Dead Life (Book 5)

by D. Harrison Schleicher

  Copyright 2015 D Harrison Schleicher

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed upon the subsequent purchaser.

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters and events, unless those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, without the express written consent of the individual, is purely coincidental.

  There, I think that covers it.

  I would hope so.

  Just get on with it.

  Mind your own business.

  Alright then here we go.

  Chapter 1

  I found it hard to believe Rick was dead. Life was something I'd come to take for granted before all this had happened. Now death surrounded us every day. So many have died in the past few days. Adam sacrificed himself so that the rest of us could make it out of the grocery store alive. Rita, too weak to make it in this world, was snatched by the undead right from under our noses. Gina's father Pete, killed by a band of murdering rapists. I didn't even know if my son was still alive. The last I had heard from him he was going to try and make it to Fort Leonard Wood. That had been days ago. Since then I hadn't been able to reach him on the satellite phone he had sent me before all this started. In all honesty I hardly ever even tried the damn thing anymore. Now was as good a time as any. I pulled the truck over to the side of the road and motioned for Al to pull up beside of me.

  “What's going on?” Al asked.

  “I'm going to try and use the sat phone.”

  “We should keep moving. It's going to be dark soon. You can try and reach Tim then.”

  “I haven't had much luck at night. I thought I'd give it a shot now, before it gets dark.”

  “I don't think it matters when you use it.”

  Gina leaned forward in her seat. “Leave him alone Al. This will only take a minute.”

  “I just don't want us getting caught out here after dark. Cindy's still not feeling too good. I don't want her spending the night in this truck.”

  “Leave him be Al,” Cindy shouted from the back seat. “I'm fine. Steve go ahead and call your son. We haven't heard from him in days.”

  I got the sat phone out and dialed Tim's number. As usual there was no answer. I tried a few more times and got the same result. As I was putting the phone away it rang back. I answered expecting it to be Tim but when I looked at the caller ID the number was blocked. I held the phone to my ear and listened. All I heard from the other end was someone breathing into the receiver. After almost a full minute of silence I was about to hang up when whoever was doing the heavy breathing finally said something.

  “With whom am I speaking?”

  “It's me. Who is this?” I asked.

  “I don't have time for games. This is General Simmons, Pentagon liaison officer to the NSA. Now would you be so kind as to tell me with whom I am speaking?”

  Al sat in the truck looking at me with a questioning look on his face. I waved him over.

  “I don't believe you. Why would a General be calling my cell phone?”

  “I told you before I don't have time for games. The satellite phone you're using is the property of the United States government. It was stolen from NSA headquarters over a week ago. We have reason to believe Captain Tim Downs took this phone and another right before the Z1 virus outbreak. None of that matters though. We're trying to locate Captain Downs. From your location in Central Missouri I'm assuming you're his father. Is that correct?”

  By now Al was standing on the running board of the U-Haul and had heard most of what the General had said. He looked at me and shook his head no.

  “I don't know any Captain Downey. That is pretty impressive though, we are in Central Missouri. You have me at a disadvantage. May I ask where are you calling from sir?”

  “I don't see the significance of that information.”

  “Maybe it doesn't seem important to you but it means a hell of a lot to me.”

  “I'm on board The Battleship Longfield fifty miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Are you satisfied?”

  “I guess so. Look General I found this phone a few days ago. If it will make you happy I won't use it again. Okay?”

  “You were just trying to call the number of the other stolen sat phone. I need to speak with Captain Downs. Can you help me?”

  “I think you should hang up,” Al said.

  “Yes General I think I can help you,” I said. To this Al gave me a shocked look. “You obviously have Captain Downey's number General. Try calling him instead of me.” With that I hung the phone up.

  Al looked at me and burst out laughing. I did the only thing I could at that point. I joined him.

  “Tim doesn't trust that fucker at all,” I said.

  “You should take the battery out of the phone,” Al said. “We don't need him using it to track us down.”

  “I'm going to try Tim one more time.”

  “Be careful what you say. They're probably listening.”

  “You're probably right,” I said as I dialed the number.

  The phone rang four times and Tim actually answered this time. “You need to quit calling this number. I don't know you.”

  “I don't know you either. We're still going to the same place.”

  “So are we. Good luck whoever you are and don't call me again.”

  I started to hang up then heard a voice from the phone. “Are you still there?” Tim said.

  “Yeah, I’m still here.”

  “The next time I call you it will be around your bedtime.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” I said. “Hey, by the way. If you know a guy named Captain Downs tell him General Simmons is looking for him.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  With that I hung the phone up and removed the battery from the back. Even though we hadn't been able to have a real conversation it was good to know my son was still alive. “Do you think that General will try and find us?”

  “He was on a battleship, right?”

  “That's what he said.”

  “If he wanted to he could have a couple of choppers here in less than an hour,” Al said. “We need to move. What was all that about calling at bedtime?”

