“Any idea better not include a lot of driving. We’re sitting on an eighth of a tank and I haven’t seen any gas stations in this burg.”
“We need to establish a base, I think. We can’t have another night like last night. We won’t survive many of them. As far as gas goes, we should be able to siphon gas from other cars. Heck, we can even swap cars if we want, but I don’t want to head off into the unknown as unprepared as we are,” I said.
No one voiced any objection.
“I have an idea for a base,” volunteered Jude. “While I was driving last night I noticed a lake a few miles outside of town. It’s a state park, I think, and I saw boats and where there are boats, there is fuel for them. And here’s the kicker. I saw a small island on this lake.”
“That’s perfect for now,” I said with a grin. “Our own castle complete with moat.”
We agreed in unison to head for Jude’s lake. We soon left the town behind us. We saw a few scattered zombies on the road, but nothing like the mobs in town. The lake soon came into view and Jude coasted to a stop.
“There it is, boys, and it looks like it is completely deserted,” said Jude.
It presented an idyllic picture. The light wind was kicking up small white caps on the blue green surface of the lake. A small marina had an eclectic diversity of boats. There were small sailboats, bass boats, a few pleasure boats, and pontoon boats. What was the most beautiful was the island. It looked to be about as wide as a football field and was shaped like a football with a bulging center and tapering at each end. The island had some sort of structure on it, maybe a shelter house for picnics. The surrounding country was heavily forested and there did not appear to be any homes close by.
“Pull down to docks, Jude,” I said, pointing at a gravel access road. We’ll get ourselves a boat and then we can scout out your little island.”
Jude drove slowly down the road and we found ourselves next to the docks with dozens of boats to chose from. As we exited the truck, Harley grunted and pointed to a man coming around the corner of the marina shack. He was an older guy in bib jeans carrying a fishing pole. He was a zombie of course.
“I got this one,” said Harley with what sounded like pleasure.
His Bowie knife flashed in his hand and as the creature approached us Harley buried the knife up to the hilt in its brain. The zombie crumpled at Harley’s feet and he wiped the knife on the creatures bib jeans.
“Good job, Harley. Oh, and take the pole we might need it,” I said.
“It’s a Zebco. I hate those.”
“Take it anyway and I think I see our boat,” I said, pointing to a huge pontoon boat at the end of the small pier.
“Everybody check your weapons, grab what supplies you can carry, and let’s head to our new clubhouse.”
Chapter Eighteen
We all headed down to the dock and jumped in the boat, keeping a look out for the dead. The pontoon was everything I was hoping for. It was enormous and would make a good ferry for taking equipment to the island. In fact, it had everything except keys. I hadn’t thought about that. I was about to suggest one of the sailboats, when Harley pushed me out of the way.
“I got this,” he said firmly.
He smashed the console in with the butt of his rifle and had soon pulled the ignition switch free. I looked around nervously because of the noise. It wouldn’t do to get trapped out here at the end of the dock. Harley soon had exposed the wiring and was fiddling with his knife. In a matter of minutes, he touched two wires together and the engine sprang to life.
“Nothing to it,” he said twisting the wires together. “Let’s go.”
We were soon zooming across the water, covering the short distance to the island in just a minute or two. Harley was at the wheel and everyone was smiling huge smiles. I felt truly safe for the first time since this thing began. Harley circled the island slowly as everyone scanned the shoreline for signs of zombies or even other survivors, but it was soon apparent that the island was deserted. The structure I had noticed was indeed a small shelter house with picnic tables and a fireplace at one end with a cache of split firewood stocked. There was a small dock large enough for four boats and we tied off there.
“This is it,” said Jude as the engine died out. “All ashore.”
He fairly leapt out of the boat and then helped everyone with the gear. In under a half an hour we were sitting at a picnic table like it was a weekend outing.
“You know, I think we can enclose this thing a little and make a passable cabin out of this place,” said Harley.
“Maybe,” I said. It was coming up on noon I thought. What in the world were we going to do now? I had been so intent on mere survival that the future was a luxury I had not allowed myself, but I had to think about it now.
Jude laid his sleeping bag out on another picnic table and was soon asleep. I wondered if he got any actual sleep last night. All alone like he had been, I doubted it. Steve announced he was going to put the pole to use and catch us our dinner. It was a good idea and soon he was walking up and down the beach casting a small jig in the water. I watched him for a while and then turned to Harley. He had his knife out and was sharpening it on a whetstone. It was hypnotic watching the repetitive motion as he slowly honed the steel blade like a master craftsman.
