What a crazy few days it’s been since my last entry. I ended out sleeping straight through the night, the lack of coughing and sweating finally let me get some real sleep that recharged my batteries and strength. I awoke with a clear head, and decided that it was time to start exploring my apartment building. It’s probably a long-shot because I’m pretty sure I would have heard something if anyone had stayed behind when Jerry lead the charge, but maybe I’d be lucky and find that some of my neighbors are still here. Maybe they’d even have some news or updates for me that I’d missed while sick and stuck in bed.
First things, first. I had decided that just pushing my bookcases up against the window wasn’t going to provide enough protection if a determined group of creepy crawlies decided they wanted to get in. I grabbed my tool box from under the kitchen sink and confirmed that I still had a box of assorted nails stored inside from when I had helped a buddy from work build a tree house for his two young daughters. It was only about five feet up off of the ground, but it was great to see their beautiful little smiles when we finished it. I wonder if they’ll ever get to use it again. I wonder if they’re still alive.
There was no use going over thoughts like those. Keep that up and I’d lose my will to work pretty quickly.
I grabbed the nails and a wooden handled hammer. I took all the books off of the shelves and stacked them neatly against the wall where the bookcases used to stand. Without TV – hell, without the guarantee of steady electricity – those books were all I had, so I figured taking a few minutes to care for them was worthwhile.
After moving them, I took the shelves out, and then carefully removed the flimsy backing that squares up the entire unit. I repeated this for the second bookcase and then disassembled them, placing the four longest boards aside. These were just long enough for me to cover the window from end to end, though it would leave some gaps between. I nailed these up as quietly as I could, using an old black sock to cover the head of the hammer. It didn’t kill the sound, but it did muffle it quite a bit, and a little noise is better than a lot of noise these days.
I keep thinking about how CNN said that the infected were drawn to sound and movement. I was making a lot of sound, but the constant glimpses I took through the gaps in between the boards showed nothing moving outside.
Once I had the four boards nailed up across the window, I used some of the shelves to cover up the gaps, nailing them directly to the first four boards I’d put up.
When I was done it looked like a patchwork job at best, but I knew the nails were sunk into the thick wood of the window frame, and that’s got to be sturdier than simply leaning the bookcases up. Most of the gaps were covered, but the few areas where I ran out of wood now let in some light if I left the blinds drawn. They also provided me with some visibility to the outside world. I still hoped the hammering hadn’t attracted any attention. I pulled the blinds closed over the boards for a bit of extra protection.
Through all of this, Marcus was at my feet whimpering. He hadn’t been outside in days, and the need for a walk was in order. Unfortunately there was no way I could accommodate my little guy anytime soon. I swapped out the old newspaper in the kitchen for some new, and then played with him for about a half an hour after he reluctantly relieved himself. We tossed his stuffed toys around and he jumped back and forth across my small living room, growling as we played tug of war and licking my face when I let him win.
He’d lost a pound or two in the last couple of weeks, and he wasn’t a thick dog to begin with. I decided to open up a can of corn beef hash and dumped it into his food bowl. He dug in with gusto, licking up every last crumb. He’s got a lot less weight to lose than I do, so I didn’t feel too guilty about giving him food I’d planned to save for myself.
Truthfully, I’d go hungry to make sure he was fed simply because I don’t know what I’d do without him. I know he’s just a silly looking little dog with goofy mannerisms and sad eyes, but he needs me and I need him. He’s the only real link I have to what was once a normal life. He’s the only living thing I know of that loves me unconditionally. The rest of the world may be shambling along or climbing from out of graves, but this little dog just wants for me to rub his ears. He keeps me sane when I need it most.
I’ve really got to find him some more dog food soon. Hell, I’ve got to find some more food for me. Once I get this building under lock and key, I’m going to have to find out if I can get up onto the roof and see how many Z’s are around this area. I’d love to try and get over the two blocks to the grocery store and see what’s left inside, but I’m not making that trek without some serious scouting and recon of the surrounding area first.
I’m getting ahead of myself. I need to check the apartment building first. Organize – Plan – Act Smart. I’ve got to remember that I don’t have any backup. I’ve got to be safe. I’ve got to stay sane and grounded.
Before I continued with my plans to explore the building, I decided to take a sponge bath in the kitchen sink. The water is still flowing, but I can tell the pressure is dropping off. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last, so I might as well bathe when I can. I felt infinitely better after I scrubbed some of the sweat off of my body, and put on some fresh clothes. It seems that something as simple as clean jeans and a black t-shirt can make one feel almost human again.
I slipped on my black work boots and tied my pants legs into the tops. I strapped the knife back onto my right hip and looped the machete onto my left. I grabbed a large flashlight like the ones the police and security guards use.from my tool box. I might need the light and it doubles as a pretty handy club if need be. I slipped it through a belt loop and made sure it wouldn’t fall out. Luckily the large lamp head held it fast and I was able to tuck the end of the handle into a side pocket of my carpenter jeans to keep it from swinging about.
