Day by Day Armageddon (6 page)

  He expressed his guilt about his son's probable fate, and that he felt like he pressured his son to go to the same college as good old dad. I told John that it really wouldn't matter where in the world he was when this happened. Apparently, it's just as bad everywhere. After the debacle that I witnessed yesterday, I know that not many would or could survive this. I'm down to 884 rounds of 223 ammunition. I think that anything below 500 is critically low considering that they probably out number me thousands to one. Maybe even more. This can't be a battle of attrition, as a pyrrhic victory is not an option.

  John and I are meeting tomorrow, providing the street is clear enough. We are going
to
discuss an exploration attempt and see what type of supplies we can gather. It's quite possible this could be our last few days here. I firmly believe that the government has collapsed. We basically canned the oilrig idea, as it would put us through countless miles of terrain ruled by the dead. When/if we bug out, it's going to have to be both an attainable plan, and defensible location. I sketched the general layout of the neighbourhood.

  It would be impossible to close off the neighbourhood with those things running around. The only thing I could think of would be to somehow drive a few tractor trailer rigs to each end of the street and use one to pull another trailer over on its side (to prevent them from crawling underneath). Then use smaller vehicles to fill in the gaps. This plan is lunacy. Before we even put one semi truck into place the street would be swarming with them. What I wouldn't give for a seaplane with a full tank of juice right now. I wonder how my base is holding up. If the gates are still holding. Worst case, the large planes (737's) carried survivors to a safe place long before they got in. I need time to brainstorm.

  Goodnight journal.

  John is here now. We decided it best to plan in person rather than try to coordinate this effort over the 2-way. He is in the kitchen feeding his dog. John and I are going to attempt to locate an aircraft suitable for flight. We spent the day packing our essentials, and we are going to head out at first light. John is going to leave his dog in the basement with enough food and water for five days. The bonus is, she can't be heard if she decides to bark while she is in the basement. I feel sorry for her, but this is no world for man's best friend. While I'm out, I'm going to attempt to locate more weapons.

  One thing of particular interest that I will be bringing is a car battery jump kit. My car just isn't going to cut it. The plan is to leave in the morning in my car, (since John's car is useless to us now) and immediately look for alternate transportation. Any type of military vehicle would be best. An armoured car would be optimal, but the chance of that happening is about the same as monkeys flying out of my ass. I am wondering if the GPS satellites are still functioning without human intervention. If we do happen to find an aircraft, I wouldn't mind having GPS as a back-up navigation tool. I plan to keep writing in my journal while I am away. I think that we will be back in three days, nothing further than three hundred miles. We plan on hauling to an undisclosed location near the outskirts of Austin, TX. You won't be going into the city, especially after my fiasco at the convenience store a couple days ago. I still start shaking and smelling gunpowder when I think of that.

  John and I are off. Change of plans, back in two days not three.

  We departed this morning at around 0600. We are currently in Universal City. I packed my car while it was in the garage to avoid any unwanted guests then turned the ignition over, it sputtered but started. There is not much room in the Volvo, so our first mission was to find suitable transportation. We made it to the 1604 loop. I have never seen so much chaos. The road was littered with abandoned vehicles. I used my binoculars to survey the area. Panning the binoculars left to right, what I saw was disturbing. Reminded me of the traffic camera I saw before (seems like weeks ago). Some of those things were trapped inside with seat belts on. It looked like some left their windows down and were attacked and left to re-animate. We found what we were looking for, although the colour wasn't ideal.

  A canary yellow Hummer H2 was sitting cross ways on the loop with the driver's side door open. John and I parked the car out of view, took our weapons and car jump kit, and slowly skirted the knoll near the edge of the 1604 loop. The only movement we could see were a few of them walking around aimlessly a good distance away, and of course the movement of those trapped in the vehicles.

  As we neared the H2, I saw something that I will never forget. A car seat strapped in the back. I told John to stay put while I approached. I didn't want him to see this, since I know he is or was a father

  I opened the back door of the vehicle, there it was, a shell of a human infant, writhing in the seat reaching for me. The black circles around its eyes looked like orbs. I wanted to cry as I unfastened the scat and set it on the ground a safe distance away. Just as I sat the car scat down and bent back up, I saw her. A woman badly disfigured wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and boots was slowly moving about not more than a few meters up the road.

  She caught glimpse of me and started walking toward me. A high shrill moan escaped her decomposing frame. I desperately tried to figure out a way to quietly dispose of her. I knew we were going to have to jump the Hummer (causing noise) because the driver side door had probably been open for days, if not weeks, leaving the dome light on.

  She approached slowly and steadily. I looked inside the Hummer. There was a pillow in the passenger seat. I quickly grabbed (he pillow, took off my belt and wrapped the pillow around the muzzle of my CAR- 15, fastening it tightly with my belt. She was on me, I had no choice but fire. Just as her gnarling lips curled over her yellow teeth, I pulled the trigger on my carbine.

  The weapon made no more noise than popping popcorn as the monster's head exploded in a dark mist behind her. She was no more. I knell down to the small infant. I sat there and meditated over what had to be done. I prayed that if there were a god, I would be forgiven. I dispatched the young one with my knife. No further details need be given.

