II

Canned Food

Kaveh was still pumping adrenaline from the fire fight, and it made him lightheaded. The vault was barely large enough to fit the four of them comfortably, but it wasn't filled with stacks of money, as he had imagined. Instead, it was lined with hundreds of drawers of various sizes.

As he caught his breath, he saw the severed arm that was left on the floor, and he noticed his own arm felt warm. He looked down. Blood was pouring from his left shoulder, soaking the inside of his sleeve.

He showed Speedy. The two of them had worked together for five years, and the only people they knew in town were like them, immigrants. The rest of the town pretended they weren't there, and Speedy insisted they play along. True to form, Speedy shook his head quickly. "Cúbralo."

Kaveh knew he didn't need to cover it up. He needed to stop the bleeding and clean the wound. He started to peel back his suit jacket, cursing Speedy for making him wear his best clothes for the loan application. Speedy shook his head again and took off his own jacket. He draped it over Kaveh's arm just as Lisa turned around.

"Can you help me with," she started, but she must have seen something in their faces. "What's wrong?"

Speedy looked around nervously in awkward silence. "Nothing," he finally said. Lying wasn't his strong suit.

Lisa pulled Speedy's jacket away, and Kaveh's arm clenched against the pain. "Get away from him," she said, but there was nowhere to go. Speedy shook his head, and Kaveh smiled at his friend's loyalty. "Do it now." Her voice raised, and the noise bounced off the walls. Even she seemed surprised at her sudden volume, but Speedy looked to Kaveh.

Kaveh wanted to know what was going on and nodded for his sous chef to do as he was told.

Speedy stood on the other side of the tiny room, next to the blonde, who was still in shock.

Lisa held out her hand. "Give me the gun." She spoke slowly, like she had during the loan application, as if Kaveh were stupid or didn't understand English.

He didn't need to be a linguist to say, "No."

She spoke even slower. "They bit you. You're gonna die. Then you'll be one of them." She pointed to the door. "A zombie."

Kaveh followed her finger with his eyes, but he didn't believe it. Things like that just didn't happen. He was really getting dizzy now. He couldn't stand up much longer.

He leaned against the wall and sank to the ground. He watched Lisa watching the gun. Something in her eyes reminded him of someone.

She stood over him now. "Are there any bullets left in that thing?"

He knew how many there should be, but he checked to be sure. He nodded solemnly. "Just the one in the chamber." He thought about the full clip still on the guard's belt on the bank floor, but there was no way to get it now.

"That's good," she said. "We can use it on you." He looked into her eyes again. She was serious. That's when he realized who Lisa reminded him of. That dark hair, those eyes that held secrets he would never completely understand, he'd seen them before in Fatima, the first girl he ever loved.

Speedy stepped between them again. The baseball bat hung limply at his side. "You're not shooting my friend," he said, his Mexican accent slightly thicker than usual.

#

Lisa knew what to do, but nobody would listen to her if they knew the reason she found zombie movies so relatable. She wished there was someone else to explain it to them. She wasn't sure how long Kaveh had left, but when he turned, he'd eat them before they could escape, and he had the gun. "Am I the only one who sees what's going on here?" She turned to Helen for support, but her coworker could only stare vacantly.

"It'll heal," said Kaveh. Lisa knew he was wrong, but it would be easier if he realized it on his own. He jerked his head, and Speedy stepped out of the way. The anger in Kaveh's eyes softened, and he said, "What happens to you without bullets?"