“Understood, sir.”
I walked out of the subdivision and started looking up. Off in the distance was a water tower, one of the larger ones. While I would have preferred a building of some sort, I wasn’t about to go looking for one. Sometimes you just had to work with what the Lord provided, relatively speaking.
I started in the direction of the tower, and the direct path was going to take me through another subdivision. I was okay with that, since I figured this one had been taken care of as well. The doors on most of the houses had been opened, and here and there were the remains of the former occupants. When we killed them, we laid them out in neat rows so anyone coming behind us would know they were killed by us. Anything that was not orderly was usually an indication that we had not been through there yet, and one needed to proceed with caution.
I walked down the middle of the street, and it was quiet enough that I let my mind drift a little. I thought about the road we were on and what it took to get here. As usual, I had my doubts, but when I looked at the big picture what else was I supposed to do? There was an old saying that in order for evil to survive, good men must do nothing. Well, the ghouls were an evil, and I wasn’t going to do nothing.
I walked along, keeping an eye out for the tower, and that was when I heard it. It wasn’t much of a sound, like someone trying to suppress a sob. I stopped my movement and closed my eyes, focusing on trying to hear another sound and finding its location. It was a bit ironic that the zombies did kind of the same thing, only for some reason their hearing was better than ours.
There. To my left, maybe in a house. I walked in that direction, straining my ears for another sound that would lead me in the right direction. If it was a survivor, I needed to find them. If it was a zombie tactic, it was the best one I had seen so far, and I was falling right for it.
There it was again. This time it wasn’t a sob, it was more of a snarl of anger or frustration. I looked around and didn’t see anyone, so I went up to the split-level that seemed to be the source of the noise. The door was open, and I moved in, my bowie out in my left hand, while my right held my Glock.
“Rrrr!”
That sound was loud, and it sounded very, very angry. Knowing my luck, I was about to free some mutant Chihuahua that was going to tear my ankles apart. Zombies I could handle. Freaked out little dogs drove me nuts.
I moved up the stairs and stopped as I saw a pair of boots. They were facing away from me, and as I looked up I could see one of our fighters looking into a bedroom. I could hear muted voices and a low whistle. Right away I had a bad feeling. I needed to get the lookout away from the door, and I needed something strange to get his attention. Pulling out my canteen, I sprinkled a little water on my hand. Stepping around the corner, I flipped water droplets at the man.
It took three tries, but finally the man stepped away, coming down the stairs, and looking up at the ceiling. I waited until he was in front of me before I grabbed the back of his neck with my left hand while my right held the bowie to his throat.
The man’s eyes were huge, and when he recognized me, they got even bigger.
“How many?” I asked.
The man shook, causing my blade to bite his neck a little. He held up two fingers.
“Anyone hurt yet?” I asked.
The man shook his head ever so slightly.
I whipped the knife away and brought the hilt crashing down on the top of his head. The man slumped, and I had to act quickly to keep his falling body from making too much noise. I cut his shoelaces to make makeshift cuffs and then headed back to the stairs. I didn’t waste any time; I just took the steps in stride, and at the top of the stairs brought my gun to bear on the scene in front of me.
Three of our fighters were in there, two men and a woman. One of the men was holding the woman by the arms, pinning them back and keeping her from moving. Her shirt was open, and one breast was already exposed. Sitting on her feet with a knife in his hand was the other man. He was systematically cutting away her pants from her legs, one strip at a time. The woman couldn’t move, and a dish towel had been stuffed in her mouth, keeping her from expressing the obvious rage I could see in her eyes.
“I’d say this violates most of the rules we have for conduct in the army,” I said. “Let her go.” I commanded, pointing the gun directly at the face of the man holding the woman. The man on the floor shifted, and I kicked him hard in the head, knocking him over. His knife slid out of his hand as his head bounced off the floor.
The man holding the woman released his grip, and I had to give the woman credit. She didn’t even bother to cover up or take the gag out of her mouth. She just spun around and slammed a fist into the side of the man’s throat, putting him on the ground, and causing him to gasp for air.
After that she took the gag out and threw it on the man on the ground. She covered herself and fastened her coat over her torn top. There wasn’t much she could do with the pants, so I helped her take the pants off the man I had kicked, and she put those on.
“Thank you, sir,” the woman said.
“What happened? What’s your name?” I asked. I already knew what happened at the end, I was curious as to how the story got there.
“Melissa. Melissa Durant, sir,” she answered. “These two were in my squad, and when we cleared this house asshole here grabbed me, and the other two just went along.”
I looked at Melissa, and I could see why men would be attracted to her. She was a pretty brunette with short hair and light brown eyes. She picked up her pack and slung it on. When she looked up her eyes got huge.
I spun around, bringing my Glock to bear. The man I had taken down on the lower level had returned, and he was coming through the doorway like a charging bear. I fired point blank into his chest, stopping him cold. He took a step back, and placed a hand on his heart. The awful realization of what had just happened to him turned his face ashen, and then he fell to the floor.
I shrugged at Melissa. “Guess that saves us the trouble of a trial,” I said. I turned to the men on the ground. “Get up, or I’ll shoot you next.”
