by Brown, TW
Lee scowled and muttered something under his breath. Jack and Melissa sat quietly, staring down into the tiny town that was spread out below us. Bringing up my binoculars once more, I began a slow scan. This had been the fourth or fifth argument with Lee in the thirty or so hours we’d been gone. I was beginning to think that Lee hadn’t volunteered for this run on purpose. He’d opened his mouth in front of the group and now it was some sort of idiotic, youthful, macho-pride thing. So far he’d complained about moving through the woods instead of the roads; he was hungry and we hadn’t brought enough food; the water was warm and tasted flat; and we hadn’t taken a long enough rest yesterday.
“I count at least thirty private residences,” Jack whispered, “None of them have crowds around them. So it seems possible that they are empty. At least of living, breathing types.”
“There looks to be one grocery store, a small convenience store and what looks like a sporting goods or maybe hardware store.” I pointed each out in turn.
“Down by the lake is a building,” Melissa added. “It’s likely another store or something.”
“I’m guessing no more than a couple hundred of those things down there,” Jack offered.
“And fairly well spread out,” I said. “That makes it at least somewhat likely that nobody living is still hanging around.”
“But we’ll sit up here hungry all day,” Lee grumbled.
“I’ll tell you what,” I dropped my binoculars to my chest and faced the young man, “if you’re so anxious, and if you are really starving like you keep saying…go.”
Everybody was silent. Jack and Melissa sorta stepped back like they were afraid that this confrontation might get physical. I doubted it, but my body had tensed in anticipation. I felt a slight tremor as adrenaline dumped into my system.
“You think I’m scared?” Lee shot back.
“Actually,” I stepped up to the younger man, almost nose-to-nose, “I think you’re a big mouth and an idiot.”
I don’t know what it was. Maybe I was being the idiot. Perhaps I was puffing up a bit because Melissa was watching. Or maybe I’d just had it with people like Lee. I’d never told anybody that they had to stick around. People chose to join our group. Yet, time and time again, I found myself being challenged. It was like some damned nature documentary.
Lee glared, but, and I’ve got to be honest when I say I was relieved, he backed down. At least to a point. He turned and stomped off to a big pine and flopped down at its base.
I looked over at Jack and Melissa, they were both making a big point of looking the other way. They’d found something absolutely riveting down in the town below. I walked over and brought my binoculars back up to my eyes.
“I think that was what the soldiers, Wimmer and his men, did wrong,” Melissa finally said after several uncomfortable moments of silence.
“Huh?” I lowered the field-glasses and glanced over at her.
“They found a small town.”
“And?”
“Well…” She swallowed and took a deep breath. Was she nervous about telling me her opinion because of my scene with Lee? “They moved in and basically took over a town. Even though it was small, it still sat on a road and probably showed up on a map.”
“I still don’t follow.”
“Those raiders,” she began to relax, “they were probably doing similar to what we’re doing right now. Find a small town and clean it out. Only, this group was bigger and obviously well-equipped.”
“I’m still not sure I follow,” I said, feeling a little bit dense.
“That place we’re setting up camp at,” Melissa said, obviously trying to search for the right way to put things. “It’s off the beaten path. Sure, it might show up on a map, but not as having anything useful. We’re in a good spot to avoid bad guys. Whereas, if we went down there,” she pointed, “we’d more than likely be spotted; and maybe not by people like Fiona and her little group. But maybe like whoever attacked Serenity.”
I had to admit it, she had a point. And her point was her way of telling me I was doing the right thing. She was telling me that I was the leader and she believed in my decisions. As scary as the prospect was, I think I could seriously consider falling in love with Melissa.
I looked her in the eyes, and I saw a spark there that I hadn’t noticed up till now. Not even when we’d laughed or joked or slipped away to have sex out in the woods. Up until now, we were companions and survivors relying on each other to deal with the unthinkable. I briefly contemplated telling her what I was feeling until—
“We got trouble,” Jack said, breaking the spell.
