by Micah Gurley
"Clear!" Yolanda yelled, followed by Patrick and James.
"Clear," Kyle said, absently almost forgetting about the short firefight instantly. He started to walk around the truck. His nerves were on edge and he was hesitant to enter the house. He wasn't sure he could handle it if something happened to his brother. Cryptic thoughts caused him to stop in the yard, he couldn't make himself go to the door. Kyle's internal agony was cut short when he heard the garage door began to open. Kyle's fatigued and worried eyes lasered in as the door slowly opened. He forced himself to move again. “Just a step,” he said. Another step. Irrational fear again gripped him, eternal seconds where he pictured his brother being attacked and eaten, and him being too late to help.
The door rose just about Kyle's height when Abe ducked under and walked out of the garage. Kyle, seeing his brother safe, felt almost a physical force that caused him to sway slightly before he took a hold of himself. He inhaled, to make sure he wasn't going to lose it, and took quick steps over to his brother and pulled him into a tight hug. Abe felt his brother's arms around him, and relief like a waterfall fell over him. The two brothers held each other for a long moment, both of them letting fear and apprehension drain away. Kyle let go first and stepped back to look at his brother.
"I see you’re suited up," Kyle said, his voice almost quivering. He didn't care about showing emotion to his brother and he felt almost stupid for not saying something more meaningful.
Abe laughed, "Yeah, I almost didn't believe you, but decided it was only my pride on the line if it was another joke. I know now it wasn't." He also seemed shaken to Kyle. Something had happened, but before he found out exactly what that was, he needed to make sure they were in a defensible position for next little while .
"I'm glad you took precautions," Kyle said, and looked over to Abe's truck that was backed up to the small trailer. "And thanks for getting everything set up. I hope you didn't have any problems except for what was here."
Abe followed Kyle's look to the dead people on the ground. "We can talk about it later," Abe said. He was dead tired and hadn't been able to relax for the last few hours. He had been scared out of his mind and was almost ready to break down. Seeing his brother had almost caused the floodgates to open on the spot, but he got it together and patted his brother on the arm.
"Brother, I need a shower and to chill for a minute, my nerves are on edge."
Kyle just nodded and let his brother walk back inside the garage and in the door of the house.
"Hey, where's he going? He didn't even say hi," Yolanda complained, as she came up from behind Kyle.
"I think he just needs to relax for a few minutes knowing he's got somebody watching his back," Kyle said
"I hear ya there, Professor. I would hate to be trapped in a house with those things beating down the door. I wonder how long they were here?" she questioned.
Patrick ran up beside the two. "Kyle, I don't want to let my family out until we get those things out of the yard and the trucks turned around.
"Let's do it then," Kyle started, "I have some rope in the garage that we can tie to their legs and we'll just pull them out. Then we'll move the trucks."
Patrick nodded and ran to explain to his wife, who was probably a little afraid of what she just saw.
Kyle looked over to James still scanning the area around the house. Solid dependable James. He smiled at Yolanda who gave him a curious look. "I'll get the rope and tie them off. Back the Tahoe up to them and we'll drag them around the block."
Thirty minutes later and the diseased corpses were out of the yard, and the three trucks were in a tactical circle with Abe's truck and trailer on the left of them. A jittery Jasmine and the kids were taken inside. Kyle, thankful that electricity was still working, had put on a Disney movie for the kids and showed Jasmine were the peanut butter and jelly was. He then went back to the spare room to check on his brother. Abe had a towel around him and was dead to world on the bed. Kyle leaned on the doorframe of the room and just looked at his brother for a few minutes. He had been terrified that he wasn't going to make it home and now that he was, he didn't want to move. His fear told him to just button up this place and hope everything would turn out okay. Fear was the activity killer. He wasn't sure how badly this thing was, but his brother and his friends’ lives were too much of a gamble to let his fear take over. He quietly pulled the door closed and let his brother sleep. He wasn't sure how long he could leave him. As Kyle walked down the hall he noticed the towel that he had left beside his brother’s door that morning and just smiled.
