Safe Zone

by Chesla, Gary

  “My name is Shaun. I was thinking about joining the fort. I was wondering what you thought about staying at the fort?”

  “It’s great here.” She smiled. “My family lived out near Wilpen. Between the dead and the gangs, I didn’t know how much longer we were going to make it. My Mom heard about the fort. We came here about a month ago.”

  “How about the other people here? Any problems?” Shaun asked.

  “Everyone here is nice. We are all so happy to be safe again. Everyone helps everyone else.” Lilly smiled.

  “Is there enough to eat here?” Shaun asked.

  “There is plenty of food. The fort has a couple farms around Ligonier. They have a group stationed there to protect the farms, and bring in fresh food every week.” Lilly replied. “I think they even have a pig farm. We have bacon and ham a lot. I think I’ve gained ten pounds since we came here.”

  Shaun laughed.

  “Honest. It’s really nice here. A month ago I never thought we would ever see a place like this again.” Lilly smiled.

  “The girls here have any problems with unruly guys?” Shaun wondered.

  “Not at all. Most of the people that are here came with their wives or families. I’m not afraid to go anywhere inside these walls. We all look out for each other.” Lilly smiled as she answered.

  “Thank you for talking with me, Lilly.” Shaun said. “I’ll let you get back to your work.”

  “You’re welcome.” Lilly said pleasantly as she walked back into her garden and started working in the garden of bright blue and yellow flowers.

  “One more question.” Shaun called out.

  Lilly turned back to face him.

  “Do the dead or the gangs ever try to attack the fort?” Shaun asked.

  “Every few days some of the dead or some gang will come by. But they can’t get in. The guys on the walls will start shooting arrows at the dead until they are all down. The gangs usually don’t stay very long when they see they can’t get in and just go away. With the number of people here and how the fort is organized, we haven’t had to worry too much about anything.” Lilly answered.

  “Thanks.” Shaun said as he began to walk up towards the inside gate and Lilly went back to her garden.

  The guy manning the inside gate smiled at Shaun as he approached the secured inner area.

  “Am I permitted to go inside to look around?” Shaun asked.

  “Help yourself.” The man smiled.

  “What’s inside this area?” Shaun asked.

  “Inside is where we have special barracks for the men who are on call in case of an attack. We have the carpenters shed, kitchen and supply sheds, the hospital and gathering hall. Go take a look. My name is John by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you John!” Shaun smiled as he walked through to the inner areas.

  Shaun passed the carpenters shed and saw a few men inside making what looked to be a table. Also on the left side of the inner area he saw a group of men making arrows. There were a few more sheds that continued along the inside of the left wall. To his right he saw what appeared to be the barracks and gathering hall.

  At the end of the inner wall he saw guards posted.

  Shaun assumed this was where they kept the supplies.

  He turned and walked back until he left the inner walls. He followed the road back to the front gate.

  “What do you think of our little community?” George asked.

  “It looks a whole lot better than anything I’ve seen on the outside for quite some time.” Shaun smiled.

  “Do you think you would like to join us?” George smiled back at Shaun.

  “I think I would. But I need to talk it over with my family. I’m sure they will agree.” Shaun said.

  “Are they nearby? If you all decide you want to come to the fort, you might want to get them inside soon. Our scouts have reported we may have visitors later today. A large horde of the dead are moving in our direction from the Latrobe side. The boys up above are working to get ready for them.” George said.

  “Thanks for the heads up.” Shaun said. “What do you do when they show up at the fort? You just lock up and wait for them to wonder away?”

  “No, when they show up we have a group trained to pick them off one by one. If they can’t leave they can’t come back. We want to try and eliminate the bastards. If we keep killing them off, hopefully someday there won’t be many left to bother us. That’s what we are hoping for.” George laughed.

  “That might take some time.” Shaun said. “There seems to be a lot of them coming out from the cities. We saw a number of the dead wearing Pittsburgh Police uniforms in Latrobe last week.”

  “We’re going keep trying. That’s all anyone can do.” George replied. “Like I said, if your family is nearby, you might want to get them in the fort at least for the night, until you decide.”

  “Thanks George, that’s good of you to offer.” Shaun said. “But I have a feeling we will be back in a few minutes.”

  Shaun handed George the walking stick with the red handle he had been given to carry inside the fort, and walked out onto the street. He went down and stood under the old traffic signal that now did nothing but sway in the wind, it’s red, green and yellow lights permanently dark.

  He looked in the direction of Megan, Lisa and Doug and began to wave his arms over his head as he looked in their direction.

  He stopped waving when he saw them stand and start walking across the road towards him.

  Chapter 10

  Shaun smiled as Megan, Doug and Lisa walked up to him, their eyes wide in anticipation.

  “What’s it like in the fort?” Megan asked looking anxiously at Shaun.

  “Can we stay at the fort?” Lisa asked.

  Shaun smiled. “I met the guy in charge. His name is Bill. He let me walk through the fort and talk to the people inside and look around anywhere I wanted. Everyone seems calm and relaxed.”

