by Jean Booth
He walked back over to Sarah with shaky steps. He took her in his arms and just held her for a minute. He hoped that this would be the worst of it, but with the size of the house, he was terrified of finding bodies of children.
“Do you want to find another place? We don’t have to stay here. There may be more.” He hoped that she understood what he was saying. He couldn’t verbalize his worst fears. He wanted her to be prepared, in case there were more corpses to be found. She shook her head.
“No, this is perfect. We obviously need to be more prepared than they were, and I really don’t want to search another house. This is bad enough, and the longer it takes us to find a place, the worse the destruction and decay will be. Let’s just get this over with. We’ll have to dispose of that mess before Frank and Gillian come in though. There’s no reason to subject them to that horror.” She pushed off of the counter she was leaning against and headed toward the hall of bedrooms.
He moved ahead of Sarah, wanting to enter the bedrooms first in case they came across more scenes like the one in the kitchen. If there was anything else dead in this house he didn’t want her to be unprepared and have to live with those visions as well. The first door they came to was the pantry, quickly followed by the linen closet. Across the hall was the first bathroom that was as immaculate as the garage had been. They looked in the shower and under the sink. The bathroom was next to the master bedroom, and there were two more bedrooms across the hall.
“I’ll take the master, if you want to take the other rooms,” she suggested. He nodded in agreement.
He went into the first room, and opened the door to an office. He scoped the room, leaving no corner unchecked.
In the middle of the door to the final room, stenciled in lavender, was a name. Hailey. Oh, dear, god, no. His hands shook as he opened the door. The lavender walls were decorated with various types of carousel horses. The open curtains letting light into the room gave it a warm, happy feel. The small toddler bed was perfectly made with stuffed horses thrown haphazardly across the pillows. The entire room, including the closet and under the bed, was completely, blessedly, empty.
SARAH
The master bedroom was pristine. Sarah bent to check under the bed before she opened the closet or bathroom doors, wanting to make sure no one would sneak up on her. The closet was jam-packed with clothing, but, thankfully, clear of bodies. She crossed the bedroom, and pulled open the door to the master bathroom. She half expected to be assaulted with the smell of death again, but was relieved to smell roses. The bathroom was clean and empty. There was a window over the large bathtub. It looked out at a small mother-in-law’s cottage. Even from this distance, Sarah could see that the door to the small house was hanging on a hinge, and splattered with blood.
“Sarah?”
She jumped, unaware that Matt had joined her. “We have one more place to check.” She pointed to the cottage. “Let’s lock up the house so no one comes in while we check that out. We can leave the front door unlocked, I’ll tell Frank to watch it.”
They quickly and methodically locked all the doors and windows of the house, apart from the front door. Then, together, they walked over to Frank’s truck to explain that while it was empty, Frank and Gillian should wait until they’d had a chance to check a few more things out, and clean up a little before they went in. Frank cast Sarah a grateful look.
Matt entered the cottage as Sarah stood point. The smell wasn’t quite as bad as in the large house, but then this house hadn’t been completely closed up. She’d wondered about the closed door in the large house, but shrugged it off, hoping that they’d find answers here. Sarah hoped there was a survivor and they’d know what had happened. This house also opened into a living room, although it was much smaller with a very dainty kitchen attached to one side and the doors to the only bedroom and bathroom still swinging in the breeze. Unlike the main house, this one was a complete mess. Sarah waited while Matt stood in the doorway, scanning what he could see of the living room and kitchen, assessing where he should look first, when he stiffened.
“The zombie is still here,” he whispered.
Sarah watched Matt step further into the living room, keeping the wall as close to his back as he could. His body was taut, as he crossed the floor to the kitchen and the two open doors. Sarah followed him into the kitchen. It was as messy as the living room, but there were no zombies. He walked toward the bathroom, using one hand to widen the open door as Sarah came through behind him.
“Wow. It’s a mess. Have you found anything yet?” She said.
“I heard something,” Matt said. As soon as he placed his hand against the door, it burst open, revealing a zombie, red-tinted saliva dripping from its mouth.
Sarah shot at it, deliberately aiming wide and low to avoid hitting Matt. Her goal was to simply distract the zombie so Matt could kill it. Sarah’s shot succeeded not only in distracting the zombie, but also in jolting Matt into action. He lifted his gun and shot the zombie in the back of the head with his 357 Magnum, the barrel of the gun touching her blood-soaked hair. The front of her head exploded like a ripe melon, the hollow point bullet sending chunks of brain and skull flying through the small area, her body slumping to the floor with a quiet grace.
Sarah quickly made her way into the middle of the room, keeping her gun alternately trained on all three doors. She waited patiently for Matt to gather himself so they could be done with this. She’d had enough of killing things.
Matt nodded at Sarah and entered the bathroom. He checked everything, just to make absolutely certain there weren’t any more surprises, and walked back out. Sarah maintained her post, gun methodically sweeping between the doors as Matt quickly went to the bedroom. An old mothball aroma wafted from the room, confirming her suspicions that an older person, possibly the zombie they’d just killed, had lived here.