Kyle walked back into the living room and upon seeing everyone, except for James, he told them to get something to eat and take a shower. He walked outside and saw James still standing behind the Tahoe, looking out into the neighborhood.
"Your brother must have gotten one earlier, and by looking at the many shots it took, it was close range with the pistol," James said.
"Yeah, he must have let it get close," Kyle said, and shuddered. He had seen the body but hadn't inspected it. "I'll take lookout for awhile, go ahead and grab a shower with your woman and get something to eat. Not sure how long we are going to have electricity, Patrick can relieve me in a hour or so.
James looked at Kyle, one eyebrow lifting in his otherwise stone face. Seconds passed and Kyle wondered if he went too far with his little joke. "Maybe I will," James said, and headed into the house. Kyle smiled and went to the truck to grab the portable radio, then pulled out the ladder from the garage and climbed onto the roof. He walked to the top and sat down to a view of the surrounding area.
Chapter 15
Abe woke up with a jerk, sure that the crazed man was coming after him. Sweat poured off his brow and his heart pounded. He quickly looked around the room, waiting. A minute passed and his heart started to slow down as he heard voices in the other room. He let go of the pistol that he was holding and leaned back against the pillow. "Need to get a hold of myself,” he thought. He looked at his watch - 3:30. He had slept for almost an hour and a half. He got up and buckled the gun belt around his waist. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to go anywhere without it again. He walked into the living room to find Kyle's friends sitting around eating sandwiches.
"Look who decided to wake up and join the fight?" called out Yolanda, standing up to give him a hug. Abe smiled back and wrapped her in a hug. She was the first person that he met after Kyle started working for the plant. She sat back down next to a large black guy.
"James," he said, "nice to meet you."
"Abe," he responded, "and likewise. Where's Kyle?"
The Professor is taking a shower," Yolanda said, and Patrick is on the roof keeping lookout. Another friend of ours called and he is on his way over.
Abe nodded his head and introduced himself to Jasmine and the kids, then walked back toward his brother’s room to find him getting dressed.
"What are we gonna do now?" he asked. He was feeling safe at the moment and wasn't sure he wanted to go anywhere.
"That's what we're going to talk about, let's go," Kyle said, and walked past his brother after giving him a punch in the stomach. The blow, totally unexpected, almost knocked the air out of his lungs.
"Idiot."
"Let's have this meeting on the front lawn so Patrick can participate. Eric should also be here by the time we get out there." The group got up, picking up their beers and sodas, and walked to the lawn. The kids both brought little toys to keep them occupied near the door of the house as the others moved beside the leaning ladder.
"Patrick, come halfway down so we can talk," Kyle said, trying not to shout. The last hour had provided quite a few diseased stragglers that had come their way. They had all been taken out quite a ways from the house, but the noise of the guns concerned him.
"Wait one second, I just saw a truck coming this way," Patrick said from the roof. Kyle unslung his gun, as did James, but just as quickly Patrick called out that it was Eric heading in.
"Copy that," Kyle
said, deciding to wait a few minutes until he got there.
It didn't take long for Eric's large truck to barrel up to the front yard. He stopped, stuck his head out the window looking in all directions, and pulled his head back in. Not saying a word, he put the truck in reverse and backed out again. He then moved his truck to completely fill in the circle around the house. Kyle was smiling as he walked to meet his friend.
"Glad you could make it man," he said with genuine affection. Eric was somebody you wanted with you in a tough spot. "Are the other guys coming or staying at their places? How about your folks?”
Eric just hung his head and said quietly, "They didn't make it man, parents were gone before I got home. Looks like my mom just died from a heart attack, my dad not so lucky. The other guys’ parents were already sick and must have gotten them quick. I don't know.”
Silence hung in the air as the others were listening and didn't know what to say to Eric’s loss. Kyle gripped his arm and then pulled him into a man hug.
