Undead Encounters
CJ Jones
Copyright 2013 CJ Jones
Discover more about the author and see more of her work at: https://www.ChristinaJoneswriter.com
Table of Contents
A Conspiracy Theory
The Stranger
A Conspiracy Theory
My wife and I were married for ten years. After ten years, I adored her as much as when I first married her. We thought we’d grow old and die together. That was before the outbreak changed everything.
On a sunny Saturday morning, we woke up, made coffee and turned on the news. Things seemed normal inside of our house. However, outside there was chaos. The news reporter said some sort of epidemic was happening. People who were dying weren’t really dying. They were coming back to life and feeding on the living. All of the talk of this being some sort of epidemic didn’t fool me for a second but we were both terrified, nonetheless.
This so-called epidemic took about a month before it reached us in Georgia. The reporters kept saying that there had been no cure discovered yet. I didn’t believe that for a second, either. Carol, my wife, was scared and anxious.
“John, promise me you won’t let it happen to me. I can’t be one of those nasty looking things. I don’t want to eat you or anyone else.” She would tell me.
“Aw, that ain’t never gonna happen. The government is just holdin’ out on that cure. We’ll be gettin’ it soon.” I told her.
“But if it does, you gotta kill me, John. I’m serious. I ain’t gonna be one of them things.”
“Aw, all right then.”
I honestly thought that it would never come down to that. I always told her that it wouldn’t. I would hold her close to me and rub her bleach blond curls and tell her that she was crazy. Either way, my buddy Bob, he lives down the street from us, he got in the house through the back door. That damn epidemic or whatever they call it had got to him. He was trying to bite at us. So, I hit him over the head with a big lead pipe and dragged him by the feet into the hall closet. I boarded it up and locked him in there good. That’s when I first noticed that Carol had a bite on her arm. We didn’t think it was a big deal but within a couple hours it was open and bleeding. I knew what I had to do.
“John, you better tie me to the bed real good. At least I won’t be able to hurt anyone. You know what we have to do now, right?” She said.
“Now Carol, this is ridiculous. I done told you. There is no need to do this.”
“I’ll do it all by myself, John. I’ll shoot myself right in the face. I’ll do it.”
I knew that she would, too. My only choice was to go along with it and let her die peacefully. So, we decided to let her drink some of the Liqua-Tox, which is liquid rat poisoning. We use it out by the barn. Anyway, I strapped her arms and legs to the bed. Then, I poured the liquid into a cup and let her drink it through a straw.
“Now, John, I have some things I need to say to you.”
“Well alright, go ahead then.”
“I can’t even talk to you with all that banging going on it that closet!” She yelled.
Bob was grumbling and banging against the closet door.
“Why didn’t you just shoot him?”
“Now, I done told you fifty times, there is a damn cure. This whole thing is a government conspiracy. They are just holding out on it. How in the hell are we ever supposed to win the damn bowling championship if he is dead?” I was getting frustrated. She never listens to a damn thing that I say.
So, we both sat there listening to Bob carrying on for a few minutes. There was no way that I was shooting him. I’d probably shoot her first. We’ve spent the last five years trying to win that trophy and this year we have a real chance at it.
“You know I love you and that I never slept with Alice’s husband. I only let you think I did because you still talk to your ex-wife when you go bowling.”
“Now you know that I love you more than I ever loved my ex-wife.”
“Yeah, I know.”
That’s when she started to fade out. Her eyes were drooping and she was falling asleep.
“John?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll see you soon, when we are both in Heaven.”
“Yeah, you’ll see me sooner than you think. Now, just go to sleep.”
I slept in the chair all night. It wasn’t very comfortable but I wanted to be beside her. It wasn’t really anything romantic but I couldn’t wait to see her zombie eyes when she woke up. That’s right, I didn’t give her no damn rat poisoning. I gave her liquid horse tranquilizer. I told her they had a cure. There was no way that I was going to kill her. Besides, she’s dumber than a box of rocks. They done said that the only way to kill a zombie or make sure they don’t become a zombie is to shoot them in the head. Dumb woman thought she could die with rat poisoning.
So, she woke up all red-eyed that next afternoon. Her skin was grey and you could see her veins. For a brief moment it was like she was in there. She looked at me like she was appalled and couldn’t believe she wasn’t dead. That only lasted a second or two. She started lashing against the ropes, trying to break free. I just laughed at her.
“Yep. You ain’t dead. I told you over and over that they’re holding out on that cure. Well, we ain’t waiting no more. We are going to that damn CDC and collecting our own medicine. I’m gonna get you all better, baby.” I told her.
I went and got one of those dog muzzles and some chain. I muzzled her and strapped her legs and arms together with the chain and then fashioned her a leash of some sorts. I carried her and put her in the back of the truck, in the camper shell. I figured she’d be safe there and she wouldn’t be able to get out. We were headed to the CDC but I had to make one stop first. We needed a few supplies.
So, I swung into the nearest Wal-Mart and ran inside to grab a few things. Surprisingly, there wasn’t anyone really in there. Just a few random zombie walkers but I could just run past them. I knew every aisle that I needed to go to. The problem occurred when I got out of the store. Everywhere I looked there was a white Ford truck and they all had campers. I knew I should’ve bought the Chevy. I had no idea where I parked. So, I ran to the first one and slung open the camper shell door. It was empty. I ran a row over and opened another one, no luck but by that time I had a following starting to catch up with me. I had to move a little faster. That's when I caught a glimpse of Carol from the corner of my eye. She was walking around with the rest of them damn zombies. Now, I had to try to wrangle her up and get her back in the truck--after I found the truck. I grabbed a package of meat out of my shopping bag and started running.
"Over here, zombies! Over here! Come and get me!" I screamed.
I started getting dizzy from all the circles I was making and finally chucked the meat as far as I could and then made a run for Carol. I grabbed her chains and drug her all the way to the nearest parking row. Luckily for me, my truck was right behind us. I grabbed her quickly, it was a good thing she was still muzzled, and tossed her in the back of the truck. I knew she was hungry. So, I ripped the muzzle off once she was safely inside.
“Honey, I got me some beef jerky and you some chicken breast and rump roast. I didn’t know which you would prefer. I know how you are about your figure. However, I had to use the chicken breast to fend off the beasts. You did this to yourself. I hope you get good and fat. I told you to stay put. You never listen to me, dammit. Now, we gotta get going.” She growled at me and begin lashing in my direction.
“Eat up!” I yelled and slammed the camper door shut.
The trip to the CDC wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact that my truck broke down. Turns out that no one trusts anyone enough to leave the keys in t
heir vehicles. However, I was lucky enough to spot a tractor out in a field beside the road. Of course, it wasn't necessarily left unattended either. I had to steal it. The damn farmer was outside in the field wondering around. I can only assume that he was waiting to harvest my brains. I knew I'd out run him, though. I hopped on the tractor, and was relieved that the keys were there. Then, I rode towards carol. She would have to walk beside the tractor for the rest of the way. It was a good thing I had her leashed. Either way, she made the trip just fine. It was a good thing that the CDC was only a few hours away.
Carol spent most of the trip grumbling, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. The roads were pretty clear. There were some abandoned cars, but for the most part, I didn’t see any sign of life. That was until we reached the CDC. Outside of the gates stood two guards bearing large guns. I thought about the gun rack in my truck. Either way, I pulled over and hopped off of the tractor.
“Alright, I am here for the