《After Z》Chapter Twelve

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“I like your dog.”

The male voice startled Zita, and cast her gaze around the small wooden restroom in a panic. “Who’s there?” Her hand reached reflexively towards the canister of mace in the pocket of the jeans pooled around her ankles.

There was no immediate answer, and she realized the speaker had to be on the other side of the cement brick divider wall. It was sturdy and separated the men’s and women’s sides, but didn’t reach all the way up to the peaked roof.

“Sorry.” The response was quieter, hesitant. “I should’ve waited until we were out to say anything. I… haven’t been doing a lot of talking lately.”

She realized after a few moments that the speaker hadn’t meant to be creepy. And the truth was, after two nights sleeping in the forest preserve’s picnic area, avoiding that rapey-looking ranger, she was leery of any human contact. Especially strange male human contact. Strange male human contact who’d think that talking to someone on the other side of a restroom wall was in any way appropriate.

But as long as the pervert kept talking she knew where he was. And the other side of this wall was the furthest from where she was… he’d have to run out of his stall, dash around the building to get to the entrance to the women’s side, giving her plenty of time to prepare her mace. And honestly, she reflected as an afterthought, he was probably in the same situation. He might know something.

“His name’s Marv. He’s my guard dog,” she lied. Marv was a big goof who would be as likely to lick a mugger’s face as he was to protect her, but the Bathroom Talker didn’t have to know that.

“That’s a good name, he looks like a Marv.” There was a pause, and he blurted out “I’m not stalking you or anything, I just saw him when I came in.”

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Having heard his name, Marv wandered into the bathroom, taking a seat outside Zita’s stall. This calmed her a little. “You really shouldn’t start conversations with women in the bathroom.”

“Yeah, no, sorry,” he said.

“It’s gross and a little threatening.”

“I had no idea it was threatening,” Nick said.

“Well, no shit, or you wouldn’t do it,” Zita said. But come on, where are we the most vulnerable? And a sudden strange male voice?

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just don’t do it.”

“Okay.”

She finished up her business, grabbed Marv’s leash, and was set to leave when she paused… was he still there? Waiting outside the entrance for her? “Hey, you there?”

There was a pause before he responded, from the same place as before, on the other side of the wall. “Yeah?”

“How are things out there?”

“In the park?”

“No… outside? We’ve been here a while. And with cells being down…”

“I’ve been here since Friday night, but I have a radio. Name’s Nick, by the way.”

“Okay, Nick.”

“Yeah, uh… it’s bad out there.”

“How bad?”

“Well…” the guy was hesitating.

“Don’t hold back, man, just tell me what the deal is.”

“Bad bad.” He sighed. “Like… okay, you know about the zombies, right?”

“What?” She had to have misheard him.

“Oh shit,” the guy said. “Okay, first, and I know how this sounds, but the dead are rising. Okay?”

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