It seemed like a simple plan. Light the Jeep on fire and set it on a course to crash into the barn. What could go wrong? During their travels, Donald had discovered that slow and quiet movements didn’t attract the attention of the risen dead. He slipped outside without a noise to evade them detecting him. Things looked good at first. Donald secured the steering wheel with the Jeep pointing at the barn, more or less. A rolling pin he took from the kitchen, wedged the accelerator down at a quarter of its travel. All he needed to do was turn the ignition on, light the vehicle on fire, and put it in gear. Sounds easy. When he turned the key, the electric motor whined to life. Electric motors are quiet, but it still attracted a group of six zombies who stood closest to the Jeep.
Donald flicked the lighter, and nothing happened. Flicking the wheel a second time, a flame sprung up, but the wind blew it out. The group of six closed in on him, and then a few others responded to their movements. He thumbed the wheel a third time, and the flame glowed brightly. Lighting the first Molotov, he heaved it at the approaching group. Greedy flames consumed the dried-out bodies, but fire didn’t stop the undead’s advance. Instead, burning zombies continued to walk toward him. Lighting two more Molotov cocktails consumed the Jeep in flames as he released it toward its target. Without lighting it, Donald heaved another at the set of burning monsters who advanced on his position. Flames ignite anew as he ran into the back door of the house with burning zombies close on his heels. He continued down into the garage and then they could depart this hell hole. Did he really think this place might be heaven on Earth yesterday?
Gwen sat in the driver’s seat with the motor running, and Matthew sat in the seat directly behind her. Donald hit the garage door button, and the door opened halfway before it stopped. He reached up and grabbed the release before shoving the door into the fully open position. As he closed the passenger door, Gwen had already started accelerating out of the garage. She slammed into a distracted zombie in the driveway before swerving around another small group.
They made it to the road, and Donald took one longing look back. Both the house and the barn were a blaze now. No one else would ever find sanctuary within those walls. He didn’t know why the zombies congregated there overnight, but maybe that’s what kept people away for the past year.
###
Déjà vu struck during their drive through Massachusetts and into Connecticut. It reminded him of the drive from Boston when they escaped the start of the zombie uprising. Only a year had passed since Donald sat in Fenway Park watching the game and meeting Matthew and his mother. Things hadn’t worked out well for Deborah because she lost her life to a psycho on a killing spree shortly after their escape from Boston. The psycho lost his life a moment later, but it had been too late for Deborah and now Matthew traveled with him.
The Suburban had a big fuel tank, but it didn’t get many miles per gallon. Once they entered the Nutmeg State, Donald noted the signs for the international airport. Airports breed commercial areas, so he expected they would find a fast food restaurant nearby. A burger would be a delightful treat, but he knew they wouldn’t find one. Those restaurants would have storage for their used cooking oil and stores of fresh oil waiting their turn in their fryers. This vegetable oil would fuel the Suburban and get them all the way to Virginia.
“Gwen, take this exit for the airport. We should be able to find a restaurant with a store of cooking oil nearby.”
“Cooking oil? Are you planning on making us fries?” Gwen said with a smile on her lips.
“Fries would be great. No diesel engines will run on cooking oil. That’s going to be our fuel source for our trip.”
“Listen to you, smarty pants.”
“I had to learn something at MIT.” Donald returned her smile. In fact, he learned about cooking oil while experimenting with an old VW Jetta. That car ran over three hundred thousand miles while he owned it.
Sure enough, they found all the normal fast food restaurants outside of the airport. They started with the one with the golden arches out front, since the parking lot was clear of zombies. Donald unpacked the filter and pump he found at the farm and pumped out the waste tanks.
While the pump ran, a military Humvee screamed to a stop in the parking lot. A tall woman with dark skin and bright blue hair stepped out of the driver’s side while a smaller man waved from the passenger’s seat of the truck.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER
Michael still didn’t know what to make of Diana, even after a week of living under the same roof with her. Sure, the sex was great, and she had an insatiable appetite for it. But Diana still wanted him to go to the CDC with her. It sounded like a good idea initially, but he wasn’t so sure about it anymore. He didn’t know if he really possessed immunity to the zombie virus or if he had just been lucky when he got bit. Either way, Michael had no desire to become someone’s lab experiment. Diana proved she could keep them both safe with her superhuman combat abilities, but she struggled to find a viable way for them to travel down south to the CDC. If she ever figured it out how to get there, then Michael would have to choose between running away or giving in to her wishes. Why couldn’t things stay as they were now?
Their days since she rescued him from the horde at the bowling alley fell into a set daily pattern. First thing in the morning, they’d head out and explore the surrounding area. They then returned any supplies they found to their fortified gate at the airport. Diana she still hoped to find a cache of fuel for their trip, even though plenty of supplies remained available to support them here. Each day, Diana would find a group of zombies to take her frustrations out on. Regardless of the size of the gathered horde, they didn’t stand a chance against her violent attack. Michael didn’t know what drove Diana to these outbursts because she refused to discuss her past. Before the sun descended below the horizon for the evening, they would return to their home at the airport, eat dinner, and then have sex before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Michael enjoyed their time together, but the repetitive nature had become tiring.
