Phase One: Identify (Territory of the Dead) (6 page)

Chapter 5

I got nearly an hour of escape before a knock came on the door. I felt a lot better from the time spent alone. For that hour, things had seemed almost normal. It was time to face reality again, though, and with a sigh I got up to answer it.

Jayden was standing there, a serious expression on his face. Sometime in the last hour he'd showered, and looked a lot better than he had. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the stubble on his face completely gone. “Your mom sent me up to get you,” he told me, looking past me into my room curiously. “She said it's time to eat.”

“Alright,” I replied, moving out into the hallway and closing the door behind me. My room was my oasis, and I really didn't want to share it with anyone. Even Jayden, despite the crush I'd had on him for years. The crush was long over, though. I'd been over it since he'd graduated two years before.

We were both adults now, not that I was getting to enjoy it. At least he'd had two years to experience freedom. I'd traded high school and childhood for a life that would be spent trying to remain hidden from zombies. I grimaced at the thought. Compared to this, I think I preferred high school.

“Looks like you had your turn at the shower,” I said, attempting to make conversation as we walked down the hallway.

“Yeah, I went back to my house and got some stuff,” he replied calmly.

I stopped and looked at him in disbelief. “My dad let you?”

Jayden shrugged. “How could he have stopped me? Yes it was dangerous, but it's still my life and my choice about how I want to live it. I couldn't have walked around in the same clothes. Besides, we don't know what's going to happen in the future. There was stuff I wanted to keep with me, just in case we have to move fast.”

I started moving again, but slowly. I wanted to hear what he had to say. “Like what?”

“A few outfits, my wallet and cellphone, and some pictures,” he replied from behind me. His voice was so completely flat I knew he was making a huge effort to stay in control of his emotions. I was willing to bet the pictures had been at the top of his list.

“Oh.” I went silent, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

We walked into the kitchen and everyone but Amanda was there. She was still asleep on the couch. Mom had breakfast on the table, and they were already eating.

“Good,” Dad said, swallowing his bacon and taking a sip of coffee. “You kids are here. Sit down and get some breakfast. Then, we are going to plan out our next steps.”

My dad, always the planner and plotter.

It only took a minute to get my food and dig in. Surprisingly, I was starving. Mom was an amazing cook.

Everybody was silent for the next several minutes while they ate. Mom was the first one to speak. “For today and maybe tomorrow, we are okay on groceries. After that though, we are going to have to consider what we will do for fresh stuff like milk and eggs.”

Dad nodded, exchanging a look with James. “Eventually, we will have to venture out. We need to know what it's like in town, and like Beth said, we will need fresh groceries.”

“Then what, Dan? If we are lucky enough to meet others like us, will we try to band together? Or will we stay here and take our chances?” James looked like he really didn't care for either option. I believe he just wanted things to go back to normal, but it was way to late for that.

Dad was at a loss and just shrugged. “Honestly I don't know what's best. I guess we will just have to take it as it comes. It has been pretty quiet here. Maybe between the military and police, they have managed to contain these monsters.”

James shrugged but asked, “Do you just have one rifle, Dan?”

Dad nodded. “I got it a few years back to take with me on a hunting trip. I'd always wanted to go, but the guys and I could never get our schedules synced just right. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have this one.”

James didn't look happy to hear this. “We need more guns than this. You forget, I've seen these things in action. They are fast and powerful. When you encounter one, you don't want to hesitate. Pull the trigger and move on. We can't let them trap us or overwhelm us.”

“When are you wanting to go out, Dad?” I wanted to go with them when they did. I knew Dad wouldn't like it, but it was to bad. I was determined to see how things really were for myself.

“Let's give it one more day,” Dad replied, looking thoughtful. “We will spend today calling around, trying to get someone. I'm going to keep trying the police station as well. Who knows? Maybe we will get someone there. This can't go on forever. Surely some part of our military is alive and working on a solution. For all we know, they are already here.”

Jayden jumped in, his expression determined as he looked at Dad. He looked far older than he was, as if the events of the last day had suddenly aged him. “No disrespect, Mr. Alexander, but you heard the newsman last night and saw what happened at the police station. We can't sit back and wait on someone else to protect us, that may or may not show up. What we need to do is head into town, and check it out.”

To give Dad credit, he was all ears. It was something I really loved about him. With my dad, every opinion mattered. “Then what?”

“If we run into the military or the police, great. Hopefully they have a safe area for the survivors of this nightmare. If not though, we need to head over to Ed's Guns. After that, we can search for survivors and try to restock on groceries and supplies.”

James seemed to like the idea of heading over to the gun shop. “Good idea, kid,” he replied, smiling for the first time since they'd been here.

