Chatter

by Kurt Horning

  Trina looked at him in terror, “This is the biggest group of them yet.” She punctured her knife into the side of an undead skull. Blood and ooze squirted her in the face. “Oh god, gross.”

  “Just keep at it,” said Cade.

  What was supposed to be an easy food run turned into a nightmare for the group. Keiko was pinned to the wall by an undead ghoul. She fought back and finally kicked a knee loose as the undead tumbled to the grounded now handicapped. The girl leapt over it and brought her axe down on the top of its head, halving it like a watermelon.

  Cade was behind the register counter for added protection firing his shotgun left and right. Surreally it felt like playing one of his video games. He sure as hell wished that was what he was doing.

  “Autumn, get over here” yelled Cade.

  The girl was standing on top of aisle shelves shooting the undead below her. One false step and she would tumble into them helplessly.

  “I’m fine Cade,” she answered. “I’ve almost got this aisle clean.”

  The pistol held eight bullets but she caught on to reloading quickly. A few seconds of being empty and the gun was reloaded. Cade wasn’t quite sure if she was helping or had a death wish.

  Several tense minutes passed and the gang of undead had been dealt with.

  “Is everyone ok,” asked Cade.

  The group sounded off and signaled that all was ok. They filled their bags with as much food and energy drinks as they could hold. Vick and Cade then went outside to sweep the perimeter and check for a car to use. Vick found an uncomfortably small economy car with the keys in it at a pump.

  “It will look like a clown car with all of us in it, but it’ll do” said Cade.

  As they raced up onto the interstate Cade’s thoughts turned to his mom, dad, and Sister Meg an hour away. Will they be alive? He presumed his parents had taken the shot. They were law abiding citizens. Meg on the other hand was a young 20 and full of piss and vinegar. Any time there was a rally at college she was there. It didn’t matter the cause. She could have refused the shot.

  An hour turned into three as the roads were clogged with abandoned vehicles and the dead roaming around. The little car couldn’t take hits like the last one so Cade had to maneuver around all the obstacles.

  Early afternoon arrived and the survivors arrived at the small town of Moncel. It was a tourist town with an amusement park and lakes that attracted people in the summertime. Cade’s family lived on the lake right across from the park. He drove the car down the small private lane to the house.

  Cade and the group parked and walked towards the front door. It was a large three story home with water access, made mostly of brick. It was quite beautiful. Trina got to the door first and found something.

  “Cade, come look at this.”

  He made his way to the front and saw a letter written in black marker.

  *I am at the park. It is safer there, plenty of food and places to hide. If anyone alive is looking for me, *Cade* that’s where I am. Don’t go inside*

  Cade put the note in his pocket, “My sister is at the park.”

  “That’s great Cade but what about your parents” said Keiko.

  Cade grabbed the door knob and started to turn it, “I think we will find them inside.”

  As they all stepped inside the smell gagged them. On the floor were at least ten bodies. Cade saw his mother sprawled over the couch and his father laying head first in the fire place. The rest of the people must have been friends.

  “God they must have been having a party,” said Trina.

  “Even worse,” Cade said. “Meg killed them all herself.”

  They continued looking around the house finding an occasional body thrown about. “We can stay here the night,” Cade said. “We need to get all the bodies outside, and then I need to go to the park.”

  “You aren’t going alone,” said Vick.

  “I can’t ask any of you to risk your lives for me or my sister.”

  “You don’t have to ask, we are all in this together Cade,” said Keiko as she took his hand and squeezed.

  His parents’ deaths had not hit him yet. He was too worried for Meg.

  “Alright let’s clean these up and get the house in order first,” said Cade. “And thanks.”

  Work on the house took hours. Little by little they carried out the dozen bodies and put them into a pile. Vick found a gas can in the garage and matches in the kitchen. He gave both to Cade.

  “I’ll let you do this my man, it’s your family,” said Vick.