"I'm sorry about your loss."
"Thanks Kyle, that means a lot. The folks always did appreciate you helping them." Kyle, slightly embarrassed, waived it away, he had only given them a basic tutorial on the computer after all.
Eric noticed the group staring at him and told them to cut it out, he didn't need people giving him those looks now. He turned to see Patrick's kids playing in the entrance of the house. He nodded his shaggy head in appreciation, and then walked to the back of his truck and let the tailgate down. He reached inside, unclasped the lock, and seconds later his remaining family jumped on the ground and started moving with boundless energy around the group, smelling legs. The kids squealed in delight and instantly had the attention of the beagles. Eric smiled.
Kyle patted Eric on the shoulder again and looked at his watch.
"It's almost four o'clock now," he started, looking around at everyone. "We have packed most everything we need for the moment. The trip to Fort Macon is about twenty-five minutes if we don't have anything pop up, which today is a big if. Should we go for it today, or buckle down here tonight and start first thing tomorrow morning?”
"We don't have much time before sundown," James stated, looking at the sky. "I say only about an hour before it gets dusk."
"Even if nothing goes wrong on the way there, we will only have about thirty minutes to an hour to clear the place and make sure it's safe," Kyle said, adding onto what James said. "I don't like being rushed into being safe."
"I agree, Professor," Yolanda said, getting off the ground where she was sitting next to James. "And you have motion detectors here, which will help spot anything at night. There are plenty of us to help keep watch, so we shouldn't have a problem. I say we stay." The others nodded their heads in agreement and the group began to fan out to their different callings.
Kyle, walking into the garage, took a look at his extra freezer and popped it open for a quick see. If the power went off it would all be wasted, except for what they carried away. Prime rib tonight? Why not. He wondered if the diseased could see the smoke, and then decided to grill inside the garage and just leave the garage door open. The meal was a hit, with everyone one edge, eating had been a lesser concern, leaving some grateful people mopping up the last of Kyle's expensive steak.
Lights were off and darkness descended. Abe and Kyle volunteered for the first watch while everyone else tried to calm their fears and get some sleep. The time wasn't late, but without power to entertain and the hectic day, people were soon asleep.
Kyle sat on the top of the roof facing the back while Abe sat facing the front yard. The night was quite. Eerily quiet. No horns, no music, it seemed that even the insects knew to keep it down tonight. Kyle and Abe were both quiet, processing what had happened that day. It was thirty minutes before Abe spoke.
"I dropped the gun," he hesitated in telling the story. "When I was first attacked, I shot the pistol and dropped it."
"The noise?" Kyle asked quietly, without looking at his brother.
"Yep, stinking loud."
"It is that, I think I have lost twenty percent of my hearing already," he laughed. Kyle turned to look at Abe. The moon was bright tonight and he could see his brother's face clearly. It was calm. "I wouldn't worry about dropping it. You weren't the first Smalls to do it."
"You did?" Abe coughed.
"I don't think we need to go into all that now." Kyle smiled. "Just know there's nothing new under the sun."
"Except zombies," Abe laughed.
"Yep, except zombies."
Chapter 16
Abe woke slowly to the sound of moving and shuffling around the house. He lay disoriented for a minute trying to figure out what was going on. He tried to rise out of the bed and was quickly reminded that whatever happened, he had worked out some muscles yesterday because he was sore. He laid back down for a minute, yesterday's events washing over him.
"Hey lazy, we’ve got to go!" shouted Kyle from the door to the room. He was already dressed and ready. When did he become a morning person? "Suit up. Leaving in five minutes," then he was gone.
Abe groaned and got out of bed. He quickly dressed in the clothes he had ready and headed out of the room.
Abe watched as his brother directed everyone. Sometimes he gave helpful hints, sometimes suggestions, and sometimes he told them what to do, but always in a light fashion. Abe was amazed. He had never seen his brother like this. Commanding, but in a professional way. Was this what he got from the army? From all the movies Abe had watched, the low level officers were always terrible. Abe could see Kyle being a good leader, but always having his stuff neat and being on time? Well, he didn't think so. Abe's thoughts were interrupted as Kyle walked over to him.
