“Charlie…” Amanda said. The damn broke. I looked up and surveyed my group. Everyone was now quiet. They watched me like I was some mad dog that could start biting people at any second.
“Listen, I have a plan. You have to trust in me. You have to trust in my plan. I will not tell you specifics because you don’t need to know them. What you do need to know is this. We have to make camp and wait for first light. We then have to make our way towards Wal-Mart a quickly as we can, but in doing so we have to let the med center mob see what we are doing and where we are going. You will need to follow my lead without question when we leave this place tomorrow. Our lives depend on you doing as I say. We can’t go home tonight. There is something I have to do, and it has to be done tonight.”
“But…wouldn’t we be safe back at Wal-Mart?” Fred asked.
“She is going to bring an army with her to smoke us out. You tell me Fred, will we be safe?” Fred glared at me, but he became very quiet. “We have to do what we do best. We have to engage this woman and her forces in a very deadly game of misdirection. We have to beat her before we head for home. I can do that, but first I need to see a man about a horse.”
We had topped the hill and the BP service station was sitting to our right. Just over the crest of the hill sat the storage building I had planned to use as cover for the night. We would be there in less than five minutes at our current speed.
“You don’t think we can beat her, do you?” Fred said.
“Anyone can be beaten with the proper planning.” I said.
“And you think you have this planning?” Fred asked.
“Yes Fred, haven’t you heard? I’m Batman.”
“I’ll be damned if I’m going to put that Robin costume on.” Sass said from the back of the group. I did my best to allow nobody to see the broad smile I wore as we reached the fence that surrounded the storage building.
Once over the fence Jane demonstrated some of his pick lock skills by popping open one of the motor homes that was parked outside. We made all the others file inside while Sass, Jane, Amanda and I held our own mini council meeting outside.
“I don’t think you all will have anything to worry about here, but I still want you two to set up a watch for tonight.” I said.
“My thoughts exactly.” Said Jane. “I haven’t seen a walker since we passed the remains of Food City. That guy told us earlier that the Headhunters kept their area clean and he must have been telling us the truth about that. I don’t know how they do it, but there seems to be almost no walkers on this end of State of Franklin.”
I looked at Amanda and said, “You interested in taking a stroll with me? If I’m right, we’ll save the day. If I am wrong, we will die horribly.” Amanda smiled at me, “I’m with you till the end.” She said.
“And exactly what are you two doing?” Sass asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about. Here’s what I need you two to do. Keep them safe tonight and if we aren’t back by first light, and I mean first light, you get them moving towards Wal-Mart as fast as you can make them move. Head straight down State of Franklin. Once you get home tell Jack that he has an army coming. Tell him that he will have anywhere from five to thirty minutes to prepare. Tell him I’m sorry and that Amanda and I are most likely dead.”
Sass didn’t look happy about this. Jane seemed to take it as an order and put no emotional attachment to my words.
“Anything else boss?” Jane asked.
“Yeah. Tell Jack that I name Sass as my successor. And tell him that Amanda’s last request was for somebody to put a bullet in Jericho’s head.” I was smiling as I said the last part, but Amanda chimed in right behind me, saying ‘Amen.’”
“Why are you doing this Charlie?” Sass asked.
“We need help. We can’t defeat her on our own. We all know that.”
“I don’t know that. Why do you think we can’t beat her?”
I looked at my friend. My last tie to the life I had before all of this. He looked confused and pleadingly at me.
“We lack time to plan, time to prepare. If she shows up, the best we could do is shoot back and forth. It would, in essence, be like cowboys trying to protect the wagon train from a group of pissed off Indians. It would be a fight that we wouldn’t be able to win.”
“We took out those bikers, didn’t we? If we were able to beat them then why couldn’t we beat this woman and her army of nurses?” Sass asked. It was a fair question. The answer was something he wouldn’t like. It would be one of those moments where I make sense, and everybody likes it better when they can just shake their head at me and say I’m not right.
