“The Zombies! They’re coming down the street!”
My parents both rush down the stairs, to the window. My dad gets a panicked look in his eyes. Then he turns to my mom and me, “Okay, they’re moving kind of slow. Grab your things and let’s get into the car and we’ll drive in the opposite direction that they are in. All of our food and the supplies I’ve already gotten are in the trunk of my car, so all we need yet are the stuff you’ve packed. Then we’ll lock up the house and leave.”
My mom looks at my dad with concern in her eyes, “You sure you want to do this?”
My dad nods, “Yes, there’s an army of them coming this way, and I’m not sure what kind of damage that they will be able to do to this house, our car, us. So, let’s get moving.”
I grab my bag that’s sitting by the door, “I already have everything I’m taking in this bag, I’m ready.”
My mom and dad run upstairs, then a minute later they both run down. My dad looks a
at us, “Let’s do this.”
We open the front door as we begin walking towards our car. The Zombies are getting closer, my dad locks the door to the house while my mom and I get inside the car. My dad runs to the car, throws his backpack into the backseat where I’m at, as he starts the car, backs out, almost hitting the first Zombie of the army, then speeds off in the opposite direction that they are coming from.
As we’re driving through the neighborhood, we notice a lot of other people trying to flee the neighborhood also, and a couple of other mini Zombie armies marching through our neighborhood.
My mom watches them as we pass by them, shaking her head as she turns towards my dad, “Where are they all coming from?”
My dad shrugs his shoulders, “I have no idea, Nina. It’s blowing my mind too.”
We keep driving as my dad pulls onto a main road. As we’re slowly driving behind everybody else that is leaving for their adventures, we get stuck in a long back up of cars.
We sit there for a while, not moving. I can tell my dad is getting anxious. “What is going on up there? Why is everybody stopped?”
My mom shakes her head, “It’s okay Aaron, it’ll eventually begin moving again. It’s not like we need to be anywhere at a specific time.”
“I know. But I hate just sitting here, it makes me feel like a sitting duck.”
People start getting out of their cars, walking up a few car lengths to try and see what’s going on. People are yelling and cursing at the cars in front of them. I just put my headphones on and listen to some music as I read my book.
About a half an hour later, my dad begins to get really restless as he looks over at my mom, “Nina, we haven’t even moved an inch in over an hour, this is getting to be ridiculous. I’m going to go out there and find out what’s going on.”
My mom grabs his hand, “Aaron, don’t. Just stay in here, it’s not going to do any good if you get out of here and check and it certainly isn’t going to make anybody move any faster. I’m sure there’s something going on up there that’s preventing us from moving and it’s probably for our own good.”
My dad looks around, “I know that you’re probably right, but this is driving me crazy.” My dad opens his car window as he sticks his head all the way out, stretching it out as far as he can to see what’s going on ahead of us…when…a Zombie grabs his head!
My mom begins screaming, “AARON!” She grabs onto him and tries to pull him back inside!
He looks at her with deer in headlight eyes as he tries to yell, “Run!”
My mom looks back at me as I watch in horror while my dad is getting eaten alive by a Zombie! She gets out of the car, opens my car door as she begins to pull me out. I grab my backpack and my dad’s backpack as my mom and I take off running away from the car as fast as we can!
We run out into the middle of nowhere, through a nearby neighborhood. We just run, we don’t look back, we just look forward.
We find another main road, where not very many people are driving, and we just keep running. I’m not really sure where we are running too, but we continue running.
As we’re running, a car with a boy about my age and a man about my mom’s age, drives slowly along the side of us, my mom and I stop running as we hear the boy ask, “Do you ladies need a ride?”
Chapter 12
Harley and Isaac & Ryder and Kassi
As Isaac and I are banging on the gas station door, the man and woman inside look over at us, then each other, as if they’re discussing about whether or not to let us in, we continue banging on the door. I yell out, “PLEASE HELP US!”
The man and woman begin walking towards the door as the man unlocks the door. Isaac and I hurry inside, while the man shut’s the door and lock’s it again. I look at the man and smile, “Thank you so much for letting us inside.”
