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“Hungry?” she asked. Scarlett answered, “Not really. Want some help?” Stella said, “Sure. Here...” She placed a large box onto the table. “These seeds are not counted or listed, yet. We need to write down how many of each kind. If any packages are open, note it. That way, I can make sure that we use those ones first.” They both got work. As the two sisters sat there listing the seeds for the next garden, they heard a gunshot. They dropped the seeds and ran into the living room, towards the door. They heard two more shots, as they ran through the house. Stella grabbed her sister's arm. “Stay here. I will peek out the window.” Scarlett stopped, and asked, “ Where is Dad?” Stella replied,” I am going to go see, right now. Stay here.” Scarlett stayed put. She didn't know what to do. Her sister always knew what to do. Stella pulled the gun that her father had given her from her back. She tip-toed through the old house. When she made it to the window, she could see three bodies laying on the ground. She went out onto the porch. Around twenty feet away, she saw her father. He stood, holding his gun, and looking out at the tree line. He had just shot the three men. Stella yelled, “Dad!” She ran outside onto the porch. When she saw who her father had shot. She froze. All three of the people that lay on the ground, looked like the man she had hit. All three, had twisted looks carved onto their dead faces. All three, had leathery skin, and sunken eye sockets. All three, were dressed, as though, they had been in a war zone. Their clothes were dirty, and torn. And, they had bite marks on them. Will looked over at his daughter, and could see that she knew that, these people were not people. Stella was always above average in intelligence, and a leader. Scarlett, was a follower. Stella, always saw things for what they were, and took charge. She slowly walked down the steps. She asked her father, “Where did they come from?” He said, “Out there. I am going to have to rig some kind of fencing out there. Or, more will come. If they get across the pasture, they'll get to the livestock.” Stella looked worried when she heard those words. She replied, “ Dad. We have to figure out a way to be ready for a lot more. If they can keep coming, that means that they are all over...in numbers.” He agreed, “I know. I have a little wood in the barn. But, I don't have enough to stretch across the property. The fencing around the pasture should be enough, for now. I have to sneak up to the lumber yard. See what I can get. I don't expect anyone to be there. Maybe, I'll go out and cut some wood. Start cutting it for a fence.” She said, “I'll go with you. We can get more done. Can you get the old tractor running?” He said, “ Yes. I got it going last week. Had to move it by the barn. Let me see what we will need to get it done. We should go down by the creek, clear trees from there. We will be safer there. ” She asked, “ When do we start?” Will, noticed that Scarlett was standing on the porch, while staring at the corpses, in horror. He said, “As soon as I take some measurements.” Scarlett started to cry. She sat on a chair lined against the wall. She started to realize how serious this situation was becoming for herself, and her family. Stella went to where her sister was sitting, and kissed her on the forehead. “Don't worry, Sissy. We are going to fix this.” Scarlett looked up at Stella. “How? What if more come?” Stella said, “Dad and I, are going out by the creek to cut wood for fencing. We'll run it along the front part of the property. You stay here, with the doors locked.” In a few days, we'll have enough wood to keep them out. It won't take, but a few days, to get it all together.” Scarlett seemed to be a little more at ease. Will walked up to the porch steps. He stopped in front of the first step. “I am going to take these bodies out to the sheriff. I'll see what he says about all of this.” Stella said, “I have a feeling that there is no more sheriff, Dad. It is too dangerous. We should just bury them out there.” She pointed to the trees. Will said, “No. We will not bury them. Their families are probably looking for them.
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No. I am taking them to Sheriff, Joe. I'll talk to him about everything we have seen. Maybe, he can give me some information about all of this.” Will turned and left his daughters standing there. He went to the barn. A few minutes later, he came out with a blanket. He threw the blanket on top of his trailer. He walked back to his truck, and climbed inside. He drove the truck to where the trailer was sitting. After he latched the trailer to the back of the truck, he drove back to where the bodies were laying.
