Survive

by Todd Sprague

  “I umm, I think we have a situation. You better come quick.”

  John followed Sara to the carport where the tables were set up and covered in vinyl tablecloths. Christmas lights were strung inside the carport, along with tinfoil covered balls of some sort, hanging from the center struts. John smiled at the decorations but caught himself as he heard the yelling.

  Pamela and Roy Kaminski were arguing very loudly in the far corner. Pamela had a big metal pot in her hand. Roy was bleeding from his forehead.

  “Why the hell did you do that?” he yelled.

  “She’s not dead, you asshole!” Pamela yelled back at him. She raised the pot for another swing at him but John reached her just then. He grabbed the pot from her and gently set it down on a table.

  “Pam, what’s going on?” John asked, stepping in between the two.

  “He said Theresa was dead.” Tears began streaming down Pamela’s face.

  “I did not!” Roy yelled. “I said she’s gone. Probably went to New York with one of her boyfriends or something.”

  “SHUT UP!” Pamela yelled, lunging for Roy again.

  John barely caught her and held her back. Sara quietly walked up to Roy and escorted him out of the carport, berating him so quietly John almost didn’t hear her.

  He held Pamela until she calmed down. “What’s going on? I thought your daughter and the kids were with her boyfriend?”

  “I thought so too, but Roy just now told me she called before we left, saying she was coming up here.”

  John frowned. If she hadn’t arrived by now, it was unlikely she was going to make it at all. He kept his opinion to himself, though.

  “We don’t know anything for sure, Pam. I’m sure she’s okay, wherever she is. The boys, too,” He said, speaking of Theresa’s two children, Joshua and Petey. “Look, I’m taking some of the guys and going out the day after tomorrow to get Sara’s family. We’ll look for them then.”

  Pam looked hopeful. “Will you?”

  “Yeah, we will.” John smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I’ll try, he thought to himself. I swear.

  Pamela calmed down a bit after that and picked the pot up again. John watched her for a few moments, then, satisfied she was calmer, he left her to her cooking and went to find Sara.

  * * *

  The whole family, with the exception of Roger who was manning the northern barricade, and Kurt, who was resting inside, sat at the long tables covered with food and drinks of all kinds. People were laughing and talking, and most importantly, eating. The Kensingtons sat at one of the tables eating the roast chicken, homemade lasagna, venison stew, and fresh home made corn bread Sara had prepared alongside the other women. A table sat off in the corner covered with steaming hot pies and fruit tarts.

  “You’ve outdone yourself, Sara,” John said between bites of maple crusted brook trout, a variation on her salmon specialty.

  She beamed happily at him as she walked past, refilling a platter of meat at the table. “Couldn’t have done it without the other ladies here. How about it, girls? We decided we don’t mind feeding our big, strong men,” she said, winking at her husband.

  “And strong women!” Allison quipped, smiling.

  “To love, and family,” Sara said, proposing a toast. “To friends, and to the family we didn’t choose, but fate chose for us.” She motioned to her relatives through marriage. Even June Mason was smiling, eating home made macaroni and cheese. She waved at Sara as she walked past.

  John ate contentedly, enjoying the feast and the sounds of laughter, when the Christmas lights flickered. Everyone grew silent as they dimmed. They grew brighter again, and the sounds of the family eating grew louder again. A few minutes later the lights flickered once more. Then they went out completely. Silence reigned as everyone waited for the lights to come back on. After several minutes, Patrick said “Well, that’s it, then.”

  Everyone went back to eating as candles were lit and set out among the tables. The party continued well into the night, until most of the food had been eaten and most of the belts had been loosened. As the family was sitting around polishing off the pies and fruit tarts, they heard a single gunshot from the barricade.

  John grabbed his MP5 and ran down the road towards the barrier. Others followed, including Sara and Patrick. As they neared the barricade they could see Roger standing on top, pointing his rifle down at something. Bright light streamed around the barricade. Loud shouting was coming from the other side. John climbed up the ladder and looked down.

