Dark Crossing

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Which is half the damn time,” Lilly snapped. “I didn’t take engineering, but I’m trying to understand that damn CAD program. Lance needs to chill.”

  Reaching over and patting Lilly’s arm, “You sat there with him until you understood,” Jennifer laughed out.

  “Bullshit,” Lilly huffed. “I acted like I did, then went and found a book.”

  Up ahead, they saw lights. Behind them, Lori and Rhonda gasped. It had been so long since they had seen lights outside, it was a wonder now. A twenty-foot pole rose over the field with LED lights shining down onto a large area.

  “Whoa!” Rhonda gasped as the four-wheelers pulled up beside the buggy and Lilly pulled to the outside. The four vehicles sat in a line across the road, looking at the Battle Bot two hundred yards away. Stinkers were charging the gore-covered vehicle and they could hear a constant ‘hmmmm’ from the shredder mounted on the front.

  The new group was spellbound, watching the Battle Bot drive into ranks of stinkers with a stream of gore being shot out five yards from each side. Lilly and Jennifer gripped the ARs, ready to cap the Battle Bot if it left the playground.

  Not thirty yards to their front, a stinker walked out of the trees. It stopped and looked at the shadowy group, then turned to the lit-up area with the noise. Raising its arm, the stinker moaned and trotted toward the playground.

  Climbing out of the buggy, “Man, they get serious wood for lights and sound,” Ian said.

  Suddenly, the hum gave a deep grinding sound, like a lawnmower getting bogged down. Then the hum of the shredder stopped for a brief second and everyone, except Ian and Lance, feared the Battle Bot had died.

  When the Battle Bot came to a stop, several of the group said a silent prayer. Slowly the Battle Bot backed up, and they heard a weird hum from the Battle Bot and noticed the stinkers to the front were thrown back for a brief second. Again, the hum stopped and then turned back on.

  The hum only lasted a second, then the dull sound of bodies being shredded covered the hum. When the Battle Bot started forward shoving more bodies into the shredder, everyone sighed with relief. “What happened?” Jennifer asked, looking over at Lance sitting on the roof of the buggy and looking at his laptop.

  “A stinker soldier,” Lance answered, looking up at the playground. “His M4 clogged the grinder and Battle Bot had to spit it out. That’s why Battle Bot’s shredder can’t run at a high RPM.”

  “The damn blades turn pretty fast to me,” Lilly said, climbing out.

  “No, Lance is right,” Ian groaned. “I wanted the shredder turning at a thousand RPM. He wanted a few hundred.”

  “Like I said, we can’t ask the stinkers to discard all metal objects before Battle Bot eats them,” Lance laughed, reloading magazines as Denny looked down at the laptop.

  When the Battle Bot reached the end of the playground, it spun around and drove straight ahead at any stinkers. With throngs in the playground and more coming, the Battle Bot just rolled on. “Um,” Rhonda said, leaning close to Lilly as she looked around. “Not to say I’m not impressed, but should we be just sitting here?”

  Not seeing any stinkers coming for them, Lilly turned to face Rhonda. “That group will be gone in a few minutes and we won’t have to waste any bullets. Plus, if we drive past, some of the stinkers might follow, and Lance and Ian will get mad we took some stinkers away from Battle Bot,” Lilly explained.

  Looking back to the playground, “That’s more than they shot down back there,” Rhonda pointed out, not that convinced.

  “Just watch,” Lilly chuckled. “I’ll cover the rear. When it comes to cool ways to kill shit, nobody beats Lance and Ian.”

  Rhonda moved up as Lori looked at Lilly with a pleading face. “You can get out and watch, but be ready to jump in,” Lilly said, then turned to watch behind them.

  Climbing out, Lori moved beside Rhonda as Jennifer passed them some binoculars. When they lifted the binoculars to their eyes and saw the destruction up close, they gained a newfound respect for the Battle Bot, along with some fear.

  With the Battle Bot facing them, “Jumpin’ Jesus on a pogo stick,” Rhonda croaked out, watching the stinkers just falling into the spinning rollers and vanishing. Then she saw a soldier wearing a helmet and combat vest and sucked in a breath.

  When the soldier was sucked in with two others, the tone just went from ‘grrrr’ to ‘GRRRR’ for a second, then returned to the shredding hum. In five minutes the playground was empty, with a few stragglers moving to the playground.

