by Bell, A. E.
Creed was frustrated that Evie told her that, “What the hell? Why did you tell her that? She’s too young to be able to handle that. Since when do you alone decide what to tell and what not to tell our children?”
Evie exploded, “Since she asked me a fucking question and I answered. It’s a little hard to hide the fact that there are zombies all over the place and on top of that, people are trying to kill us too. She needs to know the truth. She needs to start defending herself. What if something happens to one of us, or God forbid both of us.? Do you want her just to let those things or those people kill her or her brother?”
As bad as it hurt, he knew she was telling the truth. He knew that hiding the terror from their kids was only weakening them further. He relented, “Fine. I get it, but I would appreciate it if for now on you run things by me before you blurt it out to our kids. They are mine too.” She knew he had a right to be upset, but she did what she thought was right and she wasn’t going to apologize for it. She just sat there in silence as they continued speeding down the road.
He kept looking in the rearview mirror to see if those people were following them. He couldn’t see anything, but he had a funny feeling that they weren’t done with them yet. He finally broke the silence, “Seriously, we have to come up with a plan. Those people aren’t going to quit looking for us.”
She yelled out, “Turn left right there.” He slammed on the brakes and turned left onto Devils Bend Rd. He looked at her with a concerned look on his face. She laughed, “It’s just the name of a fuckin road. We will turn off it soon. We need to put as many turns between us and those assholes as we can. Okay, see that road up there, turn right on it.”
“Do you have any idea where you are taking us?”, Creed inquired.
Sarcastically, “Umm no. Of course not. I’ve never been here before. Just stay straight on this road for a while.”
They drove along for quite some time, while Evie tried to figure out where the fuck they were. After a few minutes, she thought she knew where they were. She relayed the information to her husband, “If we keep going this way we should be going parallel to I-29, that will get us most of the way through Iowa. I think if they don’t find us in the next thirty minutes we will be safe from that fuckin group. Surely, they will get tired of using their resources to find us.”
No sooner did she get those words out then the RV started making a strange noise, followed by smoke coming up from the hood. Creed screamed, “Mother fucker, what the hell? This can’t happen right now.” He found a house to pull behind. “Hopefully, these people are not assholes or murderers.”
He knocked on the back door, and there wasn’t an answer. He opened the door and yelled out, “Is anybody home?” Still no answer. He readied his shotgun and had his tomahawk hanging from his belt buckle. He stepped inside the house and decided to clear it one room at a time. It was a rather large farmhouse set off the road. He couldn’t help but think about the fact that he and Evie had always dreamed about having a house like this. It had a wrap around porch and a red metal roof with an upstairs.
He finished with the downstairs and then started up the stairs. He could hear a thumping noise upstairs, so he had his shotgun pointed up and ready to shoot. He went to the room that the thumping was coming from and slowly opened the door. When the door opened, an infected lunged towards him knocking the shotgun out of his hand. He lost his footing and ended up pinned against the hallway wall. He grabbed his tomahawk, but couldn’t get his arm freed enough to hit the infected. He struggled with it until they both fell on the floor. Creed managed to land on top of the infected and raised his tomahawk in the air and cracked its skull. He just kept hitting it repeatedly until it didn’t move anymore. Creed leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He cleaned the disgusting black dead tissue from his tomahawk with the pant leg of the infected.
Finally, after a few minutes, he stood up and went to the other two bedrooms. They were all clear. He got a sheet off a bed and rolled the infected inside of it like a burrito. He ran outside to get Evie and the kids.
Evie was standing guard outside of the RV. When he came out the door, she asked, “Is everything good in there?”
He took a deep breath, “Well, it is now, but I’m going to need your help getting one of those things out of there if we are going to be here very long.”
She pointed to a red barn, “I think we should put the RV in there. That way nobody will be able to see it from the road. We will let the kids hang out in the house while we take it over there.”
She yelled to the kids, “I need y’all to get out and go inside this house while dad and I move the RV.” They all hopped out of the RV and into the house. They drove about fifty yards over to the barn, he got out and opened the barn doors. She eased the vehicle inside barely missing the rafters.
As they were walking out of the barn, they could hear a vehicle driving down the road. Creed peeked around the side of the barn. He whispered, “Shit, it’s that same blue car. Let’s wait here until we are sure it is far enough past us to make a run for the house.”
They listened and didn’t hear any more vehicles and could hear that car driving off further away. He tapped her arm and motioned for them to go. They both took off running, all the sudden they could hear a vehicle coming closer again. They managed to get to the house. Creed once again peeked around the corner and saw the same blue car drive by. He muttered, “Let’s go inside. Hopefully, they were only driving through, and when they didn’t see us they won’t come back.” Creed took post by the front window, so he could see if the car drove by again.
Evie went to the kids to discuss with them, “We need to go over the rules. First, nobody goes outside this house without your dad or me knowing. Second, if you see anything you alert us. Third, Cinnamon stays in the house except to go pee. Does everybody got it?” They all nodded their heads, and Cinnamon let out a bark. Evie looked down at the dog and said, “And you need to get that barking under control, or I’m gonna find a muzzle for you.” It was almost as if the dog understood what she was saying, he laid down and placed his head by her feet. She shook her head, “Damned you, why do you have to be so fuckin cute?”
