“I thought you said that radio channel only went between the three camps. How d'you get someone else on the line?”
“A woman, who called herself Amy, answered the radio when I called the camp in Maine. I never heard about her before today. She claimed someone attacked the camp and everyone was dead or ran away to escape the attack. Being the only survivor, she wanted to know where we were located so she could come to us. Not thinking, I said Tennessee. Since it didn’t feel right, I ended the transmission.”
James laughed. “Dude, you realize how far away Maine is? She wouldn’t even be able to make it all the way here. Plus, Tennessee is a huge state, so even if she reached Tennessee, she’d never find our camp.”
“But what about Donald? He wouldn’t just run away and abandon the camp like that.”
“I don’t know, Donald, but if he is as tough and crafty as you say, then I’m sure he’ll be fine. Hell, I made it all the way here from DC during the start of the apocalypse with just the shirt on my back.”
“I’m sure you’re right, James. I’m just pissed at myself for getting sucked in and letting my guard down. This new presidential threat is getting to me.”
“President? He’s the Secretary of HUD! Thirteenth in line for the presidency. They have a few hundred soldiers with questionable amounts of training. They’re busy fighting zombies and we’re secure in a mountainside fortress. Stop worrying, man. We’ll be fine.”
“That’s why I enjoy talking to you. You always tell me how it is but you give me hope at the same time.”
With hands the size of canned hams, James patted him on the shoulder before he walked away. It was amazing to Max how such a large man could be both gentle and kind when he needed to be. He had proved himself as an excellent tactician and capable sergeant at arms keeping order within the camp. Max saw his own drive reflected back at him every time he looked into Jim’s eyes. He relied on Jim’s advice more than anyone else in the camp.
James Richards arrived at their mountain camp at the end of the previous summer. He had been on a vacation in Washington, DC, with his fiancé. As a corn farmer, he rarely left his crops during the summer months, but he surprised Melody with the sightseeing trip of their lives. They both slaved away over their produce, and James’ brother offered to give them both a well-deserved break before their wedding day. James took the opportunity, knowing he left the farm in his brother’s expert hands. When they departed on their trip, James never thought he wouldn’t see the farm again, and Melody would turn into a flesh-eating zombie.
Washington DC fell, and James had a front-row seat for its utter destruction. For days he ran with no destination in mind and somehow ended up on Max’s doorstep with April in tow. Dehydration and grief both zapped his strength, but he recovered faster than Max expected. His farming experience helped them plan to become self sufficient, and an unspoken background gave James the knowledge to improve their camp’s security. From the outside, it appeared like they saved James, but in reality, Big Jim saved them all upon his arrival.
The camp held around a dozen survivors, including Corinne, Isaac, and their baby daughter. Max knew it would piss Donald off once he found out they were here, but Max couldn’t leave them behind for dead. They were both like family to Max, even if they both hurt Donald with their betrayal. Joey Bishop designed this place to accommodate twelve survivors for two years. A greenhouse and hydroponic farm assured the camp would provide an independent food supply with some added work. Jim’s efforts here turned around their limited crop yield and had them one step closer to abundance rather than want.
Of the three survival cabins Joey Bishop built, this was the smallest but the most secure because of its concealed location. It had been the closest of the three camps to the mobster’s Virginian home. They built all the structures underground, into the side of the mountain. Unless you knew the exact spot to look, the building site blended into its surroundings and remained nearly invisible. The greenhouse glass allowed light to enter through camouflaged bulletproof glass rated to stop a 50 caliber round. A 5,000 square foot living quarters connected to the greenhouse, the hydriodic farm, and a 7,500 square foot garage. An M113 armored personnel carrier retrofitted with a 50 caliber machine gun was the star of their defensive squad parked inside the garage. It had been a Vietnam era military surplus vehicle, but it was deadly just the same. Eyes provided by a net of electronics kept the approach monitored, and the APC would assure compliance by any casual visitor. Big Jim and April had been the only guests admitted to the camp to date. Not that they had many living visitors at the camp’s remote location.
