Ms.
P often would look in on us for my parents, whenever they would go out on
dates. They still felt I was a little too young to stay home and watch Hailey,
so she was kind enough to check on us. A lot of times she’d come over and play
games. She was young and pretty, and well, I didn’t really mind her coming
over. She smelled nice too.
The
man with gun raised his voice, breaking up my thoughts about Ms. P, and tried
to speak over the murmuring of the crowd.
“Everyone,
calm down! It was just one of them for crying out loud! We’re not even near the
city!”
The
crowd seemed unsatisfied with the man’s words. It really only seemed to stir
them up more. My Dad raised his hands, trying to quiet and calm everyone down.
“Listen
everybody,” he said. “We all need to go back to our homes, secure them and sit
tight.”
Sit
tight?
I
thought.
That’s not what we were doing. Why would he tell them that?
“If
you have firearms,” he continued. “I’d suggest you keep them loaded and close
by you. If you don’t, I’d recommend you find any type of hand tool, such as a
hammer or crowbar. We don’t need to panic; that’ll only cause us more trouble.
If everyone keeps a cool head about this, we can all get through this safely.
Now everyone go home.”
The
crowd swallowed what my Dad said much better than the other man’s words. He
gave my Dad a smug look and walked back towards his house. One by one, everyone
went back towards their homes. Our neighbor gave my Dad a head nod and walked
back to his house. Once everyone was gone, Dad motioned for the rest of our
family to follow him back into the house.
I
darted back into the kitchen and quickly sat at the table next to Hailey. She
looked at me strange, wondering why I was sitting so close to her. Her music
was still going strong. I gave her a smile, to which she mouthed, “You’re
weird,” and went back to her crayons and paper.
The
adults all looked more worried now than they had been all afternoon. Dad was
pulling on his goatee again.
“What
do we do Chris?” G-Mom asked, her voice somewhat shaken.
Without
any hesitation at all, Dad answered her.
“We
leave. Now.”
***
Everyone
began to feverishly gather the remaining things to put in our cars. Hailey was
prepping our dogs for the trip. She struggled to get Millie, our Siberian
Husky, into her kennel. Millie was nearly as tall as Hailey, which isn’t saying
much given Hailey’s “vertical handicap.” Opie, a Boston Terrier and Hailey’s
dog, eagerly waited at her side. Opie has always been extremely loyal to
Hailey, even going as far as allowing himself to be dressed up in pretty pink
princess clothes. I didn’t really care for either of the dogs, but I had to
feel sorry for Opie sometimes. He was a good and loyal dog.
Dad
broke my attention when he shoved a box in my hands. He pointed his elbow in
the direction of the cars, indicating for me to follow him outside. Once our
cargo, the last of the boxes, was secure, he turned and looked at me. I could
tell he was sizing me up again. I tried my best to hide my confusion and
uneasiness.
“Look
son,” he started gently, a change in his whole demeanor from this afternoon.
“This is going to be hard to explain and maybe even hard to understand, but
what is happening and why we are leaving is-”
Dad
was cut short by the quick popping of gunfire behind us. We spun around quickly
to see the same man from earlier who fired his pistol. He stumbled back out
from behind the far house, tripping over his feet into the cul-de-sac and
falling to the pavement. He scrambled clumsily to get back on his feet, but was
unable to do so. If he would have used both arms, maybe he could have gotten
up, but he kept his gun pointing shakily in the direction he came from.
A
group of four people walked out from behind the house. Their pace was slow and
their footing seemed equally unsure. From the distance I was at, they all
seemed to be in a daze, but were focused intently on the man with the gun.
He
began firing into them.
The
only time I’ve come close to seeing people shot was in movies or the online
shooters I played with my uncle. This was nothing like that. As the man
unloaded the rest of his gun into the approaching people, I could do nothing
else but stand there with my jaw dropped. It all happened so fast, but almost
seemed to slow down in time.
The
gunfire didn’t slow the mob. The man must have been a real sucky shot.
No,
there’s no way. He’s not even ten feet away from them. Hailey could hit
something from that distance.
