“You think duct tape is going to protect you?”
“Have you ever tried to bite through several layers of duct tape? It's not easy. One layer, easy, two layers, maybe, but four layers? Not happening. I got four layers of protection from any zombie nibble or any other bite from any ungodly abomination out there'' He finished up one last strip of tape around his right sleeve.
Tellie rolls her eyes, “That looks stupid and uncomfortable”
Kataro was mostly covered in duct tape, from head to toe...except for his fitted gloves, leather vest, motorcycle helmet, elbow, and knee pads. For the last few months, Kataro found comfort and security in covering his jeans, his long sleeves, and shoes in any duct tape he could find and salvage. He lifted his visor, “Have you ever seen any zombie movies? All they do is bite. No zombie has the strength to bite through all these layers of tape and my clothes”
Tellie was only half listening. She walked away, slowly glancing around the dark and dusty convenience store. She spotted a dented shopping cart and kicked it to its side. Taking a seat, she slid off her backpack and pulled out a portable solar power bank. She plugged in her phone.
After a few moments, the phone turns on.
Tellie browsed the apps on her phone. She tried out a few apps until she found a mobile game that worked offline. Smiling, she was relieved that she had something to do to distract her from Kataro, but mostly to avoid doing any work.
Kataro peeked over her shoulder, “I doubt network service has returned, but who knows, maybe you’ll get a signal"
Tellie’s eyebrows rose but she stayed focused on her phone, “I doubt there are any zombies left anymore”
Kataro shook his head, “I’m not taking any chances, you should armor up. if you even care” Kataro walked away from her. He found an empty milk crate and started stocking it up with supplies.
“Hey Tell, can you lend me a hand? We can stock up on supplies a lot quicker if you help” Kataro waited for a response but got nothing. He glanced at the shelves. “This store has plenty of supplies, and the coast is clear...but we should still make an effort to hurry back”
Tellie ignored him.
The party size was three. Julio was outside, keeping watch from the driver's seat of the truck, at the front of the store. Tellie, browsing her phone, and Kataro was stocking up. There was no one for Kataro to complain to.
Kataro grumbled. It was a hot summer day in the abandoned desert town. The convenience store had no power and was uncomfortably lukewarm. Mold and rust can be seen on the glass doors of the cold food section, the smell of rotting food trying to escape its confinement.
Kataro was annoyed that Tellie was usually lazy during errand runs. He still respected Tellie, as she was the one member of the team who had military training. She possessed exceptional proficiency with firearms, vastly surpassing her teammates. Her reliability in the field was unmatched, swiftly and efficiently utilizing any firearm to protect them from both bandits and creatures alike. The only caveat was she wouldn't help with the small tasks.
Kataro focused on stocking up. Next time he’s going to swap places with Julio, at least Tellie respected Julio somewhat more than him.
If Kataro was persistent and kept pushing Tellie to help him, she’d eventually get up, shove him, and then walk away (she’d done it before). The temperature inside the store felt like it was rising by the second. The irritation rising inside him gave Kataro enough reason to complain to their team member on watch.
Kataro called out to Julio.
Julio didn’t respond.
Several unnerving moments passed.
Silence
Kataro finally took in how quiet it was. He slowly eased over towards Tellie.
Kataro whispered, “Hey Tell, we-”
“Looks like I found some thieves in isle 2"
The male voice seemed to resonate throughout the whole store.
“Don’t move”
Instantly Tellie and Kataro froze in place.
“Don’t speak”
They couldn’t move. They froze in place against their will.
A tall shadow stood at the store entrance.
The store entrance was broken into earlier by Tellie and Kataro. The outside world was dirty, in a state of deterioration. The inside of the store was dusty. This made the sight of the stranger who strode right in with clean, fitted casual business attire such a peculiar sight in contrast.
The old world was long dead, but somehow this man found a way to keep his outfit ironed and clean. His hair had a business conservative trim, and his skin was clean, and scar-free. The apocalypse seemed to hit everyone hard but not him. He carried nothing but a bright uncanny smile.
This tall mysterious man had a Sheriff's badge pinned proudly next to his tie. The man pointed to his badge and looked at both Tellie and Kataro.
“My name is Brody Claire, but you both are only going to call me Sheriff Claire”
The Sheriff smiled, then quickly raised left his hand. He loudly snapped his fingers.
Julio walked in, he appeared normal at first. After a closer inspection, Kataro and Tellie noticed Julio had strode in unusually upright and emotionless.
