Zombies! (Book 5): Greater Love Hath No Man

by Merritt, R. S.

  “Sounds like a plan to me sir. We need to find some new clothes somewhere along the way. We’re all disgusting.”

  “Considering we’ve spent most of the day rolling around in a Zombie blender and we’re still alive I’m ok with looking like an extra from Chainsaw Massacre. I’m not really sure what level of hygiene you’ve reached when you’re getting a rash from the Zombie blood squishing around in your boxers.”

  Kyler nodded somberly. He almost laughed until he realized this was their reality and not a bad joke.

  Chapter 15: The Last Mile

  It was light outside. Randy opened his eyes a little further. He looked around. He was at a loss as to where he was. A living room leaning sideways with white furniture and huge red stains. Someone was calling his name. He looked to his left and saw Myriah was in a full-on panic. He started to smile at her and say he loved her. She slapped him and screamed some more. Randy fought to pull himself back to reality. He knew something was off. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

  “Get up! We have to go!” Myriah screamed at him again.

  “Go where?” Randy asked. He reached up and felt the big knot on his head from where something in the plane had struck him when they landed. Landed being a useful term for what they’d done even if it didn’t convey all the nuances of clearing a path through some hundred-year-old trees.

  “We’re going to die! Mom and the others are outside. Gordon’s dead. Ali’s knocked out! The Zombies are coming! We have to go now!” Myriah continued yelling.

  Randy pulled himself together and followed Myriah down the steep slope of the wrecked interior of the plane through the hatch leading to the section of the plane they’d started off in. The crash had popped the hatch open so getting out once everyone regained consciousness and could move around again was fairly easy. It just required someone sliding down first then catching everyone else as they came out. Kelly had checked on Gordon in the cockpit and discovered a branch had come through the windshield. Before leaving she’d reached down and held his cooling hand for a second.

  “Your daughter would’ve been so proud of you.” She’d whispered. Tears in her eyes she’d gone to round everyone up and get them off the plane.

  Randy hopped down through the open hatch and landed on the pine straw carpeted forest floor. Caitlyn was carrying Ali. Kelly handed him a pistol and gave him a quick kiss. Myriah plopped down beside him and Kelly handed her a pistol.

  “We’ve got to get moving.” Kelly whispered pitching her voice so they could all hear her.

  They couldn’t hear any screeches yet but the plane smacking into the woods had to have made some noise. If there weren’t Zombies here already, they’d be on the way soon enough. The Brotherhood would also be hot on their trail. With no time to rest or plan Randy nodded and looked around to see which way to go. Kelly pointed out the way back to the interstate.

  “There’ll be Zombies and Brotherhood out on the road. We need to find a car and some backroads. Keep heading north until we get out of their territory.” Randy said. Kelly nodded. She still had tears in her eyes from crying over Gordon and she was freaking out about Ali. The little girl dangled limply from Caitlyn’s arms. Ali was breathing and seemed fine in every aspect except she just wasn’t waking up. Her long hair rocked back and forth as Caitlyn lugged her through the woods.

  Randy led the way. He clambered over the broken trees and airplane parts. Kelly and him both helping the children through the area ripped apart by the plane smashing through. It looked like a tornado had cut a narrow swath through the woods and ended up hitting an airplane. They beat their way through about thirty yards of the mess before hitting the interstate. They climbed up the embankment past the remains of the car that’d clipped the wing of the jet leading to the destructive path they’d carved through the woods.

  The road was a road. Grey concrete with chunks missing and its surface cracked thanks to the lowest bidder methodology of the United States government infrastructure procurement division. At least the Zombie apocalypse had brought an end to government by bureaucrat for a little while. Not that the homicidal, empire building, would be dictator of the world Senator from Georgia was a much better option.

  Randy turned right then turned left. He looked up at the sun and over at Kelly. Kelly shrugged her shoulders. She knew he was trying to figure out which way was north so they could start walking in the correct direction. She had no idea. They’d been stripped of all their gear when they’d been captured. That meant they’d lost their navigational equipment as well as their weapons. Their navigational equipment had consisted solely of a compass Randy had grabbed out of an outdoor supply super store. They’d mostly used it for figuring out which way was north or south.

  “We need to figure out how to use the sun or the stars or the moss growing on trees to tell direction.” Randy joked trying to defuse the tension in the air.

  “I’ll see if I can pull up a video on YouTube.” Myriah said pretending to pull out her phone.

  That led to an awkward sad silence as they all reflected their phones had been taken and tossed as well. That meant all the pictures they’d been carrying in the memory of those little devices was now gone. Kelly wished she’d been able to hang on to her phone from before this all started. Even the new ones they’d picked up along the way would’ve been wonderful to have. Those had contained pictures of Kelly’s mom and Eric and Tony and everyone else that’d sacrificed so much to help them survive. They’d become family as well and losing those pictures had been tantamount to losing them all over again. Now they were doomed to fade away bit by bit in the memories of those still alive.