I picked up my backpack and slung it over both shoulders, then tightened the chest straps to ensure it was on nice and snug. I didn’t want it dangling and able to catch on anything if I had to move quickly.
Last, I grabbed the aluminum baseball bat I’ve always kept behind my coat rack. I’d always felt a bit paranoid about keeping it. It’s not like there’s a lot of instances of home invasion on Long Island that necessitated having a bat ready to hand for uninvited guests. Well….there didn’t use to be. Now, it seems my planning for the worst served a purpose even if I’d never imagined cracking it into the brain pan of a zombie.
Before I left, I decided to put a collar and leash on Marcus. I tethered him to the bathroom door and made sure he had some towels to lie on while I was gone. I didn’t want him trying to rush out when I opened the door, but I couldn’t close him into the bathroom as he’d likely bark and howl until I let him out. I couldn’t afford that much noise while exploring. If it was clear, I’d be back for him soon. If it wasn’t….well…..I didn’t want to think about that.
With Marcus tied up, I moved to my front door and peeked out the peephole for a few moments. I saw nothing but the beige wall and red door across the hall. I listened with my ear to the door but heard nothing. I guess it was put up or shut up time. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself and undid all the locks on the door. I turned the handle and slowly eased it open until the security chain caught. Looking through the crack I could clearly see down the entire length of the hallway to my right. I was the last door at that end of the building, so I wasn’t too worried about my limited range of vision to my left.
In the hallway, light from the front door shone in, making shadows play across the dark carpeting. Everything looked clear, so I removed the security chain and stepped out as quietly as a guy my size possibly can.
I pulled the door shut behind me, but didn’t lock it. If I had to retreat, I wanted a clear path of entry back into my apartment, but I also didn’t just want to leave the door wide open. I really didn’t want to return to find that someone or something had crept in behind me while I was gone. I don’t know if the infected can think enough to work a door knob. Wishful thinking made me hope they couldn’t, but fear kept the thought at the forefront of my mind until I had to push it aside or stay locked in the same spot in indecision.
I checked the other two doors at my end of the hall and found them both locked. I was pretty sure that Tanya in 1E and Shane in 1F had left with Jerry, but I still wanted to be sure. I knocked at both doors and received no answer. I listened at the doors and didn’t hear anything from inside. It appeared that both apartments were empty, but I’d have to get the doors open to confirm this later. Hopefully I could do it without destroying the locks, but I’d worry about that another time. I was feeling exposed and wanted to keep going before I lost my nerve.
I moved to the hallway intersection, and carefully peered around the corner and out the front door only fifteen feet away. The sun felt great on my face, and I was happy to see that the security door was still closed and intact. It’s mostly made of glass with a few aluminum cross bars, so I don’t know how secure the thing is, but at least it was closed and not broken. If I was going to rely on it in the future, I’d have to reinforce it somehow. Hopefully I’d find items in the other apartments that I’d be able to use.
I moved forward to the door, hiding in the corners near the mailboxes and looked outside. There was a car crashed into the cement stairs of the building across the courtyard. That was new as it hadn’t been there during my last security shift. I had no idea when it had crashed, but it didn’t look good.
The car sat halfway up to the front door and two wide tracks of dark brown dirt showed its path from where it must have jumped the curb before hitting the stairs. The driver side door was open and the windshield was completely busted on that side. Both front tires were flat, the axle and rims bent out at odd angles from what must have been a quick stop upon impact with the stairs.
The door into the building was broken open, left hanging from one hinge, all the glass glittered on the carpet in the sun light. Some of the windows of the various apartments were open and the blinds were blowing in and out in the mild breeze. There were no infected moving around, but I could see a pair of feet sticking out from under the rear bumper of the car. Every so often one would move or shake a bit. The fucker must have been caught under there for days, and I’d hoped that the bugs had gotten to it quickly. When I finally go outside I’d have to deal with it quickly or its moaning might attract others.
Other than the feet, I saw nothing else outside to be worried about for the time being. I headed back down the short hall and turned to the right to check the first three apartments at the opposite end of my building. Two of the doors were locked, while the third was cracked open a few inches. I listened at the two locked doors while keeping a sharp eye on the opened one. There were no noises from the locked two, but that didn’t mean much. I didn’t want to knock until I knew the status of the one that was already opened.
I didn’t know much about the twenty-something guy who had lived in 1A as he’d kept pretty much to himself since he’d moved in last November, so I always referred to him simply as “the Twit”. I knew he was a Jets fan from the loud curses hurled at his TV as football season got underway, and that he came off as a metro-sexual pretty-boy with plucked eyebrows and a love for Kenneth Cole catalogs that kept getting left incorrectly in my mailbox.
His real name was David Mercer, but I called him the Twit because of the look of complete confusion that seemed to constantly be stuck on his face. In other words, the Twit never struck me as someone who’d be very quick on the uptake. I’d see his confused little well-groomed face in the hallway once in a while as we passed each other. Otherwise I’d never had even so much as a “hello” from the Twit, and I’d been fine with that. Now, his door was open and I knew I’d have to check it out.
Doors one and two remained locked and quiet. It was time to see what was behind door number three.
