The one thing the zombie movies got right: Don't over explain it. Cause when the dead are getting up and chasing you, you don't ask why, you run. And when they're all around you and there's too many to run, you fight. Then you discover they go down pretty easy and you flip that script and only run when there's too many to fight. And those people who run into a pack too big to fight, but also surrounding them. They die.

But there were plenty of things they got wrong. A headshot doesn't always kill them. The stuff in their head is slush, it's goo. The first thing to decay is the brain. So punching a hole in it shouldn't do a damn thing. But it does. And I'm not even questioning it. This is no longer a world where you can afford to question what works.
I guess I can't even say it doesn't kill them. Better to say it doesn't kill them instantly sometimes. When the goo leaks out, they die. So shoot, stab, or smash low and it's quick. A screwdriver to the top of their head, doesn't do a whole lot at all.

It's best if you can sever or completely destroy the head if you wanted instant stopping power.

Me and Cat lucked out. Nona, gets up early and has made a lot of friends in her life. So she knew about whatever this was within two hours of it happening.
Of course when she shows up at a quarter to five in the morning, we don't wake up when she knocks. She still has a key and it is an emergency so she lets herself in.
Finding us naked and entwined in my bed pretty much solved the coming out to Nona problem. But she didn't mention it. She had more important news.

And as soon as I had Cat conscious again after she fainted, we were able to plan our next move.

Luckily, I'm one if those girls who had spent years playing with the question 'what would you do in a zombie apocalypse?'. Asking my friends; thinking about it on my own.

I had a list of what I thought I'd need. And the first step was the mall. Nona had other people she wanted to warn so we made plans to meet up with her later.

Luckily, we had overnight bags packed. Carly was visiting Spencer for his birthday, and Jade and Tori were in Seattle as well. Spencer had gotten them a gig singing at a fancy coffeehouse that Socko's cousin owned. So we were supposed to fly there for the weekend.

Dice and Goomer were in Fresno again. Apparently there was a lot of minor league MMA fighting going there.

I told Cat to grab the bags. "But I need to call Jade and Tori and Dice and Goomer and My parents. You should call Carly and Spencer and Freddie and warn them. And if we're leaving, there's a lot more I want to take." She said.

"We're going on my motorcycle. We can't take much. But you think about what else you need. The most important thing right now is that we hit the mall before anyone else does. We are not strapped for zombies but we need to be. And we need to be before anyone else knows they're coming.
So we grab the bags in case something happens and we can't make it back. You think about a few things that you want to take and we'll swing back by here after and get them.
As far as phone calls go. My spare helmet is fully enclosed face and has bluetooth. Wear that one instead of your cute one and make the calls as we go.
I'm pretty sure Nona will call your parents though. We also need to call Melanie.

"What about your mom?" Cat asked.

"I'll let Melanie make that call. Both as in decide if we bother and making the actual call if she decides to." I answered.

Something hit me. "Wait I was going to have us go to the poor mall, because it's less likely anyone else would be there. Plus, the sporting good store has guns and knives. And it's got that big Home Depot next door. But if we go a bit south to Culver City there is that huge gun store with that ACE hardware next to it. I'm not looking for selection I'm looking for low key and unlikely to meet anyone else."

A second flash hit right before we mounted to ride. I guess I'm good under pressure.

I grabbed my girl by the shoulders, looked into her eyes and said. "I love who you are and how you are. But this is a new world. My Kitten needs to be Catwoman. I need you to know two things. As far as I'm concerned there is no law and we are all living on borrowed time. Which means if we need it, I take it. If someone gets in our way, I take them down. Pretty soon the whole world is going to be like that, at least for a while. But I'm getting a jump on it.
I'm fine to take responsibility for us but I need to know that you can handle me doing what needs to be done. Because in case this isn't clear in the confusion of the morning. We are going out to steal weapons and supplies. I don't care about witnesses. But if anyone interferes it will not go well for them."

"I understand. and I trust you Sam." Cat said.

