Apex Predator (2 page)

Jennifer slumped onto the couch, tears running down her cheeks.  She worked with Sharon at the hospital.  She’d babysat the Drawbond boys about once a month.  It was just too much to bear. Gone, all of them gone.

“Work, I have to get to work,” she exclaimed.  She went to the table and picked up her car keys.  She walked through the kitchen to the garage.  Mike intercepted her.

“You can’t.”

“I have too.   Get out of my way.”

“You can’t go out there.”

“Move!  I can’t stay here in this house!”

“Jen!  We can’t go out there.  They’ll rip you apart.  For God sake Jen, you don’t even have shoes on!”  He locked the deadbolt.  She sat down at the kitchen table, weeping.

“We can’t go outside.  Those things are out there.  They’ve already killed four people.  Jesus, you saw that one get shot like 20 times.  Fuck!  What are we gonna do?  We gotta stay here right now.  Shit!”  He ran to the back door.

The back door was mostly glass.  He threw the dead bolt.  Click.

He looked out the window.  There was nobody in the backyard.  Thank God.

“Help me get the entertainment center in front of the back door.”

“Huh?”  Jen was still in shock.

“This door, it has a lot of glass.  We have to block it.”

“Oh, ok.”  She got up moving almost like the zombies outside.  She pulled while he pushed.  Together they got the 250 pound piece of solid wood in front of the door.

“Alright, we need to secure this place.  Doors are locked.  Close the blinds.  I don’t know if it’ll keep them out, but it shouldn’t draw attention.”

Jen picked up the phone.  “911 What is your emergency?”

“Yes ma’am I just called and now 2 of your police officers are dead across the street from me, and the group of …whatever they are…are still out there. They chased the Drawbond’s and some other folks into the Drawbond house.  I think they’re all dead too.  Oh Jesus!”  She began to cry again.

“Ma’am calm down.  We are aware of the violence going on in your neighborhood.  We are gathering units together now to help you and your neighbors.  Please lock your doors, and stay in your home.  Don’t go outside.  Help is on the way.”  And the line went dead.

“Mike!  Where are you?”

“Upstairs.  Be right down.”

He descended the stairs a few minutes later.  He had his Sam Brown belt on with his Glock .40   caliber pistol in its holster.  He also had a shotgun and the Lady Smith he bought for her last year.  He handed it to her.

“What am I supposed to do with this?  You saw how many times it took to shoot just one.  What is this thing gonna do?”

“Look, see the one out there on Dave’s lawn?”

“So?”

“Sharon shot that thing in the head.  See, it isn’t moving.  I’m thinking they die if you shoot them in the head.  They aren’t that fast, so head shots shouldn’t be too hard.”

“That’s easy for you to say.  I haven’t shot this thing in like 8 months.”

BAM!  Click-click.  BAM!

They both ran to the front window.  Brian and Cheryl Peters were in the street.  Both armed with shotguns.  The creatures from the Drawbond house had made it back out to the street.  Brian and Cheryl were engaging them from about 60 yards.  The four ghouls advanced from up the street.  Slowly, as a group they came.

BAM!  Click-click.   BAM!  Click-click.  Aim higher guys.  C’mon you can do it.  As the group closed to 20 yards, a ghoul shambled out from behind the black SUV.  Oh Shit!  It’s Andy…Or at least it was Andy.  They don’t see it.  Look-out!  But it was too late.  The Andy-zombie had Brian in the death embrace.

He screamed.  Cheryl turned.  Her reflexes took over.  She fired a quick shot.  The Andy-zombie and Brian both crumpled to the ground, large chunks taken out of their respective heads.

“NO!” she cried.  Her shotgun fell from her hands.  She fell to the ground scooping Brian’s head into her arms.  She had time for one gentle kiss to what was left of his forehead before the rest of the ghouls fell upon her.  Mike and Jen agreed later that Cheryl didn’t move or make a sound as she was devoured.

“Did you see that?”  Jen screamed.  “That was Andy!  You said he was dead!”

“He was.  Fuck!  That thing was eating him for fuck sake!  How the fuck did that Andy-thing get Brian?  What the fuck?  Shit!  Shit!  Shit!”

