Dead Life (Book 4)

by Schleicher, D Harrison

  On our way out John spotted a small hardware store off on a side street. “Pull down there,” he said, leaning forward into the front seat and pointing to the left. “We still need to find something to siphon gas with.”

  The front window to the hardware store was busted out so Lily backed in as close as she could get and we went in. It was difficult to be quiet making our way through the shattered glass that was everywhere on the ground right inside the window. We drew the attention of two good old boy zombies as soon as we entered the store. They made their way toward us but it was easy work putting them down as both were in pretty bad shape. The larger of the two actually fell as he tried to make his way in our direction. He tripped over his own entrails. His intestines tangled around his feet as they hung from his mid-section that had recently been torn open. John stomped on his head while I pushed my knife through the eye socket of his bib overall wearing buddy whose head hung at an unnatural angle. His throat and most of his neck was missing.

  “These two look pretty fresh,” I said. “Whatever killed them is probably still in here.”

  That's when a huge fat woman came running at us from the back of the store. She was over six feet tall and had to weigh at least four hundred pounds. The was no way the behemoth had ever moved this fast in life. She came straight at Lily, who simply stepped to the side when the zombie made a grab for her and watched her tumble out the broken window. The huge zombie crashed into the back of the Kia further damaging the already ailing SUV. Lily followed it out the window and gave the zombie it's final death with several well placed shots to the skull with a shovel that Lily had grabbed from a display by the door.

  Not only did we need to find a hand pump for siphoning gas we needed to find weapons. Something that didn't ring the dinner bell like a gun did. Knives worked fine, stabbing them in the temple worked great, but letting those teeth get that close to you was a little unsettling. I didn't want us in here too long. When we came into the store I didn't see any zombies around but that could change in a heart beat. Something had to have heard all the noise Gargantua the zombie woman from hell made when she crashed into the back of the Kia.

  Safety outweighed the need for speed so the three of us stayed together as we searched for a pump. The front of the store was well lit from the large display windows but the back end of the aisles were too dark to see anything. I grabbed a flashlight and some batteries which helped considerably. However, at the same time the light acted as a beacon to whatever waited for us in the store. We started at one end of the store and crept down each aisle. John took the right side of the aisle and Lily looked to the left. I checked each corner we turned and watched for threats to the front and rear of us.

  In with the tools John found some nasty looking roofing hammers. One side of the striking surface was for cutting shingles and looked like a small thick ax blade. The other side was a typical hammer. We each grabbed one and continued on. Two aisles over we ran across a little gem called Fiskar's Chopping Brush Axe. It was about two feet long with an eight inch curved blade. Best of all it had a leather strap on the handle that fit nicely around my wrist. It was love at first sight. I sat my hatchet down and grabbed one. Roofing hammer in one hand and brush axe in the other, I dare the next zombie that comes along to try any shit with me. John and Lily got brush axes too and we continued on. John found some files in the next aisle and threw a few in his back pack. We went through the entire store picking up a few other necessities along the way but didn't find anything to siphon gas with.

  “We've been in here too long. Let's head for the front of the store. I want to grab some more flashlights and batteries on the way out. I guess we'll have to look in an auto parts store for a pump.” I said.

  “I saw a cooler in the front of the store. It was fully stocked. Everybody grab a duffel bag,” John said, pointing to a shelf full of them. “We'll load up.”

  Lily was filling the bags with sodas and waters while John and I watched for zombies. “That Kia's shot. We should really try and find a different ride while we're here,” she said, throwing bottles into the bag as fast as she could.

  “We can't go back. The streets are jammed and those fuckers are everywhere. Maybe we'll find something outside of town,” John said.

  Lily held a full bag out to John. “Take this and give me yours,” she said. “I'm telling you the steering is shot on that thing. It's pulling hard to the left and getting worse. I don't think it will make it much further.”

  I handed Lily my bag and took the one she had just filled. “As soon as we get out of here we'll look for a new car. He's right, we can't try to go back through town. There has got to be a house or something close by. First thing Lily I promise.”

  We went to the busted out window and checked outside. Miraculously all was clear. “Shit I forgot the batteries. Take this,” I said, handing my bag that Lily had just filled to John. “Load up, I'll be right there,”

  They went out the window and I went back to the register where I had found the flashlight. My rucksack was full so I grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with batteries and threw in a few more flashlights. There were all kinds of handy little gadgets and devices at the display by the register and that's when I hit pay dirt. On the bottom shelf was a plastic bag. Inside was a rolled up hose with a squeeze bulb. I'd found our siphon. No more sucking gas. Now all we needed was a new car.

  The best way around Viola was south of our current location. So we headed in that direction until we got out of town. Lily didn't seem too impressed with my finding a pump but she hadn't had to siphon gas yet. John on the other hand was relieved to see we now had a pump as the Kia was running low on fuel. I knew Lily was bound and determined to find a new vehicle before we were forced to refill the tank on this one. Unfortunately there weren't many homes out this way. The roads we drove on went mostly through wooded areas and the houses we did find sat empty, with no cars in their driveways.

