Dead States | Year Zero | Nebraska

by Marty Brockschmidt

  One of them slid a chair back under the handle of the door, too block it shut, while the other began to advance on Amelia. As soon as Amelia saw the soldier advancing towards her she immediately understood the leer in his eye. She had always been able to control the urges of the boys she had dated, but knew she would not be able to get the upper hand with these two.

  Amelia brandished the knife she had been using and tried to warn off the two men, “You better not try it. I'll cut you. I swear I will.”

  “She's got spirit Cletus. I like when they got spirit.” One of the soldiers exclaimed.

  “Zeke tell ya what, whichever one gets that knife away from her first, gets first go.” Cletus announced.

  “Damn boy I was getttin the door, you got a head start on me.” Zeke joked.

  The two continued to close on Amelia from either side as she wildly waved the knife back and forth and tried to back away. Cletus reached Amelia first and grabbed her at the shoulders, but Zeke was a half step behind caught hold of Amelia's wrist and wrestled the knife from her hand.

  “Well I guess you got first go after all Zeke.” Cletus affirmed.

  “Boy I ain't in no hurry. Let say we take a look at what we're gettin into first.” Zeke stated in complete disregard of Amelia.

  The two men practically drooled as Zeke ran the tip of the knife back and forth across Amelia's breasts, which were straining against the confines of her T Shirt. Zeke finally halted the knife between her breasts and made a short cut in the fabric. Zeke set the knife down and each man poked a finger in the slit and slowly made the opening larger.

  As soon as the hole was big enough each man grabbed a side of the tear and in a single motion tore open Amelia's shirt. Their breath came in bursts at the sight of her supple skin and the mounds of her breasts rounding out of the cups of her bra. Each man held firmly onto one of Amelia's arms and grasping a side of her bra tore it down. They grunted their appreciation as her large perfect breasts that still retained the upright firmness of youth, bounced free.

  “Son”, exclaimed Cletus in a breathy undertone, “I never thought I'd see a woman like this outside of a nudey magazine.”

  Zeke didn't bother with talking, using his free hand to hold Amelia's head still, by grabbing her hair he pressed in for a kiss at the same time he released her arm and thrust his hand into her jeans. Cletus followed suit by grabbing her breast and bending down to roughly suck the nipple.

  Amelia used her free hand to push Zeke back and screamed as loud as she could, “NOOOO”.

  Stuart Redding began to move towards the kitchen as soon as he heard the scream. The townspeople also began to move in that direction instinctively wanting to protect their own. The guards in the room raised their weapons to their shoulders to be ready to fire.

  Seeing the situation going south Stu called out, “You folks stay put. I'll deal with this.”

  Crystal seeing the possibility of a bloodbath jumped on a table and putting two fingers to her lips let loose a loud whistle, “Everybody hold up give the Sergeant a chance here.”

  At the same time Crystal singled out Bill, Jason, Percy and Amy and using hand signals had them spread out through the room to quell any uprising. Sara Parsons who didn't give two hoots about whomever was screaming went to the table, where Nana had laid out the lunch and began helping herself to as much as she could shovel into her face.

  When Sergeant Redding reached the kitchen door the guard posted there confronted him, “Relax Sarge, this ain't none of your affair.”

  Stu tossed him aside like a rag doll, “The hell it ain't.”

  Finding the door jammed from the other side Stu gave it a swift kick sending the chair on the other side flying. Entering the kitchen Stu saw Zeke and Cletus wrestling a flailing and kicking Amelia onto a bench.

  “Hold her down Cletus so I can get her drawers off.” Zeke directed unaware that the Sergeant had entered.

  Stu drew his pistol and used his command voice, “Let the girl go.”

  The two men released Amelia and snapped to attention. Amelia gathered the remnants of her tattered shirt around her and lit out of the kitchen to search for her mother in the other room.

  “How fucking stupid are you two? Do you know how close we came to a serious problem?” Stu raged at the men.

  “But Sarge..” Cletus started to whine.

  “Save it. Not interested in any fucking excuses. March out of here...NOW Goddamn you.” Stu barked and lead the men out.

  As Stu lead Zeke and Cletus out of the dining room, Crystal shot a barb after him hoping he had a conscience, “Prime examples of soldiers you got there Sergeant. Raping and torturing innocent people.”

  The light from Abby's flashlight bounced around the office as she surveyed the room for a likely place for a base map. Suddenly she stopped with the light reflecting off of the glass of a picture frame.

  “Bingo, will this do Mac?” Abby asked.

  Mac looked at the map displayed in the frame, “Just what we need. Good work.”

  With map in hand and the supplies scavenged from the break room, Abby and Mac exited the building. The relieved looks on Jenny and Gael's faces alerted Mac that something must have happened.

  Gael rushed up to help them with the supplies and feeling the heft in the bags he asked, “What have you got here?”

  Mac concerned that trouble was brewing, busied himself to survey the area before answering, “Just some drinks and snacks from the vending machines and a couple tins of coffee.”

