by David Bourne
When Ray finally awoke and tromped downstairs, he first saw Cathy standing next to the kids. They all looked happy as the morning sun shone through the windows and bathed Cathy’s soft features in the bright light. Ray was amazed how she could look so breathtaking in such a situation. Everyone would smile at Cathy or say something nice to her. Ray learned from Phil that Cathy had organized the watches and took care of practically everything. Ray told her about Scott and how Scott had saved him in the supermarket. She thanked Scott with a tasty breakfast and a hug.
Ray himself greeted Cathy with a long embrace and a passionate kiss. Then he asked about Greg and Howard and was told their condition had already improved greatly. Ray was pleased to hear this and thought about their plans for the immediate future. Maybe there are useful things we can get from the wreck of the plane. He thought about blankets, clothing and additional medication, but he also didn’t want to wait too long to implement their plan to reach Fort Weeks. After everyone had breakfast, Ray called the group together and started speaking.
“Everyone, we have all the necessities for the time being, though we are lacking both space and weapons. Chris’ brother sent an email that said many other survivors had made their way to Fort Weeks. The internet still seems to be working in some areas and once we get there, we might be able to contact our families and be safe.”
Ray looked around and already saw the first nod of agreement before he continued: “Scott, Chris and I think the army base is our best option. It has soldiers, beds, fences and means of communication, and I think our chances of survival would be much better there than out here in the forest. But I do not want to make this decision on my own, so I’m asking for your opinion.”
Nobody wanted to contradict him. When Ray mentioned the email, several faces lit up, reflecting the unspoken hope that they might see their loved ones again. Cathy briefly touched Ray’s hand and then looked around, and he knew she had used this affectionate gesture for his sake. The decision to drive to the army base had been confirmed, but, Ray was not quite finished with presenting his plan.
“I think it would make sense to look once more in the wreck of the plane for clothing and other important items. I know we had a well-equipped first-aid kit on board that was restocked on a regular basis.”
“It might make sense, but it’s also dangerous,” Phil objected.
“We improve our chances with anything we can lay our hands on,” Scott interjected.
“I agree with the two of them,” Chris said. “The trip to Muntly was pure gold, and so far Ray’s ideas have always made sense.”
“Who should go?” Cathy asked.
“Chris, Scott and I have had the most contact with these beasts. Will you accompany me to the wreck, guys?”
“Somebody has to watch over you, after all,” Scott said with a smile and a wink. Chris nodded towards Ray and with that the entire plan was decided. The survivors would gather all the supplies they could and then leave for the military base.
Chris looked as if he had suddenly remembered something. He quickly walked to the garage and started rummaging around there. After a few minutes, he proudly returned to the living room.
“I knew it was still around somewhere,” he announced. In his outstretched right hand he held a black precision slingshot, and in his left the matching steel ammo. Ray initially seemed skeptical.
“What kind of thing is that, Chris?”
“Come along, I’ll show you.” Chris almost ran outside as Scott and Ray followed him. Chris took one of the steel balls between his fingers and searched for a suitable target. At the end of the driveway, there was an unappealing stone statue of an angel. Chris stood about fifteen yards away from it. He placed the steel ball in the ammo pocket and pulled the rubber bands all the way back. Then he let the ball fly, and the trio saw how the statue exploded into small pieces once the steel ball made contact. Scott and Ray stood there gaping in astonishment.
“What kind of fiendish device is that, Chris? That’s absolutely crazy!” Scott seemed to be quite impressed, not the least by Chris’ deadly precision. Ray was still standing with his mouth open, but he was also very pleased with the unexpected result.
