The Dead Are Sleeping

by Paul Westwood

  October 24th - Evening

  I continued south. It was an hour later when I saw a helicopter fly in the distance, skimming the top of the trees. Luckily these same trees kept us out of sight, but I still pulled over and waited until it was gone. It looked to be an old Huey, not the latest Blackhawk, which meant this Southern Army Command was using old National Guard equipment. This helicopter should lack the latest infrared optics so we would only have to stay hidden, or wait until dark. The latter option, of course, would mean the vampires would be out. This wasn’t a particular threat, at least while we stayed inside the moving truck, but I still couldn’t stay awake forever.

  Turning the engine off, I said, “Allison, I want you to take over driving. Joel can read the map for you. We’re heading to the town of Desmond, which may have some gasoline. But if I’m asleep I don’t want you driving straight into town, not while it is dark out. The sheer number of vampires, if they are there, could overwhelm us.”

  “Okay,” Allison readily agreed.

  “One last thing, I want you to keep the headlights off.”

  “That will make driving difficult,” she said, peering over my shoulder onto the road ahead.

  “Give it a try. I would rather not been seen by that helicopter, even if it means we have to crawl along.”

  I got out of the truck and walked past her. Our bodies brushed past each other. I caught the slightest whiff of perfume mixed with female sweat. I wondered when the last time she showered. But I also thought of my wife, Anne, and the forgotten touch of a woman. It made my tired heart yearn for the past. Allison was one hell of a woman. I saw her reflection in the side view mirror. She smiled briefly at me before starting the truck. I could feel my heart skip a beat. When I got inside, I saw that Sarah, who was now sitting next to me, was giving me an odd look.

  “Are you feeling okay?” she asked as the truck began going down the road.

  “Just a little tired,” I reassured her.

  She looked at me suspiciously but didn’t ask any more questions. I looked at the rearview mirror and saw Allison studying me. She gave me a wink and then returned her attention to driving. I didn’t know what to make of that. I was too tired to think clearly, so instead I tried to ignore the noise of the truck, the sound of Joel crinkling the map, and Sarah making small talk.

  The evening came full on, turning the road into a dark, empty strip. The trees faded into a black wall, forbidding and quiet. I began to doze off but I was never completely asleep. My brain was too keyed up, busy trying to take make sense of the day. I wondered about the soldiers we had run into. Who had organized them? More importantly, how did that person know that the virus was airborne and a separate oxygen supply would be needed? I also remembered the soldiers in Michigan who were similarly clad. Was there a Northern Command too? And a West and an East? How powerful was this military organization and how many soldiers did they have? Was this all somehow related to the Zeta base in New Orleans?

  These, and many other questions, whirled around my brain. But exhaustion finally won over. I went to sleep with my head resting against the side of the door. I had a few dreams but nothing memorable. And then I felt my shoulder being shaken.

  A voice called out, “Wake up, Tom!” It took a moment to recognize Sarah’s voice.

  “What is it?” I asked groggily, trying to get my brain working again.

  Next Joel spoke: “Take a look for yourself.”

  I blinked a few times and sat forward to look over Allison’s shoulder. The truck was parked but the engine was running. We were on the shoulder of the road, on top of a hill. The road led to a lit up city, maybe a good five hundred yards or more away. I could see motion on the very outside of a tall chain link fence that seemed to wrap around the entire town. There were spotlights shining on the grass and figures – hundreds of vampires – trying to scale the barrier. Once a creature got too close to the top, the echoing sound of a rifle shot could be heard. Dozens of bodies littered the ground. Whoever was inside the city was putting up a good defense.

  “More survivors!” Sarah hopefully exclaimed.

  “Or more soldiers,” Allison said cynically.

  “What do you want to do?” Joel asked.

  I studied the scene a little more carefully. There didn’t appear to be any military vehicles nearby which could mean this was a band of civilians. I also looked at the fence, which ran all the way around the buildings and ended, at least on this side, at a wide stretch of water. This river, if I had studied the map correctly, was the Ohio which eventually joined the Mississippi. With their back to the water, this town would be easy to defend, provided the vampires couldn’t swim.

  I finally said, “We will have to wait until morning. The town seems to be holding out okay, and if we give them any assistance, we’ll probably be putting ourselves in greater danger. I would have to come this far only to be shot by someone with an itchy trigger finger. For now we’ll just sit here and wait.

  No one offered an alternative so we waited. Allison shut the motor off. It was a slow-motion massacre, the vampires not caring for their own lives, but only trying to get inside the town. The guns continued to fire, killing any creature that made it too high up the fence. I wondered why the defenders just didn’t kill all of them; perhaps they were conserving ammunition. The attack went on and on with a seemingly impossibly fury, but, as the sky in the east lightened, I noticed the vampires effort began to slacken. Soon, one by one, they began to move away from the fence and headed toward some point further south. There were still hundreds of them, streaming away from the battle. By the time the sun came over the horizon, only their many fallen remained.

  I tapped Allison on the shoulder. “Let’s head on down.”

