Infected: They Will Eat You!: A Story of Family Survival in a Zombie Apocalypse (23 page)

I got the vehicles parked with Caleb’s help. Christine and Jesse took food and the cat in the house.

“Go see if the keys are in that truck,” I told him, “and bring it over here if they are.”

“You mean drive it over?”

“Yeah, you got a problem with that?” I asked smiling.

“Nope.” he answered and walked to the truck. “No keys.” he yelled out.

“Look in the glove compartment and over the visor.”

“There they are.” he slammed the door and started the truck. “D right?”

“Yep.”

He put it into gear and let the truck roll forward. It idled a ways and he gave it some gas and slammed on the brake. “OW! I hit my head.”

“Don’t stomp the brake, or the gas. Press down easy.”

He eased the truck next to the first infected and I loaded it in the bed. We moved from one to another ‘till all five were in the truck. We then drove to a mechanics shop that was close and had the first dumpster we could find, then tossed the infected inside and lit the contents.

“The fire won’t spread in here and if there is anyone around they won’t know who did it.” I said.

Back at the farm he parked the truck and we went to the house to get cleaned up.

“I saw a hand pump in the back, let’s wash up there.”

“A what?”

“A hand pump, to a well. You know….” I motioned like I was pumping the handle.

“Oh, I’ve seen those. Neat.”

We were about done when Christine called out “We have lunch ready.”

“Can we eat out here? there’s a table under a tree.” Caleb asked.

“Sure, we’ll bring it out.” she answered.

We sat at the pic-nic table under a large maple. It was getting hot but the shade of the tree and a breeze made it comfortable.

“This is a nice place.” Jesse said finishing the last bite of his lunch.

“Yep, real nice.” I agreed.

After lunch the boys swung on a tire swing and played in the trees while Christine and I sat and watched. We had only been on the road for a few days but this was rest we all needed.

We spent the day looking around the farm, playing ball, and giving driving lessons to both boys. When night came we went inside and locked up. We covered windows with blankets and lit hurricane lamps that sat around the house. It was cozy. We talked about the things that had happened on our trip and talked about what the future could hold for us while we played cards.

We decided to pull a mattress into the master bedroom floor and all sleep in the same room. As it ended up I got the floor. It was either that or be pushed around by three floppers all night. We also blocked up the stairs at the bottom with a chair and at the top by a chest. That would give us additional warning if someone tried to get to the second floor.

We were all asleep quickly and for the first time in weeks I slept the night through.

-——————————————

“This morning I want to set up a solar panel so we can get some electricity to charge batteries and check a radio. There are ponds in the area and a decent size lake not far away maybe we can catch some fish.” I was watching out the window drinking coffee while Christine fixed breakfast.

“That sounds nice. Won’t the boys be surprised with fresh eggs for breakfast.” she said joyfully.

“They smell great. I bet we could find more chickens on some of these farms, maybe a cow or goat for milk.”

“Milk sounds really good.” she paused, “this is a nice place, it’s flat and it’s farmland. You said there is a lake…..”

“It’s a nice place but it’s not
the
place. We’ll be here for a couple days, let’s see how we feel then.”

The boys came romping downstairs shouting “EGGS! EGGS!”

“They’re almost ready.” Christine said.

“Where’d they come from?” asked Jesse excitedly.

“Chickens.” I answered. Jesse flashed his ‘What are you stupid or something.’ look in my direction.

Christine answered him “Daddy found chickens outside in the yard this morning and eggs on the ground.”

“On the ground?” he said.

“Yard eggs.” I answered, “We saw no animals in the pens yesterday but the chickens must come back to sleep. There are a few running around now unless Joey has scared them off.”

“Joey’s outside?” Caleb cried.

“He’s been rolling around in the grass and chasing things.”

“Can we go outside?”

“Sure.

“We’ll bring breakfast outside in a minute. Stay where we can see you.” Christine added.

There were three chickens pecking at the ground to the left of the house, Joey was watching them from under a bush. He was very intent but not brave enough to attack. When the boys bolted from the back door the chickens scattered in a flurry of flapping and clucking startling Joey who lit out into the soy field.

