Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:18:55 -0500 From: John Ashton <johnashton07@gmail.com> Subject: Outbreak iowa 2 This story contains, at times, graphic depictions of zombie attacks. It also will contain depictions of sexual relations between members of the same sex. If either of these offend you, or are illegal for you to read this is not the story for you. Please keep in mind that this story is based in a time frame in which law enforcement is unable to react. Nothing in this story is suggesting that breaking the law is ok. Make your own decisions, and live with the consequences. Do not blame a story for your own actions. This story is the property of the author and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent. This is a work of fiction and similarities to people, places, etc. is purely coincidental. I would like to thank those of you who have written in with comments or suggestions. Your e-mails make this story a lot more fun to write, as I know people are reading. If you would like to write in, my e-mail is johnashton07@gmail.com . If you enjoy this story or others in the Nifty Archive, please consider a small donation to the website. Donations are the only way that this and other stories can be made available free of charge. --- ---- --- In a few minutes the town turned into corn fields. Houses were suddenly very spread out. The darkness became even darker, and there was no sound but the engine's hum and the rocks beneath the tires. "Where are we going?" Josh asked. "My parents' place. They are out of state. I am supposed to be watching it while they are gone. It is not too much further." Tara said. "Are we going to talk about what just happened back there?" Jason said. "Just shut up, we are almost there." Tara said, tears falling down her cheeks. Josh laid back in the seat and closed his eyes. The world just got a lot more fucked up. Chapter 2 The silence of the country was somewhat relaxing. At least there were no people running through the streets eating each other. The sky was clear, and there were more stars shining than Josh had seen in a long time. Even the light of the town faded into the horizon. They were approaching a large house with light shining through the windows. Tara slowed the car down and signaled into the driveway of the house. As the car was parked a man came through the door to the house and stood on the door step. Tara opened her door without speaking and motioned for Josh and Jason to follow. Josh stepped out of the car and took a look at the front. It had been dented in by the people that had been hit. There was a bit of blood smeared across the headlights, giving a slight red hue to the light which soon turned off as Jason closed his door. "Where have you been? And what happened to your car!" the man said walking down the driveway. He looked to be early 20's and stood a bit taller than Josh. He was wearing a pair of pajama pants that hung just at his hips, showing a pair of dark briefs under them. He had a beautiful caramel color to his skin, which was enhanced slightly by the warm porch light. His abs were slightly defined and his chest was clean of hair. "Have you not seen the news? The state is in martial law! We were at the mall; people went crazy! We had to run before they..." Tara said running up to him crying. "What are you talking about?" The man said. "Gale, they are killing people! Eating them!" Tara said. "What?" Gale said looking disbelieving. "It is true, man. We have to get inside. GO!" Jason said pushing behind the rest of them. The inside of the house was impressive. There was a large living room leading into a dining room and kitchen. A bathroom could be seen through the dining room, and stairs leading up to a second level where bedrooms must be. The living room consisted of 2 couches, a large flat screen TV with a cable box, DVD player, and stereo. There was enough room to move around comfortably which made being shoved inside a bit easier. "What are you talking about?! Stop shoving man we can all walk on our own!" Gale said as he was pushed through the door way. "Do you have wood? Nails? Duck tape? Anything to block the doors?" Jason said looking to Tara. "Yeah, in the basement there should be some wood in the shop." Tara said leading them to the kitchen. Through the kitchen there was a staircase leading to the basement. Josh and Jason headed down and a few minutes later were back at the front door pounding nails into the door frame. "Holy shit would someone explain what the hell is going on? That is my house you are fucking with!" Gale said. "Gale, we already told you what we know. Check the TV, there has to be something on the news." Tara said taking the remote and turning on the TV. The TV flickered on, but the signal had gone down. All that was showing on any channel was a logo of the