Zombie Civilization: Exodus (Zombie Civilization Saga Book 2)

by Steven Ehrman

  “Okay, then it’s your baby,” said Billy.

  Penny climbed in the drivers seat and Rose insisted on climbing over her and sitting beside her. With a grin Penny turned the ignition and the engine immediately came to life. The group broke out in a small cheer and Penny revved the engine repeatedly.

  “What’s the gas situation?” shouted Billy over the roar of the engine.

  “She’s on full,” came the reply.

  Penny goosed the engine several more times and then shut it off.

  “I’d hate to survive all this time and then die of carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said, as she and Rose climbed from the cab.

  “Let’s do one more quick run through the upstairs and see if there’s any usable equipment we might need,” said Billy. “I’ve already got my eye on a couple of axes.”

  There were two heavy-duty fire axes on the back bench and Billy quickly stored them in the back of the truck. Then he and the others made their way up the stairs and began rooting through what had been left by the previous tenants. Jude found some small cereal boxes and handed them to Rose. She quietly began munching on them without a word. Penny was looking in the rest of the lockers when they heard Billy cry out in joy.

  “Now this is a gun,” he said, brandishing a large revolver he pulled from a desk he was searching.

  “Cool,” Penny said. “Another gun will come in handy for sure.”

  “My dear girl, this is not just another gun. This is a .357 Magnum. The most powerful in the world and would blow a zombie’s head clean off. So the zombies gotta ask themselves one question. Do they feel lucky?” Billy cackled as he finished.

  “What in the world is he talking about?” asked a puzzled Penny looking towards Jude.

  “It’s a line from Dirty Harry and it was a .44 Magnum not a .357,” explained Jude.

  “Really?” said a disappointed Billy. “I would have sworn it was the .357.”

  “Well first off, don’t swear,” smiled Jude. “And secondly, I’m positive it was the .44 Mag. Any ammo with it?”

  Billy looked back through the desk, but found nothing else. He flipped the cylinder out of the Magnum and found it was fully loaded.

  “No extras, but its got six ready to fire. Sure do wish it was a .44 though,” said Billy.

  “We’re better off,” replied Jude as he slapped his friend on the shoulder. “That .357 can use .38 ammo and we got over fifty rounds of those now. It won’t have the stopping power of a .357 without the .357 ammo, but it makes it more flexible.”

  “I didn’t think you could fire a .357 round in a .38.”

  “You can’t,” explained Jude. “But you can use a .38 round in the .357.”

  “Okay, is this an ‘all chickens are birds, but not all birds are chickens’ thing?” asked Billy.

  “Exactly, grasshopper,” replied Jude.

  Jude and Billy were grinning at each other when they became aware that Penny was tapping her foot.

  “Are you two about finished?” she asked. “Because we’d like to get a move on. I can read some NRA literature if I want a lecture on ammunition and muzzle velocity and whatnot.”

  “I get it,” said Billy. “Well in thanks for your patience, I would like to present you with this parting gift.”

  He pulled his .38 revolver out of his waistband and handed it to her.

  “You’ve already proven you know which one is the dangerous end. You take that and I’ll stick with the Magnum. It’s got the extra kick I like, at least for the next six shots, and maybe we can track down some more ammo. Man, if Harley and Turk hit the jackpot we are gonna be one mean machine!”

  “Well before you guys start dumping Gatorade all over each other, maybe we should get going, but thanks for the gun. It feels good,” she said, feeling the weight of it. “This is one set of sisters that is not going to take any crap from anyone. Right, little sister?”

  Rose nodded and clutched her sister’s shirt and gave a blank stare to Billy and Jude. Billy cleared his throat.

  “Well then if we’re all agreed,” he said. “Then I say we start this thing. Let’s do it.”

  He and Jude began walking towards the stairs when they realized the girls were not following. They stopped and Billy looked at Penny with impatience.

  “You were the one who said it was time to go. What’s the matter?”

