The Shores Of The Dead: Omnibus Edition

by Josh Hilden

  “I love you too…son.” Liam whispered.

  Then he died.

  Kyle screamed his rage and his pain to the sky, and to a man the Rangers joined him along with many of the others. When the screams faded, several people came forward to gather Liam’s body for the fire being kindled to dispose of the fallen before they left the area.

  Kyle stopped them.

  “He will not be going on the pyre.” Kyle said and the Rangers obeyed their new commander. Kyle drew the knife from his belt and slid it into the base of Liam’s skull and twisted to ensure that the brain was scrambled.

  Three hours later they were all on the road back to White Harbor. Lisa told them they’d not gotten the leader of the Army of the Dead, but they had hurt them badly. There were miles to clear and a lot of work to be done when they’d reached their destination.

  They had very little time to complete their tasks.

  Chapter Three

  1

  White Harbor

  November 25, 2012 AD (Day Thirty Eight)

  10:15am EST

  When the bells mounted in the watch towers began to ring, Sheriff David Hall was on the run for the front gate without missing a step. The radio traffic from the forces at the bridge kept him apprised of the situation. But he was eager to hear the firsthand accounts from the people who were there. Of course it would be another day or two before Colonel Sutton returned, but the people that were at the gates would be able to give him enough information to help give a clearer picture, or so he hoped.

  Yesterday all of the personnel from White River, except for a crew left behind to try and get the helicopters up and running and to maintain the integrity of the base, arrived in the town under the command of General Ryan Hart. David was impressed by the hard chiseled man. Captain Paulson had also returned to White Harbor with the General. He’d been chomping at the bit to find out the actual status of his friends.

  The preparations to move the town to Isle Royale were being set into motion, and teams had already arrived in the former National Park and made contact with the Park Rangers and their families. They’d taken refuge there following the Rise of the Dead. There were also apparently a large number of the Dead on the island, the result of groups of refugees who’d trickled in and then fought one another.

  The majority of the people living outside of the town walls had already been brought inside the town now that all of the possible crops had been harvested. What was bothering David more than anything else, were the reports from the bridge of the Army of the Dead moving north and the rumors that the Razors had been seen scouting the areas outside of White Harbor. But some of the tension was offset by the return of the bulk of the fighters from the south. Along with a new group of well-equipped refugees who’d come north to join them, and add their firepower to their own.

  “Chief, we need to discuss a few things.” Thornton Hilstrand said as he and his brother joined him on his walk toward the main gates to meet the new comers.

  “Council meeting is tonight, Thorn.” David said as they rounded the corner and the large gates were firmly closed. The streets were more or less clear of snow. The Emergency Council decided that ease of movement inside the perimeter was worth the expenditure of fuel needed to run the plows.

  “I know Chief, but I would rather someone else did not hear what I have to say.” Thornton said. That caused David to stop in his tracks and turn to face the older man.

  “Spill it, Thorn.” David said. Any humor or good cheer that may have been in his voice when he’d started this walk had evaporated.

  “Arn Jacobson,” Thorn said and let the name lie there for the younger man to look at, and decide if he was going to pick the subject up or walk away.

  “I have been hearing things from people out on the lake road. They say they’ve seen our Mayor riding his bike out toward Marquette more than once in the last few weeks.” Thorn said.

  Then Herb, who was one of the most taciturn men that David had ever met, spoke up. “There are the stories about what he used to do when he was younger.”

  David looked at him, and the expression on his face said more to the Hilstrand brothers than any words could have. David Hall had no idea what the hell they were talking about.

  “He has been rumored to have some,” Herb hesitated before continuing, “Predilections that would not leave him in a good light.” He finished but David got the point.

  “And there is the extra cash crop he and Einor have been making out at the home place for years.” Thorn added with a grin. The moonshine operations at the Jacobson Farm were a badly guarded secret in the county.

  “What does a little moon shining, and the likening for some weird pussy have to do with keeping things from the Mayor?” David asked. He had a bad feeling about what they were going to tell him next.

  “We decided we needed to know we could trust the Mayor, so we asked one of our nephews to pay his house a visit.” Thornton said matter of factly.

  “Damnit, Thorn that is as illegal as hell.” David spat.

  “We are at war, Chief, and I am not going to apologize.” The old man retorted.

  David wanted to yell, but he knew there was a certain wild logic to what he was being told. Considering some of the things Amy had told him when they’d been together, he’d never trusted the Mayor of White Harbor. Of course that did not mean he thought Arn was the enemy.

  Apparently the Hilstrands did.

  “What did your nephew find?” He asked in a low tone.

