Day 57

I woke to gun shots. Soon after there is a knock on my door and Dan comes in.

"Did you hear those?" he whispers.

"Yeah."

"They came from somewhere out side. I think someone is out there."

Dawn is stirring, barely awake and I quickly tell her that I need to go. She turns over to hear my explanation but I can tell she is not really hearing it. I kiss her and go. It's probably better that she doesn't know.

I grab my machete that had been under the bed and we walk out of the room. No one else is awake. It is close to Ann's shift and so we wake her. We explain what we heard and that we're going to look into it.

Down stairs we have our weapons laying out. I grab my M21 and Dan grabs a pistol after tucking his machete in his belt, unable to hold a rifle with on hand. I had Ann a pistol and ask her to stay down here to keep an eye out. She looks at the pistol as she agrees. I throw my back pack with the ammunition on, cock the rifle and stick the machete in its place.

There are more gun shots. Probably about a block or so away. I open the door and walk out into the cool air. I look around but see nothing. The waxing moon give enough light to see around us but I am not able to see anybody or anything down the street. The door opens behind us and Dean comes out.

"I heard the shots and Ann said you were out here." He is holding Josh's M4 and has a pistol tucked in his pants. "Thought I could help."

"Sounds good," Dan says.

There are gunshots again, coming from our right and we turn, running down the street. I hold the rifle in front of me as I run. The clinking of the clips sounds abnormally loud and so I do my best to run with little bounce. We come to an intersection as more shots are fired. This time, we see a flash from down the street, just around a corner on the right. We run towards it and as we do two zombies jump out at us, one in front and the other behind.

Forgetting caution I fire one round into the zombies head, killing it instantly. It crumples to the ground without a twitch. I hear several shots from behind me to see the one behind get shot three times. More start to filter out of seemingly no where. They sprint towards us at alarming rates and many I only just kill before they reach is. I look towards Dean and he is without a mask.

"Dean!" I yell, and he looks at me. "I'll cover you. Tie your shirt around your mouth and nose."

"Oh shit!" he says, scrambling to put his gun down and take off his t-shirt. "Damn it, damn it," he repeats as he starts to tie it around his mouth. I fire at several zombies nearing him and spin around to kill more. Dean picks his rifle up and we continue towards the sound of the near shots. There are no zombies near us as we get to the intersection where we had seen the flashes from the gun. Down a ways. Limping, trying to run, is a man firing a rifle down the road. Aiming at zombies, hitting them occasionally. He seems to be an older man, maybe in his forties or fifties. I run behind the homes that share backyard to avoid his stray bullets and soon come out behind him. I raise my rifle as Dean steps up beside me. We start to fire rounds into the oncoming zombies.

The man, startled by our gun fire stumbles and falls to the ground. I look over at him and see his pant leg. There is blood soaked into the cloth. It shines in the moonlight. I can see the zombies starting to surround us as we fire rounds through their skulls. They are unrelenting. I swing my gun around and pull out my machete. Dean is scrambling through my bag for more ammo as he lifts his pistol and fire several rounds. There is a break in the zombies and Dan runs over to him and helps him up. We walk over to a nearby house and Dean kicks the door open. I turn as I walk in and swing my machete down at a zombie, still at a dead sprint. I strike its head, but its momentum knocks me over. I scramble up as Dean fires at two others nearby. I stand, rush into the house and close the door, dead bolting it quickly.

The man grunts as Dan lays him down on an old seventies looking couch with pink flowers on it.

"They got my leg," he says, trying to reach for it. "Those bastards got my leg. . . I, I tried to get away, but . . ." he grunts again, grasping for it. Dean backs up from the man.

"Dean," Dan says, "go look for some type of pain killer. Maybe they have something that can help him.

"Am I," he starts but winces. "Am I going to turn into one of them?"

I don't know what to say. I look at him, and I know that I betray what I know will happen.

"Damn it," he says. "Shit! I can't be one of them. Please!" He tries to sit up, but thinks better of it. "Please, you need to make sure I don't turn."

"I--I can't. I, can't do that." I look at Dan for support, but he is unable to look at me or the man. I know that he doesn't want that option to be presented to him. I turn back to the pleading man. "I'm sorry. I . . ." There are no words that I can say. I keep silent and look at him. He is crying now. Begging for me to not let him turn into a zombie. I get closer to him and grab his hand. It is rough. Hands of someone use to physical labor.

"What is your name?" I ask him.

"Heath," he says. "It's Heath."

"Heath. What did you do in life? Before all of this."

"I--" in inhales sharply, "I was a carpenter."

"You married?"

"Yes. When I was twenty four. Her name was--it was Jezabell." Tears are rolling down his cheeks, and I find that I too am crying. Dean and Dan stand behind me, watching, unmoving.

"Sounds like a beautiful name," I say.

"She was beautiful. I loved her with all of my heart."

"Heath," I say, and pull a pistol from my bag that is on the floor, silently. "Remember your wedding day. Can you see it?"

He looks at me and chuckles slightly, "we eloped in Las Vegas." I laugh with him. "It was such a beautiful day in August." I put the gun up to his head, out of his sight. "She looked like a dream. I can still remember her kiss. She was everything and I loved her."

I pull the trigger and pull away from him quickly. Blood litters the couch to his side and I collapse on his chest, sobbing, crying out. I throw the gun towards the door. The door that until I hadn't noticed Dean is leaning against as zombies push and bang against the dead lock and hinges.

* * *

We go out the back ten minutes later and run silently back to my uncles house. I have my machete out and only need to use it once. Back at my uncles I sit down at the table with a piece of paper and pen and write down what Heath had told me. I then write about the others that have died. Only a little bit. I fold the paper and place it in the small, unused pocket in my bag.

I go up and hug Dawn, telling her that I love her and thanking her for being my wife. I hug my kids, kissing them on their heads. Connor tells me he loves me and says he missed me while I was gone. I tell him I missed him too. Seeley rests his head on my shoulder for a second and then squirms away, but it was enough.

Dan, nor Dean feel much like talking about what happened. We three simply sit on the couch as the sun rises and after a breakfast we pack up the van with the little things we pulled out. We are unable to leave until mid afternoon and know that it will take until tomorrow to weave our way through the parked and abandoned cars that litter the streets and highways. But we leave, and I am glad of it. I will never want to come to this place again.