Sarah’s heart was slamming in her chest as she scanned the room for any other signs of that they were not alone. She could hear Matt searching the bedroom, and knew he was high alert. She heard a door creak open, followed by a surprised grunt. She rushed into the room, ready to shoot. It took her a moment to process the two bodies intertwined on the floor.
“Sarah, don’t shoot! It’s a dog,” Matt said, as he shoved the animal off his chest.
“I see that,” she said, grinning. “What was it doing in the closet?” She holstered her gun, content that they’d destroyed the zombie that had gotten to the people in the main house.
“I have no idea. Let’s go get Frank and Gillian. She’ll be excited to see the dog.” Sarah felt like it was an omen, finding the dog here. They had owned a dog growing up, and both Matt and Sarah shared fond memories. They knew it was just the thing to make this truly a home.
SARAH
It took about two hours to bag, drag, and clean the remains out of the kitchen. Sarah was thankful for the discovery of the dog, as it distracted Gillian. The dog and Gilly played in the front yard while Frank kept guard. When Sarah and Matt finished with the major removal in the main house, Matt took Frank to the small cottage to dispose of the corpse there. Frank wanted to help, and he would need to learn how to dispose of the corpses and do a proper cleanup if he was going to continue surviving in this new world.
Still hesitant to use the now immaculate kitchen, Sarah scrounged up some dehydrated meals for dinner. She showed Gillian the house, both girls pausing for a moment at the inscription painted on the door to the toddler’s room before entering.
“This room will be perfect for us. You and Matt should take the master,” Frank said as he quietly stepped in behind them.
Sarah was startled for a moment, and her hand briefly brushed the butt of her gun before she realized it was only Frank.
“Frank! You can’t sneak up like that. I could have shot you. Where’s Matt?” Sarah was shaking; it didn’t seem to take much to startle her anymore.
“I apologize. I’ll be louder next time. Matt is tending to the bonfire. I thought we’d get
settled here and figure out what’s needed for security while Gilly watches a movie.”
Fire. That, and bleach were their only options at the moment. If the virus couldn’t be killed by bleach, Sarah didn’t know how to destroy it. It was what they used in the hospital to disinfect rooms after TB and Ebola patients were discharged. If bleach could kill that crap, it had to be able to kill whatever was causing people to turn into those creatures. Burning the bodies seemed like the logical choice to contain the virus infecting the dead. She didn’t want to bury them and wind up contaminating their future food or water supply with decaying bodies. They’d have to clean the small cottage out tomorrow, but for tonight she wanted to simply enjoy their newfound sense of safety.
There was a small concern that the zombies would see the smoke and be alerted to their presence, but that was a risk that the group was going to have to live with. They had to have confidence that they were prepared for an attack if one came. Sarah mostly hoped that they were too far out of town to be of any notice to the zombies.
Frank set up a kid’s movie for Gillian while Sarah started making a list of things they’d need. More weapons and ammo for sure. Frank would have to be trained on how to use the guns properly. Gillian would have to learn eventually as well. She thought .22s and .17s would work nicely to use for target practice. The bullets were small and didn’t have as much of a kick as a 9mm or a .45 that they’d use for an actual attack. And until they knew how to shoot, Sarah didn’t want them wasting the good stuff.
“We’re going to need to fence off the entire property. Do you think you will be able to electrify it?” She asked Frank as she was making her list.
“Well, I was thinking about that earlier. I can do a couple different types of electrical modification. The river out front would work for hydroelectricity, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to find all the parts I need to make that work. If we can break into some of the schools, I can liberate the solar panels.” He paused, lost in thought for a moment before continuing. “We would need a few large trucks and more people for those though. They’re heavy and if we break them, they’ll be useless to us. There are also some wind turbines we can try to put up, but again, I’m not sure about the supplies. I’ll make a list and hopefully I’ll be able to find what I need at some specialty stores. If not, we may be looking at generators and prayers.”
“Well, the power hasn’t cut off yet, so we have time. I’m not sure how long it will last though, so we need to look into these things,” she replied. “Write your list, and we’ll see what we can do.”
She continued her list as if the electricity would last forever, even though she knew there was a chance it would fail.
Food, soil, fertilizer, seeds, a large freezer, live chickens, cows and clothing all went on her list. They’d have to raid some farms for these, and figure out how to drive a semi in order to transport them. Luckily, there were farming lands in the small town further east that she knew of. They wouldn’t have to travel far; they’d just need to be careful and figure out how to transport the livestock back.
“You guys did an excellent job with the cleanup. If you hadn’t told me, I’d have never known that something happened in here.” Frank stood admiring the kitchen while Sarah leaned against the counter writing.
“Thanks. Gillian has seen enough, she doesn’t need images to add to her nightmares.” She smiled as she handed him her list. “Add whatever else you can think of. Be detailed and specific. Write down store names if you can. I’m going to check on Matt.” She grabbed two meal bags and two water bottles and walked out the front door.
