Southern Zombies 4: Southern Revenge

by Ann Riley

  Trey makes regular fence checks to make sure we don’t have weak areas. The zombies tend to lean against the fence at points they can easily reach and our fear is that it will be pushed down. I think I may have an idea for large stakes in the ground that will snag the zombies. I have to talk that out with Marc and see if we can do it. Everyone is bustling about getting food stored in the pantry, making sure the guard towers are stocked, and gathering all weapons we have. Since we don’t know when they will come, we have to be prepared at all times.

  I notice a small crowd of walkers looking through the fence. I went head over to the fence to help Trey dispatch of them.

  Looking through the fence, I see a sprinter. I elbow Trey to look.

  “You have your rifle out here too?” I ask.

  Trey nods and walks over to the truck to get it.

  Coming back to me, he raises his rifle to take aim at the sprinter. Trey has a 30 30 rifle. When a round hits a zombie in the head from a 30 30, you don’t want to have a weak stomach. The head literally explodes into a huge spray of blood and what’s left of their brains. I should say gray matter since they have no brain function other than the need to eat.

  “Well, that was disgusting.” I tell Trey.

  He snorts out a laugh.

  We continue to take down the walkers leaning on the fence. After taking them out, they will have to be burned to eliminate some of the smell. Don’t get me wrong, the smell never ceases. You sort of get used to it. Well, as much as you can anyway. I think that I will never get used to it, but it is a sure fire way to know when you have hostiles approaching.

  A scream rings out. Trey and I look at each other.

  “Gabby.” He says and starts running.

  If she has gone out of this fence, I will kick her ass. She knows better.

  I make it over to the area the scream came from and see Gabby pulled up against the fence, being held there by a zombie. He is trying desperately to get a bite. He just can’t pull any part of her flesh through the fence.

  As Trey gets closer, we hear a shot ring out. I look over to my right and see Diane with her forty-four. She had a clear shot of the walker and took it. Gabby is released from the clutches of her admirer and runs to Trey.

  “Are you alright? Did it bite you? Why were you close to the fence?” Trey shouts. Firing questions so fast she can’t answer.

  I grab his shoulder and calm him down.

  “It caught onto my coat when I passed by it. I was coming over to where you were. The thing had his arm hanging through the fence and snagged me as I walked by.” Gabby says.

  “It didn’t bite me and I’m alright.” Gabby says.

  I look over at Diane, who is smiling and holding her forty-four down by her side. This may be the beginnings of Dirty Harriett.

  Marc comes over and lays into Gabby about being careful and aware of her surroundings. I don’t say anything because he is right. And if an ass chewing will save her life, so be it. I’d rather have my ass chewed by the family than by a zombie.

  Riley comes running up to me. He wants me to hold him. So I pick him up and he immediately starts barking over my shoulder.

  Bobby and Marc look over to see what he is barking at.

  “Who is that?” Bobby asks.

  Marc shrugs.

  “Come on. Grab my rifle and let’s go see.” Marc tells Bobby.

  I can see them at the gate and someone approaching. I hear Marc yell out for them to stop where they are.

  “What do you want?” Marc asks.

  “I need help. Please help me.” The man says.

  “I don’t have any help to give.” Marc tells the man.

  “Come on man. I need a place to stay. I have nothing.” The man tells Marc.

  “Not our problem.” Marc says.

  I go in and get a few things for the man to eat and put it in a bag. I feel bad for people now, but, in reality, we can’t take in everyone who comes along. We don’t know who these people are and if they will try to kill us. A bag of food is the best he will get from us today.

  “Give this to him.” I tell Bobby.

  Bobby hands it through the gate.

  “Get the hell out of here.” Marc says.

  “Don’t come back or I will kill you.” He tells the man.

  “Y’all will have to answer for this. You each will have your judgement days.” The man yells.

  “Probably. But you will get yours now if you don’t take your ass away from here. Now.” I tell him.

