by TJ Weeks
“I really want to try and get some of your things into that new little antique store in town that just opened.” Bobbi told him.
“I don’t know Bobbi, I am not sure they would want things I make.” He modestly responded.
“Anyone would be happy to have all of the stuff you make, it is absolutely beautiful and I think it would really sell.” She stated.
They drove in silence for just a bit while Bobbi continued to rest her eyes
Jason suddenly hit the brakes and veered off to the shoulder of the road.
“Did you see that?” He shouted leaning forward as they came to a stop.
Bobbi caught the dash with her hands and glared over at Jason.
“What the hell babe?!” She shouted.
“Did you see that man?” He looked behind them.
“No I saw a pine tree coming at my face though!” She shouted and slapped him on his arm.
“There was a man in the middle of the damn road.” He stated.
Jason backed out of the grass and back onto the road and continued backing up to where he saw the man.
“He was right here.” Jason scanned the area.
“No guy here hon.” Bobbi stated insinuating that he was seeing things.
Jason turned his head from side to side and back behind them.
“I swear, there was a guy here.” He stated.
“Let’s go home honey. I think you need to lie down.” Bobbi laughed.
“Bobbi, I am serious.” Jason assured.
Bobbi began to look around the car as well since Jason was so adamant. She was able to make out a small silhouette of a man far in the distance walking through the field on the other side of the two lane road.
“There.” She pointed.
Jason squinted looking at the man and they both watched him fall and get back up and start walking again.
“No we are not going to help him, he is fine, looks like he has a destination, let’s go home babe.” Bobbi begged.
“That was weird.” Jason admitted.
He shook off the strange feeling of the man and put the car in drive. He took one last look at the far off man and touched the gas to move forward. He turned back to the road just in time to hit the brakes again. Bobbi flew into the dashboard.
“DAMMIT JASON!” She yelled.
Bobbi sat up and a woman had appeared on the hood of her Camry.
“What the hell?” Bobbi questioned reaching for the door handle.
“Bobbi, stay in here.” Jason stated.
He reached for his door and popped it open as the woman clawed the windshield. Her nails were dirty, her face was distorted making her look like some kind of monster instead of a woman. Her hair was knotted and looked as though it had been matted by a substance and stuck to the side of her head. The sun dress she wore appeared to at one time have been white with light colored flowers printed across the top.
“JASON NO!” Bobbi grabbed his arm. “There is something not right. Stay in the car.”
The woman’s wrinkled skin tore as her neck gave way from the weight of her own head and hit the windshield. She peered back up at Bobbi and blood streamed down from her forehead across her crooked nose and dripped onto the car. She lifted one of her arms again and let it drop on the windshield again. Bobbi and Jason heard a loud pop and a bone protruded out of her elbow. The woman continued banging with her other arm and began baring her disgustingly yellow teeth at them.
“Get her the fuck off of my car!” Bobbi hollered.
Jason hit the gas hard and then the brakes again. Bobbi readied herself so that she would not head butt the dashboard again. She watched the woman slide backwards off of the hood and hit the ground in front of the car and roll a few feet. The woman shook her head and started to stand.
“Go!” Bobbi hollered to her husband.
Jason stepped on the gas once again and tried to go around the nasty woman that was now half standing. Bobbi grabbed the wheel and prevented him from going around her and hit her head on. The Camry rocked from side to side as it made its way over the woman’s body.
“Bobbi what the hell are you doing? We can’t just kill people and drive off.” Jason stated.
“Keep going!” Bobbi took her hand from the wheel.
Jason did as he was told and kept the car moving. He slowly decreased his speed as he pulled over once they were out of sight of the now dead woman that laid in the middle of the road.
“We have to clean this off before we get in trouble.” Jason suggested.
“Jason, there was something wrong with that woman.” Bobbi told him.
Another man scooted past the car, dragging one foot behind him. He seemed to look their way but was not stopping. He passed by them and stared forward. His gray beard had been covered in blood.
“Mr. Jones?” Jason questioned.
“That isn’t Mr. Jones anymore babe. Something isn’t right. Let’s get home now!” Bobbi demanded.
Jason pushed on the gas and drove a little ways before starting to see cars that had been abandoned. There were three more of the stumbling people that were walking across the road and down into the woods lining the highway. Jason turned off onto the small dirt road that led back to their house. He swerved to miss a woman that was wandering in the middle. He didn’t stop in fear that the woman might be like the other one and climb on top of the car. He pulled in the small driveway and pulled up in front of their one story, two bedroom cottage that they had bought after their house fire. They were both happy with where they were living until they realized that crazy people were surrounding their house.
“There are a lot of them behind the house, but I think we can make it in the front.” Jason stated.
“Jason, I think this is the apocalypse, we have to be careful.” Bobbi explained.
“Like fucking zombies?” He queried.
“I think that is exactly what they are. What else could it be?” Bobbi asked his opinion.
Jason peered at the clumsy hoard walking towards them.
“Let’s go now, to the house!” He instructed.
