Day One (Book 1): Alive

by Michael McDonald

  I gave a quick once over of my rifle and gear, made sure everything was secure and took a few deep breaths. I pulled a cigarette from my chest rig and lit it, who said I couldn’t smoke while running for my life? If I was going to be the diversion, I should at least try and enjoy my time outside. It was then that an idea, far from what Lloyd had come up with crossed my mind.

  None of the dead on the porch were in anyway drawn to the SUV, yet when I had left the house last time I had been chased by several. Perhaps it was the light rumble of the engine that got them all worked up, as well as the person driving. If that were true, then even if we pulled this off and were able to pile into the SUV and drive away. A large group of them in our path would stop us cold. If we were going to escape without difficulty, then as many of the dead as I could gather had to be lead as far away from the house as possible.

  I kicked the safety off the SBR, shouldered it as I took a drag, enjoyed the smoke for a moment, and then dropped it, stepped around the side of the house and let me presence be known to them. “Hey, dumbasses! You want me… come and get me!”

  The dead, which I was still hesitant to believe were real, saw me and instantly began shuffling my way as they hissed and spat through decaying lips. The altered their course as I moved out into the road and watched them closely, trying to count them and watch my back at the same time. “Come on!”

  Suddenly, I saw movement in the SUV as Kember poked her head up. She spotted me, pointed and began to smile. “Daddy’s gonna get you out, baby. You just hang in there.”

  One of the dead that was passing by saw her as well stopped and began banging on the window. She sunk back and began crying. The plan had barely gotten started and was already falling apart. The dead reached for the door handle and as a protective father, I no more thought about my actions than any other father would have. I raised the SBR and fired. The dead dropped and those that had not heard my voice were now shuffling my way.

  I turned and headed up the same street I had driven a week ago in a very light jog, it was almost a fast walk to be honest with you. I looked over my shoulder to see them all filtering out of my yard and onto the street. With Kember out of sight, her crying wasn’t enough to break them from a mobile meal.

  Devin watched from the front door. “What the hell is he doing? He’s not supposed to shoot, that’ll draw all of them.”

  “And that’s why he did it,” Lloyd said as he tightened the grip on the shotgun. “Okay, everybody, get ready to move. Devin, when you see the last one disappear let us know and we’ll go then.”

  Devin just nodded.

  “Here’s our chance to flee,” the Blonde said in a whisper.

  “That’s part of the plan, Ashley. But only when he gets back, not a second sooner.”

  “No, I mean we go now while he has all of them going the other way.”

  Lloyd looked at her and scrunched his eye brows. “That guy is putting his life on the line to save his daughter, as well as the rest of us and you want to use that to your advantage and run away?” His tone grew deeper as the anger set in. “I gave that guy my word…”

  “Who gives a shit about your word? Words don’t mean anything anymore, only surviving does. We have an opportunity, so let’s not blow it.”

  Devin watched the last of them fade from view. “They’re gone.”

  “I do. I care about whether I give my word to someone and then back it up,” Lloyd added. “So, we are sticking to the plan… end of discussion!”

  She backed away with a nod. A few more distant gunshots filled the gap of silence. Lloyd and the Second Man rushed out onto the porch, with Devin leaving the door partly cracked and watched them reach the SUV, pull Kember free and returned to the house untouched.

  Once inside, Lloyd set Kember down and she wasted no time in going after some of her toys and began playing, unbothered by the fact that strangers surrounded her and her daddy was outside leading the dead away from them.

  “Oh, to be young again,” Man Two said watching Kember play. Lloyd smiled and simply stood there lost in the moment, feeling as though he had done something good that would let his son look down on him and be proud of.

  “So, how exactly are we supposed to tell, Brandon that your plan worked?” Devin asked, still standing by the front door.

  Lloyd looked at him, wondering that same thing as his plan had never called for any shooting or running very far away. He was supposed to go a few blocks, and then cut back through backyards staying out of sight until he made it back. The plan that had unfolded was complete chaos. “I don’t know, considering he didn’t stick to the plan.”

  Ashley piped in again. “Let’s just take the kid and go. It’s obvious that he screwed up and probably won’t be coming back. There’s no need in all of us dying because he fucked up!”

  A rapid amount of four gunshots pierced through her words, alerting the others that he was still alive and fighting.

  “If you’re so interested in leaving, then take off. No one’s stopping you,” Lloyd said.

  Ashley held out her hand for the keys. She’d take them and drive away in a heartbeat, leaving them behind if that is what they chose to do.

  Lloyd shook his head. “You want to leave, then you do it on foot.”

  She threw him a cold glare and once she realized that she wasn’t going to get her way or have anyone run to her little pity party, she turned and headed into the kitchen. There she stood by the side door looking out at the beautiful day, allowing her mind to formulate a plan that would take her far away from the others with the SUV at her command. If they wanted to stay and wait, then that was fine with her, but they shouldn’t stop her from going out into the world and finding someplace that truly was safe. Living off of cold canned goods and sleeping in uncomfortable cars night after night was not her idea of fun.

