The Most Uncommon Cold I - Life in the Time of Zombies by Jeffrey Littorno Read Free Book Online Page A

said, “Mister Clark, are you in there?”  There was no answer. 
         I reached down to turn the old brass knob.  It turned freely.  I gave the door a shove, but it would not budge. I could hear a bolt rattling. 
         “Mister Clark, let me in so I can help you!”  I kept shaking the door in the hope that the bolt might shake free, but it did not.  “Mister Clark...Jerry!”
         I leaned close to the door and listened for any sound.  There was nothing.  I waited.  For what, I don ’t know.  To tell the truth, I had no idea as to what to do next.  Finally, I grabbed the knob again shook it. After a minute, I stopped and leaned against the door again.  This time I heard a scratching sound from within the bathroom.
         “Jerry, open the door!” 
         No response. 
         I stood there in that dark hallway waiting.  Finally, a weak, shaky voice called, “You need to get out of here.”
        After a moment, I responded, “What are you talking about?  Open the door so I can help you!”
         “Get out of here.  Take that disc and get out of here.” 
         “Just open the door, Mister Clark.”  I waited for a response.  Nothing.  I called several more times with the same result.  After some time, I headed back to the room with the television and grabbed the DVD out of the player.  I put it in the little envelope. I noticed that 1535 had been handwritten at the bottom of the envelope and quickly scanned the room for anything else that might lend credibility to the story.  Nothing jumped out at me, so I tucked the disc into my pocket.
         I headed back to the bathroom door and gave it a last try.  “Jerry, I ’m taking the DVD.  I still wish you’d open the door to help you.”  After a minute of waiting for any sound, I gave up and headed out of the house to the car. 
         The sunlight was beginning to dim in the late afternoon sky.  
         Getting into the Jeep, I noticed several people popping out of their houses to gather up the mail. I wondered if all of them were suffering from the cold. The strange thing was that even after grabbing the contents from their mailboxes the people continued to shuffle around the yard as if not quite sure what to do next. One man dressed in a ragged blue bathrobe stood near his mailbox turning slowly in a complete circle.  A woman with a long blonde ponytail wearing a green and blue jogging suit was opening her mailbox, staring down the street, and then closing the box. I sat there quite caught up in the bizarre choreography around me.
         I was so enthralled in the scene that I was caught entirely off guard by the sudden jolt of the car.  I looked to the passenger window for the source of the movement to see Jerry Clark.  The weird part was it wasn’t exactly the same guy I had seen earlier. This Clark had eyes that seemed unfocussed. He seemed to be  looking at something but not directly at me.  Both of his hands were still on the window in the same place he had slapped the car. His face was without expression as if he didn’t recognize me.  Without taking my eyes from him, I reached for the button to slide open the window.  Before I could open the window, Clark pushed back from the window, ran in front of the Jeep and across the street.
         I had the door open and was standing next to the car yelling “Jerry” before thinking about it.  Every person in the area turned to look at me.  The man in the bathrobe was no longer spinning but was now staring intently in my direction.  Likewise, the blonde was no longer concerned with the mailbox door but focused upon me instead.  I jumped quickly back into the car and had it started before anyone had moved in my direction.
        I pulled away from the curb and looked for Jerry Clark but saw no sign of him.
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
         “Curiouser and curiouser.” The words from Alice in Wonderland echoed through my