Z Day is Here (10 page)

Paula had made her way to the driver’s side
of the truck now. She was about twenty feet away when I quickly
rolled down the window about half way. I grabbed one of the guns I
had laying in the seat next to me and pointed it directly at her
head. "Goodbye, Paula!" I yelled out to her as I pulled the
trigger. Nothing happened. I pulled it again. Still nothing
happened. Oh, shit! I think I said that out loud, because now Tonya
and Cole were screaming about them being all over the truck; even
Ken was looking scared. Without thinking, I slammed on the gas,
running over four or five of the undead and scattering a dozen more
out of the way. I looked in the rearview mirror as I drove away,
watching Paula get smaller and smaller.

I am not sure where we are headed, but at
least we aren't stuck here anymore. Goodbye, Paula and Spook. It
was a pleasure knowing you.

Just when things look like they are getting
good, life has a way of coming and beating you down just a little
to let you know who is really in charge.

Shortly after we left town, we found an old
abandoned gas station. Cole ran inside to get a map while Tonya and
I doctored up Ken as best we could. After waiting for what seemed
like an hour, I heard Cole running back to us. He had a map in one
hand and a machete in the other. He had found it behind the counter
in the store. He ran over to show it to us, but when he got right
up on us, he slipped and fell forward. The map slid across the
ground away from us, but the machete came straight towards Tonya's
face. Instinctively, I flung my hand out to try to stop the blade
from slicing her face in two. Unfortunately, the blade sunk deep
into the palm of my hand. Blood immediately burst all over us. I
grabbed a medical dressing from the back of the fire truck and some
antibacterial spray. It was deep, very deep; I could see bone and
meat. Once I stopped the bleeding, Tonya stitched me up. My hand
has been hurting all day, but luckily I think it should heal
without any problems. I am sure I need a Tetanus shot, but none are
available, so I will have to hope for the best.

We have decided to camp here for the night. I
found some pain pills that I plan on loading up on this evening. I
am not going to be able to write much more today because of the
pain. Hopefully I can get a good night’s sleep and be prepared for
what life throws at us tomorrow.

The hand is feeling a little better today.
You never realize how important it is until it is out of
commission. I will never take my hand for granted again!

Tonya is driving us now. Cole is in the back
as a watch, both for zombies and watching over Ken, who is not
doing very well at all. The wound on his leg is turning black and
has a very bad odor. He has been sick for a few hours now and has
been complaining that his leg is beginning to itch. We are trying
to keep him drugged up as much as we can; it is all we can do for
him right now.

Moving has been slow. Based on the map, we
should be in the city within the next few days. Once in the city,
as long as things go right for us, we should be at my house within
a week! That makes me very happy. It seems the closer we get, the
more cars are blocking the road. I guess when the first wave of
undead began, people panicked and tried to get away, anywhere they
could. For some, it was to get out of the city; for others, it was
going into the city. Earlier, we passed by a brand new Lamborghini
Murcielago. Cole was half joking around about getting in the car
and following us. We all had a good laugh, but I know every one of
us would gladly do the same. I bet some really rich guy had the car
on order for months. The dealership probably called to tell him it
arrived. I bet that rich bastard called all his equally rich
friends to brag about his latest purchase; he was probably even
throwing himself a party for buying the car. I bet he picked up the
car while the first major attack began. I am sure he thought he
could outrun any zombie in that rocket. I guess he never thought
about traffic. I can see him now, sitting all smug in his car,
honking for the other less fortunate scum of the Earth people to
the hell out of his way. He lays on the horn, rolls down his window
to scream at the others to move, when he is pulled out of the car
by his head. All his money couldn't keep him safe or alive. But
damn, I bet driving that thing would be worth dying for.

We have stopped at a hotel in a small town
that appears to be abandoned. The beds are really big but hard as a
rock. We have decided to all stay in the same room for safety. We
also got a room on the second floor and barricaded the stairs for
extra protection.

I need to get a little more sleep.

Tomorrow, I get closer to being home!

