Awesome Shadrach, thanks for the update.  I love this story.

that sucks about the kids...good tory though, I could really use a copy in print whenever it gets published.

tag

when's the next update?

OK...  NEED MORE!!!   I have printed this out and gave it to a bunch of guys I work with.  We all love it.  They are bugging the hell out of me for an update.  

Jeremy

bump for update...

K.

More??

Best zombie story I've read.
I like the "diary" concept.
Keep it up.

I will bump, it's been a month?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! are you busy with other projects now?

I have written the ending twice and I am still not satisfied with it. It needs tweeking....

well as long as the wait is to make it better

stil the greatest story I have read on here.

My only complaint is the first page gave me nightmares!    LOL

Man this is great. Can't wait till the rest is done

more please!.. K.

Great story!

My only concern is that he doesnt have the proper tax stamps for his suppressor and M4's


......that's how it should end - 10years in jail and 100K fines

Holy crap this story is awesome!!  You should get a book or movie deal or sumthin!!  

Damnit, now I am in the same boat as everyone else; I have read it all and am dying for the update, pppplllleeeeaaaasssseeee....

Shadrach, I'm really liking this story.  More please, as soon as you can!

I like your writing style.  I'd say you have "the knack". I just discovered this thread a couple of days ago, and I'm hooked, sir!

I appreciate the feedback. I am still working on the story and will post more soon. My intitial story line had the book ending rather soon. After writing it out it seems very anti-climatic so I am revising and fleshing the story out a little more but, changing directions takes time. Thanks for the patience.

I for one am willing to wait.  This is a great story.  I am going to go back and reread the beginning.  I read World War Z while waiting for the rest of Nightmare, and I must say as good a WWZ was I think I like Nightmare a bit better.

Jeremy

same here! couldn't have said it better myself!!

02/24/09

Looks like Mike’s doing better. Alexis is still very emotional but, she is stronger than I would have ever thought. I’m hoping we will be able to get moving tomorrow. Less than a day and we should be in Morrilton. The weather looks like it’s going to be getting colder in the next day or two. The forecast is calling for very little snow but, a lot of wind and temps down in the single digits. Wind chill is projected to be -25. We’re going to have to find a better place before that front moves through. I’ve lived in Arkansas for over fifteen years and I never would have thought the weather could be this cold and nasty. Before all this started it might snow once or twice a year maybe. Even then it would all be melted in a few days. Well that’s changed now just like everything else.

02/25/09

We’ve made it into Morrilton. It took most of the day to get into town and get everything setup. The temp is still hovering in the forties so I’ve had to worry about the undead as well as any “monsters” that are still alive. I didn’t realize how much I’ve grown to rely on Mike’s help. Usually when we come across a stalled car or truck we can’t drive around I get out and push the vehicle out of the road far enough to get by. If I can’t push it by hand, I hook the winch onto it and Mike holds the brake while I run the winch. When the kids got around this morning and we discussed whether or not we should try to move on. Mike was willing to try and help driving or whatever but, Alexis wanted him to stay in bed for at least another day. I finally ended up promising her that all Mike would have to do is lay in the back seat and take it easy. Once she had that commitment she agreed to get back on the road.

Just before we got to the Morrilton city limits the road was blocked from ditch to ditch by a blue Nissan pickup that had ran into a Ford pickup towing a horse trailer. I looked it over and decided to pull the Nissan away from the Ford then try to push Nissan off the road into the ditch so we would have room to squeeze by. Once I got the winch hooked to the Nissan and tried to pull it, the rear tires on our truck started skidding. The parking brake only sets the rear wheels; it doesn’t do anything for the front tires. After a couple tries I finally had to have Alexis climb into the front seat and hold the foot brake.

Once in town I drove around until I found a likely looking place to setup for a while. The fenced in office and shop of a trucking company named G’ Baileys Over-tha-Road caught my eye. It had a nice fence as well as a shop large enough to park the truck and camper in and get it out of the weather. There were also several of their over the road trucks parked in the yard to scavenge fuel out of. Their forklift also ran on propane and they had a supply on hand of at least a dozen bottles. When we pulled up outside the fence I got out and started to take care of the hundred and fifty or so undead that had been following us. After I had taken care of them I managed to get the gate open and Alexis drove the truck and camper into the fenced area.

