by Mark Tufo
“All set?” I asked as I finished packing up the radio.
“Yeah,” Travis said, a little flushed.
Gary responded by turning his head and vomiting into a convenient trash receptacle, and Justin resumed his vigil at the front window.
“Won’t be too long Dad before we get some more company,” Justin said.
“Yup, time has her finger in everybody’s pie,” I responded, my thoughts clouded with worry and anger.
Justin looked at me funny.
“Did I say that out loud?” I went outside, the putrid stink of the dead assailing my nostrils. “Oh yeah, that never gets old,” I said sarcastically. I walked over to the gas pumps looking over the abandoned cars. The third one I looked at was perfect, mainly for the reasons that the keys were hanging in the ignition and the tank was mostly full.
I had thought foolishly a few months ago that the parting with Paul and Alex was bad. That was topped tenfold when I left the East Coast Talbots, but that paled in comparison to what I was feeling now. I am not a perfect man, I do not claim to be. I am rife with shortcomings and my own sets of insecurities, but somehow Tracy has always been able to bring my better qualities to the fore. For twenty-three years she has been the vital piece that allows me to function correctly in a dysfunctional society. We were parting as cleanly as a rock breaks under the assault of a sledge hammer. There would be, there could be no reunion , we were now two separate parts..
“Mike, you come back to me,” she said, grabbing the front of my jacket. I couldn’t look her in the eyes, mine were rimmed with tears. “Mike, you bring my boys back,” she said, softly beginning to sob. I met her eyes and she saw the truth. She let go of my jacket and stepped back, an inaudible gasp flowing past her clenched mouth.
“Mike you have to promise me!” she said, raising her voice.
“I can’t Tracy, it would be an empty one. I will not let my last words to you be a lie.” “Stop! You will promise me! Or I won’t go!”
I looked at her and over towards the kids who were waiting expectantly. Would a lie be so bad if it saved six others? “ Tracy , please.” I wanted her to let me off the hook.
“Listen Talbot, you stubborn bastard. I do not want an empty promise. I want a promise that you will not break. I have known you long enough to know that you would rather go to hell, come back, and maybe revisit one more time before you would break your damn word. That is what I want from you, not this death march mentality I see in your eyes.” I looked away marshaling my reserves. The best part of me was leaving and she wanted me to be a better man than I was. “How?” I said so softly Tracy did not hear.
“I’m waiting,” she said, arms crossed, foot getting ready to start tapping.
“Dad,” Justin said. “Multiples coming.” Just the way in which he said it implied that this was a major battle about to take place. Saved by zombies, again! I was going to have to send them a Thank You card.
I started to turn to judge the new threat. Tracy grabbed my arm. “Don’t even think about it.” I coalesced the scared little boy inside of me. I drew on all the best parts of me that Tracy saw. I reached down, figuratively not literally, and grabbed my balls. “I promise you, I will do all that is within my power to bring all of us home,” I told her with conviction.
She stepped in and pulled me close; we kissed. No further words were needed.
“Um, Mike we gotta go,” Gary said as he stepped away from the window.
Tracy quickly told Justin and Travis how much she loved them and that they needed to watch out for each other and especially their dad.
I walked over to a darkened corner. Crying was a solitary endeavor for me; I did not want an audience. Gary grabbed some gear off the table and walked over my way.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked.
I quickly rubbed away the incriminating evidence from my cheeks. “Do I look like I want to talk about it?” I told him without looking to face him.
“Well I don’t know, that’s why I asked, and you didn’t turn around, so how would I know?” “It’s a good thing you know how to shoot,” I said as I brushed by him.
“What’s that mean?” he asked as he struggled to catch up to my quick pace.
Speeders were bearing down, we had half a minute tops to get out of here. After that it would take a major gun battle and a shitload of ammo I didn’t want to waste on these flunkies. No, this ammo was being especially saved for the queen bee and her minions.
