Fear of the Dead Read Online Free Page B

the store carrying a shopping cart full of extra clothes, socks, and underwear. Anything that sparked even the slightest interest, she took. By the time her five finger shopping spree was over, she began to feel like every New York female stereotype. After her early morning fit of depression, Vanessa Lowen was calmer now, and apparently shopping had been the cure. Now all she needed was a pedicure and a spa. Maybe get her hair done, and go shopping for make-up. If Jenney were here, they’d make a quick stop at Macys, which was on the opposite end of the street. They’d spend some time testing perfume brands and critiquing amongst themselves which brands they liked, and which they thought would have been better served as insecticides. They’d crack jokes at the first sight of an Escada bottle, and share creative suggestions for what they thought each brand new scent should have been called.
    New car smell was a popular choice among the two, right behind toilet cleaning liquid , and cat lady’s delight .
    Vanessa laughed.
    Good times.
    She wanted to change her clothes and toss the ones she was wearing in the nearest dumpster. She didn’t, for fear of contaminating whatever she wore with the present odor on her body. Vanessa wanted to bath first, and from the smell of her underarms there was no denying that she needed it.
    Without running water around however, there wasn’t much she could do. At the square of the strip mall was a water fountain. It wasn’t running, which meant that the water must have been over four months old. Nonetheless, save for the assorted pennies at the bottom, it seemed clean enough.
    A crazy idea came to mind just then. One that she didn’t honestly consider, but she looked around regardless.
    At this point it was no surprise that the streets were empty. But for what she was thinking of doing, Vanessa had to be extra certain. She carefully scanned every square inch of her field of view, and once again not a sign of life. The idea evolved into possibility, and then into opportunity.
    She sat on the ledge and ran her fingers over the water. It was cold, but clean. If Vanessa was ever going to do what she was thinking of doing, now was the time.
    With her knees quivering excitedly over the prospect, Vanessa grabbed a towel, body soap, a bucket, and some green tea shampoo she found from an abandoned herbal store next to RadioShack. She went back to the staring at the fountain, staring at her own reflection, silently debating with herself whether she was actually going to do what she was genuinely considering doing.
    In time the decision became easier to make once she’d given up thinking it over, and simply removed her clothes.
    Vanessa’s gut tickled until she had to grin. She was standing naked in a strip mall. The only thing funnier than that was actually saying it in her head.
    “ Putting the strip back in strip mall,” she quipped out loud, and sent herself over the edge of laughter.
    Vanessa wasted no time getting herself cleaned. She might have warmed up to the idea the longer she went, but it was still cold water she was pouring over her head. And there was still the infected to worry about, even if she couldn’t see them.
    Once finished with her brief bath, Vanessa changed into a dark blue tracksuit and a fresh pair of shoes. She tossed her old clothes in the trash can alongside the styrofoam cups and plates that had once been thrown in the old days of customers and business.
    That reminded her of the hunger in her belly.
    Junk food hadn’t completely worn her out. But for reasons of health Vanessa wanted something with a little less sodium. A sushi bar at the end of the mall caught her eye. But like everything else, it was locked. A mild inconvenience, and one she didn’t enjoy having to deal with everywhere she went.
    The display cases inside held several varieties of sushi, but the mere sight and smell of them was enough to make her swallow down her appetite. She left almost as