Dead Life (Book 3)

by Schleicher, D Harrison

  “Hey mates. Up early I see.” Rich went to the back of the jeep, opened it and got the bloody ax from the back. “I say that is a mess. I'll have to give her a thorough cleaning.”

  “Where the hell have you two been?”

  “Al said you might be mad Cindy. Don't be angry with him. I went off to kill some zombies. Al didn't want to let me go by myself so he came along. Well, I'm off. I need a shower and all that. Would you see if Al needs some help.”

  We went to the passenger side and I opened the door. “You okay buddy?”

  He slowly turned his head and looked at me. “Do I look like I'm okay?”

  “Are you bit honey?” Cindy didn't seem as angry anymore. If Al wasn't bit I thought maybe he'd come out of this alive.

  “No, I'm not. That son of a bitch is crazy.”

  “What happened baby?”

  “A few hours after everybody went to bed, Rich got to talking about how he hadn't killed any zombies yet. All he'd done was push his maid in the pool and he thought he needed to get out there and kill himself some zombies. I told him he could come with us in the morning if he wanted to. I said he would get all the chances he'd need. That wasn't good enough for him. He kept talking about Howie and Dave. How they could take on thousands of zombies by themselves. Next thing you know, he runs upstairs and comes down with that an ax and these knives.” Al pointed to the floorboard of the Jeep. The two knives were at his feet.

  “He gives me the knives and starts calling me Dave and tells me to call him Mr. Howie. Then he went out to the garage and brought the Jeep around front. By now I'm thinking this guy is nuts. I told him I wasn't going with him so he starts whining that there was no way Dave would let Mr. Howie go out killing zombies alone. What could I do? He was going with or without me so I grabbed a rifle and got in the jeep with him.”

  “You should have let him go by himself.”

  “I couldn't do that baby. Mr. Howie needs Dave.”

  “Looks to me like you guys waded into the middle of a horde and fought them in hand to hand combat.” I said.

  “That's exactly what we did. We went back up to the highway and found a few stray zombies. Rich got out and hacked them up with his ax. I kept him covered with the rifle so I figured he was fairly safe.”

  “Did you ever once stop to think that you were drunk? About how dangerous this was. Did you think about me?”

  “I thought about all those things. But believe me, by now I was stone cold sober. There was no stopping him. After he'd chopped up a few zombies, he said he wanted to take on the real thing. We drove further down the highway and came on a group of about thirty zombies. Before I could say anything, he grabbed the rifle and jumped out of the Jeep. I thought he was going to shoot them. But no, he wanted to use the ax.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “I got the knives and went with him. I was scared shitless. But at the same time it was exhilarating. He was shouting the lord's prayer at the top of his lungs screaming “come to me” and swinging that ax back and forth. Then he starts singing some song I've never heard. Hell, I didn't even need to be there. Arms and legs were flying everywhere, heads lopped off, it was horrible. The only reason I'm covered in blood is because I got sprayed by all the zombies stumbling around that he'd chopped to bits. I think I killed maybe two zombies is all. That man scares me.”

  “You need to get cleaned up baby. Once you're ready, we can get back on the road. Rick can drive and you can try to get some rest.”

  Cindy took Al upstairs while the rest of us gathered our gear. It was late morning by this time and once again we weren't going to be making much headway in our trip to Boonville. Rich came back down, poured himself a drink and went outside to clean his ax. We did our best to avoid him as he was excited and mumbling something about getting his kit ready. I think he was making preparations to go on another zombie killing adventure. A little bit later Cindy came down with Al's clothes. She threw them out. She didn't want to take the time to clean the gore from them. All she wanted to do was get away from “that crazy British bastard.” Cindy told Gina that Al was worried about Rich going out on his own. Al had mentioned we might want to consider staying a few days to help Rich get past his new found love of killing zombies. He saw himself as a character from his books. Al even said something about Rich thinking he was immune to the virus and couldn't be turned into a zombie. When Al came down, the five of us went outside to find Rich and tell him we were leaving. Cindy was pissed at Al and me. We were going to try and get Rich to come with us. It didn't seem right to leave him here alone.

