"Wow," Jeremy said, astonished. "That was incredible."
"Is it dead?" Tanya whispered.
"Looks like it," Luna said. She prodded the creature's midsection with a stick. It didn't budge or make a sound. "Good work, girl. I was worried that our knight in shining armour was the best weapon at our disposal."
"It was a good idea," Jeremy retorted. "Well, in theory it was."
"I'm sure that would have been a great comfort to me as that troll tore me apart and ate me," Luna snorted and giggled.
"Let's just move on," Tanya said. She stared off into the distance uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.
"I just killed a living creature," she replied. "It was one thing when it was just zombies that we were dealing with. Even if they look human, I know they're really not. But this thing was a living, breathing, thinking creature. It may not have been good, and in fact seems to have been very evil, but even so...I took it upon myself to end the life of one of God's creatures. I...I had no right to do that, even if it was to save our lives. I don't want to dwell on it. Let's go."
"You did the right thing," Jeremy said, placing his hand gently upon her shoulder. "And if you want to move on, I won't blame you. I guess we're on foot now, so we'd better get moving."
The trio crossed the bridge and stepped into the embrace of the forest beyond.
Chapter 6
Day 5 – 18:45:00 CST
Outskirts of Regina, Saskatchewan
The path through the forest was long and unnerving; although the trio had expected danger to lurk at every turn, it had actually proven to be the quietest part of their journey. It took nearly a full day to hike through the forest's underbrush and arrive at its edge, within sight of a large sign that welcomed them to Regina. Dusk was rapidly approaching, lighting the gleaming glass of the city in the distance a glaring orange. Two lanes of highway, separated by a steep ditch, lead towards the outskirts of the city. Empty and dead vehicles dotted the mostly-empty roads, their former drivers nowhere to be seen. Their journey around the base of the mountain ended as the slope tapered off into the familiar flat prairie landscape.
"This must be Victoria Avenue," Jeremy said, trying to recall the last time he'd visited the city. "It should take us all the way downtown. From there, we can head south down Broad Street to Wascana Park, and we'll be at the Legislature before we know it."
"So in a city where there are now potentially hundreds of thousands of zombies wandering the streets," Luna said, "our plan is to walk through the areas that were once most heavily populated - where those creatures are most likely to be - to make our way to a military base that may or may not have any survivors, and which may or may not provide any useful shelter for us? And we're going to do all this at dark, since the sun is about to set. Does this strike anyone else as a bad idea?"
"I don't think we have much choice," Tanya replied. "No matter what route we take, it's going to be dangerous, and there's going to be the chance of attracting unwanted attention. If that's what we have to deal with, we may as well take the most direct route."
"Why not take Ring Road south towards the University, and then cut west to the Legislature? It's a lot more open, easy to navigate, and seems like it should be safer."
Regina was a small city, with simple topology - despite not having visited it on any kind of regular basis, Jeremy was familiar with its basic layout. Ring Road was a highway that encircled the city, while Victoria avenue ran directly through the heart of the city. The city was also bifurcated by a pair of streets running north and south, Albert and Broad. The Legislature, their ultimate destination, was in the southern end of the city, south of downtown (which Victoria Avenue ran through the heart of).
"If it's open and easy to navigate for us," Jeremy remarked, "then it's also open and easy to navigate for the very zombies we're trying to avoid. Amongst the buildings and alleyways downtown, and everywhere between here and there, we've got a better chance of getting a tactical advantage if there is high ground and cover. We won't find that in the middle of the road, and depending on how much damage has been done to the city's infrastructure, we may not be able to rely on streetlights - so we'd be right out in the open with no way of seeing a horde of undead sneaking up on us."
"I guess that makes sense," Luna said, shrugging her shoulders. "Are we going to find somewhere to hole up for the night?"
"That seems like a good idea," Jeremy said. Tanya nodded in agreement.
