I saw it in her face. I put my hands up and said, “You don’t have to decide tonight. I definitely wouldn’t. Sleep on it and decide in the morning.” I saw that statement made her mad. She didn’t want to feel trapped.
I became stern. “Look, like it or not, I’m not about to let you guys go outside in the middle of the night with Zombies wandering from one meal to the next. Show me your weapons. How are you going to protect these two beautiful girls?” I pointed at the beautiful Emily and Erin.
I saw her face soften. She knew she was completely unprepared. I saw her face scrunch up in annoyance. “Fine, we’ll sleep on it.” I knew in that instance, her answer was no. She was going home.
She struck out her hand. “By the way, my name is Mary Kay.” She was a pretty 40 year old white woman who didn’t have a speck of makeup on her face. I think she did that on purpose. She had a tough smile, and she was used to taking shit from no one.
I shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She kept smiling, “Thanks again for saving my kids’ lives.” Her face softened. I saw that she was fighting back an emotional collapse. She was helpless right now, and she knew it. This was tough on her.
“I’m starving.” I changed the subject. I moved to the fridge, and all the kids followed me. They were hungry too. I pulled out every last scrap of leftovers in the fridge. I pulled out all the food that was post-dated too.
I yelled out happily. “It’s time for expired food day.”
I heard my kids groan. Expired food day was when we all took every leftover we had and every food that had an expiration date on it that was near and finished it. It didn’t matter that the food in question had any relation to each other. All that mattered was that we cleaned out the fridge and didn’t waste food. The kids and I hated it. I blamed my wife, but she was right that it needed to be done. It didn’t mean I had to like it.
Everyone sat down to eat except for me. I ate leftover fried chicken, some egg foo yong, and a hardboiled egg. It filled me up. I grabbed an ice cream bar and walked outside after finally putting on a shirt. I found the dogs barking by the front gate.
I got annoyed by that. The house was so soundproofed that I couldn’t even hear the dogs barking. I had to figure out a way to hear them otherwise I was going to be sleeping outside for the next several months. Shit.
I walked over after grabbing my pistol and found my dogs barking at two small female Zombies. They had to have been just over their teens. Their hair was matted with goo, they drooled, and they appeared to have bite marks all over their arms and legs. A good chunk of flesh was missing from Ms. Zed number 1’s leg. I figured she must have been a tasty morsel for some other Zed and had gotten away just in time. Or so she thought. The aftereffect of the disease stood before me trying to grab my dogs.
It was time to put them out of their miseries. I only wished that they were further away from the gate and closer to my pyre. I was definitely not about to clean up during the night, and I didn’t want to have to do it in the morning either.
The flames from the pit danced behind their heads backlighting them. Their faces became a shadow while their hair glowed blond. They looked like demons sent from the depths of Hell to attack my family. Of course that was exactly what they were- except they were sent to destroy us from a petri dish in some unnamed lab. The scientists who created this evil were hopefully killed by their own creation and were consigned to the same fate as the two poor girls standing before me. I had to end their suffering.
I was about to shoot them when I heard footsteps coming up behind us. I turned slowly because I still had the weapon aimed at the two female Zeds. It was Mary Kay. She stopped a few feet from me and simply looked at them. She looked them over for a good long time.
I put the weapon down after decocking it. I holstered the pistol. I looked outside the gate with her saying nothing while the dogs barked and growled at the threats. The town below us was clearly visible and empty except for the wandering Zeds looking for their own expired food.
She spoke softly, “We are all going to die, aren’t we?” She continued to stare at these things. She had realized for the first time what we were up against.
I disagreed vehemently. “Absolutely not. They are all going to die. We’ll get through this one Zed at a time. We can’t let even one of these things get in here and we’re going to have to be extremely careful. But together we’ll get through this. I promise. We’re ready.”
I raised the pistol and took careful aim. I was about to shoot when she said, “Stop. Teach me to do that.”
