Pack Animals [An Undead Post-Apocalypse Thriller]

by Cain, Kenneth W.

  Dale dropped his packs and was already on the move before Allen could stop him. Any plans for safe approach were out the window. Dale bounded for the carriage, waving his arms up and down. It was something to behold. After running the length of a football field, the carriage came to a halt and turned around toward Dale. Allen wondered what Dale might do to secure the vehicle, what lengths he might go to.

  The carriage stopped before Dale, but the man holding the reigns didn’t dismount. Dale greeted him with open arms, using expressive body language as he talked to the soldier. The soldier pointed at Dale, and Allen worried his friend might not make it to their objective after all. The soldier hopped down from the carriage, leaving his gun behind, and Dale wasted no time wrestling him to the ground.

  Allen wanted to run in, check on his friend, make sure everything was copasetic, but he didn’t have the energy. Instead, he fetched a scope from one of the bags and watched.

  Dale rolled over the soldier. The stranger had drawn a knife and was trying to stab Dale. Whatever Dale had said to the man was enough to make the soldier attack him. Now it was entirely up to Dale.

  With some ease, Dale positioned himself on top of the soldier and began hammering away at the man. The soldier tried to fend off the attack and dropped his knife in doing so. Dale seized the blade and lifted it high above his head, ready to end this soldier.

  Allen sprinted forward. “No!”

  Dale looked his way, remaining in this uneasy pose for several seconds. Allen hoped Dale would consider his plea, leaving all of the packs behind. As he neared the fight, Allen saw the quandary as to whether or not to kill pressing on Dale’s face.

  “Dale.” Allen was still catching his breath. “Do you want to be like Landon? This is what he would do.”

  Dale glared at the soldier, then looked to Allen.

  “He’d have you kill him,” Allen said. “He’d have us kill each other.”

  Dale’s inability to understand this showed. Then, to Allen’s disbelief, Dale brought the blade down on the soldier. At the last second, Dale twisted the knife and struck the soldier in the temple with the blunt end. The soldier flailed about, so Dale brought the butt end down again and knocked the man unconscious.

  Allen sighed. “You scared me for a second there.”

  “Shit! I’d no sooner kill this asshole than I would take him along.” Dale rose, checking out the knife before pocketing it. “But I got us this here carriage.” His smile returned. “What do you s’pose we do with this shithead?”

  Allen didn’t like it, but their only choice was to find somewhere to lock the man up. Maybe set him up with enough provisions to get by a while. But he only nodded in response to Dale’s question, acknowledging he hadn’t fully thought that part out. Still, Dale nodded back, maybe a little unsure of what that gesture meant.

  The two of them observed the wagon. Allen wasn’t even sure this was a soldier after seeing what was in the cage. Lying down in the back was not one, but two of the creatures. They were nothing like Dillon had been. When Allen and Dale got too close, they broke into a fit, showing their desire for fresh meat.

  “Why the hell would he be collecting those bastards instead of just killing them?” Dale asked.

  “No idea.” Allen reconsidered his initial opinions of the man he had thought a soldier. “But I think we should take him along.”

  Dale nodded. “Tie him up you mean?”

  “Yes. Something tells me we might need him.”

  With this last thought, Allen started back for the packs. Dale worked on tying up their prisoner and preparing the wagon for travel. When he finished, Dale rode the wagon back to Allen and they loaded up the packs together. They covered the cage with a thick tarp they found on the wagon to avoid any attacks from their two undead passengers. When they were done, they set off at a much swifter and relaxing pace.

  CHAPTER 75

  Decker came to, feeling displaced. He remembered the odd-looking man and all the things he said to provoke Decker. How stupid he’d been to ever think he could take the man down. Decker wasn’t even sure why he’d reacted at all. He should have just kept going, though the man likely would have caught up to him. Perhaps Decker had spent too much time locked away in that basement, all by his lonesome.

  Well, not completely alone. You had them.

  A migraine teased at his temple, and he wanted the pain to go away. Then it occurred to him that he might be bleeding. He wanted to check but couldn’t reach his head because both his hands and feet were tied. Fortunately, he wasn’t gagged, so he called out for help despite knowing it was likely futile. He hadn’t seen a single other living soul until today.

  “Well, well,” Dale said. “Look who decided to wake up. Hello there, sleeping beauty.”

  There was no mistaking that voice. That was the same man who taunted Decker into a fight in the first place. Decker tried to remember what the man had said but it escaped him at the moment. He supposed it didn’t matter anyway, so much as how his head translated the words. Truth was, Decker had been talking to himself a lot as of late, so he wondered how much of this might have been his fault.

  Another consideration came to him. There was always the possibility this man wasn’t real. He did recall that had been his initial thought, when the man first rushed up behind him. Decker had thought him a ghost or maybe one of the creatures, one of the special ones.

  Decker rolled over to face his captor. When he did, he saw the other man. This new one was the cleaner of the two, thinner and perhaps more sensible. Not that it mattered. As long as Decker was being held against his will, they were both enemies.

  The thicker man thumbed down to the contents of the carriage. “What you been up to with our two hitchhikers down there, sunshine?”

