Living Dead 2.0

by Radovick, Ronda

  77

  Renee said “ No. The military and some U.N. men dressed in black, they were killing everyone. They shot Ellen. She helped me get out of there. When I got there, I had to sneak inside, because entrances were blocked off. Ellen, she found me and hid me inside a closet. She went and checked on your father. But, it as too late.” Renee started to cry. Now Chloe tried to comfort her mother. She said, “ Mom. ...” Renee cut her off, “I'm alright, Chloe. But, it is not just those things that we have to worry about. The U.N.....and some soldiers at the hospital...they were executing people. We can't trust them, either. We stay inside. At least, until, I can figure out what we should do. I think that we should try to get out to Grandma's.” Chloe cut in, “You mean, leave? Mom. We don't know what is out there. You should go to the net. Look this up. We should stay here. ” Renee looked worried. She didn't know what to say. “Chloe. What if the government comes here? What will we do?” Chloe said, “ I just want to go back to bed.” She stood up and went up to her room. Renee was worried. She didn't know what to do. She called her mother. There was no answer. She found a bowl, ran some water in it. Then, placed it down on the floor for Gypsy. She asked, “ Are you hungry, Gypsy?” She pulled some leftovers out of the fridge and scooped a couple of cups of food out into another bowl. Then, placed it down for the dog. Gypsy, devoured it. Next, she took a shower and when she came out, Ben and Jose were standing by the door talking to Chloe. They looked upset. Chloe gave Jose a hug and said, “ I am sorry.” She kissed and hugged Ben. She said, “ Maybe, they are still on their way here. Don't lose hope.”

  Renee said, “ What are you two doing here? Do you two know how dangerous it is out there?” Jose answered, “ It's okay. Ben is driving, Mrs. Gallo. I am sorry about Mr. Gallo. ” Ben said, “ Sorry, Mrs. Gallo.” The two boys exchanged a look. Chloe said, “ Tell her.” Renee looked from Ben to Jose. “Tell me what?” Jose said, “ Bens' parents. They left yesterday. They didn't come back. My Mom. She is ...she is not herself. We were just letting Chloe know that, I am going to stay at Ben's, just for now. Just until his parents get back. We didn't want Chloe to go to my place...Um. Because, she would bother my Mom.” The boy looked down at his feet. His eyes were still red from crying. Concerned, Renee said, “Okay. You two get over here, and tell me the truth.” She led them to the sofa. She gestured for them to sit down. “How long have you guys been out roaming around?” she asked. The two teens looked at each other. Ben shrugged. Don't know. First, we were at my place. I figured Jose could stay with me, because his Mom is, she is...” Renee looked at Jose. He looked lost. “She is different.” he continued, “She is not the same, anymore.” He looked down at his feet. Renee realized that his mother had died, and turned. “Where is she, Jose?” he shrugged. She put her hand over her mouth. “Is she in your house?” he shook his head up and down. “Yes. She is in her bedroom. ” Renee looked at Chloe.

  She gasped. “Jose. Honey, if she is acting like the people that I saw, she is ...It is not safe for you to be there. Is anyone else in the house?” He said, “ No. just her. She is in the bedroom. She just, snarls through the door.” Tears welled up in his eyes. Renee hugged him. “It will be okay.” She looked at Ben. “ When is the last time you heard from your parents?” He said,” The night before last.” He looked worried. Renee was immediately concerned for the two boys. She said, “ Oh, Boys.. I am so sorry.” She hugged them both, again. “Ben. We are going to keep checking to see when your parents make it back.” she looked at Jose. “ Jose. Honey. I am sorry for your Mom.” She continued, “ I know what is happening. You two will stay here. I cannot let you boys go back out there, alone. You have Chloe and me. Do you have clothes? If not I will go with you both to get what you need.” She looked at each one of them.

