“
What the hel
l’
s up there
?”
Aidan whispered, with his eyes locked on the mass.
“
No clu
e…
but i
t’
s gotta be something, or someone
,”
Kyle added.
“
Look over there, boys. Another bunch is circling that tree
,”
Jarvis said, pointing at a tree maybe fifty yards to the right.
The group of Zs circling at that spot was smaller, at only five creatures, but they were doing the same reach to the sky danc
e
as their friends across the clearing.
Kyle looked back and forth between the two trees before his eyes rested on me.
“
What do you think
?
”
Before I had a chance to respond, we heard what I can only describe as a giant jacket zipper screaming at us from just beyond the canopy above.
Freezing, as if some sort of new monster was up there to get us, our heads shot up into the sky in unison, trying to see what the hell was causing the sound. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Still with no clue what it was, the same noise started again. Only this time, I was able to get a fix on where it originated.
Coming from between the two trees surrounded by Zs, the noise spun from one to the other. As it shot by, we could see some of the branches moving around in the forest above, causing a few of the drier leaves to come floating down to the ground below.
“
Over there
.”
Aidan pointed.
At first, I could
n’
t see what he was pointing to. Squinting my eyes ever so slightly, I gritted my teeth as I realized what we were looking at. In the second tree, surrounded by the smaller group of Zs, there were what appeared to be two men standing on some sort of wooden deck built into the tree itself.
As I stared at it in amazement, a third zipping noise rang out. Moments later, I saw a man seemingly float onto the same wooden perch. Landing his feet solidly on the deck, he reached up and unhooked himself from what I finally saw was a long metallic line that connected the two trees.
“
I
t’
s a zip-line
.”
Kyle whispered in awe.
Nodding, I thought back to a trip that Jenn and I had taken in the North Georgia Mountains a few years back. Sh
e’
d surprised me with tickets to a pretty massive zip-lining canopy tour where we floated from tree to tree along a similar set of metallic lines. Grunting, I shook my head at the fact that I should have realized what the sound was right away.
Following the metallic line as best I could through the thick canopy above, I nearly shit myself as my eyes made out where the men were coming from. The tree, which was surrounded by the larger group of Zs, led up to the largest damn tree house
I’
d ever seen. It was massive, and was actually built across three, maybe four of the huge trees. Looking wildly around the tree fort, or should I say tree fortress, I realized there were two zip-lines leading to and from it. Holy shit, I thought to myself. It was brilliant. These people were moving back and forth from their base camp using zip-lines to avoid having to deal with the larger horde of creatures every time they came in and out. With multiple zip-lines, they probably had the option to choose the easier of the exits when they wanted to come and go.
Taking in a deep breath, I focused my attention through the canopy and onto the structure itself. The fortress was certainly nothing pretty to look it. Appearing to be constructed by whatever wood could be found, it was clear that it was
n’
t built by a master carpenter.
However, it was massive, and had light
s…
which meant electricity! Perking up ever so slightly, I found myself wondering if it had a radio.
Watching in awe, I suddenly became aware of the growing sound. The moans were getting louder just below the men standing on the wooden deck hidden in the trees, pulling a few of the creatures from the other tree over toward them. Having been joined by two more people, the men on the deck were five strong. It was clear that they were growing uncomfortable at the decibel level of the monsters below.
“
What the hell is that
?”
I heard Kyle whisper.
Not responding, my mouth dropped as I watched them lower a pole with what appeared to be a giant square box at the end down toward the creatures. Once it was hanging directly over their heads, the group paused for a moment to let the monsters all circle around it.
In a nearly seizure-inducing moment, the box flashed a bright strobe light for nearly thirty seconds directly in the faces of the creatures. In awe, we all watched as the monsters dropped to the ground at the base of the tree, paralyzed and twitching.
Kyle shot a glance at me. I realized he was smiling ear to ear just before he turned his attention back toward the action. We knew light could temporarily grab the attention of the Zs, putting them into a sort of standing paralysis. Damned if we had any clue that a strobe light would knock them the fuck out.
Moments later, the five men dropped a rope ladder from the tree and climbed down one after another, waiting while the rest of their group joined them. Ten men in total, they were all big men, some of them bigger than Kyle was. They were dressed in a mixture of manufactured clothing like what w
e’
d found at the airplane and furs that they had clearly made themselves. They had a grizzled appearance, and looked like the modern day equivalent of savage barbarians.
“
Wha
t’
s on their arms
?”
Aidan asked with a twinge in his voice, looking almost ghostly white.
As they stepped over the pulsating Zs on the ground and moved toward a truck that was covered in a camouflage tarp, I could see that wrapped around each of their right arms was an orange strip of cloth.
“
What? Wha
t’
s the matter? What do you know
?”
Kyle said, looking over at Aidan, who blankly stared at the group.
After Kyle nudged him in the chest, Aidan finally broke from his trance and looked over at us with panic in his eyes
.“
We gotta get outta here. If you think Gordo
n’
s evi
l…
you do
n’
t want to mess with the Stripes
.
