Southern Zombies 5: South of Hell

by Ann Riley

  After a few days, the pain did lessen, but I still had to use my cane for walking.

  “Push against my hand.” Tammy tells me.

  I stare at her.

  “Are you pushing?” She asks.

  “Yes! Damn. Should I just kick the shit out of you to prove it? You are killing me.” I yell at her.

  “Shut your whiney ass up. I have never heard you whine about anything and now here you are whining about a gunshot in the leg.” Tammy says.

  Well, this little shit. I used to change her diapers, bathe her, feed her and play with her and now she is torturing me for it.

  “You are so lucky that I love you.” I say to her.

  “Stop being a smart ass.” Tammy says.

  I have nothing left to say. She has shut me up for the moment.

  “What are y’all doing in here?” Diane asks.

  “Well, your daughter is trying to kill me.” I say.

  “Just wait until tomorrow when we do this again.” Tammy says.

  I’ll make sure I am hiding at that time.

  “Is it getting better?” Diane asks me.

  I nod.

  “Somewhat. It still hurts like hell. Tammy said the pain will lessen but I will always have an ache in it. Just what I need. Another ache to add to my aging body.” I say sarcastically.

  “Stop whining. I’m older than you and have more aches.” Diane says.

  “Is this everyone’s day to tell me to stop whining? Y’all are getting on my damn nerves. I was shot in the leg. That hurts. And if any of you want to know how it feels, let me know. I will oblige you.” I say.

  “Love you.” I quickly add before she flies into me again.

  Diane shakes her head and goes back inside.

  I sit in the infirmary for a few minutes thinking about the trip. Still, I am not feeling good about it. To me, it’s too uncertain. We don’t know what we will find. Everything in this world is uncertain now, but when you are that far from home, it pays to be wary.

  Heading back out, I see Bobby and Trey plotting out a spot for a garden. It’s getting time to plant. Spring has arrived and the days are warm and sunny. Trees and grass is greener; the flowers are in bloom and their scents flow all around the yard.

  One of the great things about living outside of the city is being able to hear the different sounds. Crickets chirping and frogs croaking is not something you can hear easily with the noise of a city. Sitting out on the patio at night in the country will bring you all different kinds of sounds. It’s a peaceful and relaxing way to end a long day.

  I missed living in the rural areas while we have lived in the city.

  While I sit and take in all the scents, Diane comes and sits by me.

  Diane was sixteen years old when I was born. She helped our mother raise me. When I was twenty-four, Diane promised our mother when she was dying of cancer that she would always take care of me and make sure I was alright because I was the baby sister. She kept her promise. She has always treated me like her child. There have been times when I may not have made it through whatever dilemma I was having at the time had it not been for Diane.

  “Are we still going to Atlanta?” Diane asks.

  “I have to say, I’m really not feeling too good about this trip. I have a strange feeling we are going for nothing. I mean, how can we be sure anyone is at the CDC?” I ask.

  “I think Doc should find people around here and inject them with his vaccine. They are going to die anyway. I know that may sound harsh, but I would rather die quickly than having it prolonged and suffer through it.” I say.

  Diane nods.

  “So I’m not sure what we should do. I think that it’s too big of a risk to drive all the way to Atlanta, and there be nothing left there of the CDC.” I say.

  “I agree. You know the walker population has to be larger than ours since Atlanta is a big city. Will we be able to fight them off? Or be able to fight off people?” Diane asks.

  Doc comes over and sits with us.

  “Why can’t you find people in this area who are infected with Toxo and use your vaccine on them?” I ask him.

  “Well, I’m not sure it wouldn’t kill them.” Doc says.

  “They are going to die anyway.” I say.

  He appears to be thinking for a second.

  “I understand that. But I can’t inject someone with a vaccine that may kill them. It’s an ethical dilemma.” He says.

  “But, you can let them turn into zombies and not be concerned about an ethical dilemma?” I ask him.

  “What are the chances that the CDC will still be populated Doc?” I ask him.

  He shrugs.

  “That’s not good enough. We are risking our lives to go there, and it may be for no reason once we get there. I can’t say I feel good about this trip when we don’t know what the hell is going on there.” I say.

  “I understand that. But I can’t give untested vaccines to people.” He says.

  “Alright then. I can. Give me some of the vaccines and we can find toxo infected people and bring them here to inject them if they want to come. If not, I will do it where they are if they agree. I have no dilemma. Let them decide if they want to die long and painful and maybe turn into a walker, or if they want to take a chance on a cure.” I say.

  Doc appears to be thinking again, and then he says, “Alright. Go find a couple of people and we will see.”

  I look at Diane, who is smiling at me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “I’m glad you made him change his mind.” She says.

  “Me too. Because I really do not want to go to Atlanta.” I say.

  Chapter 4

  As Diane and I talk, Marc and Bobby come and sit down. I tell them about our talk with Doc and they both breathe a sigh of relief.

  “So he agreed?” Marc asks.

  “Well, he didn’t have much of a choice. I don’t think he would go alone, and if it came down to it, I would refuse to go. It’s bullshit because we don’t know what is going on there.” I say.

