Dead in the Valley

by C M Rutherford

  Derek confirmed that even the military didn't have any information initially. He had been monitoring channels but had only caught chatter from scattered disorganized groups of soldiers. It seemed that the command structure of the military had been devastated as completely as the civilian population.

  “I don’t feel nearly as guilty about bugging out of D.C. now as I did the day we left,” Derek said.

  “Well, I am damn glad you did. I don’t know how things would shake out without you and your soldiers here for support,” Wade said.

  “I have been broadcasting as much as possible. I have made contact with a few scattered groups of survivors. If we can get them to throw in with us it would be to our advantage. I would like to have some more military men here for security,” Derek elaborated.

  “I agree. It also scares me a little, too,” Wade said sheepishly.

  “How so?”

  “Well, you and your guys I know are good people and have the group’s best interest in mind. That can’t be said for everyone, though. What if we invite these soldiers in and they aren’t good people? We don’t need to deal with a coup on top of everything else we have to worry about,” Wade said.

  “I get your point, but that could come from anyone we let into our midst. Granted, military types would be harder to put down. We just have to be vigilant. It’s really all we can do at this point.

  Wade told Derek he would map out all the military and National Guard facilities in the surrounding area. Worst case they would be able to add to their weapons and ammunition cache. Best case they could add some able-bodied soldiers to their numbers.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  GasLand

  My mother used to say, "You never know what will happen when you go out your front door." That was never truer than now. We had kicked the proverbial hornet’s nest by directly attacking the Lords and Masters. Now every time we had to go to Winchester, we would run the risk of meeting up with what remained of their gang. I hoped we could avoid them as much as possible, but the odds of that were going to be lowered with every foray. It was bad enough to have to worry about reanimated dead people intent on consuming your flesh, now we had to worry about psychotic gun-wielding gang members trying to end our lives. This new world was going to keep me on my toes.

  Wade Marshall

  ◆◆◆

  Wade and Jessie crouched low outside the gate of Amerigas Propane. Some of the dead shambled around inside the locked fence. Very carefully Wade moved the bolt cutters up to the chain securing the entrance. After cutting the chain, he checked again to make sure they had not alerted the dead inside the perimeter.

  "All right, you ready to go, Jessie?"

  "Right behind you, bro."

  "Okay! Let’s do this."

  Staying behind cover, they moved to the interior of the propane yard. Keeping to the right side of the fence and hiding behind the propane tanks, they made it to the pump stations used to fill the bobtails and tankers from the storage tanks. Carefully, Wade peeked over the top of the tank he was using for cover.

  "Looks like six of them, Jessie. Let's do this quietly. We'll use the machetes."

  "Well, let’s get to getting." Jessie grinned at his brother.

  Silently, Wade and Jessie broke from cover and approached the first three rotters. Luck was on their side as the dead were facing away from them. The first two they came upon went down easily as their heads were separated from their bodies with precision. Just as the third zombie turned, Wade’s machete sank through its skull to the top of its eyebrows.

  The remaining zombies turned towards Wade and Jessie with growls as they advanced. Wade jumped forwards and landed a running kick into the chest of the next zombie, knocking it and the one behind to the ground. Making quick work of the prone forms, Wade relieved them of their heads with two vicious chops. Wade pivoted just in time to see Jessie hack the head from the last zombie.

  "Good work, little brother." Wade winked.

  "Just another day at the office," Jessie replied.

  After walking the perimeter of the propane yard to ensure all the zombies were down, Wade pulled out the radio and gave the all-clear signal. Two SUVs shot through the gate. Once both vehicles were inside, Glenn jumped out of the passenger side of the second SUV and secured a new chain and padlock on the entrance. This would be an important stash for some time to come because there were six 40,000-gallon tanks full of propane at the facility.

  "Well, guys, looks like our luck is holding. There is a flatbed over there stacked full of 10,000-gallon propane tanks, and another that has a 40,000-gallon storage tank sitting on the other side of the office. You guys go make sure everything is strapped down and ready to travel while Jessie and I check the offices for keys to the rigs," Wade directed the men from the SUVs.

  Wade called for Jessie to follow and approached the plant office. They took up position on either side of the door. He tried the knob and smiled at his brother when he found the door unlocked.

  "Are you ready, little brother?"

  "Born that way, Wade," Jessie replied with a grin.

  Wade pushed the door open and entered the building to the right, while Jessie came through the door and went left. The unmistakable odor of decaying flesh assailed their nostrils immediately. The brothers strained to hear any sound that was out of place. After thirty seconds of listening to silence, Wade walked towards the main desk.

  When they rounded the edge of the high counter, they found the source of the smell. It looked like what was left of a woman, judging from the long blonde hair and floral print on what remained of the shredded material. A good portion of the corpse looked to have been devoured.

  The brothers carefully swept the rest of the outer lobby without finding any threats. Wade walked behind the counter and looked for keys. Having no luck, he shrugged his shoulders, and pointed to the door to the left of the front desk. He gave the knob a twist, but it did not budge. Looking over to Jessie to make sure he was focused, Wade stepped back and delivered a powerful kick just under the doorknob. The door burst open into a small office, most likely belonging to the manager of the facility. They quickly searched the room, finding nothing of use.

