“Not Bethel, up in the mountains where they kidnap their women to bring fresh blood to the area? My family is over on Jackson Mountain, about a two-day trek as the crow flies.” I suddenly felt much better about the man in front of me knowing he was a local.
“Hey, we’re practically relatives. We might even have some distant relatives as well. Anyway, things haven’t progressed much through the years as far as technology, but once in a while, some of us will want to get off the mountain, which is what happened to my brother and I. Our parents died of something that came through about fifteen years ago, and instead of staying up there, we decided to come down here and see if we could make it.”
Lee’s acceptance of death made a lot more sense now, knowing that he came from the sturdy mountain men. For most of those that lived in the mountains, death was a lot more commonplace as part of the circle of life.
“So these plans for the underground system were drawn out and connected to a couple of places in the downtown area. They would have one speakeasy open and deliver stuff to the church’s stables or carriage house, as it was renamed later, across the street. No one even looked at deliveries to a church, and they were taken to the speakeasy that was running that week. When they built the family center, they covered over the door, and it took some work trying to get it opened up. This also allowed us a way to move around without drawing the dead after us, or bringing them to the church.”
“That’s quite the setup, which means you have a lot of people here and spread out through town,” I muttered, knowing why he was so confident that we wouldn’t take over their operation.
“It sounds like you have it all figured out, but I think the military had the right idea about using the college campuses. I guess either way could work,” River commented, looking things over as we walked.
“You’re with the military? Do they have extra ammo that we could use to help clear areas out?” Lee actually seemed excited at the prospect of help from people with guns.
“Retired military,” Darren tersely answered.
“Or mostly just experienced in ZIT killing. No guns are necessary for taking down those things when there aren’t that many of them.” River grinned as she patted her bloodstained bat.
“Well, we didn’t have an armory around here, and have only found a few guns, but we could always use more for when the ZITs get bottled up in a herd.” Lee finally opened a door leading to newly built steps up to the surface level.
“Welcome to the Church Against Zombies,” Gerald boomed to the people sitting around the gymnasium.
His announcement didn’t even faze the people sitting around on cots.
“This way to the kitchen. We’re having stew this evening.” Gerald waved to an open hallway and a kitchen area.
“Jen, do you and Sam want to stay here, or should we head out?” Stacy asked, giving them the option to warn us of anything that could be harmful.
“Do you have somewhere that has hot food?” Sam looked over at Stacy without letting go of Andi’s arm.
“Not for tonight,” she responded.
“Then I vote we stay here. I haven’t had much besides mounds of popcorn for a while now. It sounds good at first, but when it’s all you have to eat, it gets old fast.” Sam pulled Andi closer, if that was even possible.
“It’s decided then. Come, and we will answer any of the questions I know you still have for us.” Lee led us, making sure to take the first bowl so that we would know it was safe to eat.
The cooks in the kitchen reminded me of the ladies that were always buzzing around whenever we had a family gathering. If any of us had suggested that we help, they would have been greatly offended. Besides, it was the best use of their skills, because these ladies would likely fall over if they attempted to kill a zombie.
“Evening, ladies,” I greeted them with a smile. Lots of people were reassured with a simple smile, even though I was a big guy. I tried not to scare people. “Sure smells delicious.”
The others followed my lead and took the rations we were handed.
It didn’t take Andi long to ask the question I knew she’d been holding back. I was one of the few that knew she had a crush on Sam’s older brother, Sean.
“Where’s your family, Sam? Are they still at your house?”
Sam burst into tears, which Andi took in stride by placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I think so. Sean was supposed to be coming home from his job when I left for the movies. The phones weren’t working when we got done, and I thought we were going to die in that theater.” She moaned between sobs. “It was horrible. Two of the others I was with ran toward the employee only doors and I followed them. We could see the parking lot and people were eating people, so we couldn’t go out there.”
“Sam, back to Sean and your family. Have you had any contact with them since this started?” Andi snapped her fingers in front of Sam to get her attention.
“Someone had a computer and that was how I was messaging you. I was able to send Sean an email as well. They were alive that first week, but I haven’t heard anything since then,” Sam sniffled.
Andi turned her attention to Jennifer. “Anything from your mom or dad’s houses to let us know if they survived?”
Jennifer shook her head. “No, they don’t have anything but cell phones, and I never thought I would need their email addresses.”
“Lee, I’m guessing since you just found these guys yesterday that you haven’t tried to make a rescue attempt yet?” Andi seemed to be taking charge, and I wasn’t about to stop my cousin from accomplishing what I was thinking.
“Those we rescued were distressed, and the only thing they’ve been able to do is get clean, eat, and rest for the first night since the zompoc started,” Lee informed her.
“Zompoc? You do realize that this isn’t a video game, right?” I might have known where he was from, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to hassle him when I could.
