by Brown, TW
The zombies would not even get two steps in before he and Jane were over the fence and dashing across the next unkempt yard. As they reached the next fence, there was a sudden flurry of barks and moans. One pitiful yelp cut through the rest of the noise causing Kevin to wince inwardly.
At last they had made it to the barricade that had sealed this place off from the rest of the world to no avail. Kevin could not help but think of the downfall of this place as they ran. Despite his claims of not caring, his mind ran through the most likely scenario. The residents of this place had come together and tried to create a safe zone. Many of them obviously had children.
Catie and her group were already waiting for Kevin and Jane since all they’d had to do was turn around and sprint back up the road. The looks of concern were obvious when Kevin and Jane appeared with no sign of Manuel or Jose.
“Where are the others?” Jill asked as soon as Kevin and Jane pulled up.
“They…went…after…the…children,” Kevin panted. He waved away the follow up questions until he could catch his breath. Once he could talk and not feel like he was starving for oxygen, he explained how the two men were convinced that the child zombies were actually demons from Hell.
“And you just let them charge in alone?” Bill asked. He took two steps past Kevin, obviously intending to go after the pair.
“If you go in there, you go alone, and you probably don’t return,” Kevin said to the man’s back. “There are close to a thousand zombies in there. I know there are at least forty or so children.”
“So we just leave those men to die?” Bill spun on Kevin, fists clenched.
“Look, you haven’t been out here in all of this very much. Maybe you made a few runs when you were back at that compound, but out here…things are different. You do what you want, but I’m not going back in there.” Kevin stared the larger man down. He watched as the spirit seeped from the man’s eyes. He knew what Kevin was saying to be true.
“Let’s get back to the others,” Catie said, stepping between the men to ensure the discussion was officially over.
The group turned and began heading up the highway. They had gotten less than a dozen steps when a voice called from behind them.
“Hola, amigos!”
They all turned to see Manuel and Jose jogging their direction. By the time they closed half the distance, it was clear each was carrying something.
The two stopped a few feet from the group and both held up a puppy in each hand with smiles beaming on their faces. Kevin scowled but remained silent. The men spoke quickly; when they finished, Jane turned and filled everybody in.
“They say that it is now okay to return for supplies. They have sent the demons back to Hell and given the children their peace. Also…” she glanced at Kevin, “…the mother of the puppies is dead. She was torn apart protecting her pups. Jose says that he knows Mister Dreon does not approve, but he and Manuel promise that, if need be, they will share their own rations with the pups. They say that if these little ones fight anything like their mother, it will be a worthy sacrifice.”
“Then let’s go finish what we came for,” Kevin finally agreed. “Even though these two say they got all the children, you still need to keep your eyes peeled just in case.”
His warning was all for naught. The group spent the remainder of the day taking down every remaining zombie within the confines of the poorly constructed walls. By that evening, the rest of the group had been brought up to camp for the night.
The conversation at dinner was upbeat and positive. Everybody was all smiles and laughter. The four puppies were a large source of happiness for everyone—even Kevin. Somewhere along the line, Rose produced four pieces of different colored yarn and tied a piece around each pup’s neck.
“For now, we can call them Red, Purple, Green, and Black,” the girl announced.
For the next two days, the group remained vigilant for any zombies that might have been missed, but things remained blissfully uneventful. Everybody worked in teams to round up supplies. Kevin, Bill, and Jill found bicycles and built three carts that could be pulled.
Kevin knew it was unlikely that the bikes and carts would last long, it seemed that every time they got into a groove, something came along to derail it, but at least they could make some good time while the luxury was available.
Four days later, they were back on the road headed west along Highway 38, which they had discovered to also be called the Lincoln Highway. They had only travelled one day when signs indicated that a larger city loomed ahead. However, it was not the city that had them concerned, it was the series of signs that had been put up.
“Continue at your own peril,” Rose read the large black letters painted across the stripped roadside billboard. “Guess they probably aren’t friendly.”
Kevin produced the road atlas they had picked up at a gas station and began tracing things with his finger. At last he looked up at the group. “We can go south and hook up with Interstate 88. It isn’t too far out of the way. That can take us all the way to Davenport. From there, we can follow Interstate 80 until it reaches Interstate 29. That will take us all the way to Sioux City where we swing north for the final stretch to Sioux Falls. There are a few major cities along the way, but we can probably skirt them without going too far from the beaten path.
“I think the interstates offer us the fastest way possible. However, if we take a more direct route, we could possibly cut the time in half. The problem will be the likelihood that some of the lesser roads may have washed out.”
The group gathered around as Kevin laid out the possibilities. When he finished, he put it to a vote. Despite the fact that it would take them out of their way a good distance, the consensus was to stick close to the interstates. Everybody felt that having the bicycles for as long as they could was a real plus. If they were lucky (which none of them believed to be the case), they could reach Sioux City in just a couple of weeks. As it was, the hope was maybe within a month.
They were just about to resume their journey when a scream sounded from beyond some trees to the south of their location. Everybody jumped at the initial scare, but seconds later, Bill, Barney, Jill and Catie had dropped their bicycles and took off towards the direction of the noise.
