Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 1): January

by Dave Rowlands

  BOOK TITLE

  Anno

  Zombus

  Year 1

  January

  Dave Rowlands

  Copyright © 2012 Dave Rowlands

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  ISBN-13:

  For Alex-If not for you, this wouldn't exist right now...thanks!

  December 31st 2012 C.E.

  Everything going normally, typical new years eve party, until news reports of strange occurrences, dead people sitting up during their autopsies, even one case where, during her own funeral, an open casket affair, naturally, some old lady tried to eat her only surviving relation as her grandson read his ill-prepared eulogy. After that we were glued to the TV, some of the other people there had laptops with them, or mobile phones with which to get their news, but glued we were to news of events around us. The Dead were walking, it seemed, all over the world. One girl laughed it off as a hoax. Most of us joined her, until we heard the first gunshot. The girls boyfriend, following her lead, told us that the fireworks had started early, as it was only 10:30. More gunshots, sirens everywhere it seemed. Luckily for us the party was occupying the entire penthouse floor of a moderately fancy hotel. We were able to get a good view of police cars, ambulances and fire engines darting all over. Another girl, who had been quietly drinking away by herself all evening said simply “We're watching the world end...”. That was the moment I decided to start writing this journal. Not really sure why, exactly, not really likely anyone will survive to read it. TV man just said the inevitable “destroy the brain to kill the Dead ones” and “Stay inside, the military will be in control of the situation shortly”. Apocalypse Girl laughed bitterly.

  January 1st Year 1 A.Z.

  We spent the night in the hotel's penthouse, and it dawned on me that the couple of friends I had arrived with had disappeared. I was literally surrounded by strangers at the end of the world. How incredibly fucking lame. Apocalypse Girl seemed to want to follow me around it seemed. Everywhere I looked, there she was, all gloomy and depressing-looking. I asked her why she felt the need to follow me and she simply said that I knew what was at stake. She glanced briefly at my notebook that I am scribbling this into and raised an eyebrow. Then we heard a piercing shriek. Laughing Girl staggered into the room from the bathroom, bleeding like a motherfucker from a wound on her neck. Laughing Boy flew to her side in an instant. As Laughing Girl bled to death in her lover's arms a shambling corpse stumbled out from the bathroom, needle dropping out from his arm the obvious cause of death. The mouth of the Dead man dripped crimson with Laughing Girl's blood.

  Trying to remember everything that happened next is hard, it all happened so fucking fast. Laughing Boy, holding the corpse of his beloved Laughing Girl, began screaming in pain as her teeth latched onto his cheek, tearing off a large portion of flesh. Dead Junkie staggered up and grabbed onto one of the three people that rushed to Laughing Boy's assistance, sinking his teeth into the unfortunate woman's arm. Apocalypse Girl grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me away from the scene of carnage and into the elevator lobby. Several of the other party-goers had similar ideas of escape, one of them already frantically pushing away at the button. Apocalypse Girl shoved me through the door to the stairs as the lift arrived, covered, drenched in blood. An arm, still twitching, lay on the elevator floor. Inside the stairwell was a man wearing the uniform of a security guard, his back to us. The door casually swung shut behind Apocalypse Girl stifling the screams of the dying as Laughing Boy and Girl, now both Dead, came into view, Dead Junkie still feasting on the flesh of Good Samaritan No. 2. The other two Good Samaritans lay beyond, one Dead, one dying, bleeding her last onto the thick shag carpet.

