Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale (5 page)

              “We’ll have to cook over an open flame out back.”

              “With zombies outside?  That might not be possible.  We’ll need a backup plan.  Next is shelter then security.  But I think they’re one and the same.  Protection from the elements is also protection from zombies.  We need to board up the windows with our hurricane plywood and reinforce the doors somehow.  Do we have enough firewood?  Prolly not.  We need weapons.  There’s too much to plan for.”  I shook my head.

              “Weapons?  We are not going to become zombie hunters, Ryan.  I know you’ve been waiting for the zombie apocalypse since I met you but this is serious.”

              “Believe me, I know that.  But, we need supplies and I bet there’s gonna be zombies at Wal-Mart.  There were before all this…”  I got a whack on the arm for that quip.  Then Sam laid her head on my shoulders.

              “Whatever happens, I love you.”

              “I know.  I love you, too Samantha.”

              After Sam fell asleep, I laid there thinking for a bit.  We live away from downtown Charleston on a somewhat rural island.  Unless there are zombies in the neighborhood, we won’t see many out here.  At least not for awhile.  Just then, I heard a noise.

              Jumping from the bed I grabbed my Glock from the nightstand and pulled on my pants.  My movement woke my wife.

              “What’s wrong?”

              “Heard a noise.  Thor heard it, too.”

              “Be careful.”  And with that I headed out of the room with Thor on my heels.

              I went down the hallway to Tabby’s room.  They were both supposed to be in her room sleeping after playing video games.  I hoped that what I heard came from their room.  But, Tabby’s room was dark.  I took out my flashlight and turned it on.  There’s Mal.  And…  No Tabby.  Crap.  I checked the bathroom and Mal’s room just in case.  Nothing.  As I passed our bedroom, I poked my head in.  Sam was sitting up and had the light on.

              “Can’t find Tabby.  Going downstairs,” I said.

              “Wait,” she said.  “I’m going too.”

              We went down the stairs and searched the rooms together, turning lights on as we went.  Thor was with us every step.  No sign of her anywhere.

              “Ryan, where the Hell did she go?”

              “I don’t know.  She better not have left to go find Justin, or whatever his name is.  Who is this kid anyway?”

              “Oh, he’s sort of a boyfriend.  I’ve met him.  He’s nice.  They see each other at movies and the mall.  Stuff like that.”

              “Any idea where he lives?” I asked as we moved towards the garage. 

              “Not really, no.”

              I threw the garage door open like I was going to get in the car and rush out to find Tabby somehow.  And there she was, leaning up against my Land Cruiser talking on the phone.  She looked mortified when she looked up and saw me and her mother.

              “Dad!’ she cried out.  “I can’t believe this.  Oh my God.”

              “Give me the phone.  Right now, Goddamit.  And get in the house.  Right now.  Go.”

              Sam grabbed Tabby by the arm and pulled her back in the house.

              “I will be there in a minute,” I said after them.  Then I spoke into the phone.  “Who is this?”

              “This is Justin, sir.  Mr. Knight, Sir.”  Good.  He sounded terrified.  “I’m sorry.”

              “Sorry for what?”

              “I don’t know. I, I didn’t mean to get Tabby in trouble,” he stammered.

              “Justin, do you know what’s going on in the world?”

              “Yes, sir.  There’s zombies.”

              “That’s right.  So, when I went to check on my son and my little girl; the light of my life and she was missing you understand that I’d be worried, right?”

              “Yes, sir.”

              “Okay.  So, I need a favor from you.  If you are ever talking to my daughter on the phone again, assuming we’re all alive in a few days, please make sure that I know where she is.  Got it?”

              “Yes, sir.  Always make sure that Tabby tells you where she is.”

              “Right.  Now, how is your family?”

              “We don’t know where my father is.  He never came home from work and we can’t get him on his phone.”

              “I’m sorry to hear that, Justin.  Make sure your mother doesn’t leave the house tonight.  Maybe in the morning, if it’s safe, she can back track his path to work.  Maybe the car broke down and he’s seeking shelter somewhere without a cell signal.  Where does he work?”

