by Germann, Tom
After Tracy almost took Weibe’s head off with it when he unthinkingly opened the ‘bathroom’ door when she was in there and she took a swing at him while shrieking was it. Jimmy took the hammer out of her hands and put it through a loop on her belt while glaring at her and telling her not to pull it out until she saw a zombie. Tracy sulked but was silent.
Then when everyone had finally finished eating and cleaned up they realized they didn’t have a plan other than head to the city and find the address given.
It meant another meeting as everyone grouped in, yawning and struggling to gain focus. Everyone looked the same. Rumpled and as if they had slept in a steam bath fully dressed. Which everyone had.
Jimmy had been looking around and found the most interesting thing. There was an old-style water pump at the back of the last, most decrepit stall. They had missed it the day before, hidden behind an old wardrobe.
Jimmy had just grabbed the pump and given it a few test pumps and suddenly water had come out. He had told everyone and they had taken a few minutes to wash up. Weibe and Andreas had cupped their hands and started drinking before anyone could stop them. No one else was willing to chance the water being safe to drink but it was clear and cold which was good enough for washing.
Then after everyone had a chance to partially strip down and wash up they were standing around the vehicles. Everyone had started cold and wet but were already turning to hot and sweaty.
Wagner looked around. “Alright everyone we know the order of march and we know what we’re doing. We head to the city and find this collection point. We drive in and are going to have to play it by ear. If the streets are blocked the vehicles will go single file, if the streets are open and clear we spread out with a block between every vehicle and try to nail down this site. Remember there are train tracks nearby and it must be big enough to hold refugees, lots of refugees. I am going to guess it will be near warehouses or industrial sectors. The few maps we have are pretty crappy on the detail side. So, we drive around until we find it. We do not drive in after when we find it. If possible we leave a vehicle further away with some back up supplies in it. It’s not that I don’t trust the locals … but I don’t trust the locals. If they see us all in vehicles we back off and drop some supplies off someplace we can hide them.”
Tracy put her hand up and started talking before she had been acknowledged. “Why wouldn’t you trust them? Why hide supplies when we could just hand everything over and help them?”
Wagner looked at her. “I could be completely wrong about the place and the people. We’ll play it by ear and if everything looks good then we’ll go straight in. Otherwise we try to protect ourselves. I don’t want to find out this is some sort of big scam and no, I don’t know what sort before anyone asks. I just believe in being always prepared. If we have to hightail out of there quick, at least we have a rendezvous and basic kit to get moving again.”
It looked like Tracy wanted to argue but she kept silent.
Wagner looked around at everyone. “Remember. We have the advantage of technology and we all stay together. We go in and find the refugee station and we help. But if things have gotten so bad we are likely going to meet bandits and at least a few nutbars. Some of those will be hostile and some will have weapons and not be afraid to use them. Whether they are afraid of us or want to take what we have, just keep it in mind. All right. If no one has any questions then mount up and I’ll open the doors. After everyone is in I’ll come check before we start ‘em up. As soon as it happens I expect more infected will show up.”
Everyone moved to the vehicles while Captain Wagner walked around and checked out the small holes they had drilled in the walls earlier.
Outside looked clear from the little he could see.
He turned and started walking around the vehicles for the last check.
ROLLING OUT
C
aptain Wagner walked up to each car and nodded. Everyone responded differently. Tracy just sat slumped over in the car. Now Sergeant Major or First Caisson grunted and gave a thumbs up. Corporal Toker had saluted in the car, while sitting. Wagner shrugged and would have told him to relax but uptight is uptight.
Corporal Andreis and Weibe both looked pale and like they could use a real break. Of course, at this point everyone could use some real downtime. Jimmy looked calm and nodded. Sam looked nervous but able. Sue had just giggled and bounced up and down excitedly. Wagner wasn’t quite sure how much of her giggly blonde routine was act and how much was just a happy Sue.
There were no problems and he headed to the door they were going to drive out of. His pack was on his back digging in and the rifle slung on his shoulder felt awkward for someone used to the C7. No magazine kept bumping into him as he walked. It didn’t matter.
Wagner looked around one more time. The stall door they had used as a ‘washroom’ was closed and the bucket was still there for next time or if someone else came along. He walked up to the left side of the door and peered out through a small hole in the wood from where a knot had fallen out. He couldn’t see anything moving out there. He went to the other side of the door and looked out through a slender gap between the boards and could see movement further away and it looked like more than one. Maybe two or three together. That was bad. He went to the last spot looking back at the road they had come down the day before. It was the biggest opening of all, almost an inch wide. There was a large copse of trees between the barn and the road so it was doubtful he would see anything.
He looked from a few inches away. Nothing but trees and a bit of open space.
