They entered into a room half the size of a gymnasium. It would make a perfect gathering place for the little clan. “We should unload the trucks and assign bedrooms. Grandma can work on whipping together something for dinner.”
Amos laughed. “You the leader, little lady?”
“She is.” Colton stepped beside her. “Most of the time we all make decisions together, but we trust Chalice’s instincts.”
“All right.” Amos leaned against a table. “I’m the janitor here and proud of how the place looks. I’d like to remain responsible for the building and grounds, but if you want me to—”
“No.” Chalice shook her head. Colton was the leader. She didn’t want more t han maybe being second-in-command. “We all do what we’re best at. George can help you and Grandma. Bill and Sarah, Me and Mychal, Colton and Eddy will take turns on guard. Hanna, Faith, and Alyssah will help Natalie with the children. Everyone contributes where they can.” She never would get used to ordering around people older than her, but she’d found out that folks tended to get things done quicker when assigned duties. Not everyone could spot what needed doing and then step forward of their own accord.
She moved to the room used for storage. Large bulk items filled a few shelves but there were plenty left empty for the supplies they’d brought. She’d mention to Bill and Colton for them to keep the weapons and ammo in their rooms.
“Let’s get things unloaded,” Colton ordered. “Natalie, pick the largest classroom for the little ones. Hopefully, we can stay here a while. It’s a long road to a safe zone, and we all need a rest.”
“Safe zone?” Amos straightened. “I haven’t heard of anything left in the city. Soon after the outbreak and meteors, fires burned for weeks. If there was a safe zone, it’s gone now.”
“The Air Force Base?” Colton asked.
“Gone. I took one of the buses out two weeks ago. It’s nothing but a shell, same as most of the city.”
Chalice met Colton’s stricken gaze. He’d put such stock into the base being there. “We’re safe here for a while,” Colton said. “Then, we’ll worry about what’s down the road.”
He nodded and left, shoulders slumped, and head down.
She wished she could lift his spirits, but in today’s world, a person couldn’t put too much hope in any one thing. In a week or so, they could discuss where their next move would take them. For now, she didn’t want to think about anything except the woman in the shed.
If she were sick, feverish, did that mean she carried the zombie virus? Could it still make people ill without being bitten after all these months? Chalice might have shot the woman immediately upon discovering how ill she was. What had made Amos hold his shot?
*
Mychal took a sip of cold tea and closed his eyes. A miracle! If making a run for propane meant hot showers, hot food, and cold drinks, he’d be the first to volunteer.
“A cold soda!” Chalice sighed and took another sip.
Night had fallen, leaving the windows dark. A camping lantern glowed from the center of one of the cafeteria tables. All the children under ten had gone to their assigned beds, leaving the older ones and the adults to enjoy a brief moment of time that felt normal.
Occasionally, the moans of the undead would carry to his ears, but Mychal felt sure they couldn’t breach the fence. Bill had said the bars were cemented in with rebars. It would take thousands of constantly pressing zombies to pull them free, and all they’d probably accomplish was to bend them. The noise could be lived with. It had already become just another night time sound, although they did drown out the nicer sound of the crickets.
“I’m happy to have another cold beer.” Bill leaned back in his chair. “Amos, you’re my new best friend. Now, to score me a pack of smokes.”
“No problem. So, who’s making the run tomorrow? It’s risky.” Amos crushed his can and tossed it in a bin labeled recycling. “The filling station is down a road normally crowded with zombies because of the electrical substation. The humming noise seems to attract them. Once you get inside the fencing, you’re okay.”
“How have you done it in the past?” Colton started to toss his can in the garbage, then shrugged and added his to the recycling, too.
“What’s up with the recycling?” Mychal asked. “It isn’t as if it’ll do any good.”
“Because, son,” Amos replied. “Someday, things will go back to a semblance of normal. We should keep to our good habits.” He turned to Amos. “In the past, I’ve used a diversion in the form of a radio playing loud music to draw them away. They broke it on my last run.”
“We could have one of us draw them away with the siren on the Hummer,” Colton suggested. “Drive just fast enough to keep them interested while the others fill up the tanks.”
Bill chugged the last of his beer. “Why don’t we take a couple of drivers and bring the actual tanker trucks back here. Then, we’d have less runs. That ought to be enough gas to last a while if we’re careful. Colton can drive us all over in the Hummer, drop us off in the woods, then attract the non-breathers while Amos and I slip in and drive the bigger trucks out.”
“That might work,” George agreed. “How many trucks do you think are there?”
“I saw four,” Amos said. “If there’s more, they’re probably sitting at a gas station somewhere.”
“Then I’ll go, too,” George said. “We’ll get all that we can. The place will be safe enough here for the others while we’re gone.”
Mychal didn’t like being left behind when any kind of a run was made, but he wouldn’t leave his sisters without men to protect them. Sure, Chalice was tough, but sometimes her heart got in the way, and then Mychal needed to help her see reason.
The content look on her face told him she would stay here for as long as possible. He didn’t disagree, but he wasn’t crazy about a sick woman on the grounds. He’d check her out first chance he got. If he felt her presence would jeopardize the safety of the group, he’d call for a vote for someone to put her out of her misery or make her leave.
