by Damon Novak
“Clay, Tanner, this service is also for the two of you. I have a feelin’ both of you’d thank me for what I did. You would’ve done the same for me, and notice I said for, not to. Because what I did, I’d do for anyone here. Anyway, thanks for bein’ good brothers to me, and for teachin’ me stuff along the way.”
I meant to say more; I really did. But when my mind got on my brothers, and it really hit me I’d never see or talk to ‘em again, I lost it. I felt my legs weakening beneath me, and I dropped down to the ground and cried. I covered my face with my hand and didn’t even look up when I felt other hands on my back.
Lilly started speakin’ then, and it was like a knife through my heart.
“Daddy, I’m sorry about what I did. I couldn’t stand seeing you like that, and I knew how sad you were since mama died. When you became that … that thing, there was never a question in my mind what had to be done. I love you, Daddy. Rest in peace with Mama.”
She stopped talkin’, and I finally raised my eyes to look at her. As it turns out, she did the same thing I did. She looked up at the sky and said, “Clay, Tanner? If you’re there, and you hear me, take care of Mama and Daddy, okay? I know you’re all together. Look down on us, all of you. Protect us.”
Ω
We all went back in the house. I turned on the television, and our satellite TV was pickin’ up some channels.
There were still quite a few stations broadcastin’ about the ongoing situation, but I’m pretty sure those of us on the streets were more schooled on what happened than the reporters, all of whom looked to be about twenty years old.
Fox-4 News That Counts was off the air. It was a local channel. I then checked our local NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates, and all of them were off the air, too.
CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel were all still on, and they were discussing the black rain and the strange illness, but none came right out and mentioned anything about reanimation or zombies.
A couple of times they mentioned the Indian witch doctor, or whatever he was, in northern California, but mostly it was just the horror of his on-air suicide they touched on, and the fact that he was probably insane.
“Are they hidin’ it, or maybe they just don’t know?” I asked.
“How can they not know?” asked Georgie. “In the 21st century, how does a phenomenon like black rain fall from the sky and our meteorologists don’t know what caused it, or what’s in it?”
“That mystery turned into something worse,” said Lilly. “If all this would’ve stopped at the black rain, that’s all they’d be talking about. As it stands, they can’t explain the reanimation, so they’re just filling their 24/7 news cycle with a bunch of bullshit words.”
The crawl at the bottom of Fox News Channel read: THE WHITE HOUSE HAS EVACUATED ALL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS IN DC, AND HAVE MOVED THE PRESIDENT AND HIS HIGH-LEVEL STAFF TO THE BUNKER. THE VICE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN HOSPITALIZED WITH A SERIOUS ILLNESS … .
“Serious illness my ass,” said Lilly. “The vice president is a goddamned zombie.”
We all just stared at the screen, watching the talking heads BS about a whole ton of shit they knew nothin’ about. Finally, the anchor, who’d been looking down at his iPad, looked up again.
He was from the morning show, and while he was always impeccable in the mornings – though getting slightly long in the tooth – he appeared even more aged today.
His eyes sunken, he said, “I just got word that the government’s official instructions are for everyone to remain in their homes until further notice. They’re also instituting a nationwide curfew. From dusk to dawn, any citizen caught out after dusk will be arrested. According to a statement released by The White House, the Red Cross will be mobilizing units, and FEMA will assist in the hardest hit areas.”
Lilly shook her head. “Hardest hit? How can they report that and not say what those areas were hardest hit by?”
Everyone just shrugged.
I said, “Look. Lilly’s original idea is better than just stayin’ here, no matter what they said. Isolation is best, and while we may be out here a ways, there’s no fence at the entrance to our access road here. If more of those crazy things are out there, they can pretty much just stroll in. You two are welcome to come with.”
“There’s a gate we can close out at Baxter’s, too,” said Lilly. “We’re not forcing anyone, so if you don’t want to go, I suppose you can take Pa’s truck and head where you want to.”
“I haven’t changed my mind, I’m going with you,” said Georgina. “I feel safe, and it sounds like your plan is as good as any until whatever this is passes.”
“I’d like to try the radio in the car again, see if I can reach dispatch,” said Sonya. “If I can’t, then yes, I’m coming with you, if that’s still okay. And I want to bring the Charger. It’s built tough, it’s got a powerful engine in it, and you never know when that cage in back will come in handy.”
“Like I said, you’re both welcome. But Sonya, that’s a pretty big mess in that car.”
Her eyes became faraway for a minute.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “I mean, besides the obvious.”
She looked up at us, her eyes concerned. “I just realized I didn’t feel anything when you killed Jerry. I was just relieved. I get that I only met him a couple of weeks ago, but what kind of person does that make me?”
I didn’t answer her question right away, because it reminded me of our first encounter with the cops out on the water. “What happened to the rookie that was with y’all?” I asked.
“Officer Stowe?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“The wound started to look infected – you know, where he was scratched. They rushed him to the hospital once we hit land again.”
“Heard anything?”
She shook her head. “Not even sure he got in.”
I nodded. “Okay. About Jerry. Let me just say the fact that you didn’t feel anything just makes him an asshole, which is pretty much what he was,” I said. “I wouldn’t get too guilt-stricken over it.”
