Z-Risen (Book 2): Outcasts

by Long, Timothy W.

  Joel moved toward the second one. He knocked her hands down and then thrust his blade into the woman’s head.

  Two down.

  The remaining Z’s were still coming at him, so Joel turned and moved off another twenty feet until he was in a small cluster of trees. He was out of sight, but – even from our hiding place – I heard the dead falling.

  The dog’s entire body was tense. I put my hand on her neck and rubbed her. She growled again.

  “Stay,” I told Frosty.

  I tugged free of Anna and pushed aside bushes to leave our hiding spot. Anna hissed after me but I ignored her.

  With aching and battered body somewhat under my command, I advanced on the slowest Z and took him out with one swing. The next one fell against a third staggering dead dickhead, and they both tumbled away. I briefly rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath, then hefted the wrench and brought it down on the third Z, which was struggling to disentangle from his blood-covered comrade.

  I moved behind Z’s like the world’s noisiest ninja. The wrench went up, and another Z got the thick side. I whirled again and caught one across the shoulder, then corrected on the follow-through and turned his head into mush with a backswing. Each ‘thunk’ brought blood and brains.

  I followed the noise of Joel taking out Z’s and managed to drop two more. Anna was then standing beside me. She didn’t say a word, just shot me a nasty look. I ignored it and advanced on another poor bastard.

  Anna took one out with her blade while I bashed another to the ground. The trail of bodies led us right to Joel.

  I’d been fearful he would be surrounded, maybe overwhelmed, but he was very calm as he pushed one over to tangle up with a big guy dressed in rags. The Z’s scalp was torn and bloody. It had so many wounds, I wondered how he was still on his feet. One of his calves had been ripped almost to the bone but he staggered on, arms up, hands clawing toward me.

  I bashed in his head and he went down in a heap. Joel moved in on another and stabbed deep into its eye-socket.

  Then it became a mop-up operation as we finished them off. The work was gruesome. It was one thing to take them out from a distance; it was another being this close to their rotted flesh and stinking, pus-filled wounds. They were some of the nastiest Z’s I’d seen since San Diego and that was saying something, considering we’d spent part of yesterday next to a pile of putrid corpses.

  The last one was a kid that couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. I moved behind him and pushed him to the ground. He tried to get up, so I leaned over and pressed my hand against his back. The wrench went high as I concentrated on my target. I couldn’t swing. I wanted to, but the world was suddenly swimming before my eyes. The Z tried to turn over, but he couldn’t have weighed more than fifty pounds. What there was of the kid had been eaten away by the virus, the elements, and other Z’s before he turned.

  Joel shouldered me aside and plunged his blade through the back of the kid’s skull.

  “Why are you hesitating?”

  When had Joel come up alongside me?

  “Dizzy,” was all I got out before I went to one knee.

  “Jesus. You’re a mess. Let’s get you safe.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I muttered.

  “Thought I told you idiots to stay out of sight.”

  “There were so many. I got worried about you. Sue me.”

  “Idiot. I was going to loop back after I lost them in the trees.”

  “Well, I didn’t know that.”

  “There wasn’t time to draw you a map of my battle plan. Plus I’m all out of crayons and construction paper,” Joel said.

  “Very funny, smart ass.”

  “I learned from the best.” Joel patted my shoulder.

  On my feet again, I was grateful for Anna’s help. I draped an arm over her shoulders and we staggered after Joel. I felt as much a zombie as any one of the group we’d just put down.

  ###

  10:50 hours approximate

  Location: Near Clairemont, CA - Undead Central

  The trees were sparse when we first left the highway, but as we moved farther away, they grew closer together. Undergrowth snagged our feet as we crunched over twigs, soggy leaves and soft ground. There was no beaten path to follow.

