by Brown, TW
“Let’s go.”
She actually clapped her hands and squealed with excitement. Together, they tromped into the woods. Less than a couple hundred yards in, they came upon something that had Chad scratching his head. Smoke was seeping up seemingly from the ground itself. There was no sign of snow in a large circular area that extended well into the woods. Just to the left was an open hole in the ground that contributed a good majority of the smoke to the scene. Also, orange flames licked up from the rectangular opening.
“What is this, Dad?” Ronni turned to Chad, the confusion he felt mirrored perfectly in her expression.
“I am gonna go out on a limb and say this is some sort of underground bunker,” he finally offered with a weak shrug.
“Thanks for that observation, Mister Obvious,” Ronni quipped.
Chad started forward, veering towards the opening. Ronni hurried to move in beside him and both of them had their crossbows drawn, loaded, and ready. They got to within about twenty or thirty feet when the smoke became too thick for them to go any closer.
“What do we do?” Ronni pulled the collar of her shirt up over her face to try and filter some of the smoke.
“Well…we can walk the perimeter, see if there is another way in.” Chad mentally slapped his forehead. What on earth was he doing?
He was actually relieved when she accepted that idea as a good one. Of course, his hope was that they would find no other viable entry. They could abandon this place and report it when they returned to the camping area. His daughter would be happy that he let her have this foray into the woods, and he would be able to enjoy this little vacation.
“Is that an entrance?” Ronni grabbed Chad by the arm and pointed.
Sure enough, just ahead was a hollowed out tree. If they would have come from any other angle, it is unlikely that they would have seen it. Instead, they were looking directly into the trunk of what had once been a massive tree. Somebody had gone to considerable effort to make this look like any other tree that had been hit by lightning. The top was jagged and well weathered. It did not stand out at all other than the crease right where it looked like the tree sort of folded in on itself just a little.
“You watch my back, I will take a peek,” Chad finally said. Ronni opened her mouth, but he held up a finger to silence her. “This is not up for debate.”
“Fine,” she agreed with only the slightest stomp of her foot actually giving away her displeasure.
Chad knew that a bow of any sort would likely be useless at this point. He drew his belt knife and pulled out a cloth-wrapped torch. Just before he reached the tree, he lit the torch. It gave off just enough flame to see ten or so feet, but he wasn’t planning on needing much more than that.
He could smell it before he even reached the tree entrance—the undead. It had been a long time since he smelled them in such a heavy concentration. He glanced over his shoulder at his daughter and saw her watching him with a curious fascination.
“Let’s go,” Ronni hissed suddenly. Her expression had changed from curious and excited to a look of uncertainty and concern.
Chad stopped. He was less than six paces from that tree. He agreed whole-heartedly with her choice of action, however, now that he was this close, he could not help it; he had to know what was here. If anything, this definitely merited being reported to the people in charge of the security of the campground. If there were zombies in the area in any real numbers, they should be made aware.
He took another step closer, and now it was his daughter insisting that he not do this. Chad almost laughed at the situation. He was at the tree and thrusting the torch inside the hollowed out entrance. There was a narrow passage carved into the ground that sloped downwards. This had to be some sort of underground bunker or perhaps a tunnel complex. He could not see far, and the fact that the passage was eventually consumed by the darkness let him know that it went back a ways.
He was just pulling his arm back when a scream echoed from that darkness. There was a flash of light deep down the incredibly long passage. The image that was almost burned into Chad’s eyes was horrifying.
***
“You can’t be serious,” Selina gasped.
“Afraid so,” Jody said as he went through his checklist.
It had been a while since he had gone out into the wasteland beyond their little community and its safety corridor. He had forgotten how much crap a person had to carry for even the shortest trips. Things were markedly different from the old days when you could count on slipping into an abandoned house or two to re-supply. These days, you had to live off what you carried, be able to hunt, fish, or trap, as well as know what sorts of wild plants were safe to eat.
“Why can’t we just let them come to us? Or, if we do have to go after these people, why not let somebody else do it?” Selina almost pleaded. “Why does it always have to be you?”
“That’s just it,” Jody sighed. “It hasn’t been me for a while. I was just slipping into the background and letting others deal with everything.”
“So?” It was obvious that Selina did not see a problem with things the way they had been.
“Look how everything has sort of fallen off?” Jody slid his pack onto his shoulders and faced Selina. “We are not in the clear yet. The world is just now starting to settle. The problem with that is the same as it has been throughout history. There are always going to be those who want what others have, and unless you are the biggest, the baddest, and the strongest, you will fall under the heel of those who seek to reside at the top of the food chain.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why you have to be the one to lead this raid or whatever you want to call it.” Selina actually shoved him back and away from the door, planting herself firmly in his path.
