Now It Begins

by Gary M. Chesla

  Adam stepped to the side while Dave stepped over the girl’s body, reached down and grabbed her by her feet.

  He dragged her inside the room. A bloody trail followed them into the room.

  Dave wiped the blood on his hands off on the back of the couch then stepped outside and closed the door.

  Dave and Adam ran over to the cottage and climbed the steps.

  Dave left the bloody shovel out on the small landing. Adam carried the rake inside.

  Dave followed and closed the door as the sound of multiple groaning creatures approached the motel.

  Chapter 13

  Dave sat on a chair next to the window, peering out through the space between the curtain and the window sill. The creatures had been staggering down First Street and through the parking lot for the last two hours.

  During the last half hour the number of creatures had finally begun to thin out.

  When Dave and Adam returned from Carl’s room, the groaning sounds began to surround the motel.

  After briefly telling the girl’s that Carl was dead, they all decided they needed to be quiet to avoid attracting the zombie’s attention.

  Dave volunteered to stand watch and suggested that the others try to take a nap.

  Staying quiet, for possibly hours would be boring. Hopefully they would all be bored enough to fall asleep for an hour or so.

  Dave and Adam decided to just tell the girls that Carl had been killed by a zombie but to leave out all the gory details for now. Later after the zombies cleared out and they could talk without fear of alerting the creatures that they were up in the cottage, they would finish their story.

  Now they needed to be quiet and wait.

  They were all in agreement that zombies couldn’t climb, or at least that they couldn’t climb very well, but they weren’t in any hurry to test that belief.

  After the events of the last day, Dave was now willing to use the pearls of wisdom presented in The Attack of the Zombie Cheerleaders and other such masterpieces to guide his thinking.

  “Crazy solutions for crazy problems,” Dave smiled to himself. For some crazy reason, it now seemed to make sense.

  Too bad the show Myth Busters had called it quits after ten or fifteen seasons. With all those things running around outside, Myth Busters would have had enough material on zombies alone to go on for another five seasons.

  Dave would not have missed a single episode.

  In fact he wished he could watch a few of those episodes right now, before he had to go back outside.

  Was there an easier way to kill a zombie than smashing it over the head with a shovel? There had to be a better way to stop them.

  If you found yourself surrounded, what would be the best thing to do to help you to escape?

  Zombie’s obviously could see and hear, but could they smell? What was the best way to avoid zombies?

  Could zombies think? Was there something you could do to make them lose interest in you?

  How fast could they run? Could they swim?

  Rather than having to rely completely on The Attack of the Zombie Cheerleaders, Dave would like to have a little more to work with. Something he could feel that was more reliable. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

  Dave knew the only way he was going to get the answers to his questions was by going out and learning from firsthand experience.

  Unfortunately, Maggie had always told him how well she thought he had always learned from his mistakes.

  “I guess I’m not going to be around long enough to have all my questions answered,” Dave smiled to himself and looked back out the window and back down onto First Street.

  Maggie and Joey were sleeping on the couch.

  Adam, Nicole and Everly were taking a nap on the bed.

  Morris had gotten bored and was now trying to get Dave’s attention by rubbing himself against Dave’s legs.

  Dave reached down and scratched the cat’s head, hoping if he did that it would go away.

  Instead, Morris jumped up on Dave’s lap and tried to rub its head against Dave’s chin.

  “Morris, go bother Maggie for a while,” Dave said softly, “Don’t you know that I don’t even like cats. Besides I don’t feel like playing.”

  Morris just purred louder.

  “I liked you better when you thought we were trying to kill you and ran away every time someone looked at you,” Dave laughed to himself, but he couldn’t help himself and continued to run his hand along the cat’s back.

  Dave heard the mattress on the bed squeak.

  Adam walked out of the bedroom a minute later and came over to Dave.

  Adam pulled up another chair, sat down and looked around the curtain and down at the street below.

  “It looks and sounds a little better out there now,” Adam said.

  “Yea, I haven’t seen anything in the parking lot now for about five or ten minutes,” Dave replied.

  They sat quietly for a long minute.

  “Sorry about your friend,” Adam said. “I meant to say something before but I think I was still in shock when we got back from Carl’s room.”

  “Thanks,” Dave replied. “Carl was more of an acquaintance than a friend. He lived across from us back in Starke. We lived in this old trailer park. It seemed to be the kind of place a lot of people moved into when they first came to Starke looking for work. As soon as they had steady work, they moved out. Needless to say over the last two years there wasn’t anyone moving out of the trailer park unless they were evicted. Being that neither Carl nor I had much steady work, we would always see each other sitting out on our porches. We would always talk to each other, compare our bad luck stories, but other than that we never hung out together or anything.”

  “How did the two of you end up here together on Anna Maria Island?” Adam asked.

  “He knew I was looking for work. One day he got a call from a guy who knew a guy from Gulf Coast Construction. Gulf Coast was looking for a heavy dozer operator. Carl got his buddy to agree to give him a job if Carl could find them a dozer operator,” Dave replied, “and I just happened to know how to operate the type of big dozer they had.”

