In my mind, I ran through multiple scenarios if the Zeds broke through. I would get the people off the deer stands first. I would have the people in front move back while I covered them with the shotgun. Then hopefully, they would cover me before I fell. Then there was no other choice. We would be on lockdown. We’d be stuck inside shooting down on them from the balconies until we could get them all. Yeah right. I was getting depressed through my fear.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw my son run by me toward the gate with his friend. He was running full blast forward with his Incredibles T-shirt on and his aluminum bat raised up for a strike. Both boys moved forward as I ran toward them at full speed.
I screamed out “NO!” as loud as I could. I threw down the shotgun and dove forward as fast as I could. I couldn’t catch my breath I was so afraid. ‘NOT MY SON, you bastards!’ kept running through my head. I was so frightened I couldn’t even get a noise out of my throat. I concentrated on my running as I saw my son hit one of those thing’s arms with his bat as it reached for him. I heard a large thunk as the bat connected with the thing’s radius. I knew the arm cracked. I also saw the thing have no response to the break. It kept reaching for him. He swung again and again, batting the broken flesh away from him.
I ran faster and faster at them. I had to save them! I was in a blind panic as I raced forward. I focused in on him like a laser.
I dove forward at his feet and took him straight down. He went down hard as did I. I dove on top of him with my body protecting him from the groping, diseased hands.
I saw his face under me in complete surprise and shock. I saw tears in his eyes. I saw fear. He became suddenly terrified. I saw him look over my shoulders to what was standing behind me. He didn’t like what he saw one bit. It was a vision from Hell for any adult. For a kid, it was unimaginable horror.
I pushed him forward away from me toward the house. I flung him as hard as I could and sent him sprawling into his friend. They went down hard, and I immediately saw tears forming in their eyes.
I was suddenly pulled by the back of the collar on my shirt. I was pulled off my feet straight back into the gate. I felt bony smelly arms pulling at me trying to rip me apart. I was held tightly so that I couldn’t move. Then I felt a single bite from a really strong set of teeth right into my left shoulder at the neck. I screamed out in pain. Then I felt it again.
Right in front of my face I saw Sam. He fired his pistol again and again right past my face at what was holding me. Suddenly, I was free. I fell forward face first into the pavement. I felt a hot gush of blood start right from my forehead and drip into my eyes.
I ignored my injury for a second and army crawled forward as fast as I could. I heard more gunshots behind me as my friends covered me.
I looked at my son who was screaming his tears out loud. He was sobbing in terror. He was holding his sides in panic not knowing what to do.
I ran to him and scooped him up into my arms. He still looked terrified. And then I noticed what he was looking at- he was looking straight at me and not the Zeds. He was scared shitless of me.
I couldn’t handle that look. I started to cry myself. I put his head on my shoulders and just held him as tightly as I could. Both of us stayed like this for over a minute. And then I did the only thing a good Dad could do.
I took him back to the garage and went down on one knee before him away from the carnage in front of our home.
I looked at him and smiled kindly. “Thank you for saving me.” I then hugged him again tightly. “Thank you so much.” I meant every last word. He really had saved me along with everyone in my family. I kissed him on the forehead and smiled at him again. I loved him with all my heart.
He responded with the biggest hug that I had ever received. I hugged him back tightly. After a few minutes we finally let go.
“You’re not mad at me?” He looked at his feet.
I kissed him on his cheek. “I could never be mad at you. You’re my guy. Always remember that. Everything I do, I do for you.” I kissed him again.
“Sorry buddy, but guy time is over. I gotta get back to work.” I socked him playfully on the arm. He punched me back, gave me a quick hug, and walked inside.
He left the area, and I looked up to see my wife standing over me with tears running down her face.
“How are you?” She looked really scared. She had every reason to be.
