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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Okay guys that's it! I know I know--maybe you are on the edge of your seat with questions but that's why reading the whole thing will count. All the questions about the book will be answered in the book. TRUST me. But I hope it flowed well and you enjoyed the characters as they are usually one of my favorite parts about building a story; my method of madness is to build a couple of solid characters and to round out their entire lives and history then to plop them into a story. THAT WAY, I *KNOW* exactly how they'll react to certain situations....and discovering their arcs are always fun as well!
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 last week's blog post 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!
“My feet are fucking frozen and we’ve been walking for like a couple of hours, haven’t we? Can’t we sit a minute and rest already?” Maggie-Mai-Mai was a girl of shorter than average height and after walking for what seemed like hours in the snow up to her knees in the woods somewhere in the heart of Portland, she was beginning to tire. Her fingers felt numb from where she had stuffed them underneath her bulky sleeves; they folded in and out of the cottony fabric nervously, taking slight comfort in the cushiony material as they did. Glancing in every which direction, her eyes searched the tree line for any movement among them as she struggled after her cousin Roy.
Her chest felt as though an elephant was sitting on top of it. Not only was walking a tedious chore, but breathing had become more and more cumbersome as well as her chest rose and fell as rapid as her thoughts. Maggie-Mai thought back to what had brought them to this point in their lives and it all seemed so surreal even still. The things they had witnessed earlier in the heart of the city, were so shocking and horrific-she was hoping it was just a terrible dream she couldn’t wake from. ‘Dream right.’ even the voice in her head was trying to wake her up. ‘Some dream...wish it would just end already.” The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and as if to confirm this assumption she glanced down at her arms. ‘Something’s wrong....’
Earlier that day her and her cousin Roy had decided that instead of going to study period they would skip to have a semi-decent lunch of their choice. “Screw Michelle Obama…” They joked as they strode effortlessly out a back school exit and ran across the school lawn to their freedom. “Aw but Mags…..her school lunches are proportionate and nutritious….didn’t you know?”
“Well…” she scoffed, “I don’t know who she’s making portions for but I need a little more than some mystery glop and an apple to sustain myself.” She patted her stomach and they shared a laugh, “What? I’m a growing girl.”
“I didn’t say anything.” He held his hands up and shook his head, “I totally agree-cmon let’s go meet the others.”
Their friends Deena and Joe caught wind of their plan before third period and had volunteered to join them even though the main destination wasn’t decided. Anywhere would be good, as long as it wasn’t the school cafeteria. It wasn’t like they weren’t short of options in the downtown area of Portland, Oregon.
Lincoln High was just a stone’s throw away-and hey there was always the bus if they were feeling particularly lazy or adventurous for that matter. They had all initially agreed to meet at the bus stop around the corner from the school but had arrived at different times.
Deena explained her epic journey to the bus stop as they began their small trek. “So you know the dyke looking gym teacher right?”
“The one with the sideburns to go along with her mullet-and that mean scowly face she makes all the time?”
“That’s the one...” Deena and Maggie-Mai giggled at the woman’s expense. “Well she caught me just as I was leaving-had to give her some crock story that my family needed me because my grandma is sick.”
“Oh my god Deen...is your grammy sick?”
Deena snapped her compact mirror closed as she finished applying her chapstick and shook her head, “God no, but she bought it...just walked away whistling that creepy tune she likes....”
“Is it that one from the Phantom of the Opera?”
“Yeah I think so...what a freak.” She shrugged, “But at least I made it. How about you guys? Any problems?”
Roy shook his head and laughed, “No problems here.”
Joe looked bewildered at her question and then pointed to himself with his entire hand, “Oh, me? I’m sorry-is it my turn to talk at last? Didn’t think I’d ever get a word in there for a sec-” He was interrupted by a surprise blow to the back of his head, “What the eff-Deen...” he whined as her shoes clicked against the concrete while they walked, “I was just kidding...christ...no problems. A-okay. I’m here ain’t I?”
“Wait...where is here anyways?” She knew they were on their way to some place for lunch but it wasn’t like anyone had offered any helpful suggestions. “Where are we going?”
“That’s a good question...” Maggie-Mai said as she turned to look over her shoulder at Roy who was carrying his guitar case in one hand, and his backpack in the other. He shrugged.
“Why’d you bring all your shit with you?” Deena asked after a minute, “You like hauling all that pointless shit around ALL the time?”
“Nah.” Roy shrugged, “It’s not like I’m going to skip and go back-I’m done for the day. Might as well take my shit.”
“I guess.” Deena laughed. “I left all mine in my locker.”
“What about your homework?” Maggie-Mai asked curiously. “Don’t you have to go back and get that?”
“Oh no girl. I have this one nerd in homeroom eating out of my hand-he is in like every class of mine and he lets me copy everything. I got this.”
“What are you gonna do when you get to college? Find another poor sap to suck off of.” Roy asked curiously but he was interrupted by loud laughter on Joe’s behalf.
“Or you know…a professor to fuck.” He added.
“How about that donut place on 3rd?” Deena had just about gotten sick at the jokes at her expense so she made a suggestion when she noticed they’d just passed the St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church. “There’s plenty of other shit on the way but I mean-who doesn’t like coffee? I could sure use one...burrr...” She rubbed her elbows to emphasize how cold she was.
