Zompocalypse Diaries (QUICK edit finished)

December 10th, 2012

Dec. 10th, 2012

Dear Journal,

We hit another road block today, this one of the more...twisted metal variety.

We'd passed through Medford after leaving Ashland and decided to camp out there for the night. After coming across yesterdays hoard, we just stayed in the car. Since we were back near cities and towns there were bound to be more undead shuffling around.

We woke early, unable to sleep in the jellybean. The sky was a rainbow of reds, pinks and oranges, alerting us to the sun about to rise over the mountains around us. I shook Jordan awake and pointed out the scenery.

"Isn't it nice to still find some beauty in the world?" He asked, voice heavy from sleep.

"Mmm." Was all I managed, as my mind was occupied with the first bright rays peeking over the mountain top.

We sat another moment in silence as the sun finished it's show then woke Carrie, ready to head on towards Grants Pass. It was only about a half hour drive and we hoped to have time to stop for more supplies. We would be staying in Tillamook for God knows how long and we wanted to be prepared for anything.

Our hopes for a fast half hour drive were dashed as we rounded a bend in the interstate and Jordan slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing the pileup ahead of us.

The world around us was eerily silent as took in the scene. We couldn't see even see the road ahead through the tangled mess of metal, glass and rubber before us.

It looked as though the accident started off small and grew as other travelers rounded the corner and weren't as lucky in missing the cars ahead. I could make out at least ten different vehicles but some were so stuck together, their metal so twisted in with one another, I couldn't be sure. A few cars sat as ours did, stopped just before the rest of the accident. They must have walked through the mess.

"Oh come on!" Jordan yelled, hitting the wheel in frustration and breaking our silence.

"Maybe we can squeeze through?" Carrie asked.

"Not likely." I said. "You can see where other people had the same idea and ended up getting their cars stuck."

We took our time packing up the necessities, there was no way we were getting the car through this mess and we couldn't very well bring everything from inside.

After an hour, Carrie had a bag filled with non perishable food items (and J.J.) over her shoulder. Jordan carried a bag filled with first aid supplies, the death bat, crowbar and clothes. I had our handy compass, blankets, the tent, ammo and anything else that didn't fit in the other's bags.

Our handguns were at the ready as we slowly moved forward and into the wreckage. We didn't know what awaited us in the sea of metal and we didn't want to take any chances.

The cars stopped beside ours were empty, void of inhabitants and any supplies they may have had but the cars in the mess were another story.

Bodies hung, half through windows, the hoods of their vehicles and ground around them painted in their blood. Some bodies littered the ground, having been thrown from their seats on impact. Some were torn, ripped into pieces, as if scavenged by animals or undead.

A few bodies were still in the cars, dead...but not quite. Black voids stared silently at us as we passed, jaws snapping, arms reaching. Their movements were slow, their moans unheard. It seemed as though they were slowly starving.

We tried to keep our eyes averted as we passed them, not wanting to see the face of death looking back at us. We were all climbing over a particularly mangled van when we heard a weak groan from under us.

Carrie stopped on top of the van, quieting us. "Did you hear that? There's someone in the van." Her voice was fraught with worry.

We quickly jumped down and peered into the tinted windows, trying to see inside. An older man, thin from starvation and bloodied and broken from the wreck, reached out to us, eyes pleading for help.

Carrie lunged for the handle but I stopped her. "Carrie, don't, he's not going to make it."

"Please." She begged, reaching again for the door handle. "We can feed him, we can carry him if need be. We can't just leave him here."

"No." This time it was Jordan who pulled her away from the door. "He'll only slow us down if we even manage to get the door open."

"You're cruel, you're insensitive and uncaring." She was in tears now, frantic as she tried to shove Jordan out of the way.

I opened my mouth to defend him but was cut off by an inhuman scream. We all turned toward the sound to see a body break through the trees. A bloodied, quickly decomposing corpse flew through the air leaving bits of flesh flying and us scattering.

Jordan and I both pulled our guns out, aiming at the zombie as it landed on the underside of a Volkswagen that had flipped during the accident.

Jordan fired the first shot but it was too quick. The dead man jumped once again, landing nearly ten feet away on in the bed of a truck.

"Another acrobat." I said as I fired. It was a close shot but the acrobat jumped away in the knick of time.

I turned to see why Carrie wasn't shooting as Jordan fired off round after round, emptying one clip and quickly replacing it with another.

She stood beside the van, door open, tugging on the man inside.

"Carrie, no!" I screamed as the zombie took another leap, landing right beside her. She backed away in time, leaving the elderly man and running in our direction.

"Shoot it!" She yelled.

"Hold off, don't waste the ammo." Jordan said. "Just run while it's occupied."

"But the man!" She cried.

"He's already dead." Jordan said softly.

We looked back to the van to see the torso of the man in the hungry arms of the acrobat. He'd ripped the upper half of the unfortunate soul clear off, leaving his legs pinned under the wreckage. I threw up as I saw him rip the body to shreds, jaws locking onto flesh, tearing off strips, moaning in pleasure at his meal.

Carries was on her knees next to me, sobbing. "It's my fault, I did this to him." She whispered.

"Just go!" Jordan yelled, pulling me into reality.

I grabbed Carrie by the arm and pulled until she rose to her feet and took off in a sprint. Tears streamed down her face as she ran between vehicles, blurring her vision and sending her back to the ground more than once.

We finally stopped just outside of Grants Pass, leaning against the 'Welcome To' sign, chests heaving, sucking in deep breaths.

Carrie was rolling on the ground, breaths sharp and heavy, holding her ribs and crying in pain.

Jordan scooped her up and I placed J.J. on her chest to comfort her. I whispered soothing words to her as she sobbed over the death and her pain.

We quickly made our way past the welcome sign and onto the next great adventure.

Tip:

Don't be a hero and try to help someone who is already gone.

A/N:

This part was written as an entry in a contest by none other than SIGMASTER!!!!!!  He is a fantastic writer and if you haven't checked his profile yet I highly encourage you to do so.