by Gary Chesla
“Well good luck with that!” Mike thought.
“It all happened because the zombies wanted to eat your brains!” Mike laughed to himself. “It would be years before they let me out of a padded room.”
No. He decided there was nothing he could add to what the police would find back at the park. Anything he could say would do nothing but convince the cops that he was a certified nut case.
The best thing he could do for his family was to take them home to safety. Next fall they would find somewhere else to go for their fall mountain vacation. Someplace that would be far away from Carter Caves State Park.
Even after they made it home to put this behind him, he knew it would be years if ever before he could put what he had seen out of his mind.
But having nightmares was a hell of a lot better than living a nightmare. You could always wake up from a nightmare
He could live with that.
Now he just wanted to go home and try to forget.
But he had a long way to go before he was home and the road ahead was not going let him forget so quickly.
“Mike?” Kelly said. They had only gone a few miles on the interstate. “Look up ahead!”
The interstate stretched out ahead of them. They could see both the eastbound and westbound lanes for a few miles ahead. Cars dotted the lanes in both directions. Some sat on the pavement, others seemed to have run off the roads and sat on the grass to the side of the road or between the lanes. Some looked hopelessly wedged into the drainage ditches along the highway.
Mike slowed the RV. The road was still passable, but he would have to weave around the abandoned vehicles to continue.
“Why did all these people leave their cars?” Kelly asked.
Mike stopped the RV next to the first cars that sat on the road. They were parked at awkward angles across the road. The doors were hanging open, as if the occupants had made a fast exit, not taking or having the time to close the doors behind them.
Mike slowly drove around the stopped cars. More cars blocked his way. He slowly weaved around the vehicles, all appeared to be abandoned in the same frantic manner.
Mike and Kelly sat quietly as they drove and stared at the cars. The scene gave them a haunted feeling. A junk yard was commonly referred to as an auto graveyard. Mike had never felt like this at a junk yard. The cars in a junk yard had at least died a natural death after having a long useful life. There was nothing natural about what they were now looking at.
Kelly finally looked at Mike. “Do you think that maybe there was an accident up ahead and all these people had to stop? Maybe they all ran out of gas and went looking for gas.”
“Would you leave your car with all the doors hanging open and go off to look for gas?” Mike asked.
“No,” Kelly answered.
“If there were more than one person in a car or a family, you would think one person would go for gas while the rest waited with the car.” Mike said. “There’s no one around anywhere.”
Mike had to slow down even slower to get around the cars on the road. The road was now more heavily littered with cars as far as they could see.
Huntington WV was only thirty miles from Carter Caves, normally a half hour drive. They had been on the interstate now for an hour. Mike looked down at the odometer. In an hour they had only managed to travel six miles.
Mike was getting an uneasy feeling about this. Too much had happened over the last two days for this to be some freak accident.
Mike drove the RV for another half mile and came to a stop. Three cars were wedged together across the road. The broken headlights and crumpled fenders indicated something more had happened here than the occupants just walking away from their cars.
If Mike was driving a regular sized car or truck, he would have tried to drive on the medial strip to get around the pile up. The RV was too large and didn’t do well on off road terrain. He was afraid he would get the RV stuck. With the sight that extended in front of him, he knew he couldn’t expect help. Even if he could call for a tow truck, at best it would be days before the tow truck could find him in this mess.
“Kelly.” Mike said. “I’m going to get out and see if I can put those cars in neutral and push them off the road far enough to get the RV through.”
Mike looked out the windshield at the road ahead. The congestion only seemed to get worse. He rested his elbows on the steering wheel. “For all the good it will do us. This looks impossible.”
“Do you think we should try to get off and take a back road?” Kelly asked.
“I would get off, but I don’t think there is an exit for another few miles. I’m going to push on for as long as we can. If it doesn’t thin out by the time we come to the next exit then we’ll get off.” Mike said. “I just hope we don’t have to turn around and go back to find another road.”
Kelly felt a chill run down her spine when Mike mentioned going back. She had hoped to never go back that way again for as long as she lived.
“You want me to come out and help you?” Kelly asked.
“I can help too!” Kimmy yelled from somewhere in the back of the RV.
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Your daughter hears everything. She doesn’t miss a thing!”
Mike smiled. “No, you stay here with Kimmy and keep the doors locked.”
Kelly nodded. “Be careful.”
Mike smiled, opened the door and got out. He closed the door and waited until Kelly crawled over to the driver’s seat and clicked the lock.
Mike started to walk towards the three cars. The silence was eerie. There were no sounds of trucks running off in the distance. No sounds came from the cars on either side of the divided highway. Even creepier, there were no sounds of any kind. He looked around in the sky. There were no birds flying wherever he looked. He smiled to himself trying to build up his courage to go on. “With this many cars there had to be birds. Surely one of these cars had just been washed.” Birds always seemed to be able to sense when your car had just been washed. His car would set for weeks, but as soon as he washed it the birds seemed to come out of nowhere to crap all over it.
