Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place

by Char Robinson

  Jake Weaver stood. Charlie sat up straighter. This could get interesting, he thought with amusement.

  "From my perspective, I think we could accomplish both things at the same time," Jake said, glancing around the room. Several people nodded. "Why don't we send Travis back up there, but with some support, I'd like to go with him to gather water samples to test. Go in and out as quietly as possible to assess the situation. In the meantime, we can draw the zombies and hopefully the dogs back over to the football field."

  Dexter stopped pacing and scowled at the young doctor. "Feeling better, are ya?" he growled. "Ok, I'll bite here, so how you plannin' on drawing out the walkers?"

  "If we can get set up at the football field, all we need to do is make a lot of noise and wait. Jenny had a good idea of blaring music on a CD player in the middle of the field. Once we get them there, we surround them like you said before and finish them off."

  Charlie saw Dexter look at the group around him from the corner of his eye. He grinned, knowing Dexter was trying to gauge everyone's reaction. Even more people were nodding and murmuring their assent.

  "Sounds good in theory," Dexter responded slowly. "But these things are getting smart so how do we know they'll come. We might get our asses handed to us - that almost happened last time ya know."

  Charlie had to bite his lip to keep from speaking up. They almost died because of Dexter's bullheaded rushing in, but he'd seemed to have forgotten all about that.

  Charlie saw Judith raise a tentative hand. Dexter nodded in her direction and she stood. Jake took his seat next to Jenny and gave her a quick squeeze. Charlie grinned and Jenny made a face. He turned his attention back to Judith as she spoke.

  "Why don't we run a sort of test to see if we can draw them out," she said softly. Her face turned red and Charlie felt a little sorry for her. She glanced his way and he gave her a big grin. She cleared her throat. "We could go out to the park since it's so close by and play Jenny's music. Then we can watch and see what happens."

  "We could even record some of our voices and play that, too," Darrell interjected. He smiled at Judith. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but it may help and I know where there's a recorder we can use."

  Judith smiled back. "No problem," she said amicably. "It's a great idea."

  Dexter cleared his throat; it was obvious he felt his thunder had been stolen for long enough.

  "Ok, people," he said in a booming voice. Almost everyone grimaced. He smacked his hands together. "Sounds like we have a plan." He pointed at Jake. "You take Travis in the truck and one other person to ride shotgun - literally."

  Charlie rolled his eyes and several people groaned while Dexter laughed uproariously. He held up a meaty hand, still chuckling. "Ok, ok. Charlie and I will go set up this test. Darrell - you, Megan, and Jenny get that stuff together for us to take."

  Nice of you to volunteer everyone, Charlie thought morosely. He had hoped to put up a volunteer sheet, but Dexter had other ideas. At least things would move faster.

  Dexter held up a finger. "I need two folks on the roof and one to ride with Jake and Travis. Come see me after the meeting if you want to help. If there's nothing else, let's get ready to go first thing in the morning."

  Everyone rose and began talking all at once. A sudden whistle pierced the air, silencing them immediately. Jake was waving his hand above his head. "Remember! Do not use any water out of the tap! Bottled only until we know what's going on!"

  With that reminder everyone turned and began making their way to their homes for the night. Bitsy tugged on Dexter's sleeve, Charlie knew she'd be asking to ride with Travis. Then Sean sauntered over to Dexter and after a brief exchange, both men nodded and Sean headed toward the stairs. Even though he and Denise were given a house next door, it wasn't safe yet for them to stay there after what they had witnessed earlier. Judith and Travis, along with Darrell and Dexter's families, would also stay the night in the apartments. Accommodations were tight, but manageable.

  When Charlie finally managed to trudge upstairs to the apartment he shared with Jenny and Jake, he was met at the door by Judith. He raised his eyebrows and she laughed at his quizzical look.

  "Jenny offered to let Travis and I stay here," she whispered, moving aside to let him in. "Hope you don't mind."

  Charlie grinned wolfishly at her. "Why, I don't mind at all," he growled with a wink.

  "Shhh!" she hissed, smacking him playfully on the shoulder. "Travis is asleep on the couch!"

  "Oh," Charlie whispered back and he began to tiptoe toward his room. He paused and turned toward Judith. "Where are you sleeping?"

  She tilted her head and wagged a finger at him. "Oh, you're funny. If you look at the far wall you'll see a cot - that's me."

  Charlie saw the cot and frowned. He marched over to Judith, steering her by the shoulders toward his room. "I'll take the cot, you go get some sleep."

  Judith halted and spun around. "No way! You're the one going out tomorrow; you need your rest more than I do!"

  Although they were whispering, it was loud enough that Travis moaned in his sleep and turned over. They both remained motionless for a moment before Charlie spoke.

  "Look, do this for me as a favor, ok? I am not that tired and the cots are comfy enough."

  "All right, but I don't like it. I just don't want to stand here arguing all night."

