She hadn't needed to look behind her to know she was pursued. She had heard the slap of their feet against the pavement.
Katie had almost been to the truck when suddenly the old man was grabbed from behind. A woman bit into his throat and viciously dragged him down to the ground. Katie had almost stopped, but the old man had waved to her.
"Get in the truck! Take the gun! Get out of here! Go! Go!" He had continued to fight with the woman that had assaulted him, but he had faded fast. His blood had been a fountain against the pavement.
Pausing for the barest of moments, she had grabbed the shotgun from his quivering hand and had dove into the open driver's door. Slamming it shut, her hand had reached for the ignition only to realize the truck was already on.
The old man's gurgling voice had shouted, "Go! Go! Go!"
She had obeyed: shifted gears and went. In the rear view mirror, she had seen the small pack of mutilated humans reach the old man and dive onto him. As she had driven down the shoulder and past the stopped cars that honked at her, she had seen the old man one more time. His mutilated form had been running with the rest of the pack.
"Don't turn here!"
Kate shook herself out of her memories and slammed on the brakes. "Shit!" It was a cul-de-sac. She quickly started to turn around when she saw a nightmarish vision. Around fifteen of those things erupted out into the street and began to race toward the truck cutting off their escape route.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as she quickly pulled the truck around.
"Just do it," Jenni said softly beside her. "They're not real anymore."
Katie aimed right for the center of the throng, floored the truck and braced herself. The deer guard caught the first few and flung them away from the vehicle. One skinny teenager bounced onto the hood and he clung to hood, beating at the windshield with one hand.
Katie slammed on the brake and the momentum carried him off the hood and his hand, already barely fastened to his arm by strands of tendon and skin, snapped off.
"Oh, God," she whispered.
"It's okay," Jenni said softly. "Really."
Katie hit the accelerator and they both were jostled when they drove over the youth's body. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard a mushy popping sound.
"What is happening? What the hell is this?" Katie shook her head, her blond hair falling softly across her brow.
"The end," Jenni sighed. "The end."
3. As The City Falls
The white truck hurtled down the streets of suburbia that were quickly falling into bloody bedlam. It was obvious that whatever was happening was spreading at an accelerated pace. Gunshots rang through the morning air. People's screams rose in a cacophony. Cars careened crazily through the streets. At times it was only Katie's quick reflexes that saved them from an accident.
Beside her Jenni hit the Redial button once more. Katie couldn't bear to look at the phone and see Lydia's beautiful face smiling out at her.
If this wasn't the end, it sure did look like it. It had to be terrorists. Some sort of weapon that made people crazed. PCP, something. Katie rubbed her mouth with her fingers. That had to be it.
Since Jenni's proclamation of the end, they had both been silent. It was too much to absorb.
Too much to comprehend.
They just had to keep moving.
They had to keep going.
But where?
If only her Dad would answer his cell phone. Of course, he was probably going nuts trying to reach her. She could see him now in the center of the hub being the strong police chief of legend. Big Bruce was certainly doing his best to get this insanity under control. Tears threatened to fall as she thought of his strong craggy face under his military buzz cut. It was a soothing thought in this moment.
And then his voice filled the truck cab.
"Hello? Katie?"
And Katie started to cry as Jenni said, "No, but she's here with me."
Katie grabbed the phone away from Jenni. "Daddy!"
"Katie, are you and Lydia okay?"
Katie shook her head and whispered, "No, no. I'm fine, but Lydia, she didn't make it. She...Daddy...she..."
"I'm sorry, Katie-baby. I'm sorry."
She could tell by his voice that he truly was. Despite his misgivings with her lifestyle, he had come to accept and be quite close to Lydia. Though her mother had remained blissfully in denial until her death, her father had tried hard to understand. His painful, sometimes embarrassing questions had only showed her how much he was trying. And when he had shown up at her wedding, dressed in his military uniform, beaming and near tears, to walk her down the aisle, she knew that he loved her even if he didn't understand her completely.
