Preface
When the Dead have Risen.
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/57685774.
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Category: F/M Fandoms: The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks, Zombi 2 Zombie (1979), Dawn of the Dead (2004) Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Zombie Apocalypse, The Walking Dead References, War, End of the World, References to Drugs, Revenants, Post-War, Inspired by World War Z, World War III, Survival Horror, Survival Training, Alternate Universe - Horror, End of Days, Kansas City, Plagues., Purgatory, Rapture, outbreak, Warrior - Freeform, Anarchy, Adultery, Relationship(s), Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Love Bites, Revenge, Survival, Undead, Death, Drug Use, Character Death, Married Life, Supernatural Elements, Mental Instability, Mental Anguish, Mental Health Issues, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Sad Ending, Sad, Domestic Violence, Gun Violence, Aftermath of Violence, Violence, Murder Husbands, Blood and Violence, Bombs, Bombing, Domestic Disputes, Domestic, Dead People, Everyone is Dead, Drinking, Addiction, Drinking to Cope, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Ghouls Language: English Series: Part 2 of Tales of the Rising Dead Stats: Published: 2024-07-26 Completed: 2024-08-11 Words: 3,077 Chapters: 6/6 When the Dead have Risen.
by MikeCoffelt
Summary
The crossroads of America have become the crossroads of the Dead!
This is the first story in a collection of stories called, "Tales of the Zombie"..
I have another collection that connects, called "Tales of the Vampire".
All feedback is welcome!
All of the Dead Return.
Chapter Summary
"When the Dead have Risen they shall neither be married nor given to marriage."
Matthew 22:30
When all the dead folks rose up and started to eat at the living, everybody thought it was the end of times. You know, like the preachers used to talk about. But it really wasn't like that. No, not really. Everything changed, but nothing ended.
Not yet, anyway.
Oh, at first it was all a big deal. The dead caught us all off guard. Nothing like this had happened in centuries, except what you hear about down in those little islands around Florida.
They came back all at once this time, and they came back to attack you personally, because they can remember.
No matter where they are, they remember where they live. That's where they go every time. They will go hundreds of miles to do it.
It's an instinct, like with birds.
It's what I expect Barbara to do some day.
People got killed in waves.The first wave were the people that got killed right out of the gate. In that first attack.
The second wave were the people who weren't meant to survive on their own, without our government helping them.
The third wave was the wars. All the little ones, and then the big one. A bomb got dropped on Kansas City, a couple of hours north of here, and took it all out... People still getting sick from it. A couple of more bombs came down in Canada, and one more in Mexico City.
The last wave to die were the people that got sick from the new diseases that spread, and the radiation from the bombs.
I heard, all together, about nine billion people died. And all of them had to be killed again.
But none of that really matters around here. We just all banded together and built our shelters in the towns and the woods, and did what we do. We hunt and fish and grow whatever, and trade with the neighbors for whatever else we need.
We just survived, like we always do.
Screamers.
Yeah, the dead ain't too much trouble, once you figure them out. Just shoot them in the head, like they do in the movies.
We're smart and fast, they are dumb and slow. They will fall for just about any trap you set for them. Just yell and holler a bit for bait. They'll come along.
They don't organize, either. They herd up like they do, but they aren't organized like us.
They don't remember how to use anything worse than a knife or a hammer. No match for a car door.
Not all the dead people came back, either. Something about how doctors do autopsies. The way they prepared the brain when you get buried.
Not too many dead animals come back, either. Just a dog or cat, now and then.
No, surviving the dead ain't nothing. It's the people that get bit or scratched that you got to worry about. The ones that get infected.
The Screamers.
Around here we still call it the screaming measles. It spreads in a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on how bad they got you. But no matter how long it takes, it's going to get you.
You go pale and you can't eat or drink, and can't be around water. You get hot and cold at the same time. You drool and mumble. At the end you twitch and have body spasms that go into convulsions.
Then you turn into a Screamer.
Them son's of bitches are fast!
Strong and mean. Smart too. They remember stuff like keys and ladders. Ain't so easy to trap, either. They know what's up.
Sometimes they will team up to get to you. Not like the Dead. Screamers sometimes remember how to work together, if only to get at you better.
Then you really have a problem!
But most of the time they attack each other. Like the way they attack the living dead, and the dead will go after them.
When I was staying in Kansas City, just before it was destroyed, I would watch thousands of Screamers and dead people attack each other, sometimes with some unlucky people caught in the middle.
Yeah, them Screamers were bad.
Adaptation.
After the Screamers, it's the living that give us the most trouble. Marauders wanting what we have. Bangers wanting our guns. Predators looking for prey. Killers just looking to kill.
It's not just the dead that want to eat you.
Then you got your cults. People like the Solomite Cult, down in Arkansas. You don't even want to know the things that they do.
But we have our people, too. We're a match for any of them.
