ILLNESS (Zombie Apocalypse)

Chapter 13

Billy and Tyrone sat in the car silently. They heard loud booms in the distance then nothing. They could see people out milling around. Tyrone had his last cigarette taking deep puffs then blowing it out the window. Carter came swirling around a corner and had spotted them. He pulled his jeep next to there car. "I looked at the gate. I don't think it could possibly hold, isn't there a way we could get through these bars?" Billy simply said no. The siren from Davis's car grew louder. He was going from one side to the next warning people. "Wait do you hear that" Tyrone said throwing his cigarette out. Billy and Carter listened closer. It was screams. "Here we go" Billy said starting the car. Tyrone checked his pistol making sure it was loaded. Billy pulled his pistol from its holster and laid it in his lap. "Do you have extra shells for a .38 in there" Billy asked. Carter dug around finding a box. He handed it out his window to Billy. Waiting for the screams to get louder, Billy would then know the zombies were reaching the farthest houses from the gate and hopefully scattered out. A few gunshots rang out in the distance. Billy waited until he saw some zombies run into the yard across from where they sat. He stomped the gas and the car lurched forward. Carter stayed on his bumper. Billy swerved around zombies in the road and drove through people's yards when he had to. It was a blood bath. People trying to flee for there lives. They were fish tailing through where Courtney lived and saw Kaitlin running from a pack of the beings. As Carter passed she screamed for him. "Dammit" he mumbled. He couldn't just leave her. He stopped, threw the jeep in reverse and backed up until he was between her and the zombies chasing her. The zombies clawed at his window smearing blood and pieces of flesh. She jumped in and he floored it. Catching up with Billy as he went through the gate.

"Carter where are you" Davis said over the cb. "We bolted when shit hit the fan" he replied. "Meet up at Smitty's" Davis said. "Meet you there" he replied.
The highway wasn't much better. Cars, bodies, and trash strewn everywhere. Carter drove up next to Billy and blew the horn then rolled down the window. "Follow me" he yelled. Carter lead the way until they were almost out of Madison county.

Smitty's was a old gas and grocery that set out by itself off the main highway. It was the first stop into Madison county or the last stop when you were leaving. It was a small building with a gravel parking lot. Carter and Billy slid in the parking lot sending up dust clouds. Stopping at either side of the gas pumps. Easing out of the vehicles when they didn't see anything lurking. "I need a different ride. That car cramped me up" Billy said stretching his legs. Carter went around the car to Kaitlin. Paying no attention to her tears Carter pulled his pistol and aimed it point blank range in her face. She gasped stumbling back onto the jeep. "We're you bit" he asked. "No" she said shaking her head furiously. "You have blood all over you" he growled. "It's not mine. It's... mom and dads" she cried with fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thats enough" Billy growled. Carter lowered the weapon. "Did you get any blood in your mouth?" he asked. She shook her head no. Carter glared at her for a minute then turned and walked toward the store. "Wait up" Billy said going after him. Carter turned abruptly. "All you have is a .38. Noise draws them in remember Einstein. Go to my jeep and get something else to use" he said. Billy walked back to the jeep. 'This boys fell off his rocker' he thought looking at all the things he had. Settling on the numb-chucks and a hatchet for his belt, he followed Carter to the entrance. "I wanna talk to you a minute. Ive held my tongue until now but boy, your cruisin' for a bruisin'. I don't like seeing women, even half grown ones, treated like you just treated her. You was out of line. If i see that again with any of those girls. We are going to have problems. Carter pursed his lips and turned to the store. Peeking in they didn't see any zombies. Billy knocked hard on the glass door. "What the hell are you doing" Carter said. "Noise gets there attention. Just seeing if anybody's home" he smirked. As if on cue a zombie dodged around the last aisle. Seeing them it snarled its lips and let out a deep growl. "Hold the door open" Carter told Billy. With a confused look he held the door open wide standing behind it. Carter cussed the zombie and it lurched at him. He sidestepped and it went past him. Reaching out he tapped its shoulder. It turned with a confusing look on its face and he sank the knife deep under its chin as if giving an uppercut, piercing its brain. It fell lifeless. Billy looked at him then turned and walked in the front door. "Lucy I'm home" Billy yelped. No sounds. Carter looked behind the register before jumping back there to turn on the pumps. He gave a thumbs up to Tyrone to fill the tanks while they searched for supplies.

