6 If it works then it's not stupid

(Meghan)

Meghan cut the call with tears in her eyes. She hadn't expected to get sentimental. She couldn't remember when the last time she cried was. But a multitude of emotions erupted in her and she couldn't stop the waterworks from falling. She was relieved and grateful that her parents were safe. She was scared and terrified about what was happening in the apartments. She was nervous and overwhelmed about what was to come. These were too many emotions to experience at once. Also, her mother's last words before she cut didn't help either. They lingered in her mind long after the phone went dead.

She instantly started wishing she had been nicer to her mother earlier that day. What if it was the last time she would see her? That thought made her even more agitated. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as regret surged inside her. The thought of losing her was too much to contain. Despite all the fights and arguments, she loved her mother deeply. Nothing would ever change that.

She vowed to be nicer to her if they were to meet again.

"No," she scolded herself, "Not if… when! When I see her again!" She corrected herself.

She wiped away her tears and put away her phone.

Meghan really wanted to talk to her dad as well but she knew that he was still busy arguing with the police officer. It was unfortunate but hearing that they were both alive and well was enough to give her the motivation to continue on forward.

She had a destination now. A purpose.

She would do whatever it took to get back to them or she would die trying.

Hopefully not the latter.

When Meghan exited her room, she noticed Ray sitting on the sofa, muttering things to himself.

As she walked up to him, she heard him say a bunch of random words.

"Stick… but where? Body won't work… already tried that. Head maybe? Decapitation? Or just smash it in?"

Meghan furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you mumbling?" she asked.

Ray looked up at her in mild surprise, "Oh hey, uhh—done with the call?"

"Yeah," she said and sat down.

Ray glanced over towards the main door, "She's still out there" he said pointing with his thumb, "We're going to have to figure out a way to get past her if we want to make it to the basement. You got any ideas?"

Meghan's mind blanked out.

She hated being asked questions like this out of the blue. She wasn't mentally prepared yet. Although she knew that she was supposed to think properly before answering (especially in front of Ray), she couldn't stop herself from blurting out "Uhh—can't we just push her away and make a run for it?"

Meghan instantly regretted saying that. She realized how stupid her idea was the moment those words escaped her lips. If that wasn't bad enough, the way Ray looked at her made her feel even worse. He didn't say anything. He didn't even laugh. He just stared at her like he was observing a crazy person.

"Say something…" Meghan urged. "Don't just look at me like I'm hopeless."

"Ahh, right. Sorry." Ray said, "It's just that I was thinking more along the lines of… you know… getting rid of her."

"You mean like kill her?" Meghan asked.

Ray nodded.

"That might be the only way." He explained. "You saw how dangerous she is. And from what I saw at the gate, even a single bite is enough to kill you. And after a while, you become one of… them."

Meghan shuddered as a cold chill swept over her.

"If we don't kill her here, I don't see how we're gonna be able to step outside your doorway, forget getting to the basement. She is legit right in front of your door. The moment we open it, she's going to attack. We need to be ready."

Meghan took heed to those words.

She was certainly aware of how serious their predicament was. This wasn't a story or a game. You couldn't start over if you messed something up. You got one chance and that was it. It was quite literally life or death. If they so much as hesitated for a second, they could end up being the woman's next meal.

Meghan didn't want to become a meal.

She didn't want to kill anyone either but the more she thought about it, the less probable it seemed that they could escape without a confrontation with the creepy woman standing outside.

Their options were limited, their safety was at stake and they were gradually running out of time. It had to be done.

"Okay," she agreed, "Let's do it."

Ray nodded.

Meghan noticed that he was just as worked up about the whole thing as she was. He was just doing a better job of not showing it. He kept staring at random things and getting lost in thought. Almost as if he were fighting an internal battle with himself. Meghan was grateful that he was trying to take the brunt of the burden by himself but at the same time she didn't want him to take on more than he could handle. If they were going to make it out alive, they needed to work together. And she knew that she had to do her part.

"So how are we going to do it?" she asked him, breaking the silence.

"I think we need to go for the head." said Ray.

"Was that a Thanos reference?"

"Huh? Oh… damn, I didn't think of that. Maybe it was."

"You subconsciously made a Thanos reference."

"My powers are a mystery even to myself," Ray said dramatically, "Anyway, these things aren't easy to kill. I stabbed that woman in the chest and she didn't even flinch."

