Posted: 2/9/2009 1:40:27 PM EDT
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Darkest Part of Day, Part II
Chapter 1 Fresh Start Things had changed. I had changed. Before now, I only wanted to get home, and then had that dream smashed. The empty house, empty of family, of friendly faces, had changed my outlook. Where before I had pitied these deadly creatures, and killed them out of necessity, I now wanted to destroy them. My goal hadn’t changed, only the location, only the time needed to get there. My methods however, would be different. I was going home, my new home, where I knew my family would be, and no force of zombie bloodlust was going to stand in my way. I felt like a new man, clean clothes, some fresh under garments, even a shave, had enlivened me. I felt full of energy, even after spending hours digging up a cache of supplies from under a small shed in the back yard. Annie and the others hadn’t taken everything, whether they had forgotten or purposely left me something, hoping I was still coming, I didn’t know. Moving the shed had been harder than I expected, now overgrown with weeds and vines. I’d had to first empty the mowers, lawn tools, grills and other bits of accumulated suburban life. Even empty, the small metal shed was heavier than I remembered. I was a leaner person now, and I guessed that had something to do with my apparent lack of strength. The concrete slabs that made up the floor also seemed bigger and more cumbersome and had depressed themselves over time into the moist soil. At least I remembered where the barrel, a full sized, blue plastic model, was buried. Bernie and I had planned ahead enough to know the barrel would take too much effort to extract after the ground settled around it. Everything inside was packed and stored in cylindrical nylon sleeves, easily reached from above. After scraping the earth away, I was gratified by the tight seal of the lid, even after popping the retaining band. The oxygen absorbers had done their job. I rammed the point of the SRK through the thick, plastic lid, releasing the vacuum and pried the top off. No odd odors, no signs of rot or decay came forth. Reaching in, I grabbed at the first nylon handle and yanked out a sleeve. 15 others, of various sizes followed, making a stack of goods on the ground beside me. I carried them all into the kitchen and closed up the house. We, Annie, Bernie, Dad, and I had planned ahead for some unknown emergency, hoping we had everything we would need in the aftermath in one of these nylon bags. I had fresh pants and shirt, clean, dry, thick-soled socks to go with some boots and a fleece vest. A complete load-bearing vest would replace the worn, shabby chest harness I had worn nearly every one of the days of the last four months. The vest would be more comfortable and allow me to carry more supplies. A new hydration bladder, built into the vest would replace the venerable old Camelbak pack that had served me well, but was dilapidated, dirty and filled with nasty gunk. My body had adjusted to the steady input of filtered and not so filtered water from many questionable sources since this odyssey had begun. I wondered if the shock of clean, filtered and treated water would upset the balance. Also, I was able to re-supply my ammunition stocks and got a chance to thoroughly clean all my weapons and equipment. Fresh batteries went into all my lights. My trusty carbine was battered; the paint chipped and rubbed off all the high points, but was still totally reliable and functional. It looked like a piece of crap but I knew it really hadn’t but barely been broken in. Mechanically, it was nearly new, and I didn’t need to make any changes except the sling, which had been reduced to a frayed and stringy wad of nylon fibers. My body, especially my feet, had taken the worst punishment. My day of rest and refit, I had gone wearing only a pair of slippers or nothing, allowing them to air out. Several good rubbings with Corn Huskers lotion brought back some color and smoothed out the cracks and rough spots. I had decided to change to some newer boots, even though the old ones were perfectly molded to my feet, they were showing signs they would disintegrate soon. I’d have to chance some blisters, hot spots and pinches even though the replacements were other veteran boots I had broken in earlier. Real, cushion soled socks would help see me through that. I used the afternoon to load, unpack and then reload the new equipment until it fit and felt right and I could reach everything with ease. After checking for any unwanted company, I popped the hood on the truck. I didn’t have a new filter to fit the engine, settling on draining the dirty oil and replacing it with some fresh stuff. I topped off the radiator and tossed a spare gallon of antifreeze/coolant and some more water into the back. There was a little more than half and tank of gas in the truck and I added about 3 gallons from a can I found in the shed and almost another gallon drained from the lawn tractor. Everything was as ready as I could make it, and I had only to wait for morning to leave. I spent and uneventful evening, for a change, and got a few hours of sleep, in my own bed. The sounds of gunfire in the distance woke me at 5:27 am. I went to the window and looked around but couldn’t see anything happening. There were a few walking dead wandering down the street, however, they appeared disinterested in the noise. There was a frost on the lawns and I assumed the cooler temperatures were affecting them. After dressing, I went down to the kitchen where all my supplies were stacked. I used a small camp stove to heat some water for coffee and instant oatmeal. A can of pears also got tossed down my throat as part of breakfast. It was time to go and so I slipped on the vest and picked up my other kit. Glancing over my shoulder, I took one last look around the deserted remains of my home, and then walked out. I was in a good mood despite the situation. Still alive after four and half months of rambling across America, through zombie infested and infected towns and cities and wastelands, I counted myself lucky. But it was different today, I wasn’t just looking to lay low and sneak my way home. The Zs had shown no concern and given no quarter to me thus far, and I planned to return the favor in kind. There were no grand schemes to draw them into slaughter, but I wasn’t going to be so quick to turn away anymore. Along with my carbine, I was now also armed with an AKM. It was a home-built version I had salted away in the buried cache, and I had plenty of ammo. Any Zs that cast their pale, gray eyes at me would be considered a threat, and one I would eliminate. Any chance for a return to normalcy in this country was going to call for the destruction of these creatures. I hoped there were many others out there that understood the situation and resolved to deal with it too. The entire country, probably the entire world’s infrastructure was out of whack and getting it back on track would start in the small villages. This wasn’t for sport, but for survival, pure and simple. I backed out of the driveway and stopped, turned and looked back at the house one last time, then put the truck in gear. |
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Quoted:
pretty good do you have a link to part 1? oldschool63, i have it and many other stores and other zombie goodness, linked here at the, Archive of the Undead. enjoy! fast45, thanks for chapter 1 of the send book/part of the story, haven't read it yet, but am looking forwar to another great installment. K. |
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i just finished reading the complete series and it is awesome!!!!!!
im definitely looking forward to more. as far a agency suggestions, maybe Writers House might be a place to look at for getting the process started. I believe they got Stephenie Meyer started with the Twilight books, and look at how big of a success that has become. |
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fast45,
I hope you don't mind, but i've copied and pasted the entire story into word so its easier for me to read the next time through. Its about 150 pages long in word. I didn't realize how long it was because it is such a fluid read. Great job, now hurry up and post the rest. 
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| Hey guys, I really appreciate the comments and the fact you are enjoying the books. I posted here originally and then figured out it was in the wrong place. Go under Survival Guides and fiction and look for updates there. Chapter 2 is up. Sorry about the confusion. Fast |