Alice turned down another road and slammed on the brakes immediately, but she wasn’t fast enough. She slammed into a stopped car ahead of her and groaned as her chest hit the seatbelt. She heard Mark and Kyle muttering curses from the back of the car, but then they both started yelling at her to get out of the car and run.
That was when she saw it.
Alice lifted her eyes and looked ahead at the horde approaching from ahead of her.
That’s what it was: a horde. There was no other word for it. Zombies upon zombies were walking down the road, making their way around cars and bodies, and they were all headed straight for the trio.
One word echoed in her head.
Run.
Chapter 2
Mark’s feet hit the pavement and he was relieved when Alice and Kyle followed close behind. He darted around the side of a house and into the backyard. Thank you, suburbia. They weren’t anywhere near the edge of Holbrook and without a car, it was going to be awhile before they reached a rural area. Thanks a lot, Alice.
Mark couldn’t blame her, though. Not too much. They were all hung over and tired and none of them had eaten. They were moving on pure adrenaline and he didn’t know if that was going to be good enough. Maybe it wouldn’t. He was already feeling lightheaded and nauseous. His body wasn’t as young as it once was. He wondered how Alice and Kyle were holding up, but there was no time to ask.
Last night, they’d all wanted to relax and have a good time, but now their mission had changed. Now the only thing they wanted was to survive, to live another day. Hell, Mark would be happy getting to live another hour. He didn’t want to die today. Not when things had finally started to turn around for him.
He’d spent too fucking long in the desert. He’d spent too long watching his brothers die, watching his friends perish before his very eyes. Mark’s life had been one great big basket of fucked up and he was ready for something new, something different. Moving to Holbrook had been a fresh start for him.
This was not the fresh start he’d been hoping for.
Now, they ran. Their feet pounded against the pavement and he hoped his friends could keep up with him. He didn’t know Alice or Kyle all that well. They were drinking buddies, yeah, but that was about it. Alice was some kind of legal drone and he wasn’t even sure what Kyle did. He just knew they could hold their liquor, and that was all that mattered to Mark.
Until now.
Now there was a chance that they’d turn around the next bend and die. They could fall into a hole and break their legs. They could trip and land on a stake in the ground. They could run straight into a zombie and get its blood smeared all over them.
Anything could happen.
So he kept running.
Losing the car sucked. Mark fought back the urge to yell at Alice despite the fact that it wasn’t her fault. Not really. The world had been thrown into chaos and they were all just doing their best. That was all he could demand. It irked him that Alice and Kyle weren’t trained soldiers. They were tiny, scrawny civilians who had no idea what it was like to fight. They had no idea what it was like to see blood.
Mark’s military training had kicked in, though, and he was focused on the task at hand. Right now, that meant running as far away as possible from the cluster fuck that was Holbrook. They had to get away. They had to keep moving, keep running. If they stopped, they would die. If they slowed down, they would die. They had to move.
His backpack bounced against his spine and he carried his bat as he ran down the road they had come from. He turned right, toward the edge of town. They had originally come from the left, which led back into the city.
They wanted to be as far away as possible.
Mark’s head was killing and from the weird criss-crossy way Kyle was running, he’d bet his buddy was in pain, too.
“Hang on there, champ,” he said. “Not too much farther.”
The truth was that Mark didn’t know how much farther they had to go. He could hear the growls and moans from the Infected following them. Never in his years of video games and horror movie marathons did Mark think he would be seeing something like this.
Not in real life.
When Alice had woken him, he thought she was being dramatic. He should have known something was wrong, though. Alice wasn’t really the dramatic type. It was why they got along so well. They’d become buddies when she moved into the complex last year. It was easy to talk to her and she didn’t ask him hard questions like whether she looked fat in something.
She was happy to just hang out and have some beers.
She was happy to drink.
But today, when she’d woken him, he’d been hit with the crushing thought that she really was like all the other girls he’d ever known. Maybe she really was the bitchy, after-your-money type of girl. Maybe she really was into drama and being the center of attention.
Mark had experienced far too much of that in his life. He’d had way too much drama during his military years and he was past dealing with that. He’d sworn off women since his discharge and he’d been happy about that. Things were simpler when you only had to look after yourself, when the only person you had to worry about was you.
The truth was, though, that even though he didn’t really know Kyle and Alice as well as he should have after all of their weekend binges, he’d come to care for them. He’d come to view them as more than just his floormates.
He’d come to view them as friends.
And while last night had been a lot of fun, today was nothing like he’d ever expected.
They ran down the middle of the road, making their way around cars. He was sweating, the sun was blaring on him, and he was thirsty. If Mark, who was in great shape, was doing so poorly, he could only imagine how his buddies were doing. Alice and Kyle were keeping up with him, but only barely. They had outrun the zombies, for now, but if they slowed, it would only be a matter of time before they caught up with them.
Still, he had to make a tough decision.
They turned down another road and passed the trailer park. It looked completely abandoned. Too bad those houses were so lightweight and easy to flip. If a bunch of Infected put their minds to it, they could push one of the houses down.
