The Red X_Complete Edition Read online

  My second day was a normal day, at first. Zombie stuff was still in the news, but they were still combating it effectively back then. Nobody was expecting it to reach us when a few infected people got out of the quarantine zone. It spread quickly after that. It caught our whole city off guard.

  As for me I was grounded. Remember that test I was telling you about. I failed it anyway. My parents were not happy about it either. My Dad yelled at me for half an hour, flailing the pages with a large red ‘F’ on them, telling me my future depended on getting good grades. Our parents back then were so worried about our future, but they were more concerned with us getting into some prestigious school, than actually learning how to live.

  Let me tell you something, be careful how you tell someone you care about goodbye. That night my parents went out to dinner with their friends. And my words to them still haunt me a little. “This stuff doesn’t matter! I’m never gonna speak Spanish, or do algebra again after school!”

  That’s what I said as they were leaving. They quickly replied with some “We’ll talk about that when we get back” line. But… As I watched the orange-ish red light of the sunset reflect off the rear windshield of their friends’ car, they turned the corner, and I was just glad to have a little peace and quiet. That was the last I ever saw of them.”

  This clearly shook Jake a little, as once again he began to look off to the distance. It was like his memories were being replayed a thousand yards away. After a sip from his bottle he regained his composure, and got back into the story.

  “The funny thing is I was right. After that moment I never did any of the shit I learned in school again… I’m still sorry I couldn’t have at least told them goodbye though.

  I remember I was mad after they left, so mad I just wanted to go to bed, and try and drown out the anger with a little sleep. A couple hours went by, and I just about jumped out of my skin when I woke up. SCREECH, BOOM! Scared the hell out of me. I got up to see what was going on, I looked out my bedroom window, I was on the second story, and a car had crashed into a light pole across the street. About half a minute passed, and I had just started to calm down when I saw my first zombies in person.

  About five of them… All mangled and cut up, shuffling towards the twisted metal that was left of a car, in that disturbing wretched walk they do. They ripped the dazed driver out of her seat, and they tore that woman apart right in front of me. Clawin’ and bitin’… Her screams really stuck with me, but she didn’t keep screaming too long. I just stood there starring as they ate her… They gnawed on the bones even. It shocked me beyond the point of just being horrified. It didn’t even feel real anymore. It was only about five or ten minutes of standing there speechless, and I watched as more of the disfigured monsters came to finish her off; they left nothing more than a red puddle, and a few bits of bone, tattered clothing, and hair. I leaned closer to the window to check where they were moving on to. And what I saw was chaos. Up and down the street, cars were strewn all over the road, pieces of bodies just lying in the street, and those monsters stumbling around looking for someone to eat. It was a nightmare, come to life.

  When I snapped back to reality, I was concerned for my parents. So, I checked my cell phone. It had three missed calls from them, no voicemails. I tried calling them, for hours. Not just them either, I tried to call everyone I knew, But I couldn’t get a hold of a single one. That night watching the horrors through my window, I was alone.”

  Chapter 3

  I stayed up the whole night, looking through that thin pane of glass, trying to think of what to do. I never came up with a good idea though. What’s strange is I think part of what kept me alive was not being able to come up with a good plan. While I stood there watching the horrors in front of me, I saw how the zombies acted.

  As I watched the houses down the street, I saw that the ones with boarded up windows and lights on inside were surrounded, by the hoards that had gathered. I felt sorry for the people who barricaded themselves in like that. The sound from reinforcing the windows and doors only drew the zombies in. The ones who couldn’t build up a strong enough defense, got devoured. As for the ones that did, there was no way to escape, and most houses don’t have a whole lot of supplies. They had only succeeded in building their own graves.

  The lights were also important. I saw the creatures drawn to the buildings with lights on, even though no one was there. I thought that was weird at the time, but as I think back, it kind of makes sense now. See zombies share the same eyes as us. So, if it’s hard for us to see, it’s hard for them to see. I guess they are drawn toward the light, just because it’s easier on their eyes, either that, or there is some kind of past memory telling them that people usually stay in well lit areas.

  Then there was my house. It was dead silent, all the lights were off, it was completely defenseless, and there was not a single zombie near it. When I realized what the zombies were attracted to, I figured I had seriously lucked out by going to sleep early. If I had been awake for the start of it, I might have done the same thing everyone else did. I would have either tried to run or, turned on the lights and locked myself up inside. Then I would have in the same boat everyone else was.

  When dawn broke the house, was cold. See, my mother usually kept the heater on at night, and while I wanted the warmth, I was afraid that even the noise from the heater would get the attention of the zombies. You know things like that, are not something you ever realize make a sound, until it’s important to keep as quiet as possible. You have to start doing everything in round about ways to keep the noise down. If you’re cold put on a jacket, even though you’re inside, or if it’s dark feel around for what you are looking for, instead of turning on a light. It’s just a whole different way of life.

