Living Dead 2.0

by Radovick, Ronda

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  Aidan said, “Yes. And if, the shoe were on the other foot, he would not leave any of us out there. I have to go try to find them. Roses' Granny, she is worried sick. But, I can't tell Nina, I am going out there.” Kyle said, “Okay. I understand. But Aidan we don't know how many may be out in the trees, just waiting.” Aidan said, “I am aware of that. They left some vehicles out in front of the gate. If there are no keys, I'll hot wire one. I just need someone to cover me. Just in case. Then, I go the same route that Jimmy, and Rose did. If I see any sign of the Raiders, I'll let you all know where it is, and what it is. Kyle said, “Keep us posted. We'll do the same. Do you have provisions? You may have to trek on foot, at some point.” Aidan answered, “Yes. Got a lot of water. Some protein bars.” He lifted up his backpack for Kyle to see. The two said, good-bye, and Aidan headed for the gate.

  Jimmy and Rose slowly, walked through the doorway. There were three zombies coming at them. Jimmy said, “Get back!”He shot the first with the bow gun. Then, he swung the axe at another one, landing the blade in the right side of it's skull. Both zombies, fell instantly. He took out his knife. He was ready to stab the next one up through it's throat. It had gone for Rose, while he had fought the others. He turned around, to see Rose swing her hammer, hitting the third in the head. It kept coming. She struggled with the huge man-zombie, for a good minute. She was trying to pull her machete up. She could not hold it back and get a good grip on the handle. The leather-faced zombie snarled, as he peered down at her. Chomping his huge, yellow teeth at her. Jimmy grabbed it by the hair, and stabbed it in the temple. The growling, and teeth snapping stopped. It fell dead. Jimmy pulled the arrow out of the fallen zombie. He wiped the blood on his pant leg. Rose made a face. “Ew.” she whispered. The two of them looked around, to try to assess how much further they needed to go. They could see some dim light coming from, what looked like, a corridor. Jimmy said, “I think that is it.” They collected their weapons, and moved towards their target. Following the light, Jimmy whispered, “We still need to be careful, and quiet. We don't know what is on the other side of the door. Once we get through that corridor, the door should be right there.” Rose said, “Okay. Lead the way.”

  Aidan drove up the highway. Every now and then, he saw a zombie that looked like it had been hit by a car. They were still moving. Some laggers were stumbling around, lost from the herd. This told him that they came this way. At one point, he saw a few zombies in a field. He slowed down. The field had been driven over. He stopped the truck. He looked through the field glasses. There was a distinct path that led off of the pavement, through the field, and back to the pavement, ahead. “What happened here?” he looked around. There was no sign that, any other vehicles had been there. It was clearly a fresh pathway. The dead must have followed the vehicle, and gotten left behind when the vehicle went back onto the roadway. But why? He thought. Suddenly, he heard a thunp on his window. He turned to see a bloody, growling zombie with her face pushed up against the window. She was clawing at the glass. He drove off, causing the zombie woman to lose her balance, and fall down onto the road, as the vehicle moved forward. After driving awhile, he came to a three way turn off. The sign had two arrows with names of towns printed under them. One arrow had the name, Wolcott printed under it. The other, Remington. He knew that, Jimmy, and Rose had led the herd off. He looked around. He stepped out of the truck. There was no one around, other than the few dead ones that, he saw staggering up the highway. He looked around to make sure that no zombies would sneak up on him. He looked through the field glasses, again.

