3:03 p.m.
I spent so long kneeling on the ground that I no longer felt my legs. Tears continued to flow from my eyes as I bent down over Rotis who still had a kitchen knife sticking out of his skull. The blood that flowed from the wound dried rather quickly and began to crust up around the blade of the knife.
I can't remember how many times I've repeated the word sorry.
"Jake, you have to get up." Kara pled as she attempted to pull me up herself. "Please."
Rotis changed into one of the monsters and attacked Kara during the time I encountered the crazy man in the hallway on my way to snag a wheelchair. I tried my hardest but it was too late. Though there was a positive side — he didn't succeed in biting Kara.
"Why? Why should I get up?"
"Because you have me," she reasoned gently as she reached over to rub my back. "I know you don't want to go on but you can't leave me here by myself. Please."
....if you attempt to travel, please be cautious. Ration wisely and safe zones are being established. Martial Law has been declared.
Martial Law. Now we're on our own.
4:02 p.m.
We scattered around the hotel room, packing what we could into our suitcases. Kara convinced me to keep going and she's all the reason I need.
"Grab the toothpaste and shampoo," Kara directed from the other room as I stood in the bathroom. "Who knows how long this road trip is going to take."
I reached down to grasp the toothpaste, toothbrushes and the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. It barely all fit in with our clothes and snacks but we made it work.
Now we just have to make it to the truck that's parked in the back row of the parking lot.
"I — I can't just leave Rotis here." I stumbled over my own words as I once again observed his lifeless body. "That would be fucked up."
He didn't look like himself anymore. Kara told me that his eyes lost their pupils and irises when he changed, too. It was almost as if it was a metaphorical symbol for them losing their soul — leaving behind the empty shell of what was once a living, breathing being.
"We'll get out of here and find help, okay? If we can get to a hospital, they can send an ambulance out to come get them."
I don't know if I believe her words but I have no choice.
"Those things — they're out there," I warned. "We have to be quiet or they're going to come after us. We have to take golf clubs for safety measures."
It felt crazy walking out of the room as we gripped our golf clubs with our backpack suitcases thrown over our shoulders. People still banged on the other side of the hotel room doors and I'm positive I heard more growling than actual humans.
This hotel is a ticking time bomb.
Grrr! Argh!
A man began to shuffle toward us. He lost his pupils which meant one thing — he was now a threat to our lives. I pulled Kara away from him as she gawked, wide eyed and shaken from staring directly into his soulless eyes. We ducked into the elevator and both breathed sighs of relief as we lowered our weapons for just a brief, safe moment.
Until the elevator dinged.
When the doors opened, we were met with multiple bodies lying on the tile floor without any motion. They didn't have wounds — it was almost as if they all laid down for nap time. We slowly stepped over the bodies and I shook as I internally panicked.
As we got feet within range of the door, Kara dropped her suitcase and her golf club. We came to an immediate halt as I skimmed the room.
The noise seemed to have woken them up — the bodies began to rise and without another thought, I ran through the glass doors and into the parking lot.
"Did — did you see all those people? All the dead bodies?" Kara questioned in a shaken tone as we ran for the truck we arrived in. "They were dead, Jake!"
"I know, Kara. I know."
"How can you be so calm about this?"
"I can't process a goddamn thing that's happened in the last half a day. I'm still trying to figure out if this is actually happening or if I finally snapped and lost my grip on fucking reality!" I barked. "C'mon, Kara. Don't be ridiculous — not now."
When I finally managed to put the key into the ignition, I put the vehicle in reverse and hit the gas.
Clunk! Clunk!
The bumper of my Silverado backed directly into one of the sickos and sent him sailing through the parking lot. Without hesitation, he stood right back up and I sped away onto the Main Street.
5:30 p.m.
Most of the roads are blocked. The city is practically impossible to enter due to riots and blockades. Surprisingly, there's still a decent amount of people attempting to fair the roads although there's more abandoned cars than occupied out there.
"If we can't find help, Rotis and Skylar are stuck in that hotel, Kara. Maybe we should try to get into the city one more time."
I gripped the steering wheel hard as I drove, whipping it quickly whenever I had to maneuver around a car accident or pile up.
"There is no city anymore, Jake. Rotis and Skylar are dead! What kind of help is actually going to do something for them now?" She hissed blatantly before instant regret appeared across her slender, freckled face.
"No, it's okay. You're right," I agreed in a defeated tone. "They're dead."
"Jake, I didn't mean —"
"They are dead," I agreed. "We have to focus on helping ourselves right now. You're correct."
