Surviving This Life (9 page)

“Take the Wheel!” I demand to Becky.

“What? Why?” she ask.

“Unless you want Jose overrun with flesh eaters then take the damn wheel!” I shout as I let go and grab Mr. Bat.

She quickly takes the wheel and I hang my upper body out of the ATV and ready myself for the next flesh eater we cross. Grant has a golf club in his hand and is swinging it wildly in front of their ATV to clear the path for us. Some he gets in the head others he just knocks down. Those are the ones I plan to end before they make it to the gate and overwhelm Jose. As we roll up on the first one his moans and grunts fill my ears. He reaches out for me, ready to eat my arm like a chicken leg. I jerk away from him and swing the bat in a swift motion knocking him straight in the head and down to the ground. His moans stop and I smile knowing I have done what I intended.

We quickly come up on the next one and she is on all fours trying to get to her feet but with a backwards hand and a leg that is just hanging on by a slice of skin, it’s not easy for her. I bring the bat down onto her head and hear a satisfying smash as blood and brain fragments splatter in the air splashing me on the face. I bring the end of my shirt up and quickly wipe my face clearing my vision for the next attack.

The old lady walks slow and clutches her peach hand bag. At first glance you would think she is a normal old lady walking down a driveway until she looks up and her grey curls bounce back. Her nose is hanging loose on her round chubby face. Her left eye is completely gone and all that is left is an empty socket that is filled with maggots. They squirm and wiggle their way down her face and eat on the rotting flesh around her nose. They must have just ate through the last link of skin that was holding her nose on her face because I watched it fall to the ground. I feel bile rising in my throat as I see her step on her own nose smooshing it into the gravel. She lunges for me and I swiftly swing my weapon knocking her in the left temple. Maggots go flying in the air as her face caves in and she falls to the ground finally, truly dead.

We finally make our way to the end of the driveway and managed to kill all of the flesh eaters in our path. Grant smiles back at me and I smirk at him and shake my blood spattered bat at him. He shakes his head and sinks down in the seat as they turn right and we go left. Each ATV is equipped with a CB and as we make our way farther away from the driveway I hear Cade’s voice come over the speakers.

“Olivia, Olivia can you hear me?”

I pick up the mic and press the talk button, “I can hear you loud and clear Cade.” For added effect I say, “Over,” and giggle. Tony looks over at me and smiles and shakes his head. Becky rolls her eyes.

“Let’s meet back up at the end of the driveway in two hours,” Cade says. As I am going to respond I hear Willow’s sweet voice ring through over the speaker, “Be safe Liv. I love you.”

“I love you too Wil and we will all meet back at the driveway in two hours. Over and out.” I put the mic back in its holder.

The roads are fairly clear except the occasional abandoned car and a flesh eater here and there. I pulled over and let Tony drive so I could be on smash duty with every flesh eater we cross. I am not leaving one alive if I can help it. We drive about three miles down the road before we come to a one stop light town. As we top the hill to head into the heart of the town my eyes scan the horizon and I am floored by what I see, flesh eaters fill up the town center.

“How in the hell are there so many flesh eaters in such a small ass town?” I say to no one in particular.

Tony shakes his head, “I don’t know but there is no way in hell I am driving down in that!”

“Right. I mean she couldn’t have come this far anyways on foot. Let’s just turn around and check some of the houses we passed along the way,” I say looking over at Tony.

Just as he is turning around we hear a bloodcurdling scream.

“HELP ME! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!”

I look in the direction of the scream and see pregnant ass Melody running as fast as her basketball belly will allow her to. She is running toward us from the heart of the town. A huge herd of flesh eaters are chasing her and several reach out to grab her as she runs past them.

“Oh my God Tony, go get her!” Becky yells.

“I...I,” Tony stammers and I can see the fear in his eyes.

“Tony she is pregnant! We can’t just leave her there to get eaten alive!” Becky snaps.

“Well you go get her then! I am not putting our lives in danger to save a runaway girl I don’t even know!” he barks.

“Both of you shut the fuck up! We
WILL
go get her and none of us will die today!” I snap tired of their pointless arguing.

“Liv I will not put you in danger to save a girl we barely know.” Tony looks over at me with pleading eyes begging me to stay with him, to stay safe. Before those eyes would have gotten him anything he wanted, but not today. I am not some heartless bitch. Yeah I may come off that way sometimes, but I’m not.