“First off, she is much smarter than the bikers ever hoped to be. Mostly though, I am basing my opinion on the fact that we have no more explosives.”
Everything got quiet, and then Jane spoke up.
“He’s right. All we have is what I am lugging around in my bag.”
“I don’t see how they could be any more dangerous than the bikers.” Sass said.
“You never listen in tactical theory class, do you? It doesn’t matter the size of the force or the professions of the soldiers you are facing. Superior tactics will win the fight.” I said.
“What’s she going to do to us? We have the high ground.”
“Just off the top my head Sass, I would say she would go for our obvious weak spots. The moat of cars we have is great to stop the zombies from breaking into the store, but her forces would have no trouble climbing over the cars and breaking the glass. Once they were inside, all they would have to do is not allow us access to the interior of the store, where our supplies are. They could hold that position until we are either too weak to fight or we die from starvation. That’s just one of many tactical advantages she would have being on the ground. She is very smart; she will know how to take us down.”
“Why do you say that?” Jane asked.
“I have my reasons. Guys I’d love to continue this argument, but we have to get moving if we are going to make it back before the sun rises. Keep them safe and be gone by first light.” I said as I began heading back for the fence. Amanda followed me, and Big Lou wagged his tail on the other side of the fence as he waited on us to climb back over to him. I kept hearing Sass in my head, “We beat the bikers, how much more dangerous could she be?”
That was a hell of a question. I wondered how many people back home really knew what we had done to defeat the bikers. How many knew what that victory had cost us?
THEN
DAY 81 OF THE INFECTION
ONE
It was almost three weeks before the bikers arrived. Those days were spent in preparation and constant paranoia of their arrival. The morning after Jane and Amanda’s return we had decided on a three fold plan of attack. First was the reshaping of the parking lot. Jane and Jack kept using the term “killbox” like it was something we had all grown up hearing. I told them that I never remembered Jokey Smurf hiding a bunch of his exploding presents in a field of flowers while Hefty Smurf lured Gargamel into the Smurfs big blue killbox. Jane just smiled and said that if stuff like that had happened on Saturday morning then he would have most likely been a fan of those “blue bastards." Jack just ignored me.
Outside the parking lot we had a crew on the interstate making sure that things were as clogged up as possible. The idea was that if somebody attempted to drive down the interstate to Johnson City, even on a motorcycle, they would have to fight for every foot of road. The third group was led by Amanda. This was the group codenamed “Total Chaos." They would be taking the fight to the bikers on their home turf. Softening them up before they ever hit the road, Jack had said. "Her small group would be responsible for disabling their transportation, destroying their supplies and lowering their moral." It was all textbook “How to defeat your enemy” by Jack's favorite author, Sun Tzu.
I had to be convinced to let Amanda take another team out so soon after getting back. Jack made her promise to call in once a day to give us a status
update, which she did faithfully.
As well as having the group divided into three parts in an attempt to prepare ourselves for the coming war, we also had to deal with Jericho sowing his dissent. Every day he made a little more ground on convincing everyone that the council was evil, and we were pulling the community into a needless war. His arguments made no sense, which was no surprise, because he knew nothing of what had caused the conflict to start with. However, the average member of our rooftop society didn’t know the particulars of the conflict either so his idiotic arguments seemed to make sense to them. During his first week Jericho had found enough spare wood to build himself a pulpit to preach from and his topic of choice was, “Thou shalt not kill”. It was more than most of us had the patience to take. I was glad Amanda was gone. I could only imagine how she would have reacted had she had been made to listen to it all.
Progress went very well on all fronts. The parking lot was shaped into Jane and Jack’s vision in the first week. We were then able to concentrate all of our efforts on the interstate. Jane had disappeared with Sass and the box truck to look for supplies. When pressed on where they would be going or what they would be looking for all he would say was that we needed a “specialized list of items to deal with the current problem”. I will give the military peeps one thing; they do know how to answer your question in such a way as to tell you absolutely nothing.
