The Zombie Proof Fence

by Tony Thomas

  ‘Have you been drinking?’ Jeff demanded.

  It sounded like Jim stifled a laugh before replying, ‘No Dad, I don’t drink.’

  Jeff thought for a moment. He could hear Jim’s friends sniggering in the background. Aghast he asked, ‘Have you taken drugs?’

  ‘No Dad, we just had some weed, it’s all good.’

  Jeff counted to five in his head. ‘Jim, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You need to be alert. What if you’re attacked?’

  ‘Dad, it’s, like, the end of the world. Half my friends are gone. Everyone’s dying. We’ll be dead by tomorrow, might as well go out smilin’.’ Jim giggled again.

  Jeff couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘Jim, you can’t give up like this. If you take precautions, you can survive what’s happening. You can get to a rescue centre. You can keep safe.’

  Jim snickered. ‘Are you kidding Dad? Have you seen the news? Half the cities in America are bloodbaths. The zombies are walking the streets everywhere. As soon as you go outside you get attacked. The crazy fast ones are still hunting people in houses.’

  ‘What are you talking about? How stoned are you?’ Jeff was trying very hard not be annoyed.

  Jim sounded like he was making a serious effort to talk sensibly. ‘Dad, I don’t know when you last saw the news, but we switched it off because we couldn’t handle it anymore.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We heard through Facebook that most of the big cities have shut down. We heard that the people that get sick keep attacking people until they collapse. About ten minutes later they turn into zombies and then try to kill and eat people. The news says. . .’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no such thing as zombies.’

  ‘Dad, we’ve heard it from tons of people. We haven’t seen it, we haven’t seen anything since we came downstairs. But we did see bodies getting burned on the news. Did you hear that India is overrun?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The last report we watched on the news was a CNN team in India saying the Indian government had bugged out and that India was just a massive bloodbath.’

  ‘My lord,’ Jeff said. He hadn’t heard any of this. He wondered whether he should take Jim a little more seriously. ‘What were you saying about them hunting?’

  ‘Well what we heard is that when people get sick they go crazy—you’ve heard that bit right?’

  ‘Yeah, I knew about that.’

  ‘Well they said that they hunt for people to infect. They don’t kill people, they attack them. Once they’re infected or pass out they leave them alone, then try to find someone else to infect. They hunt for people.’

  ‘I don’t see how that’s possible, but even so, why did you say there were zombies?’

  ‘Well we’ve only heard this second hand, our friends have seen the other stuff. I know you probably won’t believe it.’ Jim must have been thinking how his father was sceptical about most things.

  ‘Just tell me what you heard.’ Jeff was glad Jim was sobering up. Maybe he had been acting a little more stoned than he actually was.

  ‘We heard that the infected ones that act crazy start slowing down after a few hours. Then they collapse. We heard that they die. After a few minutes, they come back to life. Then they grab anyone—infected or not—and try to eat them.’ Jim paused. ‘I know that sounds crazy, but we heard it from a lot of people.’

  Jeff was thunderstruck. It took a moment to pull himself together enough to say, ‘Well it does sound pretty hard to believe.’ He paused and thought again before asking, ‘Did you see anything on the news about that?’

  ‘No, only on Facebook. I don’t trust the news anymore. They reported that it was under control. We know it wasn’t. If we’d tried to go to the rescue centre when they told us to we would have been killed.’

  ‘I know they screwed that up, but maybe things are getting better. At least it should tell you about more than what your friends can see. Maybe you should look at both. When did you last look at the news?’

  ‘About half an hour ago I guess. The guys and I decided it wasn’t worth watching. We’ve got our laptops down here and we’ve been talking to friends while we were playing Halo 3 on Xbox.’

  ‘Don’t you think it’s worth checking the news again? Maybe they’re reporting on the zombies now.’

  ‘I don’t know Dad, the news hasn’t been real helpful so far.’

  ‘They did report the rescue centre at the school was gone didn’t they?’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose so, but way after we would have gone for it. Maybe we can have a look. Like I said, they’ve been lying to us, I don’t trust the news anymore.’