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  They looked so relieved. They did not expect her to offer for them to stay. They exchanged another look. Ben said, “ Mrs. G., thanks. We were both in a panic. My house is okay, for now. But, I don't want to go back out there, alone.” Jose said, “ I have a back pack, and a bag in the car. Thanks, Mrs. G. I don't think that you should go out there with us. It's scary out there, now.” Renee answered, “I have been out there. I know it is scary. But, we'll get you boys some of your things. You two will stay here.” She said, “ Give me a minute. Chloe, you stay here. Keep the doors locked.” Chloe protested. “No, Mom! I am going, too!” Ben cut in, “ Chloe, listen to your Mom. You don't want to be out there, now. It's worse than school.” She said, “ Ben. I just want to help.” He said, “ It's better if you stay here. Keep the doors locked.” Renee went to put some clothes on. Before leaving her room, she took her gun out of the dresser drawer. She never used it, outside of practicing. She took out the clip, checked it. It was full. She took a second magazine from the drawer. She took a box of ammunition out, and filled it. She stuck the gun into her waist, behind her. She put the second magazine into her purse. She looked into the mirror. She told herself, “ You can do this. You have to watch out for Chloe. And, those boys don't have parents to look out for them, anymore. Don't freeze.” She turned went out of her bedroom, down the stairs. She said, “ Come on, Boys.” she turned to Chloe, “ Stay here. Don't let anyone in. I love you.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead. And walked out the door. The two teens followed her, Both saying, “ Bye Chloe. And, don't worry.” She was mad, and worried. She watched them get into her mothers' car. Renee backed out of the driveway and drove off. Once at Ben's house they went in and Ben gathered his things. He left a note for his parents, telling them, that he would be by Chloe's house. Then, they went to Jose's home. When Renee pulled into Jose's driveway, she turned to him. “Jose.... Honey. Maybe, you should stay here. If she is in the condition that I think she is in, she won't know what is going on. Is there a way I can get to your bedroom and get out, without her seeing me?” He looked like he would cry. He said, “ I should show you. You have to go in the back. She was in the bedroom, when I left.” They stepped out of the car. Jose led them to the back. He stopped. Renee and Ben studied him. Ben said, “Jose. Are you okay, Man? Jose took in a deep breath. He said, “ Yeah. I just, I just need to breathe.” He looked like he was starting to hyperventilate.” Ben said, “ Jose. Go back to the car. I'll get your stuff.” Jose cut in, “Okay. Okay. I am okay. I just need to think. I am alright.” He was upset. Renee said, “ Jose. Why don't you tell me how to get to your room. ...”

  “No! I am going in.” he paused. His eyes teared up. Renee's heart went out to the boy. She was getting worried that he would draw attention from the zombie inside. “I am sorry, Mrs. G. I just...” She cut him off, “ I understand. But when we go in, if she get's out of that room, none of us are safe. Honey, I know that this is terribly hard for you. But, I think you should stay here.” he said, “ No. I can do it.” She reluctantly, agreed. He opened the door. They all slowly, walked into the house. They followed Jose through the kitchen, then dining-room area, then into the living-room. As they walked into the livingroom, they came to a hallway. There were several doors down that hall.

  Jose took in a deep breath. He looked nervous. He whispered, “ That is the room. That is where she is.” He pointed to the last door. He said, “That is my room.” He pointed to the first door. They all tip-toed into the room. Renee had her hand on the butt of the gun that was tucked in her back the whole time. She followed the boys. Once inside Jose's bedroom, they stood there and watched him gather some clothes and personal things. He had only brought a few things with him when he ran out of his house. He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a hunting knife.

