The Fall: The Apocalypse Diaries Read online

  THE APOCALYPSE DIARIES

  THE FALL

  DIANAH BROCK

  © Ava Sprayberry Abernathy, writing under the pen name Dianah Brock. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or used in full or in part in any other work without prior written consent from the Author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  For My three oldest children, who love a good zombie apocalypse just as much as I do.

  CHAPTER ONE

  It wasn’t my turn to keep watch over our little village, but I couldn’t sleep so I volunteered. I was sure that Toby would enjoy the night of rest. Our village had a small population of fifty-six people; men, women, and children. I guess if you think about our situation, and the state of the entire world, fifty-six people together in a somewhat normal civilization wasn’t bad.

  We lived in a constant state of fear, always on guard for what lurked outside of our village walls made of school buses and over turned vehicles. Twenty four hour surveillance was required if we wanted to live to see a new day break. The creatures were not strong. They couldn’t climb our walls, or fire a weapon, but like the living, there was strength in numbers. The key to our survival was simply to kill each one we saw to prevent a horde or infestation of the undead from pushing our walls down.

  I lit a cigarette as I sat with my back against a tree. I wasn’t sure what brand or strength I was smoking, but it didn’t matter. It was nicotine, and that was all I cared about. I exhaled as I looked out into the night. I retrieved my flashlight from my side and turned it on. I shined it around me, looking to see if one of those things has managed to sneak up on me without me hearing the snarling from its lips. I saw nothing threatening. I turned my flashlight off and placed it on the side of the over turned pickup truck where I sat. Nothing threatening about and I was glad of it. Even the leader needed a break every once in a while.

  That’s right; I was in charge of our village. It made perfect sense. I was the one that began enforcing the walls around the public square in Adairsville, Georgia. To look at me, one wouldn’t guess that I was capable of such things. I was an average five foot six, one hundred and forty pound woman, and thirty-five years old. Of all of the survivors that populated our little village, I was the only one qualified to lead. I was the only one, other than my brother Alex who knew where to go to get necessary supplies. I knew where every grocery store and pawn shop was located within a fifty mile radius, and even farther out in some cases. I made every plan, assigned every job for every person. I created the fire arm training for the kids, and organized every run for supplies.

  There was another run coming in the morning; a raid as we called it. I needed to be rested, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Of course, I should be accustomed to that feeling. I was always told by other people in the town that I needed to relax, but when there are fifty-five other lives in your hands, relaxing is hard to do.

  I flicked my cigarette out into the night. I watched as something stopped the flight of the cigarette butt. I heard the all too familiar sound of the agonizing growl that sent chills down my spine. I drew my side arm, and took my aim.

  “Look Alive!” I called out into the night to the other watchers.

  “Yahoo! We get some action tonight eh, Amber?” I heard Randy call from my left.

  “Looks that way. Everyone on guard. Signal the lights.”

  On top of every building in the square, we had lights plugged into generators that we would use, even if only one of the undead were spotted. I wanted no surprises. If a horde of these things came at our walls, I wanted to see them in enough time to evacuate the square if need be. That’s why I am in charge; I think of everything. I didn’t plan a zombie apocalypse survival like the writers of movie scripts. Those movies always pissed me off.

  The human race is one that can adapt to its surroundings. However, I was surprised to see what fear could do to a race of surviving species. Humans have a flaw, and that flaw is they never expect the unexpected. That is the lesson I taught everyone in my village. Before chaos and government experiments changed our lives forever, I was nothing more than a struggling novelist. I was what was known as an “Indie” or independent author, one who self publishes their own work. Sure, it was a lot harder to market and sell everything myself, but I was able to put food on the table for my twins Tyler and Tara.

  I was a survivor, even before the news of the mysterious green gas hit the airwaves. I raised my kids on my own, running a small convenience store on the corner of Barnsley Gardens and Halls Station, and of course, selling my books as well. My family and friends thought I was crazy when I released my book, The Apocalypse Diaries: The Key to Zombie Survival. Everyone thought it was ridiculous that I released a novel based on the concept of true survival methods in a situation believed to only exist in fictional works.

  The shipment of my new book had just arrived; one thousand copies of what would eventually be a saving grace. Tara and Tyler had just gotten off the school bus at the store when the headline Real Walking Dead came across the T.V. screen.

  “Oh my God, it’s really happening.” I said in awe at what I was seeing in the news report.

  “What’s happening Mom?” Tyler asked as he turned his attention to the news report on the television.

  “Tyler, go pull the box truck into the bay door in the back. We are going to need it. Tara, go pull all of the roll up doors down and lock them down tight.” I instructed.

  “Mama, what’s happening?” Tara asked. I nearly choked on the words as I answered her.

  “The end of the world honey.”

  My children did as they were told. It was one of those times when I thanked God that my kids were so obedient. I turned and looked at the boxes that were just delivered to me. What was meant to entertain the world would become a teaching tool for all I came into contact with. I went outside to help Tara with the doors and windows.

