by Dean James
I fell silent. Most people would not have noticed the change in his features, but I could tell what he had found scared him to his core. That did very little to calm my own nerves.
“It turned sometime when we were in the basement,” he started. “It was going crazy when I found it, so I took away almost everything that could be a problem for me, hence the arms and legs. But I noticed something in its face that seemed different from the ones before. I left it hanging with the room exactly the way I found it, with the lights off.”
With that, Chris killed the lantern. Shadows leapt from the floor, engulfing us in almost complete darkness. Shafts of light from the dreary day penetrated the room through the cracks in the shuttered windows. I could hear the creature continue to struggle against its restraints in the oppressive darkness.
“Take the light and go to the other side of the room, turn it back on and look at that thing,” he said.
“You can just tell me what you found out.” Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what he discovered. Chris wasn’t one for theatrics, so what he wanted me to see was bound not to make my day any better.
“Humor me,” he replied simply.
I waited until my eyes adjusted enough to not trip over my own feet before slowly shuffling to the other side of the room. I couldn’t tell in the dark if I heard teeth clacking together, or if its jawbone was just popping. I didn’t know what Chris had done to the man after I blacked out, but I hoped it hurt. I finally stopped when I bumped against the opposite wall.
I turned the lantern on, shielding my eyes from the sudden light. When I could see again, I suddenly wished that I couldn’t. The creature’s head had tracked my movements. It stared back at me, its eyes shining black under the dim light. It had lost none of its zeal to feed on me, stretching its neck outward as it strained to bite.
“It can see in the dark,” Chris said, almost to himself.
“Are you sure? Maybe it heard me walking.”
“Trust me. That thing can’t hear a sound anymore,” Chris said in a tone that implied that I shouldn’t ask questions. “That’s not all. Keep watching.”
Reluctantly, I crouched down to stare back into the black orbs. White eyes at least could be explained. It seemed almost natural, if the word natural could be used for a walking corpse. Black though, that was completely inhuman. If there was any part of me that believed these things had any humanity left, I was cured of those thoughts the moment I saw those demon eyes.
I watched, waiting for the next horrifying event to take place to add to my ever growing list of reasons I would never sleep again. I didn’t have to wait very long. The undead never fail to deliver on horror in short order. It was as if heavy cream had been poured into a cup of black coffee. A white swirl appeared in the center of its eyes, mixing around in the blackness until it began to lighten. In a matter of seconds, its eyes were white again.
“Holy shit!” I exhaled, falling back on my ass.
“Yeah.”
“What the hell was that!”
“Adaptive vision. From what I can tell, they’re evolving into better hunters. I thought about what you said last night, and I think you’re right. Not that there’s any intelligence, but instinct makes perfect sense.”
I scrambled to my feet and shot towards the door. I wanted to put as much distance between myself and that thing as I could. I was out the door, gasping for air in seconds. I heard Chris hang the lantern up before following me out. I turned back towards him, just to make sure he completely closed the door behind him.
“I thought you said they couldn’t see in the dark?!” I am not ashamed to say the revelation that I had just witnessed had me visibly shaking.
“The ones in the wild don’t yet. Don’t forget, that one has been in almost total darkness since you got here. I think within a week or two we’re going to be asshole deep in bug eyed zeds.”
“You like the freak show?” a familiar voice called from above. I looked up to find Mark sitting halfway out the second floor window of the house. Tendrils of blue smoke wrapped around him, emanating from the half finished cigarette between his fingers. A black rifle barrel rested across his lap.
“Hey!” Chris called up. “I said no smoking in the house!”
“I’m half outside,” Mark replied taking another drag. “Only that half is smoking.”
“I thought you quit,” I said. I welcomed the subject change to calm my nerves.
“I did, until a mob of dead people ran me out of my house. I thought I’d give it another whirl.” Mark took one last drag and flicked the smoldering butt away. “Cancer just doesn’t seem like a main concern anymore.”
“Better not tell Matt you have those. You might have to share,” I said.
“Where do you think I got them from?” he smirked mischievously. “He’s a heavy sleeper.”
“Dick move man!” I laughed. “Hey, is Adam up there?”
“Nope. He’s gone.”
“Gone? When?”
“Probably right after I told him to leave,” Chris answered.
“You threw him out? You don’t think we could have smoothed things over?” I asked.
“Not after the shit he pulled when you left,” Chris replied.
“I wouldn’t worry about him,” Mark said. “That guy was a fully licensed and certified asshole. We’re better off with him gone.”
“Definitely. Come on, I’ve got something to show you,” Chris said.
“I’m still not over the last thing you showed me!” I glared at him.
“Trust me, you’ll like this one,” Chris smiled.
“You gonna show him the Beast?” Mark grinned.
“The Beast?” I raised an eyebrow at Chris.
“Follow me.”
**********
“Damn!” was the only word I could think to say when Chris opened the barn’s oversized bay doors.