“Everybody move into that field,” Kevin pointed to what might have once been a massive corn field, but was now a jungle of sorts. “Don’t go any further than where you can still see the road. Adam, Selma, you come with me.”
Kevin took off on his bicycle past where the scream had come. His plan was to move in from the other side. He felt the rush of adrenaline course through him as he pumped the pedals. Once he was about a hundred yards beyond the cluster of trees where Catie and the others were just now disappearing, Kevin ditched his bicycle. His mind was warring with his decision to simply charge in to a situation blindly. He knew that never ended well. Yet, he had found a new source of invigoration since the addition of the people from the compound. For some reason he could not put a finger on, things felt different; and ever since they had re-committed to travelling to South Dakota, he just believed that they would succeed.
Wading through the tall grass, Kevin had drawn one of the pistols. While it had been generally agreed that firearms were the weapon of last resort, he could not be sure of what he was rushing into and had no desire to perish because his best line of defense was in its holster.
Just ahead, he heard the sounds of a scuffle. He heard a roar that sounded like Bill and something wooden being shattered. When he broke through the thickest of the trees and brush he found Bill, Catie, Barney, and Jill taking down a dozen walkers. However, that was not what drew his main focus. Up in a tree were three children between the ages of twelve and mid-teens. They were clustered together and crying. His eyes followed their gaze and he spied a fourth young girl that had been savaged.
With a sigh he waded in to help finish off the zombies. He kept a wary eye on the dead girl, knowing that she would sit up at any moment
.
The last of the zombies was taken down and Kevin moved next to Catie, whispering for her to gain the attention of the children. Without trying to draw too much attention, Kevin slid his blade free and moved to the downed girl. Just as he reached her side, the eyes opened. He was about to strike when he saw what he was almost certain to be a furrow of the forehead as if the thing were afraid. That was all it took to make him pause long enough for the creature to let loose with a mewling baby cry.
Kevin struck, but he heard the scream of protest from the children in the tree as he did so. Turning, he saw that Bill had caught one of the children and was holding him back. The boy, by appearances, the youngest of the bunch, was struggling and flailing at the big man.
“Don’t hurt my sister!” he howled through the tears.
The other two in the tree had not come down yet and were now crying hysterically. Kevin moved away from the now dead body of the girl and tried to approach Bill and the boy. As soon as he took a step, the young man increased his thrashing and began to hurl threats at Kevin.
“She was dead,” Kevin said, trying to reason with the lad.
“She ain’t allergic to zombie bites,” the boy shot back. “You killed her and I’m gonna kill you.”
Kevin glanced at Catie who made a slight twitch with her head indicating that Kevin should withdraw. He looked around and decided that he was doing more harm than good and turned to leave. He heard somebody come up behind and glanced to notice Barney joining him.
“What the hell do you think was going on?” the man asked as he fell in step with Kevin.
“No idea.”
“But that was some kids out by themselves. That just doesn’t seem right.”
“Not the first time,” Kevin said with a laugh. When he realized that Barney was staring at him with obvious confusion, Kevin gave a brief rundown of how Rose had become a part of the group.
“Jesus…a whole mob of juvenile delinquents. That must have been a handful.”
Kevin didn’t bother explaining that he’d had more trouble with the adults of Barney’s prior residence than he’d had with the so-called delinquents.
Picking up his bike, Kevin started to pedal back to the others. Barney followed and finally Kevin turned to the man. “How come you aren’t back there helping the others with that situation?”
“I hate kids,” the man said with a shrug.
As Kevin coasted to a stop where those he’d left behind started to emerge, he noticed a look on Aleah’s face that told him he might be in a bit of trouble. Since this was obviously one of those days, he decided it would be best to just find out what it was now and hopefully be done with it.
Laying his bicycle down, Kevin went straight to Aleah and took her by the arm, leading her away from the group. He noticed Rose and Heather standing close together whispering. That was never a good sign.
“So what is wrong?” Kevin decided to get straight to whatever might be the issue.
“Do you plan on leaving me out of every single run now? Am I supposed to just stay back, tend the fires, watch the camp, that sort of thing?”
Kevin looked at her with a look of absolute confusion. He had no idea what she was talking about…at first. However, as he stood there staring at her while she glared back with arms clutched tight across her belly…it dawned.
Crap, he thought.
“Okay, first off, I wasn’t even thinking about whatever it is you may believe I was doing. Honestly, I was just…” his voice faded as he spoke. Maybe he had not been doing anything on purpose, but perhaps his subconscious was involved.
“Just because I am not one of the people who are immune, that does not mean I can’t pull my share of the duties.”
Kevin tried to flash a smile. Aleah’s scowl deepened. “And what do you find so amusing?”
“You said duties.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Potty humor? Really? Isn’t that a little beneath you?”
