by J. W. Vohs
“I’m sure it can’t be as simple as it sounds,” Vickie offered.
Luke spoke up, “I read an article once that said that Indian tribes all over the eastern Great Lakes used the Maumee for hundreds of years as a canoe highway through what was mostly a swampy wilderness.”
David nodded, “Yeah, I took a class in Fort Wayne history while I was in high school there. The city got its name after George Washington sent General Wayne to pacify the Miami tribe and get control of the headwaters of the Maumee. The Indians called their town Kekionga, and Wayne burnt it to the ground before building a fort overlooking the place where the St. Joe and St. Marys meet to create the Maumee. Apparently, the Miami grew rich in that location because tribes from all over eastern North America could connect with the Mississippi Valley through the headwaters. They’d just pick up their canoes and portage for about ten miles to the west of Kekionga, then hit the Wabash River system and follow it all the way to the Ohio. The Ohio led to the Mississippi, which led all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Or they could go upriver and access the Missouri River system like Lewis and Clark did. Yep, the place where modern Fort Wayne sits was a valuable piece of real estate back then.”
Luke added, “Might be again if we don’t get roads cleared and gas distribution flowing. Rivers could become very important again.”
Christy had been quietly listening but now asked, “Ok, so how do we get up the Maumee? You think we have the canoeing skills to paddle upstream for over a hundred miles? What if it’s in a flood stage or something?”
David frowned and shrugged, “I haven’t even begun to work out the details of the plan, I was just trying to figure out a way to avoid the roads.”
Jerry offered, “Mom and Dad have a fifty-foot cabin cruiser docked in the marina up at Lorain. It’d be tight as hell with all of us in there, but I bet that we could pick up another boat at the docks. If not, we’d find another in one of those mansions along the shore.”
David nodded, “That would work. You know how to run it?”
“Sure, and the keys are hanging in the kitchen.”
Luke offered, “My Boy Scout troop went canoeing on the Cuyahoga once, and we used canoes with small mounted trolling motors. Some of them were on the back and some were on the side, but they were all electric and pretty quiet. They would get us up the Maumee, even if it was in flood.”
Jim broke in, “A lot of things would have to go right with this plan for it to work. Most stuff is going to be torn up and looted. We’d have to find gas and probably an extra boat to get to Toledo. Then we’d have to round up a half-dozen canoes with trolling motors and batteries to get up the Maumee. I know there are plenty of places where we’d have to portage or wade on that river, especially the closer we got to Fort Wayne. We’d have to charge the batteries. Passing through cities would be a nightmare; bridges might be collapsed, or we might find boat jams like the traffic jams on all the roads around here.”
David shrugged again, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about all the problems you just mentioned, and some others too. But it’s something we can consider. I’ve also thought about bikes with those baby-carts attached.”
Vickie asked, “Are we sure we can’t just drive overland? With four-wheel drives like your Range Rover, or maybe even ATVs?”
“That might work,” David admitted, “but the noise of the engines would be like ringing a dinner bell for the zombies.”
Her shoulders slumped as she mumbled, “Oh yeah, forgot about that.”
“Hey,” David encouraged, “keep thinking about ideas though. Everyone, keep tossing possibilities around. We have a lot of brain-power in this group of ours, and I know we’ll figure out a way to get to Indiana. Now, how ‘bout we let Luke take first guard duty and the rest of us get some sleep?”
Jack, Christy, and the Martinez family stayed at Jim and Trudy’s place, while the Alberts and Addison moved in with Jerry and Luke across the street. For the next week the families stayed inside the homes with only three exceptions involving David and Christy delivering food and a board game to the Seifert house. They stayed in regular contact over the radio, but for five days following the rescue of the Alberts family the number of zombies flowing through the neighborhood continued to increase. Many of them in the first wave still wore the tatters of burnt clothing over their singed skin, but those that followed in the days afterward were often burned so badly that they looked like mannequins that had been partially melted by flamethrowers. The adults kept watch from the upstairs windows and prevented the children from viewing the monstrosities wandering the streets and shabby lawns.
The weather had grown steadily warmer during the days spent inside, finally topping out in the mid-nineties, leaving everyone simply lying about and guzzling down as much water as the rationing permitted. By the eighth day of the what they had been calling the Cleveland Zombie Invasion, Jim was certain that the numbers were lower than what they had been earlier in the week. Jerry agreed with him and also drew attention to the fact that most of the creatures now passing through were disabled to some degree. David and Christy kept careful watch for most of the next day, taking notes on what they were observing and sharing the information with everyone during what amounted to a conference call between the two households after the evening meal.
They had seen only thirty-eight zombies passing through the area during the day, and every one of them was horribly injured in some way, most with hands and arms literally fried off of their bodies. Everyone agreed that at the same time seven days earlier they had been watching two or three hundred flesh-eaters walking the neighborhood. One thing was still the same though, most of the zombies were moving in a generally western direction. That was a disturbing and confusing development that nobody could explain until Luke offered an opinion.
