Learning To Live (Zombie Overload Series)

by Wright, C. M.

  We gather near Ryder and Ricky-so they can be a part of the group, yet still able to watch for whatever comes our way-and we all try to figure out what to do next. Considering we have blocked or locked all ways back here but the swinging main doors, there's no need for us to worry about danger from behind us. Ricky reports that he can see some undead in the store but of course he can't see the entire store. So we know there are some out there, just as we expect there to be.

  I speak up, saying, "I think we need to use the silencers, sneak in, and take those things out as we come to them. We should have had the silencers on to begin with." Actually, I forgot all about them.

  Rose, my brothers, Norman, Kurt, Dad and Mom all look at me wide-eyed. What? What did I do?

  Then I remember only Will, Jake, Sara, and I know about the silencers. We've never used them around the others.

  "There's silencers? And you're just now mentioning it?" Ricky hissed at me. I shrug. My bad...damn.

  Will defends me, "I knew, too, and I didn't think about it. It's not like we've done this shit all our lives. Give Canada a break." Aw, my hero!

  Will and I go out the back door to our truck and grab a silencer for each gun. I also grab a stack of ammo boxes and we go back in. As we all ready our guns, Ricky and Ryder take another look and tell us it's clear. We've decided to stick together so none of us will be caught in a horde.

  We follow my brothers out the door, everyone ready to shoot. We make our way to the front, hoping to block the main doors and prevent more from coming in. On the way, we take out several of the undead. I can see the head of a woman over in the lingerie section. Must have a hot date tonight.

  Finally we make it to the front of the store and separate into two groups, one taking the left entrance and one taking the right. We are very happy to see metal security gates that we can just pull down and lock, instead of having to mess with trying to get the doors blocked.

  Meeting back up near the customer service desk at the middle of the front part of the store, just after the registers-we take a moment to look around.

  "So. Where do we start?" Kurt asks.

  "Food last. We're going to need coolers from Sporting section and ice to keep it all cold. So let's start on the opposite side," Mom says. Sounds reasonable to me.

  We all head that way and grab two carts each. One we push, one we pull. We will get the hand trucks for the heavier items later. Shooting the undead as we go, we come first to the pharmacy where Rose, Mom, and I stock up on meds and hygiene products. Kurt loads one cart full of dog food for Bianca's dog, and then we go through the Sporting Goods section.

  We grab fishing equipment, coolers of every shape and size, and I even catch Dad throwing in some sports items. Hey,why not? Ricky busts into the gun case and gets every one of them, along with the ammo.

  He also picks up some of the targets, "For the kids," he says. Ironically, most are cut-outs of zombies. We leave the sporting section and go to the tools and auto sections. Filling the remaining carts, we head back to the storeroom.

  We load the semi and still have plenty of room. Dad and Ryder grab some of the large hand trucks and we spend time in the store room, getting whatever we can from there but still leaving room for food. We get a lot of canned food and other food that doesn't need refrigeration from the back, too.

  Leaving the storeroom with the carts and the large hand trucks, we head down to the food section. The other women and I, stop at the clothing and shoe sections-loading our carts with sensible clothing, shoes, and boots. We take our full carts back to the semi and unload them.

  I'm the last in line to go back inside, but before I do, I take a look around and see the entire side of the fence where the gate is, swarming with undead...a hell of a lot of undead! I suck in a sharp breath of air, filled with fear that travels the length of my body.

  My sister, Rose, sticks her head out the door and her, "Are you ―" is cut off by, "Oh shit!"

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  I snap out of my fear-paralysis state and head toward the door. Pushing Rose inside, I shut the door behind me. We tell Mom and Kally what we saw and Mom says it's time to get the guys and get out of here. As we leave the storeroom, Mom is slammed to the floor by an undead who comes at her from the side.

  Rose screams-Oh, lovely! Now we should gather a crowd!-and Kally raises her gun. I stop her and remind her she might hit Mom, so instead, Kally goes over and kicks the undead with her boot as Mom is struggling with it, holding it up and away from her face.