“Quiet!” She yelled.  “We have to be quiet.”

“Ok.  Get a grip Mike-ole-boy.  We gotta figure this out.  Figure them out.  I’m not gonna end up like Andy or Brian.”

“Don’t worry honey.  I promise not to shoot you in the head,” she quipped.

For the rest of the day they watched.  They watched and they learned.  They watched as the cops reanimated.  They watched as the dead neighbors began shambling about the street.  Some congregating around homes with lights on or where they seemed to have heard some sort noise.

They both tried to call family.  Mike was able to reach his brother in Atlanta.  He hadn’t heard from anyone else in the family.  He did question Mike about some rioting he’d heard about on the news.  Mike didn’t know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut.

Jen wasn’t able to reach anyone in her family.  She did contact the hospital.  Her charge nurse was not happy about her missing work.  The day, she told Jen, was turning out to be a real bitch.  It seems that the flu was starting to hit, and it was a doozy.  She told Jen to be safe, and come in as soon as things got better in her neighborhood. 

They continued to watch the zombies.  They watched as more zombies appeared from where, they didn’t exactly know.  They saw a man run down the street carrying a baseball bat, followed by two zombies.  His path was blocked by another pair of the walking dead.  Without breaking stride he hit one in the head, knocking it to the ground.   He swung at the second, but landed a shot to the shoulder.  The ghoul was knocked back but not put down.  The man continued on, outpacing his pursuers.  They never knew where he was going, or if he made it there.

About 7:00 pm, the phone rang.  It was Little Dave, Dave Wilson’s 16 year old son.

“Miss Jen, its Dave Wilson.  You saw what happened to my Ma and Pa this morning.”

“No, Davy, but Mike did.  I’m so sorry honey.”

“Thank you Ma’am.  But now something’s wrong with Pa.  He’s sweating, and shaking.  He says everything hurts.  I don’t know what to do.  I called 911 like they taught us in school.  But they said they can’t come get him.  They can’t just refuse to come, can they?”

“I know Davy.  I called about the cops, and they told me no also.  I’m so sorry Davy.  I don’t think I can get over there either.  Have you given him anything like Tylenol or Advil or anything?”

“Yes ma’am I gave him both, and a bunch of Orange Juice.  Nothing seems to help.”

“Dave, can your dad walk at all?”

“Some.”

“Fill up the bathtub with room temperature water.  Get your dad in there.  It should help.  Just don’t let him shiver once he’s in there.  That’ll lower his temp some.”

“Ok, thank you ma’am.  Bye Miss Jen.”

“Take care of yourself Dave.  Call back if you need anything else.”  She hung up.

And again, she began to sob.  Mike held her close.  They didn’t talk.  They just found comfort in each other’s embrace.

“…has closed its doors for the first time in its history.”  A well dressed woman was standing at a podium.  “The violence that has gripped our city has found its way into our great institution of healing.  Our police and our security personnel are…”

“Oh God, what is happening?  These things are in the hospital?  Oh Jesus, I could be there right now,” Jen exclaimed.

“…Several people have been injured, and two were shot by police.  We are currently evacuating several floors…”  There were screams.  The cameraman panned to the rear of the room.  Two ghouls dressed only in hospital gowns had entered the briefing room.  One of them grabbed a nurse standing near the door before she could react.  He bit her neck as she struggled to escape.  Her screams were drowned out by the others in the room.  She succumbed to the attack quickly.

“No!  That’s Stacy.  She’s my house supervisor.  Oh God,” she turned from the TV.  The screams emanating from the box continued for several seconds before someone at the station finally cut to an unscheduled commercial.

Day 3

Oak Hills Drive, Bossier City LA.

Neither one of them slept well that night; a cat nap here, a bit of dozing off where they sat.  Both were awake with every noise from the outside.

They ate in silence, neither one having much of an appetite.  Out the window, the crowd has grown.  Mike was sure there must be about 30 dead people milling around Oak Hills Dr.  Their collective moan the only sound they could hear.

Suddenly the phone rang.  Both Mike and Jen almost jumped out of their skins.  It was Little Dave

“Mr. Mike.”

