“He said he would be here tonight. That was the only timetable I was given. Now while we wait, please regal me with how you were able to escape Paris and what happened in Ireland.” Petrus poured them both a glass of wine.
The siblings sat and swapped stories of the last year while they enjoyed each other’s company for the first time since the initial outbreak. The pair began to relax as the conversation continued, and neither realized that it was the first time in over a year that they were able to do so. As Petronella regaled her brother with the tale of her fleeing London, the sound of an approaching helicopter almost escaped their noticed.
“I do believe I hear Master arriving,” Petrus interrupted his sister. “Come, let us greet him on the roof.” The siblings made haste to the arrival of their master and mentor.
The pair made their entrance through the rooftop doorway just as the helicopter touched down. The glow of the full moon gave them an ample view of the surrounding estate lands walled off from the European countryside. The walls of the old estate had repelled invaders for centuries, many of which had highly-devastating weaponry designed for gaining access to just such places, yet the walls still stood. In the current day and atmosphere of the world around them, the invaders they were worried about might be far less skilled, but they would be far deadlier if the defenses failed and they gained entry.
Petrus made his way to the landing area while his sister stopped to gaze out into the darkness. As the blades of the helicopter whined down, she quickly rejoined her brother’s side to greet the new arrival. The side-door of the Blackhawk slid open and four well-armed soldiers appeared first and took up guard positions on the rooftop, only then did Donavan exit the helicopter. He was a tall, well-built older gentleman with a pencil-thin mustache and slight beard, both perfectly trimmed to perfection. Donavan sported a full suit and tie, as though most of the world was not devastated and crawling with slabs. His neck was adorned with a red ribbon sash bearing a pendant of gold and jewels, indicating his rank as second-in-command of The Council. He approached his two awaiting consorts and was greeted with a bowed. He placed one of his hands on the back of each of their lowered heads. “Come, my children, let us get inside. We have much to discuss,” he commanded in a deep raspy European voice.
As the trio arrived in the large dining room, they each moved to their seats as Donavan waved off his guards. As soon as the departing guards shut the door behind them, Donovan, wasting no time on trivialities, promptly began the meeting. “I have summoned you here this evening to bring news. We are to gather any and all resources and make our way to North America for a meeting of The Council.”
Petrus gestured with his hand. “Sir? How are we to travel, if you will forgive the question.”
“There will be a ship awaiting our arrival in Saint Malo. It will be large enough to accommodate your forces, servants, and staff alike. We will leave tomorrow evening. Give the word tonight to prepare for departure. It will only be a day’s journey for them. I did a brief flyover of the path they will take as I arrived here and it is, at the moment, cleared and ready for your people to make their way. You will both accompany myself in the helicopter and we shall precede them. There is no reason to place ourselves in harm’s way. This will ensure if any attack occurs, only the servants and staff will be lost. A replaceable loss, if necessary.” Donavan then sat back in his chair as he sipped a glass of wine. “On further consideration, have the servants transport any more of this wine that you have on hand. It is quite delectable.”
“What of the other Council members?” Petrus asked. “I have thus far only been able to locate 11 of our brothers and sisters.”
“I, too, have arrived at the same number. It seems the North and South American members are unaccounted for at this time. Do not fear, knowing them as I do, I am not yet concerned for their safety. They will appear when they are able. Now then, I will be retiring to my room for the duration of the evening. I assume the remainder of my meal is in my room as I requested?” Donavan stood and grabbed the bottle of wine to take with him.
“Yes. Everything is as you requested, Master,” said Petrus. “If you will forgive me Sir, would you not care to stay a short time and regale us with your company? We would be most appreciative of any information you could spare regarding your travels and adventures since the outbreak, Master.”
“It will be a long journey to America aboard the boat, and we shall have plenty of time to, catch up, so to speak. Now go and have your people prepare for our journey. My guards will coordinate with your military as to the specifics of our trip.” Donavan made his way over to the staircase before he turned around and said, “I will say this much, it pleases me to see you both alive and well.”