”
Chapter 23
The rev of the engines shattered the silence through the moans from the larger horde. All ten of the men were piled into two trucks, which were heavily modified with armor and barbed wire. Squinting, I could see that each of the trucks prominently displayed an orange-painted stripe vertically down the exterior doors.
Just as a few more of the creatures from the larger horde lowered their arms and turned toward the vehicles, both trucks sped off into the forest, more than likely after the helicopter sounds that w
e’
d heard earlier. Either that or they were going to check out the mayhem that the
y’
d probably heard the night before. Either way, they were leaving the fortress, which left us with an opportunity.
Living above ground in a tree fortress was something that I would never have thought of. Even one of this magnitude. It was in direct contrast to the underground life we'd been subject to at Avalon.
Ducking back down behind the small hill we were positioned on, Aidan went on to explain that the Stripes, as Gordo
n’
s men called them, were a nasty and highly aggressive group in the area that they had often tangled with. While Gordon owned an army, these guys used guerrilla warfare tactics to chip away at his men, typically going after weapons and ammunition. Most of the time, there were no bodies from either side left behind, just silent remnants of a gunfight or a destroyed vehicl
e…
and many questions as to exactly what had happened.
A few months back, Gordon had assembled fifteen of his best soldiers to set out and eliminate the Stripes. They were all trained in tracking, and each possessed the same sort of guerrilla warfare experience as their supposed prey. After a week went by without hearing from the team, they finally showed their faces. Unfortunately, that was all they showed. Stuck on pig poles outside of Gordo
n’
s compound were all fifteen of the me
n’
s heads. Each of them with an orange stripe painted across their foreheads.
According to Aidan, the Stripes were maniacs. Realizing that we might be up against the worst kind of survivors of this apocalypse, I shuddered at the thought of what madness might lie in the fortress above.
With the frequency of attacks and amount of damage done, Aidan had always assumed that they had a large army. Maybe this was just a small lookout base, or perhaps this really was the full crew. Either way, nobody had ever seen them in any sort of numbers, or lived to tell about it anyways. Regardless, as the ten Stripes took off in their trucks, the fortress fell completely silent amongst the swaying trees, appearing empty.
Seeing Jarvis and Kyle eying the fortress as he finished his story, Aidan shifted his pale face toward me and said
,“
We should get outta her
e…
find another way
.
”
Taking a moment to think about it, Jarvis finally looked out into the dense trees then up toward the fortress
.“
Look at those wires up there, boys. The
y’
ve got to have a radio, and we need to get word back to Avalon
.
”
“
Those Zs by the zip-line are still down. We can get in through there
,”
Kyle added.
“
What if there are more of the Stripes up there
?”
Aidan asked, noticeably squeezing his fists together.
Cocking his head a little, Kyle said
,“
I do
n’
t see any movement. Hell, we would have heard something or someone up there by now
.
”
Gritting my teeth, my mind was solely focused on getting the medication resting on my shoulders back to my son. As far as we could tell, there wasn't a thing out here for miles. I could almost feel the thundering tick from the old wristwatch on Kyle's arm as I stared up into the leaves above. Each second could be the one that made the difference for Tyler.
“
This is our only option
,”
I finally whispered through my teeth
.“
Ther
e’
s a chance that Mia and Richards heard the broadcast. Ther
e’
s a chance that they could be heading our way right now
!
”
“
Yeah, but ther
e’
s a chance that w
e’
ll get killed or worse by heading up into that tree of horrors
,”
Aidan countered.
“
You have a better idea
?”
Kyle asked, looking directly at Aidan, who shrugged his shoulders as his Adams apple moved up and down in his throat.
Looking around our small group, I took a deep breath and said
,“I’
m not sure about this Ewok village shit, but getting a hold of a radio is
the
only option
.
”
“
Ewok village
?”
Jarvis questioned while looking at me with his head tipped sideways.
Dropping my shoulders, signaling him not to worry about it, I saw a small grin grow across Kyl
e’
s face.
Jarvis moved on from the comment and continued
.“
I
t’
s not just the radio w
e’
re after, boys. Take a look over there
.”
He pointed toward the end of the second zip-line, which was nearly invisible through the brush on the other side of the fortress. Below the receiving end, there were two more vehicles resting under a couple of camouflage tarps.
“
Avalon has its own problems to be thinking about right now. Sorry to say, John, but I hope the
y’
re not worried about us. W
e’
re going to need to find our own way home
.
”
Thinking about it for a moment, I placed my hands on the ground in front of me, and forced myself to agree that either way, we needed to get a hold of the keys for those trucks.
If there was
n’
t a helicopter on the way, more than anything, we needed transportation if we were going to survive. One of those trucks could mean the difference between life and death for us out here, tipping the odds in our favor, something that we desperately needed.
With a few lucky breaks and some clear roads, if we really pushed it, we might actually have enough time to get back.
