The Dead Live On (3 page)

I thought I had paid attention to details when I watched all those horror movies over the years. I guess not or we wouldn’t be trapped. I have a personal mental list called ‘Places you NEVER hide during a Zombie outbreak’ and rule number one is…
DON”T HIDE IN A FUCKING ATTIC! But here we are, stuck in an attic. It couldn’t be helped, we were left with no other choice - and I swear, if I hear a Halfer (I will explain them later) start yelling, “I know you’re up there, Jillian. I know - because I can smell your BRAINS!” Oh My God! I’ll go psycho bat-shit crazy before I get the chance to complete the task that lies before me. That used to be my favorite line from Return of The Living Dead. Not anymore, since I find us in an eerily similar predicament.

Just so you know killing the Infected is messy. You can’t even get a little bit of infected blood or tissue on you. In the movies and on TV, they just whack them up and blood is flying everywhere in their faces and all
across their mouths and shit.  Well, here in the real world, if it gets on your skin ANYWHERE you are ‘subject to change’. We only know that because of our friend Jimmy.  I’ll tell you about it if I can get that far. And it only makes sense, right? I mean, if you can be infected by injection or by a bite and even a scratch, it has to flow through the blood stream to affect the brain. How else could it be carried through the body? Well, I’m no doctor, but I’m almost sure that I am right. And no, the previously deceased do not come back, clawing their way out of their graves screaming for brains. Those people have already made their peace with God and they are left at rest.

Chapter Two

I’m pretty sure all this has to do with the Apocalypse, Armageddon - THE END OF THE WORLD! I believe that because, God said “AND YE SHALL BE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE!”, “AND THE EARTH SHALL BE SWALLOWED UP!”, “THE DEAD SHALL RISE!” Not the exact quotes but you get the idea. I can, however, quote Revelation 9:6.

“And in those days men shall seek Death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, a
nd death shall flee from them.” I think that the latter was meant for unbelievers, I’m not sure, but it seems to fit this situation in some cases. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna quote the whole Bible to you, I’m only giving the reasons why I think this particular curse was laid on us.

I think that the USA is suffering the worst kind of
plague because of our actions. USA is the Land of The Free right? The land in which you can worship many Gods except the God this country was founded on. . The land where the ‘powers that be’ have removed the Ten Commandments from our schools and public places despite the protests of not only the truly devout, but non- practicing Christians as well. This is a land where the people have more faith in sex and gold than they have in The Creator.

In this land, women can show, sell, and bargain with the whole of their bodies if they want to. Homosexuals are allowed to proclaim it and be proud. Not that I have anything against them. I’m just putting it out there. Our children are having sex before they are in their teens. Lewd and lascivious acts are even happenin
g in churches of all religions. Our Pastors are sleeping with the Deacons wives, the Deacons are sleeping with the men and women of the congregation and our Catholic Priests are raping young children and getting away with it.

God said, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of th
e Father, but is of the world.” I don’t go to church, and I’m not exactly a saint. I just don’t feel like I have to stand in a room full of hypocrites for God to know my heart.

I have a lot of flaws as does everyone else, (one of them being my consistently foul mouth) but no matter how I’ve lived my life, I have always believed in God and that He created us, and that we will all be held accountable for our actions. That we will all suffer for our own sins as well as the sins of others
. And now, I believe it’s time to pay the Piper.

This curse is a punishment given to us because of our desire for flesh.
It’s as if He held out his hands and said to us, “IF IT IS THE FLESH THAT YE SO GREATLY DESIRE WITH ALL YOUR HEARTS, THEN IT IS FLESH YE SHALL SURELY HAVE, IN ABUNDANCE!” And with the snap of His fingers came a bolt of lightning and the Infection was cast down upon us. 

Those who are attacked by a flesh eater, become a flesh eater. Those who are killed without injury to the brain, they too, become flesh eaters. Those who are lucky enough to get away will just be running, until all the resources are dried up. They will starve to death, and become an Infected, or be left with the decision to commit suic
ide and not become an infected. It’s kind of like being able to choose between Heaven and Hell. What do you do? “To be or not to be?  That is the question.”

I think someone great once said that. I don’t know who. It doesn’t matter any way, that’s just about the gist of it. Either way, we are screwed. There is no escape. We found that out the hard way.

There are SO FUCKING MANY OF THESE THINGS! And these zombies don’t just eat brains; any part of your body will suffice. It’s just like the movies in which the intended victims are running, and the killer keeps dragging ass but they ALWAYS catch up to them. There’s NO WAY OUT!  

I just want to go back home now. I am really angry that Evan got bit. I should’ve been right behind him.
If he were okay; I’d say let’s just go home and die in OUR bed, surrounded by the familiar things that we worked so hard to obtain. We didn’t even want to leave, but it wasn’t safe to stay. But REALLY! Where the fuck is it safe to stay these days?

Ugh! I’m so frustrated!  I apologize for the language but it’s the only way I have to vent; and if I shouted it out loud like I really want to, I’ll just stir up the Infected downstairs. I can hear them moaning and groaning down there, reminding me tha
t there is nowhere left to run. Game Over.

They DO know we’re up here; they just can’t get to us because when I pulled up the ladder, I tightly wrapped the cord around a nail I saw sticking up out of the floor to keep it from being pulled open. They will have to drag some kind of furniture up to stand on and pry the lid somehow to get up here. The ones down
there now aren’t smart enough. I can just see them now. Standing under the hatch, open mouthed, milky-eyed and staring at it, waiting for us to come down. Why not? They have all the time in the world.

Now, the Halfers - I’m kind of worried about because they still think like a human and possess insane speed and strength for about three hours or so before they become full out zombie. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any of those down there. Not yet.

