Evolution

  EVOLUTION

  Copyright © 2019 by S.L. Nelson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Chapter 1

  Avery lives by two rules.

  First, when shit gets weird, get out fast.

  Second, don’t be the hero.

  Avery was getting ready for work when the screeches rocked through the streets. Still in her pajamas, toothbrush hanging from her mouth, she ran toward her bedroom windows to look at the street below. In the light of day, people were running around attacking each other. Avery reached for her curtains and pulled them close and watched as George Philips tackled Masie Reed, a little fifteen year old that waits for the bus just in front of his house.

  The toothbrush fell from Avery’s mouth when George bit the back of May’s neck, pulling the skin until it snapped from her body. Avery was rooted as she witnessed people throwing open their doors and started to yell. They just invited the crazy sons-of-bastards right in to their homes. Another round of screeches sent Avery running around her house to lock things up tight.

  Then she locked herself in her bathroom and plugged her ears with her fingers, trying desperately to block out the screams just beyond her walls.

  She made it through five hours hiding in her bathroom. When the rumble in her stomach turned into stamped, she decided to try to get to her kitchen. Avery inched down her stairs, peeking around the corner to make sure she wasn’t visible. When nothing came pounding at her doors she felt confident enough to step into her pantry and shut the door. Avery grabbed a grocery bag and stuffed it full with boxes of crackers and cans of tuna. She dashed back up the stairs and back into the bathroom. She downed half a box of crackers when she finally reached for a can of tuna.

  “Crap!” Avery grumbled when she realized it wasn’t a pull tab can. Setting the can aside, she went back to her box of crackers, she figured it wasn’t worth another trip down the stairs so soon.

  It was getting dark when Avery’s stomach revolted at the thought of another cracker. She was plenty hydrated but really wanted something more to eat. Avery hadn’t heard any noise outside for several hours now. An echo of a screech now and then but nothing that she figured was close enough to her. Once again she ventured outside her hiding spot. Avery retraced her steps down the stairs and back into the kitchen. She could see the streets light were on and there was noone, at least no one moving, on the street in the front of her house. The sight of the mangled and torn bodies on the sidewalks should have made her appetite make a run for the hills but her need for food was too great. Avery entered the kitchen again and made the mistake of opening her refrigerator door. The light was seen through the kitchen window and moan that rocked through Avery’s ears made her slam the door shut.

  Heart pounding, Avery rushed to her back door. A crowd of unwanted guests came knocking at her door. The weak light of the refrigerator was like a beacon. When the knocking went unanswered, all out pounding ensued. Eventually they busted through the window. Damn, a fence would have saved her from witnessing zombies crawling over each other through the small window. That is a nightmare that a person can’t unsee.

  Avery broke rule number one.

  She let herself get stuck right in the middle of a zombie outbreak. Realizing her mistake, she rushed into her garage, bare feet slapping the concrete floor.

  “Come on Avery, hold it together!” her hands were shaking, making it hard to get a grip on the door handle. The sound of bodies banging the entrance door to the garage gave Avery the focus she needed Hitting the to get in her car. Stabbing the remote button to raise the big door, she prepared to peel out. She wasn’t expecting to see little Jamie Thomas and his Granny Ginger standing in her driveway. For a split second she thought of opening her door and running toward them. That desire vanished the second Jamie turned toward her, growling and snapping his teeth. The growling was scary enough but the missing half of Jamie’s face was worse.

  Avery shifted into reverse and slammed her foot on the gas, “You were always a little shit.” she muttered. Steeling herself she prepared to feel the bump of the bodies. Granny Ginger held on to the back for a few seconds before she was sucked under the tire. Avery felt the pop when the tire rolled over her head, squishing it like a grape. That wasn’t even the worst part. The little shit jumped up and landed on her trunk.

  “Holy shit! You shouldn’t be able to do that!” Avery’s heart was already working overtime. Seeing a zombie kid act like a ninja was enough to make her insides explode.

  Thinking fast, Avery whipped her wheel around, desperate to shake the kid from her car. Instead of falling off, he scrambled up to the roof and started to pound a dent just over her head.

  “What the HELL!” Avery was in full panic mode. How in the world was she going to get out of this. Pushing into drive, Avery peeled out of her yard. Getting onto the street proved to be a problem. The noise of the garage door and the revving of her engine called more zombies to her location.

  The things started to fly out of dark corners, “Running, the bastards are actually running!” Avery yelled.

  Avery started swerving, yanking her wheel left and right, trying to avoid the vehicles that failed to make it out of this damn subdivision. Above her the pounding increased. She could hear the barking growl of Jamie, could feel the intensity of his desire to reach her. Avery picked up speed, rounding a corner at forty miles an hour, she slid right into a small pickup truck. The force of impact finally sending Jamie vaulting over the hood of her car. Avery didn’t wait to see what happened to him. She backed up just enough to get around the mess and punched forward, not looking back.

  Destruction was everywhere. There didn’t seem to be a house that didn’t fall to whatever this crap was. People, what used to be people, were huddled together in a disgusting mess of torn flesh and glistening bone. Avery drove down the street, catching the attention of each group she passed. Looking in her rearview mirror, she watched as some broke from their packs and started after her at a steady gallop.

