We run towards her car as a Zombie appears out of nowhere. I take my scalpel as I stab it in the head. Sally looks at me with shock, “You’re really quick with that.”
I chuckle, ‘I’ve got to in an emergency situation like this.”
We both burst out laughing as we get inside her car. She backs out of the parking space as we speed out of the parking lot. I look over at her, “Hey, do you mind dropping me off at my house. I need to get home to Lynda.”
“Of course, Blake, not a problem. I sure hope that Parker is okay. He went to school today, I sure hope they are either keeping them there for safety or sent them home. I’m not sure which idea I prefer.”
Once we got onto the main road, we notice that there’s a traffic jam. “Shit!” she says as we get stuck in it.
I think for a moment, “I know some back roads we can try to get to my house.” I gave her the directions as she maneuvered her way around and got into a nearby parking lot and made it out of there.
About twenty minutes later, we finally pulled into my driveway. I look at Sally, “Hey, thanks for the ride.”
She smiles, “No problem. Hey, do you want me to come in and make sure that everything is okay?”
I nod, “Yeah, that’s fine, and afterwards I can follow you to make sure that Parker is okay.”
She smiles at me as she replies, “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
We walk towards my front door, I unlock it and go inside. I turn towards Sally, “Would you like a snack or something, for your trouble?”
Sally smiles, “Oh, no, I’m fine. Thanks though.”
I smile at her, “Okay, I’m going to check upstairs and see if she’s up there.” I walk up the stairs calling her name, “LYNDA! LYNDA!”
As I’m upstairs walking towards our bedroom, I suddenly hear screaming coming from downstairs. I turn around and run back downstairs as I see a Zombie biting Sally on the neck from behind. Sally looks at me as she says, “Save Parker!”
I look at her as my heart drops, my eyes pop out of my head, and my jaw drops to the floor. Then I look at the Zombie, who’s wearing Lynda’s clothes. After Sally is obviously gone, the Zombie looks up at me with white eyes and a bloody mouth, then it stands up and I can see Lynda’s pregnant belly on the Zombie. I shake my head as my eyes fill with tears. The Zombie begins walking towards me as I take a step towards it and stab it in the forehead with the scalpel. The Zombie gazes into my eyes as they slowly close and she drops to the floor. I plop down on the steps as I sit there, in disbelief, as the tears start flowing down my cheeks.
A few minutes later, as I’m still sitting on the steps, mourning the loss of my wife and baby, I hear grunting. I look up and see Sally standing up in her Zombie likeness. I stand up, walk over to her and stab her in the side of her head. I look around, trying to contemplate my next move.
Then I remembered Sally’s last words, ‘Save Parker’. That’s what I need to do. But, where is Parker? Where does Sally live? I look around, then I notice Sally’s key bracelet on her Zombie wrist. I grab her bracelet, grab a backpack and fill it up with necessities as I head out the door. I get into Sally’s car and rummage through her glove box to find her address. I nod in satisfaction when I find it.
I turn on the car as I drive off in search of Sally’s house.
A few minutes later, I pull up into the driveway of the address that’s on Sally’s car registration. I get out of the car as I begin walking towards the front door. I scan the area as I prepare to ring the doorbell. When it seems okay, I push the doorbell.
I can hear somebody unlocking the door right before the door opens a crack, “Hello?” I can see the eyes peeking through the door crack as a chain keeps the door from opening all the way.
“Parker Gibson?”
“Yeah, who are you?”
“I’m Dr. Blake Ryan. I work with your mom.”
“Yeah…and why are you here?”
“Um…it’s kind of complicated, can I come in please?”
Parker looks at me with unsureness, “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Listen, Parker. I don’t know if you’re aware of everything that has been going on with the whole Zombie thing or not, but your mom and I escaped together today from the hospital when it became under Zombie attack…”
Parker looks like he’s looking for his mom, “Yeah, so where is she now? And why do you have her car?”