The walk wouldn’t be a long one from the school-the way the town was built unless you lived on the outskirts you just about had everything. After a while Maggie-Mai happened to notice, as they were walking, that Joe slipped his hand casually into Deena’s as they made their way down West Burnside Street.
It made her smile a little to think about because normally she would have expected Deena would shove it away, but this time she allowed it. They were like the most unlikely couple in the entire school, and they always fought, but they still managed to make it work somehow. Still, she thought it weird that after almost a year of dating that they still tried to hide it. There was no way to keep track of all the logistics, especially ones that did not include her own life, but Maggie-Mai had some idea that it had to do with Joe’s father being a politician and Deena’s mother being a dancer. Either way, she didn’t think it was their parents’ decision to make-and if they were happy…well then so be it.
“Yeah right cornball!” Joe was an average athletic type; with a shaggy head of blond hair, a pair of adorable giant blue eyes, and nearly perfect complexion he certainly was the lady-killer of the group. They had a seat at a table when they first arrived and Joe ripped a piece of the straw wrapper off a stray straw and started to crumble it between his forefinger and his thumb. Dropping it to the table he raised the straw in a swift motion and blew on the opened end, instantly the rest of the paper wrapper went shooting in the direction of Deena who just tossed her head and laughed in response as she was hit.
“Yeeeeh-hah!” He grasped either hand and tossed them over his head the way an Olympic medal winner would after earning a medal, “Direct hit!” Rising to his feet he started to hump the air by her head as she protested.
“Really Joseph? I do not need your crotch in my face...” She chimed as she rose her hand and turned her face away from him. “Wait. Please don’t answer that.”
“Yeah assclown!” Roy was a tall thin quiet guy for the most part; he could typically be seen stalking the hallways of their school with his guitar and portable amp in hand like it was a normal life accessory. Most of his other classes didn’t get as much attention as his music did-because that was a passion of his since his mother passed away. The only other thing that got his attention was the batting cages, Maggie-Mai remembered asking him why once, but feeling stupid right after when she realized how simple his response was. “It just....takes all the anger and hate away...to...hit something.” He was a pretty simple guy to get, but he wasn’t a lousy friend and an about average student for the most part. He knew his mom would have wanted him to succeed so he didn’t quite give up all hope.
Through the speaker static they finally had called their number so Maggie-Mai promptly got up and ran to the counter to accept the box of donuts they’d usually gotten and a few extra-to bribe her daddy with later when he was busy yelling at her for ditching after the school called.
She slid back into the booth and Roy was in a daze as he selected his donut and placed it in front of him on a napkin; he began picking the pieces of captain crunch from it and popping them each into his mouth slowly for a while. “You alright?” Maggie-Mai asked him quietly.
“Hmmm? Yeah.” Roy picked up his donut and took a legitimate bite then tossed a piece at Joe, hitting him square in the face which made him chuckle a little-and the girls just started to snort and roar with laughter.
“Awww....DUDE! Whaaaaat?! What the fuck happened to bros before hos?” Joe slumped down in his seat and he started to dab carefully at the chocolate on his cheek. “Pecker.”
“That’s what you get.” Maggie-Mai-Mai chimed in as she used her donut to point at him for emphasis. “Don’t mess with a sista.”
“A sista?” Joe rolled his eyes, and leaned closer, suddenly more interested in what she had said. “Oh please really?”
“Let’s not get into THAT.” Roy said with a laugh and now a mouth full of food as he stared passed them at the different people as they passed the fountain outside. Thanks to hipsters and tourists it had taken a good forty minute wait for their food-so when they got it they all dug in.
After throwing away their trash they had settled in a small courtyard area where they usually went for Saturday market, it was just around the corner and they all knew it was too early to head home yet from school. Today wasn’t Saturday though, and instead of being jam packed with residents, it was quite peaceful. Roy noticed a young woman who was struggling with her key-ring. She was by her car, but it looked like she was trying to complete the most difficult task she had ever had in her life “1’o clock....do you think she’s alright?”
Maggie-Mai raised herself carefully on her forearm, using her leg as leverage she tucked it carefully beneath her to grab a better look; the disadvantage she had was she was the most petite one of their small group. Even Deena had a good five inches more of torso than she did. Sighing she leaned on her hand and shrugged, “I dunno maybe she’s just really tired?”
“Or drunk.” Joe chimed in with a laugh, “Or, high...”
“Shut up that’s so not funny.” Deena shoved him and glanced behind her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the woman they were talking about, “Mmm...I dunno I have a cousin that is like autistic or something. It could be a disorder. Leave her alone. She’ll be fine. If she needed our help she would ask.”
“Yeah look, see!” Maggie-Mai pointed despite the fact that it could be construed as a rude act, “She’s getting in. She’s totally fine.”
Roy had a perplexed look written on his face; he pushed his ebony hair out of his brown almond eyes, and raised an eyebrow questioningly as he continued to watch the peculiar situation at hand. From in the opposite direction, came a crashing and grinding sound that was followed immediately by an ear-piercing wail for help which made all four of them whip their heads in the direction of the disturbance. Deena and Maggie-Mai took a minute to get up from where they sat, but the boys were on their feet in an instant.
