by Levi Doone
I have to act, as everyone is counting on me. How did I become the leader? I turn and yell, “Stay close!” I get us to the street, then dodge left, run into the street and dodge right. I’m doing it! The Zebs are so slow to react to my quick changes in direction that I begin to feel a tiny bit confident I can do this, but Rudy was right that we’d get trapped if we paused at all.
We make it to the other side and onto Chloe’s street. I can see her house and feel a rush of excitement. I instinctively check behind me and see the kids keeping up. Beyond them is a wall of undead and no Rudy. He told me not to worry if I couldn’t see him, so I don’t—well, not too much. The closer we get to Chloe’s, the more anxious I become. We’re gonna actually make it!
We come up on the house when a Zeb grabs my arm. I yank it away and keep going. I didn’t freeze! I didn’t panic! I reacted and continued! I hope Rudy saw that.
I feel my heart fill with hope. Maybe I’m really gonna survive this horror. Maybe I will become a feared zombie slayer. Chill out, Lea! Let’s just get to the house. There’ll be time for delusions later.
We make it to the front porch. I pick up momentum as I fly up the steps and leap for the door with a kick. My foot hits the door and it doesn’t budge, causing me to fall on my back. When Rudy did it at the last house, he made it look so easy.
Guille and Maria bound onto the porch. Guille tries the doorknob and opens the door. I clamber up as creatures grab at my hair, slipping through the door and slamming it shut.
Chapter Sixteen
The house is silent. What does this mean? I just linger there and freeze. Here I am standing idle in the house we risked life and limb to get to, and I’m just procrastinating by the door. Am I afraid to find out what happened to Luke? Am I afraid he won’t be here and I won’t find out what happened to him? And where’s Rudy? Where’s the great distraction he’s supposed to be creating? Did something happen to him?
The door rattles from the dead trying to get in. Through the window, I can see the porch is crawling with zombies. I pull the shade and close the curtain. It won’t take long before they come through. I glance around; we’re in the living room. I grab a couch and drag it toward the door. Maria and Guille go to the opposite end and push. We slide the sofa between the door and the staircase that faces the entryway. It leaves about a three-inch gap that no Zeb will be able to squeeze through.
With all the noise we made sliding the furniture and the banging and scratching on the door, it leads me to believe the house is empty of anything, living or not.
“Lea, you want me to check out the place?” Guille must have seen the worry on my face. I want to say yes, but I know just waiting for him to check the house over would send me into insanity. I have to do something. I have to see for myself.
“Yeah, why don’t you come with me?” I suggest. I definitely want the company.
Guille and I walk carefully into the kitchen, and I call out, “Luke?” That was a big mistake. Zebs begin banging on the window, wall, and door. That shade won’t hold them. Maria looks angry with me, I assume, for being so stupid.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “You should stay with us.”
The only other room on the first floor is a bathroom, and it’s empty. The window shows zombies filling up the backyard. We’re surrounded, with little hope of escape. The fear I feel, however, is for my brother.
We go back to the living room and start up the staircase when I hear a loud splintering, cracking sound followed by a large crash. It makes my heart skip a beat. I go down and peek out the window to see it was the porch that collapsed.
That’s a relief, and it put the porch Zebs at ground level. Most can barely reach the window now. At least something’s going our way.
Back on the staircase, I must be going too slow, because Maria climbs past me and into the upstairs hall. I speed up and we check the bedrooms. They’re empty, but they’re torn apart. Drawers are hanging out, clothes thrown around the rooms. It looks like either looters trashed the place or Chloe’s family was in a rush to go somewhere. Based on the downstairs being in order, I guess the latter.
Guille looks out the master bedroom’s window and says, “Um, uh, guys? We’re in big trouble.”
I take a look even though I know what I’ll be seeing. I was wrong; it’s way worse. There must be thousands surrounding the house. I move from room to room and look out each window to see if I can find some hope of escape. Wrong again.
