Black and Yellow

[Robert Wittmann]

"In your office? I was at work. With all the turmoil, most people stayed home that day. Those that didn't were quickly trying to leave once they knew what was happening. I had the place locked up much like a holiday. Only way up the floors was the elevators."

The zombie was only a few feet away from him now. He leaned forward.

"Some of those people had the elevator open up on the first floor only to find these..."

The zombie lurched forward, hungry and tenacious, but mindless. At the forward lurch, he swung the hammer in an upward arch.

"Things!", he growled in a low contemptious voice, "These damned things!"

After the hammer connected to it's chin, the zombie lurched back and he followed with a push in a well practiced motion. The zombie was already off balance and went down on it's back. It immediately sat up to which it's skull was met with a full round swing of the hammer. The crunch was unmistakable.

"And I watched it...", he said still in a growl but with a hint of sadness. "I watched them all die. I tried warning some, but they were all met the same." He did a side stepping shuffle and brought his work boot up, hesitated a moment, then brought it down. What the hammer may not have finished, the boot certainly did.

It's the eyes... those haunting eyes... those accusing eyes...

"I was kind of hoping that some people would have hid in offices. They all ran. I checked all the offices. As soon as I cleared the top floors, I checked the bottom floors as well. By then most of these things moved on. Some remained, but I was better equipped to handle them by then." He sighed deeply. "So, I suppose in a way I get it. It's kind of hard going from one day thinking of them as a person... maybe even a good person... then the next bashing their brains out with improvised zombie killing weapons. Christ... the one guy brought his children in to work..."

He stopped, took a brief look at his hammer, then slid it back into it's place on his belt. It looked as if he was forcibly trying to not remember something, then whipped back into composure.

"Sorry about that. Floodgates opened for a minute there. Been a while since I actually talked to a human." He walked back towards the concession stand noticing a slight limp. He knew he would feel his acrobatics of the Science Center tomorrow, but was hoping he wouldn't have to deal with it today. "If we're going to do something, let's do it. Food or not, we're a little too vulnerable here for my liking..."

That and I'm not sure how much longer adrenaline will keep me able to run away from those things should I need to...

[Neil Musial]

Neil was impressed as his fellow survivor took down the zombie with a perfectly aimed hammer attack. Neil nodded, seeing how the man had survived this long.

He frowned, staring down at the counter as the man related his tale of survival.

"My company wasn't big on shutting down, encouraged their employees to stay home if they felt themselves or their families were in danger. No one heeded it. But shit was quiet in Washington County at that point, why panic? So when they came in, everyone was overrun."

Neil remembered a young woman being eaten at her desk, her blood spraying onto the photos of her young son and daughter. The guy Neil had never liked as he was such a workaholic being ripped apart, his coffee pooling beside him.

"My buddy and I ran up the stairs to the fourth floor. We found the CEO, the Vice President and their secretary watching out the window. We turned to run for the roof and this guy came out of the elevators with those things on him. Rod-the VP-he was good guy, stopped to help. Didn't end well. John, Rob, Rosemary and I wouldn't have made it off the roof if not for a military helicopter...."

Neil shuddered, shaking off the memory.

"Don't apologize. We all have stories to tell, and this isn't like 9/11 where there are people to talk about it with, or a news media to tell us how to feel."

Neil zipped up his backpack. He wasn't sure he wanted to risk the trip back to the Steel Building tonight-even though he knew it would panic the others-espeically Wendy.

"Look, I'm all for burning down the entire North Shore. At least that half of it. That casino is going to be packed with those things, and you've confirmed the science center is a lost cause. We need to find whatever would be the most flamable in here and get those cars going. If it spreads to the building, that would be our favor."

[Robert Wittmann]

"Look, I'm all for burning down the entire North Shore. At least that half of it. That casino is going to be packed with those things, and you've confirmed the science center is a lost cause. We need to find whatever would be the most flamable in here and get those cars going. If it spreads to the building, that would be our favor."

"Fire huh?"

Ah, what the hell...

"Alright, I got a bad idea." He began rummaging through the concession stand pulling out large plastic tubs with oil in them.

