We Are All Dead

by Jimmy Bird

  With hope that his son survived and a new goal to focus on, he turned to leave the bedroom whenever he heard a girlish scream. Fear ran through him when he figured that it must have been the little girl screaming. His father instincts kicked as he ran to protect her. He rushed through the house and made it to the front door when he stopped dead in his tracks.

  The little girl was surrounded by a dozen or so zombies. It looked like she had made it past the front porch before the zombies had found her. He wanted to rush head first to save her but didn’t know if he could even make it to her in time. Truth of the matter was that he was scared and no, it wasn’t for his own life. He lowered his head in shame because he knew that if he got bit then he wouldn’t be able to find his son.

  No! He told himself. He couldn’t afford to think like that. Every life was precious. His wife taught him that and for that reason, he would risk his life to save the little girl’s.

  Brian made sure that he had a firm grip on the knife and looked up towards heaven. He silently told his wife to watch after their son until he could find him. He told her that he loved her and looked back down. Without any more hesitation, he launched himself through the doorway and at the closest zombie.

  He stabbed the zombie in the back of the skull, just above the neck as he kicked the one next to it. He didn’t hesitate as the rest of the zombie’s attention went from the little girl towards him. He attacked and kicked his way through the zombies.

  Bodies of the fallen dead were scattered everywhere. Brian had been so enthralled with killing the zombies that he had failed to see a zombie walk up to the little girl. He slowly turned around to make sure that she was still alright, but it was too late. The zombie had already grabbed her by the hair. He wasn’t sure where that one came from and pretty much didn’t care as he took a step towards it.

  He tried to take another step towards it but tripped on one of the fallen bodies. He went face first into another one. He looked up and yelled for the girl to watch out as he tried to launch into an attack from his knees. He was almost to his feet whenever the girl screamed out in pain. He looked up as the zombie pulled its mouth back. It had taken a mouth size chunk out of side of the little girl's neck. The girl gasped for air as blood sprayed out from the open wound and her mouth.

  The zombie still had a hold of the girl’s hair and lowered its head again to get another mouthful of flesh. Brian refused to let that happen. He had failed to protect the girl but refused to let her become a zombie.

  With his feet underneath him, Brian launched himself towards the zombie. He swung the blade downward as hard as he could into the top of the zombie’s forehead. The zombie released its grip on the little girl as it fell backwards. The girl continued to scream as she collapsed to the ground.

  Brian sat down next to her and pulled her head towards him. That way her head would be in his lap and she could be as comfortable as she could be. Blood began soaking through his pants.

  Brian looked down at the little girl with sadness in his eyes. She gurgled up blood as she fought to breath. Blood sprayed out between her fingers as she tried to cover the side of her neck. Her eyes raised up until they met his, pleading for his help. He knew that there was nothing that he could do to save her. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he told her that he was sorry.

  He knew what he needed to do but didn’t want her to see it coming. He didn’t want her last memory to see him swinging a knife at her. With tears in his eyes, he pointed toward something in the distance. His distraction worked as she slightly turned her head to look. She had turned her head where he had access to her right temple.

  He held the knife with his right hand, ready to stick it into her head but hesitated. He started to question himself. Did he really have to kill her? Was that the only way to save her? He was so caught up in his inner thoughts that he didn’t even realize that she had stopped breathing.

  She jumped or flinched as if awakening from a nightmare which brought Brian out of his own thoughts. He looked down at her and noticed that she had stopped moving. He placed his hand over her mouth but couldn’t feel her breathe. He reached out and touched her chest where her heart was located. He didn’t feel a heartbeat.

  He knew that her time was limited because if she wasn’t dead, she would be soon. He was about to lay her head down on the ground, so he could get up when she turned her head towards him. He was hopeful that she was still fighting to survive but that wasn’t the case.

  First, he noticed the eyes as she glanced up at him. They sent a shiver down his spine (he said that he had never felt such fear in his life). Next with lightning speed, she reached up and grabbed the back of his head with both arms. She tried to pull him down to her. Her mouth was open, but blood was no longer coming out of it. Her jaws were opening and closing, like a starving animal, trying to take a bite out of a piece of meat.

  Brian dropped the knife and tried to pull himself free, but it seemed that she was coming with him. He grabbed her arms, trying to break her grip from his head, but she was holding on tightly. He went from her arms to the top of her head, he was hoping that if he pushed hard enough then she would loosen his grip. It seemed that every time he tried to push her away, his hand would end up close to her mouth and that was the last thing that he wanted.

  He was worn out from everything that had happened, both mentally and physically, but it seemed like she wasn’t getting tired at all. He wasn’t even sure if she got tired anymore. Regardless, he was fighting a losing battle and just couldn’t get out of her grasp. She was slowly pulling his mouth closer to hers and it wasn’t for a kiss.

