People came running down the hill to the house, cheering at the find.
“Holy crap, man, you actually got it running,” Mike told him, as he reached out to shake Alex’s hand. He received many handshakes, pats on the back, and even a few hugs.
“Tires are almost flat, but we can get the large air compressor in Dad’s old shop going, even if we have to rig it up, and fix them easy enough,” Alex told the assembled group.
“This is excellent, Alex, you’ve done something beyond wonderful for the group, everyone thanks you and owes you a huge debt of gratitude.”
“Not necessary, Gordy, but thank you. I did this for everyone; it belongs to all of us.”
That evening everyone celebrated around a large bon-fire outside the main house. Beer was brought up from the concrete pool, where it had been left in the water to chill, and a bottle of whiskey was brought out of their stores.
The group celebrated how much they had accomplished in such a short time, reveling in their success. For a moment in time, these people enjoyed themselves. They did not think about zombies, or monsters that wore the masks of men. They all felt safe, they had an abundance of food and were growing more every day, water was plentiful and so was wild game.
These people took the time to relish the fruits of their labor, knowing that with sweat and strength and community they could solve anything.
Despite all hardships and heartache this group of survivors had suffered, some were even able to find love.
“Mom, Dad, can we talk to you?”
Gordy tilted his head back, trying to look past the glare of the fire at his son. Dean and Rebecca did not see that Gordy had reached down between himself and his wife, grasping Jan’s hand tightly.
“Sure thing, Deany-Meany, what’s up?”
“Deany-Meany? Wow, now that’s a nickname.”
“No one’s called me that in years, since I was about ten I think,” Dean said. He tried to scowl at his Dad, but could only find a smile. “You better not start calling me that, either, woman,” He said to Rebecca.
“Ha! I just might, but only when you’re being a meany.” Rebecca poked him in his ribs, causing him to jump and fight back a laugh.
“Ok you two, save it for later,” Jan told them. “What did you want to talk to us about?”
“Well, I was thinking, I mean, we were thinking…” Dean stumbled over his words, suddenly nervous about having this discussion with his parents.
“What Captain Eloquence is trying to say here is; we want to shack up together in one of the houses down in the town.”
Jan and Gordy both burst out laughing, more at Dean’s expression, with his huge eyes and hanging jaw, than at what Rebecca had said.
“Oh my god, Becca! Don’t say that to my freakin’ parents!”
Still laughing, Jan said, “I can’t tell you we weren’t expecting it. Are you two sure about this?”
“Yes, we are, Mom. We actually want to get married, but since we don’t have a preacher that would be difficult.”
From across the fire Evie shouted, “Alex has been a youth pastor for the past two years!”
People began to laugh and clap, hearts swelling with joy. Gordy grinned at his son, standing up to shake his hand and hug Rebecca. “As long as you’re sure about this, then that’s ok with me. Just let me say this, ok? The world may be different, but marriage is something to be treasured. Don’t take it lightly, either of you. If you do this, plan on doing it for life.”
“Really, Gordo? ‘Doing it for life’ is what you want to say right now?” Laughter swelled around the fire, and Gordy felt a flash of delight that Jimmy sounded like his old self for a moment.
“Jimmy?”
“Yeah, Gordo?”
“Keep being a dick, Jimmy.”
“Sure thing, man.”
Many continued to celebrate well into the evening, enjoying the rare moment of complete happiness. For a short time the group was able to abandon thoughts of the hungry dead and evil living, and give themselves over to the shared joy that is the heart of a strong community.
Tomorrow was a new day and each new day brought with it new discoveries about the world they now lived in.
Chapter 30
Gordy leaned against the front bumper of the old Dodge truck Jonathan had left them. He, Jimmy, Rick and Mike had parked on the overpass near Frankford, and they all looked south down Highway 61, towards Bowling Green. They could see thick black smoke far in the distance.
“Think Bowling Green is on fire?” Mike asked.
“Looks like it could be,” Gordy answered.
“Gordy, do you really think we need to go out there, to Bowling Green and Louisiana, and farther, looking for more people?”
“I do, Rick, really. If we want to rebuild something of the American heartland we’re going to need people to do it.”
“More people means more trouble, more bastards like Richard,” Jimmy growled.
“It does, and that’s something we’ll have to deal with, but not everyone out there is bad people, Jimmy. Guys, I believe that it’s vitally important that we go out and look for others. Not just because we need people, but because we need skills.
“Jan can do a lot, but I would love to find a doctor, especially a surgeon, for those things she’s not able to handle. We need people with engineering experience, both mechanical and electrical, because I think with the right materials we might be able to get electricity back up
“We can all garden, but what do any of us know about large-scale farming, or animal husbandry? Yes, we have a small library of books that we can get a lot of that knowledge from, but wouldn’t life be that much easier if we had people that were already familiar with it?
