“You a cop?” The old man asked.
“Yes sir, East Moline Illinois.
“How many are you?” The old man said lowering the shotgun to the ground.
“Seven. Myself, four Burger King Employees and a young couple.” Gary explained.
“Well, come on in, I’ll let the wife know we got company.” The old man lifted the shotgun up onto his shoulder and walked through the sliding glass door. A kerosene lantern was lit on the dining room table. An old woman stood by holding a book of matches.
“Thank you, sir.” Gary said. They followed the old man into the house. Andrew looked down at the dark spot running down the front of his pants. As they entered the room the old woman pulled out the dining room chairs.
“Come, Sit.” She said. “My name is Delia, this is my husband Wilson. I’m sure he didn’t have the sense to introduce himself, did he?”
“No ma’am. He sure didn’t” Gary said. “My name is Gary Ford, this is Nancy, Andrew, Robert, Joel, Walter, and Sarah.” Gary said pointing to the others. Andrew had positioned himself behind the kitchen counter. The others all took chairs around the table.
“Pleased to meet you. Sorry about the power. Went off this afternoon, and no one is answering at the electric company.” Delia apologized.
“Don’t you know what’s going on out there?” Nancy asked.
“No. We aint got no television. Don’t much care to listen to the radio no more either.” Wilson bickered.
“It’s the end of times.” Nancy said.
“What do you mean child?” Delia said dropping into her chair as if her legs had gone out from underneath her.
“Well, as crazy as it might sound.” Gary decided to explain. “People are turning to zombies.”
“And you get infected too if you get bit.” Nancy chimed in excitedly.
“Zombies?” Walter asked sounding like someone was pulling his leg.
“Zombies.” Gary confirmed
Delia tried to change the topic, telling them that had been living on this farm for forty years. That their only son died in a car accident twenty years ago. That the bank was getting ready to foreclose on their property. Delia was warming a pot of chicken soup and talked and talked trying to fill every silence. Wilson only grumbled and shook his head at her.
She served a table full of bread which everyone was indulging. She began setting bowls of steaming chicken vegetable soup in front of the group. The room was instantly filled with the sipping and slurping of hungry mouths.
They finished the soup in minutes. Wilson disappeared for a minute, returning with a case of home brewed beer. He set the heavy box down on the table.
“I was saving this for a special occasion.” He sighed looking at the box. “Guess we shouldn’t hold out for better days huh?” He popped the tops and distributed the beer to his guests. Gary had never been much of a drinker, and while most found it to be on the bitter side, it really hit the spot after a day like today. They all thanked him emphatically. So much so that Wilson distributed another round.
Delia had cleared the table and walked back into the kitchen. She began washing the dishes when she noted the short man standing behind the counter shaking his pants.
“Did you wet yourself son?” She asked him quietly as she put a bowl away next to him.
“No.” Andrew said turning away from her.
“You had a gun pulled on you. Wouldn’t be the first to make a little water in your trousers.” She said rubbing his back. Something about the way she said it made him okay with it.
“Yea.” He chuckled nervously. “It literally scared the piss out of me.” Andrew smiled. Delia hooked her arm around his.
“Come on, I’ll get you some sweats or something.” Delia led him into the back room. She returned a moment later joining in on the conversation in progress.
“It’s not that far off. Moline was completely overrun. Wouldn’t think there’d be many survivors. We got lucky.” Explained Gary.
“And we hit four just down the road, no more than a half mile.” Robert injected.
“Oh, my goodness.” Delia said clutching her chest.
“Well, I recon I’ll keep the shotgun nearby, but I ant going anywhere.” Wilson grumbled.
“But Wilson, it’s not safe, they were just down the road.”
“Del, I’m too old to be going off on some halfcocked adventure. If they come to my door, they’ll be in for one hell of a fight. But I don’t think we have much to worry about.”
“Well, there’s room if you want to come. We were talking about heading north into Canada. Gary says the power would be on there.” Sarah says without letting go of Walter’s hand.
“Why the hell would they have power and not us?” Wilson asked with a hint of anger.
“Because our power grid runs on coal, and there has to be someone there to push a button to regulate temperature or something. Without someone there to keep it going it can’t function.”
“Well, we’ve lived without power before, we can certainly do it again.” Said Wilson.
“Either way, we are sure grateful of your hospitality, it’s been one hell of a day.” Joel said taking another pull off the beer.
Wilson and Delia brought out sleeping bags and pillows. The group spread out on the living room floor and sofa. Sarah and Walter took the spare bedroom. All of them were sound asleep within minutes. Except Gary who sat by the front window for some time before finally nodding off in the chair.
Somewhere in the mountains of Tennessee
6:45 AM Sunday, August 18th
Dennis April and Douglass Robertson sit together at a small dining room table, their heads bowed in prayer, and their hands clasped together. Their small cabin in the forest creaks and leans, several pieces of wood reinforcing the windows are nearing their breaking point. The room is filled with sounds of scratching and moaning. Their visitor last night told at least one truth, he had said that he was running away from a group of them.
