MARZ | Book 2 | MARZ 2

by Davis, James

  “No clue. We started back this way to lead the horde away from the town. I don’t think any continued toward the town after we drove away.” Dwight replied.

  “What's the plan now?” Johnny's voice asked.

  “I guess we’re going to lead them as far out of town as we can. How much fuel is in the bronco?” Roosevelt asked.

  “About a half tank if the gauge is correct.” Johnny replied.

  “Perfect, here's what we’re going to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  12:33 p.m. January 4, 2049

  Southeast Tennessee

  The semi continued past the truck stop leading the horde out away from the town while the Bronco paced ahead watching for signs of trouble. The plan was simple, Johnny and Bud were to stay ahead of the semi until they had led the horde at least twenty miles away from the town. They would then speed up getting out of the hordes sight and then stop to check and see how many men were still in the trailer. After that they would get back in and take the long way around and back to the town staying out of the hordes sight completely. Hopefully, the horde would continue in the direction they were going and not double back to the town.

  “It’s going to work. Those things are dumb as shit. No way they’re going to figure out what we’re doing.” Roosevelt said into the radio as they sped off, away from the sprinting horde of zeds. Once they were miles ahead of the horde Bud turned the bronco to the right and followed the road several more miles before cutting back toward Sweetwater. The drive back was eventless and quiet until they pulled up to the opposite end of town. Bodies lay all over the street in groups as a few of the zeds continued to feed on the lifeless corpses. They had stopped far enough away that the zeds didn’t notice them right away.

  “Oh God no!” Bud said in a weak voice as he started to get out of the truck.

  “Bud wait a minute!” Johnny said, excitedly. Bud turned his head to look at him, an angry expression on his face.

  “What?” He demanded. Johnny cleared his throat.

  “You’re going to get every damn one of those things after us if you walk up there now. Let’s come up with a plan and find out who all is still alive inside.” Johnny said. Bud looked at him for a long time before turning back to the scene outside.

  “What did you have in mind?” He finally said.

  “Well I was thinking that we might find survivors in some of these houses and we can take out any zeds we find without alerting the rest of them and getting ourselves killed in the process.” Johnny replied. Bud thought about that for a second as he stared out at the few zeds consuming his people. He gave a short nod and then turned back to Johnny.

  “Better let them know what we’re doing.” He said before turning back to stare out of the window. Johnny hailed Roosevelt on the CB and explained the plan. They all checked their rifles and loaded empty mags before getting out of the vehicles and quickly moving to the closest house. Roosevelt led them around to the back of the house and slowed to climb the short set of stairs that led to the back door. A bloody handprint was smeared across the glass door and a dark-haired woman lay lifeless on the floor. Roosevelt slowly opened the door and moved inside, his rifle up and scanning from side to side. They had entered the homes kitchen, the smell of burnt rice wafted through the air from the stove. Bud walked over and turned off the burner before looking down at the woman on the floor.

  “I think her name was Cindy.” Bud said, shaking his head. He started to turn away from the woman when her eyes snapped open, her milky white eyes staring into his soul. She shot to her feet with a loud howling scream and lunged for Bud. She grabbed him by the arm and opened her mouth wide displaying two rows of straight, red stained teeth. She jerked his arm to her mouth and started to clamp down, but Roosevelt slammed his rifle but into her mouth, knocking out every single one of her front teeth. Bud gasped for air as his life suddenly flashed in his mind. Roosevelt knocked the screaming zed to the ground and then stomped down hard on it with his massive size fourteen boot, It took several stomps but the things head finally cracked open like a watermelon, her brain leaking out of the gaping split in the side of her head.

  “Jesus Christ! Did you have to stomp out her brains?” Bud asked, looking a little green around the gills.

  “I don’t know, Bud, did you want to get bitten?” Roosevelt shot back. Bud grunted and moved to the living room away from the gruesome scene. Johnny followed behind him and headed for the open front door. He eased it closed and then turned back to see Roosevelt using a white hand towel from the counter to wipe the brain from his boot. When he finished, he joined his two companions in the front room.

