by Lee Ragans
I looked around the empty shop, "Don't you have the internet for porn?"
"Not no more."
I pulled up the ugly green jumper dress and pulled up my sports bra in one swift motion. I held them both at my neck while he got an eyeful. When he smiled a big smile, I dropped the dress. I did not feel like taking the time to sort out the sports bra, so I was uncomfortable as I left with the gear tucked in my new backpack that I slung over one shoulder.
As I got to the door, the owner called out, "Thanks for making my year."
I waved. I wanted to be mad, but I had a commodity that was in rare supply. I was female, and right now that was a dwindling supply. The number of males was dropping too, but to be fair, I looked good, and males were readily available.
David and Josh were working on Martha's roof when I got back. Martha was sitting in a lawn chair with a pitcher of lemonade watching my shirtless guys sweat for her. I was now certain this God-fearing town of southerners with more churches than bars had lost its mind. She was no better than the old coot at the Army surplus store.
Martha offered me a glass and a spare chair. I put down the backpack and joined her. They were a sight to see. Lots of strength, but not cut like the boys at the gym. They had muscle and body fat. They were workhorses not show horses.
Over the next few weeks, we found things to keep us busy. David was a reasonable carpenter, and Josh knew plumbing and electrical, I smiled a lot and negotiated. I think my leaving the bra behind and wearing tight t-shirt sealed a lot of the deals.
In a few days, we had more canned food than we could carry and started packing it into the suburban. The people of Folkston were not thinking ahead. The food, the fuel for generators would all run out. They would turn on each other or try to find food in the big cities. They would not like what they find.
In the early evening, both David and Josh took turns showing me how to turn my cardio boxing skills into something useful. They called it Sambo, but I have no idea how it was spelled. It was all about fighting from where ever I was. Sitting, standing, laying on the ground. I learned how to kill someone if I could get them between my elbows and my knees.
After a week David added some stuff he called Krav Maga. I had seen that. It was all the rage among young women in Miami when I was working there before my felony time. I joked that I now knew how to fight them.
They both laughed at once. I laughed. They were strong and fast. In a way that was just a bit to fast for normal people. I had known martial arts experts who could fight like they did, but that was in movies. These guys looked like that in real life.
2
We enjoyed three weeks total in Folkston. It was almost normal, well almost pre-zombie. Normal left my life a long time ago. Minus the electricity and the internet.
The first hint that something was wrong came in the morning. David and Josh were scouting around the neighborhood. Other people would think they were running for exercise. I knew better. They ran more than necessary, it was a way to cover ground and not really attract attention. I was cooking breakfast with Martha.
The electricity was out, but the chickens did not know that. They still laid eggs. While the feed lasted, they were going to have eggs.
David opened the back door and said, "They are here."
Martha was asking, “who” as I ran to our room and grabbed the three packed go bags. We always kept our things packed. I headed to the suburban as we planned. As I got to the SUV, I saw the front of the herd. I felt silly wearing yoga pants and a sports bra while we were running for our lives, but I had not bothered to get fully dressed and the morning was hot.
It was a small herd, but it was big enough to end the small town of Folkston. Martha stood on her porch and was immediately overwhelmed by the sight of 1000 or more walking dead coming down her street. I called for her to run to the SUV. She went back inside and closed the blinds. I still remember her look. It was the realization that all that bad news was not a lie made up on TV.
David drove slowly, Josh was in the shotgun seat and sat on the open window shooting anything that was in our way. The zombies were coming from the West. We went East. The last shot Josh fired that day was the deputy who stupidly pointed a gun at us order us to stop. The town of Folkston did not prepare for the reality. The reality ran them over. We did not look back.
3
We needed fuel by the time we got to Interstate 95. Siphoning fuel was Josh's job. I had proven to be awful at it and always ended up with a mouthful of gasoline. David was the driver and fighter. Me, I think I was the brains of the operation. It that was true, we were well and truly fucked.
A storm was coming in from the ocean, and we were vulnerable out in the open. I could see that David and Josh were nervous.
We huddled in a small gas station outside of Brunswick looking for shelter. We had food but did not want to use it all. It was nice to be out of the vehicle. It was good to be mobile but sleeping in a vehicle felt more vulnerable than having walls.
David wanted to go to Florida, Josh wanted to go to Atlanta. So we went to Savannah.
People were few and far between on the road. The dead were numerous but slow. We could outrun them easier than shoot them. Since ammo was in limited supply, we choose to run. Clusters of the undead followed us North on I95, and we left them in behind.
I like to think that they were going that way anyway, but I can't shake the feeling our vehicle, the only one on the road cause the herds to change their migration pattern.