  Joel paused to check on us. I nodded at him, so he pressed on. Frosty had taken a liking to Joel right away and moved beside him. She broke away to sniff at trees and to push up piles of leaves. She found a spot she liked and took a crap. We averted our eyes until she was done. She walked around in a circle then dashed back to Joel’s side. She looked proud of her shit spot.

  “Must be the beans,” Anna said.

  “Did you just make a joke?”

  “No. She probably hasn’t had anything decent to eat for days and we gave her baked beans.”

  “I don’t give a shit what we fed her,” I said.

  “Stop.”

  “Just saying. It’s a shitty location.”

  “Ugh.”

  “I wasn’t trying to give you crap,” I pressed on.

  “Are you five?”

  “Poop jokes never get old. It’s a scientific fact.”

  “I think you’re the one who’s full of shit, Jackson,” she said and poked me in the side.

  We broke out of the tree line and came upon a long section of chain-link fence. On the other side lay a deep pool of water. A mallard was chasing around a smaller duck, no doubt trying to get laid.

  There were recreational vehicles scattered around the area. I counted at least ten, and they were of all shapes and sizes, from giant brown land-cruisers to tow-behind campers with pop-up tents. An old silver Airstream sat next to a white Winnebago that had seen better days a decade ago.

  The camp, as far as I could see, was surrounded by chain link fencing. Our welcoming committee sat just outside.

  As we walked toward the camp, the people came to their feet. The men and women were holding hammers, axes, and blades. All of the folks were old and older, wearing anxious looks. They studied us with interest. A couple nodded at Joel.

  “They were supposed to help. I just needed to lead the last of the bunch here.”

  “None left?” One of the men spoke to Joel with a slight accent that I couldn’t place.

  He was dressed in shorts and a red and black-checkered shirt. He wore hiking boots and looked to be in better physical shape than I’d ever been. He also had to be in his seventies.

  “This is Claude. He’s French, but he’s cool,” Joel said.

  “Mon Dieu. I’m a gentleman. A French gentleman,” the guy said.

  A woman stood next to him. She was younger, but not by much, and when he spoke, she wrapped her arm around his waist.

  “That’s Belle. Annabelle, but she likes Belle.”

  “Good. We already have an Anna,” I said.

  Anna Sails shot me a look. “Already got one?”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said. “Although I got you last night.”

  “Jackson!”

  I shrugged and moved in to shake hands with our new friends.

  Friends. There’s a word in short supply these days. Our last companions were killed when McQuinn and his jackwads decided that they wanted our shit. We turned the tables on them, and I ended it with a fiery explosion that nearly cost me my life.

  Now we had at least ten new friends. Make that ten well-armed new friends.

  “You two need some rest and first-aid,” Claude said.

  “How about the extra camper? It’s not much but it’s got room for two,” Belle said.

  “Anna, you can stay with Roz and Christy. We have a good-sized RV. I’ll bunk with Creed.”

  “No need to kick you out. We survived out there. I don’t think one more night together will kill us,” Anna said.

  I practically sighed with relief. Nothing against my buddy Joel Kelly, but Anna was a much sexier roommate.

  Joel shrugged then winked at me as he turned his head in the direc
tion of the camper.

  “Over there. It’s the white one on top of the big ass truck.”

  “As long as I don’t have to sleep under the truck, I’m good,” I said.

  “Why the hell would you sleep under the truck? Musta had the sense knocked out of you by that shuffler. You gonna be alright?”

  “Yeah. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, after I’ve slept for about eighteen hours.”

  Joel nodded. “Just take it easy. We’ll rest up for the day and then move out late tomorrow night if the Z’s don’t gather.” He turned away and checked his assault rifle, pulling back on the receiver and inspecting the gun’s load. “Keep the noise down and stay inside. They’ve managed to survive by keeping indoors for a whole week. Damn good strategy.”

  “Better than running around shooting stuff?”

  “Much better plan.”

  “How are you set for food?”

  “They’re mostly travelers and they’ve done well with supplies. We lost one the other night because he got drunk and went to find his dead wife. His RV turned out to have a shit load of food in it. Ain’t gonna last forever, though.”

