Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (13 page)

The
large man tipped his hat. “That’d be me. What can I do for you?”

“You’re
in charge, right? They said you were the one to talk to.”

He
leaned against the wall. “Who told you that?”

“I think
her name was Tara. She was very quiet and didn’t say much. When I asked who I
talk to, the people in town said her or Dale, but she said you.”

“Huh.
I’m not officially in charge, but I am doing all the planning and organization,
apparently. I guess that’s close enough to being the boss.”

“Well, I
want to join your group, if that’s okay.”

Sofie
began to fidget.

“Know
how to shoot?”

“Not
really, not beyond what I’ve seen on television.”

He
smiled. “Actually isn’t too different in real life, easy enough, real easy when
shooting zombies. They don’t try to dodge, and they don’t shoot back. And we
can use more help. There aren’t many wanting to do this work. We have a small
core who are essentially full time and some others who join in when needed.
What’s your name? Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude there.”

“I’m
Sofie.”

This was
the part she’d been dreading. Feeling she had to tell people about her medical
condition, if only to prevent anyone else from getting sick, Sofie had
cautiously disclosed that she was HIV positive. No one was outright hostile or
mean, but a few began to quietly shun her. Others dripped with excessive
sympathy, something she considered worse. It made for a very uncomfortable
existence within the compound. She had no friends and didn’t look to be making
any in the near future, at least not any close enough to confide in, and that
was something she desperately needed.

But
there were others in the settlement outside the main group, most specifically
the shooters, the security team who patrolled the town and countryside. As
Marcus said, there weren’t many of them, and she had been cautioned that some
were odd, possibly dangerous. That didn’t bother Sofie. Her past lifestyle had
exposed her to plenty of risk.

“Now,
aren’t you the one who…”

“I have
HIV,” she blurted out, interrupting him. “I don’t have AIDS though. They’re
different things.”

Marcus
nodded. “I’m aware of that. My only real concern is that you’re healthy enough
to do the work.” He stared at her lanky, skinny frame. “You’re not looking too
healthy.”

“I’m not
sick,” she protested, “not like that. I nearly starved before I was found, and
I had to spend a few weeks in the infirmary. I’m sure you heard, the way people
gossip.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I had some withdrawal
issues, but that’s behind me.”

“Heard
those rumors too,” he admitted. “If it’s behind you, really behind you, I don’t
care. Got that Sofie? Your past is your business, but I won’t be tolerating
anything that could get the rest of us killed. You come across some… What was
it you used?”

“Heroin.”

He
grimaced. “Nasty habit. You find some heroin and decide you want to relive the
rush, and I will deal with you.” Marcus looked over at the door. “Isn’t that
right Dale?”

The
young man turned to regard him.

“You’re
supposed to say, ‘yes Marcus, that’s right’.”

“What is
right?” asked Tara, coming up behind her brother.

Dale
shrugged.

“Sofie
here is going to be joining us. I might have her follow you two around. She’s
not experienced, so I’ll give her some lessons and try her out on the practice
range first. Worse case, she can work as a lookout for a few months until she
learns to hit the target.” He stared down at her again. “We try to have people
keep an eye out while others are exterminating.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and
she has HIV too,” he continued. “That’s the thing that causes AIDS. You can’t
catch it just be being next to her or anything, but you have to be careful.
I’ll let her explain later.” He paused. “Unless you rather me do it.”

“I can
explain,” said Sofie. “I’ve been doing it enough lately. Most people know the
basics anyway.”

“Yeah,
that happens after something’s been around a few decades. I remember when I was
little, back when it first hit the news in the 80’s. Hell, I won’t bore you
with that, although I do miss the 80’s. Great music. Not so much on the
clothes. You ever see a fat woman wearing parachute pants?”

Sofie
found her mood improving, more than she expected. Maybe this was the right
choice after all.

“Tara,
Dale, you two have any issues working with this lady here?”

“We
shoot the zombies,” stated Dale.

“You can
help,” added Tara.

“I’ll
take that as a ‘no, there’s no problem’.”

They
made no response, so Marcus shrugged and wrote Sofie’s name on the chalkboard
he was using to keep roll.

Chapter IV

“No
guns!” Lizzy shot the twins one of her nastier glares. “You’ve been told! Pay
some fucking attention.”

“Can we
use silencers?” asked Dale.

“That’s…”

I cut
Lizzy off. “Silenced pistols are fine, if you can’t just bash the skull in,
but, no matter what, keep it as quiet as possible.”

“This is
all messed up,” called Sofie. She was beside Mary, sprawled on top of Marcus’s
semi. “I think a fire destroyed the town.”

“When
did that happen?”

“Really
Jacob, how should I know?” She shook her head. “From the map and what you’ve
said, that should be it over there.”

“Not
everything is burned,” said Mary. “I can’t really tell, but I think some houses
are still standing, off behind the wrecked stuff. Lots of zombies too – I think
they’re trying to get in – and that could be a wall. Oh! Wait. I’m not sure,
but there might have been a real person. Can’t see him now.”

