Soul Survivor: A gripping tale of the living, the dead, and the struggle to survive in an apocalyptic world. (4 page)

  Struggling
to her feet she leaned against the wall. She stared down at the body as a pool of blood slowly spread out from underneath it.

   “Shit, shit, shit!
” she screamed.

   Taking a deep breath she
collected her thoughts for a moment, examined herself for wounds, then went back to what she had been doing.

   For a brief moment she felt like crying
but fought the urge.

   There would be no time to cry from now on,
she thought.

   She stuffed the pain meds and antacids
into her pockets, stepped over the zombie and out of the bathroom. She headed up the hall and to the kitchen.

  As she rounded the corner she was met by another one standing at the back door blocking her path.

  Still angry
about being attacked she stood there staring the dead man down. She raised the pistol, aimed between the things eyes and waited for it to charge.

   “What are you waiting for?” she
finally screamed.

   The zombie
flinched as if startled by her outburst but made no move to attack her. It stood there for a few more seconds, grunted at her, then turned and stepped out onto the porch. Then it walked down the steps and into the yard. She walked outside and watched as it high stepped down the driveway.

   “Strange,” she said softly to herself, “he’s just like the mailman and Miss Lillian.”

   Just as she came to the bottom step, another one shuffled around the corner of the house. His arms were outstretched and the hands were opening and closing like he was trying to grab something. He was growling through clenched teeth like a rabid dog.

   For some
strange reason this reminded her of a Little rascals episode she saw many times on VHS tape as a kid. The episode where a wild man from the deepest darkest jungle had escaped from the circus and was chasing the our gang kids around the house saying “yum yum eat ‘em up, yum yum eat ‘em up”. She smiled at the idea, a little amused at herself for having such a thought at a time like this, then shook the notion from her head and tightened her grip on the pistol.

  
The dead man that had just walked away turned back to look then picked up its pace as it moved down the driveway a little faster.

  
Amy stopped and waited for this one to stop and stare. It didn’t. It shuffled closer and was obviously intent on killing her.

   She pointed the pistol at the thing and pulled the trigger. The dead man’s bottom j
aw flew apart. Its head jerked to one side but the zombie continued forward, the top row of teeth and the jagged white remnants of its jaw bone now exposed. The bloody bruised tongue darted around its shattered mouth like a wounded snake.

  
Amy aimed more carefully this time then squeezed the trigger again. The shot entered between the thing’s eyes forcing the contents of its skull out a gaping smoking hole in the back of its head. It took one more step then crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

  
Alerted by the gunshots, those that had been milling about in the street and yards nearby turned toward the sound and were heading in her direction. She couldn’t risk them seeing her go back to her house so she ran back into Bob’s.

  
Amy went to the front door and peered through the peephole. There were five dead on the porch. She opened the door quickly and kicked the closest one in the chest sending it into the others. All five tumbled down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

   She fired five shots in quick succession into the group then slammed the door shut.
The growls of anger started up immediately. She hoped this would draw them all to the front of the house so she could make her escape.

   Rushing to the back door she
stepped out and looked around the corner. All the activity was now in the front. The dead that were heading up the driveway a few minutes ago were now at the front with the rest. All clawing and beating at the thick wooden door.

   She retraced the route back to her
house and tapped lightly on the back door. It swung open and then she was safely back inside. They quickly and quietly locked and barricaded the door. She leaned against it and let out a long sigh.

   “That isn’t the shirt you had on,” Tommy commented.

   “I’ll tell you later,” Amy answered.

  
They retreated to the hallway and had a lunch of Vienna Sausages, crackers and water.

  
“I wish we had some pickles,” Tommy commented.

  
Mentally and physically exhausted, Amy finished eating then passed out on the floor and slept. Tommy lay quietly nearby.

   She
awoke with a start several hours later to the sound of clawing and barking at the back door. She rushed to the kitchen and peered out the window. She could see Abby.

   She
moved the barricades and was about to open the door and let her in when two of the dead came around the corner of the house making straight for the little dog.

  
She charged them and was biting at their ankles. One of them reached down, picked her up by the neck and held her there while choking her at the same time.

  
The dog fought and squirmed at first but quickly went limp. The zombie then ripped the dog’s throat out and dropped it to the ground.

 
In an uncontrollable rage Amy snatched the shotgun off the table and stepped out onto the patio. The two dead saw her and started toward her. She put one shell into the chest of the first one then pumped the shotgun and put another into the second. Both were knocked over backwards to the ground.       

 
She placed the shotgun on the ground and retrieved the bat from beside the door. Tommy watched from the doorway, eyes wide and mouth agape.

  
She walked up to the two zombies, both trying to get back on their feet, and gave each one a full swing of the bat. The bat crashed against their heads sending both zombies crumpling to the ground face first.

  
Still enraged she took up the shotgun once again and put a shell into the back of each one of the zombie’s heads. Their skulls exploded in a shower of blood, bone and grey matter.

