Day 47

McKay has a machete. He had picked it up some days ago from a zombie he had decapitated with his chain saw. He holds the sheathed blade in his left hand, a pistol in his right, while I pack my back with the remaining ammunition for the M21 and then check to make sure my own machete is secure. Josh is standing near us, holding his katana, ready to clear out any lingering zombies after they move to find us in the field once hearing the shots. Dawn holds Seeley, while Charlotte is holding Connor, who is still groggy and barely awake.

"Be careful," I say, and give my boys and wife each a kiss. "We'll see you at the school soon." I give Dawn one more hug and leave through the back door. On the small porch I draw my machete and head towards one of the two zombies that are loitering in the back yard. It is slow to move, having not seen me and I drop the blade on top of its head, cleaving the skull. I look over and McKay stabs the thing through the eye. I clean my blade on the grass and sheath it again, moving towards a tall sprinkler nozzle sticking up by the fence, to help me over the chain-links. McKay, at fifteen, is a little more graceful at this than I.

We run to the middle of the field and, after nodding towards McKay, he fires a single round into the air. I can only barely see any zombies that are in the front of the house, but they are moving.

They come from several different directions. Most move into the rear of the house, knocking over the makeshift gates on the sides of the house. They crowd the fence and some start to climb over. Others go into neighboring lawns, going through gates or crowding and slowly climbing over. Some have gone around the houses and walk towards us through the parking lot near the park. I look behind us but see no other zombies coming other than those that were around the house. Some of those that climbed over first near us and I aim the M21 and fire several rounds, dropping each as they near us. McKay had his machete out in his left hand and pistol aimed in his right.

We start to move to our right, to the west, to help us near where we'll be escaping to. I fire again at another zombie several yards away. More and more and coming over the fence. Once everybody is in the Hummer they will honk three times to let us know to run, but still, there is no honk and still more come piling over the fence. We are moving towards the far side of the field quicker now. I deplete my clip and take it out, swinging my bag around I grab a new one, placing the empty back in the bag. McKay is firing his pistol and I grab him another clip before closing the bag. I replace the magazine and fire again. They get closer and we are soon running to the far west fence. I turn and fire again at the zombies, now only twenty or thirty feet away.

I am about to fire again but hear the three honks. I fire several more times, swing my rifle around and take off at a sprint with McKay next to me. We get some distance between us when we reach the fence and I leap towards it, grabbing the top with my hands. My right hand buckles from the pressure and pain and I fall to the ground. McKay is swinging over.

"Common!" he yells. They are fifty feet away and running. I start to climb, ignoring the pain and breathing hard. McKay is firing his gun at them and soon I am over, swinging my body awkwardly over and tumbling to the ground. They hit the fence seconds after. We are running away and after only a few seconds more many have climbed over and are chasing us. I pull out my machete as we run. Ready to hack down any zombies that get near us. McKay does the same. He also holds his pistol.

He fires several shots behind us as we run and one connects with the head of a zombie. It tumbles over, tripping others but still they follow.

The sun is peaking over the mountains behind us as we run. I am starting to feel winded but continue on. Mckay is pulling further ahead. I resign myself to a steady quick-paced jog and am able to keep running and soon we see the Hummer parked by the school.

I see it before McKay. Out of a small side street a zombie comes dashing out towards McKay. I sprint forward to stop it but it tackles him, mouth open. I reach down and put my left hand over its mouth and pull up, lifting it off of McKay. It closes its mouth and catches my ring finger, biting down on it and breaking it. I can feel it as the zombie bites the rest of the way through. I scream and push the thing hard and to the ground while at the same time swinging my machete downward at its head. It connects.

I am bleeding bad, but we need to hurry. I press the finger into my side to help add pressure and stop the bleeding and run. The Hummer is driving towards us and I assume they saw the attack. It pulls to a stop and we quickly get in. McKay in the front, and me in the back, next to Charlotte who is ready with some bandages for whatever injuries we could have gotten. I take a piece of cloth she is holding and press it against my hand while she starts dressing it, being very careful not to get herself dirty. Josh is driving and speeds towards the Provo canyon highway. I lean back after Charlotte is done, thank her and stare out the window.

"I told you I could make it," I say to Dawn, turning my head to look at her in the passenger seat, smiling.

"You got lucky," she said, smiling, but probably a little annoyed. Josh drives down the long road leading through Provo Canyon and I close my eyes, catching my breath and trying my best to ignore the throbbing pain in my hand.