The Mike Beem Chronicles: 6 Tales of Survival, Hope, and The Zombie Apocalypse

by Anthony Renfro

  She glanced back to the hall, as the zombies shuffled past the window, but didn’t smell or see her. She decided it was safe now to walk over to where her kids were sleeping.

  She kneeled down beside Bobby, and shook him awake.

  “Mom, what time is it? Leave me alone, let me sleep,” Bobby replied, trying to turn over.

  “We have a situation, and I need your help. You need to wake up now.”

  Bobby rolled over, and sat up. His two sisters were starting to stir.

  “Zombies?” He asked, kind of hoping it was true, kind of hoping it wasn’t. He had been wanting to kill a zombie ever since this thing started. He hadn’t had the chance yet, because his mom had done all the killing for them so far.

  “Three of them to be exact. I need you to watch your sisters while I go after them.”

  “What, no, I can’t let you do that.”

  “There’s no debating this,” she replied, keeping her voice down, so he would keep his down.

  “I’m not going to sit in here and have a tea party while my mom takes on three zombies. That’s not going to happen,” Bobby replied, starting to get a bit loud.

  “It is going to happen, and you need to keep your voice down,” she replied, as his sisters woke up. Kaley saw them sit up, and look around the dark gym. “Girls, come over here, family huddle.”

  The girls climbed out of their sleeping bags, and joined their mom and brother.

  “Bobby is going to look after you for a few minutes while I’m gone. Okay?”

  “Where you going?” The youngest girl asked, dressed in pajamas that showcased the movie FROZEN.

  “We have some trouble outside. I have to go take care of it,” Kaley replied, holding her youngest daughter close, and kissing her head.

  “Can we help?” Her oldest daughter asked, looking around, scared, but trying to stay brave.

  “She won’t let you. I’ve tried,” Bobby replied, still pissed that he wouldn’t be able to blow up some zombie heads, real zombie heads this time, not the fake ones he used to kill in all those video games.

  She glared at Bobby and then focused in on all of her kids. “I would love for each one of you to help me, but if you are there then I am just going to worry about you. I need you guys tucked away in here, so I can stay sharp.” She paused. “Bobby do you understand? Girls do you?”

  They all nodded.

  “Good. Bobby knows how to shoot and operate a gun. You girls are not to touch it while I’m gone. Only Bobby handles the weapons. Okay?”

  They nodded again, and she handed Bobby a pistol with a silencer on it.

  “Safety’s on, Bobby.”

  “I know, mom. George taught me well.”

  “I know he did,” she replied, proud that her son was trying so hard to be a protector of this family. She kissed them, and even her son who usually squirmed away from moments like this allowed it. “Now, all of you head into a bathroom. Get inside a stall and stay there until I come to get you. Nobody leaves. You got that?”

  They all nodded again, her girls starting to cry. Bobby as well, but trying hard not to show it.

  “Mommy loves you, and I will be back. Now go on,” she replied, fighting back tears.

  “You need me, just yell,” Bobby replied, and ushered his two sisters towards what used to be the men’s locker room/bathroom.

  Kaley watched them go, wiped away the tears now flowing freely, and grabbed a knife and a pistol with a silencer on it. She then put a strap onto her head that had a light attached to it. She made her way over to the door, and looked through the glass. No zombies on this side of the school, which was good. It would make her job easier to do.

  She opened the door, and slipped out into the hallway. She flipped on her light, and scanned the hall. It was silent, dark, and zombie free. She turned right, and followed her light down to the end of the hall, past old lockers and silent classrooms.

  At the end of the hall, she stopped, leaned her back against the number 12 locker, found her nerve, and stepped out into another hallway.

  She scanned left and right, nothing, still zombie free. She moved to her right and made her way towards the hallway that ran by the gym, she turned into it when she reached it.

  She was hoping the zombies were still shuffling forward, and hadn’t turned around.

  She was in luck.

