Aftershock: A Collection of Survivors Tales (8 page)

As we drove on I couldn’t help feeling mixed emotions. I was so happy to have another adult with us. I needed as much backup as possible, and as long as Mick wasn’t an axe murderer I was lucky to have him. Waves of fear would come over me, and I did my best to fight them away. I wouldn’t trust him right away. We needed to be more careful than that, but Mick may end up being the best thing we picked up on our adventure. His knowledge of the area also proved valuable. Back roads seemed to be his preference prior to the sickness, because he knew every one of them for a week’s worth of driving.

Getting gas and supplies was easier with Mick with us. I thought he was going to cry when he found a pack of cigarettes in a gas station we were raided. With the first drag his whole body seemed to turn to jelly. I was happy that he had found a mix tape in a car we were siphoning gas from. We pulled away, he lit up and I cranked the tunes up for just a few minutes and for the first time in a long time life seemed almost normal. It was then with his legs resting on the dash, arm out the window with that serene look on his face that I felt my first twinge of attraction for him.

Days go by, and we just drive. We pass through towns and there are no people left. Just moaners everywhere. I wonder if there are people locked in the houses afraid to come out. I wonder if we are just gonna drive forever. Rocky and me have gotten pretty good at taking out moaners. We’ve run over a few, and shot a couple too. Life starts feeling like a video game. You know the ones where you drive around hunting for monsters.

I know Dad said to stay away from them, and to look for people. That’s getting really boring. It started with just one. Rocky and I made a stop to get some gas and I saw one walking towards me. I was tired of running. I was tired of jumping in the car without getting the stuff I needed. Rocky and I were hungry. I had the gun in my hand anyway. So I shot it. I felt big. I felt like I could take on a ton of them. I had a gun, and if they were far enough away it was like my shooting games. The next time I stopped I tried to find one. I know it sounds crazy, but it was fun.

There was one time when I shot one and the sound brought more coming. That was scary. I got in the truck and took off. I knew not to stay and get eaten. Well, really I didn’t. Rocky went nuts and bit at my legs until I got in the truck. It’s weird having a dog tell you what to do. He’s really smart. I know he wants to stay away from them, but I wanna kill them all. If we can take them down maybe it would be safe. If I kill them all, maybe the dreams would go away.

I’m driving down a dirt road when I see real people. Rocky didn’t bark. I figure that was good. The men standing there pointed a ton of guns at us. Rocky growled when he saw the guns, but didn’t bark. Then a really loud woman came out to the front of the people. She told her guys to calm down, that it was a kid not zombies. The guys with the guns lowered them, but didn’t put them away. They stared really hard at us as the lady came over to talk.

“Where you from sugar?” the lady asked.

“Ohio.”

“You meet anyone else?”

“Nope. You?”

“A few have passed through. Some have stayed. Not many total. This was a small town before the illness, got a lot smaller. There were thirty or so of us left that didn’t turn into monsters. We got 3 people that stayed with us since then. We heard the same from the others who passed through. Not many alive anymore. Most people are dead or eaten.”

“Is it ok if I stay with you for a bit?”

“I don’t see why not. You have to go see Reverend Mathis. He’s in charge around here. He’ll be able to tell you a lot more than I can. We are just out scouting, good thing, too. We wouldn’t have seen you if we weren’t. Nice to see your dog, too. We aint got no dogs around here anymore. All dead. If they bite a monster they die. They don’t turn, they just die.”

Rocky sniffed the lady’s hand, and decided she was ok. He gave her a lick and then went back to keeping watch out the back window. Rocky’s better at watch than me. The guys are holding their guns more relaxed now. I wonder what they were afraid of?

“You all by yourself?”

“I wasn’t. My Mom and Dad got sick. I’ve been alone for a while now. Longer than a month. I lost count after that.”

Her eyes grew real big. I don’t think she believed me. It didn’t matter. Rocky and I finally found people. Real live people. We might even get to sleep in a bed tonight. I had some supplies I could bring in with me. Maybe if I gave them a bunch of stuff they would let me stay. I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I really just wanted to talk to other people.

“Oh baby. You poor thing. Follow us back to our church. We’re going to take care of you.”

I followed the lady and her friends back to a church in the middle of town. The windows were all boarded over, and there were men with guns up on the church tower. There was a smell of cooking food in the air. I didn’t know I was hungry till I smelled that food. Smelled like something my Mom would make. I could see Rocky wanted the food too. He was sniffing the air like crazy.

