Once inside and settled a bit, the loss of yet another person in the group hit home. For Tom, not only was this his wife it was also the fifth person he’d lost in just a few days. Everyone cried or grieved in their own way. Pat ended up holding Tom and John as they both cried. After a while, Mike, Sam and I went over to Tom and John and sat down.
“I’m sorry Tom, John,” I said. What else can you say? We spoke for a few moments about how long they’d been married, how they’d met and so forth. Then we excused ourselves to give them space. Back in another room, I lost it some myself, banging my fists on the walls.
“Fuck, fuck Preston and his gang of murderers and looters. We were at our home. We were fine. Now this. Fuck…” Sam came over and put her hands on my shoulders. She looked me right in the eyes.
“You done?” she asked. “I know, I get it. But, it’s not helping anything.”
“It’s helping me,” I said. “It’s just another day in a world gone mad, right Sam?”
“It’s scaring the kids.” Sure enough, Mal and Tabby were watching me. I looked over at Sam and nodded. Then I went to Mal and Tabby and sat on the bed next to them.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you guys. Daddy is just angry right now.” They put their arms around me and stayed that way for a bit.
“I’m sorry you’re angry daddy,” said Tab.
“Is it because of what happened to that lady?” asked Mal.
“Yeah, buddy. It is. Had you guys really talked to Miss Barb?” They shook their heads. “She was nice. You would’ve liked her.”
I stood up after a few minutes and headed off to find Mike or somebody. Mike was getting bedded down in one of the rooms with his mother. He looked up as I came in.
“What’s wrong, boss man?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just think we need to set up a watch. We don’t know the house or the area.” Mike started to get up off the bed but I stopped him. “You rest, Mike. I’ll take the first one.”
“You sure, Ryan? You look awfully tired.”
“Ha, you should look in a mirror.” I paused. “Mike, thank you. You’ve been really great through all of this. I don’t think we’d be here without your help.” I turned to Lois. “I mean that Lois, he’s been invaluable.” I turned and left before she could respond.
Back in the room we were using the sleeping arrangements had been figured out. Tabby was going to sleep with her grandma and Mal, Sam and I would take the bigger bed.
“Tabby, thank you. I haven’t said it in a while but you’ve been really great about everything since all this started. You’ve really grown up. I’m proud.” I held my daughter for a while then hugged my son and wife then went off to keep a watch.
About halfway through the night I went to find Mike to have him take watch. He wasn’t in the room with his mom, which was strange. I found him and Tabby in another room. Her head was on his shoulders as she slept. I stepped back out of the room and sat on the floor, my mind reeling. My daughter: my little girl. Just a few days ago, I thought of her as a tiny princess. Now, here she was falling for the best young man I knew. But, she was just a kid. I couldn’t let this happen, could I? My first priority was her safety. If Mike could help me get her through this…
“Mike,” I said as I grabbed his foot, shaking him awake. He awoke with a panicked look on his face that would have been funny in different circumstances. “C’mon, it’s your watch now.”
He followed me out into the hallway, doubtless trying to figure out what to say now that he got caught. We walked down the hallway to a window that looked out over the street below.
“Mr. Knight, ah, Ryan,” he started.
“Mike, two weeks ago I would’ve beat you so bad you’d have to eat out of a straw. Tabitha is my little girl and she always will be. I don’t like this, she’s too young. But, the world has changed, gone mad. I meant what I said earlier, you’re a good kid and you’re well on your way to becoming a good man. Whatever this is; puppy love or simply that you and her are close in age, I don’t know. But, if you care about her at all you can help me keep her safe. That’s the most important thing to me; keeping Tabby, Mal and Sam safe. If you can keep her safe, then I’m good with it. No funny business. And if you hurt her, I swear Mike, I will throw you to the zombies myself. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “I will keep her safe. I promise.”
