Walkers (Book 2): The Rescue

by Davis-Lindsey, Zelda

  walkers

  The Rescue

  Vol. 2 in the Walkers Series

  Zelda Davis-Lindsey

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, names and events are a work of my imagination. Most of the places are real and placed here from my travels as an over-the-road truck driver.

  No portion of this book , whether in print or electronic format, may be duplicated or transmitted without written permission of the author except where permitted by law.

  All Rights Reserved.

  ©2012 Zelda Davis-Lindsey

  Published by Antelope Creek Publishers

  Utica Montana

  Dedicated to my husband, Howard and son Michael, for without their love and support this book would have remained in my memory.

  Chapter 1

  The pounding of my heart matched the pounding of my feet on the hard mountainside as I ran zig-ity zag-ity through the trees. I stayed several steps ahead of the three walkers that had surprised me when I came around a huge boulder. Nearly falling on my butt, I ran downhill until I figured out they could do better running with gravity, so I turned uphill. I'd just managed to stay ahead of them but I was tiring fast and could feel them getting closer. My lungs burned and I had a stitch in my side but I kept going, the thought of being eaten spurring me on. Thighs burning, I dodged trees and boulders as big as buses, jumped over logs and bypassed huckleberry bushes trying to put some distance between us.

  The walkers appeared last year after a virus struck. I had no idea how the rest of the world was doing because communications were dead, but the virus seemed to be everywhere. Civilization had died too, so in order to survive, I'd grabbed my sister, Lacy, and escaped Florida to an abandoned resort in southwestern Montana. I'd been living in Montana when my parents decided they wanted a second honeymoon in Italy. I offered to keep Lacy company, and it was during this time the virus struck. My only thought was to go where there were no walkers, or at the very least, fewer of them, so we headed north. Along the way we met friends who sought the same thing, so they joined us in the trek across the country and when we arrived at Lions Lodge, in southwestern Montana, we carved out a home. My close friend, lover and zombie fighter was as happy about our extended family as I, so it was him that I relied on now.

  "Mason!" I yelled, hoping he would come to the rescue. "Mason!!!" I nearly fell over a log and though I clambered over it quick enough, the walker behind me did fall over it. I was running out of air so I reached out mind to mind, MASON! I was grabbed from behind, so I elbowed the walker and broke free. "Help!" I screamed and he did.

  "Wake up, JD."

  "Huh?"

  "Wake up, honey, it's just another dream, except for the elbow", he mumbled that last bit. Holding me tight, he whispered love words into my hair until I calmed down and understood it was just another stupid dream. While I relearned how to breathe, I stared out the window at the stars. He always opens the window shade when we go to bed so we can watch the stars before falling asleep. He knows how much it means to me to know that I'm really back in Montana where there's no pollution to muddle the view. A star streaked across the sky and I relaxed into the strong arms surrounding me.

  I awoke the next morning alone in the bed. Mason was an early riser, and too be honest, I used to be, but found myself getting complacent, relying on him. Still, I should have woke up when he did. Throwing back the covers, I stepped to the window and gazed at the mountains, wondering at the view. Snow capped mountains stood guard at the end of the valley, beckoning the viewer closer. The floor of the valley was covered in yellow and purple flowers, like a thick carpet, with pine, willow and oak trees thick with leaves waved gently in the breeze. I could see several deer in the distance and smiled, knowing their young would be close.

  The smell of coffee beckoned to me so I took a quick shower and donned my trademark black jeans, tee shirt that read "I see dead people", socks and Nike's. Following the aroma of cinnamon bread and coffee, I sauntered into the kitchen. Sarah, our resident cook and wife to our computer technician, Duke, was busy washing dishes while her daughter of ten, Mandy, drank orange juice at the table, tossing pieces of cinnamon roll to Bubba, a Chihuahua, wienie dog mix and her best friend. His owner, Howard, was our mechanic. I could see him in the back near the corral talking to Mason, while our cow was munching on hay, and chickens scratched in the yard near it.