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  He shoved it in his bag. He took some pictures, and tablet. He grabbed a pair of hiking boots, underwear, and some socks. He said, “ We should go.” They left the room. Jose was last in line. The others did not notice him walking back to his mothers' bedroom door. He placed his ear to the door. He said, “ Good-bye, Mommy. I love you.” Ben and Renee turned around. Renee thought her heart would sink into her chest
. Ben put his hand on Jose's arm. He whispered, “ Jose, are you alright?” A loud thump hit the other side of the door. They heard growling. All three froze at the sound of Jose's mother growling like a rabid animal. Ben, went into a semi- panic. He said, “ Come on. We need to go.” Jose had tears in his eyes. He followed Renee and Ben. They went out to the car, placed his things into the back seat. After getting into the vehicle, Renee backed out of the driveway in fear-mode. She drove as fast as she could to her house. She glanced at Jose in the back seat through her rear view mirror. He was crying. She felt terrible for both of them. She wanted to see her husband, again. She felt exhausted and sad. She would make the extra bedroom up for one of them and the family room for the other. They were family, now. They arrived back home. When they walked into the house, Chloe was waiting anxiously for them. She said, “ Are you guys okay?” She looked relieved that they had made it back. Renee said, “ Chloe, show the boys the family room and the spare bedroom. They can each take their pick. You all need to stay inside, and keep all noise down. We keep the blinds closed, and doors locked. Okay?” They agreed. The three teens left the room. Renee sat on the sofa, looking out of her picture window. She realized that she had left the gate open. As she went out to close it, she could smell and awful smell. She stood by the gate and looked around. Off in the distance, she could hear growling. Not just one growl, but many over lapping growls. She opened up the gate, and walked to the street. She almost fainted, when she saw what was coming. She looked around. She ran back into her yard, locking her gate. She ran to the garage, grabbed one of Marcus' chains and an old pad lock. She ran back to the gate, and wrapped the chain tightly around the post of the gate and fence. Then, locked it. She ran back to the house. She went in and locked the door. She yelled for the kids, “ Chloe! Jose! Ben! “ They all came running from up stairs. She looked terrified, and pale. They all exchanged looks. Chloe asked, “Mom. What is wrong?” Ben asked, “ Mrs. G., what....” She cut him off, “ Hurry! Check the back door! Close all of the blinds. Be quiet. They are drawn to noise, movement, and lights. Make sure everything is closed up. There cannot be any noise, at all. Don't stand in front of any windows.” she was running from window to window, closing blinds and drapes. She said, “Be quiet, no noise!” She ran out of the room. She was in one of the bedrooms. She closed all blinds and drapes in the rooms on the front of the house, first. Then, she ran from room to room re-checking, as though, she had not already done it. The three tens could see that she was fully panicked. Renee said, “ There are at a thousand of those things coming this way. They are a few houses away. We cannot make any noise. Where is the dog?” Gypsy lay in the corner. After the three friends looked through one of the blinds, they saw some of the massive herd coming along the street. They could not believe what they were seeingt. Then, Chloe blurted out, “ The music!” She ran up the stairs to turn off the CD that herself, Ben, and Jose were listening to. Ben ran to the back door to double check and lock it. Then, he checked the other windows. Jose ran to the family room and started to check locks on those windows, and close the blinds. Jose peeked out through the blinds. He saw hundreds of zombies staggering down the street, in front of the house.

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  Some, had wandered up in other yards. Some were walking in back yards, and through pathways on the grass. Many were covered in blood. Some had bite marks on them. Some had torn clothes and stab wounds. As though, they had been attacked before they died. There were a plethora of snarls and growls. Some, had been partly eaten. Their faces were ghoulish and twisted. Their eyes were hollow and black underneath. Their lips had no color. They walked, as though, they had boards tied to their legs. One man-zombie had an arm missing. It looked like it had been chewed from his shoulder. Jose was frozen with fear. He thought of his mother. She had the same twisted look on her face when he ran out of her bedroom, slamming the door, so that she could not get out. He felt like is heart would jump out of his chest, when he saw some of them wandering towards the gate. They ran into the fence. Then, mindlessly, walked along it. Ben tapped Jose on his shoulder. “ You okay?” Startled, “ Jose turned to look at him. He asked, “ Do you see them? It's like, the whole city turned into...that.”

  Ben said, “ Yes. I see them.” Ben was worried for his parents. He had hoped that they were not driving home, now. They watched for several minutes, before going back into the living-room. Once they were all back in there, the teens all peeked out through the blinds. Renee stood by another window and peeked through the drapes. The zombies were moving slowly. They were snarling, and some had stopped. They turned back towards the direction that they had come from. Then, Renee noticed that, several of them started to look at something. They began to walk towards whatever it was. All of the sudden, she saw a car, slowly moving through the crowd of zombies. They were all trying to crowd the car. As more of them mobbed the vehicle, the driver slowed down. Then, the car came to a halt, near the curb . The zombies went into a slow, frenzy. They tried to claw at the car. Renee covered her mouth, to stop herself from screaming out in front of the teens. Chloe cried, “Mom! Look what they are doing! Mom! We have to help them!” Ben cut in, “ Chloe. We can't do anything. There are too many of them.” He grabbed her, and held her. Jose looked frozen. He said, “ There are so many.”They could hear muffle screams, from inside the car.

