“Listen up.” She said. “We know what to do if a zombie approaches us. We got Bill on the roof, and both Emily and I are armed. If shit really hits the fan, I will give you the signal to get back to the school, while we provide cover.”
She looked at every team member to make sure they got it.
“I’ve picked out a dig site for both the grave and the garbage ditch. We needed to put some distance between the school and this site, so its’ about fifty yards out from the edge of the field. It’s a nice, clear area. There is a small set of bleachers on the field directly in front of us. We avoid those. We circle wide around them to the right. Just follow my lead.”
“We need to take all this stuff out in one go. We go out as a group, and we stay together.” She looked at the assortment of items. “Ok, Keith – you and I carry the corpse. Ern, can you carry those shovels as well as a couple of weapons?” Ern nodded, and Melissa continued. “Nat, can you handle the garbage bags and your weapon?”
“Sure.”
“Ok good. That leaves Emily hands free. Em, check your comms and sidearm.”
“Yes madam!” Emily said with a smile. She recognized authority when she saw it. She quickly performed a radio check with Bill, Maria and Ethan, and ensured that her pistol was ready for action.
“Great. Ok everybody. The first step is to get outside this door and scout out the area. She was met with a few nods and an ‘uh-huh’. Melissa had a long look at her team.
Lots of nerves. Talk them through their tasks. Focus them. Just like old times.
“Once we are moving to the dig site, Emily is our eyes. Focus on your own job. The last thing we need is to trip each other up. Also, if we’re digging and a danger is spotted, drop your stuff, grab your weapon, and back up at least ten feet so that we’re not tripping over our own shit.”
She had another look at her team. Still some nerves, she noted.
Only one way to get over it. She opened the gym door and with a simple ‘Let’s go.’, she stepped outside.
THE TEAM FOLLOWED HER out into the open air. They were standing in the shadow of the school, and it felt chilly. Crisp. The fields were still green, the grass recently cut and well-maintained.
She scanned out beyond the fields. A small portion of the road was visible to their extreme right, but she spotted no movement there. Maria or Ethan would be looking out in that direction as well. Her eyes trailed the fence line from right to left.
To the south-east of the school was an alley way. Beyond that all Melissa could see was the fence surrounding the first property adjacent to the school. This was at least a quarter mile away and again Melissa did not spot any movement.
She followed the fence line, scanning from west to east along the south fence. All she could see was an alley and the fences to back yards of houses. No movement.
She got to the south-east corner of the fence, where the alley turned away. Then started scanning from south to north along the east side of the fence. There was a park of some kind back there. All Melissa could see were trees on the other side of the fence.
The only area that concerned Melissa as she continued to scan the fence, was at the north-east corner. In this area the fence was swallowed by a stand of trees. She knew from looking at a map of the school property that the fence continued through the trees. She could see the fence emerge again on the other side of the woods along the north and traced it back all the way from east to west. The park continued along the north side beyond the fence, eventually changing into a grassy area, until the edge of the gym cut off her sight.
All looked clear.
“Ok, keep the noise down. Let’s do this.” She reached down to grab one end of her burden.
The group moved towards their destination. At first, the group rushed a bit. Melissa reminded her charges to calm down and slow down the pace, and they did.
They arrived at the dig location with no issues and the team split into two groups as planned.
Ern and Nat carried the garbage bags about fifteen yards away and started digging.
Emily placed herself just ahead and toward the middle of both groups and continued to scan the area for threats as Keith and Melissa started digging a grave.
Nothing happened for about ten minutes. The group started to relax as they continued to work. Emily had drifted over to Melissa and Keith to check on their progress. But just then Emily’s radio crackled.
“Contact, contact. One bogie spotted. Northwest at treeline.” They froze as Bill’s static voice came over the small hand-held device. The three of them looked in the direction Bill had indicated. A naked man was lurching towards them. He had just emerged from the stand of trees and was still at least a hundred yards out.
Emily drew her pistol and flicked off the safety.
“Emily!” Mel whispered loudly. It got her attention. Mel turned to face the rest of the group. “It’s only one guy. Everybody knows what to do, right?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Get into positions.”
Keith put down his shovel and pulled out his hammers. Melissa reached for her axe but changed her mind and hefted the shovel in a couple practice swings. Satisfied with the weapon, she moved with Keith away from the half-dug grave.
Choose the field of battle and half the battle is won. Or something like that. Mel reminded herself.
Emily had gotten Ern and Nat’s attention and the two jogged over. Melissa nodded to her axe, and Ern quickly swapped his length of pipe for the superior weapon.
Nothing was said as the five members arranged themselves in a line perpendicular to their target.
They had gone over this and knew what to do.
Keith stood in the middle and ahead of the line, and his job was to attract the zombie. He was supposed to backtrack, keeping the zombie coming at him, and allow the rest of the crew to attempt to flank and ground the target. Once the zombie was down, he would step in to finish the job. It all sounded good in theory. This was for real though.
The zombie was about fifty yards away. Melissa took a good look.