“Tony she is pregnant for Christ’s sake! As much as I hate to, I agree with Barbie back there, we have to save her. And before you protest further let me tell you, I will do it with or without you.”

He huffs and pulls a 9mm out of the waistband of his jeans. “Becky grab one of those golf clubs back there.

I look at him with wide eyes. Tony doesn’t like guns. “Where in the hell did you get that?!” I blurt out.

“Cade gave it to me before we left the house,” he says it like it’s no big deal. I know him and I know he hates guns, so for him to have one is a big deal.

“Umm...Why do you get that and I get a damned golf club?” Becky asked clearly annoyed.

I turn and face her with a smart ass look on my face, “Could you even use it if you had it?” I sneer.

“For your information Daddy took me to the shooting range every weekend. So yes smartass, I could use it!” she counters.

I am speechless. Who knew Barbie could shoot?

“Well Tony looks like G.I Jane gets the gun and you get the club.” I turn back around in my seat and chuckle.
This bitch may be useful after all.

Tony reluctantly hands over his gun in exchange for the golf club. Becky smiles and cocks the gun.

“You worry about driving and Liv and I will worry about the flesh eaters in our path. Just get us to Melody, and fast!” Becky calls off orders like she has been doing it the whole time.

I don’t know where that scared, hanging all over my man, girl went but I am glad she is gone. Maybe being back in her hometown has given her some balls.

“You heard the lady. Let’s get going!” I giggle.

Chapter Nine

Willow

“So how long have you and Melody been together?” I ask looking back at Grant.

“We got together my first year of college and have been together since,” he says as his eyes comb the hillside looking for his fiancé.

“And you didn’t think to tell her about what you did to me?” I say with a little more bitterness in my voice than I intended.

He whips his head around and looks at me with hurt and anger swimming in his eyes. “You know Willow that’s not something I am proud of, so no I didn’t
think
to tell her. I never planned on seeing you again and I damn sure didn’t plan on all this shit,” he waves his arms around in the air, “happening and getting stuck with my worst regret.” He picks up the shotgun and blasts it, blowing off half the face of a flesh eater that had gotten too close to our creeping ATV.

“Wow Grant, just wow.” I roll my eyes and turn back around looking straight ahead.

Cade stops the ATV and turns around to face Grant. “Do you think it is easy for her man? Do you think being in the same town much less the same damn house with her rapist is fun for her? Fuck you and how you feel man. You RAPED her and she is out here helping you find your girl and you have the damned nerve to talk to her like that?” He shakes his head, “You truly are a class A dick head,” he huffs and turns back around.

“CADE LOOK OUT!” I scream as a flesh eater reaches in and grabs ahold of his arm.

Just as the words leave my mouth Grant aims and fires a bullet right between the ravenous flesh eater’s eyes.

“A dick head that just saved your fucking life! Now get this thing going, we need to find Melody before she gets hurt or lost or worse.” He looks back out over the flesh eater filled pasture.

Cade pushes the limp flesh eater’s body off of his lap and wipes the blood that splattered in his face off and punches the gas.

We ride in silence for the next several miles until we come to a dead end and are forced to turn around.

“Let’s check some of the houses we passed along the way. She could have went in one of them to find shelter and a place to rest,” Grant says.

“Sure but we have to be quick it’s getting dark and I don’t want to be out here at night with no lights.”

“You have got to be shitting me!” Grant exclaims. “You are so worried about
you
being out here at night with no lights, what about Mel? She has no lights, no food, no weapons and no fucking clue where she is! WE ARE NOT GOING BACK UNTIL WE FIND HER!” Grants demands.

“If you wouldn’t have raped an innocent girl then lied about it to your fiancé we wouldn’t be here in the first damn place,” Cade counters.

“You son of a bitch! How many fucking times do I have to apologize for that before you will shut the fuck up about that? I know I fucked up but I was young and dumb shit happens!”

“Shit happens? Ho..”

“STOP IT!! Both of you!” I interrupt Cade. “We get it! He raped me! Can you just fucking drop it and focus on finding a very pregnant and unarmed woman? No matter how many times you apologize,” I say looking at Grant, “Or how many times you bring it up and insult him,” I say looking at Cade, “It will not change what happened to me. But what we can change is what happens to Melody. We can and we will find her. So please both of you shut the hell up!” I cross my arms over my chest and look straight ahead.

