Kate and Claire moved cautiously down the yard and began to retrieve the arrows when a sudden crashing of breaking glass startled them. Kate didn’t drop the shotgun as she did previously with Griff, and Claire was just gathering the last of the arrows when the terror struck. As they looked over to the origin of the sound, they saw what had caused the commotion.
It was Butch. Ever since having his only means of escape shut off when Tommy closed the front door on him, he had roamed the house from room to room looking for an avenue of escape. Kate and Claire attracted his attention from the window at last and now he was intent on feeding. After ramming and smashing through the window from which he was admiring his prey, he was now free to feed.
Butch had a black coat; his face had graying marks indicating that he was aging. The gray was now more of a matted brown, as the blood from devouring Greg’s foot was caking and drying up around his face. His glowing yellow eyes and frothing jowls were the only features that Kate and Claire could focus on. They did not hesitate to turn and begin to run full sprint back to the deck and glass door.
The fencing was no match for the Great Dane. He took the fence in stride, leaping over it with little effort - much like a horse in an equestrian jumping competition. Kate and Claire were still some distance from safety and Kate had never taken her eyes off of their attacker. Kate raised the shotgun as she slowed her stride, knowing that the beast would surely take one of them down before they reached safety. At first she was fearful that Butch would target the slower and weaker prey, being Claire, but quickly realized that it was more a rule of ‘first seen, first eaten’ with the zombies. She had just managed to click off the safety when the giant killer lunged in the air at her.
Kate was able to fire a slug into the abdomen of the dog as it reeled in midair and came crashing into her, knocking her to the ground. She still had control of the shotgun and racked another round as she struggled to move from being on her back on to her feet. Her shoulder reeled in pain, as she thought it was cause from the impact of the shotgun striking her as she fired. As Kate spun around onto her knees, she found that she was now face to face with Butch. He was snarling as his long tongue lapped up the fresh blood on his incisors and piece of flesh on his canines. His midsection was mostly missing from the blast, in which the slug had ripped out the soft tissue of his abdomen and digestive tract, leaving his hind legs limp behind him. The only thing holding his rear legs to his body was the spine and the still attached back strap of muscle and fur.
Kate pointed the shotgun into the glowing eyes and dispatched them into cold darkness before he could move again. Skull fragments, brain matter and teeth were sent splashing back across the yard. Kate got up and racked another round, checking her surroundings to make sure that there were no other unwelcomed visitors. Kate was sure that Griff would be proud that her quick reaction time and uncanny marksman skills had saved her and Claire. Her sense of achievement was short lived.
Claire ran to Kate and hugged her tightly, so tightly in fact that Kate thought she would surely break a few ribs. As Claire sobbed while Kate hugged her back, she kept repeating the same muffled word – “no”. Kate pried Claire away and looked down on the girl, her big brown eyes filled with tears.
“I know that was close, but you need to collect yourself,” Kate said, “we have to get back in the house.”
“But…” Claire tried to talk as her sobbing choked her, “you’re bit!”
During all the action, Kate’s adrenaline had been pumping so hard that she never felt the bite into her shoulder. What was dismissed as recoil from the shotgun was far more ominous. Butch had torn into her flesh as he lunged and they had been thrown back, Kate now distinctly recalled seeing the fresh blood and flesh mouthed by the beast from hell. A flood of emotions hit Kate all at once, her only physical response was to grab Claire and get them both into the house as quickly as possible.
Chapter 16
It felt like hours that Tommy and I stood there waiting for the sound of a shotgun blast to be the last thing we heard. I wondered if you actually heard the blast, or would it be an instant death? I really didn’t care for either option and wasn’t about to find out.
“U mad, bro? Thanks for being so kind as to load up the truck for us!” came a voice from behind, with a cackle of laughter following. The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place where I had heard it before.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said as I started to turn.
“Stop! You turn around and I’ll blow your fucking head off your shoulders, understand?” the voice boomed.
“Understood,” I answered.
“All that work and we missed out on it,” replied another voice, “now hand over the keys and don’t get stupid!”
Two things immediately came to mind as this was unfolding. First, that we weren’t as cautious of our surroundings as we should have been. We could have just as easily been overtaken by zombies. Second, there must be some reason why this group of bandits didn’t just shoot us on sight and take the loaded truck. There was a glimmer of conscience in this moment of darkness and I was going to capitalize on it.
“I don’t have the keys. I left them on the counter in the store.” Tommy answered.
“Bullshit! Justin, go search these two!” the voice bellowed.
“Really, you just bark out my name like that?” replied Justin.
“Sorry bro, just get moving so we can get out of here. I don’t feel like being a snack, but wouldn’t mind eating theirs!”
As soon as I heard the name Justin, I knew who we were dealing with. It was the Lopez brothers. They lived in the same subdivision as us and had thrown some wild block parties. If they held their weapons as bad as they held their drink, this was going to be an easy fix. These two guys were armchair survivalists at best and weren’t the type to murder anyone. Then again, that was my assumption of them in more peaceful times.
“Eric, why don’t you come do it yourself,” I said to the one shouting orders, playing my hand.
