by Brown, TW
“Well, go ahead then,” Jody urged. “Like you said, there isn’t much I can do at the moment.”
“First…I want to say I’m sorry for having to do all this to you.” George shot a look at the other men who all began mumbling various apologies.
Jody shot a look at Danny who returned the look with one just as confused. Still, he was not about to let his guard down.
“The thing is, we have seen a lot of stuff since this whole zombie uprising, or whatever you want to call it, began…not all the worst monsters were the ‘eating people’ type. This whole thing has set humanity back a few hundred years. People ain’t acting right with nobody in place to tell ‘em not to do certain things. You got all sorts of folks out there takin’ advantage of the ones that they figure to be weaker…less able to defend themselves. You get where I’m comin’ from?” George leaned in and cut the bindings on Jody’s wrists. With a nod of his head, one of the other men did the same for Danny.
“So…you drugged us and tied us up in some dark room because…?” Jody left the question open.
“Let’s just say that some of the fellas that we have met have not been treating women—”
“And children!” one of the men growled.
“And children,” George agreed. “They haven’t been treating them all that well. We have met some really bad people these past months. And while you boys both seemed nice enough…we just had to be sure that the young lady and that girl were not being held against their will. The only way we figured that we could get an honest answer was to remove you two from the picture. That way, if you guys had made any threats, then they would now realize that they were safe and that you couldn’t hurt them if they told the truth.”
“And Selina was okay with what you did to us?” Jody asked.
“Not exactly,” George admitted, rubbing his jaw in memory of her response when he had told her what had been done to Jody and Danny.
Jody smiled, remembering his first encounter with Selina. He had no trouble picturing her hauling off and socking somebody in the face.
“So…the offer still stands for you and your people to stay.” George helped Jody to the floor as the circulation began to slowly return, sending pins and needles through his arms and legs; from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes, he felt as if his extremities were hooked to a high voltage generator.
“We will have to talk it over,” Jody managed through clenched teeth.
“What?” Danny said, obviously incredulous that such a choice was even being considered.
Jody shot the other man a look and shook his head. There really was a lot to consider. While he did not exactly appreciate what had been done to either him or Danny, he certainly saw a sort of logic in it. They could do worse. And going back out on the road was nothing but more danger and uncertainty. Sure, there was no guarantee that they would be safe here…after what he saw in Bald Knob he doubted there was anyplace truly safe.
Twenty minutes later, he and Danny were escorted out of what appeared to be a rusty silo of some sort. Neither made it more than a couple of steps before they were tackled to the ground by Selina and Kat.
George and his group backed away from the icy glares of the two women and excused themselves saying that they would be back at the school waiting. The men departed, but at least one of them kept an eye over his shoulder as if expecting either Selina or Kat to do something.
After dozens of assurances that everybody was in fact okay, Jody got the group to quiet down. He looked from one expectant face to the other.
“I think maybe we have found ourselves a place to call home.”
***
“Push!” Major Beers barked.
Ten men and women dug in with all they had and the truck rotated just a bit more. The bridge was now clogged with vehicles. Some had even been dumped on their sides. Everybody had been evacuated to the ruins of the power plant. Beyond that, there was really nothing else that could be done.
“Major, here come the patrols!” a soldier called.
Major Beers swung around and looked back. Sure enough, four figures could be seen coming up the road. However, her eyes only paused on the patrol. It was what she could see behind them that had her heart pounding in a way it never had during her military career.
“Oh my God,” Major Wanda Beers breathed.
Those standing around her felt the hairs on their arms and backs of their necks stand up. If there was one reaction none of them ever expected from the major…it was fear.
“Any word from the railroad bridge yet?” the major asked as she shook off the dread trying to constrict her heart.
“None yet,” somebody answered.
“I hope to hell that they did their job.” The major took one last look at the horde before turning to address those standing around her.
So many, she thought. In the early days of the outbreak, there had been a certain fear because this was just so unreal. The denial that it was a zombie outbreak lasted for the first several days. That was probably why it had overwhelmed the population so quick. This was the stuff of television, movies, and comic books. It had no basis in reality.
Once the acceptance had come and the zombies were seen for what they really were, Wanda Beers was no longer the least bit nervous about facing them. They showed no real cognitive thought as far as anybody knew. They were simply walking sacks of meat. Shooting them meant no more to her than targets on the range. It did not matter what “face” the creatures wore. Whether it be man woman or child, they were simply the walking dead. Nothing more…nothing less.
Over the months, they had encountered large groups; some numbered in the hundreds. But this…her eyes scanned the visible horizon…stretched out as far as she could see. Bringing her binoculars up to her eyes, she took a closer look.
“So much for the snow having any effect,” she whispered.
The wall of bodies was doing what no snowplow could accomplish. While the snow might start to roll up in front of them, there were just too many coming from behind. Those in front that fell acted as a tamper. The bodies would pack down the snow as those behind walked over the fallen with no regard.
