by Volante, KT
Mother continued, “I stopped the van and Luke pulled up alongside of us. Jeff pointed to the building. It was a large compound with one main very elaborate building and good solid brick walls. Jeff thought it might be a good place to move to. With the three of us now with you, we’re outgrowing this house. Sorry, Lacey, but we are. Jeff wanted to mark the spot on the map so we could come back later to check it out, but Luke thought there was no time like the present.”
Luke just sat there, not saying a word. The color left his face and he now looked frightened. I looked toward Mother and Jeff, wondering what had made Luke look so frightened.
Jeff explained, “The gate was unlocked. We moved slowly, listened, and smelled the air, with our guns at the ready. But we didn’t see anything move. Besides the big building, the compound held three buildings. The smallest is about the size of a garden shed. When we opened the door, there stood a statue. Some statue to a God.”
“We figured it must be a Buddhist temple or something,” Luke said, finally speaking.
I smiled at him and nodded.
“Yeah, I heard there was one around there,” Mother replied.
“The next building was still small,” said Jeff, “but at least double the size of the shed. We banged on the door and heard nothing. The door was locked, so we moved to the next building. It was about the same size. As we got closer, the LD smell got stronger. Before we banged on the door, we heard growling. So we left that shed alone also. We figured it couldn’t get out. Next came that big building. Mother stayed in front. We checked out the building like you and I usually do. Luke went around the building to the right; I went to the left. We met in the front after we didn’t see anything. We were going to go in and check it out.”
Now Mother took over the story. I think they liked telling it.
“Of course, the steps squeaked. If there was anyone in the building, that squeak announced us. Luke banged on the door and waited. Nothing. He banged around the building and waited. Nothing. So far, so good, right? As luck would have it, the door was locked, but we had to check out the largest building before we came home. No one answered, and we didn’t hear anything, so we thought it was empty.”
“And it wasn’t, I take it?” I asked, wanting to get to the part that had made Luke so scared.
Mother looked at me with her stern face. “Patience, Lacey; we are getting to that. Luke was pissed that the building was locked, so he walked to the nearest window and smashed it with his gun.
“‘Well, that will alert any LDs for sure,’ Jeff said.
“‘Jeff, hush,’ I told him. Then Luke jumped through the window. We heard his footsteps and another crash. After that, we heard growling.”
“I remember yelling. ‘Oh, shit!’” Luke sneered.
“We yelled, ‘Luke, open the door! Let us in!’” Mother said. “We heard Luke bang into the door, but the door didn’t open. Then he yelled, ‘Ahhhhh! Shit! Help!’
“I have to tell you, I thought Luke was a goner. All I could think was, Fuck this; the window!
“So me and Jeff both jumped through the window. LDs surrounded Luke. We couldn’t use our guns because the bullets would hit Luke. Jeff took out his long knife and started toward the LDs. I didn’t have a knife, but I picked up a folding chair and banged it on the floor. Some of the LDs left Luke and came after us. Jeff took advantage of this and knifed the LDs in the head. The first LD dropped to the ground; the next LD tripped on the fallen one and landed at Jeff’s feet. It bit at his feet; he hopped like he had a hot foot.” Mother laughed at that.
“Damn you!” Jeff said. “It wasn’t funny at all, Lacey. Mother swung the folding chair and smashed one LD after another. Thuds, growls, smashes, and more thuds. It felt like forever, but the fight finally ended. Luke was on his knees.”
There were tears in Luke’s eyes at this point.
“You okay, Luke?” I asked quietly.
Luke nodded. “Just bruised, I wasn’t bitten or scratched. Just scared to death.”
“I thought he was bitten, so I asked him,” said Mother in a shaky voice. “Luke, we were just as scared as you.”
“I told her I was okay; just overwhelmed,” Luke said in a soft voice.
“I checked him out,” Mother continued. “I ran my hands all over his head, neck, chest, and back until I was satisfied he wasn’t hurt. Then he just rested his head on my shoulder. He was okay, so I told him to stay there and rest while Jeff and I did a quick search of the place; then we would get the hell out of there.”