One of the men offered to park the truck for me. I got Rocky and my bag out with me. We walked up the church steps. As we did, they closed the big gate we drove in through. The place was like a castle. It was locked up tight. I hadn’t felt safe in a long time. All the sudden my legs felt all wiggly and I got really sleepy.

I woke up wrapped up in my blankets with Rocky curled on my legs. I thought I was back in the truck and those people had been just a dream. They weren’t. It was real. There was a boy sitting across the room staring at me when I woke up. Scared me. It took a minute to figure out he wasn’t a moaner. If he was a moaner, he would have eaten me when I was sleeping.

“MA! HE’S AWAKE!” yelled the boy.

A woman came running in the room, and hugged me. “You scared us honey. You just passed out when you walked in the church. You slept for two days straight. Your dog has been on you the whole time. We had a hard time getting him to let us put you to bed, and cover you up. We took the blankets from your truck. Are you hungry? You must be hungry? What’s your name honey?”

“Max. I’m really thirsty. Can I have a drink?”

“Sure Max, I’ll get you some water. Try to sit up, but don’t stand yet. We don’t want you passing out again. Stay here with Larry. That’s him over there. He’s my son. I think you two are about the same age. He can keep you company and I’ll get you a drink and some food.” She turned towards Larry for the rest, “You be nice Larry. He’s had a rough couple of days.”

“Max, eh? How old are you?”

“9, you?”

“11. There’s a couple of kids here. They all want to meet you. Mom says we need to let you adjust.”

“Your mom seems nice.”

“She’s ok. You get to drive that truck all by yourself?”

“I had to, but my Dad taught me.”

“Yeah? That’s cool. Wish I could drive. We aren’t allowed to leave the church. Only the grown-ups leave the church.”

“What, are you prisoners?”

“Nah. They just say it’s safer. You see a lot of zombies?”

“Yup. Killed a bunch too.”

“No way! That’s awesome. I’d do that if they would let me try.”

He got real quiet and stared at me. I could tell he thought I was so cool for killing zombies. I just kept seeing my Dad’s face when I shot him. I see that a lot. I also see the night at the farm with Mom. I don’t really remember the moaners I killed. I only know how many because of the notches I carve on my belt for each one. I’m up to 14 notches. Not bad for a kid.

Rocky got up and sniffed my face. He gave me one big lick then jumped off the bed and went out in the other room. He must have thought his job was done. He is one smart dog. He must have been hungry too if he laid on me for 2 days. Maybe he was as tired as I was. I hope they let me stay with them. I liked sleeping in that bed. Might be fun to hang out with some kids again.

Larry’s mom came back in with some water and a bowl of soup. She even had fresh bread. It was the most delicious thing I tasted ever. I loved my Mom’s cooking, but I was never this hungry when I ate it. It was warm and in a bowl. Larry’s mom sat and watched me eat. She asked a bunch of questions that I really didn’t hear. I was too busy chewing. Then I got really sleepy again. She must have saw I was tired. She told Larry to leave, and let me rest.

She came over and took the bowl. She kissed my forehead, and gave me a huge hug. I slept all the way until the next morning. Rocky was back on my feet when I woke up again. This time my room was empty. That was nice. I really don’t like sleeping with people staring at me. I sat up real slow, and stretched my legs. My whole body hurt. Dad always said if you laid around too much you would get sore. He was right. It took me forever to get out of that bed. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to leave the room, but I had to pee really bad.

Rocky followed me out and put his head in my hand. He led me down a hall and into the kitchen. There were a group of people eating breakfast in there. It was so weird to see that many people. They were just eating and talking like nothing was wrong. I really hope they let me stay. Rocky looked around the room then ran over to a little girl. She took her food, broke off a piece and gave it to Rocky. I guess he made friends while I was asleep.

Being with Amy and the kids is strange. The girls warmed up to me right away, but Garett was a tough one. I did my best to not make him feel like I was taking over his territory. It’s just taking me time to get used to being around people again. The hardest part is being with the kids. Reminds me of my own, and how much I miss them. All the shit I missed. There’s nothing like the end of the world for you to figure out what a douchebag you were. I keep hoping the girls are alive and safe with their mother, but the more we drive the less likely that seems.

