by TW Brown
“I’ll do it!” Heather offered.
“I already told you, you are staying here with these kids. They trust you and like you. You are their Wendy.” Kevin inspected his pack and seemed satisfied with the contents. He slung it over his shoulder and climbed to his feet.
“Are you going to toss out all this obscure movie crap right now?” Aleah snapped. “From the day we met, all I have heard is that this is not the movies…this is not the movies. Now, in the past twenty-four hours you have used examples or quotes from Red Dawn, Braveheart, Ghostbusters…and now The Warriors…and who is Wendy if I can ask?”
“Peter Pan. The Lost Boys loved her…made her their substitute mother.”
Aleah threw her arms up in the air in surrender. She was actually a little bit concerned about this sudden change in behavior from Kevin. It was not that helping others was out of his character, it was simply that he really seemed a bit too locked in on this. Tunnel vision could get a person killed.
You’re just being a coward, the voice in her head taunted. She gave that some serious consideration. When they had left behind the soldiers outside of Newark, Ohio, Aleah believed that they were heading for someplace where they could set up a home. She wanted that fantasy to become real. She was tired of the running and the fighting. She needed to be someplace safe so that she could feel good about the child growing inside her. Also, the longer that they waited, the more likely that she would begin to show. Once that happened, she could not predict what Kevin might do.
She was not worried that he might take off; on the contrary. Her real concern was that he would stop everything that they had planned. His vision of what they could expect in South Dakota was almost like a fairy tale when she heard him talk about it. She needed that fairy tale to become her reality.
“Hey?” Kevin was snapping his fingers in front of Aleah’s face. “You coming?”
Aleah nodded and scooped up her own pack. As she went to follow, Heather grabbed her hand. The young girl gave her a smile and squeezed.
“Be careful out there.”
Aleah leaned down and gave the girl a hug. It suddenly struck her how much things had changed in the last year. Her mother had always told her that you should never part with a loved one on bad terms. You never knew if you would see them again and did not want that to be your last memory if something bad were to happen. She always thought that her mom was just being overdramatic. Instead, she had been a prophet.
She still felt a little bit guilty when she recalled how they had said things in haste and anger when she hopped on that plane. The world had changed during that flight, and she would never be able to unsay those last hurtful words.
These days, it was a very real possibility that you might be saying your last farewells anytime you left somebody. She pulled away from the hug and kissed Heather on the cheek.
“You just make sure that you guys take care of all the stuff Kevin gave you to do while we are gone. Even though it is a last ditch measure, we may be relying on it,” Aleah said, and then turned to follow Kevin up and out of the crypt-home.
The sun was about two hours from rising. Kevin had insisted that they get an early start. His belief was that people were always just a bit more susceptible in the early hours just before dawn. That was, according to him, the time when sentries—and Catie had confirmed that this group was not so arrogant as to think that they did not need to keep them posted—were vulnerable.
Kevin was standing in the midst of the rest of his assembled squad. As Aleah approached, he was going over some final instructions.
“…be sure that you do exactly as I instructed. Making it up or deciding that you have a better idea on the fly is a sure way to get all of us killed. They have us in size and strength. We need to use our heads here. Are there any questions?” He looked around at the eight kids that were paying attention to him, but still clustered around Sean. A few shakes of the head was the best he got.
Aleah made eye contact with Catie, and the other woman motioned for her to join her away from the ears of the main group.
“You sure that you are okay with this?” Catie whispered. “I mean, I could take your spot if you have any doubts.”
“No…I’m okay. I trust all of you to do what needs to be done.”
“Still kind of creepy to know how close we were to those freaks,” Catie said with a shudder.
They had used an abandoned private jet for a place to rest for the night at the airport just southeast of Valparaiso. Less than a mile away, at the fairgrounds, this band of monsters had set up camp. They had fenced in the entire fairground complex and actually had a pretty nice set up going. However, she had very little doubt as to where these men originated. Just up the road was a correctional facility that looked to have suffered from a catastrophic fire. She realized that she was making an assumption, but it just seemed too likely of a coincidence.
What had initially perplexed her was that, while she was scouting their location, she was able to identify over a dozen women. She watched very carefully and was more than a little surprised to see that they did not seem to be being kept against their will.
“Let’s get moving!” Kevin called.
He turned and started walking, not bothering to wait and see who would actually follow him. Deep down, he half-expected most of the children to back out. The only one he had no doubts about was Sean.
They headed south and switched over to a two-lane road. Already, nature was reclaiming the area. This particular road ran east-west through some farmland. The bad weather of winter had done its job of helping to break up the road. Weeds or grass grew up between the spider webs of cracks. Also, the fields, most that had never seen harvesting because of when the world had turned, were now jungles of dense vegetation.
After travelling about a mile, Kevin glanced over his shoulder. He was more than a little surprised to see what looked like everybody following along on his heels. As the first pre-dawn glow began to creep into the sky, extinguishing the glitter of the stars above, Kevin spied the outline of the huge twenty-foot fence that surrounded the fairgrounds. Small cones marked what he had to assume were the watchtowers that Catie had told him about.
