Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary

by Scott, Joshua Jared

  Interlude – Lizzy’s Story

  Of all the people I’d met up to that point, Lizzy was by far the most open and ready to talk about her life, her views, her experiences, and her generally negative attitude toward life. In fact, Lizzy had no problem at all complaining about most everything and letting others know exactly what she thought of them. She did not get along with Cherie, and she openly hated Julie. However, she had no issues with Briana or myself. Since I am the bright center of the universe, that works for me.

  Lizzy was a long time resident of Garden City. Many of the people there knew her personally or by reputation, and she was not at all popular. Part of this was directly related to her personality and tendency to say whatever was on her mind, consequences be damned. Contributing were her outspoken viewpoints, with political correctness high on Lizzy’s list of forms of darkness and evil which must be destroyed at all costs. She despised a good many people, and she wanted to be able to insult them freely without having to use wishy washy, manufactured language.

  Lois was the polar opposite. When she moved to the town with her family a year earlier no one knew or guessed her sexual orientation, excluding the observant Mary who figured it out long before. Lizzy, who was a few years older, had met her at the library where Lois was doing volunteer work. She’d never even suspected what Lois was. Lois knew about Lizzy of course – her co-workers readily shared the available gossip and stories – but it wasn’t until they’d become close friends that she risked confiding in the other woman.

  Hiding anything about herself was counter to Lizzy’s entire belief system, but she made an exception in Lois’s case and indulged her extreme caution. The nature of their relationship was kept carefully hidden. Lizzy even went so far as to make comments on how Lois needed a boyfriend, not that there were any decent men in the town – Lizzy couldn’t resist including editorials of that sort – to ensure people thought Lois was just like them. But once the zombie apocalypse began, Lizzy said that was over. No more hiding what they were, assuming they lived long enough for it to matter.

  On that first morning Lizzy was alone in her apartment, woken by the ringing phone. She thought to ignore it, seeing how it wasn’t even light out yet, but the caller ID showed it was Lois. If nothing else, she was mildly curious as to why her girlfriend was awake at such an ungodly hour.

  “Lizzy!”

  “What is it?” she asked, yawning.

  “You have to help us! They’re trying to get in!”

  “Lois,” called Mary. She could be heard crying in the background. “The door…”

  Lizzy sat up in bed, alarmed at the panic in their voices. Then there was a rush of activity, banging and cries to push or hold it. Lizzy screamed for Lois to pick the phone up, to tell her what was happening.

  “Lizzy!” said Lois, when she finally did grab the receiver again.

  “What’s going on?” The stout woman was now on her feet, pacing back and forth.

  “Our parents are trying to kill us!”

  Lizzy paused. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever. “Say again.”

  “There’s something wrong with them. They’re sick!” Lois was having trouble getting the words out. “We’re in Mary’s room. We just knocked the bookcase over in front of the door. I don’t think it’ll hold long. You have to come and help us!” She was desperate and terrified, and Lizzy did not miss this.

  “I’m coming. Wait. Did you call the police?” She didn’t have the highest opinion of the local authorities, due to the many unjustified speeding tickets and other hassles they’d given her over the years, but calling them seemed like the right thing to do. “What did they say?”

  “We couldn’t get through,” explained Lois, now sobbing in tune with Mary. “911 is down. Nothing.”

  What was going on? That never happened. “Okay. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Like far too many in the world, Lois and Mary’s parents had perished in the initial die off only to reanimate and promptly attack their own families, but, as with Briana, the sisters hadn’t been caught completely unawares and managed to lock themselves in a bedroom.

  Lizzy quickly dressed and grabbed her .45 automatic from the nightstand, along with the shotgun she kept in the closet. Then she reconsidered and left it lying on the bed. There was no way she could conceal the weapon, and walking down the street carrying it would only get her stopped, questioned, and possibly arrested. Lizzy did not check the news or make any other phone calls. If she’d had an inkling of what was happening, the shotgun would have never been left behind.