  Randy flipped a mental coin and started hiking in the direction he thought looked hillier. He was going with the direction the mountains got bigger in was the direction they needed to be headed. Kelly didn’t have any better guess, so they all trudged along in the direction Randy had selected. Occasionally, Randy would think he spotted a Zombie in the distance and they’d duck into the woods to hike for a while. Out of the ten times he thought he saw one he was right five times. The third one he saw being the only one that truly concerned them. That one came running down the road full speed and looked like it was going to run right past them. It’d come to a stop close to them though and started sniffing at the air. Then it’d cocked it’s head to the side appearing to be listening. They lay in the weeds being as silent as possible. All of them ready to pop up and sling some lead if the Zombie took one step off the road towards them.

  “That was weird.” Kelly whispered once the Zombie had finally run off down the road.

  “I think they’re getting smarter.” Randy said. It wasn’t something any of them really wanted to consider. Dumb Zombies were more than horrifying enough. Living in a world where the demons were getting smarter was a whole new level of terrifying.

  “Maybe the dumb ones are all finally dying off so the only ones we’re seeing now are the smart ones.” Caitlyn said.

  Randy thought that was some good thinking and was going to say so when he noticed the interstate sign up ahead. He sped up a little bit so he could see it more clearly.

  “575 North.” He announced when everyone caught up.

  “Cool. We were going the right direction after all.” Myriah said. Randy started to say something snarky to her but lost his train of thought when he saw her battered face and the dried blood on her lip. Instead of the sarcastic remark he gave her a hug and a kiss on the head. That led to a small hug fest as the little kids insisted that they should get kisses and hugs too.

  “Hopefully this throws the Brotherhood off. Gordon said we were going to be landing on 75. He must’ve either picked this on purpose to throw off the pursuit or he was just out of it and a road looked like a road.” Randy thought out loud.

  “Either way. We need more walking and less hugging. We need to be somewhere safe tonight. I don’t like standing on the edge of a major interstate where the Brotherhood could swing by at any second. Once they figure
out where the plane crashed, they’re going to be on us quick.” Kelly said urging them all to get moving again. “Chop chop.”

  Randy was more motivated by the large green sign he could see in the distance than the urgings of his spouse. He took Ali from Caitlyn and carried her up on his shoulder as they continued to walk down the side of the road. Without even thinking about it he continued to speed up as he felt more of an urgent need to see what the sign said. What if they’d flown backwards or something? Randy had no clue where 575 was in relation to other roads. It was an odd number, so he knew it ran north and south. Kelly had shaken her head when he asked her if she’d ever heard of it.

  The green sign revealed the exit to Ball Ground, Ga was only one mile away. Randy read it again to make sure he had it right. The towns of Jasper and Talking Rock were going to be farther along. He’d never heard of any of those places.

  “Ball Ground?” Kelly asked coming up behind him.

  “Beats the hell out of me. Let’s hope they don’t have many Zombies and are overstocked on easy to start cars.” Randy replied.

  “Sound like my kind of place.” Kelly concurred.

  They walked up to the exit and stopped for a quick break to drink the water they’d taken from the plane. There’d been water bottles and soda and snacks at the bar. It’d all been smashed up on the landing, but they’d grabbed what they could find. Randy thought longingly about the ice-cold beer that had been sitting in the fridge. A cold beer was something only apocalypse billionaires could have now. Like the Emperor of China was probably sitting in a fortress on some mountain top surrounded by samurai with gold plated machine guns enjoying an ice-cold Bud Light.

  About an hour and two potty breaks later they were sneaking through the woods towards a subdivision. It was still light outside so they were doing their best to avoid being seen by any Zombies that may be out and about. So far, they hadn’t seen any since leaving the highway, but they knew that could change in a heartbeat if they weren’t careful. Everyone had lapsed back into silent mode. Ali had come to when they stopped for the water break. Kelly had poured a little bit of water in her mouth and on her brow. A few minutes later Ali had puked like she was trying out for the Exorcist. She got the part plus a Grammy and whatever other awards there are in other award shows for ‘best projectile vomiting scene’.

  Kelly was happily scraping puke off the front of her shirt. A giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders. They’d all been worried about Ali. There hadn’t been anything they could do besides continue to carry her along though. They couldn’t have hooked her up to an IV and hydrated her or done any of the things people would normally do for someone in a coma. It served to remind them all how fragile their lives were. It illustrated how easily they could die now from something that would’ve just required a co-pay to take care of in their old lives.

  Zoey slid forward and patted Randy on the back. She motioned she had something to say so he bent down. Zoey put her face next to his ear and whispered in a serious tone of voice.

  “How come the bad man didn’t beat up mommy?” Zoey asked.