I left the kids in the truck to rest while I searched all the buildings and vehicles inside the fenced area. There were a few undead wandering around inside the fence. Moving the truck inside the fence was all it took to draw their attention and bring them to us, so I didn’t have to look very hard to find the ones out in the open. Inside the main office I found three undead. There were two drivers and one mechanic judging by the uniforms. Not surprising I guess, they all got caught here when things went down. I knew Alexis wouldn’t like staying in the same building where undead had been trapped but, considering the situation I figured she would understand. Luckily none of the ones inside the building had eaten enough to burst themselves and spread rotting flesh and contaminated fluids around.

From what I have observed the undead don’t stop when they get full. They just keep on eating and eating until they burst. Most of the stench associated with the undead is the rotting flesh that they have consumed. That’s the only reason Alexis and Mike can still stand to be in the same room with me. I haven’t consumed anything since I woke up in my bed so many mornings ago. I’ve asked Mike more than once if I smell as bad as the other undead we are surrounded by and every time he has assured me that I don’t smell bad at all. He describes my smell as being like a cross between freshly dug earth and cinnamon. When he wasn’t around one day I asked Alexis and she said I smelled like cinnamon and mushrooms. Since they both gave similar but, different answers I believe them.

I got the truck and camper backed into the garage bay closest to the offices. Chose that one because it has a six inch drain in the floor labeled as “City Sewer no oil”. That will make getting rid of the waste water a lot easier especially if we’re going to be here very long. Once I got it parked the kids got their guns and started walking around exploring the place while I set the jacks and leveled the trailer. I left the roll up door open while I was working to let everything air out a little bit. By the time I was done with the trailer and had started on setting up the generator in the restroom at the far end of the shop the kids were back from looking everything over. I finished setting the generator up while they got settled in and fixed dinner.

The wind started to really pick up just before sunset. It’s still blowing hard and the temp is starting to drop. No snow yet but, I figure it will start before morning judging by the smell of the air and how dark the clouds are.

02/26/09

Well it snowed last night. We’ve got about four inches on the ground this morning. The wind is still blowing hard. I’d guess it’s gusting twenty to thirty miles an hour out of the North West, really whipping the snow around. I still can’t believe the weather we’ve been having. I’ve lived almost my entire adult life in Arkansas and I have never known it to snow more than a few times a year, if at all.

We’re just going to take it easy for a few days and let the kids finish getting back on their feet. The forecast on the radio is for more snow in the next few days so we might as well enjoy the down time. Alexis picked me up a whole stack of books to read before we left Conway. That will give me something to do while they play video games. I fired up the generator this morning. The temp has been below freezing for a while now so all the undead outside the fence should be frozen by now so we don’t have to worry about the noise.

They’ve been saying some interesting things on the military radio. Sounds like the taking back of the East and West coast of the US and Canada is almost complete. There are large sections inner US along with Mexico still infested. They’re firebombing larger cities with the exception of industrial areas. Those they are clearing by hand in order to save the infrastructure. The plains states, south and south west are still considered infested territory.

I’ve spent most of the day reading. The kids have started settling into a routine and they seem to be healing up rather well. Their lips have healed well enough that it doesn’t hurt them to eat. The first couple days it made me hurt just to watch them try to sip a little soup. Some of the lighter bruises are starting to fade. It’ll be a while until they are all gone though. It’s enough to make my blood boil every time I look at them even though I know the guys who did this paid dearly. The heater just started sputtering so I am going to have to change the propane bottle in a few minutes. Lifting the bottles is still just too much for Mike and Alexis struggles with them on a good day. What the hell it gives me something to do.

02/27/09

It’s clear and cold this morning. Heard some aircraft fly over just after sunrise. They were out of sight by the time I made it outside but, they sounded like multi engine jets. As low and slow as they were they reminded me of the A-10’s we saw a few weeks ago before the bomb drop. I wish them happy hunting.