  “Seriously?” asked Penny. “You are really going to use the stairs?”

  “What else?” asked Billy.

  In answer Penny stepped aside and pointed to the fireman’s pole.

  There was a brief moment of silence and then Jude burst out.

  “Oh my God, she’s right. We have got to use the pole. How many times in a guy’s life does he get the chance? I mean unless you are a fireman.”

  “That’s firefighter,” corrected Penny.

  “Well whatever it is, I agree,” said Billy.

  He stepped forward, gripped the pole with one hand and crooked his elbow around it with the other. He leaped onto it and grabbed with his legs and disappeared through the opening. He hit the cement floor harder than he expected and looked up to see Jude coming down the pole almost on top of him. Billy sprang away and Jude made a perfect two-point landing and bowed with a flourish.

  “You almost took my head off, you big goof,” scolded Billy.

  “Sorry, buddy. It just looked like too much fun to wait any longer.”

  Next came Rose. The young girl was so light she looked as though she was floating in the air and alit from the pole with a skip. She had a huge smile on her face for the first time since the guys had met her. As soon as she realized they were watching, the mask came back on and she regained her usual blank expression. Penny came last and as soon as she hit the floor her sister ran to her side.

  “That was pretty cool,” said Penny. “One more time?”

  “I’m afraid not,” said Billy with a grin. “We’ve got a date with a door and then you’re all invited to my place.”

  It was agreed and they began to enter the vehicle. Penny took her position as driver and Billy took the only other seat opposite her. Jude crouched in between the seats immediately behind them. Penny instructed Rose to get behind the driver’s seat and to keep her head down. Rose reluctantly followed her sister’s orders and sat on the floor holding onto Penny’s seat.

  “Well here goes,” said Penny. “Any special instructions, mister leader?”

  “Yeah. Go fast and don’t stop,” replied Billy.

  “Can do.”

  In the ensuing silence they all became aware once again of the moaning and occasional pounding on the building. It had lessened since they had gotten there and they had let it slip into the background, but knowing they were going to be facing the horde again brought the sounds back to their consciousness.

  Penny turned the ignition key and the engine roared to life again drowning out any other sound. She put the large vehicle in reverse and slowly backed up until she ran out of space. The result was a clear space of some twenty feet in which to build up speed. Penny slammed the transmission down into the lowest gear and stomped on the accelerator.

  The truck took off with a lurch and contacted the door. Penny had hit the door directly in the middle. The two bay door sagged and then gave way with a loud crash. Penny continued to lay heavy on the gas and in a moment they were through the door. Billy could see zombies on either side of the truck, but the front was shielded by a large panel from the door that was lodged against the hood and windshield.

  Penny grimly continued on and the sound of the dead being crunched under the wheels was sickening to hear. Penny suddenly hit the brakes and the wood panel flew from the hood. The windshield was now clear and the extent of the horde became clear also. There were hundreds of zombies surrounding the truck and as it came to a halt they surged forward. They were pounding on the doors and windows and completely hemmed in the large truck.

  “Go, go, go!” screamed Billy.

  As he said it, Penny s
tomped on the gas again and he was thrown back in his seat and Jude went sprawling towards the back door. Rose hung onto the seat and arm of Penny’s chair and her fingers whitened with the strain.

  “They’re my meat,” Penny hollered, as she careened down the driveway and turned into the street. The main mass of zombies was now behind them, but the street was littered with scattered bands. Penny made no effort to avoid them and drove straight down the center of the street making road pancakes of dozens of the dead. As she drove they finally found themselves alone again, but Penny continued her high rate of speed.

  “Slow down,” commanded Billy. “I didn’t come all this way to be a crash test dummy. Turn here. My mom’s place is just down the road a few miles.”

  Penny slowed to make the turn at the intersection and then accelerated again. The houses were going by quickly as Penny adroitly avoided abandoned vehicles. She was concentrating on the road and was seemingly oblivious to Billy and Jude as they congratulated each other on their escape. Billy became aware again that she was still traveling very fast.

