“Warn the Gregors!” he yelled and then he fell back to the ground motionless. He seemed almost peaceful compared to the agony he showed before. David grew beyond confused, the man had just shouted out David’s last name. Nobody else in town had that last name except for David and his deceased parents.
As he pried off the fingers from the duffel bag, he heard each one snap and creak – the sound of it clear, even over the sound of the sirens. He couldn’t help wonder why this man wanted to ‘warn’ him of all people. It explained why he was heading down David’s driveway but now David wondered who this man was. He had never seen him before. Finally he got the bag free and moved a few feet away from the crumpled man, sitting down with the bag in his lap. He thought he felt the duffel bag move and froze, staring at the bag. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he slightly shrugged and thought the sound of the siren and his massive headache must be playing tricks on his mind as he began unzipping the bag. It was fairly light but he could feel its weight shifting slightly as he unzipped it. His headache was so bad at this point he stood to yell at the Sherriff to turn off the sirens! In the process, he dropped the duffel bag onto the ground and its contents rolled out onto the ground. David let out a scream and jumped back. A slightly decomposed human head rolled out on the ground and towards David. The head was missing most of its skin, one eyelid was gone showing a milky white eyeball. The remaining hair was like a few strands of tinsel thrown onto a Christmas tree. David could see almost every tooth in its mouth except for a few where some grey muscle seemed to have fallen over it. David began walking towards the head. As he got closer it opened its one eye and began gasping and looking around. David covered his face and turned away from it. Holiday’s police car finally came to a stop in David’s driveway at such a fast speed that once he stopped the vehicle it slid on the gravel a short distance. The siren turned off which slightly relieved David’s head. David uncovered his face and turned towards the head.
It was motionless, ‘probably always was’ David thought to himself. The events of the night had been intense for David and he thought maybe his mind could have seen something that wasn’t there. He moved closer to the head, slowly. Its eyes were closed, one cheek had a hole that seemed to go all the way through to the other side, and what was left of the neck had bits of flesh hanging out of it. He couldn’t tell much about it other than that it was a person at one point. He couldn’t even tell if it was a man or woman. It was a horrible sight.
David started to think the man who was in the car was a very sick man who killed someone. Looks like whoever it was he killed, was dead for a long time. ‘Why would he bring this to me?’ David thought as he stood right above the head. He uncovered the rest of his face now completely sure what he saw earlier was in his head and not real. Holiday got out of his car and started running towards David shouting something; David couldn’t make out what he was saying and just stared at the head.
David started to mutter “What the f-” just then the head opened its eyes and growled. It snapped its jaw wildly. David jumped back, his face in complete horror and disbelief. What he saw earlier was true! This head was not dead! The sheriff ran up behind David with his gun drawn. Sheriff Holiday grabbed David’s shoulder and pulled him back out of the way. Then, without hesitation, he pointed his gun at the head and fired twice. “Fuck!” David exclaimed after the shots rang through the air. “What the hell is going on?” David screamed at Holiday but got no response. Holiday just stood there quietly staring at the head which now sat motionless with some extra holes oozing from where the bullets pierced the skull.
“Same thing happened to old man Stevens,” the Doc said in his rich southern accent as he came walking up behind David slowly wiping the sweat off his head with a rag. “He damn near bit Holiday’s head off.” David turned to the Doc, the horror in his face turning to confusion.
“The sheriff said the coroner was there now …” He turned back to the sheriff, “what the hell happened?”
“Shot em,” the sheriff softly spoke. “Had to.” He turned towards David, holstering his gun, and then walked away towards Doc. Holiday stood beside the Doc and started looking up at the stars in the sky.
