Infected: They Will Eat You!: A Story of Family Survival in a Zombie Apocalypse (15 page)

“Even when you were asleep you were moving around and groaning.”

“Yesterday was scary.”

“Stay home today and get some rest.”

“I didn’t get to walk the neighborhood, I want to do that.”

“Maybe the boys and I will go with you, we can keep you company.”

I thought for a moment “It’s worse than I thought. I was starting to think it was not that bad, that these things were gone or dead or there weren’t that many but there are a lot of them and it’s bad, really bad.”

“Then we’ll stay inside today.”

“I need to see what it’s like around us. And there are people out there…”

I put on some shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my rifle and coffee and sat on the front porch. Over the past few days I had memorized every curtain in every window and every leaf and twig in every yard of the houses up and down our block. This morning there was nothing out of place. I sipped my coffee and ran the previous day through my mind.

Caleb and Jesse joined me.

“Rifles?” It was a single word question/command. They knew that if we were outside we were to be armed. They both went inside and came back with their guns.

“I wonder if Jack has more suppressors.” I said.

“Are you going out to Jack’s daddy?” asked Jesse.

“I don’t know, it’s a ways out there. I’d have to drive.”

“Can I go with you?” asked Caleb assuming I was going.

“I bet United has them, if they haven’t been looted.”

“That’s way out there.” said Caleb.

“Yeah, and in a town. I can’t think of anywhere else that might have any. I’d like to get at least a couple more for the rifles.”

We sat quietly for a while then Christine joined us.

“Should we take a walk?” she asked.

“You’re pretty anxious to go out.”

“I think it would be good for all of us to take a walk.”

“Can we go daddy.” asked the boys.

“I guess. Go get ready.”

We walked west as if it were a normal family stroll around the neighborhood like we’d done a hundred times before, except we were in the middle of the street carrying guns. We had settled on Caleb and I carrying suppressed rifles and Christine and Jesse carrying suppressed pistols. We wanted no noise if we needed to start shooting. A month ago the boys would have been riding their bikes or on rollerblades.

We could see some of the hospital parking lots at three intersections. They looked nearly full of cars with only a few infected visible. We reached Campbell without incident and turned north. We’d gone three blocks before seeing anything unusual, people that is, living or dead, then four houses away there stood two infected. The door to the house was open and they were standing on the lawn as if they were looking at their landscaping. Everyone stopped, stood and just watched.

“Each one of us needs to learn to shoot them.” I said facing my family. There was a horrified look on Christine’s face. “If we get into a bad situation we can’t have someone freezing up.”

“I don’t think…..” she just stopped speaking and stared at the two, “They’re people.”

“I’ve seen what they do, they’re not people, not anymore. If you don’t want to now I understand but the time will come that you will
have
to
and if you have shot them before you will be more likely to react not think and that could save someone’s life.”

We stood there in the street silent, she was still looking at the two infected the three of us looking at her.

“Caleb, you think you can?” I asked.

“I think so.” he answered tentatively.

“The thing is guys, it changes you. Killing anything changes you whether it be a deer or squirrel or infected.”

He nodded.

“I don’t want him to do it.” Christine spoke up.

“He has to. We all have to at some time, we need to get the first time over.”

“We’ll walk up to that tree so you can have something to help steady you. Pay attention to how they are facing and think about your follow-up shot before you fire your first.”

“OK.”

Phut
, the first dropped.
Phut
, the second fell. We walked back my hand on Caleb’s shoulder, his head bowed a bit looking at the ground.

“Those were good shots. Perfect. You see what I mean, the feeling…..”

“Yeah, it’s not nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Those were good shots Caleb.” Jesse said. It was evident he was trying to encourage his brother.

We walked on quietly. The afternoon stroll had an ominous feeling to it now. I didn’t intend it to be a training mission but that is what it turned out to be. We soon came to another infected in the street. Jesse took my rifle, stepped up and put him down with confidence.

We had reached the corner of Highland Terrace and Cherry where there was a wooded half acre, tennis courts and playground and acre field that the elementary school used. I counted seven in the wooded area and another six in the field.

“Stay together, stay in form, do your job. Caleb and I have any at distance, I’ll take front and left Caleb right, Mommy and Jesse have any that get close. Don’t use the pistols at long range you’ll waste ammo. Keep quiet.” I said then started walking without waiting for a response. The area would be easy to clear alone so I felt it would be a good time to see if we could work together.

We walked across the street and into the treed area.
Phut…phut…….phut
. Three were down and we moved on. I took two more down in front of us and left one on the right to see how Caleb would do.
Phut
, I heard behind me. He dropped it while moving with one shot. I put one more down just past the playground and stopped.

“Good job guys.” Everyone was breathing heavily and looking around. “We have the ones in the field, Christine, are you ready?”

“No, but I’ll try. What do I do.”

“Switch guns with me. We’ll walk up to that tree. Shoot that one in the middle of the field.”

“Way out there? Why not the one close, right there?”

“When they fall they can attract the attention of the others. We want them looking and walking away from us. The ones way over there would be better but may be too far for you right now.”

“I see.”

We walked up to the tree, she aimed,
phut
, brick dust flew off the school. The infected at the far end of the field turned and started walking toward the impact noise. She took aim again and,
phut
, the infected fell. Others around it turned and started moving slowly,
phut
, another fell,
phut, phut
….
phut……phut
…. “Is that enough?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just expected one.”

“Well then here.” she handed me the rifle and started walking back toward the boys as they moved our direction. I motioned for them to stay then walked across the field clearing the rest of the infected. At the other side I motioned them to follow. From there we walked down Elmira and home without seeing any others.

“Later I want to get those bodies and move them.” Nobody said anything. We’d had enough for now and we were all feeling the effects of our walk.

