“Where are Rowdy and Cindy?” I asked.
“Oh, they went scavenging.” Kelly said. I frowned but withheld commentary. I hoped Rowdy had picked up enough about clearing houses to keep from being surprised.
As we were leaving, Wanda pulled me off to the side. “I don’t feel comfortable with that little colored boy around the babies.” She said in a hushed tone. She was referring to Joe, of course. It was bullshit. Joe was very polite when introduced to everyone, and well behaved the whole time. He gave nobody any cause to be concerned. Even so, Wanda had an issue with him. It was pathetic.
“He’s a good kid Wanda.” I could have said a lot more, but I held off. Instead, I bid my goodbye and left.
I tried the horse farm first, and found Bo mucking the stalls. He met us at the barn door with a pitchfork. Lucy saw us, disappeared inside the barn, and came back out with her tennis ball and a wagging tail.
“Hello Bo.” Fred said when he got out of the truck.
“Hello Fred.” Bo replied. The two men shook hands, and then hugged.
“I’m glad you’re alive.” Bo said.
“Same here.” Fred said.
“My, what an emotional reunion!” Julie said. We laughed while Fred and Bo looked at us.
“Have you two known each other long?” Corporal Alexander asked.
“We grew up together.” Bo answered. “Did any of the rest of the family make it?” He asked. Fred slowly shook his head. Bo sighed. “Mine neither.”
Fred looked at us. “If you all don’t mind, I’ll take that thermos of coffee and spend a bit of time with Bo. We have some catching up to do. He’ll give me a ride back.”
Joe looked anxious. “Can I stay?” He asked Fred. Fred looked at me.
“Hey Joe, let the old men talk about the weather while we go find you some new clothes and stuff.” It was obvious Joe wanted to stay with Fred, but he quietly assented.
We went back to the Lennox Village area. I had previously cleared over half of the condominiums, and remembered seeing kids’ bedrooms in a few of them. I insisted Julie stay in the truck. I explained it was due to her pregnancy, but she called me a chauvinist anyway. I pulled Joe off to the side.
“Alright big guy, we’ve cleared houses together before, so I want you to hang out with Julie until we get a house cleared. Then, you can come in and pick out what you need.”
Joe agreed quietly, although I think he wanted to help out. He had survived on his own, so I knew he was pretty tough for an eleven-year-old kid.
We located the units which obviously had children at one time and checked them out. Joe found several articles of clothing he could wear and we loaded up. We also looked for more clothing for Julie. Her baby bulge was growing daily.
“Alright, the third bedroom in our house is empty. I was thinking we can get it set up for you and Fred.” I said to Joe. “So, I want you to pick out a bedroom suite for the two of you. We’ll need two beds and furniture. I think we have room in the bed of the truck. If not, we can make two trips.” Joe’s eyes lit up and he ran into one of the condos before I could say anything else. He ran out a minute later.
“I found some!” He shouted.
Chapter 53 – Oh Rowdy, Where Art Thou?
The weather was so pleasant, we opted to eat outside at the picnic table which was set up under an old oak tree. Terry had shot a turkey and Fred helped him dress it. We complemented it with some of our canned vegetables.
“How is Bo doing?” I asked Fred while setting everything up.
“He’s doing okay, been a bit lonely, but now I think he’s fine. He’s going to help me build a new house.”
“That’s awesome!” Julie said. “With no costs to consider, you can build a mansion.”
Fred shook his head. “Nope, it’s going to be something simple, concrete block walls and a roof. Nothing fancy.”
Julie made a raspberry sound. “You’ll do nothing of the kind. We’re going to make it pretty.” Fred glanced at her, but said nothing. “I’ll talk to Mac tomorrow and get her over there with a bulldozer. She’ll have the lot cleared in no time.” She grinned mischievously at Fred. “She’ll be glad to help you.”
“We’ve actually got the numbers now to get things done.” I said. “If you want, I can start drawing up some plans.”
Fred nodded. “You should create a boiler plate design, something simple to build and easy to fortify. You also want to take into consideration the utilities, so electricity from a generator, or better yet, solar, and a water storage system.”
