John paused. “Spanky?” he asked.
“That’s Dad’s Schnauzer. Keep reading please.”
“If you can get to the lake house safely you can find us there. We’ll be waiting. God bless and we love you very much. Love Mom and Dad.”
Amy pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. “We have to go to the lake,” she said with determination in her voice.
“It’s too late now,” John said, “we shouldn’t be traveling at night. It’s too dangerous.”
“Then we’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up. Do you think we’ll be safe here tonight?”
“Yeah I think so. We need to move the truck into the garage and close the door. Just in case.”
Amy got up from the table and went into the garage to raise the door. John backed the truck inside. He wanted to be able to pull straight out if he had to. Amy looked up and down the street then closed the door making sure it was locked.
“I think we’ll be safe for the night,” John said.
John closed and locked the front door and checked the rest of the house. They barricaded the front door and the door to the basement as best they could and brought a mattress down from the master bedroom and laid it in the middle of the floor in the family room. Amy set them up with pillows and blankets.
John checked for food. There were a few things but Amy’s parents must have taken most of the food with them. There were several cans of soup in the cupboard so they sat down to eat it cold.
“It’s cold in here,” Amy said lighting a candle. “Can we start a fire in the fireplace? It’s gas.”
“Um…. I don’t think that would be a good idea. We just can’t take a chance on being discovered if more zombies or thugs come by.”
“You’re probably right but it’s getting cold.”
“We have plenty of blankets. That’ll have to do,” John said.
“It was a thought,” Amy said. “Sure would be nice.”
“Right.”
They finished their cold soup in silence. Afterward Amy prepared their bed and they laid down.
“You ok?” John asked.
“Yeah I’m alright. I just...can’t believe my sister’s gone. I feel numb. I want to cry but I can’t and I don’t know why.”
“It’s been a rough couple of days that’s all. The main thing is that your parents are alive.”
“Yeah, I thought we would find them all dead. Or gone without a trace.”
“We’ll find them tomorrow,” John said. “I’ve set my watch alarm for six thirty. We’ll head out as soon as it gets light ok.”
“Ok,” Amy said turning over to face John. “Thanks for everything. Your wife’s very lucky.”
“Thanks,” John said.
He placed the flashlight, a rifle and handgun beside the mattress then blew out the candle. They closed their eyes and tried to sleep.
Soon they both fell into a state of Semi-consciousness. Half asleep and half awake.
John woke up once and lay there listening to Amy’s breathing in the darkness. He backed up against her close enough to feel her warmth then went back to sleep. Neither stirred again until dawn.
FIVE - DAY THREE: STRAIGHT KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY
Just before sunrise, scratching at the front door woke Amy. She sat up and shook John.
“Do you hear that?” she whispered.
“Hear what?” John said groggily.
“There’s something scratching at the front door.”
John sat up and listened. He could hear what sounded like something sniffing at the crack along the bottom and sides of the door.
“Spanky,” Amy said jumping to her feet.
John grabbed the pistol off the floor beside him and followed her. They put their ears up to the door and could clearly hear sniffing sounds coming from the other side.
John grabbed Amy by the shoulder and pulled her back holding his finger up to his lips to signal her to be quiet. When they were well back from the door he whispered in her ear.
“There was more than one. I could hear at least two maybe three,” he said. “It’s not the dog.”
Suddenly John’s watch alarm went off. He silenced it quickly but it was too late. Whatever they were, they were now banging into the door. John picked up the rifle and handed it to Amy. Then he slowly crept up to the door and peered through the peephole. He motioned for Amy to come take a look. She leaned in and put her eye to the peephole. The hazy blood shot eye of a zombie met her gaze. Startled, she jumped back.
John laughed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s just the garden variety zombie. Slow and dumb. Nothing to be afraid of Ma'am. As long as they don’t get their hands on you that is.”
“John they could attract the attention of the others.”
“You’re right. Lets get out of here.”
The banging at the door became louder.
“They know we’re in here,” Amy said.
“Right but not for long.”
They gathered up the guns and other things they had brought inside and went into the garage.
“How are we going to get out of here?” Amy asked.
“I’ll look out the window to make sure they’re aren’t any in front of it. You start the truck at the same instant I open the door, then I’ll jump in and we’ll go. That simple.”
“You know as soon as you open that door they’ll be over here.”
“Right that’s why we have to be fast. Please... do not stall the engine.”
“Don’t worry,” she said rolling her eyes.
Amy got into the truck and turned the switch to make sure the battery was ok. The dash came to life. “Ready when you are,” she said.
John pulled the locking bar back, looked at Amy and nodded then opened the door. The engine came to life as he jumped into the truck and slammed the door shut.
“Hit it,” he shouted.
She gunned the engine and left the driveway like the truck was shot out of a cannon. The zombies at the front door turned and watched them shoot out onto the street and speed away.
“Nice job,” John said.