Sometimes I wonder if they are immune like me. Speaking of immune, crazy as this is, Amy is immune too. She isn’t sure about the kids, and isn’t going to test it. We spend the nights bullshitting and I couldn’t believe it when she told me the story about her getting bit. Crazy shit her and those kids have been through. She’s one tough broad. When she found out I was bit too she almost fell outta her seat. She’s right, what are the odds of two people who are immune finding each other? You got a better chance of being struck by lightning or winning the lottery.

We just kept driving towards that address on the flyer. Grabbing stuff on the go, and driving. We got too close to a city one day. A swarm of the dead was on the horizon. They looked like bugs they were so far away. It was impossible to get a count of how many there were, but it looked like those TV shots you see of people marching on DC. It looked like it would never end. Whipping the car around, and driving away as fast as I could seemed like the best plan. All we could do was pray that they didn’t hear us and follow. There was no way we could handle a swarm of that size.

Being stuck in one place even if it is moving all the time will drive even the sanest of people crazy. We made the decision that we were going to sleep somewhere other than this damn vehicle as soon as the opportunity presented itself. We ended up in a small town like the one I was trapped in for so long. Amy suggested we try to find a roof to spend a few days on. The weather had turned cooler and the truck would still be there if it was going to rain. Driving slowly up and down the streets we kept our eyes peeled for a place that would allow us a bit of reprieve from the cramped living quarters we have called home. The town hardware store had potential. The roof was large and flat, and there was a ladder on the exterior of the building that provided the only access. I scouted the roof first to check if it was really the sanctuary we had been searching for. Once I gave the all clear, we hauled all the supplies we thought we needed to make the barren rooftop a home for a few nights.

Amy unpacked all the camping supplies with the girls and I took Garett down to the store below to see what we could scavenge. The boy may be young, but he is a capable second when you are rummaging around in unfamiliar territory. Being lucky is a big part of surviving in this new world. At this store, we were winning the lotto lucky. The shelves had been cleared of a lot of the goods people needed in the beginning, but not picked clean. It was strange. I’m not the kind of man who looks a gift horse in the mouth, so I didn’t give it much thought until we were up on the roof again with our awesome haul.

“You see any of them down there?” Amy asked fearfully.

“Nope, not one. It’s like this town is empty. No dead and no living.”

Garett was jumping out of skin with excitement to show his aunt all of the goodies we had pulled out of the store. “The place was still full of stuff. Can you believe it? I got the girls some games, and chalk. Do you think they can use it on the roof? We got a few tabletop charcoal grills. Mick thinks they would be a good way to have campfires up here. He said sleeping in the car we haven’t really had to feel how cold it has gotten at night.”

He went on and on until his sisters came over and demanded that he play with them. We had found a few backyard games down in the store, and it was nice to see the kids get to be kids for a little while. I don’t think that the girls had ever played Frisbee golf, or ladderball before, but it didn’t matter since no one was keeping score. I sat and watched for a while and then I headed over to Amy and helped her finish setting up.

“I don’t trust it.”

“Don’t trust what Amy?”

“The quiet. Where is everyone? Everywhere we have been there are dead wandering the streets, hidden in the stores. Why isn’t this town like the rest? I’m afraid of the quiet.”

I scooped her up in my arms and held her as she quietly cried. Some people break down as a crisis happens, others break when the calm comes. Amy must be in the second group. It felt so right to have her so close to me. She breathed in deeply, and wiped her eyes. When she looked up at me all of the fear and pain she had been trying so hard to hide lay on her face. I don’t know what came over me, but I kissed her. I tilted her head back and lay my lips against hers. I half expected her to slap me and pull away. Before the zombies a woman like Amy wouldn’t have been caught dead talking to me, let alone being held by a loser like me.

She didn’t push away. With an intensity that I never think will be matched, she kissed me back. Her hand slid up to the back of my head, and she gripped my hair as she pulled in closer to me. Nothing would have pleased me more than to carry this woman off to bed, but we had no bed. We were up on a rooftop in a barren town with three kids looking to us for all the answers. As fast as the fire in her built, it died. She pulled away with a sad longing on her face, and went back to getting camp ready. What I didn’t expect was the hatred in Garett’s eyes when I turned back to see if they were ok. He had seen everything, and he was fuming.