by Morris, SJ
This was my chance!
I needed to slip into the store and get rid of these two before they could make any more zombies.
I took my opening and slowly pushed against the door until there was just enough room for me to slip inside, still out of the reach of the man on the floor and without hitting the cowbells hanging from the ceiling that was used to alert attendants that customers were entering. It was a blessing that his throat was ripped out, or he would be moaning up a storm, letting old Curtis know I was coming. It seemed like the longer they were infected, the worse their eyes were since Mr. Potty Mouth on the floor locked eyes with me and instantly knew I was there. While Curtis, the poor ol’ boy, looked right at me and never had a clue.
I decided to sneak up on Curtis while I could since the half a person on the floor wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. With his middle ripped out, he was just flopping on the floor like a fish out of water, trying to get at me, unsuccessfully.
I stepped around him with ease and went down one of the aisles on the opposite side of the zombie known as Curtis.
Luckily, the shelves were the crappy ones that didn’t have any walls between them, just bags of chips and pretzels. I crept up next to him and stuck the gun out through the shelf at ear level. I waited for the perfect moment when Curtis’s temple was in line with the muzzle of my pistol and pulled the trigger.
A loud pop sounded, and Curtis went down for good. I ran around the end of the aisle to make sure he wasn’t still moving. He wasn’t.
Also, the telltale sign I was beginning to notice was that of the pool of black watery blood, which spread fast from his body, as the room filled with the rank, sour smell of putrid death.
I ran back down the aisle I came from and skidded to a halt in front of the young man that used to be on his back but somehow had turned the top half of his broken body around to begin crawling towards me, leaving a massive trail of blood and gore in his wake.
I’ll give him credit, in the two minutes or so it took me to get rid of his friend, he’d gone at least five feet. Goes to show you how determined these undead were going to be with food around.
Great!
He reached up with a filthy hand and bit at the air, aiming in my direction. It was a gruesome sight, but I got close enough to make sure I had a good shot at his eye and pulled the trigger again.
Another loud pop was followed this time by the ting of the shell casing hitting the floor instead of nesting in a bag of BBQ potato chips like before. This zombie was down too.
I jumped as far around the growing puddle of black blood as I could and rushed out the door.
The kids knew there were only two, so if I didn’t come out quickly after the second shot, I would’ve bet my last dime Lance was going to be coming in after me.
I opened the door and put my hands up to show the kids everything was okay, and I looked around before heading back to the truck. I stopped, just outside my door, and did a quick check of my clothes under the bright lights of the station’s canopy to be sure I didn’t have any more zombie crap on me, and thankfully I was good.
The gun was definitely much cleaner than the ax, even though it was much louder. Since I was clean, I opened the door and got in. I started the truck up again and slowly pulled out of the station onto an empty road.
No one said anything about me leaving the gun on my lap as I drove, but then again, no one said much of anything after what I had just done. It was necessary, I knew that, but it didn’t make me feel any better about knowing I had just ended the lives of two young men.
Yes, they were already technically dead, but my brain couldn’t necessarily make that connection. Not yet.
They were still moving around like they were alive. I tried not to think about what had just happened, which became easy when I started thinking about what I would need to do once we got to the cabin.
It was pitch black out, with almost no moon, and we were driving on the long dirt drive that ended with our cabin.
I was taking it slow. The last thing we needed was an animal or a zombie to walk out in front of the truck and crash into us.
It was a good thing I was going slow too because I was not expecting to run into an eight-foot-tall chain-link fence, topped with razor wire that looked like it belonged around a prison.
I rolled to a stop and looked around. I looked to my left, and there was a silver box on the outside of the fence with a speaker and a red button on it. I looked around to make sure the coast was clear and rolled down the window.
I looked over at Lance, and he shrugged his shoulders, “Don’t look at me. I don’t remember this being here before.”
I took a deep breath, “Here goes nothing.”
I pushed the button, and it flashed red. After a few seconds, there was static and Justin’s voice over the intercom.
“That better be you, Abby, because if it’s not, whoever you are, you ain’t getting in.”
Tears flooded my eyes, and I reached over grabbing Lance. I turned around and smiled from ear-to-ear at Allycia and Tyler.
“We made it! We’re here, guys! Justin, let us in before we get eaten!” I yelled at the silver box louder than I probably should have.
There was a quick buzz before a bar dropped from between the gates and a row of spike strips, I hadn’t seen previously, turned over in the ground a foot from the gate. Then, finally, the gates swung open.
I pulled through, and the gates shut behind us.
I only rolled towards the cabin another thirty feet or so, before a vast, solid, metal door, surrounded by a concrete wall that stretched as far as I could see, stopped me. With another buzz, the metal gate opened. I drove a little further and saw a light come on in one of the cabin windows in the distance.
I didn’t remember there being such a large amount of cleared land around the cabin, but between the concrete wall and the tree line that surrounded the cabin, there was a sizable amount of ground that looked like it was turned over on each side of the gravel driveway.
“What’s going on, Mom?”
