The Last Days

by Gary Chesla

  “All hell is breaking loose? What do you think he meant by that?” Barb asked.

  “I hope it doesn’t mean what I think it means?” John replied.

  John started tapping on his phone.

  “What are you going to tell him?” Barb asked.

  John read what he had typed. “Zombies attacked and destroyed our house. I am not crazy. I’m serious. Trying to get to Ligonier for help. We are OK so far. Where are you? Get back to me ASAP. John.” John looked at Barb. “Anything you want to add?”

  “No, I think you have it covered.” She grinned.

  John pushed the send button and waited for the “Message sent” to flash across the screen before putting away his phone.

  John looked at Barb’s ankle. “I think we should keep moving before your ankle stiffens up. Besides we don’t know what we are going to run into, we might need all the time we can get.”

  John took Barb’s hand and helped her to her feet. She moved around gingerly to test her ankle.

  She nodded to John that she thought she could continue.

  John knelt down to help Cindy get up, but as soon as he knelt down, Cindy got up and climbed on his back.

  That’s not what he had intended, but he was happy to carry her for a while. He didn’t have the heart to make his scared little girl walk, at least not yet.

  He took Barb’s hand and they started to walk along the hillside.

  They had walked through the trees on the steep hillside for half an hour. Walking on the steep grade was difficult and John took his time to make things easier for Barb.

  The sound of the mob that was trying to follow them up the hill had faded and they could no longer hear anything from that direction.

  John hoped the zombies had lost track of them because all the trees on the hillside had kept them from the dead’s line of sight as they made their escape. He hoped the dead were still back at the house playing leapfrog at the bottom of the hill. As persistent as the dead were, they could be at it for the rest of the day before something else came along to get their attention. That was fine with John. It would give them more time to get into Ligonier.

  What bothered John now was the sounds he heard off in the distance. The creek and Route 711 paralleled the hillside on its way towards Ligonier.

  The sounds of the dead could be heard as they moved along Route 711.

  Unless the dead turned off somewhere between here and Ligonier, going into town to find help and food could be a problem. A big problem.

  He would go somewhere else, if there were somewhere else to go. There wasn’t anywhere else to go that wouldn’t take days to reach on foot. Before walking for days he would try going into Ligonier.

  He kept his concerns to himself. He didn’t want to worry Barb and Cindy about something he didn’t know for sure would be a problem. There were enough things that they knew were definitely a problem to worry about.

  The hillside gradually leveled out as they came closer to town.

  Losing the security of the steep hillside made them begin to feel uncomfortable. Without anything more than a stick as a weapon, losing the protection of the steep grade left them feeling exposed and vulnerable.

  They were finally walking on level ground, but at least they still had the trees for cover. The sound of the dead felt uncomfortably close here off to their right.

  As they walked the next problem they noticed was the woods that they were using to hide their presence was getting brighter. The trees had begun to thin out and the sun’s rays were shining through the branches, making the air get warmer.

  Sweat was now running down John’s face. Cindy’s skin against his neck was feeling sticky as the sweat ran down his neck between them. Barb had raised her hand and held it over her eyes to keep the sun from blinding her.

  Next they started to hear the sound of rushing water.

  John sat down in the shade of one of the last large trees. The trees ahead appeared smaller, being replaced by thick brush.

  Barb sat down next to him.

  “I think we need a break.” John whispered.

  Barb nodded, wiping the sweat from her eyes. It was now late afternoon. The angle of the sun, with the direction they were going, shined directly in their faces.

  “I think we are near the bridge on the edge of town. You and Cindy wait here. I’m going to go up ahead to confirm where we are. If it is the bridge I want to see if we will be able to cross the bridge or if we have to wade across the creek.” John said. “It should only take me a few minutes.”

  John looked at Cindy. “You stay here with your Mom, OK?”

  Cindy shook her head.

  John looked at Barb. “Keep an eye on short stuff here. You know how she has a tendency to wander off.”

  Barb smiled. “Be careful.”

  “I will.” He smiled. “And you stay here too this time until I come back.”

  John stood and walked cautiously towards the sound of the water. He hadn’t gone more than fifty feet before he came to the last tree, ahead of him was thick brush that stood about three feet high. Another thirty feet was the start of the creek. The creek was about fifty feet wide here.

  He knelt down behind the tree and looked off to the right, following the creek as it went under the bridge that entered the outskirts of Ligonier.

  The tree line and the thick brush followed the creek to the corner of the bridge.

  He would have enough cover to make it to the bridge, but the problem he saw in crossing the bridge was the hundreds of the dead that were pushing each other across the bridge.

  John turned and went back to Barb and Cindy.

  Barb looked up John when he returned.

  “Did you see the bridge?”

  “Yea and all the dead walking across it.” John replied.

  “What are we going to do?” Barb asked.

