Jeffrey McElyea's Zombie Compilation

by Jeffrey McElyea

  “All I can think of is to collect rainwater.”

  “We’ll get what we can. There’s a lake not far from here and a pond at the bottom of the hill.”

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.”

  All felt confident with what they had done to their community. On the second day, Justin, John, Phil and Adam walked down the road and headed to the gas station. When they arrived, they were surrounded by nine people.

  “We don’t want any trouble,” said Justin.

  “What do the four of you want?” asked a young man. “You want to take our stuff?”

  “No,” Adam answered. “We mean no one any harm. We just want to pass through.”

  “Where did you come from?” asked another man.

  “The other direction. You have our thanks for not getting violent. We’ll be going now.”

  “Watch yourself. Those dead things are lurking everywhere. There aren’t many of them this way. They’re all over the main roads. We lost four of our people when this started. One hesitated from fear and got eaten. Three were bitten and turned into those things. It’s horrible.”

  The scouting party stopped for a rest after reaching the main road.

  “We’re close to the supermarket,” said John. “We could check there.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Adam. “Living or dead, there will be a lot of people there.”

  “The supermarket is just down the road and around the corner. I’ll check it out myself and meet you all back home.”

  “I urge you to reconsider,” Adam asserted with a frustrated stare.

  “I’m just going to scope it out.”

  “It’ll be dangerous,” Phil warned.

  “I’ll be fine. Go on. Search the little department stores.”

  “Okay,” said Adam as he shook his head. “But I think it’s a bad idea to be alone out here.”

  “I’ll see you all back home,” John said as he walked the other way.

  “I don’t think we’ll be seeing him again,” Phil said as he shook his head.

  “I know how bad it is,” said Justin. “We won’t see him again.”

  11

  Adam, Justin and Phil headed in the other direction until they reached some small department stores.

  “These stores are smaller,” said Justin. “Maybe they won’t be empty.”

  “Watch yourselves,” said Adam. “Don’t make too much noise.”

  They walked into the parking lot and stopped.

  “I wonder why it’s so empty,” Justin wondered aloud.

  “I don’t know,” Phil added. “Better for us, though. Let’s try this small shopping center first.”

  Inside the shopping center, Adam realized he and the others had come across a gold mine.

  “This place looks untouched,” Phil said as he checked his shotgun. “Let’s stay together.”

  Adam and Justin nodded as three zombies came from an aisle into view.

  “Let’s clear this place out,” Adam said boldly. “We’re going to get a few shopping carts filled and make another trip back here. Wait to fire until they get close.”

  The plan went well. Standing side by side, the three waited for the zombies to get closer before firing. Heads were ripped and blown off by the group’s well-timed shots.

  “Wait for a moment,” Adam said to the others. “If there are more of them, they’ll come to search for the source of the noise.”

  There were more. Several more. The group had to fire many rounds and reload a few times to clear the area. They stood in front of a pile of corpses.

  “Glad we have plenty of ammo,” Phil said with a laugh.

  “No kidding,” Justin added.

  “Let’s check the rest of the store before going shopping,” Adam advised. “We wouldn’t want to be surprised by a straggler.”

  Two stragglers were found. One was found in the clothing section, another in the frozen food aisle.

  “Looks like we’re in the clear,” said Phil. “Let’s go.”

  Adam and Justin were shaken up by the sight of so many zombies. Suffering from the recent loss of his wife, Phil wasn’t phased by the display of horror and gore.

  “Yell if you need help,” Adam said before grabbing and pushing two shopping carts.

  “Will do. I’ll stick with Phil. I don’t want to be alone in here.”

  Adam found the nonperishable foods. He placed dried noodles, macaroni shells and beans in the carts. He also filled them with a variety of canned goods and cases of bottled water. He filled his backpack with water and found the others minutes later.

  “We’re ready,” Phil said with a grin.

  “Okay. It’s going to take longer to transport all of this back to the neighborhood. It’s early. We’ll have enough daylight to make a second trip.”

  The three had no problems on the way home. Shortly after their arrival, they heard the sounds of hundreds of moans.

  “The gunshots must have attracted them,” said Phil. “Looks like we won’t be making that second trip today.”

  Adam, Justin and Phil gave the news about John to Sarah, Eric and Leslie. The group was one less and too scared to leave the community.

  12

  “Stay away from the gate,” Adam told everyone. “Keep your heads down, too. Let’s get inside our homes.”

  Adam, Justin and Eric went upstairs and took a peek through one of the blanket covered windows.

  “Don’t let any of them see you,” Eric whispered.

  “Don’t worry, little bro. I’m just going to take a peek.”

  Adam watched as a massive horde of zombies passed around the brick walls.

  “I think we attracted them with the gunshots we made,” Adam said with discouragement.

  “What do you see?” Eric asked.

  “There are so many of them. There’s no way we could take on such a large crowd of them. They’re all slowly walking and limping past. They’re disfigured. A lot of them are missing body parts. I still can’t believe this is really happening. What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll find a way,” said Justin.