  With the light outside bright enough that the television couldn’t be seen, I figured checking the news would be a good idea, so long as I kept the volume really low. I turned on the news and watched as they played helicopter footage of my town, calling it a disaster, and saying that the evacuation had been ineffective. It was just a fancy way to say most people died. Then they showed the quarantine line keeping the zombies at bay, once again stating that the quarantine line had been ineffective. I thought it was strange that the death toll was so high though. I mean nearly a million people lived in our city, and only about thirty thousand had been confirmed evacuated. I still hadn’t come up with a plan, but I was hoping the military would make a sweep and save me. After hearing that though, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

  Still it was the only plan I had, so, I decided to stick to it. I crept downstairs, hoping nothing had broke in the house. This was probably the scariest part for me. Not just because, it would mean the first time I fought one of them, but because I didn’t have a weapon. I was dead silent as I slowly peered into each room holding my breath. Each corner making me feel like my heart was going to burst right out of my chest. Then I made it to the kitchen. As quietly as I could I opened the drawer which had the knives in it. I took hold of the biggest one I could find. Then I slowly made my way around the house. I checked each of the windows, and if I didn’t see one of those bastards outside I drew the curtains. It took nearly an hour, but I eventually got them all. Not that the house was big mind you, I was just that afraid. I had never been so relieved to find nothing at all.

  With the house secured, I calmed down a bit. There was nothing inside, and so long as I kept the house quiet and the lights off, it seemed it would stay that way. It’s funny, that’s when I realized I had been patrolling my whole house with a shitty kitchen knife, when there was a hatchet in the garage. I knew it was there amongst the tools the whole time. I don’t know why it didn’t come to mind when I was trying to think of weapons to use.

  So feeling like a complete moron, I grabbed the old hatchet and tried to get on with my plan. Which I then remembered, was to wait for the military to come. So, I got something to eat sat back down upstairs in my bedroom with my headphones in, and waited. I knew the he
adphones were a bad idea, because I couldn’t hear if something broke in as easily, however I was still trying to cope with the world falling apart in front of me, and the distraction of a few of my favorite songs did a lot to keep my mind off of what might happen to me… and the sounds of the screams in the distance.

  Time passed slow looking out that window. You never really know how long a day is until you’re waiting for someone to rescue you, and you just can’t sleep, it drags on forever. When the third day passed, the noises outside had faded away. There was no more screaming or shooting, no crashes or explosions. It was just quiet.

  Three days turned to two weeks, and then the power shut off. I held onto hope of rescue, but with the music gone time stood still. It was terrifying hoping the zombies wouldn’t break in when that’s all you have to focus on, like waiting for water to boil, but you’re in the pot. They never did break in the house, but that didn’t matter soon enough.

  It had been twenty two days since the local outbreak when I got my favorite red glass out of the cupboard for a drink, and nothing came out of the water faucet. That moment… was the end of my hope of rescue. I hadn’t even thought that that might happen. So when it did, I was caught completely off guard. But, when the water stopped, I had no choice but to leave, or die.

  Chapter 4

  I had to come up with a plan now. I had pinned my hopes on other people for far too long, and now the only person to save my life was me. I packed my things, a couple changes of clothes, which thinking back I chose very poorly. I liked the black jacket with red stripes that I brought. However it could be seen a mile away in the day, and that wasn’t very smart. I chose pants that were more stylish, rather than functional, and I should have brought an extra coat. I guess that’s what you get for never really being taught how to take care of yourself. It all worked out in the end, but it could have been a lot easier.

  Food, was easy enough surprisingly, there was still plenty of dried food like pasta, and beans, in the cabinet. I wasn’t excited to eat those raw, but it was a lot lighter and smaller than the cans of food I stuffed into my backpack. There were a few bottles of water in the fridge that I was incredibly pleased to have. With nothing coming out of the faucet, they were the only water I was guaranteed in the world, at that moment. I took a good kitchen knife with me, and a few small things like a can opener. The hatchet of course, did not go in the bag. I knew that I was going to need it ready at all times.

  Those things were simple enough, but afterwards I had to come up with a plan of action. This took some time. Not knowing how to survive on your own meant that I would have to go to a place where there was some food and water already present and easy to obtain, but a grocery store or mall would have been raided, or locked down and surrounded by now. With that in mind there couldn’t be any people who would think of whatever spot I thought up, so that way I could use the food and water for myself. There also had to be the distinct possibility to survive there long term, you know renewable food and water. I could only think of one place, my grandparent’s cabin.

  The cabin was built near a small town, only a couple hours drive from where I lived. It had food, and was on a spring for water. Now I just had to get there. I entered the garage, and threw the backpack in the passenger’s seat of my dad’s truck. I remember thinking that it could drive over anything if it had to, and should be plenty tough enough to handle running over a few of the zombies outside the garage. I put the key into the ignition, and started the crimson beast up. The garage door had a battery backup, so I was able to open it from inside the truck. I stepped on the clutch, put it in gear, and stalled it. I immediately restarted the car, and killed it again. I was getting worried because the zombies had taken notice and were coming. I tried once more, but I just couldn’t get that truck to move. I closed the garage as quick as I could when I realized I couldn’t get it to go. But I was too late.