  His head shoots to the side-that kick probably would have knocked out a normal man-but it doesn't do much for this guy, and he goes right back for Mom. I stand behind Mom's head and Kally straddles them both, standing behind the zombie.

  Grabbing under his arms, Kally pulls him back and up. She leans him to the right away from herself just enough for me to be able to shoot and not risk the bullet passing through and shooting her. I shoot him and he relaxes. Kally shoves him off to the side and we help Mom stand.

  Before we even have time to breathe a sigh of relief, we're being surrounded. Forming a circle with our backs to each other, we start shooting. My gun and then Rose's gun runs out of ammo, and my heart stops for a few beats. There are too many for two of us not to be shooting! And then disaster strikes. Before I can even get the ammo out of my pocket, Mom, and then one shot later, Kally runs out of ammo.

  I scream at them to make a run for the storeroom door and we kick and push our way through. My mind is racing the whole time, trying to figure out what to do. Climb the shelves? No. They would have them knocked over in no time. Go outside? Maybe. Sure. Why not?

  "To the back door. Hurry!" I scream at them. Light floods the room as Mom slams the door open. We all fly inside the back of the semi and I shut the back door of the store. Immediately, we hear banging and watch in horror as the door shakes hard in its frame. Good God! Is it going to hold? Why take a chance?

  I look around and realize there is no way we can lock ourselves from inside the back of the truck. Would we be safe in the cab? Damn it! Then Mom yells at us to climb to the roof. Duh! I guess that's why she's the mom and I'm the kid.

  We all climb up the ladder to the roof and sink to our butts, exhausted from the adrenaline rush and the fight. I just pray the guys are on alert when they come back to the storeroom.

  Mom pulls out her cell, and I immediately know who she's calling and, once again, I have a "Duh" moment. When Dad answers, she explains what's happened and where we are. She tells him to finish getting what they can and then come back, that we are safe now. We have all reloaded our guns and I'm currently loading Mom's for her while she's on the phone.

  Suddenly, the speakers high on the outside of the wall and inside the store squeal to life. Shocked, we all stare at it with part fear, part confusion.

  "Hello, Shoppers. I hope you are finding everything you need as the store will be permanently closed for business as of today. Please excuse the less savory customers as they are unaware Black Friday is still about three weeks away. I must commend you all for staying alive. No one else has managed to do so." Who the hell is that?

  "Oh, and one more thing. Hello, Canada. Nice to see you're alive and well."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I start shaking. This is just too weird. So frikken nuts! Who the hell is that? It's not anyone in our group, I know all their voices. This is one of those voices you could never mistake for someone else. A low gravelly voice with a southern accent.

  I hear the other women on the truck's roof with me gasp. I turn toward them, shock evident on my own face. They're all staring at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

  "What? I don't know who it is!"

  Mom and my sisters scoot closer to me. I'm not sure if they are coming because of my terror or their own. Mom puts her arm around me.

  "Are you sure you don't know who that could be?" she asks me.

  "How would I know who it is? I haven't lived around here for, what, ten years? And that was
only for a year! Even then I didn't know all that many people, certainly none with a voice and accent like that!" My voice rises as I finish, unable to comprehend why they didn't believe me.

  "Alright, I was just asking."

  We hear a loud crash, followed by a clang of metal against concrete. I scramble to the end of the semi and watch in dismay as the undead pour out the back door. I look back at the others and tell them to get ready. We all take one side of the semi and start shooting the undead. One by one, they go down.

  I estimate a good fifty or sixty came through that door. Fortunately, from our position we could easily take them down and still be safe. We've still got about twenty undead left when the men pile out the back door, guns raised and blazing. Once the zombies are all down, the men load all the food they had gotten as we climb down from the roof.

  Will holds me tight as I throw myself into into his arms. He hugs me tight then pulls back enough to see my face.

  "Who was that and how did he know you?" I roll my eyes. This again?

  But before I can say anything, my sisters, in unison, say, "She doesn't know!"

  I smirk at him and say, "Did that answer your questions?"