  Just play along for the moment. Her mind told her and as much as she didn’t want too, she knew there was no other way around it. She’d have to fit in for now, but continuously be on the lookout for the perfect opportunity to get away.

  The Second Man, who they called Johnny, came into the kitchen to see Ashley standing by the back door. “You see him?”

  She shook her head silently, never looking away from the window.

  “How about you whip us all up something to eat, since you’re in the kitchen?” Johnny said grinning.

  She looked at him. “How about you eat shit and die.”

  “Wow. Attitude,” Johnny added and waltzed out of the kitchen.

  Devin, still standing by the door peering through the glass spoke his thought. “Maybe we should come up with a contingency plan, just in case he doesn’t come back or if he does and has unwanted company with him.”

  Lloyd stood fifteen feet away looking out a side window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Brandon returning. He was in no condition to care for a child of only two. It had been a long time since he’d cared for a child that small and with the recent loss of his only son, it would just be too much for him to handle. He silently prayed that God would stay with Brandon and bring him safely back to his daughter. The keys were in his hands and he took a quick glance at the SUV, his mind roaming back to what Ashley had said. He then turned his attention to what Devin had suggested and began trying to put something together.

  Six blocks from my house, I stopped and took a breather behind a large oak tree. The dead had a great advantage over me, as they were no longer alive and didn’t have to breath, not to mention that they had unlimited amounts of stamina where I did not. Hunkering down behind the tree, I’d broken my line of sight with them and now watched them near me. As long as I stayed out of sight they would pass by and I could double back to my house – the original plan that Lloyd had invented had none of what I had just done in it anywhere. Maybe there was a reason for that?

  The herd of twenty-five dead slowly slumbered past me. In their minds I guess they thought I was just a little ways ahead of them and they would regain sight of me at any mome
nt, at least that’s what I told myself they were thinking. I had no idea if they were even capable of thinking, although something told me there had to be at least a small fraction of brain impulse left. If not, then they would not be able to open car doors, which they had, wouldn’t be able to realize living from dead and chase after me. The more I thought about it the clearer the answer became. They had limited brain function left, yet it was still enough to make them dangerous and without any emotions, they were merciless.

  “Keep going, just keep going on by me,” I whispered as they slipped through the intersection in their swift shuffle, unaffected by not being able to see many any longer. The large group kept moving, but one of them, a straggler, suddenly stopped and began looking around. I remained perfectly still, although with their eyes dead, it would be hard for them to see very far let alone pick up slight wisps of movement.

  “Keep going.”

  It began sniffing the air, which drew my attention to the wind direction. It was cutting up behind me and blowing in the direction of the single dead. If the living gave off any kind of a smell that the dead could pick up, like an animal following a scent, then it was only a few seconds before it locked on to where I was and came after me. I didn’t need any of them following me and without a suppressor to silence my SBR, I couldn’t shoot it. I would be forced to run and it would follow.

  “Shit,” I whispered as I watched it sniff at the air. It turned its entire disfigured body towards my position and was looking for the origin of the smell. I was trapped where I hid, unable to advance or retreat without the fear of being seen. And with limited brain power, it might have enough smarts to actually call somehow to the others for backup. I couldn’t let that happen or all I had done up until this point will have been in vain. Pulling a small knife I kept with me at all times, I flipped the blade open and charged the single dead.

  It hissed and spat at me as I grew closer and I was worried that at any moment the herd would hear, stop, turn and come after me. I hit the single dead and took it to the ground, quickly delivering a stab to the head and it stopped moving. Unfortunately though, my rifle stock had hit the ground hard enough to send sound waves traveling in all directions. The herd stopped and looked back to see me and the single dead lying on the ground. I lay perfectly still, as still as the dead under me, and after what seemed like a gut wrenching hour, which in fact was only ten to fifteen seconds, the herd turned and began shuffling away from me.

  I lay there, sweating and spent, not wanting to move an inch or even get up. All I wanted to do was rest, yet with the single dead below me and the foul odor it put off; I had no choice but to rise to a crouching position. From there I could see the single dead was no longer a threat and going for the brain would put them down for good. This was useful information I could pass along to the others who were waiting for me at my house… at least I hoped they were still waiting for me and hadn’t driven off.

  I decided to stick to the backyards and narrow alleyways on my return to the house, that way if I were to run upon anymore dead that had not taken to the gunfire; I could easily avoid them, hide and wait for them to pass as the herd had. The sun was starting to sink in the west, there were still several hours left in the day, but the glowing globe of light was picking up speed as the minutes progressed and soon night would fall. I wondered as I walked if we should stay the night and head out in the morning? Leaving now would put us somewhere in the middle of nowhere when dark arose, which was dangerous as I had found out in the past. It was much safer to travel during the day.

