by Brian Grenda
Amber replies, “Your guns. Don’t make me laugh. They are mine. Everything in this house is mine.”
Matt shouts, “You already took everything from Phil.”
Amber replies, “He deserved it.”
Shaun looks at Amber and says, “You are terrible. Phil loved you. How could you be so cold hearted?”
“Phil is a great guy, but I didn’t need him anymore. I fell out of love with him,” says Amber.
Amber steps towards Shaun. Shaun gets nervous and points his shotgun at Amber now. The man who Shaun had previously pointed his shotgun at sees an opportunity and tries to take Shaun out.
Shaun and the man are fighting. The man pushes Shaun up against the wall.
Matt nervously fires his shotgun, which blows a huge hole through the man’s back and stomach. Blood and guts go flying all over the bedroom, Amber, and the back of the man who was fighting with Shaun.
Amber screams as she looks at herself covered in blood and guts. The man who was fighting with Shaun looks at Amber. He lets his guard down and Shaun capitalizes on it. Shaun smacks the man in the face with his shotgun and the man falls to the floor.
Matt points his shotgun at Amber, while Shaun points his at the man on the floor.
Amber is still in shock that she is still covered in blood and guts. She doesn’t see that Matt is pointing the shotgun at her.
Matt runs over to Amber and pushes her to the ground.
“Get on the ground Amber before I shoot you,” shouts Matt.
Amber kneels on the ground next to the man that Shaun hit with his shotgun.
Shaun finds a couple of dress belts on the floor. Shaun picks up the belts and they tie Amber and the other man’s wrist and ankles together. Shaun and Matt check out the room and feel that they are safe.
Amber and the other man are now neutralized. Shaun walks over to the man who Matt shot in the back and drags him into the bathroom.
Matt asks, “What are you doing with that guy?”
Shaun replies, “I don’t want to look at that guy while I’m opening the safe.”
Shaun attempts to open the gun safe. He remembers the combination as Phil told it to him a couple of months ago.
As Shaun tries to open the safe, Matt keeps an eye on Amber and the two men who were with her.
Shaun is about to put the last number in the combination, when a moan comes from the bathroom. Shaun stops working on the safe and looks at the bathroom. Matt turns around, and hears the bathroom door open. The man that Matt shot in the stomach is now a zombie. The zombie is walking towards Matt. Matt can’t believe that the man is alive. The zombie tries to attack Matt, but Matt jumps out of the way.
The zombie dives forward towards Matt, but falls to the floor. He starts to crawl towards Amber and the man who is lying on the floor.
The man and Amber start to scream as the zombie makes his way towards them.
Shaun and Matt can’t believe what they are seeing. The man has a huge hole in his stomach and is bleeding all over the carpet, but somehow, he still seems to be alive.
Matt sees that the zombie is very close to biting the man next to Amber. Matt is about to help the man, when Shaun grabs Matt’s right arm.
“Let him bite them,” says Shaun.
Matt looks at Shaun with a shocked expression.
“You sure bro?” asks Matt.
“Yeah. Amber is terrible and deserves this,” says Shaun.
Matt lets the zombie bite into the man’s left arm.
The man screams in pain.
Amber screams in fear.
Amber pleads with Shaun, “Please help me. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Shaun laughs and puts the final combination number in the safe. The safe unlocks and reveals several guns and ammunition.
The zombie keeps gnawing at the man’s arms. Amber continues to plead with Shaun and Matt. Matt shows signs that he feels bad and wants to help her, but then he remembers just how truly awful of a person Amber really is.
Shaun grabs two handguns, 3 boxes of ammo, his rifle, an AR-15 assault rifle, and a compound bow with 5 arrows.
The zombie takes one last bite into the man’s stomach and then sets his sights on Amber now. Shaun and Matt gather up the weapons and ammo. As they are about to exit the room, Shaun decides if he should help Amber or not.
Matt and Shaun watch as the zombie is done biting the man and makes his way over to Amber. She feels that the zombie is close and screams in terror.
