The Birth Of Decay (5 page)

             
I
woke up before the sun broke over the horizon and suited up.  I started the coffee pot on my desk and stepped out of the office.  I walked quietly and unlocked the door to the zombie-filled world.  I sat down on the stairs and starting smoking a cigarette.  I looked at the groaning zombies and waved at them.  Most of their skin was peeling off their faces from rubbing up against the fence through the night and the bones underneath were exposed.  I started thinking about going on our next raid; we would need to hit up a large store for food, clothes and supplies too make this place feel more like home.  We were not ready for the military base and couldn’t afford loosing anyone else.

             
The door suddenly opened and it pulled me back from my thoughts.  Ricky sat down beside me and handed me a cup of coffee.  “Thanks.”  Ricky took a sip of his coffee and looked at the zombie-covered gate.  “Do you think they remember what life was once like?”  He asked.  I took a sip of my coffee and looked at him.  “I doubt it man. It would be more like instinct.”

             
I tossed my cigarette onto the ground and pulled out my handgun.  “Can you believe we used to talk about the zombie apocalypse and now look at us?  It’s like one big video game.”  I said.  Ricky looked down at my gun and smiled.  “It’s just too bad we don’t have game cheats we can use.”  He blurted out and we both started laughing. 

             
The door suddenly opened and Dennis stood in the doorway.  “Can we talk to you guys?”  He asked.  Ricky and I got up and walked back in the shop.  I noticed Dennis and Claire standing near her tent and I walked up to my office.  “We can talk in here.”  I said.  We all went into the office and I sat behind the desk.  Ricky pulled his bedding off the couch and offered them a seat.  Ricky walked over to the coffee pot and poured each of them a cup.  Dennis thanked Ricky and looked at me.  “I know this is really not your problem but….”  He got quite for a moment and Claire encouraged him to continue with a touch on his shoulder.  “Well Claire has kids and I’m a pretty big guy, we need some real food.  I just think we will end up eating all your supplies.”  He said.

             
“Our food,” I said.  I stood in front of them and crossed my arms.  “You are part of my family now and we will all need food soon.  We need to figure out our next raid and how we are going to do it.”  I said.  Claire looked up and smiled at me.  “Thank you.”  She said in a soft voice.  I took her hand and looked over at Dennis.  “Are you willing to help us on the raid Dennis?  There is a chance you can get hurt or worse.”  I said.  He nodded and I looked back at Claire.  “You stay here with the kids.  Don’t worry; we will get rid of the zombies at the gate.”  I assured her.  I walked over to my desk, picked up a shotgun, and handed it to Dennis.  “Give her your hand gun.”  I said.  He nodded and handed her the gun.

             
After we worked out the plan, Claire took her kids into the office and they locked the door.  I ran over to the combine and jumped into the cab.  I started it up and watched Ricky open up the large garage door with a push of a button.  I grabbed the large control stick and the heavy machine started to slowly move foreword.  I passed the office and maneuvered it outside.  Ricky and Dennis started pushing the dead tractor to the side and I slowly pulled the combine closer.  Dennis jumped onto the working tractor and drove it away from the gate.  I started up the blades on the front of the combine and Ricky tied a rope onto the gate and walked to the side.  He looked up at me and I quickly nodded.  Ricky pulled the rope and the gate rolled to the side.  I drove the combine through the gate and the front blades started hitting the attacking zombies.  Body parts started to fly into the air and blood covered the windshield.  I kept it moving steady and I could hear the tearing of flesh and the sounds of bones crushing under the heavy turning blades.  I could not see past the blood and kept rolling for a while.  “We are clear!”  Ricky yelled up to me. 

I turned off the combine and climbed out to look at the horror I had created.  Several zombie heads were still moving their mouths and biting at the air.  I ran to the back and noticed the massive pile of body parts and the river of blood.  I gagged at the heavy smell of decay that hung in the air.  I could not hold it back anymore; I bent over and started puking at my feet.  I noticed I was puking onto a zombie head and my vomit was pouring into his moving mouth.  I backed away in disgust, pulled out my handgun, and shot it between the eyes.

              Ricky and Dennis ran up and started patting my back.  “Are you alright.”  Ricky asked.  I shook my head and stood there for a moment to gather my composer.  I looked at Ricky and nodded.  “I’m alright.  The smell and sight got to me.”  I explained.  Dennis gagged and shook his head.  “I know what you mean, let’s get back inside.”  He said.  We all ran back in the shop and sat down on the cool concrete floor and I worked on catching my breath. 

