Undead Rising- Transcendendence Reborn

by Roberta Bliss

  As the houses scattered further apart, they reached the edge of town and chugged closer to Sam and Kat’s dads’ house. Sam was sure that if any undead were around they would hear the Blazer from a mile away, but there was no sign of anything alive or dead. It looked as if the residents simply parked their cars and floated away somewhere. There were no scenes of mass destruction like Quinn had described that he had seen on TV.

  Sam could see her dads’ pink house coming into view. He used to correct her all the time and swear that the color was earth tone, not pink, but Kat and Sam disagreed. She wasn't sure how she would feel if she found him dead. She knew she would want to break down and cry, but they wouldn't have time for that. She guessed she would just have to wait and see before she worried about what emotional highway she may or may not have to take.

  Sam pulled into the empty driveway. Her dad may not even be here since his old truck wasn't there. Their stepmother and her two brats probably weren’t there either because their car was missing from the driveway. Sam was the first out of the Blazer as she barely managed to get the gear into park and halted the overworked engine. She had a key to the house along with her other keys and entered the front door without hesitation.

  As she raced through the living room, a flash of metal caught her eye from the hall bathroom. Sam froze in her tracks.

  "Sam, is that you?" Her dad coughed from the seclusion of the shadowy bathroom.

  "Dad!" Sam trilled and ran to greet him just as her mom and Kat cautiously entered through the front door. "Daddy!" Kat ran faster than she thought possible and jumped into his arms sending him stumbling back a few paces.

  "Watch out! You don't have to kill him!" Sam reprimanded. Sam was always possessive of their dad. She spent as much time as she could manage with her dad, preferably when the steps were gone.

  Mom had an awkward exchange with their dad, “the girls couldn't leave town without checking on you first." "I'm so happy your alive!" He looked at mom and pulled Kat in for a bear hug with Sam. "I've been here since it started, I picked up Penelope and the kids but they left to go to her moms. I told them I had to wait here in case you came looking for me. I haven't heard from them since." Samantha scoffed involuntarily, but her dad didn't acknowledge it.

  The rest of the group had unloaded the Blazer already and reported that they were all clear, no undead in any direction from dads’ secluded homestead. Their dad had built the house near the outskirts of town, close enough, but far enough to keep people away. Their dad wasn't much of a people person, just like Sam. The one thing he did like to have a lot of was his guns and rifles. Kat didn't care much for hunting, but her pink rifle might just come in handy these days.

  “I’ve got dinner in the oven and hot water in the bathrooms!" Dad smiled in an unusually friendly way. He usually couldn't stand the sight of mom and never cared for any of Kat or Sam’s friends, but Kat guessed the apocalypse changed his way of thinking. Too bad it didn't work for Sam.

  Kat could see that her mom and Olivia were uncomfortable with dad. Lizzy barely communicated with him, except for important matters concerning their kids. Kat wasn’t sure Olivia had ever even met him before, but she had seen his pictures in their rooms. The stress of the end of the world was taking a toll on both of their parents regardless of their forced reconciliation of sorts. Lizzy just looked tired and lost, but their dad looked pale and sickly even. Maybe he just needed to spend some time with people and he'd perk back up to his normal self, Kat thought.

  Kat’s mind wandered to the anticipation of a long, hot shower, even if she had to use Penelope’s body wash that was nowhere near as good as her Bath and Body Works collection. Kat actually tried to stuff it into her get away bag, but Olivia reminded her how utterly ridiculous it was to hang on to something like that when there were active zombies on the front lawn. So Kat only brought absolute essentials like her makeup kit (the small one), her lotion, and a few magazines, along with as many clothes that would fit without busting the zipper. It was a sucky lot of items, but it had to do. Kat hardly had anything at her dad’s house because she rarely stayed over there.

  Kat was the first to call dibs on the master bathroom. Honestly she thought she may have been the only one in the group with showering as a top priority, even though Quinn and Bobbi should add that to the top, for sure. Granted they were possibly the hottest guys to be stuck with during a zombie apocalypse, but after days of sweating, even their hotness could not take away the stench. Olivia brought her small amount of essentials and waited in the bathroom with Kat.

