There is something calmly reassuring about the obnoxious “ka-chunk” noise as I chamber a shell in my Mossberg 500 shotgun. My Marine training kicks in as I focus, and I feel the sweet kiss of the synthetic stock on my cheek. There is nothing in the world but me and the fast one as he’s running right at me. As he gets closer, I feel sad, but only for a moment as I recognize him as the nice guy down the street that had the fuzzy dog. I guess he couldn’t hold out. My finger slides to the trigger. I let him get about ten feet away. The slow, steady squeeze of the trigger is instinct at this point, and the discharge of the round surprises me a little. I barely hear the shot, and though it comes as a surprise, the results do not. The body of my former neighbor falls at my feet though it is missing most of its head. That was sprayed across my lawn. Ah, home sweet home.
I went back inside my house, which was charming at one point. The inch and a half thick plywood bolted over all of the ground floor windows did nothing for its aesthetic value. If not for the stylish window treatments, all would seem almost normal. My wife, Karen, is making breakfast in the kitchen. She’s still in her sock-monkey pajamas, and I chuckle as I notice the grip of my .40 caliber Glock sticking out of her waistband. I guess things have changed more than I like to admit, and I feel a slight wave of embarrassment for thinking how hot it was that she was armed. She asks, “Did you get him?” I respond, “yeah, and he was a sloppy one.”
I hear the familiar sounds of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse emanating from my family room. My beautiful and energetic 3 ½ year old daughter is going through her morning routine, enjoying a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, and watching the antics of Mickey and his crew. We’d seen this one before and there would be no new episodes. The television had gone to static a few weeks back. We were living on our DVR’d programming and DVD collection. I plop down on the couch as Karen brings in some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a cup of coffee. She sits down in her chair and begins to eat. She casually says, “We need to go to the store, this is the last of the food.”
“Shit.” That’s all I can manage to say, as I devour my breakfast. Abby giggles and says, “Daddy said shit,” and starts singing an impromptu song using the word in very clever ways. I’m impressed until Karen scolds Abby and tells her it’s not a nice word. I catch a dirty look from my wife, reminding me of how little things have changed, except for the walking dead thing, of course.
I had been out of the house before since the world went to hell. I had raided Dunham’s and acquired all the 12 gauge buckshot and slug ammo they had, as well as every round of .40 cal and 7.62 x 54 for my old Russian service rifle. It is bolt action, heavy, and slow, but it packs a punch and is still pretty accurate for a WWII vintage. I had also raided the Sunoco up the street and had stockpiled gasoline and propane in case the power shut off. Luckily it hadn’t yet. I had 40 gallons of gas and a dozen propane tanks in the garage. What we didn’t have was food, and there was no good option for attaining any. The local Kroger is surrounded by subdivisions and apartments, which translates to lots of people, which means lots of shooting on my part. I wasn’t opposed to that, but there had to be a better option.
I stood up to get changed for my raid. I said to Karen, “I’ll be needing the Glock.” She handed it over, and I went to the basement to fetch the breach load shotgun from gun safe. I gave it to her along with a handful of shells, and went upstairs. I threw on jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie, along with my black combat boots, a holdover from the Corps. I strapped the Glock to my hip, threw the extra magazine into my pocket, and slung a messenger bag full of shells over my shoulder. I went back downstairs, grabbed the long-range radio that I had to steal since the cell towers stopped working. I tested it, and got the response I was looking for. Karen said, “Please be safe, and keep me posted on what’s happening.” I said that I would, kissed her goodbye, and told her I loved her. I kissed Abby, too. She said, “Where the shit are you going?” and giggled. Apparently “shit” was her new favorite word. I told her that Daddy was going to the store.
I walked out to the garage, and inspected the Magnum. It had a full tank of gas, and only minor cosmetic damage to the front, where I had run down a few of the slow ones on my last excursion. I set the Mossberg and the Mosin-Nagant Russian rifle on the floor of the passenger side. I opened the garage, and pulled the car out, watching as the garage door closed to make sure that no uninvited guests got inside.
Where was I going? Kroger was bad. Meijer was worse. Then I thought of Sam’s Club. It was not near a residential area, and nowhere near as busy as Meijer at any given time. I finally knew my destination. As I drove the two miles, I noticed several of the slow ones devouring a deer. I thought it was odd that these undead, with all the speed of a midget tri-athlete, could catch a deer. I should have been watching the road. The fast one had bolted out of the woods from the driver’s side, apparently drawn to the ruckus across the street. I hit him dead between the headlights at about 40 miles an hour. The Magnum unnaturally bent him sideways at the waist, driving his head into the hood with such force that it left a dent. Apparently, a skull cannot take that kind of abuse, as it caved in and splattered goo up my windshield. I hit the wipers.
