by J. W. Vohs
“I came out here to let you know that four of my people are dead, five bitten, and most of the rest are staying home to protect their families. I’ve got two deputies left down at the county building, and they’re pretty freaked out right now. Nobody’s manning the phones anyway, so we are officially out of business. Near as I can tell, you and the volunteer fire departments are the last organizations in any position to help people in this county, and I suspect a lot of the firefighters aren’t going to report for calls.”
He handed Jack a file folder. “I’ve listed the phone numbers of the fire stations as well as the individual volunteers in there. I also wrote down the names and numbers of the two deputies still on duty, and the ones who aren’t reporting. Of course I don’t know the status of those folks, might be healthy but scared, or might be in my condition.”
“Listen, Jack, I’m sorry I didn’t take your advice.”
Jack interrupted, “You did what you thought was right, Sheriff Gates.”
The sheriff waved him silent and continued, “It doesn’t really matter now. I just want to know if you’d be willing to try to organize a few other strongholds in the county for people to come to if they can’t defend their homes.”
Jack nodded solemnly, “Sure, what do you have in mind.”
“Well, the courthouse is as solid as your castle; I think you might be able to set up a defense there. The fire stations and the jail are really solid too. Plus, all of those buildings are places where people expect to find authority and help. If you’re willing to do it, I’ve called Judge Renner and he’s ready to declare you interim sheriff since I’m not able to perform my duties.”
Jack looked over at Carter and John who had heard every word. They both nodded and John reassured him, “We’ve got things running smoothly here for the time being. You trusted us in Afghanistan; you can trust us now.”
Jack turned back to the sheriff, “All right, I’ll do the best I can. What’s our first step?”
“Follow me down to the courthouse. I’ll have the judge swear you in before my deputies and every other notable we can find hanging out down there. I’ll try to get the fire chiefs in as well. Then I’ll show you around and you can get started. County council has already declared a level five emergency so you’ll have as much power as anyone to order what you believe needs to be done to protect people.”
Jack nodded, “Ok sheriff, I’ll grab the Jeep and a Ranger friend or two and be out in a minute.”
Jack asked Bobby to drive him to the courthouse, and Tina came along to see the show. On the way there, Jack composed a one-page bulletin for distribution to as many community residents as possible. He hoped it would give them a fighting chance against the infection and the zombies. The people needed to pool resources, with the most important resource being human. Safety in numbers is a truism that holds under most circumstances when someone is trying to kill you. Ideas for protective clothing were strongly suggested, including helmets and gloves of all types. Everyone was urged to bring firearms and ammunition, but Jack also asked them to bring any kind of tool that could penetrate or crush a skull. Finally, everyone was told to bring food, medicines, and bandages. As he looked over the list he knew that it was far from complete, but he would need people to pack up and move to the safe-houses as soon as possible. The courthouse copiers could print as many flyers as needed to distribute around town, but getting the word out to the more remote areas of the county presented more of a problem.
Fifteen minutes later they pulled up at the courthouse. Jack didn’t know what he’d thought the situation in town was going to be like, but the crowd gathered outside the building being held back by two deputies with shotguns certainly wasn’t what he’d expected. The judge was waiting with most of the county council and some other officials, and he had scrounged up a loudspeaker so he could let the crowd know why they were replacing the sheriff and what the change would mean. He also informed them of the level five emergency and briefly explained what would be expected of them as soon as the transfer of authority was complete. Thankfully, the ceremony took only moments to finish, and Jack reluctantly accepted the sheriff’s badge and pinned it to his belt. Then he took the loudspeaker and addressed the crowd.
“All right folks, you want the straight truth and I’m going to give it to you. The virus you’ve seen on the news in D.C. and other cities has broken out in our county.”
