Humanity's Death: A Zombie Epic (9 page)

“And you are the best plumber this side of Horry
County babe.” Candy said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him over
to her, “and the sexiest!”

More fireworks crackled, the sun disappeared,
and bright stars shined against a black canopy. Tourists walked
past them in small droves, entered the store, and came out with
bags of fireworks. It was the beginning of the tourist season;
something the locals both loved and hated. The salty air was now
mixed with the smell of the explosive black powder as the wind
carried it off the beach. The sounds of children’s laughter and the
crunch of the gravel shot by them as little boys and girls ran for
the beach. A parent shouted for them to slow down and wait.

Larry and Cherry excused themselves and headed
into the store. “Get one of the big packets would ya?” Jody
shouted. Larry turned and shot him a thumbs up. Candy stood with
Jody, their hands connected and pulsating against each other. She
looked at him and his eyes stared back longingly.

“Baby…” he bent to one knee, “will you marry
me?” He slid his high school ring over her finger. It was much too
big for her; but she still thought it was a sweet thing; her fat
man was one big jiggly romance.

She stared at him and chuckled, then said: “We
just graduated a month ago… now you want to get married?”

His fat face squished in like he sucked on a
sour lemon, or like an angry child, “Dammit woman! Don’t foul up
the mood with a bunch of talk. Just say…”

She pressed her lips against his, then pulled
away after a few moments. “Yes! I will marry you, my sweet fat
man!”

5

The world around her returned. Jody was gone. Larry
and Cherry were gone. The smell of fireworks was gone. The stench
of death and the pounding of dead hands on her windshield told her
that that life was over. That world was gone. Never to return.
Those days that were filled with laughter, sandy beach nights, warm
fires and friendly embraces were replaced by death’s hot summer
breath and bone chilling winters that froze more than just bone,
but soul and passion itself. She felt the tears streaming down her
cheeks. A horde now surrounded the Hummer. Their dead faces staring
in at her, wanting her flesh, her hot blood.

She pressed the gas and forced the horded out of
the way; they fell down like bowling pins. She stared into the rear
view and saw the boy in the varsity jacket reaching out towards
her. Who had he been? Just a happy high school boy looking forward
to summer, feeling anxious about his upcoming freshmen year a
college. What would he have done with his life had the Fever not
come? Who would he of married? How many kids would they of had?
Would they of settled down here in Horry County? Raising their kids
to repeat the cycle of American dreams all over again?

She pushed the mirror down and forced herself to
stare at the road ahead. Her mind was shutting down to the Old
World morality. Her thoughts grew increasingly dark and sinister;
she was slipping deeper and deeper into losing empathy for any and
all people.

She continued down 17. To the right, a sign read
ENTERING MURRELS INLET. The green trees swayed with the wind on
either side of the road. The road was straight and even. Up ahead
the sight of a CVS came into view. Candy slowed to a crawl. She
needed antibiotics. That's why she was out here. Jack might be dead
already, for all she knew. But, if she should save his life; she
would by any means necessary. Then she saw the people. At first she
thought they had to be zombies, but zombies don't run like
that.

A man, woman, and kids were running inside the
store. Candy crept the Humvee a little closer, parking it against
the curb. They hadn't seen her. She exited, closing the door
softly, and stepped over the concrete curb onto hot grass, her
boots making shallow imprints. She saw no sign of the dead—a small
miracle if there ever was one.

Ahead, steam
rose off the black asphalt parking lot creating a foggy mist. Her
boots
clicked
,
clicked
,
clicked
against the ground. Her right
hand gripped the revolver’s handle. Her left arm rose and her hand
lowered the hat’s brim, barely showing her piercing eyes. Her face
was hard and stern. Her girls were gone. Her Jody was gone. Her
Papa was gone. The rights and the wrongs of the Old World no longer
existed for her. Kill or be killed; that’s all she thought as she
moved in on the family.

Her legs moved precisely with her heels touching
the ground with each step. Her right hand rested over her revolver
while she approached the couple now coming out of the store,
holding what looked like a bag of medicine. “What’s in the
bag?”

A woman clad in a torn dress with blood stained
yellow pokadots stared at her with a fearful glance. “Get over here
girls! Who are you?” the woman said. Two girls grasped the backs of
their mother’s legs and clung tightly, their frail bodies
quivering.

