by R. A. Neely
"Really?'
"Yeah, so there was never a need to learn. I figure other girls learned from their mothers but mine just knew how to shop."
"Well, don't worry. I'll teach you everything I know. I like my women to know their way around the kitchen."
"Watch yourself, mister."
Jackson laughed. "It's only fair. I won't feel like cooking all the time."
"Fine, but done expect anything fancy."
Jackson chuckled as they sat down to eat. "Not bad," Jackson said after he'd taken a bite.
Shirley smiled. "That's only because you were watching. This would have been a disaster otherwise."
They made small talk until diner was finished and then took some time to load the other food into their car. After that a more thorough search of the house turned up a few random items they thought might be useful. One of the items they found was a deck of cards. They found themselves staying up late as Jackson taught Shirley some of the games he knew. They were into their third hand of poker when the sound of a gunshot rang out.
Shirley jumped. "What was that?"
"Gunshot," Jackson replied as he made his way over to the window. "Looks like it came from across the street."
"What's going on?"
Another gunshot rang out, quickly followed by another. "Looks like whoever is in that house is getting attacked. Get the lights, we don't want anyone to see us."
"Good idea," Shirley said as she ran to flick the switch. She rejoined Jackson at the window and watched as the fight played out. They couldn't see anything except for the brief flash made when a gun went off but they couldn't tear themselves away. They heard a piecing scream followed by another gunshot and then everything was quiet.
"Looks like it’s over," Jackson said.
"Should we get out of here?"
"No, I don't think anyone saw us. Leaving right now would definitely draw attention to us. We don't know who won over there, if they're friendly or not."
James was about to say more when they heard a howl that made their blood run cold. The howl was quickly joined by another and then another, until it sounded like some sort of horrible attempt at song.
"Infected," Shirley whispered. "It's time to get out here now, right?"
"Not yet," Jackson said. "Let's wait and see what they do over there. We don't want to be the first ones to move. They watched as dozens of infected descended on the house across the street. Gunfire resumed and infected fell to the ground. More infected took their place and the assault continued.
"Those poor people," Shirley said.
The infected broke the living room window and began crawling into the house. Shots rang out but that didn't slow them down. They watched as they infected beat down the front door and entered the house. More shots rang out and a few infected fell through the doorway. "They're putting up a good fight," Jackson said.
The garage door opened and two vehicles sped out into the street. A few more shots rang out and then it was silent aside from the growls of the infected. "I think we're okay," Jackson said.
"You sure?" Shirley asked.
"Yeah, I don't see any more infected arriving and they killed most of them. A few of them followed that car and the rest are still in that house. We should be okay until morning. They went to bed and got what sleep they could. In the morning they ate leftovers from the night before and got ready to leave.
"I only see a few infected out there," Jackson said from the window. "Shouldn't be a problem."
"Ready when you are," Shirley replied. They headed for the car and started it up. Jackson hit the button for the garage door and drove off as soon as it was high enough. A few infected looked in their direction but Jackson quickly left them behind.
They left the subdivision and got back onto the main road. They drove for several minutes when Jackson began bringing the car to a stop. Ahead of them the road was completely blocked. There were five or six cars jumbled together and there was no way around due to the building on either side of the road.
"What do we do now?" Shirley asked.
"I saw a side street a ways back. We'll take that." Jackson put the car in reverse when a shot rang out. He cursed as the car listed to one side. "They got the tire!"
"Oh no," Shirley said as a dozen figures emerged from nearby buildings. They all had some sort of pistol or melee weapon. One walked towards them dragging a chain along the ground.
"Get your gun ready," Jackson said as he grabbed the rifle from the backseat. "Put your backpack on too. We'll have to make a run for it."
"How? There's so many."
"See that store behind us? I'm gonna open up with the rifle and you make a run for it. Send a few shots their way as you go."
"What? You only showed me the basics. I don't know if I can hit anything."
"Doesn't matter. The fact that you're shooting should make some of them run for cover. And if not, well maybe you'll get a few lucky shots."
Jackson shrugged into another backpack. He hated to leave all the stuff they'd gathered behind but they could get more. It was more important to get away from these guys. "Ready?"
Shirley nodded. "Go!" Jackson shouted. He kicked his door open and came out firing. The men approaching stood there in shock for a second and then scattered in every direction looking for safety. Shirley bolted from the car and set a few shots in their direction, a scream let her know that she'd hit one.
She ran for the store Jackson had indicated and tried the door. When she found it locked she stood back and took aim with his pistol. She shot the lock and was relieved when it broke. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled around ready to shoot.
"It's me!" Jackson shouted as he ran towards her. "Get inside!"
They stepped inside and found themselves in a furniture store. Jackson grabbed a nearby couch and dragged it front of the door. "That's not gonna do much," Shirley said.
"It'll slow them down," Jackson replied. "We're not staying in here. We'll head out the back." Shirley led the way towards the rear of the store when the sound of the door being shoved open caught her attention.
