Read Online When the Dead by Michelle Kilmer - Free Book Online

her new apartment.
    When the stairwell barricade was finished, a few of the residents stood
around surveying their work.
    “What happens if we need to get out?” Markus asked.
    “We have fire escapes from our balconies,” Isobel pointed out.
    “Ah, we can climb right into the arms of the loving dead,” Edward said
poetically as he walked toward 206 and to bed.
    An hour later, Isobel was standing at her living room window, looking
into the pitch black night.
                “Do
you think we did the right thing?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure if Ben was
still awake.
                “What
do you mean?” Ben asked, from the couch-turned-bed behind her.
                “Leaving
Jill out there. Do you think she understands why we couldn’t come after her?”
                “It
was a suicide mission to begin with and she didn’t look back, not even once, to
see if anyone would come for her. Go to sleep Isobel.” Ben turned over and
pulled his blanket up to his chin.
                “What
happens if she tries to get back in?”
                “She
dies trying. Even if the door wasn’t boarded up, she doesn’t have any keys.
Even if she had keys, we filled the stairwell up.”
                “So
that’s it? We just move on without her?”
                “No.
I didn’t say that. It’s been a long day and I think we’ll be better equipped to
tackle the problem with some rest.”
                “See
you in the morning then,” Isobel sighed and walked to her bedroom.
     

An Inquiry
    “Don’t
you have a wife, Jeff?” Markus asked as they brushed their teeth.
                “Yeah
. . . I do. She’s out of town. I haven’t heard from her,” Jeff answered
quietly.
                “I
hope you do then. Hey, thanks for letting me stay here. That second bedroom of
yours is really nice.”
                “Kind
of crazy how most of us were just names on mailboxes to each other before,”
Jeff reflected as he stared at the younger man. Warmth emanated off of Markus,
an instant likeability that Jeff found refreshing, especially when compared to
the cruel relationship he’d recently found his way out of.
                “Yeah,
we can’t ignore each other now,” Markus smiled and left the shared bathroom.
     

Lullaby
    Jill
watched the lights go out in the building for the night. She was lucky that she
kept a fleece blanket in the backseat of the car for emergencies. It was
turning out to be a cold evening. She draped the blanket across her belly,
closed her eyes and envisioned her warm bed on the third floor. She didn’t dare
hope though that she’d see it again.
                “Go
to sleep and good night, go to sleep little baby,” she sang aloud to her unborn
child, repeating the only line she knew, over and over again until she passed
out from exhaustion.
     
     

The Sixth Day
The First Meeting
    On the
morning of the sixth day, the residents gathered in the common area of the
second floor for breakfast and a meeting.
    “Everyone looks like crap,” Isobel noticed.
                “Huh?”
Edward asked as he removed ear plugs.
                “Didn’t
anyone sleep well?” she asked.
                Most
didn’t answer and those that did confirmed insomnia.
                “A
pregnant woman had to sleep in a car last night. I couldn’t stop thinking about
it,” Markus grumbled over his coffee cup.
    “Yeah, that was tough,” Rob said.
    “Well, was anyone able to come up with a plan or the courage to go
outside for her?” Ben asked.
    “Nope,” Jeff said. Moira just shook her head.
    “Keep thinking on it then. How is everybody?” Isobel changed the subject
to something she hoped would be more positive.
    Ben stood up like it was an AA Meeting introduction, which made a few of
the residents laugh until he started talking.