  My little store sat on the corner of two roads, five miles away from a lot of civilization in both directions. That gave us some time to get things done without rushing. Tara was working on the roll up doors over the windows. I locked the glass door and pulled down the big rollup door that covered the front entrance. I heard a horn blowing. I turned quickly, expecting to see a traffic jam, or possibly one of the undead. I was relieved to find that my brother Alex had pulled into the parking lot. He parked his truck and jumped out.

  “Amber, thank God you guys are alright. Can you believe this shit?”

  “No I can’t. Please tell me you brought your guns.” I replied. Alex smiled.

  “You know I packed for survival. I’m military Sis.” I smiled at my brother.

  “Mama and Daddy raised us right. I hope they will be ok.”

  “They will be. We have to worry about us and the kids right now.”

  I was glad that Alex was with me. I could handle my kids on my own, but it felt good to have an extra person there to help watch their backs. Alex helped Tara and I secure the building. Tyler came to join us. Once everything was secure, I helped Alex get the bags out of his truck. I knew we had to get inside before people started stopping to shop. The four of us raced back into the side door. Just as I tried to close the door, someone grabbed it. I drew my weapon and aimed around the door.

  “Wait! Don’t shoot. It’s me Amber.” It was Randy, the little twenty something year old guy that was basically a squatter that lived nearby.

  “Randy! You should have said something.”


  “Please Amber, you can’t leave me our here to die. Please help me.”

  He was right. I couldn’t leave him out there to die. I wasn’t built that way. I stepped aside to allow him to come in where it was safe. I closed the bay door behind him and locked it up tight.

  Randy followed me into the store.

  “Amber, I was about to come looking for you. Who is this?” Alex asked when he saw my friend.

  “This is Randy. He showed up and I couldn’t leave him out to die.”

  “How did he know to come here?” Alex asked.

  “It was the only place I knew to go. I shop here every day after work.”

  “Ok, but we can’t let anyone else in Amber. I know there is a nice stock here, but we are going to need all of it.”

  “I know Alex. Randy is the only one I will let in.” I replied.

  “Can he even be useful?” Alex asked.

  “I work in construction. I have two guns and I know how to use them.” Randy answered.

  “Good enough for me.” Alex stated as he shrugged his shoulders.

  The five of us spend the day loading the box truck. We could stay in the store for about a week, but we would need somewhere bigger to go. That night, we couldn’t sleep. The sounds of the growls. And the screams of the people pierced the night, making rest impossible. I wanted so much to save them all, but I knew I couldn’t, not in the beginning. In the beginning, there would be too many. I had no choice but to lay there and squeeze my eyes shut tightly and listen as life after life was taken by the undead. I had to listen as each and every one was slaughtered by flesh eating beasts.

  Those horrible images would never again haunt my thoughts. As the lights came on, I saw three, five, ten, thirteen of the undead coming toward our little village. I would not lose one life tonight. There were fifty-six of us when night fell, and there would be fifty-six of us when the sun rose in the morning.

  “I see maybe twenty of them Amber.” Randy called to me.

  “I have thirteen here.” I replied.

  We needed more fire power. “Sound the alarms!” I called out, never once taking my eyes off of the danger that stared me in the face.

  “Fire!” I gave the order, and an orchestra of gunfire echoed through the night, drowning out the terrifying growls of those who once were one of us.

  There before me, I saw what was once a good woman, but she was no longer there inside her body. What was once a beautiful woman, a devoted wife and mother was now a rotting, walking corpse. She drooled a foamy white substance that made her resemble a rabid dog. Blood stained her face, and matted her hair to her head. No doubt it was from her last meal. I knew her once, and the woman I once knew, I would have never dreamed of putting a bullet in her head. However, things were different now, and she was not the woman I once knew. I took my aim, and pulled the trigger, inflicting a point blank gunshot wound to her head, killing her for the final time.

  “Take them all out. Remember, they aren’t your friends and family anymore!” I called out. I had a habit of motivating my soldiers to do what needed to be done.

  “That ain’t nothing but soulless fucking shells!” Randy stated as he shot one right after the other.

  “For every one that dies, five of us live!” Karen called out as she loaded another magazine into her gun.

  It pleased me to hear the lessons I had taught being called out as the small horde around the perimeter of the square continued to fall. There was Tommy, Jake, Melinda, Anne, Walker, Biter, Undead, and Demon. I changed my train of thought, for they were not people anymore.

  “Take ‘em out. We will all rest easy tonight!” I called out into the night.

  I listened as the gunfire slowed to nothing but silence.

  “North wall clear.”

  “East wall clear.”

  “West wall clear.”

  “South wall Clear”

  “Bird’s eye clear.” Alex called from the top of city hall. That’s what I wanted to hear, all is clear.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I gave my clean up assignments before returning to my apartment for a few hours of sleep, and before I took the team out on a raid. I only had about three hours before we were scheduled to roll out. I opened the door to my apartment and went inside. I made my way over to the table and placed my guns there.