  Stepping outside, just as the sun was beginning to crest over the horizon, she wondered what could possibly be happening at Lois’s house. Hopefully it was some weird misunderstanding or food poisoning or something. There was no way her parents would actually hurt their daughters. They were among the few decent people in the area, definitely some of the sanest. Lizzy didn’t doubt the veracity of Lois’s claims, but there had to be an underlying reason for their actions.

  Then she saw her first zombie, a neighbor clad in faded boxer shorts. It grabbed another man who’d just come out his own door to retrieve the newspaper. He was caught unawares, and the zombie sank its teeth into the man’s face, ripping off a large piece of his cheek and sending blood spraying through the parking lot. He managed to break free and run back inside his apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. It happened so fast, and was so shocking, that Lizzy never had a chance to intervene. Maybe Lois and Mary really were in danger, real danger.

  Hurrying down the street on foot – her car was still in the impound yard after she’d been caught driving with a revoked license – Lizzy headed straight for Lois’s house. Another zombie shambled out of a doorway in front of her. She promptly shot it in the head, the hollow point bullets in her pistol blowing out the back of its skull. Normally, Lizzy wasn’t violent, physically at least, but this man was covered in blood, had creepy, fucked up eyes, and was acting just like the first one she’d seen as he tried to grab hold of her. There was something seriously wrong with him, and she chose not to be a victim.

  The sound of the gunshot caught the attention of others who turned in her direction. Not fully realizing how slow and awkward the zombies were, Lizzy sprinted around a corner to escape and promptly had to stop, gasping. She was short and boxy, though by no means flabby. There was a lot of muscle on her, but the excess weight and lack of regular exercise, something Lizzy hated with a passion, was showing. In this she is quite similar to Laura, the primary character in one of my earlier interludes.

  She zeroed in on a convenience store a block away, trying to ignore the cramp developing in her side. No one was around, and she slipped inside, closing the door behind her. The deadbolt was key only, so Lizzy couldn’t lock it, but she did take the time to push a small ice cream cooler in front of the door. It wasn’t the best barricade, but it might hold, for a minute or two. Ducking down behind the counter, out of sight of the windows, she pulled the cell phone from her pocket.

  “Lizzy!” said Lois, the moment she answered. “Where are you?”

  “I’m still a few blocks away, hiding in Granson’s shitty little store. I just shot a man.”

  “You… You what!”

  “He was fucked up in the head Lois,” she explained, hoping that was the case and she wasn’t going to end up in jail for murder. “He came right at me. I saw another just like him rip apart a guy’s face, with his teeth.” She emphasized the words. “There are even more on the streets. I, ah, your parents might be like them, some kind of sickness. Do not let them near you.”

  “What is it?” asked Mary. She was standing close enough that Lizzy could hear her clearly.

  “Tell your sister to stay in the room. Keep her safe Lois. I’m coming. I am. Gotta go now.” Lizzy hung up. Then she had a flash of insight and switched the ringer to vibrate. She didn’t want it going off if she was trying to hide or be quiet.

  Standing up, she took one loo
k at the zombies outside and swallowed hard. They had followed her to the store and several were banging on the glass. Another was trying to pull the door open. Fortunately, it swung inward instead, but it wouldn’t take long for the thing to figure that out. Worse, the man was more than big enough to push the ice cream cooler out of the way. Lizzy ran to the back and out the emergency fire door into the alley. This actually served as a short cut, and Lizzy exited into a neighboring street where she had to fling herself to the curb to avoid being run down by a speeding car.

  “Monsters!”

  Lizzy pulled herself to her feet and turned to see a man she vaguely recognized, though she couldn’t recall his name. He pointed a pistol and fired. The bullet only grazed her shoulder, but it was enough to spin her to the side. She lifted her own weapon, but he ran off.

