Dead of Knight: A Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tale (8 page)

The neighborhood was just deadly quiet except for the zombies banging on my garage door.  I wanted to remain as quiet as possible until I got to my destination.  Climbing over a chain link fence when you’re an out of shape couch potato was going to be difficult enough.  But, I also had to do it quietly.  I managed to do it without attracting attention but regretted not setting up the ladders like yesterday.  As I crept up alongside the house next door I could see three zombies already heading through the intersection toward my house.  I wondered if my garage door could hold up to ten zombies banging on it.  Probably not.  Must go faster.  I jogged toward the intersection making sure not to get too close to the three zombies in front of me.  They paid me no mind.

Setting the boom box down in the intersection with the speakers facing my house, I stopped to think.  Is there anyone alive in these houses close to this corner?  They would be really pissed off by a ‘zombie attracting device’ out in the street here.  I looked up at the house in front of me, staring at the windows for signs of life.  Typical single story ranch type house.  Maybe a family lived there?  I seemed to remember kids playing in the yard.  Their Christmas decorations looked sad out front without power.  I didn’t see any movement. 

The truth is; I didn’t care anymore.  I don’t want anyone to die.  But, my family comes first.  Everyone and everything else was secondary.  Yeah, family first, no matter what.

I reached down and pushed ‘play’ on the boom box and it came to life.

‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…’

Purple Rain was a great album.  As I looked up, there were two zombies bearing down on me.  They had been headed to my house.  They were about ten feet apart and even.  Maybe 30 feet away.  Back towards my house the banging had stopped.  That meant ten zombies were now staggering toward me from that direction.  I needed to go back the way I came.

Crap.  The only weapon I had was my gun.  I really have to remember to have a hammer or something like that at all times.  The gun was going to be loud.  But, that was also the point of the boom box.  But, could I really shoot someone?  Well, I did just bash Janice Thompson’s brains in.  Plus, I had to get home to my family.

I drew my Glock and aimed. 

This was not like target practice.  But, the training does come back.  Proper grip, sight picture, trigger squeeze.  Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.  Don’t rush.

Bang.  Shit, that was loud.  And, I missed.

Bang.  Again I missed.  Then…

Bang.  Head shot.

Bang.  Head shot.  It helped that the zombies didn’t try to evade.

I ran back the way I came without looking over my shoulder.  When I got around the side of the neighbor’s house, I paused and turned; breathing really heavy.   There was a zombie staggering up the street toward the boom box and sound of gun fire.  The zombie had no interest in me.  It went right on by.  Very single minded, these zombies.  It was all I could do to turn my back on it.  But, it was not going to notice me.  I gently climbed the fence and looked up to see Sam at the back door.  As I got closer I could see she was crying.

“I heard the shots.  I thought…”

“I know.  I’m fine.  C’mon inside.”  We closed the door and I put my arms around her, pulling her close.

“We have a new rule.  Well, two new rules since you don’t have your gun on.  Number one is always having your gun on.  But, it’s a last resort because it’s too fucking loud.  Number two is always having a second, quiet option with you.  A large knife, the hammer worked well, a crowbar.  I think we have a hatchet in this garage somewhere.  So, gun and melee weapon at all times.  Got it?”

“Okay.”

“No, Samantha.  Do you understand?  I’m serious.”

“I do, I do.  I was just scared.”

“I know.  Just make sure you always have your weapons.  I’ll look for the hatchet.   You go strap your gun on.  I’ll meet you inside.  I want to see the kids before I go.”

The hatchet was where I thought it would be over the work bench.  I gave it to Sam when I got inside.  Then I spent a few minutes with the kids.  They had heard the shots, too.

“I have to go get your Grandma now.  It’s more important now than ever for our family to be together.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Hugs all around and a few more kisses.  Then I went downstairs with the rest of the family in tow. 