  “Good morning Mom.” I heard Tyler say as he came out of his room.

  “Good morning son. How did you sleep?”

  “Pretty good, after the firing squad caught a break.” Tyler replied.

  “Yeah, sorry about that sweetie. There was a horde around the perimeter of the village last night.” I said as I placed my gun belt on the table with my side arms.

  Tyler came and sat beside me at the table, placing a bottle of water down in front of me. I smiled at him. I love my son. He is so considerate, even in these dark times where greed is the main fuel to survival instincts.

  “Thanks.” I said with a smile.

  “So, did you get them all last night?” Tyler asked.

  “I got my fair share. Your mom isn’t super woman you know.” I replied.

  “Sometimes I have to wonder.” Tyler stated with a grin.

  I opened my bottle of water and turned it up. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was. Once I had consumed a good bit of the contents of the bottle, I placed it back on the table.

  “Is your sister still sleeping?” I asked. Tyler gave me a goofy look. “Of course she is.” I said as I rolled my eyes.

  Tyler was very open to my teachings. However, Tara was a different story. She was too attached to the simple life before the apocalypse began. Even after a year of fighting for survival, she still complained about wanting air conditioning and MTV. I didn’t want to think about it, but I knew that if I lost one of my kids, it would be Tara because she refused to listen.

  Once, Tara was a very obedient child, open to everything I had to say. Now, she did nothing but complain. I tried to use the generators to give some sense of enjoyment to all who lived in our tiny village, but it never seemed to be enough for Tara. She always wanted more, and that wasn’t something I could give to her.

  “So Mom, can I work the clean-up crew this morning?” Tyler asked. I smiled at him. He always wanted to do the dirty work. Of course, being a fourteen year old boy, he thought that zombies were cool. Still, he understood the danger he would be in if he got careless around them. However, Tyler hadn’t allowed the apocalypse to stop him from living his life. He got outside every day to exercise, he did any job he was assigned to do, and he was a damn good shot.

  “Clean up crew is heading out. You better hurry if you want to help.” I said. Tyler smiled and jumped up to get his shoes.

  “Hey Mom, radio Uncle Alex and tell him I am coming.” he instructed.

  “I will do it. Go on and get ready son.” I replied.

  “Heck yeah! Zombie burning time!” Tyler exclaimed. I radioed Alex just as I told Tyler I would, and let him know that he was coming along. Alex laughed, knowing all too well how much Tyler enjoyed burning the corpses.

  “I have the burn crew ready to go out, and then I will assemble the raid team.” Alex informed.

  “Sounds like a plan bro. I am gonna get about two hours in, then I will be ready to roll out.” I replied.

  “You do that. If you are too tired Amber, I can lead the raid team today and let you stay in.” Alex offered.

  “It’s cool. I will be fine. Get me up in two ok?”

  “Will do Sis. Sweet dreams.”

  “Over and out.”

  Tyler came out of his room dressed and ready to go.

  “Your Uncle Alex is waiting on you. Now head out. You don’t want to hold up the burn crew.” I instructed.

  “On my way now. Thanks Mom.” I laughed to myself as he ran out and closed the door behind him. There were so many things I could do for my son to make him want to thank me, but I never thought body burning would be one of them. Truth be told, burning the corpses of the zombies
was one of my least favorite jobs. I was just thankful it wasn’t like pulling teeth to get Tyler to do anything.

  I sat alone a moment enjoying the silence. It was time to get Tara up and going for the day. I dreaded this. It was like pulling teeth to get her motivated. I didn’t know what it would take to make my daughter act like part of this civilization, but if there was in fact a way to make it happen, I was damned and determined to find it. I stood up and went over to the room my twins shared. That was another thing she complained about, she didn’t have her own room. Perhaps if we ever had to leave our little village, I could find a place for us to go that would offer her a little bit more privacy. However, she would have to earn that as well. The way she was currently acting, she was lucky she had the mattress on the floor to sleep on.

  I reached the door and went inside. Tara was already awake, and propped up against the wall reading a book.

  “What are you reading?” I asked, simply trying to make small talk.

  “If Tomorrow Comes.” she replied, never taking her eyes off the pages. I went over and took a seat on Tyler’s mattress.

  “That’s a really good book. One of my favorites in fact.” I stated.

  “Yeah I know. I have seen you read it like a thousand times.” Tara replied.

  “Haven’t you read it before?” I asked Tara.

  “Yeah and it isn’t as good anymore. I need something new to read. This is driving me crazy. I hate to ruin a good book.” Tara informed.

  I know that luxuries in life are hard to come by in these trying times, but Tara loved to read, and books were easy to carry. I understood that even after a year of hard living, my daughter was still the stereo typical spoiled little brat, but that was for me to deal with. After all, I made her that way.

  “Hey Tara, I tell you what, if you get up, get ready, and head out to help with the daily chores, I will bring you some books back from the raid today.” Tara looked at me over her book.