The other side...

I never thought I would say it but he was right! Quenton was right the entire time. I thought it was the ramblings of a mad man but everything started fitting together.

My name is Brandy and I am alone. I left my husband of 7 years because I felt that his obsession with the walking dead was unhealthy for a family. He spent years preparing our home for an invasion that I thought would never happen. He spent more time on that than with me. He encouraged me to be prepared by means of martial arts, weapons training, and proper grooming. I was okay with learning some martial arts and how to handle a gun or knife but what woman wants to keep a shaved head and wear skin tight clothes all the time. Now I realize that it was all for my protection.

The little things came rushing back to me like a bad dream once the news started with reports of people disappearing and strange attacks by crazed people. He said that it would start with these kinds of reports along with media black out of the actual "infected" area. He kept world, continental, state/province, and city maps up all over his "command center" with different colored tacks in places he found strange reports that he felt were actually zombie attacks. Looking back at it now the maps were becoming more colorful at the time I left him, more and more tacks were added all the time. What sane person would believe in his ramblings?

It all started in the major cities; New York, L.A., Houston, Miami, and Las Vegas. Anywhere where there is a lot of air plane traffic and tourism. By the time it made to the heart of the U.S. it was a full blown battle against the dead. The media wasn't blind to the problem by this point and mass hysteria had taken over the country; hell over the whole world. False reports of a cure came out and pharmaceutical companies were reaping the benefits. Again he said that it would happen, he believed with all his being that it would happen and that if there was a dollar to be made it would be. Problem with the cure was that it gave false hope to millions of people. They thought it could save there family members and themselves from a gruesome fate. “How do you cure death?” he’d say. God he knew what he was talking about.

Now I’m holed up in my mother’s home in the sticks. A perfect location by what I remember. Television stations went out a long time ago and the radio is useless. The dead still find their way out here though. It amazes me the way they can seemingly go on forever. As I write this a flash of something Quenton told me popped into my head. “They never tire, they feel no pain, they have no emotions, and most of all they have no fear. They ‘live’ only to feed on the living.” The military had a hard time coming to grips with these facts. All military protocol was built around the idea of demoralizing the enemy. Take away their food and supplies, bomb them from afar, surround and out number, surprise attacks and gorilla warfare, and keep the pressure on until they crack and give up or you kill every last one of them. The first major attempt at cleaning up this zombie mess by the government ended up adding more to the ranks of the enemy. The media televised the event in a ditch effort to regain the confidence of the American people. What we all saw was more horrifying and disheartening than anyone could have imagined. Bullets flying all over the place, tanks firing shots into the massive hordes, air strikes; they threw everything the military had to offer at them and they just kept coming. Everything they normally used to clear an enemy infested area, by means of wounding was null and void. Sure some zombies dropped, but most just took the hit and kept coming. You could see the ones crawling out of the debris with half their body missing. At one point a camera crew on the ground zoomed in to see the decapitated head of a zombie still snapping it teeth trying to bite anything that came by. The dead have no fear, but humans do. We fear death over anything else, and to unload a clip from an AK-47 into something and it doesn’t die is terrifying. Soldiers were breaking formation and firing wildly as they ran. They may have killed more of there own men than the dead in the mass hysteria. Our military was swiftly over taken and force to retreat. The zombies won and demoralized an entire nation with a single battle.

The nation went into full scale hysteria and riots and looting ensued. Some people just gave up and walked right up to the dead and let themselves be eaten alive. Some became militant and took up arms and made safe havens for themselves. I on the other hand just cried and prayed that he was coming to save me.

Parents with children in daycare Please Read!

Pass this along to all parents that have a child in daycare. We don't want other children to go through what we have.