We had not seen a large group in a day. The roads were slow going, dodging cars and clumps of then undead. We stopped somewhere south of Savannah. It was a fortified police station with no one in it. We were almost out of gas, and the cars we were finding were mostly dry. It looks like people starting dying with their cars running. It was the worst luck for us.
I had been on the pill since I turned 16. It was in that police station that I took the last birth control pill I had. To say that this is a bad thing is hard to do. I hated taking them, but with two men in my life now, and almost no downtime. I knew that I was going to get pregnant. I wanted to have some deep and meaningful conversation with my men, but it just made me feel weird to even think about talking to them about parenthood. It was really not the time.
Just as I started to ponder how running from the undead while being pregnant would be... I saw the CVS sign. The pharmacy would be looted, but who would take birth control pills.
An hour later the 3 of us scavenged the wrecked pharmacy. I had a 5 year supply of birth control, and we found inhalers in case we get a chest infection and several different antibiotics. There were no bandages, but we found some disinfectants. And yes, there were tampons. Not my brand, but better than nothing. Running from the walking dead with a pad was not an option.
Back safely in the police station, I sat on the roof with the boys. The evening air was cool. There was a breeze to keep the bugs away, and it was almost nice. I forgot for a few minutes that everyone I knew was dead. Every celebrity, every athlete, every movie star. Movie stars, that was the tragedy. There would be no more movies. No more television shows, no more books.
I asked David what his favorite movie was. I was sleeping with him but knew nothing about him. I could not believe it. His favorite movie was "The God Father." I should have known. Josh asked me mine, and I had to admit, it was The Proposal. No idea why I said that. It was not, but I wanted to see that movie right then. I wanted to see Sandra fucking Bullock on the big screen. My ovaries were screaming for a girl outing. I wanted to live in that movie.
I did not want to be here.
I realized Josh had said nothing. I asked him his favorite movie. His answer did not surprise me. All he said was, "I don't like movies. I like football. Looks like I am shit out of luck, now." I was the longest he had spoken since we met.
I wish they had some antidepressants in that CVS. I think we all really needed them.
The cool night air was disturbed as the horde got close enough for us to hear i
t. We had minutes to ponder if we should stay or run. In that time we grabbed our gear and prepared to make a run for it.
Josh said the words that probably saved our lives. "Let's hunker down on the top floor."
That night we slept huddled in the corner of the top floor or the small town police station. The doors were secure. We considered setting a guard, but we agreed that if any got in, all would get in and we were screwed. Better to meet out the end with a good night's sleep.
That night was filled with the sounds of moaning and breaking. I was sure that they were going to get in the building at least a dozen times. As the sun rose, I could hear birds and bugs chirp. There were only a few stragglers bumping into things.
The lack of gas and lack of food supplies told us it was time to start moving. We stood there, backpacks on, weapons slung looking like 2 commandos and the girl they just saved from a bad guy. The black BDUs fit, but I had no urge to put them on in the heat. I did anyway. My yoga pants needed a break. I did not look military with the sleeves rolled up and blouse open. I went with the sports bra and open blouse look.
Josh said, "Safest way to go would be behind them. At least we know where they are."
He was right. We went East. We walked behind the tide of undead. Stopping every 3 hours to change socks out to dry. These guys were experts on walking for days. I learned how much I did not know, but I was getting better.
When I got tired and started to slow them down, they took turns carrying me piggyback. I would just lock my legs around their waist and become a girlfriend backpack. I was worried that I was too heavy for them to carry and David said that I was just about 15 pounds heavier than a full set of gear.
It was the most ridiculous thing to see David with his pack on his front and me and my pack on his back. I was happy there were no witnesses. It was not a great test to be carried. I still had to use strength to hold on and keep from falling.
We found food that the victims of the horde left behind. It was awful to think, but we were alive. They were not. The old rules were gone. We owned what we could carry or protect. If you are dead, you own nothing and protect nothing.
I now owned a red hair band that was once used to tie up a gathering of scallions. What idiot keeps fancy onions. That space or weight would be better served with any canned food. Now my hair was out of my eyes, and my head smelled like scallions. It was better than sweat, and grime one gets from walking across the South East.
4
We paced ourselves to move behind the horde. I could not help but think about what they would be following so quickly.
We followed them all the way to Savannah. It was unbelievable, the thousands of zombies just walked right through the city and into the water on River Street. By the time we got there, thousands of dead were already in the water. None ever walked up on the other side that we could see. Josh guessed that the water flow was carrying them out to sea. It made sense to me. David had no opinion.
As we searched the city, we heard doors close and windows shut. We did not say it, but we were out of food, and if no one offered a trade or help, we were going to have to take something soon. We scavenged from a church that had been overrun at some point. My best guess was that the zombies left and followed the herd into the river. There were no corpses to indicate someone was keeping the area clear.