  "That's because you'd lose," Charlie said with a grin. He gently turned her around again and led her to the door. He opened it and before she went inside, she turned and kissed him gently on the lips. He shut the door and sighed. He was exhausted, but the idea of sleeping in comfort while she slept on one of the hard-as-rock cots didn't sit right with him. He quickly shucked his clothing and scrambled under the thin blanket. He hoped he was tired enough to fall right to sleep, he didn't want to start thinking about tomorrow or it would keep him up all night. Fortunately, luck was with him and within five minutes he was lightly snoring.

  ****

  "Before we talk to Sullie, we need to figure out what to do," Mick told the group assembled before him. "I think it's fairly obvious we can't bring all those people here, we don't have the room or the resources. We can take supplies to them and bring about eight at the most back with us. Once we ferry those folks to Shady Oaks when they can take them, then more people from the armory can head over here."

  He glanced around the room. "We also need to figure out how to get over there without the zombies chasing us down."

  "Dad, we have two flare guns," Scott said. "We take them with us and if we spot zombies, we shoot off a flare in the opposite direction - it should send them off to check it out."

  "Good idea," Mick agreed with a nod. "Something else we need to think about, what if the people who are coming here meet us halfway? A few extra folks can come with them to get some supplies. That way we don't have to go as far."

  "I think that's definitely something we should strongly suggest to this Sullie," Lilly chimed in. She was sitting on the floor with Curtis and Amy on either side of her. "Since we've decided not to try this until tomorrow, they would have ample time to figure out who goes and who stays."

  "That reminds me," Mick said with a scratch of his chin and a quick glance at his wife. "We need to figure out who's going to meet these people. Before I can really think about it, I'm going to volunteer myself. I know right where the armory is from here and I'm fairly sure I can get us at least halfway there safely."

  Jeff and Scott both raised their hands. So did Lindsey. Mick shook his head at her. "Lindsey, we're going to have to travel fast and with very heavy backpacks. I wouldn't want you too tired out when we get back because we will need you to help with the people we bring back."

  Lindsey glanced at Jeff, who patted her knee. "I know I already told you that if you wanted to come, you could, but he has a good point. You're really good with people and we will definitely need your help when we get back."

  She frowned and slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll stay this time," she
muttered. "But I don't have to like it."

  Cindy walked over and gave her a hug; Lindsey gave her a small smile and hugged her back.

  "Lindsey, Brooke, and I have already put together most of what we think they'll need over there into two of those big backpacks," Cindy said. "I'm sure they'll have a list of things they need too, so we have another one waiting to be packed. Once we have their list we should have no problem getting it finished tonight so they'll be ready to go tomorrow."

  "Well, looks like that's all settled," Mick said jovially, trying to lighten the mood. He looked at his watch then at Curtis. He held out his hand. "Time to call Sullie."

  Curtis reached into his pocket and pulled out the walkie. He quickly turned it on and almost immediately they heard a woman's voice. He handed the walkie over to Mick.

  Mick pushed the button. "This is Mick Carter over at Dave's Place. I have Curtis and Amy here, could I speak to Sullie please?"

  "This is Sullie," replied the same woman's voice they'd heard earlier.

  Mick raised his eyebrows at Curtis, who nodded and grinned. "That's her!"

  Mick had assumed Sullie was a man, from the looks on the others' faces they had too. Cindy and Heather were grinning at Mick and he made a face at them before turning his attention back to the walkie.

  "Nice to meet you, Sullie," he said slowly. He proceeded to explain how only Curtis and Amy had made it to them and what had transpired before that. Afterward, there were a few moments of silence from her end while she passed the sad news on. When she returned, they got the logistics figured out on how many people from the armory would be coming back with Mick's group and what supplies Sullie's group needed. Both groups would head out at 11 the next morning since mid-day seemed to be the time when the zombies were the slowest and tended to stay out of the sun. When the two groups met up they would quickly make the exchanges and get moving.

  "See you tomorrow, Mick Carter," Sullie said before signing off.

  "You'll be coming with them?"

  "I'm coming, but not going back with you."

  "Like I told you before, the backpacks are going to weigh about 50 pounds each," he said with concern.

  "No problems," Sullie said with a laugh. "I am going along to help keep the zombies off of us if needed and to help with the children that are coming."

  "Ah, alright, tomorrow then. Good luck," he said before signing off.

  "Same to you and yours," she replied.

  Mick turned off the walkie and handed it back to Curtis. So it was settled. Tomorrow he would venture out with his son and friend on a very dangerous trek. He began to silently pray that they would all make it back alive. How he wished they could drive over to the armory, but the consensus was that it would probably draw fatal attention.

  As everyone began to go off to take care of their own business, a thought he had been toying with for a while resurfaced and glancing Cindy's way, he decided to talk to her about what he was thinking.

  "Can I steal Cindy away for a bit?" he asked with a smile as he approached Lindsey and his wife.

  Lindsey smiled back. "Certainly, she's all yours."