              “Downtown.”

              “Okay, make sure you keep your phone charged.  I don’t know how long the power will stay on.  How are you guys fixed for food?”

              “I don’t know.  We have some.”

              “Well, if she does go out in the morning make sure your mother buys anything she can at the store.  Tabby will call or text you tomorrow.”

              “Yes, sir.  Again, sorry for causing trouble.”

              Inside, Tabby was waiting on the sofa with Sam.  Mal had been woken by the commotion and was on the sofa too.  Tabby had been crying but she looked at me defiantly.  I didn’t know what to do.  I could yell and scream and scare her into understanding why I was upset.  But, she was probably already scared enough.  She needed to be afraid.  But, it was more important that she understand.

              “Justin seems nice,” I said.

              “He is,” she replied.  “You talked to him?”

              “Yeah, I’m sorry to hear that his father hasn’t come home.”  Sam winced at that news a little.

              “Where does Justin’s father work, Tabby?” asked Sam.

              “He works at a hospital downtown.  Justin was crying when we were talking before.  You shouldn’t have interrupted us.”

              “I’m your father, Tabitha.” I said.  A little louder and more forceful than I meant to.  “If I want to interrupt, I’ll interrupt.  Especially during the Goddamn zombie apocalypse.”

              She retreated back into her mother’s arms a little bit.

“Ryan…” said Sam.  She gave me the look.

“Tabby, you know how upset Justin was when he was talking to you about his father?” I asked.  She nodded.  “Well, that’s how upset your mother and I were when you weren’t in your room with Mal.  We were sure that something happened to you.  I’m not angry that you were talking to Justin.  I’m angry that with everything going on, we didn’t know where you were.  We have to know where everybody is at all times now.  Do you understand?”

“I don’t want you guys listening to my calls,” she said.

“First, in an emergency situation and I think zombies qualify as an emergency, I don’t care so much what you want.”  Again, more pissed off than I wanted to sound.  And, I got the look from Sam.  “Second, neither your mother nor I want to listen to your calls.  But, one of us simply has to know where you are.  Just tell us you’re going to talk to Justin and let us know where you’ll be.  Understand?”

“Yes, I think so,” she replied.  “I’m sorry.”  She came over to me and put her arms around me, squeezing tight.  “I didn’t mean to scare you guys.”

“If you want to talk to Justin tomorrow in private, that’s fine.  Just let us know where you are.  Got it?”  She nodded.  “Okay, off to bed.  Both of you.”

Sam and I got hugs from both the kids as the turned to go back upstairs.  Mal looked absolutely exhausted but still had energy to give his sister a hard time.

“You got in trouble…”

“Shut up…”

And up the stairs they went.  Sam looked over at me.

“I’m not sure we handled that well.”

“She needs to listen.  I’m not going to lose one of my kids; or you because I didn’t know where you were.  I need to know what’s going on at all times.  Otherwise, I can’t protect you guys.”  In my head, I continued.  I’m not sure I will be able to save all of us if this gets bad.

“You coming to bed, Ryan?”

“No, I want to see what’s on the news.  Love you.”  Sam nodded and kissed me on the cheek then headed upstairs.  I sat on the sofa with Thor

              It was more bad news.  Parts of Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and several other major cities were on fire.  People were trying to get out of those cities in a mass exodus that was failing horribly and going nowhere.  All the roads and highways were gridlocked.  Some of those people sitting in cars on those roads had surely been bitten and were just minutes away from turning into zombies if they hadn’t already.  The airports were also closed.  CNN was reporting that all flights in the air would be on the ground within the hour.  Several flights had crashed when passengers and crew died and turned.  Mexico and Canada had closed their respective borders.  All international flights were cancelled.  Of course it was already way too late for that.  Long before any of the tainted flu vaccine victims fell into comas more than 500 had traveled internationally.  They were in comas in hospitals around the world just moments from dying, then reanimating into the undead and beginning their staggering, hungry walk. 

