The Fall: The Apocalypse Diaries

by Brock, Dianah

  I grinned before I spoke. “Since when did a little challenge scare you?” I asked. He scowled at me for a brief moment. “I’m not scared for me. I’m scared for the three of you,” he informed. “I understand, but it’s the best way and we don’t have the time to argue over this.”

  I made my way back into the kitchen area where the survival packs were kept. I removed my knife from my pack and secured it in my boot. I secured the pack on my back, and I saw the smaller pack Tara had made for me. I smiled at the kindness of her gesture before picking up the small bag and placing it on my shoulders with the other. I then grabbed the other three survival packs, and made my way back out.

  Once I arrived back out on the deck, I distributed the packs around my small group. “Ok everyone, time to gear up. I want knives with sheaths on belts, boots, or anywhere you can strap them for easy access. I am leading the way. I want Tyler and Tara in the middle, and Randy, you bring up the rear.” I commanded.

  “Why are you going first?” Randy asked. I smiled as I pulled my ponytail through the back of my black hat. “Because I am the best swimmer, and my ankles are smaller, even with boots. Less likely that I will get tangled if this tree is rotted from the water more than it looks and it doesn’t support my weight.” The three of them nodded that they agreed with my plan. “Ok, then it’s settled.”

  I reached up for the branch that had initially hit our boat. It was broken, but not all the way through. I pulled on the branch, and it was still very secure to the truck of the fallen tree. Once I was confident that the branch would support my weight, I pulled myself up onto the branch. Once I was sure of my footing, I turned back to my family. “Ok, wait for me to give the go ahead, then one at a time, and keeping some distance between, each of you follow me. Watch your footing, hold on when you’re able, and keep your attention on your surroundings. No gunshots unless absolutely necessary.” “We’ve got it, mom. Don’t worry.” Tara answered. I smiled at my daughter. “Hey, I am so proud of you.” I said with a wink. She smiled the biggest smiled I’d seen since this whole thing started, and it gave me even more drive to get her home, to get us home. “Ok, listen for me to give the go ahead.”

  I turned my attention back to the tree truck that I was about to walk to land. I surveyed the branches, finding the best route through them, and the best ones to hold to. I realized this tree had been down a while. There were no leaves on it at all. I thought for sure it had to have fallen over the last winter. I found my best branch to hold to, and pulled myself up onto the truck of the tree.

  I slowly made my way across the tree, holding to branches when I could. Some were small, and I could navigate easily around them. Others were not so small, and didn’t provide much of a place to hold to. I turned my attention back to my family, each one of them carefully watching my every move. “Ok Tyler, you’re up. Just follow the path I took and you should be fine.” I called out. “Tara, when Tyler reaches this point, then you, and Randy will follow.” “Got it!” All three called out to me, acknowledging my instruction. I then turned my attention back to my task at hand.

  I stopped again once I reached the last branch I had to hold to in order to stabilize myself. The rest of the walk would be with nothing to hold to. The trunk was still plenty wide enough to walk on, but it would require balance, and concentration.

  Suddenly, I heard an all too familiar groan coming from somewhere fairly close by. I was approximately 30 feet from the base of the tree, and the roots that touched the land. I looked around me, and couldn’t see anything. I knew I had to move even more cautiously, and quietly. One of the undead was close by, very close, but still out of my view.

  Still holding to the branch of the tree, I knelt down, and removed the large hunting knife from my boot. I turned back to find all three of my people on the tree. I held my finger to my lips signaling for them to be as quiet as possible. They nodded, one at a time. I turned my attention back, still hearing the groaning of the undead. I still couldn’t see it, them, however many their happened to be, but I knew from experience that it, they had already heard us.

  I took a few steps forward on my path, listening carefully, trying to pinpoint the location of the zombie. I raised my left hand, blade out just in case I got a surprise. I stopped again to check the treetops. One wouldn’t think this would be necessary since the undead are not known for their climbing ability. However, I had one fall out of a free when the straps to a parachute had gave way due to being exposed to the weather, so I knew to expect the unexpected.