“Turn around – slowly!” was the reply.
“Listen fucktard, you just told us that you would blow our heads of if we turned around,” Tommy snapped back, “and now you want us to turn around? Make up your mind dumbass!”
“That was before I heard you call me Eric,” replied the voice.
“Well, you did call me ‘Justin’ in front of them Eric,” replied the other.
“Jesus, Justin! You didn’t need to tell them they were right by calling me out!”
“Your momma called me out,” sneered Tommy.
“That’s it!” was followed by the feeling guns were ready to be fired and I was giving them too much credit in the morality department given the circumstances. It was Tommy’s ice breaker that prompted me to turn around and face them against better judgment. I was confident that I knew our assailants and had to do something other than wait for my head to be blown off to pay for Tommy’s mouth.
“Eric,” I said, “do you really want to rob a cop?”
“Hooollleeeee shit! Griff, Tommy! Well, the way I see it, the cop is doing all the stealing here,” replied Eric, “am I right?”
“He’s got a point, Griff” said Justin.
“Point taken,” I replied, “but given the circumstances, I considered it more like commandeering for survival than petty theft.”
“Can I just shoot Tommy once,” said Eric, “just because?”
“You can try you dirty hippy, but you better make it count!” Tommy replied.
Laughter broke out from both sides of the standoff and ‘handshakes’ were shared (man-hugs are not prohibited in a zombie apocalypse). My first question was why Eric and Justin didn’t recognize Tommy’s truck or recognize us when we were loading up the goods. Eric explained that they had been by the grocery store and figured this would be the next best place to forage supplies at, given the widespread panic. They were both caught by surprise when they cam around the corner.
“We just came up here w
hen you guys were finishing up, so we didn’t see who it was. The truck just wasn’t registering. Funny thing is, we were figuring on getting supplies from here to trade with Tommy for weapons. We knew if anyone was ready to deal with this, he would be the one. We figured that anything we could trade for weapons may come in handy, since there aren’t any gun stores for miles to loot. Besides, they have probably already been run through and Tommy carries more inventory than they would have on hand anyway!” Eric exclaimed.
“Well, I have a few toys I would be happy to share – but I don’t need any supplies.” Tommy answered.
I gave Tommy a puzzled look and couldn’t believe that he risked his life just to make sure Kate, Claire and I had ample supplies. Eric and Justin gave similar looks that registered they had lost their bargaining chips.
“Why didn’t you say something beforehand?” I asked.
“Because if I did, you’d want to come over and eat all my shit. Figured I’d help you get your own to survive off of,” Tommy replied.
Eric and Justin shook their heads as Tommy went around and grabbed the keys from under the drivers floor mat.
“Are these what you boys were looking for?” he asked, “You never take the keys. If you die or get split up, no one has a way out. Always leave the keys in the ride – always.”
Tommy was like a walking survival manual. It’s that kind of thought process that I am trying to put in this living journal to stress the small nuances that will keep you, and your loved ones, alive.
“Where’s your car?” I asked Eric.
“We wrecked it on the way here. There were so many squished crawlers on the road, it was like driving on black ice and it got stuck when we went off the road,” he replied, “any chance on getting a lift back?”
“You got it,” I said, “we’ll head back to my house and you can help unload this stuff. For your troubles, I’ll let you keep some of it and help you unload it at your house once we drop you two off.”
“Deal.” Eric and Justin said in unison.
We loaded up in the truck and began the journey home, which was not the same route we took to get there. We avoided what most of the population appeared to be travelling on and stuck with the back roads. While Tommy took us home, my thoughts wandered to all my dear family and friends. How were they holding up? Who had been infected and who had not? Was everyone experiencing the same situation? If so, was it at a slower of faster pace? I tried to call Kate to let her know we were on our way back, but there was no service. I wasn’t sure if the towers were beginning to fail, or the coverage area was bad. I was hoping our best means of communication wasn’t failing us at such a critical time.
Chapter 17
The drive home was much slower, with more zombie activity than I had hoped. Tommy’s truck was going to need a spatula to scrape off the goo glazing it from the impacts with the wandering dead. On more than one occasion, a zombie would run into the side windows and leave a face print on the exterior. A wide snail trail of blood and mucous material was left with each strike. I shuddered to think of anyone driving a convertible in this hell.
When we finally got home, I realized that I had left my car parked in front of my garage door. This blocked the only secure way of unloading the goods while avoiding an attack. The path to my front door was clear and I asked Tommy to take care of getting Eric and Justin home first. We could deal with unloading the rest of the stuff later, after I get the garage entrance cleared for parking. Tommy argued for a moment than agreed to return after he helped out Eric and Justin.
I entered the front door and was greeted by the sound of Claire sobbing in the kitchen. I was beginning to believe that there would never be a time where I could just walk in the door without dealing with another hormone attack. As I entered to where Claire was seated I quickly realized that things were much worse than that.
“Claire, are you okay?” I asked noticing that Kate was absent, “What’s wrong, where is Kate?”
“She’s…she’s…sick,” Claire responded, still sobbing.
