Life After Death



  LIFE AFTER DEATH

  By Jeffrey Reames

  Copyright 2015 Jeffrey Reames

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  REMAIN CALM

  October 2nd, 2013

  You know you are royally screwed when you see the President on your TV screen telling you to remain calm and stay in your house. Law Enforcement and the national guard are dealing with this outbreak. The CDC is diligently working to eradicate the virus effecting certain people in our country.

  Like I said, we are screwed. Big time!

  I'm sitting here watching the President speak, as parts of DC burn in the background. I'm cleaning the rifle my dad gave me last year for Christmas. The virus hasn't hit here yet, but I do smell smoke and see some off in the distance. We are still a little more country, out in a suburb of Chattanooga, if ya wanna call it that, here in Ooltewah. I think the town is named for the beginning of a river or spring, in one of the Indian languages. In any case, we have 10 acres of land, sitting on a small hill, with fields of grass in all directions. To the east we have trees, which lead up a small mountain pass. At the top, about 1500 feet up, there is a beautiful lake with some big fish.

  Ooltewah is still country enough for a gal like me to enjoy hunting and fishing. I admit I'm a hip nerd and softball star. Oklahoma, Texas, and the university of Tennessee all want me for my 70 mile per hour fastball and my wicked rise ball. For those of you in the baseball world, after adjusting for distances, that is the equivalent to a 95 mile per hour fastball.

  My name is Davina Briggs and I'm 17. I am a blonde and yes, that's as far as the dumb blonde stereotype goes. I have a 4.0 GPA. I wear glasses covering my blue green eyes. I have long straight blonde hair. I wish I was taller, at 5'5, but heels help me with that, when I wear them. I probably won't have a need to wear them any time soon. My boobs are small, but not too small. My ass fits nicely in a pair of jeans. I don't have to ask, "Do these jeans make me look fat?" I know that they don't. Confidence is not an issue for me. (I don't know if you, the reader of this, is some stranger or not, but at least you'll have an idea of what I look like in your mind.)

  School has been out for the last two days because of this virus that looks likes something from "The Walking Dead." Some of the kids are a little slow, and think this virus is great! No school! They don't realize how bad things are or will get if this can't be contained. Of course, the government isn't saying much, but come on, it is all over the Internet and YouTube!  

  A video of three male that look like zombies attack a poor paramedic that is trying to help them, has over six million hits in three days. I'm surprised they still have it up on YouTube. Blood spurts from the paramedic's neck after a bite. He screams a horrible high pitched noise, as they rip him open and begin eating his intestines. After a minute, the screams end. The part that always gives me chills is when the bloody corpse sits up, while they are eating him. The zombie like men: stop, standup, and begin to walk away. The paramedic or what's left of him, stands up. His disemboweled intestines fall to the ground. He steps and squishes them as he follows the zombie men.

  That video makes me wish that my dad was here. I lost contact with him two days ago. He is on a business trip in Denver. Of all the times he has to go on a business trip, (like two a year,) it is when this mess starts. The phones and Internet keep crapping out on me, but there's still power. 

  My mom isn't around to help or keep me calm either. My mom died while giving birth to me. I never knew her, and wish at times she was here. Dad helps out as much as he can. He's the best pseudo mom a gal could have, but he is the best dad around!

  Not everyone knows this about my dad, but he is sort of a doomsday prepper. It isn't like I would go around telling my friends about it. Duh! I love my dad, but I don't want to be known as the kid with the crazy dad. Most of our family and friends know about it and think nothing about it. Some think he is crazy. Who is crazy now? He told me to get ready the way he taught me. So,that's what I am doing. Most prepper a build underground. My dad built up and above the ground.

  Our three car garage is seperate from the house. There is a lot of space up there. The roof is pretty flat, a gentle slope for the rain to drain down and into a barrel. Dad reinforced the roof in the garage and added a sort of a castle-like wall aspect.  

  We have a small room up on the roof. I call it the fort. It has: two beds, a table and two chairs, and a small bathroom. Dad tinted the windows so we can see out, but no one can see in, even with the light on. There are also two barrels up there for rain water too. We have a small armory and a pretty good amount of ammo. We even have a nice bow for us to use when, and if the ammo, heaven forbid, ever runs out.

  We have enough cans of soup, fruit, and jerky. We have cans of meat too! Oh and not to forget, lots of flour, corn meal, oatmeal, and cream of wheat.  We even have canned veggies. I might not like my veggies now, but when I'm hungry, I'm sure I will enjoy them. We have water, but depending on the time we are up there, we will depend on the rain water to survive. We have a bunch of medicine including: pain killers, and antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

  Dad is smart enough to know that power would be a huge problem. So, he installed six solar power panels, an inverter, and a rechargeable battery that would give us the little bit of power that we would need. Our water purification, lights, water heating, laptop, and iPad charging will depend on that power.

