Taking It Back

by Joseph Talluto

  “Please don’t kill us,” he begged. “We’re just trying to get away from the city. Please, we have children with us. Please.” He looked in pretty bad shape, like he hadn’t eaten in a while. Stress was in every limb as he stood there in the light.

  “I’m not going to kill you,” I said. I could hear stirring inside the shelter as my voice woke others up. Charlie had gotten up and was next to Tommy with his AR, trained on the refugees. “Paddle closer and we’ll throw you a line. You can dock up there.” I aimed the beam at the edge of the dock. “Stay there until we come for you. Get some rest. No one will bother you until morning.”

  The man’s shoulders slumped in relief and I could hear small voices saying ‘thank you’ as they slowly paddled to the dock. I kept the light on them until they were secure, then sent Charlie and Tommy back to bed. I still had watch for another two hours, then it was Martin’s turn. I had a few things to think about.

  In the morning, after we had pulled our boat back to the dock, Charlie and I went back to the maintenance shed and hauled out the boat that was in there. There was a moment when we had to move the body out of the way, but we wrestled the boat around to the gas tank and filled the motor, hoping the gas hadn’t turned to varnish over the winter.

  We brought the bass boat—at least I think that’s what it was— down to the water and pushed it in. I never fished, so I had no idea. Charlie reassured me it was. I pulled the boat with a line while he sat in it and steered. We brought it to where our boat was tied up and left it there. Our crew was getting up and moving about and were moving in pairs to the woods to perform morning functions. Some were looking towards our raggedy neighbors, but no one said anything. I went to the boat and put my gear on, checking my SIG and making sure my knife was in place as well as my pickaxe. My extra magazines were in place and I tucked my Walther into my leg pocket. Charlie geared up as well and with weapons in hand we went to the edge of the dock and looked over our new friends.

  I motioned to Charlie. “You know, if we fall in the water, we’ll sink like rocks.”

  Charlie looked at my gear and his own. “Don’t fall in.” was his sage advice.

  There were twelve of them, including seven kids. There were three women and two men and the men were trying to put on a brave front while Charlie and I looked them over. I took in the poor condition of the boats, the lack of any food supplies or any supplies, for that matter. There were no other weapons evident outside of the old Mosin the leader had shown earlier.

  I shook my head. Theses people were as good as dead if I let them go their way. I motioned to the leader to come up to the dock. He scrambled up and stood before me, clearly nervous and his eyes took in my weapons and gear. I didn’t see any calculations going on in his head and I figured he was just a guy at the end of his rope, trying to take care of his family.

  “Name’s John Talon. This is Charlie James,” I said.

  “Bill Martinez. Thanks for letting us stay the night.” Bill looked exhausted and I motioned for Sarah to come over.

  “This is Sarah Greer. She’s going to look after your women and kids.” Sarah and Bill shook hands, then Sarah went to the boat and got the women to bring the kids onto the dock. They all ran to the woods for a bathroom break. The second man got out of the boat and walked over to us.

  “I’m Jose Garza. Thanks for helping us.” We shook hands and he continued. “We were in a bad way.”

  “I could see that,” I said. “Where did you guys come from? I know you saw us and followed, but I am curious where you started.”

  Bill and Jose looked at each other and Bill spoke up. “We came from Joslin. I have a house near the river and we saw you drifting by. You were lucky the gangs didn’t see you.”

  “Gangs?” I asked, having a feeling I knew the answer, but wanted to confirm it.

  Bill continued. “When everything went to hell and people were trying to get out or were running from the zombies, the gangs of the city started taking over. They brutally killed any cop they could find, including their families, then declared themselves rulers of parts of the city. They demanded food and money and women and killed any who resisted. We hid from them as much as we hid from the zombies. They’ve set themselves up in churches and schools and the zombies can’t get to them.” Bill took a deep breath. “They took mothers away from their children, then fed the children to the zombies for fun. They’re worse than the zombies.”

  Charlie and I nodded. We had seen things like this as well.

  Jose continued. “I managed to save several kids who had been left alone by the gangs to die and we had just run out of food when we saw you drift by. I figured if the gangs didn’t see you, maybe they wouldn’t see us, either.”

  I looked Jose in the eye. “You saved a lot of people at great risk to yourself.” I held out my hand and shook Jose and Bill’s hands. “You’re men I’m proud to know.”

  Charlie shook their hands as well. I continued, “You have no idea what’s downriver, but I know what is upriver.”

  The rest of the group had come back and was standing on the dock with us.

  “You’re going back upriver and you are going to go until you reach the river town of Leport. When you get there ask for Nate, tell him I sent you. You’ll get homes, food, and a chance to live again. We don’t have much, but we all chip in to survive. Of course, you could go on your own, no one will force you either way. You could even stay here if you want,” I said.

  The group stood speechless, then a couple of the women started to cry. Jose shook my hand again and said, “Thank you.”

  Bill looked dubious. “How will we get upriver?” he asked.

  I pointed to the boat Charlie and I had brought around. “We found this in the shed, you’re welcome to it either way.”

