Legacy of the Living

by Sean Liebling

Faster and faster his punches came, and she was able to block each, pushing it to the side of her torso or head. Then she punched him back while leaning into it and she heard him “ooof” while stepping back and holding his hands up.

  “Good one. Who trained you?”

  “You did Master Sergeant.” She could see he didn’t believe her but she had already told him the Angels were helping her. She could feel them filling her, strengthening her spirit.

  “OK, one practice spar. Full contact. Pull any damaging punches. Got it?” Ashley nodded.

  Master Sergeant Trask didn’t know who had trained her or when, but it was obvious she had skills. He’d been forced to step back after the last blow she delivered because if he threw them any faster and she didn’t block in time, there would be no way he would be able to pull it. Full contact though with warning meant you became a little banged up, but accepted that risk. Darin loosened his shoulders as they squared off. He vowed he would only bruise her a little bit. Sliding forward into her space, he led with a false knee snap kick, and as his heel came down he used the momentum to throw a lightning quick jab to the center of her chest. However, she was not where she should be, and then his world was turning upside down.

  *****

  Kathy turned from the window and spoke to the room in general. “I don’t see any at all. Haven’t all day. Maybe it’s safe enough for a little play time.”

  Kathy, June, and Darlene had been hiding in the three-bedroom apartment now with seven kids for eight days. The kids were driving them crazy, wanting to go out and play. The oldest was only nine and they were all tired from the cramped quarters. They had been hiding for a week from the creatures that roamed the streets. Others had taken care of the zombies that had made it into the apartment building, and the other residents who had turned into them. Originally they had numbered eleven adults and almost thirty children, but the others had gone off. Made a run for it, heading north, and they had no idea if they’d made it or not. They prayed daily, sometimes hourly that they were all safe.

  “Let’s do it.” Darlene was the first to speak up. “The kids are driving me crazy.”

  They agreed, and grabbing their clubs they headed down with the children. Just a half hour playing in the warm sun was all the kids needed. Just some fun in this misery they now called life.

  *****

  Mouse looked out the window of the apartment they were searching and whistled low. Dane came running.

  “Look,” she muttered as she pointed out the window. They were on the second floor of an apartment complex they were searching for survivors. Twenty-two dead zombies by machete later, they’d been convinced no one was alive in this low-income complex when Mouse had spotted the activity outside.

  “What the fuck?” That was Dane and he was staring down into the playground courtyard in shock. Below them, three adult women and a whole bunch of kids were playing on the swings and slides and making noise. “This ain’t gonna end well. We need to get down there and warn them to get back under cover.”

  “Yeah,” Mouse responded and they started running. Down the hall and partway down the stairs they began hearing screams. They ran faster, hearts in their throats, to a bottom apartment. Dane kicked in the locked door. Despite his small size he was strong as hell and knew just how to deliver the kick next to the knob. As a licensed savant fighter, he knew moves she could only imagine, and he was actually really good for his weight class.

  “Too late!” Dane growled as he stared out the patio window from the side, staying hidden. Mouse peeked and gasped. There must have been at least fifty or even sixty zombies already in the courtyard, and the women and children had taken refuge in the globular jungle gym. Mouse immediately pulled her radio out and called Alethea.

  “Alethea, come in. Emergency,” she called softly.

  “Back at you babe. What’s up?”

  “We have three women off Sutton with seven kids. They’re trapped in a playground. It isn’t looking good. How soon can you get here?”

  “Not for a couple hours, love. We’re moving some from the south to the pad. Any way you can help them out?”

  “No way. Fifty or sixty zombies already and more are moving in by the second. Stupid shits went out to play on the playground.”

  “I’ll do what I can. See if there’s anything you can do, but stay safe. I need my kitten in one piece. Don’t get stupid on me, girl.”

  “I won’t. Hurry if you can. Mouse out.” She looked at Dane. He looked back helplessly. There were simply too many, so they watched and dreaded the worst.

