She was rambling about what she had found in the barn. Ruth could only understand bits and pieces of Katie's explanation. She was making no sense at all. Ruth continued to clean and bandaged her daughter’s arms, all the while listening to what Katie had seen. After she had finished, she told her daughter to get into her nightgown and headed for the back door.
In a panic Katie rushed towards her and pushed the door shut, grabbing her arms as if begging her.
"Please Mother. Please don't leave me here by myself" Katie pleaded. "You don't know what's out there."
"It will be fine Katie. I'm sure it was just an animal. And I'm sure it's gone by now." Ruth said trying to calm her daughter.
"Don't you hear it Mother? Don't you hear the screams, the sirens, the humming? It wasn't an animal" Katie's voice shook with panic and terror as she begged her Mother.
"That is just the English Katie. They are more than likely having another one of their godless gatherings and consuming way too much. You worry needlessly. Now, I must get to your Father and Brother and see what it is, what has happened. I'm sure they are fine. But, I must go and get them." Ruth's voice was shaking. Her daughter was starting to scare her.
If the Bishop heard Katie talk like this, she would be taken. She had to calm her daughter and get her to see reason. The only way she could think to do that was to fetch her husband and son. She had to show Katie that they were fine and she was imagining it.
Katie sank onto the kitchen floor, feeling defeated. She could not stop her Mother. She watched in horror as she opened the back door. She didn't believe me, Katie thought. Terrified Katie scrambled to her feet and ran to the door, wearing only her nightgown.
"Mother, please. Come back inside. There is nothing you can do. Please don't leave us in here alone. I don't know what to do." Katie screamed, begging, pleading with her Mother to return to the safety of the house.
Standing on the stoop of the porch, she watched her Mother make her way towards the barn. Katie saw them, people, hordes of people. It was too dark to make out who they were.
She heard a scream coming from the direction of the barn and Katie's head jerked to the side when she realized that the scream had belonged to her Mother. The horde of people had grabbed onto her and she could hear the screaming become more forced. Then Katie could no longer see her as she disappeared within the horde.
"MOTHER" Katie screamed.
Running off the porch towards the horde she was determined to get her Mother away from them. Katie started running as fast as she could towards them. Half-way there Katie felt a strong arm grab her mid-flight and she was jerked backwards. She started to kicking and screaming, clawing at the air. The urge to fight was overwhelming.
"Stop … stop" said a deep, masculine voice. "There is nothing you can do. She's gone."
"No!" screamed Katie, "She isn't gone, she's right there, I can save her. Help me."
Katie tried to scramble to her feet, but this man was dragging her backwards, back into the house. She kicked and screamed trying to get loose. He grabbed her tightly and pulled her in closer to his chest to stop her from kicking. He looked at her sternly and demanded she listen.
"Listen. Do you hear her anymore?" said the masculine voice.
Katie calmed herself and did as she was asked. She listened. He was right. She couldn't hear her mother anymore. All she could hear was the sound of flesh being torn from bone and that sound again. There was only the sound of wild hogs gnawing and ripping, then nothing. Everything went black.
Katie awoke with a start. Jumping up from her bed, she looked over to see her younger sister still fast asleep. She must have been dreaming. Thank the Lord, it was just a nightmare. There is no way Rebecca could have slept through that entire night had it been real. She would have been woken up by Katie's screaming, at least. Not to mention, the sound of the English's sirens.
She could see the sun start to peak out from over the horizon and she smiled. Sighing with relief, Katie started to get ready for the day. Digging through her dresser to find her grey dress and grabbing an apron from her closet.
She placed her clothes on the end of her bed and walked over to the basin to wash up. She finished washing her face and combing through the knots in her hair, then she fashioned a simple bun at the base of her neck. Reaching above her head, she tried to remove her nightdress, the fabric caught onto her arm. It was the bandages on her arms that had caught the fabric. It wasn't a dream. It had all happened.
