The ZWD Trilogy (Book 1): Zombie World Dominance [The Destruction Begins] (22 page)

She
looked at each of the group in turn. “There is nowhere we can go now, so we
will just have to wait and see. Okay, everyone upstairs now. Keep as quiet as
you can. Do not talk to each other.”

“Mother,
we have checked this home,” replied Mauricio. “It is empty except for us right
now. The others might just be people trying to hide from the zombies like us.
We don’t know. If they are not here by the time it is completely dark, I don’t
think they will be coming back ever.”

“You
are right, Maurico,” she said. “You have your father’s wisdom. But please, make
sure that there is nothing of ours left down here.”

Up the
stairs they went. Esperana led them to the bedroom the farthest from the
stairs. They were in the master bedroom. They crouched beside the bed, looking
over the top of it from time to time. No one uttered a sound. Then they heard
the front door open, then shut.

From
where they were, they could hear four people, but they could not hear them well
enough to understand what they were saying.

Esperana
leaned over to her son whispering, “Maurico, it sounds like there is one child
with three adults. I think one of the adults is a man, and the other two sound
like women. They are speaking Spanish.”

“Yes,
Mother I think they are. They are not speaking loudly enough for me to
understand what they are saying. Do you think that we should go down and let
them know we are here? It might turn out badly for us if they discover us
before we let them know we're here.”

“Maurico,
that sounds like a good idea. Let me go alone. Perhaps they won’t be so
frightened if a woman talks to them first. I want to find out more about them
before I tell them you guys are up here. You wait here with the girls. Be ready
to protect them if you have to. All right, wish me luck.”

At the
top of the stairs, Esperana announced herself.

“Excuse
me. Hello, I know you are here. My name is Esperana. I am coming down. I do not
want to hurt you. I am not armed.”

As she
walked down to the first floor, four people were staring up at her in
disbelief. They were, as she had thought, three adults and a child.

“Hello
— my name is Esperana. I am trying to get to America. Are you okay with me
being here with you?”

One of
the men said, “Please, come talk with us. We are not going to hurt you. I am
Roberto Travieso, this is my wife, Amada. These are our daughters Delfina, who is
twenty-one, and Domitilla, who is only ten. We are trying to get to America as
well. We are from Torreon. We have been walking from Jimenez since our car ran
out of gas. Where do you come from?”

“First,
may I ask my family to come down as well, if you don’t mind?”

“That is
fine with us. We’re just trying to get to America. It should be safer there.”

“Maurico,
will you come down with the girls, please?”

“Yes,
we’re coming down. Is everything okay Mother?”

“Yes,
it’s fine. Please come down. She turned back to Roberto. “These are my children;
Maurico, my son, who is twenty and my daughter Lucinda, who is eleven. The
three other girls are my best friend’s daughters, Rosalinda, who is twelve; Rosari,
who is nine, and Reva, in the back, who is eight. My husband and the girls’
mother were killed in our hometown of Mazatlan on the first day of the zombie outbreak.
We have been traveling from Mazatlan since then.”

Esparana
continued, “Like you, we want to go to America. We don’t know how the zombie
thing started. We think the Drug Cartels have something to do with it. But we
think that, in America, it should be much better for all of us.”

“Esperana,
we have been very fortunate. Recently we discovered a newer model Dodge pickup
truck, with four extra cans of gas. We think it belonged to the cartel death
squads or the road banditos. They must have been killed, as there was a lot of
blood in and around the truck. What was left of their bodies were lying nearby.
So we took it. It is in the garage of this house,” said Roberto.

He
continued, “We were out trying to find some more food, and we have been lucky
with that as well. We have enough for ten or twelve meals. Would you and your
family like to join us for dinner tonight?”

“It is
very kind of you to offer. Yes, would be honored to sit and eat with you. We have
taken one of the rooms on the second floor of this home. I hope that is all
right with you.”

Maurico
said, “We have been trying to find buildings or homes with more than one story,
and we try to take the highest room that is available at night. You are welcome
to join us on the second floor. We have enough people that we can have a night
watch if you would like.”

“Let’s
sit and eat the midday meal first,” said Roberto. “We can move upstairs later.
There isn’t much for our meal, but we are willing to share. It is not a grand
meal, but it is filling; mostly vegetables that we found in backyard gardens.
We don’t light a fire at this time of day, for fear of attracting the cartel
death squads or the banditos or the zombies. So our meal is cold, but good.”

As two
families ate, they talked about what they had been through. Esperana talked
about what her extended family had encountered along their travels as well as of
the family members they had lost. Roberto told them that they had also lost
their two younger sons. When their meal was finished, Roberto’s family moved to
the second floor with Esperana’s family. The three parents worked out the night
watch that included the older children.

Roberto
followed Maurico into the courtyard so they could talk.

Maurico
said, “I am glad that our families met. It is unfortunate that it had to be
while this zombie outbreak is going on. The drug cartels are not making this
any easier, and the banditos have taken everything they could from anyone they
come across. I think we can help each other to go to America.”

They
checked the courtyard gate, making sure it was locked. They went back into the
house, making the rounds to ensure that all of the entry points were secure.
The two of them began barricading the windows. While going through the house,
they also found a food pantry in the basement that was full of canned food and bags
to carry the food in. After they had loaded all of the bags, they carried them
upstairs to show everyone. Until now, none of Esperana’s
family had
looked in the garage. When Maurico opened the garage door what he found was a
welcome surprise. There was a shiny, late model Dodge truck.