“What?” I turned and could tell that he was not comfortable. He’s a smart kid. He probably had a good idea what was going on in that moment.
“Lee,” Jack said, pointing down the hill.
I moved up and looked. Sure enough, creeping through the tall grass was young Mister Lee James. There was plenty of scrub, plus, the wild brown grass was about thigh high. He was crouched low and using cover. I didn’t doubt that he would be able to get down there. Hell, he might even avoid being noticed. But every so often, he kicked up a little dust. Any living person couldn’t help but see it. If there were any survivors down there, they might see. If there were any survivors on any of these surrounding hills…we were screwed.
“What do we do?” Jack asked, clearly nervous.
“Watch…wait…hope he doesn’t get himself killed,” I said.
“Aren’t we gonna go after him?” Jack turned back, watching Lee who was now almost halfway down the slope.
“Nope,” I brought my binoculars up and began to scan the ridge across the small valley that this one-stoplight town rested in. “He’s on his own until nightfall. And if somebody else sees him and moves in on him, he may be completely burnt.”
“Isn’t that kinda harsh?”
“How many other groups of survivors have you actually come in contact with?” It was time to set this guy straight. “I’ve seen some fairly nasty stuff out there, and just a few weeks ago, I had to listen to people I know get overwhelmed by a group that actually led a horde of those walking sacks of death to the gates. They used zombies as the leading edge of their attack. And they may or may not have been the same people who took out one of our recon-rescue-and-supply-run teams that included a couple of friends of mine.
“I can understand losing people to zombies. It is the world we live in. What I can’t wrap my mind around are these animals that are now running around, taking advantage of the chaos and lack of law and order to victimize others.
“So now I have two little girls that are my responsibility. My first and only objective is their care and well-being. I’ve made it clear that nobody, you included, are obligated to stay. But, if you do, then somebody has to make the tough choices, and around here, that is me. You are welcome to go your own way anytime, but if you stay in my camp, then I am mayor, sheriff, and all-around head honcho. It is only a limited democracy, are we clear?”
Jack nodded.
“Then we wait till nightfall.”
***
I don’t know when, but at some point, I’d dozed off. Something was poking me in the ribs, and I woke up just a little annoyed.
“You need to see this.” Melissa was kneeling beside me. Her expression had a bit of excitement and…happiness?
I climbed to my feet, a slight wave of dizziness washed over me. My stomach grumbled as a reminder that it would be nice if I ate something soon. I popped the stopper on a half-full bag of water and took a long drink.
“What?” I trudged up to the edge of the tree-lined overhang and joined Jack and Melissa. “Did Lee get himself eaten?”
“No,” Melissa said with a scowl, obviously hearing a trace of inappropriate hopefulness in my voice. “Look down by the lake, the gray building.”
I brought my binoculars to bear where she’d indicated. I didn’t see anything. Wait…one of those windows was wide open and a pair of military-style f
ield-packs were leaning up against the wall. We’d seen Lee duck into a rickety two-story house on the edge of town. Since neither Jack nor Melissa said anything about our wayward companion, I guessed this was not related to him in some way.
So who are these mystery guests? I stayed focused on the open window. I imagined that, whoever this was, they were making sure the place was clear. Eventually, a shadow flitted around the window. A hand appeared, then another, followed by a head as this person pulled themselves up and out just enough to look around before climbing all the way out, grabbing the packs and handing them in to the person inside. I dropped my glasses and turned to Melissa.
“Ian and Billy,” she said with a smile.
“Are you certain?” I had to ask.
“Well, you saw Ian with your own eyes,” she said.
“And the person inside?” I grinned. “You certain it’s Billy?”
“Positive,” Melissa beamed.
“We still waiting for dark?” Jack asked. I could tell he was expecting me to toss my previous edict.
