Chronicles of the Undead | Book 1 | Urban Gridlock

by Hernandez, Jaime

  “Wish we had some binoculars,” Junior said.

  “Listen, it’s a straight shot over the bridge then the road funnels us into town. We have to take the first left then go maybe half a mile until we get to my street,” Vince said. All of them preferred the comfort and relative safety of a vehicle, but Vince thought it might be easier to just go on foot.

  “We’re going to pass the gas stations anyway,” Max started. “So we take a quick look for a vehicle and either we grab one or we move on.” He was tired of talking and wanted to get moving. Everyone mumbled their agreement.

  They moved in a crouch toward the intersection. Max eyed a small ditch that ran along either side of the road providing them with a small buffer from the zombies in the street. He motioned to the others to hop over the ditch and they followed. As the dead from the street started to move toward them, most stumbled down into the ditch. By the time they righted themselves and struggled to stand up, they couldn’t find their footing to climb back out. Watching them fall over themselves was almost comical.

  Vince took the lead, followed by Max, Frank and then Junior. Junior was their eyes and ears behind them. As he moved, he watched the properties to their left and the grass behind them to make sure none of the dead caught them unaware while everyone else was focused on what was in front of them.

  Junior watched as four zombies came stumbling toward them from a yard to their left. The dead were too close to leave them be, they had to take them out. “I’ve got four zombies at my 9:00,” Junior said quietly to the others. Vince held his position up front eyeing the road and ditch, while Max and Frank turned back toward Junior and the encroaching dead.

  For a millisecond, the guys watched the four zombies as they were shuffling down a large front lawn that gradually sloped downward toward the ditch and the street beyond. The slight slope quickly became an issue as it allowed all four of the dead to move faster than they normally would and somehow they kept their balance in the process.

  An old man in torn slacks, a casual short sleeved shirt and one slipper suddenly fell forward right into Junior. His arms and hands showed a multitude of bite marks. His blood ringed lips and snapping teeth revealed that he’d done some feeding of his own. Junior struggled to keep from falling backward into the waiting arms of the many zombies in the ditch behind him. He was in a fight for his life and hadn’t even managed to bring a weapon up to the dead man yet. He was trying to keep his balance while also keeping the snapping teeth from meeting any part of his body. To his absolute horror, he felt a hand grasp his calf from behind.

  Next to Junior, Frank was fighting two of the zombies. Frank was a beast of a man, stronger than any of the others. He managed to shove one of the zombies backward as he fought the one closest to him. Teeth snapping way too close to his face for comfort, he brought his hammer down with great force upon the head of the middle aged woman that was trying to take a bite out of him. As the hammer came down, shattering her skull and piercing through the brain it once protected, the dead woman dropped suddenly. The dead man he had shoved backward was making his way back to his feet. Frank heard Junior’s desperate pleas beside him so with his heavy boot he kicked the dead man back down and turned to help Junior.

  Junior continued to struggle with the old man who was practically embracing him while one of the zombies in the ditch had wrapped both hands around Junior’s calf and was pulling itself closer with its jaws wide open. Frank grabbed the ax from his tool belt and chopped the arms off the zombie whose hands were wrapped around Junior’s leg. The dead hands held tight, but the zombie fell backward into the ditch. Frank turned and smashed through the skull of the old man that held Junior in an embrace. Blood and bits of skull splattered across Junior’s face as Frank nearly took the old man’s head off with his ax.

  A quick glance to his right told him that Max had taken out the slight dead woman who had been closest to him and he was finishing off the dead man that Frank had kicked backward a couple times.

  “Move back from the ditch,” Frank commanded everyone. Using it as protection had helped them with a lot of the dead on the road, but they needed to put a little more distance in case more zombies came from one of the yards. Junior had come awfully close to falling backward into it while fighting the dead in front of him. “It’s a good buffer but don’t get too close. Junior here almost bought it,” Frank said for the benefit of Vince and Max who hadn’t seen everything as it had unfolded.