  “Can we stay here?” Megan asked.

  “If we want to stay, we have to let them know. Then they will meet with us and vote to decide if we can stay.” Shaun said.

  “You mean we have to pass a test?” Doug asked.

  “What kind of test?” Lisa asked.

  “From the sounds of it, they will just ask us some questions to try and decide if we are decent people. Bill said he felt we would not have any problems.” Shaun answered. “I told him I had to talk it over with all of you first. The fort looks a lot safer and more peaceful then any place I’ve seen in over six months. I think we should ask them to let us join their group. Anyone have any questions or objections?”

  “Not me. I say we give it a try.” Megan smiled.

  “I hope I can pass the test.” Lisa said. “I’ve never been very good at tests.”

  Shaun laughed. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to George.”

  They walked up to the front gate. “George. This is my wife Megan and our friends Doug and Lisa. We decided we would like to join you, if you would have us.”

  George smiled. “Glad to hear it. I’ll send Josh back up to get Bill.

  George walked inside the gate and called Josh back down from his watch. Then he turned to Shaun. “You can step inside the gate. Josh and Bill should be down shortly.”

  The group walked through the gate to wait. Megan, Doug and Lisa looked around at the outer areas inside the fort.

  “I like it in here. I feel safer already.” Lisa said.

  They were amazed at the fort. The twelve foot log walls, the lookout posts and Megan especially liked the flower gardens.

  “I haven’t seen flower gardens for ages. I didn’t think anyone even worried about growing flowers anymore.” Megan said.

  Bill walked up to the group. “I heard you talking about our flowers.” He smiled. “We are just trying to hang on to a reminder of how life used to be. Flowers also seem to have a calming effect on people.”

  “Bill. This is my wife Megan and our friends Doug and Lisa.” Shaun said introd
ucing the group. “This is Bill.”

  “Nice to meet you.” They all said in unison.

  “I’m glad you decided to join us. If you follow me, we can get the formalities out of the way and get you settled in before it gets too much later.” Bill said.

  He led the group back up the road that went into the inner part of the fort.

  As they walked by the flower garden where Lilly was still working, she turned and waved at Shaun. He waved back as they passed her.

  I see you have already started to make friends here.” Megan smiled.

  “That’s Lilly. She and her mom came here about a month ago. She told me how much they really like it here. You should go talk with her later. I think the two of you will get along.” Shaun said.

  They followed Bill into the building next to what Shaun had been informed was the barracks. It was a small building about fifty feet square. Inside were a dozen cafeteria style tables in two rows. Bill led them to the front of the room.

  There were four other men seated at a table in the front of the room. Two of them looked to be about Bill’s age. The other two men looked to be younger, about twenty-five or so. Bill sat down at the table with the four men and instructed Shaun and the others to sit at the table across from them.

  Bill spoke. “The gentlemen next to me are Joe, Tom, Ed and Mike. We make up the ruling committee. We make all the decisions for our community and approve or decline any requests to join our group. We want you to relax, all we are trying to do is make sure any new members will be a good addition to our group.”

  Bill smiled. “Anyone that joins us must be willing to work and help contribute. Also like I mentioned to you earlier, you cannot have any association with a gang.”

  “We definitely don’t have any connections to any gangs. In fact they are the ones that burnt our house down.” Shaun said.

  “How do you plan on contributing to our group?” Ed asked.

  “I had my own construction business before all this started. I know how to build and work with wood and stones. I’d also be willing to learn to do whatever you needed.” Shaun replied. “We’re all used to hard work.”

  John looked at Doug. “What did you do before?”

  Doug answered. “I used to run the Giant Eagle in Derry. I’m also a fast learner.”

  The men all looked at each other, then at Bill.

  Bill looked at the group. “You seem to have useful skills, but the most important thing is you seem like good people. We need good people here. I think you would make a good addition to our little group here at the fort. You are welcome to join us, but before you commit, let me tell you a little about us. First you all saw the fort. It was built in 1758 by the British during the French and Indian War. The fort sits on eight acres of land. The outer wall is around 2000 feet long and encloses about four acres. The wall is about twelve feet tall. Many of our group lives inside the outer wall. It offers great protection against the dead. It is our first line of defense. The main inner fort, where we are now is about two hundred feet square. This area is the most secure. Inside this part of the fort we keep the supply hut, kitchen facilities, armory, workshops, hospital and barracks. It also serves as our area to fall back in the event the outer wall is breached.”

  Bill smiled. “In the history of the fort, no enemy has ever breached the outer defenses.”

  “The fort was decommissioned in 1766 and abandoned. It gradually fell apart and was overgrown. In 1954, the fort was rebuilt as a historical site and tourist attraction by the town of Ligonier.” Bill said.

  “It’s all very impressive.” Shaun said.

