Z Day is Here (20 page)

I stuffed the bear under my arm and began
running to the front of the store. Just before I got to the door, a
zombie woman tackled me. There was nothing I could do except try to
keep from getting my face ripped off. Her rotting teeth snapped
down towards my neck. I moved under her in just enough time to
avoid the bite. I could feel her nails as they shredded my shirt
and skin. I tried pushing her off, but I was exhausted. Her next
attack hit directly where she had aimed, ripping the skin and part
of the muscle out of my forearm as if it were bread. My arm felt as
though it were on fire. My blood splattered all over my face and
began pouring onto the floor. I managed to get her off of me by
rolling over onto my stomach and bucking her like a bronco. In the
process, I was also bitten on my left shoulder. When she was off of
me, I grabbed the closest thing I could find: the cash register. I
raised it above my head and brought it down as hard as I could
across her face. I continued to bash her with the register until
there was nothing left of her head but a bloody mush.

I ran to the bathroom and washed and dressed
my wounds as best I could. I had to stop the bleeding or I would be
one of them before I got out of the store. After what seemed like
hours, I had controlled the bleeding to a slow drip instead of a
flowing river. Shaking, I went back to find the bear. He was
covered in my blood and some brain matter from my attacker. I went
back to the shelf to find the perfect bear again. Nothing seemed
right. My head was swimming. I couldn't think straight. I grabbed
the closest stuffed animal I could find and headed back towards the
truck. As I passed my attacker’s lifeless body, I could see a
security badge hanging from her belt. I leaned down to pick it up.
I had to know who she was. I had to know who damned me and ended my
life as I know it. The badge read Stephanie.

As I approached the truck, everyone could see
the state I was in. My shoulder bled through my shirt, and blood
ran down my hand from the bite on my forearm. Mego was the first
one to me. She slowly pulled out her shotgun, yelled at me to stop,
and pointed the gun directly at my head. I closed my eyes. I could
hear Tonya and Cole scream my name. I heard running. I fell to my
knees, awaiting the blast that would end my life. The shot never
came.

As Mego was about to pull the trigger,
Jeremiah stopped her. "He has a few more days left if we can stop
the bleeding now."

As I opened my eyes, Darcy came running over
to where I was. She threw her arms around me and began to cry.
Together, we walked to the truck. All eyes were on us. I handed her
the stuffed fox I had grabbed on my way out of the store. As I
handed it to Darcy, she asked me what its name was. "Stephanie," I
told her. I gave no explanation and helped her back into the
truck.

We should be at the mountain in about an
hour. I have very little time left. I have to ensure the others are
safe. I have to know that Darcy will be well taken care of. She is
asleep with her head on my shoulder right now. I am going to miss
this moment. I will miss our life.

I am going to try to enjoy the last few hours
we have together.

This is my last entry.

I can feel the infection ripping through my
body, killing everything inside me as it takes over. Reality hasn't
quite sunk in yet that in a few short minutes I will be dead.

Last night when we got to the mountain, we
immediately began setting up the explosives around the path. Thanks
to the United States government, we had more than enough
high-powered explosives to blow up a small country. As we worked,
Ed paced back and forth behind me, never taking his eyes off me.
Not that I blame him. Darcy was in and out of it all night. Half
the time she would know who she was and what was going on, and the
other half she was completely unresponsive.

Sometime early this morning, Tonya, who was
our lookout, yelled to us that two very large migrations were
heading our away. Those made us work even harder and faster. As the
evening came to an end, I tried to spend as much time with Darcy as
I could while she was in her right mind. We talked about everything
we could. I held her while she cried herself to sleep. We laughed a
lot at the stupid things in the past that now mean nothing. She was
like someone with Alzheimer's; one minute she was fine, and then
next she had no idea who I was.

By early this morning, all the preparation
was complete. Mego took Cole and Matthew and a few of the other
survivors up the mountain to prepare everything and to search for
food and straggler zombies.

From where we stood, we could see the
migration heading our way. Both groups had merged to form one huge
cloud-like shape coming straight towards us. At the rate they were
moving, it was clear they would be on us by midafternoon. My health
was failing fast. I guess all the work I had been doing pumped the
infection through my body faster.

It was time to say goodbye.

