by Lee Wise
She had a walkie-talkie in her room and the girls had one in their room so they could talk to one another. “Yes, oh yes please!” I begged.
“I’ll go grab it.” Cathy said and ran for Jenny’s room. I followed.
“I’ll keep watch.” Greg announced.
Cathy got the walkie-talkie and I immediately grabbed it from her, pressing the button. “John!” I shouted. No response. “John!”
“Aleisha? What’s up?” John responded.
“Something is in the field babe!” I shouted. I heard the button get pressed a couple times.
“I’ll be careful. I’m on my way back. I’ll bring the walkie-talkie, but I’m shutting it off so…” I heard a thump and then his walkie-talkie turned off.
“John! John!” I ran back to the kitchen and looked out the window towards my house. There was no movement. It was also starting to get dark.
“Maybe we should call Robert and Jacob and have them come back.” Ellen said.
I was about to agree with her when I saw some movement coming from the side of the house. Someone was running through the field. “It’s John!” I cried. A few feet back I saw someone chasing him. I heard a gunshot and the person behind John fell over. I gasped.
“Woohoo!” I heard from outside.
“It’s Robert.” Cathy sighed.
The men and Ranger all came in. They were talking excitedly. Mr. Doggleton got up to greet Ranger.
“Now he wakes up!” Robert laughed.
“How did you know to get here?” I asked.
“I called their house phone.” Jenny said.
“I knew that I kept that house phone for a reason!” Ellen exclaimed.
“So you got them?” Greg asked.
“Them?” The guys asked.
“We saw a few of them in the field.” The oven timer beeped and we all jumped.
The guys looked worried. “Hurry take that out and then get in the living room. Close the doors. Greg, you watch out the windows in there. Grab your phone. Here. I’ll get on the line with you. We’ll go after them. If you see them before we do, tell us.” Jacob told his son.
“Okay dad.” Greg agreed and went in the room with the girls and Ellen. I stayed with Cathy as she spooned gravy over the meal and then put it back in the oven, setting the timer again. The aroma was so tantalizing. My stomach growled in spite of all that was going on. I could practically taste the chicken, gravy and stuffing.
Next, we went into the living room with the others. I made sure that the girls were sitting facing away from the window watching the TV. Then, I joined the others at the windows. The guys were all together looking around. They were walking slowly through the field. Night was falling and it was getting harder to see. We heard the back door close.
“Mama?” Sarah asked.
“I heard it honey.” I whispered. “Get in the closet. Megan, you too and Jenny. You can use the light on your phone.”
Greg was already on the phone with the guys. They were running back towards the house. Ranger started barking down the hall. We heard yelping. “Ranger!” Greg shouted and started towards the living room door that led towards the hall.
“No!” Ellen said. “Help me with the couch!” Greg looked heartbroken but we all pushed the couch in front of the door. We heard someone running down the hall. We got the couch completely in front of the door just as the person started ramming against it.
We heard another bark from the kitchen. Jenny said, “Something’s in the field with the guys.”
“Well, then who’s Mr. Doggleton barking at in the kitchen?” I asked.
“Why aren’t you in the closet? Go NOW!” Cathy said.
The door handle leading towards the kitchen turned and a neighbor we knew from down the road was there. She looked very different. Her hair was completely disheveled and she was missing a shoe. “Habba de ba!”
Ellen started screaming. The person at the other door began to bang on it. The couch shifted a little. We looked back and forth.
“Habba de ba!” Our neighbor ran at Cathy and knocked her over. Greg hit the neighbor over the head with a book. She gnashed her teeth at him. He hit her again. She tried to claw at Cathy.
Mr. Doggleton ran in barking and distracted the neighbor. Ellen broke a beer bottle and stabbed the neighbor in the head while we all screamed. The guys ran in right at that moment.
“There’s another one behind the couch!” Jenny announced.
“I thought that you were in the closet.” I said to Jenny and then noticed that the closet door was open.
“Megan! Sarah!” Jenny screamed.
