by Doris Qualls
He grabbed my hand from the beginning this time and we walked for a short time but ended up with us on the play area swings. We paused there and slowly swung together for a while. The stars were bright and bold. This evening is perfect, I thought.
At that moment we witnessed a shooting star. He pulled me up off of the swing by my wrist and put his arm around the small of my back. He led me in a slow dance with no music, only the beats of our aching hearts. He looked deeply into my eyes and traced my jaw with his finger. I giggled like a school girl in response.
He smelled amazing. I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of cologne he was wearing but it was the perfect scent on his skin. I laid my head on his chest and we slowly danced in the moonlight. I had to say that this was the most romantic moment of my life. I could feel myself falling in love with him and all the while knowing that I was falling too fast and too hard.
He slowed to a stop and then it happened. He pulled me into an earth shattering kiss that rocked my world. His lips were tender, yet firm and full of emotion. It wasn’t the kind of kiss that you see in the movies. It was a gentle, meaningful kiss. This kiss spelled out love with a capital L.
I felt like I was in heaven. I couldn’t believe Brian was kissing me. I started to feel dizzy from lack of oxygen. I quickly gasped a long breath and paused there. We heard a rustle in the bushes. Startled from our kiss, Brian turned around to see a bloody, mangled hand. It was poking through one of the holes of the chain link. Great way to ruin a perfectly good date, I thought.
“Don’t worry, it can’t get through,” he reassured me. He walked me hand in hand back to the house and then nonchalantly strutted back out there with a gun to take care of the creature.
A gunshot ended our perfect date. We spent the next few evenings getting to know each other and I think it was pretty safe to say that we were falling for each other.
CHAPTER 6
ZOE
Life at the manor was very busy these days. The guys were steadily working on Chris’ tree house or ‘Look out’ as he called it. It was coming along nicely. You could tell it was a house now, the entire frame was built. It wasn’t your typical tree house, this thing was insulated and everything. They were building a toilet and sink in there as well as installing a phone that connected directly to the security room in the main house.
The view from the top floor of the house was spectacular. The tree house looked like a little studio wooden cottage in the midst of a huge oak tree. They had just installed a ladder that they could pull up or down at will and had electricity ran up to it. There were windows facing every direction as well as scopes placed to look further into the distance. The tree house was turning into a brilliant idea. Next they were bringing up a Coleman stove so they could do some light cooking and make coffee. This would serve as a lookout tower over the whole property so that no one had to walk the premises on the night shift anymore.
Meanwhile at the manor, Gabby announced that she and Jose were going to live on a little island near Cuba with one of her friends. I think it was partially because we had a full house. Although her excuse was there was no virus on the island and that made her feel safer. Her flight was scheduled to leave in 1 week. Jose was going with her but he didn’t agree with leaving everything behind. Jose mentioned at one point that it was hard for her to stay at the manor knowing that her beloved cousin Maria was buried in the back yard.
So they left. They packed all of their belongings and called a cab to take them to the Fresno airport. I can’t say that I was sad or happy about the move, but I wished them the best. We had a full house now and the boys were busy with their almost completed project. Bre was busy with her new love interest.
I’ve never seen Bre in love, but I’m pretty sure that’s what was happening. She spent as much time with Brian as she could and hardly paid attention to anything else. I was very surprised she would allow herself to feel for someone especially since she talked about how risky it was and after watching Zeke get so messed up over Maria’s death.
But I am not going to judge her; to each her own.
It was becoming increasingly boring here at the manor and I could only stand watching the love story or the news for so long.
Speaking of the news, the latest reports showed that about 30% of the American population had been infected with the virus or knew someone who had been. Police are focusing all of their time executing any and all Zombies and are paying no attention to crime. Stores are being robbed, murders are being committed and homes are being invaded. The government is doing next to nothing to stop the madness besides locking zombies up in sheds and setting fire to them. Apparently fire killed them too.
Many are claiming the government unleashed the virus due to over population. There were a few conspiracy theories out there but I didn’t know which one to believe. I did know that zombies were real, they were deadly and they were constantly trying to get through our fence.
Chris had a brilliant mind to come up with a tree house. It also served as a secondary safe house for us. The finishing touches would include stocking it with toiletries, foodstuffs, and plenty of ammo. In this world we couldn’t be too safe because you never know when things would become compromised. They discussed adding more houses in the future since there were so many large trees, but that was a big project that we weren’t ready to start just yet.
My job today is to make sure the property is secure. I fashioned my gun at my side and began to check the fence. Everything seemed secure but I wondered how zombies were getting in at Mr. Gong’s old place. Zombies were constantly sticking their hands through the chain link separator and trying to get us that way. I decided to investigate.
Chris and I grabbed the biggest ladders that we could find and looked over the bushes at Mr. Gong’s side of the fence. They had left their side gate open. I approached the other members of the house and asked them if they wanted to figure out a way to close that off and kill the zombies that were trapped in there.
