Green Acres: A Zombie Apocalyptic Story

Chapter 2

Standing in the archway was a beast of a man. Standing at a staggering six-foot-four, and possibly weighing anywhere between one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. His sun-kissed skin seemed just as dark as the tan leather duster he still wore over the blood splattered white shirt. The black holster upon his left hip was clipped shut and holding the shimmer of silver that was made of his revolver. The holster was held by a black leather belt that held the dark blue denim of his pants to his body. Boots of snake skin wrapped around his feet. His face, though almost chizeled, was softer as he looked at her. The semi-brimmed hat he wore, shadowing his face, but his blue eyes pierced the darkness. They were clear as crystal and seemed to hold the hells that the world had become. At the time she had looked at him, his right hand was elevated to shoulder height and extended toward the staircase. It was when she spoke her name that he dropped his arm and used it to remove the hat that held back his hair. Once the dark brown old western hat left his head, a thick wave of blonde hair fell to his shoulders.

It was no wonder he held the thick tresses back. With the brightness of the hair, any walker from here to California would be able to find him. "Well, Sophie is a beautiful name. Ya can call me RJ."

The red-haired child gave a small curtsy to the man and nodded. "Pleased to meet you, RJ." The child gave a friendly smile of gratitude for the help but her trust issues was still not resolved. She was more happy that she had survived another day without being eaten alive by her own neighbors. A thought popped into her head as she remembered the dog that was posted outside the front door. She didn't understand where he came from since Sophie was used to smaller dogs in the city. "Is that your dog outside?" Sophie asked and pointed in the direction of the front of the house.

Following the direction of the child's extended hand, RJ looked at the front door and smiled. "Ya saw Doug did ya?" He chuckled and nodded. "Ya he was my herd dog back in his life. Now he guards my door from those bastards. Good dog he is. I forgive him for doing what he did to my wife, but he was only pertectin' my daughter." He moved to the couch and sat down. "Now off with ya. Go get ya a bath. I got me a deer to cook."

Sophie stood there a little longer before walking up the stairs to find some clothes. It's been a long time since she's been properly clean. It had come to the point where she felt clean if all she did was pour a bottle of water on top of her. She even forgot how to use the faucet. She walked into one of the rooms to see a kid's room. It almost looked like her room lay out at her old apartment but bigger but less stuffed animals. A whole lot more pictures though. Most of them were of horses running around or grazing. Even the wall was painted to look like a fence. It was soothing to look at in times like these. She never thought that she would be looking at a calm room in the middle of an apocalypse. She stopped looking around when she found the dresser. Sophie walked over to it and pulled it open. The outfits were very clean surprisingly. She began searching through the tomboy-ish looking clothes and picked out a nice black horse shirt and a clean pair of jeans. She hoped her grimmy hands wouldn't mess up the clothes before she could even put them on. Sophie slowly walked out of the child's room and into the bathroom.

The bathroom was really nice and clean. She looked at the sink first, then the toilet, and then the tub. All of which was a shinny white with wooden accents. She gave a small smile and walked forward. She turned to her left and noticed a full length mirror. She did look very dirty. She even forgot what she looked like for a long time. Nice to know she still had a face was her only thought. She then turned to the tub and looked inside it. She forgot how these things worked. She looked up a bit to find handles. Each one had a color. She turned on the red one. The bathroom began to fill with steam. She stuck her hand it in and quickly pulled it back after jumping. "Ouchy." She said before rubbing her hand. So if that was hot...then the other one was cold. She turned it a little bit and waited a few seconds. She stuck her hand in there and she smiled. Just how she liked it.

RJ heard the steps against the old wood stairs as the girl went upstairs. Facing the wide fireplace in the living room, he wondered if he should pull out the grill. It was a time to celebrate after all. Meeting Sophie meant that he wasn't the last damned soul on this death filled f*****g planet. Thinking about it a bit longer, he decided against it. "f*****g bastards gotta ruin everything." He spat on to the floor before standing up and sighing. "Looks like I'll be cooking in the hearth tonight."

