“There’s not even any bones left,” he mused. “The bastards ate it all.”
No one else said anything. Turk had his eyes focused on the staircase leading to the second floor. He had thought he heard movement, but he was not certain. There was movement from the hospital bed and the entire group snapped to attention. From beneath the bloody sheets an emaciated figure emerged. The person was in rags and their hair was matted. It was hard to tell whether the slight figure was a man or a woman. The figure swung its legs over the side of the bed and stepped down. Billy thought the person was moaning and then he realized that it was growling instead.
“Its one of them,” screamed Turk. “Shoot it.”
“Settle down,” said Harley. “You’ll wake up every monster in this town.”
Harley took a step forward and met the creature as it tottered towards him. Its teeth were snapping hungrily at Harley. An ax flashed in his hand and Harley brought it down on the skull of the creature. Instead of cleaving the bones, the skull exploded, covering Harley’s arm in blood and gore. Harley swore and grabbed the drapes that were hanging raggedly from a broken curtain rod and began wiping off the goo with the fabric.
“You figure that’s the old lady we met?” asked Harley, as he continued his gruesome task. “Its kind of hard to tell. Might have been her though. That critter was about the right size.”
No, that wasn’t her,” said Billy as he rubbed his chin. “She wouldn’t have survived long enough to become one of those things. Her and her husband were both devoured whole I guess. They were lucky in a way. She wouldn’t have wanted him to be a creature. That’s why she stayed. She was trying to save him. She even tried to save us in her way.”
“Well, she did that, buddy. Why are we here though?” Harley asked. “You must have a plan.”
“I do. I was hoping to find some bones at least, but the blood on the walls and the floor will have to do.”
With that Billy pulled a lighter out of his pocket and gathered up some old newspapers and made a pile under the sofa.
“Billy, what sense does this make?” asked Jude.
“I’m giving them a Viking funeral. It’s the best we can do with what we have to work with. This house will be their funeral pyre. We don’t have a boat to put them in and we don’t have a body if we did. All their possessions and memories are here and we will cleanse it of the zombie stench while giving them a funeral at the same time.”
“But, Billy, you’ll draw every monster around to the house,” said Jude nervously, as he looked out the window towards the truck.
“I’m counting on that, old friend. The more snappers that are here, the less there are on the other side of the town at the store. Its win win. Now, everyone clear out while I light this candle.”
The group left at a trot as Billy lit the papers. The sofa went up quickly, billowing black smoke. Before Billy left he made certain that the ceiling was on fire as well. After that it was a sure thing that the house would burn to the ground. He walked out as the guys were piling in the SUV. He turned for another look at the house.
“I wish I could do more for you and I’m sorry we brought them down on you. Requiescat in pace,” he said and he realized he was crying. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and pulled himself together before he rejoined the group.
“Let’s go shopping,” he said, as he slammed the door and turned the ignition key. The engine roared to life as he did a u-turn in the street and started towards where Harley had reported the store. He saw the house engulfed in flames in the rearview mirror and noticed several houses were disgorging zombies who were headed towards the roaring flames. He wished he could set the whole town aflame, but he tamped down his rage and studied the road.
“I didn’t understand it at first, Billy, but that was a good thing you did. You might even call it civilized,” said Jude.
Billy smiled tightly at the implied joke. The guys sometimes thought his dream of building a new civilization was wishful thinking, when surviving was the order of the day. He wasn’t against that, of course, but there had to be more. He looked over at Harley. Harley was the one he always thought was the good-natured one, yet he had tuned into the most ruthless killer of the creatures of all of them. That couldn’t be the reason God had left them on earth. Not just as exterminators. God made us in his image, he thought. He must want something more for us. He saw a zombie shambling down the center of the road and he slowed and pulled to the right enough so that they simply passed the creature by.
“You’re too soft,” grunted Harley. “That might be one we have to face on another day.”
“And what if he busted the radiator or got tangled in the shaft?” asked Jude.
“He wouldn’t have gotten tangled in the shaft, you idiot.”
“But he might have busted the radiator right?”
Harley said nothing in reply.
“Billy knows what he’s doing, Harley. Just let him do the heavy thinking,” Jude said.
“You’re a born follower, Jude,” said Harley with some sarcasm.
“Well, buddy, you know what they say about too many chiefs and not enough Indians,” countered Jude.
“That’s politically incorrect,” Turk said softly.
There was a moment of silence and then the group burst into laughter.
“Okay, okay ,Turk. How about too many cooks spoil the broth,” said Jude as he controlled his laughter.
“What’s broth?” asked Turk.
“It’s like thin soup,” replied Jude.
“Then why don’t you just say soup?”
“Because broth is different.”
“You just said they are the same.”
“That’s not what I said. I said broth is like a thin soup.”
Turk thought that over for a few seconds.
“I could go for some soup,” he said. “I’d even settle for broth. That’s like a thin soup, right?”
“Shut up, you knucklehead,” said Jude, with a grin as he finally realized that Turk was yanking his chain. They were all beginning to realize that Turk had a pretty dry sense of humor. Every court needs a jester, thought Jude.