  “I thought about wading across up ahead here, but I think we would be too out in the open and they would see us before we could get across.” John said as he thought.

  “We obviously can’t turn around and go back. We are going to run out of daylight soon and I don’t think either one of us want to stay out here in the woods all night.” John said. “I think we have enough cover to sneak up and go under the bridge. It’s not very deep there. I think we can wade across the creek and climb out through the brush on the other side. There is an old abandoned car dealership up above the bridge on the hill. It was called Harbaugh Chevrolet. I think we can get through the fence and get inside the building. That should be a safe place to spend the night. We can work our way into town in the morning. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.”

  Barb sighed in frustration. “It couldn’t be easy could it?”

  John smiled. “Why should it start to be easy now?”

  Barb laid her head back against the tree.

  John felt a tug on his arm. He looked back to see Cindy standing next to him.

  Before he could say anything, Cindy held up her hand and wiggled her pointer finger, signaling that she wanted him to follow her.

  He followed Cindy about ten feet away from Barb.

  When Cindy stopped John looked down at the concerned look on her face. She whispered. “Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom.”

  John smiled. “Follow me.” He said and led Cindy over behind a large Oak tree.

  “You can go to the bathroom here.” John said.

  Cindy looked confused. She looked up at John and wiggled her finger again, wanting him to bend down closer to her.

  When he bent down Cindy whispered. “Mommy said she was going to smack my ass if she caught me going to the bathroom outside again. She said it’s not lady like.”

  John had a hard time keeping a straight face. His little girl was an outdoors woman. She liked to fish, play in the creek and run through the mud and yes from time to time she had been known to go to the bathroom behind a tree in the yard. She had claimed she was too muddy to come in the house to use the bathroom, but Barb would
have none of it.

  John smiled. “That’s because we had a nice bathroom at home for you to use. We don’t have a bathroom out here. We all have to go behind a tree. Don’t worry she won’t be mad this time.”

  Cindy thought for a minute and whispered again. “Will you stay here with me?”

  “OK.” John said and stood by the tree while Cindy disappeared around the other side.

  On their way back over to Barb, John could see Cindy’s “I got away with something” smile beaming across her face.

  John smiled. He decided to let her enjoy thinking she got away with something. From the way their life had been the last two days, using a tree to go to the bathroom was not going to feel like a novelty for long.

  When they got back to Barb, she looked up.

  John smiled. “Pit stop!”

  Barb smiled. “OK.”

  “You ready before we lose anymore daylight?” John asked.

  “I guess so.” Barb said.

  John took Barb’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

  Cindy looked up at him. John could see she was hoping for another piggy back ride.

  “Not this time short stuff.” John looked serious. “We are all going to have to crawl on our hands and knees under the brush so we can stay out of sight from the bad people. Can you do that?”

  Cindy nodded her head.

  “And from here on we all have to be very quiet. We can’t talk anymore until I say it is OK.” John looked at her to be sure she understood.

  John signaled for them to follow. He took Cindy’s hand and kept her close to his side.

  When they reached the brush, John signaled for them all to get down on their hands and knees.

  He led them under the thick leaves. He moved slowly, keeping close tabs on them to be sure they were close and staying under cover.

  He stopped every few feet to give the girls a chance to catch their breath. He was concerned the dead would hear them if they were breathing hard.

  They only had to travel about a hundred feet before they came out of the brush under the corner of the bridge. John helped the girls get to their feet and moved them quietly in the mud until they were standing with their backs to the concrete wall that supported the bridge where it connected to the road above them. The creek ran under the bridge in front of them from left to right.

  He whispered. “Good job. Now that wasn’t too hard was it?”

  Cindy smiled, Barb wasn’t as happy to be covered with dirt and mud.

  John whispered again. “We are going to wade across here. When we get to the other side, we are going to crawl under the brush and go up around the right side and come out by those trees over there.” John pointed at the trees. “On the other side of those trees is Harbaugh Chevy.”

  He looked down at the mud covered Cindy. “You get a ride until we get to the other side, then you have to crawl again. OK.”

  Cindy smiled and crawled up on his back.

  John looked at Barb. “Take my hand. We have to go slow and not splash.”

  Barb took John’s hand and they stepped out into the creek. The creek quickly became thigh deep on John, stomach deep on Barb.

  John stepped carefully. The stones were moss and mud covered and were slippery. The current pushed against him, making it tricky keeping his balance.

  Barb’s ankle was still sore and hurt. The cold water numbed the feeling, which helped, but made it harder to feel her foot.

  Half way across the creek, she slipped. She let go of John’s hand as she fell, screaming as she splashed into the water. The rapid current pulled her downstream about fifteen feet before she could regain control. John rushed out to grab her before she would get carried away any further.

  As John helped Barb get to her feet and steady herself, the groaning started. John looked up and realized they were no longer under the bridge. They were standing in clear view of the dead that were crowding against the side of the bridge to get a better look at them.