I stood up and pulled off my shirt. I looked at my shoulders. I had two perfect bite marks on my left shoulder at my neck. The skin was penetrated by the incisors very neatly right where the special uniform ended. I looked at her and didn’t say a word. I was a goner, and we both knew it.
She flew into my arms and held me tight. There was nothing anyone could do. We both knew it. We stayed there unmoving as we listened to each other’s breathing, tears, and gunshots flying behind us. I didn’t have much time.
I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I guess I should have been more careful.” I shrugged. I really meant it, but I wasn’t sure what I really could do. It was a choice between me and my boy, and I knew for once, there was no way in Hell I could ever sacrifice him. She knew it too. It didn’t make it any easier though.
“I wish I could stay like this forever, but I have to fix all this.” For some reason I had fully accepted my fate. I was calm, serene, and ready to die. Why fight it?
She nodded and walked inside crying. She knew I had to do what I had to do. It didn’t make it any easier for her.
I ran over to Sam and pulled him away. “I’ve been bitten. I don’t know how long I have. Hours I think. I’ve got to take care of this.” I spread out my arms to the horde of Huns outside my gate. They definitely kept trying to get inside. I wasn’t sure we could stop them.
He looked at me funny. He was always looking at me funny. He had no idea how to take me. Well, he wouldn’t have to deal with it too much longer.
All of a sudden, I got a nasty bout of the sweats. I started perspiring from head to toe. Along with that, I felt flush and weak. The bug was already starting to work in my body.
I felt embarrassed and weak in front of Sam. All he did was nod in response. He knew. I turned away and looked into the sun centering myself. I didn’t like to feel weak in front of anyone.
I unzipped my uniform all the way down. I guess it didn’t matter what I wore right now. The damage was already done. I stripped to my shorts and t-shirt and took off my shoes and socks. I moved to the garage, threw out the clothes, and put on a pair of flip-flops. I looked like I was going to the beach. I did feel better though for a second.
I went back to Sam. “Sam, I need you to fill up the SUV with gas. I don’t mean the tank, either. Although, do that too. Fill up as many gas cans as you can and strap them onto the roof. Put as many propane tanks as you can inside and out. Put everything flammable as you can into the car. And when you’re done with that, I want you to put Styrofoam by the car- all we’ve got. Don’t put it in the gas until I’m ready to go. It will dissolve the plastic.”
He looked at me all funny again. “What are you doing?” He was a simple man. He was very dependable, very reliable, but not very creative. Worse things could be said about a man.
“Sam, we’re making napalm. Lots of it. We’re going to set the world on fire and me with it.” I gave a wistful sad grin at him.
I saw his shocked face. He went to say something. I guess he meant to stop me initially. Then he said nothing. He realized there was no point at all in stopping me. He turned and walked away.
I stood and looked out the front gate. So far so good. All the Zeds were being stopped cold for the moment. I wasn’t sure how long this would last. I had to act fast.
I went inside the house to find my family and friends waiting for me. They all looked shell-shocked. They knew.
My kids ran to me as fast as they could and hugged me for all they were worth. I went down on my knees before them. They pushed me down. I started to cry too. I couldn’t handle this
.
I didn’t cry for my own death. It was weird. I cried because I wouldn’t be there to guide them, to give them advice, to heal their scrapes and cuts, or to see them at their happiest. The weird thing was I felt sorry for my kids. I thought to myself ‘these kids are getting screwed.’ They were too damn young to deal with this crap without a father. It actually made me mad. How the Hell could this happen?
I felt a spasm in my gut. I got up and walked outside for a second leaving them alone. I felt like my guts were cramping worse than anything I had ever felt. It actually brought tears to my eyes, the pain was so intense. I doubled over, and the sweat flowed freely. Holy shit, this was bad. And I knew this was only the beginning. I stood up and walked back inside calmly. My family mobbed me again. This time I stayed with them for about fifteen minutes. I literally did not want to move.
But move I did. I had no choice. The end was near, and I had to get away from them. I couldn’t take the chance that I was going to start shedding the infection onto them. I couldn’t take the risk.