“I’d bet that if we were on the eastern side of Cleveland we’d be seeing zombies moving in that direction. My guess is that they just started moving away from the downtown fire by the most direct route available; no thought went into it, they just took the path of least resistance out of the city. As the fires spread into the closest suburbs the monsters just kept heading the same way they’d been moving. The only thing that’ll stop them is food, and if they have any instinct left in their brains they’ll know there isn’t anything behind them to eat, and maybe they’ll even associate that direction with danger or pain.”
Once again David found himself impressed with the teen’s insight, and replied over the radio, “I really hope you’re right, Luke, because that will mean most of them will be out of our hair within another day or two, and we might even be safer than before if their pack mentality led the local zombies to join up with those that poured in from Cleveland.”
Blake’s voice came over the air, “Yeah, we can hope!”
Vickie joined in the conversation with some good natured sarcasm, “A breath of fresh air would be nice, and maybe we can all jump into one of these pools around here!”
Christy ended the night’s banter by promising, “I call first on the diving board—as long as the bottom of the pool is still visible through the algae!”
As they had all hoped, the numbers of zombies continued to diminish the next day with only about a dozen of the monsters slowly making their way through the neighborhood. Late that afternoon the Seifert and Alberts families decided to risk a trip over to Jim and Trudy’s home for a group dinner. They were all happy to see one another and enjoyed interacting with people other than those they’d been cooped up with for over a week. Luke spent some time with David in the garage, showing him some new moves he’d developed with his trench axe. Little Addison was smiling and playing well with the other children, though Lori told them that the grieving girl still had nightmares and broke out sobbing at intermittent times during the day.
Trudy offered, “Kids grieve different than adults do. Most of us can grasp the enormity of what we’ve lost within a day or two of a loved one dying. With children the process takes a lot longer. She’ll
forget about it for a time and then it will all come rushing back. I used to have a grief counselor in my sorority group, and she explained it all to me one day after a few martinis during our weekly lunch meeting.”
Lori nodded, “Yeah, that’s basically what we’re seeing. She and Jenny have been almost inseparable, plus she’s really bonding well with Luke. I think the fact that he knows what it’s like to lose a parent makes him sort of a kindred spirit.”
Learning that the little girl who’d witnessed such horror only days earlier was coping as well as they could expect seemed to lift everyone’s spirits even more than they’d risen when they’d first greeted one another before sitting down to dinner. After the meal, all of the kids decided to play a game of Candyland; Luke was a good sport and agreed to play along with the youngsters. While the children were contentedly occupied, the adults sat down to talk about what they were going to do now that the zombie threat had greatly diminished.
Jim was the first to speak his mind. “I know we didn’t see humans traveling through here ahead of that zombie horde from the east, but I’ll bet thousands of people were doing their best to stay ahead of the monsters. They’ll have picked over everything still remaining in the stores, so we’ll have to change our strategy on foraging. I know we’ve talked about moving into the abandoned houses eventually, but I have a few ideas about small retail shops that might help us.”
David nodded before urging, “Go on . . .”
“Well, there’s a specialty leather store not far from here, and they also did repair and modification work before the outbreak. We might really hit the jackpot there.”
Christy responded, “Yeah, we could really use a bunch of leather-working equipment and supplies over the next few months. Everyone needs to improve their armor before we head to Indiana.”
Jerry eagerly declared, “I’m up for tomorrow; let’s get over there in the morning and see what’s still in the shop. I don’t think I can stand another day cooped up in the house.”
David and Christy nodded, and Luke called over from the Candyland table, “I’m going with you.”
David quickly looked over to see if Jerry would tell his son that it was too dangerous, but the man was conflicted and could only stare at his hands. They all knew that every time they left their houses they put their lives at risk, but a foraging trip now loomed in their memories as a truly terrifying event. Nobody wanted to risk a loved one on any of these dangerous missions, but they also were learning who was best at what. Vickie was their doctor and risking her was out of the question. Jim was physically out of shape; they knew he could defend his ground just fine, but running around town fighting off packs of zombies was probably beyond his capabilities at this time. Trudy was no fighter, though like everyone else, she had been practicing with many of their weapons for the day she might not have any choice but to defend herself against the flesh-eaters.
Sal was huge and strong, and he was as brave as anyone there, but he really didn’t have a warrior’s heart. Like Jim, he could fix anything and was a first-rate problem solver, but he wasn’t one of their best choices for a resupplying trip. Blake had great skills with weapons, but he had yet to fight a zombie. Lori had the temperament for battle, and had proven herself in Iraq and as an EMT on the streets of Cleveland; nevertheless, nobody was going to suggest that she go along on this mission.
That left David having to accept the danger of putting the person he loved more than life itself in harm’s way, and Jerry knew that he had to do the same. Luke was in many ways the most innocent sixteen-year-old that David had ever seen, but he was tall, strong, and athletic. The kid was still thin, but his frame suggested that one day he’d be a strapping six-two, two hundred pounds of muscle kind of guy. The boy was a man in all but name, though he still had a child-like enjoyment of life and people that led all of the younger children to constantly seek his attention every time he was in the room.
