We made good time, until we ran into a horde of Dead of our own. Redbeards guns went up and he nearly fired before I grabbed one of his hulking tree-trunk arms. He looked at me, and I lifted my sword. He frowned, then put away his guns, pulling out a cricket bat. Apocalypse Girl followed suit, equipping a crowbar, and we set about our task of destroying the Dead.
Junior splatted one skull as I sliced through another, Redbeard and Apocalypse Girl likewise killing a Dead one each. Four more down, and the rest still hadn't noticed we were there yet. Comprehension was beginning to dawn in the next four brains that we dashed from their skulls, and that was enough. More than twenty Dead all turned as one, knowing there was food aplenty right there before them.
The next thing I can recall after that is sitting back to back with Apocalypse Girl, both of us heaving great breaths of relief at the death of so many Dead. More of them had poured out from other streets, easily seventy of them. Amazingly none of our group had been harmed in the slightest, except of course by exhaustion.
evening
After we had caught our collective breath, we moved onwards. Copper's family home seemed a long way from here, though The Son assured us that we would be there around lunchtime tomorrow. We walked, finding no more than a few pockets of Dead, one here, two or three there. No more than about five in any one group, therefore easily dispatched. I felt it was a crime to leave a Dead one unkilled, if you could safely get away with doing it.
We found a likely house before sundown, and secured it as thoroughly as we were able before eating a quick dinner and huddling up together for the night. Lunchtime tomorrow, The Son had said, we would be at Copper's family home.
February 19th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
I awoke this morning to the smell of coffee being brought to the boil. Apocalypse Girl had found a packet of freshly ground beans, vacuum sealed, that the previous occupants of this house had left behind in their hurry to get out.
“I hope you don't mind it black, milks a little hard to come by at the moment,” She said, handing me a cup with a smile. I thanked her, taking a careful sip of the bitter black liquid. Nearly strong enough to wake an elephant that had been dead a century. Perfect.
After breakfast, The Son brought out a street directory that he had fossicked out of a car on our journey yesterday, showing us the local area. We were currently only about two streets away from the one we needed, and we had a choice of back yards or the long way. As we were all armed well, The Son having found a cricket bat shortly after we found this house, we opted for the back yard route.
We gathered up all of our supplies, finishing off our cups of coffee and gathered out weapons. I was just about to ask everyone if they were ready to move out when we heard a scratching sound emanating from outside the front door. We all froze solid, and the next sound was a tapping on a window in the lounge room. Carefully, I poked my head around a doorframe to see the hands of several Dead scraping across the window. Another, louder scratching came from the door, followed by a thud, then another. A third thud, and I silently motioned for everyone to follow me out the back.
As we reached the back door we heard glass breaking, and the thudding renewed on the front door with eager enthusiasm. They knew where we were.
noon
We fled from the first house as silently as we were able, surprising a Dead on the way out with my katana through its head, then we were off, running into the back yard. The Son told us that we needed to be on the other side of the street, so we went sideways, jumping first one fence, running across that back yard and jumping another before returning once more to the street.
The Dead had gathered round our coffee house, and as we watched the front door was battered in under the sheer weight of the fifty or so of them that had crowded the front porch. More Dead from further up the street spotted the commotion and shuffled over to join in, hoping for some hot tasty meat, or some intestines to chew on. We kept low, heading across the street straight into the back yard of the next house.
The Dead knew we were on the move, as one of them moving to join the horde from the opposite direction, close to us and behind us as we watched the main group, followed us into the back yard. The festering carcass of a dog, dead from starvation, lay across our path, and Junior tripped over it, creating a loud enough ruckus that the Dead in China could probably have heard it. Apocalypse Girl clobbered our tail with her crowbar, taking a look out into the street as Redbeard helped Junior up.
“They're coming, guys,” She said, and we moved to the back fence. We needed something to get up high enough to reach the top of this fence, it towered above us. Redbeard went to the side of the house, where we had made our entry into the back yard, saying that he would hold them off while we do something about it. A moment later he squeezed off a couple of rounds. Junior ran shoulder first at back door of the house, and screamed in pain. Apocalypse Girl swore, loudly, and ran to his aid. I followed, and turned the handle. The door swung inwards, and Junior looked instantly incredibly embarrassed. More gunshots rang out as The Son and I scoured the interior of the house. There was a large, sticky pool of blood that had to have been drying for at least a month covering the kitchen floor, and a large dining table nearby, seats flung about in abandon.
