Crowded Yet Desolate: A Zombie Novel

by Lee Dunter

  Uncomfortable, Ryan followed. About twenty minutes later they reached a thicket of trees that appeared to thicken into a full forest. Pale and frightened, Ryan had to force himself to follow. He didn’t want to be in the middle of the woods in fading sunlight. The treetops blocked what little light remained, and Ryan stumbled on tree roots and pulled sharp, painful thorns from his clothes as they progressed through the woods. Ryan attuned his ears to the noises around him: the crunch of leaves under their feet, birds whistling, crickets chirping. He heard a rustle and abruptly turned. It was a deer, which looked at him, frightened, and scattered away. And suddenly, an act that was meant to warn him to attacks brought him peace instead. The nature surrounding them seemed unaware of the surrounding madness. For the first time in a day, Ryan’s thoughts cleared, and he didn’t feel guilt over Deborah’s death; he didn’t feel scared or weary; his mind was simply focused on navigating through the thick brush.

  But all things come to an end. The stars and the moon faintly lit their pat as they exited the woods and found a small two-lane road. After Roe looked left and right along the road, he said, “Good. This way.” They remained silent as they walked, the sound of their footsteps mixing with the sounds of the night. Ryan longed for the serenity he felt in the woods again, hoping their journey would soon be over. His aim was bad in the light and surely atrocious in the dark. An attack now could be their end. He walked on, trying not to think such thoughts.

  Slowly, large houses began replacing the woods on both sides of the road. The population of the houses grew denser, eventually leading into neighborhoods. They passed a sign welcoming them into Harpersville, and Ryan could see the town’s faint light shining in the dark.

  “At least home still has lights,” Roe said.

  “Ya, but for how long?” Ryan asked.

  Joe said that they were close, that they should look for a place to set up camp for the night. It was late, dark; the twins lived an hour’s walk on the other side of town. Ryan agreed that stopping would be best. They quickened their pace as they began to hear sounds–either from the living or the dead. No one fancied a battle in the darkness of night. The town, so peaceful and safe from a distance, proved to be less hopeful as they approached. Ryan heard the noises more distinctly now: zombies, all around them, hidden in the darkness. When the twins armed themselves, Ryan gladly equipped his rifle and ensured it was loaded and ready. The group slowed its pace.

  The subdivisions bled into offices and restaurants, and the street widened into a four-lanes. Ryan had expected more signs of life in Harpersville, because of its small population and distance from Atlanta, but life here seemed halted in its tracks too. He had expected the outbreak to spread out of Atlanta, but how did it do this much damage so quickly? Everything seemed so abandoned: fast food restaurants, hometown restaurants, convenient stores, and grocery store lined the roads around them. They searched for a placed to stay, but everything seemed too large or too accessible for safety–doors of buildings were left wide open or unhinged, ground floor windows were smashed open. Ryan scanned the streets for signs of zombies, leaving the business of finding a safe place to the twins, but the darkness overpowered the town lights, and he couldn’t see a thing.

  The stench first hit Ryan as they crossed under a traffic light near a CVS store. He turned, and, seeing it come from around the corner, barely had enough time to react before the zombie leaped at him. He managed to place his rifle lengthwise across the zombie’s throat as it fell down on top of him. He pushed up on the gun, keeping the zombie’s teeth at bay. The zombie, fat, pressed down with what felt like a ton of force. The longer this went on, the closer it approached his face. Where the fuck is everyone? he thought. He heard gunshots, his partners dealing with their own problems. The teeth were inches from his face now, and the Zombie’s stinking breath felt hot against his turned cheek as it snapped its jaws and drooled on him. Ryan’s mind recalled the little girl who was bitten in the nose, and as he did he felt the zombie’s moist lips against his cheeks.

  He had to do something if he wanted to keep his face intact. He brought his feet in and thrust his pelvis into the air, pivoting off his left foot and rolling over so that he was on top of the zombie with his gun pushing down on its throat. The zombie continued in its attempt to bite him. It reached its arms up towards Ryan’s face, and Ryan had to arch his neck back to avoid being scratched. He could see the others now. Multiple zombies were dead, and the group was contending with the others. Kayla held the crying baby against the wall of the CVS, and her husband stood guard over them, protecting them from the mayhem. A zombie with a flattened, broken face lay at his feet.

