Into The Mouth Of Hell - Chapter 2 - Decatur
Pulling into the town of Decatur, I could tell that panic was sweeping east. While in Leipsic, I only saw a few of the undead and very little panic, that is, when I left. Who knows how bad it got in the past few hours.
Here in Decatur, things were vastly different. I swerved to avoid two... shamblers, I guess I would call them, just to get in the city limits. So we have shamblers, sprinters, and screamers... 'Christ', I thought. I can handle just slow moving zombies but sprinters and screams kinda freak me the hell out.
Once in the city limits, I could see a McDonald's burning. That was some of the smoke I must have saw earlier. Finding a safe hiding spot from zombies and crazy ass militants was going to be tough, especially with a little one.
“What are we going to do, Ken,” asked Marie nervously looking at the chaos around us.
I didn't answer and just parked the Jeep in front of a row of shops near the middle of town. Several barricades had been put up along the main road and I didn't want to maneuver past them only to find more militants.
Gunfire seemed to ring out from all sides, that and the sound of people screaming. Down the road I could see two teenagers with automatic rifles mowing down a small heard of shamblers.
To our right, screams and breaking glass could be heard from one of the shops. To our left, people were running all about. I couldn't tell right off what they were running from, may have been just running out of shear panic.
Suddenly, behind us I heard another explosion.
“We need to get outta here!” screamed Reese. I barely heard him.
It was so hard for me to think. There was so much chaos, it was hard to process. Staying and hiding in this mess could be deadly. Letting those crazies catch up to us, well that would be certain death.
“Ken,” said Marie, “we need a plan. What are we doing?” I could tell she was trying to remain calm, but fear and doubt swirled deep in her eyes.
Taking another moment or two, I continued to survey the area. The fire seemed to be dying out at the McDonald's and my thought was why look some where already destroyed. I didn't want to leave the vehicle, but those militants would surely catch up to us.
“Ok, this is the plan,” I started. “Boys, gather up the bags. Marie, get Bella. I'll get whatever they can't carry and the small arms. We are going to make for that burned out McD's over there and hide out till I can deal with these militants or they have given up.”
“Ken,” interrupted Marie.
“Hold on, Marie, let me finish. We will make it look like we are like all the others, running for our lives randomly but when no one is looking, we will duck inside,” I continued.
“KEN!” She turned my face to the back of the vehicle. I saw the same vehicle that was hunting us cross through an intersection and turn down a side road. They were getting closer.
“Ok, let's move it!” I commanded. We all piled out, grabbed our things and I locked up the Jeep, hoping we could return to it. We ran across the road and made like we were going to run past the McDonald's but instead ducked through the broken door.
“Daddy, look! It burned and was on fire!”, yelled Bella.
“Shhhh! Honey we are hiding we have to be quite, ok?” Marie tried to calm Bella down. The boys and I pulled out our weapons.
“Boys, let's sweep the place, make sure nothing is... well moving I guess.”
Steven chuckled, “You were going to say alive, weren't you?”
I just gave him an irritated smirk and pointed him to the bathrooms. “Watch yourself, ok? Reese you cover him, I'll check the kitchen and back rooms.”
After a few moments, I heard the boys coming into the kitchen saying the rest was all clear. I had checked everything except the walk in cooler. The three of us stood outside it for a moment wondering if it was worth opening. I pressed my ear to the door for a minute, trying to see if I could hear anything on the other side.
After not hearing anything for several moments, I motioned for the boys to cover me as I gripped the handle of the door. I took two deep long breaths then yanked the door open. Directly on the other side of the door stood what I feared most. A zombie, that must have worked here as a manager, stood face half missing exposing his skull on his left side, dressed in a sharp blue button down and black tie. We all stood staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.
The boys, nor I made a sound or raised our weapons out of shock. The zombie on the other hand hesitated less than us and lunged for me. I only had time enough to raise my rifle up across my chest, using it as a barricade. The zombie hit me hard enough to take us both to the ground, he on top of me. I pushed against my rifle as hard as I could to keep him as far above me as possible and tried to keep those snapping jaws at bay.
Reese raised his weapon to shoot the thing and even had a clear shot.
“NO!”, I yelled at him. I couldn't have anyone or anything hear the shot. My strength was giving way and I could feel the zombie getting closer.
Reese stared back with a puzzled look for a moment but then enlightenment crossed his face. He quickly looked around and came back with a wooden broom and snapped the brush off leaving a sharp stick. His own personal 'Zombie Sticker'.
Steven took aim as Reese rared back and thrust his make-shift spear home. His thrust was strong and true. It pierced the zombie right above it's ear and it instantly went limp. I looked at Reese, seeing his poise and his fortitude in that moment he reminded me of one of my favorite movies. It reminded me of King Leonidas and the Spartans. Reese no longer looked like a child but a fierce spartan warrior.
I rolled the dead thing off me and took Reese by the shoulder.
“Hawoo!”, I exclaimed, smiling wide at him.
“That was wicked!”, said Steven.
Reese, still holding his calm steel reserve just nodded and went to cleaning his new weapon.
I went in to the cooler to see if any of the food was still good and found it had all spoiled, or at least didn't look very savory.
“Someone must have left the door open, because the power hasn't been out long enough for this stuff to spoil,” I explained.
The three of us then walked back out to the dining room and found Marie and Bella sitting in a calm panic.
“What happened?” cried Marie looking over the boys like any good mother would. Her attention then turned to me seeing some gore on my shirt.
“Ken! What the fuck happened? Are you ok?”
I glanced over to Reese and smiled, “Yeah and if this wasn't Sparta, I'd be toast. Reese saved my life. I didn't want him to shoot the thing so he made a spear and well, he handled it.”
She continued to look at the gore on my shirt and then at my face and began crying.
“What the FUCK would have done if you would have gotten bit?!”, she screamed.
“Keep your voice down,” I said hushed motioning my hands downward. “I don't want others to hear us in here.
“Mom, if Ken would have gotten bit, I would have handled him too,” said Reese calmly.
We all just turned to him staring. He really was growing up quickly.
“Well, I would!” he reiterated.
“I know,” I said still looking shocked, “I believe you.”
Just then another explosion rang out and three trucks, one I was hoping not to see, rolled out front of the McDonald's. They came to a stop out front facing the Wendy's across the street. I couldn't make out what was going on inside the other store, but the militants in the back of the trucks were all aiming their weapons at it.
A few moments later, what appeared to be three police officers emerged with their hands raised.
“John!”, yelled one of the cops to the group of armed men. “What the hell are you doing! I am an officer of the law and I thought we were friends!”
“Stop right there, Chief,” said a voice from one of the trucks. A passenger door opened out stepped an older gentleman holding a bolt action hunting rifle. “You know Chief, law doesn't really seem to matter anymore. Law and order seemed to take shit as soon as the dead starting walking, don't you think?”
“That might be true, but John man, we are friends. It doesn't have to be like this. We can secure this town together and get some order going again. Give some peace to these people,” pleaded the officer.
“We could. We could pass out our weapons and our food to those who have none,” said John as he raised his rifle. The officers quickly reached for their holsters. “Whoa there Chief,” continued John. Now John's voice became irritated and raised. “I WILL NOT sacrifice mine for ANYONE else.” At that a single shot was heard as the Chief fell backwards, landing in a heap. The other two officers attempted to raise their side arms but were full of holes as the militants let loose on them.
John lowered his head and shook it. I wondered if he regretted killing his friend.
“PUTT!”, yelled John. A bearded, heavy set fellow popped out of one of the trucks carrying a back pack and rushed over to John.
“Holy shit!”, I whispered to Marie. “That's Putt! I worked with him! Remember, he was on my Facebook?”
