by C. M. Fick
When Paige stirred in Ruth's arms, mumbling something in her sleep, Ruth stood and gently placed her on the bed beside Caleb - the nine-year-old boy who they'd found hiding in a garage. After making sure both children were sleeping, Ruth made her way to the strategy meeting in-progress in the adjoining room.
"Another survivor told me that the army opened fire on his group, killing most of them before they could get close enough to explain their situation," Paula was saying as Ruth entered.
Ron looked up and gave her a tired smile, patting the bed beside him. She hurried over to her husband and was comforted when his strong arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. "Well we'll just have to find a way around the army's barricade when we get that far, but in the meantime, walking straight up the highway is the quickest way to Houston," Ron replied.
"I still don't understand why we have to go all that way to find Steven's wife." Mark was nineteen and believed that nothing could kill him - that he'd never become one of the undead simply because he'd managed to survive those chaotic first days. Ruth constantly worried for the recklessly fearless boy. "I say we head straight to the cottage and hope to find a working phone on the way; they can't all be out of service." He crossed his arms defiantly over his thin chest.
Steven straightened in his chair. "I've already lost my son and Paige needs her mother as much as I need my wife. How am I supposed to explain to Paige that I don't know if her mother survived after the zombies reached Houston?" He looked to each member of the group as he spoke, "You all know that this won't be stopped by a few blockades."
"It doesn't matter," Ron said with a sigh. "We all agreed to go with Steven, in exchange for him letting us stay at his cottage. If his cottage has all he says it does, we could thrive there without worrying about zombies overrunning us again." Ron looked from Harris to Megan, who'd been silent up until now. "Stone walls surrounding the property, a cast iron gate at the road, a room for each of us..." he turned to Paula, "a garden for you to plant all those seeds you carry around with you and solar power so we can live comfortably." He shifted to face Mark, "All of this in exchange for traveling to Houston first to get Steven's wife. Can you tell me you'd rather be on the run than make a small detour?"
The room was silent as everyone in the group stared at one another - they all knew Ron was right; making the trip to Houston was a small price to pay.
"It seems there are no further objections." Ruth stood, taking Ron's hand in hers. "Now if you don't mind, we all have several long days ahead of us, and I for one am exhausted. We set out at dawn, so I suggest you all get some rest."
First light...
The following morning, the group started down the highway just as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. Ron, Megan and Mark took the lead, clearing any of the zombies wandering between the abandoned cars. Harris and Paula walked at the rear of the group to make sure they weren't attacked from behind. Between Ron's group and Harris's, Steven walked carrying Caleb on his shoulders while Ruth carried Paige. They'd been walking for an hour and a half, talking to the children about their favourite TV shows, when Mark jogged back to them.
"The west-bound lanes are clear up ahead and Ron thinks we should get out from this line of cars. He says it will be safer for all of us if we walk on the open road instead of picking our way through this mess." He motioned to the stalled traffic around them. Ruth tried not to stare at the front of his shirt, which was splattered with black blood and at the crowbar, dripping with gore, gripped loosely in his right hand. Ruth saw the gleam of exhilaration in his eyes; the boy seemed to enjoy his task of disposing of any undead they came across.
Their situation had changed each of them, some fitting better into this new reality than others, and Mark thrived on the carnage. She felt relieved that they wouldn't have to continue walking past the undead trapped in the cars. In an effort to ease the burning pain in her arms, Ruth hoisted Paige further up onto her hip. "We need to find a place to stop and rest first." For a small girl of four, Paige was deceptively heavy.
"I agree," Steven said, stretching his neck. "I say we take five minutes to sit and get some food and water passed around before moving on." Mark began to protest.
Ruth spoke up before the boy could say much of anything. "Go talk to Ron and see what he thinks about Steven's suggestion. My arms could use a break." She smiled, hoping he wouldn't argue.
Mark's eyes flashed in irritation as his gaze flicked from one child to the other. Ruth could read his thoughts - leave them; they're only slowing us down. "I'll talk to Ron, but I'm sure he'll side with you two." Before Ruth could say more, the boy spun, jogging back to Ron and Megan.
