Free Zombies! Rising from the Dead by Richard Palmer Page A

nearly met. I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, granted it would have only taken a few extra minutes to unload but it was time I couldn't afford to waste . Plus, I didn't want to turn my back to whatever might be making its way through the tree line . B acking in as I did ensured that I had a clear line of sight and a s traight path. I unloaded my supplies in what only took minutes; but it seemed like hours.

    I made my last trip and after securing the truck I ran inside a nd hastily fastened the front door behind me. M y back slammed against the wall. As I leaned there with only the wall holding me up I looked out upon my living room, from in here nothing seemed out of
    Place; all was as it should be , nothing seem ed amiss. It was dark and quiet, a peace and serenity I hadn't been privy to all day.

    I breathed a huge sigh of relief, my adrenaline supplies spent my legs buckled and I slowly slid down until my ass was squarely on the floor with my legs outstretched before me, the linoleum was cool and soothing. The adrenaline rush faded and was replaced by exhaustion...I inadvertently drifted off to sleep. I awakened thirty minutes later startled by the fact that I had allowed myself to pass out in such a precarious situation. I did my best to shake it off and got to my feet. I took a cursory look around the house, “ time to get busy. ” I thought.

    I separated my supplies and set to task. I started with the o utlying rooms first, rooms that would be the first point of entry if any of those things managed to get through. The bedrooms, living room and kitchen were first; b oarding them up, sealing cracks ; all the while checking outside from time to time to see if any of these h ellish monstrosities headed my way. Luckily I had seen nothing other than what Rick and I had run into. Funny thing . . . you don't realize how big most homes are until you have to go through them room by room like this. I had all the windows and doors boarded up in a day, but it took several days before I felt the place was truly secure.

    I talked with Rick on the radio throughout the next few day s , just to keep check on him and find out how things were going on his end. As expected Amanda was a mess and not really able to do much of anything; it was all going to be up to Rick to do what needed to be done.

    A few nights later I was awakened from something that I guess could be called sleep, although as li te as it was most wouldn't consider it as suc h. It was 3 in the morning when Rick’s f rantic voice came over the radio.

    “Alex pick up, you there? I really need to talk to you, please man, pick up!”

    “Hey, I'm here, what’s going on?” I said

    “Fuck man, they are here! They’re fucking here! Awww shhitttt , what do we do now?”

    He was on the verge of losing it.

    I thought he was mistaken, after-all there had been that creature skulking about when I had left only days earlier; I thought perhaps that was what he was seeing. “Slow down, slow down, what’s going on?”

    “Fuck dude, they're outside, they're outside. We...we...were asleep upstairs, and I started hearing things . . . 'thought maybe it was an animal or something. I went to check it out, and I saw six of ' em at the door. They know were here man, I don't know how, but they know.” His voice trembled over the radio.

    I tried not to show my alarm. “Listen, listen...Stay calm, STAY CALM DAMNIT! They DON'T know your there, okay? They're probably just acting out of instinct, you heard that guy on the radio remember, RIGHT? Your safe, those things are weak, they can't get in. Just calm the fuck down. Besides you don't want to get Amanda worked up do you? It's going to be okay. You just have to hang tight.”

    The fact of the matter was I really didn't know wh at these things were capable of; no more so than Rick or anyone else. All I had to go on was what we had been told and what we had seen in person. I did know one thing; it wouldn't do any good