Zombie Fallout 5: Alive in a Dead World (39 page)

“Wasn’t sure I’d see either of you two again
tonight,” Dennis said joyously as he took the proffered
beverage.

“I knew you’d be thirsty, my friend,” I said,
putting my arm around his shoulder.

“How’s Yellow?” I asked.

“Who?”

“The girl you’re dancing with.”

“I’m dancing with someone?” he asked in
earnest, looking around for his mythical partner. “You seen Paul?”
he asked when he figured I was messing with him.

“Naw, I hoped he made his way back here by
now.”

“Maybe he’ll bring some beers too. That’d be
great!”

And I nodded an enthusiastic agreement.

Widespread played an inspired second set.
Dennis and I had finished our beers, and out of a toast for our
missing friend, we split the third beer evenly and drank it down.
Paul was still nowhere in sight. By this time, I think Dennis’ eyes
were turning yellow. I could see a hint of panic in them as he
tried to gauge his success rate at holding it or making it to and
from the john.

Yellow saved the day. She was walking by
without a care in the world, semi twirling as she moved past.

“Hi!” I yelled to her louder than I needed
to. I imagined my face to be a washed out version of itself from
the hard partying I was in the midst of.

She looked over, her smile never wavering.
“Hi yourself!” she said.

“Are you heading to the bathroom?” I asked
(yup that’s me! Always the smooth one.)

This time, her smile slipped for a second,
like “What the hell was my problem?”

I wasn’t so messed up, (okay, yes I was) that
I couldn’t see her confusion. “My buddy, here,” I said, pulling
Dennis over to my side. He had not the slightest idea that I had
been talking to his dance partner.

“Do I know you?” he asked. I wasn’t sure if
he was asking her or me.

“We’re fabulous friends,” she said, her smile
returning. “We might even be married.”

That was news to me, although I’d met Dennis’
ex and this girl blew her away, both looks-wise and personality. He
could have done a lot worse, like going back to the miserable thing
he’d divorced.

“Umm, okay, since you two are potentially
married, your husband is in some desperate need of (I swear I
almost said relief, but that would have sounded way to sexual)
help. We’re a little on the other side of normal, and I don’t think
he’ll be able to find his way to the restrooms and back.”

She laughed a warm, mirthful laugh and put
her hand out for Dennis.

He grabbed it, then asked who she was
again.

I had my doubts I’d see him again tonight. By
now, I was wondering if I would be able to find my way back to our
temporary accommodations. The odds weren’t stacked in my favor. I
was constantly scanning the crowd for Paul. He had been missing a
long time. Sometimes I would call out his name, thinking that maybe
I had seen him close by. But always the person was walking away,
threading through the crowd to parts unknown.

If you’ve read all my journals up to this
far, first off congrats for getting through my ramblings. But you
should have a good idea that I do not like big crowds and I do not
function well within them. However, there I was thriving. The
collective consciousness of that crowd was uplifting. My soul was
bobbing up and down on the strong electric current. I know it
sounds corny and maybe a little too hokey, but I was having a blast
and who’s to deny what I was feeling, no matter how cheesy?

Twenty minutes later, half hour,
seventy-eight parsecs? I don’t know. I saw the bright rays of
Yellow Sundress gleaming through the crowd, and like a heralding
angel, she was leading a beer-laden Dennis.

“I hope you two are married!” I told her.

She was still smiling, but I think she forgot
she had ever said that.

“I come bearing gifts!” Dennis yelled. “And
I’m not ever doing that again!”

I hoped he hadn’t meant peeing because
eventually you’d just blow up.

Yellow handed Dennis a piece of paper with
her phone number on it. “Enjoy the show,” she told him as she
gently stroked his face and went twirling away into the crowd.

“Who the hell is that?” he asked me, handing
me a beer.

I picked up the napkin that he had dropped.
Her name and phone number were on it. I think her name was Susan,
but I won’t attest to that. I stuck the piece of paper in Dennis’
rear pant pocket.

“Paul?” he asked, sipping his beer.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Did you get the
beer Nazi?”

“No ID, no beer!” he said, smiling.

It was another few, maybe ten minutes and the
lights dimmed down, the third set was starting.

“DUDE!” I heard from behind me.

It honestly took me a few moments for my
reeling brain to put the image before me and match it up with
Paul’s.

“BUDDY! Where the hell have you been?” I
responded.

“I’m not really sure. I remember going to the
bathroom with you and when I came out, I couldn’t find you. Then I
realized I was starving, so I went over and got some beef
teriyaki.”

“They have beef teriyaki?” Dennis asked as he
turned to join the conversation. “Paulie! Hey buddy!”

“So I ate, and then I was thirsty as hell. I
went and tried to get some beer, but I didn’t bring any ID.”

Dennis and I gave knowing glances to each
other and started laughing.

I was floating around trying to get some brew
and I ran into this guy that had brought a cooler in and was
selling them for like two bucks a piece.”

“Two bucks? Damn!”

“So I bought like a six-pack.”

I looked down into his hands, bummed that I
didn’t see any of them hanging there by the plastic holder.

“By the time I got the beer, I was all turned
around and I had no idea which way to go. So I started playing
Frisbee with this group and then I might have done some hula
hooping. I was thinking that maybe I’d remember where we were by
then.”

“Didn’t work so much?” I asked.

“No, so when the music started, I hopped on
someone’s blanket and drank and danced.”

“So how’d you find us?” Dennis asked, still
looking at Paul’s hands like beer might magically appear. That
night it might have actually happened.

“I saw the girl in the yellow sundress and I
seem to remember her being around us.”

