Zombies! Rising from the Dead (7 page)

As we made our rounds through the grocery side I happened to look across the store and
saw the garden center which had been completely abandoned. People can be quirky, and one of
t
hose quirks is that
most
individuals tend to think in the here and now, what they need
now,
what makes them happy
now,
very few think about the long term. I was in the minority in all
my eccentric, hermit-like ways.

I turned and mumbled to Rick non-nonchalantly so that no one would hear us,
“We
need to get over
there;
let’s
walk
in through the back
isles
”

“Why, what's over there?”
Rick asked questioningly.

“Come on
think man, THINK
!
”
I said to him and I lifted a single finger to my temple,
and tapped gently on the side of my head. He looked at me, still at a
loss
to understand my
intentions, but followed my lead nonetheless.

Finally making our way through the back of the store and cornering off into the garden center
I told him what I had been eluding too.

“Look man seeds, potting soil, fertilizer; IF, and I say IF this is what we think it might
be and we have to hold-up inside for a long time we
gotta
be able to make our own food right?
You can't grow cupcakes brother, with this shit we can grow our own food. It will be messy but
at least we will have something to eat, just in case you know?
Not saying it will come to that. But we
gotta
find out what’s going on and be prepared just in case
.”

Rick finally started to get it,
“Yep, your right man, absolutely right, just hadn't thought
of it.”

So we loaded the cart down with all sorts of seeds, soil and garden supplies. We pretty
well had our run
through that side of the store. M
ost people were so single purposed right now
that they just weren't thinking beyond immediate concerns.

In the short time that we entered the store to the time we got to the checkout the demeanor
of the store had quickly changed. The first isles of the grocery had already been picked clean
and it was clear that the store would
b
e wiped out
,
and in a matter of hours nothing would remain
at all except a bare shelves and empty fixtures.

The store managers had put televisions and radios by the checkouts so that customers
could remain apprised of breaking news, a misguided attempt to “service” the customer. I
thought maybe they did it to drive customers further into a spending frenzy; so the
m
anagers
could improve their bottom line, even in this late hour money and profit still ruled the day
. ---
fucking hypocrites.

It was humanity at its worst, all its deplorable greed exposed for everyone to see, and I
loathed every moment that we were there, it reminded why I was the type of person I was and
why I went to such great length to avoid the rest of humanity whenever possible.

With what supplies we had we quickly made our way through the checkout. It seemed as
if the line was backed up for a mile. We sat there for almost forty-five minutes, all the while the
waiting shoppers grew more and more irritable. Any moment I feared things were going to
escalate out of control and
someone
was going to lose it; and it would only take
one
, just
one
person to insight a full out riot. The store became more and more crowded, customers crowded
the checkouts---it was going to boil over any moment, we had to get out!

Luckily we managed to get through the checkout and made it
to the sliding glass doors just as things started to get out of hand. There came a ruckus from one of the lines far behind us
as a fight broke out. I remember thinking just how lucky we were getting to the store if we had
arrived even a few minutes later we would have been caught up in all the madness, and I did
feel sorry for the poor souls that arrived after we did because as things reached a climax it was
only going to get worse. There was no doubt in my mind that people were going to get hurt or
even killed.

Luckily I
had
brought the truck and we quickly made our way across the street to the
home supply store and gathered up 2x4's, nails, plywood, screws and hammers; anything we
thought might be
h
elpful. My shed at home was full of this type of material but given the
situation it seemed as if it might be prudent to stock up even if there seemed no need for it at
the moment.

By the time we left town there was no point trying to purchase gasoline, any type
convenience store or filling station had long since been tapped out, remembering the little gas
station in Libbetsville we decided to try there on the way home. We needed fuel for the
v
ehicles
and generators; even though we knew it wouldn't last forever it might make things easier for a
time. Who even knew if the epidemic would even make it this far, and just how much of it was

true
remained in question. Some part of me still the some
g
overnment bureaucrat would end up
on the news apologizing to the American people because it was discovered that this was some
type of hoax or mass hysteria. It was true that since this all started we hadn't seen any proof of
the claims being made; all the calamities had been man-made, nothing of the re-animated sort.
It didn't feel wholly real, as if it were taking place in some kind of cloudy,
nightmarish, half-conscious dream scape. Maybe in
the midst of shock or extreme trauma
this is how the mind deals with such matters; by taking whatever inconceivable situation it
encounters and places it a similar situation for which it
does
have experience to base it on and
in this way it finds context in which to deal with the corresponding event.

People do some crazy things in times of crisis; Rick and I were no different. I vividly
recall we went through a fast food drive-thru, now I'm not sure what was more crazy, the fact
that we did this in the midst of all the chaos or the crazier fact that we actually got served. I
remember telling him something to the effect that this may be the last warm meal we got for a
long time. It is one of the images that still
sits
firmly planted in my memory even now; Rick
and I loaded down with supplies and a warm bag of greasy burgers and
fries sitting between us
as we headed back to Barkley.

I remember how quickly we wanted to get back to
Barkley;
I must have been driving a
hundred miles an hour. Our minds were preoccupied as we tried to determine our next course
of action. We had the radio on throughout the whole trip back listening for the latest
developments. About fifteen minutes after leaving Panatauk another news bulletin filled the
airwaves and yet again the radio cut away to the spokeswoman, Ms. Richardson from the CDC.
In
the
moments that followed she would confirm our worst fears, turning what had only been
speculation into fact.

Once again she began to speak,
“Good afternoon ladies, gentlemen and members of the
press. We wanted to take a moment to apprise you of the ongoing situation which began a little
less than forty-eight hours ago, we do have new information to bring to you at this time.”
Ms.
Richardson sounded more composed than on her previous appearance.
“
We now have confirmed outbreaks in major developed
c
ountries. In the United States
we have reports of confined incidents,
as it stands now it appears that the pattern of
contamination is spreading from west to east. Western-most states are currently affected and
the pattern of infection is rapidly heading east. I urge every American citizen to take
appropriate and immediate action to protect yourselves and your families. I remind you, what
we are dealing with is reanimated biological tissue and this is not limited to human variety.
Wildlife appears to be affected as well.”
We listened intently as she continued.
“I now turn
this over to Dr. Bassett from the Arizona State of Biological Studies who has additional details
concerning this event.”

Our ears strained to hear every word, “
Good morning everyone, I have some information for
you about the situation.”

This new individual, Dr. Bassett, seemed to
fumble around the microphone. It was obvious
he
wasn't used to dealing with the public, he was a scientist after-all and probably spent most of
his time in a lab surrounded by
beakers
and microscopes.
“We have conducted studies on the few samples we have been able to recover and we have
reviewed reports and other data that has been collected from
first-hand
accounts. We are still
conducting tests but we DO have some additional information for you, so let me get right to
it.”

We listened intently, glued to the radio.

“Here is what we know thus far. Radiation from meteor
m
aterial is in fact causing
artificial metabolism in dead and
decaying material. This seems limited to mammal and
reptilian variety, as we have not seen any reaction from insects or plant life. To the living the
radiation poses little threat except in extremely high concentrations, in which case nausea,
vomiting and skin irritation may be present. Reanimation seems to take place only hours after