Day Beyond the Dead (Book 1) (10 page)

     “Yeah well all the same, there seems to be too many accidents happening these days.”

     “I couldn’t agree more.”

     Soon they were approaching Buckhannon again and all the memories of a few days ago came rushing back to Christa. Thoughts of her mother, sister and her kidnapping were swirling in her head. It’s hard to believe just a few days ago she was in her cabin and everything in the world was right, or so she thought. She wished just for five minutes of that once again. In a way, this all seemed so surreal like a bad dream she would soon wake up from. She would wake up in her bed and roll over to find Bree sleeping next to her due to some nightmare. She would press her nose against her little nose and give her an eskimo kiss. Bree would wake up giggling.

     Only it wasn’t a bad dream and she wouldn’t wake up next to Bree ever again. Those words even hurt just thinking them let alone saying them. It was so hard to be back in Buckhannon, even if it was just passing through, because of all the memories that place held. Good and bad. Technically they didn’t even have to drive through Buckhannon to go south but Christa wanted to stop by her place to get a few things, especially some things that belonged to Bree.

     “We have to make this quick and if it looks like it’s going to be too much Christa we won’t go. Got it?”

     “I got it.”

     Christa lived inside city limits in Buckhannon near the college. Buckhannon is a small town and the college is the biggest thing about the town. Well besides the super Wal-mart obviously. The town use to be a lot smaller but slowly new stores had started popping up. It seemed as though Buckhannon wasn’t even immune to progress.

     As they got near the college they noticed a herd of undead swarming around it. There was some scattered packs around the streets surrounding the college, but the bulk of undead were concentrated at the college.

     “I don’t know Chris. We might not be able to do this. That is a lot of walking corpses to get through or to even risk having them turn on us. I’m not sure we could get away from that and I’m not going to risk something happening to you, especially after that close call in the bathroom.”

     “Damion please. I need some things of hers, at least a picture.”

     “We have memories. Bree would not want you to risk your life for a picture.”

     “Well let’s at least see our other options and if those look as bad I promise I won’t resist.”

     Damion sighs, “Ok, deal.” Damion wasn’t really happy with that option in the least but knew it would mean a lot to Christa to at least try. They parked a couple blocks away from the college and Christa’s house, which was three houses from the college.

     Damion walked over to Darren’s truck, “You guys stay here and wait for us. If we’re gone longer than an hour, just leave. Hopefully that will give us more than enough time to get in and get out without any troubles ok.”

     “I don’t know. Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”

     “You need to stay here with Gerard,” Damion glanced over at Gerard, “He doesn’t look like he could get out of here if he needed to so it is best you stay here. We’ll be fine.” Damion turned around and walked off from the truck and whispered to himself, “at least I hope we’ll be.”

     Christa and Damion grabbed two slashing weapons out of the truck before they headed down the street. There weren’t many undead around this part of the street, but they could see the street up ahead that harbored more than either of them was comfortable with. Christa shot a look at Damion that let him know her concern. She began wondering if it was worth it. As she looked at Damion she felt more and more that it wasn’t worth the possible cost.

     Christa stopped, “You know, we don’t have to do this.”

     “What do you mean? We’re here. You wanted to do this so let’s do it.”

     “Yes I know, but after I’ve thought about it and realize what is at stake here I’m not sure I wanna do it anymore. No matter how much I want a picture of her it’s not worth losing you.”

     Damion took Christa’s hand in his, “You won’t lose me and if you get this close and not even try you’ll regret it. Let’s just try and like I said if it gets too bad we’ll turn around ok? So let’s go.” Christa nodded.

     They got to the end of the curb where her street intersected with another. This was a more open area so they used caution as they approached the clearing. Across the street and four houses down was Christa’s house. The undead were walking mainly in the street and they counted a total of 13 of them, or at least that was how many they had a visual on.

     “Let’s walk slowly across this intersection so we can get to the side your house is on.” They watched carefully as they walked across the intersection. Going to the back of the first house they planned on going through backyards to better their chances of getting to Christa’s house. The backside of the houses looked to be free from the walking dead so they continued with their plan.

     Damion took point as Christa trailed behind him. They made it the second house and as they did they noticed an undead in Christa’s back yard just standing there near her porch. They got to the third house and crouched behind a bush on the far corner. Damion peered around the corner to see if there were any between the houses. There wasn’t.

     Damion turned to Christa and whispered as low as he could, “Ok, there are none in between the houses which means we only have to deal with the one near your porch. I’ll go first and stab it in the head while you work on getting us in the house. Ok?”

     “Ok, but be careful please.”

     “Don’t worry I will.” Damion turned back around and kept crouching but stood up partially as if he were trying to sneak over for the kill. He walked up behind it, stood up and forced the knife into the back of its skull as Christa went right past him to the back door. She went over to a plant that was in the corner on the porch and lifted it up to grab the key. She waited for Damion before she unlocked the door and opened it. “Let me go first.”

     Damion walked through the door. Everything was in its place which was almost eerie to Christa. In this house it seemed as if the world outside hadn’t touched it which brought a flood of emotions. Memories quickly flashed through her head of Bree running through the front door after getting off the bus. She walked into her room and it still smelled like her. Christa walked over to sit down on her bed. Lying face down she put her face into her pillow and took a deep breath in.

     “Baby, I know this is difficult but we don’t have a lot of time. We need to go. Get whatever you need and let’s go. Remember, we only have an hour timeline.”

     “I know. I’m just taking a moment. I…I..”

     Damion walked over to the bed, sat down next to Christa and put his arms around her. “I know it hurts. I’m doing everything I can do to stay focused so I don’t lose you too.” Christa starts to cry as she grabs on tightly to Damion and as if the flood gates were open she doesn’t hold back. Her cries echo throughout the rooms as Damion just holds her. He can feel the release in her body as she leans on him. He knows she’s been holding all this in since it happened and he won’t deny her this.