cable company, and a message that the receiver was searching for a signal. "Nothing... That is weird, it was working earlier today." Gale said before turning back to the other three. "So let me get this straight. The state is being overrun with zombies?" "No one said anything about there being zombies. Just people going crazy... and eating each other." Jason said. "How were you not taken to the shelters? Have you been here all day?" Tara asked. "Yeah, I was watching a couple movies, and then I took a nap. You guys aren't joking are you?" Gale said. "No joke, finish nailing these boards up, me and Josh are going to get the windows. Who knows how long they will take to get out here." Jason said handing Gale a hammer. "Tara, start pounding nails into something! Move!" It took about an hour, but they got the doors and windows boarded up as best as they could. They met back at in the living room as they finished their last jobs, and sat on the couch. "I don't understand. There was a plane crash, and then riots, and then people start eating each other? It doesn't make sense." Gale said. "I know it is crazy, but believe me you don't want to be in town right now." Jason said. "We just have to stay here, and hold out for a while. Maybe it will die down by tomorrow. We can go see what is up." "You feel free to go into town and get your face eaten off, I will stay right here." Tara said pulling her knees in close. "Did you see what that guy did to that woman? He was eating her breast. The blood..." "Forget it. We are out of there and there is no one around. We should get some sleep." Jason said wrapping his arm around Tara. Tara and Jason stood up and headed up to one of the bedrooms. Gale stood up and walked over to Josh and offered his hand. "I am Gale, by the way. It was kind of crazy when you guys got here, sorry I didn't introduce myself." Gale said with a slight smile. "Josh, likewise." Josh said. "So how old are you?" Gale asked. "20...1? 22?" "22, yourself?" Josh responded. "20." Gale said with a smile. "So things are still settling in about this... People really started eating each other?" "Yeah... I don't really want to talk about it tonight." "So... how do you know my sister?" Gale asked taking a seat on the couch. "Umm, I don't really. I work with Jason, and I just met her tonight at the shelter." Josh said wiping a bit of sweat from his face. "Shit, eyeliner in my eye!" "That sucks." Gale said with a chuckle. "Yeah..." Josh said standing up and walking into the bathroom. Josh looked into the mirror and saw that he had black streaks running down his face. He grabbed a washcloth that was hanging by the sink and wet it down. He rubbed at his face until most of the black was gone. He walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. Gale had gone upstairs to a bedroom and Josh laid down on the couch. He looked over on the shelf and there was a notebook. He got up and grabbed it and a pen before falling asleep. --- ----- --- September 12 It has been a week since the incident at the mall. We haven't seen anyone on the road outside the house, and no one is willing to leave the house. I figured I would start a log of what is going on, because I am going a little crazy here. The power went out two days ago, but there is a generator on the property so we have power when we need it. We use a lot of candles, but who knows how long those will last us. Candles aren't the worst of our problems. Food is getting low as well. We are down to a few cans of vegetables and a bit of the casserole Glen made which is starting to get old. Josh is spending a lot of time in front of the damn TV, when the generator is on that is. The same emergency broadcast has been playing since we lost any other signal when the power went out. It seems that whatever is happening, it is global now. The only broadcasts now are messages telling people to stay put and help will come. Tara is getting stir crazy. Hell maybe she is just crazy. She paces a lot, and yells at anyone or no one in particular. I can't say that I blame her, shit going to hell and all, but she is a little psycho these days. Gale, what is there to say about him? He keeps Tara calm when he can, I guess. He keeps us all calm. His voice is soothing. He has some good reasoning skills too. Glad he is here or we would have all torn each other apart before those... things... could have. We need to agree on a name for those... --- ----- --- "Why are you always scribbling in that damn book?" Tara asked. "Let me see it." "No, that is private. It helps." Josh said. "Maybe you should try it. It would help you relax." "Relax? You think I need to relax?" Tara said standing up angrily. "No I think you need medication." Josh mumbled under his breath. "I heard that!" Tara said lunging across the coffee table. "HEY!" Josh said grabbing a hold of Tara