Lakeland 44 miles
Orlando 89 miles
The highway is eerily empty for miles. As we are driving down the highway we finally see more cars. We aren’t the only cars on the road. Cars are going in both directions. I hear someone or something coming up very fast behind us. We are passed by a silver sports car. The car must be doing 125 miles per hour. As the car passes us. Phil sees the license plate. It reads CAN'T C ME.
Phil says, "Can't C Me? What a douche."
The I-4 East Highway is clear with occasional cars and vehicles in the shoulder and off to the side. Lauren and I have lived in Florida for around 12 years now. We have been on this same highway countless times. Part of me always thinks of good memories with Lauren as I drive down I-4. We always went to theme parks, met friends in Orlando, or just enjoyed going to different conventions in and around Orlando. I can’t believe that is all done now. I am still having trouble with accepting that the world is ending and is forever changed. Part of me wishes this to be a bad dream and that I will wake up next to Lauren in bed on a normal day.
“You alive back their Ry?” asks Phil over the radio.
I reply, “Yeah, Lauren and I are doing well back here.”
Kim says to Phil, "The exit we need to take is 27. You might want to let them know what exit we will be taking."
Phil says to me over the radio, “We just passed exit 15. We need to take exit 27. When we are closer, I will let you know.”
I reply, “Thanks, you got it.”
As I’m driving down the road, I can’t help but look at Lauren who is looking out the passenger side window. She looks to be nervous and anxious. I have been married to Lauren for 10 years now. I know when she is happy, mad, sad, and almost every emotion a person can have. Lauren wears her emotions on her sleeve. For the most part, she is a fun loving and happy person. Except when she gets mad. She either gets very loud and shouts or she gets quiet.
A great thing about Lauren is that she gets over things quickly and doesn’t let an argument or problem bother her for more than a couple minutes. She always wants to resolve the problem and move on. I truly love that about her and hopefully she can keep the mindset when problems arise in this new world.
We come up to a sign that reads:
Exit 27 1 mile
Phil says of the radio, “Our exit is next. Exit 27.”
Phil stays in the right-hand lane and drives towards exit 27. We follow behind him, but leave him some room in case he needs to stop suddenly. We get off on the exit ramp, but need to drive carefully and cautiously as a pile of cars are blocking half of the exit lanes. We drive around the wreckage and make a left turn at the light. The streets look to be deserted and the street lights aren’t working. The streets around Kim’s parents’ house are far more blocked and cluttered with cars and trucks than in Tampa.
Phil grabs the radio and says, "Kim just told me that we are close to her parent's house. I see a blocked path on the road up ahead. I'm going to clear the path. Sit back for a second and let me clear it first."
I reply, "No problem, do your thing. I'll sit back and let you clear it out."
Phil hands the radio to Kim and pushes down on the gas pedal with his right foot. Phil doesn’t need to drive fast to clear the cars in the road but he enjoys speeding straight through anything that is blocking the road.
Phil says, "I always wanted to do this.”
Phil is driving straight for a pile of three cars that is blocking the road. We are unable to drive around the cars as the ground next to the road looks to be soaked and may cause our vehicles to get stuck. Several zombies are stuck between the cars and one is in the windshield of a car. This clearly was a car accident that killed several people.
Phil comes up on the cars and plows right through the piled-up cars. The cars push out of the way, zombie bodies and limbs fly all over the place. As Phil drives through the cars, I can’t help but to picture the scene out of an action movie where they are having a car chase scene.
"All clear," Phil says to me on the radio.
I drive up the newly cleared road thanks to Phil and his bulldozing SUV. Zombie blood, arms, and legs are scattered on the side of road. We make a right turn onto a back road. The street is secluded and tucked away from the main road. Phil pulls into a gravel driveway of a white house with a black roof. As I pull in the driveway behind Phil I hear a gunshot. Three more gunshots fly past the cars and hit trees in the front yard. Either the shooters can’t aim for crap or they missed the vehicles on purpose.
"Get the hell out of here, you pigs!"
I try to see where the shots and voices came from, but don’t see anyone.