DAY-CARE CENTER CONCERNS: MY STORY
I just want to let all the moms and dads out there know to be very careful when placing your child in a daycare center. First and foremost: I am not saying that all daycares are the same, but my experience has been absolutely HORRIBLE. My ,now 5-month old, son was there for only 7 weeks and was sick EVERY WEEK with something. This is what he's had since he started there: 2 ear infections, 2 head-to-chest colds, a viral rash, and bronchial infection which they had to x-ray for PNEUMONIA!! The rash was the first time that I really wanted to fly off the handle - Where in the hell do you pick up a VIRAL RASH? The slap in the face was that we still had to pay the full week of $165.00 even though they watched him for a few hours that morning before we took him to the dr...but hey..rules are rules, whatever. But, -IT GETS WORSE SO PAY ATTENTION- this past week they really f'd up. When I went in to pick my boy up, there were 2 BIG DIRTY FLOOR MATS IN HIS CRIB! I was livid but I waited until the other mommy left with her baby and asked her why it was laying over there. She says to me,"Oh, we put the stuff in there when we're cleaning up...and we put that in there" as she points to a big colorful playmat that EVERYONE WALKS ON, SPITS UP and DROOLS ON!!! So calmly, I ask her about cleaning the crib out tonight.."Yeah, we we'll clean it out tonight". TONIGHT? So you will because you got busted?! I told her (and surprisingly I'm somehow still calm...shaking with rage, but calm). I told her that would be greatly appreciated that since he's been sick since starting there and I'm sure the dirty rugs in the crib aren't helping. I informed the supervisor the next morning about it and she admitted that she did it....WHY? I asked her, I was a bit shocked, I figured that out of all the girls in there she would have some common sense - NOPE!. All I got out of her was that they do that when they clean and that it won't happen again - not exactly the answer I was looking for...So again being calm, I asked her to please not do that anymore and to also make sure you give him his ear medicine (they failed to do that a few times, but that's another story..). She said okay and that she was sorry...whatever. That day after work when I went to pick him up, he was still eating so I went over to the other building and informed the owner (who was not there again..) so I spoke with her 'assistant'. I told her about my concerns of them using his crib for storage of floor mats or anything other that what was Aiden's things and that he has been sick since he got there and that was only weeks ago. As I was telling her this, she was writing the issues down like they were some kind of laundry list....with no real concern in her face. She told me that she would inform Kerri and that she would take care of it. (we'll see..is all I could think...)
Then...(Oh yea, people, there's more!) my husband picked him up that night and had to look for his pacifier and shoe. His pacifier was on the floor under the crib and they all had to look for his shoe - including in the other kid's cribs - which tells me that there was the possibility that he could've been in another baby's cribs and germs since that's where they sleep and drool and snot. My husband was pissed about it and told me that night so I made a trip over on my lunch hour to see what I could find when they're not expecting mommy. As soon as I walk in, I see a bouncy seat in his crib! So I ask them, aren't those the seats that are usually on floor? "Yes". I feel my face flush as my adrenaline is pumping again...do they really not give a shit?! Another thing that was bad was that his blanket was in another baby's crib.. Okay, so who's crib is it? The girls then point to the baby playing in the floor with...her mommy visiting from work! GREAT TIMING I HAVE!!! So I ask her about that and the girl tells me..."Yea, she pulled it on over there and I just laid it there for now.." I look at the other mommy and told her "I think you should know that is my kid's blanket and he's been sick". Nothing...her face was froze... I really started to feel my blood boil then! In a content voice I reiterated my concerns about having things that have been on the floor in his crib and pulled it out of the crib...oh, which by the way, I forgot to mention that when I showed up, there was a plush toy in my son's hands and...yep - his mouth. That left his cute chubby hands real quick-like! Okay, back to the story: After my little calm storm of voicing my opinion, I finished up the next 10 minutes in silence and I hung out with my son....(it was quite amusing that they didn't know what to do with me in there...I just chewed their ass in a calm way and I'm still here..! ) I then went over and talked to the 'assistant' again since the owner was not there again...I told her that I was absolutely infuriated that there was nothing being done to resolve our concern. She nodded the whole time, I didn't let her get much of a word in..I asked her when the last health dept inspection has been and asked her if she thought I needed to call them to make sure I'm not requesting such high demands for my baby's health...nothing. STOP using his crib for storage - end of story. Now because you are a freakin' idiot, I have to go back to work pissed off!! I call my hubby on the way and tell him what I saw, he was ballistic. He called and was able to contact the owner who told him that she was aware and they were going to have a letter typed up with that 'new policy' and have the teachers sign it. He then asked for a copy of that sheet to show that something has been done about it. Stating that she didn't feel comfortable with that, she advised him to call her licensing agent.. As a paying customer to a business wouldn't any parent want to know how an issue was resolved and have proof that it is being done? Or is there something we don't know? When I picked my son up after work that day, I was already mind-set that I was going to pack up his stuff and we're out of there and never again....but when I got there, they saved me the hassle. Guess they knew it was coming. She stopped me on the way in and I told her about the concerns and that I knew her and my husband had talked. I then asked if she had a copy of the health inspection listed anywhere and she changed tones quick. "Look at other daycares, you'll see that 95% of our customers come back"... Hmmm,...2 things: 1) Why'd they leave in the first place and 2) they probably had no choice like we did -noone else had openings.... But I didn't say anything that could held against me in court! I went in and got my boy and that was that.-well, for now...until some more phone calls are made. MY MAIN CONCERN HERE IS THE OTHER PARENTS LIKE US AND THEIR BABIES - THIS IS BY NO MEANS SLANDER. IT'S JUST TRUTH.




