Kayla nodded. “It’s about 800 miles through the mountains, on the other side of the Gates.”
Jake and I looked at each other. We were going to cross the barrier our father had put in place to keep the rest of the country safe from potentially millions of zombies, travel deep into that territory to figure out why the hell people kept leaving a certain place, then get out alive again.
“What the hell,” I said. “It’s what we do.”
Chapter 19
It took the following morning and some of the afternoon to get to the Gates. We bypassed the town of Riverton, and in the early evening found ourselves staring at one of the gates left behind by our fathers so many years ago.
We were standing on Route 26, just outside the Wind River Reservation. A gravel pile started on the south side of the road, joining a natural hill that grew next to the passage. The gravel flowed across the road and covered a house that was parked next to it. Beyond the house the gravel hill extended north to the next hill, and beyond. Topping the hill of gravel was a fence made out of pillars of old tires, with concrete poured into the center. Each pillar was about fifteen tires tall, and we couldn’t see over the top.
Jake drove the van down the driveway to the house and parked in front of the garage.
“It’s getting dark, and I’d rather be on this side come morning than on that side overnight. Anybody got a problem?” he asked.
None of us could fault his logic, so we decided to explore a bit before heading to bed. Julia and I got out and stretched, and after telling Jake and Kayla we were going to explore the south end, we were told they were going to explore the north end and the house itself.
Fair enough. Julia and I walked slowly out to the road again, enjoying the late evening and the long shadows cast by the mountains. The sun was already going down; back home we would still have a couple hours left of evening before it got dark.
“Look at this,” Julia said, sweeping her hand over the gravel dike. “Dad said it took them a month to seal off the mountains. And they made gates like this one wherever they could.”
I looked at the top of the pile with the tires. “My dad never really talked about it, and Jake and I were too young to remember it. Why did they use the houses?”
Julia laughed. “They were already there, and they didn’t have to think of a way to make a tunnel. The gates were supposed to be easy enough for someone to use from the other side, someone escaping the carnage of the West Coast. Dad said sometimes things went wrong, and a gate was left open. That was the cause of the Second Outbreak.”
I nodded. “I remember that one. Uncle Duncan and Tommy went to deal with it. Dad was beside himself having to stay home.”
Julia laughed. “My dad was, too. Mom said he was like a bear with a mouthful of sore teeth.”
I grinned at the image, then swept Julia up in a bear-like hug. She smiled and wrapped her legs around me while we kissed in the mountains. When we came up for air, I held her tight and whispered. “Do you know what I want to do now?”
Julia giggled. “Here?”
“Yep. Right here. I want to see over the fence.”
“Ooo! You! Ooo!” Julia unfastened herself and smacked me on the arm a few times. She smiled while she did it, so I knew she got the joke. Besides, there was always later for the other stuff.
We slowly made our way up the gravel and stopped at the foot of the tires. Around the base I could see where the concrete had seeped into the gravel, making the fence that much stronger. I also noticed that the tires were not connected to each other. That made sense. When dealing with zombies, if they made an opening, they would follow the leader, rather than trying to make a bigger opening. By not giving the zombies a chance to tear down the fence as a whole, the breach could be contained as a trickle of ghouls, not a flood.
“Will you give me a boost?” Julia asked.
I nodded and clasped my hands, hoisting her up so she could just see over the top. I held her there for a minute then asked, “Anything interesting?”
“Um, Aaron? You might want to see this,” came the cryptic reply.
I set Julia down and looked at her quizzically. She just shook her head and pointed to the fence. Since there was no way she could boost me, I was going to have to do it the hard way. Even though I was over six feet tall, and my arms gave me another two feet on my vertical reach, I still had to jump to grasp the top of the tires. I kicked off my left side and swung my right leg up, pulling myself up in the process. My right foot caught on top of the fence and held me steady as I looked over to see what Julia was talking about.
“Holy cow,” I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. On the other side of the fence, spreading out from fence was a pile of skeletons and bodies. Human bones mixed with animal bones showed that the fence not only kept the zombies out, but it also kept fleeing animals in. As I looked over the terrain, I swore I could see some slight movement here and there, but that may have been a trick of the waning light.
I dropped down beside Julia, and a small avalanche of gravel skittered down the slope. I winced slightly at the sound, and then froze. Julia and I looked at each other as a clicking sound drifted through the cracks in the wall, following us as we quietly made our way down the hill. There was something on the other side, and we had a feeling we knew what it was. But tonight was not the night to find out.
We went back to the house and van, waiting for Jake and Kayla to return. I smiled when I looked at the garage door which served as the gate on this side of the house. Two holes had been cut in the door, one about five feet high and the other about three feet high. Faded spray-painted lettering in between the holes gave very clear instructions. ‘LOOK BEFORE OPENING!’ I pointed the sign out to Julia, who squinted and then laughed.