“Shit!” The white smoke slowly starting to come from under the hood was not what I wanted to see. I continue driving to Sam’s club, knowing that the radiator had been damaged. The temperature gauge isn’t climbing fast, and the trip is short, so I think I just dodged a bullet. I pull into the parking lot, and drive slowly around the perimeter. There are only a few dozen cars in the lot. A couple of the slow ones are wandering through the lot. I put the Magnum in park, grab the Russian Bear, and quickly put them both down from just over a hundred yards. I drive to the door, jump out, and throw the rifle sling over my shoulder, and grab the Mossberg. I try the doors, and am thrilled that they are locked. I notice a van parked in a handicapped space near the entrance. The back doors are open, so I walk over to have a peek, looking over the sight on the shotgun the entire time. The blood smear down the entire length of the van tells me that whoever was trying to flee in it didn't make it. I notice the keys on the floorboard of the driver’s side, and the plan of attack comes to me in one fell swoop. I radio Karen, and let her know I’m alive.
The thunderous crash was louder than I had expected. The glass and brick rained down on the van as it plowed through the entrance. I finally stopped about 50 feet into the store. I hurried back out through the hole in the wall, and took up a position behind the Magnum with the shotgun. If there were any of the fast ones inside, they heard the commotion, and would be coming any second. Four of them came through the hole at the same time. I thought it was funny that each was still wearing his or her blue vest adorned with friendly buttons. The first two went down with two blasts from the Mossberg. The others closed on me much faster than I had anticipated. I was able to keep the Magnum between us. It was duck duck goose, except with dead people chasing and live ammunition. It only took a few more seconds to end their miserable existence and reload.
Driving the Magnum inside of Sam’s club is a surreal experience. Even with the windows up, I can smell the stench of rotting flesh, and rotten produce. It looks like canned goods are all we get from here on out. I drive over to the canned goods, kill the car, jump out, and listen. There’s a shuffling in the next aisle. I crouch down under the racks and see one of the slow ones wandering aimlessly. Her name tag says, “Helen.” It’s obvious to me that she has no idea I’m there. She shuffles past and I climb out behind her. She never sees it coming. One well-placed butt stroke to her left temple crumples her, and ends her misery. “Goodnight, Helen,” I whisper. I listen again and hear nothing.
The Magnum holds a lot of stuff with the back seats down. I quietly fill the car with canned fruit and veggies, spam, jerky, trail mix, nuts, cereal, and whatever else I think will keep. I toss in two cases of Marlboro Lights for good measure. Fresh produce is no option, with the exception of a few bags of apples that still look edible. There’s a crashing noise behind me that sounds like it’s coming from the bakery. I close up the car, and decide to get a higher vantage point, and see what I’m dealing with. I sling the Mossberg, grab the Russian bear, and climb the rack nearest the car.
I take up watch from the top of the rack with my back to a pallet of canned green beans, and fire up a Marlboro Light. The smoke is calming. I take stock of the situation, and see a blue vested baker, wearing a blood soaked apron, standing near the bakery. I can also see two other slow ones on the other side of the store, near the light bulbs and dog food. One of them knocks a box of fluorescent bulbs to the ground, breaking them. I look back to the bakery, and notice that the elderly baker is already on the move. She has the agility and speed of a cat, hurdling ovens, carts, and other obstacles. Within seconds she is upon the slow ones. The carnage is indescribable. Limbs, flesh, and organs are torn away in a frenzy. I have to turn away. In doing so, about fifteen of the shotgun shells in my bag spill out, and bounce down the metal rack to the floor below.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
Fuck. I look to where the bloodbath had taken place across the store moments ago. There I can see the dismembered bodies of the slow movers, lying in what can only be described as a lake of blood. There is no sign of baker Granny. I wait, in silence, enjoying my cigarette and listening. I hear nothing, but I get a chill up my spine thinking about that creepy hag stalking me. They can’t climb, so I’m safe up here, but at some point I need to get home to my family.
With a bang, the teddy bear across the store explodes in a cloud of polyester stuffing. The blue smoke swirls out of the barrel of the Mosin. Within the blink of an eye, Granny baker is at the base of the rack I’m on, having been drawn in by my shot. I pull the bolt back, and slam it forward in one smooth motion. Granny baker is clawing at the rack, desperately attempting to will her limbs to climb. Fortunately for me, she lacks the coordination. I line up the shot knowing that I was freeing her soul. Boom. For a brief moment, I can clearly see the floor through the baseball sized hole in her face before she slumps over. Her soul would be able to escape through it. I climb down the rack, and get into the Magnum.
