People Are Not Your Friends (Book 1)

by Rohn, William R.

  "Not with out your jacked up truck."

  "They had best leave that alone," said Hank.

  Yippers barked.

  "Keep that thing quiet," said Hank.

  Megan picked up Yippers and took him into the back. She didn't want to be out front if there was any gunfire anyways. Hank didn't seem bright enough to let the truck go and stay hidden. That meant she was going to be out of here sooner than expected. She quietly started gathering anything she though might be important to take along. She started with extra clothes.

  "Git away from my truck!" shouted Hank.

  Was he really stupid enough to yell from inside the house? Apparently so. If he wanted to protect his truck he should of started off shooting. Marauders tended to take warnings as a challenge. Maybe they could at least thin the gene pool of Hank.

  Megan heard glass breaking. Yippers started to bark. Then the gunfire started. Megan looked down the hallway at the back door. She didn't see anyone there. Marauders were never the think ahead kind of guys. They were shoot first and make a plan later.

  She didn't know if running would be a good idea. Dad and Hank might win and then what? She couldn't help, because she didn't have a gun. They hadn't just handed her one when they came through her door. But if they lost the marauders would be in here and she only had her aluminum bat. What else could go wrong today?

  The gunfire from up front was still fairly constant. She was surprised that the marauders had reloads for their guns. Megan crept back up towards the front. Dad and Hank were at the windows shooting out. Great, now there were no windows. Her dad had been here just a few hours and everything had already gone to hell.

  "What can I do?" said Megan. She really only wanted to go hide.

  "Just stay back," said Dad. "All we have to do now is wait for the zombies to come. Then they will leave."

  "How are you planning on keeping them out of the house since the windows are broke?"

  "We will just cover them," said Dad.

  That was when she saw the first flaming bottle come through the window and shatter on the living room floor. Flames shot up almost immediately. The first was followed by another through the other window. Dad and Hank began firing back out through the windows.

  Megan turned and ran back to the bathroom. She grabbed a towel and soaked it in the tub full of water. Then she came back to the living room and tried to beat out the flames with it.

  The fire was getting worse. It separated her from her dad and Hank. She wasn't going to be able to put it out or even slow it down.

  "Dad," Megan yelled. "You have to get out. The fire is out of control."

  "Go," said Dad. "We are coming."

  She ran down the hall, grabbed her bag and went for the door. She heard Yippers bark. Shit he was still in the bedroom. She went back as the fire spread quickly. It was becoming hard to breath in the smoke. She found Yippers on the bed, scooped him up and ran back for the door. She still heard gunfire from the front, but she didn't stop, she kept going out into the yard.

  Megan paused and took a look around. Everything seemed normal, but it would take a little while for her eyes to adjust to the dark. She moved slowly towards the hole in the fence. The gunfire had stopped. She hoped her dad had made it out.

  Yippers started to growl. She petted him, but the growl continued. Then she heard something else growl. A dog came at her through the hole in the fence.

  She dropped Yippers and raised the bat up to swing. Yippers ran forward and attacked the pit bull as it came at Megan. It stopped and attacked Yippers.

  Yippers let out a yelp and then was silent. Megan stepped forward and put a full swing of the bat into the pit bulls head. She hit it solidly and the dog dropped.

  She went over and looked at Yippers still body. "You were a good dog Yippers," she said and then made for the hole in the fence.

  Twelve

  The van didn't make it very far. As it started to give out he pulled it between two buildings. He made it all the way around to the back. At least it wouldn't be easy for the marauders to find.

  Carlos looked down at Manny Jr and didn't know exactly what to do or to think. Today had been a total waste of life, that could have been avoided if things were different. But they weren't different. People were responsible for most of the bad things happening now. There were few out there who weren't out for more than themselves.

  Food was still plentiful. Look at the convenience store that they had found today. There was no reason to be killing each other off. There weren't that many people left.

  He picked up Manny's body and carried him away from the van. He found a vacant lot and set him down on the ground. "Sorry Manny, I didn't mean to let you down," said Carlos softly. "I hope that you are in a better place with your parents now."

  Carlos wiped away the tear and went back to the van. It was a long way back to the shop. He took what food and water he could carry, and ate all that he could. He made sure the gun was reloaded and he took the box of ammo. He looked at the street signs so he could remember the street where the van was. It was locked, but he held out little hope that he could come back for any of the food.

  He had miles to go and not much light left. He needed to avoid the main streets. They would be looking for him and his only real defense was to hide. The day had started out with such promise and then went all to hell very fast. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

  Thirteen

  Josh watched his building burn from a distance. No one was going to take over what he had created. He wasn't disillusioned, he knew that they would have killed him once they got inside. People like the marauders were all about taking. They probably didn't even know how to grow and process marijuana anyways. They thought only of right now, not what the future would bring. Served them right to get nothing.

  The problem was that now Josh had nothing either. He had been rather comfortable the last couple of weeks as the world went to hell. The only thing that had surprised him was how long some of his stoner customers had survived.