“It’s okay.” Sarah said from the closet. “Megan went to check on Ranger.”
“Jenny! In the closet with Sarah now!” I shouted.
The guys ran out of the living room and into the kitchen. I followed. I could hear crying down the hall. My heart was pounding so hard and I felt dizzy. How did I not see that the closet door was open?
We reached Megan. She was sitting over Ranger. He was clearly dead. “Mommy!” I grabbed her and pulled her to me. We heard screaming from the living room. The guys ran back.
I reached the living room as gunshots went off. Ellen was on the floor with a broken neck.
“Oh my God!” I felt like I was going to be sick. Megan started to scream.
“Let’s go in the closet.” I opened the closet door. Jenny and Sarah were in there. They were crying. Everyone was accounted for except for Cathy.
“You girls stay in there until we clear the house.” John demanded. “Greg?” He was on the floor holding his mom, crying. “Greg.” He looked at John with tears streaming down his face.
“Greg, you go in the closet and protect the girls and Aleisha.” Jacob said. “Mom would want you to be safe.” I guided Greg into the closet and hugged him. Everything felt surreal. This had to be a dream. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This wasn’t my first time and definitely wouldn’t be my last time that I felt this way.
We heard screaming in the other room. “Cathy!” Robert shouted and raced off down the hall behind the door which the sofa had once been in front. I closed the door to the closet and sat down. Sarah tried climbing onto my lap but I told her that I needed to be ready just in case someone else tried to come in. This made Sarah cry even harder. The closet was squishy but I felt good being with the kids, knowing that they were safe and wouldn’t try to run out.
We heard gunshots. A couple minutes later, the closet door opened. Greg raised his gun.
“Don’t shoot me son!” Jacob exclaimed.
“Dad!” Greg cried and hugged his father.
Cathy was also standing there. “Thank God!” I said and hugged my sister.
“What happened?” Jenny asked.
“I don’t know how, but that thing pushed the door open even though the couch was right in front of it. Ellen and I were turned around talking about what was going on in the other room. We had just calmed Sarah and Jenny down. They had been hysterical. We weren’t even paying attention to the door. I guess we heard the noise but figured it was coming from the other room! That lady, that thing, it got through and just started attacking Ellen. Ellen was the closest one to her. She killed Ellen so quickly. I ran to the door she had come through to keep her from going in the closet or after you. I figured she would chase me, I would lock the bedroom door and you guys could get her. I have never been so scared in my entire life!”
“How did they get in the house in the first place?” I asked.
“The back door!” Robert shouted. He went with John to check the back door and came back. “The back door was wide open. I think someone forgot to lock it after letting the dog out to the bathroom earlier. We’re going to check the whole house, everything upstairs and downstairs. Kids, back in the closet.”
“Come on!” Sarah said.
“Go for right now. All four of you.” I demanded.
“Four?” Greg questioned.
Yes.” Jacob agreed.
&nb
sp; “Cathy? Can you and Aleisha guard this room while we check out the rest of the place?” Robert asked.
“Yes.” We both agreed.
They came back about ten minutes later. “The rest of the house is clear.” Jacob sighed. The kids came out of the closet. We had already covered Ellen with the quilt, deciding it was best to bury her in the morning.
“Did you get everyone who was in the field?” Cathy asked.
“We found two neighbors (or whatever you would call them now) and took care of them.” John stated.
“What is wrong with everyone?” Jenny cried.
“I wish I knew honey.” Cathy said hugging Jenny. We were talking about our next plans when once again the oven beeped and startled us.
“Supper! Finally!” Megan said and most of us laughed. With all the events, we had all forgotten about supper. My stomach was growling again.
Greg sighed loudly. “What?” Jenny asked.
“My mom was just killed and everyone has already moved on.” Greg complained.
“She’s dead all the way?” Sarah asked. We all looked at her.
“What honey?” I wasn’t sure if I had heard her right.
“Is she going to come back to life?” Sarah asked.
