Dead: Snapshot 01: Portland, Oregon

by T. W. Brown

  It was a long and straight stretch of road, so when he looked up in the direction that the two vehicles had gone, he easily spotted them…sort of. The Jeep had crashed into the one place that could cause the most damage. Jason made out what was obviously a power transfer station. Smoke was already rising and he could see intermittent sparks and flashes of blue.

  The Hummer had stopped on the road and Jason watched as two figures emerged. One of them tried to rush in to where the Jeep had crashed, but the other person held him or her back. Already, several of the undead had turned and were heading in that direction.

  Not wanting to catch the attention of the several zombies—possibly numbering in the hundreds—that were to his right and now all seemed to be coming in his general direction, Jason ducked back through the hedge and hurried to the truck.

  “What’s wrong?’ Juanita asked as he climbed inside.

  “They hit the power transfer station up the road.” As if to emphasize his point two more small explosions sounded. “Those are probably transformers blowing.”

  “So how much longer do we wait? Are we in danger?”

  “No,” Jason said with a shake of his head. “It just means that this place is off the grid sooner. I imagine we will see total power failure before long no matter where you live. As for waiting, I say we give him five more minutes. If he doesn’t show up, I will at least go up and take a look. I haven’t heard any gunshots. I am pretty sure that Ken would go down swinging. At the least, if he thought that he was done for, he’d eat a bullet.”

  The two sat in silence. A lone zombie stumbled from around the corner of one of the buildings that radiated off from the central hub. It looked like a woman with long, black hair. She was wearing white, so the damage done to her seemed even more vivid. The zombie was headed for the direction of the accident, and Jason got an idea as he watched it stumble along, apparently clueless that he and Juanita were little more than twenty or thirty feet away.

  Once the zombie had passed them and made its way through the shrub, which actually took a few minutes as the creature struggled in its awkward manner to navigate the hedge, eventually falling through. The moment that the zombie vanished, and before it could regain its feet, Jason hopped out of the truck. As they had watched, he explained his idea to Juanita. Now it was time to test it.

  Fortunately, there was plenty of debris littering the lot and he snatched up a pop can. Filling it partway with some dirt took a few seconds, and by the time he scurried to the hedge and peered through, the thing was a good twenty or so feet away and trudging for the scene of the accident. He also noticed that the Hummer was gone. With a high, arcing throw, Jason lobbed the can across the street, scoring a direct hit on a car that was sitting with its doors open.

  The zombie paused, and when Jason looked around, he saw several others do the exact same thing. They re-oriented on this latest stimulus and began heading in the general direction of where his can had landed. He was watching as the first zombie actually reached that area and then kept walking until it was forced to stop and change directions due to a fence at the end of the mini-mart’s parking lot.

  He was already churning with ideas on how he could use this to their advantage. He had, at least in a preliminary way, confirmed that the zombie reacted to sound. Just as he backed out of the shrub to return to the truck, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

  Jason screamed.

  ***

  Jason spun and Ken had to duck to avoid being decked. He cursed himself for his continued carelessness. He of all people should know better than to sneak up on folks. He was just lucky Jason wasn’t holding a machete or, even worse, a gun.

  “You scared the crap out of me,” Jason snapped, his hand going to his chest for just a second as if to quell a heart attack.

  “Sorry,” Ken blurted and hiked his thumb over his shoulder. “Time to go.”

  “Who’s that?” Jason asked as they started back for the truck at a jog.

  “My mom.” Ken struggled with the next part of his statement. “She’s been scratched by one of those things, so she is my responsibility, but I am bringing her with us.”

  Jason simply nodded. Ken had been ready for some sort of argument and simply found himself open-mouthed as he got in the truck and started it up. Introductions were made hastily, and Ken went to help his mother buckle in, but she slapped his hand and told him that she was elderly, not an invalid.

  As he pulled out, he noticed that Jason had rolled down his window and stuck his head out. He seemed to be looking for something. Ken checked all his mirrors, but he did not see anything.

  “You lose something?” Ken asked as they pulled out onto the road.

  “No.” Jason called over his shoulder as the truck turned and began its journey towards the highway.

  Ken waited a few minutes, but it became clear that the guy wasn’t going to fill him in. “So what are you looking for?”

  “The zombies react very specifically to sound,” Jason replied as he slid back down into his seat.

  “What do you mean?”

  Jason went on to explain what he’d seen with his little experiment. Ken listened to it and actually found himself impressed with the ideas that Jason proposed. It would mean a bit more work, but it wasn’t like he had any plans.

  13

  Tough Choices

  “What the hell!” Jason snarled as Ken brought the truck to a stop. From their vantage point, they could see the house. Smoke was pouring from all the windows and flames were visible, coming up through the roof.

  “You think Erin’s people did this?” Juanita asked.

  There was a moment of silence as both men glared at the seemingly senseless destruction to the house that they were going to make into their own little fortified outpost. Jason shot a questioning glance at Ken who paused only briefly before giving a curt shake of his head.

