Survival In The Zombie Apocalypse | Book 1 | Worse Than Dead

by Brett, Cal

“We don’t need to move everything,” she answered, “we can keep this place as a safe house, just in case.”

  “Ok,” Robbie said, “sounds like you’ve thought it through already. When do you want to start?”

  “The zombies on the street should clear out in a few more days if we stay quiet,” Kelly said thoughtfully, “then we can go scout out the new place. It shouldn’t be long.”

  Although they had decided to go, they remained trapped by the whims of the undead in the streets below. Hours on the hot roof dragged while they waited, and wished, for the crowds to find entertainment elsewhere. Two long days later, as the afternoon ebbed, Robbie glared down impatiently at the throngs of hungry undead still encircling the building. Kelly boiled water on a grill nearby.

  “You want beef or chicken noodles today?” She unenthusiastically pointed to the plastic wrapped packages stacked nearby.

  “I don’t think I can eat any more Ramen noodles,” he replied exasperated. “I can’t believe how quiet it has been. We need a distraction to draw them away.”

  “Something will happen,” Kelly said walking up beside him, “all we need is a good wind to knock over a billboard or something and these things will be off chasing it.”

  “I hope so, or we will never get out of here.” Robbie said, “Damn. It’s like Trent cursed us.”

  “Don’t say that asshole’s name,” Kelly spat.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Robbie pointed. “See that big metal street sign about four blocks up? It’s just barely hanging there. If I can get down there and knock it loose that will start a stampede to the north and we can get out of here.”

  “No Robbie.” Kelly rolled her eyes at him, “first you would never get past them. There’s too many down there. Second, even if you did get by, then you would have to get all the way up there without any of them seeing you, and third, banging that sign would be like ringing a dinner bell. They would come after you and you know how hard they are to lose.”

  “I could do it.” Robbie said with confidence. “Look, I could jump to that building there. It’s less than 10 feet away and its one floor lower than us. Then all I’d have to do is follow the roof tops to the corner and…”

  “And what happens when you jump over there and break your ankle, or even sprain it?!” Kelly admonished, “These buildings are old and haven’t been maintained Robbie. What if you jump and go right through the roof? If you got hurt you’d be trapped over there and I’d be over here and there’s nothing I could do for you. That’s assuming you could make the jump?! What if you missed?!”

  “Kelly,” Robbie whined. “We can’t just wait here until we starve. You know those things will wander around down there unless something draws them away. We have to do something, and I know I could…”

  “No!” Kelly said, and paused, seeing his disappointment, “Ok, maybe you could, but it’s a big risk that we don’t need to take just yet. We have plenty of water and food. Look, I want to get out of here just as bad as you but I don’t want either of us to get hurt or killed in the process.”

  “But!”

  “No Robbie,” she scolded him with her eyes, and stalked back to the grille.

  “Ok,” he acquiesced and started angrily throwing rocks down the street. Unable get them far, or loud, enough to have any influence on the flesh eating herd churning around beneath them he slumped down against the low wall and fumed.

  At night, the roof was not as hot as the halls and offices below so they spent their evenings sitting there, staring out at the silhouettes of the dark buildings around them. They couldn’t see the ocean but they could track the clouds and storms rolling in, and along, the coast a few miles away. A storm on the beach usually meant a cool salty breeze for their perch downtown. They looked forward to seeing the dark purple clouds, whose bellies flashed with lightning in the distance.

  Kelly was finishing up a can of peaches when a noise caught her attention. The silence of the world was so great without the cacophony of civilization that she often marveled at how small sounds travelled and stood out in this new world. Something sounded like rolling waves crashing on a shore far away. It was just a whisper at first so she froze to verify that she had actually heard something new. The drawn out rumbling grew louder and more distinct, echoing through the tall buildings downtown.

  She knew the sound but hadn’t heard it in so long it took a moment to get her head around it. Her memory scrambled to verify what she knew by instinct to be the growl of an engine and the gravelly hum of tires rolling over pavement; a car. Maybe more than one. As it grew closer it grew louder and she heard the throaty rasp of a diesel.

  “Robbie!” She called out. “Do you hear that?!”

  Robbie climbed upstairs and looked into the distance where she was pointing. “Hear what?”

  “Cars,” she said, “more than one. I think there is a diesel. Maybe a big truck.”

  They both ran to the edge so they could see down the boulevard that ran like a straight line through downtown. Whoever it was, they seemed to be driving back and forth through the city streets. The sound came from one direction and then seemed to turn and go back the way they came. At last they caught a glimpse of the source of the noise. Several vehicles drove through an intersection, almost too far away to see, and were quickly gone again into the maze of city streets.

  “What the hell are they doing?” Robbie asked, “Who drives around a city at night making all that noise?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Kelly said with a smile. “It may be exactly what we need. Look.”

  The zombies on the street below had taken notice and clusters of them were starting to break away from the vortex. Larger groups began to break off as the sounds grew louder until there was finally a stampede of stumbling lurching bodies moving away towards the engines. The creatures filled the streets like a surging tide hemmed in by the walls of the buildings.