  Randy considered the question. He wanted to say something better than the truth. Something a little more helpful and inspiring than just that the bad man hadn’t gotten around to beating on their mom yet. He didn’t know how to tell her he’d used his own forehead to smash the guys hand. He needed to remember that little trick to try on the next guy who had him tied up and was beating the crap out of him. Based on his luck it was bound to happen again soon. He finally came up with something. He pulled Zoey close and whispered back in her ear.

  “He saw how much your mommy loves her daughters and it scared the man. He was too scared to touch her or to touch any of you guys again.” He hoped that was at least a little reassuring for his little princess. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and watched as she wandered off looking at least partially satisfied with his answer.

  Randy handed Doreen off to Myriah to watch. The toddler weighed basically nothing. Rather than being a burden to carry her along it was mostly just sad to feel how small she was becoming. Like they didn’t have enough to worry about Randy and Kelly were both now on the lookout for kids multivitamins. Preferably the gummy chewable ones since half their kids hadn’t figured out how to swallow a pill yet.

  “Ok. You and me babe?” He asked Kelly.

  Kelly nodded. They’d leave the kids in the woods and approach the houses on their own. The fewer of them moving the less likely to get noticed by any Zombies that decided to show up. There was more than likely a few wandering the hallways of their homes still. How those infected didn’t starve to death was a big mystery but there it was. It was one of the reasons Randy considered the term Zombie more appropriate than the term infected. Sick people eventually died.

  They made sure the kids were setup in a secure area back from the trees and moved out. The kids watched their parents moving through the trees towards the first row of large homes. It was a good subdivision as far as cars should go based on the size of the homes. They were all large with the expensive looing rock facades on the front of them. The kind of homes people who had peaked somewhere near the top of the corporate ladder could afford. Caitlyn moved around as her leg grew numb from the weight of Doreen, Ali, and Zoey all trying to lie on it.

  Caitlyn and Myriah watched their parents disappear around the side of one of the homes. They were going to try breaking in through the back of the house. It was always so much easier that way. These houses may look like castles from the front but in the back, there was almost guaranteed to be sliding glass doors that could easily be knocked off their track. If not a slider then some flimsy door leading to an inside bathroom that could be broken into in about five seconds. Worse case a bedroom window was about to get smashed.

  “What’s that noise?” Myriah asked. She was sitting straight up and looking all around. They couldn’t see much from where they were at due to the leaves on the trees.

  “I don’t know.” Caitlyn said. The noise sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. It continued to grow louder until they both nodded at almost the same time. Pretty sure what it was but still not positive Caitlyn motioned for Myriah to take the kids so she could sneak over to the edge of the woods to get a better look.

  “I’ll go.” Myriah said leaving the tiny clearing they were sitting in quickly before Caitlyn could protest. Myriah slipped through the trees to the overgrown bushes by the large wooden sign at the entrance to the subdivision. From there she watched as a lone helicopter thundered past them headed up the interstate.

  The helicopter suddenly flew away from the highway and circled the subdivision before disappearing in the direction of the main town. Myriah ran through the trees back over to where Caitlyn was sitting. All the kids had been yanked out of their naps by the odd sound of the helicopter passing. Doreen was doing her best not to cry while Caitlyn held her. Zoey and Ali were both rubbing Doreen’s back trying to help Caitlyn keep Doreen from crying.

  The back of the home Randy had randomly chosen for him and Kelly to bust into had proven to be a lucky pick as far as access went. The sliding glass door was standing wide open. The mummified remains of a few people were spread out around the backyard including one large hulk with a Vikings jersey on who was draped over a large grill. The back of the home had one of those really nice, expensive outdoor kitchens everyone wants but most people can’t afford. It looked like this homeowner was going to be spending eternity enjoying his.

  Inside the home wasn’t much better than the backyard. There were a few more bodies lying around in the final stages of decay. Animals had made the interior into their home. Bugs were still feasting on the years old flesh still clinging to the bones. It was weird to think that the people who’d owned the home had ended up as beef jerky for any stray dog that wandered in. Holes in the walls from gunfire painted the picture of the home being besieged then falling to the Zombies who’d swarmed it. Very likely the first Zombie had been a member
of the household who’d gotten sick and then turned. People like to think they wouldn’t fall for that when they watch Zombie movies. When your mom or your wife stumbles towards you with that Zombie hunger are you really ready to blow her head off? Assuming you even had a loaded weapon sitting around somewhere you could get to before she had the chance to take a bite out of you.

  Kelly was pulling a shotgun out of a corpses skeletal grasp when they heard the helicopter coming. Both of them froze then slowly turned their heads to look at one another.

  “Upstairs.” Kelly whispered.

  Randy followed Kelly up the stairs where they found a window that they could see the trees the kids were hiding in from and another window they could see towards the interstate from. Randy was thinking the helicopter was probably coming from the crash site. If they’d been any slower getting off the interstate, they may have already been taken prisoner again. They watched as the helicopter circled around over them before continuing to fly reconnaissance around the rest of the town.

  “Hopefully they think we already got into a car and took off.” Kelly said.