“Yeah, just shaken up. We’re about 15 minutes out and we’re gonna make sure we’re not followed.”
“Okay, be safe,” she said.
“We will. Go get that stuff done. Mobile one out.”
Then I called Tom and told him what had happened and urge them to be safe. We all kept a good watch on the ride home. And I drove a little faster than I had been driving before. When we got close to the house I called Sam again.
“I’m going to drive by the house. I want you to see if anyone is following us just to be safe.”
I drove by and continued for a few blocks, then I turned left and left again before stopping. I waited for more than five minutes then called the house again.
“Sam, did you see us go by?”
“Yes, but I’ve been watching and it’s clear.”
“Good, leave Mal to keep a lookout out back and get everyone else to come help unload. We’ll be there in a minute.”
With all the help, it didn’t take long to unload the bus. Then we drove the bus a block away, backed into a driveway and walked back.
I hugged Sam and the kids extra-long. Then, Karen, Lois and Beth also got hugs. Shaking off some of my gear but leaving my Glock and holding on to my AR, I tried to relax. It was difficult to do. Those guys at the Wal-Mart looked as if they had been trained to fight. It was in the way they moved. But, they were taken out like they had been clueless sheep. Were they outnumbered? Or, had they stopped to help someone and were ambushed.
That was more likely but left a chill down my spine. The day before, we stopped to help Tom’s group because they looked like they needed help. Shit. I had my kids with us. Everything we do now is dangerous. The zombies are bad enough, but now stopping to help a fellow human risked all of my people. That’s how I thought of them now: my people.
At lunch we recounted the trip with Tom to Carolina Rod and Gun and finding the guys from Wal-Mart. There weren’t many questions and everyone seemed scared. I didn’t blame them one bit. I was scared, too. We could only hope those looting groups stayed over in West Ashley.
“Should we barricade the road?” asked Mike.
“I think that would give away that we’re here,” I said.
“Not necessarily,” said Tony. “What if we moved the barricades in from the main roads? Someone could drive by out on the bigger road and not see it.”
“That might work,” I replied. “Let’s think about it some more and talk over dinner. There’s gonna be a lot to talk about over dinner.”
After I helped clear away the dishes from lunch it was nap time. But sleep did not come easily to me today. I was tired and drained but there were too many things to sort out. And they were all in my head at once. Why couldn’t everyone band together to face this common threat of zombies? I guess some people just aren’t built that way. When I finally fell asleep, Sam was shaking me awake.
“Come help with dinner.”
As usual, the ladies out did themselves with dinner. Everyone seemed happy and there was much animated conversation. But, I wasn’t happy and I’m sure everyone could sense it. By the time coffee was served it was time to speak.
“After what we saw today, I am especially glad for all of us to be here today, breaking bread and having the proverbial fellowship. We are relatively safe and happy and want for nothing except loved ones lost in this nightmare. And, maybe a hot shower. I could use a hot shower.”
“Yes,” said Sam. “You could definitely use a shower.”
That was good for a laugh and I laughed along with them.
“Has anyone thought more about our discussion over the last couple of days?”
“Well, we’re guests here,” said Beth. “So we’ll go along with the rest of the group.”
“Nope, that’s not going to fly,” said Sam. “We are all family now. All of us.”
“I agree,” I said. “We make the big decisions together.”
“Okay, thank you. In that case,” said Beth. “I really don’t want to leave unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“With us at the other end of the neighborhood, you have an ‘early warning system’ of sorts. It could be helpful,” continued Tony.
I nodded and around the table the feeling of wanting to stay was unanimous. Everyone wanted to stay put unless it was absolutely necessary. I did not want to voice my opposition to staying put. I did, however, push for some defensive measures. Two of the three roads that led into the neighborhood would be blocked. It wouldn’t perfect as an escape route but it would help if we were attacked. The group also decided that the neighborhood had to be cleared of zombies. It would be one less thing to worry about now that other humans seemed to be the bigger threat. Mike was concerned about an escape route if we blocked the other roads.
“Can we move a vehicle around back out of site in case we need to bug out?” he asked.
“Maybe,” I replied. “As long as we can do it and keep the fence up.”
The escape plan was put on the back burner for now. And the plan for the next few days was formulated. Clear the neighborhood. Put up the barricades. Talk more about an escape plan. And I made a decision on my own. When we went on the next supply run, we were going in the other direction. I wanted to get prepared to move in a hurry if we had to.
After dinner, I pulled Mike aside and offered him a Gatorade. Then I scowled.
“What are your intentions for my daughter?” I asked. No sense beating around the bush.
“Ah, umm…” He was obviously caught off guard. He stammered pretty good. “I don’t have any intentions.”
“Mike, she’s my little angel. My only daughter. Samantha thinks she’s attracted to you because you’re the only one in her age group. But, I can see it’s more than that. You’re a hell of a good kid. I’m proud of you and I’m glad you’re here. But, if you hurt my daughter…”
“Ryan, I like her. But, there’s been so much going on that I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Well, Mike, you’re gonna have to think about it. I can’t have problems in the house because she’s mad at you or you’re mad at her or any of that crap. And if you even think about putting your hands on her or any other hanky panky…”
“I get it, I get it. Do you want me to leave her alone?” he asked.
