Undead Ally
Issue #1
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter One
The Beginning of the End
It happened. Just like so many movies said it would. There was no advance warning, no time to prepare. It just happened. The dead came back and attacked the living. Just like the hundreds of zombie movies said. It happened so fast that no one had time to figure out who was to blame. Was it a virus or a curse? Was it a comet or a meteor? People did not have time to figure it out when thousands of dead corpses rose from their graves and started walking the Earth.
Mankind can handle many disasters and always found a way to bounce back. Earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes have plagued mankind for as long as they have been on the Earth. But this was different. This disaster spread like a wildfire. And it hit everywhere. From the most populous cities of the world to the most remote villages. Wherever dead people were buried, there were corpses rising from the grave and seeking living victims. And their victims soon joined their ranks. The ones that were not completely devoured. The plague of the undead has taken over the Earth and there is nothing that could stop it.
A few months have passed since the initial breakout. Civilization as we know it is gone. Governments have toppled. Cities have been abandoned. All over, people have left their jobs, left their homes and sought safety. The military is in shambles. The police and fire departments are gone. The rules of society have changed. The only rule left is survival. Do what you must to make it through another day. If it means stealing or killing, then you do it. The past is gone and the future is bleak. All that is left is the present and it does not look too good.
A school bus travels down a country road. The survivors have found it safer and easier to travel the back roads. The highways are full of broken down cars, abandoned cars and trucks and undead everywhere. Many highways are impassable. The bus is full of people with fearful looks on their faces. They have come together out of necessity. They heard of a military base on the East Coast that houses survivors. It is a long shot, but they have no other place to go. So they got as many supplies as they could scrape together and found a working bus began their journey east. After enduring endless attacks, diminishing rations and fatigue, they look forward to getting to the base and hopefully getting an undisturbed night of sleep and a real meal. Anything that is not from a can. And not served cold. Spaghetti from a can is tolerable. But cold spaghetti from a can is bad. The problem is that every time they stop and have a bonfire to cook their food, they are attacked by the undead. No matter how remote a place they stop, it is not long until they are swarmed. The undead come to their fire like moths to a flame.
They've learned to only stop for gas. Or food. But nothing else. Coffee cans are used as makeshift toilets. They are quickly emptied out the window to minimize the stench, but it does not stop the bus from stinking. The stench of urine and body odor fills the bus and makes it almost intolerable. For some people, it has been weeks since they bathed. And they feel sick. From lack of sleep. From unsanitary conditions. From being cooped in a bus, eating cold food from a can. And from anxiety. They have watched too many of their friends and family killed. They seen innocent children ripped to shreds from creatures that have no conscience and no morals. They wonder if they are next.
Trish hides in the back of the bus. Since high school, she has sought solace in the back of the bus. It was the place that the people without a seat partner went. She was never popular in school. She didn't play sports or join any club. She was a shy girl who sorted blended in. The best way to describe her is average. Not pretty, but not ugly. Not short or tall. Not fat or thin. Just average. But now she is just another person. Before this all happened, she was headed to culinary school. Her love of food made her decide to pursue a career as a chef. She dreamed of one day opening her own restaurant. She wanted a theme restaurant. Something that would wow people. Now she is just one of the living. That is what everyone has been relegated to, being either one of the living or one of the dead. No more class or social standings. It doesn't matter if you were a doctor or a janitor, now you are just one of the living. If you can shoot a gun or fix a vehicle, you have more value. But for the most part, everyone is the same.
As she stares out the window, she cannot help but think of her deceased boyfriend. After not dating in high school, she met her true love over the summer. His name was Guy and he was everything she dreamed of. He was smart and funny and romantic. His smile lit up a room and he was a great kisser. She fell head over heels for him. But now he is dead. He died trying to save her from the undead. She finally meets the knight in shining armor and he gets killed. It is probably better as life is not worth living. She has thought about killing herself. She has seen others do it. But something inside her keeps her going. Some primal instinct pushes her forward in the face of certain doom.
The bus pulls up to a gas station. The station is empty, with only a few cars abandoned in front of it. The driver pulls in front of the pumps and gets out to try and find a working pump. Most of the gas stations in the city are dry, but some of the ones in the small towns still have gas. He goes from one pump to another, until he finds one that is working. He quickly grabs the gas containers and fills them up. Having spare gas is important as you never know when you will find another working pump. He then pulls the bus over and starts filling it up. As he does this, some of the men who have guns get out and head to the building. In the past, they would have went to buy snacks and pay for the gas, but now they are there to loot whatever they can find of value. As they open the door, the stench of death wafts out. It is the same wherever you go, the stench of death is everywhere. Sometimes it is just nauseating, other times it is so overwhelming that you cannot breath. As they fight the urge to vomit, they find something to prop the door open and hopefully air out the place a little. They are never there long enough for it to do any good, but psychologically it helps. Once the door is propped, they go to work. The place looks mostly untouched, which is amazing in its own right. Most places have been looted. But this place still has all the snack food, magazines, auto accessories and other stuff commonly found at gas stations. They quickly grab all the bottled water and rush out to the bus. Water is a necessity, from drinking to cooking to bathing. It takes a few trips to bring all the loose bottles and the cases of water to the bus. This alone makes it a worthwhile stop.