I looked at her. She was serious. I thought about it and decided why not? Usually I took someone to the range to teach them to shoot. I guessed these targets were just as good as another.
I started at the beginning. I unloaded the weapon, took the rounds out of the magazine and made sure the weapon was clear before handing it to her. I taught her how to load it and unload it. I showed her the safety. I showed her proper muzzle control. Then I taught her a proper stance. I ended by showing her how to develop a proper front-sight picture. She took to it well. Fifteen minutes later, she was ready to fire her first round.
I had her put on eye and ear protection and show me the proper ways of handling the weapon. Finally, I let her aim at the Zed on the left. I heard a click and then nothing. The gun didn’t fire. It was a valuable lesson. She looked at me sheepishly and then loaded a round into the pipe. It was a valuable lesson. I guaranteed now that she would not forget it in the future. Now she was ready.
She aimed at the Zed on the left again and slowly squeezed the trigger. The round entered the thing’s neck and knocked it to the ground paralyzed. I heard its mouth gagging and spurting out more brackish fluid than before. She had obviously perforated its trachea and esophagus before the round entered its spine. The thing was no longer a threat. It was however still alive. She looked at me for guidance.
“Kill the other one first. You paralyzed the first one. It still needs to die, but you need to take care of the worst threat first. The one on the ground can wait. Consider it combat triage.”
She looked at me like I was odd because of the way I talked. I guess I was. I didn’t give a shit. “Your bullet went low because you were looking over the top of the barrel and not through the sights. Line up the Tritium sights. They glow in the dark. When you see the three lines in a row lined up on her midface, pull the trigger.
She did it slowly because she had the time. When ready, she pulled the trigger and dropped the Zed cold. I heard a brief ringing in my ear, and then I heard the spurting growl of the one on the ground. Mary Kay took a bead on her and put a round through her left eye. Madame Zed’s misery ended.
Mary Kay took out the magazine and handed it to me. She then cleared the weapon properly. I was proud. She was a tough bird. She handed me the weapon and then walked back to the house after a quick ‘thank you.’
I watched her walk into the garage and disappear. I looked up and saw my wife Jen standing on one of the balconies. I wondered if she saw the whole thing. I hoped she did. She needed to learn this stuff too.
I gave her a quick wave and walked around the house on my perpetual rounds: crops, animals, security- check, check, and check. Where should I sleep tonight? I wanted to go into the house, but I was afraid that I was going to allow one of those things inside. I needed to be right in the thick of things if I was going to keep my family safe.
I fed the dogs who were, as always, grateful to their pack leader. I loved these dogs. They were the best purchase of all.
I walked inside. Everyone was asleep and the lights were off except for a small one in the hallway. I walked upstairs and found my wife in the bathroom. She was just getting out of the shower and looked very good. I slipped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower. I was soon joined by wife who made good on her promise. My night ended very well. Together we slept outside on the balcony underneath the stars in the cool night air. She wore me out.
&nbs
p; Chapter 4
I awoke suddenly because of barking dogs. They were getting more and more strident. Growls intermixed with barks, and I heard them running back and forth beneath me under the balcony. They were definitely aware of where I was and were trying to wake me. I got that in an instant.
I opened my eyes and realized it was still pitch black outside. I felt my wife’s arm around my belly stirring closer within the sleeping bag. We had slept on the balcony because I couldn’t hear any threats otherwise. The house was just too sound proofed. I breathed out and saw the moon directly above. I thought to myself ‘if the dogs were simply barking at the moon, I was going to be seriously pissed.’
I sat up, annoying my wife and looked into my bedroom. The clock on the nightstand read 3:43 am. It was way too early for this shit. I got up and went to the bathroom. I hoped that whatever threat was out there could wait until I was finished. I got dressed and ran down the stairs to find my kids watching TV. I was surprised they were up and about. They normally always slept well. I guess the stress was affecting them too. I quickly kissed them on the cheeks and ran outside. I would talk to them later.
