Respect the Dead. Shawn McLain
turned. Martin followed. Kate noticed the Mustang didn’t move. “I wonder if he is thinking about following us.” The thought quickly left her mind as she noticed they were only a couple of blocks from the Harley shop.
A few more minutes on the empty streets then they were pulling into the completely empty lot. The store’s sign was off, the inside was dimly lit, it appeared to be closed. This was not a surprise as most businesses had closed early; some had been closed for a couple of days due to the illness.
Even though she was disappointed at the dark shop, Kate was off her father’s bike in a flash. All thoughts of empty streets and cute boys in cools cars were gone. She only had eyes for the glistening chrome and steel with the sold sign that she knew was just inside the door.
She peered through the huge picture window searching for her bike. Her hand found her wallet in her jacket. She could almost see the motorcycle endorsement printed on her license. She had passed the safety course a couple of weeks ago. She had picked out her bike. Worked all summer to save up for it. On Monday the three of them would return to pick it up. A long and twisty ride was planned for that day.
Her imagination had her twisting the throttle through a turn, the road rushing by her feet. She didn’t even hear her Martin and Bear walk up behind her.
“I haven’t seen her this excited since that Lego set came out a few years back.” Martin laughed.
“I still can’t believe she went for the blue one. I thought sure she wanted a pink one.”
Kate spun around to glare up at Bear. He took a step back holding up his hands in mock defense, a board smile playing under his beard. “I have never,” she poked him in his broad chest, “and will never,” another poke, the large man backed up a step, “like pink.” Kate emphasized her point by punching him in the shoulder, repeatedly.
“Call her off Marty, call her off.”
Martin laughed, “You got yourself into this you get yourself out.”
“Ok ok, you don’t like pink.” Bear laughed out. “still buying you a basket for the front.” He mumbled.
“Dork!” Kate said shaking her head. She was trying and failing not to let the smile break out. With one last punch she turned back to the store. A flash on chrome caught her attention. A light appear through a doorway in the back of the shop. “Hey look, Dusty is here.” She pointed the light out to the two men. Banging on the window to get his attention she yelled for him.
Dusty Rhode’s head snapped up at the noise. He looked to the window. He saw Kate, she smiled and waved at him. He hesitated for a second, looked down at his hands and shirt Without returning the way he disappeared back through the door.
Kate turned to look at the other two who wore the same confused expression she did, “That was weird.”
“Maybe he isn’t supposed to be here?” Bear pondered.
“Huh” Kate grunted as she stared back into the ever darkening store.
The crunch of gravel told her that the two men were heading back to their bikes. A cold wind whipped her hair over her face. She shivered slightly but wasn’t entirely sure it was the wind.
“Come on Kate, let’s get going.” Martin called over the starting of his machine.
Kate stood staring between her bike and the closed door. Something was amiss. When they had been here on any other occasion Dusty would go out of his way to talk to them, to the point they had to make excuses to get away from him. Now he didn’t even return a wave.
A bike revved. “We can pick you up Monday if you like.” Bear shouted over the engine.
Kate returned to the bike. “Hold on a sec.” Another cool breeze had caused her to zip her jacket up all the way. She opened one of the hard bags on Martin’s bike and pulled out a pair of heavy leather pants. She pulled these over her jeans and jumped on the back of the bike. Pulling on her helmet she bonked her dad to let him know she was ready.
“Can we go now?” Bear complained, throwing his hands in the air.
Kate waved him off while Martin put the bike in gear.
In the back of the store Dusty peered through a small gap in the door. He watched the taillights disappear from the lot. He looked down at the bloody wrench on the table and his blood covered hands and shirt. Would they have believed him? Behind Dusty, the service manager lay on the floor. The front of his head was caved in. Dusty’s fingers rubbed lightly on the blood soaked cloth covering the bite he had received from the slain man. He flinched at the pain. The wound was already feeling very hot while Dusty’s head began to ache.
Back on the road Bear’s unease grew with each block now. He had noticed the small group of people as they left the Harley shop. They had been slowly wandering down the block. Something about the way they moved bothered him. They just…weren’t right. “Probably, bunch a meth heads.” He grumbled to the wind.
The further they rode the more they saw. Up ahead was a woman hanging onto a sign post. Down a side street there were four or five of them wandering down the middle of the road.
“What do you reckon? The sick have started wandering about?” Martin shouted the question at the next stop light.
“What the hell is wrong with everyone?” Bear returned. His eyes went wide, “Marty! Kate! Look out!” He was pointing behind them.
Martin’s head snapped in the direction bear pointed. A Bloody man in a suit stumbled off the sidewalk toward them. He reached out grabbing Kate’s forearm. It felt like a vice closing on her. Kate screamed, Martin revved the engine and let go of the clutch. The front wheel of the heavy bike left the ground. Kate fell back painfully against the metal of the backrest. Her free arm held tightly to her father his left arm holding tightly to her’s as he felt her being pulled sideways.
Kate cried out in pain as she was being wrenched from the seat. The bloody man stumbled to keep up but lost his grip falling hard on the pavement. Kate could still feel his hand gripping her. She knew her arm would be bruised. Even with the pain she wrapped it tightly back around her father as the bike increased in speed.
The two bikes flew down the road. Everywhere they looked bloody and battered people seemed to be materializing out of nowhere. Bear nearly ran down a kid who was blindly wandering across the road dragging a skateboard behind him with one arm, his other arm was missing.
Martin was ahead now. He motioned to take a side street. They barely made the turn when they were faced with a wall of people. Smoke billowed from the bike’s rear tire, rubber screeched, Martin shouted while Kate screamed. The heavy Electra glide slammed into the bloody wall of the stumbling horde. The handle bars snapped out of Martin’s hands twisting sideways. The bike lurched. Kate lost her grip on her father. For a moment she was airborne leaving the back of the bike. Time slowed, she twisted in the air, hands reached out grabbing at her and Martin. Time caught up, pain exploded in her back while fireworks burst before her eyes. She slammed onto the pavement rolling painfully. Her shoulders slamming one then the other onto the ground. She slid from there until she was stopped by knocking down a woman who had been standing in the road.
The woman fell heavily across Kate’s legs. Kate’s helmet slammed into the ground again. She was sick and dizzy. Her neck ached as it hung in the air. Kate had landed in a somewhat seated position due to her backpack. The world spun, she felt as if she were just waking, that had to be it. That was the only explanation for what had just happened. It was a dream, a nightmare.
Reality crashed down in the form of pain, pain that was shooting through her leg. The woman Kate had knocked down now had a grip on her thigh, the woman’s teeth pinched the flesh like a clamp. She was trying to bite through the thick leather pants. Kate’s knee felt like it was being ripped off. Then her arm was in a vice and being pulled up to a man’s mouth. Fingers dung at her chest trying to rip through her jacket.
In a blur of motion and sound the woman at Kate’s knee flew backward. The woman's head nearly separating