Zombies! (Book 7): Still Standing

  Beat down, bloody and buzzed half out of his mind from all the opiates circulating in his system Kyler still felt like standing up and applauding the sun as it made its exit from the sky. He contained himself and stayed still for another hour after the sun went down. He was so out of it that when the hunk of rotting meat he’d been hugging all day was pushed away from him he barely even flinched. He was hoping the shadowy form in front of him was Ritz. He had his knife in his hand just in case it wasn’t. His arm was asleep, so the knife wasn’t going to do him a ton of good. His other arm was pretty much useless from the gunshot wound but he was prepared to at least attempt to kill the Zombie as it ate him.

  Luckily for both his pride and his life it was Ritz. He reached down and helped Kyler to his feet. Ritz was wearing both of their packs. An excellent idea since the thought of putting a backpack on over his aching shoulder made Kyler feel like vomiting. He had his rifle and his weapons on his belt. His clothes were sticking to him. He was covered in blood and gore. He smelled like the dumpster behind a bait shop on a hot day. His headache was out of control. It was like it was competing with his shoulder to win a which part of his body hurt the most contest.

  The best tactic for them survival wise would be to find a nearby hiding place to spend the next day. They could even consider staying right where they’d spent the day already. They had enough food, medicine and water to make it a few more days. Moving out meant risking wandering into the nesting herd scattered all around them. More danger or not there was no way they were going to spend another day getting stepped on by Zombies while cowering beneath the stinking leaky bodies of halfway decapitated infected. It just wasn’t an option.

  The area around them grew eerily quiet as darkness descended. They cautiously walked out of the wreckage of the fallen tree they’d spent the day hiding in. After the Zombie mobs had stampeded through a few times knocking aside the branches they’d actually been pretty visible. The dead bodies and gore had been good enough camouflage to get them through the day alive. Knowing they could be surrounded by a thousand Zombies sleeping in the pine needles of the fallen forest they started walking north. It was as good a direction as any. It’d also mean if they did happen to make it out alive, they’d have that much less distance to walk the next day.

  They walked until they’d transitioned out of the blast zone. The anticipated screeches followed by a mass mauling never happened. Kyler didn’t know if this could be attributed to the Zombies having migrated out of the area, the Zombies all being sound asleep or the fact that they looked like a couple of Zombies themselves. Covered in blood and beaten black and blue both of them were walking funny. Ritz’s silhouette looked like an obese hunchback of Notre Dame with the double packs he was carrying. Kyler had affected a weird looking rolling gait to try and keep his shoulder from moving around too much. Every time he did have to step over a log or do something that made him move his shoulder, he suppressed a small gasp of pain. If it was particularly painful his body went into a jerking motion. He could see how they could be mistaken at a distance for a couple of the infected out for a stroll.

  Covered in gunk they also smelled like a couple of well-seasoned Zombies. Kyler was on the same wavelength as Ritz as to being willing to fight to the death for access to a shower. Even a working water hose would be heaven. Every part of him was sticky, itchy and disgusting. He wanted to burn his clothes and scrub his body with a wire brush dipped in bleach. He knew at some point he was going to need another Oxy, but he was trying to hold off on that. He’d seen way too many of the gaunt eyed addicts when he was with the Brotherhood. He had no desire to end up a junkie in this broken world. If for no other reason than it wasn’t like the Oxy factory was still churning out pills by the millions like in the good old opioid crisis days.

  Once they made it to the edge of the blast zone the trees masked the effects of the bomb from their view. They traveled northwards keeping an eye out for any of the things that may want to kill them. Stepping on a sleeping Zombie could ruin your whole night. They stopped to rest after only walking for a few hours. Both of them collapsed to the ground completely exhausted. It was true they’d been laying down for the last day, but it’d been a stressful day with few opportunities to do things like take a drink of water. Bathroom breaks had been taken without moving. It wasn’t like those fluids were any grosser than what was leaking out of the bodies they were using as cover.

  Ritz dug through both of the packs he’d been carrying. He grabbed each of them a fresh shirt, a change of underwear and clean pants. He stripped down and gave himself a quick sponge bath before pulling on the fresh set of clothes. He then helped Kyler to do the same making sure to take extra care around the gunshot wound. He cleaned it and rubbed a generous portion of antibiotic cream into the wound before passing Kyler a handful of pills to take.

  “What are these?” Kyler asked. He’d put his head close to Ritz and was whispering.

  “Anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.” Ritz said staring down at the bottles to make sure he’d given Kyler the right things.

  “No painkillers?” Kyler asked curiously.

  “Not unless you think you need them. We have some left, but we need to put a lot of distance between us and this place before the sun comes up.”

  “No worries. I was thinking earlier about how I wanted to avoid getting hooked on those things anyway.” Kyler whispered back. He guzzled another bottle of warm water to wash down the pills.

  “You ok to double time it for a bit? I don’t want to be caught out in the middle of these woods when the sun comes up. At least not anywhere near where all those Zombies are going to start wandering around.” Ritz whispered. He was already strapping the two packs back on.

