“They’ll do just fine,” I reassure Jessica.
The clouds of dust flying on the main road could be seen a few miles away, and I hurried down to the gate so that they didn’t plow right through it.
The oversized trucks on steroids arrived, peeling to a stop when they saw me waving at the gate.
“Hey, what’s going on? Is there a fire?” I yelled out, playing dumb.
“Nope,” Jim replied as he got out and came around the truck, holding a rifle.
“Whoa! Jim, I don’t know what you think is going on, but we don’t have anyone who’s sick on the farm.”
“Really? How can I trust the word of an ex-spy?”
Surprise flashed across my face. “Ex-spy? I was in the normal military, Jim. The army. I wasn’t a spy. Plus, you knew I’d been in the military, so I haven’t been lying to you.”
“Oh, no? Then why do you have a military guy guarding your mother? How many of those fuckers do you have hiding out here? I’ll bet you have an entire arsenal hidden out here, don’t you?”
“This is private property and you’re trespassing. We don’t owe you an explanation, and the ones with guns trained on you are women and children. So if you want to be a big man, shooting at women and children, then go ahead and try to search this farm.”
“Oh, you’ll let me search this farm or I’ll do to your mother what I did to your military friend. Ray, was it?” Jim motioned to one of the other trucks.
They held up Ray’s severed head.
“You dirty bastard! What did he do to you?”
“Well, nothing. He just gave me the perfect opportunity to have you under my control. I know that morning I came by had to have been planned. You almost had me, but the more I thought about, it the more I became certain that you’d set me up.
“Now, you’re going to let me and my men search this farm or in ten minutes, they’re going to do the same thing to your mother that we did to Ray.”
“Well, if you’re certain that’s what you want to do then proceed to take your life in your own hands.”
I rolled the gate open and held both hands up in the thumbs up gesture. I’d told the boys that would be the signal to shoot. I hoped that they got the message.
The trucks moved closer to the house and barn and I started walking, knowing that they shouldn’t make it past the truck doors.
Sure enough, the boys took out those closest to them, but left Jim standing there while Jessica and Tracy took out the ones on the other side.
Jim was the only one standing as I approached, holding my ankle gun on him.
“So, Jim, I think we have a call to make and keep my mother alive, don’t you?”
He nodded wordlessly and picked up the phone, only to hold it in his hand.
Leaving nothing to chance, I reached for the phone and dialed the last number in his phone, putting it on speaker.
“Hello, Jim. Do I get to kill the mom now?”
“No, she’s better off working as a nurse. Let her live for now.”
“Did you find the gun stash?” the voice on the other end asked excitedly.
“I’ll be there shortly,” Jim answered, ignoring the question.
“But—”
“We’ll talk when I get there.”
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended.
“What are you going to do with me now?” Jim muttered anxiously.
“We’re going to take your trucks back to town for you.”
“Hey, guys, bring it in so we can go get my mom. Jessica, can you handle things here?”
Jessica gulped before answering. “Yeah. We’ll be fine.”
“It’s a shoot on sight rule now. I’ll try to call when we have the situation taken care of properly.”
I chose to ride in the truck with Jim, while the others each took a truck to follow us. They loaded the others up and had them propped up so that the trucks looked like they had the same number of people as they’d left town with.
“I know you think maybe you can wrestle the gun away or somehow alert the town, but remember that my guys won’t hesitate to take any and every one out, including you.”
Jim shook his head in acknowledgement but continued to drive.
As we approached the town, I pulled a knife out, putting the gun under my right leg.
“Just remember this knife will puncture your lung much faster and more painfully than any bullet can.” To emphasize my point, I let the sharp blade slice open his shirt and touch his bare skin.
The all clear sign couldn’t have changed in the past few days, and so I watched as Jim raised his hand, giving the okay to move through.
The gates opened and we drove through without any problems.
“Drive to where you’re holding my mom,” I demanded.
“She’s at Peter’s house. That’s how we found out about Ray.”
“Let’s hope so,” I muttered as we pulled up.
Once in park, Jim started to get out, but I stopped him. I’d seen a pair of handcuffs on the back seat, so I snagged them and put one on each wrist, threaded through the steering wheel. He’d have to yank it out and make it past the other three guys who were all looking for an excuse to kill him.
“Watch him.” I ran up to the house with my gun drawn, throwing the door open.
My mom was sitting on the floor with her throat torn out, starting to twitch and come back to life, while Peter was munching on the guard Jim had left behind.
Bracing myself, I fired three headshots and walked out of the house, barely making it before I started puking my guts up in the bushes.
“She’s dead.” I managed to get out between heaves. “Peter got infected and killed her and the guard. They’ve all been put down now.”
Sam moved closer to the truck, pointing the gun at Jim’s head, ready to take him out.
“No, we’re going to make an example of him. I just need to rinse my mouth out.” There was an outside faucet and I used it to clean up and catch my breath.