“They don’t look like they’re going anywhere,” I said with as much finality as I could manage. Of course I wanted to rush down there and see my friends. I had no doubts that they would come with us back to our new home.
“How late do you plan to wait?” Melissa asked.
“Just a little past sunset.” My hope was that we’d have enough ambient light left to keep an eye on where Ian and Billy were camped, but still have enough cover to minimize being seen. Once we got down there, my priorities would be: hook-up with Ian and Billy, forage for supplies, and oh yeah, reel Lee back in.
***
“It sure seems a lot farther than it did up on the hill.” Jack panted, coming up beside me at the rear bumper of a burned-out husk of a pick-up truck with the charred remains of a body still sitting rigidly in the cab.
“Four blocks up,” I whispered. “Still no movement.”
We waited until Melissa reached us. So far, our tactic had been one of us moving to a spot, then the other two following individually. This let us keep an eye on the gray building. Since it was on open ground and water was on the far side, it stood to reason that we would see them if they left.
“I heard a commotion back and to the left,” Melissa reported when she reached us. It could be anything, but most likely, Lee was on the move. I wasn’t surprised that he would start foraging without us. If he thought anything he found was his, and not for the group, he was in for another of many surprises.
“Got a loner up ahead,” Jack announced.
“I’ll go first.” I drew the long, sturdy blade from the sheath bound to my right thigh.
Slipping out from behind the truck, I crouched low and arched a little to the right, hoping the thing wouldn’t see me coming. It halted and its head jerked around. Slowly, the body followed and a low moan drifted on the warm, night air. Arms out, it began a slow shuffle towards me. Damn. So much for the element of surprise. Rising up, I rushed in. I couldn’t tell age or gender, it was too dark. Not that it mattered. I came in fast and at the last second, zigged. It couldn’t adjust in time and I struck. There was a satisfying ‘thok’ and the familiar buzzing sensation in my hands as the machete cleaved into skull.
Glancing around, I could see other shadows moving. Some, drawn by the moan of one of their own, turned and were coming towards me. The side roads of this tiny town were dirt or clay. Nature would have them reclaimed in a year or two. Zombies were coming from all over. Not many, but then it really only takes one. Right?
I waved my arm, signaling Melissa and Jack to move. It was time for a mad dash. They came from behind the truck and had covered almost half the distance when Jack stopped, turned, and looked back the way we’d come. Melissa paused, but kept coming. I’d heard it, too. Something or someone had kicked in or crashed through a door.
“Jack!” I hissed. “Move your ass! Whatever that was, it’s gonna bring heat, we gotta go!”
Melissa sped past me, shooting me a worried look that may have simply been my imagination considering how dark it is. I started walking backwards, trusting that Melissa had my back. For some inexplicable reason, Jack was drifting back towards that sound. He was almost back to the truck when Lee came barreling around the corner. He stumbled and sprawled on the ground. Something—I assumed it to be his handgun—went skittering across the ground, vanishing into the darker shadows of a pair of non-descript buildings across the street.
Jack rushed to the fallen man and reached him just as several zombies stumbled out from every side. He pulled Lee to his feet and handed him the shotgun he’d slung off his shoulder.
“Christ!” I spat, putting my machete away and bringing up my M4. This would be the first time I’d used one of the new weapons. Readying it, I glanced once over my shoulder, Melissa had made it to the window of the gray building. Somebody was pulling her in.
Bringing the weapon to my shoulder, I opened up on the dark shapes just clearing the corner of the building to the right. By the time the magazine was empty, I’d probably dropped four. Not good. Jack and Lee had at least fought free of the mob. Jack reached me and made a move like he was gonna head for the gray building.
“No way, man.” I grabbed his arm. “Follow me! You too, asshole,” I snapped at Lee and ran down a road to our left.
As I ran, I changed out my M4 for my Colt .45 semi-automatic. In my right hand I wielded the always reliable machete. We had to take down a couple on the fly, and a few times we had to actually slow down to keep the main body of the mob interested.
