DEAD: Confrontation

by Brown, TW

  Less than an hour later, Caleb had a raging fire going. It had been difficult, and more than once he thought that he would not succeed. He had managed to run around the castle and just outside to gather more than enough wood to keep it going. The next part was the hardest.

  He laid Aaheru down and stretched his right arm out away from the body. Taking one belt, he wrapped it around the arm just above the elbow and cinched it tight. Aaheru groaned, but his eyes did not even flutter. Taking another belt, this one made from some sort of woven cloth, he placed it just below the first belt and used the stick, twisting until it could not turn any further and then tied the loose ends of the belt to keep it secure.

  He had sharpened the blade while the fire got good and hot and then stuck it into the flames until the metal turned almost white. Lining up the blade, he brought it high above his head and then came down with all his might,

  A scream echoed through the castle.

  ***

  “What were you thinking?” Mackenzie said with as much anger as Juan could ever remember hearing from her in the relatively short time that they’d gotten to know one another.

  “Did you get the part about that kid pulling a gun on me?” Juan asked. He could not believe that this was even an issue.

  “He was scared!”

  “Trust me…you look down the barrel of a gun being pointed at you and scared doesn’t quite cover it.”

  “But you said that you will be going back, right?”

  “I will.”

  Juan did not want to tell her about the gate having to be left open or the number of zombies he passed on his way to the boat. Hell, he was lucky he got out of there alive. As it was, he’d had to leave over half the stuff in the truck because he had attracted so much attention.

  He paused for a moment and then sat down on the edge of the bed beside Mackenzie. Brushing the hair from her face, he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his.

  “I’m not one of the bad guys,” Juan insisted.

  “I know that, you big idiot.” She leaned forward and kissed him. He did not miss the slight wince.

  “You okay?” he asked with genuine and more than just a little concern.

  “Just some cramps,” she said, waving him away. “It won’t last too long, but right now I just don’t feel great.”

  Juan did his best to remain calm. He had no idea what a woman went through during the course of a miscarriage. He did know that, with doctors in short supply, they were facing a much more complicated situation when it came to what used to probably be considered “routine” medical issues.

  “Now you just wipe that look off your face,” Mackenzie demanded. “I have already been checked by April and she comes over a few times a day to follow up on my condition.”

  “Before I went on this last run, April and that other lady…what was her name?”

  “Jeannie?” Mackenzie raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, I think that was it. They were saying that we needed to make a hospital run or something. I think maybe that I will get a list from them.”

  Mackenzie hated the idea of Juan leaving yet again. Still, she knew that he would not sit this out. He seemed to think that he had to do everything. The problem was, one by one, their original little group was thinning because they always seemed to be the ones making the runs off the island. Juan had defied the odds so far…but his luck only needed to fail once.

  Juan’s thoughts were not too different from Mackenzie’s. In fact, he was determined that this would be his last trip off the island for a while. In fact, he did not see why he would ever have to leave again after this one. They had been taking steps to become self-sufficient. The fence was up and the lookout towers were in place. As he drifted off to sleep holding Mackenzie, he became more and more certain that he was ready to put an end to his days ‘in the field.’

  When he awoke, Juan slipped out of bed, kissed Mackenzie on the forehead, and started suiting up for what he hoped would be his last trip. After double and triple-checking his gear, he went outside. The air was actually a bit warm compared to what they had been seeing. Not only that, but as he looked west, the horizon seemed clear. The sun was already burning through the wispy fog that was clinging desperately to the ground.

  He walked down the road until he came to the house he knew April called home. He did not even knock on the door before it opened and he was looking down into the face of the woman he sought.

  “Is Mackenzie okay?” April asked in a rush.

  “Yeah…” Juan’s voice drew that word out and rose with uncertainty. “Shouldn’t she be?”

  “Of course, but—” April’s mouth shut so hard that her teeth clicked.

  “But what?”

  “Look, Juan, I’m not going to lie to you. With a miscarriage, there are so many things that could happen. But honestly, she seems fine and I have been over three or four times a day to check on her. Plus, a lot of the other gals stop in during the day, so she really hasn’t been alone. It’s just that, without being able to do things like ultrasounds or x-rays. We are going solely off of external cues.”

  Juan scratched his face; the few days of growth were starting to itch. He wished he’d taken the time to shave, but he really just wanted to make this last trip and be done if that was at all possible.

  “Look,” he said finally, “I appreciate all that you are doing. I am getting ready to make a run and see if I can find you some medical stuff. So maybe you could make me a list?”

  April pursed her lips for a moment. She seemed to be ready to say something about a dozen times. Juan was almost ready to give up. He figured he could just go to a hospital. He could just break in to the pharmacy and load everything he saw into a cart until it was full. That should do just fine.

  “I’m going with you.”

  Juan took a step back and shook his head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

  “Look, Jeannie will check in on Mackenzie—” she started, but Juan cut her off.

