I turned and looked at Rick and Amanda. “Well, here we go.....”
“Please be careful, I don't like this...” Amanda said with concern in her voice.
“Just remember man if he does anything, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G, just get back in the fucking truck and get us the hell outta here!” Rick argued.
With Rick's advice ringing in my ears I took a deep breath and stepped out of the truck, making sure I stayed well within the frame of the driver side door, just in case things went sour.
Before I could say anything the stranger spoke.
“Hey, hey there . . . I'm, I'm not gonna hurt anyone,” he yelled.
He sounded winded.
“My name’s David, I promise I ain't armed. Not gonna hurt no one; just wanna talk. Ain't seen nobody livin' in months . . . good ta' see someone on the right side of the ground for a change...”.
I looked back at Rick and Amanda before speaking.
“Bruce, I'm Bruce. I've got some friends here in the truck with me too.” I thought to bring that up quickly, the whole strength in numbers idea. I figured he would be less likely to try something if he knew it would be three on one, instead of just me by myself.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked.
“It’s how I stay alive! Gotta keep movin', you gotta keep movin' you know; why they sniff you out if you don't,” he said.
Just by that alone I knew he had been on the road a long time and had experienced the undead first hand.
He began to speak again, “I've been on the road now for months, back roads, country roads. Gotta stay out of tha' cities though, that's the dangerous places. You stay away from where people are, and you keep away from where those things wanna be!”
His accent was thick and heavy, but I could tell he was trying to be lighthearted.
Feeling a little more comfortable by the travelers demeanor, Rick stepped out from the opposite side, “So why the bike? Not exactly safe, is it?” Rick asked sounding more serious than was probably necessary.
“Sure it is! A lot safer than that big old truck of yurs!”, the stranger said with a smile.
Rick took the bait, “How do you figure that?”
“Well that old thing, you see cars got a funny way of breakin' down right when you need them most. They have a bad habit of runnin' out of gas too, and they make a lot of noise, see, and those damned things are attracted to noise.” The traveler brought up a good point, but one we had figured out a long time ago.
“Well, you got me there,” Rick said, “but still you don't have much protection there”.
“Well, see here I don't put myself in situations where I have to. I stay off of main roads, don't wear bright colors and I'm quiet, I don't draw any attention to myself. It's done me pretty good so far,” he told us.
“So where you from? You don't sound like you’re from around here,” I questioned.
“Down south . . . few hundred miles so far; as best I can figure. Been on the move for months, headin' up north,” he told us.
“Why north?” Rick asked.
“Well those things are dead right? No body heat, so I head somewheres' cold and they will just freeze up. The further north I get, the safer I am.”
“Damn that's a pretty good idea!” Rick exclaimed, as he looked at me in surprise.
“See there, I ain't all that stupid, bike and all!” the traveler said, cracking a smile as he spoke.
By this time Amanda had gotten out of the truck as well, but still stood firmly behind Rick.
Rick, Amanda and I looked at each other and nodded.
“David, this is my buddy Rick and his girlfriend Amanda,” I said gesturing to them both.
David walked up and reached out to shake their hands “Well, it’s right nice to meet you all. I was beginnin' to think I was about the only one left.”
“Well to be honest we were starting to think the same thing...” Rick added.
David looked at us for a second, and I could see the question in his eyes. “So, what in the hell are you all doin' out here on the open road? Y'all sure are takin' an awful big risk.”
“We're on our way to Panatauk. It's another twenty miles or so back up the road,” I told him
“Aw, hell! You kids ain't got no business going in there. I came through there, if I ain't mistaken. It’s a real mess, I wouldn't risk it if I were you, real bad idea there,” He cautioned.
“Pretty bad then?” I asked.
“Yeah, from what I saw, it's a big ol' mess. I doubt you'll be able to get yur' truck up in there anyway, streets being clogged and all what they are. If I was you, I'd turn around and go on back. I avoided it as much as I could, lots of smoke comin' from the city. Yep, pretty bad idea if you ask me...”
He stressed how bad the situation was. It made us reconsider for a moment; unfortunately we had no choice but to go.
If we could go back we would, but our friend has to have some medicine. We have to get in there,” I told him.
“Pretty big risk you’re taking for a bottle of aspirin if you ask me,” he said, shaking his head.
“I know, but it’s not like that, we don't have a choice,” I said, confirming the necessity of the trip.
“I understand, had a good friend myself years ago, woulda' done anythin' for him. Hell, we even were in the service together. Died years ago though, so I see where yur' coming from. You do what you gotta do to take care of your friend.”
“We're going to; but you can wish us luck and we would really appreciate any other information you could give us,” I said.
“I'll tell ya whatever I happen to know” he replied.
“David, you hungry? I asked. “You wanna have a bite to eat with us? We could use a break anyway; you’re more than welcome to join us.”
“Damn that does sound pretty good. Ain't been able to eat much, eat on the run as it is. Chips, candy bars, soda, whatever is quick and keeps me going.”
Amanda spoke up, “Let’s get off the road then! I don't like it here.”
Rick replied, “Okay let’s get her out of here. David why don't you load up your bike in the back of the truck and we'll find us a good spot to have a bite to eat. Bruce has got some sandwiches and cold drinks in the cab.”
“Well now, you don't have to tell me twice!” David said with a grin.
Rick helped David gather his gear and load up his bike in the back of the truck, while Amanda stayed up in front with me. We all piled in and off we went, driving a mile or so up the road until we found an area that would be safe.