The exclamations of alarm were not as great as he’d expected with that announcement, so he assumed that most of the people already knew about the outbreak. As soon as his pleas for quiet were met he continued, “In case you don’t know, I’m the man who built The Castle out on Baseline Road. The reason I built it is because I faced this virus ten years ago when I was a Ranger in Afghanistan, and I wanted to have a defensible home in case the virus ever broke free worldwide. Most of my former squad-mates and their families have joined me out there, and we know quite a bit about how to protect ourselves from the virus and how to fight the infected.
“I’ve prepared a bulletin explaining everything I know and have experienced concerning the virus, as well as a plan for how we can begin to organize the county in a way that will minimize the number of people exposed. I also have ideas about how we can work together to defend ourselves against the infected. Copies of the bulletin are being made as we speak, and will be available for you to take with you when you leave here today. Take extras for your neighbors; we have to get the word out to everyone as soon as possible. The bottom line is that if you and your family want to survive this crisis we have to work together. If you panic, or if you decide to go it alone, you will almost certainly end up infected.
“You came here wanting the truth, and I’ve given it to you. As you can see, the sheriff has been bitten. In less than twenty-four hours he will turn into one of the infected creatures you’ve seen and heard about. That’s why he asked me to take over for him. If you want to freak out and panic over this I can’t stop you or help you, but if you’ll find a way to remain calm and follow our directions you’ll have a good chance to make it through this.”
Jack desperately hoped he was telling the truth about that, but he certainly believed they were doomed if they didn’t work together. He finally wrapped up the impromptu speech. “The bulletin will list buildings where I believe we have to best chance to fight off the infected, because I’ll tell you another truth, Noble County has over forty thousand people and they weren’t ready for this at all. In a few days we will see thousands of the infected moving throughout this area. In our strongholds, we will store food and medical supplies as well as weapons and people who will train you on how to use them. Again, read the bulletin carefully. I’ve given instructions on the best types of clothing and weapons to use when fighting the infected. If you have these items, please bring them with you when you report to one of our safe-buildings. In the meantime, avoid any infected individual. Call us with the location of any infected you see, and I will send a team out to deal with it. If you somehow end up cornered by one of these creatures, the reports you’ve seen on the news are true: only massive head trauma will bring them down.”
A secretary had come out with a large box full of the one-page bulletins, and Jack set aside the loudspeaker to help with handing them out to the gathered crowd. Within minutes everyone had the bulletins they needed and were moving away from the courthouse. Jack took a moment to turn back to Bobby and Tina, “I know you’ll want to help with this, but I’ll feel a lot better and be more productive if you’re back at The Castle. I have serious doubts as to how well my plan for the county will work, and I really need to know that everything is safe at our retreat.”
They wanted to argue that they should stay and help, but both realized that Jack could handle things in town for now, especially since electronic communications were still functional. Tina did have one demand before they left however, “We’ll go, but keep your cell phone close, and if I hear one more report about you going in someplace by yourself I’ll b
ring a dozen soldiers in here and never let you out of sight.”
Jack smiled and gave Tina a hug, promising to be cautious in any situation his temporary job might lead him into. Then he turned around to face his new responsibilities.
CHAPTER 11
As Jack poured himself a cup of coffee left over from the morning brew in the sheriff’s office, he knew two certainties about his new job: that he would do the best he could to save as many people as possible, and he would demand a new election as soon as the safe-buildings were up and running. Now that he was away from The Castle without having firm knowledge as to when he would return, he felt anxious and lonely. He worried about everything back there, but most of all he felt sorry that he wouldn’t be seeing Andi for at least a few days. He knew that she and the girls were safe, but he really enjoyed their company and was looking forward to getting to know Andi much better than he currently did.
