Harley sighed. Billy was a better talker than him and Billy always seemed to get the best of him when it came down to words. “The zombies are everywhere. They are scattered through the woods and they kind of use the roads just like the living. The roads are thick with them. We would probably have to mow some of them down when they block the way.”
“Okay, guys, and if we bust a radiator running them down, we are on foot with a slavering mob of starving jaws at our throats. No, sir. Not for me. I’m staying at least until spring. If there is no sign that any government exists, then I’ll go along with you, but not now.”
“Billy, I don’t need your permission to leave,” said Harley in a low voice. “I could slip out of here tomorrow and get to the truck, I think.”
“Do what you have to do,” said Billy evenly. “No hard feelings and I wish you luck. And, Jude, if that’s how you feel, I understand. We can split up the supplies and I’ll wish you the best.”
They group stood in silence for a full two minutes. Billy looked resolved, Jude looked worried, and what Harley was feeling was buried beneath the surface.
Finally Jude broke the silence. “I won’t leave without, Billy. I won’t”
It was not a surprise, but nevertheless Harley felt his anger rise.
“Of course, you won’t, you little bootlicker. You’re Billy’s shadow,” shouted Harley. He struggled to control himself. He did not like to let his emotions come to the fore.
“I’m sorry, Jude,” he said as he mastered himself. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just…just kind of frustrated and maybe I am a little scared. I need some sleep I guess.”
“No worries, Harley,” said Jude. “I’m a little scared, too. So, now where does that leave us?”
The two men both looked to Billy. They were willing to let him make the decision again. Billy felt the weight of it and decided on a half measure.
“Guys, I don’t want to tear up the group. I’m afraid if we split up, I’ll never see you guys again. I’ll tell you what we’ll do if you both feel so strongly about this. We won’t wait until spring to leave.”
“Really, Billy?” asked Jude with an almost childlike tone. “Can we really head home?”
“Yeah, we can, but I don’t want to leave during a cold snap. If we end up hoofing it I don’t want to fight the weather as well as the dead. I feel a cold snap coming. You guys do, too. We’ll wait out this batch of cold weather, and when it clears we’ll do whatever it takes to get back home. Is it a deal?”
There were smiles all around at this news and Jude and Harley were slapping Billy on the back and laughing out all the nervous energy that had been building up. The friends gathered up their sleeping bags and laid them out for the night on top of the picnic tables. They decided not to bank the fire and instead built it up to a large roaring inferno and then let it slowly die down during their sleep. They were all warm and asleep within minutes. They never slept well, but they had to sleep.
****************
Across the lake there was no sleep. The growing army on the shore stared greedily at the island. The small trees and scrub brush did not leave much cover and the light from the fire streamed out from the shelter house. The dead knew instinctively that fire meant people. The temperatures continued to plunge during the night into the single digits. A cold wind began to freshen and brought more frigid air from the northeast. The cold air did not bite the zombies. They felt no pain from the cold and the infection prevented their blood from freezing. The dead were gathering on the shore in anticipation. Anticipation of what they did not know, but something was driving them.
More and more shambling creatures emerged from the woods and even more were using the access road from the highway to enter the shore and marina area. They emitted low moans and reached for the island with their hands as if to pull it nearer to them. The water was a barrier they could not cross; yet they showed no sign of abandoning their vigil. Sometime after midnight a stir began in the crowd. For the first time all fall and winter, ice was beginning to form on the still waters of the small lake. It began as small crystals on the shore and began to spread outward. The dead began their first tentative steps on the ice. It broke and several fell through, though the water was only inches deep that close to the shore. The ice immediately froze over again and it began an inexorable march across the water. The zombies stared at the growing path to the island and something akin to excitement ran through them. More soldiers joined the growing army as the first rays of sunlight broke over the mountains. There was now an immense multitude on shore. The ice was not strong enough to hold them…yet.
Chapter Three
Harley was the first to rise, as always. He felt the bitter bite of the cold on his face. The fire had completely died down and the temperature was obviously the coldest it had been since their arrival on the island. Harley was certain that the already cold temperatures of late had gotten much worse. He wondered if it was sub zero weather.
Harley pulled on his pants and shirt quickly and followed up with his wool lined jacket and gloves. The others were still asleep. He left the relative shelter of the enclosure and he decided to walk down to the pontoon boat and start the engine. It wouldn’t be good if the battery was left idle until the cold sapped its power. The engine was 160HP and was far too heavy to pull start even under the best of conditions, much less frigid weather. He began the walk down to the small dock where they had the boat tied off. It was snowing heavily again. He was stamping his feet trying to warm them when he noticed the ice. A chill ran through Harley’s body and he forgot how cold he was. The entire lake, really just a pond, was covered in ice. Their moat was gone and was replaced with an icy road right up to their doorstep.
Harley whirled in every direction to see if the island’s security had been breached. Visibility was low because of the snow and his eyes blinked against the flakes stinging his face. Harley started to yell for the guys and then thought better of it. If zombies were already on the island, or close on the ice, the sounds would only bring them faster. He quickly retraced his steps.
