Living Dead 2.0

by Radovick, Ronda

  122

  Follow me, slowly. If I tap the brakes, back it up and get back to the house.” Matt took the radio, “Jessie, don't stop. Look ahead, to the left. In the field.” Jessie scanned the field. There was a small mob of zombies stumbling around. They were dressed in military, and non-military clothing. When they saw the truck and RV, they all creepily turned, and staggered in their direction. Jessie's voice came back over the radio, “Okay. Come on. Let's get out of here.” He drove around the gory scene. Mary cried out. “Oh no! Look at them!” Matt said, “ It's bad, Mary. I ran from these things all day, before I finally saw your truck in your driveway. I just hoped that you and Jessie were still alive, and would help me. They are not people, anymore.” Matt continued to follow Jessie in the RV. They made it away from the terrible scene. A few minutes later, they drove up Ray's long, gravel driveway. They stopped in front of the house. Mary jumped out of the RV. She practically, ran to the door. Jessie called out to Mary, in case Amy had turned. “ Wait, Babe!” He tried to catch up to her, after he exited the truck. But, she was already to the door. She knocked, opened the door, and stuck her head inside. “Amy.. I am here. Sis. You here?” She walked inside the home. No one was there. Matt and Jessie followed her as she walked through the house. She called out, “Amy.” She went to the kitchen, then the bedrooms. She went to the back door, and opened it. There was no one outside. She walked through the back yard, and over to the pole barn. She opened the door. She yelled, “ Amy! Where are you guys?” She reached over, and pushed the light switch up. The lights went on. But, they were no where in sight. She walked back out to the yard. Matt and Jessie were standing there, looking around. She looked worried, sick. Jessie wanted to comfort his wife, but didn't know what to say. He was as confused about their absence as she was. Matt said, “ Maybe, they don't know what is really going on. Maybe, they went to the store, or something.” Jessie said, “ No. They know. Maybe, they took a walk over the hill.” He pointed to the tree line. Mary swallowed. She looked worried. She said, “Okay. We will wait for them to come back. I'll make something to eat. They know that we were coming. So, I'll make sure that Amy doesn't have to make lunch, when they get home.” She walked past them, leaving them both standing there. They exchanged a lost look with each other. After she was out of ear shot, Matt asked, “ Jessie. Would they really go walking around out there? Now?” Jessie said, “ Yeah. They would. We all hike and work out, outdoors. The problem is that, Amy was bit a couple of days ago. How long do you think it would take, if it made her sick?” Matt said, “ I don't know. Remember the guy in the video? He said a few days.” he shrugged. Jessie looked around. He said, “ Come on into the house.” The two went inside. Mary made them something to eat. They all ate in silence. Mary was the first to speak. “We should unload the RV, before it gets too late. Matt, there a couple of rooms upstairs. You can sleep in one of them. Jessie and I will take the one across from Amy's, down here. Okay?” Matt said, “ Sure, Mary.” Jessie cut in, “ Why don't wait until morning? We should ask Ray and Amy where they want us to put everything, before piling it all over their house.” Matt gave Jessie a surprised look. He studied Jessie. Why would he want to wait to ask these people that, he knew were not coming back a question? He thought. Matt said, “ Thank you for lunch, Mary. Can I check out the place?” Mary said, “ Sure. Don't go far. Just in case any of those things wanders up here.” Matt studied Mary. She has to know her sister is not alive; he thought. He felt like he was appearing in an episode of the Twilight Zone. He said, “Okay, Mary.” The boy stood up, washed his dishes, and walked outside. He sat on the steps and dwelt on his concerns over Mary's sanity. She was definitely in denial. A few minutes later, Jessie joined him.