  It was getting dark out so we headed down a gravel road just to get off the main roads. We were faced with the prospect of spending the night in the Kia when we came to what had to be the nicest house I'd seen since we'd left Birmingham. To top it off there were three cars in the driveway. The nicest of which was a Cadillac Escalade. From here on out we'd be traveling in style. Unless of course the owners were home. The prospects of that didn't seem too good. The front door stood open and was covered in bloody hand prints.

  As soon as I got to the door the smell of rotten flesh filled the air. There were either zombies, dead bodies, or a combination of both inside. The interior of the house matched the exterior, expensive. The furniture, carpets, drapes, everything was white. If it wasn't for the blood that stained every surface in the front room I would have been blinded by the glare. Just inside the foyer was a huge blood spot that at one time must have been a person. Other than a few shreds of clothing and one half eaten shoe there was nothing left. Bloody foot prints went off to the right and we followed them down a short hallway. A blood stained door stood open and I went through to what turned out to be the dining room. Seated at the table was the most grotesquely swollen zombie I yet had seen. She sat with her back to us and tried to stand when we entered the room.

  She couldn't have been more than five feet tall and in life weighed less than a hundred pounds. The dress she wore was split open everywhere. Her arms and legs were still stick thin it was just her torso that was swollen to astronomical proportions. Whoever she had gorged herself on must have been many times her own size. All she could do was flail her arms and try to get to her feet. My guess was that this once petite woman now weighed well over two hundred pounds. I had my brush axe and roofing hammer with me so I went around the table and got behind her. She tried to turn and face me but even that was beyond her capabilities. I hit her once on the top of the head with the blade of my hammer thus ending her struggles. The now fully dead zombie's head fell forward and banged off the table causing her to fall to one side, spilling from the chair she sat in. She hit
the ground and split open. Everything that was inside of her spilled out onto the ground.

  “Oh my god,” Lily shouted. Her body started convulsing and she projectile vomited onto the table in front of her.

  This got me started. I could feel the bile rising in my throat and was unable to stop the inevitable. I threw up on top of the still expanding pile of gore that was in front of me.

  John ran from the room. I could hear him vomiting from just outside the room. I did the only thing I could and ran the opposite way, ending up in the kitchen. Here I found another blood spot identical to the one in the front room. That little bitch had eaten two whole people, maybe more. We still had to check out the rest of the house. I walked around the stain on the floor and went to the sink in an attempt to wash my face. My luck was holding steady, the water didn't work. Lily burst into the room. Upon seeing the blood on the kitchen floor she threw up again. She ran to the sink and pushed me out of the way. I tried to tell her the water didn't work but couldn't get the words to come out of my mouth, all I could do was gag. She got me started again and I was doing everything in my power not to lose it.

  John walked into the kitchen about the same time that I had been able to pull myself together enough to get a water bottle out of my rucksack. “What a fucking pig,” he said, seeing the blood stain on the ground.

  I went through the drawers and found a washcloth. I poured some water on it and pushed it into Lily's hand. Her head was still in the sink and she continued dry heaving. I poured water over my face and down the back of my neck. I couldn't stop shaking. I looked out the window and saw that there was a pool in the backyard. Even though it was the middle of September and too cold for swimming I knew where I was headed.

  “Let's finish clearing this house. There's a pool out back. Anybody else feel like they need a swim?”

  “I just want to get out of here,” Lily said, from the depths of the sink.

  “We have to find the keys to that Escalade,” John said. “It's almost dark. We'll just stay out of the dining room. There's a staircase here in the kitchen and that hallway over there probably leads to a different part of the house. We'll clear the rest of the house then decide if we're going to stay or not.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “Lily if you want to sit this one out you can. Just wait in here. We'll be back as soon as we're done.”

  She slowly raised her head out of the sink and gave me a weak smile. “I'm not staying here by myself. Just give me a second.”

  “Take as much time as you need,” John said.

  Lily rinsed her mouth and threw the empty water bottle in the trashcan by the sink. “I'm ready.”

  The hallway led to the den which then led back into the living room. Since none of us really wanted to go back through the dining room we turned back the way we'd came. A door in the den led out to the attached garage. In the garage, hanging on hooks, we found the keys to all three of the vehicles out front. We then cleared the upstairs portion of the house. There were no more dead bodies or zombies in the house so we scrounged up a change of clothes for the three of us and went back downstairs. We then went out through the garage, loaded everything from the Kia into the Escalade, and pulled our new ride into the garage. Tomorrow we would start our day like civilized people. After waking up in the morning we would have a nice breakfast, go out to the garage, get in our Cadillac, and head off to work. Only thing uncivilized would be our job; trying to survive and killing zombies.

  After we were done getting ready for tomorrow we went out to the pool and pulled off the winter cover. Since John still smelled like dead zombie it was decided that he would be last to get in the pool. Lily and I bathed quickly, as the water was too cold for anything else. Using some soap and shampoo we'd found in the house we scrubbed each other clean. I could get used to bathing with her fast; safety in numbers and all that. We got dressed in the clean clothes we had so recently acquired. I couldn't wait to find a store and load up on some clothes that actually fit. Then Lily and I went back inside.

