by Ben McElyea
“We’re going to spend the rest of the day here. We’ve dealt with enough for one day.”
“I understand. Some days can be much worse than others. I’ll see you around.”
Jake sat in front of the fire and munched on a candy bar.
“We’re running out of stuff to burn,” said Jake. “We need to go get more wood before it snows again. I’d rather not dig into the cold snow to find something to burn.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We don’t have to go far, right?”
“Just to the outside of the woods.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going with you,” Eric said as he stood up. “You’re not going far, but anything can happen.”
After climbing over the vehicles, Courtney held Jake’s arm.
“You can’t hold on to me while we’re out here.”
“It makes me feel better.”
“I have to have concentration. Let go of my arm.”
Courtney let go of Jake’s arm. Jake holstered the pistol before picking up as much wood as he could. He dropped the wood, walked a bit past the trees and bushes, and came back.
“It was only one of them,” Jake said with a cough. “Let’s get back where it’s warm.”
“I don’t like carrying the wood across the cars,” Courtney said as she threw some wood into the fire.
“You’re interesting,” Jake said with a chuckle.
“I know. I’m great, aren’t I?”
“With everything that’s going on, you’re complaining about carrying wood over an obstacle.”
“Well.”
“Melissa, you’re coming with me on the second, third, fourth, and fifth trip to get wood. Who else is coming with us?”
“I’ll go,” Justin said with a sigh.
“Who else?”
“I’ll go with you,” said Eric. “We need wood more than anything.”
“There are only eight of us,” said Melissa. “Patrick, Andy, you’re both coming with us. We really do need a lot of wood.”
“I’m not taking orders from you,” Patrick snapped. “I’m going because I choose to, not because you said I’m going.”
“I volunteer,” said Andy.
Jake, Melissa, Dan, Andy, and Eric made several trips to the tree line for wood without encountering more than two of the undead.
“I’m dead tired,” Melissa said as she and the others walked inside.
“Yeah,” said Patrick, stretching his arms.
“I’ll never get used to those monsters. They’re scary.”
“They’re nasty, too.”
“Yeah. Stinky. You can smell them from a mile away. They’re missing eyeballs, lips, teeth, noses, ears, and everything else. They want to eat us. I just wonder why.”
“I wish I knew how this plague started.”
“I believe it’s a religious thing.”
“It could be.”
“Humanity has sinned so, so much.”
“Stick with me. I’ll take care of you.”
“I’m flattered.”
“Patrick doesn’t know how to survive as much as I do,” Andy said as he put his arm around Melissa.
“What are you talking about? I’m way better in a fight. I’m faster, smarter, and more cautious than you. If it were not for me, you would be dead.”
“You’re just mad because I’m talking to Melissa.”
“I’m pretty sure I recall saying something about leaving Melissa and Courtney alone,” Jake said, standing up with balled fists.
“It’s okay,” said Melissa. “Let’s just calm down. I like both of you.”
“Who do you like more?” Andy asked.
38
“I like both of you. There’s no need for getting mad at each other.”
“Choose one of us,” Andy said irritably.
“If I choose one of you, will the one I don’t choose be mad at me? Neither of you know me and you’re fighting over me.”
“I’ll understand if you don’t choose me,” said Patrick. “You like who you like.”
“I choose Patrick.”
“Why?” Andy asked.
Andy threw a piece of wood at the wall. It made a hole.
“Calm down!” Eric yelled.
“That’s bullshit!”
“I don’t want to fight you,” said Patrick. “But I will if I have to. Melissa chose me. Get over it.”
“You know I’m better than you, Patrick. She should have chosen me.”
“No one’s better than anybody.”
“You didn’t like her! You were pretty annoyed with her not long ago.”
“She’s beautiful.”
Andy ran at and tackled Patrick. Patrick kicked him off and jumped up. Andy jumped up and stared.
“You don’t want to do this, Andy!”
“Melissa’s mine!”
“I belong to no one!”
“You’ll be mine and like it!”
Andy threw a punch and missed. Patrick jumped around for a few moments before landing three hard jabs to Andy’s nose. Andy tried to tackle Patrick again, but was kicked in the stomach and pushed to the ground.
“It’s over!” Patrick yelled. “You’re acting crazy, Andy!”
“I need a woman!”
Andy placed his hand on his pistol. Patrick put his hand on his in the back of his pants. The two stared each other down. The room was silent. Jake slowly pulled his pistol from his pocket. Andy drew his gun. Patrick drew his right after. Andy pulled the trigger first, but he didn’t have a round in the chamber. Patrick pulled the trigger and shot Andy twice in the chest. Andy went down. Taking one bullet to the lung and one to the heart, Andy died instantly.
Eric picked up one of the spears from the corner of the room and pierced Andy’s head. He grabbed Andy’s corpse by the feet, dragged it next to the barricade, and came back inside.
