by TW Gallier
Gas generators were started behind us along the NML Zone and on the bridge above us to power their flood lights. After the nuclear exchange and EMP that was the only way to get electricity. God only knew when and if society would pull itself back together and start fixing the damaged infrastructure.
"Kyle. Tell us where we're going," Olivia insisted in a whisper.
"To find a boat," I said. "With an outboard motor."
It'd be nice if we could find some food, dry clothes, and weapons, too. But I was a realist. Just a running boat with a full gas tank would be enough to ensure our escape.
We went from pier to pier checking all of the boats tied to them. We found john boats, bass boats, and ski boats, but none of them had a gas tank. Gas was probably a rationed item in Emory, and probably reserved for their generators. I noticed there wasn't a single light in the town except for the three battle zones.
I gathered us together under a pier.
"If we don't find a boat with a gas tank in the next couple of piers, I think we should just take a john boat and paddle."
"Okay. I'm good with that," Olivia said. "Starting a motor would probably just get them after us anyway."
"As long as we do it before someone figures out we're missing," Ralph said. "Also, we can break into one of these dockside restaurants and get some real food. Maybe even some dry clothes."
"Clothes in a restaurant?" Olivia asked.
"Cook uniforms," he said, shrugging. "Don’t the restaurants provide them on site?"
Dry clothes would be nice. Food would be even better, but I didn't want to take any chances. We needed to find a boat and get the hell out of Dodge. Zombies didn't care about clothes or canned food. Zombies only ate what they killed, whether animal or human. So we could worry about food and clothes later and maybe loot a house along the river.
"At least shoes," Olivia said. "I can't walk a hundred miles home barefooted."
I was pretty sure Plano was a couple hundred miles from Emory. My father was from a small town an hour east of Emory. We visited out grandparents often when I was young, but I couldn't remember exactly how many hours it took to drive there.
"Actually," I said. I stopped myself. Nothing gained by correcting her. "The river that runs north of Plano empties into this one, so we can take a flat-bottom john boat almost all the way home."
Since zombies avoid entering water for any reason, that would ensure our safety during the trip. That would be a nice change. I hadn't felt safe in the two weeks since Z Day, as we called it.
"Oh my god, you're so smart," Olivia said. "I could kiss you."
"This is no time for self control, woman," I said, wagging my brows. She just laughed. Dammit. Then I heard footsteps on the docks. "Shhhh."
"Zeke. Did you hear a laugh?" a man on shore said.
"Escapees aren’t going to be laughing," another man said.
My blood ran cold. They were already looking for us. I'd hoped the attacking hordes would keep them occupied until we escaped the town.
We each hugged a piling under that dock and lowered ourselves as deep as possible. I hoped being in the dark shadows would be enough. After a moment I spotted four armed men walking down the docks and coming our way. It looked like a patrol, and they looked alert. The rain and darkness kept me from getting a good look at their weapons, but it appeared they only had shotguns.
"Sounded like it came from over here," the first man said. He was the one in the lead. "It was a girl laughing, and one of the escapees is a girl."
They walked out on the pier above us, their footsteps loud in my ears. But not as loud as my heart. I hugged that piling and prayed.
The gunfire and shouting came to an abrupt stop on the north side. The patrol stopped and looked back. The generators were turned off, plunging everything back into darkness over there. That meant the zombies had been pushed back, the fence propped back up, and now the zombies had decided to feed on the dead.
My stomach soured as I recalled all of the previous times the zombies went into a feeding frenzy on their own dead. It would probably take them hours to get all of the dead and dying out of the barbed wire, but they wouldn't leave a single body uneaten.
I never wanted to see anything like that again.
"Come on," a voice above said. "Conner's gonna kick our asses if those bastards get away."
"I'm going to fuck them up good," another said. "I hope Connor makes an example out of them, too."
Why was he so angry? We were the ones being used and abused in the NML Zone.