“Um…that’s where it gets complicated. We took her car because her car was closer to the exit we were fleeing from, then she drove me to my house to check on my pregnant wife, and while I was upstairs looking for my pregnant wife, my pregnant wife had turned into a Zombie, and was obviously downstairs, not upstairs and she attacked your mother from behind.”
Parker looks at me confused, “Are you trying to say my mom was killed by a Zombie at your house?”
I nod, “Yes, I’m so sorry. She told me to take care of you, those were her last words. So, that’s why I’m here.”
Parker looks at me with disbelief as he shuts the door, unchains it, opens it back up and lets me in.
I walk inside the house and follow Parker as he walks towards the living room. He looks back at me with sadness in his eyes, “So, my mom…she’s dead?”
I nod with sympathy in my eyes, “Yes…I’m so sorry. She was a wonderful woman. She was my head nurse, my assistant at work. I truly respected her as a co-worker and as a person.”
Parker nods, “Yeah, she said a lot of nice things about you too, Dr. Ryan.”
“That’s very nice to hear.” I look around the house at all the family pictures that Sally had decorated the house with. A very large picture of her husband Peter, her and Parker before Peter died, above the fireplace. A wall with all of Parker’s school pictures. Then another wall with a bunch of more recent pictures of just Sally and Parker.
I try to think about what my next move is. I’m not really sure what to do next, personally. I look around and watch Parker as he just sits on the couch, taking everything in. Then, he looks up at me as he asks, “So, you and I, we’re going to just hang out together?”
I look at him confused, “Hang out together?”
“Yeah, hang out together. I mean, what do I do? What do you do? You said your wife died and my mom died. So, where do we go from here?”
I stand there, thinking for a moment. Where do we go from here? I don’t really want to go back home, I have two dead Zombies in my house. I feel weird staying here in Sally’s house. “Um…I guess we could travel…get away from here. Maybe find a nice quiet place to start over, preferably Zombie free. Maybe Canada.”
Parker looks at me and nods, “Yeah, that sounds good, what do we have to lose.”
I chuckle, “Right…what do we have to lose.”
“Yeah…we could go on a guy’s road trip.” Parker suggests with a little excitement in his eyes.
“Yeah…guy’s road trip. Well, go grab some things and we’ll head out.”
Parker nods, “Okay.” He runs upstairs.
While he’s upstairs, I walk around, looking at some of the different things that Sally had in her house. A few minutes later, Parker comes running down the stairs, carrying a backpack. When he gets to the bottom of the stairs, he stops and looks at me with questioning eyes, “So, what do we use as weapons?”
I think for a moment, “Well…” I pull the scalpel out of my pocket, “I’ve been using this.”
Parker looks at it with big eyes, “Wow…really? That’s pretty cool. But…what should I use?”
I look around, “Do you have any big kitchen knives? Or maybe a baseball bat or something. Your mother doesn’t seem to be the type of person that would own a gun.”
Parker looks like he’s thinking for a moment, then he turns around and runs up the stairs. I stand at the bottom of the stairs, a little confused.
A minute or so later, Parker runs back down the stairs, holding a gun in his hand. I look at him in shock, “Where did you get that?”
“It’s my mom’s. After my dad died, my mom bought a gun for protection, just in case someone was to break into the house or something.”
I put my hand on Parker’s back, “Your mom was a smart woman, Parker, a very smart woman.”
Parker nods in agreement, “Yes, she was.”
I look at Parker, then I look around the room, “So, do you have everything you need or want to take with you?”
Parker nods, “Yep, I think so.”
I put my hand on Parker’s back, “Well, then I guess we can head out.”
Parker nods, “Yep, I guess so.”
I open up the front door, “Let’s do this.”
I get into the driver’s seat as Parker plays shotgun. As we’re driving down the road, we notice that the main roads are clogged with traffic. I look at Parker, “Hey, do you want me to take the back roads?”
Parker nods, “Yeah, this traffic sucks. I’d rather be cruising.” He says with a wink.
I nod in agreement, “Yeah, me too.”
