DISCLAIMER: Welcome to my weekly blog, as some of you are well aware, this blog, this week--will be a little different from what we normally do. Most of it will be writing instead of pictures. All of the writing is my own from MY creative imagination from a novel that I have been plotting for years. I had pieces of it written and backed up but alas in our move it got skewed and lost and all I was left with was my bare base notes. I didn't let that get me down though, I picked it up and I started again. Everything in here is MY creation, and I have taken the proper steps to make sure everything written so far is legally my own. That being stated, I can't wait to share with you and hope you enjoy! Zombies have always been a weird passion of mine, amongst the creeps and ghouls, witches and vampires, and generally spooky things that I already enjoy! I appreciate feedback but remember, everything is in plotting/draft stages so go easy on me.
--respectfully yours
Danii Grimm.
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“Gila Bend welcomes you; home of 1700 friendly people (and five old crabs), elevation 737 ft.” Juanito read the sign as he puttered passed it doing the speed limit down the long empty looking roads of the small hick city he’d just entered. He’d just passed through quite a few towns but his funds were getting low so he figured it was time to make a stop.
Finally he laid eyes on a sign he’d more than welcomed-a recognizable convenience store. He turned into the parking lot, and shut his Harley off at a vacant pump. Looking around he took out his cigarette pack and packed it with a sigh. There was no time to stop for a smoke, probably not smart to do it by the pumps anyways, but this way he got a good look of what was around him. The sun was setting as usual, over the rolling mountains of the valley; half of the sky sported the dark indigo he was used to seeing at night and already spattered with stars-other parts were still brightly lit with orange and purple hues.
Across the street was a burger king and it was full of people but the parking lot he’d just pulled into was empty left-to-right. The store was empty too, save for the clerk who stood vacantly at the register watching a small television while she waited patiently to help someone. He stuck his cigarettes in his pocket again and headed for the door. Just in case there were cameras in the parking lot or on the exterior of the building, he kept his long black greasy hair in front of his eyes as he approached, and his hands in his pockets.
The brightly lit double doors read ‘pull’ on the handles as he reached into his jacket pocket for a familiar piece of fabric, then in one fluid motion he slipped it over his head and entered the doors with his head bowed. For a moment he hesitated, thinking about his parole officer back home, but then he laughed to himself-they were already beyond that now. He’d already left the state. No turning back. The woman inside the circle k was large, lifeless, the way the women in these types of town’s-small towns-always looked. As if they came once upon a time chasing the American dream and were severely disappointed by the fact that they had too many children to go anywhere or follow through.
x
Leaning across the counter with a smile on his face he cocked the hammer of the small handgun and watched as realization washed over the large middle-aged woman’s features. “Do everything right sweetie...and we don’t have to get hurt...alright?”
She nodded her poorly bleached platinum blond head slowly, as he pointed underneath the register using the gun, “Good, now...get the bag from under the register there...open ‘er up and stuff that fucker so full you can’t fit no more shit in it. You got me?”
He watched her carefully as she did as she was told; his eyes only left her for a moment at a time as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming inside to interrupt him. The woman was obviously too far away from her silent emergency alarm, and even if she wasn’t he didn’t plan on being there much longer. She slid the bag across the counter, and he raised his hand with his blue bandana to salute her as he took it, carefully concealing his features from her and the camera with the cloth as he did
“It’s been a nice stay Gila Bend, thanks so much!” He said as he made his way out the door to his Harley parked in a dark spot adjacent to the fairly large building, as far as standard Circle K’s went anyways. His keys were in his hands already, and after he shoved the money safely away in the storage of his bike, he pushed his sunglasses out of his face and hoped on. Kick-starting the bike to life, he let the engine sit only a moment. “Lil' bitch must be too scared to call while I’m still here.” he chuckled to himself again as he reached into his pocket for a pre-rolled cigarette and his lighter. Exhaling a cloud of ivory smoke he was about to take off, when a hand caught his shoulder.
“Hi there.” came a voice from behind him, and as he turned to tell the guy to fuck off his heart leaped to his throat. “You got a minute?”
“Uh...not really.” He croaked at the officer who had arrived silently and by himself. “I’m actually on my way out of town. Is there a problem officer?” Juanito played it as coolly as he could but he could tell by the look on this guy’s face that he wasn’t getting out of anything that easily. Or maybe the cashier really did do her job correctly, he cursed the thought.