He walked to the kitchen and threw open the basement door. Flashlights had been wired to a generator down there for lighting. Thankfully, she hadn't found the basement door in the darkness of the house. This would be his secret until the time came to share it. Hell, why would a child of her age want to enter the basement? Stepping down the well lit stairs, he looked around the basement. He heard the furious growls of the damned walkers he had held captive. The bars of their cages rattled as he passed by them. "Ah shut yer fuckin' mouths. Ya ain't starvin'." He smacked one bar with a stick and passed by them. One cage made him stop in his tracks. Hunched in the corner of the cage was a thin child of eleven. Red hair draped her rotting face and she wore clothing decorated by horses. Fingers of bone clutched her knees and RJ found himself tearing up. "Hello my beautiful girl. Daddy gots a new friend upstairs. I hope ya don't mind her sharin' yer stuff baby girl. She's real pretty too. Reminds me of ya a lot. Her name is Sophie. If ya were nice, ya could meet her, but ya bit my horse last week when I let ya out." The words of the man brought the undead child to lift her head and look at him with lifeless eyes.

RJ sighed and smacked the cage the child was in. "Damn ya Abigail! How many times have I told ya not to fuckin' bite?!" He knew she couldn't answer. The dead never answered, and so, he left her cage and carried on into the basement. The deeper the basement went, the colder it got. Finally, he stopped at a pile of meats that could only be assumed as pork and beef. Slabs of meat hung from hooks that dangled from the ceiling. Taking off a venison shoulder, RJ gathered sausage for the walkers and threw them through holes in the cages. Each walker lunged for the meat and he smiled at his pets. "Keep my house safe ya hear." With those final words, he began his walk up the stairs. When he reached the kitchen, he shut the basement door and watched the lights go out. A sort of smile curved his lips as he carried the shoulder to the fireplace in which he used to cook.

Stabbing the shoulder of venison with a metal rod, he placed the rod on the metal shelving and began to make the fire. Using flint rocks, he sparked them together over dry grass and wood. Once a small ember started, he blew into the grass to start the fire. "Maple wood for a nice smoked flavor." He spoke softly as he heard the water running upstairs. Cooking was a skill he had learned from his mother. Memories of smoking jerky with his father ran through his mind as he turned the venison slowly.

Sophie felt great. She felt clean and new, a feeling she has never felt so strongly before. She almost didn't want to leave but she finally did. The girl's appetite was not a great feeling. It made all kinds of noises as she got dressed into the clean clothes. "Hush now won't you." Sophie stated as she looked down at her belly before throwing on the black horse shirt. She put on her jeans and looked in the mirror for a comparison. Her skin was incredibly white and felt really soft. Her scars from injuries, however, betrayed the soft feeling. Making some parts rough on her arms and elbows. Her hair was all wet too. It was no longer itchy which made her really happy. Her feet were still swollen and cut up. She didn't put on the shoes for the fear of it hurting her as she walked. Plus shoes felt really funny on her. Sophie opened the bathroom door and began heading downstairs. Something smelt nice. She'd never smelt that before so it made her curious. She slowly peeked her head around the corner to the kitchen where she last seen him. "RJ?"

The man sat, cross legged, on the living room floor. His right hand on the wood of the handle for the rotisserie style cooking utensil. "I'm here Sophie." He called out and lifted his left hand that held a light colored soda bottle. The liquid sloshed in the plastic bottle as he held it over his head. "Ya want a pop?"

Sophie turned quickly to see RJ on the floor. She tilted her head slightly at what he said. "A...pop?" She asked and slowly walked over to him. Who called stuff a pop? She sat down across from him as she looked at whatever it was he was holding. Looked more like a soda to her.

Hearing her comment, well question really, he quirked his right eyebrow and looked at her quizzically. "Ain'tcha never had a pop? They real cheap too. Though thanks to all the damned walking corpses, everything is cheap now. Here, got this one for ya. I figured if my daughter liked it, maybe ya would too." He handed her the yellow soda that tasted of lemon and lime combined. "So, Miss Sophie, where ya from anyway if ya ain't heard of a pop?" Slowly he turned the venison shoulder over the open flame. The fire caused the skin of the deer to char while the meat and bone slowly cooked. Bits of juices fell from the meat and made the flames dance.