              Fox News was replaying the President’s remarks from earlier.  We had been eating dinner when this happened but we didn’t miss anything.  He said pretty much the same thing that the CNN anchor had managed to say.  Stay in your homes, keep away from others, the government is doing all it can.  ‘It’s too late’ I thought to myself.  Surprisingly, the President used the term zombie.  He was very serious about it but it still seemed strange coming from an official.  I couldn’t help but notice that he looked tired.  He should be tired after the day we all had.  But, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d gotten a flu shot?

              We live in an area of the country that gets hit by hurricanes occasionally.  We’ve had to live without electricity and running water for up to a week.  So, we always tried to keep some food and water on hand.  Hitting the store earlier helped a lot.  We also keep plywood for the windows on the house.  But none of it would suffice in an extended siege.

              We were going to have to get more supplies.  And with that decision made, I went back off to bed.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

The whole family was up early the next day.  While Sam and the kids started a nice breakfast of sausage and eggs, I made a cup of coffee and turned on the news.  Rather than the government getting a handle on anything, the news was even worse than the night before if that’s possible.  Most of the major cities had been over run.  Video from helicopters showed humans running from the staggering zombies.  Fires raged throughout the country as people struggled to survive.  On one stretch of roadway outside Washington D.C., helicopters filmed as zombies roamed alongside the cars eating and biting anyone still alive to be eaten. 

Unsurprisingly, the catastrophe had spread to other countries.  France, England, Brazil, Israel and Australia were al reporting the dead rising up on a wide scale.

              After breakfast, Tabby tried calling Justin once again and got nothing.  Again.

“Justin and his mom were going to go look for their dad about an hour ago.  I’m worried,” she said.

“I know, honey.  He seemed like a good kid,” I replied.  “Keep trying him.  Although I think he’ll get back to you when he can.”  I almost said ‘if he can’ but caught myself.

Sam tried calling the Thompsons next door.  They didn’t answer the phone. 

              “We need to go check on them,” said Sam.

              “I don’t disagree.  I just don’t want to go out there.”

              “Anybody else notice how quiet it is?”  Asked Tabby.

              We all just kinda looked at each other and shook our collective heads.  No one could remember hearing any cars go by all morning.  By now, people should’ve been going to work and kids going to school.  I couldn’t hear any planes either.

              “Why don’t we take care of our water chores then we’ll go check on the Thompsons.”  I explained to the kids what we were doing with the toilet tank and the bathtubs.  Mal and Tab started filing all the containers they could find and Sam and I tackled the two other projects.  With everyone helping, it didn’t take long.  Soon, there was no avoiding checking on the neighbors.

              “Mal and Tab, I want you guys in your room for this.  Play games or whatever you want.  Well, I don’t want you to put the news on.”

              “But, Dad we want to help,” said Tabby.

              “I know, and I appreciate it.  But, not this time.  I don’t know what’s going to happen and I need to know you’re safe.  Off with you.”  I hugged both the kids and they ran upstairs.

              “Sam, I want you to come outside with me.  Stay just outside the door where you can be another set of eyes but still get inside quickly.  Don’t let anyone or anything sneak up behind me.  Got it?”

              “Yeah.  Do you have our spare keys for the Thompsons place?”

              “Yeah, they’re in my pocket.”

              I checked my Glock one more time to make sure there’s a round in the chamber.  There always is but this was not a time for mistakes.  Opening the door I was struck by two things right away:  how bright it was and how quiet it was.  We don’t live in a crazy busy neighborhood but there’s always driving by or somebody’s kids yelling down the street or a stereo that’s too loud.  Today, nothing.  I was hoping that the reason we didn’t hear anything before was that we were inside.  Not so lucky.  Creepy doesn’t quite cut it.

              As I worked my way over to the Thompsons I kept my head on a swivel to check for any danger but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  It was almost anti-climactic.  I stepped carefully onto their porch.

              The Thompson’s lived in a one story ranch with a detached garage.  The exterior is brick and painted white.  The small porch in front is just two steps up from the walkway leading up to it.  I knocked on the door and it sounded as loud as thunder in the quiet street.  After what seemed like 5 minutes I knocked again.  Nothing.  Sam yelled across for me to try the door.  I pulled the screen door open and stepped into its arc so it didn’t close then I turned the door handle.  It was unlocked.  Weird.  I pushed the door open and waited.  I could barely see inside the darkened living room.

