Generation Dead - 07

by Joseph Talluto

  I talked of the things we had done, and mentioned how Jake was acting funny. I didn’t talk about my father at all, that was a subject I tended to avoid when he wasn’t here with me. It was awkward, anyway.

  As the sun went higher, Julia finally kissed her hand and placed it on the name on the marker. That was her signal it was time for goodbyes, and I said my own, standing quickly. It had been two years since our mothers had passed away. Two years since our fathers silently dug these graves. Two years since we had last seen our fathers. One morning we woke up to find our dads’ weapons gone, their truck missing, and a note on the table that just said:

  This place isn’t home right now.

  We have things to do.

  Don’t follow.

  Jake went a little nuts for a while, being angry all the time and blaming our dads for all the ills of the world. However, as the days passed and the hurts started to heal, Jake began to get over it. He seemed his normal self for a while, but for the past month, he had been acting a little funny, and our conversation last night proved he had something in his head.

  We didn’t speak all the way back to the main stairwell. We just held hands, and that was nice enough for me. At the top of the stairs, we saw Jake waiting for us on the patio. He had a slip of paper in his hand and I knew what it was before he even spoke.

  “Got a call from Ottawa. We got another job,” Jake said, handing me the paper. It had an address on it, and the item we were going after was another heirloom.

  “Where the hell is Peotone?” I asked, looking at the address and item list.

  Julia looked at the items and whistled. “Looks like we might have to do some heavy hauling for this one.”

  She wasn’t kidding . The items included a set of books, a .22 rifle, and a roll-top desk.

  “A desk? Seriously? I hope you said no,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. We’d had strange requests before, and there were some things we said no to as a matter of logistics. We had gone after cameras, sweaters, and the occasional chair or two, but a desk? What was next, a piano?

  “I didn’t say yes, but I said we’d try our best,” Jake said with a smile. “We can take the truck, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Why can’t we take a boat?” I had no idea where Peotone was, so I assumed it was accessible by boat like most of our outings.

  Julia fielded that one. “Peotone is in the middle of literally nowhere, surrounded on all sides by fields. In normal farm country it’s be a cakewalk.”

  “Let me guess. It isn’t normal farm country,” I said bleakly.

  “Big prize for the big boy,” Jake said. “It’s right smack dab in the middle of a grey corridor, being one of the towns that connects directly to the interstate.” A grey corridor was a section of the country that ran alongside a highway. You could live in it, but the threat of zombies was increased because of its proximity to a highway that once had transported thousands of fleeing people, and thousands of infected people. A lot of the towns were just abandoned, and it looked like Peotone was one of them.

  “Which one?” It didn’t matter, but by this time, I figured I would at least sound interested.

  “I-57,” Jake said, “Right off the main connection to the city itself.”

  “Great.” I couldn’t have been more sarcastic if I took lessons. Ordinarily I would be fine, but we just got back from zombie central, not to mention a couple of altercations in the capital that left a bad taste in my mouth. Add it all up and I had a serious case of the ‘no wannas.’

  “What’s the pay?” Julia asked.

  “I decided to up the rate, since this was a big item. If we managed to get the desk, we would require an additional two gold pieces and five silvers. Not that we’d have anything we were saving the money for, right?” Jake cocked a side grin at me and I came close to knocking him on the head for it.

  “All right. When do you want to go?” I figured it was better to stay busy than bored and get to thinking about all of the things that weren’t quite right with my world.

  Jake mused for a minute, taking the time to look out over the treetops. “Let’s take a day to get our bearings back, then another to set up and plan, and take off on the third. Cool?”

  I was good with it, but Julia apparently wasn’t.

  “Hey, guys. I think I want to sit this one out.” Julia seemed nervous; as if she was fearful, we would make fun of her.

  Jake cocked his head and gave her the full brunt of his brown eyes. “What’s up? You got a boyfriend somewhere?”

  Julia snorted. “With you two around? Who could compete? No, I just want to get some things done around here that need doing; that have needed doing for a long time.”

  Jake nodded, and I think he might have actually understood more than Julia was giving him credit for. I knew for sure when he spoke again.

  “You’re right. I think Jake and I may be doing the same, maybe on this trip,” Jake said.

  It was my turn to look confused. “What?”

  Jake laughed. “All in good time, Aaron, all in good time. Let’s get some lunch.”

  Chapter 15

  The day off flew by, and by the time the second day was here, my head was already on the trip. Jake and I sat at the big table in the lounge area and mapped out the route. Essentially, we were going to be heading south and then west, with very little activity in between. That was okay with me. The last trip had been a little tense, so I could handle easy this time around.

  “The biggest thing we need to worry about is fuel. We can fill up in Ottawa, then that will get us as far as Peotone, which seems to be about eighty miles, one way, and back. We’ll be tight, but we can do it. I just hope the desk doesn’t cause serious problems,” Jake said.

  “If it does, we ditch it and don’t take payment for it. Simple.” I looked at the map and pointed. “Can we take highways?”

  “We can take I-80 for the trip over to the west, but I don’t know the condition of I-57. If it’s bad, we’ll have to take another route.” Jake seemed anxious to get going, but I didn’t want to move until tomorrow.