  Thornton didn’t answer with words. Instead he unshouldered the backpack he’d been wearing and opened it up. He rummaged inside for a second, and withdrew what appeared to be a black leather jacket. When Thornton unfolded it and showed it to David, the breath caught in his chest.

  The emblem of the Razors was emblazed on the back.

  2

  The Main Gates

  10:25am EST

  “Do you think they are actually going to let us in, or do you think they will thank us for all of our help and then tell us to take a hike?” Ken Michener asked as he observed the gates of the fortified town through his hunting binoculars. The place reminded him of a larger version of The Hession Compound, except The Compound had been his home and this was not.

  “Well,” Jennifer said, looking up from the map of the town Colonel Sutton gave her, “On short acquaintance and based on the radio communications we have had with Chief Hall, I think we’ll be okay.” The approach to the town did not feel real to her. They’d been running north for so long, that the idea of stopping and planting their flag on the shore of Lake Superior was surreal.

  “We believed we would be safe if we all holed up in Hession. Everything seemed fine. When that Army showed up we were overwhelmed.” Ken said, and she could taste the bitterness and uncertainty in his words. Jennifer felt for the young man, he’d been entrusted with the future of all of the surviving Hessioners by the woman who’d been his hero. He did not feel up to the task. But she had seen him on the road and in camp handling his people’s problems, and she thought he was the perfect man for the job.

  “We have the advantage of more fighters, and of having some idea of what is coming this way.” Jennifer said and then looked toward the gates again, “Plus we struck first at the bridge.” Neither of them really wanted to talk about the action at the bridge. The reports from the survivors of the clash between the living and the Army of the Dead described a brutal fight, but they had been light on actual details. Considering it had been Kyle, and not Liam, who’d sent the report to the Rangers and the Hession Spotters spoke volumes to her.

  The White Harbor people were relieved to hear Lisa had survived the battle. They’d all been glad to get the news that the bridge was successfully blown with the bulk of the enemy army on the span. The word that the enemy commander survived was less well received. The survivors of the action were about two days behind the column she was leading.

  “At least Benny made it.” She whispered to herself.


  “It’s always good to learn that the people you love have survived. It was four days after the fall of The Compound before I knew that Candace made it out.” He said.

  She would have said more, but they came to a stop 50 yards from the main gates. She watched as the gates slid open like a pair of sliding glass doors, not as if they were made of rebar reinforced steel and mounted on two semi-trailers pulled by bulldozers. It took two full minutes to open the gates, but Jennifer was impressed by the sturdiness and design of the town’s entrance defenses.

  “OK” Ken said, “I admit it. That is way more impressive than the gates we had in Hession.” He was gawking like a kid, and it made Jennifer smile. They were still both chronologically teenagers. She was relieved to see he could still feel wonder in this world of horrors, maybe if he could she could as well.

  When the gates had fully opened, a group of Militia fighters in what appeared to be the town uniform of hunting camouflage with a dark blue band of fabric around their upper arms came out with a middle aged woman to meet them. She approached the lead vehicle. Pat Rowland, who’d been sitting quietly in the back, spoke as the woman approached.

  “That is Council Woman Amy Waters,” He said to Jennifer and Ken as they exited their vehicle to join them. “Odd, I would have thought the Chief would have come out to meet you guys in person.” He actually sounded concerned, and from what Jennifer had learned of the big man, if he was worried so was she.

  “Can we trust her?” Jennifer asked.

  “I think so. She seems to be a straight shooter, and she was one of the main backers on the Emergency Council for putting the Colonel in charge of all of the defenses in White Harbor.” He raised his hand in greeting as the woman approached. Then he returned the salutes of the militiamen that were flanking her.

  “Lieutenant Rowland,” she said offering her small white hand to the big man, it was practically swallowed in his dark heavily calloused one. “It’s good to see you back here in one piece.”

  “Thank you ma’am,” He said and then gestured toward Jennifer and Ken. “Councilwoman Waters, may I introduce you to Jennifer Millette, one of the officers of the I-75 Rangers, and Lieutenant Ken Michener, the commander of the Hession Spotter Corps.”

  The older woman looked at them and gave them a serious once over. Her eyes paused on Jennifer’s slightly swollen abdomen and raised one eyebrow at her. She stepped forward and thrust her gloved hand directly at the Council Woman.

  “Captain Jennifer Millette of the I-75 Rangers,” she said looking the woman square in the eyes. Amy Waters reflexively took the offered hand and pumped it three times.

