by Steven Bynum
“Maybe you two should hide in our bedroom while I do a reconnoiter. We’ve got to know just how many are out there. We’ve got to know where they are located. We’ve got to know if we can make it to the car in the driveway.”
He was beginning to ramble until Mary placed her hand on his face to calm him down. She knew how worried he was for them.
“Ok, we’ll be in the bedroom. Be careful Jacob. We need you,” Mary whispered in his ear and kissed him.
She held on to his hand for a moment, not letting him move. She was worried he wouldn’t come back. They watched him sneak through the house. They wanted to laugh at his awkwardness, but the danger was real, and they were afraid. After a moment, Mary and Sheila made their way to the bedroom. They both strained their ears, hoping not to hear anything horrible happen to Jacob.
Jacob did his best not to make any noise. For some reason, he seemed to bump into everything. Even his breathing sounded amplified even though he was purposely keeping his breathing as calm as possible. Those things probably can’t hear me breathing anyway. He purposefully checked every corner and every room on his way to his target destination, the living room windows. From there, he would look over the area around the car. He was so glad they had closed all the window blinds the other day.
Peering … the car was still in the driveway. That was the first thing he needed to know. He silently thanked God; no one had stolen it. Jacob moved the blind slightly as he looked around outside. There were several zombies staggering around, but surprisingly, not as many as he had expected. Ah, that’s good. It seems living in a low populated area has paid off. He could see various plumes of smoke billowing into the air. The most concentrated smoke was in the direction of the cities of Monroe and West Monroe. They were not large cities, but did contain much more people than the rural area in which he and his family lived. Things must be really bad. It’s all really happening.
Jacob moved faster back to the bedroom where Mary and Sheila waited for him. The only zombies close enough to hear them inside the house were dead, or well, dead again. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw Mary and Sheila. Every moment away from them now caused him to have fearful thoughts. They both grabbed him in a hug, but he cut the reunion short. There was no time to waste. The moment to escape was now, and they needed to hurry while the coast was clear.
“Look, there’s no deaders anywhere near the car right now. We need to grab the supplies, and get out of here, now. I’m not sure where to go, but once we get in the car we can figure that out,” Jacob explained. They had been using the term, deaders, to describe the zombies ever since they heard it the first time on the television.
“But if there’s no deaders anywhere near, then why can’t we stay here,” Mary asked. “Don’t you think that it’s a bit premature to go out there? Especially if we don’t know where we are going?”
“I said, anywhere near the car. There’s several walking around outside. Who knows when more may show up? We’ve been lucky so far, I think. It’s the perfect time to escape. I don’t think we should wait around.”
“Escape? Escape to where, Jacob? Where will we go?” Mary was not sure he was thinking clearly. She had only now settled down enough to think clearly herself after the initial zombie attacks at their home. “Baby, maybe we are in the safest place for now?”
“The safest place? Deaders got inside the house for Christ’s sake. How is that the safest?”
“Just calm down, and think for a moment,” Mary pleaded. “Maybe we should stay here one more day, at least. The car will still be there. If we just leave, we may put ourselves in more danger than we are in now.”
“I wanna stay here,” Sheila interjected. “I don’t wanna go out there.”
Jacob looked at both of them as if they had lost touch with reality. He couldn’t believe what they were saying. However, there was one thing that he knew for certain; Mary was one of the wisest people he knew. It was one of the many aspects of her that he had fallen in love with. Could she be right, or is she just scared of leaving their home behind? He began pacing, thinking about what she had said.
Mary knew she had gotten through to him. One thing about her husband, he was always making impulsive decisions. She watched him as he went over and peeked out the bedroom window. There were still only a handful of zombies in the area that he could see. Maybe it is a bit premature to go out there in harm’s way. He always wanted to do what was best for his family. It was several minutes before he walked back over to where Mary and Sheila were waiting. He looked at both of them for a long time before speaking.
