Detroit Reanimated

by Michael Halliday

  Jeremy fell in love with the way her body felt against him as she laughed.

  “So this is it? We’re going to have a family.”

  “That’s a safe bet,” Jeremy said. “I want you as my wife. I want children with you. I promise that I’ll never look at another woman.”

  “You better not, or I’ll cut these off,” August said as she slid her hand in between their bodies and grabbed Jeremy’s scrotum

  ‘That’s only going to get me going for a fourth time,’ Jeremy thought.

  “Oh, damn. I have to go. Dammit,” August said suddenly.

  “What is it?” Jeremy asked.

  She kissed Jeremy before she answered.

  “Sarah wanted me to walk the grounds with her before we lock down. Why did I have to look at the clock?”

  August reluctantly got up to leave. Jeremy lightly touched her when she left the bed.

  “Do you want me to come with?” Jeremy asked.

  “I’d love it, and Sarah loves your company too,” August said.

  “She deserves the leadership nod,” Jeremy said as he got dressed. “Don’t you think?”

  “Hell yeah,” August replied. “Give a woman a chance to make this world right. She’s loved by most everyone here.”

  “So are you,” Jeremy stated.

  “By the people that came with me, sure, but the people that were already here love Sarah. They trust her. I don’t want the leadership role, so the refugees will choose her, because I do.”

  August opened the door to leave when Sarah walked by. Sarah wore an upset look on her face that screamed frustration.

  “Sarah?” August said to stop her friend.

  A look of relief suddenly appeared on Sarah’s face.

  “Are you ok?” Jeremy asked.

  “Yes,” Sarah said with a pained smile. “No.”

  “What’s wrong?” August asked.

  “I just want Evan to come home.” Sarah said. She broke down in tears.

  “I have a strong feeling he’ll be here tomorrow,” August told her.

  August hugged her. Sarah told them what happened with Scott.

  “I can knock him around a little bit,” Jeremy said.

  “That won’t make things any better,” Sarah said. “What are you doing out here? I thought you two were, uh.”

  “We were coming out to walk the grounds with you,” Jeremy said.

  “Damn, I forgot that I asked you to come with me, August.”

  “It’s not a problem,” August said. “I think I wore him out.”

  “He doesn’t look worn out,” Sarah said with a smirk.

  “I’m not, I can assure you of that,” Jeremy said.

  The three walked out into the warm night. They went to the Mercury trench to see if any shamblers had fallen in. Other than the gates, the trench was nearly finished along the north side of the safe zone. Tomorrow the survivors and military personnel were going to dig the Southfield Trench.

  Sarah went to her room after the walk through. Tracy was sound asleep when Sarah checked on her. Sarah kissed her daughter on the forehead carefully so the girl wouldn’t wake up. Seeing her sleep so peacefully was a change to what Tracy had to endure the previous few nights. The girl would wake up screaming from dreams about shamblers coming after her, including her father.

  Sarah also suffered from terrible nightmares when she slept. Tonight was no different. She spent an hour trying to fall asleep. Thoughts of everything that happened that day plagued her.

  It was a long, hot day. The sudden rain storm made things worse when the humidity grew thicker. August had told Sarah about the visitors from Colonel Hummsfeld’s group. Earlier that morning, two full squads had arrived from Oklahoma. The sergeant over one of the squads told them an entire company was coming along with Evan.

  August had put them to work immediately by securing the National Guard station near the heart of Detroit.

  ‘August is such an amazing person,’ Sarah thought as she lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘I love that woman. She’s the kind of woman that other women should want to be like now. Glamour is dead. God, I would put my fist in the face of a woman who thinks it’s a good time to walk down a cat walk.’

  Sarah took out a bullet from her pocket. She had Sam nullify it for her. She looked at the M4 that she decided to keep in her room. Tracy knew better than to play with it. The thing was so easy to use. She had taken the life of a man who almost got August and Jeremy killed with that rifle. She recalled the scene from Full Metal Jacket about a marine and his rifle.