“Hello Dave.  How are you holdin’ up?”

“Not too good sir.  Pa died a while ago,” he choked back his tears

“I’m so sorry Dave.  You and your sister both ok?”

“Yes sir.  Theresa hasn’t done much for the last day but cry.  She saw what happened to Ma.”

“Dave, you guys gonna stay over there?  You want to try to make it over to our place?”

“I don’t know Mr. Mike.  I... I…I’m not sure what to do.  Theresa’s a wreck…”

“Dave you really looked at those things out there?  You know who most of ’um are right?”

“Yes sir.  Ma’s tried to come in several times.  I thought Theresa was actually going to open the door once.”

“You know your Pa might come back too.”

“I know.”  There was a long pause.  Mike almost hung up.

“Mr. Mike.”

“Yeah Dave.”

“You think we can make it to your place?  I mean those things are everywhere.”

“Tell you what Dave.  You and your sister pack a couple of backpacks.  Make sure and bring your dad’s guns and ammo, some clothes, any batteries you can find, and anything else you might need.  Call me when you’re packed.”

“Yes sir.”  And he hung up.

How can we do this?  How can we get those two kids across a street full of zombies?  He mulled it over for a few minutes.  He looked at the shotgun.  Then he thought about Brian and Cheryl.  No, that won’t work.

He thought about the cars.  Maybe he could get the car out of the garage and over to Dave’s garage.  No, Dave’s car is in the driveway.  Maybe he could pull up to the porch.  There are only a couple of zombies there.

“Jen, where’s the car keys?”

“You’re not going out there, are you?  You can’t.”

“Baby I have too.  Those two kids are in the house with a soon-to-be zombie.  Could you live with yourself if they got killed by him?  I couldn’t.”

“No.  No I couldn’t…  I guess I can drive and you can ride shotgun.”

“Alright, as soon as they call, we go.”

The phone rang.  “Davy.  You ready?”

“Yes sir.  How are we doing this?”  He sounded confident, the despair from the last conversation gone.

“Ok, we’re just gonna drive over there and get you.  Be at the front door and ready.”

“Ok Mike…”  BEEP!  BEEP!  BEEP!  The sound of a car alarm going off outside interrupted him.  Mike ran to the window, peeking through the shades.

“Hang on Dave.”  The crowd of zombies was moving down the street toward the beeping car.

“Dave, forget all that.  Those zombies are onto something that ain’t you.  As soon as they’re past your door, book it over here.”

“I got it Mike.  We’re on the way.  Oh, and I got a surprise for you.”  He hung up.

Mike and Jen watched intently for the pack to move.  There!  No, they’re not all passed.  Shit!  The two teens bolted from their own porch, each with a backpack on their back.  Dave had a baseball bat in his hands and Theresa was carrying a folding spade.  Run!  Run kids!

Three of the zombies saw the kids.  Dave made a bee-line for the zombie that was closest to them.  In a tomahawk-chop-like swing he crushed the ghoul’s skull.  It crumpled to the ground.  The other two were too far away to pose a threat.

The two kids mounted the porch, just as the door opened.  They both charged through the door without slowing.  Shut.  Click, click.  Jen and Mike embraced the two teens. 

Then they heard the moans.  Looking through the peephole, Mike saw two ghouls on the porch.  One was walking around rather aimlessly.  The other was scratching at the door.  Others were no longer paying attention to the car alarm, but the moaning zombies on the porch.

“Why did you guys bolt so fast?  All you had to do was wait another minute.”  Mike was pissed.  Now he had two zombies on his front porch, and more coming.  Shit!

“Sorry Mr. Mike.”  Davy was crying.  “Pa woke up.  He was coming down the stairs. It was either shoot him or run.  I couldn’t shoot him.  I’m so sorry Mike.  I just couldn’t.”

Mike was taken aback.  Jen let Theresa go and moved to embrace Dave.  “It’s ok Davy.  You did the right thing.”  She stroked his shaggy hair

“Thanks Miss Jen.  I’m so sorry Mike.  But, I did bring a few things.”  Dave’s mood brightened.  He threw off his backpack.  Underneath, close to his back he had a compound bow and several arrows hidden.