After doing some research, we found another woman who took her son here about 3 years ago and ended up quitting her job to stay at home because he was got so sick with RSV that he now has to have breathing treatments; we both share this same story. We also found that this business is under investigation at the moment with the state.




THE MORAL OF THIS BULLETIN/STORY IS TO INFORM ALL PARENTS TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION AND BE IN TUNE WITH YOUR KID AND WHAT SURROUNDINGS THEY'RE IN....ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE SICK OFTEN.

Lilly's story

Shocked that Lily was even old enough to have a son, I looked to Tom and shrugged. Tom returned the same. I took Lilly to one of the back rooms away from the garage, then I had Tom finish off the mess in the garage. Lilly was shaking and had a look of horror and pain on her face. I sat next to her and put an arm around her. She began sobbing and put her arms around me. Her body was like dead weight and almost pulled me over. After about 15 minutes of her crying she straightened up and began to tell me her story.

"I was one of those girls that believed I was untouchable. I slept around a lot and ended up getting pregnant when I was 15. I couldn't go through with an abortion so I carried the full term. Once Eli was born, his name was Eli Bowen, my parents took over as legal guardians and I continued my schooling. By the time I got finished up with high school Eli was already 4 and I still couldn't afford to support both him and me so my parents still took care of him. I ended up working in a strip club to make ends meet. Once the craziness began I had no idea what to do. Who knew that anything like this was going to happen. I called my dad and he came to pick me up from work one night. I have my own vehicle but it had been trashed by some people looking to get out of town themselves. That was about 6 days ago now. My dad and I were trying to get home when we came across you. All I wanted was what was best for Eli. I never imagined that he would end up one of them. I wonder what happened to my mom!?"

I gave her another hug and tried my best to comfort her.
"I knew something like this might happen and prepared for it, but even being prepared I have already lost my father, step-mother, step-sister, an ear, and almost my arm. I don't know if anyone else I hold dear has survived. The thought of them dead or undead makes my skin crawl, but I have to know. No matter how hard it is to cope with. We're alive and even though Eli isn't at least you have closure of some kind and you still have your life. It'll be hard to get past but with my help you will be able to exact your pain upon the living dead that caused it."

I don;t know if anything I said helped or not. All I know is that she's a good shot with a rifle and I need as much help as I can get.

Tom had finished up clearing the garage by the time I made my way back through. He had left one body for last and knew why.

"We'll let Lilly make the choice."

Lord if it's not to much to ask... Why me?

