The Aftermath Trilogy (Book 3): The Aftermath [Ground Zero]

by Daniel Smith

  “Can I go to I can be of help,” Doug’s look of concern heightened as he turned to face Luke.

  “No, you're too young to go on an adventure and you need to finish eating your vegetables,” Doug said calmly.

  Sandra stopped eating her food and placed her fork on the table to look at Manny.

  “Why are you going someplace,” she started slowly. Manny finish chewing his food before responding to her.

  “We took a job helping some friends make a salvage run to Jackson.”

  Dan could see Sandra’s face start to change from, calm to worry and then to what he could only describe as a growing stare. The next two days passed in a tense and silent house as felt to Dan, Luke was his energetic self-talking about the trip and if they could bring something neat back for him. Although Dan did not feel happy, with the changes in the house lately. He smile as he took out a pencil and small notebook to asked him what he might like if he found it. He spent the next few minutes writing down everything from toys, to video games to candy. Dan finally put the notepad away when Sara reminded him it was time to help her go downtown to pick up some supplies she needed for Paramedic class as he had promised.

  Dan left the excited youth and started walking with Sara down the streets towards the stores. Dan felt a tension between them that was growing since the dinner conversation the other night. This was making him feel uneasy.

  “Are you going to Jackson, I hear it is bad,” she asked. Dan looked at her worried face.

  “Compared with what,” he asked calmly thinking he sounded like Manny. She looked at him.

  “What do you mean compared with what,” she asked puzzled. Dan was silent for a moment as they walked.

  “Bad compared to where I have already been, El Paso, Dallas, Fayette, Baton Rouge or some of the other towns I have been in,” he asked calmly as they walked. She went quiet and Dan looked over at her concerned. She was a lot like her mother and he was wondering if he said something wrong before she turned and spoke.

  “I am not sure. My mother and Doug seem unhappy with grandpa asking you to go with him,” she stated stopping. He stopped walking and turned to face her,

  “He did not ask me. I was their when they made the offer and accepted,” he stated looking at the confused look growing on her face. “Besides I would still go even if Manny asked me not to,” Dan started.

  “But why,” Sara asked quietly, Dan smiled at her.

  “People I consider friends asked me for help and they and Manny needs someone to watch their back so they can come home safely and I have done well so far,” he stated.

  She smiled and started walking again Dan felt the tension between them ease. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence he asked.

  “Who asked you to talk to me, your mother or Doug.”

  Sara’s head jerked around at him as she started to stammer an answer then stopped as she started to laugh.

  “My mother, Doug did not think it was a good idea,” she said still laughing. Dan smile and continued walking.

  “So do you want anything,” he asked turning to look at her. She had a shy look on her face.

  “They said I should not ask,” she said slowly. Dan shrugged his shoulders.

  “You did not I did,” he said off handedly as he saw a wide grin appear on her face.

  “Still have your notepad,” she asked. Dan shook his head, fishing the notepad and pencil from a pocket, and started making notes as they walked.

  They were leaving in two days when Dan overheard the conversation in the other room. A mix of multiple voices talking loudly almost to the point of yelling. Getting up from the chair he put down the book he had been reading in the small room. Heading over to open the window removing the screen. Putting his foot over the window seal, he slipped out between the house and the bushes moving quietly over to the other window.

  “He is not your boy you treat him like the son you never had,” Sandra exclaimed. This statement startled him hurting as anger flared in him.

  “What the hell do they know,” he thought. “Manny was good to him teaching him a lot he did not feel that he ever tried to take the place of his father,” he thought. Trying to control his anger and listen. He heard Manny speaking now.

  “I have always been happy and proud with the child I got,” Dan heard a tense silence fall over the room before Manny continued. “While I look after Dan like family. He and I know I am not his father. He had a father who died doing his best to protect him and his mother he was a good man. Dan is someone I trust, and who watches my back and I watch his.”

  “Damn right,” Dan thought as he felt a surge of emotion build in his throat. Doug took this opportunity to speak.