She figured that this was the same zombie that was spotted a couple of days ago. She wondered what drew him to those trees and looked at the woods. The answer became obvious to her. Even from here, she could hear the birds chirping. She imagined that there were probably a bunch of squirrels and other wildlife in there too.
She focused on the zombie. Thirty-five yards out. She could make out details of the corpse. He – It? It. Melissa decided.
It had scratched itself up significantly in those woods. None of the scratches bled per-se. More like oozed. The only thing that seemed to be really affecting it, however, was a damaged foot. The zombie nearly lost its balance every time its left foot hit the ground, which gave it a very lopsided gait. Its cock was hanging out, flopping like a grey worm with a life of its own. The whole thing was almost comical if it wasn’t so disgusting.
Twenty feet. Keith took another step forward and waved his arms. This had the desired effect, as the zombie homed in on the oriental man. Everybody else drifted a couple steps away. The zombie had eyes only for Keith, who had backed up a few steps.
Fifteen feet. Ten. Keith continued to back-track. The zombie was past Melissa now. She quickly stepped in, as did Nat on the other side.
Melissa swung her shovel, aiming low. Nat aimed higher with her garden hoe; a solid, nasty looking thing with two prongs on the reverse side.
The shock reverberated up the handle as Melissa’s shovel bit deep into the zombie’s leg, just above the knee. Nat’s weapon connected with the lower back of the zombie with a solid ‘thwack’. The zombie was sent sprawling forward and landed on its face, never even putting out its arms to catch itself. Melissa let go of her weapon for fear of being pulled down. She gasped involuntarily, and the zombie turned its head to stare at her. Its wide-open eyes were focused on Melissa as it worked its jaw open and shut like a fish out of water.
Melissa took a quick step backwards.
Ern and Emily step
ped in before the zombie could move though. Ern swung the axe in a downward chop, connecting in the center of the zombie’s back. The axe sunk in nearly three inches and got stuck. Emily swung her long piece of pipe immediately after Ern had taken his swing. The pipe crashed into the back of the zombie’s neck with a sickening crunch. The zombie’s head hit the ground as it’s neck could no longer support it.
Then Keith was there. He stepped up to the zombie’s head and with one swing sunk his hammer through the back of the creature’s head. Keith let go of the hammer. It was stuck in the zombie’s skull. The zombie did not move. They stood around in silence for a moment.
“That. Was impressive.” Ern’s whispered comment broke the silence. He tried to sound calm, but Melissa could sense the excitement and tension in him.
“Yeah. Better than expected.” Nat added. She was shaking slightly with the rush of adrenaline. Even Emily looked slightly flushed as she radioed in the good kill.
The group had done admirably. Melissa felt very proud of them. She bent over and retrieved her shovel. Ern did likewise with his axe and Keith gingerly pulled out his hammer.
The five of them stood over the destroyed zombie. This was their first kill together. They all felt different emotions, but Melissa could see that they also all felt an increased trust and faith in each other. They looked at one another with pride.
Melissa spoke after giving them a moment. “Good work everyone. Ok, let’s get back to digging. Looks like we need to make a bigger grave.”
The group got back to work. Melissa could see that each one of them showed more confidence and determination. She couldn’t quite keep her hands from shaking as she got to work though.
They completed digging the grave and the garbage dump without any further incident. Patrick’s body was laid in the grave next to the unnamed zombie and was covered up quickly. Ern said a few quick words over both bodies.
Melissa contemplated some of Ern’s words as he spoke. She wasn’t the religious type and never paid much of attention to sermons. This certainly wasn’t the first time she had attended a burial service though. Melissa remembered the times she had stood at attention as former colleagues were laid to rest. The words were little more than a droning noise to her in those days.
But this time everything was so visceral – So real – that she registered every word clearly.
“O Lord, you who are the father of mercy. We deliver these two souls back into your kingdom. May the holy spirit guide them to your judgement, and may their souls be cleansed and find peace in your embrace. We trust in you, our Lord, and ask you to look over those who need you in these trying times. In this we pray to you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
It was short and improvised. But every member of the group was impressed by Ern’s delivery.
The group stood in silence for several moments. Melissa thought about the two dead bodies and wondered if their spirits had departed well before their bodies were destroyed. She hoped so.
Surely there is no consciousness driving these people to attack us... Melissa reasoned.
Or, was a little piece of the spirit held captive as the body reanimated. Forced to watch in terror as the body rose to attack loved ones...
Either way, I hope you can now rest in peace, Patrick.
With one last exchange of looks, the group picked up their shovels and weapons and made their way back towards the school. Melissa noted that the group walked with more confidence. They had accomplished their first mission. They maintained sound discipline, even when faced with the appearance of a zombie.
Except I didn’t. I yelped after I hit that zombie... I will have to do better next time.
The group entered the gym and were met by the entire population of the Ren. Rosa was there, supported by Shelley. She managed a soft ‘Thank you’, with a pained smile for the returning crew.
It felt like they received a hero’s welcome. There were several hugs, high-fives and back-slaps. The survivors at the Ren needed something positive and this, to them, was a success.