“Sam, I should be back before dark, even with my errand.  And, I told Tabby I’d check on Justin.  If I’m not, just stay inside and keep the noise down.  I’ll try to call if I run into any trouble that’ll make me late.”

“Do the phones still work?”

“It depends on how widespread the power outage is.  Try your mother.”

Sam’s mom, Karen answered on the second ring.

“Is Ryan on his way?”

“He’ll be leaving in a minute.  Do you have your things ready?”

“They’ve been ready.  Why hasn’t he left yet?”

I grabbed the phone from Sam.

“Karen, two bags and all the supplies you have.  Make sure they’re ready to go.”

“I’m ready.  Why haven’t you left yet?  I’m getting scared down here.”

“Well, we had to board up the front of the house.  Then we had to find a way to get rid of the zombies that we attracted by boarding up the house.  I just got finished killing four zombies; two of them were people I knew.  After, I had to wash their brains of my hands.  So, I’ve been a little fucking busy.  Here’s Sam”

I placed my hand on the mic and rolled my eyes.  Sam nodded and kissed me.

“Mal, run back upstairs and see if there’s any zombies out front.”

Sam finished up the conversation with her mother about the same time Mal came back down.

“All clear.”

“Thanks, buddy.  You’re still doing a great job.  Take care of the women while I’m gone, huh?”

“I will Dad.”

I grabbed Tabby and held her tight.

“And you’ve been amazing, sweetheart.  Thank you.”

“Thanks Daddy.  And, thanks for going by Justin’s.  I really appreciate it.”

Sam followed me out to the garage.

“Keep your gun and the axe or whatever you choose with you at all times.  I’ve got a crow bar.  Love you.”

“Love you, too.  Be safe.”

I nodded and we kissed.  Long and hard, with tears.

I started the Land Cruiser and waited for Sam to open the garage roll up.  As I pulled out I looked back and saw Sam roll back down.  I paused at the street and looked both ways.  Old habits do die hard.  It would suck to be killed in a traffic accident during the zombie apocalypse.

I wasn’t down to the end of my own street when I came across the first car wreck.  It was a sedan in a ditch.  The door was open and there was blood inside.  A little further down at the corner, I could see why the power was out at my house.  A pickup had taken out the poles leading into the neighborhood.  The doors to the truck were closed but I couldn’t see inside very well.  After I turned right onto Main Rd to head up to Hwy 17, I could see multiple accidents along the road.  Some were bad wrecks.  Other cars just seemed to be abandoned in the middle of the road.  There were a few zombies.  The café-slash-farmers market up the street was fairly unscathed but there were four zombies outside just milling about.  I had to leave the road twice before getting to 17 because of car wrecks. 

As I turned into Justin’s neighborhood things weren’t any better.  Several houses sat with their front doors open and I wondered where those people were.  I pulled into the driveway at Justin’s house and looked around.  Well, the house was secure anyway; nothing open or busted out.  I looked around and jumped out.  The garage door had windows and I could see it was empty.  I went up and banged on the door anyway.  Damn, that was loud.  I jumped back in the car and waited a few minutes.  By the time that the first zombies appeared from down the street, I figured nobody was home.  Tabby was upset when I texted her.  I felt bad but there was nothing to be done for him unless we knew where he was.

The intersection of Main Rd and Hwy 17 was a disaster.  There were vehicles everywhere.  The only way I could get through was by cutting through the Burger King parking lot, then past the Waffle House and finally, through a car wash.  I was forced to go south down the northbound lanes of 17 and made several cuts back and forth across the median to get by.  A few times I wasn’t sure I could get through but made it by going off the road.  One car had movement inside and I stopped, thinking there was a human inside.  Just as I was about to get out and help I realized it was a trapped zombie.  The idea of getting myself trapped in between the stalled and wrecked cars was one I did not relish.  It would be a while before I thought about getting out of the Land Cruiser again.

