by Joseph Souza
“When is it going to happen?”
“Any day now. Save yourself, and get out of there now! This is your final warning. You won’t hear from me again.”
The voice on the high-frequency range pitched back into static and faded away.
I was shocked. Rick had not only been communicating with the outside world, but he’d known about this threat all along and never even mentioned it to us!
I took the hunting knife off the workbench and held it up. Light reflected off the blade’s edge. I pinched my thumb and forefinger against it and felt its razor sharpness. A small slice of skin peeled off my thumb. The creature that was my brother snarled and hissed below me. I leaned down and put the blade to its neck, and then sliced through the dead and rotting tissue connecting it to the body. The flesh parted, having the consistency of warm brie. I kept cutting through the neck until its head was fully severed from the trunk. The creature kept making high-pitched squeals, and I made sure to keep my hands away from its mouth so as not to risk infection. When the head was fully removed, I released the strap around its skull and stepped back. Its eyes rolled around in its sockets, and its mouth snapped open and shut, the tongue protruding and licking its scaly lips.
I wrapped a towel around its mouth and secured it with the extra strap, effectively muffling its voice. The head went silent, though the muscles continued to pulse and spasm. I slipped it inside an empty box and then grabbed Rick’s journal. A backpack hung on the hook attached to the door. I stuffed the box and the journal inside the backpack and limped up the stairs, trying to block out those words echoing in my head. A small nuclear device?
And who were the chosen ones, and what new society would they attempt to build?
Dar and Thorn stood gazing out the window, staring at the growing legion of dead agitating out on the driveway. They stomped around in a state of despair, screaming and waving their hands about like a colony of drunken lepers. There appeared to be twenty or thirty of them in the driveway, stumbling and bumping into each other chaotically. Out in the pasture, I could see many more of them heading this way
“We need to leave now,” I said, not mentioning the nuclear threat. “Before it’s too late and they completely swarm the place.”
Dar stared outside, processing this information.
“We’ll pack everything up and prepare to move out tonight.”
“Right on,” Thorn said.
“Guns, ammo, all the food we can carry out of this shithole. The rug rats will sit in the front with me and the bitch. And we’re going to need to load that last barrel of fuel into the bed of the truck,” Dar said.
“How are we going to load that shit up with all them fuckers walking around?”
“They power down at night, remember? We’ll have a small window of opportunity to escape,” I said.
“Any of those fuckers come near us, I’ll blow them to kingdom come.” Dar turned to me. “Go grab your shit, and take only what you need. Where’s Rick?”
“Forget about him. He’s gone now.”
“Dead?” Thorn asked.
“Let’s just say he won’t give us any more problems.”
Dar shrugged matter-of-factly before turning and walking away.
The kids cried in the other room, but I didn’t see Kate anywhere. I could barely focus now on account of the voice speaking in my head, resonating so loudly that it felt like water torture. Had that current actually been transmitted inside my brain? I went to my room and filled a small bag. I didn’t need to take much. The only things I wouldn’t part with were my spiral notebooks and the backpack stuffed with Rick’s journals…and his head.
I hobbled downstairs and dropped my two bags near the door. Thorn stacked four rifles and some pistols on the table along with the remaining boxes of ammo. I ran back down to the lab and slipped Rick’s keys out of his pocket. I tried all the keys in the basement doors until one of them finally opened inward. The first thing I saw was a pile of blankets, pillows and winter clothing. But what I discovered in the next room shocked me: edible goods stacked three shelves high: canned vegetables, tuna, chicken, sardines, corned beef hash, juices, pastas in tomato sauce, beans of all types, tubs upon tubs of peanut butter. That asshole had been starving us to death! I grabbed a plastic jar of peanut butter, opened it greedily, scooped out a heaping mound into my palm, and shoved it into my mouth. In less than two minutes, I’d consumed half the jar, and my shrunken stomach throbbed in pain. It felt wonderful to binge, but I feared that I’d be discovered by the others and accused of holding out. I grabbed a bottle of juice, quickly slugged it down, and then ran upstairs to tell them of my discovery. I prayed Dar would look favorably on me and return me back in her good graces. Her stamp of approval meant everything to me in my deteriorating mental condition.