“I don’t know, Lance. We were here two years ago, and nothing was like this. I can’t see much in the dark, but it looks like there’s a field out here that’s just been primed for planting crops. Maybe Justin knows something we don’t. Let’s just get inside and ask him.”
Allycia was crying again, but this time, she had a huge smile on her face. She was happy, and she finally felt safe.
Right at this moment, that was all that mattered to me.
Chapter 6
We pulled up to the front of the cabin, and there were a total of four trucks out front. One, I knew to be Justin’s, but the others, I had never seen before. The vehicles I didn’t recognize had Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey license plates. I sure hoped that after what we had just gone through, we weren’t walking into some kind of trap.
It’s amazing how my mind worked its way right toward the worst possible scenario. At this point, though, I was pretty much ready for anything, so I told the kids to stay in the truck and tucked my gun into the back of my waistband.
It scared the crap out of me to do this because I was so worried I was going to literally shoot my ass off, but with my jacket zipped and taped up in every other possible hiding place, that was the only spot left to put it so the gun couldn’t be seen from my front. I cautiously walked up to the porch steps in front of the door, and another light came on.
Justin opened the door with a massive smile on his face, but it quickly dropped to a frown.
“What happened to you? You smell terrible... and what are you wearing?”
“Well, nice to see you too! Before you get any explanations from me, who do these trucks belong to and why are they in my driveway?”
“It’s kind of a long story, Abby, but they’re friends. Come on in, get washed up, and we’ll talk this all out. Where are the kids? Ugh, I assume they couldn’t stand the way you smell, so they decided to walk?” I had never heard Justin blather on
like that. He didn’t seem to want to take a breath in-between questions. Now, I was really on high alert.
“No,” I said curtly, “They’re locked in the truck, safely, until I can make sure that the people who own these trucks are not here to hurt them. We’ve seen and done some crazy shit in the last few hours, and I’m in no mood for games or jokes, especially when it comes to who’s in my house, Justin!”
“It’s okay, Abby, they’re all Jack’s old military buddies. Apparently, before he died, he told them about what the government could possibly be hiding and he let them in on his little contingency plan, too. These men did the fences and the extra security around the property as well as a few other improvements. They’re good guys. They’ve been here for a few days now, getting the place ready for you and the kids.”
“Really?” My anger deflated almost immediately with Jack’s name mentioned. “I have to go get the kids. They’re probably dying from the smell in the car.”
“Yeah, what is that, by the way?”
“I guess your trip up here was smoother than ours, then? You didn’t come across any zombies?”
“Zombies? No... but you have?”
“Yes, hence the smell. Let me get the kids, and I’ll get cleaned up. Then, we can all have a nice long talk about what the hell is going on. I’d definitely like to meet these friends of Jack’s, too, please.”
“Oh, sure! Go get the kids, and I’ll get everyone else together in the living room.”
I turned and bounced down the stairs of the porch, happily. The kids jumped out of the truck right away, seeing how cheerful I was as they took substantial deep breaths of clean, fresh-smelling air. I laughed a little and told them to grab what they needed for tonight and to head on inside. Justin was there to greet them at the door, and I looked around to make sure the coast was truly clear.
Once I was satisfied with my sweep, I started to un-duct tape myself, so I could get out of my stinky clothes.
It was so nice to be somewhere that was familiar. Well, kind of.
At least, while we were here, there was no real worry about what was around the next corner. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. One that I wished would stay away for a very long time, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t.
These men, these friends of my husband, would not have spent all that time and money putting up two barriers around my sixty-acre plot of wooded land if there wasn’t an extreme threat of needing the safety that their improvements would provide. I was going to meet these men, and I’d ask them about their motivations, but right now, I wanted to get my kids situated, and myself cleaned up a little. It had been a very long day.
I took my leather jacket, pants, and gloves off, wadding all the duct tape into a ball. I found a garbage bag and tied them up in it. I’d wash them all thoroughly tomorrow. Right now, I needed to meet my new guests.
I walked inside, and there were six new people, who I didn’t know, staring back at me from the living room. I was always awkward when meeting new people, and this was undoubtedly a unique experience for me. What was I supposed to say? “Hey, it looks like we’re going to be surviving the zombie apocalypse together, nice to meet you all.” I got a little flustered with the quiet stares and ended up just blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
“I had to kill a zombie or two to get us here, and they smell really bad when they die... again. So, sorry if I smell a bit.”
It was definitely the weirdest conversation starter ever, but it’s what my brain came up with.
A man who looked about my age grabbed what appeared to be his daughter by the shoulders and whispered to her. I could barely hear him, but he told her to get to bed and that he’d be in to tuck her in shortly.
The young girl looked back at me and smiled a huge smile. It seemed that she knew more than I did about what was going on and thought my uncomfortable introduction to the group was amusing.
Right off the bat, I liked her, whoever she was. It also made me happy that she looked to be Allycia’s age.