Mike is getting around pretty good today. I hope he doesn’t over do and end up hurting later. The kids are trying to talk me into loading up in the truck and driving around later. The snow isn’t deep enough to stop us but, I really don’t want Mike to bite off more than he can chew. It might just be the thing to take the edge off the slight stircrazyness we are all starting to feel.

02/27/09 late

We drove around until after dark today. The kids rode in the back seat while I drove and made “Driving Miss Daisy” jokes. No doubt we were a strange sight, a dead guy driving while two kids sit in back using silenced automatic weapons to shoot frozen undead. Somehow, I never pictured myself doing this when I graduated from high school. We drove for several hours occasionally stopping to let the kids search one or more stores for things they needed or wanted. Found a charcoal grill and a dozen bags of charcoal. That was of course after Mike shot a yearling bull out of a small herd cattle walking down 3rd street. Mike butchered the large calf right there in the snow. He selected the choicest cuts of meat like the tenderloins and decided to leave the rest for the stray dogs. Alexis decided to wait in the truck while Mike worked and I kept watch. She was excited about the prospect of fresh meat but, didn’t really want to see it butchered.  I would estimate we brought back at least one hundred and fifty pounds of meat.

The kids grilled tenderloin fillets and shared a large bottle of wine for dinner. They went to bed looking happier and more carefree than I’ve seen them since the attack. The noises from the other end of the trailer were almost enough to make me take my chances freezing outside. Luckily, it didn’t last too long before they passed out. I’m going to miss them so much.

02/28/09

The sky looks like lead and its spitting snow again. The weather woman is calling for scattered snow showers today with up to three inches of accumulation. Yaa! More snow… It’s miserable weather all things considered. I have never lived anywhere it snowed this much so all the wintery weather is kind of getting me down. Just not used to it. Not to mention the fact that I litterly start to freeze up if I go outside for very long even with a coat on.

At least the kids seem fairly happy. They’ve rolled one of the garage doors up and got the grill going again to cook a little lunch. I can see them outside the door throwing snow balls and making snow angels while waiting for the charcoal to get ready to cook on. It doesn’t seem fair that everyone I get attached to has to leave me. I don’t like being alone, never have. That’s part of the reason I married Carolyn. We dated for almost two years. I never liked going home to an empty house so she stayed over more and more until finally she just quit going back to her place at all. I felt more than a little guilty living with her but, not being married to her.  That’s when I decided to propose and she accepted. It really makes me wonder why God chose me to be in the situation I’m in.
 
02/28/09 late evening

Since it has been snowing lightly all day we didn’t drive around any today. We just kind of stayed in and took it easy. I finished the Tom Clancy book I was reading and started on one written by Jim Baen. I really like it so far. It’s a bunch of sci-fi short stories. I’m not usually much for science fiction but, that could be changing.

I tried to eat a piece of the filet that Mike grilled today. It looked so good and the smell was wonderful, just as I remembered. They were so tender Mike couldn’t turn them over with a fork he had to use a spatula. I thought why not? I feel and I cry, why not try to eat just a bite or two? It was bitter and dry, tasted just like ash in my mouth! I couldn’t even keep it on my tongue. Just something else I’ve lost.

03/01/09

It stopped snowing last night sometime. There’s about six or seven inches of snow on the ground now and the temperature is hovering right around twenty five degrees. We’re going to go out and drive around some more. The kids are ready so, gotta go.

03/02/09

Had a little trouble yesterday. We left here yesterday morning early and followed Sixth street down to the intersection and made a left onto Wilson. We’d only driven a few blocks when a bullet hit the windshield. I stomped the gas pedal more out of fear than any conscious thought. In retrospect that was probably the only thing that kept us alive. As the truck’s tires started spinning and we finally began accelerating I could hear more bullets hitting the truck. It sounded a lot like large hail hitting a tin roof. Then it was over just as quickly as it had started.

