asks as if she expects to see more Army men standing behind him. The solitary soldier before her is tall and a little gangly. She wouldn’t call him scrawny, but he is quite thin when compared to her husband when he wore the uniform.
“ What’s left of it.” Dan sheepishly answers her as if he could hear her appraisal.
“ Good thing you got here when you did. We’re in for a cold snap tonight.” Bill says ushering Dan and the girl towards one of the larger walls.
The new arrivals are escorted to lawn chairs set up by a round window that overlooks the street below. The hosts look at Dan with expectant gazes. They want to know what’s going on out there, he supposes. It’s story time.
“ We were called out early this morning to control a riot that was brewing downtown. At least, that’s what they said it was. We were sent to barricades to help the police contain the ruckus. Other groups were sent into the thick of it, in riot gear, to quell the chaos.” Dan stares off in his memory.
“ People came running at us. They were bleeding and scared. They didn’t want to fight us… Just wanted to get away. They wanted out. We let them pass… Then we saw what they were running from…
“ Most riots you think of as fast explosions of violence. This was weird. A mass of people came towards us, moving extremely slow. We ordered them to stop, they weren’t stopping. They weren’t like the people who wanted to get out. They didn’t look scared.
“ All walks of life. Every different race and age, some of our fellow soldiers and cops were in there as well. One officer was sent out to talk to the people. He met them half way. The horde just converged on him. They tore him to pieces right before our eyes. And, they continued to come towards us.
“ We received the go ahead to use incapacitating rounds. Those didn’t even faze them. My Sergeant was trying to get the live fire order, but HQ said no-go. They told us a fire hose was on route.
“ The people were about a half a block away and we were ordered to hold our position. The damned fire hose was nowhere in sight. Our sergeant over ruled the orders and told us to open fire. We lit them up. Real rounds weren’t much more effective than the beanbags, unless we hit them in their heads. That’s the killing blow.
“ By that point they were too close and too many. We needed ground, so we put some space between us by bounding to the next intersection. They started coming from everywhere. They must have breached the other barricades. Thousands of them.”
Dan’s eyes glisten, unblinking as he tells his story. The whole scene plays out in his head as he relives it.
“ We ran. As a unit we ran for our lives. Our numbers dwindled as people fell out, or opted to go in other directions… As far as I know, I’m the last one.” The soldier wipes his eyes with the rough fabric of his sleeve. “They ate him. That cop who tried to talk to them. They ate him. We saw people being eaten as we ran. We couldn’t stop it.”
“ Alright.” Bill reassures. “Lindsey, why don’t you take little Barbara to the kitchen and make us all a snack?”
Lindsey stands with one of the rifles and puts a hand on Barbara’s shoulder. “C’mon sweetie. We will have to be very quiet.”
Bill waits until they have gone before producing a silver flask from his pocket. He takes a sip, and then offers the container to Dan.
“ This should help.” Bill says as Dan sips deeply of the foul liquid. “You’ve been through the shit today.”
Dan takes another sip and is feeling a lot more relaxed. The liquor warms his stomach; he can feel it tingle through his blood.
“ Are these what I think they are? From what they said on TV, it sounds like…”
“ The walking dead?” Dan answers. “Yeah.”
“ Fuck… Zombies.” The older man shakes his head. “So, what do we know?”
“ As far as what?” Dan asks after a third sip. He has never been much of a heavy drinker, always a
“ What’s left of it.” Dan sheepishly answers her as if he could hear her appraisal.
“ Good thing you got here when you did. We’re in for a cold snap tonight.” Bill says ushering Dan and the girl towards one of the larger walls.
The new arrivals are escorted to lawn chairs set up by a round window that overlooks the street below. The hosts look at Dan with expectant gazes. They want to know what’s going on out there, he supposes. It’s story time.
“ We were called out early this morning to control a riot that was brewing downtown. At least, that’s what they said it was. We were sent to barricades to help the police contain the ruckus. Other groups were sent into the thick of it, in riot gear, to quell the chaos.” Dan stares off in his memory.
“ People came running at us. They were bleeding and scared. They didn’t want to fight us… Just wanted to get away. They wanted out. We let them pass… Then we saw what they were running from…
“ Most riots you think of as fast explosions of violence. This was weird. A mass of people came towards us, moving extremely slow. We ordered them to stop, they weren’t stopping. They weren’t like the people who wanted to get out. They didn’t look scared.
“ All walks of life. Every different race and age, some of our fellow soldiers and cops were in there as well. One officer was sent out to talk to the people. He met them half way. The horde just converged on him. They tore him to pieces right before our eyes. And, they continued to come towards us.
“ We received the go ahead to use incapacitating rounds. Those didn’t even faze them. My Sergeant was trying to get the live fire order, but HQ said no-go. They told us a fire hose was on route.
“ The people were about a half a block away and we were ordered to hold our position. The damned fire hose was nowhere in sight. Our sergeant over ruled the orders and told us to open fire. We lit them up. Real rounds weren’t much more effective than the beanbags, unless we hit them in their heads. That’s the killing blow.
“ By that point they were too close and too many. We needed ground, so we put some space between us by bounding to the next intersection. They started coming from everywhere. They must have breached the other barricades. Thousands of them.”
Dan’s eyes glisten, unblinking as he tells his story. The whole scene plays out in his head as he relives it.
“ We ran. As a unit we ran for our lives. Our numbers dwindled as people fell out, or opted to go in other directions… As far as I know, I’m the last one.” The soldier wipes his eyes with the rough fabric of his sleeve. “They ate him. That cop who tried to talk to them. They ate him. We saw people being eaten as we ran. We couldn’t stop it.”
“ Alright.” Bill reassures. “Lindsey, why don’t you take little Barbara to the kitchen and make us all a snack?”
Lindsey stands with one of the rifles and puts a hand on Barbara’s shoulder. “C’mon sweetie. We will have to be very quiet.”
Bill waits until they have gone before producing a silver flask from his pocket. He takes a sip, and then offers the container to Dan.
“ This should help.” Bill says as Dan sips deeply of the foul liquid. “You’ve been through the shit today.”
Dan takes another sip and is feeling a lot more relaxed. The liquor warms his stomach; he can feel it tingle through his blood.
“ Are these what I think they are? From what they said on TV, it sounds like…”
“ The walking dead?” Dan answers. “Yeah.”
“ Fuck… Zombies.” The older man shakes his head. “So, what do we know?”
“ As far as what?” Dan asks after a third sip. He has never been much of a heavy drinker, always a
Similar Books