  *****

  DAY 9: 1330 ET SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11TH

  With the dairy farm out of the way I needed to see Darin. I knew he had earlier mentioned he would be training my women at this time, and I wanted to see them and wish them luck. Besides, I knew they would be wearing that damn trademark outfit my little Cara had created, and damn if it didn’t really make them sexy as hell.

  OMG! I think my brain stuttered when I rounded the north corner near our office and bedroom section. There were not three girls training ... there were four. I instantly recognized Ashley as the fourth. Holy shit almighty! I watched as she did a lightning quick squat thrust leg sweep under Darin’s overextended body. It was obvious he was in the middle of recovering from his own punch attack, but her timing is perfect, I thought. With his feet swept sideways and upward, I saw Top hit the ground hard on his side and back. Before he could twist away she was already in mid-air flipping over on top of him, body limp while straddling his hips after hammering his chest with an elbow hard enough to make me cringe, for I saw his face purple. Then she made two strikes to his throat. Thankfully, she pulled those spear punches and rose off him, holding out a hand. He accepted it while rubbing his chest, then saw me. He limped over, but not before I saw that Ashley was almost as tall as Top. Near them, I saw Cara smiling with glee at the action, with Jean and LSS laughing and hanging on to each other.

  “Top?” I inquired, very confused. I got a better look at Ashley as she stood there smiling radiantly at me. Wow, talk about a knockout.

  “Sir, we have to talk.” He grabbed my arm and led me further away, and waved the girls back as they started to follow us. After about thirty feet he stopped and turned, pulling me behind a parked Humvee.

  “Jeez, Top, what’s up? Is she dressed like I think she is? What in hell was that all about? I recognized the move and the body relax drop to speed up the fall, but what the hell? I’ve seen pro FFAs do it worse. Why is she training with my girls … and these skills? I would never have suspected her father of approving anything like this.” Top hushed me.

  “Jesus, Commander, lower your voice. I bet she can hear us.”

  “What?”

  “Listen. I’ve never seen anything like this. She doesn’t forget anything. It’s unnatural.” He paused then continued. “I decided to train the girls in hand to hand to start, then move to weapons, but listen. Everything I’ve taught her over the last half hour she remembers. Every part. Never forgets anything. Not yet anyway, and she improves on it. What you saw was an example of that. I never told her she could go limp and drop faster; instead, I told them they could use the weight of their body behind a blow to increase its effect. I was saving the fall as a trick in case they got good and I needed an edge. She figured it out the first time without instruction. Frankly I’m a little scared how she’ll perform on the range with guns next.”

  I pondered that for a few seconds. It was obvious he was hurting a bit and winded. I shifted sideways and peered around the back of the Humvee to look at the girls. They all waved. Massive chest aside, it was equally obvious this Ashley wasn’t even breathing hard.

  “OK, why is she dressed like one of my girls?” I patiently listened as Top explained what Miguel had told him. Angels. Christ. Just what I needed.

  “I hate like hell to say this, Sir, but she can probably take my ass right now. I don’t know what’s going on but it’s unnatural. The good thing is she loves yo
u and keeps saying she’s going to be tested soon as a protector of you and yours, and has to learn everything. She’s pushing me hard. Cara accepted her instantly. Dunno what that’s all about. I figured she’d be jealous as all get out, but nope.” I nodded at his words, and dragged him from behind the Humvee and approached my women and Ashley.

  After hugs from all, including Ashley, I talked with them briefly before leaving. Cara had accepted Ashley instantly because she’d recognized that Ashley had taken on my girls’ look in order to keep all the other men away. Ashley still needed time to heal and was a bit crazy according to Cara. Cara said this in front of Ashley, who just smiled at her, then to my amazement they hugged. I will be the first to admit that hugging Ashley turned me on almost as much as my girls did, even though up close Ashley was Amazonian in size, in every direction. I made a mental note to have the doc look at her.