“Stevens was hit by a car,” the Doc continued, “probably by that very same one,” he pointed towards the twisted wreck around the tree. “Matches the description Steven’s daughter gave us when she went looking for him. She found him just as he was being run down. He snapped his spine in three places from what I could tell, and also broke most of his ribs, collar bone, and a bunch of other bones too.” Doc tried to place his rag into his pocket, missing several times. His face turning to anger he continued, “And he still got up after I myself said he was dead and jumped onto Holiday … biting and moaning like something out of a damn zombie movie!” He threw his rag on the ground and walked away almost in tears. Holiday still looked up at the stars. He tipped the front brim of his sheriff hat up so it was out of the way and he could see more. Then he sighed loudly.
Suddenly David was pulled to the ground; the man from the accident had crawled over to them and had his hand around David’s ankle. His face still covered with blood and his mouth wide open as he pulled himself closer towards David’s leg. The doc ran to David and grabbed his arm pulling at him, trying to get him away from the man.
“Holiday!” Doc screamed, “Get over here!” but Holiday didn’t move. He kept staring up at the stars as if he were a million miles away. He pulled out his zippo lighter and clicked the top of it open and closed. The sheriff didn’t smoke but was famous for playing with his zippo. “Sheriff! Help!” Doc continued.
Holiday blinked wildly as if startled out of some dream and once again drew his weapon. He ran to David’s side as the man clawed and drooled. It was clear he had turned into whatever Stevens turned into and was now snapping his mouth towards Doc and David. The man couldn’t fully reach either of them yet but it was only a matter of time. David’s leg was being pulled hard while the Doc pulled on his arm; neither was winning. David was sure he would be torn apart from the struggle and was powerless to do much of anything but scream. Holiday shakily raised his gun; clearly he had been affected by all the killing but he knew what had to be done. Again, two bullets pierced the night as they ripped into the man’s back. It would have been in the man’s head but Holiday feared he would hit David’s leg. The man let go, and planted his face into the ground beside David’s foot. He did not stop. He then reached up towards Holiday, still growling and now snapping his jaw open and closed. The Doc pulled David back a few feet as Holiday stepped back beside them. Still, the man growling, he began to once again crawl towards them. Holiday shook badly dropping his gun; he walked very fast towards his car nearly sobbing and holding his sheriff hat tightly on his head.
“Just like Stevens,” said Doc. “gotta be in the head…” David tensed his lips nodding in agreement. He reached down and grabbed the massive pistol that Holiday dropped; the weight was awkward for him to lift. He aimed at the man’s head. Then as the man roared with an enormous groan, David fired a shot that nearly caused the pistol to jump out of his hand. The man went limp, and the groaning stopped.
Chapter 2 – Meanwhile
Meanwhile just outside of Lone Tree:
Alpine Auto was a small used car lot just a quick 5 minute walk down the only road outside of Lone Tree. This single road brought in a lot of business for Jerrod Alpine, the owner of Alpine Auto. Jerrod was a hefty fellow: 325 pounds, bald on the top of his head with barely any facial hair except for his two super tiny eyebrows. Children all over town made fun of how funny he looked. He always wore his suspenders no matter what outfit he had on. Tonight, while he closed up his dealership, he had on a dress shirt and jeans with those suspenders and he never cared what anyone thought.
Earlier that day was a good day for him. He sold three cars and that is more than he sold all month. As he locked his front door and turned around, he nearly jumped up and tapped his heels together in excitement. H
e thought about telling his wife Judy about his great day and how much he had made.
He walked quickly to his car reaching in his jeans for some keys which jingled loudly as he grabbed them. As he walked to his car smiling, he heard the annoying whine of his neon sign above him in the parking lot. Once he got to his car, the terrible whirring sound of his big neon sign began to fade. The light dimmed and flickered slightly. Jerrod had just replaced that sign a few days earlier and it cost him a lot. Semi-frustrated, he stared at the sign and shook his head slowly. Then he looked at his car and shrugged. He went to slide the key into the door when a loud pop made him drop it. A light in the sign had blown out. His wife had told him many times before, that leaving that sign on twenty four hours a day couldn’t be good for it. He still had not taken her advice. Even after the last one blew and he replaced it, he still left it on all the time.
The parking lot was now very poorly lit. All that remained to give any light was a few street lights spread far apart down the road.