The men got up painfully but cooperated. I marched them out of the house ahead of me, and our little procession headed back to the camp. Outside, I had Melissa cover the men while I switched from my Glock to my rifle. If the men had any notion of being able to get away while I held a handgun on them, that notion vanished when I held my rifle.
We got back to camp, and I handed the two men off to Steve Mendez. He didn’t even want to know why one of the men wasn’t wearing pants. He just put them under guard and left them in the cold. I aimed Melissa over to the medical center and ordered her to be checked out. Next I found Tommy and told him what had happened, and after a brief discussion, he went over to the medical center to talk to Melissa.
I found Charlie a little while later, and he was in the process of getting reports from squads about zombie encounters and numbers. I gave him a brief on the situation, and he looked grim, but nodded. Finishing that, I went outside and realized I had never gotten to my vantage point. Oh, well. It was a moot point now, anyway. I walked back toward my trailer, checking my rifle in the process. One of the scope mounts seemed loose, so I stopped to give it a little tighten.
Figuring I had lost my zero, I now had something to do. I walked to my trailer and called for Sarah to come out.
“What’s up?” Sarah’s beautiful face popped out of the trailer just inches from mine. I took advantage of the opportunity and gave her a quick kiss, which she returned enthusiastically after her surprise.
“My rifle’s scope came loose, can you sight it back in for me?” I asked. “I’ll watch the boys.”
“Deal. Jake has been a little difficult today.” Sarah popped back into the trailer, and I followed. She shrugged her coat on and took my rifle from me.
“I’ll deal with him. He’s probably just bored,” I said, taking my coat off and putting my gear away.
“There is that. When are we done here?”
Sarah asked, heading for the door.
“Tomorrow we should be ready to move; the earth movers should be done today and loaded by tomorrow morning,” I said.
“Good. I like it better when we’re on the move,” Sarah said, stepping outside.
“Me, too” I said, to no one in particular.
A half an hour later, Sarah came into the trailer. She handed me the rifle and nodded. “Two hundred yard zero, you weren’t far off. By the way, out by the range, there was a man with binoculars studying the camp. He scampered off when I started sighting in.”
I was suddenly very interested. “You don’t say. Too bad you didn’t get a round his way. Might have scared him off for good.” I was thinking about my encounter the other day and wondered if it might be the same man.
“Thought about it, but he was gone before I could get a bead on him,” Sarah said. “Anything else happen today besides your rifle being out of whack?”
I told her about the encounter today with Melissa, and Sarah’s eyes narrowed, but she kept quiet. I knew she was completely okay with whatever I decided to dish out to the two men, but as I had time to think it over, I realized we only had one real course of action.
“What are we going to do to these men?” Sarah asked.
“Unfortunately, we can’t do what we would really like to do. Are they guilty of attempted rape? Yes. Are they guilty of rape? Probably at some point in the past, yes. But right now, no,” I said. “And before you jump on me, think about it first.” I could see the storm building in Sarah’s eyes, and I was trying to head it off.
To her credit, Sarah did think first, and I knew precisely when she reached the same conclusion I had. These men would be dealt with, but we couldn’t mete out the justice they likely deserved.
I gave Sarah a hug. “Don’t worry. It will be fine.”
The road crews finished the encircling of the city sooner than expected, and Duncan was very pleased with himself as he presented his report. I took the reports from the other commanders and then had a brief meeting about our two offenders from the day before. As much as we wanted to hang the two of them, it wasn’t in the cards. I didn’t want to keep them prisoner since I didn’t want to waste resources on them. Tommy came up with the best answer, which suited me just fine. We would banish them upon pain of death should they ever return to any populated area.
In the morning, I held a brief meeting with the two men and the rest of my commanders. I had each commander take a very long look at each man, and then sat everyone down. The two men I left standing.
“I’ll keep this short. I never was long on speeches, and I had hoped never to give this one. You two are a disgrace to humanity. I am sure that had I not intervened, you would be guilty of at least rape and then likely murder since a witness would turn you in. But I didn’t catch you at rape. I caught you at attempted rape. “I said. “Lucky for you, because if I had caught you in the act of rape, I would have killed you both right then.”
“As it is, you are hereby banished, never to return to any community within the New United States. You will be taken to a place outside the jurisdiction of the laws of the Constitution to fend for yourself as best you may.”
I continued. “You will not be given any supplies save for the clothes on your backs. As you cared so little for the well-being of a fighter sworn to protect you in battle, we will care as much for you. Should you try to rejoin the New United States, you will be executed on the spot.”
I turned to Charlie. “Deputy Chief Executive, do you have a place in mind for the banishment of these men?”
Charlie stood. “Yes, sir.” He signaled to the door, and four men entered followed by six women fighters, one of whom was Melissa Durant. Her face was a mask, and her eyes cold as she approached the men. The four men took the two prisoners and marched them out of the room, followed by the women.
“Where’s the nearest place outside our jurisdiction, deputy?” I asked.
“That would be the city of Cedar Rapids, sir.” Charlie said.
“That will do,” I replied. “Throw them over the wall. Let them try and rape the zombies over there.” It wasn’t necessarily within the law, but it was justice, nonetheless.