  “Yeah. That’s too far from home when we don’t know the area.” Bobby says.

  “So, we are going to find a couple of people with Toxo to bring back here and see if they want to try the vaccine Doc made.” I say.

  “I should have known there would be some kind of crazy ass idea behind that talk.” Marc says.

  “It’s better than going to Atlanta smart ass.” I say.

  He gives me the finger.

  “So who wants to go with us to round up a couple of toxo patients?” I ask.

  “Who is “us”? Diane asks.

  “You and I.” I tell her.

  She rolls her eyes.

  “I’ll go because neither of you are driving any of my vehicles.” Marc says.

  “Wait a damn minute. You are the one who wrecked the truck, not us.” I say.

  “And I can blame myself for that.” Marc says.

  I look at Diane, who just shrugs.

  “He’s your son. Can you not do anything with him?” I ask her.

  “He’s a grown man too.” She says.

  “That’s beside the point.” I say.

  “I’ll go to.” Bobby says.

  I nod.

  As we sit on the patio, we hear the whippoorwill start with its haunting song.

  “Someone has died, or is dying.” I say.

  They all look at me.

  “A whippoorwill song means that someone’s soul needs to be guided to the afterlife. They are said to be able to catch a soul as it flees the body and guide it to the correct place.” I say.

  They still stare at me.

  “Oh come on. You guys have never heard of that?” I ask.

  They shake their heads no.

  “Sparrows are said to be able to do this too.” I say.

  “Where do you get this stuff?” Bobby asks.

  “I try to keep up on all the old and new information. I didn’t spend all that time on the internet before the world ended for n
othing” I say.

  “Apparently.” Bobby says.

  Riley comes out and jumps into my lap. He had to come and see where I was hiding from him and why. He immediately licks my hand and lies in my lap.

  “He is so spoiled.” Diane says.

  “He’s just a baby.” I say in a baby voice, which gets a tail wag from Riley.

  They all shake their heads.

  “Well, I need to walk around for a few minutes before Tammy gets on my leg again tomorrow. She is killing me slowly. I don’t want it to be stiff when she starts bending it.” I say.

  “She said she was going to put restraints on you tomorrow while she works on it.” Marc says.

  “Oh hell no she isn’t.” I say.

  Marc starts laughing.

  “You better hope none of you guys get shot. You get no sympathy from me.” I say.

  “Did you and Trey get the garden tilled?” I ask Bobby.

  “Yeah. We still have a few more things to do, but for the most part, we can plant on half of it now.” He says.

  “Good. We can get the kids out there for planting the seeds.” I say.

  “That will give them something to bitch about.” I say with a smile.

  I start planning the trip that Diane, Marc, Bobby and I will be taking the day after tomorrow. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find some sick people out there.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, everyone is at the table eating when I finally get out of bed. They let me sleep late since I have been nursing a bullet wound. I think it’s because they try to avoid my arguments.

  “Tammy was looking for you.” Diane says.

  I shrug.

  “She wants to do your physical therapy.” She says.

  Again, I shrug.

  “Stop being an ass.” Diane says.

  “Yeah. Stop being an ass.” Tammy says, stepping into the kitchen.

  “Oh for the love of all that’s Holy. Leave me alone today.” I say.

  “Not a chance Auntie.” Tammy says.

  “Calling me by endearing names does not negate the fact you are about to send me to the seventh circle of hell.” I tell her.

  Tammy just stares at me.

  “Fine. Fine.” I tell her.

  I hobble out to the infirmary where she has set up her tables.

  “Do not even think of restraining me.” I tell her.

  “Who, me?” She asks.

  “Yes, you.” I say.

  She gets started ripping my leg out of its socket and bending it, stretching it, and killing me. By the time she has been working on it for ten minutes, I am in tears.

  “If you don’t exercise it, it won’t heal properly.” Tammy says.

  “I know; I know, but it hurts like hell.” I tell her crying.

  She nods and sits down.

  “At this point, I’m happy I can walk. It does still hurt and always will, but you are going to have to let me deal with the pain and the limp in my own way. I can’t take the pain anymore of the bending and manipulation. I just can’t.” I tell her.

  “I am mobile, I can walk, I can exercise it as I take steps. That is good enough for me.” I tell her.

  She stares at me.

  “Ok. I will keep an eye on you to make sure it doesn’t get any worse than it is. If it does, it will be back to therapy.” She says.

  I nod.

  “How are you supposed to help round up patients with a busted leg?” Tammy asks.

  “Well, I hope they don’t run. They will be sick so I don’t think they will have much energy. Do you?” I ask.

  She shakes her head no.

  “Plus, Marc and Bobby will be there to run any down if we need to. I really don’t think it will come to that though. They should want to try a vaccine.” I say.

  You can never assume a person’s reaction.” Tammy says.

  “You got that right.” I say with a smile.

  I stand and turn to walk out.

  “You guys be careful.” Tammy says.

  “We will.” I say.

  Riley meets me on the patio, covered in mud.

  “What the hell have you been doing?” I ask him.

  He wags his tail.

  “Bobby!” I yell.

  “Yeah?” He yells back.

  “You aren’t watching my baby. Come and look at him.” I say.