"There's something wrong with that boy." Steven shook his head. "I feel like I need to sleep with one eye open for fear he'll bash my head in during the night. He enjoys killing the zombies a little too much in my opinion."
"I'd like killing a zombie." Caleb spoke with a serious tone from Steven's shoulders. "I'd like to kill all the zombies for hurting my mom."
Ruth's heart broke a little more at the boy's words, but knew he shouldn't be encouraged. "Now Caleb, you can't seriously..." Ruth said but was interrupted by Paige.
"I want to serially kill a zbombi too." Page's eyes were wide but Ruth didn't see fear in their blue depths.
"When I get big enough, I'm going to bash in their heads just like Mark." Now Caleb was smiling.
"I'm going to chop off their heads." Paige tried to one-up Caleb, smiling just as widely; to Ruth's dismay, they'd found a new game.
"Well, I'm going to get a whole bunch together and tie them up and burn them."
"I'm going to squish them with cars I drop on their heads."
"You can't move a car so that's just silly," Caleb snorted. "I'm going to blow them all up." He threw his arms in the air and shouted, "Ka-boom!"
"Keep it down," Steven warned, glancing around to make sure their new game wasn't drawing unwanted attention.
"I'm going to do that too. Blow all the zbombies up so we don't have to walk anymore." Paige wiggled in Ruth's tired arms, straining to see around her to Caleb; she almost lost her grip on the girl.
"Copycat."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Already tired from the hour's walk, Ruth snapped, "Enough!" and both children fell silent. It was hard enough caring for the children while on the run without having to deal with their bickering.
"And it's zombies not zbombies, stupid." Ruth heard Caleb mutter beneath his breath and was thankful when Paige didn't seem to notice the boy's snide remark.
She cast a quick glance to Steven and was surprised to find a wistful smile on his lips. "You're enjoying this?"
Steven nodded. "Paige and her brother used to squabble like this all the time." There was a long pause as they walked on; Ruth assumed Steven was lost in his memories. His son, almost ten years older than Paige, had been lost during the first days of the outbreak. Ruth couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child - especially in such a horrific way.
She was about to ask why the kids bickering made Steven happy when Mark jogged back to them. "Ron says there's a truck station a quarter mile up. We're going to clear the building and rest inside for fifteen minutes or so," Mark said, obviously irritated by Ron's decision.
A moan came from beneath the transport truck beside them and Paige squealed, pointing behind Mark. "Zbombi!" she wriggled in Ruth's arms, making her lose her grip on the child. Paige hit the ground and scuttled behind her father, peeking around his legs.
Mark turned, raised his crowbar over his head and brought it down on the top of the zombie's skull. There was a sickening crunch and the zombie crumpled to the ground.
"Scaredy-cat," Caleb snorted.
Kicking the zombie to make sure he was dead-again, Mark turned to Paige with a wide smile. "Want to come hit it a few times?" he extended the crowbar to her and both Ruth and Steven stepped forward.
"Hell no she's not," Steven barked. He pointed to th
e dead heap on the ground, "You guys are supposed to make sure the way is clear for us. What if you hadn't been here?"
"Why are we stopped?" Harris spoke from behind them. Mark's face went a deep red as the group turned to see Harris and Paula walking up behind them.
"The zombie crawled out from under the truck, and Mark bashed his head in," Caleb said, not taking his eyes off the corpse.
Harris chuckled. "Paula noticed a filling station a little ways up. I think we should make a quick stop and check for supplies."
"We've already talked to Ron about it." Ruth said, scooping Paige back into her arms. "I need to give my arms a break and Steven's neck is sore." She motioned to Caleb, sitting on Steven's shoulders as he swung his legs back and forth.
"We're hoping we can find some bottles of water and maybe some food," Paula said, extending her arms towards Ruth. "I can take her if you don't mind zombie duty for a few minutes."
Paige clung to Ruth's neck, burying her face in her shoulder. "I don't want you on zbombi duty."
