Alpha of the Omega

by Corona, A. M.

  The normal time it would take to get there with a car would be forty five minutes tops but on foot and having to be careful of your surroundings he figured it would take one more day to get where the scientists needed. Then it would take a lot longer to get back because of the live specimen. Although that was something that he did not intend to do. The thought of trying to subdue the zombie in a way and carry that body thirty miles was ludicrous. No he had a plan for that and the scientists might not like it but without a vehicle travelling on foot and that distance out here would be a miracle to get back with the zombie. He would decapitate the head if possible. The head was still alive and could easily be put in a sack. In which he would try and make room in his assault pack and stuff it in there. The real work would be to find a single one hold it down as he tried to cut off the snapping head.

  Coming up on the first house they both got low and Cowan pulled out his scope to look around for anyone that might be setting up a trap. The scope was a basic scope that had a magnification of nine. The end of the scope was a honeycomb filter that help lessen the chances of the glass piece reflecting the sun in turn giving up their location. The house was all boarded up with cheap OSB. OSB was not as strong as plywood, it was scrapped left over pieces of wood that was glued together with a strong adhesive and would be able to withstand a good amount of water and weathering before it started to rot or bow. The OSB came in various thicknesses depending on the type of job one would need to use it for. It was hastily put up as the OSB did not fully cover the window in its entirety. A few pieces were in front of the window to the right of the green door already had signs of rotting. Part of the pieces were missing where they had fallen off. It did not appear to be sheared or pulling off by any of the living dead or humans. The harsh weather could do a lot of damage to the wood if it was not properly kept up. The door might have been a steel door because some of the green paint was chipping indicating that the residents probably did not prime it correctly before putting a fresh finish coating on. The heat and the outside weather did it no justice either. It did not have any scratch marks on the door that he could see. This made him nervous of why the place might have been abandoned. He gave it some thought and figured maybe one of the residence might have gotten bit and quickly put up the wood just to die inside or if there was a family killing all of them as he or she turned. Either way there seemed no easy way in if they needed to make it a quick hold up place for the night.

  He gave it a quick thought of what would be the best way to enter the house. First they would try the door maybe it was unlocked but he doubted it especially with all the boarded up windows. They could pull off the OSB from one of the windows and break it. However, they would need to be careful as the sound could attract any zombie in the house. Well Cowan spoke up, “It looks like it is abandoned and there are no real signs of anything. The windows were hastily boarded up but there appears to be no force entry or attempts to break in. We could make it a safe house just for a night if we need too. How much more time do we have of daylight?” Hobbs looked at his watch and pulling out his trusty small notepad he flipped through the pages. “Well sunset is at 1914 so that gives us about two more hours of daylight.” Hobbs pulled out his map once again and measured the distance between the next set of houses figuring they could go about another two to three miles. “Well we can make it to the next house maybe but the rest is pretty much an open field not much concealment.” They were tired from the long journey and it was starting to show and no breaks made it worse. Their legs were tired and started to burn from the constant use as the acid built up in their muscles. They could ignore them for a bit longer if they needed too but was it unnecessary thought Hobbs, as he softly bit into the drinking straw that was attached to the camel back allowing water to flow through. Don’t drink too much he thought this will need to last a while longer.

  They would need their rest for the next day as they would travel through relatively high grass. Obviously the grass was not mowed for a long time and the grass was getting tall indicating so. This would be a great placed to either get ambushed by others or the walking dead. They would need to move swiftly but carefully Hobbs did not like the idea of going through the tall grass but there was not another way to get to their destination except to go way out of the way and even with that they would have to manage the grass. Hobbs decided it was best to hold up here for the night and take a much needed rest. They could head out at first light. “We will hold up here for the night and start fresh in the morning. We will need to go through the tall grass therefore we will need to be sharp and ready in the morning. No stupid shit you hear,” as he looked in Cowan’s direction. “No heroes here,” Cowan replied with a big grin that showed his stained yellow teeth that from using dip. That stuff was hard to come by these days even if you could find a can it was already dried out making it useless and flavorless.

  He preferred the cheap stuff, grizzly mint, as opposed to Copenhagen or Skoal. He would snap the can to pack the tobacco as much as possible before he put his fingers in pinching it between his thumb and pointer finger taking out a big horse shoe shape and putting it into his lower lip to sit comfortably. He would mess with Hobbs about his cigarettes but dip was not much better. He figured that Hobbs would die of lung cancer and he would be missing his lower job by the time he was fifty. They would be old and decrepit dying in their beds taking radiation treatments from their lifetime of nasty bad habits. That was all over for Cowan thought. That was all a dream now for him as they might not even make it to fifty the way things are now a days. On top of that who would have the power or know how to run those radiation machines. Yep those bastards took the world away from them but they will eventually take it back. They will kill all of those fuckers and send them straight to hell or wherever they hell they went.