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  He saw stumbling dead, about quarter mile up the road, in one direction. It looked like around twelve of them were heading towards Wolcott. “Alright, then. Wolcott, it is.” He climbed back into the the truck, and headed towards Wolcott. After a few minutes, he entered the small town. He drove up the main street. It looked like there had been no one there, since it all began. He looked for any sign of his friend. He could not see any. He looked for a building that would be a couple of stories high. He wanted to stay on the main strip. He saw a building that looked like a court house. It had three floors. “That is the best you're going to get, Aidan.” He drove straight to the building. He went to the front doors. Of course, they were locked. He needed a way into the building. After walking around, while trying to open each door that he came to, he found an unlocked door. He flung his rifle over his shoulder. Then, he took out a Glock, and suppressor. He attached the suppressor to the end of the gun. He entered the building, slowly. The huge, open-corrider, went on forever. He came to the end. He saw some stairs. He crept up the stairs, with his gun pointed upwards. He made it half way up. When he came to the third floor, he peeked around a corner, leading to the main hall. There were several zombies. He took out his knife. He stepped into view of the dead. They all turned towards him. Immediately, they staggered his way. They growled, and reached forward. He walked towards the coming dead. He grabbed the first, stabbing it in the temple. It went down. Two more, came at him together. He kicked one down, and stabbed the other in the eye. Before the others could get close enough to grab him, he stabbed the one that was down. Then, more came. He opened a door, and lunged into a room, closing the door between him, and the mob of zombies. He looked around the room. He went to the window, clawing, growling zombies in the background. He took out his field glasses. He could see the edge of town. There was a large steel building. Then, near it was a complex of some kind. He could see a lot of zombies wandering around in the street in front of this complex. It had to be Jimmy's herd. Now, he needed to go back down stairs. He opened the door to allow the zombies inside the room. As they flowed in, he pulled the door all the way back to the wall, while standing inside the gap behind the door. After a few minutes, he pushed back on the door to give him enough room to slip out, closing the door. Now, the dead were trapped inside the room. He rushed down the hall, and hurried down to the truck. Jimmy, and Rose stood in the corridor. There was a door to the side, with a window. That is where the light was coming from. Rose said, “We need to peek through the window, and see what's out there. Jimmy said, “Go ahead and look. I have to try to get this thing open.” The door was locked. It was a thick steel door. Jimmy said, “If I shoot the lock out, there could be more stiffs on the other side of the door.” He opened the map of the building interior. As he was studying the map, Rose called him to the window. “Jimmy, come here. Look.” He approached the window. When he made it to where he could see outside, he could not believe his eyes. There was a large area of open pavement between the two sides of the building. The storage facility was much larger than Rose had anticipated. Across the open pavement, they could see an open roof top, on the second floor. He had to look through his field glasses to make sure that, he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. There were two young children sitting on the roof. It looked like one of them, a boy, was drawing. The other, was a very young girl. She was playing with a doll. After a few minutes, a young girl walked up. She looked like a teenager. She was carrying two plates of food. She handed the plates to the children. Then, she sat down next to them. She stared out into the distance, as the children ate whatever she had given them. He said, “There are kids up there!”

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  Rose added, “Yeah. That's what I am trying to tell you. We have to help them, Jimmy. We can't leave them here. Even if, they have an adult with them.” Jimmy looked down at Rose, “I know. I can't believe that, there are kids out here.” Rose said, “There are no dead on this side. We have to get to them, before one of them get's down on the first floor. If they are not careful, they'll walk right into the herd that we brought here.” Jimmy said, “Yes. Okay.” He exhaled.” He opened the door, and peeked outside. “We need to get inside that room, first. So I can see what is inside.” Rose said, “I'll go up there, and talk to them. You work on this.” She pointed to the door. He said, “Uh...no. We don't know who is with them. For all we know, it's a trigg
er-happy, nut-job.” Rose said, “Jimmy, leave your hammer wedged in the door, so that it won't lock on you. Then, walk me to the other door. As soon as you know if you can get into that room, come and get me.” He said, “I don't like it.” Rose said, “If they are with a group, we invite them, too. Jimmy. They are just children. Now, it's the living, or the living dead. We have to help other people, if we can. ” He studied her, “I'm going to marry you. You know that?” She blushed, a little. “I'm serious. We can't leave them here.” He said, “You are right. We go up there together. He took a bottle of water out of his duffel. He opened the door, and wedged the hammer between the door and frame, to keep the door from closing, then locking them out. He pulled her arm, “Come on.” He led her across the open pavement. This area was clear of the dead. They came to a door that was locked. Jimmy looked around for a window. He saw a couple of dumpsters. He said, “Come on.” Rose followed him to the dumpster. He said, “Help me out.” He started to push the dumpster closer to the window. Rose moved along side him and helped him. They made it to the window, and positioned the dumpster under it. He climbed on top, reached for Rose, and said, “Give me your hand.” She reached up, he grabbed her hands, and pulled her up to the top of the dumpster. Once up there. They opened the window, then climbed inside the building. They were inside a large room. It looked like some kind of storage room. All of the boxes, and crates had “United States Military” stamped on the side. Jimmy looked around. He rubbed his chin. He opened one of the crates. There was a variety of supplies. Some were parts. The parts looked like automotive parts. Jimmy said, “They must have been using this whole side to store parts.” Rose asked, “Is that normal? I mean, I thought the Government had all of their own warehouses.” Jimmy said, “They only ship what they think they will need to designated areas of operation. The military was sent here to take on this event.” Rose said, “Look at the dates on some of these crates.” Jimmy read the dates; 09.02.2017. Another one read; 01.03.2018. The dates indicated that they were stamped, and shipped “before” the zombie apocalypse. The look on Jimmy's face became one of disgust. “When did you first see any signs of trouble here?” Rose said, “Spring. They knew. I know that, they knew. I interviewed whistle blowers. Why would they do this to us?” Rose looked upset. They looked at each other. Jimmy said, “Come on. We need to find those kids.”