  “What the hell kind of zombies are these?” Avery was breathing hard, eyes big a saucers as she tried to take everything in. She started to wonder if she was the only one left when she spotted a small group running through the streets. Avery sped up to get a better look.

  “Oh, no.” Avery couldn’t believe what she was looking at. They were dead, every single one of them. They moved like a well trained cross country team. Up close you could see the disjointed movements but from a distance, they looked normal.

  “This is wrong, so wrong!” Avery screamed when they shifted as one and ran right for her.

  Avery was the rock between two scary places, she only had one choice. She pushed the pedal to the floor boards.

  The bodies slammed into her grill, cracked her windshield, and took out her driver’s side mirror. Avery took out three, breaking bones and cracking heads, the rest didn’t even slow down. Avery cut her wheel hard again, swerving round a pile of cars. Avery could see the exit.

  “Shit! Every one and their Grandma must have been trying to get out of here!” Avery stared in shock at the exit.

  The entrance to the subdivision was designed as a one-way entrance and exit that rolled into a large circle. The opening was wide but didn’t offer a straight path. Instead, there was a monument and a whole lot of grass and flowers. Even in their haste, most people stayed on the road. Avery could tell that there had been a lucky few that shucked convention and ran through the grass, knocki
ng down the small statue of a bird. Those cars must have created the bottleneck, creating a very small funnel.

  The opening looked just large enough to fit her tiny car. Avery held her breath and closed her eyes as she pushed through the narrow opening. The sound of glass breaking and metal scrape. The impact slowed her down but it didn’t stop her.

  Avery popped her eyes open and released her breath. She looked in her rearview and saw she had rocked the cars hard when she barreled through. The back end of her car had swerved, nocking one of the front vehicles enough to turn it, closing the opening enough to block the people.

  “I hope that holds those super freaks long enough for me to get far away from here.” Avery concentrated on the road. It was full dark now and her lights were bouncing off of abandoned cars along the road bank.

  A few more miles and Avery would be able to hop on the highway. Where she’ll go after that, she had no clue. She can’t be the only one to survive. Avery tapped her hands on the wheel, then turned the dial on her radio up. Her heart lifted when she heard Journey belt out ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, singing along for a moment before rolling right into ‘Any Way You Want It’.

  “Damn it!” Avery stabbed the band button on her deck to take it off of her CD. Silently, she listened to the emergency announcement that repeated.

  Avery drove blindly, the static in her ears creating a veil over her eyes. She didn’t pay attention to the cars smashed into the ditches. She ignored the dark stains that illuminated in the headlight. She drove past arms reaching, bodies too mangled to move. Avery started to turn her wheel, intent on reaching the highway when she snapped out of her daze and slammed on her breaks.

  Avery was inches from the bumper of a milk truck. Her headlight flashing back on her, making if difficult to see. Making a quick decision, she turned the key in the ignition and flipped the switch for her lights. The sliver of moon wasn’t enough to see a few feet beyond the line of cars.

  “There is no way I’m wondering around in the dark.” Avery whispered. The silence of the night offered Avery the comfort she desperately needed. Remembering the sound of the zombies, Avery shivered.

  Avery dug around in her small back seat and found a UW of M sweatshirt and slipped it on. The coolness of the night finally slipping past the fear she held onto like a blanket.

  “Wish I grabbed some shoes on my way out.” Avery pulled a flip flop from the floor but figured she would be better off running barefoot.

  Taking one last look around to make sure she was still alone. Avery inspected the cracks in her windshield and door glass, then locked her doors, hoping they weren’t able to pull the handles. There wasn’t much to do about the cracks but it did obscure her from view.

  Pushing back her seat, she tried to rest but couldn’t get comfortable. Reaching into her back seat again, she pulled out her long handle snow scraper and held it tightly to her chest. Feeling better, Avery closed her eyes to sleep.

  Chapter 2

  “Are we taking anything with us?” Daisy found Bethann staring out the window in the baby room.

  “What are you looking at?” Daisy stood next to Bethann licking the last of the jelly from a spoon. Bethann didn't think it was a good idea to waste food, especially when they didn’t know how often they were going to be able to eat.

  “See that pile of care there?” Bethann pointed to the entrance of the subdivision, “We can get out there. I don’t know how smashed up the cars are but I think I can get us through it.”

  “What about the zombies?” Daisy pressed her nose to the window and squinted her eyes, “I don’t see any.” Looking up at Bethann she asked, “How will we get there? Walk?”

  Bethann smiled, “Can you ride a bike?”

  Daisy nodded, “Where are we going to get bikes?”

  Bethann was gently moving her shoulders, testing the strength of the stitches and her level of soreness. “I saw a couple in the garage. We’ll have to adjust the seat but I think your legs are long enough to reach.”

  Turning from the window, Bethann grabbed the backpacks that she found. “Fill these up with some food and any bottles of water you can find but don’t make them too heavy.”