Where do I begin today? I guess, as they say,
at the beginning.

We all woke up at the same time. It was as if
we all knew something bad was going to happen. Almost instantly, we
all realized that Ken was gone. Not dead, but gone. His stuff was
still right where he left it, but he was nowhere to be found. Where
the hell could he have gone? When we got to the hotel, he was
barely able to walk up the stairs by himself.

We didn't know what to do. Ken was our
friend, but we knew he would be dead within a few days anyway.
Maybe he wanted to leave us, like a dog that wanders away from his
owner’s house right before he dies.

Tonya made the decision for us. Before we
could say anything, she stormed out the door, running as fast as
she could towards the stairway. By the time Cole and I got to the
stairs, Tonya had already made her way over the barricade. She was
calling out for Ken the whole time she was running. Cole reached
her before I did (I'm old; cut me some slack). He grabbed her by
the arm, causing her to fall backwards. When I caught up with them,
she had calmed down just a little. She was still frantic to find
him, but she was a little more relaxed and ready to form a plan as
opposed to running into the battlefield yelling for the enemy to
come get her.

Before we could even start to form a plan, we
see Ken driving the same Lamborghini we had passed yesterday! He
pulled up right next to us, the smile on his face shining brighter
than the shadow of death hanging over him. Tonya didn't know
whether to laugh, cry, or drag Ken out of the car and beat his ass.
None of us did. Ken coughed a little in between laughing. He had
tears in his eyes as he told us how and why he got the car.

Ken woke up early in the morning long before
the rest of us. He knew he was never going to get a chance to drive
his dream car unless he took control and went for it. He made his
way over the barricades and down to the parking lot. Once he got
that far, he began going car to car until he found some keys still
in the ignition. He hopped in the car and headed towards his dream.
Once he got there, he rammed the other cars out of the way. He
didn't care how much noise he made; he just wanted that car. Once
there was a big enough path, he walked up to the side of the car.
He put his hands on the door, rubbing the paint and daydreaming
about a nice long country road trip in the twisty mountain roads.
He slowly opened the car door and slid behind the wheel. The car
instantly roared to life. Ken drove for miles and miles listening
to a Code Atom CD the previous owner had left in the radio. He was
living his dream. He decided to drive the car back to us so we
could all have a chance to enjoy it. He wanted us to feel the
happiness he felt.

After a brief scolding from me, I helped Ken
out of the car and slid into it myself. I drove the car for about
ten minutes and then brought it back for Tonya to drive. She jumped
behind the wheel, burning the rubber off both back tires as she
slid sideways out of the parking lot. I could just barely hear her
squealing with delight as she turned the corner. After about twenty
minutes, she returned with the same grin I had just seen on Ken’s
face half an hour ago. Cole talked us into letting him take it for
a spin. No one was happy about it, but we all decided he should be
allowed to enjoy the better things in life as well. Ken said he
wanted to ride with him just in case. The two of them got in the
car and, after a brief lesson, Cole mirrored Tonya's exit out of
the parking lot.

After about twenty minutes, we heard the
unmistakable sound of metal on metal, or in this case, carbon fiber
on metal. Tonya and I ran as fast as we could towards the sound. As
we turned the corner, we could see the front of the car firmly
planted in the side of an old Toyota. We were still pretty far away
from the wreck but not too far away to see someone walk from a
nearby building. The person walked directly to the passenger side.
As we got closer, to our horror, we could see it was a zombie. He
had already begun chewing on Ken’s shoulder before we could get to
them. Cole sat in the driver’s seat, unable to get out of the car
thanks to a jammed door. I could hear him screaming and banging on
the door, desperately trying to get away. As we approached the car,
the zombie looked up and directly at us, Ken’s fresh blood flowing
from his mouth. He ignored us and continued to rip flesh and meat
off of Ken's bones. The sound of Ken screeching in pain only lasted
for a couple seconds as his spirit released him from the
horror.