  Showing no sign that he had heard any screams, the security guard simply stood facing away from us. I reached out a hand to touch him, and he turned around. The entire front of his uniform had been soaked in enough blood to drown a small army. The still corpse of the Dead that had killed him lay at his feet, gun but a bare metre away. Security Guard began a slow shamble towards me. Apocalypse Girl said “Keep him distracted while I grab the gun,” which seemed like a really good idea, provided you were not me. She crept around behind me slowly as I began backing away from Security Guard. The Dead began to turn towards Apocalypse Girl, then I lunged forward, slipping in the spreading puddle of blood from behind the door we had entered through. I remember thinking as I fell that my life was over, then I heard a massively loud 'bang' as Apocalypse Girl put a bullet through Security Guard's skull, showering me in his brains. She grabbed my hand, pulling me up, and we began our descent. Fortunately for us we ran into no more surprises on our journey to the ground floor. Apocalypse Girl carefully opened the door and peeked around, trying to get some sense of the layout.

  “Ok, there are three of the Dead ones that I can see, looks like a straight run through the lobby to the front doors. We ready?” Apocalypse Girl asked me. Hell no, we were not fucking ready at all, but we went anyway. There turned out to be four more that she could not see, luckily for us two of them seemed content to watch the fish in a massive tank embedded into one wall. As we exited the stairwell a hidden one surprised us, knocking Apocalypse Girl over in a clumsy, aborted attempt to grab and eat one of us. She rolled the pair of them over so that she was straddling the Dead, as I looked around frantically for some weapon. All that lay nearby was a walking frame, probably belonging to the Dead Granny that Apocalypse grappled with, trying her damnedest to keep her flesh away from Dead Granny's snapping jaws. I picked up the walking frame and with all my strength brought it down upon her head. It took several blows, but eventually Dead Granny's skull caved in, brains leaking out from a few choice fractures. Unfortunately the walking frame was now a broken battered mess of useless metal and now we had six more Dead to deal with. Luckily the two fascinated by the fish were still enthralled by their piscine entertainers. That left four that were already on their way to us. I asked her where the gun was. She rolled Granny's corpse over, revealing the weapon, and picking it up. I told her that she should not fire unless absolutely necessary, while I tried to find something else to kill them with.

  Snatching up a letter opener from the reception desk I slammed it into the head of the nearest Dead one, pulling it out just as a second walking corpse shambled within reach. The letter opener found this one's brain just as easily, though extracting it proved impossible. The two remaining that were aware of Apocalypse Girl and I staggered closer and I darted off to one side grabbing a fire extinguisher off the wall. Left Dead and Right Dead shambled towards us in tandem, and I swung the extinguisher, connecting solidly with Right's head, slamming it violently into a wall. Right Dead collapsed in an unmoving heap but Left continued on, to meet a similar fate on the fire extinguisher's back-swing. My incredible acts of violence proved too much for the fire extinguisher, however, as a lack of structural integrity was causing it's contents to begin leaking in a low hiss. The commotion caused by the deaths of the four corpses had finally gotten the attention of the two Fish Lovers, and they came towards us. I threw the extinguisher at them, knowing it to be futile, while looking around for another likely weapon. A walking stick leaning up against the far side of the reception desk was the most likely option. I walked up and grabbed it, continued up to the first of the Fish Lovers, taking hold of the end I swung hard, burying the handle deep within his eye, breaking the cane in twain. The second Fish Lover met his demise when I knocked him to the ground and buried the remaining lower portion of the walking stick deep into his head, effectively nailing him to the floor.

  Apocalypse Girl and I together searched and secured the hotel's lobby, and, seeing as the front doors were locked and
bolted we decided to take our time looking for supplies. The TV man might have said to stay inside and wait for the military to save everyone but fucked if we were going to just wait around to be eaten. We found a pair of backpacks easily enough, emptied out their contents, and filled them with all the food we could find. Other supplies too, like a torch each, batteries.

  “What now?” Apocalypse Girl asked me. I told her that I had no idea whatsoever, but that staying put in the hotel was suicide. We went over the reception desk again, and found the key to the garage.