  “Alright let’s search the place and then move to the next one. Times a wastin’!” Johnny said, heading up to the second floor. Roosevelt headed deeper into the main floor rooms and returned a few minutes later. Bud was staring out of the big bay window at the sheer carnage that had unfolded in his small town. Johnny came back down the stairs no worse for wear and stopped next to Bud and Roosevelt. They all three stared out at the numerous bodies that lay in the street. Some were starting to move again and then get to their feet. Roosevelt sighed,

  “Oh no. The bastards got Miss Mary.” He said, sadness spilling onto his words as he spoke them.

  “What! Where?” Bud said, urgency in his voice. Roosevelt pointed out to the house across the road and three doors down where Mary shuffled along with two other zeds.

  “Sonsabitches!” Bud growled before turning and heading out the back door. The three men made their way to the next house killing two more zeds along the way. They entered the next house, again through the back door so none of the zeds out front could see them. The kitchen was a mess, dirty dishes were piled up in the sink and stacked on the counter next to it. The smell of old trash filled their nostrils as they moved deeper into the junk filled house.

  “Whoever lives here is a hoarder.” Roosevelt said, stepping over boxes stacked in every spare inch of the house. Most of the boxes had the familiar As Seen on T.V. logo emblazoned somewhere on them and stacks of magazines sat crooked on what they could see of the dining room table.

  “This place is so disgusting the damn zeds wouldn’t bother to come in here.” Johnny said, waving a hand under his nose.

  “Well you disrespectful little shit!” A gravelly voice sounded from behind a stack of boxes next to the dining table causing them all to flinch and bring up their rifles. A decrepit old man stepped out from behind the boxes holding a double barrel shotgun that looked to be twice as big as he was. The only thing the man had on was a pair of stained tighty whities and an Iraq Vet ball cap.

  “Frank, what in God's name are you doing living in a shithole like this?” Bud asked, not caring if he made the old man mad.

  “Why don’t you mind your own damn business and get the hell out of my house!” Frank shot back.

  Bud held out his palms, “Look I didn’t mean to disrespect your house. We’re just going through checking for survivors that can help us kill those things outside.”

  “I don’t care what you’re doing, just get the hell out!” Frank said, leveling his shotgun at the intruders.

  “Alright, alright! We’re going.” Roosevelt said, backing up toward the door. He bumped into a stack of boxes and watched as they avalanched into the floor. Bud shook his head and followed in Roosevelt's footsteps making sure to miss any more stacks of junk. Frank closed the door behind them and flipped Bud the bird before pulling the blinds closed and returning to his lair of garbage.

  “Well that was interesting.” Johnny stated as they walked over to the next yard which had a white vinyl fence around it. They found the gate and pushed it open to see several bodies on the back lawn, each with holes in their heads. The back door was open, and a man known as Mick stood inside drinking a tall can of bud while he stared out at the mess on his back lawn.

  “Mick you alright?” Bud asked, concern in his voice.

  Mick let out a long
breath, “Yeah I’m alright. Just never thought I’d be killing kids.” Mick pointed his chin at a still corpse at the bottom of the pile of dead.

  “Whose kid?” Johnny asked, feeling somewhat ashamed for even asking.

  “Not sure. They all just wondered back here earlier so I took them out.” Mick shrugged, holding up and silenced, twenty-two magnum rifle.

  “You up for helping us clear out the town?” Bud asked. Mick tipped his beer up and finished it before tossing his empty into the trash.

  “Sure! Why the hell not?” Mick said as he grabbed a box of bullets and stepped out onto the back porch.

  “Well? What’re we waiting for?” Mick asked as he headed down the stairs. They four men went from house to house as quietly as possible killing zeds where they could and gathering up survivors when they found them. By the time they had made it all the way through the small-town hours later the sun was starting to sink toward the western horizon.

