"I don't like to do that though,” said Anna. “I have to get too close to the sick people, and they smell. Then I feel horrible afterwards because I've had to kill a few people."
"Thrillers," Bill said
"Oh, here we go again," said Q under his breath.
"What?" Shane asked.
"Thrillers! We call them that because it's like that music video from the eighties. Those aren't people anymore. They are already dead and have been reanimated by something. We just don't know what yet," Bill explained.
"Oh" was all Shane said.
"Look, do you all have a place to go, or were you staying here?" Q asked.
"We are holed up here because we were being chased by some guys that wanted Anna. And I wasn't going to let them take her. I shot one of them in the leg to let them know I was serious."
"Great. Let's hope you didn't stir up a hornets’ nest," Bill said. "Anyhoo, you two are welcome to join us. We have a long way to go, and we could use the help. We're going up to Washington State to start a new community. Do y’all have a vehicle to drive?"
"No, like I said, we ran for our lives through the trees over there, leaving everything behind. We are lucky to be alive."
"Ok, first, let's get as much bottled water and boxes of food as we can fit in the back of Q's truck. My 4Runner is pretty full already. Then we need to get you some wheels and a new home. The rest will fall into place."
"Sounds good," said Shane.
They almost had everything they wanted in the truck when the first bullet whizzed past Jake’s head and shattered the glass storefront. He and Andre instantly started shooting toward where the shot had come from. Sam screamed and flopped onto the ground, and Sally dashed behind the front of the 4Runner. The six from the quickie mart ran out to see what the commotion was.
D spotted a reflection of something, fired upon it, and heard a satisfying groan in response. Six people came out of the woods to the left and six people came from around a building half a block down. Andre turned to fire upon the people down the road, taking out two before they ducked behind a truck. Sally, Leah, and Kathrin were shooting at the people who came from the tree line, but they only shot two of them before they dropped down into the weeds.
Bill ran over to Sally and instructed her and the others, “Wait and, when one pops his head up, shoot at it to keep them from advancing. But conserve ammo.”
D was taking the attackers out from her sniper’s hide on the trailer. Q ran towards Andre and gave him the same instructions Bill gave Sally. With D doing what she did best and the others keeping them dudes from making a break for it, Bill went to see if he could help on the other side. Q briefed him that at least five guys were behind a couple of vehicles but He, Jake, and Andre were keeping them down.
"You and I need to flank them and see what's up. We need to take one alive and question him. Andre, you and Jake keep suppressive fire on them to keep them from making a break for it. Just don’t shoot us when we come around from behind them."
Q and Bill ran around the back of the gas station and came up between the next two buildings. They had a clear line of sight. Bill shot two on the left in quick succession, using the element of surprise. Q did the same on the right. The guy in the middle was obviously being protected by the others, so Bill shot him in the right shoulder to prevent him from using that arm. They ran up to him and kicked his rifle away, and Q grabbed him by the collar, hauling him up to his feet. Bill shot the other four in the head to make sure they wouldn't reanimate to bite him and Q in the ass.
"Who the FUCK do you think you are?" Q screamed into the man’s face.
"Don't kill me! I can help," the man pleaded.
"Your idea of help is shooting us and taking out shit," Bill said as he pressed his knife against the guy's groin. "Move, and I'll castrate you."
"No. No. No, please, it's not like that."
"You better fucking explain what the fuck you were doing right the fuck now, fuck head," Q said.
"We have a safe place and a lot of kids and women. We need that food in there to take care of everyone."
"It's barely been three days, and you’re already out of food? I don't buy it," Bill said. "You really think we're that dumb? Q, I'm done with this guy."
"Nononono, please! I'm begging you. Let me go, and I'll show you."
Bill felt his hand get warm and wet. He looked down and realized the guy had just pissed himself. Seriously having had enough of this pathetic looser, Bill backed away. Q threw the guy on the ground and put him out of his misery.