  123

  He plopped down next to Matt. Matt turned to him, “ Are you going to tell her, Jessie?” Jessie exhaled, “ I am trying to figure out, how to do it. You stay close. If they have turned, they will probably wander back here.” Matt agreed, “ I will. And, you are right. So, when is Mary due?” Jessie was surprised. He asked, “ How did you know?” Matt said, “ Well, she cries all of the time. She is emotional, and her belly is bigger than it was, the last time that I saw her.” Jessie was impressed. “Well. You are alert.” Matt said, “ She needs to understand that, once turned, they are not the people that they were anymore. What if her living dead sister comes back here and bites her? You know they are probably dead.... Right?” Jessie, answered, “ Yeah. I know. But, where are they? They did not bury themselves, now... Did they?” Matt looked around. He looked worried. Then Matt asked, “What if they went out there...” he pointed at the treeline... “And just, got lost?” Jessie answered, “Ray would not get lost out there. He has lived here, forever. This is his property. He knows it, like the back of his hand. Unless, he chased someone. But, I can't Amy following, in that scenario.” Matt looked at him, with concern. “ What if they turned, then got lost? What if they don't come back?” Jessie replied, “We take it. one day at a time. Things are different, now. I think that, we should only take what clothes that we need into the house, for now.” Matt asked, “ You don't think that we are safe here, do you?” They took a few things out of the RV. Jessie said, “ I just don't know, yet.” They took a few things into the house. Mary was moving things around in the kitchen. She had placed her phone down onto the table. She had called, and sent texts to her sister, many times. There was no response. She stayed quiet the rest of the day. Later..... She went outside, then walked around the property. Rays' truck was up in the yard. The keys were hanging on the hook next to the back door. She scanned the tree line. She went inside, put her boots on, grabbed a jacket and a bottle of water. She took her key chain with the compass on it. And, she headed out towards the trees. Jessie and Matt were busy in the front. They never saw her leave. She went through the trees, then onto the path that ran to the creek behind the property. Herself, and her sister had taken many walks down this path. She followed the path, until she reached the creek. Once there, she walked along side the creek. She stopped, and looked around. There was no sign of either, Amy or Ray. She walked a little further up the path. She followed the creek. Nothing. She sat down on a log to rest. She pulled out her water. She chugged down half of the bottle. She was thirstier than she thought. She looked around. Why was there no sign of them? Where were they? She sat for a while, then she decided to head back to the house. Maybe, they went out with friends, and just had not made it back, yet. She would be there when they came home. She stood up, and walked towards her sisters' house. As she headed back along side the creek, she saw something in the distance. It was on the other side of the creek. She went through the creek water. As she came closer to the other side, she saw that what she had seen was a mans flannel shirt. She thought it could be Rays' shirt. “Why would he throw his shirt down here?” She looked around. She went up the hill. When she came to the top, she stood there, still holding the shirt in her hand. She looked around. She didn't see anything. Her feeling of doom was getting stronger. She turned around, and headed back for the house. When she walked into the house, Matt blurted out, “ Oh, man! Jessie is out looking for you! Where were you at?” She said, “ I took a walk. She lay the shirt over the back of the chair. Do you know where he went?”

  “He just went into the trees. He told me to wait here, for you. I am going to get on the radio, and let him know you're back.”