  “How's it going, Mandy?" I asked. She gave me a thumbs up, while she was bent under the table talking to Bubba.

  "Mandy," Sarah said, "eat your breakfast and you can help Sam and Melody in the greenhouse."

  "Oh, boy," she said, then drained the orange juice so she could hurry outside. Sam or Samantha was the favorite of our mechanic, Howard. She was about Howard's age which could be anywhere from 40-60 because of his excellent health. She didn't look too shabby either which is probably why he acts silly in love around her. We try not to laugh in their presence but it's difficult.

  Melody is our new mama. She gave birth to a gorgeous little girl on Christmas day and we'd all managed to spoil her rotten. Melody arrived with a husband in tow. When he was mauled to death by a mountain lion, we found out that he was actually her brother. They had pretended to be married because a member of their team was an asshole and would've caused trouble for them if he'd known who they really were. He (the asshole), died when he attempted to steal our helicopter. Our computer tech, Duke had sabotaged the copter, and it crashed killing the man at the same time. We mourned Dave, but not more than his twin, Melody. She named the baby Davini which means cherished and she was. We called her Davy after her uncle.

  Sam and Melody had taken over the greenhouse. They always came in covered with dirt, talking about some new hybrid they were developing. They spared several feet of the greenhouse for flowers and brought some in every few days. It made things light, airy, beautiful and homey.

  Mandy flew out the door, with a little, four legged behind her barely making it out before the door slammed on his tail. Giggling floated back to us as Sarah and I watched her run into the greenhouse. Bubba got distracted by a smell and was busy going in circles, nose on the ground, Mandy forgotten.

  Sarah and I stepped out on the deck. I was going to say something to Mason when a sound caught my attention. It was a plane, a small one, not a jet. I frowned and started studying the sky, everyone else doing the same. We turned in all directions, wandering into the side yard to get a better view, away from the lodge.

  "Sounds like a small plane," Flynn said, and just then the sound of the alarms Duke installed all over the lodge went off, scaring us all.

  "I swear, that damned thing is going to give me a coronary." Sarah said, then hurried inside to tell Duke to shut it off. Lacy was sitting with Davy while Melody worked in the greenhouse and Duke monitored the cameras during the day...giving it over to Flynn at night. We had a system, that worked just fine for us.

  Randy ran out and pointed to the north and we watched until we spotted a small plane approaching. He handed a radio to Mason who turned it up so we could all hear.

  "...approaching from the north. Again, I say, requesting permission to land. Lions Lodge, this is Aeronca Champ N bar one-nine-four-eight-AZ requesting permission to land. I am approaching from the north."

  "Permission granted, private plane, you have plenty of room." replied Mason, after a quick approval from the rest of us. To Randy he said, "Get our weapons then have Lacy relieve Duke, I need him here more than the monitors." I ran with Randy to get the weapons and my little revolver Mason got me for Christmas, which I stuck in my front jeans pocket. Melody ran inside relieving Lacy of babysitting duties. By the time I was back outside, the plane had landed and was taxiing up to the
small parking area in front.

  "Wow," whispered Duke, "A 1948, Aeronica, Model 7, Champ, single engine, two seats, fixed gear plane. I haven't seen one of these in years and it's in mint condition."

  "Don't get carried away, Duke." Mason whispered, "We need your input here more than a description."

  "Harrumph!" Duke said, then stood a little straighter, ignoring the rest of us as the the top part of the door swung up and the bottom half folded down. A hairy leg, with sandals attached, felt around for the step, then stepped down to the ground. A pair of khaki shorts with the hem torn was followed by a hairy belly, partially covered by an unbuttoned sleeveless denim shirt. He was holding a briefcase which he sat on the ground, then turned towards us slowly. Standing quietly he waited with his hands raised high over his head. Smart man, Mason whispered in my mind, I wonder who he is.

  I suppose you want me to wander through a strange man's mind?

