Dawnland (Book 1): Pockets of the Dead

by Karen Carr

  “If it is alright with you, now, mam. I’d like to take you back to the others. We’d like you all together before we explain our plans.”

  “Plans?” My heart beat stronger at the word. Did the plans involve torturing me until I told them everything including my secret? “We have our own plans,” I managed to spit out through clenched teeth.

  “I’m sure you do,” the Beefcake said running his eyes up and down my figure again. “But plans change, and yours have today. Don’t give me that face. It’s for the best, I assure you. The Reverend, here, was just gathering some of his wife’s finer dresses. We’re going to treat you to a real celebration back at the base.”

  “We’re leaving the village?” I asked disbelievingly. “We can’t leave the village. We won’t be protected.”

  “Oh don’t worry,” the Beefcake purred. “The base is perfectly safe and your friend is there. What’s her name? Sally?”

  “Saudah?” I asked. A lump formed in my throat.

  “Yes, that’s it. She’ll be glad to see you. It’s hard for her to make friends, isn’t it?” The Beefcake grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the vortex of noxious fumes surrounding his body.

  Zora took the opportunity to slip out of the living room. I needed to give her a chance to get away. I twisted out of the Beefcake’s grip and slapped him in the ear. He growled and dove for me, but I flipped over the couch. The Beefcake pounced and landed on top of me, crushing me into the cushions.

  “You think you’re so smart,” he said. I turned away from his hot, vile breath. “You won’t get away from me.” He reached in his pants pocket, brought out a pair of handcuffs and fastened one to my wrist and the other to his. Suddenly he seemed to remember Zora and his head thrashed around the room looking for her. He brought his face close to mine, so close our noses touched. I felt bile rush up from my stomach. “Where is the other one?” His spittle dripped in my face.

  “Gone,” I said.

  After he dragged me around the house looking for Zora, and after the Reverend convinced him she was gone, he pushed me out the door and toward the green, forcing me to jog to keep up with him. The Reverend followed us quickly, all the while muttering about my treatment and how we hadn’t given him the time to retrieve his wife’s dresses.

  Once in the green, I saw several more men in uniform, some transport vehicles, and everyone from the church except Lily. A quick count made the total number of strangers close to fifteen. The Hind rested on the remains of our garden, its blade slowly circling. A dark skinned man shifted inside of it, giving me an amused expression. There was something off about him, about all of the newcomers. It was something in the way they were dressed, not quite proper, a little too rumpled to be true military.

  The Professor sat on the edge of the Hind. When he saw me, his eyes lit up and he tried to wave, but he quickly grabbed his quivering head. Easter and Archie, wearing garden hats, were both standing in front of the remains of their organic garden. Archie leaned against a metal rake for support. Sandwiched between them was their grandson Mikey.

  The Reverend had joined Shelly Mac and Harper, who both eyed me with contempt like I had somehow prevented them from getting their belongings. Shelly quickly turned to Harper and began fixing her hair like she was trying to make her more presentable for our anticipated celebration. Harper was wearing a faded yellow dress and held a small stuffed animal. The outfit made her appearance younger than her twelve years.

  Boa stood with three of the strangers, an older man and two middle-aged ones, all strangely out of shape. They were grilling her about something that made her look ashen and panicked. She was well dressed, wearing a colorful print skirt and flouncy blouse which she recently must have changed into. When she saw me, her eyes lit up, but she quickly seemed to realize Zora was not with me and her face darkened.

  Lily and Stan drifted onto the scene from behind the helicopter. They were followed by a man with an abrupt stare and a callous step. Lily’s belt of weapons had been taken away from her, but she looked unharmed.

  But Stan, maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him since before the apocalypse, and my memory of him was still of a healthy undergrad, but he appeared gaunt and sickly and stricken with the worst kind of sorrow. He was wearing military fatigues that were too large on his slight frame, something he would have never worn by choice.

  “It’s alright Hella. They’re friendly,” Lily said. By the way she spoke, and the glint in her eyes, I felt she believed her own words. But then, her glance filtered over the green with a worried expression. I could tell she was seeking out Trevan. I wanted to do the same, to look for Huck, but didn’t want to give anything away.