  “God damn it!” she snarled, annoyed, frustrated, more than a little scared, and all around furious. Hopefully his balls would be chewed off, slowly, by whatever these screwed up people were, or some dogs in the alternative.

  After that, things grew slightly calmer. Moving to the smaller, more isolated residential streets, the number of zombies decreased significantly, and Lizzy was able to reach Lois’s house without further difficulty. She had a key, something her girlfriend’s parents did not know about, and used it to let herself in. The banging, and Mary’s on and off screaming, were clearly audible. Rushing up the steps, Lizzy found their parents slamming clenched fists against the thirteen year old’s bedroom door. It only took a single good look to confirm they were wrong, and the mother was promptly felled with a head shot. Lois’s father turned, and Lizzy struck him in the chest. That only served to knock him back a step, and she hurriedly fired a third time taking him in the face.

  “Lois! Mary! I’m here. You can come out.”

  “Lizzy?”

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  There was a lot of rumbling and crashing as they moved the bookcase and other furniture they’d pressed against the door to the side. Then it creaked open the tiniest bit. Once Lois saw Lizzy, she pulled it open all the way and screamed.

  Her girlfriend thought it was the sight of their dead parents, a reasonable assumption, and began to think how best to explain her actions, while praying she had done the right thing. She liked these people. They’d been nice to her, always. She was just beginning to get sick to her stomach, realizing what she might have done, when a zombie grabbed her from behind. It had come through the open front door.

  Surprised, Lizzy reacted by slamming her head back, catching the thing in the chin. It didn’t let go, but it staggered back. Losing her own balance, Lizzy was likewise dragged in that direction, and both the woman and the zombie tumbled down the stairs. It lost its grip during the fall and broke a leg, shards of bone jutting through its skin. Unable to stand, the zombie nevertheless used its arms to pull itself along the carpet to where Lizzy was lying, dazed.

  “Lizzy!” screamed Lois.

  The woman looked up at her.

  “There!” pointed Mary. She tried to go down the steps to help, but Lois grabbed her collar, jerking her back roughly.

  Lizzy spotted the zombie, almost on her, and kicked it in the face. The nose shattered, but this did nothing to slow the thing’s advance. Picking up her gun – it had fallen next to her – she pulled the trigger. A heartbeat later the pistol slipped from her fingers as both hands instinctively rose to grasp her forehead. The woman had fired left-handed, something she’d never attempted before, and the powerful kick had pushed the barrel up, right into Lizzy’s forehead. She was seeing stars.

  Mary broke free of her sister and ran downstairs, hopped over Lizzy, and slammed the front door shut, bolting it.

  “Check the other ones too,” suggested Lizzy, only half understanding her own words.

  The teenager did as she was told. Noting there were more of the things in the street, she also pulled the blinds so they wouldn’t see them.

  “Are you okay?” asked Lois, kneeling beside her.

  “No, I’m not okay. I am very fucking not okay. An asshole shot at me, after I was almost run over. These things keep attacking me. My head hurts. Fucking… Is it bleeding?”

  Lois ran a finger gently over her skin. “No, but it’s turning purple.”

  “God... Can’t believe this shit. Help me up.”

  Lizzy was wobbly, and her hip ached from the fall, but nothing seemed to be broken or sprained.

  “Get me to your room, please. I need to lie down a minute.”

  Both sisters had to assist Lizzy up the stairs. She was having difficulty walking, and the pain was really starting to set in. They managed though.

  “Can’t believe this,” began the woman, “I really can’t. What the news say? Is this even being reported on?”

  “Don’t know,” replied Mary. Her face was unusually serious and her eyes puffy from crying. She switched on the television and began flipping channels.

  “What happened to your shoulder?” asked Lois, eyes wide, when Lizzy began to undress.

  She tossed her bloody shirt aside. “The asshole who shot at me sorta hit, barely. Idiot probably thought I was one of those things. Should’ve been obvious I wasn’t. It’s easy enough to tell from the way they act. The faces look all wrong too.”