  He turns to leave. Then flips us the finger.

  “That son of a bitch. We give him food and he gives us the middle finger.” I tell Marc.

  Marc snorts.

  “Let’s see if he gives those walkers coming behind him a finger.” Bobby says.

  He doesn’t. He starts running back the way he came from.

  We walk back to the house.

  Will we be judged harshly for protecting our family? Will that be taken into consideration as we get ready to meet our maker?

  Will we be forgiven for our past transgressions that have accumulated since this shit started? The part of the south we live in is called the Bible belt. Mississippi, our home state, is approximately 75% Baptists. People in the Bible belt hold an uncritical allegiance to the accuracy of the Bible. And yes, some of them take it too far. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the Bible. I believe in God. What I don’t believe in is people who use the Bible as a cover up for their transgressions. They seem to think that as long as they read the Bible and go to Church every time the doors are opened, they will go to Heaven. And that if they pray enough, things will be given to them. My belief is that God helps those who help themselves. You can’t live a life of sin and expect that no consequences will ever come to you. You can’t do bad to others and think you will never have to answer for that. We make our own paths in life. Whether you choose a good path or a bad path is up to you.

  So I think that if we help those we can with what we can help with while at the same time protecting our family, that just maybe, we will be forgiven.

  I walk around and look over the fortifications we have made since the visitors came.

  Trey came comes riding up on the Pioneer and I got get on with him.

  We rode ride the fence line and checked check for weak areas. There are a couple that look as if a walker may have leaned in too hard and pushed it down, but we fix that quickly and continue our ride. Heading out into the woods, we see another snare trap.

  “These bastards.” I tell Trey.

  “What?” He asks.

  “Another trap. They are trapping in our woods.” I tell him.

  Trey comes over and picks the trap up and throws it in the Pioneer. He comes back with a spring loaded cylinder that he has loaded with a very sharp ten-inch nail. Bending down, he connects a small wire to the cylinder and covers it in the leaves so that when they come back and grab the wire, the spring loaded cylinder will discharge and hopefully, fire the nail through their hand.

  “That’s cool.” I tell Him.

  He snorts.

  We walk a few more feet into the woods and take out a couple of walkers ambling around, then head back to the Pioneer.

  We finish our fence check and head over to the guard towers to see Mitchell in one and Tammy in the other.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Marc and Bobby burning the walkers we killed earlier.

  “Damn that smell.” I tell Trey.

  He nods, with his shirt pulled up over his nose.

  I wish I had a jar of Vick’s salve. I think I would shove the whole jar up my nose.

  Chapter 4

  We finish the perimeter check at the same time Bobby and Marc finally douse the zombie pyre. Thank heavens.

  There are some smells you can get used to, but I think the living dead smell is one no one can ever get used to.

  Riley runs to meet me when I get off the Pioneer. He has been walking and playing in the water and is a mess.

  “Bath time
for you.” I tell him, holding him away from me.

  We head in and I get him ready to bathe. I hear Marc yell and ask me if I want to go hunting with him and Trey the next morning.

  Now generally, I don’t go hunting. I did when I was younger. But now, I just don’t have the heart to kill animals. I don’t condemn others for hunting, but I don’t participate anymore.

  However, this may give me a chance to get a closer look at the band of idiots that have threatened us.

  “Yeah. I’ll go.” I yell back.

  “You don’t hunt.” Bobby says.

  “I’m aware of that. But I want to look around in the area we were in earlier.” I tell him.

  “You are going to have a breakdown when they kill an animal and you see it. You know this, right?” Bobby asks me.

  “You just lay it all out there, huh?” I ask Bobby.

  “Because I know you and I know how you feel about animals.” He says.

  Damn. He knows me well.

  Now I have to make a plan of going in a different direction than Marc and Trey will go. Do I want to walk alone? I’m not afraid of the zombies. Well, let me clarify. If there are not that many, I’m not afraid. I am more afraid of the idiots we have to deal with now than the zombies. At least I will know the zombie’s intentions. You never know the intentions of people these days.