Max evacuated his family along with Corinne and Isaac right when things started to look bad last summer. A hurricane of the millennium bore down on the East Coast while a cannibalistic virus infected people around the world. The newly infected people attacked others indiscriminately, turning them all into an enlarging undead army. That’s when Max remembered Joey Bishop’s get away location in the mountains of Tennessee. At the time of their escape from Virginia, he didn’t know where Joey’s son Donald ended up or if he still lived.
People compared Max to a slippery snake, but that’s what kept him alive and out of jail his entire life. One needed to be slick when you dealt with the evil characters he did as a defense lawyer. Joey Bishop ran the local crime syndicate with an iron fist, and Max kept him free from the reach of the law. All this worked well until the day Joey Bishop died. Donald had no desire for the business, and Max found himself in difficulties with rival crime families who wanted the business. Hordes of zombies ended this problem, but it produced other issues about surviving this new threat. One couldn’t stop the dead by negotiation or taking them to court.
Their current concerns dealt with the former HUD Secretary Carl Stevens. Carl declared himself President of the New United States (NUS) and looked to expand his authority beyond the south. No one from NUS Army knew about their camp’s location in the mountains, and Max wouldn’t have known anything about them except for a chance encounter. Big Jim and Isaac ran into NUS soldiers during a supply run in the next town over. NUS soldiers harangued the two and tried to conscript them into service to President Stevens. Even when outnumbered, Big Jim wasn’t one who submitted to intimidation, and he let them know he wasn’t interested in their offer. As Isaac told the story, the ten men they faced found themselves unconscious within seconds, at Jim’s hand. To make sure they delivered a clear message, Jim and Isaac took the soldier’s supplies and disabled all of their weapons. It must have been a fun reunion when they regained consciousness and returned to face their commanding officer.
Since the encounter, Big Jim kept his eyes on the NUS Army and their continued progress. So far, fighting the undead horde kept them busy around their headquarters. President Stevens’ plan included clearing the country and providing support to the CDC while they found a cure for this curse of a virus. Then America would become the world power it rightfully deserved to be. After this period of world population control. A regular dystopian society for Carl Stevens to rule.
CHAPTER TWELVE
NATASHA
“Mac, you don’t understand. I need that young thing. It’s been since the start of winter when we captured that family. She was really young, like I like them, but that happened way too long ago.”
“Oh, I remember. You broke that poor girl so bad, I had to butcher her first. If Abigail found out what you did, you’d make the menu. I can’t have that happen because you’re the only one I can trust in the camp. I’ll let you have her, but you have to show some restraint this time. Do you understand, Jacob?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Don’t give me lip service, Jacob. I need your word you won’t break her when you 're having your fun.”
“I said, yes. I’ll keep the damage to a minimum this time. The meat won’t be hurt, so everyone can eat.”
Natasha laid still, and she continued to listen to the discussion between these two pigs. Neither deserved to live
any longer, but she pushed back the monster inside of her. It ached to escape and butcher these two, but she needed to wait for the right moment to act. Fools acted without thinking, but her training molded her into a master tactician. Extreme violence would end these men today, and Natasha would be the delivery vessel of their destruction.
The engine slowed, and the VW Bus turned off the smooth roadway. Bouncing and groaning from the VW’s suspension let her know they now traveled on a dirt road. After a few minutes, the van stopped, and the passenger climbed out. Natasha heard him grunt while a rattle told her he pushed a gate or door open. The van eased forward, and another clatter came from the outside before the dirtbag returned to the passenger side of the van.
“Remember Jacob, we get them all out of the van and secured first. Then you can have the girl for your plaything.”
“Ok, boss, but don’t make me wait long. I need her.”
