by Deyo, Jason
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They walked up a set of old painted stairs that the blue paint was beginning to peel off that led to a rotting wood deck that matched the stairs. As they traveled across the creaking deck the sound of swarming flies grew louder the closer they got to the door. The front door of the house was swung open like the doors on the barn. Rod was the first to enter the house and stopped suddenly as he saw the half eaten remains of what he guessed was the owner of the property. A pool of blood had dried into the light blue carpet right in front of Rod’s shoes that had poured from a set of legs still in their blue jean overall bibs.
Rod stepped in and felt the fibers of the carpet crack from the dried blood. He grabbed the boots of the legs and began dragging them out the front door. “Check the rest of the house. I’ll take care of this.” The house was void of any undead visitors, but it was ransacked. Nothing was left, but the rotting molding remains in the freezer.
The blood and dried pieces of guts from the farmer made the first floor reek of death, so they moved upstairs to let Rodriquez get his rest. He shook under thick covers that were pulled up to his chin on a queen sized bed in the front of the farm house. Drew waited in the back bed room looking out the window down on the barn and the undead they had just killed.
Eric sat on the bed in the same room pulling the protein bars from his back pack trying to decide what flavor he wanted to eat. Cookies and cream or chocolate peanut butter; either way none of the bars they had tasted like what they advertised, so he gave the choice to Drew. “What flavor do you want?” he asked trying to pull his attention from the window.
“I really don’t feel like eating any of them to tell the truth.”
“Same here, but I’m hungry and we have to eat something.” Eric had decided he was going to stick with the chocolate peanut butter if Drew didn’t want it.
“It doesn’t matter, cookies and cream I guess.” He turned just in time to catch it as Eric tossed it to him. The farm house was getting increasingly hotter, as the sun was now directly overhead. Eric watched Drew peel the melted bar, until he gave up and began eating it off the wrapper.
“I used to work on a farm like this one back in Maryland. Some of the coldest and best water I ever tasted came out of an underground spring. I think I saw a spout out their where the trough was.” Eric waved his hand, “Would you mind filling up our water bottles while I check on your dad?”
Drew nodded and grabbed his and Eric’s bottle. Eric reached into Rod’s back pack and pulled out the pistol. “This here is the safety.” He pointed to the lever that was above his thumb. “If anything happens out there you fire this at it’s head. Understand?”
He grabbed the gun from him and aimed it at a light switch on the wall. “I get it. I’ve shot before and by now, I would hope, I know how to take one of those things down.”
Eric shrugged the comment off and walked to Rod’s room and stood to the left side of the bed. The sun was shining brightly through the window of the master bedroom and Rod’s face was turned away from the beams. The suns rays reflected millions of small dust particles suspended in air, except for the ones that swirled with Rod’s small and shallow breaths. The right side of his neck was exposed to the sun and Eric could see his bare skin glisten from his profuse sweating, but that is not what caught Eric’s attention.
His tan skin was now lighter, almost pale and a black vein stretched from bellow the covers, up his neck and behind his right ear. He reached for the window shade and looked out to the front of the land. A few undead walked aimlessly searching for the location of the gun shots and Rod’s screams just three hours earlier. He lowered the window’s shade just enough, so the beams would not directly touch his skin, but high enough, so he could study his features. “How are you holding up, bud?” He quickly thought of Drew and hoped he was not going to be confronted after seeing those few in the front of the house.
Rod struggled to face him, but did so only after realizing the sun would no longer be in his face. Every second he moved caused him severe pain, so he moved very slowly and only enough to where he could see Eric with his eyes without moving his head. “I’m cold, but I can’t stop sweating. I hurt all over.”
“What can I do?” Eric asked.
Rod clenched his teeth in agony as he tried to face him a little more. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything, you just ask it and I’ll do it.” Eric jumped at the opportunity to help his friend.
