by Max Danzig
She wasn’t sure what to do. There weren’t many options. Did she want to burn to death or get eaten? Then she remembered Peter screaming at her to fight. It was the only thing she could do. Rachel would set off the Honda’s alarm again to draw the creatures away from her to the SUV. Then she’d jump, land, roll and get up like Peter instructed, then club her way to the Honda, fight her way in and get away.
She convinced herself it was a simple plan and would work. Fight and escape. She took out the key fob pressed the panic alarm one last time, put the key back in her pocket. The noise of the alarm and lights on the Honda competed with the noise from the throng of zombies and burning house. Her gripped tightened on the club and she got ready to jump as soon as the zombies moved to the Honda.
---
“What the fuck is happening?” Steve shouted when they got to the top of the rise. It was then he saw the entire back of the house on fire surrounded by a heaving mass of bodies.
The only thing not moving was a lone figure standing on the porch roof, back-lit by the fire in the bedroom. Rachel!
“Kendra, the gap, go into the gap. It's where the gate was. Rachel's on the porch roof, get as close as you can.” Steve said, grabbing a rifle and a shotgun and went to the hatch.
"I see her." Kendra said, mashing down the accelerator uttering a war cry of defiance while plowing down body after body.
---
Rachel focused on the zombies moving away from the porch and thought they were going to the blaring Honda. She was about to jump when out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of lights. Above all the other noise she heard the roar of an engine and someone screaming her name.
She looked and saw a vehicle that looked like a monster truck version of a bank armored car festooned with bright lights and bouncing over the road and numerous bodies.
The big vehicle plowed down a wall of bodies at speed as it turned into the gap where the gate had been. It waded through the crowd knocking them over in waves.
When the gunfire started, she was so startled Rachel almost fell. The vehicle stopped three feet below her. It came to a rest on a pile of writhing bodies while other zombies scrambled around the truck in a fury.
Someone was standing in an opening in the roof blasting away with a shotgun while other shots seem to come from the sides of the vehicle. The person in the roof put down the gun and hoisted himself onto the roof and turned towards her.
“Rachel! Jump! You need to jump onto the truck and we’ll get you out of here.”
“Steve!” She screamed in recognition. She could feel heat at her back and under her feet as flames licked from under the edge of the porch roof. She tossed her club away and jumped the three feet down to the roof of the truck. Her momentum almost carried her over the side of the truck and into the mass clamoring to grab her, but Steve caught her around the waist and pulled her back. He directed her to the opening in the roof.
“Get in!” He shouted and grabbed a rifle off the roof and fired into the crowd of zombies. Rachel didn’t waste time and scrambled through the hatch and landed on her back inside the truck. A second later, Steve jumped down next to her, reached up and secured the hatch door.
“Peter, where’s Peter, Rachel?” Steve asked.
“He’s gone.” She yelled with the dawning horror of saying it out loud.
“Go Kendra! Go! GO! GO!” Steve yelled.
Kendra, strapped back in the driver’s seat, put the BearCat in gear and hit the accelerator.
For one horrifying moment, the volume of bodies surrounding the truck might prove too much for it to overcome. The engine roared, but barely moved. She threw it in reverse and hammered a few feet of space as the zombie block in front loosened. She put it back in all-wheel-drive and mashed the accelerator.
The small space she made gave the BearCat the power to punch through the throng of corpses and drive over them. The truck’s engine thundered with the effort as Kendra ran over a growing hill of squirming, rotting bodies. She carved a path through the zombies and mowed down a line of them by the gate. Kendra broke free of the horde onto the mostly open dirt road and drove away from the farm and the mass of decaying monsters to safety.
Rachel peered through a small side window on the truck at what remained of the farm. Through her tears she could see the farmhouse, now a place of living nightmares. The house was engulfed in flames with dark figures moving at every fire lit window.
Chapter 65
When Rachel told Steve what happened to Peter, they held each other and cried for a long time. Kendra remained silent as she drove and wiped away her own tears.
An hour after leaving the ill-fated farm, they exited the highway to go the Wal-Mart in Hooksett. When they pulled into the parking lot Steve’s heart fell.
As they sat in the BearCat facing the front of the store, the lights illuminated a scene of devastation. The huge building was a burned out shell. Part of the front had collapsed inward, and the roof sagged low into the blackened interior. In the parking lot, among two dozen cars, were hundreds of rotting and burned corpses. Nothing else in the area moved.
As Kendra drove forward, she couldn’t help but run over bodies strewn around the parking lot. In the truck, it sounded like thick, dry branches breaking. Steve stood up in the hatch with a rifle at the ready. Using a flashlight to inspect the bodies, he hoped he wouldn’t recognize his father’s body among them. Most of the corpses that weren’t burned had bullet holes through the heads. Other bodies were missing parts of their heads. Except for three bodies lying in a bloody huddled mass in the middle of the parking lot, all the others looked like they had been dead a long time.
