by Jack J. Lee
I admit that for a moment last night, I thought my prediction about me and Helen was incorrect. I kissed her and she completely rejected me. I had been certain that she would melt in my arms. I was stunned when she didn’t. My shock was intense, so unexpected that it was hilarious. My arrogance is occasionally so ridiculously grandiose that when I fall flat on my face even I find it funny. I started to laugh. Helen did too. She then kissed me; I responded. The universe went back into alignment. For awhile there I thought I was incorrect; I was wrong.
Chapter 9: Hiram Rockwell, March 2nd, Year 1
The dogs were chasing two deer toward us. I made eye contact with Frank Burns. He nodded. He and I would take the deer.
We were on what used to be a quiet neighborhood street on the east foothills of the mountains bordering Salt Lake City. Before the zombie outbreak there had already been deer in the suburbs. In the last 6 months, the deer population had exploded. After we cleared the zombies, abandoned yards and household gardens became ideal grazing ground for deer. Deer had no reason to stay high in the mountains when there was a massive increase of perfect lower elevation habitat.
The deer came into view. I took the one on the left. I must have hit the heart because it fell immediately. Frank doesn’t miss; his dropped too. I turned and smiled at my men. It was a great day.
Until February of this year, people had been focused purely on survival. Fresh food wasn’t a high priority. In the last couple of months, we had finished fortifying our town and didn’t have to worry about day to day survival. My men and I were out for fresh meat. With the two I had just nailed, we had 4 deer. The Salt Lake Troopers were going to have fresh venison tonight.
Pedro called in the dogs and we rewarded them with the deer intestines and brains. Everything else including the liver, heart and kidneys were saved. Americans in the past didn’t eat organ meat. Things were different now. Fresh food of any sort was hard to come by. Nowadays, nothing was wasted.
Before I met Pedro, I had no idea that there had been sheep herders all over the American west. Most of these herds were owned by Basques from Spain who had immigrated to the States decades ago. The Basques were getting too old to camp out in the mountains so they imported herders from Peru and Chile. Pedro was Peruvian. He had been at Park City for two years when the zombies broke out.
On the morning of September 11th, he had been camped out with his animals up in the mountains surrounding Park City. He heard the emergency broadcast on his radio so he stayed up high avoiding everything: zombies, vampires, and other people. Pedro got rid of his sheep shortly after the outbreak. He decided that sun-dried mutton jerky was more useful than live sheep. Mutton jerky and his dogs helped keep him alive. His dogs could smell the Zombies before they came in sight.
His dogs caught rabbits and chased deer toward him. He didn’t have a gun but he made a spear and used it to catch a few deer. He didn’t eat well but he wasn’t starving when he found us. Vampires are attracted to large groups of people. By staying away from other survivors, Pedro avoided vampires. Pedro didn’t even know vampires existed until he found us.
In early December, winter storms had hit the highlands hard. Pedro had to drop down to a lower elevation. When Pedro hiked down into Salt Lake City, he found a zombie trap. The outbreak caused massive destruction. There were fires and explosions throughout the city. Homes and buildings burned down to the foundations. We cleared the debris out of foundations and then built three foot high walls around them. Dead zombies were then thrown into the pits to attract live ones. Once a zombie got into a trap it couldn’t get out. Every zombie trap had instructions and a map painted on its walls describing how to find us.
I’ve never been a dog person. As it was, being active duty military with multiple deployments, I couldn’t have a dog. Before the outbreak, most dogs were pets. Very few pets out-survived their owners. The feral dogs that learned how to live without human help were big animals. Dumb humans don’t survive long when surrounded by zombies. The same weeding out process went on for dogs.
Pedro started a business capturing feral dogs and training them. I don’t know how good he was as a sheepherder but he was amazing as a dog trainer. His dogs were taught to bark if they smelled vampires and to silently warn humans if they smelled zombies. The dogs could also point out game and herd them back to hunters.
