by Jaron McFall
He cut the sheet metal to make three triangles and welded them together to create a pyramid with a hole in the top. He then hung it upside down from the Kubota lift with some extra chain and rope. He put a layer of cotton bed sheets in the bottom of the pyramid with a layer of clean gravel next. On top of the gravel, he put crushed charcoal briquets, then sand to top it off. It filled the cone a third full. The whole pyramid was probably five-foot-tall and three-foot-wide. It had to weigh at least a hundred pounds, maybe two hundred.
Cedric spent another half hour slowly welding metal pipe to the pyramid opening so water pipes could be attached. He felt like he was about to melt from the heat.
Next, he needed to construct a way to heat the water. "This one is simple." He said to himself. Cedric started out by clearing a spot on the ground and leveling it out with the shovel. He then placed another piece of sheet metal down. After that, Cedric began to mix cement in a wheel barrel and started to lay bricks in a square with one open side on the metal. This would make a hearth that he would run copper pipes through, heating the water.
When the walls were four feet high with ten pipes running through them, he covered the top with a sheet of metal. He then used his last piece of sheet metal to create a door. He had deliberately left every other brick off the top row on the backside of the hearth for the smoke. He began piecing the pyramid filter to the pipes in the hearth when Ben and Charlie started to approach him.
"Man, look at this thing!” Charlie said loudly before asking, “What is it?”
"Water purifying system,” Ben answered. “He just took care of one of our biggest problems. What are you using to filter it? Inside the cone I mean," he added.
Cedric looked pleased as he answered, "Cotton on the bottom. Gravel on top of that with a layer of charcoal next. Sand on top of that. More cloth at the top. Then it runs into the hearth to make it hot enough to kill bacteria and germs. If only we had something sterile to store it in we could start pumping it in."
Ben look amazed. "I will call Sherry to tell them I’m coming to get a few more things. I’ve got some fifty-five-gallon drums in the barn. Brand new and clean. I was going to use them for the garden. But we can put them to good use," he finished. He pulled out his phone as he walked away.
"I’m impressed, little brother," Charlie teased as he smacked Cedric on the shoulder. "I didn't know ya had it in you."
Cedric winced when Charlie smacked him. It wasn’t hard, but he was exhausted. "Again… younger, yes. Little, no," Cedric laughed half-heartedly as he shoved his brother back in response. "I know mom called Cam, but has anyone talked to dad? I want to know how he is doing. I just wondered."
Charlie stared at his brother for a brief second before answering, "Yeah. I talked with him this morning. He said he is on his way here. He wants to be with us. I tried to tell him that driving here right now wouldn’t be safe. But he said better he drive it now than wait until it hits this side of the Mississippi River. He said even if we were in Texas, he would come to us. He’ll be here the day after tomorrow. He has to do some packing and it is a long drive."
Cedric's mind was buzzing. He was glad to know his dad was safe, but now having that question answered, a million more questions popped into focus. "So, nobody has mentioned anything about weapons. Well, how do we defend ourselves? Has anyone released that yet?"
Charlie looked grave as he shook his head. "CNN said that some are still going after losing entire limbs. I don’t think they’re human anymore. They said there is no cure for the infection either. They don’t even know what it is. And to make matters worse, it is bringing out the worst in people. It’s like when Katrina hit. People are raging through the cities, stealing and killing. Even places like Morristown aren’t safe anymore. Three people were shot yesterday in Wal-Mart over who was going to steal the laptops. Man, it’s bad out there."
Cedric's next questions died in his throat with a sick feeling. They made their way back inside the house to eat leftovers and cool down. The morning so far had been rough, but they were almost done with the hard parts. All that was left now was to finish the water lines, which they easily completed before five.
They took the rest of the evening to rest: playing cards and talking. No one seemed comfortable since everyone was afraid. The day for the girls had been as mentally exhausting as the guys' day was physically. While they were working inside they had the news playing all day reminding them of the very real terror that was happening. Most conversations now were mainly to distract people from the news. After seven games of Phase Ten, the group disbanded and went to bed.
