“What are your names?” I asked as I glanced around the area nervously.
“I’m Brian Miller and this is my girlfriend Christy Schwartz.” The boy answered quickly.
“Well, I’m Chaz Watkins; this is my wife Angie, our friends Noah Patterson, Christina O’Brian, Alex Thurman, James Farmer, and Subotai Kitoshita.” I introduced as I motioned to everyone in the jeep around me.
“Nice to meet y’all, listen, we were just now running from a group of zombies back there, can we come with you guys?” Brian asked as he glanced back over his shoulder again.
“Yes, but come on—we have to hurry.” I answered motioning them toward us.
“Where are you all going?” Brian asked again.
“We’re going to see if my family is okay, they live about nine miles to the south, and then we’re going to Chattanooga to see if Angie’s family is safe.” I answered as the two of them climbed into the back of the jeep.
“Okay, we’re with you.” Christy stated once they were both seated.
After everyone was ready I drove out of there just as the group of zombies came stumbling around the corner; after thirty minutes we arrived at my house, the lights were on in what had once been my late grandma’s old house so I stopped and everyone got out and followed me to the back door. I knocked and I could see my dad looking out the window and the surprise and relief on his face—he opened the door and hugged me and Angie and then we all went inside just as it was starting to rain hard.
“Chaz we’re so glad that you and Angie are okay, we were worried sick.” My mom Lorraine said hugging me and Angie.
“Who are your friends?” My dad Ron asked as he looked over my group.
“This is Noah Patterson, Christina O’Brian, Alex Thurman, James Farmer, Subotai Kitoshita, Brian Miller and Christy Schwartz.” I introduced motioning to everyone.
“Hello—my name is Ron Watkins, this is my wife Lorraine.” My dad answered shaking Noah and several of the others’ hands as my mom done the same.
My sister Melody and her husband Donnie Carter were there as well and the windows of the old house were all boarded up and my dad had his gun there.
“How did you all get here?” My mom asked as she looked over my group.
“Angie and I were staying in that house we were renting in the hills around Shawnee Oklahoma from that guy at my old job when we met Jacob O’Brian and his two daughters Christina and Jennifer, Jacob and Jennifer are no longer among the living because they were bitten by those undead bastards, but we met them as well as Noah Patterson here as well as two others, Shiva Casey and Marianna Thompson who are also no longer among the living. They told us about the zombie outbreak and before long they came for us, we’ve been running everywhere, killing off as many as we can but they just keep coming; it’s like there’s an infinite supply of them out there.” I explained in deep thought as I remembered the events of the not so distant past.
“That’s pretty much the way it is everywhere—all over this country—the zombies are everywhere and most of the military has been destroyed already.” My dad answered as he unfolded a newspaper and showed us several articles that were dated only about a week before.
“Yeah…we were planning on seeing how you all were and then going to see how Angie’s family is in Chattanooga, Tennessee; we should get going soon.” I answered as I glanced around the room at my family members.
“Right, we’re going to come along with you, there’s nothing left here and it’s getting more and more unsafe by the minute; I would like it if we could travel to Ogden, Utah to check on the Carroll Family.” My dad stated with a look of concern.
“Who’re they?” Noah asked turning to me with a questioning look.
“Their oldest daughter is an ex-girlfriend of mine…I really don’t relish the thought of going there but if it’ll make everyone happy then I suppose I can make the exception.” I answered with a dark look.
“She might be your ex-girlfriend Chaz, but nobody deserves to meet the fate that so many others are out there.” My dad answered with a scowl.
“I said we will—let’s just go.” I answered in annoyed tone as I turned and headed toward the back door with my M16 in hand.
Everyone else in my group as well as my family members followed and my dad and Mom got into their truck and loaded what supplies and valuables they had into the back while My sister and her husband got their car ready; Brian, James, Subotai, and Christy climbed into the back of my dad’s truck and prepared places to sit and shoot in case the zombies got into massive numbers; Noah, Christina, Angie and Alex were still riding in the jeep with me. We were able to supply almost everyone with a weapon of some sort, and we were ready for anything—we were now like a convoy as we traveled through the night and finally arrived in Chattanooga, Angie directed us to her family’s house and we went inside to check it out; there was a message spray-painted in black paint on the white wall near the entrance that read:
“Gone on to Cleveland to try and locate others—if you’re here reading this message then that means you’ve missed me.”
“That doesn’t look like any handwriting that I know…although it’s been awhile since I last seen my dad, Melvin or any of the others.” Angie answered with a troubled look.
“They could still be around…but all we can do is hope that they are safe.” I answered as I wrapped my arm around her.
“Yeah…let’s go…they are okay—I am sure of it.” Angie answered after several seconds of silence had passed.
