by J. W. Vohs
The sad old man wiped his eyes and asked in a trembling voice, “What good am I to you or anyone? I’m just a tired old man who lived while his wife died.”
“We need you, Dad. The bishop sent his son, Gabe, out to find other survivors and he found over five hundred of them living in Noble county. They rescued more than a hundred people from our church, and for right now we’ve all moved up there for safety. These people who brought me—they came specifically to find you. You can help us.”
“How?”
“Your radio . . . we need to find out what’s going on out in the world.”
The old man just shook his head, “No power, Danny, and no gas for the generator. I haven’t been on the air for more than two months.”
“Dad, we’ve got generators and solar arrays up there in Noble County. Come back with us today and explain to them what we’d need to move your gear and antennae up there, and we’ll bring a team with trucks down here to transport everything. Then we’ll need you to show us how to put it all up and operate it. Yeah, we need you. If you want me and your grandkids to survive, you need to pull yourself together and help me out. Can you do that?”
The old man let out a shaky sigh and nodded, “Yeah, son, I can do that.”
Dan looked up at everyone and announced, “This is my father, Joseph Reed. He can help connect you to the rest of the world.”
The next two days were spent moving the radio equipment to The Castle, using plenty of security and mechanically minded individuals to carry out the arduous task. At three different points small groups of hunters stumbled into the soldiers protecting the movers, but each time the monsters were quickly and quietly exterminated by the fighters monitoring the perimeter with no casualties among the humans. David had been put in charge of the entire operation, and the rest of the members of his group, with the exception of Lori, who was still sore after having her shoulder put back into its socket, commanded ten-member fire teams. David knew that his people were expected to be a special unit separate from the others, but he felt more secure knowing that he had members of his group at all points around the radio-removal squad. At first he’d been worried that some of Jack’s veterans might resent the newcomers being given command, but word of David’s team’s performance at the Fight of the Laager, as it was being called, had gone a long way toward establishing their credibility with The Castle’s soldiers. In addition, the size of the fire teams allowed squads of Jack’s best fighters to personally witness David’s crew in action, and vise-versa.
Ever since the Fight of the Laager, Luke had drawn a lot of attention around the compound, and it was starting to make him uncomfortable. He’d never been overly social, partly due to his rather sheltered childhood, and partly due to his naturally introspective personality. Other than the small, close-knit circle of friends he considered family, he enjoyed people more in theory than in practice. He wasn’t purposely avoiding anyone, but he preferred to steer clear of any situations where he’d likely attract an entourage of admirers, which was beginning to happen most of the time when he encountered “civilians” around The Castle. Luke felt at ease in the company of other soldiers, and he enjoyed guard duty and working with the fire-teams, but when the day’s work was done he tended to hide out with Gracie in a quiet corner of the compound. For her part, Gracie never grew tired of her “alone time” with Luke (even though it often didn’t seem like “alone time” with Trudy and/or David popping up at regular intervals), but she was also genuinely friendly, charismatic, and naturally social.
During the evening after the first day of collecting radio equipment from Joseph Reed’s house, David took Luke aside and asked him how he liked being a team-leader.
“Come on, David. Those guys all knew what they were doing, but even though I’m just a kid they totally treated me like I was in charge of our team. I mean, every one of those guys is amazing. It was an honor just to work with them, but I sure don’t consider myself their leader just because you gave me the assignment.”
David put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, “I agree that they’re all amazing—but so are you. They weren’t just playing some game to make you feel good; they respect you. You have proven yourself to be a leader, and leaders have followers.”
Luke narrowed his eyes, “What are you getting at?”
“Like it or not, leadership means dealing with people. And not just your fellow soldiers . . .”
Luke thought he saw where this was going and he argued, “I don’t want to lead anything; there are plenty of experienced leaders here. I just want to kill infected and spend time with Gracie and the rest of our group.”
“I know exactly how you feel,” David agreed, “but you don’t have much of a choice in the matter. These folks are going to look to you for leadership, and not just in combat either. Your personality is attractive to people. You’re not arrogant, pretentious, or threatening to anyone here. You’re confident going about your business in this new world, and most importantly you and God have somehow worked something out in your soul in spite of all the surrounding madness, and it shows. People are going to be drawn to you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I can stay busy, go out on assignments, permanent guard duty, whatever,” he tried to counter.
David considered the situation for a moment before attacking the issue from a different angle. “What’s the purpose of your life?”
Luke didn’t hesitate when he answered, “To win back our planet from the abominations that have taken it from us.”
David smiled. “Right, so what’s the best way to accomplish this? I mean, one Luke kills plenty of hunters, but if he’s ever set upon by a thousand of them when alone, he dies. But an army of Lukes . . . an army of Lukes can save our world. And I think it’s even simpler than that,” he looked the boy straight in the eyes, “I think an army led by Luke can save our world.”
The teen was quiet for a moment before responding. “You know I have faith. You know I feel compelled to fight the infected; I know that’s my calling. I don’t know much about anything else. But I trust you, David, and if you say I should do something more I’ll try my best to do it.” He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, “So, what is it you think I should do exactly?”