Chapter Sixty
That evening, the remnants of the United States Government publicized the supply drop locations. The broadcast went on for several hours, covering the entire country, state by state. Craig copied down as many of the locations as he could and Christine, Sarah, and finally Claire took over as wrists got sore from writing.
They found out that there were two more drops within a twenty-mile radius. They also discovered that not all supply drops had been announced. Their location was not mentioned, for one. Several people seemed relieved at that.
Joe contacted Phil shortly after. Phil was pleased to note that there was a supply drop ‘just ‘round the bend’. Phil said that he was going to prepare himself to make a run for the place. Joe argued with Phil, suggesting that he should lie low if he had enough supplies, and not risk the trip. Phil’s reply was that he wanted to get to the goodies before anybody else beat him to it.
That comment got the group thinking. How would survivors act? Would it be ‘every man for himself’? Ern had a thought-provoking way to put it.
“My parents were German. Actually, my father was a decorated soldier in the ‘Wehrmacht’, as they call it over there.”
“Oof! Anyway, that’s beside the point.” He quickly said when Nancy elbowed him.
“My parents were brought up with communal values. No, they weren’t Communists, John.” He said as he saw the former soldier look up.
“They believed in taking care of their community. Their fellow man. I remember them telling me that they had some awful years after the war, and the only thing that kept them going was the strong community spirit. Back then... or maybe it’s better to say over there, families stay together longer. They don’t move far away from each other. You knew everybody that lived on your street. There was always somebody ready to help you, and you were always ready to help a friend, family member or neighbor.”
He licked his lips, unsure how to proceed. “Now, I don’t want anybody here to take offense. I’m a proud American just like you folks. Born and raised.”
“Tell us what’s on your mind, Ern.” Craig encouraged.
“Ok. Well, when I was old enough, my parents talked about all of this. They said that they were so terribly dismayed when they moved to America and realized just how different the culture was. My dad felt that, overall, people here are friendly enough. But as soon as you needed something, they would shut their doors to you.”
“What’s worse, is that people would take advantage of you. He told me that they became friends with another couple. They were friends for several years, until they tried to do some business together. They were doing some carpentry work around town. Well, that other couple ripped off my parents, for a thousand dollars.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Now, I don’t want to bore you with the details, but the point is that these folks were willing to destroy a friendship over some money.”
He took a deep breath before continuing. “Ok what is it I’m trying to say. Make sense, Ern!” He berated himself. Then his eyes lit up with a thought. “Americans are a great independent people. And it is that independence that drives them to individual success, even at the cost of others.” He nodded, having finally found the right words to make his point.
“I’m worried that individuals will go to these supply drops, with intentions of hoarding all these... What did he call it? Goodies! For themselves.”
Joe nodded. “I think you’re right, Ern. If I’m to be honest, that’s probably what I would do.” Several people nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, me too, probably.” Craig added, looking at Joe appreciatively for his honesty. “And with no army to enforce the law...” He left the rest unsaid.
“So, what do we do? Can’t we trust anybody out there?” Shelley asked, her large dark eyes expressing fear and despondency in equal measures.
“I don’t know the answer to that question, Shelley. But I suggest we worry about the imm
ediate concerns first. Safety, getting the solar panels going. That kind of stuff.” Craig replied.
“Let’s keep broadcasting on the radio, but with caution. Maybe we take a page out of Joe’s book, and not willy-nilly give away our location.” John added, with a nod to Joe. Joe acknowledged this with a broad grin.
“But we should always try to help others. In whatever way we can.” Ern’s speech wasn’t lost on Jack.
He looked flustered when all faces turned to him. It was clear that not everybody agreed. “One side of Ern’s story is that we need to be wary of others. But the part that I got out of it, is that we have a chance to be better. To take care of others. To do some good.”
He ran out of steam. It took willpower for Jack not to storm out of that room. He was sure that all the adults disagreed with him.
“Jack is right.” Maria spoke up. She eyed those around her angrily, daring anybody to disagree.
A small voice at the back of the room chose that moment to speak up.
“This could be our judgement. Our reckoning.” Everybody turned around. The heavily bruised and bandaged Rosa sat in a chair and faced them with a defiant look. She slowly got up from her chair, assisted by Shelley.
“I don’t know if any of you are religious. But even if you’re not... How do you want to live out your life?!” It was more an accusation than a question.
Several people started to say something, but Rosa lifted her hand for silence. That hand wrapped in bandages, with an empty space where the top portion of her pinky had been – that hand stopped all of them in their tracks.
“I’m not proud of everything I’ve done in my life.” Her blackened and swollen eyes scanned those in front of her as she spoke. Her visage was so powerful, that people were rooted in place.
“I’m ashamed of certain things. Maybe you call them sins. But whatever they are, it’s all I have been thinking of since yesterday. I feel like I almost died. Like I was on the edge. I could have died!” She blinked. “But you know what? I think all of us are on the edge. Every one of us.”
Apocalypsis Immortuos | Book 1 | Syndrome Page 41