Avoid the most populated areas. Avoid the infected.
“Okay, here it is,” Zach said as he moved to the edge of his seat.
Large cement barriers blocked the turn. A French entry control point most likely. Chain link fences cordoned off white tents and medical vehicles. Within its perimeter, Cale could see infected roaming around.
“No,” he said, “Fucking really?”
“Looks like you’ll have to go right,” said Zach.
“You think?” Cale said sarcastically.
He cursed under his breath as he searched the map for a new route. This was going to force him into Orleans. He easily identified a way that would take him around, and enable him to continue on his desired path. Just another skill the army had taught him.
“It’s a good thing you’re good at land nav,” Zach joked.
Cale softened a bit. He recalled the land navigation course they went through at Fort Bragg during mobilization. For him, someone who understood the basics of navigation, it was a piece of cake. For others, however, it took a few tries. He thought about Kennett. He’d been a mousey kid who worked as an administrator. He mistook the ‘mounted land nav’ course for ‘mountain land nav’.
“Where the fuck are we going to get a mountain?” he asked Cale.
In the small tent, he and the real Zach exchanged a surprised look. The two of them then laughed at Kennett’s expense.
“Seriously? What the fuck, guys?” Kennett said angrily.
Cale managed to stifle his laughter. “I’m sorry, man. But that’s just too funny.” He began to laugh again.
“Fuck you guys,” he muttered.
Eventually, Kennett came around and laughed about it too. Picking on each other was just another way of coping with being far from home. Zach had been ribbed mercilessly for a radio transmission he’d made. McGregor had been out of the gun truck when someone from the theatre net wanted the convoy’s start point and time. Zach’s voice had cracked like a prepubescent boy when he said “Scania.” The entire convoy had heard it.
Cale quickly folded the map and altered his course. The engine hummed as he drove down the A11. Soon his turn would be coming up.
“Is that it?” Zach pointed up ahead.
“Shit,” Cale whispered.
Cement barriers were in place here as well. He could always go by foot, but he’d never be able to carry all of his supplies. So, a hike was out of the question. Cale kept going, looking for an exit he could use. He’d easily be able to come up with a new route if he could just get off this highway. Exit after exit was blocked, either by barriers or vehicles. In all cases, there were infected wandering about.
“What the hell?” he asked himself, frustrated.
As he kept going, he realized that this had been a main supply route for the French Army. That’s why the entrance and exits were blocked, and why there were no civilian vehicles on it. The road was funneling him toward Paris.
“Maybe you should turn back,” Zach suggested.
Cale shook his head. He’d already come too far. Maybe if he was lucky, his route would be clear the whole way. Ignoring Zach’s warnings, he continued to drive, following the route that had been decided for him. He passed through town after town. Each had their main highway blocked off for military use. A sign read ‘Rester en arrière à 100 mètres. La force meurtrière autorisé’. Cale understood the one hundred meters part. It was a warning. He checked the map to see how far he’d gone. He was now in the suburbs of Paris.
“Shit. This isn’t good,” Cale said.
“No kidding. You should’ve gone back,” Zach said smugly.
Now it was too late. The road had narrowed as he entered a checkpoint serpentine. A tower overlooked the blockade, and Cale could see an infected moving about its interior.
“Wait a second…” Cale trailed off.
It wasn’t an infected, but an armed guard. His uniform looked tan, and Cale immediately thought of the Egyptians.
“Fuck. They’re already here,” Cale said.
He sped up, not wanting to be taken prisoner again. The blockade had been overrun with undead. Somehow they’d crashed a gate. Cale watched as the guard picked up something and held it to his mouth. It was a radio.
“Shit they’re calling me in.”
Cale panicked. He hadn’t come this far to be taken again. He approached another tower, and another guard called in his position.
“Fuck. I gotta get out of here,” he said to Zach.
“Are you even sure it’s them?” Zach asked.
Cale didn’t care. He didn’t want to be around people. There was another tower up ahead. He looked for an exit, but it was too narrow for the van to fit. Couple that with the armed guards, and the horde of living dead, and there was no way he could make it on foot, even if he were to leave his supplies behind. He’d have to continue driving.
“How many fucking towers are there?” he said, as he spotted another.
They were spaced every mile or so. Just as he broke contact with one, he entered the space of another. In the tower he was coming up to now, he could see that the guard had his weapon ready. Cale had been so busy watching him that he didn’t notice the throng of infected moving out in front of the van.
“Shit!” he exclaimed, as he blasted through them.
The van bounced and weaved. Cale navigated the serpentine far too fast; the van wobbled uncontrollably, and he watched as the donut broke loose and flew off the road. The van’s front passenger side hit the pavement and spun the vehicle sideways
“No, no, no, No! No! No!” Cale shouted as the vehicle slid.
He’d lost control, and the vehicle rolled multiple times. The windows and windshield imploded, and the force of impact sent him flying from his seat. Why hadn’t he worn a seat belt? Outside, he could first see sky, and then pavement blurred by. Cale finally slammed into the passenger door as the vehicle came to rest. His vision was foggy from the blood flowing into his eyes. He searched for his rifle but couldn’t find it. He looked at his hands. Shards of metal and glass protruded from both, and without thinking, he began pulling them out. Cale slipped out his knife as he moved toward the back of the van.