They were interested of course. Chris came up with the idea of standing on ladders and killing them one by one until there were no more and then locking the gate when it was all clear. Someone would wait in the Suburban until the signal was given and then run and close the gate. Doing this would mean only monitoring 3 sides of the fence as closely.
Each of us began by grabbing a ladder and a handgun then started picking off the zombies one by one. Bre jumped in the Suburban and waited by Mr. Gong’s gate until she got the ok. We probably killed at least 40 of them, but I actually lost count at 33. I gave her the signal for her to close the gate and she fiercely exited the car, ran to the gate and locked it.
Suddenly I heard my cousin scream at the top of her lungs. A zombie had come around the corner wanting to devour her flesh. I ran to the corner of the fence for a better look and watched Bre grab her gun and blast it in the face. My cousin was getting brave.
Brian stumbled behind me, obviously shaken. He sighed a sigh of relief when he seen that she had taken care of the situation herself. At that moment I began to realize exactly how much he cared for my cousin. He loved her, and adored her; it was apparent.
Knocking off those zombies was a lot of fun and I could honestly say that I would do it again. Chris seemed to have a good time too. I was worried that we had honestly become too used to the carnage and secretly wondered if our lives would ever be the same again. I think we all wanted everything to go back to normal. Chris especially, he just wanted his mom back. I wanted her back too. Too bad there was no hope for her. She was lost on the streets of Fresno and there was no telling what happened to her.
Late that night I retired to my room to watch some TV and go to sleep and I came across the news station. Since I was a news junkie, I stopped to watch.
And that’s when I seen her. My mother.
She was a success story of the cure of the Z virus. Scientists began test ru
ns on the cure and she happened to be one of them. She gave an interview with the news caster and at the end pleaded for Chris or me to let her know that we were alive. She was still an admittee of the Z clinic in Fresno and would be released later in the week. I knew at that moment of time that I was dreaming. I pinched myself. It couldn’t be true. Mom couldn’t still be alive and a cure couldn’t not have been found. I was in denial because it was just not possible.
I awoke in a pool of my own sweat with my phone ringing beside me. I decided that that was the most vivid dream I had ever had.
CHAPTER 7
BREANNE
That was a close call. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to a zombie before. I did it. I killed it. It was one of the hardest things I‘ve ever had to do but I managed. Come to think of it, it was kind of fun. I was truly brave after all.
I went back to the yard to help put on the finishing touches to the tree house. There is nothing like a woman’s touch, my mother always said. Inside they managed to put in a table and chairs, a set of bunk beds, a small running sink, a bathroom with a toilet and a sink, and a kitchen area. When they said they were building a tree house I had no idea they meant something like this. It looked like a nice studio cabin inside. I helped them stock up on supplies and the place was all set and ready to go. Chris informed Zoe and me that he would be sleeping there from now on and whoever was on watch was welcome to come into his tree house. He and Zeke made it their mission to keep the manor safe.
Chris had his own getaway. He would come in to shower and eat once in a while but he mainly stayed in the tree house. Zeke spent a lot of time there too. It was almost like they were kids again with a new secret hideout.
Cook came to warn us today that food supplies were getting limited and that the price of food was skyrocketing. Many stores were unable to keep up with the demand with all of the workers quitting. Even though each entrance to every store had its own breathalyzer screening tool before the door would even open, most workers were worried about catching the virus. Many people feared the flesh eaters; although the sight of blood was enough to do it for most people. Cook also warned us that his time at the manor was coming to an end as he needed to do what he could to protect his own family and he couldn’t do it while he was away so much.
This upset the whole house, but we relived cook of his duties and began to make a chart assigning cooking duties to each person. The maid took that opportunity to voice the same concern and was relieved too. Our security guards were asked if they planned on leaving and some did. We were down to 2 security guards now and all of us. We didn’t fear the situation as some would but we made the best out of what we had. Things were changing at the manor and there was nothing we could do to stop it.
We stashed guns at every entrance and window because we couldn’t be too safe, but we were quickly running out of ammo. Hundreds of rounds were shot every day in an attempt to only protect the fence. Pretty soon we would have to go to the government and ask for help. I’m pretty sure they weren’t just going to hand over ammo, they would ask us to do something for it.
I sat there pondering the future of the manor and Zoe’s dream kept playing in my head over and over. I wondered what did ever come of Aunt Brooke and if she was dead like a lot of them. I missed her and I know that Zoe and Chris were doing everything they could not to think about her. Survival was what was on our minds the most.
Just then Zoe approached me and asked me what our plans were for getting more ammo because she could not reach Gramps. Protection was first and foremost and there was little we could do on our own.
“Maybe we could turn in some of these dead zombies in return for ammo. They are starting to stink. Didn’t they say that we could get ammo if we killed them?” She asked.
“I don’t quite remember but it’s worth a shot,” I replied.
“I guess I’ll have to make a trip into town to find out,” she said.
So that is what she did. Her and Chris loaded up in my Civic and headed to the police department to get more info.