He looks at us like he’s not sure whether to trust us or not.
Isaac holds out his hand to the man, “Thank you, sir. I’m Isaac and this is my wife, Harley.”
The man shakes Isaac’s hand, “I’m Ryder and this is my girlfriend, Kassi.” Then he looks at me, “I like your name. The motorcycle out there is mine and it’s a Harley.”
I nod uncomfortably, “Thank you. I was actually named after the motorcycle, my dad happened to love riding motorcycles, especially Harleys.”
Ryder look at me and nodded, “Does he still ride?”
“He actually died in a motorcycle accident. He wasn’t really one to wear a helmet.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay. It was a few years ago.”
Ryder nods, “Still sorry.”
Isaac looks around, “Um…is there anybody here that works here, or um…do you guys work here?”
Ryder shakes his head, “Nope, haven’t seen anybody and we’ve been here for a while. So, we just locked the place up and decided to stay the night here, so we don’t have to go out there in the dark.”
Isaac and I nod in agreement, “That’s probably a good idea.” Isaac responds.
I look over at Kassi as she’s eating a candy bar and reading a magazine from the magazine rack. I look back at Ryder, “Um…do you happen to know how to change a flat tire? We had a flat a couple of miles back, and we weren’t having luck changing it because it was already dark and there were Zombies roaming out there.”
“Just take another car.”
I look at him like he’s crazy, “Take another car?”
Ryder nods, “Yeah, just hotwire another car and take it.”
I look at Isaac who shrugs his shoulders, then I look back at Ryder with questioning eyes, “Hotwire another car and take it?”
Ryder nods his head again, “Yeah.”
I look at him like he’s crazy, “Um…number one, I don’t know how to hotwire, and number two, I’m not going to just take someone’s car.”
“Listen. People are turning into Zombies. So, there’s empty cars scattered everywhere along the roads, in case you haven’t noticed. So, just hotwire one and take it.”
I look at Isaac who just shrugs his shoulders again. So, I simply ask him, “Honey, do you know how to hotwire a car?”
He shakes his head. Which is pretty much the answer I expected from him. I turn back to Ryder, “Um…my husband doesn’t know how to hotwire a car.”
Ryder looks into my eyes, “In the morning, when we are ready to leave, you two can follow me on my bike, and the first car we come across, I’ll show you how to hotwire it, okay. Then the two of you can be on your way.”
I look at Isaac who seems to be nodding in agreement. I turn back to Ryder, “Thank you for your generosity.”
“No problem.” He turns away from us as he goes to hang out with his girlfriend.
I turn my attention to Isaac, “So, what do you think?”
Isaac looks at me confused, “With what?”
“With them.”
Isaac looks at them, then back at me, “What about them?”
“I don’t trust them
, that’s what.”
Isaac shrugs his shoulders, “What is it that you don’t trust?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
Isaac looks at me, “Listen Harley. We’re stuck in a gas station for the night while Zombies are roaming outside. It’s either inside this gas station with those two or outside with Zombies. You have a choice.”
I shake my head, “Whatever. I’m going to get a candy bar.”
Isaac replies, “Grab me a bag of chips.”
I give him a ‘whatever’ look, “What kind?”
“Barbecue is good.”
I stare at the candy bars, trying to figure out which one looked like it was going to make me happy. I finally pick one out as I begin walking towards the chips. Then I hear a knocking noise. I turn around and there’s a Zombie knocking on the window. I slowly begin scooting away from the window as I look towards Isaac and whisper loudly, “ISAAC!”
Isaac looks over towards me as he whispers loudly in return, “Harley! Get over here, hurry.”
Ryder rushes over towards me as he steps in front of me, holding a long-bladed knife, he looks at me, “Go get by your husband.” He demands in a loud whisper.
I rush over to Isaac as he pulls me close to him. Kassi walks up behind Ryder, “What are you doing?”
“Shhh…if that Zombie breaks the window and tries to come through, I’m going to kill it. What do you think I’m doing?”
