After they ate Tony gave Trish a tour of the warehouse. She was amazed to see all this stuff. She was even more amazed that Tony kept telling her she could take whatever she wanted. She wanted to believe him, but many months of getting hit, kicked and called names made her leery that she could really do that.
After a peaceful afternoon, the first peaceful day Trish could remember, Tony began to look up at the roof in the warehouse.
“It looks like the sun has gone down.” Tony said. “Come on. I’ll show you where we are going to sleep.”
Trish followed hesitantly. She was used to people telling her where she was allowed to sleep. She had gotten used to her little corner behind the couch. She wasn’t sure about what this “where we are going to sleep” meant.
Roy would say we are going to bed and he and Debbie would disappear upstairs to her bed. This Tony guy had been nice to her, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to sleep with him. “Was this why he was being so nice to her?” She thought.
“Where?” She asked nervously.
“There is an upstairs room. It’s safer up there in case the dead break in.” Tony replied. “We’ll sleep up there.”
“I’ll sleep down here.” Trish said quickly.
“You don’t want to sleep down here.” Tony said.
“Yes I do.” Trish answered. Her voice shook nervously.
Tony walked over to a shelf and picked up some items. “I’ll tell you what. You come see where I am talking about and if you don’t like it, you can come back down here and sleep wherever you want. OK?”
Trish shuffled nervously. “OK.” She answered reluctantly.
She watched as he climbed the stairs and disappeared over the top ledge.
His head came out and he looked down as she stood at the bottom of the ladder. "Come on up.” Then his head disappeared.
Trish slowly climbed the steps one at a time. She got up to the top and climbed onto the small platform where a door stood open.
She walked into the room and saw Tony sitting on a chair, blowing into something blue. She walked over to the corner and slid down onto the floor in the corner.
Soon Tony had the raft inflated. He got up and set it next to the wall. Next he took a blanket and covered the raft and put a fluffy pillow on top of the blanket.
He walked over to the bed on the other side of the room and laid down. He looked up at her. “That one is for you.”
Trish stood and walked over to the bed Tony had made for her. She sat down and felt the soft mattress cushion her as she sat. She touched the pillow then picked it up and held it against her. She looked over at Tony. “I can sleep here?”
“It’s all yours.” He smiled.
“Then I think I will sleep here.” Trish smiled for the first time in months.
Chapter 20
Tom was still looking out the window. “Roy, I think they are all gone. I don’t see any more of them.”
Roy and Debbie’s heads appeared over the back of the couch.
“Why don’t you go out and check it out. If it’s all clear, bring back the rest of the food.” Roy said impatiently.
“I thought you would want to go with me?” Tom added.
“”Can’t you see I’m busy?” Roy said as he and Debbie’s heads dropped down out of sight.
“But.” Tom started to say.
“Not now!” Debbie yelled.
Tom took another look out the window, then stepped out the door and stood on the porch. He grumbled under his breath. “That damn Roy and Debbie. It used to be a lot more fun when they did everything together all the time.”
A smile appeared on his face then slowly faded.
He wished Roy hadn’t fed the little bitch to the zombies yesterday. He had hoped Roy would have given her to him when he was done using her to get in that warehouse.
It had helped them all escape, but still. “Damn!”
Tom crossed the road and started into the field. If nothing else he was going to eat. Maybe he would eat a few cans of those Spaghetti-O’s before he came back.
He started to wonder if he couldn’t somehow manage to bargain with that guy at the warehouse on his own.
Maybe if he just went and talked to that guy, he could get some decent food, like Doritos or Twinkies.
If he told that guy he was sorry for what Roy had done and that he was done with Roy. Maybe he could get the guy to give him some things if he promised to leave him alone. Maybe he could convince the guy to be friends. Surely the guy would let a friend come into the warehouse and take what he wanted.
Tom walked and thought. “It would never work. Roy had pissed the guy off by ripping him off twice. If I show my face the guy would probably just shoot me before I could explain.”
He thought of another reason it wouldn’t work. Roy had it in for that guy and he also wanted to get in that warehouse. Roy always managed to get what he wanted. If Tom managed to find a way in the warehouse he would have to face Roy when he came.
He didn’t want to be on the opposite side from Roy. The guy could be ruthless. Roy would kill them both.
At least if he sided with Roy he knew he would eventually get into the warehouse and get some of that food.