He could feel the mass of Zombies though. They all could. Pressing on them like a cold, damp rotting weight. They had some weapons and ammunition but there must have been well over a thousand zombies on the road after them. Every one of those creatures needed a head shot or to have the brain destroyed. They didn’t have enough ammo. This wasn’t some sort of video games where head shots were guaranteed. Only a few of them could take the firing line and they weren’t using weapons they had ever trained on. A single scratch or bite and you were done.
The touch on his arm almost had Wagner throw himself through the wall. He turned and saw Sue standing next to him looking concerned. “Is everything okay? You’ve been looking outside for a few minutes now and everyone is getting nervous.”
Wagner smiled back at Sue. “No, its fine. I just saw some movement at the second hole there and was waiting to see if there was more movement from this side. We’re good.”
He turned and walked to the large barn door. Now these doors would slide open. They had a rough framework at the top and bottom of the door so the door wouldn’t just slam around in the wind. The large wheels at the top of the door were a little squeaky but still seemed to move easily. He started unwrapping the chain from the one side that had kept the door tight against the barn. He saw Sue moving to the other chain and begin unwrapping it.
Wagner frowned as he walked over to her and spoke quietly. “Plan was everyone stays in the car, I open the door all the way then vehicles are started and we slowly drive off. I close the door and we are gone. You’re supposed to be in the car over there, right?”
Sue shrugged, “I was looking at this door figuring out how we secured it last night. It took two people. If it took two to secure it, it’s going to be a lot faster for two to unsecure it.” She shrugged again. “Don’t worry, as soon as you get the door moving I get back into the car. They shouldn’t be driving off for at least ten seconds. I’ll have plenty of time.”
She continued unwrapping the chain then they both pulled the wedges out they had used before tightening the chains. Wagner threw himself at the door which didn’t move.
He braced himself against the barns frame and pulled. Nothing.
Sue hissed at him and when he looked at her she was wiggling some sort of small bar someone else must have jammed in last night. She put it down on the ground and again he pulled on the door.
It barely budged. He braced himself against the door again and Sue hissed again. When he looked over she gestured for him to stand normally and try again. He frowned then did as she directed.
She mouthed one, two and on three both threw their bodies into it. Wagner was watching Sue while she pulled and her face seemed to gleam in the little morning light coming into the barn from different spots. Her muscles stood out and he didn’t think the door was going to budge.
Then with a loud screech the door started moving quickly.
When the screech happened, Wagner had looked up to see what the noise was. When he looked back down she was gone and he heard the car door close behind him. The vehicles were already starting up with every engine starting up smoothly except for one car which sounded rough.
The door came to the end of its running room and smashed to a halt.
Wagner stepped to the side so he wouldn’t be run over then looked out. He saw maybe a dozen zombies in the distance moving this way. There hadn’t been any yesterday. He wondered if they had been attracted by the noise they had made setting up yesterday. What did it mean for their futures if they went into a city of the dead?
As the vehicles started pulling out he heard Sue’s voice yelling out to him as they drove by. “Great job, Oh, Captain! My Captain!”
Captain Wagner chuckled and touched the metal rank insignia on his cap. There were two more on his collar.
Steven pulled the truck out slowly and the rest of the vehicles followed as Captain Wagner was already pulling the huge barn door closed. As he hit the locking position he kicked a wedge into first the one side then the other. If they needed to come back they would have to open it up again but nothing would get in without making a considerable effort.
He quickly walked up to the side of the truck and climbed in next to Steven who was carefully reviewing how to gear shift. He closed the door and locked it making sure the rifle he took off his shoulder didn’t bounce around and smack him in the head. He really didn’t want to accidentally shoot anyone who wasn’t infected at this point. He looked at Steven who was slowly shifting the truck into gear and following the slow-moving convoy.
“How does she handle Steven?”
Steven grimaced as he concentrated on shifting gears and talking. “Almost impossible for someone used to automatic and a good eight hours of sleep a night. I think I’m getting the hang of it though. She isn’t a high-end precision machine though so I think she’ll forgive me for messing it up constantly.”
Captain Wagner laughed and sat back on the bench seat.
The convoy was moving slowly but picking up a bit of speed heading down the road toward the distant city. It was early in the morning still and they were hopeful they would be in the city well before noon.
As everyone had climbed into the vehicles they had been repeating the story they would tell the authorities over and over. Remembering their new ranks was the hardest part.
As they slowly rolled down the road Captain Wagner looked out over the distant fields and could see even more zombies heading toward the old highway. He cursed under his breath and pulled out the cheap binoculars he had found. He wrenched himself around looking back up the road they had come down. He half expected to see a mass of zombie’s right behind them following all the way from the town where they had started out.
There was nothing back there just a few zombies on the road walking, some with arms outstretched grasping for the departing trucks.
He sat back down, looked ahead and relaxed.
Steven had the vehicle at a constant speed in the centre of the road. He never took his eyes off the road ahead. “So ‘Captain’ Wagner, and it is going to take a bit of getting used to. It seems like I’ve been calling you Warrant forever.” Steven paused then snorted and carried on. “Are you going to relax yet? Or are you worried about whatever is going to go wrong next?”