He put on some gloves, then pulled the bodies onto the trailer by their feet. He covered them with the old blanket, and left. Stella and Scarlett, stood there in shock. They watched the whole scene, without saying a word. Scarlett rushed into the house. Stella sat there. She looked around at the scenery. The Neely's, owned one hundred, and fifty acres of country. She often sat out on the porch, or took walks through the many paths they had along the property. She thought about everything that had happened the last couple of days. Last week, at work, she thought about a fight out in the parking lot. They had to lock down the restaurant, and send everyone home early. She didn't realize then, that it was not a fight. Some of those things attacked someone, and the victim was trying to fight them off. Then, the police were attacked after showing up. She said, “Lord, Jesus..... Please, protect us.” She stood up, and went into the house to finish her inventory. As Will made it into town, he saw a road block. There were some military vehicles, and a black S.U.V. Parked along side the blockade. What was even stranger to Will, was that, there were no people. He drove up to the blockade. He exited his truck. He looked around.....No one. He walked around to the Hummer. He opened the door and looked inside. The keys were still in the ignition. He looked around, again. He heard growls coming from the cross street. He turned around, and saw a horde of zombies coming towards him. He had to do a double take. He could not believe that there were so many of them. It looked like, at least a thousand, or more. They filled the street and side walk going back a city block. He was frozen with fear, and had to force himself to move. He jumped into the Hummer, started it, and backed it up across the path of the zombies. He slid over to the passenger side, jumped out and ran to his truck. He took off from there, as fast as he could. He went to the Sheriff's station. He ran to the door. It was locked. He ran to the side of the building. The gates were locked. He peeked though a window. No one was inside. He went back to his truck, and headed straight for the sheriff's house. He knew Sheriff Joe. He had been re-elected there, for decades. He drove through the town. No one was out driving around. He went past the Supermart. It was empty. He knew that this was bad. He was still trying to get his head around those zombies. How can I protect the farm from that many of those things? He thought. He kept driving. From a distance, he heard gunfire. He he slowed down and stopped, off to the side of the street. He heard distant screams. Then, more gunfire. He got out of the truck. He took his field glasses with him. He looked in every direction. He heard more shots. He got back into his truck, and went back the way that he had come. He went to Gabby's. It was empty. He drove past her house. Her car was not in the driveway. She said that, she would go to her mother's place. He kept driving. As he left town, he saw people walking in a field. He stopped. He looked through the binoculars, again. As he focused, he saw a better view of the group. They were not people. They were zombies. He sped off, as fast as he could drive. As he drove down the highway, he remembered that he still had bodies on his trailer. He pulled over, got out, and pulled the bodies off onto the side of the road. He covered the bodies up. He felt terrible, just leaving them there. But, he had to figure out what was going on, and how far spread this wandering-zombie-mob-problem was. He went back to the truck. “I'll have to show the authorities where they are, when this is all sorted out.” He sped home.
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Imogen was crying, again. She had been alone for days. She had made a list of what she was able to use, and how to use it. She wanted to leave, and go to the cabin, but just could not bring herself to get into the truck, then go. She went to the living room, turned on the television. She clicked the remote. She went from channel to channel. Instead of some channels working.