No, we
would
have time to get back. W
e’
d find a way.
For the briefest of moments, as my eyes landed on the cars across from us, I found myself thinking about the fact that we were talking about stealing from these people. People who had
n’
t done anything to us. People who were enemies of Gordon. With my mind spinning at the options, I lifted one hand to my knee and lowered my head.
Right there and then, I realized I was willing to do whatever it took. Getting back to my son was all that mattered, no matter the cost.
Despite the wishful thinking that the place would be empty, we knew there was a good chance that any number of things could go wrong. However, in the end, the risk was worth the reward. Even Aidan finally came around at the prospect of getting transportation.
Looking back at that moment in time, I was already losing it. Maybe it was already gone. Those of us who have survived have all lost a little humanity.
After a minute or two of discussing whether or not to split up, leaving someone behind as a lookout, we ultimately decided to stick together. Too many Zs in the area. Too easy to get caught outnumbered on your own. Besides, Jarvis was hurt, Aidan was a flight risk, and Kyle and I knew better than to leave each othe
r’
s side. W
e’
d been fighting these things together for too long. You ca
n’
t replace that kind of trust.
As I stepped over the first Z that was passed out under the tree, my first thought was that it was dead. However, it was almost immediately clear that it, along with the other ones lying there, were rhythmically pulsating ever so slightly. We did
n’
t know when the
y’
d get up or if they ever would.
Gripping my hammer tightly, I stepped quietly toward the tree where we quickly found the rope ladder. Looking up, I could
n’
t quite see where it led to through the thick branches.
Gripping the brittle rope holding the wooden planks of the ladder together, I was reminded of the night before as the acid flowed through my worn muscles. Each step up felt like a mini-nightmare of pain. However, by the time my head hit the leaves in the oversized canopy concealing the platform where the zip-line ended, my curiosity took over, leaving me to feel almost nothing but intrigue.
We must have been twenty feet up before I nearly knocked my skull into the well-hidden wooden platform that wrapped around the tree. It was square in shape and big enough to hold maybe fifteen full-sized men without any issues.
To my left, a ten-foot ladder led up to another square wooden platform, which had yet another line shooting out from it leading back to the fortress.
Once we climbed the wooden ladder up to the second platform, I looked over the edge. Taking a gulp, I stepped back, trying to shake the lightheadedness as I realized I could
n’
t see past the canopy below. Holding my hand against the tree to steady myself, I wondered how tall it actually was. We were at least thirty feet up, and this tree seemed nearly as thick here as it was at the base on the ground. There was no way I could see the top as I looked up. Too many branches and leaves.
A wooden box on the platform held a bunch of harnesses that w
e’
d have to wrap around our bodies to slide across the line. Reaching in and grabbing one, I stepped into it and pulled it up over my legs, with the straps between my legs feeling pretty snug. Too snug for me not to be worried about crushing my ball sack the second I put any weight on it.
Kyle wound up helping Jarvis due to his hurt leg, but aside from that, we were all harnessed up in a matter of minutes.
Glancing toward Kyle, to the ground, and then toward where the zip-line led, I could feel my hands starting to shake. It was
n’
t fear of falling, or of sailing along the zip-line. Hell,
I’
d done this before. I was afraid of what w
e’
d find on the other end of the line.
“
You want me to go first
?”
Kyle asked.
Trying to take a gulp of air, but realizing I could
n’
t because my mouth was sandpaper dry, I responded with a whisper
.“
I should go. You need to stay back with Jarvis.
I’
ll signal if ther
e’
s something wrong on the other end
.
”
Kyle took half a step back as I slid a leather glove over my right hand, which I would use to help me regulate my speed. Stepping up to the line, I snapped the metal slider, attached to my harness, over the top of the zip-line. It fell in place with a click, and I looked back toward the three men watching with eager anticipation from the perch.
“
Do
n’
t use the glove until you get to the end. You do
n’
t want to get stuck in the middle of the line. I
t’
s a bitch to pull yourself out
,”
Kyle whispered.
Nodding, as if to say thanks for the advice, I turned toward the line, placed the glove on the metal to steady myself and lifted my legs.
At first, I found myself twisting a bit to the side, but it was fairly easy to gyrate to the center. That slight metal on metal zipper-on-a-pair-of-blue-jeans sound hummed as I moved along.
I could feel the breeze flowing around my clothing as I approached the denser forest. Holding my breath and closing my eyes as a branch slapped across my chest, I emerged on the other side wide-eyed.
I would have rubbed my eyes if I had
n’
t been holding my hands out to steady myself. To my surprise, the line led to a tree with a similar platform, but that was
n’
t the amazing part. My destination tree had a wooden bridge that led directly into the fortress, which stood at least two stories high. My stomach contracted as I realized it was much larger than what we could see from the forest floor.
Making the mistake of glancing down through an open section of the branches, I could see the Zs piling on top of each other below. They were all over the goddamn place, reaching up in the hopes that some morsel of meat would fall into their deadly grips.