Free The Home: A Zombie Survival Short Story by Chris Stoesen Page A

lot. Silence and stillness were the only features of the lot in front of them.
    "Inside that ALF is medicine. They keep plenty of it on hand. My aunt and uncle are or were in there. Aunt Jenny is a diabetic too. I know they will have insulin. I have no idea why there is still power on everywhere, but for whatever reason, it's on. That means the insulin in there is still good."
    "ALF? What the hell does a really bad old TV show have to do with this?" Meredith sneered.
    For her part, Mikayla looked puzzled as well.
    With his left hand, the man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
    He sighed and said, "An ALF is an Assisted Living Facility. This is a retirement home for people with dementia and Alzheimer's. There is a medical cart in there and in the kitchen there is a medicine refrigerator. There should be everything we need in there."
    He rolled his neck, "We need to get in there. The damn doors are always locked though. We will have to kick them in. Any of those people inside there, will be fucked if we open those doors. Then again, I have no clue if any of them are really alive anymore. The staff must have fled when this started. If anyone turned inside there, we could be in for a rough time."
    Pointing to the car, Mikayla pointed out, "that car might be usable, Mr. Carlton."
    "Please do not do that again, I told you both, just Carlton. You both make me feel ancient."
    A smile broke across both girls' faces. Mikayla said, "We have known you since we were little girls. It is hard to think of you any other way."
    He just gave each girl a hard look that made them giggle more.
    "OK, we are going to check out that car first. Follow me."
    He ran for the car and glanced through the passenger window. Inside was an all too familiar sight. Leaning across from the passenger seat was an infected woman. The back of her head was torn open. There were specks of dried blood and brain tissue on the roof of the car and only a bit on the window. She was lying across a body of a man.
    Carlton moved around the car and saw the man lying outside of the car. The dead zombie was in his lap. The head of the man was in ruins. His right arm was curved up to his head and still held a small frame snub-nosed revolver. It must have been a .357 given the damage from the two shots that he could see it made.
    Reaching down, he removed the pistol from the man's hands. He saw the Smith and Wesson logo on the side of the frame. Opening the chamber, he saw that only two of the five rounds had been fired. He worked the ejector and picked out the two spent shells and dropped them on the ground.
    Mikayla gagged as she rounded the car, "I don't think I can ride in that. I can barely stand near that stink. With all that has happened, I have no idea how I still am not used to this."
    Meredith also had a look of revulsion on her face.
    Sticking the small J Frame Model 360 revolver in his back pocket, he whispered, "keep a sharp watch."
    He then unslung his pack. Unzipping the side pocket, he withdrew some yellow rubber kitchen gloves. Grabbing the man by the shoulders of his shirt, Carlton dragged the body of the man out of the car. He was thankful that neither person was sear belted. He saw the bite marks on the arm of the dead man. She must have bitten him and he decided he would rather be truly dead rather than the ambulatory kind.
    The woman was far nastier. But she was not the worst zombie that they had seen. She must have turned in the car ride. There was a single bite mark on the woman's ankle. She wore a short dress with sandals. Carlton grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the vehicle, being careful not to get any fluids on himself. Once the two were laid out on the grass, he moved back to the car.
    The keys were in the ignition and turned to the start position. There was no gas. The car had sat idling in park until it ran out of gas and then battery.
    Carlton muttered one word, "Shit."
    Meredith just started to laugh. Both Carlton and Mikayla shot her