Steve came back in, closed the hatch and leaned towards Kendra and Rachel in the front seats.
"It looks abandoned Steve. Did you recognize any of the bodies?" Kendra asked, not wanting to say "your father," out loud.
“No. I don’t even know if everyone made it out of there or if they died in the fire.” Steve said and heard Rachel sniffle.
“Here’s what we will do.” Kendra said. “We’ll go back to the State Troopers’ barracks we passed a few miles back on the highway. It’s a secure building, and there didn’t seem to be many walkers around, so it should be easy to defend. We rest, and then come back here in the daylight to see if we can find out what happened to the people who were here.”
“Just as long as it's not surrounded by monsters.” Rachel said with an edge to her voice.
“Okay, sounds good.” Steve said in a flat tone with little hope.
Kendra swung the BearCat around to reverse direction. As she did her headlights caught a familiar dark blue vehicle in the back of the parking lot.
“Stop!” Steve commanded. “That’s my dad’s Yukon.”
“Where?” Kendra said.
“At the back of the parking lot back to your left.” Steve said.
Kendra veered left and headed right for the blue SUV when she saw it. The front of the Yukon was damaged, but otherwise intact. As soon as she came to a full stop Steve had the back door open and jumped out. He held a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other. Kendra took a covering position in the roof hatch while Rachel stayed in the passenger seat.
Steve walked around the back of the SUV and saw the distinctive dent in the rear chrome bumper. It brought back memories of when his dad bumped against a guardrail one wintry night. Without saying a word he moved to the driver’s side window almost too afraid to look inside. Relief washed through him when he found it empty, but then he saw a yellow sheet of paper with writing on it sitting on the driver’s seat. Steve opened the unlocked door and picked up the paper and read it.
‘Steve, if you are still alive and found this letter - all was lost here. We had to move on. The last of the survivors are going to try to make it to the Safe Zone. I’m going to Keene to find Heather.–Dad’
---
They went to the State Troopers barracks for the night to rest, re-supply, and find fuel for the BearCat and
figure out what they would do next. From outside they had to dispatch three zombies, two of them in the ragged remains of State Trooper uniforms. On one corpse they found keys that got them into the station building. Once inside, Steve and Kendra cleared the building of five more lively walkers before the building was secure. All the while Rachel stayed in the BearCat jumping out of her skin every time she heard a gunshot. With the station being isolated, no other walkers appeared.
The inside of the building stank of decay. The only place that didn’t reek was where the empty holding cell area. They relaxed and had something to eat from the supplies Kendra brought, but there was little conversation. They had been through a lot.
When they had finished their meal, Steve got up and went into one of the open holding cells. Despite being excited by the note he found, Steve felt exhausted and lay down on the single bed bolted to the wall and fell asleep at once. The women stayed awake awhile longer. Kendra filled Rachel in on what she knew and Rachel listened in slack-jawed astonishment.
---
“Steve,” he heard Kendra’s voice. “Steve, wake up.”
He opened his eyes and had to shade them against the light. He sat up surprised it was already morning and looked up to see Kendra and Rachel standing by the bed.
“We’ve gotta talk.” Steve said.
“I know,” Kendra said. “I got the battery backup system going. Come on, let’s get something to eat. I made coffee.”
---
“I'm going to Keene and find my dad and sister.” Steve said chewing on a protein bar and sipping black coffee. It all tasted so good.
“I know.” Kendra said. “I hate to say it, but Rachel and I aren’t going with you. We have other plans.”
Steve stopped chewing and looked from one woman to the other and nodded. “Understood, but I need a vehicle of my own. Are you going back to Derry?”
“No,” Kendra said. “We will try to make it to the Safe Zone. I’m going to look for my brother in Tennessee.”
“And on the way, Kendra’s dropping me off in Manassas. It’s where my grandfather lives.” Rachel said.
“Virginia?” Steve said sitting up straight surprised. Then looking at Kendra, “I thought you said they had orders to kill anyone coming from the Dead Zone?”
“I did, but I also agree with you that they can’t guard the entire perimeter. There has to be a gap, or back road we can find our way through into the Safe Zone.” Kendra said.
“I guess you’re taking the truck then.” Steve said. “Are there any SUV’s in the back lot?”
Kendra smiled. “C’mon, I’ve got something to show you.”
Kendra led Steve out of the back of the building to the fenced in back lot. Steve followed the direction she was pointing to an open garage bay door. “It’s a BearCat G3 just like the one I have, but this one is a state vehicle.” Kendra said still smiling. “It’s all yours.”
Steve turned to Kendra with a beaming smile.