  ‘I understand. Listen Jim, you need to keep in control. I know it’s tempting to party like it’s the end of the world, but if you want to stay alive, you need to be careful. Do you think anyone can work out you’re there?’

  ‘Not a chance Dad. We shut all the blinds and curtains ages ago. We’re in the basement so no one knows where we are. We’re just about as safe as we can be.’

  ‘Okay Jim. Listen, I’m in a quarantine centre now—should be going to the hotel pretty soon. I’m going to go get my phone and laptop charged now. Maybe we can talk again in about an hour or so?’

  ‘Okay Dad. Talk to you then.’

  ‘Bye Jim.’ Jeff killed the call.

  09:55 AEST: Sydney

  ‘Dan, the news just reported the prime minister is making another statement at 10 a.m.,’ Gen said, as she walked into his office. ‘I just talked with Rita and they seem to be okay as well.’

  Dan was busily inspecting parts of the rifle, comparing them to the manual he had printed.

  ‘I’m sure I told you I didn’t want that gun in the house. Why are you pulling it apart?’

  ‘I was just checking there was nothing wrong with it. I’m actually getting ready to put it back together.’

  Gen shook her head. ‘The reason I came in is that the PM is going to be making another announcement any second. When you’ve finished playing with that thing, you might want to come out to the lounge room.’

  Dan didn’t rise to the bait, as he continued to re-assemble the rifle, he said, ‘Sure, give me two minutes.’

  Gen shook her head as she left to go back to the lounge room.

  Dan counted the bullets in the magazine then reinserted it in the rifle. He was careful to ensure the safety catch was still on, before resting it on his desk. Dan went to the front door and checked the monitor view of the front yard but there was nothing to be seen. He came into the lounge room to see Gen sitting in front of the muted TV looking at her phone. ‘It looks clear outside still, at least I couldn’t see anything,’ he said. ‘There’s fifteen bullets left in the magazine.’

  ‘Great,’ Gen acknowledged ruefully. ‘I spoke to Rita. They were almost at Wollongong. Seems like they’re going to have a slow trip.’

  ‘I’m glad they’re okay. I just wish they’d come here where it’s safe,’ Dan said.

  Gen did a double take at this, and almost pointed out that they weren’t exactly in a safe zone, but ignored it and turned up the TV. The banner had come across the screen announcing the statement from the prime minister was about to start. As the scene cut to the plinth and the prime minister appeared on screen, Gen commented, ‘He’s looking a bit worse for wear.’

  Before Dan could respond, the PM started to speak:

  My fellow Australians, he began, causing Dan to cringe. By now you should all be aware of the unparalleled tragedy that is unfolding worldwide. Violence has overtaken most of the major cities in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. There is virtually no communication from Africa, although the South African government is believed to still be intact.

  Most of the governments we are in contact with have declared similar curfews and quarantines to our own. However, they appear to be of limited effectiveness. The Turkish government have reported enormous numbers of refugees crossing their borders from the
south and east. The Indian government has fled Delhi. We have unconfirmed reports that the Russian Federation has ordered its troops to shoot to kill any person found on the streets.

  The Pakistani government has fallen and been replaced by a military junta. We have just been informed by the Pakistani embassy that the Junta intends to use nuclear strikes to stop the flow of refugees into Pakistan from India, Afghanistan, and Iran. There is a grave risk of escalation if this occurs, as the Indian government retains remote control of its nuclear arsenal. The Australian Government have stressed our condemnation of this planned action.

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ Dan said. ‘A fucking nuclear war on top of this bullshit!’

  At home, we are faring well. Our quarantine and curfew are having the desired effect. At this time, the only city with reported outbreaks is Sydney, and these have been contained.

  ‘Fucking bullshit!’ Dan exclaimed. ‘Contained my arse. That army unit was taken down, and no one has come to help.’

