Benny (chapter)

Benny was an entry in Dead Meat.

Summary
Gavin Murphy is woken up in an alleyway by Benny, a fellow resident of River's Edge. Gavin remembers that he has been alive for two days as diseased individuals have been bitten by pests and turned into flesh-eating beasts. He realizes that Benny is the first person he's seen in a long time who has talken to him.

Benny shows him a makeshift camp he's been living on that resides on the top of a nearby store, and explains that he raided the place for supplies, killing two of the rabid workers before setting up shelter by finding a latch to the roof in a maintnence closet below. After introducing themselves, they tell eachother how they got where they were; Gavin tried to drive out of town, only to have his transmission blow, and took shelter in the alley. Benny worked at a nearby gas station that was attacked by one of the rabid people. He killed the monster and tried to get back to his apartment on Green Street, only to find the police had blocked it off. Shortly afterword he found the store and decided to stay there.

Once they explained themselves, Gavin, tired, asks for a chair, and the two go back down into the store to look for one, grabbing more supplies in the process. While searching, Gavin finds a radio and tunes into 88.5 FM, on which the show Underground Sound is being hosted by the local broadcaster, Maverick, a skeptic who advises listeners to call the studio.