Day 7

I was in the middle of nowhere and my truck was basically done. Having met the three men with the jeep was an interesting side note, but did not help my situation with a vehicle. Worse than the whole event I had just been thru was the location I was in, I half wished I took them up on the offer and gave myself a moment to tag along and not have to do so much pushing. I was tired , getting hungry, and time was wasting. Putting a hitch in my step I started making better time walking with a brisk pace while keeping my ears, and eyes open for any unsuspecting unpleasantness's.

It was the perfect setting for what was happening in the dark on this back road between house's. The area was desolate without much settlement and I was beginning to wonder if this was the wrong street to be on looking for wheels. Funny how certain areas are so undeveloped and others so over, I mean the area was rural and scenic I imagine in the right instances but tonight I just wanted a sign of life.

I was halfway down the winding part of the road where I remembered the trucks tires starting to fail when I heard trees moving off to my left. I stopped dead in my tracks and squatted down hoping that would help me be a little discreet as to my location. "crunch , crunch  , crack , pop " it sounded like a wounded deer fumbling thru the woods towards me, and I immediately had full attention to the noise and its location. I could feel the seat on my back getting cold as the chills crept over me and my hands starting shaking half with nervous energy and half with fear.

The moonlight was giving enough of a glow to the treeline for me to see where the noise was being made, I could see trees wiggle as whatever was moving approached me. Slowly I reached to my gun and made sure it was ready to fire. Aiming the barrel into the moving tree I imagined the noise would draw attention but the choice to not fire would be even worse for me. The trees before me started to wiggle and move and just as I started getting a dry mouth the figure emerged from the trees. "Don't shoot.." was all the woman managed to get out as she fell thru the last spot of brush and landing directly in front of me. Cringing it was a mere flinch and I would have blown her head off, fortunately for her my lack of gun experience saved her, because thinking back now she shouldn't have gotten a word out in the situation.

Quickly looking at the spot she emerged from I scanned all around the area for a "thing" in chase or maybe a friend in tow , but saw nothing. My goodness what a sight she was , she looked like a teacher from a school in Germany , with her blond hair cut short and sweater with reindeer on it , the type of sweater you get from someone as a joke or punishment. She was out cold with a small patter of blood near her mouth, like she ran into something or had to face butt someone, her condition was a bit confusing because aside from this she looked fine just a bit thru the mill but fine.

I threw down my sack full of food and weapons and layed her on top of it, then using the shotgun strap as a handle I started pulling her down the street. Even if she is OK I cant just leave her here can i? I pressed on and figured when she comes to shes on her way as well, in the meantime I needed to keep heading to my brothers and that could only happen with a vehicle.

Miles moved and I had only seen about 3 houses worth a crap and not one of them had a car that was even usable. For some reason they were all either crashed or still burning and I started to wonder why. Are the people doing this or the "things" ? Why would you take out your only source of transportation? It just didn't make any sense.

The fourth house was my jackpot for a vehicle, I had finally found someone with a taste for the overindulgent and the vehicle was the winner of the lottery on it. The truck in the driveway was everything the jeep was for the situation and I could not have been happier, A hardtop with four wheel drive and some stiffness, game on.

I dragged the unconscious woman to the back of the truck and tried the door. Click click, damn it was locked , time to go into the house in search of keys. I placed the woman somewhat under the back of the truck as a bit of protection and put down the pack . Then i made sure the shotgun was full tilt ready and made my way to the front of the house. Pitch black and no one around was the best description to make it had all of it's glass and doors so maybe it wasn't an easy truck to grab. I know I wouldn't be knocking like last time so I made my way around the house very slow and kept on sticking my eyes into the windows looking for any signs of life.

The back of the house was where the action had been, it was half burned out and there were bodies every couple of feet. It had the appearance of a bomb going off the way people were laid here and there and the small fire crackling in the living room. Whatever came here the people inside waged a war and it looked like there were no winners.

Making the best of the situation I did something that if you aren't in the position I was in sounds bad but I went thru the bodies pockets looking for keys and ammo. I found two hand grenades and one flare but no keys. I turned my attention to the house and made my way inside of the opening where the dining room wall once was, the house was shell shocked from the backside bad and the house reminded me of a dollhouse for a little girl with the back missing.

Looking everywhere I thought someone would keep keys to a truck and finding nothing I had the feeling this was an empty handed stop aside from some mean ass grenades, then I heard something try the front door. "Click clunk click clunk" ....my eyes were bugging out of my head , something was trying to open the front door and all I could do was listen to the door rattler move to the side of the house and slowly make their way to the back where i was standing. I didn't even want to breath heavy it was shallow breaths as I waited for eye contact to see what was indeed trying to open that door. Moments ticked by and it was a seeming eternity as the noises came by the side of the house closer to my stand. I wanted to duck down behind the couch or end table just to have a little cover and maybe make visualization before it could but I was frozen. Like a child caught in the cookie jar i dare not move. A figure emerged from the darkness into the opening that was the back of the house and as the moonlight made the face visible it was ....the woman I left under the truck outside.

My relief was very short as she started towards me and made her intentions all too obvious , she had been infected , bitten, whatever it took to make them what they are, she had it. I stepped backwards thru the rubble of the family room into the dark abyss that was the backyard as the beast followed. Slowly bringing my gun to the head of the "thing" I made a small gesture to stop with my empty hand . The "thing" didn't stop its forward progress and without so much as a sneeze I let my trigger finger yank, and without knowing how to fire a gun missed the beast and slammed my face and shoulder with the butt of the gun. Falling backwards over remnants of the rec room I was stunned and the gun was at my knees while I tried to get my stuff straight, and the "thing" was right on me. The blond haired German teacher type was almost at my feet when I got enough of my thoughts together and with nothing more than reflex and reaction to the panic moment I grabbed the gun off my knees and blew the things head and most of its left shoulder out into the parlour.

I sat there bleeding from the mouth and nose , with my shoulder throbbing covered in debris thinking "where the eff are the keys". I got back up and started searching for the keys again, this night wasn't ending with me walking again , no way.