“Well at least we can cut the grass,” Derek said laughing.
“Right...”
They returned to the others and told them what they found.
“Cool we have electricity,” Amy said. “We should try the radio.”
“At this point,” John said. “I’m not sure we want anyone else out there to know we’re here.”
“I agree,” Stephanie said.
The next three hours was spent setting up house. John and Amy took the small room, Derek, Jimmy and Stephanie the large.
The two tables were set up with chairs near the desk. Enough food and water for several days was brought in from the helicopter.
At 2:30 pm the clouds moved off and the sun came out.
“When it’s safe,” Amy said. “I’ve made a list of some things we need. Maybe you guys can make a supply run?”
Derek looked at John and shrugged.
“Maybe tomorrow morning Derek and I will go down to the Mart and get what you need,” John said.
“I have a list too,” Stephanie said smiling. “A long list...”
“Of course,” Derek said.
Stephanie winked at him.
“I’m going up in the tower and look around,” Derek said to Stephanie. “Want to go.”
“Sure.”
“Jimmy take Spanky outside for a walk,” Amy said.
“Ok,” Jimmy said and led Spanky outside.
Derek and Stephanie climbed to the top of the tower and sat down. A cool breeze blew through the open air tower.
“We can finally relax,” Derek said.
“For now...” Stephanie said moving closer to him. “It’s getting cooler.”
Derek put his arm around her. “Warmer?” he said.
“Yes,” she said leaning in and enjoying being close to him. “I am. This is nice.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“Wow,” Derek said. “What’s that for?’
“I see the way you look at me,” Stephanie said.
“That obvious?” Derek asked.
“Women know these things,” Stephanie said smiling. “And if you were a little more observant you would see me looking at you the same way.”
“Really?”
“Yeah really...” Stephanie said.
Derek smiled, took her hand, and kissed it. Stephanie leaned in and gave him another peck on the lips
“So...” Stephanie said. “Is this kind of like the last man and woman on earth type of thing.”
“Something like that,” Derek said laughing.
Stephanie slapped him on the arm.
“Ouch?”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “If I do that, that’s a good thing.”
“If you say so...”
The next morning Derek and John rose first and readied the SUV for the short trip down to the mart. Each armed with a pistol and a rifle. They carried one magazine in the rifle and four in ammo pouches. Amy and Stephanie saw them off and locked the gate behind them.
“Be careful,” Amy shouted.
John stuck his arm out the window and waved.
John looked over at Derek. “Nice and slow,” he said. “Be ready for anything.”
When they reached the highway, Derek stopped at the stop sign. “Look,” he said.
Standing across the street from them was a gomer woman who appeared to be have been in her early thirties when she died. She stood at the mailbox staring at them.
“She doesn’t look like she’s been dead very long,” John said.
She walked out into the highway and headed for them.
“Go,” John said.
“You don’t want to see what she wants?” Derek asked.
“We don’t have time.”
Derek pulled out into the highway and headed for town. He could see the gomer in the rear view mirror. She stopped and watched them drive away. He felt sorry for her.
Derek stayed below twenty five miles per hour the rest of the trip to the Mart. As they neared the super store he stopped in the middle of the intersection at the entrance. There were bodies lying around the parking lot. Dead and undead.
Numerous zombies loitered around the main entrance. To their left was a fast food restaurant. Inside several of the dead stood at the closed glass door watching them.
John rolled the window down and stuck the barrel of his rifle out. Derek placed his pistol on the console for easy access.
“Lets do it,” Derek said taking his foot off the brake.
The SUV rolled through the intersection and into the parking lot. As they neared the entrance the bodies were too many to avoid. Derek swerved several times to take out the dead who were writhing on the ground unable to get up.
The sound of rotting corpses squishing and crunching under the tires was nauseating. One particularly loud pop got John’s attention. A glob of red and black goo shot out from underneath a tire.
They pulled up to the door and stopped. The dead still standing surrounded the truck.
“Well,” he said. “How you want to handle this?”
John pointed to the right. “Lets go in through the garden entrance. You see that open gate? We can go in and close it behind us.”
Derek put the SUV in reverse and drove over the zombies standing behind the vehicle. It lurched as the tires rolled over the bodies.
Three broke from the crowd and followed them. They were in better shape than the others.
“Stop for a second,” John said.
Derek stopped. John exited the vehicle and took aim at the three. He placed three well aimed shots through their foreheads and dropped them.
As he was getting back in a scream broke the air. A demon ran out of the main entrance and headed for them. Derek jumped out and raised his rifle.
“Wait,” John said.
They watched the demon advance. It was wobbly on its feet and stumbled several times. Finally when it was thirty feet away its legs buckled and it fell to the ground. Trying to drag itself forward it clawed at the pavement screaming at them again.
Derek laughed. “Should I kill it?” he said.
“Nah...” John said.