“That
settles that.” Lizzy swung her gaze, taking in everyone. “We need to get
closer.”

“The
road is no good,” pointed out Marcus. “Tara, we got some coming in on the other
side. Take care of those please. Like I said, we got thousands of the things
all focused on that one spot. There has to be someone alive for them to do
that. They wouldn’t be so determined otherwise. Then, we have more wandering
around. Getting in is going to be hard.”

I
nodded. Zombies tend to target the nearest person and keep at it until
distracted. This situation matched that pattern of behavior.

“Better
hope the people in there are trying to keep their heads down.” Lizzy frowned.
“Apparently not too good if Mary saw one. Still, how do we let them know we’re
out here if popping up to wave will let even more of the shits know they’re
inside? Looks bad enough now. Add all those just walking about, and it might be
a repeat of the castle.”

I
noticed Mary grow pale at the notion. It wasn’t doing my emotional state any
good either.

“Maybe
we can pull them away,” she continued.

“How
so?” asked Marcus. Not waiting for a response, he moved to the side so he could
slam a crowbar against a zombie skull. It cracked open, the insides leaking out
to stain the pavement. “We are not going to try sleeping out here like normal,”
he added. “We’ll be twenty miles the way we came before sunset.”

“Yeah,”
agreed Mary. “We need to try the back back, or even the back back back roads
too.”

As we
drew closer to Oklahoma City, the number of shambling bodies seemed to grow
exponentially. Travel was becoming more and more perilous, and I didn’t think
we could go much further, even had we wanted to. But we were within sight of
Anadarko, and after all this grief it was going to be checked out.

“Give us
a plan Jacob.”

“I’m
working on one Mary.”

What
were we to do?

“Sofie,
you and Mary take a good look. Is there a clear run to the houses, those still
standing? We’re not going to take it just yet, but I want to know if we can get
there.”

“Mostly,
I’d say. Looks like some cars are in the way, not many and none in the middle
of the street. What are you thinking?”

Mary
shrugged. “You can probably just drive down this road to reach them.”

“Back to
the distraction then,” said Lizzy.

“Got to
make sure there really is a compound or fort or something in the middle of that
mess,” added Marcus. “We need some idea of what we’re getting ourselves into.”

I
glanced at my watch. “It’s still early. We’ll pull back a few miles and park
off the highway, a farm road or dirt track or something.”

“There
was that one,” said Lizzy, “by the orange billboard. It should work.”

“We’ll
then approach on foot,” I continued, “cross country to get close enough to see
what’s happening.”

“Hell,
no!”

It was
unlike my short, stout friend to be so vehemently anti-adventure.

“Not
everyone and not that close,” I clarified. “If we can get to a good position,
say two miles off, I bet we would be able to see what’s going on. If there are
people inside we’ll know and can figure out a plan of action. If not, we go
home.”

“Take
the twins,” suggested Mary. “Make sure each of you has a silenced pistol too.”

“We
don’t have very many,” commented Sofie, “so don’t be losing them. And the
little .22 automatics Tara came across aren’t the best for killing the things.
It sometimes takes more than one shot, so you have to be extra careful.”

“We’ll
use whatever we got,” I said. “Let’s get started.”

*
* *

“Tara,
you ever think that a good idea was really a bad idea?”

She
didn’t answer.

We were
stomping through what could only be described as a mud pit. My best guess was
that some recent rain pooled in the shallow depression before being churned up
by either animals or zombies. The ground was uneven, filthy, and there was a
nasty suction that seemed intent on pulling my boots off. The only upside was
that any shambler who came near us stood a good chance of getting stuck.

“Where
to?” asked Dale, after I stopped to look around.

“Think
we can see from over there?”

I
pointed at a mound of dirt. It looked as if it was left over from some
construction project.

He
nodded.

“You and
Tara secure the perimeter. I’ll scramble up.”

They
hurried to do just that, and I heard the soft pops of their silenced pistols. I
had my doubts about their story of finding them one day while out looting. It
was more likely the pair possessed the weapons from the start and neglected to
mention the things until the need to remain quiet became paramount. Although, I
suppose it might be possible they were telling the truth. We had a few
silencers of our own, recovered from the raiders, which were currently sitting
in storage back at the castle. I really should have thought to bring those.

Reaching
the tiny summit, I dropped to my belly and checked on the twins. They were
spread out below me, keeping a close watch on the area, so I transferred my
attention to the town itself.

“So very
not good,” I muttered, softly.

A dozen
houses were surrounded by a fence. It was not uniform in height or
construction. Most of the sections were standard six foot wood boards, often
overlapping to make it taller. In a few places there were bricks or
cinderblocks, even landscaping timbers. Two of the houses seemed to be in
various stages of being demolished. Perhaps they were using them for
construction material. It was hard to tell.

It was
also difficult to see much of what was happening inside. There was a second
fence about forty feet inside the first, just as tall and crudely built. There
were no breaches on the outer one, so I assumed this was a backup line of
defense in case the zombies got through. And there were living people there. I
could make out two of them. They were carting some wood around. It appeared
they were going to shore up the barricade.