I reached out and touched the side of his face. Then I nodded and turned away. Mike was a good kid and I believed him. When I got to the room where I’d found him and Tabby, I picked her up in my arms and headed back to Sam, Mal, Karen and Thor.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
My eyes popped open when I sensed daylight. I was alone in the room which startled me at first. But I could hear voices downstairs and realized I’d slept in a bit. Being up half the night on watch would make you tired I guess. The room was cold but I didn’t really notice until I put my feet on the floor. Zombie apocalypse or no, I just couldn’t sleep with socks on.
The view from the window was better than the day before but that wasn’t saying much. The zombies weren’t on the porch but there were plenty of them in the streets below. They didn’t appear to be going anywhere. Getting out was going to be tricky. I walked around the upper floor of the house looking out the windows, trying to get some ideas. After about 15 minutes, I wandered downstairs to the kitchen and found everyone there, nibbling on granola bars or dried fruit. Some had bottles of water but there were a few sodas and Gatorades. Tabby was standing with Mike.
“Good morning,” said as I walked over to Sam. There were several replies back. Sam handed me a power bar and a soda and kissed me. I hugged her and Mal then looked around the group. The mood was low. How could it not be low? We’ve lost too many people and been forced from our home. We needed a safe haven and this house wasn’t it. Time to move.
“Hey Mike, you remember the trick we used at the mall to get the zombies away from the Target?” I asked.
“Yeah, the CD player in the car,” he replied.
“We need a smaller version of that,” I said. One of Tom’s nephews hadn’t heard the story and wanted the details so Mike told the story for the benefit of those who hadn’t heard it yet.
“I thought the zombies had moved away from the house?” said Tony.
“Well, they’re not on the porch anymore. But they’re right out on the street. And there’s still plenty of them. We come out that door and they’re coming right for us. We need to draw them away,” I said.
“Who has anything that makes noise?” asked Tom. Nothing.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s look around the house. We need something that is battery operated, portable and it can’t require someone to be there to make it work.” The group spread out around the house and searched for the answer. We found and iPad (dead), a laptop (dead) and that was pretty much it. “Damn, we really need some sort of diversion.”
“And some idiot to run and do it,” added Mike.
“I know what we can use,” said Tony. “But I can’t be your idiot.” Everyone looked at Tony and he appeared sullen and sad.
“Tony, you’re about to save our butts and you look really sad. What’s going on?” asked Mike. Tony reached over and held Beth’s hand. She smiled at him.
“I had to disable the smoke detectors at the house because the candles kept setting them off. That’s why the house burned.” He paused and looked at his wife again. “It was my fault. I’m sorry, honey. But, we can use a smoke detector. We just need something to depress the test button.”
“Damn,” I said. “I’m sorry about the house Tony. But you just saved our asses.”
“Coming up with that is going to be the easy part I’m afraid,” Tony said.
“I’ll be the idiot,” said Mike.
“Oh, no you won’t young man,” responded Lois.
“Mom, only Ryan and I have become the expert zombie killers,” said Mike. “No offense to Tom and his people but they’d all be zombies i
f we hadn’t come along that day.”
“No argument from me,” said Tom. “You guys saved our asses.”
“And no offense to the boss man, but he’s not nearly as fast or as agile as I am,” Mike continued. Tabby let go of Mike’s hand and went to Sam.
“No,” she said. She looked like she was going to say something else but she turned away and buried her face in her mother. I just looked at Mike and subtly shook my head.
“I’ll do it,” said one of Tom’s nephews. “I’m probably just as fast. And this is about speed. This way you guys can cover me and keep me safe.”
I walked over to where this young man was sitting. About 22 or so with short hair and an athletic build, he was probably as fast as Mike. Or faster. He was also stronger which might be an advantage.
“What’s your name son?” I asked.
“My name’s James. But everybody calls me Morgan,” he said.
“Where do you fit in to all this?” I asked indicating Tom and his group.
