Prepping For The Unknown: A Fighting Chance (A Preppers Journey to Survival Book 1)

by Jason Alters

  ‘You’re such a charmer.’

  ‘Thanks, I try.’ I could practically see him smiling through the phone. ‘And you’re sure your mom’s okay with this?’

  ‘She suggested it.’

  ‘Maybe I should call her to see that you’re not just going behind her back and trying to tick her off like you always do.’

  ‘I don’t try to piss mom off.’

  ‘Well, that’s definitely up for debate. Like I said, you’re stubborn.’

  ‘Anyways, Anton, I’m not lying to you. Mom said you should come along. She likes you, you know that. Plus, if you don’t believe me now, you will know that I’m not lying when Brandon gets to your house.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Brandon’s coming to pick you up.’

  ‘You know you don’t live very far, right?’

  ‘Yeah. But mom insists that none of us should be walking on the dangerous streets of Altoona,’ I said in an over exaggeratedly spooky tone.

  ‘That’s very kind of Brandon but tell him that if it’s too much trouble…’

  I cut him off. ‘It’s not too much trouble. It’ll only be a few minutes by car and I’m sure he could use a break. He’s been going through the map all day, rehearsing a route that we all already know by heart.’

  ‘Liz,’ his voice was a lot calmer now. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘For looking out for me. I don’t have anyone else to do it, you know? And it’s just nice to have you always thinking of me.’

  ‘Hey,’ my tone met the softness of his, ‘I love you. And outside of that, if I’m going to be struggling in the woods, then there’s no one in this world I’d rather do it with than you.’

  ‘You’re a sweetheart but I am being serious, I appreciate this more than you’ll ever know.’

  He was indeed a very appreciative person. I guess his parents leaving showed him that people really do have the choice to stick with you or move on on their own. For me, sticking with Anton was the easy part and he had no idea just how much he really meant to me.

  ‘I’ll see you soon, Anton. Oh, and don’t forget to pack your gun and bring your bug out bag. You might also want to toss in a couple more pieces of clothes. Mom, Brandon and I have already got quite a bit at the bunker, but, you’ll probably need a bit more, depending on how long we’re staying.’ But then it struck me, there was no reason for him to bulk up his bag. ‘Actually, just pack underwear. You and Brandon are about the same size, so there’s really no need for you to overdo it on the clothes. And make sure that you’re wearing some pretty tough boots.’

  ‘Shoot. You mean I’ve got to ditch the flip flops,’ he joked.

  I laughed. ‘Yes, honey. You’ve got to ditch the flip flops. I’ll see you in a bit, okay. I’ve got to help mom with a few last minute things and let her know that you’re coming along.’

  I hung up the phone and went into the living room where I saw mom diddling with a bunch of paracord.

  ‘Passing time,’ I asked, settling myself on the floor in front of her.

  ‘No, actually. I can’t believe I didn’t think of making us paracord bracelets until now. But as they say, better late than never. You wanna lend a hand?’

  ‘I wouldn’t mind except I don’t know how to do it,’ I replied, taking a half-finished bracelet in my hand and inspecting it.

  ‘It’s pretty simple,’ she explained. ‘To start, you want to take about two feet of cord and go ahead and melt the ends,’ she handed me a lighter. ‘Now, double up the cord and wrap it around your wrist. For obvious reasons, you won’t want it to be too tight. You’ll also want to make sure that it’s not too big or else it’ll slip right off when we’re on the move. That looks perfect,’ she said as she analyzed the paracord wrapped around my wrist.

  Mom went on to describe the following steps which included creating a loop, the introduction of cord in a different color, and a series of cobra knots. I inspected the finished product and was rather pleased with the outcome.

  ‘Looks good?’ I sought mother’s approval.

  ‘Absolutely perfect,’ she smiled. ‘You’re definitely a quick learner. Now, if only I could remember what it is I wanted to do.’

  ‘Not a good time for memory loss, mom’ I joked.

  ‘You know how it is, though? Every time you’re leaving home to go away for a while, you get this feeling that you’re forgetting something.’

