by Ann Riley
I tell Marc that they are either marauders trying to steal from people or they are lawfully out here for a reason.
Marc yells back, “We are going to help some people get their home fortified against the zombies. What are y’all doing out here?
“Well, that’s none of your business what we are doing out here son.” The man replies.
“Well, that answers that question.” I tell Marc.
We get our rifles ready while Marc is talking to the ass hat.
Marc tells him, “Look, we just want to pass through so we can help some people.”
“Well, y’all have to pay.” Ass hat replies.
“I don’t see any toll booth here.” Marc tells him.
“I am the toll booth.” Ass hat replies.
“Trey, slide through the back window. Bobby, you got a good shot from there?” Marc tells them.
Bobby replies that he does and Trey gets through the back.
“I’m going to ask one time; can we pass through without any shit going down?” Marc asks Ass hat.
Ass hat just laughs.
“I take that as a no.” I tell Marc.
Is there not enough to worry about in the world today without having to deal with a bunch of idiots who are too stupid and lazy to get their own stuff?
Marc tells Bobby to take a tire shot at the car on the right, and Trey is to take out the radiator on the one in front. Diane slides up in the front to drive while I stay standing in the door to take out anyone on the left aiming at us.
We all tell him we are ready.
Ass hat yells at us to exit the car.
At the same time, we take a shot at our targets. We hear men yell out that we are shooting at them.
“You don’t say.” I yell out.
Diane drives down into the median so we can get around them. Marc takes a shot at ass hat and nails him in the knee. That has to hurt. Ass hat starts screaming that he is going to kill us and feed us to the walkers. As we continue down the median, zombies are slowly making their way towards us and our lovely hosts.
I hear ass hat yell out, “How are we supposed to get away from them?”
“Should have thought about that before you tried to act like an ass and steal.” Marc tells him.
This should be interesting. The zombies make it over to ass hat’s truck and, wouldn’t you know, presses his face to the window to see ass hat in there. Still not sure of the zombie and window fascination, but I will find out. They can’t stay in their cars forever. It’s too hot for one thing and they will have to open the windows at some point.
We continue our trek to Waterloo. I hope we can get there in one piece and without any more ass hats in our way.
Chapter 2
We make it to Waterloo. The house is easy to find. And wouldn’t you know, it is still surrounded by our newest guests.
At this point we need to come up with a plan to get them away so we can start taking them out. There are too many for us to start firing into them. We are looking at 200 or more zombies milling around and they look as though they are here to stay. So I tell Marc and Bobby we need to decide how to do this.
“I think we need to have Trey get to the Pioneer and try to lead some of them away. Let’s try that first and go from there.” Marc says.
“Come on red headed boy.” I tell Trey.
He just looks at me. Well, he is red headed. I could have called him Red Freckle. I love that boy.
So we look around and find the Pioneer, in a small garage. Much to our chagrin, it has an audience of admirers.
“Well, hell.” I tell everyone.
Bobby, Marc and I line up and take aim to clear out zombies from the Honda Pioneer. Diane is in the truck ready to drive if needed. Trey is waiting on us. Impatiently I might add.
We start firing. There are about 11 stumbling around the Pioneer. We take those out fairly easy and Trey makes a run for it. He gets in and yells, “No key.”
“Jump out and look around for it. You are in a garage; it has to be there somewhere.” I tell Trey.
He does. I really wouldn’t want him looking around in my garage. He is upending everything in there.
Trey finds the key, thank the Gods, and gets back in to start it. He rolls out of the garage and floors it.
“Really, Trey? The zombies aren’t marathon sprinters you know. They can’t move at the speed of light. Slow your ass down boy.” I tell Trey.
“That child is exactly like you.” I tell Marc.
So now we are watching Trey act an ass on the pioneer. I think he has forgotten his task at hand. If I could get my hands on him, I would pull his ear off.
Marc yells at him and he instantly straightens up and does what he is supposed to be doing. Really?
Trey gets a little closer to the crowd and notices he has a few followers. He makes a circle back around and has a few more. So he continues making a pass by at the crowd until he looks like a Rock star with a group of adoring followers trying to get an autograph.
Marc throws his arm up and points to the area for Trey to lead them to. So now we have enough room to start firing. We start our shots. Damn I need my 50 caliber about right now. I could mow them down faster. We continue firing until we have dropped zombies everywhere. We have a few crawlers, a few coming back in from Trey’s fans and a few coming from inside the house.
The only way to kill a zombie is to destroy the brain. And it’s hard to do that when you are in a whole herd of them. Or is it pack? Or maybe a mess? Are zombies really dead? How do we know? People are often reported clinically dead only to be revived later. If it is moving, if it reacts to stimuli, a food source or sounds, and if metabolic processes are in play, how can we call a zombie dead? Can we call them undead? Undead means that an entity which was once alive in the full meaning of that word, then dies, and was re-animated. Zombies are not brought back from the dead. They are technically dead.
Sorry, I got off track.
So, we continue to take out as many as possible. Each shot the zombies hear bring them back from where Trey took them to. So we have them to deal with now. We continue to fire until all the new arrivals have been taken out.
