Resource Economies

by Traverse Davies

  Camping with Friends

  They found tracks pretty quickly after the rain stopped. Whoever the large man had been he wasn't being careful about being followed. The foot track ended at a set of tire tracks, an actual vehicle. Michelle tried raising base on the comms unit, but the signal couldn't get through. They thought about heading back to home base, but Chad did a bit of scouting and discovered that there was a large horde in the way. Instead they just started following the tracks.

  The tracks led out of town, they would have been unable to follow footprints by this point, there were hundreds of them - clearly a horde had headed this way. The sheer number of zombies in this town was staggering. Tamra was tired, and the heat left her feeling like she could just lie down and sleep - the smell of clover was all around, a gentle buzzing of insects, but distant, not the oppressive sound of flies crawling on skin, more the gentle background drone of life, of nature carrying on with what it was doing without human intervention. The light filtering through the trees was green and yellow, bright blocks and brief moments of shade.

  The tire tracks led to an abandoned farm house with an apple orchard. They headed inside, trying to figure out who this might be. "Looks like a bunch of people were here" Tamra said.

  "Yeah, two of them didn't leave willingly. You can see where they were dragged." Chad pointed to a set pair of long drag marks.

  Johnny said "Well, not zombies then. Maybe that's our guys."

  "Hope not. Whoever it was looks like they might have been in rough shape" there were traces of dried blood next to one of the drag marks, someone had been bleeding, probably not much, but some.

  "Alright, we need to try to get hold of base again. Michelle, you think you can get on top of this place? Try getting a line of sight if possible. If not, I guess we keep going and try again at dusk."

  Michelle headed outside. Tamra could hear her climbing. She decided to follow the larger woman, maybe use the scope on her rifle to try and get a better view.

  The climb was hard, the farmhouse was falling apart, most of it didn't want to hold her weight, but she managed it after a while. Michelle was already on top, perched on a small patch near the chimney that looked more solid than the rest. "Hey, hold on a sec. Let me do my thing before you get up here. This place probably won't take both of our weight."

  "No worries." Tamra held tight. Michelle was doing something with the radio. Finally, she sighed in exasperation "Alright, it's all yours. Can't get a good line of sight, guess I'll try a bounce when there's less solar."

  She climbed down past Tamra. "Careful, the climb down's a bitch. Stay close to the chimney, the rest of the roof is pretty much done."

  Tamra did a quick scan of the horizon, starting with the direction it looked like the tracks went in. There was nothing visible. A more details scan though showed dust, not too much of it showing above the trees, down on the ground it would be thick though, chokingly so. She focused her scope on the spot. Despite the tree cover in a few minutes she was able to catch a glimpse of the source of the cloud. It was zombies, a lot of them, hundreds at least - headed their direction. They were still a long way off, probably an hour or two at least. She spun and checked the town side. Yep, there was a horde coming from that direction as well. That one was a bit further, maybe three hours at current pace, but it absolutely cut off the town side... they had to run now, before they were in sight of either horde.

  Tamra climbed down as fast as she could and ran into the building "Two hordes, closer one is an hour or more away. We need to book, fast. east and west are both closed off."

  "Okay, anyone see a clear path north or south?" Johnny asked.

  "There was a route South seemed pretty clear. Just a couple minutes west from here. Next one I saw north was about an hour ago. Not a good option." Chad replied.

  "Alright, looks like we are heading for southern climes. Grab your kit and move your ass, quietly if possible."

  They moved out, taking the first road south. It was a small road but in better repair than most. Twenty years really did a number on most roads, the fact that there was still asphalt visible at all was a minor miracle. They walked in silence, looking for anywhere that was hidden enough for them to hole up while the hordes passed. It was Tamra who spotted the cave. She gestured to Johnny, then showed it to him through the scope. It was a bit off the road, and well hidden. Hard to tell how deep it went, but it looked reasonable. It was on a medium sized hill, so they started towards it.

  The undergrowth made for slow going, thorns gripped Tamra 's pants every step, branches ripped at the skin on her arms. The soldiers didn't seem to care, probably because they were wearing armour, the titanium mail of their clothes was far too strong for something like thorns. Tamra wished desperately that she had something like that. Maybe making her own way here hadn't been such a good call.