  “I think this conversation is getting a little out of hand. Our concern is that Dan is too young we feel this trip to Jackson would be a bad idea for him,” Doug continued. Dan stood outside in the dark shaking his head thinking.

  “Why should they care if he goes on the salvage run to Jackson or not I know how to do it better than they do,” he thought bitterly.

  The conversation was starting again when he decided he did not want to hear anymore. Quietly he moved back to the open window of the room he left and climbed in only stopping to replace the screen and pick up his book. Going to the room he shared with Manny, he sat down on the bed trying to start reading with little success. The next day Dan was in his room packing what gear he would be taking into his gray day pack when he saw a shadow crossed the open door frame. Turning his head he saw Doug standing there.

  “Dan I would like to talk to you,” Doug started to say. As he folded and placed the camouflage poncho liner in his gray daypack, Followed by a box of fifty rounds of ammunition for his forty-five. Dan did not turn to look at him as he was reaching for a small can of baby formula.

  “What about,” Dan said as he placed the baby formula into his backpack, followed by a small vending machine size bottle of bleach into a side pouch. He saw a puzzled look on Doug‘s face as he turned to look at him.

  “What is the baby formula and bleach for,” Doug asked distracted. Dan looked at him amused.

  “Bleach to purify water if needed,” Dan started as he saw a look of understanding come over Doug’s face. “The baby formula is if times get tough, you make a milk shake from it and it will keep you going. But it tastes terrible,” he finished. Dan watched as the look of understanding went back to a look of concern.

  “Me and Sandra do not think you should go,” Doug said calmly. Dan turned to face him.

  “And what do the two of you think I should do instead,” Dan said trying to control the rising anger in him.

  “We do not think it's safe,” he said trying to sound calm. Doug paused studying him for a moment before answering in which he could only assume he rehearsed.

  “Yes, we think it would be safer for you here you can go back to school.”

  Dan turned away from him and slid a couple of 1 liter bottles of water into the side pouch. Before zipping, the daypack closed. Dan turned and looked at Doug doing his best to stay calm.

  “Tried school in Baton Rouge, it did not end well,” then stopped letting out a deep sigh. Doug studying him and this was starting to annoy him. When Dan finally spoke, it was in a strained voice.

  “I appreciate the both of you letting me stay here. However, I am going to do what I think is best for me. If this is causing you and Sandra problems. I will be ready to leave in five minutes,” he said trying to sound calm turning away from Doug. After a tense moment between them Doug spoke to him.

  “We are not asking you to leave,” he started. Dan interrupted him turning quickly to face him and could see a startled look on his face.

  “I know that you're just trying to run my life,” he spat out.

  Doug seemed flustered and shook his head, which Dan could only describe as a sad motion.

  “Go or stay. That is your decision and that goes for staying here are going on your trip,” Doug said then turned leaving the doo
rway.

  Dan used the rest of the day to calm down replaying the conversation over in his mind. When Manny returned he said nothing about it to him.

  Dan sat in the back of the almost empty wagon the clip clop sounds of the horses hooves ringing slightly as they moved slowly along the two-lane highway. Through the forest of tall trees and gently rolling hills. Occasionally getting a glimpse of open patches of farmland reverting to being wild again. Sometimes seeing a flash of the Mississippi River flowing to the ocean. He looked behind him and he could see ten other horse drawn trailers and wagons following them. An equal number in front of them strung out along the road as they made their way slowly towards Vicksburg.

  The trucks would not come till later giving the teams on the wagons time to get to Jackson to start collecting the needed supplies. Dan patted his shirt pocket feeling the bulge of several paper lists from different people of items they would like to get. Should he find them. He sat thinking back to this morning as the wagon pulled up in front of Sandra's house to pick them up. Dan surprised that all of them came out to see them off. He expected Luke to see them go providing he got out of bed. Luke made Dan promise again to find something for him. Dan assumed Sara had been there to see her grandfather off. Getting pleasantly surprised and confused after she came to him first to tell him good-bye. She turned to him, giving him, a hug and a light kiss on one cheek. Telling him to stay safe and come back soon. This made Dan happy but also made him feel uneasy as a glowing burning feeling flushed his face.