  “Thanks Vick.”

  He doused the pile in gasoline and stepped back. He wasn’t a public speaker by any means so he had the group bow their heads for a silent prayer. After saying what he wanted to his parents, Cade threw a few matches onto the pile.

  Tears rolled down his cheeks as his mom and dad and their guests burned brightly in the afternoon sky. It took quite a while to burn down but no one moved. They all honored Cade and his parents, something he could never thank them enough for.

  The group finally went into the house to rest. They all took naps and cold showers. The gas was not working to warm the water. Still a shower was a shower.

  A few hours passed and Cade was ready to go before it got dark. They all followed his lead outside and down the lane. To the east was a large bridge that crossed the lake over to the amusement park.

  As they crossed the bridge the park came into view. “Holy god,” cried Keiko.

  “Yeah I knew it would be like this,” said Cade.

  “You all should go back.”

  They all looked with horror at the boardwalk of the park. Literally hundreds of undead roamed slowly around. Finding Meg would not be easy.

  Chapter 9

  Cade and the group looked down upon them from the bridge spanning the lake. The boardwalk below was littered with hundreds of undead. Many of the rides and shops were visible but Meg had to be in hiding.

  The day was still early so the sun beat against the lake water reflecting onto the chrome and metal rides of the park. What was once a bustling tourist trap in the summer was now an enclosed park of death. The Ferris wheel wasn’t spinning. The roller coasters sat empty. All the food stands were overturned or destroyed.

  “You guys need to go back to the house,” said Cade.

  “I will find my sister.”

  The others didn’t budge however. They all stood motionless next to their friend.

  “We help one another Cade,” answered Vick.

  The rest echoed their sentiments and Cade was out voted.

  “Thank you all,” said Cade as he walked to the end of the bridge. “We should all stick together and try to stay out of trouble.”

  Cade and the others then decided it would be best to climb down the side of the bridge and go into the park from the water line. The bottom of the bridge had huge numbers of infected, to many to fight through.

  “You know, I think I have a plan to weed some of these monsters out,” said Vick. “Follow my lead.”

  They kept behind buildings and in the shadows. Moving slowly the group made their way to the Ferris wheel. On the platform Vick explained his plan to the others. Cade climbed into one of the cars attached to the wheel and waited as the rest hid.

  A pack of undead was lumbering around the platform, probably 30 or more. Cade from the car yelled, “Hey assholes!”

  The chattering began immediately. A few sniffers began moving around trying to locate Cade. Finally they got a bead on him and began moving in his direction. As they began fighting to enter the car he was in, Cade climbed out the other side and onto the roof.

  “Hit it,” he cried.

  Vick then popped up from hiding and pushed the button. The Ferris wheel turned two car lengths and stopped. Cade climbed to the new car and repeated the process over and over, loading the mob into one car at a time.

  Most stood still while others fell out of their cars and snapped their necks and bodies on the concrete below. Onc
e all the cars were full, Vick left the Ferris wheel running on constant.

  “Nice plan Vick,” said Keiko. “We got rid of 30-40 chatterers in just a few minutes.”

  The group looked on in amusement at the Ferris wheel of death spinning its captives over and over.

  “What’s next?” asked Cade.

  “Sea Dragon?” said Vick.

  “Sea Dragon it is.”

  Cade and the survivors made their way again across the concrete boardwalk. This time they set up at the sea dragon, a large boat that swings back and forth like a pendulum.

  “Who wants to ride?”

  Dwayne answered that he would this time. The others hid in the control room as he ran around a small area attracting attention. He then stood in front of the large boat and waited. As the pack of undead approached Dwayne gave the signal. He jumped into the boat and secured his seat.

  Vick hit the switch and the boat started to move. Dwayne held on for dear life as the speed increased. The undead being stupid creatures kept walking towards the front of the boat. As it swooped back down a dozen infected smacked into the bow of the boat flying hilariously in all directions.