I let Lilly have some time to gather herself before I gave her a choice on what to do next. She cried for a while before she said anything. “What now? What happens next?”
“You have two choices. Come with me or stay here and fend for yourself. If you choice to stay I will understand and I’ll give you a few supplies and weapons. If you decide to come with me then you do what I say when I say it. Choice is yours.”
She seemed to be mulling it around in her head for a while before answering. “I’ll go with you.”
“Good choice Lilly. First thing I want you to do is take a long look at you dad lying there, I mean really take it in. This will serve you well when fighting zombies. Once you have it burned into your head we’re leaving. Grab what you want from your dad because once we leave I’m burning the house.”
I finished packing up a few items and found another pack for Lilly to carry, while she gathered items from her dad. I split the contents of my pack with Lilly’s so they wouldn’t be so heavy and started pouring gas around the house.
“Okay, we have about a half mile trek ahead of us to make it back to my house. I prefer to fight as few zombies as possible since we will be weighted down. Try your best to refrain from screaming like you did earlier, that will end up getting us both killed. Stay close and you’ll be fine.”
She never asked a question, did everything I asked of her, and never made a sound. On the way out the door I trailed a line of gasoline and lit it, saluted the fallen soldiers inside and we were off.
For the first time since the fall of man and the rise of the hell spawn, things went the way I wanted them to on the way back to the house. That is until we got about a block from the house. The house was surrounded by what seemed to be hundreds of the undead, and Tom was on the roof franticly firing the rifle. Lilly and I quietly positioned our selves across the street. I had Lilly climb a tree and handed her my rifle out of the gunnysack and got out some extra ammo for her. “Do you know how to use one of these?” She grabbed it out of my hand, pulled the bolt back, loaded a bullet in the chamber, released the safety, and nodded. “Good, aim for their heads and watch my back, I’m heading in.”
I grab my trusty hatchet, machete, pistol, and make sure my armor is on tight. I let out my battle cry to get the attention of the zombies and Tom. I hear the report of Lilly’s rifle and see one go down. She’s good and will make a valuable asset. Using the machete to decapitate and my hatchet to crack skulls, I make my way to the house. Tom is still franticly busting off shots and I can here Lilly doing the same, my focus is in front of me. Ever wonder what it would feel like to be an animal stuck in a piranha feeding frenzy? I felt like I was in it. Zombies lunging and snapping their teeth together all around, hands grabbing onto my armor trying to take me down, and blood was flying everywhere. Once I was close enough to the house I called to Tom to drop the ladder. He disappeared from the roof and a minute later the ladder came down over the wall. I yelled at Lilly and told her to get ready to make her way over and told Tom to cover her from the roof. Tom made his back to the roof and I made a mad dash back to Lilly. Lilly hopped out of the tree and I grabbed both bags and told he to run. There’s only about 40 or 50 zombies still shuffling around as we make our way to the ladder. Lilly makes it to the ladder about 10 strides ahead of me, she climbed up and extended her hand. I handed her the backpacks and she disappeared over the wall. As I made my way up the ladder I’m stopped by a zombie, it grabbed onto my leg and was trying to chew through my armor. I kicked it in the head with my free leg, but as I learned before they don’t give up that easily. I was about to drop down when Tom sniped it from the roof.
Once we were in the house things seemed odd, kind of out of place. Tom made his way down from the roof and met up with Lilly and me at the front door.
“Tom this is Lilly. Lilly met Tom. Now, what brought all the zombies here?”
“We have guests!”
“What! I told you to let no one in!”
“I know. I know. I really had no choice, they made their way over the wall and were going to break in.”
“Ok then where are they?”
“Well, I locked them in garage.”
“Okay. That still doesn’t tell why all the zombies.”
“They brought them with. I don’t know why so many kept showing up.”
About that time there is a loud moan from the garage, then an echo from outside.
“Did you check them? Where they bit?”
Tom didn’t answer just dropped his head, which was all the answer I needed.
“How many where there?”
“Four.”
“Lilly, you want to shoot some fish in a barrel?”
Lilly shook her head and put her hand out, she hasn’t said a word since I told her to keep quiet. I handed her the silenced Colt .45 and showed her to the garage. She threw the door open and shot three times then hesitated and backed away.
“What is it Lilly? What’s wrong? Speak!”
“I can’t do it.”
“What are you talking about? You just popped off three shots!”
I stick my head in the door and see the three motionless corpses on the ground and one now very fat child zombie. He couldn’t have been more than six or seven, missing a large portion of his neck and face.
“What’s the problem?”
“That thing used to be my baby boy!”