CHAPTER 14
Kyle and David
Kyle decided to walk some of the perimeter on his way to meet David. Ever since they’d moved back in it seemed as though they had been under constant attack, either by slabs or bandits. For some reason, though, the last month had been a lot quieter. They still had moments of concern, though. Just a week prior, a group of bandits had tried to scale one of the walls and gain entry, but they were repelled almost effortlessly. The people of the camp had worked hard to become a community, but moreover a team, so that when a situation arose, it would almost be an afterthought for them to jump right in and help one another. When the alarm was sounded, everybody sprang into action and manned their post. The hostile group’s attack was over almost as quickly as it had begun. When it was over, four bandits limped away sporting arrows or stab wounds to their legs, and one had been carted away unconscious, courtesy of a right hook delivered by Kyle as the attacker reached the top of the wall.
Even though the bandits likely wouldn’t have shown them the same mercy, the residents of Camp H had adopted a policy to only kill as a last resort, in regards to other humans. Kyle had convinced the rest of the members of camp to adopt the ‘kill as a last resort for breathers’ policy after an attempted raid the past April had ended with the death of a young pregnant woman. Kyle was convinced that every human killed was one step closer to the entire human race becoming extinct, and as such, the only real shoot to kill targets should be the slabs.
As Kyle arrived at the western wall tower, he checked to make sure the white flag was visible, indicating it was safe. Upon seeing the white flag, he hollered up to the tower, “Hey, old man, all clear on the western front?”
Ron poked his head out of the tower and acknowledged the greeting. “It is now, no thanks to the two goof-balls that I relieved,” Ron said, referencing Billy and Tim.
“What’s the problem?”
“Well, right after they left, I watched four slabs skirt the wall, then wander off back toward the city. Then I looked over and saw the fire pits were almost out. I’ve got them going again, but you need to stress to everybody to keep the fires going at all times.”
“I’ll talk to them when I get back from the test-slash-supply run with David,” Kyle said. He mock saluted Ron before he turned and headed to the garage. As he walked away, he could still hear Ron grumbling and grunting, but he kept going as if he hadn’t heard anything. Ron was one of Kyle’s closest and oldest friends. Even though they were only separated by 11-years, he had always looked to Ron as a father figure, partly because Ron acted like one all the time, and partly because he looked much older than his age. He had been an invaluable asset to their survival with his many skills in carpentry and good-ole-boy know-how. Without his skill-set they probably wouldn’t have made it as long as they had. He kept everyone on their toes by holding training drills on wall breaches and preached about being ever vigilant with everything they did. Some days Ron could get a little too preachy, and Kyle would have to get his wife Josey to calm him down a notch before he got tossed over the wall by some of the other members of the camp. No matter, as far as Kyle was concerned, in their current situation, he couldn’t ask for a better person to have on his side.
Kyle took a pen from his pocket and
wrote the word fire on his hand so that he would remember to talk to Billy and Tim when he returned. The fires played a huge role in the defense of the camp as the smoke seemed to mask their scent from the slabs. They had also recently discovered that the smell of a burning slab acted as a repellent to other slabs. As a result, they had instituted a policy that all slabs they were forced to put down, they threw into the fire pits, and, in most cases, any slab within range of the smell immediately turned away from it. With those bits of information learned, they had dug several pits around the outside of the wall and made sure they kept them going at all times.
As he rounded the house they had dubbed the armory, he found several more members of the camp gathering up their weapons before they went to their designated towers for watch duty. As he approached the armory, Mike and Kim’s daughter, Melinda, spotted him. She was a chatterbox for an eight-year-old, and he knew she was would talk his head off if he didn’t come up with something quick. As she ran toward him, Kyle squatted down to one knee and motioned for her to come in close, as if he had a secret to share. As he finished whispering into her ear, she perked up and grinned. She then turned to her mom and dad and yelled goodbye as she ran straight toward the kitchen house.
