"Wounded?"
"Yes, wounded. Army helicopter went down outside of town. Some of the soldiers were in a bad shape when the rescuers went out to get them. Some of our folks got hurt and some of the soldiers are not doing so hot."
Eric's eyes widened a little. That explained the solider on the porch. He had a pretty good idea why the helicopter went down.
"Look, sir, I don't know if you have been watching the news-"
"I'm following the orders that FEMA handed down for our area. Gather everyone into one spot, treat the wounded, and wait for the National Guard or Army to come for us. Now, son, I suggest you get down here."
"You can't keep the wounded in there, sir. The news says the wounded will end up just like those things attacking everyone. End up a zombie." Eric gripped the edge of the sink tightly. He couldn't believe that the infection of the undead had already reached this far out into the countryside.
"Look, son, I don't look kindly at zombie talk. I suggest you get down here immediately. I can send a squad car for you." The voice on the other end was resolute.
"I…would rather stay here," Eric answered and began counting out the shells in the box he had found.
"I'm not coming to get you when the rescue team gets here," the Sheriff said darkly.
Eric ran his fingers through his hair as he realized how little ammunition he truly had. "I…think I'd rather take my chances here, sir. If you got wounded in your rescue station, it is going to get bad really fast."
There was a long, agitated silence on the other end of the phone, then the Sheriff said, "Suit yourself" and hung up.
Eric hung up the phone slowly and then on impulse picked it back up and dialed Brandy's number.
"We're sorry. All circuits are busy," a voice said.
Eric should have known the cell phone companies were overloaded. He set the phone down again and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
Pepe sat next to his feet and stared up at him pensively.
"Oh, shit, " was all Eric could think to say. "Oh, shit."
Chapter Seven
The Day Worsens
Eric gulped down more milk then looked down at Pepe. The dog responded with an enormous burp and Eric couldn't help but laugh.
"Went a little crazy there, did you," he said to the little dog.
Pepe wagged his tail with satisfaction.
The house was dreary with all the windows downstairs shuttered. There was at least two more hours of sunlight and if the town was about to turn into zombie central, he needed to get to planning. He took the time to put everything back where he got it from and picked up the rifle. Reloading, it was his first priority. He fumbled around with it a little, but finally got it ready for the next encounter with the zombies. He shoved the rest of the shells in his pocket and looked down at Pepe.
"Okay, this is the plan. We're going to go make sure there are no zombies around, then we're going outside-"
Pepe thumped his tail hard at the word "outside" and Eric realized how long it had been since the little dog had been outside to do his business.
"Okay, definitely that is a major priority. We're going to come up with an escape plan and figure out what we are doing next."
Pepe yawned and strutted out of the kitchen in front of him and Eric followed.
The second floor was awash with dim sunlight. The overcast skies made it a little darker than it usually was, but it felt better than the gloomy downstairs. He wasn't sure he was glad they had been the only guests or not. In a way, being on his own meant he had the final say. But it felt lonely being the only one in the house. Well, alone except for Pepe.
In the room he had shared with Brandy, he pulled out his suitcase and tried to ignore the pain he felt as her sweet scent wafted up from the bed. She always slathered herself in body lotion before bed and the sheets still smelled like jasmine. Digging through his suitcase, he found the small binoculars he had brought for bird watching. Brandy have given him hell for bringing them and called him a nerd, but he felt smug at thinking how his little hobby gave him a tool to protect himself. He picked up the small book he had bought that had photos of all the indigenous birds in the region.
"Think they have one for zombies?" Eric asked the dog. "You know. One that has photos of all the terrible versions of them."
Pepe looked at him and tilted his head as if pondering the question.
"Maybe we should make that book. Starting with the armless army guy," Eric said with a small, nervous laugh.
He tossed the book back in the suitcase and pulled out Pepe's leash. The little dog did a flying leap onto the bed and scrambled over onto the suitcase with his tail wagging anxiously. Eric felt bad for making Pepe wait so long to relieve himself and quickly hooked the leash onto the small dog's collar. The second it was on, the dog jumped back to the floor and headed to the door.
Slinging the binoculars around his neck and grabbing the rifle, Eric hurried to keep up with the dog. Pepe started down the stairs, but Eric pulled him back.
"Check for zombies first," he said to Pepe.
The dog gave him a nasty look, but followed him.
Eric walked down the hall to the doors that lead onto the upstairs porch. White wicker chairs and a table were set out there so people could star gaze or just relax on a nice afternoon. He stepped out and looked over the rail. It was straight down to the ground and nothing lurked there. Raising his binoculars, he began to survey as much of the surrounding area as he could from his vantage point.
The horses were far down in the pasture and were the only signs of life other than the sparrows overhead. Eric leaned over the railing as far as he could and looked down the hill toward the tops of the buildings in the far distance. He couldn't see anything in the town clearly from this point.
"Okay, we'll check the other side then go down," he told Pepe. He was sure from the dog's expression that if he could have been doing the one legged dance, he would be.
Eric dragged the poor dog down to the hallway that curved around the stairwell and lead to a bank of tall windows. Looking out, he could see down into the gardens, the parking lot and the off to the second barn used for farm vehicles. Again, nothing was in sight.
Raising his binoculars, he tried to see if he could manage a view of the town. The trees were lush and green as spring took hold of the world and they blocked his view. But buy moving from window to window he finally he managed to see a little bit of one of the streets. It was empty.
"Okay, let’s go down and check it out."
Pepe immediately pulled at his leash and tried to get down the stairs. He wasn't barking, which was reassuring, but Eric didn't know if he could trust him since he was so desperate to relieve himself. Since the windows were secured, he had to resort to studying the front porch through the peephole. Pepe insistently scratched at the bottom of the door and finally Eric unlocked it and swung it open.
A large cloud of flies hovered over the dead body of the solider, but nothing else was moving except the swaying treetops. Relieved, he hurried after Pepe who was straining at the end of the leash to reach the yard. The second the dog hit the grass, he let out a hard stream of urine and managed to poop all at the same time.
"That's really impressive," Eric told him and was rewarded with a look that distinctively said, "fuck you".
When Pepe was done, they both walked across the gravel parking lot toward the big barn that housed the tractor, mowers and other vehicles used on the property. Eric popped the safety off on the shotgun and looped Pepe's leash around his wrist. Fear was eating away at his stomach, but he set his jaw with determination.
He really didn't have any sort of plan, but he knew that if the town went zombie, staying in the B & B was not the best idea. The storm shutters would only hold out for so long and he did not like the idea of not having a way to retreat or have a clear exit. Where he would go, he had no idea, but getting away from the infected area seemed like a good idea. He was hoping that maybe he could find a location further out that was more secure. But then again, it was tempting to just hole up and try and ride it out.
He stopped in his tracks and looked at the barn warily.
Pepe moved to the end of his leash and looked back at him expectantly. If the dog wasn't going nuts, that had to mean it was safe, but he couldn't help but stare at the half open door with a little trepidation. Finally, he managed to settle his nerves with a few deep breaths and opened it up.
The barn was empty except for the farm vehicles carefully parked in their proper places. There was a mower, small tractor, and several small box trailers and dump beds up against one wall. But what made his heart beat faster was a four wheel ATV sitting nearby. It was grimy and well used, but it would easily spirit him and Pepe away.
Rushing over to it, he began to study it intently, trying to remember how to drive the damn thing. He was pretty sure he could figure it out. His hand slid over the handlebars and he grinned down at Pepe.
"These things go fast, boy. This will work for us."
Pepe responded by marking the tire with a nice little stream.
"I guess it’s ours now, since you marked it," Eric said with a laugh.