I armed myself and walked outside to find a pair of high beam headlights shining into my yard blinding me. The dogs had positioned themselves in front of the car inside the gate. I guess they assumed they would stop the car by the sheer force of their barks. Dumb dogs. God love them.
I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at the windshield and screamed out, “Turn off the fucking lights!” They must have gotten the hint as the lights immediately went off.
I blinked a couple of times to clear the glare from my eyes and looked closely at the car. My night vision was now completely gone. I looked closer after a few seconds and began to see an outline of a man on top of the car. Then I had an ‘oh shit’ moment. There was a male zombie standing on the hood trying to kick in the windshield with his right foot. I saw the glass had a few spider webs forming. It wouldn’t be long before the Zed took out the glass and went for the tasty center.
I didn’t hesitate for a second. I took aim and put a bullet in the back of his head. I felt nothing as I did it. I looked closer and saw the car fully now. It was a beautiful old Mercedes from the ‘80s. There was now a dent in the left hood, and the right tire was flat. I was surprised that the car had gotten past the GMC Gremlin that I placed in the drive to slow cars down from hitting my gate at speed. I looked over and saw that the Gremlin had been pushed to the side nearer to the fence line. That really pissed me off. Now one of those things could climb the fence with ease. What a fucking idiot. They could have let one of those things in to my house hurting my kids. Now I was on a fucking rampage. I calmed myself.
I put that thought out of my mind for the moment. I needed to make sure that there were no other Zeds out there first before I could deal with that moron. I stepped forward and looked around and listened. I saw nothing and heard no shuffling gait of the undead. I did see quite a few dead bodies lying on the ground that I had left for tomorrow. I guess today was tomorrow. It came much too soon.
When I was good and satisfied that there were no other threats, I yelled, “Get out of the car now!” I got no response in return. I considered putting a round through their windshield. I yelled out, “Get the fuck out of the car now!”
Still I heard nothing. This was getting surreal. I waited for about three minutes. The dogs kept growling louder and louder. Either they were keying on my nervousness, or there really was a threat in that car. I was getting edgier by the second.
Behind my back, I heard footsteps. I turned and saw that my wife and Mary Kay were standing behind me. They had not combed their hair and looked a mess. I resisted the urge to make a smart ass comment. I turned and faced the car yet again. The minutes ticked by without a sound. I had to do something. I didn’t have the patience to sit and wait.
“Ladies, I have to go over the fence.” I saw my wife about to protest. She definitely didn’t want me going out there. Hell, I didn’t want to go out there. It was still dark, and I still hadn’t completely adjusted to the lack of light. The only thing I could see was the fire still burning. Thankfully, I couldn’t smell it as the wind was blowing away from us.
I went and grabbed a ladder and a flashlight and raised myself above the gate and stood there looking down at the ground. There was carnage everywhere. I chided myself for not cleaning up last night. Then again, I wasn’t about to do that in the dark.
I shined the flashlight down and saw no movement. I then lit up the Mercedes windshield. The damn thing was darkened or tinted or whatever you want to call it to the nth degree. No light could escape it. I’m sure the cops had given it lots of tickets in the past. And now it was sitting in my driveway.
Well, there was no other way around it. I couldn’t shoot through the window for fear of hitting any occupants that were normal, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I looked at the two women and shrugged. I jumped down the ladder and went and grabbed a baseball bat from the garage. I jumped over the fence from the top of the ladder and landed on the previously occupied hood. I pointed my gun right down through the windshield. Still, there was no noise other than the hum of the car which was still operating. Fuck me.
I looked over and saw the two women had moved right to the bars of the gate to watch. I wished they were armed. I would have to fix that soon.
I made sure there were no live critters on the ground and jumped down onto the driveway. I put the bat in my left hand and the pistol in my right. I slammed the bat into the driver’s window and jumped back. It exploded inward onto the driver’s seat. There was no one in the front. I was very surprised at that. I looked inside slowly and saw no one in the front. The car remained dark. I tried the front door and found it locked.