And then there were two....

I’m ready to leave and head back to my own little slice of heaven, but the sun is hidden behind pitch-black clouds. It may be suicidal to go outside and attempt to head home, but right now I could care less. Thunder and lighting are on the horizon, and the flashes of light combined with the roar of thunder may just give me enough cover to make it back. Zombies are distracted easily! I pack up what I can in my backpack and everything else is packed into a gunnysack my dad used in the army. So not only am I going to trek home in the dark but I am also going to be hauling an extra 100 pounds of supplies. Only an idiot would attempt this, and I’m just that idiot.
Armored up and ready to go I check for zombies around the house. To my surprise, there are zombies everywhere. They seem to be surrounding the house, like they know I’m in here and are preparing for an attack. “Why can’t things be easy for me just for once!?” Times like these I’m really glad I have bombs! I head to the roof and find out why there are so many around. There are a couple of people running around drawing the attention of the dead heads. Should I wait it out until those people leave or get eaten, or do I offer a helping hand? Being the self proclaimed slayer of zombies and defender of the living I decided to help. “HEY! Quit running around and get in a tree! I’ll help you get into the house just give me a second.” They were quick to follow my instructions and they ran to the closest tree and up they went. I went back in side and got the rifle and some pipe bombs, then headed back to the roof. I drop a couple pipe bombs over the opposite side of the house, which got the attention of some the zombies. The rest kept their attention on the man and woman in the tree. Once the zombies gathered where I dropped my pipe bombs, I light up another one and drop in the middle of the group. The explosion lit up the sky like a volcano erupting and I couldn’t tell if it was beginning to rain or if it was a downpour of zombie entrails and blood. With the larger group taken care of I start picking off the zombies gathered under the tree. One by one the zombies fell until the area was clear enough to help the people in the tree. “ Stay there, keep quiet, and I’ll be out to get you.” On my way out of the house I grab my trusty hatchet and Pop’s hand cannon. Once outside I head to the tree and help the people down.
“Thank you, we’ve been…”
“Save it until we get inside. Just try to keep quiet.”
With that the woman let out a blood-curdling scream. I look to see about 10 zombies shuffling around the corner.
“Okay you two make a run for it, I’ll take care of them!”
“GO!”
With them on the run I take off at the group of zombies hatchet held high. I hacked the first couple down with the hatchet, leaving a bloody pool at my feet. I wrestle around with the next waiting for the couple to get in the house. Once they made it in I shove the zombie back and put the pistol to it’s head and drop the hammer. The .50 caliber cannon splits the head of the zombie right up the middle, spilling gray matter all over my boots. The bullet went on to perforate two more zombies that where behind the first and all I could think was “Multiple kill bonus” like I was in a video game. I made my way back into the house and find the couple in the attic and they look more frightened of me at this point than were of the zombies outside. The woman was standing over the man, who seemed to have passed out.
“You two alright?”
“Yes, thanks to you we are. My name is Lilly and this is my dad Henry. We ran out of food and water so we decided to go out and try to find some more. We made it a few blocks before we were attacked.”
“Wait were either of you bitten?”
“I wasn’t but my dad was bit on the hand, it’s nothing he’ll be fine.”
“No he won’t! He’ll survive a few more days maybe then turn into one of them. You have two options kill him now or kill him later. If it was up to me it would be now as opposed to later.”
“You’re asking me to kill my dad? Are you crazy? How do you know that the little bite on his hand will change him into one of those things? “
“First off I’m not asking you to kill him I’m telling you. If you don’t do it I will. Secondly, I know because I just had to do the same to my dad. If the situation was reversed I’d be telling him to kill you.”
“I can’t do it!”
“If you plan to stay with me and continue to survive, he’s got to be taken care of. If you stay with him and expect him to get better he won’t. If he changes and you’re still here when he does, he’ll kill you. Spend some time with him, remember good times, and tell him you love him then shoot him in the head. Sounds bad I know but do you really want to see you dad as a zombie?”
“No I couldn’t handle seeing him that way.”
“Then you know what has to be done.”
I hand Lilly a gun and leave her to be with her dad. I hate to be hard on the poor girl but in order for her to survive she has to learn the rules. A few hours go by and the storm has passed. Things have been very quiet in the attic. I catch the occasional whimper and sniffle from Lilly and Henry. Another hour later and there is heavy sobbing from Lilly. I go into the attic and ask how things are going.
“He… Just… Died!”
“Shoot him! Now before he has a chance to turn.”
I put the pistol in her hand and she grabs hold. I release the safety and help her aim and she pulled the trigger.

