E52

by Lowther, Shawna Stewart

  The man tosses it toward me. It falls to the ground. Without losing eye contact with either of them I slowly bend over and pick it up.

  “What in the hell?” I think in my head.

  The paper dates 11/12/2013, just a month after my escape from the compound.

  On the front page is a picture of my husband and I and my first born child. The headline that reads: “Local doctor works with the government making an army of zombies.”

  I glance up at the two men that are still pointing their guns toward me and Tommy.

  I continue to read.

  “How far would the government go to strengthen their army? Local doctor David Sanders had came up with a serum that the government had been experimenting with.. According anonymous sources the serum was being used on pregnant women to change their unborn children into zombie-like monsters, Dr. Sanders's wife included. The creatures are known as”Creetions” a local man stated.”

  I swallow a lump that has gathered in my throat then continue to read.

  “These children grow at rapid speed and are intelligent, leading the government able to train them to kill. Some say they were preparing for war with Syria other state they believe the army were going to use the army to wipe out individuals that the government find undesirable. These creatures have now taken over the compound to where they were born and have taken over the Southern part of the country. As the rest of the world takes cover, one has to wonder how long it will take for the rest of the World is taken over by the plague.”

  I can not bare to read anymore. Not only was my husband the cause of all of this, but he put me and our child at risk as well. He had to have known that they planned on feeding the children the flesh of the mothers, or maybe he didn't, maybe that is why he tried to save me. No matter what his reasoning was for trying to save me, he still was the one who made the serum, he was still the one who caused so many people to die.

  I drop the newspaper on the ground and lower my head, ashamed to have known this man at all and angry that I lived a life of lies.

  “Why would you do this?” I question David in my mind.

  Tears stream down my cheeks, falling to the ground like tiny raindrops

  “I had no idea,” I say glancing up at the two men.

  “We believe you, but we still must get rid of your son,” Joshua states. “We can not leave knowing that we have left behind one of them,”

  Never losing eye contact with Joshua, I lean down and whisper in Tommy's ear.

  “When you hear me say “House,“ I want you to run toward that house over there and no matter what you hear don’t stop. When you get there I want you to hide. I will be there in a few minutes and find you.”

  Standing upright I hold my finger on the trigger, preparing to shoot Joshua.

  “All we want to do is get to that house,” I say, squeezing Tommy's arm indicating to him that it is time for him to run.

  Tommy releases his grip around my waist and runs, catching the two men off guard. I pull the trigger, the bullet pierces through Joshua skull, causing half of his head to explode against the windshield. He falls forward.

  The other man fumbles his gun.

  “Now go!” I scream, pulling my gun out from my jacket and pointing it at the stunned man.

  “I don’t want to kill you to, but I will do whatever it takes to keep my son safe.”

  “You stupid bitch!” He screams. “You killed my brother!”

  His hand shakes as he points his gun toward me. I aim and shoot, I can not take the chance of him shooting me first. Our guns go off simultaneously. I fall to the ground as a bullet rips through my shoulder. I have been hit!

  There is no time to worry about my wound. I grab my gun from the ground and quickly make my way over to the car.

  Hiding behind the tire I slowly peek under the car, I need to know where the man is. He is laying on the ground next to the front of the car, he too has been struck.

  I hold my arm close to my body, lean against the car and scoot my way up the metal; blood smearing against the car door. Once standing, I walk over to the front of the car. The man is indeed laying on the ground, clutching his chest.

  “I told you to let us be,” I state standing over him. “but you couldn’t do it!”

  The man reaches for me, begging for my help.

  “All I am trying to do is get to the compound to get medicine for my son,” I state.

  “There is no medicine,” He whispers.

  “Yes there is,” I state. “It is at the compound. My husband managed to get it to me before he died but when I was escaping I dropped in outside the window of a building.”

  “You should have told us,” He states, blood spewing from his mouth.

  He coughs.

  “I tried,” I say, my voice cracking.

  “No one knows anything about a cure, if you truly knew where one was we would have helped you.” He continues.

  “Would you have really?” I ask.

  John is trying to talk, but his voice is shallow and I can not hear what he is saying. I kneel down and get closer to him.

  “If you really trust that your husband had a cure and he was trying to give you that cure, then go to the compound and find Mr. Marvin he will help you,” He states choking on his blood. “He is five miles east of the compound. Look for the red roofed house. He knows how to get in and out of the compound without being seen. You will need him if you want to find the cure you speak of.”

  He taps my arm.

  “You have to find him,” He whispers, closing his eyes.

  The man dies.

  I stand staring over his body for over ten minutes, repeating our conversation in my head.

  “How can this man that he speaks of help me?” I wonder.

  Besides going to the compound and fighting the Creetions myself, this is this first time that I have hope that someone may know a way to get in there and get the medicine without the fear of dying.

  Instead of leaving behind their car behind and their bodies to rot I decide that I take advantage of both. I will use their car to go retrieve Tommy and use John's body as food for him.

  “Your not big enough,” I say to Joshua, pulling him out of the car, letting his body rest in the middle of the road. “Tommy may not want you.”