I turn on a side street as I make my way towards a road that doesn’t usually have a lot of traffic on it. Once I find that road, I turn on it and we are able to drive at a decent speed. As we’re driving along, Parker points to something, “Hey! What’s that, Dr. Ryan?”
I chuckle, “Parker, you don’t have to call me Dr. Ryan, just call me Blake.”
Parker looks at me and laughs, “Sorry, Blake.” Then he points again, “Hey, what’s that? Those don’t look like Zombies running, Zombies don’t run, do they?”
I shrug my shoulders, “I don’t think so.” I slow down the car as I see two people running. As I pull up, I notice that it’s two women, who look totally freaked out, running from something. Parker rolls down his window as he asks, “Do you ladies need a ride?”
Chapter 11
Aaron, Nina and Mindy
My dad snaps out of it as he holds the paper I gave him in the air, “I guess, study up on the Zombie notes that Mandy just handed me.”
My dad and I burst out laughing as my mom, is just standing there, giving us the look, “I’m being serious, Aaron. What are we going to do? The Zombies are here, and we need to figure out what our next move is.”
My dad looks around, “I’m not quite sure, Nina. It’s not like they train you for an event like this growing up.”
My mom looks at my dad with irritation, “Aaron, we need to get a plan together, and fast before we’re eaten alive by Zombies like all those people in Europe and Russia. This is important, it’s not a joking around matter.”
“You’re right, Nina. Um…I guess we need to find out what we can use as a weapon.” He looks at my notes, “It says right here, to get them in the head. Well, that sounds like possibly a knife situation. So, let’s make sure we’re stocked up on knives, I would probably say longer bladed knives would be best. If my wife lets me run to the store and allows me to purchase a gun, that would be good also.”
My mom is standing there with her hands on her hips, watching my dad with complete irritation, “Are you mocking me?”
My dad looks at her and smiles, “No, honey, I would never mock you. I’m simply talking to myself, giving myself suggestions on what to do next.”
My mom shakes her head as she cleans up the breakfast dishes.
I look at my dad, “Dad, anything you need me to help you do?”
“Yeah, get your mother in a better mood. Maybe do some sweet talking or something.” He says with a chuckle.
“Ha, ha, ha, you’re so funny dad.”
“Nope, I think for now, all I need to do is come up with a plan.”
I nod in agreement, “Well, I think we’ll need lots of water, canned foods, personal items, weapons of course. Do you think we should board up the house? I could probably help you with that.”
My dad puts his hand on my head, “I’ll come up with something, sweetie. I have a feeling that the stores are going to be hell today with everybody freaking out about this.”
“Yeah, probably. But, you need to do it, for us.”
“I know, Mandy, I know.”
My dad walks up to my mom and gives her a kiss as he tells her that he’s going to run a few errands to get some supplies. My mom nodded in agreement, as she kissed my dad good-bye.
************************
My dad came back home a couple of hours later with a trunk full of water, canned food, soap, toilet paper, he found a couple of guns and many more knives. My mom and I just looked in awe of what he accomplished on his errand.
My mom kisses my dad on the lips, “Wow, I’m impressed dear, I really didn’t think that you could do all this.”
“Don’t ever doubt me when it comes to my family.” He leans in and plants a kiss on my mom’s lips.
“Gross you two, get a room.” I say sarcastically.
My dad puts his arms around my mom and me as we walk inside the house. My dad locks up the doors. Then he looks around the room, “So, Nina, did you want me to board up the windows?”
My mom looks around, “If you think that they need it.”
My dad walks around the house, “Eh, I’m not really sure what proper protocol is in a situation like this. I’m not sure what to expect Zombie wise. What do people do? Does anybody really know what to do in a situation like this?”
I walk over to the window and look outside, to see what other people are doing. As I’m looking out the window, I see three of our neighbors loading up their cars with food, suitcases, cases of water. I look over at my dad, “Hey dad, come here.”
My dad walks over to me, “Yes, Mandy.”
