A woman rolled over near the cold fireplace. Her face heavy and resolute. Mucus from her eyes coated her cheeks, her neck was black and swollen. Her mouth opened to scream and Adam lowered one gun and shot her between the eyes, brain splattered to the floor behind her and she lost her animation, sagging slowly back down to the floor.
The sound of the gunshot woke up someone else in the farther reaches of the factory. Whispers and muttering, feet scurrying, boots clomping against concrete. Adam stepped back and let the curtain of canvas fall back in place. A second later he was back at the truck where he had left Cammy. She reached over and unlocked the door, Adam ripped the door open, glancing at the ignition as he did. No keys.
He shut the door and ran for the other truck. The keys dangled from the ignition through the glass. He turned and raced around the edge of the first truck and yanked the door open. A second later he had pulled Cammy out when she had seemed to be hesitating, looking toward the factory.
“But... Adam, Maddy...., Adam,” she said as he propelled her toward the other truck.
He pushed her into the other truck. “Cammy...” Nothing is alive in there. They're dead already... Cammy don't leave... Give me a few seconds... Stay put,” Adam told her.
There was no movement of the canvas cover, Adam saw. He had been watching it from the corner of one eye, expecting it to move and those inside to come rushing out into the sunlight. Maybe there were only a few. Maybe they were too sick, afraid, but he was taking nothing for granted.
The woman he had shot had the sickness. He had seen it only a few times lately, but he knew it for what it was, some other form of death. No doctors meant no medicines, so even if it could be treated there was no way to treat it. He had found a few victims dead in the streets. Left there. No one wanted to touch them for fear of catching whatever they had. And he had seen a few in the last stages of the sickness wandering drunkenly, stumbling along the sidewalks and alleyways randomly. Seeming drunk, unaware of where they were. There were whispers that it had started in the park and worked its way out from there. Maybe, but as far as Adam was concerned it didn't matter where it started only that had, and that it could and would kill them if they caught it.
He walked back to the first truck. A few seconds under the dashboard and he had ripped away the ignition wires. He twisted two of the wires together, for the circuit that needed constant power, and then touched the other wire to same hot wire for a moment. The starter spun, caught and then the motor began to turn over. A second later it coughed to life. He dropped it into drive and then backed it around until it lined up with the factory doors about eighty feet away.
He had kept his eyes on the factory entrance. Nothing. He watched for a few seconds longer. The canvas moved again and a rifle barrel slipped from inside, a flash of eyes in the dark, and then the canvas drape fell closed once more. Adam walked down along the pickup bed to the gas cap door. He opened the door, spun the cap from the tank, and the fumes rushed up to meet him. He had no idea how much was in the tank, but they filled them at every chance, so it should be close to full. He let the cap fall from his hand as he drew his pocket knife, snapped it open, and then leaned back inside the cab. A second late he was slicing through the seat cover, cutting long foam backed pieces from it. He took four of the longest pieces, wound them together and then walked back to the tank.
He studied it for a moment, pushed some wound up rag down into the tank, but he knew that wasn't going to cut it. He returned to the cab and came back a few seconds later with a tire iron. He hooked the cloth with it and shoved it down into the tank. Once nearly all of it was in, he slowly pulled it out. It came out soaked with gas after the first few feet. He turned it around and stuffed the dry end back down into the tank. A second later he bent and drove his knife into the gas tank where it rested below the body panel for the pickup box. Gas began to splatter to the ground as he withdrew the knife.
He stood, looked over the factory entrance once more and then picked up the gas soaked end of the cloth he had wound together where it had pooled onto the blacktop. The puddle of gas was growing quickly, rolling toward the factory. He probably could depend on that alone to get the job done, but he hated to leave things to chance. He reached into his pocket, liberated his lighter: Spun the wheel and lit it, then dropped the shift lever into drive. In one quick movement he lit the tail of the cloth and then dropped it into the gas that was spreading across the blacktop. The truck lurched as he quickly stepped back, and then crept slowly across the cracked pavement at idle, dragging a trail of fire as it went.
The cloth had set the pooled gas on fire and it raced just behind the truck as it rolled across the lot. The fire ate its way upward on the cloth, reaching for the tank opening at the same time. The truck slammed into the entrance way, seemed to hang up for a second, and then broke through partway into the interior. Adam caught just a glimpse of shadows scattering from the heat and flame before the gas tank blew up. By then he was in the other truck, passing by the front of the factory as he sped away. He could see the flames running into the factory. A few blocks away he had turned back and seen black smoke creeping from the roof. A few miles later the flames had been shooting through the old roof, another fire in a city full of fires.
April 10th
It was three hours before dawn. Everyone, except Katie, Aaron and Jake were up and gathered in the factory. The three of them were still at their posts, but Conner had talked to them earlier. They knew what this conversation would be about. Conner had also spoken to James, and James and Jake had spent part of the night finishing the work on the remaining four trucks, three pickups, one other Suburban. Now everyone was waiting quietly for Conner to speak.
