(Book 2)What Remains

by Barnes, Nathan

  I saw the wheels turning in her head as she pondered the possibilities. The night before I had done the same while I sat downstairs after stepping on the toy car. “They are good in tight spaces for normal mail routes. You told me how much of a mess some of the roads are... could come in handy.”

  My bag was packed with a day’s worth of snacks, water, a large roll of duct tape, two flashlights, a bottle of ibuprofen and a sock filled with .22 caliber ammo. “Are the bolt cutters still in the shed?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  “Smart ass.”

  She planted a wet kiss on my lips. “You better believe it. That’s what you have to look forward to when you return so make sure you do or the zombies will be the least of your worries.”

  A sweet little yawn squeaked out from under the blankets. It signaled that the morning was about to progress as normal. I knew that when the sun rose there wouldn’t be a moment to waste.

  “My plan is to be back by sunset. I’ll take my bike so I can move quickly around them. You guys spend the day getting everything together. ”

  “Will you be able to get by them in the front? I thought you said it was a mess out there.”

  Maddox rose from the bedding with a stretch, so I lowered my voice in case he was listening. “I’m going to take my bike so I can get around them quietly and quickly. We need to assume everything that was in the car is lost.”

  “Morning, Mommy. Morning, Daddy.” Maddox’s voice was scratchy from sleepy remnants. Calise began to stir after hearing her big brother.

  “Good morning, Monkey. I hope you slept well because there is a lot of work to do today. You and your sister need to help Mommy pack. The rule is two bags of clothes each; pack something for both cold and warm weather, pack it tightly since there won’t be much room. When we leave I don’t know if we’re going to be coming back here anytime soon.” I immediately felt bad for throwing so much on him immediately after he had woken up.

  Much to my surprise, Maddox didn’t protest. “That’s a good plan. We can pack a little of everything. When the motorcycle man crashed did he mess up our stuff in the car?”

  I sighed. “Yeah, buddy. If any of it is still good I don’t think it’ll be safe enough to get it out. Hey, tell me something... when you were outside, did you see any movement in the yard or house of the loud family behind us?”

  “The redneck family?”

  “That’s not nice, mister,” Sarah scolded.

  Maddox rolled his eyes, and I tried to hide a similar reaction. The family behind us was always a tad on the obnoxious side. Over the years they had shown a fondness for country music, outdoor speakers, and some colorful arguments on their back deck. “Sorry, Mommy. No, I didn’t see them there. Why?” Maddox asked.

  Calise rose from the blankets then with adorably messy hair; she looked like a Disney Princess-styled Medusa. In seconds she attached herself to my side in a hug.

  “We always thought it was weird that they parked a truck in their backyard,” I said, “but it’s going to come in handy because that’s the way we’re going to get out of here. I think most of the monsters are around the front. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out of the area before any of them decide to circle around the neighborhood.”

  “How are we going to get out if we don’t have a car? I don’t think it’s smart for us to walk out, Daddy.”

  I chuckled at the seriousness of my little soldier. “You’re right about that, big boy. Listen guys... I hate to say it but I have to leave again.” Calise’s grip on my side increased exponentially. “It will be just fine!” I assured them. “I will be back by the end of the day and I swear I’m not going far. My mission is to get us a car then drive it to the other side of the fence where we can load it. There is a good chance we’ll have to load up in a hurry so I’d like everything ready in our backyard so all we have to do is toss it over the fence. When I’m gone I’ll have one of the walkie talkies with me at all times and I’ll be close enough to use it.”

  Sarah took the cue, rummaged through a pile of goods and found two of the radios that I had last used at the top of the neighborhood. She snapped the backs off of each radio to check the batteries on a battery tester we had kept with our electronics stash. “Like Daddy said, he will be fine. I need the two of you to help me get this done in time. Maddox, are you going to be my big strong man that can carry things to the fence?” He nodded with a big smile. “Good. Calise, can you be Mommy’s helper in stuffing our bags?” She burrowed further into my side in reply.