  A truck sat idling in front of the barricade. A huge steel security door had been mounted to the front of the truck as some kind of plow. Dents and red streaks covered it, marring the stark gray paint. A shiny brass doorknob stood out amid the blood and gore. The truck itself was also covered in blood and dirt, making it impossible to see what color it was. The cab of the truck appeared crowded with people, as was the open bed. People sat and stood in the back, shouting at those on the barricade to let them in.

  Sara reached the top of the barricade and took in the scene. Then she started yelling and jumping up and down.

  “Sara, what’s wrong?” John asked her.

  “It’s Jose! Oh God, John! That’s his truck!” She pointed at the beast, and John could finally make out the flames painted on the side. An arm waved out of the driver’s side window up at them.

  “It’s okay, let them in,” John said to Roger, smiling. “They’re family.”

  Roger shook his head and pointed. “No way, look at that.”

  John looked to where Roger was pointing. A small round object sat on the hood, wrapped in barbed wire. As John looked, the object moved.

  “Holy shit, is that what I think it is?” John asked.

  “It’s a head. A Zed head.” Roger confirmed.

  John shook his head slowly, but said, “Alright, let them in anyway.”

  They climbed down off the barricade and Roger moved it to the side with the orange Kubota tractor.

  The truck pulled through the pass and stopped. Roger pushed the barricade back into place and climbed back up to his post. John and Sara ran over to the truck as both doors opened. Jose burst out of the drivers side and ran towards Sara. He had a sword strapped to his back, handle sticking up over his left shoulder. Over his right, the pistol grip of the shotgun John had given him stuck up over a leather scabbard. A red and white striped bandanna held the mop of hair out of the teen’s eyes. Someone in the group behind the barrier whispered, “Guys, I think that’s Rambo.”

  Jose wrapped Sara in a hug as Dierdre Maxwell jumped down out of the passenger’s door and ran to her daughter. They were crying as they hugged each other, everyone speaking at once. John noticed another person climbing out of the passenger seat. Tina walked toward the hugging trio. John winced to himself as he saw that half of her hair was gone, angry red skin showing through where hair used to be. He walked up to Tina, a look of concern on his face. “Tina, what happened to you?”

  Tina looked toward Jose and frowned. “He was so sure he could make a flamethrower...”

  John tried hard not to laugh. Tina fumed and kicked a rock in his direction.

  As Morgan began helping strangers down from the back of the truck, he heard Sara ask, “Where’s dad?”

  Just then, a golden blur jumped down from the back of the truck and ran headlong at Sara. She bent down, laughing, as Fish ran right into her. He knocked her flat on her back, licking her face. Finally, she managed to climb out from under the big yellow lab. She looked at him and frowned, a puzzled look on her face as she took in the bandage on the dog’s behind.

  “Oh my god! Mom, what happened to his tail?”

  Jose gave her a sad look. Dierdre had tears in her eyes. Jose finally spoke. “They tried to get in the back door. Fish was barking like crazy, and they were banging on the door, moaning and scratching and biting. Eddie was there with us, he’d made it to our house, but he led a bunch of them right to the door. Dad thought he could make them go away
so he opened up the door and sprayed them with a fire extinguisher,” he wiped at one of his eyes. “It didn’t stop them. He started hitting them with it, but one of them bit him.”

  “I told Mom... I told her what would happen. But he said he was okay. He went in and laid down on the couch. Fish was laying in front of him. He started to get sick. Mom tried to take care of him but he just kept getting sicker and sicker.”

  Sara started to cry, already knowing what she needed to know from her little brother’s story, but she let him continue. “Eddie and I nailed the doors shut, and everything looked okay. Then mom screamed. I ran into the room, and Dad sat up and bit Fish on the tail.”

  Sara’s tears streamed as she listened. Forever a daddy’s girl, her sobs started to grow in intensity as she rubbed Fish’s big face and listened. Dierdre stood behind her daughter, crying openly.

