Lice and fleas were another problem. Lice, fleas, and cockroaches had infested nearly everything. Before the Turning, no store ever stocked more than a couple of bottles of delousing chemicals, so after things got bad, you couldn’t find the debugging treatments anywhere. Fortunately, Sydney’s early experiences at the children’s shelter came in handy, and she knew exactly what to do.
She slathered the boys’ heads (and her own, when need be) in petroleum jelly and left it on for two or three hours to smother the lice. Then they soaked their heads in oil to loosen the petroleum jelly. Last of all, they used dish detergent to shampoo with until they got all the oil out. It was time-consuming, so they couldn’t do salon treatments whenever they felt like it. They had to secure an area and know there were no Turners around. Nothing was harder than trying to stave off a group of Turners when your hands kept slipping off your weapon because of all the grease. Before they met Jeremy, Sydney had kept the boys’ hair cut short to reduce the time it took to get rid of the bugs, but Jeremy had a razor and convinced them to let him shave their heads to fend off lice. He helped Sydney cut her hair short, too. It wasn’t a look she preferred, but it was better than scratching holes in her head.
Toilet breaks were often another logistical challenge. It was very important to find a suitable throne on which to contemplate one’s combat stances—especially for a girl—and sometimes Sydney would wind up dedicating an hour or so to finding a good spot. In the great outdoors, it was always necessary to scout before squatting because those Turners turned up in the weirdest places.
Sydney never mastered suspending herself in midair to her satisfaction, and she couldn’t stand drafts in her southern hemisphere. Water had stopped running a long time back, but since most people had flushed the last time, they used the privy (thank God for small favors), ample toilets were usually available in abandoned homes and businesses. The biggest hassle was sometimes having to fight off a Turner or two on the way there.
Monthly cycles were another problem she had to contend with. Because the smell of blood attracted Turners like vampires, she had to find proper feminine protection and a place to change, which could take a couple of extra hours. Some days she felt like that was all she did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Having Jeremy around, she could tell, was good for the boys. They seemed a bit more serious and were stepping up more—not that they were slackers before, by any means. Christian and Mason were now thirteen, almost as tall as Sydney, and had questions that Jeremy seemed to anticipate. He was good at anticipating their questions in casual conversation before they even asked. Austin would look a little puzzled at times, but he enjoyed the conversations and joined in on the camaraderie.
Mason took to Jeremy right away, which Sydney found interesting because he didn’t usually warm up to new people so easily. She guessed that being wary of people he didn’t know well had probably saved his life more than once. Normally, he stayed aloof, watching and waiting until he was sure that anyone new walked his (or her) talk, so to speak. After he let somebody “in,” though, he was willing to lay down his life for that person. The fact that he had accepted Sydney so quickly said a lot about his opinion of her, and she made a pact with herself to never let him down.
Austin, on the other hand, was everyone’s friend. He was quick to trust and would talk to anyone about anything. And he was perpetually happy if no one messed with his food—that’s where he drew the line. He was always fun to be around because he could find humor in just about everything. He loved to whistle and sing, but thanks to his keen sense of smell, he always stopped short of being heard by the wrong ears.
Like Mason, Christian was more serious and contemplative. A deep thinker and a bit of a philosopher, he also had a sharp intuitiveness about people. Because of that, he was often quick to accept people as friends if he sensed “good” in them, but on the flip side, Sydney had seen him completely shun others, even when they seemed sincere to everyone else. Somehow, he just knew. Sydney hadn’t seen him make a mistake yet, so she frequently used him as a guidepost when she was trying to make up her mind about a person.
All three boys had a peaceful demeanor, which increased Sydney’s sense of protectiveness toward them. She often thought their peaceful nature probably came from their fathers’ side, since that seemed to be the only common denominator.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
All in all, the trip to the base was enjoyable. Sydney found that having someone around who could carry on a grown-up conversation and still be able to keep the boys’ interest was great. They were always laughing about something—when they weren’t fighting for their lives or steering clear of scavenging parties that were a little too rowdy. Jeremy’s Special Ops training was proving to be a valuable asset, and Sydney and the boys were learning new things daily from him.
Their plan for when they reached the base was simple: get a mode of transportation (Jeremy preferred military vehicles because of the fuel modifications that had been made), stop at the explosives shack, and then break into the armory and stock up on ammunition and whatever guns they could carry. When Jeremy said he would have to use explosives to break through the steel doors of the armory. Sydney knew Christian would be watching like a hawk to pick up any new techniques that might come in handy later.
One week later, they arrived. As they drew near, the tension mounted.
13 The Base
Passing by the now deserted guard gate, they headed straight for Motor Transport to find a suitable automobile.
There were no trees around the perimeter of the base for security reasons, and as they approached the gates, everything was eerily silent. The four fell in line behind Jeremy. This was his home, and he knew his way around. Sydney didn’t know what the others expected, but she kind of thought there would be soldiers everywhere doing soldier stuff. The quietness in such a vast area was unnerving. While there were no trees for Turners to hide behind or pop out from, there were plenty of structures that could serve the same purpose. This used to be a self-contained city.