  The thing I like the most and will use when the sun is out, is the solar powered oven. Cooking is a big question for my dad. We don't want fires for cooking or heat due to the smoke. If it is the end of the world, you don't want uninvited guests. You've seen the movies. When people show up, it always goes bad. But, I digress. I don't want to think about it, or what I might have to do if people show up. So, we have the solar powered oven, electric stove, and gas stove. We have propane and kerosene for a heater in the winter. We even have a small ice box, but depending on the solar panels and batteries, we will see.

  October 3rd

  I am making runs of food from the house to our fort. I have access by a ladder that I will pull up once I'm done moving everything. I am one tired gal, let me tell you!  I might not be a complete girly girly, but it would be nice to have help! I bet dad is just taking his time to miss the finishing prep work! Yeah, that's it!

  I really miss my dad. I don't know what I'll do without him. Yes, he's trained me how to hunt and fend for myself with all our equipment, but I still need him! The last time I talked to him, he told me most flights are grounded and he's gonna try and drive back. I don't know how the roads are, but I'm sure it won't be easy.

  As I look around the kitchen, every cabinet is open. The only thing left are the plates and glasses, but I won't bring those. Doing dishes is out. Well, as much as possible to conserve water.  

  Hey, there's one good thing about the possible end of the world! I hate dishes! Lol. We have paper ones up at the fort. Dad even got a small trash compactor for us.

  The news is on continuously now. They go from city to city, well, the worst ones, and show videos of these things attacking people... They show these things being shot and keep moving. The government might not be calling them zombies, but it sure the hell looks like something out of a movie.

  No o
ne really knows how they started. There's lots of theories. It doesn't really matter if it was God, a government experiment gone wrong, or some fungus. They seem to be here to stay, unfortunately.

  I'm giving dad til tomorrow to make it here before I go up. If he doesn't make it by then I'll just wait up at the fort for him. I want to sleep in my bed one last time. I'm still scared of what might happen. I can smell smoke now and the dusk sky may be a bit brighter than normal towards Chattanooga. I don't know for sure. I hope it is just my eyes playing tricks on me.

  October 4th

  I slept a little with my handgun and shotgun within arms reach. I look out the window and see the dew on the grass. I should be getting ready for school, but there is no more school. I sit in the jacuzzi tub, for I hope not the last time. I grab my comforter and stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear I've had since I was born. Dad said it was my mom's when she was a child. I'm not leaving it behind.

  The power flickers at one in the afternoon and then cuts off completely. I finish my sandwich and grab the last bag I have. It is filled with a few pictures, books, my iPad, iPhone, and Mac laptop. Sorry, if that's an advertisement for Apple, Lol. I can't help it. I'm lost without them. I put on my Tennessee volunteer orange baseball cap and look around the house one last time.

  Dad isn't here yet, but I don't want to wait any longer. Dad said we needed to be all moved in by the time the power shut off. I go to the bathroom one last time. I hear the flush and water still moves. I filled up the bathtub just in case, so we can flush. I leave it filled. I hope I'll be back down to the house soon. We might need it.

  I open the front door and a breeze hits me. I smell and see smoke over the mountain. I don't hear any birds getting ready for winter. I wonder if they somehow know the world is screwed up. I walk across the grass to the garage. There's a path, but I've never used it. So, why start now. I grab the ladder I've hidden and climb up to my new home, the fort. I struggle and pull up the ladder. It clanks and makes a bunch of noise, but I manage it.

  I put my stuff away and grab my rifle. I set one of our folding camping/tailgating chairs up a bit from the edge of the wall to watch the long gravel driveway. At least the gravel crunching will notify me of a car coming. I put on my sunscreen, put my ear buds in and listen to some music, as I watch and pray for my dad to arrive, like this is a perfectly normal day.

  October 5th

  I slept okay in the bed. It is better than a cot, but not near as comfy as my bed in the house. It was a little chilly, but there's good insulation at the fort. My comforter helped too, as I wrapped myself in it. Yes, I was scared, but I did feel pretty safe 20 feet off the ground. I haven't listened or watched any news since the power went off yesterday.

  I check my phone and things aren't much better. The big news groups are all saying the same thing, that this is a critical crisis. The local news says the police are trying to regain order, but the virus and people infected are numerous downtown. What the hell is numerous? We are screwed.

  I checked the solar panels and they are working well. The batteries are storing the power. I grabbed the last of the real eggs from the cooler and made some scrambled eggs and toast. I have a bread maker and huge bags of flour, but I'll use up what we must first.

  There's a nice breeze. I still smell smoke as I walk the perimeter of the wall. There's nothing to be seen in any direction. I sit down and wait. I hope my dad is okay. I pray to God for him to be safe and make it home, but I'm not sure if God is listening with the world He created falling apart.