I moved to the back door and exploded the rear window. I shined the flashlight inside and found two bodies in the backseat. And then they moved and scared the shit out of me. I jumped back and tripped over a dead body behind me. I fell straight to the ground. Thank God my finger wasn’t on the trigger. I got to my feet as quickly as I could and pointed my pistol straight through the window. I almost pulled the trigger in my terror. I was so panicked that I nearly emptied the magazine into the car.
I deliberately slowed my breathing and took careful aim. There was no further movement. I yelled out. Nothing. I did it again. Nada.
I moved forward with the flashlight after throwing the bat back over the fence. I shined the light inside where I saw my bloody friends. They were breathing shallowly and were shooting droplets of blood out of their mouths. These were my friends Mike and Tara. The last time I saw them they were at my intervention. They were concerned at that time for my well being. The last time they were dressed in their Sunday best. This time I could see that they had put on their pajamas for their trip here. I’m sure that if they weren’t covered in blood, they would have been neat and tidy. I was being sarcastic and stupid in my mind to cover the horror and nausea of the situation. I was sickened beyond belief at the sight of my friends before me. Tara had her beautiful hair matted with actively flowing and congealed blood. I saw the wound in her forehead flowing openly. I almost ran to her to help until I looked closer and saw that she had a perfectly formed bite wound on her left neck. That wound had scabbed over perfectly. It was what scared me the most. I realized that no matter what I did, my friends were doomed. They had been taken by the disease and were just awaiting their ultimate fates.
I went to talk to them and couldn’t manage to croak out a single word. My eyes became moist, and I wanted to cry. I forced myself not to. No matter my love and compassion for my friends, I couldn’t go to them and comfort them. The risk was too high. I put the gun down and walked to the gate.
I moved to the gate. “Honey, it’s Tara and Mike. They’re not going to make it...” I said that in a whisper with my voice choking up and fading into nothing. I looked into her eyes and saw the tears beginning as she realized what I just said. I wanted to hug her through the b
ars. She turned and walked slowly back into the house. I watched her all the way not knowing what I was supposed to do.
I looked at Mary Kay who remained. I quickly turned away when I made eye contact. I didn’t need for her to see my weakness. This was my house, and I was in command.
I moved back to the car and looked inside the windshield. I wanted to say something soothing and profound. I wanted to let them know that everything was going to be ok. I couldn’t manage a single syllable. I looked at their faces. They were complete wrecks. The blood had stopped flowing on both of them. It wouldn’t be long before they turned and became threats. I knew what I needed to do, but I couldn’t possibly do it. They had been my friends for over ten years. We had baby sat each other’s kids before theirs had gone away to college. The memories flooded into my head, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. The tears came no matter how much I tried to stop them. I sobbed on the car knowing that I would soon have no choice.
Behind me I heard through my tears that Mary Kay was climbing the ladder. She landed on the hood of the old beautiful car and then jumped down behind me. She put her hand on my shoulder and then moved her hand toward my pistol. She gently took the weapon from me and moved me up onto the car’s hood. She had me climb back over the fence. I knew what she was doing, and I was so grateful I would have given her every penny I had.
After I had hopped onto solid ground, I heard a whispered “I’m sorry” from behind me followed by two shots. I was shocked by the sounds despite the fact that I was prepared for them. They were the most horrible sounds I think I ever heard. I turned to look at the car and found Mary Kay leaning into the front door. She turned the wheel slightly and put the car into reverse. It slowly moved backward as she turned the wheel to and fro until the car headed straight down the driveway. She released the wheel and got out of the way allowing it to cruise down to the bottom and into the city. I watched it all the way down knowing that the car was to become the last resting place of my two friends. I couldn’t even manage a ‘rest in peace’ to the vehicle.
My Last Testament Page 9