             
Claire opened the office door and slowly walked up to us.  I looked up and noticed she had a look of concern on her face and her arms crossed.  I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall.  “We killed them, but now there is one hell of a mess.”  I said in a slight daze.  She walked over and knelt down.  “Here.”  She said.  I opened my eyes and noticed she was holding out a sports drink.  I took it from her hand and started to drink away the sour taste in my mouth.  She sat down in front of me and crossed her legs.  “The girls wanted me to ask you something.”  I reached over and handed Ricky the sports drink.  “What is it?”  I asked curiously.

             
I did not have much experience with kids in the other life, but I had always loved being around them.  Every time I would see a kid staring at me, I would do something goofy and make them laugh.  I had always dreamed of having a wife and kids; you know the old American dream.  I would often imagine myself coming home from work and taking the kids outside and play for hours.  I would then sit at the dinner table and listen to them talk about their day and their crazy imagination run wild.  My wife and I would then put them to bed and send some time together.  With the sudden zombie epidemic that would prove hard to achieve.

             
I looked over at the office door and noticed the girls peeking at me.  Claire gave them a smile and looked back at me.  “They wanted to know if you had any toys.”  She said with a smile.  “I know you don’t have any around here, but they insisted I asked you.”  Then it hit me; even though we were surrounded by death and destruction, kids would be kids. 

I looked at Claire and smiled warmly.  “How old are your daughters?”  I asked.  She ran her hand through her hair and looked over at her kids proudly.  “Seven.”  I did not even give it much thought; I just answered.  “I will get them some toys on our next run.”  She smiled at the girls and gave them a thumb up.  I laughed to myself as the girls jumped up and down excitedly.

              Ricky handed Dennis the rest of the sports drink and looked at me.  “We need to burn them in the field behind the shop.  Then we should do that run.”  He said.  I nodded in agreement and rested my eyes again.

             
W
e spent the following three days cleaning up our zombie mess and burned the bodies.  It was hard and we made sure to keep the kids busy with chores and telling them stories.  It was early morning and a storm was moving in.  It started to lightly rain and the ground was covered in a dense fog.  I moved the combine too the side of the building and let the rain clean it up.  The weather was not the best, but we were ready for our next run.

             
We were all in the office and the kids were playing hide and go seek while we planned everything out.  I pointed to the dry erase board.  “I noticed a welding machine in the corner of the shop.  I will park my car in here and we should modify it; maybe a heavy bar system on the front and some fencing over the windshield.”  I said as I pointed to the picture of the car I had drawn.  Dennis studied the picture and nodded.  “That sounds good.  I have some welding experience; I used to help my dad at his garage.”  He said.

             
Ricky was standing behind the desk and filling his ammo belt with 12 gauge shells.  “I noticed some scrap metal behind the shop.”  He said.  I drew a picture of a store and pointed to it.  “Our first stop is a big chain store; we can get clothes, batteries, food and other necessary supplies.”  I said.  I then turned and looked at Claire who was sitting on the couch and staring at the erase board.  “I will also grab a few toys for your daughter.”  She looked at me and smiled.

             
The girls came running up to the door and Claire Jr. looked at me and smiled.  “It’s your turn John.”  She said.  I put my hands on my hips and gave them a big smile.  “You want me to try and find you guys, but you’re really good at hide and seek.”  I said.  The girls ran off and hid in the shop.  I looked at Ricky and Dennis.  “We leave in an hour, start on the car.”  I said.  I tossed my car keys to Ricky and ran out of the office to find the girls.

             
After the girls and I played for about an hour, I joined the boys with the car modifications.  I stood in front of the car and looked at the heavy bars they installed on the front.  “Hell yes guys.  It’s zombie smacking time!”  I laughed.  Dennis laughed at my enthusiasm and started finishing the welding.  I noticed Ricky come in through the large garage door and was dragging a piece of fencing; I ran over and helped him it drop it next to the car.  Ricky took of his ball cap and scratched his balding hair.  “This should stop zombies from jumping in our car.”  He said.  I patted him on the back and he tossed his hat back on his head.  “Hell ya it will.”  I laughed.

