by Gallier, TW
I led the way toward the city. We started around north of the city since the road appeared to be entering the northern side. The hope was we wouldn't be taken as far off course that way.
"We need to find a gas station," I said. "There are probably several major highways going through, so we want to make sure we know which one to follow."
I was pretty sure it would be the most inconvenient road out of the city, too.
"And better pain killer meds than aspirin," Olivia said, looking at my hip.
My wound hurt, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. The aspirin helped. A little. I was pretty sure that "walking it off" helped a lot. It actually hurt the worst after we'd been idle a while resting. A more powerful pain killer wouldn't hurt, either.
We weren't on the road, but a couple hundred yards to the north of it. It was easier to walk on pavement, but it was impossible to find cover if a hostile group of survivors suddenly appeared. Out in the wheat fields all we had to do was drop flat on the ground and no one could see us. America's amber waves of grain were saving our butts.
Also, Ralph couldn't walk on pavement while barefooted.
It hadn't rained in two days, so the ground was slowly drying. We made pretty good time toward the city. I was in the lead, with Olivia to my left rear and Ralph to my right rear. That’s how we played the game of Zombie Hunter for years, and it's how we traveled in the real world now. It made us feel safer.
As we neared the city, I kept us on course by using a rather tall building on the outskirts as a landmark. I assumed it was a bank. Most tall buildings in the suburbs were banks. To my surprise it was right at the edge of the built up area of the city.
"Farmhouse," I said and pointed. "Let's check it out."
"If it's clear, do you want to stay and get some sleep?" Olivia asked.
I looked up at the sun. It was late afternoon. We'd reached the city's outskirts, so it was time to turn northward. We also preferred traveling at night, so the farmhouse would be perfect for catching a few hours sleep.
"Sounds like a plan."
"I hope there are horses," Olivia said.
None were in sight. I couldn't imagine there being any. There was a large white-painted barn, and several other outbuildings. The house itself looked typical of early 20th Century farmhouses, two stories with a wraparound porch. There were lots of really big oaks scattered around the farmyard. Barbed wire fences separated the farmyard from the fields.
We moved closer in crouched positions, weapons at the ready, fingers on triggers. Olivia had her M16A2 strapped across her back. She preferred the sawed off shotgun. It was better at close range. A shuffling sound reached us as we reached the fence.
Dropping to a knee, I held my breath and listened. Ralph and Olivia came up to either side of me, dropping to a knee as well. Some muffled banging reached us, allowing me to zero in on where it was coming from. There was an earthen pile just inside the fence that I realized was a storm shelter.
A young redheaded girl came out, almost like she was emerging from a grave. It was appropriate, since she was a zombie. An anguished look spread across Olivia's face. The children still upset her. They were all zombies to me.
I held up a hand to keep anyone from shooting her. If she was alone, there was no reason to alert others in the area that fresh meat had arrived. She turned south, away from the house and outbuildings. A moment later two more joined her, both twenty-something women. They shuffled out too and vanished down the tree-lined road.
"Houses," Ralph said even as I noticed them.
The tree-lined road had hidden a suburban subdivision from us. It looked like low-end track houses. I guessed they were small two and three bedroom brick homes, and probably older than us. We waited a bit longer, and when no other zombies were seen or heard, we slipped through the fence and into farmyard.
"Check the barn first," Olivia said.
Didn't matter to me. She was holding out for horses, but the zombies would've eaten them if there were any. The barn held some really nice tractors and other equipment, including a late model pickup. It was new enough the EMP probably ruined it. There was a trio of three-wheel ATVs, and a four-wheeler with a roof and seating for four. None of them had keys.
"We'll check for keys in the house," I said.
There were no horses or stalls to hold them in the barn. I didn't see any stables on the property; we headed for the main house.
"Both front and back doors are open," Ralph said. "You want me to go in alone to check for our little friends?"
"No, we'll all go inside," I said. "Slow and carefully."
A zombie wail off in the middle distance made me jump. We gave the farmyard one last look over, and then I led the way inside. Our boots were loud on the wooden porch. Maybe barefoot Ralph should've gone in first.
We entered like we moved across the land, I went straight in, Olivia came next and turned left, and Ralph followed and took the right side. The stairs were right in front of the door, with the living room to our right and the dining room to the left. All of the furniture was flipped and torn up. There was blood on the walls, floor, and ceiling. I noticed bullet holes all around, too.
"At least they went down with a fight," I said.
There weren’t any sounds inside the house. Our experience showed zombies were not quiet. They stomped around and attacked immediately. No laying in ambush.
"See if we can close and lock the doors," I said. "Olivia, lock the front and I'll go lock the back."
The back door opened into the kitchen. It was broken off all but one hinge, and the jam was damaged. Someone jimmied it open. Probably other survivors looking for food, guns, and ammo. The pantry proved that theory right. Empty. I opened the fridge, and the most god awful stench assaulted me. I slammed it shut.
"Find any food?" Ralph asked as they joined me.
"Cleaned out. That back door was forced open and damaged, so I can't close it."