  Seeing that his efforts to resist were futile, Brian decided to try another tactic. Instead of fighting her, he would allow her to pull his face to hers. When he got close enough, he would roll over her and out of her grasp. It would allow him to use both of their momentums to his advantage and escape. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened though.

  When he bent down close to her face and was prepared to roll, he realized that she was still lying on his lap. He knew that he couldn’t get her off his legs in time to roll out of her grip. He was already inches away from her mouth when he realized that his plan wouldn’t work. It was too late to come up with a plan ‘B’. Or, was it?

  Frantic to get away from her, he began pushing against her again when he remembered the knife. The only problem was that he couldn’t afford to turn his attention away from the little girl, look for the knife, and resist her at the same time. Call it God, a Guardian Angel, luck, or maybe his wife helping him out, but it worked.

  Without removing either hand, he felt something hard rub up against his hip. His first thought was that it was a shoe or something similar from a zombie. He thought that while his attention was on fighting off the girl, another zombie arrived and was about to jump on him. If that was the case, then he was surely a dead man.

  He figured that his only chance for survival was to attack the other zombie first. He managed to work his left hand for leverage while he freed his right hand. He then reached out to grab the other zombie’s foot, hoping to cause it to fall. What he found, shocked him even more then he could have ever imagined.

  His knife! It was his knife. He grabbed the handle of the knife carefully as he silently thanked the Lord for the assist. He used his left hand to hold the girl’s head down as he swung the knife toward her left temple.

  He missed! Well, he didn’t exactly miss. He sliced her left cheek as she turned her head at the exact moment he swung the knife down. It appeared that he didn’t have the strength to hold her still with his left hand.

  He might have missed his intended target, but his momentum from swinging the knife caused him to let go of the girl. Lucky for him that it did because the girl rolled over and went face first into the ground. Seeing his opportunity, Brian jumped onto the girl’s back forcing her to stay down. He grabbed the knife handle firmly with both hands and swung down. The knife blade went directly into the back of her skull. She stoppe
d moving.

  Brian tried to stand up on shaky legs but collapsed back down onto the ground as his emotions got the better of him. He had been through a lot in the past few hours and still had more to do. The only goal he had left was to find his son. He took a few deep breaths and capped off his emotions. He knew that he would have time to mourn for his family later. He hated thinking like that, but he had more important issues to deal with and that was finding his son.

  He stood back up, determined to find his son. It was a good thing too because he could see a horde of zombies headed in his direction. He knew that his son was no longer in the house and tried to think of where he could have gone. An idea popped into his head. He looked back at the zombies one last time and turned around. He needed to track his son’s footsteps. He headed in the direction that he thought his son went in.

  His search brought him to his children’s babysitter’s house a few blocks away. After a quick search of the house, he found nothing. Well, not entirely nothing. Brian and his wife used to leave some old clothes for their son and daughter there just in case of accidents. His son’s old clothes and toys were gone. It brought Brian hope.

  It seemed that even at his young age, Brian’s son had retained some of the survival skills that he was taught. If you thought that it was impressive for a five-year-old to survive on his own, then you’ll love this. It seemed that he was also heading toward the Warehouse.

  After a few long and grueling hours of searching for his son, Brian decided to call it a day and head back to the Warehouse. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. He knew that he couldn’t find his son if he passed out or fell asleep in an unsafe area. So, he decided to head back to the Warehouse in hopes that he would find his son, safe and sound on route. Who knows, he might have even made it back to the Warehouse on his own. He was after all, a very smart boy.

  Chapter 10 John

  John, my know-it-all cousin! John was the last to show up that day. He arrived shortly after the fighting was all said and done. His family was safe and unharmed. Upon seeing his family safe triggered a deep resentment and unfair feelings towards him.

  I know that I shouldn’t feel this way towards him but just like everyone else who had just lost family, we sort of felt, well, cheated. Even now, I can still feel the hole inside my heart from missing my family, my loved ones. It wasn’t even just my wife and kids, it was my whole family. My dad, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Everybody!

  Anyways, let me get back to my story. From the expressions on everyone’s faces at the Warehouse, I could tell that they felt the same way that I did. Seeing his family alive and well was a constant reminder of what the rest of us had lost. Again, I want it known that we didn’t wish any ill will towards him, but we felt our own losses every time we saw his family. I’m sure it made them uncomfortable, but you can’t change the past.

  Like the rest of us, John had rushed out of work to get his family. His travel home was different than the rest of us because he not only had further to go but lived out in the less populated rural area. It was a small town where everyone, literally, knew your name. Let just say that it would take him a minimum of forty minutes to drive home and that was on a good traffic moving day.

  Unfortunately, that day was anything but good. For all we knew, it could have taken him a few hours or more just to get home to his family. Not to mention the time it would take to travel back to the Warehouse. Luckily, it didn’t come to that.

  John lived in the small town of Arcadia, whose population consisted of around three hundred people. It’s located off an old two-lane historical highway near Lake Arcadia. The historical highway and landmarks drew tourist year-round so that it always had people coming and going. Its biggest advantage though, was that it was in a remote country area.