The redhead's body made another weird noise from hunger. The smell really wasn't helping her food craving. All she's been surviving on is animal crackers and packaged fruits. Most of the time they went bad. "I come from New York. It's not that far. About....... Few miles..... Times six?" Sophie said and shrugged. She picked up the soda looking drink and opened. She then tasted a little and smiled. "It's soda." She said quietly.

RJ simply gave a nod. It was now clear as to why this little girl didn't understand him. They were two different sides of the same coin. "Ya came from the city then. And girlie, the city ain't no good place to be. I only go there when my place needs somethin'. Last time I was there was because my cow was sick. Thankfully it was just her pregnancy, and I had my truck." He turned the deer once more before taking a knife and cutting it. Seeing the inside of the meat was well done, he removed the shoulder from the fire and placed it on a large platter. The silver platter seemed to be for a turkey, but this man used it like a giant plate. "Gotcha a fork and knife. Eat ya fill."

Sophie looked at the meat and tilted her head again. "What is it?" She slowly picked up the fork. It's been so long since she's used a fork or a spoon...... or anything of the nature. The girl took the knife and cut her off a bite size because her mouth was a little to small to take a lot. She stuck it in her mouth and chewed it a bit before giving a puzzled look. "It taste funny."

He simply looked at her and sighed. "I gotta teach ya don't I?" Cutting himself a large portion of the venison, he bit off a piece and began to chew. When the meat was small enough to swallow, he done so. "This here is deer honey. One hundred percent genuine white tail that I shot down in my fields. I even gave it a good maple wood smokin'." He chuckled before taking another bite. Slowly he began to chew before swallowing again. "If yer gonna live here, I gotta teach ya how to survive here in the country."

Sophie smiled a bit before she started taking bigger bits of it. In all honesty, she thought it was the best thing in the world. She didn't want to start eating like a pig but couldn't help herself. "This is the best thing I have ever had. Even with the new taste. It's so much more different than what I had." Sophie stated before giving a smile again. "And I know about survival. In the city, I had to deal with LARGE groups of walkers." She took another bite of her food again. "And food is really hard to find there too." She spoke with a full mouth by accident so she quickly covered her mouth. "Oops."

"Don't ya worry yer pretty little head. Ain't no reason to use yer manners here. We're probably the last two damn survivors on this god-forsaken planet. I know how hard it is in the city. Been scavenging there for years. Hell, that is how I lost Doug." He stared into the flames of the fire now. His piercing blue eyes becoming a deep amber as the fire reflected against his irises. It was hard for him to let go of the past. He always found a way to bring it up. Conversation aside, he enjoyed having another living human in the house. It gave him purpose, other than the ranch's animals and crops. "Now eat yer fill then go to bed. We don't sleep in separate rooms though ya hear. Ya can sleep on the couch, and I'll take the floor. I may have Doug, but we are still out in the open. Might get hit by a wave before morn."

The light outside was completely gone when Sophie looked through the cracks of the boarded up windows. She hadn't had a chance to sleep much in a very long time. She's not even sure if she would be able to fall asleep willingly but nodded in agreement. When he mentioned a wave it brought back the memory of a few hours ago causing her to shake slightly. All she could think at this point was the fact that she almost died hours before now. Pushing the feelings aside, Sophie gave a soft smile and finished eating what she wanted, which was most of what was left. "I'm actually used to sleeping on the floor. You don't have to."

Watching her finish the meat from the shoulder, the man gave a soft chuckle. "Looks like I'll have to hunt down another deer." His voice was soft as he stood and took the platter to the kitchen. Hearing her words, he shook his head. "Ain't no child gonna sleep on the floor under my roof. Yer a guest and as such yer gonna sleep on the couch." His voice came out as strict. He made sure she knew that he meant what he said. "Now, get yer butt on that couch and close yer eyes. We rise with the sun."