  Josh had the pump shotgun out. His bag was slung over his shoulder. That and the backpack of supplies was all he had. Well he had had a lot less in the past. So at least he was not starting with nothing.

  He saw the zombies walking towards the burning building. He wondered if they would stop outside or walk right into it? From the few he had seen they weren't all that bright, but some of them were probably smarter than his drugged out customers.

  Distance, that was what Josh needed right now. He had to put some distance between the burning building and those searching for him. They might think that he had died, but he couldn't count on that. He doubted that anyone even knew what he looked like. The marauders however were said to kill strangers all of the time, so it really didn't matter if they knew who you were or not.

  He weaved in and out along the streets. At each corner he would look to see if there was anybody around. Most still had working street lights. Josh avoided anyone he could.

  Josh needed to find someplace safe to spend the night. It wasn't safe to explore strange building in the dark. If he turned on lights the marauders would come. No one used lights at night, unless they had to. So where could he hole up until it was light? He needed at least a little protection from zombies that may just wander in his direction.

  He saw the dumpster at the end of the alley. He hoped it was empty. Josh walked down to it and looked inside. There was come trash down in it. It didn't smell good at all. He reached into his pack and got out a small flash light. He stuck it down inside the dumpster and turned it on.

  There was trash from some restaurant, that was probably causing the smell. But overall it was mostly empty. No rats and no bodies. He dropped his bag inside and climbed in. It would protect him from the wandering dead and no one was likely to just drop in. Not with the stench that rose from it. He tossed a few of the bags out, but he left the rest. This was just temporary.

  Josh settled in for the night. But gunfire erupted a few streets awa
y. Maybe he just wouldn't get any sleep tonight.

  Fourteen

  It was dark. The street lights lit what they could. About half of them were now broken or had been shot out by the marauders. Carlos saw a zombie on the street ahead of him. He only saw the one, not that that counted for much. Any noise would bring others. If he tried to go around, there could be more danger.

  He hefted the tire iron. Carlos closed in on the zombie. Then he set down all the things he was carrying, leaving only the tire iron. The gun was stuffed down his belt, just in case things went wrong.

  The zombie was facing down the street. Carlos moved quickly out, circling slightly to stay out of its vision. But it heard him as he approached and turned. Carlos swung the tire iron down on its head. There was a crunch as it broke through the zombie's skull. The zombie went down.

  He looked around and saw nothing else around. Carlos went back and got his supplies. He went to the corner and peered around it. A vehicle was coming. Shit.

  Carlos ducked back and crouched down. Hopefully they would just drive by. But they didn't they slowed. It was a truck full of marauders. They stopped just passed his alleyway. He heard several of them jump down from the truck.

  Then the noise of gunfire came to him. It wasn't close, but it was more exciting than the hunt. He heard them calling to each other to load up so that they could go. Within thirty seconds they had driven off.

  Carlos still cautiously approached the corner and made sure that they were gone. Someone else was apparently having a bad day too. As he crossed the street he saw a fire off to his left, but the gunfire was coming from off to the right. Apparently a lot of people were having a bad day. He hoped some of them were marauders. Why didn't the differing bands of marauders not fight each other? Did they have some kind of marauder truce?

  He didn't think about it that much. He needed to pay attention and get back to the shop. Maybe the way would be clear now. He was tired and wanted to sleep for days. All his plans had been crushed. All his work for nothing. Tomorrow was another day, if he could make it till then.

  Fifteen

  Megan was two streets away when she saw someone ahead of her. She still didn't know where the pit bull had come from. The house was burning bright, flames shooting high into the sky. It might be enough to take out the whole neighborhood. She hid in the shadows and waited.

  The man came towards her. He was moving fast for a zombie, but slow for a person. As he got closer, she could see that it was Hank. He had some kind of injury to his stomach, but he still had his shotgun.

  "Hank, where's my dad," said Megan.

  "Don't know girly," said Hank. He leaned against a building. "Come help me. One of them assholes shot me."

  Megan went over to him. She helped him over to lean on the wall on the side of the house. At least they weren't totally exposed. She got one of her t-shirts from her bag. The wound looked bad. She pressed the t-shirt against it.

  "Put pressure on it," said Megan.

  "There a doctor around?"

  "Not that I know of."

  "Well this is going to leave a mark," said Hank.

  "I don't know what else I can do."

  "You got any drugs?"

  "I got some Advil."

  "Nothing stronger?"

  "No."

  "Well shit," said Hank. "Guess you'll just have to entertain me then."

  "What?"

  Hank pointed the shotgun at her. "Your dad never said how pretty you were. I guess now I am gonna get to see if you look better naked."

  "Seriously? You want me to get naked out here. You must be out of your mind."

  Hanks gun didn't waiver. "Girl you are nothing to me right now, but a fine piece of ass. I ain't your daddy. So you can show me your tits or I can plug you right now. Makes no difference to me. You'll still be warm enough for a last poke before I die."