Then there was Luke’s fighting skill to be considered. He’d turned the Seifert’s basement into a small archery range and practiced for hours every day. He’d been a master of the longbow when David had first met him, and he hadn’t yet missed on a zombie, but he grew even faster and more accurate during every practice. The kid had also set up targets for his trench axe, and he could stick the blade or the point into anything inside of ten yards. Luke daily replaced a tough canvas covering on a punching bag and practiced hand to hand combat with the axe and knife when he wasn’t working on his archery skills. Finally, as he had shown during the battle in the sporting goods store and when providing covering fire during Jerry and David’s escape from the massive pack on the night of the Alberts’ rescue, Luke had ice-water flowing through his veins when facing unimaginable horrors.
More than once David had found himself musing about the teen, wondering if he wasn’t the best pure zombie-killer in their group in spite of his age. Being home-schooled for most of his life by a fiercely protective mother, Luke hadn’t been intimately familiar with the pre-virus world. Maybe, David speculated, the boy had adapted more quickly to the zombie world because it was the first one he’d had the opportunity to fully participate in. One thing was certain, if he was honest with himself he wanted Luke at his side during any attack they might face, and he would simply have to be exposed to the dangers of these types of missions whether they liked it or not. David finally nodded at Luke and said, “You’re in.”
Dawn the next day found David, Christy, Jerry, Luke, and not so surprisingly, Lori, with her mace and short sword, gathered in Jim’s garage to armor up and discuss strategy. Before they even looked over the maps and agreed on a plan of action, David handed Lori his .22 and said, “I actually prefer the halberd and mace for this kind of work.” This wasn’t exactly true, but he knew that the overall odds of success were greater if he was the one to rely solely on medieval weapons rather than Lori. Also, she was a better shot with any pistol than he was.
Jim was there with a map and directions. “The place you’re looking for is called the Italian Cobbler, and you’ll find it a couple of miles east of here at the corner of Clague Road and Center Line. Christy knows exactly where I’m talking about.”
They all looked at Christy, who confidently nodded her agreement before her father continued speaking. “This place did a lot of leather repair work so they could have just about everything we need. Right next door is a pizza place. If you have a chance to go in there, look for bags of flour; there’s a lot of calories per weight in flour! Just across the street is a tailoring business, and they also might have materials that would be helpful to us. If you still have time to move around in that area, there’s a Rite-Aid just across Center Ridge. Drugstores were probably the first place looted, but maybe people were just looking for painkillers. If you can get in there, grab every antibiotic you can find. I’ve got all kinds of medical supplies but no antibiotics because I couldn’t get them without a prescription.
“Ok, the route to and from the intersection is mostly bordered by really nice houses with big yards. The fronts are landscaped and the backs have a lot of trees. If you have to go off-road you should be able to work something out. Anybody have any questions?”
When nobody said anything, Jim handed the map to Christy and quietly said, “Be careful, honey.”
She kissed him on the cheek and lied, “You don’t have to worry about me, Daddy,” before climbing into the passenger seat of the Range Rover.
CHAPTER 9
The trip from the house to the intersection of Center Line and Clague was remarkably uneventful. The roads were blocked by the same old multicar accidents, many of which were surrounded by picked over human remains and putrefying zombie corpses, but as Jim had predicted they were able to find alternate routes through the yards of homes and several parking lots along the way. They saw more than a dozen zombies as they drove toward the leather shop, but all of them were horribly burned and mutilated and did nothing more than watch the vehicle pass by with hungry, black-eyed stares and
pitiful moans.
As they pulled into the parking lot of the tiny strip mall housing the leather shop and pizza place, two of the miserable creatures were slowly shuffling along the sidewalk in front of the doors David and the others had to enter. They all pulled the straps of their helmets tight and exited the doors of the Range Rover, drawing their weapons as the zombies stopped their southward movement and turned toward the five living humans now standing so tantalizingly close. Over their low moans everyone could hear the sound of ammo popping off just to the south of their position, and Jerry whispered that the shots were only a few hundred yards away—obviously there were other humans fighting the monsters nearby. Luke and David didn’t wait to hear the analysis of the gunfire, moving instead to dispatch the two creatures in front of them.
In their emaciated and injured condition, the pair of flesh-eaters had no chance against the two veteran zombie-killers as David shoved the spear-tip of his halberd through the face of one of the creatures. Luke destroyed the skull of the other in a spray of black blood and gray brain matter with a perfect throw of his axe from only five yards away. The sickening sounds of the death-blows brought the other three’s attention back to the mission at hand, and they all moved to the front of the leather shop and took up positions on either side of the entrance.
Jerry lightly rapped on the door before quietly but firmly calling out, “Police! Anyone in here?”
After sixty seconds with no response Jerry tried the door, which turned out to be unlocked, and Christy went into the building with her pistol in firing position and the others guarding her rear and flanks. David was the last one in, and over the familiar zombie moans heard the soft, swishing sound of .22 bullets passing through the silencer, followed by two dull thuds as a pair of monsters dropped to the floor of the shop. Everyone fanned out to check the place for any more of the creatures while David guarded the entrance, and when they declared the all-clear a minute later he immediately locked the door with the deadbolt before joining the others in a search of the premises.