“We’ve decided what to do. When I say we, I mean all of us. I’ve been around and talked to everyone. I listened to every idea that came at me. I know you look to me to lead, and I do, but this is not a decision I could make on my own. It affects all of us too much.”
“If you noticed that Katie, Aaron and Jake weren’t here, be assured I got their feedback and opinions, and it weighed into the decision. Here’s what we’ve decided to do...”
They listened while Conner spoke, and when he was finished there were no questions. Conner had thought there might be. There were also no dissenters... at least no vocal dissenters, if anyone thought it was a bad idea they kept it to themselves.
“Alright then,” Conner concluded. “Let’s go get them.”
Everyone had a job to do, and they got to it. They talked to one another in subdued tones as they did.
Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen
“They’re moving,” the first voice said.
“Check… uh…Check,” The second voice said.
“Looks like… Two Jimmies or Chevy Suburbans… Two people in each one… Looks like they’re heading back out… Back out Washington Street… … Lost them, they… …Shit… Okay… Okay, got them… That’s four; two pickups coming as well. Okay… That’s me… Six will pick them up in a little…”
“Uh, yeah, good… Anything yet, Six? Look like they’re up to anything?”
“Still waitin’,” Six replied.
“Um hmm… …”
“... Six... Yeah, um, okay this is Six... Two and two... Nope. Looks like they’re going out to the dealerships… Maybe... I don’t see nothin’ funny… Looks legit.”
“Yeah. I read you, but two and two and another two and two… So eight… Eight out of thirty, thirty five? What kind of sense does that make? Does it make any kinda sense?”
“Naw. It don’t… Maybe, though, they just want more a them batteries…?”
“Okay… Eight? … Eight?”
“Yeah… I hear them, but I don’t see them yet.”
“Okay Eight… Just let me know. Uh… Keep advised.”
…a few minutes later…
“Uh base this’s Eight… Just passed me… Blew by the boat place and went right up the hill… We ain’t got nobody out there.”
&nbs
p; “I know that… Don’t matter. Just watch for them to come back…”
“Uh base this’s one.”
“Yeah, one?”
“Holy shit this’s good… Go to channel ten… They’re talking on channel Ten, Base.”
Overheard on C.B. Channel Ten
“Well… Just keep your eyes open while you’re going,” James said. “Those guys could be anywhere, anywhere at all.”
“Got you… Listen… You care what kind of trucks we get?” Conner Asked.
“He said he don’t care. Just pickups. Trucks is trucks. Those Suburbans are too hard to handle bringing stuff back…. What ever runs, I guess,” James said.
“Got you,” Conner Agreed.
Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen
“Okay… Okay, good One, good… You guys watch for them to come back… Sounds like they’re just swapping out trucks. I could see where those bigger Suburbans could be a pain in the ass, I suppose… Let me know when they’re on the way back again… I’ll monitor them here too… Base out.”
“One, got you.”
“Six standing by.”
Base clicked once to acknowledge both.
Overheard on the VHF Band Radio
“Okay,” Conner said, “We’re here … We’ll be coming back at you in about a half hour with two pickups… Is everything okay back there?”
“Seen nothing at all,” James said. “Like there’s nothing going on.”
“That’s a good thing,” Conner said. “I’m standing by… Switching to the hand held.”
“Okay,” James said. “I’m here when you need me.”
~
Conner pulled the trucks off the pavement and headed towards the tree line about three hundred yards behind the dealership they had chosen. There were many game trails, snow mobile trails and off road tracks that cut through the woods at random. Some of them were well used off road trails that had been established for years.
He found a trail that would be easy to locate again from the dealerships rear lot, and nosed the Suburban down the trail, and out of easy sight from the tree line. He drove about a quarter mile down the trail and pulled the suburban off to one side. The second Suburban coasted to a stop behind him and shut down. Nell, Amy and Molly climbed out of the Suburbans along with Conner.
“Let’s go,” Conner said as he started back down the trail at a trot. “We’ve got to find two more Suburbans and then two more pickups. And we can’t take too long, they’ll get suspicious.”
The others fell in behind him as he made his way back down the trail to the dealership.
Finding two pickup trucks was easy; finding two more white suburbans was not so easy. They settled for a white one and a light gray one. Conner and Amy pulled the two trucks to the rear of the lot, side by side; took the keys they had located inside the dealership and tossed them into the nearby field. If anyone came checking, it would look like the two suburban’s they had driven out from the factory and abandoned. Conner paused, took one of the hand held VHF radios from his belt and keyed the mic. Button. ”Ninety-nine,” he called.
Dustin’s voice came back. “We’re fine,” he said.
“Hang tight,” Conner told him.
“Okay,” Dustin answered.
Conner re-clasped the radio to his belt and he and Amy hurried over to the pickup trucks where they idled waiting for them. A few minutes later they were making their way back down the hill into Old Towne.
~
The posts observed the trucks on their way back into Old Towne. The groups in the pickups were unable to hear them on the way back, but Conner heard from James who was keeping track of the conversations concerning them from the front seat of one of the pickup trucks parked outside of the factory.