  “Princess,” I pried her off then knelt down to look her in her pretty eyes. “I swear that I’ll be back soon. You’re a big girl so I’m not going to lie to you; there are monsters outside, you know that. Well, honey, if we don’t get away from here I’m really worried that they could find their way inside. So let’s work as a team and do what we have to so we can get to a happier, monster-free, place. Alright?”

  She nodded her head up and down then gave me a big sloppy kiss on my scruffy cheek before I descended to ground level. She giggled sweetly as she tried to rub the tickles off of her lips that my whiskers had left.

  Sarah went into another box and pulled out two odd looking flat pieces of fabric, holding them up for me to see.

  “What are those?”

  “I knew there would be a time you’d have to run out again so I wanted to make you something to keep you safer. Whenever you had to come up close with those things you said they were always snapping and biting, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Each fabric section reminded me of the shape of seats around an amphitheater bowing outward like a piece of pie with a bite taken off the tip. She handed one of the oblong swatches to me. I was surprised by its odd texture and weight; it was made at least two layers of denim yet something else was in the mixture. After a moment of contemplation I knew what she had made.

  “These are gauntlets, aren’t they?”

  “There is a layer of wire mesh sandwiched in between layers of denim. I used some old jeans and screening I found in the shed that was left over from that aquarium top you made. It should be flexible enough to move but strong enough to buy you some time. My plan was to have snaps to close it but I didn’t have time to finish so we’ll have to use tape or string to keep it closed around your forearm,” Sarah explained. She looked almost nervous to see if I would approve of her improvised bite protection.

  “This is brilliant!” I said then gave her a big kiss. “It’s so simple yet effective. I doubt any of them would be able to gnaw through two layers of jeans let alone a layer of wire screen. Thank you, baby. I feel much safer now.”

  “I started some for everyone else. When we’re on the road I can work on ones for the legs too. They will be warm, but hopefully by the time the summer rolls around we won’t need them like we do now.”

  She wrapped it around my right arm to see if the sizing was right. Pleased that my arms would stay off the menu another day, she used green Para-cord to tie it on. I suggested duct tape but that was nixed for fear of sacrificing the re-usability of the gauntlet. The left arm received its armored treatment next. I whipped the Kukri out of its scabbard to test my flexibility. Overall I felt more confident for the task at hand, like an Iron Man of the apocalypse.

  With my bag packed and the family up to speed I begrudgingly broke the seal to downstairs. The ladder creaked loudly, causing my heart skip a few beats. I carried only the .22 caliber rifle since Maddox offered to take my pack. Ignoring normal paranoid checks, I stopped at the kitty guards without looking out the peephole towards the front. After what I had to witness the night before I simply couldn’t stomach seeing the aftermath in the daylight. The house hadn’t obviously welcomed any members of the undead community while we slept so I snapped my fingers to signal it was safe for Sarah and Maddox to descend.

  “Monkey and I will be back as soon as Daddy is gone,” Sarah whispered up to Calise at the top of the ladder. “Can you be brave enough for me to cl
ose the ladder?” Satisfied with whatever the response was, she blew a kiss upwards then eased the ladder back into the collapsed position. I hoped to God that Calise was feeling as bold as she was acting; she hadn’t been upstairs alone as of yet. Although, much like the change we had seen in her brother, our spunky daughter seemed to be maturing rapidly as well.

  The post office was less than a mile from our house; I had to get there quickly and quietly. Going over the fence to use the back way meant riding through an area I hadn’t surveyed since before everything went to hell; it was as risky as it was necessary. If I rode hard through the indirect path then I could reach the vehicle bay in twenty minutes. The most direct way would have gotten me there in half the time, however, after watching the motorized vigilante's horrid end, I had to consider that route as an insurmountable obstacle. During my original flight home I found the front area of our neighborhood dangerous, though not impossible. I hoped the lesser travelled region would be easy enough to clear.