  The three zombies had now horded together, and were working their way towards the end of the hall with their backs to her.

  She flipped the safety off of the gun, and moved with a silent ease up the hallway, slipping the knife into her back pocket while she walked. Her nerves tightened, heart pounded, as she gripped the gun with both hands, and lifted it up to fire.

  Out of a classroom on the right, a door opened. A fourth zombie, one she hadn’t seen before, shambled out towards her. He was still dressed in his bus driver uniform, most of his head and face destroyed, drooling maggot-filled saliva.

  The bus driver zombie pushed her up against a locker, knocking her gun free, as the other three zombies stopped, turned, and started to shuffle towards her. She fought the dead bus driver the best she could, tried to get the knife out of her back pocket, before he sunk his teeth into her flesh.

  A light from down the hall, spotlighted her and the zombie.

  Poof!

  A flash of fire.

  The rest of the dead bus driver’s head exploded, sending maggots and blood all over the nearest lockers and walls. He fell over dead a second later.

  Kaley looked down the hall, expecting George or Dawn. Instead, she saw her son, standing there with the pistol aimed forward with two hands holding it steady.

  She didn’t know whether to be angry or happy, but she didn’t have time to think about it, because the other three zombies were drawing closer to her. Bobby managed to shoot the crossing guard zombie, as Kaley reached down for her gun and grabbed it. She pulled it up and aimed just as the last two zombies surrounded her.

  Poof!

  Poof!

  Two heads exploded, and the last two zombie threats fell to the floor.

  When she was sure she was safe, she rushed down to Bobby, and hugged him. “What are you doing out here? I told you to stay with your sisters.”

  “Saving your life, and you’re welcome by the way,” Bobby replied, sarcastically.

  “Thanks,” she replied, and hugged him. “You know your dad would be proud of you, right now.”

  “It’s not like the video games. Is it?”

  “It’s not. Now let’s go get your sisters, and get this place cleaned up before George and Dawn get back,” she replied, leading him down to the gym. When they were both inside, she closed and locked the door. Thankful they all were safe.

  +

  “It’s a regular shuffler party up there,” George replied, as he and Dawn hunkered down in a ditch beside the road, looking towards the fresh meat place. A sign out front, now dead and dormant, collecting dust and rust, said:

  BIG BOB’S MEAT

  Their slogan underneath it read:

  “If it eats, we probably eat it.”

  “There’s a light burning in the back window. Do you see it?” Dawn asked, hopeful, shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun.

  “Yeah, they probably have a generator, but why are the lights burning right now? If someone wanted to conserve gas, this would be the time of day to do it. Wouldn’t you think?”

  “I don’t know; but if they have a generator, then their meat might still be fresh,” Dawn replied, anxious, starting to get up and move, thinking of only the Thanksgiving Day meal and nothing else.

  George gripped her arm. “Wait!”

  “What?”

  “We can’t just go barging in there and ask for a turkey now can we? Do you have a plan, something to barter? Anything that would convince them to give us a turkey, if they do indeed still have one?” She paused and sank down beside him, looked at him with a clueless look on her face. He released his grip and continued. “I can
see from your face that you really didn’t think this through; and another thing, maybe we should talk about going up there at all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think we’re equipped to handle that many zombies at one time.”

  “But we need to.”

  “Why? What is so damn important about this holiday? What’s so important that it might get us killed? Do you really want to be one of those things?”

  “No, I don’t; but it’s just been so tough, and this holiday is one of the big ones.”

  “So? What does it matter?”

  “It would just be nice to honor it; might make it seem like old times again.” She paused, and then continued. “Since I lost my family, everything has just seemed wrong. I need a little positive for a change. I’m so tired of the negative.”

