“Why?” Frazier asked.
“To expand our network,” I replied. “That’s our goal, to continue expanding and rebuilding America.”
Frazier snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“I personally don’t see how you, how anyone can make that happen,” Lisa said.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Trey said. “What’s that saying? A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
I started to correct his quote but held back. For one of these knuckleheads to agree with anything I said was a step in the right direction, no pun intended.
“Yeah, good analogy,” I said.
I guess they thought I was going to show them some rustic cabin with an outhouse, so I was not surprised when I saw their jaws drop open when I turned into the driveway. I stopped at the security gate, which was a lavish affair of brick and ornamental iron.
“It sure is fancy,” Tory commented. “Too fancy for my blood.”
“Oh, that’s not a problem,” I said and pointed up the meandering driveway. “There’s plenty of room for you to park a double-wide up there. You’ll feel right at home.”
I caught a couple of scowls staring at me in the rearview mirror. I smiled in return.
The driveway was a hundred feet long, consisting of pea gravel concrete, and was still in decent shape. I pointed it out.
“The driveway has survived the winters,” I said as I drove. “I’d say the previous homeowners had put a good coat of sealant on it a short time before things went bad.”
“Could be,” Frazier said while gazing out of the window. He now seemed interested in this new home.
The drive ended at a detached garage beside a two-story, Tudor-style house. I pointed at the ground-floor windows, which had all been boarded up.
“Somebody was living here during the outbreak and made some modifications, but I don’t think anybody has lived here in at least two years. The plumbing was drained before freezing, so it’s mostly intact. There’s also a pool around back. It’ll need cleaning but can be a good water reservoir. As you can see, the land levels out on top of this hill, so it’ll be easy to put in a garden.
“This place is in great shape. When I was here back in March, there was no mold or mildew, no water leaks, no structural damage. It’s a great view, so you guys can see whenever anyone is coming. Plenty of open area to raise crops, or maybe put up some barb wire and raise cattle. Back behind the house is the river, which will be a good source of food and water.”
The four of them remained silent. They were either processing the information I was telling them, or maybe they were daydreaming. I tapped the horn a couple times and waited.
“Alright, no zeds or humans are coming out to jump us. Let’s go have a look,” I suggested and exited the Hummer before anyone balked.
“What do you think, boys?” Frazier asked as they stood there staring at the front of the house.
“The roof is still good and the second floor ain’t got no broken windows, so no rainwater has got in. I guess that’s a good sign,” Tory replied.
Frazier nodded at his astute logic like he discovered this factoid of information, even though I’d already told them the same thing. Frazier waved a hand. “Let’s do a walk around.”
The five of us walked around to the back of the house. Trey trotted over to the garage and looked in one of the windows.
“No cars,” he said. “No farm equipment either. We’d need some farm equipment.”
“And fuel,” Frazier added.
“I understand,” I said. “Should be no problem.”
The pool was surrounded by a wooden fence. Before we even walked through the gate, we caught a whiff. The water in the pool was filthy, covered with a thick film of algae, and I suspected one or two animals had probably fallen in over the years. Tory pointed at it.
“What are y’all going to do about that?” he asked.
“Whatever y’all want to,” I replied. “If I was living here, I’d pump it out, clean it up, and make it useful.” Knowing these guys, they’d probably use it as their personal outhouse, but since Lisa was present, I kept that thought to myself.
“Alright, when we found this house, we had to kick in the back door. It’ll need repairing, but that should also be no problem. Also, as you guys can see, the only thing the previous owners had done as far as hardening it is to board up the downstairs windows. It’ll be something that needs to be addressed.”
I directed them inside and stood by in the kitchen while they walked around and spoke to each other in hushed tones. When they were upstairs, it sounded like they got into a heated argument. After a solid twenty minutes, they came back down. Trey threw open the back door and stomped out.
“Let me ask you something, why this place?” Frazier asked.
“First, from a tactical perspective, it’s a great location. Also, it’ll make an excellent observation post. We need this location manned for that purpose alone. Like I said earlier, there is a small community about five miles down the road, and of course, Mount Weather is fifteen miles away. You could easily walk back, if you had to.”
“So, we wouldn’t be totally left alone out here,” Lisa said.
“Personally, I like the place. If not for my work at Mount Weather, I could see myself living here.” I pointed at the fireplace. “If you didn’t notice, there’s another fireplace in the master bedroom upstairs. There is plenty of forest around here to harvest firewood, and like I said, the place is in great shape.”
“What are you going to do to help us?” Frazier asked.
“This house, and the help we give you, comes with a price,” I said.
Frazier shook his head. “I knew this was too good to be true.”
“Hear him out,” Lisa said, and then stared expectantly.
“We would expect you guys to be active participants of the Mount Weather network. At this time, it would entail acting as an observation post. We’ll set you up with a short-wave radio. You guys will be expected to observe and report Intel.”
“What kind of Intel?” Troy asked.
