Primer
by
Ro Van Saint
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright © 2012 by Ro Van Saint
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
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Sterling (17 yrs. old) is prepared for his birthday tomorrow. His backpack packed with only the essentials. He can't afford to be weighed down by frivolous things. Just some food, water, a map, a lighter, a small flashlight and ammo. It's more important to have his weapons on him. A machete, a couple of handguns, and a rifle. He'll have to use his bullets sparingly. But that's for tomorrow. Today is for celebration. He crawls out of his tent and the rest of the gang is already out with a modest spread for him.
Alma (6 yrs. old) runs to him. "It's chocolate you know, can we cut it now? I helped bake it for you."
He can't help but notice a tiny smudge of chocolate icing at the corner of her mouth. A quick glance at her fingertips showed the same. He smiled but inside his chest felt like someone had placed a boulder on it.
The youngest of the group, she was merely an infant when they found her still in her playpen, what remained of her folks scattered all over her nursery floor. You can just tell they died trying to protect their baby. Since then, Sterling has raised her as if she was his own baby sister. The truth is they've all become family to him. They started out with a dozen, now they're down to five, and tomorrow, four.
She tugs at his sleeve. "Sterling! I said can I please cut the cake now?"
"Of course. You can go ahead and cut me a piece too," he replies.
She gives him a quick hug, and skips her way back to the table.
"You heard? He said we can go ahead and cut the cake!" She informs the rest.
It's a beautiful autumn morning.
A cool and comfortable breeze disturbs the brown and red leaves on the ground, lifting them up from their resting place and shuffles them elsewhere. He zips his jacket all the way up and stuffs his hands in his pockets.
The gang had the usual setup ready: soda, sandwiches, chips and of course, cake.
Lawson's (15 yrs. old) already munching on one of the sandwiches. He sees Sterling approach and stops at midbite. "I'm sorry. I was waiting for you, just very hungry..."
"Don't worry about it, keep eating. Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I was just checking my supplies for tomorrow."
"Happy birthday Sterl." Each one of them takes turns greeting him. Trying to make the best of it. Knowing that tomorrow he'll be gone too. Just like the others.
Fact: The monstrous things that murdered all of their families and friends one evening five years ago will come after you the second you come of age.
Around here, on your 18th birthday, those creatures will hunt you down, kill you where you stand and have you for dinner. It's just the way it is. Nobody knows why. Five years ago this community was obliterated save the children. It took a couple of the older ones to realize that those things wouldn't even come near them, that they were safe for the meantime. They rounded up the rest of the living and realized that what they had in common was that they were all underage. They supposed that the zombies felt that they weren't ripe enough for the picking so they waited around for the right time. Around here birthdays aren't celebrated but feared. They try their best to at least have a semblance of celebration the day before the person's actual 18th birthday but that's pretty much it.
***
The oldest then was Lori (17). Sterling remembers it well. It had only been a few months since the wipeout.
The day of her birthday, they had made her a batch of fudge brownies. Lori wore a flowery spring dress and she had sandals on. Sterling was only 13 and was in charge of setting the table up. He lit the candles and the rest started singing her the birthday song when out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a zombie burst out from the thick of the woods, trailed by two more. He'd never seen them out in the daylight like this before, out in full hunter mode. It only took a second for sterling to figure out who they were headed for.
Bobby (16), Lori's boyfriend saw them a split second after Sterling did and yanked the pistol from his holster immediately. Lori's back was turned away from this so she had no clue what was going on until one of them was already midair, about to pounce on her. They had underestimated the speed of those things once they work up to a full gallop. There's no other way of describing it. They start off hobbling then sprinting and before you know it they're on all fours. Poor Lori didn't stand a chance. The first one tackled her from the side with such force that it just about snapped her neck. Sterling remembered it all too clear and was able to recall the whole thing in slow motion. An interrupted shriek as the zombie tore into her throat with its teeth. She landed a few feet from the table and landed with a thud. Her head was being held to her torso by a thin flappy piece of flesh and some rubbery looking muscle sinews. For some strange reason the whole thing reminded Sterling of Pez dispensers, the way the head would just tilt back and open the neck up. Bobby couldn't draw the gun fast enough but he took out the zombie that delivered the fatal blow to his sweetheart. Bobby was about to put his boot down its face when Darren saw the other zombie approach. "Bobby, watch out, over to your right!!!"
He turned around and shot that one dead too. Sterling remembers making a mental note about that then.
Fact:
The zombies will attack:
1. On your 18th birthday.
2. If you try to leave the village before then.
3. When they or one of their own are assaulted.
So if you left them alone, they'll leave you alone until you're of age.
There were no other casualties from the first birthday attack but Bobby might as well have been declared dead then too. He sat by his deceased girlfriend's remains for hours and would not let anyone move it or bury it. Finally, he walked into the barn and got a shovel and dug a hole next to where she had fallen and gave her a proper burial. Not a word was said. Bobby's all-night vigil was punctuated by a rain storm that must've soaked the earth all the way down to its creaky old bones.