Billy and Jude were roughly brought from their sleep by Harley. Within a minute Harley apprised them of the situation and the guys were dressed and armed quickly.
“What do we do now, Billy?” asked Jude. He was obviously scared, but trying to maintain composure. “We should have left weeks ago.”
“Its too late for that now,” warned Harley. “We didn’t leave and anyone of us could have. Let’s figure out our options starting now.”
They both turned to Billy, who was thinking with a grim expression on his face.
“I don’t think the lake could have frozen solid enough for the dead to cross in just one night no matter how cold it is,” said Billy slowly.
“Billy, it’s frozen I tell you,” Harley said. “Come look.”
In silent agreement, they all dashed from the shelter house with guns ready to fire. Billy had his head on a swivel as Harley grimly led the way to the small beach. Jude was jittery and swinging his eyes from side to side. His breath was coming in gasps. They halted at the waters edge. The pontoon boat was tied off just yards away. The snow coming down was the dry powdery type and was not really sticking to the ground or the ice covered waters, but was being driven across both by the wind.
“See what I mean?” said Harley sweeping his arms across the landscape. “It’s frozen. They may be here any minute.”
“Just a second. Lets take a look at this ice,” Billy said, as he walked up to the edge of the lake.
Billy took a tentative step onto the ice. It held and as he put his other foot and his full weight on it the ice began to crack and pop. Billy managed to jump back before it gave way. Harley attempted the same exercise some yards away and the ice broke almost immediately under his greater weight. He cursed as he sank ankle deep into the water and jumped back on the beach. Jude did not look like he was going to volunteer for a similar experiment. It was obvious to all that even though the lake was covered
, the ice was still exceeding thin; however, the frigid temperatures were strengthening the ice with every passing second.
“You see what I mean?” asked Billy. “And that’s just the ice close to shore. A hundred feet from the shore the ice is even thinner because the water is deeper. As long as this cold snap doesn’t last, we should be fine.”
Harley looked troubled. “But what if it does last, Billy? If it gets thick enough, they’re gonna come pouring onto this island and rip us to shreds.”
Jude gulped as Harley described the worse case scenario. His Adams apple was jumping up and down in his throat.
“I’ve got a plan for that. Do you think you can get the pontoon started, Harley?”
Harley nodded.
“I think so. It turns over real easy and the spark it strong.”
“How’s the fuel situation?”
“We’ve got about twenty gallons in gas cans, Billy, and the boat is full,” said Jude. “Before the monsters took over the shore I hand pumped as much as I could out of the marina tank, but where are we going to go, Billy?”
“Nowhere. I was thinking of driving in circles.”
Jude and Harley had mystified looks on their faces until Harley broke into a broad grin.
“I get it,” he said. “We use it as an ice breaker right?”
“Exactly,” said Billy. “While the ice is still thin we break it up. We’ll start close to the island and widen out as we go.”
“But won’t it just freeze over again, Billy?” asked Jude.
“Of course, it will, buddy, but each time it has to refreeze, we buy ourselves more time. If we keep it up long enough, we can ride out this cold weather. This far south, it usually doesn’t get too cold for too long. I think we can do it. What do you say?”
“What are the alternatives?” asked Jude.
“The alternatives are we do nothing and probably die by a horde of ravenous zombies.”
Jude seemed to consider that for a moment.
“I love this plan,” he said suddenly. “I’m excited to be a part of it. Let’s do it.”
Billy stared at him for a few seconds with a quizzical look on his face and then began to laugh uproariously. Harley and Jude joined him and for a quick moment they forgot the danger and remembered their friendship. It was what had gotten them through all that had come before.
*****************
The three young men all trooped to the pontoon boat and boarded it. The wind was whipping across the lake and made them feel even colder than they were. Harley jumped into the captain’s seat and reached for the ignition. There was no key as they had hot-wired the boat when they first took possession of it. The engine was started by twisting two wires together to make the necessary connection. Harley was having trouble manipulating the wires with his heavy gloves. After fumbling with it for a few moments, Harley swore under his breath and tugged one glove off with his teeth. His fingers began to numb almost immediately. Finally he made the connection. The big outboard motor turned over very slowly.
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Billy, with a shake of his head.
Harley continued to turn the motor over. The motor refused to catch. It was turning ever slower as Harley frantically twisted the wires.
“Come on, baby,” he pleaded. “Just start up and I’ll feed ya high test the rest of your life.”
After a couple of minutes the motor was barely turning at all.
“You’re just killing the battery at this point, Harley,” said Billy. “Give it a rest.”
“It’ll start, I’m telling, ya,” protested Harley. “Come on, baby, please.”
Billy and Jude exchanged a glance and Jude shrugged his shoulders. After another few moments the battery quit altogether and the only sound left was the wind whistling around them. Harley put his glove back on and sat glumly in the seat. His head sank to his chest as if in deep thought.
“That’s it,” said Jude. “The battery is dead, soon to be followed by us.”
“The battery will come back when it gets warmer,” said Harley. “If we’re alive.”