Even with her eyes closed, Natasha could tell they had pulled inside of a structure by the echo of the engine off the walls. The lighting dimmed, and she took it as a good omen for her and a bad one for their abductors. If they had known her and what she had done during her life, they would have floored it and sped away when they saw the group standing on the side of the road. But they sealed their fate by picking them up and then drugging them. Neither man had long to live.
As the men exited the VW Bus, Natasha heard a woman’s voice speak. “Hey, dipshits! You were supposed to take Kenny and I with you today. Who the hell would get in a van with the likes of you two ugly morons!”
“Well, Miss Bitchy, we picked up four people without either of you. Your constant nagging would drive any potential meals away. Go back inside and leave us to do our work.”
“You’re both assholes! Let me see what you got.”
“Did Abigail die while we were gone and make you the boss? Go back inside the house and leave us be.”
Rusty hinges complained as the side door of the van opened. Natasha readied herself, but was careful to remain as still as the dead. Taut muscles waiting to explode into action would give her intentions away. Without knowing what size force she faced, Natasha needed the element of surprise for her attack.
“Well, I’ll be. You two morons actually came through. We’ll eat for months. Get them prepared.”
“Again, Kimberly, who the hell made you the boss? I know my job and you’d have starved long ago, if not for me. Get out of my face before I strap you to a table too.”
“I’ll take the redhead. You grab the girl, Jacob.”
Natasha hadn’t heard the woman leave, so there would be three targets to contend with. One against three? No contest for them. The first pig grunted as he lifted Betty over his shoulder. Then she felt calloused hands lifting her from the floor of the truck. He threw her over his right shoulder with her head behind his back. She opened her eyes, and Natasha found a hunting knife strapped to his side. In one smooth practiced move, she unsheathed the knife and punctured the creep's kidney. Even the strongest man couldn’t stand with a perforated kidney, and Mac proved to not be the exception. As he fell, Natasha got her feet under her and drew the blade across his neck. The woman gasped at the sight just before the knife penetrated her brain after a perfect throw. Using her momentum, Natasha dove forward, swiping the legs out from under the other man. Betty dropped along with the pig with a thump of her own. She’d have a headache later, but Natasha had no time to be sorry for that now. Better a headache than being raped and eaten. Before he recovered his footing, Natasha lept on top of him and twisted his neck. Instant death only happens in the movies, but the move incapacitated him. She grabbed his matching hunting knife and finished him. Three dead in under thirty seconds. Natasha wondered if old age slowed her down.
Her training kicked in, and she assessed her surroundings. The structure the van had entered was a three-car garage. In the first bay, they parked the VW Bus while they left the middle bay open (except for the three dead bodies Natasha left behind). Nightmares lived in the last bay of the garage. Two metal autopsy tables and four sets of metal restraints occupied the space. A chainsaw and a machete hung from hooks in the ceiling beside the table. Natasha had two knives (one stuck out of the woman’s head), a chainsaw (too noisy), and a machete to choose from. Wishing for a gun would be a waste of time, so she unhooked the machete and kept the second hunting knife.
Move fast and leave no one alive. These monsters were worse than zombies. Nature made zombies desire human flesh. These people had a choice, and they made the wrong one. Natasha entered the house and found a long hallway with doors off of both sides. A gunshot rang out from inside. But it hadn’t been aimed at Natasha. There’s a shout, and a door slammed on the other side of the house. Clear the rooms one at a time, she reminded herself. Through the first door, she almost crashed into a woman who wore a doctor’s coat. “Who are..” It’s all she had time to say before Natasha decapitated her with the machete. Someone kept the blade razor sharp, and it sliced clear through the woman’s neck with little effort.
Next door down the hall, Natasha found two women cowering in the room's corner. No time to determine the threat level or have any compassion on them. One met the machete and the other the hunting knife blade. Keep moving.
Beyond the next door sat a nursery. Did these people breed their own food? Too gross a thought, even for an assassin like Natasha. An older woman with a bullet hole through her head laid on the floor. That explained the gunshot Natasha heard when she entered the house. But who fired it? No time to consider the question.
