The Zombie Wars: Call To Arms (White Flag Of The Dead Book 7)

by Joseph Talluto

  The trees hid a creek, and we were grateful for it. The Z’s would have a hard time getting through the trees and then getting over the creek. Tommy and I crossed the water and emerged from the trees on the other side.

  I put a hand up and looked at the sky. The sun was going to set in about five hours. We’d better be someplace else when darkness came.

  “How many do you think we killed?” Tommy asked in between gasps of air.

  “I used all my rifle ammo, so one hundred rounds there. Probably killed ninety or so. Three handgun mags, close range, no misses, so another fifty?” I estimated.

  “About the same here, only another mag, so total about three-fifty, maybe three seventy-five?” Tommy guessed.

  I frowned. “Seems like it should be more.”

  “Maybe, but we didn’t have the ammo for it,” Tommy said.

  “Yeah. We should have done better,” I said. “Where did we leave the truck?” I asked.

  “Other side of town,” Tommy said. “Why?”

  “So we have to fight a hell of a lot of Zs to go get it, right?” I said, not liking this scenario at all.

  “What did you have in mind?” Tommy wasn’t as winded now, and neither was I.

  “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  We went back through the trees and onto a parking lot. I had noticed the building when we ran through the field, but wasn’t paying much attention to it then. Now it was very interesting to me.

  I outlined my plan to Tommy, who laughed.

  “Who says Duncan gets all the fun? Let’s hope no one’s home,” he said.

  “If they are, they’re no threat,” I said.

  “Why not?”

  “No teeth.”

  “We’re both going to hell.”

  “Presently, I’m sure.”

  The building was a senior living center as stated on the plaque by the door. It was a huge center, with wings going west, north, and south of the front door. Inside the place was nicely decorated, and I had a pang of regret for what I was going to do to the place, but then these days we had quite an abundance of living spaces. What we didn’t have was live people to put in them.

  The place seemed empty which worked in our favor since we needed to get things set up. Tommy found some combustible material in a workshop, and I worked my way up to the top floor. Sticking my head out a window, I started yelling for all I was worth. My voice carried across the flat land towards the town, and I was pleased to hear a nice choir of zombies answering my call. I went back downstairs and saw that Tommy had been busy opening all the doors.

  “How do you want to work this?” Tommy asked.

  “I’ll get up on the roof, keep them coming in. You start the fun as soon as the first floor fills up. I’ll stay as long as I can then I’ll come down over by the pool,” I said.

  “Watch yourself, then,” Tommy said. He ducked away out of sight, and I went back up to the third floor, opening as many doors as I could along the way. Looking out across the way showed hundreds of zombies walking steadily towards the building. I was a little puzzled no old zombies were in the building, but I wasn’t going tell that gift horse to open wide.

  Climbing out onto a balcony, I caught the roofline and pulled myself up. The roof was a collection of vents and air-conditioning units, punctuated by a large roof access point. I made sure that door was going to stay closed, then went over to the edge.

  I decided to vent my feelings about zombies in general and these in particular, so I exhausted my current vocabulary calling these ghouls everything I could think of. I cursed them, their families back three generations, and most of their friends. Once I had finished with their genealogy, I started work on their general appearance.

  After about a half an hour, I must have had at least three quarters of the local zombies milling about the building, looking for the loud smart ass who had been calling them names. The wind brought me the smell of smoke, so it was time to go.

  I ran along the roof, keeping clear of the edge, and down the vents that reached to the pool. On the far edge of the building there was a tree, and I swung down to the ground without too much trouble. I ran off back towards the tree line and the waiting creek, looking for Tommy.

  Behind me, the building was going up in flames. The first floor was burning well, and the second floor was doing nicely. Zombies engulfed in flames walked around the ground floor, oblivious to the destruction happening to their bodies. One walked outside, but the flames finally killed him before he did any other damage.

  The best part was the flames attracted more zombies so that many that were outside walked into the inferno. More the merrier, and me without marshmallows.

  The second benefit to the flames was it lit our way through the night towards our truck, and Tommy and I were able to get ourselves out of the mess we had managed to get ourselves into. Traveling south, we stopped a few times to pick off a stray zombie that was ambling towards the big glow in the night sky. With our little bonfire, we could report back to Shelbyville Lake that we had dealt a serious blow to the zombies of Decatur, and they could start clearing out the square between the highways. It was an area of around three thousand square miles, but they had enough people to deal with it. With that done, we headed west.

  Bath, IL

  In the morning, we decided to head towards the river. Time was getting short, the days were getting cooler, and I had a child that was going to be waiting for me if I didn’t get a move on towards the capital. I could see that Duncan was getting a little antsy as well, seeing as he was expecting with Janna. I assured him we would be home in time to be fathers.

  We didn’t bother with Springfield. That was a problem that would require a bigger army than we had at the present. The good folks at Shelbyville told me they would contain the problem. Apparently, they had access to a very large earthmover from a nearby quarry and would use it to create a barrier around the city. Route 4 would be ripped up and turned on its side, keeping the zombies tucked safely in the old capitol of the state. South of the city was a large lake, so no worries there. The highway would be cleared of cars, so I-55 could be used if needed.