  The group was actually having fun at the park. The fear of death was almost nonexistent. Over and over the boat would smack undead as it moved back and forth. Finally after several minutes there were no more to smack.

  Vick stopped the dragon and let Dwayne off. The others congratulated him on doing well.

  “Let’s round up a dozen or more to put on the boat. It’ll make our job easier. The six members ran around attracting more chatterers and sniffers, leading them onto the boat. Once the brain dead beings were loaded they jumped off and Vick turned the boat on again.

  Since none were smart enough to buckle, as the boat increased speed the undead began being hurled off into the lake. “Looks like fun actually,” laughed Trina.

  Autumn was the first to get back to business. “Let’s find that sister of yours now; we’ve gotten rid of at least 70 dead freaks.”

  “Actually the more mobs we re-kill the better chance Meg will notice us and come out of hiding,” answered Cade.

  “Let’s load up the barrel with as many as we can, and also turn on all the roller coasters to run over any that wander to them.”

  They all agreed and made their way to the barrel. The barrel is a large cylinder that people stand in. As it turns faster and faster the riders stick to the walls helplessly pinned until it’s over.

  The process repeated like before, but this time Trina wanted to be bait. She ran around the area of the barrel attracting quite a few behind her. As she leapt into the barrel, Trina waited for them to follow. As they filed in Vick raised her out and the others locked the gate.

  They gave Autumn the honor of starting the ride. It started turning slowly, gaining speed every second. Soon the undead were pinned off their feet against the barrel spinning at top speed. They all began chattering loudly as if for help.

  Help did arrive but to no avail. The would be rescuers tumbled into the barrel either breaking their faces or being sucked against the wall in comical positions.

  Cade and the group left satisfied and began turning on all the roller coasters. The noise from all the rides left on attracted most of the other mobs so the group was pretty free to wander about looking for Meg.

  They began searching the buildings. It wasn’t until they checked the temporary tattoo store that they heard anything. It was only Cade and Autumn in the store.

  Cade saw movement out of the corner of his left eye and spun. “chk-chk,” the sound of a shotgun chambering a shell.

  “Hello Cade,” said a brunette holding a shotgun.

  “Meg.”

  “Boom,” exploded the shotgun.

  Chapter 10

  “Boom,” erupted the gun.

  Gore from an undead splattered Cade and the others. It had been standing just inside the doorway and they hadn’t cleared the room after seeing Meg. An eyeball plopped out of its head and bounced across the floor and onto Autumn’s shoe.

  “Ah dammit, gross,” she cried.

  The others chuckled; all except for Cade. He grabbed his sister in a tight bear hug and lifted her off her feet. “I’m so glad we found you, I was getting worried.”

  Meg’s blonde hair was matted with blood, her face scratched and dirty. Once a homecoming queen and cheerleader she now looked more like a mini Laura Croft from Tomb Raider.

  “We’ve been to the house,” said Cade. “What happened?

  Meg looked at the group with hollow eyes. She had been through a lot these last two days and it should have felt good to be with others but instead she only saw six more humans she might have to kill later.

  “It all happened so fast,” Meg said. “Mom and dad were having a luncheon for the company. I was still upstairs getting ready when it got silent, oddly silent. Those parties are usually full of chatter and bad jokes.” She continued, “I peeked down the stairs and all that I saw was people on the floor or slumped over the couches and chairs. It looked like they all died at once or were napping.” Meg wiped her eyes and said, “I ran downstairs and checked on our mother. She was a heap on the floor by the kitchen door. Her eyes were rolled back into her skull; only the whites showed and were fluttering violently.”

  Meg looked around to each person, all were listening intently. “I ran to phone and dialed 911. No one answered. Then they all started with the damn teeth. I hate that noise. The whole room began chattering in unison.” She cleared her throat, “Then all the people stood at once. All of their eyes were white. I ran back upstairs scared to death. All I could think of was that I was dreaming and in some crazy, cheesy zombie flick.”

