I had no idea what to do, they were on all sides of the car. A thought kept creeping over me. “Please don’t let the way I die be because I took a nap with a car loaded down with gas, pop, and gas station food.”
I had to get a hold of myself. I had to get the sane part of my mind to overcome the fear factor part. I slowly looked to my right, in the direction that I had come from and noticed, not twenty yards in that direction was clear, and no other dead appeared to be in that direction. I just had to figure out how to get the car there. As I said, with this group just kind of meandering around I couldn’t just simply wait them out. I slowly put the car in reverse which illuminated the dead behind in my white reverse lights. The rear view camera also came on showing me just how closed in I was. I gave the car a little gas in reverse and bumped into five dead and braked. Nothing happened. They didn’t even seem to notice that they had been bumped. I gave the vehicle a little more gas and ran into the dead. To my amazement they actually moved away from the vehicle. They were behaving as animals would that were being pushed from their standing point.
I gave the car just a little more gas and backed onto the road. To this point, everything seemed to be going okay. I slowly turned forward and put the car in drive. My seat was still leaned back, and I momentarily forgot my surroundings and brought my seat back too quick. The sudden movement in the car attracted the attention of the dead on either side of the vehicle and they finally looked in the car and “saw” me. I was face to face with one on the driver side as it opened its mouth wide and screamed (or what passed for screaming for the dead. That “scream” was the stuff of nightmares and so much worse than the low murmur the dead usually voiced) In a moment of mixed horror and sadness I noticed that this particular dead was Sheila, the student who had first made me aware of what was going on not that long ago. It was clear looking at her that one of the dead had attacked her at some point as there was a chunk of her neck missing.
I looked at her with sorrow but soon realized that she had begun pounding at the window and the window was beginning to vibrate with the pounding. A dead on the other side of the car had also taken notice of me and had begun pounding on that side as well. I had no other choice. If I was going to make it out of there I had to drive. There were about twenty of the dead ahead of me. Without putting much thought into it I gunned the engine and lurched forward leaving the dead Sheila and the other behind. Three of the dead in front of me came hurdling at the window at slow speed and smashed into it. Even though their force seemed strong only a single crack appeared in the window and as I plowed through the remainder of the dead they began to give way.
After several seconds of plowing through the dead I finally breached the back line of them and was finally in the clear. I drove to the intersection and turned left and headed for the interstate. I was relieved to find that the interstate had finally cleared of the earlier horde. I pulled on the interstate and drove the short distance home. I pulled up to the gate, got out, unlocked and opened the gate. I got back in the car pulled it in just enough so that I could close the gate, got out and closed the gate. I briefly looked up and looked at the full moon shining on the lake casting as odd shadow down on the horde that still remained. I looked back down to the locked gate when a shadow came over me. I froze not really sure what to do.
I looked back and was greeted by:
“Hello there.”
***
I must have jumped five feet and gave out a shout. The woman standing before me jumped back in surprise.
“Lady, what in the hell do you think you are doing? Why would you just casually walk up to a stranger, at night, while all this is going on?” I yelled at her.
“I’m … I’m sorry. I guess I just didn’t think.”
“You can say that again. You’re lucky I didn’t have a gun on me or you’d be among the risen dead.”
“I said I was sorry. Jesus.”
I took a few seconds to compose myself and couldn’t help but chuckle a little. After what I had just been through I nearly killed a living person just because she had the balls to walk up to me and say hello. I looked at her and was immediately taken by her beauty. She looked to be about 30 years old, with long fire red hair, green eyes, and freckles. She was dirty, obviously from traveling and looked exhausted. I was immediately attracted to her but at the same time didn’t really want her around.
“Okay. Okay. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have snapped at you, but seriously what the hell?”
She looked at me and smiled. “My name is Katy. I’ve been walking for so long and just hoping I could find a place to just rest where I wouldn’t have to worry about … those things.” She looked towards the group of dead that had now begun trudging again along the dike road.
“I had been walking along the interstate for at least a couple of days and tonight I saw a light coming from a house, and I just thought …”
“Ah damnit.” And I began running towards the house.
“Wait where are you going?” She asked after me.
“I’ve got to turn the lights off before the cells run dry.”
“But ...” she protested, but I cut her off.
“Look if you want to talk that’s fine but I have a few things to do first, so … pardon me.”
I left her standing there slack jawed watching me as I ran like a jackass towards the house.
***
After I had finished shutting down the electricity at the house (thankfully the cells hadn’t lost to much of their energy) I walked back down to the gate and saw that Katy was sitting in the car. As she saw me coming she jumped out of the car, obviously irritated. I knew she wanted to say something but I hadn’t quite locked the gate yet, so I walked past her and finished locking the gate up.
“So do you just leave everyone you meet for those things?”
“First of all I didn’t leave for you for anything. If you haven’t noticed all of the risen dead are way over there. Secondly the gate was closed. You were perfectly safe from them.” I said rather curtly to her.
