Concrete and Steel
“Where have you been!? I’ve been trying to call! Are you all right?” Anne had been crying. James could always tell when she’d been crying. Her voice rose an octave and wavered.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, how are you?” He tried to sound calm.
“I’m fine… Have you seen what’s going on downtown? It’s all over the TV!”
“I haven’t the faintest idea. We heard the fire alarm go off in the stairwell and then this bloody woman shows up and… I’d have to say in my professional opinion that we have zombies or something very much like them running around.” As he said this, James stepped into the conference room with the giant, corner window on the 26th floor and looked out over downtown.
The sirens could be heard through the three-inch glass. Smoke rose from various spots and he could see complete bedlam below. Cars clogged the streets as far as he could see and people were running in every direction. He saw a woman tackled from two directions and could even see the spray of blood as she was devoured by four attackers. Another man was pulled through the window of his car and the assailant chewed through his throat, severing the head. His attacker fell back and two more dove upon the body.
“They aren’t saying what the hell it is but from the footage I’ve seen, I believe it! Is there any way you can get home? What are you going to do!? I’m so fucking scared!” Anne began crying again and James had to snap her out of it.
“ANNE! Listen to me! Don’t worry about me right now. I’ll have to think of something but right now I need you to do some things, okay!?” She muffled a reply. “Okay!?”
“All right, I will.”
“Okay, first of all, get the guns from the closet and the bullets from the top shelf. Put the safeties on and load them both! Cock them both. ”
“Okay, I can do that.” She sniffed and listened.
“Okay, then go in the basement and get those old doors and bring them up, then just jam them between the radiators and the front windows for now.”
“Okay.” She was beginning to sound better.
“All right, finally, have you heard sirens in the neighborhood?”
“No, I don’t think so, not for a while. I heard some about an hour ago, but since then I’ve just heard cars driving by really fast.”
“Okay, get the axe, and carefully try to take out the main struts for the front steps. Just hack the crap out of them as quickly as you can, then stay inside and try not to make any noise. Keep and eye out and if you see anyone running towards you, just get inside and bolt the door! Make sure the TV is off, go in the bedroom if you want, but try to stay out of the living room and front office. Okay?”
“Okay, I get it. Just try to hurry home if you can. But if you can’t, just… stay safe?” She began crying again. “I’m soooo scared for you!”
“I’ll be okay, sweetie; just do what I said and I’ll try to get home. My battery is almost dead so I’ll only call if I have to or when I get home, okay!?”
“Okay, I love you!”
“I love you too, baby! Be safe.” He imagined the 26 floors that separated him from the ground. Then he imagined the 65 zombie-infested blocks he’d have to traverse. Now he just had to convince himself he really would be okay.