  After the previous encounter, I threw the pillowcase over the car seat and signalled John to come over. I didn't see any immediate threat in the area, vice one of them in a car twenty feet away thrashing about. John brought the portable jumper (basically a charged battery with cables to connect to dead battery). I unfastened the hood restraints, leaned in the driver's door and popped the hood and went back into the car to check for keys. No keys. I sat there and reasoned for a minute.

  What happened to the driver of this vehicle? Would he/she be so selfish as to leave their infant to die here at the whim of those things? After careful thought, I realized that maybe the parents didn't leave the infant. Checking the interior of the vehicle, I noticed a pink pine tree air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror. I then looked down on the ground at the ghoul that I had silently slain. I checked her pockets, and found the keys to the H2, and her driver's license. Sorry about your baby Ms. Rogers.

  I took the keys and tried to turn over the ignition, just as I thought. Dead. I took the portable jumper and hooked it up while John turned the key. She roared to life. Checked the gas. It was running off fumes. John jumped in the passenger seat, and we were off. Did sort of a u-turn and drove back in the direction of my car. On the way up the embankment, I looked in the rear view and 1 could tell instantly that we had gained some unwanted attention. I would guess a score of them were lumbering toward our vehicle about three hundred yards off. I stopped the Hummer next to my car and quickly loaded the supplies into the back of our new vehicle. We then headed to the nearest location that we could get fuel. John and I knew that the pumps would not work without electricity, so we brought part of a garden hose to siphon the gasoline.

  After about two miles of driving and weaving in and out of wrecked traffic, I spotted a side road and took it. We drove for a half a mile before we found a car. Its hazard lights were blinking dimly, probably been flashing for weeks. We checked the perimeter, and didn't see any threat. I parked the H2 in a position that would make siphoning easier. We drained every drop from the car, but this only put us at half a tank. It would have to do, as the gas stations are all closed.

  If there was hell on earth, I found it today. I am thinking about just throwing my camera away, as I don't think anyone would ever want to see these images even if mankind somehow survived this ordeal. All I see are images of death and destruction.

  I drove most of the way. After we left Universal city, we headed up 1-35 toward San Marcos, dodging in and out of cars and those fucking puss sacks. It's taking its toll on me. I have a new found respect for combat veterans that saw death every day. I don't see how they did it. I could see the smoke over Austin well before we even got to San Marcos. We needed gas, so I took exit 190 and veered off, taking a right into a long abandoned Wal-Mart parking lot.

  John kept a lookout while I took a piss. I did the same for him. We pulled the Hummer near some cars so we could siphon more needed gas. At least this time we found a late 80's model Chevy Blazer that had a full tank. We filled the Hummer up to over 3/4 of a tank. I was sitting somewhere around 880 rounds of.223 and 300 rounds of 9mm. John had two bricks of 22. I approached John and asked him if he felt like doing a little shopping.

  The door was locked when we got to the front. I went back to the Hummer to pull it up front, and check the tool kit for a pry bar. I found what I was looking for, and commenced to try and pry the door from its lock. I got good leverage and put my back into it. John was watching the parking lot to make sure we didn't have any surprises. I kept tugging. All of the sudden, I felt a thud
on
the door.
I
looked up, and much to my chagrin, there he was, a corpse in a bloody blue Wal-Mart vest pawing at the glass door drying to get out. The thing walked right into the door and bumped into the door latch on the
inside.

  The door came open slightly as the thing tried to ease itself out to us. It poked its head out and I took that opportunity to drive my tire tool into its head, through the eye socket, killing it instantly. I held the door open like a gentleman and let the corpse fall out onto the sidewalk. I opened the door fully and placed the trashcan there to keep it open.

  I told John that I thought that there were probably more inside. We pulled the Hummer so close to the entrance that no one could get in, and no one could get out, unless they went in the driver's side door and climbed out the passenger door. It was my idea in the event some visitors decided to show up during our shopping spree. I showed John how to handle his weapon inside closed quarter’s conditions. I call it the "recon glide." John and I eased through the aisles…goddamn it… why does Wal-Mart always have to put sporting goods in the hack?

  I motioned to John to look where I was looking. It was another worker that must have been killed during a shift. It shambled toward us. I gave John the signal to shoot, because his weapon is much quieter than mine. With a careful aim, John took the creature out, and it lay lifeless on the floor.

  Thank god for the skylights, because without them, this idea could kiss my ass. John and I continued to the back. We made it to the sporting goods and many of the guns were either sold out or looted. There were many boxes of 223 ammo and many boxes of twelve gauge shells. There was one gun of particular interest left in the cases, a Remington 870 twelve gauge pump. I saw fit to break the glass and give it to John, since he was lacking in the firepower department. We took the shells and rounds for the carbine, and started to make our escape.

  John and I were constantly scanning the aisles for ghouls. Just as I rounded the corner from sporting goods, I was pulled off my feet by a female corpse. I hit the ground hard and felt a tug at my feet. I felt a hard pinch as the thing tried to bite me through the heel of my combat boots. I gave her hard kick to the nose and heard the cartilage snap as I hit home. I got up and stepped back, checking my heel for wounds. Thank goodness for Altama boots. She didn't get up, as her back had been broken by a large shelf that had fallen on her probably weeks before. She snarled at me. John took aim… I signalled him not to shoot. I walked up to her and brought my heel down on her temple as hard as I could. She was no more.