  “Welcome to White Harbor,” Amy said and then looked at the long column of Rangers, and the refugees from Hession. Jennifer could see her doing a mental count of all the people, and the materials they were bringing with them. “You are all welcome here.” She added in a loud clear voice, and the column erupted in cheers as the long journey that they had been making finally came to an end.

  3

  White Lake Reservoir and Hydroelectric Power Plant

  12:30pm EST

  Arn Jacobson rode his motorcycle to the front gates of the Hydroelectric Plant and beeped the horn three times. Just in case the cameras were not being monitored. He’d always loved bikes, even before he met James. His vintage BSA was his pride and joy. He’d made many visits to the plant since the Dead rose in order to make sure he was a familiar face to the people within. James’s plan was not very intricate, but one of the pillars it rested on concerned the plant. And nobody but Arn would be able to pull it off.

  The technicians and engineers of the White River Hydroelectric Plant had not left the safety of the reservoir complex since the dead rose. They’d agreed to keep the plant running to provide power to White harbor in exchange for protection and supplies from the town. It’d been a mutually beneficial relationship, and a laxness in the security procedures had developed when people from the town came to the dam for a visit.

  “Mr. Mayor, it’s good to see you,” a voice called from one of the security booths.

  Arn waved. He’d made sure the security personnel were on very good terms with him in particular and the people of White Harbor in general. “How are you doing in there Tim?” Arn called back as the young man activated the gates and came forward to greet him.

  “Not too bad sir, the vegetables that you…”

  The man named Tim never saw it coming. Arn Jacobson drew the silenced Ruger from the small of his back, and put two rounds in the center of the security guard’s forehead. The young man’s body jerked and spasmed then dropped to the ground across the barrier of the open gate. Blood pooled and steamed around his head as it cooled. The look of amiability was still plastered on his face.

  “Be thankful I didn’t gut shoot you.” Arn muttered as he struggled to drag the body into the bushes and quickly cover the blood. Then he dashed to the guard house and closed the gate.

  Arn motored up to the main building, and parked his bike next to the front door. He walked into the unmanned reception room, took off his parka, and drew his weapon. He needed to do this quickly, but there were very few people living at the dam, and most of them were in the trailer park half a mile away. It’d been built with the help of the people of White Harbor.

  James was very clear. He wanted the complex left intact when Arn was done. The most important thing for him to do was dispatch the people who would be able to rectify the damage he was about to do.

  He stepped into the control room and leveled his weapon at the two men monitoring the boards. The look of shock on their faces made Arn want to burst into gales of laughter as he blew both of them away. They slumped over and he hustled to the control panel, pushing them out of the way. He looked for a few seconds to locate the USB hub, and then he fished into his pants and pulled out the thumb drive James gave him. He looked at it to double check it was the right one then, holding his breath, slid it into one of the empty slots.

  The drive began to flash. Then the machine began to hum. James told him the program on the drive would shut the entire computer network in the plant’s control house down. Even if they had the people here to bring everything back online, it would take at least 24 hours, and by then it would be all over with.

  As he was pulling the drive out, all power in the building went out and the constant back ground hum of the generators disappeared as the massive turbines powered down. He quickly headed for the lobby, put his parka back on, and threw the doors open, exiting into the cold beauty of a late Fall in Northern Michigan.

  “Mr. Jacobson what’s happening? All of the power went out and the generators have shut down.” A girl in her mid-teens yelled to him as she ran up the crushed gravel path from the generator building to the control house.

  Arn didn’t even break stride as he jogged to his motorcycle, he simply raised the pistol still clutched in his hand and fired two rounds into the girl. She dropped to the gravel crying out in pain as he threw his leg over the seat of his bike. He kicked started the machine which roared to life. As he released the brake and began to ride away, he saw the two men from the control room thumping against the inside of the doors, moaning and staring at him with their vacant Dead eyes.

  Arn whistled to himself as he closed the gate to the complex, and headed back toward White Harbor. There were things that needed to be done before the Razors came to pick him up.

  4

  The Home of Arn Jacobson

  1:00pm EST

  The loss of power in White Harbor was worrisome. Deputies were dispatched to the dam to see what the problem was. In the old days, David would have dropped everything for a problem like a lack of communication from the power plant during a complete blackout. But times had changed, and the search of Arn Jacobson’s house was just as, if not more, important to him at the moment.

  “This is insane,” David said as they went through the contents of Arn’s house. They’d found drugs, guns, child pornography, and what he was su
re was a legitimate snuff film behind the false wall in the Mayor’s bedroom closet.

  “I always knew the boy was a bit off, but I never would have guessed just how cracked he really was.” Thorn Hilstrand said. He had been less shocked than the Chief, but he still had a wide-eyed stunned look.