Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place

by Char Robinson

  Cindy gave him a squeeze, released him, and stepped back with a smile. “You better get going before Dave comes looking for you, I’ll run get Charlie.”

  “Will do,” he murmured. He grabbed a flashlight out of the night stand and as he followed Cindy out the door, he hoped his reassurances to her proved correct. There were so many unknowns and any one of them could be their downfall.

  ****

  Fortunately for the group, Dave had prepared for the eventuality of the electricity failing. He had planned to upgrade to solar panels, but the generators would have to do. With Mick and Charlie’s help, two large generators now hummed on the rooftop under their protective canopies. Power would be rationed in regard to lighting; priority was given to making sure the freezers never stopped running. All the kids loved their video games and TV, but playing/viewing times would now be limited and strictly enforced. Since Lindsey was a teacher they decided that the kids would have class every morning after they had breakfast and did their chores. In the afternoons, everyone would take turns watching the kids and keeping them busy.

  Losing power made Charlie think twice about leaving, but everyone assured him they’d be fine. The day they left dawned bright and clear, all the gear was packed into the SUV, there was nothing left to do but say their goodbyes.

  “Charlie, remember to keep using the walkie as long as you can. The range is about ten miles, so you should be able to let us know that you made it most of the way at least,” Dave advised as he walked Charlie out to the vehicle.

  Although Dave had purchased Hudson Place with location in mind, there were still several blocks of scattered warehouses, storage facilities, and other buildings similar to the one they were living in to get past. If they had been located closer to downtown, their trip would have been impossible.

  Mick watched Dave chatting with Charlie and silently prayed that the people in Shady Oaks were still alive, if they were and Charlie could accomplish what he planned, maybe there would be some hope for the future, something for them all to look forward to.

  Everyone trooped down to the garage to say goodbye. Once all the handshakes, hugs, and kisses were given out, the men climbed into the SUV. Once again, Dave had come through. This was no ordinary vehicle; it was bulletproof and reinforced throughout. If any vehicle could make it, this was the one.

  “Remember to contact us on the ham radio just as soon as you can,” Dave reminded Charlie. “I know it may take a few days for that, but please...make it a priority...we want to know you’re all safe.”

  “Will do. Try not to worry, once we get out of the city it’s rural all the way, and we shouldn’t have any major “people” problems if you get my drift.” At Dave’s nod, Charlie continued. “The only real difficulties could be obstructed roads. If we have to clear any of them, things could get complicated, but I do believe we’re prepared for that, too.”

  Dave nodded again in agreement and with a large sigh, backed away as Dexter started up the SUV. He keyed the walkie in his hand. “Balcony...all clear?”

  Lilly had hurried up to the balcony after saying goodbye to the men, and it was her voice on the walkie. “It’s clear. Tell them we’ll watch as long as we can and let them know if we see anything suspicious.”

  “Thanks Lil,” Dave replied, then turned and relayed the information to Charlie through his open window. Then he reached over and hit the garage door opener.

  As they backed out, the small group of survivors moved forward to watch their departure, waving all the while and shouting words of encouragement. Dave left the door open until the vehicle was rolling down the street. As the door lowered, Mick noticed how quickly everyone grew quiet with their own thoughts as they headed upstairs to begin another day.

  Chapter 4

  Charlie glanced back at Darrell just in time to see him wipe his eyes. “Hey man, it’ll be ok,” he said, giving Darrell a reassuring grin. “We’ve only got fifteen miles to cover, we’ll make it.”

  Darrell nodded toward Charlie before replying. “Oh, I think we’ll make it, I’m just worried about what’s going to happen once we get there. We may not make it out alive you know, and I can’t stop thinking about Megan and Jimmy.”

  “Buck up there, Darrell,” Dexter interjected. “Anything that comes across our path that isn’t walking and talking, it’ll be toast.” Dexter thought that was hilarious and laughed uproariously at himself.

  Charlie sighed quietly as he turned back to the front. With Dexter along, fifteen miles were going to seem like five hundred. But he was determined to get to Jenny, and if it meant traveling with a boor like Dexter, he’d do it every day.

  They had only gone a few blocks when Dexter shouted, startling the two men. “Wow, would ya look at that!” He thumped the steering wheel with one hand and leaned forward in his seat to get a better look. “That’s insane!”

  Charlie turned his head slightly to see what Dexter was ogling, then gulped and closed his eyes against the view off to the right and in front of him. They were coming up to a set of train tracks, and a passenger train was sitting there. Almost every window was broken out and debris lay strewn all around. Bodies were everywhere, but that wasn’t what had caught Dexter’s attention. There were literally dozens of dogs tearing at the bodies. There were some birds too, but Charlie had no idea what kind. They knew dogs (and most likely cats, too) were turning feral, they’d seen them around the bodies at Hudson Place and could usually scare them off with a few shots, but none of them had any idea it had gotten this bad. As they cleared the tracks a few dogs glanced their way, their snouts covered with gore, and then returned to their feast. Charlie realized that they had actually been leading a pretty sheltered life since everything had gone to hell; none of them knew what they were really going to encounter.

