by Gallier, TW
Before we bedded down, we took turns bathing. I took the watch while Olivia bathed in the master bath and Ralph in the guest bath. Ralph relieved me to start his watch while I jumped into the master bath.
"Brrr," I said. "I hate cold water baths."
"I found it refreshing," Olivia said from the bed. "I'll warm you up when you're done."
It didn't take me long to bathe.
Chapter 3
Shattering glass woke me up. I sat up, and looked around. My heart raced.
"Help!" Ralph cried.
Olivia and I rolled out of bed. I grabbed my rifle and she grabbed her sawed off shotgun. We rushed out of the bedroom in our t-shirts and underwear. Ralph was struggling with two zombies, both large women. Three male zombies were halfway from the smashed sliders to the living room in front. They turned on us, eyes wild with hate.
"Holy crap!" Olivia cried and blew the brains out of the closest one.
The sound of glass breaking came from the living room. I glanced over to see that Ralph had tossed one of the walkers through the window. The other was about to chomp down on his arm. It took aim and shot the zombie in the head.
Olivia's next shotgun blast turned another zombie's heart into mush. He dropped like a rock, while the last one continued toward us. We both fired on it. She hit him in the throat, almost decapitating the monster. I hit him in the head twice, and three times in the chest. He still didn't die fast enough.
"Man, he must've been on zombie steroids or something," she said.
"Are you all right, Ralph?" I asked.
"Maybe," he said, looking dazed. "I swear, I didn't fall asleep. I just never saw them coming."
There wasn't time for accusations or laying blame. It didn't matter anyway. Olivia and I just ran over to the drying camo around the small stove. Our clothes were nice and warm. I turned off the camping stove immediately.
The big, ornate clock over the fireplace showed it was 1:52 AM. I figured Olivia and I got about three hours sleep. Ralph was supposed to wake me at midnight.
We started dressing. All of that gunfire would attract any walkers within hearing. I wanted to be out of there and on the road fast. We had our camo back on in a flash. It was dry, but that wouldn't last long since it was still lightly raining. I was lacing up my boots when the next zombie came through the back door.
"They're coming out of the woods behind the house," Olivia said. "I see more coming!"
I looked out the shattered front window and spotted even more. We were surrounded. Ralph started shooting out the front window, while Olivia and I lit up the zombies coming in the back.
"Follow me!" I called, heading for the garage. "Ralph, is there anything in the bedroom you absolutely have to have?"
"Nothing," he said.
"Olivia?"
"No."
More of those relentless monsters came through the back door and front window. We fired them up, but tried to save our ammo as much as possible. The door locked from the inside, so we were screwed there. I held onto the knob.
"Get the jeep started. As soon as it's started, Ralph, I want you to open the garage door," I said. "And then we'll tear out of here."
They started pounding on the door, rattling the door knob. None of the zombies put much effort into turning the knob. I wasn't exactly big and strong, but I was able to keep them from opening the door. Ralph waited until Olivia had the engine running, and then he yanked the garage door open. We both raced to the jeep and jumped in as she started rolling forward.
"I knew it," Olivia said when the jeep drove over two zombies right off. They were everywhere, and all turned toward us. "Stupid undead bastards."
We weren't going fast enough for the cowcatcher to be effective. She turned toward the street and hit the gas. The jeep was in second before she reached 20 MPH. We were only about halfway down the driveway. Zombies came out of the woods to our right, actually running.
Ratta-tat-tat-tat! Ratta-tat-tat-tat!
Ralph mowed them down with his M60. I killed them, too, but my rifle wasn't made for full automatic. But I'd gotten pretty fast on the trigger. Even with all of that firepower some of the zombies reached us.
Olivia screamed when one of them grabbed at her.
Ralph swiveled the M60 around to the driver's side to defend her. I lashed out with a foot to kick another way, while swinging my now empty M16A2 around to bash another away. That gave me just enough time to eject and reload a new magazine.