“Oh my God. That’s my father’s handwriting! That’s too funny.” Julia looked at it again and grew quiet, hugging herself. I pulled her in close, and she pressed herself tightly against me.
“I sometimes wish they were here, Aaron. Do you?” Julia asked.
“Sometimes. But this was our trip to make. They did their duty, enough times for ten people. They lost friends and loved ones. So I get them staying behind. But, yes, it would be nice to have them as backup.” I hugged Julia. “I especially would have loved to have seen the look on that fake Jake if Dad had been there to confront him.”
Julia giggled. “That would have been priceless. What was that whole episode about, anyway?”
I shrugged. “Beats me, it all just seems like a weird story that no one is going to believe, anyway.”
Julia’s hands moved slightly. “How much longer do you think Jake and Kayla will be gone?”
I chuckled. “With my luck, not ever long enough.”
“What’s not long enough, Aaron?” Jake said suddenly out of the growing darkness.
Julia grinned up at me. “Your speeches telling me how much you love me, Aaron.”
I laughed. “I hate poetry.”
Jake and Kayla looked at us like we were nuts, which made both Julia and I laugh harder.
“What did you find out, Jake?”
“Not much. The house seems pretty solidly built, and the gravel seems to be acting like a kind of shield against the elements. Chances are pretty good we’ll get through without a problem. There’s a pump well out back, the water seems okay if we clear the line first. What did you guys see?”
I shook my head. “We looked over the wall, and there’s something on the other side. When we head through, we’d better be ready for anything. Something also is tapping on our doorstep, too. Listen.”
We all got quiet, and in the silence, in between the small noises the breeze made shifting the grass and dust, we could hear the same clicking Julia and I heard earlier.
Kayla summed it up succinctly. “Creepy.”
Jake nodded agreement. “Sounds like it might be a zombie kid over there.”
“You know what that means,” I said.
“Yeah. Where there’
s one, there’s always another.”
“Well, let’s get our stuff sorted out and packed, and get ready for whatever tomorrow.” Jake suggested.
We spent the next hour going through the supplies we had brought with us, and the supplies we had purchased at the last town. I emptied my pack and re-packed it, replacing the water and checking the gear for any wear that might give way at the wrong time. Once the pack was satisfactory, I went through my weapons, cleaning my pistol and making sure the magazines were loaded. The knives and tomahawk were cleaned and sharpened, and the sword was cleaned last. Just in case, I went outside and squirted a little kerosene into the scabbards and fired them, taking some relief that the brief flames were not red. Jake and Kayla and Julia noted what I had done and followed suit. We were a little surprised that Kayla’s knife and sheath burned red, indicating a presence of the virus.
“Won’t be using that one to cut the bread anymore,” Kayla joked.
“Any more?” I asked, startled.
Kayla winked. “Gotcha.”
Once everyone had settled in for the night, Julia whispered in my ear.
“Why are we going there, Aaron? And don’t say because it’s what we do. That’s not good enough.”
I thought for a moment. “Those people died running away from something. They died trying to warn us, anyone, about where they were from. Something is going on at those coordinates. Something someone is willing to kill to protect. Think about it. Someone is willing to not only follow those who ran and kill them, but also cross back into dangerous territory and return to wherever they came from. Not once, even, but several times. That borders on fanaticism, and that’s a dangerous thing to have in the middle of the zombie zone.”
Julia thought about that for a minute, and I could see she was mulling it over. I decided to finish my thought.
“I can’t see those people with the coordinates as being anything other than a warning, and if there is a genuine threat, we should deal with it. We’re likely the best equipped to do so. If it’s nothing more than a bunch of kooks running around with twigs in their hair, we’ll kick the headman’s ass for wasting our time, shoot the murderer, and be on our way,” I said with finality.
Julia giggled, then settled in to sleep. I figured I had finally satisfied her curiosity.
Chapter 20
In the morning, I went over to the garage door and looked carefully in the windows cut by my uncle. I knew if I didn’t and something happened, I’d hear about it forever. Sign not big enough for you, Aaron? Uncle Charlie was not very tolerant of fools or foolish acts.
Not seeing anything, I still drew my pistol, and with my free hand, turned the lock and pulled up the door. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but seeing an entire house turned into a tunnel wasn’t one of them. As I passed under the garage door, familiar lettering looked down at me. CLOSE AND LOCK THE DOOR AFTER YOU PASS! Right. Guess that worked for both directions.