The door down to the basement was open, so we checked it out. Laundry and storage. Nothing to eat. No weapons. So we headed upstairs. The bedrooms were tossed worse than the living room. The mattresses were cut open. All of the clothes were pulled out of the closets and left on the floor.
"Wahoo!" Ralph called from the other room.
We rushed over to the front bedroom. He was sitting on the ruined mattress and pulling a pair of socks onto his still muddy feet. A pair of work boots sat on the floor before him.
"They fit," he said, beaming with joy.
While he was busy, I took Olivia to check the only bathroom in the house. We wanted medical supplies. It wasn't in the stars. Even the bathroom was smashed.
"I get the impression someone was a little ticked off," Olivia said. "Hey, here's an empty Vicodin bottle. Maybe we can find a pharmacy that hasn't been looted for some really good pain killers."
Worth checking, but I couldn't imagine gun stores or pharmacies being spared a good looting. Even during the apocalypse some people would want to zone out on drugs. Maybe even more so.
Olivia and I entered the last bedroom, which was setup as an office. It was trashed, too. She went over to the window.
"I can see downtown from here," she said. "It kind of looks familiar. Could this be Jackson?"
Jackson was a city of a few hundred thousand north and east of our hometown. If that was Jackson, then we were closer to home than I thought. A few hours' drive, if we could get a running automobile. The ATVs out in the barn would get us there pretty quickly, but weren't anywhere close to being as fast as a car or pickup.
"I haven't seen any keys in the bedrooms or downstairs," Olivia said as if she'd read my mind. "Maybe someone took them to test the ATVs and they wouldn't start."
Didn't matter. Without keys the ATVs were dead to us.
"Shame none of us knows how to hotwire them," I said, looking at my friends hopefully. Olivia shrugged and Ralph frowned. "Didn't think so. So, do we rest here a few hours?" I looked out the window. From the 2nd floor we had a much
better view of the subdivision across the street. "Or do you want to look for a house that hasn't been looted to eat and rest inside?"
"Move on," Ralph said. "Nothing here for us. Even the beds are trashed."
"Agreed," Olivia said. Her eyes narrowed as she looked down in the farmyard. "Shit."
Ralph and I pressed up against the window. There they were. Zombies. Had to be over twenty of the stupid bastards. Worse, they were headed for the house.
"Well fuck me to…"
"Hush. Ralph will make an obscene comment."
"You know me so well," he said, grinning. Then his grin turned into a scowl. "Looks like we get to kill some more semi-dead monsters."
There was no back stairs. So we charged down the stairs and straight into zombies entering the house. There were too many to fight, but we didn’t have a choice. So we fell upon them with machetes. Why waste ammo? Gunfire would just attract more of them.
I stood directly in front of the door, with Olivia to my left and Ralph on the right. They came through the door one at a time. We hacked them down, blood splattering ever us and everything. That might have been the most blood ever. We were mostly severing jugulars veins and carotid arteries in their necks.
Bile scorched my throat. The stench sickened me more. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I waved them toward the kitchen, and stayed behind just long enough to decapitate another one. We left a pile of dead blocking that door.
The remaining zombies stayed focused on getting through that door. The sound of glass breaking echoed through the house as we reached the back door. Olivia quickly led the way to behind the barn. We stopped to see if any of them were following.
"They're all in the house," Ralph said. We were all panting. My machete arm ached from all that butchery. The blade was bowed, so I took the time to straighten it under my foot. "This might be our only chance."
I didn't bother to answer. I led the way toward the tree-lined road. The trees and underbrush was intertwined with an almost invisible barbed wire fence. We ducked and forced our way through, dropping to a knee in the ditch beyond. I looked up and down the road.
"Clear," I whispered, and we raced across to the trees on the other side.
There was about ten feet of trees and underbrush, and then an eight foot high concrete fence. I never thought about how developers liked to build those faux brick fences around subdivisions, but it kind of ticked me off right then. I interlocked my fingers and let Olivia step in, before lifting her up to vault over to the other side. Ralph managed to climb over on his own, so I tossed the pack over before joining them.
"Wow, that was close," I whispered.
I used leaves and dirt to quickly clean my machete. Then I put it back into its canvas sheath. Olivia and I helped each other clean the blood off our face.
"That's so cute," Ralph said, rolling his eyes. "Are you two finished?"
I scooped up a handful of dirt. "You want some help cleaning up?"
He gave me a dirty look, and then turned to look around. I looked around as well. We were in an alley behind homes with rear entry garages. Most of the backyards were behind six foot privacy fences. No survivors or zombies in sight.
"I saw zombies wandering around over here," Ralph said. A zombie groaned on the other side of the house before us. "Told you."
Chapter 8
I slung the pack over one shoulder and headed for the nearest gate. The privacy fence would hide us from unfriendly eyes. Ralph followed, and Olivia more slowly.
"Why are we going in there?" she asked.
I paused halfway through the gate. "You have a better idea?"
She didn't. So I continued inside. It was a well-kept lawn once, though overgrown without anyone to tend it. Lawn furniture was scattered around, looking more storm blown than zombie tossed. The sliding glass door was open.
I hesitated. A locked house guaranteed a zombie free zone. An open door was an invitation to one and all. At least the gate was shut. Zombies rarely, if ever, shut doors.