before she could do any damage. "Cool down!" "What is going on in here?" Gale said looking into the room. "This ass hole is calling me crazy!" Tara said trying to get away from Jason's grip. "Well if the shoe fits! Look at yourself!" Josh said throwing the notebook to the side. "Do you call this sane?" "Maybe if you would do something other than scratch away at that fucking notebook I wouldn't snap!" Tara said. "Now just calm down. We were doing so well. No fights for 2 days, and now this." Gale said. "Talk to Josh over there." Tara said calming down enough that Jason let her go. "I am not talking to anyone." Gale said. "Jason go get us something to drink." "Umm, man, our choices are water or, well, water. Food is almost gone too." Jason said. "Shit." Tara said. "We are going to have to go get food today." Jason said. "I am not going out there with those zombies walking around town eating people." Josh said. "Would you stop calling them that? They are not zombies." Tara said. "Oh I am sorry... With those dead corpses that walk around moaning and eating people, but are not zombies, walking around town. Better?" Josh said rolling his eyes. "Whatever. I am not going either. That is suicide." Tara said. "Well what do you suggest we eat?" Gale said. "Maybe they have cleared out of town a bit. You don't know they are still there." "And you don't know they aren't there picking off the people that come back." Tara suggested. "True, but I do know that we have one meal left, and we will run out of water soon enough too. We don't have many options than to run for supplies." Gale said. "I agree. I say we run to Costco, and clear out what we can and get back here. We can be in and out in an hour." Jason said setting down some glasses of water. "Well I am not going." Tara said. "Josh, are you coming?" Gale asked. "We need three people. Always works out better." "Do we even have any weapons?" Josh asked. "Umm... A few. Dad had a couple rifles for hunting" Tara said. "And there are knives and bats and other blunt objects. Everything is a weapon if you know how to use it." Jason said. "So are you coming?" Gale asked. "You know... whatever. It will get me out of here for a while." Josh said. "Alright, guns are in the office, grab whatever else you want as a weapon as well, we leave in 10 minutes." Jason said. "Wait, why the hurry?" Josh asked. "We need to go as soon as possible. We don't want to be caught in the dark and it is already 4. We need to leave enough room to get back here long before sunset." A few minutes went by as the three of them ran around the house grabbing anything they could use as a weapon. Tara sat quietly in the living room and the other three one by one stood by the door to show they were ready to leave. Jason began pulling the nails out of the door to grant them access to the outside. "You are all really going to just leave me here alone, aren't you?" Tara said. "You are more than welcome to join us." Josh said. "Tara, you will be fine, we will be fine. We need food, and whatever else we can find if we are going to stay here." Jason said. "Whatever. Don't come crying to me when your face gets eaten off." Tara said. "We will be back by sunset Tara." Gale said. "Turn on the generator and watch a movie; we will probably be back before you finish it." With that, they left closing the door behind them. Tara stood up and walked to the garage where the generator switch is. She switched it on and the house lit up. After a few minutes she had chosen a movie and slipped it into the DVD player and sat on the couch. She felt something under her. She stood up and saw the notebook where she had been sitting. She picked it up and started reading. --- ----- --- It was a five minute drive to town. Josh found it frightening to be reminded how close they were to the zombies. Fuck it, that is what they are. As soon as they got into town they saw people lying on the ground. All of them looked to have been feasted on and none were recognizable. It was probably for the best, as Josh was not sure how he would react if he recognized someone. They pulled onto a major street, and quickly decided it was not worth the trouble of trying to dodge the cars that had been tipped over or just plain abandoned. Jason maneuvered the car onto a side street that was less cluttered and made his way south to the warehouse store. When they arrived they noted that the lights were all off. The parking lot was trashed, but it didn't look as if anyone was actually parked there. Jason parked the truck right near the entrance and the three of them unloaded and grabbed their weapons. Gale came around the side of the truck carrying a riffle. Jason had a wooden bat swinging at his side. Josh closed the door after grabbing a large hunting knife from the seat next to him and stashing it in a belt holster. "There may be