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  She had a blank look on her face. Matt started to speak into the radio, “Jessie. You there? She is back. Did you hear me?” Jessie's voice came back, “Tell her to stay there, until I get back.” Matt was glad that Mary made it back, but he was missing his family. He felt sad all of the time, now. Then, he realized that Mary had brought in a man's shirt. He didn't remember seeing her wearing that shirt, earlier. He asked her, “Mary, whose shirt is that?” She answered, “I think, it's Ray's. How long has Jessie been gone?” Matt answered, “Awhile. He went looking for you, after we could not find you. Mary, you should not be out ther
e alone.” Just then, Jessie came in through the back door. He was mad, and concerned at the same time. “Don't ever do that, again! We didn't know what happened. We have to stick together, Mary.” She showed Jessie the Shirt that she had found. ”I think that this is Rays' shirt.” Jessie replied, “Where did you find that?” She said, “Out by the creek.” He blurted out, “You went to the creek! Mary.... Next time, wait for me to go with you. Later, I'll go out there, and look around. You should stay here.” She sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. She said, “Something happened to them. I know it. I don't know where to look. They would have walked by that creek. But, they just disappeared.” She stood up,” I am going to take a shower.” she walked out of the room. Jessie looked at Matt. “We need to stay together. I don't know where Ray and Amy are, but I think that they would have come back by now. They know this property. And, they know the woods behind this property. She is right. Something happened. I am going out for a while. You stay here with Mary. Stay on that radio. Okay?” Matt looked worried. He swallowed. “Yeah, Sure, Jessie.” After attempting to console Mary, Jessie decided to go out, and look around. When he was leaving, he whispered to Matt, “ I am going out to look around. Keep the radio on. Tell me if anything happens. I'll be back, as soon as I can.” Matt sat at the kitchen table with the radio, and a bag of chips. He watched Jessie walk out the back door. He had a bad feeling. Jessie walked through the trees. He followed the path. Then, he came to the creek. He stopped, and looked around. He could not see anything out of the ordinary. It was, as usual, quiet. Aside from, the creek water rushing over the bedrock. It was getting dark, but everything looked normal. He walked further up the hill, instead of crossing the creek. When he made it to the top, he saw another creek at the bottom. He had a bad feeling. He knew that something had happened to Amy and Ray. He thought that he saw something moving, from behind the bushes. He walked to the bushes to see what it was. He took out his knife, and made himself ready to strike. Then, he aimed his flashlight at the brush. There was nothing there. He decided to head back, and continue tomorrow, after he had some sunlight. When he made it back to the house, Matt was in the living room, watching more videos online. “Where's Mary?” Jessie asked. “She is asleep.” Matt replied. He continued,” Did you find anything?” Jessie said, “ No. Nothing. It's like they just, dropped off the face of the Earth. Listen, Kid. I think something happened. ” Matt blurted out, “ Uh...Yeah! The world just ended.” Jessie said, “No, Matt. I think something else happened to Mary's sister, and Brother-n-law. I have a feeling there is someone else out here. Amy may have gotten lost out there. But, Ray would not have. We have to be real careful here. Just in case. Alright?” Matt swallowed. “Okay.” Jessie went to Ray's office. He knew Ray. Ray had video footage of his property. He sat in front of a video surveillance system. He searched the video feed from the previous day. Nothing happened, until nightfall. As he watched, he saw two black S.U.V.'s drive right up to the house. There were two men dressed in black SWAT gear. Jessie recognized one of the men. He showed up at the grocery store.

  125

  They came to the door. They approached Amy on the porch. As they were dragging down the steps, Ray rn outside. He fired at one of them. They held a gun to Amy, and ordered Ray to drop his weapon. After Ray dropped the weapon, they ordered them to the S.U.V.'s. They forced them inside one of the vehicles. Then, just left. He could not believe his eyes. He looked around the room. There was a large cabinet in the corner. He went to it, and opened it up. “Here they are.” Ray's guns, minus one, were there. That's why the door was unlocked, when they arrived. Ray did what they ordered, so that they would not shoot Amy. But, why take them away? If they were going to kill them, they could have done that here and left. No one would have known any better. He thought. How would he break this to Mary?Amy looked weak in the video. He did not think that she was alive, now. He did not think that either one of them were alive. He sat there for a long time, wondering what to say to Mary.

  STELLA 'S STORY

  She woke up with a sharp jabbing pain in her head. She was groggy, the pain was terrible. It took her a minute, to visually focus. She shook it off, and looked around. The Jeep had skidded to a stop, on the side of road. The front end was on the shoulder, and partly into some tall grass, pointing towards the trees. She could not remember what had happened, at first. Then, it came back to her. Someone walked out onto the road. He came out, right in front of her. She drove around the curve, and he was right there. She couldn't see him, until she cleared the treeline. She shook off her grogginess, and shock. She looked around for the man that she had hit. “Where is he?”she asked herself. She looked for her purse. It was on the floor. All of the contents had been spilled out around it. She released her seat belt so that she could lean over. She picked up her phone, then called 911. As soon as the call connected, she heard a busy signal. She was surprised. “A busy signal?” she blurted out. “Really?” She tapped the red phone icon and ended the call. She re-tapped the green phone icon...it rang on the other end. Now, a voice message. The voice on the phone said. “Please leave your name, number, and emergency. We will respond as soon as possible.” Stella half-yelled at the cell phone, “What?”

