by Dan McMartin
“I wasn’t going to do it...I don’t think. But damn, it’s tempting,” Anders admitted as the two men parted.
“You’re all I’ve got, Anders,” Gunny told his friend.
“I can say the same thing now, I suppose. What the fuck are we going to do? Live out our lives in this old house? Are we going to end up like that old couple in the bedroom?” Anders asked. Just then his phone rang. It was Espinoza. Anders answered and put him on speaker.
“Hey, I’m really sorry about Nina and Cindy,” he began. Anders didn’t feel any better about losing his wife and daughter, but he was past the worst of it.
“Thanks,” he replied.
“I’ve got some good news. I’ve been going through my contacts, trying to figure out what’s going on. I know a guy that ended up in the CIA. He’s alive, hunkered down at Langley with a few dozen survivors. Seems like this is everywhere, all over the world,” Espinoza said.
“That’s good news?” Gunny asked.
“I’m getting there, you fucking jarhead,” Espinoza teased. “Word is there’s a carrier group on the way to San Francisco. They’re doing the same in Norfolk. That’s where my buddy is headed. Helmsworth and I are going to San Francisco to help secure the peninsula,” Espinoza told them. Anders looked up at Gunny, hope in his eyes.
“Then that’s where we’re headed. We need to get into this fight,” Gunny said. Anders smiled. He needed purpose. So did Gunny, for that matter.
“We’ll leave today,” Anders added, looking to Gunny for reassurance. Gunny nodded.
“Then we’ll see you there. I’ve got more news. Um...,” Espinoza began to say but paused.
“What is it?” Anders asked tentatively.
“The President launched several nukes to try and stop this. It obviously didn’t work. It was probably never going to work but desperate times...anyway, my buddy in the CIA says Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and New York are gone,” Espinoza finished.
“Holy fuck,” Gunny said.
“Yeah. It’s fucked up. I just wanted you to know. I hope neither of you had family or friends there. Helmsworth’s dad lived outside of Chicago. He hasn’t heard a word,” Espinoza informed them.
“Tell him we’re thinking about him,” Anders replied. Neither Anders nor Gunny knew anyone in any of those cities. Still, the news was shocking.
“Will do. See you in San Francisco. Be careful...oh, and by the way, don’t let one of those things bite you. You’ll turn into one of them. And you need to kill the brain to kill them. Good luck,” Espinoza told them.
“Thanks for the heads up. Good luck,” Anders said.
“Take care, squid,” Gunny said. Espinoza laughed and then hung up. “Make sure to wear some flowers in your hair,” he told Anders. His friend looked at Gunny like he was crazy. “You know, that song from the sixties,” Gunny added. Anders shook his head.
“Never heard it,” he said.
“Forget it. At least it’s not raining today. There’s an old Ford pickup in the garage. We can drive there,” Gunny said.
“I’ll make breakfast and gather some food. You sort this shit out,” Anders told Gunny, referring to the guns and gear they had collected.
“Deal. I like my eggs sunny side up and my coffee black,” Gunny said.
“Like your men?” Anders asked. Gunny laughed. There was the man he befriended when he was assigned to Redding. At some point, in the face of a situation like they faced, all you could do was laugh.
“You’re the one that joined the Navy,” Gunny said and began singing the Village People’s hit, “In the Navy,” adding his own words about man on man love as he went. Anders shook his head as he walked by to go make breakfast.
Chapter 9
“What the hell is this?” Pete asked.
“Uh...a French press,” Anna replied. The pair was inventorying the cabin’s contents. Figuring out exactly what they had and what they might need. The plan was the stay there at Mike’s cabin as long as they could. They hadn’t seen any zombies since the night before last.
“So, what the hell is that?” Pete pressed.
“Really? It’s for making coffee,” Anna told him. Pete turned it over, trying to imagine making coffee with the contraption.
“So...do we want to take it?” he asked.
“Well, we can’t take the drip machine,” Anna said.
“And coffee is pretty important. Fine, we’ll take it,” Pete told her and set it aside with the rest of the supplies and gear that they were going to put in the Jeep. Pete had spent the morning reading articles on the internet about survival, prepping, bugging out and such. They were building a bug out bag, a kit really, that would reside in Pete’s Jeep. They didn’t plan on leaving the cabin but Pete and Anna agreed they didn’t want to be caught without a backup plan.
Not that either of them had a choice but they were partners in this. It was no secret between them that they were attracted to one another. Pete had been hot for Anna for months. Anna had flirted with him for just as long. But making love the previous night had cemented the partnership. Things were said, deep, meaningful things.
After making love, both Pete and Anna expressed their feelings in no uncertain terms. Maybe their attraction was really that strong but more likely they both wanted to latch onto something, to commit while they still could. It had only been a few days but the pair had come to terms with the state of affairs. The world they knew was gone. All they had was the cabin and each other.