He tossed his can at the garbage bin. It sailed in as pretty as a three-point shot. Yawning, he stood and stretched, more than ready to head to the room he’d share with Eddy. They might have to sleep on blankets on the floor, but they had a roof over their heads and a floor under them that didn’t move. He wouldn’t complain.
The moans of the zombies were louder in his room, and he moved to close the window. He stopped to stare at the small building against the back fence. A small light flickered from inside.
“Who do you think she is?” Eddy asked, rolling onto his side.
Mychal shrugged. “I plan on checking soon, though.”
“What if you catch the virus?”
“If I were going to, I think I would have by now.” Mychal closed the window, muffling the sound of milling undead. “A virus is airborne. It’s been over six months. Whatever caused it is gone now, drifting across the ocean to destroy the rest of the world.”
He tugged off his boots and stripped off his leather clothing. Tomorrow, he’d ask Faith and Alyssah to wipe down everyone’s battle gear before the men left for gas. He stretched out and folded his arms behind his head, still wishing with everything in him that he could go with the others in the morning instead of playing guard.
Angel’s cry drifted down the hall, mixing with the muted chatter of the other small children. At least Angel was the only infant. The next oldest was three. A little boy who had yet to say a word. Maybe Mychal could teach him to kick a soccer ball tomorrow. Help the little guy feel safe.
If safe was even a word in the world they now lived in.
4
The next morning, Colton took Chalice’s hands in his. Every time they made a run or stepped outside their latest safe place, they took a chance at being overrun by zombies or unfriendlies. Every time, he wondered whether it would be the last time he saw her face.
“I should be going with you,” she said. “Who is going to watch
your back?”
“There are plenty of us going.” He brushed her hair away from her face, gently twisting a strand around his finger. “I feel better knowing you’re staying here where it’s safe.”
She sighed and pulled away. “I’ll worry the whole time.”
“We’ll be fine.” He hoped for a quick in, quick out, grab the trucks and go. After planting a quick kiss on her lips, Colton turned and marched outside. He’d have liked nothing more than to give her a long kiss, one that made her knees weak, but the day’s job was a dangerous one. He needed his mind clear and alert.
He met Bill, George, and Amos outside. As soon as Colton appeared, they climbed into the Hummer and waited for Mychal to unlatch the gate. Before the zombies could shuffle toward the entrance, Colton backed out, and Mychal closed the gate again.
Silence filled the Hummer as everyone clutched their weapons and stared out the windows. As they traveled closer to the filling station, the amount of zombies increased until the Hummer had to squeeze through them.
The undead clawed at the windows, leaving smears of blood and ooze. Colton’s heart beat in his ears, drowning out sound. Sweat broke out on his upper lip and ran down his back. Those in the truck were on a suicide mission. With the numbers of nonbreathers, Colton doubted Amos’s trick with the siren on the Hummer would work. Colton would have to think through the plan a little more.
“How am I supposed to drop the three of you off?” He glanced in the rearview mirror, meeting Amos’s gaze. “There’s too many of them.”
“It does pose a problem.” Amos tapped on the window, sending the zombies into a frenzy. “Maybe there aren’t as many of them at the back gate. You can let us off there, lead the ones out here away the best you can, and we’ll roll over the ones left once we get in the trucks. I think it’s our best option.”
“How long to drive around?”
“Normally takes fifteen minutes,” he said. “But with this throng, I’m guessing thirty.”
Colton tightened his grip on the steering wheel and continued to ease the vehicle forward. If he went too fast, striking the bodies too hard, he’d damage the front end and possibly leave them stranded. A death sentence, for sure.
He turned down a dirt road and increased their speed, leaving zombies behind in a cloud of dust. Hopefully, they’d turn around and go back to the fence.
The back gate had less than ten undead milling around, most of which they were able to dispose of without leaving the Hummer. Since everyone was equipped with long knives or axes, they were able to clear the area with little noise.
Colton dropped the men off, watched as they climbed over the chain link fence, then turned and started back down the road. Somehow, he needed to lead the zombies away without leading them to the group’s new home. A horde that size could possibly flatten the iron fence.
He drove back through the groaning, clawing, shuffling herd until he was on the other side of the group, then laid on the Hummer’s horn. Instinct made him want to speed away, logic told him to go slow enough so the zombies would want to follow. It took several long honks and a gunshot out the window before they turned to shuffle his way. With his gaze glued on the rearview mirror, Colton led the flesh eaters away from the filling station.
Back on the highway, he turned in the opposite direction of the school slash home. He’d lead the throng away, then circle back and speed home. Back to Chalice.
His arms trembled on the steering wheel. Several yards away, down the highway, he spotted three fuel trucks turning the other direction. A few zombies moved to follow the bigger vehicles, but most kept after the slower moving target Colton presented.
Once the larger trucks were out of sight and hearing, Colton pressed on the gas and sped away, leaving the zombies behind. Once he was far enough ahead to safely stop, he fumbled in the glove compartment for a map. There had to be another way back to the school.
