The Early Days Trilogy: The Necrose Series Books 1-3

by Tim Moon

“No one else has seen him either,” he said, walking towards the stairs. When he got there, he hollered the boy’s name. No response. Ben climbed the stairs. “Oliver, this isn’t a joke. Where are you, buddy?”

  A quick search revealed that Oliver wasn’t upstairs either. Before Ben went back downstairs, he stopped at the guard table to look out the window. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Oliver was in the street.

  “Shit! He’s outside,” Ben shouted as he ducked out from under the window covering and ran downstairs. “He’s outside.”

  Charlotte and Anuhea dashed out the front door with Ben hot on their heels.

  Oliver was riding down the street on a blue and red bike, without a care in the world. As they ran towards him, Oliver swerved into a driveway and hopped off the curb. He caught a decent amount of air although the training wheels made a terrible racket when he landed.

  Not wanting to shout, for fear of drawing zombies, Ben opted to clap his hands twice. Somehow that failed to draw Oliver’s attention and he continued riding towards the barrier at the end of the block, oblivious to the danger. Not to mention the stress he had put them through.

  “He’s fast as shit,” Ben said, slowing down beside Charlotte. He needed to run more often.

  One of the rules of the zombie apocalypse is good cardio, he thought, recalling a movie.

  “No kidding,” Charlotte said as she slowed to a fast walk. Her cardio sucked too.

  “Can you believe this?” Ben asked, pointing at Oliver.

  “He’s just a kid. They make mistakes.”

  “I get that, but this isn’t the kind we can afford for him to make.”

  “Where did that bike come from anyway?” Charlotte asked.

  Ben snorted and shook his head.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” Ben scowled at her. “Why are you asking me?”

  “You’re kind of the father figure in this situation.”

  Ben’s stomach knotted up at that. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true.”

  They watched as Anuhea caught up to Oliver and turned him around.

  “Stop making such good points,” Ben said to Charlotte.

  She smiled and bumped his arm with her shoulder. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

  Anuhea led Oliver towards them. Ben stood relaxed until they were about twenty feet away and then he folded his arms over his chest and scowled at Oliver. The boy saw his expression and looked down. He stopped the bike out of arms’ reach and picked at one of the hand grips, not making eye contact. It was a blue and red Spider-Man bike, much cooler than anything Ben had owned as a kid.

  “What do you say?” Anuhea asked.

  Oliver looked up at her with a pouty face before glancing at Charlotte and Ben.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly, staring at the ground.

  “Sorry for what?” Anuhea asked. “Speak up.”

  “I’m sorry for breaking the rules and making you worry.”

  “And?”

  “And I promise not to ride alone outside,” Oliver finished, glancing at her for approval.

  Anuhea nodded and looked at Ben. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, grateful she had taken the initiative, and then looked at Oliver.

  “You know it’s dangerous out here, right?” he asked in a stern voice.

  “Yes,” Oliver said.

  “We don’t want to be mean. It’s just very important that you obey the rules. We have them for a reason. Bad people are still out there, and we don’t want anything to happen to you,” Ben said. Oliver looked at him with doe eyes. Ben pointed to the barrier. “There are new zombies that can climb over those cars and attack us in here. If you’re alone, they could easily snatch you and we would never know.” He knelt in front of the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. “We would all be very sad if the infected took you away.”

  “I’m sorry.” Tears welled up in Oliver’s dark brown eyes and he quickly looked down at his feet.

  Ben gave him a pat on the back. “From now on, you have to ask us if you can ride your bike. That way one of us can go with you. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Now, if you stay next to us, you can ride the bike home,” Ben said. “We’re having drinks before we get back to work. There’s a lot of stuff to do around here and we need your help. Will you help us?”

  Oliver gave Ben a reluctant look, and then looked at Anuhea and Charlotte.

  “I can help,” he finally said.

  “Okay then, let’s go.” Ben stood, and they all returned home.