The behemoth that had recently been an integral part of Chicago’s public transportation system had been transformed into a rolling zombie ass kicking fortress. Every inch on the bus had been painted matte black. Corrugated metal inhabited the spaces where the large windows once sat, reinforced with the same rebar mesh protecting the farm house. Large metal shark fin type blades ran the length of the vehicle. They were sharpened on the front and would leave a devastating wound across the midsection of anything that got too close as it drove by. Two snow plows welded together in a V shape were attached to the front. The bottoms of the scoops were cut into saw like serrations. The whole contraption looked like it was meant to slice and push aside simultaneously.
Above the plow, the windshields had been protected much the same way as every other window. Large plates of corrugated steel had been bolted over the glass, with the same rebar mesh covering it all. It took a minute, but my brain finally broke through the awe I found myself struck with.
“Umm, how do you drive this thing?” I asked.
“With the steering wheel,” Chris replied.
“Okay smart ass.” I glanced sideways at him. “How do you see where you’re going? And God help you if you say with your eyes!”
“Well, that’s where you come in,” Joe said strolling up behind us so quietly even Chris jumped.
“How the hell did you do that?!” Chris demanded.
“Do what?” Joe asked.
“Look like Paul Bunyan and still sneak up behind me!”
“I’ve been practicing,” Joe smirked.
“Anyway,” I interjected. “Where do I come in?”
“I’ve got some CCTV cameras set up towards the top of the windshield. There’s a few along the sides and the back too. We have some big monitors mounted in front of the driver. Good ones too. The whole system is color, night vision, the works.” Joe puffed up proudly.
“Interesting,” I said looking around for the cameras. Joe was a genius around anything with a motor, and he could fabricate just about anything. Invisible cameras must have been one of those things, because
damned if I could find them anywhere.
“Problem is,” he continued. “I can mount them, but wiring stuff like that isn’t my thing. Chris here can blow things up pretty good, but that doesn’t help getting things wired up.”
“Hey!” Chris protested. “I’ve wired a few things up before!”
“Did one end of your wiring job usually explode?” Joe chided.
“Well, yeah. Mostly,” Chris answered.
“I rest my case.” Joe winked at me.
“Those things will take a bit of power to run. Not so much the cameras, but the monitors will be electricity hogs. I don’t know how much power we can draw off the bus’s batteries and alternator without it becoming a problem,” I said.
“We thought of that. We’ve layered the roof with solar panels. I’ve got the makings for a small battery bank inside too. Not just for the cameras, but to store power for other things too. I thought as long as the bus is moving, we might as well get a battery stockpile if we can.”
“Good thinking! I’m guessing you need the guts wired together?”
“You read my mind,” Joe replied. “So…impressed?”
“Very!” I nodded in approval. “Where did you get the solar equipment?”
“I bought a kit so I wouldn’t have to keep messing around with the generator every time a storm knocked out power,” Chris replied. “We just got creative with it.”
“Want to see the inside?” Joe motioned towards the bi-fold doors.
“Do leprechauns crap four leaf clovers?” I replied. Joe stared at me as if I had suddenly sprouted wings and started doing loop de loops in the barn.
“He means yes,” Chris sighed.
“He’s as crazy as you are!” he said to Chris, thumbing in my direction.
“Hey, now!” I protested. “I’m older. At best his crazy is a Xerox copy.”
“Great. I’m stuck in the zombie apocalypse with not one, but two crazy Fosters,” he said, shaking his head. “Alright come on, just don’t touch anything yet. Dan, I’m looking at you.”
“No promises,” I said sarcastically as Joe led us inside.
After flipping a few switches, the interior lit up with a florescent glow. Two large LCD monitors were placed side by side, taking the place of the even larger windshields. But it was the CB radio between the monitors that caught my attention.
“They actually found one of these?” I asked.
“Oh yeah,” Chris answered. “How do you think they got here? Those two are terrible with directions.”
“But where is yours? I didn’t see anything in the house.”
“Radio’s in the basement. Antenna’s on the roof. I try to have someone listening all the time, and this time we got lucky.”
“Awesome,” I said as I continued to look around the bus.
Most of the seats that had occupied the cabin had been removed. Only the two rows closest to the driver remained. Behind the seats on the driver’s side, sleeping bags, cookware, and other camping essentials were neatly stacked. The other side held what I assumed was their idea of a battery bank. It was more like a metal shelving unit with a bunch of car batteries piled up next to it. Cables and wires hung from the roof running the length of the bus. A wood panel bisected the front and back of the vehicle.
“What’s with the wall?” I asked.
“Behind that is mainly storage. It’ll be more accessible by the time we leave, but for now we didn’t want everyone in the house to know what’s back there,” Chris responded.
“Okay. What’s back there?” I pressed.
“General stuff. Food, cots, blankets, clothes. But it’s the guns and ammo we’re trying to keep quiet,” Chris said. “Joe’s rigged some spare tanks together back there to store as much fuel as we can when we find it. We’ve got the main tank full, and the spares are about half.”
“You think everything’s safe?” I questioned.
“Well, not as safe as I would like,” Joe replied. “The National Transportation Safety Board would shit a six ton brick of they saw what I did back there.”