“What the hell is he doing with these guys?”, she whispered back.
I couldn't hear what John was saying to Putt, but he just nodded then trotted inside the Wendy's with a pistol drawn. He slowed briefly as he ran passed the down officers and took a long look.
“I don't think he knows what he got into,” I said to Marie. “There is no way he would murder people in cold blood. Survival yes, but not cold blood.”
Moments later Putt re-emerged holding some sort of device that looked like a remote control.
They all loaded back up and began driving away.
“What do you think all that was about?”, asked Steven.
I just sat in silence thinking for a few moments. My first thought was, 'Why the FUCK did I stop here?' I should have just rolled through. I doubt they would have followed us. Then I thought about Putt and our talks about stupid shit like zombies and survival. It then hit me like a ton of C-4.
“Get your asses into the cooler NOW!”, I screamed scooping up Bella. My family followed without question. I got them all inside and shut the door just in time. A deafening explosion shook what remained of the McDonald's and I knew Wendy's just bought it.
“What was that!”, asked Reese. “And how did you know?”
“That was Wendy's being blown to smithereens. Putt and I used to talk about what we would do if it was the end of the world. Whether it be zombies, EMP, financial collapse, anything. He always said he would 'Just want to blow shit up'. I bet that's why he's with these guys. They see him as an asset.”
“So what are we going to do?”, asked Marie looking tired and worried.
“Tonight, we will sleep in shifts and then get outta here tomorrow. If I remember correctly, there is a car dealership just a few blocks up the road. We might try and either drive to that, or walk god forbid, and get a bigger vehicle. I love the Jeep but I think we are going to need something beefier.”
They all just nodded and laid down.
“Try and get some sleep. I am going to take first watch. I'm going to pop out and see what's going outside. Besides, the door needs cracked for air.”
I slowly opened the door and headed out into the kitchen area. I could see now all the windows were blown out and a few cars were on fire in the lot due to flying debris from the Wendy's. It's a good thing I wanted a new vehicle because there was now a giant W crushing the roof of our Jeep.
“Goddammit, Putt,” I sighed. Zombies seem to be migrating toward the Wendy's, probably from the sound of the explosion. At the moment, there didn't seem to be a lot and none were focused on the McDonald's so that was a relief. It would be something we would need to keep an eye on. I was hoping those militants would come back through and clean sweep the area.
I quietly crept back to the cooler and propped the door open a few inches. Kissed my girls who were now sleeping and made sure they were comfortable. The boys seemed to be sleeping but I am not sure how deeply. I sat propped against a few large bags and faced the door.
I must have dozed off because I heard an explosion off in the distance and I snapped my head up. Drool slung around and hit my cheek. Probably time to wake one of the boys.
Just as I was about to wake Steven for a shift, Reese sounded like he was talking in his sleep. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it sounded like a different language, or at least slurred. Then, something clear was said, thought I couldn't under stand it: 'grimmr bardagi'. Suddenly he went into fits, crying out feral cries.
I started shaking him, “Reese! Wake up!”
He awoke suddenly. He flew at me, taking me to the ground raising his fist in the air. He held there for a moment staring at me.
“Buddy, you ok?”, I asked calmly. “It's me, Ken.”
He quickly scrambled off and retreated to his make-shift bed.
“I'm... I'm sorry, Ken. I dunno what I was doing.”
“Were you dreaming? You were talking in your sleep.”
“I think so, I dunno. I.. It might have been... I dunno.”
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I think I was dreaming of vikings. It was really weird.” He buried his face in his hands and let out a light sob.
I wrapped my arm around him and just held him for a few moments.
“Go back to sleep. I will wake your brother for watch.”
“I am already up. What is going on?”, asked Steven rubbing his eyes.
“Nothing, go back to sleep, Steve, I'll take watch. I don't want to go back to sleep now,” stated Reese moving toward the door.
I laid next to Marie for a while just looking at Reese. I hoped he was ok and that all this wasn't getting to him. I couldn't have anyone falling apart on me. We still had a long way to go.
I checked my phone, thought maybe I would try and shoot off a text to Gage to check on him. 'No Service...' Figures. I didn't have much batter left anyway.
I laid my head down and snuggled in close to Bella and Marie. I fell into a deep sleep and had no dreams I can remember. I awoke to Steve shaking me awake.
“Ken, wake up!”
“Yeah,” I said groggily through one eye, “Whats up bud?”
“I think those guys are back outside,” he said trying not to panic.
Marie and Bella were still sleeping, as was Reese. 'Good', I thought. I am glad he was able to get some calm shut eye. I crept quietly around my girls and stepped out of the cooler with Steven, both of us weapons ready.
Sure enough, as I made it to the counter, I could see out into the street where there were several vehicles. They seemed interested in the crowd of Zombies that had amassed at the blown out Wendy's. Suddenly swarms of men and women poured out of the trucks on to the street and into the back of the trucks. They all took aim. Several screeches rose out from the crowd of Zombies and about a dozen sprinters took off towards the militants.
Steven and I ducked low and crawled into the dining room to get a better view.
It was then, John poked up out of a truck and yelled, “FIRE!”.
Shots rang out, bringing death and hot metal down upon anything around that Wendy's. After a few moments, the firing stopped and the smoke began to clear. All of the zombies were now down, though a few survived, crawling along the ground. Those were quickly dispatched by John's men.
We sat silently, crouched behind tables and trash cans inside the McDonald's as John and his men worked their way through the downed hoard, popping of single rounds in the last of the crawling zombies.
“Well boys,” said John as he smiled, “that is how we do it!” He then pulled up a radio and said something into it I couldn't make out.
“Ok! Chuck says that we are need on the north side of town to help clear another hoard. Let's lock this place down! WE ARE FREE MEN!” After John yelled this last declaration, all the men around him answered back with are resounding 'Rah!'
As they drove off in their trucks, I glanced at Steven who looked like he was working something out and was about to say something.
“What is it bud?” I asked him.
“Free men. I have heard that before. I was watching some videos on Netflix one day, and saw this documentary on these people called Freemen. They are like these guys who hate the government and stuff. Like, they don't pay taxes or even get like drivers licenses. They don't like to be told what to do and only want to do what they want to do,” he explained.
I nodded. Really, it made sense from what I have seen so far. “Who ever they are, Freeman or not, they are dangerous. We need to find a way to get out of here without being seen and we need to do it soon. It sounds like they are buttoning up the town.”
“Then what is your plan, Ken?” asked Marie.
“I think,” I started, “that I will take one of the boys and go try and scout a way up to the car lot and see what they have. If it's clear, we will just bring it back. If not, we will try and find a car on the way back.”
At this point, I noticed Reese looking out and around the area as if he was looking for something in particular.
“What is it, what do you see?” I asked taking up a defensive crouch, aiming my weapon out.
“Nothing,” he replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Marie.
“There are no other people, anywhere,” Reese explained.
“Well there was that explosion and then those guys. Maybe they have all ran off,” offered Marie.
“I don't think so,” said Reese. “I haven't seen anyone since we ran in here. I have only seen the Freemen. When we got here, people were running everywhere. There were screams and gun shots. Where did they all go?” he asked.
“The bad guys shoot dem all!” said Bella out of nowhere.
We all looked down at Bella. With everything go on, and her being so quite, I forgot sometimes she was there.
“Yes Boo, the bad guys shot all the Zombies dead,” I explained to her.
“NO!” she yelled stamping her foot. “The bad guys. They shot the people running away.”
I could see everyone's eyes widening.
“Did you see that happen?” asked Steven.
Bella just got quite and started playing with some damaged Happy Meal toys lying on the ground.
I looked around and noticed exactly what Reese had just said. No one. It was very eerie.