"Connor said he was going to hang the first guy who managed to get out of the buffer," another said. "I guess he's gonna have three to string up."
I looked at Ralph. His eyes were huge. I couldn't see Olivia's face from my location, but she was probably just as frightened. They had me shaking, feelings of doom beating me down.
The patrol continued on after a few minutes, and then I tried to relax. Panic didn't want to let go. With the fight over, they would do a roll call to determine who was lost. If they hadn't seen us escaping, they would've looked for our bodies first. They might've decided the zombies dragged our carcasses away to eat, but they might do a search on the off-chance we escaped. It was a whole nother game since they knew we were out there, so we had to quickly find a boat and get away. Time was running out.
Three piers down was a marina. The small store was dark, with the door wide open. We found half a dozen john boats with small outboard motors. All had oars and at least two life-preservers. No weapons of any kind, and no gas tanks. We decided it was time to just take one and go.
I used the motor to step on and climb out of the water and into the boat while Ralph and Olivia counter-balanced by hanging onto the bow. Then I helped first Olivia, and then Ralph get in. I stayed in the rear, with Ralph taking the bow.
"Untie us, Ralph. The heavy rain will help hide us," I whispered. "We'll push off, lay in the bottom, and hope if anyone sees the boat they will think it is drifting from upriver and just let it go."
He rose up to untie the line, and paused. I tensed, looking around for danger. Olivia perked up, too, eyes huge. Then he looked back at me and grinned.
"I see gas tanks," he whispered.
I stood up and looked in the direction he pointed. There they were. A dozen red marine fuel tanks for outboard motors lined up along the front of the store. There wasn't anyone in sight and gas for the motor was too enticing.
"Olivia, hold the boat in place. We're going to get a few tanks real quick," I said.
A dog barked and a man shouted in the middle distance as soon as I crawled up on the wooden pier. Ralph and I froze. I looked up and down the docks, but didn't see anyone or any movement.
So we hurried over to the gas tanks, remaining hunched over. We quickly checked them. It was too dark to see the gauges, but they felt full.
"How many do we take?" I asked.
He shrugged. "All of them, I guess. We have room."
I grabbed two tanks and stood up. Ralph did the same, and we turned toward the boat. Olivia stood up, pointing just to the north of us.
"Watch out!" Olivia cried.
"Halt!"
We froze. I slowly turned my head to find an old bearded man with a six-shooter aimed at us. He caught my eyes and scowled at me. Slowly, I put the tanks back down and remained crouched in the off-chance I could dart away.
"You boys going somewhere?" he said. "Put the gas down, kid. I don't want to shoot your scrawny ass, but I will."
The old man forced us to kneel with our hands behind our head. Then he shined a flashlight on us, looking for weapons I guess. Finally, he turned the flashlight on Olivia, who lifted her hands up in defeat.
"Get up here, girl," he commanded. Olivia reluctantly complied, and was forced to kneel beside me. "If you kids move, I'll just shoot your damn asses. Ya hear?"
"Yes, sir," I said.
I heard, but if he gave us half a chance we were out of there. I looked left and right, and got a n
od from each of my friends. We were all on the same page. Going back to the NML Zone was not an option. Besides, the patrol expected Connor to hang us as an example.
He kept the gun on us, half-stepped back into the store, and pulled out a walkie-talkie. Then he moved over in front of us.
"Hey, this is Barney. I got the escapees from the north buffer trying to steal a boat," he said. "Send someone over to pick them up."
He was looking straight at Olivia, pointing his revolver at her. We had to run for it, but he'd kill her right off. Then he lowered his gun to lift her chin with the barrel. My heart thundered in my ears.
"Seriously?" the voice on the other end said. "You caught them?"
"Yep. Three of them. Two boys and a pretty little girl," Barney said. "They almost got away."
"We're right there," another voice said. "We got it."
Barney's aim didn't waver. A moment later two patrols converged on us, and our escape attempt was at an end. Deepest despair threatened to consume me. I could almost feel the noose tightening around my throat.