MATT
Matt was as far away from the house as he could get while remaining in sight. He held a handkerchief to his face to stop himself from inhaling the smoke from the fire. The initial stench of burning bodies permeated the insides of his nose, giving him a scent memory that he’d never forget. He turned at Sarah’s loud steps, hand on the butt of his rifle just in case. She held up the rations, sending him a tentative smile. That smile released the last thread of apprehension he had at telling her about his past. She deserved to know.
She silently handed him a packet of dehydrated spaghetti, along with a spork and water. They ate side by side in a comfortable silence. The sound of the fire crackling and popping was the only noise that could be heard. Despite the cause for the fire, the noises created a calm, relaxing feel to the evening.
“I never told you how I ended up with Mary and John.” Matt felt his heart rate increase. He wasn’t sure he could do this, and hoped she’d give him a reason to back out of what he’d started. He hated how vulnerable he felt in this very moment.
Sarah simply nodded. Matt knew she’d wanted to hear his story for as long as she’d known him. She had never pressed, though. Never pushed him to reveal more than he was comfortable with. It was for that reason that he continued now. She deserved to know this. “I was nine. My parents were never really interested in raising children. They were never outright abusive—although now I can see that what they did was a type of abuse—they just didn’t participate in family life. They were very heavy drug users, neither one caring about what drug they had, as long as they didn’t have to face the reality of their everyday lives.”
Matt knew Sarah would be surprised to hear that his parents had been addicts. Her parents had been drug users, too, but she had suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of the ones who were supposed to have protected her.
“I had a twin sister. On our ninth birthday, our parents were shooting up again. I didn’t know it then, but they were in serious trouble with the law. They knew the cops were coming for them. If they were caught, they’d be locked up for a very long time, without access to their drugs. That night, under the influence of whatever they were on, they decided that death was better than a lifetime in prison without the escape drugs brought them.” He swallowed, oblivious to the tears streaking down his face.
“I was sitting next to the window in the living room when my dad shot me. He hit my shoulder. The pain was debilitating, more intense than anything I’d ever felt. I remember looking over, unable to really process what had happened, when I saw my mother and sister by the couch. My sister was reading on the floor behind it, and still had the book in her hand, although she was no longer looking at it. She was looking up at my mother. She died with an expression of pained confusion on her face. My mother had slit her throat before slicing her own. After that I remember a lot of chaos. There were cops, the lights from their cars reflecting strangely through the windows. My dad was arrested before he had a chance to finish the job.” There, Matt thought, the worst is over.
“They had to physically drag me out of that house. I didn’t want to leave my sister like that. I wouldn’t believe that she was gone for the longest time.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “When I saw you in the store, you looked so much like her, I lost it. I thought all that was behind me, that I’d found closure, but it all came back in the instant I saw you look up, with blood covering you. God, there was so much blood.” They stood in silence for a minute, watching the flames flicker in the dying light. He was starting to let his insecurities get the best of him when he felt her arms slide around his middle.
She hugged him fiercely.
“It’s over now. I’m so sorry about your sister,” she whispered against his neck. The compassion he heard in her voice undid him. He fell to his knees, bringing her with him, and began to sob. She held him close, just being the support he needed. By the time it was all finished, the bodies in the fire were smoldering ashes and he felt renewed. He kissed her, grateful more than words could express that she was in his life.
Together they walked back to the house, hand in hand. As long as they had each other, they knew that they’d survive whatever life had to throw at them. The sun finally set on their past. Tomorrow it would rise, revealing a new future, ripe with possibilities.
SARAH
Sarah couldn’t believe it had been six months since th
e outbreak. There was still no sign that the infected knew of their compound. For six months they built, scavenged, and rescued the few survivors they could find.
She sighed as she paced the inside perimeter of the fence surrounding their home. She was pleased with the progress they’d made in such a short time. The fence was eight feet tall with barbed wire encircling the entire top and outside surface. Below the fence line was another two feet of barbed wire, buried in the dirt. That hadn’t been easy to accomplish, but Sarah knew they’d be grateful for it should the day come when the infected discovered them here. On the side of the fence where Sarah was walking, they’d dug a ditch that was four feet wide and three feet deep, filled with electrified barbed wire. A thin strip of wire ran along the inside of the ditch, connected to the main house to alert them of any movement. Frank had also installed motion sensors outside the perimeter of the fence line that would detect movement of any creatures larger than Dog.
There was a chicken and rabbit coop placed between the house and the pond, keeping them protected as much as possible. There was already an established fence for horses, but they had escaped. During one of the first raids, Sarah and Matt had been able to liberate a couple cows and goats from one of the farms over the hill.
She was careful as she checked the lean-to, making sure no one or nothing was hiding within the three-walled structure. It was the closest thing to a barn she was comfortable having, and she knew the animals were used to the elements the Nevada weather could bring.
Everything worked on solar and hydroelectric power. It was an amazing feat, even more so with only two dozen people contributing to the efforts. The only way in or out of the compound was through an electrified gate that opened wide enough for one vehicle to pass in or out at a time. When the gate was opened, there were two people guarding the entrance with enough weaponry to obliterate a small army.