Born In The Apocalypse

by Joseph Talluto

  “Trey!” I yelled. I twisted suddenly, slamming the Tripper to the floor. Its head cracked the hard tile floor and stunned it for a second. I shrugged out of my pack and scrambled away, crawling until I could get my feet under me.

  The Tripper threw my pack away and lunged from the floor. He charged at me, and I dodged to the side, running in the opposite direction before facing him again. This time I pulled my knife from its sheath, and I held it like my father had taught me. With a live human, you hold it with the point down, edge toward the sky. With a Tripper, you held it in your fist, with the blade facing away from you and the edge to the outside. The uninfected died from cuts and stabs; the infected only died from a stab.

  I didn’t run; I just waited. I couldn’t get away from this guy anyway, so it had to end here. A strange calm came over me, and I weighed in my mind what needed to be done. I glanced over at Trey, and he was sitting on the back of the Tripper that had attacked him, keeping him on the floor while the arms and legs of the Tripper kicked and swung. Trey pointed to his knife that was ten feet away and shrugged.

  “Use a damn arrow, stupid!” I yelled.

  The Tripper I was facing charged again, and as he passed, I swung hard with my knife, hoping to hit him in the heart. There was a meaty thud as my blade hit home, and suddenly the Tripper fell to the floor. My knife was wrenched out of my hand, and I looked at what had happened. Instead of hitting it in the heart, I had managed to hit it in the back of the neck. The blade had neatly severed its spine, paralyzing the creepy jerk. I went over to it, a little weak-kneed because the adrenaline rush was over, and yanked my knife out. The Tripper twitched its head, but could do nothing else. I went over to my pack and picked it up, shrugging it back on. I grabbed my bow, and with a little effort, sank a shaft into the back of the Tripper’s head, ending it once and for all.

  Trey got up a minute later, having dispatched his attacker as well. Neither of us had taken any bites which was a miracle, and my pack had minor tears where the Tripper had tried to chew on it, but it was still functional.

  Trey looked at me, and I shrugged. “Sorry man, but you still had your quiver,” I said, not really meaning it as an apology.

  Trey smiled. “No worries. I forgot I had the thing with me. Once I got pushed over and found that thing trying to get me, I forgot all about my arrows.”

  “Let’s find a place to sleep,” I said. “It’s nearly dark out.”

  Trey looked up. “Let’s get to the top. I want to look out and see things from twenty stories up. Might never get the chance again.”

  That sounded good to me. I took my pack off and retrieved my Colt. I wasn’t messing around with Trippers any more tonight. If there were any between here and the top floor, they were going to find I had a cure for their sickness in the form of a forty-five caliber pill.

  Chapter 46

  We climbed a stairwell that we found in the lobby that took us all the way to the top floor. The door opened up to a large space that was filled with desks and chairs and what had to be computers. We had a computer at the house that Dad just refused to get rid of. Maybe he hoped someday the power would get turned back on. The desks were separated by little walls so each person could have their own little office within the office. I personally thought it was kind of silly.

  Trey walked over to the west side of the building and looked out the window. The sun was nearly down, and it was hard to see very much with the glare, but the world stretched out before us for miles and miles. We could see hundreds of homes of all shapes and sizes spread out along streets and side roads. Huge buildings grouped together told us where shopping centers used to be, and we could see the river fading off into the distance. I looked south and tried to see our houses, but the trees were too thick, and we couldn’t have seen them anyway. I realized that there were many more Trippers out there than I ever realized, and for the rest of our lives, we were probably going to have to watch our backs and live with walls. Kind of depressing once I really thought about it.

  When the sun finally set, Trey and I went over to the other side of the building and set up camp by the windows. Trey said he wanted to see the world when the sun came up. I couldn’t argue with that.

  I set up another candle again, and this time heated a little water in a small tin cup. Digging into my pack, I pulled out a little sack of dried corn. I crushed the corn under the pommel of my knife and tossed it into the water. Pulling out another sack, I added a handful of dried beans. A third sack yielded a handful of rice, and I stirred the mixture for a while, letting the water get to the ingredients. After a time, the mixture was soft enough to eat, the dried food having absorbed the water.

  Trey put his own mixture together, and cooked his dinner off the same candle. Pulling out a metal box, Trey handed me a small hunk of bread and a piece of venison jerky. I opened a plastic tube and gave him a small apple, taking one for myself. We enjoyed a fairly good meal high above the ground.

  After dinner Trey stretched out on a couch that we moved in from a small eating area. I found another couch in an office, and we dragged that one over as well.

  Trey was asleep almost instantly, but I always took a little more time to fall asleep, especially in a place I wasn’t familiar with.

  I tossed and turned for a bit, then went over to the window. The sky was dark since a mess of clouds had come through as the sun had set. It was hard to see anything on the ground, but here and there I thought I saw movement.

  Something caught my eye out to the east, and I stared for a long time. There was a small spot in the sky on the edge of the horizon that had a strange glow to it, like there was a huge fire blazing in the night.