We begin to hear scratching sounds on the downstairs walls, hard, unrelenting, and without an understanding of limitation type scratching. There’s no Luke, no Rudy, and no Bruno—no hope of survival. I begin to wonder if it would be better if those creatures breakthrough and bring down the whole house on top of us all and end this. Wouldn’t that be better than getting our flesh bitten and torn off our bones?
I hope Luke made it out of here and is someplace safe. He probably went home to find me. I smile at the irony. I should have left a note or something. Then again, I did rush out in a bit of a hurry. Or should I say fell out?
I suddenly remember something. Luke brought Roger’s car here. If he took off, the car would be gone, right? I didn’t notice the car out front when we were chased here. I feel a tinge of hope that Luke and Chloe made it out.
In, what has to be Chloe’s room, as it is very pink and girly, I peek out the window again, and all I see in the front yard and driveway is the massive swarm of zombies, no car. Great! Then I peer up the street, and my happiness falls into a pit of horror. I see Roger’s little blue car tipped on its side two houses away.
Maria comes and looks out the window with me. “What is it?”
“That’s the car Luke came in. Looks like he was trying to get away.”
Maria studies the wreck. “Well, he’s not inside. The dead are avoiding it. If someone was inside, they’d be tearing it apart.”
“I hope wherever my bro is, he’s in a better situation than we are.”
Chapter Seventeen
It’s getting dark outside. We sit in the hall, trying to keep low and out of sight. It seems to be working, as the scraping has quieted—out of sight, out of undead mind.
I find a clock radio with a battery backup in the master bedroom. I switch it on to check up on Avril. Maria gives me a look like, What the heck do you think you’re doing?
I whisper, “I’ll keep it low. There’s someone I heard earlier. I want to see if she’s still on air.” I find the usual spot on the dial and listen to static. While waiting for Avril, my mind begins to wander. We seem to be in a similar predicament, surrounded with little hope of survival. Rudy’s either dead or long gone by now. It’s been too long to think he’s still out there picking his moment to come to the rescue. I don’t see any way he could have survived out there with such a large amount of zombies. I suppose he could be hunkering down in another house like we are, but wouldn’t he have acted by now?
I hope he’s far from here and safe. I try to imagine he’s with my brother, safe and sound. That would be great. I like that thought, so I hold on to it for a while.
I can’t tell how much time has passed when I hear a soft voice come from the radio. Though the voice announces herself as Avril Corine, it doesn’t seem like the same person. This voice sounds drained, tired, and depressed. I seriously can relate.
“This’ll be the last broadcast I’m going to be able to make. The fuel for the generator is gone, so that’s it for me. If anyone out there is listening, good luck and stay alive.”
Static follows and that’s the end of the broadcast. I turn off the radio. Poor Avril and poor us. I guess we’re all screwed.
“Is she gonna die?” Guille asks.
“I hope not.”
“Are we gonna die?” he whispers.
“I hope not.”
Maria interrupts our little convo. “I think only kids survived this thing. The only adults I’ve seen are zombies. Other kids have gone zombie also.”
“Yeah, not to mention the Ze
bs are following the rules.” I say.
“Rules?” Maria asks.
“Yeah, you know. They follow the movie rules for zombies. Gotta kill them by stabbing ‘em in the head, they eat flesh, go after anything moving, and they’re like brain dead. These are all things created by storytellers.”
Maria thinks for a moment then says, “And this outbreak came from space. How does that happen? An asteroid just so happens to contain a dust that turns people into a creature that, before now, only existed in books and movies. As farfetched as it may sound, it seems like a planned attack of some sort.”
I laugh as silently as I can. “Yeah, we have a zombie apocalypse, world-ending asteroid, and an alien invasion. It’s been a couple busy days.” We all get real quiet. All that can be heard is the moaning and hissing outside. The awful sounds should depress me, but instead, I’m getting angry and really tired of feeling helpless. “Whatever the reason behind these freaks, we’re safe for the moment, and that’s a good thing.”