Still, Roy and Debbie made him mad. Roy hadn’t been the same since they let those girls join up with them. Roy spent entirely too much time with that Debbie, which meant less time for him.
He and Roy had been good buds. They were always going out and raising hell.
But with the way the world had gone, with all the dead running around, there wasn’t that much hell they could raise anymore.
The most exciting thing that had happened in a long time was ripping off that guy at the warehouse.
“That had been fun.” Tom thought to himself. “And it would be more fun getting into that warehouse.”
Tom walked closer to where they had left the food. “Shit!” He thought to himself. “Calm down. Stop getting so worked up over nothing. Don’t lose your head. This is all going to work out just fine.”
Tom glanced at the tree where Roy had tied Trish. “Those dead bastards must have been in a real frenzy. They ripped the rope and everything off the tree to get at the girl.”
Tom winced as he thought about the dead pulling Trish apart. “A damn waste.” He thought.
Then he spotted the other cases of food sitting on the ground where they had left them and a big smile came over his face.
He picked up the cases of food and started back to the house. “I’ll give it a little more time. If Roy can’t manage to work his way into the warehouse, then maybe I’ll try things my way.”
Tom staggered up to the porch. Ken was sitting on the porch looking at him.
“Hey Ken. Help me with these cans will you?” Tom asked.
Ken got up and grabbed one of the cases.
“Where did you get these?” Ken asked.
“If you would have been around you would know.” Tom answered. “Where the hell have you been?”
“I took the old lady and went over to check out some places I used to know about at the edge of town.” Ken replied. “I figured we would be around here for a few more days and thought I would use the time to see what I could dig up.”
“Where’s your old lady?” Tom asked as he stepped up on the porch.
“She didn’t make it back.” Ken answered.
“What happened?” Tom asked. “You run into the dead? We ran into a shit load of them yesterday. We almost didn’t make it back ourselves.”
Ken thought for a minute. “No, she pissed me off. I told her to do something and she didn’t do it. I smacked her a good one. I guess I hit her a little too hard.”
Tom laughed. “Damn bitches. They can really piss you off sometimes. Come on in and get something to eat. It will make you forget all about the bitch. You can help us if you stick around. Roy has a plan to get us all the food we can eat. I’m sure he would like an extra hand.”
“Sounds good.” Ken replied. “I’m hungry.”
Chapter 21
“Come on asshole. Wake up!” Roy shouted as he shook Tom by his arm.
Tom opened his eyes and looked around. “Wake up? It’s still dark outside?” Tom whined. “Why do we have to get up so early?”
“It’s time to set our trap so we can get in that warehouse. We need it to be dark so we can get Debbie out in the middle of that clearing so that asshole won’t see us.” Roy said. “If you don’t want to get into to that warehouse with us, then you can just stay here and go back to sleep.” Roy turned and walked out of Tom’s room.
Tom threw back the covers and felt around to find his pants. He quickly pulled them on and felt his way to the door to follow Roy.
“How are we going to find our way in the dark?” Tom said as he stumbled down the stairs.
“Look out the window.” Roy said. “Moon light.”
Debbie moved out of the shadows and into the moon light that came into the room around the curtain on the window.
She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Tom could hear her shoes tapping against the floor as she walked.
Debbie yawned. “OK, I’m ready.”
Click! Click!
“What was that?” Debbie asked.
“I thought you were out of bullets for that damn gun?” Tom said.
“I still have a few left. I’m going to have to find more bullets or get a different gun.” Roy replied. “I was trying to save the shells for something important, but I’m done playing with this guy. We are getting into that warehouse today.”
“I hope so, those four cases of food didn’t last as long as I thought.” Tom replied.
“If you would have rationed yourself to one or two cans a day instead of one case a day, it would last a lot longer.” Debbie said sarcastically.
Roy laughed. “Hopefully after today, we won’t have to worry about rationing for a long time.”
They all walked out onto the porch. The moon light lit up the side of the house. Roy looked around. “Where is Ken? I thought you said he was going to go with us today?”
“He said he was going to go.” Tom answered as he looked around the porch. “Who knows where he is. That guy is like a ghost. Sometimes he is here but mostly he’s not.”
“Come on, we don’t need him anyhow.” Roy said as he grabbed Debbie’s arm and started to lead her through the grass and out onto the road. “Just keep your eyes open for any movement.” Roy said quietly.