  “I knew that Dad was gone. But Fish, he was just trying to get away, but Dad was biting his tail. So I cut it off with my sword.” Jose pulled the sword a few inches out of the scabbard. He let it fall back into it and continued. “Eddie jumped on Dad, and Dad bit him too. We all ran out of the parlor and locked him in. We didn’t know what else to do so we left him there. We got in the truck and came here. We picked up all these people on the way. Mom wouldn’t let me leave them.”

  Dierdre wiped her eyes and shook her head. “That wouldn’t have been nice, Jose.”

  Sara slumped to the ground, held onto Fish, and cried. He licked away her tears. Dierdre knelt down to the ground and folded her daughter into her arms.

  John looked at Jose. “Wait, what happened to Eddie?”

  Jose looked at the round lump on the hood of the truck. “He didn’t make it.”

  John looked closer and saw that the lump was the head of Jose’s friend, Eddie. It had been stuck onto the hood ornament and held in place with loops of barbed wire. The thing’s lower jaw worked back and forth slowly as the milky white eyes looked right at John. “Dude, that’s so gross. I guess this means decapitation doesn’t kill them. Great.”

  The crowd of people including the newcomers started walking back towards the driveway. John held Sara as she walked, grief stricken, with Dierdre on the other side of her, and Jose just behind. She had never felt so torn before, grieving over the loss of her father yet so thankful for her mother and brother’s arrival. Fish ran ahead and barked happily as he found Princess. John couldn’t help but smirk when he saw Princess’ eyes widen when she went to sniff the tailless behind of her best friend.

  As the group walked into the driveway, Pamela came out to meet them. She ran right at one of the newcomers yelling, “Theresa!” It was only then that John realized Theresa and her two boys, all covered in dirt and grime, had been in the back of Jose’s truck.

  Chapter 9

  September 24, Zed Year One

  Brattleboro, Vermont

  The Maxwell reunion ran late into the evening. John let Sara and her family catch up in the cabin while he helped find sleeping quarters for the rest of the newcomers. He tried to meet everyone, but the scene was too chaotic for him to remember everyone’s names. There was a family from New Hampshire whose car had stalled out on the highway, and they had hidden inside until Jose had arrived. Two Jamaican farm hands, in Vermont for the fall harvest, had managed to survive in a school bus, along with several others who had all found a way to hang on until help had arrived.

  John vowed to get to know them all better as soon as he could, but in the meantime, he found sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows for them all. Most of them slept on the floor of June Mason’s home, but a few were able to find couches and reclining chairs to sleep in.

  “It’s just for tonight, folks. We’ll work something better out tomorrow.” Then he left them to get some sleep and walked back to the cabin. As he approached the small building, he could tell from the noise and lantern light from within that Sara, Dierdre, Jose and Tina were still awake. He decided to give them a few more moments and headed towards the little shack he’d where he had set Douglas up with the radio. Douglas was just heading out of the door when he got there.

  “Doug, how’s it going?”

  “Oh hey, John. What’s all that ruckus down there?”

  John looked puzzled for a moment before exclaiming, “Oh God, nobody told you? Theresa and the kids made it.”

  “What? How?” Douglas looked relieved at the news of his sister and nephews.

  “Sara’s brother, Jose, picked them up on the way here. He picked up a bunch of survivors. They got lucky.”

  “Oh thank God.” Douglas sat down on the ground and leaned against the door of the shack. He held his head in his hands. “I thought they were dead. I really did.”

  John sat down next to Douglas, not saying a word. They sat that way for several minutes. Douglas broke the silence. “Jose, huh? How’d he get a name like that?”

  “Eh, it’s a long story. But the short version is his parents were on vacation in Mexico when he was conceived, so they named him after a guy down there that gave them a great deal on some pot.”

  Douglas just looked at John for a moment. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, but don’t tell him that. They don’t want him to know. And Sara doesn’t like hearing the story either. Supposedly, if he’d been born a girl, his name would have been Mary Jane.”

  They both chuckled at that.

  “So, have you heard anything?” John asked.