  I set my pack against the wall under the window. Maddox appeared behind me with a machete in hand. The sight of my eight-year-old son wielding a killing tool served as yet another reminder of the harsh reality we now faced.

  “I think I should check the yard first, Daddy.”

  This was met by an instantaneous look of disapproval by his mother. I pondered it for a moment; knowing the stubborn little man, I was sure that the lack of an outlet for his desire to help could lead to something reckless in the future.

  “Alright.” I’m not sure who looked more surprised by my blessing, Maddox or Sarah. “You check the fences for any signs of trouble. Do not go in the jungle. Take a look from the grass to make sure none of them are standing in the yard then you circle back to give me the all clear.”

  He smiled then gave me a funny little salute. In seconds he was out the window, machete in hand.

  “Why are you letting him do this?” Sarah said with a spousal ferocity.

  “Because he wants to help and he’s actually able to. The backyard is fine - if it wasn’t clear then we would already know about it. He’s so eager that if we don’t let him do something then he’s going to take it upon himself. I’d much rather he get it out of his system now then sometime down the road.”

  “He’s only eight years old!”

  “I know, honey. I know. We have to face the fact that things will never be as they were before those fucking things showed up. He was old enough to protect his sister from something that would have killed them both.”

  Sarah wiped a tear away then wrapped her arms around me. “Just go. Go and come back as fast as you can. I can’t do this without you.”

  Maddox’s head popped through the opening. “It’s all clear. I unlocked the shed already. Do you want to toss your bag and the gun down?”

  After a quick kiss I looked her in the eyes for a moment and smiled. I hoped to reassure her in a situation that I wasn’t quite sure of myself. “I’ll see you tonight.” Not waiting for a response I handed him my bag but not the rifle. After a struggled minute squeezing through the trap opening, I was in the yard. The temperature had decreased since I last left the house and the chilly air tingled along my face. A refreshing breeze rustled the spindly branches above me. The winds carried distant sounds of turmoil.

  0719 hours:

  Maddox set my backpack carefully against the brick foundation then jogged to the shed to begin removing what I would need. First he wheeled my green Trek mountain bike over to be propped up on an adjacent pine tree. He started to pull the long aluminum ladder out without my help. I gasped remembering all of the times that one end of that ladder had crashed to the ground while pulling it out of storage. Fortunately, I was able to catch the end before any possibility of it letting out a dooming clank. Maddox knew exactly where I planned to climb over the fence so we didn’t miss a beat.

  With the ladder moved to the right area I gave Maddox a pat on the shoulder to get his attention; once I had it, I pantomimed a zipper motion over my mouth to which he nodded in understanding. There could be no talking. I put my hands together as if I were going to pray, and then pulled them apart keeping the fingertips touching, finally I pointed at the fence. Message received, he turned to the fence to set the ladder up without an inkling of hesitation.

  I reached into the shed to the wall just inside the door until I felt the nail that hooked my bolt cutters. They were heavy. I loathed the idea of going for a ride with the cutters but I knew they would come in handy if I could make it to my destination. I planted them point-down in my backpack and zipped the zipper as far as it would go; a length of Para-cord would keep the bag closed so long as I wasn’t upside down.

  I heard the scuffing of Maddox’s shoes on the textured aluminum steps. He peeked over then flashed a thumb up in my direction. Even though it was still early in the morning I knew the daylight was ticking away at my window for action. I jogged the bike over to the base of the ladder.

  “I’ll hold it steady for you, Daddy,” he quietly said. “I wish I could come with you.”

  “I wish you could too, big boy. Don’t be so eager to fight zombies, though, because when I get back I’m sure you’ll get your chance. Right now you’re helping me a lot by keeping watch over the girls. Get inside as soon as I’m over the fence. The ladder can stay right where it is. Once you’re inside tell Mommy to turn the radio onto channel three. I’ll check in once I’m in a safe place so do not try to call me unless it is an emergency. Are we clear?”

  “Yes sir. I won’t let anything happen to Mommy or Calise - you can count on me.”

