Run

by Burk, William

  The sun is high above my head when the hole is finally as deep as I am tall. Tossing the shovel onto the ground. I walk over to Peter and take a seat on the ground next to him. I keep my eyes averted from the corpse. Trying to keep my memory of him from being tainted by the image of the body lying here with a towel covering its head. I'm sitting here for a while not really thinking but lost in my mind all the same.

  "Hey" A soft voice brings me back to reality. "you OK"

  A hand on my shoulder, I look up into Amanda's face. I reach up closing a hand over hers before grunting and using her assistance in getting to my feet.

  "The others awake?" I ask

  "No. Just me. I saw you were missing and came looking for you."

  She notices the grave dug out under the branches of the tree.

  "When did you have time to do this? Have you slept at all?" She asks, gesturing towards the grave.

  "I couldn't sleep." I shrug

  Amanda stands there quietly with her head down eyes on Peter. After several moments Amanda's soft sobs break the silence. Feeling like an outsider here, I pat her back as I move to leave.

  "I'll get the others, and we all say goodbye," I say heading in to wake up Sarah and Adam.

  I could let them sleep longer but the grave is ready and guiltily I want to get Peter into it and put this behind me. We have a whole new world to learn now that we know of a settlement and a large group of survivors living north of here. I don't know what this means for the future but for now, I'm staying here on the farm. regardless of the troubles we've had. This has become my home.

  Adam and I move the body next to the open grave and join the girls as we stand there, our heads bowed in silence.

  Adam breaks the long silence "Thank you, Peter. We wouldn't be here today if not for you"

  He steps back wiping a tear from his chin. Another long silence ensues before I kneel down. I unceremoniously roll the body into the waiting grave. Grabbing a handful of dirt, not knowing what else to do or say.

  "Goodbye, Peter." I throw the hand full of dirt into the hole and walk away to give everyone else their chance to say their goodbyes. Adam joins me shortly with no words we stand shoulder to shoulder as the girls linger. Sarah is the last one and after a moment she picks up the shovel and begins shoveling in the dirt. I move to join her when Amanda shows back up having grabbed three more shovels. The four of us work together in silence filling in the grave.

  #

  Chapter 17

  The settlement is physically little more than three streets. A single road ties the streets together and to the outside world. Most of the houses are newly built. And have stood empty since before the outbreak. As such none of the houses were designed with chimneys in mind. By the time winter is in full force they are all filled with wood-burning stoves. The stove vents sticking out from windows. Among the settlement are folks with a wide range of backgrounds. The highlights being a couple of farmers, teachers, and a doctor who is in charge of all things medical. Who is beleaguered with patients almost before he even settled into the new town. Turns out folks in an apocalypse end up having a lot of medical needs that go unheeded.

  I spend a fair amount of time in the town training with Owen's people at first. then taking part in the scavenging teams. I was resistant when Owen first approached me wanting to sign me up for the guard. He came to me with some cliche saying like.

  "I need a man that's not afraid to get dirty" or some nonsense like that. I was having none of it until he promised to supply the farm with all the firewood we can burn. Up till that moment, we were trading fish for wood but we weren't catching enough fish. Subsequently, we barely had enough wood to get through the nights. And that's why I joined the military, they bribed me just like they bribed kids with free college back in the day. It was fun at first though. The other guards are friendly folk. Even though most of them were former military they accept me pretty readily at least until shit hits the fan. When I start heading out on loot runs with the team it becomes less fun, however. The f irst run I'm part of we ran into three zombies and I almost got caught by them. I took the training a bit more seriously after that. I realized that up until now I've been exceedingly lucky with avoiding zombies. I need to have a better idea of how to avoid and or fight when necessary.

  The winter passes quickly between the training and working on the scavenging crew. We are all glad to see the cold weather break and the days getting longer as late March rolls in. This winter was both mild and brutal, quickly bouncing from extremes between the days and nights. Resulting in both muddy and frozen roads all at once. But we're safe, warm, and fed. Until early spring when townsfolk began dropping with illnesses left and right. An infection running rampant through the settlement. At first, the doctor, his name Jeff, doesn't think the infection is that big of a threat. It was only spreading quickly due to the close quarters of everyone. And just needed to run its course through folks. But after a couple of weeks when medical supplies are down to Tylenol and bandages he changes his mind. More than two dozen people are bedridden with chills, diarrhea, and vomiting. And none have shown signs of getting better yet. We need antibiotics and lots of them, he tells us. It doesn't help much that zombie incidents have risen since the warmer weather hit. Which backs up one of our theories on the effect of freezing weather on zombies.

  #

  A gathering is called in the town center or at least what everyone calls the town center. It's really just the main intersection of the neighborhood roads. On a raised platform made of plastic crates in the center stands Jeff and Owen. They wait for the crowd to simmer down before launching into their planned topic of discussion.

  "As all of you know an infection is spreading among us and not getting better." The doctor begins speaking.

  "I can't tell you what it is exactly or if it's fatal. But it doesn't look good. It has been two weeks now since the first few fell ill and in that time they've only gotten worse. As it is we need to assume the worst and prepare for it. Which means we need broad-spectrum antibiotics and a lot of them."

