“We have a couple hundred at this point, but there are still pockets of people that we’re coming across who need a safer place to stay.”
“Let’s go ahead with setting up a perimeter. In close at first, and as we can, we’ll get something stronger and more permanent farther out. The sooner we can get moved in the better because we’re getting backup troops first thing in the morning.”
“Yes, sir.” Everyone chorused
The units started to move out, but sarge motioned for me to follow him.
“Sir?” I questioned as we walked away from River.
“You’re one of the men that have family nearby, correct?”
“Correct,” I answered, growing curious.
“Since we’re getting reinforcements, that means we can let some of you who have families alive,” He glanced at Doug, who had been joined by his sister and the little boy, “go home for a short time. We’ve been monitoring cities and we’re going to ask for volunteers who want to stay and those who don’t have anyone left.”
“That’s very generous, sir, but I feel like there’s a catch involved.” I tilted my head, waiting to see where this was going.
“We need everyone to do two things. First, scout out the countryside and let us know what areas are completely overrun or if they have people that are holding their own. The second thing is, we need you back within three weeks.”
“So, this is a reconnaissance mission that has an end date?”
“There has been a statement issued to all military personnel, current or retired, to report in to the nearest group for orders. We don’t want everyone here in the cities, but we’re going to need people trained with guns to keep the essential things going as we work to clear out infected areas. Those that have a large population have exactly two weeks, and if progress isn’t made, then we’ll begin a bombing campaign to take these things out.”
“Sir, we could be killing thousands of people,” I protested.
“I know. That’s why for now, all cities are being given a chance for evacuation or relocation. Charlottesville is gone. They’ll have it done by the end of the day since it was one of the first places that reported an outbreak.”
“That’s where my wife and son might still be if they didn’t make it my family’s home. No, this can’t happen, not until I have a chance to make sure they’ve made it out.”
“I’m sorry, son. Those are the orders, and it’s not something that I can put on hold.”
“We’ve been ordered to rebuild as quickly as possible while dealing with the ZIT problem. One of the hospitals is almost clear, but we’re going to use it as a type of headquarters. It’s fairly close by, but far enough away that if something happens in either place, we can make it to the other.”
“So, you’re just going to let me, Doug, and however many others walk away?” I asked skeptically.
“Nope, you’ll be making important inroads into the countryside. That is what is going to keep us alive. It’s going to take months to clean this up. Even if they find a way to reverse or stop the virus, we still have to deal with those that are already dead. You and Doug will be leaving at first light, along with another team that is going to meet us here.”
“Are we allowed to take the civilians with us?”
“Yes. Also, your cousin, Corporal Jackson, will be taking lead on your group. She’s already volunteered to lead the mission. Her unit is willing to go along with you and make the trip a little safer.”
“Sir, the Army normally doesn’t care what we think or if we’re happy about things, so why are you doing this?”
“There’s a new wave moving from the top, someone with a lot of military and other friends that are making sure that we don’t just take over America. It’s not how we normally operate, but these last two weeks we’ve managed to stay alive when the National Guard Units didn’t.”
“Well, I don’t care who’s giving the orders, we really appreciate this.”
“I know you do, and I expect to see you again. You Jackson’s have made a name for yourselves. If you happen so see Cole or Dawson, let them know. We have room for them as well.”
“I cannot confirm or deny knowledge of them.” I smirked at him knowingly. “If they are ‘still’ alive, then consider the message passed along. I’ll let Doug know.” I gave a snappy salute and went to tell the good news. We were going home.
The next few hours passed quickly as we got the civilians settled into their new quarters.
River took control in helping to assign everyone to make things a little easier. I watched as this young co-ed took charge and made decisions that were wise far behind her years. She split people up while moving the families into one dorm. The single women and small children without parents were paired up with someone who could watch over them. The men and soldiers, she put in the dorm the farthest away from the others to help keep a semblance of something that could work in the long term.
She even interviewed each one, asking what they liked to do, hobbies, and what they’d done before the ZITs happened. When she was done, there were groups of cooks, gardeners, laundry duty, childcare and security. Even the sarge was impressed when the last truck of the day was brought in and everyone was fed, settled, and locked in for the night. The only ones allowed outside after dark were the sentries that were going to keep this a ZIT free zone.
With all the different units working to get a fence up, it was finished before dark. It wouldn’t hold up to a horde of those things, but it would keep them away from the main group. The assembly of floodlights to face out was going on as I went to find out where River had put us for the night.
I found them in the hangout area of dorm A, arguing.
“River, you need to come with us. You can’t stay here where you don’t know anyone. Dillion has already lost so much, he can’t lose another person that cares about him,” Stacy pleaded desperately.
“No, I know he’s almost like your kid, but Stacy, this is the only place I’ve known for years now. I get a chance to make a difference and do things my way, as long as the army likes what I’m doing anyway.” River cast a glance in my direction.
