CHAPTER 2
Everything went to hell as I was talking to my Dad and Joey. They were telling me everything was alright there and that Kim got hit with the down pour of water and was knocked around a little bit while trying to get the horses in the lean-to, but she was alright and went to lay down because she was feeling like hell.
“Well, I hope she feels better. Let me know how she feels later. I have to call Guy and see what’s up with him.”
“That sounds like a plan let him…” Dad started to say then started asking “Kim are you alright? Kim, what's wrong? Kim!”
All I know is what I heard, and what happened an hour later when they showed up at my place with a full load in their truck. So to hear the first contact anyone in the family made with what would become what we called, a Sleeper, I will let Joey tell you since he was there.
Joey
I had just walked out of my room with my laptop, to show Dad a video I found on YouTube, just as he started to ask my mother if she was ok, when she didn't answer after being asked a half a dozen times, he started to yell at her in hopes she would answer. Then I looked into her eyes, I will never forget them, they were completely white with no life or color in them. She was moving around looking about like she had lost something like she didn’t even know where she was.
My Dad put the phone on the counter, and I could hear John yelling over the phone asking if everything was ok.
“Dad, what is going on?”
“Joey! Stay over there and don’t worry.” He looked nervous and moved closer to my mother. Placing his arm out to try and touch her, “Kim! What are you looking for? What are you looking for? Kim!”
Without warning my Mother lunged at my Dad, she was quick, but with her being 4 foot 11 inches tall and a whole 90 pound my father caught her by the arms and held her away from him. She was able to get a few scratches in on his stomach, and she even bit him hard enough, on his upper arm, that she drew blood.
“Joey get me a rope or wire, fuck it get me my gun!” He yelled at me, to my mother he kept yelling, “Kim it’s Guy stop, what are you doing? Kim! Stop!”
I couldn’t do it; I knew I wouldn't be able to be the one to grab my father’s gun so he could shoot my mother. But, as I watched her claw and snapped at him, I knew I had to do something. I could tell, even though my father was a big guy, he wasn’t going to be able to hold her for much longer with as much as she was fighting him.
I did the only thing I could think of since my heart wouldn’t allow me to get a gun, I know now that that would have been a better fate for my Mother then what I allow her to become. I grabbed my bat that was by the door, and I swung it only hard enough, that I knew it wouldn’t kill her, just stop her.
“What the fuck! I told you to grab my gun.” As he grabbed the phone, I could still hear John screaming like a little girl over it. “John shut the fuck up something happened to Kim. I have never seen anything like it, other than in movies. So stay in your house and I need you to clean your pig sty, Joey and I are coming over, something isn’t right. We will bring our weapons and ammo and pervisions.”
I took this as a clue I should grab everything I could so I started loading up the truck as they talked. I wasn’t too sure what to grab, so I grabbed all our camping stuff and made sure I loaded my Diamondback AR-15 then grabbed the rest of the guns and Ammo, and any food, I could.
He loaded the truck and pulled out of the drive way with Dad driving and me in the bed of the truck with the items. I stared at the house and we drove and preyed that my mother would snap out of what ever happened to her and she would be fine once we got back from John's and figured out what the hell is going on.
ME
So as my father was telling me his plan about what Joey and he was going to do. I watched as people on the streets started looking weird. They seemed to walk around like they were lost and looking for something.
“Yeah I get it Dad, I will be ready for you. Just hurry and get here. I think you are right something is wrong.”
“Alright, I am also calling Guy I am telling him to grab his weapons, Kenzi, and Dan and to get to your place. See you in a little bit. Stay safe.” He hung up before I could say a word.
As I stood there watching the people wander around a car pulled up to the stop light in front of my house. It was a guy that looked to be in his twenties, radio on full blast, and not even looking around.
Now, this all got the attention of the people milling about. Joey would later coin them the Sleeper because they just look like people that are sleepwalking and later sleepwalking will get someone shoot later in the story. So, the Sleepers all hear the music at, almost, the same time and turn on the car. To my amazement they ascended on the car with speed faster than someone sleepwalking or awake, but not faster than Usain Bolt. They ran at the car and without even a stumble in his stride one of the sleepers jumped at his windshield, shattering it and scaring the hell out of the guy.
