by Javan Bonds
I responded with a smirk. “No.”
I waited for several seconds. Nothing. A few more seconds went by and still no reply. Thousands of horrible scenarios ran through my mind. Fearfully I ask a question. “Daddy?”
“Mo. Gray Fox here. Do you read now?”
Apparently he was going to be an asshole and not even allow me to be sarcastic. I can’t be anything else! Really, I shouldn’t have been expecting him to have a sense of humor, especially over the radio. “Yeah, I got you.”
My father came out of his Saving Private Ryan lingo. “Wow. You’re alive. How about those nightly debriefs?”
I knew what he was doing. I had said the same thing to him way back when he didn’t get with me the night we left Guntersville. The rest of the crew must have been too busy doing absolutely fucking nothing to get on the radio the past couple of nights. So I guess that means he knows not a damn thing about Festus or that debacle with the Pirates. I’ll probably have to fill him in on the ship that went down last night, too. That’ll be fun!
Smirking in spite of myself I echoed his response from when we departed. “Yeah, sorry about that. We were clearing a dam last night and I almost got infected.”
His eyebrows arching was nearly audible. “What?”
Regretting I had said anything, I tried to give the simplest answer. “I’m okay. It didn’t bite me. Just a scratch.”
“No signs?” He almost sounded like he wished there were.
My smiles sounded through the radio. “Nope.”
Always the optimist, Daddy continued. “Well, you could still be turning. Maybe you’re just a slow burn.” He then spoke to my brother through the radio. “Easy, keep an eye on Mo. There is always a chance.”
My brother only grunted in acknowledgment. Easy was willing to end my life if I broke out into a sweat or let a nasty fart. Have I ever told you how much I love my family? My dad is convinced that I’m about to become a zombie given that he knows next to nothing of what happened. On top of that, not only did my father tell him to, but my baldheaded sibling is more than ready to murder me if my skin tone changes in the slightest.
The rest of the crew spoke to the radio in turn. Of course, their lazy asses want to blame because they broke protocol and didn’t radio him for two fucking nights. That subject was completely skipped over. When it came around to The Tech he looked longingly into the speaker. “Is Hunter around?”
My dad snapped. “Oh yeah! Hang on, I’ll get them in here.” I could imagine my dad walking to the door and screaming until someone came to see what he wanted.
My mom entered with the boy and encouraged him to tell a joke. “Hey Gene, why didn’t the leopard go on vacation?”
Gene barely held back a tear when the boy spoke his name. “Hey, buddy. I don’t know, tell me.”
Hunter could barely get the answer out. “Because he couldn’t find the right spot!” He exploded into fits of laughter and was probably rolling on the floor.
Gene was also laughing like it was the most hilarious line ever told. He was wiping his eyes, and I don’t bet the joke was what brought him to tears. “That’s a good one. I love you, Hunter.”
No response came from the boy. My dad sounded apologetic. “Sorry, you can’t get much more out of him than that. It’s a start.”
The Tech seemed satisfied. “That’s all right. I like the joke.” Okay, I’ll admit it. It made me smirk, too.
Mama gave greetings and “I love you’s” to all of us before running out of the room to keep an eye on Hunter. Daddy sighed once they were out of earshot, confident he could talk about the happenings on the island, especially happenings revolving around the supposed temporary replacement for The Man of God. “He finally did it!”
“Who did what?” I questioned like a spectator that had no clue what was going on.
He was enraged. “The sumbitch, Brother Brown, came out and said he’s suspicious of me and your mama! He said it after another girl went missing yesterday.”
I was surprised I hadn’t been curious earlier. “Brother Brown... What’s his first name?”
“Mike.”
My jaw dropped, though he couldn’t see it. “Mike. Mike Brown. Michael Brown?”
My dad hesitated. “Uh, I figure...”
I paused even longer, hoping he would figure it out himself. I don’t guess he got it. “Come on! Michael Brown. ‘Hands up, don’t shoot?’”
My dad seemed completely ignorant. “Okay?”
It’s like the sense of humor for the entire island fucking leaves with me! This is as bad as Bobbitt and Dick! I tossed the radio to The Protector, disgusted. I was completely unable to carry on a conversation with someone that had missed an entire decade worth of current events.
“Gray Fox. Iron Man. How do you read?”
My dad gave just a one word greeting. “Easy.”
My brother continued asking about the situation with the preacher. “So he said he thinks it’s you. Does he have any proof?”
My dad scoffed. “No, but he says he’s going to start an investigation.”
“And what did everybody else think when he accused you?”
I was taken aback at his uncharacteristic use of profanity. “Of course the dumb shits believe every damn word he says! It’s sickening!” He calmed down. “But Benji and his crew know we’re not kidnappers. They’re all on our side. So are the phantoms and the police department. Oh, and the Army guys.” I almost forgot about the soldiers that surrendered on the day the peevies became day walkers. I’m glad he has the guys with guns backing him up.
I broke back into the conversation with my usual ass hattery. “You sure about that? That kind of language is something only a child murderer would use.”
He sighed. “What makes you think they are murdered?”