  Will gives me an irritated look and I can tell he's about to let me have it. "I really don't find this all that damn funny. Some unknown person knows you and called you out. Does that not worry you? I don't know how you can act like it's no big deal." Oh, no he didn't!

  "Look, Honey. You weren't here when I heard him on the intercom. You don't have any damn idea how I reacted. You also don't know how damn scared I was or am! Do not tell me how I'm supposed to act and react. So what if I want to laugh about it? Or make jokes? At least I'm still able to function while I have a sense of humor. Would you rather I curl in a ball on the ground, whimpering, and crying in fear, expecting big strong guys take care of me? Shit! If I did that, I'd be dead for sure!" The rage is boiling inside me. I growl at Will and then walk away from the entire group, seriously needing to calm down.

  I stomp toward the fence lined with zombies. Best guess would be at least a hundred are outside, with even more still coming. I suck in a deep breath. Why can't these bastards just leave us alone? I hate these damn things! Why the hell did I think this would be the ultimate awesome scenario? This sucks ass!

  In my anger, I finally realize that I have come too close, and the undead start going into a hunger-induced frenzy when they notice me. Fear shoots through my body as I watch them become more aggressive in trying to get through the fence. I hear metal shriek and the sound of bolts popping. In horror, I watch as one side of the fence moves inward and then the undead move toward me.

  I let out a shout to warn the others as I turn and race back to them. I hear Rose scream-again, not helping!-and see the guys hurrying to close and lock the semi's loading doors. Kally grabs my sister and shoves her into Kurt's truck, then runs to Mom and Dad's Hummer. Kurt gets in with Rose, and Dad helps Mom inside the semi while Will, Norman, Ricky, and Ryder scream for me to hurry up.

  What the hell are they screaming about? I know my fat ass can't run very fast, but I'm damn sure faster than zombies! I look behind me and I almost fall on that fat ass of mine. What. In. The. Hell???

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  This can't be! This can't happen! Oh, shit! Just shut up and run!

  Those damn undead are faster than they used to be-not an all out let's-run-a-fifty-yard-dash kind of run, more like a fast shuffle-stumble-shuffle. And boy, can they shuffle-stumble-shuffle fast! I'm running full speed now. Will and the other guys are screaming. Rose, Kally, Mom, and Dad are screaming. I just wish they’d all shut up!

  And then, guess what happened? Did ya guess? Yep, I fall. I feel a whole layer of skin rip from my hands on the asphalt, and my knees are on fire! Oh, and what's this? A screwed up ankle? Of course! Why not? DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!

  I struggle to my feet and hear footsteps running toward me. I'm praying they are from in front of me and not behind. Hearing gunshots very close and above me, I cover my head instinctively. Looking up, I see Will and my brothers almost to me. I start hop-running to them. And ok, yeah, I'm bawling like a baby wanting her momma. Bite me.

  I stretch my hand out to Will and my eyes latch onto his. The sheer terror I see in his eyes freaks me the hell out. They all scream but I can't understand what they're saying. Then, I feel a very sharp tug on my hair. Will grabs my wrist just before the bastard behind me can pull me back much further, but by then, the flesh-starved zombie is already on me.

  Will shoves the zombies forehead back away from me and my brothers practically-or maybe they actually do-break his hands to get them off of me. Finally I'm free, but glancing back, I have just enough time to suck in a short shallow breath and take off. Will and Ricky help me as I hop to the Hummer. Ricky looks back and tells Will to lift and run.

  "Wha...whoa!" I yell as my body is lifted a foot off the ground and I'm propelled faster than I could go even with both ankles working. Ryder opens the back passenger door and I'm being thrown inside, my head banging into the opposite door. I feel three full-grown men land on my legs, butt, and back.

  I can hear the ever-present banging whenever those damn rotted things are around. Then the weight is off my back and legs. I turn my head and see Ricky and Will climbing into the front of the Hummer. I look back as much as I can to see who is still sitting on my butt.

  "Ryder, can you get the hell off already!"