"I'll do it." Caleb swung one leg over Steven's shoulder, hanging from his neck. Steven gurgled, clawing at the boy's hands around his throat; Harris stepped forward and helped the boy to the ground.
"I think you're too little to be of any use in killing the zombies." Harris ruffled the boy's hair as Steven stretched out his neck, taking in deep breaths.
"We'd better get moving," Mark snapped, obviously irritated.
"I'll take Paige if Caleb wants to walk." Steven lifted his daughter from Ruth's arms.
"Thanks," Ruth smiled relieved her arms could rest. Taking Caleb's hand in her own, Ruth motioned for Harris to lead the way. "I think we'd better stay close together. If Mark hadn't been here, that zombie would have been a problem for Steven and me." She of course had a pistol tucked into the back of her pants, but the group had decided before setting out that morning that they'd limit the use of firearms so as not to draw in unwanted attention. The group walked in silence and soon caught up to Ron and Megan, without further incident.
Pit stop...
"What's the situation?" Harris stopped beside Ron, who stood watching the service station through a pair of binoculars.
"I see a handful wandering around the parking lot and at least two in the store," Ron said, not taking his eyes from their goal. "If we're careful we can eliminate the wanderers outside then open the door and let the ones inside come out. There's a lot of movement in vehicles, but those seem to be trapped and we shouldn't have to worry about them."
Harris glanced from Paula, to Megan and finally to Mark, who stood bouncing from foot to foot, eager to get going. "Ron and I will start on the far side of the parking lot while Mark and Megan start on this side. Paula, I'd like you to stay here with the others and make sure nothing catches us unaware."
Mark started down the steep incline, not waiting for further instruction. Megan turned to Ron, grimacing. "Do I really have to go with the suicidal maniac?"
Ron chuckled, checking his gun before putting it back in its holster. He turned, resting his hands on the young girl's slender shoulders. "I need you with him to keep him from getting himself killed. You're smart and he listens to you... well more than he listens to anyone else." He nodded after Mark, "You'd better catch up. Once you have your side cleared, meet us at the store but don't go in until we're all together."
Megan nodded, took a deep breath and set out after Mark, who'd already reached the parking lot. Ron turned to Ruth; she stared up into her husband's weary eyes, giving him a small, encouraging smile. "You're doing just fine," she said softly, lifting up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "Eyes wide."
Ron nodded and turned to Harris, patting his back. "Let's do it."
Ruth watched as the men made their way to the far end of the parking lot; each armed with machetes and short homemade spears. She prayed that the four of them didn't come upon more zombies than they could handle.
Caleb tugged on her shirt. "Can I stand on the roof of the car to watch?"
Ruth squatted beside the boy, taking both of his hands in her own. "You don't want to watch them get rid of the zombies Caleb. It isn't something a little boy should see."
"But I'm going to have to know eventually," Caleb pouted, glancing up to where Paige now sat on her father's shoulders, watching the scene below. "And Paige gets to watch and she's littler than I am."
Sighing, Ruth knew the boy was right. He would have to learn how to defend himself against zombies if he hoped to survive in this new world. She'd hoped to keep his childhood innocence intact a little while longer, but that seemed impossible now that they were on the open road. "Okay, I'll help you get up on the roof of the car, but we need you to keep very quiet." Caleb nodded, eager to watch.
Noticing the living creeping through the parking lot, the zombies began to wander towards them. Ruth wanted to shout for Ron to be careful, but knew she couldn't distract him from his task - Harris was watching his back and Ruth had to trust he'd take care of her husband. Having already killed one of the zombies, Mark and Megan were moving on to the next; Megan acting as bait while Mark manoeuvered behind the undead creature to bash in its skull.
"Yes!" Caleb whispered from his perch on the roof of the car, when Mark's crowbar ended another zombie's existence.
"He's being reckless," Paula said from beside Ruth.
"He's never been anything but reckless," Steven replied in disgust. "He's the weak link in the group and I'm willing to bet he'll be the death of us all. We'd be better off if he got himself bitten."
