TYBEE ISLAN
ISLAND
By By Paul Paul Cales
Continued from the November 2017 Beachcomber.
Catch up @ http://tybeebeachcomber.com/magazine
Chapter Six - Zombie Freeze
Day 3.5
30 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | DEC 2017
“This thing kicks a lot harder than the M4 we were shooting on Long
Island last fall,” Jay says.
“I’m a tough girl, Jay. I can handle it.”
“Okay, Jay. Let’s get a move on. We need to get back here as soon as
possible. You ready?”
“Not really, but I guess it’s time to man up. Tybee strong, right?”
“Yeah, man. Tybee strong,” Tony says as they slip off the front of the
boat and shove it back into the water. They don’t see any of those things
until they reach Arby’s. “Dude, look at the drive-thru window. I think he’s
trying to get some curly fries.”
“I don’t think fries are what he really wants.”
“I wonder if it’s his reflection in the glass that’s got his interest
peaked?” Tony says as they skirt around to the left of the building to get
over to Izlar.
“I’m not seeing any geeks,” Jay says. “I hope they haven’t found a
meal in the Wind Rose.”
“Let’s go find out,” Tony says. They sprint down Izlar, slide between
the two houses that butt up against the back of the Wind Rose fence, and
pause for a brief moment to catch their breath. Then, Jay jumps onto the
trash cart and looks over the fence. “Looks empty. Just like it did Saturday
when I got a keg for Patty.”
“Let’s loosen some of these boards so we can bust through the fence if
we have to,” Tony says. They loosen six vertical boards on the fence and
hop over into the courtyard. They quietly sneak up to the back door and
peer in. What they see confuses them. Rudy and Howard are sitting at a
table being as still as statues. Then Jay notices Howard shudder a bit.
“What the hell is going on?” Jay says. Tony lightly taps on the glass
and, in unison, Howard and Rudy snap their heads in the direction of the
door. Rudy slowly stands up, gingerly walks to the back door, unlocks it,
and says, “Move slowly.”
“You guys okay?” Tony whispers.
“Yeah, man. We’re good. Just stuck in here,” Rudy replies.
“What the hell were you doing?” Tony asks.
“Playing a game,” Howard says. “Rudy calls it Zombie Freeze. So, the
idea is, if we don’t move, the zombies don’t move. The objective is to
make the other person laugh so hard that the zombies notice. As soon as
they notice you laughing they start to move and you lose.”
“Wait, if you stay completely still they just stare into the glass?” Tony
asks.
“Just like at Arby’s. They see their reflection,” Jay replies.
“Anyway,” Howard continues, “Rudy kept breaking wind and making
me laugh. He won every time.”
Rudy interjects, “All we have to eat in here is canned beans and crap.
The electricity went out two days ago and the food in the freezer has gone
bad. Don’t judge me, man. Move really slowly to the library in the back.
They can’t see us back there. I don’t think they can see very far.”
“Or they can’t see in the dark very well,” Tony says.
“Never thought about that, man,” Rudy says. Then, under his breath,
“Smartass.”
“How the hell did you guys get locked in here by yourselves? Where’s
Nell and Mark? Where’s Doug?” Tony asks.
“So, Rudy and I were watching the Marvel marathon the other night and
Doug locked us in after he closed the bar. He’s not really a Marvel guy.
Weirdo likes DC Comics.”
“And…”
“And we got hammered and passed out. And when we woke up we
saw some shit. Those things are fast. Everyone that we saw through the
Its quarter to five in the evening and Becky, Nate, and Brian watch as
the skiff gets smaller, dancing away on the waves, heading toward Tybee
Island.
“So, Nate, where’s this food ya’ll brought back with you? I’m starving!”
asks Brian.
Before Nate has a chance to answer Becky responds, “On the boat.”
“What the hell?! What if they don’t make it back? We’ll be stuck out
here without any food. Real smart, guys.”
“You should have thought about that when your priority was booze
during your last excursion.”
“Shut the hell up BITC…” Brian begins before Nate interrupts, “Listen,
man. We still have Jay’s boat and if anything happens to them I’m sure
you have some more food at your camp. You were planning on staying
here for a week even before the world was taken over by those geeks.”
“We were going to make a couple of re-supply trips back, dumbass. All I
have left is peanut butter and jelly and a few hotdogs,” replies Brian.
“Then go eat a hotdog!” Becky exclaims before turning to Nate, “You
really think the whole world has been taken over by those things?”
“You guys suck!” Brian shouts as he walks back to his camp mumbling
obscenities to himself.
“I just don’t know. All the phones are dead and even when they were
charged we never got an answer from anyone.”
“I hope those guys hurry back. I don’t like the idea of being left alone
with Brian, without his friends to keep him in check,” Becky says.
“Really Becky? You’re more worried about that than Tony having to face
those things during the rescue mission? What about Rudy and Howard?
WHAT ABOUT CARRIE AND JAY FOR THAT MATTER?!”
“You’re right, you’re right. Cool your tits, Nate. Of course I’m worried
about all that. I guess I’m trying to not think about what they’re going
through.”
There is no one around, alive or dead, as the boat slowly idols toward
the beach at Inlet. “Kill the engine and raise the motor,” Tony says. “I don’t
want to alert those things. We can just drift in from here. Once Jay and I
are off the boat, wait until you can’t see us anymore and back the boat
into deeper water. Wait until you see us before starting the engine again.
We may need a swift extraction.”
“Got ya,” Carrie replies. “I have the SKS too if it’s needed. I have four
loaded magazines at the ready.”