“Well, my being thrown out the back door was true.” Holiday stated. “The Beast was inside when it blew up.” He said emphasizing the word ‘was’. Then they saw it. The massive Beast ran past the end of their street. They only saw it briefly but the group could tell it had been hurt by the explosion. It was missing one of its massive arms and had black soot covering parts of it.
“It’s heading out of town past the gas station.” Eric said.
“That’s the way we have to go!” Holiday yelled grabbing the steering wheel tightly. He started his car; the roar of its engine filled the group with hope. The car started to move forward down the street in the same direction where the Beast had ran past. They approached the corner and came to a stop. Holiday and David tried to see down the street where the gas station once stood. The rain made it difficult for them to see very much but they could tell for sure The Beast was gone.
“Maybe it’s scared of the rain?” Destiny asked. “I mean it goes by sound from what we have seen... maybe the sound was driving it nuts!” Everyone nodded at the plausible explanation. Holiday pulled around the corner and was in between his office and where the gas station had been. As he drove slowly ahead, the car passed the same baby stroller they saw on their way into town. David began to think back on everything that had happened. He remember them entering town past that stroller and going to the station. He thought about Doc and how he died. He thought about how all the people he knew were dead. He remembered hearing the voice of hope over the radio as the woman who knew his parents talked to him. He remembered the pain in his chest as the zombies closed around him in the park. He looked behind him at Destiny. He barely knew her but he felt very close to her. He remembered when he first met her, he placed his hand on her shoulders and as she swung around he grabbed her arms. He felt a spark in that moment but it was snuffed out quickly by the fast moving zombies heading toward them. He wondered what it would have been like if they met without the horrors around them. Destiny looked at David and smiled. His heart melted.
“Oh shit!” Eric yelled and pushed himself over toward Holiday’s side of the car. He squished Destiny against the door with his body. As he did, he pointed out the other side of the car in complete terror. David quickly turned his head toward the window beside him, his face flashed with anger. The Beast stood on the scorched remains of the gas station. It was hunched over facing away from the car and it lifted its head up into the air. In its mouth was a body flailing around. David recognized the man. It was David’s good friend Chris Pikerton.
Chris was a tiny man, about the same height as Vivian but super skinny. He didn’t have a shirt on, and it looked like he was wearing shorts. His legs were deep inside the Beast’s mouth. He flailed around in its mouth with blood pouring out of his legs. It sprayed everywhere. He wasn’t screaming; shock had numbed his pain. He held in his hand a small revolver. He aimed the revolver at the creature’s head and fired two shots into it. The Beast’s skin flinched slightly as the bullets bounced off. It dropped Chris to the ground and swiftly stepped on him, crushing him. It let out another of its roars and the group watched in awe as its missing arm seemed to regrow itself rapidly. Holiday sped up the car causing the engine to rev more loudly. The Beast turned its small head with a snapping motion toward the car and began charging at them.
It took only seconds for Holiday to reach Alpine Auto and as he swerved the car around the corner, the Beast grew incredibly close. Its hands reached out and dug into the trunk of the car. Holiday sped down the street towards David’s home; he went so fast the Beast was now being dragged behind the car unable to keep up with its legs. It placed one hand in front of the other and slowly ripped into the trunk pulling itself forward. Its weight started to cause the car’s front wheels to lift off the ground slightly. Holiday tried to swerve left and right on the road to shake it off. All that happened was its claws dug into the trunk deeper and deeper. They approached David’s driveway and knew they couldn’t risk bringing the Beast there. Holiday drove past the driveway and continued down the road. A sign saying Iowa City twenty miles caught his eye on the right side of the road. He swerved his car in front of it and stomped on the brakes. The car slid sideways into the solid sign. As they hit, everyone in the car shook wildly. The sign broke into a few dozen splinters as the car emerged on the other side of it. The Beast rolled off the car and twirled through the air eventually landing further down the road. Holiday turned the car back toward David’s driveway and accelerated. Holiday watched in the rear view mirror as the Beast lay in the middle of the road face down, breathing heavily. It faded off into the distance as they drove away.