people inside there." Josh said. "It isn't the people that I am worried about." Jason said. "You should be." Gale said. "They probably wouldn't appreciate a couple guys rolling up and taking off with a bunch of food." "Well we came this far." Josh said walking forward to the door. He slammed into the glass sheet hard enough that a crash could be heard. "Did you really think it would open for you?" Gale asked, smiling slightly. "I guess so." Josh said. Jason pried open the door and lead the way in holding his bat ready. There was a crash toward the back of the store and the sound of running feet coming toward them. Gale readied his gun and Josh pulled out the knife. "Welcome to Costco, I love you." Gale mumbled to himself. "What?" Jason asked. "Nothing, it is from a movie." Gale said. "Isle three!" Josh yelled as he saw a man come running down the isle toward them. The man seemed to be missing his left arm, and his right didn't look to be in much better shape. His jaw hung limp and his cheeks looked to be sunken in with decay. Jason took a step forward and smacked the bat across the man's temples and he fell to the ground mid stride. It twitched a couple times and fell still. "What the fuck!" Gale said stepping back. "Did you think we were joking about them?" Jason said. "I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this." Gale said. "Let's just get some food and get out of here." Josh said moving toward the oversized carts and grabbing one. "Let's split up and grab what we can. There has to be some food and supplies left." Jason said. "Famous last words, man. `Let's split up'. No, we better stick together. We don't need one of those things jumping out and eating anyone." Josh said pushing carts to the other two. "I agree. I am not wandering on my own." Gale said. "So be it." Jason said leading the way down one of the isles. The store had been hit already. Most of the obvious choices were taken. There were a few canned goods left, mostly beans and `cream of' soups. They were able to grab a few cases of Ramen and other types of noodles from the next isle over. Josh headed up a few paces to grab a huge bag of marshmallows. "You know, I am pretty familiar with Costco. I went to law school here." Josh said with a smile. "You have seen it!" Gale said reflecting the smile. "Not many people have. It is a bad movie, but it has some funny quotes to take from it." "What are you guys talking about?" Jason asked grabbing a case of gram crackers. "Idiocracy. It is a movie." Gale said lifting out a case of flour. They continued through the store grabbing what they could. They made their way to the liquor section. "Really? You want to get drunk?" Jason asked. "Well sure, but this stuff is good for a lot of things. Take it all." Gale said. "The higher proof the better." They filled the carts with as much liquor as they could and headed to the front. They passed the sporting goods section which had pretty well been cleared out with the exception of a couple boxes of ammo and a bow. They took them and headed out the front of the store. Josh and Jason opened the back and began piling stuff into the car while Gale kept a look out for whatever might be moving out there. Gale readied his gun when he saw 2 people running to them. They seemed to be whole, but he couldn't see their faces. Josh and Jason stopped loading and pulled their weapons as well. As the two of them drew closer they saw that one was a teenager, couldn't be older than 14. The other was a woman who looked to be in her 40s. The stopped a few yards away and held their hands in the air. "Please don't shoot. We are alive." The woman said crying. "Please, we need help." "We are not the ones to help you ma'am." Jason said. "Please we have no where to go. We got separated from our group and we can't stay out here alone. We have no way to protect ourselves." The woman said. "My son, he is only a child. We need to get out of here." "Ma'am I am sorry, but we do not know you. The store has some food left in it, which is as much as we can offer." Jason said. "Man, it is a woman and kid. We can't just leave them." Josh whispered. "We have to; who knows what would happen if we did any more." Jason said. Josh holstered his knife and took a few steps forward. "I am sorry; all we can do is offer you some food. We grabbed a bunch, I am sure we can spare a case or two." Josh grabbed a case of ramen and handed it to the woman. The exchange took only a second, but it was long enough for the boy to pull out a gun and grab Josh and put it to his head. The boy was still shaking and sweat was rolling down his face. "I think we will take it all, and the car." The woman said pulling out a small gun herself. "What the fuck." Josh said to himself. "You people are new here aren't you? This is how this is going to work. We are going to take your