Roy had still been curious of the woman they had seen struggling with her keys but by the time he’d managed to turn his attention back to her in the panic; she’d already had driven away. “C’mon...” he shot up quickly and grabbed his guitar case as he side-stepped a young lady who came screaming through the courtyard hysterically, blood drenched with no explanation. “Something’s really wrong...” He said very quickly as he picked up his backpack and slipped it on.
Without arguing all of them grabbed what they brought and started to head away from where they’d seen the blood soaked woman in hysterics. “I wonder what’s going on...” Joe stood on his toes and tried to peer passed a crowd of people that had begun to form along the sides of West Burnside steadily like a gushing stream of trout fighting passed the current of a river to get to the mating ground up stream. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening but Roy didn’t give him a chance, he grabbed his shoulder and shoved him in the opposite direction.
“You can find out on the news. Let’s go. Don’t ogle, it’s rude. I don’t know what’s happening but it’s obviously involves whatever that noise was, and that lady. Everything inside of me is telling me we need to get out of here. NOW.” He held onto the handle of his guitar case, and wished he had brought the zip-up this morning instead of this heavy thing. The only thing inside his backpack was his metal bat, he stopped quickly and took off his backpack. He took his bat out and handed it to Maggie-Mai,” What’re you-“
“Just take it please.” He held it out and when she took it from him he discarded the bag-worse came to worse, he figured he could always get another one later. “Let’s go. I wanted to lighten the load.”
Without another word the rest of them followed Roy down a flight of motionless stairs, into a rather spacious looking park. Shoving his hands in his pockets Joe glanced around their friends and scoffed, “It was probably just Justin Bieber or something.”
Deena smacked the back of his head, nearly breaking one of her acrylic nails, “Shut up stupid. There was no way that was...wait....” She squinted at the shadows in front of them where she noticed some movement, “What the fuck is that?” Her hand shot instantly to her phone, and she dialed 9-1-1 but didn’t hit send until she was certain she had to.
Everyone else had stopped talking and shifted their full attention to what Deena had noticed; whatever was lurking in the shadows sounded like it was growling at them. Roy narrowed his vision and set his case down by Maggie-Mai, “Gimmie the bat Mag.”
She gripped his bat but passed it over to him when he had asked without question. Normally Roy and Joe were pretty peaceful easy going guys, but if whatever was growling at them in the darkness was trying to threaten them-that was a different story. Maggie-Mai was family and Roy was definitely sure Joe was by his side when it came to protecting these two girls.
“Deena....Maggie-Mai....stand over there by the wall....take my case.” he pointed with bat, “Use the bench as a shield and get down. Joe. You come with me.” Joe didn’t argue, he was clearly curious about whatever it was lurking behind the bushes by the bridge they had to pass under.
“Be careful Roy...” Maggie-Mai warned him as she took Deena’s hand and they both ran to where they could cover themselves carefully behind the safety of the concrete of the small park bench. Maggie-Mai gripped Roy’s guitar case handle until her knuckles were white, she was anxious but she had no idea what to expect. After a moment she realized it was a little odd that not one homeless person was in the park today-usually it was littered with people in sleeping bags in dirty clothes but today it was almost-abandoned; the birds weren’t even chirping.
Roy nodded and pulled his baseball cap down over his eyes, his grip on the bat never loosened. “Hey buddy....” Joe said carefully as they approached the shadows, “Come on out and show yourself....are you alright?” As they got closer a smell emitted from whatever it was that was seemingly gurgle-growling at them. Roy didn’t have to enter the dark to know that whatever it was in front of them was not an ally; it smelled like nothing he had ever smelled before and it sounded like a rabid animal stuck in a trap.
“Get away Joe!” he said instantly but his friend was so close to the dark that the beast grabbed him and dragged him into the depths of the under-city bridge. Joe screamed and Roy charged forward with the bat raised over his head.
Deena and Maggie-Mai waited behind the bench in apprehension feeling helpless as Joe’s wails echoed off the underground walls; what seemed like forever had passed with the noise until they heard Roy’s bat bouncing off the ground, and then silence. Standing slowly Maggie-Mai thought to herself about how she would always remember that sound, ‘clink-clank’ no matter what happened, she would always carry that with her.
At first glance around, as far as she could tell they hadn’t attracted anymore unwanted attention. “Deena, c-”, she couldn’t finish her sentence, her eyes grew wide and all she could do was open her mouth and scream. Her hands shot to her mouth as she realized there were people in the park and that they had been slowly making the way in their direction. Not only that but after everything that was going to hell around them, she didn’t know how to explain what she was looking at with her very own eyes.
. A young woman, who couldn’t have been older than her mid-twenties, was ambling and stumbling down a grassy hill just yards from them, it reminded her of the way Captain Jack Sparrow held himself in those pirate movies, but shaking the thought from her head as she realized the woman was pushing a baby stroller with what looked like a demonic toddler riding shotgun.