  Lily handed John a fresh bar of soap. “I want you to use this whole fucking thing. When you're done you should smell like an Irish spring morning.”

  “I hope so. I can't hardly stand myself,” he said. “By the way, you might want to brush those teeth. I can smell your breath from here.” John ran for the door but didn't make it out before being pelted with Lily's wet towel.

  The kitchen was still well stocked so we gathered together some canned food for dinner. Then Lily and I loaded the rest into the Escalade along with two cases of bottled water. There was a fireplace in the den so I made a fire. Having a warm dinner after everything we had been through today sounded like a good idea. Lily found some fresh fruit in the refrigerator that hadn't gone bad yet so we would even have desert. To top everything off there were two bottles of red wine in one of the cupboards. Tonight was party night.

  Dinner was good and the mood was almost festive. The wine was a welcome change and we did our best to enjoy ourselves. It turned out to be too much to ask, having a good time when so much death surrounded us. The night deteriorated to the point where John and I argued over guard duty. I was feeling pretty good about things and didn't think we needed to stand watch tonight. John, on the other hand, reminded me of how bad things really were out there. After a while Lily finally spoke up. She agreed with John, volunteered for first watch, and went upstairs to watch from one of the bedrooms that overlooked the front of the house. I tried to go with her but she told me it was better that I stay downstairs and sleep by the fire. She'd be down to wake me for my shift in a few hours.

  They were right.

  Chapter 12

  I made my way through the woods and came even with the truck. Even though there was a window on this side of the house I was able to make my way out of the woods. Using the truck for cover I crept up to the vehicle. The widows were down and when I looked in for the keys I saw blood sprayed all across the dashboard. The blood hadn't fully congealed yet and was still dripping onto the floor mats. I assumed this was the vehicle belonging to whoever had just kidnapped Cindy. The keys weren't in the ignition so I went around the back of the truck; staying low so as not to be seen from the house. From where I was there was nothing to be done other than go to the window of the truck and check the sun visor for the keys or go straight to the house. I'd already been covered in zombie blood once today so the prospect of getting a little human blood on me didn't bother me in the least. The truck it was. I went around and pulled down the visor. Bingo, the keys fell onto the dash. From there I didn't hesitate. It was all or nothing. I ran to the house and crouched beneath the open window. From where I was I cold hear an argument in progress.

  “Get your ass out to that truck and get your cousin,” a female voice hollered.

  “Ma there ain't no reason to bring him in here. He's just gonna get blood all over the floor.”

  “When your daddy gets back I'm gonna tell him how you and Jimmy been behavin'. He's gonna beat both your asses!”

  “Jimmy's dead Ma and I told you, that motel Daddy was hold up in is on fire. I think the same folks killed Jimmy done killed Daddy.”

  “Your Daddy ain't dead. He'll be back soon. Ain't no way him and your Uncle Tommy let nobody like that fella you done killed kill them and as far as that little whore you brought back here goes, well she gonna be dead soon anyway.”

  “Aw come on Momma let me keep her for a while.”

  “Won't have that in my house. You can just go back to stickin' your thing in them Z's you got tied up out in the woods. That's right, I know all about what you and your cousin have been up to.”

  “I'm keepin' her!”

  “Then you can get her out of this house.”

  “Where am I gonna keep her Momma? The barn fell down. There ain't no place else.”

  “Go get your cousin out of the back of that truck. I'm gonna need to get him cleaned up for buryin'.”

  “Can't we do it outside, Momma? He's gonna get blood
all over the...Ow stop hittin' me with that spoon!”

  “Then go get him like I said. You done broke my best wooden spoon with that hard head of yours. Get out there Cletus, now!”

  I heard the door to the back of the house bang open and some one walked around the corner from the back of the house. I pointed my rifle at him as he walked past talking to himself.

  “I'm not cleanin' up any messes. Serves her right breakin' her spoon,” he mumbled, walking over to the truck and opening the tailgate. “Come on Jimmy we're goin' inside.” He reached in the bed of the truck, grabbed the body by the feet, and pulled it out; letting it fall to the ground.

  When he bent over to pick the body up off the ground I walked up behind him and hit him on the back of the head with the butt of the rifle. He fell to the ground and whirled around to face me.

  “Why'd you do that Momma?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head. “You ain't my Momma.”

  “You've got a hard head there Cletus.”

  “If you're wantin' to knock somebody out ya hit em in the neck not the head, ya dumb ass.”

  I hit him with the butt of the rifle in the mouth for good measure. “Is that better?”

  Cletus turned his head to the side and spit a mouthful of blood, along with a few teeth, on the ground. “Ya missed again,” he said, smiling up at me. Drooling blood and saliva down the front of his shirt.

  I pulled the rifle back to hit him again. His arms came up and he covered his head. “Had enough? Get up.”

  He got to his feet never once taking his eyes off of me. He stood staring at me still smiling. “Shoot the dumb son-of-a-bitch Momma.”

  “I'm not falling for that.”

  I heard the distinct sound of someone cranking the slide on a shotgun. “You better drop that gun mister,” a woman's voice said from behind me.