"I'm not going to tell you again!"
Kim opens the SUV door and yells out, "Dave and Billy?"
"Kimbo?" shout the men.
"Yeah, it's me Kimbo," replies Kim.
I look at Lauren and say, “Kimbo?"
Kim exits the SUV. Two men come out of hiding and run to Kim. The two men and Kim hug. The men were hiding up in a tree next to the house.
"These are my brothers Dave and Billy," says Kim as she turns to address us as we sit in the vehicles.
Dave and Billy are what you would expect two southern country survivalist hunters to look like. Dave is a short overweight guy that has an overgrown red beard. Dave and Billy both are wearing hunting gear. Dave has a bright orange John Beer hat on and Billy has some forest hunting camouflage gear on. Billy is a tall skinny clean shaven guy. Both men seem to like the hunting look and lifestyle.
We all get out the vehicles and go to up to Dave and Billy.
"We almost shot you. We thought you were cops," shouts Dave.
"You ain't cops, are ya?" asks Billy.
"Stop it guys, leave them alone. They saved me," says Kim.
"C'mon in guys," demands Kim.
We all walk through the front door inside Kim's parents’ house. Once inside, I can't help but to examine the house, the rooms, and its surroundings. The house is a small single family home. Most likely a three bedroom two-bathroom house. It seems like a cramped fit for all of Kim’s family members to be living in this one house. The house couldn't be more than 1300 square feet. We end up going into the living room. The walls of the living room are filled with the animal heads of deer. As we enter the living room, we are greeted by Kim's mother Judy.
She gives me a big hug and says, “Welcome, sit down, and relax.”
She is very welcoming and inviting with her southern charm. Judy is a middle aged, short stocky woman, that is wearing glasses a red flannel shirt and some blue jeans.
"Can I get you something to drink?" asks Judy.
"No thank you," we all reply.
Phil, Lauren, and myself are ready to get back on the road to Orlando, as soon as we entered the home. I don’t want to waste any more time getting to Nicole’s house. The longer we take to find Nicole, the greater risk we pose to finding her alive and safe.
"Where is pop?" asks Kim.
Judy replies, “He is in our bedroom.”
Kim runs to the back bedroom to find her dad sick and struggling to breathe. Her father is alive, but not doing very well. He is lying down in the bed and having oxygen supplied to him through his nose by a nasal cannula.
"Kim's father is very ill, but he is too stubborn to go to a hospital. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer several months ago, I guess that is what a lifetime of smoking gets ya," says Judy.
"I'm sorry to hear that," says Lauren.
We hear Kim crying and sobbing as she looks at her father in the bed. Kim is upset at the sight of seeing him so sick and lying in his bed hooked to a portable oxygen machine. I’m not sure of the relationship that Kim has with her father, but it’s obvious that she loves him and doesn’t want him to be struggling this much.
Kim looks at her dying father and says, “I’m sorry pop. Sorry I haven’t seen you in a long time. Sorry you must go through all this and sorry it hasn’t ended sooner. No one should have to deal
with all this like you have.”
Dave and Billy look at us from the kitchen as they are sitting in kitchen chairs. They have this glaring stare at us like they want to say something. I can feel the tension from Dave and Billy as I sit on the sofa between Phil and Lauren.
"Why are you with my sister? Where is her husband?" asks Dave.
I reply, "Steve didn’t make it. We are going to Orlando and Kim told us that you lived here. We offered to bring her here, so that she could be with her family. It was on the way anyway, and we wanted to help our neighbor out. We didn’t want to leave her behind all by herself."
"What is in Orlando?" asks Judy.
Phil replies, "Our friend’s family that we need to go check on."
"I hear Orlando was overrun, especially with all the tourists and theme parks. When this virus spread, it spread fast. Orlando would be one of the last places I would go," says Billy.
I reply, "Thanks for the information."
I turn to Phil and Lauren and say, “Let’s get Kim's stuff out of the SUV and get back on the road.”
As soon as I finish that statement, Lauren is already walking towards the front door. Phil follows her, and they go out the front door to our vehicles.