He sighed and set aside thoughts of The Castle for now and considered the order of business for his first day on the new job. Top priority was dealing with the infected sheriff. Jack had suggested a voluntary lockdown in the jail with his wife and children visiting until the end. The sheriff had agreed, but Jack could hardly bear a repeat of the previous night’s gut-wrenching parting between Deputy Wagner and his spouse. After a few moments’ consideration¸ he assigned Deputy Jeff Little the task of watching over the sheriff, as well as manning the phones in the office until he could find a volunteer to be the temporary communications coordinator. Jeff was short and chubby, with gray hair and a growing waistline. In spite of his unimposing physical stature, the deputy was a very dedicated officer who’d stayed on the job when most others had fled. Jack told Deputy Little to forward any reports of infected on the loose to him, and he planned to have the RRT at The Castle deal with them.
Jack’s next concern was fortifying the buildings selected as safe-houses, and he assigned his other deputy, Steve Miller, to this task. Steve was the newest and youngest deputy in the sheriff’s department. He was of average height and build, but full of confidence and enthusiasm for his new job. A quick call to the two area hardware stores convinced them to sell all necessary building materials to the county in exchange for a ten percent markup on regular prices. Jack didn’t bother explaining to the businessmen that there would probably be no place to redeem the checks they would receive for their goods, but since they would only guarantee the county priority if the markup was added he felt that they deserved whatever happened to them in the days ahead.
The next step for Jack was a call to the fire chief, Ted Simmons, a veteran county employee nearing seventy years of age, asking if he could round up some volunteers to gather food for the safe-houses. Basically, every mini-mart and grocery in the county was to be asked to record the prices of everything Jack listed, which would then be purchased in the same manner as the materials from the hardware stores. He also wanted to know how a water supply could be guaranteed for the safe houses, and Simmons assured him that the fire department had storage tank trucks that could provide long-term drinking water for the court house if the town’s system crashed. The two fire-stations had their own wells.
After getting the fortifying work started, Jack inspected the weapons supply and found the department to be sorely lacking: six AR-15s with five thousand rounds, ten 12 Gauge pump shotguns with five hundred rounds, and twenty-two Glock 19s in forty caliber with six thousand rounds were stored at the station. He was not surprised to find no suppressed firearms. Ten sets of riot gear, complete with helmets and shields, were discovered in a dusty back room that hadn’t been opened in a while. Over fifty old nightsticks were also stored in the room, and Jack figured they might come in handy. Finding the nightsticks gave Jack a burst of inspiration, and he called the leader of the crew he’d sent to the hardware store and told him to buy every axe, maul, ice-chipper, and pry bar to be found. Further thought led Jack to order the purchase of every replacement handle and box of ten-penny nails they could get their hands on. He was going to teach them how to make their own medieval weapons from everyday items.
Not long after he had modified the purchase order for the hardware store, he received a call from Deputy Little.
“Jack here,” he tersely answered.
“Sheriff, we just got a call from that gas station at 33 and 9 reporting that a group of people are barricaded in the store because there’s a group of infected trying to attack ‘em.”
Jack’s heart rate immediately doubled, “All right, I’m going to call for back-up from The Castle and head out there. Call me if any other infected are spotted and people are in danger, otherwise wait till you hear from me.”
He hung up without waiting for a reply and called the command center at The Castle, where Tina answered the phone. Jack quickly relayed the information he had and told her to send the RRT out to the gas station. He was in the Jeep before that call ended and quickly calculated that he was about seven minutes away from the scene. He was wearing most of his gear already but would have to put on the heavy coat, helmet, and gloves before leaving the vehicle. Since he was pretty sure there was already plenty of noise going on at the site, he was going in with the .22 as his primary weapon with a back-up battle-axe in a quick-release harness he’d rigged onto the back of his coat.
When he was two minutes out, Jack called the RRT. Carter answered the phone with a flippant, “Hey boss, what’s fer dinner?”
“All right hill-jack, I’ll be there in less than two minutes. How far out are you?”
“We’re ‘bout five minutes; don’t even think about goin’ in without us, Jack!”
“Sure, don’t worry about it. You guys should hurry up though.”