  The feeling she described was one I’d never had the opportunity of experiencing. Not ever leaving Altoona meant that my school books or homework were the only things I could have ever forgotten to take along and even then, they were only five minutes away. ‘Yeah,’ I agreed anyways. ‘But you’ve got your to-go list, so as long as you run through that and have everything it says, you should be fine.’

  ‘I know. I know. But that list is at least a few years old. Let’s see. I’ve got the map. We all have our tents. I’m thinking that you should probably take mine, it’s quite a bit bigger than the others. That way, you’ll be able to share tents with Anton.’

  ‘Thanks mom.’

  ‘Just remind me to remove it from my pack and put it in Anton’s and then at that point I’ll take yours.’

  ‘How big is it?’ I asked, wondering if it would fit with all the extra underwear I had instructed Anton to pack.

  ‘It’s a Hubba Hubba. It weighs in at a little under four pounds, so pretty light.’

  ‘I mean in terms of bulkiness.’

  ‘You can roll it up to the size of a two liter bottle. So that’s pretty convenient.’

  ‘Definitely,’ I agreed.

  Mom focused on the list, running her fingers horizontally over each item on it. Just when I was about to excuse myself, the door opened.

  ‘They’re here,’ I exclaimed, acting as though I hadn’t seen Anton in forever. I ran over to the door, charged my way past Brandon and embraced Anton.

  ‘Jesus,’ Brandon cried as I created a greater distance between him and Anton.

  ‘Sorry,’ I turned around and smiled.

  Mom made her way up and greeted Anton as she usually did- with a kiss on both cheeks. ‘It’s good to see you,’ she smiled.

  ‘It’s good to see you too, Miss Sherry and thank you so much for inviting me along.’

  ‘If you call me Miss Sherry, you won’t be thanking me for much longer,’ she joked.

  Anton blushed. He’d been around mom quite often and so his nervousness around her puzzled me. Redness replaced his perfectly tanned complexion. When I took hold of his hands, they were undoubtedly sweaty and I could tell that he tried hard to choose his words.

  ‘Okay, y’all,’ mom addressed us a group, ‘I’ve prepared us something to eat so I suggest we get to the tummy filling right away. Liz, do you mind helping me with the table.’

  I followed mom into the kitchen, retrieved the utensils from the drawer, placed them on the table and went back to get the table completely stocked for dinner. Fried chicken and mashed potatoes is what she’d whipped up. Everyone ate to their hearts content finding comfort in the relaxation that was allowed by the two hour window we had until it was time to leave. The sun went down and light no longer seeped through the cracks in the curtain. The time for us to head into the wild was quickly approaching. It was my turn to take the trash out, something that needed to be done as to prevent the house from smelling like a dump when we got back. I bundled up the bag and carefully lifted it from the trash can. On my way out, I hit the patio switch, providing enough light to see the stairs I’d tripped over way too often. Getting injured right before a hike would be less than ideal and I wouldn’t hear the end of it from mom.

  As I lifted the lid from the trashcan, ready to heave the weighty bag over my shoulder and into container, I spotted something that I’d seen before. This time, it peered at me with yellowish eyes. I froze for a millisecond. Disbelief encompassed my entire being. I looked at it. It looked at me. The flair of its nostrils indicated that it was trying to breat
he me in. Was it determining just how delicious I’d be? Whatever it was, I was terrified. My feet felt wobbly and when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I wanted to scream, to run, to fight but the shock of it all had caused me to be stuck in a standstill. And then, just as its mouth opening, revealing black teeth with the slightest hint of blood captured in the ridges, I my veins filled with the adrenaline I need to bolt toward the house, tripping over the last step. ‘Ahhh,’ I screamed as I felt its rough hands take hold of my ankle. Long nails dug deep into my skin. The pungent odor of death seeped from its breath, filling my nostrils with a smell so unpleasant it caused my stomach to turn over and over again. As my grip loosened on the step, I latched on to the column beside me, trying to pull as hard as possible. My strength was nothing compared to the force of this monster. It was just a matter of time before he claimed his victory over me, like he’d done to countless other innocent people. This was it. This was the end.