  Cindy gave her friend a pat on the shoulder and turned toward Mick. He gently grasped her by the elbow and walked her away toward the door.

  "I have something I want to run by you," he said in a low voice. "Let's go up to our room."

  "Okay, is it something serious?"

  "Not too, I think you'll like it."

  Once inside their room, he guided her to the bed and together they sat down. He turned to face her. "I have gotten to the point where I can't stand to be here anymore. Everywhere I look, I have bad memories and my attitude is starting to really suck. After I help get these people here, what do you think about packing up and heading to Shady Oaks? I'm going to try and get Scott to bring his family, too. I'd like to have us all together again as soon as possible."

  Cindy threw her arms around her husband's neck and squeezed him tight. "Do I want to go? Are you crazy? I've wanted to leave for awhile now, but felt the time wasn't right, with Lilly and all. But she's doing much better and I wouldn't feel guilty leaving now."

  He leaned back to look at her. "Okay, it's settled then. Let's wait to tell Brooke and Scott after we get back." He smiled at his wife and hugged her tightly to him. "I'm feeling better already; this is what we need - a new start."

  "Things won't be easy in Shady Oaks," Cindy warned. Mick released her and she stood up. "You know they're still having zombie problems too and it's going to be a lot of work."

  "I realize that," he replied. "I think it will be good for us. Instead of sitting around waiting for things to happen, we can make things happen."

  She walked over to Mick and gently caressed his scarred cheek. "I agree and I know Brooke will be thrilled to see Jimmy."

  "Don't remind me," Mick groaned then laughed, rolling his eyes as Cindy chuckled with him.

  Chapter 35

  First thing the next morning, Travis led a small group up to the treatment plant, and at the last moment Jenny decided to go with them. They hadn't returned yet and Charlie was beginning to feel the first stirrings of unease.

  He helped Dexter set up the recorded message and the music in the park, both would play for only a few minutes. Much longer and they would attract more of what Bitsy had coined "test zombies" than they wanted. Dexter got a big kick out of the phrase "test zombies" and used it tirelessly. Charlie was ready to shoot him and use him for zombie bait.

  They retreated to the hardware store across the street and went up to the second floor. They had plenty of time since Sean had put a delay in so they would have time to leave the area. Dexter raised the window and leaned his head out, looking both left and right. The recordings began and he ducked his head back in so quickly he smacked the windowsill.

  "Damn!" He straightened up and rubbed the back of his head. "That hurt!"

  Charlie frowned and shook his head. "Will you be quiet? We don't want to attract them, remember?"

  Dexter muttered, still rubbing his head as they watched the park. The two minutes seemed like two hours; they scanned the area continuously but nothing moved. The recordings snapped off and Charlie heard only silence; no moaning zombies and no growling, yipping dogs.

  "How long should we wait?"

  "Let's give it a couple minutes," Charlie responded. He was keeping his fingers crossed; they needed this to work so they could clean up the town. More people would die if they couldn't get a handle on this problem now.

  To his surprise, a small group of zombies seemed to appear from nowhere. He tapped Dexter on the shoulder and pointed. "Did you seem them come in?"

  Dexter's face registered surprise. "No! Where'd they come from?"

  They both watched in silence as the zombies wandered around. Charlie saw another zombie appear and he grinned.

  "I see how they did it," he whispered. "Behind that picnic table there's a narrow ditch, you can't really see it unless you look hard. That's why we didn't see them until they were up and out of there."

  Dexter nodded. "Good. Was beginning to think those bastards had some new tricks up their sleeves."

  "That would be some trick," Charlie agreed. He glanced around the park and down both sides of the street. "No dogs."

  "Not too worried about that. I think if we can draw enough zombies the dogs will follow."

  "Probably," Charlie agreed. He decided they'd seen enough. "Ok, if we can attract zombies with that, we should be able to get them all to shuffle on over to the football field if we really blare some tunes."

  Dexter laughed and slapped Charlie hard on the back, causing him to stumble forward. He put a hand on the wall to stop himself from smashing into the window frame.

  "Easy there Dex!"

  "Hey, that was funny though! So you do have a sense of humor."

  "Yeah, although it's not as demented as yours."

  "That's for sure!" Dexter slung his rifle back over a shoulder. "Ready to head out?"

&
nbsp; Charlie took one last look outside before lowering and locking the window. The zombies were still there, staring off into space and swaying slightly.

  "Yep, lead the way."

  As he followed Dexter's broad back down the stairs his walkie clicked once. He breathed a sigh of relief. The click signaled that Jenny and the others were back. He nudged Dexter.

  "I heard it and you're gonna tell me to hoof it outta here so don't worry, I'll pick it up."

  "Thanks."

  They hurried down and through the building and out the back door. As they exited, Charlie shot a quick look around to make sure all was clear before breaking into a trot. He wanted to get back as soon as possible to get everything going. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to rush, but it was there none the less.