I grabbed my wife’s hand and moved upstairs. All the time she did not stop crying. There was nothing I could say to make it any better. I couldn’t say, ‘it was going to be ok.’ It really wasn’t.
We moved into the bedroom where I just kept hugging her as she cried. After about five minutes, I fell to the floor where my legs collapsed out from under me. My thighs and calves cramped so shockingly strong that I literally could not stand. My head became clouded, and my eyes seemed like I was staring through a tunnel. Pain wracked my body.
At first, Jen was just shocked at the sight of me rolling on the floor. Then she came over and just cradled me. It was the only thing she could do.
After a few minutes, the pain left just enough for me to stand. This could not go on for much longer. I hugged her one last time and went to work. I produced inventory lists of everything we had. I gave her instructions on the functioning of every machine we had. I gave her the codes to the safes- and then I gave her my wedding ring. This made her start up all over again. This time, I couldn’t let it continue. I ended it. I didn’t know how much time I had left.
I walked to my office and I got my Dictaphone. I had been using it nonstop since all this began. Over the past three days however, I had let everything lapse. I just didn’t have the time. Now I made the time. I described everything that befell me beginning to end. It took me twenty minutes. It was easy. I had been dictating every medical thought at work for over fifteen years. This was more emotional but the information just flowed into the machine.
I went to put it down and then changed my mind. I changed the batteries on it and left it on. I grabbed the CB radio, put it on channel 13 and taped the speaker to the Dictaphone microphone. I put it on the bed and left it there. I grabbed another radio and made sure my rigged system worked. For once, something worked perfectly.
I walked back to my room where my wife just sat on the bed shell-shocked. I pulled her hand and lifted her up into a hug. I felt momentarily nauseous at the physical exertion. I really had to get moving.
Together, we walked downstairs. My friends and family were all there. All, except the ones that were shooting. I heard gunshot after gunshot. I felt momentarily guilty that I was not there. The feeling passed.
I said my goodbyes to all of them. I walked outside into the bright shining Wisconsin sun. It was a good day.
I put on my war face. The time for regrets was now over. It was game time.
I walked to the gate and grabbed a shotgun. I put six rounds into various heads to thin the herd a little bit. A chill went through me when I realized I would soon be one of them. And then I thought, ‘like Hell I will.” It was never going to happen.
I shook everyone’s hand and said thank you. I was actually glad that I had all these people here. I finally let them get back to their jobs. They were busy. I nodded up to the shooters on the deer blinds. I didn’t want to disturb them. They had the most difficult jobs.
I took one more look and walked to the back of the house to where Sam was standing. He looked ill at ease.
“Hey Sam, how’re you doing?” Again with the funny looks. It was starting to annoy me. It wasn’t worth a fight right now though.
“Sam, walk with me.” We moved to the SUV. The top had five propane tanks and two fifty gallon gas tanks strapped down. I saw bits of Styrofoam everywhere. He did a good job.
“Sam, I want to thank you for all you’ve done. You’re a good man.”
He smiled after all. “Are you kidding me? You saved my entire family. Right now, we’d be one of those without your foresight.” He pointed beyond the gate.
He did have a point I thought. I was such a turd. Even at my darkest hour, I still couldn’t get a hold of my ego.
“Look Sam, I want you to take charge of our little group.” I saw him about to protest. I put my hand up to stop him. “You’re the best man for the job, and you know it. You won’t take sides against anyone. You’ll do everything in your power to protect our people, and you’re smart enough to know your limitations. When you need help, you’ll ask for it. You won’t wing it and put people at risk. You know it, and I know it. There is no other option.”
He nodded. I could tell he didn’t believe me. I saw it in his eyes that he wasn’t going to take charge. Now I got pissed.
