by Chesla, Gary
Tony desperately dove at Jamie, trying to reach the little girl before Sherry’s outstretched arms could grab her.
Tony dove over the coffee table, landing on top of the little girl as he felt Sherry land on top of his back.
Tony used his left arm to break his fall and keep his full weight from landing on top of Jamie as he slid his right arm around Jamie.
He felt Sherry’s arms hitting his back as they tried to grab at Jamie.
Fortunately for Tony, Sherry had been so focused on Jamie, that she didn’t realize that Tony had jumped between her and the little girl.
Tony frantically got to his knees, holding Jamie tightly against his body and used his free elbow to slam it against Sherry, knocking her off his back and to the floor
Tony quickly got to his feet and ran behind the couch.
Jamie was crying, scared by Tony’s body driving her into the floor.
Tony looked her over to be sure that he hadn’t done any serious damage, then ran his hand over her head and spoke softly, “Don’t cry, you’re fine.”
“You hurt my head,” Jamie cried.
Just then Mike came running down the stairs, his bow in hand, to see what the loud noise caused by Tony hitting the floor and the sliding furniture was all about.
He stopped half way down the stairs when he saw Tony’s overturned chair and Tony standing by the couch holding the crying Jamie.
“What happened?” Mike started to ask, then he saw Sherry struggle to get to her feet.
When Sherry had made it to her feet, she raised her head to look towards Tony and Jamie.
“Oh Shit!” Mike yelled when he saw the lifeless gray face open its mouth and let out a loud groan.
Sherry raised her arms and began to stagger towards the couch, dragging her body in awkward jerky motions.
Mike raised his bow, intending to put an arrow in Sherry’s head, but stopped when Tony shouted.
“No Mike, not in here!” Tony yelled.
A shriek sounded from behind Mike as Linda came down the stairs.
“What happened?” Linda asked, then she saw Jamie crying. “Oh my God, what happened to Jamie.”
“She’s OK,” Tony said as he moved over to the stairs and handed Jamie to Linda.
“Take Jamie upstairs,” Tony said. “Mike, come with me.”
Go where?” Mike asked as he watched the ghoulish figure of Sherry try to climb over the couch to get at him and Tony.
“We have to lead her outside before we put her down,” Tony said. “We can’t risk splattering her brains all over the living room. Remember the virus, if we get her blood over everything in the house, it could make this place too risky for us to stay here. We might get ourselves infected. We have to lure her outside to the woods.”
“OK, I’m all for that,” Mike replied. “How do you suggest we get her outside. If we grab her, she could end up biting one of us.”
“Fortunately, there is only one walker to deal with and she isn’t very fast,” Tony said. “I’ll let her chase after me and you run over and open the door and go outside. I’ll lead her outside and over to the woods line. When I yell, you put an arrow in her head.”
“This is a small room, it is going to be a short race,” Mike said.
“I know, so when she comes around the couch, move your ass over to that door as fast as you can,” Tony replied.
Mike nodded.
Sherry fell over the back of the couch and landed on the floor in front of Mike and Tony.
“Go now,” Tony yelled, pointing to the right side of the couch.
Mike ran around the couch and went over to the door, watching Sherry over his shoulder as he removed the boards that barred the door shut.
Tony started yelling and waving his arms to get Sherry’s attention.
“Hey, this way,” Tony shouted, continuing to wave his arms in the air.
Sherry staggered towards Tony, her arms outstretched, reaching for him as she moved.
Tony let her get within three feet of him, constantly looking in Mike’s direction to watch his progress and to buy him the time needed to get the door open.
Tony slowly moved backwards, leading Sherry across the room.
Mike yelled as he swung the door open, the sound of the door slamming into the wall echoed through the living room.
“The door is open,” Mike yelled, then he turned and ran outside.
Tony slowly walked across the room, keeping Sherry close enough to be interested in him, but far enough away to give him room for error in case he tripped over something like George who was still hiding somewhere in the living room.
Mike watched the door as Tony slowly backed out on the porch and approached the steps leading down to the yard.
Mike cringed as Sherry’s body staggered out onto the porch.
She had looked creepy inside in the low light, but all the gross changes that her body had undergone became blaringly clear in the bright sunlight.
She had been an innocent looking teenager yesterday.
Her scared blue eyes and her dirty stringy long light brown hair had made Mike feel sorry for her when he and Tony found her yesterday, a poor kid that had to handle the problems of the world on her own way to soon.
She had suffered the loss of her entire family and now through no fault of her own, she had become a grisly monster, that before the world had gone to hell, had only existed in his nightmares and horror movies.
What scared Mike the most was the thought that this could be any one of them, at any time, without notice.
It could be Jamie or Linda and it could happen anytime no matter how much he did to try and protect them.
