I thought about my father and wondered where he was.
“Hard to believe, ain’t it?” Jim asked, his voice shattering the peace of the pre-dawn.
I had my hand on my pistol before I even realized it. My heart hammered in my chest. “You need to seriously stop doing that.” I said, regaining my composure. I didn’t bother turning to look at him. I heard him chuckle.
“Yeah, it is hard to believe.” I finally answered him. “Can’t sleep?” Jim asked.
I shook my head. “Got any plans for the day?” I asked him.
“Yep. I’m going to go find me some materials and make me a porch swing.” Jim replied.
I smiled. Chloe finally spotted the owl in the tree and her ears went up. She whined and looked at me for approval so she could bark at it. I ignored her. The owl had finally had enough of us and flew off. We watched it disappear into the twilight blue sky.
True to his word, early this afternoon, Jim started building a porch swing with some boards and planks he found out in the barn. Albert was servicing our vehicles and changing the oil. Alison was helping him and learning about mechanics. Marion has decided that the mind is a terrible thing to waste, and started home schooling Grace and Cody (they are not pleased).
I spent the afternoon unpacking my treasured books and reverently placing them on the bookshelf in the living room. There are some books here already. They are mostly reference books and gun digests (definitely my father’s editions).
Around 2 p.m., I heard a faint repetitive sound off in the distance. I went out onto the porch to listen. Jim and Albert joined me. It was a knocking sound. For a moment, I got a chill thinking about the creatures at the bunker and their wood knocking. Then I finally recognized it.
Someone was chopping wood.
We determined it was coming from the north somewhere over the rise of a hill. I remembered that a family named Goddard lived over on the next property. Jim came out of the house with his lever-action rifle in hand. He had my carbine and my ammo bag and handed them to me.
“Shall we?” he asked.
I nodded. I looked at Albert. He nodded, letting me know he’d keep an eye on things. Jim and I walked across the grassy field toward the sound. Chloe trotted along with us, dashing out to investigate something and then returning to my side.
Our destination was a little less than a mile away. As we approached the Goddard’s home, we stopped on the driveway in plain sight. We didn’t see anyone outside. I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Jim solved the problem and yelled out.
“Hello the house.” he bellowed.
There was nothing but silence for a minute and then, from the side of the shed, we heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun action being pumped.
Neither of us moved. Chloe’s hackles went up and she started growling. I snapped my fingers to quiet her.
“What do you want?” a gruff voice asked.
“Now that ain’t very polite.” Jim drawled. “We’re your neighbors, so we thought we’d come make a social call.”
I slowly looked over as Bill Goddard walked up to us. I hadn’t seen him since I was a kid. He hadn’t changed a bit; still stooped over and wrinkled as a prune. He had fire though, and used to scare the hell out of me.
He looked me over and then said, “You’re Dennis’ kid.” It was a statement, not a question.
I nodded.
He spit something onto the ground and then continued.
“Well, look who grew up all straight and tall.” he commented. He lowered his weapon. Chloe liked him right away and walked up to sniff him. He scratched her ears and looked around to see if we were alone.
“It was the damn wood chopping that got your attention, wasn’t it?” Goddard asked. Jim nodded to him.
Bill cursed, mumbling that next time he’d be better off freezing. “Your dad back yet?” Bill asked.
At the mention of my father, I could feel my heart skip. I asked him if he knew where my dad was. He told us that my father had left about a week ago and said he didn’t know when he’d be back.
“He figured you’d show up, though.” Bill finished.
He stepped forward and offered Jim his hand, introducing himself. I wanted to throttle both of them. They were introducing themselves and jawing with each other, while my dad was out in a world full of zombies, for God only knew what reasons.
“Where’s my father at, Goddard?” I snapped. Bill looked at his feet.
“Ah, hell. He didn’t want me to tell ya, ‘cause he figured you wouldn’t stay put until he got back. He wants you to stay at the farm.” Goddard explained.