Now they shared a moment of silence over the woman Katie had loved so much.
"I'm sorry, honey," he said again. "But you can't let it affect you right now, understand?"
"Yes, I know. I'm trying to keep a cool head."
"Good girl." A tinge of pride crept into his tone, though it remained dominated by fear. "Listen, Katie, whatever the hell this is, it's all over the city. You need to get down to the police department. We're barricaded in and you'll be safe here. We got the National Guard on its way."
"Okay, Daddy. Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can."
"Katie, be careful." His voice was rich with emotion and she wiped a tear away.
"I'm armed, Daddy. I have a good vehicle."
"Not that little--"
"No, no. A truck. I'm in a truck."
"How...nevermind...this day...too many weird things."
Katie nodded and pressed the cell phone tighter to her ear, ignoring the little stab of her earring against her skin. "Daddy, what are they?"
"I don't know. I don't know. The damn Ruskies are behind it. I know it. We never could trust them. Everyone else is saying terrorists, but I'm telling you, Katie, the Soviet Union never really died."
She couldn't help but laugh a little. He was such a Cold War warrior. She could hear many voices behind him, demanding, questioning. Without a doubt her dear old dad was at the center of the storm.
"Katie, I gotta go. I love you. Get here as soon as you can. Be careful."
"Okay, Daddy. Okay. Love you."
Katie snapped the phone shut and pressed it tightly against her lips. She couldn't think of Lydia right now. She couldn't think of how she had pulled up to their beautiful home to see Lydia tearing at the mailman with their neighbors at her side. She couldn't think of how Lydia had rushed toward her, not to kiss her and hold her and make the world better, but to kill.
"I know what they are," Jenni said softly beside her. She was intently staring at her feet, especially her one bloodstained toe.
"Yeah? Well, what are they then?"
"Zombies.”
Katie laughed bitterly, then her voice died away as the crested a hill. Before them lay the city. It was smoldering. Down in the city, chaos ruled. Even from their high position, they could see clearly that it was overrun. The things were every where.
The phone rang.
"Katie?"
"Daddy?"
"Katie, don't come here! Don't come here! I just got word in. It's not safe to come in. The National Guard was overrun. Don't come, Katie! Run! Get the hell out of the city! Keep safe, baby, keep safe."
Katie rested her forehead against the steering wheel. "Daddy..."
"Just do it, baby. Just do it."
Either he hung up or the lines finally went dead for suddenly there was nothing but a pulsing tone.
Katie looked up through the windshield as she clutched the steering wheel. A car sped past her and down the hill toward downtown. She watched it for several blocks and then it was overrun by a horde of those things.
"We need to go now," Jenni's faint, singsong voice said. She turned her glassy gaze to Katie. "We really do."
Katie turned the wheel and they headed back up the road.
"Turn here," Jenni said.
/>
Katie obeyed automatically. Tears streamed down her face.
Jenni pointed again. "Turn here."
Katie turned the truck and sped down a back road that sliced behind the suburbs nestled into the hill.
"It will take us far away from the city," Jenni sighed and reached down and cleaned her toe with the edge of her bathrobe. "Away from the zombies."
Katie whispered, "There is no such thing."
"Then what are they?" Jenni's voice held a hint of emotion. "Some bum bit Lloyd last night when he was coming home from work. This morning he ate my baby!" Abruptly, her voice was on the edge of hysteria.
Lydia racing toward her, bloody hands stretched out, her chest torn open...
Katie drew in a sharp breath.
"If they are not zombies, what are they?" Jenni's voice was shrill.
Katie looked at her and reached out and grabbed Jenni's cold, clammy hand with her own.
"Zombies, okay, Jenni. They are zombies. And you're right. This is the end."
Jenni sighed and nodded and laid her head against the back of the passenger seat. "I know. I know..." And she closed her eyes and slept
4. Into the Hills
Jenni woke to the steady hum of the road. She opened her eyes slowly. Her nightmares released her and she sighed with relief. Her dreams were even worse than this new, horrible reality. In her sleep she had curled up, resting against the passenger door. Now raising her head, she saw the dry and caked blood her son had smeared on the window when he had tried in vain to reach her.
