Just Trying To Stay Alive: A Prepper's Tale

by Michaels, Brian

  The dead on this side of the yard were at least three bodies deep along the fence, but I didn’t think the dead were the reason a crowd had formed. If anything with this many of the dead pressing up against the fence, it would be a good reason for anyone camped out on this side of the yard to move closer to the middle of the yard, not get closer to the fence.

  I continued to work my way closer to the front of the crowd trying to see the real reason all these people were here.

  When I finally pushed my way through to the front of the crowd, I stopped, feeling confused at what I was seeing.

  Everyone was staring at two of the dead who were tied to the fence, as the dead bodies glared at the spectators, growling, moaning and snapping their teeth as they struggled to get loose to attack the spectators.

  “My God, what kind of sadistic bastards are these people to tie up and to make sport of the dead like this,” I thought.

  Then my thoughts turned to who would be crazy enough to drag two of the dead over the fence and tie them up like this,” I thought, “and how did they do this without getting bit? Why would anyone want to risk infection for what appeared to be little more than some kind of sick practical joke?”

  Then my heart sank as the answer came to me.

  The dead body on the left that was frantically struggling to get free, who was snapping his teeth as he surveyed the crowd with his milky white dead eyes, was Ben.

  The dead body on the right was a little old woman, I assumed she had been Ben’s wife.

  I thought about the disturbance I had heard during the middle of the night, about what had sounded like a pack of wild animals devouring their prey, then I knew what had happened.

  The creeps had paid Ben and his wife a visit last night on their way to my campsite.

  They must had been watching Ben last night or had been told by one of the others about Ben being at the restroom tent with me last night.

  As punishment for Ben talking to me, they paid him a visit in the middle of the night and tied him and his wife to the fence as a message to anyone who would think about talking to me, anyone who would dare challenge the creep’s authority.

  I didn’t try to talk to anyone to ask them if they knew what had happened to Ben, I figured that no one would have the courage to talk to me.

  I instead made my way back around the crowd and headed across the field towards the building where the soldiers stayed.

  I was surprised when I approached the building that I didn’t see the three bodies Logan and I had deposited near the main entrance.

  The creeps must have found their friends early this morning and moved them before the others would see the spectacle.

  I walked up to the entrance and was met by the two-armed guards that stood right inside the doorway.

  “Can I help you?” one of the guards asked.

  “I’d like to speak with Hank,” I replied.

  “Hank’s not available,” the man replied.

  “When will he be available?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, I believe he and a few men went out on the helicopter for something,” the man replied.

  I stood and looked at the men for a long second, my mind ready to explode from the anger I felt about what had happened to Ben.

  “Did you know that those bastards that are camped down at the end of the yard killed an old man and his wife last night?” I growled.

  “A lot happens around here that we don’t know about,” the man replied without a hint of interest. “We can’t be everywhere.”

  “Well, aren’t you going to do anything about it?” I asked.

  “If we went down there and told them you said that they did something, they would just say that they didn’t do it,” the man replied. “It would be your word against theirs. Unless we see it happen, we really can’t take one person’s word over someone else’s word. We don’t have enough men to watch everyone. Besides, they would probably tell me that you did it and they would have six witnesses to corroborate their version of what happened, then I would have to lock you up.”

  “I take it I’m not the first person to complain about something like this?” I asked.

  “No, you aren’t,” the man replied. “and if we went to investigate, you wouldn’t be the first one to mysteriously disappear after we did. We have found it best to concentrate on the overall safety of the base and stay out of the inhabitant’s petty squabbles. It works out better for everyone that way.”

  “Would you at least give me another blanket then?” I asked then added, “I could also use another shirt if you have an extra uniform lying around that isn’t being used.”

  The man turned and went back into the building as his buddy eyed me carefully, holding his rifle by his side with his finger resting on the trigger.

  A second later the man returned and handed me a blanket.

  “Here is another blanket, but I can’t give you any of our uniforms,” he replied. “We can’t have anyone running around at the base impersonating one of our men.”

  “Thanks,” I replied. “But if I were you, I would send a detail out to put down the two infected bodies tied to the inside of the fence across the yard, growling and snapping at everyone around them. If they bite or scratch anyone and start the infection spreading inside the base, by the end of the day you won’t have anyone left here to keep safe.”

  I took the blanket, turned and walked away.

  “Ben had been right about everything he had told me,” I thought. “It’s too bad I didn’t have a chance to talk to him further. This place is no safe zone, it’s a damn microcosm of the worst of humanity. The prize for anyone that manages to survive this hell hole is they get to be eaten by the dead. Then the grand prize, is you get to become one of the walking dead.”

  I looked around as I approached the men’s restroom tent and decided to stop in for a quick break.