  George sighed; he had no comeback. It made sense in his head as well. “Okay, I get it. I’m on board. You’ve convinced me.” He reached into his vest and grabbed a smoke bomb. He handed it to Dawn. He then slung the shotgun off of his back and put the pistol he was holding in his pocket. The brass knuckles, sharp and deadly, glinted in the sun, as he formed a game plan. “Best scenario we have. We go in hot. Throw the flash bombs first, then start shooting. Shoot until we run out of bullets. Then we use our knives close range,” George replied, turning her face to his so they could lock eyes. “This is win or die time, sweetie. Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. I had a great teacher,” she replied, smiling.

  “I don’t deny that,” he replied, smiling back at her. He kissed her on the lips, and she returned it. “Well, let’s get this done.”

  George started to walk. Dawn stopped him. “Hey, before we go, I love you. Don’t forget that. No matter what happens.” She kissed him, and he kissed her back. “Funny thing about this zombie world, head cheerleader falling for a math geek.”

  George smiled. “Sure is, and I love you too. Now let’s roll,” he replied, advancing forward.

  Dawn said a silent prayer to herself for safety, security, and help. When she was finished, she followed after him.

  They walked until they were about half way to the building. They stopped, and knelt down in the tall grass, hidden just enough so they wouldn’t be seen.

  “Do you see that window in the front of the building, just behind the dead air conditioners?” George asked, pointing towards the spot.

  Dawn nodded.

  “I’m going to slink up to it. Check out the inside. I want to see what it looks like in there, the trapping points, our exits, anything else that we might need to know.”

  “Makes sense, just be careful. Okay?”

  “Will do. Be back soon,” he replied.

  They kissed; and George made his way towards the building, hunkering down low, hoping to not be spotted by the horde, shouldering his shotgun while he walked, opting for the pistol with the silencer instead.

  The zombies outside of the store immediately took notice of the fresh meat, and started to shuffle his way. Lucky for George, most of the feeding frenzy had moved inside. There were only 8 of them now, easy targets, or so he thought.

  Two quick shots, two heads exploded, now there were 6.

  George started to feel a little bit cocky, and that’s when he got surrounded. He brass-knuckled a couple of zombies in the head, and then one of them grabbed his arm, started to pull his arm towards its mouth. This zombie was dressed in a blood-splattered pink collared shirt and khaki pants–business casual attire.

  The business casual zombie’s head suddenly exploded, and those hands and dangerous teeth fell away from George, who didn’t bother to look back at Dawn to thank her, because there were three more zombies coming at him. He shot each of them in the head, and then stopped to look back at Dawn. She was currently kneeling in the grass, right hand on the gun handle, finger on the trigger, left hand underneath the right steadying her aim. He gave her a smile, she smiled back, and then he advanced forward.

  He stopped when he reached the wall of the building, leaned his back against it, and found his courage. He popped his head up over the windowsill, and what he saw inside, well, it wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. He made his way back over to Dawn.

  “Verdict?” she asked, anxious, really wanting to finish and get back. The sun was getting higher in the sky, no clouds above, and the heat of the day was rising.

  “It’s a no go.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Too many, too tight in there. Besides, they are ransacking the place, eating anything that has blood in it. If there was a turkey, it is either consumed or contaminated by now.”

  “We should at least try. There might still be something left.”

  “We’ll get ourselves killed, Dawn. Don’t you understand that? This was a noble idea –”

  “I have a new plan. One that doesn’t involve going in hot,” Dawn replied, head cheerleader exuberance screaming out of her.

  “I don’t think it’s worth it.”

  “Can you just trust me?”

  “Sure, but make it quick. We really should be getting back.”

  Dawn spilled out the plan, and George listened. When she finished talking, he was on her side.

  “I like it,” George replied, teacher’s pride etched all over his face.

  “You taught me well.”

  “I hope so, because you’ll need it in there.” George paused. “Okay, makes sense for you to take the remainder of the pistol bullets. I have plenty of shells left for the shotgun.”

  “If you run out –”

  “I have my brass knuckles and knife. Just make sure your shots count. Every bullet will have to have a destination that explodes a skull or stops a zombie from moving forward.” George paused. “You sure you’re ready?”

