HUMAN

Chapter Six

New Day – Patti LaBelle

***

They were all awake at sunrise. They were short a person and her absence was very strongly felt. The entire group was silent and still for a few hours. It was a long, somber morning. Lost in their own minds, they barely recognized the silence surrounding them. No one could eat anything. Or move. Or speak. They knew that someone had to break the silence and distract them from the traumatic night they just had. There were a few shared glances, but no smiles. Avi moved to sit next to his sister, who had been staring out of the window all morning.

"What is that place? Where even are we?" Avi asked while squinting to read the signs on the building. The sun's rays were directly in his eyes, making it rather difficult to see anything outside.

"It's most definitely a mall. That's definitely a Target, see?" Kevin said as he pointed at the logo. To be fair the bright red bullseye was almost completely hidden from their view. He continued, "It's a pretty big mall too. Huge. I think that's a hotel behind it. We could probably find shelter there, even if no one's inside. A lot more supplies we might need at the mall too I bet."

Scott said, "Too obvious. Look at all of those cars!! It's probably wiped out and full of the dead by now. I promise you the second we drive up we'll see that the windows have already been smashed in. I don't trust it at all. I really, REALLY don't like that idea. Sorry. I think if we stop anywhere to get supplies it needs to be somewhat more secluded than that."

Mitch interrupted, "Yea. No way! I've played Dead Rising and seen too many zombie movies to know that is NOT a great idea. Period. Not happening. I'm not going and I'm definitely not letting a single one of you put yourselves in danger like that."

"Well, we are certainly not safe in this bus for the rest of our lives. We have to go somewhere. Luckily, we haven't been swarmed, but we all know it's inevitable. The only other large buildings with decent security and big walls I can think of are no safer than a mall..." Kevin argued. "Airports, prisons, hospitals. Are any of those places where you'd like to be? I don't think so. We wouldn't have enough gas to drive all the way home at this point either. That would require some planning. I mean, I don't know what you expect us to do at this point?"

"Airport??" Kirstie asked, knowing very well that was her closest chance of looking for Jeremy again.

Scott interrupted, "Kirstie. No."

She sat back down and sadly stared at the ground. He was right. That would probably be top on the list of the most dangerous places to visit right now. Even if Jeremy had landed, if there were a zombie outbreak while he was in the terminal, it was probably every man for himself. Thinking about how horrifying that would've been for him made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Wait... no," Kevin realized, "what about an estate? Like a big house in a gated community or something. It would be a lot more secluded. There might even be gated communities, with neighbors helping each other survive. Just a possibility. Do we know anyone that lives nearby? Any celebrities or someone like that? Even a few states away."

"I don't know. Most of the big Hollywood stars I've met live in, well.... Hollywood," Scott replied. "All the other celebrities on the east coast that I can even think of live in a high rise in the city. I definitely don't think we'd want to be there either. Can anyone else think of someone with a nice big house? A producer maybe? CEO of something?? Somewhere more hidden?"

There was a severely long silence. They thought they might need to formulate a plan B, which might include traversing thousands of miles across the country. They looked defeated, until Avi suddenly spoke.

"Patti LaBelle."

Everyone was silently staring at him in complete and utter confusion.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir," Mitch interjected, "THAT Patti LaBelle??"

"Yes?" He would not have thought of his band mates as a group of people who were so easily starstruck. 

"HOW do you know her?" Kirstin questioned from her bed, in a monotone voice.

"What do you mean? I know a lot more people than you guys," Avi insisted.

They all stared at him again. Dumbfounded.

"What? I've met her several times actually," Avi quietly pronounced.

"HOW?" Kevin shrieked.

"WHEN?? You never told me this," Esther questioned.

"Or me?!?" Kevin said.

"You never asked," he defensively replied.

"So what about her?" Scott asked, trying to get everybody back to the point.

"She lives just outside of Philadelphia. It's a small town with only a few houses, small mom-and-pop shops, and a lake nearby. But her actual house is in a huge, fenced-in... gated community. Really nice, big home too. My ex and I visited her place whenever we toured near there and we would have tea. Make fun if you want, but it was nice. She was expecting me next week as a matter of fact," Avi stated.

Kevin's jaw dropped. Scott was holding Mitch up from nearly fainting from shock. Everyone looked at each other to make sure they were not completely out of their minds. Avi smiled. He was amused by the sudden power he held with this new information.

He asserted his opinion, "Well, if you guys want to check it out I'm all in. If that was what we were looking for then there's really no use in discussing it anymore. But, tonight we should set up camp and get some rest. The drive will be a few hours and we'll want it to be a lot earlier in the day when we head out."

They decided it would be wise to listen to him.  

***

"It's a new day. Open my eyes and the path is clearer."