  “No,” Jason admitted. “We might not have parted ways on the best of terms, but she doesn’t strike me as the sort to do this.”

  Ken rolled down his window and they both heard it at the same time. Jason knew that sound well. One of the things that he loved doing in the form of recreation was to go ATV-ing. He had a Quad Runner back in the day that he’d scored from a guy who owed him money.

  “Really?” Jason sighed. “Has it already spiraled to this point? We got random people out setting fires and looting?”

  “Says the guy in the truck full of stuff that we heisted from Home Depot,” Ken snorted.

  Jason glanced at the man and saw the slightest quirk in the corner of his mouth. He guessed that was supposed to pass as a joke. Well, it was pretty lame, but at least the guy had some sense of humor.

  “So what do we do?” Jason sat back; the house was burning to the point that they would be unlikely to put it out.

  “That barn is pretty big. It might not be loaded with creature comforts, but it is something.” Ken pointed to the huge building well away from the house where they had thankfully stashed the guns and ammo. It looked undisturbed and was far enough back to most likely remain safe from the conflagration.

  They pulled up to the gate and Jason got out. They’d been smart enough back at Home Depot to put the chain and locks on the top of everything that they’d loaded into the back of the truck. He grabbed the chain and locks out and then, after the truck drove through, he secured the heavy metal gate.

  They drove up to the barn and everybody climbed out. Jason watched Mary Simpson, he’d seen the nasty scratch on her arm and actually felt sorry for Ken. The man would more than likely have to put his own mother down after watching her die and turn. Maybe he would talk to the man later and make the offer. He had no doubt that it would be refused, but at least he would feel good about having asked. Still, he was also very aware that those dark tracers in the eyes were a definite indicator that the person was infected. Mary Simpson had no such symptom. Her eyes were just as white and normal as anybody’s.

  They unloaded everything, and right away, h
e and Ken grabbed some of the supplies and headed to the breach in the fence. They had to stop a few times in order to take down the occasional zombie, but for Jason, it was sort of like the old days. He felt comfortable with tools in his hands.

  By the time that the sun was starting to disappear behind the trees, they had repaired the breach and gotten a good start on the solid planking that would shore up the front of the property. Jason had no doubt that they would have to go out several more times if they intended to shore up the entire property, but for now, the priority was the part that was bordered by the road.

  That night, they came to a new realization. The food had been inside the house. Fortunately, the water was still on, so they had plenty to drink, but a chorus of growls from all four stomachs made it clear that they would need to remedy the food situation first thing in the morning.

  Juanita had insisted on taking the first watch, and when she woke Jason for his turn, he was thankful for the little sleep he’d gotten. As he patrolled the area, he was very cognizant of the fact that they could not maintain this pace much longer. This was made even more apparent during one moment when he was walking along the fence line for an undetermined amount of time without realizing that a zombie was moving along beside him, occasionally taking a swipe over the fence. When they reached the area that was still only barbed wire, the zombie had lunged and fallen partway over. Of course Jason had ended it quickly, but he also went to the pump and splashed some water on his face, doing so each time he passed by for the duration of his watch.

  The other thing that he noticed was the quiet. Sure, there was the occasional moan, groan, or cry, but that was basically it. He only heard one gunshot. That could mean a number of things. One of them could be that people realized that shooting a gun was like ringing a dinner bell. It brought more zombies from all over.

  He was just about ready to wake up Ken for his watch when a sound behind him in the grass made him freeze. Turning with his weapon drawn, it took him a few seconds to make out the dark figure, but there was no mistaking once it moved and the little bit of moonlight there was shone on the white fur.

  “Hey, Imp!” Jason whispered.

  The dog scurried to him, head down, but tail wagging furiously. Kneeling, Jason gave the dog a scratch behind the ears and actually felt something in him that seemed to melt as he accepted the gentle nudges and even a few swipes of the tongue by the black and white Border Collie.

  “Where have you been, boy?” Jason whispered, removing his gloves and running his hands over the dog just to be sure there were no injuries. “Well, let’s get you back inside with the people.”

  The dog followed, taking time to sniff and hike his leg every so often. When they passed the house, the dog gave it a wide berth and even made a low rumble in his chest. Jason cataloged the response, recalling how the dog showed such hatred for the undead.

  After waking Ken and making sure that he was aware of Imp’s return, Jason found a spot to lie down. He could not keep the smile from his lips as the dog made a tight circle and then flopped to the ground, rolling into him and exhaling with a loud huff. Jason fell asleep running his hands down the side of the Border Collie that actually fell asleep first and began to snore softly.

  ***

  Ken watched the sun rise on the horizon. He cast a wary eye skyward and took in the clouds that were already rolling in. Without the local news, he had no idea how bad the storm would be, but he had no doubt that rain was on the way.

  His mind wandered a bit as he considered the reappearance of the black and white dog that had belonged to Rose. That had made him wonder where the Golden Retriever had wandered off to in all this madness. Had the dog suffered some terrible fate? He was surprised at the fact that he seemed to actually care.