  “We’re going to have big problems if we have to get out for any reason,” Darrell said in a shaky voice. “Looks like we don’t have just zombies to worry about. You know, most of those bodies looked like they’d already been “zombified” as the kids put it, so does that mean the dogs are actually attacking and taking them down?”

  “If that’s what it means, then I say more power to ‘em!” Dexter crowed, slapping his hand against the steering wheel again.

  Charlie was worried about how bold the dogs had become, but decided he could not deal with the possibilities of that scenario right now. As they crossed over the tracks, they all took a collective deep breath. Suddenly, the walkie in Charlie’s hand crackled to life, startling all three of them.

  “Damn!” Charlie exclaimed with a nervous laugh. He had heard Dave’s voice, but hadn’t made out what he said, that was how badly he was shook up. “Come again, Dave,” he said carefully into the walkie, trying to sound normal and talk past the huge lump in his throat.

  “Everything ok so far? We can’t see you anymore.” Dave’s voice came through loud and clear this time.

  “Um, yeah - ok so far. Road’s clear as far as we can see right now.” Charlie turned around and put a finger to his lips after speaking so both Darrell and Dexter could see.

  “Great! Great! Well, keep us posted on how the trip goes, if the road stays clear you should be there soon, which will give you plenty of time to check out the town.”

  “Will do, we’ll contact you again in about ten minutes.”

  “Sounds good, don’t forget these walkies have a ten mile range, and it may not even be that far,” Dave reminded him again.

  Charlie chuckled and replied, “Ok, we’ll contact you in five then.”

  “If we don’t hear from you by then, we’ll give you a holler,” Dave said. “Talk to you soon!”

  Charlie put the walkie on the dashboard and ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t want to spook them about what we saw, especially since we just left. Let’s leave that story for later, ok?”

  Dexter looked at Charlie out of the corner of his eye and nodded. “Agreed, no need to worry ‘em about something like that.”

  Charlie turned to l
ook at Darrell, who also nodded. Charlie faced forward in the seat and tried to relax a little bit. The drive wouldn’t be that long, but if he didn’t relax he knew he’d be no good to anyone when they got to Shady Oaks.

  Dexter reached over and began fiddling with the radio. “Maybe we’ll get lucky,” he mumbled as he turned the dials.

  ****

  The drive proved uneventful, only once did they have to skirt two cars that had collided in the middle of the road at an intersection. The road, even on the busiest of days, had been lightly traveled since it was in a rural area, and Charlie figured it was plain old bad luck that had caused the wreck. Dexter simply eased onto the shoulder and they were clear. They chatted every few minutes with Dave or Mick until the reception got so bad eight miles out they had to stop trying. Charlie wouldn’t admit it, but he had garnered some comfort from being able to talk to what he thought of as home base, now it felt as though they were totally alone - which in reality they were. When he spotted the small green sign announcing Shady Oaks – Two Miles - Pop. Eight Hundred and Ninety Five, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and sat up straighter.

  Charlie hadn’t been to Shady Oaks since he’d helped Jenny move there two years ago, but the town was so small he knew right where to go. He directed Dexter to a large asphalt-covered parking lot near the soccer field; it was situated on a hill overlooking most of town. Shady Oaks sat in a valley surrounded on three sides by the Fletcher Mountains.

  The town itself was quaint and old fashioned. Built in a circular design, the center held government buildings and the schools. From there, businesses and shops lined the main streets. Homes ringed the business area, Charlie figured there were probably a few hundred, and the outlying homes probably ended within three miles of the mountains. Both he and Dexter were looking over toward the town hall and surrounding area with binoculars. Darrell was in the back rummaging through the weapons and making sure they were all loaded and ready to go. The area, in fact the whole town, appeared deserted.

  “Man, I don’t like this one bit,” Dexter grumbled. “Where are they? Did they all leave or maybe they’re hiding somewhere?”

  Darrell leaned forward between the two men and squinted toward the town. “Maybe dogs got ‘em?”

  “Could be,” Charlie said as he adjusted the binoculars and took another look. “Or maybe they wandered off. Guess we won’t know until we go down there. Let’s stick to the plan. We’ll drive in real slow, keeping the windows down a bit so we can hear if anyone calls out. Once we get to the town hall, we’ll get as close as we can, which won’t be close enough for me, but with those barriers out front we have no choice on that. Remember; if you see a zombie here or there, we ignore it...just take out the ones near town hall.”

  “Gotcha,” Dexter said as he put his binoculars down and started the engine. “Might as well get this show on the road.”

  “You guys mind if I say a prayer?” Darrell asked quietly.

  “Might want to say more than one,” Charlie replied solemnly. “I am.”