The drive home is thankfully uneventful. I radio Karen to let her know I’m on my way. The white smoke rising from the engine is far less menacing than it was, kind of guiding me home. I pull into the driveway, and over a body that Karen must have just shot. His leg was still twitching a little. In the rear view mirror, I can see that he’s no longer moving, after being rendered an undead speed bump. I pull the car into the garage, close the door, and compose myself. A few moments later, I walk in announcing, “Daddy’s home.”
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Crazy Ass Ex-Marine
I was looking up from the floor at Tony standing there with a big grin on his face. He was dressed head to toe in his camouflage He had his "shit kicking" boots on and his kabar strapped to his hip. I should have known Mr. Ex-Marine would have been well suited for a situation like this.
I finally started to get up off the floor and Erin followed suit. About the time I got to my knees I heard the blast of shotgun resonate through the house. I looked over at Tony and he was holding his left hand out with the smoking barrel of his sawed off pointing into the living room. I looked over and saw what was left of a grazer crumple to the ground. The close range of the blast had annihilated most of the creatures upper torso and left it as just a pair of legs.
Once I was up to my feet and looked back at Erin still sitting on her knees staring at Tony. I guess she was a little shocked to see a real life Rambo standing in front of her. Personally I found it all amusing since I knew Tony was in his element right now and was enjoying this way to much.
I walked over to Tony and just put my hand on his shoulder. Both of us starting laughing our asses off at the scene we were standing in. Honestly when we were growing up together at no point did the two of us imagine that we would be killing zombies in his house. It all seemed surreal for a moment then I noticed something, or should I say someone was missing.
I looked over at Tony and told him we should probably do a sweep of the house to make sure it was clear and he agreed. We both went different directions and started checking each room. I started heading up stairs to check the bedrooms and could not believe the carnage that I was seeing. There were body parts everywhere from the mini slaughter exhibition that Tony had just put on. I stepped over the torso of what I assume was one of Tony's neighbors at one time and opened the door to what used to be my room. It looked a whole lot different than it did when I had lived there. The walls were covered in children's decorations and toys. I guess this was now Abby's room but yet there was no Abby to be seen.
I closed the door to the bedroom and walked over to the next door and pushed the door open. This is what used to be Chuck's room but now looked to be a office. Where I expected to see a desk was instead a pile of different guns and ammo boxes. I guess this was in the process of being converted into Tony's little armory.
Next up was the bathroom. The funny thing is I was less interested in checking the room for zombies than I was about taking a piss. Its been so long since I in a actual livable house that I was actually excites about this bathroom. As I started to get ready to do my business I heard Tony yell up the stairs at my telling me that I better not be using that bathroom since there was no longer any running water in the house. Dammit of course there isn't, why can't things go right just once. Oh well two more rooms to go.
I walked out of the bathroom and turned to the door on my right. This was the old office when I lived here and was then converted to a nursery when Abby was born. I cracked the door open and found piles of canned floor. Looks like Tony had been raiding the local Costco for food and supplies. It appeared his military training for survival had taken over and he had stockpiled everything he could find. I just laughed to myself as I thought that Tony was almost acting like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter.
I decided it was time to check the master bedroom. I figured this would be empty since that where Tony had been the whole time when we got to the house. I opened the door and looked around. Damn it looked almost untouched and frozen in time. The bed was fully made and everything straightened and clean. There was a small pile of weapons on the bed and a few things of fatigues laid out for use. I walked around the bed and looked into the bathroom. I saw a sleeping bag on the floor. Apparently Tony had been sleeping in here for safety just in case of a situation similar to what happened today.
I heard Tony yell again and wanted to know what was taking me so long. I started to head downstairs to meet up with Tony and Erin. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I looked towards the front door and saw a sprinter heading for the door. He was running across the street to where we were standing. I raised my .50 cal and lined up a shot. Tony grabbed the barrel of the gun and pushed it down. He just looked at me and told me to wait and watch. As the sprinter ran passed the curb and hit the grass a explosion erupted from the mailbox. The remnants of the creature where blown far away and there was nothing left. I turned to Tony and saw him holding something in his hands with he was laughing his ass off. He was holding a detonator for the explosive in his hands. The crazy bastard had put a small c4 charge in his mailbox and was just itching for a opportunity to use it. Once I realized what he had done I could not stop laughing, damn this was exactly something that I could see Tony doing.
We shut the front door and headed into the living room. We grabbed the pieces of what was left of the bodies and tossed them out the back door. I looked out onto the patio and saw a large fire pit. I could see the pieces of what looked to be random bodies in the back yard all around. I guess that's one good way to clean up.
Once the last of the bodies where out Tony told us to make ourselves at home and relax. We sat down on the couches and took a load off. I was glad to see Erin up and moving again. I'm guessing the shock of see Tony blasting through the bodies like the Terminator was a little much for her and she was still just sitting there with a blank stare on her face. Tony walked into the kitchen and headed for the garage. I heard the door open and close in just a few seconds. What the hell was he doing, we had a lot to talk about and he knew it. I heard the door open again and Tony came walking back into the living room. The sawed off shotguns he had been carrying earlier was no replaced with two ice cold beers. He tossed me one and just said "Welcome home Diggs".