Amber pleads with Shaun and Matt, “Please help me. I’m so sorry about all this and what I did to Phil.”
Shaun shouts, “I don’t believe you. You only want us to save you. That’s what you do Amber. You use people.”
Shaun takes out his handgun and points it at Amber. Matt sees Shaun point his handgun at Amber and gets nervous about what Shaun might do. Shaun sees that the zombie is about to bite Amber.
Amber screams, “Shaun please help me.”
Shaun points the gun at the zombie. Just as he sees the zombie take a nice bite into Ambers right triceps muscle, he takes the shot.
Boom!
The zombie falls onto Amber.
Amber screams in pain from the zombie bite. She starts to cry, and she knows that she will turn into a zombie now.
Shaun and Matt come from around the other side of the room and walk towards Amber. They step over Amber and the two men lying on the floor.
Matt walks through the doorway followed by Shaun.
Shaun looks back at Amber and says, “I’m truly sorry that it had to happen this way Amber, but you know that you deserved this.”
Amber screams, “Get the hell away from me. You did nothing to help me. I hate you and Phil.”
Shaun and Matt walk down the stairs and exit Phil’s house. They are carrying the items from Phil’s gun safe. Matt and Shaun walk towards Matt’s car and load up Matt’s trunk.
They load up the car and get into the vehicle. Matt starts up the engine and tries to make sense of all that just happened.
Shaun grabs Matt by the shoulder and says, “We should be pretty set now on weapons.”
As they are about to pull away from Phil’s house, Shaun looks at the house and shakes his head. “I guess Karma really is a bitch!”
CHAPTER 2
PARENTAL CONTROL
The streets are clear and without any problems or danger. Matt and Shaun are driving down the back roads of North Carolina. Shaun is letting Matt decide on the route they should take and where to go next. Matt isn’t sure whether they should stay out after all that has just happened and check on his parents’ house, or if they should go back home to Shaun’s house where Lisa and Kylie are waiting for them.
“What do you think we should do next? Check on the girls or my parents?” asks Matt.
Matt is worried about what they might find when checking on his parents, and whether they will even be still alive.
“I think we need to get back home to check on the girls first, and then we can go back later to check on my parents,” says Matt.
Shaun replies, “I agree. Let’s go back to my house, unload, and get a game plan for our next trip out.”
The sun is out in full force, and it looks to be about the middle of the day now. Actually, all things considered, it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day in North Carolina.
Matt pulls up to Shaun’s house. Kylie comes out the front door when she sees Matt park his car. She has been impatiently waiting for them to return.
Shaun and Matt exit the car and start to get the supplies out of the trunk. Kylie gives Matt a big hug and kiss. She seems to be in better spirits since Matt and Shaun left.
Matt hugs Kylie and can tell that she is drunk. Shaun brings the weapons that they got from Phil’s safe inside the house.
Matt looks at Kylie and says, “Hey, how are you doing sweetie?”
Kylie replies with slightly slurred speech, “I feel great. I’m just glad to see you and that you are safe. I love you.”
“I love you too,” replies Matt.
Matt grabs his shotgun and the compound bow out of the trunk. Kylie slams the trunk closed with too much force. Matt looks at Kylie with an angry look.
Kylie says, “I’m sorry. I closed it too hard again.”
“Just be careful next time and don’t slam it down,” says Matt.
Kylie playfully smacks Matt’s butt and they both walk inside Shaun’s house.
Shaun is upstairs washing the blood and guts off his hands and face that remained from the altercation at Phil’s house. He notices a blood splatter on his right shoulder and he takes his shirt off. He checks his body for any bruising or marks and seems to be okay after the fight.
Matt puts the weapons into the living room next to the pile that Shaun made when he previously entered the house.
Shaun walks down the stairs and finds everyone in the living room.
Shaun looks at Matt and asks, “You ready to go check on your parents?”
Matt hesitantly replies, “Yeah. I’m ready.”
Kylie shouts, “I’m going too.”
Everyone sees that Kylie is highly intoxicated and in no shape to make a trip outside of the house.