I didn’t slow down for over a mile and even then I was watching my rear view mirror as much as I was looking at the road in front of me. I cut through the PDQ parking lot to get around a jackknifed eighteen wheeler that was taking up the road from side walk to side walk. Once we got back into the road I stopped in front of IHOP and made sure the kids were O.K. It was truly by the grace of God that we made it through without someone being hit. One of the fifty five gallon fuel drums in the back of the truck was hit over twenty times. The other drum had over a dozen holes in it. Almost a hundred gallons of fuel was pouring out of the bed of the truck. The back glass was completely shattered and more than a few rounds had hit the windshield and side windows. One had even come in from the back and passed through my headrest right beside my ear before exiting through the windshield. Talk about close! Just as we were getting over the initial shock I heard the sound of another vehicle in the distance heading our way. My first instinct was to get back in the truck and run like hell. My second thought in as many seconds was how completely PISSED OFF I was. I wanted some payback. When I looked over at the kids they already had their rifles and a bag of magazines each. I left behind my baseball bat and picked up my M4 and ammo. The kids went to find some cover. One to each side of the road while I took cover in front of our truck. I hollered at the kids to let them get close and not to start shooting until I did. Just then a jacked up Chevy 4X4 came into view coming around the jackknifed eighteen wheeler.

The Chevy slid to a stop not more than fifty yards from the back of our truck. They simply didn’t see us before they came around the eighteen wheeler in the road. Before they had even stopped moving I stood up and fired a long burst through the windshield at the driver. I was vaguely aware of the kids firing as the trucks doors opened and several people started tumbling out. Two of them immediately focused on Alexis and started bringing up their rifles. I remember stepping out from behind our truck to get their attention and firing at the closest one. I hit him with a round or two when I felt my rifle’s bolt lock back, the gun empty. I ejected the empty mag and got a fresh one in as the other gunman turned toward me and started shooting. I felt several tugs at my legs as I looked through my Aimpoint and placed the dot on his chest and squeezed the trigger. Then he was down and everything was quiet except for the moan of the wind and whimpers of someone on the other side of the Chevy truck.

I kept my rifle up and started toward the truck firing shots into the bodies I could see to make sure they didn’t decide to get back up, then circled the front of the Chevy and found the one I heard whimpering. It was a very attractive dark haired woman, maybe thirty years old. She was hit several times in the abdomen and trying to stop her life blood from running out into the snow, failing miserably. I watched her for a few seconds before kicking her rifle out of her reach and asking her if there were any more of them. She looked up at me and started fumbling in her coat pocket finally pulling out a small semi-auto handgun. When she raised the gun I shot her in the head. I then checked the rest of the bodies before finally making sure the kids were O.K. Nobody shoots at my family!

Mike was fine however, Alexis was hit in the upper arm and bleeding badly. Mike got her out of her coat and put pressure and Quik-Clot on the wound to slow the bleeding while I kept watch for any more trouble. The bullet had gone through her forearm and missed the bone but, judging from the pulsing blood it had at least clipped an artery. Once Mike got the bleeding under control we got her into the truck. That’s when Mike turned his attention to me wanting to know if I was hit. I told him not to worry about it but, he pointed out several holes in my pants. I checked myself over and found a few small through holes in my thighs but, no real damage except for the small holes in legs and my pants. No wonder shooting the undead with the belt fed MG so long ago had done so little to slow them down. The bullets just seemed to have passed right through without much damage.

I went back to their pickup and started looking for any clue as to who these people were. In searching their pockets I found out the woman was a N.S.A. agent and the men with her were F.B.I. agents. That rattled me more than a little bit. Why would government agents shoot at us? Then it dawned on me that they might have been following us all the way from Conway in an effort to get the information we had found there. That’s when I decided we could not go back and get the camper or anything else. If they wanted that information bad enough to send five Federal Agents after us with orders to shoot first there is no telling what else they might be willing to do. While I was looking I found several cases of MRE’s and a large First Aid kit in their truck along with what looked to be close to a hundred pre-loaded M16/AR-15 magazines. I also found two cases of 9mm Luger 147gr Gold Dot and almost two dozen 30rd Colt sub-machine gun magazines. That got me looking as I hadn’t heard or seen a sub-machine gun during all the shooting. It was the rifle I had kicked it away from the woman who had drawn the pistol on me. It was short. The barrel looked to be only about ten inches long. A silencer was threaded onto the end of the barrel, explaining why I never heard it in the gunfight. I dusted the snow off it and then loaded it and the other stuff into our truck.