He sat down in the chair to my right and let out a deep breath. I dove right in and asked where Karen and Abby where. He explained to me that when the outbreak had happened he knew that he needed to get them somewhere safe. So he decided it would be best for them to go to her parents place since it was out of the way and not near and densely populated areas. They had been there for a few weeks now. I asked Tony why he didn't stay there with them. He told me that he knew that at some point he would be but he had the same feeling that I did, he needed to know what had become of his brother and I. It turns out he had been waiting the entire time and today was the last day that he had planned to stay out the house before he went to be with Karen and Abby.
Tony proceeded to tell me all about his survival for the last few weeks. He had setup multiple CB radios everywhere so he could try to stay in touch with whoever was out there. As I had suspected earlier he had been making trips to all the local stores to stock up on food and supplies. He had been using his Dodge Magnum for the trips but knew that the car didn't have much longer before it was going to break down. It turns out that he had hit one of the creatures on his was home and had not been able to repair the damage that had been done.
I told him all about everything we had been through in the past few weeks since it was decided we would cross the country to find out if anyone was still alive. He found it very amusing that Erin had saved my life on multiple occasions and now here I was sitting in front of him with a big bandage on my head. Damn he had a good point, guess I need to start paying better attention.
I asked Tony what the deal was with all of the zombies that had been crawling around the house when we got here. He proceeded to explain to me that he wanted to have a little fun before he left the house for the last time. He had decided that he was going to let as many in as possible and then kill them all before loading up the car and leaving. He looked at it as a way to relieve some stress before heading off to be with his wife. He looked at the pile of bodies in the back yard and started to count. Once finished he looked at me and told me that he was glad we had showed up since there were way more out there that what he had expected there to be. Without us he might not have the chance to go be with his wife and now he could.
We sat and talked for hours as the day went on. Erin stayed quite for the most part only to laugh at the occasional moment. As the night progressed I started to realize that this was the most relaxing moment we had all had in a hell of a long time. Tony looked up from his beer and told us he had to go jump on the CB, it was his scheduled time to talk with Karen before she went to bed.
I watched as Tony left the room and headed to the garage. I looked over and Erin had fallen asleep on the couch. I felt like I was about ready to do the same when I heard Tony come running back inside. He ran upstairs and I heard the former office door crack open as it hit the wall. I started to get up and go see what was going on when I saw Tony running down the stairs covered in weaponry. I just stared in confusion as he ran up to me.
"We have to go now! Karen and Abby are in trouble , I couldn't reach her on the CB. Diggs my wife and daughter could be in trouble I need your help" I just looked him in the eyes and nodded. He knew I would do what ever was needed to get to them.
I finally started to get up off the floor and Erin followed suit. About the time I got to my knees I heard the blast of shotgun resonate through the house. I looked over at Tony and he was holding his left hand out with the smoking barrel of his sawed off pointing into the living room. I looked over and saw what was left of a grazer crumple to the ground. The close range of the blast had annihilated most of the creatures upper torso and left it as just a pair of legs.
Once I was up to my feet and looked back at Erin still sitting on her knees staring at Tony. I guess she was a little shocked to see a real life Rambo standing in front of her. Personally I found it all amusing since I knew Tony was in his element right now and was enjoying this way to much.
I walked over to Tony and just put my hand on his shoulder. Both of us starting laughing our asses off at the scene we were standing in. Honestly when we were growing up together at no point did the two of us imagine that we would be killing zombies in his house. It all seemed surreal for a moment then I noticed something, or should I say someone was missing.
I looked over at Tony and told him we should probably do a sweep of the house to make sure it was clear and he agreed. We both went different directions and started checking each room. I started heading up stairs to check the bedrooms and could not believe the carnage that I was seeing. There were body parts everywhere from the mini slaughter exhibition that Tony had just put on. I stepped over the torso of what I assume was one of Tony's neighbors at one time and opened the door to what used to be my room. It looked a whole lot different than it did when I had lived there. The walls were covered in children's decorations and toys. I guess this was now Abby's room but yet there was no Abby to be seen.
I closed the door to the bedroom and walked over to the next door and pushed the door open. This is what used to be Chuck's room but now looked to be a office. Where I expected to see a desk was instead a pile of different guns and ammo boxes. I guess this was in the process of being converted into Tony's little armory.