Mike and Kim looked confused and asked Kyle what he’d told her. Kyle laughed a little. “I told her if she hurried to school, Hope would be there to let her braid her hair.”
“Does Hope know this?” Mike asked, knowing the answer.
“Nope, but I’m in a hurry to get to the garage, and I had to think fast. I’ll smooth it out with both of them later. Are y’all set for guard duty today?”
“Yeah. We have the front gate, so I ran an extension cord to the bus and put one of the radios inside to keep an ear out for any chatter.”
“Sounds good. Tell the others I will see them when we get back from our supply run today. I have a few ideas for improving our water-collecting efforts.” Kyle had been referring to Wes, his wife, Anne, and her brother Stephen, who had just gone inside the armory as Kyle was tied up with Melinda.
Mike acknowledged, and Kyle bid farewell as he left and headed straight to the garage knowing that David would be impatiently waiting.
Upon his arrival, he saw David pacing around the garage double-checking the gear for the mission. As Kyle entered, David spotted him and picked up a bundle of equipment and threw it to him “It’s about time. I was fixin’ to go look for you. Figured your lazy ass was still asleep. Suit up. Let’s go.”
Even though the years of being a delivery man were behind David, he still woke up well before the crack of dawn and considered anybody that woke up afterwards a lazy ass.
“I’ve been up for a while as well. I just figured I’d be fashionably late, was all.” Kyle started to put on the protective gear.
They had put together a workable set of armor to wear whenever they went on a supply run. Due to the fact that they couldn’t just run down to the corner armory for supplies, everybody’s armor was a little different, but the basic concept was the same. The basic design was a long-sleeve undershirt with pads at the elbows and shoulders. They’d then cover that with some more pads over the forearms and upper arms, and then one more shirt over that. Everyone had their own chest pieces and back protectors that most had decorated in their own customized way. David’s sported the classic pirate skull and bones, while Kyle’s chest piece was a part of an old Star Wars stormtrooper costume he used to wear to sci-fi conventions. Finally, Kyle slid his favorite Alabama football jersey over the top to complete his look.
David looked over as Kyle checked his chest piece and snickered, “You are such a dork.”
“You’re just jealous ’cause I make this look good.” Kyle struck the famous hands-on-the-hips superman pose.
“Whatever, super-dork. Hurry up and get your leg gear on, and then let me show you something really cool.” David moved over and grabbed a hold of the tarp that was hiding his latest creation.
While he strapped his last knee and shin guard on over his blue jeans, Kyle hopped over to a milk crate and sat down to give David his undivided attention.
“Alright, let me see it,” Kyle said, eager to see the project that not even he had been allowed to peek at.
With a flourish, David yanked the tarp, and unveiled his surprise.
“Holy crap! I’ll have to keep an eye on you from here on out. I think a mad genius title is in your future.” Kyle eyed the monstrosity before him.
In his best carnival-barker voice, David stepped up to the vehicle and began to describe his creation to Kyle.
“What you see before you is a completely modified 2008 Ford E350 party bus. I have retrofitted it with what all good zombie hunters today are using to fight off the reanimated hordes that plague us humans trying to survive in an insane world. It has been fitted with a .50 caliber, 360-degree turret bubble on the top. All the windows are covered with stainless steel strips and securely welded to the frame with enough clearance between them to allow one to shoot through, but not big enough to allow a slab to put their arm in. You will also notice the enhanced tire wells, which have been covered with spiked plating to keep the tires three-quarters of the way hidden, to avoid having them shot at. Yes, I’m glad you asked. That is a blade off of a small bulldozer mounted to the front to allow the vehicle to push through most obstacles you would run across. The outside luggage bays have been sealed up on the outside, but a new hatch has been installed on the inside, so the storage space is not lost, and they can be accessed safely from the inside. Last, but not least, on the outside is the rear canopy tunnel boot that can be unfurled from the inside of the vehicle, that will act as a tunnel, allowing us to have a secure passage to a house or building. The material for the tunnel is a collection of Kevlar body vests we recently acquired, sewn together to provide the utmost protection in a violent world.” David paused to catch his breath and gauge his audience’s reaction. “Well, whatcha think so far?”