The Sheriff waved Julio over. “Stand together, facing me”
The three of them suddenly stood, side by side. Staring at the man who now controls them.
“A firm handshake will do.’ The Sheriff said, the uncanny smile still plastered on his face.
Suddenly, the three of them put their right hand straight out. Each of them felt a mental force that they needed to provide this man a firm handshake.
“I noticed you three have wandered into my city without saying hello to me, or to the other locals nearby. We could be easily found at the lovely former prison nearby. You all didn't bother to look. Rude and inconsiderate, Definitely some degenerate behavior. I had to take time out of my business schedule, to go out of my way to introduce myself first”
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The Sheriff lit a cigarette, pacing in front of them. “Introduce yourselves, one at a time. Weird-eyed girl, you start”
“Tellie”
“Julio”
“Kataro”
The Sheriff's eerie smile turned into an amused smirk. “Now, I know you thieves weren’t aware of the pre-existing rules I’ve established. So, I’m going to let you know how things operate around here, don’t forget what I tell you. I have a community up north, and well...I and everyone else there heavily rely on the inventory of this, very here town. Stealing from my community is punishable by death, but since I’m in dire need of workers, I’m letting the three of you off with a pardon, a warning, a slap on the wrist”
The Sheriff inhaled and looked into the distance for a moment. After an exaggerated exhale, he turned his attention back to them, “Let's start over. I’ll offer you three some hospitality. You’ll work for me, in exchange for food, shelter, and...well I'll even give you all a neighborhood welcoming gift”. The Sheriff flicked his cigarette and glanced around the isles beside him.
“Now, I want to provide a fitting gift, but unfortunately I don’t know much about the lot of you.
I’m just going to have to assume...based on your appearance.” He looked at them intently. The three of them had no idea who this man was, or even if he was sane in the mind. The Sheriff was the first living person they’d stumbled upon in the last month. There were still some pockets of civilization around North America, but mostly it was just small pockets of people around what used to be the United States of America. It has been a few years since they heard any news on the status of what's happening outside North America. In the past when there were still functional instant communication devices, the whole world had ecological struggles, some places worse than others. There's no active internet service and newspapers were long dead before Wish Day. The news is solely word of mouth from other travelers. Tellie, Julio, and Kataro have never heard of this man or the community he's referring to.
Tellie stared back at this man, she didn’t know how, but the Sheriff was able to control them. Tellie found herself having difficulty concentrating on any thought regarding a way to escape. The Sheriff was now staring directly at her.
Sheriff Claire squinted his eyes as he looked into hers. One of her eyes was an advanced optical lens, able to view and observe more than the average human. Many years ago, she woke up startled, adjusting her vision as she discovered having her right eye replaced with an advanced artificial eye. She then discovered that she had a cyborg body. This all occurred the day after the wish. She doesn’t mind her wish, but she often dreams of being able to travel back in time to tell her 10-year-old self to be more specific about her wish. She can’t blame herself though. Not one person was prepared for that day.
Sheriff Claire poked her shoulder wires. She felt nothing.
When she was a young child, she would roll her wheelchair in front of the TV early morning before school, spending as much time as she could spare to watch morning cartoons. She’d often daydream of being as strong and cool as the cyborg superhero she saw on her favorite TV show. It’s been over 10 years since she’s seen the show, she can’t even remember the name of it. It doesn’t matter. Her wish to be like her hero had become a reality. Half of the left side of her face, her heart, and her brain were left of what made her human. Most people saw her as a robot, which she wasn’t. She didn't have much skin, mostly exposed metal. Sheriff Claire sneered and walked away to a different aisle. Tellie tried to move but found no success.
The Sheriff returned with a can.
“Here’s your gift, some premium oil”
There was an uncomfortable silence.
He gave a genuine sigh, “Give me some sensible chuckles”
Promptly, for a short few seconds, all three of them laughed after the command.
All three of them felt internal frustration and confusion about how he was controlling them.
“Heh, funny right? That joke should make up for not giving the other two of you welcome gifts”
The Sheriff placed the oil can on Tellie’s head.
The Sheriff smirked, then walked over to Julio. Peering into Julio’s soulless eyes.
“Did you die and change your mind?”
No one laughed. The Sheriff Claire's smile faltered for a second and promptly returned. The Sheriff gave a moment's thought as if he should command them to laugh. He decided to let this one pass.