I explained the situation and my suspicions to Mike and Alexis. They agreed I could be right and also thought it would be best to put as much distance between us and the bodies as possible, as soon as possible. When I suggested not even returning to the camper Mike agreed however, Alexis got upset.  It wasn’t that she thought it was a good idea to go back; she just didn’t want to simply leave behind the home she had grown to love. The look on her ashen face was enough to make me decide to go back for the camper.

I drove slowly back to the trucking company yard. The back window along with most of the side windows being gone made the trip miserable for the kids even with the heater turned all the way up. Not to mention the overwhelming smell of diesel fuel coming from the shot up barrels in the back of the truck. The fumes seemed to be sucked right into the broken back window making the air thick. I told the kids to keep an eye open for another truck.

Once we got close to the truck yard I stopped the truck and got out to give the situation a look on foot prior to driving in. It had been made painfully clear you are better off out of you vehicle if someone wants to shoot at you. The tracks of two separate vehicles came in from the west following our faint tracks in the snow from yesterdays driving around. They ended a few hundred yards away at a black Chevy Sub-Urban 4X4. Another set of tracks led away toward the tracks we had made this morning were we had been fired on. There were five separate and distinct sets of individual tracks scattered out in the area. It looked like they had rolled up and got out of two separate vehicles leaving one person behind to guard the vehicles. The other four spread out and started working their way toward the truck shop. The four tracks then stopped. I found several dozen cartridge casing melted into the snow where they had shot at us while we were leaving, before they had turned and ran back to where their vehicles were parked to follow us. I looked around a lot more and could only find those five tracks in the snow so I walked back to our truck half frozen and more than a little stiff.

When I got back to our truck Mike had taken some plastic sheeting and duct tape and covered the back and side windows that had been shot out. Alexis was waiting inside the truck trying to keep warm. Poor girl was so grey and frail looking it made my heart ache. Mike was needless to say very upset but, trying to put a good face on for Alexis. I tried to reassure him everything was really going to be O.K. but, all I could get out of him was a grim nod.

I told them about what I had found and we discussed just driving away. Before we had finished the discussion a light snow had started falling and made our decision for us. The kids needed shelter and warmth especially Alexis. We spent the next hour or so loading everything and hooking up to the trailer. I managed to salvage maybe fifteen or twenty gallons of diesel out of the barrels in the back of the truck. There was enough left to top off our fuel tank and that’s about it. I searched the Suburban and found some more MRE’s and ammunition as well as a built in GPS. The GPS made me afraid the vehicle could be tracked via satellite so we decided not to take it. Instead we decided to leave all the information we had gotten from Conway 911 dispatch and the accident scene in the Suburban along with a note taped to the inside of the windshield drawing attention to it and trying to explain what happened. I don’t figure it will really make any difference but, the kids insisted on attempting to explain. I wrote the note leaving the kids out of it and taking blame myself describing the situation as a bad case of simply mistaking them as undead. It’s not like a explanation is going to make any difference anyway.

We got on the road just after noon. It’s been snowing since about eleven so hopefully our tracks won’t be too easy to follow. Instead of heading toward Russellville we are headed north of I-40. I want to make sure we don’t lead trouble to the nuclear plant and everyone there. Hopefully the snow will melt again in a few days and we will be able to move around without being tracked. I’m just hoping it takes several days for them to realize their agents are dead and don’t immediately call in the Army or worse yet, air support.

03/06/09

We’ve taken up residence at a two story house farm house almost forty miles north of I-40. The truck and camper are hidden in the barn out back. We haven’t seen any sign of patrols or aircraft. The weather has started to warm up. The off and on snow has changed over to a cold rain and occasionally some sleet. There’s a wood stove so the kids have managed to stay comfortable. I drove some cattle close to the house yesterday so they would have fresh meat. I’ve been patrolling out a few miles from the house. There are a few undead but, so far not enough to cause any kind of problem. They seem to be just stragglers. So far no large groups. Alexis is doing well. The arm is healing cleanly without infection. We’re going to stay here for a while. At least a few more days or until Alexis feels like traveling. Got to go, I’ve been trying to keep watch around the clock and that doesn’t leave much time for writing.