I
could see blood slowly trickling down the front two’s chests. The man
definitely made contact, but they weren’t stopping. Not even slowing down. They
didn’t even do the natural human reaction and try and shield themselves from
the oncoming gunfire. I could see now that most of their clothes were tattered
or torn in some way.
“Back!
Back!” The man screamed, as they closed in on him.
The
leader of the pack fell to his knees, grasping the man around the ankle. He
howled out in agony, as the hand clasped around his leg, and tried to kick
himself free. The others followed suit and began latching onto the fallen man.
He screamed, fought and tried to kick them away, but they very quickly
overpowered him.
They
began biting him.
It
was then that I realized what was going on. Why everyone was so panicked. Why
my family was all wishing Uncle Josh was here and that he would know what to
do. It was also the reason my Dad had me strap my .22 rim fire rifle to my
back.
Zombies.
“CJ!
Get in the house!” My Dad yelled, as he took off running in the direction of
the attacked man. He was pulling his Glock from its hip holster, taking aim at
the nearest zombie. I froze, not being able to take my eyes off my father as he
systematically dropped each one of the zombies. Apparently, his military
training was a lot fresher than I gave him credit for . Each dead freak
received a bullet to the head, ending the attack on the screaming man.
“CJ!”
My
Dad yelled again and I snapped out of my stupor, spinning around to run into
the house. G-Dad was there motioning for me to come into the house. He was
yelling something, but sound seemed to fade away and everything fell silent. A
last, single gunshot reverberated throughout the neighborhood. I quickly did
the math, adding up the number of zombies and realizing that Dad had fired one
time more than there were zombies. My stomach turned as I understood that the
final bullet fired was not intended for a zombie but reserved for the man who
had been attacked.
My
stomach began to twist in knots but before I could throw up, Dad was behind me
pushing me into the house.
“Alright,
everybody,” he started, strangely calm for someone who just shot five people.
“It’s time to go. Now. Mom and Pops, you two are gonna get Laura out of here
and lead the way. We’ll be right behind you. Just get her out of here.”
He
motioned towards Aunt Laura. G-Dad and G-Mom nodded, but I could tell that
G-Mom was not happy about the situation. That makes two of us. I couldn’t
believe this was happening. Zombies weren’t real. They were video game and
movie stuff. How in the world are they real?
Millie
was going crazy inside her kennel. She couldn’t decide if she was excited or
scared. She peed. I looked around, figuring Opie would be playing it cool as he
always did. He wasn’t in the kitchen.
He
wasn’t in the kitchen.
“Where’s
Hailey?”
My
question brought a flash of silence to the kitchen as everyone else realized
that Hailey was missing. The silence didn’t last long as the room erupted into
chaos and yelling.
“HAILEY!”
My Dad yelled.
“Hailey!
Where are you?” My Mom cried out.
“Let’s
split up and look-”
“No,”
Dad interrupted G-Mom. “You two need to get her out of here. We’ll be right
behind you. Now go.”
G-Mom
started to protest, but G-Dad placed a hand on her arm, assuring her it was
time to go.
“Get
them to safety Chris,” she said in a low tone.
My
father nodded.
“I
will.”
With
that, the three of them left. I heard G-Dad’s truck crank up and saw them
through the back door pull away from the house. My mother was beginning to
frantically look around the house, when my Dad stopped her and looked at me.
“CJ.
Take your mother and get her in the truck. Remember when I let you drive it
around the neighborhood? Get it running, pull it out of the driveway and be
ready to go. Get Millie in the truck too.”
I
nodded, too scared to say anything. He ran off into the house, calling out
Hailey’s name. My mother was now visibly shaken and was crying. Her sniffle was
back.
“C’mon
Mom, let’s go.”
She
whimpered something, but it was unintelligible. I guided her outside and into
the front passenger seat. Her movement was stiff and she wasn’t really cooperating.
Her eyes seemed to glaze over, as if she was lost deep in thought. I didn’t
like it. I buckled her in and turned back to go get our dog.
Millie
had finally decided between excitement and freaking out. She decided she was
freaking out. She circled around within the medium-sized cage, barking
protests. Me and her had not always been on good terms with each other, so I’m
sure this was going to be somewhat difficult.