"What's happened to Carter. He's not the person he used to be" Kaitlin asked. "This new world we have has gotten to him if I were guessing. Everybody has there own way of dealing with things, being a hard ass is his," Tyrone answered. After setting the pumps nozzles to fill the tanks he told Kaitlin and Mattie to keep an eye out and yell if they saw anything. He hadn't eaten this morning and his stomach felt as if it would eat his backbone. He walked in and looked around for the restroom first. Spotting it in the back he went that way. "Hold up" Billy yelled to him. He jogged over and knocked on the door. Hearing nothing he knocked again. "I don't hear anything but watch your ass in there, literally" Billy chuckled. Tyrone opened the door and walked in. Billy took a load of supplies to his car. Carter did the same and found a shirt with the store logo for Kaitlin. "Go wash that blood off. Its probably contagious" Carter said throwing Kaitlin the shirt. She grimaced and went toward the store. Billy went back in and got a loaf of bread, sandwich meat, candy bars and gatorades before going back outside. He laid them on the hood of the car then told Haley to come eat. Haley looked at the contents and snarled her nose. "Better get used to it. There isn't anymore five star restaurants" he said to her. Tyrone walked back to the car carrying chips, boxes of cakes, soda and a bag full of Marlboro cigarette cartons. "You need to quit those things. There gonna be in short supply" Billy said. Tyrone winced, "i'll smoke as long as I can then think about quitting." He helped himself to a sandwich. "You forgot da cheese" he said turning back to go to the store.
Billy hung the pumps back up then checked on Courtney. Her temperature was 104. The hot sun beating down probably didn't help matters any.
Davis pulled in the parking lot so Billy moved his car to let him fuel up. He told Mattie and Anthony to come eat.
The little boy hadn't spoken a word since the church. Davis wondered if maybe something was wrong with him but wouldn't dare ask. He didn't want to be rude and offend Mattie. They ate while they waited. Anthony loved the candy. He tugged Mattie's shirt then pointed to another one. "To much candy is bad for you. You can have more later ok" she said bent down to the boys level. He pouted but nodded his head yes gracefully.
"Them dam things are ruthless. I had to outmaneuver them just to get out of there" Davis said. "They rely on there senses like we do. If they cant see it, hear it or smell it then its not there. When I checked the gate I stayed down but when I was at the guard post they went berserk" Billy said. After everyone ate Davis pulled out a map and opened it on the hood. "We need to find a place and make it safe" Davis said. "I'm headed to my cabin" Billy said. They all turned to look at him. "My dad had a cabin he used for hunting. It's away from everything deep in the woods" he said. "Where at" Davis asked. "Kentucky" Billy replied. "Ok then we follow you" Davis said. "First things first. I need a different ride" Billy said. "Go back the way we came then make the second right. There's a car dealership about a mile down the road" Carter said.