  “Did he find her?”

  “What?” Joel asked.

  “Did he find his wife?”

  “Let’s just say she found him.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  Claude turned up his nose. “He was a bit of an asshole, but he was still one of us.”

  I shrugged out of my backpack and put it on the ground.

  “I can add to our supplies. Got a few dried goods, couple of cans of fruit for…”

  “Jackson!”

  I turned, and there was Christy. She and Roz stepped down from a big brown RV that looked like it cost more than I’d ever made in all my years in the United States Navy.

  She broke from Roz’s side, ran toward me, and crashed into my chest. Her arms wrapped around my waist.

  “Good to see you, dude,” I said and hugged her back.

  Christy looked good. She had cleaned up and found a change of clothes. The haunted look had vanished from her eyes. What a difference a day makes when you aren’t running for your life.

  “Don’t call me dude, dude.” She smiled.

  “I brought you something,” I said and unsnapped my backpack.

  I dug around and came up with a can of mandarin oranges.

  Christy ignored me, her eyes on Frosty. The dog wagged her tail. She sniffed Christy’s hands. The two stared at each other like they were long lost best friends.

  I held the oranges up lamely, then put them back in the bag for later.

  “What’s her name?”

  “I call her Frosty because she’s cool under pressure. She doesn’t bark at Z’s and she’s great in a fight. Saved Anna’s life.”

  “She’s so cute!” Christy said and hugged the dog. Frosty looked back at me, tongue lolling out, then licked Christy’s face.

  “Ah, dude. She’s got shuffler all over her face,” I groaned.

  Frosty took to Christy quickly and followed her to their camper. I told her to remember to walk her and feed her only the best. Turkey and bacon were preferred, but she’d probably settle for anything canned.

  ###

  11:45 hours approximate

  Location: Trailer Park - Undead Central

  Our “camper” was a metal and fiberglass enclosure mounted on top of a F250 truck. It had a bunk that rested over the canopy. The interior was sparse, but it did boast an L-shaped couch that doubled as a dining room table for three. Two, if I stretched out. There was a tiny sink and even a toilet. The little space had a feminine feel, but I could care less.

  Belle made us take off our outer garments and inspected our wounds. Anna had a nasty bruise running up her side that would be purple and yellow by tomorrow. I had a few scrapes here and there, but nothing that wouldn’t heal in time. Belle dressed our wounds. She was thorough, and I knew she was looking for any hint of a bite.

  “I’ll bring some food by. There’s a package of diaper wipes you can clean up with, but you two get some rest. Are you okay sleeping up there?” she asked us.

  “No worries,” Anna said.

  Belle left us alone with a few words of warning.

  “Stay inside as much as possible. If you see a group of infected, keep out of sight. Make as little noise as possible. Do that, and they leave us alone. If things get tight, you’ll hear bells in the distance. That’s Joel running out to distract a horde.”

  “Say what the fuck?” I asked.

  Anna elbowed me in the side.

  “What, I’m a foul-mouthed sailor.”

  “I’ve heard much worse living with that French firecracker,” Belle said.

  “Coulda gone my entire life without hearing that,” Anna said under her breath.

  This time I elbowed her in the side.

  “Claude used to do it, but Joel is younger and can handle himself. There’s a set of bells a few hundred feet away. Sound them and the infected go in that direction. We run a tight ship here.”

  “Of course Joel does it. He’s a super Marine. He eats Z’s for breakfast and then spits them out.”

  “Right,” Belle nodded. “He’s very spry.”

  “That’s our Joel. You should remind him that he’s spry,” I said. I tried to imagine the look on Joel’s face and nearly cracked a smile.

  “I will if I see him. He patrolled last night. We haven’t seen him much since he arrived.”

  “I bet you sleep better,” I said.

  “Are you like Joel? Can you help protect us?”

