Zombies! (Book 2): Against The Current, page 1
part #2 of Zombies! Series
Zombies!
Book 2
“Against the Current”
R S Merritt
Text Copyright © 2019 Randall Scott Merritt
All Rights Reserved
This book is dedicated to my beautiful (and very understanding) wife and family.
Cover Design By:
Harry Lamb
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The Paranoia Principle
Chapter 2: The Young Man and the Sea
Chapter 3: Feeding the Fish
Chapter 4: Need a Tow?
Chapter 5: A Small Boat on a Big Ocean
Chapter 6: Full Speed Ahead
Chapter 7: Pink Room Fever
Chapter 8: Z-Day Invasion
Chapter 9: All Tied Up
Chapter 10: Evacuation Plan
Chapter 11: Stairway to Hell
Chapter 12: Dead in the Water
Chapter 13: Rest and Relaxation
Chapter 14: Fender Bender
Chapter 15: Blood in the Water
Chapter 16: A Bad Penny
Chapter 17: The Song of the Siren
Chapter 18: Swimming is for the Fishes
Chapter 19: Don’t Take the Girl
Chapter 20: Weekend Warriors
Chapter 21: It’s Like Riding a Bike
Chapter 22: Get a Hobby
Chapter 23: The Rules
Chapter 24: The Most Important Meal of the Day
Chapter 25: The Letter
Chapter 26: Robin Hoods Rejects
Chapter 27: On the Road Again
Chapter 28: Brenda’s Last Stand
Chapter 29: Caching
Chapter 30: God’s Land
Chapter 31: Coming to Jesus Meeting
Chapter 32: On the Fast Track
Chapter 33: Another Day in Paradise
Authors Afterword
Other Series by RS Merritt
Chapter 1: The Paranoia Principle
Brenda sat down at the large wooden table in the dining room in the house by the lake. The rotted remains of a dozen red roses rising from the expensive crystal vase in the center of the table. Myriah and Caitlyn were working on keeping the little kids quiet. They’d been excellent on the run across the lawn except for the one-time Doreen had asked for a juice. The children were constantly reminded how important silence was but there was a limit to the amount of quiet a young girl could sustain. Brenda was wondering if maybe they should put all the kids get in a padded room once a day and just let them scream their little lungs out. Maybe it’d help to get it out of their systems. She was gnawing on that idea when Eric came down the stairs.
He’d gone up the stairs to get a better view of their surroundings from the second-floor windows. They needed to see if there were any Zombies showing a heightened level of interest in their newest base. The ‘juice’ outburst had been quick and quiet but in this new world it may still have been too much. Every little move they made had to be planned with care as being seen or heard had severe circumstances. An errant sneeze could get you killed. Starting a car engine could summon enough of the demons to keep you from being able to back out of the driveway. Paranoia was an attribute all the survivors shared. The mental illnesses and social mores of the old world were the resume winning buzzwords of the new one.
Eric shook his head with an exasperated expression. “I couldn’t really see anything from any of the windows. There wasn’t a bloodthirsty mob standing in the driveway or the backyard, so I say we chalk it up as a successful run for now.”
“We need to keep that girl quiet from now on. Maybe we could gag her? Or muzzle them or something when we’re out in the open?” The pastor suggested dryly. He was serious. He thought he was proposing a common-sense approach to raising kids in the apocalypse. He was therefore completely surprised when Eric kicked him hard in the balls before throwing him down on the floor. Brenda and the kids stared dumbfounded at the outburst of violence from a man who was normally so gentle with all of them. Not that the pastor didn’t deserve it. It was just way out of character for Eric. He was a strong man, but he was also loving and compassionate.
Eric’s eyes weren’t looking too kind right now. They radiated a righteous anger at the piece of garbage who’d suggested muzzling his niece like she was some kind of dog. The pastor was staring up in terror at the man towering over him. Eric saw the fear in the coward’s eyes. He then saw that look reflected in the eyes of his niece and his other young charges. He realized he was holding his knife in his hand ready to strike. He shuddered. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Brenda when she walked over to him and gently asked him to hand her the knife. He handed the knife over then went and sat down on a dust covered couch and put his face in his hands.
Brenda grabbed a bottle of water and carried it over to Eric as the pastor slowly got to his feet. Eric avoided looking directly at her. He took the water and said thank you. He twisted the lid off and took a long drink. Almost draining the bottle in a single swallow.
“I guess we just got used to how he talks when we were stuck in that closet with him at the church. You can’t let it get to you though. You’re a good man. He’s not. The only reason he’s still alive is because of us and he still can’t be appreciative. Now let’s not worry about him anymore. We need to figure out what we need to do to get out of here. I’ve got a bad feeling about this place.”