"Goddamn it. I can't believe that fucker just pissed on me. Right now, I'm pissed off and pissed on. How fucked up is that?"
"We need to get back and check on the others."
“Yup," Bill replied.
Everyone was all right but shaken up pretty good. Most had never killed a person before, and this was going to haunt their nightmares for a long time. They somberly packed up the rest of what they’d come for and got back on the road.
Just to make sure Bill’s gut feeling was right, they drove around to the other side of the grove of trees and found five pickup trucks sitting there. In the back were boxes of food, water, guns, and ammo. Bill had everyone move all the ammo they needed into one truck and had Shane and Anna follow the convoy with it. Twenty minutes later, the convoy pulled up at the girls’ grandparents’ house.
The neighborhood appeared to be in good shape, with a just a handful of thrillers scattered around. The group set up the normal watch, with Anna on the roof of Bill’s camper as an additional lookout. She didn’t have any shooting skills, but that would soon change. Bill and Sam went up to knock on the door to see if Memaw and Papaw were even there. Papaw opened the door almost immediately. He must have seen them coming up the sidewalk. He gave Sam a big bear hug, shook Bill’s hand, and asked where Sally was, looking over the convoy and all the people.
"Right here," Sally said as she ran up.
"Oh, thank the Lord. It's so good to see you. Come inside before those things see us," Papaw said, wearily looking around at all the re-dead lying in the street. "Did you guys kill them?"
"My team took care of most of them," Bill replied as he closed the door behind him. "How are you holding up?"
"Well," Papaw said, "we’re ok on food, but our power has been out for almost a day, so we've been eating like kings, trying to clean out the freezer."
"I noticed on the way in that a car hit a telephone pole just down the street. Must have blown the transformer when it did," Bill offered.
"Yup, that'll do it. I've been trying to get the power company to move that damn thing for years. Every time we have a storm, a tree branch or someone crashes into it, the damn thing blows. They keep saying there's a work order in for it."
"Sorry to say, they won't be getting to it anytime soon."
They walked into the family room and were greeted by Memaw, who offered coffee and steak, Jane (Bills ex-wife), her fiancée Sasha, and a talking fish on the wall that sang "Take Me to the River." The girls hugged their mom and soon-to-be stepmom while Papaw and Bill went into the dining room and sat at the table to talk.
"I was beginning to wonder if y’all were going to make it. With the power out, our cell phones went dead, and we couldn’t get ahold of anyone. We thought maybe all the power was out. I was going to give it till morning, and then we were going after the girls and anybody else we could think of."
Papaw had joined the Army in the early seventies and had retired in the mid-nineties. Although he was in his sixties, Bill didn't question his ability in a firefight or his expertise in survival. It was the other three that would cause them problems.
"It took way longer getting out of Texas than I anticipated, and we ran into some trouble along the way. Even this morning, not but forty minutes ago, we were getting shot at by some assholes that wanted our shit, and probably the women if they lived through the surprise attack. Luckily for us, we have some pretty good defensive tactics, but I could really u
se your expertise."
Bill laid out the plan of going to Washington and what he hoped to accomplish there. Papaw seemed receptive, since he’d grown up in the same small town Bill had. He had a sister that lived out in the country and thought that if she were still alive, they would probably live there. Bill had only met the sister once, over twenty years ago, the day after he’d married Jane. The two of them had taken Papaw over to visit her. The weird coincidence was her step-son had been Bill’s best friend in second grade.
"Let me talk it over with the others, and I'll let you know," said Papaw.
"No matter what your decision, just know this, Sam and Sally are coming with me. I know they're both grown now, but whatever it takes, I'm going to make sure they live. They are really the future now. And honestly, they won't have much of one here in Pensacola. I'm going outside to check on the others while y’all talk."
"Tell the rest of your friends to come and eat. We have plenty cooked up, since the freezer was getting too warm," Memaw said.