A chunk of meat was taken out of her neck and fresh blood stained her white BabyPhat winter jacket, but she wasn’t bleeding and the wound even looked like it had time to decay. Her eyes were shrunken, small, and there were beads of sweat all over her forehead. She was leaned against the stroller seemingly struggling to stay on her feet with fatigue, using it as her only support as she walked toward them-slowly, one foot-then the other. The child, became more visible as they closed in, it was most likely no older than three or four but it had the same beady look to its eyes, and it looked like it was trying to claw passed its protective restraints to get out of its rolling prison. Molding clay is what the child’s skin reminded Maggie-Mai of, sagging and grey. Unstable. “Oh god Deena...let’s go get Roy....”
No sooner than she had said it, or thought it, Roy appeared by her side; he’d been leaned over the thing he’d attacked for some time. His friend Joe had bled out almost instantly after he’d been attacked-it was like the creature knowingly targeted one of the most sensitive areas of his body and went for it. Roy dropped the bat to the pavement and knelt down allowing Joe the last few moments of his life, in a comfortable position on his legs as he held his hand and apologized that he couldn’t save him.
When Joe was dead, Roy shut his eyes and returned to the girls. Something had come over him as he was hitting the monster who had killed their friend; he didn’t stop until it had heard that final ‘crrrrraaaack’ and the beast stopped moving. Blood was smeared all over his clothes, and spattered a bit onto his face; it was a mixture of whatever attacked them, and Joe’s but he didn’t mind. Obviously something bigger than all of them was happening. The only time he had ever heard of reanimation of corpses or monsters was through works of fiction or films-and yet here was this thing with its neck bent in such a way, that it had to literally watch what you were doing from behind its back. Every time it opened its mouth to release another cry of fury Roy would hit it-until it stopped moving and the life flowed from its tiny eyes, if you could call those eyes.
When he saw what the commotion was about, he grabbed her arm and yanked her quickly away. “Come on...” nodding to Deena to follow after them as he picked up his guitar case and they continued through the garage with no time to explain why he was covered in blood-and alone.
Deena followed after them, whining a little as her heels clicked on the cement with each step she took, “Where’s Joey?” She hit the send button on the phone in her hand but when she brought the phone to her ear, her hand shaking so much she almost dropped it several times, all she heard was a busy signal. “It’s....busy?” She looked at the phone like it was a snake that had just bitten her hand and recoiled. “How can 9-1-1 emergency be busy?”
Roy lowered his head and sighed, “Let’s go...we’ve got to get out of here. Somewhere safe.” Deena looked like she was getting hysterical and his cousin didn’t look any healthier. The woman and her baby were slowly padding after them, but he knew they were too slow to actually catch up. “Of course the emergency line is busy Deena...listen to the world around you. Since we heard that crash-there’s been nothing but noise all around us. Things are going to shit-and the police, the ambulance, and the fire emergency people probably have their hands elbow deep in bodies right now.”
“But Joey...we have to...”
He winced and slapped her across her face, her voice was getting to high and they were wasting far too much time. If there was not getting their bearings they were in real trouble, he spoke softly and quickly, “I’m sorry...” She tried to rip her hand away angrily but he pulled it to his chest, “Joe is dead. He’s in the tunnel...but one of those.” He pointed to the woman behind them, “Came at him. And....there was just no time. Okay?”
“No time?!” Her eyes filled with tears and her voice rose even louder, “What the fuck do you mean no time? Why couldn’t you use his phone to call for help...just because your piece of shit dad is a dirty hippie who think they cause cancer doesn’t mean that wasn’t an option....”
“Deena...right now...no one can help us. No one but ourselves. Don’t you understand? We don’t have time for this.” He let her go and took Maggie-Mai’s hand, “My father, and yours would never forgive me if we don’t get out of this alive. Let’s go.”
“Wait what’s going on Roy?” Maggie-Mai put the brakes on her flats and started to anchor herself until she got some sort of explanation; her cousin who had never hurt a fly in his life was standing before her covered in blood and everything was literally going to hell. She would have stood her ground if a similar growling didn’t start to get louder, “Nevermind....come on....”
Without another word each of them started making their way out to the tunnel-bridge, leaving them completely exposed to the world. “Where are we going?” Deena asked as she began wrapping her braided hair into a tight bun on the top of her head with one hand, the other never left her phone. Maggie-Mai had an idea she would hold that thing out to her breast until they were safe, or she could get ahold of someone. “Wait....I could call my mom...Oh, shit no....she’ll know I skipped school....”
Maggie-Mai didn’t know what was going on but she knew enough about psychology to know that Deena was on the verge of a psychotic break and that the only safe-haven they shared as a family was a cabin in the woods. It would be a walk for sure, especially if the events in the park and courtyard by Burnside happened to mirror what was happening within all of the city. Just as she thought about it, a helicopter could be heard overhead as it passed by-and moments later an explosion rocked the walls of the buildings, and the smell of gasoline permeated the air around them. “Mags and I have a family cabin in the woods” He explained to Deena quickly as he took the rear of the small group “-our parents would go there too in the event of an emergency. They have that drilled into our heads; if there’s ever any trouble head to grizzly Gulch.”
“Roy that’s way far...do you think we can make it?” Maggie-Mai was skeptical especially with the heels Deena had chosen to wear for the day.