###
“Do ya think we’ll ever find a fucking pilot?”
“Why are you so obsessed with flying?”
“Shit, Mickey. I want to fucking get you safe to the CDC. You ass is goin’ be a fucking hero.”
“I’m not sure I want to be a hero.”
“Damn, don’t be a shit, Mikey. The fucking world will die without you.”
“The world is already dead. When’s the last time you saw another living human?”
Her dark brown eyes bore through him. He felt like she could see into his soul when she stared at him like this. Michael knew he hit a nerve because the dead outnumbered the living from what they observed as they traveled throughout the town. This had been suburban Connecticut, and it teamed with human life at one point. Now the living population held at two while the community of the dead appeared limitless.
“Fuck you!” Diana turned and stormed off. He knew she wouldn’t go far because their entire world consisted of this one small, secured area within the airport terminal building. Her interior might actually be deeper than the tough but shallow exterior she showed him, or Diana might only be the cartoon character she came across as. Michael couldn’t tell after the short time they had been together.
“Mickey. Get your ass over here and fuck me! Then you can go sleep in the doghouse.” After the booming command, Diana cackled.
So much for her being a deep thinker. It seemed she was as shallow as her vulgar mouth betrayed. Michael would do his duty and then plot his next move, with or without her. He was the man who couldn’t die, and by all indications Diana was his perfect match. They were a match made in the pit of hell this world had become.
###
They ate breakfast together at the start of another pointless day of just surviving. Like the instructions on a bottle of shampoo, lather, rinse, repeat. That had become their life during
the zombie apocalypse, nothing more. One day exactly the same as the one before it. Michael wished Diana would drop the CDC thing. He liked her company but didn’t want to submit to their experimenting on him. If they even existed anymore. The fateful day at the bowling alley had been the last time he had seen any other living human being except for Diana. Their daily search for others had been fruitless, and today would not differ from yesterday.
“Shit, Mikey. Why are you brooding? You got laid last night.” Diana chuckled at her own little joke, but Michael couldn’t even crack a smile.
“Do you think there’s anyone else out there?”
“I’m not enough of a fucking woman for you? Do we need to fuck twice a day?”
“Your company is more than enough for me, but I wonder what happened to everyone else. Are they all dead or hiding somewhere?”
“That’s why I keep sayin’ it’s so fucking important to get you to the CDC. You’ll save the fucking world.”
“You keep harping about the CDC, but what if they’re all dead too?”
“Shit Mikey, you 're fucking depressing. Let’s saddle up and head out.”
Michael turned away to avoid those deep, dark brown eyes. There’s more going on behind them then she let on and he couldn’t stand the constant guilt trip she dealt him anymore. Better to humor her and get on with their day’s activities, even if they had become pointless. The sooner they left, the sooner they’d return, and he’d get laid again. If he had written apocalyptic fiction rather than kid’s books, his life would be the ultimate sophomore boy’s fantasy. But who would ever believe a wimp like him lived with a warrior goddess like Diana? Not in his or anyone’s wildest dreams.
###
Their destination to explore today was a dumpy strip mall in the center of town. The location was across the river from a Walt’s Super Store, so even in the best of times the owners neglected this part of town. A large discount store and drugstore around the corner from the strip mall were their focus for the day. Most people didn’t know these places existed, even when open and zombies didn’t walk the Earth, but Michael had been a lifelong resident and knew every part of this small town.
Diana stopped the Humvee in front of the discount store. As they climbed down onto the sidewalk, she spoke.
“Keep your fucking eyes open, Mickey. No need getting bit, even if you can’t turn. I need your fucking body tonight.”
“You too. The good news is the entire front of the store is glass, so it won’t be dark when we get inside on this sunny day.”
When they reached the front door, it surprised Michael to find it locked. Diana made quick work of the locks with a pry bar from her backpack. The sunlight bathed the front of the store in bright light while the depths of the store remained shrouded in shadows. It looked the same as the last time he entered this place about two years ago. He preferred, along with almost everyone else who lived in town, to shop at the Walt’s Super Store across the river.
“What a fucking dump! Why’d they bother locking the door, this place is a shit hole?”
“Last time I came here it was still open, and it looked the same. That had been over two years ago now. I’m sure we’ll still find some decent stuff inside. Who else would have bothered with this place with Walt’s so close by?”
“Shit. Look at that. Fucking chocolate. Keep your fucking hands off my candy, Mickey.”
After an hour, they had everything useful loaded into the back of the Humvee and the trailer they pulled behind it. This included cases of Diana’s chocolate. The discovery lit up her face, and Michael realized how beautiful she actually was. He hoped the curse of the man who couldn’t die wouldn’t affect her. If he lost her now, he would probably die. Michael would never tell her this, of course, since it would complicate their relationship.