  I walked inside the tent and took a spot to quickly relieve myself. I put the blanket over my left shoulder, then pulled down my zipper.

  As I did this, someone knocked the blanket off my shoulder, it fell at my feet next to the trench.

  Next a felt a hand touch my arm.

  I was still on an adrenaline high and swung around swinging my fist, decking the closest man to me.

  I looked down to see the snake creature lying unconscious on the ground in front of me.

  I don’t know where the next thing I did came from, I’m not a violent person by nature and I cannot ever remember getting into any fights as a kid, but I looked at the two tattooed guys who now stood wide eyed in front of me, hardly able to believe what they had just seen, and said, “Pick up my blanket!”

  Before I realized what I had just said, one of the guys bent down, picked up the blanket and handed it to me.

  I put the blanket back on my shoulder, turned and finished my business, then walked out of the tent.

  By the time I was almost back to our spot, the adrenaline high had subsided and pain in my hand was throbbing like a tooth ache.

  I must have hit that guy square on the mouth and cut my hand on his teeth, my hand was covered with blood.

  When I get back to my spot I would wipe off my hand, hopefully it wasn’t my blood.

  But until then, I didn’t want to wipe it off or show any weakness in case someone was watching.

  I also couldn’t believe what I had just done.

  I had surprised myself, but I was also pleased with what I had done. I just hoped that I wouldn’t find myself in that position again anytime soon.

  Between what we managed to pull off last night, and what had just happened, I hoped that the creeps would get the idea that maybe they should leave us alone for a while.

  When I returned to our spot, I found Katie and Emma standing behind Logan, with one of the tattooed creeps standing in front of them.

  As I walked around the corner of the building, I heard the creep saying, “I don’t think your old man is going to be back for a while, so get your ass over h
ere, don’t make me come back there and drag you out by your hair.”

  “What’s going on here?” I asked. “I’m their old man and I’m back.”

  The tattooed creep, another one of the creeps that I didn’t recognize looked startled when he saw me.

  “I just stopped by to talk,” he stammered.

  I walked up to him and stuck my face up close to his.

  “If you want to talk to anyone here, you talk to me,” I said. Hoping the same attitude would prove as effective as it had been down at the restroom.

  The guy nodded, turned and walked away.

  I turned back to my family, “What was going on?”

  “He said he came to visit Katie,” Emma said.

  “I told him that I’m not allowed visitors without your permission,” Katie said nervously.

  “That’s when he said you wouldn’t be back for a while,” Logan said.

  “I think he was getting ready to fight with Logan,” Emma added. “I couldn’t believe how cocky he was.”

  “I stopped by the restroom on my way back,” I replied. “They must have been watching. They sent in three guys after me, so this guy probably thought he would have a clear shot at Katie.

  “What happened?” Emma asked.

  “I decked the snake creature with a lucky punch, the other two didn’t know what to do after that so they just backed off,” I said.

  “I’m sorry I started all of this,” Katie said quietly.

  “This was going to happen eventually,” I replied. “This wasn’t your fault. You had no idea of what kind of problems being your friendly self could lead to here. These people are not like the people you are used to seeing back home or at school.”

  “Still, you probably wish you had two boys instead of me,” Katie replied sadly.

  “Not a chance,” I smiled.

  “What was going on over on the other side of the yard?” Emma asked.

  “The creeps tied Ben and his wife to the fence last night,” I replied. “The dead got to them during the night.”

  “Oh no,” Emma sighed. “That is horrible.”

  “I think it is about time we think about getting out of here,” I said. “Between those creeps and how many of the dead are starting to show up around the fence, things are probably only going to get worse around here.”

  Just then we heard the sound of two different gun shots echoing off the building.

  “What was that?” Emma asked as she turned towards the sound.

  I looked across the yard and saw four armed soldiers walking away from the small group of people around where I had seen Ben and his wife’s bodies tied to the fence.

  “I believe the soldiers just put Ben and his wife out of their misery,” I replied.

  “Do you think the soldiers could do something about those creeps,” Katie asked.

  “No, they won’t help,” I replied. “I went over to talk to them after I saw what happened to Ben. They said it would just be our word against the creeps. They said for the survivor’s sake, they found it is better if they just stay out of our petty squabbles.”

  “Petty squabbles,” Emma exclaimed, “they are killing people.”

  “The soldiers said they don’t have enough men to watch everything that’s going on,” I added. “They also insinuated that every time they question the creeps about anything, one of the other survivors ends up dead. The guard said unless they see something happen with their own eyes, there isn’t anything they can do. So, we can’t expect any help from the soldiers.”

  “Here is another blanket,” I said tossing the blanket to Logan. “I was able to get us another blanket from the guards.”

  “Why do we need another blanket?” Emma asked. “What we need is a gun.”