The last door in the hallway led to a bedroom, but no one was home inside of it. A large open room occupied the space beyond the hallway. Natasha’s view allowed her only to see the far end of the room. From her vantage point, it looked clear. As she crossed over the threshold, a gunshot echoed around her and she felt the red hot poker into her side. Instinct and training saved her from any further damage as she dove to her left. Out of the corner of her eye, she found the target who fired at her, and she let the hunting knife fly. Not balanced for throwing, its path diverged from her target, but still struck the teenage boy with the gun in the throat. The initial wound wasn’t mortal, but it caused him to drop the gun and reach for the knife now lodged in his throat. Natasha used the break to drive the machete home and end his struggle for life.
Seven dead within five minutes. Not too shabby. Age was only a number, not a limitation. Someone had thrown a backdoor open, but Natasha saw no one outside of it. Whoever went through the door had already left. Did the teenager pull the trigger on the old lady or had someone else? It didn’t matter. They were all dead now.
There would be time to debate it later once they were all safe. First, she needed to check the bullet wound in her side. Here Natasha got lucky because the bullet only grazed her side, barely scratching the skin. Natasha suffered worse wounds in the past. With the building clear, it was time to take anything useful and get the hell out of here. This place of death had been more evil than any place she had ever seen. No sense looking for food, because she wanted nothing these people ate. They declared themselves to be cannibals, and she wanted no part of that. Besides the gun the kid fired, Natasha only found one other antique hunting rifle. Leave it behind. The drinking water from their stores should be safe, but get rid of the cooler of drugged water from the van.
Natasha found the keys in the ignition of the VW Bus, so after loading Betty and the few meager supplies she discovered inside the house, they were off. She had to focus on the destruction at the camp and try to find Donald, Gwen, and Matthew. The electric Jeep they drove had a short range. As she departed the cannibal’s camp, she came to the closed gate, blocking the path. Moving it aside and then leaving it wide open, she drove on. Three minutes later, they hit the state highway and Natasha turned toward the pond where Donald’s last known location had been.
###
“Uh… What happened? My head hurts.” Betty woke up first.
“Those men who picked
us up drugged us. They were cannibals and planned on living off of our flesh.”
There would be no benefit to tell her about the sexual plans they had for her. Betty already faced enough pain and loss and didn’t need this burden heaped upon her, too. She had plenty of nightmares already.
“Cannibals? Where are we?”
“Yes, they ventured out to search for small groups of survivors to take home to dinner. They’re the only ones who’ll end up eating. We’re heading to find Donald, Gwen, and Matthew. There’s some water in the back. Those bottles are safe to drink.”
“Thanks… Wait, you’re hurt.”
“It’s only a scratch. When it’s safe to stop, I’ll let Helen look at it. Get yourself some water and check on Helen and Bobby.”
Another set of groans let Natasha know the drugs had worn off on the other two. No one needed to know what she did to keep them all safe. The burden would be all hers. Were they really safe anywhere anymore? Once they reached Donald, they’d have some safety in numbers. Then they could head to Virginia together, if this rattle trap made it.
Natasha recognized the turnoff into the woods for the pond. The dirt road wound through the trees for almost a mile before it reached the camping area abutting the pond. She discovered an older box truck parked with its back doors facing toward the camp around the halfway point of the approach road. There were no signs of life anywhere, but Natasha couldn’t be careful enough after their last encounter with the cannibals. Danger was everywhere.
“Betty, hand me my pistol from my bag. I want the three of you to stay here and watch the van, while I check this out. It will only be a minute.”
The effects from the drugs must still fog her brain because Betty handed over the gun without argument. Natasha worried there would be a discussion about Betty accompanying her. She had packed the pistol along with five extra magazines, but that’s all the firepower she had left. With any luck, they’d come across some nine millimeter ammo soon.
Retribution: Operation Z Book 2 Page 6