  “After Tim’s Mom and I got divorced he used to call me in the morning before I went to bed for the day. It was the best time for us to talk. Right before he went to school every day he would call me.”

  “That’s not going to stop them from listening in to your conversations you know,” Al said as he walked away.

  “Fuck him. Let him listen,” I said to Al’s back.

  Al pulled out and I followed him. I doubted the General would bother with us but Al was probably right, it was better to be safe than sorry. We hadn't gone far before Al pulled onto a gravel road that headed off into a heavily wooded area. Gina still seemed to be pretty shell shocked from the day’s events. I felt bad for her but just couldn't find the right words. In less than twelve hours she had witnessed the execution of her father, been attacked by our friend Rick after he was infected by the undead, and then she had to shoot Rick in the head to put him down. Not your typical day at the office. Still I couldn't help but feel this was just another day in our thoroughly fucked-up lives. I've changed so much in the past few weeks I don't even know who I am anymore. I drove along trying to think of how many people I had killed since this all started. There was no way to count the zombies I had given the final death to. It seemed like it was all blurring together, rapists,
kidnappers, and murderers. Was this all that was left for us? Kill a shit-load of zombies then fight our way through the left over dregs of humanity. There had to be something better than this, otherwise it didn't seem like it was worth going on.

  Al had his own problems to deal with. From what I could tell Cindy hadn't been raped by her kidnappers but from the way she was acting something more than she was letting on had happened to her. With all the sleeping she had done today I was afraid she might be going into shock. Then she yelled at Al from the back of the truck. I was going to take that as a good sign. Even though I was sure Al was upset about everything that we had been through he didn't seem to be any worse for the wear. The only difference I'd noticed in him was that he didn't seem to be swerving out of his way to run down the zombies as we passed them anymore. I assumed he was giving Cindy a chance to get some rest. When we stopped the four of us would have to sit down and have a long talk. We needed to get to Fort Leonard Wood as fast as possible. Hopefully we could get some rest there. Life on the road was getting old fast.

  The gravel road we were on started down a hill and after a while we came to a low water bridge. Al pulled past the creek and stopped. I pulled up behind him as he got out of the truck and walked back to the U-Haul.

  “We need to clean the back of the truck out,” he said.

  We hadn't had time to clean Rick's blood, from when he'd chewed his arm off, out of the back of the truck yet. “Shit, I forgot all about that.”

  “That's why I'm here. You need lots of supervision.”

  Gina got out of the truck and walked over to Al. “How's Cindy?”

  “Better. Do me a favor. She needs to find a tree. Will you go with her?”

  “Yeah, I need to go too.”

  I tossed a roll of toilet paper down to Gina and she went off to get Cindy. “Has she told you what happened back there?” I asked Al.

  “She says nothing. I don't believe her though. I think she probably got groped by that sick fuck. I hope that's all anyway. They got off too easy.”

  I watched the girls walk off into the woods together. “At least they're dead.”

  “They should have got worse than just dead.”

  “I understand how you feel Al. At least they won't be bothering anybody else.”

  We got to the back of the truck and I pulled the lift gate up. The mess wasn't as bad as I remembered it. Zombies don't bleed like living people. They just sort of ooze. There was only one puddle of blood that ran to the back of the truck and under the gate. I got a bucket from the truck and filled it from the creek. When I got back to the truck Al had the bleach and a pair of Rick's pants. We used the pants to scrub up the mess. I felt kind of bad using Rick's pants to clean up his blood but I guess he wouldn't be needing them anymore. Al got a few beers out of the truck and we popped them open.

  “Did they take a radio with them?” Al asked.

  “I don't know.”

  “They've been gone too long.”

  We dropped the beers and ran into the woods where the girls had gone in. Al called out Cindy's name and we heard Gina answer. “Over here.” We ran over the next ridge and found them. The front of Cindy's shirt and pants was covered in the black blood of the three zombies that lay at her feet.

  Al ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. He looked her up and down. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah I'm fine,” she said, like nothing was wrong.

  “You aren't bit or scratched?” he asked, giving Gina a dirty look.

  “Don't look at me like that old man,” Gina said with a smile on her face. “They came up on us when we were peeing. Cindy wanted to take them on alone, so I let her.”

  “What the fuck is wrong with you two?” he shouted. “Hon, you could have been...”

  Cindy cut Al off. “You all think I'm totally useless. You treated Rick like that and look what happened to him. I can take care of myself.”

  “I don't treat you like that,” Al protested.

  “You kind of do,” Gina said.

  “That's bullshit,” Al said, turning on Gina. “I don't care what the situation is. If you don't have to take on a bunch of zombies by yourself you don't.”

  “She did fine. I had my gun on them the entire time,” Gina said, stepping up and getting in Al's face.

  “That's enough,” I said. “Gina back off. Al you need to settle down.”

  Al turned and stormed off. “He's right,” I said. “There's too much at stake here. I understand how you feel Cindy. We sometimes do treat you differently. You're good with a gun but when it comes to hand to hand fighting you have a ways to go. We both do. After what happened to Rick I would think you two would be more careful.”