Next up was the bathroom. The funny thing is I was less interested in checking the room for zombies than I was about taking a piss. Its been so long since I in a actual livable house that I was actually excites about this bathroom. As I started to get ready to do my business I heard Tony yell up the stairs at my telling me that I better not be using that bathroom since there was no longer any running water in the house. Dammit of course there isn't, why can't things go right just once. Oh well two more rooms to go.
I walked out of the bathroom and turned to the door on my right. This was the old office when I lived here and was then converted to a nursery when Abby was born. I cracked the door open and found piles of canned floor. Looks like Tony had been raiding the local Costco for food and supplies. It appeared his military training for survival had taken over and he had stockpiled everything he could find. I just laughed to myself as I thought that Tony was almost acting like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter.
I decided it was time to check the master bedroom. I figured this would be empty since that where Tony had been the whole time when we got to the house. I opened the door and looked around. Damn it looked almost untouched and frozen in time. The bed was fully made and everything straightened and clean. There was a small pile of weapons on the bed and a few things of fatigues laid out for use. I walked around the bed and looked into the bathroom. I saw a sleeping bag on the floor. Apparently Tony had been sleeping in here for safety just in case of a situation similar to what happened today.
I heard Tony yell again and wanted to know what was taking me so long. I started to head downstairs to meet up with Tony and Erin. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I looked towards the front door and saw a sprinter heading for the door. He was running across the street to where we were standing. I raised my .50 cal and lined up a shot. Tony grabbed the barrel of the gun and pushed it down. He just looked at me and told me to wait and watch. As the sprinter ran passed the curb and hit the grass a explosion erupted from the mailbox. The remnants of the creature where blown far away and there was nothing left. I turned to Tony and saw him holding something in his hands with he was laughing his ass off. He was holding a detonator for the explosive in his hands. The crazy bastard had put a small c4 charge in his mailbox and was just itching for a opportunity to use it. Once I realized what he had done I could not stop laughing, damn this was exactly something that I could see Tony doing.
We shut the front door and headed into the living room. We grabbed the pieces of what was left of the bodies and tossed them out the back door. I looked out onto the patio and saw a large fire pit. I could see the pieces of what looked to be random bodies in the back yard all around. I guess that's one good way to clean up.
Once the last of the bodies where out Tony told us to make ourselves at home and relax. We sat down on the couches and took a load off. I was glad to see Erin up and moving again. I'm guessing the shock of see Tony blasting through the bodies like the Terminator was a little much for her and she was still just sitting there with a blank stare on her face. Tony walked into the kitchen and headed for the garage. I heard the door open and close in just a few seconds. What the hell was he doing, we had a lot to talk about and he knew it. I heard the door open again and Tony came walking back into the living room. The sawed off shotguns he had been carrying earlier was no replaced with two ice cold beers. He tossed me one and just said "Welcome home Diggs".
He sat down in the chair to my right and let out a deep breath. I dove right in and asked where Karen and Abby where. He explained to me that when the outbreak had happened he knew that he needed to get them somewhere safe. So he decided it would be best for them to go to her parents place since it was out of the way and not near and densely populated areas. They had been there for a few weeks now. I asked Tony why he didn't stay there with them. He told me that he knew that at some point he would be but he had the same feeling that I did, he needed to know what had become of his brother and I. It turns out he had been waiting the entire time and today was the last day that he had planned to stay out the house before he went to be with Karen and Abby.
Tony proceeded to tell me all about his survival for the last few weeks. He had setup multiple CB radios everywhere so he could try to stay in touch with whoever was out there. As I had suspected earlier he had been making trips to all the local stores to stock up on food and supplies. He had been using his Dodge Magnum for the trips but knew that the car didn't have much longer before it was going to break down. It turns out that he had hit one of the creatures on his was home and had not been able to repair the damage that had been done.
I told him all about everything we had been through in the past few weeks since it was decided we would cross the country to find out if anyone was still alive. He found it very amusing that Erin had saved my life on multiple occasions and now here I was sitting in front of him with a big bandage on my head. Damn he had a good point, guess I need to start paying better attention.
I asked Tony what the deal was with all of the zombies that had been crawling around the house when we got here. He proceeded to explain to me that he wanted to have a little fun before he left the house for the last time. He had decided that he was going to let as many in as possible and then kill them all before loading up the car and leaving. He looked at it as a way to relieve some stress before heading off to be with his wife. He looked at the pile of bodies in the back yard and started to count. Once finished he looked at me and told me that he was glad we had showed up since there were way more out there that what he had expected there to be. Without us he might not have the chance to go be with his wife and now he could.
We sat and talked for hours as the day went on. Erin stayed quite for the most part only to laugh at the occasional moment. As the night progressed I started to realize that this was the most relaxing moment we had all had in a hell of a long time. Tony looked up from his beer and told us he had to go jump on the CB, it was his scheduled time to talk with Karen before she went to bed.
