Mick nodded his head, still stunned by what he had learned. “Is everyone still fairly safe? I mean, the military must have their hands full right now, have they moved on anyone yet?”
“No, not yet, but they’re planning on it and
soon,” Dave said miserably, not looking at Mick.
Mick stared at his friend and when Dave refused to meet his gaze he felt a sinking feeling in his gut. “We’re first, aren’t we,” he asked softly.
Still not looking at his friend, Dave nodded. “Yeah, we’re first. We’re the closest city to any military base.”
“We’ve got to get out of here!”
“You’re telling me something I already know my friend. Bill and I figure we have maybe ten days to two weeks before they show up, and in that time we’ve got to pray that Shady Oaks is secure enough for us all to go there, it’s about the only thing we have that will keep us alive.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” Mick demanded, growing angry again. “How long before they come here and find us gone and start looking for us?”
Dave sighed deeply and held his palms up as he shrugged. “No idea, when we get to Shady Oaks we’ll have to plan further on what to do and where to go next.”
“We’re in a hell of a fix aren’t we?” Mick asked quietly.
“That’s putting it mildly my friend,” Dave said with such a sorrowful look on his face that it made Mick want to cry.
Chapter 16
Once again, Dexter sat in the SUV scanning the town through his binoculars. So far they had not seen any movement except for their group at the apartment.
“You guys see anything?” he grunted in frustration.
“Nope,” said Barry Walters as he lowered his own binoculars and shifted in the backseat. He was almost seventy, but in Dexter’s opinion, one of the best shots in town. “Can we get out for a bit? I need to stretch these old bones.”
Dexter did a quick look around. “Sure, why not, keep your eyes peeled.”
Casey McMillan, the other man with them, immediately opened his door and climbed out. He was even older than Barry, and he sighed with contentment as he stretched his skinny frame. Dexter grimaced slightly when he heard the man’s spine crack as he twisted from side to side.
“Careful there Casey, might break something,” he teased as he stepped out. He hadn’t really wanted to bring Casey along, but he and Barry were buddies and Barry wouldn’t come without him. Besides, Casey was a fairly good shot and that counted for something in Dexter’s book. Dexter’s eyes fell on the backpack between the front seats.
“Might as well eat while we’re standing here,” he said as he reached inside and pulled out the backpack. He quickly doled out the sandwiches and water while keeping one eye on their surroundings.
“I can’t believe it’s almost noon and we haven’t seen a damn thing,” mumbled Casey as he chewed. He swallowed and motioned toward the school with his water bottle. “I was sure we’d see something down there by now.”
“Me too,” Barry responded with a nod. “It’s really strange; I haven’t seen a zombie, a dog, cat – nuthin’.”
Dexter merely nodded, then belched loudly and laughed. “That felt good!” he exclaimed as he lightly pounded his stomach with a fist, which produced another belch and more laughter. Casey and Barry exchanged glances then both looked the other way. Finishing his sandwich, he took a big swig of water. “Well, I think we should call it quits in about an hour, what do you guys think?”
“Whatever you say,” Barry said as he glanced at his friend again and rolled his eyes. Casey grinned back at him and he continued. “You’re the boss man on this here trip.”
Dexter turned toward Barry with his eyes narrowed and Barry kept his face carefully neutral although he wanted to laugh in the other man’s face. Dexter squinted at him for a moment then relaxed. “Ok, then. Another hour and we’re...” Dexter trailed off as he stared at something over Barry’s shoulder.
Barry gave him a puzzled look and slowly turned around to see what had Dexter’s attention. “Oh damn,” he said softly. He pointed toward the school. “See that, Casey?”
Casey leaned forward, squinting. Damn his old eyes couldn’t see anything that far away without the binoculars. “No, see what?”
Barry grinned and gave his friend a playful shove saying, “You old coot, at least your hearing isn’t as bad.”
To Dexter’s surprise the old man tottered and would have fallen if he hadn’t grabbed him by the arm. “You two clowns stop messin’ around,” he said gruffly as he released him.
He handed his binoculars to Casey. “Zombies, they’re not at the school but close by,” Dexter said as he started stuffing the remains of his lunch into the backpack. “They’re under the bleachers at the football field, saw three or four of them go under there and only then did I notice that there’s more – a lot more. Those bastards are getting smarter, just like I thought,” he said with nod of his head.
“I see ‘em,” Barry said as he turned and headed for the SUV. “Guess we should go tell the others.”
“Did you see Gordon?” Casey asked as he tottered to the other side of the vehicle and climbed in.
“No, but I’ll bet ya fifty bucks he’s in there,” Dexter said. He slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “And we’re gonna take ‘em all out. Should be as easy as taking candy from a zombie.”
As they drove down the incline and Dexter roared with laughter at his joke, Casey shuddered and closed his eyes.
