Up ahead, there were bodies lying all over the road, and the first ones I came to were obviously Trippers. They had bullet holes in their chests, and then bullet holes in their heads. The number of bodies increased as I went down the road, and there was one body that was different than the others. This one had been torn apart, with great chunks missing from his chest and abdomen. Blood was all over the pavement, and there was plenty missing from his face as well. I figured this to be one of the soldiers that were after me, but I didn’t see his rifle anywhere.
Further down, there was another stream of bodies and another two soldiers’ bodies. They didn’t do much better than the first one, and the rifles and ammo were missing as well. Brass casings were all over the place, and this seemed to be where the main fight took place. The first guy must have been some sort of scout that was ahead of the others.
Checking around briefly, I saw a small blood trail heading back east, but I wasn’t about to go trailing after a wounded soldier who was trying to kill me anyway. If he had made it away from the fight, then the Trippers who were left had taken off after him, which cleared the way for me south.
I gave the east a small wave and moved south. I was anxious to get home and I wanted to be home today.
Chapter 31
“Report,” Captain Vega said. He was careful to keep his distance. The man in front of him was a filthy, bloody mess. Captain Vega had ordered all medical personnel to stay back until he had managed to talk to him. The drones had reported that the squad had been ambushed and one of them had made it back to the gate. He had pounded on the gate and fired shots in the air until they had let him through. The men had to shoot several Trippers that had been in pursuit, and for them, it had been the first time they had ever seen that particular enemy in their sights.
Private Robbins had been allowed through the wall, but he was being kept away from everyone else. He was bloody, and it looked like he had been bitten on his arms and hands. He had brought the weapons of his fallen comrades, and those had been removed and were being treated.
“We followed the runner into the interior, and silenced a man he had spent the night with. We chased him into a subdivision and there we lost him. When we reached a corner, Private Houston, our lead, had first contact. He put down several and then they were all over him. More came out of the shadows and then Corporal Baker and Sergeant Townsend were killed. I had no choice but to retreat.” Private Robbins looked up at Captain Vega.
“You had no choice,” Vega said. “And neither do I.” Captain Vega drew his sidearm and fired a single shot into the head of Private Robbins. The dead man toppled over and lay bleeding in the grass.
Vega addressed the men behind him. “He had been bitten, and was dead anyway. I did him a favor.” Captain Vega holstered his sidearm. “Obviously, we need more men to solve this problem; it’s bigger than a single squad. Lieutenant Campbell!”
Campbell stepped forward. He was a small man, with blond hair and what other men had described as ‘mean’ eyes. They were just small and dark.
“Sir!” The dead man at his feet bothered him not a bit. He had read all the reports on the Tripp virus and the Trippers that had come from it. He was fully prepared to go into Illinois and wipe out the state if he was ordered to do so.
Vega knew this, and knew he was the right man for the job. “Gather up Sergeants Bell and Stafford. Have them bring their squads to this gate, and get fully outfitted. They’re going in, first thing in the morning.”
“Same orders, sir?” Campbell asked.
“Same orders. Kill anything you see.” Captain Vega was furious. This was getting out of hand, and the more presence he had here at the wall, the more likely someone would start asking questions and causing problems. Vega hated problems.
Chapter 32
One intersection later, the road turned into a forest drive. The brush and the trees were pushing their way onto the road, making it easy to stay in shadows. I moved quickly but quietly, taking note of the birds and squirrels that were active. That told me the Trippers hadn’t come this way and it was still safe to move.
An hour’s worth of walking and I was back in the country. There were no subdivisions that I could see, and the trees had thinned out a bit. I could see the grey clouds to the west getting closer, and I had my doubts I would be able to get home before snowfall.
Another intersection was coming up, and I had to pull branches away from the sign to see what it was. My heart jumped a bit when I saw that it read East Sauk Trail! This road would take me practically to my backyard! I made the corner and headed west, feeling pretty confident in myself. I’d been to the other side of the Wall and survived, and managed to make my way through some strange places on the way back with little in the way of supplies. Although I had to admit, I would have been very grateful to have been riding Judy at this point. I was used to walking, but this was pushing it.
After passing a couple of houses with open garages, I slapped myself on the head for my stupidity. All I needed to do was find a working bike and I’d be on my way.
I checked three houses and found a possible in the last one. It was a bike similar to the one I had back at my house, but the tires needed to be filled. I had to check another four garages until I finally found a working bike pump. Ten minutes later, I was on the road, moving a better clip than I had originally thought. I stayed on the sides of the road, keeping to the trees and brush. The shadows were still my best friend and the patterns would keep any curious Trippers from being able to focus clearly on what was passing by. Since there were few people on bikes these days, it might actually take them a minute to figure out if I was a danger or food, and by the time they got it right, I’d be gone.
I rode down the road, and it was a fairly easy ride. The road was a four-lane highway, and the most interesting thing I had seen so far was a sign with a woman on it advertising dances for ten dollars. At the bottom it said ‘All of the Liquor and None of the Clothes.’ That made no sense to me at all. Why would there be no clothes, and why would anyone pay for something they could do in their own home for free? I’d have to remember to ask Kim about that one.