“There it is,” said Harley pointing up the road.
Chapter Sixteen
“Why stop here?” asked Jude, as Billy slowed the vehicle to a halt.
“Let’s not advertise that we are going inside. Lets just park here and we can slide along behind these buildings and sneak in the back way.”
There was a general agreement that Harley’s plan was a good idea and Billy did not even ask anyone to stay in the SUV. Everyone piled out quietly and jogged around to the back of what looked like a small warehouse. Each man had a rifle in his hands, but ammunition was short and Turk’s gun was just a club as he had no ammunition and the rounds the group had for their rifles and hand guns would not fit the M16 that Turk carried. Jude realized as they walked how vulnerable Turk probably felt and he wordlessly handed Turk his revolver. It only had a few rounds, but it was better than nothing. Turk slung his rifle over his shoulder and accepted the revolver with a smile and a nod.
There were few houses in this section of town. Billy could see a machine shop next to the hardware store and a muffler shop next to that, but as yet no creatures had spotted them. They eased up to the back door of the building and saw it read Macgregor’s Hardware. Billy wondered how a Scotsman got this deep in the backcountry. He tried the door and found it was locked.
He motioned for Harley to help him and they both leaned into the door as hard as they could. Billy felt the frame begin to give a bit, but it held. They were about try again when Turk stepped forward with a small tool that looked like a eyeglass screwdriver.
“Let me try,” he said. “I used to be pretty good at this. Before I was a soldier I was a juvenile delinquent.”
He began to try and pick the lock. After a few minutes the group began to get restless and Harley leaned backwards against the door.
This ain’t working buddy,” he sai
d. “I think some brute force is called for.”
Just as he finished Turk made a cry of triumph and the door flew open. Harley fell backwards onto the floor and disappeared into the shadows of the room.
“Our shopping day has begun,” said Harley, as he picked himself up and peered into the gloom.
They were in a back storeroom and Billy saw a door, which looked like it led to the sales floor. He walked through it cautiously. The others followed and they found themselves on the main floor of the store. The plate glass windows were intact and were letting ample light through to illuminate the aisles, though it was still dark. The front door was slightly ajar. Turk moved to take up a sentry position next to the door and gently closed it. A bell above the door tinkled as he closed it. The guys could immediately see that the store was more hardware than sporting goods.
“I think we’re good for nuts and bolts and maybe a toaster, but I don’t see a lot of weapons,” said Jude.
Billy looked around and had to agree with Jude. The store was fairly small and he did not see a gun section. There were sporting goods, but what was visible was more in the line of basketballs and camping equipment. At least some of that might come in handy to replace gear that they had been forced to abandon.
“Every place like this out in the sticks sells shotguns,” said Harley.
“We have shotguns, Harley, but we’re out of shells,” said Jude. “What do you want to do start collecting empty shotguns?”
“No, but where they sell shotguns, they sell shotgun shells, dummy. Just start looking around.”
Jude looked like he wanted to argue, but he started walking down the nearest aisle and scanning the merchandise. It wasn’t that the store did not have items they could potentially use, but the dilemma was which ones were worth carrying. They could not take everything and if they had to abandon the SUV and go on foot they would only be able to take what was mobile.
Billy found a good sturdy backpack and began filling it with items. He found a good Bowie type knife and a whetstone. A sharp blade might save a life, he thought. He also grabbed a few simple tools. A hammer and a small pry bar and a small set of screwdrivers along with a length of hose that would work for siphoning gas for the trip. Billy figured they should treat this like a bank job and not stay more than a few minutes, but he couldn’t help looking for useful items. He heard a low whistle. It was Jude waving him over from the other side of the store. He hurried to his friend’s side.
“I hate to say it, but Harley was right,” said Jude.
Billy looked at the wall and saw a section that at one time must have been filled with various shotguns, but it was empty now.
“We weren’t the first people with this idea I guess, Billy,” said Jude morosely.
“Well, the soldiers said it happened over the course of a few days most places, so people probably did grab every weapon they could. The pity is most of them turned into monsters themselves. I still wonder why we were spared,” said Billy.
“We weren’t exactly spared, buddy. Remember we lost people along the way.”
Jude was right, thought Billy and the memory of Holland and of Steve haunted him in his dreams. He blamed himself for both deaths. If he had been more cautious they might have avoided all the early trouble and the awful thing he had been forced to do. He closed his eyes and silently prayed. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and found himself facing Harley.
“Don’t you know not to sneak up on someone in a post apocalyptic zombie world?” he asked. “I might have shot you.”
“Your rifle is slung over your shoulder,” Harley pointed out. “I don’t think anyone was in danger.”
Billy realized that he had slung his rifle when he had started to fill his backpack. It was still hard to be alert constantly, even after all he had seen. A person inevitably relaxed sometimes.
“Did you find anything, Harley?” asked Jude.
In answer Harley held up a plastic bag.
“I found the ammunition cabinet. It was behind the counter like I thought it would be. The lock was wrenched off of it and it was looted. I scavenged a dozen or so loose twelve gauge shells, which are the wrong size for our guns. Sorry, but there is no ammo goldmine here fellas.”