As Cedric lay in his sleeping bag he thought. He didn't think at all now that he was dreaming, but rather that the world had gone mad. He couldn't help feeling that somehow, despite all reason, this really was real. He started thinking about weapons. What would work best? What killed them? Are they still human? How can they keep going without entire limbs? Do they feel pain? If they are human, what kills humans? Losing a limb doesn't kill a human. Bleeding out does, though, and it probably, most definitely, hurts like hell.
That's what it is. They don't feel pain. No pain. So, what are sure ways to kill? A shock to the brain would. So hit them hard on the head, or shoot them in the head, not body. Bleeding out does too; but does their heart beat? If not, then do they bleed slower? Because if they could keep going for a while without a limb, like CNN said, then surely they don't bleed as fast. But I really do bet a headshot would kill. These thoughts ran through his mind for an hour before Cedric finally fell asleep.
Infected men and women surged forward toward the barricade, clawing at a ten-foot high concrete block that was placed at the end of the bridge. On top of the block stood soldiers, guns raised but not firing. Their orders were clear. Only shoot if there is a threat of the infected humans getting through.
The concrete block was ten feet high and eight feet thick. There was no way the infected could get through. Many of these blocks were placed side by side to create the barrier. Every bridge was barricaded along the Mississippi River to ensure that the virus did not spread to the Eastern side of the country. This one was just outside of St. Louise, so it was heavily fortified. Some of the bridges were not much more than wooden barricades.
"How long till they just die?" One soldier asked.
"They’ll prob’ly live until we are allowed to shoot their damn brains out," the other said gruffly. "Don't know why we can't already. Hell, they’re already monsters. No cure."
"Well, they are working on one, aren’t they?" The first soldier said.
"Doesn't help them now, does it?" The gruff man replied.
"Ha." The first soldier chuckled loudly. "These monsters can't go nowhere." Just then a second surge of the infected came rushing across the bridge. The group collided with the rear of the first and the sound of breaking bones echoed off the concrete. The infected began to pile up on top of each other and one managed to grab onto the top of the block.
The gruff sounding soldier walked slowly to where the infected human's hand was gripping the block, put his gun into the man’s collar, and fired. "I call that a threat of breaking through."
Both soldiers laughed. The soldiers watched as the infected tried again to climb the wall. Because of the bodies of the ones who had fallen down or been shot earlier, some managed, like the first one, to get a hand or two on the top but were quickly shot.
One infected human who was tall managed to jump and get not just a hand but half its body on the wall. The soldier with the gruff voice ran over to it and shot it in the back. It collapsed. "Hey, give me a hand pushing this one back off," he called to his partner turning his back on the infected.
The first soldier began walking toward his partner when he heard him yell in pain. The infected human had risen back up and bitten the soldier on the underside of the knee. The soldier stumbled and fell backward off the block on the safe side. The unbitten soldier raised his gun and shot the infected man in the head.
By th
e time the first soldier got to the edge to see where his partner had fallen, he was gone. He stared hard into the darkness looking for his partner. The next thing he felt was a hot trickle of liquid running down his back and a sharp pain in his shoulder.
As the sun was rising, Hank was loading up the last bit of his bags in his Ford Ranger. He had just spoken to his son, Charlie, the day before and promised he would be there by Sunday. It was a long drive from Michigan to Tennessee, but well worth it, he thought. He got in his truck and cranked the engine. He had already checked the oil and gotten gas the night before. He had worried that he might run out of gas so he had bought fuel tanks and gotten enough gas for the whole trip. It made him feel better knowing he would only have to stop for sleep once since he had brought food with him. He also knew he would probably try to drive straight through without sleep. In the passenger seat was a cooler stocked with Mountain Dew and sandwiches. He pulled out onto the road and began his long drive to his family.