Another thought snuck in as she observed the scene. They would not be able to stay here no matter what happened. The amount of dead bodies would become a problem the moment that the snow thawed. But if they could not be safe here in the middle of nowhere…then where could they go? Was there any safe place? These hordes moved where the winds took them…or whatever sent them on their way.
“What are your orders, major?” a voice spoke up, snapping her back to reality.
“My orders?” The major almost laughed. What exactly did they think she could say or do in the face of what was coming?
The sounds of the dead had grown from a hum to a low moan to the buzz reminiscent what you heard driving past a stadium that was hosting some sort of sporting event. Considering how far away the horde still remained from her location, the major was certain that it would be almost impossible to hear yourself think before long.
She let her eyes drift across the faces of those who stood gathered around. She knew many of them, but there was an almost equal amount that she did not. In that instant, she realized how many they had lost along the way. She saw how many people they had scooped up to join their ranks. It was not enough. Stretched out in a line as they moved from place to place, they had looked like so many more than this group standing before her.
“You want to know what my orders are?” the major asked, letting a sigh slip past that indicated just how exhausted she was all of a sudden.
“Hide,” she said simply. “Find somewhere in this godforsaken place and hide until this endless sea of undead either sweep past…or wash us off the face of the earth.”
Wanda Beers turned and walked away. As she climbed a rusted metal staircase to a non-descript tower, she checked—for perhaps the tenth time or more—to ensure that the one bullet remained.
She would not be
eaten alive. If it came to it…
11
The Geek’s Girl
Aleah came in behind Angel and swept the room just as she had been taught. From her crouched position, she felt Jan move in behind her. The trip to the hospital had been uneventful. In fact, it had been strangely void of any zombie movement. They had not even spied one in the distance or encountered a single lone shambler when they cut through residential areas.
However, that lack of any movement was only part of the reason for the concern. It was obvious that zombies had been active in the area. There were furrows and packed down trails where singles and groups had passed through. And even more peculiar, they all looked to be heading in the same direction—to the northeast. And as they moved further into the actual city, the tracks adjusted accordingly.
“I wish Kevin were here,” Aleah had said when they stopped for a little food and water. “I can’t really explain it any better than to say his mind is dialed in to this stuff.”
“I don’t think I need anybody to tell me that something obviously drew the zoms out and away. Beyond that…I don’t care. That just means less chance of me getting bit,” Angel said with a shrug.
“Yeah…but something like this…it just seems so…odd,” Aleah said as she got up and did her best to scan the area visually.
The big problem was that everything was white, or a shade thereof. You could make out some of the larger areas that were stomped down, but it was still hard to see much definition past fifty or so yards.
“Maybe the hospital will be empty,” Catie Rose, one of the soldiers that accompanied them on this mission, offered.
Aleah actually liked Catie; she had a definite accent that gave her away as being from the South. Even better, she was easy going and did not treat or talk to Aleah like she was just along for the ride.
“Don’t count on it, Tootsie Roll,” Jan scoffed, giving the younger soldier a playful shove. “In fact, if the entire city emptied itself of the zoms, the only place they would still be is the one place we are going. That’s just the way that it works.”
“You might want to be thankful that there will still be wal…” Aleah paused and caught herself. If she was going to fit in, she needed to try and use the soldiers’ terminology. “If the zoms have all left the hospital, it would mean that they knew how to open doors because, other than taking a several story plunge, there is no way they could get out of the upper levels.”
She glanced around the group waiting for some sign of ridicule or exasperation. What she saw were thoughtful looks and slow nods of agreement. Hey, she thought, maybe hanging around Kevin is starting to rub off.
They had headed across town to the hospital in silence. The entire way, Aleah tried to pick out landmarks from their run earlier. Nothing seemed familiar and that was as disorienting as it was unsettling. In fact, the farther into the city they had pushed, the more claustrophobic it had begun to feel.
By the time they actually reached the hospital, Aleah was exhausted. During their last break before making their run, Catie slid down and sat beside Aleah.
They passed a canteen back and forth for a moment before Catie spoke. “That adrenaline lag is the worst your first few times.”
“Huh?” Aleah said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and passed the canteen of warm water back.
“You get all amped up with adrenaline and then it goes away. Leaves you feeling so damn tired. No wonder so many of the old timers popped pills back in the day.”
“Pills?”
“To put it bluntly…speed, they might have called them ‘energy pills’ or some other nonsense, but my daddy knew it for what it was and didn’t even hide it,” Catie explained with her easy drawl.
“So is that what you guys do?” Aleah asked.
“Not in today’s Army,” Catie said with a chuckle. “Good thing, too, not very many folks making them these days. We’d all be going through withdrawals.”
“So what do you do?”
“Get used to it as much as you can.”
With that Jan had called them all to move out. A few minutes later, they were at the devastated entrance to the hospital. After circling the entire building, it was decided that one entrance was just as good as any other.