  At the town of Jacksonville, we decided to stop for a break. We’d been travelling since the early morning, and I wanted to stretch my legs and look around. We stopped in a parking lot of Walmart on the outskirts of the tow, and had a quick look around. The broken doors of the big chain told me anything of value or use was long gone from there, and even though I hadn’t seen any zombies, there was a feeling in the air around Jacksonville.

  Charlie felt it, too. I could see him looking further into the brush and staring longer at hiding places. It was a little unnerving, but since there wasn’t any clear and present danger there wasn’t much we could do about it.

  I ate a small bit of jerky and sipped some water. Looking over the town, I could see that this was a decent place to be. The center of the town was a huge park that looked like it once had been a really nice place, well thought out, and designed to be useful as well as relaxing. When I finished my meal, I pulled out a map of Illinois and spread it across the hood. I had made a number of notes and annotations across the map indicating where help could be found, the areas they said they would help with, and where problems might be.

  “Company,” Charlie said. He stepped away from the truck and positioned himself near the back of the vehicle. That put him in a good spot to either be out of the way or able to grab serious firepower.

  I looked up from the map to see three small trucks headed our way. They were small but seemed well maintained, not the garbage some of the worse off survivors drove. These seemed to be men who knew the importance of taking care of their equipment. I waited by the car as they drove up. They didn’t make any attempt to surround us with their vehicles, which was another good sign.

  One man walked up to me, and the others stood outside their vehicles.

  “Howdy! Haven’t seen you all around here before,” the man held out his hand, and I took i
t. He was a big guy, a little shorter than I was but thicker in the arms and chest. If I had to guess, his age was around twenty to twenty five. He had a hunting knife on his belt, but that was the extent of the weapons I could see.

  Duncan and Tommy walked around to where I was, shaking hands with the man and introducing themselves.

  For his part, the man did his share. “Name’s Croft, Daniel Croft. Who might you be?” His eyes seemed keen and intelligent, so I made it clear who I was.

  “John Talon. Chief Executive of the New United states, capitol located up north on the Illinois River.” I said.

  Daniel nodded. “I’d heard there was a settlement up north that was making that claim. What have you got to back it up?”

  Ordinarily that would be a question that was met with a statement followed up by a threat of force. But I had a feeling I was dealing with a sight more than just four men, so I decided to be fully honest about it.

  “We have the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, for one thing. We have elected representatives coming in from all parts of the country, and my deputy chief executive is Charlie James standing right over there,” I said.

  “How in the hell did you get the founding documents, if you don’t mind my asking?” Daniel asked incredulously. His companions seemed suitably impressed. “I thought the entire east coast was a dead zone.”

  I nodded. “It is. We made a run through the mountains and managed to get into DC itself. Lost a good man there, too,” I said.

  “Can I ask why, outside of the obvious?” Daniel said.

  “Long story I’ll tell you someday. Short version is a fake military commander thought he could take over by destroying the documents, make a fresh start for himself,” I said simply.

  “What happened to him?”

  “He failed.”

  Daniel smiled. “I imagine he did.”

  “So, Daniel, how big of a community do you represent? I would figure you’re not here just to size us up, and you’re definitely not in a position to kill us and take our stuff,” I said, hooking my thumbs on my belt, placing my hands near my gun and knife.

  “No, we figured we’d not be trying that when you all positioned yourselves as we drove up. Steve there was all for just waving and driving on,” Croft said, waving a hand at a man who gave a small wave back.

  “No, we are the welcoming committee for a group that’s west of here, probably have around three thousand all told in the county. We have regular patrols and training, code of laws and such, although I expect with knowing you’re out there we’ll be changing a few of them.” Daniel said.

  I nodded. “Probably not as much as you think. But we’d definitely want to have you up in the capitol for a few meetings and get to know the representatives of Illinois. Also, I’d like you send up a few merchants and traders so we can get some kind of trade route set up for goods.”

  “What’s the exchange rate? We’ve been using straight up trade.”

  “Back to the basics,” I said. “Gold, Silver, Copper. We have a smelter that will make coins for you out of raw material for a small fee. But it’s ten silver for every gold, ten copper for every silver. Keep things simple.”

  Daniel’s eyes gleamed. “I like it. Well, sir, is there anything you need?”

  I thought for a moment. “We could use a boat.”

  Daniel smiled. “That’s funny.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked.

  “Down here, with the lakes and the river and such, we have more boats than cars.”

  “May I say again that it is nice to meet you, Mr. Croft?” I said, meaning every word.

  We secured a boat and took the road north towards the town of Bath. Daniel told us it was a small town on the river with several lakes to the northwest. We followed 78 up to the town, and at first glance everything seemed normal. Small white houses with overgrown yards surrounded a small business center that had been completely abandoned. What might have been was lost to the virus, and the town was slipping away into decay and ruin. Already several homes were caving in, and we could see the usual signs of violence and death.

