Zombie Overload (Books 1 & 2): Dying To Live & Fighting To Live Read online

  In mine and my husband's bedroom, I pull a large suitcase from the closet and yell at the boys to get four complete outfits (NO SHORTS!) and I pack mine and Will's clothes while waiting for the boys. When they bring their clothes in, I throw them on top of ours and zip the case up. Then I add blankets, sleeping bags and pillows to the pile. I ask Will to take everything to the van and put in the very back. He informs me he has also loaded the plastic tub of camping gear. Great idea! We have a camping stove in that tub along with many other useful things.

  We have no guns (not because I don't want them!) but my husband collect swords and knives. Fortunately, they weren’t all just 'For Decorative Use Only'. I grab as many of the real ones that I can.

  My cell phone starts playing Maroon 5's 'Payphone' and I pull it out of my pocket. Seeing 'mom' on the screen, I push the answer button but before I can get it to my ear she's already talking.

  ".....and he's on his way home. You all need to get over here but be careful. Have you seen any yet?"

  "No. Not yet. We're almost finished loading the van. You guys stay safe and be careful, too. Love you, Mom." I end the call with my mind racing. What else? Is there anything else we need? Boarding up and staying here just isn't the smartest option.

  "Hey, guys. I think we need to head to mom and dad's now. Stephan has too many people and our house won't be able to handle very many attacks." They all agree and we hurry to finish getting things we think we might need. Of course, on the boys' list of important things are their Game Boys, which I have no problem with. But then they tell me they want to take ALL their game systems. Sorry. No. The laptop, now that’s another story. Good way for information and, yes, they can play on it, too.

  With the cooler filled and loaded, along with all the other items, I take a brief moment to look around our home. Would we ever come back here? Will I ever see our pictures or all of the items that made this our home, again? Pain and sadness come over me until my husband's next words flood me with nothing but pure terror.

  "They're here!"

  Chapter 4

  Will grabs my hand and pulls me toward the stairs. He was pretty darn smart in thinking to turn the lights off in the laundry room and the shed and, also, for disabling that damn sensor light so we might have a better chance of staying unnoticed until we can safely get inside the van.

  The boys are waiting at the bottom of the stairs and my heart breaks seeing the fear on their faces. On one hand, I am almost glad to see it. Maybe they won't treat this like a game and will be more careful. I was afraid all the games, movies, and shows would desensitize them to the very real danger. On the other hand, seeing that fear on my babies faces pisses me off and I know now that I CAN kill to protect them. I always said I could, but until it's a very real possibility, saying and doing are two very different things.

  Will slowly walks into the shed. He looks around outside and then motions for us to follow. We quietly walk up behind him and wait.

  "When I unlock the van we have to get inside fast, but try to stay quiet. I don't know if the van being unlocked will alert them, but I want us to assume it will. The lights when we open the door definitely will. Honey, you open the front door and let me get in first so I can get to the driver's seat, then you get in fast. Alright?" We all nod our heads. "Let's do it". He slowly and silently turns the handle on the door with one hand while holding my key fob in the other. He stays crouched down and creeps outside, moving to the side of the door.

  We follow his example and once we are all out, Will quickly pushes the unlock button twice. Then he pushes the automatic door button and the door starts to slide open. I throw open the front door and he somehow vaults into the driver's seat. The boys are in and the door is sliding closed when I hear THEM for the first time. I stop. I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't think!

  The moans and groans. The screams of neighbors being ripped apart. And the smell! It's HORRIBLE! I can't even describe it. There are no words to describe it.

  Will throws a crumbled up piece of junk mail at my head, bringing me back from the frozen state I was in. I jump in the van, close the door, and hit the auto lock. As Will backs the van out of the odd position I placed it in, I notice our neighbor is backing out of her garage. I am so relieved to see her alive and, at the moment, safe. I pray she stays that way. She's a nice woman. Very good neighbor. Oh, even better! I see her grandson, who is a few years younger than Ash, sitting in the passenger seat. He lives in Stephan so it's a good thing he is with grandma tonight. I hope they aren't going back to Stephan. Surely not. No. She turns the opposite direction.

  Will finally gets us backed out and facing the end of the driveway and I get my first real-life view of what should have only ever been just costume and makeup. If only it was!

  Maybe a half dozen or so are in our yard and driveway alone. More moving around the fields and other properties surrounding ours. They look exactly like you would see in the better movies. Dark, dead eyes. Body parts and chunks of flesh missing. Insides on the outside. Some fully clothed. Some not. All doing the zombie shuffle. Some are following our neighbor as if they have a chance in hell of catching her as she flies down the road. Some are doing their best to get inside a few neighbors homes. Some are already snacking on the unfortunate who didn't run fast enough, or didn't think fast enough, or just didn't know what the hell was going on fast enough. Some are coming straight for us.

  We hear a THUD from the very back, side window and then glass bursts inside the van. The boys and I scream and Will cusses as he presses on the gas and our van shoots forward. As we pass another one, it reaches out and tries to grab the passenger side of the vehicle. Bo and I jump back from the windows in fear and instinct. Ashton gives a small terror-filled screech. We make it to the end of the driveway and Will turns left taking the back way to my parents home in Little Village, away from Stephan.

