The Birth Of Decay

by Kelley Jr, John E

  Chapter Four

  I continued to drive down the old country road and had been lucky; we did not run into any significant obstacles in the road. After about an hour from the store adventure, I decided to pull off onto an old dirt road and give Ricky and me some time to eat and make a game plan. I drove cautiously down the long narrow path and ended up in a desolate place surrounded by trees. I killed the ignition, got out, and took a few minutes to stretch my legs. Ricky had opened the hatch and started pulling out our bags of supplies and setting them on the ground. Ricky walked over, handed me the black shotgun from the store, and walked back over to the bags. I looked around for a moment and noticed a picnic bench sitting near a couple of large trees. “Let’s set our supplies out on the bench.” I said.

  We carried all of the bags over to the bench and started to take out our supplies and lay them out. I reached into the gun bag and pulled out four boxes of shotgun shells, three boxes of 9mm shells and four boxes of the .22 rifle bullets. I set my shotgun down and Ricky placed his onto the table. I pulled out the hunting rifle with the good scope and set it next to my shotgun. I put my handgun down and grabbed the other shotgun we found at the motel and put it next to the other guns. I opened the red backpack and pulled out the two small propane tanks and the single cooking burner. I also put the compass and a large box of waterproof matches next to the burner. I grabbed the food bag and started pulling out the items; four cans of ravioli, three cans of chicken noodle soup, two cans of bean and bacon soup, one box of crackers, three large bags of beef jerky, two boxes of granola bars, six energy shots, two bags of pecans and one jar of peanut butter.

  I looked at Ricky standing next to me. “Well other than the knife you have and my two swords… this is what we have.” I said proudly. Ricky smiled brightly and looked at all of our stuff. “We kick ass man.” He laughed. I looked at the food. “We have to conserve what we eat, getting food can be dangerous.” I said. Ricky nodded and I put my handgun in the holster on the side of my vest. I opened the box of 9mm bullets and put as many as I could into a couple of the large pockets. Ricky opened the shotgun ammo and we started filling the shotgun bullet holders, and we each managed to hold 24 shells. We each took a hunting knife and placed it in the knife holders the vest provided. I put the shotgun strap around my shoulder and Ricky did the same. We were ready for war.

  We put the things we did not need back into the car and hooked up the small camping stove. I looked at the stove and started laughing. Ricky put his arms onto his sides. “What?” I looked at him. “I didn’t grab a small pot or skillet.” I said. Ricky laughed and opened the tops of our cans as I struck a match with the tip of my thumb and lit the burner. I carefully balanced one of the cans onto the fire and watched it slowly heat up. “No spoon or forks either.” I said. Ricky leaned foreword and made an ugly face. “That’s okay; we are cave men now and we will eat with our hands.” He said jokingly and we both laughed. I took the can off before it was to hot and put it in front of Ricky. I put my can onto the low burning fire and waited.

  After Ricky and I finished eating, we started talking about a possible plan. “I should have grabbed a map.” I said disappointedly. Ricky rested his arms on the bench and looked at me. “We will have to stop somewhere else for some more supplies.” I crossed my arms and thought about our situation. “We need to have a shelter, somewhere far from the zombies and something easy for us to keep them out.” I said. “We have played a lot of zombie games and shooting games; what we need is a team.” Ricky said.

  I got up and put the remaining supplies back into the back of the car and grabbed my shotgun. Ricky walked over and got into the car. I held the steering wheel and looked at the surrounding woods. “Maybe a cabin.” I blurted out. Ricky nodded and we drove back out onto the road and started heading south.

  I had the car going a steady seventy miles an hour and had the cruse control on, when I noticed a sign for a town up ahead. I took the car off cruse and noticed a large group of zombies standing in the middle of the road. I quickly stopped the car and they walked towards us. “Shit!” I yelled.

  Ricky pointed out his window. “There is a dirt road, let’s take it.” He said. I hit the gas and drove passed the zombies. I turned quickly and started going down the old windy road. We ended up at an old warehouse with a couple of cars parked in front of it. I drove through the open gate and parked a few feet from the old steel building. The large garage style door was half-open and the lights were on. I let out a nervous breath and looked at Ricky. “This place looks solid.” I said.