  October 7th

  Sorry, I didn't write yesterday. The President declared Marshall law. Things are definitely getting more worse out there than better. I was very upset and sad yesterday. Still no word or dad showing up. I'm not getting any updates from the Chattanooga news sites. The last was to stay inside and be prepared for a long time, maybe two weeks at home. So, I'm sure there's looting and people scrambling to get what food and water is left.

  The big news agencies are saying the same thing, while they show footage of more cities burning and zombies roaming the streets. The President and cabinet have been moved to a secure location. There's a discussion on how the virus is passed. Some think it is airborne or from mosquitos or birds, but it is just like the movies. You get bit or killed you become one. It sucks when fiction becomes reality. Of course, the discussion turned to how to stop these zombies. I didn't have to hear the answer. Shoot them in the head, of course.

  October 8th

  I took a sponge bath today. Get the mind out of the gutter, you pervs. It has been a few days and with the dirt, grime, sweat, and with the suntan lotion, I was a bit smelly. I heated a pot of water in the solar oven and it worked really well. The manual says it can get things up to about 300-350 degrees. I feel refreshed after the tiny bath too.

  I've heard some gunshots today. My nearest neighbor is sort of far, about two miles by road, but I'm not sure what direction or directions the shots came from. I haven't seen anyone alive or dead, or my dad still since coming up to the fort. I read a little and played a game on my iPad to take my mind off things. I am so glad we have power up here!

  I didn't look at the news today. I didn't feel there was a need. With or without my dad, I will be up here a while. I wonder what my friends are doing with their families. I wonder if my grandma is okay. She's in a nursing community about two hours away in Nashville. Can ya tell, I'm getting a bit lonely?

  October 9th

  A big storm woke me up in the early morning. Hopefully it was the last of the thunderstorms. Now, it is just a light rain out there. No solar power today. I'm gonna save the batteries. I broke out the propane grill and heated up a can of chicken noodle soup. I had some crackers and a can of fruit cocktail.

  I dawned my rain gear and did a quick sweep of the area. The rain and if you know anything about Chattanooga, we get a lot of fog. I swear I saw two people walking way off in the field straight down towards the end of the driveway and main road. I checked in my scope. The two men were drenched. One had on overalls and a white and red ball cap. The other had on just shorts and flip flops. They moved slow, but in a straight line across my field of vision. They didn't falter on their steps.

  I zoomed the scope. As a bit of fog dissipated, I saw that the shirtless man had a chunk missing out of his side. A bit of intestine still hung from the wound. His neck had a gash too. The rain must have washed all the blood away. He had none left. The other guy was missing his left hand. I'm glad they didn't see the house and fort. i don't even know if they can even see. The continued walking until I couldn't see them any more.

  It was my first look at the zombies. I hope I don't see many more. I stayed up late and kept watch in the night goggles. No other zombies are around. I tried to sleep, but just tossed and turned.

  October 10th

  Still nothing from my Dad.

  The sun is hidden behind the grey clouds. So, no solar power today. The batteries still have a charge, but I'll save them. The two rain barrels got nice amounts of water in them now. I took a sponge bath again and washed my hair with the water. I do feel better physically. It is a drain on you to be up here. The boredom is incredible. I gave myself a treat and popped a jiffy pop popcorn on the gas stove and watched an episode of "Breaking Bad." I put the first four seasons on my Mac along with some movies. I turned it off after the first episode to save the battery. I think I'm gonna like this show!

  I walked the perimeter a few times today and saw nothing. The smoke smell isn't as bad. The rains probably helped with what fires still burned.  

  I can't get as current news, when the Internet works. Things are breaking down all around the country and world. I just close my laptop and grab a book to read. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas has always been my favorite. I start in to again, always in awe. I'm asleep after about forty pages and dream about adventure, except some of t
he characters are zombies.

  October 11th

  I hear it, right before I see the dust being thrown in the air. A truck is coming up the long driveway!

  I grab my rifle and run out the door. I bring my scope to bear on the approaching black truck with running lights on the roof, big tires for going off road and a gun rack behind the driver, who has a hat on. I can't see much else except for lighter colored hair. It could be my dad. It could be someone looking for a place to stay or food. Please let it be my dad!

  The truck pulls up to the front of the house and stops. The driver jumps down, but his back is facing me. He's wearing jeans, a blue t-shirt, and black boots. My dad is the hunting type, but not the boots type.  

  The guy turns and faces the house. I don't know him. He nervously jerks his head. He is spooked by any little noise and there aren't many.

  I hold my breath, as he walks up to the door and tries the handle. He doesn't knock. I locked it and all the doors when I left. I didn't want it easy for any squatters, and when and if they got in; they'd find no food of value. Then, hopefully,they would be on their way.