“Thanks. You know, it’s a good thing they were just regular zombies and not demons. We could have been in a lot of trouble otherwise.”
They had driven for several miles when Amy suddenly hit the brakes in front of an elementary school and turned into the parking lot.
“What are you doing?” John asked.
Amy didn’t answer but sat with her foot on the break staring at the school playground in front of them. John saw that she was fixated on something and turned to look. Staring back was a little girl of maybe eight. She was swinging slowly with a steady rhythm. Her legs moving back and forth.
“She’s a gomer Amy,” John said.
“I know.”
“You’re the one who said we should keep moving and not stop to look at gomers. Right?”
John glanced at his watch. It was 7:20 a.m.
“I know,” Amy said as she opened the truck door, her eyes still riveted on the little girl.
“Amy…What are you doing? Get back in the truck.”
Amy ignored him as she walked over to the swing set and sat down on the swing beside the little girl.
The little girl looked over at Amy and attempted a smile. Black spittle ran out and down her chin.
Amy smiled back as best she could trying to fight the nausea welling up in her stomach. The sight was heart breaking to Amy. She had played on this playground many times as a child.
“Amy we need to go,” John said as he stood at the front of the truck with the rifle in his hand.
Amy looked up at him then back to the little girl.
“Do you think she’s cold,” she said, her eyes still on the girl.
“I don’t think so,” John answered.
“Get a jacket.”
“Amy, I don’t think she can feel the cold.”
“I don’t care. Get the jacket please,” Amy said still looking at the girl.
>
John took a jacket from the truck and handed it to Amy careful to keep an eye on the girl. “Don’t forget she’s contagious,” he reminded her.
Amy shot him a look as if to say shut up but said nothing.
“Are you cold?” she asked the girl.
The girl said nothing but continued to swing and keep her eyes on Amy. Amy began to cry. She grabbed the swings chained and slowed it down until the girl was still. Then she held the jacket as the girl put her arms in. Once the girl’s arms were in Amy went around to the front and zipped it up. Then she placed her hand on the girls shoulder and smiled. The girl returned the smile with a partial grin which reminded Amy of how someone smiles after they've been to the dentist. The girl started to swing again.
Amy stepped back and wiped her eyes. The little gomer girl looked away and continued to swing.
John put his arm around Amy and led her back to the truck.
“I want to drive, it will help me think of something else,” she said.
Sitting in the truck Amy continued to stare at the gomer child. “I played here as a child. Went to this school.”
Amy pulled back out to the road, stopped and looked over at John.
“What do you think the gomers are John,” she said, “I mean, why are they like that? Why are they so different from the others? Doesn’t make sense, you know?”
“I don’t know. None of this makes sense. It’s like we’ve been transported to an alternate universe.”
Amy laughed. “Maybe we have. Maybe we have. Somewhere out there our old selves are going about life as usual with no idea that their alternate selves are stuck here in this reality.”
They looked at each other for a second then burst out laughing.
“Right,” John said grinning. “Wouldn’t that be cool.”
“You know, I guess it is possible,” she said pausing for a second. “If there can really be zombies then I suppose there can really be alternate universes.”
The remaining drive to the lake took them past several strip malls. The buildings and parking lots were scattered with bodies.
“It looks like a war zone doesn’t it,” Amy said.
John nodded. They drove through a fast food restaurant area. John felt the hunger pangs intensify as they passed a Taco place. Amy saw him staring at the restaurant.
“Oh my God, I know,” she said.
John laughed. They Drove on.
Unlike yesterday this was going to be a sunny day. John could feel Amy’s apprehension as they sped down the road. He had to remind her to slow down. There was no rush he told her. They had plenty of time.
As they drove over a bridge at the lake Amy said they were close and turned left down a narrow one-lane road. They followed the road for a mile or so then turned into a dirt and gravel driveway and stopped at a gate twenty yards off the road. There was a chain on it with a heavy pad lock. Amy got out of the truck and walked over to the mailbox. Kneeling down she turned over a large rock and retrieved a small plastic container from underneath. Walking back over to the gate she took a key from the container and unlocked the gate. John moved to the drivers seat and pulled through the gate once it was opened.
“Should we lock it back,” Amy asked.
“Yeah I think so. Just to be on the safe side.”
Amy locked the gate and climbed back in the truck.
“Just go straight. The driveway curves to the right then goes back to the left and down to the house,” she said pointing to the house through the trees. “You can just see it. Over there.”
“I see it. Is there a garage?”
“Yes. It’s a two story, kind of. The first floor is just garage, workshop and a laundry room though.”
The truck slowed to a stop in front of the house. Both garage doors were closed and the house seemed to be locked up tight. No broken windows. No damage to the outside at all. It looked like the apocalypse had completely passed this part of the world by.
John pulled down in front of the garage door. They checked their weapons and exited the truck.
“We’ll go in the back,” Amy said.