     After about five minutes her crying tapered off into a sob. Damion pulls himself from their tight embrace to wipe off her red, wet face and says softly, “We need to go. I don’t want to chance that it might get worse outside and we find ourselves trapped here. Grab your picture and whatever else and let’s go. While you’re here might as well get some clothes.”

     Christa wipes her eyes and goes over to Bree’s dresser and grabs a picture from a family trip at the beach. Bree had kept that picture on her mirror because it was at a time she was most happy. Christa remembered that day quite well.

     It was Bree’s first time at the beach and Christa was so sure the waves would scare her, but instead she couldn’t stop her from venturing out into them. She couldn’t turn a blind eye for one fragment of a moment without Bree running towards the waves with relentless conviction. It was almost if she was being pulled by something. Damion would take her out into the waves and with every splash she would laugh.

     Christa pulled the picture off of the mirror and put it into her back pocket with the picture of Sgt. Donaldson. She went to her bedroom to gather a bag with some essentials in it, but before she left she noticed a one of Bree’s stuffed animals. A pink bear that was dressed as a clown. She use to sleep with it all the time. Christa walked over and put it in her bag and zipped it shut. “I’m good. Let’s go.”

     Damion takes her hand and heads towards the backdoor. After peering out the window he notices the yard is still clear. “Come on. I don’t see anything.” They step out onto the back porch and slowly walk to the side of the house. Damion peeks out from the corner to check between the houses. He quickly pulls his head back in and just stands there a moment.

     “What is it? Damion? What is it??”-Christa was trying hard to keep at a whisper but the anxiety in her voice was making it even harder.

     “We can’t go that way.”

     “What do you mean we can’t go that way? Damion? What is it?”

     Damion looks around searching for another way around. While he does that Christa walks around him to see for herself. She finds herself frozen in fear as she is faced with a herd of undead. There had to be at least 25 if not more. Damion grabs her and pulls her out of view.

     “Why did you do that?! I told you we’d have to find another way.”

     “I’m sorry..I..”

     It was already too late. Just as she spoke those words the first one came from around the corner in which she promptly stabbed it in the forehead. Started and shell shocked Christa grabs Damion’s arm and runs for the backyard of the next house down. They continue running until they run into ten more on the opposite side of that house. Looking around Damion spots a great spot for them to climb up onto the roof of that house.

     They run to the back porch and Damion helps Christa get up onto the railing and then boosts her up so she can climb onto the roof all the while the undead of closing ground. Damion gets on the railing and then tries to climb up but is having difficulties getting enough of a hold so he can pull himself up. Christa leans down and grabs him trying to pull him up as well. She notices the first corpse only a few feet away as she grows more frantic.

     “Oh my God Damion hurry!!”

     “I’m trying! Pull me up!”

     “I am!” Christa strains even more as the first undead grabs a hold of Damion’s foot. It sinks its teeth into the sole of Damion’s shoe as Christa finally pulls him up enough that he can help himself the rest of the way.

     Damion quickly sits up and takes off his shoes to check his foot. After giving it a once over he realizes that he is ok. He takes a few seconds to appreciate that fact. Damion stands up and they assess the situation on all sides of the house from their vantage point.

     “Well, we are basically surrounded at this point. The only option I see is to try to jump to the other house’s roof, but that is a long jump. It looks doable but if we miss…..I don’t know. It’ll be real bad.”

     Christa thought about their options. Sure they could jump but that was a huge gap; or they could just stay there and hopefully they would wander off but the herd could also grow bigger; if they waited would Darren leave them? Christa knew there was only one option and she didn’t like it one bit.

     “Ok, let’s do this. How is your foot though?”

     “My foot is fine. It only bit the sole not my actual foot.”

     “Ok……I’ll go first.”

     “Christa I rather you not.”

     “If you go first I’ll be left here and I don’t want that.”

     Damion sighs, “Fine. If you don’t make it though I am jumping down if you can’t make it back over to me. You hear me?”

     “I hear you.” Truth is Christa wanted to go first because she didn’t want anything happening to Damion. She knew if it did she wouldn’t care if she made it back or not. Christa took some steps backward to get a good running start. She breathed heavily, trying to psyche herself up for the task at hand.

     “You run like you’ve never ran before and use every muscle you have into that jump. Use every last fiber in those muscles to propel you to that roof. You can do this!” Christa nods her head as she prepares to run. She pushes off of her back foot trying to get good traction for the speed she’ll need. With one foot after another she comes to the edge of the roof where she catapults herself up into the air towards the other roof. While she is in the air she can already tell it is going to be a close call. As she nears the other side her foot hits the edge of the gutter which gives way under her weight and causes her to hit face first on the roof and then fall to her back on the ground.

     “Shit shit shit!” Damion notices the hit knocked her out which puts him into action. He takes a few steps back, runs and jumps towards the other roof only he makes it just barely. He leans over the edge with his hand out towards Christa. “Christa! Christa! Wake up!! They are coming Christa! Take my hand!! Damnit Christa take it!! Please!!”

     Christa starts to stir as zombies steadily approach her from both sides. She slowly opens her eyes and finds herself becoming slowly surrounded. She goes to get up and feels an extreme pain in her knee from where she hit it against the side of the house when the gutter gave way. She fights the pain to slowly get herself to her knees when she suddenly feels a hand on her back. She looks over her shoulder to find an undead right on top of her. She gets to her feet and positions herself against the wall while holding it at arm’s length. While she’s holding it at arm’s length the rest of the undead are only a few feet away.