SHTF (NOLA Zombie Book 0) (7 page)

W
E rolled
up on Hank and Barbara's house about five minutes later. They didn't live that far from me, it was one of the reasons I had bought in Mid-City. Even though they drove me crazy, I wanted to be close to my family. They lived right off of City Park Avenue in a beautifully restored home that Hank had inherited from our parents. It was where we all grew up and every time I stepped through the door it brought back memories.

Even here, near the park, which was always bustling with activity, the streets were eerily quiet. I pulled up in front of their house on alert as I slid out of the car and took in the surroundings. During the summer, even on the hottest days, the streets around the park were full of walkers and runners and women pushing strollers. Today, even the cicadas in the trees were silent. Alicia got out of the car and marched into the house without even a backward glance. We really had to work on her awareness. Paying attention to your surroundings was the best way to protect yourself.

She slammed the door, not waiting for me to climb the steps.
Let the fun begin.

When I walked into the house, Barbara was in the front entryway trying to engage Alicia in conversation, but Alicia just plowed through the foyer and went up the stairs. She didn't even say good morning, or hello, or I'm sorry.

"She was at that boy’s house?" Barbara looked to be on the verge of a breakdown. I didn't blame her either. She was only a few years older than me and while engaged to my brother had gotten herself a teenager. It wasn't what you would call the perfect set-up for a new marriage, but Barbara handled it and Hank went along with it. He was always a go-with-the-flow type of guy. It made him both frustrating and enviable.

"Yeah, he claimed she slept in his brother's room, but the parents weren't home. I really don't think they did anything. She came out fully dressed and I caught them unaware." I trudged deeper into the house. Hank was standing off to the side looking like he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Have you been watching the news?" he asked. "They just did another one of those emergency broadcasts."

"I think it's more widespread than they are posting on the news. I want y'all to pack up and come with me to the compound. I think we should be out of this house in under an hour. We'll be safe at the compound, you guys can stay in a client house, it'll be like a weekend away. We can crab and do a bit of fishing. Zach said he just picked up another boat that's good for skiing so you can bring the kneeboard up. It'll be a mini vacay."

"I think that might be taking it a bit too far," Barbara said.

"If I'm wrong, and this is all bullshit, we'll just come back on Sunday evening," I said walking into the kitchen and grabbing a croissant on the counter. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I glanced at the device. Zach James’s number flashed across the screen.

"Hey James, I was just going to call you."

"What's your location?" he asked all business.

"I'm with Hank and Barbara, near the park."

"I've called everyone in. I just heard over one of the secured channels that they've declared martial law and are deploying the guard. They aren't announcing it on the news. I don't know why. Everyone is going to freak out when they see the Army rolling down the streets. From what I can tell they’re going to enforce a curfew and a shelter in place order, they just haven't broadcasted it to the general public. I‘ve also heard talk of them just starting to round people up and placing them in camps if they suspect infection, the chatter is confusing and now they’ve switched to encryption and I didn’t recognize the code of the final order, so from here on out it’s a guessing game. "

"Shit," I cursed. "What was the code?"

"They called for a 7T5, I've never even heard of that kind of string, I think it has something to do with the CDC. There was a lot of talk about Atlanta on the line."

"I don't know what that is, I guess we'll find out. I was going to grab my family and head to the compound. I thought we would have more time, though."

"The quicker you head out, the better. I need someone there to lock it down. I might be a day or two behind. I need to round up everyone and make sure they have transportation. If you get there before dark, you should avoid any evacuation traffic."

"I don't think that'll be an issue. I'm thinking they won't be letting anyone out of the city," I said morosely.

"I hope you're wrong, Romeo, but from the chatter on the line, it's highly possible. If you go to pick up supplies, you can use the business account."

"Thanks, James. I wanted to just go straight there, but they might want to get provisions. I hope I'm just blowing this out of proportion, but I don't think so. And if that's the case, we'll need a lot more than just a weekend’s worth of food."

"Better safe than sorry. We can always store it. Have you seen any of the infected? I've only seen a few vids, but it looks bad," he said.

