The Outbreak

Before the outbreak we were up at our ranch, near the red river. Me my dad, uncle and his brother were sitting on the second floor of a barn. I was bored and looked out the window through a pair of binoculars. The sky started to glow orange since the sun was setting. I didn’t see much just a bunch of trees and bushes. I panned around and thought I saw a plaid shirt I looked back and saw nothing. Standing there puzzled I thought that I was going crazy then realized I was. So I just dismissed it as another one of life’s mysteries.

It was 8:30 pm we were about to go out for the night hunt. I grabbed the 22. Dad grabbed his 357 Taurus revolver and his new 270. My uncle and his brother got there own guns and we descended the ladder. My uncle stayed in the barn to go long range with his rifle. His brother went to the entrance area of a property. Dad went into his deer blind and I went with the 22 into the woods alone. Before I left my dad to stalk some hog in the woods he told me “I love you, don’t forget come back after dark to the barn”. “Ok dad” I said. When I started to walk off I thought that he had said that in such a way that he knew something bad would happen.

As I walked away from his blind and started on the path that lead to the woods I was guessing what might I find if nothing at all? I walked over the dam and past one of the five feeders we had put up for hunting. I walked to the entrance of the thick dense woods. It was just a simple cut down path my dad made using a heavy duty lawn mower attachment added on to his tractor. I looked in took out my red light flash light and looked into the sides and floor of the path. It was empty birds and squirrels were dead quiet. It seemed eerie. I took a few careful steps in I heard nothing not even the wind blow. I kept walking waiting for the sound of rustling leaves. The sky now glowed so brightly orange it was like the sky was on fire. Out of no where I heard an ear splitting cry. It was far off but still scary. No doubt my dad and uncle heard it. I bent down on one knee and looked through my iron sights and waited for another sound to give me a hint of what that was. It sounded human but different in a way. I slowly stood up and walked toward camp. As I walked over the dam I heard another blood curtailing shriek. I ran as fast I could the rest of the way. Mind you I was holding a 22 and wearing heavy boots.

I got back to the barn and climbed up the ladder without a second to think twice. I closed the lid behind me. “Are you ok son are. you bit?” my dad said. “Yea I’m fine what were those screams?” “Believe it or not zombies.” my uncle said “Are you joking me?” “No, I saw them attack a doe from here.” “Apparently they like any kind of meat, but like human best.” “Do they know we are up here?” “I don’t think so; they caught my brother off guard at the entrance so we won’t be able to leave that way.” “How many are there?” “I would think not that many 20 maybe 40 considering there are view houses around here.” “how will we escape?” “Though the back gate.”

After all the panic we finally got to sleep. We had dead bolted the lid to the ladder shut. Kind of ironic huh? My uncle stayed up to kept watch and shoot and threat that came near. It was hard to sleep with the constant but soothing sound of gun fire. By the time the moon was right over us there were at least 60 bodies lying in the field finally dead.

Both my dad and I were up now. My uncle fell asleep some how. We decided that we would use the meat in the fridge as a distraction and make a run for the trucks and have one of use sit in the back end or the truck and pick off any major threats.

It was 4:25 am. We were determined to get out alive. We unlocked the ladder lid opened it up and slowly walked out and into danger. We threw the meat and every one of them from a slow stager burst into a fast sprint and attacked the meat. We ran for the truck and right from behind us burst 20 to 30 more of them waiting for us. With adrenaline pumping through me i ran as fast as i could and jumped in the truck. I sat up to see if anyone else was coming. All i saw was two crowns of zombies huddled around one thing. I closed the door and said "should have run faster..."