Dead, We Are

by Jimmy Bird

  Once we had easily dispatched the four at the fence, we decided to take the fight to the ones still coming our way. We ran towards the zombies as quickly as we could. We were almost upon them when it felt like I had forgotten something back at the house. I slowed down and turned around. I noticed that we had left the gate open, but didn't see any immediate danger. Ken noticed that I had slowed down and followed suit.

  I thought that we had nothing to worry about and turned back around to deal with the zombies that were in front of us. For some reason, I just couldn't shake the feeling that something still didn't feel right. I still had a nagging feeling about something back at the house. I turned back around and noticed for the first time that a couple of zombies were making their way into the yard towards Ruff.

  I told Ken that we needed to hurry because Ruff was in trouble. Ken lost his focus on what he was doing and turned back to look at the zombies. He ended up stepping in a hidden little pot hole in the ground. He fell sideways to the ground.

  I asked Ken if he was alright while trying to keep my own focus on the two zombies that were in front of us. He told me that he thought so, but he stated that it felt like he had just rolled his right ankle. All I remember thinking was that things couldn't get any worse.

  It looked like I was going to have to dispatch two zombies, help Ken walk back to the house, and somehow stop the zombies before they made it to Ruff. No pressure!

  I noticed out of the corner of my eyes that Ken had started to work on getting up. That was a good sign. It meant that he wasn't as badly hurt as I first thought. I turned back towards the problem walking our way.

  Before I could take a step forward, I heard a pained scream from my left side. I slightly turned my head to see what was going on and noticed Ken sitting on the ground holding his ankle. He looked up and told me that he thought that his ankle was actually broken. Great! It seemed that I had put my foot in my mouth.

  Remembering the zombies that were in front of us, I turned back around just as the closest one reached out for me. I easily sidestepped the thing and swung my axe down into the back of its head. I made sure that I kept an eye on the second zombie as I pulled my axe free from the first one. The second zombie was walking a little erratic causing me to second guess which way it was going. I knew right away that it was going to be a little more difficult to kill.

  It stumbled as it walked up to me. When it got close enough I swung my axe downward towards its forehead and ended up missing. It was as if the zombie had intentionally ducked out of the way. I was about to swing again when I heard someone yell for help. I looked over and saw Ken lying on the ground fighting off a zombie that had crawled out from nowhere.

  I looked back up in time to see the second zombie had successfully recovered its balance and came at me again. I swung my axe downward again, but just like the previous time it had ducked or stumbled out of the way. I silently cursed OUR bad luck.

  The day started out great, but quickly turned into a complete snafu, but it's been like that since the start of the "zombie apocalypse." It seems that everyday starts off great, then one thing would go bad, then another, then another, and before you know it, your up to your neck in crap. Sorry, it just seems that since the start of all of this, its has been like a domino effect and that day was no different.

  All those thoughts went through my mind in the blink of an eye as I yelled out loud for Ken to hold on. I didn't give the zombie the chance to recover a third time as I stepped behind it. I pushed it in the back, making it go face first to the ground. I leaned over and drove tip of Ruff's machete through the back of its head. In my excitement, I must have used more strength then I thought because the blade tip punctured the forehead.

  I looked over and saw that the zombie had somehow got the upper hand on Ken and was crawling on top of him. I let go of the machete handle, leaned over, and swung my axe down as hard as I could. I connected perfectly with the back of the zombie's head that was attacking Ken. If I had mistimed the swing or misjudged the distance, Ken would no longer be with us.

  The zombie had stopped fighting as its body went limp. Ken easily bench pressed it off his body while taking a deep breath. I asked him if he was bit, but he shook his head indicating that he was not.

  I pulled the machete out of the zombie's head and placed it between my pants belt on my left hip while putting my axe on the other. I reached down and helped him up. I positioned myself on the right side of him so we could hurry to help our friend. Unfortunately each step was painful for him. I knew that we needed to hurry to save Ruff and even thought about leaving Ken for the moment in order to do just that.

  Ken must have been thinking the same thing because he told me to leave him there so I could save Ruff. I began to tell him that I wouldn't leave him to die but quickly stopped. It wasn't as if I was actually abandoning him and besides, we had killed all the zombies for the moment.

  I slowly lowered him down to the ground when we heard a scream. Without thinking, I kind of let go of Ken. He fell hard on his butt and wheezed out in pain from his ankle. Without waiting to see if he was alright, I turned to run toward the house. I didn't get very far before I stopped dead in my tracks.

  I stood there in shock because someone was already helping Ruff. I could hear children screaming in the background. Keeping an eye out for other possible strangers, I started walking cautiously toward them.

  When I got halfway to the house, my relief flooded out of me like a river. I knew the guy that had come to Ruff's rescue, actually we all knew him because we used to work with him at the Warehouse. He was an old Caucasian Marine vet named Lonnie who was in his early fifties.

  Before I knew it, I was already at full sprint. Lonnie turned toward me with a vicious look in his eyes as he raised a machete of his own, ready to defend himself. I stopped about ten feet from him in order to give him a chance to recognize me.