Travis let fly some well-aimed lead. The closest zombie’s forward momentum brought his headless body skidding to a halt. Travis’ next shot ripped an arm from the elbow down clean off its victim. The zombie did not slow a beat as thick half congealed blood dropped in fat globules from the wound.
Tracy hopped into her new Subaru hatchback after she made sure all the kids were in and secure. She gave me one long look and mouthed words to me which were unmistakable. “You promised.” Gary, Justin, Travis and I set up a small firing line to give Tracy some safe clearance from our pursuers. Legs crumpled, heads disintegrated, blood arced, and still they came. Injuries that should have sent our attackers shrieking into the night had absolutely no effect to the throng. They trampled over their fallen without pause or hesitation, their need to feed far surpassing any other feeling they might possess. But something was happening here, wasn’t it? The mere fact that they hunted together implied some sort of cohesion, a hive mentality maybe? Could these ones also be under Eliza’s control? How far did her powers extend?
These were all higher functioning questions that I ran through as I took a breath, aimed, fired, reacquired, took a breath, aimed, fired.
“I can do this all day motherfuckers!!” I screamed. They didn’t care.
Travis and Gary were running to the far side of the truck as Justin tugged on my sleeve.
“Dad, time for a hasty retreat!” Justin yelled over my death dealing cycle.
I dropped two more before I let my self-preservation kick in. Tracy hadn’t been gone more than three minutes and I had almost broken my promise. Yeah, this was starting off just the way I wanted it to.
‘I miss you my love, but not as much as I will,’ I thought.
CHAPTER TEN – Tracy
“Pretty lady. Why are you crying? My mom says crying makes your asscarrots run,” Angel said.
Tracy could only look at the small child in confusion.
“Angie, no swearing!” Ryan berated her from the back seat.
“What?” Angel asked indignantly. “I only told the pretty lady her asscarrots would run! I did not say a bad word!” Tracy understood now. “Did you mean mascara? My mascara would run?” Angel nodded as if this is what she had said all along, then she turned around to stick her tongue out at her brother.
“Thank you sweetie. I needed that,” Tracy said. “I was crying because I miss my family.” “Like I miss my mommy and daddy?” Angel asked.
“Just like that,” Tracy answered her.
“Oh. I don’t like that feeling,” Angel told her matter-of-factly.
“Me neither, sweetie.”
“Will you ever see them again like I will see my mommy and daddy again?”
Tracy wanted to tell Angel that absolutely NOT like that. If Angel’s parents were still alive there was a good chance they had been participants in the mob of zombies that had been attacking the rest stop. Tracy was glad they got out of there when they did. She had been fearful that they might have spotted people that the kids had known.
Tracy was vague but Angel only heard the words she wanted to hear. “Someday sweetie, we will all be reunited with the ones we love.” Angel might have missed the subtleness but it was not lost on Ryan. He knew what Mrs. Talbot was trying to avoid saying but wisely thought better of calling her on it. ‘I guess this is what it means to grow up,’ he thought to himself sourly.
The hours droned on as Tracy drove, deep in her own thoughts. The boys occasionally horsed around in the back seat but it was more of a remembered act
ivity, something they were supposed to do as opposed to wanting to do. They were seeking ways to strive for normalcy in a screw ed up world.
It was Dizz who said something first, although Tracy had seen it a few seconds earlier.
“Is that a car?” Dizz asked, leaning over the front seat.
Tracy’s heartbeat had accelerated. Absolutely no good came from dealing with zombies, and the odds were near to that bad when dealing with humans, post-apocalyptically speaking. And even a lot of times beforehand now that she thought about it.
“Angel, you scoot down under the dashboard. Boys, I want you to sit up and puff yourselves up. You need to look as big as possible.” Angel didn’t argue, she quickly picked up on Tracy’s trepidation. Dizz and Sty were a little slow on the uptake.
“What’s going on?” Sty asked. He was nervous and now he didn’t know why.
“Just do it!” Ryan said, folding his legs under his butt to gain some height.