"Do you mind driving the truck?" he asked. "And drive behind Patrick, with James and Yolanda behind you."
"Yeah, no problem," Abe answered. He turned to his truck and wondered if he was handled as easily as everyone else. No, he decided. His brother couldn't handle him. Then he jumped in the truck and waited for Patrick to pull out so he could follow.
"Dammit."
Kyle jumped in the truck and pulled out of the yard. He was alone today because Yolanda decided to ride with James again. He couldn't blame her. He wished for the same thing she had, but hadn't given it too much thought lately. The end of the world helped you forget the small things, at least for the moment. He checked his rearview mirror to make sure that everyone had pulled out. There were five trucks now, a little caravan riding down the road in their big trucks. He reached between the seat to grab the hand mic for the radio.
"Morning everyone, let's go over this again," Kyle said, as he was scanning the road and yards around them. The night had proved pretty uneventful for the neighborhood, or so it looked. With most of the neighborhood being young families he imagined they had gone to folks somewhere else. Worked out better for him he guessed. "Patrick is getting low on gas and the rest of us can go ahead and top it off. We're going to a little country store so it might not have much but if it's there, go ahead and grab it. Since it’s over the county line, I’m hoping they still have power for the gas pumps. Let's get a sound off."
"Truck 2 copies," Patrick said, a little too loudly over the radio.
"Truck 4 copies," Eric said. Kyle thought he sounded better than last night. Being with friends and not alone had helped he knew.
"What?" Abe asked over the radio. "What am I supposed to say?" Abe wasn't letting go of the call button which kept everyone hearing what he was saying and kept everyone else from speaking. Kyle could hear him talking about ridiculous military something or other. He finally let go of the button.
"Truck 5 copies," Yolanda laughed. Sugar you need to let go of the button when you are finished speaking. And say ‘copy’ or ‘over’ to let us know you’re finished speaking. Over," she said this last word a little loudly to make the point. Kyle was thankful the directions came from her. If he had said anything, Abe would have complained or probably laughed it off.
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"I told you not to call me Sugar anymore, copy" Patrick responded. He sounded pleased with himself.
"You fool, you know I'm not talking to you!" Yolanda yelled.
"Okay," interjected Kyle. "It's only a five minute drive there, so be smart, be careful." Kyle's serious tone and remainder ended the playful banter on the radio.
Kyle saw the old country store and noticed right away that they wouldn't be the only customers there. Parked on the far side of the store were two large black trucks. Old black trucks with missing tailgates. “Must be easier for the dogs to get in and out,” thought Kyle, noticing the dogs’ boxes in the back of both trucks. Either way, neither of them were at the pump so he pulled his truck past the pump and parked not too far from the black trucks. Kyle saw Patrick, who was behind him, pull next to the pump and jump out. Eric pulled to the left of Patrick's truck, keeping Patrick's family between his truck and the store. Abe and James parked behind Patrick.
As Kyle was walking toward the pump, he saw Eric hurry over to meet him.
"Hey, Professor," he said seriously. "I know those trucks and the boys who drive them aren't good fellas.”
"What do you mean by that?" Kyle asked, not sure what he was talking about.
"I mean, they’re downright mean," he explained. "I've seen them bully people, start fights, and generally cause a lot of problems at some of the dog hunts around here. They even beat their dogs!" He said this last sentence with such an exclamation that Kyle thought it must be severe.
"Copy that, we'll go in together with James and Abe. I'll let you do the talking if there's any problem."
"Sounds like a plan."
Kyle called the others over, explained, and asked Yolanda to stay with Patrick and his family. She turned her head to give a disgusted look at Patrick who winked back at her. Kyle knew it was just a ruse between them. They seemed like brother and sister more than anything.