After 30 Days

Forty-Four Day 60

It would have been too simple for us to have made it across the street without being spotted by any zombies. The one stumbling zombie that had seen us quickly turned into multiple as the creature growled and drew the attention of more.

"Go, " Shawn told me as he shoved me from behind. I'd been staring in dismay at the growing number of the undead that was swarming in our direction. Granted, it was a slow moving swarm, but that didn't make it less scary. The number of zombies that were now shambling in our direction was going to be a big problem in another minute or two.

The corner of the car repair shop finally loomed ahead of us and I followed Sam as he darted around the corner of the building in search of a way inside. The big overhead doors that faced the street were closed, but there had to be another way in. My thought was proven right when I spotted the small door about halfway back the side of the building.

The noise from the zombies was growing louder. I glanced back. Just rounding the corner of the building, Marcus was clearly struggling to keep up. Noticing that he was falling behind too, Shawn grabbed Marcus by the arm and dragged him along.

Sam had made it to the door and wrenched the doorknob. To my surprise, it opened. I shot a quick thank you to the universe, or whoever was listening, and darted inside the building behind Sam, Rex right behind me. A long heartbeat later Shawn pulled Marcus inside and slammed the door behind them. The door had a lock that could be engaged from the inside, and he twisted it just before the first of the zombies reached the door.

Inside the car shop was dusty and smelled like oil. The place was shadowy, with patches of sunlight coming in through windows placed high up in the big front doors providing the only light. Other than the now harsh breathing of our group, and the banging and growls of the the zombies outside, it was quiet.

Best of all, there were two cars parked inside the surprisingly spacious building.

The car closest to me was clearly out of commission. Even I could see that there were some big parts missing from under the propped open hood. Making my way around Marcus, who was leaning up against a tall shelf and breathing hard, I tried to get a better look at the second car.

More zombies had arrived at the door and their noise was starting to get louder. The building was mostly just a metal shell, and a scream from outside seemed amplified as it bounced around. "Coming in here may not have been a good idea," Sam whispered loudly as he checked the lock on the door. "If they don't go away, how are we going to get out of here?"

No one answered him. There wasn't much to add to what he had already said. A hard bang on the door rattled it in it's frame, but the lock held.

A bead of sweat rolled down my forehead and I swiped at it as I looked at the next car. At first the second car looked like it wasn't goint to be any more helpful than the first. All four tires had been removed. I was just about to comment that we were totally screwed and hadn't even found a working car when Shawn pointed at me and said, "Go look for keys. This could work."

I didn't know how either car was going to be helpful, but I'd learned many times over to not question him when he got an idea, so I turned in a circle trying to figure out where keys would be hiding in the shop. In the far corner it looked like a makeshift office had been set up, and I bolted in that direction.

A grimy desk was covered with piles of papers. An old, dented filing cabinet stood next to the desk. I shuffled quickly through the papers, sweeping some of them onto the floor, before moving to the filing cabinet and pulling open the top drawer. I was rummaging through the files inside when the dull gleam of something metal wedged between the filing cabinet and the wall caught my eye. A row of nails had been driven into the wall, hidden just behind the beat up side of the filing cabinet. Three sets of keys hung from a few of the nails.