Tonya grabbed a metal construction zone sign
that was lying on the ground. She walked directly up to the back of
the feasting zombie and slammed the sign down directly on his back.
The zombie barely flinched as he turned to grab her. Before he
could even raise his hand toward her, she used the sign as an ax,
swinging it by the corner; she nearly decapitated the undead
monster. His lifeless body hit the ground, spewing blood like a
fountain. Tony reached in to help Cole out of the driver’s seat.
Just as Cole's foot crossed over Ken’s lap, a newly animated hand
reached up, grabbing his shoe, causing him to fall face first to
the ground. Tonya desperately pulled on Cole's arms, trying to pry
him away from this new monster. Cole was kicking Ken in the face,
also trying anything he could to get away. I ran to the driver’s
side of the car, pulled out a pistol from my belt, and pointed the
gun at Ken’s head. Without saying any witty remark, or a cool catch
phrase like what you see in the movies, I pulled the trigger. Ken’s
grip instantly released Cole's foot, as chunks of his scalp sprayed
the interior of the car.

We ran as fast as we could back to the hotel.
The gunshot was loud enough to attract a lot of attention. By the
time we reached the hotel, we could see dozens of the undead making
their way towards us. We immediately jumped into the fire truck and
sped down the road, leaving this town long behind us.

We have decided to sleep in the truck
tonight. We are parked directly on the interstate with a group of
other cars. I think we will be safe for the night. We fit in pretty
well here, so we shouldn't attract any attention. No one wants to
talk about what happened to our friend. We just sat in silence,
each remembering him in our own way.

We awoke with the sun today, though I don't
think anyone slept very well last night. I know I woke up quite a
few times in the night, hearing the sounds of the living dead right
outside the truck. I would hear a moan or a bang on the side of the
truck, then silence. If anyone else was awake, they never said
anything.

When we got up this morning, I decided to
take over the driving duties. Normally, driving for long distances
is pretty easy, but when you have to swerve around cars and avoid
large groups of zombies standing in the road, driving becomes hard
work. I believe today we should be back at my work exit. If we get
there in enough time, maybe we can stop there for the night.

While driving, I was surprised to see a car
quickly coming up behind us. The car flew around cars as if they
weren't there. It was moving so fast that within seconds of me
noticing it, it was already on our bumper. The driver began honking
the horn and flashing his lights at us. I decided to pull over and
let him pass. As I slowed down and pulled over, the driver passed
us. While he passed, he held out his left hand and flipped us off!
I was prepared to let it go, but Cole yelled out the window, “Go
fuck yourself!" to the driver. When the car pulled in front of us,
the driver slammed on the brakes, causing us to have to lock down
the brakes in order to keep from hitting him.

After waiting for about a minute, both the
driver’s side and the passenger’s side doors opened. Two men
stepped out of the car. The driver was about my size, wearing a
Gators football hat and a shirt that read, "Shiki is the new Black"
(whatever that means). A big guy wearing a t-shirt that said, “I
Wanna Party With You” stepped out of the passenger’s side, carrying
a shotgun over his shoulder.

The driver began screaming at us for being
bad drivers and said something about watching our mouths. Tonya,
Cole, and I all got out of the truck, each of us carrying a gun.
Both of the men came over to where I was standing and just stared
at me for a minute. The big guy with the "I Wanna Party With You"
shirt looked around, but his eyes landed on Tonya. He walked over
to her slowly, like a drunk guy in a bar walking up to a really hot
girl that he has no chance with.

I asked the driver what his problem was and
why he was in such a hurry. The driver just continued to yell at me
for going too slow. As he screamed louder and louder, I glanced
over in Tonya's direction to see what was happening on her end. The
passenger was leaning over her, trying to press his body against
hers. Before I could say anything, Tonya pulled her gun out and
pressed the barrel into the big guy’s nose. At that exact moment,
the driver pulled a pistol out and pointed it directly at me. Cole,
who was standing back at the truck, grabbed his own gun and pointed
it at both of the men, moving between the two back and forth,
unsure who he should aim at.