“That was one hundred percent ridiculous and unnecessary,” Courtney said, wiping away a tear.
“That was insane,” said Jake. “I’m amazed with how stupid people can get.”
“I’d be a goner if Andy would have had a round in the chamber,” Patrick said as he held Melissa tight. “I didn’t think he’d go to the extreme.”
“You said I was beautiful,” said Melissa. “I’m not beautiful right now.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I haven’t showered or shaved in a very long time.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re great.”
“Slow down, cowboy. We’ll get to know each other first.”
“I understand.”
“The only reason you men want us is because it’s the end of the world,” Courtney said with a roll of her eyes.
“You women need and want us just as much,” said Jake.
“Whatever.”
“If you would have met me before the end of the world, you wouldn’t have given me a chance.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.”
“I knew it.”
“So what? You don’t know much about me anyway. To you, I’m just someone to cling to for comfort.”
“I know some things about you.”
“Oh, you’ve actually been listening to what I’ve been saying?”
“Your favorite color is pink, you like country music, your favorite foods are spaghetti, hamburgers, pizza, and French fries. When you were sixteen, you wrecked your first car one week after you got your driver’s license.”
Courtney and Jake kissed.
“See? I listen.”
“Whatever. You got lucky.”
“And then there were seven.”
“A man tried to kill me because I was infatuated with the same woman,” Patrick said, shaking his head. “People will try to kill you over the pettiest of things now. For all I know, I’ll be shot for making eye contact with someone.”
“I don’t know what’s more dangerous,” Eric said with a sigh. “People can be just as brutal a
s zombies.”
“I want this to be over so badly,” Melissa whispered to herself. “I don’t see how you all smile and laugh. People all over the world are dying and we’re just going on like it isn’t happening.”
“None of us are acting like it isn’t happening,” said Eric. “We’re coping, but not so much. We’re all dying inside.”
“I’m not doing well.”
“You’re just crazy.”
“I wonder how long we’ll stay here.”
“We’ll run out of food eventually,” said Jake. “We always do.”
39
Jake, Eric, Pete, Dan, and Patrick were miles from home during a scavenging run when a blizzard struck with a frozen fist.
“We can’t travel through this,” Eric said over the sound of the whistling wind. “We have to take shelter somewhere.”
“He’s right,” said Jake. “It’s too cold for us to travel. The wind is too harsh. There’s a barn not far from here. We don’t need to be in the cold any longer.”
“I’m taking my chances,” said Patrick.
“Surely you know you’ll die if you go alone,” Dan said to Patrick. “Surely you know that’s a stupid idea.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“No, you idiot. You’re staying with us.”
“I don’t want to sleep anywhere outside the barricade. I’m not doing that. That’s stupid.”
“If I have to force you to stay with us, I will. None of us can afford to let another person in the group die.”
“I’m not sleeping outside the barricade. That is really stupid.”
“Embracing the harsh winds like this for a long period of time is more stupid. Don’t let your fear control you.”
“You all are going to get me killed.”
“You see that?”
“See what?”
“There are far too many of them. We have to go around them and get to the houses.”
They quickly drudged through the snow. They reached and crept around the small neighborhood. There were a few limpers here and there, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle. Jake kicked open the front door and shoved a couch and bookcase in front of it.
“Be quiet,” Jake whispered. “We need to listen.”
There was a banging noise coming from upstairs.
“There’s one stuck up there,” said Dan.
“We check it out together,” Eric replied. “We don’t need an accident.”
Eric led the others up the stairs and to the designated bedroom door. With everybody ready, Jake turned the doorknob.
“It’s locked.”
Dan kicked the door in. A zombie rushed out, pushed him, and fell on top of him. Jake quickly put a bullet through the side of the zombie’s head. The zombie’s body went limp. Dan pushed the zombie off of him and stood up.
“Did it get you?” Jake asked.
“No. It was close, though. I thought I was done for.”
“He has blood on his face,” Eric said as he took a step back.
“He’s fine,” Jake said calmly. “The blood hasn’t reached the bloodstream. Dan, grab a piece of clothing and carefully wipe off the blood. It’s really close to your eye. Look in the bathroom mirror.”
Dan took care of the issue and looked in the mirror for a moment. He had become scraggly looking. He thought of positive things. He thought of playing football with his friends in high school, reading good and bad books, and having a drink while watching television.
“You’re infected,” Patrick said as he pointed the barrel of his shotgun as Dan walked back to meet with the others.
“I’m not infected!”
“You got the blood on you.”
“Patrick,” said Eric. “I don’t think he’s infected. Give it time. If you were to shoot him now, I’d shoot you.”
Patrick lowered his gun.
“Fine. I’ll be watching him, though.”
“Let’s look out the bedroom window,” Jake said, stepping over the slain zombie and walking to the window.
“We need to search the entire house first,” Dan said worriedly. “You know we should search the house before we do anything else.”