Rod turned his head till he was facing him, but closed his eyes trying to adjust to the radiant light. Hundreds of sweat beads rolled off his forehead and drenched his hair. “You’re going to have to take care of Drew.”
When he turned his head he revealed three large black and red veins that ran up the left side of his pale face. “You’re going to be just fine after you get some rest.” Eric said. “Drew is getting some fresh water and we’re going to crash here for the night and take off as soon as you’re good and ready.”
Anger started to swell in Rod and he clenched the heavy covers and let out a cry as he threw them from the right side of his body exposing his right leg. “Look at what that, thing did to me.” He roared. His leg was pale at the thigh, but at the knee the pigment started to blend into a spider web of black veins and the skin got darker until it turned into a heavily infected black at the calf. The veins crisscrossed and got thicker at the knee and seemed to stretch up his thigh changing the pale into a darker black. In the middle of his calf was a swollen bite mark that oozed a mixture of yellow, green and black puss and his right foot was covered in the same slime from the bite on his ankle.
Eric was in shock and could not stop looking at it. “What happened?”
He threw his head back onto the wet pillow, “When I found Dave I tried to help and that boy bit me.”
“You just need some rest and you’ll be fine.” Eric wanted to believe it, but knew his friend was in bad shape.
“No. I’m dying and I don’t want to be one of those things, so you’re going to have to put me down.”
Eric laughed softly, “What are you some sort of dog? We’re gonna put you down?”
Rod tensed his body and slammed his fist on the bed, “God damn it Eric!” He screamed causing Eric to duck and get off the bed as if something were being thrown at him. “You’re not fucking listening. I’m turning. I’m changing into one of those things out there. Soon I’ll be looking to kill you.” He started to cry, “I’ll look for my son,” he couldn’t bear to say it, “I’ll look for him too.”
A pain was coursing through his body and he knew that he had to eat. He was suffering from severe hunger pains and he had a craving for something and didn’t know what exactly it was. At least he did not want to admit to himself that he knew what it was. He wanted flesh. Rodriquez wanted to bite down on something and make it bleed. The thought of piercing flesh with the warm taste of iron spurting into his mouth, made him desire that feeling more. He could smell the blood and he could taste the meat that was under Eric’s skin and that yearning made him livid. He felt like he wanted to lash out at him and hurt him. Not for the feeling of biting into him, but just to physically hurt something. Killing those ghouls in the barn gave him a feeling of completeness, killing those creatures made him feel complete ecstasy and he knew that the only way he would feel that again was if he hurt someone. That someone was Eric.
Eric sat back on the bed next to Rod and laid a hand on his arm. Rod opened his eyes a little wider adjusting to the light and revealed to his friend his cloudy eyes. The whites of his eyes were filled with dark veins and the brown of his iris had turned to a milky grey, while his pupil turned to a bluish grey. Eric stood up in shock and stepped back.
Rodriguez calmed down after seeing the fear and shock of his friend. He forced himself to take control over his body and lowered his voice. “Look I’m becoming that guy in the store. I can’t control my anger. I just want to...” He clenched his teeth straining his jaw muscles down and forcing them to
show through his skin. “sink my teeth into something. I just want to bite into something and eat. God I am so hungry.”
Eric stepped back from him until he was pressed against wall next to the window. “You need help my friend.”
The pain and anger coursed through his body and weighed on his mind. Each time Eric said something it felt as if his head were being pressed in at the temples.
“We can go to town. We can get some antibiotics or some type of anti infection shit.” Eric wanted to help, but knew he couldn’t do anything. The closest town was miles away and even if there was a chance of making it, neither one knew where it actually was. Eric realized that he would have to be the one to eliminate his friend and he believed he would have to do it soon.
“You can’t go to town. You don’t even know where it is, besides you need to be here for Drew.”
The sound of light footsteps walking up the stairs stopped Rod from speaking and he turned to the door.
“Do you want me to tell him to go away?” Eric said still pressed against the wall.