"Yeah, I got to experience two of them last night. The girl I went home with, her roommate was infected, and it's much worse than the vids." I proceeded to go over the details with him.

Zach stayed silent for a moment and then finally spoke up. "Shit. I don't even know how to process that."

"Try witnessing it."

"I'm going to try my damnedest to avoid it," he said. "Alright, Romeo, I gotta go. Stay safe and I'll see you at the compound. Hopefully no later than tomorrow." He clicked off and I put the phone in my pocket.

"Zach says they've declared martial law," I said to Hank.

"Don't they have to announce that or something? No one I know is infected. I haven't even seen anyone with a cough, much less a bad fever. How can they do this?" Hank shook his head in disbelief.

"You can argue the point as much as you want, it doesn't make it any less true. If Zach James says they declared martial Law - I believe him. He said to get moving, I'm moving. He's never led me wrong. Let's pack up and move out. We'll take your SUV because you have more room." Hank cursed and threw up his hands, but he did as he was told. Barbara rushed up the stairs to get Alicia packing.

I heard Alicia yell something at Barbara and a door slam, so I ascended the stairs to help her out. I didn't want any more fighting but it seemed Alicia was dead-set on going in the opposite direction and fighting us tooth and nail, no matter the issue. I ignored the two of them, screaming their ever-loving heads off; I just went right into her room and grabbed a duffle bag from the closet. I began stuffing clothes from her drawers into it, not even looking at what I was grabbing.

"Hey!" she called and got up from the bed.

"I'm not arguing with you. There isn't an option, you're coming with us. We have to leave. we have to get to safety."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she pouted, slouching back on her bed.

"You will go with us, or you'll stay here and get infected," I said stoically.

"You wouldn't dare just leave me here!" She finally stood up and I pushed the duffle bag at her trying not to call her out on the irony of her fight.

"We're leaving in ten minutes. Pack up what you need to survive and that's it. Act like we're leaving for a hurricane. And I don't want any more arguing." I gave her the hardest glare I could muster and she wilted.

"Fine," she pouted and began moving around the room packing her belongings. I wanted to coddle her, I wanted to give her a hug and tell her it would all get better, but I knew I had been doing that too much. It was time I instituted my own martial law. It was time to get moving.

I
T took us twenty minutes
, not ten, to get out of the door. I was gritting my teeth and counting back from one hundred by the time the last bag was packed into the SUV. My palms were sweating and I wiped them on my cargo pants absently as I placed the last bag into the back. I hated to be off schedule and I was pissed that it looked like we were moving out, not just evacuating.

"C'mon, we have to get moving," I said rushing them into the SUV. Hank handed me the keys because he knew I wouldn't have it any other way. I needed to be in control and he drove like a grandpa.

"I want to stop and get supplies. I'm not living off of MREs all weekend," Barbara said with confidence, even when I turned around and glared at her.

"That was not in the plan. I don’t think at this point it’s smart to stop for food," I said, trying not to yell. Zach had said I could pick up provisions, but the clock was ticking. The more we delayed, the more dangerous things could get.

"We can hit Walmart on the way out, I'll be in and out," Barbara said.

"Walmart is not on the way out, it's ten minutes out of the way. I'm not going uptown, the only one that is on the route out of here is Costco and no one is ever in and out at Costco." I gripped the steering wheel tightly, knowing it made sense to stock up on provisions, but not wanting to delay any further.

"We can all hit certain sections, we'll be in and out," Hank took up for his wife.

"If we go in, we have to get a lot of provisions and make this bullshit stop worth it," I swore.

"Language!" Barbara fired back.

"We'll make it quick. I know where everything is, each one of us can take a section. You know it's smart." Hank gave me the look that said he knew this could mess up our plans and that his wife was probably wrong to suggest it, but for me to please go along with her so she wouldn't take his balls off later. I gave in and headed to Costco.

"Get the staples, things that won't go bad quickly. Sugars and grains, that sort of thing. I'm going to grab some fresh meat, dairy and cheeses, but only for this weekend. We can't fit that much in the SUV, so make good decisions," I said as we pulled in the parking lot. Costco was always busy...but today it was a zoo.