Pedro loved working with dogs; he tolerated working with people. He refused to sell his dogs to anyone who he thought was unworthy. He told me that any idiot can love a dog. It took discipline and constant work to keep a dog trained. He complained that it was a hell of a lot easier to train dogs than to find people who could be trusted to keep them properly. Pedro was out with us training four men he selected as having the potential of becoming good K9 troops.
The plan was to have dogs out in the field with the SaLTs at all times. Since the Outbreak, we used a thermal camera to look for vampires; vampires have a body temp of at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit. We employed the camera to look through walls to make sure that a vampire couldn’t ambush us. The problem was that we only had one camera. Dogs could smell a vampire from a couple hundred feet away and there were plenty of dogs.
The thermal camera couldn’t pick out zombies because the zombies were cold blooded. Their body temp was the same as the air temp. Zombies for the most part weren’t much of a problem for a trained Salt Lake Trooper. Still a dog’s ability to smell or hear one before a human could was nice. The Troopers were often out on patrol and with the dogs help, often came back with fresh meat. You didn’t have to learn how to track animals, zombies, or vampires if you had a trained dog. People wanted dogs as fast as Pedro could train them. Lucky for us, we were the government. We got first dibs.
We split the deer into multiple pieces and we all carried meat as we ran toward home. We were about four miles from the Fortress when the dogs started to bark. They clustered around a manhole cover. A vampire was in the sewer system nearby. The Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. Almost all the SaLTs had been civilians seven months ago. I was the only one that had any real US military combat experience. Amazingly our officers were as good if not better than the ones I had when I was on active duty. Vampires were holing up in the sewers during the day. We hadn’t done much about this besides reinforcing and locking the manhole covers in the Fortress so they couldn’t use the sewer system to bypass our walls. It would have been suicide to go into a tunnel looking for a vampire. Jim Wright, one of our lieutenants had come up with an idea on how to clear the vampires out. It was a good time to see if it worked.
I pulled out my walkie-talkie, “Sergeant Rockwell, calling Director Jones.”
“Yeah, Hiram, what’s up?”
“Got a vampire in the sewer. Thought it would be a good time to check out Jim’s idea.”
“Sounds good. It will take time to gather up the men and equipment. Plan on us getting there in an hour.”
I had the K9 guys spread out. Pedro and each SaLT trainer split up. They had the dogs check out every manhole cover in the area. I wanted to know which holes the vampire was using. In the meantime, I had men start up a fire and set up our field cooking gear. It was close to lunch time. Fresh deer meat hand rubbed with salt and spices, cooked over an open flame is awesome.
We finished eating when the Director arrived. He sniffed the air. “Man that smells good. I need to go on patrol more often.”
Every manhole where the dogs had scented vampire was opened. A steel wire net was placed over the openings. The Director bought a gasoline fuel tanker with him. We attached hoses to the tanker and pulled them to all the holes. The EMP had destroyed almost all our vehicles. Only diesel vehicles were being repaired. I hadn’t known this before but gasoline goes bad after a few months; diesel fuel stays good for a lot longer and is much easier to clean/refine when it does go bad. We didn’t have the equipment to get the gasoline cleaned up enough to use in cars and trucks. Bad gasoline was being used for other things. It was the fuel of choice to heat the
container apartments. Entrepreneurs were selling gasoline furnaces to heat homes and to heat water. Before the Outbreak, thousands of gallons of gasoline were being pumped every hour in Salt Lake. The amount we were using for heat now was miniscule in comparison. We had plenty of gas for our needs.
Half the fuel in the tanker was emptied into the sewers. We then attached thirty feet long steel pipes to the hoses. Six feet from the tip the pipes bent 90 degrees. The steel pipes were put into the sewers. At the count of three every nozzle burst into flame. There was a loud thump that was almost a sonic boom and flames exploded out of every open manhole.
