Undead Ally
Issue #4
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Four
The Long and Winding Road
Inside the farm house, the two of them raid the cupboards and grab as many cans of food as they can carry. Fred has a backpack that he carries on his back, so he is prepared. Trish finds a cloth bag that was full of clothes pins and empties it. She then uses it to fill up with cans of beans, corn, peaches, pears and other foods. Fred starts digging in the drawers, looking around for something. "What are you looking for?" Trish asks as he seems very determined. He continues looking until he finally yells out "I found it!" Not sure what to expect, she rushes over as he pulls out a can opener. He holds it up like a trophy and proclaims "A manual can opener is worth its weight in gold." She breaks out laughing at how ridiculous he looks, but he does make a very good point. All these cans are pretty worthless without something to open them. And an electric can opener is pretty worthless in this world. He shows it to her and says "And see, it also has a bottle opener. So if we find a case of beer or some bottles of pop, we can open them." He quickly puts it in his coat pocket.
With their bags packed, she takes one last look at her house and wishes she could stay. "I really hate to leave here. This place has everything we need." Fred looks around and answers "And some things we don't. The corn fields are full of zombies and I am sure there are more psychos around here." She looks down with a sad face and says "I know it is best to leave, but it is hard to leave a place with a water supply." Fred lifts up a few jugs of water he has filled and says "At least we have some for the road. It won't last long, but it gives us a few days to find some more." She smiles as she grabs her two jugs of water and lifts them. "Too bad you don't have an undead mule or something to carry all this." He laughs as he answers "Haven't seen any undead animals. Don't see too many animals anymore. The zombies eat them as well." A shocked look came over her face. "Really? I thought they only eat humans." Fred heads out the door as he says "That is just in the movies. In the real world, they eat anything they can get their hands on." She looks at him with doubt in her eyes. "Really?" Fred turns around and says "Trust me, I used to have some cows on this farm that I used to get milk to make cheese. Then they came along and killed all of them." She looks at him and asks "Is this your farm?" He smiles at her and says "Nah, I just wandered here like you did." As they walk down the driveway and into the street, they both stop to look around. As expected, the road is empty. She then looks at him and asks "If you don't mind my asking, how did you become undead?" They turn right and head down the road as he answers her. "I was riding with a group of bikers when it all went down." She quickly interrupts "You mean like the Hell's Angels?" He laughs as he says "No, nothing like that. It was just a bunch of us businessmen who started a bike club and did road trips. I had a Harley and a leather jacket, but that is about as close as I got to being an Hell's Angel." She looks down as she says "Sorry, I shouldn't assume anything." He smiles at her and says “Apology accepted. Anyway, we were heading on a trip cross country when it all went down. We were going from New York City to Los Angeles, but we only made it as far as Pittsburgh, when we were attacked. Everyone was immediately killed, except for me. I was bitten in the face and the leg, but managed to get away.” He then points to the piece of his face missing and the wound on his leg. “I got on my bike and drove a few miles before I started losing consciousness. I pulled into a field and just died. But I didn’t die, I came back. Only I didn’t come back as a normal zombie, I could think and reason and talk.” She looks at him, especially at his wound and says “I’m sorry.” Fred just laughs and says “It could be worse, I could be like my friends, who were devoured by zombies.” She smiles back at him and says “You have a cheery disposition for someone who is...you know...dead.” Fred breaks out laughing as he replies “Even if I am not alive, I try to look at the bright side of life.”
Making their way down the road, the two of them share stories and talk about the old world. But what they don't see is up around the bend, there is a group of undead who have killed a deer and are eating it. As the two of them walk around the corner, they stop in their tracks as they see the carnage. Four undead are tearing at the deer, ripping into the flesh with their teeth and fingernails. Blood is splattered everywhere as they are pulling out the intestines and devouring them. Trish lets out a shriek as she is startled. The undead instantly hear this and turn to see them standing there. One of the undead, a heavy set man in bib overalls, bares his teeth and hisses at her. He then stands up and starts shuffling towards her. The others follow suit as a female in a nurse's outfit, a young man dressed in army fatigues and a young girl dressed in black, all start moving towards her. She turns and starts to run. Fred pauses for a moment. Since he is one of them, he has learned to not be afraid of them. They do not bother him. But his traveling companion is not undead, so he knows that he has to help her. He pulls out the rifle he grabbed off the men he killed and aims it at the man in the bib overalls. The creature is walking towards him as he aims at its head. Since they move so slow, they are easy to hit. He shoots it right in the head, splattering its brains all over the street. The shot instantly kills him and he falls to the ground. The other undead pause for a moment. He can tell they are confused as they are trying to sort out what is going on. In front of them is an undead. But it just killed another undead. They do not know what to do. But it only takes a moment for their animal instincts to take over and they start their charge towards Trish.