Finally, we have taken them all out. Trey comes rolling back up on the Pioneer. Diane gets out of the truck and brings some food and water out. Marc goes over to the storm shelter and bangs on the door. We hear some commotion in there, then the door pops open ever so slightly. A man peeps out and Marc tells him they can come out now. I think he’s unbelieving as he stands there staring for a moment before he comes out and has everyone come out.
We introduce ourselves and let them know we have food and water if they need it.
The man comes out and says, “I am Todd. This is my family. My wife, Kate, my son Jackson, and my daughter Kaylie. I want to thank you for helping us.”
Everyone seems to be in good condition. Diane checks them over for injuries and finds none. Marc enters the home with Todd and looks around to make sure all the zombies are out. The house is still in great shape with no damage inside. Todd leads Marc to the larger garage and shows him the supplies they will use to fix the doors and windows. We get started on that.
Pretty soon we have the windows boarded and Marc has reinforced the inside of the doors with a piece of sheet metal that was found in the garage. Diane and I help Kate clean up and get the zombie stench out. The zombies have a stench like…… well, imagine someone walking around eating raw meat all day, then urinating on themselves, and finally having bowel movements in their clothes all day every day. Now magnify that time twenty and throw in some rotten meat and maggots. That’s what they smell like. Not a nice smell. It gets in your nose and it feels like if you open your mouth you will be eating the stench. Yeah, disgusting, I know. But true, nonetheless.
We tell them what they need to do to stay safe, such as fencing, firearms, and being careful on who to trust. Diane tells them about her gardening and makes suggestions of where to go and find seeds for planting and when to plant t
hem. They do have some food stocks in the pantry and plenty of water. They also have a couple of vehicles for use when they need to go on supply runs. Todd was also in the military and has a shitload of weapons. From military rifles to Ka bar knives. But of course, no 50 cal in sight. So we stay all night so we can get everything together and make sure Todd and his family are ready for the new world.
The next morning, Marc gives them our address and lets them know we will help when we can if needed. Trey and Bobby load up the Pioneer as our payment as Marc and I load the weapons. Two 2 M4 Carbines, an M224 60mm Mortar, 4 serrated blade Ka bars, and holy hell, a Ka bar Kukri machete that I claimed. Bobby shakes his head at me.
“What?” I ask him.
“Nothing.” He says, smiling.
Look, I have gone from a fascination with electronics such as cell phones, ereaders, computers, Apple and Roku TV to a fascination with weapons. A girl has to have a hobby. And since we have no electricity now, my aforesaid hobbies are of no use to me anymore. So I changed my hobby.
Chapter 3
We get everything loaded and are headed back home. We have been gone two days, so we are all anxious to get back. We take our seats back in the truck and get started. I tell Marc if he wants me to drive, let me know. He just looks at me like that would be the last thing he would ever ask me to do.
We make it back into Mississippi and come upon…. Yep, you guessed it. A roadblock. The same ass hat and more friends this time. It looks like he has gathered up about thirty people to help him with his road block this time. We should have shot his ass to kill the first time. We are clearly outnumbered. This is a zombie apocalypse. Is it really necessary for dumbasses to attempt a heist when they could easily go and find their own shit?
“What are we going to do?” Bobby asks.
“Hell. I don’t see much of an alternative here. We are outnumbered. We can shoot, but I don’t want any of us to get shot or killed or both. Let me ask him what the hell he wants this time.” Marc says.
Then we hear, “Exit the vehicle, now.” This comes from Ass hat.
“Well, that was just rude.” I say.
“What do you want this time, our supplies again?” Marc asks asshat.
“Oh no. This time we want you. You and your friends shot up our vehicles and shit before and shot us and we want your asses now.” Asshat said.
“Are you kidding me? These fuckers tried to steal from us and they have the attitude?” I say.
“Here is what we will do. Get out of the truck. Let them have all this shit. There are too many of them to shoot our way through. We don’t have any other choice unless we want to get shot up.” Marc says.
“Fine.” We reply to Marc.
“We’re getting out.” Marc yells.
So we get out. We are asked to put our hands on the truck and stand there. Asshat sends six of his friends over to us to check for weapons while three others keep a bead on us. They remove Marc’s weapons first, then Trey. Bobby is next then me. Diane glares at the dumbass about to search her and he tells her, “Mam, please remove your weapons.”
Well, it seems her glares are scary enough to warrant a grown man to question himself.
Now I know this is heading to hell. They have no plans of letting us go. So at this point, does it matter what I say or do? Nah, I don't think so.
“What now?” I ask Ass hat.
“Well, we will be moving y'all to the holding area of the camp. Then we will make y'all work to earn your keep. We have various jobs for our guests.” Ass hat says.
“Guests? You don't really think you will be able to keep us here do you? I mean, do you think we are as stupid as you and your band of idiots? Do you think no one will come looking for us?” I ask.
I can see ass hat turning red now, which tells me I am pissing him off. So I continue.