  “Hey Rich, we're getting ready to take off.” Al said.

  “I was hoping you might stay a few days. Really enjoy having you all.”

  “Well buddy we enjoyed the stay. All of us were talking and we were hoping you might want to come with us.”

  “That's very nice of you to ask mate. But I think I'll be staying right here. When you find Gina's dad, you're more than welcome to come back. I'd love to have you. There's more than enough room.”

  “Rich, we're not coming back here. You're going to get my Al killed. It's one thing to defend yourself from the zombies. But to go looking for trouble is insane.”

  “You're right Cindy. I had a bit to much to drink last night. I can promise you I have no intention of doing that again.”

  “Then why are you getting your kit ready? By the way, what the hell is a kit anyway?”

  “Well it's a rucksack filled with survival gear. I realized after last night, I didn't have a bag ready in case I needed to leave here quickly. Just being prepared is all.”

  “Then come with us to Boonville. When we find Gina's dad we'll all come back here.” Al said.

  “Thanks but I think I'll stay here. Can't have someone coming along and taking over the place. The windows are barred and the door's solid. I'll be fine. When you find her dad, you can come back. I'll be here waiting.”

  “Rich, chances are once we find him we'll be going on to Fort Leonard Wood. My son is in the Army. The last I heard from him he was heading there. I'm hoping to meet up with him soon.”

  “Well then I guess this is good-bye.”

  “You sure about that? We'd really like to have you with us.” Al said. Upon hearing this, Cindy shot Al a dirty look and started to say something. He cut her off. “We could use him. You guys think I'm a zombie killing machine. I'm nothing compared to Rich.”

  “I appreciate that mate. I really do. It was the alcohol, that's all. Believe me, sober I wouldn't be worth a damn.”

  “I don't believe that for a minute. Tell you what. You stay here if you want. But if you run into trouble grab that ax, jump in your jeep, and head for Fort Leonard Wood.” Al said.

  “Thanks mate. I'll do that. If you leave there put out a sign telling me where you've gone from there. By the way mate, where is Fort Leonard Wood?”

  “It's down Highway 44, just past Rolla. Can't miss it.”

  “Got one more question. Where's Highway 44?”

  “Jesus Christ, Rich. Do you ever leave this house?” Gina asked.

  “Not since that damn TV series. Got used to being on my own. I'm not what you would call a people person anymore.”

  “I'll give you a map Rich. Hon, we got some in the Hummer, don't we?”

  Gina went to check for me. We took this as a chance to tell Rich good-bye and we started making our way to the vehicles. You could tell Al was having a hard time saying good-bye to his new friend. Rich walked with Al and they talked about when they'd meet up again. Both of them knowing it wasn't going to happen. We weren't coming back and Rich wasn't leaving his house. I thanked Rich for his hospitality and went with Gina to the Hummer. Rick got behind the wheel of the truck and Cindy climbed in on the passenger side. Al and Rich shook hands then hugged it out. We were finally on our way. Going back the way we'd come, I crested the hill on the far side of the valley. In my rear view mirror I saw Rich's jeep pull out of his driveway and head the other way.

>   “You see that?” It was Al on the radio.

  “Yeah. I guess Rich is going hunting.” I said.

  “I knew he was going to do that. Hope he'll be alright.”

  “You know what Al? I think he'll be fine.”

  “Yeah me too. I hope so. That crazy fucker. Over.”

  Chapter 15

  Day 5

  Someone had hold of my leg and was shaking me trying to wake me up. It was Sergeant Adams. I had dozed off. My head was resting on top of Lily's and her head was on my shoulder. Sergeant Adams was handing me a headset so I took it from him and put it on.

  “We're almost there sir.”