Eric had a bad feeling about the place too. He had an even worse feeling about how he’d just lost his cool with the pastor. He could care less that he’d hurt the sorry excuse for a man of god. What worried him is how he’d snapped. How he’d lost his cool so quickly. He worked hard to try and be fair and stay even tempered. He’d stopped drinking before his first marriage ended. He knew he had a wild streak buried inside. When he lost his temper, he didn’t just get mad, he went into a blind rage. It was all a blur to him until it was over. When it was over, he found he could recall every second of it vividly. No matter how much he didn’t want to.
It was just something else on the list of reasons why he wasn’t going to be able to keep these kids and their grandma safe. No matter how hard he tried to stay in control and do the right thing he’d screw it up in the end. He recognized this about himself. He also recognized he’d come a long way. The fact that he hadn’t stabbed the pastor to death in front of a bunch of small children was proof that he wasn’t a complete psycho. He just needed to keep it together to get them all through this. He wondered if he should try sharing his internal Jekyll and Hyde issues with Brenda. He decided it was a lot to try and lay on the lady while sitting on a couch in a house that may be getting surrounded by a horde of Zombies at any second.
“I do try to be a good man.” Eric whispered to Brenda when the shakes finally wore off. He could hear his voice trembling slightly. He hated that but with his adrenaline still pumping he guessed it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. “I really don’t get why we got stuck taking care of that prick.”
“Me either. But it’d be murder to let him loose on his own. Maybe we could find a muzzle for him?” Brenda replied with a smile.
Eric laughed. “Yeah. That’d be good. Alright. I’ll go check the jeep outside and see if we can use that to get out of here. I’m going to go through the garage and the kitchen first. Hopefully, I can find the keys somewhere. Car thieves must have it easy now a days. With the hot-wiring skills and all.”
“Seems like he’s in a better mood. Guess whacking me around made the bully feel better.” The pastor said when Brenda walked back over to the table. Eric had already disappeared into the garage to try and find the keys for the jeep.
“If these kids weren’t here, I’d take a turn kicking your ass. If you know what’s good for you shut the hell up and do what you’re told. If you don’t like it feel free to leave. If you put my kids in danger again, I will kill you. Look at me and say you understand because I swear, I’m not having this conversation with you again.”
The pastor looked to the side and muttered something. Brenda told Caitlyn to take the girls into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. Before Caitlyn could do all of that the pastor relented. Licking his lips, he nervously looked Brenda in the eyes and told her he understood. He did so with a big fake grin on his face. Brenda considered knocking the smile off his face but decided that’d go against everything she’d just told Eric.
Caitlyn was already in the process of rounding the kids up, so it made it easy when Eric came back in dangling a key chain in front of him. He waved it around a few times to show them he had it before he disappeared out the front door to go make sure the jeep ran. He came back in a minute later and let them know the jeep was good and he thought they might as well get out of there now. The adults started ransacking the house to gather all the supplies they could while Caitlyn got the kids loaded into the jeep. They had the pastor making trips back and forth to load as many supplies from the house as they could fit into the jeep.
The jeep was in no way large enough to accommodate them all, but luckily seat belt laws weren’t a huge concern anymore. They kept shoving children and canned beans into the back-seat area until suffocation for the kids started to become a real concern. Brenda was running back into the house to grab some more blankets when the first Zombie came running into the driveway. It was a tall teen. The long hair indicated it might be a girl, but the Zombie was so covered in mud and leaves that it was impossible to be sure. She lunged at the jeep. Bouncing off the passen
ger side of the small off-road vehicle the Zombie screeched in frustration and started flailing her arms at the window while the children inside screamed.
Giving up on the blankets Brenda turned and ran back for the jeep. The Zombie noticed the woman running towards her and leapt on top of the jeep. The Zombie bent her knees and launched herself into the air at Brenda. Shots rang out as Brenda and Eric both took aim and fired. Brenda neatly side stepped the monster as it slammed into the concrete and lay there broken. A puddle of blood slowly forming to frame the final resting spot of what had once been a happy and healthy young girl. Her corpse wasn’t spared a second glance now as Brenda and Eric rushed for the jeep.
Screeches were coming from all around. The jeep was a rugged vehicle, but it wasn’t solid steel like the Expeditions and other gas hogs they’d taken to driving. Given his choice Eric would gladly take one of those tanks right now. It was going to take a lot more finesse to get them out of this mess with the jeep than it would’ve with a larger SUV. The Zombies were really coming now. Full speed they were running out of the woods on both sides of the driveway.
Screeching filled the air. The grunts and thumping sounds as the fastest caught the jeep and tried to get in echoed inside the cramped vehicle. They started ripping at the windows and the sides of the jeep. Eric spun the wheel forcing the jeep to do a hundred eighty degree turn at a high rate of speed. Eric still had his foot stomped down to the floor on the pedal as they came out of the spin. The big tires were skidding and squealing. Brenda was praying out loud while the children cried, and the pastor swore. Eric said nothing as his whole focus was on getting them out of there. He couldn’t believe the one eighty had actually worked out as well as it had.