“Listen now. We don’t have anything for you.”
Said a man as he stepped in front of his family. “I’ll shoot you, I
mean it!” He said.

Candy stared at the man’s pulsating brown eyes;
he was scared. The barrel of his gun trembled with the involuntary
shaking of his hand.

“Don’t do that.” Candy said.

“Do what?”

“Please just leave us alone! Why are you looking
at us like that?”

The two girls peered around their parents. Their
small knees trembled. “Please don’t hurt us lady.”

Candy didn’t move. Her breathing was rhythmic
and smooth; and her stare never left the man pointing the gun.

The old woman spoke, “Just listen, would ya? We
need that medicine for our little girl. She’s got an infection.
Couldn’t you help us? Aren’t there any good left in ya? You don’t
look so bad… we could help each other.”

“Antibiotics?” Candy asked. Her face was a grim
shadow under the brim of her hat.

“You can’t have it! We might can spare a little
food. But, we can’t…”

Candy drew her revolver, aimed for the husband’s
forehead, and squeezed the trigger. His brains flew backwards, and
covered the two little girls and their mother. The mother’s face
cringed while she pushed her kids behind her. “My god, please!
NOOOO—”

The next shot split the woman’s head in two. The
two little girls held each other, and crawled into a fetal position
and hid their faces. Candy’s footsteps marched slowly up to them
and her shadow overcast their shuddering bodies. They were crying,
shivering with fear. It was raining again; a thick shower falling
from the dark, gray sky.

Two more shots rang out and the little girls
went limp; their dead bodies two colorful lumps against the black
asphalt.

In the car a child screeched loudly. Candy
reached down and picked up the bag of medicine. The black asphalt
creaked underneath her boots; the rain now poured out of the
heavens hard and strong; lightning crackled and lit the eastern
sky. She moved with precise steps, heel to toe, heel to toe, and
then hovered over the back seat window. Her shadow moved up the
side of the car, darkening the screaming infant. The squeals became
louder as she pulled the door open; the door ajar alarm dinged and
dinged. Pictures of laughing children, and smiling parents were
tacked against the back of the front seat’s head rest. The infant
continued to bellow.

Beside the baby was another small bag of
medicine. Candy picked it up and put it into the larger bag she
held; and then stared down at the child. The baby’s cheeks were
red, and tears streamed down like rain. It wiggled helplessly in
the baby seat. Candy’s lip snarled, she picked up a pillow resting
beside the child’s seat, and pressed it over the baby’s face and
pushed down hard.

A few moments later the child stopped crying.
She removed the pillow, revealing a blue, dead infantile face. She
removed a short knife clipped to her leather belt. She stared at
the blade; a break in the dark clouds beamed a ray of sun which
reflected back into Candy’s eyes. She laid the bag on the seat, and
with her left hand she pushed the dead child’s head to the side,
and pushed the blade into the soft temple. She picked up the bag,
and left the door open and the door ajar alarm chimed as she walked
over to the dead man and removed his revolver from his death grip.
She opened the chamber and smiled while she spun six empty
holes.

6

Back on the road, driving back towards the swamp,
the sky dark and menacing, a light rain still pouring against the
windshield, and a cool wet breeze flowing through her hair, Candy
stared blankly. In the back voices whispered “Mama why? Why did you
kill those people?” Candy’s body jumped and she looked over her
shoulder with a fast jerk. Nothing. She continued to drive.

“You didn’t have to do that Mama.” Candy slammed
her foot on the break, bringing the Humvee to a screeching halt.
Her bosom heaved while she closed her eyes. “It isn’t real.”

“Mama look!”

Candy opened her eyes and stared at her two
little girls in the rear view mirror. She blinked. Then blinked
again. But they still sat there, staring back at her. A foggy mist
enveloped their bodies, and they were transparent, with parts of
the back seat showing through. “You’re not real.” She said.

“You didn’t have to kill that baby. Why’d you do
it? Mama, can’t you hear us?” The girls spoke in unison, like one
voice. “Don’t look scared momma. We can help you.”

Candy stared forward and pressed the pedal down
softly. The Hummer crept slowly down highway 17. A soft humming
came from the back seat. Candy’s eyes began dripping.

