Nothing moved at the Eye Center and I was starting to wonder if there were any zombies in this area at all. We were hugging the left side of the road due to the fact that as we climbed the hill the only thing on that side of the road was a large hill slanting steeply up to a tree line far above us.
As the road began to curve to the left we saw that the next building on the right hand side of the road was the Wellness Center. It sat way off the road and seemed to pose no threat at all to us. As we reached the top of the hill the ground to our left had become even with the road and a large sprawling brick building was now visible. This was the State of Franklin Healthcare building. I gave it a once over and decided that it looked harmless. I was more interested in the road ahead. The road flowed into a circle at the top of the hill. I really couldn’t see a point to the circle except maybe to slow traffic down. However, it wasn’t the circle that had caught my attention; it was what was sitting inside the circle. A man, who looked to be in his late fifties, was sitting in a lawn chair. His white bushy hair was creeping out from under the bandana he had tied across the top of his head. He wore mirrored sunglasses that made me think about those TV cop shows, and his beard was full and just as white as his hair. It hung down to about the middle of his chest. He wore a black Harley Davidson T-shirt and a black leather jacket. His ripped up blue jeans fell down over the top of his boots which were of a type that I had once heard in a movie described as “shit kickers.” He had his feet propped up on a cooler and a beer in one hand. When he saw us, he stood taking his cigar from his mouth in the process. As we reached the circle of grass where the man had been sitting he took a moment to take another drag from his cigar as he looked us over. It was apparent he did not like what he saw. With a distasteful look on his face, Chester Montgomery said, “Well…shit.”
EIGHTEEN
“Hello.” I said trying to ignore the obvious dislike this man had of us on sight.
“Yeah.” He said back to me.
“We were just passing through. Hope you don’t mind.” I said trying a different approach.
“Free world.” He said taking a drink of his beer.
We began to walk around him, and he turned to watch us go. I had made it almost half way around the circle when I turned to ask him one last thing.
“Aren’t you afraid of being attacked?” I asked.
“Do what?” The man asked with genuine surprise in his voice.
“You’re sitting out here in a lawn chair with your feet propped up on your beer cooler while smoking a cigar. What would you have done if a group of zombies had stumbled upon you sitting here?”
The man laughed at me. He laughed so hard that he had to sit his beer down and remove his sunglasses so he could wipe the tears from his eyes.
“Scared of zombies? That’s a good one.” He said.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I was completely confused by this. I would think that zombies should be on the top of everybody’s concern list. That is everybody except, apparently, this guy.
“Why is that a good one?” Sass asked.
The old man looked from me to Sass before speaking. “You really have no clue where you are, do you?” He said.
“We’re on the Med Tech Parkway.” I said which caused another burst of laughter to come from our new acquaintance.
“You’re right, you’re on the parkway no doubt. At least in the old world that’s what this was called. What you don’t know is that you are in Head Hunter territory.” He must have seen our eyes and posture change as he said that because he laughed again. It wasn’t the big belly laughs this time; it was a soft chuckle to himself more than anyone else.
“I see you’ve heard of the Head Hunters. Trust me on this, believe every story that you have heard. They are a band of animals.” He placed his sunglasses back on his head and picked up his beer which immediately went to his lips before he continued. “You seemed confused that I wasn’t afraid of any zombies attacking me and there are two very good reasons for that. First off, there are very few roaming zombies in the Hunter’s territory. They are good at catching them. They keep the streets clean. Second thing is, if I find myself attacked by somebody, it is more likely going to be somebody much more adept at killing me than a zombie, especially out here.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that today.” Fred said. “We just fought a whole horde of them down the road from here.”
“Ah, I wondered who let the animals out of their cages. The Hunters aren’t going to be happy about that. They were saving those for something special.” The man said.
“How is it you know so much about them?” Amanda said giving our new friend a curious stare. In return the man reached out his hand to Amanda to shake.
“Sorry Miss, where are my manners? My name is Chester Montgomery. I am a trader from the walled city. I have actually had dealings with the Head Hunters. I am one of the few that have been to their city and was able to walk out again.”
“You have seen their cruelty first hand.” Amanda said.
“Yes mam. Have seen and heard things in that building that would keep you up at night.”
Amanda didn’t look impressed. “I assure you, it would take more than you think to keep me up at night.” Chester smiled at our resident culler of evil and nodded as if to say, “Yeah, right.”
“Why would you continue to trade with people who are clearly evil?” Sass asked. Chester looked like somebody had just slapped him across the face.
“You’re serious with that? Look, I don’t know where you all come from, but let me tell you about the way the world works down on this end of Johnson City. They are the biggest, baddest, dog on the block and if you can get in their good graces it is in your best interest to stay in their good graces. If by taking them a few cases of beer every week I am able to buy the continued safety of my city, then I am more than happy to do it. I also get the prestige of being one of only a handful of outsiders that are allowed inside their city, and trust me, that place is a sight to behold. Also, I don’t have to worry when I am out here in the wilds. Did I look worried to you when you came walking up on me?”