  “There!” Robbie shouted while indicating three vehicles that had emerged into an intersection about six blocks away. At the lead was a large, red Ford F-350 with exhaust pipes pointing up behind the cab, behind that were two trucks, one blue and one white, which would have also been considered large if not for the hulking F-350 they followed. The trucks paused at the intersection and they heard indistinct shouting as the occupants seemed to be conferring on which way to go next.

  They seemed, for a few moments, unaware of the tidal wave of ghouls that charged forward hoping to sink their teeth into the rare human flesh that had appeared in front of them. When the horde burst from the shadows of the buildings, they were just over a block away from the trucks. A loud cry went up as the people in the caravan seemed to spot the creatures at the same instant. There was yelling and some scrambling as figures rushed back to their vehicles. The big diesel roared to life as the driver stepped on the gas and spun the wheel away from the onslaught. The other trucks followed, the last of which was nearly swallowed up by the crowds of undead converging on the intersection from three sides. They heard the pop, pop, pop as someone fired a gun at the creatures to cover their retreat.

  Kelly and Robbie listened as the trucks roared away with the stumbling, stinking herd in pursuit.

  “I don’t know who you are,” Robbie shouted at the trucks, “but thank you!”

  “Shhhh,” Kelly cautioned. “Quiet down, Robbie, we don’t want to give those things a reason for turning around.”

  Robbie laughed and jumped down from the wall, giddy in the moment. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

  “Yes,” Kelly responded with a beaming smile, “yes, it is. Let’s check our bug-out bags. We can probably get out of here in the morning.”

  Chapter 6

  The sun had not yet broken the horizon when Robbie and Kelly excitedly made their way down to the second floor. The open window looked out onto the bottom platform of the fire escape. They had both woken early in anticipation of release from the offices that had kept them safe but trapped for so long. One benefit to the long w
ait had been that they were able to wash and dry their clothes. They each wore their full kit with backpacks full of essentials and blunt weapons strapped to their sides. Robbie carried a machete while Kelly wielded what had once been a shovel handle, that she called her “bow staff.” They looked down and waited for the night’s shadows to slowly pull away from the streets below.

  “Should we go while there are still some shadows where we can hide?” Robbie asked.

  “No, wait.” Kelly whispered. “Let’s not get stupid now. We need to be able to see everything that’s down there waiting for us.”

  The smell had met them on the way down and gotten worse as they came closer to the ground. They both wrapped t-shirts around their faces to help block the stench and keep any particles out of their mouths and noses. They didn’t know if that mattered but it seemed like a reasonable precaution.

  As the sun rose it revealed a layer of pinkish gray sludge coating the street. Kelly wrinkled her nose as she realized it was the debris of the dead. The things had been circling the building for weeks. Any that had fallen would have been trampled under the feet of the others and eventually worn down into a mash that resembled lumpy apple sauce. The walls on the surrounding buildings also had a dark buildup of dirt and grime from the press of bodies grinding themselves against them. It looked like flood waters had risen and receded leaving a thick gruesome stain behind.

  “Ok, let’s go,” Kelly nudged Robbie, “but don’t touch anything down there. It’s covered in zombie sludge.”

  Robbie scrambled down the ladder as quietly as possible and scanned the area as Kelly came down behind him. They both paused a moment, listening for anything that may have been attracted to the rustle of their descent. When nothing happened they set out in the direction of the river which was fortunately in the opposite direction the herd had gone the night before. They moved carefully but quickly to get away from the area and the stench.

  The number of abandoned and crashed vehicles that filled the narrow city streets made progress like moving slowly through a maze. Travel was made more difficult by the many blind spots and dark cavities in the crumpled cars. Some cars had bodies still strapped into their seatbelts. Many were truly dead while others were re-animated but dormant, just waiting for a meal to walk within range. From experience they knew the dead could also lurch out unexpectedly from under cars and the many gaps between the wrecks.

  There were occasions in the past when they had simply bounded over the hoods of cars huddled together in tightly packed rows. That method worked well for moving fast but made lots of noise and attracted unwanted attention. Instead, and despite the rising heat and the noxious smell, they threaded their way slowly and methodically, through the city and its traffic. Moving slowly was safer but the heat sapped their energy. They could feel their fluids sweating out and soaking into their heavy clothing. By the time the sun rose into the middle of the sky they had only progressed a mile or so from where they started. They both knew they would soon need to find a way to get out of the streets and into the shade.

  Kelly made a hushed clicking sound. Robbie looked back and she pointed ahead to a lifeless body hanging out of a car window. Unsure whether the thing was a threat, and not wanting to risk stirring it, they backed up several vehicles and crawled under a truck. The few seconds beneath the undercarriage of the truck was a blessing and curse. The brief moment in the shade was appreciated but the feeling of being trapped in the tight space outweighed any desire to stay there.

  Emerging on the other side of the truck, Robbie spotted an empty storefront with a faded sign that read “Great Location! Commercial property for rent. Contact H. Ellison Realty.” He helped Kelly up and led the way through the broken storefront window and into the shade inside. A quick glance around revealed only a few broken chairs and empty wire display stands laid out on the concrete floor. He could see from the dust built up that no one and nothing had been through there in a long time. It also gave them good visibility of the street. Robbie crept to the back and peered into the darkness of an office or store room. He couldn’t see anything in the gloom but he made a low whistle knowing that if there were any undead inside they would respond.