Darcy stood beside me once again in her own
little world. One by one, everyone walked by, giving me their
condolences. No one was sure exactly what to say. After all, what
do you say to a stranger who is dying? Tonya and Cole were the last
two to say their goodbyes. Cole had come running down the mountain
as fast as he could just to be there when I left. He stood beside
me, face wet with sweat and tears. Tonya hugged me as hard as she
could until I finally made her back off. These people had been my
family, my closest friends. I love them.

I could smell the blood rushing through her
body. It smelled sweet. I began feeling an urge to eat. My stomach,
as upset as it was, felt as if it were on fire. This hunger burned
through every part of my body. I could barely stand up at this
point. I asked Shaughn and Ed to carry me to an abandoned car
parked at the edge of the explosives.

As they began to carry me down, Darcy snapped
to herself again. She came running towards us. I don't know if she
was completely aware of what was going on, but I do know that she
knew something bad was happening. She threw her arms around me and
began to cry. She was yelling, “Take me with you," over and over
again. I tried my best to hold her and comfort her, but I was too
weak. I begged her to stop crying. I always hated it when she
cried. I asked Ed and Shaughn to put me down and leave us alone for
one minute.

I will not share everything we spoke about in
our last few minutes together, but I told her how much I loved her
and how proud I was of her surviving this long. Lastly, I told her
about this journal I have been writing now for 101 days. I told her
where she could find a copy once I am gone. I asked her to pass
this along to all the other survivors so one day the world will
know what happened to me and a small group of people. I called the
guys back over to finish carrying me to the car. I kissed Darcy on
the forehead and said my final goodbyes.

Ed and Shaughn put me in the car and handed
me a gun and the remote to the explosives. I told them to gather
everyone and run as fast as they could up the mountain and to not
turn around. They should run as if their lives depended on it,
because they did. The survival of the human race depended on their
survival.

That takes me to where I am now. I can barely
type. My body aches. My soul hurts. It's not easy knowing your life
is about to end. I am sitting in a car filled with liquid nitrogen
and explosives. I can't help but laugh when I think about the looks
that will cross those undead bastards’ faces when I throw the
switch and blow us all to hell. If I can wait till the last minute,
I should be able to get rid of more than half of them with just
this initial explosion. Once this one goes off, there are three
more set to kick off. The force should be strong enough to rip a
huge crater in the side of the mountain, making it impossible for
anyone to go up the mountain.

My vision is getting worse by the second, and
it is getting harder and harder to breathe. As I look out the
window, it is as if everything is happening in slow motion. Cole is
behind Tonya, who is on her knees crying and holding Darcy.
Jeremiah is yelling for everyone to follow him. Ed is pulling on
Cole’s shirt, urging him to leave the blast zone. They have all
begun running up the mountain. As my head swims, I turn to face the
millions of zombies heading my way. As I turn back to see my
friends one last time, I pause long enough to see myself in the
mirror. I look years older—I guess we all do—but my once-chubby
cheeks are now sunken in. I can see the veins under my skin as they
turn a dark purple color and swell. My once-brown eyes have nearly
lost all the pigment in them and are almost completely white.

I turn to look for my friends and loved ones.
They are nowhere in sight, or at least I can no longer see them. I
turn my head one last time as the sun is blotted out of the sky by
shadows.

The migration is here. They are banging on
the car, trying to get in here. I can no longer feel my legs. The
top of the car has crushed in from the weight of them on top of
here. There are hands all around me. Blood is pouring out of my
nose and eyes, and there is a loud ringing in my ears. I hope I
have the courage to hit the button. I am scared to die. I am scared
to be one of these creatures. I can smell the rot of their bodies
as they begin ripping apart the car piece by piece.

This is it.

I am going to finish this now. I'm scared,
but I know the end is just the beginning.

Goodbye, Darcy. I hope you live forever.

To all you zombie bastards, burn in hell.

Rob Fox is the author of the zombie novel 'Z
Day is Here' and the sequel 'Z Day is Here: One Year Later', the
children's picture book 'Sometimes I am scared of Zombies',
numerous short stories in various anthologies, including 'Recess'
in the anthology 'Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology', and his stand
alone short ghost story 'No More Forgiveness'. Along with writing
stories and novels, he is also an accomplished screenwriter. His
first screenplay 'Ace the Zombie' has won numerous awards at film
festivals around the country. His Serial Killer script 'A Man in
Desperation' is in post-production and will be released in early
2015. Currently, Rob is the head writer for the popular web series
with over 2 million views, 'StudvilleTV' which is in its 2nd season
on Youtube.