“Yes...if we stay low, silent, and head for the woods. We gotta get off the roads and outta the city. When we get there we can call our family-if they aren’t there already. On the landline.” He was leading them down an alleyway as they spoke, there was no sense in being sitting ducks. “Stay close to me...” He glanced at Deena’s heels with annoyance and sighed, “And stay as quiet as you possibly can. Maybe when we get there we’ll get ahold of your mom then.”
“Okay.” Deena nodded and finally dropped the phone into her pocket as she nodded and tried to steady her breathing. “Okay.” Maggie-Mai was grateful that even though Roy had to be very blunt with them-he had given her friend some sort of hope to grasp onto; even if it was false hope. With everything that was happening, she wasn’t so sure any of them would make it to the cabin-and if by some miracle they did…she had no clue what would have become of their parents.
Normally the drive to the cabin would take about 40 minutes; but they were on foot and those clapping shoes were driving her nuts. “Deen…you really had to wear those today didn’t you….”
“Well they are super cute…” She cursed under her breath, “But I don’t know…I really shouldn’t have.” Normally she would have probably been more defensive because her wardrobe was one of her prized possessions-but this was not the time or place. “Maybe we could find some different shoes on the way or something.”
“It’s possible.” Roy interjected, “We’ve passed a few corpses already.”
“I didn’t mean off a body Roy ew…”
“Well what then Deen? Are we supposed to stop at a fuckin’ Payless? Look around!”
“Okay okay guys. Enough.” Maggie-Mai sighed. “We need to stay together and be quiet…”
Roy shut his mouth and motioned for them to continue, taking the back again-with Maggie-Mai leading the way, and Deena in the middle. Some time had passed while they walked along the roads which increasingly got quieter and emptier as they went; Deena whimpered quietly while she walked, stumbling a bit as she did-but still she tried to stay quiet as she could. Roy didn’t scold her, and neither did Maggie-Mai-neither of them could comprehend what she may have been feeling over her loss of Joe.
Vastly approaching them was a small group of slow walking monsters, it was time for them to exit the paved sidewalks and enter the woods. Maggie-Mai hurried without any questions passed the tree-line and deep into the woods. “RUN!” Roy instructed from behind as he sighed and threw his guitar case aside. His guitar was something his mother had gotten him before she died-but it was just too inconvenient for him to worry about at the moment. He gripped the bat with one hand and held his hand out to Deena with the other. She clumsily climbed passed the rock wall that bridged the road and the woods, and allowed Roy to lead her. “Faster.” He scolded.
“I Am!” she sobbed as she tried to quicken her pace-but her feet were freezing in the snow-soaked and wet, and her heels were hard to run in.
Roy turned and looked behind them-at least they weren’t being followed yet. “Just go…keep going…follow Maggie-Mai.”
Deena took off her shoes, threw them, and even though the icy snow felt like daggers in her feet she ran as fast as they would carry her and she finally caught up with her friend. She was almost out of breath, but she slowed a little once they were together. “I…need something for my feet….” She groaned.
When Roy caught up with them he overhead and sighed, “I’ll give you my socks. Socks is better than nothing right? At least for a while…and we don’t have that much longer to go.” He sat down quickly and took off his shoes, tossing his discarded socks at her, he replaced them and then climbed to his feet again. “Alright…keep moving-no matter what.”
Deena looked at the socks in disgust but put them on hastily then followed them, immediately the snow-soaked ground started to sink into the cloth but her feet were so cold at this point-she really didn’t care anymore.
Now here they were the three of them; Maggie-Mai, Deena, and Roy only remained as they trekked across the miles of winter wonderland toward their destination. They had been walking so long that Deena couldn’t feel the pain in her legs and feet anymore. It felt like she was cold all over and she could see her breath leaving her but she could barely feel it touch her lips. She collapsed partly of exhaustion partially because of how cold she felt.
“That’s probably not the best idea.” Roy stood before her at his lanky height of 6’4’’, reaching in his now blood stained jean jacket pocket for a cigarette like it was his oxygen. “We don’t know if any of them could be out here with us, and the sun’s about to set. It’s probably best if we just keep heading towards the Grizzly Gulch. We should be able to actually rest there.” He didn’t know how he stayed optimistic after everything or maybe he was just good at being a realist; but he knew his drive was to keep his cousin and himself alive. Everything else could come after they had found a place to settle down for the night.
“C’mon Roy…I think she really needs a break.” Maggie-Mai knelt beside her friend, she was freezing herself and shivering uncontrollably, but one look at Deena and she knew they were in trouble. “Roy….how long do you think we have left til we get there?”
“I don’t know….soon I think. We’ve been walking a while now.” He flicked his cigarette and scanned the area, “Why?”
Maggie-Mai stood carefully as she sidestepped some fecal matter left by god only knew what in the woods around them. “Do you think you could carry her? I don’t know if she’s gonna make it Roy-her lips are blue and she…” she glanced back at her, “she really needs our help.”
Roy sighed and handed over the bat to Maggie-Mai before taking off his jacket and wrapping Deena in it; as far as he was concerned he owed it to his friend to help her out, and he would do what he could for her. He lifted her against his chest and started walking, with Deena by his side. “Stay quiet.” He instructed the both of them; Deena closed her eyes and rested against him, Maggie-Mai barely allowed herself to breathe as they went.
