Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

by Shawn Chesser

  She reluctantly left her daughter with the Mortensons for a moment and went back to her childhood home one last time.

  The door was ajar and the house smelled like gunpowder and death. Moving slowly into the kitchen, she could see her mom’s feet clad in the pink slippers she had given her last Christmas.

  Out of the corner of her eye Brook detected movement. She looked closer; her mom’s foot jerked.

  Brook crept around the island and retrieved the shotgun from the bench in the breakfast nook.

  The ghoul sensed her arrival, the bloody remains that were once her loving mom flopped over onto its stomach and proceeded to crawl towards her, bodily fluids leaving a slick trail along the floor. Her undead mom slowly pursued her into the living room leaving her no choice.

  Remembering what Harrison had told her earlier, she aimed directly for the head. Brook closed her eyes for a second and said a little prayer and thought to herself, It’s not you anymore Mom, I love you and I’m sorry I have to do this.

  She pulled the trigger and the shotgun roared, the second random shell that she had inserted happened to be a slug, the round ruptured her mom’s head, peppering the hallway with brain matter, hair and bone fragments. She started sobbing as the realization that both of her parents were now dead suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. She still had her daughter that much she knew; silent prayers went out to her husband Cade, whom she missed terribly.

  Brook ran up the stairs, two at a time and went into her old room. Her phone was in her carry on, where it had been since she last talked to Cade. Bag in hand she went downstairs heading for the door.

  Raven ran from the neighbor’s house when she heard the shotgun report and was tentatively peering into the open front door when Brook descended the stairs. At the first sight of her mom, Raven jumped into her arms.

  Brook sat on the porch swing comforting Raven; she held her and stroked her hair for a few minutes.

  It took a few seconds of rooting around in her bag, she finally found her phone and powered it on, it chimed several times letting her know she had missed calls and there were waiting messages.

  She sat on the porch reading the text message from Cade, her head started spinning at the thought of what was happening everywhere else in the world. The voice mail from Cade drove the severity of their situation home; the tone of his voice on the message said it all. She would surely heed his advice because when it came to times like this, she never questioned his wisdom.

  Brook thought, as soon as we get the Cadillac loaded up we better set out for Fort Bragg.

  Standing in the kitchen, Brook stared at her dad’s lifeless form, she heard his voice in her head, “Brooklyn, you get going now, take Raven and get to safety” of course it was only her subconscious talking, but she took it to heart.

  Brook called her brother Carl, she tried both his cell and the hospital land line but had no luck getting ahold of him.

  Brook dialed Cade’s cell and listened to it ring.

  After the third ring he picked up.

  Chapter 9

  Day 2 Southeast Portland

  While the kids ate, Cade closed all of the blinds and double checked the windows and doors, making sure all were locked. The undead didn’t know that they were in the house and Cade wanted to keep it that way.

  Cade once again turned his attention to the local news. Two anchors were mourning their fellow reporter’s demise that had been broadcast on live television the day before. Thankfully they refrained from showing the bloody spectacle again.

  President Odero put on the full court press and declared martial law nationwide. FEMA issued recommendations that doomed millions. They urged the United States population to stay home and tend to their sick and wounded. The most disturbing information that Cade had to process was a graphic that simulated the nationwide spread of the infection. It revealed an ever expanding zone indicated in red, it radiated inland from the Eastern Seaboard and spread north from Mexico. Despite the new border crackdown the whole state of California was awash in red. The South and Southwest looked less impacted and the Northwest and Central Rockies weren’t hit as hard… yet. The next graphic was unfathomable. A fast spreading, time lapsed representation of the contagions impact worldwide filled the screen. There were very few locations on earth not ravaged during the first two days of the global outbreak. As he watched the news, a thousand miles away his in-laws were dying.

  Cade had no immediate family in Portland. Both of his parents had died years ago. He inherited the house he grew up in. Chuck and Madeline were very close and had been married for fifty-five years when they both suddenly died of natural causes barely a month apart. Chuck passed first. He died peacefully in his sleep. Madeline was devastated and died of natural causes -probably of a broken heart- twenty-eight days later.

  They had been happily married for twenty seven years before Cade came along. He was not in their plans; but he was the best thing that had ever happened to them. Their proudest moment was when Cade joined the army at the age of twenty, Eleven Bravo; light infantry was his MOS (military occupational specialty) when he enlisted. He excelled during basic training and loved service life so much that he went through Ranger school, served with the 75th Ranger Regiment and then later, on to Special Forces training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

  Mike Desantos recruited Cade for the Delta Force. For the next couple of years he had some top-secret missions where he found himself "down range", the soldiers term for being on the receiving end of enemy fire. Cade gave better than he got.

  When he met Brook, it was love at first sight. She was a nurse near Fort Lewis when he was stationed there with the 1st Special Forces Group. It was 1999, they were soon married and Raven was born shortly after.

  Being an operator was his life and when those nineteen shit bags dropped the twin towers it became a crusade. He believed in the war against terror so wholeheartedly that he had “INFIDEL” tattooed in Old English lettering across his back.

