door. I am planning on leaving town after.”
Sandy smiled. “That’s perfectly fair; your dad’s unit is locked up. Let me find the key for you.”
Sandy rose from the table and went downstairs, eager to settle this all and return to hiding.
“Shit,” Dani added. “I think he had a safe in here, didn’t he? I think he may have kept it there.” Sandy was already out of earshot.
Bob leaned toward Danielle. He smelled of cigarettes, booze, and body odor. It was comforting compared to the mess that was her neighbor’s remains as she left. The rot set in fast – the whole world felt sticky and foul.
“Danielle, please, we have this place locked down; you can rest up for a while. Don’t let Sandy push you around here.”
Bob glanced around to make sure Sandy had left the room.
“Don’t leave me alone with that woman.”
Danielle smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it reassuringly, and he placed his hand on her other hand, resting on the table.
“I’ll think about it, Bob. I just need to get that gun first.”
The pair sat in silence for a moment, happy to see one another. Dani knew Bob was happy, and as bad as things were, Dani felt happy too.
The scream from downstairs, though, sent the old man and the young woman scrambling to their feet and down the stairs.
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If anything happens to Bob I will never forgive you. Sandy can eat a satchel of Richards.