“He’s my brother’s son,” said Tom. “His father was killed by the looters at the Lowes.” I looked Tom in the eye and he shrugged.
“Morgan, we’re going to need a plan,” I said.
The plan involved only a few people. The rest of the group needed to be ready to get to the vehicles quickly. Tom, John, Mike and myself would go out the door onto the back porch, followed by Morgan and kill the four closest zombies. That would give Morgan a running start.
“Don’t’ go far,” I said. “We need to be able to come get your ass if this falls apart. Leave your crossbow here. You won’t be able to reload it and I doubt you’d hit anything on the run anyway. Even Mike can’t do that most of the time. Tomahawk and knife only. Once you set the smoke detector, find the best route back and we’ll cover you from the porch as best we can. If you need to take shelter on a porch and wait for the zombies to get to the detector in order to be able to find a safe route, that’ll work. If you get stuck on the porch we’ll come get you.”
Mal had found a few marbles in a children’s bedroom upstairs. The marbles would fit perfectly over the ‘push to test’ button on the smoke detector. With a little strip of cardboard to increase the surface area, all Morgan had to do was wrap some duct tape and it would beep like crazy. That was the easy part. The hard part was going to be getting away.
“Let’s take a look out back,” I said. The windows in the kitchen looked out over the back porch. It had begun raining.
“That should help,” said Morgan.
“How do you figure?” Mike asked.
“They won’t have any traction,” he said.
“Neither will you,” I said. “And they’re not running. The only thing good about the rain is it makes noise, which should make everything we do less obvious to the zombies.”
“Be careful,” said Tom. Morgan nodded.
“Okay, see the two women on the left? The one in the sweater and the one behind? Mike, you take the one behind and I’ll get the one in the sweater. John, you take the cadet and Tom that leaves you the black man on that side. See them?” Everyone nodded. “Morgan you ready for this?”
“Yeah, of course. Piece of cake,” he said but he was shaking a little. “What is it I heard you say on the bus? Just another day in a world gone mad?”
“Yeah, Morgan that’s it. Just another day, right?” He nodded, turned to Tom and held out his hand. Tom took it.
“Your father would be proud,” said Tom. Morgan smiled.
“You guys are all acting like I’m not coming back,” he quipped.
“On three,” I said. “One, two, three…”
Mike went through the door first, followed by John, then me, then Tom. Mike fired first and the back female zombie went down. John’s shot missed. Then I came through the door and hit my target. Tom sidestepped right and hit the black zombie through the eye. Dropping my crossbow, I leapt from the porch and took out the cadet zombie with my tomahawk as Morgan ran by. I retreated to the porch and watched as Morgan ran through the rain and dodged one zombie then another then another on his way down the street. About three houses down, Morgan ducked down out of sight behind a parked car.
“Let’s get ready to roll,” I said to Mike.
Mike and John went back into the house to make sure everyone was good to go out the door to the vehicles when the smoke detector went off. After a moment, Tom spoke.
“It’s taking too long,” he said.
It was right then that we all heard the beeping of the smoke detector down the street. Immediately, all the zombies we could see turned and began shambling in that direction. One by one they were shambling by but it was taking too long. I went inside to get the group moving.
“Everybody have their crossbows loaded?” I asked. Opening the door just a bit, it was clear that most of the zombies were gone but there were more coming from further away, attracted to the noise. It was now or they would lose Morgan. It was becoming obvious that he was not going to get back on his own. “On three. One, two…”
“Ryan, copy.”
“Go Morgan.”
“I need help.”
“We’re coming,” I said into the radio. Then to the group, “Let’s go.”
Out the door first, I fired my crossbow at a zombie then drew my tomahawk and started bashing skulls as I fought my way to the bus. All around me the group was doing the same except for Lois and Beth. They were working to get Tony to the RV while Mike and Morgan’s brother provided security. I was horrified to find Barb’s remains still at the bottom of the stairs where she fell the evening before. I hoped that Tom and John wouldn’t see but I knew they would. I don’t know if I would have the strength to go on if I lost Sam. I hoped I would never have to find out. I stole a look down the street toward the incessant beeping and saw Morgan standing on a parked car, trying to keep his footing in the rain while fighting off zombies and waving his arms. I called him on the radio as I closed the passenger door to the bus.