  Suddenly, there was a small pinpoint of light right at the bottom edge of the dark line of the horizon. It flashed for a second, disappeared, came back, and then was gone again. I stared for a long time, trying to see if that lone light would come back, but it never did. Instead, there were dozens of lights dancing on the horizon, blinking in and out, moving all over the place. Several lights went from north to south and then the opposite way. I had no idea what I was looking at.

  My exhaustion finally got the better of my curiosity, and I stumbled back to my couch. Trey was snoring softly on his couch, oblivious to the world.

  The last thought that hit me before I nodded off was a strange one.

  ‘Open the gates. Lights. So many lights’

  Chapter 47

  We reached our homes at the end of the following day. Trey’s father shook my hand in gratitude for helping his family, and I took a very excited Judy back to her stall at my house. She was happy to see me and even more happy to have her old place back all to herself. She got along with Pumpkin well enough, but she was like me. After a while, I needed my own space and my own company.

  The house was the same as I had left it, but there was something different about it. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but I was uneasy enough that I took to wearing my Colt wherever I went. I couldn’t explain why, I just had this odd feeling like I was being watched. I covered my weapon with one of my dad’s flannel shirts as I went about my daily routines, keeping as low a profile as possible.

  I checked my trap lines and found that I had snared only a couple of rabbits. With the weather being as cold as it had been, the meat was still good. I checked the forest and found the tracks of several deer, as well as the tracks of two wolves. I guessed they might be looking for the guy who took out their leader.

  A week after Trey and I had finished our mission, I returned to the house from the creek. I had to pull up a couple of buckets of water since snow wasn’t easy to melt in decent quantities.

  Right away I knew something was wrong. Judy was blowing and stamping, and she was not happy about something. I wasn’t worried about a Tripper finding her. She could kill a Tripper without too much effort, but an uninfected person was another matter. I wondered if those men Trey and I had sent those Trippers after had escaped and somehow found their way back to us
.

  I went in through the garage and calmed Judy down. Looking around, I could see someone had been in here. Nothing was taken, but things weren’t exactly in the place I had left them. It was like someone had come through, looked around, but found nothing of real interest.

  I went into the house and looked around, keeping quiet and seeing if anything was missing. A Tripper would never had made it past Judy, so whoever was in here was normal— for the fact that they were in my house and didn’t belong there.

  The kitchen was clear, as was the dining room, and the front room. In the back room, I found my intruder.

  She was looking at the bookshelves and was taking one down when I spoke.

  “Most people wait by the gate and announce themselves,” I said quietly.

  Kim spun around and dropped the book, pulling a knife with her other hand. She dropped the knife to her side when she saw me.

  “Josh! Oh my god! I didn’t know you lived here,” Kim said. “What a coincidence. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, thanks. What are you doing here?” I asked. I didn’t bother to contradict her story. I knew she knew I lived here. She’d been watching me for a while. Now that I thought about it, I figured she might had been staying in the house next door.

  “Came through the area; thought this place looked safe,” Kim said. She put the book back on the shelf and sheathed her knife. Her pack was in the corner, and by the look of things, she wasn’t thinking about picking it back up any time soon.

  “It is safe, and it’s mine,” I said. “Didn’t you find any homes to live in where those big houses were?” I asked.

  Kim shrugged. “Not the same. If I took over one of those houses, I’d have to build a wall, find supplies, find water, and make it work. I’d rather just find a place with all of that ready to go. Like this one.” Kim looked at me. “I know you’re all alone here, Josh, and I could use a place to settle into. We could be roommates,” Kim said brightly, trying to sound enthusiastic.

  “There’s some houses down the road that could use some cleaning, and they already have a fence and supplies. Families are gone from them, so you’d not have any problem there,” I said, hooking a thumb in my belt.

  “Come on, Josh. You can’t live here alone. You need company. We’d be a good team, “Kim said.

  I shook my head. “Sorry Kim, but as much I would like to have you around, if for nothing but conversation, I’d rather just stay by myself.”

  Kim’s voice turned hard. “Better be sure, boy. It’s a dangerous world out there, and you’re just a kid.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. “I know how dangerous it is. My father told me every day how bad it is. He died saving me from it. It took my mother because it was so bad, and she couldn’t handle it anymore. I just spent two days out there in the thick of it. All I’ve seen from you is to figure out how to run from it,” I said, losing my temper a bit. I didn’t like being called a boy, not when I was doing a man’s job in keeping myself and my horse alive, too.

  Kim nodded slowly, and when she spoke it was slow and deliberate. “I think I’ll stay here whether you like it or not. I don’t think I’m going to be leaving Josh, but I think you are.” Kim’s hand swept her knife out, and as she raised it her eyes got very wide and her face went very white.

  The four clicks my Colt made as I eased the hammer back were very loud in the silence that followed.

  “Drop it,” I said quietly. Kim’s knife clattered to the floor.

  I moved over to the corner so I could keep Kim in front of me. “Get your gear and get out,” I said.

  Kim looked at me, and tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Josh. I’m hungry, and I’ve been on my own for a year. I don’t know how to act around people anymore.”