  Ricky and I grabbed our shotguns and got out of the car. I put my keys in my vest, Ricky ran back to the large gate, and closed it. I pumped my shotgun and started walking to the large roll down garage door. I knelt down for a better view and peered in. I noticed a few people limping around a couple of large trackers and welding equipment. I focused on a fat zombie male walking around with a large wrench in his hand. Ricky tapped me on the shoulder and broke my focus. I looked at him and he started pointing towards the back of the warehouse. I looked back in, focused my eyes to the back of the shop, and noticed a massive combine. “That thing is huge; it’s almost like a tank.” He whispered with excitement. I smiled and looked at him. “Are you ready?” I asked.

  Ricky nodded and in an instant, we ran in. I pointed my shotgun at a woman and shot her in the head with a violent assault; her head exploded. I heard Ricky fire a couple of shots and I turned to look at the fat zombie with the wrench; he was limping towards me. He growled loudly and swung the wrench at me; holy shit he could use a weapon. I stepped back and shot him in the head. He dropped to the ground and I looked over at Ricky who was now standing near the combine and pointing his shotgun at someone.

  I walked over and noticed a trail of blood leading to what appeared to be a storage supply room. I lowered my gun and looked at him. “We better make damn sure this place is clear.” I said. Ricky put his shotgun around his shoulder, walked to the side of the door, and grabbed the handle. I pumped my shotgun and nodded; Ricky quickly slid the door open and I waited. Ricky ran over to my right side and pointed his gun at the room.

  I noticed large metal shelves with various parts for the tractors. I slowly started to walk towards the room. “Y’all don’t shoot!” A man’s voice cried out from the room. My nerves caused me to jump back from the sudden plea and I looked at Ricky. “We have to be careful; we don’t know what people are capable of.” I whispered.

  “I am unarmed.” The voice called out. I kept the barrel of the gun pointed at the room and Ricky did the same. “Come out with your hands up!” I yelled; suddenly realizing I sounded like a cop.

  A few tense moments passed and a tall skinny person wearing a black ball cap slowly came out with his hands up. I noticed he was dirty and covered in what appeared to be motor oil. He took a few steps closer and stopped. I aimed the barrel at his head. “What’s your name?” I asked. The man started shaking nervously and looked at our shotguns. “My name is Eric, am a mechanic.” He said with a shaky voice.

  I took a step forward and used my shotgun to continue to intimidate him. “Do you have a chip?” I asked. The man lowered his arms. “Chip? What do you mean?” He asked. “Keep your hands up!” Ricky shouted. Eric quickly raised his arms back up.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you have one of those chips people got in their head?” I asked again in more detail. The man shook his bony face. “Hell no, I aint letting no doctor put that junk in my head.” He said nervously.

  I watched his eyes as he talked and felt he was telling me the truth. I slowly lowered my gun and Ricky followed suit. “Look, we killed all those damn zombies in the shop, so this place is clear. Ricky and I are going to stay here for a while and I hope that isn’t a problem with you.” I said sternly. Eric started laughing nervously. “Hell no that aint no problem, I have been stuck in that room for a couple of days. Hell I’m glad you showed up.” He said with obvious excitement in his voice. He looked over at one of t
he zombies Ricky had killed and shook his head. “So this shit is caused by them damn chips?” He asked.

  “That’s what the radio kept saying. I think it killed them, but will not allow their brains to die off. We really don’t know all the details,” I said as I walked up to him and offered my hand. “My name is John and that’s Ricky.” I said. He smiled and Shook my hand.

  He let out a nervous laugh and looked at us. “Whew, thank God that’s over, I thought you were going to blow my head off.” He said. I walked past him and peered in the storage room. “We would of if we had to,” I said as I got a better look at the parts on the shelf. I turned around and looked at Eric. “What all do you got here?” I asked. He took of his hat and scratched his short brown hair. “Oh, engine parts, motor oil and odds and ends to keep these things running.” He said in an obvious southern accent. He took a cigarette out of his shirt pocket and lit it. I walked over to the giant combine. “Do you know how to drive one of these?” I asked and looked back at Eric. He walked over to Ricky, offered him a cigarette, and looked at me. Ricky took one and Eric lit it for him. “I know a little about drivin’ one.” He said.

