Running To Escape: A Sam & JR Zombie Thriller

fell to his knees, I slammed his face on the concrete patio and fractured his nose. Blood went everywhere, and several guys dragged me away kicking and screaming, so I couldn’t do more damage. A day later I heard he had two gorgeous black eyes and a bandage on his nose that covered a lot of his face.” She smirked, then laughed thinly. “His lawyer dad wanted to sue me for assault, but Jeremy the coward didn’t want the whole town to know he’d got his ass kicked by a girl. He left the following week, and I never saw him again. I’ve had time to get over him and did.” She chuckled. “On the other hand, I’d like to run into him as a zombie, so I could blast his brains out without guilt . . . keep that in mind if you decide to dump me.” She grinned mirthlessly. “I didn’t see a need to tell you my deep, dark secret either. But now we’re even. I don’t have any more secrets. The fact that I love you is out in the open and I’m happy and proud to say it: I love you. I love you. I love you Sam Boyle. You’re exactly the man I always hoped to marry.” They kissed and hugged lustfully as young lovers are prone to do before retreating back inside the camper.

Hours later their first real work of the day was to park and disconnect the trailer, then strip the camper of removable items to reduce the weight. Then it was raised several inches above the truck bed on 12 volt electric jack stands. As Sam watched for hang-ups, JR slowly inched the truck out from under the camper.

While the camper was being unloaded, Smokey created a ruckus a short distance away in the woods. After parking the truck, JR walked into the woods to investigate. Smokey was out of sight barking and growling at something on the ground. Fifty feet into the woods, he darted in and out from a four foot long Prairie Rattlesnake that hissed and struck at him. JR shot the snake and then had to forcefully drag Smokey back to the work area. She rewarded Smokey with a half-pound of hamburger. She told Sam about the snake, and he said, “I heard they’re good to eat. Do you want to skin it?” She answered by throwing a big rock at him.

He dodged and grinned. “I’ll take that as a firm no and won’t ever ask again.” He stopped laughing and then turned serious. “There’s an old saying about if you see one snake there’s always more. We’ll have to be on guard in the woods and watch for rattlers. I think those may be the only poisonous snakes this far north. At Charlie’s place we’ll look for emergency snakebite treatment kits. If he didn’t carry them, we’ll look in Kalispell.”

After lowering the camper near the ground onto short pieces of dead log, they reloaded the camper with minimal supplies and planned to continue sleeping there. Sam commented he hoped their wild love making didn’t tip the thing over.

JR smiled devilishly. “So do you want to confine me to the missionary position?

I thought not.”

Too early the next morning at the break of dawn, Smokey was agitated and barking incessantly outside the camper. Sam was still half asleep when he pulled his pants on to investigate. As the narrow aluminum door was opened enough to peek outside, he saw a single zombie in the clearing being chased by Smokey. He woke quickly and scurried back for his boots and handgun. Carefully he eased out from the camper in dim light. With one well aimed shot, he put the undead monstrosity down. Then while JR started a fire to cook breakfast, he dragged it with the dirt bike to a gully almost a mile away and used a dead limb to roll it off the dirt road’s edge into the deepest section of the gully.

The sun was well up when the truck pulled into Charlie’s for lumber, flooring, and cedar roof shingles to repair the cabin. After those they planned to search for four treated 6X6s to set the camper on permanently.

Sam walked back to the storage sheds to locate the treated six by six beams while JR backed the truck close to the pile. They were near the end of the shed and had loaded two of the eight foot long beams when a zombie appeared around the shed wall six feet from Sam. Sam was surprised by its rapid appearance and backed up hurriedly only to stumble in the loose gravel. Smokey attacked and clung to the zombie’s leg as it continued to advance while swiping its hand at the inconvenience. The zombie drug Smokey as it reached for Sam and brushed his shirt with its scabby, filthy fingers. JR had a six by six beam in her arms and stood frozen for a minute. Jumping into action she forcefully thrust the heavy beam into the zombie’s chest knocking it backward several feet. Then she slammed it again and it fell back against the shed wall. Sam recovered his footing, drew his pistol, and blasted the undead monster. It had been turned for a while because the body tissue had rotted and dried.

JR exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, that was close. We can’t relax for a minute without something happening. If it’s not zombies, it’s rattlesnakes, or horrible humans attacking us.” They continued to search out and load the remaining lumber items on Sam’s list.

They finished loading lumber and disposed of the zombie carcass without incident before going inside the store.

Near the anchors and straps Sam found a choke chain hanging on the wall. He could use it to train Smokey. He feared if Smokey continued attacking zombies or humans he would be seriously injured or killed by either. Plus, he didn’t know if animals could