Silence - A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse

By Devin Coldwell

After a devastating viral outbreak, those who are infected begin feasting on the flesh of those who aren’t. With communications down and quarantines overrun, the scope of the infection is impossible to ascertain. 

Into this come a small group of survivors determined to reach their loved ones and make it out alive. But they might have more to worry about than the infected alone. 

Is there hope yet remaining, or is the planet doomed to face an eternal… 

Silence. 

Includes a bonus short story!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Devin Coldwell
• Release date: Nov 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781507030769

Book preview

Table of Contents:

Silence - A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse

The Old Man and the Computer

Silence - A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse

By Devin Coldwell

© WMJ, Devin Coldwell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, written, digital, or those not yet conceived, without explicit written permission from the author.

For Kelly

1.

It was raining hard, and Mathew was having a tough time seeing despite the efforts of the rapidly moving windshield wipers. He was finding it necessary to do half the speed limit just to stay on the road.

Fuck, he said. We picked a good time to leave, eh? This one came out of nowhere.

Next to him Sarah nodded, her blonde hair bobbing in time with her head.  There’s a gas station coming up.  Maybe we should stop until it passes.

Good idea. I can’t see five feet in front of us right now.

He drove slowly so as to not miss the turn-in to the gas station, the same one they had stopped at on their way to Jasper a week before.  Once he saw it, he took his time turning into the small parking lot. The road was slick as hell, and the last thing he wanted was a bill for a replacement storefront because he had crashed his car through the old one.

I’m gonna go grab some snacks, he said.

Sure, Sarah replied. Don’t forget to get me some.

He left the engine running and opened the door. It truly was the strongest rain he had ever seen, a veritable torrential downpour. He had trouble standing up, and more trouble still getting the door closed. His seat was going to be almost as soaked as he was, and he hoped the car’s heater would take care of the worst of it.

Mathew held his hands in front of his face as he made his way to the gas station’s small store, trying unsuccessfully to keep the rain off of his glasses. When he was finally inside, he paused for a moment to wipe them off on his shirt, a difficult task since it was plastered to his back by what felt like several pounds of rainwater.

Once he could see reasonably well, he looked around. The first thing he noticed was how empty the place was. He hadn’t realized it until now, but there hadn’t been any other cars in the parking lot, not even the owner’s beat-up old pickup truck that he and Sarah had laughed at a week before. The lights were on, but the place looked deserted.

Hello? he said.

There was no answer.

Trying not to slip in the small puddle his entrance had made, he took a slow step forward, and then another. He was not generally a superstitious man, but an empty store like this in the middle of the day, even if it was a rainy day, tended to scare him just a little. He made his way forward, looking down each aisle as he went.

There was a magazine rack, a car maintenance aisle, a snack aisle, and a small grocery aisle. In the back there were fridges full of cold drinks and a small freezer containing ice cream and bagged ice. He shivered. The last thing he wanted to think about was ice, because he was fucking cold enough already.

Again he called out: Hello?

For a moment there was no answer, and then he just about had a heart attack when the bathroom door off to the side opened and a young woman about his and Sarah's age stepped out.

She was of average height, had long brown hair, faded jeans, and a pink t-shirt that seemed much too tight. When she looked at him, he observed that her eyes were blue, the same as Sarah’s. A backpack was slung over her shoulder.

Whoa, she said, I thought I was alone.

Yeah, so did I, he said. I don’t suppose you work here?

Nope, just passing through.

Huh. Then what happened? Why is it deserted?

Beats me. I just had to use the bathroom.

Um, I know it’s none of my business, but you aren’t stealing anything in that backpack are you?

She glared at him. What the fuck? Of course not. It’s full of my clothes, asshole, or do you want to take a look?

He did feel like an asshole, then. No, that’s fine. I’m sorry if I offended you. I did notice, though, that you’re not wet?

And she wasn’t, but he realized too late that he had perhaps worded it poorly. Surprisingly, however, she seemed to pick up on it.

I assume that came out wrong? And no, I’m not. I was also kind of taking shelter here from the storm. I’m walking, you see, and hitching a ride when I can.