  Cade did everything his superiors asked of him, sacrificing anniversaries, birthdays, he even missed Raven’s first words and steps while he was hunting terrorists.

  Soon after the new President Odero took office and the crusade had lost its luster for the American people, Cade decided to hang up his spurs.

  It was a slap in the face to all of the people in uniform fighting for their country when the young liberal president and his new administration decreed that terrorist acts be called “man-made catastrophes”. It was equally disrespectful when the president and his people in the White House stopped using the word “terrorist” verbally and in print and started coddling the Muslim world.

  Choosing to leave his unit and not re-up was the hardest decision he had ever made. A lot of career shooters were also taking this route, and then working for Blackwater or Triple Canopy providing private security in the sandbox.

  Cade immersed himself in family life.

  Chapter 10

  Day 2 Southeast Portland

  Cade’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He extracted it and saw that Brook’s name and number were on the display, he answered it immediately. Sobbing on the other end of the line was indeed his wife Brook. She recounted everything that had happened to her in the last twenty minutes. Cade cut her off and said, “If my memory serves me, your parents live on a cul-de-sac, right?"

  "Yes" she replied, "So?"

  Not knowing how long he would have a signal, he told Brook to just listen, "It’s a good thing they do; if Myrtle Beach is anything like Portland those things will be all over the surface streets. Stay away from big public places especially hospitals or triage centers. The National Guard and FEMA will try to limit your travel. If they give you any problems tell them where you are going and who you seek. Talk about your relationship with me as a last resort. Get as many shells for the shotgun as possible. Grab some food and water from the house and take the Escalade and get Raven and yourself to Bragg. Remember to go around popular major routes. Do not pick up a
nybody and give Rave a hug for me. I’ll meet up with you at Bragg. See you soon, I love you."

  “Finished yet” Brook said jokingly.

  “Just the pertinent facts ma’am” he fired back.

  Then all business aside, voice wavering, Cade said, “you guys be careful, and I really do mean it, I love you. See you soon.”

  The connection was lost and replaced with the hiss of static.

  There was no reason to tell Brook about Ted and Lisa, their neighbors from around the block. She had enough on her plate and Cade didn’t want to muddy the waters any further.

  *****

  Brook was sitting on the neighbor’s sofa and taking this all in when her brother skidded to a stop outside. He left his car running and sprinted into his parents’ home.

  By the time Brook walked out onto the lawn Carl had already been inside and seen his parents and was on hands and knees hurling in the grass. They met each other’s gaze when Carl finally stopped. His eyes were red; he looked at the shotgun Brook held, "I'm sorry you had to do it Sis. I left work this morning; before I saw mom and dad in there I thought I could never convince you what went on at the hospital. It was a hell house. I'll never forget last night."

  Breathing in deeply, he continued, “earlier this morning I had a moment of clarity and remembered the bite that dad got. I tried to call here; I only got a recording. Shortly after that people in the Emergency Room started screaming.”

  Carl paused, wiping his nose with his shirt sleeve, “I hid in a closet for over three hours until the wailing stopped. I finally decided to run for it, everyone on the wing was either dead or a walking corpse. I drove here as fast as I could” he said gasping, eyes red and teary.

  Brook hugged her little girl and big brother close to her.

  Chapter 11

  Day 2 Southeast Portland

  Ike and Leo were still mesmerized by the images on TV, they couldn't turn it off. It was like being in a car going by a fatal wreck and seeing the telltale yellow tarp, you are compelled to steal a look. Such was the draw here. They aired the Pioneer Square footage yet again, the attack at the hospital and a reporter getting ambushed by a mob of undead at an outdoor triage center. The International footage was few and far between. What they did show mirrored the horrors they faced here in the United States. As time wore on governments worldwide hid the extent of the outbreak. Even FEMA started a looping video message on all of the channels warning of the contagion and imploring people to shelter in place.

  Leo and Ike watched the news for an hour and tried to piece together what had happened to their parents.

  Their mom had been a janitor in a high-rise office building downtown and worked the swing shift. She must have gotten infected downtown or at her job, turned undead sometime after and attacked their dad when he came downstairs all dressed up for church. Unfortunately they would never really know what happened.

  They were very fortunate that Leo had gotten them out of their house alive, and truly blessed Cade came along when he did.

  Cade had talked Leo and Ike out of going home to bury their parents. It was a noble thing to do but with all of the undead walking the streets, it wouldn’t be safe.

  Leo told Cade that most of their extended family lived in Georgia and Louisiana. Cade suggested they go with him and they could look for their family members together. The brothers had no other family in Portland so there was little hesitation. Leo made the executive decision, "We will go, but can you teach us to shoot a real gun, so we can defend ourselves?" After giving it some thought, Cade answered, “I’ll teach you guys the safety part first. If you can grasp that...then, yes."

  With the third row seat folded out of the way there was plenty of room for the supplies they intended on taking. The silver Toyota Sequoia should serve them well on their cross country trek.

  Chapter 12

  Day 2 Southeast Portland

  Rawley had himself quite a fan club. From his vantage point in Raven’s bedroom on the second floor, Cade could see at least twenty walkers around the front and sides of his neighbor’s house across the street. One of the putrid fuckers was on the porch pawing at the door.