****
“See if you can get Dave on the walkie,” Scott said quietly as they all stared at the bridge. “We need an alternate route and pronto.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Sean muttered. He fiddled with the walkie then pushed the button. “Dave – anyone at Hudson Place – you copy?”
They all sat there silently staring at the walkie. Just as Sean started to send again the walkie crackled to life.
“Lilly here – this Sean or Scott?”
Her voice was faint, but Sean grinned, relieved to hear her voice. “Sean here, Lil. Listen, we have a small problem. We can’t get across the bridge, there’s a pickup that was hauling a trailer and it flipped and burned on the bridge, it’s completely blocking our way. We need another way to get to Shady Oaks.”
“Damn,” she said softly and Scott chuckled. “Let me get Dave, be right back.”
“Thanks Lil,” Sean said as he lowered the walkie and sat back to survey the bridge. “That was some fire,” he remarked to the others. “Even if we could get past the mess, it looks like the bridge itself was badly damaged from the fire.”
Scott put the SUV in reverse and began to back away. “I don’t like sitting here like this, I’m gonna turn around.”
When they were facing the other direction, he idled slowly up the road. “Did anyone notice another road on the way up here? I think there’s a dirt road, but I haven’t been this way too often.”
“I saw a dirt road a ways back,” Mark said. “Have no idea if it went in the right direction though.”
“Oh that’s just great,” Scott groaned. “Means we have to go past those damn dogs again.”
“What, you scared of a few mongrels?” Sean teased with a laugh, ducking as Scott took a fake swing at his head.
“You know better than that, it’s their damn barking and growling that gets on my nerves. They so want to eat us for dinner and they let everything within earshot know it.”
“Sean, this is Dave – do you copy?”
“Yo Dave, did Lil fill you in on what’s happened?”
“Yeah, sorry you guys had trouble.”
“Not your fault, what do you suggest,” Sean asked.
“About two miles from the bridge there’s a dirt road, it will take you in a roundabout way to Shady Oaks. Just make sure you stay on it, don’t take any of the side roads that branch off.”
As Scott accelerated, Sean said, “Ok, got it. Will it take us longer to get there?”
<
br /> Sean’s heart sank a bit as he heard Dave sigh. “A little bit, about thirty to forty five minutes, but that’s because it’s a piss-poor road.”
“Gotcha,” Sean replied. “Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime, just be careful out there and keep us posted on your progress.”
“Will do, we’re out for now,” Sean said. “Talk to you soon.”
“Right, ok then I’m out,” Dave replied.
As Sean placed the walkie back between the seats Scott chuckled grimly. “Oh look – our little buddies.”
The dogs were still there, although they had spread out and were busy sniffing the area.
“Just plow through ‘em,” Jacob said good-naturedly.
“My pleasure,” Scott said with a grin as he gunned the engine.
****
“Are we ready yet?” Dexter growled at Charlie. “We shoulda been gone an hour ago.”
Charlie sighed and tried to remain calm as he watched Dexter pace back and forth across the lobby. “Look Dexter, they’re doing the best they can. These folks aren’t soldiers and a lot of them haven’t even fired a gun in years. We’re lucky to have so many that are willing to go, so try to be a little patient with them, ok?”
Dexter grunted in reply and strode out the door. Charlie sighed again as Dexter began yelling at some hapless soul who was unfortunate enough to cross his path at that moment. He watched Darrell come down the stairs and make a face when he heard Dexter.
“Man, he’s hardcore isn’t he?” Darrell said in a low voice as he hurried over to help. Charlie had been loading ammo boxes into the back of a pickup truck and as Charlie picked one up, Darrell grabbed the last one and followed Charlie out the door. “He keeps this up and no one is going to want to go with us, they’re all scared of him.”
Charlie heaved the box up into the bed of the truck. “Well, he does get them moving, but I did try to get him to tone it down a bit. Guess it’s against his nature.”
His gaze flicked around as Darrell placed his box next to Charlie’s with a loud thump. There were five pickup trucks and the SUV lined up in the yard. As soon as everything was loaded they were planning to head over to the football stadium. Charlie hoped they had enough people and firepower to take out the zombies and most importantly, to find Gordon.
“I’m kind of nervous with him leading though,” Darrell replied as he wiped his hands on the front of his jeans. “Sometimes he doesn’t stop to think and that’s dangerous.”
“I know,” Charlie agreed. “But we’ve been over the plan three times and he shouldn’t go off halfcocked, he knows what to do.”
“Hey, here comes Jenny.”
Charlie frowned when he saw his daughter striding across the yard with a shotgun slung over her shoulder. Seeing the look on his face, she held up a hand.
“Don’t start, Dad,” she said defensively as she stopped in front of him. “I’m needed and I’m going.”