  Once I knew the coast was clear, and I wouldn’t have one of those things falling out of the sky and scaring the hell out of me like a jack-in-the-box does a toddler, I began taking my careful steps once again. When I reached the base of the tree, I could hear the sounds of the undead even louder than before. I looked over the mound of dried earth still attached to the thick roots. There she was, in all of her gory wonder, impaled by one of the roots. She was stuck there, but still reaching and snarling hungrily at the sounds of us moving across the trunk of the tree.

  I looked closer at my surroundings, searching for a safe way down from the tree and onto the land below. The base of the tree wasn’t resting on land as I had hoped. There was still a nice gap between land and where I stood. I quickly realized that the safest way down, was where the female walking corpse stood trapped by Mother Nature’s creation.

  A sudden shuffle in the woods caught my attention. I surveyed the area, looking for the source. There, about 10 yards away I saw a small group of about 10 of the undead walking down river. “Great, this just got even more complicated.” I thought to myself. “What’s the problem?” I heard Tyler whisper behind me. “Shh” I said as I pointed down, then over into the woods. Tyler released a quite sign and brought his hand to his face.

  I waited for the rest of the group to reach us. Randy made his way around the kids and came to my side. “I counted nine that I can see. So far, I don’t think our little friend here has attracted their attention yet,” he whispered. “No, but the moment we make any move do get down, it’s going to be noisy and then they will make it to us pretty quickly. It’s uphill for us and downhill for them.” I added.

  I knew what to expect. Either way, we were going to have to kill all ten of these things to get out of here. I looked down at our little friend who was stuck in the tree roots. First things first, she had to go. That was two guarantees that killing the undead was inevitable. I looked again at how the roots were laid out. I had a clearing straight down, but she was in the way. I checked any way I had that could possibly be used as a ladder. No matter which route I took, she could reach me before I could put my blade through her skull, and there was no guarantee that my pant legs wouldn’t roll up, exposing my skin to her scratch.

  At that moment, I knew what I had to do. I turned back to Randy and the kids. “Ok, I’m going to take out our little friend. When she is dead, climb down the quickest way you can find because we have a fight on our hands.” I said. “What the hell are you doing?” Randy asked. I grinned again, kind of proud of my plan. “Just watch. It’s going to be epic.” I said.

  I pulled myself back up and looked around. I reached for a strong tree root, grasping it as firmly as I could, I wedged my boot into the stiff dirt, wiggling it until I felt a root beneath my toes. I pulled myself up onto the massive pile of dirt still held together firmly by the roots. The falling dirt from beneath my feet fell onto the face of the undead woman beneath me. She looked up and saw me, reaching for me. “Oh I’m coming for you.” I said as I lined my body up with her, grasped my hunting knife with both hands. I leaned forward, keeping my body as straight as possible. I exhaled as I allowed myself to fall straight down, impaling the zombie through the head with my blade as gravity did its job.

  When my blade made contact with the softened skull of my enemy, the force of my body knocked her loose from the grasp of the roots, and we fell to the ground. I heard shuffling coming from all around me. I looked around. It was my fami
ly coming down the tree from behind me, and the small group of the undead coming from in front of me.

  I was winded from the impact of my body landing, but there was no time to gather myself. The undead were not exceptionally fast, except for the occasional racer, but the grade of the kill they were coming down gave them momentum. That and the fact that zombies don’t exactly have the best balance. I knew they would be to us quickly.

  Randy came beside me, and reached down, helping me to my feet. “You were right. That was epic.” He said with a smile. He pulled the machete from his pack as he dropped it in the shelter of the tree roots. “Told ya” I exclaimed as I also freed myself from the packs on my back. Tyler made his way beside us, freshly sharpened hatchet in hand, and firearm clipped to his belt, just in case, just as he was taught. “You are bad ass mom!” he stated as he dropped his pack and took his stance, ready to fight. “Yes, I know, and watch your mouth.” I said, the mother within me scolding as she should. “Now isn’t the time to be praising epic-ness. We don’t need to be cornered here.” Tara said as she dropped her pack, and stood wielding two hunting knives similar to mine.