Guille and Maria don’t respond. We all continue the silence and listen to the earie and haunting sounds outside. Night has fallen, and the only light in the hall is the orange dust particles that put off their pulsating glow.
Suddenly, a loud explosion shakes the house and shocks the crap out of us. We all jump up and run into the bedrooms to see what just happened. Another explosion goes off and illuminates the master bedroom. I run in and look out the side window. It’s too dark to see anything until some loud bang noises go off one after the other and bright flashes of light show zombies turning away and heading for the new action. Then the house next door ignites into flames all at once. Fire covers the entire exterior of the house in a second.
“Wow,” Guille says. “That’s got to be Rudy!”
“Yes, it does.” My heart dances. He’s alive and coming to the rescue again! “Come on, guys. The Zebs are moving away. We got to get outta here. Who knows how much time we have?”
We run downstairs and pull the sofa away from the front door. Maria runs into the kitchen, then comes back with a paper in hand. I don’t question it. She asks, “Which way do we go?”
“We go away from the fire!” I open the front door and peek outside. Slow-moving zombies are still making their way to the fire. I close the door and say, “We gotta give it a minute. Once it’s clear, I’m going to the car Luke drove here in and check it out. You guy’s cover me. I only want to give it a quick look.” I open the door again, take a peek, and say, “I think it’s clear. Come on.”
I step over the threshold and fall onto the collapsed porch. I land on my knees. It takes me a second to realize why I fell.
“Are you okay?” Maria whispers.
“Yeah, be careful. I forgot the porch fell.”
The kids jump onto the porch without trouble, and we’re off. I run straight for the tipped car. A few slow zombies notice me, but their sluggish movements pose no immediate threat. When I arrive at the car, I stop and hesitate as I stare at the undercarriage of the automobile. What if Luke’s in there? What if he’s dead? I need to know, but I don’t really want to see Luke’s or Chloe’s body.
“It’s empty,” Guille says.
I forgot I’m not alone, and I’m grateful for Guille and Maria’s initiative.
“Thanks, guys,” I say.
I join them at the front of the car and see for myself. It’s a small victory to see Luke must have gotten out and run. The car points away from the main road. I can only assume he continued on foot in the same direction.
I take one more look around the car for, I don’t know, maybe a footprint or some other clue to show me what I already know. That’s when I hear a familiar voice say, “Lose something?” Rudy!
I run and tackle him. “You’re alive!” In my excitement, I wouldn’t be surprised if I kissed him.
“Of course I am. I told you I was going to create a diversion. Sorry it took so long. I had to wait ‘til dark and ‘til the Zebs calmed down a bit. You guys got them worked up into one hell of a frenzy. What did you find in the house?”
I release Rudy from my clutches and see Bruno at my feet, so I bend and scratch his chin. “No sign of Luke. The place looked like they left in a hurry. Luke must have seen it was empty and left. This is the car he was in.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t find your brother, but we gotta keep going. We’re already getting noticed.” He gestures at about twenty Zebs coming our way. “Get your weapons out and let’s go.”
I take out my bayonet and start jogging to keep up with Rudy. The orange dust has been pretty much cleared from the street by the hordes. I can’t help but feel a great relief and probably happiness that Rudy’s with us once again. Yes, I feel safer, but there’s that other thing.
I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. You know, like the fact we’re running for our lives, and I should be looking for signs of my brother. I start to hear strained breathing behind me. Oh, Maria. I check on her and she isn’t looking very good.
She must notice my gaze. “I’m… fine… just… keep…going.”
Yeah, she sounded great. “Rudy?”
“Got it. We’ll take a break for a second. Maria, can you keep walking?”
“Of… course…I…can.”
“She’s just saying that,” Guille chimes in.
“Okay, everybody stop,” Rudy says. “We’ll hang here for a minute.”