  “I am Air Force Sergeant Enroy,” the man said. I bristled with the sound of his name. “We’ve spoken before.” He came between my two good friends, immediately making me feel uneasy. The sense might have come from the fact that he had a gun in his hand, although it was trained on the ground. It was more likely Saudah’s whispers and Huck’s words that haunted me. Don’t trust them, I said to myself. From every move he made, he did nothing to inspire honesty.

  “Oh Hella.” Stan rushed in and tried to hug me, but he became tangled in the handcuffs and the Beefcake’s arm.

  Stan embraced me again with determined force, and this time he whispered something in my ear. “Don’t believe a word I say, they have Saudah,” he whispered, and then pulled away.

  “Your friends tell me this village is protected by some kind of aura,” Sergeant Enroy said, pacing back and forth slowly. “By the corpses ringing the village, we can see they are correct. They tell us you were the first one here.”

  “Second, actually,” the Professor said. “I was the first.”

  “I was here too,” said Reverend Mac. “And my wife. We live here, of course.”

  “Yes, Professor, Reverend. Thank you for correcting me.” Sergeant Enroy smiled, although he looked frustrated.

  “Where are you going to take us?” I asked. “The Beefcake said you were going to take us back to your base for a celebration. Like it’s the appropriate time to party.”

  A flash of aggravation crossed his eyes and he glared at the Beefcake before he refocused his coldness on me.

  “Are you taking over the village?” I asked when he didn’t answer my first question.

  “Taking over?” Anger filled his lungs. He pushed the air out in a big huff. “We aren’t taking over anything. It is not yours to give. In fact, you have taken over this village and we are taking it back. There is still a government out there. There are hundreds of us. You will not defeat us, so don’t even think of trying.”

  “I’m not trying anything, I’m just standing here.” I smirked in a rather unflattering way. The fact that he went into the offense without any sign of aggression from us made me realize we were in deeper trouble than I had originally suspected.

  “Hella, it’s true,” Lily said. “They showed us videos of their base. It’s not far from here, up north somewhere.”

  “So, we have your cooperation,” Enroy said, cutting Lily off.

  I glanced across the green, looking for Zeke, Trevan and Huck, and then back to Enroy. “What choice do we have?” I asked.

  “That’s better.” Enroy stepped forward with his hand extended like he was going to escort us somewhere. “Release her.” Enroy motioned to the handcuffs locking me to the Beefcake. Thankfully, the Beefcake obeyed the order and I was free from the stench.

  Suddenly, two men walked onto the green dragging a struggling and severely beaten Trevan. Lily screamed and rushed over to him. I scanned the green for Huck and Zeke and then rushed to Trevan’s side.

  “That’s not American,” Trevan mumbled as he collapsed into Lily’s arms.

  “What did you do to this man?” Enroy asked in mock concern. “I gave orders not to harm anyone here.”

  “He harmed us first.” One of the men showed Enroy a bruise on his chin.

  “He’s been babbling nonstop nonsense,” the o
ther man said. “You would have pounded him, too.” The man smacked Trevan on the backside of his head.

  “That’s not American,” Trevan repeated, pointing to the helicopter. “That’s a Hind. It’s Russian.”

  “Trevan, not now,” Lily said. She wiped his bloody mouth with her shirt.

  “Mam, will you please move away from this man?” Enroy asked. He looked perturbed and uncomfortable.

  “Don’t believe them, Lily.” Trevan’s eyes darted around the green. “We’re not safe. That’s not American.” Trevan pointed to the helicopter again.

  The others, the strangers and our friends, gathered around us.

  “You’re mistaken,” the Professor said from the Hind. Enroy’s face was turning beet red and the veins were popping from his forehead. I gave Lily my best shut-him-up-now look.

  “No, I’m not,” Trevan said. “You agreed with me, Professor. What’s the matter with you?”

  Lily pinched him. “Now’s not the time to make a point. These people are going to take care of us, if you just let them.”

  Trevan looked delirious. Blood dripped from the back of his skull. “That’s a Hind. You can’t tell me because I have a PhD in Military History.”