  Duncan was driving the truck with the boat attached, and we turned down a side street towards the river. At the end of the street there was a boat launch and an interesting bar. It was a barge that had been brought up out of the water, and a building had been built on top of it. It was called The Boat Tavern, and it fit.

  Backing the truck in down the ramp, Duncan placed the boat in the water. Charlie guided the boat off the trailer, and I parked the other truck.

  I gathered my pack and my rifle and pulled out the other pack of supplies. Tommy did the same with his, and we made a pile at the edge of the water. Charlie had tied the boat off to a power line pole and was retrieving his pack and supplies as well. We were all moving towards the boat with our packs when the attack came. One minute it was quiet and peaceful, the next the air was filled with groans and snapping teeth.

  “What the hell!” Charlie yelled, dropping his pack and whipping out his tomahawks.

  We all dropped our packs, except me, since my pack was on my back. I yanked my pick out and swung hard at a teenage girl who was moving faster than the rest. She went down with a crushed skull, and then the fight was on.

  I ran forward, kicking a ghoul down that was still wearing a camo baseball hat, and sinking my pick into the top of another’s skull. Duncan was beside me swinging his weapon, and Tommy brought up the right flank with his long handled axe. Charlie wasn’t about to be left out, so he joined us in the middle, swinging with both hands. Zombies attacked and zombies fell, and pretty soon we were backing up towards the water as ghouls tried to walk over the dead breastworks we had created.

  With a little breathing room, I told Tommy and Duncan to get the boat ready, throw our supplies in and get the boat ready to go. I was hoping to siphon the gas out of the trucks to use in the boat, but unless we managed to finish these guys off, we were going to have to abandon the gas. The trucks were replaceable since there were thousands out there to choose from. Gas was not as easily found.

  “John! Charlie! Now!” Duncan yelled.

  We didn’t waste any time, we ran towards the boat. Duncan held it while Charlie climbed in and then climbed in himself. I reached the water’s edge and jumped in the boat, my momentum pushing the craft away from the bank of the river. Behind me, dead people shuffled and groaned, reaching out for food that drifted away on the water.

  “Where did they come from?” I asked, catching my breath. “I didn’t see a single person when we rode in.”

  “Not sure,” Charlie said, stowing his gear. “If I was a depressing sort, I’d say they were waiting in ambush and emerged when we were distracted.”

  “You are a depressing sort. If they’re capable of that kind of reasoning, we’d better do some serious rethinking of our strategy to deal with them,” Tommy said.

  Duncan started the boat, and we moved northward. I spent the time calculating the days I had been away from Sarah and figured I had maybe about a month left. It had been a long time on the road, and if I was being honest with myself, I was tired and could use a rest. But as long as the zombies were out there, and as long as they seemed to be evolving even further, we had a new problem to face. I didn’t think our current strategy of a lone force would work any longer. In order to move forward, we were going to have to advance our thinking, and stop seeing these zombies as individuals to be dealt with singularly and see them as an enemy as a whole, to be dealt with in devastating fashion.

  I had a lot of thinking to do. Fortunately, we had a long journey to get back home.

  The first town we reached was Pekin, and it was a journey that took us most of the rest of the day. As it was getting dark, we decided to drop anchor at a very small island in the middle of the lake.

  It was a decent place, about a quarter mile long, but barely a hundred feet at its widest point. There were several large trees, and after a quick inspection, w
e found a few old campfires, probably from survivors who sought shelter here just a few years ago. I wondered aloud where they might be.

  “Dead, or if they were smart, they followed the river south to the ocean,” Charlie said.

  “Maybe they found refuge inland at one of the communities we found,” Duncan suggested.

  Charlie shook his head. “Those ashes are very old. They were here when the virus hit. Unless they were stupidly lucky, they’re dead.”

  “Like us?” I asked quietly.

  “Exactly.”

  During the night I moved down the island, listening to the water lap quietly against the island shore. The trees rustled softly in the breeze that rolled down the river. I stood on the far tip of the island, facing the river, imagining myself far away, seeing my wife, meeting my new child. I wondered at the wisdom of bringing a new life into this world, but then dismissed that thought as foolish. How else do we fight the zombies if we don’t move on and live?

  As I watched the water flow past I became aware of movement in the trees that lined the riverbanks. Glowing eyes flowed amid the trees and bushes, some looking this way, others just searching. I didn’t move, I just watched them go by. They were likely attracted to Charlie’s snoring.

  Illinois River, IL

  In the morning we moved further north, following the river. We’d been here before, coming up from the trip to DC just a few months before. It was a quiet journey, and we moved pretty well. We only had to make one stop so far for gas for the boat, and that was actually easier than I could have hoped for. Duncan killed the attendant who wanted blood for payment, and Tommy took the gas.

  Outside the town of Marquette, we got a surprise. A boat coming our way had a single passenger, and he was waving his arms wildly as we approached.

  Pulling up alongside, the man spoke rapidly.

  “President Talon! You have to get to the capital! One of the generals has arrived and declared himself to be commander in chief! The army has occupied the city! I’ve been told to find you and get your resignation. If you do that, they’ll let your wife go.”