My Cousin Mike is our leader around here, and turns out he knows some things about running things. This surprised everyone, because back before everything happened Mike had trouble fitting in. He could never find a good job or a good girl, and was always broke and broken.
He's a big guy, but people always tried to push him around. He's smart, but people always thought he was dumb.
But when the Dead came back Mike was the one that took control of things, and got everyone organized. Like he suddenly found his calling.
Now he has things back up tight and running in town. Electricity is flowing, everyone is eating, and all of that. He brought the schools and churches back, and is even working on getting a zoo, for the kids to visit.
Yeah, Mike has everything almost back to normal. Only thing missing is the cell phones and the Internet, and what's left of the government is working to fix that.
Mike always has Sexy Sammy by his side. She is his second in command, right above me.
She used to be a stripper; the rough kind. Danced in places most people don't go. She is an older woman, but she still has a good body.
Her face isn't much, though. She looks too hard and worn down to be feminine.
I mean, they all look that anymore, But I think Sammy looked that way even before.
We don't always get along too well, but I respect her. She's the one that taught us all sign language back in the beginning, so we could talk to each other quiet. That saved a lot of lives right off.
Sammy has her two girls with her; always ready for a fight. Brandy is about nineteen or twenty, and Little Tina is around fifteen. Both are the quickest and best archers we have.
None of them are really related, but they all adopted one another.
Then we have Major Quinn and Old Aggie, watching over the kids at the schoolhouse.
The Major came down with the army back in the beginning, and decided to stay. He still has his military connections, which has saved us plenty.
The Major is tough, but Maggie is tougher. She may be old, but she still makes one hell of an assassin, when we need her.
Then we have Fetch, came down with me from KC, before it was destroyed. Brought his old lady with him.
By old lady I mean old. She was his babysitter growing up, and he fell in love with her.
Fetch and his team travel all over the country, looking for supplies. They can find just about any rare thing you can ask for. Any food or comfort from the past, they can find it better than anyone.
Then we got me, ready for the dirty work.
Now we have a couple hundred people in the town, and about twice as many in the woods around. All of them armed and ready.
We have new people showing up ever day. We feed them till they get their strength back, then we put them to work.
I would die for most of these people, and some of them would do the same thing for me.
We are a good group. We hold our own.
New Drugs for a Broken World.
The Dead were bad, the living were worse, and the Screamers were the stuff of nightmares.
But sometimes I feel the biggest threat now are the drugs.
Everyone is broken now. Everyone has trauma, and they all know loss. They all have seen horrors they need help to forget.
So after society went down, all the dealers rose up, just like the Dead. It's their world now, more than the Dead's. They have customers now that won't quit.
You think what law enforcement is left still care about "just say no"? Hell, they seen worse than anyone. They need to forget more than the rest. About the only reason they will stop you for drugs is rob you.
Drugs are more important than anything else, now. Not just what we used to call the soft stuff. Hard drugs like heroin and crack can't be avoided now, they are so common place.
But the new drugs are even worse. People always were coming up with new ways to cook your brain. But all this new garbage will have you flying, dying, and crying until you crash.
Now you got your Sparkle.
Sparkle is a soft powder that looks like yeast. When you do Sparkle you lay down on your back. The person helping you loads a staw full, then they blow all that's in the straw up your nose. It hits the part of your brain that keeps your memories. All of a sudden you can remember something clearly, like it's all happening again. You remember people like they are there now, or places like your right back there again.
People do Sparkle to see departed loved ones, and not like we see them now.
I don't touch the stuff. I need to forget, not remember.
Another new drug is Heaven Flowers. Heaven Flowers are little drops you put on your tongue, and then you press those drops up to the top of your mouth. Makes you see flowers growing in front of you, blooming everywhere.
Only it doesn't work on everyone, and doesn't work on anyone all the time.
Never did work on me.
Then you got your Kanga and Roo, two drugs you take together. Makes you hop around laughing for a couple of hours.
I have seen people break their ribs and sprain their ankles, using KangaRoo.
I never liked it.
No, what I got messed up on was worse than any of the rest.
I got hooked on Shine.
There has never been a more poorly named drug than Shine. Nothing to do with moonshine, nothing shiny about it. When you drink it, you go dark. Dark in heart, dark in spirit. Nothing matters, nothing feels.
Shine comes in those clear plastic bottles, the kind they used sell booze in. Thick, black liquid; looks like dark coffee, smells like sewage, tastes like death.
People start out just sipping at those bottles, Shine is so powerful. A whole shot bottle will knock you out in about ten minutes. Sometimes you will have convulsions. Two bottles will cripple you for a week. Three bottles can put you in a coma. Four will pretty much kill you.
At my worst, I was drinking three bottles at a time.
I was living in a Kansas City Shine House, doing whatever to stay there. Mike finally had to come up after me, just before the big bomb came down.
He will have to tell that part of the story, when he gets the chance. I don't remember too much.
