Survivors of the Z’s- Rhonda Gedling, Healing, Colorado

WEEKS BEFORE-

We were on the move in our RV

Every day

Was a gruelling trip 

Stopping off at a run down shop with run down surroundings.

That was the norm for us now.      

   We turned on to a road hoping to find a shop that had supplies. We were tired

Exhausted

Growing weak

We had been searching for quite some time for food because most of the stores had been emptied in the town we were now in.

   “Over there,” she pointed

A few infected could be seen as we stopped at another abandoned store and when they sensed us. They began to come our way. 

Some ran

Some walked

   “We got sprinters,” she told

   “I see them”

   “You doing it or shall I?”

   I Looked at her and smiled, “I’ll let you do the honours”

   “Gee, thanks,” she said, “I was bored anyway”

   “No problem,” I said

She gripped the gun in her hands as I turned to walk away and let her deal with it. I checked out the store. It was larger than the others so the chances

I felt

Were a lot larger in striking gold. A giant sign hung at the top in yellow with the name, LowCost and on the floor.

Trolleys were scattered around in large numbers. 

The gun then went off

I looked around and saw the grotesque bodies on the floor. 

   “Done?” I asked

   “Done,” she told

   “Let’s get inside,” I said

   “Hope we find something this time,” she said

   “I have a good feeling about this place,” I assured

I rolled my eyes and huffed

The shutters were down

Great

Nothing like working yourself to the ground. I breathed deep and thought long and hard. 

Don’t panic

There’s always a way in

Always

   “Fire exits,” I said, “keep your eyes open”

   “You do the same,” she told

We kept low

Knowing that it wasn’t just the diseased to look out for

But people also

Waiting to do anything at any moment

We wandered down the side of the large building down a narrow way. A few doors were spotted. 

   “There,” she said, “you try the other”

   “Don’t be too hasty, you don’t know what’s behind there”

    I saw a diseased crawling towards us, “Hey, look out,” I told

I gripped the knife and gun and wandered over to it. It’s jaw was half missing and skin hung from its cheek revealing it’s teeth. It reached for me

Stopped

And reached for me again 

   “Karrglf,” it moaned

I looked on disgusted at the sight. It’s side was leaking blood on to the floor and it’s organs were showing.

   “That’s fucking gross,” she said

   “It’s got no foot either,” I said

   “Just do it already and finish this”

   “What… you scared or something?”

   “Damn right I’m fucking scared,” she told, “happy now? Now get rid of it”

It suddenly grabbed my arm. I quickly turned and buried the knife into its forehead.

   “Don’t do that again,” she told

   “I was joking around,” I said, “we need a joke from time to time”

   “Let’s just get in there and go”

We tried the doors

Of course

They were locked

   “How’d I guess that was going to happen?” She said

I tried the other one and yup

You guessed it

It was also locked

   “There’s gotta be another way,” I said, “Let’s keep searching”

We carried on around 

As always

We were cautious

   “You hear that?” she asked 

   “It’s far away, just keep moving”

I looked up and noticed a ladder 

   “There,” I said

   “How can we reach it?” 

It was high up

Too high for us

   “That’ll do,” she told, “help me”

I followed her 

We reached a large dumpster and helped it along to the ladder. 

   “Right there,” I said

I got up and she grabbed my leg

   “Let me, if something goes wrong you get out of here”

   “Trying to play the mother?” I asked

   “Please, just let me”

   “Alright,” I said

I got down and she got up.

I watched her climb then looked back down to see if there was anything around 

I looked back up

She reached the top and I waited

   “Anything?” I asked

   “Another door, let’s see if this one opens”

I breathed in and hoped for the best

   “It’s open,” she told

I went to climb up and my leg was suddenly grabbed by an infected

It’s fingers were missing and dried blood ran down its hand

   “Shit,” I jumped

It went to clamp at my foot

I had to be quick

I launched my boot into its chest and knocked it back 

   “You alright?” She asked

   “One second!” I told

I grabbed my knife and forced it into the side of its head and watched it crumble

   “Can’t catch a break from you guys”

    “Rhonda?”