When
she was a younger puppy, she made it a habit to always try and get away when I
took her for walks. She wasn’t as big then as she is now, but she’s always been
strong. Whenever I would finally catch her, let’s just say I made it clear that
I was unhappy with her.
She
eyed me with distrust as I began to unlatch the kennel’s door. As soon as it
was undone, she body-slammed the door, knocking me flat down on my butt. She
made straight for the back door and was gone.
“Millie!”
I yelled, but it was too late.
Stupid
dog. I hope you get eaten.
I
stood up, rubbing my sore bottom. There was nothing I could do about it now,
and I’m sure Dad wouldn’t be too concerned about the dog. I saw him run from
his bedroom to up the stairs. I needed to get back outside with Mom.
She
was still in her seat, eyes fixed on something in the distance. There were now
more zombies in the neighborhood. Some were being fought off by neighbors,
others were… feeding. I watched as our next-door neighbor brought the claw end
of a crowbar down onto a zombie’s head, caving it in. The claw yanked away
dripping in red.
I
heard screams from my left. They sounded like they were coming from Ms. P’s
house. I looked at Mom and then back at the screams. I had to do something.
“Mom,
I’m going to check on Ms. P. Lock the doors and stay here.”
She
mumbled something, but acknowledged me as the doors locked shut.
I
pulled the .22 from around my shoulder and ran towards Ms. P’s house. My gun
was loaded and semi-automatic. For every time I pulled the trigger, one bullet
would leave the gun. I’d practiced with this gun many times. Dad always seemed
to be impressed with my shooting, saying, “I was one of the quickest learners
he’s ever met.”
But
no amount of target practice prepared me for what I saw when I entered her
house.
She
was on the floor, struggling to fight off two zombies. One was fumbling with
her bathrobe, struggling to find some flesh to bite into. The other had just
sunken its teeth into her arm and was chewing on a wad of meat.
This
was the closest I had been to them. They smelled so bad, like rotten garbage.
The smell was bad, but how they looked was what gave me problems. They weren’t
all decayed and gnarly like you see in the movies or in video games. No, they
were just grey, their skin ashen and colorless. Their pupils were a pitch black
void, absent of any color. And worst of all, they were recognizable.
The
one dining on arm meat was Mr. Zach, a friend of my Dad, who also at one time
served in Ranger Battalion. He’d often come over and hang out with Dad. They’d
grill hamburgers out by the garage and talk over glasses of cold sweet tea.
The
other was a man who I usually see jogging through our neighborhood every
morning. He always wore these ridiculously short shorts, that were smaller than
anything a grown man should wear. Shorts he was wearing right now.
I
knew these people.
I
lined up a shot on Mr. Zach first. With his head in my iron sights, I winced as
I pulled the trigger. I knew it had to be done, but hated doing it. My aim was
accurate; the .22 caliber bullet hitting him directly in the eye socket. I
watched as his head rattled back and forth before he dropped solid to the
ground. The .22 must have had enough punch to enter his head, but lacked enough
to exit. I’m sure his brains were now a scrambled mess.
The
other zombie seemed unfazed by my killing of his friend; he had finally found
skin and had torn a large chunk from Ms. P’s neck. I fired another shot,
hitting it in the back of the head. Its lifeless body slumped over hers. I went
over and pulled its heavy deadweight off her.
I
kneeled down next to her, noticing her robe was slightly open. I did my best to
look away out of respect and closed her robe. She looked up at me, green eyes
wide in shock. She had lost a lot of blood; her skin flushed of color. I felt
so bad for her; I knew there was nothing I could have done.
“CJ…
Thank…”
That
was all she could get out before she exhaled for the last time.
I
stood up and left her there. I knew that she would most likely come back as a
zombie, but I couldn’t find the strength to make sure she didn’t. I steadied
myself on the doorframe as I walked back outside. The tears came from nowhere
and started to flow freely from my eyes.
No!
Stop it!
I
fussed at myself.
There’s no time for that now!
I
pulled myself together and made my way back over to our car. Mom was still
there, but Dad and Hailey were not. I’d been gone several minutes now; they
should have been here.
