89.4 Zombie Radio

"Well Jessie, I think its time for that date," Dalton said. We just got married, and now we were going on our first date. Something was very weird about the order Dalton and I were doing things, and yet, I couldn't help but love it. How Dalton was going to pull off a date at a Walmart, I had no idea, but I couldn't wait to find out.

"I set something up a little while ago, when we split up to search the place," Dalton told me.

"Is that why you made me check the restrooms by myself?" I asked.

"Yea, I figured you'd fall for that," Dalton answered.

"You're a jerk," I said with a smile.

"Yea, but you love me," Dalton replied. "Hey, I had to set it all up somehow. It was all I could think of."

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"The electronics section," Dalton answered with a grin. We walked to the very back wall of the store, which was lined with TV's. Dalton walked over to a small DVD player set up in the middle, and turned to face me.

"Well, I know its not exactly the real thing. Unfortunately, these guys are probably zombies by now. But, I remembered you arguing with Bob over this band, and it just so happened I liked them too. So, I figured I'd look for something of theirs here. I honestly didn't expect to find it, but sure enough they had it, and so I give you, the new Mrs. James, Avenged Sevenfold."

Dalton pressed play and turned up the surround sound he had set up. When the concert started, I closed my eyes, and felt the music in my chest. I sank into Dalton's arms and listened to a few songs, but whenever I opened my eyes, it made me think about the old days. The days when I was going to real concerts, and listening to the bands live. I knew things would never be the same again. I was glad I had found Dalton, and in a way, I'm glad the world ended. If it hadn't, we would have never met, but at the same time, I didn't want to be reminded of the past. The past was just that, the past, and I wanted to do what I could to move on to the future, our future.

"Dalton, this is really sweet of you, but... I've seen this one before," I said. Dalton kissed me lightly on the top of the head. He knew what I was really feeling. He hurried over to the DVD player, and pressed stop. Once again, the Walmart fell silent, and I slowly made my way over to Dalton. He wrapped his arms around me and I put my head into his chest.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't think that through," he whispered.

"Its fine, it was really sweet," I said. "It just..."

"I know, you don't have to say it... Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving actually," I answered.

"Well, let's go make a salad or something," Dalton said. "That was kind of part two anyways. If you want, you can go find the bed, and I'll bring you yours. Sound good?"

"Sure, that sounds alright," I replied. "Where did we put it?"

"I think we left it in the aisle with all the pillows and sheets," Dalton answered. "I'll meet you there."

Dalton gave me one last kiss, and we parted ways. The air mattress was right where Dalton said it was, which really was the perfect aisle. I decided to do a little decorating before Dalton came back, and I took out enough sheets to cover the top of the aisle. Basically, I made a blanket fort, which made me feel like I was six years old again, but hey, I had fun making it. Dalton came back with two salads, each one in a bowl that still had the tag on it.

"You made a blanket fort! Awesome!" Dalton exclaimed as he handed me my salad.
"Yea, I got bored," I replied. The salad Dalton made was perfect. I'm pretty sure he just took it from a premade salad bag, but it didn't matter, it was still delicious.

"How is it?" Dalton asked.

"Perfect," I replied with a mouthful. "You know what I would like to hear right now Dalton?"

"What?"

"One of your raps."

"Ha! Really? Okay, hold on a second, let me think something out real quick... I got married to this girl, that I just met. Her name is Jessie, and she's like a corvette. Sexy and fast, yo I'm just trying to keep up. But this girl's so bad ass... I think she's prolly a B cup."

The last line made us both laugh hysterically. I'm glad I wasn't eating at the time, because there's a good possibility I would have choked. When we calmed down a little Dalton tried to defend himself.

"Yea, I sort of wrote myself into a corner towards the end there. Sorry about that."

"Oh no, it was great. Like I said, you should really do that more often. I didn't know you were staring at my boobs so much though."

"Well... It was kind of... I really have no defense for this."

"I know, that's why I said it."

We both started laughing again, and didn't stop for a few minutes. Every time I would look at him, it just made me laugh, and I think he was having the same problem. Eventually we calmed down, and somehow, it led to us kissing. Again, there's something odd about the order Dalton and I do things, but I wouldn't have it any other way. One thing led to another, and... well... It was great. I'll leave it at that. When we were done, we lied on the mattress, just staring at each other. We both heard a noise in the distance, but we couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Do you hear that?" Dalton asked.

