Season 01, Episode 03: "Clean-Up On Isle Six"

"Antarctica" by The Bled

*The scene opens with Art and his dog Zero driving down the road, leaves being kicked up behind the worn-out back tires of his black pickup truck, walkers and flipped over cars lining sidewalks and busy streets. Art's cell phone sits in the cup-holder, his eyes glaring down at it from time to time, waiting for a response, as the two make their way to Bass Pro.*

A few months ago, if you had asked me I would have told you that if you love somebody you let them go. Thinking about it now, when the end is staring you right in the face, it makes you realize how precious time is. You never know when it'll be your time to go, you never know what'll be right around the corner; plain and simple, you just never know. I mean, we never really knew what the future had in store for us, but more so now than ever, with our humanity being challenged, and that which we hold dear being ripped from our hands, it's about survival, it's about whatever can get you through this, and for me, it's always been one hundred percent, undoubtedly, love, and why the hell would I let that go now?

I don't think people wasted too much time. Stores were being hit up while the news was breaking. Driving down main street felt like being in a third world country now. I noticed more killings of the living than I did of the undead. I had played this scenario in my head so many times, thinking that a catastrophic event like this would bring us all closer together, but instead it was what everyone expected, but what no one wanted to admit to, we are greedy, horrible people, and instead of helping each other, when we are presented with such a horrible situation, we are trying our hardest to survive, by any means necessary, even if it means to kill to survive.

It's hard to drive with all of the undead in the streets. I can't even remember how many cars I drove by with the undead still strapped into their seat-belts. I watched as a man opened a car, saving what appeared to be an abandoned baby, until that thing latched onto his neck. I hit the gas and drove away as fast as I could. It was almost reassuring to see a glimpse of hope, but then it was dashed away when I saw the most animalistic of urges displayed by an infant that had obviously turned.

Zero barked through rolled up windows, spinning around in his seat, whining and barking at anything that was not in a car. I hit a hard left turn, skidding on the road as I tried another route to Bass Pro. I braced myself as I drove through debris and walkers. I have decided to refer to them as walkers...it's The Walking Dead's fault. At least I'm not carrying a crossbow or wearing an eye patch.

I noticed a fire on the road en route to my current destination. I made a detour and somehow ended up in front of a Home Depot. For some odd reason I decided that this should be the first stop. I leashed up Zero and ran through the parking lot, baseball bat in hand. I ran through the entrance, the old man that usually greets the customers was still sitting in his seat. He looks up at me and smiles. "Welcome to Home Depot," he says, smiling at me. I'm not sure if he realizes what is going on, or if he even cares. "There is a special on shovels on isle six." I don't know if he is being condescending, or if he really thinks he's still working.

"Thanks," is all I can seem to mutter as I start to run through the isles.

I grab a shopping cart and lift up Zero and put him in it. We start to storm through the store, picking up shovels, pick axes, and any food that was left over. Someone bumps into me and I crash into a shelf of spray paint. "I'm sorry." I get picked up, apologized to, as a big, bearded man in a red plaid shirt dusts me off.

"It's okay," is all I can mutter, surprised at the act of courtesy.

The man smiles at me and says, "Clean-up on isle six!" He laughs and hands me a can of black spray paint, and says, "I think you dropped this." I don't know why, but I figured it would be a good idea to take it.

"Thank you," again is all I could say, placing the paint in the cart, continuing on.

"Are you stocking up on supplies as well?" the man asks, picking up some spray paint for himself, then shifting himself closer to my cart.

"I am," I say, trying to avoid any further conversation. I start to push my cart and move on to the next isle, but the man repositions himself in front of me again.

The man looks at me and smiles, a drop of sweat running down his brow. "It's dangerous out there. You all alone?" The man now looks visibly worried, awaiting an answer.

"Yes. Yes, I'm alone. But I'm actually on my way to try to meet up with some people, and find a place, or something."

"Hehe; something. Well that's good! Get what you can now from here. Make sure you stock up on a lot of supplies. Weapons especially, and bandages and wraps. Those things bite really hard." The man stands there smiling, his face starting to grow pale, more sweat dripping down his face.

"Yeah, that's what they seem to do," I say, as if I had already encountered any of them. I pick up a few more cans of spray paint and place them into my cart. I start to push the cart, trying to get away.

The man smiles again, finally moving out of my way, gulps, and says, "Well...good luck! I hope you find your friends, or your 'something', or whatever it is you are looking for."

"Thank you. Good luck to you too." I say, trying to get in and out of this store as quickly as possible. I felt bad about brushing him off, but to be honest I knew what I had come in here to do, and unfortunately for him befriending a rather large and bearded man in a plaid shirt was not it.

The cart, now half way filled with pick axes and other useful tools starts to get heavier as I push through different isles. The store is unbelievably quiet, as soft rock plays quietly over the speakers. I look around corners, carefully as to not bump into anything, or to bring any attention to myself or Zero. I continue to whisper to Zero, trying to keep him calm as his tail stands on end. I start to get a terrible feeling about this, as my phone goes off.