Tracy wanted to laugh when she looked in the rear view mirror and saw that Ryan was turning varying shades of red as he took in large breaths of air in an attempt to gain bulk. She wanted to tell him to stop before he hurt himself but he was trying and for that she silently thanked him.
The cars were on opposite sides of the highway, hurtling towards each other. Tracy kept her eyes locked forward, not daring to glance over and possibly let them see any signs of weakness.
Dizzy had no such compunction. “Oh my God!” Dizzy said, fear twanging his voice two octaves higher, which immediately had the added effect of de-pubertizing him.
“What?” Tracy asked. She could only picture the worst. Red Neck Number One was alive, jaw-less and seeking revenge. Or it was Eliza herself come to finish them off personally. “Fine!” Tracy steeled herself. “I’ll finish the bitch off myself.” The words flowed out easier than she would have imagined. Now if she could only infuse some belief into her words she’d be all set.
“I just saw…” Dizz started.
“A man with no jaw?” Tracy finished.
“Ooooh gross,” Angel said from under the dashboard. “How does he eat licorice?”
In spite of her fear Tracy still managed a grin at that statement.
“A man with no jaw? No, and I agree with Angie, that is gross,” Dizz said.
“What did you see?” Tracy asked as she saw red brake lights flare to life in her side view mirror.
“I just saw the biggest man I have ever seen in my life!” Dizz said with amazement.
“What color was he?” Tracy asked. Durgan might be under control to not kill Mike, but she didn’t think that extended to the rest of his family or whoever else he might run across.
“What?” Dizz asked. “Oh. He was black.”
“You’re sure, Dizz?” Tracy asked.
“Positive, and the driver was a white girl. So what?” Dizz asked.
“Can I get out from under here? It smells like feet,” Angel giggled.
“Yeah, come on up here sweetie and get your seatbelt back on,” Tracy said as she took the Subaru over the grassy median.
BT and Meredith
“Did she see us?” BT asked as he tried to fit his immeasurable bulk under the console. His success rate was much, much less than Angel’s.
“Umm let’s see. She just crossed over the grass and is now heading this way, so my guess is yes.” “Does everyone in the Talbot family have to go to a special ‘smart ass’ class before they can be considered an actual family member? I mean, do you guys have to get certified or something?” “I don’t think you’re going to fit,” Meredith told BT.
“Is she still coming?” BT asked without turning around.
“No, no, she thought better of it. It looks like she’s heading the other way.”
“Really!?” BT craned his neck around to confirm this new information. “What? She’s not turning around!” BT said, more than a little miffed.
“You’ve known my uncle how long?”
“Hilarious, drive. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“I am not driving away from my aunt,” Meredith said as she pulled over, placing the car in park and getting out.
“What are you doing? We have to leave!” BT said in alarm.
Meredith peeked her head back in. “You scared of Aunt Tracy? I mean, you should be, she’s probably a good buck ten, buck fifteen tops.” “How long you known your aunt?” BT asked in disbelief.
Meredith actually stopped to think about that point. “I guess you have something there. If she has to deal with Uncle Mike then I guess she must have some serious brass tacks.” “Of that I can assure you,” BT said, slowly getting out of the car, dreading the confrontation that was about to ensue.
“Meredith, BT?” Tracy asked as she pulled the car up alongside them and quickly hopped out. “What are you guys doing here?” “I guess we could ask the same of you,” BT said. “Is everything alright, where’s Mike and the boys? Okay I get it now,” he said after looking over the precious cargo she was hauling in the small hatchback. “Where’d you pick up the vagabonds?” “We are not bagavonds!” Angel said coming out of the car, yelling at BT’s knees. “Mommy says we’re Protestants!” “Holy crap mister, you’re huge!” Dizz said, slowly approaching BT as if he were a carnival attraction. Ryan grabbed his sister before the giant inadvertently stepped on her.
“You first,” Tracy said, circling back to her original question.
“What do you think?” BT said.
“I wanted to help, Auntie,” Meredith said. “I was kinda also hoping that we’d come across Melanie and I could let Dad finally grieve instead of holding onto any false hope.” “And you, BT?” Tracy pressed.