Her Mother, father and brother were really dead, killed by demons. Demons had possessed those people. It was the only explanation. She could hear the faint rumbling of voices downstairs in the kitchen. Could that be her parents? Katie's eyes widened and she ran out of the room and down the stairs.
Bursting into the kitchen, she stopped. She stared in disbelief. There was an English man rummaging through her cupboards and talking to her cat.
"Who...who are you?" Katie stammered. "Are you a demon, like those people? Get out. Get out of my house." Katie screamed.
"Now, calm down. Katie, is it? Look outside." It was a familiar, masculine voice. One she had heard before. Last night.
Raising her head, Katie met his gaze and he nodded towards the window. She walked to the window and pushed the curtains aside. As she did, she saw them. The dozens and dozens of demons were wandering aimlessly in her yard. Gasping with terror, Katie let the curtains fall back into place and jumped away from the window as if she had been burned.
"Demons" Katie said. "Where did they come from? What is going on?" she demanded.
"It's Katie, right?" asked the familiar man.
Katie nodded.
"Okay, Katie. Hi. I'm Steve. Steve Savage. Those are demons, I suppose. But, the thing is, they're dead. They used to be people, but they were bitten by other demons and then after they die, they wake up hungry and it would see that their dinner of choice is people".
Katie stared at him in disbelief. "I don't understand." exclaimed Katie.
"Well, it's happening all over the country. Towns and cities are being overrun by these things. They're calling it a Zombie Apocalypse. Entire towns are being consumed by these things, these Zombies." Steve answered Katie as clearly as he could.
How do you make a simple girl understand the complicated world of a science experiment gone bad? Steve lightly grasped Katie's upper arm. He guided her back onto the chair at the kitchen table.
"If they are demons, the leaders of our ‘ordnung’ can help." Katie said, as a matter of fact. "The Bishop can banish the demons."
Steve looked at Katie shaking his head. "They're not those kinds of demons Katie."
"What other kind of demons are there?" she asked.
"These demons weren't made by God Katie." Steve attempted to explain, "It's a virus, not a possession."
In the end, Steve left it at demon. It would be impossible to make such a sheltered girl understand the way of the "English." So, possession it is. ‘Pick your battles Steve.’ He thought to himself.
Katie leaned her head onto her hands. She was trying very hard to understand and absorb what was going on. As she was deep in thought, she heard the sound of a high pitched scream coming from the dining room. Gasping, Katie jumped up and ran into the dining room. Rebecca, she thought. She has no idea what is going on. She had to be terrified, Katie suspected. She knew she was. As she reached her younger sister, Katie grasped a hold of her younger sister’s shoulders and shook her.
"Hush now, Rebecca. Stop screaming," Katie said forcefully.
Looking at her eldest sister, Rebecca was confused and terrified.
"What is going on Katie? Who is he? Why do you have an English in our kitchen. You will get us shunned. Where are Mother and Father? Where is Caleb? The questions came pouring out of Rebecca.
"Calm down Rebecca. He is here to help. And I don't think there is anyone left to shun us," Katie said as she turned back to Rebecca.
They are all dead, Katie thought. They had to be, because if
they weren't, they would have been here by now. That was just the way of it. It was how their parish worked, as a unit, as a community.
As Katie was lost in thought, she was startled by the sound of a gunshot that seemed to be coming from her back porch. Rebecca must have heard it too, because she screamed. Running to the window Rebecca pulled aside the white starched curtains and tried to get a better look at what was in the yard.
"Why is he shooting Katie? What is he shooting at?" Rebecca asked gasping for air as she tried to regain her composure.
Katie pulled her little sister into her arms and held her close. She tried to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that she would explain everything to her later. But, the words would not come. Katie sat Rebecca on the rocking chair closest to the fireplace. Grabbing her needlepoint out of the chest beside her mother’s chair, she laid it in Rebecca's lap and put a reassuring hand on her sisters shoulder.
Granted, Rebecca was 15 and very capable but, she had led a sheltered life, much like Katie. The terror of all of this would do nothing but send her sister into a panic. There was no need for that. Katie would shelter her sister for as long as she could.