  Adam nodded, “Nicole said Carl gave her the creeps.”

  Dave chuckled quietly.

  Maggie felt the same way when Carl first came around to talk with me,” Dave grinned. “But after a few days she realized he was harmless. He just wasn’t the smartest or most reliable guy around.”

  “I got that impression,” Adam smiled.

  “I kind of kept a close eye on him too when he was around Maggie. I realized after the first day I didn’t have to be concerned. Nicole didn’t need to worry. Nicole and Maggie weren’t Carl’s type.”

  “From what you told me, I assumed that if they were female they were Carl’s type,” Adam replied.

  “You’re close,” Dave smiled, “but if the female wasn’t drunk or if she had half a brain, she wasn’t Carl’s type. He didn’t know how to handle a sober girl that could see straight through his lame pickup lines.”

  Adam laughed quietly.

  “Did you see the squirrel tattoo on Carl’s leg?” Dave asked.

  “Yea but I tried not to,” Adam laughed, “unfortunately when we were in his room I couldn’t help but see it.”

  “Carl called that tattoo his secret weapon, his perfect pick up line. He would go to this local bar back in Starke. After a few drinks, he would start going up to all the girls in the bar that looked like they had a few drinks too many. He would ask them if they wanted to see his pet squirrel,” Dave smiled. “Of course these drunk broads didn’t know what they hell he was talking about. So he would pull down his pants and show them his tattoo.”

  “Did that line ever work?” Adam smiled.

  “Two or three times a week,” Dave grinned. “I had to laugh when Maggie would look out the window and then tell me that the squirrel had found another nut.”

  Adam laughed, “All the same, I’m sorry about Carl. That was a horrible w
ay to die.”

  “I agree,” Dave replied. “But when I saw what happened, my first thought was to wonder if that girl died before or after Carl picked her up.”

  “That’s sick,” Adam said. “You are joking, right?”

  Dave laughed, “If Carl had a few beers in him and the girl showed any interest in his squirrel, he would try to bring her home.”

  Adam frowned then started to laugh.

  “At least she looked better than how you described all the other girls he always brought home,” Adam said.

  “Wash off all that blood and put a muzzle on her,” Dave laughed, “I’m sure Carl would have considered her quite a catch.”

  The guys were trying to keep their laughter down when Maggie got up and walked over behind Dave and put her arms around his neck.

  “What are you two laughing about?” Maggie asked.

  “We were just talking about Carl,” Dave said, “and we were laughing about his taste in women.”

  Maggie smiled, “Adam, if Dave was telling you about some of the nuts Carl brought home from the bar, I can see why you two were laughing.”

  Adam looked at Dave and started to laugh again.

  “Did you tell Adam about Carl’s squirrel getting banned from the Grille?” Maggie smiled.

  Adam’s eyes lit up.

  Dave smiled, “About three weeks ago Carl came over one morning looking depressed. When I asked him what was wrong, he said when he went to the bar the night before, the bartender had posted a sign on the door.”

  “What did it say?” Adam grinned.

  “It said no squirrels allowed,” Dave laughed, “All squirrels will be shot on sight.”

  Adam laughed, “That’s funny. What did he do?”

  “He found a new bar down in Waldo,” Maggie laughed, “where his squirrel was once again very popular. There were plenty of nuts down in Waldo too.”

  Dave looked out the window, still laughing.

  “It’s been quiet out there for almost an hour now,” Dave said, “Do you think we might be able to sneak up to the Circle K and get our shopping carts?”

  “I am starting to get hungry,” Adam replied, “What do you think Maggie?”

  “We don’t have anything here to eat,” she replied, “and it’s only a block away but you have to be careful. If you spot any zombies just come back. It’s not worth getting hurt or leading more of those things back to the motel. We could hold out another day or two if we had to.”

  “I think we should at least go take a look,” Dave said. “I would feel a lot better if we had a few supplies here.”

  “So would I,” Adam added.

  “I could go with you and help,” Maggie suggested.

  “You stay here Mag,” Dave replied. “Stay with Nicole and Joey. There will be other times when I’ll need you to come along. Besides, Adam and I are only going a few hundred feet up the road. Just watch from the window, we might need your help getting all the food up to the cottage when we get back.”

  “OK,” Maggie said, “Just be careful.”

  “We’ve seen The Attack of the Zombie Cheerleaders,” Adam smiled, “We won’t do anything they did in that movie.”

  Maggie looked at Dave and laughed, “You better not.”

  Dave stood and gave Maggie a hug.

  “Do you think we could take the Land Rover this time?” Adam asked. “I know it’s only a block, but it might be safer and we could get those two carts full of supplies back here a lot faster.”

  “I don’t know, we need to do this quietly,” Dave replied.

  “The Rover is quiet,” Adam answered. “It would also be nice to have two tons of steel around us if we have to make a run for it.”

  “Good point, let’s try it,” Dave said.