  The Battle Bot came to a stop with the shredders spinning like it was thinking and then the shredders turned off, stopping quickly. Driving to the middle of one side of the playground, the Battle Bot spun around and drove to the other end, then moved over and spun around. As it drove back, Rhonda saw at the bottom, chunks of gore were being pushed to the right side by a small dozer blade under a bar that was sticking out.

  That was when she noticed the mound of gore outlining the playground. “Is that thang cleanin’ up its killin’ area?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Yep,” Jennifer laughed. “There’s nothing like cleaning an area, just so you can fill it full of chunks of flesh, bone, and blood again.”

  Lowering the binoculars in shock from what she had watched, she looked over at Lance pointing at the laptop and talking to Denny. “And you’re makin’ more of these?” she asked Jennifer.

  “Yeah, we will have two more done by tomorrow. They made changes to see what works the best,” Jennifer said, looking at the Battle Bot. Suddenly the Battle Bot stopped its cleaning when a stinker walked through the mound of gore around the playground. Like it was pissed about being interrupted, the shredder kicked on and the Battle Bot pivoted on its tracks and charged the lone stinker.

  The bar sticking out a foot off the ground tripped the stinker in, and in the blink of an eye, the stinker vanished as gore shot from each side. Stopping, the Battle Bot seemed to be waiting. Then it shut off the shredder, spun around, and returned to the spot where it had stopped pushing the gore out of the playground.

  “Jennifer, you tell me how I can help you do anything,” Rhonda declared in awe, feeling just a little sorry for the stinkers heading for the Battle Bot.

  “Let’s load up,” Lance said, then looked at Heath. “See that dish out there with that big metal box?”

  Heath had noticed it but looked back again. “Yeah,” he said.

  “That’s what you are gathering supplies for us to make you,” Lance told him.

  Sitting behind Heath, Grady looked across the field at the shiny dish. “Can’t we have that one?” Grady asked.

  Leaning to the side, Heath drove his elbow back, hitting Grady in the face. Everyone heard a ‘crunch’ as Grady cried out and fell to the side, grabbing his face. Nobody moved when Grady hit the pavement hard. “Grady, I’m tempted to tell them we will do without power and use the one they build for us and make another-,” he paused, looking over at Ian.

  “Battle Bot,” Ian helped.

  “Yeah, another Battle Bot. Hell, even your stupid ass has noticed we haven’t had near the stinkers we usually get. Now we know why,” Heath finished with a growl. “From now on, you don’t talk. If you want to ask something, you whisper it to me. I swear, if you piss them off and they leave us to fate, I’ll kill you slowly.”

  “Damn, that was cool,” Lance chuckled, and Heath looked up at him.

  “I’m sorry he even said that,” Heath said.

  Shrugging, “Just proves we chose the right group,” Lance huffed. “Even with the world going to hell, idiots survived.”

  Climbing back into the buggy, Ian looked down at Grady struggling to his feet and holding his nose. “Be thankful, dude,” Ian grinned. “I would’ve broken your legs and fed you to Battle Bot.”

  “You’d better be on before I pull off,” Heath warned, gripping the handle bars. With blood running down his face, Grady climbed behind Heath as Ian pulled off.

  Driving along the road beside
the field the playground was in, everyone noticed the several dozen stinkers heading for the Battle Bot but only a few turned to look at them. Not one changed course and continued on to the Battle Bot as it cleaned its playground.

  When they rounded a curve, they saw a few stinkers in the road. Lance lifted his M4 to his shoulder. “Denny, start on the right, close to far,” Lance said, squeezing the trigger.

  Sighting in on a stinker, Denny kept the crosshairs on the stinker’s face. With the buggy never slowing, he pulled the trigger and watched the stinker drop. Moving his aim to another one, Denny saw its head explode as Lance swung his M4 in a wide arc.

  Not mad but happy he’d been included, Denny aimed ahead at another one, shooting it before Lance swept back across the road. For every stinker Denny shot, Lance shot five. “Doing good, Denny,” Lance said, ejecting a magazine.

  Stopping at the co-op, they hooked up two trailers to the four-wheelers. Ian led them to a small grocery store and parked in the lot. Lance climbed out from the roof and dropped down as Ian got out. “Denny, follow but keep your rifle pointed down like this. It’s called low ready position,” Lance instructed, holding his M4 to his shoulder but aimed at the ground. “Watch how Ian and I clear it.”