As
they looked around the garage, Mauricio also found several handguns and rifles along
with several hundred rounds of ammunition. The two of them decided that if
everyone agreed, they would leave the next day for the border. From there they
would try to cross into America.

That
night, as they ate, Roberto stood to speak:

“Today
Maurico and I discussed the possibility of leaving in the morning, to try to
reach the border with America,” he said. “We have what looks to be a good
truck, some guns for protection, and quite a lot of food. We are doing very well
right now.”

He
continued, “There is enough room in the pickup for all of us with our food and
supplies. I think that this is the best for all of us. While the border is
open, we should take advantage of it before it is closed once again. One day
might make the difference between getting across or not. It would be best if we
all travel together. Now that Esperana has arrived with her family, I think the
time is right to go, or we could stay one more day to rest. Esperana, what are
your thoughts on this?”

Esperana
smiled. “Wow. All I can say is wow. You have it all under control. You both
have found more food and you found a pickup truck to drive us to the border.
Once we cross into America, we don’t know where we will go. I would love to
talk with you more about it tomorrow, but it is getting late, and I am tired. I
need to lie down so I can get some sleep, but I would like to talk more about
this tomorrow. If you don’t mind taking another day out of your schedule to
talk to us about your plans, I know our family would love to hear more before
we commit to them. This is a big step for us. I just want to make sure that
what we do will be the best for all of us. Thank you for offering to include us
in your plans.”

“Very
well, Esperana. We will wait until tomorrow to talk. We will meet you back in
the kitchen for breakfast. Our last watch of the night will wake us at dawn. If
we can work this out, we could still leave tomorrow. Good night to all of you.”

“Thank
you, Roberto, for your offer. We will gladly talk tomorrow. Thank you again. We
will see you in the morning. Children, please come upstairs with me to go to
bed. Goodnight, everyone.”

They
all went off to their respective sleeping areas for the night. Upstairs, the
girls were talking quietly with Esperana. Maurico was involved in these
discussions as well.

At
first light, everyone upstairs packed up all of their supplies and brought them
down to the garage, ready to be loaded into the truck. They went inside to have
their breakfast. As they sat eating breakfast, Esperana started to talk to
Roberto.

“Last
night I was too tired to think about anything much more than getting to sleep.
As I lay in my bed, I thought a lot about leaving today. I am ready to leave
this place behind me. I had my girls pack up everything that we had and we are
ready to go once we have finished breakfast.”

She
smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days. “You were right last night,”
she continued. “We need to cross the border into America before it is closed.
Life in America will be better for us. We would be most honored to travel with
you and your family.”

“Thank
you, Esperana. It is we that are honored that you and your family accepted us.
Remember I told you that we found guns in the garage…? We will have them ready
if they should be needed. We will only use them for protection from the Drug
Cartels or the road bandits.”

“I
think we are finished with breakfast,” said Esperana. “Let’s pack up the last
of our things. The sooner we can leave this place, the better.”

They
loaded all their supplies into the pickup. There was a total of ten in the
group. The pickup was a crew cab with two bench seats; there was enough room
for three or four of them in the front, if two of them were the younger
children. They could fit up to six or possibly even seven in the back. This way
everyone would be able to ride inside the truck. All their supplies were
crammed into the bed of the pickup.

Roberto
was driving; as he started the pickup and was backing it out of the garage, he
said, “We are on the way to America. I want everyone to keep watch outside for
anything that does not look right. I think crossing the border will be the most
dangerous part of our trip. If you think it looks wrong, say something. Even if
you think you might be wrong, let us know.”

“You
are right, Roberto. We’ve been walking for so long. I hope all of us can get
across the border and beyond.”

“Yes,”
he agreed. “We need to watch for other vehicles and people on the road, on
either side of the border. If we see anything that is not right, we need to do
anything we must to avoid them. If we encounter a zombie, we can just run over
it with the pickup. Whatever we do, we don’t want to be forced to stop or be
separated from each other or from the truck. All we need to do is keep our wits
about us so we don’t do anything stupid that could get us hurt or killed.”

He
turned to Maurico. “Can you ride in the bed until we cross the border? With
your eyes outside, you will be able to see more than being inside.”

“Surely
I will, Roberto,” said Maurico. “I’ll take one of the guns in case there’s trouble.”

“All
right,” said Roberto. “Please don’t use it unless you warn me first. Sometimes
guns can cause more trouble if you use them than if you don’t. While you’re
back there, find something that you can hold on to. If I have to drive over
barricades or other obstacles in the road, I don’t want you to bounce out
because you’re not hanging on.”

“Yes, sir,
I will,” said Maurico. “Can we stop somewhere so we can practice with the guns?
I’ve never fired one before.”

“I
don’t think that’s a good idea.” Said Roberto. “The noise might bring the
zombies, the banditos, or the drug cartel. We need to cross the border as quickly
as we can. We can just trust that using the guns will not be necessary.”

They
got under way. They drove for some time, watching for anything that would cause
problems; they saw bodies lying in the streets and groups of zombies here and
there, but nothing that they couldn’t avoid easily. Then they approached the
border crossing. Roberto slowed the truck slightly.

“Esperana,
can you see the buildings of the crossing complex? It looks like they have all
been burned to the ground. The gate and part of the wall have been demolished.
Look at all of the bodies! I can’t really see across into America, but I’m sure
that it is the same on that side as well.”

“I can
see it, Roberto,” she said. “What are we going to do?”

He
pointed to a white car that was crossing the border. “Do you see that car
driving around the wall into America? There is no one to stop them. I am going
to go the same way they did. If they made it without a problem, then we should
be able to also.”