Zombie Rules (13 page)

             
“This is a decent haul. Let’s call it and get out of here. I sure hope that truck starts. Alright, here’s how this is going to work. Don, get in that work truck and start it. Janet man the service bay door. Once the truck starts get the door up and open as quickly as you can. Every garage door I’ve ever fooled with makes a lot of noise, so don’t worry trying to be quiet, just get it open. I’m going to be in my truck. If that work truck doesn’t start, we’ll grab as many of the tools that we can and then get out of here. I don’t like staying in one place for too long and I think we’ve been here a bit too long already. If at any time zombies start showing up, we’re going to stop whatever it is we’re doing and haul ass. Don’t worry about leaving anything behind, we’ve gotten ourselves a decent supply of gas and we can always come back later.” They nodded at Rick. He hoped it would work out.

             
It did. Well, sort of.

             
The work truck started right up. Janet got the service bay door open about three feet and then it stuck. Rick hopped out of the truck and ran over. He grabbed the bottom of the door and began trying to lift it like a weightlifter. It did not budge more than a couple of inches.

             
He stopped and inspected closer. “Ah, dang it. There’s a chain looped through some holes here. It’s padlocked.”

             
Janet watched as Rick ran back to the truck and retrieved some bolt cutters as quickly as his bad leg would allow him. As he trotted back to the door he saw them. About a dozen zombies had apparently heard the racket and were shambling toward them from a burned out building down the street. Rick slid the bolt cutters under the door and drew his Kimber. He began carefully aiming and shooting, taking down one after another.

             
“I can’t cut it! I don’t have the strength.” Janet gasped.

             
Rick hastened a quick look under the door. Don was still sitting in the truck looking at them through the mirror.

             
“Don, dang it, give her a hand!” Don refused to move. “Motherfucker.” Rick growled under his breath. He shot until he was out of ammo. He reloaded as he ran back to his truck. He could shoot quicker with the AR-15. More zombies appeared, at least ten more. Rick shot them all and then crawled under the partially open door. Janet was desperately trying to cut through the padlock. Rick joined in and with a mighty unified squeeze on the handles of the bolt cutter they snapped the chain in half. Janet pulled the chain out and finished lifting the door. As soon as she did so Don put the newly acquired truck into reverse and floored the gas. He sideswiped Rick’s truck in the process. Rick looked at him like he had lost his mind.

             
“Get in the truck!” He yelled. Janet did not hesitate. She got in the driver’s side while Rick started shooting again. He saw Janet put the truck in drive. He was suddenly alarmed. Was she going to leave him? His leg was sending electric bolts of pain up his hip and back, but he ran as fast as he could and jumped in the bed of the truck just as she sped off. Zombies were mere inches from him as she maneuvered back to Franklin Pike.

              Zach had watched the three of them leave with no small amount of trepidation. He had full confidence in Rick, but he was still worried. In the meantime, there was work to be done. He stoked the fire and hung an old but sturdy cast iron tea kettle on a hook over the flames. Julie sat on the couch and watched.

             
“What’s that for?” She asked.

             
“I’m heating up some water to wash the dishes.” I said. I kind of hoped she would volunteer to help out. I was mistaken.

“What is there to do around here?” She asked.

              I chuckled. “Chores. Lots of chores.”

             
“Fuck that.” Julie replied.

             
“I wish they were that easy to blow off.” I replied. “Chores can mean the difference between survival and starving.”

             
Julie laughed derisively. “Yeah, right.”

             
I was getting irritated. Where had she been the last month, on Mars? I tried to put on a patient smile. “I guess you may be right. Let me ask you something. What did we have for dinner last night?” Julie rolled her eyes and refused to answer. “I’ll help you out. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and biscuits. Did you think all of that food magically appeared, or perhaps I ran down to the local grocery store? Rick killed the chicken yesterday and spent a couple of hours preparing it for dinner. The green beans came from our garden. The biscuits, well, you should get the idea by now, unless you’re just plain stupid.” I got a sullen, angry glare in response.

             
“I don’t know if you have just repressed the memories of the past few weeks, but when Rick and I met you guys, you were a pitiful looking bunch; hungry and dirty. You certainly didn’t turn that meal down, now did you.” Julie tried to maintain her angry sneer at me, but could not accomplish the feat. She stared at the fire instead and crossed her arms. “One would think, after nearly starving and going without a hot bath for as long as you did, you’d be more appreciative. Anyway, I’m through with the sermon. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I could use your help if you would be willing to give it.”

             
Julie glared at me. “You’re not my dad and I’m not your slave. You’re acting like you’re all badass and better than me. You’re not. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re the same age, so quit thinking you’re so special. And besides, all of this shit going on right now is just temporary.”

             
I shrugged my shoulders “Hey, you may be right. For all we know the government may be getting everything up and running, and it will be back to normal in no time. In the meantime we’ve got to help ourselves, and the time is long over to be acting like a petulant brat. Are you going to help out or not?” The only response I got was a dramatic display of her middle finger.

             
“I’ll help! What are we going to do Zach?” Tommy had come in during our little conversation and had been listening quietly.

             
“I’ll be glad to have you help me Tommy. We’ve got to feed the chickens and the cows. And then we need to check the farm for any new calves.”

             
“Neat! Can we ride on the ATV?”

             
“Sure. I’ll even teach you to drive.” I said.

             
We got our jackets and made a hasty exit. What is it with girls? I did not get it. Did she think that she was so special that she could just hang out, doing absolutely nothing, and we’d wait on her hand and foot? Bullshit, absolute bullshit.