  “Let’s do it.” Kyler said. He levered himself up using a nearby tree for support. Now all he had to do was make it a few hundred miles north through a war zone to rejoin the army that kept sending him on ridiculously dangerous missions. If he actually made it there was no way they were talking him into doing it a third time.

  Chapter 14: Back on Solid Ground

  Two hours after shoving off they were within sight of the I-40 overpass. That wasn’t bad timing considering they’d been cruising as slowly as possible to minimize the noise the engines made. It wouldn’t have done them much good to make it to the overpass only to discover every Zombie for miles standing on the beach waiting for them. They’d hugged the opposite bank and gone slow with everyone keeping their mouths shut but they were still the loudest thing for miles. Sound tended to carry further these days.

  The woods on both banks were thick. That should help shield them from being spotted as they drifted in for a landing. It might even help mask the sounds of the engines. The thick woods also meant that no matter how hard Kelly stared there was no real way to tell what awaited them. There could be a thousand Zombies cutting through those woods right now attracted by the muffled sound of their passage. Like most life or death decisions in the apocalypse it was going to end up being a toss of the dice. She was sick and tired of gambling with her family’s life.

  Frank continued upriver until they were halfway under the overpass. He pointed the bow at the other bank and cut the engines down to almost nothing. The other boat echoed his maneuvers and they both drifted backwards with the current. On this course they were gradually headed for the far bank. There was no real dock this time. Only a concrete divider with a few cleats on it that would be barely wide enough for them to walk down single file. Frank and the man piloting the other boat brought them in so they could tie off. Once tied off they repeated the strategy of the day before. They sat quietly in the boat waiting to see what would happen.

  They were just getting settled in to wait when Zombies began to emerge from the woods. They skittered out like roaches onto a cheap hotel comforter when the lights get turned off. One or two at first then dozens appearing. Barely visible in the dim light cast by the moon the Zombies shuffled forward. They’d been chasing the muffled sounds of
the boats and were thrown off when the noise abruptly stopped. Snuffling and grunting they continued in the direction they’d been running. They’d eventually lose interest and just hang out wherever they happened to end up at until some other stimuli sent them scrambling in pursuit of uninfected flesh. Frank had hoped to inspire the infected to keep moving up the bank past where they’d docked. That was the reason he’d cruised up under the overpass before letting the river push them backwards to where they really needed to go ashore.

  Most of the Zombies kept right on jogging up the beach. The ones that kept going disappeared into the woods up ahead. They’d either scoot along underneath the bridge or pass over I-40 to keep up the chase. A handful of them seemed to think stopping right by the pontoon boats was the better option. Whether those Zombies were lazy or if they sensed there may be humans on the boat was anybody’s guess. Kelly doubted the Zombies had any idea why they’d stopped.

  They had a few hours to kill before the sun came up, so Frank had them sit motionless for one of those hours hoping the Zombies might just go away. There was still a small group of them standing around the edge of the river. Most of them hadn’t moved much in the last thirty minutes and probably wouldn’t move again until they lay down to sleep. In which case they’d turn the weedy bank into a fleshy mine field.

  Frank passed around a note with the plan on it. They’d give it another few hours then power their way ashore. Once the time was right, they’d send out an advance party to quietly clear a path through the Zombie mine field. At the end of the concrete wall they were moored to there was a trail that’d lead them to a small clearing the vehicles were parked in. They’d need to put the batteries in the vehicles and top off the gas before they could go anywhere.

  The trucks parked in the clearing had been modified with fences welded across the windshields for added protection. If they had to stop and sit in the vehicles for an extended period of time to wait out a Zombie herd swarming them those modifications would be life savers.

  The batteries and gas and ammunition were heavy. The trail wasn’t great. It was meant to be hidden so hadn’t been widened or smoothed out. They’d be lugging heavy ass batteries and jugs of gas while trying to quietly slip through an area infested with Zombies. At the end of the trail they’d have to pop open hoods and hook up batteries in the dark. All of this while hoping no Zombies decided to come along to see what was going on. In hindsight keeping the batteries at the storage units may not have been such a clever idea after all.

  They weren’t planning on making a second trip to pick up more supplies out of the boats. They were going to be stuck using whatever they could carry on the first trip. It was too risky to have people going up and down the trail gathering more supplies. If all went well, they’d be in a settlement by lunch time and all of this would just be yet another bad memory. Knowing full well that was extremely optimistic thinking she let herself indulge in it for a minute anyway.

  A light rain fell. The drizzle morphed quickly into a substantial rainstorm. Miserable as that made all of them it was also an opportunity they couldn’t afford to pass up. The rain would muffle the sounds of their movement and further impede visibility for the Zombies. Seizing on the hope these advantages might actually help them survive the night Frank ordered the advance squad to hit the beach.

  Bryan and five other men including Randy slipped into the cold water and swam over to the bank. Crawling slowly out of the water they used hammers, machetes and hatchets to take out every Zombie they could find. Most of the infected died without a peep with an edged weapon buried in their heads or necks. It was hard depressing work. Stomping around in the rain looking for the curled-up bodies of the sleeping infected. In the dark with the rain pouring down the sleeping infected didn’t look like any kind of threat at all. A couple of the men on the advanced party openly wept while they hacked apart sleeping women and children. The rain washed their tears away leaving only their hollow reddened eyes to show their sadness.