“We have
living people,” I confirmed, speaking to the twins. “Not sure how many or how
we’re going to get them out.” I grabbed the radio. “Lizzy, any luck?”

Her
voice crackled back. “Nothing. I don’t know if they have a set, or what
frequencies they might be trying. Marcus was using the CB too, but nothing with
that either. So, there really are people then?”

“At
least two that I can see. Probably more.”

“Can
they last longer, a day or so?”

“I don’t
see why not.”

“Wonderful,”
she replied, “cause we need to think about this big time, and when we do move,
it needs to be first thing in the morning. We’ll need all the daylight we can
squeeze in, in case it blows up in our faces.”

*
* *

“You’re
more crazy than normal,” exclaimed Lizzy.

“I
agree,” said Sofie, “even if I can’t say how crazy you usually are. This is
nuts.”

“I
should be the one to go,” protested Mary.

She
dodged backwards, barely avoiding Lizzy’s slap.

“Don’t
even think it!”

“The
poster girl for anger management is right,” said Marcus. “You’re too little for
this, even if you are as fast as you say.”

“I’m the
fastest one at the castle. I ran track, and I’m not fat like other people.”

“Lizzy,”
I cautioned, sternly, “don’t say it. And Mary, you are not making the run. It
needs to be an adult, and a man at that.”

“Oh, so
women can’t do this.” Lizzy’s ire shifted to me. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“I was
thinking about Steph. Now, the people here were more than decent when I last
passed through, but a lot could have changed. If they think they’re about to
die, they just might take advantage of having a female dropped in their laps.”

“Ah,
shit,” muttered Marcus. “Didn’t think of that one. I wouldn’t worry about Tara
though. She’d gut anyone who tried something, and her and Dale are about as
good with knives as they are with the guns.”

“We need
them here to shoot,” countered Sofie, “if you want any chance of this
happening.”

Our
plan, meaning my plan since the others all deferred to me – curse them – was
relatively simple in theory. The big rig would remain out of the way and serve
as our fallback position. Marcus and Sofie would take my Jeep Wrangler and
curve around the town to the point where the road granting direct access met up
with the houses. They would then head cross country in order to draw as many
zombies away as possible.

With the
road cleared, Lizzy would barrel down it in the SUV. Reaching the wall, she
would stop, and while the twins provided cover fire, I would wave my radio –
there would be a second one attached to my belt – so those inside could see it.
I would then sprint to the fence, clamber over, and gain the interior where I
could speak with the survivors face to face. Later, using the radios, we’d
coordinate a proper escape.

And what
could possibly go wrong? It’s not like this was a dangerous proposition. Okay,
that was the understatement of the day, month, maybe the year. God, there was a
good chance I might not get to see Briana again, or ever see our baby.

Mary was
the wild card. Lizzy was adamant about her not going anywhere near the zombies,
not with the numbers we were facing. Marcus and Sofie couldn’t take a passenger
so going with them was out. Granted, Mary could squeeze into the back, but it
would be a nasty ride, especially over rocks and dirt. Also, if anything
happened and they had to get out and make a run for it… Well, under such
circumstances, death was probable. Again, it was too dangerous.

We could
always have Mary climb a tree so she could keep watch, but that wasn’t any good
either. For the information to be useful, Mary would have to get close, meaning
she might be noticed and trapped. In the end, it was decided to lock her in
Marcus’s truck. Staying out of sight, with a radio and notebook, Mary would be
away from the danger but still able to keep track of all that was happening.
Needless to say, she was not pleased.

*
* *

Things
started off well enough. My Jeep, one of the greatest vehicles ever
manufactured, even before I started on the modifications, did its job. Marcus
helped, being behind the wheel, but it was mostly the Jeep. At any rate, the
zombies caught sight of them and followed, just like always. Hundreds fell into
line as they passed by. Marcus kept the pace slow, very slow. Suddenly, he
pulled forward about fifty feet and stopped. Getting out, he and Sofie fired
off a few rounds, dropping a half dozen zombies. The noise and sight of actual
people spurred the dead even further. This was repeated a second and then a
third time. As far as thinning the horde went, it was pretty much useless, but
it certainly attracted more attention.

The way
as clear as anyone could reasonable hope, Lizzy made her move. She roared down
the stretch of asphalt, with me gripping the dashboard for dear life, and
spinning the wheel at the last moment, she skidded the SUV around so it was
pointing toward the exit. Tara and Dale bailed out of the rear seat and began
firing, one targeting those who might interfere with my attempt to get over the
fence, the other keeping the way out clear.

“Move!
Move! Move!” shouted Lizzy. “Get inside!”

That
last bit was for the advantage of the people whose heads had popped over the
fence to see what was happening.

“Got a
radio!” I shouted, brandishing one.

I also
had a pair of pistols, a backpack full of clips and ammo, and some basic
supplies including food, water, and a first aid kit. I would have liked to take
my rifle, maybe a machine gun, howitzer comes to mind too. Unfortunately,
weight and speed were issues.