I collapsed into one of the dining chairs, out of breath. It felt like a bowling ball had lodged in my belly. I realized I could not properly talk because the roof of my mouth was glued shut with peanut butter. The childrens’ loud screams reached a high pitch, though not enough to drown out the whispering refrain replaying in my ears. That and the chorus of those hungry creatures outside permeated my consciousness.
I thought about what Rick had said while in that reawakened stage. Who were the chosen ones, and why were they chosen? Were we supposed to find them? Maybe the world did need a whole new system, one without hatred and racism, fundamentalist fanatics and corrupt leaders, money-grubbing capitalists and toxic corporate interests worried only about the bottom line. It occurred to me that maybe the dead were assigned the task, like Noah and his Ark after the apocalyptic flood. My mind raced with theories, notions of biblical justice, liberation theologies, and prophecies.
Running through my carbohydrate-starved mind were the stories of Cain and Abel, Moses, Noah and his Ark, the Catholic church I grew up in and the consummation of human flesh in the form of Jesus Christ, Holy Communion, the precise moment when the bread and wine transformed into the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, and the body parts of saints locked away in ancient reliquaries. I stared over at the ravenous creatures loitering about in the driveway, yearning and seeking, their overriding drive in life being to feed from the human trough.
So who were the heretics? Who on earth represented good, and who represented bad?
I snapped back to reality, my mind’s eye focused on our survival.
We worked for over an hour preparing for our departure, boxing foodstuffs and ammo. My discovery of the food did not win me any extra attention from Dar, though it made Thorn view me in a more positive light. In fact, Dar seemed more perturbed that she’d been duped than anything else. We grabbed anything that could be of value. The children cried incessantly, as if they knew what was about to happen. I worked diligently, realizing that the busier I kept myself, the more I was able to ignore the voice in my head. When everything had been secured, we sat at the kitchen table, passed around the food, and gorged ourselves. Dar stood at the head of the table, clearly the queen bee. Where these leadership qualities had come from, I didn’t know, but it must have existed inside her all along.
I listened to her every word as she spoke, too full to eat. Kate sat next to me feeding Amber, who hungrily gobbled up the peas and oily flakes of tuna fish being spoon fed to her. Emily grabbed a handful of peas in her hand and shoved them greedily into her awaiting mouth. I wondered what would become of these two children, and who would care for them once we reached safety. Outside, the dead grew more agitated. Our time here was nearing its end. They stirred and howled with such intensity that we all knew it was only a matter of time before they stormed the Bastille.
“Last night they stopped just after midnight,” Dar said. “We’ll plan on leaving tonight when they slow down.”
“What should we expect from them in that state?” Kate asked.
“Expect that they’re going to walk up and give you a big fat kiss. What do you think they’re going to do? They get one whiff of you on the rag, and they’ll be on us like white o
n rice.”
Kate nodded in deference.
“Me and Thorn are going to sprint to the barn, roll the barrel of gas up the ramp, and then blow the doors. We’ll park as close to the house as possible. Kate, you’ll pass the kids in through the window and then hop in. I’ll pull the truck up once the three of you are safely inside. Thom, you’ll then pass the supplies up to Thorn. Once you do that, jump into the bed. Kate, you’re going to drive unless I say otherwise.”
“Why me? You’re a much better driver than I am.”
“Don’t question my judgment!” Dar snapped, punching her fist down onto the table. “I’ll be watching everyone’s back with the rifle. Any other stupid questions?”
Kate lowered her head and looked down at the floor.
“Good. No one better screw up, either, because I’m not in a good mood.” She hefted the ax up over her shoulder. “If we do everything right, I expect we should make it out of here just past midnight.”