  Upon entering the garage we discovered several Dead corpses leading to a terrified Valet armed with a crowbar. The poor guy was covered head to toe in gore, but had managed to survive this long. It took a little time to calm him down enough to realise that we weren't about to eat him, and he showed us to the last vehicle he had taken in, as he still carried the keys to it. An old Mercedes, built like a tank, with enough room to fit a family of nine. At least, when Valet brought us to it it had seemed that roomy. After several hours of travelling in it, running over any Dead we see, it seems cramped and small. Holy shit, a lot happened today. At least I can write in the car, and we all have sleeping room. As if anybody anywhere in the world is sleeping now! Even the fucking Dead are awake and roaming...

  January 2nd Year 1 A.Z.

  morning

  Woke up this morning feeling shitty. Maybe because I slept in an uncomfortable position in a car with two other people, maybe because fucking Dead people are walking around moaning and eating people. People who are screaming. Apocalypse Girl says we need a plan of action. I tend to agree with that, but nothing comes to mind. Valet says a good idea would be to head for the marina and take a boat. Problem is we went inland when we fled the hotel, and drove until we literally ran out of fuel. I thought there would have been more traffic, but the roads were totally empty save for a few Dead ones here or there. No cars meant no fuel to siphon, not like we have a hose for that shit anyway. Anyway, wherever we go, looks like on foot for now. Apocalypse Girl wants to keep heading east, head for the hills. Valet seems odd. Keeps scratching at his arm. Gotta keep an eye out for chemists, supermarkets. Need food, water, medicine. Shit, Valet and Apocalypse Girl looking pissed, gotta go now.

  noonish

  Found a chemist. On the roof now, eating lunch, figured a good time to continue this diary. Lots of Dead wandering the streets. Apocalypse Girl thinks it might be a good idea to hole up here overnight. Valet getting on my nerves, asked Apocalypse Girl why the hell she thinks she is in charge. He was starting to look like shit, kept scratching almost non-stop. I asked him what's up with his arm, turns out he was bitten by one of the Dead in the garage where we found him. Apocalypse Girl thinks he might turn into one of them now. He showed me the wound when she wasn't looking, fucking nasty. Said it was just a scratch, at first, but kept on itching and burning. That was when we found the chemist. Cleaned out and bandaged Valet's wound and found some antibiotics. Hopefully that will do the trick, though Apocalypse Girl seems doubtful. Can't say I blame her, seems kinda likely since we are living in a George Romero film now. Looking at Valet now, he seems a bit healthier looking, more colour in his face. Not scratching his arm anywhere near so much now, but then I bandaged it up pretty tightly.

  Apocalypse Girl took me aside and told me she wants me to keep an eye on Valet, make sure he is alright. With a look in her eye saying that if he isn't alright, to make certain he isn't a threat to us.

  dusk

  Valet seems alright as long as he keeps up with the antibiotics every couple of hours. Checked out his wound, seems nasty looking still, but I cleaned out all the pus and crap and re-bandaged. Seems like we might have caught the infection in time maybe. He says the burning has mostly stopped, he can hardly feel anything in that arm now. Just claims he is really tired, can hardly blame him. Yawning myself as I am writing this. Valet now asleep, snoring away in the corner. Apocalypse Girl told me to get some sleep too.

  January 3rd Year 1 A.Z.

  morning

  Was woken up by a gunshot around 3 am, apparently Valet wasn't as healthy as he was pretending to be. Turned out he died a few hours after I fell asleep and went wandering. Apocalypse Girl had no qualms about putting him down after that. We decided that we needed to stock up on medical supplies at the very least while we were here, and we filled our backpacks with bandages, antibiotics, as much as we could manage. The unfortunate part of the whole business involved a small gathering of Dead outside the chemist, no doubt attracted by the gunshot. Only ten or so, but more than enough to pose a problem for Apocalypse Girl and I. From the roof however, we could lower ourselves down to the alley behind the chemist. We only had to make the Dead outside believe that we were still inside as we made good our escape.

