By early evening all was ready for the ceremony. As everyone arrived and began taking their seats Cynthia took one final look and was pleased with what she saw. The men had put up a raised platform near the lake. The lattice work on either side was covered in wild flowers. Pastor Jim was already on the platform and Mac, Tobin's best man, and Tobin were waiting off to the side.
Cynthia was insistent that Tobin and Crystal not see each other before the service started so Crystal and Amy were secreted behind a screened enclosure. Percy was giving Crystal away and was standing proud in his dress uniform. Mae was seated in the front with Ivy and her girls.
Cynthia thought back to her own wedding day and began to tear up as she thought of Myles, “None of that now this is Crystal's happy day.”, Cynthia said to herself.
Lup and Juan were seated on either side of Sue Anne. Lup was a bit fidgety not accustomed to wearing a suit and tie. Lup worked his finger around the collar of his shirt trying to make it less confining, “Are you sure its necessary to be all gussied up like this. Look that kid's wearin jeans and a T shirt.”
“Lupton you look very nice. You are a squad leader now, you need to set an example.”, Sue Anne admonished.
“Co-squad leader”, Juan corrected.
“Don't mind him Susie-Q, he just ain't one for sharin. Sue did you ever dream that a month ago, when we was holed up in that cafeteria. That we would be sittin at a wedding, all duded up, without a care in the world.”, Lup said.
Sue Anne shook her head, “To be honest this feels like the dream and I'm afraid I'm going to wake up and be back in that nightmare.”
“Don't fret none there ma'am me and Juan is on the case, we ain't never goin back to them days. Kearney is going to be a bit of a trick, but we are pickin away at it.”
Hazel came with Doc Linderman and like Lup she had exchanged the comfort of her buckskins for a fancy dress. Hazel and Doc were seated near the back since Krista was the flower girl and Hazel wanted to make sure Krista got started off OK.
Hazel leaned towards Doc, “You know Doc the lake reminds me a bit of my wedding to Clay. I can understand why Crystal chose this it is very picturesque with the moon reflecting off the water. The Algonquin would call that a harvest moon.”
“Is that so, well the full moon will help light the reception tonight.”, replied Doc.
Aaron Eckles was the music instructor at Lexington High. At a signal from Cynthia he began playing the music to accompany the wedding party, on the old piano dragged from the community room. The piano was a bit out of tune, but that was of little consequence. As Crystal took Percy's arm in preparation to head down the aisle, Aaron switched to the traditional 9th symphony.
“All rise”, Pastor Jim called out.
Everyone turned to see the radiant and smiling bride to be. When they reached Tobin, Percy placed Crystal's hand in Tobin's.
As Percy sat down next to Mae, Pastor Jim began, “Dearly Beloved we are gathered here....”
Chapter 10 - A Bigger World
Eric Lapass never considered himself a survivalist or a prepper, just practical and a bit of a tinkerer. Home was the suburbs, south of Chicago, with his wife Jill, twelve year old son David and eight year old daughter Mindy. Eric's job with the Road Commission gave him a heads up whenever the city was selling off used solar panels. He and David would repair them, getting their home off the grid. Some years ago Eric purchased hunting acreage in the southern part of the state and every summer pulled enough firewood from it to heat his home. Eric and Jill converted the majority of their yard to gardens and when Jill wasn't homeschooling the kids she was busy canning and preserving the garden surplus.
The neighbors liked to tease Eric for his unconventional lifestyle. Two years ago, when an ice storm took out the power and the Lapass home was the only one with heat and lights, those same neighbors came knocking, looking for a place to ride it out until the power returned. Eric and Jill graciously took them in and Eric even offered to help those that were interested in getting their own solar panels. However, once the juice was restored all thoughts of a backup strategy went away. Wishing to avoid further ribbing from his neighbors, yet still concerned about the ongoing sense of unrest, Eric secretly constructed a bunker under his garage.
One day in June, Eric and his crew were working on the Tri-State and there is always that idiot that ignores the lane closed signs. Waits to the last minute and forces his way into traffic. This morning that stunt caused a multi-car pileup. The police had ambulances pull into the closed lane. An older couple driving a late model Impala had died. The man was not wearing his seat belt and his chest was crushed by the impact into the steering wheel. The woman due to her height, her seat belt ran to high and snapped her neck. The ambulance crew had the bodies of the old couple waiting to be loaded. While busying themselves with other accident victims, unnoticed the old woman got up first followed a few minutes later by her husband.
The couple reached a police officer first. The policeman tried talking to them, but they just walked up to him and each grabbed an arm and began biting. One of Eric's crew pulled off the old woman and she turned her attention to his arm. She had lost her false teeth in the crash and her bites only left bruises. The police officer was not nearly so lucky as the old man continued to take large bites from his arm. The officers with no other recourse began shooting at the older couple. The bullets passing through their bodies did not deter them at all. Eric not knowing what else to do grabbed a pickaxe and stove in the skulls of the couple.