  I finish Riley’s bath and wrap him in a towel. I continue to think about the hunting trip and if I really want to do this or not.

  Upon returning to the kitchen, Diane has Remington, my great-great niece, sitting in her high chair feeding her. She instantly starts smiling as I see her. She is a happy baby. I start talking to her in baby talk and she lets out a loud giggle. The sweet little cherub face, dark brown hair and blue eyes has stolen my heart. She continues her giggling and slobbering as I talk to her.

  At least there are still good things in this world.

  I take Remi out of her chair and sit down at the table with her. Diane comes over to join us.

  “What is it?” she asks me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “I can tell you have something on your mind so spill it.” Diane says.

  “Fine. I am worried about this band of idiots across the woods. Trey and I found another trap, so that means they are still trapping on our land.

  Which means they have been watching us. I don’t want us to get lax in guard duty. We never know when they will return.” I say.

  Diane nods.

  “Are you going with Marc and Trey in the morning?” Diane asks me.

  “Yeah. I plan on going a different direction. I don’t want to see any animals killed.” I say.

  She gives a snort.

  I hand Remi over to Diane and stand to go get my hunting attire together. Deer hunting has never been my favorite due to the beauty of the prey. And the fact you have to be so quiet. Marc will probably be happy for me to go in a different direction. I’m not known to be graceful when I am trying to walk quietly.

  I walk back to our bedroom and Bobby is getting my rifle ready. He has cleaned and loaded it. My best rifle. A Winchester 30 30 lever action with a Night Force tactical scope. He has my Kukri Ka Bar and my nine millimeter Luger hand gun. Well, I have to say he has me set up nicely.

  I fall down on the bed.

  “You still going?” Bobby asks me.

  “Yeah. I guess. It just feels off to me. Like we may have trouble. I have an uneasy feeling about this.” I tell him.

  “Maybe none of you should go. Wait a few days, then check it out.” Bobby says.

  “Yeah, I don’t think Marc will go for that. His mind is set on hunting and you know how he is about that.” I say.

  Bobby nods.

  I take a deep breath and continue looking for clothes to wear in the woods. I set my boots out, coat, hunting vest and a fleece beanie to keep my head warm. Riley sits and watches me as he knows I am up to something. He does not like to be away from me. Yes, he is spoiled and he always goes everywhere with me. But lately I have been afraid of taking him due to all the shit we seem to run into.

  I lie down and Riley curls up next to me and Bobby continues to ready my accessories for my hunting trip in the morning.

  I set my alarm to wake up early for our hunting trip.

  Chapter 5

  We got up at three in the morning, and I am not an early person so I know that by noon, I will be unbearable to be around.

  Trey and Marc were waiting on me at the truck, smiling.

  “Leave me alone,” I whine to them.

  “You wanted to go, so let’s go.” Marc says.

  What the hell was I thinking?

  “Fine. Where are we going?” I ask Marc.

  “Just past where we saw that house that those idiots are living in. I think if we come in from the opposite way we may be able to see more,” Marc says.

  Trey nods.

  We start our short journey. It is about a twenty-minute drive to where we will enter the woods. Looking around as we drive, we see walkers still ambling around. Some are scattered about, dead, where someone took them down. Or maybe they just died? Doubtful.

  Our world has changed so much in the year since the outbreak occurred.

  It is almost unrecognizable.

  If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you may not even know it was there. We see dogs running about in packs. No doubt at one time were pets. But since they have no human contact now, they will eventually revert to their feral instincts. People have boarded windows and made their homes zombie proof, to an extent. It looks as though we never had human life in some areas. The yards are overgrown with grass. Trash litters the roadside and looking out in the pastures, we can see dead farm animals. Will we ever come back from this?