  He came up with a secret plan between him and his wife that was not known to any of the other Council members. The plan was to have his wife and kids meet him on the outskirts of another small town, closer to our work called Jones. They knew a remote location that would serve as a safe place to wait until he could come and get them. As soon as he left work, he was able to get through the tied-up lines on his cell phone to call his wife. He told her to get to their meeting place because he was on his way. Without hesitation, she grabbed all their pre-packed gear and children and rushed towards Jones.

  It took him over an hour to get to them, but they were safe and sound. In fact, as soon as he was outside the city limits, the threat level had immediately dropped. He stated that he hardly noticed anyone on those back-country roads.

  His return trip to the Warehouse was more eventful then his travel to Jones. Since all their stuff was already in his wife’s car, they decided to drive her car back. The drive back was peaceful but as soon as they got within the city limits, that all changed.

  The first thing he noticed was that there were no cars moving in or out of the city. They were just lined up and parked in the streets on both sides of the road. He assumed that there must have been a few wrecks, causing everyone to be at a standstill, you know nosy onlookers. You see, it wasn’t unusual to have people stop to either look or help those in need. It was suspicious but not unusual. Unfortunately, the closer they got to the traffic, the more he knew that something was terribly wrong.

  All the cars looked abandoned. Almost half of the cars had at least one of their doors open while the other half had their windows broken out. It literally looked like the streets were just an over-sized abandoned junk yard, complete with unbroken dirt stained windows.

  They got within half a block, when he realized that the dirt stains were blood. It was about that time when he noticed that damaged bodies were lying in the streets between the cars.

  Afraid that he was about to drive into an inescapable situation, he quickly tried to turn around. That was when he had made his second mistake. In his attempt to quickly turn around, he had misjudged the radius distance needed to make that turn. He ended up getting the front passenger tire and bumper wedged on the curb.

  He pushed down on the gas but couldn’t get the little tire to go over the curb. He then shifted it to reverse and pushed on the gas. Once again, they went nowhere. It appeared that they were stuck.

  He started to become a little frustrated as he tried to figure out how to get out of the mess that he had just created. Looking around for something to possibly use as leverage, he noticed movement in the driver’s side mirror. He turned his head so that he could fully focus his attention on the mirror. He saw nothing. He then turned his head to look out of the passenger side mirror and just like before, he saw nothing. He knew that he saw something and looked over his shoulder, but just like before, he saw nothing.

  Forcing the thought out of his head, he turned back to the problem at hand. He was trying to figure out how to get released from the curb whenever he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye again. He quickly turned his head, so he could focus on the mirror, but just like the last time, he saw nothing. He started to think that he was just getting paranoid.

  Just as he started to turn his eyes back towards the front of the car, he thought that he saw even more movement (it was almost like night fishing and trying to watch your fishing pole while having a conversation with someone). Not wasting time using the mirrors, he decided to rotate his whole body to see what was behind them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t paranoid. Zombies were coming his way! Lots of them and they were a few blocks away.

  His frightened expression must have scared his kids because they instantly cried out in fear. He calmly turned to his wife and told her to calm the kids down as quickly as she could. He turned his attention back to the car and pushed on the gas. It wasn’t going anywhere.

  He became frantic from his ever-growing fear. Instead of thinking logically, he began shifting from forward to reverse and back again. I guess he was trying to rock the bumper loose from the curb.

  When that failed, he turned toward his wife and told her to climb into the driver s
eat. She needed to be ready to put it in reverse and push on the gas whenever he told her too.

  She knew what he was thinking and sadly told him that she would. She quickly followed it up by telling him that she loved him. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes but didn’t respond. He knew that if he broke down then he would lose focus on the task at hand.

  He turned towards his two young children in the backseat and tried to put on a brave smile for them as he told them that everything will be alright. I’ll be right back. He stared at them for a few long seconds as he silently told them that he loved them.

  Knowing that time was running out, John opened the car door and immediately jumped out. He raced toward the front of the car just as his wife slide over to the driver’s side. When he reached the hood, he told her to put in reverse and give it gas. She did what she was told as he tried to push the car backwards with all his strength, but it still wouldn’t budge. He even tried rocking it.

  He looked up to see how close the zombies had gotten. They were now about a block away. He knew that his family’s chances for survival was running out. He had to do something fast.

  He frantically tried to bounce the car up and down hoping that it would be enough to break the bumper loose from the curb. The results were the same. He looked up and saw that the zombies were now half a block away.

  He stopped what he was doing and told his wife to get the kids ready. He told her that they were to run for it while he slowed the zombies down. He silently told himself that no matter what happened to him, he was going to save his family.

  He stood up and started to walk around the front of the car whenever someone grabbed his right arm from behind. John immediately froze in place, thinking that a zombie had somehow snuck up behind him. He slowly turned and saw a skinny middle aged six foot African-American male holding on to his arm.