  Wade turned and went to the door to the right of the front desk. It was unlocked and opened into a large garage with a dozen oversized bay doors. Each of the twelve bays had a bobtail parked inside. Wade and Jessie worked their way to the far end of the enormous truck bay, searching for hidden threats as they went. They were about halfway back across the garage when a metal object hit the concrete floor. They both stopped and raised their weapons. From a small tool cage on the back wall of the garage, someone shouted.

  "Please, I am not one of those things. Don't kill me. Take whatever you want."

  Walking slowly with weapons trained, Wade and Jessie maneuvered to the cage. As Wade approached, there was a rather rotund man on the floor of the cage, surrounded by empty water bottles and candy bar wrappers.

  "Who are you, and what are you doing in here?” Wade demanded.

  "I am Pete Jacobs. I am … was the plant manager here. I locked myself in here after the guys who worked in the yard turned into those things."

  "You mean you have been hiding in here for three weeks?" Wade asked in astonishment.

  "Well, I didn't want to be the main course for those things. Poor Alice. Ugh. She was my dispatcher. They tore her to pieces, so I ran out here and sealed the cage. They eventually wandered off and I closed the bay door. I managed to scrounge some water and snacks from the break room vending machines. I thought I was safer here than out there. I generally only stay in the cage at night,” Pete said, pointing to the propane yard.

  "Well, you were probably right about that. There were about half a dozen rot-bags outside in the propane yard," Wade explained.

  "Thank God. I was just about out of food and water," Pete said, stepping from the cage.

  "We came here to gather supplies for our compound. We have a safe haven established about tw
elve miles from town. You are welcome to come with us as soon as we are finished with our supply run," Wade said.

  "I need to check on Roberta, my wife. The first night in here, I tried calling her over and over, but she never answered," Pete said, worry written all over his face.

  "Where do you live? If it is close, we may be able to swing through on our way out," Wade said, willing to help if he could.

  "I am near the Old Town Mall in Winchester. It's not far from here," Pete said with hope in his voice.

  Wade and Jessie exchanged looks.

  "Pete, Winchester is completely overrun. We have a well-armed group and we don't even try going into the center of town anymore. We forage for supplies on the outskirts where we have escape routes. Downtown is wall-to-wall rot-bags. You would need a lot of firepower to go into town and make it back out in one piece. Even then it would be risky. It is too easy to get trapped and cut off from escape. We just don't have enough people to even think about clearing that area. Not to mention the gangs that are preying on survivors.”

  "But my Bertie … she is all alone there. Maybe she is still safe at our apartment," Pete said, pleading.

  "We just don't have any way to get to her, Pete. I am sorry. If I thought we had a chance I would give it a shot, but it’s just not possible. The dead are too concentrated right now, and the downtown area is too confining," Wade said, laying his hand on the man’s shoulder.

  “I just wish I knew if she was okay,” Pete said dejectedly.

  “Everything around the Loudon Street Mall is packed with the turned. We haven’t been down there since day one and it has only gotten worse since then.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is chances of Bertie being alive are slim?”

  “I am not going to lie, Pete. Chances aren’t great. If you had food stocked up and water she could hold out as long as she remained inside and didn’t draw attention to herself. If we can come up with a way to draw the dead away, I promise we will do our best to find out one way or the other,” Wade said.

  “There is also a gang of thugs taking prisoners and pillaging anything they can get for themselves. We had a run-in with them and freed close to forty hostages,” Jessie added.

  “Okay, I sure don’t want to stay here, so I guess I will be joining you guys. You guys came for propane I take it?” Pete asked.

  “Yes. We run practically everything at the farm with propane. We also would like to take that 40,000-gallon holding tank and that load of 10,000-gallon ones as well,” Wade said, pointing to the two loaded semis.

  “I will grab the keys for them. The two bobtails in the first two bays are fully loaded as well. I would also suggest taking that service truck with the tank hoist. It is full of hardware and fittings needed to set up the tanks. It also has all the brass tools you need to work on the tanks and lines. No spark from brass tools. I also have a few hundred gallons of additives and reflective paint that you will want to take along,” Pete said, indicating the items around the fuel yard.

  “Thanks, Pete. Sounds like your experience is going to be a big help in the coming days.”

  “I have worked in this business for forty years. I can handle anything involving propane. There isn’t any aspect of the business I haven’t done in my tenure. If you have enough drivers, there is also a truck full of the barbecue tanks. They only hold a few gallons of propane, but they are mobile and quite handy,” Pete said confidently.

  As Wade, Jessie, and Pete made their way out of the garage, Pete stopped, turned his face up to the sun, and took in a deep breath. Wade was sure it felt fantastic to be out in the fresh air after being cooped up in the six-by-six tool cage or in the building for the last three weeks. Over a dozen men scrambled around the yard like worker ants, making ready for their departure. Wade handed out keys to some of the men, pointing out which trucks he wanted them to take.