Not for hugs and kisses, but for far worse.
Beyond the swath of gore the world was speeding by. Hills, large and small, covered in trees decked out in colorful spring flowers greeted her gaze. Time for Easter and Easter baskets. She would fill them with candies and toys and the kids were scramble around the backyard looking for colorful eggs. But that wouldn't happen now. It was all over.
Lloyd had taken away her kids. Stolen them away. Just like she had known he would. Maybe he was something else when he had attacked them, but he had only finished out the cycle he had started when he had decided to marry his blushing eighteen year old bride. His looks, his money, and his success had blinded her. He was older and wiser. In her heart, she hadn't truly loved him, but she had believed she would one day. When he spoke of his first failed marriage, she had vowed that she would never let him down. She would be his perfect wife, his perfect companion, and that he would never have to say a negative word about her.
Somehow, she had failed him. No matter how hard she had tried, she had failed him. At first his lashings were verbal and fierce, then it was the back of his hand, and, eventually, it was his fists. But she had continued to try. She had struggled with her inadequacies, done everything he asked of her.
Toward the end, she had known in her heart it would come to this. She would either die at his hand or he would kill the children as he had threatened to do so many times before.
"But he was a zombie in the end," she said softly.
"What?"
Jenni blinked, not realizing she had spoken aloud. She turned slowly to gaze at the woman beside her.
The driver of the truck was a very pretty lady with golden blond hair that fell just to her shoulders in tousled curls. She had a strong, pretty feminine face with cat-eyes and a sensuous mouth. Jenni was sure that the driver was the sort of girl who was the homecoming queen and head cheerleader and student council president all rolled into one. The smart, pretty girl who was actually nice. Jenni felt comforted by this. She had always been on the fringe of the popular girls. She understood this type. They lead, you followed. It was simple.
Her name was Katie. That was right. Katie.
"I was dreaming," Jenni answered.
Katie nodded. "You didn't miss anything. After the last traffic light on the edge of the neighborhood it was smooth sailing."
"No one comes this way anymore. Not since the highway was built. I like it out here. It's peaceful." Jenni didn't feel so cold anymore. She still felt awfully numb, but it was a pleasant sort of numb.
"I'm not sure where we are going," Katie said after a beat. "I'm just driving."
Jenni looked at the phone resting on Katie's lap. "Did you talk to your Dad again?"
Katie shook her head, pressing her lips tightly together for a moment. "No, no. There's no signal." She motioned to the radio. "And that doesn't work."
Jenni nodded, understanding. They were alone, detached from the rest of the world. Strangely, this was how she often felt. It was almost comforting.
Besides, she was sure Katie would figure things out. She looked strong and very capable.
"We'll need gas soon," Katie said. "Know if there are any stations out this way?"
"Yeah. There are. One is coming up soon. About two hills over." Jenni slid her fingers through her hair and sat up a little. "Maybe those things aren't out here?"
"That's what I'm hoping for."
Jenni laughed a little, her voice sounding odd to her ears. "You know, this isn't supposed to happen."
Katie glanced over at her and nodded just a little. "I know, but it is happening, whatever this is." Then she added quickly, "Zombies, or whatever they are, just shouldn't exist. Maybe it's some sort of terrorist weapon. Something like that."
"They aren't supposed to be so fast. They're supposed to be slow. Very slow." Jenni sighed and pouted a little.
Running down the stairs, trying to evade Lloyd, that had been terrifying. There had been no time to think, just run. It was sheer luck that he didn't seem to know how to open the door and had just banged against it.
"How do you know that?"
"Movies. Lloyd always watched those movies. I was afraid but he made me watch." Jenni chewed on her bottom lip. "If the movie is right, we can't let them bite us." She looked over at Katie warily. "You're not bitten, are you?"
Katie looked at her for a long, frightening moment.