  I in turn watched him, trying to judge the man before me. Was he still a friend or was he now a foe? He looked filthy, like he hadn't showered since we had all left the Warehouse. His beard was untrimmed making him looked like an old homeless man.

  I didn't have to worry about Lonnie recognizing me because he recognized me right away. He asked me what I was doing out there. He then glanced cautiously towards Ruff and asked me why we weren't at the Warehouse. He followed that up by asking about Ruff's condition.

  My suspicions ran wild at hearing him ask about the Warehouse. Before I answered anything, it was my turn to ask questions. I was about to ask my first question when noticed his genuine concern about Ruff so that is where I started. I told Lonnie that Ruff had been bitten in the hand, but we had removed it and cauterized the wound. I told him that we needed to get him back to the Warehouse for medical attention.

  Warehouse! That's right, he already knew about the Warehouse. I let Lonnie soak in all that I had just told him before asking him a question of my own. I wanted to know how he even knew about the Warehouse.

  He just smiled in that old way of his and made some kind of head gesture towards the tree line. Damnit, I should have known that he wasn't alone. I pulled out my axe and machete and got in a defensive position ready to fight for my life and those of my friends.

  All of a sudden, two women and a couple of children started to nervously make their way towards us. I forgot that I had heard children screaming. I lowered my weapons when I recognized the two women. One was Lonnie's girlfriend named Tracie while the other one was Chavonne. Tracie was half Hispanic/ half Caucasian in her mid forties. Chavonne was an African American in her mid twenties. Both had also worked at the Warehouse. One of the children was a girl who looked around nine years old while the boy looked to be around five. Wait, I recognized the boy. He looked like Brian's missing son!

  My suspicions dissolved away. I asked Lonnie to help me get Ruff and Ken back to the Warehouse. Ken! Crap, I had forgotten all about him when I began running to help Ruff.

  I rushed back to where I had left him on the ground a
nd found his body. He was lying on his back with his eyes shut. My first thought was that he must have gotten bit when he was fighting off that zombie.

  I knelt down next to his body ready to do what was necessary for him not to come back. I pulled out Ruff's machete from my belt and held it over his head. I closed my eyes to say my goodbye and prayed that he would be able to be with his family.

  Ken must have been asleep because he opened his eyes at that exact moment. He asked me "What in the hell was I doing?" Surprised, I jumped backwards a few feet and landed hard on my butt.

  I opened my eyes to see Ken looking at me wide-eyed. I smiled in spite of myself as I told him that I thought he was dead. Truth be told, I thought he had gotten bit when he was fighting with that zombie on the ground. He confirmed that he wasn't bit, but did say that he had tried to stand up on his own and failed. The pain was so great that it caused him to fall backwards. When he landed on his back it had knocked the wind out of him causing him to shut his eyes.

  I helped him to his feet and asked if he was ready to go back to the Warehouse. He stated that he was and immediately followed it by asking about Ruff. We started walking toward the house when I told him that Ruff was alright, but he was still unconscious. Ken then asked about the scream we had heard. I told him that he wasn't going to believe it, but Brian's son had found his way back to the Warehouse.

  Like the rest of us, Ken was skeptical that Brian's son was still alive, but we had tried to stay positive for Brian's sake. We knew that it would have taken a miracle for anyone, much less a five year old, to have survived for seven days on their own. I guess if you think about the reality of the situation, it had been a miracle. Regardless of the situation, he was alive and about to be reunited with his father.

  By the time we made it back to the house, Lonnie had found a child's hard plastic wagon in the backyard for us to use to carry Ruff back. For Ken, we were able to find a branch that was shaped in such a way that it was comfortable enough to use as a crutch. To stabilize his ankle we took two smaller branches and placed them on both sides of his foot. We then took a couple of shirts from the house and tied a knot around his ankle to help support it.

  Our return trip was uneventful, but it did give us a chance to talk to Lonnie and the others about how they found us. Lonnie began by telling us that while he and Tracie were out looking for their own families, they had come across Brian's son. He had been running from a small pack of zombies when they saved him. Lonnie's military training had kicked in and was able to dispose of the zombie pack.

  Brian's son told them about the Warehouse and the Council's pact. Like I said before, Brian's son was very smart. It was only after hearing about the Warehouse, they decided that it would be beneficial to bring him back to his father. They were hoping by bringing his son back to him, that it would be enough for them to gain access to our safe haven.

  Before they brought him back though, they wanted to find their own families first. Alas, the only one they could find alive was Tracie's nine year old granddaughter. It seemed that the rest had either ran away or were zombies.

  After their mostly unsuccessful personal missions, they started to head towards the Warehouse whenever they came across a heartbroken Chavonne. It appeared that she had lost all of her children just like Ken had.

  Her children were still young enough, that she had to have a personal babysitter watch them while she worked. Because of the cost of daycare it was usually a family member who helped her out by watching her children. It was hard for a single parent to raise children on a single parent's income. Daycare would have taken all of her paycheck.

  After they had let us off work early that day, Chavonne immediately went to the babysitters (it was her parents turn to watch them). She stated that she had arrived too late to pick the kids up. Someone or something had already torn through the home. She would not elaborate on the details. After my own personal loss, I didn't want to force the issue. I knew what it felt like to loose one child, much less more then one.