Outside hundreds have gathered around the small rural cabin. Their son Douglass is in tears, his face is red, and his eyes are extremely puffy. They match his mother’s eyes, April had also been crying intermittently throughout the morning.
Dennis appears somber and almost angry. It started with one, moaning and wailing outside, scratching at the walls. Dennis had gone out and put an arrow through his eye socket. As he was retrieving his arrow, he had seen three more emerging from the woods. He dispatched those two and was heading toward the cabin when he saw the rest of them. Dozens and dozens, heading straight for him. A continuous moan escaping from their bellies. After that they seemed to come in a steady stream until the house was surrounded. They had made several attempts to make it to the truck with poor results each time. April had almost been bit the second time out. Now after several hours there are aren’t many areas that can be seen that aren’t occupied by the dead. The scratching and moaning had driven April near insanity before her husband reeled her back and asked her to sit and pray with him. Their son Douglass who had been weeping in the corner for what seemed like hours joined them. Their hands clenched tight, their heads bowed. Dennis prayed.
“Dear God, please protect my family from the grasp of the Devil. Do not let them become one of the minions of Satan that stand now at our very doorstep. We pray for your guidance into your arms. We are forever in your debt, as we have always been since the day you came into our lives lord, we are forever your humble servants.”
A board from the front door falls to the ground.
“Please guide us into your arms lord. Welcome us into the kingdom of heaven. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea l though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with us”
The wall in the kitchen begins to break apart falling in. Planks are pushed loose, windows break, a
nd arms and heads begin to push through the openings. Daniel begins to yell his prayers to drown out the sounds of moaning and breaking wood that is now resounding through the small cabin.
“THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES! THOU ANONTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL! MY CUP RUNNETH OVER!” The first of the dead falls through the now open window, Dennis stands and levels his rifle. His wife raises a shotgun as his son raises his rifle. Ais hands shake causing the crosshairs to bounce uncontrollably.
“SURELY GOODNES AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE! AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOR EVER!!!” They begin to fire at the quickly disintegrating walls. They continue to fire and reload. The front door falls in, the dead start pouring in faster and faster.
April turns and fills the doorway with buckshot. They begin to push through the windows and walls. They are falling, but not fast enough, as the zombies fall in on them Daniel points the rifle at his son.
“Love you boy.”
“I love you too Dad. See you soon.” His father shoots him between the eyes. He can still hear the low guttural moans over his own wailing. April is screaming, which at the moment sounds very distant. He finds her and pulls her close.
“April. My love. My heart.” She only looks at him with sadness and longing. He presses the barrel of the gun against her temple and looks away pulling the trigger. Dennis Robertson sticks the barrel of his rifle in his mouth. As he pulls the trigger, he feels the teeth pushing into his flesh and ripping a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.
East of Tipton Iowa
Sunday, August 18th, 7:00 AM
Gary Ford had been sitting at the kitchen table for an hour before the sun began to come up. He had slept for a little over an hour in the chair, but something had startled him awake. He stayed in the chair for a while longer hoping to fall back asleep. He was unable to find a comfortable position he finally gave up and came into the dining room. He paced around the dining room and stared out the back door for a while. Delia had walked in about a half hour later. She set about her day the same as she had jut about every morning.
“Get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine ma’am.”
Gary watched as she loaded wood into the stove and lit some newspaper. Soon there was heat radiating from the kitchen. She pulled an old percolating coffee pot off the shelf and walked to the sink.
“The power’s out.” He said. She looked at him with an odd look on her face. Then she turned on the faucet and filled the coffee pot.
“Well water.” She said. She placed the pot onto the stove and filled the top with coffee grounds. Gary sat and watched quietly at she put what he believed to be biscuits into the oven.
Just after seven Nancy walked in. She was wearing a blue blouse now instead of her Burger King uniform, she had also taken her hair down. Though she was significantly younger than Gary he couldn’t help but notice her natural beauty. Delia offered her fresh coffee and Nancy thanked her profoundly.
“Did you see Andrew this morning?” Asked Nancy.
“No.” they both replied.
“I think he might have split.” Nancy said taking a bite of a biscuit.
“Really, what makes you think that?” Gary asked taking a sip of black coffee.
“Last night before we fell asleep, he was mumbling in the corner about how much he hated you. I confronted him, and he suggested that we abandon you and leave with him.”
“Really?” Gary’s eyebrows raised.
“He got pretty upset when we turned him down.”
“And he left?”
“No, not that I saw, but he wasn’t in his sleeping bag this morning, and he’s not in the bathroom.” Nancy explained.
“Hmph.” Gary looked down at his coffee. He looked up, Nancy was looking at him. He felt like she was waiting for him to say or do something. He took another sip of the coffee and walked out of the room.
In the living room Joel and Robert still slept. Gary remembered that Andrew had been carrying a brown knapsack, and he didn’t see that in the room now. He also noted that there were no shoes or any other clothing near the bed that Andrew had been in.