  Ryan waited for help, scared that if he moved it would manage to bite him before he could move away. Finally, Joe came to his aid, shooting the zombie in the head. Ryan exhaled, relaxing his burning muscles, and rolled off the zombie and onto his back. For a moment he lay there, looking at the sky. Joe extended his hand, and Ryan took it, standing to his feet. Ryan had been right. The darkness made this battle quite different. There were only a handful of zombies on the ground, but the group had barely survived: traveling at night was no longer a good idea, Ryan noted. The cover of darkness seemed to favor the undead. He had always heard that when one sense couldn’t be used, the others would compensate, but he wasn’t finding this to be true. Humans rely too much on their eyesight.

  This was no time to make excuses, though. The gunshots had attracted more zombies. Ryan could hear the approach of the relentless beasts, coming from any direction. The absence of light was once again their worst enemy.

  Ryan suddenly froze, attentive. Through the darkness came an unfamiliar voice. “Hello! Is anyone out there? We can help. Hello? Is there anybody out there?”

  Chapter 10

  The voice called out again, and the group made their way towards it. As they ran, guided by the few lights that the city provided, Ryan was uncertain whether they would find the source of the voice or a group of zombies in the dark distance.

  Panicky and out of breath, Ryan yelled, “Where are you?”

  The voice returned, “Over this way! Look for a preschool. Hurry!”

  Ahead of Ryan, Roe turned, moving backwards, and said, “I know it. Follow me.”

  Roe took a right at the next intersection, and the orange glow of the street lamps planted in the median revealed along the street a large group of zombies staring dumbfounded at the sky. Ryan wondered where these things were coming from, as there seemed to be far too many for this small town. Opening fire could attract more, but Ryan, not seeing that they had a choice, clumsily swung his rifle from his shoulder and opened fire. Many of the others followed suit, but the twins ran on without firing, making Ryan believe they would have chosen the discretion of the blades over the firearms. Ryan noted this and moved on. The group successfully picked off the zombies in their path, and their speed allowed them to outpace the monsters that chased after. When Ryan ran out of bullets, he un-holstered his pistol–no time for reloading–aware that he was going to be a lousy shot while running in the dark.

  Before Ryan’s first clip was empty, Roe had led them to the school’s property. Ryan could clearly make out the rectangular school from which the voice had beckoned, could hear the voice still calling from inside, but he could not make out the man who owned the voice. A small road encircled the building, presumably where parents had picked up their kids only a few days earlier–Ryan doubted it would be used again–and the lush green at the front of the school led to a parking lot on the right. A floodlight revealed not only the Huntwood Preschool sign, but also the multiple zombies that still pursued behind them, and a few that loomed between them and the entrance. The twins chose now to open fire, making quick work of the zombies that blocked their path. Joe and Roe ran through the double glass doors of the building, where an old man stood beckoning them to safety. Ryan reached the door next, but instead of entering, he turned to aid his comrades.

  Cam, Kyle, then Albert were on the
verge of reaching the building, but Tavaris and Kayla trailed behind, the baby now in the Tavaris’s protective arms. A zombie was closing in on them. That he had an equal chance of shooting them as the zombie never registered through the adrenaline. Ryan opened fire, the gun’s powerful recoil lurching his hands back. The bullets whizzed by Kayla and hit the zombie’s thigh. It tripped momentarily as the muscle of the leg shredded, and his companions pulled ahead.

  When all were safely inside, the glass doors were shut and moments later, the undead slammed against it with no concern for their well being, sandwiching one another and beating their fists against the glass. Their bloodied claws scraping against the glass reminded Ryan of how Deborah dragged herself across their apartment floor. Ryan looked away. Great, he thought, they had blindly decided to trust this man, and now they were cornered in a building with glass windows and doors. Were they actually any safer?

  Their breathing sounded heavy under the low ceilings and rebounding of the tile floors.

