Survival Instinct: A Zombie Novel (106 page)

Billy, Alex, Collin, Mike, and Steve stood in disbelief, mouths open, unable to fully comprehend what was going on.

“Good, you have some guns. Are they loaded?” Tom asked quickly.

Steve’s voice trembled as he spoke. “Yeah, but just me and Collin.”

“Okay, the rest of you, find something and use it to defend yourself. Anything. And this next part is going to be hard boys, so listen carefully. If you run into anyone who looks different, you have to put them down. Believe me, you’ll know. Do not let them attack you under any circumstances. Do you hear me?”

“Put them down?” Alex asked, confused. “Like, kill them?”

“Yes, Alex. I know it sounds terrible, but you have to do it. Now, there’s no time. Get the children from the TV room and head to RV. I’ll meet you there in five minutes. I want you to load it and then we are going to get the hell out of here. I’m going to see if there’s anyone left alive,” Tom ordered. He shoved them onward before they could protest.

Steve took the lead and the others grabbed whatever they could. Bloody handprints marked the walls on their route to the opposite end of the house. They got to the TV room and opened the double doors, but immediately wished they hadn’t. Dozens of bodies laid lifeless on the ground, while others fed on them. They didn’t know who, but someone had gotten to them.

Their little cousin, Shawna, lifted her head from Krissy’s mangled corpse. Bits of silicone-infused flesh hung from her teeth. Krissy’s body had been torn to shreds.

“Krissy,” Alex whimpered, dropping a metal statue he was using as a weapon.

“Shawna?” the others said under their breath.

All of them saw her eyes and knew immediately what Tom had meant. Her eyes were veiny and completely dilated. Her face was lifeless, but alive at the same time. Her teeth were stained with blood, and she let out a gargled cry. She jumped up and leapt over Krissy’s body, heading toward the door.

Neither Collin nor Steve was prepared to take a shot, to kill their little cousin. Steve raised his gun but couldn’t pull the trigger. As she rushed, Alex kicked her in the stomach, sending her back five feet. Billy and Mike grabbed both the door handles and slammed them shut, locking Shawna inside. There was nothing more they could do, so they left. As they marched on, the handles shook violently.

The cousins made it down the hall and almost to the door leading into the garage. Suddenly, a man came crashing through the door in front of them. It was Collin’s dad, Randy. His face was bloody, and eyes were just as black as their little cousin’s. Randy scrambled to get up, let out a throaty howl, and then rushed at the group.

“Dad! Stop!” Collin yelled.

The others joined in. “Uncle Randy. Stop, please!”

Collin raised his gun and pointed at his dad. “Dad, I don’t want to, but I will shoot you. So please, stop! Dad?”

Randy continued his sprint, screaming and hurling his body at them. Collin pulled back the hammer on the Magnum and fired.

The shot tore through Randy’s upper chest and sent him to the ground. Rather than staying down, he scrambled to his feel, let out a pained howl, and tried again. This was the last thing they ever expected. A normal bullet at that range and location would have put down a Kodiak bear. Collin squeezed the trigger again, and this time the bullet pierced the top of Randy’s skull, splattering bone and brain fragments all over the hallway.

“You guys saw that right?” Collin asked, his voice shaking as much as his hands.

It took Collin’s action for them to realize the magnitude of the situation. All hell was breaking loose. Something terrible, something sinister and completely unrealistic had turned their world upside down. Their family was killing each other. Tom had been right. These things, whatever they had become, were no longer their family. They would have to be taken out.

Billy put his hand over Collin’s, lowering the gun. “Yeah, cuz. We all saw it.”

“Guys, we have to keep moving, before more come,” Steve said, motioning toward the garage door.

The coast was clear inside the garage, giving the cousins a chance to exchange their blunt instruments for the weapons on the shelves. They grabbed a couple crates of ammo and guns and tossed them inside the RV.

“All right, guys, let’s form a perimeter. Make sure they are changed before you shoot,” Collin said, ordering the cousins to different locations.