There was nothing but total silence here.
Mike walked closer to the cars. He caught the scent of a faint strange smell. He knew that smell. That smell had permeated the campground last night when they returned from dinner.
He stopped and looked around as the hair on his neck tingled. The smell was faint. At least that meant it wasn’t very close.
Mike started to move faster. He wanted to clear a path so they could get moving again. He didn’t like how things felt here.
He looked at the cars trying to decide which one he should try to move first. He had to move at least two of them to get the RV through. He moved around the cars. He needed to see if the fender bender that had taken place had caused any of the cars to get hooked together.
As he moved around a bright gold Chrysler 300, a sudden pounding and thrashing inside the cars scared the hell out of him. The bloodied face that kept smashing into the passenger’s side window made his blood turn cold.
Bloody streaks began to cover the inside of the window as the creature inside frantically tried to come through the window to reach Mike.
Mike had tripped and fallen, startled by the sound and viciousness of the creature’s attack against the window.
He jumped to his feet and stared at the display as he backed away from the car.
The creature obviously didn’t feel pain as it smashed its face against the window, breaking teeth and tearing the flesh from its face as it repeatedly collided with the glass.
Either it didn’t feel pain or it just didn’t care as the sight of Mike drove it insane.
Mike wanted to run, but he needed to make a space to get the RV through. The alternative was to go back the way he had come.
Mike quickly glanced around to see if there were anymore of these things sneaking up on him while he had been distracted.
When he saw he was still alone he looked b
ack at the frantic creature. The window was holding. The shatter proof windows they used in cars now days were strong. If it had been a normal house window, it would have given way with the creatures first thrust.
If the car window held for a few more minutes, Mike might be able to push the other two cars off the road.
Mike watched the creature as he moved towards the other cars. The dead creature began throwing its face into the windshield, then the side windows over and over. It reminded Mike of the time he saw two kids teasing a dog that was locked inside its owner’s car. The dog had barked viciously and jumped against the windows on one side of the car and then against the windows on the other side of the car as the kids tapped on the windows then ran around the car laughing.
Mike had yelled at the kids and chased them away to leave the poor dog alone. He certainly hoped the zombie’s owner was not anywhere close by to come after him.
Mike eyed the flailing zombie closely as he moved over and inspected the blue Ford that sat with its left front fender embedded in the Chrysler’s grill.
The fords door hung open and the interior was thankfully empty. Mike put his shoulder against the door post of the Ford and pushed. The car drifted backwards. He doubled his efforts and the car slowly moved backwards across the road. Mike hopped out of the way when the car’s rear wheels dropped off the road and the car bounced down off the road and into the ditch.
This only seemed to aggravate the creature in the Chrysler. Mike looked at the window. It was still holding. He could barely see through the windows now they were so covered with bloody streaks and bits of flesh.
Mike figured the creature had been an older man. He couldn’t tell by the creatures face. It had been mangled now beyond recognition. Only the wrinkled hands gave Mike any clue to the creature’s age. But again all the dead he had seen seemed to have gray wrinkled skin.
Mike moved to the red Mustang. The left front fender of the Chrysler was rammed into the right front wheel well of the Mustang.
Mike put his shoulder against the hood of the Mustang and pushed. The Mustang moved, but the bumper of the Chrysler was hooked in the Mustangs fender. Mike put his shoulder against the Mustang’s hood and pushed as hard as he could.
The outraged creature in the Chrysler slammed into the car’s windshield and moaned loudly as it sensed its prey was now only feet from its grasp.
Mike watched cautiously as he pushed. He could see the Mustang’s fender bending outwards. Just another inch and it would break free and roll towards the side of the road, but Mike didn’t quite have enough strength.
Mike stood back trying to catch his breath and wait for the ache in his shoulder to ease. He needed to put just a little more weight against the Mustang. He knew what would do it, but he hated the idea. But if he wanted to get past this spot, he didn’t have much choice.
Mike walked back to the RV. The creature inside the Chrysler bounced off the windows as it moved around in the car, following Mike’s movement.
He walked to Kelly’s window and waited until she wound down the window.
“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked.
“I moved the one car out of the way. That red Mustang is caught on the Chrysler. I can almost move it. I think if you would help me push on it, that would be enough to break it loose so I can get it off the road. Would you come and help me push?”
“OK.” Kelly replied as she turned and called back to Kimmy. ”Kimmy, I’m going to go out and help Daddy for a minute. You stay there. OK?”
“OK Mom!” Kimmy called back.
Kelly got out and closed the door.
“There’s one thing.” Mike said. “There is a…..zombie in that Chrysler. It’s going crazy, banging its head against the windows. But it can’t get out. It’s just a little scary and gross. I wanted to warn you before we go over there.”
Kelly looked hesitant. “A zombie?”
“Yes, or whatever you want to call it.” Mike replied. “We’ll be OK. But I think we should hurry and move that car so we can keep moving.”
Kelly followed. A small scream escaped from her mouth as the creature slammed into the side window of the car as they approached the car.