Damn, two months ago I would’ve sworn on my life, that I could survive if a ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ were to occur. It’s apparent that I can’t. Evan is sick and I’m alone now. All I have left to do, is wait.  So, I will tell as much as I can recall, as accurately as I can while I’m waiting.

This may not be as action packed as you would expect, it is only my account of what it was really like for Evan and I to remain alive d
uring a real zombie apocalypse. I’m sure there were people in larger groups running around, with a much more interesting tale to tell. But not us, we chose to be alone. So, I’m not going to say much about some of the people we ran into, because there weren’t many. I’ll just say that few people we did meet all felt the same way we do. Less people together, the less threat of being caught. No threat of one of us turning on the others if someone decided to keep being scratched, or bitten a secret.

We
talked, swapped stories, shared survival tips, traded supplies and parted ways.

And as far as killing zombies, there is no glorious tale of kill or be killed. We did have to kill quite a few, but we were better off dodging them than we were if we would have stayed to fight them.

Chapter
Three

September twelfth was the day it all began. I awoke that morning with a suffocating sense of dread.  I felt like there was something seriously wrong. It was so strong that my heart was racing and I was shaking inside. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest, I was sure I would faint. Anyone else might’ve thought they were having a heart attack, but I had those feelings often enough to know what they were. Sometimes, things did happen. Minor things and they weren’t as bad as the feelings would lead me to believe, but this time was different, it weighed much too heavily on me. I knew it wasn’t going to be a small thing.

I went back into the bedroom and looked in on Evan to make sure he was still breathing. No reason why he shouldn’t be, I
just wanted to cross that out. I thought to call my sisters, but it being so early in the morning (five thirty a.m.), I didn’t think my call would be received with much warmth. I made a mental note to call them at eight, turned on the television and booted up the computer. I needed to get online and continue my job search; I had been out of work for a month by then and was bored out of my mind, not to mention the hard time Evan was having keeping us afloat. He was working six days a week insulating new homes, and he was just plain tired.

I checked my phone and saw that I had no missed calls. I checked my Facebook page, thinking, if something was really wrong, anyone who didn’t have my
phone number would message me. There were none. I took a deep breath, put aside my fears for the moment and began my usual routine.

I went into the kitchen and turned the stove on low and started heating a skillet, hit the ‘START’ button on the coffee pot and put Evan’s work clothe
s on the hook in the bathroom. The pan was hot enough by then so I cracked two eggs into the skillet and packed his lunch while I waited to turn them. I just couldn’t shake my bad feeling and I didn’t want Evan to go to work. I wanted him to stay home with me, that way I could be sure that whatever was wrong had nothing to do with him. When the eggs were done I put them on a plate to cool and went in to wake Evan.

“Hey, it’s time to get up.” I shook his foot and turned off the air conditioner. He always slept with it on because he liked the chil
ly temperature of the room and the sound of it put him to sleep. “Man, I just wanna sleep all day,” he said groggily “do I have a few more minutes?”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said as
I leaned over and kissed him. “I let you sleep as long as I could. Your clothes are on the bathroom door.”

“Okay, I’m up.” he said throwing the blanket off of him, smiling as he looked down towards his rigid member. I really wanted to, but the feelings I was having made
sex the last thing on my mind. “No, Evan. Not right now.” I said regretfully though I could not keep from admiring the beauty of it. “Okay, your loss…” he said and got up and went into the bathroom, mumbling something mean under his breath.

While he showered, I put his eggs on bread and still contemplated on asking him to skip work today. I knew he would sa
y no, so I decided against it. He came out dressed for work and he smelled so good. I went to him and buried my face in his neck, inhaling his scent and hoping it would calm me. It didn’t, it only made it worse. He hugged me back and asked “What’s that for?” He left one arm around my waist and the other reached out for his egg sandwich.  Food, the (second) first thing a man thinks of upon waking. “I love you.” I said and went to sit in the recliner while he ate and checked his Facebook. I still just could not get rid of that feeling. It was driving me nuts! I sat shaking my leg and chewing my jaw as I tried to think of ‘Things That Could Go Wrong Today’.

I was already out of a job so that wasn’t it. All the housework was done except the few little things I had to do after Evan was gone, and I couldn’t call my sisters f
or a couple hours yet. I didn’t know what else it could be.

“Is there something wrong with you today? You turned me down and now you’re eating your fingers.” Evan asked and I snapped back to the here and now, I
didn’t realize I had started chewing my nails. I looked at my index finger and silently cursed to myself, I had chewed it down to the quick and was a little pissed at myself because I had been letting them grow for a month and they were getting long. Now I was missing one.

“No - just, I don’t know. I’m feeling real bad today. I think something is wrong, but I don’t know what and I hate feeling this way.”  I stood up because the anxiety of it was getting the best of me and I couldn’t sit still.

“There you go with them feelings again, is that what kept me from getting laid this morning? I keep telling you that its panic attacks and you won’t go to the doctor. Make an appointment today. I mean it.” His tone was a little cold but I knew he meant well, but I could tell he was still a little aggravated because I had turned him down this morning. I had never turned him down before. “It’s not panic attacks, it’s something else and I can’t put my finger on it! It’s not the same as usual, Evan.” Then it was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“Please,
will you stay home today?” His eyes softened and he could tell that I was very distraught. “Jill, obviously something’s bothering you and I wish I could stay, but I can’t. The bills are due and missing even one day of work puts us out for a month. I can’t stay home just because you have a bad feeling. I’m sorry, but I have to go. I mean, right now. I’m gonna be late. I love you.” He kissed me. “Call me if you have to, I’ll keep my phone close.” He went to the sink for a quick drink of water and said to me over his shoulder, “Make the appointment.” With that he grabbed his cooler and left. He thought I was going crazy. That was the last thing I needed, it only added to my stress.