“Look,” Kevin took a deep breath and let it out with a huff, “I wasn’t trying to keep you back or anything. It just worked out that way. But now that you bring up the point, what would it matter? Seriously, is there anything wrong with trying to keep you safe? We are short on supplies when it comes to protection. You don’t have goggles or even a good set of gloves. We know that this stuff can be passed on by ways other than just being bitten. Until you can get some protective gear, would it be so terrible if you stayed back unless absolutely necessary?”
Aleah dropped her head and Kevin moved close to take her in his arms. She stiffened for an instant, but eventually she let him hold her close.
As he held her, Kevin was reminded of another way in which he had to protect her. He felt his stomach tighten as the reality that they could no longer be intimate flickered and tried to burn its way through his soul. Kevin shoved it down and refused to let it gain any traction.
“So are we all good?” Heather’s voice seeped in and helped wash away all of the thoughts that were trying to gain a footing despite Kevin’s desire to keep them at bay.
Looking down at Aleah with a raised eyebrow, Kevin thought it might be a good idea if she answer that question; mostly due to the fact that he was not really certain if he’d said the right things or not.
“We’re good,” Aleah said, not making any move to separate from Kevin’s embrace.
“Great, because the rest of the group is returning, and they don’t look happy,” Rose warned.
Kevin moved so that his arm was still around Aleah, for some reason, he just wasn’t ready to end their physical contact. He scanned the faces of those returning. They all had grim expressions, but Bill looked just plain pissed and Catie was…smirking?
“The little bastard bit me!” Bill snarled, bringing his arm up and waving it around as he continued to rant. “I tried to get the little brat to calm down and tell me who he was and where their parents or any adults might be and he bit me…and he knew enough to tug my jacket up so he could get flesh.”
“More immunes, all of the kids had healed bites,” Catie reported, nudging the much larger man aside. “Best I can tell, they are over in that huge building across the field. But these folks ain’t playing. They have the place rigged. Actually rather impressive from what I saw.”
“Where are the kids now?” Kevin asked.
“They bolted for the field. It was just through the trees on the other side. There is a fence, but the other side is where it gets interesting. A few dozen zombies wearing headgear wander that field. Also, the kids were running in a zigging pattern that leads me to believe they were avoiding certain areas which would indicate there are probably an assortment of traps lacing the ground.” Kevin noted the admiration in Catie’s voice as she recounted what she saw. “I didn’t get a really good look, but there are towers built up on top of a massive warehouse building.”
“That is the Target distribution center,” Selma Maxwell announced. All eyes turned her way. “My husband drove trucks,” she explained after she got over the sudden intense scrutiny that had been directed at her. “Mostly short runs around the state. Sometimes I went along in the summer just to be out of the house. I thought the area looked familiar.”
“So…” Kevin addressed the group, “do we try to make contact, or do we just go around, give this place a wide berth, and continue on our way?”
The debate was short and sweet. A unanimous vote to just resume the trip and leave these people came with no dissension. Kevin listened as the folks from the compound he’d recently been a captive of expressed that if these folks were in fact immune, then they might be intentionally isolating themselves from everybody else. Also, the signs were probably their doing, which indicated further that they were not receptive or hospitable to strangers.
They skirted south and were back on the interstate within a few hours. As the skyline of what signs indicated to be the city of Rochelle, Illinois began to loom on the horizon, Kevin called for them to find a place to camp. They decided to stop for
the night atop the overpass of the cloverleaf interchange where Interstates 88 and 39 met just east of town. First thing in the morning, they would venture forth. Kevin wanted to try and find gear for everybody and explained how those not immune needed proper eye protection and such so that everybody could participate in scouting and supply runs.
Rose and Aleah smiled at each other in satisfaction. Both had been a little chafed the past few days as they had been left out of anything that had to do with a job that might bring them in proximity of zombies.
Camp was made and watch was set as meals were assembled. Kevin noticed an interesting divide in the camp beginning to form. Heather, Aleah, Rose and Jill sat together; Adam and Dr. Reno sat together; Jane sat with Jose and Manuel; Bill sat alone, and everybody else sat in a loose group. He would keep his eyes on things. He did not want fractures in the unity of his new tribe.
***
The next several days went by with a remarkable lack of excitement. They made it a habit to skirt larger towns as they continued the trek west. Twice they had to find a place to hide when herds were spotted. One rivalled the herd from back in Chicago and Kevin estimated its numbers in the hundreds of thousands.
As they ventured deep into Iowa, Kevin began to think that just maybe they would reach their destination. However, every time his mind went down that path, Kevin stifled it as quickly as he was able. For some reason he was becoming very superstitious and began to worry that the moment he allowed optimism to rear its head, he would invite absolute disaster.
Nights were spent in everything from barns to a mansion that, according to the items they discovered, belonged to a fairly well known rock star. Kevin had never heard of the man, but Catie seemed to be a bit of a fan and spent that night roaming the house looking at everything which led to her being a tad tired and cranky the next day.
As they continued to make good time, Kevin noticed that the divisions he observed during meals were now spilling over to when they travelled…with one exception. David Semmet and Heather had started to ride together. Also, Cherish Brandini was following Bill around like a puppy. Bill seemed not to notice.