It's amazing how easy it is to steal when you don't care about getting caught. I just broke into the back of the gun store. The alarm gives you thirty seconds before it started. I just used that time to fill the owners coffeepot with water and throw it into the circuit breaker box. Which short circuited everything and disabled the alarm in a way that just tripping all the circuit breakers wouldn't have.
It will still show up as a power outage at the security office and they might even send someone. But it wouldn't be making any noise and drawing attention. And that's what I was more concerned about. We weren't hanging out long.

I grabbed two shotguns on pistol grips, one regular rifle shotgun, a nice 38 revolver for me and a AP32 for Cat, (because it had a magazine and a lighter kick I figured it would suit her better).

I took all the ammunition he had that would fit the shotguns and 10 boxes each for the handguns. All the guns had trigger locks, but I could drill those out later. I was going to drill one out and load it for incedentals while we were traveling. But I found a nine millimeter under the cash register in a little cubby.

On the floor behind the counter I found a box with a dozen machete's in five different styles packed tightly. so it was heavy but small enough to grab easily so I just took the whole thing. I was looking for something a little lighter and longer for Cat. Lighter so she can wield it longer without getting tired. Longer so she wouldn't have to get so close.

I found a long thin saber but then Cat came in to check on me and pointed at a different display case. "Oooh, butterfly swords. I need these."

Butterfly swords are matched pairs of short swords with blades about 15 inches long and wide like a combination of a meat cleaver and a butcher knife. They go into the sheath fit together so it looks like one knife but then you separate them, one in each hand, to fight.

"I was thinking something a little longer so you don't need to get as close." I explained.

"That'd be fine in a different world. But I actually know how to use butterfly swords. When I was taking Shen Yun dance I learned to use butterfly swords and the ji, which is a type of light spear. It was dance not proper martial arts, but most the movements are the same and it's a start. Looky here." She held up what looked like a skinny dagger from the display with the butterfly swords. "A spear head and next to it a polypropylene spear shaft that breaks down into three pieces. I'm set for hand weapons."

We were just about to leave when a display in the back caught my eye. It was old improvised weapons. Under a sign that said, 'Anything is a weapon in the right hands'.
It was mostly household stuff some as is. A set of gardening shears seperated into two big knives. A long fat iron bar that was a counterweight from an old garage door. But the one that took my interest was something called a kitchen gauntlet. It was a small cast iron pot with what looked like brass knuckles attached inside. so when worn it covered my entire fist in a bell of iron that went down about an inch past my wrist.
I had a thought that this was a good weapon against those troubles we met that were still alive, since it basically turned my fist into a hammer and could even be a last resort weapon against the undead.

We were approaching the five minute mark and we had to get out of there. I still needed to stop at the hardware store.

I took Cat's hand and led her out. The hardware store next door looked like it had been in the location at least thirty years. It was small and a little run down, and almost looked like a little white house, in comparison to the fancy new all windows construction of the gun store.

It looked like security hadn't been improved since it was built. I was able to get through the door lock pretty easily and there was no beeping of an alarm preparing to squeal. A moment later it occured to me that the water trick next door probably knocked out the whole area.

A minute after we were inside, a white sedan with the security company logo pulled up. And a man got out. I could hear him talking to his partner and telling him to wait and watch my motorcycle in case we came back while he went into the gun store.

I only had a couple things I needed. Things I'd been meaning to add to my weaponry for some time but couldn't justify buying tools I wouldn't need.
Luckily this store not only had them, it had them easily grabbable in a section near the front.

The first was a hatchet. I was pleased to find all one piece steel construction, so I didn't have to worry about a wooden handle breaking or the head coming off. I also found a rock pick hammer. It looked like an old time knight's weapon called a crowbill that was a square hammer on one face and a long slightly curved point like a bird's bill. Also solid steel one piece. It would do all the damage of a bullet but silently. However, sadly, also there couldn't be any distance.

I looked at other things, including hardwood dowels in case something happened to Cat's plastic spear shaft. But I decided anything like that could be too easily gotten somewhere else and was too stupid and unwieldy to carry.

As we left I looked cautiously out front. The partner was still gone, the guy left behind was just getting out of the car with his radio. I guess planning to radio my bike's license plate in.

I had to think fast. I pulled Cat by the hand toward the motorcycle. He shouted something at me. I didn't really catch it but I assume it had something to do with freezing and getting my hands up.