  One of the zombies had made it inside the garage with me. It walked around the passenger side of the car looking in the window. It stood at the passenger door making a horrible screeching sound as its broken fingernails slid across the glass trying to rip its way inside. It didn’t seem like he was going to get in though. Just about the time I felt safe in the truck, was when I realized I was going to have to get out, because I just couldn’t drive stick. That’s when I panicked. I was breathing heavy and sweating bullets, when I heard another noise.

  A clunking and scraping sound came from the thin metal sheets of the garage door. The zombies knew I was in there. If I didn’t get a move on they were going to trap me with numbers. I took in a deep breath, and readied the hatchet. Then… I took in a deep breath, and another. It took about five breaths before I realized it wasn’t making it any easier. Reluctantly I opened the driver’s side door and climbed out. The zombie started moving around the car moaning at me like, it was in some kind of horrible pain. My heart beating like a cannon firing in my chest I swung the hatchet. The sound of it was almost as disgusting as the feel of chopping through someone’s skull. The metal head of the miniature axe did the job right. One hit, one kill.”

  Jake had to suppress a slight laugh before he continued telling the story with a smile.”At least I thought it did at first. I don’t mean the zombie kept coming at me. In fact the exact opposite happened. The zombie fell like a ragdoll to the floor, with the hatchet still firmly lodged in its head. But that was just the problem. I couldn’t get the damn thing out. I was running out of time and here I was trying to pull the blade out of the corpse’s skull, and it was giving me a hell of a time. I kept yanking and yanking on it, but the zombie kept moving flopping around. I gave it one good tug, to try and free it, but I slipped in the pool of blood that was growing and fell straight on my ass. It wasn’t till I put my foot on his face that I was finally able to get it out.

  When I had got it free, I realized two important things, if that were to happen again outside it could get me killed, and I could hear quite a few zombies clawing at the door to the garage now. I ran back inside to grab the keys for my Mom’s car… It was a crappy grey hybrid. I blamed my mom for driving such a useless car at the time, but now I blame myself for not learning how to drive the truck sooner.

  So, I grabbed my bag, jumped in the car, started it up and opened the garage. I put the car in drive, and plowed into about five zombies with the car. One of them got caught underneath the front of the car and caused it to get stuck. I floored the gas, but it did nothing, a little panicked I put the car in reverse and forgot to take my foot off the gas.

  The car’s tires screeched as the car lurched backwards and slammed into my living room. I looked at the hole in the wall, and the only thought that came to my mind was “My mom is gonna be pissed!” I didn’t even know if she was alive or not, hadn’t seen her in over three weeks and still, that was the first thing that came to my mind. I realized that I was still in danger when I heard the zombies grabbing at the hood of the car. I put it back in drive and this time it didn’t get stuck. But I still had practically no experience on how to drive.

  I shot out of the garage like a madman, and immediately stomped on the brakes, but I was a little bit too late. I rammed right into the car that was crashed across the street. I had to back it up to drive away; I guess I was lucky that it was only a fender bender because it still drove ok even after crashing it twice. See, I had never actually driven. The only thing I knew was the wheel turned, the gas made it go, and the brakes made it stop… but there was no in between. I floored the gas and slammed the brakes every single time. The car jerked and screeched its tires as I started to go down the street.

  So if you ever think your first time trying to drive was bad, just remember mine.”

  Both men shared in a laugh, before Barry said “Wow Jake, you got me beat. I think you deserve the award for worst first time driver ever.”

  “Don’t laugh too hard, as ridiculous as it was, it saved my life.” Jake said still smiling at that part of his story. “The weird thing is, I wa
s so embarrassed about that for so long, but it’s the same mistakes that almost everyone makes.”

  Chapter 5

  Jake settled back into telling his story. “At that moment, I felt like I was doing pretty good, as strange as that sounds. I was on the road, the car was working, and while some of the roads were blocked by cars, most of them you could still get through.

  And then… As almost everyone who has ever driven a car for the first time does, I realized I had no idea where anything was. I certainly couldn’t just stop and try to look at a map, I mean zombies were everywhere, and if I did that the car would get bogged down. So, I kept on driving, while looking for the highway out of town. Talk about an ordeal. There were so many accidents, and blocked paths from abandoned cars that it took me hours just to get to the edge of town. It was almost unbelievable to see how destroyed Ashville was.

  See, I knew that highway 44 lead out to where the cabin was; thank goodness the directions to that were memorable. All you had to do to get there was take the 44 till you hit a stop sign, then turn left, and keep going till you’re at Bear Lake. The problem was I didn’t know where the highway was, but I figure if I circled the outer edge of town I would eventually find it. It worked, but there was something I had forgotten about. When I watched the news last, the town had been put in a quarantine perimeter that included heavy duty road blocks around the whole thing. I found the highway, but I practically ran the car out of gas looking for the way out of town. The highway was so clogged up with abandoned cars there was simply no way to drive on it. I kept looking for another path out of the city but I never found anything that looked like I could get through.