They heard a low whistle and saw Turk by the door motioning them over. As they walked, they crouched down as they could see zombies loitering across the street.
“We’ve got company,” whispered Turk. “They just popped out of nowhere. All of a sudden I saw them come around buildings and down the street in twos and threes. I think they sense something.”
They stood in the shadows and stared for a while. The monsters were growing in numbers, but slowly and they weren’t approaching the store so the danger seemed minimal for the moment.
“I think we’re okay for now,” said Billy quietly. “Let’s take one more look around the store and grab anything you think will help and is easy to carry.”
Leaving Turk standing guard by the door the guys spread out down the various aisles. Jude saw boxes of wooden matches and grabbed a couple. He figured man had been relying on fire to keep beasts at bay for a couple of millennia. May as well keep the streak going. Billy found little more of use and was becoming anxious about the situation.
“Guys,” he said in a low voice. “Lets head back out the back door and swing around to the truck. I think our business in this town is done.”
The group reassembled to troop towards the backroom with Billy in the lead and Turk as rear guard. Billy noticed that Harley had picked up a metal softball bat to replace the wooden one he had lost somewhere along the way. Harley was twirling it like Casey at the bat. They slipped back into the gloom of the storage room and Billy put his hand on the doorknob.
“Okay we got what we came for at least for the most part,” he said. “The rest of the play is easy. We swing back around the buildings again and get in the truck and get it moving fast. Nobody fire if you can help it. With any luck we’ll be out of this burg in ten minutes.”
“You’re calling the play, Billy,” said his faithful Jude. “You got us in and out of here real smooth.”
Nothing to it,” said Billy.
He turned the handle of the door and opened it. There was a densely packed mob of zombies at least fifty strong just outside the door. Billy quickly closed the door and looked back at his friends.
“We may be trapped.”
******************
Billy no sooner got the door closed than the dead began pounding on it and the entire building seemed to shake.
“Quick back out the front way,” said Billy.
They ran back through the storeroom into the showroom and saw it was still empty, but the sounds from the back were clearly agitating the small mob in the street and they were advancing upon the store. The guys crept up to the front door and paused. Everyone was breathing hard and Billy noticed that his heart was beating wildly.
“Alright, change of plans. We’re going out the front door, but everything else is the same. Let’s keep a tight formation and don’t shoot unless you have to,” said Billy. “Let’s hit the door at the count of three.”
Just as he finished there was a loud crash from the storeroom and in the next instant zombies began to stream into the showroom, growling and groaning as they came.
“Three!” yelled Billy and they burst through the door into the street.
The zombies outside raised a cry as they spotted the men running. Billy and Jude were in front and Turk and Harley were bringing up the rear. They turned left as soon as they were out the door and were sprinting down the sidewalk towards the SUV. It was several blocks away, but Billy could see that there were no creatures surrounding it. Most of the zombies behind them were loping at a slower pace, but a small group of four broke away from the pack and were uncomfortably close to Harley and Turk. Harley slowed a little and turned on the two nearest him. A quick swing of his bat disabled one and he turned towards the other and saw Turk raise Jude’s re
volver and put a bullet in the creature’s brain. Two more quick shots from Turk knocked down the other two and they ran to catch up to the others who had already made it to the vehicle.
Harley saw Billy jump in the front seat as two more zombies came out of an alley and put themselves between Harley and the SUV. Harley charged and was swinging his bat wildly. Turk raised his weapon again and pulled the trigger, but it simply clicked on an empty chamber. He was out of bullets. As Harley was knocking in the brains of another monster, Turk threw a shoulder block into the zombie in front of him and knocked it to the ground. As it tried to rise he delivered a brutal kick to the head of the creature with his heavy boots and knocked in its skull. He and Harley finished their sprint to the SUV and got in the back seats as Billy roared off. He did a wide u-turn in the street knocking over several creatures in the process.
“I thought you didn’t want to run them over, Billy,” said Jude. “Changed your mind on that, buddy?”
“They were making me mad. You wouldn’t like me when I’m mad,” said Billy.
Chapter Seventeen
“I think our business is done in this town,” said Harley. “Lets get out of this burg and hit the highway.”
It was agreed and Billy began navigating back to the highway. As they drove they came upon the same zombie in the middle of the road that Billy had swerved to miss earlier. Billy again passed the creature by and then he suddenly hit the brakes and turned around.
“What’s up, coach?” asked Jude. “I thought our business was through in this town.”
“I did too,” replied Billy.
They were about ten yards from the zombie when Billy stopped. The monster was walking in the other direction as Billy brought the vehicle to a halt. The others were exchanging puzzled looks as they noticed Billy’s intense stare at the zombie. Billy grabbed his revolver, opened the door, and stepped out. At the sound of the door opening, the creature turned to face Billy and let out a growl and began to advance upon him. The zombie was a male and his entire midsection looked as though it had been ripped out of him in life. Harley was shaking his head in bewilderment when he heard a gasp from Jude.
Zombie Civilization: Exodus (Zombie Civilization Saga Book 2) Page 10