“Look, it’s your choice.” I go over to sit on the couches with them. “I have a large family, and they’ll welcome anyone that comes with us. You won’t have to worry about the Army, but I understand. You have amazing leadership abilities, and I know that you can do fine in both places. Just think about it, okay?”
River looked at the sleeping boy next to her on the couch. “I’ve fallen in love with him. I need, no, I want to stay here. I’ve never had a home and this campus is the closest thing to one for me. When this zombie thing, or what are you calling them…ZITs?” she questioned me, continuing without waiting for an answer. “They’ll eventually be gone and where you’re going is only three hours away.”
“You make it sound like everything’s going to be fine. I don’t want to lose you, River. You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had.” Stacy got up and sat on the floor in front of her. “There isn’t anything I can do to change your mind?”
“No, and look, Doug said that they’d only be gone three weeks. If things don’t work out, you can come back or I can come to you then, okay? Can you handle three weeks?”
River had put a smile on her face, but it was laced with sadness.
“Sarge will keep her safe, I promise. That’s the best we can do and hope that this world goes back to a semi-normal place. We should all get some sleep.”
“You’re right. It’s been a long day and we’ve got a lot of people to feed first thing in the morning.” River got up with her bat at her side.
“Let me carry him upstairs for you,” Doug offered as Stacy started to pick Dillion up.
“Nope. Can’t let you do that, bro. No boys allowed upstairs. River’s rules. I got it.” Stacy placed a kiss on her brother’s cheek and scooped up the sleeping boy.
“Night, boys,” River called out, casually swinging the bat around. “See you in
the morning.”
The stairwell door closed behind them and I stretched out on the couch I was sitting on.
“What?” I asked, looking at Doug’s frowning face.
“You’ve got your shoes on the couch, man.”
“Seriously? There are things out there trying to kill us, but the thing you’re most worried about are my boots on the couch?” I shook my head at the craziness of my friend. “I’m going to sleep. You should as well since you didn’t sleep much last night, after all.” I put my arm over my face to block out the light.
Doug walked over to the wall and switched the main lights off and threw himself onto the other couch.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” I asked from where I was laying.
“Shut up already. I have no idea what you mean,” Doug grumbled in the darkness.
How River made it past us in the morning without either one of us hearing her, I’ll never know, but she’d gotten a portion of her cooks together and had something ready to eat for those coming off duty.
Doug and I had just finished breakfast when Patti’s group walked in, looking tired.
“Hey, cousin. We meet again.”
“Patti, when did you and the guys get in?” I shoveled more fake eggs into my mouth, enjoying every bite.
“It was last night, but they had us helping with the fence as soon as we dropped our gear off. We brought two people with us, both nurses, but one of them is staying here. I’m hoping to talk Angela into going with us before the sarge makes her stay here.”
“Are they giving us weapons to take with us?” I asked but didn’t get a response.
I was glad that she would be in charge because I wasn’t ready to be responsible for an entire group.
“So, your sister’s here and she’s going with us to Jackson Mountain.” Patti turned her attention to Doug.
“Yeah, I’m so glad that she’s alive. Here she comes now.”
Stacy had just entered the cafeteria when the little boy with her screamed, letting go of her hand.
“Mom!” Dillion’s shrill cry made everyone turn and look at him.
One of the civilians that was with Patti’s group of guys, barely sat her tray on the table before she was knocked to the ground.
“Mama, I thought you were dead.” The little boy sobbed, holding onto the woman tightly.
Patti put a hand over her mouth. “That’s Angela, the one we rescued from the hospital. She said her little boy was with the nanny, but I had no way to reassure her that he was still alive.”
“That’s Doug’s sister, Stacy. She’s kept that little boy alive this whole time, with a little help from River over there by the buffet.”
“The redhead is Doug’s sister? And who’s River?” Patti started eating again now that the excitement had died down.
“Yep, and River is the new manager of the university. She’s in charge of people relations between the civilians and the Army. Sarge may just keep her around if she keeps on like she did yesterday.”
“Guess we can add one more to the list of people coming with us, huh?” Tom, one of Patti’s guys, asked.
Stacy had joined Dillion, and the three of them were making their way over to the table to join us.
Once Angela was seated with Dillion in her lap, some guy named Todd brought her tray and set it in front of her, since it appeared that her son wasn’t about to let her go.
Stacy stood just behind them and patted Angela’s shoulder. “Angela, Dillion, I’m going to get us some food and I’ll be right back.”
Dillion watched her walk away but made no move to release his mother.
I brought our focus back to the trip ahead. “So, when do we get to leave?”
Patti looked to those of us sitting there. “After breakfast, we can load the vehicle and head out. If we stick to the back roads, I think we’ll find less of the ZITs and it’ll be easier to find out the information that sarge wants.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m ready to see my family.” I loved joyful reunions and seeing theirs had made me miss my family even more. Just a few more hours and lots of ZITs to kill between now and then.