"Wake up man. Bad news," Charlie’s voice was laced with panic as he shook Cedric awake. "They got past a barricade: Missouri border. That gives us only days."
Chapter Three:
NATIONAL OUTBREAK
The television chimed many different voices, each talking about different things, as Denise flipped through the channels absentmindedly. Everyone in the house was silent most of the day. To Cedric, the hours seemed to drag by as if time was standing still. The only time he had ever felt like this before was during his ACT, and that had only lasted a portion of the day. He didn’t know how much more of this he could manage.
His mind was racing in every direction; thoughts of what was coming protruded most of the time. Then one thought hit him and he was asking it before he realized it. “What are we going to do about food?”
Everyone turned in his direction except Julie who was asleep with her head on Denise’s lap. Nobody had said a word for over three hours until Cedric had started. This was just one of those times, like after 9/11, Pearl Harbor, or the JFK assassination when people stayed silent out of shock and horror. People cried; they even wept. But nobody felt like talking.
It was Sherry who answered Cedric, “We have enough to last for a while. The spare bedroom is nearly full and the cellar has some home canned food in it, too.”
“Not to even mention the fact that I have a deer and two turkeys in the freezer in the cellar,” Charlie added. Charlie was an avid hunter.
“But all of that will run out eventually. I don’t really want to become like the Donner Party,” Cedric replied, again without thinking before he spoke, “Not like those people on the news, eating people. I meant what about when all the food we have stashed away runs out. I mean, it can’t last forever. There are seven of us here. It won’t last more than a month.”
Everyone was silent at what Cedric had said because everyone knew he wasn’t wrong. They stayed silent for most of the day after this. Tensions in the house were running high by the time dinner was ready. It was the last of the leftovers. The rolls were almost gone so Sherry had added cornbread to the dinner. “We are just going to have to eat light most of the time,” she said as she sat the cornbread on the counter. “There is no reason why we can’t make this food last two months.”
“I think that cornbread will be long gone before then,” Charlie joked. Sherry scowled at him.
“All I meant earlier,” Cedric said, ignoring Charlie, “was that we don’t know how long we are going to be hunkered in this house for. It may be months before the contamination is under control,” Cedric was already feeling bad about what he had said earlier that day but was now feeling worse. He felt stupid that it took him this long to realize it since he noticed now that everyone already knew that there was simply not enough food to last them.
Everyone, especially Charlie, was being optimistic about their situation and trying to avoid this topic. He was starting to realize that they could only store so much food and other provisions at Charlie’s house. The thing about it was that if they had done all of this at Ben’s house they could have stored ten or fifteen times more of anything they needed, but everyone had agreed that Charlie’s was a better location.
It was close enough to the main highway to get a quick escape. Ben’s house was more than a half hour from any main highway. It was also in a very crowded neighborhood. Charlie doesn’t have another neighbor for a quarter mile.
Eliza’s house was in the best spot, but they couldn’t have fit everyone there. She and Cedric lived in a single-wide trailer. So that left Charlie and Denise’s house.
They ate dinner in silence; the only noise being the scratching of utensils and Cisco’s nails clicking on the hardwood floor as he roamed around scrounging for scraps. After they had eaten, Charlie, Eliza, Ben, and Sherry played a game of Rook to pass the time. Nobody, except Charlie, was even really paying attention to the game.
Cedric tried to read one of Denise’s books. It was some kind of Celtic mythology book, but he couldn’t get interested in it. The story seemed alright, but someone died in the first chapter and Cedric didn’t want to even think about death right now. The news about the barricade being broken through had shaken them all. They knew there was a possibility of it, but no one was prepared for it.
Of course, they were physically prepared; mostly, that is. But, at least if the infection had gone around the river, they would have had time to slowly prepare mentally for what was coming. Not have it thrown at them. After the game of Rook, everyone went to their rooms for bed.