Oh
no…
I
checked on Mom real quick and ran back into the house. I passed the kitchen
quickly and was going to race upstairs, but was greeted by my father and sister
at the bottom of the steps.
He
had Hailey on his right hip; she was clinging tightly to Opie. Dad didn’t seem
to be bothered by all the extra weight he was carrying.
“CJ!
What are you doing in here? Where is your mother?” He asked quickly.
“She’s
safe in the car. I came in to check on you. What took so long?”
He
looked at Hailey, who smiled sheepishly.
“Your
sister had her earbuds in and couldn’t hear us yelling for her,” he said,
somewhat annoyed but I could tell he was also relieved. So was I.
I
laughed, but I decided not to tell him just yet about Ms. P. He’ll find out
soon enough I’m sure. I was surprised he hadn’t already read it on my face.
There
was a crash against our front door.
We
froze.
Another
thud and Dad set Hailey down, despite her scrambling to stay in his arms. She
lost Opie in the process, but unlike his canine companion, he stayed put
underneath his mistress. Dad unholstered his sidearm again.
“CJ,”
he whispered. “Get your sister to the car. I’ll cover you.”
I
nodded hesitantly, but grabbed my sister by the arm as a final thud landed
against the front door and two zombies crashed into our living room. My Dad
opened fire, hitting the first one right in the forehead, but I looked back and
saw that four more were now entering the front door. I heard more gunshots
behind me.
We
ran for the car. I heard screaming from in front of me that sent shivers down
my spine. It was my mother. A zombie was clawing at her window, trying to get
in to devour her. I motioned for Hailey to stay behind me. I took her whimper
as an, “okay.”
I
pulled my rifle up and zeroed in on the zombie’s head. The bullet entered in
the left temple, dropping the zombie like a rag doll. I picked up Opie off the
ground and looked at Hailey.
“Go
get in your seat.”
She
nodded and went to the other side of the vehicle. I opened Mom’s door and
handed her Opie. She seemed to relax and went back into her absent-minded
state. Dad was coming from the back door, covered in thick, dark red blood. I
watched his eyes go wide and everything slowed down again.
I
remember hearing my sister scream and watched as she was pulled away from her
door. She was in the middle of climbing into her seat when something grabbed
her ankle. The upper torso of a zombie crawled out from underneath our car and
snagged her. Dad exploded.
He
sprinted towards Hailey. When he got there, more living dead were stumbling
towards the fresh blood dripping from my sister’s ankle. My Dad used up all his
ammo inside the house, so he resorted to pistol-whipping the crawler on the ground.
He smashed the butt end of his pistol into the zombie’s skull, over and over,
collapsing bone with metal. There was a sickening crunch and sloshing of brain
matter that made my stomach twist for the hundredth time today.
Realizing
I froze while watching my father in action, I snapped out of it and ran to
Dad’s aid. He was now fighting off the three approaching zombies barehanded. I
had never seen him like this. He was lost in a bloodlust or rage. He tackled
the closest one to the ground and proceeded to bash its head into the concrete.
He didn’t stop until his hands were red in a bloody pulp.
The
others weren’t bothered by this at all; their arms stretched out towards him,
teeth snapping. They continually jawed. I got to a place where I could fire, but
as I put a head in my sights, my Dad got in the way. I pulled my finger off the
trigger.
“Dad!
Move!” I yelled.
He
turned his head and looked at me, his stare of hatred softened. As I raised my
rifle again, he grabbed the zombie and held it still. I fired, spraying my
father in wet brain mist. I reset my sights and dropped the final one.
Dad
scrambled over to where Hailey was lying. He was now covered in blood and
organs; the sight of him was disturbing. As she began to settle into a state of
shock, he pulled Hailey up into his arms. Tears were streaming hot down my
face.
No,
no, no…
My
mother was turned in her seat; her eyes locked on the scene. She was no longer
emotionless, but tears freely fell from her face. She seemed to try and get out
of her seatbelt, but it was almost as if she lacked the strength to get out of
the car. Dad’s heavy breathing and tears pulled me back my sister and him.