“There has to be a business around here somewhere that built water tanks.” I said, more to myself than anyone else.
I started with some notes, but kept getting distracted by Julie playing footsie with me under the picnic table. I’d frown at her, but she’d smile at me playfully, which totally prevented me from getting mad. She had been in a great mood ever since Fred came back. We all looked up when we heard a vehicle approaching.
“I believe that’s Big Mac.” I said.
“Well, you’re girlfriend didn’t waste much time coming to call.” Julie teased. Fred looked at her with an arched eyebrow. As they got closer, I saw Wanda sitting in the passenger seat.
“Shit.” I muttered. Julie giggled. The two women got out of the truck and walked over to the picnic table.
“Hello ladies.” I said with mock cheerfulness. Everyone else said hello as well.
“Hi everyone.” Big Mac responded. “Is Cindy here?” She asked. Julie and I looked at each other.
“I don’t think so. Isn’t she with Rowdy?” I asked.
“They left out early this morning and were supposed to be back at noon. We were getting a little worried.” Mac said. I looked around. The dually was missing. I got up and looked in the tour bus, just to make sure. It was empty. I walked back to the picnic table and sat down
“I wouldn’t worry about them. They’re probably out enjoying this pretty day, and lost track of time.” I said. Wanda shook her head vigorously.
“There’s something wrong. I know it.”
“The dually had a full tank of gas. I think they’re okay.” I tried to say reassuringly, but Wanda shook her head vigorously again. I sighed. “Okay, did Rowdy say whereabouts they were going?”
“He only said they were going shopping.” Mac replied. I immediately thought of Cool Springs and voiced my suspicions.
“He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try going inside the mall with just the two of them, would he?” Julie asked. I looked over at Andie.
She sighed as well. “Yeah, he would. He was talking about the two of us doing it a couple of days before the Birmingham women rolled into town.”
“Oh, shit.” Julie said. I groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Mac asked.
“The mall is full of zombies. We tried going in several months back. It was like a zombie black Friday in there.” I said, and immediately regretted it. Wanda went pale and started hyperventilating. She started to swoon and Mac caught her. Picking her up like she was a small child, Mac carried her over to a chair and gently set her down. She looked at Fred and me with worry.
“Okay, okay, let’s not all get worked up. We’ve got plenty of firepower here, we’ll go look for them.” I knew an argument was about to start as I looked over at Julie.
“Don’t you dare suggest I stay here Mister Zach Gunderson. I’m going with you!” She said. I looked at Fred. He was very dramatic as he tilted his head about a quarter of an inch.
“I’ll be damned if I sit here on my ass while a pregnant woman goes huntin’ zombies.” Bo said as he stood. I nodded in thanks.
“Andie, how about you and Terry get the 5.56 ammo cans, it’s the ammo we have plenty of, so everyone take one of the M4s or an AR-15.” I looked at Fred. He stood up.
“Bo and Joe will ride with me in the semi.” He said. “I believe you and Julie should ride in the truck.” He gestured at Andie. “Andie and her soldier boyfriend should ride in the jeep.” Terry looked
startled at being described as Andie’s boyfriend. “What CB channel do you think Rowdy would be listening to?” Fred asked.
“The last time I drove the dually, I had it on channel nineteen.” I said.
Fred nodded. “Nineteen it is then.”
We followed the large Volvo down Concord Road. I looked over at the gated entrance to the Governor’s Club as we drove by. My note was gone. Someone lived in there, I was sure of it. I didn’t see a red dually anywhere in the neighborhood, so I hoped we weren’t going on a wild goose chase. Fred opted not to try I-65, and instead turned on Franklin Pike before turning back left on Moore’s Lane. At Wanda’s insistence, they followed us. I hoped Mac took care of her, because she was worthless.
“Come in, Zach.” I heard Fred calling me on the radio.
“Go ahead.” I responded.
“Is it Rick’s red dually they’re in?” He asked.
“Roger. I figure when we get close, we spread out and search the parking lots for it. I’m guessing he’ll park close to one of the entrances, if he’s even there.”