“The hell you are,” Charlie growled as he frowned at her. “You have no idea how dangerous this is going to be and I won’t chance you getting hurt or even worse, killed,” he said bluntly.
Jenny blinked with surprise and took a step back. “Hold on a minute,” she said firmly with a shake of her head. “Just because I’m your daughter doesn’t mean you can make me stay here. Think about it, I’m a good shot and I can help.”
“I don’t want you out there, we need you here to guard the place,” Charlie said as his expression softened. “Sorry to snap at you, but it’s just as important that you stay here,” he implored with a pleading look in his eyes.
She gave him a small grin, although her eyes remained hard. “Nice try, but it’s not gonna work. I’m going and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Now either accept it or you can stay here.”
Charlie’s mouth opened in amazement. Like it or not, he couldn’t help but admire her determination. As she tilted her head in defiance and glared at him down her nose, he threw his hands in the air.
“All right, you win,” he acquiesced. “But on one condition.” At her nod, he continued. “Stay by me at all times and do exactly what I say, ok?”
She continued to stare at him for a moment as though considering, then gave him a dazzling smile. “Agreed! Now was that so hard?” she said teasingly as she stepped forward to give him a hug.
He patted her back and muttered, “You just played me, didn’t you?”
Stepping back, Jenny smiled and said, “Of course, isn’t that what daughters do?”
With that, she whirled away and marched off toward the SUV. At the sound of a chuckle, Charlie gave Darrell a withering glance.
“Not one word,” he warned with a shake of a finger.
“My lips are sealed,” Darrell said with a straight face and as Charlie stalked away, the sound of Darrell’s muffled laughter followed him all the way inside.
Chapter 17
Mick struggled to remain nonchalant, but it was hard after what Dave told him. When Cindy started to badger him about what was wrong, he tried to shrug it off and managed to convince her that he was worried about the boys, especially since they were having trouble getting to Shady Oaks. That seemed to satisfy her and she went off in search of Brooke, who had been spending more and more time alone with Jimmy lately. He hated to lie to her, but in his heart he knew there was no way he could burden her with what he knew.
The worst part was that there was absolutely nothing he could do for now but wait. He and Dave were planning to talk to Bill later that night when everyone was asleep, hopefully he would have some good news to pass along, but Mick doubted it.
Looking at his watch, he realized he had ten minutes before his shift on the balcony began and he was almost relieved, at least it would give him something to do to pass the time. Although they hadn’t seen many of the undead dragging along, it didn’t mean they weren’t out there so they had to stay vigilant. If they couldn’t be seen, they could certainly be heard in the dead of night. He figured there were probably thousands of them out there. They sound like an army at times, Mick thought uneasily as he headed upstairs. A very nasty and dangerous army that howled, shrieked, moaned, and groaned at all hours. He was thankful that most of them had learned to stay away, but if they ever decided to mass at Hudson Place they might have a real problem. Their sheer numbers could result in a breach somewhere and Mick shuddered at the thought. Between the undead and the military, he wondered if he could hold it together.
Mick could hear laughter as he approached the door to the upper floor and despite his gloomy thoughts, he couldn’t help a small grin. As he stepped through the door, he paused for a moment to watch the kids as they clustered around the homemade ice cream Lilly was scooping out into bowls and handing to each child.
“Want some?” Lilly asked as she glanced up from the task at hand.
Mick shook his head. “Maybe later, it’s my turn on the balcony. Save some for me?”
“Sure thing, there’s going to be plenty left over, just check the freezer when you’re done,” Lilly said as she turned her attention back to dishing out ice cream to the clamoring children.
Mick stepped through the sliding doors and walked over to the railing where Dave was standing. He glanced at the street below. All seemed quiet and the street was empty.
“Absolutely nothing going on,” Dave said as he continued to look down the street. He fidgeted with the binoculars around his neck. “Been like this so much lately I almost think it’s a waste of time for us to be watching so much. Looks like a storm’s coming though.”
Mick glanced around and nodded as he saw the dark sky off to the west. “I see it. But if we didn’t keep watch, we might miss any survivors out there,” Mick pointed out. “And we don’t want that to happen.”
“True,” Dave said with a sigh as he removed the binoculars and handed them to Dave. He pinched the bridge of his nose then rubbed his eyes. “But I’m beginning to wonder how many people are actually alive down there.”
&n
bsp; Mick clapped his friend reassuringly on the shoulder. “I’m sure there’s some, after all people keep finding their way here.” He slipped the binocular strap around his neck and held his hand out for the 9mm Glock Dave had been holding.
“I guess you’re right. Sometimes it gets a bit discouraging.”
Mick leaned closer to his friend. “So we’re going to try and contact Bill later, right?” he said in a low voice. Dave gave him a quick glance and nodded. “So maybe we’ll have a better picture of what’s going on – I don’t want to rush things if we don’t have to.”
Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place Page 12