  Wade then turned to Pete and told him to come with him and walked to a bright yellow Range Rover. The monstrous vehicle had a large metal push bar protecting the front end. The push bar and part of the hood were stained with an almost black viscous material and bits and pieces of rotters. Wade waited until the last of the trucks had rolled out. He then secured the gate with the chain and padlock. This would be a valuable resource for the survivors.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Building Hope

  I see the farm turning into a bright light for the remainder of the living in the area. Many still believe someone will step in and save us from this nightmare existence. I do not think help is coming. I had a gut feeling the very first day that this was going to be an extinction-level event. This would be the one that could possibly wipe out humanity. I for one am not going to give up without a fight. I will do whatever it takes to continue to survive. We have the start of something good here on the farm. Is it ever going to be like the life we had before? Will there ever be a time when we can relax and enjoy living? I don't know. I hope eventually we will be able to return to some semblance of our former lives. I believe it will be a long time coming before we will even be able to get a portion of that life back. The amount of dead now roaming the earth is staggering. While I know there are likely lots of living people still surviving, we are clearly in the minority. Stupidity and lack of effort in this world will result in your survival coming to a brutal and bloody end. The only way humanity makes it through this, is by banding together and working for the common good of all survivors. I don't know how long the dead will walk the earth. It is my hope that at some point they will die in the conventional sense of the word. I for one will not bet my survival on that fact. I will prepare for a long and bitter struggle. I will adapt and find a way to keep those I care for safe.

  Wade Marshall

  ◆◆◆

  Wade walked out onto the porch and drew in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. He stretched and felt the pull of muscles he had forgotten about over the years of working at a desk. The last few weeks had been taxing on him as he had not kept in the best shape before the dead rose. Now he could tell a difference in his body already. Muscles were harder, stomach a bit flatter. Tae-Bo has nothing on the Zompoc Workout. Wade chuckled to himself.

  "Good to see you've kept your sense of humor throughout this catastrophe,” Derek said, walking up to the porch.

  "Yeah, just thinking the last three weeks have whipped me into shape fast. If we live through this, I could give Richard Simmons a run for his money with my Zompoc Workout."

  "Hell of a way to get a workout, Wade."

  "Well, should we check the pit and see what wandered in overnight?" Wade said.

  "My guys already handled that … only a few last night. I did want to talk to you about something. We have a lot of folks here now. We get more almost daily. Once Ben starts reaching out with the HAM radio, we could see a large influx of people. Now, I feel like most of the folks here now are decent people, but there is no telling who will show up and make their way into our midst. We are going to need to have some form of authority to maintain the peace," Derek said.

  "I was thinking the same thing. Your guys would be the best suited, but you have a lot on your plate already. No offense, but I don't want this to be a military installation. I was thinking we elect some folks to be peacekeepers. I also think we have enough people here now that we need to have some kind of formal council to make decisions moving forwards. I want everyone to feel like they have a voice in the decisions. We have been moving so fast up to this point that it hasn't been an issue, but the longer we are here, the more people will resent the fact I am making all the decisions," Wade finished.

  "I think the people here now would be fine with you being in charge. You have given them a sense of hope, but you're right. The more people we have the more chance of conflicting views," Derek agreed.

  “I would like to avoid conflict in our little community. Lord knows we have enough conflict outside this farm.”

  “I have sent some of my guys out to check the closest of the military and Na
tional Guard sites you indicated. Hopefully we can get some more trained personnel or some equipment at the very least. Another dozen soldiers would improve security both inside and out of the farm,” Derek said.

  “Sounds good, Derek. I’ll catch up with you later to see how it went. I need to go see how Tommy is coming along with the structures and what we need to add to the ever-growing shopping list,” Wade said.

  Wade checked in with Tommy and was amazed at how close to completion the fourth building to be used as living quarters had come in just a few days. Another couple of days and it would be habitable. It was nothing fancy, but it would be warm and dry. Wade walked through the building, speaking to each of the men working on the construction, thanking them for their hard work.

  Next, Wade wanted to check on Pete Jacobs, the manager of the propane plant. He found him in the bunker having some breakfast.

  “Morning, Pete, how’s breakfast?” Wade asked.

  “I feel like I am at a five-star hotel after living off of vending machine snacks for three weeks,” Pete said around a mouthful of eggs.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that holding tank we brought back. I don’t mean to be pushy, but winter is coming, and I’d feel a whole lot better if that tank was full and operable before then.

  “That won’t be a problem, Wade. I will need some folks to help but a dozen men could have the pad for the tank set up in a day and then another couple of days to get the tank set and prepped. Probably two days to run the lines for distribution. Give me a week and I can have it up and running,” Pete said without hesitation.

  “Wow! That is great news. I was expecting it to take a lot longer.”

  “I could do it with my eyes closed, my friend. Now I would recommend using the 10,000-gallon tanks for each structure. You have an ample supply, so dedicating a tank to each structure won’t be a problem.”