Charity pushed the accelerator on the 4Runner and leveled out at seventy-five mph. Seven minutes later, Papaw informed everyone they had company. He hadn’t seen where they’d come from, but they were staying about fifty yards back.
“Let us know the very second that status changes. If they stay back, we’ll let them ride. I figure we have a few hours before we need to stop again.”
“Copy.”
Over the course of the next three hours, small town after small town were interspersed between long stretches of beautiful Kentucky backroads. Bill had traveled across the country a couple of times during his time in the service, but he’d always been in a hurry to get to the next duty station and gone as fast as the interstate highway system would allow. It was a bucket list item to the take a several-weeks-long road trip and stay to the smaller highways as much as possible. He never dreamed it would happen after the end of the world.
There was small chit chat over the coms about cool things and scary monsters they spotted along the way. Larger small towns like Shelbyville and Madison had quite a few thrillers wandering the streets. Each time, the convoy would get nose to butt, bumping and pushing their way through town. The tires they’d installed on the backs of the trailers were worth their weight in gold and kept everyone together without bending metal or breaking fiberglass.
A few miles after they’d come through the other side of town, their little follower friend would re-emerge but never come too close. Papaw said that the other vehicle was taking different routes through whatever town because the convoy was attracting all the thrillers towards them. It was only one Suburban with about four people in it from what he could tell, and it made sense for them to try a different way because they were more maneuverable than any of the rigs in the convoy.
As they crossed over the Ohio River into Indiana, the conversation switched to the boats in the water. Several boats had been tethered together and were floating lazily with the current. They wondered if anyone was still alive and how they were faring in the apocalypse. Everyone also noticed the hundreds of thrillers standing on the shore, wading into the water towards the boats, and being swept away. Out in the middle of nowhere, their cell service would have been spotty at best two weeks ago, but now it was worse. They noticed early in the day cell that service was getting harder and harder to come by.
In the city of Greensburg, the convoy turned onto the main road through town. It appeared that the local college had been having a home game the day ZomPoc had started, because the streets were filled with cars and thrillers much in the same fashion College Station, Texas, had been. Bill was starting to have anxiety about going through town when Papaw broke through his thoughts.
“Our little friend has decided to stay on our tail this time. He’s so close to the trailer that I can’t see him in the side view mirrors. Thank goodness for the backup camera we put on there. He is close, but not threatening. Memaw said she can see two men and two women in the cab so far. They look pretty haggard too.”
“Copy.”
Bill thought now about how long they had been back there. He was sure the others were thinking it too. They’d made it past the college with only one new dent in the hood of the 4Runner when, up ahead, they noticed ambulances blocking the road right next to a little blue sign with a capitol H on it.
“FUCK, FUCK, FUCK. Hold up everyone. We have to assess this situation. It’s about go full SNAFU.”
“Um, excuse me, but since when did dead people walking around become situation normal?” D snapped into the coms. Bill could tell her anxiety level had also risen considerably. He looked around and realized the whole convoy was surrounded, including their newest addition. To punctuate the point, Shane spoke up.
“Um, y’all? We can’t just sit here. We need to get a move on. These stink sacks are pounding on the windows pretty good. Everyone in here is… Oh shit, one just broke through a window in the back!”
Without further ado, Bill signaled Charity to move forward. They could hear gunshots over the coms. Now every RV had people shooting at the thrillers crowding in on every side.
“Keep up,” Bill hollered into his mic.
Charity drove the 4Runner up onto the grassy area between the road and the sidewalk, knocking over the hospital sign on her way around the ambulances. It was on a wooden post and snapped pretty easily. That confused Bill for a moment; it should have been on a metal post with breakaway bolts. He pondered on this longer than he should have. That made him wonder if he was losing his grip on reality or if the pain in his shoulder was making him delusional. The city had been postcard perfect before ZomPoc. He liked the way all the yards sloped down to the sidewalk and away from the hundred-year-old colonial-style houses that lined this neighborhood. As the 4Runner leaned up slightly on his side, he looked left and noticed a telephone pole there and had a moment of panic.
“Papaw, be very careful up here. Behemoth will lean considerably to the driver’s side right next to a telephone pole.”
“Copy. I have the phone pole in sight. Thanks for the heads up.”
Driving down the sidewalk proved to be a lot of fun for Charity. She remembered when she’d just been learning to drive and her uncle had given her a hard time. He would say things like, “Tell me when you’re out and about so I can stay off the sidewalk.” Her gut clenched, and her eyes started to burn with unshed tears, not knowing if she would ever see her favorite uncle ever again.
Bill gently broke into her thoughts.
“Char, turn back to the street now. Were past the ambulances.”
Looking at them as they passed, there had clearly been a struggle and panic when ZomPoc had started. Blood that had once run out of the back of both ambulances like a river cascading over the bumper onto the pavement was now dried and black. Skeletons wearing bloody and shredded EMS uniforms lay between them. Now, looking ahead and still bumping from left to right with thrillers falling prey to the massive bumper, another problem arose. The intersection ahead was filled with wrecked cars.