Derek walked up to it and blasted away at its arms and legs and kicked it in the face. The demon growled at him through clinched teeth. It wore a blue vest with a name tag that read Robbie.
“Have a nice day Robbie,” Derek said.
“Come on,” John said. “Lets get this thing into the covered area.”
Derek started the SUV, backed in and got out. John closed the gate and latched it. They looked around at the outdoor furniture and dying shrubs sitting on tables.
“Hey lets load one of these on top and tie it down,” John said pointing to a box containing a patio table and chairs set.
“And one of those,” Derek said gesturing toward a fire pit.
“Excellent..”
After they loaded the patio set and fire pit they checked their weapons again and walked to the entrance. The sliding glass doors were open. Cautiously Derek stuck his head around the corner and looked inside.
“You’re not going to believe this,” he said laughing. “Did you bring some cash?”
“What?”
“Look.”
John looked inside. Standing behind a register was a gomer, still dressed in her vest and name tag. They walked up to her and said hi. The gomer grunted.
Each grabbed a buggy and headed off in separate directions with their lists. John to get toiletries and Derek to the grocery section.
John strolled down the shampoo isle tossing in shampoo and conditioner. As he turned to go up another isle he heard a sound behind him and stopped. Hoping it was Derek he turned to see a figure dart out of sight and disappear. He gave chase but it was gone. He heard footsteps as it ran to another area of the store.
“Derek!” John shouted.
John decided splitting up wasn’t such a good idea and headed off to find Derek. As he rounded a corner he stopped dead in his trac
ks. Standing in front of him were eight of the dead. He raised his weapon and fired. The first three dropped quickly. The rest advanced. He turned to run but ran face first into another. It grabbed his arm and pulled it toward its mouth. John jerked it back and hit the zombie in the face with the butt of the rifle knocking it to the floor. One of the remaining five grabbed his shirt from behind and pulled him back. He fought them off elbowing and pushing them backwards. He managed to get away from their grasp but slipped and fell.
Turning onto his back he raised his rifle. Before he could fire, a blast from behind him echoed through the store. The distinctive sound of a pump shotgun loading another shell came from beside him. He looked up to see Derek firing the shotgun from the hip. He emptied it dropping all five. Their rotting bodies flying apart. Smoke rose from the barrel of the gun. John tried to catch his breath as the ringing in his ears faded.
“Son of a bitch!” John said.
“You’re welcome,” Derek said smiling. “That was almost the end of John.”
“I had it under control,” John said.
“Well... to use your favorite word,” Derek said grinning, “right...”
“Yeah,” John said panting. “I was screwed. Maybe we should stick together.”
“Yep.”
“Where did you get the shotgun?” John said.
“Sporting goods,” Derek said. “Plenty of ammo too. We only have a couple of shot guns. A few more would be good for close in protection at the fence.”
Derek helped John to his feet. They heard footsteps behind them. They turned to see a gomer. The tag on its shirt read manager. This one looked to be in better shape than the others.
“Hey he looks fresh,” Derek said.
“My guess would be that he hid in here somewhere and only became infected in the last couple of days,” John said.
It studied them closely, raised the radio in its hand, turned it on and grunted several unintelligible words into it.
“Uh oh,” Derek said. “I think it just called security on us.”
John laughed. “No way...” he said.
The gomer turned and high stepped off to the front of the store.
They examined the zombie’s bodies on the floor closely. The putrefying innards littered the area. John kicked at one of the zombies. The arm tore partially away from the shoulder. He kicked at it again and the arm came completely off. He did the same to another with the same result.
“I think Stephanie is right,” John said. “It’s just a matter of time until they’re all dead again.”
“The question is,” Derek said. “Once they go down how long do they last. Think about it. You could be walking through the woods and get bitten by one of these things on the ground.”
“Good point,” John said.” That’s why we didn’t kill the ones at the compound. We’ll watch them for a while to determine that.”
“Lets hurry up and get the hell out of here,” Derek said.
They gathered the personal hygiene items they needed and headed to the grocery section. After filling both carts with supplies they headed back to the SUV. As they made their way past the registers, the gomer manager and his security guard stepped out in front of them and blocked their path.
“What now?” Derek said.
John tried to go around. They moved to block him. He opened his wallet and tried to give the manager money. He refused to take it. They tried going past again. This time the security guard grabbed John by the shirt. John jerked his arm away. Two shots rang out. The gomers dropped to the ground. John turned to look at Derek.
“Sorry,” Derek said. “I don’t think they were going to let us by and we don’t have time to goof around.”
“Right...” John said. “Don’t tell Amy.”
“Don’t worry.”
John thought back to the first gomer he saw. The farmer whose four wheeler he took. He remembered the gomer farmer blocking his path as he tried to ride away. John finally had to shoot him. At the time he was afraid but now he knew the farmer was probably just trying to protect his property.
When they reached the SUV, their way out was blocked by a dozen of the dead reaching through the gate.