"Keep going," Jackson said as he slammed another magazine into the rifle. He let off a few bursts and followed her through a set of double doors. This was where the store kept anything they didn't have on display. There were couches, beds, and tables taking up the space.
"There has to be a back exit," Jackson said as he move some furniture in front of the doors. Shirley looked around frantically until she spotted another set of double doors on the rear wall. Shirley sprinted for the door only to find that it was locked. It had a crash bar so shooting the lock wouldn't work this time.
"It's locked!"
"Look for a key." Jackson arranged some of the furniture to give himself some cover as the double doors began bumping against the barricade he'd' set up a moment ago. He waited until they managed to push the tables out of the way and stepped into the room. He squeezed the trigger and several shots took the first man that stepped inside in the chest. The man behind him was a bit smarter and quickly flipped the table over for cover before Jackson could get another shot off.
Shirley looked desperately around the room. She had no idea where they kept the keys. She spotted a desk piled with paperwork and quickly made her way to it. She didn't see anything on the desk so she quickly pulled the drawers and dumped out their contents. Shots from Jackson's rifle told her she didn't have much time. He only had that last magazine and then he'd be out of bullets. There! A flash of metal. Shirley moved things out of the way and snatched up the keys.
She ran back to the doors and began trying to find which key fit the lock. Luck was with her as she found the key on the third try. "It's open!" she shouted as she shoved her way outside. She found herself in a narrow alley. There was a dumpster to her left. As far as she could tell, going right would lead her back towards the street.
Jackson let off one last burst from his rifle to force his targets to duck their heads then sprinted after Shirley. S
potting the dumpster, he quickly grabbed it and pushed it in front of the doors. "I think that way goes back to the street," Shirley said pointing.
Jackson nodded. "You go first. I've got a few shots left in case they make out that door too soon." They made their way down the alley as quickly as they could and turned left. Going right would take them back towards their car which was useless at the moment with the busted tire. They walked for several blocks, making sure to head north so they could get out of the city. Eventually they reached another barricade. There were two cars blocking the road.
They wouldn't get far on foot. Shirley wondered if one of those cars blocking the road worked. "Can we take one of those cars? I don't know how much further I can run." She really hoped one of them worked. She was breathing heavily, their flight from the furniture store having taken a lot out of her. Without a working vehicle, their best bet was to probably find somewhere to hide. She didn't like the thought of being in this town any longer than necessary with those crazy people running about.
"I'll give it a try. Keep an eye out, okay?"
"Okay," Shirley replied. She did her best to stay alert as Jackson headed towards one of the vehicles.
"Don't move," a voice said.
Shirley and Jackson made to turn around when the voice spoke again, "I said don't move!".
10 Cedar Forest, Illinois
Greg stirred as Carol slid into bed next to him. "Your turn," she whispered quietly.
"Already?"
"It's midnight. You've been asleep for hours."
"Alright," Greg grumbled as he roused himself. He kissed Carol on the forehead then headed downstairs. He'd have to stay up for about three hours, then he could wake James up for his turn. He found the c.b. radio sitting on table downstairs and figured he might as well pass time seeing if he could hear anything. Fifteen minutes later he turned the radio off, still nothing but static. Greg wandered over to a window and pulled back the covering a tad so he could look outside. Full moon tonight. It was actually quite beautiful. If things were different, he'd love to take Carol somewhere so they could see stuff like this all the time. Hawaii or Cancun or something. He found himself slightly grateful for what happened. He wasn't necessarily glad it happened but it had led to him and Carol getting together. He mentally kicked himself for all the time they could have had together. He wasn't ready to confess his undying love, but he would have liked getting to know her without having to worry about if they were gonna live through the day.
A flash of movement caught his eye and he looked for the source. Had that been his imagination? He was sure he'd just seen something move a moment ago. He was just about to give up and conclude he had to be mistaken when he saw movement again. Same place as last time. And here! A few feet from the first. No mistaking it this time. Someone was outside the house, more than one actually. Was it infected? No, probably not. Subtlety didn't seem to be their strong suit from what he'd observed so far. So that left other survivors then. Maybe someone had seem them pull in earlier this evening. Greg sighed. He had to assume they were hostile. Why sneak around otherwise? He could go wake the others but then he'd lose track of where they were. Based on their movement, it looked like they were heading for the back of the house. Greg stepped away from the window and drew his pistol. Greg looked around for something to use for cover and his eyes rested on the couch. As quietly as he could, he tipped it over. It wasn't ideal but it was better than standing in the open.
Greg heard scrabbling at the back door and figured they were trying to get the door open without making too much noise. Still, Greg didn't think this could be resolved peacefully. They didn't bust in, which meant they weren't necessarily looking to hurt them outright. They probably just wanted their food. Greg wasn't sure if that made a difference though. With limited resources, taking their food seemed no different from putting a gun to their head. And how could he trust that they wouldn't try to hurt them? He doubted they were breaking in without some sort of weapons on them. Greg heard a click and the back door slowly opened. The moon was bright outside, he couldn't make out details but could see several people in the doorway.
