Zombie Reign (Book 2): Rescue in Detroit

by Joseph Edward

  I tucked Claire back into bed, knowing damn well that she wouldn’t sleep the rest of the night after that. None of us could. I grabbed my AR and slung it over my shoulder. After that incident, I didn’t feel like having to go looking for it if shit hit the fan.

  As I passed by one the spare bedrooms I was surprised to see that Eric and Tool were still sound asleep. It was hard to believe that they could have slept through all the commotion. I shrugged it off the exhaustion. At least I didn’t catch them cuddling. That would have been a bit awkward. Not to mention that I’m sure Jamie would have something to say about it.

  I went to the kitchen and found Justin at the table tinkering with what looked like his red dot sight. There were fragments of miscellaneous electrical parts scattered across the table. I figured it was a good a time as any to revisit the earlier conversation we had regarding his customization of scopes.

  “So,” I said breaking his attention from what he was working on, “are you going to explain what makes that sight so special?”

  “Oh, this one? This is actually a second sight that I’ve been working on. Take a look and tell me what you think.”

  Justin handed me the sight and I began to bring it up to eye level. In doing so, the field of vision caught Justin where he was sitting. At first I dismissed what I saw as a reflection in the room or some other anomaly. I had to bring it on sight with his body just to be sure, but there it was again.

  “I’ll be damned…a heat signature!”

  “Sort of,” Justin replied looking distressed as if I was being too simplistic in describing the capability of the sight, “it’s just a little something I was working on for hunting before everything went to shit. I figured with a few tweaks that it may come in handy.”

  “I’ll say,” I said as I scanned around the room in awe of what Justin had made.

  It wasn’t until I scanned around behind me back towards the window that three more signatures showed up on the scope. They weren’t coming from anyone in the room and were appeared to be coming from outside. The signatures weren’t very detailed or descriptive, but there was no doubt that his device was accurate enough to tell me something was out there.

  “Tommy!” I yelled, getting the attention of everyone who was still up.

  I motioned to Justin and he nodded, acknowledging what I was asking of him. He quickly gathered up his parts and put them into a backpack. He grabbed his AR, turning off the safety and positioned himself behind me as cover.

  Tommy and Jamie had rushed up from downstairs and I could tell by the glassy eyes and expressionless faces that they had both been dipping into the painkillers again. I wasn’t too concerned about them being out of sorts, as they had both displayed a stronger tolerance of the drugs than I had. It may be the middle of the night, but after all of this excitement I was ready to join them in a little pain reduction.

  I placed my index finger over my mouth to hush any questions that they may have had at the moment, and handed the scope over to Tommy. Tommy looked at me as if I was the boy who cried wolf, as he did a double take from the scope and back to me again. I motioned for him to bring it to eye level and pointed in the direction of the secured window.

  “Holy shit, that’s cool!” Tommy burst out with a huge grin, aided by the elated effects of the pills he had no doubt taken. The grin turned to a grimace as he realized what he was looking at through the lens. “They aren’t moving.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that,” I replied, “it’s either zombies taking a breather or looters.”

  Tommy did a 360 degree turn about with the scope and didn’t appear to find any more objects show up.

  “Looks like they’re all in front,” he said as he brought up his shotgun, “will this thing mount on my gun?”

  “Right now it’ll only fit on my AR,” Justin replied, “because the power unit is too large and it needs a custom mount.”

  Tommy handed the sight over to Justin, who picked up on what Tommy was getting at. He quickly mounted the sight onto his AR and checked to make sure his weapon was charged.

  It was uncanny how quickly we were all working together so cohesively. It was as if we had all been in battle together in a previous life – each of us knowing exactly what to do without the excessive use of verbal communication. I was grateful for this unusual bond we seemed to share.

  “Can you make out their shapes better if you get closer?” Tommy asked of Justin.

  “It doesn’t really work that way…yet.” Justin replied. “I was still working on some adjustments as I’m trying to get the lenses down right. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detector elements that -”

  “Fucking stop,” Tommy said, interrupting Justin, “a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would have sufficed. I don’t have time for all of the technical shit!”

  “Oh, that’s the pot calling the kettle black,” I interjected, “that’s the first time I’ve heard someone give a dissertation on a gun part that had the potential of being more long winded than your usual bullshit!”

  “I don’t do that…” Tommy replied in a hurtful tone.

  Justin, Jamie and I must have all given Tommy that “Are you fucking kidding me?” look, because he changed the subject faster than a woman changes her opinion.

  “Is it accurate enough to be able to sight in and hit something?”

  “It doesn’t work any different than any other sight right now, it’s just enhanced.”

  “Good, than use it to clear out whatever is out there.”

  We turned off the lighting in the kitchen and Justin took point while I covered him close behind. As Justin made his way towards the window and peered from around the curtain, he brought his sight up and began to scan the front yard past the porch.

  Off to his side, the three glowing signatures showed up on his lens. As we were closer to the window now, they were obviously grouped together and appeared to be close to the ground.

  “I can’t see anything,” Justin whispered, “just the signatures. It’s pitch black out there.”