I watched as Tony left the room and headed to the garage. I looked over and Erin had fallen asleep on the couch. I felt like I was about ready to do the same when I heard Tony come running back inside. He ran upstairs and I heard the former office door crack open as it hit the wall. I started to get up and go see what was going on when I saw Tony running down the stairs covered in weaponry. I just stared in confusion as he ran up to me.
"We have to go now! Karen and Abby are in trouble , I couldn't reach her on the CB. Diggs my wife and daughter could be in trouble I need your help" I just looked him in the eyes and nodded. He knew I would do what ever was needed to get to them.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
T-Bag
We were closing in on the area where I grew up. In just a few minutes we would be arriving at the home of one of my best friends since I was a child. I could only hope that him and his family were ok, but then again knowing Tony he was probably having a field day killing mindless walking dead everyday.
We rounded the corner onto Waldon Rd, slowly we are coming up on the middle school I attended when I was younger. So close to my home yet I knew already there was no point in going there. I refuse to dwell on the past and the events I know that have happened so I refocus and tell Erin to turn right on the road ahead.
We turn the corner into the neighborhood that Tony lived in for years. The road was littered with bodies and streaks of blood. The blood looked fresh, seems someone had just had a little fun coming through here in their car. I looked ahead a little and saw the sign for Armstrong Dr. I cant even remember the number of times I had taken these exact turns when coming to this house, yet this time the whole situation was different. I let Erin know she needed to turn left down Armstrong and as I did I had a feeling of dread come over me. I had no idea what we were going to find just ahead and Tony's house.
Armstrong Dr. The road that Tony had lived on the entire time I had known him was relatively clear, almost as though it had been cleared intentionally so cars could get through. As we slowly went down the street looking at the houses we passed we saw some unimaginable things. Some of the yards were covered with bodies, houses were boarded up, and multiple cars sat parked awkwardly in their driveways.
We came up to Tony's house and my heart sank as I saw the front door standing wide open and a flow of creatures wandering inside. Thoughts began racing through my head. If Tony and his family had been killed I needed to know what had happened. I told Erin to stop a little ways from the driveway so I had time to get out of the car and arm myself before heading inside.
As she stopped the car I started thinking back to everything we had been through and what was still to come. I told Erin to stay in the car and that I was going in alone. She had never really been friends with Tony and had no reason to risk her life to try to see if he was still in there. She looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to give me a quick slap to the face. She let me know hat she was no child and she would make her own decisions, and her decision was that she was coming with me whether I liked it or not.
She turned the car into the turn around across the street from the house and turned the key off. We let the car coast to a stop near the house and hoped that nothing had heard us. We gave each other a look and knew the other was ready to get armed. We both slowly got out of the car and headed to the back hatch. She hit the button for the hatch and watched as it quietly rose on its own. Once the hatch was up we both took turns keep a watch out while the other grabbed their favorite weaponry. Erin grabbed her shotgun again and started to load the clip. I swear that girl loves that gun, but then again since she has saved my ass with it a few times I cant really complain out her using it. Once she was finished loading the clip she grabbed two 9mm handguns and shoved them in her belt. She looked over at me and just smirked. Great I had created a miniature female Rambo. She moved to the side of the car and started to lookout for me. I pulled my twin desert eagles out and made sure both clips were full. I grabbed two more clips from the stockpile and put them in my back pockets. I grabbed the Remington .270 rifle and popped couple of rounds into the chamber. I figure with this we can clear a few out of the way before we started trying to get into the house.
We closed the hatch and started to work out a game plan. I told Erin I would use the rifle to drop the ones around the door so we could start moving forward. Once we reached the house she and I would work our way through the rooms to see what the situation looked like. Once we had cleared the first floor we would work our way up the the top floor and check the five rooms up there and hope we found them all alive.
Once the plan was set we each took a deep breath to relax and get focused on what we needed to do. I had to struggle to keep my mind straight and not think the worst. Erin looked over at me and knew what was racing through my head. She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a nod, it was time to get started. I went down to one knee and brought the .270 up to my shoulder. I could see a few grazers hanging around the door. I took aim at the head of the closest one and pulled the trigger. The round struck its mark and dropped the creature where it stood. As expected the others turned to see where the noise had come from. Suddenly they started dashing towards us. Dammit I had assumed they were all grazers, but they weren't. A few were just moving slowly because they all couldn't fit through the door.
I swung the gun left to the first one I saw and fired away. The round grazed the top of its skull. Pieces of bone and flesh flew backwards. The round had done enough damage to do what I needed it to do as the creature fell forward and hit the pavement. The next one was only a few feet away and I had no time to aim. I grabbed the hot muzzle of the rifle and swung it in front of my as hard as I could. The butt of the gun struck the side of the sprinters head and caved it in. The sound of the bone breaking as its face collapsed was utterly disgusting. The gun fell from my hands moments after impact. The muzzle had nearly burned my hand, damn that hurts.