  Doug shook their hands and wished them good luck telling them to come back soon witch Dan found odd after their conversation. He felt there still was some tension between Manny and Doug. Sandra surprised him she had gone up to her father giving him a long hug before making sure he promise to be back soon. Which Manny readily did before she came over to him. Sandra giving Dan a hug and a light kiss on the cheek before taking his hand in hers. Telling him to come back safe. Dan tried to hide the embarrassed and puzzled look on his face as he felt a piece of paper pressed into his hand.

  “I will,” he stammered slightly embarrassed stepping away to see Manny grinning at him.

  They tied their bikes to the side of the wagon and stored their empty folding trailers inside. Before climbing in the wagon they started moving off out of sight of the waving figures. Dan made himself comfortable in the back of the wagon as Manny sat between James and Marion talking as they moved off to rendezvous with the rest of the group. He made sure no one was looking when he unfolded the paper Sandra had given him and started reading.

  “Dan I want you to know you are always welcome here we want you to be safe and come back soon. Also please look after Dad he needs it sometimes. I hope you have no hard feelings for our concerns for your safety. If you find it in you to bring back any of the following items thank you.” Dan read the list of items raising an eyebrow at some of them to finish with. “Sincerely Sandra.”

  Dan shook his head as he put the list in with the others. They had made it to Vicksburg by nightfall. He was a little disappointed that they did not have time to go to the mall. He found out they were playing a movie he had never seen before. Instead they made camp off in one corner of the parking lot near the makeshift fence that sat alongside the road. The night had been uneventful as Dan took his turn on watch. The group was up early giving him time to eat a meager breakfast before setting off. Dawn found them several miles down the road as the sun came up following the tree-lined highway as they headed east.

  Following the highway slowly entering the outskirts of the City of Jackson the ruins of homes and businesses were becoming more prevalent slowly taking over from the open road lined with trees and overgrown farmland. It was still early in the morning when they slowed finding the highway blocked by abandon cars and trucks. Spending some time manually moving cars out of their way with pry bars and floor jacks to give the carts and wagons room to pass. They were still on Highway 21 when one of the city workers walked up and started talking to Manny as Dan finished helping moving a broken down white Volkswagen bug out-of-the-way. He looked at Manny as the City worker walked away.

  “Were going to need to get the bikes,” Manny said, motioning towards the wagon. Dan nodded his head.

  “What's up,” he said as he helped Manny start untying the first bike.

  “They want us to scout the road ahead radioing in any problems that could affect the convoy. Also, if we run in it to any large groups of the undead we can lead them off on the bicycles easily,” Manny said as they finished untying the second bike.

  Just then, the city worker returned with a squat black radio.

  “We're on channel 3. Please check in every ten minutes and give us updates. There is Metro Center Mall right off the 220 highway, we know of a community there and all the reports say they are friendly. What we are looking for use to be a large church on Ellis Avenue right off the 20,” the worker said, handing the radio to Manny to clip it to his belt.

  Manny nodded his head agreeing with what the man said motioning for Dan to start riding. The going was getting harder for the convoy while they were still in open areas with large fields of grass and trees between them and the city. They starting running into more of the undead having to stop several times so the back clad people could deploy from the convoy to fight them with machetes. Once having to urge the horses into a slight gallop to outrun a group of the marauding dead, Dan and Manny had stopped to catch their breath. Riding for an hour leading a pack of one-hundred and fifty zombies from the convoy on their bikes Dan turned to look at them.

  “Still there,” he called to Manny.

  “This way,” Manny said leading them off highway twenty up a grassy slope to an overpass over the highway. The undead group following, leaving only one or two stragglers on the highway.