As Cedric lay in his sleeping bag, his mind was again a whirlwind of thoughts. What can we do for food? Would it be safe to eat wild animals? How could we even hunt without being hunted? How will we even survive?
The next morning Cedric was the first one up. He had put on his boots and his thick knife sheath was strapped to his belt when his brother came out of his room. “There is no way my little brother is up before me,” Charlie teased. “Have you even been to bed?”
“I got a few hours of sleep.” Then, without a good segway in mind, Cedric said, “Are you ready to go hunting?”
Charlie laughed, “It‘s archery season and I don‘t have a bow. Neither do you.”
“The cops have bigger problems than what season it is or isn’t. And, if I remember correctly, there is a provision in the laws that state that if there is a danger of starvation, you can hunt whatever is not an endangered animal. So let’s just go shoot whatever we want. Want to get Ben?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I still think you’re crazy. We won’t get anything this late of a start. Well, except maybe a coyote and they’re pretty greasy and tough.”
“I, personally, would rather have a greasy and tough hunk of meat in my stomach than nothing at all, wouldn’t you? Besides, there are turkeys out there. They are actually in season. But, like I said, who cares about laws and sportsmanship when our lives are at stake?” Cedric’s voice was nearly pleading trying to convince his brother. He felt horrible about saying what he had the day before and thought a hunting trip would partially make up for it. Not to mention that it would get him out of the house for a few hours. He had spent so long on his laptop the day before that it even got tedious.
Also, everything on the internet seemed to have the word “Zombie” attached to it. There was everything from videos like Cedric had already seen to news reports; the zombie phenomenon had even reached the world of memes. Cedric saw everything from the ‘philosoraptor’ to Sean Bean saying “Brace Yourselves. Zombies are Coming.” After the last one, Cedric was done with the stupidity of the internet for a while.
“OK, but if we get caught, I will personally skin you instead of a deer,” his brother mocked. “We do need the food, though. I’ll wake Ben up. Go to the cellar and get all my guns. We need to get them out anyway. You may have to make a few trips. Also, get my ammunition. I will come help after I get some real clothes on,” Charlie said as he pulled at his pajamas.
After four trips of carrying as
many guns as he could up from the cellar, and two trips for ammo, Charlie showed up to help. It took them two more trips for the rest of the ammo and two more for the hunting gear. By the time they had it sorted out, Ben came into the living room dressed in camouflage holding his shotgun in one hand and rifle in the other.
Charlie added a small twenty-two caliber pistol to Ben’s inventory and gave Cedric a rifle, a shotgun, and a small pistol. Charlie, likewise, equipped himself with a rifle, shotgun, and a pistol. Charlie’s pistol, however, was a much larger nine-millimeter Glock. Cedric preferred the small Kel-Tec twenty-two caliber pistol he had in his belt holster. As an extra precaution, Cedric slid his short piece of steel pipe in his belt, which he immediately felt stupid for doing right after he did it. What’s a steel pipe gonna do that a rifle, shotgun, and pistol can’t? But he left it in place anyway.
“If we are going to get caught poaching, might as well have an arsenal,” Ben said as they got the rest of the supplies together. They moved the remaining guns to Charlie’s bedroom for safe-keeping. They ate a quick breakfast and explained to the others where they were going before getting in their trucks. They had agreed to take Charlie’s large truck since they planned to shoot everything they could. They were planning to be gone until nightfall, or maybe even later.
In Morristown, Tennessee, at a chain drugstore, a photo technician was stocking shelves. He didn’t mind working in the snow or storms, but the fact that there was an epidemic of crazed infection going around didn’t exactly make him feel safe. The tech could not afford to lose money from missed shifts, though; he still had school to pay for. And if all this was a hoax, he needed the money. Besides, the infection was hundreds of miles away and this was getting him plenty of overtime since both of the other photo techs had called in and quit. Not like he could blame them, though; they did have families they wanted to spend time with.