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  “About two and a half hours. The pilot wants to talk to you.”

  “Lieutenant Price, are you there?”

  “Yes Captain. We're almost at the coordinates they gave me. Problem is it's one in the morning. We're in the middle of nowhere and I can't see a thing.”

  “Southern Alabama right?”

  “That's right.”

  “Are we flying over a swamp?”

  “No, I don't think so. The Gulf of Mexico is still a little over a hundred miles away. If I remember correctly we won't be coming to any wetlands for quite a while. This isn't Louisiana. They don't have the same kinds of swampland. The swamps are just by the gulf.”

  “Any roads near by?” I went up to the cockpit so as to be able to see out of the front of the helicopter.

  “See what I mean? It's as black as my ex-wife's heart out there.”

  “She must have been one mean bitch Lieutenant.” I couldn't see a thing.

  “There it is Captain. See that red flashing light. It's their radio tower.”

  In the distance I could just make out the beacon. “Sarge, you here that?”

  “Yeah I heard. What's the plan sir.”

  “That's a good question Sergeant. I just want to get my hands on this guy. After that, I really don't know. Lieutenant, fly over. Look for a place to land.”

  As we got closer I could see we weren't going to be able to land anywhere close to the facility. The building wasn't any bigger than an average sized house. Lieutenant Price showed me where the spot light was and I turned it on. The compound was about a fifty yard square with the building in the middle. Everything was surrounded by a ten foot high fence topped with razor wire. There was a thirty foot area cleared around the outside of the fence. This all sat in the middle of a thick forest. I could see a logging road that cut through the trees leading to the compound.

  “Follow that road. I'll bet it leads to a clearing where you can set down.”

  It wasn't long before we came to an open area in the woods. It wasn't made for choppers this big. Hopefully it would be large enough for us to land.

  “Lieutenant, can you put us down there?”

  “It's going to be tight. But I think I can just make it.”

  “Sergeant, wake Lily up.”

  “She's already awake. As soon as you got up she woke up. I think when you took her head rest away, it disturbed her sleep.”

  I didn't know what to say to that. Sergeant Adams had a dumb grin on his face and I could feel my face turning red. I guess it was pretty obvious that something was going on between the Corporal and me. I wasn't sure what it was but something definitely was in the works.

  “You need to stow that talk Sarge.”

  It was Lily. She was making her way into the flight compartment and she had a set of head phones on.

  “You better hold on. We're setting down.”

  The chopper set down in the clearing. It felt good to be on the ground again. I got out of the Chinook and looked around. We had about ten feet of clearance in front and less than twenty feet behind us. After that, the heavily wooded area surrounding the clearing started back in. Lucky for us, Lieutenant Price was a good pilot. It would have been disastrous had we hit an overhanging branch on the way down. The rest of my new unit gathered outside the helicopter to discuss exactly what we were going to do now that we were here.

  “I've got to be honest with all of you. As far as I'm concerned, all this army shit is over for me. With everything I know about this epidemic, it's apparent our government is the one that unleashed this virus on the world. The CIA commissioned the doctor we're here to find to stockpile a virus for them to use as a chemical weapon. When he tried to reverse engineer a cure for the virus, he stumbled on the disease that created these zombies. If that wasn't bad enough, the good doctor went on a round the world jaunt to make sure the pandemic was a global event. Now the government has him here working on a vaccination to try and halt the spread of the disease.”

  “You're kidding me.”

  “No Lieutenant, I'm not. They want him on the ship with them so they can keep a closer eye on him. From what you tell me, they've lost contact with the forces holding him.”

  “That's what they told me.”

  “Has it occurred to these Brainiacs that the reason they've lost contact with the facility is because the doctor is now in charge?” Lily asked.

  “I doubt it. They wanted me to come here by myself to get him. I'm sure they think they still control the situation.”

  “There's no doubt in my mind we are going to be walking into a hornets nest down there.

