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From behind her, she heard her daughter's voice, “ Mommy, what is wrong? Why did you turn around? Can I sit up, now? Are we going home, yet?” She remembered that she had told Emma to lie down. She turned to her, and said, “ Yes, Honey. I'm sorry. Sit up. Nothing is wrong, Honey. Mommy just didn't want to sit in traffic, that's all. And, yes, we are going home, right now.”
Rachel sped all the way to 321, then back around to the back road she took sometimes. As she arrived at Mulberry Road, she turned and sped all the way towards 421. Then, as she was going to turn off at 421, she saw a pile up. There were seven vehicles. Two of them were military. One of the cars was still running. She saw several people lying on the roadway. One was lying in the grass. She pulled up, then around the bodies. She reached up and made sure that her doors were locked, again.
“Mommy, look!” Emma cried out. The little girl had seen some of the bodies on the ground. One of the people that was lying on the ground, started to move. It looked like a young woman. Her head had turned and she was looking at Rachel. Rachel gasped. She released her seat belt, while stepping on the brakes. Her first instinct was get out of her car to help the woman. But, Rachel knew that if the soldiers did this to these people, that they would not stop at herself and little Emma. She kept her foot on the brake. She nervously, looked around. She could not see any soldiers. She needed to et closer to the woman. Rachel let the vehicle roll forward. She stopped the car, again. She had a terrible gut feeling, not to open her door. She wanted to help the lady, but was afraid to get out of the vehicle and leave Emma. She said, “ Emma, Honey. Mommy is going to try to help this lady. Okay?”
“Momma. Can I come, too. I don't want to stay here.”
Rachel replied, “ I'll be right back, Baby.”
She turned, and winked at Emma. Emma looked worried, but reluctantly, agreed. “Okay, Mommy.” Rachel slowly, opened her door and stepped out of the car. As soon as she walked towards the woman, she sat up, and looked her way. She was covered in blood. She had a bullet hole in her chest. The woman looked gray, and her lips were blue. Rachel stopped in her tracks. She said “ Ma'am. I am here to help you. Maybe you should lay back down. I'll try to call for help for you. What happened here?” The woman rolled to her side and pushed herself up in a standing position. Rachel could not believe her eyes. The woman looked gruesome. Her eyes were fixated on Rachel, as she snarled. Rachel started to back up. The woman walked like a robot. She looked like she was dead. Rachel shook her head, closed her eyes, then re-opened them to re-focus. The woman was still there and, she was moving towards Rachel. The woman lunged towards Rachel. Rachel jumped backwards, now. She tried to push the woman away, but the woman grabbed her blouse. Rachel grabbed the woman by her shoulders and pushed her back. The woman tried to bite Rachel, but Rachel was holding her back just enough to be out of biting distance. Rachel could hear Emma calling out to her. The woman was snarling and growling. Rachel blurted out, “Lady! Get back! What are you doing? Get away from me! You nut job!” Rachel struggled with the woman. They fell to the ground. The woman let go of Rachel. Rachel pushed her self over, and away from the woman. She jumped up to her feet, and rushed to her vehicle. The woman got up and followed Rachel. Before Rachel could make it to her car, she was met by a man, equally bloody. Also.... growling. He grabbed for her, but he moved slow. She moved to the side. He lunged at her that way, too. But, she was too fast for him. She heard Emma yelling and crying. “Mommy!” Rachel ran around a tree to the side of the road. They followed her. They were both so slow that, she was able to get around the tree and run to her car. Once there, she saw three more creepy, gray people.
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They were leering at her, as they headed her way. Emma was screaming now. “ Hurry, Mommy! Mommy! I want to go home! Mommy, please...”
Rachel opened her car-door, jumping into her seat. She locked the doors. She could hear herself panting, as she stared at the dead faces that were pressed against her window. Emma cried, from behind her. She put the car into gear and hit the gas pedal. She took off so fast that, she ran into one of them. She screamed. Emma's cries, became screams. Rachel tried to comfort her daughter.
“Emma, Honey. It's going to be alright.” She was still breathing heavy. Now, she was crying,too. She could not believe that she had just ran over someone. She felt a pang of guilt, and hit the brakes. She put the car into reverse, backed up, then stopped. She put her hands to her mouth, when she realized that the man she had hit was pushing himself up to his feet.