As the guy screamed another sleeper started banging on his driver side window, it took about five hit, but then shattered, spraying the guy with glass and bringing his screams to a stop.
The sleeper at the window pulled the guy out of the car, with what looked like as much effort as it would take for a grown man to yank an overnight duffle bag out of his car. The guy started screaming again until his head cracked hard on the street, then he stopped.
About 3 seconds after his body hit the ground the Sleepers were on him. Biting and scratching and eating him.
It all happened so fast. By the time it all registered to my brain what was going on, the guy was dead. But, I knew I could still do something. What to do didn't come to me until I was already turning and reaching for the Bowie knife I had hung on the wall, it was just for show, but I was sure it could still do damage.
Thinking back on it now, I know that I shouldn’t have run out by myself and taken on three sleepers. But, as you will find out later in this book, I am very hard headed and impulsive.
I bounded out of my front door without touching the stairs, the car was about twenty yards from my house, and the body lay about fifty feet from my door. I attempted to stay silent as long as I could, but with me being a big guy every time my bare foot landed it was loud, loud enough to get the sleepers to stop with the guy and look at me.
They all didn’t attack me at once, but two stood up and “looked” at me. The closest, which was on my side of the body, took the first hit from me. I led with my shoulder and hit it at top speed with a lot of force. I hit the sleeper so hard it flew the ten feet into the car, denting the door, her head hit the back window so hard it shattered.
Though the hit didn’t stop me completely it did slow me down, but I was able us the momentum, and my weight to drive my knife into the heart of the other standing sleeper. I also used his body as a cushion to break my fall. Once on the ground, I rolled to my back just in time to see the third and biggest of the sleepers, who was a foot and a half taller than me and about 100 pounds heavier, stand up slowly. But, he just stood there.
I didn’t hesitate to scramble to my feet and take a few steps back. I wasn’t going to let myself get eaten. But, he just stood there staring at me, at everything, and at nothing at the sametime. He stepped over the body toward me. I stepped back still hell bent not to be eaten. He took two steps, and I took two back.
I knew it was going to hurt, dying. I knew I could fight this thing with every breath in my body. I would make my mark on this piece of shit and people will know I tried. I knew I couldn’t take him, but I still set my feet for the charge. I couldn’t stop my thoughts from flooding into my head. All the memories of Father my sister and my brothers flooded my head, and then it hit, the thought that put me at ease the thought that made me pause just long enough, the thoughts were of my mother, she was gone from this world now, and the thought of seeing her again gave me an ease for what, I thought, was about to happen.
That happiness turned into joy, for that hesitation that the thought gave me saved my ass from getting flattened by the huge white GMC truck that hit the sleeper. The look on my face must have been confusion because the next thing I knew the door was being flung open.
“What the fuck are you doing in the middle of the street, dumb ass?” I was never so happy to hear Joey.
“They attacked that guy in the car,” I was, at this point, shaking and breathing hard. “I thought I could help, but I was too late.”
Joey hoped out the back the truck onto the grass in front of my house. He jumped out and started pulling things out of the bed and bringing them inside.
I got to my steps just as my father exited the truck and said, “Help Joey unload the truck and get back in the house before more of them come.”
“What do you mean, before more come?” I said shaking his hand and hugging him for saving me.
“We had to plow through a bunch of these things on the way here. They are attacking everyone that wasn’t already dead.”
As I stopped shaking I reached down and fixed my now torn sock, “I don’t think they are dead, I think they are alive, just sleepwalking or something close to it.” I looked at the motionless bodies as I walked to my house, My father got in the truck and backed it up closer to the house, I guided him back enough to block my door but not too close to stop us from getting in and out.
CHAPTER 3
We were all quiet as we unloaded the truck. Dad put his shotgun and little twenty-two next to the door; he already had his handgun on his hip in his custom-made horsehide holster. Joey had his AR close to him as he leaned on the counter. I had gone into my lock box and took out my Desert Eagle, it was only the 1911 GR 45ACP one but it get the job done, I also took out the three handmade fifteen round clips along with my costume made chest holster that had two more clips on a shoulder mount.
“So what is it we know so far? A. these things showed up after those lights. B. They are not dead, I think, but rather seem to be sleeping. Finally, we have to, somehow, fit about eight people in this little ass house. Is that about right?” My father said as he kept his eye glued out the window.