The trio set out down Victoria Avenue, walking down the middle of the deserted road. They passed several large retail outlets - big box stores that offered little protection or cover from potential attackers. As they finally passed the proliferation of massive retail fronts, they saw a large mall on their left, designated as Victoria Square Mall by the large sign out front. Jeremy gestured at it, and the trio stopped to discuss their options in front of a pair of cars that had collided in the middle of the street; one driver still sat behind her steering wheel, slumped over in motionless repose.
“What about the mall?" Jeremy asked. "It's close quarters, but lots of stores, plenty of cover, and if we choose our location well, we should be able to find somewhere to barricade ourselves that can be easily escaped in case of an overwhelming attack."
“I don't like it," Luna said. "It's too confined, and it'd be too easy for a crowd of zombies to back us into a corner where we're totally defenseless. We need to do something like we did back in Stoughton - a nice open roof somewhere. Those things can't seem to climb walls, and if we barricade off other entrances, it should give us a nice place to rest where we can see them coming."
Jeremy leaned against the driver's side window of the nearest of the crashed vehicles, pursing his lips as he gazed at the nearby mall. He turned the ideas over in his mind, weighing the pros and cons of Luna's suggestion. His deliberations were interrupted by a sudden pounding on the glass behind his back; startled, he leaped forward just in time to avoid the claw-like hands of the formerly still driver as they smashed through the window, grasping at air in a vain attempt to grab at him. Although still restrained by a seat belt, the animated corpse of the driver groaned and struggled to free herself. The struggles of the zombie were put to an end before the trio had a chance to truly react to its sudden reanimation as a distant -crack- coincided with the explosion of the creature's head. Jeremy, Luna, and Tanya all dropped to a crouch and spun around, gazing in each direction around them in an effort to find the source of the gunshot that had killed the zombie in front of them. They did not need to look for long, as Tanya quickly spotted the mystery sniper waving at them from atop a nearby fast food restaurant.
"Think he plans on doing the same thing to us?" Luna wasn't sure whether to laugh or shudder as she spoke.
"I think he knows that we're still human, if that's any consolation," Jeremy wasn't any more confident about the gunman's intentions.
"I'm fairly sure that if he wanted us dead, we'd be dead already," Tanya said. "Maybe we should go talk to him."
With no apparent choice in the matter, the trio set out across a grassy ditch which separated them from the parking lot in front of the building where the sniper was perched. As they approached, the mysterious sniper called down to them in an authoratative voice.
"I'm going to lower a ladder," he called. "Climb up slowly, and keep any weapons holstered. Don't worry - I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to make sure you feel the same."
"Believe me," Luna called up, "it's just nice to see another living, breathing human. We're unarmed."
A rope ladder dropped over the side of the building, and the sniper leaned over the edge and waved them up. Jeremy's stomach sank when he saw that the sniper was dressed in the same green camouflage that the soldiers they had encountered in Estevan wore. He caught Tanya by the arm and whispered in her ear.
"We can't go up there. What if he's the same as the last soldiers we ran into? We're unarmed, and climbing up a ladder to a sniper's perch where we know t
hat he's armed. We could be walking right into a trap!"
"Maybe," Tanya whispered, turning her head in so that her lips brushed against Jeremy's left ear. A tingle rushed through his entire body at the contact, and for a moment he completely forgot his concerns. "But what choice do we have? He's armed, and honestly, if he wanted us dead, he could have taken us out at the same time as the zombie, and we never would have known he was there. If he was really sadistic, he could have let the zombie take us by surprise, and then put a few rounds in each of our bodies just to be safe."
“I'm not sure that killing us is the worst thing he could have in store,” Jeremy muttered under his breath.
Reluctantly, Jeremy turned and began to climb the rope ladder. It twisted and swayed sharply; Luna was so eager to see another living person that she had scaled halfway up the ladder before Jeremy took his first step. The twisting motion of the ladder was awkward, but the trip was short enough that there was no need to become accustomed to it before they found themselves pulled up to the rooftop by the sniper. As he pulled Jeremy off the ladder and let him down on the roof, the sniper clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. He shuddered involuntarily, half-expecting the apparently friendly gesture to be followed up by something more violent, but that did not happen.