  ‘I can be just as good with that thing,’ Sarah thought. ‘A woman and her M4 is just as bad ass. Oh geez, what am I thinking?’

  Below the rifle, on the bookshelf was a bayonet that was made to attach itself onto the silencer. Sam made the rifles lethal regardless if it had ammunition or not.

  ‘Evan, I miss you,’ Sarah thought when her eyes went back to the ceiling. ‘I hope you get home soon.’

  Sarah heard something hit her pillow by her right ear. There was a tiny drop of clear liquid that soaked into the pillow case. She was so mentally exhausted that she didn’t realize tears had rolled down her cheek. She wiped the streams of tears away.

  Moments later, Sarah felt as though she had fallen off a cliff when she suddenly woke back up. She must have fallen asleep at some point. The jolt caused her heart to beat wildly. She felt her palms throb and ache. She relaxed her hands from gripping the sheets for dear life.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ Sarah thought frantically.

  She looked over to where Tracy was still sleeping comfortably. Sarah turned to her side and watched her daughter with envy. She loved her little girl with everything inch of her heart. Right after she was born, Tracy hummed while she slept. There were nights when she would still hum, and tonight she was serenading Sarah.

  Sarah propped herself on an elbow. A fist rested against her cheek as she watched her daughter.

  ‘I’m glad that we were given you,’ Sarah thought.

  Sarah had gotten pregnant with Tracy on her honey moon with Mark. It was the greatest sexual night she had ever experienced, before or after that night. After Tracy was born, Sarah simply couldn’t conceive another child. She had gone to the doctor, who had told her that she should have been able to. She went to a fertility specialist, who shared the same opinion as her doctor.

  Mark would always find an excuse not to get tested. He never denied her the attempts to conceive, but he would find a way to get out of an appointment. When she finally got him to a doctor, he was given a clean bill. They just figured afterwards that Tracy was simply all God wanted them to have.

  A mystery with Tracy was her bleach blond hair. No one in Sarah’s family was blond. Evan was the only one in the Carter family who had dirty-dish water hair.

  Sarah’s mind began to draw random memories. She always felt blessed to have Evan in her family. The man simply knew how to have a good time when he was with family. When Mark married Sarah, Evan got the entire reception dancing to a John Lee Boogie. How he found out about the song was beyond her, but man it was fun.

  Evan was also a tremendous dancer. He had moves that drove watchers crazy. Mark said their mother had a vault of old videos where Evan would get crowds of people moving at parties and receptions since he was ten. Mark’s father, Brandon, hated the way Evan danced, calling it a sin. Ellen Carter would silence the grumpy minister and encouraged Evan with his writing and dancing.

  Again, Sarah had drifted off to sleep.

  Sarah woke up to Tracy whispering to someone. She thought April had sneaked in again to sleep with Tracy, as they were getting to be best friends. Sarah was facing the wall with the book shelf and the rifle above it.

  “Mommy’s awake,” Tracy whispered, followed by a giggle.

  “What are you doing, Trace?” Sarah asked groggily.

  “Waiting for your lazy but to get up,” a familiar said.

  Sarah sat up swiftly. Her eyes landed on her b
rother-in-law. Her trembling hand went to her mouth.

  They simultaneously went to hug each other. Sarah cried on Evan’s shoulder while he held her. A lot of pain and despair was released with her tears.

  “Please don’t let me be dreaming,” Sarah said.

  “No, Sarah. I’m home.”

  Evan’s eyes were also filled with moisture.

  “This is unbelievable,” Sarah said. “When did you get in?”

  “Nearly an hour ago,” Evan replied.

  Sarah’s clock read ten to noon.

  “They didn’t want to wake you up.” Evan said. “I was told you haven’t been sleeping lately.”

  “I haven’t,” Sarah said. “I’m surprised you didn’t wake me up sooner, Tracy.”

  “I didn’t want to,” Tracy said. Her hands were intertwined on her uncle’s shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re home!”

  “We both are,” Sarah said, hugging Evan again.