We stand for a few seconds, when we see we’re noticed by some zombies coming from behind a few houses. They aren’t fast, but they sure are relentless. Maria’s wheezing concerns us, but not as much as the moaning of a Zeb. “We gotta go,” Rudy says. “Just walk at a decent pace.”
Maria sucks in a long breath as if she’s about to say something, probably to object. Rudy doesn’t give her a chance. “Save it, Maria. This is what we’re doing.”
I eye Rudy and mouth the words, thank you. He rolls his eyes and focuses ahead. My mind overreacts to his eye rolling, and I wonder what he meant by it.
A few minutes later, Rudy points, “Up there’s a school. Maybe it’ll be a safe place to rest a bit longer.”
We walk closer, and I notice an overpass bridge with some commotion taking place on it. “Rudy, check it out.” I see a tractor-trailer stopped with a guy on top waving a weapon. It looks like a long pipe. I see a swarm of Zebs trying to get at him.
“Are we gonna help?” Guille raises his bat.
“It’ll take another large distraction to get those things away from the truck,” Rudy says. “Then some serious coordination and effort to get that guy safely off. I’ve got one Roman candle left. We’re all gonna have to do this to make it work. You too, Lea.”
My stomach sinks when he singles me out, but he’s right. I need to pull it together. Hopefully, my job will be something doable. I listen to Rudy’s plan as I study the guy on the truck. His build and posture… “It’s Luke!”
Chapter Eighteen
Rudy’s plan is simple. He creates a disruption while Maria, Guille, and Bruno watch and defend his back while zombies from all sides take notice. Oh, and I go and find a car on the bridge and rescue Luke.
My response to Rudy is, “Are you nuts? You want me to save my brother? I can’t even save myself!”
“I know you can do it. Besides, I’m the pyro around here. I’m not only gonna light up the candles, but I’m gonna need to find stuff to make a bonfire so we can make our getaway. The road up there is Interstate 295. You shouldn’t have a problem finding a car. Once you do, give the horn a couple honks. That’ll be my signal to light it up down here. You stay put ‘til the Zebs go toward the fire. Stay put means no movement. They gotta notice the flames. Once it’s clear, go for Luke. Wait for us at the opposite end of the bridge.”
“Assuming this works and I’m not zombie dinner, what do I do if you’re not there and we get swarmed?”
“Get out of there. Now go. We won’t have much time before we have company from behind.” Rudy turns and goes after a couple Zebs tha
t got close and sticks them with his sword. Other zombies are on their way.
I run for the right side of the bridge with an enormous knot in my gut. Everyone’s depending on me and can all perish if I screw this up. How am I gonna do this?
The answer is simple: I’m going to find a way. I have to. Everyone left in my life is counting on it. Rudy is out of fireworks and low on lighter fluid. If I don’t come through, they’ll be surrounded quickly. I can’t let that happen. Rudy knows this would be my thinking and I’ll do whatever’s necessary to rescue my bro. He’s a jerk, and I like him.
I start up the hill to the highway. The hill is steep and the dust makes it hard to maintain traction. I keep moving upward, mostly on my hand and knees. When I make it to the top, I search for a car. Nothing straight ahead, but farther up the road are some vehicles.
I get to my feet and run, slipping a bit, and continue to the cars. There aren’t any zombies around. They must all be trying to eat my brother. Maybe this is going to be easy. Maybe I’ll just get into a car and a key will be in the ignition. I creep closer and see one of the cars is actually a large pickup truck. Yes, that will be perfect.
I run faster, partly because I think of Rudy, Guille, and Maria facing the approaching mob of Zebs. The other part is I want to get to the truck before any zombies come at me. As I approach, I see it’s still clear of the undead, and my hope soars. I now believe this is going to happen.
I notice a female zombie stumbling out of the tree line and heading for me. I ignore it, as I’m confident I can get to the cars and get inside one before it reaches me.
I make it to the truck, run to the door, and yank it open. “Aaagh!” A Zeb is seat-belted to the driver’s seat.