A few miles down the road there was a strip mall on fire.  I had started seeing the smoke a ways back.  The shopping center was almost gone at this point.  I figured it must have been burning all night.  I stopped for a minute to gawk.  How strange to see such a huge fire with no fire department, no police, no bystanders, no living people anywhere.

One car, a little further down the road, had three zombies pounding on the windows.  I stopped but couldn’t see what they were trying to get at.  A beep of the horn got the zombies attention but I still didn’t see anyone in the car.  I left and the zombies staggered after me.  They were still coming to get me when I lost sight of them around a bend almost a mile up the road.  One house back in the woods appeared to have smoke coming from the chimney.  There were no zombies around it and I didn’t want to attract any so I kept going.  I couldn’t see the house very well from the road but I didn’t see anyone trying to flag me down.  I wished them well but had my own family to protect.  Besides, there probably wasn’t anyone alive in there anyway, right?

Through many wrecks, stalled cars, and detours the going was slow but fairly uneventful.  The trip, which usually took about 2 hours, was on track to take about 3.5 hours.  I wasn’t happy about that.  It would give me less time at Bass Pro Shop.  Valuable time.  And all of this depended on Karen really being ready to go.  And, of course, there not being an army of zombies outside her place.

Eventually, Hwy 17 curves around to the west and heads for Interstate 95.  I was curious to see what 95 would bring.  More of the same?  Better?  Worse?  Near the interchange were the usual array of gas stations, fast food places and fireworks stores.  The wrecks and stalled cars were more numerous here as people fleeing this new reality tried to stop for gas or food just like on any other trip.  I was almost through the mess and to the Interstate when I saw movement out of the corner of my left eye.  There was a man.  A living man, running toward me through a gas station lot and into the road.

It’s natural instinct to want to help.  And before I knew what I was doing I had turned to the left and toward the man.  The man came running over and I lowered my window.

“Thank you.  Thank you for stopping.  We haven’t seen a living person in 24 hours.”

“Who’s we?”

“I’m Michael.  My wife Lois and son, Mike Jr. are in the RV over there,” said Michael.

The RV was a rental, one of the smaller ones that you see on the road.

“Get in,” I said.  “Let’s get back over to them.”  When Michael climbed in, I stuck out my hand.  “I’m Ryan.”  Michael shook my hand and we headed the 200 or so yards to the RV.  At the RV, Michael got out of the Land Cruiser and stood by the RV’s door.  His family came out to join him.

“Lois, Mike, Jr. this is Ryan.”

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“Can you help us?”

“Probably not, Lois.  I’m on my way to Savannah to get my mother in law.  I really want to get back to Charleston before dark.  What do you need?”

“Everything,” Michael answered.  “Food, water and we’re out of gas.”

“Uh, guys?  You’re right outside of a convenience store…”

“That’s stealing,” said Lois.

I shook my head and smiled to myself.  Some people really are sheep.  And sheep are not going to survive this.  They are a favorite food of the zombies.

“Look around Lois.  The world as you know it is gone.  Circle K and Seven Eleven don’t exist anymore.  There’s no more TV, no more electricity, no more running water.  No police, no bills to pay and your cash is now worthless.  Either you want to survive or you don’t.  There is not going to be an in between.  Survive or die.  What’s it gonna be, Lois?”

“Those things are in there,” said Mike Jr.  He looked about 15.  Probably played sports.  But he was scared.

“How many?”  I asked.

“Three.”

“Well, there’s four of us.  What do you have for weapons?”  I asked.  The family just stared at me.

“Look,” I said.  “I don’t have time for this crap.  I have my own family to think about.  You guys have to think for yourselves.”

“Ryan, please,” said Michael.  “Just show us what to do.  We can learn.”

“Michael, three days ago I was giving a ghost tour to a group of tourists in Charleston.  Today, I killed two neighbors with a hammer and two more with a gun.  And, I’m nobody.  I want everyone to live through this.  But, I don’t want to be responsible for your family.”