"Yea, I do... It sounds like somebody's getting hurt or something. Do you think..."

"Oh, never mind... I know what that sound is."

Dalton started laughing, and it clicked. I guess Layla and Bob were... Having a good time too. They were almost on the other side of the store, and we could hear them where we were. Dalton and I laughed like third grade kids until they stopped, and eventually we laughed ourselves to sleep in each others arms. We woke up the next morning, and found Bob and Layla, who were still sleeping. Dalton randomly banged on one of the toy keyboards until they both woke up.

"That's a catchy tune, what do you call that?" Bob asked, still half asleep.

"I call it, "wake up, you bastards, its time to leave," Dalton replied. Dalton then started to put lyrics to his random keyboard riff, and we were all holding our sides laughing.

"Okay, we're up. Give us just a second... Unless you want to see us naked, in which case stick around for the show," Bob said.

"Um, no, I'll pass," I replied. Dalton and I walked to another aisle and played with random toys while Bob and Layla got dressed. I was in the middle of reading a little book I used to read as a kid called, "The Little Red Hen." Bob and Layla must have stood there listening as I read it out loud, and when I looked up, the sight of them made me jump.

"Man, if I was that hen, I would have told those other animals they could go to hell! They ain't gettin' none of my bread!" Bob shouted.

"Bob, you would not have done that. You would have probably let them eat all of the bread after you did all the work," Layla replied.

"You know me too well... How long have we known each other?" Bob asked.

"I'm just good at reading people. Its a psychology thing," Layla answered.

"How long have you guys been listening?" I asked.

"The whole book," Bob replied. "I have told you you're really loud before, haven't I? And you're a very enthusiastic reader."

"Thank you," I said.

"We won last night," Bob told me out of nowhere. I had no idea what he meant by that, but immediately after those words left his mouth, Layla elbowed him in the arm. "I take it that's my cue to shut up."

"Okay... Well, are you guys ready to go?" I asked.

"We're ready if you guys are," Layla answered. We all turned to Dalton who was still playing with some sort of light up yo-yo. He eventually looked up and noticed we were all staring at him.

"Oh... Yea I'm ready," Dalton finally said. We went out the very back door, as we were all too lazy to make a trip to the control room and unlock the front doors.

"This place looks a lot bigger from the back," Bob said.

"Well, its a plaza. There's a few other stores next to the Walmart," Layla explained.

"Like what?" Bob asked.

"Do you pay attention to anything?" I replied.

"Not mundane details like that," Bob answered. "I was too focused on what I was going to have to do when I went in Walmart... And Layla."

"Good answer," Dalton said.

"I didn't realize I was such a distraction," Layla replied.

"You're a distraction I love having," Bob said. "Anyways, what stores are there? Do you girls have any further shopping to be done? I know how you both love that."

"Well, there didn't look like anything I'd want to shop at. I think there was a music store, and a pawn shop that I..." Bob didn't let me finish.

"Holy shit! We're stopping at that pawn shop!" Bob exclaimed.

"Why?" Layla asked.

"Because I love them!" Bob exclaimed. "I might just find what I'm looking for there."

"What are you looking for?" Dalton asked.

"I can't give it away, it will spoil the surprise," Bob answered.

"Well if you tell us, we can help you look for it," Layla said.

"Yea... But I'm kind of a dick when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm picky, and you guys might find one, but it won't be what I'm looking for," Bob explained. "Can we please just stop there?"

"Fine, whatever," I replied.

"Yes!" Bob exclaimed. We made our way around the building and walked to the pawn shop. A bell rang when we opened the door, and a zombie came charging from out of the back room. I used the skateboard roll trick that Bob seemed so fond of last time, and took the zombie down. Dalton ran to where it was, and stomped it's head until he was just stomping wet flesh.

"Damn! That was awesome!" Bob shouted.

"Thanks," Dalton and I replied at the exact same time. We then looked at each other and laughed. Bob didn't waste any time in going through the contents of the pawn shop. He searched the back room, the shelves, and every nook and cranny of the store.

"Fuck! I don't think what I'm looking for is here," Bob finally said in defeat. "Damn it, oh well, maybe it will be at the next one... If there is a next one."

"Did you look in this trunk behind the counter?" Layla asked.

