by Kris Weeks
“Don’t you do that shit in here!” Willy hollered.
Nate covered his mouth and swallowed. “I can’t take that smell man, we gotta get rid of this asshole.”
Nate took in a deep breath through his mouth and sat up straight. He rolled down the window just enough to stick his hand out, he slid his machete through the crack and began swinging it wildly at the man. He hit him twice with the backswing of the blade; the tallest zombie ever seen became angry and began to slam his hands onto the window in front of Nate. His neck was tearing from his shoulders as he stretched to try and get to Nate.
Willy laughed hysterically at Nate holding his nose and swinging the huge blade through a crack that would not even allow his full arm through.
“Okay, you have to stop man!” Willy laughed. “Roll the damn
window down and stab the prick.”
Nate glared at Willy taking
pleasure in his situation. He reached down and rolled the window down more. The tall man’s skin ripped from his neck just as Nate had gotten the window down and his lanky arms made it inside the window and grabbed onto Nate, pulling himself halfway inside the truck. Nate jumped from his seat and landed on his feet, squatted in the seat he started
swinging at the man’s head. Finally making contact, he sliced into the middle of his forehead and the tall fucker dropped out of the window, Nate fell backwards and landed in Willy’s lap. Willy laughed harder as he wrapped his arms around Nate’s shoulders.
“I got ya mi ámor.” Willy heckled.
Nate pushed off of Nate and punched him in the chest. “Fuck you!”
More of them began to walk by sticking their hands into the window but were too weak to pull themselves into the truck. Nate had lost his weapon so was slapping at the men and women’s hands that were
reaching for him. Willy handed his knife to Nate while he tried to catch his breath from laughing. Willy searched for the other knife he had thrown in the cab and finally found it. He pulled it out of the holster and began to roll his window down to do the same as Nate. He began to slice into any of them that stopped to try and feed off of them.
“They are never ending. What the hell are we going to do?” Willy hollered over the growls.
The back of the van was all that you could see, zombies were piled against it and banging on the sides. Andrew covered his ears from the echoes of them growling and banging.
“We have to get out of here!” Eric hollered over the noise.
He let off the brake and let the van roll forward, some of the zombies rolled off to the side as they had before, some hung on to crevices of the doors, staying with the van still trying to get to what was inside, and some rolled up under the van. Alex and Andrew held onto the ‘oh shit handles and hoped that none of the assholes broke the windows with as hard as they were slamming into them. Eric tried to take it easy as he made his way over the ones that could not get back up. The van rocked back and forth.
Willy rolled up his window and let the truck roll forward as Eric had the van. It was a bit easier with the weight of it able to embed them into the asphalt. The tie straps seemed to be holding okay even with the load shifting a bit, so Willy rolled on. He moved slowly forward and eased his way over them all, watching each of them and where they went as they fell. He stepped on the brake just enough to slowly make his way over the ones that fell underneath.
Suddenly the door flung open and a large black man jumps into the truck and knocks Willy off of his seat and into the floor between him and Nate. The man closes the door breathing heavily and puts his hands on the steering wheel as the truck began to veer off to the left towards another car, he easily steers the truck back to the middle of the road as spit flings from his mouth as he breathed out.
Nate and Willy peer at the man that just seemed to overtake their truck and back at each other.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Nate asked. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m Bryan.” The man said as if they asked his name.
“That is great, but why are you hijacking our truck?” Willy
questioned.
“I saw y’all driving, I saw the truck moving, I saw an opening of the herd of stupid asses and jumped in. Sorry about the surprise, but I kinda had to hustle my big black ass.” Bryan responded while still driving.
“Well, that is great. Move your big black ass out of my seat!” Willy stood and bent his head over so he didn’t hit the roof of the truck.
Bryan hit the brakes softly still letting the truck roll and got up out of the seat letting Willy sit. Bryan heaved himself to sit on the floor and squeezed himself between the seats. Nate laughed as he wiggled himself down and finally hit the floor. His short legs were out in front of him straddling the gear shift.
“Comfy buddy?” Nate laughed looking down at Bryan’s bald head. “Better than being out there.”
Bryan laughed knowing the joke was on him. “I’m Bryan Tann, I have been out here for a few days, I have run from hordes and stayed off hidden in the woods. There seems to be less out there and more on the roads. I heard the truck coming and knew they would be attacking you, but figured I would take the chance of catching someone. It’s a little snug down here.” Bryan began to wiggle around a bit.
CHAPTER FOUR
HOURS HAD passed before the
stumblers had dwindled down to only a few. Eric sped the van up and dodged other cars and sped up once past the last staggering person. Alex and Andrew both breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally over. The sun had fallen down, not providing any light at all anymore.
Willy hit the gas to the truck and the last one stumbled sideways just before Willy would have made contact with him.
“They all look half drunk. Maybe they just all became alcoholics and they just don’t know what the hell they are doing.” Nate joked.
Willy smiled at his new found friend. He liked Nate’s personality. He had never laughed so hard since this all began.