We continued to work for hours and only stopped for an occasional cup of coffee and cigarette.  The sun was leaving our side of the earth and darkness was setting in.  I stood in the doorway and smoked a cigarette.  I watched the rain drops smack onto the gravel parking lot and continue to fill the numerous puddles.  Claire walked up and stood beside me.  I lit her a cigarette and handed it to her.  She thanked me with a smile and watched the rain with me.  After a few surreal moments, Claire put her hand on my shoulder.  I turned and looked at her.  “I hate to ask, but the girls want to know if you can tell them a story before they go to bed?”  She asked.  I tossed my cigarette into one of the muddy puddles and went to Claire’s tent; I told the girls an exciting story about a unicorn and a baby dragon.

After they fell asleep and Claire joined them I walked into the office and sat behind my desk.  Ricky was cleaning his semi automatic handgun and humming to himself.  I took a drink of a cup of coffee I had poured and looked at him.  “How are you holding up?”  I asked.  Ricky set his gun down beside him and looked at the rain-covered window.  “I just pray that this world will one day return to normal.”  He said in a distant voice.  I finished my coffee and rested my body in the chair.  “I know what you mean.  This will be the ultimate test on mankind; are we strong enough to live after such hell.”  I said.

             
Ricky stood up and poured himself a cup of coffee.  I watched him walk over to the window and continue to watch the rain.  I let out a sigh, walked over, and stood next to him.  “What’s on your mind?”  I asked.  Ricky looked at me and took a drink of his coffee.  I could tell his mind was racing.  He set the cup down on the window seal and looked at me sadly.  “What if my parents never changed.”  He said.  I looked out the window and started thinking about my parents.  “Both of our parents had had the chips put in.”  I said.  Ricky and I stood there in silence and listened to the sounds of thunder and rain hitting the metal roof.  We really did not say much after that we just both entered our minds and continued to watch the storm.

             
T
he following morning the sun had risen and the clouds had left the skies.  I turned on the coffee machine, grabbed the last two energy bars, and broke them into pieces for each of us.  We all started moving around the shop and slowly woke up.

             
I walked into the shower room and undressed.  I started up the water and held my hand under it until it felt warm to the touch.  I covered my growing brown hair with hand soap and closed my eyes.  I heard the door open and I turned my head towards the sound of the approaching person; soap was covering my head and I did not open my eyes.  “I will be done in a few minutes; you can have the shower after me.”  I called out.  I continued to scrub my hair and felt the warmth of the water cover my back.  I suddenly felt a touch on my chest and I jumped back.  “Whoa!”  I called out. 

             
“It’s okay, it’s just me.”  Claire’s voice called out.  I leaned my head back and rinsed away the soap.  I opened them and looked at Claire standing naked in front of me.  She picked up the soap and ran it across my shoulders.  I felt my heart pound in my chest and was unable to speak.  She continued to run the soap along my body.  She leaned in and kissed me.  I wrapped my arms around her and felt the water run over us both.  We stayed in the shower for over twenty minutes and made love; I now had someone to live for.

             
After the shower, I suited up and got in the car.  Ricky sat next to me and Dennis got in the back.  I looked at the windshield and smiled.  “This car is great now!”  I cheered.  Claire walked up to my open door and looked at me.  “Be careful.”  She said in a soft voice.  I smiled shyly and looked up at her.  “We will be fine.”  I said bravely.  She kissed me and shut my door.  She opened the garage and I drove out onto the wet gravel.  I pulled up to the gate and Ricky jumped out and pulled it open.  I drove out and waited for him; he jumped back in the car and we were off.

             
I drove to the end of the muddy dirt road and stopped just before the main road to town.  I looked at Ricky and Dennis.  “Are you guys ready?”  I asked.  Ricky turned the safety off his 9mm and Dennis held up his shotgun.  “Let’s do this!”  Dennis cheered.  I hit the gas, drove onto the smooth main rode, and drove into town.  I kept the car at a steady twenty-five miles an hour and looked around for signs of zombies.  “I see zombies!”  Ricky said.  He pointed out his window and I noticed a small group of decayed zombies standing in a yard.  They started walking towards the sound of my car and I sped off. 

I continued down the main road and swerved around a few zombies walking aimlessly around.  I noticed a large retail store off to the right and pulled in the parking lot.  I noticed several empty cars in front of the store.  I stopped the car and looked around; a few zombies walked around the parking lot and had heard us pull in.  I drove closer to the front entrance of the store and put the car in park.  I looked at Ricky and Dennis.  “Remember; use the baseball bats on small groups and only use guns when we have to.  We can’t afford to attract the whole town.”  I said.