But that didn’t make their feelings any less valid or meaningful. Pete and Anna had just forgone the usual courting. There were no guarantees anymore and spending weeks or months feeling each other out, flirting and getting to know one another was a luxury they couldn’t afford. They had become a couple, their relationship already surviving a series of trials by fire. Stuff like that could tear people apart but it brought Pete and Anna closer together.
“Have you seen batteries? This is dead,” Anna asked, holding up a red radio. Pete looked the radio over.
“You don’t need them. Crank the handle. It’s got a charger inside. Looks like it’s got a solar panel on top too,” Pete told her. Anna pulled the handle that folded against the radio’s body out and began to turn it. It made a whirring noise as she cranked it. As she did, her breasts swayed enticingly under her tank top and she noticed Pete staring.
“Enjoying the show?” she asked flatly. Pete lifted his eyes to meet her’s.
“Immensely,” he said. Anna smiled. “Maybe we could do this later, eh?” Pete suggested.
“Down, boy,” Anna told him and laughed when Pete stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. “After dinner, I’ll show you what I can do with these,” Anna said, referring to her breasts.
“What?” Pete asked excitedly.
“You’ll have to wait to see,” Anna said. Pete chuckled. Their flirting had become much more explicit since the previous night. Pete wanted to take Anna to bed and have his way with her. Anna, he thought, wanted that too. But things had to get done. Being the last man and woman on earth, or at least in that particular area of the earth, had its advantages but it was hard work too.
Anna stopped cranking a few minutes later and turned the radio on. There was static this time. She scanned the dial and there was music on several stations, likely played automatically by a computer that hadn’t been affected. That would change soon enough. The power grid, the phone lines, the internet couldn’t last forever without maintenance. Soon, all of it would be gone.
Anna checked the AM band and the same thing. Music, static and sometimes, the President’s pre-recorded message that Pete had heard. “What’s SW mean?” Anna asked after scanning the dial and then she showed the knob to Pete. He leaned forward to examine it. The dial had five settings. FM, AM, Weather and then SW1 and SW2.
“Shortwave, I think. We had a shortwave radio when I was a kid. You could pick up stations from China and Europe. My friends and I used to laugh at the funny languages and accents. Try it. Maybe w
e can find something useful,” Pete suggested. Anna did just that. Sure enough, there were signals from all over the world, most barely audible and mostly music. But one signal caught Pete’s attention.
“Wait, go back,” he told Anna. She did as Pete listened. It wasn’t anything specific that piqued his interest. It wasn’t music, but someone talking and it sounded vaguely familiar. A moment later, Anna found what Pete had heard and found a spot on the dial with the least static.
“...the safe zone is located in San Francisco along the northern end of the peninsula. Approaches include by land from the south, from the east over the Bay Bridge or by water. No admittance will be permitted to anyone showing signs of infection or bites. All military personnel should proceed to the safe zone as soon as possible for assignment. Civilians will be admitted as logistics allow,” the monotone voice stated.
The beginning of the message played and held no real additional information. It was the voice that had caught Pete’s attention. It wasn’t human but computer generated like weather or emergency broadcasts. Once the message had played again, Pete and Anna looked up from the radio. “Is that for real?” Anna asked.
“I guess. Why wouldn’t it be?” Pete wondered.
“I don’t know. I guess it just seems too good to be true,” she told him. Pete agreed. He had resigned himself to the idea that he and Anna were alone in this. That the government, the nation, was no longer functioning. It was every man and woman for themselves. But now, it seemed, that wasn’t the case. The military was organizing, securing San Francisco to provide a safe place. Maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed.
Suddenly, he had a choice...they had a choice to make. Staying at the cabin seemed like the smart play. Lay low, stay out of harm’s way and look out for each other until this passed or until they were forced to move. But now, they had an option. But it was more than that. They had hope. Hope that the world might not be lost completely, that maybe they could get their lives back someday.
“What do you think?” he asked Anna.
“I don’t know, what do you think?” she replied.
“It could be dangerous. We can’t take all of this with us, just the bug out supplies we’re putting together. We can’t make it without finding gas. We might run into more zombies...or more men like the ones that showed up the other night,” Pete advised.
“So we’re going?” Anna asked. Pete smiled at her.
“Fuck yeah, we’re going,” he said. Anna jumped up and hugged Pete. He felt what she was surely feeling. Hope, and it felt pretty damn good.
“I...I love you, Pete,” Anna said. That was the one word neither of them had dared to use the night before.
“I love you too, Anna. We had better get to work. We need to leave first thing in the morning,” he told her. Anna squeezed him tighter.
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked, sat down again and they got to work.
~~~
It was a long night and there were many decisions to make. Even the bigger four-door Jeep wasn’t nearly as roomy as it looked. Between food, water, fuel, survival gear, guns and ammo, it wasn’t long before sacrifices had to be made. Pete and Anna had already decided that they would find safe places to sleep and not overextend their travel. They would start looking for a secure place to bed down each night long before the sun went down.