“Well, that will just make it easier for us to scout out the car lot,” I stated flatly. 'Or make us stick out like a sore thumb,' I kept to myself. It was still early in the day and I knew from the recent encounter with the so-called 'Freemen' that they were busy on the North end of town. This was the best time as any to try and get up to that lot. The longer we waited, the less chance we had at getting out of their alive.
“Marie, I want you to take Bella back into the cooler and wait for us there. Reese, I need to you keep guard over you sister and mother. I do not want you to engage anything unless it makes its way back there into the kitchen area. If you can, avoid shooting anything and try anything silent. But above all else, protect yourself and them.” Reese just nodded and ushered Marie and Bella back to our temporary living area. “Steven, that means you are with me. We are going to sneak out and head up the road a few blocks to the car lot and see what we can find along the way. If there is nothing along the way or there that I find 'end of world' worthy, we will just have to find the closes vehicle with gas and get the hell outta here.”
“Ok. Do you think they are going to be ok? Shouldn't they come with us?” he asked nervously, looking back to the rest of our family. After the loss of his father and step mother, I knew putting anyone else at jeopardy was going to get to him.
“You know your brother… and you know he can shoot. We have also seen how he deals with these things. They are going to be fine and we won't be gone to long,” I tried to reassure him.
I headed back to the cooler just to double check on everyone before we left. Marie was sitting near the back and seemed to be trying to hold it all together. Bella had brought her new Happy Meal toys back and was still playing with them. Reese looked stoic, like one of those British guards people try and make laugh. I walked over to Marie and knelt down.
“Hun, we are going to be ok. Just in and out and right back,” I said, trying to sound positive. Marie just glared back and me, eyes wet with newly formed tears.
“I don't think saying 'Everything is going to be ok' is a luxury we can have any more, Ken,” she said shakily. “I know what has to be done and I know what the situation is. None of this is ok and I know in my heart that one of us, if not all of us are not going to make it.”
“Babe, please...” she cut me off before I could finish.
“And, Ken, I know that with all this shit going down, this really is the best plan for us if we can just make it. I trust you and the boys to do whatever you think is best for us. I love you… Asshole.” She said that last part with a bit of a smile on her face. That was normally her word for me when she was trying to remind me I had done something stupid or not done something at all like start a load of laundry or take out the trash. In this case, I know she wasn't blaming me, just trying to lighten the mood.
“Why do you have to always be such a bitch?” I asked, smiling back.
“Isn't that why you love me?” she asked back before kissing me. “Now go find us a ride so we can get the fuck out of here.”
I pivoted over to Bella who seemed to be playing with some spinning ball of some kind.
“Bella, honey,” I said to her softly. She turned smiling and stood to give me a hug. We embraced for several minutes. This child is my life. I don't know how I would ever go on without her.
“Do you know how much Daddy loves you?” I asked her.
She peered back and me with a wide, toothy grin and nodded. I began to tear up. She then embraced me in another hug and whispered in my ear, “Is ok Daddy. The zombies or bad man never get me.”
“I hope not baby. I hope not,” saying this more to myself than her.
I stood and then headed out to the kitchen, waiting for Steven to get in his hugs and kisses. When he found me, we headed out to the dining room and crouched by what was left of the pop dispenser and trash cans. From this vantage point, I could see only a few hundred yards up the road and saw nothing. I would probably have seen more out the back door or one of the drive-thru windows, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself.
“I will head out first and find a secure place. When I give the signal, you follow my path. I will watch behind you and you watch ahead, got it?” I asked him.
Steven just nodded looking visibly nervous.
“Look, this is no big deal, ok? Just a few blocks up and then back, hopefully with a vehicle. If we run into any zombies, they won’t mess with us unless they see us. So don't get seen, ok?” I was trying my best to calm him down but it didn't seem to have the effect I desired.
“What if we run into those guys? Those Freemen?” he asked.
“Well, we will do about the same thing. Do our best not to get seen.” I did not know what else to say to him.
“Ready?” I asked him. If we were going, we needed to get on it.
He nodded after double checking his weapon. I did the same and then slowly stuck my head out, trying to survey the whole area. Nothing. No undead or living. Just dead. Suddenly, the odor struck me as I started to smell it. I saw a burned tour bus in the middle of the road just less than half a block up. I panned around again. Seeing nothing, I made my run to the bus.
I dove into cover against the burned out wreckage and scanned behind me. I could see Steven 's head peeking out of what used to be one of the best fast food joints in the world. I looked passed him down the street and thought I saw some movement behind a green pickup. I held my hand up to Steven, gesturing him to wait. I continued to watch the area for several minutes when I saw more movement. I could see something moving behind the wheels but it was too far to really see what it was. I raised my rifle up and waited.
After the most excruciating few moments, a dog limped its way into view. My tension instantly eased. Luckily there didn't seem to be anything following the dog either and it took off away from us. Looking back to Steven, I waved him to me.
He sprinted the distance and covered in about half the time it took me. Damn kids.
“What did you see?” Steven whispered.
“Wasn't sure at first, but turned out to be an injured dog.”
Steven looked back to where I had been looking.
“Should we go help it?” he asked, a bit of pain in his voice. Both boys had always been huge animal lovers and had huge hearts for hurt and abandon animals. I used to make fun of how much they would cry when that shelter commercial would come on playing 'In the Arms of the Angels'. It is sad, I know. But their reaction was still always a bit over the top.
“I would love to buddy, but it's just not in the cards right now. We gotta find us a ride and get to Springfield, ok?” I explained.
He just nodded still looking painfully back towards the truck. I, however, flattened out and looked under the bus to try and get a view up ahead. From this vantage point, I really couldn't make out anything moving, but what I could make out was gold.
“Steven, get down here!” I nearly shouted.
“What!” he whispered, sounding irritated I almost yelled. He dropped down next to me.
“Look,” I said, pointing at my new target.
We looked at each other and both smiled. It was a Gen-1 Hummer. None of that prissy 'Look at me I am a Hummer' neutered H3 crap. This was the real McCoy. Only problem is that the driver's side door was open. No one was around, but that might mean the keys were gone too. The other problem is that it was nearly two blocks away. Not far, but in this crap, far enough. And if the fates weren't being kind so far, there wasn't really any cover from us to it either. We would have to break for it, or skirt along the business along the way. Even going two blocks, that could take us a half hour.
“Better safe than sorry man, we are going to have to head up the side along the businesses staying as hidden as we can. Running up the gut is a sure fire way to get us killed,” I said.
“What if those places have zombies in them? We won't be much better off, will we?” Steven pointed out.
Kid had a point. Seems I have been pretty stingy when passing out credit recently. Everything keeps surprising me. So, we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don't. Possibly. 'Fuck!' I screamed in my head. I hate not knowing what to do. At that moment, my mind was made up for me.
Click
'Shit,' I thought. That was a pistol being cocked.
“Get up! Off the ground!” ordered the voice holding the gun.
Steven and I slowly came to a stand.
“Weapons on the ground!” he ordered again.
Steven complied, I hesitated for a moment.
“I will fucking end you!” said the voice. Something about how he said it made me want to laugh. Even still, I lowered my weapon to the ground and dropped it.
“Putt to Taylor...” said the voice. 'Holy shit, it's Putt,' I thought. I might get out of this yet, so long as he is alone.
“This is Taylor,” came back a voice on Putt's walkie.
“I have more survivors. What does he want me to do with them?” asked Putt.
I turned around, hoping he didn't shoot first.
“Don't mov... What the fuck! Ken?” Putt just stood there, looking at me wide eyed for a few minutes.
The walkie rang out, “He says smoke 'em if ya can, over.”
