“Recent reports indicate that the President is safe. While the nation’s capital is under attack, both the president and vice president have been taken to separate secure undisclosed locations. All branches of the military are working together to combat the common enemy. It is advised that everyone remain indoors until the situation is controlled. Phone lines are down. Cellular towers are working, but sporadically. The National Guard and all branches of the military have been deployed on US soil. Safe-compounds are being set up in the following states and cities. . .”

Static - white snow. The signal lost.

Josh banged the TV.

It was a flat screen. It did nothing to fix the picture. Instead, it wobbled on its base and fell forward.

“What the fuck, Josh,” Dave said. I couldn’t have said it any better.

Josh picked the set up. Set it back on the stand. The screen was not broken. White snow filled every bit of the 52 inches.

“Check through the channels again,” Allison said.

Josh had the remote pointed at the cable box, and was scrolling. “Nothing. We got nothing.”

At first, I thought it looked and sounded hopeless. I’ll admit the US military never entered my mind. They were a positive ray. If anyone could thin out the heard of zombies, those boys could. Would. It wouldn’t be easy, but they had the training and weapons.

“Where do you think these camps are?” Allison said.

“I’ll bet one is in D.C.,” Josh said. “Probably one somewhere in New York, too.”

“But we don’t know where,” I said. “Let’s look around. See if this couple had a transistor radio. My guess is they will. And batteries. That will at least give us some way of keeping a pulse on what’s happening.”

“It’s a good idea,” Josh said.

We scattered. The scavenger hunt had begun.

Then something exploded.

The house shook.

Allison screamed.

We all ran back into the living room.

“You okay?” I asked, looking at everyone.

“It came from outside,” Dave said, pointing at the picture window.

I peeked out. I couldn’t see anything. “I’m going out,” I said.

“We don’t know what that was,” Allison said.

“It’s why I have to check,” I said.

I had my shovel. “Lock this door as soon as you shut it, got it?”

She nodded. I didn’t believe her. “Dave, you make sure this door is locked once I’m outside.”

“You got it,” he said.

I stepped out onto the front step. Didn’t need to go much further to notice three things. There was no car in the driveway, and the house next door was on fire. Colorful flames licked at the afternoon sky. Heat rolled off the burning clapboard and hit me like a wave in the face and chest. Third, the loud boom from the explosion was bringing curious zombies out of the woodwork. They were still a ways off, but they were coming.

I turned, knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Fuckin’, Dave, let me in!”

The door opened. I’d only just stepped outside. Josh said his brother was a bit slow, but this was a bit ridiculous. He might have saved my life last night, but I’d bet money he’d also be the cause of my death. “We have to get out of here.”

“What was it?” Josh held a plastic bag in his hands.

“House next door. Gone. Coulda been a natural gas leak. Which means, we’re not safe in here. Not anymore,” I said. “The gas lines run from house to house. No fire department is coming and RG&E isn’t going to shut the gas off, if you know what I mean.” I started toward the kitchen, and back door. They followed.

“What about the car?” Josh said.

“Isn’t one.”

“Where is it?” Dave asked.

I ignored him. “Zombies are coming back. The sound. It calls them. Noise does. So we have to be fast, and we have to be quiet. Shut the two-ways off.”

Josh and Allison switched off the radios.

“I don’t think staying close to the houses is going to be smart. Not right now. We need to put some distance between us.”

Another explosion, then two smaller ones rattled the walls of the house we were in.

“What was that?” Allison said.

“We have to move, now.”

In a line, me at the front, Allison behind me, followed by Dave and Josh, we moved like a snake towards the back of the yard. Going around front didn’t make sense, it was where I had seen the gathering of walking dead. Running through yards and jumping fences didn’t seem easy either, but right now, it was the only option I could think of.

The other explosion was another house. The two, side by side, were now fully engulfed. Black smoke rolled into the air. Inside the houses, white sparks and pops sounded. It was loud. The roar of the fire was deafening. Glass broke inside. Shattered. Sounded like ceilings caving, or staircases crumbling. Even at the edge of the yard, we could feel the heat. I don’t know how firemen run inside those things, wearing all that gear, and breathing into a tiny face mask.

“Over the fence?” Allison said.

“Yep. Over,” I said.

Dave went first. We handed him our garden tools. I hoisted Allison up and over next. Josh and I climbed at the same time.

We landed in the next yard. The in-ground pool was covered. Cinder blocks held the cover in place. A tiny two-person gazebo sat alone between the pool and the back patio. Nice place. Probably had a house full of zombies inside trying to figure out how to open a door.

“Keep moving,” I said. “This house could blow at any time.”

“Should we keep following the gas line? I mean, stay on Mt. Read, or should we cut back? Go toward the street behind this one. What is it?”

“True Hickory,” Allison said.

“We could. We just follow it, and cut through the bit of woods at the end. Wind up in the Tops Friendly Market parking lot,” I said. “Okay. Let’s do that.”

I wasn’t looking for a vote. We went kiddie-corner to the back fence, and repeated the jumping over process.

Once on the other side, we knelt in a huddled circle. “With all these trees, we’ve got some cover. We’re not as visible. Let’s try staying away from the house, away from noise, and keep back here. Think we’ll be able to move faster. Once we get to Tops, I’ll figure out what next,” I said.

No arguments. All three nodded.

Sneaking through the backyards under the cover of trees was completely different from walking on streets, or sidewalks, or close to houses. This just felt fucking creepy.

Most of the Maples had lost their leaves. Every step sounded like a gunshot when crunching down on dried out foliage, and I cringed. It couldn’t be as loud as I thought. But we were making noise as we made our way north toward the parking lot. Pines were full, and their branches would soon sport clumps of snow.

Thankfully, it was a chilly November morning -- God, it was now November -- but it was not snowing. The morning air had a bite to it. At this point, it felt invigorating. Got the blood pumping.

I held up a fist. Squatted low.

Allison bumped into me.

I looked at her, at my fist and rolled my eyes.

“Really?” I said.

Josh and Dave had stopped.

“What?” Allison looked at me, head cocked to one side. Her dog-face, I always called it. Confused puppy.

“The fist. See how I have it in the air? How I stopped?”

“I see it.”

“It means stop,” I said.

“What does?” she said.

“The fist. When I do this. It means stop.”

“Says who?” She looked at Josh for support, but Josh nodded in agreement. “You knew this?”

“Even I knew it,” Dave said, laughed -- came out more as a chortle, with a pig-like snort at the end.

Josh drove an elbow into his brother’s gut. “You want to wake the dead?” He looked at me, half a smile.

Good attempt. Not funny. I ignored him. “You ever see a movie in your life, Alley? I mean, I know, remember we saw that Gulf War movie just like in July, or August? Remember when they were going in to attack the enemy and the squad leader did this, with his fist? And his whole platoon stopped. They just, they stopped?”