E52

  “Please go away,” I repeat over and over in my head.

  If they no longer smell me I am hoping that they will keep walking, giving me the chance to get out from under the man and find my guns. I will have an advantage over the ones that are left, giving me the chance to kill them and get Tommy from the car and to safety.

  They continue to stand around us while they search for me. It seems that the smell of the man's rotted body is masking my smell or at least confusing them for the moment. If I lie here long enough and do not move I am certain that they will eventually leave. The question being, how long will it take them and can Tommy stay in the car much longer without suffering brain damage or possibly death.

  “I will give it about five more minutes and if they do not leave by then I will take my chances and fight them off with whatever I can find around me,” I think to myself. “Or at least steer them away from the car so that Tommy can get away.”

  I glance around. They are moving about, but they are not leaving the area.

  “Do it fast or slow?” I question myself.

  I have been in many predicaments before with these monsters but I have never been in one quite like this. Do I take the chance and push the man off as quick as I can or try to scoot out from under him and hope that none of the others hear me?

  “Your best chance of survival is to try and keep silent,” I think in my mind. “You already have his smell on you so if you are quiet maybe you can go unnoticed.

  His body completely covers mine so I will have to free myself a section at a time. I move my legs scooting my lower half out from under the man, assuring that my body sliding against the gravel makes minimal sounds if any at all. It takes a while but with great concentration and perseverance I am able to free the lower half of my body.

  “Don’t move!” I think to myself as I see one of the dead moving my way, I must have made a sound and the woman must have heard me.

  She turns and walks the other way.

  “That was close,” I think to myself. “I need to get out of here now!

  Afraid to take any more chances Silence is no longer one of my fears, I push the upper half of the man off of me and jump up.

  One of the guns is just to the right of me. Unafraid of getting wounded I leap forward, allowing my bare arms to receive cuts and scratches from the gravel as my flesh slams in the ground. I grab the gun, flip over and shoot. The bullet strikes a man's head, exploding it in half. He falls to the ground.

  “Five more of you assholes to go,” I scream out.

  Lying on the ground I continue shooting at the last few as they barrel towards me. Each of them wants just one more bite of flesh. It takes but seconds to kill the last of them. I can finally get my son out of the hot car and in to the house.

  “Mommies coming,” I yell out to Tommy

  I look over at the car. I do not see any movement. I panic. Had I taken to long? Is my son already dead?

  My heart skips a beat as I rise from the ground.

  “Tommy!” I cry out. “You can come out now.”

  There is still no movement. I run over and open the car door. Tommy is lying on the floor of the car and is not moving. From the side of the car I am presently at I can barely reach him. My fingertips touch his leg. I budge him; he does not move.

  “He can’t be dead,” I cry. “Please don’t let my baby be dead.”

  I quickly make my way around the Creetions I had killed to the other side of the car. I open the door and pull Tommy from his crouched position. His skin is hot and he is barely breathing.

  The only way to save him now is to get his body cooled down and hope that he has not suffered a stroke. I rush him into the house, and to the bathroom.

  “I hope this works,” I say softly.

  Knowing that we had done this at the hospital before to cool down someone who has a high temperature, I feel that I am doing the right thing. But, is it possible to bring a person's body temperature down to fast and cause that person to go into shock? I am not sure, therefore I sit him in the bathtub and add warm water at first, then slowly add cooler water until his skin becomes cool.

  “Tommy,” I repeat in hopes that he will hear my voice and wake up.

  A little at a time I continue to add cooler water until the water is almost frigid.

  He opens his eyes, looks at me and smiles.

  “That feels good mommy,’ He states, his speech, slurred.

  Chapter Fifteen

  In the rush to get Tommy to the bathroom I had forgotten to close the front door. Ruckus can now be heard coming from the living-room. There is only one explanation… I had not killed all the Creetions! I am in the same predicament as before.

  “I have to get you out of here,” I whisper to Tommy

  After lifting Tommy from the tub I wrap him in a towel and peek out the bathroom door. The hallway is free from any of the Creetions. The sounds I had heard are coming from outside. I stop and listen. I do not hear anyone talking, only scuffling in the gravel.

  “Be very quiet,” I whisper.

  Tommy is still suffering from heat exhaustion and barely understanding anything that I say. Now what he needs is rest. Never losing sight of the front door, I quietly walk backwards upstairs.

  The closets bedroom is to the right of me. Taking small steps I ensure that the wooden floor beneath me does not creek. One sound and I know that it will be but seconds before whoever is out there finds us. I continue to walk backwards so that I may keep an eye out for any of the unwanted visitors.

  Tommy squirms in my arms. My arms lose grip and I almost drop him to the floor.

  “Lay still,” I instruct him. “I will lay you down as soon as we get in the room.”

  Continuing with my journey I make my way to the bedroom, every few steps looking back to ensure that I am not about to trip on something or possibly run into the wall. Silence remains the utmost important.