Emma was still crying from the back seat. The man that had she hit was one of the soldiers. She thought he would pull out a gun and shoot her, now. He had a crazy look on his face. Like the others, he had purple-gray skin. The look in his eyes were dead. The man started to limp towards her car. Emma cried, “ Go! Go, Mommy! Hurry, Mommy! ”
Rachel put the gear shift into drive and, pushed the gas peddle down to the floor. The car jerked into movement. Several of the dead walked into the path of the vehicle. They were mowed down, as Rachel drove to get away from them. She didn't stop, now. She drove for a half mile, then saw a traffic jam. “Oh, No!” She knew that, she could not stop. She decided to drive around the vehicles ahead. She swerved around abandoned vehicles, for at least a mile. There were dead bodies and slow moving corpses, all over the road. The military must have been there all day pulling people over. Then, shooting them down. She came to the end of the massacre.
For a few hundred feet, the road was clear. She saw more military vehicles ahead. One of the vehicles had been parked across the road. To the sides, were wooden road blocks. There was one lane open, to the right. She slowed down. She re-checked her door locks. She nervously, looked around. She looked over her shoulders. There was no one there. “Where are they?” she asked. She rolled her car up to the blockade, afraid that a soldier would jump out shooting. She studied the hummer. The back, drivers side door was standing open. She saw an automatic weapon laying on the seat. She drove through the right lane that had been left open. Then, around the other side of the hummer. They were all gone. She put the car in reverse, backed up, then drove back through the lane she'd come through. She turned the car in the other direction. She slowed down and looked into the open door. There was no one inside. She could see other weapons and a metal box. She looked the other direction. The mob of corpses were a quarter of a mile behind. And, they were moving slow. She lined her door up with the open door. She said, “ Be quiet, Honey.” She opened her door. She kept looking around her, in all directions. She quickly, stepped out of the car. She left her door open, in case she needed to jump back inside her car. She reached into the back seat of the military vehicle. She grabbed the automatic rifle, then turned and threw it into her car. She grabbed the handle of the metal box. It was two feet long, equally deep, and heavy. She froze, again. She looked around. She looked back at approaching corpse crowd. She whispered, “ Where will I put it?” She sat back into her seat. She had her car packed with other things she had bought that day. She started tossing things over the seat. She stopped. She looked around, stood back up out of the car. She pulled the box out of the seat, onto the ground. The box sat on the ground, right next to her car. She poked her head up over her car to see where the creepy people were. They were gaining, but still a ways back. She opened the box. There were some hand guns and a lot of ammunition.
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In a hurry, she started to pick the items out of the box and toss them into her car. She came to the bottom. She saw two cloth handles, she took them and lifted the bottom of the box. Underneath, were hand grenades. They sat in a molded base that held their shape to keep them from moving. She lifted them out, placing the grenades into her car. She had the floor of her vehicle filled with guns and ammunition. She prayed that no soldiers would catch her. She looked over her shoulder, once again. She went to the rear of the Hummer. She opened the door. She saw a radio and a crate. She opened the crate. More guns, but bigger. She looked for ammunition. Then, s
he saw another vehicle, up ahead. She pulled the crate down to the ground. She struggled with this one more than the other one. She pulled it to the drivers side door. She took the guns out of the crate, propping them upright on the seat. She left the empty crate and ran around to the drivers side of the vehicle. She climbed into her car and, sped up to the supply truck. She looked around, to make sure that she would not ambushed. She climbed out of the car and rushed to peek into the other vehicle. She found a few more semi-automatic weapons. She ran around to the rear of the vehicle. She found a crate of ammunition. She checked the oncoming mob. They were getting closer. She pulled the crate onto the groud. She went to the back door. She opened the door, hearing Emma crying, “Momma. I am scared. Let's go home. Please?” She opened the crate and started to toss boxes of ammunition into the back seat. “Just another minute, Baby. I promise. The mob was almost on her tale, now. She looked up, slammed the door, left the crate and ran for her side of the car. She jumped into the vehicle, just in time to escape the coming horde of corpses. They lunged at the back of her vehicle, as she took off. Emma started screaming “ Mommy! Hurry! Please, let's go home. Mommy! Mommy!” Rachel a drove, as fast she could. “ It's okay, Baby.” She took her phone from her purse. She tried to call Jake. No answer. She almost drove into an abandoned vehicle. She swerved around it, and slammed on the brakes. Emma hung on, for dear life. The car came to a screeching halt. She turned around to make sure that Emma was alright. She was strapped in tight, but shaken. I'm sorry, Baby.” She sat and, collected herself. Then, started to drive, once again. “Why isn't he answering?” she whispered to herself. Emma was still crying. She kept repeating, “ I am scared, Mommy. I want Daddy.”