  “But the fort is not all of what we are.” Bill smiled. “We first assembled here at the fort for protection. As our numbers grew, we branched out. We have secured and now also control four farms in the area. The biggest farm is out on Route 711, the old Henderson Farm on the edge of town. We run the farms to grow food for our group. We have a number of people whose jobs is to search out the dead in town and eliminate them. We all take turns helping with that job. It is our hope that sometime in the near future, we will have made the town safe again. Little by little we are clearing and securing different sections of Ligonier. We clear out the dead, then secure the houses. Over half of our group now lives in their own house in Ligonier. When most of the group are living on their own, it will still be required that everyone spend so many days each month to man the fort. The fort will always be maintained as a safe zone that we can go to in the event large numbers of the dead or some gang attacks our group. Some of our members live out on the farms. So you see we have accomplished a lot over the last few months.”

  “What would we be doing after we join the group?” Doug asked looking at Bill.

  “First we would assign you a cottage. You saw the cottages when you walked up to the inner walls. There are about fifty little cottages spread around inside the outer wall. They aren’t much, but will give you your own place until we are able to make different arrangements for you. You will start to learn the names of your neighbors, but will also begin to notice that they aren’t around for long. Some people decide to move on and go off on their own. Others will be placed in their own home somewhere around town or out at one of the farms. Your place here in the fort will be temporary. It’s our goal to get you into your own place as soon as we can.” Bill said.

  “What job did you want us to do?” Shaun asked.

  “You will first be given a job here at the fort. You and your friend Doug will probably start off making arrows and I think we will also have you work in the carpenter shed. We will also train you on using the bow and arrow. There isn’t much left in the way of guns and ammo, so we use bows. We can make as many arrows as we need. After some training, as soon as you show your skill with the bow, we will have you assigned to one of the lookout posts. From time to time the dead will show up in large numbers. We put as many men as we can on the walls to kill as many of the dead as we can. Our goal is to eliminate them all. With the fort for defense and with our numbers, we have the luxury of going after them. When you were on your own, your main goal was to escape and live.” Bill added.

  “George told me about how you are trying to eliminate the dead. It’s a good goal, but from what we’ve seen out there, I don’t know if that is something that will happen in our lifetime.” Shaun laughed.

  “We won’t know until we try.” Bill smiled. “After some time on the wall, you can volunteer to go out with our hunter group that is working on clearing the dead out of town. As you know, it’s a never ending job, but we are making progress.”

  Megan nudged Shaun’s arm and whispered in his ear.

  “What kind of work would the girls be assigned to?” Shaun asked.

  “We have some gardens inside the fort that need tending, we also have some other types of small jobs inside the fort that they can do. We don’t feel it is safe enough yet to assign any of the women jobs outside the fort. If a woman comes in to the fort with her husband, we try not to assign her any jobs unless it is absolutely necessary. We will let that up to you. You can have her assist you at any job we assign you. As long as the man carries his weight around here, we try not to bother his wife. With the way conditions are on the outside, many men are very protective of their women. I can’t blame them. We believe it should be up to the husband to care for his wife and manage what she does here at the fort.” Bill replied.

  “Are there any areas where we are not permitted to go here in the fort?” Shaun asked. “I noticed the guards near the back of the inner walls.”

  “For the benefit of the entire group, we don’t allow anyone near the kitchen facilities, the smokehouse or the supply shed. We have guards there day and night. That is the forts most important items, our food.” Bill smiled. “We make sure everyone has plenty to eat, but with how scarce food is on the outside, we make sure to guard what we have here at the fort.”

  “How would we go about getting food ?” Shaun asked.

  “Twice a day we h
ave a cart bring hot meals out to the inner gate. Everyone can come to the cart to take all they need for their family.” Bill answered.

  “How about snacks?” Doug asked.

  Bill laughed. “There are things on the cart you can take back to your cottage with your meal to eat later. With the meals we have been able to offer so far, we haven’t had any complaints about our lack of snacks.”

  “How do you provide food for the people that have moved into town?” Shaun asked.

  “Most of the people that live in town work out at the farm. They are given supplies once a week to keep at their houses. They can stock up the same time they pack up supplies to be brought into the fort.” Bill replied.

  “What do we do for clothes?” Shaun asked after Megan whispered in his ear again. “All we have is what we are wearing.”

  “In the supply building we have what clothes we were able to round up in town when we went in to clear out the dead. We also have a lot of material. If you let us know what you need, we will see if we can get you a few things. If you’re good at sewing, we can give you some material. We are limited in that area yet, but as we secure more of the town, I’m sure we will be able to offer you more options.” Bill smiled at Megan.

  Bill asked. “Any more questions?”

  When no one said anything Bill spoke. “Bob, what cottages are open right now?”

  Bob looked at the few sheets of paper he had in front of him. “Cottages 30 and 31 are empty. We just relocated the people in those cabins yesterday.”

  “Good.” Bill said. “We can get you set up right next to each other so you will feel comfortable.”

  First Bill said. “Do you agree with how we run our group here at the fort and in town? We agree to take you in. Do you agree to be a contributing member of our group?”

  Shaun looked at the smiles on the faces of the others. “I think we are all happy to agree and be part of the group. And thank you for taking us in.”