by Josh Vasquez
Once in the garage, they quietly made their way to the side door. Josh and Jeremy would take the front; Josh getting the truck running and ready to go. Lexx and Tori would provide cover from the rear. That was the plan. The plan was good.
Well, it would have been. As soon as Jeremy opened the door, they heard the screams from the approaching runners.
“C’mon let’s go,” Jeremy yelled.
They ran towards the driveway, Josh bringing the bent end of the pipe down onto a z’s head. He yanked it back, brain matter flying from the opening in the skull.
“Ew. Dat’s nasty,” he said with a grimace.
He swung the pipe again and took out another zombie. There were twenty wandering corpses between them and the truck. Jeremy cut the head off one, sending the still snapping jaws to the ground. He turned to slash at another, but the head jerked back, and the body fell to the ground. A small, round hole had appeared right above its left eye. Jeremy looked back to Tori, who gave him a thumbs up, and fired off another shot.
Lexx hung back next to his trigger-happy companion. If anything came near her, he would take it out. A zombie wandered around from the back of the house, so he might get to try out that clever sooner rather than later. He looked back to the other guys and saw Josh and Jeremy running back towards the house.
What the hell? He thought, as the two men stopped back by the side door to the garage. The backyard zombie was still a few yards away.
“What are you doing?” Tori asked.
“Runners! Lots of ‘em! We gotta get back in the house!” Jeremy answered.
She turned to look at Lexx, who motioned with one finger for her to wait, turned, planted the meat clever in backyard zombie’s head, and turned back around to them.
“C’mon, let’s get inside,” he said.
They quickly ran back inside, Lexx locking the deadbolt on the side door.
“Did they see you?” He asked.
Before Jeremy or Josh could answer, there was a slam against the door. Lexx looked towards the door and grimaced.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said.
“Yeah, they saw us,” Josh said.
Lexx motioned for them to leave the garage and go back into the house. Again, he dead bolted the door. Once back in the kitchen, they all looked at each other, waiting for someone to say it.
“Plan B?” Lexx finally said.
“Yeah, Plan B,” answered Josh.
And with that, it was off to work.
***
Plan B was a simple plan. The night before they talked about what would happen if they so happen to be surrounded by the living dead. Plan A was also a simple plan. Josh was fond of keeping plans simple, and since the escape from the construction vehicle factory in Pooler, everyone else was fond of keeping the plans simple too.
Plan A was this: Run to the truck. Mostly everything was packed, except for the food and weapons in the kitchen. They had already raided the house for spare clothes, found the only gun, and stashed it all in the kitchen. If they were surrounded, they would exit through the kitchen, to the garage, and then proceed to the truck. At that point, they would drive away. Simple.
But if there was one thing that past few days had taught them, it was this: Sometimes things do not go according to plan. So, a Plan B was conceived. There were talks of a Plan C, but everyone knew that if Plan B failed, Plan C was simply “Get the Fuck Out” or Plan GTFO, for short.
Plan B though, Plan B was pretty solid. Plan B was this: In case they were surrounded and unable to reach the truck, or if runners joined in the festivities, they would run back into the house, ransack the liquor cabinet in the dining room, pour alcohol all over the bottom floor of the house, then light aforementioned alcohol. At this point, they would run upstairs to the children’s bedroom, go through the window to the roof, jump from the roof to the back of the well-placed truck, and drive away.
Slightly more complex than Plan A, but still pretty simple. Extremely simple when compared to Plan C. Josh summed it up in three, easy to remember steps: Pour, Burn, and Jump, or PB&J, as he liked to call it.
***
Thick, black smoke was billowing out from the house.
“ARE YOU GONNA JUMP OR WHAT?” Tori yelled, as the dead gathered around the burning house.
Some would get too close to the flames, catching themselves on fire, and spreading it to their friends like, well, like wildfire.
“Okay! I’m ready!”
And with that, Josh jumped down from the roof and hit the flat bed of the stake-body truck. Zombies began to shake the metal gates that fenced him in. He looked back up to the group and gave Tori the thumbs up. She nodded and began picking off the zombies on the driver’s side. Once clear, he jumped over the side gates and down to the ground, not stopping until he reached the driver side door.
***
Screams came from inside the house. The runners had continued their assault on the garage door, while the four humans began the bonfire inside. They eventually breached the house and were greeted by the searing flames of an alcohol-induced blaze. Several of them were consumed by the fire, but others were able to make it upstairs, despite being severely charred, and slipping into “grey mode,” or their slower counterparts, as they tended to do as they decayed. The first of them reached the bedroom, bolting for the window, and screaming through their burned, dry vocal cords. They reached the roof only to find it empty and the truck below driving away. A large man on the back end of the truck was holding up his middle fingers.
The still smoldering runners screeched at this and dove off the roof in pursuit. In their weakened condition, they only succeeded in breaking several bones, rendering them unable to move, and spreading the small, flickering flames from their bodies to their dead friends outside.