  Owen cuts in "That's where the guard comes in. There is a hospital only a thirty-minute drive from here. And I plan to lead an all hands on board scavenge run to clean the place out of antibiotics. and any other supplies we find and have room for."

  "What about the clinic just on the other side of the river?" A voice shouts from the crowd.

  "I'm afraid we've already cleaned the place out. In fact we cleaned it out months ago when we were first setting up this place. Back to the topic at hand though. The hospital is outside the zone we've been operating in so we don't know what we'll find. It could already be cleaned out or occupied by other survivors. Until we know more, I'm assuming the worst. It's a hospital. Meaning a lot of people during the outbreak in confined rooms and halls. I'm expecting the place to have at least some zombies. As such I'm taking all the guard except for a handful that will be left here to guard the town." Owen finishes speaking. He jumps down from the supply crates used as an improvised platform.

  At dawn the next morning the guard gathers in town center while Owen preps us all for the hospital visit. Guns and bags are being passed around while Owen details out the plan to everyone.

  "The idea is simple. We get in. We find the pharmacy and we grab any and all medicine prioritizing antibiotics and we get out. We are going in blind though so caution is of the utmost importance. We don't know the layout and we don't know if anyone or anything is there. We'll have to figure out the rest when we arrive. Now! Is everyone geared up! good! great load up people!"

  There are a good twenty of us packing into the four vehicles. Three military Humvees and a regular old soccer mom of a van. I climb myself into the back of the Humvee last in line and score a window seat in the back. The view during the ride is primarily empty rural roads. It does get a bit more interesting in town passing by all the houses and buildings. Almost all showing the after-effects of our scavenging. Whenever possible we avoid damaging properties. But
if we have no other recourse we're not above breaking a window or door to get in.

  Before I know it we're stopped in the middle of the street in front of the hospital main entrance. Getting out along with everyone else with a gun at the ready. We begin forming a perimeter around the vehicles. I see why we stopped in the street instead of the parking lot. The lot is overflowing with cars. There is no way we'd be able to navigate the lot without having to push at least a dozen cars out of our way. And, as it is the street is only seventy-five meters from the door. No zombies in sight but with all the cars congregated in the lot there could be dozens if not hundreds hiding all through the parking lot.

  #

  Owen sends in a small squad ahead of everyone else to secure the main lobby. Once the lobby is secured and we are all inside. Owen splits us all into three-man teams. Sending the multiple teams in different directions. To better optimize the search through the hospital for the pharmacy and supplies. I'm with Tony and Ashley or Ash as she likes to go by. They are both former army. As such I keep my mouth shut and follow orders knowing I'm the odd man out in this team. The Newbie or Greenie depending on who you ask.

  My team and I get sent to the second floor up the escalator from the lobby. Across from us at the escalator landing is a glassed-in lobby. A the sign reading heart care center above the glass doors. To the left is a long dark hallway ending with doors that lead outside. At least I'm guessing they lead outside based on the sunlight coming through the edges. I assume it's a balcony since we're on the second floor and all. To the immediate right of us is a set of secured double doors with warning signs for radiation. To the right followed by a quick left around the heart-center is another hallway. One that leads into deeper shadows.

  "Any ideas which way," Ash asks

  I point to the hallway leading deeper into the gloom. "This way looks good. The other hallway leads to an exterior door and we want to get deeper into the main areas right?"

  Ash nods. "Good enough for me, I'll take point Tony take rear, And you stay out of the way"

  I nod my agreement. I don't take it offensively. I've not worked with either of these two before and being I don't have a military background. I don't blame them for not wanting to trust their lives to me. Every time I've worked with someone new in the guard it's been the same. I just need to do my time to earn their trust Sarah likes to say.

  We move down the hall slowly but steadily ignoring all the closed side doors as we pass. The pharmacy will stand out a bit more than a side door so the only ones we stop at are the ones that are hanging open. Even then we just shine a light around the room right quick before closing the door and moving on. Mostly we just do not want to leave any doors open behind us. We're nearing the end of the hall that leads into a T-intersection. Both directions look to be more of the same hallway we just passed through. I get the feeling this area is offices and back rooms that the public doesn't usually see.

  'Pop' A gunshot echoes in the hospital hallways.

  The radio goes off a moment later "We have contact with a zee. Nobody hurt"

  Ash darts to the corner watching down one of the halls for zombies. motioning Tony to do the same for the hallway leading right. She indicates for me to watch our backs and the hall we just came through. More gunfire echoes through the hospital as the gunfire itself alerts more zombies. The radio chattering away reporting downed zombies and one poor bitten soldier. After a few minutes of chaos the radio falls silent granting several moments of silence.

  "We're going this way" Ash gestures down the left hallway.

  We begin making our way in the same formation as before. Ash in lead, Tony watching the rear and myself in the middle. All of us are three times more tense than before.

  Just then the radio goes off "All teams report back to the lobby immediately."