We left the main road, diverting onto a gravel path that eventually lead to an open area. David and Rick bounced around in the back hanging on for dear life, as I managed to hit every hole and pitch in the rough terrain there was. The truck came to a halt in a cloud of dust.
Amanda and I gathered the food and supplies while Rick and David made room in the back.
We all sat, one person to each corner of the bed so we could see anything that might walk up on us. Amanda found her calling as makeshift hostess, dispensing sandwiches, drinks and chips to the hungry gang. For the first time in a long while she seemed relaxed and most content.
We said little at first as we were all so hungry, our primary focus at first being nourishment. David scarfed down his sandwich in two or three bites and seemed to be in the most dire need of sustenance.
Finally after catching his breath David spoke. “DAMN that's good! Whew, really good! I couldn't tell you the last time I had anything good to eat. Ha ha ICE! Mm... That’s good! Been able to get my hands on soda, juice, even beer, but nothing cold! Feels good!”
“Well there's plenty more, so eat all you want!” Amanda said.
“Thank ya' much!” David replied, as he choked down a bag of stale chips.
We sat eating and chatting away, but keeping one eye on the surroundings. Those damned things always had a knack of popping up when you least expected it. Finally after a while we were able to relax and re-collect ourselves of the events t
hat led us to this point. As everyone calmed the questions and answers started to flow, David shared what little information he had gathered and we did the same, nothing of what he said was particularly promising. For all intents and purposes most major cities were gone. Once again it came down to numbers, most areas were simply overrun. It became more and more apparent that our rural landscape was the only thing that had saved us from the fate that so many others had suffered.
Amanda spoke up first. “So, what brought you way out here David? Where you from?” she asked curiously of this stranger.
“Well pumpkin, I lived in Harketsville. Oh, probably several hundred miles from here I reckin'. That's been almost twenty years ago now, but she got the cancer and I figured it was time to settle in one spot so I could take care of her. She had some family down there in Harketsville, so that's where we ended up.”
“Can I ask what happened?” Rick cautiously asked.
“Well, she got sicker and sicker. We did all the usual stuff, chemo, radiation and all that, doctors said it would help; but in the end it didn't...just made her suffer longer.” David paused for a moment as he stared up at the sky. “She’s been gone nine years this November. Don't even seem hardly possible...”
David continued telling his story. “We didn't have any kids, it was just me and her, and when she passed, why hell, I didn't have anything to hang around for. Nobody but myself to take care of so when all THIS shit hit the fan, I just hit the road...”
David asked in return. “so what’s yur'alls story? How in the hell did you all manage to make it?”
Rick looked at Amanda and I. “Don't know really. Luck maybe? That's all it could be. Bruce and I were in town when the reports started coming in, Amanda was at work. It all happened quick no one really knew what was going on.” Rick looked at me to fill in the gaps.
“Yeah we barely had time to get our shit and get back home before we found out what was really going on. We lived so far out in the country that those fucking things couldn't really get to us...” I was going to continue, but Amanda cut me off.
“Well, they almost did get us! Rick and I anyway, Bruce had to come over and get us. If it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be here now”, she said.
“We kept in touch with two-way radios and just kept quiet. They never knew we were there; but I was just lucky. They couldn’t get to me where I was.” I added.
“Well I'm glad to see that at least somebody besides me made it.”, David said.
As I sat there soaking up the mid-day sun, staring up at those big puffy clouds and flocks of birds flying overhead, it hit me; fall was coming, then winter. The birds were starting to migrate; even the changing hues of the leaves gave their tale-tale signs, a subtle yet solemn hint of the struggle that was to come, and yet winter could be a strange blessing if what our strange new friend suggested was true.
The day began to wind down; night time was not a safe time to be out and a bout. Everyone said what they wanted to say, we shared what information we had with David and he did likewise.
Rick posed the question. “So what are you going to do now, David?”
“Well I'm going to keep movin' till I get to where I'm going....God willing,” He told Rick.
“You’re welcome to come with us if you want, we could always use the help”, I told him.
“Yeah, why don't you come with us David!?” Amanda burst in.
David looked at Amanda. “Well now pumpkin that's right nice of you to ask, and I sure appreciate all the hospitality, but you all got yer thing to do and I have mine. But hell, if any of us make it through this maybe I will look you all up sometime.”
“You know you are more than welcome to come along”, I told him.
“Yeah, yeah I know, but I've done pretty good so far. I just got my own way of doing things.”
Shortly thereafter we started loading up and got ready to depart yet again. Stopping by the side of the road we helped our strange traveler unload his gear, giving him what supplies we could spare and wished David well. He got back onto his bike and started off, departing in the same fashion in which he had arrived. He waved back at us as he slowly faded into the distance.
We stood there for the longest time watching as his image disappeared in the haze of the afternoon sun. We were sad to see him go, but he was right. He had his thing to do and we had ours; take care of Amanda and find our friend.
We never knew what happened to David, I suppose we will never will; but we never saw or heard from him again. When his image had finally drifted beyond our sight it was Amanda who turned and said,
You guys ready to get moving? as she jumped back in the truck.
Rick and I looked at each other shrugging our shoulders, perplexed by Amanda's new found resilience.
“Yeah, let’s get going.” he said, smiling.
I was still mid-afternoon and nightfall was coming. I turned to my right looking at Amanda and Rick before staring out at the lonely highway looming before us.
Panatauk was still twenty miles or so ahead, and who knew what fate held in store for us there.
We set out into the unknown once more....
Zombies! Rising from the Dead Page 12
