The Frozen Tundra

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I was tearing across drifts in a perfect field of snow.  I had an aluminum baseball bat across my back and bundles of supplies strapped across the back of the snowmobile.  I throttled down as I got closer to a bar that I used to drive by all the time.  It was at an intersection in the country of a state highway and a county highway.  Also, the snowmobile trail went right by it as well.  It used to be a popular spot back in the day.  After a few months of winter in the Northern Midwest without any caretakers, it mostly looked cold. 

I pulled up and saw two Popsicles in the front.  That's what I called frozen zombies.  I stopped the sled and and left it idle.  With two standing in the front, it was pretty unlikely there were any inhabitants, but I hadn't come this far before, so you could never be too careful.  Actually, I was being a little careless.  After going almost seven months, no, wait, "Z"-day was early August, it was February now, yeah, I counted on my gloved fingers, I guess it was seven.  So anyway, normally I would scope a place out, sometimes for hours, but I was getting a little cocky.  Okay, maybe just bored.  Since the freeze things had taken a turn for the easy.  These zombies were the slow-shuffling kind.  They seemed to have just enough function to want to eat.  You know, base instincts.  They didn't need to, nor were their bodies alive or functioning, but they just kept going.  Probably just enough electrical impulses in the brain to keep them moving.  In any case, since they were no longer warm-blooded, winter posed a problem for them.  They froze.  Solid.  At first they were stiff.  And then the ones inside could still move, or maybe if they were in a really insulated spot.  But mid to late December it was pretty much over.  Have you ever seen winter in a zombie movie?  I hadn't, and I can understand why.  Life was interesting, and things had changed, but lately, my survival was against the elements, not the undead.  I kicked off my boots and did a quick run in place to loosen the stiffness from snowmobiling.  I drew the bat from off my back and took a couple of practice swings.  Bottom of the 8th, Tim really needs to connect solidly for to keep this game alive.  Here's the pitch, Swing!  Oh he connects!  The crowd goes wild!  It's out of the park!

The body of the zombie fell stiffly to the ground as the head flew about 15 feet.  You couldn't hit them very far, because they were pretty solid.  It was like hitting frozen meat.  But then their feet were also frozen to the ground and if you got a good upswing, for some reason you could knock their heads right off.  Frankly, it was awesome.  I approached the door and checked it out.  I'd leave the other one for before I left.  It already had been a good day, and if there was something useful in this building, it would be even better.  Maybe some dried food that would keep and was light, or maybe something nice in a can.  Some soup would be nice.  Man I was having a good day.