"Be ready for anything," I whispered, and pulled my pistol. I slowly pushed the slider all of the way open. I listened, but heard nothing. "Shhh."
I eased into the family room. It was in good order. Nothing obviously out of place. Then I noticed the front door was open, too. There were three zombies about halfway up the block, but walking away from us. So I very gently closed the door and locked it.
"Close and lock the slider," I said.
Olivia closed it, and a bar lock dropped down. It banged into place. All three of us jumped. And something else. Footsteps thumbed across the 2nd floor, heading for the stairs.
"Shit!" I cried, opening the front door and heading out. "Come on!"
The zombies down the street turned around. I stopped and Ralph slammed into my back.
"What the hell?" he asked.
I holstered the pistol and pulled the M16A2 off my shoulder. Ralph and I took aim and a three round burst from each of us put all three zombies down. Olivia unloaded on the zombie that followed us out of the house.
"There are more inside," she cried. "Run!"
The house was on a cul-de-sac. We only had one way to run. More walkers appeared at the intersection before we got two houses down the street. Looking around, I noticed all of the front doors were shut. If they were unlocked, the zombies would've opened them to check inside. Then I noticed a gate into another backyard.
"Through the gate."
A pair of zombies came out of the house behind us. There wasn't a lock on the latch, so I propped a lawn chair under it. And just in time. The zombies started rattling it, trying to get inside. They could probably open it with a little time and effort.
Olivia pulled up another lawn chair, climbed up, and shot over the gate. Twice. That put an end to that.
"You have always been a problem solver," Ralph said. "Usually not so ruthlessly."
"They were annoying."
Hurrying over to the gate to the back driveway, I climbed up and peeked over the top. No one to be seen or heard. So we rushed to the alley, crossed it, and entered another fenced backyard. The house was locked up, but we didn't take the chance. Out the front gate we went and into the street. That street was clear, and also a cul-de-sac.
We fell back into our modified V formation as we moved up that street. The houses all looked deserted, but a few windows were smashed. None of the doors were open. I noticed a pile of decaying human remains in the middle of one front yard.
"Shouldn't we be heading back out of this hell hole?" Ralph asked.
"There are zombies back there, too," I said. "At least in here we can evade them by ducking through houses and backyards."
"That's yet to be proven."
"Hush," Olivia said, pausing and cocking her head. "Do you hear that?"
I held my breath to listen. There was a sound. It was in the middle distance to the north. The sound of breaking glass occasionally punctuated the underlying sound.
"What is that?" I asked. "It sounds kind of familiar."
"Zombies," Ralph said. "A lot of zombies. Let's get the fuck out of here."
He was right. It was a mix of low groans, shuffling feet, and things being broken. To be that loud there had to be a shit ton of them and they had to be very close.
We took off running toward the west.
"Oh. My. God," Olivia said when we reached the intersection. To our right was the horde, about two blocks up that cross-street. There had to be thousands of them. It was second only to the horde around Emory. "Run!"
"I am running," I cried.
"Run faster!"
I couldn't. My wounded hip was on fire. There was no way I'd be able to run very far. It was hurting more and more with every step.
"If I fall behind, don't come back for me," I gasped out.
"If you ever say anything like that again, I swear I'll kill you," Olivia said, looking quite fierce, too.
"I agree. We leave no one behind," Ralph said. "We'll help you."
"Fin
ding a vehicle will help," I said. I looked up and down the street. "Looks like a commercial area ahead. Let's try to find a running car or truck."
"And here come our little friends," Ralph said.
Zombies were coming around the corner. Their crazy eyes locked on us. My heart skipped a beat. Even after two weeks, they scared the bejesus out of me.
We took off. Wounded, I wasn't much faster than them. We couldn't afford to waste ammo on them, as much as I wanted to shoot them all down.
"Shopping center," Ralph said when we reached the next intersection. "Go left."
Turning south on that four-lane street, we ran over to a gas station. The zombies rounded the corner before we reached it, so turned after us. They weren't fast, but they were relentless. So we kept going west down the next street. Then south down the next street.
"Look. Trash dumpster," Olivia said, pointing behind a 7-Eleven store."
"So?" I didn't want to hide in a dumpster. "Maybe we can get inside the store before they see us."
"No, no," she said. "It's pushed up to the wall. I think we can climb onto the roof from it."
It was worth a try. I've never seen any zombies look up for victims to eat. Didn't mean they didn't. She led the way over. Climbing atop the trash dumpster was easy, but the roof was a little higher than it appeared. Still doable.
I tossed that heavy-ass rucksack up on the roof, while Ralph shouldered his rifle and took a flying leap. He caught the edge, and pulled himself up with some effort. Olivia handed me her shotgun, and took a leap. Ralph helped her the rest of the way up. After handing up her shotgun and my rifle, I took my chance. And I almost didn't make it. Only Ralph and Olivia grabbing my arms saved me.
We sprawled out atop that store, gasping for air, and discovered it was incredibly hot from a long day. Rooftops in summer were never good places to be. Though, being so late in the afternoon, the surface had cooled enough to lay down upon.