“Ok, I suppose we can barricade the house better. There’s plenty of furniture that we can use. Mainly, block off all the windows to keep any of those deaders from smashing through them. We could reinforce the doors as well. I guess we could use shelves from the cellar. It still seems like there isn’t all that many of them in the area. We can stay here one more day at least, if that is what you really want to do.” Jacob gave them a pleading look, hoping they would change their minds.
“Yes, let’s stay. One more day at least,” Mary answered.
Mary and Sheila both hugged Jacob. They were actually able to muster slight smiles about his decision. With the family now in agreement, they set out to better secure the house. They had enough food and drink to last a while. Hopefully, everything would be back to normal before they needed to replenish their supplies. Mary and Sheila had that hope in their minds, but Jacob knew deep down, everything was lost.
That one more day was a blessing for the family. After that, the power went out. It was just one more thing they had not considered and were not at all prepared for it. Sure, they had a supply of firewood, but only a few candles and batteries. Jacob was extremely upset with himself. How could he have not thought about stocking up on batteries? Why did he ever get rid of those old kerosene lamps that had been in storage for so long? His wife, Mary, had decided it was time to clean up, but now was not the time to place any blame. They would make do with the fireplace. After all, none of them wanted to be anywhere in the house alone.
Jacob poked the fire again, sending sparks glimmering. A couple of hours had passed and they had not said a word to each other. All three had just been sitting there, staring into the embers. Depression was taking hold of them.
“Do you remember when we had that big ice storm that time? I think Sheila was only five years old then. You remember?” Jacob began reminiscing, hoping to raise their spirits a bit.
Mary glanced over, “Yeah, I remember.”
“Yeah, it was so cold those three days. We all just huddled here in front of the fireplace most of the time. I thought we were going to freeze to death.” Jacob forced a laugh. “I really enjoyed that time. Being here, with you and Sheila.”
“I enjoyed it too,” Mary responded. “But it sure was cold.” She allowed herself to smile.
“Me too. I love you Mom and Dad.” Sheila spoke from her curled up position in a sleeping bag.
Jacob and Mary both looked down upon their daughter in loving admiration. Mary stroked her hair to comfort her, and Jacob held her hand to provide reassuring support. Together they turned and looked into each others’ eyes for a long moment. At that moment in time, everything was right in the world. The death and chaos all forgotten, buried deep beneath the enduring love they had for each other.
Sheila coughed slightly, jarring them out of their loving trance. She began to shiver, which gave them concern.
“Sheila, are you ok?” Mary asked her daughter in that caring, motherly voice.
“Mom, I don’t feel so good. I think I’m getting sick.” Sheila responded in a pitiful sounding voice. She let out another cough right after speaking.
Mary placed her hand on Sheila’s forehead. “Jacob, she feels like she has a fever. Go get that thermometer out of the bathroom. I hope it’s just the heat from the fireplace, but let’s make sure.”
Jacob jumped up immediately and made his way to the bathroom just down the
hall. He was already beginning to think the worst. After all they had been through, was this really going to happen now? Please God, don’t let her be getting bad sick with something.
“Jacob, help! Help!” Mary began yelling just as he found the thermometer. “There’s something wrong! Hurry!”
Jacob sprinted back to the fireplace, prepared to fight any zombie that had gotten inside the house. None was there, and his heart began beating even faster when he noticed Sheila convulsing on the floor. It was apparent she was having some kind of seizure.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Mary was quickly becoming hysterical.
“Calm down! Calm down! We, uh, we need to keep her from biting off her tongue!” Jacob looked around for an object to place between her teeth. “Nothing, there’s nothing! Fuck!” Then he remembered his wallet. Quickly, he grabbed his wallet from his pants and placed it between her teeth. Sheila was shaking violently, and it was all they could do for her at the moment.
How long the convulsions lasted, they could not tell. It felt like they lasted a life time. The horror of not being able to help their daughter had caused both of them to start crying. Nothing like this had ever happened to any of them in their family. Why it was happening now was unknown.