"I'll just be in the kitchen. I won't be far. Just work on your needlepoint. I'll fix you something to eat in a few minutes." Katie told her sister calmly.
Leaving Rebecca to work on her needlepoint, Katie made her way back to the kitchen, she had to talk to Steve. She found him leaning up against the counter petting the cat, looking behind him to gaze out the window every now and again. She stood there for a brief moment, waiting to get his attention, not sure how to approach him. She had very little interaction with the English and he still made her nervous. But, he was the only lifeline she had at the moment.
After a few minutes, he noticed Katie standing in the doorway, staring at him. Steve could see the utter terror on Katie's face and wished he could find the words to make it go away. So, he said the first thing that came to mind.
"It's alright Katie. I'm really sorry to invade like this, but I had nowhere else to go. I tried to find somewhere for hours last night. My group lost a lot of people trying to find shelter."
Katie looked up and smiled. "It's fine. I am very grateful for your help. I'm not sure what I would have done. I have never experienced anything even close to last night."
"Me either," Steve replied.
“Are you hungry?” Katie asked.
Shaking his head, declining her offer for breakfast, Steve walked onto the porch and stared out into the yard. After a few moments, Katie followed.
"I never did thank you for helping me last night," Katie said in a light voice.
Smiling Steve looked at Katie and leaning in he whispered "You're welcome".
"What do we do now?" asked Katie.
Steve took a step back and leaned up against the wooden table that adorned the screened in back porch. He looked at Katie and said, in a matter of fact tone.
"We kill them."
"But how do we kill those demons?" Katie replied. "How do we kill them."
As soon as the question was asked, Steve brushed passed Katie and opened the screen door. Stepping out onto the stoop he started shooting. One, two, three, four, they just kept dropping. The others shuffling around in the yard were oblivious to their companions falling down around them. With every shot Katie cringed.
This isn't wrong is it, to want them dead? Will she burn for having these thoughts? Would she ever see her parents again? Was it wrong for wanting to see every single creature, wandering aimlessly around her yard ripped in half and fed to wolves. She jumped at every shot that Steve made. But, she didn't look away, not once. She felt an odd sense of satisfaction as they dropped, with the remainder of their brains splattered all over the once immaculately kept lawn.
So mesmerized by the annihilation of the demonic creature in front of her, Katie forgot something. She forgot Rebecca. Then she saw her younger sister making her way to the barn from the front porch.
"Rebeccaaa! Nooooo!" Katie screamed.
They saw her. Those creatures were headed straight for her sister. Steve bolted off of the porch towards Rebecca, shooting every one of them that he could.
Rebecca had just intended on going to the barn to do some chores. She was bored with her needlepoint and needed to feel useful. She hadn't a single idea of what was going on. But, whatever it was, she knew it was not good.
She heard shots ringing out behind her. She turned to see these rotting things, dragging their legs towards her and the English man shooting them as he ran towards her. She ran towards the barn. Not sure if she was running from those things or the English man. She just knew she had to run.
Pulling the barn door shut behind her, she could still hear gunshots and her sister screaming her name. But, Rebecca refused to open the door. She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath.
"REBECCA" screamed Katie.
Rebecca opened her eyes and saw her sister coming in through the rear of the barn, she hadn't even realized that the rear door was open. She watched as her sister looked around frantically and slowly made her way towards her.
"Rebecca, come on, we have to get out of here. Don't look around, just look at me here," Katie demanded.
She shook her head, terrified to move.
"What are they Katie? Are they demons?" she asked, she needed to know.
"I think so," replied Katie "But, whatever they are, they are dangerous and they are hungry".
Katie grabbed her sister and pulled her towards the rear door of the barn. Rebecca yanked her hand away and screamed. Katie looked in either direction outside the rear barn door to see if any of those demons were out there, before she led her sister out into the open. Seeing nothing, she turned to grab her sister’s hand again, but she wasn't there. Lifting her eyes she saw Katie staring at the roof in terror, unable to scream. She was being attacked at by one of those demons.