03/11/09

Got an unusual situation here, last night at dusk I came in from patrolling and barred the rear door of the house. After checking on the kids I started going from window to window trying to keep an eye out. Several times I thought I heard either animals or undead moving around outside. I couldn’t see anything it was just too dark, no moon and overcast so not even starlight to see by. When the sun started to lighten the sky to the east I was very intent to see just what I had been hearing all night. Without thinking it through, I went to one of the East windows and kept watch as the sun came up. I was able to make out the ground underneath the window moving. Within minutes I could make out thousands upon thousands of undead. They were everywhere. Thick as any crowd you have ever seen and from tree line to tree line as far as I could see in every direction. I can’t believe I didn’t see this many undead coming long before they got here.  

Once I realized what I was looking at I got out of the window and told the kids to stay quiet and out of sight. It’s been almost eight hours since daybreak and they are still out there, just kind of milling around. I know if we draw their attention they would litterly bury this house under a small mountain of bodies. I wonder if I led them back here. Maybe, I wasn’t careful enough when I came back last night. I remember seeing a few undead in the distance. It could be they were a vanguard of the larger group.

If it was just me I would open the door and give them hell. The situation is much more complicated with the kids being here. If I open that door during broad day light they are going to be attracted to this house in a very bad way. If it’s as dark tonight as it was last night I may try slipping out, taking advantage of the darkness to cover my leaving the house. Till then we are just going to sit tight and wait. I hope and pray no military aircraft fly over and decide to drop whatever they are carrying on the horde surrounding us. No doubt we would end up as collateral damage.

03/15/09

It’s been tough but, I think I have them all taken care of. I snuck out of the house just after dark four days ago. Once Alexis and Mike got the door secured I moved due East away from the house into the largest field bordering the yard. In Conway we found among other things several dozen parachute flares and a launcher. When I left the house I took those with me along with my old baseball bat and a good flashlight. When I got a hundred yards or so away from the house I fired a flare and started working the crowd. I started out counting the undead as I put them down. Lost count on the second day at just over three thousand. Final count has to be well over fifty five hundred undead. The ground is thick with them. It’s almost impossible to walk within sight of the house without stepping on a body.

It will take me one or two more days to finish clearing the area here around the house. There are still individuals as well as groups wandering around in adjacent fields and woods. Luckily there have been no military aircraft or patrols so I haven’t had to worry about that. We’re going to have to move on soon. The sight and smell of the undead littering the ground all around them is starting to really get under their skin and unnerve the kids. They’ve been snapping at each other and me since I got back. Several times I have had to remind them that we are all friends. As soon as the area here is cleared we are going to get loaded up and move out. Were going to leave early so we should be able to find another place to stay before sun down.

We are also going to have to find another truck. The bullet holes in the body don’t really both me but, the missing glass and shot up windshield do. Hopefully if we can find another acceptable truck swapping the batteries should be good enough to get the new one going.

YES! Finally! Thanks again. You're doing some great stuff here.

'bout time!  Thanks!!

Thanks for another great chapter.

Woot Woot!!  Thanks for the fix!  

Edit:  I own page 10 of an epic thread

Excellant work!!!

great chapter, more please! K.

THANKS for the NEW chapter, I needed it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Now I have to wait!! I hate getting caught up!!

Sweet chapter. Thanks and keep going!!

Great read!
I like the story and how it has progressed.

Good work keep it goin!

More!!

bump to remind...haha

I think the zombies got him.



Ron

Awesome, but I would love to read more.

so where is this ending?

ho hum...  

was just thinking about this story, and came looking for it, to my surprise it was at the top of the page... alas, no update...

K.

ok I am annoyed, it is such a good story why are we all hanging here?

I just found this story.  I swore I was not going to waste my time with "Zombie" stories.  

I was wrong!

Very well written and very entertaining.  Thank you author and keep up the good work!

....Mounger

where is this guy at? soon enough there will be enough readers for an obama rally

great story hope there is more!

THIS

Tag for more

so..,....anyone else lookiing for the OP? I have an APB out on him now.

maybe he's turned?..

K.

OK, it is now time....!

is shadrach gone?

There will be a new update soon. I've started a new job and it's taking all of my free time right now. Sorry for the delay...