by TW Gallier
I pointed at the main road above the marina.
"That road will take us to Chattanooga, and then we get on I-24 up to Arnold Air Force Base. It'll take a couple hours in the bus," I said. Then I pointed at the promontory that jutted out and helped to shelter the marina's small bay. "That promontory is the best place for the houseboat to pull up to be loaded with all of the guns and ammo we collect."
"Or disembark everyone and continue on the roads," Sean said.
He wasn't convinced taking the lake and river to Knoxville was the best idea. We compromised and decided to see how the roads were on our trip to Arnold AFB. If the buses cut through the hordes as well as we both thought they would, then we'd continue north on the road. Otherwise, we'd bypass as many zombies as possible on the lake and river.
Chapter 15
"We have visitors," Brett said.
The single men and women were surrounding the church in the pre-dawn darkness while the families loaded up the buses and sorted themselves out. Sean was trying to even out the number of weapons and ammo between the buses so everyone was equally defended. Jenny and I got our kids on the first bus, which I was driving. They sat right behind me.
Sean was driving the other bus.
"Zombies?" I asked. He nodded. "Damn. A lot?" He nodded. "Damn."
We were inside the church's back door. About half of the families were still in the church. At least all of the food, gear, and weapons were loaded. We were just getting started loading the people. I'd thought we'd done a good job of keeping the noise down.
"Do they know we're up here?" Sean asked.
"Not yet, but they are looking around like maybe they heard something," he said. "They seem more alert than usual at any rate."
"It won't take them long to figure out we're up here," I said. "Time to stop worrying about noise discipline and just load up and go."
"Damn," Sean said. "Tell all of the perimeter guards to hold fire until the zombies start towards the church, and then kill them all."
"Fall back to the buses when I honk the horn," I said.
"Got it," Brett said and raced back out the door.
I stared at the door a bit. Mike and Charlie were the closest ones to the street, so the closest to danger. But if anyone could handle it, it was my friends. Sean said the single men and women performed well on the trip down the mountain.
"I'm starting to develop an attitude toward zombies," Sean said.
"Just now?" I replied. "Get with the program, Gunny."
"I have a program for you," he said, and we grinned at each other. "Time to kick start this operation."
Sean went outside, while I stayed inside to urge the families to hurry. He knew where he wanted everyone, so would direct traffic. He just had to get them to move with a sense of urgency.
"Come on, Suttons," I called. "Get the lead out. We have undead company out there. Time to bug-out."
There were ten families still dressing children, dealing with tired and crying children. Nothing I said seemed to make them move faster. And then the first gunshots rang out.
"The zombies are coming in!" I shouted. "Get the hell on the buses now! Now!"
All cooing and cajoling ceased, and parents started dragging their children to the buses. I checked every room, every bathroom, every closet. Twice. Then I went to the back door.
"Sean. It looks clear, but do a head count," I called.
The gunfire intensified up front. It sounded like all of the guards were involved. I clutched my M-4, both eager to start driving and eager to go join them. I felt almost cowardly inside the church, safe and sound, while my friends and comrades fought for their lives a hundred feet away.
"We're good," Sean called from the second bus. "Move out!"
I turned into the church, just to be sure, "LAST CALL! IS THERE ANYONE INSIDE THE CHURCH!"
Silence.
"Then we're gone," I said, and raced to the first bus. I started it, which meant I hotwired it per Mike's instructions. The bus behind us started first, and then our bus started. I grinned at Jenny, who looked super stressed. "It's going to be fine."
I honked the horn as I pulled out. We drove around to the side of the church and stopped. I continued to honk the horn.
"Jenny, can you count everyone returning to the buses?"
The guards were split between the two buses. I wanted to ensure all guards returned before I pulled out. I also counted them as they ran up and jumped on a bus, but I wanted everyone to have the same count. Charlie, Mike, Travis, and Kate were assigned to my bus, and they were onboard in nothing flat.
