A Zombie Christmas (2 page)

“Out of all the homes I went to, you two were the only single guys left in the neighborhood.  Everyone else either had one, two, or three kids.  Every one of
those families was struggling.”

“So here we sit.  Chosen because we’re single,” Jim replied.

Fred picked up a box filled with letters (he didn’t know it, but there were twenty inside, one for each kid still left in this neighborhood).  “Is this how you found out what they want?”

“Yea
h.  I went back around and told them to leave a note on their door for one thing, a toy each of their kids would want, make it small, easy to carry.  I told them I would be back to collect the notes in a week or so, give them time to think.  So on each piece of paper is something that will give each kid in this neighborhood a little hope.  I plan to deliver on that promise.”

“So are we starting tomorrow morning?”
  Fred asked.

“We are.” 

Fred was getting restless, and the day was getting later.  He stood up from the chair and stretched.  He took out his pistol and made sure it was loaded.  “Tomorrow morning, then it is.  See you then.”  He collected his things. 

Mike showed him to the door.  He opened it.  “Be careful, we need you.”

Fred looked out at the road, the neighborhood, zombies shambled back and forth.  “There doesn’t seem to be as many these days.”

“Maybe that is something in our favor.”

“Hey, wait up Fred.  Strength in numbers, remember.”  Jim collected his things, and put on his coat.  He walked over to where they were standing.

“See you
tomorrow.”  Jim gripped his gun and breathed in the cool air.  He made his way down the porch with his gun pointed forward.  Fred gave a nod and followed Jim out the door.  Mike heard several gunshots as Fred and Jim made it back to their respective houses. 

Mike
closed the door and went out onto the back deck.  He checked around for zombies.  There were a few, but they didn’t bother him.  He filled up the generator and went back inside.

He turned off the tree to save power, stoked the fire, and then pulled out a small portable DVD player.  He turned on one of his favorite TV show
s – Wings, and fell asleep watching it.

His dreams were peaceful and full of hope.

4

DECEMBER THE 24
th

The three men sat huddled in the cold, waiting and watching the mall parking lot.  There were a lot of zombies shuffling around the open ground, some going into the mall, some coming out. 
Many of them were carrying shopping bags as if they had spent this day doing last minute Christmas shopping.

It looked like a hopeless nightmare.

“Dawn of the Dead much,” Fred replied.

“Original or remake?”  Mike responded.

“I don’t think I can do it.”  Jim gripped his shotgun a little tighter to his chest.

“Don’t think.  When we go, you go, got that.”  Mike picked up his voice a bit.  If these guys needed some encouragement, then he had to be it. 

“Are we going or not?” 

Mike looked at Fred, and he had the intensity in his eyes.  Mike knew he was ready. 

Fred gripped the gun a little tighter.  You could almost see the muscles twitching in his legs as he geared himself up for this.

“Yeah, Fred.”  He looked over at Jim.  “You ready?”

“It’s like dancing with an electric chair.  You’re never ready, but sometimes you just got to do it.”

Mike didn’t know what that meant, but he instructed the men to get up with a slow ease. 
They evacuated their hiding places and made their way into the parking lot.

The zombies noticed them in an instant and began to shuffle in their direction. 

The three guys picked up the pace, eyes on the door in front of them.  When it was almost to the point of a true zombie attack, the men unleashed their weapons.  Head shots a plenty began to rain blood into the air as zombie after zombie went down. 

The men rushed into the open doors, guns blazing, zombies falling. 

Mike had left a kerosene lamp sitting on one of the benches nearest the door.  He grabbed it as the men continued forward.  He turned it on and light flooded the unlit mall.

“Upstairs!”  Mike screamed as the men kept firing off rounds. 

They had left their shotguns behind once they were empty of ammunition.  It was now down to pistols, and each shot found its mark. 

The men hurried up the escalator to the closed doors of the toy store. 

Mike pulled out a key from his pocket as Fred and Jim took aim, back to back. 

Mike unlocked the door. 

The men hurried inside. 

Mike closed the door and locked it tight. 

The zombies huddled up against the glass, but couldn’t get in. 

The men, now tired, caught their breath and tried to relax. 

“Anyone bit?”  Mike checked himself with the light and then the other men.  Everyone was okay. 

“Okay, that was insane.”  Jim took a seat in a n
earby chair, and then he realized something – Why was there a camping chair just sitting in the middle of the mall toy store?  He looked around.  “Been busy, Mike?”

Mike turned on several small kerosene lamps and lit up the kerosene heater (the mall had been without power or heat for some time now).  The heater was sitting in the
middle of the circle of camp chairs like it was a camp fire.  Nearest to the chairs were three sleeping bags, and a cooler that was stocked with non perishable food and water. 

The men ate and drank as th
ey watched the zombies.  One of them shuffled by with the Salvation Army stand draped over his neck.  It looked like he had walked right through it and then continued on without realizing the obstruction.  He jingled and jangled, spilled change, as he shuffled around in his zombie world.

The men smiled.

The tensions eased.