  “All right. Are we packed yet?” I asked.

  “Not yet. If we’re done here, let’s get to it.”

  “I’ll get the truck.”

  I went outside to the garage, and pulled out the truck we used for off-river collections. It was a Ford F-150 king cab, with a lift kit that raised the vehicle an additional ten inches. Big tires allowed for off-road capability, and this bad boy was fully four-wheel drive. The only downside was a slew of flower stickers that Julia had stuck on the back window when she was a little girl, and we never got around to taking them off. It wasn’t easy trying to be tactical when your ride had flowers on it.

  I piled my pack behind the seat and put my rifle in a storage rack as well. I was partial to the heavy hitting M1A, while Jake preferred the simplicity of the SIG 556. It’s piston-recoil mechanism was easy to maintain, and my military weapon was easy as well. We didn’t use our heavy guns all that much, but we never left them behind.

  After packing the truck, Jake and I sparred for a bit, keeping ourselves loose and trained. Jake was a little more deliberate this time, and though he tagged me couple of times, I rang his bell enough to get his attention. Julia came in to watch our last session, and she studied our moves, looking for weaknesses for the time when she challenged one of us to fight.

  Jake and I squared off one last time, and this time I waited for him to come to me. He didn’t disappoint. Jake darted forward, ducking down and striking out with his left foot, hoping to get me to step back so he could straighten up and swing a kick with his right. I decided to force the issue sooner so I crouched down, bringing up my right leg and punching for his gut with my left hand. I connected with his shoulder and forced him back, straightening him up and getting him to stumble a bit.

  I pressed forward and kicked out with my right foot, landing a solid kick on his thigh, knocking him onto his back. I stood up and stepped forward, catching
Jake as he slammed a shoulder into my gut. He had rolled backwards, and then launched himself as soon as his feet were under him. I could feel his arms wrap around me, but if I stayed standing, the advantage would be mine.

  I swung a leg back, stopping my backward movement. Jake grabbed my knee, but I brought it up faster and connected with his gut. I slammed down with my elbow, knocking his breath out, then grabbed him around the waist and spun to the right, lifting him off his feet and tossing him into the wall. He landed hand, and then bounced to his feet, his face a mask of rage and his eyes flinty.

  “All right, then. Baby brother wants to play,” Jake said , moving forward and bringing his hands up.

  I knew I was in for it, but I was strangely calm. I had never bested Jake so easily, and with an ego like his, it had to be difficult to swallow, especially with Julia watching.

  Jake feinted with his left and hit me with his right, although I just managed to block the second punch. Jake then launched a series of attacks that rained blows on my arms and head, although I managed to avoid the worst of them. A punch got through my defenses and hit me square in the gut. As I went over, I threw an uppercut to try and get Jake to back off, not realizing he was coming in to try and finish me off.

  The punch landed on Jake’s chin and snapped his head back, causing him to drop his arms and fall to the ground in a heap. As I recovered, I noticed Jake wasn’t moving, and Julia was coming over to check on him.

  As she rolled him over, I could hear Jake say, “Check his hands for bricks, would you, please?” I guessed Jake would be okay.

  We waited a day longer than we had planned, mostly because Jake didn’t want to go out in public with a big lump on his chin. I didn’t do much to help, I kept giggling every time I saw him, and Julia was no help either. She kept leaving bricks where Jake could find them, and to his credit, Jake said nothing.

  On the night, before we were to leave, though, Julia woke the local dead screaming about the load of bricks Jake had piled in her bed. I just closed my door and let the two of them fight it out.

  Chapter 16

  In the morning, Jake and I climbed into the truck and headed out, waving to Julia as we left. We knew she would be all right by herself. No one in their right mind would try to attack the park, as a family of cougars roamed in the woods and kept it free from trespassers. Not to mention, Julia was a crack shot and deadly with her weapons. No worries there.

  Jake drove, and we headed out along Route 71. That road took us on a southerly tour of the edge of our domain, and into the river lands. The road twisted a lot at the eastern edge of the preserve, and since we were really bad about maintaining the roads, it took us an hour to navigate the turns and hills. When we cleared the hills, it was straight sailing to Ottawa, the big city on the river. Once upon a time, zombies had overrun this town, but after a serious pushback by our dad, people had been coming back. There had to be over five thousand people there now, and seemed to be growing daily.

  We filled up at the one gas station in town, paying a silver for our gas and getting a handful of coppers in change. Gas was extremely cheap, something my dad explained as the law of supply and demand, but I never paid attention when he started going on about economics.

  A small jog north took us to the interstate, and we were able to make pretty good time. The irony was the main highway swung north, and would have actually put us in Peotone’s backyard had it stayed straight. As it was, we were travelling an extra twenty miles out of our way, but it was faster and easier travelling, so it was okay.

  All other roads were maintained as well as could be expected, but the highway was a priority. We had to be able to respond to an emergency in case of another outbreak, so the main highways had been cleared from the Appalachians to the Rockies. It had taken ten years, and even Jake and I worked on it, but it was necessary.