It was funny how when the immediate pressure was off we had all fallen back into our familiar patterns. As long as I could remember Jude loved to sleep. Every drive lasting longer than twenty minutes would find him snoozing. I had quit going to the movies with him because he never made it through one.
Steve on the other hand was a nut for fishing and he was not about to let a little thing like the end of the world stop him. In a lake like this, with no one else competing for fish, he probably could feed us all by himself. We had a Coleman stove just for cooking game and fish and we could probably find more fuel back at the marina. I glanced over my shoulder and I saw Steve happily casting.
Harley was all about guns, knives, and hunting and always had been. I used to joke that blaze orange was his favorite color because he was always dressed in it and always looking towards that next hunting trip. Were we the hunters or the hunted now? Last night definitely the hunted, but today was different. Harley had another prey to hunt now and he seemed to be fitting in nicely with our new reality.
I let my mind drift and I laid my head down on the table for a few minutes. My head began to throb and I decided I would lay down for a short nap myself. Harley promised to keep watch and I was soon blanketed in my sleeping bag and asleep. It was a decision I soon regretted. I was racked with nightmares. Clutching hands reaching for me and snapping jaws tearing at my flesh. I looked into the ravenous eyes of the zombies attacking me and I saw Holland’s face on all of them. I awoke with a start and cried out.
“Are you all right, buddy?” asked Jude.
I sat up and saw my three friends looking at me with concern. They were at a neighboring table fiddling with the portable stove. Steve must have been successful in his fishing, as I saw a line with seven or eight crappies on the table. It was already dark and someone had built a small fire in the fireplace, which was providing light as well as heat and made shadows dance everywhere.
“You woke up just in time to scale these fish. Soon as we get this thing lit we are having the catch of the day,” said a beaming Steve.
I saw a bottle on the table as well. Leave it to Steve to have hidden away some hooch for a rainy day. He followed my eyes and held up his palm.
“Hey, if this isn’t a special occasion I don’t know what is.”
He was right, but I passed on a drink. Jude passed also, but Harley took a greedy gulp and belched. The idea of hot food made my stomach rumble, but I had other worries. I looked at each mans happy face and came to a decision.
“I have to take a leak, guys,” I said and grabbed my revolver.
“I’ll go with you,” said Jude as started to rise up.
“No need, I can handle this mys
elf. You guys just get the stove working and I’ll be right back.”
I stepped out of the shelter house and walked into the woods. There were few mature trees, but the island was covered in underbrush. I got down on my knees and prayed to God for guidance in doing what I knew I must do. I placed my gun on the ground and began to disrobe. When I was completely naked I grabbed my clothes in one hand and the revolver in the other and walked back to the shelter house. As I entered the light from the fireplace, I saw the astonished looks on everyone’s face. I threw my clothes on a table and stood in front of the fire and faced my friends.
“I got a little speech to make and I want to get through it, so please listen.”
Jude nodded, Steve stared at his shoes, and Harley met my gaze with no expression.
“I’ve been doing some thinking. This plague, or whatever it is, is infectious. The old woman told us that and we saw with our own eyes what happened to Holland. If you are bitten and die you become a zombie, but what if there is more to it? What if it is like every other infectious disease we know of? What if it merely has to be introduced to the next host? I think it is possible that if you are bitten you will turn into the living dead.”
Jude grimaced and seemed about to speak.
“I believe that is true and I am not closing my eyes again until I am sure about something. I am in front of you naked as when I came into this world to show you what I already know.”
I spread my arms out wide and turned around slowly.
“Do you see any bite marks? I don’t have any,” I said as I raised the gun and pointed it at my three friends. “ Now each of you will disrobe and show us the same thing.”
“And if we don’t?” asked Harley with suppressed anger.
“I will kill any man who refuses. This is our new civilization. Every man a potential enemy until proven otherwise.”
I leveled the gun at them. My hands were shaking, but my determination must have shone in my eyes.
“But, Billy, we’ve all been together all the time except for Jude,” protested Steve.
“Not all the time. Each one of you has been out of my sight since this thing started. Steve you ran out of the old woman’s house first last night and Harley you were alone under the tower. Those are just two examples. I have thought this out and it has to be that way.”
Jude was the next to speak.
“Billy’s right. Lets get this over with,” he said and he began to peel his shirt off. Without another word Harley rose exhaled and also began to disrobe. Jude was first to get his clothes off and he held his arms out wide and turned around as I had. He had no bite marks.
“Join me over here,” I said and Jude grabbed his clothes, began to dress, and walked to my side.