  Bill finally broke down enough so I could see a tear in his eye. “Thank you,” was all he said.

  We helped the group load up and tied the boats in such a way as to be towed by the bass boat. It fired up when we tried it so the gas was still good. They were going to stay by the docks and wait until dusk to make the trip north. That gave them the best chance to slip by the city without being seen. We were getting ready to leave as well and I gave Bill and Jose some last minute advice.

  “As much as you want to race past the city, your best bet is to go slow and make like a ripple in the water. Loud engines will attract attention. Stay to the right and when you pass the fifth large bridge, you’ll be at Leport. If it’s dark, stay in the boats until morning, then call out for Nate. He’ll find you.”

  I shook hands again and two of the women gave me hugs. Sarah took it in stride, but insisted on holding my hand as we walked towards the boat. I guess she was sending a last minute message of her own.

  We waved goodbye to the group as we shoved off and we kept an eye on them as we moved around a bend in the river. Would they make it? Who knew? But we did the best we could by giving them a chance. Would they get to Leport or head south? I had no answer for that one, but I hoped they made it either way.

  The river forked and we took the south passage, heading towards Dresden Cooling Lake. We passed several river homes, each of them having slips for boats and I had hopes the people in the homes had made it through the mess. I didn’t see any signs of life, so I wondered if they had gone to the shelter which was so close by.

  I went back to Tommy and told him to just pick a house to pull up to; we were finished with our river trip. He chose a slip at the far end of the houses, hidden slightly around a bend. We pulled up and Charlie, Martin and I secured the boat. I looked around and didn’t see any threats, so I gathered the group after we had off-loaded all of our supplies and gear.

  “We have a little ways to go,” I said, spreading the map out on a picnic table. I pointed to where we were and where we needed to go. “I figure we could find a vehicle around here somewhere, there’s enough houses. I’m not looking for anything specific, just something to keep us from walking.”

  We spli
t into four groups and started towards the homes, everyone getting into higher levels of defense conditions after our somewhat uneventful trip down the river. We found the houses empty, which didn’t surprise me at all, and we found four cars, which did surprise me. I figured we would get lucky with one or two, but four was a bonus. Martin found some extra ammo, but since it was .32 caliber and none of us had a gun for it we left it behind. Casey found a first aid kit and Bev found a bottle of Southern Comfort. We kept both.

  The cars weren’t my first choice for zombie hunting vehicles, but they would have to do. All of them were sub compacts, and it was a feat of spatial engineering to get all of our gear in them. Tommy insisted on bringing the small grill and spent twenty minutes figuring out a way to pack it. The rest of us just sat in the shade and watched the sun climb higher.

  Sarah and I talked about nothing and everything and it was nice to get away from the world for just a few minutes. Bev Shoreman wandered off to use a bathroom and was still gone when Tommy finished.

  We split up and started to get in the cars when Charlie noticed Bev still gone. “Wonder where she is?” he asked the group.

  I shrugged. “Guess she really had to go.”

  “For more than ten minutes?”

  “You’re right. We’d better go find her.” I moved away from the car and went off in the direction Bev had gone. Charlie came with me and we split up, moving towards the road that made the small marina subdivision.

  I circled around to the front of the homes, while Charlie went around to the back. I didn’t see anything, so I started to head back when I heard a pistol shot.

  I ran around to the sound of the shot and saw Charlie lining up another shot. Bev was on the ground and blood was staining the grass underneath her. It looked like she had gone to use the bushes and had been attacked. Charlie fired again and Bev’s body jerked as the bullet entered her head.

  I came up and looked at the zombie Charlie had shot. It was a small boy, roughly ten years old. It must have been in the bushes when Bev entered, and jumped her when she squatted down. From the wounds, it looked like her throat had been torn out, and she bled out in seconds, leaving the little monster to feed, ripping her face apart and tearing out large chunks of her throat and shoulder.

  We didn’t say a word as we both shook our heads and headed back to the cars. Everyone was standing by the vehicles with weapons in hand as a result of hearing the shot. When they saw just the two of us they knew what had happened and lowered their weapons. I shook my head at Sarah and she just looked down. Tommy shook his head and Martin put an arm around Casey.

  I got in the car and fired it up. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” I could see more ghouls coming to investigate from the countryside and I didn’t feel like getting stopped this far into the trip.

  8

  We moved out at a decent pace, drifting roughly to the south and west. We followed Dresden Road south and didn’t see much in the way of devastation. We saw several farmhouses, but there didn’t seem to be any signs of activity, living or otherwise. The area was actually peaceful, but that could change.

  I checked the map Nate had given me and realized we were in danger of heading too far south. I didn’t need to see State Center Bravo, but I wanted to. If it was actually still alive, I wanted to know if the people there were interested in coming back to civilization and starting over.

  At Pine Bluff Road, the next intersection, I motioned for Tommy to turn right. If the center was around here, this road should take us right to it.

  We drove for another half hour, then saw a hasty sign “Illinois State Center Bravo – 1 mile.” I noted the abandoned shack near the road, which I assumed had been used for directing people to the center.

