by Gary Chesla
I looked around as all the others slowly held up their hands.
“Then it’s decided. Like I said earlier, what worked for you out there won’t work for us in here,” Charlie said. “We have a proven system here that works and that we have all agreed to and have voted on, and something like this could sabotage everything we have done.”
“No problem Charlie, even though I think having an escape tunnel is a good idea, I’ll have Ken and Dave fill it back in tomorrow morning,” I said. I was done butting heads with Charlie and these people tonight. If they wanted to live in their make-believe impenetrable fortress and feel that the dead could never reach them, that was their choice.
I had also made my choice. I would be leaving the day after tomorrow.
I also planned on having a private conversation with Charlie about tonight. I didn’t want to start anything with Charlie in front of the others, there appeared that something had developed with Charlie, something approaching childishness or even immature, but I didn’t care for how things were handled tonight. The way he had acted tonight, I was beginning to think that maybe Charlie had something he was hiding, and I wanted to know what it was.
I hadn’t thought about it before now, but of any of these people, Charlie was the only one that I felt could come close to pulling off the kidnapping of the women. Claiming that his wife had also disappeared could have been little more than a diversion to deflect suspicion from him.
His reaction to me and Bear could mean that maybe tonight I had almost caught him in the act.
Was Charlie’s rants tonight because he felt I was getting too close to exposing his actions, or was it because I was threatening his authority, like I had originally thought?
For as simple minded as these people were, the situation around here was starting to get very complicated.
Chapter 11
I met Dave and Ken at the blacksmith shed shortly after sunrise.
“Too bad we have to fill the tunnel back in,” Ken said.
“Yeah, I think your tunnel idea is really neat,” Dave added. “Digging the tunnel is the most fun I’ve had in years.”
“By the way Tom, thanks for saving Janie last night, if it wasn’t for you, we would be out looking for Janie too,” Ken said. “And I know your dog didn’t attack Janie, no matter what Charlie says. I wouldn’t dare go over and try to pet him, but I know he would never hurt anyone unless he had too.”
“You’re welcome, Ken,” I replied. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to catch the son of a bitch that attacked her. Hopefully after last night it will scare him off from trying something like that again for a few days.”
“So, how do you want to do this?” Dave asked. “Do we start clear out at the tree or do we just start filling it in here?”
“We’re not going to fill it in,” I replied.
“But Charlie wants me to report back to him as soon as we’re done,” Ken said. “I can’t lie to Charlie, I’m not very good at lying and he will know that I’m lying.”
“Yeah, Ken can’t lie worth shit,” Dave added.
“Look who is talking,” Ken shot back at Dave.
I knew I had better tell them my plans before these two got into another fight.
“I don’t want you to tell Charlie anything but the truth,” I replied.
“I’m confused,” Dave said.
“Let me explain it to you,” I smiled. “I think this tunnel is too important to fill it back in. Something tells me we’re going to need it. So, at least while I’m here, it’s not getting filled back in.”
“OK,” Ken said, “But is that what you want me to tell Charlie? I don’t think he will be very happy about that.”
“No, you’ll understand what I mean in a minute, Ken, jump down in the hole,” I instructed.
Ken jumped down in the opening and looked up at me.
“OK, Ken get out of the hole, now Dave, I want you to jump down in the hole,” I continued.
Ken crawled out of the hole and Dave jumped down, they were both looking at me like I was crazy.
I signaled for Dave to come back out of the hole.
“Now, were you able to bypass all those tree roots?” I asked.
“I think we made it around to the other side of the tree when we quit working yesterday,” Ken replied.
“Perfect,” I replied as I looked around the inside of the blacksmith shed. When I spotted the top of a wooden barrel lying on the ground in the corner of the shed, I walked over and picked it up.
I then grabbed two boards and walked over to the tunnel opening. I braced the two boards against the sides of the tunnel about two feet down from the opening, then set the round barrel top on the boards. The barrel top was a perfect fit and effectively blocked the opening.
“OK, fill in the tunnel,” I said.
Ken and Dave smiled, picked up their shovels and began to toss dirt down on top of the barrel lid.
“Pack it down so it is solid,” I said. “That way, anyone that steps there won’t sink down and get suspicious.”
When they had finished, I asked, “When Charlie asks, what are you going to tell him?”
Ken and Dave just looked at each other.
“You can tell Charlie the truth, you went down in the tunnel, then you filled it in,” I said. “and you will be telling him the truth.”
“What if he asks if we filled the entire tunnel in?” Ken asked.
“Tell him the truth. You filled the tunnel in from inside the shed so that no one can come through it,” I replied. “Can you do that?”
“That sounds good to me,” Ken smiled.
“Just don’t tell him we put a barrier across the tunnel two feet down,” I added. “Or all of us will get tossed out of the fort for insubordination and I’m not ready to leave just yet.”
“What about all this dirt piled up in here?” Dave asked.
“Spread it around on the floor and tamp it down with your feet, leave plenty of footprints so it looks like the rest of the floor,” I replied. “I don’t think anyone will figure out what we did.”