  I wasn’t buying it. My dad had warned me that people revealed their true character with their actions, not their words, and if I hadn’t had my gun, I fully believed Kim would have tried to kill me.

  “Get moving. If you try anything, I’ll drop the hammer,” I said.

  I knew I made the right choice when her tears dried up immediately, and she flashed me a look of pure hate.

  Kim picked up her pack and stalked out, slamming the door on her way out. I followed to make sure she kept moving, and when she was on the other side of the wall she stopped.

  I waited, not yet holstering my gun, but I was hoping she’d get a move on soon as it was cold today, and I wasn’t wearing my coat.

  She stood out there for a moment with her head up, then her chin dropped to her chest, and I could see her shoulders shake with real sobs this time. She turned around, and I could see the tracks of her tears on her face as sniffled at me.

  “I don’t know where to go,” Kim said in a small voice.

  I sighed as I holstered my gun. I was trusting my instincts on this one and hoped to hell I wasn’t as dead wrong as I felt.

  “Go into that house right there,” I said. “It’s on a good hill which will protect you on three sides. The fourth you’re going to have to fortify. Trey and I will help you with that,” I said.

  Kim broke into a wide smile, and she ran over to my wall. “Thank you! Thank you!” she squeaked.

  “Don’t thank me yet. You have to drag the former residents out first,” I said.

  “Ew. Can you help with that?” Kim asked, looking at the house.

  “Nope. That’s the mortgage on the house. You want it, you pay it,” I said, quoting one of my westerns.

  Kim threw me a look, but she walked up to the house and went inside.

  Chapter 48

  It took three weeks, but between the three of us and some help from Trey’s dad, we managed to clear out the house and build a serviceable wall around the vulnerable sides. The east side was completely open, but the way the land was configured no one, not even me, could easily climb up to the window, let alone get the leverage to break it. During that time, Trey and I got to know our new neighbor, and she got to know a few things about us. Trey and I taught Kim how to set trap lines, where the water was, and how to skin and gut the animals she caught.

  It was funny when there was a pounding on the gate, and Kim as there with a dead rabbit, grinning like a loon and holding it up for me to see. I was proud of her for her success, and I think she felt like she could actually survive on her own without having to scavenge all the time. In the spring, Trey’s mom promised to teach Kim how to can her own food and how to grow a good garden.

  When the weather was warmer and the snow was in full retreat, Trey and I took the horses and headed back to that little sports store we had found in the winter. I still hadn’t told Trey about the lights I had seen, and I still wondered if I had actually seen them at all. Maybe I had actually dreamed it. Part of me didn’t believe it, but then I wondered if seeing those lights might have driven that other guy crazy.

  I had asked Kim if she wanted to come with, but she was busy with her garden and yard, so she declined.

  A warm breeze pushed us along the road, and I was carrying the compound bow we had found a month ago. I had discovered the bow’s shorter limbs were perfect for shooting from horseback, and Judy loved the fact that I took her out more often. I was hunting larger game a lot more, and she was very helpful in pulling back full animals. It was also safer in that any Trippers we encountered, Judy was much better able to outrun them than I was.

  We went past the asylum where Trey and I had spent that night, and it didn’t look any better in the day. I was still curious about what they might have used the top floors for, but if I was honest with myself, I’d rather that remained a secret.

  The landscape was different now that the snow was melting. Instead of being white, it was a lousy shade of brown. But even though it wasn’t very pretty, it meant spring was coming and everyone, including the Trippers, felt it. We were seeing one every other mile; sometimes they were close, sometimes they were further away. I killed the ones that got too close, putting arrows in their hearts and dropping them
. The compound bow made it easy, with the sights and all, and I had figured out how to adjust the strength of the pull so I had it at the edge of what I could manage.

  “Still can’t figure out why they die when I put an arrow in them, Trey,” I said, putting the bow back behind me. I had a hook on a leather strap that the bow hung on. Judy didn’t care, so I figured it was a good idea.

  “No idea,” Trey said. “I’ve seen several with bullet holes in them, but they’re still walking around. Maybe they heal up if the holes are small, but if the thing causing the wound is stuck in there, they can’t heal, and nature takes its course.”

  That was the best idea I’d heard. At least, it made the most sense.

  “Is this the place?” I asked, pulling Judy up.

  “Yep,” Trey said. “The sign I threw in the bushes is still there.”

  We went through the store and picked up everything we had left behind. We filled bags with camping supplies, knives, arrows, and everything in between. I had two bags and Trey had two more, and I rigged the bags to act like saddlebags. Judy really put her ears back at me for the extra weight. I hoped we wouldn’t have to run, but if we did, I was ditching our load.

  We made it back to our homes before dark, and while Trey put Pumpkin away, I took the bags into the house to arrange the haul and see what we wanted to do with it.

  While I was doing that, there was a hail from outside. I knew the voice and went out to let Kim into the yard.

  “Hey, Josh! Do you have a hatchet I could borrow? I need to cut up some kindling, and the axe I have is not working as well as I want it to,” Kim said.

  “Sure, I think I can set you up better than that,” I said. “Come on in.”