“Unhook him. I think the keys are in his pocket.”
Jim looked at me in surprise. Apparently, he hadn’t remembered that important piece of information.
Sam uncuffed him from the steering wheel and recuffed him behind his back. The cuffs were really too tight because of his large size. Most police forces would probably have used zip ties, but at this moment, I didn’t care how much pain he was in.
We walked, keeping our guns on him as people started coming out of their houses to see what was going on with their leader.
The guards saw us at the same time I yelled to get their attention.
“Hey, we need everyone to listen carefully. Where’s the mayor, Chris?”
Someone pushed him to the front to stand beside Jim.
“Did you know that your leaders have been taking the sick out of the clinic at night and killing them?” I ignored the gasps and continued. “They buried them out in the Oak Cemetery. If you don’t believe me, you can go out there and count the amount of newly dug graves. He also took my mother hostage today and killed one of my farmhands because he wanted the guns he thought we had stored out there.
“I’m sorry for the guys that were with him, they didn’t survive. I came back hoping to rescue my mother, who’s been spending hours everyday nursing your sick family members, only to find that she was dead. Peter turned, using her and the guard Jim had put on her for a snack. If this is how you want to run your town then that’s fine. I’m going to let you vote and decide on the kind of justice that Jim deserves for his actions.”
The mayor, Chris, started to speak, but I held up a hand. “Wait your turn.”
“Well, what’s it going to be?” I faced the crowd, eyeing them before turning to see what the men on the wall thought of all this.
“They should be put down like they did to all those that opposed them. We can’t let violence be the main choice.”
“We can’t n
ot have a leader, though. Who will lead us?”
“Would you be willing to secure the town, Linc? Help us get on our feet?” One of the store owners, Wade, asked.
“Look, my main focus is making sure that the farm stays safe. I’ll ask the guys if they wouldn’t mind helping, but anyone that comes to the farm bringing trouble will be met with guns. I think we can all get along, but you and the town will have to decide.”
“They had us kill an entire family that was trying to drive through because he didn’t like the looks of them. We have to sentence him to death,” Wade determined.
“That’s not fair!” Jim shouted to the crowd as he struggled against the cuffs. “I only did what I had to do to protect everyone from this infection. You even helped, Wade.”
Wade stepped up and stood directly in from of Jim. “You know what? You are exactly right. I did help you because you told me my family would be next if I didn’t. Doesn’t make what we did right, but I was trying to keep my family safe. I’m sure most of the people in this town would agree.”
“So what’s the verdict?” I prompted.
“Jim has to die. Chris will be made to work in the clinic until the sick are dead. When someone dies, we take care of them humanely. We can’t just take it upon ourselves as to who gets to live and who gets to die. All who agree say yes, if you don’t agree, say no. There won’t be any punishments either way.”
A chorus of yes’s filled the air, with only a few no’s.
“Majority carries.” Wade walked up and pulled the trigger of his 9mm. The sound was more disturbing than the sight of Jim’s body falling to the ground. The now previous mayor fell to the ground, whimpering at Jim who stared blankly up at the sky.
“We’d like to carry on trade with the farmers and see if we can’t make this small town thrive during the end of the world.”
I took the offered hand and shook on it for the entire town to witness.
“I know most of you are mad right now. I have just as much pain and anger as those he hurt, but he deserves to be buried. Maybe not with those he killed, but we all deserve a decent burial, even those who’ve wronged us.
“Can a few of you go and bring the bodies of my mom, Peter, and the guard so that we can put them and this group to rest?” I gestured to the crowd.
“Yeah, we’ll go get them. Open the gates so we can go to the cemetery,” Wade ordered, taking control until a vote could be had as to who was in charge.
“Thank you.” My guys and I pulled a tarp from a vehicle sitting nearby and rolled Jim onto it, unlocking the cuffs and placing his hands over his heart.
Dead, Jim seemed even heavier than he looked. One of the men standing there pointed to the flatbed trailer parked at the grocery store.
“Beth, can we use this to take them out there?”
“Yes, Linc,” Beth answered unsteadily.
“I’ll bring it back tomorrow since we don’t have a ride out to the farm if that’s okay?”
“Sure, and bring any fresh stuff you’ve got any time.”
Once Jim’s body was loaded up, we drove over to help with my mom. I let the guys do it while I called Jessica.
“I think everything’s okay, but have the boys keep watch until we make it back over there with you. I’ll tell you everything when we get there.” I hung up before she could ask anything that would cause me to break down.
I was uncertain that I would be able to control my emotions, so I let Josh drive as the whole town gathered to see us off.
Wade and a few other town guys were on the flatbed of the trailer to help us run the bulldozer.
Our unhappy task didn’t take long, but we made sure to mark each grave with a rock with their names written on them.
“Thanks, everyone. I’m sorry it had to happen this way, but there didn’t seem to be another option,” I offered.
