by White, A. L.
Feeling like he had just been scolded, Charlie ran down the stairs into their dorm room and grabbed the two AR-15s, stuffing boxes of ammo into the coat pockets of the old winter parka. Charlie was in a mad dash down to the main level, as he passed other survivors who jumped out of his way. Once outside, he ran as fast as he could on the snowy ground, expecting to be at the truck ahead of Boo, and possibly grabbing the driver’s seat. Boo tended to do things well, but at his own pace. Charlie didn’t feel like this was a time to be cautious, they need to be quick. Unfortunately for Charlie, Boo was climbing into the driver’s side as Charlie made it to the truck. Without a word, Charlie opened the door and set the AR-15s into the cab before he climbed in himself. Boo was sitting there smiling as he waited for the light to go off telling them that the glow plug had warmed up enough to start the old diesel engine.
The engine roared to life with a puff of thick black smoke exploding from the exhaust pipe. Grinding the gears as he tried to find first, Boo started the truck up with a small lurch, sending them on their way.
Charlie felt like he was the cavalry in some old black and white western movie. Even fear couldn’t dampen the excitement that passed through his body at the prospect of saving the day and bringing those people to safety.
“Charlie, when we get over the bridge, we’re going to plow our way through everything that gets in our way; we’ll have the advantage of having cleaned the road off for the return trip home,” Boo said with a big smile.
Charlie nodded his head in agreement with the plan, despite the fact he wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work. The one thing he had learned was that Boo Peterson didn’t do anything without thinking it out first. Knowing that raised his expectations of the plan’s success rate more than just a little bit. Once they reached the opposite side of the main Street Bridge, Boo stopped the truck and lowered the plow to the road.
“This is where we can turn back, Charlie, if you’re having second thoughts,” Boo stated.
Charlie thought for a few minutes on the gravity of what they were about to do and the utter craziness of it, “I don’t think that I could live with myself if we didn’t try, Boo.”
“That’s good to hear, Charlie, because we may not live for trying,” Boo replied as he started to pull forward. Out of habit, Boo turned the knob on the radio to the on position and started looking for a station to listen to. Finding only static, he turned to Charlie and stated, “We’re going to have to find an old eight track player for this thing.”
When Charlie failed to see the humor in it, Boo started to explain about eight tracks, then thought better of it. He had seen plenty of young men go into battle for the first time, and he knew Charlie was sorting it all out in his head right now.
“Charlie, did it look like this group was this large from the roof?” Boo asked.
Charlie shook his head and said, “No, I think it has grown in size since we were looking.”
“Makes you wonder exactly how many there are out here in the farms.”
“Now that you mention it, I was just thinking that also. How do we hold off anything this big? Do we have enough guns and ammo to keep them out of town?”
“Oh, I think we can come up with a few things until the river freezes over. If it freezes over we may have an issue or two come our way,” Boo replied. “Get yourself ready, the fun’s about to start now, Charlie! Keep a very close eye out for that little car. I don’t want to smack into it at this speed.”
Charlie nodded his head yes and leaned forward before, “It was right in front of that pickup truck, so we have a ways to go yet.”
“Yup, about a mile I would guess. Shows you just how many creatures are out here, doesn’t it?”
Charlie nodded yes as the plow struck the outside of the herd, sending bodies and snow flying everyplace. It was hard to hold in the enthusiasm for Boo’s choice of the old plow truck now. The zombies were no match for the large truck moving at forty or fifty miles an hour; it was cutting a clear path through them. Every now and then the plow would skip up, off the ground, and the sound of cold steel on pavement would be gone; having trapped a body beneath it. Once the zombie was worn away or cut in two, the plow would lower and the sound would return.
Charlie looked behind them and saw that the herd was closing in on the road again. It was unsettling at first because it was their way home, but it passed quickly. The truck would cut a path through them; going back that way would come just as easily as heading out was going. Boo started to slow the truck down as the pickup grew closer. Charlie could see that no one was left in the small car that he judged to be an old Chevette. Charlie was amazed that there was still one running after all of these years. He had never thought they were a very durable car.
“Charlie, we can’t get past that,” Boo stated, pointing at the Chevette. “I think we can push it off the road, but that truck is too close to it. I think I would end up pushing it off the road too. Do you think you could climb up on the hood and yell to them to try and backup?”
Charlie thought Boo had lost it and gone completely crazy at first. Then he could see it was the only way to get any type of word to them. He rolled the old window down as best as he could. It was sticking from a year of being in the up position, but finally gave way and lowered. While climbing out the window, the true size and horror of the creatures around him became strikingly apparent. This was so much different than in the preacher’s house. Those moments in that house had been the scariest moments in his whole life up until climbing out of that truck window. Fingertips of flesh or bone were brushing against his legs, trying to grab hold of anything reachable. Luckily, the cab sat high enough so that only the tallest zombie could even come close to reaching him. If they had the ability or sense to jump, Charlie knew he would be torn to pieces.