Oh? Then why don’t you come with me and my girlfriend Sarah? She’s just waiting out in the car. He pointed vaguely in the direction of the parking lot. We’re heading back to Calgary.

Hmm. A tempting offer, and one that I just might take you up on. She crossed the room and extended her hand. I’m Katelyn.

They shook and he said, Mathew.

So, are you leaving now?

Nah, we’re waiting out the storm in the parking lot. It’s raining too hard to drive right now. I just came in to get some snacks. You sure there’s no one else around?

No one that I’ve seen, and I’ve been here a couple hours.

That’s really strange. Maybe I should call the police?

She shrugged. Whatever.

Mathew took out his cellphone. Damn. There’s no signal, must be the weather. He took a quick look around the store for a landline, but could find none.

Ultimately, he decided to grab what he wanted, and leave a note with the money on the counter. Some might have taken the opportunity to ransack the place, but Mathew wasn’t like that and he knew that Sarah, a law student, would not have stood for it. Besides, what if there was a security camera?

Carrying the snacks, he made his way back to the car, Katelyn behind him. The force of the rain had lessened somewhat, but he was still thoroughly drenched by the time he was back in his seat.

Katelyn climbed in the back and he said to Sarah, "This is Katelyn. She’ll be riding with us the rest of the way.

Don’t mean to be rude, but why?

Why not? We’re headed in the same direction, and the weather’s shit. I don’t want to make someone walk through this. He glanced in the rear view mirror, and couldn’t help but notice the way the rain made Katelyn’s already tight shirt cling to her breasts. His gaze lingered.

Sarah arched an eyebrow. Are you sure that’s the only reason?

Why yes. What other reason could there possibly be?

Behind him, Katelyn snorted. You’ve got a real devoted boyfriend there, Sarah.

Anyways, Mathew said, anxious for a change of subject, some crazy shit in this place. Briefly, he described for Sarah how the gas station had been deserted save for Katelyn.

I mean, I don’t expect a crowd at a place like this, but that owner guy isn’t here, neither is his pickup, and neither is anyone else. Oh, and the place is open. No ‘Be Right Back’ sign anywhere; just deserted.

Wait a minute, let me get this straight. There’s no one around except for her, and you offer her a ride? What if she’s some kind of crazy killer, and she murdered the guy and hid his body?

To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t considered that. But the guy weighed like two-fifty, and she’s what, a hundred? He looked at her breasts again. May be one-o-five?

Hmm, I suppose.  And hey, the weather is pretty bad. I guess it won’t hurt to give her a ride. Once the rain lets up, I’ll try the cell and see if I can get through to the police. This place really shouldn’t be deserted. Oh, and stop looking at her like that, or I’ll kick you in the balls.

I can hear everything you’re saying, Katelyn said from the backseat. Just pointing it out. Anyways, you mind sharing some of those snacks?

2.

The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, and they were back on the road. The floor of the car was littered with an array of empty chip bags and candy wrappers. Were someone to take a look, they would most likely have assumed that the occupants had been stricken with a bad case of the munchies. That was not likely to happen though, since the roads had been clear since well before the gas station.

I’m still not getting a signal, Sarah said.

We must be in a dead zone, Matthew replied. Try again soon.

Another hour and we’ll be back in the City. If I don’t get one by then we might as well just flag a cop down there and let them sort it out.

Hey, you guys never told me where you came from, Katelyn said.

We’ve been camping, Sarah told her. Completely out of touch with anyone but each other for the past week.

Ooh, sounds romantic.

Yeah, well it was. I’ll be happy to get back, though. I really want to check my email and update my pages.

Your pages? What, do you run a website?

A few, in my spare time. I also want to update my social network profiles. I’m a full time student, and that’s the only way I have time to keep in touch with all my friends.

What are you studying?

Law.

"Well, if in the future I should ever get into trouble I’ll know who to call. Unless you become a prosecutor.  Anyways, what do you do, Mathew?"

Me? I’m studying journalism. Oh, I also have a couple of blogs. I do reviews and cover some local news when I can. And what about you? Are you from around here?

Nah, I’m coming into town to protest the Smithenheimer Ranch Annual Rodeo Week.