At the two week mark, we were done with all cosmetic preparations around the building and the interstate. Jane had been back for two days and he and Jack had been tucked away preparing what they referred to as “party favors”. Amanda had radioed in and reported that her team would be heading back in the morning. The bikers would be leaving within the next few days and she wanted to get a jump on them, so her team could leave some surprises on their projected path. Everything seemed to be coming along as well as anyone could hope for. Everything except Jericho. He was still preaching about the evils of war and our coming conflict. Everyone on the council had heard enough. You can imagine the excitement I felt upon hearing that Jericho had requested to see me. The day had been going so well. I had been able to let myself feel a bit optimistic about our chances and try to go to sleep on an up note. Now I had this looking me in the face.
He was standing to the far right corner of the building. This was the corner of the building that we had sectioned off to house the baths and the toilets. On this side of the roof we were assured to be as alone as you could get. He stood looking out over the parking lot. As I drew near he looked up at me, he did not smile.
“Ah, the infamous Mister Collins. How are you doing this fine evening?” He said. Jericho has always carried this pompous air about him. It has always struck me that he thinks he’s better than everyone else and he wants everyone to know it.
“I was having a fine day until I had to come see you.” I said.
“I can understand. Support for me grows daily while the populous has begun to question this immoral fight you have brought upon us.”
“Immoral fight? Jericho you don’t even know what’s going on. How can you pass judgment when you’re clueless?”
“I have been here long enough to see how your ‘council’ handles business. This conflict has come about by design, your design.”
“You have been here about two seconds, you have no clue how the council operates. This fight was brought to us by these people. They want our food and supplies. What on earth could we have to gain by picking a fight with them?”
“I wouldn’t have a clue. I am not allowed into your inner sanctum or privy to your dark plans. You have chosen to ignore the commands of our lord and momentarily are keeping me from his good work.”
“Really? We’re back to that?”
“It is the truth. The commandment was given and you turned your back on our lord.”
“Jericho, I have heard enough of your bullshit and I’m not going to do this dance with you tonight. What do you want?”
Jericho gave me a look that conveyed he had just eaten something that didn’t agree with him before turning his back to me to look out across the parking lot again. I wondered if I could close the distance between us and push him from the roof before he noticed me. Surely the fall would kill him or at least incapacitate him long enough for one of our neighbors to finish him off. I could tell everyone that he was standing there looking into the night and he just collapsed. He fell forward and pitched over the side before I could do anything to prevent it. I’m sure not everyone would believe me, but most would. I was still weighing the pros and cons of the thought when Jericho spoke.
“Do you believe in God Mister Collins?”
He turned to find me staring into his eyes. I am sure I had a particularly unhappy look to me. “What?” I asked. My voice flat and tempered with rage.
“Our lord and savior, do you believe in him?”
I am still not sure why I took such offense to his question. It was a predictable avenue for him to take. He was still trying to push buttons. He was fishing for me to say something he could use later to his advantage.
“I really can’t believe you sometimes. It isn’t bad enough that you squandered the safety your group had achieved. Now you want to play your stupid mind games here to capture another home that you can mismanage and get over run. You are a waste of time and a danger to everybody here. And you are right; I will ignore these so called commands that come from your dreams. Expecting me to give you control because you had a dream is insane. Would you give a gun to a child if he told you he dreamt that God told him you were supposed to?”
“That is hardly the point…” Jericho said, but I cut him off.
“That is exactly the point. Dreams are just that, dreams. They mean nothing. You telling me that God speaks to you in your dreams only tells me that you have religious dreams. It doesn’t mean that I should take any of it seriously. It just means you want what I have, and you think you have found a way to make me give it to you.”
“You are wrong Mister Collins. Dreams are not always just dreams. Sometimes they are much, much more.”
