Alone (8 page)

Trish was unsure of what to do, but finally the sight of all that food sitting out there in front of her won out. She got up and made a mad dash out to the food, scooped them up and ran back to the brush. She breathed a sigh of relief when she had made it back to the cover of the high grass without any arrows landing around her. She began to tear at the boxes to open them.

Tony stood clearly in the window and watched with the binoculars. He saw Trish run out of the grass to get the food. He studied her as she moved. She seemed cute. She was also filthy. Her hair was tangled, her shirt was partially shredded and the old jeans she wore had holes up and down the front and back.

He looked down at his clean new jogging pants and picked up the radio. “See I told you I wouldn’t shoot you.”

He waited a second. “I have one more package for you. Just give me a minute to get it ready for you.”

Trish stared down at the warehouse as she shoved beef jerky in her mouth. “Maybe I should run now while I can. Is this where he is going to run out the doors and try to run me down?”

Trish quickly shoved a granola bar in her mouth as she sat on her haunches, ready to run at the first sign of anyone coming out of the warehouse. She opened another granola bar as she waited.

Tony ran back down into the warehouse. He ran back to the sporting goods shelf and started to rummage through the clothes. He picked out a pair of black jogging pants and a black t-shirt. He took them back up to the room and hung them on another coat hanger. He slid them out the window and down the line.

“I thought you might be able to use these.” Tony said.

Trish stared out at the clothes as they came down the line and landed in the grass. She looked down at her filthy clothes as tears ran down her cheeks. She had worn these old raggedy clothes for a year. She couldn’t believe someone had given her new clothes.

Roy and Tom had found clothes a few times. They kept them for themselves. They had given Debbie some flimsy outfit that she seemed to enjoy parading around in.

Roy tried to make her wear one of those skimpy outfits like Debbie wore, but Trish had refused. They all had just laughed at her.

Trish promised herself she would never wear anything like that, especially when Roy and Tom were around. Her old shirt and jeans barely gave her any protection in the condition they were in.

After that Roy and Tom refused to let her have any other clothes they found.

She stared at the warehouse, then dashed out to the clothes. When she was back in the high grass, she quickly pulled off her old clothes and tossed them at the base of a large tree and pulled on the new clothes.

Tears of joy and confusion ran down her cheeks.

She picked up the radio. “Thanks. I have to go!”

“Why do you have to go? Can’t you stay and talk for a bit?” Tony asked sounding disappointed.

“No! I have to go.” Trish replied.

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Tony pleaded. “I just want to talk.”

“OK, maybe tomorrow.” Trish said.

Chapter 9

Trish sat the walkie-talkie down by her old clothes.

She thought for a second before grabbing some dead branches and placing them over the radio.

She wouldn’t dare take the radio back with her. If Roy found it, he would smash it. She wouldn’t have any way of getting more food from the guy in the warehouse without getting too close to the warehouse.

She didn’t want to get too close. The guy inside could be faster than she was and if she got too close, he would have an easier time running her down.

She picked up her old clothes and started back towards the bed and breakfast where she was staying. She couldn’t help but enjoy how good the new soft clothes felt against her skin. Her clothes hadn’t felt this good for months. They were dirty and felt hard from the crusted mud and dirt that covered them. The new clothes felt light, soft and warm.

She couldn’t help herself as she ran her hands up and down her arms and legs touching the new clean clothes.

She had to force herself to focus after she fell in a hole because she wasn’t paying attention to where she was walking.

She picked herself back up off the ground and dusted herself off, checking to make sure she hadn’t torn a hole in her new pants.

When she was satisfied she hadn’t torn her pants, she stopped for a break to eat a few more pieces of beef jerky and three more granola bars.

“God this tastes so good!” Trish thought.

Even if this guy at the warehouse had been trying to lure her in so he could grab her, even Roy and Tom had never given Debbie anything this good to make her be grateful.

Trish felt grateful, she had to admit it to herself, but she could never see herself being as grateful as Debbie.

Trish sat back and looked at all the food she had. If she could get this much food each day for a few days, she would have enough to last her for a week or more. That would be enough that maybe she could go off on her own.

She could get away from Roy, Tom and asshole.

Trish smiled, but the smile quickly faded. “Where would I go?” She thought. “There’s nothing out there but all those dead things. There’s no food and there are probably more Roy’s out there somewhere.”

Trish flopped on her back and stared at the sky. “There’s nowhere to go.” Her only chance was to keep Roy and Tom happy enough with her so they would leave her alone.

No matter what she did she was alone in a world of things that wanted to get their hands on her.

Tears started to run down Trish’s cheeks.

She glanced up at the sky again. The sun was getting low in the sky. She thought about just staying out here in the field all night, but she knew that would be suicide. Going back to the house with the others could also be suicide or worse, but it was the only place she could go where she at least had a chance.

No place was safe for her, only safer than her other options.

She got up off the ground and slowly began to force herself to go back to the bed and breakfast. She hugged the boxes of granola bars and beef jerky.

Soon the bed and breakfast came into view.

Trish looked down at the food. “Hopefully Roy and Tom will be happy with me tonight.” She thought. “But if I take all this food back to the house, they’ll take it and eat it all.”

She didn’t want to see that happen.