There were no problems, and they pulled back past the two truck blockade and onto the front asphalt area that fronted the factory and shut down the newly acquired pickup trucks. Conner walked over to James.
“And then there were seven,” Conner said and smiled.
“And then there were seven,” James Agreed.
Twenty five minutes later, the remaining suburban rolled off the end of Old River Road. Conner jumped out and moved the trucks that blocked the road aside. He drove through, parked at the end of the road and pulled the two trucks nose to nose once more, blocking the road. Conner pulled away from the mouth of the road and headed into the square, around the traffic circle with its cracked and missing pavement, and headed out of the square onto Washington Street.
Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen
“Uh, Base…?”
“Go.”
“Uh, Base. They’re at it again… And they’re talking again too… You copy?”
“Yeah… I got it… We’re listening… Stand by One… You also Six.”
“One clear,” One said. “I mean standing by…”
“Six standing by,” Six said.
Overheard on C.B. radio Channel Ten
“… Okay… One more new pickup coming up,” Conner said.
“Okay. Everything back here is good… Nothing going on,” James said.
“All the lookouts too?” Conner asked.
“Quiet,” James repeated. “We’ve seen nothing all day.”
“Okay… I’m heading out Washington… I’ll be standing by.”
“Four,” James said.
Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen
“You North side boys there?” Base asked.
“You know we are,” a voice replied.
“It’s business as usual for them, looks like,” Base told them.
“You been watching them?”
“Yeah… They’re just swapping trucks… Something easier to get around in,” Base answered.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Suburbans or Jimmies… Ditching them for pickup trucks. Earlier four went out, four came back. This time two went… Two will come back.”
“So… Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” Base affirmed.
~
Conner keyed the mic. button on his VHF unit. “Okay. We’re here.” He said. “Give me a little time to find something that’s not all smashed to hell and back,” he said.
James keyed his own mic. “Got you… everything’s good back here.”
Over heard on C.B. Channel Ten
“Okay… Got a good one… We’re going to head back, but we’re going to cut cross country… Come back Massey Street or maybe Coffeen. See how everything is there. Might be something out that way we can use,” Conner said.
“… Okay… Base standing by.”
… A few minutes later…
“One check in,” James called.
“One here… Nothing… All clear,” Katie said.
“Two?” James asked.
“Two clear… Dead here,” Aaron said.
“Three check in.”
“All clear here too. Has been all day,” Jake said.
“Base standing by,” James said.
… About a half hour later …
“Coming in the back door, Base,” Conner said.
“Be careful of that section; it’s not stable,” James warned.
“Already past it… At the front door,” Conner called.
“Base standing by.”
Silence on C.B. Channel ten...
Overheard on C.B. Channel Eighteen
“They’re back,” One called.
“Good… What’s all that coming in the back way shit? … Had me worried,” Base said.
“Well, they’re back,” One repeated.
“You see them?” Base asked.
“Of course not… We ain’t got nobody where they went… But… You heard them same as we did… Right?”
“Right… Right… Just called their posts again… Little while back. … Listen… Keep your eyes and ears open, okay? … You heard… We’re taking them in the morning… I was just concerned they’d be out getting more weapons, people, something, but they’re just gonna sit the
re and wait for us I guess.”
“Well… Maybe they think they can get away with what they did to us,” One said.
“Yeah… Well, they got a surprise coming if they think that,” Base said. “Come tomorrow… Anyway… You hear something you let me know… Base standing by, One.”
“One clear... Shit… Standing by, Base... Goddammit You know what I mean.”
Base laughed. “I hear you.”
~
Conner sat in the suburban as it idled behind the dealership listening to the exchange on channel eighteen. When they signed off, Conner hit the power button on the hand held C.B. and turned it off. He looked over at James sitting in the passenger seat holding his own C.B.
“I guess that’s that,” James said. He switched his own unit off.
“Okay folks.” Conner turned to the back of the Suburban. “All clear. Looks like they bought it. Let’s go. We got stuff to do.
Nell, Amy, Katie and Molly popped their heads out from under a tarp in the back, climbed over the seat back and stepped down onto the parking lot.
“There are three GMC's with the keys in them over on the other side of that garage.” Conner pointed. “Keys are under the mats... didn’t want to make it too obvious,” Conner finished.
Katie and Nell stayed behind. The other three were back with the three GMC’s a few minutes later. Lining up behind Conner's own.
Conner looked around the field once, dropped his own truck into drive, rolled off the broken pavement onto the grass and dirt, and headed towards the trail hidden at the tree line. The three pickups followed behind him.
Earlier that day: The factory before sunrise
Conner looked around. Everyone was quietly waiting for him to speak.
“Here’s what we’ve decided to do. They’re going to come for us… Some of you have heard that because you were listening in when they discussed it. They’ve decided they want the factory… and more… And some of us have discussed that.” Conner didn’t think it bore repeating with the two children there and listening to every word that he said. And there was no place to put them where they wouldn’t hear.
Earth's Survivors: box set Page 51