There was a way. One that took him through rambling farmland. Not an altogether unpleasant thought. Maybe survivors hadn’t ransacked the area yet. If he didn’t spot any walking dead on his drive back, maybe they could do a search the next day. Maybe even find a cow for Angel. He grinned and pressed the gas pedal.
*
With everyone fed their breakfast, and the younger children being supervised outside on the small patch of grass by the older children, Chalice stood and stared at the shed at the back of the property, Lady on one side of her and Buster on the other. The two dogs had long since stopped barking at the zombies shuffling on the other side of the fence, and other than Lady whining occasionally at the door of the shed, she stayed by Chalice’s side.
If the woman housed inside was infected, she’d show signs by now. They needed to determine what to do with her, and Chalice couldn’t make an informed decision until she spoke with the woman.
“Chalice!” Hanna jogged toward her. “Where’re the balls Amos said the school had? If we can’t keep the little ones entertained, they might wander toward the fence and get their fingers bit off.”
Chalice rolled her eyes, although Hanna definitely had a point. She turned and studied the fence. “We need things against the fence to keep that from happening. Go get Mychal and Eddy. They can help us.”
A few minutes later, Hanna returned with the two boys. Mychal slid his sword around to his back and crossed his arms. “What’s up?”
“We need to devise a way to keep the little ones away from the fence.” Chalice moved to the fence. Zombies tried shoving their arms through the bars. “Either block this and cut out our view of who could be coming up on us, or devise an outdoor fenced play area for the kids. Have you seen anything around here we could use for that?”
“There are some wood pallets in the storage room,” Mychal said. “We could build something like a giant playpen around the grassy area. It’d be tall enough that anyone too young to understand the danger couldn’t climb over.”
“Great idea. I’ll monitor the grounds if you two can work on that.” She watched as they rushed away. Hopefully, they could find something to anchor the pallets to the ground. The perfect solution would be to build a second fence. Something similar to what a person might see in a zoo, keeping the customers away from the dangerous attractions.
She eyed the shack again, knowing visiting the woman held there would have to wait until later. She spotted Sarah circling the property from the other direction. She smiled when they crossed paths and continued on her way as if patrolling a perimeter were an everyday occurrence. Chalice shrugged. Maybe it was the new norm. The world’s newest coveted accessory of high fashion was now a weapon.
Soon, the sounds of a saw drifted across the grounds. Hopefully, the boys’ construction project wouldn’t draw more attention. There had to be fewer of the undead as time passed, right? Soon, the monsters would have to die. Science meant their bodies would decay. Maybe they did need another zombie “pet” to prove Colton’s theory.
She studied the non-breathers straining to reach her through the fence. Maybe she could surprise Colton by getting him another one to replace the one she’d shot. Strange how in that moment she hadn’t cared that the zombie looked like a ten-year-old child. She’d only wanted to shoot something after Angel’s mother killed herself.
She spotted a few promising bodies that weren’t too damaged. An elderly woman with a chunk of her arm missing, not to mention the blood stains on her housedress and chin. Then, there was the teenage boy, shirtless, saggy jeans, one skater shoe missing. His ear appeared to have been bit off. He looked the most promising. The problem would be capturing him without letting the others inside.
“What are you thinking?” Sarah made another pass and stopped beside Chalice. “You look as if you’ve never seen one before.”
“Trying to figure out how to replace Colton’s experiment. I’m thinking that teenage boy over there, but I don’t know how to get him in here.”
Sarah appeared to study the boy. “What about knocking out his teeth with a baseb
all bat, then cutting off his legs at the knees? Then, I could distract the others while you go out and drag him inside.”
“It might work.” Chalice shrugged. The thought of such brutality, just for an experiment, churned her stomach. Maybe she could get the boys to do it. The gore didn’t seem to bother them as much as it did her.
She turned, spotting a small ladder hanging from the side of the school. She’d be able to see for miles from up there. Why hadn’t they thought to use it as a guard station? She pulled the ladder down until she could reach it, then climbed up, leaving the dogs to watch from below.
The world stretched out in front of her. Trees in fall colors filled the horizon. About twenty zombies shuffled aimlessly around the school complex, stuck in their empty worlds of incessant hunger. The highway twisted like a concrete ribbon a mile away. Automobiles sat discarded, tossed like toys from a giant child. But, from the top of the building, the world’s atrocities seemed far away.
The ever present stench of zombies was carried away on the breeze. Although Chalice knew the highway was littered with bodies and blood-smeared cars, she couldn’t see any of it. She was free to pretend the world hadn’t spiraled into a nightmare.
Three fuel trucks drove her direction. Smiling at Colton’s return, Chalice scampered back down the ladder and rushed to open the gate. The trucks pulled in and drove slowly to the back of the property. Chalice hurried to close the gate, searching the road for the Hummer.
Her heart plummeted to her knees as she raced to where Bill climbed from one of the trucks. “Where’s Colton?”
“He should be here by now.” Bill slammed his door. “He drew the horde away and was supposed to circle back.”
The Zombie Awakening (Complete 6 Volume Series, plus prologue) Page 17