“Don’t fuck with me Sam. I don’t need lip service right now. What I need is your solemn oath that you are going to take care of everyone and make sure that they are safe. These are my fucking kids. Right now they’re too young to take care of themselves. I need this from you.” I said it angrily. I was really whining inside. I didn’t have the stomach for this right now.
He turned and looked into the distance, thinking. I saw him look down. “I don’t think I can.” It was all a problem with self-confidence, I saw.
“I have full faith in you. Trust me. I know a leader when I see one. You’ll do what is right, this time and every time. Forget about being a leader and do what’s right. You’ll succeed every time.”
I saw him nod at that. He would do it, but he wouldn’t like it. Too bad. He didn’t have to like it.
I walked over to the over laden car. It was a bomb on wheels. I hopped on top after grabbing a whole bunch of Styrofoam. I unscrewed the gas caps and shoved the pieces down the hatch. Almost instantly, they dissolved and disappeared from sight. It was a success.
I kept this up until there was no more. I was ready.
“What is that?” Sam was curious.
“That is the last chemistry experiment I’ll ever perform. I just made the poor man’s napalm. I’m going to light the World on fire.” I had a devious look on my face. Sam believed me.
The volume of noise increased from my front gate. The natives were getting restless. I didn’t have any time left to spare. I had to take care of this once and for all.
I got in the car. It reeked of gas, so much it actually made me gag. I threw up on the passenger seat which did not make me feel any better. My head spun, I felt weak, and I had the urge to lie down. I ignored the feeling. There was plenty of time for that when I was dead.
I taped the radio to the steering wheel in front of me and taped the transmit button down permanently. Then I started to dictate everything I could remember since the last time. I kept adding things I remembered since the beginning. I know it was out of sequence, but I didn’t care. I rambled and talked for as long as I could. I kept at it until Sam signaled that he was ready for me.
I rolled down the window. He lurched back because of the smell. I guess my odor, the smell of vomit and gasoline got to him. I smiled at his reaction. He should be on this end of it.
“Sam, thanks again for everything you did and everything you will do for my family. I have faith in you.” I looked him right in the eyes and nodded. It was to be the last human response to me, and I wanted it to be meaningful. He just nodded back to me without saying a word. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t have to say anything. I went back
to dictating every thought I had left in my head. My speech became more and more pressured. I talked like I would never talk again, which was probably the case. I just hoped the recorder was working back in the house.
He gave the signal and I drove forward for the finale of my life.
Chapter 10
One is never so alive as when he’s being hunted as meat. It was a unique thought that never occurred to me before all this happened. It was so true, however. Adrenaline shot through my system causing my head to spin euphorically. My blood pressure shot up along with my heart rate. My palms got sweaty. I got suddenly angry and hostile, and I felt like I wanted to kill everyone and everything in my path. I felt invincible!
Unfortunately, I was very much a mortal as demonstrated by the pathogen racing through my system trying to change my brain and body into one of ‘them.’ I was going to die. I had no doubt of that. I was way too far gone already. I felt my body cramping and spasming uncontrollably around me. One second I was fine, and the next, I was writhing in pain. I also kept getting paler and paler as my red blood cells were eaten alive by this lethal agent coursing through my veins. And all I kept thinking was ‘how the Hell could this have happened to me?’ I’m sure there were billions of people thinking the same thing. Oh well, it was too late to dwell on it. I might as well concentrate on business at hand.
I talked a mile a minute into the radio in front of me as I performed my work. Every thought that raced through my head went into that radio. I was afraid that if I stopped talking, that I would never restart or regain the ability. I was probably right.
Sam stood in front of the back gate with two other guys. After the past couple of days, I should have known who they were. I had no idea. It made me uneasy to have so many people in my home without being vetted by me personally. I momentarily thought of my kids and felt guilty by this breach of trust they had in me. Then I put it out of my head. I had to stop thinking in the old way. These people were putting their lives on the line for all of us. There was no higher sacrifice for my children or their own.
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