The Violinist

by Barry Slater

  Captain Jack powered up the thermal goggles and scanned the tree line.

  A large, darkened image suddenly obscured the view. The four paws of a heavy animal pounding the ground could be heard over the sound of the mid-morning breeze passing through the pine forest on the other side of the fence.

  “It's B.J.!” Dwayne shouted.

  A guttural squelch passed across B.J.'s vocal chords as he rushed along the fence line toward the hole in the outer fence. His fur was molted and had fallen out in patches. His snout was streaked with rotted flesh and dried blood. His bare ears and discolored eyes were focused as he charged Dwayne and Captain Jack.

  “He's got the virus!” Captain Jack said.

  “Get on the tractor!” Dwayne shouted.

  Dwayne quickly climbed back into the tractor seat and started the engine. B.J. hurriedly pushed his way through the hole in the outer fence, bending the wrought iron bars further apart coming in than he did going out the night before.

  “Put the blade right in his face!” Captain Jack shouted as he squeezed between the fence and the tractor's rear wheel.

  Dwayne raised the scrape blade to the height of B.J.'s shoulders.

  B.J. stood on his hind legs then grabbed each end of the six-foot blade and shook the tractor violently. His fifteen hundred pounds of body mass raised the front wheels off the ground.

  Dwayne lowered the blade letting the front wheels back down then released the clutch and throttled forward.

  The resistance of the blade against the ground plus B.J.'s weight almost stalled the engine.

  “Get us to the corner of the inner fence!” Captain Jack shouted. “I'll open the gate.”

  Captain Jack climbed off the front of the tractor then ran the thirty yards to the gate enclosing the buffer zone between the inner and outer fence. He opened the gate then climbed onto the front of the tractor adding his 185 pounds to help lower the front wheels to the ground so Dwayne could steer the tractor.

  Dwayne stopped when the tractor's rear wheels reached the corner of the inner fence.

  “We'll move it when B.J.'s gone,” Dwayne said. Dwayne and Captain Jack watched stunned as B.J. continued to pummel the tractor.

  “What about the rest of the animals?” Captain Jack asked.

  “We'll check on them later,” Dwayne responded.

  “What about B.J.?” Captain Jack asked.

  Dwayne hesitated.

  “I don't know.”

  Doc Martin

  “Hey,” Captain Jack said into the handset. “We've got company. We've got living, breathing people.”

  “Who is it?” Dwayne asked as he looked through the living room window.

  Captain Jack watched through the rifle scope from behind one of the forward facing bastions on the rooftop balcony. “It's a group of people in camouflage uniforms and carrying weapons. They're walking toward the gate. I'm guessing about thirty in all.”

  “Is it the military?” Dwayne asked.

  “I don't know,” Captain Jack said. “It's hard to tell from here. Hey, wait a minute, it's Doc! They have Doc Martin with them!”

  “Doc Martin is with them?”

  “Yes. He looks sick. His hands are tied.”

  “Does he have the virus?”

  “No,” Captain Jack said. “Not yet anyway. I can see his breath in the cold air.”

  “Stay out of sight Jack,” Dwayne said. “I'll go down and see what they want. You'll be my ace in the hole in case there's trouble.”

  “I've got your back,” Captain Jack said into the handset.

  Dwayne was eager to hear from the outside world but cautious of the intentions of thirty armed men.

  “How may I help you gentlemen?” Dwayne asked when he reached the gate.

  “I'm Colonel Tibbets of the Army Reserve,” a tall, older man with a gray beard said. “We have a sick man.”

  Dwayne showed no recognition of Doc Martin and Doc Martin wisely showed no recognition of Dwayne. Dwayne's plan was to wait until he was sure of the militant's intentions to initiate any conversation with him.

  Doc Martin lifted his eyes toward Dwayne and shook his head slightly.

  “What's wrong with him?” Dwayne asked.

  “We believe he has pneumonia.”

  “You can leave him here,” Dwayne said.

  “We'd like to wait here until he gets better,” Colonel Tibbets said. “Our medic got the virus. Doctor Martin here was filling in for him.”