We left the area and traveled all night and into the next day, we stopped in Little Rock where we had somehow made it to by not stopping, and we fueled up our cars. The way back down the freeway going west was just as it had been going east; the roadway was littered with wrecked cars and even semis had been wrecked here and there—some even overturned on the roadway. The zombies were all over the roadway, some off in the fields; we killed the ones that got too close to our vehicles and moved on. Within the next four days we finally made it to Ogden, Utah where the Carroll family lived; Main Street was littered with rubble and bodies which made traversing through the medium sized town difficult but we slowly made our way down the street and past the church that had burnt to the ground and finally we pulled up in front of the Carroll House. Doug’s Ford Bronco was still there as well as Roxanna’s white Ford Escort, we could see the windows in the downstairs area were all boarded up and we started towards the back door with our guns ready. Suddenly, it opened causing me to point my M16 at the person who came out toward us—which turned out to be Doug.
“Chaz…Ron…what are you guys doing way out here?” Doug asked with an astonished look as he lowered the .20 gauge shotgun he was holding pointed at us.
“Dad insisted that we come check to see as to your fate…” I answered with an obvious disgust in my tone as I slowly lowered my weapon.
“Don’t be rude Chaz—how’re you all holding up in this mess?” My dad asked walking past me up to greet Doug.
“Same as everyone else that has survived up to this point I’d guess—everyone’s holed up in the basement and I’ve done my best to keep things quiet as those creatures seem to be attracted to loud noises.” Doug answered folding his arms across his weapon.
“Let’s get inside if we’re going—it’s not wise to stand outside in one spot for long.” I stated with an annoyed look.
We all followed Doug into the fortified side door of the house and then we went downstairs where they all were hiding, Roxanna was cooking dinner on a hotplate, Kaylee was sitting on the bed smoking as usual, Jason and Rachel were watching out the window, Kevin Jackson who was a friend of Jason’s was there too as well as Mark Cross, Jason’s cousin; Leanna and John were still kissing—they gave Angie and I cold glances but we were ignoring them as we came into the downstairs living room. We explained what we had all went through and Doug told us about what had hap
pened there.
“We should listen for the news and see if anything is being broadcasted.” My dad stated as he glanced around at everyone.
Doug turned the small battery operated radio on and sure enough there was something being broadcasted, although it wasn’t news—it sounded like it was an emergency warning that stated that the Russians or someone else was planning on launching nukes at all of the major cities of the United States because the US government was completely gone and there wasn’t anything they could do to stop the zombie outbreak from spreading.
“At 5:30 am tomorrow morning, all of the major cities of the US will be destroyed in an attempt to destroy all of the undead zombies that are so widespread that they have moved into parts of Canada as well as Mexico.” The voice over the radio stated
“That voice sounds like artificial intelligence of some kind—like a system message.” Noah stated scratching his chin in deep thought.
“That’s in only six hours!”
“We’ve got to get out of this country!” Doug exclaimed in a panic.
Kevin was listening to everyone else when he thought he heard a sound coming from the direction of the stairs—he walked over to them and peered through the cracks of the barricade that had been pried open only minutes before when suddenly a zombie broke through the barricades of the stairs and bit Kevin on the arm; rushing into the room I quickly killed it and put the boards back up, then we all examined him—a large chunk of his flesh had been torn away from Kevin’s arm and he was bleeding heavily. I exchanged looks with Noah and wrapped the wound with cloth.
“Shit…there’s no way to reverse this—anyone who is bitten dies and becomes one of those things!” I stated with a dark look as I stood up on my feet and my hand found Angie’s.
“What are you gonna do?” Kevin asked in pain.
“The only way is to put a bullet in your head…” I answered as I slung my M16 around to where it was pointed at Kevin.
“Surely there has to be some sort of process that slows it down?” Doug stated as he stepped halfway between my weapon and Kevin.
“I don’t think so, anyone who is bitten turns…it’s only a matter of time.” I answered as I aimed my rifle at his head.
“Leave him alone—you think you’re big and bad with your machine gun but all you are is a fucking bully.” Leanna shouted as she pranced over and got in front of Kevin as well as in my face.
“You better get outta my face before I make you—you have no fucking idea what I have witnessed; I have killed hundreds of those fuckers and I will do what has to be done here and now whether you approve of it or not.” I answered as I towered over her head.
“I’m not scared of you Chaz.” Leanna answered in that same defiant, arrogant manner that I had hated so much when we had been dating.
“You should be.” I answered as I glared down at her.
“Knock it off—both of you—this shit isn’t helping anyone and it sure hell isn’t helping Kevin!” Doug shouted as he stepped toward us.
At that moment Kevin slumped to the floor and looked to be lifeless as the flesh around the bite on his arm looked to turn almost black in color; I pointed my M16 at his head again but Leanna once again got in my face and grabbed the barrel of my rifle forcing it toward the ceiling.
“Back the fuck off!” I shouted as I struggled with her as she seemingly worked to push me back toward the fireplace.
It was at that moment when Kevin rose up off the floor and made a horrible growling sound as he opened his mouth letting black blood and saliva pour out—his eyes were a milky white color and he immediately went for Leanna who was still fighting against me; I seen him and grabbed Leanna’ left arm forcing her to the side out of my way as I aimed my M16 and fired putting several rounds in his head splattering the wall behind him with blood and gore as his lifeless corpse fell to the floor making a puddle.