We were quickly reaching the outskirts of this tiny town. To the right, we could make it to the on-ramp that would take us to the highway that passed by this map-dot of boondock. I jogged easy, ignoring the shaky feeling of my legs. The on-ramp seemed awfully steep, but once we reached the top, it was a simple matter of doubling back. We were heading down the off-ramp as the first of the pursuing zombie mob poured out onto the highway spreading out in both directions now that they had nothing to really follow.
We stayed in the shadows, not believing for a moment that all the undead citizens of this town had joined in on the merry chase. Finally, we reached the building where we’d seen Ian and Billy duck inside, where Melissa had vanished through an open window.
A head popped out, “‘Bout time you got here,” Ian’s familiar voice said with his normal good-naturedness.
“Should I put on a fresh pot of coffee?” Billy Haynes’ voice drifted out of the darkness. I didn’t recall him having much of a sense of humor. Maybe being out in the wild with Ian had changed him a bit.
One at a time, they helped us through the window. They led us down a dark hallway to an office where a pleasant glow emanated. I walked in to what had been some sort of large storage closet. It had no windows, which allowed them to have a pair of lanterns lit and hanging.
“Well…” I went to shake both their hands, but it quickly devolved into a three-man bro-hug. After that I stepped aside to introduce Jack and Lee.
Lee was standing with his arms crossed, staring at the floor, looking unusually subdued. Jack was still in the doorway…holding his left arm. I could see the darkness oozing between his fingers.
“What the hell?” I walked over to the young man.
“When we were breaking free of that mob…a little girl…no more than five or six…I didn’t see her…” Jack’s voice faded.
I could see the small rip just above his wrist. It was bleeding pretty well for such a small wound. Probably from all the running. I looked back at Ian and Billy, “Anybody got a sweatshirt?”
Ian nodded and went to his pack. He tossed it and I snatched it out of the air, a sick feeling brewing in my stomach that had nothing to do with the now forgotten hunger.
“Have a seat, Jack.” I pointed to the floor. He did exactly what I’d hoped for. He looked down to see where to slide down. When he did, I shoved the barrel of my .45 into the wadded-up sweatshirt, and against the side of his head.
13
Vignettes XI
“We haven’t heard a word from Paris’ team since early yesterday morning,” TJ fumed. “Why the hell haven’t we sent somebody to find out what’s going on?”
“Because,” Shaw pushed his half-eaten plate of spaghetti away, he wasn’t going to be allowed to finish his lunch in peace, “it could be a number of things, and SOP is to wait three days. You know damned good and well that situations in the field can flip in a heartbeat.”
“Just let me take two guys—”
“No!” Shaw cut the man off. “We wait like we decided when everybody drew up the operational guidelines. Now…go get Dr. King.”
TJ stormed out of the room. Shaw waited a moment, then went over to his basin and dunked the wash cloth in it. He gave his face a quick wipe to ensure there weren’t any sauce-freckles.
Growing up with a third generation Marine Corps lifer as your dad had instilled a high degree of self-discipline, along with a rigid set of core-values, and a clean appearance was just one of many tenets to which Charlton Shaw subscribed. Unfortunately, a doctor-diagnosed heart condition ended Charlton Shaw’s military career in the third week of boot camp. His father had said all the things a father should say about it “being okay” and “not his fault” but the disappointment in those eyes…
“You wanted to see me, Shaw?” Dr. Peter King knocked on the open door and stuck his head in.
“We might have a problem with that list you submitted.” Shaw waved a hand, ushering the man inside.
“Such as?”
“The convoy hasn’t returned,” Shaw said flatly.
“Any reason?”
“Besides zombies, an accident…rival factions?” Shaw listed the possibilities off on his fingers.
“So what did you call me for?” Dr. Peter King shifted uncomfortably.
“Did you send my boys into a trap?” Shaw asked, locking eyes with the doctor.