“What?” Cathy asked shocked.
“Like those zombie movies?” Sarah responded.
“Where have you seen zombie movies? How do you even know about them?” I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t introduced her to those movies or shows.
“Ella had the movie on at her sleepover.” Sarah said.
“I didn’t know that. You won’t be spending the night there again.” I stated.
The others gave me a look. “I agree.” John said. He whispered in my ear. “I just had to kill Ella’s father outside.” I gasped.
“What mama?” Sarah asked.
I sighed. “Sarah, those aren’t zombies.” I sighed.
“What’s wrong with them mama?” Megan asked.
“I don’t know girls.” I told them.
Cathy took the huge casserole out of the oven. We all ate quietly, even those who had said that they already ate. Everyone was exhausted and reflecting on the events of the day. I glanced at the clock. It was 7:00 but it felt so much later.
The guys finished eating first and then went to the living room to see what they could find out on the television. “It’s happening everywhere!” John announced.
We all went into the living room leaving our plates on top of the table. On the TV, a reporter was talking from inside the studio about what was going on. Suddenly, someone was attacking him. Others in the studio managed to get the person off of the reporter, but the reporter was in bad shape. The camera turned quickly to the weatherman who took a minute but then composed himself and began to talk about the weather for tonight and tomorrow (like anyone cared about the weather right now!)
We heard dishes clanging in the other room. Everyone was in the living room right at this moment. John and Jacob rushed into the kitchen with their guns drawn. We heard laughter.
“Mr. Doggleton!” John chuckled.
The dog ran into the living room with gravy all over his face. “Oh no!” Cathy said.
“We can give him a bath!” Megan said. Just then the electricity went out.
“Great!” I sighed. Sarah and Megan grabbed my arms. They really hated the dark. They were both also clinging onto their stuffies and blankets.
“I’m not surprised.” John said shrugging his shoulders.
“If we get the generator going, then that will just attract them.” Jacob commented.
“I agree.” Robert said.
“We…” John began.
“Ssshh!” Cathy demanded.
We all looked over at her. “I heard something outside.” Cathy stated.
CHAPTER 3
Silently, we stood while our hearts pounded in fear. A noise was definitely able to be heard.
We listened closely and realized that t was the sound of a lot of unintelligible voices. John looked out the window. “Go to the back door now!” John whispered loudly.
I grabbed the girls’ hands and we took off running behind Jacob and Greg. The girls both had their stuffies and blankets in their arms. Cathy picked up Mr. Doggleton and Jenny followed. John and Robert covered us from behind.
We ran out into the night, not knowing what we were running from but trusting John. Luckily, there was a full moon so visibility wasn’t too bad. We looked behind us and our house was on fire and now Cathy’s house was also on fire.
“Quickly and quietly!” John commanded with a loud whisper. We ran to the edge of the woods and looked back. We could see some people coming around the back of our house.
“Duck down!” I whispered.
We all hid. Sarah and Megan were crying. The men had their guns ready just in case the people spotted us.
We were waiting for them to clear out. One of them walked into the house through the back door and came back out. “Habba de bah!” It shouted.
Three more came to the back of the house. We heard a horn honking from the driveway. They went in that direction and we heard gunshots.
“Oh wow!” We heard the people from the front of the house exclaim. “There’s no way they survived that.”
“Hello!” Cathy shouted.
“Cathy!” I hissed.
“Did you hear something?” The man in the front of the house asked.
“I thought I heard a voice from the back of the house.” They came around the building.
“Mr. Reynolds!” Sarah shouted.
“Sarah!” Jenny snapped covering Sarah’s mouth.
The men spotted us. “You’re okay. Thank God!”
We came out of our hiding place. The men were Gary Reynolds, the fourth grade teacher at the girls’ school and Ben Carabiner, the owner of Carabiner’s Shop, a mechanic shop we brought our car to right down the road.
“I’m so glad that everyone’s okay. Where’s Ellen?” Ben asked. I shook my head.
“Oh no.” Ben sighed.