Bill pulled in Q and D to let them know about the conversation he’d had with Papaw, shared with them his ideas, and they both agreed to the plan. Bill had Leah Google RV dealerships nearby because he was ninety percent sure they would all go. Bill also knew that if they did, he would have to keep a tight rein on some of them—not that he saw himself as the leader by any means, but he knew many in the group looked to him for leadership. His ex-wife could be a bit of a loose cannon and do her own thing just to spite him. Nowadays, that would get you killed—or worse if guys like they’d fought that morning captured you.
"Bill, we decided and would like you to come in and talk with us," Jane called from the front porch.
Bill told everyone that they had food ready to eat and that they needed to eat up while they could.
Once they were all inside and after everyone had a plate of food, Jane began to speak.
"We're going with you on the condition that we find a safe place beside your dad’s ranch and it's clear that you’re not the boss of us."
"Let's be clear that if you don't follow our directions,” Bill said, pointing to Q and D, “you’re going to die or become some asshole’s sex slave and be gang raped for what's left of your miserable life. I say that because that is exactly what will happen if someone kidnaps you like they guys that ambushed us this morning. They mounted a surprise attack in hopes of getting our supplies and probably women."
“It was them or us, so we killed them. That is the how the world is now. Either accept that or become someone’s cock holster.”
Jane’s face blanched. "You killed people? Today? Why?" she demanded.
"Because they attacked us first," D said, getting in Jane’s face. "Bill is absolutely correct. Those men today started shooting at us from three different sides. They didn’t hit anybody or anything important. They either wanted us to surrender or run away sacred. Their sole intent was to capture and steal. So, you’re either with us, or you’re a liability. We cannot afford to have liabilities. There is enough out there that wants to kill us as it is. We don't need dead weight."
"We're going to be with you because you’re right," Papaw said. "If any of us are going to live a long and happy life, we have to work together. Jane, you have to understand this is war, and there are no rules of engagement. It's kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest. You will have to learn to fight, shoot, and kill the undead. Maybe kill living humans."
"But I can't, Daddy," Jane (the forty-something mother of two grown children) whined "I, we”—she pointed to Sasha—“marched against the NRA and the gun crazies just last month."
"I remember. But that world is gone now, sweetheart. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yea."
"And now you’re going to have to trust Bill again. He is going to do everything in his power to protect his children. I suggest you do the same. If that means we follow his lead up till Washington, then that's what we do. Once we get there, we will figure out what to do next.”
"Ok," she said and then looked at Bill. "What do we need to do?"
"First, I'm going to take Papaw, Q, Jake, and Shane over to the RV Supercenter. We will pick up three big RVs. That will give groups of people a place to live and travel in comfort. It's going to be a long journey, and having food and showers at our disposal is priceless. Trust us on that," Bill said with a chuckle.
"No truer words have been spoken," Kathrin chimed in. D and Q just chuckled at her statement.
"Papaw, can we take your truck? I'll drive it back if you want, but after today, you won't need it anymore. We would take the extra truck that’s out front, but it’s only a single cab," Bill said.
"Take my car. It was needing to be replaced anyway," Memaw said. “That way, when we make it back, we still have a good vehicle to get us around.”
"All right, fine Memaw, sounds like a plan,” Bill said. “I need you to pack up clothes and any non-perishables you have here. Take some memorabilia if you want, but keep it to one box. And jewelry is pretty useless these day. If you want more, we’ll get you more in Washington. But for now, pack only the essentials. We're going to be picking up a few things along the way."
"And what about my stuff?" Jane huffed.
"We'll swing by your place on the way out of town. I hadn't forgotten about you. Besides, there is something I want to get from your house anyway."
Loaded up in Memaw’s car, with Papaw at the wheel, they pulled out and headed towards the RV Supercenter. It was only six and half miles away. The five men hoped it would be a quick trip.
The drive over was uneventful, but when they pulled into the lot, there were a lot more cars there than Bill had expected.