  Bobby comes over, shaking his head.

  “Marc let him go into the barn.” Bobby says.

  “So, that isn’t mud; it’s horse shit?” I ask.

  “Yeah.” He says smiling.

  “Not sure why you’re smiling buster because you will be bathing him.” I say.

  Bobby’s smile drops instantly.

  “Riley, you are going to get in trouble young man.” I say.

  He still wags his tail.

  Bobby takes him in and bathes him, and I walk back inside to go over the plan with Diane.

  “Do you know a starting point for us tomorrow?” I ask Diane.

  “No. I was thinking about that. I know there are a few older people who live over on the next road. We can start there and see if any of them survived and if they are sick.” Diane says.

  “When Marc and I went to Jackson, we saw a couple of people who were infected with Toxo. They looked terrible. You could tell they were sick, but they looked as if they had a really bad case of the flu. The girl we talked with had a fever and she also had a few skin lesions, as if she had scratched herself raw. Depending on what stage they are in with Toxo, the symptoms could be worse than what she was showing. I believe Marc and I will be able to distinguish them from regular sickness since we saw those in Jackson. There was one who was already dead when we got into the facility. He was starting to decompose.” I say.

  “Was she in her right mind at that point?” Diane asks.

  “Yes. She was still alert and aware. She was in pain, however. But she talked with us and she knew she was going to die. She wanted it to be over with and have no more pain.” I said.

  Diane nods.

  “We will start with the Coleman family. They are elderly. Then we will check in on the Webster family. I think that would be the best place to start.” Diane says.

  “After that, I guess we should go into town and see if there is anyone walking around that isn’t a zombie.” I say.

  “Maybe we can find a few close to us.” Diane says.

  “Not likely. Most of what we see are already zombies. There aren’t many uninfected ones out here. I think maybe they are like us, holed up in a protected place.” I say.

  She nods.

  Diane and I go back inside to get dinner ready. Well, I go in to get out bag loaded with necessities for the trip to find a toxo victim. She cooks.

  As I walk inside, Kelley is at the stove. I can’t resist walking over to see what she is doing. With her, you never know.

  I reach the stove and stare.

  “Want one? She asks.

  “What the hell is it?” I ask her.

  “Potato chips.” She says proudly.

  So why this woman never went to cooking school is beyond me. When we were growing up, you couldn’t beat her into a kitchen; now you can’t beat her out of one.

  “Well, it looks kind of like a baked potato chip. Like the Lay’s Baked chips we used to buy.” I say.

  I take one and am shocked to find it actually tastes like a Lay’s baked chip.

  “Where did you get this idea?” I ask.

  “Stephen took me to a cooking school for part of our honeymoon. It was fun.” She says.

  “I think you may be the only woman I know who would like a trip to a cooking school for her honeymoon.” I say.

  Kelley and Stephen have not been married long. They had the wedding a few months before the zombies came. He spoils her and that makes me happy that she is happy now.

  “Did you make dip?” I ask.

  “Of course I did.” She says.

  I guess some of the few things everyone needs in the zombie apo
calypse is a cook, a doctor, a couple of nurses, and a family that doesn’t take shit off anyone.

  I think we have that all covered.

  Just when I think the chips will complete my night, Kelley slides a glass of wine over to me.

  Wine that she has apparently learned to make and it tastes pretty damn good.

  “I have more in the basement.” Kelley says.

  “So what are we now? Moonshiners?” I ask her.

  “If Grandpa James was still here, I’d ask him about making corn whiskey.” Kelley says.

  “I know you would, niece. I know you would.” I say.

  Chapter 6

  I wake to find the sun rays coming through the window scorching my retinas. In case I haven’t mentioned it, I am not a morning person.

  Looking at the clock, I see it is 6:30 and I groan. Riley is on his back, feet in the air, peeping at me from one eye. He isn’t too happy to be awake either. I guess his manure removal bath made him sleep better last night.

  Bobby is up and about, so I guess it’s time for me to be too.

  After getting out of bed and showering, I go to the kitchen. We still have the luxury of running water coming in the house since we have an old well that Burrell used when the house was first built.

  Since it’s been a little over one year since the outbreak, the time will soon come when there will be no more items that we have taken for granted during our lifetimes. Items such as gasoline and electricity, which is not available unless you happen to have a generator that runs on gasoline.

  Marc has been talking about reloading ammunition. I’m not really sure that is a safe option. I have seen it done, but that was many years ago and it was twenty-gauge shotgun shells I saw being reloaded. They didn’t explode on anyone, but how in the hell can you be one hundred percent sure they never will?

  When I finally reach the kitchen after ambling up the hallway like a zombie, Bobby, Marc and Diane are in there talking.

  “Are we ready to go?” I ask.

  They nod.

  “I made your breakfast to go.” Diane says.

  “Where’s my Pepsi?” I ask.

  “Can you not drink coffee like normal people early in the morning?” Marc asks.

  “For one thing, I don’t see any normal people here. Secondly, I don’t like it.” I say.

  “Bobby and I have everything in the truck. Doc gave us some of the vaccines. Who is going to give them the vaccines if they won’t come back with us?” Marc asks.