We just stared at each other for what felt like ages. Slowly he brought his gun down.
“Did you copy me Putt? You ok? Do you need back up?” asked the man on the walkie.
Putt lifted the walkie, “Uh, no. Uh, no, no I am fine. Turned out to just be a dead head. I took care of it.”
“Alright buddy, watch your ass. Out.” The walkie went silent.
“Ken? Why are you here?” Putt finally asked.
“I could ask you the same thing, fucker. Why are you with these assholes?” I said picking up my rifle again and slinging it over my shoulder. Steven, I could tell, wasn't sure what to do, but he did put his hands down.
“Man, after everything went to shit, me and my wife got pinned down at the Shannon Theater in Bluffton. She, uh,” Putt trailed off.
“Hey man, it's ok you don't have to finish that. I get it. What about these guys?” I asked.
“Well, some guys came through the area and started shooting up the place. Killing zombies and people. It was really sick what these fucks were doing. I walked out and was going to let them just shoot me. Turns out, I was friends with one of them and he told them to bring me on. Told them I knew about bombs and shit. Then we drove here.”
I just nodded and listened. I knew he wouldn't willing join this crowd.
“So, how’s this new job working out for you then?” I asked.
“I fucking hate it! I have to kill people and blowing shit up with innocent people inside. It does things to you.”
Over his shoulder I began to see movement. Our voices must have attracted something. I pointed and Putt looked up. I counted about 3 shamblers. So far, no screamers.
“Putt, let’s get inside the McDonald's. The rest of my family is in there. We can work our next move from inside,” I said gesturing to Steven to pick up his weapon.
As soon as we began to run, the trio of shuffling corpses saw us. One of them snapped loose from the group, sprinting towards us.
Steven made it to the building before us and I knew that Putt and I were not going to make it in before that sprinter caught up to us. I had to think of something quick.
We had about forty feet to go when the sprinter lunged for Putt. I already had my weapon out and ready but had spun it around into a bat, holding it by the barrel. Swinging it around, I had just missed the back of Putt's head and made contact with the zombie square in the forehead. This poor girl, who looked to be dressed like a gas station attendant, was flat on her back and really dead this time. The other two zombies, a teen boy just a bit older than the twins and an old woman, hair still in a bun but missing both arms.
We dove inside and fortified behind the register counter. Reese came from the back and instantly joined us without asking questions. I had asked him later about that and he just stated, “Why ask the obvious? You looked under attack so I just jumped in to help.”
As the pair made their way in, we held our shot, all knowing it would bring more of them or Freemen. The zombies, not being too terribly smart now, just bounced off the register counter over and over, not bothering to try and climb over, at first.
Steven started laughing. “Mam? Would you like fries with that?” It was then, the teen zombie lunged over the counter at Steven. Putt shoved his pistol in the open mouth of the thing and fired. The only sound you hear other than Steven panicking and the old zombie moaning was a plopping, squishing sound. Taking a cue from that, I stepped forward and shoved the barrel of my rifle in the old zombies mouth and pulled the trigger. Pop, squish, drop.
We looked around at each other for a few minutes and then began smiling.
“You didn't shit yourself, did you?” Putt asked Steven. Steven just grinned and turned red shaking his head no.
Marie was tapping her foot holding Bella, waiting for us as we entered the cooler.
“You know what I am going to say, don't you?” she asked impatiently.
I thought for a second. “Um. What the fuck is going on?”
“REALLY?!” she shrieked. “No, I was going to say... Well... What happened?”
“Well, we may have found a vehicle up the road, but Putt found us first.” The two nodded at each other. “Then some zoms followed us in here and well, we took care of it.”
The boys sat out in the kitchen, said they were taking watch while Putt and I scrounged the back rooms and cooler for food that hadn't turned. Without cooking anything, there wasn't a lot we could eat besides buns and cookies.
“So what's your plan?” asked Putt.
“Well, we were heading to Missouri to meet up with some friends but we lost our car running from your friends,” I explained. Putting some sarcasm and emphasis on friends.
“Hey, fucker, those are not my friends!” he said forcefully. He sat holding his bag a moment as if mulling something over. “You know. The odds of you guys getting out of here isn't very good. There are too many of them. They have all the roads out watched.”
Marie and I looked at each other, both silently asking what to do.
“No way out. Unless, that is, if I help you. I have been looking for a good reason to use this,” he said pulling out one of his bomb triggers from his back.
“What is that linked to?” I asked.
Putt just smiled for a moment. “Every Freemen truck, blockade, and camp in the city.”
“Ha! I told you they were Freemen!” exclaimed Steven.
“Shh! Holy fuck, Putt! Why haven't you pulled it yet?” I asked, seriously wondering why he hadn't.
He shook his head, “I don't know. I just kept telling myself, not yet.”
SCCHHHHHHH, BEEP
“Taylor to Putt!”
We all stared at his walkie.
“Taylor to Putt. You out there man? I hope you fucking didn't get bit. John needs you up here. Come back, over,” instructed the man on the walkie.
Putt picked it up and Marie went tense. He just held a hand out to her.
“This is Putt, I am on my way back up. Ran into a few zombies but I'm clear,” lied Putt.
“Good. We got a few kids and some teachers holed up in one of the school basements. John wants you to blast them out.”
Putt looks visibly ill.
“What the fuck?” asked Steven. Marie shot him a motherly look.
“Really, Steven? Don't say that!” she scolded.
“Hun, I think we are past that. And Putt, I think you are past waiting,” I said.
He didn't even acknowledge me. He just flipped the security cap and flipped the switch. We could feel several rumbles, some closer than others. Then, a few very close.
“SHIT!” yelled Putt.
“What?!” I asked.
“I just blew that Hummer down the road, man!” he buried his head in his hands. “I am sorry, I knew you were after it. I heard you say something when I got the drop on you. It was one of our vehicles that I was sent back down here to pick up along with a few other things.”
My heart sank.
“Any other lines on a vehicle that would suit us?” I asked hopefully.
Putt thought for a moment. “Man, those guys scooped up all the decent vehicles around here.”
“Damn, that sucks,” I said.
His eyes lit up. “Wait, I do know of one SUV that you might want. John didn't want it because of what it was. But I doubt you will care. It's an early 90's White Ford Bronco.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked. I almost couldn't believe it.
“No man, seriously. It's even parked close by, keys and all,” Putt said.
“What's wrong with it, Ken?” asked Reese.
I just laughed a little. “That vehicle will forever live in infamy because of one jackass named OJ Simpson.”
Both boys just looked at each other and shrugged.
“What about you man, what are you going to do. Want to come with us?” I asked Putt.
Putt shook his head. “No, dude, thanks anyway. I want to get back towards home and find some of my people. I made sure not to blow my own car. You best get loaded up before those explosions draw to many zombies. Might block the roads.”
We all gathered up the gear while Marie picked up Bella.
“We gunna go now, Mommy? But I didn't get chicken nuggets, fries, toy, and a pop!” she said nearly coming to tears.
“Bella, I am sorry but look, it's all broke. We can't get that here ok?” explained Marie.
Bella just sobbed silently into Marie's shoulder.
I smiled at Putt, “Kid's priorities, right?” He just nodded.
We headed out and found no resistance getting to the Bronco. After loading up, I gave Putt a healthy hand shake and a hug.
“I don't know if I can ever repay you man,” I said.
He just smiled and headed off towards what I assumed was the direction of his vehicle. Just before he went around the next corner he holler out. I looked over to see him flipping me off smiling. I flipped him off back, also smiling. 'Jackass'.
Getting out of town wasn't as bad as I thought. Putt's bomb did a number of the barricades blocking the road, and it did attract some zombies but not enough to stop us yet. I just blasted over a couple with a sickening crunch as sped off down the highway in our white Ford Bronco.