Chapter 8 – Holdout
The car sped down David’s driveway toward his home. With still no sign that the Beast had followed them, the group relaxed as they neared the house. Rain still poured all around them causing the empty fields around David’s house to be little more than pools of water and mud. Holiday drove the car straight up to the front door, stopping it as one of the front tires rolled onto the screen door David had ripped off earlier. The twisted wreck around the tree and the body of the man were still lying in the same spot as when they left. It was a painful reminder to David of everything that has happened and how messed up everything had become.
“What the hell happened here?” Eric asked, peering out of the window into the rain.
“A lot.” David replied and opened the door stepping out. The cold of the rain on the grass pierced his feet once more, taking his mind back to when he first ran outside two nights ago. His feet had been through a lot since everything started. But surprisingly, this was the first time he had thought about them being bare since he left his home. It was sheer luck he had not stepped on some sharp debris or scrapped his foot on a patch of broken glass earlier. He chided himself for not asking Vivian if she had an extra pair at her house. He walked across the lawn to his front door. He opened it and motioned for everyone to go inside. The others jumped out of the car and headed into the house. Holiday walked up to David, paused and then looked back saying,
“Glove compartment.” He snapped his fingers and ran back to the front seat of the car. Everyone else was inside except for David, Vivian, and Holiday. Viv paused beside David at the door smiling at him. She went to speak as the rain covered her completely but her face turned blank. She pointed to the field beside David’s house; David looked at the field trying to see through the heavy rain that poured all around them. It took him a few seconds but he finally saw it: a group of zombies tromped slowly through the mud. The reason Lone Tree looked so clear earlier was because all the zombies had moved on. The zombies had headed out of town and across the field by David’s house on their way to Iowa City. Just then the rain slowed, it still drizzled enough to still be called rain but made seeing into the distance much easier. David and Viv then saw the true horror. It was a horror that put all of the previous sights to shame. Thousands of zombies filled the field. As they looked around, they saw even more in the other fields nearby. David’s driveway was also filled with zombies as more walked past. David’s house was surrounded. The zombies didn’t seem to notice the group yet.
“Get inside.” David said quietly to Vivian. She nodded and turned to walk inside. As she did, a zombie rushed around the corner and grabbed her by her arms. It growled loudly and sank its teeth into her shoulder. Vivian let out a massive scream as she fell to the ground dragging the zombie on top of her. Holiday, still in his car, slammed the glove compartment closed and pulled himself out of the car as fast as he could. As he did, he slammed into the horn on the steering wheel, letting out a honk that echoed through the fields.
“No!!!” Holiday screamed as he exited the vehicle and ran to Viv. The zombie bit down once more, this time into her neck. Holiday raised his shotgun and as the zombie lifted its head once, more he fired. The head of the zombie exploded as the shotgun rang through David’s ears.
Holiday and David crouched beside Viv as she coughed and gasped for air. Holiday dr
opped his shotgun and leaned in close above her face.
“I love you!” He said as she choked on blood looking up at him sadly.
Vivian seemed to smile at Holiday for a moment and then she began to shake violently, turning her face blank once more. David stood up quickly and backed away a little; he knew she was turning into a zombie. Holiday lowered his head toward the side of her face and started sobbing as she shook. Holiday’s gun was lying at his feet. David knew what had to be done. David picked up the shotgun and cocked it loudly. Holiday stopped sobbing and looked up toward David. “No!” Holiday screamed. “No! Not her!” he looked toward her, his eyes filled completely with tears.
“I’m sorry sheriff!” David screamed over the sound of the rain as it picked up speed once. Holiday cried loudly and for the first time since David had known him, he took off his sheriff’s hat. He placed his hat on the ground next to Vivian’s arm. His head was bald with a few stray grey hairs. He placed his head on Vivian’s chest and held her from shaking with his hands.
“I’ll do it.” He said softly still laying his head on her chest. “I’ll do it!” He yelled standing to his feet. He pushed the sheriff hat back onto his bald head and grabbed the gun from David.