  “I highly doubt it. Have you not looked at the big picture? There’s only so much food and water to go around for so long. Sure, we have a big pond. How long will that last us until it dries up? Are we really reduced to risking our lives every time we need or want something?”

  “That’s just how it is now, Adam. We’ll be fine. Be optimistic. At least you have your brother.”

  “Yeah, you have a point. This is going to be such a hard life, Justin. We’ll have to scavenge so much just to survive. We have to be smart. We can’t make any mistakes. If the area runs out of food, we’ll have to move or undergo expeditions.”

  “One thing at a time. You can’t overthink it. I did for a little while. It only drove me crazy.”

  “Look at them all from the other window.”

  Justin walked to the other side of the room and peered out.

  “There are a lot of them. I’m sure they’ll keep going.”

  “What if they don’t? We’d have to clean up the entire way. What if more from the city keep coming?”

  “As I said, you can’t overthink it. There’s only so much you can do. Just do what you can and hope for the best.”

  “It’s going to take a lot of hope to be convinced that we have a chance of surviving.”

  “It might not be the end of the world.”

  “Judging from what I’ve seen, we’re done. Finished.”

  “At least we have air conditioning and running water.”

  “Do you really think it will last?”

  “No, but I think we should take advantage of it while we can.”

  “What if we run out of food before we can safely make a trip out?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it. You’re the smart one, Adam. Don’t lose your head. Eric and I need you. We’re a team. We’ll do whatever it takes to survive. We
’ve gotten this far. Don’t feel so down.”

  “You’re right. It is scary out there, though.”

  “Hell yeah, it is. I wonder how this all happened.”

  “Same here. If it’s anything like in the books and movies, it’s probably a virus or bioweapon.”

  “Do you think hell has overflowed?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is I’m not going out there unless I have to.”

  “I second that.”

  13

  Days passed. The passing zombies’ numbers were in the thousands. The six had no choice but to stay put.

  “The horde of them has stopped,” Eric said one morning.

  “Have they?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah. Not good. A big mass of them stopped right here.”

  “How do we get them to move?”

  “I don’t think we can do anything about it.”

  “I knew this year was a bad year, but this is crazy. Why us? Why couldn’t it have happened long after we were dead and gone?”

  “That’s just the way it’s going to be.”

  “I suppose so. Let’s see. The mass of zombies has stopped. Something must have happened.”

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe they found something. Maybe they can somehow communicate with each other. Maybe they couldn’t find the source of the noise from the store incident and stopped. Maybe they lost interest or forgot about what they were looking for. Maybe they can smell us. Who knows?”

  “We should keep our voices down,” said a paranoid Justin. “All we can do is be quiet and hope they move on. Maybe another gunshot will sound off and lead them elsewhere.”

  The six residents did what they could to pass the time. They watched lots of television before the power went out. The group gathered in Phil’s house.

  “It’s going to get worse,” Sarah said as she held back tears.

  “It’ll get a lot worse before it gets any better,” said Phil. “Of course, I say that with optimism.”

  “So, we just stay here and hope we don’t run out of food and water?”

  “Looks that way.”

  “This worries me too much. I need to lie down.”

  “Okay, young lady. If anything happens, we’ll let you know. We’re going to be under siege for a while. It looks that way, anyway.”

  “Well,” Adam began. “We should try to get comfortable. That’ll be hard to do, but we can’t stress ourselves out over something we can’t change. Like always, we’ll ration our food and water and keep quiet.”

  No one was at ease to any caliber. Eric seemed to be getting the worst of it.

  “You’re keeping your cool now,” Eric said to his older brother. “Now, I’m the one who’s worrying. How do you deal with this? Everything’s going to be different from now on. You made a good point. How are we going to survive this? We can’t go through that many of them. If they don’t leave, we can’t.”

  “You’re right, Eric. Just do something to occupy yourself. It’s what we’re all doing. Force yourself to be happy, Eric. We’re alive. That’s more important than anything. As long as you’re alive, you have to be thankful. We’ve survived the beginning of this. The affliction has spread. Most people are holed up or dead. The rioting and looting is long gone. It’s us versus zombies and crazy humans now.”

  “Yeah,” Justin said with remorse. “I was desperate and planned on hitting you in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Others are going to be far more desperate than that. Living people will be out to kill us and take our things, maybe even cook and eat us when food can’t be found.”

  “We’ll just have to be careful,” Adam reassured.

  “That’s all you have to say about this?” Eric asked as he slumped to the floor in despair.

  “What else is there to say, little bro?”

  “I want words of comfort.”

  “You’re going to be alright, Eric.”

  “No, we’re not. I don’t believe you. We’re all going to die.”

  14

  When another day of being surrounded on all sides by zombies passed, everyone met in Phil’s house.

  “They’re not leaving,” said Sarah. “Why aren’t they leaving? They should leave. They need to go away. I’m not okay.”