  When we were within a hundred yards of the Warehouse gate, I realized that I would have to explain what happened to both John's wife and Ruff's wife. How was I going to explain to John's wife that because of her husband ignorance, he was the one who practically killed himself? How was I going to explain to both of them that John turned into a zombie and attacked Ruff? How was I going to explain that right after getting attacked, Ruff then killed zombie John? How was I going to explain that I cut off Ruff's hand to try to save him? How was I going to explain all that? After thinking about it, I guess I was just going to have to sit down with both of them together.

  Once we got to the gate, everyone was surprised that Brian's son was alive and well. They welcomed everyone in and immediately offered food while Cleo and Danny helped me take Ruff and Ken to the clinic. Word of our arrival spread quickly throughout our little community and within minutes John and Ruff's wives were there to find out what had happened to their significant others.

  Like I said before, word of our arrival spread like wildfire. It didn't go unnoticed that John was missing or that Ruff was unconscious with his hand wrapped in blood stained towels.

  We rushed Ruff to the clinic and laid him on the table. My mom and Mia did what they could to stabilize him, but he had lost a great amount of blood.

  I was just starting to explain to my mom and Mia what had happened to Ruff and John whenever Ruff's wife stormed into the room. Her anxious eyes immediately found her husband on the table and rushed to his side.

  She looked him over and noticed how pale and damp he was. She turned towards me and demanded to know what had happened to him. I lowered my head and took a deep breath. Without looking up I told her that I was waiting until John's widow arrived before I told her. She was obviously pissed at me, but she held her tongue. Her eyes changed from spitting venom to that of sadness when she realized that I had said "I was waiting for John's widow to show up." As you can imagine Ruff's wife didn't have to wait long.

  John's widow rush into the room with her two boys in tow. I was surprised to say the least. The boys were usually off playing with the other kids, but to see them following closely to their mom meant that something was up.

  She didn't hesitate to ask me about John. I told her that we needed to go some place else to talk about it. I added that it wasn't a story that her young children needed to hear. She defiantly stood her ground and told me that anything I had to say to her, I could say in front of her children. I in turn stood my ground and said that I wouldn't tell her until they were gone. I illustrated that I wasn't trying to be mean, but it really wasn't something that they needed to hear.

  She refused to have her children leave until Ken spoke up. He told her that it wasn't something that the little ones needed to hear. She turned her head slightly towards him as she gave him one of those warning looks that only an angry mother could give. It was enough for Ken to back off, but I was hardheaded enough to keep pushing the point.

  I decided to change my strategy as I pleaded with her. I told her that once I told her the story of what happened to her husband then she could make the decision to tell her children. I illustrated that it wasn't going to be me that tells them. She still didn't move as she stared at me. I swear you could have cut the tension with a knife.

  I decided to compromise by telling her that we didn't have to leave the room, that way Ken could help verify what happened. She turned toward Ken, who quickly shook his head up and down.

  Ruff's wife had sat silently by her husbands side, watching the whole thing unfold. After a few seconds of listening, she even began pleading with John's widow to send her children away. She also needed to hear what had happened. I think that it was because of Ruff's wife that she accepted. She bent down and told her kids to go play, she would come get them when she was done.

  After the kids were gone and everyone sat down, I told the women what had happened. I didn't pull any punches when I told them that John had been overzealous and cocky
as he barged right into the unchecked house. Without waiting for the rest of us, he just started walking around and intentionally talking loud. We told him that he needed to be quiet, he ignored us and blindly turned a corner. He ended up stepping on a hollowed out torso. Once he started bleeding, Ken and I rushed in opposite directions to find medical supplies and towels. When we returned he had already changed and attacked Ruff. Ruff had killed him, but only after getting his hand bit by John. I thought that maybe if I could stay ahead of the infection, Ruff would have a chance. Without informing Ruff or Ken, I quickly decided to cut off Ruff's infected hand. When we tried to leave the house it was already surrounded by zombies. We left Ruff on the porch and rushed off to kill them. Ken ended up stepping in a hole and hurting his ankle. While we were gone, a couple of zombies came at an unconscious Ruff. Lonnie and company showed up at the right time to save him.

  Of course, I went into more details when I told the story and interesting enough, I wasn't interrupted once. When I was finished telling the story neither woman said a word. Well, that was until Ruff's wife asked if he was still infected. I answered honestly that I did not know. I told her that we wouldn't know until he woke up.

  She looked her husband over more closely and said without any doubt that he was okay. I told her that I believed her, but I would have a few people take shifts around the clock just to be sure. She rolled her eyes, but agreed to it.

  I then turned to John's widow and asked how she was doing. As you can imagine that was a stupid question, a mistake on my part. Of course, she wasn't okay and wasn't normally afraid to say so. This was one of those few instances where she held her tongue in check. Instead, she had sat there listening to my story with her eyes focused on the ground.

  She looked up at me with moistened, blood red eyes. I couldn't tell if was angry or just upset. She moved her quivering lips in an attempt to speak, but nothing came out.