"No! I didn't!" Bob shouted as he ran to where Layla was. We all slowly made our way over and Bob grabbed the bat from Layla. He went to knock the lock off, but Layla yelled at him before he could. So I had Dalton knock the lock off for him. Layla lifted the lid of the trunk, and took the sheet of paper covering the top off. When Bob looked inside, his eyes lit up, and his voice went up about three octaves.

"Oh my God! This is it!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe it! I can't fucking believe it! I love you Layla!"

Bob kissed Layla on the cheek and lifted a sword from out of the trunk. He inspected it thoroughly, his mouth wide open the entire time. He looked like a little kid, who just got everything he ever wanted for Christmas. Seeing him that happy brought a smile to all of us.

"This is perfect! This is what I've been looking for! Scratch that! This is better than what I was looking for! This right here is the katana, and this is the wakizashi! Its a fucking complete daisho!" Bob explained excitedly as he pulled out another shorter sword. "They both match too, which in older samurai times was uncommon, mainly because samurais were too poor to afford matching swords."

"Okay... You know a lot about this stuff," I replied.

"I'm a little like you Jessie. I learn everything there is to know about something when I'm interested in it," Bob said. "I wonder who made it, its excellent craftsmanship."

"How can you tell?" Layla asked.

"Look at the level of detail!" Bob exclaimed. Bob put the sword to his arm, and used it to shave some of the hair off of it. "Sharp as hell too! This shit is beautiful, Masamune would be proud."

"Who is Masamune?" Dalton asked.

"Masamune was the greatest sword maker to have ever lived," Bob answered. "One of his swords, the Honjo Masamune, was passed from shogun, to shogun to show who was in power. They recently dug it up at a construction site in Japan, it was lost for many years. I don't know who made this sword though, the only way to be able to tell is to take it apart and look at the part of the blade inside the handle. That's where most swordsmiths sign their work. Even if I did take it apart, I probably couldn't differentiate Japanese signatures. So this baby is staying intact."

"Okay, well I'm glad you found what you were looking for Bob. Can we go now?" I asked.

"Hold on one second, there's more in here! Holy shit! Choji oil! And a nice ass wiping cloth... I'll have to get something to use to oil it, but... God this is great! And look at this!" Bob said as he held up a small, hardbound book. "Its a copy of 'Harakure,' which is basically the book of the samurai. This is just... Fucking great!"

"I'm happy for you," Layla said as she kissed Bob on the cheek. "But can you play with it in the car? I think we're all ready to go."

"Okay, help me carry this stuff. A uchiko ball! Oh my God! All that fucking research I did on those drunken nights finally pays off! None of you have any idea how happy I am!" Bob shouted. "I have the girl of my dreams, and now the daisho of my dreams! My life could not get any better... And I have things to test it on too! The zombie apocalypse kicks ass! Fucking nuguigami papers, and a wet stone! This is seriously the best day of my life!"

Layla finally pryed Bob away from the chest, and we stuffed what he found in his back pack, that Layla was still carrying. Bob couldn't stop looking at the swords on the walk back to the car. He looked at every inch of both swords by the time we got there, and didn't stop when we got into the car.

"I wonder who these belonged to. Whoever it was took great care of them. I think I'm going to name the small one Ten Thousand Cold Nights, and the big one Tender Hands," Bob said.

"Those are the weirdest names I've ever heard," I told him.

"Well, there's a legend behind it," Bob explained. "See, Masamune and another legendary sword maker named Muramasa were supposed to have had a contest. They put their swords in a river, to see which one was better. Muramasa's sword, Ten Thousand Cold Nights, cut everything that came across it. Fish, leaves, everything it touched was cut clean in half. Masamune's sword didn't cut anything though. The fish swam around it, and everything that came across it was left untouched. So Muramasa thought he won, until a monk came by and gave his opinion. He said Muramasa's sword was a fine blade, but it was evil, because it cut everything with no regards for what it was. Masamune's sword however, was the far superior one, because it left the innocent things in the river alone. Of course, its historically impossible that they ever met, but its still an interesting story."

"I... Didn't really care Bob," I replied.

"I'm just explaining where I got the names from," Bob said.

"So you're saying one of the swords is evil?" Layla asked.

"...I guess so. That's why I named the short one, the evil one. Its fairly impractical to use two swords at once. I'm not Miyamoto Musashi," Bob answered.

"I would ask who that is, but I don't want another long winded explanation," I replied.