“L ook more drunks over there; that one just tripped over another drunk.” Nate joked.
They finally pulled back up to the flimsy gate. Alex jumped out of the van and unlatched the gate and pushed. The pipes were stabilizing the gate. Alex climbed up onto the pipe fence and jumped the chicken wire fencing they had put up. He removed the pipes and pulled the gate open. Eric pulled in and Willy pulled in behind him. Alex closed the gate and waved Willy over to the barn to start unloading.
“No, we will unload in t he
morning. We need to check on
everyone.” Eric hollered out of his window.
Alex threw up his hands. “Don’t we need to get started now?”
Rue exited the barn holding
Rowena in her arms. Eric and Andrew headed inside the barn, Eric dragged his finger across the babies face and went inside. Andrew followed.
“Just go check on Tyler, we can start tomorrow.” Rue told Alex. “What’s wrong with Tyler?” Alex asked.
“Nothing, he is at the house with Ashley, Karlin, and Atora.” Rue pointed.
“The house, why?” Alex walked away to go see his son.
“Tyler!” Alex shouted as he walked in.
Tyler bounded around the corner and jumped into his dad’s arms. “You’re home!” He squealed,
knocking him off of his feet.
Ashley and Atora walked around the corner, Karlin followed close behind.
“Why is everyone here?” Alex asked.
“Not everyone is here, it is just us. Rue refused to move over here until Eric got back, she acted like he would be mad if everyone made a change without him. But it is nicer, warmer and safer here.” Ashley told him. “I am sorry that I took it upon myself to bring Tyler, but he and Karlin have become friends.”
“It’s fine. This turned out nice, y’all did a great job. Why would he be mad?” Alex wrestled with his son while he listened.
“It wasn’t too b ad, there are four bedrooms and two bathrooms. There isn’t
running water and no electricity, but we burned some candles we found in one of the drawers and Atora went and got a few buckets of water from the little spring down in the back and we warmed it up the best we could over the candles in a pot and the kids each took a bath.” Ashley walked him through the house.
Alex nodded with surprise and was impressed and happy that they had brought Tyler along. He had not seen his son without dirt smeared across his face in days.
“Why did you move over here without my okay?” Eric walked into the house with the rest of the group following.
Ashley sent the kids down the hallway to one of the rooms before she replied. “The house was done for the most part and is safer and warmer and cleaner. Wasn’t aware we needed your okay.”
“Well, yes. I began this and I run it.” Eric let it be known.
Atora cocked her head and turned away from him and went down the hall before she said something she may regret.
Eric walked through the house looking at the upgrades they had made. He nodded with acceptance. “I guess it is okay. Rue get the kids and all of the belongings and get
everything moved here. You will be taking the back room with your kids. Andrew, Nate, Willy, Alex and I will take turns staying out here in the living room to make sure that we hear anything that comes through the gate.” Eric instructed. “You girls can take one of the other room and
everyone set up to share the other rooms while we aren’t keeping watch.”
Ashley turned and walked away down the hallway to claim their room. Annoyed that Eric felt as though he was in charge of everyone.
The rest moved all of the rest of the things from the barn into the house. Rue was thankful that they had a better place to stay and felt much safer with the walls of the house surrounding them instead of an old barn.
Atora, Ashley and Karlin bunked together in a room, while Alex and Tyler made themselves a small dwelling across the hall from the girls to be able to share with the other guys, and then set up the last room in the front of the hallway with the blankets from the barn for others.
The rest of the men busted through the door with armfuls of things that could be used.
Nate handed Ashley flashlights and batteries and more candles they had collected as she walked back in the front room. Andrew dropped bags of food and drinks on the kitchen floor and Willy dropped the rolled up sleeping bags on the floor in the living room. Bryan followed in behind the group carrying a little bit of
everything, including some pots and pans that clanked as they fell from his arms.
“Who the hell are you?” Eric turned to the clatter.
“This is big ass black Bryan.” Nate joked. “He just jumped aboard as to not be eaten.”
Bryan placed the rest on the floor quietly and stuck out his hand. “Bryan Tann, great to make your
acquaintance.” He introduced himself.
Eric stared at his hand and turned back to the others.
“Get this shit picked up and let’s get settled.” Eric instructed walking out of the new front door Atora had fixed and repainted.
“Wow, what the hell is that guy’s prob?” Bryan questioned.
“He’s just a dick, don’t worry about it.” Nate stated. “He thinks he is God!”
The group began moving
everything to a new rightful place and settling in. They all settled in the front room drinking their first sodas in days. It felt good to talk to everyone and mingle like normal people.
“What the hell is going on?” Eric hollered at them all.
Rue stood up from the floor almost at attention, everyone else stayed sitting on the floor.
“We are having a conversation like normal people Eric, what is the problem with that?” Willy piped up and asked.
“The problem with that is that this world is not normal. It is full of zombies…” Eric started.
“Drunks.” Nate shot out from the floor.