---
Kendra and Steve got the backup generator going long enough to allow them to use the fuel pump at the back of the lot and filled their vehicles. After the trucks were fueled Kendra shut off the generator. They kept a vigil from the top of the station building for a half an hour, but no walkers appeared. The three of them got busy stocking their respective trucks with supplies, guns and ammunition from the barracks stores.
Once the trucks were fueled, packed and ready to go, they lined them up by the entrance gate. The three of them stood huddled together not sure what to say.
“Thank you for all your help Kendra, I’ll never forget it.” Steve said.
“Glad to help, and glad to have met you. I wish you the best of luck finding your father and sister.” Kendra said.
They came together in a warm embrace. “I have your number, and you have mine, right?” Kendra asked.
“I do,” Steve said. “I’ll call you as soon as I find my father and sister. Then you can let us know where to cross so we can join you in Tennessee. I know you’ll make it. I look forward to meeting your brother.”
Kendra smiled and nodded, “You got it.”
“Rachel, you have my number right?” Steve said.
All she could do was nod and held up the newer model unlocked iPhone she found on a desk in the station, and re-charged it in the truck. Her lips were a tight line, and her eyes were welling up with tears.
“When I get my family and make it through the lines, we’ll come and get you and your grandfather and we can all go to Tennessee together. Okay?” Steve said his voice now breaking.
Steve stepped towards Rachel and she rushed into his arms meeting in a desperate embrace. The pent up tears erupted in a flood from both of them. They held onto each other for a long minute. Rachel reached up and held Steve’s face in her hands, wiping away his tears, and he held her shoulders. They looked into each other’s eyes, their cheeks wet.
“You stay safe, no matter what.” Rachel said with forcefulness. “You get your family and find me.”
“I will.” Steve said his voice shaking and unsteady. He lowered his face to hers and they met in a tender kiss. It felt like goodbye.
They let go of each other without another word. Steve strode to his idling BearCat and got in as Kendra opened the gate. With a wave Steve drove out of the parking lot and down the highway. They watched until his truck disappeared around a curve in the road.
Kendra and Rachel got in their BearCat and buckled their seatbelts.
“You ready to go?” Kendra asked turning to Rachel.
“Let’s do this.” Rachel said with conviction and looked forward.
Kendra pulled onto the highway and headed south - toward the Safe Zone.
Epilogue
Normally, the drive from the Hooksett/Manchester area to Keene takes about an hour-and-a-half, but with detours and having to backtrack it took Steve much longer. There were areas of highway that were impassable with wreckage or walkers, or both. Side streets and rural roads had the same issues and Steve had to find a new way around.
By the time he made his way past Peterborough, Steve had been driving for several hours, the sun was beginning to set and he was bone tired. Earlier he found a diesel truck in the driveway of a home just off a rural part of the main road. Using a hose he found at a small hardware store, he siphoned the gas into the BearCat.
As the truck was being fueled he had to fight off five zombies using an ax handle and ball peen hammer he’d taken from the same hardware store. He had plenty of firepower, but the last thing he wanted to do was make a lot of noise and attract even more of the monsters. The fight left him physically and emotionally drained.
Back on the road, he found himself almost falling asleep behind the wheel. He needed rest and needed to find a safe place to hunker down. It was just as well, there was no way he wanted to go near a city the size of Keene in the dark. Luck smiled on Steve when he saw the sign for Miller State Park. In the park there’s a small mountain named Pack Monadnock, with an auto road all the way to the summit. He figured he’d be safe up there and have a commanding view of the landscape as he watched the sunset.
Though the road was narrow and twisting, Steve managed to get the large truck up the empty road with little trouble. When he reached the top of the 2,290-foot summit, there were no other cars or walkers. He had the place all to himself. The sky was clear and the golden sun was setting behind the hills and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful.
Steve figured he’d get something to eat as he watched the sun go down, then settle down for some well-deserved sleep.
Steve sat in the passenger seat rummaging through his supplies until he came up with the pop-top can of Hormel chili he as looking for. He opened the can and jabbed at the surface of the chili with a plastic spoon to break it up a bit when a shadow blotted out the sun.
Expecting an errant cloud, Steve lifted his head and looked towards where the sun was. The spoonful of chili he scooped out of the can hovered in the air near
his mouth. Steve couldn’t eat, he couldn’t move, he could hardly breathe. He sat frozen; his eyes open wide, the pupils large and black looking disbelieving out the BearCat’s windshield. An enormous craft blocked the distant horizon, floating by at an impossibly slow speed.
Steve dropped the forgotten spoon and can, and without taking his eyes off the colossal object, he scuttled back into the shadows in the rear of the truck. He cowered like a small scared animal in its den, making himself as small as possible, his big, dark, unblinking eyes watching and hoping it wouldn’t see him…
THE END
Contents
~Prologue~
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