“Supply wise, it’s probably not the best solution either,” Chris chimed in. “But if we get into a running fight, I want to have somewhere to run to. Right now, this is it. Once you get this wired up and we get some holes cut into the side plates for shooting, this will be our permanent Plan B.”
“I’ll need a few things,” I said. “Think you can scrounge up a few parts here and there?”
“The world is our department store. Hell, Joe can even afford to shop at places pricier than thrift stores now,” Chris chuckled. “You tell us what you need, and we’ll get it.”
I glanced around the bus interior, nodding to myself. It was rough, and traveling in it would be hard. Overall though, it was a damn good start. I studied the interior, formulating some ideas that might be helpful if we found ourselves on the road longer than we planned. I suddenly noticed Chris was watching me with a sly grin on his face.
“Okay Brain, out with it. What are you thinking?” he asked.
“Not much Pinky,” I chided. “I was just wondering if there was a hobby shop around that caters to radio control enthusiasts. If we find some RC helicopters, I could wire in a mini camera so we could get some real time information before we set up for the night. Maybe we could even find some actual hobby drones. It would help to get information before heading into new areas.”
“Reconnaissance drones! Damn good idea!” Chris elbowed Joe in the ribs. “Only ten minutes in and he’s already making this heap stronger.”
“Heap?!” Joe snapped back. “Hey, it’s no Bradley fighting vehicle, but it’s far from a heap!”
“Hey, that’s right! What ever happened to your big plan to go find a Bradley? That was your ace in the hole “what if” plan!” I teased.
“It still is smart ass!” He glared at me. “They’re hard to find right now. When the zeds started walking, they pulled every asset they could to protect high value targets. It just got worse when Washington went nuclear. Every asset east of the Mississippi was…”
“What!” I interrupted. “What the hell do you mean ‘when Washington went nuclear’?”
Their faces dropped in unison. Nothing could have masked the sadness written across Joe’s face. Without another word he turned away, walking off the bus and back to the house. .
“No one’s told you,” Chris sighed. “On purpose,” he added.
“Told me what?! This hiding shit from me ends right now. Spill it!”
“Washington DC is gone. A couple days before we lost power, it was all over what was left of the news. DC wasn’t the only one either. London, Moscow, Beijing…gone.”
“Did we hit back!?” I asked without thinking.
“Hit who? There were no launches detected, no imminent attack warnings. Bombs just exploded. There was a lot of talk as to the whys and the how’s. It was all just bullshit speculation. A lot of talk, but no real answers.”
“Jesus,” I exhaled, falling back into one of the seats. “Joe’s family…”
“Not a word,” he interrupted. “But honestly DC was overrun within the first couple days. He still held on to some hope. Even if they managed to survive the infection, there’s no chance now.”
“He’s hiding it well,” I thought out loud.
“It’s Joe. He’ll never let on what he’s feeling. But it’s killing him. In fact, I think I’m going to follow him and make sure he’s okay. You good out here?”
“Yeah. I’m going to get some work done. I could use some alone time.”
He stopped at the door, sighing again.
“Don’t we all…”
Chapter Forty
I was angry. My anger was directed at everyone and yet no one in particular. The sheer stupidity of man simply boggled my mind. Here we were, sitting at the precipice of extinction. The most virulent and destructive infection mankind had ever seen had sauntered its way across the globe unchallenged. People were dying by the millions, yet someone
out there had decided that wasn’t quite good enough. They had to take it one step further and unleash the most destructive weapon man had ever conceived on potentially millions of survivors.
For what reason? Government bodies deciding that if they can’t hold on to their little slice of hell, no one could have it? Rouge military leaders deciding if they were going down, so was everyone else? Or was it a terrorist group trying to get the last “fuck you” in before we tap danced into oblivion?
Whatever the reason, it was stupid and pointless.
I wanted to just lose myself in working towards something useful. Unfortunately, it meant trying to make sense out of the spaghetti mess of cables and wires Joe had left me with. Even with some cables labeled and the solar kit instructions left out for me, I couldn’t focus myself well enough to plug in a lamp.
Instead, I started to stack the few batteries in a line that would make chaining them together a bit easier, once I received the equipment I planned to add to Chris’ shopping list. The noise of the heavy units slamming on the metal shelves was somewhat comforting. It chased the silence away, but it wouldn’t stop my brain from wandering.
Stupid and pointless.
“Dan?”
Had I been a cat, I would have been digging my claws out of the roof. I honestly started to think she was using the whole apocalypse thing as a way to scare me out of my skin as often as she could. With all the jump scares I had done to her over the years, I probably deserved it. Still, it’s not fun being on the receiving end of them.
“Stop doing that!” I panted.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. Just stop sneaking up on me like that.” I sat down on the floor to catch my breath, and try to wrangle my heart rate back down to something a little less heart attacky.
“That’s not ever going to happen. I meant I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You were recovering. I didn’t want to stress you anymore than you already were.” Abby sat down next to me, laying her shotgun on the floor next to us. She had taken to carrying it everywhere she went. It had become such a fixture for her, Chris had fashioned a shoulder strap so she could free up her hands.