Surviving Day By Day (Book 1): So it Begins (2 page)

He wished he could find
a way
around but his little
a
tlas didn’t show any of the county roads around it so he was stuck. He’d managed to map out a route that kept him away from the big cities but the small towns were harder to avoid. The town itself seemed
quiet;
in fact there were no biters at all. The windows in the small stores were broken out showing that even here in small town America the looters had run rampant.

Charlie drove, weaving in and out of the cars that were just sitting in the street. The thought crossed his mind as he looked down into them, “Damn where the hell is everybody.” There were no bodies no parts of bodies, nothing. More smashed windows and broken glass littered both the street and the sidewalk. Doors had been smashed
in;
the wind blew papers around and down the street.

“This is the proverbial ghost town,” he said out loud. He slowed as he got to the town square. Looking back and forth the hairs on his arms came up. He saw nothing, just buildings no biters, no humans, hell he didn’t even see a stray dog or any birds. To him it was if he’d landed in an old Twilight Zone show.

Pulling into a gas station he grabbed his crossbow and got out
,
hoping
he might be able to get some gas out of the pumps.
W
alking up to the broken garage door he stepped through and found the switch box for the pumps flipping it up he watched as the lights came on the pumps in the drive. “Sweeeeeeet
!
”

He moved to the inside of the station and hit the button that cleared and reset the pumps then activated the one by his van. Going back out
,
he pulled the handle and flipped up the lever and began filling the van.
As the van filled,
Charlie walked around a little, listening for anything at all. He heard only the wind. He topped off the tank and simply hung the pump back up, “
I guess if
there anybody else wants gas it’ll be ready for them.”

He started to get in when he heard a thump. Listening careful it started coming harder and louder. Charlie looked across the lot to a church two doors down. The noise was coming from the door. Charlie walked down the street crossbow at the ready his eyes widened when he got to the steps of the church. A large steel bar had been placed across the door and padlocked down. Written in blood on the door, “Open at your own risk ALL DEAD INSIDE.” Charlie scanned the area for any signs of who might have locked up the biters.

As he walked around he saw a badge in the bushes. It was a government badge with big yellow letters on it. CDC. Charlie picked it up and then noticed it had dried blood on the back. He turned it over several times looking at it carefully then placed it in his shirt pocket. The Biters inside the church had reached a highly agitated state. They were pounding furiously on the doors now. Charlie backed away and walked back to the van. Getting in he took out a small baggie from a box and placed the badge in it then washed his hands with
P
urell.

Starting the van he pulled out and continued down the street. Every church he came to it was the same thing, bars on the doors with the warning outside. As he reached the edge of town so
mething bright caught his eye, n
ot on the ground but up in the sky. He kept trying to see what is was but it was out of view, only a flicker of bright reflection kept bouncing off the dash. Charlie finally pulled over and opened the door looking up he knew what it was.

Three military helicopters were headed straight for him. Jumping back in
,
he closed the door and ducked down. The lead helicopter flew right over him and turned around coming back it hovered over the van moving around as the pilot was looking for signs of life. Charlie didn’t move he laid in the back praying they would just move on.

The helicopter pulled up and rejoined the group as they headed back west. It was only a minute and the rockets were fired. Charlie watched out the back window as the peaceful town went up in flames. A large explosion rocked one of the helicopters and he watched as the pilot almost lost control. “That one hit the gas station
I
was just at,” he thought.

Charlie didn’t dare move he could only hope that they would finish what they came to do and then move on. It seemed like an hour but was only ten minutes. The three helicopters flew back over the van and headed back east. Charlie stayed down till he was sure they were gone. Getting out he looked back to the town. The smoke and flames burned bright against the
sky;
to Charlie it looked like they had torched the whole town. “Humansville my ass,” he said to himself as he got back in and started the van.