“Any kind,” I replied. “If you see a man riding down the road on horseback one day, you talk to him, if you can. Find out who he is, where he lives, who his people are, and then report it. If a group of zeds wander by in the middle of the night, report it. If you spot a bunch of dead fish floating down the river, you report it. I think you get the idea. Anything that happens, you report it. We have an SOP on radio procedures set up and it’ll be taught to you.”
I paused a moment. “Oh, I forgot to mention, that radio can also be your best friend. If a horde of zeds attacks, you call Mount Weather and the QRF will be sent to help.”
“What if we don’t want to be part of any kind of network?” Lisa asked.
“You don’t have to be. It’s purely optional. But being part of our network entitles you to certain amenities. For instance, we’ll get the radio installed, procure farm equipment for you, and help you get stocked up on supplies.” I pointed outside. “You’ll be expected to do your part, but you’ll still be autonomous and independent, which I am assuming is what you really want, right?”
Frazier and Tory grunted in unison. Lisa glanced at them and smiled.
“It seems like you guys are liking this house, or should we look at others?” I asked.
“I kind of like it,” Frazier said. “What about the other houses?”
“This is the best one of the bunch,” I said. “I’ve found some others that are in good shape as well, but they’re further out.”
“You mentioned something about a community nearby?” Lisa asked.
I pointed north. “There is a small community of a couple of families a few miles up the road. They’re likeable people and come visit Mount Weather on occasion, but they mostly stick to themselves.”
“Do they have any women?” Tory asked with a lurid grin.
“I don’t think there are any single women, no,” I answered. I did not mention th
e single women who lived at Mount Weather, but I didn’t need to. Trey and Tory were despised by all of them and they probably knew it.
“We want us some real women. Not like those stuck-up bitches back at Weather,” he said.
Yeah, good luck with that, I thought. The two men had no idea how to treat a woman, and Frazier was not much better. Tory leaned over and whispered something in Lisa’s ear.
“What’s the catch, Zach?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s got to be other strings attached,” Tory accused.
I took a deep breath, getting my temper in check. As I did so, I noticed Trey outside, staring down the river. Something seemed to have caught his interest.
“If you are referring to your obligations to the USA…”
Tory interrupted. “You mean the Mount Weather people.”
“Mount Weather is the current home for the United States Government. Haven’t you learned anything during your time with us?” I asked. “Now, you asked a question, do you want to hear the answer or not?”
“Let him speak, Tory,” Lisa said.
“As I’ve said before, the primary mission of Mount Weather is to rebuild America. Most of that rebuilding effort comes in small, incremental steps, such as what I am trying to do here.”
“Like conquering the frontier, back when Americans first came here from Europe,” Tory said.
“Yeah, sort of,” I said and saw a spiral notebook sitting on the kitchen counter. A pencil was stuck in the spiraling. I reached for it and opened it to a clean page.
“Follow me on this,” I said and began drawing a rough map.
“Alright, here is Mount Weather. We’re currently right here, the community of Ingham,” I said, writing out Ingham and putting an X in our approximate location. I then wrote out other locations. “Here’s the river and here is the city of Shenandoah south of you.” I continued adding information to the map, including the locations of settled communities and major landmarks. I finished it off by drawing a circle around it.
“This circle represents a sixty-mile radius around Mount Weather. These are the locations of known survivor settlements.” I added in several dots. “As you can see, most of the settlements are within the sixty-mile radius.”
“What’s significant about that?” Lisa asked.
“That is the range of the QRF,” I said and pointed at the X. “This place is well within range of the QRF. Like I said, if you come under attack by hostile humans or zeds, the QRF can respond, but only if you are in our network. Being a part of the network has its benefits, but you also have obligations and responsibilities.”
“Like what?” Lisa asked.
“First, monitor the area and radio in daily reports to Weather, like I mentioned. Second, you’ll be expected to travel around the area and gather intelligence, which is also reported.”
“What about scavenging?” Lisa asked.
“If you find stuff that is useful to you, take it,” I said. “But, during your scavenging, you’ll be expected to follow our SOP and mark the buildings and structures you enter, and to relay the information to us.”
“What do you mean, mark the buildings?” she asked.
I tried not to frown; they’d been told about this before.
“Remember the training classes? Whenever you enter a structure, whether it’s a shed, a house, an office building, whatever, you mark the building with the FEMA X and add all of the known information.”
“Seems like a lot of unnecessary work,” Tory grumbled.
I paused a moment, took a deep breath, and once again reminded myself of the broader picture.
“I’m sure it may seem like that, but I can assure you, it helps out tremendously. Remember, our primary mission is to rebuild society. Lisa, I’ve shown you and Frazier the maps in my office. Our continuing goal is to increase the area in which we manage. This area is relatively uninhabited. You guys would be really helping out.”
“And you say Mount Weather will help us out with the QRF and things like that?” Frazier asked.