“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I don’t know why we haven’t searched these houses before.”
“We were going to come search them eventually.”
Little was found in the house. Pete found a quarter of a jar of moonshine and a half smoked cigar in the basement.
“You always manage to find liquor,” Patrick said to Pete.
“Liquor always manages to find me.”
Jake looked out the upstairs window. He could see the massive hoard walking through the field and across the road.
“Take a look,” Jake said before sitting on the bed. “It’s madness. It’s a good thing we didn’t keep going. There are a ton of them. Good chance we would have been spotted if we would have kept going.”
“How are we going to get back home?” Patrick asked.
“We’re not going to move too soon,” Eric said as he continued to stare out the window at the zombies. “We’ll be here for a little while.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know. I’m not leaving until at least tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to leave Melissa all by herself. I love her.”
“You love her?”
“Yeah.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“You barely know her.”
“Love at first sight.”
“You’re stupid.”
“Maybe, maybe not. So what?”
“Talking to you right now is pointless. Let’s get some rest and hope the blizzard stops and the zombies pass.”
The survivors huddled up and started a small fire in the bedroom. They were careful not to allow the fire from spreading. The next morning, Jake looked out the window.
“Bad news, everyone.”
Everyone woke up and stood up, ready for anything.
“What is it?” Pete asked.
“The good news is the blizzard has stopped. The bad news is the zombies are still out there.”
“Maybe they’re stuck in the snow.”
“I’m not sure. I’m not about to get close enough to find out.”
“When and how are we getting home?” Patrick asked.
“I have an idea,” said Jake. “We can burn this house down. They’ll be attracted to the snow and fire. By the time they get here, we’ll be long gone.”
“That’s a good idea,” Eric said beneath his breath. “Great idea.”
Jake and the others set all of the carpet on fire with their butane lighters. After they believed the fire was big enough to catch the zombies’ attention, they crept out of the house and headed towards home.
40
“Are they headed towards the fire?” Patrick asked.
“I know they are,” Eric answered. “We’ve got to get home. It’s too cold.”
Jake felt something prick his neck and fell to the freezing ice covered ground. When he awoke, he saw he was back in the church.
“Jake!” Steven said loudly. “It’s good to see you again, brother! I’m sorry about having to get you with the dart again. No worries. Your friends are sitting next to you, to your right. You’re not tied up, neither is Pete or Dan.”
“Hello, Steven. I hope you’ve been doing well.”
“I’m great! The dark god is good! I need to talk to you about the other two people you have with you.”
“I’m all ears, Steven.”
“What are the names of your friends?”
“The man next to Pete is Patrick. The other is Eric.”
“Are they walking the true path, Jake?”
“I believe they are.”
“Well, we’ll have to see about that. I don’t know if they’ve embraced perfection yet.”
Steven awakened Patrick and Eric with hard smacks. Eric sat still. Patrick strugg
led.
“You’re a lively one,” Steven said to Patrick. “My name’s Steven. How are you today?”
“What do you want from us?”
“My followers and I want what’s best for you.”
“Untie me!”
“I don’t know if I should do that yet.”
“Just let me go!”
“I need to ask you a few questions, Patrick.”
“Well, ask.”
“Are you right with the dark god?”
“What?”
“Are you right with the dark god?”
“I don’t think anybody is.”
“You’re wrong. My followers and I are right with the dark god. Jake, Dan, Pete, and I are right with the dark god. We’ve embraced perfection. In order for me to allow you to live, you have to change your ways. Change your ways, Patrick.”
“How do I do that?”
“Embrace pain and truth.”
“I’ve experienced more than enough.”
“Not yet.”
“Don’t hurt me, okay? I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’m willing to cooperate.”
“Good. I’m going to harm you with this knife.”
“Please don’t!”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“It’s what the dark god wants, Patrick. In order to embrace perfection, you must pass the ultimate test. Jake, Dan, and Pete passed the test.”
“You know this doesn’t make any sense!”
“Do you dare speak to me in such a way? You
Shall be punished!”
Steven took his knife and cut off Patrick’s ear. Patrick jerked and screamed.
“Stop!” Patrick cried. “Please! No more! No more!”
“You cry out in pain! He’s seeing the truth, everyone!”
“God, please let me go! For the love of God, please let me go!”
“You will not ask God to help you! God is nonexistent! The dark god lives!”
“Please let me go! I want to go home!”
“You will embrace the dark god! Eric, what say you? Do you walk the path of those who worship the dark god?”
“I do my very best,” Eric said to the crazed pastor. “I walk the path of perfection! I walk with the dark god during good and bad times. The dark god is our leader.”
“Spoken like a true follower of the dark god! You shall be free from the ties that bind you!”
Steven cut the bungee cords and rope binding Eric to the chair. Like Jake, Dan, and Pete, Eric remained in his chair.
“I will give you two options, Patrick.”