“Where are we heading?” I asked.
“Boston. To meet up with the others.”
“God bless you, Dar.”
“Trust me, God wants nothing to do with me,” she said. “Once we arrive in town, then all my obligations to family will have been fulfilled, understood?”
“Completely.”
Thorn and Dar went upstairs to make the final preparations, leaving the four of us sitting at the table. Kate watched over the children, making sure they felt safe and protected. She was a good person and must have been a very loving mother at one time. I felt sorry for what she’d gone through as I stared out the window, anxious for this nightmare to be over.
“Do you think we’ll make it past them all?” she asked.
“Let’s pray we do.”
“They have to quiet down eventually, don’t they?” She looked down at the two children. “I’m scared, Thom.”
“Me too.”
“I’m scared about what will happen when we reach Boston. What if it’s this bad down there as well?”
I wished I could have said something to reassure her that everything would be all right.
“What will happen to me and these two innocent children? Dar and Thorn will go their separate ways. You’ll be reunited with your wife and son. But what about us?” she said, staring sadly at the kids.
Despite her skeletal appearance, she looked vulnerable, beautiful. Tears fell from her eyes, and I realized then that I loved her. It was a shocking admission.
“I have a large home, Kate, and lots of money. You can stay with us and join the family. We can all help raise the children. We can take them for long walks around the Boston Common and ride the swan boats, then come summer, we’ll vacation down in Cape Cod. It will be so wonderful. We’ll all be like one happy family.”
“Stop it, Thom.” Tears fell from her eyes.
“But why not? Who’s to say we can’t?”
“Me! I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“We can all learn to love each other. I love you too.”
“I couldn’t bear to see you happily married with your wife and son, nor do I deserve another chance at happiness. I love you with all my heart, Thom. That love will destroy me every day, much worse than all these flesh-eating monsters running around. I feel like one of them now, dead but still upright and walking.”
“But you haven’t done anything wrong, Kate. It wasn’t your fault.” I stared at her. “Everything’s changed. We can all coexist happily.”
“It’s my own fault. I failed to protect my children. What makes you think I could ever protect these poor dears?” she said, staring down at the two kids squirming around in their chairs. “Do you really think I can take care of them? I can barely take care of myself. I feel so dead inside.”
“Don’t worry about anything, we’ll figure it all out,” I said, unsure of what else to say. I had no idea she had fallen in love with me, but in retrospect, I could see all the signs because they resided in my heart as well.
“Please hold me, Thom. That’s all I ask of you now.”
She pressed her fingers into the small of my skeletal back. It felt good to hold a woman again. It felt like forever since I’d held my wife, and I now realized how much I missed her touch. I closed my eyes and imagined her in my arms. Kate sobbed quietly, her head lodged in the crook of my neck. She looked up and gently moved her head to kiss me. I leaned down and kissed her dry thin lips. We pressed gently against each other, exploring each other’s ravished mouths. I could feel the bones sticking out of her back. Our hands intertwined by our sides, and we squeezed each other tight. A loud noise interrupted our passionate embrace, and I glanced over and noticed that one of the creatures was banging on the glass and growling at us.
“Get a fucking room, you two!” Dar shouted as she sprinted down the stairs.
Embarrassed, I released Kate and pushed her away. The creatures outside shoved each other in their attempts to break into the house. The dreaded attack had begun. They pummeled the wood frame and glass windows. The sound of them shrieking and banging filled the air.
Dar dressed specifically for this occasion, her hair spiked into a glistening red and blonde Mohawk, and her face painted green and black. She wore a camouflage muscle T-shirt along with tan cargo pants that she must have found in one of Rick’s closets. Tattoos covered her arms and neck. She looked prophetic.