“You’re right I’m sorry Wil,” Grant whispers and leans back in his seat.

“You’re un-fucking-believable,” Cade huffs as he swings the ATV right into a narrow gravel driveway. The gravel crunches and slings dust up in my face. I cough and wave my hand in front of my face to clear the air as we pull up to an older style farm house with two stories and a huge wrap around porch.

“Here.” Cade shoves a pump action shotgun at me, “You do know how to use it right?” He asks.

“No. I don’t,” I say as I step out of the ATV leaving the gun behind and picking up an aluminum bat that was sticking out from behind the seat.

I walk off toward the front of the house without a second glance at Cade and his smart ass attitude.
Who in the hell does he think he is? What happened to me was none of his damned business and yet here he is acting like he knows me and cares for me. We just met!

As I make my way up the steps I feel a strong hand on my shoulder. I grip my bat and turn around and swing with all my might just like Liv taught me. Cade reacts fast and puts his hand up and grabs the end of the bat just as it was about to knock him in the head.

“Jesus Cade!” I yell as I yank my bat out of his hand. “I could have hit you! Why would you sneak up on me like that?”

“Sorry didn’t mean to scare you. I was just going to tell you that Grant is going in through the back and I am staying here to keep watch. Yell if you need anything and I will be right there.”

“Okay, but as you can see I am fast on my feet so I should be fine.” I am surprised at the amount of attitude in my voice.

“I can see Liv taught you well,” he smirks and shakes his reddened hand, “That will be stinging for a while.”

Ugh why does he have to be so sexy?
“Sorry about that,” I say and look down in embarrassment.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re right, I could have been one of them things grabbing you. Your reaction was perfect. I am the one who is sorry. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.” He rubs the back of his neck with his hand.

“Umm... Okay. I am going to umm get going and help Grant check out this place.” I turn to walk away and Cade grabs my arm to stop me.

“I mean it Willow, if you need me yell and I will be right there.”

I nod and he lets go of my arm. I slowly make my way up the steps and to the front door. The door squeaks as I push it open. I hesitantly step in with a death grip on my very own Mr. Bat. I have my arms cocked back ready to swing at the slightest sound or movement.

The place looks like no one has lived here in years. I make my way down the short hallway until I come to the first room. It is big and mostly empty besides some small boxes and a patio chair in the middle of the floor. There is a huge floor to ceiling book shelf on the far left wall completely empty. On the wall right in front of me there is a fireplace that I would expect to be empty but see a few logs still smoldering in the pit.

Satisfied that the room is empty I turn and back out. I hear noise coming from the back of the house and reluctantly put one foot in front of the other to see what or who is making the noise. As I round the corner to peer the direction the noise is coming from, Grant pops out from behind it.

I jump back and he raises his gun ready to shoot.

“Oh my God Grant you scared me to death!” I whisper.

He lowers his gun and pants, “Dear Jesus Wil. What are you doing back here I was supposed to check the back of the house and you the front.”

“Sorry I heard a noise and wanted to see what it was. Everything clear back here so far?” I ask trying to look past him.

“Yeah there was a limp in the back but I took him out. What about you? Things clear up there?” He nods his head in the direction I came from.

“Yeah except in the living room I saw a few smoldering logs in the fireplace.”

His face lights up with hope. “Maybe she is here somewhere! MELODY! MELODY BABY?!” He screams out.

“SHHHHH!” I hiss. “You’re going to get all the flesh eaters in hearing distance stumbling over here and right onto us!”

“Shit, sorry,” he says.

“It’s okay. Look, you finish looking back here and I will head up stairs to see if she is maybe up there.”

He nods and I turn around and head up the stairs.

The steps creak as each foot lands down on them. I have my bat raised and ready to strike. I come to the top of the stairs. There is a room straight ahead. I ease my way closer and see it is a bathroom and is clear. I turn and head down the long dark hallway. The floor boards look old and ready to fall in at any missed step. I carefully place my feet on the stronger looking boards. The first door I come to is closed so I take the end of the bat and gently push it open. There is a single bed frame in the middle of the floor and what looks like a bundle of bloody blankets in the corner.

“Okay I am done in here,” I mumble to myself. As I go to back out of the door I see the bundle of blankets move. Then a hand falls out from under the blankets.