Montana (Center Mountains)
“Report.”
The word was ripe with meaning, and none of it boded well. The speaker was a large man, over six feet with heavy, sloping shoulders. His calloused hands were clasped in front of him, resting easily on the oak table he sat behind. His muscular arms strained at the confines of his shirt, and his large head was topped with dark brown hair streaked with grey. His face was scarred from several battles over the course of the last three years, yet his deep blue eyes had lost none of their fire. He looked like a mature panther, waiting for his moment to strike. His pose was casual, yet he was capable of explosive movement at any time.
Cole Hobbes was a simple man once upon a time. He had worked in the trades most of his life, starting out as a bricklayer with his father when he was just sixteen. Long days of work had filled him out, and the rough and tumble bars his father eventually brought him to had taught him many things about life he had never learned in school or on the job. By the time he was in his forties, he had buried his father, gotten married and had a son, and basically looked forward to the day when he could teach his son about the value of a hard day’s work.
All that changed when the Upheaval hit. Cole had been different from his contemporaries, taking advantage of what the Internet had to offer when his son had shown him the way. On the web he found reports and sightings; things that didn’t make sense. He’d seen the end coming long before others had, and when the end finally arrived, he was already on his way to a safe haven, family in tow.
He’d secured a decent sized cabin in the wilds of Montana and set about making sure his family was safe. Heather Hobbes never questioned her husband and was grateful every day that her family was still together after so many had lost so much.
Cole had sent a simple message to his friends and coworkers. ‘Heading to the wild, here’s the coordinates.’ Cole never expected anyone to arrive, but in the months after the upheaval, they began to trickle in. Men with skills; men used to working with their hands. Men who figured out problems that CEO’s couldn’t ever get in a decade of trying. Society used to look past these men, never noticing them until needed. Here they found their friends and brother tradesmen. Here they built a society with their bare hands. Here they created a haven from the wild ghouls that had torn so many others apart. And here, Cole Hobbes was the leader of them all.
“We’ve expanded the outer perimeter, expanding the wall well past the canyon. There’s useful timber in the hills and the cleared fields will be helpful for additional crops. There are two solid rock hills that the electricians want to use for the foundation of their windmills, and they think they can help the plumbers get more water up from the streams.”
Cole grunted. The electricians were goddamned magicians when it came to power, once they were allowed to let their imaginations run free. The hardest part was getting them the parts they needed to make it all work. Every home had electric power, and no one was cold in the winter months. One of the lunatics had built an electric sidewalk that kept snow off of his walkway.
“Good enough. We could use the timber and the land,” Cole said. “Anything else?” Cole said.
The advisor, a small man named Darnell Tibbles, had been a welder before the end of the world. He’d known Cole from the old days and had come along a week after Cole had left. Darnell was an unassuming man, and both he and Cole had been surprised as hell to find that Darnell the Welder was also remarkably organized and efficient at administration. They often joked with each other that had Darnell figured out his secondary skills sooner, he’d have been a rich man with his own welding company.
“Not on the domestic front,” Darnell said. “On the other end, I heard something you might be interested in.”
Cole shifted his head slightly towards
Tibbles.
“Do tell.”
“One of the survivors we found wandering the outer perimeter had said something strange before we relocated him,” Darnell said.
“Spit it out, I’ve got no patience for stories,” Cole said.
“He said the army will be here soon,” Darnell said.
Cole shook his head. “Crazy talk. The army’s been finished for years. Even those state centers they set up are done.”
“True enough.”
Cole straightened his back and popped his neck before speaking.
“But?”
“But what if there’s another army?” Darnell asked.
Cole shook his head. “None that could get us here. We’re surrounded on three sides by canyons, and the other side is a sheer mountain. Trust me, we’re fine from man, beast, or zombie.”
“Well, just to be sure, I sent a couple of scouts out about three weeks ago to see if there was anything to it,” Darnell said.
Cole stared at Darnell. “When were you going to tell me about this?”
“I just did.”
Cole stood up, towering over Darnell. He raised a large fist and held in front of Darnell’s pale face.
“I think I need to remind you who is in charge here. I’m the one who started this place, not you. Are we clear?” Cole said.
Darnell took a step back. “Crystal. I will try and recall the men.”
“Leave them. If they die out there, it’s on you to provide for their families. Period,” Hobbes said with finality. Tibbles knew better than to argue. Inwardly, he was cursing himself for bringing it up at all.
“Dismissed,” Cole said, sitting back down. The wooden chair creaked in protest as the full weight of the large man bore down upon it.
Darnell Tibbles left the meetinghouse and headed out toward the canyon rim. He passed several houses and walked down the narrow road of the small town at the base of the mountain.
As he passed a corner, a voice halted him.
“Evening, Tibbles.”
Darnell looked over at the speaker. He was a young man, tall and strong. His broad shoulders were accented by his narrow hips, and his arms were long and powerful. He somehow had managed to get the best of both his parents. The strength of his father combined with the good looks of his mother.
The Zombie Wars: The Enemy Within (White Flag Of The Dead Book 8) Page 3