  Cindy screamed and choked John as the first of the dead came over the side of the bridge, splashing into the water next to them. Even though the water wasn’t especially deep, the rapid current washed the dead creature past them.

  As the dead splashed into the water, one after another, John pulled Barb across the creek. “Come on!” He shouted as he pulled her away from the center of the creek to avoid the waves of the dead flowing down stream.

  When they were at the bank below the patch of trees John had pointed out earlier. He set Cindy in the mud on the bank.

  “Barb, take Cindy and crawl up the bank here and wait for me at the trees.” John shouted.

  As the girls began to climb the bank, John began to yell at the dead up on the bridge. He picked up stones and threw at the dead.

  This enraged the dead. John thought it was rage, but was willing to accept that his actions just excited the dead. Either way, it had the intended result. The dead poured down over the side of the bridge.

  The more of them that came over the sides of the bridge, the fewer that would be above to keep them from getting into the abandoned car dealership.

  If he was lucky, once they were down here, they wouldn’t be able to climb the steep bank to get out of the creek.

  When the number of dead in the creek became so thick, the new dead coming over the side of the bridge began to crawl on top of the ones in the water.

  John decided now was the time for him to get up on the bank with Barb and Cindy. The mass of dead was getting uncomfortably closer to him.

  The eyes of the dead were locked on to him. The ones with their head underwater staring out at him were the creepiest.

  John ran through the mud. He slipped and almost fell a couple of times before he reached the top of the bank.

  He picked up Cindy and grabbed Barb’s hand and pulled.

  They came out the other side of the small patch of trees.

  The rear of the abandoned dealership stood in front of them. The entire property was enclosed by a six foot high cyclone fence.

  John ran over to the midpoint between two of the fence posts. He reached down and pulled at the bottom of the fence. It came up about six inches.

  “Cindy.” John shouted. “Crawl under the fence!”

  Cindy scurried under the fence without much trouble.

  “Barb, you’re next.” John yelled.

  “How are you going to get under the fence?” Barb asked in a panic.

  “Just get under the fence, Please!” John urged.

  Barb started crawling. She ripped a six inch tear in her t-shirt and her stomach was scratched and bleeding, but she was able to finally get under the fence.

  Barb jumped to her feet and bent down and pulled with all her might at the bottom of the fence. The fence barely moved.

  She stood with tears in her eyes as she looked at John on the other side of the fence.

  John jumped up and grabbed the top of the fence and slowly pulled himself to the top of the fence. He threw his leg over the top of the fence. He used his leg to pull this body up until he was straddling the fence. The top of the metal fence dug into his stomach.

  He slid his body over the fence and dropped to the ground inside the fence along with the loud sound of his shirt ripping as he fell.

  John took a glance down to see his shirt was ripped from the middle of his chest to his waist. A large scratch on his chest and stomach followed the tear in his shirt.

  But he was inside the fence.

  He grabbed Barb and Cindy and ran for the door on the back of the large sprawling building.

  When they reached the building, the door was locked as he expected. But with a hard kick he busted the door knob, the lock broke and the door swung open.

  John closed the door and put a concrete block against the bottom of the door to keep it closed. The block wouldn’t keep anyone out, but hopefully the closed door wouldn’t attract any attention.

  He turned. They had come in the service area. The bays were of course emp
ty. There hadn’t been any cars being serviced in here for years.

  Grease and a heavy layer of dust covered the lifts.

  At the far wall, steps attached sideways to the wall, led up to the business offices.

  John carried Cindy and led Barb up the steps. He looked in a couple offices and settled on an office that still had a few old office chairs inside. Chairs that had been considered not worth the effort to move out of the building when the dealership closed.

  The office also had a snack vending machine. John didn’t know, but hoped when the dealership closed, they didn’t bother to check the machine.

  It was worth a look.

  It had been twenty-four hours since any of them had last eaten.

  Chapter 17

  Mike drove the Prius slowly down the narrow winding road.

  It felt strange for him and his family, along with all their food and possessions, to be packed into such a small space after the last week of living in and driving the big RV.

  The small cramped space inside the Prius was definitely not as comfortable as traveling in the RV but they could deal with that temporarily if the Prius would get them home.

  The car was easier to drive and more maneuverable than the RV, which would allow them to go into and get out of places they wouldn’t have been able to do in the much larger RV. In the Prius they should be able to make better time on their trip home.

  Traveling in the smaller Prius did have its advantages and disadvantages. But Mike worried most about its one big disadvantage. What if they found themselves surrounded by another mob of the dead? The ordeal of plowing through the horde up on the interstate had been tense. The five ton RV stood eleven feet tall and the large V-10 engine had powered the motorhome’s bulk through the mass of frantic creatures trying to get at them. It had allowed them to survive and escape even though the RV itself had suffered damage that made it impossible to drive much further.