Not the place Mark wanted to hole up.
He started looking as they rounded another bend and passed a few suburban homes. This neighborhood was decidedly quiet. He knew it was Saturday morning. Maybe people had gone to soccer practice. People who lived in a neighborhood like this definitely had kids. Most of the driveways were empty, which he took as a good sign.
It meant if they went inside one of the homes, they wouldn’t have to worry about Infected, or worse: a dad with a shotgun.
Mark slowed his pace to a brisk walk and his friends did the same. Alice was breathing heavily, but didn’t complain.
“We need to find a place to stop,” he said.
“But the Infected,” Kyle protested. “They’ll get us.”
“Not if we’re smart,” Mark said, lowering his voice. They walked down the center of the road, careful to stay out of shadows. Anything could be lurking there and he didn’t feel like taking any more chances. Mark didn’t consider himself to be a great leader, but he was the one with the most survival experience, so he’d guide his friends to safety.
“What are we going to do?” Alice asked. Her voice was pained, and Mark wondered if she was hurt, but he couldn’t stop yet.
“Look for a house that doesn’t have a car in the driveway, but windows that aren’t broken.”
“What?” Alice asked, looking around. “Why?”
Mark took a deep breath and tried to remember to be patient. These were civilians he was dealing with. They weren’t used to taking orders without questions and they weren’t used to survival. Not like him. They weren’t anything like him. He shook his head, trying to push back the memories of war that were constantly creeping back in. He couldn’t focus on that stuff.
Not today.
N
ot right now.
“Because,” he said. His voice was much more patient than he felt. “We’re all banged up and in shock. We need to find a place to rest for a little while, probably for the night. We can try to leave town tomorrow.”
“A house without a car means the family probably left,” Kyle filled her in. “We need a house without people in it.”
“Because they might be zombies,” Alice said solemnly.
“Because they might be armed,” Mark said. This was tragic, pathetic almost. He didn’t want to have to babysit anymore and he was getting tired and frustrated.
Each house they passed had something wrong. Occasionally, he’d see people peering out of their windows, and he wanted to yell at them to stop being so stupid. Your face against a window? Really? Talk about becoming bait.
Finally, the road forked and to one side was a small cul-de-sac.
“There,” Mark said, pointing to the house at the far end. “No car, no broken windows. Average-sized house with overgrown grass. The owners haven’t been home in awhile. Maybe they’re on vacation.”
They moved quickly toward the house and Mark motioned for them to follow him around back. No sense in walking right up to the front door. If the other houses were occupied, they didn’t need to alert the entire neighborhood that there were squatters staying at Mr. and Mrs. Domestic Couple’s house.
The two-story house had a large porch in the backyard that overlooked a wooded area. Mark kept a close eye on the woods, but it was only day one. There wouldn’t be any zombies wandering out in the forests. Not yet. No, that sort of behavior would come later. Once the cities were overflowing with the walking dead, once they had run out of fresh food to eat, then they would leave the cities. Then they would be crawling in the forests.
Mark quickly scaled the stairs to the back porch and surveyed the area in front of him. In another life, this must have been a nice place to host summer cookouts. There was a large patio table with an umbrella and matching chairs. A grill stood to one side, ready for burgers and steaks and any other kind of meat you could imagine.
Up ahead, the back door beckoned to them.
“Try it first,” Kyle advised. “Before you kick it in.”
“No shit,” Mark muttered. What little patience he had left was gone now. He needed to calm down. He knew it. This wasn’t Kyle’s fault and it wasn’t Alice’s, but he was tired and more than a little hung over.
The door was locked, but Alice noticed a doormat and suggested Mark look for a key there. He thought it was too simple to be possible, yet there it was: a tiny little key beneath the mat. The brass glinted in the afternoon sunlight and he picked it up.
“Idiots,” he muttered, and slid the key into the lock. It turned easily. The men entered first, weapons raised, but the slight smell of mildew confirmed his suspicions that this family was out of town. He wasn’t sure how long they’d been gone, but it was long enough that he wasn’t worried about them coming back soon. They could stay here, at least for the night, and be safe.
No one would come for them here.
No one would bother them.
“I’m guessing they won’t be coming back soon,” Alice said, swiping her finger on the kitchen table and holding it up. A thin layer of dust had turned her pink skin grey, and she quickly wiped her hand on her jeans.
Kyle closed the door and locked it, then pushed a chair in front of it for good measure. It wouldn’t do much to keep out zombies, but it worked for now, and they weren’t going to be there very long.
Quietly, methodically, Mark cleared the first floor. It felt routine to him: making sure there was no one lurking in the shadows. Alice and Kyle stood awkwardly in the kitchen while he checked the bathroom, living room, laundry room, and garage. He made sure the garage door was locked, then came back to the others.
“Upstairs,” Mark said, perhaps a little too gruffly, but the others followed him up the staircase. It was dark upstairs, but surprisingly enough, the house still had electricity. When he flicked on the light switch, the hallway came to life.
