Chatter (4 page)

Chapter 7

Two hours pass on the long lonely road. The group had only made it about 50 miles. The roads were cluttered badly with abandoned cars and wreckage. Both chatterers and sniffers lumbered in and around making traveling difficult except at a slow crawl. The vehicle had run over to many on the way to take much more damage.

“We need to sleep somewhere soon,” said Trina.

Vick looked in the rearview mirror at the people behind him. Poor Autumn was in a ball tucked close to Keiko. The others were weary, tired, and hungry.

The vehicle chugged and slowed to a stop. “Oh god,” cried Keiko, “Why did we stop?”

The men piled out and popped the hood. “I think we’re done here, we stole a clunker.” Cade rubbed his face and looked into the car. “Everyone out, were going to be on foot for now.” Everyone but Autumn grabbed what they could of the weapons and supplies. She slowly followed as if in a trance.

“No guns out here unless there’s no other choice,” said Dwayne. “We have to move quietly and find some shelter.” The group agreed that sleeping outside was a bad idea all around.

They moved as stealthily as a group of six could. Cade led the group down the shoulder and followed the road from the ditch. The darkness made it difficult to see anything very far ahead. Vick followed in the rear making sure no strays were attracted to his group.

The six of them walked about 2 miles without incident. Cade knew from the interstate that they were a good hour’s drive at full speed from his family home. On foot it would be days.

“Look,” said Keiko with excitement.

She pointed off to their right. It looked through the darkness like a farm, a barn at least. It looked like one of those old abandoned farms with no house left standing, the family long gone. Everyone was excited. They turned towards the barn and suddenly came face to face with five chatterers.

“How the hell did we not hear them,” asked Vick.

“I don’t think they do it all the time, the bastards,” replied Dwayne.

Knives from the market came out. Cade slipped and fell in mud. A chatterer dove onto him spitting and clicking its teeth. Once again the big fangs came out as its mouth tore open wanting flesh.

Cade pushed the knife up into the jaw of the monster. He twisted and pushed as hard as possible. Finally, it must have punctured the brain and the chatterer fell to the side, splashing some gore chunks onto Cades face.

The others dealt with the remaining four quickly while Cade pulled himself up and wiped the ooze and blood off of his face and hands. He regrouped with them and they proceeded to the barn.

There was nothing special waiting inside the barn. It was a typical rundown one often found in Indiana. The wood was rooted, the doors barely attached to hinges. Old bales of hay lay strewn about.

“Let’s move all the hay to a couple horse bins,” said Vick.

“We will at least have some safety to rest that way.”

In no time at all they had arranged all the old stale hay into two adjoined stalls. It wouldn’t be very comfortable but at least off the roads for the night.

The night was long and most of the people struggled with sleep. In just one day their whole world had changed. From a normal spoiled American life to something out of a horror movie is tough to deal with. Most assumed and were dealing with the fact that their families and loved ones were dead or transformed into one of the chatterers. Poor Autumn had just lost her father hours ago. Who knows what is going through her mind.

The morning light shown through the cracks in the barn walls, slowly waking everyone. They stretched and stirred about. Today was the start of a new day. Much was lost yesterday and all of them still held a faint glimmer of hope that it was a fluke. Something outside would remind them that life as they knew it still existed.

“Everyone get moving. It’s early and we could make it to my house today if we get lucky,” said Cade.

The group shuffled about, waking up on their own. Autumn wandered up to him and pulled him down as if to tell a secret. “I want a gun please.” He looked at her astonished. “Kid I barely know how to shoot one, I can’t just hand a gun over to a little girl.”

Autumn frowned, “I’ve been shooting guns for ten years you ass-sack.” Cade cracked a smile at that line. “Can you handle a shotgun or you need my pistol?”

She smiled broadly, “The pistol will do until we find a rifle. That’s what I’m good with.”

He handed over his pistol and she cocked it and put it in her waistline. “Alright guys, just so you know, Autumn is now packing.”

No one said a word but filed out of the barn into the morning air. In the daylight they could see a gas station by the interstate that wasn’t visible in the night. “Let’s head over there and get some chow,” said Dwayne.

They walked for about ten minutes and came to the station. It was a run of the mill off the interstate gas station like the thousand others in the country. The men and women filed in grabbing what they could. None had even thought to check the building or the perimeter.

As they filled their pockets and bags close to a dozen undead lumbered out of the back stock room amid the noise the group was making. No one seemed to notice except one.

Vick was the first to look up, “Guys, we have a problem.”

Chapter 8

“Boom.” The shotgun erupted into the face of a chatterer. Vick had alerted the others just in time. They sprang into action instantly and fought for their lives. The group made a circle and stuck to it. The ones with knives depended on the ones with guns for protection but held their ground.

“Stick to formation, we will be fine,” said Cade.