Trish hears the sound of the gun and stops in her tracks. She turns to see Fred shooting the first undead and killing it. This causes her to stop and watch the situation as it unfolds. He takes aim at the next closest undead, the nurse and easily kills it as well. Realizing that he is protecting her, she starts walking back towards him. The next undead, the young man, comes at him but one well placed bullet to the head and he joins the other two on the ground, blood pouring out of the fresh wound in his forehead. The young girl, despite seeing the other three die, continues towards him. He smiles as he aims at her. She charges towards him, shuffling as fast as she can with her undead legs. Her arms are outstretched and her black and red nails, a combination of nail polish, dirt and blood, claw at the air as she nears Fred. Once again, he shoots her in the head and she also falls to the ground. With the immediate threat gone, Trish rushes up to him and says "Great shot!" He smiles and says "I did some hunting in the old world." She smiles as he blows on the end of the barrel of the gun for dramatic effect. "The only problem is we are going to run out of bullets real soon, so we better find a better way to kill them or come up with some kind of plan." Trish nods in agreement.
As they walk past the dead bodies, she looks at their faces. While she knows the odds of it being someone she knows is remote, she still checks to make sure. None of these faces are familiar. She gasps as she looks at how young the girl looks. Granted, with a bullet hole in her forehead and blood running down her face, it is hard to see. But from what she can see, the girl looks to be a teenager. Trish stops for a moment and looks at her. She looks at her fragile frame and her Goth clothes and wonders why someone so young had to die. Did this girl get to go to prom? Had she ever fallen in love? While these thoughts race through her head, Fred speaks up. "We better get going. The noise is going to attract more of them." This shakes her out of her thoughts as she looks around. Then in the distance, she hears the groaning. It is coming from the surrounding woods. It is at a distance, but it is slowly getting closer. "You're right, we better leave." They quickly pick up their pace as they head down the road and far away from there.
It is past noon and the sun is right above them. The heat of the day beats down on both of them. While Fred can take the heat better than Trish, he does get thirsty. Since he does not get his liquids from blood like the other undead, he needs to drink fluids. The water feels good going down his dry, dead throat. It also tastes good to Trish as she has finished off one of her bottles of water. "You better conserve some of that." he says to her as he watches her down the last of the bottle of water. "I know. But I keep hoping we come across a stream or something." He looks at her and says "Make sure to keep the empty bottle." She laughs and says "OK Dad." They both break out laughing as they head down the road.
While they are walking down the road, they hear a sound in the distance. It is the sound of running water. With everything being so quiet now, it is easy to hear the sounds of nature. Without the constant sound of cars and people, the world is more pleasing to the ear. Trish turns to Fred and says "Sounds like a stream!" Fred looks at her and says "It does and where there is a stream, there is water." The two of them pick up the pace as they head towards the sound. With each step, the sound grows a little stronger. In the distance, they see a small bridge. They realize this is where the sound is coming from and start jogging towards the bridge. "Race you!" Trish says as she bolts out ahead of the two. Fred tries to run, but with his present state, all he can muster is a brisk walk. "No fair, racing the dead man." She breaks out laughing as she hears this, but it does not slow her down. She keeps up the pace and reaches the bridge, a good five hundred feet before Fred. She looks over the side of the bridge and sees a strong flowing creek. And down by the creek, she sees a dog drinking the water. "Fred, there is a dog!" she yells out as she looks at the half starved animal. When she yells, the dog looks up at her. "Hello doggie!" she says as she waves to the bewildered animal. As it looks up at her, it growls. "I have some food for you." she says as she reaches into her bag and pulls out a can of pork and beans. The dog then goes into a howl. She looks at the mutt as it howls into the air. By the time, Fred reaches her and looks down. "I don't think that is good." he says as he also looks at the dog. After a few seconds, there is another howl in the distance, followed by another. "I think it would be best if we get out of here." he says as he starts walking. "What's wrong?" she says as she is unsure why he is rushing off. "I have to remember that these dogs are wild now. It is calling its pack and if we stay around here, we will be food." A shocked look comes over her face. How can a cute dog suddenly be a wild animal? As they start to walk away, Fred says "Open a few cans of food and drop them." Trish pulls out the can opener and starts opening the can of pork and beans. "Why are we doing this? Shouldn't we be running?" Fred pulls out another can of pork and beans and waits for her to finish. Once she opens the top, he takes the can from her and hands her another can. "Open this one." he says as he then pours the beans out on the ground. "You're wasting food." she says to him as she watches the perfectly good can of beans get all dirty on the road. "I am creating a diversion. The dogs want food, so I am giving them some." It makes sense to her now. She quickly opens the other can and pours it out on the ground as well. As they are doing this, the sound of howls grows louder and closer. He turns to her and says "We better get out of here as fast as possible." The two of them run down the road as fast as they can, with Trish way ahead of Fred. He yells up to her "Go to the first house or building you see and close the doors. I will meet you there as soon as I can." She slows down and yells back "But what about you?" He keeps moving as fast as he can, while he waves for her to go ahead. "I am already dead, they can't hurt me. Worry about yourself." With that, she starts running as fast as she can.