I say to Judy, "We are going to get Kim's belongings and get out of your hair."
"Stay for as long as you like," says Judy.
I feel the piercing eyes of Dave and Billy still staring at me as they’re sitting in the kitchen and drinking a couple of beers. Since entering the house I have felt this weird mix of feeling welcomed by Judy and not welcomed by Dave and Billy. I don’t feel scared of Dave and Billy, but a sense that they don’t want us here.
Phil and Lauren come back into the house with Kim's bags.
Kim has been nonstop crying since she saw her father. She starts pacing in the room. She sees a hunting knife on top of the dresser. She looks at the knife and looks back at her father. She is overcome by the feeling that she wants to end her dad’s suffering. She reaches for the knife on top of the dresser. She grabs the knife and takes it out of its holder. She looks at the knife and start to cry.
Kim is torn with what to do as she doesn’t want to kill her father, but feels that he will be in a better place if she does. She raises the knife above her father’s head. Her father has his eyes closed and looks to be in a peaceful sleep. Kim thinks about what she is about to do and stops herself. She lowers the knife and puts its back in its holder.
I shout to Kim, "Kim we are leaving."
Kim puts the knife back in its holder and down on the bedside table. She kisses her dad on the forehead and comes out of the back bedroom.
As Kim walks to over to me, I notice that Kim is very upset and I feel bad for her.
I make eye contact with Kim and ask, “Are you okay Kim?”
Kim replies with tears in her eyes, “Yeah. I’ll be okay. I just don’t want my dad to keep suffering like this.”
Judy interrupts, “We don’t want him to suffer any more either but it’s not his time to go yet.”
Judy sees that Kim is upset and gives her a big hug.
A loud noise is heard in the back bedroom followed by a bunch of loud coughs. Kim’s father is having complications. He sounds to be coughing and struggling to breath.
Kim runs in the back bedroom to check on her father. I follow her to the back bedroom and find her father has blood all over his chest. Kim runs over to her father.
I shout, “Don’t touch the blood.”
Kim freezes in her tracks and checks her father for a carotid pulse on his right wrist. As Kim is checking for a pulse, I visually inspect her father to see if he is showing any signs that he is still alive. His chest is not showing signs that he is breathing and he is very pale.
Kim shouts, “I don’t feel a pulse.”
I walk over to Kim and try to find a pulse on her father’s wrist and neck, but don’t find anything.
Kim’s brothers and mother have entered the room now. Kim starts to cry. I remove the nasal cannula and examine her father. There is a good amount of fluid and blood on his chest. He must have suffocated on the fluid and blood in his lungs. I see that his eyes are starting to turn cloudy. I am shocked to see what his eyes are doing. Almost like his eyes are starting to fog up.
I turn to Judy and say, “I’m sorry for your loss, but he hopefully is in a better place now.”
Judy replies, “Thank you Ryan. Tim was a great man and we all will miss him.”
Dave and Billy start to cry. They feel sad that they lost their father but feel that he is in a better place. As I’m looking at Kim, Dave, Billy, and Judy, I hear Tim make a noise. Kim is shocked that her father just made a noise and leans in closer to him. Dave, Billy, and Judy hope that Tim is still alive. Tim makes a louder groan.
Kim says, “What was that pop?”
Kim leans in closer to her father’s mouth. Tim’s right hand grabs Kim’s hair and he tries to bite Kim in the face. Judy screams. Kim tries to stop her father from biting her. Tim has turned into a zombie. I see the knife sitting on the bedside table. I take the knife out of the holder. Kim is frantically trying to push her father away from her, but he keeps a firm hold of her hair and Kim can’t get away. I grab Tim by the top of the head and jab the knife into Tim’s right temporal lobe of his brain. Tim immediately let’s go of Kim and goes limp.
Kim hugs me and says, “Thank you. I was so scared that he was going to bite me.”
I reply, “You are safe now. Don’t worry. I’m sorry that I had to kill him though.”
Judy is thankful that I saved Kim, but Dave and Billy see it differently.