They did a sweep of the surrounding woods before loading the Jeep the next morning. As expected, they didn’t see anything except an angry Steller’s Jay and a few squirrels. As they loaded, they were forced to cull even more stuff but finally got their gear packed. The plan was to lock up the cabin nice and tight, board up all the windows and hope it was still there if things in San Francisco went badly.
“We should call Deputy Kirkland,” Anna suggested at one point.
“Bob? He seems like the type to stick around but it’s worth a shot,” Pete agreed. Pete handed her the business card the deputy had given him. She called the number but there was no answer. “He’s probably out somewhere without coverage. We could stop by the station and see if he’s there. Leave him a note if he’s not,” Pete suggested.
“Sounds good,” Anna replied. Pete surveyed the Jeep, checked the tire pressure and the oil level. Everything was good to go.
“You ready?” he asked Anna.
“Yeah. I’m going to miss this place for some reason,” she replied.
“I know what you mean, but you never know. We might be back. I hope not but...,” Pete said, leaving his thought unsaid. The cabin had done its job. It kept the pair safe, gave them time to assess the situation, come to terms with it and now to move on. It was home, even if it was only for a few days.
They climbed in the Jeep after checking the cabin one last time. Neither of them looked at the graves they had dug as they passed. Instead, they chose to look ahead and forget that horrible night. If they were lucky, maybe San Francisco would be the end of all of this. Life may never be the same but maybe it could be something approaching normal again.
Pete took them down onto the main road and then into the small town nearby. It wasn’t hard to find the Sheriff’s station. The town wasn’t that big. There was an SUV parked out front. Pete pulled up behind it and led Anna to the station’s front door. It was open, which wasn’t unusual in normal circumstances. But this wasn’t a normal situation. Still, Pete didn’t even think twice.
“Officer Kirkland? Bob?” Anna called out. They didn’t hear a sound. Maybe that wasn’t his SUV parked out front. Maybe it belonged to another deputy.
“Let’s leave a note,” Pete told Anna. She wandered past the front counter to have a look around as Pete found a notepad and pen. He scrawled out a note telling Bob what they had heard about San Francisco, their general plans and that they hoped to see him there. That’s when Anna screamed.
Pete ran to her and found Anna in the hallway with her finger to her lips. Pete approached and looked inside the doorway Anna stood in front of. There was Bob, dead on the floor as a zombie dined on his intestines. The smell made Pete want to retch.
“It didn’t even move when I screamed,” Anna whispered.
“Too busy, I guess,” Pete replied.
“We can’t leave him like that,” Anna said.
“No, we can’t,” Pete assured her. He pulled his grandfather’s 1911 out of the holster on his belt, double checked to make sure there was a round in the chamber and aimed at the zombie. It was oblivious to Pete and Anna, too engaged in its meal to notice them. The zombies seemed to operate on pure instinct and this one’s instincts had been satisfied.
But before Pete fired, he lowered the gun and holstered it. “What are you doing?” Anna asked.
“Saving ammo...and probably our ears,” he said and pulled the hunting knife he wore on his opposite hip, the one he found in Mike’s cabin. He entered the office and without more than a moment’s hesitation, sank the knife into the zombie’s temple. It went limp and fell forward over Deputy Kirkland’s body.
Pete wiped the blade clean on the Zombie’s jeans and put it away in its leather sheath before turning towards Anna. “Should we bury them?” he asked.
“Bob, anyway,” she said wistfully. Things had seemed so much brighter only moments before. The pair were on their way to San Francisco, to the promised safe zone. There was hope but that was tinged upon finding Bob. There was no way to tell what had happened. Bob’s sidearm was still in its holster. If it was so easy for a sheriff’s deputy to be ambushed, anyone could become a victim.
“No, it’s too dangerous. If this thing managed to sneak up on Bob and kill him, I don’t want to take the chance,” Pete said. Anna looked about the hallway as if there might be a zombie lurking in the shadows. She nodded.
“You’re right,” she said and pulled her own knife, another found at the cabin. She knelt next to Bob and pierced his temple with the blade. “Just in case,” she said as she pulled the blade free.
“Good idea. Deputy Kirkland seemed like a good guy. I wonder
if he could come back in that condition?” Pete wondered. Anna surveyed the body as she wiped her blade clean. The intestines were laying everywhere but his heart and lungs were intact, or appeared to be.
“I don’t know,” Anna said. She put her knife away as Pete put his arm around her.
“Come on. Let’s go before more of those things show up,” he told her. Anna smiled at him but there was no joy in her eyes. They left the office, climbed into the Jeep and headed west. The town they were leaving was small but even here, there were several wrecked or abandoned cars and several of the gray creatures shambling about aimlessly. Pete couldn’t help but think that the little town of Westwood belonged to the dead now.