Zombie Civilization: Exodus (Zombie Civilization Saga Book 2)

by Steven Ehrman

  “So I was conserving ammo, plus if I fired a shot every zombie within earshot would have been on my tail again. As it was, I used the same strategy I used when they chased me off the water tower. I’d let one get close and then I bashed his skull in with my ax. I did that until I had put away all of them that were still chasing me. But that took another half a day of running so when it was all said and done I had been running for my life for about twenty four hours and I was exhausted. It was getting warmer fast so I figured I could stop and not freeze to death. My clothes were dry so I climbed a tree and used my belt to tie myself to a limb and I went to sleep.

  “I woke up in the night just before dawn and I could hear something moving around in the brush, but I never saw what it was. That kept me in the tree for most of that day. By the time I got back down I started to try and figure out where I was. I climbed up a rise and saw that I was just outside of Purgatory.

  “I figured I could find some food in town so I made my way down there. I broke into a couple of houses and found some odds and ends to eat and tried to figure out what to do. I was afraid to travel in the daytime because it was easier to see me, but I didn’t like traveling at night any better because they are more active then.

  “I had my bearings by that time and I decided to try and just jog down the highway to meet up with you guys if you were still there. Before I left, I saw a small hardware and sporting good store we missed when we were in town. I tried to check it out, but there were too many of them around, so I bagged it.

  “Trying the direct route down the highway didn’t last long. I attracted too much attention and I had to hit the woods again. That didn’t make much difference to me at that point. I knew where I was again and I plotted a course back here pretty easy. I got back last night.”

  “Last night? Billy gasped. “You mean you sat out in the woods all night when we were just a hundred yards away? Why in the world did you do that?”

  “Because I wanted to get the lay of the land first,” said Harley simply. “Those army boys didn’t look any too friendly to me, so I decided to adopt a wait and see approach. Good thing that I did to. When I saw that sergeant was going to take you guys out, I drilled him.”

  Harley had a grim expression on his face and each man hoped to never find himself in Harley’s cross hairs.

  “So you played the cavalry and saved the day at the last minute,” said Billy. “You were just in time, buddy.”

  “Well not just in time,” said Harley with a gesture towards the dead body of Jenkins.

  Billy bowed his head and closed his eyes in a prayer to the dead. The others followed suit. Billy heard a growl.

  Chapter Fourteen

  All eyes were drawn to the sound of the familiar growling. Sergeant Kerns was on his feet and his gaze was locked on the group. Kerns began shambling towards the group. He stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.

  “I got this,” said Turk and he brought his rifle to his shoulder. He pulled the trigger and suddenly remembered his gun was unloaded.

  “No worries, guys. I’ll put one in his dome,” said Billy quietly.

  Harley put his hand on the barrel of Billy’s gun.

  “Put it down, dude, and let me show you how it’s done.”

  Harley had his ax in his hand and stepped forward. Kerns was on his feet again, picking up speed. He was grasping with both hands towards Harley and was growling loudly and snapping his jaws. There looked to be saliva dripping from his mouth. He lunged at Harley with excitement as Harley swung the ax. He neatly severed Kerns’s neck. The head fell to the ground and rolled several feet before coming to a stop. The now headless body took another step by momentum and then crashed into the grass and sand. Harley walked over to the head. The teeth were still snapping and Harley gave the skull a kick and sent it spinning away another couple of yards.

  “Why doesn’t it die?” asked Turk incredulously. “Just freaking die, you SOB.”

  Turk was close to hysterics, it seemed to Billy and he put a soothing hand on his shoulder.

  “Nobody’s knows why, Turk,” he said. “It’s just the way it is. We aren’t going to leave him like that. Go on and end it, Harley.”

  Harley stared down at the skull. The eyes stared back at him and the jaws were still snapping shut in a futile attempt to continue the assault it had begun. Harley spit to one side.