Chapter Three
Jeremy found himself again staring out the passenger seat window, watching miles and miles of open countryside pass him by. According to Josh, they were getting closer. Before stopping for the night yesterday, they pulled onto a bypass that took them around the edges of Statesboro. Josh wanted to avoid the college town as much as possible. He assumed there would be a large population of dead there within the campus of Georgia Southern University. Nobody argued with him.
Right now, they were somewhere between the small towns of Portal and Twin City. Both were small enough that if you blinked passing through, you just might miss them. But both were booming metropolises compared to Hopeulikit, which consisted of a small thrift store and a gas station. Lexx thought it was at first pronounced ‘I hope you lick it,’ but Josh assured him that it was ‘like,’ not ‘lick.’
Jeremy looked back through the rear window of the cab to the bed of the truck. He could see the heads of Tori and Lexx, her head leaning against the man’s shoulder. He turned back with a smile.
“Whatchu smiling’ at?” Josh asked.
“Oh, nothing’. Just glad those two were able to both make it out alive. Not sure what I would have done with just one of them.”
Josh’s face contorted slightly at this.
“I didn’t want to leave him behind,” he said.
“I know. And I understand. I think Tori does too. But we’re also glad you changed your mind,” Jeremy said with a smile.
“Ha. Well, I didn’t have much choice with a gun pointed to my head!”
They both laughed. Maybe Tori had been a little too audacious with the pistol to Josh’s head, forcing him to help and rescue Lexx. The woman did have a certain amount of chutzpah to her.
“So man, what did you do for fun before all this?” Josh asked, as he turned onto a smaller country road.
Jeremy thought about the question.
What did I do for fun before all this?
Most of his time was spent working. He would often find himself working doubles at the grocery store. His spare time was spent sleeping. Every now and then a bowl of pot, but what did he do for actual fun? He wasn’t a big gamer and he didn’t read much.
>
“You there man?” Josh asked after a significant amount of time passed.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. I was just trying to think of what I did do for fun before everything went to hell,” he answered.
“Wow, really? You’re having this hard of a time? Oh, jeez…”
Jeremy shrugged and grinned.
“I worked all the time. I slept most of my free time. Uh, music. Does listening to music count?” He said.
“Yeah that counts! What kind of music did you listen to?”
“Um, mostly rock. Lots of Muse. And I’ve been on a big Radiohead kick lately,” Jeremy rattled off.
Josh’s face got serious.
“No way. Everything you just said, is my favorite thing to do too. Every. Day,” he answered in his best Nacho Libre accent.
Jeremy smiled at that because it reminded him of something else he did for fun. Movies. He use to watch movies all the time. Mostly comedies. Anything with Will Ferrell.
“Favorite Radiohead album on three?” Jeremy proposed. “One. Two. Three.”
“Ok Computer,” both of them said at the same time.
“Did we just become best friends?!” Josh said.
“Yup!”
Both of them fell into fits of laughter. If there is anything that brings two men together, it is the quoting of one-liners from funny movies. Once the laughter subsided, they rode in silence again for a few minutes. Josh turned down another small, country road and stopped suddenly, sending Jeremy sliding forward in his seat. The seatbelt finally stuck and tightened around Jeremy’s chest.
“What the hell man?” He asked, but as he looked back up towards the road, he saw the reason for the sudden stop.
***
The four of them stood there in the middle of the road, staring at the burned-out tanker truck that ran horizontal across the two-lane highway. It was a charred shell of metal skeleton flipped over on its side. Whatever the driver was trying to avoid, was now long gone. Maybe it was a deer, or some other forest animal. Or maybe it was a zombie.
“Well, what are we gonna do now?” Tori said, breaking the silence.
Josh walked over to the back end of the tanker and eyed the ditch. Jeremy could tell what he was thinking. Their truck would be small enough to fit in between the tanker and the edge of the tree line. The problem was the ditch. It was wet. With the slick mud, there was good chance they would get stuck. Going around the front end was out of the question. The cab of the semi was contorted within the blackened trees of the opposite side.
“Well, if we turn around we might make it to the cabin by dark. Maybe after. But, if we try to get around this mess, we’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Josh answered.
There was a collective sigh from the group. They did not want to lose any more time. Especially being so close to their destination.
“Can we walk?” Lexx asked.
“We could. It’s only a few miles. I just don’t really want to leave the truck here. With the supplies and all,” Josh said, looking towards the bed of the truck.
They had amassed a decent amount of goods over the past few days. There was a generator, several tanks of fuel, and clothes for the four of them. Plus, they had a duffle bag full of canned and dry food.
“What if we try and pull it out of the way some?” Tori asked, walking up to the truck. “We could use the straps on the underside of your truck.”
“Yeah, I thought of that,” Josh said. “But if you look closely, you’ll see that the metal frame has melted to the pavement. I don’t think anyone will be moving that thing.”
More silence.
“Ok. We’ll try getting around it. And by we, I guess I mean me,” Josh said, taking a deep breath and heading back to the cab.
“Okay man. We’ll spot you,” Lexx said, motioning for Jeremy to follow him to the ditch.
They got on both sides of the ditch; Lexx taking the tree side. He waded through the mud; his shoes sinking in several inches as he went. On his last step, he went to pull his foot up and came up shoeless.