Mike felt he could protect them from zombies, but with the realization that he wouldn’t be able to protect them from the things he couldn’t see, the invisible virus or whatever it was, terrified him.
They all had tried to take in Sherry and protect her, to no avail.
The virus had taken her family and now it had taken her.
The walkers had died off, but that had only resulted in giving them a false sense of security.
The real demon, the virus, was still with them.
Mike didn’t know if he could stand here and watch as Tony led Linda out of the house like this.
He knew he would never be able to do what he had to do next.
It was different, shooting a walker that you never knew or didn’t have any feelings for.
But to kill a walker that had been a part of your life would be like killing a part of yourself.
Mike had only known Sherry for a few hours, but he knew he would still be killing part of his life.
A small part, but he knew it would affect him in ways he couldn’t realize yet.
“Now Mike,” Tony shouted as he backed into the edge of the tree line in the back yard.
Mike lifted the bow, took aim and let the arrow fly.
Sherry fell, dropping to the ground in front of him.
Mike looked at the upstairs window to see Linda staring down into the yard as tears ran down his cheeks.
Linda, carrying Jamie in her arms, came out of the house and ran over to Mike.
“That was close,” Tony said as he put his hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Doing what you have to do still hurts.”
“When I looked at her, I saw all of us,” Mike said.
“I know,” Tony replied as Linda and Jamie hugged Mike.
“Linda, you and Jamie stay here,” Tony said. “Mike, we need to get that couch and blanket out of the house.”
Mike nodded.
Linda and Jamie moved away from Jamie’s body and sat down in the grass.
Mike and Tony went back into the house and came out a few minutes later carrying the couch.
On the couch was the blanket and pillow that Sherry had used.
“Let’s take this back into the woods,” Tony said. “I would like to burn it, but I’m still leery of sending smoke signals up in the sky where someone could see it.”
“Let’s open all the downstairs windows first,” Tony said. “We can let the house air out while we bury her.”
“Do you think it is still safe for us to stay here?” Mike asked.
“I hope so,” Tony replied. “I don’t know what else to do. I certainly don’t know of anywhere else we can go that would be any safer.”
“I don’t mind telling you, this whole thing scares the hell out of me,” Mike said.
“You mean having to put the girl down?” Tony asked.
“Not only that,” Mike replied, “but why we had to do it.”
“We had to do it because she became infected,” Tony said.
“But why did she become infected,” Mike added. “How did she become infected. All I could think as I was watching you lead her out here was that it could be any of us at any time and we wouldn’t even know it was happening to us.”
“So, what do you think we should do about it?” Tony asked, “because I don’t have the least idea.”
“That’s what frustrates me, I don’t have any idea how to protect Linda and Jamie,” Mike replied. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“We can start by airing out the house,” Tony said. “Then we just try to use our heads and do what we think is best. That’s all we can do. If that doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work.”
“If anything like this ever happens to Linda or Jamie, will you promise me that you will take care of it,” Mike said softly. “Because I could never….”
“You can’t think like that,” Tony replied. “It will drive you crazy. If you go crazy, then you won’t be able to think straight and then you won’t be worth shit and then it will be up to me to save everyone. If you start slacking off, I’ll have no choice but to kick your ass.”
“You’ll try old man,” Mike smiled.
“Now that’s how you have to think,” Tony grinned. “That’s all any of us can do. We have to be positive.”
Mike laughed, “Now where have I heard that before?”
“I don’t know, but if you ask me, who ever said it, it was good advice.” Tony smiled. “It’s all we’ve got.”
Mike and Tony went inside the house and opened all the downstairs windows and left the front door open when they came outside.
Then they buried Sherry’s body, dragged the couch further into the woods and rolled it over on top of the pillow and blanket.
When they came back to join Linda and Jamie, Jamie was holding George.
“Where did George come from?” Mike asked.
“He came out of the house right after you came out,” Jamie replied. “I think he was getting lonely.”
Linda smiled, “How long do you think we should stay out here?”
“There is a good breeze blowing,” Tony replied. “I’m no expert, but since there wasn’t any blood or body parts in the house, I would think a of couple of hours should do it.”
Linda nodded.
“I’m hungry,” Jamie said.
“Me too,” Linda added. “I was thinking one of those cherry pie things would taste good about now.”
“I don’t know,” Tony said trying to look serious, but a smile finally spread over his face. “I was thinking that we should throw all of those things out now.”
“uh-uh!” said Jamie.
Tony laughed.
“I was joking, MREs could survive a nuclear war,” he grinned. “In fact, it would only make them taste better.”
Jamie smiled.
“Wait here, I’ll go in and bring a few out,” Tony said.
“By the way, I haven’t had my morning coffee yet,” Mike added.
Tony smiled, then walked to the house.
Chapter 19
July 2nd, Granite Mountain
Chervy walked down the tunnel.