They crossed the road and quietly started across the field.
Tony woke up when the sun came through the window and shined across his face. He sat up on his elbows and looked around. When his eyes landed on Trish’s empty bed, he quickly sat up.
“Where is Trish?” Tony started to panic. “I thought things went well yesterday. I thought she liked it here.”
Tony started to look around. He was afraid that Trish must have gotten up in the middle of the night and left.
His heart sank. “I thought she was starting to trust me.”
Tink, Tink, Tink. Tony heard the sound. He glanced at the door to the room. It was open.
He jumped up and moved over to the door. The warehouse looked clear.
Tink, Tink, Tink.
He leaned out the door and looked down over the ledge. Trish was slowly climbing up the ladder.
Tony turned and went back into the room. He didn’t want Trish to think he was spying on her. He quickly laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.
He listened as Trish got to the top of the ladder and came back into the room.
A moment later he felt a slight tug on his arm.
He opened his eyes and smiled up at Trish. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Trish answered looking uncomfortable.
She paused for a minute. “I tried to go outside but the door was locked.” She looked at him with a serious expression on her face. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Tony looked back with a serious look, but he was laughing inside. “I don’t go outside to go to the bathroom. It might not be safe.”
Trish looked confused. “What do I do?”
Tony couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. He smiled and sat up on his bed. He slipped on his pants. “I’ll show you.”
He stood and walked over to the corner behind the door and picked up a bucket. “I use this.”
“You want me to go in the bucket?” Trish asked.
“Yes. I’ll step outside and close the door until you’re done. OK?” Tony said. He walked back to the corner and sat down the bucket.
“OK.” Trish replied and watched until he stepped out on the small ledge and closed the door.
A few minutes later Trish opened the door. “I’m done. Thank You. I didn’t want to wet my new pants.”
Tony laughed. “Yes, especially since Wednesday has always been your favorite day.”
Trish looked at him for a minute. Suddenly her eyes brightened. For a minute Tony thought she was going to smile.
“Now you wait outside the door for a minute while I use the bucket.”
“OK.” Trish replied and stepped outside and closed the door.
A minute later Tony opened the door. “You can come back in now.”
Trish walked back into the room and went over and sat down on her bed.
Tony picked up the bucket. “This is what I do with the bucket when I’m done.”
He started to walk towards the window. “When I was in here by myself and the dead had the warehouse surrounded, I used to get a kick out of emptying the bucket down on top of their heads.” Tony laughed. “I think it made them smell better.”
This time Trish did smile.
“I know I’m gross.” Tony said. “But they tormented me with all their groaning, I just wanted to torment them back. It wasn’t until I found the guns down on the shelves that I had a way to really get back at them.”
Tony walked over to the window and tossed the contents of the bucket out the window.
He was about to turn around, but suddenly set the bucket down and picked up the binoculars. He held them up to his eyes and stared out side.
“There is a girl out there.” Tony said.
Trish straightened up on her bed. She started to tremble. Fear clearly showing on her face.
“Is she lying out in the grass in the clearing?” Trish asked quietly. Her voice quivered.
“Yes she is.” Tony replied. He turned and looked at Trish.
Her wide eyes looked up at him. “Is she wearing pink underwear?”
“How did you know that?” Tony asked.
Tony could see her start to shake all over.
“It’s a trap!” Trish said.
“A trap?” Tony asked. He thought for a minute. It made sense. He had wondered what those guys would try next. He didn’t think they would try to bargain for food again, not after what they pulled on him before. Even those assholes couldn’t expect him to fall for that trick three times.
“Trish, how do you know that?”
Trish looked up at him as she shrank back on her bed.
“They were going to tie me up and put me in the field. When you came out to get me, they were going to kill us both and then move into the warehouse.” Trish looked up at Tony. Her eyes were large and watery. She was waiting for him to yell at her.
When Tony came over to sit down next to her, she held up her arm to shield her face.
Tony saw the fear in her eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you Trish. It’s not your fault that those people are jerks.”
He put his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze.
He got back up and went back to the window and held the binoculars back to his face. He studied the girl. He began to look around the tree line. After looking around the perimeter the second time he spotted a guy hiding behind a tree watching the girl.