"Faster!"
We slammed into two more, and another zombie went under the front left wheel. At that speed, the jeep lurched to the right. We went off the driveway and straight into a big oak. The point of the cowcatcher struck it dead center.
"Fuck me!" Ralph cried, slammed into his M60 again. "Ugh! Do you know how to drive?"
"Screw you," she growled, put it in reverse and hit the gas.
We flew backwards, bowling over more zombies. Ralph spun around to shoot behind us. I looked back and my heart skipped a beat. There had to be hundreds of the relentless monsters coming at us. More appeared next to me, clawing at my face and clothes.
All three of us screamed.
Olivia managed to get it back into first, and we lurched forward. Too fast, and the engine stalled. I stood up, barrel of my rifle in hand, and smashed zombie after zombie in the head with it. It made a pretty good club. When she started and surged forward, I was forced back into my seat.
The cowcatcher wasn't knocking them to the side anymore. Now it was actually catching them. Zombies started piling up in front of us. One by one they slipped under the jeep. It was a bumpy road until we reached the blacktop.
Olivia turned left, toward I-50.
"Other way!" I shouted.
She groaned, but made a wide turn that took us off the road, before we were westbound again and back on the road. That road was full of walkers.
"I hate, hate, hate how they come in waves," I said. "Watch out!"
Three of them jumped in front of us. Olivia didn't bother swerving. She drove right through them, on purpose. I think she was a little pissed. I noticed she had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. Ralph and I turned our weapons forward and tried to clear as many of them away as possible. She continued to drive over the dead bodies, which kept our speed down.
After a moment she calmed down, and started avoiding the bodies on the road. Our speed picked up to over 30 MPH. Then she turned on the headlights, and we really saw how many zombies were between us and safety.
"Holy crap," she muttered.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"Ralph, what about you?"
"Other than the fact I left my boots back in the house, I'm great," he said.
I looked, and yep. He was barefooted. My boots were untied. Olivia's were also untied, but we had them. That meant we'd have to find him some shoes or boots as soon as we could. Like me, Ralph almost never went barefooted. I knew I couldn't run around outside without shoes without crippling myself.
The zombies were thinning out. Then suddenly we were out of the woods and surrounded by farmland. No zombies to be seen. I relaxed and sighed gustily.
"It doesn't get any easier," Ralph said. "You'd think by now we'd be used to it."
Chapter 4
"If we don't find gas soon we're going to be hoofing it home."
Olivia looked agitated, knuckles white on the steering wheel. I looked at the gas gauge. It was dangerously close to empty. Maybe we shouldn't have passed so many gas stations, but there'd been zombies at every one of them. We'd been forced to use the gas in the jerry cans, too.
"There's another little town up ahead," I replied. The last sign put the town of Jerry's Crossing at 10 miles, which was well within our range. "If we have to, Ralph and I will do our best to keep any walkers at bay while you fill the tank. If we're lucky, you can even fill the jerry cans."
"Kyle could always push," Ralph said. "It's not like he does anything else."
"Ha-ha, you're funny," I said.
We were out in the open on that two-lane farm road. Cultivated land surrounded us. We could siphon gas out of an abandoned car or truck, but I didn't see any vehicles ahead. That country road was pretty devoid of other vehicles. Sure would've been nice to find a full gas tanker. There were so few gas stations on that small county road I was starting to regret getting off the interstate.
We could see the Jerry's Crossing water tower long before we spotted the first signs of a town. It stood high atop a small rise, surrounded by trees. The small, white painted tower had the town's name on it. Just the sort of thing we'd use as a rally point.
"If the shit hits the fan in town, let's rally at the first intersection on the other side of Jerry's Crossing," Ralph said.
Olivia and I just nodded.