David laughed out loud. “Exactly? Well, I don’t have a blueprint, but let’s start with you just not being such a hermit. Talk to people. Let people talk to you. Open up your heart to the folks around here and I suspect you’ll learn to love them like you love us. And maybe talk to Jack—I can’t think of a better role model for a leader these days.”
The next morning Luke and Gracie sat at a breakfast table full of people near their age. To Luke’s surprise, Gracie seemed to know almost everyone at the table and was drawn in to several simultaneous conversations. Soon Luke found himself interested in an exchange between a young man named Tyler and a pretty, dark haired girl whose name he didn’t catch.
“I just don’t see the point in trying to recreate school—I didn’t like math before the end of the world, so why should I spend any time on it now?” The girl grew more animated as she spoke, “And philosophy? Why would anybody need to know philosophy?”
Tyler replied good-naturedly, “Hmm, why would anybody need to know anything anyway? Oh, sorry, that’s a philosophical question . . .”
She playfully punched him in the arm, “Hey, are you making fun of me? If I recall, you never used to be in love with school.”
“Everything’s more important now,” he replied with sadness creeping in to his voice. Tyler noticed Luke and nodded in his direction, “What do you think? Are the classes here important? Do we still need math?”
Luke smiled and played along. He liked this Tyler; there was something familiar in his eyes. “Math? Let’s see, beyond having to count the hunters, what could we use math for?”
The girl rolled her eyes, “Now you’re both being annoying.”
Gracie tuned in to the conversation when she heard Luke’s voice—he
usually avoided socializing with people he didn’t know so there was no way this exchange could escape her attention. “So the guys are being annoying? Are they talking about weapons again?”
The dark haired girl giggled, “You sure know what passes for entertainment with the Y chromosomes around here. My name is Jade; I’m not sure we’ve officially met. This is Tyler.”
Tyler shook his head, “One minute she’s complaining about school, the next she’s tossing around terms like ‘Y chromosomes.’ She may be one of those multiple personalities I heard about on reality TV back in the day, but I try to be nice to her anyway.” He looked at Luke, “You’re related to Jack, right? He saved my life, and Jade’s too.”
“I’m not related, but we did come here with his brother, David. I’m not sure I’ve met anybody here whose life Jack didn’t save.”
“Yeah, that’s sure true. Jack’s sorta adopted me since the day he discovered me trying to fight off a pack of zombies with a mop-handle in a convenience store. For the record, girls, a mop-handle is not a good weapon.”
Luke wanted to hear more, “So what happened?”
The sadness returned to Tyler’s voice, “My grandpa raised me. When the outbreak first started, when nobody could believe the stories about zombies, we found out the hard way that they were true. Grandpa sacrificed himself for me. There were a few other people in the store, but nobody knew what to do. The monsters got to this guy’s wife, his name was Barry Stergen, and he was trying to save her. A couple of college kids just hid behind the counter, and Grandpa put himself between me and the zombies. He didn’t last long, but he bought enough time for me to get that mop-handle and try to knock those creatures heads off. I wouldn’t have lasted long either, but Jack came in and took care of business.”
Luke felt a lump rise in his throat. “I lost my dad on the trip here,” he said quietly.
“I lost my dad fighting off the infected too,” Gracie added, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I don’t have any idea what happened to my parents,” Jade offered sadly. “I know I’m lucky—they might still be alive. I have hope, but it’s a constant battle with hopelessness. Uncertainty can play games with your head.”
Gracie nodded, “My mom and brother are out there somewhere, or at least they were. I know what you mean.” The melancholy mood was broken as a lump of airborne scrambled eggs flew past Gracie’s head and landed mostly in Tyler’s mug of milk.
“Hey!” Tyler shouted in surprise as milk splattered the front of his shirt. Luke turned around in his seat and caught Manny Martinez by the arm before the young boy could scurry past the teens.
“What’s the hurry, Manny? And what’s that in your hand?” Luke plucked a small contraption made of kitchen utensils and rubber bands from the boy’s grasp. “Hmm, this looks pretty interesting. What is it?”
The commotion attracted the attention of several young soldiers gathered for breakfast. Noticing that many eyes were upon him, Manny swelled up with pride and announced, “It’s my catty-polt. I made it myself, and it works good!”
Laughter erupted all around. Luke ruffled Manny’s hair and declared, “I think we may be able to put you to work around here. But aren’t you supposed to be watching my dog today?”
Manny grinned, snatched his catty-polt back, and darted away, “Chewy’s my dog, and the stupid girls are playing with him,” he called out over his shoulder as he ran off.
The incident at breakfast seemed to crack the ice on Luke’s social reserve. By the time the vehicles pulled up to the Reed home and began salvaging the rest of the radio equipment, Luke was smiling and sharing stories with the members of his fire team. That evening he sat out among the tents many of the Mormon congregation were using and shared life stories with all who cared to talk. Luke’s heart was apparent as he quickly learned everything he could about everyone he met. Before turning in for the night, Luke and Gracie sought out Tyler and Jade and the four teens shared a midnight snack in the kitchen. David noticed the effort Luke was making to be more social, but it didn’t really look like effort at all—the boy seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.