The landscape went by, and it didn’t change all that much. There were buildings that were falling down, and others that looked like they were war zones. Some had that particular look, like someone had tried to make it into a kind of fortress. There were the barricades in front, the fences and the overgrown gardens. The bits and pieces of life left behind, and the inevitable escape hole. The lesson they learned later, if they survived to learn it, was fences needed to be solid, stone or metal. Trippers tore down anything else. Not that they were super strong; they were just determined.
I rode down the street, passing a small town that had no name that meant anything anymore. It looked liked most of the towns in this area, just empty buildings, empty cars, and empty houses. I wondered what happened to all the people who lived here, and when I thought it through to the end, it was the same story. They were Trippers, dead, or trying to find some semblance of life someplace else.
The road went into a forested area, and it was tricky to get through with the bike because of all the fallen branches and leaves hiding more fallen branches. I moved a lot slower in this area than I hoped for, and the sky got decidedly darker before I made it to the end of the forest. I thought I saw a few flakes come down, but they must have been just the ones that jumped off early.
The next town I reached was a mess, and I actually had to shoot three Trippers that tried to cut me off from my route. I didn’t know I could hit anything while riding a bike, but I actually did pretty well. Those .45 Colt hollow points did a number on Tripper heads. If you hit them in the right spot, they pretty much exploded.
I crossed I-57, and that’s when the snow started to come down. I didn’t mind because the highway told me how close I was to home. I had about four miles to go, and then I would actually sleep in my own bed. I was tired from moving all day, I was thirsty and hungry, and I just
wanted to be in a safe place without anyone trying to kill me.
The miles dragged on, and the snow came down in huge flakes now, covering the area in white almost instantaneously. I slid a few times, which convinced me to ditch riding the bike. I had about a mile to go, so I just decided to walk it. There was no Tripper activity that I could see, and if they were out, they couldn’t see me anyway.
I walked down the road that went behind my house and through the snow I could smell a fire and it quickened my pace. I went into the back area and approached the fence. I thought I should announce myself but it was my own house. No one should actually be home. The fire I had smelled was coming from Kim’s place. Mine was cold and dark.
I went in through the back gate and secured it behind me. I turned around and ran fill tilt into a wall of fur. Judy bumped me with her nose hard enough to knock me backwards, and I had no other response than to throw my arms around her neck. Her being there meant Kim had made it back. She seemed to understand and let me hold on to her for a few minutes. I rubbed the snow off my face and led her back towards the stalls. Missy was there and she stamped out a greeting at me, bumping me with her nose and retreating behind Judy. She was still the filly.
I went into my house and everything was just as I had left it. I was never so happy to see some place in my life. I ran my hand over my bow and my rifle, both of which were laying on my kitchen table. Kim must have placed them here when she had returned.
I took a long drink from my water jug, and then ate a hunk of bread and cheese. It wasn’t the freshest meal I had eaten, but it tasted nearly the best.
I built a small fire in the fireplace and set out my blankets in front of it. The darkness crept into the house and put me to sleep. It was the soundest I had slept in days.
Chapter 33
I woke to the sound of voices. The house was very cold, but it was warm under my blankets and I wasn’t in any itching hurry to go anywhere. I was home, my horses were safe, and the big bad world was left behind the wall.
Thoughts about the wall started to drive sleep from my mind, but the voices outside seemed to become louder, like they were getting closer.
I groaned inwardly and outwardly, and roused myself from my sleep. I pumped up some very cold water which woke me up fully, and then I restarted the fire in the fireplace. A quick look at my wood supply told me I’d have to go scrounging up some more if I wanted to keep warm in the winter.
The door to the garage opened, and I stood by the table with a casual hand on my rifle. My Colt was hanging from the back of a chair, but it was too far away to be useful. The rifle was already on the table and pointed in the right direction.
Kim walked through the door, and when she saw me, she stopped dead. Her hand flew up to her mouth and tears filled her eyes. I had to admit, she was the best-looking thing I had seen in a week.
“Hey. Miss me?” I asked casually.
Kim flew across the kitchen knocking over a chair in the process. She jumped into my arms and gave me a huge hug, burying her face in my shoulder. I hugged her back, breathing her in, suddenly realizing how much I had actually missed her as well.
She pulled back and smiled, with tears streaming down her face.
“I thought you were gone. When you didn’t come back, I thought you were gone,” Kim said quietly. “What happened to you?” She didn’t wait for an answer, she just hugged me again, and when she finished with that, she took my face in her hands and stared into my eyes for a very long time. When she figured out that I was actually back and not dead, she gave me a very long, lingering kiss. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“Well, hello. Sorry to interrupt,” a strange voice came from across the kitchen and I pulled Kim aside, bringing up my rifle to bear on a man I had seen before.
“Whoa! Sorry! I’ll wait outside.” The man was blond with blue eyes, and a smile I remembered.