“One time, I bought this slingshot to get crows out of my garden. It was the strongest and most expensive model I could buy then, but I never expected it to have all that much force. My nephew was visiting, and I wanted to show him how the slingshot worked. I aimed for a crow in the garden, and when I hit it, the damned critter immediately dropped dead from its perch. My nephew cried all afternoon, and I felt the worst guilt I’d ever experienced. Since I didn’t want to kill all the birds here, I finally put the slingshot away.” Chris scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
Scott suddenly had to laugh out loud, and even though he knew this wasn’t the right moment, he couldn’t help himself. Ray also started laughing, and then Chris. It felt good to laugh again after all the horror they had experienced. The three of them went back to the house to equip themselves for the trip back to the crash site, and they wanted to get this chore over as quickly as possible. Chris placed the slingshot in his pocket and carried a fanny pack for the ammo. Scott took his ax and placed two backpacks in Chris’ pickup. Ray fetched his machete and took a large, calming swig from one of the whiskey bottles he had brought back. That should be enough, and I don’t want the others to notice. The whiskey’s effect was immediate, and he noticed that he felt much better. Chris was talking to Phil, and it appeared he was handing over authority for his home once more. He placed a hand on Phil’s shoulder, and Phil nodded dutifully. Ray went over to Cathy, hugged her, and gave her an affectionate slap on her behind. She obviously had expected a kiss from him, but Ray made light of it with a wink. He also didn’t want her to taste the whiskey and luckily, she didn’t seem to mind. “I’ll get that kiss from you later, Captain Thompson.”
“Yes Ma’am.” Ray playfully saluted with three fingers and forced himself to smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon.” He tried to give her a reassuring look.
Chris had meanwhile started the engine of his pickup, and Scott and Ray left the house together.
For a moment, Scott looked wistful. “She really seems to love you very much.”
“God only knows why,” Ray replied, as they got into the truck and Chris drove off. It only took them a few minutes to reach the crash site, and they parked the pickup about three hundred yards away from it. Chris turned the truck around to face the house, so they could escape quickly—if necessary.
There had been quite a few people on board the plane and many of them might have turned into zombies by now. Chris didn’t want to risk damaging the truck by driving right up to the crash site because they would still need it. The three of them got out and walked the rest of the way. After going a short distance, Scott raised his hand. “We’re not alone here, guys.”
“I didn’t expect this since there were still a few passengers on board. If there were survivors who had been bitten, they would have transformed. At least that’s what the discussion groups on the internet said. And if you believe those reports, there might be zombies walking around everywhere,” Ray answered.
Chris pulled out his slingshot and watched his surroundings, then he pointed towards the wreck. The nose of the plane stuck out of the water like an arrow. “I see there are several undead by the shore, but some of the suitcases have also drifted onto the land.”
“Okay, guys, now it gets serious. Watch your ass.”
Scott went ahead with grim determination, and Chris walked a few steps behind him, followed by Ray. In front of them were about fifteen undead creatures. They either were moving around aimlessly near the shore, or they were lurching through the ice-cold water at the edge of the lake. Since the three men had not particularly tried to hide their approach, the beasts noticed them quickly and shuffled in their direction. Scott felt the adrenaline flow through his body, but it felt more controlled than during his first encounter with these monsters.
“I’m going to the left. Ray, take the middle, and then Chris can shoot the stragglers out of the water and cover us.”
Ray took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do it that way.”
Scott started running towards the left side of the shore. In front of him were four zombies, each staggered behind each other so they wouldn’t be able to attack him all at once. He assumed a stable stance in front of the first one and forcefully swung his ax. The ax blade whistled through the air and cleanly cut off an undead female’s cranium. The second zombie had the body of a short, chubby man. Scott was about to hit it, when suddenly the head of the undead man uttered a sound that resembled a plunger cleaning a drain. Then the body fell backwards and no longer moved. Scott was amazed, but then he saw a gaping red hole where the left eye had once been. It was Chris who had skillfully shot him. Scott turned to the right to look at Ray, and he saw him stand over a female body and strike it in its head with his machete. By now, five additional corpses were floating in the lake thanks to Chris’ skill, which easily demonstrated how remarkably efficient he was with his slingshot. There are now seven left. Scott also observed that Chris sometimes missed his target several times or aimed too low. However, he could reload amazingly fast and then shoot again.