  I also got an update from Darin on the survivalist compound. They’d found over a million rounds of mixed caliber, and they’d hit the gold mine at the home of the pawnshop owner. There they found various military grade weapons, including some fully automatic, along with some highly illegal explosives. I tsked, and grinned at this news. It was what I had assumed, actually, and was pleased my instincts had been correct. Darin was also releasing LSS from the shooting practice that was next on his list, as she had already adequately qualified with the carbine.

  I next headed down to the riverbank to check on Major Dan Weston’s new barricade project. He had been working on it for two days and I’d been told it was almost complete. He was sitting in a lawn chair and we shook hands when I trotted up. There was also a large heavy-duty looking crane parked back here.

  “How goes your little project?” I inquired as I looked him over. He was still covered in bandages, but instead of being blood-stained, they appeared to be mostly covered in mud.

  “Great, Jay. Almost complete, look for yourself,” and he swept his arm outward indicating the river, its bank and our new barrier. Dan had erected more double-stacked concrete T-barriers all along the river’s edge. I looked along the bank and saw them curve with the river. Every so often they had built a platform where several people could stand and look over the barrier.

  “Where did you find more T-barriers? I thought we used up most of the ones here and in Grant.”

  “We did, but the concrete cement company just west of town had hundreds more. It’s where I also picked up the crane. The ground is too soft here for the forklifts.”

  “Gotcha. Well done.” I gently clapped him on the shoulder, making sure it was the good one and not the one covered in muddy bandages.

  We talked for a while and I brought him up to speed on everything else that was going on. It was amazing how fast we were getting things done with everyone working together. Then I looked at my watch and whistled. I had a radio-taping meeting with LSS at the CAPC. We had decided that every afternoon I would give a brief pitch to anyone that could hear us that they were welcome here and that we were expanding. I already had a crew out in Fremont, actually making headway against the zombies. There were still a ton of them but if you took the proper precautions, anything was doable. It was as good a time as any to do the taping. Besides, I was horny.

  *****

  DAY 9: 1400 ET SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11TH

  Jason turned the corner of the brick wall and backpedaled as hands reached for him. The demons were everywhere and the further they went into Grand Rapids the more plentiful they became. Both he and Travis were liberally doused with kerosene, but at this concentration of undead it wasn’t helping much. The creatures were starting to recognize them as food no matter what they smelled like. That was another thing the Reaper did not exactly understand. They didn’t breathe so how could they smell?

  “Back up, Travis. Watch it!” he growled as he hefted his machete and weighed the odds. There were too many, but he lunged forward to chop through the necks of the first two to approach. Travis beside him did the same, taking down the next row, and the bodies formed a small barrier that gave them a little breathing space.

  “What do you think Reaper? We could climb and take them out from above.”

  “Yes we could, but then more would come running. I don’t like the location of these buildings. We need to find the source of that scream and then get out.”

  “Agreed, but we should still climb. We can jump between these buildings easily.”

  They were currently in a series of alleys that ran between a series of four-story buildings. The walls were five feet apart and the narrow passage was cluttered with old trash and bottles. They had been traveling between a series of office buildings on the other side of the street when they’d heard a scream come from this direction. The Reaper thought it might be someone in trouble and Travis wasn’t about to argue with him. Now they were in an alley that was choked with the hungry undead.

  Travis climbed on top of a plastic trashcan and, reaching up, was just able to grab the bottom run of the fire escape ladder above them. Heaving until it clanged a foot off the ground, he swarmed up it, calling down to Jason.

  “Up here Reaper. Quickly!” The Reaper glanced up, then killed the first of the zombies to crawl over the bodies of their brethren and followed him. Once both were on the landing Travis pulled the metal ladder up just as the undead reached for it.

  “Close one Reaper.”

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  Travis grinned at his brevity. One thing you could count on was that the Reaper never wasted a word. Quickly they ascended to the roof, crossed to the next edge, and looked down. Earlier in the day, they had seen a few people here and there. They’d been mostly barricaded up in apartments with some food and water, just waiting for the government to come and rescue them. Jason and Travis had not had much luck talking sense into them for they were convinced order would be restored shortly. Travis scratched his head at the thought, but the Reaper just shrugged and moved on. He wasn’t willing to try saving people that didn’t want saving.