  “Come on, Penny,” he pleaded. “Bring it down a little. What’s your hurry? We’re safe now.”

  “Look at the hood,” she ordered.

  Both of the guys turned their attention towards the gleaming red hood. There were scratches and dents in it from the collusion, but what stood out was a cloud of steam that was coming out from under the hood.

  “We’re losing coolant fast,” said Jude.

  “I know. I saw it right away and that’s why I’m trying to make tracks. This thing is going to overheat soon and I don’t want to still be in town when it happens. I’ve done enough running today.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Billy soothingly. “We’ll be there in just a couple of minutes. I think we’re okay.”

  “You might want to rethink that, mister leader,” Penny commented. “Tell me what you see.”

  Up ahead was a knot of abandoned and crashed vehicles completely blocking the next intersection. Penny slowed the truck to a halt. As she did she noticed several houses around them began to belch forth zombies. They greedily lurched and shuffled towards the truck and it’s human occupants.

  “What do you think?” she asked Billy. “Better think of something quick because we’re going to overheat in a few minutes. Do we go backwards or forwards?”

  Billy considered it for just a moment before he turned to Penny.

  “Stand on it, girl!”

  Penny pushed the gas to the floor and the truck hurtled towards the barricade with the dead in pursuit.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  As they approached the wall of cars, Billy screamed for everyone to hang on tight.

  “Ramming speed, Penny,” he shouted, with a wicked grin that she returned.

  “Aye, aye. It’s gonna get bumpy,” she said, with what sounded like glee.

  The heavy-duty truck slammed into the line of cars. There was a huge impact and the sound of steel smashing and glass shattering, but the vehicle barely slowed as empty hulks of metal were shoved aside. In less than a second it was over and they were hurtling down the road.

  “Yee haa!” shouted Billy.

  “It’s all in the reflexes,” grinned Penny.

  “Man, sometimes you drive just like Steve McQueen,” said Billy with a laugh.

  “Wow. That’s a fresh reference,” returned Penny.

  “Sorry. I saw Bullitt right before we left last year. I think it was the last movie I saw. Maybe the last movie I’ll ever see,” mused Billy wistfully. “Is everybody alright back there?”

  Billy glanced over his shoulder and saw that Jude was sitting right behind him smiling and Rose was tightly grasping her sister’s seat. She was very stoic and Billy wondered if she was the strongest one among them. Jude slapped him on the shoulder.

  “We’re okay, buddy. Man, that was a ride. Wanna circle the block and do it again?”

  “No thanks, dude. Mom’s place is only a few more blocks. There’s no place like home, man.”

  “Well it’s a good thing that we’re close,” said Penny. “We’re riding right on the red line. It’s gonna overheat and shut down any second now.”

  “We could coast from here, so don’t worry. I have a good feeling about this. We’re gonna find her. I know it.”

  Billy, don’t get ahead of yourself,” warned Jude. “Let’s just get there.”

  Jude was about to say something else, when Penny jumped in.

  “There it goes,” she said with disgust.

  The engine had shut down and the large truck was slowing to a halt. From habit, Penny pulled to the curb into a parked position as the vehicle slowed to a stop. Penny threw the shifter into park and was startled by a burst of laughter from Jude and Billy.

  “What the hell is so funny,” she demanded. “I think I did a good job driving. You guys think you could have done better just because I’m a girl?”

  Billy strained to control himself and finally managed to stop laughing. Penny was glaring at him in fury.

  “It’s not like that, Penny,” said Billy. “It’s just that after all we’ve been through you just parked in front of my house.”

  Billy pointed at a modest white ranch style home. The windows were done in red trim and flower boxes lined the windows. It looked idyllic and well kept except that the lawn needed to be cut.

  “This is it,” said Billy, as he climbed out of the cab. “Let’s go.”

  Without waiting for the others Billy began trotting up the walk to the front door. The others followed, with Jude bringing up the rear and looking around nervously for hidden watchers.