“My God!” Kelly said right before she threw up.
She stood and wiped her mouth as she gagged and tried to keep from throwing up again.
She stared at the blood streaked windows.
“Are you OK?” Mike asked putting his hand on her arm.
“Show me want you want me to do so we can get the hell out of here.” Kelly said, her voice raspy.
Mike led her over to the front of the Mustang.
Mike put his shoulder against the hood again.
Kelly watched the creature as its head slammed into the windshield repeatedly. Finally she put her hands on the Mustang’s hood, next to Mike and pushed.
After a few seconds, the cars separated with a loud scraping sound.
Kelly stood and looked at the Chrysler as Mike continued to push until the Mustang crashed into the concrete barrier in the medial strip.
Mike stood and looked in satisfaction at the Mustang. He turned and went back to Kelly.
“Can we get away from here now?” She asked.
“I think we can get past here now.” Mike smiled.
Mike and Kelly turned to go back to the RV.
They stopped and froze, their hearts started racing as they saw Kimmy standing next to the passenger’s front side window of the Chrysler.
“I want to help too.” Kimmy yelled.
The dead creature in the Chrysler began to frantically throw itself into the side window with Kimmy only inches away.
Mike started to move forward when the center of the window gave way from all the abuse it had endured.
Before Mike could reach Kimmy a long bloody arm shot out through the hole in the window and grabbed Kimmy’s hair.
The creature yanked Kimmy towards the car. It drove her head into the window. The sound of her head hitting the window echoed off the RV. The creature struggled to push its head through the hole to bite into the feast it held tightly a few inches away outside the car.
Mike frantically grabbed the creatures arm and pulled, slamming the dead creature’s body against the remaining glass. The glass started to give and bend outward as Mike pulled.
Mike had a problem. If he let go of the arm, it would pull Kimmy into the hole. If he kept pulling he would pull the zombie and the window out of the car.
Before he could decide what to do, a large piece of the Mustang’s molding came crashing down on the creature’s out stretched arm. The bone broke with a loud crack and the gripe on Kimmy released. Mike pulled Kimmy away from the car. She was dazed and sobbing loudly.
He picked her up and carried her over to Kelly, who stood there shaking, the bent piece of molding strip hanging from her hand.
“Here take Kimmy!” Mike shouted as he pulled the metal piece from her hand.
Kelly grabbed Kimmy as Mike carried the molding strip Kelly had used to break the zombie’s arm, over to the window and slammed it into the creature’s head that was now stuck in the hole in the window.
The zombie was violently thrashing against the sharp broken edges of the window as Mike swung, pushing the end of the molding strip though its head. The zombie fell limp against the window.
Mike dragged his hands against the roof of the Chrysler to get the dead pieces of flesh off his hands.
He then went over and pulled the dead flesh from Kimmy’s hair.
Mike stood up straight and looked at Kelly. She was staring at him, her eyes showed the terror she felt as the sounds they had heard in the campground last night began to echo all around them.
From the fields beside the road and the cars around them, staggering creatures began to moan as they came towards Mike and his family.
“Get in the RV!” Mike shouted as he picked up Kimmy, who continued to cry. Blood ran down the side of her face from where her head had been slammed into the Chrysler’s
window.
Mike ran behind Kelly and after she jumped into the passenger’s seat of the RV, Mike set Kimmy on her lap.
He closed her door and ran around the front of the RV.
He jumped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. He looked up the highway.
“We have to turn around.” Mike said urgently. “There’s too many of them on the road up ahead. If we would run into another road block we could get trapped.”
Kelly nodded as she hugged Kimmy. “Anywhere! Please just get us away from here.”
Mike started the RV and started to back up the RV. His intended 3 point turn was becoming a ten point turn as he backed into the cars around him, struggling to turn the RV around.
“Look!” Kelly shouted.
Mike looked at Kelly and saw her pointing up the highway in the direction they originally had been trying to go. A small Toyota pickup truck was coming in their direction. It was driving too fast for the maze of cars it had to maneuver around and bounced from car to car.
“They look like they are trying to get away from something fast!” Mike exclaimed.
The truck traveled another two hundred feet before it crashed into two cars it had been trying to squeeze between. The driver tried to get the truck moving again. He rocked it back and forth, trying to get it loose from the two cars he had crashed into, but it wouldn’t break loose.
The rear wheels spun on the pavement sending a blue smoke into the air behind the truck.
Suddenly the doors flew open. An elderly man came from the driver’s door, his elderly wife jumped from the other side of the truck.
They left the doors standing wide open as they ran.
Mike looked at all the cars up and down the highway in both lanes with their doors hanging open. He had just discovered why all these cars sat abandoned with their doors hanging open.
The elderly couple met in front of the truck. The man took the woman’s hand as they ran down the highway. They had only gone another hundred feet before they were surrounded. The dead seemed to be coming from everywhere.
The couple was at least a quarter mile away from the RV, but Mike and Kelly could still hear the screams.