  “Well, good for you,” Enroy said. He then turned and shot a hole through Archie’s head. Archie dropped to the ground. Easter screamed and collapsed on top of him in anguish. Mikey stood frozen.

  Suddenly gunfire erupted around us and several of Enroy’s men fell to the ground. More rounds heralded the entrance of Zeke, Zora and Huck. I grabbed Mikey, who was standing dumbstruck next to his grandparents. Lily pulled Trevan to his feet.

  “Trevan, get them to the monster,” I said. I shoved Mikey toward Lily and pushed Harper and Boa towards her as well. “Lily, go. Trevan knows where it is. Make him show you. We will follow.”

  There were shots and confusion all around us. The Reverend and Shelly Mac had joined Lily and Trevan and they were all trying to take the children, Mikey, Boa and Harper, out of the green. Boa broke free when she saw her sister and rushed to her side. Several more men grabbed me and then Stan, but they were unable to reach the retreating group led by Lily.

  In a blur of legs and arms, I saw Zora shove Boa away from her. A man was about to grab Boa, but Zora shot him in the kneecaps.

  “Go with them,” Zora shrieked at her sister. “I’ll find you later.”

  Another man grabbed Zora and twisted the gun out of her hand. Zora twisted free of the man’s grip and then yelled for Boa to leave again. The two men dragged me toward the Hind, to where the Professor sat idly by. I couldn’t see Huck or Zeke anywhere, but the gunfire did not stop so I knew they were still alive.

  When I reached the Hind, I was able to see that Boa had made it to the group that was exiting the green. Trevan, Lily, Boa, Harper, Mikey and the Reverend with Shelly Mac were all running to safety. Hopefully they would go to the monster truck and we would know where to find them.

  Suddenly, another helicopter flew into the green and swooped down on those who were escaping. The men holding me released me for a brief second and I was able to see Zeke make his way into the middle of the green. He was holding the AT4 and had it aimed at the helicopter.

  “Stop that man,” Enroy yelled out. By his voice, I could tell he was near me, but I couldn’t see him.

  Huck reached my side and handed me a small pistol. “Get down,” he said.

  Stan came up by my side and rested his hand on my elbow. Zeke shot the missile in the AT4 inside the flying helicopter. It exploded inside and rained down shrapnel and hot objects all around us. Stan pushed me to the ground. Once the fallout was over, I scanned the immediate area for Huck. He was gone. Stan was by my side and was trying to help me up.

  “Let’s go, Hella,” Stan said. “I can get you out of here.”

  “No,” I said. I pushed Stan away and looked feverishly around for Huck. I saw him wrestling with two more men on the ground. “I’m going to fight.”

  One of the men grabbed Easter who was still collapsed over her husband. Huck wrestled free of the men who were fighting him went to help Easter. The man with Easter pulled out a gun and shot Huck.

  I screamed when I saw blood spout from his shoulder. I ran toward them, not knowing what I could do to help, knowing only that I had to do something. Stan followed and tried to stop me, but I kicked free of his grip.

  The man charged Huck with a knife. I aimed my pistol, but couldn’t get a good shot. The man jumped on top of Huck and lifted the knife above his chest. I had to do something fast. I dove for the man, and bit him as hard as possible in the cheek. I felt salty blood enter my mouth.

  The man gave me a strange and pained look and then dropped the knife. He backed away, holding onto his face, screaming like he had just been dropped into a cauldron. I knew that feeling. He was being burned by the poison of my bite. He was turning into one of them.

  “What did you do to him, Hella?” Huck asked as he jumped to his feet.

  “I have another secret,” I answered. He looked at me like I was crazy. “My bite turns people into zeroes.”

  “You mean?” Huck looked at the man, now thrashing on the ground. Stan joined us and observed the man as well.

  “Yea,” I said, and smiled. Stan put his hand on my shoulder, but I carefully moved it off.

  “Wow,” Huck said. He gave me a crooked smile in return.