“Stop waving, dammit. We see you. You’ll fall off the damned car.”
I started the bus rolling down the street towards Morgan. I couldn’t help but think of someone caught in a flood, trying to get out of the floodwaters. Only this was a flood of zombies. The number of the dead was almost uncountable. They were trying to get to Morgan on the roof of the car and didn’t care that I was pushing through them in the bus. I was moving slowly but getting concerned about getting stuck.
“Mike, Tom, stay back. Even better, go back to the corner.” They both acknowledged. “When you get there fire off a few rounds. We need to draw some of these things away. If you need to move turn right into Rutledge and we’ll find you.”
A moment later several shot rang out. Some zombies turned and began shambling back in that direction. More stayed. The smoke detector was still beeping continually. I was moving slowly toward Morgan and was trying to get the bus right up against the car he was on. He could almost jump off into the bus if I could get it close enough.
But, there were too many zombies being crushed under the bus. Suddenly the bus stopped. I turned the wheel to the left and gunned the engine. The bus lurched forward with a wet, squooshing noise. But, now I was too far from the car.
I opened the passenger door to the bus and grabbed my tomahawk. There was only about four feet between the bus and the car but you can pack a lot of zombies in four feet. I hacked and swung and bashed my way toward Morgan. As I looked up, he was watching me.
“Pay attention, Morgan,” I yelled.
A few zombies later, I looked up again just in time to see a zombie grab on to Morgan’s leg. He hadn’t been paying enough attention.
“Morgan,” I screamed. But it was too late. The roof of the car was wet and Morgan went down hard. Before I could take another step one zombie had its teeth in his ankle and another was tearing into his cheek.
“God dammit, mother fucker. Fuck,” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I took a step back to be protected by the doors. It was too late fo
r Morgan anyway. I drew my Glock from its holster and raised it. As I did, Morgan pulled himself free and managed to get to his knees. When he saw what I was doing he shook his head.
Morgan drew his Glock and began firing into the crowd of zombies near the bus, screaming and counting as he went.
“One, two, three, four…” then “Ten, eleven, twelve…”
When he got to fourteen, he looked down at me and smiled.
“Tell Uncle Tom that it’s been fun,” he said. Then he put the fifteenth, and last round into his mouth.
I screamed as I fired my Glock into the heads of any zombie near me. After ten rounds I could hear Sam screaming behind me.
“Ryan, “she yelled. “Come inside. Let’s get out of here, Ryan. I could feel her tugging on my vest, trying to pull me back in the bus. I continued to shoot. “Ryan, we can’t lose you. Ryan, please,” she cried.
The slide locked back on the gun and I stepped back up into the bus as she closed the passenger door. Collapsing into the seat, I put the bus in reverse and gunned the engine. Thud after thud as zombies hit the bus and went under. Finally, the bus hit a parked car with a crunch. I slammed the vehicle in drive and gunned the engine again, heading toward the other two vehicles.
“Ryan,” it was Tom. “Did you get him? Did you get Morgan? Ryan?”
“No, Tom I lost him. A zombie pulled him off the car roof before I got close enough. He went down fighting. I’m sorry.”
“I heard the shots. He was a good kid, Ryan. It was brave of him to volunteer.”
I didn’t answer Tom as I pulled back in front of the other vehicles and our convoy resumed its course. Tears ran freely down my face as I drove. Behind me I could hear the kids crying and the sounds of Sam trying to comfort them. Fuck, they had never seen anything that horrible. And then they got to see me freaking out. So much for any sense of normality. Karen made her way up to sit on the floor next to me.
Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale Page 24