  An hour into the ride, Jake took us over the bridge at Joslin. That town had never recovered from the big outbreak, and it was still a ghost town. Teenagers dared each other to go into the dark buildings at night, and everyone in a while little pinpoints of light could be seen walking around at dusk. There were places in Joslin that even the best of collectors refused to go, and the whole place had been declared off limits by the government several years ago.

  “Bet there’s some neat stuff down there,” Jake said, riding over the bridge. The big tires made a humming sound as we passed it.

  “Want to go look?” I figured Jake was bluffing so I decided to call him on it.

  “No, thanks. I promised Dad I would look out for you. Can’t do that when I put you in the vicinity of thousands of ghouls.

  I looked over at Jake. “When did you promise him anything? All you ever did was argue with him, fight over any training he wanted you to have, and bitch about him leaving.”

  Jake looked at me for a long moment, and I held his gaze. I was starting to realize why our father left, and in part, understand it.

  “You wouldn’t understand. You never understand,” Jake said, turning back to the road. I knew by that tone the conversation had ended.

  We rode in silence until we reached the junction of I-80 and I-57. The 80 side was fine, but the 57 side was a mess. There were literally thousands of rusting cars jammed all over the road, and a single lane had been cleared for people to drive on. And by cleared I mean a large fork truck had come through, lifted the cars out of the way, and dumped them in the next lane. It was a weird sight, seeing cars just stacked on top of each other, flattened in some places, rusted together in others. Many of the cars had skeletons still in them, and there were even a few that sported still moving zombies. They were in awful shape, but the closed environments kept them protected from the sun and cold. If they ever managed to get out, they would be as dangerous as ever.

  The bad part of this trip was the piled cars were on my side, so I had nothing to look at except mile after mile of rusted cars and dead flesh. I only got a glimpse of the countryside when there was a brief space here and there where the cars were not piled on each other.

  The exits were blocked by gate secured by concrete pylons, but you could get out and open the gate, as long as you closed it behind yourself. The idea was to keep as many of the zombies that were still on the roads contained as much as possible. Occasionally one would slip through, but they were dealt with quickly.

  “Zombie, dead ahead,” Jake said, chuckling at his own joke.

  I groaned. We’d used that one to death, but it still drew a chuckle from time to time. “All right. I’ll deal with it,” I said. Jake pulled up about twenty yards from the zombie and stopped the truck. I climbed out, grateful for the chance to stretch my legs. The zombie was slowly walking towards us, and it was just about the most awful zombie I had seen. The flesh had been ripped from its torso and legs, hanging down in massive strips. Its clothes were mostly gone, being torn down one side, and missing from the other. Its head was fairly intact, in fact the flesh was only slightly ripped. This one used to be a female, and her one good eye stared at me intently as she stumbled forward. It was particularly gross to see her step on her own strips of skin, tearing even more of it off.

  “Ugh,” was all I had to say. I went over to a rusty car and nodded at the zombie still trapped inside. It raised a hand to gently touch the window, then watched me as I kicked and twisted its front bumper off. If it hadn’t been so rusted, I could never had done that.

  Turning back to the skinless zombie, I took the bumper and shoved the jagged end straight into her forehead. The sharp metal broke through her skull and killed her instantly. I pulled out the bumper and reversed it, using the slightly hooked end to grab her under her chin and drag her out of the way. I left the bumper with her and climbed back into the truck.

  “Nice one,” Jake said.

  “Thanks.”

  “I think that one wins the prize for most disgusting.”

  “For sure. You know how it got that way?” The solution seemed obvious once I thought of it.

&
nbsp; “Do tell.”

  “Twisting and pulling out of a seat belt.” I was fairly impressed with myself.

  Jake thought for a minute as we pulled past the ex-zombie. “That makes sense. Nasty way to end up. Wonder what prompted her to free herself?”

  “Probably someone like us taking a trip, only maybe they were walking instead of riding.”

  “Could be. Could be.” Jake steered through the cars, following the path put before him by someone who wished for a southern route away from everything. Truth be told, it was probably faster to take the back roads, but this was a mostly direct route, and it would also provide us with a path back, provided the other side was clear as well.

  After an hour of this kind of travel, Jake decided he’d had enough, and we’d head towards Peotone via a more indirect route.

  We pulled up to the gate at the exit for Route 30, and I jumped out again, untying the rope that held the gate shut, and pulling the gate aside. Jake slipped the truck past, and I closed and retied the gate, keeping zombies like our friend the stripper from getting out and causing outbreaks.

  This part of Route 30 took us through Matteson, and it wasn’t very pretty. A big hotel stood off to the side, and the tall atrium windows would have looked nice if they hadn’t been blown out from the inside by a fire that had claimed the building years before. Several other buildings were in similar states, and those that survived the first wave of zombies fell to the second wave of looters. Mother Nature took it from there, tearing up the parking lots and dumping rain and mold all over the place. A couple of places had fallen so far into nature that they looked like misshapen hills.

  Chapter 17

  As we drove through the businesses, it was hard to imagine this place had once been a thriving community. However, neglect, years of hammering by nature, and looting had taken its final toll. In another twenty years, places that hadn’t been reclaimed were going to disappear.