“Son of a whore, not again,” Bill muttered under his breath. “Charity, go over there.” He pointed to the right, to a parking lot that had an exit on the next street. They pushed one car out of the way as they crossed Montgomery Road into the parking lot of a Quickie Lube shop. They drove through a grassy area twenty-five yards wide with a slight downhill incline to it into the next parking lot. He was thankful that, for whatever reason, this part of the city didn’t have curbs bordering everything. They passed the crash and re-entered onto Lincoln Street.
A couple of blocks up the road, the thrillers finally started to thin out, but Charity was not able to shift the 4Runner out of four-wheel drive until they got to the other side of Interstate 74. Trying to be more proactive, Bill got a cell signal again and found an alternate route around the next small city called Rushville. He noticed that it also had a hospital in the center of town along the main road.
The next hour went by uneventfully. Everyone was ok after their close call at the hospital, but the RV window would need to be taped over or replaced. Papaw confirmed their tagalong had fallen back to a safe distance again. Never once had they made an aggressive move, but they too had lost a couple of windows at the hospital.
Just before the Interstate 70 interchange was where they had preplanned their next gas stop. They pulled into a truck stop that no one had ever heard of before, because the national chain truck stop up the road fifty yards had a restaurant attached to it. Nobody wanted to clear a whole restaurant. The main convoy pulled up to the gas pumps, and those with guard duty this stop jumped out and posted where they were supposed to and took out the few thrillers that were hanging around.
“Didn’t they read the sign?” Bill said “No loitering, or trespassers will be arrested. I guess today is their lucky day. They don’t have to be Bubba’s bitch!”
“Bill, our little friend has stopped out on the road. They are just waiting there,” Papaw said.
“I see them. I’m going t
o walk over there and get a site rep and see what they want. If you see anything—”
“I already got the driver in my sights,” D said, cutting him off.
“And I have the passenger,” added Sasha.
Bill walked towards the mystery suburban that had followed them across two states. The occupants sat motionless, and although he could not see most of their hands, he did not point his AR at them. He kept it at the low ready even though he wasn’t sure if his shoulder would allow him to pull it up fast enough. When he got within earshot, he broke the silence.
“Hello, name’s Bill. We don’t want to hurt you, but just know that for now, I have rifles pointed at you folks in front. We noticed you following us since Campbellsville and we wondered why.”
“We, uh, saw y’all passing through town,” the man in the driver’s seat said. Bill just stood silently and let him continue.
“You see, there were some bad folks there. And uh…”
The woman in the passenger seat muttered something to him, and he whispered back, never taking his eyes off Bill. Bill could not hear anything they said to each other, but he got the impression the woman didn’t like that the man was sharing openly.
“Well, they were mean as an old junkyard dog, and when they didn’t follow y’all, we took the opportunity to escape, using you as cover. Our hope was that if they did give chase, you might could help us out. We needed to leave there bad, and we thank you for coming through when you did.”
“Well, don’t thank us. We are just trying to get to our family. Why didn’t you turn off somewhere? Why did you follow us for so long?”
“Not real sure. You didn’t seem to mind, and we have nowhere to go. So, we talked along the way and kind of figured as long as you didn’t try to kill us, we would hang back and not be in your way. That’s a pretty good system you have for getting though towns filled with them things though.”
“Thanks. Well, we’re gassing up, and then we have another three-hour push to get where we’re going tonight. Why don’t y’all fill up too, and we can talk?”
“Sounds nice, but we don’t know you, and we like our buttholes the way they are.”
Bill roared with laughter, and it startled the occupants of the suburban.
“Oh shit. My apologies.”
He laughed a little more as he grabbed his shoulder to ease the pain.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Please come up, meet everyone, and we will see how it goes.”
Bill turned before the man could reply and walked back to the 4Runner. The suburban pulled up to the building instead of a gas pump. Then its four occupants slowly removed themselves and looked around wearily. The man from the back seat looked up at D with a scrutinizing eye and seemed satisfied that she was not aiming at them anymore but towards the gas station across the road. He then walked over to another vehicle and started examining it. Bill walked over to them again and informed them that they had a team of folks clearing the inside and that as soon as they got the all-clear, everyone could go inside and use the restrooms and get whatever else they wanted.
“So. Uh, where y’all headed anyway?” the driver asked.
“Mmmm, like I said before, my name’s Bill. What’s yours?” Bill said as he stuck out his hand.
“Right, uh…Mike,” the man said as they shook hands. “Sorry, we’re still really shook up about what went down the last few days.”
“Well, uh, Mike, it’s nice to meet you. We’re headed to Ft. Wayne to check on my friend’s parents. After that, we’re going to make our way over to Washington State and start a new life.”
Mike chuckled at being called “uh, Mike.”
“Listen, you are all more than welcome to continue traveling with us. We don’t have a lot of time right now for story swapping, but we will tonight as we settle in and eat dinner and whatnot.”
“Yea, that sounds great. We don’t have a lot to offer the group right now, and we’re actually looking to swap to a better ride. We don’t want to hold you up. So, if we’re going to keep up, we better get a move on.”
“Sure, sounds good. Hey, as long as you can shoot bad guys and not steal from us, that is all the contributing we need right now. We will firm things up later tonight.”