              We jumped out of the car.  I reached in the back seat, grabbed my sword, and shut the door.  I noticed a couple of the zombies had made their way to us.  Ricky and Dennis pulled out their baseball bats and walked over to me.  “Let’s do this quick.”  I said.  We ran towards the couple of zombies and Ricky hit one of them on top of the head; I shoved my sword into its left eye and the zombie fell.  I looked over and watched Dennis hit a zombie with a heavy swing of his bat and the zombies head blew open from the heavy impact.  The zombie fell to the ground and I ran up to the door.  I was glad the sliding doors were half opened and since the power was dead; they could not move.  We all ran in and noticed the emergency lights were on and most of the building was visible. 

             
Ricky took off his backpack and tossed in his baseball bat; He looked at me.  “There are too many zombies here for this weapon.”  He whispered.  I looked around and noticed many zombies walking around and knocking over items.  “You’re right.  Let’s switch to guns.”  I whispered back.  Dennis nodded and tossed his baseball bat into Ricky’s bag and pulled out his shotgun.  I looked down at it and remembered the night at the motel and how blessed we were to get that gun.  Ricky pulled out his semi automatic and I quickly did the same.  “Let’s split up.”  Dennis whispered.  I shook my head and looked at him.  “No, we stick together.  Ricky and I tried that once and lost someone.  We hit fast and hard as a group.”  I said.  Dennis and Ricky nodded and I took the safety off my gun. 

Without another word, I turned and walked lightly towards a couple of zombies near a clothes rack and pointed my gun at one of their heads.  I had two empty backpacks on and knew they would soon weigh me down.  Before I could pull the trigger, I heard a loud bang and one of the zombies heads exploded.  I heard Dennis pump his shotgun and fire again; the other zombie flew back from the blast and fell into the clothes rack.

              I ran over to a rack with a woman coats and grabbed a black one.  “Ricky! Backpack!”  I yelled.  Ricky ran over and turned around; I stuffed the coat into his bag, ran past a few other racks, and found men’s coats.  “Dennis!”  I called out.  A few seconds later Dennis came up and turned around for me.  I shoved in three of the coats and pushed them down in the bag as far as I could.  I stepped back and realized he could only fit a few items in there now.  “We need to stop at backpacks and grab a few more!”  I said.

             
“Zombies!”  Ricky called out beside me.  I turned and noticed a few zombies hissing loudly and stumbling towards us.  I raised my gun and opened fire on them.  After only a second, they dropped onto the ground.  I motioned for Ricky and Dennis and made our way to woman’s clothing; Ricky offered his backpack and I tossed in a few pairs of jeans and some shirts.  Dennis walked up and watched me toss in a few more shirts.  “We really don’t need clothes.”  He whispered.  I shook my head and looked at him.  “I don’t plan on wearing this same outfit forever and it smells like one of those damn zombies!”  I whispered loudly.

             
I ran further down, grabbed some clothes off the kids rack, and looked at Ricky.  “Put these in one of my backpacks.”  I said.  He took the clothes and I turned around for him.  After he tossed in a few more, I ran to a rack with kids’ coats and turned around.  “Ricky, grab two of the purple ones and toss them in my backpack.”  I said.  Ricky nodded and tossed them into my bag. 

Dennis ran off to another isle and I was going to yell out for him but knew it would just attract more zombies.  Ricky shook his head.  “We should stick together.”  He whispered.  I shook my head in disappointment, crossed over to the food section, and looked at Ricky.  “Just grab some good stuff and fill up my other backpack.”  I whispered.  Ricky ran up and down the isle and started filling my bag.  “Okay, your backpack is full.”  He said.

             
Boom…Boom

             
Ricky and I heard Dennis’s shotgun blast in the distance.  I was about to go find him when he suddenly ran past a few clothes racks and came over to us.  “You son of a bitch!”  I whispered angrily.  Dennis looked at me.  “I’m sorry man; I filled the rest of my backpack with underwear and socks for us all.”  He said with a heavy breath.  I shook my head and put my hand on his shoulder.  “We can’t loose you.”  I said.