  After the mass of the undead started following them onto the overpass they rode their bikes down the grassy slope heading back onto the freeway. There they stopped and watched in amazement as twenty of the jerking undead figures simply change their course while still on the overpass to step or fall over the guardrail plummeting off. Crashing with a sickening thump on the pavement below before trying to start crawling towards them.

  “I honestly think they're getting dumber,” Manny said pulling his radio from his belt and radioing some instructions back to the convoy before looking at Dan.

  “Let's ride back up and further down the road before we double back giving the convoy time to pass by this group,” Manny said, pushing off.

  Dan shook his head as another three fell from the overpass to crash onto the moving pile of undead flesh on the asphalt freeway. Before following Manny backup the grassy slope and down the side road while whistling for the zombies to follow them. They had rejoined the convoy to start making a good time as the highway split into two sections. Divided by a thick grove of trees separating the opposite sides of the highway while a strand of thick trees grew on the other side. Dan rode in front of the convoy by a hundred yards. As a shambling figure came crashing out of the thick underbrush around the trees moving right at him, pulling his bike to a quick stop he pulled the 53-inch recurve bow from his shoulder.

  Quickly notching an arrow and firing immediately into the head of the man approaching him. Dan putting the kickstand down getting off his bike moved to start pulling the arrow from the head of the zombie before realizing it was wearing a police uniform. Manny rode up looking down at the creature.

  “That's different,” Manny said, looking at the uniform then back at Dan who had a strange look on his face.

  “What's wrong,” Manny asked. Dan shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

  “Oh just wondering if John might have known him,” Dan said, reaching down to start unbuckling the police officers belt.

  “Push thoughts like that from your head. It doesn't matter who they were or who they knew,” Manny said seriously. Dan nodded.

  “No gun,” he said, handing the belt to Manny, who simply tighten the belt a
nd hung it from his handlebars.

  “Check to see if he has a backup piece and body armor.”

  Dan did as ask finding no backup gun, but he did have body armor on which they salvaged. The trees thinned as they rode on entering a slightly uneven area being able to look down off the highway to see houses among the trees they stopped again to use the radio. When they found the highway sign stating Ellis Avenue one and quarter miles ahead, reporting the road, mostly clear. Dan found it hard to believe they had entered a large city, but it still look like he was on some of the back roads they had been on near Fayette. Riding the bikes off the highway with the tree line opening to show a large building up in front of them.

  “I wonder if that's it,” Dan said as he easily pedaled down the off-ramp before entering Ellis Avenue they could see on the other side of the road.

  A large grayish building with part of it sign missing but proclaiming that it was a church set on a slight hill. This made Dan wonder about the people in the church back in Fayette had they gone to the safe area or did they stayed there the couple of times they gone back to the farm. Dan bypassed the church not sure, if he wanted to know. They moved on to Ellis Avenue and slightly past and open parking area near a ramp leading up to the parking lot of the church near a self-serve abandoned carwash. They rode up into the ramp to the parking lot stopping to see a milling mass of about one hundred zombies standing in the parking lot as if expecting something. They scanned the building wondering if people where in it.

  Seeing no signs of people living in the building they watched as the first zombie started to moan as it turned towards them. Slowly the other zombie started moaning also turning to start following the first. Manny pulled the radio from his belt and keyed the broadcast button.

  “This is Manny,” he said into the radio. As he heard a reply. “We found the church it looks, abandon, but there's about one hundred zombies in the front parking lot. We are going to lead them off then head back,”

  Manny said, clipping the radio back on to his belt before receiving an answer as the zombies started to approach to turn his bike at the same time. Dan did the slow ride down to Ellis Street waiting for the mass of zombies to follow. They rode slowly, keeping in front of the zombies only by a few yards as they took a scenic tour. Passing a large red brick building and on towards a gas station making sure the group of the undead was still following them. Seeing another church as they turned left to ride down Raymond. Passing the backside of the church they were planning on using for a camp as they lead the undead away. They took a leisurely bike ride down Raymond and a few other side streets, picking up several more undead as they went along. As the radio beeped Manny pulled it from his bike while still riding.