  After enjoying their hot drinks, and relaxing for a while, Ben and Charlotte took Oliver with them to work on defenses. Ben pushed Oliver in a wheelbarrow, while the boy kept the shovels from making a racket, while Charlotte carried an armful of empty pillow cases they had scavenged from around the neighborhood.

  “What are we doing?” Charlotte asked.

  “So, my thought was to dig holes in every yard. That way if anyone or anything climbs over the barrier, the holes can slow them down,” Ben said.

  “Holes?” Charlotte asked skeptically.

  “What better way to slow down one of the infected than to break its leg?” Ben asked. “If they breach the wall, like the runners who can also jump, and they step in one of the holes they could break their leg and it’ll slow them down. Think of them as small pits just big enough for your foot to go into. A snapped leg will make them much easier to kill and it’ll work for human attackers too. If we dig holes near fence lines, they’ll be hard to see before people climb over.”

  “What are these for?” Charlotte looked down at the forty-odd pillow cases she carried.

  “Improvised sandbags,” Ben said. “We will fill them with the dirt from the holes we dig and use the wheelbarrow to transport them home.”

  “What size hole are we talking about here?”

  For some reason, his mind went straight into the gutter, so he looked away to hide his smirk. “A cubic-foot should be big enough.”

  “Do I get to dig?” Oliver asked.

  “Of course,” Ben said with a smile. He glanced at Charlotte and muttered, “Good thing child labor laws are a thing of the past.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes and Oliver looked confused.

  Once they figured out the work flow, they got into a rhythm and it went quickly. The ground was damp and had not frozen solid yet so that helped. Still, it was certainly tougher than digging during the summer.

  There was a minor hiccup. They had to move several times, to avoid damaging buried pipes. None of them knew if the electric lines still held a charge. If they were gas lines that could be worse, so it was just easier to move.

  Over the next few hours, they dug holes in the front yards of three houses near the vehicle barrier. The dirt slowly filled up the pillow cases which they cinched closed and secured with big zip-ties. Ben stacked them in the wheel barrow. Oliver insisted on trying every job. Moving a sandbag didn’t work out so well, but it was hilarious to watch. Ben gave him credit for giving it the ole college try. After carefully poking in the dirt for buried pipes, he let Oliver dig a hole entirely on his own. It took forever, but Oliver was so proud.

  When they finished, Ben looked around a chuckled.

  “The lawns look like crap, but safety first, right?” Ben said.

  “That’s right,” Charlotte said.

  Ben held out his fist to Oliver. “Good job, kid.”

  Oliver bumped his fist and they waggled their fingers like Baymax.

  “I’m going to heat up water as soon as we get back inside,” Charlotte said, cupping her hands together and blowing on them. “I am freezing.”

  “I think I’ve had more tea and hot chocolate since we got here than in all the previous years of my life.” Ben chuckled again.

  He lifted the wheelbarrow and groaned. Digging wasn’t easy, and his forearms ached from lactic acid buildup. The wheelbarrow had grown heavy with
their improvised sandbags, so Ben made Oliver walk. The kid didn’t mind though. Oliver skipped ahead, running, jumping and balancing on the curb. Boundless energy.

  “Someday, I hope that he can play in the street like that and not freak us out,” Charlotte said.

  “That will be the day.” Ben looked around at everything they had done so far. “We’ve made a good start. We’re moving in the right direction.”

  83

  The next morning, Ben sat at the dinner table, sipping coffee. Crumbs from a sandwich decorated a small white plate in front of him. Beside the plate sat the crumpled wrapper of a protein bar. Breakfast of champions.

  Ben was fully engrossed in an old newspaper story from the beginning of the outbreak. He almost didn’t notice Chadwick stagger into the room with messy hair and crease marks on his cheek from his pillow.

  He gave his friend a polite “What’s up?” nod.

  “Are you reading the article about Black Tide?” Chadwick asked. His voice was groggy and slow, and his jacket crinkled as he gestured at the newspaper.

  Ben grunted, not actually sure if it was. When he finished the article, he put the paper down and chugged the last of his coffee.

  “Coffee’s done. I can talk now.”