“It is,” Dad agreed, slowly nodding in agreement. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, and I knew it was one he got when he was considering all the possibilities. “What if Ed is dead, though, and the shop is closed up?”

James and Jayden exchanged a long, meaningful look. “Then we will do what we have to do,” James said, the smile gone. He looked back over at Dad. “The rules have completely changed in our world now. For all we know, they are all dead. If needed, we will break in to get what we have to have. His guns aren't going to help him if he's dead, but they will sure keep us alive. You better believe I won't hesitate to do what's needed to keep myself and my daughter alive.”

Dad sighed. The idea of breaking into someone's place didn't sit well with him. Jayden and James had valid points, though. Dad was going to have to get with the program if we were going to be prepared for survival.

I didn't need to be convinced. I wanted to be a survivor. I didn't want to be unprotected should a zombie catch me unawares. It was time for me to learn how to shoot and use a firearm for myself.

It was amazing how much your perspective on guns could change in twenty-four hours. I guess watching people die all around you could do that to a girl. All I knew was I didn't want to become a feast for the undead. They could keep their teeth to themselves. If they didn't want to, I wanted to have something powerful enough in my hands to convince them otherwise.

“Me neither,” I spoke up, my voice sounding loud in the silence. “I second the idea about Ed's Guns. In fact, I want a gun of my own.” The firmness in my voice left no room for arguments.

Dad looked at me, surprised, before shaking his head. “I don't know if I would feel comfortable with that, Tabs.”

“Really Dad, really? Would you be more comfortable watching me die?” It was a cold statement, but suddenly I felt cold, even detached. My dad needed to face the facts. Good manners and etiquette wouldn't save our lives.

His face blanched. “You know better.”

“Then it's settled.” I slowly looked at each one of them, taking in their full measure. Dad was still hesitant, hoping that somewhere out there was a force large enough to make everything better. Mom was pale and shocked, not quite sure what to make of this strange new world.

James was battle hungry, his country club facade gone in the face of his anger. He wanted revenge for the loss of his wife. He'd have to be watched carefully. He wasn't thinking clearly, and could end up doing something impulsive.

Jayden was watching us quietly, eyes clear and alert. He'd changed in the last day from college boy to survivor. So had I. I wanted to live, and I wanted the chance to experience the freedom I'd waited for my entire life. It was as good of a time as any to assert myself.

I laid my fork down, done with my food. “Is there anything else we need to talk about?”

Dad shook his head, glad to change the topic. “I'm going to spend the afternoon calling around. I thought later on, we could pull some mattresses downstairs to the living room to sleep on tonight. God forbid something to happen, but if it does, we will all be together and able to move fast.”

We all nodded in agreement. “I brought my radio,” Jayden said, taking it out of the duffel bag at his feet. “I thought we could try to pick up a station and get some news.”

“
Good idea,” James said, giving his approval. “I noticed a little bit ago the news on television has finally went out. It's completely fuzzy now, just like all the other stations.”

“That's not a good sign.” My mom spoke up, her features drawn tightly. I felt sorry for her. Life was taking a huge toll on her at the moment. She stood and headed toward the door. “I'm going to take a shower now.”

Dad watched her leave with concerned eyes, before looking back at us. “I'm going to start calling again now. When Beth is done with the shower, I'll take my turn. I want you to make yourselves at home. My home is yours as long as you need it.”

James stood up. “Thanks for that, Dan. I'm going to check on Amanda, and see if I can have any luck finding another news channel.” He turned, his face troubled as he left the room.

Jayden turned the radio on and lowered the volume. He slowly checked each station, but didn't get anything but static. With a sigh, he turned it back off. “I was really hoping we'd find a station.”

Dad was holding the cell phone to his ear, but he nodded in agreement. “Me too, but just keep trying. Maybe someone will be on in a bit. I would imagine that other survivors are looking for ways to make contact.”

Boy, I sure hoped he was right.

Chapter 6  

My eyes flew open immediately that night at the first sound of someone moving loudly through the bushes outside of our living room window. Right away my body flooded with fear, as I rolled over and watched the shadow move through the curtain. I could hear it's loud breathing and snarls through the glass, and instantly I knew it wasn't someone living.

I sat up quietly, noticing my dad was awake in the recliner next to us. The rifle was in his lap, and he brought his finger to his lips to remind me to be quiet. I nodded to let him know I got the message loud and clear. We were the only ones awake.

The living room was completely dark, but my eyes were adjusted to the darkness. I breathed as quietly as possible, and hoped the others would remain silent in their sleep as well. I wasn't sure how good the zombie's hearing was, but I didn't want to take any chances.