“We understand. If we hadn’t been worried about what he’d do when no one was looking, more of us would’ve stood up to him. Thank you for making that possible. We’re sorry for your loss.”
“Later, everyone.” I couldn’t handle one more person’s condolences.
I was done with today. Even back at the farmhouse, I bypassed the main gate after closing it. Instead, I walked for hours until I finally ended up back at the barn where I found Jessica waiting. Somehow, she’d known where to find me.
She didn’t say a word, but just pulled me into her embrace while I broke down into horrible sobs. I hadn’t cried when my dad died because real tough men didn’t cry, but there was something about losing my mother so senselessly that had just broken me inside.
I almost fell asleep in her arms on the hay, and while my heart was in pieces, the hurt was already being repaired by someone willing to hurt with me.
The moon came up and I chose to let peace come with those silver rays. Tomorrow would be a new day that I could take one step at a time. I had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be last person to die that was close to me, but I was going to do as much as possible to prevent it.
Brad
Days started to blend together as the first week flew by and we started to find less people that were alive and more ZITs on a regular basis.
The main base gave up on having us go through gang land and changed the focus from search and rescue to scavenge and secure. The army started having us work on important targets like water plants and electric plants so that the country wouldn’t go completely dark.
Parts of the city were completely overrun, but those that lived out in more rural areas were more likely to be among those that survived longer.
Going AWOL to meet up with my family was sounding better every day as I realized how fragilely our civilization was put together.
“Jackson!” Doug yelled, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
“What?” I asked, startled out of my five minutes of freedom.
“My amazing idea finally got some merit with those in charge and we get to go and clear out the college. They decided that we could move the civilians over to the college. They said it was much easier since it had reinforced walls that will help keep them safer. Plus, they have a cafeteria for doing large meals. It’s the perfect place to have a base that isn’t strictly military.”
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that it’s the school your sister goes to, does it?” I grinned mischievously. “How much did you have to bribe the staff sergeant to consider it?”
“Oh, I didn’t bribe him. It was the daily fighting of the children and adult children that made him consider it to be a wise idea. This campus is solar powered, so it’ll conserve gas and give us hot showers.”
“Showers. I’ve totally forgotten what those are. When do we leave?”
“First thing in the morning. If we can clear it out, then the other teams will bring the fencing to setup some security until something permanent can be built.”
“So you’re really holding out hope that she’s alive?” I didn’t want to say it was completely impossible, but after everything we’d seen this past week, well, I wasn’t hopeful for a good outcome.
“I might not even be able to sleep tonight. I’m beyond nervous about what we’ll find. She’s a fighter, but that doesn’t mean anything against these things.”
“Maybe you should sit this one out. I mean, if she didn’t make it, do you really want to see her as a ZIT? I don’t think I’d ever be able to recover if it was Emma.”
“I’ve thought about it, but I have to know. I can’t just take your word for it. I think I’ll go take a walk until I’m just too tired to stand.”
“You do that while I try to catch up on some z’s.” I yawned at the thought of sleeping.
“Night, man.”
“Night.”
As we got ready to head out, I started to worry. Doug had never come back last night to sleep, and now we were gearing up without him.
“Has anyone seen Doug?” It appeared that
no one had seen him in quite a while.
Apprehensive, I loaded up into the truck, hoping that he was all right.
As the truck started to pull out, Doug came running from the back of the warehouse, holding all his gear while trying to catch up.
He threw his stuff into the truck, jumping in just as we neared the gate and came to a complete stop.
“You couldn’t wait until we stopped?”
“Nope. I had to get my muscles awake and stretched out.” Doug proceeded to hold his arms over his head, stretching out.
“Where were you?” I lightly punched him in the stomach, making him sit rather abruptly.
He scooted over next to me with his gear before answering. “I fell asleep out behind the warehouse where I’d sat down to rest. I don’t know when I passed out, but it was close to four a.m.”
The truck started again and we all fell silent with our own thoughts, kind of like we did before a big battle.
There were several universities and colleges nestled together, but we were going to start at the one closest to the warehouse. It also happened to be the one where Stacy, Doug’s sister, might still be living.
I could see lots of ZITs wondering around, but the highways were pretty clear heading closer into the city. Those leading out were jammed with cars that had been abandoned with some drivers in them, but there were no longer any of the living variety.
The university appeared to be empty because the parking lots had few to no cars, depending on which area we passed from the exit.
I started to fidget as we drew closer because I knew that Doug wasn’t going to let us explore any area other than his sister’s dorm.
Sure enough, that was the way the sergeant split us up. Our unit was to clear out the girl’s dorm A and the cafeteria. The other units each had a dorm and outer building, so that by the time we all met back at the trucks, it would be a ZIT free campus.
We really didn’t encounter much resistance, but the boarded-up windows screamed survivors inside.
Most of the buildings had locked doors that had to be opened carefully if the military was going to use this campus.
Military Against Zombies (The Against Zombies Series Book 2) Page 10