Harley was next and the light from the flames flickered over his nude body. He had no bite marks. He even took the handkerchief bandage off of his hand. It was a clean cut. No bite marks. Steve was still sitting fully dressed with his legs crossed and his arms folded across his chest. Harley looked down at him and backed away from Steve several steps. He pulled his pants back on and grabbed his shirt as he backed away.
I pointed my gun squarely at Steve, “Just you now, buddy.”
Steve slowly stood. His face looked black in the shadow filled shelter house.
“You’re not the king of Zombiekastan, Billy. I ain’t taking my clothes off to prove anything to you or anyone else. You’ll have to kill me.”
I took a step towards him, “Then that’s just what I’ll do, Steve. We go way back, but we can’t have any mercy towards zombies or unknowns on this island. We are gonna settle this right now.”
I saw Steve’s eyes stray to the guns sitting on the adjacent table. He moved slightly in that direction. I could see he was trying to gauge just how quickly he could grab one. He took another small step in that direction.
“Even if I was bitten how do you know what will happen to me?” challenged Steve.
Harley spoke up, “We could treat it like a dog with rabies. We could confine Steve for a few days.”
“Nobody is chaining me up like some rabid dog!” Steve shouted and as he did he edged even closer to the guns.
“Don’t do it, Steve,” I called out. “I’ll do what I have to do.”
Suddenly Steve exploded towards the table and had a rifle in his hands before I could act. He swung the gun around and pointed it at me.
I shot him right between the eyes.
Steve had fired at the same time I had and I felt the bullet slide by my ear and heard it splatter on the stone chimney of the fireplace behind me. A splinter of rock stung my neck. I reached up and felt it. I brought my hand back before my face and saw blood. My first wound of the new reality. Meanwhile, I had been close enough to Steve that his blood was speckled across my chest and stomach.
“Oh my God, Billy! You killed him, man,” exclaimed Jude.
“He didn’t give me any choice. You all saw that.”
Harley walked over to Steve’s lifeless corpse and began to unbutton Steve’s shirt.
“What are you doing?” I asked with the gunshots still ringing in my ear.
Harley looked up at me with a strange, unreadable expression.
“I’m trying to find out if you killed one of my best friends because he was infected or if you killed a guy who was just scared and confused. That’s what I’m doing.”
With that he resumed his work and Jude joined him. I was still standing naked when I heard Jude draw in his breath.
“Well I’ll be,” Jude said. “You were right, Billy.
They both stood up and stared at the body. I walked over and saw a clear human bite mark on Steve’s left forearm. The bite mark was surrounded by greenish and red tissue. Spider-like blood vessels were radiating from the bite and spreading up past Steve’s elbow and towards his shoulder.
“You were right, Billy,” said Jude in a hushed tone. “It is an infection. Steve was turning into one of them. He might have attacked us in our sleep tonight.”
It didn’t make me feel any better. I had hoped that this little island might serve as our Eden. A place where humanity could renew. It was going to be different this time. Maybe even better, but that was ruined. Once again we begin with the Mark of Cain upon us. In just two days of battling evil, I had killed a human being.
“When do you think they got him? Was it last night?” Jude asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe, but Steve was acting strange at the campsite too. He disappeared a couple of times then with no explanation. I just don’t know, but I think it must have been when he ran out of the house last night. He had heard what the old woman said and I think he realized the implications as soon as he was bitten. That’s why he hid it. He was just scared enough to endanger the whole group.”
I realized Harley was standing next to me.
“I gotta say I suspected you most of all, Harley,” I confessed. “That bandage seemed too convenient. Sorry, buddy.”
“Billy, maybe we should think about moving on in the morning and taking our chances. Maybe we can find out if our families made it,” said Harley. “I hate to say it, but I’ve been so busy trying to stay alive I haven’t thought much about those back home.”
I considered it.
“No, we are not ready. We need to be prepared and well stocked before we head out again.”
“But what about our families, Billy?” asked Jude.
“Listen, guys, this thing is two days old for us, but its weeks old to the rest of the world. If our families survived the initial epidemic then they’re probably safe and we’re not going to be any help to them rushing blindly about. And the dead, well they have all the time in the world.”
I dropped the gun to the floor. It clattered on the concrete as I started towards the shore.
Jude called after me, “Where are you going, Billy?”
I didn’t answer. I crossed the grass and felt the sand between my toes. I walked into the ice-cold lake until it was up to my waist and
then I immersed myself in the water and began to wash Steve’s blood off my body. Tomorrow we would begin again and make another attempt to build a civilization in the age of zombies.
The End
Zombie Civilization: Genesis (Zombie Civilization Saga) Page 10