Eves of the Outbreak

by Lilith Assisi

  Tears streaked down Tracy’s face, and there was no Percy at her heels. I think she saw me looking around her for him, for when I looked back at her with pleading eyes she just shook her head.

  My body was being racked by this torrent of emotion as I felt myself overcome with a sudden rage. I hadn’t known Percy that long, but he was a wonderful dog that would have followed us to the end. Actually, he did follow us to the end, it just happened to be his end first.

  And these kids took his life. How dare they?! The only people I always thought were truly bad were those who hurt animals on purpose, and these kids were fitting the bill. I found myself picturing very violent versions of revenge for Percy, but tried to squeeze my eyes shut and start thinking of more productive schemes, like how Tracy, River and I could get out of here.

  “You two! Up against the wall over there,” the older boy instructed, using the shotgun’s barrel like a laser pointer.

  “Danny, Anya, go check out the truck and see what they got,” he said to the other two.

  They readily lowered their weapons and headed towards the truck.

  “We’re gonna have to thank you two. Not only did you make it super easy to track you here so that we could take back our supplies, but now we know this place might be a great outpost station,” Max told them.

  “Glad we could help,” Tracy said with a sneer.

  “How about you take the stuff back that you think is rightfully yours, and we’ll be on our way?” I suggested.

  “Ha! So you can come back and steal from our headquarters again? Fat chance. Actually, I think it’s time-“ he was cut off and turned towards a noise coming from the highway. We all looked over at the sight of a car driving through the snow. It was going rather slow, probably less than 20mph, considering it was a sedan and didn’t look to have snow tires to help it through the muck that was starting to melt.

  We were up on a hill at least fifty yards away from the highway, but the car was going slowly enough that we could see someone look up from the window and then turn away, continuing to focus on the road as headed down the highway. It had startled us all. For about a week now traffic was mostly non-existent.

  Before anyone could comment on what we had just seen, another two cars sped past, one an SUV that was handling the snow just fine and would probably overtake the sedan shortly. Another was a mini van that seemed more confident with the snow than the sedan, but wasn’t pushing its limits like the SUV.

  Both drivers from the cars glanced at us as they passed but made no attempt to stop or further investigate our plight.

  I know it’s not everyone’s M.O. to stop and help a group of people being held at gun point, but it was a little odd that everyone’s focus was on speeding down this highway through the snow with what seemed like their eyes on the prize, in other words, getting the hell out of dodge. I guess a better word for it instead of odd would be ominous.

  As if she read my mind River added to the palpable sense of foreboding with a low growl.

  “Danny, go see if anything’s going on up the highway, or if anything’s heading our way,” Max ordered. And Danny obeyed, heading to the end of the building closest the highway.

  Max turned back to us. “Like I was saying, I think it’s time we got rid of you two. Can’t have you following us back and we ain’t got need for any more survivors,” Max said.

  “Now why don’t you two turn around and start heading towards that field over there,” he said, again using his shot gun as a pointer, pointing towards the corn field behind the rest area.

  I could see a small town ahead of us at the other end of the cornfield. Country houses with horse stalls or small barns in their backyards peppered the landscape. People who at one point were living the simple life, but no one had that luxury anymore. Now the world was full of evil. Evil and death.

  Formulating my plan in my head while we walked, I planned to throw River to my right and roll to my left, then bum rush Max. I figured there was a good chance he would get a shot off, and he would have the best chance of shooting me, but by aiming River towards Tracy I hoped that she would be able to run the other way and overpower Max before he got another shot off.

  Naturally none of this worked out as planned, and instead all of us turned too look at Danny after he shouted out “Zombies!”

  We were all turned to look at him. Danny was panting at the front of the building, and his face turned white with horror before it became overshadowed by the figure of a zombie stumbling through the archway in the middle of the rest area.

  This zombie was moving a little faster than I was used to, and it was heading straight for Anya.

  All at once Anya turned and aimed her rifle. Max went to run to her aid, while Tracy took off after Max. I dropped River to her feet but the two of us were the only ones not in motion at this point.

  Anya had gotten a shot off, but it wasn’t a very good one. The zombie lurched backwards for a second after the shot clipped him in the hip, but aside from turning his body to face Anya more directly it hadn’t been particularly helpful.

  There had only been about four feet between the zombie and Anya in the first place, and Max looked like he was trying to get a shot off at the zombie without hitting her when he stopped and realized it was too late.

  The zombie pretty much fell on top of Anya. At the same time Danny screamed “No!!!” Then the only screaming was Anya’s as the zombie started biting large chunks of her flesh out of her shoulder area.

  Another zombie scurried through the archway to join its comrade in devouring Anya. Her screaming had stopped.

  Max was about ten feet away, lifting his gun again, maybe to try to put Anya out of her misery, when Tracy tackled him from behind.

  I was about to start running to her aid when some movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Glancing around the back of the rest area and back towards the highway I saw it: dozens of zombies coming up our way from the under pass. That must have been why those cars were high tailing it out of here, and it would be less than a couple minutes before those at the head of the pack were on top of us. I couldn’t quite see all the way to the front or middle of the rest area, so I didn’t know how many more zombies were in between the head of the pack and our rest area, or how many might be stumbling through the archway in any second.