Rachel picked up her phone, again. She re-dialed. He was not answering. “What is going on?” She kept driving. She approached a gas station. She reached over and, covered the guns with a jacket. She pulled into the parking lot. She rolled up along side another car. She could see luggage tied to the top of the vehicle. It looked like it was packed full. She rolled her window down, then waived to a woman, who was sitting in the passenger seat. The woman was hesitant, but rolled her window down. Rachel asked, “Are you going east?” The woman answered, “South. Why?” A man walked around the back of the car and, started to pump gas. After he filled up his gas tank, he got into the drivers side seat and closed the door. He looked upset. He leaned over. “We are heading south. We have family there. We packed it up as soon as we heard about the quarantine. You?” Rachel said, “ No. I am going back west. It's more than a quarantine. Do you know what started all of this?” The two looked at each other as though they didn't know if they should tell her. The woman hesitated. Then said, “ We heard that it is some real bad sickness. Making people act crazy.” Then man cut in, “ Yeah. They want to bring the military in. We heard that they are on their way. If they are doing that. No one will get away.” Rachel gasped. “Don't go south. I saw military there. It is not good. I don't know what is going on.” She stepped out of her vehicle. She had the keys in her hand, and showed them to her little girl.
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She pushed the lock button on the door. Before closing it, she said, “ Emma. I'll be right back, Baby. Stay here. Okay? Do not unlock the doors. ” Emma said, “ Okay, Mommy.” Rachel closed the door, and turned towards the people in their car. “ Be careful. I hope you get to where you are going.” The man said, “ You, too. Thanks.” Rachel said, “ The military were back, the way I came. They are killing people. ..” She paused, trying to grasp the true nature of what she saw. Even though she saw it with her own eyes, she could not believe it. She continued, “Be careful.” They must have seen the disbelief and fear on her face. They looked concerned. The man said, “ Thank you, for the warning. We know that it's really bad out there. It was crazy for us, trying to get out of our neighborhood. Don't go to Munster. It's not safe there. We'll find another route.” Rachel said, “ You're welcome. I hope that you make it, okay.” They said their good-bye's, Then, Rachel watched the vehicle drive out of the parking lot. She held her breath, as she ran her hand over the side of her windbreaker. The inner pocket was holding one of the guns. When she saw that they were gone, she exhaled. She tried to call Jake, again. No answer. She wanted to cry. She looked around. No traffic, no people. She looked down into the back seat of her car. Emma was watching her. She looked back up at the only person inside the gas station, the clerk. She could see him moving around through the wall of glass. This gas station is still open. Soon, none may be. The clerk must not know what is happening, she thought. She opened the door, and told Emma, “ Baby. I have to go inside and get something. Please... Stay here and do not unlock the doors.” Emma protested. “ No Momma! I'm scared. I want to come with you.” Rachel assured her, “No Baby. It's safer for you out here. I promise, I will be right back.” Emma was scared, but tried to be brave. Reluctantly, she agreed,” Okay. But, hurry.” Rachel closed, and re-locked the door. She rushed inside and started to look for what she needed. The clerk was stocking some candy in front of the cash register. The clerk was a young man, maybe twenty-five years old. Now, he had walked behind the counter. Rachel was cold and sweaty at the same time She walked up to the register, as she looked around. Could this guy really not know what was happening outside? she wondered. She asked, “Do you have any gas cans?” He nodded, while he pointed to the wall. He said, “Yep. Over there.” She said, “Thanks.” As she walked away, she nervously looked at her car and, her daughter inside. “ I have to hurry, “ she whispered to herself. She walked to where the gas cans were sitting. The containers were stacked on top of each other by size. She grabbed six of them. She brought them to the counter and sat them down. She said, “ Enough gas to fill all of these.” He said, “ninety-four- fifty-two.” She paid him and turned to leave. Before walking away, she turned back to him. She said, “ You really ought to get home. There is a quarantine and lock down going on out there.” He said, “ I live up stairs. Thanks, anyway.” She said, “ No. I mean, like... real martial law.” He rolled his eyes at her. “ Yeah. Right.” She nervously turned around, then went outside. She walked to her car. She filled up the gas cans, popped her trunk, took out some rope. Then, she tied the gas cans to the rack on top of the trunk. She rushed to the car door. Once inside, she started the car and took off. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the farm as fast as she could. She didn't see anyone else driving the highway the rest of her trip home. When she arrived, Jake's truck was parked up by the house. A wave of relief ran through her. “Oh, thank you!” she blurted out, as she looked up. Once out of the car, Rachel realized that Jake was no where in sight. “ He must be inside. Come on, Honey.” She took Emma inside. She called out to Jake, as she walked though the house. Jake...Jake, we're home. Jake, it's crazy out there.....” She stopped talking. He didn't answer. She had a terrible feeling. “He must be out back,” she told herself.