              “Janice?  Kenny?  It’s Ryan from next door.   You guys in here?”

              It was at this point that I noticed the smell.  Wet death is the best description I’ve come up with.  Then, the Janice Thompson zombie appeared in the room and lurched toward me.  Blood covered her mouth, neck and the top of her nightgown.  That ‘wet death’ smell was clearly coming from her.  Right behind her staggered Kenny Thompson.  Part of his neck and a bit of his abdomen was missing.

              I stumbled backwards and fell over the two steps onto the walkway.  Mrs. Thompson struggled with the screen door that had slammed shut, but she was relentless in her pursuit of me and staggered through it with her husband still behind her.  I crab walked backwards into their front yard with both of our neighbors in a slow, zombie-shuffle pursuit.  Looking back on it, I never once thought to get up and run or to pull my gun.  Finally, I did find my feet only to hit the deck at the sound of a really loud and really close gun shot.

              Standing over me was Eddie something or other, from across the street, his hunting rifle up to his shoulder.  Eddie was wide eyed and shaking.  Apparently, this was also Eddie’s first time seeing a real live, or rather, dead zombie.

              Kenny Thompson was down on the ground with a wound to his pelvis but kept crawling toward me and Eddie like it didn’t hurt at all.  He pulled himself along with his arms.  Cursing, Eddie pulled the bolt clumsily back on his rifle and slammed it forward to chamber a round.  He brought the shaking rifle up to his shoulder and fired again. 

Bang! 

I ducked unconsciously.  The bullet slammed right into Janice Thompson’s chest.  She bucked a little at the hit but kept staggering toward us. 

              “Fuck this…”  Eddie yelled and turned to run.  I agreed wholeheartedly and turned toward the street.  One step, two steps, and then I jumped over the drainage ditch and turned right toward my driveway.  The screams of Eddie’s wife, I never could remember her name, stopped me in my tracks.  Looking back, Eddie must’ve slipped trying to get over the ditch.  Mrs. Thompson has fallen on him.  She was biting and tearing away large chunks of his flesh each time.   Mr. Thompson was still pulling himself along the ground, now focused on Eddie’s screaming wife.

              “Ryan, hurry.  C’mon.”  Sam was screaming and moving further into the yard.  This finally pulled my attention from the gruesome scene near the road and I turned and ran for my own door.  Sam threw it open as I ran up and we both ducked in.  I turned and made sure it was closed and locked.  Then we both collapsed onto the floor crying.  As we lay there, both Malcolm and Tabitha came down the stairs and ran over to where we were on the floor.  They fell on top of us and we all laid there crying and holding each other until we were out of tears.  Even Thor came over and laid down at our feet.

              Gradually, we all slowly got up from our heap on the floor.  Mal and I were the last.  He was scared now.  Gone was the ‘cool’ factor of zombies.  Replaced with terror.  The kids had watched from the window upstairs once they heard the first gun shot.  They saw Eddie get eaten by Mrs. Thompson.  They saw my close escape. 

How do you reassure your kids when you don’t feel very reassured yourself?  The Thompson’s brought over chicken soup when someone was sick.  They watched Tabby when Mal was born.  We’ve gone over there on Christmas Eve for the past several years.  Not this year, I guess.

              I realized that Sam was trying to get my attention over near one of the front windows.  Whatever was out there I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to see.  But, if it could help keep my family safe then so be it.  Eddie’s body was still lying next to the ditch.  Looks like Eddie was a bleeder.  But, instead of being dead, Eddie was twitching.  Mrs. Thompson was now at Eddie’s front door rhythmically banging on it, trying to get in.  Her attempts were slow, steady and relentless.  Mr. Thompson had managed to drag himself over to the house and up on the porch to the door as well.  He was banging on the bottom part of the door.  There were dark blood marks on the door where the zombies were beating against it.  As Sam and I watched this display of single mindedness, Eddie, or what used to be Eddie, rose to his feet and began that staggering zombie walk over to his old front door and began to pound on it.