Linc
It’d been several days before the guys from town showed up at our gate, waving a white flag.
I waved them in and Josh opened the gate, allowing them to come up to the house. The group consisted of Wade, Jerry, and Beth, who I assumed were the new leaders.
“What can I do for you all?” I wanted to see why they were here before I invited them up on the porch.
“Honestly, we were hoping that you could help us with a game plan for the future and how to keep us all alive.” Wade laid his cards on the table as they approached me.
“Why don’t you come on up here and take a seat in the shade? I’ll let Jessica know that you’re here so that she and Trish can join us. Would you like some lemonade?” I offered hospitably.
“Oh, I haven’t had lemonade in years,” Beth gushed.
“With all the kids, it’s better for them to drink that, and we have lots of lemons.” I went inside to grab the pitcher of lemonade before the children demolished it.
Jessica met me at the door. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. They want to meet with us to see if we can work out a plan to survive. I’m just going to grab some glasses for lemonade. If you can get Trish and join us, that would be great.”
“Ooh, I like a man that serves his own guests.” Jessica blew a kiss over her shoulder as she went to find Trish.
Minutes later, I was back on the porch and all three of our guests were eagerly sipping their drinks.
“So, what kind of plan were you considering that needs our help?” I asked, starting up the conversation.
“Well, so many of our friends got sick and there are quite a few that we haven’t seen since this all started, and that isn’t like them. We were hoping that we could convince you or your guys to go out to a few houses with us and see if they’re okay,” Wade explained.
“The thing is, we need to move some of the people out of town, and those farms need to be kept running if we’re going to have food in the future,” Beth remarked, being practical. “There are some people in that town who are going to get killed because they just don’t belong around the rest of us. We were thinking if we could get them doing something productive, then it would serve two purposes.”
“She makes a good point. I wouldn’t want to be cooped up with some of the townies no matter how much it might save my life. Whose farm are you looking to do a well check on first?” Jessica asked, taking a seat next to me.
“The Erickson’s are older and rent most of their farm out to the Bailey’s. I’d start with those two farms since they have cows and pigs. I think the Erickson’s also have chickens. Any of those items would be great for us to have in town, but I’m sure that they could use some help to harvest and keep the zombies away from the live animals.”
“How many families or extras do you want to move?” Trish asked, knowing it wasn’t a large town.
“Umm…Beth, you probably know this better than anyone since you’ve been organizing things with the food.” Jerry looked at Beth for affirmation.
“I’d say about thirty or so. We don’t want to overcrowd the farms, but I think that if we put two families at each place, it wouldn’t be so hard on any one group.” Beth paused, sorting her thoughts. “Most of the town’s people have no idea how to farm or what kind of work it would take to keep it running, so we thought that we could pair a farm family with a non-farm family so that each set can learn something.”
“I put together a list of what each farm normally produces—if they have animals, produce, or what skills they could offer. The local guy that drills wells said he’d worked for a company but could probably train some guys on how to do it if we need water for irrigation, or if the town’s pumps quit working,” Jerry offered.
“Basically, we need another set of brains that aren’t going to panic because the
world is ending. Beth mentioned the solar panels that you were putting in. Do you think we could find out where to get more of those before the rest of the world gets wise and raids that warehouse?” Wade leaned forward eagerly.
“Hmm, that’s a good question. Also, we need to find out what kind of stuff we’re going to need long-term and where we could go to get it. I hate to break in and just take stuff, but it would depend on if the town is abandoned or not.”
It might be the end of the world, but we needed to hold onto the morals we had left.
“We might also have to find a way to bring people back with us who have no way to survive. Is the town willing to let them in and help them? We don’t need any repeats of what happened with Jim.” Jessica brought up the unspoken elephant in the room.
“Most people are just trying to survive, but there will be some that have ulterior motives that we can’t bring with us, or even tell that there’s a town of people that are alive,” Beth answered pragmatically.
“We don’t want some guys coming in and raping our girls or trying to steal the few weapons that we do have from us,” Trish offered.
“May I suggest that you have a town meeting and vote on some rules that are a death sentence, like rape? Then you might have a few other rules about less serious infractions. I think we can make the rounds of farms in the area over the next several days to see who’s alive. Once we’ve established that and the ground rules, I’ll make a trip with a few volunteers and see if we can find someplace that has solar panels. If we can put enough together, the town can run on its own power.”
“How many should we take to each farm?” Wade asked, hoping I’d lead.
“I would suggest about four teams, and I’ll come along. If you want to do two teams, that might be better, and then I’d suggest Jessica go with them as the team leader.” I was prepared for Wade to nix the idea of a woman in charge, but he didn’t even bat an eye.
Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Page 25