A half hour later, she has stopped running and stops to catch her breath. She is winded and stops to breath deeply. There is a burn in her side that came on after ten minutes, but she ignored it. Surviving was enough for her to work past the pain. She looks down the road to see if there is any sign of Fred. She doesn't see him anywhere. But she does see something in the distance. It looks to be moving fast. Using her hand to shield the sun, she looks down the road and sees a pack of dogs coming. There must be at least six dogs in the pack. The lead one looks like a blood hound with a Doberman pincher, collie, boxer and a mutt also running. "Oh shit!" she says as she realizes they are coming after her. She begins to run again, ignoring the pain in her legs and side. With a sense of urgency, she runs as fast as she can. But no matter how fast she runs, the dogs keep getting closer. She can hear them as they near. Looking around for any shelter, she sees nothing but woods. Not sure what to do, she keeps running.
Up ahead, she sees her big break. An abandoned car is on the side of the road. If she can get to it, she can keep the dogs at bay. She runs for it, trying not to look back. But she cannot help it and looks back to see they are now about a thousand feet away and closing fast. She rushes to the car and tries to open the passenger door. It is locked. She runs around to the driver's door and finds it unlocked. Thanking God, she opens it and jumps in, dropping her bags of food on the ground. She quickly closes the door and pushes down the locks. While she knows that dogs cannot open doors, it makes her feel more secure. A few seconds after locking the door, the dogs reach the car and start jumping on the car, trying to get in. They are circling the car, growling at her and snapping. She jumps each time one of the dogs looks in the window and growls. As she looks around the car, she sees that the keys are on the floor. Wondering if the car will start, she decides to stick the keys in the ignition and see. At first the car won't turn over, making a clicking sound. Not sure how long it has sat here, she wonders if the battery is dead. But since she has nothing else to do, she pushes her foot on the gas and turns the key again. Click...click...click. She keeps trying, when suddenly it starts to turn over. It is a slow and strained attempt, but it starts to work. Then it finally kicks in and the car starts up. She pushes the gas pedal to give it more power. As the gas gauge goes up, it reaches three quarters of a tank. She smiles and puts the car in drive. As she pulls out, one of the dogs falls off the hood. The other growl at her as she drives right at the blood hound. Only at the last second does it move out of the way. On the road, she slowly turns the car around and heads back to find Fred. The dogs give chase to the car as it drives off, but it only takes a few minutes to lose them in the dust. Trish smiles and turns on the radio, which switches to a CD that was left in the player. The song that starts playing is "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men. Trish just breaks out laughing as she listens to the song playing. Even if it is ironic, she cannot help but enjoy hearing music again.
Driving down the road, she sees a person walking on the side of the road. He is walking slowly with his two jugs of water. She just laughs as she pulls up to him and says "Need a ride?" He looks at her and smiles "Yeah, but I heard it is dangerous to hitchhike." She laughs as she unlocks the door. He comes around and climbs in. "Where did you find a running car?" he asks as he looks around at the Ford Taurus. "The dogs were catching up to me and it was the first shelter I found. And since I wasn't going anywhere, I tried starting it and with a little effort, it started up." Fred looks over at the gas tank and says “And it even has gas.” As they drive away, he listens to the music and asks “Nothing personal, but do you have anything besides the Baja Men?” They both break out laughing as he looks around for more CDs.
After an hour of driving, they come across a gas station and pull in. Trish gets a shiver down her spine as she thinks about the times the undead would show up when the bus pulled into a gas station. As she parks it, Fred looks at her and says “Why don’t you stay in the car? I will get any supplies we need. The undead won’t bother me and you should be safe in the car.” Trish looks at him and says “I do need to use the bathroom.” He rolls his eyes as he says “Let me make sure it is safe first.” He then walks around the back of the building and finds the bathroom. He slowly opens the door and looks at the filthy bathroom. At this time, he is happy that his sense of smell is not too good. The one stall bathroom has bloodstains on the mirror and the floor. There is also scattered pieces of toilet paper and other debris. He carefully looks in the stall and notices that it is empty. Relieved that is fine, he goes back and lets her know the coast is clear. She gets out of the car and heads to the bathroom. As she opens the door, he hears her scream out “Oh my God, this place is disgusting.” He snickers a bit as he replies “Sorry, but I don’t clean bathrooms.”
After a few minutes, she rushes out of the bathroom and back to the car. “I couldn’t hold my breath any longer.” She quickly locks the door and rolls down the window. “Grab any toilet paper you can find. Oh and any hand sanitizers. I feel grubby after being in there.” Fred gives her a salute as he heads into the building.
Sitting out in the car, she looks around for any music CDs. She looks in the glove compartment with no luck. But what she does not see is a couple of undead are coming out of the woods and headed towards her in the car. She is sitting there with her head down as they are slowly walking up towards the car. Fred is also oblivious to the situation as he is also busy. She just continues to search around the car for anything else to listen to. As she does this, the undead slowly walk closer and closer to the car.
Undead Ally ©
Tom Zjaba 2008