last words that Russ Tucker ever
said to his wife.
“I love you. Be careful,” were the last words he ever heard
from his wife, Sue Tucker. He used to get playfully annoyed at his wife for
saying it, and she said it every time he left to go somewhere. Always, even
before the war, she said it anytime Russ was leaving without her. “Be careful.”
‘ Be careful’ … I can handle myself… He thought walking
out, waving his hand at her as if saying: get
the hell out of here with that ridiculous warning . Hell, all I’m doing is helping dumbass Benny down the road; dumb shit
can’t even fix a lock on his own goddamn door. Sadly, after the war
started, he knew it wasn’t a ridiculous warning anymore. How he longed to hear
her say those words again.
During the war, it was a bad time for anyone who wasn’t
handy. You couldn’t just call someone on the phone to come fix things. Other
than satellite phones, there weren’t any, no working lines anyway. Things started breaking down, like door
locks, generators, and an assortment of items that most people took for
granted. Deep down, Russ liked helping people because it made him feel useful.
He felt like his old self and more importantly, he felt like a man.
Russ’s daughter, Bell, was all that was left of his blood.
The machines took care of the rest. Ker killed Russ’s sister and her husband.
He couldn’t get in touch with his other family members that were scattered
throughout the continental U.S.
They were all dead.
Sue and Bell did their routine at home while Russ drove to Dumb Shit’s , hauling a bag of tools.
Bell wrote in her journal in her bedroom. “Sweetie, you want
something to eat?” her mom shouted.
“Ok, mom,” Bell said, yelling through her door.
“Lady! Knock it off!” Sue Tucker finally realized the dog
had been going berserk on the front lawn for five minutes straight, or however
long. The same way she sometimes realized her daughter was beating something
against the coffee table over and over. That
barking nonsense has been going on forever , her brain finally announced to
her. Lady hated being tied up, but this was ridiculous.
The dog kept barking, seemingly harder, irritating Sue past
the point of ignorance. What the hell has
gotten into that animal? She flung the front door open and lost her grip,
sending it flying. It smacked the wall and bounced back half shut while she
battled her way through the next barrier, a rickety aluminum framed screen.
Sue race-walked off the front porch, yelling. “Lady! What
are you…” stopping in mid-sentence, she dropped the fly swatter from her hand.
Rising up on its hind legs, the monster stood over seven
feet before dropping down on all fours. It looked at her, coiling and hissing.
“Ssshhhhaaa.”
Lady stretched to the end of her chain, barking and wanting
to get at the creature, which ignored the dog after getting the scent of human
flesh.
Sue froze for what seemed an eternity, trembling while the
monster peered deep into her eyes. She broke through her fear and ran to the
porch, feeling as if her legs were dragging shackles. She tripped over the last
board and spiked her chin on the wood, smashing her teeth together with the
sound of porcelain breaking on metal. The woman was dazed and dripping blood on
the deck from a deep gash opened on the tip of her wrinkled chin. Sue was
afraid to look back while she crawled for the blurry image of her front door.
Charging like a brahma bull, the monster tackled her with
force. They both slid and crashed into the house near the entrance. The
creature didn’t waste time tearing her flesh and scoring her open. Sue moaned,
pleading, “Please, no!”
It began eating her stomach, pulling out her intestines
while holding her down with the strength of a tiger. Her voice grew faint.
“Stop… please… don’t do this...” Sue placed her hand on the creature’s head and
another on its shoulder, trying to push it off of her, feeling its leathery
skin
said to his wife.
“I love you. Be careful,” were the last words he ever heard
from his wife, Sue Tucker. He used to get playfully annoyed at his wife for
saying it, and she said it every time he left to go somewhere. Always, even
before the war, she said it anytime Russ was leaving without her. “Be careful.”
‘ Be careful’ … I can handle myself… He thought walking
out, waving his hand at her as if saying: get
the hell out of here with that ridiculous warning . Hell, all I’m doing is helping dumbass Benny down the road; dumb shit
can’t even fix a lock on his own goddamn door. Sadly, after the war
started, he knew it wasn’t a ridiculous warning anymore. How he longed to hear
her say those words again.
During the war, it was a bad time for anyone who wasn’t
handy. You couldn’t just call someone on the phone to come fix things. Other
than satellite phones, there weren’t any, no working lines anyway. Things started breaking down, like door
locks, generators, and an assortment of items that most people took for
granted. Deep down, Russ liked helping people because it made him feel useful.
He felt like his old self and more importantly, he felt like a man.
Russ’s daughter, Bell, was all that was left of his blood.
The machines took care of the rest. Ker killed Russ’s sister and her husband.
He couldn’t get in touch with his other family members that were scattered
throughout the continental U.S.
They were all dead.
Sue and Bell did their routine at home while Russ drove to Dumb Shit’s , hauling a bag of tools.
Bell wrote in her journal in her bedroom. “Sweetie, you want
something to eat?” her mom shouted.
“Ok, mom,” Bell said, yelling through her door.
“Lady! Knock it off!” Sue Tucker finally realized the dog
had been going berserk on the front lawn for five minutes straight, or however
long. The same way she sometimes realized her daughter was beating something
against the coffee table over and over. That
barking nonsense has been going on forever , her brain finally announced to
her. Lady hated being tied up, but this was ridiculous.
The dog kept barking, seemingly harder, irritating Sue past
the point of ignorance. What the hell has
gotten into that animal? She flung the front door open and lost her grip,
sending it flying. It smacked the wall and bounced back half shut while she
battled her way through the next barrier, a rickety aluminum framed screen.
Sue race-walked off the front porch, yelling. “Lady! What
are you…” stopping in mid-sentence, she dropped the fly swatter from her hand.
Rising up on its hind legs, the monster stood over seven
feet before dropping down on all fours. It looked at her, coiling and hissing.
“Ssshhhhaaa.”
Lady stretched to the end of her chain, barking and wanting
to get at the creature, which ignored the dog after getting the scent of human
flesh.
Sue froze for what seemed an eternity, trembling while the
monster peered deep into her eyes. She broke through her fear and ran to the
porch, feeling as if her legs were dragging shackles. She tripped over the last
board and spiked her chin on the wood, smashing her teeth together with the
sound of porcelain breaking on metal. The woman was dazed and dripping blood on
the deck from a deep gash opened on the tip of her wrinkled chin. Sue was
afraid to look back while she crawled for the blurry image of her front door.
Charging like a brahma bull, the monster tackled her with
force. They both slid and crashed into the house near the entrance. The
creature didn’t waste time tearing her flesh and scoring her open. Sue moaned,
pleading, “Please, no!”
It began eating her stomach, pulling out her intestines
while holding her down with the strength of a tiger. Her voice grew faint.
“Stop… please… don’t do this...” Sue placed her hand on the creature’s head and
another on its shoulder, trying to push it off of her, feeling its leathery
skin
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