Bobbi and Jason both jumped from the car and ran full sprint up the two steps to the door. Both of them were thankful they didn’t have to lock the door being out in the country and barreled through it. They turned and pushed the door shut. Bobbi turned the deadbolt just as a loud thump echoed through the house. Bobbi jumped back from the door and tripped on the small rug covering the entryway into the living room and fell backwards while Jason ran to the window in their small den that overlooked the porch.
“Oh Shit!” He hollered.
Bobbi stared at him as he started to back away from the window. A loud thud echoed again, but this time from the window Jason stood in front of. Jason stretched his hand to the window and jerked one of the curtains over to cover the rumbling glass from the strikes from what was hitting against it. He quickly did the same with the other curtain on the other side and then ran to his wife who still sat on the floor.
“They have surrounded the house, go get the gun and the shells. We have to be quiet. They know that we are in here, they are trying to get in.” He explained.
Bobbi nodded her head to her husband and slowly and quietly made her way to her feet. Jason held her arm to make sure she was steady and lightly pushed her towards their bedroom to go collect what he had asked for.
Bobbi rounded the corner of their bedroom door and grabbed the six shells from the gun rack on their wall and took the gun off of the rack. Her shaky hands had a hard time steadying the handful of shells; she quickly put them in the pocket of her scrub shirt and held the gun with both hands as she walked it back down the hallway.
Jason took the gun and she handed the shells to him one by one as he loaded the gun.
“My knife is in my sock drawer.” Jason told her.
Bobbi walked back down the hallway, avoiding the small spots that creaked when you stepped on them. She brought the knife back to Jason and laid it on the couch next to him. She sat
down, not knowing how they were going to handle all of this.
“What are your plans?” Bobbi asked.
“This is just in case one of them gets in the house somehow.” Jason told her. “Otherwise, we stay here and wait it out for them to find something else that they are interested in.”
“Then what?” She asked him.
“I guess we load up and find somewhere to survive.” He stated.
Never had either of them imagined the apocalypse would happen and they were both quiet for a moment while trying to decide on what needed to be done.
“What about that school a few miles up the road? There would be food, I am sure that it would be locked up and they wouldn’t be able to get in there. We could break in and set up there.” Bobbi suggested.
Jason nodded in agreement as he went and peeked through the small opening through the curtains. The man remained on the porch standing still and then suddenly turned his head towards the window and then back to view the yard. He took a step and fell down the steps, his face hit the sidewalk and exploded on impact. Blood went everywhere and the rest of the body slammed to the ground. Jason pulled the curtain back a bit and peered for more that were waiting. Two were rounding the corner of the house and both headed towards the road. A scream echoed out from behind the house, Bobbi jumped and ran to the back door. Her neighbor across the alley in his backyard had just been bit from behind by a woman.
“Jason, it’s Mr. Blare from across the alley!” She belted out.
Jason ran to join Bobbi and looked out of the window. “It’s too late, he has already been bit.”
The woman raised her bloody mouth up from Mr. Blare and chewed the skin that had been torn from his neck. She went in for another bite and followed Mr. Blare’s body as it fell to the ground and lifted her face up again, a muscle from his neck swung from her mouth. She chewed vigorously while reaching in to the open wound and pulling out more and bringing it to her mouth. She watched her surroundings as she ingested their neighbor.
Jason turned slowly and walked quietly to the hall closet. He grabbed an old duffel bag, he walked back to the bedroom and began stuffing some of his and Bobbi’s clothes into it. Bobbi soon followed.
“What are you doing?” Bobbi asked.
“We are getting the fuck out of this crazy shit. We have to go somewhere safer than here.” He answered.
Bobbi began helping pack. She bagged the basic necessities and then moved to the kitchen. She began gathering some food and bottles of water and took them back to the bedroom and stuffed it all in the bag. Jason zipped it up and hurriedly moved to the front door. He unlocked the door and placed his hand on the knob, he looked over at Bobbi.
“I love you honey.” He whispered. “We are going to run to the car, I need you to hurry and get in. No matter what happens, get somewhere safe is our goal.”
Bobbi nodded and took a deep breath. Jason cracked the door open and looked out. There were no zombies visible in the small area he was able to see. He slowly opened the door a little more until he saw movement in the road. He stood for a moment to make sure that he had not drawn attention to them.
“Ready, one, two, three, GO!” He whispered.
Bobbi and Jason flung the door open and sprinted to the car. Jason ran to the driver’s side and Bobbi was in the passenger side before Jason closed his door. He threw the bag in the back and reached for his door. Before he was able to close the door, Mr. Blare appeared in the open door. His face was a strange color and his neck had been half torn. His head hung to one side, his jaw moved back and forth and the squeak of his teeth grinding was piercing. Jason slammed the door closing Mr. Blare’s head in the door. Bobbi screamed as she reached over to help Jason pull the door. Their once nice neighbor, growled louder as the door tore through the small amount of skin that held his head to his body. Jason pushed the door open just enough to use both hands to slam it closed on the man one last time. His head came off and fell to the floorboard inside the car. Jason kicked his feet and pushed himself to stand in the car. He then pulled his feet up in the seat and sat for a moment to decide what to do.