  Bethann watched Daisy leave and returned to the window. She came up here hoping to see something, someone alive other than the two of them. She didn’t want to think the worst but had to prepare for a journey without her friends, without Veronica. Sighing, Bethann went down to help Daisy.

  Entering the kitchen, Bethann saw the pile of supplies that Daisy was building on the kitchen table.

  Laughing, Bethann pointed out, “All of that will not fit into two backpacks.”

  Daisy looked at the cans of ravioli in her hands, than to the pile on the table, “I just want to make sure that we choose the best options to keep our energy up.”

  “If we take cans, we’ll need a can opener.” Bethann pushed through the pile and started to pull out cans, “We would also need to bring spoons. That will start to weigh us down.”

  “Oh come on, it’s not that much.” Daisy hefted the can in her hand, testing the weight, “Here catch.”

  Daisy sent the can sailing through the air, past Bethann, and right into the glass doors of the china buffet. The splintering glass echoed in the quiet room.

  Daisy’s hands flew to her mouth, “Oh no, are you ok?”

  Bethann looked at the mess on the floor then cringed when a few plates rolled from their display racks and smashed against the edge of the buffet table.

  “We better get moving.” Bethann started shoving anything she could get her hands on into the one of the bags.

  “Why are you rushin….” Daisy’s question was answered when a body slammed into the back of the house.

  Daisy started stuffing the other bag as bodies rushed the house. It took every ounce of concentration to keep her hands from shaking, knowing they needed as much as they could carry.

  Daisy screamed when a man came crashing through the sliding glass doors, the sound exciting the infected.

  “Time to go!” Bethann looped the strap over her arm and grabbed Daisy as the man scrambled on hands and feet after them.

  Bethann raced down the short hall toward the garage, “I don’t know what’s out there. The bikes are against the far wall, get on one and be ready.”

  Bethann prayed that there were no infected in the garage. Pushing through the door, she let out the breath she was holding.

  “Quick!” Bethann grabbed the first bike and lowered the seat, “Get on and stay right behind me.”

  Bethann could hear Daisy puffing to keep up behind her. They made it down the driveway before the first screech.

  “Keep pedaling, don’t stop!” Bethann worried that Daisy wouldn’t be able to keep up. Slowing down, Bethann rode next to Daisy, urging her to keep going.

  The streets on this side of the subdivision didn’t show the chaos and blood of the day before but the smell was unmistakable.

  The sound of breaking glass was a siren to the infected. Their ability to hone in on the sound like beacon scared Bethann. There was no pretending that the infected were a catch me if you can variety.

  Bethann and Daisy flinched with each screech that filled the silent morning, knowing it was a call for fresh meat.

  Bethann chanced a look behind them and immediately wished she hadn’t. How could brainless crazy people coordinate a pack hunt and be so fast? What in the hell is going on?

  Bethann turned back toward Daisy and saw the tears running down her cheeks. She was so scared but she kept pushing, trying her best to get out alive. The fear that was building in Bethann burned right to anger. They had rounded the slight curve that takes them right to the exit. Bethann gritted her teeth and made a decision.

  Bethann reached over with her left hand and gripped Daisy’s handlebar, “Hold on.”

  Daisy lifted her feet of the pedals and held on tight when Bethann took off. The wind whipped at their faces, clearing away the stench of the infected. Daisy’s h
eart wobbled in her chest as Bethann navigated between cars, each foot narrowing the space from car to car. Bethann could see infected emerging from hidden places, some moved at a ragged gait, others more swiftly.

  Bethann’s focus was solely on the mangled mess of the exit. She was trying to figure the best way through when Daisy yelled out.

  The clawed fingers swiped across Bethann. Catching her on the cheek and swiping down her back. Bethann yelp at the pain. Swerving to get out of reach, she jumped the curb and raced through the grass toward the exit.

  “Bethann! Are you ok?” Daisy reached a hand out to steady Bethann’s shaking arm.

  Bethann could feel the blood oozing down her cheek, “By time we get out of here I’m going to look like the walking infected myself.” Bethann muttered, gritting her teeth against the familiar burn of the infected’s claws.

  The barking of the infected caught between the cars accelerated as the hunting pack closed in. The tires on the bikes lost traction on early morning grass, slowing their progress toward the exit. Bethann struggled to hold on to Daisy and push through the flowers that edged the monument that greeted the residents and they entered the subdivision.

  They were less than twenty feet from the exit when Bethann saw that they weren’t going to be able to just ride through. The cars and created a barrier, preventing anything from driving in or out.

  “What are we going to do?” Daisy started pedaling again. Helping Bethann move through the soft ground.

  “Just follow my direction and move fast.” Bethann ordered as an idea formed in her head.

  Daisy kept going. Daisy was starting to worry that they were going to slam right into the cars when Bethann yelled, “Stop!”

  Daisy braked hard, skidding the back tire.

  Bethann jumped off her bike then hefted it up and did her best to toss it over the hood of the car, “Climb over!”

  Daisy dropped her bike and lifted herself onto the hood, scooting on her butt and kicking Bethann’s bike to the other side. Daisy hit the ground and turned back to grab her bike, “Behind you!”