Amos wiped sweat from his forehead and held up a hand as he pulled his thoughts together.
"I saw this once before. I was trying to get the trash out regularly before. Then I came across one of the zombies. He came around from behind the dumpster and scared me nearly to death. I turned to run back inside and fell. I ended up crawling back into the building on my hands and knees. The zombie followed me in. Bill, Ruth and Charlotte were in the kitchen at the time. They stood up and stepped between the zombie and me. At first I thought they were committing suicide but they just stared each other down. It was like the zombie lost track of me. Bill was not having one of his verbal moments. They all just stood there swaying back and forth. Eventually the zombie just left. I never made another trash run again. I have been storing it in the walk in freezer instead."
The girls just looked at one another. Carlton rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. A thought occurred to him and he looked up apologetically to Amos.
"Amos, the front door is now broken. We did not know who was left in here. I broke the lock getting in. I have not seen the zombies open a door yet, but it looks like it has happened. We have seen more and more of them moving in packs. Do you want to come with us? There is a rumor that there are safe zones that the army has set up. We were thinking we might make for one of those. We might find out what happened to our families."
Amos just looked with sad eyes at Carlton and shook his head slowly.
"Everyone else has left these folks. I can't do that to them. There are not many of them left. I doubt they will survive another month. They can't take care of themselves. I am no nurse. Hell, I never changed my kids diapers let alone some grouchy old man's dirty drawers. But I can feed them. I will do that till none are left. After that, I will see what happens. Thanks for the offer though. I just can't leave them. They are just too pitiful to leave behind and too frail to travel."
Both girls hugged Amos after that. Carlton shook his hand.
Then Amos snapped his fingers, "Hey, do you have a car?"
"No, there is an abandoned one out front but its dead. We have been walking for four days now."
"Well, I am not only the cook, but the driver for Brighton Commons as well."
Amos fished around in his apron and came out with a set of keys and handed them to Carlton.
"It has gas in it and it works pretty good. It should help you out. I don't think we are going to be taking these folks on any more outings any time soon."
Carlton nodded, "You are a good man Amos. Thanks again."
Moving to Uncle Bill, Carlton leaned in close to his ear and whispered to him, "Captain, you take care of Sergeant Amos. He has vital intelligence. He must survive the war at all costs. Can I count on you?"
The old man looked up and his eyes brightened, "Carlton, it's good to see you. Have you seen Jenny? I can't find her anywhere. Give her a kiss before you leave. You are a good boy. We are fine. Don't worry about us."
With a tear in his eye, Carlton moved to the kitchen door. Again he pushed the door open with the barrel. Triggering on the light again he pushed his way out into the small room with dirty dishes. Checking the hallway to the right and left, he signaled to the girls that the area was clear.
They worked their way through the dining area. The man still slept at the table. They passed into the Atrium and walked by Aunt Jenny. Searching left and right, they spotted the two zombies in the TV room. The zombies spotted them and began to head their way. They moved forward until they encountered the half wall. Both stopped perplexed that they could not go forward even when they could see their prey.
Two soft pops later and both zombies had collapsed and Carlton lowered his rifle.
"Remind me again, not to piss you off too badly," whispered Meredith.
They stepped over the corpse of Mildred and made their way to the front door. The door was still broken. But no one else seemed to have tried to go through it. They pushed on into the foyer and then out the unlocked main doors. Outside was still clear. The dead bodies from the car still lay on the grass where they had left them.
The three ran for the bus to look for a safe place. Where ever that may be.
More Information
I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this book. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Please take a moment to fill out a quick review from where you downloaded it. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I truly depend on your reviews be they positive, negative or otherwise.
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Thanks again for giving me the chance and reading the book.
About the Author
Chris is an avid amateur historian and wargamer. He has penned several scenario books for miniature wargaming on a variety of topics. If you have enjoyed this book, please be sure to check out his other titles.
CSS Appomattox: A Thomas Devareaux Alternative History Military Adventure
This is the first novel in the Thomas Devareaux series. The CSS Appomattox is a work of alternative history fiction, concentrating on the adventures of the naval airship commander Thomas Devareaux and his crew.
In October 1862, the Confederacy is recognized by both France and Great Britain. Lincoln opens peace negotiations that effectively ended the American Civil War. Decades later, the young Confederacy forges an alliance with Spain – a fading empire desperately clinging to its remaining Caribbean colonies.
The Confederate Military assigns the young crew of the airship CSS Appomattox to assist their country's new ally. The Appomattox is dispatched with a token Naval force to defend Puerto Rico. Here they will stand against the coming threat of an expansionist German Empire and its ally, the United States.
The crew of the Appomattox not only has to fight against the German military, but forces from within their own navy as well. During their exploits, the Devareaux and his crew are recruited by the Signals Bureau (the Confederate Secret Service) to battle their enemies overtly as well as covertly.
The action takes place in the skies above the Caribbean and on land as Devareaux leads his landing party of marines to support the guerillas fighting in the hills of occupied eastern Puerto Rico.
This is the first book in the Thomas Devareaux series. This Alternate History novel employs elements of Steampunk without taking historical technology developments too far outside of their historical progression. For more information, click on the image below:
Note: the link above is to my book through my affiliate link.
Non-Fiction Titles
In the Name of Roma
In the Name of Roma is a wargame supplement that contains 30 company and platoon level scenarios covering the actions of the 80a Roma Regiment from August to December of 1941. You'll follow the 80th from the open steppe to the Donetz industrial basin, including the amphibious attacks across the Dnieper, and the fateful decision of Column Chiarimonti to attempt to seize Nikitovka. For more information, please look to the website:
http://cstoesen.blogspot.com/2013/09/in-name-of-roma-is-released.html
Or click on the image below to go to the book on Amazon –
Note: the link above is to my book through my affiliate link.
The Coming Thunder
This is a set of 17 American Civil War scenarios and a campaign that is designed to be used with the TooFatLardies rules Terrible Sharp Sword. All 17 scenarios take p
lace in Northern Virginia from June to December of 1861. These are all skirmish scenarios that are easily adapted to other rule sets such as Brother Against Brother. For more information, please look to the website:
http://cstoesen.blogspot.com/2011/11/coming-thunder-scenarios-for-terrible.html
The Falcon and the Gladiator
This is a campaign generator and historical scenarios for the first year of the air war over North Africa. There are 38 historical scenarios covering a number of actions across the period from June 1940 to February 1941. The scenarios cover a number of different types of actions, including: level bombing, dive bombing, torpedo bombing and of course fighter actions. The book weighs in at about 120 pages. There are orders of battle present for the start of the war, Marshal Graziani's September Offensive and for Operation Compass. In addition, there is data on squadron changes and movements. The campaign system includes information, where available, for the pilots for each squadron including notations on pilot quality. A pilot progression system is present for both fighter as well as bomber pilots. Each of the three campaigns contains a brief potted history as well as information on the corresponding ground campaigns. For more information, please look at the website:
http://cstoesen.blogspot.com/2012/04/westerndesert-air-campaign-june-1940.html
With Fire and Sword
This is the second of my American War of Independence supplements for Sharp Practice. This one continues where This Land Divided leaves off, covering the activities in South Carolina between June and August 1780. It is a critical time for the American Revolution in the South after the fall of Charleston. There are twenty-four scenarios for Sharp Practice that will provide the gamer with a selection of scenarios, from a dozen or so men a side up to over 100 figures each covering militia, provincial and regular troops. For more information, please check out the TooFatLardies website:
http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=75
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The Home: A Zombie Survival Short Story Page 3