“Ah man! Stupid mud!”
He reached down and pulled his shoe free from the muck, a small sucking sound coming from the mud as he did. Once his shoe was back on, he motioned for Josh to come on through with the truck.
“Watch his side Jeremy. Make sure he has clearance,” he said.
Jeremy gave him the thumbs up and watched as Josh began to inch closer towards the ditch.
The front tires sunk into the mud as Josh pulled the truck into the ditch at an angle. The wheels continued to creep forward and not get stuck, so Josh kept giving the truck gas. All four tires were in the mud. He was halfway there, the driver side door past the end of the tanker.
“Alright!” Lexx yelled. “Jeremy move out the way! Josh give it some gas and get out of there!”
Jeremy and Josh both nodded. Jeremy moved back out of the potential path of the truck, as Josh roared the engine, and lurched forward.
***
Tori had been watching the truck ordeal, but her focus was on the road behind them and the trees around them. Her grip on the .22 rifle tightened as she saw shadows move from out of the tree line down the road a ways. There were zombies out there, and all the noise with the truck and Lexx’s yelling were drawing them in.
They might as well be ringing the fucking dinner bell, she thought.
In the background, she heard the truck’s engine scream and a wet sound. She slowly turned, knowing what she was hearing.
The truck was stuck.
The rear tires spun, spitting out fountains of mud behind the truck, sinking the truck deeper into a hole. Josh stopped, put the truck in reverse, and tried to back out. He moved about half a foot, before the truck bogged out again. He threw it back in drive and began to try to rock the truck out of its hole.
Tori turned her eyes back to the shadows behind them. A good number of zombies had wandered out from the surrounding woods. Ten, maybe fifteen of them. She readied the rifle, setting the butt against her right shoulder.
“No pressure, but we’ve got company!” She called out.
The men all took notice.
“Go find something to get under those tires!” Josh yelled. “A branch or a rock. Anything solid!”
Jeremy and Lexx ran off into the woods. Jeremy returned first with a decent-sized tree branch. He jammed it under the left tire as Lexx returned with a similar piece of wood. Once both branches were under the tires, Josh put the truck in drive again.
A shot rang out behind them. Tori dropped the nearest z with a headshot. The group of dead was slowly making their way towards the truck, but was getting much too close for Tori’s comfort. She set her aim on the next one, putting its forehead in between the iron sights, and squeezed the trigger. The small caliber shell erupted from the barrel and rocketed towards the zombie’s skull. The result wasn’t as spectacular as the .30-06 she had before, but still nonetheless effective. Zombie #2 took a dirt nap.
The truck lurched forward, gaining traction on the dead wood. Jeremy let out a ‘whoop,’ once the truck was free, and on the other side of the burned-out tanker. But Josh shut off the engine and got out of the truck.
“Wait- What are you doing?” Jeremy asked.
Josh pulled out his steel pipe from beside him on the seat.
“We have to take out these zombies,” he said.
“Why? Let’s just get out of here!” Lexx said.
Josh shook his head.
“We’re too close to the cabin. We can’t risk these things following us back. We have to take them all out.”
Lexx let out a sigh, but nodded. They all understood that the zombies would follow you no matter what. Just like the ones that followed them down Interstate 95. It would take them some time, but as long as nothing else distracted them, it would only be a matter of time before they reached the cabin. Better to take them on now.
Lexx reached into the back of the truck and pulled out a crowbar. He gave it a twirl and nodded to Josh. They b
oth walked towards the oncoming horde, Jeremy joining them with his machete. The zombies were making their way into the ditch, trying their best to tread through the mud. Their feet began to sink, the same way the truck tires had. With mud up to their ankles, the undead were failing at making their way to their prey.
“They’re stuck!” Lexx exclaimed.
Josh nodded and walked towards the closest zombie.
It was a dead woman. Her blonde hair was matted and mangy, stuck to her face with grime. She snarled as Josh got closer; her arms reaching out to pull him in. He stayed his distance, looking at her with pity before swinging his pipe towards her head. The ninety-degree elbow connected with her temple, quickly ending her struggle in the mud.
Jeremy and Lexx came up from behind him and the three men took their time going through the mud-stuck zombies, making sure that none would follow.
***
It was not long after that, they reached a small dirt road leading deeper into the woods. There was iron swing gate not twenty feet from the main road. Josh stopped, got out, and took his keys with him to unlock the gate. Once they drove through, Jeremy jumped out, locked, and shut the gate.
Once back in the truck, Jeremy noticed that Josh was gripping the steering wheel tighter and that his constant grin had faded.
“You okay man?” He asked.
“Yeah,” Josh answered. “I just got the thought of ‘What if they’re not there?’ flashing through my head.”
He forced a smile at Jeremy.
Jeremy had not thought about that. What if Josh’s family wasn’t here? What if they never made it this far? The way Josh had talked about them made it seem like he was confident about them being here. But then again, something did happen that resulted in the loss of his niece. Could it be that maybe his whole family didn’t make it?