He stopped and turned to face the group. “Okay, you all know what to do. Sean, take your group and get in position at the south wall. Catie, your group takes the north side, and I will be here in the east side. Aleah, stay out of sight until you hear the signal. Any questions?” He let that hang for a moment, before adding, “Last chance.”
He could only see shadowed faces turned his direction, but nobody spoke or indicated that they had anything to ask. He felt a slight tug of fear and doubt. He knew what his capabilities were. These children were an unknown, and therefore, he could not put any real confidence in them. All he could do was hope.
Everybody slipped away into the dark when it was clear that there were no questions. He watched Aleah walk away last before turning his focus to the three children who had been put on his team. Two boys and a girl; Kevin guessed them to be around twelve years old.
“So, you know what to do, right?” He slipped his pack from his shoulders and began pulling out a few items. The children all nodded. “Once we get close to that fence, no talking. So if you have any questions…now is really your last chance.”
“How do you know this will work?” the girl asked after glancing at the two boys who just shrugged.
“I don’t…I am just hoping that it goes as planned.”
“But if it doesn’t work, then what?” she prodded.
“Then we go to ‘Plan B’ and hope for better results.”
“That doesn’t seem like a very good plan.” The girl folded her arms across her body and began tapping her left foot.
Jesus, Kevin thought, is that just something in the female gene code?
“What was your name again?” he asked.
“Deanna.”
“Well, Deanna, if you have a better one…now is the time to tell me.”
To Kevin’s surprise, she actually seemed to be thinking it over. She pursed her lips and tapped her temple with one finger, reminding him for some strange reason of Winnie-the-Pooh. All she needed to do was start muttering “think, think, think” and the picture would be complete. Finally, and to his relief, she shook her head.
“And how do you know that the zombies will come?” Deanna pulled three of the bundles from her own pack and looked at them dubiously.
“That is one of the variables that we can only hope works. If Catie was accurate in her guess and that herd is still in the area, this will be easy,” he explained.
Actually, if that part of the plan did not work, all they would be doing was pissing off a force that was superior in strength and numbers. He recollected back to his brief campaign against Shaw and his minions. If he knew then about the zombies what he knew now…perhaps—
He crushed that thought before it had a chance to sprout. The reality was that this was a learning process with a very steep curve. Yes, he had made some mistakes, but he also had enjoyed more than his share of victories. If he was going to be any good, he had to have limited amnesia.
You are oh-for-the apocalypse, his mind taunted. He had seen all three of his initial travel companions die. He had failed to help the Bergmans after their capture by Shaw and his men; he further compounded that by having to be the one to actually kill Shari Bergman when she was injured and could not continue to run. His only defense was that she had practically begged him to kill her so she would not be eaten. And most recently, he had failed Valarie.
He struggled to find the victories. He needed one to latch on to if he was going to be the confident and strong leader that these children needed.
Heather!
She was his greatest success. And just like a can of spinach for Popeye, that thought coursed through him and renewed his strength and confidence.
“Follow me,” Kevin whispered. “No talking from here on out.”
The four of them moved into the nearby field that would take them to the fairgrounds. Occasionally, they paused when they could hear rustling nearby. He had to be careful. If he became too focused on what was ahead, he could forget—as much as it was possible in any case—that the world was still overrun by the walking dead.
As they reached to within about ten yards of the barricade that had been erected around the fairgrounds, Kevin smirked. These yahoos aren’t even smart enough to cut back a clearing. They would be able to walk all the way up to the wall and remain in relatively dense cover.
When they reached the wall, he was actually impressed at the construction. The barricade consisted of things like railroad ties, telephone poles, cinder block, and lots of razor wire. That last bit was actually going to help his plan.
Kevin unwrapped the first device and gave it a quick inspection. He turned the knob on the timer and then tossed it into the morass of flesh-rending fencing material that he was pretty sure they had been liberated from the ruins of that nearby correctional institution that had burned down. He gave the children a nod, and they all moved down the length of the fence tossing their own devices at spaced out and random intervals.
While they did their part, Kevin went to work on the next part of his mission. The children had almost made this too easy. He was still trying to figure out a plan when Sean had asked him if dynamite would come in handy. At first, Kevin thought that he was joking.
“That and maybe a tank…a few fighter jets,” Kevin had quipped.
“Well I can’t really help with those others, but we got a bunch of real dynamite. Just let me know if you need it.”
“Wait…you’re being serious?”
“Sure. There is a quarry not far from here. Fish brought it back one day. He only told a few of us where it was hidden. He was afraid that some of the little ones might get stupid.”
Kevin had asked Sean to show him where it was stored. When he looked, he had almost felt his heart come through his chest. One of the boxes had been opened already. Inside were the telltale crystals that indicated that the dynamite was weeping its nitroglycerine. He almost decided to completely forgo the second box, but his curiosity got the better of him. Fortunately, that box was pristine.