Vivian began to moan. Holiday placed his foot on her chest keeping her pinned. Her hands clawed at his legs; the rings on her hands began to rip into his pants. Holiday raised the shotgun toward her face; she snapped her jaw wildly at him. He closed his tear filled eyes and turned his head away, “I’m sorry.” He said softly and fired the shotgun.
Her arms went limp as her head blew apart; Holiday turned his head back toward her and dropped his shotgun. He turned toward David and then continued to walk inside. David crouched down and picked up the shotgun as moans came from all around him. Vivian’s scream, the car’s horn, and the gunshots from Holiday’s shotgun had echoed in all the fields around David’s house. The thousands of zombies were now shuffling through the mud toward his home. David bolted inside and slammed the door.
The downstairs of David’s home was fairly simple for an old house. The stairs to the second floor were in front of the front door when you first enter the house. Four rooms surrounded the stairs. To the right was the living room filled with furniture. Two big cushioned blue velvet chairs sat in two of the corners of the living room. In the middle of the room sat a huge four person couch. In front of the couch was an old wooden table. David walked quickly into the living room; he saw Eric plopped down on one of the chairs and Holiday sitting on the couch crouched forward with his head resting in his hands. Destiny was crouched in front of him in an attempt to comfort him. Clearly they had no idea what was coming.
“We need to start barricading these windows!” David hollered and pointed to the two large windows in his living room.
“Why? What’s going on?” Destiny asked as she looked at David and moved onto the couch beside Holiday. Eric leaned to the side in his chair and peered out the window. The rain was thick and blocked his view of any of the threats outside.
“There are a lot of zombies coming at us from the fields.” David said as he placed Holiday’s shotgun on the couch beside the sheriff. Just then the window Eric peered out of smashed and a fast running zombie pounced inside. It landed on the ground in a crouching position but quickly stood up. Eric, still holding his trusty hammer, swung in panic at it while sitting in the chair paralyzed with fear. He screamed loudly as he bashed its arm and shoulder with his hammer. It moaned and snarled at him then it swung its broken arm at Eric and sent him flying out of the chair. Destiny ran up to the zombie and raised her gun against its head. As she fired, the zombie slid with lightning speed out of the way of her bullet and appeared at her side. It grabbed her wrist and twisted as it tried to pull it towards her mouth. Her wrist cracked loudly and she let out a sorrowful cry. Her wrist broken, she dropped her gun as the zombie inched its mouth closer to her. David rushed behind it and bashed it in the head with the butt of his massive pistol. It released Destiny’s wrist and fell lifeless to the ground. Holiday still sat on the couch a million miles away in his mind. Destiny knelt down holding her broken wrist. David bent down and put his hand on her shoulder deeply concerned for her. Eric stood up from the ground where he was earlier thrown to and walked over to the table. He kicked it over on its side toward the couch. It smacked Holiday in the leg,
“Sorry.” Eric said to Holiday as he picked up the table by its legs and stared at Holiday. Holiday was unresponsive and didn’t even feel the table hit him. Eric brought it over to the broken window. “Nails?” Eric asked David as he held the table up in front of the window. The table covered most of the window except for a small opening near the bottom.
“Basement!” David yelled “Holiday get the nails, they are in the basement!” David said looking at Holiday while helping Eric by holding one end of the table up to the window. Once again, Holiday was lost in his mind. David had seen this too many times. He walked over to Holiday and raised his fist. Eric quickly moved to the middle of the table to better hold it up as David moved away. David was fed up with Holiday freezing; he then swung so hard that when he hit Holiday, the entire couch tipped over bringing Holiday’s legs up over his head.
“Fuck!” Holiday screamed getting up and holding his jaw with one hand. He looked at David with anger in his eyes.
“Snap the fuck out of it Sheriff!” David yelled. “We need your help right now!”
Holiday stood up and screamed back “My only reason to live is lying dead out that door son!”