Trina looked at him in terror, “This is the biggest group of them yet.” She punctured her knife into the side of an undead skull. Blood and ooze squirted her in the face. “Oh god, gross.”

“Just keep at it,” said Cade.

What was supposed to be an easy food run turned into a nightmare for the group. Keiko was pinned to the wall by an undead ghoul. She fought back and finally kicked a knee loose as the undead tumbled to the grounded now handicapped. The girl leapt over it and brought her axe down on the top of its head, halving it like a watermelon.

Cade was behind the register counter for added protection firing his shotgun left and right. Surreally it felt like playing one of his video games. He sure as hell wished that was what he was doing.

“Autumn, get over here” yelled Cade.

The girl was standing on top of aisle shelves shooting the undead below her. One false step and she would tumble into them helplessly.

“I’m fine Cade,” she answered. “I’ve almost got this aisle clean.”

The pistol held eight bullets but she caught on to reloading quickly. A few seconds of being empty and the gun was reloaded. Cade wasn’t quite sure if she was helping or had a death wish.

Several tense minutes passed and the gang of undead had been dealt with.

“Is everyone ok,” asked Cade.

The group sounded off and signaled that all was ok. They filled their bags with as much food and energy drinks as they could hold. Vick and Cade then went outside to sweep the perimeter and check for a car to use. Vick found an uncomfortably small economy car with the keys in it at a pump.

“It will look like a clown car with all of us in it, but it’ll do” said Cade.

As they raced up onto the interstate Cade’s thoughts turned to his mom, dad, and Sister Meg an hour away. Will they be alive? He presumed his parents had taken the shot. They were law abiding citizens. Meg on the other hand was a young 20 and full of piss and vinegar. Any time there was a rally at college she was there. It didn’t matter the cause. She could have refused the shot.

An hour turned into three as the roads were clogged with abandoned vehicles and the dead roaming around. The little car couldn’t take hits like the last one so Cade had to maneuver around all the obstacles.

Early afternoon arrived and the survivors arrived at the small town of Moncel. It was a tourist town with an amusement park and lakes that attracted people in the summertime. Cade’s family lived on the lake right across from the park. He drove the car down the small private lane to the house.

Cade and the group parked and walked towards the front door. It was a large three story home with water access, made mostly of brick. It was quite beautiful. Trina got to the door first and found something.

“Cade, come look at this.”

He made his way to the front and saw a letter written in black marker.

*I am at the park. It is safer there, plenty of food and places to hide. If anyone alive is looking for me, *Cade* that’s where I am. Don’t go inside*

              Cade put the note in his pocket, “My sister is at the park.”

              “That’s great Cade but what about your parents” said Keiko.

              Cade grabbed the door knob and started to turn it, “I think we will find them inside.”

              As they all stepped inside the smell gagged them. On the floor were at least ten bodies. Cade saw his mother sprawled over the couch and his father laying head first in the fire place. The rest of the people must have been friends.

              “God they must have been having a party,” said Trina.

              “Even worse,” Cade said. “Meg killed them all herself.”

              They continued looking around the house finding an occasional body thrown about. “We can stay here the night,” Cade said. “We need to get all the bodies outside, and then I need to go to the park.”

              “You aren’t going alone,” said Vick.

              “I can’t ask any of you to risk your lives for me or my sister.”

              “You don’t have to ask, we are all in this together Cade,” said Keiko as she took his hand and squeezed.

              His parents’ deaths had not hit him yet. He was too worried for Meg.

              “Alright let’s clean these up and get the house in order first,” said Cade. “And thanks.”

              Work on the house took hours. Little by little they carried out the dozen bodies and put them into a pile. Vick found a gas can in the garage and matches in the kitchen. He gave both to Cade.

              “I’ll let you do this my man, it’s your family,” said Vick.

              “Thanks Vick.”

              He doused the pile in gasoline and stepped back. He wasn’t a public speaker by any means so he had the group bow their heads for a silent prayer. After saying what he wanted to his parents, Cade threw a few matches onto the pile.

              Tears rolled down his cheeks as his mom and dad and their guests burned brightly in the afternoon sky. It took quite a while to burn down but no one moved. They all honored Cade and his parents, something he could never thank them enough for.

              The group finally went into the house to rest. They all took naps and cold showers. The gas was not working to warm the water. Still a shower was a shower.

              A few hours passed and Cade was ready to go before it got dark. They all followed his lead outside and down the lane. To the east was a large bridge that crossed the lake over to the amusement park.

              As they crossed the bridge the park came into view. “Holy god,” cried Keiko.

              “Yeah I knew it would be like this,” said Cade.

              “You all should go back.”

              They all looked with horror at the boardwalk of the park. Literally hundreds of undead roamed slowly around. Finding Meg would not be easy.