“Melody?” I whisper praying it is her and we can all go home now.

The blanket twitches again at the sound of my voice. I slowly inch closer. “Melody is that you? Are you hurt?”

I take the tip of the bat and flip the blanket back. That’s when I see it isn’t Melody but a girl, maybe eleven or twelve, hunched over scooping the guts out of what looks like what could have been her mom. She turns her blood soaked face in my direction and tardily stands up and reaches out for me.

Her moans fill the room and I am frozen in place. I should run, but my feet feel like they are glued to the floor. As I look at this poor little girl staggering toward me I can’t help but feel sorry for her. She has on a pink hello kitty shirt and her long brown hair is up in a high ponytail with a blood spattered pink bow. There is a dark blood stained spot on her left chest right over her heart.
She was shot?

“Were you shot? Is that how you died?” I ask as she stumbles over the pile of blankets and her mom’s ripped open body.

Maybe she was shot after she turned? But how did she turn in the first place?
I scan my eyes over the rest of her body and I don’t see any other marks that could indicate why she died.

She reaches out to me and grabs at my shirt sleeve and yanks on it. I raise the bat and gently push her away with the tip of it.
I can’t kill a kid.

As I think about her short life and the way she is now I can’t help but tear up.

“I’m sorry baby girl. You stay here. I have to go find a friend,” I say as I keep nudging her away with my bat and stepping backwards to the door.

I feel a set of hands grab me from behind on my shoulders. “Cade what are you doing up here? You are supposed to be keeping watch outside. I got this. Go back down and see if Grant needs you.”

The hands grip me tighter and I can feel his nails digging in my skin, “Ouch Cade!” I turn my head around to see a blue, pale faced man looking back at me. His eyes are the unmistakably bloodshot red. He opens his mouth to take a bite out of my shoulder. I twist away from his tightening grip and face him with my bat above my head. As I am bringing it down I feel sharp nails scratch down my back and I quickly spin around remembering the little girl. I go to push her back again and she lunges forward knocking the bat out of my hand. It skids across the room. I try and turn to go get it when I feel the man’s arms wrap around me.

The little girl springs forward. I stick out my leg to stop her but she grabs on.

“HELP!” I scream as I try and push the guy’s mouth away from my neck and shaking my leg to keep the girls teeth from finding my flesh.

“OH MY GOD HELP ME! CADE! CADE!” I frantically scream as I feel the weight of the man pushing up against me.
If I fall I am dead. Stay up Willow. Balance.
I tell myself.

It seems like everything's in slow motion as I watch the little girl fall to the floor and the weight of the man behind me is soon gone. I turn around expecting to see Cade coming to my rescue, but instead Grant is there with his hands on his knees breathing fast. Cade’s heavy footsteps come banging up the stairs and I watch his eyes take in the scene before him.

When I look to the floor I can’t help but cover my mouth to hide the giggle that wants to escape. Grant looks to me and smiles shrugging his shoulders. The man on the floor has a fork in each side of his temples.

“Forks Grant? Forks?” I say finally letting the giggle come out.

Just then the girl grabs my leg and I look down just as her mouth starts to cover my leg. I quickly yank a fork out of the guy’s head and jam it down in her eye socket. She falls backwards limp.

“You really forked her up,” Grants laughs out.

“Shut up,” I say and chuckle.

He holds out his hand to help me up and I take it. He pulls me up in one quick motion.

Finally Cade speaks up, “Are you okay?” He pulls me away from Grant’s hold and over to him.

“I am fine Cade, thanks to Grant.” I smile over at Grant and push passed Cade and back down the stairs.

I hear Cade mumble something then quickly follow me back outside.

“Willow! Wait up!” He says as he jogs up to me.

“What?” I spat as I turn around to face him.

“What’s wrong? What did I do to make you so pissy with me?”

I roll my eyes, “Really Cade you have to ask?”

“Yeah I have to ask. I mean Grant raped you and you seem friendly with him. And I know I haven’t done anything that bad to you. All I have done is try and protect you and put that jackass in his place.”

“Exactly Cade! That’s just it! I am not some helpless rape victim! What happened to me happened years ago and the way the world is now that is the least of my worries right now!” I say as I turn and get in the back of the ATV. “It’s almost time to meet up with Liv we should go.” I say not looking at him.