  Cade hugged his sister again and comforted her. “We were stuck in an airplane when it happened but at least we had each other.” He kissed her cheek, “I can’t imagine going through this alone.”

  “I waited in my room for hours,” Meg said. “I thought for sure the prank would be over and things were ok. But once I checked the stairs again I knew this was real.” Meg closed her eyes, “On the stairs a few of those things had somehow climbed up halfway. I tried to think of any weapons in the house but all there is, is dad’s bow in the den downstairs and I don’t know how to use it anyway.” She opened her eyes but they fell to the floor, “The shed was the only thing I could think of. Dad has all the tools out there. So I climbed out my window and down the gutter. It broke from my weight and I fell. The landing knocked me out and when I came to it was getting dark out. So I ran to the shed and grabbed tree trimmer, you know the stick with the saw knife at the end.”

  “Why didn’t you just run away,” asked Trina. “Why stay?”

  “I felt like I HAD to stay. My family was in there and I didn’t want to leave them like that. The police weren’t answering so again I thought to those cheesy zombie movies. I thought maybe I was the last person alive.” Meg was running through the events in her head, “I went into the front door and started killing them. The tree trimmer let me keep a good distance. I found that if you stab them anywhere but the head they keep coming. Who in the hell invented actual zombies? I mean who thought that was a good idea? Anyway, I began stabbing through the eyes. I couldn’t stand looking at them.” A few tears ran down Meg’s cheek, “I saved mom and dad for last. I kept yelling at them to wake up. Instead their mouths opened so grossly. They were like three times the size of a regular mouth. But yeah, Cade, I killed our parents.”

  Cade and the others remained silent and let Meg get composed. “We have all had to kill them sis,” said Cade. “It doesn’t get easier but it’s necessary.” He cleared his throat, “I never ever will think badly of you because of mom and dad. They would have killed you.”

  “We need to get back to the house before dark,” said Vick. “Let’s get moving.

  The seven made their way back through the park quickly. Most of the undead had been dealt with and the others were now easily avoidable.

  Once at the ho
use they all kind of split up after eating a little. Trina and Autumn shared the guest room. Vick took the couch in the den. Cade and Keiko shared his room. Dwayne commandeered the parents’ bedroom and Meg went into her own.

  “Do you think we will make it to Canada,” asked Keiko.

  “I think we will, we have good people with us.”

  Shyly Keiko kissed Cade and wiggled close to him, “Just in case,” and they made love through the night.

  The next morning Meg had a surprise for the group. “Want to go to Canada in style?” She pushed a button and the huge garage door opened to reveal a brand new camper. It had beds, kitchen, bathroom; anything that could be thought of was here.

  Everyone loaded supplies into the camper. Anything they thought could be useful was added to the collection. Vick and Dwayne siphoned gas from the other cars to fill it.

  Vick took the wheel and drove out onto the highway. Cade had instructed him which roads to take as the GPS was not functioning. Everyone seemed relaxed and in good spirits to have more room to themselves while traveling.

  “All right everyone,” said Cade. “Let’s go to Detroit.”

  Chapter 11

  The highway had surprisingly little clutter. It must have been a light traffic day when the incident happened. The group had just passed Michigan City and entered the new state. Detroit was still hours away but should be easy going if the roads stay clean.

  Cade sat in the passenger’s seat reflecting on the last few days. He had gone from a geek video game guy to a zombie survivor. The others surely felt the same way; except the geek part. He took that title easily among the group.

  There was almost a joy circulating inside the camper. Everyone seemed to think the worst was over. Canada was mere hours away and safety with it.

  Trina rode in the back on the sofa staring out the window. She joked with the others and was in the best mood among them. She had an aunt in Toronto. Her goal was to get there. As she stared out the side window shiny objects caught her vision. She focused and saw planes going overhead.