The Dead Don't Bleed: Part 2, The Aftermath

by S. Ganley

  He studied Cameron's dad for a while and knew that he could present a problem. Doug was sure that he was stuck for the long term in that tangle of hoses and rope wrapped around his legs and wasn't worried about him breaking free suddenly and coming after him. His concern was that if he spotted him making a dash across the side of the house and into the back door he would let loose with a warning moan that would attract any other zombie within earshot and send them running in his direction. He thought about trying to drop onto his belly and crawl across the yard, but that would only get him as far as the patio, from there he would have no choice but to stand at least at a crouch and make his way up the stairs of the porch to the back door. The porch itself was elevated several feet off the ground and wide open to view from the backyard. From that corner of the shed the zombie had a direct line of sight to the porch and there was no way Doug could stay concealed long enough to get inside. That left him only one option. Moving further up the line of hedges he could reach a point where he would be able to cross the lawn and keep the shed between himself and the struggling zombie trapped on the other side. He could see that the both the main front door and a smaller side door of the shed had been left open. If he could reach the side door and keep from being overheard he would be able to get his hands on something on the inside from the gardening supplies that he could use as a weapon. Since the zombies entire focus was towards the back of the house as he continually tried to move forward against his impromptu leg restraints, Doug would be able to come up behind him from the back of the shed and deal with him. Doug was confident that he could reach the shed and obtain a weapon of some kind, it was the next part that he had reservations about. When it came down to actually killing someone, he didn't know if he really had it in him. He told himself over and over that in reality it wasn't a person he would be killing, the person that had once been Cameron's father was already dead. He would be killing an animal of sorts that would have no such reservations about tearing him apart in a split second while eating pieces of his body at the same time.

  "Ok, time to stop being such a pussy and just get this done." He told himself out loud. The sound of his own voice speaking in such a tone actually struck a chord with him and he started to feel that it just might be possible that he could pull this off. He had finally taken a stand against Emily for the first time in their marriage, if he could find the balls to do that then he could damn well find the balls to put that disgusting creature down for good.

  Before he allowed himself a chance to start second guessing his decision he darted in a crouch along the hedges until he reached a point where he was lined up with the center of the shed and far out of sight of the zombie on the other side. Pushing his body into the dense shrubs, he wormed his way through until he finally reached the open lawn on the far side. Keeping as low to the ground as he could to minimize his profile, he darted to the side of the shed. This time Doug kept up a brisk pace but avoided a full on sprint so he wouldn't end up gasping for breath once he reached his target. He congratulated himself for remembering that little detail, it was things like that he was sure could end up getting him and someone else killed if he didn't learn such lessons early on. Slipping inside the side door of the shed he studied the tools hung neatly on pegs along both sides of the small storage room. He had to hand it to Cameron's mom, she was a neat freak when it came to organization. Each gardening tool was hanging carefully in a spot designed especially for it and he couldn't see a speck of dirt or rust on any of the well-used instruments. He saw several hand held tools that would have done the job nicely but would have also required him to get well within arm’s reach of the zombie before he could strike a killing blow. The shovels were nice, but also a little heavier than he would prefer, then his eyes fell on an old fashioned gardening hoe. The four foot handle was long enough to keep him well out of reach at the pinnacle moment and the curved edge still shone silver from a recent sharpening. The metal end was about a quarter the size of a shovel and was light enough that when he gave it a test swing he felt confident that he could heave it without a problem. Satisfied that it would be sufficient to do the job he returned to the side door. After a quick check of the yard to ensure nothing had come along behind him, he circled around the outside of the shed to the back and then pressed himself firmly against the wall of the building letting his courage build. From that location he could make out the sounds of the zombie on the other side of the wall struggling futilely against the tangle of hoses and rope wrapped around his legs. Every so often the creature would let out a frustrated bellowing moan which was thankfully only loud enough to be heard from a short distance away. Even as non-communicative as these things seemed to be, the frustration represented in its moans was one that he easily recognized for what it was. The thing had probably been stuck in that same position for the past couple of days, judging by the worn patch of dirt Doug had noticed on the ground in front of it. It was a testament to just how much they had lost even the most basic ability to reason. All the creature had to do was stop struggling and reach down with its hands and pull the tangle from its legs and it would be able to free itself.