“Yeah actually. A big problem. Mind stepping back from the bike?” He pointed to the license plate, “Do you have license and registration sir?” His stone blue eyes washed over Juanito without deviation and before he let the man answer he continued, “I pretty much doubt it though, considering when I ran those plates of yours-the bike seemed to be stolen a few months ago. Bet the owner will be quite happy to get it back....what’s your name?”
“You know,” Juanito began, “You talk a lot Holmes.” He shoved the lighter back into his pocket and exhaled a great plume of smoke in the direction of the officer who just blinked it away and stood his ground.
“Your name sir?” he insisted, “Or do I have to find out after I take you to the station?”
“I’m fine with that.” Juanito explained with a chuckle as he flicked the cigarette away from him. The woman from inside came bursting out, tears in her eyes as she pointed in his direction. ‘shit.’ he thought to himself as he lifted off his bike and revved the engine a bit, “Well....it’s been nice officer-really it has...but-” without even finalizing his words he was off in a flash.
This was the only time Juanito cursed his own taste, he’d gone through years of grand theft auto, and always he got rid of the thing when he didn’t need it anymore. It just so happened a random pig, in the back-ass town in the middle of nowhere Arizona would sniff out his wrongdoing
Just as he rounded the corner from the side street he'd taken from the store, to take the ramp back to the freeway, Juanito skidded to a stop and shook his head, the heat was blocking the ramp. He cursed them and turned the bike around after getting a grip on it--thankfully it hadn't fallen over, or that would have been a whole different mess for him to deal with. "Not today fuckers." He gave them the finger over his shoulder as he started out toward the other side of town. If this was the entrance from the highway, he would have to find another one even if it meant desert driving for some of the time. Not like he cared what happened to the physical condition of the bike he had.
The road in town was pretty vacant at this hour, and when he switched lanes and started up the strip, he could her the wail of sirens closing in behind him. He guessed they figured he wasn't ready to just lay down and die, and at one point had started to come after him upon his change in direction. Just ahead he could see the glint of the green neon highway signs that told him he was getting closer to his preferred destination. He couldn't read them in this dim light, but he kept headed over the bridge and into the open desert. The only lights were that of the police car behind him, which was now joined by a second car. He knew they would lay off once he was out of their jurisdiction, but at the same time he wondered if the hunk of junk he was riding would even make it. The light on the bike had started to flicker and it was starting to lose power. "No no...shit not right now..."
Exiting the road toward the mountain, Juanito was using the light of the small bike to light his path while he had it. Exiting the road had slowed the police just a little while he figured out what to do. The bike died fully, halfway to a small sand colored governmental looking building, he threw it down and looked around. The pigs had him cornered.
So he wouldn't get shot, he threw himself on the ground at the foot of the bike, his hands on his head, and he waited for the police to stop and get out of their cars. It didn’t take long, and when they came the man in the first cruiser to arrive stepped out with his gun aimed. “You have the right to remain silent...” Juanito closed his eyes, and closed his mouth; there wasn’t going to be anything they could get out of him without a fight. All he needed was his lawyer to persuade bail out of them, and then he would fly the coop again-as usual.
Juanito was strip searched and given an orange jumpsuit for processing; They read him his rights, and fingerprinted him but they weren’t able to persuade his name from his lips. It was a game he quite enjoyed and when they tried to manhandle him all he did was loll his head and laugh a little. Some Spanish curse words rolled off his tongue when the chief had struck him, through pure spite Jaunito spit the fresh blood he tasted in the face of the officer. They wouldn’t get a word out of him, not until he could call his lawyer.
Standing at the pay phone, Juanito dialed the familiar number and listened to it ring; very clearly David Rimbouwer would come through, there wasn’t a time he remembered in his fifteen years with the lawyer, that he didn’t answer his cellphone. As the melodic tune played in his ear he waited, the metallic smell of the phone combined with the metallic taste in his mouth started to make him sick. When he got the voicemail for the first time in his life, his stomach dropped.
He leaned over a wastepaper basket and heaved, when he was done he left a message with information to reach him with David and hung up. Wiping his lips he looked at the satisfied guard and shrugged, “Guess I’m a guest here overnight-or until Davie gives ya a call.” He winked and pointed his finger and thumb at the same man who pursued him, the way a child would mimic a gun.