  “Yeah, a few things. I was going to go get some sleep and then put all this together into some kind of order tomorrow. I’ve heard from a few groups of survivors. Some are in government shelters, or bunkers. A few are in isolated farms. I talked to one family hiding in a sewer.”

  “Anything from the government?”

  “Yeah, the Lieutenant Governor and some National Guard troops are holed up in a bunker in Montpelier, but they aren’t saying much. And nothing from the Feds, but I did hear some rumors that they are hiding out under Cheyenne mountain.”

  John thought for a minute. He seemed to come to some sort of decision and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Douglas.

  “I want you to do me a favor. Check this frequency. If you hear anything on it, anything at all, let me know. Get a hold of me on the walkie talkie right away.”

  Douglas took the paper and nodded. He stood up, offering his hand to John.

  “I’m going to go find my sister then turn in.”

  “Thanks, Doug. Reminds me of when we were kids.”

  “Yeah, but without the undead monsters.”

  Douglas walked off into the night. John looked into the shed on his way past and noted several push pins placed all over the map on the wall. He nodded to himself and walked toward the cabin.

  * * *

  “Oh man, you should have seen it! I whipped my sword out and sliced right through its neck! And then the second one came at me, and I yelled for Tina to throw me the flamethrower. Man it was sick!” Jose danced back and forth in the living room waving his sword. John ducked as he came through the door, barely avoiding a free haircut. Jose looked abashed, but continued.

  “So she threw it to me. I thought the tape would hold the hose together, but when I turned it on, it kinda sprayed everywhere.” He lowered his eyes to the floor as Tina started fuming silently, glaring at him.

  “But after we put her hair out, it was fine! So then, we finished getting the gas and got back into the truck...”

  John raised his hand. “Wait, did you just say you were using a flamethrower, while pumping gas?”

  Jose nodded his head and grinned. “Yeah, it was sick!”

  John motioned for Jose to continue with his story.

  “But then we noticed a huge pack of them coming at us. I whipped out of the parking lot and got on the highway. I had to run down a couple in the way, but that door works pretty well. Anyway, that’s when Eddie got sick. So I stopped the truck and told him to get out.”

  John traded a glance with
Sara. Her eyes were red, but she grinned a little at Jose’s colorful tale and enthusiasm. Fish and Princess lay next to each other on the floor in front of her.

  “I told him he could ride in the back until he changed, but then I’d have to kill him. He said he’d be okay, but if he changed, he wanted me to take him somewhere nice. Anyway, he got all sick and stuff in the back of the truck. Finally I pulled over again. Mom said I couldn’t bring him with us cause it was too dangerous.”

  Dierdre nodded, sipping a cup of hot tea. Good thing we have a wood cook stove, John thought to himself, mentally planning for the days ahead.

  “So I brought his head. He can’t hurt anyone.”

  “Well, still, we can’t keep him...it.” John said, coming out of his reverie.

  “Oh yeah, I know. I’ll tell him he’s got to go in the morning. He’s cool with it, I’m sure.”

  Sara and Tina both rolled their eyes at the same time. John just shook his head.

  They unrolled sleeping bags and extra blankets on the floor. Sara insisted her mother take the bed, at least for the night. John agreed, and together they convinced Dierdre. Finally, John, Sara, Tina, and Jose, fell asleep on the living room floor, adding their snores to those of Princess and Fish.

  * * *

  John awoke to the sound of distant gunfire. He was already running out the door, rifle in one hand, radio in the other, when the others began to wake up. As he ran down the path to the driveway, his radio crackled to life.

  “Zeds at the barricade. Big group, at least twenty, maybe thirty,” Truck said, calmly. “I could use a hand up here.”

  “On my way. Just hang on.”

  Roger and Morgan came running up the driveway, heading in the same direction. Both had their rifles held at the ready. A few of the newcomers poked their heads out of June’s house, but John waved them all back as he ran past.

  “Stay inside, folks. You’re safe here.” I hope, he thought to himself.