“That sounds good to me,” Ken said, “In fact it should only take us a few minutes to do that, then I can go home and get some sleep.”
“But you can’t leave just yet,” I said. “I want you to stay here until I come back and tell you it’s OK to go. It would have taken a lot longer than a few minutes to have filled in the tunnel. You have to make it look like you were here long enough to actually have filled it in.”
“What if someone comes in to check up on us before you come back?” Dave asked.
“In that case, tell them that you just finished, then go home,” I replied. “In the meantime, as long as one of you keeps an eye out on the courtyard so no one sneaks up on you, you can take turns getting some sleep in here.”
“Good idea,” Dave grinned.
“Also, rub some dirt over yourselves, you’re too clean for having just filled in the tunnel,” I said. “I’ll be right up on the front wall if you need me.”
I could hear Ken and Dave throwing dirt on each other as I left. As long as they ended up looking dirty enough to have filled in the tunnel, I didn’t care how they did it. I’m sure they will have as much fun throwing dirt on each other as they had digging the tunnel.
I walked out into the courtyard and headed for the front wall ladder. I could see Charlie sitting out in front of the sleeping quarters. I could feel his gaze on my back. I wondered what was going through his mind. Was he wondering what to do next, or was he just annoyed because I was becoming a pain in his side.
I climbed the ladder to join Ed.
Ed was sitting on the wall staring out into space, his mind seemed to be preoccupied. He still hadn’t cleaned himself up and he smelled worse than I remembered. I wasn’t a psychiatrist, but based on my limited experience in that field, I would say that Ed was having a nervous breakdown. If anyone would have observed me the weeks following Nicole and Sandy’s deaths, they would have probably come to the same conclusion
about me.
“Hey Ed,” I said. “Have you seen any movement out there this morning?”
“Oh, Hi Tom,” Ed replied. “I don’t think so, but my mind has been wandering and I guess I haven’t been watching for anything very closely.”
“You want to talk about it?” I asked.
“No, but I just want you to know that I can’t go with you when you leave,” Ed replied. “I really would like to go, but I can’t, I need to stay here for Cheryl.”
“You don’t have to explain,” I said. “You need to do what you feel is best for you. If you feel deep down that Cheryl is going to come back to you, I would never try to talk you into leaving. For your sake, I just hope your right.”
“You said that I needed to do what I feel is right, and this is what I feel I have to do,” Ed replied. “I just have to stay here. Maybe the next time you stop here at the fort, Cheryl and I can both go with you.”
“That’s fine, Ed,” I said. “I have always believed a man has to do what a man has to do. But in the meantime, I could use your help to keep us all alive until I leave. I just need you to keep your eyes open.”
“Thanks, Tom,” Ed replied. “I knew you would understand. I’ll try not to let you down.”
“Good,” Keep your eyes open while I go over and see how Bill is doing,” I said. “If you see anything, come and get me, don’t shout and give us away, OK?”
“I won’t make that mistake again,” Ed grinned.
I started to climb down the ladder but stopped when I heard Ed calling out my name.
“Tom, I see something,” Ed whispered.
Imagining some strange shadow or a deer sticking its head out of the brush, the normal Ed sightings, I replied, “What do you see?”
“You better look at this,” Ed said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I don’t know what it is.”
“Well, this should be good,” I smiled to myself as I turned to see Ed kneeling on the platform, staring out over the wall.
I knelt next to him and asked, “Where?”
Ed stretched out his arm and pointed to the far corner of the field, “Something strange is happening down near the edge of the field.”
I looked out to where Ed was pointing. It looked like the entire edge of the field was moving, like heat waves rising up off the surface of a hot road in the middle of the summer. I studied the unusual motion for a few minutes, then it hit me. I knew what it was.
“What is that?” Ed asked.
“It’s a wave of bodies coming out of the woods and they are crossing the far corner of the field,” I whispered.
“How many do you think are out there?” Ed asked.
“More than you can count, I’m sure,” I replied. “Just stay down and be quiet, I need to go tell the others.”
I turned and ran down the ladder, then darted across the courtyard towards Bill. Bill was the person next most likely to get us in trouble, so I wanted to tell him to stay down before I went looking for Charlie.
The horde of the dead crossing the far corner of the field, based on the angle of their movement, shouldn’t come anywhere near the fort. But I also knew that it wouldn’t take much to get them to change directions. It was fortunate that it appeared they would not get any closer to the fort, and it was my hope to keep it that way.
When I reached the ladder for the back wall, Bill was looking down, waving and trying to get my attention.
“Tom, there is something serious going on out back,” Bill whispered.
I ran up the ladder. Bill got down and crawled on his hands and knees over to the wall, I did the same.
“There,” Bill pointed out over the wall. “Look at the far right tree line, there is something moving around among the trees.”
We watched the shadows flicker back inside the tree line for a few minutes, then the movement began to emerge out into the clearing.