  “So how are we doing this?” Roosevelt asked from the back of the small crowd of people. They had found twenty-seven people that were holed up inside of their homes waiting for help to arrive. Each person already had their own weapons and spare ammo that Bud had issued them. Bud stepped forward in front of the crowd of people and held his hands up to quiet them.

  “Alright folks settle down. I have a plan that we’ll get rid of these damn things so we can go back to our normal lives. We’re going to lead the things back to the middle of town here and once they’re in position we’ll pop up from the rooftops and unload on the sonsabitches till they’re all lying dead in the street. This is only going to work if we have a few volunteers to cruise around town on ATV’s and lead them back to where we need them. Roosevelt and I will take the side by side and lead them from one side of town and we’ll need at least one more pair of people to do the same from the opposite side of town. We’ll meet in the middle and then head back up to the roof to finish this once and for all. Anyone have any questions? Now is the perfect time to speak up.” Bud said looking from person to person. When no one answered Bud gave a short nod.

  "Alright then that settles it. We heard the zeds to the middle of town and then mow them down in the street. Now who is going to lead them in from the opposite side of town?" Bud asked.

  "We'll do it." Mick said pointing at himself and Dwight.

  "Alright the rest of you get up on the rooftops on both sides of the street and make sure your weapons are hot. Do not fire a single damn round until you see the four of us get inside one of the houses. We don't need any casualties from friendly fire." Bud stated. The group of people left the basement and took up positions on the roof while Roosevelt, Bud, Mick, and Dwight all headed for the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  6:42 p.m. January 4, 2049

  Sweetwater, Tennessee

  Roosevelt and Bud eased out of the door to the backyard of the two-story home. They jogged to the back of the property and knelt to have a look through the gas in the wooden privacy fence. The alley beyond sounded empty but they had to be certain before they climbed over. Seeing nothing through the gaps in the wooden fence they climbed over, landing on a small dumpster before dropping down to the cracked pavement below. Once they touched down on the other side, they moved down the back alley with purpose. They were several blocks away from Buds home where the UTV was parked. They could almost take the alley the entire way, but they would have to make their way around to the front of the homes they were currently running behind and cross the street to Buds single story townhouse. They made it down several blocks, turning the corner that would lead them to Buds driveway, but three zeds shuffled in their direction causing them to slide to a stop. Roosevelt started to pull his pistol and deal with the problem but before he could get a hand on his weapon three shots rang out back to back and the three zeds fell to the ground with large holes in their foreheads. Roosevelt looked over at Bud who was spinning the revolver on his finger like an old west cowboy before smoothly sliding the nickel-plated weapon back into his leather holster. The man had quick drawn his weapon and fanned the hammer three times sending three perfectly aimed shots to the center of each zeds’ forehead. Roosevelt stared at Bud half in shock. The speed and precision at which he had dispatched the three zombies was amazing to say the least.

  “Come on! We just rang the dinner bell!” Bud said, breaking into a jog toward his home. They reached the sidewalk across from Buds home and started to cross the street when they spotted a small crowd of the infected. On the run Bud drew his right-side revolver and quickly fired the last three shots in the cylinder impressing Roosevelt all over again.

  “How the hell did you learn to shoot like that?” Roosevelt asked after they had reached Buds garage. He flung open the door and the two men bolted inside slamming it closed behind them before the zeds could see where they had gone. Seconds later the growling screams and shuffling feet of at least fifteen zeds passed by the garage. When the sounds faded into the distance Bud shook his head and exhaled a deep breath.

  “Whew! I thought we’re goners for sure that time,” Bud said.

  “Goners? Ain’t no way when you can shoot like that.” Roosevelt said excitedly. Bud waved a hand at him.

  “That's just years of practice and competitions. I once held the world record for fastest quick draw. I’m nowhere near as fast as I used to be.” Bud said, as he pulled the revolver out and opened the cylinder to reload it. Spent brass fell from the weapon and he quickly placed six fresh rounds into the cylinders. After replacing the gun in his holster, he started looking the UTV over, making sure the tires still had air and there wasn’t any oil leaking out of the engine. Satisfied that the buggy was in working order he climbed into the driver's seat and stared at the garage door.