Chapter 3
The holding cell they left us inside was hot and muggy. The only light was a kerosene lantern, which just generated more heat we didn't need. All we knew was someone named Jake radioed the men returning us to the enclosure, ordering them to take us to the town jail instead. Honestly, I'd rather be locked up than be hung by the neck, or even forced to fight their battles again.
There was a stainless steel commode and a single bunk mounted to the wall. It was obviously a one man cell. We gave Olivia the bunk and all crashed. The concrete floor wasn't comfortable, but I was asleep almost before my head touched the ground.
"Hello, boys and girls," a large man with a neatly trimmed beard said, waking me up. He stood just outside of the cell door. I guessed he was about six four and two hundred twenty pounds. While he had a touch of gray, and looked to be in his late thirties, earlier forties, he looked quite fit and capable. "I'm Jake Falkner."
"So?" I said, sitting up and making sure the others were awake, too.
Ralph and I got up and sat to either side of Olivia on the bunk, and then we all glared at him. Jake didn't seem too concerned. I noticed he was wearing a tactical vest over a brown t-shirt, camo pants, and combat boots. He had a large knife and black pistol holstered on the vest. It was similar to the vest they took from me after we were captured.
"Would it matter if I could save you from being hung for treason?"
"Treason?" Ralph said. "Is that what you call escaping from slavery?"
"It's not slavery," he said, though looked uncomfortable. "It's just forced service. Like the draft."
I almost laughed. Men could convince themselves of anything to justify their actions.
"Bullshit. Call it what it is," Olivia said. "Slavery. We're human pit fighters defending you cowardly jerk-offs."
I held my tongue. Despite being just as angry as my friends, Jake had opened a door to escaping execution. I'd at least hear him out. He noticed, since he turned to me.
"What about you, Kyle Holt?"
Just knowing my name wasn't impressive. They interrogated us extensively when captured. We had no reason to lie, so answered their questions. Being honest didn't help us in the least.
"I'm listening," I said.
"I am told you came down from Carson," he continued. "Do you know the city well?"
"Yes," I said. Still didn't have a reason to lie, though I was starting to wonder if I should anyway. "I have no reason to help you, though. You've not treated us with any respect, dignity, or goodwill."
"You know, once the Federal government reestablishes it's authority, you guys will probably be arrested and put on trial for war crimes or something," Olivia said.
Jake gave the faintest of shrugs. "Possibly, but unlikely. I've not seen any evidence the government survived with enough resources to do shit in our lifetimes." He caught my eyes. "Do you know where the Army Reserve armory is located in Carson."
"Of course. Everyone knows that," I said.
He looked pleased. "Good. I'd like to recruit you and Mr. Daniels to guide our expeditionary force to it."
"What about me?" Olivia cried.
"This is a raid," Jake replied. "It's a combat mission, so only men."
I shook my head. There was no way. The enclosures were brutal for everyone, but especially for women. Unsavory men took advantage of them. There was no law and punishment in the NML Zone. Ralph and I protected her, and each other. Even so, we all got our asses handed to us several times, but we still managed to keep their hands off of Olivia.
"We're a package deal," Ralph said.
"Exactly, we won't leave Olivia behind," I said. "Maybe you don't understand how dangerous it is for women in the NML Zone."
He considered that a moment. Jake didn't appear pleased with how it was going so far. Did he think we were so desperate to live that we'd jump at any chance to save ourselves?
"I could arrange for her to stay in here until we got back," Jake said.
"Right. And they would toss her back into the NML Zone as soon as we left, if they didn't hang her for trying to escape," I said. "I don't trust any of you. You've shown us absolutely no honor or human compassion."
"Buy a road map," Ralph said.
Jake turned around to leave. That pretty much sealed our fate. I couldn't imagine them not hanging us now. Not after we flatly refused to help them.