The road wasn't so bad getting to the dealership. Billy saw a dodge ram extended cab that he liked as they pulled in. Kaitlin stayed in the jeep while the others looked around. Mattie told Anthony to get in the floorboard of Davis's car, stay there and be quiet. Davis told the girls to get a weapon and be prepared to use it if they had to. What zombies were there the men took down easily. The doors to the showroom were locked. Billy wrapped his shirt around his hand and punched through the glass then reached in and unlocked the door. "I'm looking for the key to that dodge truck" he told the others pointing toward it. "Lets make this fast" Davis said.
Each person looked for the keys to the vehicles. Mattie found them in a office then hollered for Billy to tell her the number on the truck. Finding the key they stopped at the front door to peek out. There were five zombies lurking around. "Ready?" Davis said. "Yep" Carter said pulling his sword. They eased out and the zombies turned. Two were fast. Billy and Carter took them. Davis and Tyrone took the other three. Carter was staring at one on the ground. It's mouth was open and its tongue and eyes were moving around. "I thought you take there head off they die" Carter said confused. "No man you have to kill the brain" Tyrone said. He took his machete and sliced the head in half. "See" he said smiling. "So that means my mom is still a monster?" Carter said to himself. The group stared at him.
He turned and walked back to his jeep. Turning to Kaitlin he yelled "why didn't you warn us." She grimaced and got out of the jeep slamming the door. "You have become an asshole Carter" she belted. "Bitch!" he yelled back. As she turned to storm off she tripped. Carter started to laugh but then he noticed she wasn't getting back up. He jumped out running around the jeep. Kaitlin was kicking at a zombie who had a hold of her ankle. It's legs were missing and its body contorted. Carter stomped down on its head crushing its skull. Kaitlin began to cry. "I can't take this" she wailed. "Being scared all the time because of creatures that shouldn't exist. It was under the dam car." Carter held his hand out to Kaitlin. She shook her head no. "More will be coming let's go. Everybody's waiting, come on don't give up " Carter said. "It scratched me" Kaitlin said weakly, pointing to her ankle. Carter sighed. "Well come on. Your ok right now ain't cha? I'll keep an eye on you. It'll be ok" Kaitlin looked up at him then took his hand.

Billy was in the lead and he pulled back into Smitty's. "Truck only has a quarter tank. I'm gonna fill it up" Billy told the others, "Is the pumps still on" "Yeah" Carter said, "I'm going to go get bandages." "What happened" Davis asked. "She has a scratch on her ankle" Carter said pointing to Kaitlin. Davis walked in with Carter. He filled bags with band aids, gauze, alcohol, more food and drinks. He also got a bag with different types of candy for Anthony. "Courtney hasn't turned yet. Maybe Kaitlin won't" Davis said.

Kaitlin cleaned and bandaged her wound. Then they drove to interstate 75. Driving north fairly easily for a few hours. Zombies were in a few fields but no immediate threat to them. The sun had already set. Billy pulled into the emergency lane, the others followed. "We are going to have to find a place and get some rest" Billy said. "No motels or anything" he laughed.
Later they found an old farmhouse. It looked as if it had been abandoned even before the zombies arrived. Carter walked in first then ran back out the door smacking at his head and hopping up and down like a lunatic. "What the fuck" Tyrone said. The others stared until Carter calmed down. His face flushed he mumbled, "I walked into a spiders web." Haley chuckled, "I wouldn't have thought you to be afraid of anything."
"I'm human ain't I" he responded.
Haley burst out laughing so hard she lost her breath. Just hearing the laughter lifted everyone's spirits and they all burst out laughing.

Billy went in the house first this time with Davis, Tyrone, and Carter at the rear. The girls was to wait outside until the place was cleared.
"You smell that" Billy whispered. "Yeah we have company" Tyrone said. Slowly they walked through the kitchen into the living room. Out of nowhere a zombie jumped on Tyrone's back knocking him to the floor on his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was him or one of the others that screamed like a little girl. Carter stepped up in front of the zombies head. "Hey ugly" he tapped it on the head. It raised its head and Carter stuck his hunting knife through the top of its head. It went frigid, falling on Tyrone. He could feel the thick congealed goo dripping on the back of his neck. He squirmed pushing it off him. "You okay" Davis said. "I think it tried to rape me" Tyrone said breathless still lying on the floor. "Yeah it looked like it had the hots for you" Carter laughed. "Come on guys, there could be more in here" Billy said. Tyrone jumped up fast looking around. "The stairs has no banister. It must have been standing there when we walked past" Davis said.
"It didn't moan" Tyrone said after the house was cleared. Carter took a closer look at the zombie. "Its throat was chewed up. No vocal chords" he said.
They threw the body outside and each took turns keeping watch throughout the night.