  “You are welcome to stay outside the gate then,” Dwayne said. “I don't want so many people with guns inside the fence. I'm sure you understand.”

  “Of course. I would want the same. I would like to accompany him along with another man just in case it's not pneumonia. I'm sure you understand.”

  Dwayne looked at Doc Martin. He was overcome with fever and could barely stand.

  “You and one other man,” Dwayne said.

  “Of course,” Colonel Tibbets said as Dwayne opened the gate.

  Holding him up by his arms, Dwayne and Colonel Tibbets led Doc Martin inside and up to Dwayne's bedroom. Dwayne pulled the comforter back and laid Doc Martin on the bed and then covered him.

  “Keep a close eye on him,” Colonel Tibbets said giving the other man a stern look.

  “Do you have any aspirin?” Colonel Tibbets asked Dwayne as the two walked out of the room onto the inside stairway balcony.

  “There's some in the downstairs bathroom,” Dwayne answered. “Help yourself. I'm going to stay with Doctor Martin for a little bit.”

  Dwayne went back into the bedroom to check on Doc Martin.

  Unnoticed, Doc Martin had taken an ink pen from the dresser beside the bed and wrote the word “unfriendlies” underneath the pillow for Dwayne to see.

  Dwayne nodded slightly then made his way over to the bearded man standing guard by the door and looked over his equipment. Nothing was military issue. His camouflage clothing, his rifle and his shoes looked like something from a department store sporting goods aisle.

  “What's your name?” Dwayne asked.

  “Joe.”

  “Joe,” Dwayne said. “What rank are you?”

  “I'm not in the military,” Joe said.

  “What about Colonel Tibbets?”

  “Ed?” Joe asked. “Ed was a colonel in the reserve. He is a spoiled, officer wannabee from a rich family in Oregon who inherited all the family's assets. Now he's just an old hippie that likes to hunt.”

  “Where did you find Doctor Martin?”

  “We found him walking up the interstate about a week ago. He was headed in this direction.”

  “Thank you for your honesty,” Dwayne said. Dwayne took his handset out of his jacket. “OK Jack, keep an eye on him.”

  Leaning forward, Dwayne whispered, “Joe, I wouldn't move if I were you.”

  A small, red beam of light came from behind the slightly opened closet door and painted a target between Joe's eyes.

  Joe stiffened. His line of sight was overtaken by the red glare.

  “Looks like there was a war out front,” Colonel Tibbets said. “This house makes an excellent defensive position.”

  “It does,” Dwayne said when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “There are others here?” Colonel Tibbets asked.

  “Yes,” Dwayne answered. “How do you know Doctor Martin?”

  “I'm his brother-in-law,” Colonel Tibbets said after a moment of hesitation. “I'm his wife's brother. He came to me for help.”

  “Let's take a walk outside,” Dwayne said.

  Once at the gate where the rest of the militants were gathered, Dwayne clicked the handset inside his pocket twice.

  Captain Jack came out of the closet, keeping the laser sight centered on Joe's forehead.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them,” Captain Jack said in his warrior voice. “Go downstairs and out the front door. I'll be right behind you. If you even think about making a dumb move, I'll blow your freaking brains out. Do yo
u understand?”

  Joe nodded his head.

  “Now move,” Captain Jack said.

  Joe walked slowly down the stairway and opened the front door.

  “Go on down to the gate where your buddies are,” Captain Jack said from the bottom of the stairway.

  Captain Jack ran upstairs with the sniper rifle to the rooftop balcony as Joe walked down to the gate, and took up his firing position behind the forward bastion.

  “I thought you were watching Doctor Martin,” Colonel Tibbets said to Joe as he approached the gate.

  “Colonel,” Dwayne said. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your men to leave.”

  “Why would you want us to leave,” Colonel Tibbets said. “You need us to protect you.”

  “We have enough people and enough ammunition here to stop an army,” Dwayne said.

  One of the other rouge militants, Colbert, pulled a Glock 9mm out of his jacket and aimed it at Dwayne's head. Captain Jack took quick, careful aim and shot the 9mm out of Colbert's hand.