“I don’t think it was the lights. I think it was anyone caught in that downpour. John and I were outside when the lights happened, and we are fine, Mom looked the same way those things do. The only difference is she was out doing the horses when she got soaked by the rain.” I could hear the hurt in Joey’s voice as he spoke, “What are we going to do?”
“Let’s not make any real plans until everyone is here.” I was putting on my shoes as I spoke. “I am going to go out there and see if I can figure anything out about what happened to these people. Joey, you hop in the back of the truck with your AR and cover my six. Dad, I think you should call everyone to see how far out they are, and clean that bite and wrap it. The first aide kit in under the sink. Guy, Kenzi, Dan, Kalie, Hammer and Kim and the kids need to be called to make sure they are ok and on their way here. Andrew is already on his way, I think he has Michael. Make sure Dan keeps trying Erica and Pam. Once everyone is here that can get here, we can figure out what we are doing.”
“Do you think your baby eagle will be able to keep up with my AR if shit goes down?” Joey joked as he punched my arm, then proceeded to chamber a round.
“Well seeing as your a shit shot, I'm would have better luck going out alone.” I said while pulling the slide back on the eagle, chambering a round, all I saw as we walked out was my father with his phone to his ear and shaking his head at us.
I waited by the truck until Joey was up and in position in the bed. I held my eagle at the ready as I carefully made my way to the bodies. I watched closely to the streets, all I could see were cars driving like bats out of hell on interstate 47 and people running around to get to safety. As I turned to look down Lisbon road, behind me, I heard the pop of Joey’s rifle and saw a man that was chasing a girl fall to the ground with a little red hole in his forehead, “Let’s see you make that shot with your baby eagle, asshole.”
“Good shot, next time give me a heads…” Before I could finish, I was hit hard from behind, before I hit the ground my gun went flying out of my hand, sliding down the road. I rolled as soon as I hit. I was able to get my hands in between myself and the “thing” that now lay on top of me. This was not one of the “sleepwalking” people, this thing was dead, and there was no doubt that is was the unlucky guy that was pulled from his car. His mouth was snarling and snapping at me like I was a hot turkey leg on Thanksgiving. It took all I could to keep him, or rather it, from taking a bite out of me. One split second before I was about to yell for joey to shoot the thing, it’s head snapped back with a sickening crack.
“Get your ass up and grab your gun.”
I didn’t know when he got there, but I was sure thankful that my best friend Andrew showed up when he did. Better yet, I was glad he showed up with his favorite Bearded Axe. Yes, you laugh, but Andrew is not like most people. We met in High School, and he is really into his family history. The Axe and the “Godfred” sword that hung on his hip have been handed down to the second son for hundreds of years. He got it from his father, who was the second son of a second son of a second son, and he was told that only was he the tenth second son the weapons where given to but that his family comes from the bloodline of the greatest Vikings to ever walk the earth. Looking at Andrew, you could tell, with him being Six foot three and about 210 pounds of muscle he makes most men look small.
“People are killing each other and look at you trying to make out with a dead person. Michael, behind you.” I looked around, as he yelled behind him. My eyes fell on the only person to make Andrew look like a normal sized man, his brother Michael. He hit the other two “Dead” with deafening blows with his “friendly” hockey stick. Michael is Andrew’s older brother, but you wouldn’t know it except for their eyes. Michael stood six foot eight inches tall and tipped the scales at about 375 pounds also as solid muscled as Andrew.
“Thanks for the heads up.” Michel replied, while stood like a mountain over the bodies not showing any sign of having just killed two people. Which both scared and impressed me.
“There are more coming down the road,” Michel said as he turned to start walking toward the three Sleepers running in our direction.
“No. You and Andrew get into the house with my father, Joey and I got this.” As I finished my sentence, Joey waked up handed me my Eagle and raised his rifle to his shoulder, and fired.
BAM, “And that is one for me.” BAM, “There’s another, are you going to help or just stare at me old man?”
“Old Man? I will show you an old man.” I raised my desert eagle and aimed at the closed sleeper, BAM, the second the bullet hit his head it exploded. “I will count that as five since that is how many pieces his head is in, young boy.” We laughed and counted out our kills as we shot. I counted by fives since there was no way I was going to let Joey beat me.
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