Dead Life (Book 4) (9 page)

              Just as the minute expired the truck moved forward, it changed lanes and pulled even with them.

              “I should have called Al on the radio,” Rick said.

              “Do it now.”

              “It's too late.”

              Rick was staring down the barrel of a rifle that was pointed out the passenger window at him. Two fat, dirty, bearded good old boys sat in the cab of the truck. They were both looking out of the front windshield of the truck.

              “You got a hell of a lot of zombies following you,” the driver said, still looking forward.

              “Could you do me a favor sir and not point that gun at me?” Rick asked the passenger.

              “Tell you what,” the passenger said, ignoring Rick and still looking out the front windshield. “We got us a farmhouse a few miles down the road. You get out of your fancy truck and come on over here and ride with Clete. I'll ride with the pretty lady.”

              “No thank you,” Cindy said. “We'll be fine on our own.”

              “I wasn't askin',” he said and finally turned to look at Rick and Cindy.

              “In that case I guess we're coming with you,” Rick said, turning to face Cindy. “Cindy, I don't think we have much of a choice,” Rick said in a loud voice.

              “Duck down and go,” Rick whispered to Cindy.

              Rick waited for Cindy to make the first move. As soon as she ducked her head he raised his pistol and shot the passenger in the face. The Hummer lurched forward as the now dead guy in the truck's rifle went off. The round took off most of Rick's right ear then exited through the roof of the Hummer. Rick pressed his right hand over what was left of his ear and fired his pistol out of his window in the general direction of the truck as they sped away.

              Cindy watched the truck in her rear view mirror. “He's getting out.”

              Clete, the driver of the truck looked at his dead cousin in disbelief, spit his chew of tobacco on the dash, and slowly got out of the truck. He reached back in through the open door and got his rifle. Just like he'd seen that Gary Cooper fella do in that Sergeant York movie do he licked his thumb, rubbed on the front sight of his rifle, took careful aim, and pulled the trigger. The rear tire on the fleeing vehicle blew out. He watched it careen off the road, side swipe a tree, and roll onto the passenger side as it crashed into another tree. Clete calmly put his rifle back into the truck, got in, and drove to the crash sight.

              “Did you see that?” Clete said to his dead cousin. “Told you I's a better shot than you.”

Chapter 7

              We drove through the rest of the day not making much headway. Abandoned cars littered the streets and zombies were everywhere. When we ran low on gas we got off the main roads and drove through a small subdivision. There seemed to be less zombies the further we got away from the main thoroughfare. When it finally got to the point where we hadn't seen any of the undead for a while Lily stopped in front of a small house. I got out of the Kia and cut a short length of hose from the spigot. Using a small gas can we had grabbed from the convenience store we siphoned gas from several vehicles in the neighborhood. John and I took turns, one stood guard while the other sucked on the hose, filled the tank with gas, and then poured it into the SUV. By the time we had the Kia filled with gas again I felt like shit. Siphoning gas sucks! We talked about it and decided tomorrow we would have to find a hardware store and get a hand held pump or something. If I had to go through another day of swallowing gas I would just as soon walk.

              We hadn't made it far from Birmingham but there was only about an hour of daylight left so we started looking for a place to hold up for the night. Lily found an older two story all stone house that sat  back off the road a ways. We pulled into the driveway and sat watching the house for a while. It was obvious that someone was either in the house or had tried to make a stand here. All the windows on the bottom floor were boarded up and the front of the house looked secure. After sitting at the end of the driveway for a few minutes we went ahead and pulled up to the house. I had Lily back the Kia right up to the front porch. Then John and I went to the door. After knocking for a short while John tried the door. Of course it was locked. We went around back and tried that door. It too was locked. There was no reason to break down any of the doors. I could see several of the second story windows were open. All we needed to do was find a way to get to a window.

              The house had a detached garage and there was also a shed out back. The shed was too small to hold a ladder tall enough to get to a second story window so we tried the garage. The garage door was locked and there was a side door to the garage that unfortunately was also locked. However there were windows on the side door and through them I saw a ladder hanging on the wall of the empty garage. John broke out the window and we went in and got the ladder. From there it was only a matter of minutes before I was in the house.