Mom and I were lying on the sofa bed again. Dad and James were in the recliners, while Amanda and Jayden were in separate mattresses on the floor.

James was definitely a snorer, although it had eased sometime since I'd fallen asleep earlier. I prayed he would remain silent until the zombie was gone. It wouldn't seem luck was on our side, though.

The moon illuminated their bodies well, as a second zombie joined the first. One of them walked right up to the glass and banged on it with his palms flat against the glass. The sound was loud in the silence of the room, and unfortunately Mom gasped as she woke up from the impact.

Horrified, I heard the zombie growl right up against the glass. Amanda whimpered, her breath catching like she was about to start sobbing. Before I could get up and go to her, Jayden moved next to her and gestured for her to be quiet.

All of us watched the glass, desperately waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next. The other zombie joined the first one, as both of them began pushing and hitting at the glass.

Amanda quietly got up and moved over to us, the palm of her hand pressed tightly against her lips. I could only imagine how scared she had to be, especially since something similar had just happened the night before. I could feel her body trembling next to mine as she squeezed in between us.

Mom held her tightly. At that moment, I wasn't sure who was truly comforting who. It was a scary place to be when the only thing between you and death was a pane of glass.

Minutes might have passed or maybe hours, as we watched them silently. None of us knew what to expect. Thankfully, the curtain prevented us from seeing their gruesome, disgusting flesh. It would only have added to the terror of the moment. I couldn't speak for the others, but I was nearly frozen in fear already.

The zombies alternated between hitting the glass and walking back and forth across the front of our house. They concentrated their efforts mostly on the glass in front of us. As the minutes passed by, I grew more and more convinced that they knew we were in here. Their minds were obviously capable of forming some kind of thoughts and retaining that knowledge. Why else would they hang around?

Believing they had intelligence just made them all the more frightening. Yet, it made sense. How could someone dead have the ability to walk around again, much less sense humanity, or even hear? Obviously there was something within them that alerted them to our presence. What could change a person's internal functions so much they could reanimate their bodies? I had so many questions, but so little answers. 

Another zombie joined the other two, the combined blows again the glass extremely loud in the silence of the night. It was so hard for me to sit there, completely helpless, and wait to see what would happen next. 

Amanda was nearly hysterical, and who could blame her? After all, she'd lost her mother in similar circumstances. This had to be bringing back all of the memories with a vengeance.

I leaned toward Dad. Up close, I could see his pupils were dilated, and he was breathing in short, shallow pants. Dad wasn't getting any younger, and he did have a small heart problem.

I worried as I remembered that. Would this be enough to throw him into a heart attack? If so, there wouldn't be a place we could take him for medical treatment.

“
Dad,” I hissed in a low tone of voice. “Are you doing alright?”

He just gave a short nod in response.

“Do you think we ought to try to leave?” We had a SUV that would be large enough to fit all of us. “If we're going to leave, we need to do it now.”

By then, I could see yet another zombie's shadow through the curtain. It was like they were communicating with each other in some way, alerting others of the meal that waited inside for them. Any hopes I had that maybe they'd leave were dashed. They had a one-track mind, and nothing would deter them.

“Let's wait, and see what happens,” he finally responded back. His body was tense in the recliner, despite his unconcerned tone. One of these days, his hesitation was going to get us all killed.

I felt badly for even thinking that way. I knew he was coping the best way he could, and maybe I was to impetuous. Even so, I couldn't bear to stay inactive any longer.

I stood up and started walking to the door. “Where are you going?” I heard Dad ask urgently behind me, but I didn't turn around. It wasn't like I was leaving or anything. I just wanted to see how many were out there.

Carefully, I made my way to the front door and peeked through the side of the curtain. Everywhere I could see from the small opening was covered with the undead. They were even coming through the bushes that lined the sidewalk that ran in front of our house.

Several stragglers were walking up the driveway. Some walked straight and tall, with purpose. Others were staggering along. All of them were fixated on our house, though, their eyes visibly glowing red, despite the darkness.

It was nauseating to see the conditions of their bodies. Most of them had fresh injuries, missing large parts of their faces, shoulders, and even clothing. No part of their bodies had been left untouched.

I couldn't imagine the sheer pain from having chunks of flesh bitten out of my body. The dead were victims looking for more victims. No age group was left untouched, and I blinked rapidly from the burn of tears in my eyes. Some of the zombies in the yard were proof of that.

One zombie came around the house, growling as she looked for a way in. I threw my palm over my mouth just in time to hold back the sob. Even as injured as she'd been, I recognized her. It was Erin, Jayden's sister.

