Mitch (© William Estes)
Page 2 One looked up
at him and Mitch swung the crowbar into its nose. It made a dull thud. The
second looked up at him and he swung the crowbar at its head. By this time
the third noticed at him. It stood up and Mitch limped over. It slowly stepped
over the deer and Mitch saw his chance. He swung down hitting the dead man’s
knee. The zombie fell down. As it struggled to get back up Mitch hit it in the
back of the head. He limped over
to the side of the road. He looked in both directions again. He didn’t see
anymore. Mitch walked back to the girl. She had one bag filled with food.
Another half empty one sat beside her. She looked at
him, “Good.” she didn’t say anything else. The water a
few feet bubbled. She stepped back. Mitch avoided slipping in the mud as he
walked down. The water bubbled as a form rose up. Jim stood up.
His eyes were glazed over and his skin pale. He obviously drowned during the
accident. Jim looked over at the girl and then at him. He almost seemed to
recognize Mitch.. The zombie turned his attention to Mitch. Jim then turned his
attention to the girl. It waded to
her. Mitch slid down and hit the zombie on the side of the head. Jim fell down.
He struggled to get up. Mitch swung down again and hit Jim in the temple. The
dead man fell back into the water. “You alright?”
he asked her. She nodded her head. A few minutes later she filled up a third
bag halfway up. She placed the first bag carefully on her left shoulder. She
struggled to pull the right one on her right shoulder. Mitch walked
up and helped slide it over. The girl stood up. She then grabbed the third bag
with her right hand. “Can you get
that alright?” he asked. “Just protect
me. It might be all our food for a while,” she said. The girl stood up. They crawled
up to the roadside. The highway was quiet. Mitch looked down at the body as
they passed by. It was Wayne. Mitch was glad he didn’t have to deal with him. “How far until
we get there?” she asked. “About half- a
mile until we reach the gate,” he said. He looked back her. “Tell me when you
get tired.” They stopped
two more times before making it to the gate. Each time they stopped Mitch
carefully checked each direction for the dead. None could be seen. The dead
didn’t have enhanced senses as some people thought instead since most of their
brains were turned off they focused all their attention on their senses.. She dropped
the bags on the ground as he unlocked the gates. “Did you like
him?” she asked. Mitch looked at her realized who she was talking about. “Not really. I
don’t think he trusted many people,” said Mitch. “But maybe he
wanted to bring you along because he could depend on you. Maybe you could help
him grab a woman?” she asked. “It wasn’t
like that,” said Mitch. “I couldn’t have said anything they would have kicked
me out. Anyway I was the smallest guy there.” The girl drug
a bag behind a bush. After putting a second behind it she said, “I’ll come back
for these.” She took a
long look at his leg. Mitch glanced down at it. “I’m alright.
It only hurts a little,” Mitch said. It actually hurt a lot. The house sat
three quarters of a mile up a hill. It sat hidden behind large rows of trees.
Mitch carefully scanned the area. He didn’t see that any snuck in. The woods were
quiet. A breeze blew branches, but he didn’t hear anything else. He unlatched
the door and opened it. Mitch waited a second and looked into the dark
interior. He expected one to walk out, but nothing happened. He dug out his
lighter and said, “I’ll be right back.” Mitch walked
around until he found a lantern. After lighting it he showed it near the front
door. She walked in and dropped the bag. Seeing a chair she walked over and
collapsed into it. Mitch shut the door and locked it. [ Continue to page 3 ] |