After a while Deena had fallen asleep, or unconscious they weren’t quite sure but she still had a pulse so they were optimistic about that at least. “Roy?” Maggie-Mai asked quietly, still uneasy as she glanced around. “Do you think they’ll be there?”
“Who?” Roy asked quizzically.
“Mom and Dad...you know...and Uncle Steve?” More than anything she hoped their parents would be present-if they weren’t then they could honestly fear the worst, especially after all they’d seen with their own eyes…
“I don’t know.” He admitted with a sigh as they kept forward on their path, he adjusted Deena to his other shoulder as she slept. “I hope they are-but if they’re not we’ll call them.”
“What if...you know something happened to them?”
“Don’t talk like that.” He snapped at her as he turned his attention once again to his cigarette, and the dense thicket of branches, brambles, and leaves all around them.
“They could be but if not I figure a call to the landline is worth a shot.”
She avoided glancing at her cousin; the day had changed them both and he had gotten darker than she had ever known him to be. Then again if it wasn’t for him, she would have been long dead by this point. Maggie-Mai closed her eyes and prayed; she prayed for her family’s safety, and she thanked the stars that she had Roy with her at the time everything had happened. When her eyes opened again they fell on the stains that were soaked into the jacket wrapped around her best friend’s motionless form.
“Guess you’re right....c’mon....let’s just get there.” She wished more than anything that she had taken her mother’s advice about her jacket this morning, “anything would be worth the warmth right now...’ she thought to herself as she started forward again through the thin rows of spaced out trees that seemed to go on and on forever. She knew he was right, and no matter how painful the day had been-there was no denying it had happened. The cold was cutting through her like a knife, but she was grateful to even be alive. Otherwise she stood in only a thin pair of skinny jeans and a small black t shirt that clung to her curves.
The sunlight glinted through the trees as it sat just over the horizon; it’s beams made the snow that had been untouched by any human nor animal sparkle and shine like diamonds all around them. For a moment Maggie-Mai wondered why it had been so long since their last visit to the cabin but she figured that it just hurt too much since her aunt passed away. While she was lost in her thoughts of the life she had once lived and would never live again, they had both noticed a slight break in the light at the far range of trees just in front of them and both stood frozen like stones in their tracks.
Roy stood scanning the trees, panting because he was getting tired, then Maggie-Mai used her forefinger to point it out. Once Roy’s eyes rested on the shadow that was creeping slowly forward, he rested Deena down behind some trees and pointed at Maggie-Mai, “Stay behind me.” He instructed her as she passed him the bat she’d been carrying, “Watch her.” Breathlessly she nodded, and wondered how her sweet cousin had managed to adjust so quickly to the conflict at hand.
He was approached the shadow that was coming toward them groaning, but she couldn’t watch. Her skin crawled, she felt hot suddenly, and her hair stood completely on end; she used her hands to quickly bury themselves a bit in the snow. She pulled Deena toward her and clutched her close. It was like in that moment she forgot how to do even the most autonomous of tasks and her heart felt like it was beating so loud that they would be spotted by something-or worse, that Roy wouldn’t come back for them.
“Oh....god...” she whispered in shock as her eyes slipped closed and she waited. She clapped her hands over her mouth and nose to silence herself as she clutched her friend-praying they would all make it after all.
Before Roy stood what used to be a man-probably a farmer of sorts at one point in his life but now it was clearly nothing more than one of the monsters he’d seen in the city. Its face was decayed and pieces of skin fell off to reveal the thin muscle of its cheek. One of its eyes was dangling from out of the socket but still it felt as though it was staring down into his very soul.
It rose slowly, the overalls that once covered his body making ‘clinking’ noises in the quiet of the woods. Roy didn’t give him a chance to get up though, he rushed forward just like earlier that day, bat raised and without a word he struck the farmer so hard its head cracked open and blood splattered the trees and ground around him in one heavy well-aimed blow.
After making sure Deena and Maggie-Mai were alright, he bent over the farmer and started to search his corpse for some sort of I.D. as it lay there motionless on the ground. What made him sick to his stomach was what had the farmers attention originally was on was lying there on the ground; it used to be an adolescent boy, or rather pieces of his bottom half, and pieces of his top half.
His entire torso was missing-gnawed through by the disgusting undead farmer. He was about to search that corpse as well but the boy’s pale face had started to twitch and its eyes opened. It startled him but he managed to stay calm. The stirring top half of the torso writhed about as it tried to steady itself and rise; the sound coming out of its lips was horrific-but it felt it was some form of communication. But Roy could sense the bloodlust there, and so he picked up his blood soaked bat and with his head bent, he swung as hard as he could-and sent the child to its proper grave.
Roy prepared his aching body and he hoisted Deena up again, who still looked like she was out for the count, and they began to head off again before the sun got even lower in the sky; it was now just over the horizon and he and Maggie-Mai of knew enough about life to know that they didn’t have much time left.
Still physically shaken Maggie-Mai walked in a daze, not bothering anymore to pay attention through the numbness that had finally developed deep inside her. Roy led the way and kept an eye on her but she still moved as fast as her legs would. The sound of the ‘speech’ that left the mouths of the monsters they’d just taken encountered was stuck with her-and the sounds of their skulls when Roy killed them- “but this is life now-isn’t it?” She thought coldly to herself as her hands shook and her heart beat rushed in her ears.