They had stepped through the shattered glass and made it to the admittance desk when the first creeper came out from under a knocked over soda machine right beside Aleah. She had driven her blade into it without thinking. That single action seemed to have put the soldiers at ease with her.
It took a few minutes of scanning a large wall directory, but eventually they knew where their target was located. They would need to go upstairs and, if looking at the wall-mounted map of the facility could be relied upon, they would have to go to the third floor.
The stairwell was right across the entry lobby and the door was intact. They made it up to the third floor where the prosthetics lab would be located. Up to that point, it had been relatively uneventful. They had stopped just outside the door and Jan motioned Angel to take point.
Opening the door proved to be their first obstacle. It was locked. That demonstrated almost no problem for the soldier that Jan summoned forward. However, the heavy chain on the other side that somebody had used to secure the door required more energy. Worse still, just the sound of the links moving back and forth seemed to be thunderous. They barely had the time to slip the bolt cutters through and cut the chain when the first few zombies staggered up.
Taking them down was easy enough, but the sounds of more could be heard echoing in the halls. The building was in the shape of a cube. From where they entered, they could only see the hallway stretch to their left and right.
They were in the southeast corner stairwell. Looking right, or north, the hallway had four corridors until it reached the end and took a ninety degree left turn. Looking left, or west, it was the same thing except it turned right at the end.
“According to this,” Sergeant Jan Sieber waved the crude sketch that she had made of the floor “we go north and turn at the second hallway. The lab should the fifth door on the right. Catie, post up here in the doorway. You have our back, if we get cut off, you bug out. Sound the noisemaker if we need to pull back on the double-time, we will be asses and elbows to your location.”
They had moved up the outer corridor in single-file. Aleah shot a glance down the first offshoot that they passed. She could not see a thing. It was pitch black after about ten feet or so as the ambient light coming in through the windows was gobbled up by the darkness. She thought she saw something step into the edge of the gloom, but just that quick it was gone.
They took their corner and everybody switched on their helmet mounted LEDs. When they had loaded out, Aleah asked about night vision goggles.
“You got a generator in your butt?” one of the other soldiers had said with a laugh. “Those things don’t run on wishes and sunshine, NUB.” Catie had been the one to tell her that ‘NUB’ was a military acronym for “Non-Useful Body.”
They took positions on either side of the hallway. Dark figures were coming their way. Slowly they went from black, to gray, to full-color depictions of a mix of doctors, nurses, patients and others. They reached the door they sought and only had to take down a few in the process.
One of the soldiers moved in with something that looked like a souped-up screwdriver and had the door unlocked in an instant. The room had no windows, so it was dark. Other than a musty odor, there was no stench that indicated any of the undead remained in this particular room. Everybody except the one who had opened the door filed in.
“Okay, gather up all the stuff on the lists. Call it out as you get it and I will cross it off,” Sergeant Sieber announced.
Everybody got busy and made short work of the list. Every so often Aleah heard a scuffle from the door as the soldier in position took down any zombie that wandered up to investigate. Aleah was feeling pretty good about the operation. In fact, she could not recall any time past where
things had gone so smoothly. Now all they had to do was hit a few of the secondary targets and be on their way…nothing to it. A voice in the back of her mind whispered, Way to jinx it.
On cue, the sound of an air horn made everybody jump. The noisemaker had been sounded.
“Looks like the party is over, girls,” the sergeant called out. “We are outta here.”
They filed out. Aleah paused as she exited into the hall. There had to be at least a dozen bodies littering the floor. While she had certainly had plenty of experience taking down zombies, she could not help but admire the matter-of-fact manner in which these soldiers tended to their business.
The group was heading down the stairwell when a loud explosion shook the building. Fortunately they were between the final switchback and ground floor landing, otherwise somebody could have been seriously hurt. As it was Angel, who was taking up the rear, lost her footing and fell forward. Her left arm made a sickening crack as she slammed to the concrete pad at the bottom of the stairwell. Her cry was drowned out by a second blast.
“What the hell is that?” one of the soldiers yelled.
“Sooner we get outside, the sooner we find out,” Sergeant Seiber snapped. “Now move your asses!”
The women filed out, Catie and Aleah helping Angel to her feet. Not thinking, Aleah grabbed under Angel’s left arm. The woman yelped and pulled away despite the fact that the pain made her knees buckle.
“Sorry,” Aleah cried, stepping back and raising her hands to show she was not going to touch the woman again.
The seven arrived in the waiting room to discover the few windows that remained had all shattered. The sergeant moved to the empty window frame on the left and peered outside.
“What the…” was all she managed before another explosion drowned her out.
As a group they all had to move out to the parking lot to see anything other than the wisps of smoke carrying their way on the wind. They were on a slight rise looking down into what was once a mostly industrial area. A huge rail yard was at the base of the hill along with snow-covered warehouses of all shapes and sizes.