  I walk back to where John lays and pull him toward the car. He is heavy but with some determination I am able to get him to the trunk.

  “Sorry guy, but hey at least your body will be used for something rather than buzzard food,” I state, lifting his body into the car.

  Unwilling to take the chance that Tommy's bite might change John although he is dead I decided to do the only thing I know to do to ensure that they don't. I take my gun and shoot him in the head. Blood splatters the backseat, as his body jerks backward.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I am exhausted and from losing so much blood from my wound I am weakened. The drive is fast but not fast enough. I need dress this wound and stop the bleeding before I lose too much more.

  It is dark now, leaving me with only the light of the moon to guide my way. If there are people at the farm I do not want them to see me drive up with a dead man in the backseat and blood splattered among the car, so I drive with the headlights off. The farm is now only feet away. So I turn off the engine and let the car coast down the driveway.

  The thought of my son finally being healed is exhilarating. I get a sudden burst of energy and leap out of the car, leaving the door open behind me. There is not a candle burning in the house so I feel confident that the house is like the others, deserted.

  “Tommy!” I yell. “Where are you?”

  He does not answer. Panic overtakes my happiness.

  “Tommy!” its Mommy. “Where are you?” I yell out, repeating the words.

  I stop on the porch and take a deep breath.

  “Maybe he is inside,” I think to myself.

  I open the front door slowly and peek in.

  “Is anyone here?�
� I ask.

  The room is silent.

  “Hello?” I continue, taking a step forward.

  Entering into a dark house is something that one should never do. You never know who or what could be lurking in the darkness.

  “Stay against the wall,” I think to myself. “And keep your gun pointed in front of you.”

  With one hand firmly on the trigger I use my other hand to search around me for a flashlight or candles. I come across what feels to be a large spider web. I get the shivers. Besides Creetions, spiders are the things I fear most.

  “This is stupid,” I think to myself. “I can't see shit in here.”

  Taking a chance I walk back outside, and turn on the headlights. The illumination is just enough to light the entrance of the home.

  “Now maybe I will be able to see something,” I state in my mind, walking back in the house.

  The living room is just to the right of me and from where I stand I can not see a candle or flashlight anywhere. I open the door wider and look to the left side of the entrance. The room is not as lit up as the living-room so I have no choice but to open a curtain. Knowing that I have made enough noise to cause any Creatures or any person to know my exact whereabouts, I quickly walk over to the window facing the front porch and rip the curtains down. The light from outside brightens the room. It is dining room. The room is more modern than one would expect to see on a farm. The beveled glass table with black metal chairs being the main focus of the small area. Hues of red, blue and purple sparkles down on the glass. I glance up, a chandelier hangs from the ceiling above made of chrome and large crystals, the light from outside causing the cascade of colors. The room looks to be recently dusted, I now fear that there might be someone still here. I take a candle from the dining room table, light it with some matches that lay beside it.

  “Tommy are you in here?” I whisper with a heightened tone.

  I hear a noise coming from a room that separated from the area I am in by a closed door, so I turn my attention to that area.

  “Tommy is that you? Its mommy.” I state with uncertainty.

  The noise gets louder but no one answers. I make my way over to the door and push it slightly open. The light from the candle brightens the area just enough so that I can see.

  “Shit!” I think to myself.

  I slowly bend down and place the candle on the floor.

  Standing in the middle of the room is a man. By the deterioration of his face it is hard for me to deceiver how old he is, but from the looks of him he has been one of the “dead” for a few years. Most of his face has been taking over by rotting flesh which now barely covers his bones. Half of one of his arms has been chewed off, leaving him with only a nub from his elbow up. He is devouring something but I can not tell what it is. My heart plummets into my stomach as tears fill my eyes.

  “Please don’t be Tommy,” I pray silently.

  I take another step back, all the while never losing sight of the object that the man is eating. It is small, like a child but with the amount of blood on it I cannot tell if it is that or a dog.

  I reach for my gun and hold it tight in my hands.

  “Hey!” I scream out, attracting the mans attention. “Fresh meat over here”

  The man looks up, glaring at me with his soulless eyes. The man lunges forward. With my hands sturdy, I aim and shoot. I miss my target. He continues my way. I aim again and pull the trigger. The gun remains silent. I pull the trigger again. Nothing. The man is now inches from me. I leap backward. My back slams against the metal dining room chair. I lose my balance and trip, landing next to the candle. The breeze from my fall causes the candle to extinguish. The room darkens, leaving only the moonlight to lighten the room. I scoot to a darkened corner and try to silent my breathing, in hopes that the man will walk by and I can get away. My plan of escape is foiled. He can smell the fresh blood oozing from my wound. My only chance of survival is to find a means of defense and the only thing I have is another gun in the car. With my arm out of commision I will have a hard time fighting him off, so for now all I can do is hide

  “I can’t stay here,” I think in my mind. “I need to hide under the table until I feel it is safe and then I will run to the car and get the gun. I don’t think he will return to the kitchen because he is so infatuated with me right now. Bill always taught me that sometimes it is better to be silent and hide rather than run; sometimes you run into more trouble if you don’t.”