  Ash raises a hand stopping us before saying. "You heard the man, Let's head back." Tony in the rear gestures and sweeps his arms back in the direction we came from in a gesture of after you when Ash and I turn in his direction.

  we move at a quick trot on the way back. We make it to the top of the escalator in time to watch a couple of guards carrying a covered body through the entrance. Owen speaks up when the last of the teams return to the lobby.

  "We've had contact with zombies as you know. So far we've taken out fourteen of the bastards. Unfortunately, we've lost one of our own in the process. This is not why I called you all back though. We found the pharmacy and we've already begun sorting and packing up the supplies."

  We're directed into a supply train. Running back and forth with sacks of medicine to the waiting vehicles. Guards set up along the length of the line to take care of any zombies that try to join the party. The three specific guards working in the pharmacy filling the sacks have lists for what we need to find. The list was provided by the doctor this morning before we left. I'm making my way to the front entrance to hand off another sack of pills when gunfire erupts outside. Dropping my sack I ready my own gun and cover the last few steps to the door in a dash.

  I make it to the door and begin to rush through when I see the guards that were posted outside rushing towards me. I barely manage to jump backward and avoid getting trampled as they come barreling through the entrance. Looking through glass paneling to the right of the door it's clear what they are running from. Outside working its way along the street and through the lot towards us are hundreds of zombies. A handful of guards remain outside. Cut off from the entrance and still firing into the crowd of zombies dropping dozens of them in the process. The gunfire is enough to keep the zombies distracted and going for the gunmen. Rather than the rest of us in the hospital. I and many around watch as the four remaining men outside are swarmed and eaten by the zombies. We are powerless to do anything but watch in horror and revulsion.

  "There are too many for us" a voice says to my left.

  "We're fucked" another voice chimes in as well.

  "Quiet" I whisper as I begin pulling people away from the windows.

  The zombies don't know we are in here. They are satisfying themselves with the corpses of the guards outside. I move away and find Owen circled by men. I push my way into the inner crowd.

  "We need to stay quiet and get away from the windows. If they see or hear us we're done for" I say.

  "You're right." He turns to the others saying to round up everyone.

  Owen has us all move to the second floor away from the lobby and entrance. We barricade the escalator as best we can with beds and gurneys and leave two guards posted at the top at all times. Searching the rest of the second floor. We find a waiting area that is large enough to fit all the remaining guards in. Of the twenty we started the day we're down to fourteen. The waiting room is filled with chairs and a couple of vending machines. The corner also provides us with a view of the gathering zombies thanks to a couple of windows along the wall. The mood of the guard quickly sours. More and more zombies are showing up having been attracted by the gunfire. As we're getting settled in the room one of the escalator guards rushes into the room.

  "Zombies are in the building sir," he says to Owen.

  "Are they going for the escalator?" Owen asks.

  "No, several have walked into the gurney's we placed at the bottom blocking off access. So far that's been enough to stop them from coming up."

  "Good, keep me posted if anything changes," Owen says dismissing the man back to his post.

  The guard leaves the room the way he entered as Owen turns back to the windows.

  "This really went sideways on us" he mutters under his breath.

  I'm racking my mind watching the hundreds of zombies in front of the building. The only ideas I can come up with are distractions. But there are simply too many. We'd never be able to lure them all into the building. While the rest of us sneak out a side door or even just jump out one of these windows. Plus we'd have to break the windows as they don't open, further complicating things. We don't have enough ammo to clear the zombies out though we co
uld certainly put the majority of them down assuming no others show up. The one thing I keep coming back to is the cars. If someone could make it to one of the cars they might be able to lure them away, the same way I did the zombies in the barn. I share my idea with Owen and the few guardsmen. No one likes it but no one has a better idea.

  "We'll need a way to distract them far enough from the vehicles to allow someone time to make the run." Martin says from Owen's left side.

  Martin is one of the senior members of the guard alongside Owen. I like to think of him as an adviser to Owen. Though it's probably more akin to second in charge. I don't know I never really paid attention to all the ranks among the men. When everyone out ranks you it doesn't really seem to matter much. Just be quiet and do what you're told has been my motto thus far.

  "Roof access maybe? From the roof, someone could shoot at the zombies and draw them to any side of the building we want. Hell, maybe it's enough to get all of us to the vehicles and not even worry about luring them away from the hospital." Jacob says.

  Jacob is only involved with this conversation due to his proximity when it began. but it is an idea nonetheless .

  Owen scratches his chin before gesturing over two men.

  "See if you can find a way to the roof"

  Looking back at us . "Even with roof access, we'll need to deal with the zombies inside or find another way out"

  "And if we don't find a way onto the building roof?" I ask

  "We'll have to find something else, " Martin provides.

  "Sir, We found the access door to the roof but it's locked. We can try shooting it open but the zombies are inside." One of the two men says breathlessly after returning from the search. "Access is at the top of the stairwell just down the hall on the left from here"

  "We can't risk the noise it'd take to break the door. That leaves us with half a plan. Distract the zombies long enough for someone to make it to the vehicles and lure them all away." Owen says.