"Fryer oil. Won't take a spark, but once it goes, it's a bastard to put out. There's enough here to pitch some into a fire, and some to start one... preferably in the science building."

Doing a bit more rummaging be pulled a few cans of ant and roach killer and a grill lighter out from behind the counter. Eyeing the bug spray he chided, "Ok... I can't say I'm unhappy to find this... but..." He grimaced. How many times did he eat here..? "Yeah..."

Shoving the lighter into the tool belt, he pulled two of the handled tubs of oil over to the edge.

"So... Christ, I never asked your name. I'm Rob," he said, pointing to his embroidered name tag, "Mystery, huh? So you got that rifle. It ought to be enough to punch through a little bit of car. Shoot a few cars in the ass. You're going to have to use a bit of imagination here, as most cars have the donut right above the tank. If you see a tractor, it's tanks are a bit more obvious. Shoot the gas tanks, gas spills everywhere. I think you see where I'm going with this."

He finished his beer, then began spraying the bug killer into the bottle.

"Man this is noxious...", he moaned, his face contorting due to the smell. After it filled, he sprayed a rag and shoved it into the top and handed it over. "And here, my new found friend, is how you can light the whole damn thing. Aim well. Once it starts, if it starts, you can whip some of these tubs of oil in. Those cars will burn a while. Hopefully you can do that while not drawing too much attention to yourself. I'm sure when the fire starts, the dead heads will be more interested in that at first."

He walked back over to the stand and grabbed two tubs of oil.

"Once I see your fireball, I'll make my own out of the science center. When you see that, you move. If you want, we can meet back at my little abode. There are still large cans of mystery food there. I'm not against sharing. And we can probably go to the little marina not far from there, get a boat, and get you downtown in style."

It all sounds good... I think...

"Either way, my legs are beginning to remind me I jumped off of a building, and I need a place to lay low for at least a day, and soon. You game?"

[Neil Musial]

As soon as the other man said he had a bad idea, Neil held back a groan. He had to remind himself that you didn't know anything about anyone anymore, and anyone could be anyone. It was his biggest flaw in this world-he trusted too easily.

"Fryer oil. Won't take a spark, but once it goes, it's a bastard to put out. There's enough here to pitch some into a fire, and some to start one... preferably in the science building."

Ok, fair point.

"We're really going to do this." Neil needed to say it out loud to make himself really believe it. He looked out the side of the stadium again and took in the view of the science center. He felt a pang of guilt, but he had to remind himself this wasn't the city he knew anymore. Pittsburgh was gone. And far as he knew, it wasn't coming back.

"So... Christ, I never asked your name. I'm Rob,"

He was an idiot. The man's name was right there in front of him. Neil had apparently lost his observation skills if they weren't saving his life. He chuckled.

"I totally missed that. I'm Neil. Rob. Good name. That's my buddy in the Steel Building's name too."

"And here, my new found friend, is how you can light the whole damn thing. Aim well. Once it starts, if it starts, you can whip some of these tubs of oil in. Those cars will burn a while. Hopefully you can do that while not drawing too much attention to yourself. I'm sure when the fire starts, the dead heads will be more interested in that at first."


"I can shoot. Don't worry, I'll hit. We'll get this started."

"Once I see your fireball, I'll make my own out of the science center. When you see that, you move. If you want, we can meet back at my little abode. There are still large cans of mystery food there. I'm not against sharing. And we can probably go to the little marina not far from there, get a boat, and get you downtown in style."

Neil considered his options. For the moment, while the fire was burning, he needed to get somewhere low. If they were about to take out a large number of zombies on the North Shore, it was a win. And he assumed that from their perch in the building, the others in the Steel Building could see what he was doing and that he was alive.

"We'll meet back at your building for now. Lay low for a bit, get you rested up and healthy and then I'll head back into the city. It's not really hard. If we make the marina, that's great. If I have to slink back to the Steel Building through the T tunnels, I can do that too."

Neil checked his ammo in the rifle and looked at Rob before holding out his hand.

"Game on?"

[Robert Wittmann]

"We're really going to do this."

"Honestly, I'm having a hard time believing it myself." He looked at the man's face for a moment then said, "Loved the place too. Times change though. Don't think it's going to be hosting tours of school children or light shows any time soon."