“Better turn it off,” Kyle said. “Don’t want to draw too much attention.” Mark agreed, and they made their way down the hallway until they came to the first door. That room was on the front of the house and Mark peeked in. Bedroom. Probably a guest bedroom. He motioned for them to keep moving, then he opened the first door that was on the back of the house.
That one was better.
It was a children’s room with two sets of bunks and a huge toy box that was overflowing with playthings. The window opened to the back of the house, by the woods, so they could turn on the light without anyone seeing from the street.
Mark flicked on the light and closed the door behind them.
“Let’s see the injuries,” he said, and Kyle lifted his shirt. Sure enough, a bruise was forming on his chest where he’d been wearing his seatbelt during the crash.
“I’m fine,” Kyle said, looking at it. He shrugged. “Just hurts a bit. You okay, Alice?” Mark noticed she had a bump on her head, but she just smiled.
“I’m okay, just a bit sore. I’m a little tired, too.” She looked at one of the bunks. “I don’t know about you guys, but I could use a power nap.”
The guys nodded. Mark wasn’t one for naps. He thought he should be able to get through the day like an adult, but he was never sure if that was one of the hang-ups he had from his military days or a false sense of what it meant to be masculine. Either way, the time for bravado had long past. He was tired. They all were. The truth was, a nap sounded nice.
“Want us to spread out?” Mark asked, but Alice shook her head. He thought it would be better for them to all stay in the same room in case of trouble, but he’d give Alice her space if she needed it.
“Safety in numbers, right?” She said. “I get top bunk.”
Chapter 3
Kyle’s chest hurt, and not just from the crash. His asthma was flaring up, threatening to devour him if he didn’t take his inhaler soon, but he was worried. He’d only had two rescue inhalers on hand when they left the apartment building, and he knew that wasn’t going to last him forever. If today was any indicator, he’d be doing a lot of running in the days to come and he’d need his inhaler almost every day.
Damn lungs.
If only he’d been born with a body that worked like it was supposed to. If only he didn’t have the limitations that he did.
Kyle knew he was scrawny. Oh, he was average height, but he was thin. Too thin. He hated his weight, hated his broken body. He hated that he had to consider every action he took each day, wondering whether or not it would be worth facing an asthma attack to have a little fun.
The Friday nights he spent drinking with his neighbors were the best of his life. They were the little guilty pleasure nights he allowed himself. After exhibiting the utmost self-control during the week, he needed something to unwind on the weekends, and a few drinks on the roof were exactly what the doctor ordered.
Kyle fingered the little blue inhaler that rested in his pocket. He should take a puff. He should do it. He didn’t want to, didn’t want to waste what might be his last doses, but he also knew that if he didn’t, tomorrow could be worse, deadly even.
“Are you okay?” He heard Alice’s soft voice and turned to look at her. She was on the top of the opposite bunk, looking down at him on the bottom bunk. Her brown hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail and her bright eyes were wide.
Mark had already woken from his nap, and had gone to look around the house, but Kyle just wanted to rest for a few minutes. He wasn’t ready to walk around yet. He wasn’t ready to explore. Not just yet.
“Yeah,” he lied. “I’m fine.”
“Is it your asthma?” She asked.
“It’s fine,” he said again, but she shook her head.
“Take a puff, Kyle.”
“I can’t risk using all of my medication up.”
“There will be plenty of it left if you die, you idiot. Just do it. T
ake a puff.”
He didn’t want to, but it was there: the pain. Every breath hurt and his lungs were tight: tighter than they’d ever been before. Some asthmatics wheezed when they were having an asthma attack, but not Kyle. He wasn’t that lucky. No, his symptoms were mostly invisible to other people. Sometimes he’d cough or struggle to breathe, but usually he felt tightness.
Usually he felt like someone was slowly, painfully squeezing the air out of his body until there was nothing left.
He reached for the inhaler.
“Do it,” Alice said again. “You need to, Kyle. We’ll figure something out. Do it.”
He pulled the puffer from his pocket and raised it to his lips. Pressing his mouth around the blue plastic, Kyle squeezed and took a deep breath. He counted to ten, then released. Then he put the inhaler back in his pocket.
“Aren’t you supposed to take two puffs?” Alice asked from her bunk, still peeking down at him.
“What are you, my mother?” Kyle spat out. The hurt look that crossed her face made him instantly feel remorseful, but she needed to back off. Kyle liked Alice just fine, but they were friends: nothing more. She didn’t need to be bossing him around, pushing him to do more than he could.
Alice had already goaded him into taking one puff. He didn’t need to take another. Not right now. Not when he didn’t know how long this inhaler would have to last.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just worried.”
“Me too,” Kyle said. “Me too.”
They laid in silence for awhile, resting their tired legs, feeling exhausted and sore. Kyle had a headache from drinking too much the night before, and he was tired. He had no idea what time it was now. He’d switched his phone off to save the battery and there were no clocks in the room they were in. If he had to guess, he’d say it was late-afternoon.
Maybe early evening.
Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse (Episode 1) Page 2