And I paused for a moment.
“I didn’t say that,” I replied. “Just don’t hurt her. And if I ever catch you two alone somewhere, doing whatever, I will throw you to the zombies. Got it?”
Mike nodded and still looked scared. So, I figured my work here was done and went to bed.
Wednesday, December, 24 2014
Karen, Beth and the kids stayed back to watch the house during the ‘great zombie hunt of 2014’ as Mike was calling it. The kids weren’t happy about it, either. I thought that moving through the neighborhood, behind houses and garages would just be too dangerous for them to come along. In a similar way, I was concerned about Sam and Lois who really hadn’t been out of the house much. I was wrong. Clearing the neighborhood was turning out to be surprisingly easy. It was decided that we wouldn’t search the houses. If there zombies inside, so what? They weren’t getting out by themselves. Maybe one day we would want to use a house for something and we could clear it then. No point letting the zombies out now. We had cleared a few streets when I was hailed over the radio. It was Tom.
“Ryan, copy. Ryan.”
“Go for Ryan.”
“We got hit. On a supply run to the Lowes and Home Depot up past the Wal-Mart. I lost 2 people.”
I pulled everyone in to a close circle and told them to keep an eye out.
“Where are you now?” I asked.
“We’re on our way back to the house.” Shit, I figured they lived on the other side of us from the Lowes. They’ll go right past our street.
“Make absolutely sure that you are not followed. I repeat, do not let them follow you. If they find out where you live…” I trailed off.
“Copy that, Ryan.”
“Do you require any assistance?”
“No, not now anyway. I’ll check in when we get home.”
“Copy that, Tom. Be safe.” I dropped my head and cursed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck it all!”
“What do we do, boss?” asked Mike.
“I don’t know, Mike. I was getting used to zombies. But, humans? I’d rather fight zombies.”
“He didn’t ask for help,” said Sam.
“And he doesn’t know where we live,” said Tony.
“Yeah, but they’ll drive right by here in a few minutes,” I said. “Not sure I’m happy about that.”
“Let’s get back to what we were doing,” said Lois. “They’ll call if they need help.”
“Alright, but if anyone hears an engine, call it out and hide.”
They all nodded and we went back to what we were doing. About 20 minutes later, Tom called again.
“We’re home safe.”
“Good,” I said. “Any indication that you were followed?”
“Not that I could see.”
“What happened, Tom?”
“We were at the Lowes getting supplies. There was gunfire from outside and we tried to leave because I remembered your Costco story. There were zombies coming from the hospital that’s over there. They must’ve been out side. We didn’t see them. But, as we went outside we were taking fire. We fired back but my brother was hit and went down. We tried to get to him but his wife was hit, too. She managed to get in the van but she died after a few minutes. I left my brother behind, the gunfire was too intense.”
“Godamn it, Tom. I‘m sorry. Anything we can do?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Then call if you need something. Again, Tom. I’m very sorry.”
“Roger, Tom out.”
I looked over at Mike and h returned my gaze for a moment then looked over at his mother.
“What?” asked Sam.
“It’s the same MO of the group that attacked us. It’s the same group that killed Michael,” I replied.
Lois put her hand to her mouth and both Sam and Mike went to her and held her in their arms. Sam looked over at me.
“We need to go back, Ryan,” she said. I nodded.
“I’ll take lead. Tony, can you bring up the rear?” He nodded. “Remember, if we hear an engine we take cover. Let’s go.”
Back at the house, Lois recovered from the sudden shock and sadness that fell over her with the help of her son and the other ladies. The kids practiced their crossbow skills in the backyard with Tony and me watching over them. It was a new rule; no one went anywhere alone, even the backyard.
“There’s no indication that this group is searching neighborhoods for survivors or supplies,” Tony said. “So far, they seem content with hitting people near the supply source.”
“Why don’t they just get their own damned supplies?” It was a mostly rhetorical question but Tony didn’t see it that way.
“They’re probably scared of the zombies. Or scared of becoming one. The fears are probably very different. You’d have to ask a shrink.”
“I don’t know what to do, Tony,” I said. “We’ll have to get more supplies eventually.”
“We could take more people. Maybe keep a better lookout.”
“I don’t feel good about leaving the house unattended,” I said.
“Think of the effort to go house to house looking for supplies that way. Not to mention the zombie surprise. No they’re gonna watch the stores until the supplies are gone.”
I nodded. Tony was right. It made sense. But it seemed to be my job to worry about such things. And it was going to be weird to leave the house unattended the first time we do it.
“What about tomorrow?” asked Tony.
“What about it?”
“Ryan, it’s Christmas tomorrow,” he whispered.
I burst into the house and ran into the kitchen, startling Samantha.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That tomorrow is Christmas.”
Sam walked over to the pantry door where we kept a calendar and grabbed it off the wall. She pointed, counted, thought and mumbled.
