The Undead Situation by Eloise J. Knapp Page B

mouth as we passed. Whatever it was, it was teeming with wiggling maggots. Though it was probably a trick of my mind, I could’ve sworn I actually heard them.
    We came to the end of the alley and took in the chaotic intersection before us.
    It wasn’t uncommon to find narrow, cramped streets in Seattle, but the intersection managed to take the word ‘cramped’ to a new level. To the right, two Humvees were head to head, completely blocking traffic. The traffic lights were destroyed, creating a bridge between all the wrecked cars beyond the Humvees. Evidence of a fire was obvious. Crispy, burnt corpses fell half-way out of blackened, melted cars. Even from my angle, I could see the glimmering lake of glass surrounding the entire scene, both from broken cars and the surrounding shops.
    To my left, the chaos was relatively serene. Only the businesses had been looted, and wreckage was sparse in the street. Somehow the government, city, or whoever the fuck tried, managed to block off the street. Farther up, I knew it turned onto the I-5 freeway, which was fortunate for us. It meant there was a clear path out of Seattle.
    I made a left and moved down the sidewalk, careful not to walk close to open doorways. Some stores were still untouched, as though an apocalypse never happened. A boutique, one that I had passed before on my way to work, still boasted outrageously expensive purses and shoes. The mannequins looked down their noses at me, as grandiose and absurd as they always had.
    Fuck you, Louis Vuitton , I thought spitefully. No one’s going to you now .
    Other shops weren’t as fortunate. We crunched past one that must’ve gone through an outrageous fire. The entire inside was a macabre tangle of burnt furniture and countertops. Scorched corpses littered the ground. Maybe they had made a stand there. Or tried to, at least.
    From down the street came the roar of a vehicle. Gabe and I froze, anticipating the certain moans of zombies to follow.
    “This changes things,” Gabe said.
    I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t. We’re bound to run into people at one point or another. Maybe they’ll want to give us a ride.”
    Maybe it’s Frank . I kept that thought to myself.
    A jet black Hummer swiveled around the corner, moving steadily down the street. They probably came from the freeway, which would confirm my suspicions. Confirmation of a cleared freeway would expedite our plans, whatever they were.
    We were in plain sight, standing on the sidewalk. The Hummer was clearly making its way for us. I didn’t bring my rifle up, figuring they’d feel threatened and run me over. A speeding vehicle headed for me was one thing I couldn’t avoid. Zombies? No problem. Bipolar teenage girl? Whatever.
    “Oh, shit,” Gabe muttered.
    “What is it?” I sighed.
    “I know them.”
    “So? Shouldn’t that make it easier to get a lift?”
    She just shook her head.
    Frankly, I didn’t care about her issues, so I waited for the Hummer to pull up beside us, the tinted window rolling down. First thing I noticed: the man had too many greasy, flabby chins to count.
    “Gabriella. Funny thing, running into you here,” he said.
    Her voice was flat, but I could tell she was shook up. “Yeah, Tyler. What the fuck are you doing here?”
    “Lookin’ for you,” someone from the passenger side said.
    “Listen, why don’t we talk about this inside?” I ventured, pointing down the block to the zombies who had taken an interest in what was going on. Most of them were coming from the wreckage, trying to crawl over it all, but the rest were coming from the alley we’d just come from.
    A crowd of zombies shambled toward us, and I wished I could enjoy it. They appeared to be remains of a football team, their colors black and orange. Some of the players even had helmets on, and I felt a tiny pang of sadness for them. How could they take a tasty, hot bite of living flesh if they had a big ol’ helmet on? Poor zombies.
    “Sure, sure,” Tyler