Justin stood up and cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Everyone, this is Abbigail, Jack’s wife. These are her children, Lance, Troy, and Allycia,” Justin said as he motioned to my kids, who were unwrapping their duct-taped leather outerwear and unloading their backpacks on the dining room table.
The kids all kind of said hello and did a casual uncomfortable wave to the group of people they had never met before sitting in the living room of their own house.
I chimed in to try and break the ice a little better this time, “So, it appears that you all knew Jack, and he shared some things with you all that were pretty secretive, so you must’ve all been on excellent terms with him. He may have mentioned you in conversations before, but we haven’t formally met, so why don’t we do some introductions first?”
A tall, dark-skinned man with a shiny shaved head who had the broadest shoulders I’d ever seen stood up.
“Ma’am, my name is Thomas Buckeneye. I was in the military with your husband a very long time ago, and I currently reside in southern New Jersey and work in construction, ma’am.” He sat back down in the love seat, and he just about took up the entire thing himself he was so big. Not fat big, though, but muscle big.
I was certain that he could single-handedly be responsible for the six-foot cement block wall that now surrounded the property.
Next, a very tan, tall, blond Caucasian man stood up with a petite red-headed woman standing next to him.
“I am Daniel Bakers, and this is my wife, Kristen. I was also in the military with your husband, Mr. Buckeneye, and Mr. Bryant, whom you’ll meet next. This is our son, Chase, and we’re from Delaware.” Daniel pointed to a very handsome young man that looked like he could be his father’s twin. It was creepy how they looked so much alike. I guessed Kristen was so petite that her genes had absolutely no say in what her son looked like.
Daniel continued, “It’s a pleasure to meet you and your family. Jack had nothing but wonderful things to say about all of you, and I’ve been waiting a long time to make your acquaintance.”
That sounded like he was uncomfortable, too. I’ve been waiting a long time to make your acquaintance, who says that anymore?
However, I told myself that if Jack trusted this guy enough to have him come here, I’d give him a chance, especially after my own outburst in front of these people. Everyone was entitled to a second chance at introductions after they weren’t so nervous, right?
The last person in the room that I didn’t know was the man that had told his daughter to go to bed earlier. He stood up and he was a very shrewd-looking man with an extremely square face. If I ever pictured a jarhead, this guy was it. He was just as tall as Thomas Buckeneye, but he wasn’t as huge in the muscle department. Although he was proportionate to his height, that was, at my best guess, six-foot-five. He still looked like he could bench press a Chevy with no problem. He had dark hair that was clipped close to his head and dark eyes that seemed to be searching for danger everywhere.
“My name is Christopher Bryant, and you saw my daughter, Christine, earlier. I also was in the military with these gentlemen and your husband. My daughter and I drove in from Maryland last week when we got the call from Troy that things were probably going to go south. I assume you got that very same call?”
“Yes, we did. Has anyone heard from Troy today? He said he was going to try and call again if he could, but his number was blocked, so I couldn’t call him and I haven’t heard from him yet.” I said as I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and saw that there were no missed calls or messages. Everyone agreed that they had not heard from him recently either.
“So, does everyone know how I met Jack and well, Troy?”
“I know that you and Troy met at the CDC in Georgia, but Jack never really gave me the details,” Justin jumped into the conversation, finally. “From what I’ve heard is going on now, I assume that being at the CDC has something to do with the outbreak on the news,” Justin said this
as he pointed to the TV I hadn’t even noticed was on since it was muted.
What I saw on the screen was frightening on a whole new level.
There were people in the streets running away from the open bloodied arms of crazed monsters. That was the only way I could describe them. When they were grouped together, going after people that were alive, just like they had once been, it hastily became a feeding frenzy when someone went down.
“Where is this? There’s no caption on the screen. Turn the volume on,” I demanded.
Justin looked at the screen and then looked around for the remote. He finally grabbed it and un-muted the atrocities that were on display. There was screaming, running, and dying... a lot of dying.
The newswoman was saying that the camera crew who was broadcasting these images in a second-story apartment building was in downtown LA and they were barricaded inside.
“The crew has told us that they’ve learned to keep very quiet. It seems that when infected individuals hear noise, it attracts them. They have found that if they make noise, one or more of the infected will try to get in. If they remain quiet, the infected go away after a few minutes. It appears that the people infected with this unknown virus have lost all motor skills since they cannot seem to open doors, but this may only be those that are heavily afflicted, which we are seeing now.”
“Are they kidding? They’re still calling these people sick like they can be cured! This is going to cause a lot more deaths. I can’t believe that this has been on the news for hours, and they’re still making it sound like this could just go away with a vaccine! Can’t they see that these people aren’t sick? There’s no coming back from this. Once you are infected, you’re dead already. And it’s in Los Angeles? It’s widespread throughout the states, now!” I said with tears in my eyes. I blinked a few times and bowed my head to get them to fall away. My tears might have gone, but the substantial ache in my stomach just kept getting worse. I sunk to the floor on my knees and Allycia came over to hug me on the floor. Lance and Tyler just put their hands on my shoulders.