  “Here you go,” I state as I walk in the room.

  I lay Tommy down on the bed and then walk back toward the door. In old farm houses like the one we are in the doors usually creek when they are shut so I make sure that I close it slowly.

  To my surprise, the door never creeks. I lock the door and pull on the handle, ensuring it is secure. I then walk back over to Tommy; he is already sleeping.

  “My poor baby,” I whisper and then lay down beside him and cuddle him in my arms.

  His slumber is deep and he does not move for hours.

  “What am I going to do?” I continue to question myself. “We can not stay here, there seems to be to many of the infected here.”

  The car that we had been driving is out of gas and the one that I took from the two young men is dead. I make up my mind. Tonight we will relax and first thing in the morning we will leave this farm and look for transportation.

  Tommy will have to eat again and I am not sure how much longer he can survive on regular food. He needs flesh to survive and I am certain that any farm animals that may have been left here are now eaten by the ones that attacked us.

  “How am I going to continue to feed my son,” I ask myself. “He looks weaker every day and although he promises that he would never bite me, I fear it is a matter of time.”

  Lying here beside Tommy I become uneasy. I have many questions running through my mind. Do I have it in me to continue feeding my son living beings? How many more will I have to kill before I can get to the antidote?

  “I will only bring him the weak,” I convince myself.

  The thought of doing so does sicken my stomach but it is the only way. I love my son dearly and it is not his fault that he is this way. He deserves a chance!

  “But what about the ones you kill?” I continue to argue in my mind. “Don’t they deserve a chance to survive also?”

  Out of aggravation I let a growl escape my mouth.

  The only way to get through this is to survive day by day and whatever happens…. Happens. I cannot say what I will or will not do until I am fac
ed with the problem at hand.

  Just as my eyes close I hear a gunshot then another. Someone is shooting and they are inside the house! I grab Tommy from the bed and carry him to the closet. Afraid that if we are seen we might be mistaken for one of the Creetions, I close the door behind us. I have learned that most of the people shoot first and ask questions later, so it is best if we hide until I know who and how many people are down stairs.

  Gunshots continue to be heard, but sound as if they are now coming from a distance.

  “I hope they kill them all,” I think to myself. “But continue on their way once they are done.”

  Leaning my ear against the closet door, I continue to listen. I now hear what sounds like two men screaming back -n-forth to one another. From what I gather from their conversation is that they have just killed another ten of the infected.

  “I will secure the house down here,” One tells the other. “You check upstairs.”

  My heart skips a beat. They are not leaving. They are going to search house. I have only one gun left and I am not sure how many bullets are in the chamber, if any. With a sick child it will be impossible for me to fight back if they are one of the many that do not take to strangers.

  Holding Tommy tight to my chest I cradle him in my arms and scoot to the furthest corner of the closet. I then cover myself with some of the clothing that is laying on the floor. Unless they do a thorough search I should not be found.

  I slow my breathing and take in shallow breaths as I listen to the sound of footsteps as the man walks stairs.

  “There are four up here,” He screams to the other man. “One looks to have been killed recently.”

  “Well then check for any survivors,” the man yells from downstairs.

  By the sound of the man's voice he sounds kind and genuinely hoping to find survivors that they can help. I start to relax.

  “If you find any you know what to do,” The man continues. “We don’t want any other people slowing us down.”

  My heart ceases for a brief second, then pounds rapidly. These men have no intentions on helping anyone. If found... we will be killed.

  The man continues down the hallway. With every step he comes closer to the bedroom that Tommy and I are hiding in. It will only be a few seconds before he is in the room.

  I hold my breath.

  He is just outside the closet!

  “It appears to be all clear up here,” He yells.

  “Be sure to check the closet,” the other conveys.

  I can hear the sound of the metal disengaging from the lock as the man places his hand on the door knob and turns it. Light instantly enters the small space.

  “Oh shit!” I scream within my head.

  I lean my head back against the wall and remain silent. The man moves the clothes around a little bit then walks away, leaving the door open.

  “All clear,” he states.

  The man continues out of the room.

  “I think I will take this room for the night,” He screams downstairs. “You, Fred and Ernie can take one of the others.”

  There are four men, all of which I fear will kill me and my son if we are found. I am stuck in the closet and uncertain how long I will have to remain here. For a few hours will not be bad but once Tommy wakes up it will be impossible to keep him in here without making a noise. If he is hungry enough and smell the flesh of one of the men he could attack him and then it will be over for the both of us.

  Hours go by and I continue to remain in the closet. Many times I had wanted to leave, but each time I try I hear someone else close by. Night has came. The room is now dark and only lit from the moonlight outside.

  Soon the man that claimed the room will come up to rest and I hope that the others will rest elsewhere. At that time I will be able to escape. My plan of action is to make my way downstairs and out the front door. Once outside I will check the car to see if there are any remaining guns, gather what may remain and walk out into the darkness. There are other Creetions out there and with it being dark it will be dangerous. If I can find the way back to our car down the road, I can hide there until morning and then find a working car. It is our best chance to get to a safer place.