Whatever it took, we had to prevent him from seeing her. It was terrible enough to go through losing your family in the span of just a few minutes. It would be mind-shattering to lose them and have them come back, determined to kill you as well. Nobody should have to experience something like that.

Without a doubt, I knew that this zombie epidemic was the end of the world. Everybody would either die, or the survivors would spend their lives constantly on the run. Nothing could be more evil than this. I didn't know what caused it, or even who, but it was pure, unadulterated evil.

Death was a part of life. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'd always known that one day I would die, just like I was sure everyone else did. It was so far off in the future, though, that it wasn't anything I'd ever seriously considered. Until now.

Nobody should have to die like these people had. I didn't know each of their circumstances, but I had a good guess. These people had died in terror, horror, and pain. More than likely, they had to watch their friends or loved ones die at the same time. Their last moments would have been spent knowing that they would come back and do the same to anyone they could get their hands on, even people they'd spent their life loving.

It was not the way any human being should have to go. 

I let the curtain fall back in place. Just in time, too. Jayden came up behind me, his tall body warm against my back as he whispered in my ear, “How bad is it?”

His body caused a strange sensation to shoot through mine, but I pushed it aside to examine in my mind at a later date. “It's bad,” I responded softly, facing the door. He was close enough to hear me though. “Let's go check the other windows.”

He moved away, and I exhaled gently. My back was still tingling from his nearness. It was a close call. If he'd moved the curtain to have a look himself, I had no doubts he would have seen his dead sister.

We went from window to window, but I purposely guided him away from the front ones. The dread inside of me increased with each glance into our dark yard. We were completely surrounded, with more piling in. Eventually they could force their way in, simply by the sheer numbers amassing around our house.

By the backdoor, Jayden stopped me. He grabbed my shoulders and bent down to meet my eyes. He had a ways to go, actually. I was on the short side. I stood 5'4 with my shoes on.

It was hard to be this close to him and not blush. Maybe my crush wasn't as dead and gone as I thought it was. Even in the circumstances, I couldn't help but react to his face being only inches away. All I'd have to do was move my face forward to kiss him.

He must have noticed I was lost in my daydreams, because he gave my shoulders a quick shake. “Tabitha, I need you to focus.”

I could feel my skin mottling in embarrassment. I just hoped he didn't figure out what I'd been thinking. “I am focused,” I responded, my voice a bit harsh. My eyes finally met his. His dark eyes had a golden hue, one I'd never noticed before. “What did you want to talk about?”

His eyes were intent upon my own, and for several seconds he didn't reply. My body felt hot and tingly. I swallowed hard. I was ashamed to admit it, but I hoped he would kiss me. Apparently attraction could override even the most dire circumstances.

I wouldn't have known that before. Even though I was eighteen,  the truth was I'd never had a boyfriend, much less been kissed before. Apparently short, slightly-plump teenaged girls weren't in high demand, especially in my town. 

He blinked, and the moment was over. He grimaced momentarily and said, “I'm just going to get right to the point. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or anything, but it's apparent that the stress of this is getting to your Dad.” His voice was low, his eyes focused and concentrated on mine. “I just want you to be mindful of this. I'm not eager to go out there, but I don't want to be so hesitant that I die, still waiting for help that isn't coming.”

“
What can we do, though?” It was frustrating, not knowing which direction to turn.

“I have a gun,” he replied, releasing my shoulders and reaching one hand to the back of his waistband. He pulled out a pistol, showing it to me before putting it back where it came from. “I am trusting you to keep this secret, though. It belonged to my dad. With James dead-set on an outright war we can't win, I don't want him knowing about it. I won't give it up, Tabitha,” he warned me, his eyes narrowing. “So don't bother telling anyone else.”

“I wouldn't anyhow,” I hissed, angry that he would think otherwise. “I'm not some baby that goes around telling everything I know.”

My reaction seemed to calm him. “I didn't think you were, which is why I told you.” He straightened back up and crossed his arms, watching me with a calculating look. “To be honest, I never realized how mature you really are. You're pretty cool, for an eighteen year old.”

I tried really hard not to preen under his praise, but I'm not sure how successful I was. “Thanks, I think,” I replied, trying to sound cool. The truth was, I'd always felt older than the girls around me. I was into deep stuff like reading, heavy rock, or living free. I'd much rather hang out with laid back people and cool adults rather than a giggling posse of girls talking about clothes or who was going out with who.

Some people might call me a loner or an introvert. In some ways, it was true. I was comfortable enough in my own skin to prefer my own company, sometimes at least.

“It's the truth,” he continued with a shrug. “But back to what I was saying. I don't think these zombies are going to just leave. We need to figure out what we are going to do if they get in. Even with both guns, we wouldn't have enough bullets to take them all out.”