  Tommy moved past me and pushed aside the curtain, holding up his 870 tactical light and illuminating the area the signatures were coming from. It was easy to see how Tommy had missed seeing what was now visible once the curtain was pulled back a bit.

  There was a dead buck on the ground. Huddling over the corpse were three zombies feeding off of the carcass. As Tommy brought them into focus, he held his fire knowing that buckshot from that amount of distance would be almost useless. He looked over to Justin, who nodded in acknowledgement that he now had a visual on his targets. Tommy slid the last remaining portion of the picture window open as Justin took aim.

  With the first two shots, Justin was able to clear headshots and drop two of the zombies. They were too pre-occupied on their meal to notice the light and the shots being fired. Justin missed with his third shot, as the last remaining zombie moved slightly as he realized his companions were downed. All of us stood there shocked as he let out a hiss in our direction and then continued to feed as if nothing had happened. The fourth shot struck the zombie through the top of his head while he was eating, dropping him face first into the carcass.

  Justin did a thorough scan of the surrounding area and made sure that we had no other signatures showing up. Tommy closed the window and I went back for a second look, peering out of the blinds into the piercing darkness.

  “What are you doing?” Tommy asked.

  “Checking for eyes,” I replied, “their eyes probably glow at night too. I just wanted to make sure there were no more left.”

  “There weren’t any more indicators through the sight,” Tommy replied.

  “The sight wasn’t picking up the zombies,” Justin chimed in, “they’re dead. Why do you think that there wasn’t a signature for the buck on the ground?”

  “Because it was dead?” Tommy answered back.

  “Exactly,” Justin replied, “The zombies are dead and don’t show up. The buck was dead and didn’t
register either. It was the warm blood from the carcass. They were getting it all over them as they fed and that was what was showing up.”

  “The buck must have been what hit the window and broke it earlier,” I said to the group as I pointed to the plywood, “they must have been chasing it and caught it out on the lawn after you fired at it Tommy.”

  “Good venison gone to waste…” he replied, shaking his head in disgust.

  We still had a few hours to daylight, but by this point the adrenaline hadn’t dumped yet and no one would be able to sleep – except for Eric and Tool. We all had to pause for a moment with weapons at the ready as we almost mistook their snoring for a zombies moan. At least someone would be well rested for what the day would bring.

  Chapter 9

  The sun was coming up as Justin and I were making the last preparations for our next search and rescue mission. I loaded a duty bag with a machete in addition to an extra shotgun and tomahawk. Our weapon load outs were becoming predictable. Then again, if something works, why change it.

  Justin returned to the kitchen table and continued work on his scope modifications, while Tommy and Jamie were fixing breakfast. They were arguing like an old married couple and thankfully Claire entered the room in time to break the growing tension.

  “Morning,” she said as she shuffled into the room, bow in hand.

  “Morning Claire,” I replied, “what’s with the bow?”

  “I’m going with you,” she said as Tommy did an about-face from the stove.

  “Girl, you most certainly aren’t,” he replied sternly shaking his head to reinforce his point.

  “Girl? So that’s all I am to you?”

  “Well, you are a girl, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe I am, but I’m sure that they could use an extra hand,” he replied back as she straightened herself to gain some altitude to support the attitude, “it sure beats staying here and babysitting you all day.”

  Tommy was obviously getting irritated, as his previous bickering with Jamie hadn’t exactly put him in a good mood. I had to side with Tommy on this one. The mission we were about to go out on was no place for a kid, regardless of her abilities in wielding the bow. We couldn’t risk her getting hurt, and we weren’t about to stop for potty breaks either.

  “Claire,” I said as I directed her towards the stairway to the basement, “come with me.”

  Claire followed my lead, but not before looking back at Tommy and making sure that he knew the tongue sticking out of her mouth was meant for him. This was a good kid no doubt. Most kids at her age would have been giving the one fingered salute without hesitation. I had to give her credit on that one – maybe there was hope for the human race after all.

  “You know this is for your own good, right?” I said as we walked down the stairs.

  “I know,” she replied quietly with her head down, “it’s just that I want to help more. I get bored sitting around here all day.”

  “It may be boring, but do you realize the importance of what you do for this group? You help keep this place safe and secure. If anything should happen to this place while we are figuring all of this out…well, quite frankly, we would be lost and struggling.”

  “I didn’t think about it that way, but it doesn’t make it any less boring. I am so tired of nothing to do all day!”

  Claire may have been in the middle of Armageddon, but that didn’t stop her from having the normal feelings of a young teen. She wanted to live, and simply waking up every day didn’t quite fit that bill for her. I finally thought about how it must feel for someone of her age to have lost her youth so quickly. Most of the experiences I had and took for granted while growing up she would never have the luxury of experiencing.

  “I know, I know,” I said as I pulled her in for a hug, “but we can’t stay here forever. When that time comes, you have my word that you’ll be as much a part of helping us find a place to relocate as anyone. Got it?”

  “Got it,” she said as we could both smell something delicious coming from upstairs.