I would have loved to try to warn him and reason with him, but this was too early in the chaos, he'd never believe me. I just wasn't planning on chiz getting real this soon. And Cat was right there. I couldn't have anything threatening her or her safety.

I picked up the helmet and shoved it on her head backward, so she wouldn't see. I drew the 9 mil I'd found under the counter, flicked the safety off and shot him twice in the face. This was jungle rules, my friend.

I lifted Cat onto the bike and jumped on myself. Taking off as the partner came running out. He took a couple shots but I didn't expect it to be an issue. We were heading out of way and there aren't too many marksmen in low level commercial security at minimum wage.

I didn't even bother with my helmet. I didn't want to take the time. So I just left it hooked on the side of the seat and dealt with it being in the way until we were far enough away that I could pull over.

"Please don't do that again." Cat said when I got the helmet off her. "It's obvious what you did by the situation and the sound. And he obviously wasn't too hurt if he could shoot at us as we drove away."

I said, "That actually was his partner shooting at us," because I didn't want to feel like I was lying to her. But then immediately changed the subject so she wouldn't follow up and ask how the first guard was doing. "So were you able to make the phone calls?"

"Yeah, turns out Jade was just about to call us. They are staying with Carly at Spencer's. And Carly's dad called this morning and told them. Jade wants us to bring her car. She told me where the spare key is and said there's a trailer in the garage that her parents bought for the jetskis they never use. She said it should carry your bike no problem.

"Well that would allow us to bring more stuff. and if it gets stuck we can always leave it behind. Did you call your other school friends?" I asked.

"I left messages." Cat said, "I didn't get through to anyone else."

We went over to Jade's next. figuring we'd get the car, and then go back to the apartment to pick things up.

I didn't know where Jade lived, but Cat and I made it with her just tapping my shoulder whichever way I was supposed to turn and occasionally reaching past me to point for clarification.

Jade's house was huge. I knew her parents had money but I must admit I was surprised. We pulled in front of the garage, and saw our first deadhead.

I'm think it was the gardener just by the fact he was wearing grass and dirt stained coveralls and was holding a hedge trimmer.
Althought he clearly did not know he was carrying it. His other arm was reaching out and pawing at the air toward us, but that arm just hung there with the weight of the tool.

I'm pretty sure he was drawn by the sound of the motorcycle. He was only like five feet away so it was not difficult to pop him right in the forehead.

"Oh Sam," Cat said, "Warn me when you're going to do that." She looked shocked and disgusted.

"Okay Kitten. I'm going to kill every zombie we see, that I can kill. So seeing a zombie, that's your warning that I'm going to kill it."

"Kay kay." Cat said. "I'm just going to have to get used to the fact that we're living less in the world we were yesterday and more in a video game. And if you want to survive in a videogame. It's strike first and strike hard."

"Yes. Exactly." I said.

"Catherine, Catherine come here. Bring your friend." It was an old guy calling down from a window.

"Oh it's Jade's dad." Cat said.

"Your name's not Catherine." I said.

"I know, and so does he, but he says that Catherine is the english equivalent of Caterina, and if I want to get anywhere in life I need to have a name that is recognizable to the American people."

"There are at least three famous Caterina's I can think of." I said.

"I know. All I can say is that's why he calls me that. I can't explain why it's not crazy. because it is." Cat said.

"But he named his daughter Jade." I continued.

"Actually he named her Jane. She just refuses to use her birth name. Has since before I knew her. He calls her Jade when they're in public. Because he wants to be understood and doesn't like to explain himself. But he still calls her Jane at home, or privately."

We went into the house. Where Jade's dad met us at the door.

"Hi Mr. West. I need something from Jade's room. This is my girlfriend Sam." Cat said as she ran up the stairs leaving me to make small talk.

"I'm so pleased to see you. Doubly pleased that you brought a weapon. I won't ask why you have it or where you got it." He said conspiratorially.

"I have it to kill zombies. I got it from the gun store when we went there to stock up." I said.