“No, you won’t,” I said. “You move and I’ll shoot you.”
“What? What did I do? You don’t even know me!” the man said, backing up with his hands in the air.
Kim pulled at my arm, but she may as well have been pulling at a tree branch for all I moved.
“Josh, what are you doing? This is…” Kim started to say.
“Kevin. We’ve met,” I said. “You were too interested in my horse the last time we met. I could have shot you then.”
Kevin’s eyes narrowed and then they widened. “Oh my God! I remember now! I was out by Joliet and trying to get by some Trippers when I saw your horse! You scared the crap out of me!”
“You almost made a very serious second mistake when you reached for your gun,” I said, remembering more details. “Another inch and I’d have killed you.”
Kevin laughed. “I remember. You had you hand on your gun and your face changed. You were ready to pull your weapon.”
Kim watched the exchange with growing eyes. She looked at Kevin with what had to be open hostility.
“You tried to steal Judy? Josh could have been killed!” Kim eyed the bow and arrows on the table as if contemplating turning Kevin into an archery target.
“It’s all right,” I said. “It’s over and done with. But you were leaving, yes?” I asked, not really asking.
Kevin got the message. “I’m just looking to spend the winter and then I’m heading for warmer weather.”
“There’s a house with a good fence around it across the creek on the other side of the house across the street,” I said. “You should be able to survive the winter there.”
Kevin looked at me and at Kim. I got the idea that he had thought to spend the winter in another place, but Kim would never forget the attempt to steal Judy. Kim considered those horses her children.
“Across the creek?” he asked.
“There’s bigger houses if you cross the tracks, if you want,” I said. “You’ll be fine in either, and when the spring comes, you can head out without a problem.”
Kevin nodded. “I’ll get my things. They’re in the barn.”
I don’t know why, but I was grateful he didn’t say Kim’s house.
“Good luck,” I said.
Kevin left and I went to the window to make sure he went out and didn’t try to take one of the horses with him. When he had gone and had locked the gate behind him, I turned back to Kim.
“It’s good to see you, Kim,” I said.
Kim came back over to me and fell into my arms again. It was good to feel her there and I kissed the top of her head.
She looked up at me and asked a very complicated question.
“Where the hell have you been?”
I didn’t know where to start with that question so I decided to go back to when the trouble all began. But I needed to be sitting to do it.
“Let’s get the fire going a little better and get something to eat. I’m somewhat famished,” I said. “Then I have a very interesting tale to tell.”
We stoked the fire and Kim went back to her house to get a loaf of bread. She had been experimenting with sourdough bread, and I had to say the latest version was pretty good. Added with some canned apples and venison jerky, I was eating well.
“Well, where to begin?” I asked, as I settled in my big reading chair. Kim sat in my lap, nibbling on a piece of jerky.
“What happened after you got chased off the race track?” Kim asked.
“I ran east, hoping I could lose them, but they never stopped coming. I finally wound up climbing a tree and getting on top of the wall,” I said.
“The wall! Oh my god. Where did you go from there? Did you go north or south?” she asked.
I took a deep breath. “Actually, I went east.”
Kim frowned. “East? How’d you manage that?”
“The Trippers slammed into the tree and the branch knocked me off the wall,” I said. “I fell off the wall and found myself on the other side.”
Kim stopped eating and stared at me.
“You went over the wall?” she whi
spered.
“I did,” I said.
“And you made it back. Oh my God,” Kim said. “What was it like?”
“Well, there lies a strange tale,” I said. I took a deep breath and began my story.
Chapter 34
It took over an hour to explain where I was and what I had seen. Kim said nothing at first, but as the tale unfolded, she started to shake her head more and more. Finally, she stood up and started to pace.
“So they lied to us. They shut us in here to die,” she said.
“Basically,” I said. “But it gets worse.” I explained to her about the library and the newspapers I had seen. I told her about the manhunt and the attempts to kill me.
“I don’t get it. Why would they want you dead? What harm are you now to them?” Kim asked.
“I know the truth. Think about it. If I went around and told everyone that the other side of the wall is safe, there would be a mass run for the border. Some of us might actually survive the army purges, and we’d tell our tale to the people who might listen on the outside. They shut in their own people and let them die horrible deaths at the hands of infected hordes. People responsible for that would likely go to jail,” I said. “Easier to just kill me and anyone that I come in contact with. Who will care who dies on this side of the wall over there? According to what I read, we deserved what we got.”
“How did you manage to survive?” Kim asked. “They had all this equipment and you still beat them.”
“The people they used to see weren’t survivors. They were just runners. I had a lot of luck, but they weren’t ready for someone like me,” I said.
“And now they’re coming for you,” Kim said, looking worried.
“Don’t think so, but I’ll be extra careful none the less,” I said. “In the spring, we’re heading south, and when we reach the southern community, we’ll at least have the numbers on our side.” I hadn’t given up the thought of going south and picking up that law enforcement position. I had seen a lot, more than anyone in the state, but I knew how dangerous it was over there.
Born In The Apocalypse (Book 3): Jericho Page 9