“It’s strange. I never realized how little I cared for him until he died.” She stared toward the door in the general direction of the car. “The car is a mess sure, if I can get it clean, I want to keep it. Maybe you can help me pull him out of there tonight, and I’ll leave the doors open. Let it dry a bit and air out.”
“You can dig another shallow grave for him in the morning,” said Lilly.
“We’ll gauge that tomorrow,” I said. “Let’s pull Jerry’s body out of the car for now, and get the house secured for the night. Then you can tell these two where they’ll be sleepin’, and I’ll crash on the couch out here. I’ll be ready in case anything steps onto your porch.”
Ω
Jerry’s body was already stuck to the seat pretty good. After we peeled him from the passenger side of the Charger, we dragged him over, dropping his corpse just in front of the side-yard fence, to the right of the driveway.
Our inspection of the Charger’s interior told us what we were up against if anyone intended to ride in that car without pukin’. The problem was mostly in the front seats of the car, where they were fabric not vinyl like the back. They would need the most attention. I figured with some multi-purpose cleaner and maybe a half-bottle of peroxide, we could wipe most of the blood and gore away. I said as much to Sonya.
“I think so,” she said. “I really want to have this car with us. It could get us access to places we cannot get without it, too.”
She was right, and I hadn’t considered that. If it came down to a secure shelter somewhere, and there were more people in line than room inside, her cruiser, badge and uniform might be all we needed.
As it turned out, Officer Sonya Brandt was not a procrastinator, and she wanted to get the cleanup done before she turned in for the night. Lilly got the supplies she needed and I helped her. Whether I did it because I’m a nice guy, or because I wanted brownie points with the cute cop, I’ll never admit.
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br /> The seats in the Charger were a thick, saddle-type leather, so Lilly’s squeegee from her guest shower worked well to drag the larger chunks of Jerry out of the back seat.
When we were finished with the cleanup, she said, “Okay, go on in and I’ll finish things here.”
I nodded and headed for the door. “Cole,” she said.
I stopped. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Don’t stay out here too long.”
In another five minutes, she walked in the front door. “Okay, that should do it. I closed the doors so I don’t run the battery down, but I opened the windows. Should be tolerable by tomorrow.”
Ω
I wasn’t sure I heard anything because it was quiet when I opened my eyes, but something had woken me up.
I checked my watch, which I’d reset earlier when I noticed it had inexplicably started workin’ again, to find it was 2:50 AM. I listened but didn’t hear any footfalls from upstairs.
Another thump. Coming from the front porch.
I reached for my .45, sittin’ on the coffee table in front of the sofa. It was serious overkill and just made one hell of a lot of noise, but I loved that gun for its accuracy, so it was always my first choice. I had no noise suppressors to my name, because I was a man who enjoyed the thunderous report of a well-manufactured gun.
I swung my feet to the floor and eased my way to the front door, my socked feet slidin’ across the hardwood to avoid makin’ footsteps of my own.
There was a half-moon-shaped window in the solid oak door, so I crept up and eased an eye over the bottom edge to have a look.
I had to fight the urge to jump away from the door, and I was successful.
My mind went into an automatic count. When I was finished, I counted seventeen of the sick people spread out between my house and Lilly’s. Arms slack, shuffling along with dragging feet, their mouths hanging open.
Their sliding, elongated tracks had left moderately clear impressions in the residue left over from the black rain, so you could really see where they had gone. Their attention was limited to Lilly’s house, down the road toward my house, and next door to Pa’s place.
I took this to mean they could smell us, or somethin’. How else would they know where we were? Where we’d gone?
There was nothin’ I could do. No sense in wakin’ the ladies up. They needed to get some sleep, so I figured I’d just stay awake until morning, keepin’ an eye on the monsters outside.
Ω
I dozed off a few times. Couldn’t help it. I was bone-tired, and every time I went back to the sofa to get off my feet for a few minutes, I nodded off.
Finally, at around 4:30 in the mornin’, I took one of the kitchen chairs and put it by the lowest front window, covered with 2-inch slat, wood blinds. I cracked ‘em open a bit so I’d have a good view of the porch, and I sat there until daybreak.
Ω
“Mornin’, CB,” said Lilly, from behind me. “Want coffee?”
“Hell yeah,” I said. “We got company, by the way.”
“No,” she said, her shoulders slumping.
“Yep,” I responded. “There’s about thirty of ‘em out there now. You can see if you recognize any of ‘em, but they’re all crazies. No doubt about that.”
She scooped coffee into the filter basket and filled the pot with water. After sliding the basket in, she poured the water into the reservoir and pushed the start button.
“Come here,” I said, seeing she was done. I sure as hell wasn’t callin’ her over until I saw the coffee was on.
She padded over and I moved out of the way as she dropped into my chair and peered out. “Holy fuck, CB,” she whispered. “Why?”
“How is the question,” I said. “Like how the hell are we gettin’ to our vehicles without shootin’ all of ‘em?”
“You try 911 again?” she asked.