Here in Decatur, things were vastly different. I swerved to avoid two... shamblers, I guess I would call them, just to get in the city limits. So we have shamblers, sprinters, and screamers... 'Christ', I thought. I can handle just slow moving zombies but sprinters and screams kinda freak me the hell out.
Once in the city limits, I could see a McDonald's burning. That was some of the smoke I must have saw earlier. Finding a safe hiding spot from zombies and crazy ass militants was going to be tough, especially with a little one.
“What are we going to do, Ken,” asked Marie nervously looking at the chaos around us.
I didn't answer and just parked the Jeep in front of a row of shops near the middle of town. Several barricades had been put up along the main road and I didn't want to maneuver past them only to find more militants.
Gunfire seemed to ring out from all sides, that and the sound of people screaming. Down the road I could see two teenagers with automatic rifles mowing down a small heard of shamblers.
To our right, screams and breaking glass could be heard from one of the shops. To our left, people were running all about. I couldn't tell right off what they were running from, may have been just running out of shear panic.
Suddenly, behind us I heard another explosion.
“We need to get outta here!” screamed Reese. I barely heard him.
It was so hard for me to think. There was so much chaos, it was hard to process. Staying and hiding in this mess could be deadly. Letting those crazies catch up to us, well that would be certain death.
“Ken,” said Marie, “we need a plan. What are we doing?” I could tell she was trying to remain calm, but fear and doubt swirled deep in her eyes.
Taking another moment or two, I continued to survey the area. The fire seemed to be dying out at the McDonald's and my thought was why look some where already destroyed. I didn't want to leave the vehicle, but those militants would surely catch up to us.
“Ok, this is the plan,” I started. “Boys, gather up the bags. Marie, get Bella. I'll get whatever they can't carry and the small arms. We are going to make for that burned out McD's over there and hide out till I can deal with these militants or they have given up.”
“Ken,” interrupted Marie.
“Hold on, Marie, let me finish. We will make it look like we are like all the others, running for our lives randomly but when no one is looking, we will duck inside,” I continued.
“KEN!” She turned my face to the back of the vehicle. I saw the same vehicle that was hunting us cross through an intersection and turn down a side road. They were getting closer.
“Ok, let's move it!” I commanded. We all piled out, grabbed our things and I locked up the Jeep, hoping we could return to it. We ran across the road and made like we were going to run past the McDonald's but instead ducked through the broken door.
“Daddy, look! It burned and was on fire!”, yelled Bella.
“Shhhh! Honey we are hiding we have to be quite, ok?” Marie tried to calm Bella down. The boys and I pulled out our weapons.
“Boys, let's sweep the place, make sure nothing is... well moving I guess.”
Steven chuckled, “You were going to say alive, weren't you?”
I just gave him an irritated smirk and pointed him to the bathrooms. “Watch yourself, ok? Reese you cover him, I'll check the kitchen and back rooms.”
After a few moments, I heard the boys coming into the kitchen saying the rest was all clear. I had checked everything except the walk in cooler. The three of us stood outside it for a moment wondering if it was worth opening. I pressed my ear to the door for a minute, trying to see if I could hear anything on the other side.
After not hearing anything for several moments, I motioned for the boys to cover me as I gripped the handle of the door. I took two deep long breaths then yanked the door open. Directly on the other side of the door stood what I feared most. A zombie, that must have worked here as a manager, stood face half missing exposing his skull on his left side, dressed in a sharp blue button down and black tie. We all stood staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.
The boys, nor I made a sound or raised our weapons out of shock. The zombie on the other hand hesitated less than us and lunged for me. I only had time enough to raise my rifle up across my chest, using it as a barricade. The zombie hit me hard enough to take us both to the ground, he on top of me. I pushed against my rifle as hard as I could to keep him as far above me as possible and tried to keep those snapping jaws at bay.
Reese raised his weapon to shoot the thing and even had a clear shot.
“NO!”, I yelled at him. I couldn't have anyone or anything hear the shot. My strength was giving way and I could feel the zombie getting closer.
Reese stared back with a puzzled look for a moment but then enlightenment crossed his face. He quickly looked around and came back with a wooden broom and snapped the brush off leaving a sharp stick. His own personal 'Zombie Sticker'.
Steven took aim as Reese rared back and thrust his make-shift spear home. His thrust was strong and true. It pierced the zombie right above it's ear and it instantly went limp. I looked at Reese, seeing his poise and his fortitude in that moment he reminded me of one of my favorite movies. It reminded me of King Leonidas and the Spartans. Reese no longer looked like a child but a fierce spartan warrior.
I rolled the dead thing off me and took Reese by the shoulder.
“Hawoo!”, I exclaimed, smiling wide at him.
“That was wicked!”, said Steven.
Reese, still holding his calm steel reserve just nodded and went to cleaning his new weapon.
I went in to the cooler to see if any of the food was still good and found it had all spoiled, or at least didn't look very savory.
“Someone must have left the door open, because the power hasn't been out long enough for this stuff to spoil,” I explained.
The three of us then walked back out to the dining room and found Marie and Bella sitting in a calm panic.
“What happened?” cried Marie looking over the boys like any good mother would. Her attention then turned to me seeing some gore on my shirt.
“Ken! What the fuck happened? Are you ok?”
I glanced over to Reese and smiled, “Yeah and if this wasn't Sparta, I'd be toast. Reese saved my life. I didn't want him to shoot the thing so he made a spear and well, he handled it.”
She continued to look at the gore on my shirt and then at my face and began crying.
“What the FUCK would have done if you would have gotten bit?!”, she screamed.
“Keep your voice down,” I said hushed motioning my hands downward. “I don't want others to hear us in here.
“Mom, if Ken would have gotten bit, I would have handled him too,” said Reese calmly.
We all just turned to him staring. He really was growing up quickly.
“Well, I would!” he reiterated.
“I know,” I said still looking shocked, “I believe you.”
Just then another explosion rang out and three trucks, one I was hoping not to see, rolled out front of the McDonald's. They came to a stop out front facing the Wendy's across the street. I couldn't make out what was going on inside the other store, but the militants in the back of the trucks were all aiming their weapons at it.
A few moments later, what appeared to be three police officers emerged with their hands raised.
“John!”, yelled one of the cops to the group of armed men. “What the hell are you doing! I am an officer of the law and I thought we were friends!”
“Stop right there, Chief,” said a voice from one of the trucks. A passenger door opened out stepped an older gentleman holding a bolt action hunting rifle. “You know Chief, law doesn't really seem to matter anymore. Law and order seemed to take shit as soon as the dead starting walking, don't you think?”
“That might be true, but John man, we are friends. It doesn't have to be like this. We can secure this town together and get some order going again. Give some peace to these people,” pleaded the officer.
“We could. We could pass out our weapons and our food to those who have none,” said John as he raised his rifle. The officers quickly reached for their holsters. “Whoa there Chief,” continued John. Now John's voice became irritated and raised. “I WILL NOT sacrifice mine for ANYONE else.” At that a single shot was heard as the Chief fell backwards, landing in a heap. The other two officers attempted to raise their side arms but were full of holes as the militants let loose on them.
John lowered his head and shook it. I wondered if he regretted killing his friend.
“PUTT!”, yelled John. A bearded, heavy set fellow popped out of one of the trucks carrying a back pack and rushed over to John.
“Holy shit!”, I whispered to Marie. “That's Putt! I worked with him! Remember, he was on my Facebook?”
“What the hell is he doing with these guys?”, she whispered back.