I turned to see Erin with her 9mm pointed at me. She fired off a round and hit the sprinter in the side of the skull that was not collapsed and laughed as it fell to the ground. She wiped around and let another two shots fly at the last sprinter. She hit both of its kneecaps and watched and it fell to the ground. The creature was still trying to reach her despite the fact that it could not stand up. She walked over and grabbed the rifle from the ground. She walked over to the creature as it struggled to reach her and looked down with a remorseless look. She took a mighty downward swing with the butt of the rifle and cracked right through the creatures skull. The blow crushed the bone in and smashed through the brain. Apparently she was having a great time doing this as she chuckled and tossed the rifle back to me.
We walked towards the house and crept up to the front door. The were multiple creatures walking around inside. I had two thoughts running through my head. First was Tony and his family still alive? And secondly why the hell can't this ever be easy?
We both went to one side of the front door and pulled out our weapons of choice. Erin had the shotgun ready to go and I cocked both the desert eagles. I entered the door followed by Erin. We took turns clearing the way punching out round after round. The creatures dropped left and right as the shots ripped through the air. It was hard to believe that this was the same house that we had spent many a nights at playing video games and drinking beer. The same house that I have lived in for a few years with Tony and his wife Karen.
We moved passed the front room and each worked through one side of the floor. I took the bathroom, living room and TV room. Erin went into the family room and the dining room. By time we met up in the kitchen I had one empty gun and one bullet left in the other, while Erin had exhausted all the round she had for the shotgun. This was a scene that was becoming all to familiar for the two of us; standing in a room surrounded by dead bodies some of which were still twitching.
We took inventory of what we had left and reloaded the weapons. Erin swung the strap of the shotgun over her shoulder and pulled out her handguns. While we were working our way towards the stairs we heard what could only be described as a battle cry. We heard a door on the upper floor burst open and gun blasts going off. Both of us hit the ground and covered ourselves. We waited as we heard more blast and a maniac's laughter. More rounds exploded from unseen guns and caused massive damage. We sat their on the floor and watched as a blood splatter exploded against the wall only a few feet from us. Then everything was quite.
We both looked at each other and shared a confused look. Who the hell had been doing all that shooting? Where had they come from? We waited for a second a listened as heavy boot steps worked their way towards the room we were in. I whispered to Erin to get her guns ready just in case it was necessary to fight our way out of here. I looked up and saw what can only be described as the Comedian from the Watchman movie. Standing only a few feet in front of me was Tony with a sawed off shotgun in each hand smoking a cigar. He looked down at me and just smiled.
"Diggs! What the fuck took you so long!?! And what the fuck are you doing laying on my floor?"
We rounded the corner onto Waldon Rd, slowly we are coming up on the middle school I attended when I was younger. So close to my home yet I knew already there was no point in going there. I refuse to dwell on the past and the events I know that have happened so I refocus and tell Erin to turn right on the road ahead.
We turn the corner into the neighborhood that Tony lived in for years. The road was littered with bodies and streaks of blood. The blood looked fresh, seems someone had just had a little fun coming through here in their car. I looked ahead a little and saw the sign for Armstrong Dr. I cant even remember the number of times I had taken these exact turns when coming to this house, yet this time the whole situation was different. I let Erin know she needed to turn left down Armstrong and as I did I had a feeling of dread come over me. I had no idea what we were going to find just ahead and Tony's house.
Armstrong Dr. The road that Tony had lived on the entire time I had known him was relatively clear, almost as though it had been cleared intentionally so cars could get through. As we slowly went down the street looking at the houses we passed we saw some unimaginable things. Some of the yards were covered with bodies, houses were boarded up, and multiple cars sat parked awkwardly in their driveways.
We came up to Tony's house and my heart sank as I saw the front door standing wide open and a flow of creatures wandering inside. Thoughts began racing through my head. If Tony and his family had been killed I needed to know what had happened. I told Erin to stop a little ways from the driveway so I had time to get out of the car and arm myself before heading inside.
As she stopped the car I started thinking back to everything we had been through and what was still to come. I told Erin to stay in the car and that I was going in alone. She had never really been friends with Tony and had no reason to risk her life to try to see if he was still in there. She looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to give me a quick slap to the face. She let me know hat she was no child and she would make her own decisions, and her decision was that she was coming with me whether I liked it or not.