About fifteen seconds later, a burning figure flew out of the hole two hundred feet away from us. It was screaming. The vampire tried to charge us; it got tangled up in the steel net. Vampires are tough. It was in the middle of turning the net into shreds when Frank Burns shot it in the head with a .458 Magnum round. The top half of the vampire’s head turned into mist. Jim Wright’s system had worked perfectly. It wasn’t the flames that had forced the vampire out into daylight. The gas flames/explosion used up every bit of oxygen in the nearby sewers. The flame throwers used up the oxygen faster than it could replenish. Vampires need to breathe. Jim figured that if all the oxygen was used up that a vampire would be forced to jump out the nearest hole.
The Director chuckled, “This is the day for a barbecue.”
My men and I started laughing. It was an awesome day.
Chapter 10: Mark Jones, March 2nd, Year 1
It was tradition to have a barbecue for all the SaLTs and their families in my backyard whenever a patrol had a good hunt. Most of my pre-Outbreak neighbors were dead. I was able to extend my backyard. There was plenty of room for everyone. It was early March so it was chilly at 9 pm. I had a bonfire up and gasoline powered outdoor heaters going outside. The best thing I ever did after the Outbreak was to rescue Mary Black and Hannah Redding. As soon as Hiram and his squad brought back the four deer they killed this morning (minus some meat they had grilled for lunch), Mary and Hannah had their staff put the meat in their barbecue smoker. Eight hours later the venison was so tender, you didn’t have to chew. There was plenty of beer and soda.
I made sure to invite Helen and her roommate Cecilia. I hadn’t seen Helen since she stayed the night. Helen arrived fashionably late. She was wearing her customary t-shirt and jeans. She usually doesn’t wear makeup or jewelry; she did tonight. As soon as I saw her I said, “Helen, we need to talk.” She nodded nervously. Cecilia smiled at us while I led Helen into the house.
“Helen, I wanted to make sure that you and I are on the same page about what happened.”
“Yes, I guess we should do that.”
“So what are you thinking?’
“Mark, I have to tell you the truth. I don’t know what to think. We don’t have anything in common. I never expected…I don’t even know if we make sense as a couple.”
“I totally agree, Helen. In every way measurable you outclass me.”
“What? Mark!”
“Wait, please Helen, hear me out. Don’t get me wrong. You know I have more than a healthy ego. I’m not faking humility. As a leader, as a Director, I know that there are very few men who can match me. I’m talking about me in a relationship. I’m inconsiderate and selfish. Worst of all, I don’t think I have it in me to be monogamous for very long.
You are an incredible woman. I think you know this. I don’t respect many people. I respect you. You deserve better than me.”
“Are…are you saying we shouldn’t be together?”
“No, what I’m saying is that if we get into a relationship, we have to both know that it’s not going to be equal. You’ll be getting less than you deserve and I’ll be getting more.”
Helen looked sceptical. “And that means?”
“It means that the only way I can be even partially be fair to you is to be honest. I want you, Helen. But I’m not going to lie to you. I have a lot of flaws. You already know most of them. I’m not a liar. I need you to understand that I will take anything you want to give me. We can go back to being colleagues. We can be friends. For my part, I want you. We both know that I could never do better than you. You almost make me wish I could be a better man.”
Now Helen looked pissed, “You ALMOST wish?”
I put my hands out, “Helen, I chose the word ‘almost’ on purpose. I’m 46. In less than two weeks I’m going to be 47. Men don’t change, especially men my age. If I thought that I could become a better man, I would tell you. I don’t believe in promising anything I can’t deliver.” I made a wry smile. “If we end up together, you’ll have to get used to being angry with me.”
Helen looked completely confused. I don’t think she’d ever had a conversation like this before.
“Please, Helen, before you make a final decision, think about it. I want you. I want to be with you. But, I will not lie to get you.”
Normally when I walk away from a conversation like this I’m amused. This time was different; I felt regret, maybe even longing. I wasn’t sure why. It’s possible that Helen really made me wish I was a better man. When I’m amused or ice cold, I trust my instincts. When I feel other emotions, I have to remind myself that humans are full of shit and that I’m human. I looked at my watch. I had more important things to do than to waste time getting in touch with my ‘feelings’.