“We can definitely agree to that,” Mike said enthusiastically.
“Sweet, no worries. Y’all do what you need to, and we’ll wait. I figure y’all have about fifteen to twenty minutes before we’re ready anyway. I have some slowpokes in my group.”
Mike and his crew swapped over their measly belongings to a four-door F-250 four-wheel drive that had been the pride and joy of a local farmer not but a week ago. It had been fixed up with large all-terrain tires, a massive bumper, and accessory lighting. Bill was almost jealous. Almost. All they had between them was a backpack, a grocery sack of food, a baseball bat, and whatever they’d pulled out of the gas station right before the convoy had left. Bill held to his word that they would not leave their newest companions behind. Once everyone was situated, they headed north again.
Chapter 6. Ft Wayne
"Everybody, please return tray tables and seat backs to the upright position as we prepare for final approach into Fort Wayne. And thank you for flying with Wild Bill Airways.”
It was after dark when they rolled into town. And it was completely dark. The day had been overcast and gray, threatening rain that didn't come. The same clouds subsequently blocked out the moon and stars. It was clear the power was out in the whole city. Bill didn't know yet if the whole grid had finally gone down or if the local substation had fried. If he was being honest with himself, he looked forward to the power grid going down. It meant the stars at night would be amazing.
He turned on the light bar mounted to his roof rack, and it lit up the road in front of them considerably. Thrillers were drawn to the light like flying pests to a porch light. This was going to present a new problem that would need to be dealt with. The NVGs were packed away and would need to be more accessible from now on. For the last hour, Bill and Charity had discussed their childhoods and common experiences of spending summers helping grandparents on farms and stacking wood for the winter. He could tell she was hopeful about finding her parents, but there was a sadness of the probable reality at the edges of her body language. It was all too apparent in the way her shoulders slumped and from the wringing of her hands. She had not heard from her parents since before ZP1. Since Bill and she had crossed paths, she’d usually been very positive and happy, but on this day, she'd been melancholy and introspective.
The golf course neighborhood was secluded and to the west of the city, but the houses did not have fences around each yard like most suburban neighborhoods. Thrillers would have easy access to wander up from any direction.
Papaw swung Behemoth all the way to the left before he pulled into the first driveway on the right. Once the trailer was almost straight, he backed it up, blocking off the only entrance and exit onto Prestwick lane. It was a circle drive and large enough for Papaw to turn around with no problem. They had people rotating watch all night long, looking for anyone that might have followed them by vehicle. The rest of the convoy went to the end of the street and utilized the turn-around. They stopped in front of Charity’s childhood home, facing the way out. Since there were several cars parked along the street, they just stopped in the middle of the road. Bill didn't think anyone was going anywhere anytime soon, so it didn't really matter. Another watch rotation would be set up in front of her parents’ house, looking out for anything or anyone coming in by foot.
"You ready for this?"
"No, I'm scared shitless of what we're going to find in there."
"I'm sure. But you have us now no matter what. I know it doesn't mean much now, but it will someday no matter what we find inside."
"Thanks. Let's get this over with so I can have my closure."
Bill admired her resolve and her strength. She had saved his ass a few times now, as he had hers. He hoped her family was a
live and well inside, but he was going to miss his traveling companion. It'd only been seven days since they’d met, but it had been seven of the hardest, most gut wrenching, and emotionally charged days of either of their lives. And he'd been in three combat zones. When you share an experience like that with someone, it bonds you together for life.
The house was quite large, and it was two stories. Bill guessed it was at least four thousand square feet. There was a basketball goal on a pole cemented in the ground by the garage. Bill had a brief vision of Charity as a little six-year-old playing b-ball with her dad. It felt like a movie: perfect neighborhood, perfect house, and a perfect family. The walkway leading to the front door was stamped and stained concrete. The grass had been neatly trimmed a week ago, as had all the hedges around the front porch. Landscaping was nicely done in Bill’s opinion, with river rocks for flowerbed borders.
They walked up to the front door with Q, Jake, and Terry in tow. Charity tried the door knob, but it was locked. She reached in her pocket and pulled her keys out, selected one, and slid it in the door knob. After she opened the door, she took one step in. Then she turned and walked back to where D was standing.
"I can't go in there yet. It smells of death. You guys clear it, and then I'll go in," she said as she walked by.
With little more than a nod, the four men locked their NVGs in place and headed in. They found two adults and two kids torn to shreds in the formal living room off to the left. Bill guessed the kids to be between ten and fourteen. They passed through the adjoining dining room and took a right into the large kitchen. It was nice, with a six-burner gas stove in the island and double ovens on one wall. The house was designed for entertaining large groups of people. A door to their left that led to the back yard was wide open.
Down a short hall to the family room, another body was found on the floor. She was in better shape than the others, and when they walked in, she started to move. Bill and Q watched her lift her head and look at them. They could see her one remaining eye was cloudy, and her jaw began to open and close. Brain matter was then added to the coagulated sticky mess that already surrounded the body. A door leading to the garage was closed. Upon a quick inspection, nothing moved.
Beginning of the New Beginning, Vol 1 Page 12