The officer hit him in the back of the head with his baton, cuffed him, and lead him back to his cell. “Don’t get any ideas.” he said sharply as he walked over to the petite female intake officer, “Keep an eye on this one. HE’s got a mouth too...don’t let him get to you. I’ve gotta get back out to patrolling with Danny, think you can radio me if some Dave guy calls back?”
“Absolutely dad...” The woman nodded, “Not a problem.”
“Good.” He smiled and admired his daughters newly pressed uniform, the day she graduated academy was such a win for him and it felt like that day every day he had her working the force beside him.” I’ll see you later sweetheart.”
Juanito sat in his cell with his back to the wall. He was staring out at the women sitting at the desk; she was small, didn’t look very hard to overcome-he wondered if she had gotten the job because she was good at it, or because her daddy was police chief in a small town. ‘Heh...probably the latter...’ He thought to himself as he smirked at her.
“What are you staring at?” She asked without glancing up from her papers, “Do you need something?”
“Not another punch in the face, if that’s what you mean.” he spat.
She sighed and lowered the glasses from her face so she could get a better look at him; sweeping the strands of golden red out of her eyes she seemed exasperated already, “Well maybe...” she said folding her hands and looking directly at him as she spoke, “You should try living lawfully...and not stealing vehicles that aren’t yours.”
“C’mon...what was that thing? Like $500? You don’t think I have $500....I could pay for it.” He waved a hand and scoffed.
“So why didn’t you?” she folded her arms against herself now, and leaned back in her swivel chair looking bemusedly at him.
“Because I’m 68 years old and I wanted the rush.” He shrugged and then looked away from those piercing green eyes of hers. ‘Man the things I could do to that sweet ass-.’ His thoughts were interrupted as she continued the conversation forward, which wasn’t expected.
“68?!” she chuckled a little now and started to chew a hangnail, “Well....you are in great shape mr....?”
“Ah nice try Mrs pig but I don’t break that easy.” He shook his pointer finger at her and shook his head with a smile on his face, “Nice try though.”
“Well I figured it was worth a try at least.” She righted herself and continued to type on the computer at her fingertips, turning her gaze away from him at last. “Anyways, all I was going to say is-’what is your secret’?”
“Living dangerously.” He replied simply and for a long time there was silence.
The radio by her desk started to make beeping sounds, then static, and then the officer who abused him earlier rang over the system. “I’m heading into a domestic situation.” he called, “I think I’m going to need ya to come out and help Billy.”
“Roger that.” Came another voice over the static a moment later, “Just let me know a location and I’ll be there shortly.”
“I’m on Granada in the pines...there seems to be about four people all together, but they look like they are getting rough. Approach with caution, let me know when you’re here.”
The voices in the radio stopped for a while until Billy popped up again, “Uh....John I’m here and I see your bike....do you read?”
The female officer looked up from her computer screen as if the box of static were a television she could watch everything, she tapped her fingers on the desk in front of her and she waited for a response but there was none.
“John?” Bill tried again one more time, he waited another moment and then came through again. “Mindy do you read?”
The woman shifted her wait a little in the swivel chair, and picked up the receiver of the radio. “I’m here Bill. Read ya loud an’ clear.” She released the small button on the side and breathed, it was clear she was stressed, but Juanito decided that was because her precious father’s life was on the line and his little princess might just have to do some work that isn’t behind a desk.
“Can’t reach John...can you try the cell?” Bill asked over the static.
“Will do...I’ll get back to you in a jiff.” She replied before dropping the receiver of the radio, to pick up the one for the phone. Her fingers dialed the familiar number and she waited with baited breath. It was clear to him as he observed the goings-on that something was up, she hadn’t been able to reach her father and that much was clear by the look of increasing worry written on her face.
After she gathered her composure she picked up the radio again and with a sigh she cautioned the other officer, “It’s very possible we have an officer down Bill....be very careful...”
“That’s a 10-4 darlin’.” he clamoured through the sharp static of their clearly out-dated radio system and then there was silence once again.
A moment later the radio sprang to life again as the static fell away, but Bill’s voice didn’t echo through with a message and neither did the chief's. There were noises over the radio that sounded like something out of a satanic ritual; some hissing, growling, and something that could almost be considered a broken or ancient language.