  We crested a small hill and were able to see the center in the distance. It was located at the edge of a lake and corrugated rooftops gleamed in the morning sun. I could see it was roughly square in layout, surrounded by twin fences separated by a ten foot cleared area for patrols. Guard towers were placed every sixty to seventy feet with double towers at the corner. Large and small buildings were systematically laid out in an efficient pattern. I didn’t know what the individual buildings were or what their function was, but I could guess.

  Surrounding the centers were cars and lots of them. They were parked in neat rows on three sides of the center and they were parked at such angles that a person could not fit between them. I wondered about that for a second until I realized they were put that way as another line of defense, funneling potential zombies into kill zones. Of course, zombies tended to do things rather single-mindedly, so they probably tried to crawl over the cars, which would screw up their orderly disposal.

  I focused on the buildings and didn’t see any activity. In fact, the entire base seemed to have been abandoned. I didn’t see any movement in the visible yards, but that meant nothing. I could feel the hairs sticking up on the back of my neck and it wasn’t from the breeze out of the north. Something was not right with this place, but if it had the answers I was looking for, then it was worth the risk.

  I put the binoculars away and turned back to the group assembled outside the cars.

  “I don’t see any activity, but you all know what it means to let your guard down. We’re going in hot, so everybody watch your muzzles and shoot only as a last resort. We’ll stop for an equipment check before the gate. Any questions?”

  Tommy spoke up. “If we’re expected at Coal City, why are we stopping here? Chances are anything left has been looted a long time ago.”

  I nodded. “You’re right, I’m sure everything is gone of value. But this is the only place where we might be able to get some answers. What the hell happened to our government? What happened to our military? If these centers were to be manned by state guards, where did they go? Was there a national fall back line we missed? What about other countries? Who’s left? I don’t expect to find all the answers, but I hope to find out something. I’d hate to think we’re killing ourselves just trying to survive when the rest of the survivors are living safe and well just a few miles away.”

  Tommy nodded with the rest of the group and we piled back into the cars to see what we could find out. We would likely turn up nothing, but it was worth a look.

  We drove up to the front of the gate and I was surprised to see that it was wide open. I expected some sort of barricade, but there was none. The fence was ten feet high with razor wire topping the edge and there was a second fence inside the first. The area in between was covered in fine rock and I could see boot prints pressed into the gravel as soldiers went about their patrols. I could also see what looked like bare footprints and dragging marks in the gravel as well. The grass surrounding the front of the center was flattened down, as if it had been trampled by a thousand feet. A trail led away to the south, but I paid it little attention.

  We turned the cars around for a quick exit if we needed it and I figured to leave the vehicles running. We weren’t going to be longer than ten or twenty minutes and the sun was getting higher in the sky. I wanted to get to Coal City as soon as possible without spending the night in an unsecured area.

  Once the cars were ready we checked weapons and loaded chambers. Magazines were secured and topped off if needed and clothing was checked for rips and loose material. I hunkered down into the gravel of the driveway and drew a crude map of the complex as I had seen it from the hilltop.

  “Okay,” I said, pointing with the stick I had used. “We’re here at the front gate. Back here,” I pointed to twin rows of small buildings, about twenty in total, “are what I assume was the housing for the citizens who made it here. Jason, you and Casey check these buildings, but don’t dig too deeply. Sarah, you and Martin and Rebecca should check out these larger buildings here.” I pointed to the huge buildings in front of the housing units. “Charlie, you check out these buildings here, I am going to assume they were barracks for the soldiers. Keep an eye out for ammo or weapons.” Charlie nodded, adjusting his pack and ge
tting an empty duffle bag from the car. “Tommy, you check these two buildings here.” I pointed to another large building and two smaller ones. “But keep an eye out for any useful intelligence.” I pointed to the last building. “I’m going to check out this building here, I assume it is an administration building of some sort.”

  I stood up and checked my watch. “We’re gone in twenty minutes, whether we find anything or not.” I pulled on my balaclava and adjusted my goggles. “Let’s go.”

  We split up and headed in different directions, everyone making as little noise as possible. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, but while I thought that was normal, it suddenly occurred to me why my senses were tuned up. I didn’t hear anything. No birds, no insects, nothing.

  I stopped in front of the admin building and looked around. I could see Charlie moving towards the barracks and Tommy heading towards what looked like a garage. Neither of them seemed to think anything was out of the ordinary, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong here.

  I moved into the two story building and the light from the front windows was enough to illuminate the interior. The building was exactly what I thought it was, with a large central area surrounded by offices. Several hallways lead to the back of the building and I guessed that people were herded into the offices, their information taken, and then they were assigned a space in the housing buildings. It seemed very efficient, which struck me as odd for a government facility. I followed several colored lines on the floor, and most of them led to the outside, although one led to another part of the building. I followed that one to a flight of stairs and headed up. At the top of the stairs was an enclosed guard station and my sense of unease became heightened as I stepped on several spent shell casings. Someone had been shooting at something and I had a feeling I knew what they were shooting at. Bringing my rifle up to the ready, I pushed the door open and entered the hallway.