  “So, Kat, your dad is cooking and everything, do you think we are gonna stay here for a while? Maybe till all this blows over?”

  Kat was already adjusting the water to the perfect temperature, “I wish we could, but I have a feeling Sam will have other plans, God forbid we take some time to eat and rest.”

  “She’s just looking out for us, Kat.” Olivia stood up for Sam.

  “OMG, this hot water feels so good on my grimy hair!” Kat proclaimed.

  “Yea, well don’t use it all, your dad has a whole houseful of people that need a shower, especially the guys.”

  “I know, right? For all their hotness, they sure do smell.” They giggled in unison. Kat took an exorbitant amount of time in the shower, but they enjoyed their camaraderie and laughing just like old times. It almost felt like the world had not stopped a couple of days ago, they acted like two high school girls on a weekend sleepover. After they both showered and recuperated a little bit they exited the bathroom to the scent of homemade lasagna in the oven. Kat’s dad went all out, nothing like the stories that Kat and Sam would talk about when they talked about their unsocial father.

  It was nice to see the television glowing, even if it was DVD’s and not live television. It was just another way of trying to forget what was happening outside. In here, they had TV, electricity and hot water, all the essentials that could easily help them bunker down for eternity. They ate dinner together and swapped stories about school and hunting and whatever else they could think of, but nothing related to the end of the world. Could Olivia have imagined the whole thing, was everything normal? One look at Aunt Lizzy’s face confirmed the underlying fear and anxiety that was prevalent in all of them. Olivia didn't want this afternoon to end. Sam cautiously kept her eyes fixed on the partially open front window while finding ample time to play with her new best friend. She wouldn’t let Kat have her way with her either, even when Kat insisted that Kirsten needed a little sprucing up. She treated Kirsten just like she treated Olivia when she first lost the use of her legs. She never let her try to do anything for herself; she took over as caregiver until Kat assumed the role a few months ago. It was almost as if Sam needed Kirsten to make her human again, to make her smile and have a sense of purpose.

  Aunt Lizzy and Sam senior managed to make civil conversation, but it was obvious that neither wanted to be in each other’s company. Sam senior looked wearier as the afternoon wore on and his cough worsened to the point that he took refuge on the overstuffed couch, watching the boys play a video game. No one bothered to clean up the mess from dinner, the reminders of jovial conversations and good food would just have to wait to be cleared away. Kat and Olivia flipped through the teen celebrity magazines that she had toted along with her. Overall, it was one of the best times they had in a long time, despite the circumstances that brought them here.

  Kat had fallen into a deep sleep on the platform bed in the room Sam and her shared at their dad’s. Sam decided to keep watch alternating with Bobbi and Quinn, Olivia slept next to Kat. She was startled awake and completely unaware of her surroundings when she heard an unfamiliar groaning that sounded like someone in pain. She grabbed her pink rifle while still wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She entered the living room where Sam and Kirsten were fast asleep on the couch. Bobbi was supposed to be on watch, but he had fallen asleep, slumped over a chair near the window with a shotgun still in his hand.

  The groaning noises i
ncreased as Kat made her way down the hall towards her dad’s bedroom. His door was slightly ajar so she entered without having to knock for approval. What she saw standing beside the bed terrified her, she couldn't move, but her arms sprang into a shooting pose, knowing that her life was in imminent danger. Her father stared blankly at her in the darkened room, but his eyes were milky and she couldn't see the deep blue color that usually greeted her from them. His face was the color of burnt ashes, dull and pasty. Saliva dripped profusely from his rigidly open mouth. The grunting noises were coming from him and they grew more fervent with her presence in the room.

  "Daddy? Are you ok?" Kat mumbled, knowing the answer would never come. He reached for the barrel of her rifle with one hand while the other hand swept at her face in an attempt to tackle her. His movements became more violent with each quickened breathe Kat took. She stumbled back against the wall with no egress available. His intentions were clear; there were no options for her. Kill or be killed. He taught her that motto on one of their hunting trips, now she knew what he meant. His weight was no match for her as she cowered to the ground. "Daddy, please, no!" She made one last attempt to reclaim the father that once belonged to the undead body hovering over her. "Please!" the flow of unrelenting tears obscured her vision; panic at the feel of her flesh tearing open from his grasp forced her to pull the trigger.