"Well, boys, looks like we gotta clean house before we shop. Jake, Shane, go close the gate so no more wander in. Guys, where do we start?"
"No better place than the main office. I imagine that most would have been in there talking to the salesmen about options and price," Papaw said.
"When we bought ours, we did most of that in the RV," Q offered.
"True, me too, but the keys are in there, so let's clear it out first. That way, when pick what we want, it will be easier."
Bill opened the door to the office, and the other two filed in behind him, their weapons pointed where their eyes landed. Seven quick shots later from suppressed weapons, and the first room was clear. Three thrillers came at them from around the corner, somewhat surprising the three men. Bill was still kneeling from the initial entry, and when he shot one up through the chin, it fell on him, knocking him onto his back and pinning him underneath. Q kicked the re-dead off Bill and proceeded into the next room with Papaw in tow. The rest of the building was clear, so the three headed back out to check on the other two. The gate was closed, but Shane and Jake were nowhere to be found.
"Jake! Shane! Where did you go?"
Then they heard the muffled sounds of fighting halfway down the row of RVs. Heading towards the commotion, they heard a scream, a terrified, oh-my-God-this-hurts bloodcurdling scream. Spurred on to run faster, Bill and Q rounded the comer to find three bodies on the ground. One was re-dead from blunt force trauma to the face, and another thriller was chewing on the leg of a woman. She was kicking at it with her other leg, screaming at the top of her lungs and crying at the same time. Bill shot the thriller in the head and rushed over to the woman to stop her bleeding. He pulled a trauma kit out of his backpack, dumped some QuikClot on the wound and applied bandages to keep everything in place.
"What are you doing? You know she’s gonna turn," Q said.
"I know, but I have questions," Bill replied.
Just then, Jake and Shane came running up, and Papaw moseyed up from the rear.
"Where did you guys go?"
"After we closed the gate, we started to clear the lot. No sense in all of us crammed in the little building shooting at each other," Shane replied.
"And you, young lady, where the hell did you come from?" Papaw said.
"I was in that RV
over there. We were here the day it started. When I saw them two guys walking around with guns, I thought they were here to rescue me. I didn't see these things here till he grabbed my ankle and tripped me. I managed to kick this one in the face hard enough to make it stop, but that one came out from under the other side when I wasn't looking."
"You've been here for three days?" Shane asked incredulously.
"Yea, has it been that long? The RV we were looking at had water ’cause it's used, and I always carry snacks in my purse." She started sobbing. "My husband got real angry and violent all of a sudden, and the salesman turned to run out the door, and my husband followed him. I guess it was a good thing that I didn't follow right away. I was in shock that he could do that. I mean, he had never done that before. When I heard the salesman scream and plead for his life, I locked the door and hid in there. I tried to call 911, but the line was busy. Then, when it wasn't anymore, no one would answer. So I just stayed and waited for help to arrive."
"Well, you did the right thing," Bill said.
"Please, can we go to the hospital now? The bite really hurts. I can't believe he did that."
"Oh, you better believe it, sweetheart, and there is no hospital. You see, this is the end of the world, and you’re lucky enough to have made it three days. So, your options are wait until you turn and we shoot you, or you do it beforehand," Bill said.
"What? You’re kidding, right. That is a really sick joke, mister. Get me to the hospital NOW!"
Without another word, Bill pulled out his .45 and placed a round between her eyes.
"Sorry guys, I can't take any chances of that happening to any of you. So, let's make one more sweep of the lot and get what we came for."
The nice thing about it being a Supercenter was that they also sold cargo trailers and had a service center. They picked out the RVs that would suffice for the long trip, grabbed some cargo trailers, and pulled them into the service bays to make sure everything was up to snuff. There was also a potable water station inside the service center.
“While we are here, I want to bolt some tires onto the back of the trailers,” Bill said.
Beginning of the New Beginning, Vol 1 Page 8