  Eventually they reached the cave, sweaty and tired. The cave entrance turned out to be about seven feet tall, and wide. They pushed inside, into the darkness. The soldiers pressed a button on their helmets and then moved into the cave confidently. Tamra couldn't see anything. She didn't want to speak, just in case the zombies were close enough to hear, compromising their hiding place, but she was getting left behind quickly. "Uh, guys... I can't see shit here. Help a girl out?"

  "Sorry, forgot. We all have night vision." Chad grabbed her hand, startling her. He led her deeper into the cavern.

  The going was slow. The soldiers had extremely good night vision, but the environment was dangerous. Just after the entryway it opened up, a chaotic cavern full of random rock formations, dripping water formed pools everywhere. The air had a foul, wet stench to it.

  They kept trekking, deeper and deeper. After a few minutes Tamra said "Guys, there's no way in hell anything is seeing us this far in, I'm going to pop on a flashlight."

  The group killed their night vision so Tamra could use the flashlight. The cavern filled with a dim, feeble light. It was massive, hundreds of meters across, with dozens of side tunnels within sight of where they were. So far, they could still make their way back, however all of them knew that getting lost was a real possibility if they strayed too far. The place was awe inspiring, crystals in the rocks reflected even the dim light of the flashlight back at them, creating a multitude of small light pools. There was a stream running through the cavern just ahead of them.

  They decided to camp out for a bit, re-group after the panic introduced by the two giant hordes, give them enough time to head in a different direction. Seemed like since they had arrived in Sydney most of their time was spent hiding out, holing up somewhere and hoping that the horde headed in a different direction.

  Tamra found herself sitting next to Chad. The young soldier had very kind eyes when they weren't hidden behind a mirrored face shield, and he seemed to have more of a sense of humor than the rest of the unit.

  Johnny said "Alright, who wants some grub?"

  "Hell yes, I'm starving. What's on the menu?"

  "Normally we'd be on cold rations, but this place is big enough we can risk the cook stove. We get to heat up our ration packs."

  They set up a small alcohol stove and started cooking the aluminum packets on top of it. Tamra had some rations of her own, a little higher end than the unit's. She said "Fair's fair. You guys can have some of my kit if I can have some of yours. Trust me, this is to your benefit"

  "Thanks. Sitting in a cave with a fucking movie star. Who'd have ever thought? My Mom would be all over me for my manners" Michelle took a portion of Tamra 's meal for herself, about a fifth of the apple crumble.

  Sitting together in the feeble light of the stove and the flashlight, cool because of the layers of earth above them, out of immediate danger and finally able to talk, they started discussing the mission and the plan.

  "Okay, so clearly I need to re-think some details on this plan. We're going to be gone a while I think. Michelle, you think you can get a message out to base?" Johnny said.

  "Don't know. The hill her
e is pretty tall, but we've been going down for a while... might be a lot of land between us and base camp."

  "Okay, Chad - you're our resident scout. I think we are going to hole up here for a little bit if the sitch doesn't change. Tomorrow AM you get to do some scouting, earn that big pay check. Try and see if there's any high points around here with a better chance at a signal. Hell, maybe somewhere you can dump a repeater."

  "Ten-four chief. I'll find it if it exists. That assumes of course I don't get eaten as soon as I poke my head out."

  "Yeah, that brings me to my next point. Tamra, I have no official authority over you... but how good are you with that rifle of yours?"

  "Good. Very good even."

  "Alright. Would you be willing to place yourself under my command for the time? It means following orders, no matter what they are."

  "Yep, you got it. I may have been dumb enough to come out here without the gear you guys have, but at least I'm smart enough to work with the team." she said with a self-deprecating smile.

  "I want you to cover Chad in the morning. Set up on the top of the hill where Michelle is trying to get a signal from. Keep an eye on the young fellow in your scope. See any zombies trying to eat him, put one in their skull. See any humans that look hostile, put one in their shoulder or leg if you can, somewhere a bit more vital if you can't manage that."

  "Can do chief."