The hood of the old GMC was cold and slippery. It was difficult to find any footing at all. In a half kneeling-half standing position, Charlie yelled, the loudest he could to be hear over the growling and moaning of the herd, at the driver in the truck. He told them to flash the lights if they could hear him.
The lights flashed on and off twice.
“If you can back up so that we can push that car off the road, flash twice,” Charlie yelled and then waited. When he saw no flashes, he yelled it once more, loud enough to strain his vocal cords. The lights flashed twice and the sound of the engine from the pickup roared as it forced its way back. A little at first, and then enough to try to move the Chevette.
Boo started forward, causing Charlie to slide back into the windshield with enough force to send cracks running in every direction. Charlie turned to look at Boo who shrugged and mouthed the word, “Sorry.”
***
Lori saw the snowplow coming toward them from the town they were heading to. Lights were beaming from the top of the cab, as well as high beams lighting the way as it grew closer. The herd was being shoved out of the way, bodies flying in every direction. The relief she felt at the prospect of being rescued, after all this time struggling to survive wherever they went, was immense. When the plow grew close enough, it came to a sudden stop. A man climbed out of the cab window onto the hood and started yelling something at her. Lori couldn’t quite make it out over the noise from the zombies, but she also realized that her window was all the way up. Rolling it down just enough to welcome sound but still keep the zombies out, the words became clearer. Flashing the headlights in response brought an excited response from the man who continued yelling to her. After a few minutes she understood; he wanted her to back up so that they could push the little car out of the way. Lori put the truck into reverse and eased the accelerator pedal down. The engine groaned, but there was no movement. It was like backing up to a cement wall and trying to nudge it back. Easing off the pedal, Lori closed her eyes and gave it more gas on the second attempt and was rewarded with a slight motion backwards. Once it began to move, the truck picked up little by little until she felt that there was more than enough room for the plo
w to move the car.
The plow truck backed up so as to angle the plow toward the car and started forward. The Chevette slid out of the way, down into the ditch, opening up the way into town. Not being able to help it, Lori smiled as the large truck worked its way in small bursts of forward and reverse until it was turned around, pointing back to town.
Boo blew the horn to let her know that they were ready to proceed back down the road. Lori answered them with two blows on her horn and was pleased to hear the same response come from the RV and bus. She let out a sigh of relief hearing both of her vehicles respond.
The plow started back to town when Lori noticed that it was spreading salt too. Funny that someone would even think about that now in these times, she thought to herself. Perhaps they didn’t want the zombies to slide on the ice. No matter what the reason was Lori wasn’t stopping until she was safely out of the herd and into that town.
“Looks like we will have a warm bed for the night,” Lori said to the boy she had picked up at the drive-in.
“Looks like it,” he replied.
Lori thought for a few minutes and then said, “You know, I don’t think I know your name.”
“You haven’t asked,” he replied.
“Ok, well I am asking you now.”
“My name is Walter, not Wally, but Walter.”
Smiling to herself Lori replied, “Glad to meet you, Walter, not Wally.”
The boy laughed at how funny it sounded, “Just ‘Walter’ will do. Do you think I will get a bed to myself?”
“Don’t know yet what kind of accommodations they will have, Walter, but we will sure try to get you one.”
***
The RV rocked like a boat on rough seas as the herd closed in on all sides. It was as if they thought pushing hard enough would force the box open, allowing the meaty morsels inside to be had. Every few minutes, Jermaine would direct everyone with a firearm to fire out one side or the other, causing the herd to falter in its relentless push. It was after one of these volleys that Al yelled out excitedly that they would be “Moving soon!”
Virginia made her way back to the front, having to push past the rest of the group. There she saw the plow shoving the little car out of the way with a crazy man standing precariously on the truck’s hood.
“Do you think they came to help us?” she asked Al.
“It sure looks like it! Doesn’t matter why they are here, we will take the help anyway,” Al said grinning from ear to ear.
“Look, they are plowing the road clear of the herd!” Virginia said to Jermaine.
The RV started to move, following Lori and the plow. It wasn’t as easy going as Lori was having; as the plow knocked the zombies out of the way for her, the herd closed back in around the back after she had passed. That didn’t stop Al; he pushed the pedal and kept driving straight ahead no matter what got in the way. The RV was no longer rocking from side to side, but more in an up and down motion as it went over the carcasses on the road left in Lori’s wake.
Chapter 16
The rescue had so far been a success and Boo knew it, even if he wasn’t saying much about it. Charlie thought that was odd, considering it had been Boo’s plan, but that was Boo.
“Looks like we are going to make it after all,” Charlie stated.
“Sure does, Charlie.”
“You sound as if you would rather we didn’t make it,” Charlie added.
Boo shot him a dirty look and then said, “Charlie, how many people do you think are in those three vehicles back there? Do we know what kind of people they are, or what their intentions are?”
“I don’t have any more of a way of knowing how many are back there than you do, Boo!”
“That’s right Charlie, you don’t know! For now, we have to be cautious once we cross the bridge. The last thing we want to do is invite trouble in the front door.”