If the guy at the warehouse doesn’t give her more, then she would be back to going hungry again.

The bastards would eat everything and wouldn’t give her a single bite.

Trish walked over to an old log that laid in the high grass in the field. She pushed and strained, finally she was able to roll the log over. She began to dig with her hands until she had dug a hole about six inches deep.

She emptied out the boxes of granola bars and beef jerky. After setting aside six pieces of beef jerky, she pushed the rest of the food into the hole. She laid her old clothes on top of the food, then moved to the other side of the log and rolled it back on top of the food.

Trish smiled. “At least now I have my own food. If they won’t give me anything to eat, I can come out here.”

She looked at the six pieces of beef jerky. “If they give Debbie one piece and split the rest between them, this should keep them happy for a few hours.”

Trish picked up the beef jerky and crept through the high grass to the road. After looking to make sure asshole wasn’t out there lurking around, waiting for her to come back, she stood and ran for the door.

Trish opened the door and walked into the downstairs living room area of the bed and breakfast.

Roy, Tom and Debbie were sitting in the room.

Debbie was sitting on Roy’s lap on the couch. Tom was impatiently looking at some old magazine.

Roy looked up as Trish came in. “Hey, the little bitch is back.”

Trish hated it when Roy called her that.  She could tell he was in one of his moods. She had to watch her step or Roy would be smacking her around again.

Trish walked over to Roy and held out the six pieces of beef jerky. “Here I brought these back for all of you.”

Roy snatched the jerky out of her hands. “Where did you find these?”

“I looked in a little house over a couple of fields and found them.” Trish lied. She didn’t want to tell him where she really got them. If he knew about the warehouse, she would never be able to go back there again for food.

“How many did you eat?” Roy demanded.

“One.” Trish started to reply, but changed her mind. “I ate two!”

“Are you lying to me?” Roy asked staring at Trish.

“No!” Trish said as she stood there nervously.

Roy glared at her as he peeled off the wrapper and shoved one in his mouth.

He tossed two over at Tom. They landed on the floor next to Tom’s chair.

Roy unwrapped another piece, took a bite and held it up for Debbie to take a bite.

“What else did you find there?” Roy demanded.

“Nothing.” Trish whispered. “That’s all there was.”

Roy grinned as he chewed on his jerky. “You look different.”

“Hey!” Debbie said. “Where did you get the clothes Sis?”

Trish looked down at her new clothes and smiled. “I found them in the house.”
“Did you bring us back some fresh clothes too?” Roy asked sarcastically.

“No!” Trish said hanging her head.

“Why is he tormenting me?” Trish thought as Roy plopped Debbie down on the couch beside him, then stood and walked around behind Trish.

Debbie looked up and smiled at her.

Roy spoke again from behind her. “What did we say about the things you found when you were out?”

“I don’t know?” Trish answered quietly.

“Yes you do Sis!” Debbie grinned mischievously.

Roy grabbed Trish’s arms from behind and held her firmly in place. “The rule is you can keep anything you find……”

“As long as you bring us back some too!” Debbie finished the statement for Roy.

“And if there isn’t enough to bring back, then you aren’t allowed to have any either. Right?” Roy laughed.

“That’s the rules Sis.” Debbie smiled as she moved closer to Trish.

“You know what that means?” Roy asked and started to laugh.

Trish about died when Debbie leaped towards her, grabbed the top of her pant legs and pulled down her pants.

Debbie stood in front of her and held up the new black jogging pants. “Nice pants Sis!”

Before Trish could react, Roy grabbed her shirt and pulled it off over her head, leaving Trish standing there in her old yellowed holy underwear.

Everyone started to laugh as Roy led her over to the door by her hair. “Now if you want your clothes back, you go out and bring us all back some new duds, or I’m afraid you are going to be a little chilly until you do.”

Roy opened the door and pushed her back outside.

Roy shut the door and tossed the black t-shirt to Debbie as they all laughed.

“Do you think you should have made her go back out there like that? It’s almost dark.” Debbie asked in between laughs.

Roy laughed. “I don’t think even the zombies would be interested in that scrawny body. She’ll be fine. Besides, if she has to run around like that for a few days, maybe it will loosen her up a little bit. Right Tom?”

Tom laughed.

Trish stood outside the door as tears started to run down her cheeks. “Those bastards. Even my sister is a bastard!”

Trish turned towards the side of the house as she heard laughter.

Asshole was standing by the house staring at her and laughing.

When Trish saw him start towards her, she started to run.

She could hear his feet pounding on the ground behind her, but soon he gave up, laughed and started walking back to the house.

Trish was sure they would all have a big laugh at her expense.

When she saw no one was still chasing her, she slowed to a walk. She walked back to the edge of the field where she had hidden her food. She rolled the log over and picked up her old clothes. She shivered as she pulled the old dirty rough clothes on.

They were cold and damp. After having worn the new clothes, her old clothes made her feel like crap.

She rolled the log back over the food, she didn’t feel like eating anything, she was too upset.

She walked half way back across the field.

She dropped down in the grass and continued to sob. She would wait until they were all tired and had gone to sleep, then she would sneak back inside and go to her place in the corner behind the couch. Unlike the others, she didn’t have a room, she had a spot on the floor down in the living room.