ZOE
Chris and I made it to the police station with no problems. The drive through town was uneventful although we seen the occasional shed on fire. We could only assume it was a zombie fire. The police station told us that we could get more ammo every 3 months or we could turn in Zombies in exchange for more ammo or food. They were offering bread, rice and beans or canned food in exchange for those ungodly creatures. At this point they didn’t care if they were dead or alive but we had to deliver them to the city yard so that they could burn the bodies. They did offer more food if they were dead though.
We went back home and made a few calls. I was able to get a horse trailer from a friend and began loading up bodies from Mr. Gong’s back yard. Chris and I looked ridiculous. We were wearing hazmat suits. I would have never dreamed that my brother and I would be doing something like this together. We were able to get all of the bodies into the trailer and hauled them off to the city yard without any problems. There was a sign at the entry way that had a big “Z” on it and arrows facing the direction of the body disposal unit.
They gave us plenty of ammo and food enough to last us a few weeks. I thought the government was being kind of generous but I’m sure they would tighten up their supply in no time.
We had extra mouths to feed and I wondered how we were going to feed them all. I needed to look into our financial situation. When we returned home Bre and I looked at bank statements and we realized we were quickly running out of money. We called a house meeting to discuss the findings.
“I called this meeting because we are running out of money. I’m not going to sugar coat anything, that’s the facts. We need to figure out how we are going to feed ourselves,” I addressed the group.
“Well, what can we do? There are no jobs,” Nick replied.
“Do any of you have a secret stash of money anywhere? Food costs are tripled right now and it is going to take a lot to feed us all,” Breanne chimed in.
“I have a little savings, but it won’t go very far with this many people,” Brian added.
“I have a few thousand but that will only last a little while,” Kyle agreed.
“I’ve already tapped myself out,” Bre confessed. Nick stayed silent. I assumed it was because he didn’t want anyone to know his business. He didn’t fit well in our family because he didn’t see it as a family. Nick seemed to be the type of person that cared about numero uno. I am pretty good at reading people and my opinion of this guy wasn’t all that great. I was of the opinion that he was a jerk.
Chang said he could ask his family to help and they might if they knew what they were helping with. He had already asked them for money to help build more tree houses so he knew he couldn’t get much more from them.
“Well there is something we can do to make what we have stretch. It’s not a very safe idea but it would help us. Chris and I already seen how the system works first hand and we can go that route. We have a horse trailer so it’s not an issue of safety,” I said.
“Sis, do you mean we should deliver zombies to get food?” Chris nervously asked.
“Well, it wouldn’t be that hard to do it. We are always killing them at the fence so all we would have to do is deliver them. We could rotate who does it. It’s a risk we might just have to take to survive. If anyone has any better ideas please bring them up now. Otherwise I think that is our only route,” I defended my idea.
“Just think about it for a while, we have a few days until we need food so that gives us a little time to figure out what we can do and what we can’t do,” Brian insisted.
So we sat on the idea for a few days. The group was called together again to discuss our options and it was settled, we could deliver zombies in exchange for food. We wouldn’t hunt zombies unless we stopped getting them at the fence but that was unlikely.
The idea worked well thr
ough the summer. We killed all of the zombies that were trying to come in the fence and delivered them to the authorities. Our diet consisted mostly of rice and beans and the occasional canned meat or fruit they supplied. It wasn’t the best menu but it kept us sustained. Delivering zombies was getting to be a usual chore for us and we delivered them at least twice a week, although they were giving us less and less food each time we delivered.
I had set up a team of hunters. We didn’t call ourselves zombie hunters but that is what we had become. We mainly stayed at the fence but we would travel in teams if we had to hunt outside the fence.
Delivering zombies was a chore. The smell at the city yard was almost unbearable and made the job difficult. I’d never smelled burning flesh and decaying bodies before but now I knew the stench well. I was mainly the one to deliver the goods because of that. Bre couldn’t stomach the smell and Zeke and the guys had more fun blowing the heads off zombies than they did delivering them. I did insist that everyone take their turns but I often escorted them. We each had our own jobs and were managing them well.
Seth’s main job was to monitor the news. He was only 17 and he seemed much more fragile than Chris. I didn’t have them on a hunting team; he and Chris took care of things at the manor.
Seth approached me to tell me that the news broadcasted that the zombie apocalypse had reached a peak. There was virtually nowhere to go that was considered safe. The government was setting up safe houses, mostly in old abandoned department stores. They kept control over food now. If you wanted food, you had to work for it. Many people were planting gardens in their yards but people were raiding them at night.
We also planted a garden over the summer. It was large and had a plethora of fruits and veggies. It was a great supplement to what was already given to us. The orange trees next door did much to sustain us as well, but we still had to hunt. And now the zombies were coming less and less. I was beginning to think we were going to need to go after them. I knew the others would never go for that but we have to do what we have to do to survive. I would do anything to protect and provide for those I love and hunting zombies had to be first on the list. They needed to get on the same page with me and under my leadership, they will.