The thought made him cringe. One does not decide to burn down the Omnimax theater lightly. At least, not in his mind.

"I totally missed that. I'm Neil. Rob. Good name. That's my buddy in the Steel Building's name too."

"Hello Neil. Ah, I might of snagged the shirt elsewhere. You never know." He chuckled, "Clearly I'm a hipster, and was wearing embroidered name tags before it was cool." After several trips to the Church Brew Works, he'd met his fair share of the culture. It made no sense to him, but to each their own. "Either way, pleasure to meet you."

He dug through his pockets and pulled out a keyring with keys tied up in string. He unraveled the keys, peeled one off, and wrapped the keys back up in string. "Keeps 'em from making sound. This is to the west side entrance. It faces the river, small ramp up to it, sign saying west entrance. It's a deadbolt, so lock it on your way in. That's the only one hundred percent way to get up the floors without making friends. First floor is theirs. Rest are mine. I camped on the 4th floor. You'll notice my poor housekeeping. Second floor has the cafeteria. And hey, if I don't make it, it's all yours!" He gave a nervous laugh. "So, um... yeah..." he pitched the key to Neil.

"Game on?"

He gave the man's outstretched hand a firm shake.

"Game on"

With that, he grabbed two tubs of oil and walked toward the southern gate.

[Neil Musial]

Neil thought momentarily about all of the things in the science center. He wasn't sure how well everything would burn, but he figured it wasn't impossible. It was odd that such a huge piece of Pittsburgh culture was sitting so close-and now they were going to torch it and everything in it.

Well, at least it's not Mr. Rogers.

"Clearly I'm a hipster, and was wearing embroidered name tags before it was cool....Either way, pleasure to meet you."

Neil chuckled. It was good to meet someone for the first time again. He thought that part of his life was pretty much done.

"Likewise."

"Keeps 'em from making sound. This is to the west side entrance. It faces the river, small ramp up to it, sign saying west entrance. It's a deadbolt, so lock it on your way in. That's the only one hundred percent way to get up the floors without making friends. First floor is theirs. Rest are mine. I camped on the 4th floor. You'll notice my poor housekeeping. Second floor has the cafeteria. And hey, if I don't make it, it's all yours!"

It was the last line that threw him. Neil set his mouth.

"I'll meet you there," he informed Rob firmly.

"Game on"

All right, it was time. Neil walked to the railing looking out towards the science center. He waited, giving himself a few minutes and then picked his target. There were too many of those damn hybrid and smart cars around.

What the hell were we thinking? The world ended anway.

Neil took aim at a black Suburban just ahead of him. He aimed, fired, and hit. Sure enough, the dead ones looked towards him.

Time to think quick.

Neil aimed again, this time hitting a Ford Taurus. Then a Toyota, and a Hundai.

Grabbing the can he'd stuffed into his pocket, he retrieved his lighter and lit the end of the cloth. Tossing it, he waited. The can hit the ground and immediately took up a pool of gasoline. The Toyota went first. It exploded, catching a near by Civic in the process.

Half the North Shore was going to be raging soon. Neil wondered if it would spread to the stadium, but he didn't plan to stick around to find out.

[Robert Wittmann]

Maybe I should have asked if he had an extra gun...

It's not every day you find yourself about to run through a crowd of lurching cannibals armed only with work boots and a tub of cooking oil in each hand.

He started thinking about them... the horde... all the things that could go wrong. Grabbing him while he ran, unable to run on his hurt legs... One surprising him while he tried to make his way through the Science Center... Surrounding him and closing slowly...

A new burst of adrenaline began coursing through his veins. His legs no longer hurt. It felt like he could run a marathon.

Well, that worked... and now I'm sufficiently weirded out. Maybe I shouldn't be doing...

He killed the thought. It was a bad plan, but it was a plan. And the man he met is depending on this distraction. Now isn't the time to second guess. He waited at the main gate. Then, gunfire.

Alright, game on!

His hope that the trail was still clear was realized. He jogged down to the bike trail, then broke off to the right towards the science center. He heard the shooting stop, the the crash of something on the ground.

Woooosh!

Too curious, he poked his head above the hill.