  Kyle approached the group. He spoke into his radio. “I need a meeting with all of the group. Women, too. The kids should stay inside.” Scott answered, “What is wrong?” Kyle said, “We need to talk. All of us. And, I need help dealing with the men.” Renee said, “Some of us have to stay on the wall.” Scott said, “Okay. All who stay on the walls will be updated by one of us, after wards.” The group met by the school playground. Kyle said, “We have good news, and bad news. The men told me that the Raiders, are just that. They hit any travelers that they see. They kill all of the very young, and old. Then, they force any able bodied that, they don't have to tend to, to join them. Those who don't, are killed. Many of the women, and children that they take, are badly abused, then killed.

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  We have to keep fighting to protect this place. They are going to keep coming back. While some of their men were out looking for their next victims, they stopped to rest and camp out. Right under a sign, advertising for the Orchard. They came here looking for apples, then one of them saw our vehicles bringing back supplies. Then, they scouted the area, further. They have been stalking us, for at least, a month. They have a camp, not far from here. If I understood, it's only a couple of miles away.” Will asked, “Do you know how many of them there are?” Kyle said, “Over sixty, in total. In the camp, there are around thirty. They have another group, south of Indianapolis. We need to come up on their camp, now. Before they make a move on us.” Will said, “We don't have that many people. Some of us have to stay at the gates.” Scott said, “Kyle may be right. If we can come up on them unexpectedly, we shoot anyone going for their guns.” Kyle said, “We have to do that, anyway.” Will asked, “What about the men that, you have in the container?” Kyle shook his head back and forth. As to say, “no”. Will understood that, to mean that, they were no longer alive. Scott said, “Everyone. We just need all men on the walls. You women that, can shoot, you be ready to join us. Will, you know the land, here. Kyle. You, I, Sam, and Jessie are going to orchestrate a sneak attack.” Jack said, “I'll come, too.”Scott said, “Jack. We need you here to help direct the boys, and to back up the women. You are sharp with the fighting. Just, everyone, keep your heads down. All you women, shoot first, and ask questions later. Charlie, you keep everyone informed on what is going on outside the walls. We need you to keep everyone up to speed. Matt, you will help Ruby. Chloe, you need to help the women lead the older people, and children to the school. Guard the door to the hidden room. Get snacks, and water for the children. Bring extra ammo. Ben, you are to aid Jack and Renee. Gail. Can you shoot?” Gail shook her head up and down. He said, “Good. We need you over at Ms. Clea's place with Nina, Jose, and Jack. We need extra eyes there. It's is the place where two highways meet. You all will shoot first, and ask questions, later. Use the field glasses. And, keep your heads down. We will be in touch by radio. No matter what happens, do not go outside the walls. If anyone sees them, yell “code red” into the radio. Everyone check in, every hour, or so. Otherwise, stay at your post. He turned to the others. “Okay . Let's get going on a plan.” The men started to plan their surprise attack. The others dispersed. Everyone made it to their post. They were nervous, but knew that they needed to protect the walls, or not survive. After a while, they saw the men leaving in one of the trucks. Will was not with them. He had gone back to his place. He told Stella, Scarlett, and Rachel what to do. Then, he gathered some supplies, and left on horseback. After a while, Will met up with the other men, at the edge of his property. He jumped down off of the horse. He said, “Go home Elvis. Go on, now.” The horse trotted off into the trees. Will spoke into the radio, “Stella. Keep your eyes open for Elvis.” Stella answered, “Okay, Dad. Be careful out there.” He responded, “I will. You all keep your eyes on that field.” He turned to the others. “So... Do we have a plan, then?” Scott said, “Yes. You are going to lead us through the woods. You know the area. If we can get up on them. We can take as many out, as possible. You and Sam let us give the signal, before you shoot. We are going in first. What we need you both to do, is use the scope, and the suppressors. Watch our backs. We might be able to get a bunch of them. Watch us, through your scopes. And, be quiet. No matter what happens. If they get us, you two head back home, fast.” Will and Sam, exchanged a glance. Will said, “We'll cover you.” He looked down at his feet. Sam said, “The two of you, cannot take on thirty men.” Scott said, “We need you to cover us. Only, if you have to. If you don't have to, wait for our signal.”