Lisa says, “We are going to stay here again sweetie, while the boys check on Matt’s parents.”
Kylie seems to be on that fine line of a happy drunk just waiting for any slight altercation to push her over to being an argumentative one.
Shaun hands Lisa a handgun and says, “Here you go babe. Just want you asked for.”
Lisa takes the gun and jokes, “Thank you Santa.”
Shaun takes the AR-15 assault rife with him and puts the shotgun in the closet. Matt picks up his shotgun and places the compound bow in the corner by the front door.
Shaun takes Lisa into the dining room and says, “Good job calming Kylie down. Almost too good of a job.”
Lisa replies, “I wanted to calm her down. The next thing I know, she finished a whole bottle of wine.”
Lisa continues, “Everything was okay here when you were gone though.”
Shaun replies, “Man, she pounded that bottle of wine! I’m glad you are safe. Thank you for taking care of Kylie and the house.”
Lisa replies smiling, “She is a fun drunk, most of the time.”
Shaun and Matt leave the house and walk over to Matt’s car again.
“I guess I’m driving once again?” asks Matt.
“How much gas you got?” asks Shaun.
“About three quarters of a tank,” says Matt.
“Half a tank. Heck yeah, you are driving. But we need to stop and get gas for my car eventually,” replies Shaun.
Shaun and Matt get in Matt’s car.
Shaun looks at Matt and asks, “Your parents’ house first, then Ryan’s?”
Matt replies, “Yeah. Ryan’s dad’s house is on the way back to your house anyway.”
Matt starts up the engine and hits the gas pedal. He flies down the street. Shaun’s back road neighborhood seems to be clear of any debris, zombies, people, or any other potential problems.
As Matt and Shaun are driving along, Shaun can’t help but to think about what happened earlier at Phil’s house.
“I can’t believe that you blew a huge hole through that guys back and stomach!” says Shaun.
“Me either! Amber scared me and my finger was on the trigger of the shotgun, and it just went off,” replies Matt.
“What has me confused is that you killed that guy, and I dragged his body into the bathroom, but he still came back out as a zombie,” says Shaun.
“Yeah. That is super weird,” says Matt.
Shaun looks out the window of the car as Matt drives into his parents’ neighborhood. He just can’t seem to wrap his head around the fact that a man was killed, yet still came back as a zombie.
“How the hell did that guy come back a zombie? Was he bit? Scratched? Are we all just infected?” shouts Shaun.
Matt pulls up to his parents’ house and parks his car in the street right next to the mailbox at the end of the driveway.
Matt looks at Shaun and says, “I don’t know man. It just doesn’t make sense on how that the guy came back to life after I blew a huge hole in his gut. No way can you survive that.”
Matt takes a quick look through his mirrors and windshield. He is looking for any zombies or danger around his parents’ house, before they leave the safety of his car.
Deciding the coast is clear, both Shaun and Matt exit the car. They softly close the car doors shut behind them, and start to make their way towards the house.
As Matt and Shaun are quickly approaching the house, the front door swings open. A man comes out and points a rifle straight at both Matt and Shaun.
Matt and Shaun both instinctively raise their hands above over their heads in a sign of peace and stare at the man.
“You two just stop right there!” shouts the man.
Matt looks at the man and shouts, “Dad. It’s me. Matt.”
The man lowers the gun and says, “Oh my god. I’m so sorry son. The neighborhood has been completely crazy right now, and I needed to be sure that you weren’t robbers or people that would hurt us.”
“Hey Mr. S,” says Shaun.
“Hey Shaun. How are ya?” replies Matt’s father.
Shaun replies, “Better now that you lowered that rifle.”
Matt, Shaun, and Matt’s father all share a quick embrace and then go inside the house. Matt is met by his mother as he walks into the kitchen. She gives him a big hug and is overjoyed to see him.
She sees Shaun come in and then hugs Shaun as well.
“I’m so glad to see you guys,” says Matt’s mother.