  We reach our destination and get out of the truck. Marc parked it in a wooded area and covered it over with tree limbs in hopes of hiding it from idiots.

  I shoulder my gun and walk around to Marc’s side of the truck.

  “How long are you staying?” I ask him.

  “Not long. A couple of hours. Do you have the walkie talkie?” He asks me.

  I nod.

  “So we will walk in together. When we get into the woods, no talking. Use hand signals for communication. If anyone is out there, it will be hard enough for us to hide our footsteps from them. So we don’t need to talk. Trey can go with you or me. Doesn’t really matter either way. But I don’t want him alone.” Marc says.

  “He can go with you. You know I am not a quiet person and I don’t hunt so I will have a hard time being deathly silent.” I say with a smile.

  “Plus, I don’t want to see any animals taken down.” I say.

  “Fine Miss PETA chairwoman.” Marc says.

  “Oh shut the hell up. I can’t help that I am an animal lover. Ass.” I tell him.

  He smiles.

  We head into the woods in a straight line. After about fifty yards, Marc and Trey go left and I go right. I still can’t help feeling that something is not right. It’s just a feeling, but I don’t like it.

  I continue my trek. I hear leaves crunching over to my right and look over to see a squirrel scurrying about.

  “You better hide little squirrel. Marc is out here.” I tell him under my breath.

  Trying to walk quietly in leaves and limbs is next to impossible. The only way I could be completely soundless is if I could hover above the ground.

  And unless I have missed something, I don’t have that ability. So I continued continue to walk.

  It’s been a long time since I was in the woods alone. The serene feeling that I always got when I would go and just sit for hours to watch the animals play is still with me today. I was never afraid to be in the woods alone. They were always like a release from the ordinary and a place where I could let my imagination roam. Watching squirrels and deer eat and play is not something very many people have the luxury to do. The people who live in big cities may never get to have that experience. I think everyone should tr
y it at least once.

  Just as I make my way around a very large tree, I run right into a walker.

  And it scared the hell out of me because I was off on my magic carpet of thoughts.

  I start reaching for my knife and finally get my hand on it before he gets close enough to take a bite. I pull my knife back and jab hard through the eye socket.

  All of the breakfast contents in my stomach start roiling around threatening to come up. I cover my mouth and take a few steps back hoping to get out of the fog of stench floating around.

  As I am backing up from the smell, I don’t see the walker behind me. But I feel a hand wrap around my boot down by my ankle. I look down and see a partial body. That’s all I can call it. There was nothing from the waist down. How in the hell do these things live with half a body?

  I kick my foot to release the grip on my ankle and slam the heel of my boot down into the top of the head. I do that three more times until it stops moving. Oh great. Now I have goo all over my damn foot. Great job Tracie, you dumb ass.

  Finally, everything around me is quiet again. I can hear distant l crunching of leaves and assume it’s Marc and Trey. I hope it is anyway. The one thing about being in the woods is that you can easily hear anyone approaching. Sound carries and it is hard to sneak up on someone.

  I continue my trek through the woods and come upon an area that looks like it has been burned out. It looks like someone may have made a campfire here at one time. There is a fire pit and logs placed around the pit to represent seating.

  As I approach, I can smell the remnants of meat. Like over cooked meat. I bend down to look into the fire pit and see bones in it. So apparently someone had cooked food here. I walk past the fire pit and over to my left. I can see a makeshift alarm rope set up around the perimeter of the camp area that has cans hanging on it.

  As I round a tree in my path, I see a walker hanging from a branch. I stop and throw up my breakfast. The smell is horrendous. It has no legs from the knees down. It is hung high enough on the branch to make me think that it was a live person when it was strung up and the walkers came and gnawed on it. When I get closer, I can’t see any wound that would result in death. It looks as if the person was hung up to feed the walkers. It turns its head towards me and starts snapping its jaws together. The body is so deteriorated that I can’t tell if it was male or female. I spew my remaining stomach contents again.