"You did that?" Meghan asked, "I saw some stick thing sticking out of her. Oh god, how is she still able to move after that?"

"Yeah, exactly! At this point we have to assume that these things aren't human. I'm not even sure if damaging their head will be enough to kill them but we have to try. Worst case scenario, it'll at least slow them down. We can use that to escape."

"God! What even are they?" Meghan asked.

"I don't know… But I do know that they aren't living beings anymore. Anything that comes back from the dead is not a human in my books. They're just a bunch of deathless creatures."

"Deathless…" Meghan murmured.

"What?" Ray asked.

"Ahh nothing. So, you lost your stick, right?"

"Please don't call it a stick. It's a javelin."

Meghan ignored him, "Did you bring anything else with you besides that?"

"Just this" Ray said as he pulled out a kitchen knife with a long blade.

"Ohhh okay, I think we have one of those at home."

"Take it. Keep it somewhere where you can't cut yourself." Ray advised, "But a knife isn't enough. It's too short ranged. We would need to get up close to these things for it to be of any use and I don't want either of us to take that kind of risk."

Meghan thought for a while, "We have mops and stuff. We could make more spears out of them."

Ray nodded, "Go get what you have. I'll check the kitchen for any more stuff we can use."

Meghan quickly went and grabbed the mop from the bathroom. She returned to the hall and saw Ray place down three knives and a pressure cooker for some reason.

"What you gonna use that for?" she asked pointing at it.

"This thing is quite heavy." He said lifting up the cooker a few times, "We could use it as a good blunt force weapon. A swing from one of these things could do some serious damage if it lands correctly."

"So, like a hammer?" she asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't think it'll be practical to take with us though. Carrying this thing around is going to become tiresome extremely fast. But it might be able to help with the woman at least. I sort-of have a plan."

Meghan still wasn't sold on the pressure cooker idea, she could not see how it would be useful but she didn't say anything.

"Do we need anything else?"

"Tape," Ray said, "Duct Tape would be best."

Meghan doubted that they had any Duct Tape but she went and searched for it regardless. After a few unfruitful minutes, she finally found a thick brown roll tucked at the bottom of one of the drawers.

"I found packaging tape," she called out from the Kitchen.

"Good enough," responded Ray.

Meghan tossed over the roll of tape. Ray removed the mop part of the stick similar to what he had done with the javelin and placed a short knife against one of the ends. He pulled on the tape and tightly wound it around the stick, making sure that the knife wouldn't wobble or fall off. When he was done, he jabbed at the air a few times.

He nodded and handed it over to Meghan.

"That's yours" he said. "Let me know if it's too long, we can shorten it a bit."

Meghan held the newly forged weapon in her hand. It felt foreign to her. She never anticipated that she would be holding something like this ever in her life. In a lot of ways, it was undeniably intimidating. For a moment, the weight of the spear started to feel heavier. Apprehension slowly started creeping up, constantly reminding her of what was yet to come.

"I know," Ray said almost as if he could hear her thoughts, "I felt it too when I held the javelin for the first time. It's seriously daunting in the beginning but it gets easier, I promise."

Meghan gave him weak smile and nodded slightly.

She shouldn't be afraid of the weapon. It was the thing that would help her survive. The only ones who should be fearful of it were the people at the other end of the spear.

This was her weapon. Her strength. Her lifeline.

She clutched it close to her heart. She was ready now.

Ray stood up with two knives tucked into his belt on either side. The pressure cooker was clutched firmly in his right hand. He looked like he was preparing for an anime style cooking showdown rather than a fight to the death with a bunch of flesh-eating monsters.

"You look well equipped." She half-teased.

Ray caught the sarcasm in her voice, "You can tease me all you want but I think it's gonna work. If it works then it's not stupid, that's my motto."

"Good motto." Meghan said.

"Thank you," he said turning towards her, "You all set?"

Meghan nodded.

"Alright, let's go kill that thing."

Just then, Ray's phone rang.

"Fuck!" he cursed as a loud rock song started to play.

He quickly managed to grab it and press the lock button on the side to mute the ringtone. He raised the phone up to his face and looked at Meghan in confusion.

"It's Rody," he said.

"What?" Meghan asked in surprise.

She was not expecting that. She figured it was probably one of his parents or his brother.

Ray activated the speaker mode and picked up the call.

"Hello?"

"Dude, I'm kinda screwed. I need your help!" Said Rody.