              It was just 9am.

              Tabby called from the living room.  The Speaker of the House was on the TV.

              “My fellow Americans, I am speaking to your from deep inside a secure bunker.  The President, Vice President and many other of your elected officials are dead, victims of this horrible tragedy.  I have been sworn in as your new President.  The cursed virus is sweeping through our country and the rest of the world killing many Americans and creating, well creating what have to be called zombies.  These zombies are no longer your family, friends or neighbors.  They are something else entirely and will not hesitate to kill you.  We are desperately trying to find a cure.  Until that time, I ask that you remain in your homes and limit your interactions with other people, especially those that seem ill.  God Bless America.”

              Sam and I agreed that he didn’t really say much that we didn’t know.  But, he seemed really scared as he spoke.

              “How would the President and other high level people get bit?”

              “Well, I guess he gets the same flu shots as everyone.  But, even if he didn’t there were those on his staff that did.  So, now there are all these people in a secure location and one or two of them die and turn.  Now you’ve got zombies in your bunker.  It was scary enough out there in the open.”

              “They aren’t going to get a handle on it are they?” asked Sam.

              “No, honey.  They aren’t.  No 911.  NO EMS.  No Fire Department.  And soon maybe no power or water.”

              “What’s next, then?”

              “We need more supplies and we need to board up the house.  But…”  I gestured to Sam to follow me upstairs.  “Kids, find a movie to put on please.  Let’s take a break from the bad news.”  They said yes and Sam followed me upstairs.

              I sat on the bed and Sam sat next to me.  Thor took his spot near our feet.  Tears came freely again as I tried to speak.  My wonderful wife just held me although I know she had a thousand questions and was scared too.  After a few minutes I had a little composure.

              “I’m sorry.”

              “No need to be sorry, Ryan.  We’re all scared.”

              “No, it’s more than that.  I can’t go back out there.  Not today.  Please don’t ask me.”  With that I was crying again.  “I know you’re scared, I know the kids are scared.  But, you weren’t to those things as close as I was Sam.  The eyes, there’s nothing there.  The moan, it’s unnatural.  That woman held Tabitha at the hospital the day she was born.  And she was trying to tear my flesh off out there.”

              Sam continued to hold me.  She was crying, too.  “Whatever you need Ryan.  I know you’ll take care of us.  You always do.  We can plan the next few days and be ready to go.”

              I was angry at myself and terrified at the same time.  There were things to do if we were going to survive and I was crying on the bed like a child.  I pulled away from Sam and went to the window.  Shit.

              “Sam, come here and look at this.” 

              “Holy crap, where did they come from?”   There were now five zombies outside the door across the street.  “They look familiar to you?”

              “Yeah, I’ve seen them before.  They must live in the neighborhood somewhere nearby.”

              “You think the pounding noise attracted them?”

              “Or the blood.  I don’t know.  Shit.”

              “What?”

              “Well, scared or not, I need to board up the house.  It looks like the door over there is holding up well but what if the zombies tried the windows?  They’d break with one hit.  I can’t do anything with the zombies right there.”

              “Then let’s go sit with the kids.  They need some normal after this morning and we can check on Eddie’s house every once in awhile.”  Sam had a good point.

              The movie was a Disney animated one that they’d seen a hundred times but that’s just what they needed; something familiar and fun.  I thought about what to do next if the zombies stayed across the street and what to do next if they left.  But, Sam and I didn’t talk about it.  Before I knew it, the movie was over.

              “How about an early lunch?”  Sam motioned for me to check outside while she and the kids went into the kitchen.

              A peek outside revealed that the zombies had moved on.  Which was both good and bad.  I’m glad they went but where did they go?  And why?  Do they give up after awhile or were they drawn somewhere else?  I just didn’t know enough about them yet to make a guess.

              In the kitchen, Sam looked up from making salads when I walked in.  Tabby was chopping tomatoes and Mal was rinsing some greens.  Sam raised her eyebrows.

              “Gone.  Didn’t see where.”