Down the dark path to the light!

You know it’s a bad day when you get an ear blown off and you have to put a bullet in your dad’s head. How does one prepare for a day like this? You really want to know don’t you? I’ll tell you. You don’t! Nothing can prepare you mentally or physically for the trauma that is killing one of your own. Sure, I’ll admit that I’ve thought about killing some people in my day, but never anyone that I loved and held dear. However, all is not lost, I will let you in on how I coped.
After I shot my dad in the head I had mixed emotions. I wanted to cry but no tears came, I wanted to scream but I couldn’t catch my breath, most of all I wanted revenge. Revenge was do-able, I could still move and every muscle in body wanting me to take out my ire on the masses of zombies just outside the house. I dropped my backpack of weapons, food, and ammunition in order to make my next trip outside more personal. I double checked my body armor and picked up the hatchet, machete, and the .45. “I’m going to go outside and wreek havoc on those undead bastards!” Once outside I let out the loudest scream I could muster and within a minute or so they came for me and I couldn’t have been happier. Machete in hand I rush the first dead head in sight. First swing of the blade severed the zombies shoulder and neck, splattering coagulated blood all over my armor. Leaving the machete there I grab the hatchet and put everything I have into planting it directly in the top of the skull, the recoil of broken bone and the slosh of brain matter was more than satisfying. The longer I went the more brutal my slayings became, using my bear hands to eviscerate the motionless corpses of the undead. I took much joy in ripping the flesh from the creatures that were the direct cause of my horrible action. They will all pay the price for the one and there is nothing that can change my mind or stop me from being the one to send them back to hell. Never have I been more confident and sure of anything in my life. I have a purpose and my purpose is the destruction of the undead.
Dusk came quickly and, as much fun as I was having, I know better than to fight at night. I returned to my dad’s attic to retire for the night. Once inside I removed the armor now covered in chunks of flesh and blood, so much in fact that the clothes beneath my armor were stained with the carnage that I inflicted. My dad’s body was still on the floor motionless, so I scavenged through the boxes in the attic and found a change of clothes and an old American flag. I used the flag to cover my dad and put on the clean linens. Seeing him there only fueled my hatred even more and I made sure to take it all in, as to not forget any detail. The image will serve to keep me alive long enough to exact my revenge without any thread of hesitation. Once the image was safely stored away in my head, I broke down and cried for hours and eventually passed out.
Dreams are often times more cruel and vicious than the real world. Dreams can take you to wonderful places only to drop you off a cliff. My dreams are usually full of images of dealing death to those who are no longer dead, but lately they have been more personal and reoccurring. I see images of my ex-wife and close family members surrounded by zombies. They are all pointing at me and taunt me by telling me I will never be able to save them. As the zombies close in I run to them as hard and fast as I can but never reach them. As the zombies feed on the flesh on my loved ones I can hear their screams but all I can do is watch. In the midst of my helplessness and pain, I spring to life and wake up screaming. It’s morning now, and it’s time to prepare for the trek home…

Did you say something? I was busy looking for my ear!