Matt’s parents’ names are Michael and Ann. They are good people with big hearts. Their kids and their kids’ friends and family mean everything to them, and there is nothing they wouldn’t do for any of them.
Matt and Shaun see that Michael and Ann are doing well, but Michael seems to be scared and nervous. The windows by the front door are partially boarded up and Michael won’t stop looking at them.
Matt looks at his mom and asks, “How are you two holding up? Any problems around here?”
Michael interrupts and says, “The neighborhood isn’t safe. We need to get out of here.”
“Where are we going to go Michael?” asks Ann.
“I don’t know, but we definitely can’t stay here. We don’t have much food left, and the neighborhood is getting worse by the second,” says Michael as he looks towards the windows by the front door again.
Matt can clearly see that his father doesn’t feel safe in his own house anymore and that bothers him. He wants his family to always feel and be safe no matter what the costs.
“What if we went down to Florida to be with Nicole and Derrick?” asks Matt.
Michael looks away from the window and says, “I don’t know. That’s a far drive and how do we know it’s any safer there than here.”
Matt replies, “We don’t, but Shaun and I will be driving down to Florida to be with Nicole very soon, and I want you to come with us.”
Ann replies, “I like that idea. Nicole could use our help.”
“That drive would take about nine hours, plus the roads could be dangerous,” says Michael.
As Michael looks out the window, he sees four zombies walk down the middle of the street.
“See. These damn zombies are everywhere. We aren’t safe here,” shouts Michael.
Shaun and Matt run to the windows and see the zombies walking down the street. The zombies aren’t a threat to Michael’s house right now, for they seem to be attracted to loud noises currently coming from one of Matt’s parents’ neighbors’ houses located down the street.
Shaun looks at Matt and says, “What do you want to do next? Your parents seem to be safe for right now, and we still need to check on Ryan’s dad.”
Matt replies, “Let me say one more thing to my parents and then we can go check on Bobby G.”
Mat
t calls his parents into the kitchen and wants to talk to them. Matt, Michael, and Ann stand in the kitchen while Shaun remains the lookout by the front windows.
“Dad, you don’t feel safe here, so we need to either leave this place or do something to make you feel safe here now,” says Matt.
Michael looks at Ann and says, “I just want to be safe and protected. We have limited food here and the neighborhood is getting worse every day.”
Ann replies, “I want to be safe also, but like the idea of us going to Florida though.”
Matt replies, “The plan is to meet up with Nicole, Ryan and Phil in Florida. Ryan lives in Tampa and hopefully has checked on Nicole already.”
Ann replies, “Oh, how nice to hear. How is Ryan doing?”
Matt replies, “Pretty good. Ryan and Lauren are doing well in Tampa.”
Matt continues, “Shaun and I have to check on Ryan’s dad. He lives pretty close to here, and we need to make sure he is doing okay as well.”
Michael starts pacing in the kitchen and doesn’t know what to do. He feels a sense of helplessness and anxiousness.
Matt sees that his father is anxious and wants to calm him down.
Matt grabs his father by the shoulder and says, “Let’s get you out of here and down to Florida. We will all travel together, and it will be safer if we all stick together.”
Michael looks Matt in the eyes and says, “I agree. I don’t want to stay here and want to stick together.”
Matt replies, “Great, let’s plan to leave in a day or two. We need to check on Ryan’s dad, pack up, and get everything situated at Shaun’s house first.”
Shaun walks into the kitchen and gets Matt’s attention.
“You need to see this,” says Shaun.
Matt and Shaun walk to the front windows and see a big herd of zombies walking down the street. Something in the neighborhood must be attracting zombies as more and more zombies keep coming down the street.
Matt sees the zombies and immediately feels a sense that he needs to check on Ryan’s dad, Bobby G. He feels that his parents are safe for right now if they just stay in the house. They have a plan to move forward, and he is feeling confident everything will be okay.
Matt goes into the kitchen and says, “Mom. Dad. I love you. If you stay inside and don’t attract any attention, you should be just fine. Shaun and I will be back in a day or two.”