  Thirty minutes after hitting the beach Bryan conferred quickly with the rest of the advance group. They all agreed they were good to get started up the path. Bryan took one man with him to scout the trail and make sure there were no surprises. He sent the rest of them back to help hump the gear from the boats to the trucks. He was acutely aware it wasn’t just a team of soldiers he was protecting. There were also young women and children. He needed to make sure everyone stayed safe. The only one he wasn’t too concerned about was Kelly. He knew she could take care of herself.

  Randy walked through the brush over to the concrete wall that ran out to where the boats were tied up. He’d been one of the men whose tears had been washed away by the rain. He’d killed a young girl he’d found half buried in a pile of dead pine needles. He’d have walked right past her if he hadn’t noticed her toes sticking up from behind a decaying log. He’d hacked hard into the back of her neck. He’d struck home on the first try even though the girl was barely visible. Pulling his machete out of her spine made her head flop around revealing her face. The pockmarked sore covered face of a girl who easily could’ve easily been Myriah or Zoey or any of the girls.

  Kelly instantly saw something was off when Randy hopped down into the boat and hugged her.

  “You ok?” She whispered in his ear.

  He nodded and kissed her again then went to grab his share of supplies to cart up the path. He had no idea how they expected to move all this stuff without using the dollies they’d taken from the storage units. They’d been deemed too loud by Frank to try and sneak gear down the path. Randy walked over to where Frank was holding up one of the batteries.

  “Area’s clear. How far up the path do we have to go before we get to the vehicles?” Randy asked quietly. He’d pitched his voice just high enough to be heard over the rain. He had very little concern the sound would carry. The storm that’d started as a miserable drizzle was turning into a newsworthy monsoon.

  “We’ll be using the dollies.” Frank said answering the real question Randy was asking. Which was how the hell they were going to lug enough supplies to be useful through the woods carrying everything without using the dollies. With the rain pouring down now they should be able to get escorted by a marching band without anyone hearing them.

  They pulled the dollies out and up onto the narrow concrete wall. Very carefully they set the heavy batteries on them. One of the men disappeared down the walkway into the rain pulling the loaded dolly along. Randy ended up with a handful of boxed of ammunition and a ten-gallon jug of gas when it came to his turn. Kelly and Caitlyn also got stuck carrying jugs of gasoline. Myriah was left with her hands free to help the little kids.

  Walking single file down the concrete pathway hoping that none of the kids managed to fall into the river they left the relative safety of the boat to begin the dangerous journey to a settlement. A settlement that was probably already under attack. Kelly was torn between actually leaving the boat or hopping back in with her family and heading up the river. She liked their chances on their own better than with all these soldiers. Especially since at least two of the soldiers with them had already stood behind a man who’d tried to kill Randy. Despite Frank’s assurances Randy had told her that guy was walking around with a pistol tucked in his pocket now. If it hadn’t been for her confidence in Bryan, she really may have just shanghaied the rest of the supplies and taken off up the river with Randy and the girls.

  Stepping off of the concrete walkway onto the riverbank felt like they’d crossed a line of no return. The solid ground filled her with misgivings. They were soaked and miserable. Randy had Kelly and the girls follow behind one of the other men disappearing up the trail ahead of them. Randy wanted to bring up the rear so he could be on the lookout for any threats popping out of the woods. If he was able to see, then he could get to them before they could get to the girls. It didn’t take him long to realize the dolly really wasn’t built for rolling through the woods fast enough to keep up with anyone. At least not while dragg
ing a bunch of heavy stuff along with you.

  He was struggling to get one of his wheels unstuck without tipping the whole dolly over when a Zombie stepped out of the woods. Striking with no fanfare the Zombie bit deeply into the side of the man’s face directly behind Randy. It ripped off a long piece of skin exposing the bloody tissue and muscle of the man’s cheek and forehead. Randy left his dolly stuck to the root and pulled out his machete. The Zombie stood in the path casually chewing the hunk of face it’d bitten off. It had both arms wrapped around the man. The random victim was screaming and panting and otherwise going into shock. Randy cracked the Zombies skull open then did the same for the man with half a face. One of the men playing rearguard stepped forward and grabbed the discarded dolly. Without a second glance at the bodies lying in the mud they continued along the path towards where Randy’s dolly was still stuck to a root.

  The soaked soldier helped Randy free his dolly then they both kept trudging up the muddy path. Frank had told everyone the trail was only a few hundred yards long. When he’d said it like that it sounded like a pretty short distance. When you were dragging a few hundred pounds of batteries and gas in a dolly over roots in the rain it seemed a hell of a lot farther. Random dead bodies kicked to the side of the trail did little to ease anyone’s mind. On the plus side most of the bodies were naked meaning they were probably infected. Unless the advanced team had slaughtered a secret hidden nudist colony with a recent smallpox epidemic.