From down the street, more infected ran toward the Brason residence. Dozens of empty shells and casings covered the ground as the cousins unloaded on the incoming threats. Besides Collin, none had ever killed another human. The firefight lasted for what felt like an eternity until, out of nowhere, Tom burst through the side door of the garage.

“Where is everyone?” he yelled.

“They’re all dead, Uncle Tom. How about you?” Collin called back. But he took Tom’s solitude and lack of an answer to mean the worst.

“Did you guys get the RV ready?”

“Yeah, we grabbed what we could, but more started coming,” Steve said. “Are we going?"

“All right, let’s pack it up. We are Oscar Mike.” The old military in Tom resurfaced. Everything about him changed.

Collin shouted for the cousins to pile into the RV, then peeled off toward the driver’s door, taking out two incoming infected. He swung the door open and turned. Behind him, Tom had gone back for something, and what Collin saw made his heart drop.

Coming through the side garage door, Alexandria staggered, white dress drenched in blood. She had not been changed, but was overwhelmed and crying hysterically.

Halfway to the RV, Tom noticed her and made his way back. He was just steps away when she was tackled and bitten from behind by her mother.

Tom skidded to a halt. “Lexi,” he said under his breath. There was nothing more he could do for her. Tom turned to run back, and Steve noticed the back door opening. It was in Tom’s blind-spot, leaving him oblivious to the threat. Steve yelled to his dad and tried to raise his gun, but his hands froze, locking in place.

David knocked Tom to the ground. Luckily, Tom used his training to spin off the impact and brace himself for the fall. On the ground, David had a half mount, clawing and snapping his jaws at the veteran. From sheer panic, Steve stayed frozen, and time slowed all around him.

Collin looked to Steve, then to Tom, then back at Steve. He ran back, grabbed Steve’s rifle, aimed it, and fired. The bullet tore through David’s skull, but it was a second too late. While trying to keep David’s mouth away from major areas, Tom sustained a bite to the wrist. The bullet woke Steve up, and he rushed toward his dad. Tom struggled to his feet and met Steve halfway.

“Dad! Are you okay?” Steve asked, staring at his arm.

“I’m fine, but he bit me on the wrist.”

Steve stepped back in disbelief.

“I need you to listen, Steve. Get in the RV with your cousins and go.”

Steve reeled, his mind working faster than his mouth.

“Don’t say anything, let me finish. Just start driving. I don’t know where you should go, but stay moving.”

“You’re coming with us, right, Dad?” Steve asked, swallowing a dry throat. Tears formed in the pits of his eyes.

“You know I can’t. Whatever this thing is, if you’re bit, you change.”

“But Dad…”

“I know it’s hard, son, but you have to go. I’m going to stay behind and see if I can save anyone else.”

“No, Dad, maybe it doesn’t happen to everyone. Come with us. Maybe we can reverse it or something.”

By now, Steve had rivers running down his cheeks. Even Tom fought back tears.

“You have to go son, and now. Before more come!”

“But, Dad,” Steve whimpered, stomach dropping with every second.

“Go now, damnit!” Tom ordered, firing at an approaching infected.

Steve threw his arms around his dad and squeezed tight. Words couldn’t do justice. Both felt the love and squeezed back tighter. All their fights over Steve’s future had been washed clean. All of their hurtful words, gone. Right now the only thing that mattered was love. Their last goodbye.

“I love you so much, Dad!”

“I love you, Stephen. I am so proud of you. I always will be. You are going to make a fantastic writer someday. Now go.”

Steve was speechless as Mike jumped from the RV and pulled him back.

“Mike, get your brother out of here.”

Mike nodded, exchanged his own “I love you,” and asked no questions. As Steve was dragged back, he didn’t blink. He saw his dad run over to the counter and grab a loaded Springfield rifle and blast at everything.

Collin shouted a lonely goodbye to his uncle and hopped in the driver’s seat. The RV peeled out of the driveway and onto the road. Steve’s eyes stayed glued to the window, until the house was out of sight.

They weren’t sure of what was happening or what to do or where to go. But onward they went, not stopping for anything.

They left a gruesome battle scene behind them.

They left their family.

They left home.

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