  I turn around and check on the boys. Both sets of eyes are wide with terror. I want so much to sob with the heartache from knowing there's not a lot I can do to take that terror away, but they need me to be strong and in charge, not in the fetal position on the floor, bawling like a baby.

  "Boys? You alright?" Of course they're not alright, you Dumb ass!

  "Everything's going to be ok." What? When? Say's who?

  Ok. So I'm bad at reassuring with words. At least I'm trying! I squeeze their hands and give them what even I know is a weak smile, but it's all I've got. They give me an equally weak smile in return and go back to staring out the windows in horror.

  I turn back to the front and look over at my husband. His hands are clenched on the steering wheel. His eyes darting from side to side and front windshield to rearview mirror. Even though it's Mid-October and quite cold at night, he is covered in sweat from the stress of having to try to keep his family alive and probably the shock of the situation, as well. I rub his arm and tell him I love him. He replies he loves us, too.

  My husband is an amazing man. We've only been married five years this past August but it feels like forever, in a good way. Bo and Ash aren't biologically his but all three feel the same way I do with my dad, don't call him their step-dad, those are fightin' words! He is actually in the process of getting the boys adopted, but I guess now, that doesn't really matter. If things go to all kinds of hell, (ok, worse than they are now) then who would know, or care, that his last name isn't legally their own?

  He works at a small school in a small town as a maintenance man. Almost everyone, young and old, thinks the world of him. He's the type of guy who will do anything for anyone, which can be good and bad. Bad, because his willingness to help others is oftentimes taken advantage of. He's not violent unless he has to be. And he's very protective of me and our boys. We never have to question his love for us. Oh, he drives me freakin' crazy, don't think he doesn't! But I do love this man.

  I turn away from him and look straight ahead, my mind racing. So now what? Where do we go that's safe? IS there anywhere safe? Where do we get a gun? (I'm much b
etter with guns than swords and knives.) Are my brothers and sister and their families safe? Do we____

  "SHIT!" I'm yanked out of my thoughts by Will's yell and look around wildly, trying to find the zombie he's freaking out over. Nothing. No zombies here, yet. "We are almost out of freakin' gas!"

  _____turn into looters to get what we need to survive? I finish my last thought from before he interrupted me with a different ending. I tell him to calm down, that we have enough to get to a gas station, not mentioning we have no money. Why worry him even more?

  I'm trying to plan what needs to be done, where to go, what to do to be as safe as possible, but I realize our plans can and probably will, change minute by minute. I mean, really! I seriously doubt the zombies are going to stick to the movie scripts.

  It's completely dark now and we are almost to the highway that, making a left turn on, will take us to Little Village, when I see the road across the highway that leads to the school my husband works at. Like a flash of light (which reminds me of that damn sensor light which still pisses me off) I get a brilliant idea.

  "Honey! Go straight! Go to the school!" I'm so excited about my brilliant idea, I’m actually bouncing in my seat.

  Will looks at me and by the expression he's wearing, I think I'm scaring him. So I force myself to calm down and explain my idea to him.

  "Babe, think about it. That school has some basic medical supplies and MAJOR food supplies. And, even better, most of that food will last for a long time. If it didn’t have so many windows, I would even suggest staying there. But there's no way we can keep that building zombie-proof."

  "No. Not even close. But the supplies are a great idea."

  No. It was a brilliant idea, damn it!

  He drives across the highway, and a few blocks later, turns into the school. Pulling up to the front doors, he unlocks them and goes inside to turn the security alarm off. Coming back out, he re-locks the doors and drives us around to the back of the school. He backs up to a mini enclosed trailer thingy (forgive me, but I don’t know what those things are called. But they kinda look like a mini horse trailer) and proceeds to hitch it to the back of the van. Small enough my van should be able to handle it. I hope.

  Then he positions the van sideways to the door of the school's kitchen (no room to back it in) and goes to unlock the big heavy door. I tell the boys to stay in the van and keep watch for any of those things. If they do see any honk once, if we have plenty of time to get back inside the van. If not, they are to hide on the floor and not make any noise. They nod their heads and start watching with wide, frightened eyes.

  I grab a couple swords and follow Will inside. Handing him a sword, I tell him that I will work on the food if he will gather the medical supplies. He agrees and heads to the nurse's office. I make my way to the pantry and start hauling out the bulk bags and cans of food. I find a cart against one wall of the kitchen which I push over to the items. I load what I can on the cart and push it out the door slowly, looking for danger. I see the boys in the van. Bo looking out the back and Ashton looking out the front. Seeing them on guard, and not hidden on the floor, makes me feel a whole lot better.

  I continue pushing the cart to the back of the trailer. I grab the handle but it doesn’t budge. You've got to be kidding me!

  Just then Will walks out the kitchen door and heads for me. I tell him it's locked and he holds up his keys. Thank God! He unlocks the trailer and starts putting the groceries inside. I grab the bag of medical supplies he brought out and put them inside the van. I take a moment to give my boys hugs, kisses, and I love you's. I really needed that. Even my teen seems not to mind, for once.