The street was an inferno. The zombies were certainly more interested in that than him.

He sure as hell wasn't lying!

He went through the amphitheater then around to the back of the building. He mused himself seeing the rope dangling there.

Yep, ten point landing. Not that I'll have to do it again.

He rounded the corner, and went inside.

The science center lay much as it was before, less some inhabitants. The ones that were there didn't seem to notice. He was going to keep it that way. Sneaking around, he found the door to the offices again, and went inside.

He was happy the zombies did not seem to do things like turn door handles. When he was stuck last time, it was this metal door with a handle on one side and a push bar on the other that kept the zombie children away. He was happy they were mindless. Tenacity was only so good when it comes to puzzles like how to open a door.

He already had a pile of some clean flammable things from when he was stuck here last. Paper, cardboard, things that wouldn't kill you to burn. There were other things like foam and plastics that before he passed up. This time, anything goes. He made a mound in what he thought was the center of the office space and began dumping oil on the pile.

This thing looks like the trash heap from Fraggle Rock... Heh... Damn, nobody is going to remember that kind of thing anymore.

He put one bottle unopened on the top of the mound, stood back, admired the pile then pulled the lighter out.

Game on...

The fire began to creep from the bottom up the side. He could smell the oil beginning to heat as well, and figured his work was done. He ran through the hallway and down the stairs to the lobby and opened the door.

"Shit!"

Four zombies were waiting right outside the door. Maybe he wasn't so quiet after all. He was able to wiggle his hammer out of his belt and bash the hands of the zombies that were trying to pull the door open. He almost had the last hand out when the door slammed shut, crunching the remaining hand off and leaving it on his side. The door was a cacophony of sound from the striking hands. He guessed the four were joined by friends... enough to squish the metal door shut on their fellow zombie's hand.

"Ewww... That's... gross."

He looked at the door, then at the noxious smoke coming from upstairs.

Rock... hard place... Shit, I am going to have to do this again! Shit!

He ran back upstairs and towards the roof access.

[Neil Musial]

The zombies were entirely interested in the fire that was going on on the street below, and a few of them had managed to catch fire. Neil watched as another car went up. Quickly, he checked his ammo, loaded up his gun, and took off.

As he slipped out of the stadium's exit, a few zombies on the street turned his way. Neil ran passed them. He wasn't interested in shooting them unless they were literally about to get a bite of him.

Stealing a glance towards the science center, Neil thought he saw a plume of smoke going up, but there was no towering inferno just yet. He glanced around for any signs of Rob, but saw none.

Neil suddenly caught sight of a doorway, over which a sign read "west entrance" . And there enough before it was a ramp leading up to it. That was clearly where he was headed.

A moan over his right shoulder attracted his attention. Neil turned and saw what he suspected must have been a young man in a suit once before, but now was just a mass of gray skin, and dirty black and blue fabrics. Half of his scalp was missing, and he was reaching for Neil so closely if he had tried harder he would have had a sleep of Neil's shirt.

Neil turned, put the gun in the thing's eye and pulled the trigger. The thing fell over backwards. Neil waited a moment to see if anything else looked at him, but nothing came his way.

Quickly, he slipped towards the door and unlocked it. It opened without issue and he slipped inside and locked it behind him. He slipped the deadbolt into place and turned, taking in a moment to take a breath. So far, he saw nothing.

[Robert Wittmann]

I did it once... I can do it again, right?

Dangling from a rope off of the side of a building twice in one day wasn't part of the plan.

"Plans never survive the first encounter." He laughed to himself. He had forgotten where he first heard that. He was getting ready to jump when he felt the rope give. The world seemed to slow to a crawl. He looked up, seeing the rope snap into the air, clearly no longer attached to his anchor point.

Well... there are worse ways to go...

He felt a wave start at his legs, then cascade all across his body. Pain. Sharp and true, but pain. He then watched the rope, now moving at a normal speed fall and coil around him. Part of it smacked him in the face, which he quickly brushed off as if it was a snake falling on him from a tree.

"Gaaahhhh! ... ow."

He quickly assessed his body. He knew he somehow landed on his back, and everything hurt, but everything worked for some value of. By this time, he was also admiring the plumes of fire coming from the top of the Science Center.