  She started the engine and put the truck into gear. She drove cautiously. As we neared the fence, I could see more detail. The fence was some ten feet tall, topped with a roll of barbed wire. Bodies clumped around the outside base of the fence. Those not dead were writhing in agony, as if trying to block the sunlight from hitting them. On the inside was a motley collection of parked buses and semi-trailers, more of the latter. On top of these vehicle platforms were several people with rifles, who had stopped to watch us approach. The road we were on lead to a gate that had no barrier behind it. It was here that the vampires had attacked the most, leaving the highest number of dead behind. Allison was trying to be careful not to drive over the bodies, but soon we reached a point where she had to stop the truck since there was a wide pile of corpses that could not be easily passed.

  The gate was rolled back. From inside came a woman, tall with brown hair. She was carrying a shotgun over the shoulder. She approached us slowly. I looked at the fence and noticed a number of guns pointed our way. This was no place to get into a firefight.

  Allison rolled down the window.

  “Who’s the leader here?” the woman asked.

  “I guess I am,” I said as I opened my door and got out.

  Feeling self-conscious with a dozen rifles pointed at me, I took a step away from the truck and faced this stranger. “My name is Tom. We’re traveling, more like surviving.”

  “Who isn’t?”

  She was middle-aged, thin, and had a mouth that was framed by lines. Her blue eyes, however, betrayed someone who was more used to laughing than taking the world seriously. I supposed that recent events had changed that outlook. She was wearing a light brown sweatshirt with a hood and a pair of dark corduroy pants. The boots on her feet looked new, shiny and dark brown. On the other hand, the shotgun on her shoulders looked well-used.

  I said, “I have a young girl and two adults with me. We have food and are willing to trade for gasoline.”

  She looked over the truck before returning her gaze at me. She wasn’t the type that blinked very often. “It looks like you’ve seen some trouble. We’ve had plenty of our own trouble here. We could use some help if you are willing to stay; provided you are reasonable people.”

  I let out a pent
-up laugh. “It’s been trouble all the way down the road: bikers, vampires, and soldiers. Not exactly a nice Sunday drive in the country. As for helping, we will have to see. I have a destination in mind.”

  She gave me a small tight-lipped smile. “My name is Carrie. I run this town.”

  “This is Desmond, right?”

  “That’s the name.”

  “How many of you are here?”

  “Enough,” she replied evasively. “Enough to take care of the likes of you.”

  I pointed toward the town. “Who put this all together? I mean the fence and the defenses.”

  Carrie let out a sigh, letting her shoulders slump. She looked tired. “When the plague broke out, there was looting and killing. We – meaning the people who lived in Desmond – thought it would be worth the effort to protect what we own. One of our factories here turns out fencing for prisons and military bases so there were miles of the stuff available. Luckily most of the work was done before people started getting sick and dying. At first there weren’t enough survivors to man the fences. But that changed. Others started coming in from all over the state, and even a little beyond. They came here looking for food and security. I offered both of that.”

  “And what do they have to do in return to stay?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not a dictator. I just run things. You just have to work, if you are able. And then we all vote together on major decisions.”

  I nodded. “Those creatures – we call them vampires – how long have they been bothering you?”

  “Vampires? I suppose that is a fitting term. We call them Runners, since once they get your scent, they keep coming after you until they are killed. The trouble with them started five days ago when they first started trying to get in. Luckily we have a number of sentries posted along the wall. We killed the first batch. But they’ve come here every night since then. The Runners seem to be getting stronger in numbers, even though we’ve killed hundreds of them.”

  “Where do they come from?”

  “We don’t exactly know.” She was being cagey again.

  “You don’t exactly know? I mean what’s out there besides the woods?”

  “There is a large coal mining operation. Or at least there used to be, the company went out of business years ago because the coal was too dirty for the government.”

  I digested this information before replying, “Those vampires are never out in the day. They must be hiding in the mines. Have you gone down there to burn them out?”

  She shook her head, sending strands of hair flying. “That coal mine has been around for decades. There are miles of tunnels down there. Finding volunteers to go down there with only flashlights hasn’t exactly been a popular idea. I’m in no position to force people to do things against their will. As I said...”

  I finished her sentence. “You’re no dictator.”

  “Exactly. My thinking is their numbers will dwindle after a few more nights of this.”

  “You do know that these vampires were once alive.” I was getting a confused look. “I mean anyone who expired from the plague didn’t really die. They went into a coma or something like that. When they woke up again, they were changed into the creatures we see today. That means anyone who wasn’t buried or burned will come back to hunt us.”

  There was a knock on the glass of the truck. I turned to see Sarah. She was getting fidgety. I mouthed the words: “One minute.”

  “I had no idea,” Carrie said, talking to herself.

  “You haven’t had any vampires inside the fence?” I asked. “People from your town?”

  “No. Anyone who died was immediately burned in one of the pits we had dug. At the time it was considered the best way to stop the disease from spreading further.”