  Junior took some deep breaths to calm himself, while a pair of severed dead hands still held a death grip on his leg and his face was full of skull fragments and bodily fluids. “Holy shit,” Junior gasped. “Thanks Frank.”

  “You got it son,” Frank nodded then bent down to try to remove the hands from Junior’s leg. The fingers were locked into place but weren’t a match for Frank’s brutal strength. It took him about ten seconds, but he was able to pry the hands free.

  Frank pulled out a roll of toilet paper from their gas station run and handed it to Junior so he could wipe the bloody detritus from his face.

  “We’ve gotta move,” Vince said, his voice strained. The fight with the zombies from the start to the end with Frank pulling the hands off of Junior’s leg had taken a good minute and a half. The dead were slow, but they were moving in groups and in that minute and a half the groups had started closing in on them. “We have a small opening but we’re about to lose it,” Vince finished. They all heard the tension in his voice.

  Nearly all of the nearby zombies that had been in the street had made it to the grass and into the ditch. The ditch was a deterrent but not a failsafe. The dead were already piled up and crawling over each other onto the grass on the other side.

  “Run,” Max yelled.

  Chapter 33

  Day 3

  The Lopez house was rife with activity. Anna, Michelle and Emily had taken turns keeping watch during the night and come morning, everyone was well rested. Michelle cooked a large breakfast with food Anna had stored in her fridge as well as food taken from the Wright’s house the night before.

  Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, blueberry muffins and French toast covered the counter next to the stove. Michelle was in her element cooking for a houseful of people. Cooking brought her joy and helped to distract her worried mind and relieve her stress. The four teenagers tore into the food hungrily and had second and third helpings. Anna was happy to see them eating well, especially because their ability to cook fresh food was nearing an end.

  After breakfast, she’d sat everyone down to talk. “Emily and I went over to the Wright’s house last night,” Anna started. “They shopped like I do.” She said to a roomful of quiet laughter. “There are gallons of water, homemade canned foods and an enormous pantry that’s fully stocked.”

  “We emptied the fridge, but there’s a lot of food in the freezer. We found a few guns, endless amounts of toilet paper and lots of other supplies,” Emily said. “We didn’t search every cabinet and drawer and we didn’t get to the mudroom, basement or garage. Who knows what else we might find?”

  “We need to transfer the supplies to our house. Some of the stuff is heavy so it’s going to take a lot of trips back and forth. We have to move things quietly, so if that means extra trips, we’ll take extra trips,” Anna said.

  Damon, Joey and Camille looked on eagerly as Anna and Emily spoke. Lucia looked a little uneasy about the whole thing. Anna looked directly at Lucia when she next spoke. “Two people will keep watch in their front yard. One person will stay in the tree at fence level in our yard. The other four will gather supplies from the house and stack them by the fence,” Anna said. “After we’ve gathered everything we want, we’ll work together to move the supplies over the fence and to our door. From there, it’ll be easy to bring everything inside.”

  “What about the Wright’s car?” Damon asked. “If we have to leave here, we only have the SUV. Why don’t we load up their car with supplies?”

  “That’s a good idea,” Michelle
spoke up. “When Max and Jesse get here, we don’t even know if they’ll have a vehicle or if they’ll be on foot.”

  “And their granddaughter was there, so her truck has to be in the garage, too,” Damon added. “Why don’t we stock both and bring the rest home?”

  “Good thinking, kiddo,” Anna said. “Lucia, you’re in the tree at the fence,” Anna noted the relief that flooded Lucia’s face knowing that she would be up high and out of reach. “We’re going to need muscle in the house, so that means you, Damon and Joey. Emily has already been in the house with me and is familiar with the place,” she finished.

  “Okay, so Camille and I will stand watch in the front yard,” Michelle said. “Everyone strap on a knife just to be safe.”

  “We need to do a perimeter check before we get started,” Anna said. “We have no idea if there are zombies in the street or in the Wright’s yard and we need to make sure our fence is still clear all the way around.”