“You saw Dennis’ wife!”

“What?” they asked in unison.

“Long story!” I yelled, wanting to get back
into the groove of the music.

The music was playing again, my buds were
back, I placed my arms over both their shoulders and we enjoyed the
remainder of the show. I would have bet money that Dennis was the
most effed-up one of us all, but I kept repeating over and over at
how amazed I was that he knew the way home.

Nothing we passed looked even vaguely
familiar to me. Other revelers walked around us, our footfalls
echoing on the tree lined roadways as we trekked our way home. I
caught snippets of meaningless conversations… “Jenny wasn’t even
seeing him….”

“Which way to the universe?” (I could
relate) “Is that a barracuda?” Even I couldn’t piece that one
together.

A few homeowners turned their lights on to
make sure no one decided to make their front lawns a resting spot.
I saw more men and women openly pissing in the street than I will
ever care to admit. I might have seen a couple having sex, or it
was a lawnmower--I can’t be sure. More than once, Paul’s hand would
reach out and prevent me from toppling over as I tried to scale the
massive curb when the occasional car ventured forth.

Now I’m not so dramatic that I felt I was
Bilbo Baggins on a quest for the ring that ruled them all, but by
the time we got to our condo, I felt like it. Relief flooded
through me as I took in my now favorite, intensely red couch and
butcher block kitchen table.

“MEAT!” Dennis shouted, heading for the
fridge. He started slapping packet after packet of various deli
delight-ables on the counter top. Dagwood had nothing on us after
we piled different animals onto our Kaiser rolls. It wasn’t twenty
minutes later that I found myself deep in the throes of a food
coma. Somehow, I had passed out and slept on the table. The next
morning did not bode well for my back as I cantilevered off.
Sometime during the night, my head had been cleaved in two. I could
not focus on anything. I felt threadbare, like I had wrung my soul
through a cheese grater. My cohorts weren’t in much better shape,
although Dennis got to sleep his happy-ass in the back seat the
entire seven-hour ride back home.

Paul was up intermittently to keep me
company, but he just couldn’t stave off the effects of the night
before and none of us was having anything to do with his secret
elixir. Paul said that he didn’t even think that he could handle
the smell of the ingredients anyway.

I relate this story because although it
happened nearly eight years ago, it was truly one of the last times
that the three of us as best friends, that had shared so many life
experiences, journeys, quests and adventures got together. Dennis,
just two years later, would die from a series of strokes and heart
attacks. Unbeknownst to us, he had been diagnosed with type two
diabetes. I guess he figured that if he ignored it, the disease
would go away. It didn’t.

And like so many friendships as we grow
older, there just isn’t the time available to devote to them. This
Telluride trip would be, for the most part, mine and Paul’s swan
song. Sure, we saw each other a few times over the remaining years,
most notably Dennis’ funeral, but nothing like the days of yore. I
don’t want to count our days of running from zombies. That is not a
chapter I wish to include in our long and storied past. I will miss
you, Paul, those days we played football, our experimentation with
beer, and bongs. Our voyages to Indian Hill, to our college days
and beyond. You were the best friend, damn near brother, that any
man could ask for in life. I feel honored and privileged to have
known you. A piece of my heart will always be missing with your
passing. Rest in Peace, Paul 1966-2011.

So ends Journal Number Five. I did not get as
much accomplished as I had hoped, yet I paid dearly for it. The
world yet spins, but it has become a measurably darker place. Eliza
stands on the threshold of victory and I fear that nothing stands
in her path to stop her.

Chapter
Twenty-Four

“
My cat’s paws are always cold, I’ve
believe it’s due to her walking upon the souls of the dead.” Book
of Talbotisms #76

“So you’re telling me that you and BT both
felt Paul?” Gary asked as they walked away from Mary’s house. Josh
watched them from his bedroom upstairs, eagerly awaiting their
return. Deneaux was watching them from the living room window, with
what appeared to be the exact opposite expression.

“Paul’s passing,” Mike said. It sounded a lot
stranger in daylight like maybe he had imagined it, but it was a
pretty powerful feeling this morning.

“I hope you’re wrong,” Gary said.

“Me too,” Mike said in earnest, but his words
rang hollow. He might have some doubts about what he felt, but not
enough to overcome them.

They walked in silence for a little while
longer. Gary, for some reason, just couldn’t seem to let the
quietness of the day hold. Maybe he also did not want to dwell on
the fact that they were more likely heading out on a body recovery
than a rescue.

“Sure aren’t many zombies for a zombie
apocalypse,” he said, looking around.

“And that’s a problem for you?” Mike asked
sarcastically.

“I’m just saying, that you’d think they’d be
everywhere. And here we are, just strolling down the middle of the
road, like we own the place.”

“I, for one, am not complaining, brother. I
would much rather be strolling than running for my life. You should
be thankful too, because we both know I can run laps around
you.”

“Not if I tripped you.”

“Nice, you tell Tracy when you get back what
happened.”

“Forget it, I’d rather get eaten.” He laughed
for a sec.

They had been criss-crossing streets with no
real objective. They were just looking for something, anything.
Mike thought about calling out or maybe even shooting a round into
the air and then he thought a little harder about sounding the
dinner bell. Just because there were no zombies here right now, in
no way meant that they weren’t around in big bunches.

“I don’t know about this, Gary.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know how long we should just keep
walking around, aimlessly looking for him.”

“Aimlessly?” he asked questioningly. “You
mean you’re not using your Spidey-sense or something?”

“Spidey-sense?”

“Yeah, don’t you have some special powers or
something?”