Tonto’s low growl was what caused Alden to wake. He laid still listening to Tonto and whatever else he could pick up on. He heard voices and sprang from his chair grabbing a semi-automatic shot gun from beside it; he bolted to the door and threw it open. Three men were trying to get the tarp off his supplies as he yelled, “YOU COCKSUCKERS KNOW WHAT’S BEST, YOU ALL BETTER KISS THE FUCKING GROUND.”
He let loose with a shot towards the truck. The men immediately dove for the ground as Alden dropped down on the porch. Hearing their first shot go wild and hit the roof. He laid the shot gun down and pulled his Desert Storm 45. He had always loved the Army issue 45, the expert badge on his old uniform proved that. Taking aim he hit one man dead center in the head as he lay under the rear tire. The second man had gotten behind the back of the truck so there was no clear shot for him. Alden had lost sight of the third, but Tonto hadn’t. Alden moved behind an old crate on the porch he used as table. He watched as Tonto began to slide off the porch and moved silently towards a shed. All Alden could think was “damn dog, be careful. Alden had raised Tonto from a small pup when he had been left in a sack by a fence away from the road. If he hadn’t come along the pup would have died of starvation or been eaten by wild hogs or coyotes.
The second man moved and that caught Alden’s eye, he had crawled to the end was getting ready to make a run for the wood pile which Alden knew would give the man a better edge. More cover and a better line of sight. The man jumped and fired a burst towards the porch from an automatic weapon then took off running. Alden knew the sound immediately, “Damn AK’s” the world would be full of them now that even the drug lords had been infected. Alden yelled out, “OH FUCK, SHIT DAMN IT, I’M HIT” Alden dropped to the porch withering in pain.
The man who fired stopped and looked to the porch a big grin on his face. It was there for only a second as the round from the 45 slammed into his throat and tore his head off. It was Alden’s turn to grin; he had used that ploy more than once in combat.
Turning to look towards the last man by the shed he called out, “GIVE IT UP SON, YOUR BUDDIES ARE GONE. YOU’RE ALL ALONE, YOU SURRENDER NOW AND I’LL LET YOU LIVE.”
The man hollered back, “FUCK YOU, YOU’RE AN OLD MAN AND THEY WERE PUSSY’S! YOU JUST GOT LUCKY WITH THEM ASSHOLES.”
Alden replied, “YEAH SON, YOU CAN KEEP BELIEVING THAT ALL THE WAY TO YOUR GRAVE.”
The scream of pain from the man let Alden know his trick had worked; Tonto had gotten around behind the man. Tonto leaped, his first bite knocked the pistol out of the man’s hand. He turned trying to go for a knife and Tonto bit that hand, grabbing hold, pulling the kicking and screaming man to the ground. Tonto’s head turned fast and viciously then silenced him quickly when his teeth ripped into the man’s throat. Alden came running around the shed, “TONTO, LEAVE IT ALONE.”
Tonto let go, the man laid there with his eyes wide and still breathing. “You dumb sum-bitches picked the wrong old man today.”
The man’s eyes filled with tears as his last gasp of air came out through his torn out throat. Alden reached down and pulled a small cheap sword off the man. Then gathered up his AK and the rounds he had on him. He checked his pockets for anything else useful, a pack of camels, keys to a hummer and a half a pack of gum. Pulling out the man’s wallet he found a few hundred dollars and a couple of rubbers. Looking to Tonto, “You reckon he was planning on fucking one of those dead heads?”
Alden made his way around to the other dead men gathering up what supplies and anything that might be useful. Alden was taking the weapons and even one man’s brand new pair of red-wing boots that were the same size as Alden’s. He placed them all in the truck except for one of the Aks, Alden loaded a clip and looked to Tonto, “Let go see if we can find this hummer,” he said swinging the keys on his finger.
The two headed down the drive and found the tracks about 500 feet from the house then followed them back about a quarter of mile, there sat a Black 2010 Hummer 3. Alden checked the gas it was almost empty. Looking to Tonto, “I think we’ll just drive this off the road. I ain’t about to transfer all the supplies to this; plus trying to move those barrels of gas would be a down right bitch.” Getting in he pulled it into the woods and out of the drive.