Looking at his Atlas he figured the helicopters came from Ft Leonard Wood. Scanning it he opted to begin heading south once more, he knew had to stay off any main highway now figuring there would be roving patrols. He didn’t trust the government now, he thought their whole plan was to annihilate everything. Turning off on a county road he began to drive southeast. Any town he came to he looked on the map and the road signs and began to figure out how to take gravel roads around them. He came upon an interstate and found a service road that ran under it. He drove for five hours, stopping for wat
er breaks and to check his map.

He sighed a little as he realized he had
gone
past Ft Leonard Wood and it was now north and behind him. There had been no more signs of planes or helicopters. Charlie had passed a sign that welcomed him to Mark Twain National Forest and was now looking at sign that said Elephant State park. The bar across the road was held by a simple padlock on a chain. Charlie figured if it was locked it had been done by the last person to leave. Getting out the bolt cutters he snapped the lock and pushed the bar back. Driving through he stopped and placed the bar back across and dummy locked it with the broken padlock. Driving back he found a spot completely covered with trees and had a restroom with showers. Getting out he grabbed the old weed cutter and began to cut some of the lower branches, taking them and throwing them on top of the van. When he was sure he had covered it enough he took the crossbow and opened the shower room door. Flipping the switch there was no power, “Damn,” he said as it echoed through the room

Turning on the water it was cold but it was clean. Charlie walked back and locked the door then stripped and climbed in. The water was
freezing
but it felt good as he washed the dirt and grime off of himself. He took a quick shower and turned the water off. Gathering his clothes he unlocked the door and stepped out
.
The sun was setting but
he still
felt
it’s
warm
th
as it shone through the trees on his naked body. Charlie took only two steps before he realized he was not alone. A voice spoke low and firm, “Well hello cupcake, You wanna drop the cross bow.”……

Ceara Gillian is a thin girl with dull red hair that lay straight, hitting about midway down her back. At twenty she had dropped out of college after just two years, to take a job at the local newspaper that was beginning their own website. Her two years in college had included graphic design, plus her church had created their own site. Ceara had helped her best friend Tamara design it so that taught her a lot about the basics. She had believed that she didn’t need college; she didn’t know how right she was. In just a few months the entire world would change. Everything and everyone they knew would be forever be altered.

Ceara sat in the living room looking at the fifty-two inch TV she had splurged on not four months ago.
Her dad
had told her it was a waste of money that she didn’t have but she still spent it. She was twenty-three now and made her own money… well she did
until
three months ago. Now the screen was black, she had stopped even trying it a week ago. All the stations were off the air and now the power was out too. When the news was on there was mass hysteria, the reporter had gone on and on about dead people killing the living. She had notice that the last week of news it changed, they were warning everyone to either stay indoors or to go to the Army reserve station.

Everyone Ceara knew were gone, she hoped
her mom
and
Dad
were ok, but that was a small glimmer of hope. They hadn’t answered the phone in a week. Everyone in her complex was gone. She pulled her knees to her chest looking out the patio door. Ceara was pretty sure no real living people were close but she had to believe she wasn’t the only real person left in the whole city.

Climbing off the couch she looked through the peep-hole to see her fire dying, she took a deep breath and went to the kitchen to get the last of the kitchen chairs. She opened the door and tossed the last chair leg on the fire. She had enough wood left to keep it going a few more days but she had to decide what she was going to do once her fire died for good. She stood looking at the flames thinking back to the first few days, it’s seemed like years ago but she knew it was just a couple of weeks.

Just one week into the virus outbreak it hit Memphis; people ran and took the disease with them. Ceara lived in a one bedroom apartment in the mid-size town of Bartlett, Tennessee but the disease soon reach even her town. Within days of the first reports, the dead had come for her… her neighbors knew she was there and they were now infected.

All the news reports said that the bitten had a deadly virus but Ceara knew they didn’t have the sniffles. Yeah it was deadly, but the problem wasn’t that it was deadly; but that they were dead
and
still up walking around. The reporter urged everyone to stay indoors and take anyone bitten to the local hospital. That was one place Ceara would not be going any time soon. She had seen one of the bitten fall off a roof, his head was turned backwards but he got up and walked away. That is when she began calling them deaders. The news had also said the deaders didn’t have memories but Ceara could argue that. Mrs. Morris, Ceara’s next door neighbor, beat on her own door to get in, she knew she lived there. Her husband Tom
gave in and
opened it after three days of her banging. Two days later both of them were at her door, she never opened it.
Ceara
sat in a closet with the door closed, no TV, no lights, nothing to show she was there.
She
had stayed there for what felt like days
;
covering her ears to drown out the knocking. She knew it was gross but she even
did
her bodily functions in the corner of the closet.