“No, I figured –”
“Jesus, anyway,” she said, getting up and grabbing her cell phone from the charging pad. “By the way, I saw Sally Jessup out there,” she added. “Plus, it looks like a bunch of fires are burning somewhere.”
“Shit, I wonder if Denny’s with Sally.”
A couple of seconds later, she put the phone down. “No more circuits busy message. Now it just rings and rings.”
“Not a good sign. You been keepin’ up at the shootin’ range?”
“You know I can shoot. Better than you. I’ll get Sonya and Georgina up. You figure out a game plan. Glad you brought all your stuff over from your house last night.”
“Just luck,” I said. “Could’ve just as easily put it off until this mornin’.”
Before heading upstairs, a sputtering came from the kitchen as Lilly went back to the window and peered out again. “Coffee’s ready,” she said. “More are coming up the road, CB. We need to move before we’re really overrun.”
I went into the kitchen and got a cup from the cupboard. Filling it, I dumped some non-dairy creamer in it, along with a pack of Sugar in the Raw, the only thing Lilly ever had. After stirring it, I took a big sip and went to the back window.
The backyard was devoid of the crazies. It was fenced, though, so that made sense. I slid the rear slider open and went out onto the back patio deck.
The smell of fire was way stronger outside. It was pungent, as though it wasn’t only wood burnin’, but any number of plastics, metals and maybe even some bodies besides.
This may sound sick, but somethin’ about it was makin’ me hungry. I hated to give it too much thought.
I gulped down another half of my cup of coffee and heard voices from upstairs. They were up and at ‘em.
The garage was accessible from the house, so I opened the door and turned on the light. I’d only have the thin garage door between me and the freaks outside, so I kept it quiet as I pored over the things on her shelves.
My eyes fell onto a box marked Black Cat Fireworks.
An idea struck me right then and there. I plucked the box from the shelf and saw it was sealed. Turning it in my hands, I read the contents:
Family Pack! it read. I ran my eyes down the list:
20 Miscellaneous Exploding Rockets
15 Large Ground Blooms
6 Pinwheels
2 100-Packs of Firecrackers
20 Sparklers
I took it inside the house with me and put it on the table. A couple of seconds later, Lilly came down with Georgina and Sonya in tow.
“What’s that?” asked Lilly.
“Good morning,” said Sonya and Georgina, in unison.
“Hey, good mornin’,” I said. “Lilly, I found these fireworks in your garage. Maybe a good distraction. How old are they?”
Her attention was on the other two houseguests. “Go look out if you want, but don’t move the blinds,” said Lilly. “I told them about our company out there,” she said, turning back to me. “Those are from last year, so they should be fine. What are you thinking?”
Both Sonya and Georgina went to the window where my chair was parked and looked outside.
“That they could help us get outta here. Aim some way over to the north side of the property, get a few explosions goin’ over there. If sound draws ‘em, we can get to the cars.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Lilly. “We could shoot some off through the guest bedroom window upstairs.”
“Got a bottle?
“Have you seen me drink wine? I’m a freaking fish for Christ’s sake.”
“Well, excuse me, then.”
Lilly bent forward and pulled a wine bottle from her kitchen trashcan. “Here. Lighter’s in that end drawer.”
I took the bottle and got the lighter, then jogged up the stairs. I heard everyone behind me. When I got to the top of the stairs, I turned right, toward the northwest corner of the house.
“Sorry, I didn’t make the bed,” said Sonya.
I looked at her as I made my way around it. “Seriously? Were you raised by a pack
of wolves?” I gave her a little wink and unlatched the window, sliding it up.
“Should we do this before we’re ready to run?” asked Lilly.
“Just one, to see if it’s gonna work. We’ll light it up out there if it does.”
I tore open the box of fireworks and dug in for one of the small bottle rockets. I figured it should fly a good distance before sounding its report.
Dropping the rocket into the wine bottle, I let the fuse sticking out of the bottom rest on the lip. I angled the bottle where it would have open sky to fly. With a glance back down at the ground, I spotted Sally Jessup, just shuffling around beside the Charger. My Rover was parked about ten feet to the south of it, so with one good run, we could all get in safely and head out to Baxter’s.
I hoped Sally liked fireworks, because I really didn’t have a taste for killin’ our friends.
“What are you waiting for?” asked Lilly.
“Distracted for a sec, that’s all,” I said, spinnin’ the wheel on the lighter. The flame caught, and I touched it to the fuse.
The fuse quickly burned down, and as it cleared the lip of the bottle, the rocket dropped down inside. A split-second later, the zip-hiss sound came and it shot from the bottle skyward.
My angle was perfect. It flew true north, anglin’ up, and when it got about 75 yards away, it exploded.
It was a heck of a lot louder than I expected. We were in the middle of our compound, and the ambient sounds of the world around us seemed to have died to a quarter of what it once was besides.
“Look,” whispered Georgina. “It’s working.”
Without exception, all of the crazies began walking with their unsteady, disturbing gaits toward the source of the explosion.
I didn’t wait to watch any more. I headed back downstairs as I talked. “Okay, I have an idea. Lilly, I’m gonna need more wine bottles. Coke bottles, anything.”
Nobody asked me any questions about that, so I figured they all pretty much knew what I had in mind.