  “Go ahead,” I said pushing her back towards the stairs, “I’ll be right behind you – and Claire,”

  “Yeah?”

  “Leave Tommy alone - please?”

  She giggled as she walked upstairs and I caught a glimpse of her hand behind her back. Did she actually flip me the bird? I may never know the truth.

  I had an ulterior motive for staying behind. I was on edge with all the recent events and on top of that, getting almost no sleep. I was exhausted mentally and needed a breather. The pills Tommy had given me previously had really helped and I intended on helping myself to another dose. I just didn’t want to give the wrong impression to Claire.

  As I began my search, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the stairs.

  “Tommy?”

  “Yeah - you coming up for breakfast?”

  “Sure, you mind giving me a hand first?”

  “What is it?” he asked as he made his way towards me.

  “I don’t want to go rummaging through all of your stuff, but would you mind giving me a few more of those pills?”

  “Sure,” Tommy said as he chuckled, “no problem. They’re right over here if you need more.”

  Tommy opened one of the wall cabinets and moved aside some ammo boxes. In the cabinet was the pharmacy container he had taken. He opened the container, removing the lid and tipping the top in my direction.

  “Take what you need, there’s plenty here. Keep some on you so that you don’t have to keep sneaking down here like a kid stealing his dad’s whiskey.”

  I took an ample handful and placed them in one of my tactical leg pouches. Before Tommy could pull the container away, I reached into it and plucked out a single pill. Taking a cue from Jamie, I swallowed the pill high and dry.

  “Easy on those,” Tommy said as he put the top back on and hid the container, “one or two now and then isn’t a really a problem. If you start taking them like Jamie and me, you start needing them more than wanting them – got it?”

  “Sure, I’m far from being a junkie,” I replied a bit embarrassed at Tommy’s insinuation.

  “I know that,” he replied, “but with our physical pain, these are the only things that will help. I just don’t want to see you get hooked on something unnecessarily.”

  With that we both went upstairs and sat down for breakfast. Tool and Eric were the last to join us as they came into the kitchen stretching and yawing.

  “Morning,” Eric said with a stretch, “man am I tired. I slept like shit.”

  “No doubt,” Tool added with a yawn, “me too. I was hoping I would be tired enough to get a solid night’s sleep.”

  The entire room fell silent, with all eyes on them.

  “What?” Eric asked as he looked around the table.

  “Oh nothing,” Justin answered as he grabbed a plate of toast, “between you guys snoring and us having to kill zombies last night, no one fucking slept is all.”

  Tool and Eric looked at each other and then the group in disbelief.

  “Yeah Tool, you fucking turd!” Jamie said, “We should have let them come in and let them eat you two while you were sleeping.”

  “Better watch out,” Tommy said as he passed a plate of bacon, “y’all are going to make Griff slam his battle axe into the table again if y’all keep it up!”

  A healthy round of laughter erupted around the table and it felt good, very good indeed.

  Chapter 10

  The vehicles were loaded up and ready to go. We joked about picking straws to see who would get stuck with Eric, but in the end I volunteered instead of putting him through that humiliation. Besides, he had proven to me that no one can hit one out of the park with the bat quite like he could.

  Tool had chosen to take one of the 870 shotguns Tommy had to offer. Seriously, he was like a fucking gun shop. Between the weapons and ammo, he seemed to have more survival gear than most hunting shops. Sure I was thankful, but that didn’t st
op it from scaring the hell out of me at the same time.

  I gave a quick hug to Claire, feeling as if she was becoming my own adopted daughter. I gave her direct orders to obey Tommy and not to cause any more dissention in the group. He was looking out for her safety and she needed to understand that. She agreed to behave and promised me that she would work on her boredom issues without taking them out on him.

  The vehicles were well supplied with rations, fuel, spare ammo and weapons. We opted to bring empty fuel barrels, as the generator was consuming our supply rather quickly. We all knew that our good fortune was running low, and that we were going to need to make a break soon. We were pushing our luck and the relative security of our current location wasn’t going to be lasting forever.

  Tool had experience with driving commercial trucks before the financial collapse, finding employment as a bouncer in the Gentleman’s Club just to survive. It was decided that he was best suited for the Hummer and Justin would be riding with him. I felt fairly comfortable with the smaller H3 and Eric had no issues with me wanting to drive.

  Eric had opted for the same bolt action hunting rifle, to support any long range fire that we may need. The sight mounted to it gave it away as another one of Justin’s modifications, obviously the J-1000 he had alluded to earlier. I was interested to see what this contraption offered after seeing what Justin had done with his custom AR mount. Eric had his holstered 9mm and plenty of ammo in his tactical vest, but threw in the baseball bat for good measure. I pitched the duty bag I had prepared earlier into the backseat and we were ready to roll.

  A quick goodbye and we were off towards the freeway. We were finding that there were more roaming zombies on the roadway now, as were the amount of vehicles left abandoned. It was becoming evident that more people were unsuccessfully trying to escape, where to exactly was a mystery. It only reinforced the fact that we were running out of time as the numbers of undead were increasing.