The boys stopped for a moment then ran for the tire swings.

-——————————————

“We have some work around here to do and….” I started to say as we sat at the pic-nic table eating breakfast.

“Work!” exclaimed Jesse.

“Yeah, work, like watching out for eggs and making sure they get inside, putting some feed out for the chickens, maybe there are more that will come back, looking for other animals, is there anything in the fields around here we can harvest? I’m sure there are gardens all over with ripe veggies…..work like that.” I responded.

“That’s fun work.” he said.

“It can all be fun if you make it. I want to set a solar panel up and start charging batteries and look over the vehicles. I don’t like the hummer being as visible as it is,” I motioned in its direction, “maybe we can find a tarp or something….”

“There’s a big machine in the barn with a cover on it.” Caleb said.

“Good, we’ll check it out after breakfast. We also need to look around the area a little. I don’t want to be surprised by a herd of infected that are just over the hill and we can check other farms for people and more animals…goats or cows or something for milk.”

“Milk!” exclaimed Jesse.

“We have to do the work first and
maybe
find a milk animal. We also need to fix a run or find a pen so the rabbits can get in the grass.”

“I forgot about the rabbits, poor things.” Christine said.

“We didn’t forget about them mommy,” Caleb said, “we’ve been taking care of them.”

“Good, I’d rather let them go than they be neglected.”

“Let’s get things cleaned up and get going. Make sure you brush your teeth and stuff.” I ordered.

Cleanup was done in quick fashion with everyone working together that was a significant change in our family, less bickering. The boys still fought and argued but it was far less and mostly in play. When something needed to be done they focused and worked together.

In the barn we stood and looked at the large dusty tarp draped over a mound the boys suspected to be a tractor. “It looks more like a car shape to me.” I said looking at the heap in the corner, “Jesse, grab that corner and let’s pull this off. Caleb, back up and stand guard. There’s no telling what could come out.”

Christine waited outside, allergies kept her out of most barns and animal areas. It also didn’t hurt to have a lookout.

“OK, pull.” we slid the tarp to the ground revealing a red and white ’57 Chevy convertible.

“Wow!” exclaimed Caleb.

“Cool!” added Jesse.

“What is it?” asked Christine from outside.

“Fifty-seven Chevy.” answered Caleb.

“A convertible.” said Jesse.

“It is a fifty-seven isn’t it dad?” Caleb asked.

“Yep.”

“Can we drive it?” asked Jesse.

“Let’s get our work done then we’ll see if it starts.” I answered, “Who knows how long it’s been sitting here. But we have to get things done.”

We drug the tarp to the hummer and covered it. “You guys get the rabbits out but make sure they’re safe and can’t get away. Remember Joey will be very interested.”

By mid-morning the rabbits were happily romping around in a pen the boys made, munching grass between times hiding from Joey, who thought they were purely for his amusement. One of the portable solar panels was operating and the boys and I were attempting to start the Chevy.

“OK, turn the key.” I said to Caleb.

We had pulled the pickup over to the ’57 and were attempting to put life back into it by jumping it.

“Jesse, rev the engine, push the gas a little.” I had one boy in each vehicle while I managed under the hoods. “Keep it like that. Caleb try it.”

The Chevy struggled to start “Caleb, keep going!” finally the engine revved, “Let it run Caleb. Jesse you’re good, leave the truck on.”

I switched places with Jesse and parked the truck in its spot then went back to the barn. The boys were both sitting in the Chevy bouncing around like they were cruisin’ down the road.

“How much gas?” I asked walking around the car checking tires.

“Almost full.” Caleb answered.

“Scooch.” I instructed and slid behind the wheel. We put the top down and drove to the front of the house and parked leaving the car running. “We’ll let it run to charge the battery.” I informed the boys, “Let’s get mommy put Joey inside and cruise.”