  I sat down on the steps of the combine and motioned for Eric to give me one of his cigarettes; he walked over and lit one for me. I started thinking about all of the zombies flooding the main road into town. I put my shotgun on my lap and started filling it with ammo. “I don’t want to stay here long, there are too many of those damn things. I want to be more secluded,” I said as I slid the last shotgun shell I had on me into the gun. “Maybe you can come with us.” I said. Eric smiled and looked back at Ricky. “Hell yaw man, we can be like an army.” He laughed. I stood up and stood in his face. “If you try hurting me or my friend… I will kill you.” I said coldly. I really was not sure what this person was capable of, but I did know that Ricky was all I had left of a family. We may not be related by blood, but we are like brothers.

  Eric laughed nervously. “Its cool man, we will all be like family.” He said. I smiled and took my handgun out of my vest and held it out for him. He slowly took it and smiled brightly. “Hell yaw man, soldiers.” He said.

  We took a few days cleaning the shop and burying the bodies. Ricky and I secured the heavy gate and brought in our supplies. After exploring the building more, I realized it was roughly 150 sq ft of space. It housed the combine, a couple of tractors and had lots of welding machines and equipment. Eric told us that the company repaired local and business farm vehicles.

  After about a week, Ricky and I learned how to operate the combine. We found out that Eric was in his early twenties and was raised around farms. He just got out of tech school and was learning mechanics.

  I walked into the office, brought in our last can of bean and bacon soup, and turned on the burner. Ricky and Eric sat on an office couch and watched the can start to heat. I sat down behind the desk and looked at them. “We need supplies. This is the last of our food and we only have two bottles of water left.” I said with frustration. Ricky stood up and walked over to his shotgun; we kept most of our weapons on a workbench. He looked through the blinds and out of the window. “Let’s go get some food.” He said boldly.

  I noticed the soup slowly start bubbling and I pulled it off with a pair of pliers. I picked up a notepad and pen. “We need to figure out what we all need.” I said. Ricky walked back over to the couch and started thinking. I felt the weight of my shotgun resting on my right shoulder. “Ammo.” I said to them and wrote it down. Eric reached up and took off his hat. “Well we don’t need gas, cause we have gas pumps in the back of the building,” He said as he took out the handgun I had gave him and started to clean it with a rag. “But we do need food, water and some new clothes wouldn’t hurt.” He said.

  I noticed Ricky lean back into the couch further and cross his leg. “We got to focus on things we need when we are mobile, like propane tanks, a tent and maybe some military stuff.” He said. I smiled brightly and wrote those things down. “Then we need to find a place that stores a better supply of weapons.” I said. Eric stood up and started getting excited. “Hell yaw man, we can go to the military base on the other side of town.” He said. I nodded and looked at Ricky. “Sounds good to me. We go tomorrow at dawn.” I said. We shared the soup and started to plan the supply run.

  I walked over to the dry erase board and picked up a black marker. “Okay, first we need to get to a retail store and get the main supplies, then we need to get to the base,” I said as I drew a picture of a store and wrote the supplies down next to it. “Then we need weapons.” I offered Eric the marker and I sat down next to Ricky on the couch.

  Eric drew a picture of the building we were in and drew the road leading to the main road into town. He turned and looked at Ricky and me. “There is a mall on the edge of town that will have what we need. If we grab the supplies there, then we have to drive about fifteen miles east to the military base.” He drew a picture of the base and added a few streets to get to its location. I studied the picture and stood back up. “That sounds like a plan. Ricky and I will take my car, Eric you take the truck outside.” I said. We all agreed and went to bed. We all had a hard time sleeping; knowing the risk we were going to take in the morning.