   “Yeah, I’m coming,” I told

I got up once again

But this time

With no trouble at all

I climbed up and heard a bellow

I looked down and saw a sprinter coming from a distance 

   “Looks like we’ve attracted attention”

   “Probably from the gun shots,” she said

I didn’t look back this time

I just kept climbing until I reached the top

She waited for me and we both headed toward the door together 

   “I hope all this trouble was worth it,” she said 

Behind the door were stairs

It was dark and dreary 

We couldn’t see much 

Actually

We couldn’t see anything 

The door slammed shut behind us

   “It’s never easy is it,” she groaned 

   “Come on, let’s just take it slow”

We slowly walked down

One step at a time 

   “You alright?” I asked

   “Yup, I’m super”

   “Loving the sarcasm”

   “How did you think I was going to be?”

   “True, I should’ve known better”

We reached the bottom and the light shined through the windows now

   “Thank god,” she said

   I looked at her, “better now?”

   “Better”

We were on the shop floor 

It was large and quiet 

No sign of the dead lurking

   “This place is pretty full of stuff,” she said

   I looked on, suspicious, “I know, which is why we need to be cautious”

   “Hey, Rhonda,” she said, “look” 

   I looked round, “what?”

   “Do you remember this?” She asked

I walked over and saw an old film which she held up with a smile.

   “Wow, dirty frigging dancing, I haven’t seen that since, well… forever”

   “You and Elaine loved this film right?” 

   I thought back and felt it all come back to me, “yeah, before it all fell a part”

Her smile left and she put it back down

   “Sorry,” she said

   “It’s fine, come on, let’s do what we’re here for”

We moved away from the shelves and passed many aisles. We quietly looked for the things we needed and finally discovered them.

   “Mom, over here,” I whispered

Finally the food aisle

It was all tinned food

   “I’ll go grab a basket,” she told

   “Ok, be careful”

She walked away and a noise was then heard

A song

A guitar in the distance with a man’s voice just barely listenable 

   “Hmm”

I walked towards it silently

Looking around every angle 

Trusting this place would’ve been naive

So I kept the trust out

I got closer and came across the warehouse with high ceilings and high shelves. Boxes upon boxes were stacked on the shelves like nothing had been touched

   “Strange,” I said

The music was louder this time. I carried on walking toward it with a careful mind and then

I spotted him 

Hidden behind a line of dead bodies 

I hid myself and listened to his lyrics

   His voice was low and mellow and the guitar played slowly, the song was deep,

   “Oh can’t you see

When you look at me

The blood that you see 

That’s behind me

It trickles from my hands when I breathe

oh Rosie…

   I am sorry”

He suddenly stopped and I heard the guitar being put down

   “I know you’re there,” he said, calmly, “come on out, I don’t bite”

I thought about it

Then I came out 

   “Come on over,” he said

I slowly walked over and stayed on guard with my gun clinched

at the ready

   “You won’t need that,” he told

He stayed seated with the guitar by his side. A black hoodie was laid down beside him. He wore a white shirt with jeans. He was slim and oldish looking. Probably In his mid or late forties. His hair was short and his beard was long and grey. 

His eyes

Tired 

Numbers were etched into his wrist

            

                     18/18

                     12/12

   

   “Did you like the song?” He asked

I nodded

Still unsure about the man

   “I haven’t got a weapon, as you can see,” he told, “if I wanted to kill you, trust me, I would’ve”

   “I liked the song, what I heard of it,” I spoke

   “That’s what I like to hear, thank you for your honesty”

   “No problem”

   “May I ask for your name?” He asked

   “Rhonda”

   “Hello Rhonda, I’m Wesley”

I carried on looking at the numbers on his wrist

   “You’re looking at my tattoo?” He asked

   “What does it mean?”

   “Destiny…” he answered, “do you have a destiny, Rhonda?”

His eyes were only focused on me

   “To fight, to survive”

   He nodded, “I like you, I feel like we share a connection and for that, you don’t have to sneak around anymore, just take what you need, just not too much, or I’ll come looking”

   “Thanks Wesley, means a lot”

   “No…” he put his hand out and I went to shake it, he then softly kissed it as he looked up at me, “thank you”

I smiled

Walked away 

And refocused

Filed under: Season Three