"Here come the zombies," I called. Jenny was in the open door, counting returning guards. "They're all back by my count."
"Mine, too," she said, and returned to her seat. Mike sat in the bus's stairwell, while Charlie went all the way to the back to stand guard there. "Sean's closed his door."
"Then we're out of here," I said.
Mike stood up and leaned out of the open door. He opened fire on the zombies directly between us and the road. I put her in Drive, and took off as fast as the bus would go. Seemed slow to me, but it was a big vehicle. And then that snubbed-nose bus proved its mettle and effortlessly plowed through the dozen or so zombies.
"Have a seat," I said, closing the door.
"I haven't had that much fun since before the apocalypse," Mike said. "Wait, I take that back. I just remembered Adamsville. Mmm, I loved Adamsville."
"What happened in Adamsville?" Jenny asked.
I glanced at the boys, both of whom were quite attentive at the moment. Catching her eyes, I shook my head.
"I'll tell you later," I said. "Away from little listening ears."
"Bow chicka bow wow," Mike said. He grinned at the kids, who looked confused. "That means puppies."
Jenny gave him a dirty look, while I shook my head. He didn't have kids, so didn't understand. Now my boys wanted puppies, and Jenny had to find a way to distract them so they'd forget. Mike was amused by what he'd wrought.
I couldn't worry about that. There were zombies on the road. Actually, there always seemed to be zombies on the road, but there seemed to be a lot more than usual. My best guess was another wave of them was passing through. I wondered what city those zombies came from up north.
Even though the bus plowed through the zombies without a problem in the church parking lot that was at relatively low speed. Hitting a zombie at highway speed would take us out, so I had to do a lot of swerving. I couldn't seem to get over 30 MPH all the way through Ocoee.
"Go through the McDonald's drive-thru," Mike said. "I didn't get breakfast."
"Yes!" Harlan cried. "I want a breakfast sammich, too."
Mike laughed.
"Shut your mouth, Mike," Jenny said. Then to Harlan, "It's too early, so the McDonald's is closed."
He understood that. Still, he was riled up and Jenny would have problems controlling him thanks to Mike. Jenny's admonishment seemed to have curbed Mike's enthusiasm.
The road opened up a little past Ocoee. I was able to push 50 MPH for nice stretches of road. We had to slow for a few mini-hordes crossing the highway.
The number of zombies out and about increased when we reached Cleveland.
"I suppose it would be inappropriate for me to sing 'Highway to Hell' right now," Mike said.
"Yes," Jenny, Sonya, and I all said at once.
"This trip isn't going to be nearly as much fun as the first one."
Cleveland was swarming with zombies. It was one of the worse hordes I'd seen. I seriously almost stopped and turned around. Instead, I slowed down to 10 MPH and plowed through. I still swerved to the path of least resistance, but it was a slow, bumpy ride. Worse, zombies threw themselves against the side of the bus.
"Roger, you're terrifying the children," Jenny cried.
"I don't have a choice," I said. "We'll get through it."
I hoped.
A pile of zombies was building up before the flat-faced bus. I had to stop, back up a f
ew feet, and go around the pile of bodies I created. At times we were forced to little more than 5 MPH, and others I cranked it up to 15 MPH. Downtown was actually the easiest stretch, which I attributed to all the large structures forcing the zombies to concentrate at intersections.
The mega horde was still moving south, so the north-south streets were packed, while the east-west streets were relatively clear in comparison. But we had that big, scary bump at every intersection. Everyone in the bus was frazzled before we even reached downtown.
The stretch of road through the residential area between downtown and I-75 was relatively clear. We were able to roll along at 40 to 50 MPH most of the way. But then we saw what was waiting for us on the interstate. I stopped on the overpass above I-75.
"Holy guacamole, Batman," Mike whispered. "That's a lot of zombies."
All four lanes, the median, and the shoulders were packed with zombies moving south down the highway. Most were to the north of the overpass, with the south fairly clear.