  She looked around. Where did the man go? She opened her door, and stepped out of the car. She contimued to look around. The man was gone. She walked to the front of the jeep. No one. She turned around, then walked to the back of the jeep. He was gone. She walked out onto the roadway. She placed her hand up over her eyes, and scanned further down the road, to see if he was walking the shoulder. He was nowhere to be seen. She went to the other side of the road and looked into the trees. He was nowhere. She walked back to her vehicle. There he was. She saw the man limping towards her, from the other side of the roadway. He must have come out of the trees; she thought. He was leering at her. She noticed that, immediately. He was staggering, and limping. As he came closer, she could see his face. He looked possessed. His skin was blue, with some gray patches.

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  She felt the hairs raise on her arms. But, she didn't want to leave this injured man on the side of the road. He had blood on his head, and he was gurgling. Stella asked, “Are you alright? I tried to call 911. I'll try again.” He didn't say anything. He kept inching his way towards her. He was dragging his foot and reaching forward. He looked like a character from an old Frankenstein movie. She studied the twisted look on his face, as he made his way closer towards her. She could feel her heart beat start to pound. She looked around for anything that she could pick up. He looked far worse off than someone who had been in an accident. She was concerned for the man that she had hurt. But, instant fear took over. She started to inch herslef towards her vehicle. Reluctantly, she half-yelled, “Do you....do you want to sit in my Jeep, until the ambulance comes? I am trying to get someone on the line.” She thought that she heard him growl. He did not only look hurt, he looked catatonic and contorted at the same time. He tried to move faster, but moved as if he had strapped two boards to his legs. Now, she felt a sudden bolt of terror run right through her. She realized that, he was not coming to sit in her Jeep. Nor, did he want her to get help. But, he was coming for her. Now, she ran the rest of the distance to her vehicle. She opened the door, jumped in and locked the doors. Now, she was frantic. She started to look for her phone, again. “What did I do with my phone?” She fumbled through all of the stuff she had on her passenger side seat. “Where is it? Where is it?” She heard a thump. She looked up. The crazy man had slammed into the window. Then, she realized that her phone was on the dashboard. She grabbed the phone, and she started swiping in a panic. The man was now clawing at her window. He was growling and pressing his face up against the glass. She started screaming, “Get away from me! I am calling the cops! Get away from me!” She dialed 911, again. Another busy signal. She looked at the man pressing his bloody face up against the window. He was crazy. She threw the phone onto the seat. She started her jeep up, put it in four wheel drive, then placed the ge
ar shift into reverse. The wheels started to spin and throw up dirt, sticks, and rocks. The crazy man was still clawing at the window. She pushed her foot down on the gas peddle, again. The vehicle moved a little. The crazy guy was still hanging on to her Jeep. She kept her foot on the peddle. She pressed the accelerator further down to the floor of the Jeep. The vehicle jerked backwards, pulling the man down. As he fell, the Jeep rushed past him in reverse. She slammed on the brakes, and the Jeep came to a halt. Now, he was laying on the pavement, around twenty feet in front of the vehicle. She was sitting in the middle of the highway, now. She pulled the gear shift into drive. She sat there, just watching the man. She could feel her heart pounding. He was crawling towards her, with that deranged look on his face. He started to push himself up. Then, he stood up on his feet, and started to limp and stagger towards her. He had his eyes fixated on her the whole time. His head was hanging side ways. Stella felt her heart beating harder and harder. She grabbed the gear shift and pulled it into drive. She slammed her foot down on the gas peddle. As the jeep jerked into movement, she swerved around the man, just enough to not hit him. As she kept driving, she watched him in the rear view mirror. He slowly, turned around. He lifted his arms up, and limped in her direction. She was panting, from her own fear. Finally, she could not see him anymore. She drove away, and didn't slow down until she turned into her driveway. She drove as fast as she could, all the way up the driveway. Because she slid to a stop, her father and sister came rushing out of the house. When her father made it to her vehicle, he saw her staring at her steering wheel. Her father said, “ Stella, what happened?” She could hear him, as though, he was far away.