The Diapered and The Dead Ch. 13
Having others around they could trust proved to be a far better asset than any of the supplies or shelter they’d come across since setting out from the RV. Max took the last watch shift that night, taking the reins from Roger merely two short hours before sunrise. Much had happened since he’d joined up with Ron and the girls back at the RV, the whole world had changed since the attack on the bus nearly a week ago now, and his class had changed right along with it.
Looking out over the distant horizon as the sun rose up to meet him Max found himself pondering the reports from Winslow, Roger and Sophia on what exactly was going on over in what they’d come to call “Camp Clorey” and it was not a good feeling. Letting Sophia back into the group had been simple enough for him and Ron, but Lily and Fran had seen it quite differently. He knew all three of them were sleeping soundly diapered on the floor beneath him now, but just a few short hours ago he would of taken them for mortal enemies, especially Fran and Sophia. The girls had taken Sophia’s betrayal to heart, Fran had watched her friend side with one of the nastiest girls in school and Lily had lost a confidante in her secret. In a way Sophia was just as guilty in Corey’s trickery at the Sports Authority and for that matter, so was Winslow, but it was all water under the bridge as far as Max was concerned, after all… they had bigger fish to fry now.
According to Roger and Winslow, Claire had orchestrated another bit of mischief that had left several of their classmates in harm’s way back at a farm house several hours from their current location. The thought of it had made Max’s skin crawl and his heartache, for among those left behind were Melody Green, his long time crush.
There wasn’t history between them or anything, or at least not the kind of history that there was between Melody and other boys at the school, but there was something there, even if he’d barely spoken two words to her since they’d been lab partners last year. In a way Melody was here now because of him, he’d let her copy his work so often she’d basically ridden his coat tails into the honor’s class this year, not that Max had minded all that, even though she had spent most of class with her boyfriend now instead of him. Deep down he knew he had no chance with the homecoming queen.
That was in the old world though, Winslow’s account had named Melody’s boyfriend Jeff as infected and Melody quite grief stricken about it. The thought of her being out there awaiting help that would never come was enough to strengthen Max’s resolve and he knew Ron would not let the matter go uninvestigated.
In the hours that remained to him during his shift Max went about gathering supplies for their coming journey. Ron had made the call before they’d all settled in for the night and he took the first watch. It helped Max to keep focus and stay occupied during those wee morning hours as the sun came up. They had made it through another night unnoticed by any of the monstrous undead, he hoped Melody and the others she was with could say the same.
Winslow helped him get the Jeep in working order once the all clear was given and more of the group was up. The plan was simple: the guys - being Ron, Roger, Winslow and himself – would head out to the farm house and attempt a rescue of the others still out there, while the girls stayed behind to work out their dispute some more. Max could tell Ron wasn’t okay with the idea of leaving them behind all alone, but Fran and Lily had both proven themselves capable the day before, even if they were both still having trouble with accidents.
They were ready to hit the road shortly after a breakfast of dried cereal and fruit. Lily, Fran and Sophia were awake by then as well and all three of them had come out to wish the boys luck. Max didn’t think he would ever really grow accustom to seeing his female class mates in diapers. Everyone at school knew about Lily’s condition after sophomore year, yet he’d never seen the girl wear such puffy looking protection under her clothes as she was now, Fran was little better, she was still holding out with the youth bedwetting pants she had discovered their first night here, and while they were less bulky under her pajama bottoms, it was still quite easy to tell what she was wearing if you looked at her hard enough. Sophia seemed to have no shame at all, not only had see joined Lily in wearing full-on adult diapers, she had taken to forgoing pants all together after her arrival yesterday, and stood nonchalantly with the other girls in not but a diaper and tank-top to bid Max and the rest of the guys farewell.
Max knew he wasn’t the only one thankful to be free of the girls that morning. Giving them their space to work things out was really the best thing any one of them could do. He just wished it didn’t mean going off into the unknown to risk his life.
As the four boys made their way down the empty highway both parties exchanged further details about the time since the bus incident. Max remembered how his arrival with the others at the Bed, Bath and Beyond two days ago had been met with utter surprise and cruelty. Even now as he re-told the story of his ordeal before meeting up with Ron and Lily in detail, Winslow and Roger seemed doubtful one such as he had made it so long on his own. In many ways that was the one thing Max couldn’t escape, the jabs about his weigh and awkwardness, even in the new world order he was still the butt of the joke. Ron quickly put a stop to it though, remarking at how both Roger and Winslow were lucky to be alive as well.