  “I thought we could hang the blanket behind the tent,” I replied. “That way we won’t have to look at the dead staring in at us through the fence.”

  When Logan and Katie went back to hang up the blanket, Emma came over to me and sat down looking worried.

  “Brian, if the soldiers don’t help us, how will we ever get out of here?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” I replied. “But I have a feeling if we don’t find a way to get out of this place, we are going to end up dead or worse.”

  “Any ideas?” she asked again. “We certainly can’t climb over the fence with how many of the dead are out there now.”

  “I know, but there has to be some way,” I replied.

  “How long do you think we have?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe a week or two,” I replied. “But what concerns me the most is what could happen between now and then.”

  “What kind of things?” Emma asked.

  “You and Katie,” I replied. “I need to explore and learn what I can about this place if I am going to find a way out, but I’m worried what might happen to you and Katie if I’m away from you for very long.”

  “Oh!” Emma replied. “I think Katie is worried about that too. In fact, she asked me if it would be a good idea if she cut her hair and dressed like a boy if that would help.”

  “I figured that was what she meant when she asked me about cutting her hair,” I replied.

  “She asked me about that when I was helping her wash off,” Emma said. “I was surprised to see how much she has grown up.”

  I smiled, “When she came out wearing your baggy sweatpants and that shirt, I was tempted to tell her nice try, but that isn’t going to work anymore. A father of a teenage girl’s worst nightmare, but I never expected it to happen at a place like this.”

  “You’ll find a way to get us through this,” Emma smiled softly as she reached over and squeezed my hand, “you always find a way.”

  “I’m glad you are so confident,” I replied as I squeezed her hand back.

  “Your hand is bleeding,” Emma said as she pulled my hand up to get a better look.

  “That’s the least of my problems,” I replied, pulling my hand away and wiping it on my pants. I smiled, “It’s not my blood, maybe our luck is changing.”

  Emma just looked at me.

  Chapter 7

  The rest of the week went by without any major incidents.

  I sat up the next night to watch for any unwanted visitors, after that night Logan and I took turns keeping watch.

  The soldiers continued to pass out rations every day near the end of each day, but the bags that they handed out had less and less in them each time.

  The last bag we received only had one can of soup and one Cherry Pie MRE to feed our family of four.

  I knew the base had to be running low on supplies and I expected the soldiers to soon either start passing out rations every other day, or to just lock the building and leave the survivors to their own resources or to starve.

  It brought back memories of all the movies I had seen about plane crashes or stranded hikers that ended with the survivors turning to cannibalism.

  I could easily envision that happening here.

  Most of the people at the base were now little more than skin and bones. Except for their pale skin, they resembled the walking dead more than they did the living.

  They walked around aimlessly, sunken dark eyes, skinny bodies, I mistakenly took them for the dead on more than one occasion.

  What scared me the most, was the way my family was starting to look.

  Their eyes had always brightly displayed their love of life and their excitement for the what the future held.

  Now their eyes looked sad and distant as they were beginning to lose hope.

  I was afraid that soon we would resemble all the other people that inhabited this place, weak, thin, desperate souls with no hope of living beyond the next day.

  Each day we also saw that the number of the dead outside the fence was drastically increasing, now dozens of rows deep, as they pressed up against the fence, the only thing that separated us from them, their maddening moaning and their outstretched arms.

  Soon it would be im
possible to count how many rows deep the dead were outside our fence.

  A quick look beyond the fence was horrifying, because we couldn’t see an end to the dead that were coming our way.

  The stream of bodies seemed endless.

  I also noticed that the fence across the yard from us was beginning to sway under the weight of all the dead pressing against it, and I knew that each day the situation was only going to get worse with the rapidly growing size of the mob.

  We had lost interest in counting the days any longer, but I guessed we had been here for around two weeks, but it felt more like a life time.

  I had also guessed that we would not be able to remain alive in here for much longer than another week because I expected the fence to give out long before that.

  The soldiers had placed braces against the fence across the yard from us, but I knew the braces wouldn’t help for long, besides there were at least six other places along the fence around the base where the fence was leaning inward from all the weight against it.

  I knew the fence would not hold out much longer and so did all the other inhabitants inside the fence.

  No one said anything, most people just walked around like zombies without paying much attention to anyone else, but they all knew that our time was running out.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure that out.

  As depressed and desperate as the others were, I could see it in their eyes, they knew that they were just waiting to die. The look in their eyes also showed that they knew what kind of death it was going to be.

  It was a wonder that with all the other problems we had, that we weren’t having to deal with mass hysteria or roving gangs of the insane.

  They all also knew that there wasn’t a thing they could do about it.

  I had spent every minute that I could trying to find a way out of this place, but I couldn’t see any way out that had any chance of us surviving.