  We should go in there hot, expect heavy resistance and assume that everyone in there is infected.”

  “That's exactly what I thought Sergeant.”

  “And if that's what we find?”

  “Kill them all, including the doctor. He did this. There's no reason to believe he's anything but hostile.” I looked around the group. “Anyone have a problem with that?”

  No one said a word. “I'll take that as a no.”

  “How you want to do this sir?”

  “I was going to leave that up to you Sergeant.”

  “Okay. That's a government facility we're going into. I guarantee you whoever's in charge in there is already aware that a helicopter just landed here. Even if they're not, they will be as soon as we approach the fence. There's probably surveillance cameras all along the perimeter. We won't get in undetected.”

  “So what do we do Sarge?” Lily asked.

  “We're going to have to split up. The Captain and I will approach the fence. While we have their attention, you have to find a way in from the back. If there's more than one person still running the facility, they'll know you're there.”

  “What happens then?”

  “Chances are if there is someone still in charge in there then we're wrong and the doctor is still in their custody. If he's on his own in there then they're all dead or zombies. He can't watch you while he's dealing with us. You have something we can use to cut that fence on board the chopper Lieutenant?”

  “Yeah, there's a tool kit. Do you want pliers or wire cutters?”

  “Better get them both.”

  Lieutenant Price got the pliers from the helicopter. “Do you want me to go with Flowers?”

  “No, you'll need to stay with the chopper. We might need to get out of here fast. Plus if all of us aren't going to make it out of here we can't have anything happening to you.” I said.

  “Let me at least come to the fence with her. I'll be able to cover her back until she gets in.”

  “Captain's right. You have to be able to get us out of here. If anything happens to you we're all fucked.”

  “There's some hand radios on board. Take one with you and let me know if I need to get this bird ready to fly.”

  “Good idea. How many are there?”

  “There's four.”

  “Lily, you take one, we'll take one, and we'll leave one somewhere between here and the fence. Hopefully we won't need it but if we do, it'll be there.”

  “Let's move out.”

  “One minute Sergeant. I need to get something from my rucksack first.”

  I got into the chopper and got the sat phone from the bag. I wanted to call my dad and let him know my plan for whe
n we got out of here. I placed the call and was relieved to find it went through. The phone rang for a while, I was getting ready to give up when someone answered. It was my dad's friend Al. He offered to get dad for me but I told him not to wake him. I told Al to let dad know I was okay and that we were heading to Fort Leonard Wood. I didn't know how long it would take to get there but we were headed straight there from here. He told me he'd let my dad know and they would try and meet us there. Like me, he was unsure of how long it would take them as they were traveling in trucks and still hadn't made it to Boonville yet. I told him I'd call back soon and got off the phone.

  “What was that all about?”

  “I had to call my dad. He's in Missouri and I want him to try and meet us at Fort Leonard Wood.”

  “I wondered why you wanted to go there.”

  “Lily, he's my dad. I warned him about this days ago. Thankfully he's still alive. I just want to try and catch up with him. Do you have family you need to get to?”

  “No sir I don't. But you might want to ask the others.”

  “You're right. I've been inconsiderate. When we're done here, I'll ask the others what they want to do. Like I said, the army shit is over. I don't want to be in charge of anything anymore. As a matter of fact I'd like it if you stopped calling me sir and started calling me Tim.”

  “I don't know if I can do that but I'll try sir.” She said with a smile.

  I started to make my way past Lily to get off the helicopter. She stopped me and kissed me again. “First chance we get, I want to thank you properly for saving my life yesterday.”

  “That's not necessary. But I hope we get that chance soon.” I kissed her one last time and climbed down from the chopper.

  “Sergeant, you got those radios?”

  “Yeah, they're right here.”

  He passed them out and we did a radio check. They were all in working order so we prepared to head out.

  “Lieutenant, you should seal this bird up and stay on board. No telling what could be creeping around out here.”