Fiction – Ruth’s Tale Continued Part 5

I glance quickly over my right shoulder to make sure that nothing is sneaking up behind me. I do not need to be surprised again; I lucked out last time. I may not be so lucky next time. The area looks clear for now. Just as I was glancing back towards the dead TSA agent, I see a zombie staggering down the hallway away from me in the baggage claim area. I can barely make out the zombie in the very dark tomb-like baggage claim, but there is no mistaking that halting, staggering and lurching walk.

Oh shit! I move quickly to grab my rolling carry on as quietly as I can and duck back into the small secured room with the dead TSA agent. Thankfully I cleared a path through the garbage and abandoned luggage that I can move quietly and quickly through the mounded shit.

I keep the Surefire flashlight firmly clamped in my teeth. My jaw is aching from keeping the flashlight clamped so long in my teeth. I grab my rolling carry on with my left hand and drag it into the room. I keep the Fire Axe Inc. fireman’s axe firmly grasped in my right hand, my hand just below the axe head.

I kick the brown plastic door wedge from underneath the door back into the small room closing the door quietly behind me; cringing at the noise the door latch makes as it closes. I test the door to make sure it is closed tightly; I hope it locked again. I lean my rolling carry on against the wall inside the room to the left of the door. I fervently hope that the zombie did not see me! Predators are attracted by movement; zombies fit the bill as a predator maybe not a perfect predator but a predator none the less. I hope zombie eye site is not that acute; especially in the dark.

If I was a praying woman I might say a prayer. I am familiar with both the Torah and the Qur’an, but I never really took to religion. I have seen too many years of senseless warfare because of a difference in beliefs and how people worship God. I learned early in life not to trust any extremist. Too many people use religion as a reason to persecute someone else. All that religious strife does not matter now. I doubt the zombies worry about how we worship God or by what name we call Him.

I take the Surefire E2L flashlight out of my teeth; bah it tastes bad! I lay the fireman’s axe on the counter with the head towards the wooden side door with the smashed window. Putting the Surefire flashlight in my right hand I take a look, digging around in the room. I find a dark blue, light weight jacket. The jacket material is light but the jacket is heavy, must have something in the pockets. I reach though the glass to check to make sure the door is locked again (it is, thank God). I use the jacket to push the broken glass in the door back in place as best as I can. I peek out to see if anything has discovered my hidden refuge. If I can secure this room it will make a good refuge for the night.

Unfortunately, the front of this small room is all glass with full length, beige aluminum horizontal mini blinds. Leaving my axe lying on the counter, I jump the counter and make sure that the front glass door is locked (I assumed it is but never hurts to check). The glass in the front door and the large floor to roof windows in this room have the same high quality, thick wire-reinforced glass as the window that I had a hell of a time hacking my way through in the side entry door. I see a wide silver strip of an alarm wire running around the glass in the front too; a lot of good it does now!

Peeking carefully through the beige mini blinds into the baggage claim area, I see that the sun is nearly set. It will be dark soon. I can see fairly well out into the baggage claim area and part of the loading area outside. There are several zombies wandering around in the baggage claim area now. The zombies seem to be slowing as the sun sets. I need to be careful and quiet inside my little refuge.

Turning around to survey the small room with the Surefire E2L still set on low power, I decide to remove the dead TSA agent. Him being here gives me the creeps! I also fear that he might reanimate any time. Earlier in the outbreak, there were reports of dead bodies reanimating in a wide variance of time. There was no set amount of time that a dead body would reanimate from the point of infection. Leaving my axe where it is for the moment I jump the counter again.

Bending over to grab the sitting dead TSA agent, I put the Surefire E2L back in my mouth with a grimace of distaste, leaving my hands free. My mouth is beginning to taste like metal from having this damn Surefire flashlight clamped in my teeth so long! Reminds me of when I had braces on my teeth as a young girl.

I grab the TSA male corpse by his boot heels and stretch him out flat on his back. His TSA name tag reads “Williams.” For an average-sized African-American male, Williams was fairly muscular. Weight lifter maybe; steroid junkie; gym rat? Who knows. With his closely cropped hair and smooth shaved, dark-ebony face he was once a handsome man. I guess Williams was probably near my own age. I need to make sure that Williams is not going to become a nasty surprise.

With Williams lying on his back near the aluminum shelves of piled boxes and luggage, I grab my axe from the counter. I make sure that I have enough room for a mild swing with the axe. Putting my right foot on Williams’ neck, I take a two-handed grip on the fire axe handle and take my best croquet swing with the axe poll pointing at the top of his head.