  “Yes sir,” Denny said, jumping down and doing what Lance said.

  “Lance, we can do it,” Dwain said, looking at the dark store with fear.

  “No, you will follow Denny, watching how we do it,” Lance corrected. “We’ve cleared hundreds of buildings. Some with stinkers and others with bad guys. How many have you cleared?”

  Hearing the confidence and more than a little jealous of it, Dwain looked around and then back at Lance. “Only a few, but we don’t want you or Ian getting hurt,” Dwain admitted in a low voice.

  “Oh, sweet mother of God, I love these guys,” Lilly sang out, lifting her AR and dropping two stinkers.

  Squeezing her trigger, Jennifer dropped a stinker walking from behind the store. “Yeah, wish we would’ve talked to them sooner,” Jennifer chuckled, and motioned for Lori to get out and move beside her.

  Leaning over, Lance poked a finger in Dwain’s chest. Under any other circumstance, it would’ve been funny. Lance was a head shorter than Dwain’s six-foot frame and Dwain, like Heath, was over two hundred pounds.

  But in the here and now, Dwain was clearly afraid of Lance and Ian, as were the others. Poking his finger in Dwain’s chest, “Let’s get something straight, ‘man card’ rules say you can’t take their side unless my actions are grossly inappropriate,” Lance snapped.

  Shooting a stinker, Lilly lowered her AR. “Lance, keep on and we fight over that card,” Lilly warned. “Who the fuck came up with that stupid shit?!”

  “Men!” Lance and Ian hooted, then thumped their chests with their fists.

  As Lance and Ian headed to the front door, Dwain eased over to Heath. “When did they teach ‘man card’ rules? Did I miss a class in school?” Dwain whispered.

  Shaking his head, “I don’t know, but we are finding those damn rules. I like them,” Heath finished with a nod.

  “Watch how Ian picks the lock and I cover the door,” Lance said, aiming over Ian’s head and through the glass door while Ian picked the lock.

  “Why not just bust the glass?” Denny asked as Dwain, Heath, and Grady walked up.

  “Then you leave it open and stinkers will get in,” Ian told him. “Dino,” Lance barked, and Dino jumped out of the buggy and trotted over.

  Thinking as Ian worked on the lock, “You leave it closed in case you come back, and then you don’t have to clear it again?” Denny offered.

  “No, if you leave a building out in the wild, what we call anywhere that’s not in our fence,” Lance explained, “No matter how well you close it up, you always clear it. You close it, just so it can’t get flooded by stinkers, but stinkers aren’t the only thing we have to worry about.”

  Gasping with wide eyes as it clicked, “I understand, sir,” Denny said.

  Stepping back but keeping his aim inside the store, “Denny, the name’s Lance,” Lance told him in a firm tone.

  Before Denny could answer, Ian turned the second lock and opened the door. A nauseous and pungent wave of spoiled food washed over them. “Damn, that’s worse than a stinker,” Ian groaned, shoving his lock picks in his thigh pocket.

  “Denny, behind me,” Lance said, moving inside with Dino beside him. Sweeping his aim back and forth, Lance turned left.

  “Dwain, behind me and Heath, follow him. Grady, wait at the door,” Ian said when Lance turned left, and Ian moved in turning right.

  With Grady still holding his nose with one hand and holding his M4 at the door, Jennifer was letting Lori shoot stinkers. “Don’t forget to watch behind the store,” Jennifer said, and Lori turned to see a small form trotting toward them.

  Hesitantly, Lori raised her rifle. Putting the crosshairs on the small face, Lori squeezed the trigger. Jennifer dropped another stinker entering the parking lot, then moved over and squeezed Lori’s shoulder. “It was a stinker, don’t think about it,” Jennifer offered, and Lori nodded, raising her rifle.

  Turning to where Lori was aiming, Jennifer saw a very obese stinker waddling into the parking lot. “Hurry and shoot it before Lance comes out,” Jennifer urged, and Lori squeezed the trigger, hitting the massive neck. The huge stinker stumbled back half a step and then leaned forward to continue as Lori squeezed the trigger again.

  The head didn’t even snap back and the huge body just remained upright, then slowly at first, tilted back and then crashed down. “Lance will make them chase him around before he shoots fat stinkers,” Jennifer groaned, shooting two more and Lori chuckled. “Oh, it’s funny until he does it,” Jennifer said.