Kaitlin hands and ankles had been tied up when she went into a comatose sleep. At the break of daylight her leg spasmed then stopped. Carter was on watch. Her eyes opened unblinking. Slowly she sit up. But with the restraints she couldn't stand. She fell over and wiggled looking at Carter and growled. Carter put her to rest.
The gang got up an hour later. "This don't make much sense. Courtney should have turned before now" Carter said. They all looked over at the girl lying on the couch. "Hand me some bandages" Billy said. He took the bandages off her neck taking a look. "She's healing" Billy said dumbfounded, "the holes are closed up" Billy said. Davis and Carter looked. "Her fever hasn't gotten any higher so maybe that's a good sign" Davis said. "Maybe she's immune" Tyrone said. "Could be but why hasn't she woke up yet?" Mattie said. Nobody had any answers. They ate a small breakfast then dug a grave for Kaitlin.

Billy took a mattress and pillow from the upstairs and laid it in the bed of his truck. He put the supplies in the cab. Behind a shed was a truck camper. Tyrone helped him put it on the truck and laid Courtney on the mattress. "Why are you doing that to her" Haley asked angrily. "So if she turns while we're driving, she won't kill us. Don't worry she's got the most comfortable place to rest. Hell, that's better then a tent when you go camping."

After a hundred miles Billy came to a standstill. To the left was a concrete barrier separating the lanes and to the right was a ditch deep enough to get a vehicle stranded. It looked like some desperate people had already tried it. Straight ahead was a mix of mashed, jackknifed, abandoned, tangle of vehicles.
Billy got out and walked to the Davis's police cruiser. "We have a dam mess up there. There's no way to go around it. We sure as hell can't go through it."
"Could we move the cars to the side" Haley asked.
"Where are we" Davis asked ignoring her.
"A few miles up the road is Sweetwater Tennessee" Billy said.
"We need a map of Tennessee then."
"We'll have to go back to the last exit we passed and find a way around"
"Well we better get a move on. It's no telling how many of those things are in that wreckage."
Billy nodded in agreement then walked back to his truck and was turning it around. His truck was turned sideways facing the barrier. "We're being watched" Tyrone announced. Billy looked toward the tangled mess. Three zombies were standing next to vehicles. One had its head cocked to the side and they stared at the truck. But neither one attempted to walk toward it. "Am I the only one who finds that strange. What do you make of it" Tyrone asked. "That's fucked up" Billy said. He finished turning and bailed out of there.
The trio of vehicles got off the interstate at exit 56 to a small town called Niota. There they found a gas station. Davis and Carter went in to clear it. After a few minutes Carter gave the thumbs up to gas up. Billy put the nozzles in and set them. He opened the hatch on the camper. Soft groaning was coming from Courtney's mouth but no movement and her eyes stayed closed. After a couple minutes she grew quiet again. He closed the hatch and checked the gas pumps. The truck and jeep were topped off. He pulled the truck up and motioned Haley to pull the cruiser up.
Tyrone came out with three bags on each arm of supplies. Davis followed with boxes of water. Two bags and one box of water was loaded into each vehicle.
Davis opened a map onto the hood of his cruiser. "We can follow highway U.S 11 and get back on the interstate at ramp 68." Billy nodded and got back in his truck.
They zigzagged around cars and small packs of zombies. Eventually they were headed north on interstate 75. Running into more traffic jams along the way. Some they could slowly squeeze in between the rubble. Killing zombies here and there. If they got in front of Billy's truck he ran them over. Other jams they would get on the southbound lane and drive north until they passed them. Only stopping for bathroom breaks occasionally. By dusk they had driven through most of Tennessee.