  I crouch down in to a crawling position. A pain shoots through my arm. There is no option, the floor is darkened by the lack of light, so I must bare the pain or take the chance of being eaten. Quickly, I crawl to the table and strategically scoot between the chairs and under the table. It is dark under the table, so I can not be seen.

  I can hear movement around the room as the man continues to search for me, using only his sense of smell. Minutes continue to pass by.

  “I can’t continue to sit here. Tommy is somewhere and might need my help and I don’t think this creature is going to give up on his hunt,” I say in my mind. “The only way to find Tommy is to get to the car, get the gun and shoot this man.”

  Ensuring that I do not make a sound I slowly make my way to the edge of the table. I can see the light from the headlights streaming in from the front door, so I know I am headed in the right direction. Moving the end chair an inch at a time, I try to scoot the chair away from the table without making any noise. Once I am out I will need a straight shot to the car and if the Creetion hears me, I won’t have that.

  “Mommy!” Tommy screams.

  His voice sounds muffled.

  My heart plummets. The sound of his voice has came from the kitchen. He very well could be the one I had seen earlier or he is hiding in there and now will be found by the creature.

  Ignoring the fact of the danger or pain that I am in, I push the chair forward quickly crawl out from under the table. I run to the kitchen door and swing it open. The man that had recently been hunting me is on his knees and feasting once more. The bloody mess on the floor moves! Whatever he is eating is still alive!

  I grab the candlestick off of the floor and start swinging it; my aim that of the man’s head. The silver base continues to strike his head causing blood to escape from his scalp as it cuts deeply into his skull.

  He falls forward.

  Bent over, I use every bit of strength I have and continue bash his skull in until a hole is formed and I know that he is no longer a threat. I push him to the side and fall to my knees, landing next to the area he was feasting .

  Despair overwhelms me when I see Tommy's face.

  “No!“ I cry out.

  His face is covered in blood and his eyes are closed. I lift his head and rest it on my leg. Fresh blood blankets my legs. He has never been as warm as one of the living but I can still feel slight warmth coming from his body.

  “I am so sorry,“ I cry.

  As tears fall from my cheeks, the salty water drips onto his face, causing streams of blood to flow down his little face.

  I lift his body from the floor, “If I didn’t try to hide maybe I could have saved you,” I sob. “But, I wasn't sure it was you.”

  “Why are you crying?” the voice of a small child asks, his voice mimicking Tommy’s.

  I wipe my blurred eyes and look down. Tommy is looking up at me. I gasp.

  As Tommy tries to sit up, whatever was laying on him falls to the ground. Somehow he had managed to hide beneath a dog!

  “Are you hurt?” I sob.

  I grab him and hold him tight in my arms.

  “The doggy protected me,” He says, his voice like an Angel from Heaven.

  I cry, letting my emotions run free, rocking him back and forth in my arms.

  “The man tried to bite me but the doggie protected me. I lied still so the man would not see me.” He explains.

  “Thank god,” I cry out.

  I stand up, never releasing Tommy from my arms.

  “Let’s get t
he blood off of you,” I sniffle.

  “Okay,” he says. “But I am so hungry..”

  I look down at what remains of the dog the other man devoured. There is nothing left but a few chunks of meat and bone.

  His stomach growls as he grabs his midsection.

  “My tummy hurts because I am so hungry,” He states.

  There are times that you have to walk the fine line of what is right and what is wrong. The man in the car was already dead before I decided to bring him here so that Tommy could eat, so there is no reason that Tommy should starve.

  “I have food for you,” I state. “We will wait until after you eat to clean you up.”

  I carry him out of the house and toward the car.

  “I can smell him,” He states. “You brought John.”

  His words shock me. He is able to tell who is the car just by smell.

  “Yes it is John,” I answer.

  His stomach growls again as he becomes restless in my arms.

  “Is it okay?” He asks.

  “What?” I inquire.

  “That I eat him,” He answers.

  “Yes, but only because he was already dead,” I try to explain. “But you must never kill someone just to eat,”

  “Okay, you can do that for me,” he smiles.

  By the time we get to the car Tommy is drooling, his eyes are opened wide and he can no longer sit still. He springs out of my arms and runs over to the trunk and paces back-n-forth as he waits.

  “Please forgive me,” I pray, opening the trunk.

  The smell of blood fills the air around us. Tommy leaps in and takes his first bite. The sound of the man’s flesh and muscle being ripped from his bones sickens me. I walk over to the front of the car, open the door and grab the other gun. I do not want to be caught unprotected again, so I check that the gun is loaded. It is.

  Leaning against the front of the car I lean back on the hood. It is a clear night, clearer than I have seen in a long time. Trying to escape reality, I admire the stars.

  Tommy may be small but he has the power of a young man; the wrath he is putting on John, cause sthe car to shake beneath me.

  I begin to hum one my favorite country songs, trying to drown out the sounds of Tommy growling as he continues to devour the man.