  You're better at it than I am. You do it.

  I don't want to.

  "JD?" Mason asked out loud. I took a put-upon deep breath and dropped my shields. "Kenny!" I yelled and threw myself into my cousins arms. He laughed as he swung me in a circles, my legs swinging in a wide arc. Lacy threw herself at us and just barely standing, he crooned at us like he always did when we were little.

  "I was wondering when you'd read my mind, little girl." He set me down and looked at me while I was did the same to him.

  “I knew it was him. I got those signals he always sends out. Before you ask, Melody is watching the monitors.” Lacy said, as she beamed up at him.

  "It's the beard. That's why I didn't recognize you. When did you start a beard?"

  "You tried to find razors lately, girl? It's just not worth the trouble."

  "Trouble my ass, if I can shave my legs, you can shave that bush off your handsome face." I grabbed said bush with both hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. Someone cleared their throat and we turned to see a line of people staring at us. Mason was frowning so hard his eyebrows touched. Probably didn't help much that Kenny was grinning so big.

  "Everyone I'd like to introduce Kenneth James Darling, my handsome second cousin from South Carolina. Or was, last I knew."

  Everyone let their breath out at the same time. If I'd have been any lighter the breeze would have knocked me down. Well, maybe not that bad.

  After the introductions were done, he picked up the briefcase and walked with us into the lodge, his arm over my shoulder. Inside, we sat at the dinner table while Sam, Melody and Sarah fussed around and got us some coffee and peach cobbler. Lacy was practically in Kenny's lap, while I sat opposite and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.

  Duke returned after transferring the monitors video feed to the bank of monitors hanging on the dinning room walls. That way we could all eat together and watch the monitors at the same time. I don't know how many monitors Duke has squirreled away, but they were his thing not mine.

  After several minutes of idle chat, I finally got down to the real reason he was here.

  "How did you find us, Ken?"

  "Well, now, there's a story. Remember Northern Uncle Bill, moms brother in Chicago? Well, he isn't in Chicago anymore. He and George is in Flagstaff at a Nuclear Facility, or was when I left two days ago."

  "Northern Uncle Bill?" asked Duke.

  "We have a Uncle Bill in Chicago and one in Miami. So we have a Northern Uncle Bill and a Southern Uncle Bill." I explained.

  "We've got to get em out, JD, we have no other choice. The soldiers are fighting over who's boss. They're all afraid to leave, but refused to let anyone else leave while at the same time they won't let anyone inside. It ain't safe anywhere. If we don't get them out they won't last much more than a week, because they're running out of food and water. We have to go."

  "Why should we put our lives on the line for someone we don't even know?" Flynn said, saying what was on all their minds. I didn't want to leave either. Safety is a wondrous thing and we had been very comfortable for nearly a year.

  "Well, the only one that should go is me, since it's my relations."

  "Like hell," Mason yelled standing up so fast his chair fell to the floor. "You don't go anywhere without me."

  "Oh yea? Well let me tell you something, he-man, I'll damn well go where ever the hell I want and not you or anyone else will stop me."

  "You want to test that theory?" His eyes had gone all black and I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. I hate authority, especially when it was directed at me.

  I started to tell him the way it was when I was interrupted by Ken.

  "Sit down both of you. I didn't come here to start a fight. She won't go anywhere without me so don't get all cave man on us. It won't do any good and in the end, she'll do what she wants to, anyway."

  "Sounds like you know what you're talking about. Guess being related helps."

  "Don't talk about me like I'm not here. It pisses me off."

  "OK, now let me see if I can explain this without ticking anyone off."

  "That would be best." Lacy said shooting me a look that said calm down, then sending waves of love and understanding that wrapped around my mind and heart like a warm blanket. Thanks, I thought back at her.

  Then a thought hit me so I hard, I nearly gasped. "Oh, my God! He did it didn't he?" I said softly.

  "Did what?" Randy asked, looking from Ken back to me.