To Max, going back the way they had come felt oddly like going back in time. As they rode along the deep country roads parallel to the sprawling highway he’d taken with the others, it felt as though they were all going backwards, as if they’d find that old school bus merely stalled on the road awaiting them to get back on its journey toward Eagle Ridge High School. Slowly the world around them faded from the debris of abandoned civilization in to the rustic farmland that littered this part of the state. It was miles before they passed another man-made structure, yet ever was the lingering sense of danger present. It was truly remarkable how far the world had fallen in such a short period of time.
Shortly after noon they passed through a tangled mess of car parts and human remains that could of only meant one thing: Zombies. It reminded Max of the trap he’d fallen into with Ron and the girls just a few days ago when they’d first come to the shopping plaza, yet Winslow had the good sense to navigate through it without getting caught. Once in the clear Roger spotted an over turned motorcycle down in a small ditch beside the road.
“Guys check it out,” he said pointing to the side of the rode from the rear passenger seat.
“Winslow, pull over,” stated Ron once he caught sight of it as well.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” added Max but his caution was ignored by the others.
“That thing’s vintage…What if it still works?” inquired Roger as slowly the jeep came to a stand-still.
“Then we may have hit the jackpot in terms of transport,” said Ron. “Everyone keep a sharp eye out.”
Once it was clear, Winslow stayed at the wheel of the driver seat while Ron, Max and Roger went for the bike. It was a heavy old thing, but the three of them were able to get it right-side up and out of the ditch in no time at all. It reminded Max of the kind of bike’s they rode in those old greaser movies about rebels, and racers and all manner of rough and tumble bikers from yester-year. No doubt this vehicle had been used in some farmer’s brave escape attempt that had only ended in vain as the virus speared across the country side. By now its most recent rider had probably been turned into a mutated undead zombie monster and could very well be near-by, the thought of it did not sit well with Max.
“We’re wasting time guys….we should be getting to the farm.” He noted
“Hold up lover boy,” said Roger “if we can get this thing working we’ll be able to fit more people into the Jeep question is…who knows how to ride it?”
“I do,” interjected Ron as he wrapped his hands around the handle bars and examined the motorcycle in further detail “My dad used to have a bike just like this up until a few years ago and if I’m not mistaking—”
He was cut short by the roar of the bike coming to life. Ron tested the throttle and brakes to make sure everything worked to his standard then smiled gleefully when he’d managed to get his bearings on the moving machine. Aside from a few nicks and dents it appeared to be in perfectly good working order.
“Do you have enough gas?” asked Max once things calmed down a bit.
“Tank is nearly full. I can’t believe it,” answered Ron. “You guy’s ride in the Jeep and I’ll bring up the rear,” he added with almost child-like joy.
It was settled, with Ron on the bike they would have more room in the jeep for the others, once they found them up at the farm (and Max was certain they would) plus Ron would be able to scout ahead on the way back for any danger. Finding the bike was a stroke of good luck indeed, Max just hoped it would hold out until they were safely back at the Babies R’ Us with all their classmates alive and well.
As they neared the farm Max picked up on the growing sense of unease from Roger and Winslow. According to Winslow it was little less than an hour away now, and time to get serious. Max spied Ron on the bike behind them and knew everything would be just fine. More than likely they would arrive at the farm welcomed heroes among their stranded classmates. Maybe Melody Green could curl up next to him on the ride back, now that there was a little more room in the jeep…
“Something’s not right” said Roger from the passenger seat.
“The bodies…where are the bodies?” added Winslow as they came to the foot of a small hill that led up to the drive way of the farm.
“Stop we need to let Ron know.” Said Max, and Winslow slowed down to let their comrade catch up to them.
“Whole…Lee…Shit…” Said Roger then as they caught their first glimpse of the farm house at the top of the hill.
Black smoke was rising into the air from behind the old manor, while a gaggle of undead stalked about the front yard having yet to notice their arrival.