At last, as they rounded the bend just before the last light left the sky, they reached Grizzly Gulch, so named after their grandmere when their grandpere built the place with his bare hands so many years before. Maggie-Mai couldn’t remember ever in her entire life, a time she had been more happy to see a place with indoor plumbing and a shower. They rushed the rest of the few yards forward even though their bodies were aching, sore, and cold. When they’d arrived at the small familiar wooden door they stared at the mat on the ground, “God Bless this Mess”.
She felt like she read it over and over again as she retrieved the ring of keys from her back pocket. Her fingers were shaky and cold so it was hard to get them to cooperate but after a few moments she finally pulled them free of the small pocket and stuffed the key into the lock.
“I want to check this place out, make sure no one is ya know...here and like them.” Roy mentioned as he quietly pushed the door open; it felt like a miracle when the door swung open with ease and the both of them didn’t hesitate to step inside and close the door behind. She wasn’t comfortable staying outside to wait for him, but she would stay as silent as a reaper. Once they were inside she quickly locked the chain and the deadbolt. It was clear at first glance that their family members weren’t here, but it was still only common sense to survey the area before trusting their surroundings and so they stepped forward, the old hardwood floor creaking beneath each of their steps. When they entered the living room he set Deena down on the couch and Maggie-Mai started to silently cover her with a blanket while Roy went on to explore the place.
He went from room to room and when he realized the house was indeed empty; he went back downstairs to ease Maggie-Mai. She relaxed and slowly she combed her hand through her dirty hair, “I need a shower.” she spoke softly out of habit, it just didn’t feel right to be loud anymore and as she reached to flick on the light, Roy slapped her hand away and shook his head.
“I think it’s best if we stay as quiet as we can and not use anything other than the blankets for warmth-I can get the fire going and you can search out the candles for light-instead of the electricity.” He sighed and added, “Besides we might need the generator later, who knows if the electric is even up-look at what’s going on outside...”
“Alright-” She cut him off sharply because now that they were safe for the moment, she just didn’t want to think of the outside world. She was tired, and she just wanted to get clean, and go to sleep. “But we should put Deena in the bath and I really need a shower.”
“That’s fine...I’ll try to make some calls while you’re in there...and board up some of the windows....they’re all kinda small so really I think we just need to work on barricading the doors. If we’re going to sleep I mean.” Roy’s long dark matted hair fell in his face when he spoke, but even he seemed more relaxed-more like his old self. Now that they were somewhere familiar and safe at last. “There’s probably nothing to eat here...but we’ll figure that shit out tomorrow.” He stretched and had a seat by the telephone. “Go ahead and do what you gotta do. I’ll handle everything and take a shower when you’re done.”
Taking his cue, Maggie-Mai made her way around the familiar cabin in the dark; even though it had been years since their last visit it still seemed like yesterday that they had been there and so it was a very simple task for her to gather up a couple towels, some soap which was hidden in the cupboard, and even a couple candles and some matches that were hidden deep in a drawer in the bedroom that her parent’s used to use.
After she had the things she needed she headed to the bathroom and she put the stuff down after leaving a candle in there for light; it was strange to see the bright green tile again. In another lifetime it seemed her mother told her it was real jade, and that her grandpere had bought it from a miner somewhere in Europe once upon a time.
It didn’t matter what it was made out of though all that mattered now was how good it would feel to sit in the hot oasis that was the claw-foot Victorian style bath tub. It would be good to wash the filth from her body at last; a mixture of blood, sweat and tears in the most literal sense. Everything else could clearly wait until after she was able to fulfill her most intimate desires, not even food could sway her. But first-Deena.
She headed down the hall almost contemplating sharing a shower with her best friend just so they could both finally be warm. Kneeling by the couch she touched her friends cheek and it was ice cold, her eyebrows knitted together in concern as she lifted her weak wrist and tried to feel for a pulse. “Deena…” she shook her and gasped, “No, no, no….this can’t happen…” she shook her friend again, “Deena! Deena stop it wake up!”
Roy came rushing into the room and when he saw the state Maggie-Mai was in and he frowned, ‘Fuck I’ve been carrying dead weight this whole….how could this have happened? When?’ There was no way they could beat themselves up over it-OR get emotional. He knelt in front of Maggie-Mai and shook her by the shoulders. “Stop it. Stop it.” He looked her in the eyes, “She’s gone. We tried…but she’s gone….and we didn’t leave her body behind for those-“he looked away and sighed, “Look we’ll put her in the storage cellar and figure it out in the morning. I’ll even try and call her folks.”
“How did this even happen Roy? What the fuck?” Maggie-Mai sobbed softly into her hands.
“I don’t know how any of the other shit happened Mags…but this was just hypothermia.” He patted her and rose to his feet-now with a new task at hand-to dispose of a body. “Plain old….hypothermia. Now….go do what you were going to do.”
She watched as Roy disappeared with Deena into the darkness and then quickly walked down the hall; barely able to breathe and getting a little dizzy from hysteria. She closed and locked herself into the bathroom and prepared a bath which, through shaking and tears, was no easy task.