“Open our damn door!” Bobbi screamed.
Jason pulled the handle and opened his door. Bobbi grabbed Mr. Blare’s head by the hair, she leaned over and tossed the hunk out of the vehicle.
Jason put his feet back into the floorboard and closed the door. He turned the key and started the car. He backed out and hit the brakes when the driver’s side tire hit a bump.
“That was his head wasn’t it?” Jason asked closing his eyes.
“Just go!” Bobbi yelled.
Jason spun the tires and backed the rest of the way out and headed down their road. Bobbi and Jason scanned the area as they drove, numerous people ran through the streets and zombies ran after them.
“Don’t stop, we can’t help them.” Bobbi instructed. “Just drive.”
Jason did as he was told and swerved as a man walked in front of them holding a child. He brought the child to his mouth and dove into its midsection to take a bite. Bobbi covered her eyes and brought her face back up with tears sliding down her cheeks as she felt the car go straight.
After a few more miles, a girl stood on the side of the road waving her arms.
“We have to stop.” Jason stated.
Bobbi glared at him and shook her head. Jason pulled over, ignoring Bobbi’s silent words.
He stepped out of the car. “Are you okay?” He asked her.
The girl walked to his side of the car and it was then that Jason saw the bite mark on her arm.
The teenage girl made it to the door. She grabbed Jason by the collar of his shirt and bit his cheek. Bobbi screamed and played tug of war with the petite girl that had just turned. She pulled on Jason’s pants and tried to pull him back in the car. The girl kept a grasp on his shirt as she leaned in and took another bite from his face.
Bobbi watched as blood dripped down to her hands that had a death grip on his jeans. She let go as soon as her husband’s blood hit her hands. She peered up at the teenage girl and the two made eye contact. The girl let go of Jason and started rounding the door. Bobbi knew she had to do something. She was not going to die by some brat teenage kid. Bobbi turned herself and kicked her husband out of the way of the door, leaned over and quickly pulled the door closed before she was able to make it around Jason.
She jumped over the console and into the driver’s seat, she popped the gear shift into drive and slammed down the gas pedal. The car thrusted forward and fish tailed as it took off down the road. Bobbi turned the wheel one way and then the other trying to gain control. The car finally straight, Bobbi took a huge breath in and puffed her cheeks as she let it out.
She had made it far enough that she couldn’t see anyone at all on the sides of the county road. Cars sat abandoned that she had to dodge, but no movement of people were visible.
Bobbi pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped. She put her face in her hands and began to sob, ran her hands through her short red hair and back down to her face. She had to gather herself. She could not give up. Even without her husband now. She had to save herself. She decided to go along with her plan and head to the school.
She put the car back in drive and pulled back onto the road. She drove slower than she had earlier trying to rid her view of any zombies. She just wanted to get away from them. She wanted normalcy. She drove to the end of the county road and turned onto the small highway that would eventually lead to the school.
She contemplated stopping to eat and get something to drink since she was starting to feel light headed. She needed something to give her a bit of energy. She drove slowly and watched the sides of the road, she could see them moving in the woods. There were some that were stumbling, tripping, falling and some that were walking almost like normal humans. Bobbi was not taking the chance to stop and see if they were still human. She drove on until the sun was almost down. She pulled in to a little rest stop that she had used before to ea
t her lunches in between her appointments. She stopped and locked the doors before turning the car off. She leaned back in her seat and breathed for a moment. She opened her eyes and was only able to see blur in front of her eyes. Her blood sugar was off, she could feel it. She felt behind her for the zipper of the bag and pulled on it. She felt around and pulled out a bottle of the water she had brought with them and some of the snacks. She closed her eyes as she opened a small bag of the cookies and put one in her mouth and held it there for a moment. She took a swig of the water and remembered the one bottle of juice she had and reached back to search for it. She felt the ridges of the bottle she was searching for and quickly pulled it to her and opened it. She took a swig and swallowed and then another. Her eyes became clearer and the dizziness began to subside. That very moment, Bobbi knew she would be able to make it.
The sun was completely gone, and the normal street light that lit up the small area on those late nights that she worked, was not shining. She became a bit scared and quickly flipped on her headlights. Directly in front of her car, stood a man. He had to have been well over six foot tall and looked as though he had eaten plenty in his life time. His clothes were covered in bloody particles that Bobbi figured were from poor souls that had been attacked by the man and never stood a chance. She slowly put the top on her juice and slowly laid it in the passenger seat without taking her eyes off of the large man. The man seemed to be looking straight at her and she did not want him lunging at her car. She started the car and slowly moved her hand down to the gear shift between the seats and put it in drive. She turned the wheel to the left and hit the gas. The man took one step and was back in front of her car. Bobbi had no choice, she kept going. She hit the man’s knees with the bumper and he fell onto the hood. She stopped quickly and he rolled off. She hit the gas again and her right tire went over his body. He was big enough that her car felt as though it was ten feet in the air. The small Camry made a big bang back down to the ground. Bobbi kept her foot on the gas and kept going. The adrenaline ran rampant through her body as she tried to get as far away from the big man as she could.