Mathew considered that, and found that it did not particularly surprise him. Katelyn seemed like that sort of person. You’re a hippie? He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that she was glaring at him.

You don’t have to be so rude about it. And no, I’m not exactly a hippie. It just pisses me off when people mistreat animals. We have cars now. Do people really have to be galloping around on horses? And what exactly is the point of riding a bull? It’s cruel to the animals and it doesn’t make any sense.

I kind of agree with you, Sarah said.

I kind of agree with you too, Mathew said. "But hey, people like cowboys and every so often they like to get together and pretend that they are cowboys. The animals do at least get looked after. And why Smithenheimer? They’re not even the biggest in the city."

Precisely. That’s why I need to protest there. The big events get a lot of protesters but the smaller ones not so much. As an animal lover, it’s my duty to show that every animal matters, not just the ones at the big events. Besides, haven’t you heard? They’re supposed to be especially mean to their animals. Really unsanitary conditions. Terrible, terrible people.

Mathew had heard, and had even written about those accusations on his blogs. They had brought in their fair share of hits.

He decided a subject change was in order. Well, if there is one thing Calgary is known for it’s for events like the Smithenheimer Rodeo. But anyways, what do you do other than protest animal cruelty?

Well, I work in a pet store, actually. A very good pet store that treats its animals right. I’d like to go to university at some point, but I can’t really afford it. And since I’m in my twenties , I’d better move my ass before I’m old and lazy and don’t want to bother anymore. How do you guys afford it? Your parents?

Not anymore, Sarah said. "They were paying for a while, but Mathew and I are pulling in enough from our websites that we can support ourselves and pay the university fees. We also live together, so that helps save money."

Yep, Mathew said. "But if our website revenue keeps rising, my degree will be worthless. I’ll be able to make more blogging than I ever could at a professional publication. Take my advice, Katelyn: if you want to make money, you should start some websites. We can probably even help you.

Hmm. Maybe I will.

A silence settled in. Mathew kept driving, while Sarah and Katelyn kept sitting. He could hear them shifting and fidgeting. He got the impression that both of them were watching him, probably for lack of anything better to do. It made him slightly uncomfortable, and the silence was beginning to feel awkward. Eventually, he could take it no more and so he said, just for the sake of saying something, you know, I don’t think I’ve seen a single vehicle of any kind in the last four or five hours, other than this one. Not any people either, other than you Katelyn.

Really? That’s kinda creepy.

Yeah. Now that you mention it, that is kind of strange, Sarah said. Especially after that gas station.

Yeah, I think the last car I saw before you guys was two days ago, Katelyn said. I tried to thumb a ride, but the assholes wouldn’t even slow down. They were speeding along like their lives depended on it. I slept on the ground for two days because I couldn’t find any motels when I was walking.

The last people we saw were some other campers when we were leaving, Sarah said. When you think about it, these last four or five hours have been really fucked up.

Mathew did think about it. There had been a few other gas stations they had passed since the deserted one, and he had not thought about it before, but he had not seen any cars at those either. Granted, he did not know if they had even been open, and his car got good enough gas mileage that he had not seen any reason to find out. They would be back in Calgary soon and he was looking forward to it. Seeing some other people would set his suddenly anxious mind at ease. Over the horizon, the city suddenly materialized.  When he saw it the first thing he said was, What the fuck.

3.

In the distance he could see buildings aflame. In the streets of the strictly residential neighborhood ahead there were vehicles crashed and piled up every which way. Human bodies were haphazardly strewn about; here and there he could see birds, cats, and dogs as well. It was a sickening, ghastly sight.

Mathew stopped the car and looked at both of his passengers in turn.  Sarah looked as though she was trying to keep her composure, but he could see from the way she was swallowing that she was on the verge of vomiting. Katelyn by comparison had her mouth agape, and seemed unable to tear her gaze from the ghastly scene.

Wait here, he said. He put the car into park and then stepped out. The rain had stopped but there was still a chill in the air. He approached the nearest body, some twenty feet in front of him, and gazed down upon it.

It was a man in his thirties, face clean-shaven with medium blonde hair that dangled at the sides of his lifeless head, his mouth opened in a silent, eternal scream. He looked to have died in significant pain.