The Mississippi Zombie Chronicals

Chapter 21: Community

                                                                         One year ago

The gas station on the outskirts of town was a good haul.

We had a solid plan, get to my house, arm up, and stay until we plan our next move.

We got to my house by sunrise, the place was pretty much untouched.

We pulled into the gravel driveway, seeing my parents home brought tears to my eyes after what we had to do to them.

We got out and dredged into the house.

I slowly unlocked the doors with pistol drawn, Bob right behind me. The house was hot, but empty.

Surprisingly, the power still worked even after the total crash of society. We boarded up the windows and barricaded the doors.

"Jake, what the hell is going on here? Is this what we've always feared? The zombie apocalypse?" Asked Cody, sitting on my couch.

"I think it is man, hell I don't know what to think anymore. Help me take stock of what we have as far as food, water, and weapons are concerned." I replied.

I needed him to stay calm and focused until we we're safe, then we could sort all this out.

I grabbed the key to the gun cabinet in the back room and started grabbing guns and ammo.

My hunting rifle, the break over, single shot .308 caliber felt good in my hands. I handed Cody my Mossberg and my spare holster for his Ruger. Bob gave Kam his .22 rifle, the extended magazines looked funny in the little rifle and the little hands of Kameron.

We brought the rest of the guns into the living room and laid a blanket down to keep from scratching them or messing up the sights. It wasn't until later that I realized how futile that was then.

We all gathered around the kitchen table to talk strategy.

"Okay, so. We know the cities and towns are not a good idea just yet. There are too many infected and not enough rewards to risk it." I pulled out a state map and began to look at possible locations to hold up.

"Here. That's our best bet. I know of some houses in Madison that will be perfect for fortifications." I said.

I was a soil technician in Jackson and I tested soil in Madison all the time, so I knew of the ritzy houses with the ten foot high concrete walls and huge yards.

"Are you sure, Jake? We're gonna catch hell getting all the way to Madison, especially with things like they are now. Hell, we don't even know how many are out there." Said Zig.

I knew he was right but we all knew I was right too, big concrete walls were a hell of a lot better than two couches on the doors and some boards on the windows.

"But I trust you, you say its a good spot, we'll follow you. But we need to scavenge every house in a two mile radius first. We need medical supplies and food." I agreed to that.

Little did I know, we would get comfortable and not want to leave.

Six months later

We were doing a routine scavenge run, nothing bold or brazen.

Just normal.

I knew who's house it was. It was my dad's friend, Gary. He went to school with my dad and I went to school with his son, Zac.

We pulled into the drive in Morgans truck, Zac's truck was nowhere to be found, but his dad's sat in the driveway just like normal.

I knocked on the door, hoping to hear Gary's voice, but it was dead silent. I check the door and finding it's unlocked, I crept into the living room with a flashlight and pistol drawn.

It was dark, so I found the light switch in the corner and flipped it on to find an extremely gruesome scene.

The entire family except for Zac was butchered or dead on the floor.

Gary, his wife Rayanne, their daughter Jessica, Gary's father Gary senior, all mutilated and spread across the entirety of their trailer.

I puked all over the floor at the sight, those were people that impacted my life once and I couldn't handle seeing them like this. Lord knows how long they'd been like this.

"You guys have to handle this one, I can't deal." I said to Zig and Cody.

"Morgan, help me keep watch." It was hard enough to kill my own parents, then to see your neighbors and family friends butchered in their own home.

We had to leave this place, get somewhere we didn't have to see our friends and family murdered.

Zig and Cody came back out, a bag full of food, a few books, an M-4 carbine, and a note from Zac.

It read: If anyone finds this note, please, for the love of God torch this place. What I had to do to my family was unbearable, unthinkable, and ungodly. I left my dad's rifle and a box of ammo in the living room. Take it and use it, lord knows I won't. Signed Zac V.

Well, shit.

I felt bad for Zac, but it had to be done and I understood his pain. I put the rifle on my back, grabbed a can of gas from their shop and spread it all across the floor. I stood in the door way and lit a match. I threw it and the whole place went up in flames.

We loaded up the truck and drove back home, never looking back.

I thought of everyone else in my life that could be or was dead. Mom, Dad, Gary and his family, Bill, the Davis family was missing, Mr. Tommy and his bunch ran off, and just about everyone else in the area was either missing or dead. So much destruction, so much pain. And for what? Not a damn thing.

Then I remembered Maria. I wondered if she was okay, if she had survived all this. I felt she was and I didn't think about her until nearly six months later.

We returned home, scared from our run. "We have to leave. I can't take seeing anymore of our community mutilated like Zac's family. Madison is where we have to go." I said.

"I agree, we can't keep doing this, its too hard." Said Ziggy.

So we loaded all our food, weapons, and medical supplies into Morgans truck and Cody's car and set out to find our new home.

Little did we know, we had the fight of our lives ahead of us.