"No, no. Are you?"
Jenni sighed, relieved. "No. I'm not."
But she almost had been. Lloyd had almost grabbed hold of her when Mikey had turned back and yelled, "Leave Mom alone!"
She covered her face with one hand. She tried hard not remember the horrible fear she had felt "Run, Mikey," she had screamed and run out the front door.
How it slammed behind her, she didn't know. Maybe she closed it. Maybe Mikey did. Maybe when Lloyd had grabbed her son he had shoved it shut. But the front door had slammed and she had been alone.
"How did you find me?"
Katie briefly glanced over at her and sighed. "I got lost in your neighborhood trying to get off the highway. I heard you screaming. I pulled up behind you just as--You didn't seem to notice me so I yelled."
That easy. That simple. Why hadn't she heard the truck pull up behind her on the lawn? Well, she had been screaming and Mikey-
Jenni leaned toward the window and studied her reflection in the tiny side mirror. Her eyes looked too big, too wide. Her face was very pale.
"I think I'm in shock," she said to Katie.
"Aren't we all," Katie responded in a somewhat harsh voice. Thinking better of her comment, she said in a much softer tone, "Yeah, I think you are, too. It was hard to see my wife like that. But your husband, your children…" She reached out and gripped Jenni's hand tightly. "I can't imagine."
Jenni clung to her hand desperately, grateful for the kindness. She really didn't care about Lloyd being dead...undead...whatever. The children. That was harder. Much harder. She didn't want to think about it.
She wanted to ask Katie about her wife, the beautiful woman in the photo on the phone, but she was afraid to ask. Afraid that Katie might think she was being judgmental and withdraw her comforting hand.
"Shit!" Katie jerked her hand away from Jenni and yanked the steering wheel hard to the left. Slamming on the brakes, they both were jerked forward and caught firmly, painfully by their seat belts.
A car was idling on the right hand side of the road. A m
an stood near it, covered in blood, looking at their truck in a daze. It was as if something snapped inside of him and he flung out his hands and rushed toward the truck.
Katie quickly reversed off the shoulder of the road, then shifted gears and the truck leaped forward. The man's hand slapped hard against the side of the truck and they could hear his nails scrapping the metal as they escaped him.
Jenni whirled around in her seat and looked out the back window. The man was running hard, pumping his arms, screeching.
"How fast are we going?"
"Thirty," Katie responded. "He's keeping up."
Suddenly the man howled and his legs seemed to pop out of alignment and he tumbled hard to the pavement.
Katie slammed on the brakes and looked back. "He blew his joints!"
The man staggered to his feet, looked around, saw the truck and began to slowly hobble toward them.
"Now that is the way they are supposed to be!" Jenni grinned at Katie triumphantly.
"He blew out his knees!" Katie laughed.
They both screamed as a mouth filled with sharp teeth suddenly appeared in the back window.
"Shit!" Katie blinked.
A German Shepherd stared at them looking a little dazed. He was smiling at them, but looked worried.
Katie flung open the door and looked into the bed of the truck. A veterinarian's temporary cardboard carrier was chewed open and the young German Shepherd stood on wobbly legs before her.
Jenni leaned out of the driver's side. "Uh, zombie-"
Katie looked up to see the man still shambling toward them. He was a distance away, but would soon be a problem.
Jenni picked up the shotgun from the floor of the truck and handed it to Katie. "Just shoot him in the head. That's how it works."
Katie blinked at her, then looked back at the man. "I can't." She handed the gun back and reached out to the dog. "Come here, puppy, come here."
The dog padded slowly over to her and she lifted his heavy body out. Holding him tightly, she slid him into the cab. As a second thought, she snagged the vet paperwork taped to the carrier.
Jenni, meanwhile, solemnly got out of the cab, released the safety, pumped the shotgun and waited. The zombified man was almost to the truck, moaning, reaching out to her. For a moment, he looked remarkably like Lloyd.
As The World Dies: The First Days-A Zombie Trilogy Page 2