Damn. I just figured they’d be dead. Especially the first one, after being gone for so long. He knew I was more of a pessimist than he. “I just figured...”
My brother thankfully decided to discuss what was coming and end my embarrassing speculations before they could begin. “You know we’re getting closer to Mississippi. I think there are a few more locks on the Tenn-Tom before the last stretch to Columbus.”
That’s a good fucking estimate. In Easy’s world, 7000 is a few! That’s why I didn’t want to come down this damn river; we’d waste decades going through all the locks and dams.
The Protector continued. “We are going to stop in Columbus and get off there. Me, Bradley, and The Phantoms will get off the boat to head to Tusc–”
The mention of the city brought something to my dad’s Alzheimer’s riddled mind. “Columbus! Benji told me a story about the Air Force Base there. I’ll have him over one night and he can tell you about it. I think you are gonna need to go there.”
We just might need to, but I’ve always had trouble believing most of what my dad says he heard from someone else. It’s like going into the Alzheimer’s unit of a nursing home and hearing World War II stories from a man born in 1930. Yeah, he could’ve been in the Pacific theater in 1945. He might actually even believe with every fiber of his being that he is telling the truth, but without some other type of evidence you have no proof and he could just be a crazy old man babbling about shit he’s not certain of.
If what he’s telling you is not true, it’s not really a lie because he would swear to God that it really happened. But, you could take it with a grain of salt. Talking to my dad about offhand, third person knowledge is kind of like that.
I looked up in the dark, completely cloudless sky. “Well, it looks like it’s about to start raining. We’re gonna have to let you go, Daddy.”
My brother spoke to me incredulously. “No it’s–“I threw up my hand.
“Roger. I’ll be sure to get Benji. Gray Fox. Over and OUT.”
18
Memoirs of Benji 2
THESE DAYS, IT was a rarity to come across survivors. It seems like I’ve done
a million flyovers of Marshall County and the surrounding area. When we first started these searches, there would be several days between finding living humans. Now, it’s been several. We probably won’t be wasting fuel for these fruitless trips much longer.
I should have realized this would be an eventful day when Devin volunteered to accompany me solo. Most trips where we had come up empty-handed, other crew members came along to gain some airtime. Bruce and Kelly, the two civilians rescued at the Huntsville international Airport, rode shot gun frequently because they wanted to become pilots.
My copilot was suited up and met me in the hangar as I approached the Cherokee.
“You think there is anybody still alive out there?” I asked him.
He looked at me stupidly, as if I should already know the answer to that question. After all, he was accompanying me. My fellow Naval Flight Officer grinned knowingly. “Ah, we just have to keep looking. I’m sure there will be a reservoir of life somewhere.”
Reservoir? I was trying to think of another word for that when he continued. “There might still be a few more people out there.”
Water tower! I knew what I’d be looking for.
My copilot, wearing the leather Ghost Rider jacket and accompanying chain, swung himself into the cockpit. I geared up as Indiana Jones with bullwhip of course, settled into my seat behind the stick. As much as we had been through, I felt invincible with Devin Landers at my side.
There weren’t that many water towers in the county, anybody standing on one would be easy to spot. Being mischievous in my high school years, I had climbed more than one water tower. You’d think it’d be a pretty safe place to go from just a casual glance. It would take some investigating to realize that the ladders on most do not retract. If this was the classical zombie apocalypse featuring reanimated shamblers, that wouldn’t be a problem. In the real world, our zombies can vault up a fucking brick wall like monkey Spiderman!
☠☠☠
From the Guntersville airport, there was more than one of the traditional water towers along a southern route. When I say traditional, I’m talking about the ones I saw most as a kid. You know, a big tank on skinny legs, painted English pea poop green. But just a little further to the Southwest, there was one water tower of a different style. It was a big tank on a single center cement column.
Lattiwood.
Being the only tower of its kind in the area, I had a gut feeling it would be the first place to look. Plus, it just looked like the backdrop for a movie. Sometimes my gut is right.
☠☠☠
As the plane crossed over one of the smaller, two lane state highways in the area, Lattiwood water tower was clearly visible even from the top of the mountain. “Holy fucking shit!” For hundreds of yards around the column, the earth seemed to be pulsating and moving like a living organism. I don’t think I have to tell you the active area was an ocean of pale blue.
We both knew there was nothing we could do from this distance. Even once we got close, there was no way in hell I was going to touch down anywhere around there. We would just have to take pot shots from our moving airplane.
Just like a scene from a movie, there had to be someone on the water tower. And they just so happened to be under attack by what looked like the entire remaining infected population of the county. By luck, a couple of heroes swoop in to save the day just in the nick of time. Are we nothing but marionettes being guided by a puppet master? If my copilot was to be believed, we don’t control our own fates.
The people on the water tower needed our help. They were holding their own for the moment but we were not sure how long they could last. After a few passes we knew it would be suicide to land and fight our way to the tower. There had to be another way to rescue the survivors trapped on the tower.
Then an image flashed across my mind. BAE “Hang on! I got it.”