I continued to glare at Bill. He ran his hand through his thinning hair and studied me.
“My granddaughter, she’s twenty six now. Well she’s got herself a ham radio upstairs. Couple weeks ago, she picked up a signal from some college kids up in Corvallis. They said they was trapped in a building and calling for help. Your dad, well, you know what he’s like. He decided to go up there and try to help them. That was about a week ago. We ain’t heard nothing since.” he explained.
I thought about it and then thanked Bill for the information. We talked about the plague, and about the conditions in the area. Bill held out under a siege from some bikers a couple months ago. He lost his son in the battle. He’d killed his fair share of looters and plague victims, but they were less and less nowadays.
We told him there were seven of us and that we were planning on staying. Bill nodded at that and didn’t press us for details.
We decided it was time to get back. We let him know the walkie-talkie frequency we operated on and told him to call us if he needed anything. As we walked back down the driveway, I stopped and turned back to Bill.
“You said your granddaughter is twenty-six? Is she single?” I asked. Goddard raised his eyebrow at me and then nodded.
“She’s into ham radios, huh? What’s her name?” I asked.
“Jenny. She’s a proper girl, so don’t you get no ideas.” Bill warned. I smiled and walked away.
After we had gone a few hundred feet, Jim said, “Albert’s sure going to be interested in hearing about Jenny…You are going to mention her to him, right?”
“I’m thinking about it.” I said. Jim grinned.
Tonight we all played Monopoly. I feel guilty about being normal. Alison and I were intimate again for the first time in weeks. Afterwards, she asked me how long I planned on living in sin with her. I was surprised that I didn’t jump out of my skin and bolt for the door when she said it. Instead, I told her that if she found someone who could perform the ceremony I’d consider it. When she gave me an evil grin, I started to get scared.
On a side note, I’m pretty sure Albert’s going to get himself shot by Bill Goddard. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything to him about Jenny.
DAY 100
I have been awake all night.
My mind has been thinking about something drastic. I know I shouldn’t be considering this course of action, but I also know that if I don’t do this, I will never be able to live with myself.
I am going over to Bill Goddard’s place to get more information. I will return soon.
This will be my last entry for a while.
Coincidentally, this is my one hundredth entry and also the last two pages of this journal. I have made my decision. I am going north to find my father. I sat everyone down this morning after I got back from the Goddard place and told them my intentions. I made it clear to them that I am going alone. Albert and Alison protested the most, but I was adamant with them.
My companions have all endured enough already and deserve the peace that this place can offer them. I will not put them in any further danger needlessly.
Bill Goddard told me that my dad was headed up to the college in Corvallis and planned on taking Route 99 to get there. His granddaughter Jenny gave me
the radio frequency my father is tuned to (Albert’s going to crap himself when he sees that Jenny is smoking hot, by the way).
I am taking the Land Rover and have packed enough food, supplies, and more than enough weapons and ammunition to last me twelve days (I hope I won’t be gone that long, but I am not coming back without my dad).
Chloe can sense that I am going somewhere, and she has been sticking to me like glue. Jim convinced me that I should take her with me, as she is a good early warning system and will serve as an extra pair of eyes and ears. I am reluctant to take her, but I also know that she is too stupid to stay here where it’s safe and would just mope and whine if I left her, so she is coming with me.
I am terrified to do this. Goddard told me that there are reports that the area I’m going to is overrun with the undead. I want to strangle my father for going up there to be a hero. Things would have been so much better if he had stayed here where it is safe. Then again, I guess he wouldn’t be my father if he hadn’t gone to help.
Alison is downstairs crying right now. I feel pretty shitty that I am leaving her, but I have to do this. I love her. I love all of these people who have become my family. I don’t know if I will make it through this, but at least I know that everyone here will take care of each other and have a chance to live.
The Rover is loaded and I am as ready as I will ever be.
So I guess this is it…for now
100 Days of Death Page 34