  Decker had almost forgotten them. He went to speak but stopped himself, considering his situation. Why should he trust either of them with knowledge of what he’d been doing? He was a hostage, and already he was working at his ropes, hoping he could free himself and escape these men.

  The larger man shifted, turning to meet him. He lifted something for Decker to see. It was a gun, a menacing enough gesture that Decker decided to give up on freeing his ropes for now.

  “Now, don’t you be getting any bright ideas there,” the man said.

  “You might not realize this yet, but we aren’t the bad guys.” The skinnier man glanced back at Decker briefly. “We aren’t soldiers.”

  Decker observed their uniforms. “But you’re wearing colors.”

  “They ain’t real,” the thicker one said.

  Decker disagreed silently. Of course, they were real. What sort of fool did they take him for? People didn’t wear uniforms like that for shits and giggles.

  And yet, you’re wearing one too.

  He spotted a hint of a tattoo above the skinnier man’s collar. Seeing that ensured they were very much real.

  “No, they’re real.” The skinny man confirmed Decker’s suspicions. “And I was a soldier, once.”

  The skinny man’s words did nothing to ease Decker’s concerns or build any sort of trust. Decker remained quiet.

  “Listen,” the skinnier man said, “I haven’t been a soldier for a long time now. Our group is out for the Mississippi River, and we…we—”

  “We got business in Washington,” the thicker man said.

  Hearing this concerned Decker. While he remained quiet, he wondered what sort of business they had in Washington if they weren’t soldiers?

  “We’re gonna kill him,” the thicker man said.

  “Kill who?” Decker asked.

  Looking concerned, the skinnier man looked at his friend. “Dale, I’m not sure—”

  “What the hell difference does it make, Allen? He’s either with us or he ain’t.”

  Decker’s eyes widened. “Kill who?”

  Dale smiled a toothy grin, revealing a friendlier appearance than before. Then again Decker may have imagined that. For all he knew none of this was real
.

  “The President.”

  CHAPTER 76

  The road north wasn’t an easy one, not that Sydney ever thought it would be. No one manned the fire cannon. Everyone remained inside so they weren’t surprised if they came across another large mutie. As the weather changed, there was a distinct drop in temperature. It was getting colder, but they wanted to get as close to Canada as they could before they found someplace safe to set up camp. Once Allen and Dale arrived, they could decide how to proceed.

  Sydney wondered, if they weren’t able to get through to Canada, might Allen consider holing up somewhere along the western coast. From there, they could take a boat anywhere they wanted. Then again, it wasn’t like Allen to run away from a problem. Even to Canada. Plus, he would likely want to stay as close as possible to what security the eastern half of the States provided in case they needed to fall back. Whatever the case, this was as ideal a place to start again as any.

  She watched as Orson left Isaac’s side and approached her. He was a good boy who was beginning to come into his own. This war had forced him to grow wiser, well beyond his years. Boys his age should be playing ball. All of that was gone now, and he was but a soldier in their small rag tag army.

  She smiled. “Thank you for the change of clothes.”

  He stared at her. “You’re welcome.”

  “What?” His eyes were struggling and wavering even as she spoke. “Orson, what’s wrong?”

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?”

  She hadn’t realized how difficult this must be for him. He had seen his friend killed in battle. “Chris has gone to a better—”

  He frowned. “Not Chris, Mom. Dad. Do you think Dad will be okay?”

  Her heart warmed at this. She was thankful, even if it did come much too late. “I think he will. Yes, he will.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She considered his words and truthfully, she had a lot of faith in Allen’s ability to survive. “I really do.”

  “Good.” Orson forced a smile. He was struggling to hold back tears. “I hope he comes back.”

  “He will.”

  She pulled him in close and hugged him tightly. Could she really rely on anything anymore? Yes, because she trusted Allen.

  “He will, Orson. You can count on it.”

  CHAPTER 77

  “You’re going to kill the president?” The man laughed. “He’s already dead!”

  Allen couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He pulled back on the reigns and brought the wagon to a complete stop. “He’s what?”

  “The president died a year or two after this began.”

  Allen scoffed. “Yeah, not that president.”

  “There’s another?” Decker asked.

  “You bet your ass there is.” Dale grimaced. “And he ain’t a good one.”

  Allen wondered if they could gain an ally. “What’s your name?”

  “Decker Hines.”

  “Well, Mr. Hines—”

  “Please, just Decker.”

  That was good because the formality sounded strange to Allen anyway.

  “Okay, Decker. What might a man like you be doing with these creatures? And how did you capture them?”

  Decker laughed. “I’ll just bet you’d like to know.”

  “Dale, cut his ropes.”

  Dale leaned over, pulled a large knife out of his belt, and cut Decker’s feet loose, then his hands.

  “We aren’t going to hurt you,” Allen said. “It’s the last thing we want. We only want to bring justice to the man who started all this.”

  Decker’s smile faded. “You mean Landon Hughes?”

  How could this man possibly know anything about Landon? Had Allen unknowingly released one of Landon’s allies?

  “How the hell do you know Landon?” Dale asked.

  Decker regarded Dale, holding up his hands, patting the air. It was clear Decker was still a little fuzzy on the details and needed a minute to gather his thoughts.