“Something’s up,” said Winslow to Ron as he brought his bike right up next to the jeep. “We dropped two freaks right here and left the bodies to rot before we left.”
“Maybe the others took care of them?” Suggested Roger “They weren’t just freaks…one of them was our classmate.” He added with a sound of distain in his voice.
“So much for doing things the easy way.” Ron cut in before Winslow got a chance to retort to Roger’s acquisition. “We made it this far, we might as well do a quick sweep on the off chance we can save them.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Said Winslow as he swallowed hard and gripped the steering wheel in front of him. Max couldn’t help but feel sorry for his new comrade then, the football players face was riddled with grief.
“Yeah,” agreed Roger fastening his seatbelt. "They’ve got to be here…they just have to be.
“It’s well after noon … if we’re going to take a shot at this now is our best chance” said Ron and with that he revved up the engine of his bike. “Follow me and don’t do anything stupid.” He added before shooting up the hill toward the flames.
“Like that?” asked Ron to the both Max and Winslow in a vain attempt to mask his fear with humor.
Ron had the only real weapons of the lot, insisting on keeping the handgun he’d been given and the crossbow he’d found for his own. Roger had arrived at the Babies R’ us with a machete the night before and Winslow had grown accustom to using a small Iron crowbar. Both of them had the tools with them now, while Max held a tight grip on the baseball bat he’d once used to save Fran’s life. It had served him well thus far, but all three of them were practically useless while they stayed inside the jeep.
Using a discarded two by four he’d swiftly picked up of the ground Ron quickly dropped the first Zombie in his path before the others even saw them coming.
“What is with that guy?” asked Roger then “Makes me wish I’d taken ROTC!” he added as the jeep lurched forward to meet two undead monsters head on.
Blood splattered across the windshield upon impact and Max felt his stomach heave along with it.
“I don’t get it…” he began as Winslow spied more undead to bowl over. “It’s daylight… why are these things so active?”
“Who knows” answered Roger as he braced for another impact. “These one’s look freshly turned, still more zombie than monster.”
As far as Max could tell Roger was right. Although the assumption had raised more questions than it answered, but it was hardly an issue of major concern for them right now.
The three of them watched as Ron made his way toward the back of the house where the smoke was coming from. Winslow threw the Jeep into reverse as if to follow until something else caught his eye.
“Over there!” he exclaimed wheeling the jeep in the opposite direction.
A girl and a boy were bolting straight for them out of a small tool shed, none of them had noticed before. They were moving too fast to be Zombies, and Roger recognized the girl almost at once.
“Ming!” he cried with wild excitement as he quickly unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. “We’ve got to help them…thank goodness they’re alive.”
Just then, Ron appeared from behind the house trailed by more undead zombies doing their best to match his speedy pace. Yet when they spied the frantic girl and her companion they broke off toward them at once.
Max watched in horror as the monsters fell upon the harried boy from his biology class. His name had been Carl Freeman, Max didn’t know him all that well, but the sight of his demise froze Max dead in the back seat of the Jeep while Carl’s cries and Ming’s horrific sheiks filled the air.
Roger got to her just in time. He took the head off a shorter zombie without so much as wenching as Ron caught a few more a distance with his crossbow. There was no saving Carl though, whatever the boy had been through in the Farmhouse…his pain was over now.
“Oh hell, no!” Winslow shouted throwing the jeep into park and gathering up his crow bar.
The star athlete left Max sitting in the back seat to watch the chaos unfold. His sheer prowess was something to behold as both Winslow and Roger cleared a path for the girl while Ron continued scouting the area. Max felt helpless and alone in the car, as if he were watching this all happen to someone else and not the people he had been traveling with all day.
“Go! Go!” he heard Roger cry as he pushed the girl named Ming toward the parked Jeep.
Max met her tear-filled gaze and froze as she ran toward him. It took the sound of an explosion from behind the house to shake him out of it!
Thinking quickly he opened one of the rear doors and helped her inside before shutting it behind her as Winslow and Roger continued to fight for their lives.
"Carl….Oh God…"said the girl trembling into his arms. "I didn’t think anyone would come, but he had hope."She managed between breathes.