A fucking zoo.

The streets near my brother's house were dead because everyone was at Costco. People were actually sprinting inside with their baskets. Everyone looked panicked and out of control.

I thought things went nuts before a hurricane with shoppers grabbing water by the gallon and running through the aisles with the last flashlight...but this made hurricane shopping look like child's play.

"In and out," I muttered and parked as far away from the store as was possible while still remaining close enough for a quick exit. I didn't want to get trapped in the lot. Barbara got out and grabbed a basket that was parked in the middle of the aisle. I grabbed Alicia and handed her another basket when we got closer to the store.

The doors were propped open, not automatically closing like they usually did. There wasn't even an attendant checking for membership cards at the door.

When I saw the chaos of the store I second guessed splitting up, but we had to make this fast.

"Hank and Barbara stick together, I'll take Alicia. We'll meet at the front of the store. Use the MJ Security account to pay.” I pressed a piece of paper with the account number into Hank's hand.

Hank and Barbara headed to the dry goods area and I went to the back with Alicia to grab fresh foods.

I barely looked as I put things in the basket. Peppers and cucumbers, various fruit and a ton of meat went in. If this blew over, we would have one hell of a barbecue on Sunday.

When the entire basket was filled I headed to the front of the store to check out, avoiding panicked shoppers left and right. Just like hurricane season there was a ridiculous focus on water. Shoppers went so far as to take water out of other people's baskets when they weren't looking. Two men almost came to blows when one didn't even try to hide his theft of the water.

Most people are clueless when it came to emergency prepping. There was a water-filtration system on the compound that converted lake water into drinking water, so I wasn't worried about plastic gallon jugs. Let the fools fight over the inconsequential. When we neared the front of the store, Alicia veered off into the electronics section, heading for the DVD racks. She grabbed one of the latest releases and held it up.

"I'm going to be
so
bored, can I get a few DVDs?" she asked me, giving me that ‘I'll be good look’ that I knew was only to win over my wallet.

"There are plenty of things to do out there," I said standing my ground. She rolled her eyes at my statement and threw the DVDs into the rack. One fell on the ground and she didn't even bother to pick it up.

"God, y'all just don't want me to have any fun!" she screamed and began marching off in the opposite direction.

"Alicia, where are you going?" I called.

"Away from you!" she screamed, causing people in the store to turn and stare at her.

"I'm about done with this," I said under my breath to no one in particular. I looked around and spotted my brother and his wife. Barbara and Hank signaled from the front of the store that they were ready. Barbara held her hands up in question and I just shook my head and motioned for them to check out without me.

"Meet me at the SUV," I mouthed and Hank nodded and got in line. The lines were about ten deep. They might not even be checked out by the time I was done with Alicia.

I pushed my overloaded basket down the aisle, looking all over for my little sister. I didn't see her anywhere, so I hurried down each aisle looking for her. She was nowhere to be found. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment. I just wanted to move on and move out, get to the compound and settle in.

Dealing with a teenager throwing a temper-tantrum was not something that was conducive to my plan. I got to the back of the store, turned down the last aisle and found her. She was wandering aimlessly around the baked goods section, a cookie clutched in her hand. At times she acted all grown up, like an adult, and then times like this I saw the little girl in her.

"Alicia, we have to go. You can throw as many temper tantrums as you want once we get to the compound, just not right now." My words came out harsher than I expected, but my patience was running low.

"You treat me like a baby. I'm not throwing a temper tantrum." She stamped her foot and I tried my damnedest to hold back the ironic laugh.

"Fine, you're exercising your free speech. Can we do it in the car? If you haven't noticed, there is a world of shit breaking down around us, it's not always about you, Alicia. Please take a moment to look at the situation around you and realize that other things are happening."

"You're such a jerk." She turned to walk away and I went to stop her. She evaded me when I grabbed for her and ran smack into another shopper that had been walking up to us. Alicia and the shopper went flying, both lost their footing and fell to the floor. I went first to help the person she knocked over. I reached down to help them up when I noticed the gray color of their skin.