We found 6 cans of whole tomatoes. Not my favorite but I at two cans of them and drank every drop of the juice. The salt they were packed in made my mouth hurt after not eating yet that day. I never realized how much salt they used. I could see that David and Josh were in the same boat, but when you are starving, there are never complaints.
I had to pull up my pants and realized my hip bones were showing. I laughed at how I spent years in the gym trying to get fit and get a six-pack. Now I was just muscle and bone. Body fat was going fast. David had it worse. He had been 225 when I met him. He was probably 185 now. The fat as gone, and he was losing muscle too. Josh was 180 when I met them, and he was probably just 160 now. He had less to lose.
Josh whistled from the front door. It meant that a person was a threat. We never made noise when it was one of the dead. Just hand signals. No idea how we developed the rules, we just lived by them.
I moved to get out of the way, and David walked out the door. I could hear him greeting the person and then a laugh. That did not mean everything was okay. I knew David would laugh to throw someone off and then shoot them when he had the advantage. I have no idea how I knew that, but I just did.
The man was wearing a Catholic priests garb and had a huge smile. He looked at Josh and me, “It is so good to see you all. I thought that the dead had killed everyone off.”
I walked up and shook his hand. He stared me up and down and said, “I can’t imagine the luck of finding 3 soldiers.” I laughed.
“Oh, I am no soldier. I just have a pair of soldiers like my own.” I knew he was no priest.
The priest looked from David to Josh and back again. “I have no idea what to make of that.”
“Neither do I. We are figuring it out as we go along.” I got David’s and Josh’s attention with a look. Letting them know I thought something was wrong.
The priest was caught off guard as David suddenly drew his pistol and put it to his head. I stepped closer and said, “You are no priest. What are you hiding?”
It was his smile that let me know there was a problem. What the problem was I wanted to understand before David shot him.
“You are right. I found the outfit. It is a safer way to meet people when you are unarmed. It makes people comfortable. I guess some people.”
“So what are you hiding?”
“I am just trying to find out who you are.”
David started to move. I could sense it, “Don’t shoot him yet. I will ask one more time, what are you hiding?”
The priest took a breath and said, “My family. I want to be sure they are safe.”
“Why are you out here?”
“We need all the help we can get to stay safe. When one sees soldiers walking into your city and you need protection you go talk to them.”
I knew he was not lying, but I knew that he was holding something back. We followed him to his compound. No one lived in buildings anymore. The living were behind walls and barricades. I went inside with them. David and Josh took up positions on the nearby rooftops.
The priest looked at me, “They are cautious.”
“We all are. I should point out to you that I am their wife. If anything happens to me, they will kill you and every living thing you care about.”
“Of that, I have no doubt. No doubt…” The Priest looked worried to me, but I was no scared.
I was met by 10 women and a group of small children. They were all very happy to see me and offered me food and anything else they had. One child offered me his Gameboy, and I politely refused.
I caught the priest’s eye, “Why are they all offering me things?”
“Oh, dear. You are from the outside. My family has not left here since the beginning of the end times. They know what I know, you are an angel sent from heaven to deliver us from this hell.”
“Pardon?”
“Simple, we know the prophecy of the angel and her warriors. It is time for you to deliver us from this world to the next. Or have I transgressed by revealing who you are in my haste to meet the lord.”
I was extremely happy that David and Josh had liberated special forces radios that used regular batteries. We were never far apart, so we did not need them. Now, with them outside and me inside, the mike had been open long enough for them to hear everything. This was crazy.
The priest fell to the ground crying, “I have done all that was asked, I protected them, gathered them and kept them from the end of days. Just as I was asked. You arrived, an angel.”
“Yes, mother of angels, please take us to heaven.” One of the women called out.
“Please end this horror and take us home.” A small girl pleaded.
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As I backed toward the door, “I have no idea what you are talking about.” In hindsight, I should have seen that they were just living in denial of what happened. If I had been living a normal life maybe I would have broken at the end of the world. My life was already destroyed, so 99% of the world dying and coming back to life to try to kill me seemed reasonable. I should have also seen what would happen next.
Before I could back to the door, it burst open. And David fired two shots. One in the head and one in the chest of the priest.
The children screamed. That was normal. The part that really disturbed me was the women dropping to the knees and pulling on their collars exposing their chests screaming, “Shoot me next!” Another yelled, “Send me to heaven, Mother of Angels!”
David and Josh were disciplined soldiers. They did not fire again. They stepped in front of me and left me back out. They pulled the doors, and we moved quickly away from the compound. Not really having our bearings we headed north to the other side of the square and made our way to the upper floors of an old house. Making sure we were not followed.