Billy shouts, “You killed my father.”
Dave tries to move towards me in the crowded bedroom. He wants to attack me. Dave also thinks that I killed his father. Judy tries to stop Dave but Dave is too big of a man for her to fully stop. Dave is ready to punch me but Kim gets between Dave and me.
“He killed our father,” shouts Dave.
“No, he didn’t. He saved my life. Pop was dead and came back as a zombie,” shouts Kim.
Dave seems to still be pissed but is starting to understand what happened. Kim looks at Dave and Billy. She feels that they still don’t understand what just happened with their father.
Kim looks at Dave and Billy and says, “Ryan saved my life. Our father died and came back as a zombie, without Ryan stepping in. I would have been bitten and become a zombie.”
David and Billy seem to understand now and don’t want to kill me. Judy looks at her dead husband. She is very upset and doesn’t want to look at him in this condition.
Judy says, “Billy and Dave. We need to bury your father in the backyard. Please go dig a grave for him.”
Dave and Billy reply, “Yes momma.”
Dave and Billy exit the bedroom and go outside to the backyard. Phil and Lauren enter the bedroom and are shocked what they find. Lauren looks at me and sees that I’m okay. Phil checks out the room and sees what happened with Tim.
Phil says, “You okay Ryan?”
I reply, “Yeah, I’m okay. We have to help them with Tim’s body.”
I walk past Kim and Judy and exit the bedroom. I go into the bathroom and wash my hands. Lauren comes in the bathroom to see if I’m okay.
As I’m washing my hands and face, Lauren asks, “You okay honey?”
I finish washing my face and use a towel to dry my hands and face. I feel good about what happened. I’m not happy that I had to stab Tim, but I’m glad that I could save Kim.
I look at Lauren and say, “I’m okay. Just glad I could help them. Tim died from suffocating on fluid and blood in his lungs. He then came back to life as a zombie. I’m guessing this virus attacks people and brings them back to life when they are dead. You don’t even need to get bitten to get it.”
Lauren replies, “You serious? That is terrible news.”
“I don’t know for sure but we will have to keep a note that if people die, no matter if they are bitten by a zombie or
not, they might be coming back as a zombie,” I say to Lauren.
Dave and Billy finish digging a grave for their father in the backyard. They come back in the house and ask Judy what to do next. Judy tells them to pick up their father and place him in the grave. Dave and Billy go into the bedroom, wrap a sheet over Tim and they carry him from the bedroom to the back door of the house. Phil opens the door. Dave and Billy are crying as they carry their father’s body to his grave. Dave and Billy place Tim’s body into the grave. They pick up the shovels and start to cover Tim’s body with dirt.
It’s a sad sight to see Dave and Billy burying their father, but I’m sure we will see it many times in this new world. Kim and Judy meet Dave and Billy by Tim’s grave. Billy puts the last shovel of dirt on the grave. Kim and her family pray for their father and share a couple of words before coming back into the house.
Kim and her family meet Phil, Lauren, and myself in the kitchen. There is an awkward silence in the room. I understand the awkwardness but don’t know how to remove it. I feel that the best thing for us to do is to give Kim and her family some family time.
I say to Phil and Lauren, “You guys okay? Whenever you are ready we should get going to Orlando.”
Kim says, “You guys should get going. You don’t want to be driving too late and in the dark.”
I reply, “You are right Kim, we should get on our way.”
I feel bad leaving but there is nothing else we can do for Kim and her family. We need to get on the move to check on Nicole. I thank Judy and Kim for letting us in to their home and feel bad for their loss of Tim. Lauren, Phil and I say our goodbyes to Kim and her family. We exit the kitchen and walk towards the front door of the house.
As we exit the house, I feel relieved to be leaving this situation and Kim’s family. I hope that Kim and her family will be safe but am ready to leave Kim and make our way to Orlando. Our sole purpose of the trip was to bring Kim to her family. We did that and more.
Phil and I start walking towards the vehicles.
Fight 4 Us (Book 1): The Beginning Page 9