“I copy. In the meantime, why don’t y’all continue trying to raise that knucklehead on the radio? I’d suggest trying all channels and we’ll stay on nineteen.”
I did as suggested, but to no avail. It became evident why, when we turned onto Galleria Boulevard. Julie suddenly pointed. “There!”
The dually was parked in front of one of the main entrances on Galleria Boulevard. She drove up beside it and stopped. I jumped out with my M4 at the ready, and ran up to it. There was nobody in it, nor was there any damage, or anything else out of the ordinary. I ran back to the truck and radioed the information.
“Zach, do you think he’s in the mall?” Andie asked.
“He’s got to be.” I said. “They didn’t park right at the front entrance in order to go somewhere else.”
“Zach,” Fred said over the radio. “Would you move your truck out of the way? We have an idea.” Julie looked at me perplexed and backed the truck up. About the time we were clear of the entrance, the big Volvo zoomed by. The steel cattle catcher busted the concrete flower pots which were supposed to act as barriers, and crashed through the glass doors. As Fred entered into the mall, he laid on his air horns repeatedly.
Julie followed the Volvo in and slid to a stop beside it. “You will keep your ass in the truck or I’ll spank you so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week!” I yelled at Julie as I exited. Andie and Terry jumped out and took up firing positions.
It didn’t take long before we had company. There had to be over a hundred of them. Most of them were horribly decomposed and could hardly move, but a few of them seemed to be moving without a great deal of difficulty.
“Don’t rush your shots! We have plenty of firepower for a change!” I yelled as I took aim at a male zombie in a security guard’s uniform and dispatched him with a clean headshot. The others followed my lead and began methodically picking them off. I felt a presence by my side. It was Julie. I glared at her.
“I can’t wait for my spanking.” She said, and stuck her tongue out at me before she started shooting. At least she had her ear plugs in. Mac ran up beside Julie and stood over her protectively and started picking off targets.
I concentrated on the ones who seemed to be in better shape, and the whole time I was wondering if they were people who had recently become freshly infected. Julie seemed to pick up on what I was doing and started shooting them as well. She knew what I was thinking more than I knew what I was thinking.
“Red!” I shouted while I ejected the empty magazine and slapped a full one in, locking it in place and releasing the charging handle.
“Green!” I shouted right after Julie shouted red. I glanced at everyone before resuming shooting. Fred and Bo looked like twins. They were relaxed and casual as they shot into the horde. Bo reloaded without saying anything. I’d get Fred to say something to him later. Little Joe was standing behind Fred with an arm full of magazines, handing them to Fred and Bo when they needed them. Terry and Andie were crouched down beside each other, their shoulders touching, shooting in tandem. There was nothing like a firefight with zombies to bring two people together. I grinned and resumed firing.
Suddenly, I heard a horn honking behind me. I turned in irritation. Wanda was still in the Toyota truck and she pointed frantically to her right. There was another wave of zombies coming from the opposite direction.
“Andie, Terry, six o’clock!” I shouted. They turned together and started firing without missing a beat. I ran back to our truck, retrieved an ammo can, and slid it across the floor to Joe. “You know what to do, big guy!” I shouted and resumed shooting. After a minute I glanced over at Joe. He was crouched down beside Fred’s legs, loading empty magazines. I grunted in satisfaction and continued shooting.
When the last one fell, I reloaded quickly, pulled my earplugs out, and looked everyone over.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked. I looked at Julie first, she blew me a kiss. Fred gave a curt nod. Andie and Terry gave us a thumbs up, and then traded a fist bump. Mac looked harried, but otherwise okay. I made a quick count. There were one hundred and sixty-seven. Too many for comfort, it seemed to defy logic. I shook it off and looked around.
“Aright, where is our dumbass friend?” I asked, more to myself than anyone else. As I was looking around, Julie pointed.
“What do you think?” She asked as she pointed out a woman’s boutique halfway down. It had a broken window, and although I can’t say how freshly broken glass was different from old broken glass, it looked freshly broken.