Now, none were working. There was no one talking on any channel. All of the channels had a blue screen. A deeper feeling of gloom and doom came over her. She turned it off, and went to the sofa. She sat down, and turned on her laptop. She started to look through videos, again. The zombies were mindless. They only chased people, or followed movement, light and noises. She had to avoid those things, at all costs. But, if confronted by them, she knew that she needed to be ready to protect herself. She watched a video with a woman who was showing people how to protect themselves from the zombies. She warned that, they traveled in mobs an hordes. She went to the kitchen. She had enough food for at least a week. The cabin had solar power. She could bring her computer, and phone. And, as much food and clothes that she could carry. She thought that, she would slowly pack the truck. She went through the kitchen to the garage. She turned on the lights, and realized that, she had forgotten to cover the window on the side wall to the garage. “I have to cover that. If those things get too close, they will see the lights when I turn them on.” She went to the kitchen, took a garbage bag, and a roll of tape. She taped the bag over the window. “There.” She leaned on the front of the truck, and looked around her father's garage. Her father collected everything. He had a collection of liquor, old train sets, and he had some antiques. She looked at the wall of liquor. Now that she paid attention, the bottles were quite nice looking. She thought that the bottles looked to be out of order. Her father had most of them there for as long as she could remember. Every now and then, he would buy one and add it to the collection. “Don't know why he bought so many bottles of that stuff? I mean, who thinks that booze will be an antiquity, someday?” For a minute, she felt a little bit safe, again. The door that led into the kitchen was still open. She thought that she heard something from inside the house. She froze. She had to force herself to breathe. She leaned over, and peeked into the open doorway. She saw nothing. She told herself, “Imogen. Get a grip.” She tip-toed into the kitchen. She stopped, and looked around. She pulled her father's gun from her sweat pants pocket. She tip-toed through the kitchen, into the living room. She froze, and scanned the room. She went to the bedrooms. Then, the bathroom. She turned around, and went to the stairwell. She tip-toed up the stairs. She slowly, went to each bedroom. She didn't see anyone. She told herself, “You are losing it, Imogen. You have to focus.” She went back down stairs. She was freaked out, now. She could not take her mind off of the fact that, she had heard something. She shook it off, and thought that she would start dinner. She made chicken and potatoes. But, when she sat down to eat, she was not very hungry. She picked at her food. She wanted to try to find more information on this new “plague”. But, every time that she started watching any videos she felt so gloomier, and gloomier. She thought about going out, and driving around. Just to get a look at the town, Besides, she needed to map out an escape route. She knew that she had to avoid government, and zombies. She went to the living room window. She scanned the street in both directions. She could not see anything, or anyone. She wanted to go outside, but was afraid. She checked all of the doors, again. They were locked. She went to her mother's bedroom closet. Her mother had a load of tote bags, and a carrying case with wheels. She pulled the totes and the carrying case out. She had watched one video where the person talking advised the public to get into abandoned stores and take what was needed.
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He stated, “ This is not looting, people. Now, this is survival.” She had the urge to go out and look around a little bit, anyway. “I need some medical supplies, before I leave. Now, is as good a time as any to collect some.” She grabbed a bottle of water, and went to the garage. She stepped up into the truck. Before starting it up, she pushed the button to open the garage door. She lay her father's gun on the seat, next to her. She left, closing the garage door behind her. She drove around the neighborhood. She saw cars parked in the driveways that lined the street. It was like, no one left for work or school. No one was outside. How many people are held up in their homes? she thought. She turned down the street to the Clinic. She parked the truck out front. She went in, and started to place different supplies into her mother's tote bags. She went back outside, and climbed back into the truck. She saw an old woman walking on the sidewalk, a few doors down. She started the truck. “I have to warn her, to be careful.” She drove up to where the woman was walking. She slowed down just enough to idle the truck along side the woman. She rolled the window down. “ Excuse me, Ma'am. You should be careful walking around out here. There is a pr......” The woman stopped, and turned towards Imogen. Her face looked twisted and leathery. She had gray skin. Her eye sockets were sunken in. She growled, and hissed like a snake. All of the sudden, she started to head towards Imogen. Imogen locked her door, and rolled the window up. The old, zombie-woman walked right into the truck window. She slammed her face up against the window. She bit, and clawed at the glass. All of the sudden, another zombie came out of nowhere. Imogen screamed a high pitched scream. “ Ah! Ah!” She slammed her foot down onto the gas. The truck wheels started spinning on the pavement. The truck jerked into movement. Smoke trailed behind the truck. Imogen was panting, and gasping for air. She started crying. She sped two miles away, before slowing down. She stopped the truck, in the middle of the street. She scanned the area. Then, she turned the vehicle around. She went to the camping store on Main Street. She looked around, to mae sure that, there were no zombies nearby. She stepped out of her truck and went tot he door. It was locked. She went to the side. Then, to the back. She looked from side to side. No one was nearby. She picked up a brick from the edge of the property, and tossed it through the window on the back door. She went inside the business, gun in hand. As she crept through the place, she collected some camping items. Then, she made it to the weaponry. She took a bow-gun and some arrows. Then, she took a semi-automatic rifle and bullets. She also took ammunition for her father's gun. She found two hunting knives, and a machete. She needed gloves to grip the handles. She had decided to kill some zombies. She went back to where she had seen the two dead ones. They were no where in site. Disappointed, and relieved at the same time, she went home. After making it inside the garage, she sat there contemplating how to learn to kill the zombies, if she had to. She replayed the recent, world-changing events in her mind. She found no one alive, except those, who wanted to kill her. The television was off the air, and she could only find one radio channel working. And, all the guy on that one channel spoke about, was the end of the world. She wished that she could go back. She would have stopped her parents from going out that day. She went into the house. She headed straight for her room. After a hot shower, she plopped down on the sofa with her computer. She got online, again. She searched through the online video sites. She listened to the Rose Fox Show, again. The video showed Rose Fox, and the camera man running from a mob of zombies. In the video, they fought them off, and showed the audience how to kill the zombies.