“Because I want to ensure that it is done right. I want to ensure that our children have a world to grow up in that is at least marginally safe.” He placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “And this is not a raid. It is an extermination. I won’t pussyfoot around it. I don’t plan on us returning with anybody left in our wake that might be a danger.”
Selina’s mouth opened, and then snapped shut. She grabbed Jody and pulled him close, smashing his lips with hers and allowing that kiss to be an expression of not only her love, but also her anger and frustration. When he walked out the front door, Jody was still reeling just a bit, but he quickly brushed aside the sensations from that peculiar kiss that was lingering with a physical presence.
Standing in a loose formation were the eighty people from the community that would be joining him on this mission. He had no false pretense when it came to what they were about to do. His people were going to war. They were not even giving the option of diplomacy the slightest consideration.
He related all of that to the group. Despite the fact that it had been made very clear at the mandatory town meeting two nights prior, he wanted to hammer that fact home with absolute certainty. Everybody assembled answered with grim nods to the affirmative.
Satisfied, he turned to go. Glancing back, he looked up into the window of his house. Selina was standing there with his children. Alana was beside her mother and Jenna was cradled in Selina’s arms. He gave a wave and was surprised at how relieved he was when it was answered; not just by Alana who blew him a kiss as well, but also by Selina. He had been worried that her anger at his being the one to lead this mission might result in no response. If something bad were to happen to him, he did not want her to regret how they had parted ways.
Always the realist, aren’t you, Jody? he chided himself as he led his group out the main gates of the community.
They had two days of long hard travel ahead. While he had certainly doubted what the man had said about the number of inhabitants in his community, he actually believed the location that had been given. After looking at a map, he had found what was once the town of Delaplaine, Arkansas.
The location was not much more than a speck on the map; much l
ike Cash, Arkansas where Jody now called home. It stood to reason that small communities would have been the best possible locations for any potential of survival. There were even reports from wandering travelers that passed through on occasion of entire towns that had managed to come through the zombie apocalypse without losing hardly one person. These oddities were sometimes spoken of with awe, but most often with fear. To have survived intact—which included not only keeping the undead at bay, but also being able to repel the human raiders that were a plague to the landscape—these communities had to be something incredible and led by very strong people who had to most likely make some very difficult decisions in those early years.
By the time darkness fell and they made camp inside a series of abandoned grain silos, Jody was feeling every bit like the old man of the bunch. His shoulders were chafed from the straps of the pack and his feet had blisters on their blisters. He made a point to do his best to conceal his discomfort as he sat around the fire and ate dried meat, fruit, and a hunk of bread with the rest of the team.
Once he was finally able to crawl into his bedroll after the sentries were posted, he was wondering if maybe Selina had been right about his not needing to be along for this little expedition. Of course he knew that was just the fatigue and discomfort talking, but still…
***
Entry Eight—
I almost want to burn this journal. I make it a practice to make notes of my results regarding the various methods that I use when attempting to extract information. The things I have done the past few days have me wondering if I have actually lost the last shreds of my humanity.
The bloody figure in the corner is a visible accusation that I have become as bad as those I hunt. Through those first few days, this girl would not speak; she barely cried, opting instead to scream into the branch that I had jammed in between her teeth as a sort of gag. When she did finally break, she broke hard. The sobbing and the begging for me to please kill her came in between the answers to my questions.
The important information is the exact location of the compound. While it is the place I was told, apparently there are three buildings up there. They have two of them made to actually look occupied. This is just one of the traps they have in place to take down the unwary traveler.
The parking lot is another area I will need to be cautious. They have managed to conceal trip wires in the weeds that have grown up through all the cracks that have occurred due to the inclement weather and nobody maintaining them. There are a few covered pits around the perimeter, and they keep roving guards as well as lookouts in three hides that are well camouflaged in the trees.
They number eighteen individuals not including her and the young man I killed when I captured her. That will be rough, but it is certainly doable.
Once she finished giving me all the information I asked for, I spoon fed her some of the venison stew that I made using the kill she was stripping when I nabbed her. She actually fell asleep while I was feeding her, so I will get her cleaned up tomorrow.
Honestly, my gut says that I should just go ahead and kill her.
I simply can’t bring myself to do so.
Entry Nine—
It did not take long for her spirit to come back. I got all the stuff gathered for her to get cleaned up. I set it down and then told her I would untie her and let her clean herself up provided she behaved. She promised….that should have been my first clue.
The moment she was free, and had flexed her hands a few times to get the blood back into them, she lunged for me. It was like fighting a wildcat. She scratched and clawed. She even bit me. I was really thankful later that her bite never broke the skin.
Naturally I had to get her back in my control. Once I secured her, I took it upon myself to get her cleaned up. I didn’t want to undress her; that just felt inappropriate. Sure, that might sound funny coming from the guy that tortured her for information these past days, but who knows the workings of the human brain.