  “Nope. I don’t think I will,” he said. “He committed a crime. There has to be some sort of punishment. You’re the one always bleating about forming a new civilization, well civilizations have laws and he broke one. I say his punishment is to be imprisoned in what’s left of his body. He can’t hurt anyone like he is and he has been punished.”

  Billy thought it over and still didn’t like it. How long would Kerns live in the state he was in? A day? A year? Forever? It didn’t seem right. He was shaking his head when Jude spoke up.

  “Billy, I know you usually call the play, but Kerns would have killed all of us. Let him rot. It’s as close to prison as we can find for zombies. Ending it would be a favor to a madman.”

  “I know I’m new, but I vote to leave him,” said Turk. “It’s justice.”

  “It still seems wrong to me, but if you fellas are all agreed then let it be on your heads. Anyway, let’s bury Jenks and get out of here.”

  “I don’t think we have time for a funeral Billy,” said Harley pointing over Billy’s shoulder. “We got company and I don’t think they’re mourners.”

  Billy turned to see a small army of the dead coming out of the woods. Some were practically skeletons and Billy’s stomach flip flopped at their appearance.

  “Jesus, where are they coming from,” said Jude. “Are they multiplying or what?”

  The zombies broke into a trot at the sight of the four men and the growling sound grew into a fevered pitch.

  “Into the truck everyone,” said Billy as calmly as he could. “It’s time to get out of here.”

  Everyone broke into a run and they were soon safely in the SUV. Billy started the engine and put the vehicle into gear. His foot remained on the brake and the zombies were hurrying to the truck.

  “Let’s get going, Billy,” screamed Jude.

  “We’re safe. I want to see something.”

  Billy was staring intently at Jenkins’s body as the zombies approached. Their eyes were intent on the SUV and they passed Jenkins up with no hesitation. They were soon pounding at the windows and doors of the SUV. Billy finally pulled his foot off of the brake and accelerated slowly towards the gravel access road. He crushed several of the dead beneath the wheels of the four-wheel drive behemoth. The dead were following the slow moving vehicle up to the asphalt highway and they finally fell behind as Billy brought the truck up to speed. He stared at the mob in his rear view mirror until he could see them no more.

  ****************

  The miles were disappearing under the wheels of the truck as Billy drove in silence. The silence was unnerving to Turk. He was the new guy and he felt out of place and scared.

  “Billy, do you mind telling us where you are going?” he finally asked.

  His voice broke a little as he spoke and he glanced at the others to see if they had noticed.

  “We’re heading back to Purgatory,” he said finally.

  “Why Purgatory, Billy?” asked Jude. “We’ve already been there. There’s nothing there for us.”

  “Did you notice that the zombies went right past Jenks body without feeding?” asked Billy, ignoring Jude’s question. “Didn’t that seem odd to anyone else?”

  “What’s so odd about it? They feed on the living. We know that,” said Harley.

  “But Jenkins had just died. His body was still warm. He hadn’t turned and became one of them. Why didn’t they feed?”

  “What difference does it make, Billy?” asked Jude. “It seems to me that that just makes them more dangerous. They will ignore the recently deceased for living tissue.”

  “Well that’s just it,” said
Billy, as he stopped the vehicle and turned to face everyone. “They are set up for killing more than eating. Maybe the need to feed is just so they will have a drive to kill and not for sustenance.”

  “I still don’t see what you’re driving at, Billy,” Jude said.

  “It’s just when you look at it from the angle that the dead are driven to kill rather than to feed, it makes them into a possible weapon.”

  “So you think the Russians are behind this?” asked Harley skeptically.

  “I don’t know, guys. Maybe the Russians or the Chinese or maybe aliens I don’t know, but I’m starting to get the feeling that they are a design and not a mutation or a new disease. From an evolutionary viewpoint they have a terrible survival outlook. They cannot reproduce and the game they kill is tiny and finite. It doesn’t fit any model I’ve ever heard of.”

  “That’s because there aren’t any zombie models, Billy, for God’s sake. This is just navel gazing,” said Harley. “All I know about these things is how to kill them. The rest of it I’ll leave to egg heads.”