  There has been no spread of the disease to any other city or town in Australia. Quarantines and curfews will continue to be maintained for all cities and large towns. Significant planning has been done to prepare for a situation such as this and these plans will be enacted over the next twenty-four hours.

  Several deaths have been reported as a result of the outbreak in Sydney; however, I stress, these outbreaks have been contained and cannot spread.

  ‘How can we believe any of this now?’ Dan said. ‘He’s talking crap.’

  I encourage all Australians to keep a close watch on the news services and government web sites. There have been many unsubstantiated rumours traversing social media. The Government Disaster Assistance web site is checking and providing a status on Internet rumours. I encourage people to use this service and to remain calm.

  Australia is faring well. Our strong customs and immigration policy ensured we have had a minimal exposure to this epidemic. Strict enforcement of the quarantine and curfew will further minimise these effects. By working together, we can weather the storm ahead of us.

  I continue to pray for all Australians and with God’s Grace we can look forward to our deliverance from these dark days.

  Dan turned down the sound and shook his head. ‘He’s fallen back into the religious crap. I think he’s lost it.’

  ‘I’m not sure he ever really had it to be honest, but he does sound a bit messed up.’ Gen said. ‘What where you talking about on Skype earlier?’

  Dan hesitated before saying, ‘Piotr thinks we are having a zombie apocalypse. Ian and I think he’s wrong.’

  ‘Really? You don’t think it’s a bit like a zombie outbreak?’ Gen asked.

  ‘No. Zombies are fiction, they can’t happen. You know I love zombie stories but you and I both know it’s an impossibility. Ian suggested that it could be a disease that made the victims go aggressive and not feel pain. Even that seems a stretch, but something weird is happening.’

  ‘Why does Piotr think it’s zombies?’

  ‘Just from that story I told you earlier about one of the guys in the States. Apparently this guy saw his neighbour shoot three people that were sick, and then get attacked by them as he went to walk away.’

  ‘Shoot them dead?’

  ‘He didn’t say, although that’s what Piotr implied.’

  ‘Dan, if they weren’t dead it’s not zombies, if they were it could be, but it doesn’t seem enough to go on. How about what happened out front? We both heard shooting but you said there were no bodies. That sounds like the same story, people that were shot getting up. Maybe Ian is right.’

  ‘But there were bodies out the front, Gen. There were dead people in Joanne’s yard.’

  ‘Maybe they were head shots or something—something that stopped them completely?’

  ‘Yeah, maybe, all I know is that zombies are not real.’

  Gen thought for a moment. ‘You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe we should both go out and check on those bodies. Then we’ll know what killed them.’

  ‘Or get attacked in the process. Geez, Gen, what’s got into you? Why do you want to go out there all of a sudden?’ Dan was genuinely flustered by the thought of putting Gen at risk.

  ‘Because Rita pointed out that we know of at least three outbreaks that aren’t being reported. We need to have a better idea of what’s going on than what we’re seeing on the news. We have no idea what happened at the airport or even what’s happened to most of our neighbours.’

  ‘I suppose so, Gen, but I’m going to carry the gun when we go out there—okay?’

  Gen looked appalled but said, ‘I suppose that makes sense.’

  Dan walked back to his office and picked up the rifle. He walked back out to the front door. Gen was waiting, looking at the monitor. ‘I can’t see anyone moving out there, it looks okay.’

  Dan looked quickly at the monitor and said, ‘Okay.’ He opened the front door and reached to unlatch the security door. Before he could flick the lock, he was shocked to hear a burst of rifle fire.

  ‘Was that a machine gun?’ Gen said.

  Dan held up the rifle and said, ‘I guess it was one of these, maybe the soldiers have come back.’ He opened the security door and walked outside. From the front porch, he had a better view than he had from the security camera. Dan still couldn’t see anyone on the street in front of his house, but he could hear moans and other noises coming from the direction of Joanne’s house. The rifle sounded again and it was clearly coming from the same place.

  Dan turned to Gen, ‘Either the soldiers are still at Joanne’s or she picked up a gun—those shots are coming from her place.’