As Sofie watched the tall man walk to the kitchen before going to her grimmy and bloody stained bag. She unzipped the broken zipper and began digging through her junk. Lighters, old clothes, photos, snacks, and other random items could be found in her bag. Some Items also consist of tobacco products and even different forms of alcohol. One other item she was looking for was found at the bottom. It was her stuffed bear. It had stitches running down the side with a lifeless stare of blackness. It had a small stained, purple, bowtie and a soft feeling to it. Sophie picked up the bear and sat on the couch like she was told. "Thank you, RJ." Sophie said softly before staring at her bear. She could never sleep without it. "You are a nice man."

Looking at the items that were now exposed to his view, he noticed the tobacco products and smiled. "What's a girl like ya need with those?" Taking the pack of cigarettes up off the floor, he put them in the pocket of his shirt. By now, he had taken off the leather duster he had worn and hung it up by the front door. His hat hung on the same hook and he had pulled his shoulder length hair back in a low ponytail. This allowed his features to show even more. Shaking his head, he looked at the bottles of alcohol and sighed. "Ya don't need those either. Damn girl, ya city folk are harsh on these damned walkers ain't cha. Using molotovs against them don't work out here. Yer more likely to burn down the corn then hit a walker."

Sophie quickly stood up. "Hey that's mine. I need those." She quickly ran to his front and tried to reach for them. She was always used to having them. It was crucial survival supplies that could save her life as it has time and time again. She hated it when people picked up her stuff as well. She used to get robbed over and over before by mean people leaving her with nothing and stranded. She hated the fact that they was taller than her too by a lot. It made things rather difficult for her to get her supplies back.

Looking at the girl, he opened the pack and checked the amount of the cylinder objects. Seeing there was still a majority of them in the pack, he smirked. "Ya don't need them now girlie. Ya got me and Doug. We'll pertect ya." It was evident as to why she needed them. Every survivor knew how the walkers worked, but RJ didn't understand most of it. To be truthful, RJ was not a very bright man, he barely got by in schooling, and stopped going altogether when his father got sick. Farming and surviving was all he knew. He didn't care for the "Science" of life. "Now get on back on the couch ya hear. I'll keep the fire goin' so ya stay warm."

Sophie began to turn a bright red due to her frustration. With no success of getting back what was hers, she stormed away to the couch and sat with a thump. She crossed her legs, picked up her bear, and held it close while staring at the fire. She said nothing to him. Her father always told her, if she had nothing nice to say then don't say it at all. So she didn't speak.

Packing the box of cigarettes, RJ moved to the front door. It had been a long time since he had a good smoke, and these were of prime make. The fire of the hearth blazed as the heat ate away the bark and inner meat of the maple wood he had placed in the stone and brick box. Sighing, he looked at Sophie. "Ya know what, ya hold on to them, I'll just ask when I want one. Okay?" Taking a single cigarette from the pack, he tossed the others toward her. Aiming them for her lap. Tucking the lone cigarette behind his left ear, he moved to the fireplace and sat down in front of the flames. "I shared with ya. Remember that."

Sophie moved a hand in the path of the flying box and caught it before looking back at him. He was right. He did share. Only fair she shared too. "Okay. Just don't smoke a lot. It makes you slow." She said silently before looking back at the fire. "I'm not use to sharing but I'm use to people taking my things... So i'm sensitive about people touching my stuff." Sophie explained. She didn't want him to think she was acting too rash for pouting about tobacco products. But she wasn't going to say sorry about it either.

Stabbing the logs with the iron poker, RJ gave a silent chuckle. He probably wouldn't even smoke the one he had behind his ear. To be honest, he hadn't touched a prime cigarette in two years, but it would rest there or be kept with him just in case something happened to him. "One last cigarette before the afterlife." He murmured softly to himself as he watched the flames dance across the roasting logs. Shaking the thoughts of death from his head, he smiled and looked back at her. "Alright girlie. We got work in the morn. Get ya some shut eye."

The red-haired child nodded and finally lay down on the couch. Her bear was locked in her arms as she snuggled her face into the soft animal before giving it a tight hug. The bear then started making noises. It came out more of an adult female voice, soft as it could be. The words comforted her and made her feel at home. "I love you Sophie. I'll be home soon to give you a great big bear hug. Goodnight little sister." That was all it said before it shut off and went silent again. "Goodnight sister." Sophie said quietly to her bear as she slowly began to fall asleep for the first time in days.