“If you had any idea of all the shit you are getting yourself into, you would have thought twice about stopping us. When it's all done, I am going to slice across your throat until I see your spine. And I'm going to watch you lay there a gasp for your last breath. Then when you take your last breath, I'm going to cut your black heart out, if you have one, that is, and feed it to the zombies. Remember, you don't scare me. And if I'm going to die, I will die causing as much hell as I possibly can.” I tell ass hat.
“Are you done bitch?” Ass hat asks.
“You haven't seen a bitch yet you fucking dumbass. Kiss my ass.” I tell him.
Then I give him the universal sign used by people all over the world. I flip him the middle finger. And I see nothing but darkness after that.
I wake up and try to get my bearings and figure out where I am. Everything is blurry and I try to focus my eyes so I can look around. My head feels like it is splitting open. So I lay there for a minute and try to remember what happened. I go back in my mind. Leaving our home, coming to Alabama, Todd and his family, leaving and, oh yeah. A fucking road block. Where are the others I think to myself? I roll over on my side and open my eyes to look around. Concrete under me. I push up on my elbow and my head spins like I am going to pass out again. I finally get raised up and am sitting straight and I start looking around. There is one window directly in front of where I am sitting and one on each side. It looks like a jail cell. Really? They have a jail here?
I slowly stand up and walk over to the window that has a view of the outside area. I see…. Zombies. Just a few ambling around. I pull my face from the window before they see me and come to investigate. Walking over to the window on the left, there is no glass in it, only bars. So I can see into the next cell. And I see Bobby laid out on the floor.
“Bobby.” I whisper. No answer.
“Bobby, wake up.” I say.
This is a man that claims he can hear everything while he sleeps. Well, that has been proven a lie, right here, today. Yeah, I know he was knocked out, but really? Is that an excuse?
“Bobby, wake your ass up or I give away all your clothes and shoes.” I tell him.
Bobby is a clothes and shoes fanatic and when I get rid of clothes he can’t wear, or maybe are worn out, I have to sneak around like I am a drug smuggler trying to get into interstate trafficking.
“You already do that when I’m not home, so threaten with something else.” Bobby tells me.
“Oh, it’s good to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” I tell him.
“What happened? My head is killing me. Damn, I can’t see straight.” He says.
“Well, I think they may have hit us and knocked us out. Did they hit me? I was the first out so I am not sure what happened.” I tell him.
“Yeah, the bastard hit you in the back of the head after you flipped him the finger. Was it necessary to poke the bear?” Bobby asks me.
“Well, not necessary. But they were going to do what they did regardless of what we said. So I wanted to get a kiss my ass and a fuck you all in before they did.” I say.
“I remember they hit Marc and Trey, then they came to me. I don’t know what they did to Diane though. I was out before they got to her.” He tells me.
“Fuckers.” I grunt.
Bobby gets up. He goes over to the other window of his cell.
“I see Trey.” He says.
He starts calling out to Trey through the bars. Finally, he wakes up. He stumbles around.
I ask him if he is ok. He says yeah, but he looks like he is still stumbling. I tell him to go to the window of his cell and see if he can see Marc or Diane.
“I see Daddy.” Trey says.
“Try to wake him Trey.” I tell him.
I hear Trey calling Marc’s name through the bars and I ask Bobby, “What in the hell have they done with Diane? If they hurt her I will kill every last one of the bastards. One by one.”
“We will find her.” Bobby says.
“Did he wake up Trey?” I ask.
“Yeah, but he has a gash in his head.” Trey replies.
“Damn. This is shit.” I tell Bobby.
I w
alk over to the door leading out of my cell and start yelling.
“We need help in here please. Get your asses in here and let us know where my sister is.” I scream.
“Not helping.” Bobby says.
I hear a lock click and someone comes into the hallway outside of our cells. We can hear heavy footsteps coming down the hall.
I back up from the cell door and wait for the idiot to make an appearance. And he looks like a gremlin. Short, greasy looking with pointy ears and a really bad tooth problem.
You have to be shitting me. I think.
“What do you want?” Gremlin asks.
“Where is my sister? What have y’all done to her?” I ask.
“She has been giving medical attention to some people that needed it.” He answers.
“I want her in here with us. I don’t trust y’all.” I say.
“You need to talk to Max about that.” He says.
“Well get Max’s ass in here so he can tell us what the hell is going on.” I say.
He turns and walks away and I go over to check and see if Marc is ok and has gotten up. He says he is ok, but his head wound looks bad. But of course head wounds always look worse than they are.
We hear someone else coming into the hallway. I move back towards the door again.
The door opens and in steps Ass hat.
“This is Max.” Gremlin says.
Well, shit.
“So what are you holding us here for? You have all our supplies and truck. What else do you want?” I ask.
“Well, you see, hot head, we want y’all for free labor. We have everything we need to survive, but we need someone to keep it going for us. Like farm work, cooking, cleaning, and we have a special place for the men. They entertain us in fights. We have an arena set up so we can have matches and see who come out the winner.” Max says.
Are you fucking kidding me? What are we, back in the medieval ages where they have gladiators and the coliseum packed to capacity daily?
“First, I want my sister in here with me. Second, you can kiss our asses. They aren’t going to fight for y’all’s entertainment you jack ass.” I tell him.