  
Justice had been swift and revenge was sweet,
she thought.

   She
heard a shuffle and then a grunt behind her. She pumped another shell into the chamber and spun around.

   Lillian, the lady from across the street
was walking toward her. Still in her night gown and one slipper, she walked with that strange high stepping gate Amy had seen earlier in the mailman and the zombie at Bob’s house. The old lady looked at Amy and let out a weak groan through clenched teeth.

  Then she dropped to her knees, raised her arms, opened her mouth wide and let loose a scream of pain and anguish that made Amy’s blood run cold.

  
The scream resonated through the air and sounded as if she was screaming out for help.

   After a moment the scream faded then Lillian
fell silent. She remained in this position for a few more seconds then looked Amy directly in the eyes. A bloody tear ran down her cheek.

  
Amy stood there, stunned at what she was seeing. Finally the old woman lowered her head as if to look at the ground.

  
After a couple of minutes the sound of more dead advancing up the driveway brought her back to reality. She pulled the 9mm from her waistband and put one round in the old lady’s head putting her out of her misery. Her body flopped over on its side and she was still.

  
She looks strangely peaceful,
Amy thought.

  
By this time every zombie on the block was alerted and a mob was heading her way.

   She
rushed back into the house and barricaded the door.

   Soon
the back yard was full of the dead.

   “Miss
Amy, you remember what I said about you being a genius and everything?” Tommy said.

  
“Yes.”

  
“Well, I take it back,”

  
“Really?”

  
“All that trouble you went through to make sure the dead would think we were next door was for nothing,” he exclaimed. “They definitely know where we are now.”

   For some reason this struck
Amy as funny and she began to laugh. Tommy, a little perplexed at first, soon joined in and they laughed until their sides hurt.   

   Once the laughter died down they moved most of their supplies to the attic. They
would sleep there at night just in case the dead somehow found their way inside the house.

   She
cut the rope form the ladder so that it couldn’t be pulled down. They raised it up behind them then wedged a broom handle between the ladder and the door frame so that it couldn’t be lowered. She made sure the pistol and shotgun were fully loaded and the bat was close by. Then exhausted they each got into their sleeping bags and tried to go to sleep.

   “
Amy,” Tommy whispered, “are you awake?”

   “I’m awake, is something wrong?”

   “I just want to go home,” Tommy said weakly.

   She could tell he was on the verge of crying. “I know Tommy. I’m sorry but you can’t go home.”

   “I know but I’m still homesick,” he said then rolled over and went to sleep.

  
The dead stayed out side clawing and tapping at the windows all night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   By sunrise it was as if the dead had forgotten why they were there and most had wandered off.

   When
Amy woke she lowered the ladder, descended into the hallway and checked the house. The doors were locked and dead-bolted just as they had left them.

   She checked the front door. It seemed to be undamaged. She peered through the peephole. There was no activity on the porch or front lawn. Slowly she
opened the door.

  
Tommy had climbed down from the attic and stood quietly behind her.

   Looking down
Amy recoiled in horror. On the small porch in front of the door were bodies stacked like firewood. All of their heads smashed in. There was an awful stench coming from them.

  
     “Oh my God, they stink,” Amy said looking down at the pile of flesh.

“What is it?” Tommy asked peering around from behind her.

   “I don’t know but it smells like road-kill, vomit and zombie pee.” Amy answered. “Why would they do this?”

   Off in the distance a scream began. An evil blood curdling scream. It started low and became louder as it reverberated around them.

  A chill came over Amy’s entire body causing her to shiver.

   “It’s not human,” Amy said closing the door and locking it.

   “What is it?
” Tommy asked.

   “
I think it’s Brian Lee or at least one like him,” she said.

   They retreated to the kitchen and sat down to eat.

  
The electricity had gone out sometime during the night. Amy tried the battery operated radio. Nothing but white noise.  

  
They had several cases of bottled water and after eating breakfast Amy filled every container she could find. The water pressure finally dropped to a trickle then stopped all together.

  
They had enough food and water to last at last several weeks Amy guessed.

   They passed the next few days without event
. Then on the night of the tenth day that all changed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Amy laid down, blew out the candle and closed her eyes. Suddenly there was a scream from the front yard. Tommy stood up and tried to make it to where Amy lay. He tripped over a box and fell in a heap at her feet.

   She grabbed the
flashlight she kept by her pillow.

   “Tommy are you alright?” she asked
shining her light on him.

   “I’m ok,” he said rubbing his knee. “What was that?”

   Before Amy could answer there was another scream and a loud bang at the front door. There was another bang and then a crash as the door gave way.

  
Amy jumped up and had Tommy get behind some boxes. She took hold of the shot gun and made sure a shell was in the chamber.

   “What is it
Amy?” Tommy asked.

   “Shh
... listen.” was the only answer he received.

   They could hear
footsteps approaching. Amy handed Tommy the pistol.

   “The safety is off. Do not put your finger on the trigger unless so
mething happens to me,” she whispered, “ok?”