The jeep slowed as we passed into the town. We could see all the way to the other side of Jerry's Crossing, since it only stretched out along the cross road. There was a single stop light, which wasn't working. That corner had a Dairy Queen and a country store with gas pumps out front on the north side, and the beginning of the red-brick downtown on the south. We rolled to a stop short of the gas station.
"Come on Ralph," I said, sliding out with my finger on the trigger.
I looked down the single side street behind the business "district." It was lined with older wood frame houses and very nice large hardwoods. I didn't see any movement. While I checked out the north side, Ralph took the south.
"Clear," Ralph said.
"Clear," I replied. "Come on. Let's check Main Street and the little store."
I knew it was Main Street, because there was a street sign. I thought it sounded rather grandiose for a town with five streets max, and two of those block long cross streets. Main Street was clear of people, survivor or zombie. About half of the parking spaces had abandoned vehicles in them. A few looked old enough to have survived the EMP. Some interesting looking stores caught my attention, including a hardware store, general store, and sporting goods store. They were worth checking out.
As expected, the street on the other side of Main Street was residential. Ralph and I hurried back to check out the country store. No survivors or zombies were hiding in it, so I found the access to the underground tanks and waved Olivia over.
"You fill the tank," I told her. "Ralph and I will remove the cowcatcher."
"You can't fix it?"
Ralph just laughed. I shook my head, wishing we could.
"We aren't that handy," I said. "We'll probably have a hard time getting it off."
That proved true. Olivia filled the jeep's tank, and the jerry cans and we still hadn't managed to remove the twisted cowcatcher. It was bolted to the bumper, so we had to go to the hardware store for tools. First, though, we raided the store for perishable foods and sodas. They didn't sell beer. I also grabbed a road map.
We jumped into the jeep and drove down into downtown. The hardware store was halfway down the first block. There were only about three blocks before it opened up into farmland again.
"Did you see movement inside the store?" Ralph asked as soon as Olivia killed the engine.
My heart leapt into my throat. We were a sitting duck in the middle of Main Street. I wasn't worried about zombies, because they wouldn't sneak around and hide. Survivors would, and they also might snipe us. For a second I almost told her to crank it up and haul ass.
"Start the engine and be ready to take off," I whispered. "Come on, Ralph. Let's go check it out."
We stayed low and approached the hardware store from the side. It was a two story structure, looking to be at least a hundred years old. The store had lots of windows in front and a brick façade. With nothing to lose but our lives, I decided on a different tactic than usual.
I shattered the first window with the butt of my rifle. Olivia squeaked and Ralph cussed a blue streak. No one started shooting at us. I didn't hear anyone running away, either. There was no sound anywhere but that of the breaking glass. And that was pretty bad.
"I think it's safe," I whispered.
"You think?"
I cut him a sharp look. "Follow me."
I led the way through the broken window. The hardware store looked old on the inside. The floors were unpolished wood. We passed through it to the back like commandos. At least in my mind. Weapons at the ready, we checked the back rooms and the upstairs storage area. There was no sign of recent habitation. As best I could tell, the store hadn't been looted either.
Back in the main store, we quickly found the tool aisle. We grabbed a ball and pin hammer and some adjustable wrenches. One the way out, Ralph came across some machetes.
"Great find!" I said.
They had six of them on display, and we took all six. You can never have too many machetes during a zombie apocalypse. Olivia shouted for us to hurry.
"What's up?" I asked as he ran up to the jeep.
"Listen," she said. "Hear that rumble?"
"Motorcycles?" The only time I'd heard that kind of rumble was when Motor Cycle clubs drove through our home town. They were always riding Harley Davidsons. "Oh crap."
"Let's get this thing off now!" Ralph said. "Hurry!"
I was willing to leave with it on. We had to get it off because it caught zombies instead of knocking them away. It was only connected to two spots on the bumper and one on the grill. It took all of five minutes and three barked knuckles to remove it. We just shoved it off to the side of the road.