  By the time that everybody else was awake, Ken had scoured the property, his eyes peeled the entire time, looking for any sign of the dog. When Jason woke and then suggested that he and Juanita make a food run, Ken took a few moments to realize that the man was intentionally making arrangements so that he and his mother were alone together.

  Ken checked his mother, surprised to discover that there was still no sign of the tracers in her eyes. He handed his keys over to Jason and told the man to perhaps see if he might find some sort of walkie-talkie as well as a generator.

  “Anything else you would like me to see if I just happen to find?” the man said with just a hint of sarcasm.

  Ken felt a stinging retort on his lips, but he saw the man’s point. This was a food run. He was going out with Juanita, and while it might not have been a popular thing to say in the overly politically correct society that was gasping in its death throes at the moment, women and men were different. He and Jason would be a more formidable team out in that insanity than would Jason and Juanita.

  Ken watched as the truck rumbled to the gate. He waited until Jason had locked it and driven away before heading back to the barn where his mother waited. He felt a sense of dread every single time he turned his attention to her. He knew in his gut that it was just a matter of time before those black tracers showed themselves in her eyes.

  He shoved away the feelings of guilt and shame that threatened to overwhelm him. He’d actually considered just going inside and doing her in while she slept. He seriously did not know if he had the ability to watch another person that he loved as they were devoured from within by a horrific sickness that would leave them as little more than a shell of what they had once been.

  “Kenny!” Mary Simpson’s voice cut through his morose thoughts and he took off for the barn at a sprint.

  Bursting in, he found his mother seated on a large bale of hay. She was stroking a Golden Retriever that gave him only a quick glance before returning its attention to the woman who was ruffling the fur around the neck and giving scratches behind the ears.

  “Hey, ma,” Ken said through a few deep gasps that were reminders as to just how out of shape he’d allowed himself to become.

  “I thought we had a black and white dog,” the woman said with a look of confusion on her face.

  ***

  “We go in and out. I will have the truck backed up as close as possible. You stay by my side and push the cart. I trust you to grab all the right food. I will have my gun out and be watching our back,” Jason explained as they pulled into the parking lot of the Safeway grocery store.

  “No problem.” Juanita checked her own pistol and shoved it behind her back as she climbed out of the truck.

  Walking inside, it was obvious that this place had already been hit pretty hard. Even worse, the smell of death mixed with the stench of undeath. A few shadows moved around in the gloom. Since the power was still on in the area, Jason had to figure that somebody had shut this place down, only a few of the security lights were actually on. Maybe it was a manager trying to save the store, or maybe people who did not want to be revealed by the brightness of the overhead fluorescents had found the switches and shut everything off at some point.

  The first zombie that they took down was an older woman with her gray hair still managing to be held back in a tight bun that gave her eyes a slight upturn. She was wearing the tattered remains of an evening gown and Jason had to guess that she had probably not seen the inside of a grocery store in a while. This was the kind of woman that had people do the shopping for her. He was surprised when he allowed himself a little chuckle as he pulled his machete free from the woman’s head.

  “Care to let me in on the joke?” Juanita asked.

  “Just thinking about a few things,” Jason said with a lilt of humor lacing his words. “Just the fact that this is that great equalizer people have been screaming for these past few years. I wonder if anybody is gonna survive long enough to enjoy it.”

  “Okay.” Juanita sort of let that word draw out a bit. “So tell me again which part of that was supposed to be funny?”

  Jason shot her a look as they grabbed a cart and headed down the closest aisle. “Not sayin’ that it was funny
in a stand-up comedy sort of way, more that it is just a really big case of being careful what you wish for. It was like how people were always saying things like how they were having the worst day, and could it get any worse. I always thought that the answer to that question was a big fat yes. Looks like I was correct.”

  “Good for you.” Juanita gave a shake of her head as she grabbed some of the scattered and meager remains that were on the shelves, or, in some cases, the floor.

  Jason kept looking over their shoulders, and every so often, he would jog ahead to the end of the aisle to take out whatever might be waiting or heading their direction.

  They were down to the last aisle and barely had three-quarters of a cart when Jason held up his hand to get Juanita to freeze. She heard it as soon as she stopped; it was the sound of soft whimpering. Jason held up a hand and crept the last few yards to investigate.

  He’d already encountered zombies that could mimic the sound of a baby’s cry. That had creeped him out to no end. He had no reason to doubt that this could be just another trick or ploy.

  Peering around the endcap display that was nothing more than empty shelving with one broken jar of ready-made pasta sauce that had already begun to attract flies, Jason readied himself for anything. What he found made his heart hurt.

  Sitting on the floor was a child no older than four. How the child had survived up to this point was a miracle. While the place had not been crawling with the undead—he’d only had to put down three—they had none the less been present here in the store. Unfortunately, the child had not managed to escape unscathed. The child was holding his left arm to his chest, and even in the gloom, Jason could see the dark smears of blood.

  “Dammit,” he hissed. This had caused the child to look up and cry out, scooting away as fast as it could.