The creatures pushed and shoved like English soccer hooligans. Something flew out of the sky and crashed into the windowpane, but it did not break. The flying dead babies were going kamikaze on us. The children, standing next to Kate, became frightened and started to cry. Dar stood with her hands on her hips and watched with an eerie calmness that belied her terrifying image. One of the bigger ones picked up a large tree trunk and began to repeatedly smash it into the pane of unbreakable glass Rick had installed and which would soon be obsolete against this constant barrage. I knew that we didn’t have much time to waste, especially after receiving that message about the nuclear attack. It all made sense to me now. The government needed to obliterate everything in the vicinity in order to destroy all living and non-living things, and thus prevent the virus from spreading.
“They’re starving to death and not taking no for an answer this time,” Dar said.
“What do we do now?” Thorn asked.
“The little prince is doing back flips inside me,” Dar said, smiling as she rubbed her swelled belly. “Bitchin’! Dude’s going all kung fu in there, a sure sign.”
“Sign of what?” I asked.
“Greatness. Strength. I can just feel its eternal wrath. It will carry on the prophecy set forth.”
“Prophecy? This whole thing might be over by the time your baby is born,” I said.
“Impossible. It will be many years before the end is near. These crazy fuckers are here to stay. Everything’s changed and nothing matters anymore but the seed in my belly. Never again will I be restrained by the chains of family, tradition and all the other irrelevant bullshit that got us into this mess in the first place.”
“So what do we do now, babe?” Thorn asked, staring at the creatures just outside the window.
“We sit tight and wait. Once they slow down, we grab our shit and make a run for it.” She picked up a gun and pointed it at the two crying girls. “Now shut those two kids up, Kate. They’re driving me crazy.”
Chapter 22
THEY RUSHED THE HOUSE, WAVE UPON wave of them, their mouths open and their eyes glaring with bloodlust. I covered my ears to drown out their incessant cries. Crazed and delusional, I would have done anything to make them stop. Dar, Thorn and I stood holding our rifles just in case one of them broke in, and although none of them had yet done so, I knew that the house would not hold out for long.
Kate watched the children in the other room, trying to placate them with stories and songs. Her voice cracked with emotion as she sang ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider’ in an overly loud voice in order to drown out the horrific sounds of the dead.
; One of the windows started to crack. The creature heaving the log kept up the methodic assault, pounding the glass over and over. A loud ripping sound went up, and I peered out the window and noticed that a few of them had started peeling off the siding and tossing it onto the driveway behind them. Underneath the siding was bare plywood. It would not be too long before they started to pry off those boards as well and eventually gain entrance into the house. If we didn’t leave soon, we stood no chance of escaping their grasp.
I looked up at the clock. Seven minutes past midnight. At any moment now, I envisioned the plane flying overhead and releasing that mini nuclear warhead. The fuckers should have stopped by now, but they kept on attacking. Dar paced the floor behind me, confused by her miscalculation. Then, suddenly and without warning, they all stopped in unison and began to stagger away. An eerie silence filled the house. Dar blew out all the candles and told everyone to gather inside the dining room. Kate lifted Amber and guided Emily out by the hand. We stood there anxiously, waiting for Dar to give the word to move out. She and Thorn circled around the house to assess the situation from every angle while we waited in the dark for what seemed like eternity.
“They’re wandering around just off the driveway,” Thorn said.
“Light the torches, Thorn,” Dar said. “Let’s get this tour bus rolling.”
Dar picked up the torches and held them high. Thorn struck a match and lit the tip of the first one. The flame bit and jumped off the gas-soaked end. He tilted his over and lit Dar’s.
“Here,” Dar said, handing me the plastic gas container, “pour the rest all around the house. We’re going to leave these fuckers a nice present to remember us by.”
I took the can and did as I was instructed, pouring it in the kitchen, dining and living room. When I returned, Dar and Thorn were crouching by the door, ready to bolt.
“You’re the last one out,” Dar said to me. “Once we’re all in the truck, I want you to light this place up like a Christmas tree. You got that?”
“Yeah.”