“Yes. Also, you’ll have access to our bartering network.” I pointed toward the southwest. “There is a lot of area out there toward Kentucky, which you guys are familiar with. Let’s say you guys are out scavenging and you come across something like, hmm, I don’t know, maybe inverters for solar power. You find a dozen of them.” I gestured around the house. “You won’t need a dozen inverters for this house, and they don’t wear out, so you use one and have eleven left over. What do you do with the rest of them? You list them on the barter network, and you may find something worthwhile to trade for.”
“We can do that anyway, can’t we?” Tory questioned.
I nodded. “Sure, but you’ll have to make trips to each individual community or rely on word of mouth because you won’t have a radio supplied by us. Our network has personnel dedicated to coordinating trade opportunities. If you’re not in the Mount Weather network, you won’t have access.”
I took a moment to glance outside at Trey before peering at the three of them. “Let’s be honest. For whatever reason, you guys did not like Mount Weather, but that is no reason to become isolationists. By being a part of the Mount Weather organization, you’re not only helping rebuild America, you’re helping yourselves. I hope you guys would like to be a part of it.”
I saw Lisa and Frazier swap glances.
“We’ll need help, Zach,” Lisa said.
“I understand and I’ll do what I can,” I replied.
Frazier sighed and looked outside. He pointed at Trey. “He doesn’t want anything to do with this.”
“He thinks we should go back home,” Tory said, “but, there ain’t nothing left for us back there.”
I’d often wondered what had happened to cause them to leave in the first place. They’d danced around that issue during their debriefing. It wasn’t pushed, and I knew the reason; because Lisandra Jane Dicus was my half-sister. They wanted another who was immune in case I died, and we all had a past. So, it didn’t seem to matter so much of what they’d been up to for the past six years.
That’s what I kept telling myself anyway. Suddenly, Trey crouched, and then motioned for us. We hurried outside. He pointed.
“Look there,” he whispered.
A small, single-mast sailboat was working its way down the river.
“I don’t believe I recognize him,” I said. I held my hand up and waved. The solitary figure, a young man by the looks of it, spotted me. He stared for several seconds before giving a tentative wave in return.
“Well, this gets me to the bad news,” I said and pointed. “There used to be a walking path that led down to the river, but it’s been washed out. That’ll be something to work on. There may be another way down there nearby.”
“You mean, you don’t know?” Frazier asked.
Trey and Tory guffawed. I didn’t understand the joke and chose to ignore it. We watched as the man continued sailing downstream and disappeared around a bend in the river.
“Well, there he goes,” Tory remarked. “Not very neighborly of him.”
“What was he supposed to do, drop anchor and climb the bluff?” I asked. “He saw us, we saw him. No doubt he lives around here. That’s a good thing. Plus, in case you guys haven’t noticed, there doesn’t seem to be any zed activity around here. I’d say that man and his people have probably been taking care of it.” I checked my watch. “Alright, our time is running short. We need to get back.”
Frazier slept on the way back. The other three talked amongst themselves, leaving me to my thoughts. I hoped the upcoming trial went smoothly. We knew that it was going to be an important event that showed everyone that Mount Weather was more than simply a community of people who had survived the apocalypse.
When I turned onto route 340, a solitary zed appeared. It was walking with its back to us and never seemed to hear us. I slowed the SUV and bumped him when I got close. He fell to the road, whereupon I ran over him
. The jostling of the SUV awakened Frazier.
“What the hell?” he grumbled.
“Pothole,” I muttered. Tory snorted.
Chapter 13 – The Third Bull
“You know what? You’re the third bull,” Rachel said.
Fred was leaning against the back wall of the barn. He and Rachel had been doing some chores when she began getting frisky. Fred would have liked to have held off until they got back to the house, but Rachel was not so patient. When she wanted to do it, it was futile to try get her to wait. She tossed some blankets down and pulled Fred on top of her. After, Fred worked himself up into a sitting position. He looked down at the top of her head, which was currently resting on his chest.
“Third bull?” he asked.
“Oh, you know the story of the two bulls, right? There’s a young bull and an older bull. They’re sitting on a hill overlooking a field where there are a bunch of young female cows grazing.”
“Heifers,” Fred said. “Young female cows are called heifers.”
“Yeah, heifers. So, the young bull says to the old bull, hey, let’s run down there and fuck one of them. The old bull looks over at the young bull and says, why don’t we walk down there and fuck ‘em all? You’ve heard that one, right?”
“Many times,” Fred said.
“Well, I bet you never heard of the third bull.”
Fred furrowed his brow. “No, I don’t believe I have, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“The third bull is also present in the pasture, off to the side, away from the others. He’s sitting under a big shade tree, chewing his cud, but he’s watching everything. Eventually, one of the finer heifers notices the third bull and begins watching him. She notices the other bulls always kept their distance from him. She’s curious and walks over to check him out. Once she gets to know that third bull, she realizes he is the best bull of the bunch and proclaims her undying love for him. That’s you, you’re the third bull.”
“Does that mean you’re a heifer?” Fred asked.
Rachel lightly slapped him on the chest. “I’m your heifer, and a damn fine heifer. Don’t you forget it.”
Zombie Rules (Book 7): The Fifteens Page 7