  As they peered over its edge carefully, they scanned the alley in both directions. No sign of life, other than a hundred zombies stretching in both directions down its length. The Reaper frowned, then threw his head back with his hands cupped to his mouth and shouted.

  “Hello! Can anybody hear me?” He did this several times while pointing his head in different directions then paused and they listened. Faintly they heard it again.

  “Help us!” It was coming from the south and slightly west of their position. The Reaper scanned the rooftops in the direction of that faint plea and saw a break in the buildings. Some kind of open space, he assumed. Quickly he shrugged off his pack while Travis did the same, and together they threw them across the narrow alley to the adjacent rooftop. Then they took a running jump and leaped to the other side, gathered their rucks and took off at a quick lope to the far edge.

  Peering over, they stood for a moment in shock. What must have been a hundred of the undead creatures, at least, were clustered around one of those globular jungle gyms that kids liked to climb on. Some of the demons were even starting to climb it but were being knocked off by something within. Pulling his binoculars out, the Reaper peered between the undead ranks and swore softly. This close they could both hear the whimpers of children and curses of adults, all female.

  “What is it Reaper?” Travis was behind him, loosening the flaps on his magazine pouches. They had a full load out of ammunition on them, which meant close to fifteen-hundred rounds in total. That was the first thing they did every morning. They would raid a local gun shop for resupply. Grand Rapids had many gun shops scattered all over the place. Finding one was easier than finding a tattoo parlor on the Vegas strip.

  “Three women, young to middle-aged, along with seven kids of various ages from maybe three to ten. They’re inside the globe using boards to keep hell’s minions back. Let’s go.”

  “Go where?” but the Reaper didn’t answer. He was already jogging to the fire escape on that side of th
e building. He started climbing down and Travis followed.

  “Reaper. We can shoot them from up here. They can’t touch us.”

  “We’re going down. We’ll shoot them from below.”

  “But ...” Travis started to say something but the Reaper paused and looked up at him. The deadly look in his eyes was enough to make Travis hold his tongue as Jason took a moment, just looking at him, then asked.

  “What have I told you Travis?”

  Travis sighed at the words. He knew that one. “Every day is a good day to die.”

  “Right. Get your ass in gear unless you want me to shoot you first.” Then the Reaper grinned and began climbing down again.

  Travis started down. Not that he thought the Reaper would actually shoot him, but because the Reaper was right. They needed to get down there and now. He was not afraid to die. Not after what he had witnessed over the last week. He was just afraid to die uselessly. This, however was not useless. On the bottom landing the Reaper handed him a set of disposable earplugs. Both men rolled the tips and inserted them in their ears. Then Travis raised his M14 EBR rifle, a loaded thirty-round magazine seated in place, while the Reaper raised his modified M40. Both men glanced at each other, then started firing.

  To a casual untrained observer it might have sounded like two slow machine guns going off, and anyone watching the men shooting would have assumed they were indiscriminately spraying the crowd of zombies with bullets, but that wasn’t the case. They had settled into their positions and were firing almost as fast as new rounds racked into the breeches. Neither man missed. Like a cascading wave, zombie bodies were dropping in both directions with clean headshots depriving them of the semblance of life. The Reaper had already changed into his fourth magazine without pause and Travis was on his second. The women, seeing who was shooting, started screaming for the two men to help them.

  What do you think we’re doing, lady, Travis thought as he continued shooting. He noticed a wave of the creatures moving into the small park-like playground from one of the alleys on the south side, and immediately started taking them out right at the opening. Bodies piled up and he switched to his third magazine. He had a bottleneck there for the time being and switched his aim to almost directly below them where some of the creatures were hiding. Vaguely he noticed the knot of people inside the jungle gym. Three women, as the Reaper had said, with a cluster of children huddled in the triangle their bodies made as they faced outward, boards clutched in their terrified hands.