I couldn't hear what John was saying to Putt, but he just nodded then trotted inside the Wendy's with a pistol drawn. He slowed briefly as he ran passed the down officers and took a long look.
“I don't think he knows what he got into,” I said to Marie. “There is no way he would murder people in cold blood. Survival yes, but not cold blood.”
Moments later Putt re-emerged holding some sort of device that looked like a remote control.
They all loaded back up and began driving away.
“What do you think all that was about?”, asked Steven.
I just sat in silence thinking for a few moments. My first thought was, 'Why the FUCK did I stop here?' I should have just rolled through. I doubt they would have followed us. Then I thought about Putt and our talks about stupid shit like zombies and survival. It then hit me like a ton of C-4.
“Get your asses into the cooler NOW!”, I screamed scooping up Bella. My family followed without question. I got them all inside and shut the door just in time. A deafening explosion shook what remained of the McDonald's and I knew Wendy's just bought it.
“What was that!”, asked Reese. “And how did you know?”
“That was Wendy's being blown to smithereens. Putt and I used to talk about what we would do if it was the end of the world. Whether it be zombies, EMP, financial collapse, anything. He always said he would 'Just want to blow shit up'. I bet that's why he's with these guys. They see him as an asset.”
“So what are we going to do?”, asked Marie looking tired and worried.
“Tonight, we will sleep in shifts and then get outta here tomorrow. If I remember correctly, there is a car dealership just a few blocks up the road. We might try and either drive to that, or walk god forbid, and get a bigger vehicle. I love the Jeep but I think we are going to need something beefier.”
They all just nodded and laid down.
“Try and get some sleep. I am going to take first watch. I'm going to pop out and see what's going outside. Besides, the door needs cracked for air.”
I slowly opened the door and headed out into the kitchen area. I could see now all the windows were blown out and a few cars were on fire in the lot due to flying debris from the Wendy's. It's a good thing I wanted a new vehicle because there was now a giant W crushing the roof of our Jeep.
“Goddammit, Putt,” I sighed. Zombies seem to be migrating toward the Wendy's, probably from the sound of the explosion. At the moment, there didn't seem to be a lot and none were focused on the McDonald's so that was a relief. It would be something we would need to keep an eye on. I was hoping those militants would come back through and clean sweep the area.
I quietly crept back to the cooler and propped the door open a few inches. Kissed my girls who were now sleeping and made sure they were comfortable. The boys seemed to be sleeping but I am not sure how deeply. I sat propped against a few large bags and faced the door.
I must have dozed off because I heard an explosion off in the distance and I snapped my head up. Drool slung around and hit my cheek. Probably time to wake one of the boys.
Just as I was about to wake Steven for a shift, Reese sounded like he was talking in his sleep. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it sounded like a different language, or at least slurred. Then, something clear was said, thought I couldn't under stand it: 'grimmr bardagi'. Suddenly he went into fits, crying out feral cries.
I started shaking him, “Reese! Wake up!”
He awoke suddenly. He flew at me, taking me to the ground raising his fist in the air. He held there for a moment staring at me.
“Buddy, you ok?”, I asked calmly. “It's me, Ken.”
He quickly scrambled off and retreated to his make-shift bed.
“I'm... I'm sorry, Ken. I dunno what I was doing.”
“Were you dreaming? You were talking in your sleep.”
“I think so, I dunno. I.. It might have been... I dunno.”
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I think I was dreaming of vikings. It was really weird.” He buried his face in his hands and let out a light sob.
I wrapped my arm around him and just held him for a few moments.
“Go back to sleep. I will wake your brother for watch.”
“I am already up. What is going on?”, asked Steven rubbing his eyes.
“Nothing, go back to sleep, Steve, I'll take watch. I don't want to go back to sleep now,” stated Reese moving toward the door.
I laid next to Marie for a while just looking at Reese. I hoped he was ok and that all this wasn't getting to him. I couldn't have anyone falling apart on me. We still had a long way to go.
I checked my phone, thought maybe I would try and shoot off a text to Gage to check on him. 'No Service...' Figures. I didn't have much batter left anyway.
I laid my head down and snuggled in close to Bella and Marie. I fell into a deep sleep and had no dreams I can remember. I awoke to Steve shaking me awake.
“Ken, wake up!”
“Yeah,” I said groggily through one eye, “Whats up bud?”
“I think those guys are back outside,” he said trying not to panic.
Marie and Bella were still sleeping, as was Reese. 'Good', I thought. I am glad he was able to get some calm shut eye. I crept quietly around my girls and stepped out of the cooler with Steven, both of us weapons ready.
Sure enough, as I made it to the counter, I could see out into the street where there were several vehicles. They seemed interested in the crowd of Zombies that had amassed at the blown out Wendy's. Suddenly swarms of men and women poured out of the trucks on to the street and into the back of the trucks. They all took aim. Several screeches rose out from the crowd of Zombies and about a dozen sprinters took off towards the militants.
Steven and I ducked low and crawled into the dining room to get a better view.
It was then, John poked up out of a truck and yelled, “FIRE!”.
Shots rang out, bringing death and hot metal down upon anything around that Wendy's. After a few moments, the firing stopped and the smoke began to clear. All of the zombies were now down, though a few survived, crawling along the ground. Those were quickly dispatched by John's men.
We sat silently, crouched behind tables and trash cans inside the McDonald's as John and his men worked their way through the downed hoard, popping of single rounds in the last of the crawling zombies.
“Well boys,” said John as he smiled, “that is how we do it!” He then pulled up a radio and said something into it I couldn't make out.
“Ok! Chuck says that we are need on the north side of town to help clear another hoard. Let's lock this place down! WE ARE FREE MEN!” After John yelled this last declaration, all the men around him answered back with are resounding 'Rah!'
As they drove off in their trucks, I glanced at Steven who looked like he was working something out and was about to say something.
“What is it bud?” I asked him.
“Free men. I have heard that before. I was watching some videos on Netflix one day, and saw this documentary on these people called Freemen. They are like these guys who hate the government and stuff. Like, they don't pay taxes or even get like drivers licenses. They don't like to be told what to do and only want to do what they want to do,” he explained.
I nodded. Really, it made sense from what I have seen so far. “Who ever they are, Freeman or not, they are dangerous. We need to find a way to get out of here without being seen and we need to do it soon. It sounds like they are buttoning up the town.”
“Then what is your plan, Ken?” asked Marie.
“I think,” I started, “that I will take one of the boys and go try and scout a way up to the car lot and see what they have. If it's clear, we will just bring it back. If not, we will try and find a car on the way back.”
At this point, I noticed Reese looking out and around the area as if he was looking for something in particular.
“What is it, what do you see?” I asked taking up a defensive crouch, aiming my weapon out.
“Nothing,” he replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Marie.
“There are no other people, anywhere,” Reese explained.
“Well there was that explosion and then those guys. Maybe they have all ran off,” offered Marie.
“I don't think so,” said Reese. “I haven't seen anyone since we ran in here. I have only seen the Freemen. When we got here, people were running everywhere. There were screams and gun shots. Where did they all go?” he asked.
“The bad guys shoot dem all!” said Bella out of nowhere.
We all looked down at Bella. With everything go on, and her being so quite, I forgot sometimes she was there.
“Yes Boo, the bad guys shot all the Zombies dead,” I explained to her.
“NO!” she yelled stamping her foot. “The bad guys. They shot the people running away.”
I could see everyone's eyes widening.
“Did you see that happen?” asked Steven.
Bella just got quite and started playing with some damaged Happy Meal toys lying on the ground.
I looked around and noticed exactly what Reese had just said. No one. It was very eerie.