  “The Hind,” I whispered. “The Professor knows how to pilot a helicopter.” We both regarded the Professor, who was still sitting on the edge of the Hind, and the pilot who still sat inside observing the mayhem on the green.

  “You stay here, with him,” Huck said, pushing me toward Stan. “I’ll take care of the pilot.” Huck ran off behind the bushes.

  Burning bits of helicopter were scattered everywhere, but Zeke had been caught. Enroy and a dozen of his men were left. The guy on the ground, the one who I had just bitten, was writhing in pain. Whether it was shock or surprise, none of the men moved forward. They only stared at the man who was turning into a zero.

  The man suddenly became calm and rose to his feet. By the look in his eyes, and the drag in his step, I could tell he had changed. My worst fear had come true. My bite turned people into zeroes. I glanced back toward the helicopter. The pilot was gone and in his place, at the controls, sat the Professor. Huck suddenly appeared by my side.

  “Why isn’t his head popping?” Huck asked, pulling me away from the newly turned zero who was now eagerly scanning the crowd for his next meal. The zero was making its way toward Easter, who was still on the ground next to Archie. The other helicopter had reached the green and was hovering above us.

  “My bite makes them immune to my virus.” The zombie-creature was almost on top of Easter. “We have to kill it before it gets Easter.”

  Before Huck could shoot the man, another one grabbed him. I felt strong arms around my waist at the same time. Huck was able to twist free and punched the man holding me. It was too late. The zombified military man had bitten Easter and she was now changing into one of the undead.

  “We have to get out of here,” Huck said.

  Huck, Stan and I rushed toward the helicopter. I frantically looked around the green for Zora and Zeke. Zeke was still captured and Zora was nowhere in sight. The others scattered as three more people had been bitten and were on their way to turning into Zeroes.

  Enroy had figured out what was happening, and signaled for his remaining men to retreat. My heart lurched as I saw Easter, still in her garden hat, coming toward us with a gurgled filled groan.

  “Hella, come quick,” the Professor yelled out from the seat of the helicopter. The engine roared on and the blades started to spin faster.

  Stan and I ran toward the helicopter and Huck rushed in the opposite direction to help Zeke. I contemplated going after Huck, but then Zora ran into view followed by several zeroes in military fatigues. We had no choice but to make a dash for the ‘copter.

  Zora, Stan and I reached the Prof
essor just as the things were closing in on us. Stan helped us up and the Professor took off just in time. Several zeroes grabbed onto the metal base, but the Professor flew in a fast low circle causing them to all fall to the ground.

  “Get Huck.” There were no seats in the back of the Hind, so I hung on to the Professor’s chair and watched.

  No longer surrounded by anyone human, and followed by several zeroes, Huck and Zeke ran toward us. The men who they were fighting had raced toward the other Helicopter, the one Enroy was in.

  The Professor hovered over Huck and Zeke. I leaned out and grabbed Huck’s open hand, pulling him into the helicopter. Huck did the same with Zeke and once he was inside, the Professor headed for the sky.

  “Get rid of that tail,” Zeke said to the Professor, blocking my access to the helicopter’s solo man cockpit.

  I took one of the four windows with Huck, Zora and Stan in the back, where we could see all the action. The other helicopter was chasing us.

  “We need to get to the monster truck, to the others,” I shouted.

  Suddenly a flash of light and a loud noise caused the helicopter to shake.

  “We have to get my sister,” Zora shouted, her face wet with tears.

  “We have to get out of here,” Zeke cut her off. “Or we’re going to be blown up.”

  Whether the Professor heard Zeke and was obeying his command or if he was running from the other helicopter, he turned the beast away from the village and headed east. The Professor maneuvered away from the other helicopter, but took us over a couple of dozen more men making their way to the village. We watched the men, some of them waved and saluted, some of them kept walking, but none of them thought anything strange about our ride.

  “Turn around,” I shouted at the Professor, thinking only of those in the monster truck.

  The Professor kept flying east, making no note of my shouted commands. By his expression, he was lost in some other time. He was on the run and my gut told me there was no turning back. I looked out the window, over to Haverlyn Village where I could still see the church steeple. It was getting smaller and smaller and finally disappeared from sight.