Since both the trailer and back of the Humvee were full, they skipped the drug store and headed back to their home in the gate at the airport. They would unload the back of the truck and hook up one of the other empty trailers before returning to loot the drug store. Two stores raided in one day would make a great day for them. The drive would bring them through a residential area before the commercial strip in front of the airport. For an international airport, the strip had been little to look at. Michael’s bowling alley, an ice cream shack, a couple of hotels, a few burger places, and three sit-down restaurants made up the entire strip. Their route led them behind the burger place with the gold arches out front, and there they found actual living people standing behind the building.
“Diana, look. There’s people standing behind the burger place.”
She turned the wheel hard and then screeched to a stop behind their vehicle. What were they doing behind the building? Any food inside the restaurant would have gone bad long ago. Diana flung open the door and jumped to the pavement while Michael grinned and waved from his elevated perch inside the Humvee.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Look, we mean no harm. We’re just getting some fuel for our truck and we’ll be on our way.” The man said.
“Fuel? What the fuck? This is a burger place, not a gas station.”
“Like your Humvee, our Suburban has a diesel engine. Diesel engines will run on vegetable oil, so burger places are perfect fuel sources.”
“Shit, you hear that Mickey? We got us some fucking gas for our trip to the CDC.”
“The CDC still exists? What else is still functioning?” The woman with the man from the truck spoke this time.
Michael lept out of the truck to take over this conversation before he lost control and Diana did something stupid.
“Hi, my name is Michael, and this is Diana. We have a safe place we’re staying at the airport. Why don’t you come with us and we can compare notes? We have supplies there so we can all eat and rest safely.”
He caught the glare coming from Diana. She had been the one looking for other survivors, and now they found them, she seemed hesitant to take them in. Why was she so determined to make him a medical experiment? The man leaned over and said something to the woman he couldn’t hear. Michael guessed they were discussing the offer he made.
“Ok. My name is Donald, this is Gwen, and Matthew is in the back of the truck. We’ll take you up on the meal, but then we’ll be on our way. Just give us another five minutes to fill our tank and Jerry cans.”
After he finished filling their tank, Michael and Diana climbed back into the Humvee to lead the way to their home. She had been quiet while they waited, and her glare never faltered.
“What the fuck was that? Come fucking home with us?”
“I thought part of our mission was to find other survivors. Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me all along?”
“Shit, Mickey. We don’t know shit about them. They could fucking kill us and take our stuff.”
“To be fair, you knew nothing about me, but you saved me and brought me home, anyway. They’re traveling with a kid. How many mass murders take their kids along with them?”
“Mickey, fuck you!”
That ended their conversation as they pulled into the gate area of the airport. He might not get laid tonight, but the chance to meet and talk with other survivors made it worth it.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BETTY BOWMAN
Betty’s head ached from the front to the back of her skull. The pain came from a combination of the aftereffect of the drugs used on her by the cannibals and an unexplained lump on the back of her head. Natasha maintained her normal stoic facade and wouldn’t talk about what happened to them after they lost consciousness. Natasha’s clothing had blood smeared on them, and most of it didn’t belong to her. A minor gunshot wound marked Natasha’s side, but she had no other visible injuries. Would Betty ever solve the mystery of Natasha? Either way, it was good to have this one woman army on her side. She saved Betty’s life more times than she could count or even remember anymore.
They found themselves in serious trouble after their dual esc
apes. Donald’s camp, which had been their home for the past year, was destroyed. Some unknown group attacked, pillaged, and then burned it. Natasha told them Tom had been the architect of their betrayal, enabling the attackers. This news had been tough to take, and Betty imagined it had been worse for Helen. Helen and Tom were lovers before his erratic behavior ended their affair.
Their escape from the burning camp led them straight into the grasp of a group of cannibals. Betty didn’t like the looks of those creeps when they stopped to offer a ride, and she should have trusted her gut. If they hadn’t been desperate to escape the first attack, they might have passed on the ride. Somehow, they escaped the grasp of the cannibals because of Natasha’s skills. How she did it, Betty may never know since she they drugged her and she had been unconscious at the time of their rescue.
After their second escape, they traveled to find Donald, Gwen, and Matthew. The camp site the three had stayed at looked like a war zone with dead bodies and body parts scattered everywhere. What they didn’t find were the bodies of their three friends, thank goodness. Natasha found signs of their Jeep driving away from the back of the campsite, onto a path that led around the pond and into the woods. The old rickety VW Bus they captured couldn’t travel on this uneven trail, so it forced them back to the state highway. Their discussion turned to what their next move should be now they were homeless.
Natasha climbed back into the van after she investigated the camp site. “Who’s up for a road trip to Virginia?”
“Virginia? What are you talking about?” Bobby said.
Donald confided in Natasha and Betty after Tom’s breakdown. He grew up in Virginia and discovered a bunker built under his childhood home. They discussed the value this place held as a viable fallback position in case of disaster at the camp in Maine. At the time, none of them envisioned the destruction that would befall the camp. Betty hoped this heap of junk VW Bus could make the trip from Maine to Virginia without breaking down.
Retribution: Operation Z Book 2 Page 9