  Seeing the herd of undead headed our way set me back in motion and I redoubled my efforts to get to Tracy. She was currently wrestling with Max to try to get the shotgun from him. He looked like he might be able to get a shot off when my fears were confirmed. At least half a dozen more zombies stumbled through the archway. Most of them headed towards the blood fest that was already underway over Anya’s body, but a couple thought the fighting between Tracy and Max seemed more to their liking. Before I knew it, two of them had joined in the group wrestling efforts of Max and Tracy, and both of them started yelling and trying to fight off the zombies.

  Limbs swung and near misses were had.

  Another flicker of movement, and I saw Danny booking it away from the scene, turning tail and running in the opposite direction.

  Considering my lack of weapon I probably should be doing the same, but I couldn’t just abandon Tracy.

  River seemed to feel the same. She took off towards Tracy barking at the top of her lungs.

  A loud bang went off as Max fired the shotgun. Luckily it resulted in one of the zombie’s faces being blown off. I got an all too close look of its half missing face as it fell backward away from Max, his face shell shocked as he gripped the shot gun.

  Meanwhile Tracy was still holding off a female zombie that was on top of her, teeth chomping aggressively, inching closer and closer to her face. She was holding it by the shoulders. It didn’t seem to have the coordination to use its hands appropriately, but just before its left hand started reaching for Tracy’s face, River grabbed the hand and started vigorously shaking it away.

  With a concerted effort Tracy heaved the zombie off of her, and on to
the still recovering Max to her left.

  The zombie fell on him, and he didn’t have a chance. His shotgun went off again but it was a wasted shot, filling the air behind him with pellets and only serving to continue to attract the coming hoard. The zombie had already gotten to work, and one from Anya’s now motionless body moved its way over to join in.

  Tracy was scrambling away from the spectacle just as I reached her. I grabbed her arm and heaved her upright.

  “Our supplies- they’re in the truck!” she exclaimed.

  “And the keys are somewhere in there,” I said, nodding towards the zombies having a feast on the two children.

  I continued to have a firm grip on Tracy’s arm as I tried to back her away towards the cornfields and town in the distance.

  “We have to get them!” she shouted.

  “Maybe we can come back later, but there’s no way we’ll make it through them now,” I said. She was probably about to protest when the hoard reached the rest area. Zombies started streaming out of the archway and from around either side of the building.

  It took a split second for it to sink in for Tracy, but there was no going back. All three of us turned tail and ran for the hills figuratively speaking, if hills were actually cornfields.

  Chapter 39

  The noises around me weren’t overbearing or overwhelming, yet I felt deafened by the crunching of snow, my heart pounding in my ears, and the crackle of corn stalks being pushed out of the way.

  I was right on River’s heels as she tore down the center of a path. I could hear Tracy somewhere over to my right on an adjacent path. I would have had to stop and listen to differentiate the crunching footsteps being made by us versus the ensuing herd of zombies, but there was no way in hell that was going to happen.

  I no longer felt cold, and I should have felt breathless, but it’s incredible what your mind and body can overcome when faced with survival.

  Approaching the center of the cornfield, I realized it was becoming harder and harder to see what was ahead. The surrounding cornstalks were as thick as a brick. The snow was also most heavily packed here, probably protected from melting by all the debris and foliage present in the field.

  “Umphh!” I heard Tracy exclaim, along with a loud thwack.

  I slowed and whistled to River who stopped and turned back to me.

  We pushed through the corn stalks and found Tracy lying there on her side, grabbing her right ankle where it appeared twisted at an odd ankle. A steady and hushed string of expletives was coming from Tracy’s mouth.

  I huddled down next to her to try to assess the damage, but then realized that would involve taking her boot and sock off. Without supplies on hand, and with a herd of zombies somewhere nearby stumbling through the cornfield, that seemed like a bad idea.

  “Come on, let me help you up. I can try to carry you,” I said.

  Tracy gave me a look full of pain and disbelief. She rolled her eyes.

  “What? I’m a surgeon. I’m tough. I’ve been trained by men,” I tried to joke.

  “And you’re at least twenty pounds lighter than me,” she laughed, pushing me away while I tried to assist her to her feet. This was followed by massive amounts of wincing from Tracy.

  I doubted I was actually twenty pounds lighter than her, but she was at least five inches taller than me and full of muscle with her mountain climbing hobby contributing to her physique.

  I could tell she was trying to limit the amount of weight I had to bear as she wrapped her left arm over my shoulders. I wrapped my right arm around her waist since I wasn’t able to reach under her armpits.

  Tracy tentatively tried to put some weight on her injured foot and completely buckled forward. The whole movement had caught me so much by surprise I was unable to support Tracy at all, and she fell all the way forward.

  I bent back down to help her up while River took off behind us. Tracy seemed concerned.

  “Don’t worry about her, she knows what she’s doing. Come on, we have to get a move on,” I whispered.