The sniper's roost was more elaborate than Jeremy had been expecting. The ledge facing towards Victoria Avenue was bare except for a tripod-mounted rifle; the adjacent ledges were lined with wooden crates marked with mysterious letters and numbers, and in the middle of the rooftop was a tarp raised overhead on four plastic rods. The shade underneath the tarp partially obscured a folding chair, and a small pile of books. Beside the soldier's rifle lay an open case of beer and a two-way radio.
After giving them a moment to take in their surroundings, the sniper addressed them.
"Good evening, ladies and gentleman," he flourished and bowed with a silly grin. "I am Private Kyle Grummet, and I'm here to provide overwatch on the road in case some fine people like yourselves manage to make it to the city. As I'm sure you know, we sent patrols around the province, directing civilians to shelter here whenever possible. You're the first that I've seen make it this far, and frankly, I'm surprised that you did. Fortunately, you're here now, and I've got some good news.
"A temporary base has been established in the middle of the city to provide safe harbour for you; I am to direct all civilians there, where you will be interviewed and then transported off site to a secure facility where you won't be at risk from these creatures that roam the streets.
"That was the good news," he said, holding up a hand to silence any interruptions. "The bad news is that it won't be an easy trip. Safe harbour is at Fort Majesty, established at the Legislature, several kilometers southwest of here. The roads are not passable by vehicle, and I need to stay here to help anyone else that makes it this far. You'll be on your own, but that's not to say I can't offer you any help."
Private Grummet reached into one of the wooden crates nearby and rummaged around for a moment. When he turned back to face the three companions, who were all still trying to digest the information that he had provided them, he held three pistols in his hands.
"It's not much," he said with a comforting smile, "but it should help keep you safe. Nine millimeter pistols, fifteen rounds each. I can give you each an extra magazine, so thirty rounds total. Try to stay out of sight, and if you do have to use these, I have two pieces of advice: First of all, take off the safety." He flicked a small lever on the side of one of the weapons.
"Second, aim for the head. Thirty rounds each is enough to take down thirty zombies each, if you can put a bullet in each of their heads. Body shots don't seem to have any effect on the undead, and the last thing that you need to do is waste all of your ammunition taking down a single zombie.
"Any questions?"
Nobody quite seemed to know how to respond. The speech had been so smooth, so well-rehearsed, that it seemed calm and natural - given the circumstances, it was hard to argue with that.
"Have you heard any reason why all this might be happening?" Luna's question was sharp and to the point. She hefted the gun that Private Grummet had handed her as if she had a great deal of experience with that sort of weapon.
"Best guess anyone had before I left to take up my position here was an outbreak of a rapidly mutating virus of some sort," he shrugged. "Whether or not that's true is anyone's guess."
"Unless a virus is also responsible for forming a mountain range in the middle of the prairies," Jeremy said with a snort, "that's not very likely. I mean, it's possible that the zombies have been created by some sort of virus that activates dead flesh, but there must be something else behind it all. Something unnatural."
"Agreed," Tanya said. "Why else would we have these super-"
"Superb senses of direction?" Jeremy interrupted her forcefully before she could finish her thought. Her puzzled stare was met with a very slight shaking of his head, indicating that now was not the time to discuss the fact that the three of them had also turned into something not quite human.
"Okay," Private Grummet sighed. He didn't quite know what to make of the newcomers, and seemed eager to be rid of them. "Whatever helps you get through the day, I guess. As much as I wish I had the answers you’re looking for, I don’t. All I know is what was in my briefing when I was assigned this position, and that says the best guess right now is a virus. I’m sure that if it turns out to be something else, we’ll be informed when the time is right.
“Look, you'd better get going. The longer you hang out here, the more attention you risk drawing to me. I'd rather not have the most defensible position in the surrounding area overrun with zombies."