  Dexter put the vehicle in gear and they slowly rolled down the hill’s gentle incline. Charlie noticed all three of them visibly tensed as they idled into town and he forced himself to relax again. They began to pass homes and then a park, as they entered the downtown area. Charlie and Darrell swiveled their heads left and right, continuously searching. Dexter looked straight ahead, the roads in town were littered with debris and he cautiously maneuvered around the larger objects. Finally they came to the town square that housed the police department, fire department, post office, and town hall. There was a large flag pole in the center of the square and a steady breeze caused the rigging to clang out a forlorn sound that emphasized the empty feeling of the place.

  “We can’t be this lucky,” Charlie whispered. He’d expected a fight, one where they’d probably be the losers. But this...it had him deeply spooked. Nothing moved except when the wind stirred the trash littering the ground.

  Thoroughly unnerved, they sat and surveyed their surroundings, for once even Dexter had nothing to say. Charlie gave himself a mental shake. “Dex, go on up to the barriers, let’s get this over with, one way or another.”

  Dexter nodded and idled up to the barriers as close as he could and still get his door open. “Leaving the engine idling,” he murmured as he looked toward the glass double doors of town hall. “We may have to get out of there fast.”

  “Good idea. I don’t know where the shelter is, but most places post a map near the entrance. When we get inside, I’ll look for that and you two cover me.”

  “Got it,” both Dexter and Darrell said in unison, their eyes also trained on the doors.

  Charlie eased open his door and paused. “Whatever you do, don’t slam the doors; make as little noise as possible.”

  Both men nodded. Together they exited the SUV and slowly moved toward the building, weapons in their hands. Dexter carried a shotgun, he joked when he picked it out that he liked to leave a mess. Darrell and Charlie both held rifles, and each man also carried pistols in shoulder holsters. Dexter even carried a knife on his belt that was so big it almost made machete status. Dexter led the way and the other two men scanned the area around them until they reached the doors. Dexter grabbed the door handle and gave it a tug.

  “Damn thing’s locked!” he said in a loud whisper. “What’re we gonna do?” he asked over his shoulder.

  Charlie felt beads of nervous sweat begin to pop out on his forehead as he considered their options. If they broke the door, the noise might attract unwelcome visitors. They could try to find another way in, but they might run into something nasty. As the other two looked at him, he made up his mind. Well, he thought, so much for being quiet. He stepped up to the door and removed his pistol, rapping the butt end sharply on the glass. Nothing. The glass was probably shatterproof.

  He sighed heavily and turned toward the others. “Ok, I’m gonna shoot the lock,” he said firmly. “Once inside, let’s find something to block the door. I’m hoping that the only people we find inside are alive and we want to keep those that aren’t on the outside.”

  They backed up and before Charlie could think any longer about what he was doing, he put two shots into the lock. The sound was deafening and all three men immediately rushed the door. Dexter reached it first and jerked hard on the handle. The door stayed shut.

  “Dammit!” he roared, then grabbed the handle with both hands and gave it a mighty jerk. He almost fell on his rear as the door gave way. Charlie grabbed him by one meaty arm, stopping his fall. Darrell actually jumped like a startled deer through the doorway, but Charlie was right behind, practically dragging Dexter with him. Darrell slammed the door shut and the sound reverberated throughout the large hallway. They were all breathing hard and looked at each other with wild eyes.

  “Ok,” Charlie huffed, trying to catch his breath. “Let’s get this thing secured.”

  They scurried around, desperate to find something to use. They finally settled on wrapping phone cables around the door handles. They knew it wasn’t much, but it was about the only thing they could find.

  As they paused to catch their breath, Charlie nodded down the hall. “I saw where the shelter is, we gotta go downstairs two flights and hang a right.” He looked at the two men. The tension was getting to them, Darrell looked like he was going to be sick and even Dexter was sweating profusely; Charlie knew he looked just as bad. “Let’s go,” he said quietly. As he headed for the stairs with Dexter and Darrell right on his heels, he was silently praying he would find Jenny and the others alive.

  Chapter 5

  “Sean, I turned on the strobes,” Brooke replied as she plopped down into a chair next to her brother on the balcony. She tilted her head and gazed up at the sky. “Look at the stars; we can see so many more since the power went out.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty nice out here at night if you can get past what’s down below,” Sean replied with a grin at his sister.

  “Don’t remind me,�
� she said with a shudder. She arched an eyebrow as she looked around. “Where’s Scott, don’t you guys usually watch together?”

  “We did, but we’ve been seeing so few zombies lately and no survivors that only one person watches now.”

  “I see. Hey, can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure...shoot.”

  Brooke twirled a strand of blonde hair, a thoughtful look in her big brown eyes. “Well, I’ve been thinking,” she began. “When someone is zombified, what do you think happens? Do they have any kind of memory? Do they feel pain? Are they really dead?”

  “Whoa, you said a question, not twenty,” Sean teased with a grin. “I don’t think anyone really knows and I don’t think anyone wants to get close enough to find out, do you?” As Brooke shook her head, Sean continued. “If I were to guess, I’d say they are really dead, they don’t remember anything - or at least not much - just basic stuff I think, and if they’re dead they shouldn’t be able to feel pain.”