"We had to pass through just as a super horde reached the city," I said. "I swear, this shit's getting old."
Our arrival threw the zombies into a tizzy. They started to surge up either side of the overpass. I wondered how hungry they must all be. Well, some of them would feast on the ones we ran over. Hopefully the children wouldn't see that. I headed out again, keeping it under 20 MPH until after we pushed through the zombies rushing up on the street before us.
Mike wanted me to open the door so he could hit them with a few grenades, but that was a waste of ammo. He grumbled.
"Don't worry my friend, we have a long way to go," I said. "You'll have lots of opportunities to blow shit up."
"Oh hush," he said. "I can't believe you're sweet talking me in front of your wife."
A little laugh rolled through the bus. That was probably more due to relief than him being funny. I refused to accept he was funny just on principle.
"Roger, I want one of those hand grenade launchers, too," Jenny said. "So if you see one at the Air Force base, snag it for me."
I started to correct her, but said, "Sure thing."
Mike chuckled and shook his head.
After making it through Cleveland, I felt much better about our chances. My passengers all looked spooked, but that was the easiest I'd ever passed through a horde like that. Bigger was definitely better when driving through zombies. I wondered how a big semi would fare. We could load everyone in the trailer of a tractor-trailer rig, and blast our way to Canada.
"It's a shame we don't have an Army base close by," Mike said. "Imagine having a tank to clear the way. Or even a Bradley."
"Don't know. I was airborne, so never rode in anything bigger than a Humvee," I said. "But sounds like fun."
"I drove M113s and Bradleys in AIT at Fort Knox," he said. "Yeah, they were fun." He perked up. "What about heading over to Fort Knox? We could carry everyone in five or six armored personnel carriers."
"Are you crazy? Fort Knox is on the other side of Kentucky, and I can't imagine how hard it would be to find enough fuel to keep them running. Just keeping our single Humvee topped off was hell."
He shrugged. I noticed others listening raptly.
There were quite a lot of zombies between Cleveland and the marina. I worried we might not be able to get to the houseboat. When we finally turned onto Shore Drive, and I could see the marina, my concerns were justified.
"Wow. That's a lot of undead meat," Mike said.
I opened the door. "Start shooting."
Mike leaned out and opened up on the zombies. I figured there were several dozen of them in the open area between the road and the actual floating docks. I turned into the parking lot. I originally expected to park there, because buses and raw dirt didn't seem compatible to me. The situation dictated otherwise.
"Everyone, start shooting zombies out the windows," I called. "I'm going to pull up right next to the gangway, so we can use the buses to help block the zombies."
The going was rough, but I pulled up just past the gangway. Sean stopped behind us. The doors of each bus were less than ten feet from the gangway.
"Alright, everyone carries something to the boat. The single people are going to hold off the zombies, while y'all get the children on the houseboat and finish unloading the buses. Go!"
Mike led Charlie, Travis, and Kate out first. Mike, Kate, and Travis secured the open space between the front of the bus and the shore, while Mike went to stop up the space between the buses. I led the way to the gangway and then to the houseboat. As expected, there were zombies on the docks.
"Don't panic," I called, firing single shots to kill the zombies between us and the houseboat. "We're going to that boat on the end."
Men, women, and children were flooding off both buses behind me. I moved quickly, taking out every zombie. We were lucky there weren't more of them. I killed nine zombies before we reached the houseboat. I went straight to the inside steering console and started the engine.
"I'm so glad it started," Jenny said. "I was worried it wouldn't."
"You and me both," I said. "Greg is going with you. He knows where to take the boat and wait for us."
Jenny froze, eyes huge. "I don't want you to go with them."
"I have to. You can't expect non-vets to know what to look for, or where to look," I said.
"Terrel served on that base. He can show them."
"I have to go, and you know it."
"I don't care. You and Charlie went last time. Let someone else face the danger this time."
I shook my head. "That's not how it works. I'm sorry, but I have to do this."