  “I was worried about both of you,” Evan said. “I really like what you have going here. You bring people to the police station to check them out, and then you bring them to this store.”

  “Most of this has been done by Scott and August,” Sarah said. “Let me show you around.”

  “Please do,” Evan said. He held out a hand to help Sarah to her feet. “Wait until you see what I brought with me.”

  There was a lot of activity in the safe zone. Scores of people Sarah had never seen before lined up to be registered. It reminded Sarah of when August first arrived. August herself was talking with a young pair of little girls who had just arrived. She saw Sarah and her face beamed with a large smile.

  “That lieutenant is remarkable,” Evan said. “I have a major with me who feared your friend was either dead or out there somewhere. He said from the beginning that she would be a great addition to any group wanting to survive. Having her here right away was a tremendous relief to Major Wright.”

  “She’s a God send,” Sarah said. “How many people did you bring with you?”

  “Almost five hundred people,” Evan replied. “Check this out.”

  When they got outside, Sarah was floored with the massive line of military vehicles out along the parking lot.

  “We brought almost an entire National Guard company with us,” Evan stated. “We left a squad back in St. Louis to help set up a mid point for the country.”

  “Where are the rest of the people you told me about, the cop, judge, the doctor, and the kids?”

  Sadness covered Evan’s face with the question. Evan told her what all had happened on the trip, and the losses to Doug, Simon, John and Adam. He blamed Edward for all of the deaths. Sarah felt as if she could be sick.

  “We’re expecting more people within the next day or so,” Evan said. “Cameron has a small group out to get his people from Nebraska. Matt is with him.”

  Sarah took her turn and told Evan what she and Tracy had experienced. The hardest part was talking about finding Mark.

  “I’m so sorry about Colleen and the kids,” Sarah said.

  “What can you do?” Evan said. “I’m going to bury them in a little while.”

  “I can help you,” Jeremy said from the entrance. “I heard the infamous Evan Carter was here.”

  “Evan, I want to introduce Jeremy Hayachi,” Sarah said. “And that is Robert Newton.”

  Evan and Jeremy shook each others hands firmly. Robert had also arrived and also shook Evan’s hand.

  “Sarah has been worried sick about you,” Robert said. “You brought a welcome group.”

  “August has been buzzing around, happy as a clam,” Jeremy said.

  “Where are most of the soldiers that came with me,” Evan asked.

  Robert and Jeremy glanced at each other with smirks.

  “Come with me,” Jeremy said.

  Jeremy led Evan behind the store to Mercury Drive.

  “This is another one of August’s ideas,” Sarah said while Evan was marveling at the long dug out line.

  The trench was ten feet deep, seven feet wide and the walls were sloped inward from the bottom to prevent anything to climb out. There were two crews still working on building the reinforced gates with sentry towers built along the top. One of the gates was nearly complete. Evan climbed up the ladder to look inside the tower. There was enough room for two average sized people to stand up and fire comfortably.

  There was a built in bench with storage compartments. Robert climbed up on the other ladder on the opposite of the tower.

  “These compartments will be for arrows and ammunition,” Robert said. “The hooks are for compound bows.”

  “I love this,” Evan said.

  Evan tested the strength of the gun racks on the back wall. He looked out of the front windows at large piles of dirt across the road. There were also piles of bodies near the dirt. He and Robert climbed back down to join Sarah and Jeremy.

  “We’re focusing our efforts on the north and west,” Robert said. “Dearborn is lost to shamblers. The same for a refugee camp to the northwest.”

  “I’m aware of Farmington,” Evan said. “The military considers Detroit a red city. That means the commanders over a red city had failed to clear their respective camps. August was over Farmington, right?”

  “That’s correct,” Robert said. “Who had that information?”

  “Major Eric Wright,” Evan replied.

  “How many red cities are there?” Sarah asked.

  “Five,” Evan said. “New York City, Miami, Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Oakland have camps that had fallen or the commanders never reported their status.”

  “And the rest are like Warren and Sterling Heights?” Jeremy asked.