"Steven!" Ruth gasped, shocked at the man's callous attitude. "Mark is an asset. Yes, he might be reckless, but that doesn't mean he should die because of it. He's young and given time, I believe he'll become invaluable to our group. He's not afraid to get up close with those things, which has already proven useful."
Paula looked at Ruth and gave a small shake of her head. "I have to agree with Steven on this one. Mark is mentally unstable. Not only did he have to kill his parents and his baby sister, but he also had to do his girlfriend, her parents, and three of his friends. That's got to take its toll."
"They've cleared the lot and are getting ready to open the doors to the store." Caleb turned briefly to Ruth before turning back to watch. "I hope there aren't too many inside." Ruth hoped the same.
A low moan came from behind them and Ruth turned to see a fat zombie stumble from behind a van. The zombie's express delivery shirt hung in tatters, exposing his fleshy belly; dried gore plastered what was left of his shirt to his chest.
"Shit!" Paula squealed. She lifted her hatchet and walked towards the creature.
Ruth could see the bites on his left arm and shoulder; sadness filled her. This poor man was probably on a delivery run, complaining about the stalled traffic when the zombies caught up with him. In his condition, Ruth doubted he'd stood much of a chance in escaping.
"Get him Paula!" Paige cried, pulling on her dad's hair, as if that would get him to back away from the enormous zombie.
"Don't let him grab you," Steven warned, moving back as the zombie stumbled towards them, flailing his arms and gnashing his teeth.
Paula swung the hatchet but the blade became embedded in the fleshy side of the zombies head. The zombie snapped at her arm, "Now what?" she squeaked, backing away from the creature; she'd lost her only weapon.
"Wow!" Caleb said in amazement as they all stared at the hatchet protruding from the side of the zombies head.
The zombie moaned and swiped at Paula again. "We need to do something fast."
Realizing they had little choice, Ruth pulled her pistol, pointed it at the zombies head and pulled the trigger. It was impossible to miss at such a close range. The back of the zombies head exploded and the massive lump of dead flesh thumped to the ground. A moan floated down the highway from ahead of them and several shadows between the vehicles began to shift and move.
The gun was too loud! Ruth began to shake as she realized they'd just given away their presence
to every undead in the area - they hadn't cleared much further up the road and who knew how many zombies lurked between the cars.
"You didn't have a choice." Paula shook Ruth. "But we can't stay here."
Ruth tore her eyes from the shadows and glanced from Paula to Steven, who'd gone pale and wide-eyed. "We have to get down to the parking lot and hope they don't notice us."
Paula put her foot on the side of the zombies head and bent, pulling at her hatchet; the squelch from the blade as it pulled free from the dead flesh turned Ruth's stomach. She pulled Caleb, who now sat crouched on the car's hood, into her arms and hurried down the embankment towards the service station; Ron and Harris were already weaving through the cars towards them.
Harris waved them over to the cover of a large truck. "We heard the gunshot. What happened?" he hissed.
Ruth fell into her husband's waiting arms. "I'm sorry," she whispered as Ron gently stroked her hair.
"A big fat one with a thick skull happened," Paula retorted, nodding in the direction of the building. "What's the situation in there?"
Harris shook his head, dismayed. "Everything's been looted. We're going to check some of the trailers to see if there's anything salvageable inside them, but we won't have much time. That gunshot's drawn a lot of unwanted attention."
Steven cleared his throat. "I think we'd better move on." His voice shook as he spoke. They all turned, following his gaze - six zombies stumbled down the embankment. One lost its footing and fell, rolling down the hill landing hard on the paved access road. Caleb and Ruth giggled as the zombie struggled back to its feet. It continued stumbling towards them; they fell silent when it stretched out its arms and moaned, exciting the others.
They quickly wound their way through the vehicles, trying to stay low and out of sight. Upon reaching the building, they crept along the side of it, quietly calling for Mark and Megan. When they reached the lot where all the transport trucks had parked, they began to make their way through them carefully searching for signs of their two other companions. Ruth saw zombies stuck in truck cabs, wildly thrashing at the windows, trying to get to the fresh feast walking by. One of the trailers rocked and loud thumping sounds echoed in the silence.