  “Calm down,” said Phil. “It has only been one day. Stressing out isn’t going to fix anything. I know that’s easier to be said than done. You’re afraid. We all are. We’re doing our best. We can’t lose control of our minds. We’ll make it. We have to. Even if humanity survives this, there will be extreme losses. The world is never going to be the same again.”

  “Okay,” said Eric. “I am surprised. That’s all I can say. I’m sixteen years old. I’ll never know what it’s like to have a car. No money to spend. We’ll just be trading. I guess I’m supposed to act like it isn’t happening.”

  “We all know it’s happening,” said Sarah. “Deal with it the best you can. We have to be quick, happy and smart. Am I right, Phil?”

  “That’s right, young lady. Just stay calm.”

  “What has everyone been doing about the heat?” Leslie asked. “I’m sweating all the time.”

  “The water is cold,” Eric joked.

  “I can’t stay in the shower all day.”

  “Sorry. I was just messing with you.”

  “Messing with me during a time like this?”

  “I was only trying to lighten the mood.”

  “Oh, okay. At least we can still get drinking water.”

  “I hope it stays that way. Taking showers helps me cope.”

  “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. We don’t have to pay a water bill anymore. I just spend a lot of time in my bathroom.”

  “That’s what I do.”

  “We’re all like a little family here. We help and need each other. We have to protect each other.”

  “We have lots of food and water. I think we have a chance.”

  “We do have a few things to do to pass the time. We take long showers, read books, play cards and talk. During an epidemic like this, I like to think we have it made.”

  “We need to have people watching outside at all times,” said Phil. “We’ll each take shifts watching outside my attic window. There’s a good view of everything from there.”

  “How should we do it?” Adam asked.

  “I think we should take four hour shifts. Whoever takes watch should listen to the radio I have up there. I only have so many batteries, but I think we have enough to last for a long time. I’ll take the first shift. I’ll come and get one of you when my shift is over.”

  “I’ll take the second shift.”

  “Sounds good. We’re fine, everyone. Just keep your cool. I think there’s a good chance we’ll make it through this.”

  15

  Adam did not enjoy his first shift in the attic. Paranoid, he considered the thought of Phil going crazy and locking him in the attic. He sat in a chair and watched out the window. He sadly stared at what they were up against. They were everywhere. Looking at all of the twitching and swaying zombies as the sun went down sent chills down his spine.

  “We shouldn’t be going through this,” he thought. “No one deserves to go through this. All of those people were killed and came back to hunt the living.”

  Only Phil quickly adapted to the new lifestyle. Everyone did their best to act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. It didn’t work. Two weeks passed before Eric began showing symptoms of mental illness.

  “When’s the last time you took your meds?” Adam asked.

  “It’s been a week and a half. I ran out. I don’t feel right.”

  “Just stay with me no matter what, okay?”

  “Okay. I feel like we’re doomed.”

  “I know you do. We all do. You’re upset. I understand that. Just stay with me. I’ll take care of you.”

  “Okay,” Eric said with a smile. “That makes me feel a lot better. I just can’t handle anythi
ng right now.”

  “I know. I don’t want you to do anything except stay with me and try to relax. I’ll take care of everything else. Justin, make sure he doesn’t try to hurt himself. He’s tried to commit suicide in the past. Without his meds, his judgment is impaired. I expect you to keep an eye on my little brother for me while I’m sleeping.”

  “I will.”

  “He might try to hurt himself. If that happens, do whatever you need to. I’m counting on you.”

  “I’ll do everything I can.”

  “Thank you.”

  A few more weeks passed. The water stopped running. They had to dig a latrine. The radio played the same looped broadcasts. Their last bit of comfortability had been taken.

  “We all reek,” said Phil. “Hope you all don’t mind stinking up the place.”

  “Nothing,” said Sarah. “No internet, power, phones or running water.”

  “We have weapons, food, water, the wall and the gate. I’m sure that’s a lot more than what most people have.”

  “There are cannibalistic monsters outside keeping us stuck in here.”

  “It could be worse. The horde has to go somewhere. Before they stopped, they were headed in the direction of the department stores. That area is going to be a lot more dangerous later.”

  “Okay. I’ll just wait for my husband to get here.”

  16

  “I didn’t know you were married,” said Phil. “I have been living next to you for so many years and didn’t notice. I guess I don’t get out enough.”

  “Yeah. My husband’s name is Matt. He works at the coffee shop in the city. I think he’s smart enough to survive. He’ll come back.”

  “I’m going with the three of you next time,” said Leslie.

  “Are you sure?” Justin asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I want to help. I have my own gun. I know how to defend myself.”

  “Okay. You can come with us when we go out again.”

  “If we go out again,” Eric mumbled.

  “We’ll be fine,” said Phil.

  They were trapped within the brick walls for a month before getting a break. Gunshots sounded. A smile reached Adam’s face. He thought of the zombies moving on to search for the source of the sound.

  “We heard it,” Eric said as he came up the stairs.