  Adam checked his pockets to make sure he still had the keys then he and Dave stepped out on the small landing at the top of the steps.

  “This place is starting to look like a war zone,” Adam said as he surveyed the Pelican Post.

  The recently painted buildings didn’t look as attractive as they did the day before.

  The top half of the buildings were still a bright blue. The bottom five feet of the buildings was now blue with red bloody streaks. A number of the unit’s windows had been smashed, the other windows were smeared with blood.

  The grass was trampled and now had a red tint from the bloody feet that had been dragged over it from the staggering creatures that had wandered through the property.

  The long red streaks of blood leading into Carl’s room were still clearly visible despite the recent new coating of blood that was smeared over the concrete sidewalk.

  “It doesn’t smell too hot either,” Dave added. “If things ever get back to normal, Nicole is going to have her hands full cleaning up this place.”

  “Would you and Maggie like to join our maintenance staff?” Adam smiled, “We don’t pay much but the job comes with a free room.”

  “My first response would be no way,” Dave grinned, “But if that time ever comes, we might just have to consider it.”

  They cautiously walked down the steps to the parking lot.

  Adam unlocked the Range Rover. He opened the door and pulled out a greasy towel from under the driver’s seat and wiped at the bloody streaks on the windshield.

  “This will have to do,” Adam said tossing the gross looking towel on the ground, “we only have to drive one block.”

  Dave opened the passenger’s door, being careful to avoid the bits of flesh that was clinging to the door handle.

  They got in and Adam started the car.

  Adam backed the Range Rover out of the parking lot, careful not to gun the engine.

  Then he drove slowly up First Street and turned into the Circle K parking lot.

  “I can see a few zombies walking on Gulf Drive,” Dave said.

  “I saw a few through the palm trees too in some of the yards off of First Street,” Adam added. “What do you think? Should we try to get the supplies?”

  “I think as soon as we get out we will probably have company again before long,” Dave replied.

  “That’s what I was thinking too,” Adam added.

  “But if we play this right, we might be able to at least get something to take back,” Dave said. “Are you willing to give it a try?”

  “I’m game but we better act fast,” Adam answered as he looked around nervously.

  “I’m going to go in the Circle K myself,” Dave said. “When I get out of the car, pull the car against the fence at the back of the parking lot. You wait with the car and keep the engine running. If it looks clear, I’ll try to bring out one of the carts. If things look like they could get hairy fast, I’ll fill a bag with a few things and come straight back. When you see me come out of the store, pull away from the fence. I’ll hop in the car and we can get out of here.”

  “Are you sure you want to go in there by yourself?” Adam asked.

  “The Land Rover is our ticket out of here if things start to go bad,” Dave replied. “If we can’t get to it, the car won’t do us any good. With you in the car and the engine running, you can run a few of those things over and get me out of here if it comes to that.”

  “OK, let’s do it,” Adam agreed, “Just do it quickly.”

  “Just watch for me to come out of the store and be ready,” Dave said and stepped out of the car.

  Dave jogged along the back of the parking lot until he came to the side of the store.

  Adam moved the car to the left, pulling alongside the tall wooden red fence. He put the car in park and watched Dave work his way along the side of the store. When Dave finally reached the bottom of the steps, he took a look down Gulf Drive then ran up the steps and into the store.

  Adam nervously looked in the rearview mirrors.

  He could see dark shapes coming down Gulf Drive from the Cortez Bridge. Other dark shapes started to crawl out of the broken windows of the gift shop across First Street behind him.

 
“Come on Dave, Hurry up,” Adam thought.

  As Dave was running up the steps into the Circle K, he could see a large group coming up Gulf Drive from the south end of the island.

  He knew he didn’t have much time. Bringing out one of the shopping carts on this trip was out of the question with that mob so close.

  Dave ran into the store and quickly looked to be sure everything was as they were when they left the store.

  Dave did a quick count of bodies on the floor.

  He stopped, he didn’t have time to be paranoid, but he thought he had only counted three bikini clad zombie cheerleaders on the floor.

  Dave quickly ran to the back of the store. The girl in the white bikini was still where he had left her body when he had moved her to get his shopping cart up the aisle.

  The short haired girl was also on the floor a few feet away.

  Dave looked towards the front of the store. He could only see one girl on the floor by the coffee machine.

  He was sure Adam had to deal with two girls when they were in the store.

  He walked over to the glass case where the donuts had been on display.

  On the floor was a pool of blood. Long streaks of blood crossed the floor and went towards the checkout counter.

  Dave nervously followed the bloody trail. When he reached the counter, he cautiously leaned over the counter to look behind it.

  He almost landed on his ass when a bloody face with long mousy brown hair thrust upward from behind the counter.

  The face rose up near the top of the counter. The creature’s face hit the counter, breaking most of its front teeth then it fell back down behind the counter.

  Dave was breathing rapidly as he cautiously leaned in towards the counter again.

  The creature behind the counter was thrashing around violently on the floor.

  Dave moved carefully around the corner of the counter.