I turned onto the freeway and immediately realized that it was going to be Hell attempting to travel the interstate. Instead, I crossed the island between lanes and sped up as I passed two signs on both sides of the road.
WRONG WAY: DO NOT ENTER
"What the fuck are you doing, Jake?"
"There's more people leaving the city than coming in," I reasoned. "We'll just have to exit where you enter."
We listened to the radio intently for any updates. No channels had any music playing and only one was broadcasting — the emergency broadcast channel.
...do not attempt to go to any hospitals. They are over capacity and will not be accepting any new patients at this time. If you suspect you are infected, please restrain from making any contact with uninfected person(s).
"My mom is stuck in the hospital downtown. I can't even imagine what kind of chaos is pursuing down there," Kara huffed as she pulled out her phone to attempt a call to her mother. "I know her — she probably volunteered to stay over just to help."
"When everything calms down, we'll try the city." I planned, "right now, we just have to hope that the hospitals can hold up. Our house seems like the best bet."
When we entered our neighborhood, it seemed empty. Most houses seemed to be evacuated during the panic — some people more than likely figured they wanted to be with their family during this time of crisis.
A figure stood near the street as they fought off a sick person. During the struggle, they fell to the ground.
"Oh my God! Jake! Is that Vick?"
It is Vick.
I swerved to the side of the road and jumped out with my golf club in my hands. Before I could get to them, Vick was already standing up and brushing himself off.
"Vick! You good man?" I asked breathlessly.
"Fucker came out of nowhere," he huffed. "I got off my bike and he attacked me."
Vick was a motorcyclist that lived next door to Kara and I. He was middle-aged and claimed to be a part of a motorcycle gang which I didn't have any doubts about. Overall, Vick always seemed to be a pretty cool guy.
"Have you heard what's going on?" I inquired. "There's a virus going around making people die and come back with some kind of sick cannibalistic lust —"
He cut my sentence short, "Zombies."
My eyebrows raised. "What?"
"These things aren't human once they come back," he bent down to pull his pocket knife out of the skull of the man he was just in combat with. "They're zombies."
We invited Vick inside as we scrambled around to get our belongings together incase the government forces us to leave. Vick explained that the virus going around was turning people into zombies and as ridiculous as it sounded, we have to accept the truth if we want to survive through it.
"Had a buddy who got really into the whole virus theory when the anonymous videos were leaked," Vick explained as he sipped his hot coffee. "He took it seriously and I thought it was fuckin' hysterical. Turns out he was right."
"Where did those videos come from?" I asked, wide eyed as I stared at Vick. "I remember seeing them on the news. Are you sure it's related?"
"No doubt in my mind, kid. Just stay away from their saliva and blood, don't get bit — the obvious precautions. I'm hoping the government gets this all figured out before anybody else dies."
"So where do we go until then?" Kara chimed in curiously. "The cities are completely overrun."
"I was headed out to City Country where my buddy Barry lives. He's got a farm out there — said they're going to wait it out until then and he seems convinced they have the means to do so."
"Do you have room for two more?" I started to feel desperate but I knew I had no choice. "Kara and I, we can't stay here but we have nowhere else to go."
His face fell firm and his lips pressed together. The wrinkles in his face surfaced as he focused.
"Vick, we've known you for a long time. Since we were kids," Kara pled from beside me. "Can't you just do us this favor? Please?"
After some time, Vick reluctantly agreed to our pleas. I felt somewhat guilty that as a man, I didn't know what to do or where to go to keep Kara safe. I had to turn to Vick.
"Pack up, bring whatever food you can. Clothes too." Vick advised, "I'll head over to my place and load up the Suburban. We meet in two hours."
After Vick headed next door to gather his belongings, Kara began to pace nervously. I know she's scared because I am, too.
"Kara, C'mon," I pled for her to quit pacing. "Try to keep a level head. We have to collect everything we need. There's no way of telling how long we're going to be gone."
"I'm so scared, Jake." She turned to meet my gaze with tears streaming down her face. "We're going to an unknown place and everything is happening so fucking fast. I don't know what to think — I can't think."
"Since Sky got sick, everything has been chaos. I know," I agreed gently. "I can't process it either but this is what we have to do to stay safe right now. As long as we're together, we can make everything else work."
I gazed into her eyes as we stood in middle of the dainty, narrow kitchen. Moments passed and we leaned in to share one last kiss before we depart.
7:45 p.m.
The chilly spring night air blew in and sent a chill down my spine as we packed up the suburban that Vick insisted we travel in. I sat in the passenger seat as we strolled along the narrow road that leads to the interstate.