Sheila lay there, unmoving and staring into space. She did not speak, only moaned, as if she was badly nauseated. Try as they may, they could not get a response out of her of any kind. The pupils of her eyes were extremely dilated.
“Do something Jacob, help her!” Mary shouted in a panic.
“I don’t know what to do! I don’t know what’s wrong with her! My God, this can’t be happening! It can’t!” Jacob stood and paced around, racking his brain for an answer.
Mary was talking to her, trying to get a response. “What’s wrong baby? Tell me what’s wrong? Please Sheila. Tell me what’s wrong?”
Jacob ran to wet down a hand towel with water. There was not much water pressure at all. He just managed to get it fully wet when the water slowed to a small trickle. He fumbled about until he found some Tylenol. It was all he could think to do at the moment. Maybe if they could get her fever down, she would snap out of it. If that was even what was wrong with her.
“She tried to say something.” Mary told Jacob just as he knelt and placed the wet rag upon her forehead. “I couldn’t hear what she said, but I know she tried to speak. That’s a good sign, right?”
“Yes, yes, that’s good. Maybe she is coming to a bit. Sheila, can you hear me, baby?” Jacob spoke to her in as calm a voice as he could muster. No reply came from her.
Sheila was not looking very well. She had become slightly pale, and her skin was feeling cold and clammy. Neither of them wanted to mention it, but both knew her condition was worsening quickly. Mary had placed another log inside the fireplace for more heat.
“I need to get to town.” Jacob jumped up and moved toward the door.
“Where the Hell are you going?” Mary questioned him, as if he was abandoning them.
“I need to find antibiotics. I think that may be her only chance. Our baby is bad sick; I need to get medicine for her.” Jacob had picked up the crowbar and was removing the brace from the front door.
Mary didn’t want him to go. She considered pleading with him to stay, but deep down, she knew what he said was true. She didn’t know what to do for their daughter, and if there was any hope for her now, perhaps Jacob could find it. Instead of saying anything, she just watched him leave. She placed another blanket on Sheila and began singing.
“Sleep my love, sleep my love. Dream of wonderful things to come.
Sleep my love, throughout the night. Sleep until the morning light.
Sleep my love, do not fear. Do not even shed a tear.”
She continued humming the lullaby for several minutes until she began to cough. Mary began to shiver and immediately realized she had developed a fever. Her hands trembled with worry and fear. The moments went by while she waited for Jacob to return. Her body felt like it was about to freeze solid as ice. In just moments, her pupils dilated and she collapsed next to her daughter. A seizure caused her to begin convulsing.
Jacob drove with a purpose. If you stepped in his way, then it would be too bad for you. He was on a mission. A mission to find medicine for his extremely sick daughter. The destination was already set in his mind, Jesse’s Hometown Pharmacy. It was located just inside the city limits. He could be there, in and out, with not much time wasted. It was the pharmacy his family used, and he knew it very well. He was even good friends with the owner, Jesse Simmons.
It’s not far now. If these damn deaders would stay the hell out of the way. Worse than fucking deer, Jacob thought. And they were. The zombies would step out in front of the car without any thought. Several times he had to plow over one, nearly causing him to wreck. Once he had side-swiped an abandoned car; luckily he was able to keep going. He could see the pharmacy up ahead. Nothing was blocking the entrance, not even a vehicle. It should be a clean shot, in and out, quick and easy.
Jacob made one mistake when pulling into the parking lot. The rate of speed he was going caused him to slam on the brakes to keep from plowing into the building. Doing that caused the tires to squeal on the pavement. He really did not pay any attention to the noise. Out of the car and into the pharmacy he went, fast as he could. It caught the attention of some zombies, though, and they turned to shamble in the direction of the noise.
