by Chesla, Gary
Rocky and Fred were always out back.
He felt so attached to the two squirrels that entertained him each morning, that he had given them names.
He always enjoyed those two so much each morning, he had never tried to shoot them with his bow.
At least not yet, not as long as the group had something else to eat.
Like his morning coffee, he would enjoy their antics for as long as he could each morning.
But this morning it seemed strange that the squirrels weren’t there.
As Tony stared out through the window, he spotted something moving near the tree line.
Tony began to relax and smile as he anticipated seeing Rocky chasing Fred out of the woods.
Rocky was the larger of the two and always did the chasing.
Tony often thought that maybe he should have named the two squirrels Rocky and Fredricka, but not knowing much about how to tell a male squirrel from a female squirrel, decided to stick with the original names for now.
Maybe if he ever saw Rocky catch Fred, that would make everything perfectly clear as to what their names should be.
As Tony studied the tree line, the smile on his face quickly disappeared as a skinny, boney leg shot out through the brush with a dark gray bare foot that landed in plain view on the grass.
When another gray leg broke through the weeds five feet to the right of the first leg, Tony quickly lifted the panel off the floor and set it back in place over the window.
He saw movement all along the tree line and decided that standing at the open window was not a good idea.
Tony forgot about his steaming hot cup of coffee.
He ran up the steps and stopped in front of Mike and Linda’s room.
He opened the door and quietly looked inside to see that Mike and Linda were still asleep.
Tony walked in and shook Mike’s shoulder.
Mike’s eyes shot open.
“We have visitors,” Tony said quietly. “I don’t know how many yet, but I thought you should get up in case we have a problem.”
“What’s going on?” Linda asked as her eyes opened and a concerned look spread over her face when she saw Tony.
“I’m not sure yet,” Tony said quietly, “I just spotted some walkers coming out into the yard from the woods out back. It might be nothing, but I think you should get up until we know what is happening.”
Mike crawled out of bed, slid his legs over the side of the bed and pulled up his jeans.
Tony retrieved Mike’s bow from the corner of the room and handed it to him.
“Let’s go over to my room,” Tony said. “We should have a better view from the windows over there.”
“Get dressed and wake up Jamie,” Mike said as he walked across the room.
“OK,” Linda answered. “I’ll get my bow and we’ll be over in a few minutes.”
“How many are out there?” Mike asked as he followed Tony out into the hall.
“I only saw two, but there seemed to be a lot of movement deeper in the woods,” Tony replied.
“I wonder where they came from?” Mike said. “We haven’t seen any walkers up here since we came here. Why now?”
“Hopefully it’s just a few locals that have been wandering around for the last month,” Tony replied. “Any other reason could spell trouble.”
Mike and Tony walked into Tony’s room.
Each of the men took up a position to the side of the two windows in the room, then slowly pulled the curtains away from the window to look down in to the back yard.
“I’ve got five of them,” Tony said quietly.
“That’s how many I see,” Mike replied as he watched the five emaciated bodies, little more than dried skin stretched over bone, dragging themselves across the yard.
“That Navy doctor had it right about the walkers rotting and falling apart,” Tony said. “I just saw an arm fall off that first one. Check out the tree line. Do you see any more in the woods?”
They quietly studied the woods for a few minutes, nervously watching the moving shadows as the breeze rustled the branches in the sun, their imagination playing tricks on them, making them see things that weren’t there.
Finally, Mike spoke.
“I don’t think there are any more in the woods,” Mike said. “I can’t say for sure, but I think those five are it.”
Linda and Jamie quietly walked into the room.
Tony turned and looked at Linda.
“Linda, go take a look out your window and see if there are any more out front,” Tony said quietly.
“I looked before we came over,” Linda replied quietly. “There isn’t anything out front.”
Mike looked out the window, then at Tony,” Should we just let them wander away?”
“No, I think we need to take them out,” Tony replied. “I don’t want them coming back and surprising us or leading any more of those things back to the house. Let’s open the windows quietly. You take the first one on the right and work your way back. I’ll take the last one on the left and work towards the front. I think we can do this quickly before they know what’s going on. Just remember, headshots only.”
“Headshots, I’ll try,” Mike replied.
“You can do it,” Tony said. “Just take a deep breath and let out the air as you pull the trigger. Hey, you got a rabbit the other day.”
“Yeah, but I was aiming for the deer on the other side of the tree,” Mike grinned.
Holding her crossbow in one hand and Jamie’s arm with her other hand, Linda drifted over behind Mike so she could see out into the back yard.
Tony shot first, putting an arrow into the side of the skull of last walker.
The body crumbled to the ground.
Tony took out the second walker in the same manner.
Mike shot at the first walker but missed, his arrow dug into the ground ten feet behind the first walker.
“Shit,” Mike whispered.