Mike went back to business. 
“When I came up here to do this the first time, I found all the keys, and then made sure I had the one for the toy store.  When I came back, I cleaned up the store and locked it.  Then the last time I came, I started bringing supplies, a few at a time, working, until I knew for sure I had enough.  It took me all day, but I got it done.”

“Thanks,
” Jim replied.

“How are you feeling, Fred?”
  Mike was concerned about him.  He hadn’t said much since they arrived.

“Tired and sore, but it’ll be okay.  What about guns and ammunition?  We used up a lot getting in here.”

Mike pulled back a rug just beyond the indoor camp, and underneath it was an arsenal of guns and ammunition.  “Whatever we need, guns are loaded.”

Jim and Fred went over to investigate.

Jim held up a brand new double barrel shotgun and eyed it like a prize.

Fred’s eyes almost shined in the dark with all the new zombie killing toys he had just found.

Mike sat back and relaxed, glad that everything had worked out so far.

So the three men rested for a bit and prepared for the next day by collecting the toys they would need, each man scrutinizing their list with flashlights in the dark..
Mike had found three good sturdy sacks they could use (the sacks had makeshift loops attached to them so they could wear them like a back pack).  Each man filled their sacks and then made their way back to the indoor camp.

The night passed.

The men slept.

Zombies shuffled outside, and one jingled and jangled, still spilling change.

Around dawn, Mike’s watch alarm went off.

It was Christmas Day.

5

DECEMBER
THE 25
th

They left the mal
l in the same way they came, a blaze of glory.  The going was slower because of the bags; but the men were able to keep their hands free, so that made the shooting a lot easier.

Dawn was breaking, and the men hurried back as quickly as they could. 

It was a miracle that none of them got bit, and it was a miracle that they made it back to their neighborhood. 

Once they were in the neighborhood, they split up according to their delivery map. 

They made their deliveries with a tap on the door, a drop off of the presents, and a “Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!” for good measure.  It wasn’t easy, but they were able to make it work.

Once everything was done the men found their way back to their respective homes.  It would have been nice to
stick around and see the smiles of each and every kid, but in this world, you moved quickly and you moved fast. 

Oh, I
about forgot. 

I didn’t mention this. 

This is the best part.

Ready for it.

Okay, here we go.

E
ach man was wearing a Santa suit at the time.  They had stopped off at a local gas station a little more than half way back to the neighborhood.  It was set up like the toy store, cleaned out, and locked.  Mike had stashed some more food and water along with some Santa suits.  They didn’t have to wear them, but each man did. 

I wonder what it would be like to see three gun toting zombie killing
Santa’s with a pack on their backs running down the street popping off zombies and delivering presents.  I am sure; it would be a sight to be seen.

When the men made it into their homes, their stories went like this.

Jim checked himself to make sure he wasn’t bit, stripped naked, cleaned up, and then crashed out in a cold dark house after downing a full bottle of whiskey.  He didn’t bother to turn on the kerosene heater, and he didn’t bother with food.  He just wanted to drink and sleep.  He pulled a blanket over himself and slept deep well into the next day.

Fred didn’t bother with checking himself for bites.  He instead went into his living room and turned on some loud heavy metal Christmas music.  He left the Santa suit on as he drank beer; head banged around the room, and just got wasted.  At some point, he just passed out, sleeping most of the night and into the morning flat on his stomach,
beers littering the living room.

Mike crashed down in front of a roaring fire and fell asleep with the picture from the mantel in his hand (he left the suit on as well).  The Christmas tree was splashing and sparkling all over the room as he slept the peace of a man who had just done a great task.  His dreams were filled with Christmases gone by, happier times and happier days.

The picture he held in his hands, cradled close to his heart, showed, his two sons, and his wife just before it all happened.  They had taken a Christmas photo together, and they all were so happy.

It was an
image frozen in a better time. 

No one could ever change that.

6

DECEMBER THE 26
th

A knock on the door the next afternoon woke Mike up.

He put down the picture in the frame and went to answer it.

Jim was standing there holding a shoe box full of paper.  He didn’t even have a gun in his hand.  It was still in the holster.  He was only holding
this box.

Another box was lying at Jim’s feet.  Mike picked it up.

“Thank you notes.”

“What?”

“Somehow they gave us all thank you notes.”

Jim and Mike went in and took a seat.  They began to go through the boxes.

“How did they do this?  They didn’t have time.”

“I guess it is a Christmas miracle Mike or maybe Santa really is hanging on just
like the rest of us.”

“Yeah, maybe
, just maybe.” 

Both men froze and looked up at the ceiling, towards the sky.  They both then looked at each other.  They didn’t speak, but their looks said this. 

Did I just hear bells jingling above the house?  Did I hear what sounded like a sleigh sliding off the roof?  It couldn’t be, they thought at the same time, and shook the impossibility away.

The men turned to their own boxes and began to look at the notes.  Most of them were scribbles, drawings, and thank yous all done in a child’s hand.  It brought tears to their eyes.  This was a true Christmas miracle and a Christmas that none of them would soon forget.

THE END

HO, HO, HO, A Zombie Merry Christmas to you, fellow reade
r