  Joe, through his breathing, said, “You’re either the most generous man I’ve ever seen, or the dumbest.”

  The old man’s smile was small and firm, but his eyes were full of kindness. He turned and walked with a limp down the hall, his gray hair thinning at the top of his head. He spoke in a steady voice. “Don’t worry. It will hold. Come this way.” He limped down the hallway, and Ryan, with a final glance behind him, decided to follow. The hallway ended at a set of double doors that led to an outdoor playground. On each side of the doors was a flight of stairs, one of which was barricaded with school desks and tables. The group followed the man up the open staircase.

  On the second floor, the old man pointed out the candles that lined the hallways, telling them that though some of the town still had electricity, they had lost theirs earlier that day. He led them through a set of double doors on their left into a modestly lit cafeteria. Tables were folded up and pushed against the wall to create a large opening in the middle. A group sat in this space, a small boy, two women, and an older couple, all gathered around a small lamp. The old man invited them to take a seat.

  “The name’s Bill,” he said. “I’m the principal of this school. And this here is my grandson, Jaden,” He patted Jaden on the back, who looked up at his grandfather with a large smile.

  “Hi.” Jaden beamed at the newcomers, then returned to his toys. It was obvious that Jaden was being kept in the dark about the atrocities outside these walls. Although he knew it was silly, Ryan felt a smidge of jealousy.

  Bill continued: “Let me introduce you to two of Jaden’s favorite teachers: Miss Jackson and Miss Thomas.” Jaden gave an approving nod, and the two smiled and waved cheerfully. Ryan would have to work on his acting skills to match these two. “And you may recognize our governor and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.”

  Mr. Bennet, a handsome man in his late forties with obviously dyed brown hair, exerted the effort to stand, wearing his full suit and tie, and walked over to shake each of their hands. When he reached Ryan, Ryan had the urge to slap him in the face and tell him that this wasn’t a damn election. But he followed the governor’s example, mimicking a fake greeting.

  As the governor returned to his wife, who was littered in an outrageous amount of jewelry, Bill turned to the newcomers with an ironic grin. “It’s our town’s little secret that the Bennets spend much of the year here. And now they’ve graciously offered to join in on the slumber party.” He looked down at Jaden, who cheered without looking up from his stack of blocks and army men.

  Mr. Bennet said, “I believe we should bring our welcomed guests up to par with the way things work around here.”

  “Of course, of course.” returned Bill, rubbing the palm of his hands down his shirt. “Ms. Jackson, Ms. Thomas, would you mind taking Jaden to his room? To play.”

  “Not at all,” Mrs. Jackson said.

  “Oh. Could you please take Sammy?” Kayla asked hesitantly, pointing at her baby.

  “We would love to. Come along dear,” Miss Jackson said, walking past Kayla and taking Jaden by the hand. Miss Thomas took the fussy baby with her, and they all left the cafeteria.

  With them gone, Bill’s countenance changed and he spoke sternly, the principal coming out in him. “The first rule is no one is ever alone. We uphold the buddy system. Protection is key. We stay quiet, and we preserve our candles. There are three staircases. All but one has been blockaded with desks and tables.”

  The sternness suddenly faded to exhaustion as he sighed and blinked furiously. The bags under his eyes were visible against the dim power of the lamp. He placed his palms against his stomach where they remained. “We don’t have any weapons or any form of protection at all. We’re sitting ducks here. Our only choice has been to stay hidden.” He furrowed his brow, and Ryan realized that, unlike Joe suggested, he was neither dumb, nor generous; he was desperate. “You don’t need to worry about them breaking in, though. The glass is bulletproof. We had it installed after a custody incident a fear years back.” Bill became silent, apparently finished.

  Ryan asked, “Is this all that’s left of the town?”