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  Kyle asked, “Do you want your children to live? To be safe? Isn't that why you came into our group?” Scott added, “Sam. If you want your family safe, you have to be willing to fight for it.” He realized that, they were right. There was no government. No police to call. No 911. Even when there was a 911 to call, the police showed up after the crime. Now, there was their group trying to live, and keep their families safe. Then, there were the people trying to kill them. He said, “ Alright.” Scott continued, “ Will you get us close enough to see what they are doing. Kyle. Tell him where they are supposed to be.” Kyle told Will, “The men we caught, told me that, his kid is a real pushy little jerk. I guess he was in one of those groups in college where they would go out in mobs, then bully everyone. Because, he was a rich college kid, pretending to look out for the people, he and his friends got away with it. So now, that is how he treats their people. Daddy, put him in charge of the group that is out here raiding us. They also say that, he is careless.” Scott asked, “Was his father a military person, before all of this?”

  Kyle answered, “Nope. Some spoiled university professor. He knows how to manipula
te those young people, too. From what the men said, he is pretty warped.” Scott said, “Aren't they all?” Kyle continued, “Anyway, they are supposed to be camped out by an old abandoned church. Somewhere, around, two miles from the Orchard.” Will said, “ I know it. It's the Catholic church. Been empty for decades.” Kyle asked, “Can you describe what the environment is like, that surrounds it?” Will said, “Well, it's surrounded by trees. On the front side, there is a large parking lot.” Scott asked, “Is there any high ground nearby?” Will answered, “Yes.” Scott, and Kyle exchanged a look. Scott said, “That's our spot. We see what they are doing, how many of them there are, and where they are positioned. Then, we plan from there.” Kyle said, “Lead the way, Will.” The men trekked through high grass, for about a mile. Then, they came to higher ground. Will stopped, “Now, we need to keep our eyes open. This is uneven ground. We will be walking over some rugged terrain, for the rest of the walk. There will be a drop-off, here and there. In some places, the trees and brush will be so overgrown that, if anyone is right underneath us, they'll hear us before we know they are there.” Jessie suggested, “Why don't I take a run ahead off you all?” They all turned to him, in surprise. Scott said, “Not a good idea. We stay together. Don't break rank on us. Kyle and I, assess which way to go in. But first, we have to establish a watch post. So that we can accurately, and safely, be able to assess what we need to do.” Jessie replied, “I was a personal trainer. I can run that terrain in half the time it will take for all of us to hike it. I might be able to get across that terrain quietly, with out them noticing. Then, I can guide you all.” Will cut in, “They are right, Jessie. If one of them sees you, then warns the others, we won't surprise them, they will come up on us.” Kyle said, “Save your energy, Jessie. If we don't make it, we may need you to get back to the group, and warn them.” Jessie reluctantly agreed, “Alright. Lead the way.” The men continued on their hike. They made it to an over hang near the church. They hid, and watched.