Eric glared at him. “People that want to kill us and eat us and turn us into them. Your normalcy is now all work no play to keep each other alive. I will be assigning jobs and tomorrow we will be re fencing the grounds and making it safer to be here.” Eric continued. “Willy and Alex, I will need y’all to start re fencing the ground with the chain link we brought back. Nate, I need you to take the few seeds we gathered from the hardware store and start planting them asap, we don’t have much time before winter hits and we need to start growing. Andrew, you will be Alex and Willy’s gopher for rebuilding the fence. Ladies, I would like y’all to stay with the kids and get the house in order. I need a list of all the food we have and plan meals for all of us with what we have for at least the next couple of weeks or so.” He delegated work.
“What would you like me to help with sir?” Bryan requested a job.
“You can straighten up the barn and make it safer so we will be able to store things in it and go back out for more materials.” Eric instructed. “Everyone go to sleep and get some rest.”
The group didn’t move and
continued their conversations once he seemed to be done being the boss.
“No, move!” Eric shouted at them. “Nate, want to take on the first
watch?” He asked.
Nate nodded. The group rose from the floor and made their way to their areas that they had set up. Nate locked the door and walked around making sure the boards were strongly attached to the windows.
Nate blew out a few of the candles they had all lit and left one burning, he grabbed a rifle leaned up against the front door. He wandered through the kitchen to the back door to make sure that everything was secure and back to the front room. Nate peered out of the small holes that the ladies had left for lookout.
He walked down the hall and listened at each closed door. Ashley and Atora and Karlin were giggling. Alex and Tyler were talking about what they were going to do tomorrow and how they would spend some time together as soon as Alex had time.
He heard Rue tucking all of the kids in and saying their prayers with them. The door was cracked a bit and he turned his attention to inside the room. Rue had hung a sheet between where the children laid on the floor and where she had put her sleeping bag on the floor. She stepped behind the sheet and pulled off her white tshirt and shorts, she stood there in all of her beautiful nudity and searched through a bag. She stood and raised a shirt over her head and let it slip over her slim body. Nate shuttered in absolute amazement of her beauty and quickly turning away, feeling bad for seeing another woman nude instead of his late wife.
His wife had been taken by a zombie as she opened the door to their home to what she thought was
someone knocking. She had let out a scream as the man bit into his small wife’s face and was half way down her neck before Nate could get to her.
CHAPTER FIVE
ERIC RELIEVED Nate a few
hours later and sat near a window that looked upon the gate. He watched the undead walk past the quiet land. The sun finally showed through the small holes that were left open. It lit up the whole front room, kitchen and small breakfast nook.
Eric stretched and knocked on each door. “Let’s move!” Eric told them.
The group gathered weapons that they learned to never keep far away. The men followed Eric outside. He instructed them as he had the night before and checked to make sure everyone was in their rightful places. He went back to the house to check to make sure there was some kind of progress being made their.
“Anyone have a list of what we have yet?” He asked.
Rue handed him a list of food and goods that they had in the house. Ashley and Atora were fixing the broken walls that they had just patched up to make sure they were safe.
“Okay ladies, once done, I am going to need y’all to go help Nate get the garden going. Take the kids with you and get them all doing something, minus Rowena of course.” Eric explained.
Rue, Ashley and Atora all took a mental note and left out of the back door that Atora and Ashley had just
fixed.
“Does he think that he has to be in charge?” Atora asked.
“I have seen the shit he can do, I am telling y’all it is easier to just follow rules. He isn’t stupid, he does know what he is doing; he just doesn’t like to be disobeyed when he is trying to keep everyone safe.” Rue tried to explain in her soft voice. “The
consequences he goes through is pure punishment, he will take things that are vital in your life. His perspective is that if you are not going to help keep everyone safe, then you don’t deserve to have the things you want or need, like your children, food,
necessities, or even your life. He left Eve to die because she didn’t want to follow the rules. Please just do as he says and we will all make it fine.” She continued.
Atora and Ashley gazed at each other, not sure if they liked this new little set up.
“It is one thing to have a leader, it is another to have a ruler of the world even if it is not a very good one.” Ashley stated.
Atora nodded in agreement. The three made their way to the garden. “What ya got going Nate? What can we help with?” Rue asked.
“Actually, all that needs to be done is the actual planting, here are some seeds that need to go every few foot or so in the rows. Thanks ladies, love having the eye candy helping me instead of all the ugly ass men.” He laughed.
“So what is your story?” Willy asked Alex.
“Huh, not much to tell, I was married to a pretty awesome woman, we had a few kids after a couple of years of being married. I owned my own construction company. A zombie got to my wife and the rest of my kids. I tried to save everyone, but all I was able to get to was Tyler.” He explained.
“Construction was a good field to be in.” Willy stated. “I delivered daily to construction sites, they were always crazy busy.”
“What’s your story?” Alex asked.
“I had worked for Lowe’s since I was sixteen, I was with the same man since I was eighteen and they got him right before I met up with the rest of everyone and Eric led us here.” Willy stated.