Mommy, Daddy said a bad word,” Jamie said looking up at Linda.
Linda put her finger up to her lips as she looked down at Jamie.
Tony took out the third walker as Mike reloaded.
“Maybe I should just let you do this,” Mile sighed.
Tony shot the fourth walker in the head.
“This will be good practice for you,” Tony replied. “Fortunately, we haven’t had to do much of this kind of thing. Take your time and try it again. I’ll be ready in case it tries to call out. If these few are a sign of things to come, we might find ourselves in this position again real soon. This will make you feel more confident next time.”
Mike took a deep breath and let his arrow fly.
This time it hit the walker in the back of the head, dropping the body on the spot.
“Good shot,” Tony said.
“I knew you could do it,” Linda said, squeezing Mike’s shoulder.
“The next thing I know, you’ll be putting a gold star on my forehead,” Mike grinned as he looked back at Linda.
“I like gold stars,” Jamie added.
Mike smiled at Jamie and replied, “Me too, but I don’t think I’ll ever have as many as you.”
A big grin spread across Jamie’s face.
“How about keeping an eye on the woods for a few minutes while I go get my coffee before it gets cold?” Tony asked. “When we’re sure it’s clear, we can go get rid of the bodies. Can I bring anyone else anything?”
“I want a beef jerky,” Jamie piped up.
“I could use some coffee too,” Mike added.
Linda laughed, “Maybe I should go with you. I think you are going to need some extra hands.”
Mike pulled a chair next to the window and sat down as Tony and Linda went down stairs.
No sooner had he got seated, Jamie crawled up on his lap and looked out the window.
She stared out at the bodies for a few seconds then looked at Mike.
“Are those the zombies you and Mommy told me about?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Mike replied.
“Why did you call them walkers if they are zombies?” Jamie asked again.
“It’s just another word for zombies,” Mike replied then asked. “And what do you do if you see a zombie?”
“I come get you,” Jamie smiled.
“And what do you do if you can’t find me?” Mike asked.
“I go get Mommy,” Jamie smiled.
“And if you can’t find Mommy?” Mike asked.
“I come find you,” Jamie replied.
Mike smiled then rephrased the question, “and if you can’t find me or Mommy?”
“I go find Tony,” Jamie replied.
“And if you can’t find any of us,” Mike asked.
“I go hide under the bed with George,” Jamie smiled, “cause zombies are bad and they will hurt me and George.”
“Good,” Mike said.
“I don’t understand why the zombies don’t go away when you tell them to leave?” Jamie said seriously.
“Because they are bad and don’t listen to anyone,” Mike replied.
“That’s when you shoot them, right?” Jamie asked.
Mike nodded.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” Jamie asked. “Maybe if you tell them you are going to shoot them they will listen because it is going to hurt?”
“They still won’t listen,” Mike said.
“Why not?” Jamie asked.
“I guess because they don’t feel anything. You can’t hurt a zombie, they can’t feel pain,” Mike replied. “That and they are very sick and don’t know what they are doing.”
“Why not?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know,” Mike replied. “All I know is there are a lot of zombies and bad people out there and we have to watch for them so they don’t hurt us.”
“If George gets sick and becomes a zombie, do we have to shoot him because I know he won’t listen?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t think kittens can get sick and become zombies,” Mike replied.
“Really?” Jamie asked.
Mike smiled, “Really.”
Jamie jumped down off Mike’s lap and started running towards the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” Mike asked.
“I’m going to go tell George he can come out from under the bed now,” Jamie replied. “He was afraid you were going to shoot him.”
Mike grinned as Jamie ran down the hallway.
He and Linda had tried to tell Jamie about zombies and how the world was now, but sometimes he wasn’t sure how much they had accomplished.
A three and half year old definitely had a different view of the world to start with than he and Linda had.
Finding common points of reference was difficult.
But maybe he had accomplished more than he thought, after all in a three-year old’s world, there were monsters hiding under the bed. That wasn’t too much different than what the real world was like now.
He was sure that Jamie didn’t really understand what zombies were, but as long as she understood that they were something to avoid, that would do for now.
She would one day soon, understand the horrible grisly truth.
Linda and Tony walked back into the room and Linda handed Mike a cup of coffee.
“Where is Jamie?” Linda asked looking around the room.
“She went to tell George that is was safe to come out from under the bed,” Mike smiled, “and that I said that I wouldn’t shoot him.”
“Why were you going to shoot George?” Linda laughed.
“In case he became a zombie,” Mike replied. “It’s a long story.”
“Oh, you and Jamie had another zombie talk,” Linda said.
“Yeah,” Mike smiled. “I think some of what we have been telling her is sinking in, but I think we need to have the talk with George now too.”
Linda laughed as Mike took a sip of his coffee and stared out the window.