  I crouched as far down as I could and crept up to a row of hedges that were about three feet tall and very thick, so even if I hadn’t gotten all the dead in the area to follow me, I could see them without them seeing me. I peered through a small opening and could see my house and the SUV still in the carport. I felt a sigh of relief slide off my shoulders like a cheap suit made of polyester; you couldn’t wait to get off. There were no dead around, so I slipped out onto the road, checked both directions and hurried across the street, continuing to scan in both directions as I went. I had been blind sides once before by those things, I’d be damned if I’d let it happen again.

  Chapter Eight.

  The only thing running through my mind was getting inside and seeing my daughter. Not more than fifty feet away from my house, I noticed what appeared to be a light on in the little white house next to mine. I took a second look to see the curtains now drawn and no signs of the light. Had I just imagined all of it, spent from fleeing ravenous dead to which my mind was making things up? The small town I had grown up in was full of a diverse group of people, some what you would considered to be old-school and many of the now-aday types. So it would be very likely that many of them survived the initial start of whatever this was, after all, I had and I was the most unprepared person there was. If I could make it this far, others could as well. And if I could side with them, there would be safety in numbers as well as lots of supplies to go around.

  The following year, my daughter had won a toddler beauty contest, so beyond the fact that everyone knew who I was, they would help a young man with a child faster than they would help anyone else. In that same idea, Mary floated back into my mind and I watched her die all over again. For that I didn’t deserve to be helped, yet Kember needed that chance.

  I found myself walking up the brick walkway to the front porch of the little white house and as I reached the steps, I stopped and glanced toward the window once more. I had to be sure that I was seeing things or that my neighbors were still alive and well. I can honestly say that I didn’t know them very well, never talked with them, although I had seen the woman a few times on the front porch with her two small children. I couldn’t even tell you their names if I had too… what a wonderful neighbor I was.

  “Hello. Is there anybody in there?” I asked. “I saw your light on through the window.”

  For a few long seconds there was no response, no movement, absolutely nothing.

  “I had to be seeing things,” I said and turned to walk away when a thump from within the little house caught my ears. I turned to see the curtains moving slightly, as if someone had been peeking through them and as I turned, they let them go and backed away. We all did it at one point or another in our lives. Hid from someone on the opposite side of the door that we didn’t want to talk to or see… it was low of us, but sometimes it was just better to avoid them all together than listen to them go on about their life to the point where you wanted to slap them across the face and say grow up.

  “Hello,” I said once more and this time I could see a shadow move away from the curtains. “I know you’re in there I can see your shadow moving around. I live next door, I’m Brandon Ellis.”

  “Go away!” a muffled voice from within said.

  I moved to the porch and started up the steps when I heard the door locks engage or unlock, it was hard to determine which. At the top of the steps a shotgun barrel came through the partially cracked door and I jerked the SBR up. “Hold up, I’m not a threat! I just wanted to make sure you guys were alright!”

  “We are, now go away before I shoot you!” The voice said and I could tell it was a male.

  “Your wife or girlfriend and kids okay?”

  “Go away!” He racked the action on the shotgun, chambering a round.

  “Look, you’re armed and so am I. You can shoot me, but your flimsy door isn’t going to stop my bullets from hitting you. Is that what you want? Do you want us to kill each other right here? What will that solve?”

  “I don’t want to shoot you, but you’re going to draw those crazy people back here. My girl is sick and I don’t need anything else to deal with right now, so please just go away.”

  I backed down the steps and halted at the sidewalk. “I didn’t mean any harm. I’m still next door, not sure how long that will be, but if you need anything just come over. There’s more than enough room for all of us under my roof.”

  No reply.


  I headed back to my house and as I moved onto the front porch, Devin opened the door and smiled at me. “I knew you’d pull it off, man.”

  Inside I grabbed Kember and picked her up, holding her as tight as I could without hurting her. I was feeling pretty good about myself and what I had done until Lloyd had to go and burst my balloon.

  “What was that shit out there?” he asked.

  “What?” I replied playing the dumb role...

  He crossed his arms and looked hard at me, there was not a shred of humor anywhere to be seen. “The whole reason for a plan is so that it works and there is some sort of structure. You can’t just blindly go out there and do the first thing that comes to mind… that’s how people die!”

  I wasn’t following why he was so upset. I had taken the plan and made it better, drawing all of the dead in the area far away and returning unharmed. “I made it back in one piece and took all those things with me,” I told him. “They are still heading away from us, searching for me, so what’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is that you didn’t follow the orders I gave to you. Orders that were crystal clear and easy to follow. That’s the fucking big deal!” He announced. “We had no idea if you were dead, alive… we knew nothing.”

  I sat Kember down and gave her a doll to play with, and then stood back up focusing on Lloyd. “Let’s get one thing clear before we go any further, Lloyd. This is my house, I live here and I’ll be damned if you’re just going to come in here and start bossing me around,” I scolded him and pointed toward his people. “You want to boss them around then be my guest, but you aren’t going to do that shit to me, in my house! I did what I thought was right because my Daughter was in danger. I’ll die to ensure she lives… is that clear enough for you?”