Eric used the excuse of his injured worker to call off work for the day and took his coworker to the nearest hospital. However, once they reached the hospital it was just as chaotic as the scene they just left. They decided to return to the shop, get their cars and return to their homes.
As soon as Eric got in the door he was greeted by Jill. “Eric what is happening out there I turned on the news and everything is crazy talk.”
“That is because it is crazy out there Hon, I just saw two people get back up after being killed in a car accident and attack a police officer.” Eric told her.
Cutting off further discussion, Eric put his family into action. “David help me with the shutters, Jill you and Mindy get anything else down in the bunker, make sure you got all the guns and Ammo.”
“Daddy can Maxie come down with us too?” Mindy asked, concerned for her pet Pomeranian.
“Of course honey, Maxie is part of the family too.” Replied Eric.
The first couple of days, what little information they got off the TV was nearly useless. Initially, it was some horrific footage of the dead walking and attacking people. Some tried to be helpful, reporting on how to recognize the risen dead, avoid being bit, and stay inside. The final transmission was from the demoralized President. He asked that anyone still able to hear him should do their best to keep themselves safe.
Eric had no better luck with his ham radio. There were a few prepper types that broadcast on occasion, most of them throwing out wild conspiracy theories of government plots, or military campaigns gone horribly wrong. A couple did advise that to stop a reanimated dead you had to end the brain, they also cautioned against trusting the living.
Eric and David had set up security cameras around the house. From watching the monitors in the bunker, they saw huge numbers of shuffling corpses wandering the street. Occasionally, a car would pull up and if there were no dead visible the occupants would jump out and loot the houses. Eric had fortified his home enough that it would take more than a sledge hammer to break down his doors. More than once they watched in horror as the looters were overtaken by groups of dead. After a couple of weeks things got pretty quiet, the dead would still shuffle by on occasion, but no more looters came.
After about a month, Eric and Jill decided to venture out to gather some fresh vegetables and berries from the gardens. They went out at midday when the dead were generally scarce. David and Mindy were keeping watch on the monitors and would radio it they saw anything. E
ric took the front yard to gather berries, Jill went into the backyard with Maxie to gather vegetables. The backyard was surrounded by a high fence making Jill feel safe. It was good to be outside and Maxie had a month's worth of energy to burn off. Jill busied herself clearing weeds that had infested her normally tidy gardens. She didn't notice that a fence board was being pried off, until Maxie started yipping.
She turned to see her neighbor, Jim Fields, tearing up bean plants and shoving them into a sack. “Jim you don't need to do that, we'll help you and Sally out with whatever you need. Remember the ice storm, it’s just like then.”
Jim gave her a crazed look. “Sally's gone, shut up that dog before it brings the biters.”
“I'll take him in Jim, just stop ripping up the plants.” Jill pleaded.
As Jill began to call Maxie, Jim drew a pistol and shot the small dog. Jill screamed and he turned the pistol on her, shooting her between the eyes. Eric entered the backyard just in time to see his wife fall. He raised his shotgun and obliterated Jim's head from his body, with a single round of double aught buck.
David called out on the radio. “Dad get back in, there are dead coming from everywhere.”
Eric went back into the bunker and shut off the monitors, so he and his children didn't have to watch the dead devour his wife. Tears streamed down Mindy's face and from that point on she never spoke again. The next day Eric went up to patch the fence and bury the remains of the bodies. This time David refused to be left behind and while his father worked he kept watch with the same shotgun his father had used just yesterday to kill their neighbor.
Fort Irwin the Mojave Desert
Lieutenant Colonel Mathias Mayhue was meeting with Major General Norman Armstrong. Fort Irwin housed so many non-combatant families that in the early days of the outbreak, creepers flowed through them like water and a lot of good men were lost saving the few that they could. Colonel Mayhue resented the General's resistance to just fire bombing the houses. He saw no sense in wasting the lives of good soldiers to rescue worthless civilians.
“Colonel we've received word from Camp Pendleton, they are about down to their last. It is time that we join forces and bug out.” General Armstrong stated.
“Do we have a destination sir?” Mayhue asked.
“It's been awhile, but my last report from Colonel Osgood said he was establishing a survivor stronghold in southern Nebraska.” The General responded.
“Southern Nebraska is a bit vague can you narrow it down a bit?” Mayhue questioned.
The General was irritated at his orders being questioned. “That is all I have soldier. We'll have to hope they got comms up and can guide us in. In any regard Nebraska has no where near the population we got here and worst case there are some world war II bunkers we could hunker down in.”
Colonel Mayhue stood behind his commander and studied the map. Slowly he pulled his knife and sunk it to the hilt in the General's lower back severing the spinal cord. “A little thing I picked up in Cambodia, called a head on a stick. I need you to look like you're turning, makes selling my story a little easier. I have no interest in wasting my men going after a bunch of jarheads, they can save their own bacon. You can also bet your ass I am not going to chase halfway across the country dragging a bunch of civilians along.”
Colonel Mayhue pocketed the General's insignia as he called out. “Sergeant Major.”