“Still quiet out back?” Tony asked.
“So far,” Mike replied. “I think you were right. They were probably just a few of the locals that had become zombies before and just now wandered out this way.”
“I hope so, if nothing else it was a good wake up call,” Tony said. “We’ve been getting to be too comfortable and careless. We need to remember where we are and stay alert before something serious happens.”
“Yeah, Jamie was playing out there with George just yesterday,” Linda said. “It scares the hell out of me to think those things could have showed up with her out there.”
“We’ve been lucky that the walkers don’t like to go up hills,” Mike said. “This or worse could have been a daily occurrence over the last month.”
“I wonder what it is like back home now after all this time?” Linda asked. “The radio said that the zombies are starting to die out. Those things out in the back yard looked to be in a lot worse shape than the ones that attacked our house.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Tony said. “I think we need to go out and find out. It’s been safe here, but a few things are starting to bother me about all of this.”
“The radio said we are to stay put,” Linda replied. “They will let us know when it is safe to move around again.”
“The radio also said we would get help,” Tony replied, “and we haven’t received any help yet.”
“Are you saying you don’t believe Doctor Kennedy?” Mike asked. “Do you think this is some kind of trick and they want us to stay put so they know where we are?”
“No, I’m pretty sure the guy is being straight with us,” Tony replied. “But I’ve been thinking about this whole situation. I was in some tight situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we reported our situation, we were told when we would get help or we were told that they couldn’t help, and that we were on our own. I never got this ‘be patient, we’ll let you know’, run around from command.”
“Do you think this guy isn’t with the military?” Mike asked.
“I’m sure he’s with the Navy,” Tony replied. “I can hear it in how he talks, but what I’ve been wondering about is, how much of the military command structure is left? Of all the things he’s told us over the last month, he hasn’t said one word about any military operations to destroy the walkers or to rescue any survivors.
If the military was functioning as usual, they would be out trying to destroy the walkers and take back territory and maybe create safe zones where the survivors could go.
We haven’t heard one word about what the military is doing, which tells me something’s not right.
When this virus began to spread, it spread fast. The doctor said as much in his talks and we saw how fast it spread here in this area.
It destroyed the cities and everything in its path.
I’m wondering if it didn’t take out the military with it?”
“Not the military,” Mike replied. “They have every sort of weapon imaginable. They would have been able to fight off the walkers.”
“Soldiers are people just like everyone else,” Tony replied. “They get sick just like everyone else. What if this virus did to the military what it did to the cities and the rest of us. Remember, the old man told us the more people there were the faster this thing spread. Military bases are like small cities. I can imagine what would have happened if a few men on a base contracted this virus. Look what it did to Johnstown, Cherry Tree and all those other towns we had to go through to get home. It did all of that in only a few days. Way too fast for anyone to have much of a chance against it.”
“So, you don’t think this doctor is telling us the whole truth about what is going on?” Linda asked.
“That and I’m just wondering if he can deliver on what he is promising,” Tony replied. “I’ve heard rumors over the years about a dooms day vault in the mountains. There was never anything to confirm that it actually existed, but if it did exist, it was supposed to be somewhere out west in the Rockies.
Let’s say a few soldiers were able
to survive the virus and managed to find this vault. How are a few soldiers, clear out in the Rockies somewhere, going to be able to help us out here on the east coast?”
“Are you saying we’re not going to be getting any help?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know what I am saying,” Tony sighed. “I was in the Marines for six years and this just doesn’t sound like how the military works. I hope help is coming, but I just guess what I am saying is that I think we have to be prepared to face the fact that we may be on our own. I’m sure this doctor is a good man. He has given us a lot of useful information and those emaciated bodies out back verify what he told us about what is happening to them. But if I’m right, or even partially right, we could be on our own for a very long time. If we don’t take steps to survive on our own, if help does come, we may not be here to see it. A hell of a lot can happen between now and the time when we might get any help. I’m just saying we need to consider this.
I hope to hell this guy can do everything he says he is going to do, but as a Marine I was taught to improvise and survive. My training is telling me that just sitting here is not going to help us to survive. In fact, it could be the worst thing we could be doing.”
“I see what you are saying,” Mike nodded. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to prepare for the worst-case scenario here while we wait for help to arrive. What do you suggest?”
“Well, I think we’ve been getting lazy and careless,” Tony replied. “We’ve stopped posting a guard to watch for any signs of danger. We’ve been hunting for food and have eaten well the last few weeks, but what if we were trapped in this house for a couple of weeks? We’ve let our supplies get too low.
I’m not saying we need to move on, we have it nice here.
For now, I can’t think of any reason that we would want to leave. I’m saying we need to stock up enough supplies to hold up in here for a few weeks if we had to.
We need to scout out the area and make sure we know what is going on around us.