  “Coffee! Muy bien. I have missed my coffee in the morning.”, Gael quipped.

  “Seems to be a bit of that going around. What the hell happened out here you both seem about ready to jump out of your skin?” Mac asked.

  Jenny not wanting to appear the defenseless female joined the conversation, “We had some curious Dee's come out of that tent.”, she exclaimed jerking a thumb in the tent's direction. “I guess the good news is as long as they don't get too close we are not on the menu. Once they get within a few feet there is no certainty that we still pass for dead.” Jenny finished.

  Mac spread the map onto the hood of the nearest jeep, “Okay always a good idea to keep some distance between ourselves and the dead anyhow. Let's see here we need the armory and the mess hall and then we hightail it out of here.”

  Abby wormed her way in between the adults and pointed to a spot on the map, “Isn't this the mess hall here near the barracks?”

  “Yes it is and the armory is way back here.” Mac replied. “Load up we'll stop at the mess hall first.”

  They drove slowly so as to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. Still it was a short drive and it didn't take long to reach the mess hall. On either side of the building were the barracks neatly lined up like good soldiers. Once again they found the building locked and after assuring themselves that nothing was answering their knocks, they popped the lock and entered.

  Towards the end people must have been dying in droves and yet the medics struggled to find a cure. The tables in the mess hall had become beds for the sick. The tables were littered with dead bodies each with a neat bullet hole in the forehead. Slumped at the back wall was a medic who had obviously taken his own life.

  Mac picked up the pistol next to the medic's body, “Looks like he saved his last bullet for himself.”

  The crew moved on, more than a little unnerved by all the dead bodies. At any moment they kept expecting them to rise and come at them. Once in the kitchen they found a well stocked pantry. Can after can of fruit, vegetables, beans and lard. Bags of flour, rice, and sugar.

  Mac opened another cabinet and then called Gael over, “I don't think you have to worry about your morning cup of joe for a long time my friend.”

  The two men struggled to muffle their laughter as they looked at the cabinet filled with cans of ground coffee. With Jenny and the two men busy cleaning out the cabinets, Abby looked around the kitchen for anything to scavenge.

  Jenny perturbed by Mac an
d Gael's levity, hustled a wheeled cart over to the two men, “This place creeps me out lets get loaded up and out of here.”

  Near the burners Abby found a cabinet with industrial size spice containers. In no time she had transferred them to a huge pot. Once again Abby was looking to make herself useful. Her eyes fell upon the walk in freezer and the thought of eating a real hamburger again drew her to the freezer.

  At fifteen Abby didn't have a real understanding of the power grid or what it took to generate electricity for appliances. She knew the lights were off at the base, but at The Mission keeping the lights off was one way they conserved the power from their solar collectors, to keep the refrigerator running. Simply put it just didn't occur to her that the freezer wouldn't be working.

  At the freezer door Abby considered the locking mechanism for a moment it was a bit unlike anything she had seen before. She also noted that the pin that kept the door from being opened by accident was dangling by its chain. It seemed odd that a place that prided itself on discipline would let a simple thing as this pin slip by.

  Still things had obviously gotten pretty crazed here towards the end and curiosity beat out caution. Abby grasped the handle and the door began to open. The rank odor of rotting meat filled Abby's nostrils and she felt her stomach once again constrict. Clenching her teeth together she willed herself not to vomit again.

  Abby pushed on the door to shut it, but something seemed to be resisting her. She pushed harder, but still the door wouldn't budge. Abby turned around, placed her back against the door and pushed hard with her legs. At first she was rewarded with the door moving, but then felt it pushing back against her. Abby readied herself for another push when a cadaverous hand snaked out through the gap and grabbed her shoulder.

  “MAAAC”, Abby screamed.

  Mac came at a run and pulled the hand off Abby's sleeve, “Just hold the door steady and I'll pike our friend here.”

  Mac pulled on the arm to draw the creature's head closer to the narrow opening. Mac had no idea what drove the man to take refuge in the freezer. Perhaps he was deranged by fever and was desperate to cool down, or maybe chose it as a last option for safety. In any regards it was obvious that he had entered while there was still power to the freezer. Frostbite had taken a couple of fingers on his hand and the face was nearly skeletal. From what Mac could see the nose and at least one ear were gone and much of the skin was sloughing off.

  “Do you think you could hurry? I don't think I can hold this much longer.” Abby protested.

  “Oops sorry” Mac replied as he drove his pike into its skull.

  With the creature ended Mac let it drop inside and helped Abby shut the door. “I've been curious if the winter would finish these things. At the very least it looks like they'll be seriously degraded.” Mac explained.

  “All well and good if you live somewhere that freezes in winter. Around here we're lucky to see a frost.” Jenny countered.

  “I think we have as much as we can get from here. Lets load this up and move on.” Jenny concluded.