"Killing zombies indeed. I don't know where you young ladies get your imaginations, but you're not children. And if these fantasies are encouraging you carry guns, it's all the more reason you need to look at them again. You just killed a man. I know he was dangerous, he unfortunately got Mrs. West earlier and she's still out there. But if you did it because you thought he was a zombie, I worry about how safe it is to have you running around. Perhaps it's better if you turn the firearm over to me." Jade's dad said. He actually seemed to think it was a reasonable request as far as I could tell.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that. You saw a zombie. Your wife got, what eaten by a zombie, turned into a zombie? I'm not sure what you meant by 'he got Mrs. West'. But if you can see that and immediately dismiss what you saw. I think you're the one with the dangerous imagination. But luckily it's only dangerous to you and your survival. So I'm cool with it." I said, "So what'd you call us over for?"

"Common decency. When someone you know shows up in your yard you say hello. When they kill a crazed staff member who has attacked your wife, doubly so. And for your information. He neither 'ate' her (He did the air quotes) nor did he kill her. He attacked her. He did bite her, she definitely screamed. 'He's biting me'. And then I guess he injected her with whatever it was he was doped up on. But she wasn't logy like him, she was running all around screaming.
She broke two windows in the back trying to get in. Which is ridiculous, all the ground floor windows have decorative wrought iron, as I'm sure you saw. So she wouldn't be able to get in that way."

This guy seemed pretty nonchalant to be talking about his potentially infected wife. But I suppose he had kind of proven his delusional idiot cred. So I shouldn't be surprised.

"We're just here to pick up Jade's car. We're driving up to meet her." I said. "So as soon as Cat gets back we'll be out of your hair."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I don't know you well enough to trust you with my daughter's car. Not to mention you have a firearm and seem to fancy yourself some sort of modern day zombie hunter." He said.

I thought to myself, "Modern day? As if it was a completely reasonable career in olden times?' Then I said, "Well, as you say, I do have a gun. And if that dude wasn't a zombie I just killed a man. That's just that you know of. Who knows what my mornings been like? So I suggest that you don't want to get in-"

He looked like he was about to say something. But I'll never know what it was. In an instant Cat popped up from behind the couch with her butterfly swords in each hand.

She sank one in his stomach and out again in one fluid motion. Then when he bent over, both blades came down on both sides of his neck almost severing his head. Cat did a backflip to get out of the way of his arterial spray. Which took her back behind the couch.

I waited, expecting her to pop out in a moment.

When she didn't I went around back and found her sitting on the floor staring off into space.

I sat down next to her and took her in my arms. She was stiff for a second, then she wrapped her arms around me and melted against me. "I killed him." She said, sounding dazed.

"Yeah I noticed that, baby. Any reason?" I asked.

"Well Jade said if I see her parents to kill them for her and I said I would, but I didn't really mean it. Then you killed that security guard. And you shot the gardener. And you didn't even pause. You just did it. Bang. Bang. They were dead. And you said that's the world we live in now."

She was getting a little hard to understand, because she was crying pretty hard. I just held her, kissing her head every once in a while.

"I knew we'd have to kill zombies." She started when she had cried it out for now. "But that guard wasn't a zombie. And it was before we'd even seen a zombie. Before we knew first hand if this was real. But I know you did it to protect me. If we're going to make it we cannot start out this war handcuffed in the back seat of a car. or even worse in jail."

"I will do anything to keep you safe, Kitty. You know that." I said.

"I know you will and I love that so much about you." Cat replied, kissing me again. "Ever since you said that about the video game, I have been thinking about what Jade asked me to do. Thinking about if I should do it. Thinking about if I could do it."

"You should have just told me." I explained. "Then we could have decided together. And I could have done it for you."

"But that's just it Sam. You're my protector. I love that. I need that. But if this is a video game world everyone has to be prepared to kill. I can't leave it totally to you, or I'm a burden not a partner. And I will never be a burden to you Sam. I refuse." Cat stated looking into my eyes very intensely.

"You couldn't, kid. It's impossible."