He sighed and squinted, as if it would help him see. He got down on his hands and knees and searched around for his key. He slid his hands along the rough pavement, slowly searching and listening for the jingle of keys. Finally his hands hit a large bunch of keys and made the loud jingle sound he was waiting for. He flashed a huge smile but it faded quickly. He noticed the lot was getting even darker for some reason; Jerrod couldn’t tell why and stood up to look around at the lights. Slowly his hands flipped through the keys to find his car keys as he stared at the street lights which flickered and dimmed. He peered down the road as best he could and after a few seconds the street lights furthest away seemed to be going out completely.
Iowa City supplied Lone Tree and everyone else nearby with power. Normally on a night like this Jerrod could see the lights in the sky from Iowa City, but he saw only darkness. One by one, the line of street lights went dark causing the pitch black darkness to grow closer and closer to where he stood. Jerrod’s eyes went wide as the fear of the dark gripped him for a reason he couldn’t understand. He thrust his keys into the car, half not believing what he was seeing and half wondering what was happening. He unlocked the car door and jumped into the driver’s seat while a part of him prayed this was a dream. He turned the key and waited for his car to start. His car was not reliable. In fact, any car he sold on that lot barely ran. And on that night of all nights, all he got out of his car was a few clicks and wheezes, and it would not start. Slowly the darkness grew closer and closer to Jerrod. For some reason a sense of pure dread came over him. He stopped turning the key and leaned back into his seat with a loud squeak. Finally, when the lights surrounding him went completely out, he looked toward Lone Tree. He could see its lights in the distance, and the street lights didn’t go out any further past his dealership so the way was lit. With a light whimper he put his keys back into his pocket and got out of his car.
He looked around trying to see anything, but he couldn’t see in the darkness. The street lights on the way to Lone Tree were still on but his car lot was now completely dark. He started walking towards the city with his hands outstretched a little to make sure he didn’t hit anything in front of him. He slowly walked to the edge of the lot to the first street light on the road going to Lone Tree. It was lit as were the others down the road towards his home town. He breathed deeply and bent over gasping heavily, so heavily he didn’t notice the shadowy figure slowly moving up from behind the last car he passed. The light he was under started flickering and no sooner than he realized what was happening, it flickered out along with all the street lights between his lot and the city. Jerrod’s gasping and heavy breathing stopped. He turned his head slightly to one side as he heard gasping coming from behind him. His face turned to horror and with the figure lingering just behind him, he walked further towards the city following the road. The wind howled as the figure got closer to Jerrod. The trees shook from the wind, the moon nowhere to be seen, and Jerrod’s heart continued to pound. He felt off and didn’t know why. He didn’t believe the breathing behind him that he was hearing was real. He wasn’t afraid of the dark. His 7 year old daughter Michelle was and he chuckled about it sometimes. He couldn’t help thinking about her and that when he got home, if he got home, he would never chuckle about it again. As he walked, he stared at the cities lights. He believed nothing was really behind him - it was only his mind playing tricks on him because of his fear. The lights of town were a beacon for him to follow. Soon he would be home and he could laugh this away.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something in the darkness. He could barely make out anything because of how dark it was but he knew he could see the bushes moving. He knew it wasn’t the wind and he knew for sure it was real unlike the gasping behind him. He thought it must be an animal of some kind.
A cold chill went down Jerrod’s back and he froze solid. But it was more than a cold chill. He felt numb and heard the sound of something splatting on the ground. He looked down and saw that something was dripping from his mouth and splashing on the ground. Slowly he reached up to his face and touched his lips. Bringing his hand in front of him he could barely see with the light from town dark red blood now on his fingers. Blood poured out of his mouth in a steady trickle. Then his body jerked forward as a hand burst out of his chest. He stared at it in horror yet couldn’t scream. The shadowy figure caught up to him when he stopped to think about the bushes moving. He looked towards the bush still feeling numb. The bushes ripped apart as a girl no older then his daughter Michelle ran towards him.