  "Uncle Bill is a research scientist." I said looking from one to the other of them. Willing them to understand what I was saying. When no one guessed it, I continued, looking at Ken. "He developed the anti-virus for the walkers, didn't he?"

  Ken smiled big and placed the briefcase I'd been wondering about on the table. Flipping the locks he slowly opened it like a present, revealing the many papers inside. He reached in and pulled out a letter sized envelope and handed it to me. My uncles, sloppy scrawl on the front said it was mine. I looked at Ken as I slowly traced my name on it.

  "The paperwork from the lab Norther Uncle Bill been working on is in this briefcase. Lab results and equations and such. I don't understand it all. George put it all on a disc for you. There's a computer program there also so it can be downloaded. There's maps of the route there, and what not. He just told me to get this to you."

  "But how did you find me?"

  "Are you kidding me? All you did was talk about Lions Lodge. It was Lions Lodge this and Lions Lodge that. Every time you had some time off you came to Lions Lodge. Weekends, summer vacations, Christmas. You practically lived here and then you were talking about working here cleaning rooms and being a waitress. Uncle Bill got the coordinates and put them in a GPS contraption and I taped it to the windshield of the plane, and here I am."

  He plopped back in the chair and pushed it back to balance it on its back legs. He used to do that all the time, and it was nice to see him to it again. Grinning he waited, drinking his coffee and watching everyone in the process.

  "I can only give you 24 hours to think about it, then I'm headed back to try to get em out on my own. Its a days flying time for me but if you're going, it'll be two days driving time. The way I figure it, it will be two days getting in, maybe two days there and then out, before the bomb goes off in seven days."

  "Wait a minute, did you just say bomb? What bomb?"

  "The installation is set to explode when the generators that powers the air, water, filtration and security locks quits. The fuel tanks that keeps everything going is drying up. When that happens...KABOOM! It was a security measure that no one can figure out how to by-pass. Seven days, JD, that's how long we have."

  "Couldn't we just haul some fuel in there and fill the tanks?

  "That idea was attempted, but some fool broke the valve to open the tanks and now they can't be refilled. Some high end company back east makes the valves. They didn't have an extra one on hand and they don't know how to make one."

  "Great, now we have to do this or we could all die from diseases the geniuses have been playing with. It's not fair, it just isn't
fair."

  "Not exactly, the explosion is designed to kill everything in the place. Good idea in theory, it just doesn't account for the people living there."

  "Well, I'm going and would fly in with you but there isn't room in the plane for two others so we'll have to drive. We could drive in...."

  "Hold on a sec there, Calamity Jane, you aren't going without me, so just stop talking around me."

  "Calamity Jane?!" I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

  "That's enough, you two. Geez, you guys married of something?"

  "Or something." Lacy replied. I saw the look and shifted my perspective.

  "No, you are NOT going. I nearly had a heart attack getting you out of Florida and I am not worrying about you, too."

  "JD, I'm not a child anymore."

  "You aren't going, dear, so sit back down." said Randy, softly. She turned to say something to him, but stopped at his expression and quietly sat back down. Randy took her hand and kissed it gently. I was going to have to ask him how he did that.

  "The way I see it," Mason said, "JD and I can take that shiny new Volvo because it has a bunk and pull a tanker of fuel behind us. That would save time looking for a place to re-fuel all the time."

  "Good idea," Kenny said.

  "It was my idea," He frowned at me so, I shut up. Reluctantly.

  "Then when we get there, we can switch to something else to get them out. Since we don't know the extent of the bomb blast, we'll need to put a lot of space between us and the facility or find a place nearby to protect us for a short period. We can fine tune it on the way there. If you're going, Ken, then we need to talk some more and look at the maps you brought. We can plan to leave in the morning, if JD can be ready in that time."

  "I'm ready now," I replied, and left the room, stomping all the way to my bedroom to pack a few things. Lacy was close behind, listing all the reasons I should stay. I sighed as I began packing.