             
“C’mon Tommy. Let’s get the chickens fed.” The snow was just starting, just a light dusting at first, but I had no doubt it was going to get thicker as the day wore on. I wanted to get as much done as possible while still able.

             
Tommy was more of a burden than a help, but even so, I fed the chickens, gathered some eggs, and checked the hay. There was still plenty lying out in the pasture. I got Tommy on the ATV and we made a slow trek around the farm.

             
“What are we doing now Zach?” Tommy asked.

             
“We’re checking on the cattle. We have a few cows that are pregnant. You see Tommy, when the barometric pressure drops, it can cause a pregnant cow to give birth. We need to find all of the newborn calves and get them into the barn.”

             
“Why?”

             
“So they won’t freeze to death. It’s going to get a lot colder in the next few days I’m thinking.”

             
“Oh.” He replied plainly. I chuckled. The whole explanation was probably entirely over his head, but it was nice to have a pleasant conversation without getting a shitty look or flipped off.

             
We found three newborn calves in total. When we found one, I’d pick it up, and carry it on the ATV while Tommy slowly drove back to the barn. The mother cow usually followed. We did this each time and it was very time consuming. After a couple of quick lessons, I had Tommy driving while I held onto the calves lest they fall off and injure themselves. We toured the rest of the farm, presumably to let Tommy enjoy himself, but I really wanted to make sure there were no zombies lurking around. We then drove to the Riggins house. I should have thought of it earlier. Freezing weather was going to wreak havoc on all of the plumbing unless something was done. First, we carefully drove around the house to make sure there were not any new occupants. Satisfied, Tommy and I went inside. It was a beautiful home. It was all brick, built solidly, and had a large basement. Mr. Riggins had converted into an awesome man cave with two large, flat panel televisions, surround sound, a pool table, and a poker table. He also had a wet bar and a big Jacuzzi. All of which were now basically worthless, but it was nice nonetheless.

             
“What are we doing now Zach?” Tommy asked.

             
“We’re going to make sure the pipes don’t freeze.” I was hopeful we were not too late. The temperature had been in the thirties and forties for the past couple of weeks. If I was too late, most of the pipes would have split as a result of freezing. We would have to fix the plumbing before anyone could live here. Tommy and I went to each faucet and turned them on. Although there was no longer any water pressure to speak of, water seeped out of each tap. The pressure tank for the well was located in the garage, as was the hot water heater. Both were equipped with a drain valve. I hooked up a garden hose to each drain so all of the water would drain outside instead of onto the garage floor.

             
As a final measure, I located a gallon jug of antifreeze and poured a little bit into all of the drains so they would not freeze. The house was spotlessly clean. It had five bedrooms with a gas fireplace in each, which reminded me. I went outside and turned off the gas main. I had no idea if there was still pressure in the lines, but I did not want this nice house going up in flames. I either wanted to move into it myself one day, or get a good family to occupy it and start working the farm. Rick and I had talked it out and were convinced it would be very beneficial for two or more families working the farm land as a collective community.

             
I thought of the possibility of the Friersons moving in this house, and I caught myself specifically thinking of Julie. Damn she could be a bitch! In spite of her attitude, I found myself thinking of the two of us being together. She was really nice looking. Unlike Macie with her blonde hair and curves, Julie was slender, lanky, more of a tomboy, but still feminine. I sighed. Who was I fooling? I was lonely, and loneliness created fantasy. I knew she and I would never be a romantic couple.             

             
We got back a little after three. I still had enough time to clean the kitchen and get dinner going. I was hoping maybe Julie would have gotten off of her ass and had done something, but I doubted it. Tommy and I parked the ATV in the barn. I turned the ATV off, secured it, and it was then I heard a motorized sound. As I exited the barn I realized what it was. The generator was running!

             
I ran inside. I hopefully expected Julie to be running the vacuum cleaner or something, anything, productive. Please let it be anything that would rationalize the burning of precious fuel. I was wrong. She had the TV on and was playing on the Xbox. She ignored me as Tommy and I stepped inside. Fair enough. I walked back outside and over to the generator. Once it was off I went into the barn. The firemen’s turnout gear was stinking with putrescence. I made a mental note to hang the fireproof jackets and pants on the fence outside to air them out. They would need a good scrubbing eventually. I grabbed one of the axes.

             
As soon as I got inside I was verbally assailed. “Why did you turn the generator off asshole?” I did not bother answering. If she thought I was an asshole, I wondered what she was going to think in a few seconds. I buried the axe into the Xbox and then looked at her awaiting a response. She busted out laughing. “Who’s stupid now? You just ruined your own Xbox.”

             
“Very astute of you to notice Julie. In fact, everything in this house belongs to either Rick or me. The food you’ve eaten, the gas you wasted, even the toilet you pissed in. Absolutely none of it belongs to you, none of it belongs to your mother, brother or your grandfather. I hope you enjoyed it.”

             
Her laughing stopped. She crossed her arms in defiance. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

             
“It means, just as soon as they get back, you’re out. All of you.” I had not even gotten my mouth closed when I heard the sound of an approaching automobile. “Ah, perfect timing.” Julie’s eyes burned into the back of my head as I walked outside and watched them approach. There were two trucks driving up. Don was driving the second one. Both trucks had fresh body damage, and Rick’s truck had dried black stuff all along the driver’s side. Blood? That was interesting. I’d ask Rick about it after he heard me out. Rick jumped out before he had it in park. Uh-oh, I could tell he was mad about something. He pointed at me and then jabbed his finger at the barn. Without waiting for an acknowledgement he started brusquely limping toward it. Janet started to follow, but Rick stopped momentarily and stared her down. She thought better of it and walked toward the house. The dogs ran to Rick and followed him.