Meantime, Ray had stopped attacking his zombie because it was finally dead, but another creature was attacking him now. It was a rather tall zombie, almost six-foot six, staring at Ray with empty eyes, and its mouth gaping open. Spittle dripped from its cracked lips, and its clothes were t completely torn into shreds. The beast raised its right arm and tried to grab Ray, but he swiftly reacted to this movement with a diagonal blow of his machete. The right arm of the zombie was cut off cleanly at the elbow and fell to the ground, still twitching. Ray held the grip of his weapon with the left hand and placed his right one behind it. Then he drove the machete through the eye socket of the undead with a powerful blow. The creature collapsed on the shore and Ray pulled the machete out of its skull.
From the corner of his eye, Ray saw something fly in his direction, and he instinctively ducked. He jumped almost two feet backwards, away from the presumed danger. Then he noticed the skull of another zombie lay in the sand. He looked to the right and saw that Scott was moving through the remaining two zombies like a combine harvester. Scott hit their bodies with so many blows that it sounded and looked as if they had been placed in a food processor. After a short fight, both zombies went down, and Scott took a deep breath. Chris had also taken out three additional attackers, but there was one left: A young woman who had stood behind the others. When she had been alive, she couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. Ray took a look at the carnage around them, and then at the young woman who was lurching and stumbling towards them.
“Shit. Nobody deserves such a death, let alone such a half-life,” Ray moaned.
“We should release as many as we can. I wouldn’t want to vegetate in such a torpid state,” Chris agreed.
Scott moved towards their last opponent, and Ray also approached her. Scott pushed the slender body to the ground with his ax blade, and Ray ended her miserable existence with a blow against the head. The three men caught their breath but didn’t waste any time reflecting about what had happened. They rummaged through several suitcases and took clothes, sanitary products and a long rope with a snap hook. They couldn’t find the first-aid kit.
“Shit, it’s probably still on board,” Ray said.
“How can we get to it?” Chris wondered. Then he himself thought of the answer. “We secure one of us with a rope and he swims the short distance to the wreck.”
“I can do that,” Ray heard himself say. “I know where the kit is located, and if I don’t manage to get it, I can tug on the rope and you pull me back.”
Scott promised Ray to yank him out of the water, if necessary. Ray had complete faith in him when he saw his plate-sized hands grip the rope. Chris tied the rope around him and secured it with the snap hook at his hips.
“Be careful, dude ...” Chris wanted to say to Ray, but he had already run into the lake.
“If we talk about it too long, my little captain is going to freeze,” Ray called when the water reached his knees.
“It’s about a hundred feet to the wreck, so he’ll be able to manage.”
Scott gave Chris an encouraging look. Ray swam for a short distance but the water was so cold, he really felt he was about to freeze. Then he finally reached the cockpit. With an enormous effort, he pulled himself to the large hole in the side of the plane that had been created by the crash. He looked inside and suddenly realized a sight he would have to endure: He saw the mortal remains of his long-time co-pilot, Nick. Ray tried not to look at them and scanned the area for any dangers once he got inside. He stood unsteadily, as the cockpit was sitting at an angle from the surface of the lake. He thought he had noticed some movement below him, but since that area was under water it might have been just a trick of his imagination. Ray didn’t want to find out for sure. He went to the place where the first-aid kit was stored and found it right away.
He was somewhat exhausted and feeling really cold when he got back in the water. Scott and Chris pulled him back to the shore as fast as they could. When he got there, Ray still clutched the salvaged first-aid kit. He wanted to get up, but his legs were trembling too much. On his second try, he managed to do so. Chris opened the door of the truck, and they all drove back to the house.