The two walked back to the house and Alden finished packing the rest of the supplies. He went to a hall closet making sure he grabbed the tube that held his maps. Inside were Military maps of the region, both highway and topographical maps. Loading the rest in the truck he watched as Tonto jumped in. He began to set up his home security system with a set of wires that ran from the doorbell to a clay-more under the front step. He then took two grenades and wired a simple string around the pins and attached it to the door hiding the grenades in an old animal pelt that hung on the wall. Feeling satisfied with his work he turned and walked out. Getting in the truck he drove down to where the hummer was parked. Getting out he transferred what supplies he wanted and could use into his truck then took a rag and stuffed it in the gas tank, he lit the rag and got back in driving down the lane.
The hummer went with a loud explosion and fireball; he could see it in the rear view mirror as they turned onto the highway. As they rounded a turn going down the mountain he saw the second plume of smoke from the house. “Well Boy, that ought to draw any deadheads to that area for a little bit.”
Alden reached highway 65 and headed north. An hour later they could see signs for the town of Clinton, Arkansas he slowed and rolled up the windows. This little town was the only way to reach the road he wanted to use to move northeast State highway 9 which would lead him to south east Missouri and one of the sections of Mark Twain National forest. Alden knew the park would have water and possibly shelter. It would also provide him a staging area to go out and reach smaller civilized area’s where he might be able to re-supply and re-arm.
The highway twisted and turned around the mountain as it led into Clinton. Crossing a small bridge Alden could see bodies floating in the creek below. The Conoco station on the left was burned to the ground and he could see the burnt bodies that surrounded it. Driving further into town he passed the local Wal-Mart which sat down off the road to the right. The parking lot was full of deadheads just milling around. Seeing and hearing his truck they all turned and started towards the road. Tonto started to growl as Alden reached over and rubbed his neck. “Leave ‘em alone boy, they ain’t got no chance of getting us.”
The crowds were a little thicker as they moved into town. Alden had no problem driving right over them. Especially Sam Waterford, the local Wal-Mart manager, Alden had had his run-ins with him when things were normal and felt that old Sam was just a miserable son of a bitch. Looking to Tonto, “well what’da think, should I roll over him or leave him to suffer?”
Tonto growled lowly, “Yeah I think your right. He caused enough people shit when he was living.”
Alden aimed the truck right for him and drove over him. Stopping he backed up and made sure the head was smashed then drove off.
Reaching the other side of town he found the small state highway sign for 9 and turned right, within minutes they were snaking their way back through the Ozarks headed northeast.
Chapter 4 - Colt:
Colt stood looking out his bay window wondering how all of this had happened. He was average by all the stats, six foot one, short brown hair and brown eyes. He use to weigh in at two-twenty but he thought he was under two hundred now. He had the perfect life up until a month ago. He was married to the love of his life, Jessica, just bought their dream home and they were trying to have a baby.
Now it was all gone, well most of it, Jessica still lay in the bed they had shared but instead of being relaxed with a book in her lap smiling at him, she was strapped securely to the bed. Her beautiful green eyes were glazed over and her long brown hair was tangled and falling out, her size four frame was well under a one now, but Colt couldn’t do what he knew he had too.
The gun was in his right hand hanging limply, over the p
ast few days he had actually thought about pulling the trigger on himself just to avoid the madness, had even put the barrel to his temple and cocked it. In the end he had lowered it and cried himself to sleep. Jessica was his strength always had been, but now she was a monster struggling to get free to kill him and yet he still loved her.
Colt turn to see the pile of lumber he had brought in from the garage, it was supposed to be for their deck but now it would be used to board up windows and doors. He had only made one run to Lowes before everything went to hell, so there wouldn’t be enough wood for all the windows. He shoved the gun into the back of his jeans and grabbed the coffee can full of nails. Several poked out of his mouth as he set to work covering each exterior doors and largest windows, he had hopes that the smaller windows covered with blankets might work.