Moving along, they abruptly discovered why the front was so deserted. There was a cordoned-off bivouac beyond the barracks that apparently had been used as a holding arena for soldiers suspected of having the virus. It was obvious that once one had turned, all had turned. The poor souls that had been virus-free were instantly set upon by the infected. Soldiers had been ripped apart by Turners, and the intact reanimated bodies were wandering aimlessly. That is, until they got a whiff of the small group heading their way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
What shocked Sydney most was the raw outrage that poured out of them. The hunger for live flesh overwhelmed the turned ones, and the whole pack moved as one toward the small group. Had it not been for the military-strength reinforcements in the fencing that surrounded them, the five travelers soon would have started moving to the Turner tango.
With Jeremy taking the lead, the group showed the Turners that they, too, could move as one!
Jeremy led them past the officers’ quarters, with everyone but Sydney popping off Turners along the way. The only “good” thing about Turners was that they didn’t attack as an organized body. It was every Turner for itself. This gave the survivors a distinct, not to mention merciful, advantage.
The Motor T was just ahead, and they could see the Humvees that had been left. Military Humvees were ideal because no keys were needed, and they were usually gassed up.
It was turning out to be a great day! The Humvees were ready to go. Jeremy picked out two and loaded some extra filled gas cans in the back then they headed over to the PX at the back of the base.
Once there, Jeremy and the boys scouted out the main areas and took care of any wandering soulless ones while Sydney started searching the pantries.
Just as they had hoped, there was plenty of food. The outbreak had happened so swiftly that no one was thinking about getting to the food supplies and survival items. The soldiers who still could, just left. The group of five pulled to
gether a meal that could’ve received five stars, as far as any of them were concerned, and they feasted like kings.
With their stomachs full, they began to gather MREs, cammies, boots, undergarments, tents, batteries, duct tape, and flashlights, Sydney mentally checked off the list of provisions they needed, in addition to basic cookware. While she was at it, she also loaded up on baking soda. It was indispensable for personal hygiene—not only did it keep plaque off teeth and sooth poison ivy and bee stings, but it also kept one’s feet in reasonably good shape, too.
Since the Humvees were already equipped with comms, all they needed to pick up were handheld radios. That was Jeremy’s idea. They grabbed backpacks in case they needed to abandon the cars and hoof it and, last, but not least, was a small generator.
While everything was being loaded on and into the cars, Jeremy made sure there was a working radio in each of them. With the PX crossed off their list, they moved on to the explosives shack. Sydney was especially excited about that, because nothing was as daunting as fighting off a swarm of rotten ones with only a fire iron. This was the day that would finally change that!
As the vehicles pulled up, Turners were shuffling about the front of the building. They found a relatively clear spot and got out.
“Hey, Jeremy,” Sydney called out as she brought her fireplace poker down on the center of a sergeant’s head, producing a perfect pressure release. “I’m definitely ready to upgrade my means of defense. Any suggestions?”
Exploding the heads of two Turners who were lined up just right with one shot, Jeremy shouted back, “I’ll set you up when we break into the armory!”
14 Loading Up
After getting rid of the last of the Turners strolling around in front, Jeremy, Christian, and Sydney entered the explosives shack and went straight to the locker, while Mason and Austin stood guard.
“I’ll do the honors,” Christian said, and he deftly opened the lock. Jeremy grabbed enough C4, blasting caps, and detonation cord to blast the door on the armory and have surplus.
On their way out, a new group of Turners was coming at them. Sydney was beginning to miss the great open outdoors. There were too many hiding places around the base. The boys were shooting, and Sydney was swinging, ruining her last change of clothes. She never ceased being amazed at how much fluid they could fling in a fight, considering they weren’t pumping anything through their bodies anymore.
“This way!” Jeremy yelled. Sometimes it was better to run than to stand, especially if the wanderers had recently turned. The group gained distance quickly.
Within five minutes they came to the armory, where the guns and ammunition were stored. Hallelujah! My fireplace poker is about to be retired! Sydney thought.
Jeremy pulled up next to the side of the armory and told Mason to use the cab of the Humvee to climb up onto the roof of the building. Then he tossed Mason’s rifle up to him and told him if he spotted a wandering Turner, he should dispose of it quietly rather than announcing their presence to the other rotting ones.
Running to the front of the building, Jeremy started to whip out the explosives when Christian let out a yelp of joy. It seemed that in all the chaos, the armory had been left wide open. Then again, what would Turners do with guns, anyway? The odd thing was that it hadn’t already been emptied. The group couldn’t believe their luck.
Jeremy led them straight to the guns and accessories.
Looking at Christian, he gave instructions while pointing. “Go along that side and gather up one M-4 per person. Sydney, Austin, I want you to go along that wall and get cleaning kits, magazines, extra gun oil and ammo boxes. You can use these small duffel bags. Get everything into the vehicles as fast as you can. I’ll get an assortment of handguns and a shotgun. Am I clear?”
They all gave an affirmative nod and set to work. Finding their assigned items quickly, they made two trips with their treasures. When everything was loaded, they headed to their last stop, the infirmary.