  "No. It's all big and soft. Most comfortable seat in the vehicle."

  "Asshole, get off!" I roll to my right and he's dumped to the floor. I twist and wiggle myself into a sitting position, making sure to give him a few "accidental" kicks as I do. Not with my hurting-like-hell foot, though. Not that stupid!

  "Norman! Oh my God! Where is he?" I cry out.

  "He's fine. He's safe. He took off to the tow truck just before we got you in," Will tells me.

  "Yeah, thanks for that by the way. The headache, too."

  They all snicker but avoid my eyes.

  Looking out the window, Will asks what we should do now. There's too many to try to drive through, and even the semi can't break through this crowd. I would guess there are, at least, two hundred and fifty now, and who knows how many we can't see behind all of these. I climb up to the roof and the guys follow.

  Kally is all by herself in the other Hummer and I catch her attention, motioning for her to get up on her roof. She does and looks terrified, as I'm sure we all do, but she's all alone. But then again, she's safer up there, unlike Rose and Kurt who are in the truck with no access to the roof. Although it's a fairly high truck, it's not high enough to feel very safe. Norman's truck is even lower. Dad and Mom I'm not too worried about, being in the semi like they are.

  Ryder aims his gun to shoot some of the undead near our vehicle, but Ricky stops him.

  He tells us, "No use shooting them here. Better to use it on the undead going after the ones who can't get high."

  So that's what we do. Kally joins in and we see Mom and Dad leaning out their windows helping us.

  This is getting us nowhere. For every ten we shoot twenty take their place. Sighing in resignation, I holster my gun and lower myself inside. Even though the bullet-proof glass is strong and thick, the thuds from the undead fists are magnified in the interior. And that really helps my headache. Horseshit!

  Irritated, I throw open the backseat and reach into the storage compartment. Pulling out a few boxes of the grenades, I lay them carefully on the floor while I replace the seat. Turning, I slide back on the seat and stare at them for a few moments. Ok look, little blowup thingies, let's come to an understanding, shall we? You are much, much more powerful than I am. Please don't blow my ass up. K?

  Taking in a deep breath and willing my heart to slow down, I grab the boxes and put them on the roof, then climb up. I find a spot on the roof as far from the other guys as I can get, which isn't very far. I study the box for a minute and then with shaking hands and fear making me want to piss
myself, I take one out.

  Ok. What have I seen in the movies? They hold this little bar down, pull the pin, and then throw. Right? Is that right? God please let that be right. Wait. I can't do this! What if I can't throw it far enough? Why the hell aren't I letting the guys do this?

  Because you value them more than yourself, remember? Right. That's right. Ok. On three. One. Two. THREE!

  Chapter Thirty

  I pull the pin and throw it as far as I can. It lands and I freak out because it doesn't go off right away like Jake's did, but the next instant, an incredible bang sounds and zombie pieces fly everywhere.

  The blast didn't do it, but the shock from the incredible noise made me fall flat on my ass. Not hard to do since I was already using only one foot to stand on. Over the ringing in my ears, I can hear everyone screaming at me. Everything from "You dumbass" to "I'm gonna kill you."

  Will grabs my arms and slides me across the roof of the truck to the opposite side. He kneels in front of me and, with one hand, grabs both sides of my jaw from underneath, and roughly turns my head to meet his fury-filled eyes.

  "I'm getting really sick of this Rambo shit." Did Jake tell him about that? That heifer! I'm gonna kick his ass! "You pull one more stunt like that and I'm personally going to beat your ass."

  I don't say a word but my eyes are flashing with anger. He just screwed up, and he knows it. He releases my face and steps back. But just to mess with his head, I turn away and act as if checking my throbbing ankle is the only thing I'm worried about. I watch from the corner of my eye as his boots move away from me. And then I smile.

  Will tells my brothers, "Watch my back. Your sister's pissed at me."

  They all shoot a worried glance in my direction, but I just sit and look as innocent as I can.

  "Yep. You're in trouble now," Ricky says.

  What the hell? Do I even have an innocent look? Guess not.