Kassi mumbles under her breath, “Trying to be a hero.”
Ryder looks at Kassi with irritation, “I’m trying to stay alive. I’m not trying to be a hero.”
Kassi shakes her head as she walks away.
Isaac looks at me, “I’m going to go over there and help him. Stand in the middle of store where it’s safer, okay.”
I nod as I move to the middle of the store while Isaac walks over towards Ryder, “What would you like me to do?”
Ryder looks at Isaac, “Um…I don’t know. I’m just waiting to see what this dumb Zombie does. Wondering if he’ll be able to break this window or not.”
I look at Ryder, “They can. They broke our window at our house before we left.”
Ryder looks at me, “That’s good to know. They can break glass.” Ryder looks around, “I wonder if there’s any wood around here so that we can put something up to keep them from coming through the window.”
Isaac looks at Ryder, “This is a convenience store, you really think they’ll have wood laying around?”
Ryder shrugs his shoulders, “Probably not.”
A couple of more Zombies begin appearing out of nowhere, walking towards the Zombie who’s knocking on the window.
Ryder went wandering around looking for something, not sure what. Then he gets an excited look on his face as he holds up a box of firecrackers. “Ah ha! Look at this!”
We all look at Ryder with dumbfounded looks on our faces. I walk towards him and ask, “What do we need that for?”
Ryder explains, “I’ll step outside the front door there, light the end of this and throw it across the street. The noise should attract them, then they’ll walk away and hopefully leave us alone. Then, we should turn off the lights and sit in a back corner, far away from the windows as to not attract attention to ourselves while we’re here.”
We all stare at him as we nod in agreement.
Ryder opens the front door of the store, walks halfway across the parking lot, lights the firecrackers, throws it across the street, then runs back inside the store, then shuts and locks the door. We turn off the lights as we all walk to the window and watch the Zombies slowly walk towards the sound of the fireworks going off.
We all stand at the window giggling as we watch the Zombies fall for Ryder’s trick. Then once all the Zombies are across the street, we move to the farthest corner away from windows as we sit there, waiting for daylight.
While we’re sitting there, I look over at Ryder and Kassi as I ask them, “So, where are you two heading?”
Ryder smiles, “Home. My parents have a ranch in Montana. It’s got a good sturdy fence all around it. It’s a big house, with a big basement. Acres and acres of land, which is all fenced in. There’s no way Zombies will be able to get onto their land. I know it’s going to be safe there, so that’s where we’re headed. Where are you two headed?”
Isaac responds, “North. Hopefully Canada, or as far North as we can go, maybe Alaska. Hoping that Zombies can’t get past all those mountains.”
Ryder nods, “Yep, that’s what I’m hoping for, my parents ranch being Zombie free.”
“Well, we don’t have a specific place, just a place where we’ll just know it’s safe once we get there.”
Ryder looks like he’s thinking for a moment, “Why don’t the two of you come with us, at least check it out once we get there? Safety in numbers.”
Kassi looks up at Ryder, “Ryder? What are you doing?”
Ryder looks at her confused, “They’re nice people. Like I said, safety in numbers.”
Kassi looks at us, “Yeah, why don’t you two come with us.” She asks with a sarcastic undertone.
I look at Isaac, “What do you think?”
Isaac shrugs his shoulders, “Well, I guess it wasn’t like we had specific plans or anything, so, I guess that will be fine.”
I look at Ryder and Kassi, “I guess that’s a yes.”
Ryder smiles, “Right on. I think it’ll be cool. Road trip to Montana.”
Chapter 13
Candi and Chase & Adam, Ana, A.J. and Amber
As Chase and I follow Adam to his house, we pass by a couple of dozen Zombies walking on his street. He drives onto his driveway and as we all get out of our cars, we look at Adam as he walks to the end of his driveway, watching the Zombies walking in our direction. He looks at us with concern in his eyes, “That’s not good.”
Chase and I look at each other, then at Adam as Chase replies, “We should get inside and make sure everything is locked up.”