"Shit!" I yell, more worried about the noise of my phone attracting walkers, not thinking that my own exclamation probably did more harm than my phone did. I look down at my phone, a missed call from Ashley. I had tried to call her several times on the way over, but to no avail. I was starting to get worried. I start to call back, waiting patiently as I get her voice-mail. I hang up, and try again. By this point Zero is growing anxious, spinning around, knocking the things in the cart around, making more noise. His whines start to grow louder and louder, until suddenly they become barks. I yell at Zero, telling him to be quiet as I get Ashley's voice-mail once again.



"Ashley! It's Art. Please call me back as soon as you can. I just want to make sure you're alright. I know you probably don't want to hear from me, but I just want to make sure you are safe. Please call me and let me know that you are fine. I'm on my way to--" but before I can finish my sentence I am struck frozen by fear as I notice what is on it's way towards me from the end of isle six.



I see the old man looking at me, his orange vest glaring in the sunlight. Zero continues to bark, putting his front paws out of the cart. I stand there, phone gripped in my hand as the voice-mail continues to record, and start to back up a little bit. My heart racing as I notice the man's posture. He begins to walk towards me, very slowly, as his figure starts to lurk out of the shadows, the sunlight finally hits his face to reveal blood dripping from his neck and his mouth. He lets out a loud groan as he starts to chase me.

I immediately turn around, bumping into the bearded gentleman in the red plaid shirt from earlier. I am taken over by a brief moment of relief, until I look into his eyes. His eyes have turned grey and red, his skin pale, as blood drips out of his mouth as well. I look down at his arm, blood soaked through bandages that cover most of his left forearm. He cocks his head to the side and makes a loud groan, sticking his arms out as he starts to come towards me.

"You've got to be shitting me!" I yell, as Zero jumps out of the cart and onto the plaid-clad walker, knocking him down, immediately running off, his leash dragging behind him. I push the cart and start to run through the isles as the old man in the orange vest chases me.

I chase Zero to the outside of the store, avoiding other walkers as I start to realize that the store is starting to get filled with them. The orange vest walker gets dangerously close to us, as I can feel him start to breathe down my neck. I push the cart off of the sidewalk, running through the parking lot. I see my truck, but realize that the orange vest walker is too close for me to be able to make an escape.

I try to grab my baseball bat, but the walker grabs my arm, my phone falling to the ground. I try my hardest to turn around to fight the walker off of me. He opens his mouth, trying to bite me as I push him back in a fit of rage, and at that very second he is hit by a speeding car. The momentum of pushing the walker back and the car nearly hitting me knocks me on my back.

The car continues to veer off, the orange vest walker now on the floor, crawling towards me. Zero barks at me, I get up, trying to get to my phone before noticing that the old man in the orange vest has crawled very close to me, now laying on top of my phone. I pick up my baseball bat, lifting it above my head, ready to smash this pain in the head before I hear Ashley's ringtone go off.



I hesitate, looking at my phone, seeing Ashley's name and picture flash upon the screen as the old man sneers at me. Zero begins to bark, calling my attention. I turn around to see a hoard of walkers coming towards the truck. I sigh, frustrated because I know I'm not going to have enough time to get my phone back.

"You fucking suck, zombie!" I yell, right before I kick the old man in the head and run off, grabbing the cart and putting as much as I can into the back of my truck. I push the cart into the hoard of oncoming walkers, unlock my truck, let Zero in, get in myself, and slam my door closed. I stare off into the distance, annoyed that my phone will probably stay behind, but I know that it's only a matter of time before all reception is down anyway. I turn my truck on and drive away, supplies in the back of the truck, and Zero and I safely leaving this scene.


 "Civilian" by Wye Oak

I look back for a second, seeing the large bearded man walking over in my direction, his eyes still glazed over, spray cans still in his pockets. I stare at his bandage-clad arm, and sigh. Again, I feel a little bad for him, but in reality there is nothing I could have done, and I know that now. I guess they do bite hard.

I drive off, pale look on my face as I pull the walkie out of my bag. I turn it on and begin to call for Jace. "Jace, do you copy? Jace! Dammit! Jace, it's Art. If you can hear me, it's a no go to Bass Pro." I pause for a bit, looking down at my gear shift, noticing the hair band that has been wrapped around it for months. I know deep down what I want to do, and I know what I should do, but for some reason I can't let this go. "Walkie me as soon as you can. Again, I'm not going to Bass Pro...I've got something else I need to do."

Like I said before, if you had asked me a few months ago I would have told you to let it go, because if you truly love something, and it's meant to be, it'll come back. You just have to give it time, and now, in this world, time is nothing but a myth. Only the strong survive, and if you want something you better damn go after it.

I quickly turn the truck around and begin to drive off as fast as I can, towards Ashley's house...

*The scene ends with Art's truck driving down the road, cutting back to the parking lot in front of Home Depot. Art's phone continuing to ring, Ashley's picture flashing on screen, as we fade to black*

Music From This Episode:

"Antarctica"

The Bled

Found In The Flood

"Civilian"

Wye Oak

Civilian