  "That's what I like to here, a can-do attitude. You would have made a good reclaimer if you weren't so damned busy being a TV star."

  "Not sure I made the right choice... I though what I was doing mattered, but now I'm not so sure. You guys, coming out here and risking everything, much respect."

  They ate the food and then set up tents. The tents weren't to keep out the elements, the titanium weave of the fabric meant that they were almost impenetrable once set up, a good secure shelter. There wasn't enough room for two to sleep comfortably in a tent, and Tamra didn't have one, but they needed a watch schedule anyway, so they just rotated with one person up and about the whole time. It was easy enough watch duty, with only one was in to the caves that they were aware of.

  Separated

  Morning dawned in the cavern without any visible change. It was Chad 's watch, so he was the only one who saw the forest slowly emerging from the dusk, emerald green and full of life. The birds started their morning chorus, filling the air with life and noise.

  "Hey people, time to get your asses out of bed. It's morning."

  Tamra was the first one to come out, mostly because she emerged wearing just a tiny pair of underwear and a tank top. Chad turned bright red and turned back to watching the entrance. Tamra just laughed as she pulled on her cargo pants.

  Outside of the cave it was starting to warm up, the bright summer day just getting going. The recent rain storm had brought even the yellowing grasses back to life and filled everything with green. Chad started out to scout the area as soon as he had a quick bite to eat. The sun was only a couple of fingers above the horizon, creating long shadows.

  First, he headed to the top of the hill they had camped underneath, to give himself a broad view of the area, looking for other high points, and also trying to see if he could spot the hordes.

  The dense forest meant that spotting the hordes was near impossible, and the mountainous terrain limited his view plane. He did spot a high peak nearby, dominating the landscape. Not something they had been able to see from the forest floor, but clear from his current nearly barren hilltop. Everything about Cape Breton was foreign. PEI, and even more the area around New Hope, was flat. Most of it was cultivated, with only small stands of trees. Cape Breton was overwhelming outside of Sydney, mostly forested, dense cover was everywhere as soon as the buildings ended. Peaks and valleys constantly broke the land, almost like the place abhorred flat ground. It was lush though, so much life this time of year.

  The peak looked like it was fairly close, maybe an hour or two distant. Chad checked the short range comms gear built into the suit "Johnny, can you hear me?"

  "Yep, you're good."

  "Alright, heading to the peak slightly west. Will check in once I have more."

  "Is it clear for Michelle and Tamra?"

  "Check, sorry. Send them up."

  Chad started down the hill to the east. The top of the hill was relatively clear, basically it was a large piece of rock. However, the sides of the hill were rough going. Lots and lots of undergrowth, tangled and wild it caught at his legs as he tried to walk. He pulled out his machete and started swinging at the brush. It helped, but the going was slow, and soon his arms were suffering, the repetitive motion of chopping the brush taking a rapid toll. Amazing, one swing was nothing - he didn't even notice it. By the time he had swung a hundred times it burned. By a thousand, his arm was rubber and his face was dripping with sweat. Part of him wanted to chuck his armour, drop the heavy helmet so he could get air in easier. He almost did, but then he thought about the horde, about images he had seen as a child of people torn apart and partially eaten, and he decided to endure the heat.

  The forest was thick in the way North American forests are. Most of the growth was low, near his feet, or far enough above his head to be irrelevant. It was hard to see very far, the thick trees limited him to a few feet, and only the compass in his face plate display kept him in the right direction. He had expected the woods to be silent, like it was out in the countryside in PEI, but it wasn't. There were sounds everywhere. He kept catching glimpses of movement through gaps in the trees, something was out there, maybe a lot of something. It got dark in the deeper woods. Ahead he could see a pool of light, gleaming and golden. It was so bright he couldn't make out detail, so he moved ahead as quietly as he could, moving slowly and carefully.