Ok, ok... time to move...

He pulled himself up to his feet and started down the bike trail in a labored shamble. It'll take a bit to get home, but he thought he could still outpace a zombie if needed. The trails, however, were usually clear.

Go figure, only people that use this can run or ride. Not the easiest food source.

After several minutes, he made it to the Cardello Building. Big red brick, name pretentiously plastered on the Pittsburgh facing side. Home sweet home.

He hobbled over to the northern side, unwrapped his key bundle, fumbled with the lock for a few moments then scurried in once the door opened. Quickly locking it behind him, he looked at the stairwell. This was technically a fire escape, but was used for entry back in the day. So was the west entrance. Only two places he was relatively sure you wouldn't make a friend coming in. He had seen some zombies get in to the first floor. He had no idea how, and couldn't find any obvious places. This is why he kept the first floor on lockdown.

He started up the stairs hoping his new found friend had made it. His new found friend... who is now in a strange place he has never seen before... and doesn't know the building layout... or that it was cleared of deadites sans the occasional first floor vagabond...

Who has guns and might mistake you for a zombie.

"Well... crap."

He then had an idea. When he rounded the stair to the 4th floor door, he started whistling the first tune that came to mind, then opened the door. Zombies don't whistle. What could possibly go wrong?

He stepped into the hall. The west stairwell emptied into the floor as well, so he figured if Neil was wandering, the whistling would be heard. That is, of course, assuming that Neil hadn't gone into an office, or to the food on the 2nd floor. He walked to the open area and looked down to the first floor. No zombies... at least, not at the moment. Then he started hearing the lyrics in his head to what he was whistling.

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection...

His whistling quivered as he stifled a laugh. Of all the bizarre songs he could think of to whistle, that wasn't the one he expected. He pulled himself over to his office camp, still whistling and lowered himself to a sitting position outside of the door. Hopefully Neil would find him soon.

[Neil Musial]

Neil took a deep breath as he surveyed his new surroundings. Slowly, he made his way up to the second floor. Feeling secure by making it this far, he took in a few minutes to relax.

He checked his gun, took a few deep breaths and then headed up to the third floor. Again, nothing. While his desire was to look around, he figured it would be best to move up to the 4th floor until Rob got there.

Reaching the 4th floor, Neil leaned against the wall. Rob had truly done well setting himself up there. He guessed once you found a safe environment, you could lead a reasonable life in this world.

Suddenly, he heard something coming. Neil immediately felt the need to raise his gun and prepare himself in case something slunk up. And what if Rob had turned, and found his way back to his old digs.

And then Neil heard it. It was the distinct sound of whistling. Neil was fairly certain that all of the zombies he'd seen were unable to whistle.

Now that he heard more of it, Neil was sure he knew the song. Almost entirely certain. He just hoped whoever was whistling it was Rob. Only one thing to do.

"Rob....?" Neil asked, still keeping a firm hold on his gun, "you're not a Carpenters fan by any chance, are you?"

[Robert Wittmann]

"Rob....?" Neil asked, still keeping a firm hold on his gun, "you're not a Carpenters fan by any chance, are you?"

Rob had to shake himself from his dazed state. For a moment or two, he forgot where he was and what he was doing in the song. And also why.

Had to be Neil. Who else had a key? There really wasn't any other way up.

"Neil? More of a Muppet fan. Used to work with kids. Muppet Movie was an easy one to throw on should there be nothing else to do."

His thoughts drifted to the little library in the West End. Probably a zombie hovel or ash by now. All those books...

"If you're hungry, I can show you to the food. Otherwise, wander over and I can show you around."

[Neil Musial]

"Neil? More of a Muppet fan. Used to work with kids. Muppet Movie was an easy one to throw on should there be nothing else to do."

The Muppets! Neil hadn't thought that the Muppets had done a cover of that. He would have liked to have heard that. But he guessed that wasn't really an option anymore. He wondered momentarily if Wendy even knew who the Muppets were....

"On my way." He worked his way towards Rob's voice until the other man came into view. Neil smiled.

"Well, I guess we're a pretty good team." Neil smiled.

He was honestly impressed with how that went. He had figured it could be pretty bad.