There, they saw three corpses lying in front of the dwelling. As they were getting out, Phil ran outside and proudly told them he had dispatched these creatures with his pitchfork. Now they were gradually learning how to handle zombies. Scott and Cathy supported Ray on the way inside, and they put him right in front of the fireplace and added more logs. Then Chris wrapped him in blankets, and he spent the next hour in front of the fireplace like this.
Scott sat next to him, while Chris and the others were packing and getting ready to leave. Then Scott got up and shortly afterwards returned with two steaming mugs.
“Tea,” he announced.
I hope with some rum in it, Ray thought. It was apparent that Scott had recognized his skeptical look.
“Try it, you’ll like it,” he assured him. Ray took a sip and noticed the mug contained half tea and half rum. He looked at Scott.
“Chris and I found it in the house where we got the keys for the other vehicle. I know you need a drink now and then, Ray. I could smell the booze on your breath in the car. It’s none of my business, but I think you ought to get that under control, Captain.”
“I know, my friend, if only for her sake.”
Scott nodded sympathetically. The two of them emptied their mugs without refills. Then Scott got up and helped with the packing, while Ray sat another half hour by the fire to get warm. They were all going to leave tomorrow.
The Group (28)
The day was nearing its end, and dusk had already fallen. Ray was just about to get more firewood, when it happened. He saw them coming from the road to Muntly. There were more of them than usual - Many more. Panicked, he ran straight into the house.
“People, we have visitors,” he yelled while running upstairs. All of them stared at him in amazement.
Ray had a better view from the balcony of his room. “Damn it,” he whispered to himself.
“What’s going on?” asked Cathy, who had followed him.
“Take a look for yourself.”
When Cathy looked southward from the balcony, her mouth suddenly felt dry. “How many are there?”
“I don’t know—fifty, a hundred? Way too many for my taste. And those damned creatures are moving towards us.”
“What should we do?” Cathy sounded desperate. “Should we leave right away?”
“Cathy, we have to drive in their direction. That would be suicide.”
Meanwhile Chris and Scott had arrived on the balcony.
“Holy crap,” Scott exclaimed.
“Looks like trouble,” Chris said.
Phil also came upstairs. When he saw the zombie horde approaching, his lips tightened into a narrow line. “How many?” he asked.
“Hard to say,” Ray replied. “Between fifty and a hundred, I would think.”
“What now?” Phil asked.
“Maybe they’ll walk past us,” Ray said. He didn’t sound convinced at all.
“…and if not, oh well. We should close the door to the driveway and barricade ourselves inside the house. We’ve never had to deal with so many undead at once, but since these beasts are pretty dumb, our tactics won’t have to change. We can eliminate them one by one.”
“Okay. I am taking the children upstairs,” Phil said and went to fetch them.
“Chris, get your slingshot and stay here on the balcony,” Ray said.
Chris nodded. “Scott, the two of us secure the front door. If any of these sons of bitches get over the fence, we clobber them one by one. If necessary, we withdraw completely inside.”
“Sounds like a plan, Captain,” Scott said in a determined voice and also went downstairs.
“Cathy, get Greg and Howard upstairs. You stay in this room and do not leave it under any circumstances.”
Cathy went downstairs right away. Ray took a deep breath. The horde was only about a mile away, and they would reach the house within the next ten minutes. His hand was trembling slightly.
Ray and Scott closed the gate to the driveway leading to Chris’ house. The metal fence that surrounded the property was almost seven feet tall and normally, the undead shouldn’t be able to get through there.
During the last few days, these creatures had been showing up more often, but the group around Scott and Ray had always managed to easily fight them off to the point where it had almost become a routine. This time, however, they had never seen so many at once.
“Let’s go inside again,” Scott said. “Maybe they’ll actually continue on towards the lake.”
Ray was closing the curtains and peered past them into the growing darkness. “I hope they won’t notice us if we keep quiet,” he muttered, but even he couldn’t convince himself of this. After all, he was quite certain that the undead could smell living people. He didn’t mention this to the others, though.