  “I was a member of the team Landon used to develop the infection and subsequently the cure.”

  Hearing this, Allen felt like screaming. Of all people to come across, it had to be this man. He watched as Dale’s temperature visibly rose, the anger showing in his eyes. Allen tried to reel in his own emotions and focus on the truth.

  “Dale, I don’t think this is his fault.”

  He looked as though he hadn’t heard Allen.

  “Landon forced a lot of people to do things they didn’t want to,” Allen explained.

  Dale eased up little visually, but still looked on edge, no doubt willing to use the knife to kill this man if he had to.

  “That’s right,” Decker said. “He made us do this. None of us wanted any part of his madness once we understood what he planned. And to be honest, what we did there, it’s haunted me ever since. I captured these two using myself as bait. There’s a trap door in the bottom of the wagon I slipped out through before they could get to me. I’ve been studying them since the beginning.”

  “Studying them for what?” Dale asked.

  Decker seemed to struggle to look at Dale, perhaps because the knife was still out. “I was trying to find a cure.”

  “The water’s good now.”

  Decker regarded Allen’s answer by shaking his head. “No, not that. I was looking for a cure for those who’ve been infected.”

  “There is no cure.” Dale thrust his fists into the air. “You can’t cure dead.”

  “Maybe so,” Decker said, humbly. “But so long as there is breath in my lungs, I’ll keep trying. After all, it’s kind of my penance.”

  Allen nodded. He very much understood the sentiment. Allen’s reparation was to punish Landon and he too would not rest until it was done.

  CHAPTER 78

  By the time they reached the Pennsylvania border, they had gotten pretty well acquainted. They had much more in common than Decker originally thought. Well, at least he and Allen did. Dale was a cruder man who wasn’t anything like Decker. Even if his family had been affected by all this, Decker didn’t think they’d ever really get along. Dale was the sort of man who only worried about his immediate area, as if that were the only domain he had any control over. Decker, on the other hand, sought to right the wrongs on a larger scale, and if that meant he had to lock himself away in a basement for the rest of eternity to find a solution, he gladly would.

  The idea of getting back at Landon had never crossed Decker’s mind. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, he wasn’t sure it was right for him. He wasn’t a fighter. Decker was a thinker. But he would go along with them for now, more out of morbid curiosity than anything. Maybe he could find something along the way to help his own cause.

  Decker had to admit, the sound of working around actual people for a change enticed him. And he’d always wanted to visit the Midwest. But would they accept his work for what it was, what he felt that he needed to do? He doubted it, even if Allen assured him it would be okay.

  Of his research, Decker found it somewhat interesting how quiet the creatures were now that they were sealed off from the outside world. He wondered if in some way, this might be a clue as to how to control these creatures in the future.

  Poor souls.

  Speaking of which, Dale and Allen weren’t so bad. He hoped for their sake they would not be discovered upon entering Washington D.C., but with the gear they toted around, they most assuredly would. That fact, above all else, worried Decker. If it came to it, Decker would run if he had to, as far and fast as his tired legs would carry him. He would rather take his chances alone than risk being shot. Or worse yet, end up getting captured and be forced to work for the government or dictator, whatever Landon was to the people now. To Decker, he was the man who had forced him to sin against mankind.

  Surprisingly as they made their way to the White House, no one gave them any trouble. Allen and Dale played good soldiers and were given entry and free roam anywhere they saw fit. Not one soldier ever ques
tioned the wagon or the contents under the thick cover.

  Decker suspected it would be more difficult as they got closer to the White House though. Not only did such a place have high security, but it would be fully functional if the electricity was back on. What Decker had not expected was how empty the area appeared. The streets were mostly abandoned, with only a few soldiers milling around here and there. Of them, most of their duties seemed to entail cleaning things up more than protecting a leader. Decker knew Landon was a vain and overly confident man, but this was absurd. It was almost as if he didn’t feel the slightest bit threatened. This was the move of a disillusioned man.

  A breeze blew some loosened trash along the ground as they came to a stop. Decker wasn’t sure what Dale or Allen had in mind or if they’d even really thought this out or were acting on impulse. He suspected the latter on the way here as they hadn’t discussed their plan. And it had been apparent early on that neither of them really knew what to expect. As a result, they’d come to a standstill as they considered their options.

  Allen and Dale whispered back and forth, their voices barely audible over the rustle of trash along the battered road. A paper cup smacked against the worn metal of an old Ford pickup, drawing Decker’s attention away from the two men. Somewhere very far in the distance, a bird chirped, perhaps unaware of everything that had happened to this world. Then someone was calling out to them, a single voice yelling from down the street, rushing toward the wagon.

  CHAPTER 79

  Landon walked with pride. He rather enjoyed these strolls, as they gave him time to gather his thoughts without interruption, to take in the glory of all he’d accomplished. This presidency had long been in the works. Now was the time for him to finally enjoy it. He had no opposition, no rival parties. Best of all, every pawn in his little chess game had been removed from the board. He was free to do whatever his heart pleased. Not only that, but he was a national hero to the people. No one could take any of that away from him now.