“You see that—it’s us or them—wake the fuck up or you’re not going to survive!” I shouted as I glared at Leanna angrily.
“What had to be done was done—we have more pressing matters at hand!” Noah answered as he stepped up beside of me.
“That’s right—we need to figure out what we’re going to do to escape this nuclear attack.” I answered as I turned away from Leanna as John Harrison walked over to her talking in a low voice.
“We need to leave as soon as possible!” My dad stated in a worried tone.
“Question is—where are we going to go?” Christina answered with a confused look.
“There’s got to be somewhere where those damned things aren’t as thick as shit—how about Canada like where Mark’s parents went?” Doug suggested as everyone got into a circle.
“You really think that those fuckers are going to be safe up there—think about it—anywhere on this continent that is connected by land and roads aren’t going to be safe for long!” I countered angrily.
“Chaz—what’s gotten into you?” My dad asked turning to me with a displeased look on his face.
“I’m sorry if you disapprove of my methods or my way of doing things but things have changed since I lived at home—I am going to keep my group alive one way or another and if I step on someone’s poor little feelings in the process then boo-fucking-hoo; they can either get over it or get out.” I answered with a stern look on my face.
Everyone in the room was quiet and even Angie looked like she was lost for words at my latest comments.
“Now…I suggest that we consider Hawaii due to the fact that it’s an island in the middle of the ocean—not a lot of the population there is going to be infected and we should be relatively safe; all in favor of this idea raise your hands.” I continued as I glanced around the room.
A few of the others raised their hands and when I counted the number of the ones who agreed with my idea it was more than the ones who hadn’t raised their hands at all.
“Opposed—raise your grubby hands now or keep your mouths shut later on.” I said again as I glanced at the certain people I knew for a fact had a problem with me and my way of doing things.
Sure enough Leanna, John and Kaylee raised their hands and gave me smart-ass looks before putting them down.
“Too damned bad for you shitheads; the motion carries—we’re going to Hawaii.” I answered as I turned and glanced at everyone else who had agreed.
So we all collected what ammo Doug had for our guns—which wasn’t that much; shortly after that we packed some provisions into the vehicles and we sped out of there. Our plan was to go to the Salt Lake City airport and get a plane and then we would flee to Hawaii where we hoped we wouldn’t have to worry about the hordes of undead seeking to devour our flesh everywhere we went. It took us about an hour to get there finally, and we raced across the runway killing zombies that got near us and we boarded a medium sized seaplane that was sitting on the runway, luckily, James knew how to fly and he got into the cockpit and started it up. I watched as Doug and Roxanne passed by me and I noticed movement and then I saw that he had his little Chihuahua Oscar with him which seemed foolish and pointless to me but I kept my thoughts to myself; Jason and Rachel were snuggled up in one of the seats and everyone else was around them in various seats. We took off and would be passing over Los Angeles in about an hour or two, I went into the bathroom in the back of the plane as it was a pretty big area, and there was kitchen space as well. I went into one of the stalls and was surprised to find Angie waiting for me, we started kissing and soon, we were making love right there in the bathroom stall. Hours passed and it was 5:27 am and it was only a few minutes until the nukes would be let loose on the United States. We had just passed over Los Angeles a few minutes ago and James was going really fast now trying to get as far away as he could, we reached a distance of about twenty miles out over the Pacific Ocean, then what we thought looked like a bright light lit the sky behind us.
“Well, I
hope that we’ll be safe where ever we go…hopefully, that got rid of all those fucking zombies for good…” I stated as I held tightly to Angie.
[Chapter Two: Urban Terror]
The date was December 11, 2005. It had been five long years since we fled from the terror of the zombie outbreak on the mainland of the United States, we had settled in the secluded areas of the jungle in Hawaii on the small island called Lanai not too far from the beach. Several houses had been constructed; Angie and I lived in a house together with our six-month-old daughter Remy and her twin sister Mace. Noah and Christina were married now and they also had a son of around the same age named Jude. They had a house not too far away from ours, the others were all kind of in a cluster around each other, and things were going good; it had been a long time since we last seen any trace of zombies and the area was surrounded by a fence that would easily keep them out if they were to come back again. One day, Angie and I were sitting on our front porch, I was reading an old newspaper from the fall of 2000 when the zombie outbreak had first happened and Angie was feeding both Remy and Mace. Meanwhile, Jason and his girlfriend Rachel along with Mark were down near the beach playing.
“Hey Rachel, close your eyes.” Jason stated as he held something behind his back out of view.
She did and he held out a bundle of flowers and when she opened her eyes and her face lit up with surprise.
“Oh thank you Jason!”
“They’re beautiful!” Rachel said and she kissed him.
That was when about twelve zombies appeared stumbling up out of the ocean tide and started coming after the kids, they ran back to the settlement as fast as they could and they came up to me.
“Chaz—Angie!”
“Zombies—down by the beach!” Jason shouted as he and the other two ran up to us out of breath.
“Shit!”
“Not this again…” I stated running into the house.
[HGB] Humanity Gone Bad: The Dead Chronicles Page 5