Chapter 11: Mike Kim, September 11th to September 14th, Year 0
When I woke up I had no idea how long I had slept. Steel shutters covered my bedroom windows completely blocking the outside light. My alarm clock was blinking 12:00; I hadn’t reset the clock from when the power went out earlier.
I went downstairs. Alex, the missionaries, and Cecilia were sitting in the living room listening to the radio.
“How you feeling, Mike?” Alex asked.
I lied; my hangover now was twice as bad as it was this morning, “Not bad. What did you find out on the news?”
“The zombie outbreak wasn’t just here in Utah. They broke out at the same time across the whole country.”
“Why aren’t you watching the news?”
“Our cable is out. So is our phone and internet service. I opened up one of our shutters just a crack. Somebody crashed his truck into one of the telephone poles a couple houses down. The pole’s snapped off at the base and it’s lying on top of the wrecked truck. Without a Quest repair crew, we’re out of luck for internet, cable, or phone service. All we got is our cell phones. Steve, Wayne, and I tried making calls in the backyard but the cellular network is still down, probably too many people trying to use the network.”
Alex said that most of the radio stations were still broadcasting in the morning. As time went by, DJ’s announced that they and their crews needed to get to their families and signed off. Other stations abruptly went off the air. Alex and the rest were listening to Timmy Janga of 101.9. He was the only DJ still on the air. I sat down and listened with the others.
“It’s Timmy Janga and its 4:02 pm in Salt Lake City. We’re taking a call from Eric from Murray. Eric, what’s happening?”
“Thanks, Timmy for being the only one with the balls to stay on the air.”
“Thank you, Eric. I’ve always been known for my balls. How are you doing?”
“Better than my neighbors. It’s a mess out here in Murray. Thank God that I boarded up my windows a couple weeks ago. It was ridiculous how much Home Depot was charging for plywood but I’m glad I bit the bullet and bought them.”
“So you prepared for the zombies?”
“Damn right I did and I’m glad of it. I’ve got a little peek hole that I can use to look outside. It’s Armageddon out here. Half my neighbors are zombies. They’re going after everything that moves.”
“Are they coming after you? Do the zombies know that you’re home?”
“No. I know better than that. That’s why I’m calling. I want everyone listening to 101.9 hear this. If you keep quiet and don’t draw attention to yourself, the zombies
will leave you alone. I have…I used to have a neighbor, Dan Meadows who lived across from me. He tried to be a hero. He opened his second story window and started shooting at the zombies out on the street. I think the noise brought every zombie for miles to our neighborhood.
“There must of have thousands of zombies around his house. The zombies couldn’t get through his windows because they were boarded up. His front door had glass panes. He forgot to cover those panes. The zombies got into his house.
“I was worried that the infected would swarm my house after they were done with him. I kept my family kept out of sight and we didn’t make any noise. After a few hours most of them left our street, probably going after the next sucker making noise. I wanted to let all of your listeners know. Keep out of view and keep the sound down. You may think your house is zombie proof; this is a bad time to find out that you’re wrong. If you can, lay low.”
“Thanks, Eric. That’s good information and advice. Now it’s Cindy from Draper. What’s happening, hot stuff?”
Caller after caller went on the air and said the same things. The zombie outbreak occurred simultaneously across the whole country. No one calling had been able to contact any government officials. There was no word from the police, military, or even the LDS Church.
The US was no different from any other country when it came to zombies. Despite the example of every other country in the world, I hadn’t expected the US to fall apart. I expected better from my country. I assumed that all I had to do was to survive the initial zombie attack and make sure my house was protected. I thought that our government would be able to keep it together and eventually rescue all the survivors. Other countries might have been overwhelmed but I thought our country was different. We had the most time to prepare. The US was the most powerful country in the world. Our military was the largest and the best equipped. We had the most civilian owned guns. There had to be some sort of organization or group that had been able to keep it together. Only there wasn’t. I had expected it to be bad when the zombies made it to the States but not like this. For God’s sake, we should have been able to last longer than the French!