Rod paused and thought about what could happen. He thought about what if he felt that urge and hurt his son. Covering himself back up with the heavy covers, “No I would like to see him one more time before I have to go.”
Just then the door opened and Drew stood in front of it with the two water bottles. “How’s he doing?” He asked with deep sympathy after seeing his father moving under the covers.
Eric walked toward him and grabbed one of the bottles and took back the hand gun. He began to answer, but Rod spoke before he could. “I’m doing,” he paused, “Ok.” Rod said as he repositioned himself under the covers.
Drew walked over to him and knelt down on one knee next to the bed. “Do you want some water? It’s real cold.”
Eric started walking back toward the door to give them some privacy, but the wide eyed worried look on Rod’s face told him he wanted him to stay.
“I’m actually not doing well at all, bud. I got bit back at the house and I am getting sick, real sick.”
Drew and Rod never had a relationship that was truly emotional and they never hugged, but Drew leaned over the bed and squeezed his shoulders while he hugged Rod’s face with his. Rod felt the urge again, but he was able to fight it. His eyes started to sting as the tears that rolled from the corners of his eyes were thick and clung to his eyelids. He wrapped his arm around his son and wiped his eyes the best that he could. Rod thought about the puss that was coming out of his wounds and thought the fluid coming from his tear ducts was the same.
“What will you do?” Drew asked when his father finally released his grip from him.
Rod looked at his fingers that now had the yellow puss on them. His grey eyes started to burn and it was difficult for him to open them due to the thick puss holding them shut. With every blink it was a task to open them again.
Drew watched his father looking at his fingers and wiping his eyes. He was clearly disoriented and thinking of his current situation. “What are we supposed to do?” He paused waiting for a reply, “What are you going to do?” He asked putting his hand on his right shoulder to give him support.
Rod could not open his eyes due to the yellow glue leaking from his tear ducts sealing them shut. Anger filled him and he felt the muscles in his body tense. Out of panic Rod started to kick his feet under the covers and with every movement, the pain from his infected leg darted through his body. “What if I just cut it off, will that save me?” He said loudly forgetting Drew was kneeling in front of him. “What if I just fucking cut it off?” He screamed out as loud as he could, “Would that save me!?” The pain that flowed through Rod’s body only escalated with each move he made. The stress of not being able to see started to scare him, causing him to fall into a deep panic on top of his anger.
Drew stepped back away from the bed when Rod hollered, “What’s he talking about?” Drew asked as he looked at Eric desperate for an answer.
Rod wrenched at his eyes, pulling his eyelids away from his face. He did not hear Drew speak, but when he was able to see he saw Drew staring at him with a worried look on his face.
Eric stepped up close to Drew and took a protective stance next to him, not knowing what Rod would do. Rodriquez took offense to Eric’s posture. “What’s he trying to do? Does he think I’ll hurt my own son? Fuck him!” He thought to himself. The covers on the bed flew up in a wave as Rod jumped off the bed, releasing a strong stench of ammonia from his wounds and threw his chest out at Eric. “What are you going to do? Do you think I’d hurt my son?” He pushed Eric against the wall and turned his attention to Drew. “Do you think I would hurt you?” He put his face right up to his son’s. The puss lined his cloudy eyes and his eyelids were red from being rubbed raw. Rod’s breath smelled of rancid meat and the look of disgust lined his features.
Drew backed away from the assault wishing he had never entered the room. He didn’t know what to say and thought no matter what his reply was he didn’t believe it would please his father. After he put some distance between them he saw his father’s infected leg.
The only clothing his father was wearing was his blue boxers and they clung to his body from his sweat. Feeling as if they both were teaming up on him he pushed Eric back against the wall, where he once stood. Eric has always been stronger than Rod, but he has never been physically pushed that hard before by anyone. The shock stunned him and Rod stomped out of the room.