“I’m really worried about you, big guy.” Kyle chuckled. “What else you got before I decide to have you committed?”
“Alright, if you will step inside we will continue the tour,” David said as he stepped into the side door.
After Kyle entered the bus, David continued, “Alright, as you see, I have gutted the inside except for two seats along the walls and the stripper pole, ’cause you never know when you might need that. Now let me show you the new hassle-free fuel recovery features. Back here on each side are two removable hatches. Once we pull up to a vehicle, we remove the hatch and you reach over to the targeted vehicle and open the gas cap. You then take the siphoning hose here and run it down into the tank. Next, you slide this boot over the hole and pump air into the tank, which forces the gas into the hose that leads straight into the 25-gallon tank at your feet. Once you’re done, simply retract the hose and you are ready to go. No more accidentally getting gas in your mouth trying to siphon it the old fashion way.”
“Now, that I like.”
“Please hold all comments ’til the end,” David chimed back. “Now let me show you something up front here. If I can get a volunteer from the audience to help me? How about you, sir? Please come up here and push the button labeled Right, if you could.” David stepped to the side to give Kyle room.
Kyle walked up to the panel mounted on the dash and found three buttons labeled with, L, R, and F. He leaned over and pushed the button labeled R. Suddenly, he heard a loud rush of air and felt the bus lurch as a large metal arm swung outward on the right side of the bus with such surprising force that anything in its path would have a very bad day.
“Whoa! That was impressive. I take it there is one in the front and one on the left side, too,” Kyle said, clearly approving.
“Yep. I figured if we ever get overrun again, like at the National Guard armory, we’d need a way to clear our path to escape. They are air powered and can recharge as long as the engine is running in about 45-seconds.” David sat down in the driver’s seat and grinned at Kyle. �
��So whatchya got to say now, smart ass?”
“All kidding aside, damn this thing is B-A-D bad! I’m looking forward to testing it out today. Let’s grab our weapons and roll out!”
“Weapons are in the floorboard in the back. We are ready to roll. Go open the garage door, and I will fire it up, and then we can get this baby on the road. While we’re out, we have to come up with a name for her.” David buckled up in the driver’s seat.
“I think I’ve got a name already.” Kyle laughed and gave an evil grin. “Devastator.”
David nodded in approval. “I like it. That is perfect.”
As Kyle opened the garage door, David pulled out into the daylight and was met by several members of the camp who had been awaiting him outside. As he completely exited the building, everyone started to clap as they got to see the newly named Devastator for the first time.
“What the hell is this?” David asked as he looked at the awaiting crowd.
“I invited whoever wasn’t on a duty detail to come out and see her off on her maiden voyage,” Kyle explained. He knew that David would eat up the attention and be more than eager to show off his latest invention. “So come on out and greet your adoring fans.”
Kyle stepped out of the way and walked back to the garage to sit for a few minutes while David repeated his presentation of Devastator. As Kyle sat and laughed a little, 9-Finger Brian approached him.
“Hey, you mind a little company on today’s run?” asked Brian. “I have to get out of here for a bit and stretch the legs some.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. Go suit up. You have a few minutes ’til he gets through showing off.”
CHAPTER 15
Hutch
Hutch stood up and peered out the window. As far as his eyes could see were the dead, except those dead bodies weren’t doing what the dead were supposed to do. The dead were walking around. Now, to any sane, well-adjusted person, that would be cause for complete and utter panic, but for Hutch it was just another day in his life. Ever since Z-day, as it had been dubbed in the media, the dead had not stayed down. Instead, the dead seemed to have suddenly acquired a desire to be up and moving rather than occupy a coffin six feet in the ground.
Humanity's Hope (Book 1): Camp H Page 6