I grew up an outdoorsy kind of guy; when I was in my teens and twenties I went hunting a couple of times a year. I bought the Savage Arms 111 FCNS 30.06 a couple of seasons before I met Candi. It was excessive for the deer in the woods around my house, but I’ve always wanted to go elk hunting. At the time, the salesman had thrown in two extra six round magazines to go with it. I had two boxes of ammunition, forty rounds total. I loaded one magazine and inserted it into the rifle I’d always called Sammie, pulled the bolt to chamber a round. The action was smooth, still oiled up from when I dug it out a year ago to clean and oil it. It hasn’t been used in many years, but I always tried to take care of it. It would need a good cleaning at some point, but would be serviceable now. I ejected the magazine and refilled the empty slot. I loaded and slipped the other two magazines into one of the cargo pockets of my pants, comforted by the weight there. I attached the scope to the rail, a Leupold 14mm x 50mm. The case went into the back of the truck. At one point, on a calm day I could hit a two liter bottle from eight hundred yards with this rifle and scope. It had been a long time though. I’d always promised Candi that I would keep this gun hidden and locked in its case when Max was born.
The truck was fully loaded with everything I could fit. It was weighed down, but would make the trip. I hadn’t checked on Max for a few minutes. When I got up there, he was red, and flush with a fever. I felt his head, he was burning up. In the upstairs bathroom, I’d left a few things to pack at the last minute. I grabbed his bottle of liquid ibuprofen and sucked up a dropper full. Candi would say, ‘He only gets half a dropper,’ but I couldn’t afford to mess around with this fever, and Max has always been bigger and taller than everyone his age. He loved the taste of medicine, so it was never a problem to get him to take it. His show was over, so I started a new episode and called Candi.
“Hey Babe. I have Max, we’re at home. How long until you get here?”
In typical Candi fashion, she started off by asking what was going on, and yelling at me for letting my phone battery die.
“Candi, I don’t have time. Where are you?”
“What’s the matter with you?” she asked.
“You are not going to believe me. Drive home; do not stop for any reason. Do not stop. I’ll explain when you get here. Where are you?”
“I’m about five minutes away.”
“Ok, see you in five. Do not stop for anything. Pull your car into the garage when you get here.” I ordered. “I love you the most!”
“Love you, too. You’re scaring me.”
I’ll explain when you get here, just get here.” As I hung up the phone, I said to Max, “Max, I need to move my truck out of the garage so mommy can get in. Do you hear me?”
“Okay Daddy. I’m hungry. The bugs are eating all my food.”
“I’ll get you a snack in just a minute, buddy.” I said.
I checked at the door, and no one was in sight, so I pulled my truck out of our one car garage and parked it on the street. Before I locked it up, I grabbed a cereal bar out of the back and headed inside.
I opened the bar for Max, and picked up my phone again to call my mother.
“Hey Mom. We’re coming down to your house. There’s some really ugly stuff happening up here, and we need to get safe.”
“Oh my God honey is everyone okay?” she asked.
“We’re fine; Max has a bite on his leg. He has a fever and is saying some strange things. I’m worried about him, but I don’t know how to tell Candi. Mom, its zombies. No, really, they’re zombies. I watched a man eat another man on the street in front of my office. Then I watched the eaten man get up and bite the paramedics.”
“Victor, get your family safe, then we’ll figure out what this really is. Do you need to take Max to the doctor?”
“Mom, zombies. I’m serious. The doctor is the last place I want to go. Do you still have the 30/30 and .410? If you do, go get them and keep them handy. Lock the doors and don’t answer for anyone. If they don’t look right, or don’t speak, don’t go near them.”
I heard the garage door opening, and Candi pulling in the garage.
“Mom, I gotta go, Candi is here. Yes mom, I love you too. See you soon.” I ended the call.
03. Bugging Out.
“Candi,” I said as she came walking up the hardwood stairs, her heels clicking on every one. “Zombies. Max is bitten. We’re bugging out.”
It was not my finest monologue. I probably could have worded that more tactfully, but at the moment I was feeling fairly stressed out.
“Mommy!” Max said excitedly, "Mommy, I’m hungry. The inside bugs are eating everything."
Candi looked at me, puzzled “Tookes, what?”
I pull Candi into our bedroom, and start to explain. "Candi, I know you’re not going to believe this, but I promise you, it’s absolutely true. I saw Chuck get eaten. He was inside out, and he tried to eat me. His guts were hanging down past his knees, and he was walking towards me. I could see all the way through him. I saw strangers attack and bite people, and when those people died, they stood up and tried to bite more people. I watched a man literally eat the throat out of another man. I ran as fast as I could. I got in my truck and drove straight to Max's school. I can't begin to describe the horror inside there. I killed someone with a flashlight. I didn't get to the daycare fast enough. Max got bitten. Everyone I've seen get bitten has gotten sick. Max just has a fever. I think I got to it in time. When we got home, I dumped everything I could find on his leg, from rubbing alcohol to peroxide. He's got a little fever, but he's still Max. I'm sure he's going to be fine."
Before I could say anything else, Candi rushed over to Max and picked him up. "Oh my God, Tookes, he’s burning up!”
“I know. You can see the bite mark on his leg.” I said, “I gave him ibuprofen, the fever is down some. In an hour we can give him some Tylenol too, I believe that will knock it down even further. I think he's going to be Ok, Max is a tough kid."
“Candi, we’re getting out of here, we're going to moms. Check the closet and see if there is anything else you need. I think I got everything. The truck is packed; we need to leave in ten minutes. "
"We need to get Max to the doctor. I don't want to go to your mothers. We need to go to the hospital," she said.
“The hospital is the worst place we could go,” I explained. "That’s where everyone who’s been bitten will go. I watched a man get bit and then stand up. He had no guts, you could see all the way through him, but he was standing up!” I was almost yelling at this point, only worry of frightening Max keeping me from it. "We have to go to Moms. It’s in the country. It will be safe, there’s no one around. Now please, go get your things!”
Candi went off to the bedroom, I knew she was going to come back with a few things she couldn’t leave the house without, but I didn’t have much time to argue with her. We needed to move. Between Maryland and Virginia is the Potomac River. Where Route 15 crosses the river, is a five hundred yard two-lane bridge. The river is deep and fast. It’s an hour and a half south of my house, and I knew if that bridge was impassable, we were in serious trouble. We had to get across that bridge before it got shut down, or worse, the National Guard put up a checkpoint there.
"Max, buddy, how are you feeling?” I asked, walking back into the living room.
"I’m okay Daddy, why is Mommy mad? Is it because I got bit?”
"No dooder, she’s not mad at you. She’s worried because you’re hurt. We don’t like to see you hurt, it makes us sad."