“Well, that will just make it easier for us to scout out the car lot,” I stated flatly. 'Or make us stick out like a sore thumb,' I kept to myself. It was still early in the day and I knew from the recent encounter with the so-called 'Freemen' that they were busy on the North end of town. This was the best time as any to try and get up to that lot. The longer we waited, the less chance we had at getting out of their alive.
“Marie, I want you to take Bella back into the cooler and wait for us there. Reese, I need to you keep guard over you sister and mother. I do not want you to engage anything unless it makes its way back there into the kitchen area. If you can, avoid shooting anything and try anything silent. But above all else, protect yourself and them.” Reese just nodded and ushered Marie and Bella back to our temporary living area. “Steven, that means you are with me. We are going to sneak out and head up the road a few blocks to the car lot and see what we can find along the way. If there is nothing along the way or there that I find 'end of world' worthy, we will just have to find the closes vehicle with gas and get the hell outta here.”
“Ok. Do you think they are going to be ok? Shouldn't they come with us?” he asked nervously, looking back to the rest of our family. After the loss of his father and step mother, I knew putting anyone else at jeopardy was going to get to him.
“You know your brother… and you know he can shoot. We have also seen how he deals with these things. They are going to be fine and we won't be gone to long,” I tried to reassure him.
I headed back to the cooler just to double check on everyone before we left. Marie was sitting near the back and seemed to be trying to hold it all together. Bella had brought her new Happy Meal toys back and was still playing with them. Reese looked stoic, like one of those British guards people try and make laugh. I walked over to Marie and knelt down.
“Hun, we are going to be ok. Just in and out and right back,” I said, trying to sound positive. Marie just glared back and me, eyes wet with newly formed tears.
“I don't think saying 'Everything is going to be ok' is a luxury we can have any more, Ken,” she said shakily. “I know what has to be done and I know what the situation is. None of this is ok and I know in my heart that one of us, if not all of us are not going to make it.”
“Babe, please...” she cut me off before I could finish.
“And, Ken, I know that with all this shit going down, this really is the best plan for us if we can just make it. I trust you and the boys to do whatever you think is best for us. I love you… Asshole.” She said that last part with a bit of a smile on her face. That was normally her word for me when she was trying to remind me I had done something stupid or not done something at all like start a load of laundry or take out the trash. In this case, I know she wasn't blaming me, just trying to lighten the mood.
“Why do you have to always be such a bitch?” I asked, smiling back.
“Isn't that why you love me?” she asked back before kissing me. “Now go find us a ride so we can get the fuck out of here.”
I pivoted over to Bella who seemed to be playing with some spinning ball of some kind.
“Bella, honey,” I said to her softly. She turned smiling and stood to give me a hug. We embraced for several minutes. This child is my life. I don't know how I would ever go on without her.
“Do you know how much Daddy loves you?” I asked her.
She peered back and me with a wide, toothy grin and nodded. I began to tear up. She then embraced me in another hug and whispered in my ear, “Is ok Daddy. The zombies or bad man never get me.”
“I hope not baby. I hope not,” saying this more to myself than her.
I stood and then headed out to the kitchen, waiting for Steven to get in his hugs and kisses. When he found me, we headed out to the dining room and crouched by what was left of the pop dispenser and trash cans. From this vantage point, I could see only a few hundred yards up the road and saw nothing. I would probably have seen more out the back door or one of the drive-thru windows, but I didn't want to draw attention to myself.
“I will head out first and find a secure place. When I give the signal, you follow my path. I will watch behind you and you watch ahead, got it?” I asked him.
Steven just nodded looking visibly nervous.
“Look, this is no big deal, ok? Just a few blocks up and then back, hopefully with a vehicle. If we run into any zombies, they won’t mess with us unless they see us. So don't get seen, ok?” I was trying my best to calm him down but it didn't seem to have the effect I desired.
“What if we run into those guys? Those Freemen?” he asked.
“Well, we will do about the same thing. Do our best not to get seen.” I did not know what else to say to him.
“Ready?” I asked him. If we were going, we needed to get on it.
He nodded after double checking his weapon. I did the same and then slowly stuck my head out, trying to survey the whole area. Nothing. No undead or living. Just dead. Suddenly, the odor struck me as I started to smell it. I saw a burned tour bus in the middle of the road just less than half a block up. I panned around again. Seeing nothing, I made my run to the bus.
I dove into cover against the burned out wreckage and scanned behind me. I could see Steven 's head peeking out of what used to be one of the best fast food joints in the world. I looked passed him down the street and thought I saw some movement behind a green pickup. I held my hand up to Steven, gesturing him to wait. I continued to watch the area for several minutes when I saw more movement. I could see something moving behind the wheels but it was too far to really see what it was. I raised my rifle up and waited.
After the most excruciating few moments, a dog limped its way into view. My tension instantly eased. Luckily there didn't seem to be anything following the dog either and it took off away from us. Looking back to Steven, I waved him to me.
He sprinted the distance and covered in about half the time it took me. Damn kids.
“What did you see?” Steven whispered.
“Wasn't sure at first, but turned out to be an injured dog.”
Steven looked back to where I had been looking.
“Should we go help it?” he asked, a bit of pain in his voice. Both boys had always been huge animal lovers and had huge hearts for hurt and abandon animals. I used to make fun of how much they would cry when that shelter commercial would come on playing 'In the Arms of the Angels'. It is sad, I know. But their reaction was still always a bit over the top.
“I would love to buddy, but it's just not in the cards right now. We gotta find us a ride and get to Springfield, ok?” I explained.
He just nodded still looking painfully back towards the truck. I, however, flattened out and looked under the bus to try and get a view up ahead. From this vantage point, I really couldn't make out anything moving, but what I could make out was gold.
“Steven, get down here!” I nearly shouted.
“What!” he whispered, sounding irritated I almost yelled. He dropped down next to me.
“Look,” I said, pointing at my new target.
We looked at each other and both smiled. It was a Gen-1 Hummer. None of that prissy 'Look at me I am a Hummer' neutered H3 crap. This was the real McCoy. Only problem is that the driver's side door was open. No one was around, but that might mean the keys were gone too. The other problem is that it was nearly two blocks away. Not far, but in this crap, far enough. And if the fates weren't being kind so far, there wasn't really any cover from us to it either. We would have to break for it, or skirt along the business along the way. Even going two blocks, that could take us a half hour.
“Better safe than sorry man, we are going to have to head up the side along the businesses staying as hidden as we can. Running up the gut is a sure fire way to get us killed,” I said.
“What if those places have zombies in them? We won't be much better off, will we?” Steven pointed out.
Kid had a point. Seems I have been pretty stingy when passing out credit recently. Everything keeps surprising me. So, we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don't. Possibly. 'Fuck!' I screamed in my head. I hate not knowing what to do. At that moment, my mind was made up for me.
Click
'Shit,' I thought. That was a pistol being cocked.
“Get up! Off the ground!” ordered the voice holding the gun.
Steven and I slowly came to a stand.
“Weapons on the ground!” he ordered again.
Steven complied, I hesitated for a moment.
“I will fucking end you!” said the voice. Something about how he said it made me want to laugh. Even still, I lowered my weapon to the ground and dropped it.
“Putt to Taylor...” said the voice. 'Holy shit, it's Putt,' I thought. I might get out of this yet, so long as he is alone.
“This is Taylor,” came back a voice on Putt's walkie.
“I have more survivors. What does he want me to do with them?” asked Putt.
I turned around, hoping he didn't shoot first.
“Don't mov... What the fuck! Ken?” Putt just stood there, looking at me wide eyed for a few minutes.
The walkie rang out, “He says smoke 'em if ya can, over.”
We just stared at each other for what felt like ages. Slowly he brought his gun down.