“Before we checked out the building, I dragged those bodies outside,” Jeff added. “They stank, and in a few days, the smell in the building would have been intolerable. Luke wanted to help, but I told him, ‘We got this.’ We dragged ten bodies outside.”
“For rotting things, they were heavy! And smelly!” said Mother. “Even with our shirts over our noses, the smell was awful. God, the smell made me throw up…twice! Once we put one body in the driveway, Jeff ran to the bushes. After a few more LDs were placed on the pile, I threw up again. I don’t ever want to do that again!”
“I told Mother the first thing we needed was water—even dirty water to wash our hands,” said Jeff. “I don’t want to think of all the germs on those rotting corpses. Then we went inside to Luke. We had to burn the bodies. Luckily, I found matches so we went outside and lit the bodies on fire. Luke sat outside and kept an eye on the fire.”
Luke nodded. “I wanted to do more, but at that point, that was all I could have done. I’m really sorry about that. It wasn’t fair to make you guys do all the work.”
“Luke, we understood,” said Mother with sincerity. “Don’t you worry at all about that. We were thankful you weren’t hurt. Still don’t know how you weren’t, but we are thankful.”
Jeff nodded and continued, “We needed you to watch the fire. We had to get the blood and brains mess cleaned up.”
“Even burning, they smelled like shit,” Luke commented.
Jeff chuckled. “Mother and I cleaned up the mess inside.”
We gave Jeff a confused look.
“Listen, those decaying bodies are full of whatever caused this infection. Plus, all the normal germs of a decaying body. If left to rot even more, not only would the smell make the building uninhabitable, but we would get sick.”
“I did all the cleaning,” Mother said, wrinkling her face.
“I checked out the rest of the building and then I helped her,” Jeff said.
“I found cleaning supplies in a closet,” said Mother, “along with other things we could use. The only water available was what was left in the pipes. So I found a bucket, filled it, and added bleach to the water. Jeff told me to go heavy on the bleach. Now the smell of the LDs was mixed with bleach. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out. I used garbage bags, a dustpan, and a hand broom to sweep up as much of the smelly disgusting stuff as I could and triple-bagged it. Then I vomited again. When the bleach smell is better than what you’re cleaning, you know it’s bad.”
“I quickly searched the rest of the building,” said Jeff. “There was a basement, but I stopped at the top of the stairs. There were no windows in the basement, and without electricity, it was pitch black. I thought I heard a noise, but I figured why go down and chance getting bit if we don’t move there? I didn’t smell LDs, so I just closed the door.”
Color was returning to Luke’s face, making him start to look like his old self.
“We kept the fire going until we left. Less there when we go back, the better,” Luke said.
Mother noticed Luke’s return to normal.
“Feeling better, Luke?” she asked.
He nodded.
“He’ll be fine. Just shaken up is all,” said Jeff. “Mother washed the floor and I used more bleach. I poured bleach on the area. With clean rags, I washed the area one last time. I coughed from the bleach until I could barely speak. Then we threw everything on the fire. Burnt everything that touched their blood! Everything!”
&
nbsp; “Once everything was burnt, we got the hell out of there,” Mother said.
Luke took over the story from there. “Jeff tossed dirt on the bodies to extinguish the flames. He noticed the sky was the same color as the ambers from the fire. He said he was afraid it would be the color of Lacey’s face when we got home. This side trip should have taken an hour, but it had turned into several. I guess we should have marked the spot and returned at a later time as Jeff said. Then Jeff poured ammonia at the front gate to protect the property until we could return.”
“I drove the van,” said Jeff. “Mother drove the car with Luke. Mother led the way home.”
“Anyway,” Mother said, “This place is larger, so I think we might or should consider moving to it.”
“Okay,” I said. “How far away is it? I agree we are outgrowing this house.”
“So you aren’t mad?” asked Mother.
“Mad, no! In a way, I’m happy we’ve outgrown this house. Like you said, Mother, this isn’t my home anymore—not without Ben.”