  noonish

  Apocalypse Girl had a brilliant idea, she had discovered in her backpack as we were leaving the hotel an mp3 player with external speakers. We set the speakers up high and turned up the volume, suddenly the chemist felt like a heavy metal concert, complete with mosh pit, Dead attempting to batter the front door down. It worked fucking brilliantly, indeed, almost too well. The confirmation that someone was indeed inside provoked the Dead into a frenzy, smashing against the chemist's front door with it's flimsy lock, already broken once when we came along. We placed Valet's still-warm corpse in front of the door hoping that the food might slow them down somewhat as well. As Apocalypse Girl and I were escaping up to the roof the front door collapsed inward. I lowered myself down, my companion following, and swiftly, silently, we made our way away from the chemist, still to the east. We stopped to eat under a tree on top of a hill, having decided that cross country was perhaps a safer way to travel, giving me a chance to write this. Apocalypse Girl mentioned that we needed to find somewhere safe to spend the night, or else we would have to keep moving till dawn. Dammit she wants to start already...

  evening

  Apocalypse Girl and I headed east from our lunchtime hilltop tree, and after a few hours of travel through a sparse wooded area we heard, of all things, music. Guitar, flute, a drum, these were all being played nearby. Apocalypse Girl and I looked at each other mutely for a moment before we headed, cautiously, in the direction of the sound. The air was heavy with smoke and the sounds of laughter joined the music. Through the trees we could see the glow from a fire, as the sun began its descent. As we closed we could see people cavorting and dancing around the fire, others playing their instruments. There seemed to be around twelve in total, all staring with wide-eyed amazement as Apocalypse Girl and I walked out of the woods.

  “They're hurt!” One woman exclaimed. Another called to someone to get blankets and towels and hot water. Two girls ran to a sturdily built barn-like structure as the others made us comfortable. I tried to tell them that we were alright and the blood covering us from head to toe was that of the Dead, and was immediately shushed by a kindly looking elderly hippy lady handing me a joint. With everything we had been through in the last few days that shut me up instantly as I took a long toke and inhaled deeply. Apocalypse Girl was receiving similar treatment from another hippy.

  “What happened to you two?” One older gent was asking of Apocalypse Girl. The musicians kept on playing professionally, not missing a beat. Several hippies that had seen enough of us for now went back to their revelry. The girls returned, one carrying a bucket, steam rising from its contents, the other carrying assorted towels and blankets. Apocalypse Girl and I found ourselves gently but persistently being stripped naked, washed clean and probed for injuries. Upon discovering that we were uninjured the questions began. Whose blood was it covering us, what had we gotten ourselves into, that sort of thing. Their concern was genuine enough, at least until I told them the Dead were walking and that we had been simply trying to survive for the last few days. One guy laughed, and the kindly old lady that had given me a joint told me that we had better take this seriously. Apocalypse Girl told them that it was indeed serious and they had better fucking pay att
ention. They left us alone for a few minutes and went off to discuss us in private.

  When they came back they told us that we were welcome to stay with them overnight, but that unless we told them the truth about what had happened to us we weren't to stay any longer. They gave us until morning to come out and tell the truth, and then went on as if nothing had been said. Back to being friendly hippies, helping the poor unfortunate bloody people that wandered into their commune. We learned a lot about them actually, in the next hour or two, as they told us all about how they have more food than they strictly need, and that they grow their own weed, make their own wine. Indeed that was how they were able to find the small amounts of money that they really needed, was by selling marijuana to some of the local farmers. In fact one of them was late getting back from such a delivery. I told them that I hoped he was alright, the kindly lady giving me one of those looks as a battered old Ute drove up from the direction of the main road. The look she gave me turned to one of complete satisfaction, at least until the driver fell out of the vehicle. A heavy man, his face was bright red as he huffed and puffed for breath. We gathered around him, the kindly lady rushing to his aid as swiftly as she had come to ours. He saw Apocalypse Girl and I and asked straight away, gasping the question “Are they bit?” before fainting. My hand was already reaching for Valet's, now my, crowbar, as he came to once again.