“You remember that song mama? You loved it.”

“I do remember. I remember baby. Is this real?
Can this be real?” Candy spoke with a cracked voice and let her
tears fall. “Are you really there?” But she knew they were. She
knew this wasn't a dream; this wasn't a hallucination. All those
stories of paranormal sightings were true after all. She felt a
cold shiver run up her spine.

“Why did you kill those people Mama?”

“I…had…to. Jack needs the medicine. If I don’t
save Jack…” she burst into more tears. She knew she didn’t have to
kill them. Why had she done it? Who was she now? Just another
murderer in a murderous world?

“You don’t always have to kill mama. You can
just kill sometimes. Not everyone needs to die.”

She did not respond. An opening in the sky
poured late afternoon sunlight into Candy’s eyes. The storm was
passing, heading east over the Atlantic. She lowered the eye shade
and focused her eyes forward.

She felt like a monster. A disgusting, rabid
animal. She’d killed an infant. Two girls no older than her girls
had been. These thoughts would never leave her; would darken every
future triumph. Why hadn’t she done something else? Why did she
have to kill them? Had her mind really slipped this far into
insanity? If so, could she come back? Could she regain some
semblance of mental stability?

“Don’t worry mama! We will keep you on track!”
The two girls slapped their palms together in celebration. “We’ll
make sure only the bad guys die.”

“My babies. This ain’t possible.”

The girls began humming that soft melody again,
a song for the dead. Candy’s eyes softened and her pulse slowed.
Her grip on the steering wheel relaxed. Her breathing slowed to a
steady rhythmic pace.

Candy spoke flatly, “Everything is OK now.”

(
murderer!)

“Everything will be just fine.”

(
babykiller!)

“I have my girls again. It is real. They are
real. Everything is OK now. Everything will be just fine. I’m going
to go meet Andrew now. Yes. Everything's perfectly fine now.”

She drove down highway 17, back towards the
swamps. Her mind rested as the wind drifted through open windows.
No music played. Only the soft hum of the girls in the back seat;
their voices were hypnotic.

She finally reached the road leading back to the
pontoon boat. The sun was lowering and dark shadow covered the
marshes. Thick humidity still dampened the air and the smell of gas
and vegetation stank.

The Humvee rumbled to a halt. She climbed out
and slammed the door behind her. She walked over to the edge of the
water. The boat was drug onto the edge of the marsh. Just outside
the boat a red and white cooler lay. The lid was knocked open and
dead fish had fallen out. Drag marks dug into the wet land. She
followed the drag marks with her eyes. Her feet dipped into the
soft earth as she followed the trail. The trees wrapped around her
and swallowed her with dark shadows.

“Mama.”

“Yes baby?”

“This might get ugly.”

“I know baby. The whole world's ugly”.

(
murderer!
)

(
babykiller!
)

She moved through ancient cypress trees while
her boots left imprints and sweat dripped from her face. The hot
rotting vegetation left a gassy smell. “As long as I have you girls
everything will be OK.”

(
notthekidsyoukilled!
)

She reached a clearing a few miles into the
boggy wilderness. The trees were cut out in a circle. In the middle
an old shack sat. It was made of rusted metal. Vines and green
foliage covered its exterior. She lifted her leg but stopped it
from moving forward. The path before her was made of whitish gray
broken human bones. Thick grass and vegetation covered the rest of
the yard. Gray smoke rose from a nearby grill. She took a deep
breath and sprinted forward.

7
A few hours earlier

Andrew spoke softly to himself, “The whole world is
on fire. The whole planet might not make it. But here I'm fishin
and that’s all that matters to me today. Day by day is the way we
have to live. Smile and be happy to be here catching the fish for
the day.” A tear dribbled down his face. “Yep. Just another day in
paradise. Another day. Papa’s gone...” He sniffed hard and shook
his head. “Keep on marchin Andy. Yep. That's what I'll do Papa.
Keep on fishin to. Ill catch us some good ones today.” He looked up
into the blue sky. A cool wind blew against his face. The buzz of
flying insects surrounded him like moving black shadowed clusters.
Dark trees surrounded him. He'd found a calm section of the long
river; the dark water was still around him.