  “He’s not like Joel. He’s more like a fish out of water,” Anna said.

  I started to protest.

  “But Jackson Creed has his moments,” she said and met my eyes.

  I looked away first.

  “Get some sleep. If you hear bells, it’s all hands. Remember that.”

  “So we hide if we hear bells or we go out there?” I asked, genuinely confused.

  “Do what the situation calls for,” Belle said and left, closing the door quietly behind her.

  Anna and I made use of the baby wipes and managed to get most of the blood and grime off. I helped her and she helped me. She ran her hands over some of my wounds and I touched hers. We didn’t talk much, just sat and got comfortable. I could get used to this domestic shit.

  “They don’t have a plan. They don’t have a clue. No wonder Joel has been wired since he got here.”

  “This place is defensible, but if they get cornered it will get messy,” Anna said.

  “Messy isn’t the word for it. This camp is a bunch of retired travelers. All they know about surviving the zombie fucking apocalypse is to stay inside and stay quiet.”

  “Wouldn’t hurt you to be quiet,” Anna said.

  “What, and have you miss my stunning insights and wisdom?”

  “Write them down. I need my beauty sleep.”

  “You’re already beau-”

  “Just save it, Creed. I’m who I am and you don’t have to sweet talk me.”

  “I wasn’t trying to sweet talk you. You’re a damn fine looking woman, Anna,” I said. Christ, what was I doing, checking out a car?

  “I wish I could say the same for you.”

  “What’s wrong with me?” I protested.

  “You’re kinda scruffy and when you take off your shirt you look like you’re half werewolf.”

  “Where wolf? There wolf!” I said and pointed at the window.

  “Shut up and eat.”

  “Yes ma’am.” I grinned.

  I chowed down on a couple of strips of jerky while she went at the granola. I ate most of a tin can filled with tuna, then Anna helped me finish it off. Crackers, a couple of fruit strips, and I was beginning to feel like we might actually be safe for a while.

  After we ate, we crawled up into the bunk. There was an old red blanket and some kind of comforter. I tugged them over us and settled back.

  I put my arm around Anna, half-expec
ting her to push me away, but she snuggled into me.

  That’s all I knew for a long time, because I fell asleep as she muttered about how we should rest, there’d be time for other stuff later.

  I dreamed that I was on the run. The road stretched on forever. The sun hung low in the sky and it was the color of blood. I was alone and the road didn’t end, so I ran and ran and ran, but always behind me were the sounds of moans and groans as the dead pursued.

  ###

  22:30 hours approximate

  Location: Trailer Park - Undead Central

  I woke to voices, sat up, and bashed my head into the overhead canopy.

  “Mother…”

  “Dude. You should take it easy,” Joel said.

  Anna was dressed and sitting at the table with Joel and Belle. They had a map stretched out. Belle was marking spots while Joel studied it intently. A pair of candles held down two corners and provided flickering illumination. The windows had curtains, but they’d been taped down so no light could get out.

  I glanced at my beat up watch and did some quick math in my pounding noggin. I’d slept for almost twelve hours and my body felt like I could sleep for twelve more.

  I swung my legs over the side of the bed and shrugged into my pants and shirt. My head pounded from a nasty headache that a full bottle of Advil might make a dent in if I washed it back with a fifth of whiskey.

  “Damn head hurts.”

  “I think you broke the camper, Creed. What part of keep it quiet didn’t you understand during orientation?”

  “The fuck, Joel. You guys come into our…shit.” I looked sheepish. This wasn’t my place. I was a guest at best.

  “Just messing with ya. Now get your ass down here and help us strategize.”

  “Big word for a Marine.”

  “So’s machine gun, ya navy puke.”

  “That’s five words, Joel,” Anna said helpfully.

  “Ah, Christ. I thought you two were just being polite last night when you offered to take the camper together.”

  I kept my poker face but Anna blushed a furious shade of red. Joel looked between us and sat back on the couch.