“I’m well aware that this isn’t a game. I watched my brother die from this illness, but there isn’t really anything else to call it except the Zombie Apocalypse. If this isn’t one, then I’d hate to see the real thing happen to us.” Lee’s voice held the anguish of someone who’d seen death up close and personal.
“Fair enough. Do you have any problems with us going out to see if we can find their families?” I casually leaned my gun against the table next to my chair.
“After dinner, I can take you to the office and show you the map that’s on the wall there. We’re marking off areas we’ve been to and that are clear for the moment. You may find quite a few survivors, and we would be glad to welcome them here or see if we can take supplies to them if they’re somewhere they feel safe.” Lee paused to take a few bites of the warm stew. “A few of the others who were with them may have families in the same area. We just hadn’t had a moment since we got them back to get into it.”
“All right. We just need to send a message back to Jackson Mountain because we left a little abruptly this morning. I don’t see why we can’t find a way to work together for a little while and get a few areas cleared out before we head back,” I acknowledged, picking up my spoon.
Everyone was enjoying their food, so I decided that if it was a quick acting poison, we should be past that point since no one had started choking or having any reactions.
It was good, but that wasn’t really a surprise, as the church ladies were the ones doing the cooking. There was nothing like a good church potluck to realize that the cooks were gifted and very few dishes ever went in the trash.
Dinner was over, and Darren, River, and I followed Lee to the office, which held a map with pins all over it.
“Lee, do you have any kind of plan on how to clean things up and make things livable again?” I asked, crossing behind the desk to survey the map.
“We’ve only been up and running for about two weeks, and in that time, we cleared out the area around the courthouse. The businesses have taken a little longe
r simply because we were taking anything that could be used and carting it back to the church.”
I noted the green highlighted area in a good two-mile circle around the church, and then a broader yellow circle.
“How far do the tunnels go? Those that have clear access, do they only go to the street or are they in to each building?” Darren inquired from behind me.
“Some of the old entries were easy to open, but we go up through that building and bring stuff from the neighboring stores. Those are the buildings that we’ve put guards in to make sure we’re not overrun with unfriendly humans or the infected dead. Most of our group are too young or too old to be out there fighting, but they can move the stuff through the tunnels and back to the church once the supplies are in the secure building.”
I nod in agreement. It’s what I would have done with the fragile people around.
“Are your fighters military or just self-trained after the zompoc hit?” River stood in the doorway, away from the different amounts of testosterone filling the room.
“Actually, we have a few veterans that had been homeless. They were excited to have something useful to do, and they are more prepared for killing the dead than most of the church members were.” Lee grinned ruefully.
“Let’s face it, churches aren’t considered the friendliest of places toward those who kill people for a living.”
“Ha! You can say that again. They certainly want to instill the peaceful road to Jesus. At least the country churches don’t have a problem with guns being used for hunting.” Darren laughed at the idea.
“Trained fighters then. How many are we looking at? Twenty? Thirty? Five?” River brought the conversation back to the details. “I think our group would be able to go out and clear things out, but we might need to take a few of yours so we don’t bring back things that wouldn’t be useful in the near future.”
Lee inhaled and gave us a careful glance before answering the question. “I’m putting a lot of trust in you three. In fact, the safety of the people I love most will be compromised if my gut feeling is wrong.” He sighed. “We have ten that can fight and clear things out. We’ve been rotating those in two groups of five—one to go out, and the other group to teach the teens and those strong enough how to take the infected out.
“We can’t survive with the few we have if another group decides they want what we have. I’m one of the first to bring people in that need help, but I also have to think of the group, and that makes the decisions more difficult.” Lee sank into the chair at the desk. “I just hope that your group can help us.”
“If we follow the same procedures that the military did with the colleges and get things setup, we should be able to find more people that have survived, as well as supplies to last until things get up and running again.” River spoke confidently, acting like she had a say in how things would be run.
“Sweetie, I believe that will be up to the leaders in each group, and I think those spots are filled with military guys.”
A loud snicker made me turn to see what was the matter with Darren. “What’s gives?”
“Oh, nothing. You’re just digging yourself into a hole that you may not be able to get out of with River.” Darren smirked at me. “But you’ll find that out for yourself if you keep this up.”
“She’s right, you know.” Lee raised his head from the back of the chair. “It makes the most sense to work with people who are already familiar with the area.”
“River, will Stacy be wanting to go out with us?” Darren grinned because he knew asking beforehand would go better.
“She wasn’t a fan of the ZITs, but there was also Dillon to think about, and it made her more cautious. I don’t see her wanting to leave your side after you guys just got back together, though, so I’m going to say that she’ll want to join us.”
“Well, she’s not here by his side right now, so maybe their love isn’t as secure as you think, pumpkin.” I calmly add fuel to the fire, feeling River’s angry gaze on me.