  “When we’re ready to haul ass, I’m going to need you to lift the garage door and hop in as quick as you possibly can just in case there’s any zeds out there in the road. Bud said as he tipped his hat to the back of his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. Roosevelt nodded and eased up to the door. He pressed his ear to the cold metal and listened closely for movement outside. BOOM!

  The garage door thundered as something slammed into the outside of it causing Roosevelt to almost jump out of his skin. Bud leaned forward and chuckled hearing Roosevelts girlish yelp.

  “It’s not funny jackass!” Roosevelt said, stepping back from the thundering garage door. Beating hands sounded on the door they had come through followed by more on the surrounding walls.

  “Shit! They boxed us in. Get in before they get too thick outside of the door. Bud shouted as he twisted the ignition. The UTV roared to life, sounding absolutely nothing like it did when Johnny and Roosevelt had traded it to Bud.

  “What the hell did you do to this thing?” Roosevelt asked.

  “You’d be amazed what a set of new sparkplugs and wires will do for an older engine. Put some premium fuel in it too. Thing runs like a scalded ass ape now!” Bud shouted over the growing sound of zeds slamming into the doors and walls.

  “You best buckle up and hold onto your nipples! It’s about to get wild!” Bud said as he revved the screaming engine. He stomped the pedal to the floor while holding his foot on the break and the tires began to scream sending a cloud of putrid smoke into the air. He let off the brake and the side by side shot forward, smashing through the thin metal garage door. The UTV smashed through the rows of infected as they desperately reached for the fresh meat inside. The garage door finally broke free and slid under the tires taking down several zombies with it. Bud yanked the steering wheel hard to the left as they bolted out onto the street causing the tires to screech as the buggy slid sideways. Regaining control Bud eased back on the throttle giving the massive crowd of infected a chance to catch up. Bud kept at a constant pace leading the crowd of zeds down the road. They were sprinting as hard as they could in a frenzy for the meat that was just barely out of their reach. Roosevelt was turned around staring back into the lifeless milky
white eyes of the things as they ran. Their faces were mostly torn to shreds and just about all of them were missing huge chunks of muscle and skin on some part of their body. Even if we did find a cure, we couldn’t bring these people back. They’re bodies are just too far gone. Roosevelt thought as he continued to watch the screaming monsters chase them.

  The rows of suburban homes with large oak trees scattered throughout the front yards gave way to cracked sidewalks and old brick buildings as they passed into the commercial side of town. Small storefronts and employee owned businesses littered each side of the road as they led the speeding zombies toward the kill box. Roosevelt turned back to the front and looked over at Bud. He started to say something, but an extremely loud roar sounded from the surrounding forests. The roar was louder than any of the zeds chasing them. It sounded like the roar of a silverback gorilla mixed with that of a pissed off lion.

  “What the hell was that!” Roosevelt asked, peering out at the surrounding forest. He couldn’t see very far into the tree line as the sun was almost down for the day, but he was pretty sure he already knew in which direction the roar had come from.

  “Ever heard anything like that before?” Bud asked, concern covering his words. Roosevelt shook his head.

  “No. Have you?” He asked.

  “Nope. Not sure I want to know what it was either.” Bud explained. Roosevelt just nodded and then pointed ahead.

  “We’re getting close. Go ahead and speed up away from them. We’ll be in place in a couple of minutes.” He said before turning to watch the sprinting zeds grow smaller in the distance. Bud guided the side by side down the road toward the buildings everyone was set up on. After a few minutes of distancing themselves from the growing crowd of zeds they finally came to a stop just outside of the kill box. Mick and Dwight rolled up next jumping off a pair of four wheelers as soon as they came to a stop.

  “Here they come!” A voice shouted from above them causing the four men to kick it into high gear. Roosevelt raced to the blue metal door of the building Johnny was on and grabbed the doorknob. He gave a twist, but the knob didn’t budge. Roosevelt began to panic as he turned back to the other three men and said in a shaky voice, “Someone locked the door.”