  “Just the thought of stinkers jogging is funny,” Lori giggled.

  Turning to Lori, “When did you start calling them stinkers?” Jennifer asked.

  “We heard it on the CB radio,” Lori answered, aiming at a stinker. “I used to know her,” Lori said, pulling the trigger.

  “They aren’t who they used to be,” Jennifer said.

  Shrugging, “It’s okay, she was a bitch,” Lori snickered.

  “You know, Lance is the one that named them ‘stinkers’,” Jennifer said, and Lori grinned. “I was there when it was first used.”

  “They are so cool,” Lori crooned.

  “How old are you and Denny?” Jennifer asked.

  “I’m fourteen and Denny is twelve,” Lori answered as Jennifer snapped up her rifle, shooting one fifty yards away quickly and then lowered her rifle. “I want to be able to do that.”

  “Lots of practice and drive,” Jennifer said.

  Lori looked at Jennifer’s profile with the mask and thought Jennifer wasn’t much older than her, by the voice and how young her eyes looked when she had flipped up the goggles. But there was something that made Jennifer seem much older. The way Jennifer moved and the confidence she had in herself were some of it, Lori knew, but there was something else. Afraid to ask, Lori turned around and continued shooting.

  With the store cleared, Lance saw Heath grab a rack of the small grocery bags. Walking over, Lance reached up and slapped the back of Heath’s head. “We don’t have all night to bag groceries,” Lance snapped and walked off down an aisle. Heath looked at Dwain and he just shrugged.

  Walking back with a box, Lance pulled out a large black trash bag. Grabbing a grocery cart, Lance put the bag inside and rolled the edges around the top. “Now, load up and don’t take long,” Lance said, and Dino came over with a bag of beef jerky in his mouth.

  “Dino, that stuff makes your farts smell like the sweat from Satan’s nutsack,” Lance groaned. Dino just sat down with the bag in his mouth. “Fine, but you better stay downstairs,” Lance grumbled, opening the bag and pouring it on the floor.

  Laying down, Dino started gobbling up the strips. Leaving Dino to enjoy his treat, Lance and Ian walked outside. “Lori’s leg is hurting, she needs to stay on guard,”
Ian said, and Lance nodded.

  “Rhonda, go help them load up,” Ian said, and moved over with Jennifer.

  Walking up beside Lilly as Rhonda jogged to the store, Lance looked around at the dead bodies. “Been busy,” Lance nodded, stopping beside her.

  “Please, I can do my nails with only this many coming, as spaced out as they are,” Lilly scoffed. “So, what’s your opinion?”

  Thinking for a second, “It was worth the risk,” Lance nodded. “They aren’t stupid, just ignorant. Ignorant can be fixed, but stupid is forever.”

  Chuckling, “Lance, most of them are quite intelligent,” Lilly noted.

  “Lilly, when this started, we were ignorant, but we learned,” Lance said, snapping up his rifle and dropping two stinkers.

  In thirty minutes they left, and Ian stopped at a diner. With both four-wheeler trailers packed full, Heath walked over to Lance. “Where to?” he asked with a grin.

  “We have to get more metal,” Lance said, reloading magazines. “Think you will be alright going home?”

  “Lance, we aren’t going home until you’re loaded up,” Heath said. “Show us what you need, and we will load it.”

  “Okay,” Lance said, pleasantly surprised. As everyone loaded up, “Yeah, I’m really liking this,” Lance said as Ian sped off.

  Chapter 9

  South of Bradleyville, Missouri

  Writing in his notebook and glancing around, Johnathan grinned at hearing an arrow hit the Styrofoam archery target. Glancing back, Johnathan saw Mary pulling an arrow from her quiver. Turning to the target forty yards away, over a dozen arrows were clustered in the center of the target.

  “We like the new bows,” Sandy said, sitting down beside Johnathan.

  “I can tell,” Johnathan grinned. “I’m glad for the new clothes and gear.”

  Nodding, “The only thing I kept was my cap, and the belt and suspenders we braided,” Sandy sighed in contentment.

  Putting his notebook down, Johnathan looked at Sandy in the green scout pants and a black compression shirt. “Like the shirt,” he grinned, reaching up and smoothing down his beard.