  I close the van door as I hear Will pushing the cart around. The boys go back on watch and Will and I head back in the school. We load the cart with more of the food and again head back out. Then back in for the third and final load. Will asks me if I think we will be able to take anything out of the freezer, and although I very much wanted to say yes to it all, I knew we couldn’t keep everything cold for too long in our cooler. But I did agree to take the huge block of sliced cheese and sliced ham. Those, we can eat alone or make sandwiches with the bread we have on the cart.

  Finally, I lead the way towards the door. I glance at the van and stop dead in my tracks.

  Chapter 5

  My breath leaves me in a whoosh. Will bangs into my ass with the cart and almost knocks me out the door. He backs the cart up and starts to speak when I turn and throw myself to the wall beside the door. I know I had THAT look because he moves away from the cart and raises his sword.

  I'm not thinking about me. I'm not even thinking about Will. I'm thinking about our babies. What if the damn things can see our babies? What if they can smell them? How the HELL does this work anyway? I want my babies!

  Fortunately, I have the sense not to run out the door like a moron, flapping my arms, and screaming like a banshee to protect my young, like every instinct is screaming at me to do.

  Because now, I hear it. The shuffle of dead feet. The moan from a dead mouth. The smell of death. Rotten and overwhelming. Close. So close.

  Will moves to his right in order to see out in the direction the sounds are coming from. I bring my sword up but stay pressed against the wall. Will motions for me to move further in the room near the cooler. I do and just in time. As soon as I get where he wants me, a rotting corpse staggers inside, banging his shoulder against the doorjamb. I look at his face and can see several somethings wiggling and moving under his skin. As I watch in fascinated horror, a maggot crawls out of his nose and plops to the floor. I am so close to gagging!

  He's wearing a suit and covered top to bottom in a mixture of dirt and grass so I assume he had already been dead before the 'virus'. His head turns to Will and he starts forward like a drunk who should have been cut off a long time ago. Will's ready. He waits for the thing to get close enough and then thrusts the sword through it's chest and pulls it back out. As all of us zombie movie freaks know, that doesn't work. I guess I need to educate the man.

  "In the head! Stick in in his damn head!" I scream at Will.

  Will takes the sword and does exactly what I said. Pulling the sword back out, the zombie drops to the floor, really dead this time. At least I hope they got that part in the movies right! Will wipes the sword off with a thick potholder lying on a nearby table and throws the ruined material in the trashcan next to him. He moves slowly towards the door, listening and watching. I follow at a safe distance, safe from him, in case he has to go all He-Man on another one.

  At the door he leans out and looks around. Is there only one? Please say that was only the one! He waves me closer and as soon as I’m behind him he moves outside and walks me to my door. Helping me in, he still doesn’t take his eyes off the surrounding area. Once I'm safely inside, he goes back and grabs the cart, hands the boys the cheese and ham to be placed in the cooler, then unloads the rest of the groceries in the trailer. Shoving the cart away and locking the trailer doors, he jogs to his side, gets in, and shuts his door. Then he looks past me and sees that we left the kitchen door wide-open. I already know what he's thinking.

  "Don’t you dare! Doesn’t matter if it's open or shut, you've already lost your job."

  He nods and starts the van. We both embrace our boys and do our best to calm them down from thinking we were going to be zombie food. They explain that they were watching but that one was in the shadows and they couldn't see it in time to warn us. We assure them they couldn't have helped it and that they did the right thing by hiding.

  Now we leave the school behind as we head to my parents' home.

  Chapter 6

  As we turn onto the old highway between Little Village and Stephan, we see abandoned vehicles every once in awhile. Engines still running in some. Some on the shoulder. Some in the middle of the road. A few bodies lying here and there, which means the rest have either escaped safely into the night or have been turned into zombies and are feasting on every bit of warm flesh they can
find.

  We see a man, with several chunks of meat missing from his body, laying in the center of the two lane highway and Will has to steer onto the shoulder to get around him. As we slowly creep past, he starts to twitch. Then jerk. Then sit up. Looking at his right leg, someone had obviously run it over recently. But that doesn't stop him from trying to stand and get to us. Of course, we get past him and continue on. We don't look back.

  Finally, we make it to the turn-off for Little Village. So far, nothing. As we get closer to the village, I have to keep reminding myself to breathe. I can't lose my parents. Can't lose any of my family. Every block we pass with no sign of the undead, makes me feel better and better. We pull into my parent's driveway and see my dad coming out the back door, his arms full of items he's loading in their van. Will rushes to help him and I turn to the boys.

  "Do you two want to stay in the van or get out" , I ask.

  "I want to get out", Bo says.

  "Me, too." says Ashton.

  "Ok. But stay close to an adult, stay quiet, and keep your eyes open". I look around and see nothing dangerous, so I press the side door's release button. I jump out and, with my back to them so I can see what's coming, tell them to go. They move quickly to the gate of the back fence and then inside the house. I move towards the back of the van so I can see in all the directions that are easy access for the dead to get to us. Seeing nothing, I turn my head towards the men standing beside the van having a man-talk about the zombies. Really, guys? Really?