"Okay," one whispered, "let's keep this quiet. They put their cars in the garage so we'll just grab them and be on our way."
"What if we run into someone?" another asked. "They might be armed."
"Then we take care of them," the first voice replied. "It's us or them. They've got stuff that we need to survive. Now, let's go and get this down." Greg waited until the first figure stepped through the doorway and squeezed the trigger. The man grunted and fell to the ground.
"Look out!" someone yelled. The figures scrambled away from the doorway and began returning fire. Greg ducked his head as chips from the couch rained down on his head. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and figured James was on his way down.
"Greg! What's happening?" James asked.
"At least four guys trying to get in."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"Figured the gunshots would wake you and I didn't want to lose track of them coming to get you."
"Fair enough," James said as he leaned out of the stairwell and fire off a few shots.
"How is everyone?"
"I've got them all in the same room," James replied. "They're both armed in case this goes south."
Greg fired off a few more shots and sighed in disappointment when it clicked empty. "You have another clip?"
"No, just what I got in here." James fired off the rest of his rounds and heard a grunt in response. "How many is that so far?"
"Two, by my count."
A few minutes passed in silence with neither side firing. "They're out!" someone shouted from outside. "Rush 'em!"
Several figure burst into the room and paused when they didn't see anyone. "Check that couch," someone directed. "And one of you get that garage open. The rest of us are going upstairs."
"What? They might be waiting."
"So what? They're outta bullets just like us. They're gonna pay for killing our friends."
Greg heard footsteps approach the couch and waited until there were nearly on top of him. He suddenly jumped up and lashed out using the butt of the pistol as a weapon. He caught someone in the temple and the crashed to the floor with a grunt.
"They're still here!" someone yelled. "Get 'em from both sides."
Greg waited for two of the figures to approach him from the right. He trusted that James would deal with the other two. When they got close enough, he quickly stepped forward and kicked the first figure in the stomach. As he staggered away, Greg deflected a punch from the second and managed a strike to his throat that left him gasping for air. Greg followed up with a kick to the groin and finished him off with a blow to the back of the head as leaned over in pain. Greg looked for his first attacker and saw he was still recovering. Greg took advantage and delivered several swift blows with the pistol that left him unconscious.
James waited for the two figures to flank Greg and then sprang from his hiding place. The first crumpled immediately from a vicious blow to the head from James's pistol. The second turned in shock and James gave him two hard blows with the pistol. James looked for more opponents and saw someone heading towards Greg with a knife. Greg was finishing off his second opponent and didn't seem aware of the danger. James sprinted across the room and tackled the assailant to the ground. He mounted him and used his knees to pin his arms to the ground. Several blows from the pistol left him unconscious at best.
Greg looked up and saw that James had tackled someone to the ground. Looks like James had just saved his life. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and looked towards the stairs to see two figures heading up. He sighed in relief a moment later when a shotgun blast sent them tumbling down the stairs. One of the figures scrambled to his feet, his friend must have taken the brunt of the blast, only to be sent crashing into the wall from a second shot. The unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked brought an end to the fight. Laura walked down the stair
s and stepped over the bodies. She had a menacing look on her face and Greg was glad she was on his side. She aimed her shotgun and the people still standing.
"Are we done here?" she asked.
Those still on their feet raised their hands and began backing towards the door. "Yeah, we're done," one answered. "We're sorry. We just wanted some food."
"You think it’s okay to take food from my children?" Laura asked angrily. She let off another shot and another figure fell to the ground. "Get out of here before I kill all of you!"
The two remaining figures made for the door only to freeze when series of howls pierced the night. That's just great Greg thought. The fight had drawn the infected to them. It sounded really close so they didn't have long. The two remaining figures sprinted away into the night, leaving their friends where they lay. "We need to move," Greg said.
"You're right. Good shooting, Laura," James said.
Laura nodded. Carol led the kids down the stairs and tossed Greg his machete. "I heard the howls. We're leaving right?"
"Yeah," Greg said, "Let's get to the cars." Greg approached Carol and fished for another magazine in the bag she was carrying. "Alright, let's-" A crash against the front door told them they were out of time. A moment later, the living room windows broke as the infected pounded on them and began making their way into the room. Greg started shooting and several infected fell to the ground. "Get to the cars!" he shouted.
Laura let off another blast from her shotgun then grabbed the kids and headed for the garage. James had reloaded the pistol and let off some shots of his own. They were doing okay so far. The infected could only come in so many at a time through the window but that wouldn't last. Other infected were pounding on the door and it was bouncing in its frame. Greg thought it would only be a matter of time before it gave out. Carol unloaded her pistol and more infected fell to the ground.
"Let's go!" James yelled. "There's too many!" Just then the door fell to the ground under the combined weight of the infected pounding on it.