The Zombies who’d gotten a grip on the jeep had been thrown off by the crazy maneuver Eric had pulled off. He aimed the jeep for the main road with the pedal still pinned to the floor. They flew forward once the tires caught on the road. A Zombie that looked to be the size of a fifth grader ran in front of the Jeep and jumped for the grill to try and get at them. They were moving fast enough to smash the small Zombies head like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. The grill on the font of the jeep bent inwards from the impact. When it bent in something in the engine cracked and white smoke started seeping out all around the hood.
Driving in a big cloud of smoke Eric got them out to the main road. If they’d had a drone to look back with, they’d have realized how close they’d come to not making it. The house they’d just left was crawling with Zombies now. It looked like a fire ant hill someone had kicked over. The vicious little creatures rushing in circles to attack whatever had dared disturb them.
Chapter 2: The Young Man and the Sea
Splitting pain in his head. Mouth dry and lips cracking. Kyler sat up. He heard a screeching noise that made him lie right back down again. He smashed the back of his head into something hard. He closed his eyes tight to shield them from the fierce rays of the sun pouring down on him. Staying low he rolled over in the small, enclosed space he was in. The space was covered in rope. There was a good two inches of dirty salt water swishing around in the bottom of it. Kyler foggily realized he was on a boat. A small boat based on how it moved in the water every time he shifted his weight.
He reached up to rub his head. His palm powering through the crusty remains of the blood that’d seeped out of the big gash in his forehead. Touching it made him wince. The screeching noise in the background sounding like a tea kettle from hell. He tenderly poked at his head trying to figure out the extent of his injuries. Small flashes of memory coming back to him. The crazed run for the dock. The dock on fire. Mike fighting the Zombie’s off in what Kyler had thought was going to be a last stand before they were both ripped to shreds. Mike throwing him in the boat and kicking it into the bay before jumping in the water behind him.
Mike! In a panic Kyler tore himself out of the tiny hold in the middle of the tiny sailboat to try and find his friend. He was nowhere to be found. The sailboat he was in was stuck about twenty yards away from the end of a dock that was covered in Zombies. The Zombies were all staring and screeching but the water was too deep for them to get at him. Occasionally one would slip or jump into the water. They’d either disappear under the water or drift by with hands thrashing the water’s surface. Feeling around the edges of the boat Kyler located a piece of rope that must be snagged on something keeping him anchored to this spot.
Before cutting the rope, Kyler searched through his bag and pulled out a couple of bottled waters. He drank both of them. Once he’d hydrated Kyler began calling out for Mike. Hearing his voice caused more of the Zombies to leap into the water to try and get at him. A large bloated looking Zombie made it close enough to reach out and touch the side of the boat. Kyler kicked the things hand away and it floated a few more feet past the boat before slipping beneath the inky surface of the water. Not seeing any more point in sitting there yelling for Mike, Kyler started checking out the boat to make sure he had everything he’d need to sail her.
Satisfied he had everything he needed, he pulled out his knife and bent over the side of the boat to cut the rope that was keeping him anchored to this spot. A hand shot up from the water grabbing his wrist and yanking at him. Kyler tugged hard to free his arm. His arm came free and he fell backwards into the sunfish. He went back into the small hold in the middle of the little boat. His legs buckled underneath him, and he jammed the fingers on his hand into the deck. He pushed himself up to work his way back up to the stern of the boat. He needed to see if the Zombie who’d grabbed his arm was still there. He couldn’t see anything from the angle he was at.
Not wanting to stick his head over the side to check and see if a Zombie was tied up there waiting to eat him, he looked around to see what he may have that he could use. All he had was his phone. He was thinking he could stick it out really quick and take a picture or a video to try and see what was going on. He powered the phone on. He’d been very conservative with the battery since he never knew when he’d get a chance to charge it again. Once the phone was powered on, he opened up the camera app and swiped it over to video mode. Then he held it out over the side of the boat and made a quick video with the phone pointing down at the water.
A hand slammed repeatedly against the hull of the boat as Kyler huddled in the hold shaking. He was trying not to think of how close the Zombie was to him as he tried to get the video camera to turn off so he could watch the actual video he’d just recorded. After fat fingering his way through the process, he watched the video he’d made when he’d shoved the phone over the side. The first second of the video just caught the water by the stern of the sunfish. Once the camera reached the rope Kyler saw a Zombie was entangled in the rope and one of those floating crab pot buoys. That must be what was keeping the sunfish held in place.
Kyler focused on trying to figure out where he could safely reach to cut the rope off the top of the tiller and get the hell out of there. His goal was to do it without being groped by the Zombie. Not seeing a way to do that he looked to see if the Zombie would be able to easily bite him. A little groping wouldn’t kill him, but he couldn’t risk being bitten. Kyler played around with the phone. He zoomed the video in and out trying to figure out how the Zombie was secured to the rope to see how safe it was for him to stick his arm down there.