She was a small girl of Asian descent Max had never really spoken to before today. Her clothes were in pretty bad shape bearing the tell-tale sign of a wetting accident, though dried now. It was evident she’d had a pretty rough couple of days.
“It’s alright…you’re safe now.” Said Max doing his best to comfort her, “What happened here?”
She didn’t answer his question, but instead brought her fingers to the side of her head to message her temples as she sat back and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowly steadied but she was still pretty shaken.
“Bill Dunham turned two days ago…” she began after a short moment “We did everything we could but it was no use, then Jeff rose from where he’d been shot and Melody went crazy… the hoard arrived out of the corn field last night….Oh God…the others.”
The mention of Melody’s name shook Max out of any remaining trance he might have been in as Ming started to sob once more.
“What about them?… Is Melody alright?…Are there any more survivors?” he asked urgently.
“The house…” was all she could say between her breathes…“Oh God it’s been two days.”
As the last of the zombies fell to Winslow and Roger, Max got out of the car to meet them.
“She’s alright,” he said to his battle-worn compatriots. “They’re may be others in the house, I’m going to go take a look.”
“That’s insane…it’s on fire!” yelled Roger but it was no use. Max was already on his way, baseball bat in hand.
The door to the house was locked but by throwing the bulk of his weigh against it Max went barreling through its old wooden frame with ease. The smoke stung his eyes as he stepped forward, the fire appeared to coming from somewhere upstairs but with limited ventilation in the old home, the air was thick with heat and a poisonous haze, but still Max moved forward.
“Hello!” he called out through the thick air. “Is anyone in here?”
His inquiry was met with the now familiar sound of a body limping towards him from the stairway. He could barely make the figure out at first, but quickly rose his bat in an offense strike as the gruesome visage of Bill Dunham revealed itself to him. The creature moaned in an unintelligible garble as Max struck it’s head with a desperate blow.
Another came for him then as well, but this time Max was ready and did not wait for a closer view. Surrounded he fought for his life, as his undead classmates fell before his feet one by one. Their twisted faces flashed before his eye’s to be forever burned into his memory as their rotten corpses fell.
Soon only a panting Max and one half-mutated body remained. Its limited attention span still pre-occupied with whatever was inside the small cupboard under the stairs. The creature was scratching at the small doorway with its newly elongated talons almost as if it were toying with whatever waited inside the small closet space.
When Max approached it finally turned to meet him revealing in full just how twisted a creature it had become. An Eagle Ridge Varsity Jacket had been torn to shreds from one single thick spike that was growing out of its left shoulder blade. Gone where its shoes as its feet had grown twice their normal size. The creatures jeans were still mostly intact but dirtied from excessive wear and transformations.
It’s gaze met Max’s and the boy with the bat did not move a muscle. Only once before had Jeff Gringer ever looked Maxwell Barnheart in the eyes. It had been during their freshmen year when Max had made some stupid Joke while in the back of their ninth grade algebra class. They’d all laughed at the fat kid then, but now it was just the two of them and no one was laughing now.
Max knew what had kept Jeff so uninterested in the tasty arrival until now almost at once. The cupboard under the stairs would have been the prefect hiding place for a girl Melody’s size, and alive or dead Max was determined to find her. He stepped forward as the mutated Jeff grinned to reveal an all-new set of razor sharp teeth. He did not flinch and he did not freeze.
With one fell swoop it was over. The creature lashed out in a predictably hostile way allowing Max mere seconds to duck out of the way and come at him at full strength. He struck the monster square in the temple sandwiching its head between the bat and a wooden pillar on the stairway. He struck again and heard a loud crack, following the metallic ring of his bat. Again, and the crack became a crunch, and the crunch became a slop, and then the slop became a squish, followed by another and another and another…
The headless body fell upon Max but did not move as he pushed it to the ground. He stepped over it and got to the cupboard without further delay. The creature’s claw marks had nearly won out, and Max was able to get the small door open without much trouble at all.
The stench hit his nostrils first as a ray of daylight cut through the darkness of the closet. There amongst the darkness he saw her. Melody Green sat cowering in an older looking nightgown now covered in her own filth. She was alive, but in a state of shock from all that had transpired.
“Come on” said Max taking her by the hand before lifting her into his arms. “I got’cha” he added as he cradled her for a moment.