  Our whispered conversation made me feel better about leaving. He was so young yet so determined to be a superhero for the ones he loved.

  “I’m proud of you. You know that, right?” He smiled then gripped me in a tight hug with the speed of a lunging reaper. Then he released his grip to redirect it on steadying the ladder.

  By design, the bike weighed very little. In my younger, thinner days I was fairly active with trail riding. I had many fond memories of biking trips that were highlighted by throwing the muddy green contraption over my back so I could climb up some obstacle that the wheels couldn’t top. I wrapped my right hand around the center of the frame and pulled it over my shoulder. It was heavier than I remembered but still manageable. A dull ache echoed in objection from various points in my body but the build-up of adrenaline helped drown out pain. Step by step I eased up the ladder as quietly as possible. Maddox held tight, pushing towards the fence as leverage to ensure everything wouldn’t come crashing down.

  Three rungs from the top I flipped the bike around to the other side of the fence. Traces of dirt, which probably outdated Calise, made the frame slippery during the contorted repositioning of the bicycle. If not for the rubberized grip on my neoprene gloves, the bike would’ve launched loudly down into the newly revealed yard. I wobbled and heard Maddox grunt as he struggled to steady the rig.

  Using my left hand I grabbed a hold of the fence to help stabilize things then, carefully, I lowered the bike down. With it on the opposite side of the fence I knew that there was still too much of a drop, as it would have noisily tumbled no matter how low I tried to get it before a release. Improvising, I decided to hook the pedal over the top of the wooden planks; once I was on the other side I would reach up to lower it with proper stealth. The bike held; a lucky break that I chose to see as a good omen.

  Gradually my weight shifted from the second to the last aluminum rung onto the fence. Clinks let out by the shifting supports came across as a sigh of relief as I eased my midsection atop the wooden rail. After a few long seconds of wiggling myself into position I dropped to the bare ground of the other yard. I was desperately out of breath. Through the cracks in the fence I could see Maddox standing there for a moment before he ran back to the house as ordered.

  Chapter 11 - Unknowns

  The new area was terrifyingly unknown to me. Although the ‘redneck’ family had lived behind us for the better part of
a decade, we weren’t exactly social with them. A car-sized fence gate was positioned fifteen feet up and to the left. An old pickup truck sat like an abandoned relic next to a shed made from metal siding on the far opposite side of the yard. I froze for a minute, scrutinizing every detail of the house in search of any indication that an unhappy neighbor, alive or otherwise, would make an appearance. There wasn’t a hint of movement in any direction; I was alone there.

  I pried the bike from its hooked perch, lowered it to the dirt, and walked it over to the exit. The gate was held closed with a long sliding bolt that, once undone, would allow the two halves to open from the center point. With the bike leaning against my right side I wiggled the bolt loose. It squealed and screeched from the years it had gone unopened then scraped against the driveway. I pushed it open a few inches to check the front. The driveway leading up to the fence was completely abandoned, and what I could see of the cul-de-sac looked just as empty. Far away gunfire again echoed from the distance.

  There was a soiled welcome mat a few feet away that I snatched up and draped over the handlebars. After sneaking through the gate opening I pushed it closed then used the mat to keep the doors closed without using the slide bolt on the driveway side. My plan was to again be at that very spot a few hours later, except with four wheels rather than two. I doubted I’d have time to fiddle with a rusty slide bolt on my return. Also, if the doors were open on my return trip it would be a clue that something had gotten into the yard.

  Coasting down the driveway brought about the same taboo glee that a kid sledding down a hill on private property might experience; it was all as frightening as it was exciting. My face instantly felt numb from the chilled air, assisted by my newfound speed. It was relieving to see that side of the neighborhood was far less occupied than our side. Something brightly colored grabbed my attention on my right side. It was enough to break the intense focus on the turn I had to make a few hundred feet away. A mailbox at the end of another driveway had a vine of artificial magenta-colored flowers that immediately set it apart from the gloom I’d become so accustomed to.