  “Lucia and I will do the perimeter check while everyone else gets ready,” Michelle answered. She knew that Lucia needed some exposure and potential practice with her knife. Lucia hadn’t killed any of the dead yet and Michelle wanted her to at least get comfortable holding the knife so that she could use it when the time came.

  With that, Michelle checked the newly exposed corners of the front window to make sure that front yard was free of zombies before they headed out. Seeing no movement, she removed the lift bar from the front door and beckoned Lucia to follow her out, climbing through the bars. They walked to the side of the house closest to the Wright’s house first to see if there was any activity in the neighboring yard.

  “Climb up and take a look,” Michelle whispered as she pointed at the closest tree. Lucia nervously pulled herself up to the branch that hung partially over both yards. She looked around and listened carefully for telltale signs of the dead. The yard ahead was clear other than the ripening body of Mrs. Wright. She hopped down noiselessly then walked quietly along the fence for a minute or so before her mom told her to hop up and take another look.

  Lucia climbed up the tree and looked around, again seeing no movement in any direction. They continued their way all the way around the yard, front and back, until they were sure the perimeter was clear.

  Back inside the house, Michelle told Anna and Emily that everything was clear. The boys were geared up and ready to go.

  “We’re not in a hurry here, so everyone take your time and move quietly. If any zombies show up on the street or in the yard, we stop and go home,” Anna said. “This isn’t a one-off.” Everyone nodded in acknowledgment.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lucia sat in the tree and watched as her mom and Camille took their places in the yard and everyone else went inside the house. The Wright’s home sat almost as far back from the road as Anna’s did. Their front yard held many trees offering a lot of shade and privacy, but they didn’t have a fence or brick wall at the front of the yard. Their privacy fence started at the sides of the house and fully enclosed the rear of their property.

  Inside the Wright’s house, Anna directed everyone to the attached garage first. She wanted to make sure both vehicles were there and that they had keys for both. She looked at the wall next to the door joining the garage to the mudroom and saw a cute little ceramic ‘Home is Where Our Family is’ plaque above six little key hooks. There were three sets of car keys on the rack as well as several other sets of keys, likely for the house and the backyard sheds.

  In the garage they first saw an oversized luxury car that the Wright’s had driven on the rare occasion they left their house. On the opposite side of the garage their granddaughter’s extended cab pickup was parked in the extra space.

  “Boys grab the keys and make sure both cars start,” Anna said. “Check the gas gauges, too,” she added. Joey and Damon were as excited as if they’d just been asked to drive the cars. Anna smiled and shook her head as both cars started up. “Turn them off,” she admonished when they both remained at the wheels for a minute. She stifled a laugh at the disappointed looks on their faces.

  “The truck’s about three-quarters full,” Damon said.

  “The car’s topped off; it’s past the full mark. I’m going to check the garage for gas cans,” Joey added.

  “Give me the keys. I’m going to put them back on the key rack, so we know exactly where to find them later,” Anna said. “Look for oil, antifreeze, or any of that kind of stuff when you look for gas cans. Put anything you find in the back of the truck. She left the boys to it and joined Emily in the house.

  Anna and Emily methodically went through every cabinet and drawer in the mudroom and the kitchen. They added to a growing pile of flashlights, batteries, knives, duct tape and random little finds like matches heaped on the kitchen island.

  The mudroom held an abundance of recycled shopping bags to carry the supplies, so Anna grabbed one and went through both bathrooms and one of the hall closets gathering first aid supplies and medications. She found one bottle of unused antibiotics and two bottles full of prescription pain medication. Being a nurse, she was thrilled to find the antibiotics. If anyone were to develop any kind of infection, they would already have the necessary medication on hand.

  The boys came in from the garage, having loaded everything out there that could be of use into the back of the granddaughter’s truck. While they started hauling the gallon bottles of water out to both vehicles in the garage, Anna went to check in with Emily.

  Emily was bagging up the food that lined the pantry shelves. “These mason jars are noisy,” she said.