“We are all staying at Ben’s place right now. It seems safe enough with the fenced perimeter.” Gary stated.
“Everyone is welcome.” Ben said.
“I’ll grab some stuff from my house.” Jacob said.
“I’m sorry.” Ben began. “But your house is gone.”
“No!” Greg shouted. “First Ranger, then mom and now my house.” He began to cry again. Everyone was silent.
Jacob sighed. “Let’s go to your place.”
We all climbed into our vehicles which were luckily unharmed and caravanned to Ben’s place. He honked his horn and the gates were opened by men with guns.
We parked our vehicles and got out. “Sarah! Megan!” It was Mrs. Ford, the school librarian. She hugged them as we all walked in.
Rose Carabiner, Ben’s wife, hurried over to us. “I’m so glad you guys are okay. We…” Sirens filled the air outside. We looked out the window. Fire trucks were passing by. “That’s Richard, Mike and Sammie. They went to get the trucks to put out all the fires.”
“Why are they using the sirens?” I asked.
“They are being followed by trucks with people with guns. Any of those things that the trucks
attract will be killed.” Rose explained.
“Come over here girls.” Mrs. Ford said to Sarah and Megan. “Greg, Jenny, why don’t you come over also. I made some hot chocolate and we are playing board games.”
All four kids joined Mrs. Ford. Sarah immediately started talking to her best friend Mary. Nate, Mary’s brother, sat down and listened to the girls. Cathy and I updated Rose on all that had happened while the men went to talk outside. John, Robert and Jacob came back into the house. “We are going to stay out there to protect the fence.” They stated.
“Just be careful.” Cathy demanded.
“Ditto!” I agreed.
The guys went back out. I looked around. There were seven other children besides our four. There were twelve
women and two older men.
“There’s a total of eleven kids now and 26 adults. There’s ten out rescuing people, well there was twelve but Ben and Gary just came back. There was seven outside, but now with John, Robert and Jacob, there’s ten. I’m so glad that they could get to you in time.” Rose said.
Ben and Gary walked in. “We’re going out again.” Gary announced. “Jacob is going to join us. Robert and John are going to defend the perimeter.”
“Do they have military training? It seems like it.” I asked.
Rose nodded. “Looks like someone has to use the bathroom.” Rose pointed towards the door where Mr. Doggleton was scratching to go out.
Cathy asked Rose for a rope or a leash to walk her dog and Rose gave her a little rope. Cathy put the rope through the loop in Mr. Doggleton’s collar and went to open the door when it burst open.
“We need extra help down the road.” It was Richard Ellis, one of the firefighters. “The fire is spreading fast. We need all hands to help put it out.”
Mrs. Ford, an older man named Dennis and Jenny agreed to watch the children while the rest of us piled into cars to help put out the fire.
“Why are they starting fires?” Greg asked.
“I wish I knew.” Richard replied as he raced down the road. The fire had spread to the trees.
We started to put out the fires burning in the grass with water from a well nearby. “Wait!” Mike said rushing towards us. He had been driving around with another man to see how many fires there were.
“What?” Jacob asked.
“They’re deliberately starting the fires around here!” Mike proclaimed.
“We know.” Richard turned back to the fire.
“No, you don’t understand. I just drove around and noticed that the fires are all in a circle surrounding the Carabiner’s shop. They’re trying to draw us out.”
“The kids!” I shouted.
We jumped in our cars and hurried back to the Carabiner’s shop. The few who had stayed at the gate were dead when we arrived.
“Oh my God!” Cathy started screaming.
We all entered the shop and saw Dennis lying dead on the floor. “Oh no!” I cried.
We heard screaming and gunshots down the hall and took off in that direction. We almost tripped over a body of one of our neighbors as we turned the corner. Down the hall we saw Mrs. Ford with a gun in her hand and two more dead neighbors. “We heard noises outside.” She exclaimed. “Dennis told us to hide, but the doors were locked. I had to shoot them. I had no choice.”