The rumble changed as they drew closer to town. I heard the higher-pitched sound of street bikes or ATV intermingled with the throaty roar of Harleys. So outlaw bikers with off-road capabilities. Not good for us.
"Which direction are they coming from?" Olivia asked as we started down Main Street.
The sound seemed to be coming from all directions. The bikers were heading either east or west, because we could see north and south for a few miles in both directions. So they had to be on the county road we'd just been on. I suspected they were coming from the west, but there was only one way to know for sure.
"Turn right," I said. The first side street was only on the right, going west. She turned, and I held my hand up a second after she turned. "Stop."
I jumped out and rushed up to the corner of the store to our north. Dropping to my belly, I crawled forward until I could see around the corner. And there they were. The first motorcycles were moving slowly. They weren't bikers, but reminded me of the Death Dealers. Lots of young men and women in jeans and t-shirts. The first six street bikes and ATVs had two riders, one with a weapon ready. They looked alert and ready for a fight as they entered the small town.
Ralph jumped out of the jeep and went to look down Main Street. It occurred to me that if they turned south, we were fucked. If we didn’t move, the lead riders would spot us. If we drove forward the rear bikers would see us.
"They're stopping to get gas," Ralph said.
I indicated I heard and continued to watch them pour into the city. There had to be around twenty motorcycles and ATVs, mostly Japanese racing bikes and three-wheelers, and three pickups pulling trailers. As they reached the gas station the rumbling started to decrease.
That brought up another worry. When that rumbling ceased because they all stopped, then they'd hear us. So when I saw the end of their line of bikes, I waved Olivia forward.
"Some of them are started to head into downtown on foot," Ralph said when he joined me. "We have to get out of here."
"I know."
As the last biker vanished from view, I took off running for the residential street. Ralph trotted behind me and Olivia followed. I turned right, toward the country road. That was still our best bet out of Jerry's Crossing. As soon as I spotted an open garage I waved the jeep inside. She backed in without me telling her. It was a detached garage, so we closed the overhead door.
"We're trapped like rats," Ralph said.
"Maybe not," I said. There were two windows. I went to one and Ralph the other. "I
f we spot anyone coming our way, then we take off and pray we have more firepower. Best case scenario, they fill up and continue on the way they were going."
"How many are there?" Olivia asked.
"I'm not sure. No more than fifty, mostly men."
"Are they armed?"
"Duh. Don't be a dork," Ralph said. "Of course they arrived before I could go look for some shoes. My life sucks."
"Shh," I said. "Pay attention, Ralph."
The sound of motorcycles and ATVs never really stopped. Some of them were always running. After a few minutes a pair drove down our street, but didn't stop. I wondered what they were looking for. Probably food, guns, and ammo like everyone. Would they check detached garages?
"What do you think our chances are if we made a run for it?" I asked.
"I doubt they have anything to compare to our M60," Ralph said. "But I noticed a couple of them had Uzis or Mac 10s. I can't really tell the difference."
"So they have automatic weapons. That complicates things." I looked at Olivia and she shook her head. Ralph looked grim, but just looked away. "Okay, we'll stay put until they threaten us."
Up until that I thought our chances pretty good. I was leaning toward jumping in the jeep and taking off westward down the county road. The bikers might not even bother giving chase. But my friends were right. Better safe than sorry.
"Maybe we can rotate napping while we wait for them to leave," I said.
"Nope!" Ralph said. "I see a dozen men on foot coming onto this street."
I took a deep, ragged breath. Other survivors were so much scarier than zombies.
"Get ready to crank up the jeep," I said. "Make sure you have a full box of ammo, Ralph. I'll open the door, and then we'll go right and back to the county road. We'll continue west and pray they don't give chase."
"If they do?" Olivia asked.
"Then we kill them."
As soon as Ralph was ready, Olivia started the jeep and I yanked the garage door open. Angry shouts erupted down the street. Jumped into the jeep as it rolled by, and then she hit the gas.