They Stumble Around

No one is moving around at 4:00 a.m. The sounds of the night are almost foreign. The darkness broken only by street lights and moon glow. Solitude. This is Albert's second favorite time of the day.

Dawn is his number one favorite time. Albert believes that to see the birth of a new day is something sacred and should be experienced alone. Sunsets are for thousands of couples everywhere but the sunrise, the sunrise isn't seen by most. The dawn is rarely watched and doesn't usually have that romantic feel to it. His ex-wife and the man who took his family probably are not enjoying the sunrise. It is his, perhaps his alone.

Albert's day begins in solitude. He wakes, showers, gets dressed, has breakfast and takes coffee and lunch to work. Albert works at a golf course. He mows the greens. It is a very early job because golfers like to play their game early. Albert must be finished before the golfers start.

When Albert arrives he opens the equipment barn and checks his machine for fuel, makes sure he has his coffee and flashlight and then begins the first half of his day. In darkness. He then rides his machine in solitude. Usually not total solitude though. A little while after Albert begins work others arrive and begin their assigned tasks, it takes many people to operate a golf course.

Albert usually sees the person tasked with setting up the course. This involves cutting new holes in the greens, changing the tee locations, and making sure the water coolers for the golfers are fresh.

Albert usually sees at least one or two other vehicles on the road on the way to work. A bread delivery truck or a lone car. Not today. No one today.

Albert sometimes sees another employee who arrived early for coffee. Not today. No one today.

"Well these greens won't mow themselves", Albert says to no one. He cranks the engine and heads to the first green.

Along the way Albert looks at the sky. He likes to keep track of the moon phases and he has seen shooting stars. Brilliant streaks of destruction and no one else to see the greatness that Albert witnesses but is clearly not a part of. Albert is small. The moon is right on track of course.

There are no lights on in any of the homes along the golf course. Usually, by now, there are a few early risers, making coffee and watching the early morning news, but not watching the sunrise. Not today. No one today.

"This really is a lonely morning." Albert thinks.

Then his mind wonders to a conversation he had with his son, Will, one they had entertained themselves with many times, about the zombie apocalypse.

Will was named after Albert's former father-in-law and though Albert would like to see William zombiefied, he was lost with out Will. Albert is, was, a good father and listened and learned many things about zombies and what one could expect when the zombie apocalypse came.

"True zombies are the dead that came back to life Dad. They stumble around and aren't too smart because their brains are rotting away." Will said," There are also the virus type zombies, the runners. Still not too smart but way smarter than the dead guys. The runners are much more dangerous."

Still Albert has seen no other human activity. None. Albert's mind wonders.

It is time to empty the grass clippings. The clippings are usually spread out on unused grass areas around the course, near wooded or wet-lands. Albert drives the machine off the path toward the border of the golf course and the woods, shuts down the machine and before he gets down, he catches himself having a careful look around. He empties the catch bins, then back on the machine to cut the next green.

"The best way to kill a zombie Dad, is to shoot them in the head but you have to make sure it kills them." Will said. "The Shufflers want to eat you and if they don't eat all of you then you die and turn into one of them. The Runners are ragers, they want to kill you and everything else too. Remember Dad, the runners are diseased and you can catch it too! So when the Zombie Apocalypse comes you gotta be ready!"

Albert's mind wonders. He thinks,"I can't shoot a zombie in the head right now, I don't have a gun, but I can go get a machete or a pitchfork from the equipment barn". He checked his flashlight again. Then Albert carefully looked around for any sign of human life, again. None. No zombies either.

"There are lights so the power grid is still up, there should still be fresh water then. I better make sure I get plenty of water gathered up when I get back to the barn." Albert thinks.

"Could it have gotten everybody overnight? Will said it can spread very fast. I better listen to the news as soon as I'm finished, if there is anybody left on TV"

Albert has to empty the catch bins again, he's about halfway finished and he still has seen no one, dead or alive. Again he gets off the machine and carefully looks around. He sees no one. Albert quickly empties the catch bins and gets back on the machine.

Albert hasn't even noticed a bunny rabbit or an armadillo. "Do animals turn into zombies too?" He wonders.

Still, Albert does his job. He's very dependable. Unless he is turned into a zombie before he's finished then the greens will be cut and ready for golf. Even if nobody ever golfs again.

Albert looks to the sky like he often does only this time he's looking for airplanes. He scans the sky very carefully. Nope. Nothing. Strange.

Albert, for the first time in his life, wishes he had a cell phone. But then, who would he call at this hour? Will? Better not. Can't anyway. He could call the police station though. If they weren't zombified yet they would surely answer. If the police station did not answer what would that mean? Albert added that to the growing list of things he would do when he got back to the barn.

"If I make it back," Albert thinks.

Albert goes though the check list of things to do when he gets back to the equipment barn. Get as much water, and fuel as he can. The fuel is not his and he worries about stealing but then he knows that there will be nobody to fire him or arrest him for that matter. It does not yet occur to Albert that he won't have a job anymore. Call the police station. Get weapons and tools. First stop after that is the gun store.

Albert is glad he still drives that old Suburban. Albert will fill it with things he might need.

Seven greens mowed perfectly. Dawn is upon him and Albert hopes it is not the last he will ever see. Albert is ready though, to spend the rest of his life alone.

"I can kill zombies. They are already dead after all." Albert says aloud. Even if there was anybody around they could not hear him over the greens mower.

"If I survived then others must have as well. I could try to gather them up, go on the road. Go get Will. Maybe out west to the desert. Not many people out there." Albert thinks.

"Better get a generator too," Albert thinks,"The electricity won't stay on forever."

Golf courses usually start and end at the club house. The ninth hole next to the first one. Albert is almost finished with the eighth green. He will empty the catch bins once more then come around the cart path toward the ninth green. Albert knows that if the zombie apocalypse started he will be sure about it in about two minutes. There is always golfers and golf carts lined up by the starter shack next to the club house waiting their turn to tee off the first hole.

Albert empties the three bins.

Albert climbs back on the machine and puts it in gear.

Albert drives down the cart path.

Albert makes the final turn.

Albert sees them.

Albert mows the final green. He then stops at the starter shack as he usually does to buy a soda from the little snack bar.

"Hey Albert! Good Morning. Nice weather for golf ey?" The starter asks Albert.

"Yep, another fine day." Albert said. He looks around at the golfer preparing for another morning on the golf course. Again.

Albert gets back to the equipment barn with his soda and begins to wash his mower. "They are all zombies. They don't know it but they are. I saw them. They are already dead. They are the living dead, just like Will said. They stumble around and aren't too smart because their brains are rotting away." Albert thinks," Maybe I am too."

"It's time to go out west anyway. There aren't that many people out there." Albert said to nobody as he parked his mower just right in the equipment barn for the last time.