The mood this morning was subdued after yesterday’s discovery that the conditions outside of Granite Mountain may be worse than the men had anticipated.
They now suspected that they had not been able to find any survivors because the environment was too contaminated for the living to survive.
Chervy finally reached Doc’s office and went inside.
Doc was busy looking over some papers he had scattered out on the table in front of him.
“Good morning, Doc,” Chervy said. “What are you working on this morning?”
“I was reviewing the inventory of medical supplies and equipment here at Granite Mountain,” Doc replied. “I went through the medical supplies earlier in case we needed them, but I figured it was about time that I became familiar with all the equipment we have.”
Doc sighed and sat back in his chair.
“Since it appears that we may not be finding anyone that will be needing our assistance, I should begin assembling the equipment I will need to keep us all healthy. Living in such close quarters, we can’t afford for anyone to catch any type of infectious illness. If I’m not prepared, an infection could spread to all of us quickly. It’s time I begin to focus my attention on the things we will need to survive.”
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to dying of old age,” Chervy laughed.
“There are worse things to die of,” Doc replied. “But I know that I don’t need to tell you that.”
“No, unfortunately, I think I’ve seen all the other ways,” Chervy sighed.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Chervy asked, “since it appears I will have a lot of extra time on my hands without anything to do.”
“You can keep searching for any signs of activity,” Doc replied. “Have you started to examine all the equipment in the communications bay?”
“I assumed that you wouldn’t need me to keep looking for signs of life any longer after what we saw yesterday,” Chervy said. “Do you still want me to check out all the communication equipment since there isn’t anyone left for us to communicate with?”
“Despite what we saw yesterday, I still think it is premature to stop looking for survivors,” Doc answered. “If there is anyone left, we won’t find them if we aren’t looking for them.”
“I guess you’re right, but I think I’ve looked just about everywhere,” Chervy replied. “Any suggestions?”
“I’ve been thinking, since we haven’t been able to find anyone on land, maybe we should start looking off the coast,” Doc said.
“You think so?” Chervy asked. “Two months is a long time for someone to tread water. If they didn’t drown by now, well, there are sharks out there.”
Doc laughed.
“I’m serious Doc,” Chervy said. “What do you expect to find off the coast?”
“When the infected were about to overrun the base, I remember the Captain saying that the Navy had recalled all our ships to come back to help our bases back at home,” Doc replied. “He said, unfortunately it would take them weeks to get back home, way too late to help us. All our ships should have returned home by now.”
“But they would have walked blindly into the infection,” Chervy said. “If one of them became infected on a ship, as fast as the infection spreads, everyone on the ship would be gone in a day.”
“I agree,” Doc replied. “But if we are going to find any life, it seems like our Naval bases would be the next place we should be looking. Command of a ship requires one to be resourceful and be able to overcome many obstacles. I know the odds are not favorable, but I believe it is worth a look.”
“And if we do find anyone, we need a way to communicate with them,” Chervy added.
Doc nodded, “We know what frequencies the Navy uses. If we are fortunate enough to find anyone alive, we need a way to speak with them, not just broadcast. We need a two-way set up. With everything the government put here, I’m sure even they would have given Granite Mountain a way to communicate with other survivors. Having a two-way set up wasn’t important when we were looking for civilians, because they probably wouldn’t have a way to respond. But the military would.�
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“I’ll get on it right away,” Chervy replied.
As Doc and Chervy were talking, Rogers and Davis entered the bay.
Chervy turned when he heard them walk in to join him and Doc.
“Were you two down at the situation room looking for me?” Chervy asked. “I’m afraid I haven’t made it down to my station yet. There were a few things I needed to discuss with Doc first.”
“No, we figured there wouldn’t be much happening down there today, so we decided to report to Doc to see what he wanted us to do,” Davis replied.
“Yeah, we figured we wouldn’t be going out in the drone again for a while,” Rogers added sounding disappointed.
“Doc, Rogers really likes flying around in that drone,” Chervy laughed. “I think he is going to be disappointed if you don’t send him out on an assignment so he can ride in the drone.”
Doc smiled, “That’s good, because I have another trip I need to send you boys on today.”
Roger’s eyes lit up.
“I want you to go back out to Stone and collect some soil and air samples,” Doc said. “After what we saw yesterday, I would like to know if the concentration of the virus is higher or the same at Stone as it is here on Granite Mountain.
What we saw yesterday was shocking to say the least. I want to know if it was because the virus is more prevalent there than it is here. It may help me understand what we saw taking place. If the concentration is the same as it is here, then we will need to take some additional precautions to protect ourselves from the virus.”
“Sure thing, Doc,” Rogers said.
“Is there any specific place you want us to collect your samples?” Davis asked.
“I was thinking two samples should do it,” Doc replied. “I would like for you to take an air sample and a soil sample at the food drop site and then at the cemetery.”