“Why is everybody packing up their cars? Where are they all going?”
My dad looks out the window, “Hmmm…I don’t know. Good question. Maybe I’ll go out there and ask.”
My dad walks out the front door to our neighbor Brian Green’s house. I see my dad talking to him for a few minutes, then my dad turns around and comes back home. My dad looks at me, then yells for my mom, “Nina!”
My mom walks out of the kitchen and looks at my dad and me, “Yes.”
“Okay, now I went over to talk to Brian across the street. Mandy noticed three different neighbors, loading up their cars. So, I decided to go over and find out why they are leaving and where they are going.”
My mom just stands there and stares at my dad, “And…” She responds.
“And…Brian said they are leaving because they don’t want to be sitting ducks for Zombies and looters.”
My mom just continues staring at him, “Sitting ducks?”
My dad nods, “Yes…sitting ducks.”
My mom looks around, then looks at my dad, “So…what are you trying to say? That you want us to go out there into the open? That you want to put our family at risk by driving around, hopping from place to place, because…maybe…just maybe, somebody might try to break into our house or Zombies might try to come in?”
My dad stands there for a moment, thinking, “I think that’s what I’m trying to say. I’m not actually sure what I’m trying to say.”
I stand there looking from one parent to the next, “Um…dad…did Brian say whether everybody was leaving or not, and how long they are planning on being gone for?”
My dad looks at me and shakes his head, “No, he didn’t. But, I don’t know, but I think it might be a good idea.”
My mom looks at my dad like he’s crazy, “I am not going to go out there. Do you realize how dangerous it’s going to be?”
My dad shakes his head, “No, I don’t. I haven’t been out there yet except to go to the store. And trust me, people are freaking crazy.”
My mom shakes her head, “I don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of putting our family at risk like that.”
“So, you don’t think it’ll be risky staying here?”
My mom shakes her head, “No, why would it be risky staying here? This is our home, why would we leave?”
My dad looks like he’s trying to come up with a good answer, “Um�
��I’m not sure. I guess so that we’re not sitting ducks. You know there’s going to be looters.”
“Well, if there is, then we’ll handle it when the time comes.”
“Plus, what happens if there’s no electricity, no water, or we constantly need to run to the store?”
“Aren’t we going to have that problem wherever we go?”
I look at my mom, “Mom, let’s just do this, it’ll be fun. Then we can meet new people and make new friends. It’ll be an adventure, like a family vacation. It’ll be boring just staying here while everybody else is gone.”
My mom looks at me with the look of defeat in her eyes, “Fine, we’ll go on a family adventure, but…it’s only temporary. We’ll only be gone for a few weeks, then we’re coming back, okay?”
My dad and I look at my mom as we both nod in agreement, “Yes.”
My mom smiles, “Fine, but by the way, I sometimes hate the two of you when you gang up against me.”
I look at my dad and I give him a hug, “I love you, dad. This is going to be so much fun!”
“I wouldn’t say fun. But I would say adventuresome.”
“Okay, adventuresome. I’m going to go upstairs and pack!” As I run upstairs and into my room, I grab a backpack and I load it up with some clothes. I throw in some personal items, a book, my journal, a couple of pens. When I’m finished loading my backpack, I go back downstairs. I walk into the kitchen, open the silverware drawer and I grab a long-bladed steak knife and stick it into my backpack. When I’m done loading my backpack, I lay it down by the front door.
I walk over to the window as I watch a couple of the other neighbors drive away with their families on their adventures. As I’m looking out the window, I see a crowd of people walking down the street. Although, they’re not walking like normal people. They’re walking strangely, almost like they’re drunk or something. I open up the front door as I step outside and walk to the end of our sidewalk, watching them come towards me. Once I realize that they’re not normal people, I quickly run back into the house, lock the door and begin running up the stairs towards my parent’s room, “MOM! DAD!”
My mom and dad come running out of their room, “What Mandy?” They both ask in sync.
Zombie Havoc (Book 1): In The Beginning Page 9