  “I am. Let’s do it.”

  “Because if you’re not–”

  “George, please. I can take care of myself. Just stick to the plan, and we will be okay. I’m sure of it.”

  “Sorry. I just can’t lose you, you know.”

  “I appreciate it, and you won’t lose me. Promise,” Dawn replied, and kissed him. “I love you. You know that, you big idiot.”

  “I love you too,” George replied.

  “Okay, let’s drop the romance and dance. Come on now. Let’s do this,” she replied, getting up and moving forward.

  George smiled as he followed after her. He couldn’t believe how crazy in love with her he was.

  Dawn made her way to the front of the store. Only needing two head shots to get there, and they were clean head shots, not a bullet wasted. She caught her breath, as she leaned hard against the red brick wall, double broken doors to her right, ice chest to her left. She could see the propane tanks at the far end of the parking lot, still locked up tight. She steadied her nerves, and then took out a flash bomb. She lit it, and rolled it into the store. The zombies paid the bomb no attention. They were too focused on the easy feast at hand.

  BANG!

  The flash exploded, and the shufflers scattered, mindless creatures so easily scared.

  Dawn gripped her cross, took a moment’s pause, and then stepped in front of the open double doors, pistol aimed forward, right hand holding the gun, the other keeping it steady. She started firing, putting clean head shots into zombie skulls, as the shufflers started to shamble towards her. The creatures were powerless to stop the ambush.

  George stood in front of the back door (the employee’s entrance) and blasted away, as the shufflers shuffled out one by one, trying to attack him. When the shotgun ran out of bullets, he slung it over his shoulder, and started brass-knuckling and knifing.

  When the ambush was over, Dawn took a moment to look around the store. Her exuberance, her joy, her hopeful feelings of finding a fresh turkey in this barren world had finally found a place to die. The zombies had contaminated everything. They had turned over, knocked over, or stepped on and crushed anything that got in their mindless path. The pl
ace was a total loss. Nothing left inside the store but rotting corpses and shattered hopes and dreams. Dawn hung her head and started to cry. She had finally found her giving-up point.

  “Dawn! Can you come here a minute?”

  She looked to the back of the store when she heard George’s voice. She wiped away the tears, and started stepping over bodies, mindful of grabbing undead hands, as she made her way to him.

  George was waiting on her when she pushed through the door that sealed the front from the back.

  “Find anything?” She asked, looking around. She was now in a small stock room area, clean and well kept, with an employee entrance and a single loading-dock door. The dock door was currently closed and locked up tight.

  “Plenty of things, but no meat.” He pointed to a pile of supplies sitting inside a shopping cart, stuff he was able to grab after the zombie killing party had ended. There was more to get if they wanted it, but what he had found was about all they could haul by themselves. In the shopping cart, there was a deep fryer still in the box, a small propane tank, a gigantic container of oil, a cast iron skillet, a new pot, dry goods, and lots of canned food supplies.

  “Without the turkey, though, about all we can fry is zombie,” she replied, looking at the deep fryer, about to cry again.

  “Would they even be edible?” George asked, smiling.

  She didn’t smile back, wasn’t feeling up to it. “The store’s a mess. I’m sorry I put you through this. Just a dumb idea by a big dumb girl. Guess things can’t go back to the way they were even for a day. This world won’t let it.”

  “Chin up. That ain’t the Dawn I know. We still have one more place to try.” He pointed across the room to a closed door, which had six gasoline cans and boxes of supplies lined up outside of it.

  “That’s just an office.”

  “Come on head cheerleader, where’s your school spirit?” No response from Dawn. “Okay, I’ll check it out. You stay here.”

  George walked over to the door.

  Dawn stood and watched, reloading her pistol with the last of their bullets.

  George stopped when he reached the door. He turned the door handle, which wasn’t locked, and gripped his knife tight. The door swung easily inward, and stopped when it hit the wall. What he saw amazed him. He motioned for Dawn to come over. She did.