  “If they have someone standing guard, we can escape out the window,” I tell myself. “There is that trellis you can go down if need be.”

  Tommy moves, then squirms about. He is waking up.

  “You have to be very quiet,” I whisper to him. “There are people here that want to hurt us, so we have to be silent.”

  Tommy does not say a word. He squeezes my hand indicating that he understands.

  Another hour passes before the man returns.

  “If you need me just holler,” He instructs to the others.

  I can hear the door latch as he closes the door behind him. He walks over to the bed and sits down, The bed creaks as he lays down and gets comfortable for the night.

  “We will wait about thirty minutes for him to fall asleep and then I will go check out the door to see if any of the others are still awake,” I tell Tommy. “And then we will leave.”

  Time goes by slowly as I continue to listen to the man move about in the bed. It is obvious by his continued movement that either the child's bed is to small for him or he is a light sleeper.

  “Mommy is going to go look out of the closet,” I instruct Tommy “I want you to stay here and be very quiet.”

  Tommy snarls. His sudden burst of aggression catches me off guard. I hold him close to my chest and feel his heart beating against my chest. His breathing is fast and shallow, the way it is when he is hungry.

  “Are you hungry?” I ask.

  He snarls again, this time his growling is loud enough to be heard outside the closet. The bed creaks as the man moves.

  “Tommy, no!” I whisper. “I will get you food when we leave here.”

  Unable to hold his hunger any longer he growls again.

  ‘Shit!” I think in my head. Feeling around for anything I can use as I weapon.

  The man has heard Tommy and is now shining his flashlight toward the closet. The light passes across where we are sitting and then shuts off.

  “I see you,” The man states, cocking his gun. The light turns back on; his gun pointed directly at me and Tommy

  The only option I have is to come out and pray that he will have some compassion and let us go. I release Tommy from my arms and start to stand. I place my hands on the floor. Tommy lunges over me and out of the closet catching the stranger off guard. The sight of the Tommy causes the man to take a step back. He stumbles over a small suitcase and falls to the ground. The man drops his gun. Before the man can defend himself Tommy bites into his neck. His teeth punctures the man’s jugular. Blood squirts across the room. I run over, sit on the man’s chest and place my hand across his mouth. I do not want him to scream. He tries to escape but his body is quickly weakened by the loss of blood. I continue to hold his mouth shut. He tries to bite me. With both of my hands I push harder on his mouth. Looking into the man’s eyes, I can't but wonder who he is. Was he a Father? A husband? Did he lose someone he loved? Or was he a loaner that had accepted in to the group he was in now?

  Tommy continues to growl as he pushes me away with his head. He rips into the man’s esophagus. I sit next to the man and feel compelled to hold his hand. I know longer worry about him making any noise. If he is still alive he won’t be for long; he will soon drown from his own blood. I turn away and allow Tommy to continue eating.

  “I'm sorry,” I say quietly. “He needs to eat and you were going to kill us.”

  The sound of the man's tearing flesh as Tommy rips it from his bones sickens my stomach. I walk over to the closet, muffle my mouth with my hands and allow bile to spew from my stomach.

  “How am I going to continue to do this?” I question myself.

  I rest my head against the closet doorway and continue to watch as Tommy eats his way down to the man stomach ripping into his midsection with his sharp teeth.<
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  The red serum splatters against the bed as Tommy shakes his head, ripping a large piece of intestine from the man's stomach. He holds the bloody tube-like intestine in his hands, devouring every last inch of it.

  Vomit rises from my stomach to my mouth. I spit it out.

  I can't take it any longer. But because Tommy remains in a feeding frenzy I am afraid to approach him. I worry that when he is in this state of mind he may not have the strength that he needs to keep from attacking me.

  “Tommy,” I whisper.

  He looks up at me and growls. I am instantly reminded of the small child I saw at the compound. He had the same crazed eyes as Tommy does now and did not care about anything except for eating.

  “Get the gun!” I think in my head.

  The gun that the man had dropped is on the floor inches away from his dead body. Cautiously I crawl over and grab it.

  Tommy looks up at me again and growls. Blood spew from his mouth, spraying my face with a mixture of chewed flesh and blood. Frantic I grab the sheet from the bed and wipe the mess off of my face.

  “Hey are you okay in there?” Someone screams from the hallway.

  Without thinking I leap from my position and run to the door. I lock it.

  “Hey Sam are you okay?” The man asks again, now pounding on the door. “We heard someone growling.”

  Someone pounds on the door again, this time with great force and persistence.

  “Or was it you just snoring?” Another man asks, laughing.

  I glance over at Tommy, he is still eating. We can not stay here any longer!

  The men continue to bang on the door; every strike against the wood harder than before.

  “Something is wrong!” One yells. “We need to get in there now!”