“Trish, do you know these people?” Tony asked.
“Yes.” Trish answered quietly.
“How many people are there?”
“Five.” She answered.
“Who are they and where did they come from?”
Trish started. “Roy is the leader. He is bad news. He lived in Dunbar where I lived. The police were always looking for him. Then there is Tom. Tom always hung around with Roy and was always in trouble too. There is Ken, he’s an asshole pervert. He brought his wife with him. I don’t know her name. She never was allowed to talk and Ken was always smacking her around.”
“Is that his wife out there in the field?” Tony asked.
“No, that’s Debbie. She’s my sister.” Trish answered and hung her head.
“That’s your sister?” Tony said sounding surprised. “I didn’t know you had a sister. We have to find a way to help her!”
“You can’t help her.” Trish said. Tony could hear a sadness in Trish’s voice.
“Why not?” Tony asked.
“She isn’t a nice person. She is mean and selfish. She always hit me and pushed me around. She let Roy tie me up for the zombies.” Tony could hear Trish sniffling. “If you save her, she will stab you and me in the back and find a way to let Roy and his buddies get in the warehouse. She does anything Roy tells her to do. They said after they got in the warehouse they were going to kill both of us.”
Tony felt bad for Trish as he listened.
“How did you end up with these people?” Tony asked.
Tony listened as Trish told him the whole story, starting with her and Debbie at home, the death of her parents, teaming up with Roy and Tom, and up to the last week at the bed and breakfast. She sounded so sad as she spoke.
Finally Tony went back and sat down next to her and gave her a hug. This time Trish didn’t try to pull away.
Finally Tony spoke. “Well I guess there is only one thing for us to do.”
“What’s that?” Trish asked, her big pleading eyes looking up at him.
“We are not going to let them get in.” Tony smiled.
He got back up and studied the situation outside. He focused the binoculars on the girl lying in the clearing. The sun was now high in the sky. Tony thought she must be getting really hot by now as she must have been lying in the direct sunlight for over an hour. She would at least get a good sun burn.
“Did they say how long they thought it would take for me to come out to save her?” Tony asked as he scanned the tree line.
“I think they said you would wait for a couple hours before you would come out. They said you would think it was a trap, but after an hour or so you would think it was OK.” Trish answered.
“Thank you for telling me all of this.” Tony said. “I know it was probably hard for you to tell me.”
“Your welcome.” Trish answered softly.
Tony turned and started for the door. “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Trish jumped to her feet and looked at him. “You’re not going to go outside? Please don’t go out there! They’re waiting for you to come out so they can jump you!”
“I’m not going to go outside. I have an idea and I want to get something from down in the warehouse.” Tony replied. “You just stay away from the window. I don’t want them to know you are here. Just let them think the zombies ate you.”
Trish sat back down on her bed. “OK. You’ll come right back?”
Tony smiled. “I promise.”
He turned and climbed down to the floor below. He ran back to the sporting good shelves. He was looking for something he had seen a few days ago. He didn’t think he would ever have any use for them at that time, but they might just do what he needed now. He spotted the box as he climbed up to the third level on the shelf. He put the box in his pocket, climbed back down to the floor and went back up to the room.
Trish was anxiously watching the door when he came back in.
Tony went over and sat down on the lawn chair. He picked up the pellet gun, pulled the box from his pocket and began to fill the chamber of the gun.
“Is it OK if I shoot your sister?” Tony asked.
“You want to shoot my sister?” Trish asked sounding conflicted. She knew her sister hated her and would feed her to the zombies again if she had the chance. But she was still her sister. She just wanted her sister to go away. She didn’t want to shoot her. Trish didn’t even want to shoot Roy, she just wanted them all to go away and leave her alone.
Trish stared at Tony, but she didn’t know what to say.
“I’m not going to hurt her.” Tony said. “I’m just going to shoot her so she will go away.”
Trish looked confused. “How can you shoot someone and not hurt them?”
Tony smiled. “Well I guess I didn’t say that right. It will hurt. In fact I hope it hurts like hell. But it won’t injure her. She will be fine, but hopefully she will get up and go away after I shoot her.”
Trish still looked confused.
Tony tossed the box with the remaining pellets to Trish. “Look at the box.” He said.
Trish held up the box and read the label “Rubber pellets.”
“These are rubber, they’re not real bullets.” She said.