“That’s okay, she’s pregnant. She is getting sick a lot lately,” I said, not knowing how much sex education she had received at her age and feeling rather awkward at what I had just told her.
“No, I mean she is really sick…never mind…she’ll tell you,” Claire said as she got up and went over to the couch. She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it, sobbing so much I was hoping she wouldn’t suffocate herself.
I immediately turned and began heading upstairs, figuring Kate would be in the bathroom again. I was right. She was face first into the toilet retching violently; her legs were quivering trying to hold her upright on her knees. The skin of her arms was visible and had a strange hue to them. I wasn’t sure if it was the lighting or maybe Kate was becoming dehydrated. As I touched her back and called her name, she flinched and tried to catch a breath. As she raised her head and lifted her head to look at me, I instantly dropped to the floor by her side.
Kate had more than dehydration going on. She had extremely bloodshot eyes that were actually slightly glowing with an amber hue. Her face was strewn with veins that appeared to be rising to the top of the skin, with a pulsating greenish-blue hue to them. I corrected myself as I saw the sadness reflected in her face from the reaction that I had just given. I reached out to touch her left shoulder in consolation, but she pulled away quickly and winced in agony. I saw that her shirt was torn and that her shoulder had a small laceration on it that was filled with puss. It too was surrounded by darkening veins and was glowing red with what appeared to be an infection.
“I’ve been bit…I’m so sorry Griff…” she moaned as her face returned to the open toilet, releasing a barrage of dry heaves.
I was left speechless. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to ask how it happened, but she was in no condition to explain. I thought about running and asking Claire, but I wasn’t about to leave her side. I simply sat beside her and held her the best I could as she continued to be sick. The suddenness of what Kate had told me left me in shock. All I could think about is how lost I would be without her. I wanted desperately to wake up and find this had all been a bad dream.
“It’s all my fault!” Claire screamed from the doorway, “If I hadn’t asked her to let me shoot my bow in the yard none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have gotten bit and she wouldn’t be dying right now. I’m so sorry!”
“Claire, please tell me how this happened. I’m sure it’s not your fault,” I replied, “and Kate isn’t going to die. She’s just sick, that’s all.”
I wasn’t doing a damn bit of good convincing either myself or Claire of that, but I didn’t know what else to say. It was clear that Kate was infected and was fading fast. I thought if there was someway I could clean the wound, or administer and antibiotic, Kate would be able to beat the inevitable. If only I had the supplies from the drugstore we had looted I would have a shot at saving her. I blamed the Lopez brothers for this. If not for them, we wouldn’t have been delayed and would have been back in time. This would have never happened and Kate would be fine.
“No, it is my fault Griff,” Claire said as she sobbed and explained what had happened. I was in complete shock at my stupidity. I should have never left them alone. Tommy and I should have gone into Greg’s house and finished off that damn dog when we had the chance. That decision of inaction was going to cost me my soul-mate, what little happiness I had left in this dying world, and my sanity.
I took out my cell phone and tried to call Tommy. The phone was powered, but not receiving a signal as it was when I tried to call Kate earlier. I sat next to Kate’s side, comforting her as best I could. I had half a mind go out and contract the virus so that I would be able to join her for eternity. Thinking of Claire was the only thing stopping me. Claire would be helpless and alone in a house with two zombies, as I doubted she would be able to put us out of our misery. Maybe it would be better if I just ended it now; just Kate and I. Tommy would be back for Claire. Sh
e would be safe with him. I thought I should have Claire barricade us in here and leave us to die.
A sudden pounding on the front door shook me from my suicidal thoughts and brought me back to reality. I told Claire to stay with Kate and I would go see what the commotion was. I kissed Kate on the top of her head, telling her I loved her as I gave her a quick embrace and rub on the back as I got up. As I ran down the stairs, I grabbed the shotgun Kate had been using earlier and checked the door. It was Tommy and the Lopez brothers. They were standing on the porch loaded up with assault rifles and side arms. I opened the door and let them in.
“You are not going to believe the shit we just went through Griff! Their whole damn house was on fire! Seems that some looters are hitting the homes in the area taking whatever they can from empty homes and must be torching them. Their TV, Xbox and other shit was on the lawn, like whoever ransacked the house was coming back for it. I thought it best if they stayed with me for the time being and figured we would come over here and unload your stuff. Why is the garage still blocked?” Tommy rambled as he looked me over, seemingly unaware that I didn’t register anything he had said.
“Tommy,” I replied, “I need you to grab and bring in all of the medical supplies. Kate has been bit and I want to see if there is something we can do to save her. I figure if I clean out the wound and give her massive doses of anti-biotics she may be able to survive. Can you guys go get the stuff from the truck for me?”
“Bit? How?” Eric asked.
“If she’s bit, she’s dead,” Tommy replied solemnly, “CDC has tried everything and there’s nothing we can do for her. I’m sorry, man.”
“Fuck you and your intel Tommy!” I yelled, “Get the shit out of your truck – now! We’re talking about Kate, and I’m not going to stand here doing nothing! We have to at least try to help her…for me Tommy…please…”
Zombie Reign (Book 1): Death in Detroit Page 7