  “It ain’t about that. You have that EMT training…right?” April nodded. “Well it does not seem like a very good idea to drag you out there and put you at risk.”

  “You had me on that other run,” April pointed out. “So what is the big deal?”

  “The big deal is that I didn’t know you had medical experience.”

  “Well then, we will just have to be careful.” She didn’t bother to remind Juan that she had told him shortly after first arriving at the island when he had asked if any in her group had any medical or first aid knowledge.

  “If only it were that easy,” Juan sighed.

  “Listen, I understand what you are saying. However, if we get to the hospital and I see something that would be really helpful but didn’t think to put it on the list…I can grab it. If you go alone, you will only get the stuff on the list. And even then, you might not know what you are looking for.”

  Juan thought it over. She made a good point. Still, he would feel awful if the closest thing that they had to a doctor ended up dead. He had not planned to take anybody with him on this one. He wanted to get in and out.

  “I promise to do what you say,” April added. “But if I could make this run with you, it might make a huge difference in us not having to do this again.”

  “Okay,” Juan relented. “But you do what I say when I say with absolutely no questions. We clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  April opened the door and allowed Juan inside. He helped her go through her things and select what she would need for the run. Before they left, she scribbled a note and tucked it under a door in the upstairs hallway.

  “I just told Jeannie that I would be back soon and for her to keep an eye on Mackenzie,” April said to Juan’s questioning look.

  Together, the pair headed down to the dock. Along the way, Juan filled April in about the situation regarding Frank and Donna. He was surprised by her response.

  “You sure that what you left behind merits making a r
eturn trip? Sounds like that place might be crawling with zombies by now.”

  “Mackenzie was pretty upset…” Juan started to explain, but he really didn’t have anything beyond that to say.

  “Yeah?” April flashed a peculiar look at Juan. “Well she isn’t on this run. What she don’t know won’t hurt her.”

  Juan stared at the woman’s back as she stepped past him and climbed aboard the boat. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug April or smack her. As they headed up the Willamette River, he suddenly felt like maybe he was making a big mistake.

  ***

  Scott raised his hand bringing the group to a halt. He pointed to a shadowy figure moving along what could only be described as a razor wire fence on steroids. It was at least fifteen feet high and appeared to be made of multiple coils of the stuff stacked one on top of another.

  “Where the heck do you think that they got all of that?” Chad whispered.

  “No idea, but judging by the amount of cloth fluttering from it, the thing has seen plenty of action and is still standing,” Brett observed.

  Chad used the binoculars to get a closer look at the person. “It’s a woman,” he reported. She is carrying what looks like a pretty hefty crossbow. Also, she has a pistol on her hip, big…must be pretty wicked if the size is any indicator.

  “Also, the fence is even more impressive now that I get a better look. The razor wire is secured to what looks like a mesh grate. And it actually sits just across an irrigation ditch or something, so unless it is a pretty good herd, they probably can’t even make it up to the fence.”

  “Well then I guess they have seen a pretty big herd. Those strips of cloth fluttering in the wind didn’t get their by themselves,” Brett said.

  “So how do we approach these people?” Chad asked, ignoring what sounded like a bit of a defensive comment from Brett.

  That seemed to be par for the course the past several days. Ever since they had agreed to come down out of the mountains and give this acquaintance a look, Brett had felt the need to question everything, and if a discussion was engaged about even the smallest thing, he would sulk and pout if his idea was not the one chosen. Twice, Chad had needed to step in between Brett and Scott when the “discussions” became too heated.

  “Maybe I should go up alone and see what is up. I can tell Dustin about you guys and see if he is even open to us coming in,” Brett said.

  “Why wouldn’t we go up as a group?” Scott asked.

  “Because,” Brett took on an exasperated tone that almost seemed to be his norm lately, “if we come barging up, we might spook the person on watch. Somebody might get shot. If I go alone, I will seem less threatening and hopefully she will take me to see Dustin.”

  “And what is to keep you from just blowing us off?” Scott challenged.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Maybe you didn’t’ think that you could make it down here alone…maybe you decided to use us to get you here safe so that you can cut and run,” Scott shot back.

  “Hold up,” Chad hissed. “I think we are all just tired and cold and hungry. Brett, go on up and see what the deal is, we will sit tight here and wait.”

  “But not forever,” Ronni spoke up. “I am sick of being frozen and soggy.”

  “Hey, at least we are out of the mountains,” Chad offered with a weak smile at his sullen daughter.

  “I will be back as soon as I can,” Brett said.

  Without waiting for any further response, he rose up from the brush and started across the open field towards the fence. To the credit of the person on watch, she appeared to have spotted him instantly. She stopped her patrol and unslung the crossbow from her back.

  “How would she shoot through that fence?” Chad whispered.

  It was not long before he got his answer. He watched her go to one of the two foot wide—for lack of a better term—fence posts. She vanished behind it and appeared at the top of it a moment later. They were set about ten feet apart and stretched on for quite a while. From their vantage point, they could not actually see where they made the turn, also, they could not see a house, but the wisp of smoke coming from a distant grove of trees would be a likely place.