He had to give this kid Fish some credit. Not only had he demonstrated the sense to make sure that few knew of this stuff, but he also was smart enough to grab blasting caps and fuses as well. Kevin had created eight three-stick bundles. He gave two to Sean, two to Catie, and kept two for himself. The other two bundles were back with Heather.
Kevin placed the first bundle and pushed it up to the barricade with a stick. He continued to marvel at the ignorance or arrogance—he had to assume it was a mix of both—that this little band of ne’er-do-wells showed when it came to security. Here he was, just a few feet away from their wall, and he had not heard a peep from within.
It took almost twenty minutes, but eventually everything was in place. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. It read five o’clock. In exactly twenty minutes, he would light the fuse. If everybody else was having as easy of a time as he and his group seemed to be having, this problem would be over in no time.
He uttered a silent prayer to whatever mystical being might be listening. Just once, could we have something go according to plan? Please?
The sweeping second hand appeared to slow down as the time drew near to light the fuse. He looked at the kids crouched beside him and was just a bit surprised at how calm they all looked. They could be waiting for a school bus for all the emotion that they showed.
A scream.
It was just one, but it was long, loud, and obviously in a lot of pain. And it was coming from just the other side of the barricade. It was not one of his people, of that he felt fairly confident.
It was still ten minutes before things were scheduled to begin. That would mean that, if he had this timed properly, Aleah was headed this way right now. She probably heard the scream considering how quiet the world was nowadays, but there was no guarantee.
Another scream, this one weaker and followed by shouts and cries.
That’s what I get for praying. God probably hates hypocrites, Kevin thought. The children were showing emotion now. One of the boys was even starting to edge back and away. Kevin snagged his arm and shook his head. The boy tried to pull away, but then Deanna grabbed the boy’s other arm and gave one very curt shake of her head.
Kevin risked rising up just enough to peek over the vegetation. Out on the road, nothing was moving. Across the way would be the general direction that Aleah should be coming from at any moment. Catie finding that one large herd was a stroke of luck. That had helped Kevin finalize his plans.
She had estimated their size to be in the range of almost ten thousand. When she was out on her mission to scout the camp of their target, she’d seen a dark smudge on the horizon to the south. She’d gone to see if it was a potential threat to their location and been surprised to discover that the enormous pack of zombies had simply reached a spot in the middle of a field and stopped.
Using binoculars, she had taken a closer look to see if she could discover the cause. It was as simple as the fact that the head of the heard had entered a three sided depression. The sides were too steep to climb and, at some point, the herd had just stopped.
They sort of mushroomed out from the single point of entry, but those in the rear showed no desire to just roam away on a tangent. Thus, Kevin had reasoned, they would simply stay put until they were stimulated to change. They were far enough away from the encampment that the noise was not at a level that could be picked up by the zombies—that was going off of Kevin’s assumption that sound played at least some part in their process.
It had all come together too easily. However, this time, Kevin was embracing things. Okay, this was not the movies, but why can’t real life play out as planned every once in a while? This time, he was going with what he considered to be a very straightforward and simple plan. Yet, here it was, just minutes away, and the
re was definitely something wrong happening inside.
The noise from beyond the barricade was escalating. It actually sounded like a pretty major fight was going on. There were yells and curses…and a fair amount of anguished screams and cries. He was beginning to worry. Sure, part of his plan involved noisemakers, but what he did not want is for him or any of the other groups to get trapped between the hoard that should be coming into view any moment now and the walls of this camp.
His final instructions had been very explicit: Do not vary from the plan. Stick to the schedule.
A loud ‘whump’ was quickly followed by a teeth-jarring ground-shaker of an explosion. Kevin looked at Deanna and gave a slight nod. She tapped the two boys and retreated into the growth. For some reason, he trusted this girl to get them back to the rally point safe and sound.
Popping up again, he inched back until he could see up into the closest tower. At first he thought that it was not manned, but a flash of a shadow finally revealed that there was at least one person up there. It was also obvious that they were not looking out. All of the action was inside the barricade at the moment. Part of him wanted to cheer. Was this a stroke of fortune that would assure that his plan was a success?
Looking back, he saw the first of the zombies cresting the small ridge. That meant that Aleah had done her part. She was supposed to get that herd to follow, and it looked like she had been successful. Now he just needed to do his part.
Kevin glanced at the watch. Less than a minute. And it was the slowest minute in his life. He did not wait one second longer and it seemed that the other groups were just as anxious. Kevin lit the fuses and moved away. Less than ten seconds later—the fastest in his life—the airhorns started to blare as their timers went off. The sounds of sirens and bells came in a tsunami of sound that drowned out anything that might be happening inside the barricade. Less than twenty seconds later, the explosions overwhelmed everything.
Kevin could not resist popping up to take another look. At first he was heartbroken. One of the locations where he had planted a bundle of dynamite was smoking, but he could not see any sort of breech, but the second location was a different story. A cavernous gash that looked to be hiding a fire-breathing dragon would offer plenty of access to the approaching hoard. Kevin swiveled his head and was thrilled to see the zombies doing just as he hoped; almost as a single organism, the teeming mass of undead pivoted and homed in on the walled camp.