Old man must be slipping in his old age, he never misses his target. I am thankful that my head is still on my shoulders, but I can’t hear and it feels like the contents of my skull are leaking out the side of my head where I used to have an ear. Once I dropped I stayed there waiting for the kill shot or response from my dad. There was nothing for what seemed like and hour, in all reality I think it was actually about a minute or two but time drags when your brain feels like it trying to push out of your head. I crawl up to the house and call out to the old man again. “Pop, I’m coming in!” I make my way into the house and the stench of body rot is overwhelming. Pop has been busy, there were at least 40 bodies with huge holes through their heads; a result of being shot with a .50 caliber hand cannon. No sign of my dad anywhere in the house so I make my way to the garage. The house has a 4 car garage with a full size attic above it that is larger that most people’s houses. I check the attic and find that someone has definitely been living here. Rations and water bottles around a sleeping bag and lantern. As I am pilfering through the attic there is a loud noise from the garage and then a gunshot. I run down the stairs and throw open the garage door to see my dad standing over a lifeless body with the smoking cannon in hand. “You all right Pop?” He looks me square in the eye and shakes his head then drops his eyes to the floor. Following his gaze I see it, a good portion of flesh missing from his left calf. “I’m sorry I shot you son. I lost my glasses and I tried to pull the second shot once I saw the hat through the scope. Perhaps it will make it easier for you.”
“NO! You’ve survived war, cancer, and raising me! You cannot go out this way!”
“Don’t really have a choice son.”
“Let’s lock this place down and you can tell me the whole story!”
I helped him get the fresh one out the door and we close up the garage and headed to the attic. Once in the attic he started his story…
The day that the reports started airing on the news I had my suspicions that what my son has been so animate about for most of his life was coming true. He spoke of people that would die from the bites of humans and of the dead rising to feed on the living. People were starting to die from being bit by crazed people. I never thought that he would be right. I knew things were bad when the Army declared Marshall Law and did my best to prepare, but it was too little too late. Those things, I believe Quenton called them zombies, had already made it into my home. It started when Barbara, my wife, made a foolish trip to get her daughter Mindy. Mindy had been bitten while riding the city bus to her job and was near death by the time Barbara got her to the house. Barbara never left her side and tried everything to keep her alive. During Mindy’s decline I racked my brain trying to remember what my son had told me if confronted with this situation. She survived only two days before she stopped breathing, and only stayed dead for five minutes. Barbara was so upset that her daughter had died she was hysterical and refused to let me remove the body; this lead to her death. When Mindy reanimated the first thing she did was tear a chunk of flesh out the neck of her own mother. I heard the commotion and busted in the room to see Mindy feeding on the motionless body on my wife. At that very moment the words of my son rushed into my head and I remembered what he said, “Once a person dies from the bite the only way to stop them is to put a bullet in their head or damage the brain. Don’t hesitate when the zombie are loved ones or friends, because they are no longer that person and will kill you if given the chance.” I slammed the door back shut and went for my gun. I returned to the room with my Colt 45 in hand, ready to handle what had to be done. I flung the door open to find Mindy and Barbara both poised to attack and with two squeezes of the trigger they were both on the floor motionless. I spent the next few weeks defending my home from the masses of undead that seemed to increase everyday. Explosions and screaming from all around the community forcing flashbacks of Vietnam. The neighbors had tried to high tail it to safety in a Mack truck only to end up taking out half my house and severely compromising my safety. With the main area of the house with a gaping hole in it I made camp in the attic. It was rough but I continued to survive.
Pop laid it all out on the table and didn’t leave out any detail up to the point of me showing up. Earlier, before my arrival, he had been attacked and bitten on his leg. We continued to talk and reminisce until he started having trouble breathing. I gathered his weapons and ammo and whatever food I could carry and waited for him to pass. I was forced to watch the man that raised me, the man I admired, the man I looked to support, the man I loved die. With his last breath he told me he loved me and was proud of me and that he was sorry he never listened to my warnings, I told him I loved him too and with tears flowing down my cheeks I put a bullet in his head…