“Son of a bitch.”
“We got a few gifts that weren’t electronic didn’t we?” I asked.
“One or two…”
“Shit,” I said. “Alright, we can do this. What about..?”
After a few minutes, we had it worked out. Team Knight.
Sam got the ladies involved and I filled Tony and Mike in on the plan. We took the Land Cruiser and drove a few miles to the Family Dollar. It was next to the Bi-Lo where they had met Tom. We were relatively sure there’d be none or maybe just a few zombies there after yesterday. Tony stayed outside while Mike and I cleared the building. Only four zombies were inside. We took board games, toys and candy for the kids. There were even a few treats for Thor. This Christmas would be about the kids.
When we got back, we left the goodies in the car and met Sam inside the garage.
“Is it done?” she asked.
“Yep, just like we talked about,” I replied. “You fill everyone else in?”
“They are all on board.”
Tony and Mike just smiled.
“It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing,” said Tony.
“It’s gonna be great,” added Mike.
After dinner that evening, everyone gathered as best they could to enjoy coffee and hot chocolate by the fire.
“Mal,” I said.
“Yeah, dad?”
“How ya doin buddy?” I asked.
“Okay, I guess. I didn’t like all the shooting the other day.”
“Neither did I, buddy. Neither did I.” I took a sip of coffee. “Do you remember that first day when all of this started?”
“Yeah, the day you got Tabby and I from school.”
“That’s right. Do you remember we talked about what Christmas might be like this year? What would happen if we didn’t have power?”
“Uh, huh,” he said but he looked confused.
“Wait,” said Tabby. She was getting it. “Did we miss it? When’s Christmas?”
“We didn’t miss it,” said Sam. “Tomorrow is Christmas.” Both of the kid’s faces brightened up.
“What are we going to do?” asked Tabby.
“We’re going to have Christmas of course,” said Sam.
“In the morning, the two of you are going with Tony, Mike and me to get a tree. Then we’ll spend the rest of the day decorating it and enjoying everyone’s company. And, of course, enjoying whatever Santa brings for you.”
“You think Santa will come with all this going on?” asked Mal. I smiled at him.
“Yes, I do, Mal. I believe in Santa. He’ll find a way to make the trip.” The kids were super excited and that was awesome for everyone in the room. It turned a bad day into a good one and there were so few things to celebrate during the zombie apocalypse. We had to celebrate every one.
“Make sure you two are in bed early enough tonight,” Sam said. “It’s a big day tomorrow.”
“We’ve got an early morning’” I added.
Once the kids were asleep, everyone chipped in to wrap the presents and pack the stocking. The group took to the project with joy and laughter. Everyone wanted this to as normal a Christmas as possible for the kids. When we were done wrapping and stuffing, the presents went in a circle around the spot where the tree was going to go. Then we hung the stockings by the chimney with much care. Afterwards, everyone hugged and headed off to their beds. When I climbed into mine and blew out the candle, Sam put her head on my shoulder.
“You did good today, Ryan Knight,” she said.
“I did, didn’t I? You did pretty good yourself.”
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to a somewhat normal day tomorrow.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
When the kids woke up on Christmas morning, all the adults were already there and waiting. Mal and Tab really wanted to open their presents but I knew if I let them do that, I’d never get them out to get a tree. So, we got bundled up and Mike, Tony, the kids and I jumped in the Land Cruiser and headed out.
The trip to get the tree took just over an hour. We found a nice one in a yard over on River Rd just a couple of miles away. There was only one zombie to deal with. Seemed kind of strange to mix zombies and Christmas but I guess we’d have to get used to it. Moving forward, it just wouldn’t Christmas without the zombies. It wasn’t too big of a tree but it still took longer to cut down than it did to drive there and back.
While we were gone on the tree hunt, the women decorated the house with all the tinsel and garland they could find in the attic. We were thoroughly impressed with the amount of work they put into everything. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the adult’s eyes when the tree was set up in the corner with all the presents around it. The kids were focused on the presents and with a little prodding from Beth and Tony who were looking for some surrogate grandkids, I let them start to open their gifts. The adults took turns putting ornaments on the tree until it was perfect. Except for the fact that it was the zombie apocalypse, this might be close to what Christmas was like before the world was electrified.
Lunch was a jovial affair with much laughing and conversation. The kids ate quickly of course and went back to their toys. There would be a debate for some time over which present was the favorite. I was thrilled that the kids were so happy with their presents. Especially since nothing plugged in to the wall or recharged. I was reluctant even to get anything that was battery operated. We needed the batteries for other things and we would eventually run out anyway. Instead, they were excited to play with toy trucks, dolls, action figures, board games and a ball.
After lunch was cleaned up it was time for a nap. The Millers headed back to their house and everyone else settled down for a rest. This was the best thing about the zombie apocalypse, afternoon naps. Even the kids took a nap although they needed a little coaxing.
I awoke maybe 2 hours later, to Tony’s voice on the radio.
“Ryan, copy. Ryan. Copy Ryan”
Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale Page 20