  There was silence as Bill appeared to prepare himself. “As far as we know . . . yes.” He swallowed. “School was about to start when I first saw those creatures. I could see it all from my office . . . frozen, I–I didn’t know what to do. At first I was taken back, and I didn’t understand what was really happening until it was too late, that is if I ever really came to understand. Anyhow, I called the police. But–but they said there were dozens of other similar incidents occurring and that they couldn’t help. I should’ve known then . . . ” He took a deep breath as tears began to stream down his face. He dabbed his cheek with his sleeve. “Some students were already here, so we called their parents. I should’ve made them stay. As each one left, it got worse and worse outside . . . I saw a child beaten to death by her parents . . . these monsters were coming from every building, from every corner, like some horrible movie.” He tightened his fists and stared at them. “I should’ve done something, should’ve helped in some way. But what could an old, handicapped man like me do? Well, I did the only thing I could. I gathered everyone who would listen to me, but only the Bennets had the sense, and I locked down the school. In all of my years, I’ve never seen anything so, so . . . ”

  “Fucked up” Cam said. This description appeared to appease Bill well enough.

  Joe and Roe then took turns relaying what they knew of the outbreak and everything they had seen in Atlanta. Ryan noted that the three didn’t even blink when the twins identified the infected as zombies.

  “It’s worse than I imagined,” Bill said when they finished. “The TV made it seem like everything was under control.”

  “I assume the television is out,” Kyle said, half statement, half question.

  “Yes, along with the power. It’s probably for the best. Apparently it’s been full of lies.” The others looked at Bill, gloom anticipation on their faces. “You really want to know what the TV said? Fine. But you’ll be sorry.” He morphed into a principal again. “After we locked down, we were glued to the television. For the longest time, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The local news was trying its best, but it was dangerous out there. But there was nothing in the national news. No breaking news, no alarms. They had to know what was going on, surely the world can’t be this blind to pain. But nothing ever appeared. It feels like the government put a hush on this whole thing.”

  “Outrageous,” said Mrs. Bennet, shaking her head. “Why would the government do such a thing?”

  “Really, woman?” Cam asked. “Ever take a history class?”

  “Woman, eh!”Mrs. Bennet said.

  “Everyone, please. Use your inside voices,” Bill said. “In high stress situations such as these, in which we’re all confused and scared, emotions will run high and our tempers will trigger easily. Let’s please stay calm.” He paused a moment, as if to let his lesson sink in, then he began again. “My sincere apo
logies, Mrs. Bennet. Maybe I jumped to a conclusion.” She stared into the air, hesitant to forgive the remark. Ryan wanted to smirk but couldn’t find the will in the heavy atmosphere. “Anyways, at first there was no mention of anything abnormal. Then sometime in the evening, the talking heads announced riots in Atlanta: no footage, it wasn’t even a full-length piece. It was just mentioned in passing. And that’s far from the end of it.”

  Everyone leaned in unknowingly. “Some time later they announced that the riots were fundamentally inspirational and that they had spread to Charlotte.” Everyone was on edge now, waiting to hear more. “That was all we saw before we lost power.”

  Sitting back, Ryan tried to make sense of this new information. How could the rest of the nation not know what was happening? Was the government really trying to keep this quiet, and if not, where was the help, the rescue? Were they on the verge of another Katrina? The virus had spread all the way to Charlotte. That’s three states infected in forty-eight hours . . . Is Joe right? Is this really the end of civilization?

  “Is there a generator?” Albert asked, unsatisfied.

  “Yes, but we have to go outside to turn it on, and it’s too noisy to be safe.” Albert looked disappointed, but the wrinkles on his forehead persisted as he thought.

  “There’s nothing we can do about any of that,” Ryan said. “What’s our plan now? Where do we go from here?”

  Silence. Averted eyes.

  “We don’t have a plan,” Bill said. “We’re simply surviving. That’s all any of us can for the time being.”

  “So we just sit here and rot?” Cam asked.

  “No, my dear boy. You’re mistaken,” Mrs. Bennet said instructively. She moved her hands as if giving a lecture. “We’re not rotting here. We’re waiting.”

  “Waiting for what?” Cam asked, his growing contempt for her barely hidden.

  “The police, the Government, the military. Some sort of action. It’s only a matter time before they find a solution and come to our aid.” Mrs. Bennet nodded, a confident smile across her lips.