After lunch we walked up and got the truck and hauled the bodies to the church. This time we had gas and set the bunch on fire. Dark smoke rolled into the sky and Christine said a prayer for them and us.

The virus outbreak had changed our world, today each of us had been changed in ways we could not have imagined a week ago.

-——————————————

Sound definitely woke them up, movement did also, both had to be within a certain range however. Smell seemed to have an effect but that was hard to tell. I had tried sneaking up on a few from behind and they always became aware at the same range. I’d also hid and let them walk my direction and they and they always became aware of me at the same distance. Whether it was smell or something else they had that ability.

I sat in the kitchen coffee at the ready going over my notes of the past days. So far the infected seemed predictable and easily dealt with in small numbers. The mob behavior is what concerned me.

Yesterday we had set the infected bodies we had collected on fire then moved back a couple hundred yards to see if anyone came to check it out. After an hour there was nothing. I thought the dark smoke could attract the attention of the living and the pungent odor of the burning bodies the infected. Today I planned to walk up and scout that area again.

I heard the family starting to stir so I got more coffee and went to say good morning.

There was little conversation through breakfast. Everyone was tired and was feeling the effects of the previous day. The boys and I hunted and fished so death is something we knew and Christine had an academic understanding that if you ate meat it was once a living animal, but we were shooting things that looked like people. It took some work to get that right in your mind.

It was near noon when I opened the front door and walked onto the porch. It was cloudy and felt like rain. “Maybe it’ll rain and wash some of the yuck away.” I said as Caleb joined me.

“I hope so. It’s really starting to smell bad everywhere.”

“There are probably bodies in half the houses either dead or infected. That’s going to cause a huge stink.”

“And bugs.”

“Yep. I’m going to walk up the street and check things out, wanna come?”

“Sure.”

“Get your stuff, tell your mom.”

Christine came onto the porch, Caleb following.

“You’re going out?” she asked.

“We’re just going to walk up Glenwood each way that’s all.” I said.

“Should we come too?”

“You guys stay here. You can lock up or hang out here on the porch. I’ll leave my AR so you have a quiet rifle. We won’t be long and you’ll be able to see us most of the time.”

“OK.”

Caleb and I headed west. “You alright?” I asked him.

“Yeah.”

“Yesterday was a hard day.”

“Kinda. Dad, I know that they’re not people and I know that they will kill us it’s OK, shooting them didn’t bother me. I just get tired of sitting around. I miss riding my bike and blacksmithing and stuff like that.”

“And fresh air?”

“Yeah, you really smell bad.” he gave out a giggle as I punched him in the arm.

“You should smell yourself.”

We reached the end of the street and turned around. There were no new infected in sight, no changes in the neighborhood.

“Squirrel!” Caleb said mimicking a dog in
Up
.

We both smiled. It was good to see life. This walk almost seemed
normal
. When we got back to the house Christine and Jesse were sitting on the porch.

“Jesse, you want to walk with me? Caleb will stay with mommy.”

“Sure!” he answered enthusiastically.

“Shouldn’t we all go?” Christine asked.

“Naw, Jesse and I’ll go up to Market then go up Elmira and come back. You guys watch the house.”

I took my rifle from Christine and gave my pistol to Jesse. Caleb had his rifle so everyone was good.

“We’ll be back in fifteen or twenty minutes.” I said as we started walking.

“How ya doin’?” I asked him once we got a couple houses away.

“Fine.”

“Yesterday was a little stressful.”

“Yeah. Hey dad, can we stop by the playground?”

Here I am concerned that shooting the infected might be bothering my son and he wants to go to the playground. He
is
nine and has always accepted difficult things well. He’ll cry if you look at him crossways but falls asleep when getting stitches.

“We can walk through on the way back and check it out.”

“I’d like to play there for a while.”

“How ‘bout we check it out then go back and get Caleb and mommy. Maybe we can have a pic-nic.”

“OK!”

The more I thought about that plan the more dangerous it sounded but we needed some fun outside time and this could be the ticket.

Elmira was clear as were the side streets. We walked another two blocks so we could see the parking lot where we had burned the infected. I half expected to see a group or signs that people had been drawn by the smoke but there were no changes.

We sat on the porch of a house and I scanned the area with binoculars.

“Dad, there’s one.”

“Where?”

“Up there,” he pointed up the hill past the church, “in the back yard of that green house.”

There it was, standing in a fenced back yard.

“Can I shoot it?”

“That’s probably a hundred fifty yards uphill.” I said intending to discourage him.

“Can I?”

“I guess.” I agreed thinking he’d miss a few times then we’d move on. “Take your time.”

He took the rifle and propped it on the porch railing. I watched through the binoculars,
phut
, a grey mist sprayed from the back of its head and it dropped to the ground.

“That was a great shot.”

“Thank you. There’s another.”

Before I could ask where,
phut
.

“I don’t see anymore.” he said almost disappointedly.

“That was really nice shooting. Let’s walk by the park.”

“OK.” he cheered.

The park area was still clear of infected. I stood guard as Jesse went down the slide and played on the various contraptions. “Let’s go get Caleb and mommy.”

“OK.”

He was a happy kid playing the way kids should. Now we were going home and coming back as a family to play.

-——————————————

It felt good playing in the park. The boys ran around crawling on the playground equipment while Christine and I sat in the swings and watched. Our attention turned away from keeping guard to watching the kids. Eventually we joined them in a game of tag then ate lunch.

“When we’re done we need to head home, rain’s coming.” I announced.

“Can’t we play more?” whined Jesse.

“A little, but look at those clouds.”

To the south and west dark clouds were gathering. The wind had picked up and temperature had dropped a few degrees.

“You have fifteen minutes then we go.”