  Finally, he reached the edge of the pool of light, staying the shadows. It was a clearing, just a natural break in the tree cover. A small field of flowers and grasses, and a family of deer, contentedly munching the brush. They were beautiful creatures, lithe, strong, graceful. There was a buck with them, antlers raised, looking around. Chad didn't want to disturb them, so he carefully moved around the clearing, keeping low and quiet. That was partially responsible for him finding the zombie before it found him. It was snarled in undergrowth, able to move but not to make any progress at all, still putting one foot in front of the others, or at least trying to. The thing was old, decayed to the point where he had no idea if it had even been a man or a woman. All of its clothing had rotted off, probably years ago, except an orange toque, probably some sort of synthetic material. Even that was dirty and full of holes, with small wisps of grey hair poking through. The thing heard Chad moving and turned its sunken eyes in his direction, opening its mouth wider than possible for a human, desiccated lips over nubs that used to be teeth... it pulled towards Chad, using feeble arms to grasp at the nearest tree in an attempt to dislodge itself. Chad was a child of the zombie age, but the horror of the walking corpses had never left him. This one was the worst he had ever seen, probably the oldest he had ever seen. He overcame his revulsion and stepped forward, machete held high. The creature reached for him, yearning evident in the tension of its body, the strain put on every muscle, even if the things face had nothing but wide mouthed slackness. Chad brought down the machete on its head, breaking its skull with a single practiced move. It dropped like a wet sack, empty and void finally.

  The sound of the struggle had spooked the deer. Chad saw them running off into the deep woods. He was sorry to see them go, sorry for intruding on their idyllic life.

  It wasn't immediately clear when he hit the base of the higher peak. There was no instant change in terrain, just a gentle upslope, one of many he had hit during his trek. It became clear quickly however, as the going started to get harder.

  The tree cover started to get thinner as Chad got higher. This peak didn't get above tree line, but it did get high and the trees became sparse. Chad was near the top when he heard a loud crack ring through the air. He turned to see the source
and saw a zombie falling over, it's head destroyed. Once he made it to the top he looked around. Sydney was still out of sight, too high above them. He could however see something, through a break in the tree line. There was a horde, heading toward them somehow. The timing didn't work, not really. The horde they have avoided the day before should have caught up and passed them a long time ago. This group was close, close enough that he wasn't going to make it back to home base.

  "Hey, Chad. You have a bunch of zombies incoming. Not sure how many, but way, way too many. Everyone should get inside, I'll catch up afterward. Oh, Tamra thanks for watching my back, nice shot."

  "No worries. Heading downside. Leaving a repeater here, keep in touch okay?"

  Chad found a solid rock and set his back against it, sat down to wait. Nothing he could do at that moment. About an hour into the wait he heard a scream over his headset.

  "Johnny, anyone, what was that?"

  No answer. He tried again, several more times. Still, nothing. He needed to get down there.

  Captured

  Tamra was bored. That wasn't something she could have predicted when she set out. Boredom while sitting in a cave with an army of zombies passing outside. It was dark, and because of the proximity of the horde they weren't using lights. Every sound was amplified, echoing through the cavern, making it hard to determine where it came from. She knew the reclaimers were watching the entryway, weapons ready, it didn't make her not terrified as she huddled there in the darkness, but the terror lost out to boredom, which eventually lost out to sleepiness. She woke as her head slowly drifted down, startled, then she drifted off again. Eventually she fell into a sound sleep.

  She woke to pain. Someone let out a scream, stifled quickly with a thud. She couldn't tell who it was, and she still couldn't see. There were strong hands holding her wrists, so she started to scream as well, and felt a boot impact her stomach. The air rushed out of her stomach in a gush, leaving her unable to speak or breathe. A torch flared, and the cavern was flooded with firelight. There were men, dirty and disheveled, most missing teeth. The stench of the man who kicked her flooded her nose, a mixture of rot and decay that was overwhelming. It was like being in the company of one of the undead, but the way the man was moving it was clear he was still living. All of them were clad in rags, layered so that almost no skin was visible. They were figures of nightmare, somehow more disturbing than the actual zombies. All of them had at least some rotting flesh sewn to the rags they wore, almost like talismans. The one by Tamra had a hand hanging from a chord around his neck, half rotted and wet. The man reached down and grabbed her, pulling her up and over his shoulder. She flailed her fists at his back, but with the angle she couldn't generate any force at all. He casually walked deeper into the cave, as she tried to struggle out of his grasp.