It took a couple of tries, but he was able to kick out what glass remained. He dove out of the vehicle and onto the highway, but once he hit the ground he couldn’t get back up. Undead surrounded him, and Cale slashed at the air around him with the knife.
“Zack, help me! Zach!” he screamed.
“Get your ass up!” Zach shouted at him.
He was fighting to keep the blood out of his eyes. The world grew dark around him, as the infected drew closer, and Cale looked up at the blue sky as he lay on the wet pavement.
“I’m so sorry Lauren,” he whispered.
31.
Past Transgressions
Lauren lay naked and sweaty in the darkness. Her heart was racing.
“That was amazing,” she said.
“Glad to help,” Ben said in between heavy breaths, as he propped himself up on one elbow.
Lauren woke in unit 215, fully clothed and startled by her dream. Immediately, she felt guilty for the actions of her subconscious. Marie was sound asleep next to her, and in the darkness, she could hear the snoring of her roommates, the other two mothers and their children. Lauren looked at the alarm clock, and saw that it was 11:00 PM. She tried to convince herself that she didn’t need to use the bathroom, and then cursed her small bladder as she got up and slid through the curtain and out into the hallway. Everyone had turned in for the night, so the hall was dimly lit. Lauren followed the exit signs to the exterior door. Outside, the warm evening air greeted her. Lanterns lit the perimeter, and even though the sun had been down for an hour and a half, the heat of the day remained.
Summer had begun; the infected had returned in the spring. All season long the undead tested their perimeter. Blue tarps hung from the fences around the complex, blocking the creatures’ view of their camp, and somewhat hindering thei
r interest. Guns were scarce, and ammunition even more so.
Lauren walked over to the outhouse. As she exited the little cubicle, a man smiled as he passed by. It was Roy.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hi,” she whispered back.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
“Had to pee,” she answered, as she gestured to the outhouse.
“Oh. Right,” Roy said as he shook his head, embarrassed that he’d drawn attention to her bodily functions.
“How are Stacy and the boys?” she changed the subject.
“Good,” he replied. “How is your little girl doing now?”
“She’s doing great. Gary gave us some medicine for her and she’s all better now,” Lauren replied.
“Good to hear,” Roy said, “Well, I gotta get back to patrolling. Have a good night.”
“You too,” Lauren said before walking away.
She entered the north structure where her unit was located. Ben met her in the hall.
“Hey, you,” he whispered.
“Hi there,” she said with a smile.
Ben was on his way to relieve Roy. He was running late for his patrol shift, but he always made time to talk to Lauren.
“Did you get up to see me before my shift?” he asked with a charming grin.
“You caught me,” she said in a playful sarcastic tone.
“That’s so sweet,” he said.
“Yeah. That’s me in a nutshell,” Lauren said with a smile.
“And what would your husband think?” he flirtatiously asked.
A flash of Lauren’s dream came to mind, and she walked away from Ben without saying anything more.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to…” he started.
But she was already entering her unit before he could finish.
“Damn it,” he cursed himself.
He knew the next time he saw her she’d be puffy eyed from crying all night. He felt horrible. Ben just wished she would forget about Cale and move on. He was certain her husband was dead by now. Everyone was. It was just them now, and one day she’d see that they were meant to be together.
He thought about Andy. He was a National Guardsman at the fairgrounds. They were standing guard together at the south gate, and the undead were clawing at the chain link fence to get in. Andy was a close friend of Cale’s, who hadn’t been pulled to deploy. He had it in his head that he had to keep an eye on Lauren and Marie, for Cale.
“Back off. I’ll take care of her,” Ben said to him angrily.
“I bet you would. Her husband is out there you know,” Andy argued.
“He left her behind,” Ben shot back.
“He was called up to do his duty. Guys like us go to war so fucks like you can get through school and appreciate all the freedoms that we provide you. Of course you’d try to hit on his wife once he was gone. But here’s the thing. Even with him gone, you still don’t stand a chance. You’ll never be that man,” Andy lectured.
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Ben said through gritted teeth.
He didn’t want to face the possibility that Andy might be right, and as soon as Andy turned his back, Ben clubbed him with his baseball bat. Even when he was unconscious on the ground, Ben continued to hit him.
“I will be that man,” he said, as he wiped the blood off his face.
Once the adrenaline had worn off, Ben realized what he had done. How was he going to hide this? That’s when he decided to let the infected into the fairgrounds. It was the perfect way to cover his tracks. No one would take the time to investigate Andy’s demise with the undead on the loose. To them, he’d be just another casualty of the epidemic. Fact was nothing was going to keep him from what he wanted. Fate had given the world this virus, and he’d use it to seize everything he deserved. Lauren was at the top of his list.
Ben approached Roy. He’d seen him chatting with Lauren when she came out of the outhouse.
“That time already?” Roy asked cheerfully.
Ben put on a fake smile, “Looks that way.”
“Try not to have too much fun out here,” Roy added.