  The armory was deeper into the compound and as they traveled in fewer and fewer dead were visible, giving them all a sense of relief. As they pulled up to the armory a number of vehicles were parked outside mostly jeeps and armored personal carriers. None were fitted with armaments, but most had the capability of doing so.

  “Mac wouldn't those help us take back your town.” Jenny suggested.

  Mac still not sold on this mom and pop group being an elite commando raiding force, was slow to agree, “Let us see what's inside first, before we get too excited.”

  They broke into the building and got their bearings. The front of the building had some windows for light and held a couple of small offices. The back of the building was the main armory and only had a sparse amount of windows. If there were any dead in there they would be at a distinct disadvantage.

  “We'll walk the perimeter outside first, see if there is a way to get some more light inside.” Mac directed.

  They left the building keeping a tight formation that let them have eyes in all directions. Rounding the corner of the building the first thing Mac noticed was the tall radio tower going up the side of the building. After that was a fenced in enclosure extending about halfway across the back of the building. As they got closer they could see that there was a large door there leading into the armory.

  “It looks like this was meant to pull vehicles up and load right up. The gated area must be used for staging. We'll go back get the jeeps and pull in, then figure out how to get that big door open.” Mac expressed.

  Once they had the jeeps in the back enclosure, Mac had Jenny and Abby wait with the jeeps while he and Gael worked their way back around. Mac explained that it would be easier for he and Gael to keep an eye on each other if it were just the two of them.

  Once they were in the building Mac explained his true motive in leaving the women behind, “Gael I want to take a poke around that radio room first. Maybe there are some logs or something to see who they were talking to last. No offense to you all. I mean I am desperate as hell to get back home and help my people out, but unless we are really lucky we are just way to outnumbered.”

  “Si I understand Senor Mac. You need to understand none of us would be here if it weren't for you. Our fates are joined with yours.”, Gael expressed.

  With a nod and a wan smile Mac opened the door to the radio room. Both Mac and Gael were surprised to hear a radio crackle and hum and then a voice came from the radio.

  “This is Fort Custer in Battle Creek Michigan, playing this automated message in a continuous loop. We are offering support to any and all survivors. Anyone receiving this message should answer back on ....” The message suddenly stopped as smoke rose from the radio.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean your leaving us and heading to Michigan?” Jenny asked incredulously.

  “Jenny please understand I can't ask you folks to go with me back to my people. The men holding my town are trained and their stone cold killers. That gang at your place were not even close. You have weapons, food and fuel now.” Mac put a hand on Jenny's shoulder and said reassuringly, “You can hang in there. I promise I will be back.”

  “If we don't see you by spring we're headin north.” Jenny stated resolutely.

  Abby gave Mac a hug, “Who's going to watch over you?”

  “Don't fret Miss. You haven't get rid of me yet. I'll travel with you as far as Forty. I'll be heading north quick as I can. I'll be steering clear of people and the dead all the way. Soon as I get far enough north the dead shouldn't be much of a problem.” Mac said reassuring the girl.

  “Senor Mac I have to agree with the ladies. Come back with us to the Mission and I will head off with you to search for these others.” Gael offered.

  “Its settled then, you come back with us and make a proper plan.” Jenny concluded.

  Mac laughed, “Somehow I get the feeling I'm not going to win this argument. Alright I'll head back with you. I wouldn't get far before dark anyhow.”

  It was getting close to dark when the crew returned to the Mission. In addition to the car and trailer they left with, they returned with two additional jeeps and another trailer, all packed with weapons and supplies. Abby was riding shotgun in one of the jeeps behind a fifty caliber machine gun. She had no idea how to operate it, but she wanted to show everyone she wasn't a little girl.

  While they unloaded the supplies Jenny caught everyone up on everything that happened that day. Carl and Rita Jarvis looked pointedly at each other when Jenny told them about what Abby had done. However, when Jenny announced Mac's plan to leave them and follow the slim lead, everyone began talking at once.

  Carl Jarvis spoke up in a loud voice, “Hold on everybody, let's do this one at a time. So you heard an automated message and you think that is a solid lead?”

  “Somebody went to enough trouble to setup a switch so that the first person to open that door would get that message. They thought that messa
ge was legit and I do to.” Mac answered.

  “But ... but how can you know this isn't a trap, or that these aren't just like the military that took your town?” Rita Jarvis speculated.

  “Suppose anything is possible, personally I think Mayhue is the exception not the rule. You didn't know Colonel Osgood, or Sergeant Andrews. You didn't see how hard the military tried to protect the survivors down there at White Sands.” Mac argued back.

  “You have a radio don't you Mac? I get it that the radio at the base got fried, but can't you just tune em in on your radio?” Emily Peterson suggested.

  “Would that it was that easy. At the base they had a huge ass tower and the radio was setup to pick up signals bounced off a satellite or across the atmosphere. I just don't have the radio smarts or equipment, to do that. All I can do is get a lot closer.” Mac stated succinctly.