The following day, as the radio equipment was being reconstructed, David saw that Luke spent most of his time in the training yard with a young man named Zach Kinstler. Both boys used trench axes with the protective covers on as they practiced with the weapons. David was hoping that Christy would come down to watch the training, but she’d been feeling a bit under the weather and had uncharacteristically been hanging around the house for a couple days. He decided to ask Vickie to check in on her, but the doctor would have to be sneaky about it. Christy could be meaner than a cornered bear when she wasn’t feeling well, and she didn’t like people fussing over her. David sincerely hoped that she’d be well enough to join him to witness the radio’s first test run. The prospect of communicating with other survivors out in the world was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. What news could they expect except tales of appalling death and mass destruction? What if there wasn’t any news at all?
CHAPTER 5
The night the radio was ready to go, Jack, David, and the rest of the leaders at The Castle, except Christy, gathered in and around the small room in the barracks where they’d set up the receiver and transmitter. David was disappointed that Christy was going to miss the big event, if it turned out to be a big event, but he understood that she wouldn’t want to bring whatever stomach bug she’d picked up into these close quarters. When everyone was in place, Jack held up his hand for silence and nodded at Joe Reed to begin. The gray-haired man set the frequency and called out, “Salt Lake Sonny, this is Hoosier Joe, you out there?”
Several minutes passed with nothing but static. Jack squeezed Andi’s hand, but no one said a word. As each second ticked by, Jack considered what it could mean if their entreaties were only greeted with silence. He quickly dismissed the thought that there was no one left to reply and decided that a problem with the equipment would be the most likely issue. He opened his mouth to speak just as Joe tried again, “Salt Lake Sonny, this is Hoosier Joe; do you copy?”
Almost immediately a woman’s excited voice responded from the receiver, “Joe, is that you? This is Julie, can you wait while I track down Sonny?”
Tears began to trickle down the old man’s face but he kept his composure as he answered, “It’s me, Julie, and yeah, I can wait.”
“Oh my God, Joe, we thought you were gone! All right, you hold on for a few minutes and I’ll get Sonny out of the garden.”
The room exploded with whoops and cheers, and Jack once again held up his hand for silence, but this time he was grinning from ear to ear. He turned to Joe Reed, “I hope you know how valuable you are, and what this means to us all. I don’t know what else we’ll find out tonight, but whatever it is, the most important thing to know is that we’ve still got some friends out there.”
All attention turned to the radio, and the group stared expectantly at the equipment. Sure enough, in less than five minutes, Sonny’s voice called out, “Joe, is it really you?”
Joe’s voice cracked with emotion as he replied, “Yeah, Sonny, it’s really me. Do you know anything about my girls?”
Sonny hesitated for a moment before explaining, “Becky is safe here in our stake center, and Janelle is in a compound outside of Logan. But Joe, both of their husbands are gone.”
Joe closed his eyes, but Dan placed a gentle hand on his dad’s shoulder, gently urging him to continue. “And their kids?”
“All safe with their mothers, last I heard.”
Joe took a deep, quivering breath before explaining, “Sonny, I’m staying in a large compound in northern Indiana. A group of former Army Rangers and other fighters have secured this place and the nearby areas. Bishop Fox sent his son from the ward in Columbia City to find these folks, and they came out and rescued about a hundred people from the church. The leader here is a former Ranger named Jack Smith. Can you talk to him about what’s going on out there, and anywhere
else you know about?”
“Sure, Joe, put him on.”
After getting himself situated, Jack sat down in front of the radio, Andi and Carter next to him with notebooks, ready to record any pertinent information.
“Hi, Sonny, I’m Jack Smith.”
“Jack, how I can I help you?”
“Well, any news about the world would be a good start.”
Sonny explained, “There’s plenty of chatter from operators around the country. Quite a number of survival retreats and such out there where people are holed up, trying to wait this thing out. In general, people in the less populated areas of the country survived the outbreak better than in the urban areas, especially the states east of the Mississippi.”
“Is it really that bad?” Jack asked with a sigh of resignation.
“Worse,” Sonny answered matter-of-factly. “The cities are gone. Most towns too. Once services stopped it was just a matter of time before fires broke out in urban areas. We haven’t heard from anyone broadcasting from any city at all, not even mid-sized places like your Fort Wayne.”
“I suppose it’s the same in the rest of the world?” Jack wondered.
“As far as we can tell. Sparsely populated areas like the American west and deserts, northern Mexico, and northern Canada seem to have more survivors than most places, but apparently every area on Earth with a high population density is simply gone. Except for some places in the Alps and Scandinavia, Europe is dead. Same is true for most of Asia; groups of survivors are still holding out in mountains, deserts, and subarctic regions, but we’ve heard nothing from population centers. There are rumors that Australia and New Zealand stayed free of infection, but nobody really believes that. Every city with a major airport became a transmission vector for the virus before authorities really knew what was going on.