              The room I ended up going in was a bedroom. I had John's one iron with me. We wanted to try and keep the noise to a minimum in case I came across any of the undead residents of the house. I quickly made my way down the stairs and to the front door. John and Lily awaited me out on the porch. I let them in and we cleared the first floor. We found a note on the kitchen table.

              Edgar,

              We waited two days for your return. I couldn't wait any longer. The power just went out and I decided it was time to go. I took the kids to the farm like you told me to. We left some supplies for you in the hall closet.

Hurry. I love you,

Jenny 

If someone other that my husband finds this note please leave it for him. There are some things in the cabinets that you are more than welcome to. Please leave his supplies in the hall closet. Thank you.

             
We checked the cabinets and they still contained some canned goods. Lily went to the closet and found that Edgar's pack was still there. From the date on the letter it had only been two days since Jenny had left with the kids. If he was out when all this happened then there was little chance he would be returning; alive anyway. Lily put his pack back in the closet and we went about clearing the upstairs. From the state the house had been left in when we found it we weren't surprised to find it free of the undead.

              “The water still works and there's a propane tank out back,” John said. “I don't know about you two but I'm gonna take a shower.”

              “You go ahead Sarge. I'll see what's left downstairs to eat. Tim you can go after him.”

              “I'll go last,” I said. “The closet's still had some clothes in them. I'm going to find something to  change into.”

              “I think we should all look for some fresh clothes to change into. Sarge you smell like shit,” Lily said. “I'm still going last though. I saw a razor in the master bathroom. I have some personal hygiene to catch up on. I plan on being in there for quite a while.”

              “You don't smell that great either,” John said, going into the master bedroom and closing the door behind him.

              Lily and I went back downstairs and got everything out of the cabinets and stacked it on the counters. Jenny hadn't left a lot of food behind but she did leave enough so that whoever found this place would have no reason to take the things she had left behind for her husband. We decided to only eat what we needed and leave the rest for the next person to use. It didn't seem right to empty the place out. Jenny had been kind enough to think about the next person and so would we. Even though I doubted that Edgar was still alive I didn't want to be the one to leave him with nothing. Besides we still had some food left in the Kia from what we had taken from the gas station. There were thousands of houses between here and Fort Leonard Wood. I'm sure we would be able to find whatever we needed in the coming days.

              While John was in the shower Lily and I checked the garage and the shed to see if there was anything we could use. The only things of any value was a tool box that I put in the back of the Kia and a rusty old hatchet I found out in the shed. Other than that we came up empty. By the time we got back to the house John was done in the shower. We found him at the sink washing the blood from his jacket. He looked like a new man; dressed in civilian clothes and freshly shaved. The only thing that was still military about him was his haircut and his boots.

              “Leave your jackets down here when you take your showers and I'll get them cleaned up,” he said. “They won't be perfect but at least I can get most of the blood and guts off of them.

              I took off my jacket and headed upstairs. The bathroom mirror was still covered in steam and it felt good to be in the humid bathroom. I stripped off my clothes and started the shower. The hot water felt good on my skin. I would have to savor this moment. No telling how long it would be before I got my next hot shower. I heard the door to the bathroom come open. The glass door to the shower pulled back and there stood Lily. I guess I should add that she was naked. She stepped into the shower and closed the door. I started to say something and she placed her hand on my mouth and shook her head.

              “Don't say anything, not yet.”

              By the time I was allowed to speak again we had used the last of the hot water. Lily released me from her clutches and sent me on my merry way. I went through Edgar's closet and found some jeans and a shirt. It felt good to be dressed in clean clothes again. I hated doing it. I'm kind of compulsive when it comes to things like this but I wore a pair of his underwear. Then I sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for Lily to come out of the shower. After about half an hour the door opened and she came out. My God what a body.

              “Can I help you with something?” she asked.

              “Normally my response would be yes but right now I'm feeling a little drained. How about you?”

              “I feel like I could go a few more times. That was amazing though. It's been a long time since I've been with someone.”

              “Yeah me too.”

              “How long?”

              I went to Lily and took her in my arms. “I really like you. I'm not the kind of guy that sleeps around. Not that I ever had a whole lot of opportunities. I'm not good at this sort of stuff. I like you, I don't know what else to say.”