They began making themselves at home until they could figure out their next move. Evie and Sylvie went into the kitchen to see if they had any food. The cupboards were bare. Evie hollered to Creed, “I’m going to go to the barn and get out the fish so we can make it for supper.”
Evie walked out the door. Before it could shut, Cinnamon nudged it open and came running out. She looked up and noticed that it was quickly getting dark. She was just thankful that they had a safe place to lay their head for the night. She gathered some of their food and went back to the farmhouse. Before she could open the door, she saw headlights coming down the road. She had no way of knowing if it was the same car or not, but she hurried inside the door.
She ran in to speak with Creed, “Did you see that? I hope to God, it wasn’t the same people. We need to cover up the windows, so they don’t see any light from the house.”
Creed ran upstairs to grab some blankets off the bed when he got to the top of the stairs he saw the infected he had left wrapped up in the blanket. He yelled downstairs, “Honey, I need you upstairs real quick.” She climbed up the stairs and saw Creed pointing at the infected in the blanket. He asked her, “Any ideas on how to get this outside without the kids seeing it?”
She replied, “Yeah, let’s pitch it out the window.”
He shrugged his shoulders, “Okay, why not.” They opened the window and pushed it out. Just as they heard the thud from the infected hitting the ground, they heard a gunshot. They took off running down the stairs. They saw Sylvie standing there with her gun in her hand trembling and Steve laying on the floor near the back door.
Sylvie began screaming, “I had to do it. He walked in the door and had a gun in his hand. Before I even knew what I was doing, I heard a big bang and he fell to the floor. I’m sorry, momma. Did I do something
wrong?”
Her mother took the gun out of her hand and placed it on the counter. She grabbed Sylvie up and held her in her arms. She whispered in her ear, “Baby girl, you did what you should have done. I am so sorry that you had to do this, but you had no choice. Taking a life is not easy, you will carry it with you, but if it’s between you or them. You always have to choose you. I love you so much.”
Evie looked over at Creed, “We need to move his car and his body. The last thing we need is for them to see his car here.”
He was just as concerned as Evie, “I know, I think I should drive him and his car down the road a piece and leave it. Maybe if I leave in the direction he came from his people will look the other way.”
His wife did not like the plan but couldn’t think of a better one. She asked him, “How in the hell are you going to get back here?”,
He shrugged his shoulders, “I guess I’m going to walk back. We don’t have a lot of choices here. If they find his car or his body we’re screwed.” They dragged the body out the door, off the porch, and lifted him into the car.
Evie pointed towards the infected that was wrapped up in a sheet, “Why don’t we just throw it in there with him?”
Her husband rolled his eyes at her, “Sure why not, I love lifting all this dead weight.” They put the infected on top of Dean, and he drove away.
As he drove away, Evie couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever see her husband again. He wanted to be far enough away that they wouldn’t find them. He ended up about a mile away from the house. He took the keys with him out of spite because he didn’t want this asshole’s group to be able to use the car.
He mumbled to himself under his breath, “Now for the hard part.” He decided the best bet would be to walk through the yards and fields so he could easily find cover. He hadn’t even walked halfway when he heard moaning and groaning coming up behind him. He knew exactly what it was before he even turned around. He raised his tomahawk in the air and brought it down on the infected. The infected fell straight down to the ground. Creed pried his tomahawk out of its head. He wiped the tomahawk on the weeds to get the necrotic brains off it. He took a deep breath and continued on his way back to his family.
Meanwhile, the family was waiting for him to arrive back. Sylvie was pacing back and forth waiting for father to return. Her mother grabbed her hand, “Honey, daddy will get back when he gets back. You pacing like a lunatic is not going to get him any faster. Sit down next to me, while I clean the guns.”
Sylvie sat down, but she continued to be worried sick. Her leg was moving non-stop. Evie put her hand down on her knee, “Sweetie, we need to clean these guns while we have a little downtime plus you need a little distraction.”
Ollie and Cassie found a Yahtzee game to play. They played on the living room floor next to the coffee table Evie and Sylvie were cleaning guns. They heard a man’s voice, “I live down the road. I saw you all when you showed up. I promise I won’t hurt you. Please don’t shoot me.” Cinnamon jumped up and ran towards the door. He was scratching at the door trying to get out.
Evie jumped up, “Sir, why did you come here? We aren’t bothering nobody that ain’t bothering us.” She called to Cinnamon, “Come here, Cinnamon.” She patted the dog on the head and then held onto its collar.
The man called out, “Look, my name is Dick. I just wanted to tell you that you all should leave as quick as possible. I saw that man come in here and then be carried out. I’m assuming one of you killed him. That group he is in is crazy. They will hunt you down.”
She instructed him, “Come in the door VERY slowly, keep your arms lifted high, if you try to pull a gun, I will shoot you. No questions asked.”