  “Maybe he’s right,” chimed in Turk. “In the service we were always taught to study your enemies. If Billy’s right about this then how can we use it to our advantage? What do you suggest, Billy”

  “I haven’t gotten that far, but it might be valuable. All I was thinking was if it was a design by men then maybe somewhere somebody has a cure.”

  “If it’s a weapon like you think then maybe there is no cure,” Jude said.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Billy said warming to the subject. “No one sets something like this in motion without being able to shut it down.”

  “But, Billy, the early reports we got at the base said it was worldwide,” said Turk.

  “Okay, maybe it got out of hand, but if it’s a weapon there must be a cure somewhere on a computer or in a file or in someone’s head. We just have to find it.”

  “But job one is still staying alive and finding our families right, Billy?” said Jude.

  “Of course, buddy. I’m not talking about heading to the Pentagon right now.”

  “And our other job is to take out as many of these things as we can,” said Harley, as he opened the passenger door and stepped out. “I think I’ll try to even up the odds just a bit.”

  Billy looked out the open door and saw that a zombie had appeared from the woods and thick brush and was approaching the SUV, but was still about fifty yards from the vehicle.

  “Harley, get back here,” shouted Billy.

  It made no impression on Harley as he strode towards the zombie with his ax in hand. When he reached the creature he swung the heavy tool in the air and cracked the skull of him burying the head of the ax deeply into the bone. Harley yanked the ax out and the zombie collapsed to the ground. Harley turned towards the truck and grinned holding the ax over his head.

  Harley heard the warning screams from the guys and saw a dozen zombies burst from the nearby cover and begin loping towards him at a frightening pace. He began running back towards the truck and he could hear the pounding footsteps of his pursuers behind him. Harley saw Billy raise his rifle, but his friend did not shoot. From Billy’s vantage Harley figured it was probably hard to hit his tormenters without hitting him. His lungs were burning as he finally made it back to the vehicle and dove in the front seat.

  He tried to pull the door shut behind him, but found it blocked by two pairs of bony hands. Harley hacked at the zombies with his ax in one hand while using the other to keep pulling the door shut. There was screaming from the back seat and Harley felt the car move forward as Billy put it in gear. They began to accelerate and then the engine died and the truck coasted to a halt again.

  The two zombies were still hanging on and the others hurried to help them. Billy was trying to start the engine again and Jude raised a rifle from the back seat as if to shoot through the window at the monsters.

  “Don’t,” screamed Billy as he turned the ignition. “You shatter the windows and they’ll be all over us.”

  Jude started to protest as Harley continued to hack away. Turk was looking around frantically holding his empty rifle. The rest of the zombies caught up to the truck again and began pounding on the doors and windows. Billy saw another group break from the woods. Harley was losing his battle, as another set of hands got between the door and frame of the truck. Harley heard the engine roar to life just as the zombies pried the door partially open. Harley let go of the door and leaned into Billy at the same time and kicked at it. The door flew open and slammed into the creatures trying to get in. It sent them flying and Billy threw the transmission into gear and slammed on the accelerator. The truck screeched the tires and sprang down the road with one determined zombie still hanging onto the door. Harley again hacked at the hands with his ax and cut off one hand. The zombie was being dragged along the road and as the speed picked up the zombie finally lost his grip and rolled out of view. Harley slammed the door and sat back in his seat. No one spoke for a minute and Billy could hear the heavy breathing of the entire group. Harley finally broke the silence.

  “Now that wasn’t such a chore was it?”

  “Yeah, you only almost got yourself killed along with the rest of us, so no biggie. A simple my bad should take care of the whole thing,” said Jude with heavy sarcasm. “You freaking cowboy, don’t do that again. In fact, new rule. No more taking stupid risks just to wipe out a zombie when we don’t need to. Just survive and advance right?”

  Billy continued down the road with a thoughtful look on his face.