  The living dead mob clawed at the car. They were relentless. Finally, the screams stopped. They didn't leave the car. They still clawed at the windows.The group inside stared out of the window in terrified wonder. Renee said, “ Why don't they drive over them?” Jose said, “ Maybe, we can get their attention. Lead them away fro the car. Give them a chance to get away.” Renee answered, “ If there were only a few, we could. But, there are way too many of them. It's too dangerous.” Jose said, “ I can go outside and run the opposite direction. They are slow.” Ben replied, “ No. Some of them are already walking on the side walk and in some of the neighbors' yards. They might corner you.” Renee said, “ And, we don't know how long this horde is, either. Why aren't they moving? The car is still running.” Ben said, “Hold on.” He went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came running down the stairs. He had a pair of binoculars in his hands. He said, “ Someone hold the blinds open.” Chloe did as he asked, “Oh no!” He paused, in shock. Then, continued, “ What?” The field glasses dropped to his side. They were still in his hand. Chloe took them. He looked shocked. Renee asked , “ What is happening?” Jose said to Chloe, who was now crying. “They're inside.... aren't they?” Renee took the binoculars from her hands, she placed them up to her eyes. Even with the magnified view, it was hard to see all of it through zombies en masse. What could be seen, was that the people inside were struggling. There were two of them. It looked like the driver, who was a woman, was strapped in by her seat belt. The male passenger was attacking her.

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  Jose blurted out, “ Oh, man! He turned into one of those things!” He started to breathe heavy. He was trying to hold it together, but looked like he would lose it any second. They watched for, what seemed like forever, as the man thing tore into the woman's flesh. She looked barely awake, now. Renee looked over at her daughter. Chloe and Ben were hugging. Chloe was crying, and Ben looked like he was in a trance of terror. Renee looked over at Jose. He looked horrified, too. She felt so hopeless. How could she protect her daughter from this? All of them. The boys needed protection, too. She felt nauseated. She said, “We have to keep watch. They move slow. And, I noticed that when they stop seeing movement or hearing sounds, they stand still or wander around in circles. We have to keep all noise down. I'll stay up tonight. As long as they don't get over the fence, we'll be okay. Just until I can figure something out.” Ben said, “ Sometimes, they keep wandering down the street. I saw them doing that over by the park.” Jose said, “ If they don't. We are screwed.” Renee said, “ We have to be patient. You all should go upstairs, and be very quiet. Try to get some rest.” I'll keep an eye on things tonight. If they pass by, we
are okay. For now.” No one answered. The fear showing on their faces, was like a neon light on a dark night. They didn't want to leave the view of what was just outside, and they didn't want to keep looking, either. But they did. They all stayed glued to the windows. They did not even notice that it was getting dark. Renee tip-toed through the house and made sure all light switches were turned off. Especially, for the outside lights. She walked back to the window, and watched the sluggish stampede of flesh eating zombies walk by her house. After a while, the horde looked a lot thinner. The zombie mob had kept moving. Renee said, “I am going to look out the back windows. Stay quiet.” She looked around the back yard. It all looked quiet. She returned, and looked at the ghoulish scene out front. Later..... Chloe, just coming out of her daze, asked, “ Mom, do you think that we can make it to Grandmas' house?” Renee said, “ We should try. She is on the edge of town, and on higher ground. Do you boys want to come with us?” Ben said, “My Mom and Dad, they won't know where I am.” Jose said, “ We can leave a note. We left a note at your house for them to come here. We leave another one.” Ben knew in his gut that, his parents were gone. He said, “ Okay.” Renee said, “We have to wait for them to move further away. We wait til morning. We have to find every container that we can, and fill them with water. If we are stuck here for another day or two, we eat two meals a day. If this is happening all over the place; soon, the power and water service will go down. I thought that the lights were flickering earlier. When we get our chance, we run for Grandma's.” Jose, looked worried. The fact that, more danger was around the corner, was starting to sink in. He was now looking her way, asked, “You mean, no more electric? Or, running water?” Ben and Chloe, also watched her to see what she would say. She swallowed hard. She shook her head up and down. She watched Chloe cry some more. A look of despair came over Ben and Jose's faces. Chloe looked lost. They all did. It tore Renee up inside, to see these three young teenagers so upset and afraid. She said, “ We will get through this.” She hugged her daughter. Then, she turned and hugged the two boys. She started speaking to them all. “We have to be quiet. That is the most important thing. We have to keep it together. If we don't grab their attention, they will walk right past us. Then, we leave here. From now on, always be aware of who and what is outside of the windows. Jose blurted out, “ What if your Mothers house is not safe? Where will we go? ” Chloe said, “ I might know a place. But, even there, we will have to be careful.