Dick’s voice quivered a little when he spoke, “That’s fine, lady. I’m not here to hurt anybody. I just came to warn you that’s all.” He slowly opened the door and walked inside with his hands in the air as Evie had demanded. “Do you care if we sit at the kitchen table and have a little talk?”
Evie motioned at him to sit down, “What exactly did you come here to warn us about? And where do you live? And why are you watching us?”
Dick quickly responded, “I was watching you to make sure that you weren’t like those other people. I live just across that field. You probably didn’t see the house because it’s built into a berm that faces the back of my property. As far as why, I’m here to warn you. I’m assuming at some point, you attracted the attention of that group of animals. If so, they will stop at nothing to kidnap you and your daughters.”
Creed opened the door, “Can you tell me why there is a strange man at my dinner table, honey?”
Evie laughed, “You dork, this is Dick. Dick lives across the way. He says he came to warn us about Steve and Dean’s group.”
He was no more amused then he was when he walked through the door, “Okay, honey, but that doesn’t explain why you opened the door for a stranger and invited him in.”
She could sense his annoyance, “You’re absolutely right, but I opened the door because if I left him standing on the back porch, he might draw unwanted attention.”
Creed sat down with Dick and Evie, skeptically he asked Dick a question, “Why should we believe a word you say? How have you escaped the wrath of this group that you say is so dangerous?”
Dick’s face seemed to tense up with nervousness, “Sir, I understand that you may not believe me. There was a family of three that used to live in this home, Mark, Gina, and their teenage daughter Susie. We were all doing what we could to survive the zombies. Then one day, this group of people came for Suzie and Gina. I never saw Mark again.”
Evie shook her head, “It doesn’t make sense how in the hell do they put together a group like this in just 3-4 days. It would take weeks or months to form a group like this.”
He answered, “Yes ma’am under normal circumstance it would, but these people were part of a pretty rough motorcycle gang prior to the zombies coming. Ever since the zombies killed off the police force, they have taken all the women from pre-teen to retirement age. If the family fights, they kill the husbands and fathers. I’m just trying to tell you that the sooner you get gone, the better.”
She sat back and looked at him, she knew he was telling the truth. She went on to explain, “You see sir, we don’t have a way out of here. Our RV broke down, that’s why we put it in the barn.” Cinnamon walked over the man and laid his head at his face. Evie took notice of the fact that the dog’s affection towards the man. She knew that most animals were a better judge of character than humans.
Dick lowered his head in contemplation, “Well, then it sounds like we need to do something about it. I’m pretty good at mechanical stuff. If we scavenge some parts, I might be able to help you fix it.”
Creed declined the man’s offer, “I think we can manage on our own. We are thinking about just finding another vehicle altogether.”
Evie looked over to Creed, “He’s right. I want a new vehicle. That thing is a gas guzzler. We will take a look in the morning and see if somebody has an SUV they aren’t using.” She walked into the living room with the kids.
Creed and Dick sat at the table a minute or two longer, discussing the group that had taken over this town in a matter of days. She heard Dick tell Creed, “They are using the women as sex slaves. They have set up in a trailer park about 5 miles away. Just don’t go near the place.” Dick stood up to leave, “I’m just across the field if you need help. Just try to stay out of sight.” The back porch door slammed behind him. Creed walked over, shut the door, and locked it.
He walked into the living room and just stood watching them cleaning guns and playing games. He couldn’t shake the thought of these monsters taking his family and using them like nothing. The thought made him sick to his stomach. He would rather them all die than live through that hell.
He went and sat next to his wife and placed his right hand on her face and gently turned it towards him, “Please promise me that you won’t let any more stran
gers in the door. I couldn’t bear for that gang to get you or the girls.”
She smiled, “Honey, I know that you are scared for us. I’m scared too, but you know as well as me that we can’t live in our fear. We will face it like we have everything else. Tomorrow we will get another vehicle and get the fuck out of dodge. But right now, we need to bring some mattresses down from upstairs. I don’t want to sleep on the upper level. I think it would be safer if we all slept together down here in the living room.”
He nodded his head, “You are right as usual. I love you, babe. Forever and always.” They went up the stairs, Creed walked behind her like usual because he liked staring at her butt. He playfully reached up and smacked her on the ass.
She giggled like a school girl, “Stop it you shithead. We have work to get done.”
The kids all moved out of the way so that their parents could put the mattresses down. Evie called to Sylvie, “Can you move that coffee table? These things are really heavy.” Sylvie jumped up and moved the coffee table. When Creed and Evie got to the middle of the living room, they dropped the first of two mattresses. They headed back up the stairs to retrieve the second one. Evie lost her grip on the way down and caused Creed to be slammed into the wall.
He stood up, “Damnit woman, are you trying to kill me?”
She laughed, “Of course not. I told you when I decide to kill you it will be poison.” She went down and helped it out from under the mattress. They eventually got the mattress down next to the other one.
The kids laid down on the mattresses. Evie and Creed sat down on the couch. She suggested, “Why don’t you stay up for about 3 hours while I sleep and then we will switch off after that.” She laid her head in his lap, he was caressing her hair, and she drifted off to sleep. Creed did his best to stay awake, but he was so exhausted he fell asleep about thirty minutes later.