Or was it? It couldn't be. Katie knew she had seen her father's limp lifeless body. He was dead. But, hadn't Steve said something about being bitten by those creatures makes them one as well?
It would seem that their father being bitten made him come back to life as one of those creatures? That thought didn't help as Katie stared in horror watching her father bite into the side of her sister’s neck and rip open her throat. She screamed in terror as she watched in disbelief. Their father was eating one of his daughters. Rebecca's blood splattered all over the barn walls as he ripped into her, tearing and pulling at her like she was a piece of beef jerky. Rebecca continued to stare at the ceiling, the blood gurgling in her throat, tears running down her cheeks. Katie was shaking with horror.
"Stop, Papa, Stop. She's still alive. You're killing her." screamed Katie.
This is not my father anymore, she thought. This creature is no longer the loving, adoring man that raised us. It's evil and it has to die. She felt a rush of anger and she lunged at the creature, pushing its rotting corpse off her sister. The creature seemed to not know how to get back onto its feet.
She took advantage of its incoherence and ran into one of the stalls. Grabbing a pitchfork, she turned and ran back towards where she had left it flailing on the floor. She stopped to pause for a moment, seeing her sister’s lifeless body lying on the straw floor of the barn, the same barn floor where she had seen her father’s and brother’s lifeless bodies, just the night before. Rage took over.
She ran as fast as she could, and with all the power she could manage, she buried the pitchfork deep into the creature’s head. She watched as the force of the blow made its head burst open like a melon. The blackened contents oozed onto the barn floor. She instinctively grasped the back of her right hand. It stung badly. She looked at the back of her hand at the bite mark. It felt warm and throbbed.
She dropped the pitchfork and slowly dragged herself out of the barn. Once outside of the barn Katie dropped to her knees and began to pray. Over and over again, she sobbed and prayed, begging for the Lord to take her
too. Her family was gone. She had no one. She had watched them all die. How do you go on living after that? Katie lay down in the dirt and stared at the sky, begging for relief.
That's where Steve found her. After the Zombies in the yard had been dealt with, he went looking for her, hoping that she wasn't already dead. As he turned the corner that led to the back of the barn, he saw her kneeling there, on the ground. She looked… defeated.
Leaning over to help her up, he noticed the bite mark on her hand. It was too late, he thought. She had been bitten. It was only a matter of hours before she turned. He sat down next to her and watched her. She turned to look at him and smiled. The blue grey of her eyes was starting to fade. It was happening.
Sitting upright and looking around her as if seeing the world for the first time, Katie cocked her head to the side staring at him as if she didn't recognize him. Steve grasped the gun he had laid on the ground with one hand. Leaning forward he grabbed hold of Katie and drew her in closer to him, holding her tightly to his chest.
"I am so sorry Katie. I wish I had come sooner. I saw you in my future," Steve told her, hoping she understood.
"Maybe the next life," Steve said softly, as he held Katie in his arms.
He laid the gun he held in one hand against the side of her head as he held her in his arms. Squeezing her tightly he closed his eyes as tears fell down his face and he pulled the trigger.
Katie heard every word he said, she was processing it. Slower than usual, but she was processing it. She looked up at him, her sight was dimming, but she wanted him to know she understood. In such a short time, she saw him in her future too. Then it was black.
“Human Hunters”
Story #7
By
Cheri Faulkner
Jenna could feel the blood coursing through her veins as her feet pounded against the hard pavement. She didn't dare look behind her. She only knew that she had to keep on running as fast as she possibly could. There was no way in hell she could maintain her speed if she checked to see how close they were. She just had to keep running. A few more minutes and she would be at the peak of the hill and the downhill would help her get a burst of speed and fly through the door to the safe house she had been using for the past few weeks.
Tales of the Zombie Apocalypse (Issue #3 | October 2015) Page 5