It was a clear, sunny, hot day and the wind felt great. We spent three hours driving from farm to farm checking for people, infected, livestock and produce. We found no people, a hand full of infected, saw two horses in a field, some cows and more chickens roaming around. Every house we stopped and had a garden full of produce. We packed a few veggies in the trunk and mapped out what was where so we could ‘shop’ for more later.

We were actually having fun in a zombie world. It was times like this that made us forget or think maybe this virus thing was temporary. In any case we were alive and together and determined to live the best way we possibly could.

Back at the farm we unpacked our bounty before pulling the Chevy into the barn. The others were sorting the veggies and talking about what would be for dinner and what we’d use the next day. Tomato juice was running down the chin of all three, they had been eating them like apples since the first garden.

“Jesse, grab your 10/22 and come to the truck. We’ll be back in a little bit.” I said.

“Can I come?” Caleb asked.

“No, get a fire going in that pit and cut some decent sticks, about as thick as your thumb and as tall as you. We’ll need four.”

Jesse and I climbed in the truck and headed for one of the farms we had visited. “Where are we going?” he finally asked.

“Chicken for dinner.” I answered.

He just smiled and nodded.

We pulled up behind a farm house, “I saw six or seven chickens over there before.” I said pointing behind a corn crib.

“There!” he said.

“Yeah, there’s three over there. We only one, two would be nice though.”

He was already taking aim at a fat hen to the right of the crib.
Pst
the rifle whispered sending the chicken running. It couldn’t make noise because its head was half gone.
Pst
another chicken took off to the left making a commotion that sent the rest flapping away.

“You got them both. Great!”

“Now we have to find them.”

“Follow the blood. They won’t have gone far.”

We hung the chickens to bleed out then gutted, plucked and cleaned them and wrapped them in newspaper and laid them in a box that went in the bed of the truck. The less fresh blood we had around where we lived the better.

When we got back Caleb had the fire and sticks ready. “What’s that?” he asked as we came into the backyard.

“Dinner.” I said unwrapping the chickens.

“Chicken!” he exclaimed.

“Fresh chicken.” added Jesse.

We slipped the chickens onto the sticks and suspended them on chairs over the fire. It had been some time since we’d had fresh meat and eggs. Today had been special. We had to give a special thanks for all we had that night.

With dinner done and everything cleaned up and in place we sat around the fire enjoying an evening of full bellies and peace.

“I’m sure there are people in the world who don’t have it as good as we do right now.” I finally said, “There are people who haven’t had it as good as any of the days we’ve had.”

“This was a great day.” Caleb said.

“Yeah.” agreed Jesse.

“There could be people hiding right over there who have no food and are too scared to find any.” Christine added. “They could have been hiding since this all started with no food or water.”

“Tomorrow we can go that way and check. That’s toward town and there will be more infected so we have to be careful.”

“We’re always careful.” commented Caleb.

“Where’s your rifle?” I asked.

He looked around “In the kitchen I think.”

“That’s not careful. We feel safer because we haven’t had any trouble for a few days but we could be in it deep in seconds. Just sitting here this late with a fire is not careful. The light from the fire can be seen for miles.”

“We should go in then.” Christine said, “Maybe we can leave the fire going in case someone is out there.”

“No.” I said, “If someone is out there they could be bad guys as easily as someone needing help. We’re not putting up a sign saying ‘Here we are, come get us.’”

We packed up and put the fire out. Caleb and Jesse finished the job by peeing on the coals.

Inside I said, “Here’s a thought, tomorrow night we can light a fire somewhere else and see what it attracts.”

“OK, I like that.” agreed Christine.

Christine sat reading to the boys while I made sure the house was secure. Our bellies were full of fresh meat and vegetables and we were happy. It had been an excellent day. I stood in front of the house looking at the stars and toward town wanting to get a glimpse of a light. I looked back at the stars “Thank You.” I said and walked back inside.

-——————————————

By the time the family started waking up and coming to the back yard I had six squirrels cooking over the fire and a rabbit boiling in a pot.

“Yum.” Caleb said walking toward the fire carrying his rifle.

“It was a good morning.” I responded.

“What’s in the pot?”

“Rabbit.”

“One of ours?” he was alarmed.