  The frustrated moans coming from just a few feet away from him around the corner of the shed began to give him the first tendrils of doubt that he would be able to carry through with driving the hoe into its head. Even though he knew without a shred of doubt that not even an ounce of the humanity that had once been a caring father and devoted husband remained in that shell of a human, there was a familiarity in those frustrated moans that gave him pause. He could feel the doubt and fear creeping up on him. Across the yard watching the zombie struggling against its bindings and out of earshot from it, he had been able to convince himself that killing it was nothing more than killing a wild animal that was threatening him. Now, just a few feet away, weapon in hand and seconds from actually carrying through with it, the sounds of that struggling beast started to send shudders of doubt rippling through his body. Doug forced himself to close his eyes, block out the sounds and told himself over and over that he had to do it, their survival depended on eliminating this threat. He told himself that he would stand there for no longer than one full minutes and at the end of that time he would turn the corner, raise the hoe above his head and crash it down into the zombie’s skull in one fluid motion. He began working to control his breathing and stared at his watch as the seconds rapidly started ticking down.

  #

  They found a neighborhood just off Riverbend road close to the entrance to the park that looked like a good possibility for their scavenging run. The houses were all in the million dollar and up range. Beautiful palatial estates with well-manicured lawns and nicely separated to give them a good chance to survey the surrounding properties for any residences who may still be hanging around. Garrett was driving with Miranda riding shotgun, Calvin had elected to take the back of the crew cab to better survey areas as they drove past and keep tabs on zombies that started giving chase to them, making sure none got to close for comfort. So far they had spotted only a handful of zombies along the street or in the yards of houses they drove past. As they had anticipated, the presence of the truck was attracting them and they would come running towards the street as they passed by. Keeping his speed at close to twenty five miles per hour they were able to easily outrun any of the undead coming after them before they posed a real threat to them. They wanted to make a quick sweep through the area and then head back towards the start of the neighborhood where they would leave the truck behind and return on foot. Garrett had already spotted a pair of houses that looked promising. They were close together compared to the others on that block and they were also sheltered enough with surrounding trees and patches of woods where they would be able to make their approach under cover and have a location near the houses to stop and observe them for a period of time before attempting to enter.

  "Nothing close behind us, but I counted close to thirty of the things that saw us passing by and gave chase. I would imagine the
y are not too far behind at the moment if they are still trying to catch up." Calvin called out from the back of the truck.

  They had just pulled back onto the secondary road that led into the neighborhood and Garrett found a spot off to the side of the road in an open area where they could park. He didn't want to leave the truck parked anywhere that there would be a place for zombies to remain hidden for them to have to deal with on their return trip. If they ran into trouble while on foot there was a good chance they would be coming back in a hurry. If the truck had too many of the creatures hanging out around it on their way back they wanted to be able to see them from as far off as possible so they could quickly make the decision to abandon the truck and return to the park on foot or find an alternate place to lay low until the danger passed.

  "Ok, I'm gonna park. Get ready to get out and hit the trees as soon as we do. I'm sure at least some of them haven't given up just yet and we don't want to be here when they reach the truck." Garrett replied.

  Miranda held the pistol up in one hand with her other hand resting on the door handle ready to fling it open as soon as they stopped. She glanced over at Garrett and gave him a nod of her head to indicate she was ready. He didn't bother looking into the back at Calvin, he was sure that his friend had his AK up and ready to rock and roll at the first sign of trouble.

  The truck was still barely rolling when Calvin jumped from the back door and stormed out into the nearby brush. From Garrett's point of view the man looked like he was storming the beach at Normandy and running headlong into machine gun fire. By the time he had the truck fully parked, the engine off and both he and Miranda had exited and walked to the edge of the road, Calvin was already poking his head back out from the brush and signaling that they were clear to follow along behind him.

  Calvin led them on a diagonal path into the thin woods that bordered the road and ran all the way up to a point just behind the two houses they had selected to investigate. They slowed to a walk as soon as they entered the sparse woods and carefully placed each foot down to avoid making noise by stepping on dried up leaves or snapping twigs. They had only made it about fifty yards from the truck when Calvin motioned for them to stop and crouch down while he pointed through a pair of trees to indicate that he saw something ahead. Garrett and Miranda froze in their tracks and dropped to one knee while Garrett instinctively swiveled his body around to cover the area behind them in case something was trying to retrace their steps.

  They could hear them before they saw them. The sound of feet smacking the pavement signifying the approach of a dozen or more individuals. The three of them watched silently as one after another a column of zombies sprinted past along the road following the path they had taken not long before in the truck. They paid no attention at all to the tree line as they ran past, a mask of pure concentration on each of their faces showing their utter focus in catching up with the truck and the tasty treats they knew that had been inside. Each of them held their breath and remained as still as a statues as they watched the parade of decomposing flesh eaters trample past. After the last of them moved out of sight Garrett waited for a full minute before moving first. Easing closer to the road he dropped to his belly and crawled to a spot next to a thick tree where he could see both ways down the road. The last three zombies were just reaching the bend in the road where they would disappear from view as they came approached his truck. In the opposite direction he noticed two more figures still approaching but coming on much slower. One of them appeared to have a leg injury while the other was bent forward at the waist showing signs of some type of possible back problem. From the distance he was viewing them he couldn't be sure but he thought that the one bent at the waist looked like it may have been a very old man before falling victim to the virus. He thought it possible that the man had been confined to a wheelchair before his reanimation. It was ironic that the pitiful soul had to reach the grave and beyond to once again regain the use of his legs. The sight was sad and sickening at the same time, Garrett didn't see much of a threat from either of the stragglers as long as they continued on quietly the trees would mask their passing. The only danger would be if the two crippled zombies were to detect them and call out to the others, they were clearly incapable of running them down on their own.