  Gina started to say something when we heard a commotion off in the direction Al had gone. I ran as fast as I could toward the sound of what I assumed was Al fighting for his life. When I crested the ridge we had crossed earlier I saw him lying on the ground.

  “Are you alright?” I yelled as I approached Al with my sword drawn. He was lying on his back staring up at something in the trees above him.

  “I'm fine.”

  “What's up there?” I said, looking up.

  “Nothing. I fell, okay?”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Just my pride.” He started to try and stand. “Little help?”

  I gave him my hand and helped pull him to his feet. By now the girls were standing beside me.

  “What happened?” Cindy asked.

  “I slipped on some leaves and slid down the hill.”

  Cindy put her arm around Al to help him stand. “Is your back okay?”

  Before I could say anything Al looked at me and said, “I have back problems sometimes.” Then he said to Cindy, “I think I might have slipped something out of place.”

  “Let's get back to the truck I'll rub some liniment on it for you.”

  The two started off through the woods. “I don't see where he slid down the hill,” Gina said.

  I looked back up the hill. She was right. All I could see was where the leaves looked to have been disturbed where he had been lying. “He was here on his back when I found him.”

  “Do you think he really fell?”

  “Not my problem,” I said. “As long as he's okay that's all I care about.”

  “I don't think he fell,” Gina said and started off.

  I looked around again and shrugged my shoulders. “Wait for me,” I said, running to catch Gina.

  We got back and Al was standing at the back of the U-Haul. As I walked past I saw Cindy standing in the back changing her clothes. I quickly turned my head the other way but not before seeing her in only her panties and bra.

  “Did you get a good look?” Al asked.

  I could feel my face turning red as Gina burst out laughing. “I didn't see anything.”

  “Oh your ass,” Gina said. “I'm sorry Cindy. He can’t help himself. He was born with that creeper blood in him. It’s a family problem I think.”

  “Goddammit. I had no idea she was in there.”

  “Why did you think I was standing here, for my health?” Al asked.

  “I never even gave it a second thought.”

  “Steve, don't let them get to you,” Cindy said, coming out of the back of the truck. “They're just giving you a hard time. Besides it's nothing you haven't seen before.”

  “Well I'm sorry. After the day you've had the last thing you need is me seeing you naked.”

  “I wasn't naked.”

  “In his sick, twisted mind you were,” Al said.

  This got Gina laughing again.

  “I hope you're all happy,” I said. “Are we going to spend the night here?”

  “Changing the subject, good tactic,” Gina said.

  “Let's take the trucks up to some higher ground,” Al said. “If it rains this creek could overflow its banks.”

  “Do you think it might rain?”

  “I don't know Steve. I'll check on the radio for the weather,
” Al said.

  This brought another round of laughter from Gina and Cindy.

  “Yeah, I'll see if I can get a forecast too,” I said.

  The laughing stopped and they all just stared at me. Al just shook his head and got in the truck. I climbed into the cab of the U-Haul and waited for Gina. I knew they were kidding me but it pissed me off. The way Gina and Al could be at each other’s throats one minute, then the next they're the best of friends. Laughing their asses off at something. Usually at my expense. Gina got in the truck and sat staring straight ahead. After she couldn't take it any longer she looked over and burst out laughing again.

  “You two are a couple of cards. You know it?”

  “Just letting off a little steam. Don't take it to heart.”

  I started the U-Haul and followed Al up the hill. Gina was right. We all dealt with the stress of this hell we now lived in pretty much the same way. We gave each other a hard time and tried to laugh as much as possible. I just hoped Al and Cindy didn't really think I was really trying to sneak a peek.

  After about a half an hour the road dead ended. I was hoping to find a cabin or house to spend the night in but we were probably safer sleeping in the trucks anyway. I got the Coleman Stove out of the back of the truck and got it set up. Nobody felt like cooking, or cleaning up, so we decided to have some of the MRE's. They weren't very tasty but at least it was something hot. Gina got our sleeping bags and zipped them together. We would sleep in the U-Haul and Al and Cindy would take the truck. Al seemed to have staked a claim to our new truck. Which was fine with me. After a few days we would probably get tired of sleeping in the cab and start sleeping in the back of the U-Haul anyway. It was just too soon after Rick had died back there. I didn't feel comfortable when I was in the box of the truck yet and Gina made it very clear that she wasn't spending the night in there.

  We sat around outside for a while but after it got dark the temperature started dropping pretty quick. Building a fire out in the open was out of the question. It was obvious that the zombies had an advanced sense of smell. I wasn't sure if they could see too well with their eyes as clouded over as they were and it seemed to me that they could hear at least as well as we did. Every time we fired off a gun it seemed like we drew a crowd. So we sat around for a while freezing our asses off until Cindy couldn't take it anymore and decided to go to bed. Gina said she had enough too and headed for the truck. Al and I sat there for a few minutes not talking when he got up and went to the truck without saying anything.