"Besides, I was in the Army Reserve," Olivia lied. "I'm the only one who has been inside the armory."
That surprised me. I did manage to keep my face neutral. Olivia was in ROTC back in high school, but not in college. Maybe she'd visited it while in ROTC. And then I remembered that she'd gotten a tour of the armory for the video gaming company we worked for.
Jake slanted a curious look back at her. He turned around, but didn't approach the door. Suddenly, I saw opportunity, a chance to live, and maybe more.
"So she might have more military training than you," I said.
Jake snorted. "Hardly," he said, looking truly offended. "Marine Corps. Twenty-two years. Four tours of Iraq and two of Afghanistan."
"Okay, we'll give you that one," Olivia said. "But I have one tour of the Zombie Zone, fighting zombies cross-country and then inside the NML Zone. I have more zombie experience."
He opened his mouth, paused, and closed it. Jake gave her a single nod. "I'll give you that one."
"Good. We stick together," I said. "If one of us goes, we all go. As a Marine, you should understand our determination to leave no one behind."
That last comment struck home. Jake looked from me to Olivia to Ralph. We stared back with determination. He gazed off into space a long moment, and finally sighed.
"Fine. I don't have time to argue with you," he said. "We're pulling out before sunrise. We want to collect all of the arms and ammo at the armory. Are you in?"
We looked back and forth between each other, and finally reluctantly nodded.
"What do we get out of it?" I asked. "You get led straight to the armory, with a guided tour by Olivia. I assume you are going for a smash and grab of all their weapons and ammo."
"Exactly," Ralph jumped in. "We want our freedom."
"We guide you there, and afterwards you let us go our merry way," Olivia said.
"Everybody wins," I said. "And you don't have to feed us afterwards."
Actually, the prospect gave me a thrill. First, a big ass Marine was asking us for help in a combat mission, and then we'd be free to go home. Depending on the condition of the roads, we could accomplish that mission in one day.
I didn't bring up the very real possibility that the armory was already looted. It was a free-for-all in Carson after the initial bio-weapon attack. Of course, the armory was in that area near downtown that took the brunt of the attack. Everyone in that area was probably turned into zombies, so there might not have been anyone to loot it.
That brought up a new worry. What if we found the armory looted and empty?
Would Jake go back on the agreement if they failed to get what they wanted? Would we end up back inside the NML Zone anyway?
"I can't actually promise you freedom to leave Emory. That would take the mayor and city council vote to do," he said. "I can offer you freedom as a citizen of Emory upon our return. You would join our little Army instead of returning to the buffers."
That didn't sit well with any of us. But I had an idea, so spoke up before Ralph or Olivia told him where to shove it.
"Deal," I said. My friends gasped. I walked to the jail door. "We'll need better clothes and weapons. Have any of the others going on this raid fought the zombies outside the city walls?"
"Not like you have," Jake said. "That's another reason I wanted you on this mission."
"We fight best as a team, so we need to stick together," Ralph said. "Maybe assign us to a crew-served weapon? It'd be awesome to fight walkers with an M60 or .50 Cal."
Olivia and I stared at Ralph. Was he really that eager to go back out and kill zombies? The idea of being on a crew-served weapon did have some appeal, but fighting zombies still scared me.
"Actually, I can do better than that," Jake said. He turned around and shouted. "Aaron! Get them out of this cell and into some BDUs. They're coming with us."
"Some food would be nice," Olivia said. "And not that thin ass soup you served us in the NML Zone."
Aaron was our jailor. He was standard issue cop type, clean shaven and ramrod straight. Hell, he still wore his uniform, complete with badge, pistol, and night stick. He, of course, didn't look happy about letting us go.
Jake left, while Aaron unlocked the cell and motioned us out of the holding cell. What a relief that was! At least it wasn't raining, but the sky was still clouded and angry looking. He then led us across the street and two blocks down to an old and very large Quonset hut structure that housed the town's Army Surplus store.