We went for the table, both of us putting our weapons down momentarily while we attempted to get it the fuck outside. The Son screamed as a Dead hand latched onto his ankle. I quickly glanced under the table, and saw that he was in no immediate danger of being eaten, but he was panicking and not likely to listen to me. I grabbed my sword and stabbed it through the Dead one's forehead, then slapped The Son in the face, telling him that he is alright now. He nodded, then we grabbed the table, dragging it outside.
I ordered Junior to help out moving the table, and Apocalypse Girl I told to run back into the house and grab our weapons. Redbeard was walking slowly backwards, firing once with each step, glancing back briefly to check that we had dealt with the fence before he bolted for the table.
Just using it as a table would not work, that much was clear, but we were able to overturn it, such that it became rather a handy ramp, including legs that we were able to hang onto and climb up the fence with. Apocalypse Girl, tossing the weapons over, and The Son went first followed by Junior and myself.
The next yard was almost worse. Apocalypse Girl had managed to roll out of the way as soon as she had landed, making room for me, but Junior landed on top of The Son, and a moment later, Redbeard's entire bulk crushed them from above. To top it off, this family had clearly been celebrating the new year at home, as they were all still there, staring at us. Mother, father, three kids of various flavours, aunts and uncles, probably a grandparent or two. Maybe three. It was hard to tell who had been whom when the entire family was now Dead and stumbling towards us.
I snatched up my sword and began to slice into Dead skulls, cleaving apart most of the family before they could get to us, by which time Redbeard had recovered enough to put a pair of bullets into the heads of the final two standing.
Junior was not in good shape, his arm had been dislocated in the fall, it seemed, but The Son was in worse shape still. His left arm was clearly broken, judging from the shards of bone poking through the skin. His breathing was ragged, and blood flecked his lips as well as streaming from a gash in his forehead. Bloody froth bubbled up from between his lips as he told us to leave him. We left, but I gave him a parting gift of a bullet to the brain.
evening
We sped through the house of the home-partying Dead family, and across the road. We had reached the correct street, but were several blocks away from the correct house. Junior suggested that we try and hole up somewhere overnight, and find Coppers family home tomorrow. We agreed, and worked our way several houses in the right direction before settling on one that could be defended fairly easily if need be.
It seemed as though we had given the Dead the slip, at least temporarily, as there was no further sign of them for the rest
of the evening. Apocalypse Girl and Redbeard helped settle Junior's arm as much as they could, but he really needed to get back to Doctor at The Think Tank. Redbeard offered to help him get back to The Family at least, if not The Farm where he could be picked up by Pilot, but he refused. He had been the one to promise Copper that we would look for his family. It was his responsibility, as far as he saw it. Redbeard just nodded quietly. We ate and slept in shifts, and no more was said.
February 20th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Apocalypse Girl got in touch with The Think Tank to inform them of Juniors situation, which this morning seemed a little better. His arm was stiff, and sore enough that his grip was severely compromised, but the swelling that had been evident last night had reversed itself nicely. Apocalypse Girl supported Junior between Redbeard and myself as we made our way down the road slowly and carefully in the morning gloom, munching jerky as we went.
We found a few Dead slowly ambling about on our path, Redbeard and I dispatching them with ease, and discovered several as yet unlooted cars. We solved that little dilemma for them by looting them thoroughly, very thoroughly indeed! Several cans of fruit lay in the boot of one car, another containing several boxes of winter clothing. We devoured the fruit, savouring every last nibble, and were warmed by extra jackets, coats and gloves.
noon
About seven houses away from our destination lay a hastily thrown together barricade made primarily of overturned cars, and as we made our way across it, an arrow streaked out from nowhere to skitter across the ice at my feet. A voice followed the arrow, demanding that we turn around, there was nothing here worth our time. Junior, holding both arms as far up as he was able to manage, called out that we were looking for somebody that lived around here.
“Nobody lives around here now, fuck off!” She said, dropping lightly down from the roof two houses down. She held her bow tight in one hand, an arrow in the other, ready to knock in an instant. She couldn't be any older than sixteen. “My brother taught me how to look after myself, you know, he's a copper! Until he shows up I'll put an arrow through the skull of any fucker that tries to get me, Living or Dead!”