As Gary walked back into the dining room Nancy was eager for him to speak. He seemed to take an eternity sauntering over to his char, sitting down, adjusting his belt, and taking a sip of his coffee before looking up into her eyes.
“I’d have to agree.” Gary said taking another sip of coffee. Gary looked out of the kitchen window. The sun was sitting atop an endless fields of green and gold.
“Agree? That he’s gone?” Nancy asked. She didn’t think she’d ever met a man who spoke so plainly, and in so few words.”
“Yea. Looks to be gone.” Gary said. He looked up from his coffee and across the table at Nancy. He couldn’t help but notice that she was smiling at her steaming cup of coffee. “Nancy?” He asked breaking her concentration on the cup.
“Yea?” She asked looking up.
“Are you happy that Andrew is gone?”
“Yes.” Her smile faded. “He wasn’t a very nice boss. And lately he’d been pressuring me to sleep with him.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Gary looked away.
“No, it’s okay. He didn’t scare me with his threats. I told him that if he sold me up the river that I would make sure I let management know that he was blackmailing the female employees for sexual favors.”
“Was he?” Gary asked looking back in surprise.
“No, but he’s a creepy little fucker, they would have believed me.” Nancy smiled. Gary laughed out loud startling Delia.
Gary realized after doing so that that was his first laugh in a week or more. Not just since the shit hit the fan, but at home too. His wife Tonya had been planning to leave him. It wasn’t so much their relationship or their love to each other, but the job. The hours, the potential dangers, it’s not always conducive to marriage. It takes a special kind of woman to stay married to a cop. She had told him that she was moving back in with her mother in Indianapolis, she had been planning on moving on Thursday.
“Good morning.” Sarah said entering the room.
“Good morning.” Delia, Gary, and Nancy all replied.
“Coffee?” Delia asked.
“Oh, yes please.” Sarah said taking a seat at the table with the others. Walter came to the door and looked towards his young wife. She nodded, got up and left the room with him. As they sat together in the living room the only thing that was heard was Walter asking
“So, you’ve slept on it, where are you thinking?” Then it was a flurry of hushed whispers and gestures. Wilson walked into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of coffee. He was wearing brown slacks and a white tank top with suspenders holding his pants up. Delia was pulling biscuits out of the oven. She began passing them out and set a bottle of honey, and a bowl of gravy on the table. They began serving themselves, Joel and Robert came in a minute later and thanked the elderly couple for their hospitality.
Walter and Sarah came back into the kitchen, grabbed themselves a plate took seats next to each other at the table.
“We were talking last night, and we’d like to stay. If it’s okay with you.” Walter said. The elderly couple exchanged a brief glance.
“Yea, you can stay.” Delia said. “Truth be told we could use the help.
“It’s quiet here, I hope it stays that way.” Walter said.
Fifteen minutes later Gary, Nancy, Robert, and Joel were loading back into the Chevy Tahoe, now with much more room inside to spread out. They said their goodbyes; some hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Delia came out with half a peach cobbler and made them take it.
Gary sat behind the wheel and headed them north while Joel began consulting the map. He unfolded it on his lap. They hadn’t been on the road for more than a few minutes before Gary slowed to a stop. Joel looked up from the map, and his mouth fell open. Nancy made an audible squeak from the back seat.
“Oh my god.” She said. Robert leaned ove
r to look from the back seat, his mouth falling open as well.
In front of them Andrew had been hung from a cross on the side of the road. His stomach had been cut open, his intestines dangled down five feet below him. There were two undead feasting on the bits that were hanging close to the ground. The road was blockaded, a large sign that appeared to be painted in blood spanned the road. It read “NO TRESSPASSING, VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT”
“Damn.” Robert said from the back seat.
“I think I’m going to vomit.” Nancy said moving back to her seat where she couldn’t see anymore.
“Jesus, he’s still alive! Look, he’s moving!” Robert yelled and pointed.
“He’s infected, he’s already dead. Joel, is there a way around?” Gary asked.
“Yea, but we are going to have to backtrack a ways, the next turnoff is a few miles past farmhouse.”
“Well we should probably stop and warn them and let them know what’s right up the road from them anyhow.” Joel blurted out.
Gary put the Tahoe in reverse and turned around heading back towards the farmhouse.
Bitterroot Valley Montana
Sunday, August 18th, 8:25 AM
There were crews working through the night fortifying the defenses around the compound. After Floyd reported that the undead would pile up together and climb over each in their relentless pursuit of their prey.
Now every second-floor window, save one, was a system where a double reinforced wood frame was secured to the roof and floor joists, additionally there were spikes affixed to the front of the frame. Steel spikes sticking out about two feet from the window at a forty-five-degree angle pointing downwards.
Some of the men retire to their bedrooms, others move into the living room and plop down on couches, Terry Whitaker and Jeff Covemaker decided to go to the kitchen where it already smelled of bacon and eggs. Jeff walked to the counter and took cups out of the cabinet. Betty Maddox, a bubbly redhead with a mean disposition, walked closely by. Jeff watched her as she went.
The Z Strain Page 18