She turned the car into the turn around across the street from the house and turned the key off. We let the car coast to a stop near the house and hoped that nothing had heard us. We gave each other a look and knew the other was ready to get armed. We both slowly got out of the car and headed to the back hatch. She hit the button for the hatch and watched as it quietly rose on its own. Once the hatch was up we both took turns keep a watch out while the other grabbed their favorite weaponry. Erin grabbed her shotgun again and started to load the clip. I swear that girl loves that gun, but then again since she has saved my ass with it a few times I cant really complain out her using it. Once she was finished loading the clip she grabbed two 9mm handguns and shoved them in her belt. She looked over at me and just smirked. Great I had created a miniature female Rambo. She moved to the side of the car and started to lookout for me. I pulled my twin desert eagles out and made sure both clips were full. I grabbed two more clips from the stockpile and put them in my back pockets. I grabbed the Remington .270 rifle and popped couple of rounds into the chamber. I figure with this we can clear a few out of the way before we started trying to get into the house.
We closed the hatch and started to work out a game plan. I told Erin I would use the rifle to drop the ones around the door so we could start moving forward. Once we reached the house she and I would work our way through the rooms to see what the situation looked like. Once we had cleared the first floor we would work our way up the the top floor and check the five rooms up there and hope we found them all alive.
Once the plan was set we each took a deep breath to relax and get focused on what we needed to do. I had to struggle to keep my mind straight and not think the worst. Erin looked over at me and knew what was racing through my head. She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a nod, it was time to get started. I went down to one knee and brought the .270 up to my shoulder. I could see a few grazers hanging around the door. I took aim at the head of the closest one and pulled the trigger. The round struck its mark and dropped the creature where it stood. As expected the others turned to see where the noise had come from. Suddenly they started dashing towards us. Dammit I had assumed they were all grazers, but they weren't. A few were just moving slowly because they all couldn't fit through the door.
I swung the gun left to the first one I saw and fired away. The round grazed the top of its skull. Pieces of bone and flesh flew backwards. The round had done enough damage to do what I needed it to do as the creature fell forward and hit the pavement. The next one was only a few feet away and I had no time to aim. I grabbed the hot muzzle of the rifle and swung it in front of my as hard as I could. The butt of the gun struck the side of the sprinters head and caved it in. The sound of the bone breaking as its face collapsed was utterly disgusting. The gun fell from my hands moments after impact. The muzzle had nearly burned my hand, damn that hurts.
I turned to see Erin with her 9mm pointed at me. She fired off a round and hit the sprinter in the side of the skull that was not collapsed and laughed as it fell to the ground. She wiped around and let another two shots fly at the last sprinter. She hit both of its kneecaps and watched and it fell to the ground. The creature was still trying to reach her despite the fact that it could not stand up. She walked over and grabbed the rifle from the ground. She walked over to the creature as it struggled to reach her and looked down with a remorseless look. She took a mighty downward swing with the butt of the rifle and cracked right through the creatures skull. The blow crushed the bone in and smashed through the brain. Apparently she was having a great time doing this as she chuckled and tossed the rifle back to me.
We walked towards the house and crept up to the front door. The were multiple creatures walking around inside. I had two thoughts running through my head. First was Tony and his family still alive? And secondly why the hell can't this ever be easy?
We both went to one side of the front door and pulled out our weapons of choice. Erin had the shotgun ready to go and I cocked both the desert eagles. I entered the door followed by Erin. We took turns clearing the way punching out round after round. The creatures dropped left and right as the shots ripped through the air. It was hard to believe that this was the same house that we had spent many a nights at playing video games and drinking beer. The same house that I have lived in for a few years with Tony and his wife Karen.
We moved passed the front room and each worked through one side of the floor. I took the bathroom, living room and TV room. Erin went into the family room and the dining room. By time we met up in the kitchen I had one empty gun and one bullet left in the other, while Erin had exhausted all the round she had for the shotgun. This was a scene that was becoming all to familiar for the two of us; standing in a room surrounded by dead bodies some of which were still twitching.
We took inventory of what we had left and reloaded the weapons. Erin swung the strap of the shotgun over her shoulder and pulled out her handguns. While we were working our way towards the stairs we heard what could only be described as a battle cry. We heard a door on the upper floor burst open and gun blasts going off. Both of us hit the ground and covered ourselves. We waited as we heard more blast and a maniac's laughter. More rounds exploded from unseen guns and caused massive damage. We sat their on the floor and watched as a blood splatter exploded against the wall only a few feet from us. Then everything was quite.
We both looked at each other and shared a confused look. Who the hell had been doing all that shooting? Where had they come from? We waited for a second a listened as heavy boot steps worked their way towards the room we were in. I whispered to Erin to get her guns ready just in case it was necessary to fight our way out of here. I looked up and saw what can only be described as the Comedian from the Watchman movie. Standing only a few feet in front of me was Tony with a sawed off shotgun in each hand smoking a cigar. He looked down at me and just smiled.
"Diggs! What the fuck took you so long!?! And what the fuck are you doing laying on my floor?"
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