  Cowan scanned the area for any signs of a threat. Being satisfied he did not see anything he stood back up from the crouched position he was in. Hobbs followed suit and they moved towards what appeared to be abandoned house. Cowan posted up against the front wall of the house while Hobbs looked around to see if there were any other entrances they could not see. He checked the boards to see which one were loose enough to easily pull off. Gently tugging one and then next one until he came upon the last window that was not boarded up. He peered in the window in hopes of seeing if anyone was home. Cupping his hands over his face to get a better view he scanned from left to right. It was dark in the house but the sun shined through just enough for him to see. He noticed the furniture seemed to be missing and there was just an empty space in what he thought was the living room. Odd he thought why was the furniture was missing. He angled himself to see if it was placed somewhere else. He gave up since he could not see clearly into the room. Then he went around to the side and noticed the wood on this window was already broken in half and bowed outward giving him a better view of the room. There was a desk that was pushed against the door barricading it to prevent any intruders from gaining access.

  He turned to Cowan when all of a sudden he heard a tap on the window. He slowly turned to see a half-eaten gnawed off face and flesh hanging from the apparent struggle the creature had before it finally died the first time. The teeth it bared was dark red and the chin was covered in blood that went down its throat and on to its white t-shirt that it wore. He back up quickly and raised his weapon as if he was going to shoot it but thought better of it. He had a better idea they would pull this board off the window break the glass with the buttstock and when the creature poked its ugly head out he would plunge his knife straight through the brain in an upward manner through the bottom of the mouth straight into the brain killing it.

  Cowan just searched around to make sure no one or thing was coming. Stay alert stay alive he thought to himself as he scanned from east to west. The only thing that he saw was the high grass that swayed gently from the small breeze like a wave. The grass stirred only when the wind had touched it. “Are you done yet?” he said to Hobbs but Hobbs di
d not answer. “Hobbs did you see anything?” Again no answer. Getting annoyed and worried that something happened on his watch that he did not know of. “I hate this,” he told himself. His heart began to pound louder and louder, harder and harder his heart working harder from the adrenaline that was pumping at a faster than normal pace trying to keep up. When all of a sudden he heard the crash that came from the side of the house where something hit the window. He rushed over to investigate what was happening worried but ready for anything.

  Hobbs smashed the window, slung his rifle and unsheathed his knife and waited. He waited in anticipation but nothing came out the window which he hoped for. Come on he thought to himself why the hell this thing is not attacking me. Then a light grayish arm came out reaching out for him. Hobbs grabbed the arm and pulled straight down until he heard a crack as the arm gave way but the creature did not notice it at all still trying to reach out pushing its arm further out. Hobbs thought to himself this is not working but moved the arm back and forth on the broken glass in hopes of shearing off the arm. As he pulled harder back and forth he fell backwards as the soft flesh came off with muscle and tissue now showing just the bone. Maggots came pouring out what was left of the arm. Hobbs was dry heaving at the sight. He had not eaten anything since the morning time and that was just a meager portion of rice and beans to get them through the day. Now he had wished he had eaten something so that his stomach could actually bring up something.

  Cowan looked at him and gave a small laugh. “Well that one was a little bit of a doozy won’t you say?” “Shut up Cowan,” came the response, “and help me with this!” “Sure thing boss anything you say boss,” as he still laughed a little bit longer before he took Hobbs’ hand and hoisted him up back to his feet. “What the hell were you trying to do?” “I was trying to get this damn thing to poke its head out so I could kill it.” “Well you certainly failed at that now didn’t you.” Cowan smashed the remaining pieces of glass leaving a gaping hole. The creature poked its head out and Cowan grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck with a loud pop. He tried to pull the creature out of the window but the skin from the neck stretched and broke showing the grey damaged muscle underneath it until the head snapped. Cowan threw the head to the floor and smashed its skull. The head was squishy and the dark thick blood poured out the crevices of the skull. Hobbs almost heaved again at the sight.

  Hobbs never really had a stomach for such things. He couldn’t stand the sight of it all. This was not like killing someone where you would put a bullet through a man and watch him bleed out. No this was different it was like cutting up dead rotting bodies. What made it worse was the bad smell that came with it. It was a rancid toxic thick iron smell that filled the nostrils. Burning the bodies he could handle at least at first it smelled like grilling some tasty pork before it turned sour and bad. The thought though that smelling the dead you were inhaling some of the molecules into your system and tasting it churned his stomach again.

  The left over body fell to the ground leaving a streak of blood against the wall where it had fallen. Cowan crawled through the window rifle first to take on any threat that might peer its ugly head out. Cowan got up and quickly scanned the room left to right making note of any doors or rooms he could see. Hobbs followed suit. The furniture was absent leaving the room empty and gave an eerie feeling to it. They saw where one piece was pushed up against the door and scratch marks where it was pushed from its place to where it stood now. The room smelled musty probably from the rain and the decaying body that inhabited it. They went from room to room clearing it as they went and mentally checking off each one as they entered the next one. The kitchen had small appliances knocked off the table and dead dried up flowers that were on the floor with a broken light red vase that held the flowers up on the table and a letter that had water stains on it where the water had come in contact with it.