After a few seconds Eric and Drew were able to take in what just happened and followed behind him. The sound of the back door slammed shut shaking the house. Eric went running down the stars when he heard Drew holler for him.
“Eric you have to see this.” He was pointing to the window that faced the front of the house; the one from which Eric had pulled the shade down earlier.
They stared out the window that looked over large amounts of green acres of land and on that land were the roaming zombies from earlier making their way toward the house. Behind that small group was another larger pack following behind them. “They must of heard Rod screaming.” Eric said, “go get our stuff and get ready to go. I’m going to get your dad.”
Eric turned back to the steps and when he got half way down a loud bang silenced his footsteps on the stairs. At the bottom of the steps was the front door and staring at Eric through one of the three square windows at the top of the front door was the face of a zombie mashed against the window. It could see him through the small window and began frantically banging on the door, as it got more and more excited by his presence.
“Hurry up we’re leaving now!” He screamed as he ran back up the steps and into his room. Grabbing his back pack he tossed the power bars into it and glanced at the back of the farm toward the barn. Rod was quickly pacing the front of the barn scratching at his head, trying to pull his short black hair over his face. Drew entered the room with Rod’s shoes and back pack in his hands and grabbed his own pack.
The tops of a few more ghoul’s heads could be seen from the other smaller windows of the door as the undead started to pile onto the front porch. They ran through the back door and both of them made eye contact with Rod by the barn at the far end of the property.
“I’m gonna get him. I’ll meet up with you on the other side of the fence.” Eric pointed in the opposite direction of the barn. “Try to stay quiet.”
Drew took off first running away from the farm house to get as much distance from the zombies and himself as possible and then headed north away from the barn. Eric jogged toward the barn holding Rods back pack.
When he got within talking distance Rod turned from him and entered into the barn leaving the double doors swinging. The barn was lit by beams of light shining through cracks in the roof and walls by the high noon sun. Particles danced in the rays of light from the dust that was kicked up from Rod moving quickly through the barn it. He was crouched over a body in the middle dirt isle way. The body was laying face down and Rod grabbed hold of the hair on the back of th
e ghouls head. He pulled up on it forcing the dead body to bend backward and twisted the creature to face Eric.
“See this.” Rod said.
The face of the body was one of a boys. No older than fifteen with no bruises or blemishes, but the complexion was a shade lighter than just pale. Eric was not sure what to say, but let out a whimper of “Yes.”
“What is different about this one than the others?”
Eric looked down at the dead bodies that Rod had slain earlier that morning. All the bodies were twisted and broken. They all were farm hands in some way or another and he could not tell any true difference other than that one looked very young, so he stood there silent.
“This is the first one I killed when I truly found out how to kill them.” He twisted it’s head the opposite way followed by a snap that would have killed any living human and revealed to Eric a bashed in bloody imprint at the back base of the head. “You can shoot these things all day and you can smash their faces in, but the only way to destroy them is if you destroy the back part of its brain. I figured this out by taking my bat to this one’s head after killing a few of the others.” He threw it’s face back into the dirt. “Look at what I’m going to be.” He circled looking at the other ghouls. “I can’t do it Eric. What if I come back for you or my boy? I’m done, I’m going to change. I can already feel it.”
Eric moved closer to him and Rod screamed, “Stay back! Don’t come any closer, I’m a monster.” He was stepping back a few steps while he was talking and then he stopped and looked directly into Eric’s eyes. “Give me your gun.”
Now he was confused. He could not bear the thought of giving his best friend a tool that he knew he was going to use to kill himself. He reached for his gun that was sitting in his deep pocket. “I don’t know about….”
He was quickly silenced as Rod rushed to him and grabbed hold of the gun that was still in Eric’s hands. “Leave me.” Rod said quickly as if he was in a hurry and his words came sharply. His once tan face took on the lightest shade of pale and black veins traveled up his body. Rodriquez looked at him sympathetically with his eyebrows pulled together in a sign of sadness for just a second and said, “I need this.”