“No, you most defiantly did not.” I answered.
“You know what keeps me feeling that safe? A couple of cases of beer a week. It doesn’t matter what brand and they could care less how warm it is. Every week I risk my neck finding what they need and they leave us alone for another week. It’s a simple deal and I thrive on it. It’s like being a superstar. Women are all over me just because I can walk into that damned building and back out. I have helped negotiate releases of people from other settlements and every now and then I have taken on special tasks from the Hunters for, I guess we'll just call them 'specialty items'. Without fail, every time I deliver, I am paid very well.”
“What if youse ain’t able to deliver?” Marky Mark asked.
“Kid, when you take a job for the Hunters you deliver. There is no other option.” Chester said.
“What special jobs have you taken for them?” I asked.
“Got em a bunch of Playboys once. One time they wanted me to bring them a crane. Of all the things they could ask for, a crane. Turns out they started hanging people from it. I guess they live by that old saying go big or go home.” Chester started laughing at his own terrible wit.
“So what are you doing out here today?” Amanda asked.
“One of our guys got sick during the night. He was supposed to be on watch today. He couldn’t do it, so I volunteered.”
“What are you watching for? For that matter why are you pulling watch nowhere near your city?” Sass asked.
“I’m watching for Head Hunters. We keep somebody out here most of the day in case they need something. The man on watch will come back to me with the list of what they need and when they need it. I fill the order.”
“You’re saying their base is close?” Jane asked.
“About two miles from here I would guess. They don’t walk over here to meet me. They have trucks and motorcycles.” Ch
ester said giving Jane a curious look. “You’re not telling me that you want to go there, are you?”
“No.” Jane answered. “Just curious how big of a buffer we have between them and us.”
Chester laughed again. “No worries as long as you’re with me. They love me.”
“So, how far away from your city are we?” Sass asked.
“Not too far. It’s right across State of Franklin at the end of this road. Why? You wanting to come for a visit?” Chester said with that distasteful look on his face again. I was very sure the last thing he wanted to do was take us back to this walled city of his.
“I was just thinking that it might be good for us to meet your people. We are heading further down State of Franklin and it would be nice to get the lay of the land before we move on.” Sass said.
Chester gave Sass an appraising look. “I travel around all of these roads. I can give you a heads up if you’re heading towards any trouble. Where are you fine people heading?”
“We are headed for the Johnson City Med Center.” I said and immediately regretted it. Chester’s face dropped and he gave each of us a reappraising look.
“Why would you go there?” He asked.
“A ten year old girl has been kidnapped from where we call home. The woman who is behind the kidnapping is inside the Med Center.” I said.
“And you’re going to get her back?!” Chester began to laugh again. “You really have no clue how things are do you?”
“How much trouble are we getting ourselves into?” I said.
Chester leaned in closer to us and talked in a softer tone.
“She is bleed’n mad. She makes those Head Hunter guys look like perfectly civilized people. If she had their muscle backing her craziness she would already be running the entire city from her throne high atop the Medical Center. She is vindictive and too smart for her own good. You mess with her and she will bury you. This I promise.”
“We have to try to save this girl.” I said.
“My advice is to turn your little group around and forget this girl ever existed.” Chester said taking the last drink from his beer and tossing the bottle towards the cooler. “Going after her will only get the rest of you dead.”
“How can you say forget about her?” Fred said. “How can you tell me to forget about my daughter?!” Chester seemed unconcerned about Fred’s yelling. “I can say it because I am a realist. I am able to detach myself from any emotional aspects of a problem and see it solely for what it is. You will not save this girl. All you are going to do is get yourselves killed.”
“How sure are you about that?” Amanda asked.
“I told you that I walk into the Head Hunters city and think nothing of it. It’s just another day at the office for me. No big deal. But the Med Center? Now that is a big deal. I won’t even go near it when I’m looking for whatever it is my city, or the Hunters, have asked me to find. I don’t go near it and I would never go inside. Never.”
We looked around at each other, our eyes questioning whether we should be doing this or not.
“Look I’m heading back soon as it is. Usually if the Hunters haven’t shown by noon then they aren’t coming. If you want, you can come back with me and talk to the actual guard members about this. A few of them escaped from the Med Center in the first few days of the invasion. She apparently hadn’t locked everything down at that point and it was easier for some to get out. They can tell you first hand what it’s like up on the seventh floor. Then you can decide whether or not to carry on with your plan of mass suicide. But personally, I’m telling you. Don’t do it.”