Adam nods in agreement, “Yeah.”
We follow Adam to his front door as he unlocks it, opens it and motions for us to go inside. Once we’re inside, Adam announces, “Ana, I’m home!”
A woman walks into the living room and stops in her tracks as she looks at Chase and me with curiosity, “Hi.” She says.
“Ana, this is one of my employees, Chase and his girlfriend, Candi.”
Ana walks up to us as she holds out her hand, “Hello Chase, hello Candi.”
Adam explains, “Chase and Candi saved my life today. I was trapped in the store with Zombies roaming in the parking lot and banging on the front door, when Chase and Candi came into the store and helped me get out. Then we went to the Pawn shop together and got a bunch of machetes, knives and guns.”
Ana just stares at Adam with a dumbfounded look on her face, “Okay…”
“I thought it would be nice to let them have a nice dinner tonight and spend the night here before they head out on their Zombie killing adventure.”
Ana looks at us confused, “A Zombie killing adventure?”
Chase smiles, “Yes ma’am, a Zombie killing adventure. Candi and I are going to drive around the country, killing Zombies in hopes of saving the World.”
Ana looks at Chase like he’s crazy, which is kind of understandable.
Adam chimes in, “Wouldn’t it be fun to join them?”
Ana is now looking at Adam like he’s crazy, “Um…no…not really.”
“We could do it as a family adventure, like a bonding experience. I mean, nothing is open, everything is closed because of the Zombies. We should take advantage of that and do something fun with our time off.”
Chase speaks up, “Ma’am, we got a bunch of machetes, machetes slice off the Zombies heads perfectly. It doesn’t take much effort, either. We were even able to try it out in the Pawn shop when a Zombie was coming for us, Adam took the machete and sliced the Zombies head right off, in one try too.”
Ana looks at Adam with horror. Adam gives her a sheep
ish grin, “It’s true, Ana. It came right off.”
Ana sits down for a moment as she just stares at the three of us with deer in headlight eyes.
Two teenage kids come running down the stairs. They stop in their tracks when they see all of us just standing there. The older boy steps forward towards us, as the younger girl stands behind him. The boy looks at Adam, “Hey dad.”
Adam takes a step towards the teenagers, “Chase, Candi, this is my son, A.J., which stands for Adam Junior, and this beautiful young lady is my daughter, Amber.”
Chase and I both nod towards them as we both say hi in sync.
Ana stands up, “Um…you two are definitely welcome to have dinner here tonight and stay the night, especially since you saved my husband’s life, but as far as us going with you on your little adventure, I don’t think that’s a very good idea, especially with my children here.”
A.J. and Amber look at all of us with curiosity. A.J. looks at us with curiosity as he asks, “What adventure?”
Adam looks at us, then he looks at his kids, “Um…Chase and Candi here are going on a Zombie killing adventure. They want to travel the United States and kill as many Zombies as they can to save the World.”
A.J. and Amber look at each other, like they’re thinking about it. Then A.J. responds, “That’s sounds awesome!”
Amber looks at us, then at Adam and A.J., “Um…how do you plan on doing that?”
Chase and I look at each other, then at Adam. We’re not so sure we should say anything, we don’t really want to upset his wife. That might get a little awkward.
Adam looks at us, then at his kids, “Um…they have machetes and guns that they plan on using.”
A.J. looks at Chase and me as he gets a smile on his face. “Machetes? That’s freaking awesome! I would love to go Zombie killing with you guys!”
Adam looks at A.J. then back at us, “Um…we’ll discuss it later, maybe after dinner.”
We hear a dog barking like crazy, coming from the backyard. Amber goes running towards the arcadia door, “Baby! Baby! Come here girl!”
But, Baby didn’t come. She was growling and barking like crazy. Amber starts to open the door to try to lure her in, but Baby was really angry. Adam walks towards Amber, “Amber! Get away from her! I don’t want her to bite you, she’s probably barking at all the Zombies out there. I’ll try to get her. Come back inside.”
Zombie Havoc (Book 1): In The Beginning Page 10