Charlie thought in a small way he could see what Boo was talking about—in a small way. On the other hand, those people were survivors of this messed up world just like they were. If there was a small way that they could help them, then that is what they should do.
The rest of the ride back to the bridge was quiet, with neither of them saying anything. Once they crossed the bridge into Rivers Crossing Boo pulled off into an old, rarely used lot where a used car lot had been for a short time back in the late 80’s. He watched as the other three vehicles pulled in behind him. Climbing down out of the truck with his rifle in hand, he made his way slowly to the black truck where the young woman rolled her window down.
“Thank you very much!” she stated. “I thought we were going to have to fight our way out of that mess back there!”
“You’re welcome, young lady,” Boo replied as he looked her and the kid over. “How many people do you have, and how are you set for supplies?”
Lori thought for a few minutes trying to gauge if this was a safe place to talk about what they had for supplies when she heard a voice from the other side of the truck say, “We have more than enough to pay for our stay.” Her head snapped around to see Zoe standing there with Virginia and the lads.
Boo started over to the woman but backed off seeing Zeus and Perseus. “Nice dogs you have there.”
Zoe ignored the comment and replied, “My name is Zoe. This is Virginia, the lady in the truck is Lori, and these two here are Zeus and Perseus.”
“Glad to meet you, Zoe. My name is Beau, but everyone around here just calls me ‘Boo.’ That there in the truck is Charlie. Welcome to Rivers Crossing.”
Lori stepping out from the truck asked, “We have over sixty people with us; can you fit us in for a few days?”
“I think we can. We turned an old school and library into a sort of keep, you could say. Plenty of room for everyone there. You will have to talk to the town council about staying, but I am sure they will go along with it.” Boo knew that as much as he disagreed, Doc wasn’t turning anyone away from Rivers Crossing.
Charlie had finally joined them in front of the trucks, looking agitated that Boo hadn’t called him to come out.
“Hi, I am Charlie. Welcome to Rivers Crossing,” he stated as he trudged through the snow to meet them. He knew instantly from the dirty look he got from Boo that it was a mistake to leave his gun in the truck.
Charlie knew that Boo worried about things that they all probably should have worried about too. In this case, it was pretty simple to Charlie. They thought they were probably the only ones that survived, and here was proof that there were others. It would seem that the more there were of them, the better chance they had to survive a little longer.
“Well, Charlie, maybe we should lead these folks over to the school so they can meet Doc and the council. Get them fed and bedded down for the night. We can take this conversation back up in the morning,” Boo stated.
“I think you're right, Boo. Let’s get them moving. Ladies, if you would be so kind as to follow us over to the school,” Charlie explained motioning up Main Street.
“Zoe, why don’t you go ahead with the others and follow them over. If you would take little Walter with you, and mind you it is Walter, not Wally; Virginia and I will hang back by the bridge a little while and make sure that nothing is following us in.”
Zoe nodded her head in agreement and smiled, motioning for Walter to come from the truck with her to the RV.
“Charlie, why don’t you go with the ladies here,” Boo said.
Before either of them could object, Charlie said yes and walked over by Lori. They watched as the vehicles pulled out and headed off to the school. A lone figure stood over where the RV had been parked and started coming toward them. Charlie reached for his gun and remembered he had left it in the plow cab.
“I thought you would stay with us,” Lori stated to the large figure coming toward them.
“I wanted to stretch my legs a little before we got wherever we are going,”
“If you were worried about the ladies being safe out here with me, you didn’t have
anything to worry about,” Charlie said.
The man broke out in a wild sounding laugh and he was laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks.
“Friend, if these two dogs didn’t want you near them, or thought you would harm to this little girl, you would be on the ground in a whole lot of pain. If—now if—they let you pass to get to her, and she didn’t want you there… you would wish that the dogs had taken care of you before she got to you. And that little lady there, well, I am not sure you would ever consciously know that you hit the ground, or even if your last thoughts on earth would be how you got to that point. You could say I am here to keep you safe,” Jermaine stated, laughing the whole time. Then as suddenly as he had started laughing, he stopped and turned to Lori and Virginia. “You think they will follow us in?”
“That has been the story in the past. They follow the food once they have caught the scent.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, too,” Jermaine replied.
“If you want to keep an eye on them, we have the perfect spot. We don’t have to stand on the bridge to do it. On the roof of the school we can see in all four directions. That’s how we saw you guys coming down the road behind that little car.”
“If we could see everything, Lori, it would be better,” Virginia added.
“Okay, we will go over to your school and see what we can see from up there,” Lori decided. “How far up the road is it?”
“It’s about two blocks. Once you pass that little bend in the road there, you can see the school and library,” Charlie replied.
“The lads and I will walk and meet you there,” Virginia stated as her and the dogs started down the street.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Charlie asked Lori and Jermaine.
“If there are any zombies between here and the school the dogs will know it, and Virginia will take care of them. If there are any two–point–zeros here, Virginia will let us know when she gets there.”
“Two-point-zeros?”
Jermaine couldn’t help laughing at Charlie again, “You guys haven’t tried to understand or deal with the zombies much here, have you?”