“Yeah, maybe.” I looked at her with I hoped was a stern expression. “This time, please stay with Fred and provide us cover. I can only spank you so much.” I said. Mac heard me and frowned questioningly. “Andie, Terry, let’s check out that store.” I said, pointing. Fred gave me another nod and stood watch.
We found them in the back, locked in a restroom. There were four or five dead zombies lying around, and five more scratching at the door, totally oblivious to the massive firefight that just occurred. We killed them quickly, efficiently. Andie ran toward the door.
“Careful Andie, he might shoot through the door.” She looked at me in understanding, stood to the side, and knocked.
“Hey dumbass, are you in there?” She said loudly. After a moment, the sound of the door unlocking was heard, followed by it being opened a crack. We could see someone peeking out, and it opened wider. Rowdy emerged.
“What the fuck, Rowdy?” Andie asked in exasperation. “Where’s Cindy?”
“She’s in here. She’s not doing very well.” He said anxiously. I pushed passed him and walked in. Cindy was lying on the bathroom floor, semiconscious, covered in sweat and ashen faced.
“What the hell happened?” Terry asked. I already knew the answer. I could see it on her neck and arms. There were at least three distinct bite marks. Trickles of blood oozed out of them.
“We got jumped.” Rowdy replied. “I fought them off as best I could, but Cindy got bit.”
“Oh shit.” Terry muttered as Andie gasped.
“Rowdy, help me carry her. We’ve got to be quick.” I said, and looked at Andie. “Run ahead and get every cigarette lighter going. Tell them what happened.” Andie took off at a run. Rowdy grabbed Cindy by the shoulders and I grabbed her legs. Terry covered the rear as we made our way back to the trucks.
Fred leaned forward with a red hot lighter as we sat Cindy down by the Volvo.
I looked at Rowdy. “Hold her down.” I said as I grabbed her legs in a bear hug. Fred jabbed the red hot coils into the wound on her neck, and held it there for a few seconds. The smell of burning flesh permeated my nostrils. Cindy began screaming as Bo jabbed another one onto one of the wounds on her arms. When Wanda saw this, she began screaming and tried to pull the two men away from her daughter.
“You’re hurting her!” She screamed. I let go of Cindy’s legs and grabbed her.
“Listen to me,” I said ca
lmly. “She’s infected. We have no idea how to treat her. We either take a chance that cauterizing the wounds will help, or we put a bullet in her head right now. Your choice.” Wanda looked at me and began crying. “It’s the only way, Wanda.” I said quietly. “If there is any chance of saving her, this is it. She’ll have a couple of scars, but she’ll be alive.” Mac came up beside Wanda and put an arm around her. Joe ran up with another hot lighter. Fred took it and continued cauterizing the wounds.
I rode in the bed of the dually with Cindy as the convoy made its way to the radio station. I had no emotional attachment to Cindy. If she turned in my presence, I’d not hesitate to kill her. Rowdy drove, and kept looking back at us. At one point, he almost rear-ended Julie.
“Pay attention to the road, Rowdy!” I yelled. He nodded quickly, but adjusted the rearview mirror so he could watch me.
We made it back to the radio station and Big Mac gingerly lifted Cindy out of the bed of the truck. She was still semiconscious and sweating profusely as Mac carried her inside. All of us followed. When Mac gently laid Cindy on a bed, I motioned to her. She followed me outside. Fred and Bo followed me.
“I don’t need to tell you what to do if she turns, do I?” I asked. Mac slowly shook her head.
“You want one of us to stay here, so you won’t have to do it?” Fred asked.
Big Mac shook her head, but stopped and looked at Fred. “I’ll be the one to do it, if it comes to that, but I’d be most appreciative if you’d keep me company.” She said. Fred looked at her, and then us.
“It looks like I’ll be staying here tonight.” He said.
Chapter 54 – Punishment
I slapped Julie on the butt as we got undressed. She let out a yelp and looked at me in wonder. “That’s for disobeying your husband.” I said and finished undressing. We got in bed and snuggled up against each other.
“Aren’t you going to spank me some more?” She asked provocatively.
Z14 (Zombie Rules) Page 34