“Ignore the heartless one in the room, River.” Darren tried to catch my eye and warn me to back down, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“I suggest that you all get rested up and meet the other teams. They all come in after dark, and we swap out those on lookout duty.” Lee rose from the chair, but stopped when I didn’t immediately move from my spot in front of the map.
“Those that were out killing infected will rest tomorrow, and our B team will go with your team.”
“Guess we just took your A team spot.” I confidently headed to the door, expecting Darren and Lee to follow me back out to the eating area.
River’s small, five-foot frame was blocking my way out. Twirling the ends of her blue-green hair, she lifted her big brown eyes up at me.
“Oh, I’m sorry, were you just going to plow on through here and take charge? Finally, someone who knows how to lead. Oh, please be my hero?” She fluttered her eyelashes.
“Huh?” I stopped mid-stride, confused because I was missing something vital. “I’m your hero?”
Her finger hit the middle of my chest and pushed me back, catching me off-guard.
“No, jackass, and you won’t be anyone’s if you come in here and take over. Let Lee through and he can get everyone on board.”
“But he isn’t military—” I started to protest when she spoke over me.
“And it’s a good thing we have the military to wipe our asses, because I certainly wouldn’t know where to find mine if they didn’t give me lots of directions. You’re going to learn to play with others, and taking over is not the way to make new friends. Let’s start with please, will you introduce us to your A team?” River grinned over my shoulder at Darren and Lee.
If Darren had anything to do with this little spitfire standing up to me, I would just have to pull rank.
“What was I thinking? I should have asked your permission to proceed, General River. I mean, you’ve been giving orders like one. I’m sure they have crowns here for when a princess graduates to the commanding officer or something.”
Her entire face turned red, but instead of saying something smart, she shoved me back and pulled the door behind her so that I was suddenly standing there with a closed door in my face.
“What the hell?” I reached to grab the knob, but Darren moved around me.
“Dude, get out of my way. I’m going to show her who’s the boss around here.”
“Hey, I know she’s getting under your skin, but you can’t let her do that to you. I’ve spent the last two days with her, and she’s as good as she’s claiming. She kept the campus clear and the military had her as the liaison between the civilians they brought in. That’s not someone you want to get on your bad side. Plus, I’m pretty sure that Andi, Sam, Stacy, and Jennifer aren’t going to be helpful in this instance. It happens to all of us at some point.”
“Did the infection get to your brain? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lee exchanged a smirk with Darren.
“He’s got it bad.”
“Yep, he sure does.”
“Seriously, was there a memo that I missed?” My temper was about to get the best of me.
“It’s always the strong ones that fight it the most.” Darren clapped me on the back, but I shrugged his hand off.
“Sparks have been flying around you and River since you walked into the tunnel downstairs. You’re in love,” Lee wisely added.
“I just met the vixen. The only sparks that are going to fly around here are when her head explodes because I’m right,” I announced with indignation.
“Sure. You tell yourself whatever makes you feel better, but she’s gotten under your skin because she didn’t just bat her eyes and fall for your charms,” Lee conceded.
“Although, she did flutter her lashes at him a minute ago, but I think that was just to lull him into complacency and make fun of him. Come on, we’d better get out there before she stages a coup and has all of Lee’s people following h
er merry tune.”
I followed the other two out of the office, wondering if her not falling for my charms was the reason I was turned on when she stood up to me. This could turn out more interesting than I’d thought when I left the Mountain with Andi earlier this morning.
Unhappy about staying for the night, I managed to catch a few hours of sleep, rotating with Darren. It was a long night, and every time I’d start to relax, I’d see River’s devilish grin.
Just as the sun started to hit the sky, I was up and wandering around the church to see if we’d missed anything.
The smell of coffee hit my nose as I came up through the tunnel connecting the large church building with the eating area.
Lee was putting a fresh pot of loose coffee to perk as he pulled the already full one onto the hot plate.
“I’m curious. How is it that you have electricity and fresh coffee? It’s not like there’s been anyone to keep the plants running over the past two months.”
Startled, Lee almost dropped the hot coffee when I spoke.
He placed a hand over his heart. I didn’t believe I’d scared him at all. I was pretty sure that he was just leading all of us on until we let our guard down.
“We have some generators in the basement for during the winter in case the power goes out.” He held up an empty cup for me to use. “The coffee? Well, we got lucky, or should I say blessed on that one. We found the coffee shop empty and carted all the extras back here. I’m still not used to being the shepherd of a flock. That was more my brother’s job before he passed.”
Nodding my head, I just listened to him ramble and walked farther into the kitchen to pour me a cup of the delicious coffee.
“What were you before that?” I might not have many weaknesses, but caffeine was one of the few addictions I allowed myself.
“Me? I was one of those that attended church on Christmas and Easter, but I didn’t mind helping when he needed something done around here for the homeless.”
“That didn’t really answer my question. What did you do for work before the ZITs showed up?”
Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Page 42