  “Pretty much,” Evan replied. “If you’re referring to long mass graves, then yes.”

  “Evan,” a soldier yelled from down the road toward the store.

  Evan walked over to see what the man wanted. Sarah watched Evan nod frequently with whatever the soldier was talking to him about. Evan patted the soldier’s shoulder. The soldier shook his hand before he left. Evan returned to Sarah, Jeremy and Robert.

  “That was Master Sergeant Tyrone Covington,” Evan said. “You’re going to get some more help on the trenches. Eric ordered all of his squads to get them done.”

  “Awesome,” Sarah said.

  “You were also contacted by Colonel Arthur Hummsfeld?” Evan asked.

  “That’s correct,” Sarah replied.

  “Eric will be there at the meeting with three squads. He wants the colonel and captain to know they have a fight on their hands if they decide to attack. He means it. He ordered his troops to crucify other soldiers and officials who were part of this disaster at the camps. They are calling all of those soldiers ‘the condemned.’”

  “He’s giving the colonel a chance to come clean then?” Jeremy asked.

  “Looks like it,” Evan said. “He won’t put up with any bullshit though. Eric had a bandit executed on the spot for being a rapist, but another bandit was placed in charge of St. Louis because he had a bit of morality left in him. Eric left a squad to watch over the effort.”

  “Eric sounds like a true army officer,” Robert said. “He’s not afraid to make the tough decisions. We had a captain like him in Camp Pendleton.”

  “You were a marine?” Evan asked Robert.

  “Nah,” Robert said. “I’ll always be a marine. I was honorably discharged as a Sergeant a few years ago after three tours in Afghanistan.”

  Evan gave Robert an honorable handshake. A young woman with a small puppy trailing her walked over to the group.

  “Hello, everyone,” the woman said.

  “Hey, Mandy,” Evan said. “This is the man you spoke to, Robert.”

  “You’re Mandy Ford?” Robert asked.

  “That I am, and this is Brewster.”

  Mandy gave Robert a hug. When Evan introduced her to Sarah, his sister-in-law received a hug too.

  “If it weren’t for you two giving me a chance to g
et the hell out of that place,” Mandy said. “I’d probably have died too.”

  “I’m glad we found your uncle,” Robert said. “What is that fur ball?”

  “He’s a coyote pup,” Mandy said. “I hope you don’t mind me keeping him. I couldn’t leave him behind.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Sarah said. “He’s a cute little guy.”

  “We also think he’s already able to tell us when biters are close,” Evan said. “You called them ‘shamblers’ though, right?”

  Robert nodded.

  “Shambler it is, then,” Evan said. “I want to find Nikki and Mary to introduce you to them. After that, I would like to head to my home and bury my family.

  -----

  Earlier that morning, a dozen men made a home out of the abandoned downtown stretch of Jackson, Michigan. They watched quietly as a massive convoy of military and civilian vehicles drove by. As the convoy drove through the undead plagued town of Jackson, sixteen armed men took positions out of the placements. Two Humvees flanked the bus that seemed quite fancy. The gunners would shot down any reanimated person that would get within ten feet of the convoy.

  “Those are military people, Skink,” Steve said.

  “That’s why you’re going to shut up,” Greg whispered bitterly. “Fuckers are going to drag all those fucking things down on us.”

  Greg pointed a rifle at one of the guardsmen and made the sound of a gunshot. He turned to look at their leader with a plea to actually shoot, but Nikolai Grayson shook his head no. The convoy continued to roll on toward Detroit, with a swarm of reanimated following behind.

  “We can’t stay here now, Nikolai. Not with all those damn things around,” Greg protested as he swept his arm toward the road. They were stationed in an abandoned three story building.

  “And what do you suggest, Greg? They don’t know we’re in here, and they’ll follow those people until they are well out of town. Those fools did us a favor. No, we’ll wait here and be quiet.”

  On the other side of the street was another small crew of Nikolai’s men. Three of the men started shooting at some of the undead from their building. Nikolai closed his eyes and shook his head.