She paused before asking, “What do you mean and what are risen dead?”
I pointed to the group on the road. “Those are the dead, or you can call them zombies, walkers, biters, whatever you like.”
Suddenly a light went off in her head as she understood what I was saying. “So you’re saying all those horror films were true? Zombies exist?”
“It would seem that way wouldn’t it? How else would you explain what’s been going on?”
“I, uh, I, I, don’t know. I’ve been busy just trying to stay alive I guess I just never paid any attention. I assumed they were still alive, just … very sick, or something” Katy started breathing really hard and sat down on the ground. Just looking at her I could tell her brain wasn’t quite willing to let her come to terms with what was really happening. I felt for her, but I still had questions. The sane part of my brain had taken over.
“So, I have to ask. Where are you from? How did you get here?”
She smiled again. Despite myself I was already beginning to like her smile. “I’m from Conway. After everything went to shit, I didn’t know what else to do so I just started walking. I figured the safest route would be the interstate, you know, in case I came across some other people.”
“Wait, you started walking? Why? Why not drive?”
Looking sheepishly down she said, “I don’t have a car, and I hate driving. It’s hard to explain.” She looked away before continuing, “I, I don’t really want to talk about before.”
Dropping the current issue of how someone can live in a town the size of Conway (it was a town that had a population of around 66,000 people before the end) without having access to some mode of transportation, I moved on. “Did you meet any people on the road?”
“No, just the zombies or dead, or walkers or whatever they’re called. And a lot of them. I kept hiding from them. I had seen what they did when they found one of us and I didn’t want that to happen to me.�
�� She shuddered at a thought.
“Well I have been studying these things since it began. I don’t really have much else to do these days,” I said “Sticking to the interstate was your worst mistake. These things, when they are in hordes …”
“Wait, hordes?” She asked.
“That’s what I call them when they are in large groups. Or at least that’s what they were typically called in the movies, shows, and comics. Why not stick with it?” I got into the car and put the vehicle in drive and hit the gas.
“Uh, what the hell?” She said as she stood up with a mix of hurt and anger on her face.
I realized I was about to go off without her again and stopped the car. “Sorry, I forget myself. You’re welcome to get in the car … if you can find a spot.”
She looked in the front and back seat, realizing that the car was loaded, but opened the passenger door and began throwing things into the back until she found enough room and got in. I drove us up to the house and pulled into the garage. We both got out and walked back outside as I pulled the garage shut.
“I want to hear more about the dead but first, how do you have electricity?” she asked.
“Oh, I built a wind turbine. It powers the house.”
With a shocked look on her face she looked around and then back at me with a smile on her face. “Well aren’t you handy. Is there anyone else here or just you?”
The question hurt me more than it should, and I answered more sharply than I had intended. “Just me.” I looked passed her not wanting to lock eyes. “Anyways, when they travel in the hordes they behave much like cattle. They all go in the same direction and oddly enough they pretty much stick to the roads. If you see a horde and just stay out of their way you’re fine.”
“Don’t you worry about them seeing you and attacking you?” she asked.
“No, not really. While their brains are obviously functioning in some way in order to move their limbs and their mouths, they seem to have really horrible eye sight and even worse hearing.”
“How would you know that?”
“Well I’ve been on my own for quite some time, and I’ve tested my theories. When there are just a few of them you are almost entirely safe at about 50 yards. With the hordes you’d only really be in danger if you ran into one.”
We stood there for a few minutes not saying anything just kind of blankly staring. Finally, I broke the silence. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but, like I said, I’ve been on my own for some time and while I’m sorry that you are on your own I’m not really looking to add more people to this little community. Until I know better I trust the living about as much as the dead.”
“You’re throwing me out?”
“No, I’m just saying you can’t stay with me. You can have your pick of houses and I can even build you a wind turbine so you can get electricity to it, but don’t think that we are together or anything.”
I had clearly insulted her but I really didn’t care. I had told myself after Steve had died that I would never bury another person and if I started letting people in I would eventually have to bury someone. I wasn’t keen on the idea of letting anyone in. She clearly saw the hurt in my own eyes and the insult in her face began to diminish.
This time she broke the silence. “Look, I can tell by your face that you lost someone close to you, and from that I am assuming that you don’t want to get close to anyone else, but it’s dark out, I’m tired, and I just don’t want to go house hunting right now. Please, just for one night may I stay in your house.”
She looked at me with pleading eyes, the kind of eyes I’ve never been able to say no to.
I sighed and pointed toward the front door. “After you.”
“Thank you, um …”
“Liam.”
“Thank you, Liam.”
She turned and began walking towards the house and I couldn’t resist taking a look as she walked away. I had to admit to myself that she had a good body and a nice ass. I smiled to myself.
“Enjoying the view?”
I laughed, which caused her to laugh and I caught up with her and showed her into the house. We walked upstairs and she asked the question I’m sure you’ve been wondering to some extent to this point, “Why don’t you live downstairs?”