Mindy, the only one left at headquarters, frowned and reached over to grab the receiver once again; she tried to reach Bill on there all the while using the phone at her desk to phone her father in the meantime. “Guys this isn’t funny...I know the night shifts slow but c’mon....”
There was silence on the other end for a long time and then a moment later a choking gurgled scream was broad casted to them, she couldn’t be sure because of how foreign it sounded to her but it could have been Bill’s and that meant there was an officer in distress. She lifted the jacket off her chair and pressed the side of the receiver, “I’ll be right there guys hang in there! Helps on the way....”
She used the radio on a different channel to contact the local hospital services who informed her they were having a flood of intakes at the moment but that they would be present at the scene as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the fire chief phoned in to relay that the local movie theatre was on fire. “Has this town fucking lost it?” she belted her gun in and looked at Juanito long and hard for a moment.
“You can’t leave me here.” He said sincerely, “Sounds like some real shit is happening out there...and you know the prisoners gotta be guarded....or would you rather my lawyer find out about this one too? Might as well add to the assault I received, no?”
She sighed and picked the cell keys off her desk; he sounded like he was a lying piece of shit but to be honest she wasn’t so rule savvy at this particular point in her career. She had after all, just begun-and if her father or the local constable found out that she had messed up her neck was on the line and her father’s reputation. “Let’s go asshole, turn around. Don’t try anything funny.”
“Wait, what’re you gonna do with me?” He said raising an eyebrow, his hands high set on the bars above his head.
“I’m taking you with me. What do you think?” she responded impatiently.
“Oh no.” he chuckled and brought his right hand down to smooth over his facial hair while he thought, “You don’t know what’s happening out there...and I’m not itching to find out.”
“What do you mean?!” she shouted, “Listen you piece of shit, we are the only officers on duty right now. I’ve got a possibility of two officers down. That leaves me...and it sounds like I’m about to get hella busy...so if you don’t mind....”
“Oh no.” He said again shaking his head as he backed away from the cell bars and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not walking into that mess. I could end up hurt...or worse. Dead. That would be your neck on the line too Lil Missy.”
“So what are you suggesting?” It was her turn to raise an eyebrow, as she stepped closer to him with her gun still away and the keys dangling from her belt. “That I just let you go?”
“Well you could call it that.” he said graciously nodding, “Or you could say I escaped...that way you don’t look all that bad....”
“e....scaped?” she scoffed, “Right...let’s go buddy turn around. I have to get out there.”
“No way.”
There was a high pitched wave of static whirring about from the radio and the room was an incandescent grey, lit only by energy efficient fluorescent bulbs that made your vision dull and your head and eyes ache. A silence lingered in the air and a wave of uneasiness washed over him just as a sound echoed over the intercom that had scared him motionless.
“Alright.” she said after a long while. “Fine...but like I said...you don’t try anything stupid...I need to get out there as soon as possible.” she lifted the keys from her belt and put them into the small keyhole of the cell. After she heard a familiar ‘click’ of the shackle bolt sliding away she lifted the cell door a little and pushed it open. Then she stepped aside and ‘shooed’ him away, “Go on...hurry up...I don’t have all day.”
“Thanks toots.” He blew a kiss at her and stood up, edging passed her in the tight space as he did. With her back to him, she closed the cell door, and he jumped behind her and locked his cuffs around her neck. “Give me the keys sugar.”
“son of a bitch.” she murmured. “I told you-”
“You’re not really in any position to make any demands are you sweetie pie?” He whispered in her ear soft and breathy. “Let’s go...get the keys.”
Slowly she reached down and took the keys off her belt, then she handed the two cuff keys she had to him and watched uneasily as he undid the cuffs-one, and then the other. When his first hand was free he used it to lock her arm painfully behind her back, and when the second was free he unlocked her gun from the holster and transferred it from there to his back pocket. “Just escaping would have been one thing but taking an officer's gun is...”
“Shut up bitch!” he slapped the back of her head, hard, with the butt of his newly retrieved weapon. When she fell limp in his arms he stared at her for a moment and wondered if he should use the time and freedom he did have to really take advantage of the situation-he decided against it though. Instead, he cuffed her to the cell door unconscious and started to work through the station for supplies. Now that he didn’t have a ride, he would need a new one...so that meant looking in the employee lot, and figuring out which key was for that.