I looked at the others, they seemed as unsure of what our next move should be as I was. That is everyone except Fred. He looked at me with eyes wide and full of fear. What was he scared of? Was he afraid that if we spoke to those couple of people from the Med Center that their story wouldn’t match up with his? Was he afraid of being found out as a spy? That question by itself made me want to tell Chester, “Yes! Let’s go!”, but I bit my tongue and looked to Amanda and Jane raising my eyebrows. They raised theirs back in that “I have no clue” motion. Great, it was being left up to me again. Why was I not surprised? Chester was bending down and taking a beer out of the cooler. He popped the top off of it and smiled at me, “Always have to take one for the road. So, what’s the verdict? You want to come back with me or have I talked enough sense into you that you’re going to call it quits and go home.”
I looked back at the blank faces of my group before turning to Chester and saying, “Lead the way.”
NINETEEN
When Chester had told us that there were no zombies in the Head Hunter’s territory, he hadn’t been exaggerating. As we made our way down the hill I saw no evidence of anything except us. Trees lined the sides of the road as well as the median giving us shade from the heat of the day as we followed our guide towards what he called the walled city. The hill we were walking down bent around to the right taking us around the length of Franklin Woods Hospital and back towards State of Franklin Road. Every building on this road seemed to be some healthcare something or other. I thought for sure that there had to be some zombies trapped in these buildings, but as I looked into the windows I saw nothing.
As we reached the intersection of the parkway and State of Franklin Chester stopped and pointed off to his right, “There she is boys and girls, home.”
What Chester called home could have easily qualified as one of the new wonders of the world. I kept asking myself how they did this in four months. The sight was staggering. Across the intersection set a large, circular, brick building. The sign said Tri Summit Bank, but the building looked like a small keep from the middle ages. If not for all the windows on the ground floor that building would have been the ultimate place to hold up during the zombie invasion.
Beside the bank was the AT&T building. It was ravaged, and it looked as if parts of it had burned at some point in the last few months. Beyond the decimated cell phone building was a large shopping complex. It originally had something that resembled turrets from a castle at its four corners. The people who had settled here had taken the castle idea and ran with it. There were walls standing easily thirty feet above the roof line of this building. On the outside of these walls there seemed to be metal plates riveted to the wood, armoring the building from attack. The walls themselves were anchored with what seemed to be high tension cables.
“How?” Was all I could find a voice to ask.
“Impressive huh?” Chester said.
“Very. I take it both sides of your wall are armored.” Amanda said.
“Yes mam, all the better to stop bullets.”
“How did we not hear this being built? We’re just down the road from you and the last time I checked sound carries.” I said, making Chester laughed.
“Most of the pieces were made down inside the building to cut down on the noise. No offense but we didn’t want the neighbors knowing what we were up to. The pieces were then hoisted up top to be slotted into place and then the metal was attached to the sides.”
“How did you know the metal would line up if you waited until you had it all built before placing it on.” Sass asked. “I mean I assume you made all the holes and such before time to keep the installation noise to a minimum.”
“Well we completely built each wall in the building then disassembled it before moving it into position on the roof.” Chester said.
“How did you do that in those small shops?” I asked.
“We did some creative redesigning of the interior of the building to give us enough work space. You’ll see for yourselves.”
Chester made his way towards the side of the building that faced the brick bank. We were going to enter the walled city somewhere between El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant and the Keller Williams Reality offices. As we got closer I saw the entrance. Another version of the outer walls had been built into the side of the building, and as we neared the wall, it began to rise revealing a large open area w
here there used to be shops. The inside of the area had been completely cleared. There was no evidence that there had ever been retail stores between the four walls that stood before us. The walls themselves had been rebuilt with what looked to be landscape timbers. I would bet that these landscape timber walls were also between the metal sheets on the upper walls.
Two more doors like the one we had just passed through sat on either side of the room as we entered. The only difference being that they didn’t have the metal on them. From first glance it seemed that all the living area had to be on top of the building, hidden behind those tall metal lined walls. This place was secure, no doubt about it. I thought that anyone who considered taking these folks down were going to be biting off way more than they bargained for. The inner wooden walls that they had built didn’t go all the way to the top of the building. There was maybe a ten foot gap between the inner walls and the top of the building. That would make the inner walls fifteen feet high, maybe a few feet taller. It was hard to judge. There was what looked to be a large movie screen at the far end of the room on the middle layer. It extended the entire height of that middle floor and took up maybe half of the width of the room. As we all made it through the outer door it began to slide shut behind us. Chester stopped and looked to us, holding up his hands.
“There is another gate like the one we just passed through at the other end of the room. It’s through that one that we will gain entrance to the city itself. Stay here while I go get the guard to call our leader. I’m going to have to okay this with him before we let you into the city.”
“Sure.” Sass said.
I gave Chester an appraising glance and he smiled at me in return. “Sorry Charlie. I like you all well enough I guess, but I don’t like you well enough to get kicked out of my own city for letting you in without approval.”
“Go on then. Get your approval.” Jane said. As Chester made his way to the other door I backed up to where Jane and Amanda were surveying the room we now occupied.
A Good Distance From Dying (Book 2): Samantha's Song Page 19