  “You’re pretty quiet, mister leader. Why aren’t you ripping him a new one for taking such as stupid risk?”

  “Did anyone else think that looked like an ambush?” asked Billy.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “They’re animals, they don’t do ambushes,” said Jude.

  “Yeah, they do.”

  “Billy’s right. Some animals do set up ambushes,” Harley said slowly. “African lions do it for instance. Even some spiders are ambush hunters, but if that was an ambush, then that was more cooperation than I thought was possible from them. It could be a game changer.”

  The enormity of the possibility began to set in on the group as Billy drove down the deserted highway. There was the occasional abandoned car or truck, but there were no real impediments out in the country. As they neared the town of Purgatory they came upon more abandoned vehicles and Billy had to use the SUVs four wheel drive abilities to get around any obstacles.

  “Listen, guys,” Billy said finally breaking the silence. “I just thought it seemed pretty convenient the way it worked out back there, but lets just assume for now that the incident was just what it appeared to be. A lone zombie with some others that just happened to be nearby and were drawn to the commotion. That’s probably what happened. I think I’m letting my imagination run a way with me.”

  “That’s probably exactly what happened,” agreed Jude. “These things act like rats or ants. Where you see one, there are probably more just out of sight. Now, I’ll ask you again. Why are we in Purgatory?”

  They had passed the city limits sign as Jude had been speaking. The town looked completely dead. There were a few burned out houses in evidence and, of course, the streets were littered with abandoned vehicles, but the dead were either gone or in hiding. They had all noticed that the zombie hordes were more active during the night, but it was still eerie to be driving through the streets with no movement in sight. Jude wondered if the dead had dispersed through the countryside looking for food. They had likely devoured everything alive in Purgatory.

  “Well, for one thing it’s the straightest path back home,” began Billy, as he drove up into a yard to bypass a knot of cars. “Another is that I want to check out that hardware and sporting goods store that Harley spotted. Might be the last chance to pick up supplies for the drive because I aim to stay on the back roads and not get caught up in any more city action.”

  “Well there’s two things about that, Bi
lly,” said Harley. “First off, the store was just a little mom and pop place so I don’t know how much stuff they’ll have and second, you’re going in the wrong direction. The store was on the west end of town. This area is starting to look kind of familiar.”

  “Well, we have a debt to pay here in town and I want to pay my respects.”

  They continued driving along slowly and soon found themselves in front of the home of the older couple. The old man had been bedridden and was raving when they had been there last fall, but the woman had given them valuable information that had allowed them to stay alive. Without her advice they may have been torn apart by the zombies that first day down from the mountains. The SUV came to a halt and Billy put the transmission in park and left the engine running.

  “I’ll be right back,” said Billy as he opened the door. “Everyone stay put.”

  “Not likely,” said Harley, as he jumped out of the passenger seat onto the pavement. “You’re gonna need back up for whatever you have in mind.”

  “That goes for us too, Billy,” said Jude from the back seat.

  Jude got out of the truck and looked to Turk. Turk hesitated for a moment and then got out as well.

  “Fine, have it your own way,” said Billy in a weary voice. He reached back in the SUV and turned the ignition off and pulled the keys out. “I’m only going to be a minute. I just want to cleanse the place from what happened.”

  “Cleanse it how?” asked Jude, but Billy was already halfway up the walk. Jude and the others hurried to keep up.

  When they reached the front porch they saw that the door had been completely torn off of its hinges. The room inside was dark and gloomy. Billy gripped his rifle and walked in warily. Harley and Jude followed with Turk reluctantly bringing up the rear. The living room looked much the same as when Harley and Billy had been in it before with one important change. The walls and floor were covered with what could only be a massive amount of dried blood. The hospital bed in the room where the old man had been was particularly bloody. Billy remembered that he had been strapped down. The poor old guy never had a chance and his wife was too loyal to leave him. They had both been eaten alive undoubtedly, but Billy had hoped to find some remains to pay his respects to.