  I could hear some rustling in the plants behind us but couldn’t judge whether or not it was ten feet away or thirty.

  Tracy was on her feet again and started hobbling a couple steps with my assistance, but it was slow going with her essentially doing the one-legged bunny hop down a row of cornstalks with rocks hidden under the snow. After about ten feet she stopped and turned to me.

  “Just go Di,” she pleaded.

  “I’m not leaving you,” I told her. I wasn’t going to, we were going to make it out of here. We just had to make it to the houses on the other side of the field and then we could find some way to hole up and protect ourselves.

  I was trying to drag Tracy forward as I looked onward towards the houses, my escape plan at the front of mind.

  “I can’t even make it more than a couple steps Di. It’s ok,” she pleaded.

  “No,” I said, still edging her forward. She pulled herself out of my grip and landed on the ground again.

  “Di, I was gonna have to tell you eventually. But seriously, I’m a goner,” she said. And as she sat there she pulled up her torn sleeve and showed me a gnarly bite wound on her forearm. I felt the blood drain from my face.

  “That walker back at the rest area got me. At least let me do some good and give you and River a fighting chance,” she said.

  “But, but, we don’t have any weapons,” I said. If I was to leave her behind I wanted to leave her with a weapon. Not to single handedly fight off the zombies. We both knew I was referring to the ideal last bullet we each wanted saved for ourself. The thought of leaving Tracy behind terrified me. The thought of how that meant she would die was unbearable.

  For a brief moment I contemplated sitting next to her and just giving up. Letting the zombies overtake us. Not even putting up much of a fight. Just letting go of what little of this world I was clinging to. I knew I couldn’t do that. Tracy knew too.

  She tried to smile at me. Right then River dashed back up the path and stopped just before us, turned around, and started barking. At this point I knew River wouldn’t bark that loud and risk attracting attention unless we were in big trouble. She probably meant for the barking to be more for our benefit than the zombies. Come on you idiot humans, they’re almost on top of us, MOVE was probably what her doggy brain was screaming. Sure enough the rustling sounded closer.

  “Di, it’s ok. Just RUN!” Tracy screamed. And as her screaming continued I took off with River in the opposite direction.

  “Come on you fuckers! Come and get me! You know I won’t go down without a fight!” Tracy bellowed. More swearing and cursing than I had ever heard from a resident continued.

  After a couple more sentences I could tell that several zombies had reached her. She must have been putting on a hell of a fight. From her grunts in between shouting I figured the only reason she was still trying to shout in the first place was to get as many zombies to her, and simultaneously away from River and I, as possible.

  River and I broke free of the field and my face started to sting and I realized I had started crying. In the distance Tracy’s shouting had finally stopped, and I was too far away at this point to hear any more details of the fight that was taking place in the middle of that field. I just hoped that it would be a quick death for Tracy. She deserved that and so much more.

  Chapter 40

  River and I made it in to the yard directly at the end of our path and rushed up the back steps. Not too surprisingly, the door was locked. Smashing open a window might attract too much attention.

  The house to my right had a fence, so we took off to the one on my left hoping that the door would be open.

  Finding the second door to be locked as well, I turned back around to weigh my options and see if I should keep running or break a window and climb in, potentially leaving an opening for the creatures behind me to follow me in to the house and setting off a noise alarm to all the zombies behind us.

  I could see past the cornfiel
d and there was a steady stream of zombies traveling through it. There was probably about five or six dozen between me and the part of the highway I could see them coming from. At this distance, the couple dozen around the underpass and rest area would not likely see me, but breaking glass still might attract them my way. There was also a cluster of zombies in the middle of the field, but I averted my eyes from that direction, feeling my eyes burn with tears as I thought about what was attracting them there.

  I turned my gaze back towards the cornfield where River and I had exited. They couldn’t see me as of yet, but I could tell a couple zombies were just about to stumble in to my line of sight, trying to follow the path that River and I had forged. Too close to smash windows.

  I jumped off the deck and River followed as we ducked behind the side of the house just in time to remain hidden for a bit.

  We ran up along the house, but as I tore around the front I found myself skidding to a halt and back peddling smoother than Michael Jackson.

  River and I pressed up along the side of the house while we both panted, though I was definitely the one of us that needed to catch my breath more.

  I gradually snuck my head back around the front of the house, using the conveniently placed porch to hide my head as much as possible.

  Peering through the spaces in the porch fence confirmed my fears: there was another zombie mob on the snow-covered road ahead. They were pretty far down the road, and the mob was a lot smaller than the one I had left behind me. From the way they were stumbling I don’t think they had seen me.

  In another time and another place this group of zombies would have been downright comical. It was like I had traveled from the set of Resident Evil or another terrifying zombie flick in to some spoof on Shaun of the Dead.

  The group down the road had likely been the local high school football team at one point. But now they were a dozen or so teenage zombies with cyanotic lips, lifeless eyes, and drooling mouths making their already torn and bloodied uniforms messier. I found myself taking a deep breath, pressing myself back against the side of the house, and feeling a delirious desire to giggle overwhelm me. I suppressed that desire and tried to focus on our plan of escape.