* * *
Two days later, Jeff, Harrison, and I went to the compound. Mother and Luke stayed back.
Jeff pulled into the compound’s driveway in front of a large metal gate. We all got out. A tied piece of rope held the gates closed. I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“The tied rope would keep the gate closed against LDs,” he explained. “If it were missing, we would know someone of the normal and living variety was here.”
“Logical,” I said with a smirk.
Jeff cut the tied rope and then took us on a tour. We ended in the middle of the compound. Remains of the burnt LD bodies were still there.
“We burned the LDs. Easier to get rid of the ashes if we moved here,” said Jeff.
When we got to the shack with an LD in it, Jeff opened it. We stepped back, not because of the LD but the smell. We were overwhelmed with a hot, sour, rotted meat smell. It made all of us gag. The sun’s heat baked it. We couldn’t tell whether it was a male or female. It lunged toward us. I put my foot out and tripped it. As it was falling, I grabbed its arm. The skin and tissue come off the bone like overcooked meat. I released my grip out of disgust. It hit the ground and I knifed it in its head. Then I threw up.
“Keep that shed open. Air it out,” I said once my stomach calmed down.
“Burn this one also.”
We went to the locked shed. We banged on it, but no noise. Harrison broke the lock and opened the door.
There was a large machine inside.
“We hit gold!” said Harrison.
I just looked at him. Luke looked in and smiled.
“Lacey, don’t you know what this is?” Luke asked me.
“A machine?”
“Not any kind of machine. A water pump! Water pump, no more water runs. This is great.”
“But doesn’t it need electricity?” I asked.
“Yes, but we’ll figure that out,” Harrison replied.
We toured the larger building. Back outside in the driveway, I put my hands on my hips and slowly turned in a circle. I faced the guys.
“Your opinions?”
“Lacey, I think this would be a good home. Of course, it needs work to make it livable, but it’s larger. Probably safer with that wall,” said Harrison.
Jeff nodded in agreement.
“We could raise the wall also. Lacey, the house is getting too small. This has potential,” Jeff added.
“Guys, do you think I don’t know that? I think this has great potential. We should prep this a little before we bring everyone over. Let’s get home and discuss the move!”
Chapter Six
Jeff drove home. The damn LDs clogged the roads again. The LD groups were larger every time we ran into them. I was thankful when we turned onto the county road where our home was. But that didn’t last long. LDs blocked that road also.
“Hold on!” Jeff screamed.
Within seconds, we drove into a ditch, then out of the ditch onto the grass. Our heads hit the roof, then the windows.
“Damn!” Harrison yelled.
LDs came after us. Every time Jeff got away from the LDs, another swarm was there. The van swerved and skidded on LD bodies. LDs slowed us down to a crawl. They couldn’t move fast, but if they engulfed the van, they could bring it to a stop.
My heart skipped a beat every time their bloody faces were against the window. They tried to eat their way in. Their thick black mucus stuck to the window; it turned our stomachs and our skin crawled. Their stink seeped through the window cracks. I feared they would get into the van. Finally, we outpaced them.
“God, they are getting closer to the house. We may be moving sooner than we thought,” I said.
Jeff drove faster, then slammed on the brakes.
Our block was full of LDs. Jeff had started toward home again when we heard shots.
“Damn, go faster! Faster, Jeff!” I yelled.
We stopped in front of the house. LDs’ bodies lay in the front yard. More banged at the windows and door. We saw everyone in the upstairs windows. Now the majority of the LDs were up against the house; from that angle, Sid, Luke, and the others couldn’t shoot at them.
Jeff started to honk the horn. He backed the van up away from the house and led the LDs away from it. The LDs behind us also heard the horn and came toward us.
We jumped out of the car, took careful aim, and shot the LDs. Luke, Sid, and Betty came out of the house. Now the LDs were under attack from the front and back. A bullet whizzed by my head. Oh, shit! I thought. Their bullets are reaching us. Shit!
