The Town of Last Haven: A Zombie Novel

Part 5

"We should preserve as much food as we can. We don't know how long the world will be like this," Julia said after a few moments of silence.

"Forever," was Austin's unappreciated comment to his sister. "What do we do when we run out of food? Starve as we stay in the house?" He crossed his arms over his chest and looked as if he were still holding back tears--he was, and Julia knew it. She wouldn't say anything about it unless the need was absolute.

"Remember that scene in World War Z when Gerry said to the Spanish kid's parents, 'Movimiento es vida'? Well, movement is life, but remember: we live in a small town to begin with, so maybe staying here is the right thing to do... for now." Julia corrected herself. "If we can find more guns and get some sort of blockade up around the house, perhaps we could have better chances of surviving."

"Since when did you become the optimist?" Austin's arms were still crossed.

"I'm not optimistic. We are going to protect each other. That's what we do." Julia was right--Austin knew it.

"Okay," he finally said. "What do we do, Captain Kirk?" Austin unfolded his arms and glanced out the kitchen window at the garden. "Do we run out with guns blazing and gather all the food we can? You tell me."

Julia opened the fridge to see plenty of refrigerated food, but that would be gone in days--if not from eating it outright, it would go bad. "We ration food for three meals a day, plus small snacks when we expel our energy after a run--something like that."

"Sounds like a good idea." Austin looked in the fridge, then heard screaming outside the house.

Julia and Austin both jumped with silent panic, then looked outside. There was another neighbor--they didn't know his name--who was running through the streets with a baseball bat. He was a scrawny thing to begin with, panic in his eyes. The dead went after him, but none could really run--was that an 'up' sort of thing? The stranger was shaking in his boots as he hit one of the zombies in the head, knocking it out. Its brains spilled all over the street, and Julia nearly wretched into the kitchen sink. She held her breath, but her face was still green.

"What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas!" the stranger kept yelling, and Austin raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, and Julia shrugged.

"Mom and dad might know..." Then, Julia remembered. "Damn," she murmured. "Sorry."

The stranger ran down the street passed their house, then a loud scream was heard again. Julia held her breath as she looked away. She and Austin knew what was happening. Their nameless neighbor was being eaten alive. They could do nothing to prevent it. If they went out guns blazing--with the one gun they had--they'd die anyway. Not good odds--good odds were not in their favor, as Effie from The Hunger Games would say.

"They're every--" The 'where' of the stranger's statement was followed by a low growl--the groan of a zombie. Julia shut her eyes and swallowed hard. Her appetite had gone away, and she didn't feel like eating or drinking anything.

Austin put a hand to Julia's back. "We have to do something. I know we can't stop the zombies alone, but we must get to the fruits and veggies from the garden before winter hits. We have to do that." Austin swallowed hard, seeing the neighbor lingering passed the window. He pulled closed the curtains before the thing could turn and see them in the window--then all hell would break loose indefinitely.

"You and I are the faster runners of the Brown kids." Austin nodded at Julia's statement. "You're faster than me, and I have dad's gun. We'll tell Natalie and Trent and Clarise our plans."

"Which are?" Austin asked.

He followed Julia back upstairs to her bedroom and they told the others their plan: step one, get the extra bullets from dad's office; step two: Julia gives Austin one of the beach bags to gather the fruits and veggies from the garden; and step three: Julia shoots any zombies that may come in for the kill too close for comfort; and step four: get back inside, then block off all doors and windows from the dead whom may have noticed the Brown siblings hiding inside to begin with.

"Sounds like a plan," Clarise said weakly. "What do we do?"

Natalie hugged Clarise closer to her. "We do what Julia says."

"Okay," Clarise said weakly, looking to her scrawny arms. "I don't know how much help I can be. I don't have muscles in my skinny arms." She looked as if she were about to cry, but Trent hugged her to console her.

"You may not be as strong as Julia or Austin, but you're smart. Smarter than me in social studies class at school--be proud of that." Natalie smiled softly as Trent made their youngest sister smile again.

Trent hugged Clarise, then Natalie mouthed, "Good job," to him before the hug parted.

"We'll protect each other--that's what we always do, and that's what mom and dad would want, wouldn't they?" Trent asked hopefully, and all nodded in agreement.

"Let's go." Julia's hand tensed around the gun before going to retrieve more bullets.

Now fully loaded, she went with her siblings to the back door. Peering outside, there were all but three of the dead in sight. They were dressed fancily, and Julia figured they must have come from the mayor's house party the night before. Austin's hand on the back door with Opal next to him, he pushed the Labrador back, Trent and Clarise clinging to her. Opal growled, but she hushed when Natalie's eyes met her brown ones. Julia opened the door, Austin quietly running outside with the empty bag. Bolting for the potato shed first, he gathered eyed vegetables and then went for the side garden.

"Julia!" he shouted, and Julia came running.

"Oh, my God!" Julia whisper-shouted, air leaving her lungs. There were two zombies just outside the garden, and she raised the gun and shot them both near point-blank range. They collapsed in bloody messes, and Austin gathered ears of corn and whatever else he knew was ripe.

Bag now full, he and Julia raced for the back door. No zombies were close, but the dead now knew there were potential meals hiding inside the house.

"Barricade the door!" Austin shouted to Natalie and Trent as they dove inside. They closed the door, then shoved the dining room table and chairs in front of the door. Both out of breath, Julia looked to Austin and high-fived him.

"That was brave, little brother," Julia said through a few panting breaths.

"Thanks, Julia," said a panting Austin.

"When do we eat?" Trent asked unknowingly, Julia smirking at his question--the question that was on everyone's lips, actually.

"Rations, remember? We can survive a while like this... but we'll need more ammunition before we go outside again."

"Does this mean we get to raid the guns-and-ammo store in town?" Trent asked with a smile.

"Does this mean you drive, Julia?" Austin asked.

Julia nodded hesitantly. "I think it does, I think it does."

Julia had been given a few driving lessons by their father before all hell broke loose--the last one two days before the zombie outbreak. Julia knew how to drive before, but this would be even more dangerous; Julia could just as easily kill herself or anyone in the car with her while driving... and not just taking out the dead ones.

This would be another test. 

A very dangerous test.

And Julia wondered if she was truly ready for it...