The radio was steadily feeding static but he had raided the three nearby desks; he located some money, and a few different sets of keys. By the time he was done, he checked on Mindy to make sure she was still out and noticed she was moving a little but clearly still not yet conscious. She would be too late for him because he would be long gone-probably with her sedan-by the time she got up and recovered. It could have been far worse though, Juanito only spared her because she had been naive enough to let him escape.
Out in the lot things were quiet and there shined a single light atop a telephone pole by the gate; he figured that it would be pass coded but found, to his surprise, that he could just pass right through a small crack in the gate, and push it open. Sure enough, there were three cars in the lot; he could tell by each vehicle which belonged to each of the pigs that worked here.
In the dim light of the night, he stood squinting at the keys to get some sort of clue as to which could belong to either of the cars in front of him. “G-M-C...” he read aloud as he spotted the SUV in the back right corner that probably belonged to the chief. “Why not?” he mused as he started to make his way toward it.
He reached the car without a problem, got inside, and started it up; it whirred to life and roared a great mighty rattling roar as he revved the gas a little. “Yeah...this’ll do...” he shifted the car into gear and took off through the small gap in the fence he made, making a mental note to check the vehicle for anything useful when he got far enough away from this hell hole.
He was about to merge onto the main road when he noticed a young woman standing in the pale light of the stop sign in front of him; unless he mowed her over, there wasn’t any getting around her, and yet here she stood-dirty hands, dripping hair that was hanging in her face, and bare feet. Carefully he backed the dark blue SUV up so that he could go around her, but she side stepped, and was once again in the way of his route.
Rolling the window down he rested his arm over the side and leaned out, “Hey...do you fuckin’ mind? I’m kinda in a hurry....need to get on my way if ya don’t mind...” He was about to ask her if she needed a ride, that short little dress hiking up her thigh was tempting enough to him; then her eyes met his and he froze, “The...fu-” Her blood stained face was basically smashed in, her eyes were seemingly glowing in the moonlight, and her breathing had audibly started to increase.
Juanito didn’t waste any time, just as she was about to lunge at him, he rolled the window up; her fingers wiggled in the top of the window as she started to smash her face against the window of the car as hard as she could. “Holy shit!” he screamed as they separated from her and fell lifeless in his lap.
Great howls of pain filled the night, as the creature tried for a moment to nurse it’s wound until it realized how useless this actually was. She sunk her brown stained teeth into the flesh of her own skin and occupied herself with that, as blood covered her shorts and dark shirt.
While she was distracted it gave him ample time to peel out of there as fast as he could; he rounded the corner and noticed a great amount of rising smoke in the nearby distance. “This whole place is falling to shit...” he murmured as the front wheels of his new ride reached the surface of the highway concrete. “Glad to leave it behind...” He glanced at the burning inferno behind him and thought for a moment about Mindy, in his rear view he watched curiously as a helicopter whipped by. It was only moments later, as Juanito hit the city limits, that a huge explosion could be heard and he shook his head. “Fucking mad house...”
Leaning forward the switched the radio on and moved the dial until it fell on a familiar Eagles song he could relate to; he used this to calm his nerves, and he figured in the very next town down the line he could abandon the vehicle plate and get another. Then he’d be back for that stash of cash he buried, because he would be god damned to have suffered all that bullshit with nothing to show for it. And if he didn’t, well then he would just die trying.
Something in the distance brought Juanito’s attention back to the road ahead of him the current time; then out of the corner of his eye he saw what it was-a swarm of flesh eaters was tumbling over the dunes on either side of him toward the vehicle. “Fuck this....” he groaned and stepped on the gas, they would have to catch him first. That is, if they survived the 20 foot fall to the road below. “This ain’t no all you can eat Mexican buffet...”
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I think it's important to point out that the characters I AM BUILDING will be dropped twenty years into the future where the physical story will take place and we will meet our heroine. We are seeing the first wave of the dead walking, but there will be way more to this. Everything is baby steps. How are you enjoying it thus far? Did you have any favorite parts? Is there any improvements I should be making? I would love some feedback in these stages!
I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the tremendous support on every blog I've posted pertaining to NANOWRIMO and my novel and making me feel so good about my writing. As most of you write yourselves, I KNOW that YOU KNOW it can be difficult to share your work especially in these unfinished stages because we are our own biggest and worst critics, but I have felt absolutely embraced and for that I wanted to THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
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