She did not say anything. Her eyes only blinked in rapid successions as her pupils adjusted to the light. She’d been in that little hovel for two days straight and bore the marks to prove it. Max didn’t know what to think.
Time did not allow for much thinking anyway, as another loud cracking filled the air heralding the collapse of the of the floor above the kitchen in a heap of flames and heat. Max rose to his feet with Melody still in his arms and made for the exit without so much as a second thought for the monsters finally died at his feet.
He broke through the busted door one final time to find the other’s still tending to Ming and more zombies than before.
“Where’s Ron?” he asked as another loud crash came from within the house, this time signaling the further collapse of the old home.
“Holy shit!?” said Roger “Is she alive?” he added coming to Max’s aid.
“Yea,” Max answered as he and Roger helped Melody into the back seat with Ming. “Where is Ron? We need to get out of here…”
“Rambo is in the yard out back.” Said Winslow as he yanked his crowbar out of the eye socket of a fallen Zombie “He went to try and find you.”
Max couldn’t bear the thought of Ron dieing while trying to save him. It wouldn’t have been worth it, not even with him and Melody combined.
“We need to get out here before more Zombies show up…anyone else inside?” asked Winslow.
“None that we can save,” said Max grimly.
“Fuck!” exclaimed Roger and for moment he seemed about to go and see for himself as the house before them fell in one final display of fire and ash.
Before any of them could ask again Ron appeared riding his bike up to the rest of them.
“We got Melody and Ming,” stated Winslow “I don’t think we’re gonna find anyone else.”
“The corn fields out back are crawling with freaks,” said Ron to them then. “You guys get moving I’ll meet up with you when I can.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Roger.
“There is no telling what mutations these things have. We can’t risk them following the jeep back to the others. I’ll lead them off then loop back around and find you guys.”
“No freak’n way” said Max.
“Guys… I got this,” stated Ron.
There was no time to argue it further as the largest hoard any of them had seen yet began to appear among the flaming rubble.
“Don’t be stupid Ron.” Winslow said as he climbed into the jeep’s driver seat.
“Good Luck” added Roger following suit.
“See you soon.” Said Max
“Count on it,” replied Ron and with that he put the motorcycle into gear and spun a donut into the ground before the massing hoard.
Max made his way into the rear of the Jeep with the two frightened girls and they made for the main road at once. Careening back the way they had come Max looked back once they were just about in the clear to see Ron saving them all once again.
The boy on the bike shot on to the street just like a bat out of hell. Hot on his heels were a cadre of mutated creatures moving faster than the Zombies had earlier. Ron lead them off in the other direction and away from their speeding Jeep just like he said he would, and not one of the monsters came after them….
They rode in silence for a long time after that. Winslow remained at the wheel with Roger in the passenger seat while Max sat in the back with both Ming and Melody fast asleep against him. Melody seemed dead to the world, she’d barely mutter more than a yawn before utterly passing out next to him. Ming did her best to stay awake as they fled but soon fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
An orange sky hung over them as dusk settled in and Winslow but the pedal to the metal for fear of nothing making it back before dark.
“Maybe we should stop and wait for Ron?” suggested Roger finally breaking the silence.
“We do that, and something else finds us instead, all of Ron’s trouble will have been for nothing.” Said Max suddenly surprised at himself as the words came out of his mouth. He knew it was what Ron would have said though. He just wished his friend was here to say it.
“Yeah,” agreed Winslow keeping his gaze to the road. “He will probably be waiting for us when we get back anyway.”
Not much was said after that as the Jeep raced along the back roads bent on beating the darkness back to the shelter of the Babies R’ Us. Max watched the world outside whirl by briefly nodding off himself a few times along the way.
Lily, Fran and Sophia were awaiting them by the back loading bay when finally the Jeep pulled into the parking lot of the Babies R’ Us. It was a welcomed sight for them all though Ron was nowhere to be found. Ming was able to get out the vehicle on her own and was greeted warmly by the others, Melody however was still largely immobile and required assistance from Max.
He carried the girl in with little trouble and was largely relieved to be back with the others, then he saw Lily as she noticed Ron was no longer among them and his heart felt fit to burst as the tears welled up in her eyes.
End of Part One….