  The rest of the group reached for their weapons then held their hands out when they realized they were targets in the open.

  “I think you should leave now,” Dwayne said. “The area is rigged with explosives. If you value your lives, you won't come back.”

  “One day,” Colonel Tibbets said. “You are going to need our help.”

  “Colonel,” Dwayne said. “I really hate to have to say this but we don't need your kind of help.”

  “You may regret this,” Colonel Tibbets said angrily.

  “I may indeed,” Dwayne said.

  #

  “Doc,” Dwayne said. “How are you doing?”

  “Tired,” Doc Martin said sheepishly.

  Dwayne could hear the congestion in Doc Martin's chest.

  “Where is Linda?” Dwayne asked.

  “She got the virus, along with her mother. It was the ungodliest thing I have ever seen, Dwayne. She had no body temperature, no pulse, she was not breathing. They tried to take me down. I fought them off and got out. I locked the door behind me then left.”

  “You don't have the virus, do you Doc?” Dwayne asked.

  “No,” Doc Martin said shaking his head. “I've got pneumonia caused by old age and smoking.”

  “Do you know what causes the virus?” Dwayne asked.

  “Toxoplasma,” Doc Martin responded.

  “What's Toxoplasma?” Captain Jack asked.

  “It's a bacterial parasite that enters the brain. It's been linked to schizophrenia and several other severe neurotic disorders.”

  “It's estimated that over one third of the human population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii,” Doc Martin continued. “My contact at the Centers for Disease Control called me just before everything shut down. They found a strain of Toxoplasma that had mutated. Before, it was transmitted easily enough by physical contact. Now it can be transmitted through the air like a virus from a cough or a sneeze. It has become airborne.”

  “Do they know how it started?” Dwayne asked.

  “Toxoplasma is most common in third world countries.” Doc Martin explained. “People crossing the border brought it with them. The CDC thinks it's the source of Solanum, the virus believed to cause zombiism.”

  “You mean all that Hollywood bullshit is true?” Captain Jack said disbelievingly. “That shit really exists out there in the world?”

  “All fiction is based on some truth,” Doc Martin coughed heavily.

  “My God.” Captain Jack thought of the man in Afghanistan. “It's true,” he said more to himself than to Dwayne and Doc Martin.

  “What do you need Doc?” Dwayne asked.

  “Antibiotics,” Doc Martin answered.

  Captain Jack looked at Dwayne then said, “The pharmacy in Round Hill.”

  “We'll get it for you.” Dwayne put his hand on Doc Martin's shoulder then checked his watch. “We've been going into Round Hill at night for supplies. Can you hold out for a couple hours Doc, can you hold out until it gets dark?”

  “Those assholes ransacked Round Hill yesterday,” Doc Martin said.

  “So they are definitely not regular military,” Captain Jack said.

  “They're nothing but a bunch of rouge militants roaming the countryside taking what they want without asking and not helping anyone in the process,” Doc Martin said.

  “The so-called Colonel said he was your brother-in-law,” Dwayne said. “I knew Linda was an only child.”

  “They'll want your house Dwayne,” Doc Martin said. “Evidently they lost a man here, and they're pretty upset about it.”

  “We found him,” Dwayne said. “They would be stupid to come back. There's three of us now, and Captain Jack has quite an arsenal. Plus, there's B.J. He has the virus.”

  “Poor B.J.,” Doc said.

  Dwayne nodded.

  “I ran across those guys on my way home,” Doc Martin explained. “At first I tried to help them until I realized what they were about. It was just plain luck that they found your house, Dwayne. They heard the fighting.”

  “I understand Doc,” Dwayne clasped Doc Martin's hand. “I'm sorry about Linda.”

  “Where's Jean?” Doc Martin asked. In his fever, that thought suddenly occurred. Jean had been like a daughter to him.

  “I buried her on the hill,” Dwayne answered. “Among the maple trees.”

  “I'm sorry,” Doc Martin said then hung his head.

  “Get some rest Doc,” Dwayne said. “Captain Jack and I will get you some medicine.”