  “Nothing,” he whispered after a long moment of quiet.

  “Ugh,” Kelly sighed as they relaxed slightly and pulled water bottles from their packs. “That stench is up my nose.”

  “I know,” Robbie said in a hushed tone, “I almost hurled.”

  They poured the warm water over their faces and sloshed it in their mouths to wash out the wretched odor.

  “Well, we are out of the frying pan,” Robbie said as he squatted down against the back wall.

  Kelly grunted her assent as she knelt next to him. “Let’s not rest long. I don’t like being out here in the open.”

  “I don’t know,” Robbie replied, “it’s nice not to be cooped inside anymore. Besides, I think all the stinkers around here must have taken off after that gang with the red truck.”

  “Umm,” Kelly nodded, her mouth full of water. Swallowing she said, “I hope you’re right. I don’t know. I’m feeling nervous.”

  “It is a little freaky being at street level again,” Robbie said. “We just need to get used to it, you know. We’re a little rusty down here but it won’t be long before we get re-acclimated.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Kelly stood up shoving her water back into her pack. “Let’s get moving. It’s not much further to the river.”

  Robbie stood and they walked towards the front of the store, but froze as they heard the sound of a bottle clink, clink, clinking as it rolled across the concrete just outside. They both saw the bottle at the same time as it shot by the front of the shop. Whoever, or whatever, had kicked it was very close. They had no time to run without being spotted so they both instinctively slid over and flattened themselves against the wall. They hoped that whatever it was went by without looking into the shop. The plate glass window was tinted, but most of it was gone so that it would only take a sideways glance to see them. They stood absolutely still and listened to the approaching footsteps.

  Three tattered figures appeared just outside the shop window. They shambled along the sidewalk in the direction from which Kelly and Robbie had just come. Fortunately, they walked on by, seemingly focused on the noise of the bottle they had inadvertently kicked down the street. Robbie could tell by the way they twitched that they were in the alert state that the things went into when they were agitated or in pursuit of prey. It didn’t take much to get them worked up and any sound or motion could set them off. To Kelly and Robbie’s relief, when the trio reached the spot where the bottle had stopped rolling they continued on in the same direction; bumping along through the twisted tangle of cars.

  Kelly and Robbie had both been holding their breath and exhaled quietly as the creatures continued walking away. The sense of relief was short lived as movement across the street caught their eyes. A group of four figures staggered along the far sidewalk. The panel truck Kelly and Robbie had just crawled under sat with its bumper crashed up against the shop across the street. It was quick math to figure out that when the ghouls got to it they would be turned and routed directly towards the store where Robbie and Kelly were hiding.

  Robbie turned to Kelly and motioned with his eyes towards the back of the shop. She nodded and they slowly turned and quietly stepped towards the doorway leading to the back of the store. They stopped at the opening and peered into the dark room beyond. They did not like walking through dark, unexplored areas but didn’t have much choice in the matter at the moment. If the things spotted them in the shop it would get ugly and they only had seconds to get out of sight.

  Kelly stepped over the threshold and was almost instantly swallowed up by the shadows. She prayed that the back of the store was as empty as the sales floor. Robbie ducked just inside the doorway behind her, keeping an eye out for anything that might have already locked onto them.

  Kelly ran her hand along the wall as s
he slowly moved forward and tried to adjust her eyes to the dark. Her fingers ran over papers attached to the drywall with thumbtacks. She imagined dried out OSHA posters, work schedules and sales reports. Things that scavengers wouldn’t be interested in taking. A shelf with, what felt like binders, led her to a wall. She felt a large metal box that might be some sort of control panel, a fire extinguisher and then spotted a small point of light ahead. Getting closer she realized it was a narrow window that had some sort of cover over it. As she grew closer she could see light pushing through its eroded corners.

  She prayed Robbie could follow along the wall behind her. They had walked through enough dark buildings to have developed a system. It helped them not get lost and to find each other if separated. Always go to the left, always keep a hand on the wall, always move slowly and measure each step. Some of these old buildings had holes in the floors or they were rotting out and unable to handle the weight. Many had crap hanging from the ceilings and they all had debris like chairs and office equipment strewn about. Of course they had broken the rules many times when running from mobs of undead, but it came in handy when they needed to move quietly.

  Her hands found something she thought might be a door. It had a long rectangular bar that felt like an emergency release lever across it so it likely lead out of this space if not out of the building. As she was about to signal for Robbie, she heard a loud thunk behind her and the sound of something solid hitting the ground. The things had found them. Back before the end, the sound would have been swallowed up by the city’s back ground noise.

  In the post-apocalyptic quiet of the afternoon, however, the sound of a machete cleaving into a skull, and the body collapsing to the concrete floor, made the little store an echo chamber. The noise reverberated out, breaking the silence of the empty street like a drum corps hitting the opening notes in a parade.

  “More coming…,” Robbie rasped quietly but with urgency, “is there a way out?”