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They lured one zombie off, and tied it up. They showed how to stab it in the eyes, or through the temple. Rose Fox said, “Remember Folks, you have to kill the brain. This is Rose Fox signing off.” Imogen thought about it, for a minute. She typed in; SURVIVAL STUFF. A lot of links popped up. She clicked into one. On it, was a big fat guy telling his watchers that it was time to prepare. He said, “If you have to bug out, you need your bug out bag to contain, water, medicine, and food. So be ready..... she clicked out of that one.... “You'll need a big bug out bag, Dude.”
She found another one. She started watching. In the video was an older couple. They were definitely, too chubby and old to run from zombies. But, they seemed genuine. The lady said, “So People, we are seeing that the end is not what we all thought that it would be.” The man stepped in, “Yes. We wanted to give some of you viewers out there, a little heads up. We are not experts in zombies, or diseases. But, we want to give you any ideas that we can, to help you protect yourself out there. First, remember, those things follow movement, and sound.
They move slow. But they still can get a hold of you, if they can get close enough. Watch you children, please.” The lady added, “ Once you find a safe place, probably high ground. Remember... water, food, shelter and warmth. Also, try to hide your tracks from would be robbers, and people who would hurt you for what you have.” Now, the man spoke, again. “And, don't trust anyone! I know that it sounds bad. Unless, you already know them, be careful. Again, this is not what we expected for the end of the world the way that we know it. But, there is still hope. If you can be careful who you encounter, and under what circumstances, eventually, things may calm down. But, for now, please be careful.” Imogen clicked out of the video. She knew that those hosts were telling the truth. She found another video. In it, was a man, who was a Marine. He showed all kinds of out door living practices. He showed how to avoid large crowds. In one video that he had made before this zombies crisis, he told the viewers that in a collapse, or war, there would be snipers in the cities. He said, that people would kill others for bread or water. He warned that, power and water services would be stopped, or cut. He warned his viewers to always be armed. “This guy is actually interesting.” she said. She put the video on pause. She went into the kitchen to get some water. When she turned around to walk back into the other room, she focused on the frying pan she'd left on the stove. One piece of chicken was gone from the pan. She could see it through the glass top. She scanned the kitchen. The package of bread rolls were moved from the counter to the table. She was sure that she placed them onto the counter. Someone was inside the house. She felt like running away screaming. She could not let them know that she knew, if they were still here. What if there is more than one of them here? she thought. She stepped back, slowly. She went to the sofa. She picked up her fathers' gun. She tip-toed around the house. She opened a closet door. She peeked inside. No one. She crept into the bathroom, then her fathers' office. No one. She turned and looked around. She didn't see anyone. She went back to the garage. She peeked around the doorway. She could not see anything out of the ordinary. She stepped into the garage. She walked around her father's truck. She looked inside. She let out a sigh of relief. She turned around, and went back into the house. As she walked into the living room, he was standing there. She almost had a heart attack, from shock. She recognized him, as soon as she saw him. She screamed out, “Get out of my house! What do you want?” She lifted the gun up, and pointed it at him. He held his hands into the air, with his palms facing her. He said, “I am not here to hurt you! Don't shoot! I am not going to hurt you! Just, calm down. Okay?”
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