  It looked like Rawley had shored up his big picture window. The bottom of the sofa was visible through the glass.

  Fortunately the narrow basement windows were too small for the ghouls to fit through and the windows on the sides of the house were well above ground level.

  Cade couldn't remember what Rawley’s back yard looked like, even though he'd been to a few barbecues there. He did remember that Rawley’s ribs were awesome. Over the years he had proven to be a pretty nice fellow. He played guitar and looked the part, his long hair was dyed black and he had full sleeve tattoos on both arms. Rawley occasionally toured with a rock band, this meant a lot of different girls came and went from his house. Cade knew these were the perks of the lifestyle and as far as he knew he didn’t have an exclusive woman living with him.

  It looked as if his plan of circling the wagons with his guitar and supplies wasn’t going to work. Rawley had been a little careless and let the walkers see him taking things in the front door.

  The undead’s senses weren't that adversely affected. Their movement suffered a little and their speed was usually about halved, some were faster and some were slower.

  The lone zombie on the porch had lost its infatuation with the door and started banging on the big plate window. The glass shattered with a loud report, drawing the attention of other walkers in the vicinity.

  What happened next was the last thing Cade had anticipated. The front door opened and Rawley emerged with an SKS assault rifle, pregnant with a fifty round drum magazine. It was the type of rifle that the two bank robbers used to outgun the police in North Hollywood in the early nineties.

  Rawley dispatched the one on his porch with two well-placed shots to the head. Flesh and brain matter splattered his welcome mat.

  Carefully aimed bullets cut down more walkers on the bottom stairs leading to the porch.

  Cade had never seen Rawley mad before. Now he was channeling Rambo.

  Cade left his perch at the bedroom window, went into the office and punched his PIN on the gun safes keypad. He pulled out his Colt M4 and four loaded thirty round magazines. It was a civilian model kitted out just like the personal weapon he used on deployment. Uncle Sam kept the fully automatic M4 when Cade left the teams.

  Returning to the room that overlooked the front of the house, by feel he seated a magazine, pulled the charging handle and switched the selector to fire. Bracing the rifle against his shoulder he practiced steady controlled fire and made his contribution to the body count.

  Rawley looked up at him with a bewildered look but kept on shooting.

  Ike and Leo joined him in the front bedroom upstairs and marveled at the shooting display. It was not planned but Cade and Rawley had the undead in a withering crossfire.

  Cade yelled above the din at the two brothers "Ike go downstairs load the truck with all of the canned food and then throw in all of the dry stuff that will fit.”

  Gesturing towards the open door in the hall he said “Leo, go into the office over there and take all of the ammo and magazines from the safe and throw them in this” tossing a long black bag his way.

  “Do you know what a magazine looks like?"

  "It’s the square thing that fits in the gun right?”

  "You got it. When everything is in the bag, have Ike help you put it in the Sequoia" Cade said.

  The two boys sprinted down the stairs. Ike stopped near the front door as a shadow moved past the living room window. Curiosity got the best of him, Ike reached up and pried opened the louvered wooden slats a half an inch. A gaunt grey face with milky eyes peered back at him.

  Ike bolted back upstairs out of breath exclaiming, “The walkers are on the front porch now. I looked out the kitchen window and it looks like the back yard is still clear if we need to leave that way.”

  Leo added, “The sound of the sh
ooting sure is attracting a lot more of them."

  Having concluded that the house wouldn't be safe for much longer, Cade told the two boys to go downstairs and get in the truck and be ready to go.

  Rawley had culled most of the undead that had his house under siege. At least fifteen of the corpses were piled around the porch. The dead girl in the bloody sundress was splayed out exposing herself in an unflattering way. She faced downstairs head first and her dress was pulled up around the top of her torso. Flip flop boy in the PBR shirt had been shot through the eye socket and now lay on the pile of corpses as well.

  During a lull in the gunfire, Cade yelled loud enough so Rawley could hear him "We are coming out in three minutes and are going to create a diversion for you!” He then entered the garage and drew his Gerber knife and cut two four foot lengths off of the coiled garden hose hanging on the wall. “God Damn!” Cade remembered that he had left the ice axe strapped to his bike in the alley; it would have to stay behind.

  He had the two Glocks on his person, he stowed the M4 carbine up front in the truck, safety on, with the stock fully collapsed.

  Cade put a second long black canvas bag that contained his other rifle and tactical gear in the back of his truck. A box marked camping gear held the headlamps, a pair of two way radios, Bushnell armored binoculars and a camp stove. Next went the tent and three sleeping bags which they tossed unceremoniously into the back of the truck. Lastly he threw two empty five gallon potable water containers on top of everything and closed the door.

  Peering through the small glass windows lining the top of the garage door he saw that the bulk of the remaining walkers were now on his porch and trampling the front yard. A very large ghoul was trudging up the driveway.

  A pair of walkers leaned on the front window and fell into the living room riding a wave of shattered glass. The smell of death permeated the home.