Finally the knocking stopped, she waited a long
time worried they had broken in. When
there was no noise
for a long time
she got out of the closet to see if her front door was still intact. It took her three more days before she braved opening the door to see what was left. The power was now out and she had to get batteries for the mag-light flashlight she had. There was a very small store not a block away
from her small complex,
but that might as well have been fifty miles away. She knew she had to go
or she would starve. S
he was counting on them having
food and batteries. Ceara stood at the top of the stairs looking to the other apartment buildings that surrounded hers; she didn’t see anyone or anything moving. She turned to go to the other three apartments on her top level; she wanted to make sure it was clear before she blocked the stairs.

After
forty five minutes
of looking she was sure she was the only one on this level, her stairs were the only way up to her door. She pulled a few things to block the entrance then made her way down to the next level, looked around, then made her way to the ground level. The parking lot was empty for the time being so Ceara took off running to the store. She hit the side of the store and edged her head around the corner to see if it was safe. She spotted two of the deaders walking aimlessly around the abandoned cars, Ceara picked up a rock and heaved it as far as she could
. I
t hit a dumpster and the deaders headed toward the noise. Taking a deep breathe she ran to the door. She had to stifle a scream, there was a half-eaten woman lying in the automatic door
,
causing it to open and close repeatedly, each time closing on the body. She stepped lightly over the body scared that even the half eaten
woman
might sit up and bite her, but the body stayed still.

Once in the store Ceara puked up the last of her Doritos’ all over the first isle. She searched the store but it was empty
.
S
he thought maybe one of the ones outside might be the former clerk. She
giggled thinking
hysteria was setting in because she actually thought of going to ask Apu if there was any stock left. Ceara bit her hand to stifle the giggle
s
.
She went up and down the aisles looking for things she could use, but the store had already been raided. Ceara found two packages of batteries then took the last of the Vienna Sausages, she had to smile, no one wanted those even in these times. She reached behind the counter and grabbed several phone cards but tossed them aside when she realized there would be no phone service anymore. She went to the back of the store to leave out the back door,
she had no desire
to step over the woman again. She made her way back to her apartment complex but the deaders were out in front of her building. She crouched low on the side of the building wondering why she didn’t bring a weapon with her.

Ceara stayed there till her legs were cramping, her arms were full with the odds and ends she got in the store. “Mental note Ceara, backpack next time” She edged out from the corner looking for something to throw, there was a broken piece of
concrete from the
curb. She reached for it and a can of Vienna sausage hit the ground, then another…. ducking back behind the wall again she glanced around at the deaders. “Well they damn sure have good hearing”

She ran to the other end of the building, just wanting
to get
away from them. As soon as she hit the far corner she realized her mistake, there were more deaders on that side and all of them saw her. She ran to escape them,
running
to a car, jerking the door open to jump in. She stopped just short of jumping into the driver’s seat, thinking “but if it didn’t have keys or didn’t start they would have her.” She left the car and ran, the time she took at the car allowed more deaders to realize she was there and
they
were now coming, she knew she couldn’t run forever.

Ceara ran back to the store, it had gas pumps, she was
playing to God
it still
had
gas, she had grabbed matches earlier and now was trying to pull them out of her pocket as she ran. She pul
led the pump free from the car.

She looked around. “What now, what am I going to set on fire?”

Starting to panic she spotted a car seat in the back of the car that had been filling up. She didn’t want to think about what happen to the baby that use to sit in it, ripping it out of the back and pouring as much gas as she dared, then putting the pump back in the tank, she knew she might need it again. She lit the match and dropped it on the car seat. It flamed bright and the deaders, paused but just for a second. Ceara
grabbed that back side and heaved it as hard as she could toward
the group and several caught fire, the others began to move away.