Damn
.

"What is wrong with you!" Alicia screamed, still on the floor, all dignity out the window. The infected's head cocked in her direction as if pinpointing her location with the sound. It began to scramble to its feet, quick, too quick.

"Alicia, run!" I yelled.

Of course, she didn't listen to me. She just sat there glaring at me from her seated position on the floor, as if all of this was my fault. She barely reacted when the woman, gray and ragged, threw herself on top of her.

The infected and Alicia tumbled back, the woman now on top of my sister. Alicia tried to roll out from under the woman, but the infected woman held on tight. When the infected's teeth began to snap, trying to bite her, Alicia began to scream.

"Tim! Tim!" she yelled my name. I couldn't get to her side quick enough, almost tripping over spilled blueberry muffins that must have gone down in the attack.

I stood over Alicia and the infected woman and grabbed the woman by the back of the shirt. I yanked hard, pulling her from Alicia and causing both of them to slide across the floor. I yanked harder and managed to fling the woman off of Alicia and into a shelf full of sliced bread. The whole shelf came crashing to the ground, bread flying everywhere.

Was I too late?

Had she bitten Alicia?

Alicia whimpered in pain and my whole insides clenched.
She was bitten, she would turn. I couldn't deal with this.

The infected woman got up fast and slammed into me from behind. I fell forward, twisting around to keep her face away from my skin. Alicia was still on her ass in the middle of the floor. Trying to avoid her and fight off this woman was becoming a little too much.

"Get out of the way!" I screamed at Alicia who didn't get up, she just pushed back with her feet until she scooted across the floor and made contact with the pastry display.

I didn't want to hurt the woman, but her attack was proving too much for me. I couldn't take her down without doing serious damage. I kept thinking of the woman from last night's leg and how she had walked on it, not caring about the pain, all she wanted to do was get to me.

Someone pulled the woman off of me and I nodded gratefully to a man who had yanked her from me and thrown her across the aisle. We both turned as the woman got back up and this time went for the newcomer. He didn't do as good of a job protecting his skin and the moment she got him on the floor her teeth were snapping at him.

"Watch out!" I cried, but I was too late.

The woman bit down on the man's arm and he screamed in pain and fell back, the infected woman turning to straddle him as his back hit the floor. She went for his face. She bit into him, yanking and pulling like a carnivore devouring its prey. Pieces of his cheek ripped away and blood sprayed as I watched in horror.

The man screamed as the woman moved down his body in a horrific parody of sex and went for his guts. He was still screaming as she ripped him apart, chewing into his stomach and pulling his intestines out to munch on.

Other patrons were pressing closer to witness the bloodbath. Women held hands to their mouths as the horror played out. I watched as a man vomited, but still stared at the carnage in sick fascination. Everyone was frozen, enraptured by the scene.

I pushed myself off the floor and my heart sped up as I noticed two other people, walking oddly from the back of the store. They were both dressed in the vests that declared them employees, but you could barely see the Costco logo because they were so completely covered in blood. One, a young female, who couldn't even be old enough to drink, was shuffling forward in an odd gait. Something was seriously wrong with her and it took me a moment to figure out what it was. Her intestines were dragging behind her, leaving a bloody trail in their wake. Every now and again they would snag on something and it would cause a hitch in her step. The man was a little cleaner, but there was an obvious bite wound on his arm.

The two infected dropped to their knees when they got to the Good Samaritan and they too began to feast. They ate him alive as he screamed his final breaths and all I could do was stare.

When the first person began to scream, a woman, clutching a child to her chest, the three infected looked up from their meal, their sightless eyes focused on the noise. They stood as one and began walking in the direction of the scream. They were in pursuit of their next meal.

I looked back to the man that had saved me; he was a bloody mess of limbs and pieces, abandoned on the floor. When his leg twitched and he rolled toward me, his mouth chomping, and his arms reaching, I knew I had seen enough. The shit had hit the fan. I needed to get the fuck out of there. I yanked Alicia off the floor and began to run. It was time to face facts; it was the fucking end of the world.