Jessica loved natural light so every room had several windows, not wanting to waste more than he needed too Colt nailed the doors shut to the den, office and plant room. The only rooms he cared about were the living room, kitchen and bathroom. With the wood he had, he could block most the front bay window, front and back doors and two windows in the bedroom and part of the third. The rest he would use blankets to block the light and noise. That’s what seemed to attract the monsters, he knew all the hammering would be bringing all his neighbors out but if he could just get it done and quite again they seemed to forget he was there. Several hours later all the boards were hung and every window had a blanket over it, he had to stay here as long as Jessica was alive, well moving.
He went to the kitchen looking around he saw a can of pork and beans, pulling it out then grabbing the can opener; he was just going through the motions and let his mind wander. When the time came, where would he go? He had grown up in Memphis, hadn’t really ever taken a vacation so the outside was a mystery to him. Looking down he saw that the can had been open for a few turns of the can opener; Colt tossed the lid in the trash and grabbed a spoon. He went to the fridge knowing it wasn’t on but there was still some bottle water in there. Tucking it under his arm, he began eating his pork and beans as he walked to the bedroom.
As soon as Colt got to the door Jessica began growling and lunging against the restraints to try to get to him. Smiling at her, “Hi honey, I just had to get a few things done, but I am here for the rest of the night.”
He sat in the overstuffed chair that Jessica had insisted on buying for the bedroom, she said it would make the room look more sophisticated. Colt had run into that chair so many times in their small bedroom, he couldn’t count but now he was very grateful for it. As he finished off the beans he set the can on the nightstand behind him along with the gun from the back of his waistband. Colt turned back to Jessica smiling again, “OK, I’m all yours my love.”
He had begun thinking that he was her knight in shining armor and she was the damsel in distress that needed saved, he just had to figure out how to save her. She wouldn’t eat any food he tried to give her and water just ran down and soaked the bed.
The room smelled worse every day, she had no control over her bodily functions, she was decaying before his eyes and he had no way of changing the sheets. Colt wouldn’t let that keep him away; he would be here till she wasn’t. Leaning over the bed he rubbed the top of her head, at first he tried to stroke her face but she just tried harder to bite him. “Do you remember us talking about going camping for our first vacation? I think that may be what I will do when the time comes, but if I can just find a cure then you can come with me. We could go deep in the woods and be just like pioneers. I know you would like that, but sweetie you have to get better.”
Days went by as Colt went through his now normal routine. He woke in the chair, ate one of the cans of food in the kitchen and took care of Jessica. She lasted two weeks before Colt figured she just starved to death, he had tried several times to put her out of her misery but he believed that deep down she was still the woman he loved. So he just waited for the day that her body would just give out, and today was that day. He sat beside her bed holding the skin and bones of her hand, even kissed her mouth gently one last time before he covered her with her great grandmother’s blanket. Walking to the door, he picked up the packed suitcase and the tote bag he had packed over a week ago.
Going back to the bed Colt kissed her head through the blanket then walked out the door, he set his things down in the kitchen then grabbed the hammer out of the living room and stuffed it in the tote. He went out to the garage and looked at Jessica’s range rover and saw it had a half tank, his tundra had three quarters but the rover got better gas mileage so threw the bags behind the seat and jumped in behind the wheel. The engine roared to life and he hit the garage door button, nothing happen. “Damn almost forgot no power.”
Colt climbed back out pulling out his gun just in case any monsters were out there. He pulled the garage door open drawing the attention of several neighborhood monsters. Mr. and Mrs Kulwaski were the closest but nothing to worry about; Colt turned to go back to the rover and came face to face with Joe Thomas. Joe was or used to be his next door neighbor, but now he was one of them, worse he was close enough to bite him. Colt jumped back, not the direction he wanted to go but he didn’t have a choice. The others were coming for him too, he ran around the corner of the house into the backyard. He tried to go in the patio door but it was still boarded up, “FUCK! Great Colt now you’re trapped in the backyard!”
