Free 100 Days of Death by Ray Ellingsen Page B

corral all the infected tenants on the top floor into the stairwells and down into the parking garage, where he trapped them. He said there were two remaining tenants on that floor who were not infected, but one of them never came out of his apartment the entire time he was there.
    The other tenant, a “saucy little Latino number” (Albert’s words, not mine), named Cindy, let Albert stay with her. Although Albert wouldn’t admit it, I’m pretty sure he was shacking up with her. For six days they went from apartment to apartment on that floor living off of whatever food they found.
    Twice during his stay there he had encounters with plague victims and both times he was able to get away and lock them into holding areas. He knew his stay was over when the power to the entire complex finally went out.
    He escaped that night and spent the next four days walking across the San Fernando Valley, avoiding hordes of Infected to get to my house in North Hollywood. I don’t know the details of his four day journey yet, but I’m curious as hell how he survived. When I asked him about Cindy, he avoided answering me. I didn’t pursue it.
    I asked him why he didn’t try to find a car and drive instead of walking the whole way. He told me he couldn’t bring himself to steal a car from someone who might need it. When I asked him why he decided to come find me, he hesitated, but then told me it was because I was the only friend he had. Albert had finished his story by saying that if he hadn’t found me he didn’t know what he would have done.
    Even though I’m now sleeping on my couch, I’m really glad he’s here.
    At 12 noon I turned on the TV to watch Gerald Ritchie’s broadcast. I had asked Albert if he had watched Ritchie’s broadcast and he mentioned that Cindy had watched it every day. He wasn’t interested though, because the news just depressed him.
    After the usual updates on the most dangerous areas of the city, Gerald attempted to approach a military unit guarding the Pasadena Evacuation Center for an interview. When he identified himself the soldiers opened fire on him and his camera crew. Even while he was retreating with bullets kicking up all around him, Gerald continued to give a blow by blow report, not even concerned that people were trying to kill him.
    The broadcast suddenly pixilated, and bright moving dots of color obscured the images. The only audio was a high-pitched whine. After watching this (with the volume down) for ten minutes I gave up and shut off the television.
    Albert was still asleep at 1 p.m. so I went up on to the roof to look around. It was still overcast and drizzling. I saw movement up near the end of the block several times and could hear an eerie moaning wail off in the distance somewhere, but other than that it was quiet.
    I saw Albert’s discarded clothes in the front yard and the pile of carcasses across the street. I had ignored Dale’s bloated corpse on the driveway but knew I would have to deal with it all at some point.
    It was when I glanced at the bodies across the street that I saw it. At first my mind didn’t register it, but then it hit me. Dawn’s front driveway gate was wide open. I had definitely secured everything there when I left the other day. A wave of guilt washed over me.
    I must have procrastinated at my front gate for twenty minutes before I finally unlocked it and ventured over to Dawn’s house. I had thought about waking Albert to bring him with me, but decided to leave him a note instead. I mentioned in my note to hold off eating until I got back (my passive aggressive way of saying “don’t eat all my f---ing food while I’m gone”).
    I delicately stepped over all the bodies in the yard and stopped near the open gate. I peered down the driveway and listened for a few minutes, trying not to gag at the horrid smell of the dead. At least there was no music playing, but the silence was even more unsettling.
    I walked up Dawn’s driveway alongside her