  “Each of those things probably has a little ladder up and a platform on the top,” Scott observed. “And this field is kept cut down so nobody and nothing can get close. I would guess the distance from this tree line to be at least two hundred yards.”

  The trio continued to watch Brett as he crossed with his hands in the air. Still almost fifty yards away, the watch yelled something and Brett stopped. They were too far away to hear anything that was said and could simply observe.

  At one point, it looked like Brett decided to try and get closer. The watch fired her crossbow, but it was apparently a warning shot as Brett jumped back and began frantically waving his arms. A few seconds later, he was getting down on his knees with his hands on top of his head. The watch drew the pistol from her hip and fired it skyward.

  “Flare gun,” Chad and Scott said in unison.

  About ten minutes passed. Finally, a group of ten riders on horseback came galloping up. The overall welcome did not seem to be a congenial one. At one point, one of the riders hopped down off his horse and threw Brett to the ground.

  As a group, Chad, Scott, and Ronni slipped just a bit further back into the brush as they continued to observe, hoping for any sign that the reception would get any better. When three of the riders climbed down and trussed Brett up and threw him over the back of a horse, it was visibly apparent that a grand welcome was unlikely.

  Once the riders headed off, the threesome slipped into the woods. Chad looked at Scott with a raised eyebrow in question. “So?”

  “Guess he didn’t know this guy very well at all,” Scott said with a shrug.

  “What do we do now?” Ronni asked.

  “The sign that I saw last night said ‘La Grange three miles’ or something like that,” Scott offered.

  “Ever been there?” Chad asked.

  “Nope,” Scott replied.

  “Well, that is as good of an idea as any.” Chad grabbed his pack from where they’d set them before sneaking through the brush to get a look at what they had hoped would be a bit of salvation.

  Together, Chad, Ronni, and Scott began the trek across a muddy landscape. The ominous sounds of thunder could be heard from the south. More than once, each of them looked over his or her shoulder to get a look at the dark clouds barreling their way. Lightning bristled and the telltale veil of gray could be seen reaching the ground, indicating a solid line of rain headed their direction.

  ***

  “How could you just leave me like that?” Gemma fumed.

  She’d had about all she could take of being treated like a child. Adults were always doing that…pretending that she did not have an opinion, or if she did, that it was not important. The main reason that she had decided to leave their group behind and follow Vix on some crazy trip to London was because she thought that perhaps if it were just the two of them, that maybe they would develop a bond and even rely on each other.

  She had sat on that fire escape for almost an hour and had just about given up. The crowd below was far too big for her to have any chance of making it through. Her only option was to go inside the building, and she’d already heard plenty of noise from that direction when she had gone to the first window and ducked her head inside.

  There was a bedroom that obviously belonged to a little girl who was infatuated with princesses. The real ones, not the cartoons. Pictures of Diana, Kate, and even that hideous duchess Camilla (blech!) adorned the walls. The bed would have been lovely were it not for the mold growing all over it—that and the blood. The door leading out was shut, but as soon as Gemma snuck over to it and tried to open it just a crack, the scream of rusting hinges brought the sounds of multiple moans from somewhere down the hall. It had only been in the last few minutes that the scratching at the door had ceased.

  Looking down at
the sea of undead faces that stared at her, Gemma tried to guess what some of the people had been like in life. She was trying to keep her mind occupied and not let the feeling of being abandoned overwhelm her, but she was failing. Then, some of the zombies began to peel away from the rear of the group. Gemma watched as they disappeared around the corner.

  As the third or fourth little group separated and wandered off, Gemma had seen Vix poke her head around the corner! She had actually waved. Well, Gemma huffed as she plopped back down and sulked, she was certainly not about to wave back!

  Before long, there were about a dozen left. Gemma sat for a few minutes waiting for Vix to pop in and draw away more, but nothing happened. Getting up, she moved towards the ladder. She could actually climb down and stop about halfway, from there she could stab down to eliminate the remaining zombies.

  “You waiting for an invitation?” Vix stuck her head out from around the corner of the building from which she had lured a good many of the crowd to their deaths. “Do I have to kill them all, or can you find some time in your day to get off your arse and help?”

  “You took off and left me!” Gemma shouted back over the din of moans and groans from below. “And you lot zip it!” she snapped at the zombies.

  “You mind not making such a fuss…we are in bloody London, might be that there are a few more zombies in these parts than Basingstoke.” Vix glanced over her shoulder and then looked back at Gemma with pursed lips. “Got twenty or so coming this way, so if you don’t have any other plans, maybe you can climb down and we can…” She looked back over her shoulder again and then turned back to Gemma. “Run!”

  Gemma scrambled down as Vix took out the first couple that had already started her way during their little conversation. Each time she swung, she chanced a look over her shoulder. She breathed a sigh of relief as Gemma’s feet touched ground and the last of the zombies that had assembled around the ladder fell to her machete.