Sheriff Claire paused for a moment before swinging a punch into Julio's face. Knocking out a front tooth.
Julio was an undead, or some call, a lively bones. He had long ago rose from a short death. His body was in a state of decay. He was not a zombie, he was a supernaturally revived individual. HIs brain still thought and functioned the same as he was in life. He was no monster. He had no cannibalistic urges or any contagion that is commonly associated with brain-dead zombies. He did not like to be associated with them. Julio had punched someone in the past when they ignorantly assumed him a zombie, he would never eat another human. He was more of a supernatural skeleton, who was slowly decaying until all their flesh and organs fell away. Most sentiant undead found the losing of their skin and organs as a blessing, as it was just useless dead weight weighing them down.
Sheriff Claire waited for a reaction.
Julio didn't respond or show any sign of pain. The punch didn’t affect him at all, except now he was missing a front tooth.
The Sheriff glanced at Julio for a moment before glancing at the other two.
He laughed. It was not for punching Julio in the face, but he found the state of the three standing expressionless with their hands out, ready for a handshake, humorous.
“Put your hands down”
All three of them dropped their hands to their sides. A clunk sounded as the can on Tellies head fell to the ground.
The can broke open, oil splashing on the Sheriff Claire's shoes and slacks. The Sheriff's good-humored expression abruptly vanished, and he looked over at Kataro. “What’s your deal?”
Kataro tried to speak, but it was muffled. The Sheriff lifted the helmet's visor.
“You may speak”
“I’ve duct-taped myself to protect myself from zombies and other monsters that may bite. Listen, we won’t take anything, let us leave-”
The Sheriff held up his hand, and Kataro abruptly went silent. Sherif Claire glanced over the store shelves. After a few moments, he gave up and lit another cigarette, appearing annoyed by the lack of anything in the store that he could use to wipe his shoes. “Interview is over. New hires, you all have been selected to be my new employees. Your start date is effective immediately, I’ll answer your questions later, for now.....feel free to celebrate”, he said mildly.
The three new employees did not react.
The Sheriff let out an exaggerated exhale, “Now whoever has the keys to the truck outside, hand them over to me. It is now reassigned to be my new company vehicle”
Julio found himself subconsciously tossing the truck keys to their new employer.
The Sheriff walked towards the truck, his back was toward them, but his voice was still loud as he walked away, “You may now move and speak now.”
Julio, Tellie, and Kataro looked at each other. Before any of them spoke, Sheriff Claire spoke from outside, “I’ll be heading out now, my prior ride is out of fuel so you all will have to walk to the colony”.
Tellie ran out of the store first with a pistol drawn. Julio and Kataro are close behind her. The Sheriff got into the truck, and rolled down the window, "I order you all to never hurt me or any other employee."
Tellie lowered the pistol.
Sheriff Claire nodded, "I know the walk there will be difficult and I would ideally have us all carpool there, but I prefer to drive alone when the other employees smell as bad as you three. Besides, safety is important and I wouldn’t want to risk somehow being harmed by my new employees on the way back, I imagine there would be a temptation with the three of you cramped in a truck next to me. You might find an innovative loophole. I guess I could have you sit in the truck bed but that wouldn’t be safe, either because...that’s a potential occupational safety hazard lawsuit right there!” The Sheriff chuckled.
Tellie ran up to the truck door. The Sheriff sternly spoke, “Stop, calm down, and listen to me. You can talk to me later with any questions and concerns you may have”
Tellie halted and felt her emotions starting to calm. She still felt irked at the back of her mind, but it started to fade against her better judgment.
The Sheriff continued, “The three of you will walk north a few miles and you’ll eventually make it to the colony. It’s probably an hour or so walk if you don’t slack off. I imagine the time will fly by if you three converse on the way there” He looked away for a moment to kick on the A/C. He looked back at them with a smile as he started to roll up the window. “Take a five-minute break and start heading north. You’ll get further instructions once you meet the guard at the gate. See you soon! Oh, one more thing, don’t try to escape. You couldn’t even if you tried”.
The three of them were speechless as the truck sped off, splashing dust into the air as it sped away.
The three of them moved their arms, feeling unsure if they were in control of their bodies.
The five minutes passed and they felt an internal obligation to start walking. A mild headache started to occur if they fought against the walking. They gave up trying to fight it and trudged along to their destination. The three of them stayed silent and deep in their thoughts the entire way, unsure of what to make of the predicament that they found themselves in.