Ben just smiled, and nodded. Roy smiled back and began his walk to the south structure where his family was sleeping. Ben tried to fight the impulse, but failed.
“Hey, Roy,” he said.
“Yeah?” Roy answered as he turned around.
“You shouldn’t talk to Lauren. You’ve got a family. Don’t piss that away because some pretty girl is nice to you,” Ben explained.
Roy was confused. Everyone knew Ben fancied Lauren. It was obvious the way he always watched for her and followed her around.
“Yeah. Sure,” Roy said uneasily.
“I’m serious,” Ben sounded threatening now.
“Okay. I got ya,” Roy answered, and then walked away as fast as he could.
Ben watched the man, who was at least fifteen years his senior, retreat quickly.
“Old fuck,” Ben whispered to himself. “Why would Lauren even want you?” he asked rhetorically.
Ben went about working his shift, circling the perimeter and surveying for weaknesses in their defenses. He tightened the tarp where it was needed and kept the lights going.
He didn’t see Lauren for three days. Julie had gotten their rations and took them back to their room, and she only smiled at him as they passed by. He wanted so badly to ask her how Lauren was doing, but he already knew. This wasn’t the first time he’d overstepped himself. She just needed to grieve the loss of her husband.
Finally, on the fourth day, she came out of her unit. As he’d predicted, her eyes were swollen and puffy. He hated seeing her like that.
“Hi,” he said to her.
Lauren didn’t even acknowledge his presence.
“Lauren,” he said, and grabbed her arm. She didn’t answer, just pulled away and went about her business.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You really upset her this time,” Julie said from behind him.
“Yeah,” he said as he turned to face her.
“She won’t even tell me what happened,” Julie confessed.
“I just said something stupid,” Ben explained.
“The story of my life,” she said cutely. “One dumb thing after the other.”
“How’s Callum doing?” he asked her.
“He’s good. He misses you,” she lied.
She looked for any excuse to be around Ben. Even though she knew he liked Lauren, she thought she could win him over. It wasn’t like Lauren had a romantic interest in him anyway. Technically, she wouldn’t be stealing anyone’s boyfriend.
“Well, I’ll just have to stop by then,” he said with his ever charming smile.
Ben would do it, if it meant he could be around Lauren, and since she shared a unit with Julie, this was perfect.
“Great,” she smiled at him.
For a moment he thought about how pretty she was, but she paled in comparison to Lauren. Didn’t he deserve the best?
“I’ll stop by to see the little guy tonight,” he offered.
“Maybe you could stop by after lunch?” she pressured.
It was Lauren’s turn to hand out rations today, so after lunch she’d be helping condense what was left. That meant Ben wouldn’t get to see her.
“Uh. I don’t know. We’ll have to see. I’ve got a few things I’ve gotta do. Okay?” he said apologetically.
“Oh. That’s too bad,” Julie said with a sexy pout, “Callum will be upset.”
“I’ll see you guys tonight,” he reassured her.
The plus side was, he wasn’t really lying about having things to do in the afternoon. He’d discussed the possibility of a specific supply run with the counsel.
Space was cramped, and people were beginning to fight. Ben recalled an RV sales lot up by the interstate, just outside of North Platte. It was a good hour’s drive away, and fuel was limited, but he figured he could score some somewhere. If he brought in enough RVs, some of the families could
move into them.
Specifically, he, Lauren, and Marie could move into one. He was so excited to see her reaction. There was no way she’d say no, and then they’d be a happy family. He imagined her squealing with joy, throwing her arms around him, and giving him a kiss. That was when she’d realize how much she loved him. One kiss was all she needed.
The council had given him permission to take anyone he needed for the mission. He chose eight others, all men. They’d be able to bring back the moving truck, as well as eight RVs that way. Among the eight were Ryan, David, and Roy. He’d picked Roy to come along so that he could keep an eye on him. Ben had to save him from himself. If Roy got too cozy with Lauren and she rejected him, who knows what would happen.
Ben gathered his people, and gave them their directives. First was a fuel source, second was the procurement of the RVs.
He swore them all to secrecy, because he wanted this to be a surprise for Lauren.
“Everyone ready to go?” he asked as they stood by the yellow moving truck.
Each man gave a nod or thumbs up.
“Alright then. Let’s go shopping,” he said with a laugh. The undead had been herded away from the main gate by the guards, enabling the moving truck to leave without any problem. Quickly the gates closed behind them, and their mission was underway. Luckily, they were already on the north side of town and wouldn’t have to deal with the crowded streets. Nature had already reclaimed the area as far as they could see. Canadian thistles grew wild in the fields, and other fields were now completely underwater. Without power, the farmers’ sump pumps couldn’t keep excess water off the farmland. Partially eaten bodies of cattle lined the road. The zombies had been eating well on Nebraska corn fed beef.
“Look at that,” David said from the driver’s seat.
He pointed to the west, where a plume of smoke extended into the sky.
“What do you think that might have been?” Ryan asked.
“Probably a grain bin,” Ben said, without looking. “Grain holds heat really well. When it’s compacted like that it can catch fire. The problem with a grain fire is that it can last a long time,” he explained.
Z Plan (Book 2): Red Tides Page 20