  She had a point. We were in the last place we needed to be. We quickly repositioned ourselves with plenty of clearance to run if need be. Nine zombies shouldn’t be difficult, but rule number one has always been expect the unexpected. We spread out a bit, leaving room for us to safely move as needed. We watched as three of the undead lost their footing and rolled down the hill.

  Tara was the first on the zombie that stopped closest to her. Without a moment of hesitation, she didn’t give it a moment to get to its feet. I watched, beaming with pride as my daughter thrust herself down to one knee piercing the zombie in the center of his forehead. Her first kill. We would celebrate later I planned. I watched as Tyler took the next one, smacking the zombie in the head with his hatchet. He was really good with that.

  The time had come to eliminate the rest. We went into action, slicing, stabbing and kicking until each of the remaining seven zombies lay motionless, completely lifeless on the ground. “Excellent job, girl!” Randy exclaimed as he brought our packs back to us. “Thanks. I wouldn’t say it was fun, but it wasn’t hard either.” Tara answered. It was obvious that she was just as proud of herself as I was of her. “You really did pay attention during trainings didn’t you? That was impressive.” I said, encouraging her to keep on her new path.

  We stood for a moment, passing around a twenty ounce bottle of water and catching our breath. “Mom, you’re bleeding!” Tyler exclaimed. My heart immediately began to race as panic filled the very pit of my stomach. Had one of those bastards actually scratched me? I turned to look at my shoulder where Tyler had pointed. Randy grabbed my arm and looked closely.

  So many things ran through my mind, so many questions. Would my kids survive without me? Would they be able to put a bullet in my head when the sickness took over and I could no longer walk? Would they make it to the village in time to save everyone? There was no time to bury a body. Would they be able to leave me laying in the open like that and continue on the mission?

  I watched the concerned look melt away from Randy’s face as he spoke. “It’s good. It’s from the tree or a stick or something on the ground. There is a splinter in it.” He said as he pulled the splinter from my arm. Tara grabbed an antiseptic wipe from her pack, along with a bandage, and cleaned my wound. “Thank God. That was a close call.” Tara said as she placed the bandage there. “I think I’m starting to rethink the bad ass comment from earlier.” Tyler stated. I scolded him with my eyes. Even though I didn’t speak, he knew I meant only one word with the glare. Language.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  We finally reached the main road just as dusk fell around us. Surprisingly, the presence of the undead was scarce when trekking through the woods. The hills, and slick moss hidden beneath the leaves of the last autumn proved to be more of a challenge, but it was a challenge we could handle. “Well, it’s starting to get dark. Do we check vehicles and see if we get lucky, or do we find a sound structure and zombie-proof it for the night?” Randy questioned.

  I looked around. There wasn’t much in the way of vehicles, or sound structures. There was a dilapidated barn close by, and a house with gaping holes in the walls, probably from a car was my guess as I looked at the walls. Whatever went through there was gone now. I saw a few vehicles, small cars with crushed frontends or flat tires.

  “Let’s look around and weigh our options. We will check every vehicle that hasn’t been wrecked. We don’t have time to find the resources to pull anything out of ditches. If we get lucky, we might find something that only needs the zombie goo cleaned out of it,” I stated. Tara wrinkled her nose, but I had to agree with her. Even with years to have the smell of death clear out of the vehicles and other enclosures we came into contact with, the fact that most of these bodies belonged to people who were infected, but didn’t realize it, and who were running for their lives. The windows were rolled up.

  “Hey, what about that?” Tyler said as we started walking down Highway 411. We stopped and looked in the direction he was pointing in. There, sitting in a nearby field, sat a dirty old tractor. Randy chuckled a little before he spoke. “Not a bad idea. It would be a cramped fit for four people.” Tyler was beaming with pride at Randy’s approval of his suggestion. I hated to crush his spirits now, but we didn’t exactly live in a world where feelings could be taken into consideration often.