John followed Amy around to the back where she removed a key from underneath the garbage can. They had started up the stairs to the deck when they heard a voice calling to them from the lake. Turning John saw a man coming toward them from the dock. He carried an AR-15 assault rifle, wore camouflage clothing and had a graying beard.
John raised the shotgun slightly. “Stop right there.”
The man stopped and lowered his weapon. “Not looking for trouble there fellow. I was just coming over to look for food. That’s all. Where you people from?”
“This is my Mom and Dad’s house,” Amy said. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Tuck. No first name just Tuck. I live over there with my German Sheppard Roy. Hell of a guard dog,” he said pointing across the lake. “I never met your folks. Only been living here a couple of months. I’ve seen ‘em out on the dock, waved, but that’s it.”
“They only came on the weekends,” Amy said. “They were going to move out here full time when they retired. They left me a note saying they were coming here yesterday morning. It’s only a twenty-minute trip. They should be here.”
“Well,” Tuck said, “I’ve been watching the place. Haven’t seen anybody coming or going. It’s been real quiet over here. Except for the gunshot I heard on Tuesday.”
“Was it over here?” John asked.
“I don’t know. Couldn’t tell,” Tuck said. “If your folks were supposed to be here yesterday…I don’t think they made it.”
John looked over at Amy. She looked up at the back door of the house then started up the steps.
“You guys have a look around,” Tuck said cradling his rifle, “I’ll patrol around outside ‘till you’re done. They’re out there you know. I‘ve seen ‘em. Killed three yesterday. Wandering through the woods like drunks.”
“What kind were they?” John asked.
“What do you mean…what kind?”
“We’ve run into some that are meaner and faster than the others. Smarter too. A lot smarter.”
“Hell these guys were mean enough. Not too fast though, or smart. These dumb asses were just walking around, bumping into trees. Damndest thing I ever saw. They tried to come after me, growling like hyenas, but they was too slow. Like shooting ducks in a barrel. Killed two out at the road on Tuesday.”
“What about them?”
“Same kind… I saw all the news reports that morning before the power went out so, I walked up to the road to have a look see. There was a car ran in the ditch and there they were, standing around in the road beside it. So I shot ‘em.” He stopped talking long enough to light the cigarette hanging from his lip. “I’m pretty isolated over there. About two hundred yards off the road. Can’t see nothing but woods on that side but I can see most of the houses on this side of the lake from my dock though.”
“Have you seen any of them over here?”
“Yep. You’ve got a house down that way about two hundred yards. Saw one wandering around there,” he said pointing in one direction. “The thing looked like it was trying to walk with swimming fins on.”
John and Amy looked at each other knowing he was describing a gomer.
Then turning in the opposite direction Tuck pointed again. “And another house on the other side of the cove. Saw four over there. Did you know the people from those houses?” he asked Amy.
“Not really.”
“Me either,” Tuck said.
“We waved at them sometimes when they passed in their boats,” Amy added. “Don’t think I ever talked to them. I’m sure my Dad probably knew them though.”
“You didn’t try to shoot them?” John said.
“Nah, too far. Wasn’t too worried about the ones over here. I doubt if they can swim anyway. And they sure as hell couldn’t beat me in a foot race.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. These others we were telling you about a
re fast. We call them demons.”
“Demons? That’s news to me. I didn’t know there were two different kinds.”
“Three,” John said.
“Three what?”
“Three kinds of zombies.”
“No shit?”
“No shit,” John echoed back. “The third kind are pretty passive. They kind of go around as if they were still alive. The one you saw walking funny was one of those.”
“What do you mean by as if they’re still alive?”
“I mean they go through the motions of doing everyday things, even though they aren’t very good at it. It’s like they retained some memory of who or what they were before.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Yep.”
“Look,” Tuck said, “you go on up with the girl. I’ll keep an eye out down here.”
“Ok, thanks.”
“Hey,” Tuck said loudly, “if I see any, zombies, how will I know if they’re demons?”
“Don’t worry,” John said, “you’ll know.”
John headed up the steps and into the house. Amy was sitting at the kitchen table crying. She looked up when he walked in.
“He’s right,” she said tearfully, “they didn’t make it. It looks like they're gone without a trace after all.”
“Maybe they stopped off somewhere.”
“No, I mean they didn’t make it John. They’re dead. Don’t you understand that?”
“Amy, you don’t know that. It could be anything. Car trouble maybe. They could be hiding somewhere right now. Safe… Alive.”
“Car trouble?… We would have seen the car on the side of the road.”
She stood up and put her arms around John’s neck and sobbed uncontrollably. John held her tight and knew that she was probably right. The chances her parents were alive was slim. But he didn’t want to tell her that.
“I’m going with you,” she said finally looking into his eyes, “there’s no reason for me to stay here now. My whole family is gone.”
John was relieved. He would have had to leave her if she insisted on staying. He was glad it didn’t come to that. And he was getting to the point where he didn’t even like her being out of his sight for more than a couple of minutes. He felt responsible for her safety.
The Demon Dead Page 8