  “We’ll put them in the trunk,” Anna said. She grabbed the guns and limited ammo she’d found the night before and carried it out to the garage for the boys to distribute between the two vehicles.

  Anna bagged up the supplies on the kitchen island and found another bag to carry a couple dozen plain white candles. They could use all of the candles they could get once the power went out.

  When Damon and Joey had finished hauling the water and food from the pantry, Anna sent them downstairs to check the basement. Most of the rest of the house had already been picked through and the items either bagged to go back to Anna’s or loaded into the truck and car in the garage.

  Emily grabbed packages of toilet paper and brand new toothbrushes as well as bulk packages of toothpaste. She brought them into the kitchen with an embarrassed grin on her face. “You never know,” she said. “It can’t hurt to grab the stuff if we have room for it.” Anna stifled a laugh.

  “I think we’ve gone through just about everything,” Anna said. “I’m going to empty the freezer and we can head out as soon as the boys are done.” Emily left her latest haul in the mudroom. It would be there if they wanted it, but they could leave in a rush without it sitting in the way.

  They’d been working as quietly as they could, especially with the broken picture window at the front of the house, so as to not draw the attention of any of the dead. Michelle suddenly appeared at the front door, but with the boys in the basement and the women in the kitchen, she wasn’t able to see anyone.

  “Shit,” Michelle hissed. She quietly walked down the long hallway that opened up to the huge farmhouse style kitchen at the back of the house. “Hey,” she called out softly, yet still made Anna jump in surprise. “We’ve got a horde of zombies coming up the street. Hundreds of them. I don’t know where the fuck they came from. Time to go. We’ll finish up later,” she quickly told Anna and Emily. They noticed a slight vibration as items on the kitchen counter seemed to rattle and move slightly.

  “Holy shit, that’s a lot of zombies,” Emily said quietly as the vibration became more perceptible.

  The boys were just coming up the basement steps when Michelle came in. They heard what she said and mentally shifted gears. “Let’s close up the cars so we don’t drain the batteries,” Joey said to Damon. They moved swiftly to the garage and closed the doors, trunk, and tailgate as softly as they could. Then they met their moms and Emily in
the kitchen.

  From somewhere out front, they heard a muffled scream.

  Chapter 34

  Day 3

  Lucia sat in her tree and Camille held her post in the front yard while Michelle went inside to tell the others. There were far more zombies on the street than Michelle or the girls had realized. They were seeing the first few at the front of the crowd but had no idea that those zombies were leading a horde of thousands behind them.

  The small crowd at the front of the pack grew thicker as more zombies joined them from houses that lined either side of the street. Camille recognized a few neighbors by sight, although she had never learned their names. As the noises of stumbling, lurching and shambling feet grew louder, Camille realized that the crowd was made up of much more than what she was seeing now. She gasped lightly and recognized the sound for what it truly was. A horde of zombies was steadily moving down her street.

  Camille stared at the closest faces, which were still two to three houses down. Young and old, frail and large, children and seniors, male and female and a multitude of mixed races made up what was becoming a tremendous horde of zombies. The dead didn’t discriminate.

  Camille needed to take cover. She glanced at Lucia who sat paralyzed with fear on the tree branch that hung over the fence. Then she looked toward the front door of the Wright’s house, trying to determine which she could reach faster. She knew she had only a matter of seconds before the first of the staggering dead would see her.

  As she glanced back toward Lucia, Lucia let out a muffled scream and pointed beyond Camille. There had been zombies inside the house next door to the Wright’s. While Camille’s attention had been drawn by the dead in the street, they had managed to silently lurch toward Camille in the lushness of the green, cushy lawn.

  Her eyes were drawn first to a teenaged girl who was nearest to her. The dead girl had long blonde hair matted with dried blood and had been dressed in jean shorts and a little white cami. A huge chunk of flesh was torn from her neck, causing the girl’s head to flop around on her shoulders as she walked. Her white cami was stained with dark splotches of dried blood and her arms were ringed with bite marks. With the girl’s head flopping around, Camille was able to make quick work of her with one fast thrust of her knife.