             
We ran past a few more isles and ran over to some backpacks and we each took one.  We filled the bags with camping supplies, batteries, food and whatever wasn’t nailed down.  I lead them back towards the front of the store and I ran up to checkout isle eighteen and jumped over the counter.  I grabbed a few cartons of cigarettes and lighters and tossed them in a grocery bag.  “Your total is fifty thousand!”  I said to Ricky and Dennis.  Ricky shook his head.  “Put it on my tab.”  He laughed.

             
I noticed a few zombies walking up to us and I ran to the front door.  Ricky and Dennis came up beside me and we looked out at the parking lot; a large group of zombies was gathering.  Ricky shook his head and looked at me.  “We better get in the car and pray we get out of here!”  I said in a panic.  I strapped my gun onto my vest and pulled two grenades’ out from my belt.  “I have a better idea.”  I said.  Ricky and Dennis looked at each other and nodded.  In an instant, they ran out of the door and started shooting a few zombies trying to attack my car.  I walked out with a grenade in each hand and stood behind the car.  “I’m going to throw them in the crowd.  When I do; duck behind this damn car!”  I said loudly.  Ricky and Dennis continued to fire at the zombies and take out as many as they could.  I focused on the zombie horde and realized there had to be well over a hundred; just like last time.

             
I held my hands out to my sides.  “Pull um!”  I yelled.  Ricky and Dennis turned around and they each pulled out a pin.  I threw them as hard as I could and they each landed in the crowd.  We quickly knelt down behind the car and covered our ears.  A heavy blast suddenly echoed off the store windows and caused them to shatter.  A second later, another explosion happened and I felt the ground rumble at my feet.  We waited a few seconds and stood back up.  I looked in horror as hundreds of body parts moved independently on the ground; arms flexed around, heads chewed at the air and blood covered the surround cars and ground.  We jumped in the car and drove around a few zombies that has survived the blast and drove down the road.

             
I pulled up to the gun store that I had visited a while back and parked in one of the slots.  We all jumped out and ran into the building.  “Grab as many guns and ammo as you can.  We will load the back of the car until there is no more room!”  I yelled.  We all started grabbing gun after gun and ammo after ammo.  We did not care what it was; we just kept loading. 

“Asshole!”  A man suddenly yelled out.  We turned and pointed the gun at an old man standing near the back office.  I noticed he had green camouflage on and was pointing a shotgun at us.

              We all stood locked in a possible shootout.  “Are you the ones who stole my damn guns?”  The old man yelled.  I looked at him and shook nervously.  I was more scared of the living than the dead I realized.  “Look we had too.”  I said.  The old man took a few steps towards us and kept the shotgun pointed at me.  “You damn thief!”  He yelled. 

Dennis kept his shotgun pointed at the old man and put his hand out to attempt too calm him.  “Look mister, it’s the end of the world and we are just doing what we feel is necessary.”  He said calmly.  I watched every move the old man made and I started to feel tense.  I did not want to shoot him, but he may just make me take such drastic measures.

              The old man turned the gun at Dennis and raised his gun.  “I’ll kill you!”  The old man yelled.  I pulled the trigger and opened fired at the old man.  Ricky and Dennis joined in and the man quickly filled with bullets.  He dropped to the ground and fell face first onto the shop floor.  I closed my eyes.  “Why didn’t he listen?”  I cried.  I opened my eyes and looked at Ricky and Dennis; they were shaking and their eyes filled with tears.  I ran over to a mannequin and kicked it over onto the floor.  “Damn!”  I yelled.

             
We all went into a sudden panic and was trying to calm ourselves down.  After a few minutes, I found a blanket and covered up the old man’s body.  We continued to fill up the car and remained in silence. I walked up to my car door and looked over at the pharmacy.  “The kids.”  I blurted out.  Ricky and Dennis looked at me and I walked over to the pharmacy.  “We need toys and some medicine wouldn’t hurt.”  I said.

             
I wiped my eyes and tried clearing my mind; there was a lot to take in.  We walked into the pharmacy and shot down every zombie we found.  I filled a couple of shopping bags full of toys, book, soap and shampoo, make-up for Claire and a bunch of razors.  Ricky filled shopping bags with medicine and what ever else he thought we might need.  Dennis ended up grabbing a few air mattresses and some more food.  We loaded the car up and there was not any room left.  This was a good score and would set us for a while.  On our way out, I grabbed a couple of packages of two-way radios and we drove back home in silence.