“See, they have some thoughts!”

She ran past the now blazing group and got to her stairs free and somewhat clear. Ceara tried to figure out how to stop them from coming up the stairs but nothing would block them. She darted into the first apartment she came to on the second floor, if they thought she was in there
and tried to get to her on this level;
then she thought she had a plan to get away.

Slamming the door she pulled an old green lazy boy in front of the door then threw a coffee table across it. That would stop them for only a few minutes but that had to be long enough. The kitchen led to the balcony, she slipped out the sliding glass door and climbed up to the next balcony. In no way was she in shape so pulling herself up had been a lot harder than she thought it would be. Just as the deaders broke through her makeshift barricade she caught her foot on the floor of the balcony and was able to pull herself up. Once on the landing she had a horrible thought, “What if it’s locked?”

She went to the door sliding it open with ease, but she had to be careful what if one of them got up here when she was gone? She went to the kitchen first and found a butcher knife, not the best weapon but better than nothing. Going from room to room she didn’t see any of them, she didn’t hear anything close either so she was feeling a little better. Ceara got to the bathroom and saw her reflection, her normally shiny red hair needed combed and was dull, her clothes were dirty, her jeans would probably stand on their own, but for the most part she still looked ok. She would love a shower but the hot water was long gone, besides this wasn’t her apartment to worry about a shower anyway.

Turning to leave she heard a noise and froze, pulling the knife ready to defend herself she went to the shower grabbing the curtain. There was a low growl and she backed up, she could just leave but that would leave it on her level and she wanted to know her level was safe. Ceara stepped forward again yanking the curtain back, a German Shepard began barking and snapping at her, screaming she backed up hitting the door. All the noise was going to bring the deaders…

“Shhhh Please stop! You can’t be doing this! PLEASE SHUT UP!!”

The dog seemed to understand and stopped barking but continued to growl.

“Ok, I’m going to go but I’ll leave the door open so if you want to come out you can.”

She left the bathroom knowing she had to figure out a way to block the deaders from getting up to her level. “FIRE!” she could set a fire at the top of the stairs to block them from coming up. The rails were metal and the stairs were concrete so she hoped she wouldn’t set the whole place on fire. She ran to the landing to see if they were coming, a couple had made it to the first landing but they looked confused on what to do next, Ceara wasn’t going to count on luck, she ran back into the first apartment and grabbed anything paper. She grabbed anything that was small and could burn easy. Whoever lived there loved wicker baskets and Ceara loved them for it. She grabbed four baskets stuffing them full off old newspaper and magazines.

Going back to the landing she set them all in a row and pull out her matches, she caught each basket’s content on fire. She had to be careful; there was a danger of getting the fire to high and it catching the overhang on fire. The wicker was catching but burning faster than she thought, running into one of the other apartments and grabbed some clothes; that would get it going hot then she could throw some chairs or something on it to keep it going. When she got back she saw the deaders coming, “SHIT!” She knew they could kick through the small fire; she tossed several shirts on the building fire and flames shot up. She needed more but what?

Ceara went into the second apartment on the left and found a bag full of charcoal on the balcony that would come in handy later. The planter shelves beside the grill would get her fire going just about right, or she hoped. She broke it apart taking it back to the small fire that was already going down. The deaders were making their way up, she had to work fast. Ceara didn’t want them being able to push the fire throw the rails but she hadn’t thought of that before making it, so the only choice she had was to keep it big enough to make them stay far enough away…

As she stared into the fire the memory of that first week faded, this was now and she couldn’t dwell on the past…. she had to leave the safety of the apartment and she knew it. The last of the wood would be gone tomorrow so her safe haven would be gone too. She went in her apartment to gather up what she would be taking with her, what was left or her life. There was only one place to go and that was to
her mom
and Dad’s she had to be sure; good or bad but she couldn’t live with herself if they needed her help and she just left them.