car, and you are going to take a seat on the curb and watch us drive away. Drop your weapons." The woman said. Jason dropped his bat, but Gale quickly lifted his gun and shot the woman between the eyes. The shock of the second allowed Josh to duck out of the hold of the boy. The boy stood there shaking and holding the gun out in front of him. He wasn't even aiming it. After a few seconds tears started streaming down his face. "Just kill me already." The boy said. "Drop your gun." Gale said. The boy dropped his gun and fell to his knees. Gale walked over and picked the gun up and took the woman's gun as well. He backed up and motioned for Josh and Jason to get in the car. He followed suit and they drove off. "Are you done making stupid choices Josh? I sure as fuck hope so." Gale said. "We are just going to leave him?" Josh said. "Yes. He drew on us, threatened to leave us stranded and steal our food. Yes." Gale said. "Damn it Josh, what were you thinking?" Jason said. Josh just sat back stayed quiet for the drive home. The drive home was uneventful, except for the odd body laying in the street or dodging the cars that lay abandoned. Once they reached the edge of town the way was clear. They stopped the car in the driveway as close to the door as they could get. Tara walked out of the house and helped unload the truck. "So what happened out there? You guys are quiet." Tara said looking to Jason. "Josh about got himself killed. Offered some of the food to a couple people we met in the parking lot and they tried to take the truck." Jason said. "Well that was stupid." Tara offered. "Hey shut the fuck up! You weren't there. It was a kid and a lady." Josh said. "And that is supposed to change things how?" Tara said. "Hey lay off Josh. He was just trying to be nice." Gale said. "Hell I would have done it if he didn't." "Whatever, it is done." Josh said. "Just get this shit in the house and we can lock up." They finished unloading in silence and Josh headed into the kitchen to put what he could in the fridge and freezer. Tara came around the corner to the kitchen as Josh finished cramming what he could in for saving. "I found your little notebook. Interesting reading." Tara said. "That was private. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Josh said. "You know, Gale may be a nice guy, but he is not gay, and is definitely not going to get with you. Clear that from your head pronto." Tara said. "What are you talking about?" Josh asked. "The way you write about him, look at him, it is pretty damn obvious and it isn't going to happen." Tara said. "Move on." "I don't know what you are talking about. Go be useful, elsewhere." Josh said. Tara threw the notebook on the counter. Josh glared as she walked out of the room. He leaned back on the counter brooding. `Who the fuck did she think she was? Making assumptions, walking around high and mighty, and what good had she done the whole time. She sat on her butt while the guys did the work. And what was she talking about Gale like that? I don't like Gale like that. Do I?' Gale stepped into the kitchen and saw Josh. His face was going blue and sweat was beading on his forehead. He walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder. "You've got to breathe man; you are going to pass out like that!" Gale said giving his shoulder a slight nudge. "What?" Josh said, his breath coming back. "What was that?" Gale asked. "Nothing... I guess I was just thinking." Josh said. "Well be sure you keep breathing next time, alright? We don't need you passing out because you were lost in thought." Gale said with a smile. "Yeah..." Josh said. "This your journal or something?" Gale said picking up the notebook. "It is a log of what has been going on. It makes the time pass I guess." Josh said holding out his hand for the notebook. "Can I see it?" Gale asked. "It is private. I don't know. I don't really like people reading my writing." Josh said. "It cant be that bad." Gale said. "Fine, whatever. Read it. I don't care." Josh said dropping his hand. --- ----- --- September 6 I found this notebook, and I figured it would be wise to keep a record of the events that are taking place. It seems like a bad dream, but every time the TV turns on I am reminded that it actually happened, is happening. The people... the dead ones. I guess they are zombies, but when ever I say the word Tara freaks out. They stormed the shelter and we had to run. No one knew what was going on at the time, but people were attacking and eating each other. We ran out and Tara drove me and Jason to her house. Her brother was here and we had a hard time convincing him we should board the place up. I keep looking outside through the cracks in the boards for any sign of people. There have been no cars, or even people walking. I guess that is a good thing. -- --- -- September 7 Tara