“No guns, knives only!” I yelled.
We worked in tight groups, stabbing and slashing at the LDs. Finally the yard was full of rotted, smelly corpses.
Way too many LDs were behind us to fight off, so I went inside, got the ammonia, and poured it around the front of the house. I hoped between the smell of the corpses and the ammonia, the LDs would pass us by.
* * *
Once we were all inside, we hugged each other. The kids cried.
“Shhhh, some LDs are still out there. Everyone upstairs!” I said with a teary voice.
“Calm down. Everyone is okay,” Luke said as he tried to calm everyone.
Once the LDs passed the house, we went outside. I counted the LDs’ bodies. I stopped at twenty.
I gazed around at the family. Defeat was all I saw.
“That was a close call,” I said. “The compound is bigger and has brick walls around the whole thing. I think it’s safer than here. But it will take a lot of work to make it a home. We wanted to fix it up before we moved, but on the way home, we saw too many LDs coming this way. With our luck, they’ll be here sooner than later.”
The kids gave us worried looks. Lucy walked to me, Alice to Brittany, Jeremiah to Harrison, and Kevin to Jeff. We all held the kids.
After a minute, Jeff said, “We should leave soon, like within a few days. On the way home, LDs blocked the roads and we had a few close calls. If we can’t get through them, we’ll be spam in a can.”
Everyone was silent.
“Any comments? Anyone?” asked Harrison.
Maybe it was shock or maybe our sense of security was blown to hell, but no one objected; no one agreed either.
“Okay, we move. Most likely, it will take a few days to move everything,” Luke said. Then he turned to Sid. “Sid, do you remember the store we passed—the one a few weeks ago; there was a box truck in the parking lot. Do you think you can jump-start it? It would cut down on the number of trips we’ll need to make.”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember. As long as it’s not chipped, I can. Who will come with me?”
“What’s chipped?” asked Kevin.
“New cars and trucks have computer chips in the key. If the car doesn’t get the right signal from the key, the car doesn’t start. Antitheft,” Sid answered.
Kevin and the other kids nodded.
“I’ll go with you,” said Betty. “I’ll be ready in fiftee
n.”
They looked at me and I nodded.
“Thanks, Betty. We’ll start organizing for the move. Leave out only what we may need for the next few days. Mother and Brittany, you two are in charge of the kitchen and food. There were some pots and pans there, as well as dishes, so leave those things until last. If we run out of time, we’ll have to make do with what is there. Harrison, prep the guns and hand out one to each adult. Kids, pack the bathroom stuff. Put everything in the hallway. Jeff, get the vehicles ready. I’ll bring supplies to the cars, and we’ll start loading. Questions?”
“Let’s go,” said Luke.
* * *
I was sad and mad. My heart broke again. My last tie to my old life would be left behind. But I couldn’t cry now; there was too much to do, and the family counted on me. I’d cry later.
Betty and Sid left. Luke and Jeff packed the vehicles as fast as I could get the supplies outside. Within a half hour, the truck and the car pulled into the driveway. Success, I thought. First positive thing all day.
Sid jumped out. “What’s next?”
“Any problems with LDs?” I asked.
“We took another road out of here. Those we saw were mostly off the road. We drove by them.”
“Good. I’m bringing the supplies to the driveway. Sid, help load the vehicles. Betty help inside. Once the box truck, van, car, and SUV are packed, then you, Betty, Luke, Harrison, and Jeff drive it over. Unload and come back.”
“Uhh, Lacey, it’ll be dark soon. Too dark to unload,” said Betty.
“Shit! Okay, then at first light, we start bringing things over,” I said. “Tomorrow, Harrison and Luke take the van, Betty takes the SUV, Sid and Jeff the truck, and Mother and Brittany the car. Mother, Brittany, and Luke, stay at the compound and start organizing things. The rest of you return home. Hopefully, we can get everything over in one day. Questions?”
“Let me take Jeremiah and Kevin. They can help me,” Mother said.
I nodded. The kids jumped in their seats.