              “Well I did kind of throw myself at you. After you saved me that first time we met I kind of fell for you. I'm not usually like that. I want you to know that.”

              “Actually I wasn't too concerned. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist my boyish charms.”

              “Now you've gone too far. The shit's getting too deep in here.”

              I heard a knock on the door. “We've got company,” John said.

              “Get dressed,” I said, and went to the door. I went out and John was standing in the hall.

              “A horde is moving through here. I wasn't going to say anything but a few have peeled off and are making their way towards the house.”

              “What do you think we should do?”

              “It's a pretty big group. They showed up a while ago. I've been watching them for the past half hour. There's still no end in sight. I think we should stay quiet until they're past. Then we can go out and clear out the stragglers.”

              “Alright then. That's what we'll do.”

              Lily joined us in the hall. She was dressed in a shirt that was too big for her and a pair of pants that were too long. Sarge told her what was going on and we went to the front of the house to a window we could watch from. The horde was moving down the road in front of the house. There were so many of them they overflowed onto the shoulder and into the trees and brush alongside the road. We watched as their numbers increased to the point where the road no longer came close to holding them all.  A car was pushed along in the middle of the horde until it finally came to rest against the trunk of a large elm tree in front of the house by the street. This slowed their progress momentarily. We could hear the metal grinding against the trunk of the tree. Even though it was getting too dark to see I could make out the zombies that were being crushed against the side of the car. The press of bodies continued until finally the tree tore loose from the ground and came crashing down. Then it too was swept away in the horde.

              This went on well into the night. Finally they passed and we were able to go downstairs and get something to eat. We would have to wait until morning to deal with the ones that were left behind. We could here them out in the yard surrounding the house but it was too dark outside to risk going out. They didn't seem to be aware of us, none were beating on the doors or windows trying to get in, so we'd just have our gear ready to go and take turns on watch until morning.

             
After finishing our gourmet meal o
f canned beef stew, green beans, and peaches it was decided I would take the first watch. Lily would take the second shift and John would go last. We would use the bedroom with the best view of the road for guard duty. Lily slept in the master bedroom and John used one of the kid's rooms. I spent my two hours staring out the window listening for the sound of the door or a window crashing in. I could hear their moans occasionally but other than that it was an uneventful two hours. When I woke Lily for her turn on watch all I could think about was sleep. I was exhausted. I think I was asleep before she left the room.

              What seemed like moments later I was awoke to the sensation of someone rubbing my erect penis. I rolled onto my back and lifted my ass off the bed enough for my pants to be pulled from me. Lily, I assumed it was Lily because the room was pitch black, slowly lowered herself onto my erection and ground her pelvis into me for as long as I could hold back. We both came and she fell forward. I held her in my arms and we fell asleep that way.

              “Alright you two. It's time to go.”

              My eyes flew open and looked into Lily's eyes. She was lying next to me. Thankfully she had pulled the covers over us at some point in the night. I turned my head and saw John standing next to our bed.

              “I let you two have an extra hour of sleep, figured you'd need it. Consider this revile. Let's get going.”

              “You need to leave the room so I can get out of bed,” Lily said.

              “Don't tell me you two are naked under there. What if we had to bug out fast?”

              “All right I won't tell you I'm naked,” I said. “Out.”

              John left the room and we got up. I still had my shirt on but was naked from the waist down. Lily was completely nude, what a sight, and headed straight for the bathroom. The door closed and I heard the shower come on. As tempted as I was to join her I instead pulled my pants on, grabbed my shoes and socks, and went to look out at the front of the house.

              The street out front looked like a small tornado had made it's way down it. The mailbox that had been out front was gone. The trees were gone. The bushes were gone. The abandoned cars that had been dotted along the roadway were pushed to the sides. The zombie horde had come through and swept everything that stood in their path away. The only thing that was left were the mangled bodies of those that hadn't kept pace with the flow of the horde. Most were smashed beyond recognition. The ones that hadn't had their heads crushed crawled along in their single minded pursuit of whatever it was that had started them in the direction they were headed in the first place.

              “God dammit Sarge that's unbelievable.”

              “I'll tell you what's unbelievable. Your girlfriend is unbelievable. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Look in the yard. There's nothing out there. We should get on the road before those bastards decide to come back.”