"Maybe tomorrow we'll check out the baseball stadium. You never did get your cheese."

He surveyed the building. It was an office, but it was truly well fortified.

"You've got a good place here. Nice work."

[Robert Wittmann]

Hearing the man's voice was nothing short of a relief. The plan was his, and it was bad. While he did manage to make a fireball out of the Science Center, he had the luxury of climbing off of the building again which ended as well as he expected.

But hey, they made it. How bad could it possibly have been? His body ached when he began pulling himself up. He was sore, but functional.

"Well, I guess we're a pretty good team." Neil smiled.

"Heh, if I can manage not to get myself eaten, we can stay a team."

While fumbling for keys he relayed his ordeal at the Science Center.

"... and I don't think I'm going to be rappelling down buildings every again. If I can avoid it."

"You've got a good place here. Nice work."

"Oh, it gets better...", he trailed off finally finding the right key and twisting the lock. The door opened revealing a typical office. Doored offices and cube farms. He wandered into a larger open cube bullpen, wandered towards a switch and flipped it. Two fluorescent lights lit up.

He turned, arms spread, "Eh? Nice, right?" He turned them back off for the time being. No use wasting battery charge, especially since he hadn't quite figured out how to tell the level of charge remaining. Yet.

"It's not going to be daylight too much longer, so pick a place. There are some great views of the river and Mt Washington. Even The Point. Personally I picked an inside office. I can lock it, and no way the thrillers can see me. A little paranoia might be 'healthy'." He added as much sarcastic emphasis as he could to the last word. "I've moved smaller food items to the kitchen. It's just around the corner. The water in the buckets is drinkable. I'm going to tear into the pain pills and hope I feel better for tomorrow."

With that, he stumbled down the hall and rounded the corner into the kitchen area.

[Neil Musial]

"... and I don't think I'm going to be rappelling down buildings every again. If I can avoid it."

"Yeah, to be honest, I think you might want to hold off on that for a bit."

Neil gave Rob a quick grin, but felt his pain. He knew the poor guy was going to feel this in the morning.

"I wish I could offer you a hot bath somewhere." Neil chuckled.

He quickly surveyed the cube farm before him and nodded.

"Electricity, I'm impressed." He wished they could have been more efficient like that in the Steel Building. It would have been nice to have some light.

As Rob headed off for pain killers, Neil strolled over and selected a window where he could keep an eye on the fires outside as well as look towards downtown.

"Food sounds good. What do you have on tap?" He figured a quick snack would be good. And if Rob would let him, he'd remain in the building until the other man was feeling strong enough.

[Robert Wittmann]

"I wish I could offer you a hot bath somewhere." Neil chuckled.

"Ha! Makes me wonder if I got some water from the Ohio and rigged something..."

He stopped in his tracks and pondered a moment, then dismissed whatever thought he had.

"Electricity, I'm impressed."

He spoke while he walked, voice trailing into the kitchen. "Took me forever to wire that thing up. There are panels on the roof. Grabbed 'em from the electric supplier at the other end of the lot. I had to play with it for a bit before it would charge the batteries." His arm rounded the corner and pointed to a cube with haphazard wireing coming from the celing. "In there, I collected batteries from some cars that were close, UPS units from the building and under desks, and there you have it. No clue how much is in 'em, or how long something will last if I turned a few things on. Only rigged up the one light and a plug. It was enough to power a coffee maker. Baby steps."

He ladled water into a foam cup on the counter, ripped open a few pill packets from the med cabinet, and gulped them down.

"Honestly, it's amazing the amount of crap you can find to live off of in an office building. You said you were in the Steel Building? I bet it's loaded with good stuff.

"Food sounds good. What do you have on tap?"

"I have Twinkies, Doritos, a variety assortment of candy bars, trail mix, Funions, three different flavors of ramen noodles, and some stuff I'm not too sure about." He hoped some of the stuff was still good. They lasted years, right?

How long have I been here..? He realized he couldn't remember.

"If you're looking for something more substantial, the cafe on the second floor still has some of those industrial sized cans of mystery food. Last one I opened was chocolate pudding. I had pudding every meal for a week. Long live comfort food."