"Yeah, we'll get moving," Jeremy said. He eyed the pistol he had been given up and down. Although Estevan was home to many hunters, and had more than its share of gun owners and avid collectors, he had never been one for either hunting or gun collecting. It was probably just as well that he wasn't - the firearm was neither attractive nor particularly high-quality. Its black finish absorbed the sunlight like a sponge, and it felt like a lead weight in his hands. "Can you give us more of these? Even one would be good."
"Sorry," the Private replied. "Rules are one pistol per refugee."
"I can see why you'd need to conserve them," Jeremy's voice dripped with bitterness, "given the overwhelming numbers of survivors that you need to arm. Seriously, it's not like it'll make a difference to you, and it could be the difference between life and death for us."
"Fine," Private Grummet muttered. He tossed another pistol to Jeremy. "Take it. Now get going, and good luck."
A cold wind blew through the heart of the city, rustling leaves and scattering the errant debris that lined the road. Night had fallen while they talked with the sniper on the outskirts of the city, and the temperature had dropped as soon as the sun vanished. Although a low temperature wasn't unusual for a fall evening in central Saskatchewan, the wind seemed to cut effortlessly through the thin layers of protection their clothing offered, chilling them all to their very bones. Jeremy took slow, deliberate steps down the sidewalk, Tanya and Luna following close behind. Each footfall seemed to ring out in the night, even over the howling of the wind through alleys and shattered windows. No matter how carefully or slowly he moved, he felt as if each step was so loud that it would draw unnecessary attention to them. Thud. Thud. Thud. He swallowed the bitter fear that was rising in his throat and found the strength to take another step. Thud.
Regina was a small city, in the grand scheme of things, although to a man and two women who had been born and raised in the rural prairies, it felt like a vast metropolis even when it had been lively and normal. Now desolate and abandoned, the absence of background noise was overwhelming. Surrounded on all sides by cars, houses, and the looming shadow of the towering buildings downtown, the absence of voices and roaring engines left the city feeling like a hollow shell of what it once was. Even the reassuring hum of the streetlights and po
wer lines had been reduced to a staccato crackle as lights overheard flickered and blinked. There, walking down the arteries of the biggest city he had ever visited before, Jeremy felt more abandoned and alone than he ever had in his life. Even the company of Luna and Tanya didn't change this - even as he felt the tug and pull of Tanya's barely-disguised trepidation tugging at his heartstrings, and the urge to comfort her, he walked on. Thud. Thud. Thud. He watched the street names that they passed by, trying desperately to remember the layout of the city as they went. Coleman Crescent, intersecting Victoria Avenue and leading off into darkened residential streets to the north and quiet, menacing commercial shopping centers to the south. Truesdale Drive, leading south past a large shopping mall, and a handful of restaurants and home improvement stores. He hesitated when he caught sight of a familiar street - Ring Road. A highway that encircled the city, it crossed over top of Victoria Avenue, and where Jeremy assumed there would be bright lights illuminating the underside of the overpass, there was only darkness. Although the overpass only covered several dozen meters, the pool of darkness was absolutely impenetrable. Halting in the middle of the road, he let Tanya and Luna close the gap between them, and conferred with his companions.
"If this was a horror movie, this would be the perfect setup for disaster. Complete darkness, enclosed space, and ravenous monsters hungry for human flesh...that's just asking for trouble."
"I don't hear anything," Luna cocked her head in the direction of the overpass. "It's not like they're typically quiet creatures. I'm sure we'd hear moaning and groaning if there were zombies under there."
"We can't just stop here," Tanya's voice hinted at trepidation. "We're too exposed."
In his heart, Jeremy knew that she was right. As much as he didn't want to descend into that darkened underpass, they were standing in the middle of a wide street, visible from every side. It would be all too easy for a wandering zombie to spot them from a distance. Before they knew it, they could be swarmed by the creatures and torn to shreds without any hope of finding cover.
The Dead Rise Page 12