  “Were our parents?” asked Mary. She turned away from the television but did not look into the hall where the remainder of her family was lying, dead.

  Lizzy nodded, slowly. “Same weird eyes. Acted just like the others I saw too. I’m sorry Mary. I really am. Hey, turn that up.”

  It took Mary a moment to realize Lizzy was referring to the television, and the abrupt command hurt her feelings. Even so, that unpleasant thought was pushed aside as they learned what was really happening and how widespread the tragedy was.

  * * *

  The power in Garden City didn’t disappear that first morning, as it did in Denton, Texas. Somehow, beyond all reasonable expectations, it lasted until late on the second day, and as a result, Lizzy and her friends learned far more about what was happening than Briana and I. I’m now going to provide a brief summary before returning to Lizzy’s gripping tale of survival in the dreadful, horrible, terrible, surprisingly surreal zombie apocalypse.

  Within hours of the disaster, Pakistan and India had indeed begun launching nuclear strikes against one another. At no point were any official statements issued by political or military leaders, and it was not clear what instigated the war. Both satellites and reporters on the ground provided images of the mushroom clouds and the wide scale destruction. On Pakistan’s side Lahore, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Nawabshah, Karachi, and the capital of Islamabad were reduced to radioactive hellholes, along with thirty more towns and military installations. India lost its capital of New Delhi, Jaipur, Bikaner, and about a dozen other cities and bases. It seemed the Indians were coming out ahead on the nuclear exchange, not that it would likely do them much good in the end. No one knew who fired first. The initial strikes went off almost simultaneously.

  Western Europe fell apart within hours. A large part of this was due to the dense populations. There was no place to run, no isolated locations in which to rally or secure survivors. And, as previously anticipated by me, the draconian gun laws prohibiting anyone from owning a weapon made it extremely difficult for people to fight back. They were unarmed and unused to protecting themselves. A large percentage just waited for the police or someone else to come to their aid.

  The news from France was cut off before lunch. The United Kingdom transmissions lasted longer, and it was learned that England and Wales were to be abandoned. The royal family had been evacuated to a castle in Scotland via helicopter, and the rugged terrain was being used to set up safe zones. The prime minister was missing and presumed dead.

  Switzerland had managed to mobilize its military and was fighting back, the only European nation to do so in a widespread, organized manner. Their borders were mountainous and riddled with bunkers, military bases, and fortification
s, left over from when they feared invasion by Nazi Germany and then during the cold war. These provided the Swiss with numerous places to operate out of and to house survivors in safety. Also, while Switzerland lost the same initial quarter of the population as everyone else, unlike their neighbors they had a well armed population. The bulk of their citizens underwent mandatory military service, and they took their weapons home with them upon completion.

  The Middle East fared no better. Contact with most countries was quickly lost, with Israel being the sole exception. They had still been broadcasting when Lizzy’s power finally went out. Much like the Swiss, the Israelis were armed to the teeth, a result of being surrounded by enemies bent on their extermination. They had a better chance at surviving than most.

  Asia’s condition was harder to determine. China instilled a full media blackout almost immediately, and no one knew what was happening there. Japan collapsed faster than anyone else. With gun laws that tended to be just as strict as Europe’s and a population density even greater, the island nation simply could not get organized or respond in any unified manner. There were a few images of men using swords to cut down the zombies, and the defense forces were trying to secure the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. There was no indication as to whether or not they’d been successful.

  Lizzy was able to gather a lot more information about the United States than abroad, as our own suffering made up the bulk of the news coverage. They watched New York City fall, with evacuation orders given after the military units that tried to respond were overrun by sheer numbers. Up to the end, the mayor was on television saying he had no regrets about pushing so hard to outlaw all private gun ownership, that he’d been correct in this. He, along with millions of his constituents, never made it out. Justice. That’s regarding his death, not that of others living in the city. Well, justice as to his dying and those who supported his policies.