Dead Meat: Day 7
Nick Clausen
Editor: Diana Cox
First Edition 2021
Copyright © 2021 Nick Clausen
Kindle Edition
The author asserts his moral rights to this work.
Please respect the hard work of the author.
No zombies were harmed in the making of this book.
The following takes place on
Friday, August 1
ONE
“Try again, Dan.”
Dan is looking at the snowflakes drifting down from the dark sky, slowly covering the driveway. It’s only four in the afternoon, but the sun has long gone down. The neighbors’ houses are covered in Christmas lights, illuminating the street. Somewhere, a radio is playing. Dan can’t wait till he gets to open his presents. Only a few more hours now, and then—
“Dan?”
Dan turns around to see Dad standing by the open hood of the car, his sleeves rolled up, his hands black from oil.
“Huh?”
“Could you turn the key one more time, please?”
“Sure, Dad.”
He opens the driver side door and leans in, finds the key and turns it. The car gives off a series of dry coughs.
“Damnit,” Dad mutters. “That didn’t work either.”
Dan goes to the front of the car. Looking down into the engine, he has no idea what’s what.
“When’s Jennie coming home, Dad?”
“She should be here any minute now,” Dad says, leaning in with the flashlight. “Hand me the wrench, will you?”
“The big one?”
“No, the smaller.”
Dan takes the wrench from the toolbox and passes it to Dad.
Dan is excited at the thought of Jennie joining them for Christmas. Ever since she went to continuation school, he hasn’t seen a lot of her. They text now and then, but she seems too busy with all her new friends. She’s even got a boyfriend now. Tommy or Thomas or something. He’ll be joining them. Dan is a little nervous at the thought of meeting him.
“Aha, think I finally found the problem,” Dad says, pulling out a piece of faulty wire. “I’ll have to replace this.”
Dan is about to answer when he hears a car pulling up to the curb. It’s a cab. Dan’s heart leaps.
“Jennie!” he says. “Jennie is here!”
“Oh, that’s great,” Dad says, straining to reach something inside the engine.
Dan goes out to the driveway to greet Jennie, but as the back door opens, he stops. No one’s in the cab. The backseat is empty.
“Merry Christmas, you guys!”
Jennie’s voice comes from somewhere nearby. But faint. Like an echo blowing in the wind.
Dan frowns and looks around. “Jennie?”
A sound from behind causes him to turn around. The front door is open. Mom is supposed to be standing there, wearing her apron, looking out with a big smile.
But the doorway’s empty.
“Welcome home, honey!”
Mom’s voice is a distant echo as well.
Dan begins to feel eerie. Something is off here.
“Dad?” he says, turning back to the car. The hood is still open, the tools and the flashlight are still there. But now Dad is gone, too. “Dad?” Dan turns around. “Mom? Jennie? Where are you guys? Hello?”
No answer.
He’s completely alone in the driveway. The snow keeps falling quietly.
“Dan?”
Dad’s voice. It’s only a whisper in Dan’s ear. He looks around confused. Fear is starting to creep in. “Where are you, Dad?”
“It’s okay, Dan.”
“What happened?”
“You know what happened.”
“No,” Dan says, shaking his head, as a terrible realization begins to dawn on him. It’s way too terrible to take in. “No, I don’t want you to go, Dad. Not you too.”
“It’s okay,” Dad’s voice tells him again. “I had to go. You know that.”
“No, Dad. You can’t just disappear like that. You can’t!” Dan begins crying. “I’ll never let you go. Never!” He looks around, sobbing. “Dad? You still here?”
“You can come find me if you like. It’s not too late.”
Dad’s voice is even farther away now, barely audible.
“I will! I will come and find you, Dad!”
“All right,” Dad says, and Dan can hear the reassuring smile on his voice. “I’ll see you then.”
“I will find you, Dad. I promise!”
Then there’s suddenly another sound in Dan’s ear. It’s a deep, ominous growl. Like an angry wolf about to attack.
Dan spins around to see what makes the sound, and—
TWO
Iver looks up and sees the hatch in the ceiling above the dining table.
I could hide in the attic, he thinks—then, as Fred kicks the door again, causing the bookcase to almost topple over: No, I’ll get myself trapped up there.
He decides instead to try a trick he saw in a movie once. He jumps up onto the table, pulls the hatch open, and then, instead of climbing up into the attic, he jumps back down and runs for the door, squeezing himself into the corner just as Fred hits the door again and finally tilts the bookcase over with a crash.
“You little shit!” Fred growls through the opening, pushing against the door to widen the gap, the bookcase sliding reluctantly across the floor. “Look what you’ve done to my home!”
Then, with the door open halfway, Fred steps into the living room, the shotgun scanning every direction.
Iver holds his breath and stands absolutely still. If Fred turns back around, he’ll see him, and there will be no time for Iver to react before the old guy can blow his brains out.
But Fred doesn’t turn around. He steps onto the bookcase and looks from side to side, his breathing ragged. “Where are you, you piece of shit?” he whispers hoarsely.
The zombies are groping the windows, attracting Fred’s attention, masking the sound of Iver’s pulse, which is pounding so violently it must be audible. Then Iver sees Fred noticing the hatch still swinging gently back and forth.
“Oh, you little asshole,” he croaks. “I’ve got you now …”
He steps down from the bookcase, coughs wetly as he staggers over to the table and climbs up.
Iver peers out from behind the halfway open door. He sees the old guy stand up and carefully stick his head up into the opening. He looks around the attic.
“I know you’re up here! It’s over! Come on out! If you make me come up and get you,