  CHAPTER 8

  Her father's body slumped over her. She pushed it away and dropped the smoking rifle. She remained against the wall on the floor and tucked her knees into her chest allowing the tears and gasps from the unrelenting sobs escape. She could hear the houseguests making their way to her. What had I done? I killed my dad! Why wouldn't he just stop?

  Sam was the first to arrive on scene, "what the hell did you do!" she blazed at her sister and ran to their lifeless father trying to revive him.

  Kat couldn't speak, the tears were too plentiful to allow any coherent sentences to form, instead all she could manage were a few broken words," I - he - zombie- scared." Kat had forgotten about the scratch that she incurred during the scuffle until she looked down at the dried blood on her arm where the scratch had disappeared already. Apparently, her healing worked on herself as well.

  "You killed dad!" Sam screamed as the rest of the household looked on in horror. Their mom pushed her way through the crowded doorway and took Kat in her arms, Kat nestled in as close as she could, wishing she could tune out everything around her. "It's ok baby, it's ok, shh…" She rocked her.

  “It's not ok! She killed him!” Sam screamed louder and involuntarily began dropping tears from her eyes. “Dad is dead! We could have kept him in the closet or the basement until we found a cure!"

  "Sam, this is hard on both of you, lay off Kat, ok?" Mom pleaded. "Just because you hated him doesn't make it ok!" Sam dropped her father to the floor and sprinted out of the bedroom with Quinn in tow. Kat began sobbing harder and louder, knowing that her action was irreversible.

  Her dad was dead. She had expected it before they arrived here, she was even somewhat prepared for that. But when they got here and he was still alive she took for granted that he would be with them forever. She never imagined this would be how he would die. And her own sister killed him! Kat wasn't as close to dad as Sam was. She practically lived at her dads when Olivia wasn’t staying with them. Sam and her dad could spend an entire day together and not have to say a word to each other, most of the time they would watch TV while they were browsing away on their phones. She liked days like that when the steps were gone somewhere and it was just her and her dad. But now he's dead.

  To top it off, Sam couldn’t leave the confines of her dads’ house to find solitude because of the unknown lurking outside. She only had the reprieve of her bedroom to run to. Quinn waited in the doorway wanting to say something but not sure what or how to say it.

  "It's ok Quinn, you don't have to babysit, I'm not gonna get suicidal or anything."

  "I just want to make sure you’re ok." He managed to mumble. "None of this is ok, the whole damn world has fallen to pieces and we're all that's left!" Sam yelled much more fiercely than she intended, she knew he was just trying to be a friend.

  Untamed blonde ringlets peeked from behind Quinn's legs. Sam motioned for her to come to her. "It’s ok Sammy, my daddy's dead too." She stated in a matter-of-fact way. She totted her way to Sam and put her wiry arms around Sam's sagging shoulders. "Your daddy was scary though, when you was asleep I heard him crying, I went to check on him and he tried to bite me, but he just scratched me." She raised her puny arm in front of Sam to show her the deep, infected scratch on her forearm. "I told him that was a no! no!, but he just kept trying to bite me so I ran back to you and that's when Kat musta heard him and went to him." She explained in high pitched innocence.

  Quinn looked to Sam in disbelief. Sam would not acknowledge what she said; instead Sam pulled her closer to her and let her own pent up tears avalanche under the cover of Kirsten's mass of unruly curls. Quinn stepped away from the doorway to leave Kirsten and Sam in each other’s comfort.

  Olivia couldn't fathom what Kat was feeling. Olivia had a dad but she wasn't as close as Sam and Kat were to theirs. Olivia knew Kat loved her dad, but often let the fact that she didn't like her step family get in the way. It was just easier to avoid it altogether than to have to spend too much time around the other people that she didn't like. Olivia also knew she never would have done something as drastic as she had without provocation. She pieced together the fact that her dad turned into one of those undead that they saw at Aunt Lizzy's.