  Chapter 7

  My mind went blank. I kicked and screamed, trying hard to free myself. Mom, Brandon and Anton rushed to the door. Anton took hold of my arms, tugging as hard as he could, but not hard enough. I jolted forward and backward. It seemed as though the zombie was toying with me; like it was a game. This thing that took hold of me, this thing that was breathing heavy and tugging hard, it had the upper hand. Brandon disappeared into the house and came back a few seconds later, with his nine millimeter pointed above my head. ‘Anton, let go,’ he yelled. I felt my heart stop as Anton’s hands freed themselves from mine. Backwards I went, slamming my chest on each step as I was dragged away.

  ‘Help,’ I cried as my shirt reeled up over my stomach and the roughness of the concrete stung my skin. And then a few shots rang through the air. The zombie let out a moan and released on hand from my leg and then another. As soon as I realized that I was no longer in his grasp, I bolted back up the stairs, and through the front door, slamming it shut behind me.

  ‘Holy fuck,’ Brandon yelled. ‘Holy living fuck. Did you guys see that thing?’

  No one replied. I slithered down the door, pressing my back against it and trying hard to find the right words to say. My eyes made their way to mom, who had her arms wrapped around Anton. The fear was real. The danger was real. That night, I was supposed to die. It was hard coming to terms with the fact that these things existed but what was harder was being a victim. There was no forgetting what had happened.

  ‘Mom,’ I finally managed.

  Her eyes glistened with tears. ‘Liz.’ Her voice was weak and trembling.

  ‘Fuck,’ Brandon yelled again, jumping and pounding his fist against his thigh. ‘We’ve got to get out of here. We’ve got to get out of here right now. Holy fuck. Holy, holy, holy, fuck.’

  ‘No, Brandon,’ I challenged. ‘There’s no way that I’m leaving now. Did you not see what just happened? That thing is probably hiding around the corner and waiting to attack. Just because you managed to scare it off once doesn’t mean you’ll be able to defeat it a second time.’

  ‘Are you kidding me? Now’s the time to get going. Now is when we need to leave. We can’t sit here and wait for more and more of these things to come into town. You should want to get out of here, Liz. I’ve got enough ammo to take care of him real good, provided he’s not already dead.’

  ‘He’s right Liz,’ mom let go of Anton and sat down beside me. ‘We need to leave before things get any worse. That thing looked like it would have followed you right into the house.’

  ‘But it didn’t follow me into the house mom. Going out there is like agreeing to a death sentence. I can’t do it. There’s no way I’ll be able to do it. We’ll be out in the wild and we won’t be able to see when they’re coming and if we do get attacked, you best bet that Brandon won’t have the first idea of where to shoot. Aiming’s not so easy when you can’t see shit.’

  ‘She has a point,’ Anton finally managed to make his way into the conversation. ‘There are no reports of these things attacking when the sun’s out. So I think our best bet is to head out early, rather than risking this thing following us. For now, it could be waiting outside the house. It could be hiding anywhere and we wouldn’t be able to see it. Leaving now would put us at a great disadvantage.’

  ‘We’re going to be there at night time anyways. It takes about two days to hike to the bunker,’ mom replied.

  ‘Mom. Please. I’m all for going. I really am. After what just happened, I know for sure that we’re not safe here. But what you’ve got to realize is that even though at some point, we will be in the woods during night fall, it’s not the same as venturing out into the night. At least leaving early will mean that we can find a spot that’s safe. We’ll be able to secure the area when we’re actually able to see something. But right now, there’s no way we can head out there. This thing has already followed me once before.’ I wanted to take the words back as soon as they escaped my mouth.

  Brandon had stopped pacing around. Mom’s eyes were wide with shock. The only person who wasn’t surprised by what I’d said was Anton.

  ‘What do you mean this thing followed you before?’ Brandon demanded. His forehead wrinkled as he scrunched up his face in confusion.

  I stuttered, trying hard to find the right words to say. ‘I… I…I think I’ve seen it before, but I’m not sure.’

  Mom shook her head but didn’t speak.