"We'll agree to disagree. But it doesn't matter because I refuse to let it come to that. When we came in I still wasn't sure I was going to do it. But I told that story about going to Jade's room so I could sneak back if I decided to. Hearing him talk made me think. Jade hates her parents, like you hate your mom. And you wouldn't ask someone to kill her. But as soon as I heard him talking I knew, he is never going to make it in this world. Jade's mom has already been lost and he still won't see what's in front of his face. This isn't shock. It's just like the using the wrong name thing it is a pathological refusal to accept the world on the world's terms. And his money and power in the business community isn't going to buy him any indulgence in this new world order." She started getting choked up again. "So it was a mercy in a way."

"It was Cat, it definitely was." I comforted her. "Just like every zombie we kill is a mercy. Death is supposed to be an end."

We heard a noise then as Jade's dad got up. And I realized almost severing the head kills a man. But almost doesn't do a thing to a zombie.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart. And put your fingers in your ears." I said to Cat as I stood up.

Mr. West was standing there, his head tilted to the side. A gaping bloody hole on one side the separated flesh folded over itself on the other. He took two steps toward me. The head wobbling precariously with each and I spread his forehead all over the back of his skull and the back of his skull all over the wall behind him. I picked Cat up and walked the five steps to the door. Putting her down as I shut the door on the carnage.

"So where's Jade's car?" I asked.

"She parks in the carriage house behind the garage." Cat replied.

"I thought a carriage house was a garage." I said.

"It can be. But Jade's parents have both. The garage for her parents' cars and all the tools that the gardener who also works on the cars needs. Then the carriage house for Jade's car and the jet skis and their trailer.

I washed up in the shop sink of the carriage house. Got all the blood off. I was going to change my clothes for an outfit in my overnight bag, but I found several sets of coveralls hanging on a rail and those seemed convenient. Especially since I only had two and a half outfits in the bag.

"Whose are these? They'd never fit the gardener/mechanic guy." I said.

"They're Jade's. I think they're for loveplay." Cat whispered the last word. "I know Tori has a thing for uniforms. And apparently she also likes to be taken by mechanics or whatever."

I took my hand away for a second but then thought about how I just don't squick that easy. I changed into one and threw the other three into the trunk of the car. They were just too easy and useful to not bring them. Any one of us four girls could wear them in an emergency and I liked 'em.

It took me less than five minutes to get the trailer hooked up and almost fifteen to get my bike situated so it wouldn't fall. Jet ski trailers and motorcycle trailers were more different than I expected. But mainly it was because the trailer was too big so it was hard to put the bike in one place.

But we managed it.

As we drove away someone came running at us from the other side of the house. "It's Jade's mom." Cat said. "Don't stop. Wait. Run her down."

"But that's just it, Cat. I have to run her down. She's not moving like a zombie."

"Well she's not herself either. Maybe there's more than one kind. Either way. We can't stop for a chat and let her nibble our bones. So run her down." Cat was obviously still struggling with this, and just as obviously had made up her mind.

"Roger, princess." I swerved the wheel and put the pedal down. But Jade's car is a big old beast that handles like a wet sponge and the trailer made it that much worse.

By the time I was close to where she'd been, she'd darted away. Luckily Jade's house was on the top of a hill. And once the car built up momentum it was really sailing through.

So when I turned off the driveway and down the hill I was eventually able to overtake her. And when I bumped her with the bumper she went right down and under the tires. I backed over her and then got out. "Sit tight I have to go see what sort of monster we're dealing with in this one." I said to Cat and got out to look at her.

She was still moving. And broken up like that I couldn't see a difference. Same clouded staring eyes. Same ragged lips from snapping at everything that moved with a mouth that no longer had feeling, so she caught herself alot..

I only had two to compare neither of them had I ever met alive so as far as I was concerned they looked pretty similar. For now we had to just cope with the fact that there were clumsy slow zombies and running zombies, and other than that we would just have to learn as we went.

I put the pistol next to her head and pulled the trigger

Then I got back into the car and told Cat the bad news. That I hadn't learned anything and we would just need to be careful.

The car couldn't make it back up the hill on the soft leaf-strewn ground while towing the trailer. At a certain point, about ten or twelve yards up, the tires just started to spin and got no purchase.

But Cat knew the property well enough she was able to instruct me in how to take the horse trails down at the bottom of the hill until they met back up with the road.

Then we turned onto the asphalt and started heading for home. Our first stop in this new, horrible, exciting, disgusting adventure.