“Great,” Derek said.
After loading the supplies, Derek got in the SUV and started the engine.
“I’ll open the gate,” John said. “Be ready.”
John unlatched the gate and pulled it open. The dead poured through. He reached the vehicle just steps ahead, got in and slammed the door shut.
The sickening sound of the zombies being squashed like bugs under the tires made them cringe as the SUV ran over anything in their way. Derek pulled into the parking lot and stopped. The mob turned to follow.
“What are you doing?” John said.
“We may as well take out as many as we can now,” Derek said.
He drove in circles blowing the horn and plowing through the zombies until most were down.
A demon emerged from the broken glass door and ran for them. Derek stopped, waited, and pressed the gas when the demon neared the back window. He drove thirty feet and stopped. The demon followed. When it was only a few feet away he pressed the gas, went thirty more feet and stopped again. The demon stumbled after them.
“Having fun?” John said looking back.
“Yep...”
When the demon reached them he took off again. This time he waited until the demon zombie was ten feet away, put the SUV in reverse and kicked it. The SUV lurched backwards and slammed into the demon who hit the back windshield face first. Its head exploded covering the glass in bloody black sludge. The body split open spilling the guts on the pavement.
John looked at Derek. “You gonna clean that off?”
Derek turned on the back windshield wiper and washer.
“Yep,” he said. “How’s that?”
The sound of a revving engine and tires squealing on pavement met their ears. When they turned around there was a truck parked in front of them. Two men jumped out and rushed the SUV. Pistols drawn.
Another man stood in the bed of the truck with a rifle resting on top of the cab.
One of the men, tall and lanky, approached the driver’s side and pointed his pistol at Derek “Put it in park,” he said.
The other man, short and balding, stood in front of the truck pointing his pistol at John.
“Um... John.”
“Relax...” John said.
The tall man standing by Derek shouted for them to get out and move to the front of the vehicle. They exited, held their hands up and walked around to the front.
“We’re just getting supplies,” John said.
“That’s our stuff you got there,” the man in the bed of the truck said.
The balding man held his gun in John’s face. He was very agitated. John thought he was probably under the influence of something.
Any other day I would beat the shit out of this guy, he thought.
“How many in your group?” the tall man said.
“Just us,” John lied. “We’re just passing through.
“Are you in the Army?” the balding man asked Derek.
“No,” he said. “We took clothes from a National Guard Armory. “We’re civilians just like you.”
“I don’t believe you,” the short man said. “We heard a helicopter this morning.”
“We heard it too,” John said. “Must be the Government.”
“Bullshit!! There is no Government,” the balding man said. “And you’re not gonna come in here and step on our turf.”
“Put your hands behind your head,” the tall man said and walked back to the truck, leaned against the hood and lit a cigarette.
John looked over at Derek and made eye contact. Each knew what the other was thinking.
The short man walked back to the truck and whispered to the other man.
The tall man turned to Derek and John. “I hate it for you dumb asses but we can’t let you leave with our stuff,” he said. “Unload it
and leave.”
“Look,” John said. “Can’t we come to some kind of deal?”
“No!” the tall man spat. “We don’t do deals.”
“If we see you again we’ll kill you!” the man said. “This is our town so leave now and don’t come back.”
John looked at Derek and made an almost imperceptible nod. Instantly both drew the M9s hidden in their waist bands and opened fire. John dropped the tall man with one shot and shot the short man in the chest. The man in the back of the truck got off one shot before Derek hit him twice. Once in the left shoulder and once in the head. The man fell dead over the cab. It was over in just a few seconds.
John approached the short man on the ground who looked over at the pistol he had dropped. It was just out of reach. The man lie on the ground gasping for air.
John looked over at Derek.
“What now?”
Derek shrugged and looked at the man. “You should have searched us... dumb ass!” he spat.
John walked to where the pistol was, pushed it over to the man with his foot, and stepped back.
“Go ahead...” he said. “End it yourself.”
The man picked up the pistol, put it to his temple for a second then tried to turn it on John and Derek. Before he could fire a single shot both men opened up. The man fell over backwards jerking with the impact of each round. Derek walked over and put another round in his head for good measure.
John noticed blood dripping from Derek’s arm and a hole in his sleeve above the elbow. “You’re hit,” he said examining the wound.
“Just a flesh wound.” Derek said.
“I didn’t even notice they got a shot off,” John said.
They retrieved a first aid kit from the SUV and wrapped the wound.
“How does that feel?” John said.
“It hurts but not too bad,” Derek said. “You’ll have to drive back.”
They got back in the vehicle. John sat for a second, looked down at the bodies then at Derek.
“I don’t know about you but I feel really stupid,” John said.
“Ditto,” Derek said. “We know better than to let our guard down...”
“Right...”
John drove out of the parking lot, entered the intersection and stopped.
“Look,” he said.
The Demon Dead: Troubled Waters Page 18