  ‘How can you not be sure? It’s not hard to mistake these things for anything but what they really are, zombies. So please, Liz, tell me how you thought you saw it before.’

  ‘Brandon, do we have to get into this right now?’

  ‘Yes, Liz. We actually do. When you spring information like this on us, you’re required to clarify.’

  ‘Okay.’ There was no point in fighting with him. He wanted to know and he wasn’t going to stop asking until he did. ‘I was walking home from Anton’s and heard something moving in the bushes. I thought it must have been some kind of wild animal, because until then, I didn’t believe that these things were in Altoona.’

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘The same night that man got attacked.’

  Mom’s covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were still wide with fear.

  ‘You’re saying ‘the same night’ like this didn’t happen yesterday. Call it what it is Liz. And why didn’t you tell us before now?’ Brandon asked concerned but unquestionably angry that I had held back this information.

  ‘Because I thought I was just imagining things. I mean, all this talk of zombies in the house can drive a girl crazy. It’s not like I saw it as closely as I did tonight. I just kept hearing the bushes move as I walked home. It didn’t try to do anything.’ I smoothed my hand over my shirt, cringing as it came in contact with the scrapes and bruises.

  ‘I’m just happy you’re safe,’ mom said, moving a hand down my leg. ‘We ought to take a look at it, Liz. Just to make sure there’s nothing wrong.’

  ‘There is nothing wrong, mom.’ I rolled up my pants and then my shirt to show her that outside of a few scratches, my leg, stomach and arms were unharmed.

  Brandon still hadn’t had enough. ‘We all need to agree to stop keeping secrets. It’s beneficial to no one. If something happens, you tell us. And you don’t wait until one week later or one attack later to divulge important information. Holding anything back can be detrimental to our safety and until we realize that we’ll be divided. We’re in this together and that’s the only way we’re going to survive. Together.’

  ‘Agreed,’ I replied.

  ‘Agreed,’ both mom and Anton chimed in.

  Sure, I knew now that there was a threat. But did not I think in a matter of days we’d need to start worrying about a full on zombie attack? Absolutely not. It took Birmingham over three weeks to finally declare that there was a problem.

  ‘So how much do we actually know about these things?’ Alton asked.

  ‘In terms of what?’ I replied, though he’d addressed mom.

  ‘Like, are
you going to turn into one of them, or?

  ‘Oh no,’ mom forced a giggle. ‘They don’t infect the people they bite. They just kill them. In Liz’s case we were lucky enough to intervene before it went that far. But all the other people who’ve been attacked have just been turned into food. They don’t stop at the flesh either, they eat the bones too. So once they’re done, the only thing left is hair and splashes of blood that they couldn’t manage to slurp up.’

  A sense of relief swept across Anton’s face when he’d heard that it was unlikely that I’d turn into a zombie. However, the more mom carried on about how these things devoured its victims, the more his relaxed look turned into one of horror. ‘So how do people get sick? I’m assuming these things were once people, right?’

  ‘Drugs,’ I replied rapidly.

  Mom scolded me with her eyes. ‘No one knows. Some people, like Liz, think it’s drugs. Others think it’s something they eat. But all in all, no one knows anything. They haven’t been able to catch any of them because once the victims are found the zombies are long gone, or at least out of sight.’

  ‘I heard that the cops in Birmingham locked one of them in jail for a night,’ Brandon chimed in.

  I rolled my eyes. I’d heard the story before. ‘I’m not sure how much substance there is to that claim.’

  ‘And what happened?’ Anton ignored me.

  Brandon lowered his voice and took on a tone much deeper than his regular one. ‘That thing bent the crap out of the bars and escaped, eating the faces of every officer it came across and then taking to the streets.’

  ‘Oh. Stop it,’ mom snapped.

  ‘Stop what?’ Brandon laughed. ‘I read it online and the source I got it from was pretty reputable.’

  ‘Not everything you read on the internet is true, Brandon. These people say whatever it takes to get people to flock to their websites. You’re old enough to know that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear or anything that’s on the internet for that matter.’

  ‘You got your canning instructions from the internet, so who’s to say I can’t get my news from there too.’