As SGM Stuart Redding entered the Colonel continued. “Sergeant the General is infected and is starting to turn, he got it from the civilians. Get our men loaded up we leave in fifteen.”
“The civilians sir, what do we do about them?” Sergeant Redding asked.
Mayhue scoffed. “Burn em before they turn, same goes for anyone outside of our unit, their all lost anyhow.”
Stu had been with his commander for so many years that he had long past given up questioning his orders, though his actions of late were a little over the top even for the Colonel. With nearly a hundred of his hand picked men, Colonel Mayhue pulled out of the blazing compound. The screams of the burning people they left behind followed them and put a ghastly smile on his face. Stu looked inquisitively as Colonel Mayhue affixed the General's insignia.
“Field promotion.” Mayhue responded to the unasked question.
“Where are we headed sir?” Sergeant Redding queried.
“Nebraska.” Mayhue answered curtly.
Chapter 11 – Seasons End
“Hello Krista, how are you this morning?” Nana had been working with Jillian on social behaviors and Jillian was pleased to practice a simple greeting with her friend.
“Hiya Jillian, Grandma is taking Britney and I out to help her collect medicines. Would you like to come along?” The younger girl responded.
“Oh yes, I don't know about medi...medicines, but I can watch for chomp ... I mean Dee's. I'm real good at keeping watch, you're my friend, I won't never let nobody hurt you.”
Krista and Britney each took one of Jillian's hands and the three scooted off to find Hazel. “Let’s go talk to Grandma then.”
Jillian looked to be every bit older than the other two girls, but developmentally she had stalled. Doc Linderman, the compounds physician, felt that may in part be due to a lifetime of abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Jillian, her father Zephram Nordstrom and Joyce Carter, had met on the road. Zephram, trying to find refuge from the roving dead he called Chompers, was taking his daughter to join family in Kansas. On the way they met Joyce Carter, who had been given directions to a survivor compound in south central Nebraska, established by Army Colonel Bryan Osgood.
En route to the compound Zephram's true nature came out and he viciously raped Joyce. When the trio arrived at the compound, Zephram attempted to maintain a threat over Joyce by refusing to let the three of them to be separated. However, the compounds council had put in place a quarantine process for new arrivals allowing Joyce Carter to freely tell her story.
In the end the council decided to separate Jillian from her father and exiled Zephram to a distant wilderness location. Meanwhile, the compounds homegrown militia used what they learned from studying the dead to exterminate any dead in a wide radius around their compound. The highlight of their campaign was leading the dead out of Lexington and into a trap. In the process they had rescued Krista, her grandmother Hazel and a group of over twenty five survivors including Britney Rose.
Even though they had salvaged large amounts of supplies from Lexington, winter was coming and they needed to prepare. After breakfast Mick Canales, the caretaker of the resort that had become the survivors compound, spread out a map in the council chambers. Gathered around Mick were the rest of the council, including council head Ivan “Mac” McPherson.
“So what can we expect to find there?” Queried Mac.
“Last I knew a few hundred buffalo and about the same for elk, plus deer and some of the finest fishing in these parts.” Replied Mick.
“It'll be a big undertaking and we are already so busy putting up vegetables and other preparations for winter, but the thought of not eating spam and canned tuna all winter is a good motivator for me.” Bob Ryker chimed in.
“Let's talk this over and have a bit of plan in place before we spill the beans to everyone. Blade should be back from Kearney tomorrow and I'd like Tobin's input on how we can preserve the meat for the winter.” Mac stated..
“We're going to need most hands on deck for this. It should be a nice change of scenery for folks, but this place will be a ghost town for a week or so.” Added Mick.
Two days later and Mac laid out the basics of the bison and elk hunt at their community supper. They would be going to a hunting preserve that kept the thousand or so acres of land enclosed within a fence. It wouldn't exactly be like shooting fish in a barrel, but the risk of the dead would be greatly reduced. Mac was looking for a hundred volunteers, thirty as primary hunters and the rest would be skinning, quartering the game, fishing and handling camp activities. They offered to allow twenty chil
dren, ten and up, to accompany their parents and children fourteen and up would be allowed to sign out weapons based upon security and parental approval.
Mac was quick to caution that days would be long and hard and conditions would be primitive. However, the allure of getting out and the assurance that three security details would accompany them had people quick to sign up.
“You should go Joy.” Bill Parsons encouraged.
“Tryin to get rid of me so soon Bill Parson?” Teased Joyce.
“Now you know that ain't so. I just thought you might enjoy getting out.” Stammered Bill, still nervous in his fledgling relationship.
Joyce beamed at him and squeezed his hand. “I know that Sweetie, but I’m a city girl and I'll take flush toilets over a hole in the ground anytime.”
Sara Parsons could remember when Bill would look at her like he was now looking at Joyce Carter. Back then it only mattered to her that her status in school was elevated by being Bill's girlfriend, now she could care less that Bill had feelings for another woman. Although she did care that people were seeing her husband pursuing not only another woman, but a black woman.
Dead States | Year Zero | Nebraska Page 24