  Megan's hands shook involuntarily. She sat the bat against the wall. Slowly she reached behind her back and undid her bra. Then she raised the her t-shirt up above her breasts.

  "Come closer girl. Them babies look mighty soft."

  That was when Hank's head exploded. The shotgun blast had come from the corner of the house. She turned and saw a man standing there.

  "Best put them away and get the hell out of here before the marauders come."

  "Who the fuck are you?"

  "Name's Josh. I already got burned out of my place today. So I'm a little pissed off. Otherwise I would just have left you to him." He turned and walked away.

  Megan grabbed her bat and then leaned down and took the shotgun from Hank's hands. She patted him down, but there wasn't any other weapons or ammo. Then she followed after Josh.

  Sixteen

  Carlos was tired. It was getting late or early depending on how you looked at it. He was getting close to the shop, but all that noise and fire had the zombies on the move. They seemed to be grouping too. He rarely saw less than three or four now.

  That many were dangerous. It was too easy to lose track of one during a fight. The problem was that there was no going around anymore. They were between him and the shop. He needed to get through them.

  There were three in front of him now. He could probably take them, but there were other groups on either side of them. He needed to do it quickly and be done. He wasn't going to have time to drop everything, kill them and come back for it. He needed to do it on the run.

  Carlos dashed out with the tire iron in one hand and a bag full of supplies in the other. He brained the first zombie as it turned, but it fell onto the bag of supplies and he had to let it drop. He hit the second zombie in the side of the knee and heard its leg crack. It fell to the pavement, but still reached for him.

  The third zombie came at him. It was a middle aged woman. Carlos stuck his arm into her chest and held her off as he swung at her head. He hit her in the neck and she seemed not to slow. His second blow caught her higher up and the zombie slowed. But the second zombie was now grabbing at his legs.

  He shoved the third zombie away. And jerked his legs out of reach of the second. All plans seem to go to hell real fast out here.

  The second zombie reached out for his leg again. He kicked his leg down on it's arm and heard the bone snap. Then he smashed the tire iron down on top of it's head.

  The female zombie was back up to him again. Her head sat at a weird angle on her shoulders. He swatted her hands away and stepped in closer to bring down the tire iron on top of her head. She fell.

  Carlos could hear the moaning of the other zombies closing in. He reached down and grabbed the bag, jerking it out from under the first zombie. This whole thing had been a mess.

  He turned and ran. There were four more zombies closing in on him. Carlos needed to put some distance between himself and them and hope something else drew there attention.

  Carlos turned a corner and ran into a group of zombies. The supply bag snagged on something and he had to drop it or go down. He didn't stop to fight, only ran. The shop was only two streets over. He could come back for it later.

  He swung the tire iron to ward off the zombies and moved through them as quickly as he could. He felt their arms brush against him, but they didn't get a hold of anything that slowed him down. Carlos left them behind. He could see the shop just ahead. That was when all the street lights blinked out. He looked around, but most if not all of the city was now without power.

  It really had been a pretty shitty day. Carlos hoped they would get better. Could they really get much worse?

  Seventeen

  Megan wasn't really sure what to make of Josh. He had shot Hank without much thought. Why would he be helping her out? Did she need to be careful around him? Was he just saving her so that he could rape her later?

  She saw him wake. He didn't seem concerned that she held the shotgun. That either made him very brave or very stupid. He sat up and looked over at her.

  "How many shells you got in that?" said Josh.

  "I don't know."

&n
bsp; "Well rack them out. You need to know how many shots you got and count them off as you shoot them so that you know when you are out."

  "You just want me to unload my weapon."

  "Jeez, you got quite an imagination," said Josh. He stood up. "I tell you what. I'll give you some ammo and you can just keep loading shells until you are full."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Because if you run out then I got to come rescue you and I'd rather not have to make that choice."

  "Fine," said Megan. "Give me the shells."

  He handed her a box. "Just keep the extras. In case we get separated."

  "You trying to ditch me already?"

  "If I was going to ditch you I wouldn't have brought you back to my cozy dumpster. I'd have minded my own business and left you to that guy."

  "So why didn't you?"

  "I told you. I lost my place yesterday. Now I need to find another."

  "I don't have a place. It burned."

  "I figured. That means we are both looking for a place. It is easier for two of us to clear a building than for just one of us to clear it. So we help each other out. We find a place and clear it. If we can't stand each other at that point, we find a second one and clear that. Then we go our separate ways."

  "What if I just shoot you after we clear the first place?"

  "I don't think you got that killer instinct in you yet. You can do zombies, no problem. But a living human is something else, someplace you haven't been yet."

  "But you have?"

  "Yep."

  Eightteen

  At least she still had some spunk thought Josh. A lot of people have given up by now. He was kind of concerned about her having a shotgun, but if he got more than twenty feet away he didn't think she could hit him even with that.

  They wandered down the streets in the early morning. One thing about marauders was that they weren't very active in the morning. So he guessed they were as safe as they were going to be.

  They came to an intersection. Josh looked up the street. There was a pile of bodies on the side of the road.