"It's a hell of a lot worse than I thought," Vick observed as he swerved between vehicle pile ups and zombies that lingered on the road. "This virus took over fast. Those bastards in the videos sure weren't lyin'."
They're walking nightmares. The way they loiter endlessly and without purpose — they truly are zombies.
"So, how do we fight them? I mean, they gotta have a weak point." Kara stared down the zombie that lunged at the side of the suburban as we drove by it. "They don't seem too strong."
"They're not. Weak point is the head because it's the only working thing in their whole body," Vick explained as he gripped the steering wheel he sat behind. "It's creepy as shit but it's goddamn true."
"All we have is golf clubs. Sure hope that does the trick." I finally chimed in as I zoned back into reality.
Vick chortled, "reach into the glovebox. Take it for now just incase — but remember, you're required to return it so long as you're alive to do so."
A little harsh, Vick. I scoffed.
I reached into the glove box to find a loaded handgun. My hand wrapped around it and I gripped it as I examined the glock.
"Don't use it unless you have to, a'right? Noise probably draws 'em. We'll get you two melee weapons as soon as we get to Barry's."
"Out in City Country, huh?" I inquired. "Haven't been there in awhile."
City Country is a local nickname for a several mile long stretch of farmland located a short distance away from the hustle and bustle of the suburbs and cities. I've only been there a handful of times but it always seemed peaceful to me and it became a dream of mine to live out here.
Vick shifted his gaze to the right side of the road we traveled on. "Check it out."
A military convoy was crashed in a ditch. I searched for a driver and found that it was abandoned.
"If they couldn't handle the virus, we're in a hell of a lot of trouble." I commented warily.
Vick shifted the suburban into park and hopped out of the vehicle, leaving the door ajar as he wandered toward the crashed convoy.
I immediately got out as I clutched the golf club I now use as a weapon. "What the fuck are you doing, Vick? We can't be out here!"
"Can't hurt any just to stop and see what they left."
Kara followed quickly behind us. We surrounded the convoy as Vick ravaged through the abandoned vehicle.
"Found some ammo and unused military vests." Vick gripped the items. "Not too shabby."
I couldn't help but to ask, "How do you know they're unused?"
"Oh, you'd know if they were used."
"C'mon, guys! They're coming!" Kara warned, hastily starting her journey back to the parked suburban. "Hurry!"
A zombie man appeared from underneath one of the abandoned cars feet away. His beard was grey and scruffy and the white hairs in his beard were stained with blood. He reached for me as he shuffled slowly.
Anger flowed through me as I stared into his soulless eyes. I don't understand, what did we do to deserve this? What did I do to get so lucky as to survive?
Whack!
I knocked him in the head and moments later, his neck snapped back to meet my gaze once more. Though he had damage to his head, it wasn't major enough to put him down for good.
Whack! Whack!
As soon as I knew that the infected man was dead, I shifted my gaze to find Vick who was in combat with a zombie woman. They went back and forth in a literal fight between life and death.
Whack!
I used my golf club once more to slug the zombie-fied woman. When she lay lifeless, I raised my gaze to meet Vick's dark eyes. He held his left arm up as if to examine it and I immediately noticed the blood smeared along his lower, outer arm.
Fuck.
"Vick, you alright man?"
He examined his arm for another moment before dropping it back to his side.
"Thought the fucker got me for a minute there," he breathed a sigh of relief. "We're all clear."
_
9:45 p.m.
Stars appeared one by one and darkness took over the once light sky as we finally arrived at Barry's. All the space surrounding the farmhouse made me slightly uneasy but there is nowhere else we can go. Vick parked the suburban just outside the home and he insisted he go first so he can explain to Barry about the two extra heads (a.k.a Kara and I).
"So what happens if Barry doesn't want us here?" Kara sobered. "Where do we go? We'll have come all this way for nothing —"
"Vick wouldn't have brought us here if he didn't think Barry would take us in," I assured her although I felt unsure myself. "Whatever happens, we stick together. We'll find a way."
She flashed me a skeptical expression and I reached over to grab her hand before intertwining my fingers with hers. Her hands were cold from the chilly spring night air and I squeezed in an attempt to warm them up.
Twenty four hours ago, we were playing rummy with Rotis and Sky — nobody was sick. Everybody was drunk and happy. What happened?
"Hey, kiddo," Vick exited the home and walked out onto the wrap around porch Kara and I stood on. "Looks like you can stay — now come meet Barry."