I will leave in the morning and see about scouting the compound. Also, I will be keeping my eyes open for any signs of a search party. That would be the best case scenario. Picking them off in smaller groups would certainly be a nice break.
Entry Ten—
Two down and a new prisoner after two very rough days. I am sort of tethered to the cabin right now since I have been unable to simply kill the girl. I can’t stay gone too long since there is no way that I can manage to rig something allowing her to drink or eat. And while she won’t starve that fast, a person can only endure a few days without water before they perish. She is at least lucky that it isn’t very hot. In fact, it looks like we will have rain coming. I will actually secure my two prisoners outside this time so that they can take in some form of moisture. It won’t be all that easy with the two-inch boughs I have secured across their mouths to keep their screams and such to a minimum in the volume department, but it is better than nothing. At least that is what I keep telling myself.
The good news for my original prisoner is that at least now she has company. Also, whether it was because the young man that I captured was simply weaker of mind, or that he saw how messed up his comrade looked and decided that resisting my interrogation was pointless; he broke within hours instead of days.
I was able to compare notes and come to the conclusion that, either they are both being truthful, or they have had a presence of mind to cook up a cover story to use in such an occasion in order to keep suspicions about deception at a minimum.
I will test this tomorrow when I head out for the compound and see about taking a few of them down and evening the odds just a bit more. They would now be down to sixteen if that bit of information pertaining to their numbers is truthful.
I did decide to ask about the Aryan thing and was chilled at the amount of racial hatred displayed by both of these kids. With everything that has happened, how could such things still exist…especially at the level I witnessed.
I was given what I am sure is some sort of “party line” about how the zombie apocalypse was God’s punishment for us refusing to heed the warning of the Tower of Babel. When I stared at them in obvious confusion, they recounted the story and said that God showed man on that day that we were not all meant to mix together. Not only did he confound them with language, but apparently this group believes that this is when he made distinct changes in our skin tone.
I know well enough than to think I can undo this programming. However, I did learn that this little band of miscreants is being run by an old man. This man is the only adult in the bunch. When I implied that such a thing opens itself to implications of inappropriateness, I got hit with more of the obvious programming. First, I was informed, it was our corrupt government that made the arbitrary decision regarding what the appropriate age of consent should be. If I wasn’t such an idiot, I would know that girls were married off in their early teens back in the early days of the United States. Also, other countries observe much younger ages as being acceptable. However, Kenneth Mead had no relations with any of his followers.
Kenneth Mead. This modern day Fagan is building his army of child assassins and indoctrinating them with separatist ideologies to make them focus on something that will justify their crimes. It seems that they make it a point to target communities that are heavily populated with non-Caucasian types. When they go in, they are told to only harm a white person if they interfere. Since most communities have ditched racial divisions a long time ago in order to place survival as the priority, I can’t imagine any community simply allowing these little demons to come in and do their thing without stepping in. As soon as they do, they become fair game.
Now I know what I need to do. Obviously I need to kill Kenneth Mead.
Entry Eleven—
It is often easy to forget that zombies still pose a threat. Sure, most of the time you encounter them in such large numbers that you can hear and smell them far enough ahead in advance that they are easy to avoid. Perhaps that is how a pair of creepers almo
st managed to end my time on this rolling space rock.
I was crawling through some brush near a stream where I had spotted three of the New Aryan delinquents. I had to lie still when one more of them joined the party. This guy walked within three feet of me and all he would have needed to do was glance to his right and I would have been spotted. That would have been a problem since my knives were all securely in their sheaths, my composite bow was over one shoulder and covered, and my tomahawk was strapped to my back.
I listened to them talk and was pleased to discover that they believed my work to be more than one person. Kenneth was insisting that everybody return to the compound and remain on “lockdown” for a few weeks until whoever these foolish people are get bored and move on {snicker}.
It was while I was on my belly feeling proud of myself that a cold, dead hand got ahold of my ankle. I looked down to see a really old zombie trying desperately to get a bite of my leg. However, between my protective gear, and the fact that the pitiful thing did not appear to have any teeth that managed to survive this long, this attack was limited to an attempt. I reached down and pulled my knife free as the thing gummed my pants leg. It barely seemed to notice as I grabbed its head and plunged my knife into the top of it. When I let go and started to look back to the stream and the children I found myself staring at the second creeper.
This one was perhaps from the first days. It was covered in moss and even had mushrooms growing off it in places. It was a moving piece of the forest floor for all intents and purposes. Once again, I was learning something new.
As you know, most zombies give off that very distinct funk. It has mellowed over the years, or maybe we just got used to it. But, much like you know the smell of a rose without having to see it, you also know when a zombie is near. These had managed to get close to me without me smelling them. They were both old, and they had a lot of growth on them. If I had to guess, I would say they were campers or hikers from back in the day, and that they turned out here in the woods and have just been drifting about in the undergrowth.