is driving me insane. We are still working on making the house a bit more secure. She has to be the laziest person I have met. Jason has been trying to get her to help him with the upstairs and she sits on the couch. Gale helped me secure the garage today. He really knows how to use a hammer. It is nice watching him work, if I didn't have so much to do myself. The garage door had to be bolted to the ground, we couldn't have it opening and closing so easily. He came up with a pretty good plan to drill through the wells for the wheels that open the door, and bolt those through as well so the door would not open even if someone tried. From the outside that is. I have yet to see any sign of people outside. -- --- -- September 8 I am going to kill a bitch. I will love every second of it, too. I do not know how the others put up with her. Tara left the freezer open last night and the entire kitchen is flooded with water. Not only that, but about a weeks worth of food went bad. She has the nerve to yell at me for having a beer while she cleaned. I would have killed her if Gale didn't step in. It isn't just me that was pissed at her. Jason was furious. But as soon as Gale stepped in he knew how to calm everyone down. He even had us laughing after a few minutes. It doesn't mean that I am not still pissed at Tara. I thought I saw a car approaching through the cracks in the window, but it never went by. For all I know we could be the only ones around anymore. What a hellish existence that would be. Stuck with Tara for life, no escape. To top it all off, the power is gone. We have to use candles now, except for when we can get the generator going. It will only last so long so we have to be smart about when we use it. Cooking is about it. -- --- -- September 9 Gale is probably the best cook I have ever met. He went through the cupboards and threw together a casserole from heaven. It put a silver lining on the day. Tara and Jason made a mess of the attic and one of the bedrooms. They were trying to close up a window we had neglected to board up. Jason says that he lost his footing and put his foot through the floor into one of the bedrooms. While trying to fix that somehow Tara hit a pipe and water went everywhere. Of course this was all my fault because I drank the last cup of coffee this morning. Gale pulled me out of one of our "heated discussions" to help him in the kitchen. I was glad to be away from Tara and Jason. I can only take so much of that woman, and she is always around Jason. Still no sign of other people. I would have thought someone would have driven by. -- --- -- September 10 No sign of people, still. I want conversation with someone who are not going to spit, growl, or attack me. And no, I am not talking about the corpses in town. Tara is a bitch. We decided to check the TV and see if there was any news. There just an emergency broadcast on every channel. Stay put, help will come. Jason and Tara have been in bed most of the day. I guess that is for the best. It keeps her away from me at least. Glen has spent most of the day cleaning up and doing average household stuff. It is weird to think of doing that stuff now, but I guess we have to maintain this house if we are going to stay here. -- --- -- September 11 It is chilly tonight. I guess it is a sign that fall is right here. It is soon going to be a whole new game I guess. I wonder if the cold might put an end to the threat? One could hope. It is still a ways off, but something to look forward to would be nice. I am starting to think that we all might be getting a little stir crazy. I know I am. You can only look at the same wall for so long. Every now and then Gale will come around the corner and flash that smile of his and ask for a little help with something. I cant say no to that. Tara has been avoiding me all day. I think I prefer it that way. If she isn't yelling at someone she is yelling at herself, or ghosts in the walls I guess. At least it isn't me today. There is still no sign of people. Maybe boarding up the house wasn't necessary. It would be nice to be able to get out of the house, even if just to walk around the yard a bit. Maybe tomorrow. --- ----- --- Gale put the notebook on the counter. He took a deep breath and looked at Josh. "She isn't that bad..." Gale said with a slight chuckle. "Really now." Josh said rolling his eyes. "No, she isn't. She is just stressed and this is how she has always reacted when she is stressed." Gale said with a smile. "She isn't the only one who is stressed, Gale. The world is falling apart and she needs to get it together." Josh said. "And she needs to stop treating me like shit." "I'll talk to her. Just give her some time." Gale said. "And at least I know all I have to do is smile to make you chill." He added before walking away. "Damn it all." Josh said to himself.