  Olivia didn't know where she could be the most help. Kat was snuggled in her mom’s arms, Sam and Kirsten had retreated to her room with Edie trying to help, and the boys were conferencing quietly at the dining table full of dirty dishes. Piper seemed restless, probably because she hadn't been allowed outside since the whole ordeal unfolded. Olivia reached for her to pat her head and headed to the living room to start surveillance again out the window. The fog had returned and created a creepy landscape that showed no signs of activity from this perspective. She thought she should feel safe, but after the violent death of Sam and Kat's dad, feeling safe didn't seem like an option anymore.

  "Where's Kat?" Sam appeared as though she had never cried.

  "They're still in there." Olivia pointed to the bedroom.

  Sam headed that way with Kirsten and Olivia in tow. "Kat, Kristen has a scrape, I need you to do whatever it is that you do and make it go away." Sam demanded rather than asking for Kat's help.

  Kat stopped sniffling long enough to look at Sam and nod her head. Olivia could see her mood instantly lighten because Sam still needed her. "Don't think this gets you off the hook, I'm still mad at you." Sam added, but Kat knew that Sam was just venting.

  Kat and Aunt Lizzy left the bedroom and closed the door. Kirsten held up her arm to the inviting grip of Kat's healing fingers. The scratch disappeared within seconds. Kirsten turned her arm back and forth several times examining the miracle, “thanks kitty Kat, my booboo is allll gone! Maybe you can fix your daddy too."

  They knew that wasn't possible but Kat looked to her mom for advice. "I don't think it will work honey, but if you want to try."

  "Maybe I should." Kat entered the bedroom and edged closer to her father. Olivia walked in behind her, standing close for moral support. She was frightened to actually take in the sight of her father. He didn’t look like her Uncle Jose had looked when he died, but she had seen him after they had fixed him up at the funeral parlor. She guessed this is what death really looked like, but she had to imagine that this looked much worse. His skin was already falling away from the bones of his face. Blood and ooze emanated from every fold of his skin. The color of his skin was not flesh colored, but rather greyish with a tint of green. Patches of hair were visibly barren on his once full head of hair. The joints of his extremities were disfigured and curled inward.

  Kat placed her han ds on her father’s chest. Everyone held their breath in anti
cipation, Sam impatiently strummed her feet. His skin color took on more color than the putrid green that had taken over. Hope was visible on Sam’s face; she unfurled her clenched fists that hung at her sides. His skin showed more and more improvement, but the timing took much longer than it had for Edie and Kirsten. His joints unfurled their clenched positioning, relaxing at his sides. The color almost completely transformed him, but beyond the color and loosening of his limbs, there did not seem to be any hope for a miracle. Kat looked at her mom for encouragement.

  “Keep trying!” Sam insisted. “I don’t think it’s doing anything more, Sam” Kat wanted Sam to allow her to quit working in him.

  “Don’t stop! You should have tried this sooner, if you had, dad might have come back!”

  “Sam, you don’t know that, maybe Kat’s gift doesn’t work on infected people.” Aunt Lizzy defended.

  “Don’t stop!” Sam dropped beside her sister and placed her hands over Kat’s. It was no use. Once the color had been restored and their dad returned to the way he normally looked, the magic was gone. Either they had waited too long or Aunt Lizzy was right. In any case, Sam would not let this be forgotten. After a few more minutes she huffed off in anger and Kat submissively allowed her hands to leave her father’s body. Aunt Lizzy was quick to take Kat in her arms and comfort her all over again.

  Olivia returned to the living room where the rest of the group had reformed. Sam didn't want to stay there another day. The thought of her father lying dead in his bedroom was enough for her to want to move on. Their plans shouldn't change just because people are dying, it should give them more incentive to find a safe haven. The only hope they had was the story Quinn had told them about the boats taking the uninfected. Sam knew that everyone would rather stay at herdads’ house until their supplies ran out, but their supplies wouldn't last forever and eventually someone or something would find them. It was going to be up to Sam to get the plan rolling again. Quinn interrupted Sam's internal dialogue by waving his hands and cupping his ears. He still had the radio nearly implanted to his ear, hoping to hear something encouraging. "Hold on guys, there's someone different on here, she just said to stay tuned for information from the Department of Defense."