Even though Sydney and the boys had covered nearly everything in their conversations, one thing they rarely talked about was the need to fight off Turners when they really didn’t feel up to the task. Sydney could remember more than once dealing with a migraine and having to bash in decaying heads when she felt like bashing in her own. Then there were other times when one or more of them had a bad cold or the flu. The drugstores had been raided early on by junkies that hadn’t been caught and turned, or by people who had sick friends or family and knew the drugs would be the first to go.
Thankfully, there were still drugs at the infirmary. Jeremy put together a field medic bag with scissors, bandages, powdered penicillin, painkillers, and other first-aid items that would most likely come in handy.
Then they all heard the yelling.
15 Lucy
As they raced out of the infirmary with the last of their haul, their first concern was that their newly acquired supplies were being raided—but what they saw was a girl standing in the street, screaming as though she was surrounded.
Jeremy ran over to her and cupped his hand over her mouth, tightly. There were no Turners to be seen, and he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. After silencing the girl, he pulled her to the relative safety of the Humvees. At least now they weren’t standing in full view of potential onlookers.
“What are you doing?” Jeremy demanded. “Are you nuts? There are Turners all around here, and they’re hungry!”
The girl looked bewildered. “I was just trying to see if anyone was around. I’m Lucy Draven, by the way.”
Jeremy and the others couldn’t believe what they were hearing. It was obvious that she had been surviving by sheer luck.
“What?” Jeremy said, bewildered.
Lucy went on as though he hadn’t said a word.
“My boyfriend calls me every two weeks. He’s in acquisition,” she added proudly. “When I stopped hearing from him, I thought he might be fooling around on me. I came in from that side, and when I didn’t see anyone, I thought I would just start yelling to get someone’s attention.”
“Well, there’s no one else around, and we have to get out of here now,” Jeremy said, looking as if he were debating something. “If you want to come with us, you can. If not, you’d better go back to where you came from, because that screaming of yours is going to bring Turners around the corner any minute.”
“Oh, the dead people?” Lucy asked.
Sydney was incredulous. “Who are you?”
“Lu-cy Dra-ven,” the girl answered slowly and with exaggerated enunciation, as though Sydney were the dense one.
It turned out that Lucy had been in a camp in the wilderness for several months trying to “find” herself. The Turners she had encountered on her way back into town were older and not so fast. She had simply walked faster.
“Of all the dumb luck,” Jeremy said out loud, but Sydney knew what he was really thinking: dumb luck, or a miracle? He had told Sydney that he was tired of all the death he’d witnessed as a soldier, so the fact that this obviously naïve, or insane, young girl was standing there rocked him a bit.
But there was no time to philosophize. A new throng of Turners had begun to pop up, attracted by the noise, so the group’s imminent need was to get off the base to a safer location—and now there was one more person to worry about.
“Let’s go, NOW!” Jeremy commanded. No one was about to argue with him, so they piled into the vehicles. Jeremy took Christian and Austin with him, and Sydney took Mason and Lucy. Mason sat behind Lucy so he could keep an eye on her.
Sydney followed Jeremy as he wove his way through the base, avoiding Turners as much as possible. Most of them were easy enough to go around or knock off one at a time, but when they bunched up, they could overwhelm a car through sheer volume.
Passing through the gates of the base, Sydney gave a sigh of relief. Life was hard and accomplishing a feat like they just had entitled them all to a moment of exhilaration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
&nbs
p; Thirty minutes after leaving the base, Sydney started getting uneasy vibes about Lucy. She couldn’t figure out if the girl was in a state of shock or if she just had a peculiar personality. Shock, Sydney could deal with, but if this was Lucy’s personality, they were going to have to make other travel arrangements. Mason remained vigilant.
The weirdest thing was that Lucy wouldn’t stop talking. In a steady stream, she rambled on about totally mundane and irrelevant things. She talked about the weather, animals she once had, and relatives that Sydney and Mason didn’t have a clue about, as though they both had been close friends of hers for a long time and knew all about her. When Sydney tried to steer the conversation to something they could all relate to, Lucy behaved as though she hadn’t heard Sydney, continuing on with her own train of thought.
Sydney gave up after a bit and figured that whenever Lucy eventually finished, silence would be better than her rambling monologue.
Sydney acknowledged that she hadn’t been much of a “people” person for most of her life at that point. Having spent so much time alone and being able to depend only on herself had made her something of a recluse. Things had been working fine between her and the boys in large part because the boys had such warm and honest personalities. They were so innocent—except where the fight to survive was concerned—and guileless. Her guard was also dropping with Jeremy because she was beginning to think of him the same way she had thought of her brother, who she still deeply missed.
So, she decided to keep her mouth shut and see where things would go. After all, at least Lucy was still human, and from Sydney’s perspective, humans were in the minority now.
Sydney tuned into the channel that Jeremy had told her to and called him.
“Jeremy, are you there?”
“Still in front of you.”
“Ha, ha. I was just making sure we could talk on these.”
“How is Lucy doing?”
“Well, uh, she’s okay. I think there might be a little shock going on, but I’m not a doctor.”
Turners | Book 1 | The Beginning Page 4