  #

  Dwayne slid into his tuxedo then rosined up his bow. Captain Jack loaded five clips for his 9mm then strapped on his “authentic” Excalibur replica from his King Arthur collection.

  Using the thermal goggles, Dwayne scanned the darkness as Captain Jack drove the two miles down to the pharmacy in Round Hill.

  Captain Jack and Dwayne eased the truck doors shut then went inside.

  “Those assholes did a good job of pillaging,” Captain Jack said as he shined the flashlight inside the pharmacy.

  The most useless of the merchandise lay scattered on the floor. Several mice, their backs broken by military surplus boots, twisted and rolled among the debris.

  “Your notes are gone.”

  “Let's go to the pill department,” Dwayne said.

  “Doc said to look for Amoxicillin or Ceftriaxone?” Captain Jack asked as he held the flashlight beam onto a bottle on the shelf.

  “That's it!” Dwayne said.

  “Lucky for Doc those assholes didn't know their medicine,” Captain Jack said.

  “The pain medication is gone,” Dwayne said.

  “All dope heads know the name of that crap.”

  “Let's get back before Doc starts missing us.”

  “Large crowd tonight,” Captain Jack said looking through the plate glass window.

  “Pretty rough looking too,” Dwayne said.

  Hearing the truck pull in earlier, the recent area zombie population gathered in front of the pharmacy.

  Pulling the bow across the strings, Dwayne began playing his Stradivarius.

  Captain Jack opened the front door and began decapitating the zombies with the Excalibur as he walked toward the truck.

  “It's quieter this way,” Captain Jack explained as Dwayne followed him. “Plus it saves on ammo.”

  Opening the truck's passenger door, Captain Jack got in and slid across the seat to the driver's side.

  Continuing to play, Dwayne got in on the passenger side and quickly closed the door. The zombies were confused by the sound of muffled music emanating from the enclosed truck cab.

  “Everything is going quiet well old chap,” Captain Jack said in his best English Knight impersonation. He held the Excalibur up then said, “Shall we go for it?”

  “We might as well,” Dwayne answered. “Everything's in place.”

  “I'll take the medicine to Doc.”

  “I'll lead them in on the back trail.”
>
  “We'll be ready when you get there,” Captain Jack said. “Let's see how many of these poor bastards we can get rid of.”

  #

  The moon was in its crescent phase but still bright enough for Dwayne to see his cold breath in its light. It was several hours later before Dwayne and the crowd of zombies, three hundred in all, arrived at the press.

  Just at dawn, Captain Jack could see Dwayne's thermal image through the goggles.

  There were no thermal images behind Dwayne and it was a strange sight to behold, but Captain Jack, switching off the thermal goggles and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, could see the shadows cast by the setting moon of the dead slowly following Dwayne to the gate.

  Dwayne opened then closed the gate behind him. He continued to play the Stradivarius until he reached the bunker then started the generator.

  Pushing the down button, Dwayne pressed the first group of zombies that had gathered at the gate.

  Skull fragments and brain tissue filled the air as Captain Jack began sniping the crowd overflowing down the fence line.

  “Welcome to the gates of Hell,” Captain Jack said to himself. “Poor bastards!”

  As soon as the last of the zombies reached the first of the mines in the trees, Captain Jack readied the trigger for detonation then shouted into the handset.

  “Fire in the hole!”

  Dwayne took cover behind the metal bunker. Captain Jack clicked the trigger then took cover.

  The Claymore mines went off with a deafening roar, leveling the crowd from the tree line out to the open area in front of the gate.

  Immediately after the blast, what sounded like an echo of the explosion rang out and a chunk of debris was gouged out of the cement bastion next to Captain Jack's head.

  Captain Jack first thought that a stray shot from the claymores had struck the bastion but then realized that he was sufficiently out of range for that to occur.

  “Dwayne,” Captain Jack shouted from the rooftop balcony.

  “Yeah,” Dwayne shouted.

  “Do any of those zombinees have a gun?”

  “Dwayne pressed the up button to allow another group of zombies to enter the press.

  “No. Why?