  Chapter Five

  I opened the hatch, tossed in the empty backpacks, and slammed it shut. I waited for Ricky and Eric too close up the shop. They walked over to me. “Do you guys have ammo?” I asked. They both nodded and I reached into one of my vest pockets, pulled out three energy shots, and handed them each one. I twisted the top off and held it out towards them. “We will do this and have no problems! We are the best!” I said proudly. We all cheered and drank the contents of the bottles and tossed them onto the ground. I handed Eric and Ricky both a large hunting knife. “Just in case you run out of ammo.” I said.

  Eric ran over to his trunk and jumped in; Ricky ran over to the large gate and pulled it open. Eric drove past me and stopped a few feet down the road, I drove through the gate and waited for Ricky. He tied the heavy chain through the bars and jumped in the car. I honked my horn and we were off. Ricky rolled down his window and pumped his shotgun. We ended up on the main road and I was ready for these damn zombies.

  Eric stopped just before town and I pulled up next to him. I looked around and noticed the zombies were gone; where were they? I knew damn well they were somewhere in town. I motioned to Eric and he led the way.

  After a couple of blocks, we pulled up to the mini mall area and parked. I noticed a vitamin store, sports equipment, fishing and hunting store, liquor store, a pharmacy and a nail salon. We all sat there for a while and watched for signs of movement. I got out the car and looked over at Eric. “Keep your truck running, you never know.” I said. Eric and Ricky got out and I walked to the back of my car and opened the hatch. I tossed them each a backpack and took one for myself. “I’m going in the hunting store, Ricky you go to the vitamin shop and pack whatever we can use; protein bars, bottled water and sport drink. Eric you grab stuff from the pharmacy; medicine, food, flashlights, batteries and whatever else you can find. I getting us more weapons and ammo. Let’s do this quick, in and out.” I said and ran for the hunting and fishing store. I looked back and noticed they had ran to their stores.

  I peeked through the large glass window and peered in. I noticed the lights were still on but was beginning to flicker. I opened the door and slowly walked in. I pointed my shotgun in front of me and looked at the guns on the wall. “Hell yes.” I whispered to myself. I walked cautiously to the back of the store and noticed the office; it was empty. I ran back up to the front, went behind the counter, and opened my backpack. I grabbed a swat style shot gun and put it in the bag. I noticed a few ammo belts and tossed them in with the shotgun. I turned around and tried opening the display case; it was locked. “Shit!” I blurted out in anger.

  I ran back to the office, noticed a desk, and started searching for the keys. I opened a few drawers and started opening them. I was about to give up when I
opened the bottom drawer and found a keychain with a few keys. I grabbed them and turned around; I noticed a large metal footlocker sitting next to the door. I walked over and started trying different keys. One of them finally fit and I opened it up and peered in. I nearly passed out with excitement when I noticed the pile of guns. I reached in, pulled out a 9mm semi automatic handgun, and set it on the floor next to me. I pulled out two beautiful chrome 50 cal handguns and placed them next to the 9mm. I moved a few guns around and noticed a grenade belt with what appeared to be six grenades with the pins hanging from each of them. “Oh my god! I am in heaven.” I laughed excitedly. I put the grenade belt on and connected the heavy clips. I stood up, took the keys to the counter, and started trying different ones to open it. After a few tries it unlocked and I pulled out a few boxes of shotgun ammo, several boxes of 9mm ammo and grabbed a couple of handguns.

  I stuffed the backpack, ran back to the office, loaded up the 9mm, 50 calibers, and ran back into the main area of the shop. I found a few better ammo vest and gun holsters. I started to feel a little light headed; it was like being in a dream and everything was going my way. I laughed and threw on the backpack and ran outside to the car and tossed the bag into the back. I ran back in and grabbed the vests and the different types of holsters; I was not sure which ones we would need or prefer.

  I ran back outside and tossed those in. “I got a bunch of protein bars and mixes.” Ricky suddenly called out. I noticed he was having a hard time holding a few cases of sports drinks; I ran over and helped him get them in the back of the car. I looked over at the pharmacy. “Where is Eric?” I asked. “Shit!” Ricky yelled. I jumped from the sudden outburst and turned to look at him. Ricky was looking at the road and I turned to see what he was looking at; a large group of zombies was heading towards us.