The zombie Apocalypse Bull

We’re driving back from our adventure to the gun store and I’m looking forward to getting home, getting the ammo unpacked and then hopefully taking a hot bath. All this fighting of zombies makes for achy muscles.

“Sue?” Jared urgently says.

“What?” I absently minded ask.

“Look over there, to your left.”

I slow the car down and park it on the road and then look to my left and that’s when I see it. I see a large black bull in the field to the left. That alone wouldn’t prompt much of an observation on my part, but what the bull is doing does freak me out. The bull is munching on a cow.

“Has the whole world gone crazy?” I ask.

“Yeah, it’s called the zombie apocalypse.”

“I know but I didn’t think we’d see the zombie equivalent of mad cow’s disease.”

“For all we know, the reason we’re having a zombie apocalypse is because of the mutation of that disease!”

I roll my eyes. That’s just what I need, Jared getting into a crazy conspiracy theory. He’ll go on about it for days if I let him.

“It really doesn’t matter what caused the zombie apocalypse. As for the bull, we should probably just keep going and leave it to its meal,” I suggest.

“We need to figure out what caused the zombie apocalypse, if for no other reason than to make sure we don’t inadvertently become zombies.”

“I don’t see how bothering that zombull is going to help us find out the cause of the zombie apocalypse. I think it’s just going to get us into more trouble than we need. And considering all the troubles we just dealt with, I’m not ready for more,” I say.

“Sue, we can’t keep our heads buried in the sand forever. So far we haven’t seen any other survivors. I’m getting really concerned that you and I might just be the last humans alive. Now we’re seeing this zombull, and that worries me because it means that whatever is causing this zombie apocalypse isn’t limiting itself to humans. That could be dangerous in both the short and long term.”

“If we’re the only humans alive Jared, it won’t much matter because I doubt we’ll be around that long to worry about it. However we’re making our life expectancy even shorter by hanging around here talking about it. If that zombull is anything like the zombies we’ve been dealing with, it probably gets aggressive. We’re practically waving a flag and asking it to charge us by hanging about.”

“Alright, alright Sue. Let’s just leave then.”

I can tell Jared is irritated by my response, but I can live with that. I’d rather have him alive and irritated then dead because he got too curious about something that isn’t likely to be solved or understood.

I start the car back and as the engine rumbles to life the zombull looks up and notices us. It snorts and then it stats trotting toward our call.

“Mrrrrrrrrrrrr!” the zombull roars.

I put the car into drive and it shudders into motion, carrying us away from the zombull. Then the Zombull starts galloping after us.

“MMMRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”

“Sue, floor it. The zombull is catching up to us,” Jared cries out.

“I’m going as fast as I safely can,” I say through gritted teeth. “The damn thing wouldn’t be chasing us if you hadn’t insisted on stopping.”

“I just wanted to learn more about the zombies!” Jared wails. “We haven’t seen any other animals infected.”

“Well we’re about to see one up close and personal, with the way it’s gaining on us. Grab one of the assault rifles and try to take it out, while I drive.”

I want to drive faster, but this road is curvy enough that if I’m not careful I’ll send our car careening over a curve and into a field. If other people were still driving I wouldn’t even be going this fast for fear of running into another car, but since no one else is on the road these days, I can go faster. I know the zombull is chasing us, but I’ll admit I find it exhilarating to drive so fast and take the curves so quickly. If the road was straight we’d practically be flying down it.

Jared has grabbed one of the semi-assault rifles and managed to load it. He’s taken off his seat belt, which is causing the car computer to give an urgent shriek. He’s twisted around and is trying to aim the assault rifle at the zombull, but I take a curve and he slides over a bit.

“Is there any chance you can give me a chance to shoot the damn bull?”

“Once we get past these curves, it’s a straight shot. Sit tight and put on your seat belt.”

Jared growls and straps himself back in.

The zombull chases after us madly, roaring its hunger and rage for all the world to hear. It tears up the ground and pavement, heedless of anything but trying to reach us, but I manage to keep ahead of it.

Then we reach the last curve.

The zombull catches up, lowers its head and rans, the back of our car, causing it to jump ahead. I try to control the wheel, so I can take the curve, but it takes all my strength and the power steering to keep the car on the road. I want to hit the brakes, but if I do the zombull will hit us again.

We pull out of that last curve and I slam my foot into the gas pedal, pushing it to the floor. The car shakes as we speed up and the zombull falls behind us. Jared shakily undoes his seat belt and turns around and gets the zombull in his sites.

“Steady, steady,” he says, as much to himself as to me.

Then he pulls the trigger. I hear the tinkle of glass as the rear window is shot out. I wince, thinking of the bill, and then realize there’s no one around to fix the car anyway. Jared fires the assault rifle again. The loud sound makes me wish I could put my hands on my ears, but I’ve got to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

“Mrrr!”

Another shot and Jared breathes a deep sigh.

“You can slow down now.”

I look in the rear view mirror. The zombull has collapsed on the road, its head a sodden mass of blood, brains and fur.

I ease my foot off the gas pedal and pump the brakes slowly and carefully, gradually getting the car to slow down. I take a deep shuddering breath and my arms shake with adrenaline.

“Do you think we can tur-”

“Don’t even finish that question, Jared. We’re going home. I don’t give a damn about the bull became a zombie. We need to focus on surviving, not trying to solve the fricking zombie apocalypse!” I yell.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jared quietly says.

I drive us the rest of the way home and when we finally pull into our driveway, and I turn off the car, I lean my head into the steering wheel and start sobbing. Jared awkwardly tries to hug me.

“Don’t! I’ll be in, within a few minutes. I just need some alone time.”

Jared wordlessly gets out of the car and leaves me be to sob for the world I knew, the people who are gone, and the near brushes with death we’ve both encountered since the zombie apocalypse began.

To be continued...

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