Chapter 9

Cade and the group looked down upon them from the bridge spanning the lake. The boardwalk below was littered with hundreds of undead. Many of the rides and shops were visible but Meg had to be in hiding.
              The day was still early so the sun beat against the lake water reflecting onto the chrome and metal rides of the park. What was once a bustling tourist trap in the summer was now an enclosed park of death. The Ferris wheel wasn’t spinning. The roller coasters sat empty. All the food stands were overturned or destroyed.

“You guys need to go back to the house,” said Cade.

“I will find my sister.”

The others didn’t budge however. They all stood motionless next to their friend.

“We help one another Cade,” answered Vick.

The rest echoed their sentiments and Cade was out voted.

“Thank you all,” said Cade as he walked to the end of the bridge. “We should all stick together and try to stay out of trouble.”

Cade and the others then decided it would be best to climb down the side of the bridge and go into the park from the water line. The bottom of the bridge had huge numbers of infected, to many to fight through.

“You know, I think I have a plan to weed some of these monsters out,” said Vick. “Follow my lead.”

They kept behind buildings and in the shadows. Moving slowly the group made their way to the Ferris wheel. On the platform Vick explained his plan to the others. Cade climbed into one of the cars attached to the wheel and waited as the rest hid.

A pack of undead was lumbering around the platform, probably 30 or more. Cade from the car yelled, “Hey assholes!”

The chattering began immediately. A few sniffers began moving around trying to locate Cade. Finally they got a bead on him and began moving in his direction. As they began fighting to enter the car he was in, Cade climbed out the other side and onto the roof.

“Hit it,” he cried.

Vick then popped up from hiding and pushed the button. The Ferris wheel turned two car lengths and stopped. Cade climbed to the new car and repeated the process over and over, loading the mob into one car at a time.

Most stood still while others fell out of their cars and snapped their necks and bodies on the concrete below. Once all the cars were full, Vick left the Ferris wheel running on constant.

“Nice plan Vick,” said Keiko. “We got rid of 30-40 chatterers in just a few minutes.”

The group looked on in amusement at the Ferris wheel of death spinning its captives over and over.

“What’s next?” asked Cade.

“Sea Dragon?” said Vick.

“Sea Dragon it is.”

Cade and the survivors made their way again across the concrete boardwalk. This time they set up at the sea dragon, a large boat that swings back and forth like a pendulum.

“Who wants to ride?”

Dwayne answered that he would this time. The others hid in the control room as he ran around a small area attracting attention. He then stood in front of the large boat and waited. As the pack of undead approached Dwayne gave the signal. He jumped into the boat and secured his seat.

Vick hit the switch and the boat started to move. Dwayne held on for dear life as the speed increased. The undead being stupid creatures kept walking towards the front of the boat. As it swooped back down a dozen infected smacked into the bow of the boat flying hilariously in all directions.

The group was actually having fun at the park. The fear of death was almost nonexistent. Over and over the boat would smack undead as it moved back and forth. Finally after several minutes there were no more to smack.

Vick stopped the dragon and let Dwayne off. The others congratulated him on doing well.

“Let’s round up a dozen or more to put on the boat. It’ll make our job easier. The six members ran around attracting more chatterers and sniffers, leading them onto the boat. Once the brain dead beings were loaded they jumped off and Vick turned the boat on again.

Since none were smart enough to buckle, as the boat increased speed the undead began being hurled off into the lake. “Looks like fun actually,” laughed Trina.

Autumn was the first to get back to business. “Let’s find that sister of yours now; we’ve gotten rid of at least 70 dead freaks.”

“Actually the more mobs we re-kill the better chance Meg will notice us and come out of hiding,” answered Cade.

“Let’s load up the barrel with as many as we can, and also turn on all the roller coasters to run over any that wander to them.”

They all agreed and made their way to the barrel. The barrel is a large cylinder that people stand in. As it turns faster and faster the riders stick to the walls helplessly pinned until it’s over.

The process repeated like before, but this time Trina wanted to be bait. She ran around the area of the barrel attracting quite a few behind her. As she leapt into the barrel, Trina waited for them to follow. As they filed in Vick raised her out and the others locked the gate.

They gave Autumn the honor of starting the ride. It started turning slowly, gaining speed every second. Soon the undead were pinned off their feet against the barrel spinning at top speed. They all began chattering loudly as if for help.

Help did arrive but to no avail. The would be rescuers tumbled into the barrel either breaking their faces or being sucked against the wall in comical positions.

Cade and the group left satisfied and began turning on all the roller coasters. The noise from all the rides left on attracted most of the other mobs so the group was pretty free to wander about looking for Meg.

They began searching the buildings. It wasn’t until they checked the temporary tattoo store that they heard anything. It was only Cade and Autumn in the store.

Cade saw movement out of the corner of his left eye and spun. “chk-chk,” the sound of a shotgun chambering a shell.

“Hello Cade,” said a brunette holding a shotgun.

“Meg.”

“Boom,” exploded the shotgun.