  Garrett crawled back to Calvin and Miranda and signaled for them to proceed but to do so with continued stealth. In a few minutes they were safely past the two cripples and felt comfortable picking up their pace until they finally reached the edge of the trees in the back of the two houses they were interested in raiding.

  "What do you think?" Calvin asked after they had scoped out both yards and found them free of undead.

  "I don't see anything, let’s scoot over to the back door on this one first." Garrett said indicating the closer of the two homes. The back door was a sliding glass entry that they should be able to easily force open with only the slightest noise if it wasn't already unlocked.

  Garrett had just started to rise and move forward when Miranda grabbed his elbow and jerked him back down to his knee.

  "What the hell?" He stammered.

  "Wait. Look over there. What is that?" She replied pointing to the back of a house across the street and on the opposite street from the one they had scouted.

  Both men stared intently at the spot she had indicated and saw what had caught her attention. The house was on an angle to the street with the driveway following a curve up to the garage. Following the end of the driveway up to the backyard with their eyes they could just see one side of what looked like a wooden utility shed tucked into the backyard. Between the shed and a flower covered strip of fencing there was something moving back and forth from the shadows alongside the shed out just a step or two into the yard and then back again. They couldn't make out the details but it was pretty clear from the jerky repetitive movements that it was a zombie they were looking at.

  "How the hell did you see that from here?" Calvin whispered with obvious surprise.

  "I have always had really keen eyesight." Miranda replied, looking pleased that she may have actually been a contributor on their little trip.

  "Well, it certainly looks like one of them from here, but I think it’s too far away to be any problem. It looks like it is caught up in something. I don't think it will see us when we go for the house, as long as we keep to the far right of the yard." Garrett said as he pointed to a section of the yard in front of them leading to the back of the house that would keep the garage of the house between them and the zombie on the opposite side of the street.

  "Yeah, he's probably nothing to worry about. But look at his friend in the next yard." Miranda said as she directed their attention to another spot on the far opposite side of the house with the zombie behind it. She was indicating a section of hedges that seemed to mark the edge of the property lines between that house and its neighbors. There was someone visible on the other side of that row of hedges moving down the row and away from them, it appeared to be a man but other than that they couldn't tell much more about him. Something about the way this person moved was much different than they would have expected from a zombie. He was moving fast, not running but hustling along, and he was crouched forward at the waist as if intentionally trying to keep low behind the hedges. Every few feet he would pause a moment and peer over the top of the hedges and then continue on a little further. At one point he stopped completely and looked over the hedges and then back towards the street at a point they couldn't see from their angle because it was blocked by another house on their side of the street.

  "That guy looks like a survivor." Calvin said as he tracked the man’s movements along the hedgerow. His purposeful actions of trying to be stealthy and his much more fluid and controlled body movements were in total contrast to what they had seen so far in how zombies act. They had never seen them try to be cautious of secretive in their approach and instead they would charge in with about as much finesse as a bull in a china shop.

  Garrett tracked the
guy’s movements and the direction that he seemed to keep checking every so often. He concluded that he was trying to get into a position to approach the zombie on the side of the storage shed. Garrett also thought it likely that there was another threat out in front of the house that the man was trying to keep track of while he moved. From their position just over a block away and with houses and trees between them and that street, it was impossible to see what it was that kept attracting his attention.

  "Yeah, it certainly looks like it." Replied Garrett, "it also looks like he is making a move on that zombie on the far side of that shed."

  "We have to help him." Exclaimed Miranda.

  Garrett considered that for a moment, they had come here to gather supplies. The thought that they could possibly come across other survivors had not been a consideration. Even though he could already tell that the guy was clearly not part of any type of organized rescue effort, finding any additional survivors like themselves could only be a good thing for them. There was strength in numbers and it was always possible that he may know something they don't about the overall situation. No matter what the case may be, Garrett had to agree with Miranda that they should try to help him if they could.

  "She's right. If he lives nearby he might be able to tell us where we can find the supplies we came for. It could save us a lot of time and effort." Garrett rationalized.

  "We'll from the looks of him, he is making shit up as he is going. I think he is getting ready to make a move on his friend on the other side of that shed. If he screws up on his first try and that thing manages to start yelling out, he is going to be attracting a whole lot of attention to all of us." Calvin pointed out.