  Chadwick grinned and rubbed his face.

  “How does your leg feel?” Ben asked.

  “You know, Charlotte’s been brilliant. It hasn’t bothered me much and seems to be healing quite well.” Chadwick yawned and then continued. “We’ve been so busy though that it’s started to swell. I might have to lay down today and keep it elevated.”

  “Any infection?”

  Chadwick shook his head. “Like I said, Charlotte has done a brilliant job.”

  Ben swept some stray crumbs into his hand and dumped them on the plate. He put the dishes in the sink and sat back down. A pensive look crossed Chadwick’s face. Ben raised an eyebrow, but he looked away.

  “Something on your mind?” Ben asked with a smirk.

  “Do you ever wonder about your dad?” Chadwick asked carefully.

  “In what way?”

  “You showed us the text messages he sent. He had some role in the virus.” Chadwick raised his hands when Ben narrowed his eyes. “Do you think he knew what was going to happen? Is he alive? Is there a vaccine or cure? I just have so many questions.”

  Ben frowned. “Do you think about your parents?”

  Chadwick’s eyes grew pained and Ben couldn’t hold his gaze.

  “Yeah, sometimes.” Chadwick sat down at the table and pushed back his hair. He pulled a beanie out of his jacket pocket and pulled it on. “I worry that they’ll try to get back to Hawaii and when they realize I’m not there, assume the worst.”

  Ben folded the newspaper and then his hands. “Will you go searching for them?”

  “I don’t know. Part of me wants to and the other part says it’s hopeless,” Chadwick said with a wry smile. “I’m a horrible son.”

  They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Charlotte popped in a few seconds later. Ben sniffed and opened the newspaper, resuming his reading.

  “Good morning,” she said with a yawn.

  That made Chadwick yawn again. He raised a hand in greeting.

  “Morning,” Ben said. “Too early to tell if it’s a good one.”

  She slapped his arm playfully.

  “What’s on the agenda for today?” she asked.

  “Supplies. I want to swing by the big home improvement store. We gotta get stuff so I can make that rooftop lookout we talked about.” Ben fished a piece of paper from his pocket. “I’ve already sketched out my idea.” He laid the paper on the table. “Behold, the sniper’s nest.”

  Charlotte put a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to look at the paper he unfolded. She looked impressed.

  “Can you make it?”

  “Of course,” Ben said confidently. Secretly, he hoped that was true.

  “Who is going with you?” she asked.

  “I was going to ask Chadwick, but his leg is swollen so I planned to ask Anuhea.”

  Charlotte wagged a finger at Chadwick. “You need to take care of yourself. Do too much and you’ll only prolong the healing process. We talked about this yesterday.” She squeezed Ben’s shoulder and then walked over to the cupboards. “I can go with you.”

  “You sure?” He turned to face her as she rummaged through the kitchen for something to eat.

  “Yeah, why not? It’d be great to get out of here for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  “Really?” she asked with a surprised expression.

  “Why not?” he asked. “Can you be ready in twenty minutes?”

  “Perfect.”

  While Charlotte ate a quick breakfast, Ben began loading thirty-round magazines with ammunition. Along with the four loaded mags sitting on the coffee table, the four he loaded should be plenty for their quick raid. He grabbed an extra mag of 9mm cartridges for his pistol, slipped it into the empty ammo pouch on his belt and set aside two baseball bats. Then he put two large, empty backpacks inside a black duffel bag and set them next to the weapons. The bags would be filled with whatever they picked up and didn’t want loose in the van.

  Then he sat on couch and thought through his plan.

  “All set.” Charlotte stopped in the hall and eyed the weapons and gear. “Wow, you’re totally prepared.”

  She wore a light blue jacket, a black beanie, and thin black gloves that would still allow her good control of her rifle which was slung over her shoulder. She was still as radiant as the first day they met. Ben handed her a baseball bat, slung his rifle and lifted the duffel.

  “Wait, did you put shin guards on your arms?” Ben asked.

  “They’re under my jacket.”