“I owe your husband my life Tracy, probably a couple of times over.” BT looked at her defiantly for a moment then off into the distance, obviously hoping she would let it slide.
Tracy immediately looked away when she noticed a stubby tail wagging from the rear of Meredith’s car. “Henry?” Tracy walked over to open the door and pet the dog.
“See, I told you he was supposed to come,” BT said, nudging Meredith. “He just saved my ass.” Henry licked Tracy’s face, leaving a trail of saliva down her cheek.
“Oooh gross!” Angel exclaimed as she came up to pat Henry’s broad face. Henry turned his attention to the girl’s sticky fingers. Angel squealed in delight as Henry began to clean up all the sugary goodness left behind.
Tracy stood back up, wiping the slime from her face.
“We didn’t know he was in the car when we left,” BT said, preempting the next question Tracy was sure to ask.
“Yeah we didn’t realize he was there until I just didn’t think any living human could possibly make that stench, not even BT,” Meredith said, pointing towards the big man.
“The more I get to know you Meredith, the funnier you get,” BT said.
Meredith did a small curtsy and grinned at him cheekily.
“How do you know where to go? Tracy asked.
“Ron gave us a radio. The plan is to have Mike do his nightly call and then Ron lets us know where he’s at.” An idea rapidly began to formulate in Tracy’s head. “Meredith, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to, but I can ask you.” Meredith’s attention was rapt, but Tracy hadn’t even begun to ask before Meredith had figured it out. “You want me to take these kids to Dad,” she said, her voice full of resignation.
“My kids and husband are out there,” Tracy pleaded. “I can’t leave them, I can’t.” “I understand, Auntie, my sister is out there too though. Even if I don’t think she’s alive I want to find her.” “I understand, I do. I’m sorry,” Tracy said with the full impact of reality striking her square on the shoulders.
“Why don’t we all take these kids back and with the two of you driving we’ll be able to catch up in half the time,” BT reasoned.
Tracy and Meredith both thanked the big man enthusiastically for his idea. Meredith could rid herself of the guilt and Tracy could latch on to hope.
Within five minutes they were both heading east on I-90 back towards Ron’s.
CHAPTER ELEVEN – Talbot Journal Entry 7
We had been on the road for an hour or two. I was feeling much more subdued than I had been in a long while. We were now a lean band of four, a high powered fire team. I mostly had what I wanted, my wife, daughter and Henry were safe. That stupid adage, be careful what you wish for, came to mind. The dramatist within me always thought Tracy would be stroking my head as I lay dying on the battlefield. Strange thought, obviously, I just figured that would be the way it would play out. The thought of Gary filling in for Tracy just didn’t have the same dramatic effect.
“Dad, I really have to piss,” Travis said from the back seat.
“How many Dews did you have?” Justin asked his brother.
“Three maybe. I was VERY thirsty,” Travis told him.
“Alright,” I said noncommittally. I should have just pulled over, there wasn’t another car for days and there were plenty of trees. But old habits don’t die easily, especially when you aren’t paying any attention to them. I drove another five miles to the next rest stop.
Travis nearly popped the hinges off his door in his haste to relieve his floating bladder. Gary got out of the passenger seat. There was an audible ‘pop’ from his back as he stretched.
“Getting old, huh?” I asked him.
“Why Mom didn’t put you up for adoption when she had the chance, I’ll never know,” he said as he walked away to investigate our surroundings.
“That’s not funny,” I said to his back.
“Wasn’t trying to be,” he retorted as he made his weapon ready.
“Nothing quite like family to put you in your place,” Justin said humorously, noting our exchange.
“Go keep an eye on your brother before I kick your ass,” I said good naturedly.
“DAD!!!” Travis screamed.
Justin and I paused for a second to look at each other before we bolted in the direction of the cry. Gary was already at full tilt. I flipped the safety and placed my finger outside the trigger guard. Something was about to die in a most unnatural way.