  ‘If someone’s shooting, there must be someone attacking, maybe you should come back inside.’

  ‘You’re probably right, but I think it’s worth looking over the fence to see if I can see anything. We still don’t know if it’s zombies or not, and I think you’re right—we need to find out.’

  ‘Okay, but stay inside the fence,’ Gen said. ‘I’ll come with you.’

  Dan and Gen walked across their yard towards the fence. With the gate closed, they had a very limited view of the street. As they got closer, they could see less. They pushed through the shrubs planted along the fence near Joanne’s house. Dan leaned the rifle against the fence. He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to Gen, ‘Pass me this once I get on top—I’m going to video anything I see.’

  Gen nodded, Dan turned, reached and pulled himself up so he could see over the fence.

  ‘Can you see anything?’ Gen whispered.

  ‘Not much,’ Dan said. He crouched before jumping to pull himself higher on the fence, levering himself so he could get a knee onto the fence top. He paused to look into Joanne’s yard.

  Joanne’s house was a corner block and her front door faced the street running perpendicular to Dan and Gen’s house. It meant that Dan could see the side of her house and yard out to the street well enough, but very little of the street to the front of her house.

  ‘Seems clear up close,’ he said, then positioned himself to straddle the fence. Dan was now in a position to see Joanne’s yard and a little of the street to the front of her house. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Pass me the phone.’ Gen passed Dan’s phone to him, he quickly set it to video mode before turning to look back into Jo’s yard. ‘I can see the bodies in her front yard. There are two soldiers and four other people.’ He paused and leaned to get a better look, ‘Oh fuck, one of them looks like Shaun from next door.’ Dan made sure the phone was still recording as he aimed it at each of the bodies.

  ‘Shit,’ Gen muttered. ‘Can you see how they were killed?’

  ‘Not really.’ Dan gulped. ‘The dead soldiers are pretty battered. They look like they’ve been torn apart.’ Dan felt nauseous. He turned and looked at Gen, ‘Shaun looks like he’s been shot in the head. The old lady from three doors down is there as well, it looks like her neck is just about gone.’ Dan leaned farther over. ‘I can see so
me people coming down the hill towards the front of Jo’s house.’

  ‘Can they see you?’ Gen whispered urgently.

  ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Dan said. There was a ripple of gunfire, three people in the slow-moving group fell. ‘Someone just shot three people. Oh, crap. Two of them are getting back up. The others walked past them but those two just stood back up. One of them was shot in the gut. I can’t believe he could get back up and walk.’

  ‘Dan, climb back down. Don’t let them see you.’

  ‘Wait a sec, Gen,’ Dan said. He zoomed the focus on the phone in tighter on the group. ‘The third one is getting up. He was shot in the chest. Holy shit, he’s moving again. Fuck, this is unbelievable. No one keeps moving with a fucking great hole in their chest like that. It’s barely even bleeding.’

  There was more gunfire. ‘Another one’s gone down, he hasn’t moved yet.’

  ‘Dan, that’s enough. Come back down. We’ve got to let people know about this,’ Gen whispered forcefully. ‘If you can shoot them and they get back up they’re zombies as far as I can tell.’

  ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Dan said. He passed the phone back to Gen then swung his leg back over the fence and dropped down. Dan took back his phone and stopped the recording. ‘I’m glad I took this video. I don’t think I’d believe what we just saw without some sort of proof.’

  Dan put his phone back into his pocket before grabbing the rifle. He looked at it for a moment before saying, ‘You know, I doubt I could hit anything with this thing—did Jo ever say anything about military training?’

  Gen looked thoughtful. ‘No, but she is a country girl. Maybe she shot rifles as a kid.’

  ‘Maybe, but I think at least one of the soldiers must have made it to her place. That was pretty accurate shooting.’

  Music erupted suddenly from Dan’s pocket. He dropped the rifle and hurriedly pulled his phone out and silenced it. ‘Sorry, Gen, it was a reminder for that interview today. . .’ A loud groan erupted, followed by the sound of someone moving though the shrubs on the other side of the fence.