Just then he remembered he was carrying the gun, he hadn’t wanted to use it because of the noise but hey they all knew he was here now any way. Joe was the first to come through the gate and the first to get a bullet in his brain. Colt ran back to the gate in time to see two more come around the corner of the house and shot them too. The Kulwaski’s were crossing the driveway but he darted into the garage and jumped in the rover and threw it into reverse hitting both the Kulwaski’s and threw it into drive heading out of the neighborhood, he would worry about where once he got out of the neighborhood.
Colt drove the Land Rover out of the Scenic Hills subdivision looking at the same neighborhood he had looked at time and time again. But this time he didn’t even recognize it, four or five houses where burned to the ground, a couple were still smoldering. Colt was watching as one of the monsters tore into a dog, he wondered if that used to be the man’s best friend. Turning back to the road Colt slammed on the brakes, a boy no more than ten was knocked down by his bumper. Quickly Colt looked around to make sure the monsters weren’t close, and then jumped out to check on the boy. As he rounded the front of the rover the boy lunged at him, “FUCK!”
Colt jumped back, he hadn’t even thought of kids being turned. The boy kept coming at him, all Colt could do to save himself was to hurt the kid but that went against everything in him. You can’t hurt kids, you just can’t but this one was trying to turn him into a monster. Colt kicked the legs out from under the boy and jumped back into the rover, other monsters were coming now and he needed to get out of there. By the time he was safely back in the car the boy was back up and crawling on his hood. “Noooo, please get off!”
Colt slammed his hand on the steering wheel, he knew he could drive off and eventually he would throw the boy off but he couldn’t, not yet, maybe later but for now he was still civilized, he really didn’t know how long that would last.
He turned in the seat to look around to see just how close the others were, they were close but he had to risk it. Colt jumped back out and took a step away from the car, “HEY KID!! I’M HERE NOW!! LOOK, RIGHT HERE, COME GET ME!!”
The others were coming but the trick worked, the kid was getting off the hood and out from in front of the car. Colt quickly jumped back in and threw it into drive speeding away as his door slammed shut.
Colt had always been a good Christian and when he and Jessica married they had agreed that they would both be God fearing, tithing members of the local Baptist church. Now he was wondering where his God was and how he could let this happen. The bible promised that they would be taken in the raptu
re before the end of times came, and as far as he could tell this was just that, but here he was and Jessica had been turned into one. He had to watch her die, how could the God he worshiped allow all this to happen? Colt looked to the roof of the rover, “I think you dropped be ball here… little help would be nice!”
Colt made his way through the neighborhoods then got to New Allen Road heading north; it soon turned into Raleigh Millington Road. Then the turned left onto Fite Road, everything was pretty clear giving him time to think. All his thoughts seemed to always go back to the day his life crumbled around him.
Jessica had gotten up that morning walking around in panties and one of his t-shirts. When he walked into the kitchen she had just pulled her long dishwater blond hair over one shoulder as the leaned over to fill the coffee pot. Colt went right to her unable to resist her long bare neck, kissing her softly on the neck then on the cheek. “Good morning, you want me to make you any breakfast?”
As she poured the water into the Bunn coffee maker she smiled at him, “Na, not hungry this morning.”
He winked at her then looked her up and down, “Feel like working up an appetite?”
That made her laugh, “Honey, you have chores today remember? You have to go get supplies, that’s what the news said last night, remember?”
Colt had smiled a patronizing smile, “Yes I know, we’re all going to die, this is the end of times”
Jessica punched him in the shoulder, “I know it’s just a bunch of crap but just in case, stop being an asshole and go get supplies.”
She shrugged her shoulders then pulled up the t-shirt around her belly, “You know maybe after I am sure we are safe I would be willing to work up that appetite.”
Colt pulled her into an embrace, “I believe that is the best reason you have ever given me. Just let me finish my coffee and I’ll head to Albertsons”
Surviving Day By Day (Book 1): So it Begins Page 4