  Billy opened the screen door and attempted to turn the handle of the interior door.

  “It’s locked,” he muttered. “Hey, maybe that’s a good sign.”

  “We have come too far to let a little thing like a lock stop us,” declared Jude and he prepared to kick in the door. Billy put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

  “Dude this is my house. You think I don’t have the key?”

  Billy pulled a key chain out of his pocket. He selected the house key and inserted it into the lock. There was a sharp click and the door opened. They entered a living room stuffed with furniture and bookcases. The room was covered in dust and there was a deathly silence. Jude had his revolver in his hand as he walked into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and the cabinets.

  “Billy, come look at this,” he called softly.

  The group joined him and found him standing in the center of the room.

  “What do you think of this?” he asked sweeping his arm around.

  “What are we supposed to be looking at?” asked Penny. “I don’t see anything.”

  “That’s just it. The food is all gone. The fridge is empty. The cupboards are empty. There is not a scrap of food here.”

  “Maybe it was looters,” remarked Penny. “There must be others.”

  “Looters would have broken in. The windows are not busted and the doors are intact. No, Billy, I think that your mom must have survived, for a while at least.”

  Billy turned without a word and went back towards the living room. With the others in tow, he passed through that room into the hallway and then towards the last bedroom in the hall. He tried the knob and opened the door. The door fell back on it’s own and they stared into a dark and gloomy room. The curtains were drawn, keeping out the sunlight and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to lack of light.

  “Oh my God,” whispered Penny, as she crinkled her nose in disgust. “It reeks in there.”

  The room smelled strongly of urine and excrement. The bedroom was sparsely decorated with a single large dresser on one wall and a full size bed without a headboard with a nightstand next to it. There was an elderly lady on the bed. She was laying on her back with her arms folded across her chest. She was wearing a floral nightgown and she had on slippers. Her eyes were closed as Billy walked to her side and leaned over the bed.

  “Mom,” he sai
d softly. “Mom, can you hear me?”

  The elderly lady did not respond and Billy heard Penny sniffling back tears at the foot of the bed.

  “Mom, please wake up. It’s me Billy.”

  Billy softly touched her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open. Jude brought his gun to bear and tensed. He was ready to fire if the corpse of Billy’s mother attacked.

  “Is it really you?” croaked the woman. “Am I dreaming again?”

  Billy sat on the bed and held her wizened hand in his.

  “It’s really me, mom. I’ve come back to protect you. I am so glad to see you again. I love you, mom.”

  The woman made an effort to rise, but could not. The attempt exhausted her and she sank back to the bed and closed her eyes again. Billy stroked her hair and called out to her several times. She finally reawakened.

  “I feel so cold, son,” she said in a whisper. “I haven’t eaten in a long while. I’ve been coughing up blood for weeks. I think the cancer must be back.”

  Jude remembered that Billy’s mom was a breast cancer survivor and had had a double mastectomy performed some years ago. He noticed a bloody towel by her nightstand on the floor.

  “It’s not the cancer,” said Billy. “You’re just tired and hungry. We’ve got food.”

  Billy searched his pockets and found a candy bar. He frantically unwrapped it and put a small piece in her mouth.

  “Just chew this, mom,” he said gently.

  His mother tried to chew, but she wretched instead and nearly choked on the morsel before she expelled it from her mouth. Blood was slowly trickling from the corners of her mouth and Billy began to panic.

  “Mom! Mom!” he nearly shouted. “Mom, please.”

  Penny rushed to the other side of the bed and reached for the woman’s wrist. She held it gently in her hand and then placed a finger on her throat. She stood silently for a minute as Billy continued to stroke his mother’s hair and softly call to her. Penny stepped back and opened a curtain. Light flooded the room. She returned to the Billy’s mother’s side and raised one eyelid of the woman and then the other.

  “She’s gone, Billy,” said Penny simply and quietly. “I’m so sorry.”