I hugged her, kissed her, and then kissed the boys, before I hurried away. She could break my resolve if I allowed her time. Saying no to her was always the hardest thing I had to do. Mike came up as I was getting off the boat.
"Jenny!" he called. She gave him a curious look. He handed her his rifle and bandolier of grenades. "Take this. If anyone approaches in a boat, fire a grenade at them. I can't think of anything better to chase them off."
"What are you going to take?" she asked.
"Deer rifle," he said. It was hanging off his shoulder. I wondered where he got it, but there wasn't any time to ask questions. "It has a scope."
I showed Jenny how to use the M203 Grenade Launcher. She already knew how to fire an M-4.
"Be safe and don't take any chances," I said, and kissed her again.
"Ditto," she said.
Sean's bus was locked up when Mike and I returned. Sean was behind the wheel of my bus, which was irritating. The engine was still idling. Charlie hurried inside when we arrived, while the others took off running for the houseboat. Everyone except Kate Thames.
"Can I go with you?" she asked.
"Sure, get in," Sean said.
I was going to say no. We'd agreed only military vets would go in this mission. But he was our leader, so I held my tongue. Maybe he saw something in her during the trip down the mountain.
"You sure you don't want me driving?" I asked as I got on last. "I know the route in my head."
"Good, you are my guide," he said, and put her in gear. "Let's go on a raid!"
Chapter 16
Brett led the rest of the men to the boat. They untied us and shoved the boat away from the docks. Greg eased us out toward open water, moving awful slowly in my book. The No Wake rules were no longer enforceable. I took the M203 out onto the back deck and watched zombies rushing up the docks. That's when I noticed we were towing two johnboats on short ropes, which explained why he was taking it so easy.
It didn't matter how fast we went. Our destination wasn't that far. Roger showed me the map the previous night. Some of the people wanted to wait on an island, and not the boat. I was one of them, but I trusted Roger's judgment. If he said stay on the boat, we would stay on the boat.
I watched the bus leave, driving over so many zombies. They quickly vanished up the road, behind the houses, so I went back inside. Sara Conner was stand
ing there in the hall with a look of pure bliss on her face. I looked up and saw the AC vent.
"Oh my God, Jenny, I think I'm in heaven," Sara said. She hadn't said much, or appeared to care about her situation or fate, since her husband's death. Bill's death hit us all pretty hard. "I never thought I'd feel air conditioning again."
She was right. I could feel it. Greg must've just turned it on. Suddenly, the prospect of staying on the boat wasn't such a tough choice after all.
"I could get used to this," I said.
"Hey, why do you get an automatic weapon?" Travis said. "I don't have a rifle anymore, and I'm a vet. Give it to me."
"I don't think so," I said. "Mike gave me his rifle and instructions on how and when to use it."
"I carried an M16 with a 203 for two years in the Army," Travis said. "I think I can handle it better than some stupid woman."
All sound ceased. Everyone was staring at him in astonishment. I was speechless.
"Are you trying to be an offensive jerk?" I asked. "Or is that just what you are?"
His eyes narrowed, hand curling into fists. "You should be careful what you say, bitch. That asshole husband of yours is not here to protect you."
"I am," Brett said.
"Me, too," Greg said.
And then others joined in. Travis scowled and sat back down to stew in his own miserable juices. I shook my head, afraid he was getting worse. If Roger found out about what he just pulled, I was afraid my husband would kick his ass. Sean, though, might expel him from the group. I'd already spoken to Sean a few times about Travis. He wanted to send him packing, but I convinced him to give Travis another chance.
Maybe I was wrong.
I went forward to stand by Greg. There was a bridge over the water. I saw the bus slowly drive across it, knocking zombies off and into the water as they passed. There were quite a few zombies on that bridge.
My heart raced, wondering if that was the last time I would see Roger. Panic started to set in, so I distracted myself by studying the zombies splashing around in the water. It didn't look like any of them were even trying to swim. Was swimming too complicated for their simple minds?