  “I can think of several reasons that is a bad idea.” Tara said before I had a chance to. “You would have a problem with a plan I came up with.” Tyler answered. “Oh great. Here we go with sibling squabbles.” I thought to myself. Instead, I settled for rolling my eyes and interrupting. “Ok you two. No isn’t the time or place for that. Tara, what problems do you see with trying to take the tractor?” I asked.

  She gave a smug look before answering my question. “First, the noise of trying to start the tractor. There is no guarantee it will start first try, even if the engine does turn over. If the engine turns, it may not start, which means multiple attempts, and more noise, attracting any undead within earshot.” She made a good point, and found the issues I had with trying to take it. Plus, Randy was right, it would be a tight fit for four people on one tractor.

  “You have a good point, girl.” Randy said. “However, that is a problem we run into with any vehicle we try to use,” he concluded. Tyler gave his own smug look. “My thoughts exactly,” he said. “Ok, so why would the tractor be the better choice?” I asked Tyler. He stood tall and puffed out his chest, ready to be impressive with is thoughts. “First, odds are, it has fuel in it. Day one of the Apocalypse wasn’t in planting or plowing season, so I am willing to bet the farmer who owned it was doing a test run after repairs, or just warming it up. So there is a good chance its operable, has fuel, and if the old man was scared off of it, there is also a good chance he jumped off of it and took off running.”

  I couldn’t deny that the leader within me, and the mother were both proud to see how far they had grown in their survival and reasoning skills on this mission, but unexpected situations have a way of doing that. “Good point. Now, you’re thinking like a man who wants to survive, not a little boy wanting to play with a new toy.” Randy said.

  “Ok, let’s check it out. Randy and Tyler, check the engine out. Make sure we don’t have missing wires or anything and see if the battery looks like it may be in good condition. Tara, you have a good eye, so you’re on zombie watch. I will check the gas then help watch the area if it looks like we will be able to get it running. If nothing else, that little farm house with the boarded windows may be a safe place to hunker down for the night.” Tara threw up her hands in defeat as we turned to make our way into the field.

  We made our way across the highway, and through the deep ditch at the edge of the pavement. We climbed up the embankment, and carefully made our way through the high grass and weeds, watching for anything that could be lurking beneath. Whil
e wildlife was scarce, the reptiles and dangerous insects were not in short supply. I wasn’t sure if cockroaches would survive a nuclear explosion, but I knew for a fact that they can survive a zombie apocalypse.

  “You know, the climbing has actually been the hardest part of this entire adventure.” Tara said in an attempt to make small talk. “You have to outrun a horde of zombies, jump into the river to swim after a moving boat, and climbing is the hardest part? Are you high?” Tyler asked. “Only on life.” She answered as we continued through the high grass. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t help myself. I stopped walking and laughed harder than I had in a very long time. I covered my mouth, trying to stifle the noise as best I could. They say laughter is contagious, and this moment made me a believer as the guys followed my lead. Tara just looked at us. “I didn’t think it was that funny.” She exclaimed before covering her own mouth.

  It took a moment to be able to contain ourselves. It was a good laugh, and I believed after the past couple of days we’d had, it was well deserved. Once I was able to gather myself, I said, “Ok y’all, let’s get moving. We are losing daylight fast.” I led the way toward the tractor, and my three companions followed close behind. We were only a few yards away, so we picked up the pace.

  Once we made it to the tractor, Randy and Tyler went to inspect the tractor. Sure enough, the keys were still in the ignition. “Well, this seems too easy.” Randy said as he began inspecting the engine. Tyler went to work checking oil as I climbed up in the tractor seat. I was relieved to see that it has a gas gauge on it, but discouraged to find that the dial was resting firmly on E. “Let’s see if this is one of those gauges that doesn’t register fuel level until the ignition is turned.” I said. “Oil is good, and surprisingly clean for two years of sitting.” Tyler informed. “Engine looks good too. Only problem we may have is the battery being dead.” Randy added.