The Zombie Apocalypse Box

“Sue, do you think any of our neighbors are still alive?” Jared asks me when we wake up on the third day of the zombie apocalypse.

“I figure a few might be, but you know none of them were preppers like we are.”

Jared grunts in acknowledgement and then says, “Even so, it might not be a bad idea to see if any of them are still alive and if they’re willing to work with us to defend the area from zombies. With it just being us, it’ll get harder to protect ourselves, but if we have more people, we can set up watches and better defenses.”

“You’ve got a point. I’ve been sleeping lightly each night and starting at each sound I hear,” I confess.

“I’ve noticed,” Jared grumbles.

“Is that why you’re making this suggestion?”

“It’s one of the reasons. But the truth is we’re out here all alone and it only takes one mistake and then we’re dead. And we still don’t know what caused the zombie apocalypse. Maybe one of our neighbors will know.”

“So what do you want to do Jared? Do we leave one of us here, or do we both go? I would prefer we both go.”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there. Fortunately we’ve got a full tank of gas for the car, so we can do a bit of driving and still get back here.”

“Alright, then let’s go and see what’s left of the world around us,” I brightly say, trying to keep the fear I feel buried.

We eat a quick breakfast and then get in the car. I drive down the paved road to our house keeping a wary eye out for zombies or anything else that might stumble in the way, but there’s nothing around us.

I take a right at the entrance to the road, deciding it’s a good idea to visit our nearest neighbors, the Kinsleys, first. We drive for a mile and then take a left onto their property. We haven’t talked with the Kinsleys much. They only moved in about a year ago and while they weren’t unfriendly, they weren’t exactly friendly either.

We drive down the gravel path and I wince a bit at the bumpiness of the drive. I had hoped they would improve the driveway, but clearly they had left it just the way they’d gotten it. We reach the end and I park the car beside the battered blue pickup.

“Their truck is here. Let’s see if they’re home,” Jared says.

“Carefully. They’ve probably been attacked too,” I say.

Jared nods and gets out of the car. I turn off the engine and ease out of the driver’s seat, wincing a bit at the achiness I feel in my legs. I take a moment and stretch, getting the kinks out of my body.

Jared’s got the shotgun on his shoulder and a pistol at his belt. I’ve got a pistol on my belt as well. A week ago I’d have self-conscious about showing up with guns, but now it just makes sense. We warily walk to the front steps of the porch.

“Anyone here?” Jared yells out.

We wait, but no one responds.

“I’m going to the front door,” Jared says. “You stay down here and keep me covered.”

“Ok,” I reply.

Jared gingerly walks up the stairs to the porch and goes to the front door and raps it with his broad knuckles. We wait for what seems like forever, but it’s probably only a few minutes.

“I don’t think anyone’s here,” I suggest.

“I think you’re right and something isn’t right.”

Jared turns around to walk back toward me and stumbles on a brown paper box that’s just to the left. He catches himself before he falls and then takes a look at the box.

“Come up here!”

I walk up the stairs.

“What is it?”

“Have you ever heard of Zombii Co?”

“No?! Have you?”

“Not until today. Look at that package I stumbled over. The return address goes to Zombii Co. And there’s some wetness at the bottom of the box. What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t think we should touch that box. Whatever is in it belongs to the Kinleys. I think we should just get out of here.”

“You’re right. I’m just wondering if this brown box is connected to the zombie attacks we dealt with.”

“If it is that’s another reason NOT to do anything with the brown box.”

“Hmmm…You’re right, Sue. Let’s get out of here.”

Suddenly we hear a crash in the house. I run down the stairs and Jared is right behind me.

“Unnnggrrryyyyyyyy!!!”

“I think it’s safe to say the Kinleys are zombies,” I observe.

“Yeah, and it’s probably because of whatever was in that box,” Jared replies.

“Let’s get back to the farm, and get prepared in case they come our way.”

We hop into the car and I start it up and then reverse out of my parking spot. I put the car into drive and glance in the rearview window. The front door of the Kinleys’ residence pops open and out comes a teenage zombie. I put the car in drive and she starts chasing after us, screeching. We’re bouncing down that gravel road and I want to drive faster, but the problem with gravel is it forces you to drive slow.

The teenage zombie is gaining fast on us. Jared’s pulled out his pistol and twisted around to try and shoot her, but we’re bouncing down the road too much.

“Can’t you drive steadier?” Jared whines.

“Not on gravel. Want to take over and try?”

“No, just get us way from the zombie.”

I reach the end of the driveway and spin out into the road, with gravel raining everywhere. The zombie screeches and leaps at our car, landing on the back hood.

“Drive!” Jared bellows.

I slam my foot on the gas and peel down the road. The zombie falls off the back of the car and bounces onto the road.

I quickly reach our driveway and turn left with a wide turn. We almost go into the field of crops, but I manage to steady the car and then drive us to our house and put the car in park and turn it off. For a moment Jared and I breathe heavily and look at each other with the hunted stare of people who have survived something crazy.

“Hunnnggrrrryyyyyyyyy!”

“She followed us,” Jared says.

“To her death, which is going to be a mercy for her,” I reply.

We both get out of the car and there the teenage zombie is, tearing down the driveway, her skin bloody and bruised from taking a tumble onto the paved road.

Jared coolly aims his pistol and shoots her three times in the head. The teenage zombie stumbles and falls to the ground dead.

“We’d better cart her to where the others are, and also make sure more aren’t coming,” I say.

“I’ll get the wheel barrow.”

A few moments later, Jared returns and we carefully scoop the body of the teenage zombie into the wheel barrow using shovels. We’ve been very careful not to touch the zombies, because we don’t know how they became zombies.

We wheel the zombie corpse back down the drive way.

“I’m certain whatever was in that brown package has something to do with the zombies,” Jared says.

“You’re probably right, but we’re not going back there to find out. The only way we’re going back there is we have more people with us, and we’re ready to torch the place. There’s no way I’ll go near there otherwise.”

“I agree, honey. There’s no point in taking foolish risks. I really don’t want to become a zombie.”

“I doubt anyone wants to. I do want to find out more about Zombii Co. though. I’d never heard of them before you stumbled on the package, but the very name says its all, doesn’t it.

“It certainly seems to,” Jared quietly replies.

We cross the street and dump the zombie corpse with the other zombies, in a ditch. The air stinks and we get right out of there. I look down the street, in the direction of the Kinselys’ house, but there’s no more zombies coming our way.

“Maybe tomorrow, we’ll go in the opposite direction, but I think for today I’ve had enough adventure,” I say.

“Me too. Let’s settle in and hope more adventure doesn’t come our way,” Jared gloomily replies.

To be continued...

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