Scrunch…scrunch…scrunch…Jacob stepped on broken glass that covered much of the floor. It was dark, and his flashlight barely illuminated the area in which it was pointed. He was determined, and with crowbar in hand, made his way to the shelves that held the prescription pharmaceuticals. Good God, I have no idea what to get. He grabbed a sack from under the counter and began filling it with anything he recognized as an antibiotic, or that could be of possible use. It was a surprise that so much was actually left. He had thought some times before, about society crumbling. Always he had figured pharmaceuticals would be wiped out early on by looters. Things sure were not going as he had imagined.
The bag was full, and Jacob was ready to head back. He turned and was met face-to-face by a zombie. He was so focused on getting the much needed medicine, he forgot to listen for any signs of danger. It opened its mouth and made some type of gurgling snarl, declaring its intentions to eat Jacob. He reacted by shoving the zombie away from him as hard as he could. The zombie staggered backwards and fell over a broken shelf. Jacob’s flashlight illuminated another zombie walking through the entrance. He could see other humanoid shapes all around his car. The first thing he did was yell, “Shit!” After that, he took off towards the back exit. He hoped beyond hope that the way was clear.
Jacob did not slow down when he reached the exit. Instead, he barreled through the door like a juggernaut. The crowbar was raised, ready to bash anything that might be on the other side. Nothing was there, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. What to do, what to do. He quickly made his way to a point on the side of building, where he could determine the situation at his car. If he was lucky, all of the zombies would have kept walking inside, and his car would be clear. Then, he could make his escape.
Peering … he could see two zombies left in his way. They were just standing there, like statues. Emboldened by urgency, he launched an attack. He ran up and smashed the nearest zombie in the head, just as it turned to look at him. There was really no need to attack the other, but a rage had built inside him. Yelling “Fucking deaders!”, he shoved the crowbar through its eye socket. It buried deep inside the skull, causing the zombie to crumble to the ground. Jacob jerked the crowbar free, and wanted to kill some more. He didn’t care if any white mist spewed out or not, chalking it up to just one of things that happens when breaking open a deader’s skull. Instead of indulging his bloodlust, he came to his senses and hopped into the car. It was imperative that he make it back to his daughter, and hopefully save her life.
At least on the way back he got to plow down
a few more. It satiated his rage, and he felt more relaxed than he’d been since it all started. Now, all I have to do is: make it back home, get my daughter on some antibiotics, and all will be just fine again. We’ll be a family, and we’ll make it through these trying times. After all, we still have each other.
Jacob could still see the lights of far off raging fires on the horizon, located in all directions. It made him wonder if there were other people still alive, holed up in their homes, the same as he and his family. He couldn’t help but feel slight relief that his parents and his wife’s parents had passed away years ago. Perhaps it was divine providence that they didn’t have to see this horror. What did it mean for those still alive? Punishment? He pushed the thoughts out of his head. No use in thinking about that kind of stuff.
There were no zombies around when he pulled into the driveway of their home. He took that as a good omen. Hope had even sprouted inside him, thinking maybe Sheila had gotten better while he was away. Those thoughts put a spring in his step, and he bounded inside, almost smiling. So glad was he to be back, he did not even notice Mary face down on the floor next to Sheila.
“I think I found some good medicine for Sheila,” he spoke, while turning and looking down at them.
Jacob went pale and dropped everything he was carrying. Pills went spilling across the floor, and the crowbar sounded a loud thud. His legs gave out, and he went down on hands and knees. He crawled over and checked them both for signs of life, but there was none to be found. It did not stop him from trying to revive them. He attempted CPR on them both, over and over. Still, they remained lifeless. He shook them, over and over, still they did not awaken from the final sleep. All hope spent, he collapsed, and began crying.
Jacob didn’t know how long he had sat there staring at the lifeless bodies of his wife and daughter. They had been the only things left in the world that he had truly cared about. Now they were gone. He stood up, still slightly in a daze. His eyes were puffy from crying and his face wet from tears of extreme sorrow. He slowly turned away, took in his surroundings, and began trying to collect his senses.