“And what would you say if I were tell you that for the past three nights I have had a dream where God spoke to me and said that I am to ignore your pleas and retain leadership myself.”
“I would call into account your reputation as a godless, violent man and would declare that you to be lying just to retain the power you so desperately seek.”
“So you say it, and it’s the truth. I say it, and I am a liar. Tell me Jericho why do you get to say who is lying and who isn’t?”
“I am a man of god. If the lord were to talk to anyone it would be me!” Jericho said glowering at me. He didn’t look like the man of god that he professed to be. He looked like he belonged in an alley with a knife in his hand as he told me to stay quiet and nobody would get hurt.
“To be a man of god you really don’t know your bible very well, do you? Who did Jesus pick to be his disciples? Was it twelve righteous priests or was it a handful of the common guys from around town? Was it the top twelve prospects for future pope or was it a couple fishermen, a few friends and family of those already on board and a tax collector? Just think about it, a tax collector. That was one of the most hated guys in the whole city back then and Jesus goes up to him and says, ‘hey man, wanna hang with us?’” Jericho did not look happy with me. “How about when the son of God would blow into town? Would his first stop be the temple? Would he go talk with the holy men and see what was going on in town or did he go hang out with the dregs? I think, if you read that book you’re always talking about, you would see that he is hanging out with the regular guys, the common man. Now, you tell me, who would God speak to? Would it be a self righteous, self appointed, man of god? Or would it be just some guy trying his best to keep safe the people who trust him?”
“You are not trying to keep them safe. You are starting a war with a group of armed maniacs.”
“No. I didn’t start this war. I didn’t want this war. The
y brought this about, but I do swear to you that I will end it. If they come here, they will never return home. It is my responsibility to keep everyone here safe and as god is my witness I will see that responsibility through.”
“You will be the death of us all.” Jericho said almost nose to nose with me now. I felt as if we were about to come to blows. Part of my mind was calculating how I could force him over the side of the building if it came to that. Part of my mind was cursing me for not doing it earlier. I leveled my gaze at Jericho and fired what I thought would be the last shot of our argument.
“I will do what you wish you could do SO badly. I will be the instrument of our salvation.” I smiled. I was on a roll and all he could do was stand there and stammer as I tore through him.
“And to answer your question Jericho, yes, I do believe in God. Even in the middle of all of this I still believe that he is there, and this somehow fits into his plan for us. My question to you is, do you really believe? From where I stand, I don’t think you do. If you did believe all this crap you spout every day, at least I could respect you for standing up for your beliefs. But that’s not the case is it? You’re nothing more than a con man who thinks he’s found the perfect thing to get him everything he wants. All you have to do is hide behind god and you think you can leverage your way into anything you want.” I could see the Joker’s face as his words rushed across my mind.
“It’d be funny, if it wasn’t so pathetic." I said before taking the appropriate pause that this quote needed before adding, "Oh what the hell, I’ll laugh anyway.”
I stood there laughing at him. Jericho didn’t smile. He didn’t look away. He didn’t even look impressed by my witty quote from the Batman Beyond animated movie. All he did was stare into my eyes as his rage enveloped his body. I braced myself for the coming punch, but it never arrived. After a few seconds of glaring he stepped around me and returned to his tent. I had no idea if he considered his mission successful or not, but he was returning home empty handed and mad about it. I decided that I liked the way the entire talk had gone and as I walked back to my tent I wished I could whistle because it just felt like the moment to whistle a song and smile as the cool night breeze rolled across my face. The bikers were coming, and we were ready for them. Amanda and her group were on their way home and Jericho had been thwarted by the evil, scheming Mister Collins for another night. All was well and as it should be in our ruined post apocalyptic world. I smiled towards the back of Wal-Mart where Jericho’s flunkies stood watching me. As I reached my tent my brain was unable to stop my smartass gene from waving at the crazies and saying in a louder than normal voice.
A Good Distance From Dying_Book 2_Samantha's Song Page 30