While the people are busy looting the store, the sound of the bus has drawn interest. Some of the undead that were wandering around the countryside, hear the sound of the bus as it stops and slowly turn to head towards the sound. The undead live by instinct and are attracted by sounds. Sounds mean something moving and something moving means something is alive. Slowly, the hordes of undead that are in the woods in the area start to head towards the sound.
As the people start bringing in any non perishable food items from the gas station, the alarm is sounded. One of the lookouts, who sits atop the bus, sees the undead emerging from the woods. The take the bullhorn they have and start yelling "Undead coming. Undead coming." The people all stop to look around. About a hundred yards away, five undead emerge from the woods. They slowly lumber towards the bus full of people. A minute later, four more emerge from the woods across the street and start walking towards the bus as well. The people quickly bring as much food as they can carry onto the bus. Bags full of potato chips, candy bars and beef jerky are quickly loaded. They then hurry back in and grab whatever they can carry. They know they have a few minutes before the undead get there as they are very slow. They know there will be another warning when they get closer and then they must get out of there. They rush over and grab plastic bags from behind the counter and quickly throw as many bags of nuts and sunflower seeds as they can get into the bags. They also grab trail mix, the bags of candy and the boxes of crackers. As they fill their bags, they hear the second warning. "Undead coming. Almost here. Hurry up!" This time they know that time is running out. As they rush out the door, they see that the number of undead coming has swelled. There is now over twenty of them, lumbering towards the bus. They hobble as fast as they can, with blood dripping from their mouths and soiled, torn clothes barely covering their diseased bodies. And as they get nearer, the sound of groaning fills the air. Their moans are loud and very annoying. Since they do not moan in unison, it sounds more like noise, a constant, growing noise.
The people quickly board the bus and the door closes. The driver pulls away as quickly as possible, hitting a few zombies who are out in the road. The sound of crunching bones travels through the bus as the wheels run over the undead creature, crushing it. They look back to see the severely crushed zombie struggling to get up. But with its legs destroyed, it just flails around. The rest of the undead try to go after the bus, an exercise in futility. It only takes a minute before the bus leaves them behind. As the bus drives off, the people quickly go through the bags and start handing out the much needed supplies. Everyone gets to choose something to eat and drink. The order in deciding who chooses first is determined by who is most valuable to the team. The driver gets the first dibs, followed by the look-out guards and then the people who grabbed the food. Trish is towards the end of the line. She is right above the older people and children. One of the men who runs for the food, Johnny, comes over with the bag and smiles at her as he says "There is still some good stuff left." She is used to living on peanut butter crackers and bottled water. All the good stuff is gone by the time she gets a choice. The first to go is the bags of beef jerky, followed by the larger bags of nuts or potato chips. The energy drinks are the first to go from the beverages. As she looks in the bags, she sees there is a large bag of trail mix. She quickly grabs it and a large bottle of Gatorade. She smiles at Johnny and says "Thanks!" She knows that he is interested in her and while she is not that fond of him, she also knows that if you are a woman and do not pair up with a man, you are fair game to the rest of the men. It is better to be raped by one man than multiple men. And since Johnny's former mate is dead, he is available. She keeps hoping that she can get to the military base before she is raped. But she knows that the men have the guns and they have the power.
Night has fallen and the bus has grown quiet. The only sound is the music from the CD player. The sounds of the Beach Boys echo through the bus and remind people of a better time when their biggest worries were work, bills and the weather. Trish listens to the music and thinks back to vacations she went on as a kid. She remembers going to a water park and hearing the Beach Boys and other surf music playing in the park. How she misses those day. She tries to sleep, but she finds it hard to relax. She looks out the window, peering into the darkness. Now that the electrical plants are no longer manned, the street lights have gone out. Everything is so dark that is unsafe to drive. But they fear stopping anywhere for any extended period of time as the undead always show up. So they switch drivers and try to keep driving. But fatigue has set in on the driver as he fights off urge to close his eyes. He thought the Beach Boys music would help as it is lively and upbeat. And the bottle of warm pop would normally give him the caffeine he needs to keep going, but even the Mountain Dew is not working. He is also going faster than he should. Yes, the roads are empty, but there are often obstacles in the road. Abandoned cars, fallen trees and dead bodies litter the road. He should be going slow to give himself ample time to dodge anything he encounters. But he is speeding along at fifty miles an hour, a fast pace in pitch black. And this mistake will prove costly as the combination of speed and fatigue cause him to miss the a turn. In the darkness, he does not see the sharp turn left until it is too late. He completely misses the sign warning of the upcoming turn. It isn't until he sees the road sharply veer left and he is going straight that he realizes the error. But by then, it is too late. He flies off the road, crashing through a guard rail that should have been replaced years before. While the guard rail slows the bus down, it does not stop it and it goes down a hill, scraping against trees as it rolls down. The driver frantically tries to hit the brakes, but the momentum of the bus keeps it going. He tries to turn the steering wheel in hope that he can slow it down, he hits a jutting rock which causes the bus to fall onto its side as it slides down the hill. Everyone is abruptly awaken as they are thrown from their seats, hitting into the side of the bus. The bus falls onto its right side as it slides into a tree, crashing and sending everything and everyone towards the front of the bus.
Undead Ally ©
Tom Zjaba 2008