  Cowan picked up the letter interested in it and what words it contained. Dear Edward it, Oh how to begin. You know I am not that great with my words and it is hard to express myself. We have shared some great memories together. We had many wonderful nights that I will always cherish. There has been something missing from our relationship for a long time. There has been a void in my heart these past few years. This has been coming for a long time. We just don’t communicate like we used to. We do not go out anymore except for the same restaurant time and time again. I think it is time we have a change. I hope somehow we can still be friends despite everything. I have met another man and I just can’t take it anymore. This is good bye. I do still love you but not like I did before. We both knew this was coming. I am sorry. - Oscar

  Cowan just turned to Hobbs who was going through the cabinets looking for any type of food they could use. “Well we know what happened to most the furniture.” Hobbs just gave Cowan a quizzical look that summed up everything he was thinking. “This guy’s lover just upped and left him. He wrote him a note and even sent flowers the sick bastard. Just to think what it would be like to lose everything that you have right before the outbreak. Coming home to have most of your things gone and finding flowers just to get destroyed by a break up letter telling you that your lover had left you for another. Just to get bitten and die.” “Yeah that really sucks,” Hobbs said without really giving it much though as he was going through the cabinets one by one just to find nothing of use.

  “I think it would be best if we stay here downstairs for tonight. Let’s use that room,” said Hobbs, as he pointed into a small room that was like a second living room. The room was quaint but still had some of the furniture that was not moved and sat collecting dust. The ceiling fan’s blades bowed downward like a fan that has been sitting outside for too long. The brass color was tarnished with dark brown colored spots. The metal chain that dangled from the fan was obviously broken as it was too short for anyone to pull on it without the use of a step ladder. There were only two entrances to the room. The room to the left which was where the front door stood in plain sight with the furniture still blocking the door to prevent anything from entering in that way. The other a hallway that lead to the master bedroom.

  “If we get over run we can make it to the master bedroom and go out the window,” said Hobbs. Cowan gave it some thought as he looked around and laid out several possible scenarios in his head. If the front door is breached then they can make their way to the master bedroom and blockade the door while they try and make their way out the window which was still boarded up half hazardly but that could be pushed out considering how the wood was in such a deteriorated state. But they could try and stay in the main living room and if they were overrun they could make it up the stairs and block the entry way. The downside to this would be if they got stuck the only other exit would be to the roof as the two story drop might pose too much of a risk of breaking something on the way down. If it came down too that they would be sitting ducks on the roof. “Yeah let’s stay here. I think that is our best bet,” said Cowan, as he laid down his pack and sat against the wall pulling out his meal for the day.

  Night came upon them quickly and they were exhausted from the busy day they had. The house became dark and gave an eerie feeling to it like something was just waiting to jump out at them at any moment. The night gave no comfort for the two. One slept as the other took watch. Falling asleep was not the issue it was staying asleep. Cowan woke up looking out the window and he could see the rose finger tips of dawn as they radiated across the morning sky. He pulled out patriotic cookies from of his left cargo pocket that was a left over from last night’s MRE. Patriotic cookies were short bread cookies that were in the shape of American flags and other shapes that he could not quite figure out since most of them were always broken in pieces but still tasted sweet none the less. He dug his hands into the small pouch just to come up empty. Damn it all Cowan thought to himself, only crumbs left, as he lifted the pouch to his mouth at an angle so the crumbs would fall down into his mouth. He pulled a little pack that contained a wet nap, a s
et of matches, sugar and cream pouch, toilet paper wad that was covered in a brown sleeve and a single pack of Folgers instant coffee. He opened up the toilet paper first and took out one sheet as he laid it flat then ripped it along the crease. Then he opened the coffee and poured it onto the toilet paper and folded it up to make a little pouch like a dip pouch and placed it in his lip. Ranger dip he thought. The coffee dip provided much needed caffeine to help him wake up in the morning.

  Hobbs pulled out the map and located their position and re-checked the route and the distance again. Being satisfied he folded up the map and placed it back into his pocket. He then went to the kitchen to see if there was any water. He took off his camel pack untwisted the green cap then turned the faucet handle and a quick gush of water came out and then sputtered only giving up a few more drops of water. The bathroom sinks only yielded up a small amount being satisfied they got all the water that they could out of the house. They moved back to the broken window that they has smashed in the day before. Cowan posted up against the side and slowly moved around in a half circle keeping about two feet from the window just in case there was a threat they would not be able to grab his rifle. Being satisfied that he saw no movement he gave a heads up to Hobbs and climbed out the window taking a knee and scanned the area from left to right and back right to left. Hobbs shot his new azimuth and tapped Cowan on the shoulder signaling they were moving out.