“I don’t care!” David yelled, causing everyone to slightly gasp. David looked around at everyone. “Well I do, but we are about to be overrun by thousands of zombies!” He kicked the bottom of the tipped over couch. “We can mourn later! Right now, if we breakdown, everyone in here dies!” David stepped over the couch causing Holiday to slightly flinch. David stepped beside Holiday and headed toward the door to the basement at the end of the living room.
“Alright!” Holiday said as he raised his hands to stop David. “Nails? Where in the Basement?” David paused and glared at him tensing his lips. He wondered if he was able to trust Holiday anymore. He had broken down so many times already and he was the Sheriff. The sound of moaning outside interrupted his doubt.
“First shelf on the right at the bottom of the stairs.” David said walking back around the couch. Holiday turned and swung open the door. He ran downstairs as the zombies closed in on the house. Eric let out a loud grunt as a pack of zombies pushed up against the table he held. An arm flew in through the opening at the bottom of the window swinging everywhere, trying to grab anything. Destiny cradled her broken wrist in front of herself. She still had one pistol holstered in her pants and held the other one with her good hand. She raised it and fired through the opening in the window on the bottom. The arm receded as she hit a zombie in the head causing it to fall back dead.
“Holiday!” Eric yelled.
David ran to the next room on the other side of his stairs; it was his kitchen. David paused in front of the stairs and looked back, searching for Holiday to run back up out of the basement.
‘He should have found the nails by now.’ David thought and started heading back into the room and toward the door leading to the basement. Before he reached it Holiday sprung out holding a giant jar of assorted nails. David smirked and ran back toward the stairs. He headed into the Kitchen and flipped over the table. He kicked off the legs and dragged the table back to the living room. The only window in the kitchen was a small one above the sink. Even if it was wide open a child wouldn’t be able to fit through it.
“Destiny, help with the other window!” David yelled as Holiday handed Eric nails from the jar. Eric hammered away driving the nails through the table and into the window frame.
Destiny set her gun on the ground and rushed to the window on the next wall to help David hoist up the kitchen table. It completely covered the window as it was a massive table. “I got it, you go grab some nails!” He scr
eamed as the moans seemed to overpower his words.
Destiny rushed over to Holiday and grabbed a handful of nails out of the bucket. She ran back, dropping a few nails but didn’t pause for a second. The window behind the kitchen table David held smashed away as a group of zombies snarled and tried to crawl in. Destiny threw her body against the table while holding up nails for David. He grabbed one and using his massive pistol, pounded the nails into the window frame. He finished nailing his side then quickly did her side as she held the table with her body and nails with her good hand.
“Done!” Eric yelled, backing away from the window but still watching it.
Holiday and Eric waited a few moments to see if the table would hold. After a few pounds they nodded as the table shook but held its position. Then they heard a smash from the kitchen and ran into it. They saw a few zombie arms waiving around in the broken kitchen window. None of them could fit through.
“Next room?” Eric asked Holiday. He nodded and together they jogged into the next room on the opposite side of the house from the Living Room. Books lined the walls and a table with two chairs sat in the middle. Eric and Holiday looked at each other puzzled; they never knew David was such an avid book collector. David then ran into the room.
“One more room!” David said motioning for them to follow him, “Bring that table!” Holiday and Eric grabbed the table and lifted. It was heavier than the other one they just nailed up.
While they heaved the table into the next room Holiday asked. “What’s with all of the books son?”
“My Dad’s study. He loved books, even wrote a few. I haven’t gotten around to changing it yet.” David replied.
The rain outside stopped suddenly and now the moans were all the group could hear. The last room attached between the living room and the study was the bathroom. Smaller than they expected it to be, it had a tall window that extended from floor to ceiling. Out of it, they could see zombies slowly moving towards it. A small girl in a dress seemed to be leading the other zombies. She held her mouth open wide as Holiday glared at her, remembering the girl in the dress from the station David had shot. Holiday had not, until now, thought about how these people were once people he knew. He knew the girl heading closer to them. It was his old friend Jerrod’s daughter Michelle.
Infestation (Book 1): Infestation Iowa (A Zombie Survival Series) Page 7