“We can survive, this group, this family that we have now. I have no doubt about that. We’re strong and capable, and because of that we can survive. But I want to do more than survive. For you guys, for all of us, I want to make something more.”
“I understand, Gordy, I really do, we all do, but it’s going to be rough out there,” Mike said. “We haven’t been back to Hannibal yet, and there’s no telling what we’d find there. But imagine getting closer to a city. We can handle zombies without much trouble, because we don’t usually find more than a few at a time, but what happens when we get close to an area that used to be densely populated?”
“Everything out there is an unknown, Gordo,” Jimmy said. “You think we need to go out there and find more people? Fine, I’m with you, you know that, but we need to be smart, get ourselves ready. Ready means more guns, more ammo, and I really wish we had an MRAP or two, or even better, a tank.”
“I’m with Jimmy on that, Gordy. If we’re going out there,” Rick said, sweeping his arm in the direction of the black smoke, “then having some armored vehicles and heavier guns would be ideal.”
“That makes me wonder if anyone has been able to get into the National Guard Armory in Hannibal. If I remember correctly, there wasn’t even time for most states to mobilize their Guard units when everything went to shit, it all happened so damn fast.”
Gordy and the others looked at Mike. “So you think we should go back to Hannibal before we move farther out?” Gordy asked him.
“If there’s a chance that no one has gotten in to the Armory, then I say we should. And if someone has, then we see if they deserve to keep it.”
Gordy looked at Mike for a moment before asking, “See if they deserve to keep it?”
“Would you leave that kind of stuff in the hands of people that would use it to hurt others, or even worse, attack the Camp, if they found out it was there? You keep talking about finding others, and rebuilding, and I think part of that is pulling the masks off monsters.”
The other three men thought about Mike’s words and they knew he was right. Fighting back against those that would do harm would not always be enough. To defend against evil, they would sometimes have to take the fight to it.
Jimmy interrupted their silent contemplation w
hen he said, “Zombies at six ‘o clock.”
Weapons coming up, the other men turned to see what Jimmy was talking about.
Three gut-suckers were shuffling down the highway, drawn to the sound of voices. Their rotting limbs lifted slowly when they came close enough to see the men standing by the vehicles, fingers twitching, hands grasping at the air.
Mike shouldered his rifle and took aim, sighting on the first zombie, watching the rotting face for a moment. “I know I’ve seen this movie before,” he quipped.
Gordy, Rick, and even Jimmy laughed at Mike’s remark, even as they all brought their rifles to bear on the approaching dead. Together the men fired their first shots of the day.
People, Places, and Things
You survived! I hope you enjoyed American Revenant: Settlers and Sorrow. Looking forward to the next book? Me too, so check out the following links to stay updated on the series, or just to start a conversation, (I love to talk books). Facebook, Twitter, American Revenant Series website. You can also subscribe here to receive updates on the American Revenant series direct to your email inbox.
The following links are to people, places and things I think are wonderful, and that you may enjoy as well. Check them out, Like, Follow, let them know I sent you.
http://www.tigcarson.com/ - Go here, get A Space Story, read it and fall in love with a great book! Tig is an awesome guy, too, so say Hi to him. (Do you recognize that title? If not, check Chapter 19)
https://twitter.com/fox_emm - Not only is she a wonderful writer, Fox_Emm is also a champion for the indie/self-published author.
http://zadf.org/ - A wonderful site for all things Zombie and Horror.
https://twitter.com/ZombieManifesto - Need more Zombies? Check out the Zombie Manifesto!
https://twitter.com/DeadReviews - The ZombieCast podcast is the most fun you can have sitting in chair with your pants still on! A great cast, as well as an awesome group of people.
https://twitter.com/RJARome - A very cool guy who’s in some movies and stuff.
https://www.facebook.com/emily.jemphotographics- Emily is the excellent artist that delivered another amazing cover. She’s great to work with. If you need some design or graphic work done, give her a look.
http://geekyantics.net – Great fun for the geeky guy in all of us. Visit the site and join the G.A.N.G.
http://zombieresearchsociety.com/ - This is one of the best sites, and groups, out there for those who love all things Zombie!
http://planettees.com/home/ - Need a shirt? Have your own design you’d like to see people wearing? This is the site for you.
I won’t take up any more of your time. Thanks for reading American Revenant: Settlers and Sorrow, and thank you for supporting the people and places I’ve listed here.
American Revenant (Book 2): Settlers and Sorrow Page 17