Captain Wagner looked out the window seeing the fields pass on his side. The occasional bit of vehicle wreckage or damaged farmland reminding him the infection had clearly passed through here a while ago. He responded quietly. “You know we can’t relax yet. We have to get to the city, find this address at a train station that none of us know about then somehow fit into a place where it seems like almost everyone is infected and a zombie. This makes for a shitty day.”
Captain Wagner looked over at Steven and smiled faintly. “Heck, in a horror movie where the world is overrun with the undead I know some of what can happen next. Vehicle breakdowns, a breakdown in civilian authority, idiots in charge messing everything up, and don’t forget, as we think we are safe a zombie horde of millions comes breaking the walls down. If we’re unlucky we die. If we are really lucky a few of us escape to keep running. Heck maybe we fly away in a helicopter heading for a distant land of hope.”
Captain Wagner settled back. “Maybe we’re getting a bit of a break now. I bet in ten minutes the rest of the convoy is having another conversation and we arrive just before lunch to a bunch of fat, healthy people behind some high walls covered by a well armed, professional military. They’re also going to be getting ready to roll out to reclaim more of the region…”
Steven snorted but said nothing as he kept driving on after the convoy.
Captain Wagner was almost right. It took less than ten minutes before the convoy was chattering back and forth on the small rechargeable walkie talkies.
They were just passing a burned-out farmhouse on the right-hand side where a large shed was leaning so far over it looked like it was about to collapse, when the radio clicked.
“Jimmy to all of you. I’m lead here and wait till you see what’s coming up on your right. I hope you have a strong stomach.” It was possible to make out background chatter and it sounded suspiciously like someone gagging.
As the vehicles passed the farmhouse they could see what Jimmy had been talking about.
Passing the farmhouse, the road angled gently down for at least a mile. The fields were covered in some sort of crop which had burned in the incredible heat. The field of brown dirt with withered plants stretched off into the distance into a copse of trees so far out it was just a smudge on the horizon.
Up ahead just a short distance off the road was a huge bright green harvester. Initially being parked just off the road and parallel to the road the way it was the gigantic machine looked like a sizeable building like a small barn or huge shed. As the distance closed quickly it was obvious the machine had been in use.
But it hadn’t been harvesting any fruit or vegetable crop. Jimmy slowed down as he pulled up abreast of the machine. This forced everyone else to stop as well so they all could see the horrific scene. There were body parts everywhere. From the blood-sprayed vehicle to the mass of body parts it looked like a maniac had run rampant with a chainsaw. Just from the heads they could see there were at least fifteen bodies there.
“Jimmy here. I’ve got a good view of this here combine. Different type with two sets of blades on ‘er. Don’t think I’ve ever see that before. Anyway, the farmer did a good job harvesting but it looks like he hit a bunch of them at once. The blade on this side looks like it sheared off and wrecked the drive.” There was a pause, “Oh yahh, out.”
“Caisson, whoever did this was cool about it. The blood spray goes all the way up and all over the driver area. They had the windshield wipers going so they could see. Out”
“Vajjer, holy shit. Out”
“Wagner to all, if there is no movement or survivors let’s keep going. I don’t want to stay here or discover a bunch more infected are here upset about the slap chopping of their buddies. Out”
“Caisson. There aren’t any survivors of any type here. I can see a few bodies with shattered heads. It looks like whoever ran this thing got out and shot the rest in the head. I see blood spray painting the ground maybe ten feet out to this side of the machine. This happened a little while ago but I ain’t opening the window to smell what’s out there. Come on Jimmy, le
t’s roll.”
They passed the field and carried on driving down the road, the smudged city in the distance slowly coming closer.
As they drove, the farms slowly started getting closer together. The road appeared to become more heavily used and they started hitting smaller potholes which quickly grew larger. They also passed several small towns which seemed to have grown because of their location at what appeared to be major crossroads. There were zombies out there with a few in the fields and many more in the towns. Most of those towns had some fire damage as well as shattered windows and some blood spray from the little they could see while driving through.
The zombies seemed able to track the vehicles somehow, turning toward them as they passed. The discussion on the drive came around to how they were being tracked.
The topic had been coming up regularly since they had left the reserve building the day before. Everyone had an opinion.
“This is Caisson. Nope, I don’t think it’s any sense we are aware of. Didn’t you see the movie or TV show where the dead just know you’re not one of them? Some guy smeared the guts of some of the dead all over his pants and shirt then he walked outta there like there was no problem. Over”
“Oh, my god, that’s disgusting! I am not wiping dead people’s guts on me to be left alone!” There was a grunting in the background then another voice came on. “Weibe, that was Tracy over.”
Captain Wagner had his face buried in a book on military history with the book of etiquette at his side. He would look up occasionally and look around checking then go back to reading.
Steven cleared his throat quietly. Captain Wagner looked over at him, “What’s up Steven?”