The clear water turned the color of rust but she just shut her eyes and tried to pretend she was home sleeping in her bed. It was easier than adjusting to the reality of things, but she would have to come to terms with it eventually because Roy was right about the power, and Deena, and god only knew what else. Maggie-Mai couldn’t rely on this place forever, in fact with the way everything was going there wasn’t a whole lot she could rely on-except Roy.
She used the soap she had found and almost mechanically she forced her tired sore body into the motions of good hygiene; she wasn’t quite sure how long she’d been washing her skin clean with the precious bar of soap she had found, but when she stepped out she realized her hands were all pruned. Staring down at the water wrinkles on her fingers, she thought briefly for a moment of her grandmere and she wondered if there was still clothes in the trunk of her old room. Maggie-Mai made her way down the hall with a towel wrapped around her hair, another around her midsection, as she gripped her candle tightly for light.
She trusted Grizzly Gulch, it felt like nothing could hurt her here-and she trusted her cousin Roy. Nothing would happen to her while he was around and alert. Her hands shook slightly as she entered the cold dark room, even though she knew that Roy had thoroughly inspected every room of the small cabin before they started to settle down. She wasn’t nearly as tense as she normally felt, but she was cold-so she wasn’t relaxed.
The great trunk at the foot of her grandemere’s bed sat untouched, save for a layer of undisturbed dust, for years; kneeling in front of it, she put aside the candle nearby on the great oak floor, and remembered a time seemingly centuries before when she and her mother went through the things inside it.
Frowning upon first glance she sighed, the various people in the past that had rented the cabin raided the trunk and only a few items remained. Maggie-Mai decided on one of her grandmere’s cotton pink nighties and once she was dressed she started to tip-toe to the den where she thought she would find Roy sitting by the fire. Predictably there he was, warming himself by the fire-an old comforter draped over his shoulders as he sat there probably wishing for his guitar. “No answer.” He said to her as soon as he had heard her approaching footsteps... “It’s just us now.”
“I kind of knew that already though...after everything that happened today...didn’t you?” She didn’t like to hear it out loud but it was the truth and there was no use fighting a losing battle. Now even Maggie-Mai-Mai had come to terms with everything, though she wasn’t quite sure when that had happened. “We’ll figure everything out day by day...but for now...let’s get some sleep? I am absolutely exhausted.” She approached the fire and sat Indian-style in front of it; the crackling noise of the wood he had found to start it sent a sense of satisfaction through her and the warmth put her body at ease.
“Yeah.” He said with a nod of his head, “I took care of the doors and the windows for now.” He didn’t want to mention Deena, or how he had barricaded the cellar door either. His cousin already looked pretty distraught.
“You did good.” She patted his thigh, and stared blankly into the fire, “I love ya little cuz...we’ll get through this...but you deserve some sleep now.”
“Should we sleep in the same room?” He asked curiously but then shook his head, “What am I talking about-yeah. You can have the bed, and I’ll crash on the floor. Let me just catch a shower first. I won’t be long.” It wasn’t until he had gone that she had bothered to check the time; that’s when she realized just how long her own bathing time took. It had passed by so quickly she hadn’t even realized that what felt like minutes had been nearly an hour long.
Maggie-Mai didn’t argue with him and when he left the room she doused the fire and made her way down the hall by candle light to her grandmere’s room; where she climbed into her comfortable feather stuffed bed and pulled the sheets up to her face; her grandmere’s scent was on the sheets still though she was never quite sure what that smell was her closest guess was clove oil. Whatever else contributed to that wonderful smell that made her feel like she was home, she didn’t know.
Stretching her feet out she moved them around the sheets and enjoyed the silky friction they created as she did. After fluffing her pillow correctly she stared out into the night at the full moon in the sky, and she made a wish to see morning again the next day as her eyes slipped closed.
Roy slipped by candlelight back into the room Maggie-Mai had chosen and he set the candle and it’s holder down on the night table by the bed. After surveying the room he decided the dresser would best suit their need for protection. He moved the heavy piece of furniture across the floor, careful not to make too much noise-until it was sitting in front of the only way in or out of the room. Satisfied with this, he then approached the nearly ancient armoire near the window, and with a few pushes he managed to block that as well. Once he was done he felt a fiery burn in all of his extremities, he was aching and exhausted and his stomach was growling but he had checked everywhere for food and there was nothing in the form of nourishment as he could tell.
When he went to grab a pillow for himself and a blanket from the bed, after some thought, he decided to slip in next to her. They were both young adults, they were family, and he didn’t have the heart to wake her after their day. He reached a hand over the side of the bed and felt for the handle of his bat, when he was satisfied he could grab it without a problem, he shut his eyes and welcomed the paralyzing effects of sleep at last himself.
Okay guys that's it! I know I know--maybe you are on the edge of your seat with questions but that's why reading the whole thing will count. All the questions about the book will be answered in the book. TRUST me. But I hope it flowed well and you enjoyed the characters as they are usually one of my favorite parts about building a story; my method of madness is to build a couple of solid characters and to round out their entire lives and history then to plop them into a story. THAT WAY, I *KNOW* exactly how they'll react to certain situations....and discovering their arcs are always fun as well!
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 last week's blog post 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!