BAE was a military contractor with a large manufacturing facility headquartered at the Albertville Airport. I almost squealed when I happily remembered what they had been contracted for; upgrade and repair military helicopters. The Albertville airport was only a few miles south of Lattiwood.
There was no need to tell Devin what I just realized. It was clear he already knew after his next statement. “You take point and I will cover your rear.”
☠☠☠
Our little single engine came to a stop shortly after touchdown at the Albertville Airport. There wasn’t really a point in driving the plane to rest in front of the hangar. There would be no incoming enemy fire from which to take cover. I simply opened the door and stepped out, checking the action of my rifle. Devin sighed and shrugged before following. I don’t know why he kept pretending that every move taken wasn’t part of the plan.
There had been some air shows at this airport, featuring plane rides, airplane acrobatics, and even an A-10 warthog. I went to one of these events years ago and only remember the BAE building in passing. It was one large building with maybe a hangar. Or so I thought.
Maybe it had been added on to in recent years or I just had not paid attention before now. It was one huge ass building, another with a large hanger and then an office building. The largest building was at least the size of a football field; that had two giant bay doors opening to a massive hangar. The upstairs part of the building was filled with offices while the back was full of parts and machining equipment. If there were any helicopters at the airport they would be in that monstrous bay. Thankfully, we wouldn’t have to worry about any blunatics in that much of an open area... Probably.
“This place is bigger than my visions – I mean– bigger than I expected.” Devin barely kept the cat in the bag.
It was easy to see that one of the huge bay doors was open. Brushing off his basic admittance he had foreseen this, I looked at him. “We’re going in the big door, right?” I questioned as if his approval was required before any action could be taken.
He smirked. “What do you think?”
We both moved to stand in front of the gaping maw that was BAE. As I stepped toward the hangar, my copilot turned to face the smaller office doors on the front of the building, to his right. There was no time to stop and do the same thing. What Devin knew would occur happened. Why didn’t he just tell me before now?
A dark-haired teenage girl burst through the door and landed on the asphalt. She looked up, shocked to see living humans. Without knowing or asking who we were, she shouted at us. “Come help. Quick!” The girl stood and waited for us to start moving before she turned to face the open door she had just exited.
Before I could do anything more than grunt a questioning noise, Devin broke into a run and I was right behind him. The two of us had no idea what we were going into. This could be a trap. But then again, Devin would have known that and wouldn’t have followed her. At least, I hope he wouldn’t.
This girl couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen. She looked to have been athletic, but barely surviving for long would wear the healthiest person down. I caught up with her much faster than I would have before May Day. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re here! And they’ve got my parents trapped in one of the offices. Are those things loaded?” She gestured at the weapons over our shoulders.
I grunted again and nodded. She ran back into the doorway she came out of and we followed. As she led us down a darkened hallway, I didn’t see a point in asking who ‘they’ were. Why the hell are these people in this particular building? Having survived for so long, you’d think they’d know it would be much safer to stay in a large building like one of the giant hangars in this complex!
Maybe the damn zombies had acclimated to the cavernous bay and it was just as dangerous. Like those peevies back at Columbus AFB. They sure didn’t mind fishing in the dark for Devin’s squad. Pushing my speculations aside, I ran on down the hall.
I questioned our leader. “So what’s your name?”
“Kyndle.”
I don’t know abo
ut anyone else, but I need someone’s full name when we meet. “Kyndle...?”
She sighed. “Tims!” I think I dated a girl in high school with a similar name. Come to think of it, they share a lot in looks!
We continued running as I asked her about the situation. “So what’s going on?”
This is the story Kyndle told me about when her family stumbled upon this place.
☠☠☠
Ken Tims walked through the open gate at the Albertville municipal Airport. “It doesn’t look like this place has been raided. Can’t hurt to try. Besides, we will only go through the hangars unless something looks interesting.”
His wife, Kel, opposed even entering the airport grounds. Alas, she was willing to follow her husband. “I still don’t think this is a good idea. There’s a gas station right down the road we can try.”
The Tims family didn’t consider themselves thieves. They were just taking what they needed to survive. Making it through the initial outbreak, they had learned how to avoid becoming blue. What seemed like years had been spent picking through the things left behind. Heading south, the family only stopped at locations which appeared to have remained unmolested. Marauders had become a common sight, but the family managed to avoid contact so far.
It was hard to believe the bands of miscreants had not yet looted any of the buildings at the airport. Could there have been a reason they steered clear of this location? Maybe the peevies were using this as some sort of headquarters. The Tims had seen some indescribably horrible acts committed by the blue monsters since May Day. It could only be imagined what they were doing here. Keeping the large bays full of immobile humans while they slowly cut them into pieces? There was no telling what deranged scene would be witnessed here.
Ken urged his wife to follow him to the monstrous BAE structures. “Come on!”
Kel sighed and walked toward a guaranteed mistake. She was certain that they would find nothing good anywhere on this property. Albertville had been her home for a lifetime, but it was no longer the safe, quiet, small town she grew up in. Now, there were sadistic creatures committing disgusting, gut wrenching crimes around every corner. Today, the Tims family would witness the most disturbing terror they had ever seen.