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She turned to Emma, “Emma-honey, go into your room and take your shoes off. Okay, Baby?” Emma asked, “ Momma,where is Daddy?” Rachel said, “ Don't worry, Baby. I'll check out back. But first, I have to get the car unloaded. Now, go on. Take your shoes off.” The little girl complied. Rachel went out the back door, she scanned the back yard. She could not see Jake, anywhere. She started to feel very uneasy, again. She went back into the house. She started to unpack her car. She wanted to get everything inside before dark. After putting everything away, she tried to call Jake on his cell. She knew that he had some traps set on the edge of the property. He must be checking them, she assured herself. She still felt that feeling of doom in the pit of her gut. She called her father up in Michigan. The voice mail picked up. “Dad, when you get this message... call me back. Please, stay inside. Everything is crazy out here. I love you.” Once she got Emma settled, she put everything away. Then, she started supper. While she cooked, she thought.... Where is Jake? She was really getting worried about Jake. It was not like him to stay gone through supper. She covered the food, an
d walked into the livingroom. This quarantine had to be on the news, she thought. She sat on the sofa, and turned on the television. She flipped through the channels. Half of them were static. On some, she saw a blue screen. There were a few that had people talking about the epidemic. She stopped on one of the channels. They were talking about the quarantine, and curfews. She heard one of the panel members say, “There is no cure.” Another asked, “Are you sure? Are you sure that there is no cure?” The man, who looked haggard, answered,”There is no cure, at this time. Stay indoors. If you come across any deceased, get away as fast as you can. Keep all children inside. Check with your local authorities to find out if your area has been affected, yet.” The others were speechless. Rachel stared at the screen in disbelief. She thought about her day. They had just confirmed, what she already knew. She was terrified, now. Jake was not answering his cell phone. She started to cry. She felt such a feeling of dread. She remembered the people she had run from. Was the man on the television talking about them? He said, “Deceased...?” She could not get the days events out of her head. She felt like her heart would pound right out of her chest. She kept remembering the way they all looked. Like they were dead. She remembered her find at the grisly, road-side-scene. She felt so worried and confused. She went to check on Emma. She went into the kitchen. She aimlessly, looked inside the refrigerator. She did not know what to do with herself. She thought of all of the weapons that she'd found. She peeked into Emma's room, one more time. The five year old was watching a video. Rachel closed the door, then tip-toed outside. She carried in all of the arms that she had taken from the military Hummer. She had to make a few trips. She was reluctant to bring the hand grenades into the house, at first. She set everything in the middle of the kitchen. Smack-dab, on the table and counter. She stood back with her hands on her hips, and studied her find. It was a lot more than she'd thought. She was in such panic mode to get what she could, and get away from the zombies that, she didn't realize how much she'd actually gotten. “How did I fit it all inside the car?” she asked herself. She was nervous. “What if they get this thing under control and arrest me for this?” she asked herself. She went into the living room and sat down. She could hear Emma playing in her room. She stared at the military goodies through the open area, between the two rooms. Jake will be furious at this, she thought to herself. She jumped to her feet, went into a back room. She came back carrying some boxes. She filled the boxes, then pulled the boxes into the pantry. Then, she thought of how she would try to explain all of this to Jake. She remembered that, he still wasn't home. She felt an explosion of more worry and terror shoot through her. She went back through the living room and stopped at Emma's bedroom door. She said, “ Come on, Baby. Let's eat.” Emma answered, “ Is Daddy home?”
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