“Did you copy me Putt? You ok? Do you need back up?” asked the man on the walkie.
Putt lifted the walkie, “Uh, no. Uh, no, no I am fine. Turned out to just be a dead head. I took care of it.”
“Alright buddy, watch your ass. Out.” The walkie went silent.
“Ken? Why are you here?” Putt finally asked.
“I could ask you the same thing, fucker. Why are you with these assholes?” I said picking up my rifle again and slinging it over my shoulder. Steven, I could tell, wasn't sure what to do, but he did put his hands down.
“Man, after everything went to shit, me and my wife got pinned down at the Shannon Theater in Bluffton. She, uh,” Putt trailed off.
“Hey man, it's ok you don't have to finish that. I get it. What about these guys?” I asked.
“Well, some guys came through the area and started shooting up the place. Killing zombies and people. It was really sick what these fucks were doing. I walked out and was going to let them just shoot me. Turns out, I was friends with one of them and he told them to bring me on. Told them I knew about bombs and shit. Then we drove here.”
I just nodded and listened. I knew he wouldn't willing join this crowd.
“So, how’s this new job working out for you then?” I asked.
“I fucking hate it! I have to kill people and blowing shit up with innocent people inside. It does things to you.”
Over his shoulder I began to see movement. Our voices must have attracted something. I pointed and Putt looked up. I counted about 3 shamblers. So far, no screamers.
“Putt, let’s get inside the McDonald's. The rest of my family is in there. We can work our next move from inside,” I said gesturing to Steven to pick up his weapon.
As soon as we began to run, the trio of shuffling corpses saw us. One of them snapped loose from the group, sprinting towards us.
Steven made it to the building before us and I knew that Putt and I were not going to make it in before that sprinter caught up to us. I had to think of something quick.
We had about forty feet to go when the sprinter lunged for Putt. I already had my weapon out and ready but had spun it around into a bat, holding it by the barrel. Swinging it around, I had just missed the back of Putt's head and made contact with the zombie square in the forehead. This poor girl, who looked to be dressed like a gas station attendant, was flat on her back and really dead this time. The other two zombies, a teen boy just a bit older than the twins and an old woman, hair still in a bun but missing both arms.
We dove inside and fortified behind the register counter. Reese came from the back and instantly joined us without asking questions. I had asked him later about that and he just stated, “Why ask the obvious? You looked under attack so I just jumped in to help.”
As the pair made their way in, we held our shot, all knowing it would bring more of them or Freemen. The zombies, not being too terribly smart now, just bounced off the register counter over and over, not bothering to try and climb over, at first.
Steven started laughing. “Mam? Would you like fries with that?” It was then, the teen zombie lunged over the counter at Steven. Putt shoved his pistol in the open mouth of the thing and fired. The only sound you hear other than Steven panicking and the old zombie moaning was a plopping, squishing sound. Taking a cue from that, I stepped forward and shoved the barrel of my rifle in the old zombies mouth and pulled the trigger. Pop, squish, drop.
We looked around at each other for a few minutes and then began smiling.
“You didn't shit yourself, did you?” Putt asked Steven. Steven just grinned and turned red shaking his head no.
Marie was tapping her foot holding Bella, waiting for us as we entered the cooler.
“You know what I am going to say, don't you?” she asked impatiently.
I thought for a second. “Um. What the fuck is going on?”
“REALLY?!” she shrieked. “No, I was going to say... Well... What happened?”
“Well, we may have found a vehicle up the road, but Putt found us first.” The two nodded at each other. “Then some zoms followed us in here and well, we took care of it.”
The boys sat out in the kitchen, said they were taking watch while Putt and I scrounged the back rooms and cooler for food that hadn't turned. Without cooking anything, there wasn't a lot we could eat besides buns and cookies.
“So what's your plan?” asked Putt.
“Well, we were heading to Missouri to meet up with some friends but we lost our car running from your friends,” I explained. Putting some sarcasm and emphasis on friends.
“Hey, fucker, those are not my friends!” he said forcefully. He sat holding his bag a moment as if mulling something over. “You know. The odds of you guys getting out of here isn't very good. There are too many of them. They have all the roads out watched.”
Marie and I looked at each other, both silently asking what to do.
“No way out. Unless, that is, if I help you. I have been looking for a good reason to use this,” he said pulling out one of his bomb triggers from his back.
“What is that linked to?” I asked.
Putt just smiled for a moment. “Every Freemen truck, blockade, and camp in the city.”
“Ha! I told you they were Freemen!” exclaimed Steven.
“Shh! Holy fuck, Putt! Why haven't you pulled it yet?” I asked, seriously wondering why he hadn't.
He shook his head, “I don't know. I just kept telling myself, not yet.”
SCCHHHHHHH, BEEP
“Taylor to Putt!”
We all stared at his walkie.
“Taylor to Putt. You out there man? I hope you fucking didn't get bit. John needs you up here. Come back, over,” instructed the man on the walkie.
Putt picked it up and Marie went tense. He just held a hand out to her.
“This is Putt, I am on my way back up. Ran into a few zombies but I'm clear,” lied Putt.
“Good. We got a few kids and some teachers holed up in one of the school basements. John wants you to blast them out.”
Putt looks visibly ill.
“What the fuck?” asked Steven. Marie shot him a motherly look.
“Really, Steven? Don't say that!” she scolded.
“Hun, I think we are past that. And Putt, I think you are past waiting,” I said.
He didn't even acknowledge me. He just flipped the security cap and flipped the switch. We could feel several rumbles, some closer than others. Then, a few very close.
“SHIT!” yelled Putt.
“What?!” I asked.
“I just blew that Hummer down the road, man!” he buried his head in his hands. “I am sorry, I knew you were after it. I heard you say something when I got the drop on you. It was one of our vehicles that I was sent back down here to pick up along with a few other things.”
My heart sank.
“Any other lines on a vehicle that would suit us?” I asked hopefully.
Putt thought for a moment. “Man, those guys scooped up all the decent vehicles around here.”
“Damn, that sucks,” I said.
His eyes lit up. “Wait, I do know of one SUV that you might want. John didn't want it because of what it was. But I doubt you will care. It's an early 90's White Ford Bronco.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked. I almost couldn't believe it.
“No man, seriously. It's even parked close by, keys and all,” Putt said.
“What's wrong with it, Ken?” asked Reese.
I just laughed a little. “That vehicle will forever live in infamy because of one jackass named OJ Simpson.”
Both boys just looked at each other and shrugged.
“What about you man, what are you going to do. Want to come with us?” I asked Putt.
Putt shook his head. “No, dude, thanks anyway. I want to get back towards home and find some of my people. I made sure not to blow my own car. You best get loaded up before those explosions draw to many zombies. Might block the roads.”
We all gathered up the gear while Marie picked up Bella.
“We gunna go now, Mommy? But I didn't get chicken nuggets, fries, toy, and a pop!” she said nearly coming to tears.
“Bella, I am sorry but look, it's all broke. We can't get that here ok?” explained Marie.
Bella just sobbed silently into Marie's shoulder.
I smiled at Putt, “Kid's priorities, right?” He just nodded.
We headed out and found no resistance getting to the Bronco. After loading up, I gave Putt a healthy hand shake and a hug.
“I don't know if I can ever repay you man,” I said.
He just smiled and headed off towards what I assumed was the direction of his vehicle. Just before he went around the next corner he holler out. I looked over to see him flipping me off smiling. I flipped him off back, also smiling. 'Jackass'.
Getting out of town wasn't as bad as I thought. Putt's bomb did a number of the barricades blocking the road, and it did attract some zombies but not enough to stop us yet. I just blasted over a couple with a sickening crunch as sped off down the highway in our white Ford Bronco.