Billy started to protest against that kind of thinking, but the energy was as sapped out of him as it was in the battery. In silence they all left the boat and began to return to the shore. Billy brought up the rear and gazed at his companions. All bundled up as they were, he could only tell Jude and Harley apart by the size difference. He looked up at the sky and tried to find the sun. It was up, of course, but he wondered if they would live to see it shine again. He had already made a pact with himself to never allow himself to become one of those flesh-eating monsters. If it came to it, he was going to put a bullet in his own brain. I might be lunch. he thought, but I won’t turn into one of them. He wondered if each man had made a similar decision. They hadn’t talked about it by silent acclimation. It was bad luck to talk about the end. But was there any choice now?
Jude wondered if the guys were as scared as he was? They had been living with one foot on a banana peel for a while now, but running from zombies was different than being trapped. The island was always a trap. Billy should have known this could happen, he thought. Jude had been Billy’s faithful follower for many years now and the idea of rebelling against him in this time of need didn’t feel right. Billy had kept them together and alive since this thing had happened. How many others had died, he wondered. Millions, maybe even billions. They hadn’t seen anything but zombies since the old couple back in town. Could be we’re the last three living humans, he thought. Stop this, Jude, he told himself. Come on, man, think positively. Jude forced himself to do so. I am positive we are going to die, he thought, and kept walking with the others.
Harley was brooding about the engine. It had seemed like such a good plan, but that was shot now. When the ice got a bit thicker the mob lusting for their flesh would come lurching across the surface of the lake in a frenzy. If they could last the day maybe they could get off the island first and head for the wooded side of the lake. The zombies were much thicker on the beach side. Harley knew his woodcraft very well and he wondered if he took off tonight after dark if maybe he could make it on his own. One man made less noise than three. Once I break through the cordon around here it might be clear sailing to a big town, he thought. It would be a long slog alone, but he was sure he could survive. There had to be people alive in the big cities no matter what Billy thought. Could I ever abandon the guys, wondered Harley? He didn’t think so, but this was a new world. Billy always talked about rebuilding society, but Harley knew that meant survival first. He chewed that over in his mind as they walked.
*****************
Across the lake on the shore by the marina the army of zombies were growing. Some were frozen up to their waists as the ice had given out beneath them. These monsters wailed in seeming fury, while the others waited. More joined them from the woods. The zombie army was of cross section of human kind. A ravenous hunger was in them and the primitive knowledge that a meal was to be had across the now frozen water was driving them mad. Suddenly a ripple went through the army and a new group made its way to the front. Fresh growls rose into the air. A change was felt.
******************
As the guys reached the shelter house they all immediately surrounded the opening to the fireplace. There was some residual heat left from the remnants of the fire and Harley grabbed some wood and hastened to build up a roaring blaze. The heat washed over them in waves and each man felt the power of the fire. For thousands of years since man tamed fire, it had brought protection from cold and from wild beasts. They all felt reassured standing next to the comforting fire. Billy wanted to stay next to it all day, but he knew that their survival was hanging by a thread. After less than five minutes had passed, he cleared his throat. Jude looked up at him expectantly, but Harley continued to stare into the fire, as if hypnotized by the dancing flames.
“I know it’s cold, guys, but we have to stand a watch,” said Billy.
Jude groaned. As the thinnest
member of the group he was more susceptible to the frozen winds and the cabin like atmosphere of the shelter house was comforting. He shivered at being exposed to both the elements and the hungry dead.
“It’s okay, buddy,” said Billy nodding at Jude. “I’ll take the first watch and I’ll stay on guard as long as I can. I think the main danger is from the marina side, but I’ll patrol the other side too.”
“Billy, you can’t take it out there all day,” said Harley still staring at the fire. “I’ll relieve you in an hour and then, Jude, you can take a turn. We’re all in this together. Let’s stay a team.”
Jude gulped and looked unhappy while Billy nodded and smiled.
“Thanks, man, but I want you to make sure all the guns and other weapons are in good shape and ready to go. You’re our armory master. Make sure we’re ready. I’ll call you if I can’t take it. Maybe the sun will come out and warm things up. All we can do is hope and be vigilant”
With that, Billy shouldered his rifle and went back outside. Jude remained by the fire and Harley began to clean and oil all the guns and to make certain they were all loaded and ready to fire, if needed.
“Harley, what are our chances if the ice gets thick enough for them to cross?” asked Jude nervously.
“You heard Billy. All we can do is hope they don’t cross.”
“But what if they do? We can’t hold off hundreds can we?”
“If the walls hold up we can make it pretty hot for them. Remember, we still have hundreds of rounds. We’ll make it, little man. Just don’t go to pieces, okay? I know you’re scared. I’m scared too and guess what? Even your buddy Billy is scared. That’s why he volunteered to go back outside. He wants to stay busy and not think about it. If you want my advice, find something to keep yourself occupied and think about what we can do and not what we can’t do.”
Zombie Civilization: Exodus (Zombie Civilization Saga Book 2) Page 2