“How many do you think are out there?” Bill asked.
“Enough to make me start to feel uncomfortable,” I replied. “Keep an eye on them, I need to go tell everyone else to stay quiet until we can determine where they are going. Ed spotted a huge herd of the dead out in the far left corner of the field too.”
“They don’t appear to be coming towards the fort,” Bill said. “Maybe they won’t see us. Where do you think they are coming from?”
“They haven’t seen us yet, but there could still be more following them,” I replied. “I think they are coming from the interstate. When Ed and I were down at the interstate, something was blocking the interstate and the dead were being forced off the sides of the road. Once off the interstate, they still kept moving but they didn’t seem to know where to go next, so they appeared to be spreading out in a dozen different directions. I think we are seeing two of those groups now and hopefully they will just pass us by if we don’t do anything dumb. But I’m afraid one of the other groups could end up coming directly towards the fort and find us here. If we are spotted, it could end up attracting everything around us to the fort. Keep an eye on them while I go tell the others, let me know if you see anything change.”
“I will,” Bill replied. “Hurry back, I don’t want to be up here by myself too long.”
“Just stay out of sight,” I said and moved to the ladder.
I stepped down the ladder, then told Bear to come as I headed towards the sleeping quarters where I had seen Charlie sitting out earlier.
Charlie was still sitting on his chair when I reached the sleeping quarters.
“Charlie, I need you to have everyone get inside, then I need you to come with me,” I said.
“Why?” Charlie asked.
“There are some things going on outside the fort that you need to see,” I replied. “You need to see this, then we need to talk.”
Charlie nodded, then waved for two of the other men to come over. After giving them instructions, he got up and walked over to me, “OK, what do you want to show me?”
“Let’s go up on the wall,” I said.
Charlie and I walked over to the ladder on the back wall, then we crawled up to join Bill.
“Has anything changed?” I asked Bill when we reached the platform.
“No, but it has been a steady flow of bodies along the woods line ever since you left,” Bill replied.
“It looks like they will just pass us by,” Charlie said. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“I was over at Ed’s post on the front wall before I came over here,” I said. “There is a group ten times the size of this group crossing the far corner of the field out front.”
“Do you think they are coming from down on the interstate where you said you saw something blocking the highway?” Charlie asked.
“That’s what I believe,” I replied.
“There does appear to be a lot of them, more than I can honestly say I’ve ever seen at one time before, but the way they are going, I think as long as we hunker down and be quiet while they are out there, we don’t need to be concerned.”
“What concerns me is that I believe before long another group is going to come across the field directly towards the fort, then all hell could break loose,” I said. “Even a small group coming up to the fort could spell disaster.”
“It’s a serious matter, but as long as we’re quiet, I don’t see any reason to be concerned,” Charlie replied. “Even if a large group happens to come by the fort, we just stay inside and be quiet until they go away, like we have always done.”
“Charlie, if one of those dead bastards senses that there are living people inside the fort and it starts moaning and banging against the walls, every zombie within hearing distance will come running. I often wondered if the dead know that the other dead around them are there,” I said. “Most of my observations seem to indicate that either they don’t know the others are there or they just don’t care. I can’t honestly say, but there is one thing I am certain of, when one of them sees a living person and they start that damn e
erie moaning, the rest seem to understand what that means, and they all come running. I believe those damn things can communicate with each other to a certain degree. Once one of them knows we are here, so will all the others. If all the dead that we can see suddenly become aware that we are here, and if they all come running, they will overrun this place in less than an hour. Who knows how many more of them are out there that we can’t see yet? This place could end up being overrun in half that time.”
“We have the dead showing up at the fort every day,” Charlie replied. “This is no different.”
“But you’ve never had more than three show up at any one time before,” I said. “With only that many you can either ride it out or if they don’t go away, you can drop a rock on their heads to solve the problem. Trust me, with this many of the dead, it’s an entirely different problem that you’ll be facing.”
“One, three or five hundred, it’s all the same, we are in here and they are out there,” Charlie replied. “They won’t be able to get through these walls and they will eventually go away.”
I took a deep breath and looked at Charlie.
“Let me tell you a story about what I saw, probably about a month after Lexington was overrun and I had to leave my home. Maybe after you hear about what I had witnessed, it will help you understand,” I said.
Charlie nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t buying the idea that the fort was in any danger, no matter how many of the dead would be outside these walls. Since none of the dead had ever managed to get into the fort in the last year, he firmly believed that the dead could not get in. But there was a big difference between being attacked by three of the dead at one time, and a thousand of the dead. I needed for him to understand that difference.
“When I left Lexington, I was lucky that I had one of the water company’s truck to use to outrun the dead, or to run down small groups to help me get out of town. After a few days, when the truck was too battered to run any longer and I had run out of gas, I had to set out on foot. At first, I tried to stay close to Lexington, feeling that after this madness had ended that I would go back home. So instead of just running for the mountains at that time, I wandered around from small town to town hoping to find someone that could help me.
