Zombies! Rising from the Dead (25 page)

“We're on our way to Panatauk. It's another twenty miles or so back up the road,”
I told
him

“Aw, hell!
You kids
ain't
got
no
business going in there. I came through there, if I
ain't
mistaken. It’s a real mess, I wouldn't risk it if I were you, real bad idea there,”
He cautioned.

“Pretty bad then?”
I asked.

“Yeah, from what I saw, it's a big
ol
' mess. I doubt you'll be able to get
yur
' truck up in
there anyway, streets being clogged and all what they are. If I was you, I'd turn around and go
on back. I avoided it as much as
I
could,
lots
of smoke
comin
' from the city. Yep, pretty bad idea
if you ask me...”

He stressed how bad the situation was. It made us reconsider for a
moment;
unfortunately
we had no choice
but
to go.

If we could go back we would, but our friend has to have some medicine. We have to get in
there,”
I told him.

“Pretty big risk you’re taking for a bottle of aspirin if you ask me,”
he said, shaking his
head.

“I know, but it’s not like that, we don't have a choice,
”
I
said, confirming the necessity of
the trip.

“I understand, had a good friend myself years ago,
woulda
' done
anythin
' for him. Hell,
we even were in the service together. Died years ago though, so I see where
yur
' coming from.
You do what you
gotta
do to take care of your friend.”

“We're go
ing to; but you can wish us luck and we
would really appreciate any
other
information you
could give us,”
I said.

“I'll tell
ya
whatever I happen to know”
he replied.

“David, you hungry
?
I asked.
“You
wanna
have a bite to eat with us? We could use a
break anyway; you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Damn that does sound pretty good.
Ain't
been able to eat much, eat on the run as it is.
Chips, candy bars, soda, whatever is quick and keeps me going.”

Amanda spoke up,
“
Let’s
get off the road then! I don't like it here.”

Rick replied,
“Okay let’s get her out of here.
David why don't you load up your bike in the
back of the truck and we'll find us a good
spot
to
have a bite to eat.
Bruce has
got some sandwiches and cold drinks in the cab.”

“Well now, you don't have to tell me twice!”
David said with a grin.

Rick helped David gather his gear and load up his bike in the back of the truck, while
Amanda stayed up in front with me. We all piled in and off we went, driving a mile or so up
the road until we found an area that would be safe.

We left the main road, diverting onto a gravel path that eventually lead to an open area.
David and Rick bounced around in the back hanging on for dear life, as I managed to hit
every hole and pitch in the rough terrain there was. The truck came to a halt in a cloud of dust.

Amanda and I gathered the food and supplies while Rick and David made room in the
back.

We all
sat,
one person to each corner of the bed so we could see anything that might walk
up on us. Amanda found her calling as makeshift hostess, dispensing sandwiches, drinks and
chips to the hungry gang. For the first time in a long while she seemed relaxed and most
content.

We said little at first as we were all so hungry, our primary focus at first being nourishment.
David scarfed down his sandwich in two or three bites and seemed to be in the
most dire
need
of sustenance.

Finally after catching his breath David spoke.
“DAMN that's good! Whew, really good! I
couldn't tell you the last time I had anything good to eat. Ha
ha
ICE! Mm... That’s good! Been
able to get my hands on soda, juice, even beer, but nothing cold!
Feels good!”

“Well there's plenty more, so eat all you want!”
Amanda said.

“Thank
ya
' much!”
David replied, as he choked down a bag of stale chips.

We sat eating and chatting away, but keeping one eye on the surroundings. Those damned
things always had a knack of popping up when you least expected it. Finally after a while we
were able to relax and re-collect ourselves of the events that led us to this point. As everyone
calmed the questions
and
answers started to flow, David shared what little information he had
gathered and we did the same, nothing of what he said was particularly promising. For all
intents and purposes most major cities were gone. Once again it came down to numbers, most areas were simply overrun. It became more and more apparent that our rural landscape was the
only thing that had saved us from the fate that so many others had suffered.

Amanda spoke up first.
“So, what brought you way out here David? Where you from?
”
she
asked curiously of this stranger.

“Well pumpkin, I lived in Harketsville. Oh, probably several hundred miles from here I
reckin
'.
That's been almost twenty years ago now, but she got the cancer and I figured it was
time to settle in one spot so I could take care of her. She had some family down there in
Harketsville, so that's where we ended up.”

“Can I ask what happened?”
Rick cautiously asked.

“Well, she got sicker and sicker. We did all the usual stuff, chemo,
radiation and all that,
doctors said it would help;
but in the end it didn't...just made her suffer longer.”
David paused
for a moment as he stared up at the sky.
“She’s been gone nine years this November. Don't even
seem hardly possible...”

David continued telling his story.
“We didn't have any kids, it was just me and her, and
when she passed, why hell, I didn't have anything to hang around for. Nobody but myself to
take care of so when all THIS shit hit the fan, I just hit the road...”

David asked in return.
“
so
what’s
yur'alls
story? How in the hell did you all manage to
make it?”

Rick looked at Amanda and I.
“Don't know really. Luck maybe? That's all it could be.
Bruce and I were in town when the reports
s
tarted coming in, Amanda was at work. It all
happened
quick
no one
really
knew what was going on.”
Rick looked at me to fill in the gaps.

“Yeah we barely had time to get our shit and get back home before we found out what was
really going on. We lived so far out in the country that those fucking things couldn't really get
to us...”
I was going to continue, but Amanda cut me off.

“Well, they almost
did get us! Rick and I anyway,
Bruce had to come over and get us. If it
hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be here now”,
she said.

“We ke
pt
in touch with two-way radios and just kept quiet. They never
knew we were there; but I was just lucky.
T
he
y couldn’t get to me where I was.
”
I added.

“Well I'm glad to see that at least somebody besides me made
it
.”,
David said.

As I sat there soaking up the mid-day sun, staring up at those big puffy clouds and flocks of
birds flying overhead, it hit me; fall was coming, then winter. The birds were starting to
migrate;
even the changing hues of the leaves gave their tale-tale signs, a subtle yet solemn hint
of the struggle that was to come, and yet winter could be a strange blessing if what our strange
new friend suggested was true.

The day began to wind
down;
night time was not a safe time to be out and a bout. Everyone
said what they wanted to say, we shared what information we had with David and he did
likewise.