Her lips were ripped off showing her bare teeth. A jumpsuit she was wearing was covered in blood and she had a massive bite out of her neck. The hand receded back through him and as it did he fell to his knees in tears. He felt the incredible pain wash over him as he felt the numbness slide out of his body. He tried to speak but was only able mumble. The girl approached him quickly as the shadowy figure crouched beside him. Jerrod looked at the figure he had ignored since the lot; it was a man he had sold a car to earlier. Jerrod didn’t remember his name.
The girl lunged at him sinking her teeth into his face. Tears filled Jerrod’s eyes as his nose was ripped off by her teeth. He let out a muffled blood filled scream that was barely heard, even by him. The other man then bit down into Jerrod’s neck as his hands ripped into the flesh of his chest. They began to bite and claw at him while he waved his arms and legs, powerless to move anything else. The sound of a car starting caused the two biting him to pause and look down the road towards the brightly lit town. A car had just started at the gas station at the edge of town. A young woman was at the driver’s side door attempting to open it. She was oblivious to what was happening down the road and was calmly looking in her purse.
The girl chewed the flesh in her mouth and began sprinting at high speed toward the bright city. The stranger Jerrod couldn’t remember the name of pulled his hand out of Jerrod’s chest and stood straight above him as his body fell to the ground with a loud thud. The man began to stretch his neck from side to side and shake his arms slightly. Moving quicker than he had while following Jerrod, the man started towards town, invigorated by the fresh blood he had consumed.
Jerrod’s now lifeless body shook violently on the ground as the others headed away towards the town. Then Jerrod’s body stopped shaking. He opened his pale white eyes wide and looked around while lying on his back. He sat up and stared at the town the others were heading towards. He slowly stood up, his nose missing, his chest and stomach missing chunks of flesh, and lips still covered in his own blood. He began walking slowly towards Lone Tree letting out a loud growl as one of his suspenders snapped off. As he growled loudly, the little girl neared the woman at the car who slowly raised her head to see what was growling. The little girl was only feet away from the woman when she jumped into the air and landed on her. The woman screamed and flailed around hitting the gas pumps and spilling gas everywhere. A store clerk rushed outside and ran up to them, the little girl biting and r
ipping into the woman as she screamed and fell. After a few seconds the woman stopped moving but the little girl continued to rip into her. The store clerk rushed up to them and saw the little girl on top of the now lifeless woman covered in blood. His concern grew and as it did his lack of safety dwindled. While he rushed toward them to help, his foot kicked the nozzle from the gas pump against the concrete which was flooding with gasoline. An explosion erupted from the gas station; the fire expanded quickly causing the car to become engulfed along with the clerk, woman, and the girl. Down the road toward Jerrod, flying debris nearly knocked over the customer Jerrod helped earlier. He continued walking fast not even slightly affected by what had happened. Jerrod drooled and moved toward the town.
Nearby screams echoed from the city because of the explosion, some people just down the road rushed towards the gas station fire while others ran away. A man who had run from a block away toward the fire to help, stood in front of the fire holding his hand up to shield his eyes from the flames. The little girl jumped out of the fire and bit into his hand. He fell back onto the ground as others came around him looking and screaming in horror at the little girl who was completely covered in flames. She bit and clawed wildly as people panicked all around her. The lights shining in the city dimmed slightly.
Jerrod slowly neared the city still growling. He approached the edge of the gas station as the lights in town began to flicker. Just like the street lights outside of town, Lone Tree went dark.
Chapter 3 – David’s Run
Back at his house, David still gripped the pistol tightly with one hand and began searching the duffel bag for anything that might shed some light on what was going on. He checked every side pocket and every crack of the duffel bag but found nothing except some pools of dried blood. He threw the bag a few feet away and ran to the twisted car. The steam had stopped billowing out of it and aside from the glass on the ground it was safe to go into.
A Zombie Survival Series (Book 1): Infestation Iowa Page 2