Kirk Allmond - What Zombies Fear - A Father's Quest

“The same bathroom where you were bitten?” Mom asked.

“Yes ma’am. I wish I had stayed at the table. Luckily enough, at least for John and I, the tides have turned and the events that took place that day have worked out to our advantage. When I escaped from the bathroom, I ran outside to where the boys were sitting at our outdoor breakfast table. They both stopped to look up at me, noticing the panicked expression written all over my face before realizing that I was bleeding.”

“John asked me what the hell happened, but I didn’t want to stop to discuss it, so I just shouted ‘We have to go NOW!’ I was walking quickly, anxious to get away from the restaurant. I needed to get back to the safety of the SUV, where I could dress my arm wound. The boys followed quickly, leaving some coin on the table before vaulting the small fence surrounding the outdoor eating area. John ran up to me to stop me, asking ‘What’s going on? Why are you bleeding?’ I was kind of surprised neither of them had heard the cries coming from the bathroom when that zombie bit right through my arm.”

“It was loud in the restaurant, and we were sitting outside with cars whizzing past us,” John said defensively.

“I explained that it was a zombie; that no, I was not kidding and no I am not delusional. I remember saying ‘I cracked the bitch’s head open and she stood as if I slightly bumped her with a twig’. The two of them looked at each other then they looked at me. Kyle said they should get me to the hospital, but I refused. They insisted, until another shrieking cry was heard. We all looked at a woman outside the restaurant, pointing her finger across the road.”

“What happened across the road?” Mom asked.

“When we looked where she was pointing, we saw a man stumbling towards her. He could hardly walk; his right thighbone was sticking out of his flesh. His left arm was missing. Several people advanced towards him to help him, the first man to get to him was bitten on the neck when he got too close. The Samaritan screamed and clutched his neck, but fell to the ground within just a couple of seconds. From the volume of blood on his chest, it looked like he was down for the count.”

Leo had a sad expression on her face, despite her somewhat cavalier nature in describing the situation. It seemed to me like she was putting on some bravado.

“The boys turned around to face me, I nodded at them, they understood right there and then that this was not some sort of joke. Kyle made some joke, his attempt to disarm the situation, as he leapt into his truck. John sat in the front, every now and then turning back to look at me and then exchanging worried glances between them. I knew what they were thinking. They knew I’d been bitten.”

“We were both certain one of us was going to have to shoot you,” said John. “I figured it would have to be me, since I’ve known you longer than Kyle, but I would have had a hard time with it, mate.”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to. Kyle passed me a first aid kit he kept in his glove box; I rinsed my wound with some antiseptic and wrapped a bandage around it tightly. It wasn’t bleeding as much, but I didn’t want it to get infected, and it was pretty gross looking. When I was finished taking care of my arm, I wrapped my hair up in a bun to make sure it was out of the way, then I sat back looking out the window as I told them the story of my encounter in the bathroom.”

Recalling the story of that Day was obviously difficult for Leo. She paused for a minute to collect herself, before continuing. “The ride to Chantilly was not nearly as attractive as it was an hour before. It seemed that the infection was spreading fast and soon enough, we came to a standstill. Cars were parked one behind the other and people were out of their vehicles wandering around aimlessly, which lead to them being attacked by zombies. We were forced to abandon the ute and continue on foot.”

The strain on Leo was growing; it was starting to show in her voice. She paused for another second and took a drink from her glass. We were all sitting riveted, listening to her tale.

She put down her glass and continued. “Kyle took a pistol from the glove box and handed it to John before walking around to the back of the truck. He opened the cover on the back and pulled out a black case, which he opened with a key from his key ring. Inside the case were a short black rifle and several boxes of bullets. He stuffed the bullets into a backpack, and then slung the pack and his rifle over his shoulder. I took my kukri out of the backpack, looped it around my belt, and placed the batons in the loops I had made in the back of my jacket. Wearing our backpacks, Johnny took us through backstreets around Leesburg, until we turned left into a suburban street.”

“It was the only way we could go,” said John, mirroring Leo’s sadness on his face.

Leo continued, “We stood there, frozen solid. There were at least nine zombies standing in a group outside a house. They must have heard our footsteps because they simultaneously turned to face us. We turned to head back down the way we came; but only our escape was short lived. Five or six more shambled around the corner, as if they’d been following us. I instinctively took my kukri out of its sheath, John raised his pistol, and Kyle shouldered his rifle. John and I stood back to back, each facing opposite directions. Kyle covered both of us, swinging his rifle north, where I was facing south where John was aiming.”

Leo took another sip of her water, and leaned back in her chair, her arms behind her head as she spoke. “The five behind us moved like hunters, spreading themselves out systematically. I had a moment to study them while they closed the distance. If it weren’t for body parts missing and disfigurements on their bodies we wouldn’t have guessed they were zombies. The other group, the group of nine, was slower. The larger group was moving in a pack, stumbling around, slowly but surely coming our way. I heard John fire a shot and watched as one of the faster zombies dropped, his brains staining the concrete. ‘Holy shit,’ I thought to myself. ‘He just shot someone!’ Followed by, ‘Someone, or something that is going to eat us’.”

Fear was apparent on Leo’s face as she spoke, “The adrenaline kicked in again and suddenly everything around me became much clearer, it felt like the zombies all slowed down, as if they were walking through molasses. One of the faster moving zombies jumped right at me, my kukri slashed upwards as he landed, almost acting on its own. I split his head completely in half. It happened so quickly; I almost didn’t even realize it was done. I remember John staring at me, probably wondering how I managed to kill it so easily.”

“I couldn’t believe how quickly you moved. The blade was a blur, I barely noticed you moving,” added John.

“The pack was still pretty far behind, so we all concentrated on the three that were closing in on us,” said Leo. “They moved almost in unison, matching each other step for step. Before I knew it they simultaneously reached in, one for each one of us. A pale woman with black short hair managed to dodge Johns’ shot and swerved around behind him. She tripped him off his feet, he landed flat on his back. I watched as much as I could, in between dodging the redheaded zombie who was trying to swipe my head off and ducking like a boxing pro out of her arm span. She was faster than the pack, in comparison, normal to a fully functional human being, but everything seemed to be moving slowly, except me. Kyle managed to get a couple of shots off at the big biker zombie that was after him. Four bullets hit that monster in the chest. He shrugged them off like they were nothing, barely even knocked him back a step.”