Junior shouted out that we were there for her, and that her brother had asked us to make sure she was alright. She replied that she was fine and that her brother would come and get her himself, so we must be full of shit while knocking and drawing an arrow that was not quite pointed in our direction. Junior shouted out the address that Copper had given him, telling her that her brother had asked us to come and make sure she was safe as his dying wish. Sister dropped to her knees, arrow flying off in no particular direction as she dropped her bow.
evening
We ate at Coppers family home, Sister turning into quite the graceful hostess, apologising for the lack of electricity while she boiled water to make tea for us all. She also apologised for these being the last teabags she had been able to find. Apologised too for the lack of sugar and milk, despite the fact that keeping milk in these times was, unless you had The Think Tanks resources, quite impossible. We, in turn, shared our jerky with her, asking just exactly how she had managed to stay alive so long.
Turns out she had been quite safe in the beginning, the entire street had banded together to build the barricade once they realised that the news reports on the television were actually telling the truth about the Dead walking. They had known about the bites causing a fever that kills people, then they get back up. What they hadn't counted on was that every dead rose as Dead. After a couple of weeks, however, Sister's parents had committed suicide by overdosing on some medication. The two of them had torn apart three remaining households before Sister had put an arrow neatly through both of their heads. Those that had been bitten voluntarily left the community, vowing to destroy as many Dead as they could before they themselves turned.
After that things went downhill fast. The remaining survivors split into two factions, those who wanted to stay, and those who wanted to leave. In the end, those wanting to leave ended up staying, due to Dead-bites, and those wishing to stay had fled, thinking their safety compromised. Sister alone stayed behind, knowing that her brother would come for her in time if he could. She had been by herself for a week at least, but there was plenty of food and other supplies left in the surrounding houses, so she had been able to keep herself fed and healthy.
She had even packed several emergency backpacks that she kept at strategic locations near the outskirts of the barricaded area, in case she had to leave in a hurry. Many years of discussions of potential disasters with her brother had engrained in her superlative survival skills. She was even able to, with a little bit of help from Redbeard, jam Juniors arm back into its socket properly, though she said that if we had access to a doctor, then he needed it.
In the distance we heard gunfire, and the whooping of Living as they hunted the Dead, calling out to any survivors to come on out, they were safe now. Sister shook her head as a moment of relative silence followed by a barrage of bullets accompanied with the screams and wails of those shot. She whispered to us that there seemed to be a few different groups of bandits that had made Melbourne their home, that she had seen firsthand what comes of trusting such groups.
February 21st Year 1 A.Z.
morning
We recycled our teabags from last night, and broke our fast with jerky and cheese. Sister ran around outside, quickly gathering up any last minute supplies that she felt was needed, while the rest of us planned our next move. Apocalypse Girl was saying that she didn't want to risk going through the Family's territory if we could avoid it, as no doubt The Mother would be devastated by the loss of her last surviving Son. In reality, however, we had few options. We needed to get to the farm so that Pilot could pick us up and get Junior to Doctor as quickly as we could manage. He had knocked his arm in the night, stifling his screams of agony well, but his arm had swollen up once again.
Apocalypse Girl went outside to ask Sister if she knew of any nearby entrances to the storm water system, while Redbeard and I watched over Junior. Redbeard told me that he thought going back through the Family was a really bad idea. He had noticed on our way through initially that the storm drains extended further west than the entrance that the Family had dug, and suggested that we might be better served going under the Family rather than through them.
noon
When the girls returned, we left. Sister, though she had grown up in this neighbourhood, knew nothing of what lay beneath our feet, so instead we backtracked about halfway to the place where The Son had died, then we dashed across one street then through a few empty back yards, save for one lonely Dead who was far more interested in the wall before it than in us. I still put my sword through its head, just to be safe. Just because the Dead ones are ignoring you now, doesn't mean things will stay that way.
We went through a few houses on our way out, finding little in the way of supplies, and ran out into the street to find ourselves completely surrounded by the Dead. I held my arms out so as to prevent anybody from running out into the horde, and we backed slowly into the house we had vacated. As I closed the door as quietly as I was able, we calmly and quickly moved further back into the house.
Apocalypse Girl silently moved to one of the front rooms, peeking past a heavy curtain, then returned to us to whisper “There are way too fucking many of them. We have to go back and around.” and with that we slunk outside, into the back yard. Going laterally, we went over more fences and through yards, this time being a little more careful when we exited onto the street.
The Dead were still out there, though far less densely packed in this area. It looked like further back up the street they had been celebrating the New Year with a street party. We decided to make a run for it, slicing and bludgeoning our way through the walking corpses that barred our way.
evening
The Dead had followed us down the street, and we had gone through one house, leaving them to think that was where we had holed up, while we silen
tly made our way through the back yard in the deepening gloom, and over one last fence to find the very drain we had emerged from awaiting us. Rather than risk going down there at night, however, we made use of a nearby house.
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 2): February Page 8