  “That’s what everyone else thought. But in your case it turned out to be the best decision. Two of my other travel companions, Allison and Joel, saw their city overrun. Their group hadn’t cleared out all of the dead bodies. They tried but it was too late. I think you and I have some talking to do. There may be a chance that this terrible virus wasn’t caused by the meteorites. The army, or what remains of it, also knows this. We had some trouble with them. They can cause trouble for a place like this.”

  She looked at me, blinking slowly as she thought over this new information I had given her. She finally said, “I think you had better come inside.”

  October 25th - Morning

  The truck was parked outside of a house. It was a modern three bedroom residence in the middle of a suburban strip of land. Driving here I had seen a few people on the street – normal looking citizens doing normal everyday things. They had looked at us with only a little curiosity, like new neighbors moving in. The house, which was unlocked, was furnished with vintage Danish furniture, had hardwood floors, and surrealistic paintings on the wall. There was running water, which was plenty cold, but no electricity. Carrie told us that was a future project, bringing in solar panels to provide power.

  She had then left us there, telling me she would return in a few hours. She still had to walk the length of fence to look for damage, check ammunition stores, and make sure no one was hurt during the attack.

  My group settled in. I took one of the bedrooms, as did Sarah and Allison. Joel was stuck with the sofa in the living room. I opened a window and, with the shotgun still within easy reach, laid down on the bed with my clothes on. The softness of the mattress felt strange compared the floors and truck seats I had suffered through the past nights. Of course it had only been a two days since Sarah and I had left that motel, but now it seemed like another lifetime.

  I heard running water. Someone was daring to use the shower, cold water and all. It didn’t last very long.

  I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I was still tired but it seemed that the insomnia was only getting worse. Living day after day on the very edge of survival had, unsurprisingly, made me too keyed up to rest. Or perhaps I didn’t trust Carrie and her merry band of followers – yet. It was easy to mistrust – especially these days – the ones you don’t know. But I was beginning to trust Joel, so maybe there was a chance for the rest of humanity.

  I heard the approaching soft padding of feet. There was a timid knock at the door.

  “Come in,” I said, as I pulled myself up enough so I could rest my back against the headboard.

  It was Allison. She was wearing a red silky bathrobe that stopped at the knees. A white towel was wrapped around her head. A shy smile that showed the edges of her teeth was the only other thing she was wearing. She gently shut the door.

  “I found this robe in the closet. I thought you would want to shower next,” she said, her eyes not quite making contact with mine.

  I could feel my heart begin to beat faster. “I’m not sure if I could handle the cold water right now. Maybe in a little bit.”

  “It’s not that bad. It does feel good to be clean again. And you could do with a shave.” Her voice, which was usually low and husky, had dropped in even further in volume and pitch.

  I rubbed my grizzled chin. I was a bit unkempt. Her approach had also stirred up some old memories. It had been too long since I’ve played this game. Being married for so long made me forget all the rules. I knew I wanted her but I was afraid of saying something stupid that would ruin the moment. I felt awkward as I said, “I’ll give it a try after I get some sleep.”

  Allison bit the corner of her lip. She nervously blurted out, “I can stay with you, if you want.”

  “Here?” I said stupidly.

  “Where else?” she laughed.

  Maybe there were no rules to the game. I patted the open side of the bed. “I don’t think I can refuse your offer. No man in his right mind could.”

  With a shrug of the shoulders, Allison let the robe fall to the floor. I was right: she was wearing nothing underneath. After that came the towel, letting the wet black hair free. She had lovely curves but also a tight definition to her stomach. I saw long legs, breasts, dark brown
eyes, full lips, and a beguiling smile that took my breath away. With a giggle, she jumped on the bed and slid under the covers.

  She whispered, with her mouth close to my ear, “I just wanted to thank you for helping me out. I would be dead if it weren’t for you.”

  My head swam with desire. Nonetheless I still managed to choke out, “A simple thank you would also work. You don’t have to do this unless you want to.”

  “But I do,” she said before nibbling on my ear.

  We began to kiss. It had been a long time since I kissed anyone other than my wife. I tried to push my thoughts of her away but I couldn’t. I almost got out of bed – Allison could feel my body nervously tighten with hesitation – but I realized how silly my wife would have thought I was being. She would realize that, even though a new chapter in my life was beginning, I would never forget her. I let myself relax, lost in the moment of touching and exploring.

  When we were finished, my clothing has been removed; left as litter on the floor. I spooned Allison close to me, feeling her breathe and the sound of her heart match my own. I fell asleep, feeling perfectly relaxed as if it was a normal Sunday afternoon and there was no worries in the world.

  I didn’t know how long I slept. It could have been an hour or even two, but I still heard the sound of my door opening. I drowsily wondered if Allison was sneaking out until I realized her warm body was still next to me. I blearily opened my eyes and craned my neck up. It was Sarah, who had come barging in without knocking. She was flushed red with embarrassment, eyes wide like saucers as she took in the scene. Apparently she had never barged in on her parents or perhaps they had been more careful than I had been.

  “Weren’t you ever taught to knock?” I asked roughly as I adjusted the covers to make sure Allison and I were appropriately covered.