Jack hung up without another word as the gas station came into view about a half-mile down the road. He covered the distance quickly and soon saw that five zombies were banging on the glass front of the store, but as he pulled into the lot he could see that the monsters in front weren’t the main problem. One of the workers must have wedged open a side door for airflow, or carrying in merchandise, or maybe even to keep the door from locking behind him when he snuck out for a smoke. Whatever the reason, at least four more zombies were trying to battle their way past several mop handles being used from inside the door in a frantic effort to keep the creatures out. Jack had intended to wait for Carter’s team, if only to give them the experience they needed in dealing with the zombies, but the situation at the side door required immediate action. Even as he pulled on his gear Jack could see several of the creatures make it through the side door, and as he stepped out of the Jeep he could hear screams erupt from inside the store.
As Jack rushed to help, he realized two disturbing realities of the situation. First, the zombies at the front of the store had seen him and were turning to follow his route around the side of the building. Second, he wouldn’t be able to risk using the firearm as he tried to clear the zombies already in the building because he might hit the people trying to hold them off. Pulling the battle-axe free he raised it in a two-handed grip as he closed on the trailing zombie still visible in the doorway. The creature must have heard his approach because it turned and moaned at the last second. Jack swung down with a crushing blow fueled by adrenaline, slicing through the zombie’s skull and deep into the upper torso.
Now he had another problem—the axe was stuck in the clavicle of the dead zombie whose weight had pulled the weapon from his grasp as it fell to the ground. Jack placed one foot on the creature’s chest and pushed with all his might. As the axe slowly came loose he was suddenly grabbed up in a bear hug by a zombie doing its best to gnaw through the face plate on his helmet. Quickly realizing he couldn’t use the axe with one arm, his other held fast by the zombie’s grip, he dropped the weapon and grabbed for the short sword strapped to his waist. At under two feet in total length he hoped he could reach the zombie’s head with the blade. It really was his only chance, since the .22 he carried was snuggly held in a shoulder harness now trapped between his body
and the monster’s chest.
Jack’s helmet continued to protect him from the zombie’s teeth, but now he was beginning to see spots before his eyes as the breath was being squeezed from him by the anaconda-like grip of the creature holding him. A couple of ineffectual attempts to reach the zombie’s head brought a wave of panic to Jack’s oxygen-starved brain, but his training kicked in and he forced himself to think. Suddenly he had an idea. He pulled the short sword down near his waist and then viciously thrust the blade up into the zombie’s armpit, twisting and grinding the tip in a search for some part of the shoulder socket that would loosen the creature’s grip. Finally he heard a mushy, popping sound and the arm immediately fell useless to the zombie’s side. Jack twisted away and took a deep breath, then ducked the creature’s clumsy, one-armed grab and jammed the blade deep into its eye socket. Once again, the falling body pulled the weapon from his grasp.
Quickly scanning the floor for his axe, he heard terrified screaming and shouting coming from the inside of the store. Unfortunately the zombies that were trailing him were now less than five feet away. He had spotted the axe but didn’t even try to grab it, instead pulling the .22 from the shoulder holster and going to work on the monsters now rushing toward the side door he’d just entered. People viewing the fight from their cars watched five zombies bearing down on one Ranger with nothing but a small caliber handgun. Jack took a short step out of the doorway to meet the monsters. The zombies didn’t have a chance. Eleven shots put two rounds through each creature’s head, with one errant bullet taking off an ear before speeding away into the woods across the road.
Turning from the pile of corpses, he immediately picked up his axe and ran back into the store. At least six people were crowded behind the counter fighting off two zombies. A teenaged boy was wielding a broken mop handle with tenacity and determination, but even as Jack watched one of the zombies ripped the modest weapon away and grabbed the kid by the hair. Jack was moving as quickly as possible across the floor littered with everything from fallen shelves to soup cans that threatened to drop him to the ground, but he wasn’t going to reach the counter in time to save the boy. Suddenly Jack screamed in frustration, “Hey! I’m right here, come and get me!”