  “Okay, let’s roll,” he said with a smile.

  “Safe travels,” Anuhea said down the stairwell from the guard station.

  “Fingers crossed,” Ben said.

  On the way to the truck, which was parked outside of the wall, they encountered one infected. She was a little old lady, probably the nicest person in her neighborhood at one time. She shuffled across the road as soon as they dropped down from the barrier. Ben figured she was moving faster now than she had in about twenty years. Her damp, purple muumuu clung to her dark skin like a bathing suit. Light, misty rain fell on them. Droplets of water glistened in her silver hair like tiny jewels. One forearm was bare to the bone. The stark white matched her hair and her hand flopped loosely as she lifted her arms to reach for them.

  “That is not a flattering look,” Ben muttered.

  “Ben,” Charlotte said, slapping his arm. “Are you going to get her?”

  “Why don’t you take this one?”

  Charlotte deflated slightly.

  “With your bat,” he clarified, resting his hand on the handle of his own bat. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

  She shot him a dark look before lifting the bat and adjusting her grip. Even though it was a simple weapon, she looked unsure. Perhaps she didn’t want to get that close to the infected woman.

  Mumu stumbled closer, growling and clacking her teeth. Charlotte clenched her jaw and stepped forward with the bat raised high, ready to strike. Ben half expected her to hesitate or back away.

  Instead, she lunged forward and brought the bat down hard on the top of Muumuu’s head with a spine-tingling crack that made Ben wince. The zombie stumbled but swiped at her. Her hand caught on Charlotte’s jacket. As the bat bounced back off the head, Charlotte pulled it around in an arc to swing at the side of the woman’s head. It connected with a dull splat that instantly dropped the infected. Charlotte gave Mumu two more wicked strikes before backing away, her shoulders heaving as she caught her breath.

  “Damn,” Ben said, thoroughly impressed by the intensity of her take down. “That was scary-good.”

  “I learned from the best,” she said, walking away from the corpse.

  “Right,” he muttered as he rushed t
o catch up. “We should take the body with us and dump is somewhere.”

  “Damn it, she tore my jacket,” Charlotte said, indicating a tear that exposed fuzzy insulation.

  They reached the truck without further incident and a few minutes later they loaded Mumu and pulled away from the neighborhood. Ben stayed on back roads to avoid infected and survivors.

  The odd zombie staggered out to give chase, but none posed a threat. Ben was struck by the number of bodies and other signs of destruction. A burned house here; a body in a yard there.

  One house they passed had been fully decorated for Halloween, with fake spider webs in the trees, decorations on their windows, a plastic statue of Frankenstein’s monster by the front door and a body swinging from one of the trees. A collection of three shriveled, moldy jack-o-lanterns lingered by the front door. Neglect and vacancy radiated off the otherwise normal looking homes.

  The body swiveled on its rope and he realized it was real. Ben sucked in a surprised breath. The guy couldn’t have been over twenty. His bloated purple face looked like a ripe plum waiting to burst.

  Charlotte cursed softly.

  “Yeah,” Ben agreed.

  He mashed his foot down on the gas pedal and the truck launched forwards. Then the terrible sight was gone, lost in the rearview mirror.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. That wasn’t my first time seeing a body.”

  Ben sighed. “I know.”

  As they approached Mill Plain Blvd, Ben had to weave around abandoned vehicles. Signs of struggle and death popped up with growing frequency. They passed a bullet-riddled police cruiser that they checked for weapons.

  “I’ve got nothing,” Ben said. “You?”

  “How about a first aid kit?”

  “Nice. Our first pinch of the day.”

  Charlotte looked at the old lady’s body in the back of the truck. “Can we leave her here?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Ben said. “It’s as good a place as any.”

  After placing the body on the strip of grass between the road and the sidewalk, they climbed back in the truck and pulled away. Not even a quarter-mile away, they came upon a car that had crashed into a tree. The driver’s rotted body was halfway out of the opened door. A crow looked up from its private meal as they drove past with a piece of flesh dangling from its beak.