“I dunno.” I replied. I’ll be honest I never considered living on the first floor from the beginning. Even after Steve died on the upstairs balcony I never considered moving downstairs. Maybe a part of me felt safer upstairs hoping that if the dead did get into the house they wouldn’t be able to get upstairs. “The upstairs has been my domain since I got here, and it has a balcony with not only a great view of the area but good vantage points to keep an eye out for the dead and the living.”
“Why do you want to be alone so much?”
“I do better on my own. Always have. My parents died after I got my doctorate and I’ve been on my own since. There was only one other person who came close to filling that gap. He was like a son to me …” I cut myself off, realizing I had already said more than I intended to. She frowned. I don’t know if she did it because she understood or was waiting for me to say more on the subject. I didn’t want to say anymore on the subject so I moved on, “Anyway I figure you haven’t slept in an actual bed for quite some time, so you can have my bed to spread out and I will take the couch in the other room.”
“Oh, no I couldn’t ask you to give up your bed for me. Why don’t we share the bed? I promise I won’t make any moves as long you promise the same.”
“I can promise you I won’t make any moves.”
“Are you gay?” she asked suddenly very interested in who I was.
I chuckled and looked at her. “No, I’m not gay. I’m not anything, really. Just never really cared about that part of my life. All I’ve ever really been interested in was teaching, reading, playing video games, and watching movies and tv.”
“So, how do you know you aren’t gay?”
The question took me back a little, because I had never really thought about it. “Well, the only man I was ever close to I saw as more of a son and I definitely wasn’t attracted to him. You’re the first woman I’ve seen in months and the first thing I did was check you out, even with everything going on.”
She started laughing, I smiled but really didn’t catch on to why she was laughing.
“I’m sorry Liam. Thank you for checking me out, it does make me feel good, but I am a lesbian.”
Hearing that caused me to start laughing and she began laughing as well. “Hell in that case yes we can share a bed. You definitely won’t make any moves on me and I won’t be making any moves on you.”
“Really? You don’t think you can “convert” me?” She did air quotes around the word convert.
“No I know I can’t convert you. You were born gay and there is nothing that I could ever do to convert you.”
“What if I’m bi?”
“Are you?
“No.”
I smiled at her, realizing that she was just teasing me trying to break the tension. “You’re just trying to get me to relax.”
“Is it working, Liam?”
“Yes, Katy, it is.” I said and smiled at her.
“Can I ask you to do something?”
“I suppose so.”
“Will you hold me?” Seeing my face, she quickly said, “I know it’s an odd question and I seriously only like women, but I haven’t had any kind of contact with any one in over a year. Yes, I realize that dates back before the dead began rising up and attacking the living. I just want to know if holding someone will help me deal with all this.”
I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me and said, “I know it’s a crazy request.”
I shook my head, “Honestly Katy it’s not a crazy request at all.”
I walked over to her and wrapped her into my arms. We stood there for a few minutes just holding each other. Slowly rocking, I realized that even though I had never really held anyone in my life hav
ing someone in my arms was not only nice, it felt safe. I felt safe. We slowly released our embrace and looked at each other.
“Thank you Liam. For the first time since all of this has happened I genuinely feel safe.”
“I do too. I guess fate led us to each other.”
“Maybe it did.” She walked over to the balcony and stared out. I could hear her sniffling and knew that she was crying. I froze in my tracks. Despite figuring out how to deal with the dead and keeping myself alive I didn’t have the slightest idea what to say. Instead I asked a question, and as soon as I asked I cringed.
“Penny for your thoughts? Sorry that was stupid.”
She laughed. I couldn’t tell with her back to me if she was laughing because she thought what I had said was funny or if she just didn’t know what else to do. She turned to look at me and saw the cringe in my face and smiled while wiping the tears from her face. “I was just thinking of the all the people I lost. My parents, my brother and sister, my ex-wife.” She began to weep and the only thing I knew to do was again to hold her. I let her cry for a good twenty minutes just holding her.
She finally began to calm down and looked up at me, “Why did this happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is it because I’m gay? Is this God punishing us for our sins?”
“I can tell you for certain that’s not what this is?”
She wiped a few more tears from her face. “How can you be so sure? Don’t you believe in God?”
“Well, no, I don’t. So, naturally I don’t believe this is some act from God to punish all of us for the sins of others.”
“Okay, so what then?”
“I think it’s nature.”
“Oh, you’re just being silly.” She said as she released from the hug and then walked away from me. “You’re making fun of me.”
“I’m honestly being quite sincere. I think this is the Earth’s way of making things right again.” Seeing in her eyes that she had no idea what I was talking about I tried a different way. “How can I explain this better? This is the Earth’s way of cleansing itself of bad chemicals. The human population had vastly overpopulated the Earth and we were poisoning it on just about every continent. Maybe this was a way for the Earth to start over again.”
The Dead Chronicles (Book 1): The Dead Chronicles Page 5