"I think you should make your own names," Layla said. "Name one 'Zonbikira' and the other 'Reiragado.'

"Holy shit! Those names are awesome!" Bob shouted. "Where did you come up with those?"

"I learned Japanese when I was bored one month. Zonbikira means zombie killer, and Reiragado means Layla guard," Layla explained.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you lately? Seriously, you are... Great!" Bob exclaimed. Layla blushed and Bob took her hand and kissed it.

"Okay, where am I even going?" I asked, a bit frustrated nobody was paying attention to me.

"Well, just head South," Bob replied as he handed Dalton a compass. "And you, my brother, you can be the navigator."

"Alright Jessie, I guess that's the plan," Dalton said.

"Yea, it seems good for now," Bob answered. "Eventually we'll catch the rest of them. It sounds like they're delayed anyways. Next time we call the station, we'll have DJ Double Tap ask them where exactly they are, and we'll figure it out from there. I think we're only a few hours from where they are."

I put the car into gear, and we took off down the road. I was starting to realize how much I hated driving big cars. This was a beautiful car, but it just wasn't the kind of car I liked to drive. Maybe I should have let Bob drive, but he seemed happy in the back seat with Layla, playing with his swords. Maybe the next time we stopped, I would make him or Dalton drive. A good half an hour down the road, we saw a small group of zombies up ahead in the distance. I stopped the car, and started to turn it around, when Bob decided to interfere.

"Hey! No what are you doing? We don't have infinite gas here! Let's just go take them out, and keep driving. We've handled worse right?"

"Bob, you're an idiot. I don't think we should be out picking fights with zombies," I told him.

"Bob just wants to play with his new swords," Layla replied. "Which, he's not allowed to do until I say so."

"Oh pretty please!? With sugar on top!? Can we go fight the zombies?" Bob pleaded.

"Bob does make a point, we don't have all that much gas left," Dalton answered. "I'm sure there's a town up ahead, but if we turn around..."

"Fine," I defiantly huffed. "We'll go fight the zombies."

"We'll go fight the zombies Bob, you're staying in the car," Layla said.

"What!? No way! I'll just stay back and let you guys do all the work, and if things just happen to get out of hand..." Layla interupted Bob before he could finish.

"Robert James Faust, if you even so much as take that sword out of the sheath, I will make you wish you were never born," Layla told him.

"But... But... This sucks," Bob pouted like a little kid who didn't get his way. "Alright fine, I'll just stay in the car."

"Why don't you let Layla or Dalton test them out for you?" I asked.

"Jessie, a samurai's sword is his soul. I can't have you guys just running around fighting things with my soul, that would be wrong," Bob explained.

"So now you're a samurai?" Dalton asked.

"Hell yea!" Bob shouted.

"You found some swords in a pawn shop, and all of the sudden you're a full blown samurai. Bob, you're an idiot. I can't stress that enough," I said.

"I know Jessie. I don't think you even have to say it anymore," Bob replied.

"But I like telling you, its fun," I told him as we pulled up to the zombies.

"Bob! Stay here!" Layla scolded.

"I know, you don't have to tell me," Bob replied. We got out of the car and the zombies didn't even seem to notice we were there. They were all busy feeding on something. From the looks of it, it was a little girl. You could tell by the long locks of curly blond hair laying in a pool of blood. There was only four of them, and Dalton took out the first one with one swing of his sword. He then got another one before it even had a chance to react. Then Layla and I both took out the other two with our normal pattern of knock them down, and bash their brains in. We turned to go back to the car, and saw there was one we had missed. It must have charged the car to try and get Bob, who rolled his window down and stabbed the attacking zombie through the eye. I looked over at Layla, who I expected to be furious. She was actually laughing at the entire thing.

"He never listens does he?" she asked.

"He's an idiot Layla, I'm telling you," I replied.

"Yea... But I love him," Layla said.

"Hey! The swords work awesome!" Bob shouted out the window. We all laughed and got back into the car. Bob was wiping the blood off of his sword, and Layla punched him hard in the arm as a punishment for disobeying her. It was almost eerie how well the four of us seemed to click. I was glad to be stuck out in the middle of the zombie apocalypse with the three of them. The past was just that, the past, and I was actually starting to like this future. The future with Dalton and I together, along with two people who were slowly becoming the best friends I'd ever had. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Now, to go find the rest of our new found family.