I just know I owe him my life and my soul, whatever those things are still worth.
Most people are smart enough to stay away from Shine. Now days it's pretty much dried out. Only the most damaged people chase it down.
Only other person in our group to get hooked like me was Sammy. She's broken, too. I know what broke her down, but I ain't saying.
My reason for needing Shine is Barbara. I'm broken because of what I did to her.
A Soft Heart.
About the best way to describe Barbara is to call her soft. Soft brown eyes, soft red hair. Soft skin, everywhere. Soft body, nice and full. Soft voice, soft personality. And the sweetest, softest lips I ever did kiss.
I'm getting goosebumps just talking about it now.
Only two things were wrong with her. One, she was soft in the head. Two, she was soft with other guys.
I met Barbara about a year before the dead people came back. I fell for her right off, and we were married after about six months.
Everyone told me that she was running around on me, but whoever listened to that kind of talk? I would confront her on something, and she would deny it all. What am I going to believe?
I would always warn her the same way about what was going to happen if I ever caught her at something. I'd say, "you better get you those kind of bracelets that Wonder Woman had. Remember, those ones that could stop bullets? Cause if I ever catch you cheating, you're going to need both of them."
And she would laugh, like I was making a joke, until she got to know me a little bit better. She heard a few stories about me, and started to believe me.
She just didn't listen.
I finally found out for sure about her the day the world ended. The whole world, not just mine.
I found out about the guy she was slipping around with from the guy's old lady. I didn't know her, but I think she knew a little bit about me. I think she was hoping I would do to him what I was going to do to Barbara.
But I ain't like that. A beautiful woman gives you a turn, you take your turn. Only human. I wasn't mad at him, like any other guy would be. He got off lucky on that one.
I mean, we were never going to be fishing buddies, or anything. I just wasn't mad at him.
Only her.
The guy's old lady told me where to find them. I caught up with them out at Truman Lake. I found their cars first, and parked a ways away, to sneak up on them.
They were both sitting at the end of one of the boat docks, dipping their feet in the water, with their backs to me. They were holding hands, and every so often one would kiss the other.
I stood back quiet for awhile and watched. Then, when I was done watching, I pulled out my 9mm, and went to confront them.
When I stepped up on the dock, it started to creak. They both turned back at the sound, and when they saw it was me, they both jumped to their feet. Their bare, wet feet.
At first the guy tried to be man with me, like he was going to step up and protect her from me. But a couple of shots at his bare, wet feet got him dancing, and he decided to go somewhere else.
He left fast, too. Almost running, and not looking back.
It was kind of funny.
I never will forget the look on Barbara's face. She wasn't scared, or nothing. She just looked at me, kind of sad. She whispered, "Baby, I never meant to hurt you." And I whispered back, "Yeah, I know," and squeezed the trigger.
I shot her through her cheating heart. Even then, as mad as I was, I couldn't hurt her beautiful face. All the time we were together, I never once hit her in the face.
Barbara looked surprised when I shot her, in spite of all my warnings. Then she staggered and stumbled backwards, off the dock and splashed down into the water.
My plan at this point was that everything was over for me. I wasn't going to go back to prison. I wasn't going to go on the run again, or try to hide her body. I just left her alone where she was, down there in the water, and watched the sun going down over the lake.
It was all calm and peaceful.
Then the next thing I know, I heard a wet hand slapping against the dock.
Then I heard another one slap against the boards. All of a sudden Barbara was climbing up out of the water, and was crawling after me.
Her clothes were soaked and bloody. Her hair was wet and stringy, with a couple of old leaves tangled in it. And her face wasn't beautiful or sad anymore. Now it was all twisted with rage.
Now she was biting at me, biting her teeth so hard together I thought they were going to crack apart.
She crawled towards me at first, but then she managed to make it back up to standing, and started coming at me like that.
So I got the Hell out of there.
The End of the World.
When I got back into town, I found that Hell had followed me there.
The Dead were walking and the Screamers were screaming, and everyone was in a panic. They were all looting and fighting and crashing their cars into each other; shooting at anything that moved; setting everything on fire.
It was all chaos, but I didn't care about any of it. I was in shock, I guess. It was all just like a bad dream.
So I just went home and went to bed.
After a couple of days I came back into town again, to look at all the damage, and see who was still alive.
I ran into my cousin Mike while I was there, and he talked me into joining up with his group of survivors. I said yeah, cause I really didn't have anywhere else to go.
I have been back to Truman Lake a few times since, to look for Barbara. But she was never to be found. Only sign of her was the dried blood on the dock.
Now I think about Barbara every day. Looking back on it all, I regret that I had to kill her. She was so beautiful, I wish I could have forgiven her, just that one time.
What would it have mattered?
I think about how the Dead folks will return to their homes, and wonder if Barbara is on her way. I kinda hope that she is.
I miss those soft lips.
Afterword
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