The house had been gutted and reinforced, keeping the gravel from collapsing the roof. I walked in front of the van after I closed the garage door behind it. We passed a section that was nothing but shelves. Supplies were scattered around with a small, neatly lettered sign: “Please take what you need, and replace what you can. If you don’t need something, leave it here for someone else.” I had a sneaking suspicion Uncle Charlie hadn’t written that particular sign.
On the other side of the house another garage door was waiting. This one didn’t look as professionally installed as the other one, since it likely wasn’t supposed to be here when the house was first built. But I wasn’t going to argue the point, and I took the time to seriously look through the openings for any activity. I didn’t see any, so I cranked the handle, unlocked the door, and hoisted it up.
I was less shocked than I suppose I could have been, remembering what I had seen the night before. Strewn all around me were dozens of skeletons and corpses working on becoming skeletons. The carnage spread out over what once was the back yard of the house and up the hill towards the road. I looked back at the van and saw Jake and Kayla taking in the mess. I hoped this wasn’t a sign of things to come.
I waited for the van to clear the garage door, and I swung it back down, locking it in place. No Charlie lecture for me, I figured. I turned back towards the van just as a zombie came around the corner of the house. My gun was already holstered, and I acted more on reflex than any thought.
“Damn!” I yelled, ducking under the outstretched arms and leaping away to give myself some room. The zombie turned and lurched after me, one foot grinding on the gravel behind the house. His skin was dark grey, and his eyes were extremely cloudy. If this wasn’t an original zombie, it was pretty darn close to one. His skin was torn and loose, and his hands were mostly claws of bone and skin. His mouth opened, and black teeth peeked through holes in his cheeks and lips.
I flipped out my ‘hawk, and using my longer reach, backhanded the spike end into the side of his head. There was a crack, and the zombie fell to the ground, his eyes rolling up as if to see the piece of metal jammed in behind them.
I pulled out my tomahawk just in time to see the van door open. “
“You okay, Aaron?” Julia asked.
“Yeah, just surprised me. Should have been ready, though, given what’s around us,” I said, wiping off my axe.
“Aaron!” Jake yelled suddenly.
I jumped forward, then spun around looking for threats. Not seeing any, I turned back to the van. “What the hell?”
“This side, please!” Jake said.
“Close the door, Julia,” I said, putting my ‘hawk back in its sheath and drawing my falchion. I could use my gun, but since ammo was limited these days, we were just going to use it for emergencies.
I stepped around the van and shook my head. Three of the corpses that Julia and I had seen the other night had decided to get up again this morning. If I had to guess, I’d say they had somehow figured out that this gate was a food source, and they were patiently waiting for some idiots to come through to give them a snack. Like now.
The three of them moved in unison towards the van, shuffling through the scattered bones of their previous victims. Up on the slope a small zombie twisted and struggled with the gravel, having managed to bury itself up to its waist in the shale. It was only a matter of time before the little zombie tore its torso away from its legs and crawled away looking for victims.
I moved towards the first zombie, and without so much as a good morning, I cleaved its head in two. As the zombie fell I kicked it off my sword, knocking it into the legs of the second zombie, which fell as the really dead weight bowled its legs over. I planted a foot on its chest as I stepped over it and stabbed down with my blade. The point sunk easily into its forehead, killing it quickly. The third, formerly a teenage girl, twisted her head at me and snapped her jaws. I took that as an open invitation to play, and sweeping the sword up I took her under the armpit and removed her head along with her arm and neck. When her parts landed in two places, the one with the head came clawing back, and I drove my point home into the back of her head.
Wiping off the goo of zombie combat, I looked up at the struggling zombie and then at the gravel pile. I shook my head as I went back to the van.
“Can’t get her without getting stuck, and I don’t want to take a shot and wake up the whole mountain range,” I said as I burned my blade and wiped it off again before replacing it in its sheath.
“I got this one,” Jake said. He stepped out of the van and reached behind his seat. Pulling out his bow he nocked an arrow, and with a quick draw he let fly, hitting the zombie square in the head. The child slumped over, her struggles finished.
Jake put the bow back. “She can keep the arrow,” he said.
“Watch it!” I said, shoving Jake out of the way. I knelt and swung hard, punching a little boy zombie in the forehead, flipping his feet up from under him, and sending him tumbling backwards. He scrambled to his feet and launched himself at me, his eyes fix
ated on his target, arms held out to grab.
He never got the chance. My falchion sang as I whipped it out of its sheath and sliced a silvery arc through the air. The meaty crunch of metal hitting flesh and bone gave way to a higher pitched ping as the blade cut through the little body and freed itself. The body of the boy took a step forward purely out of momentum, and landed at the feet of Jake. The head went the opposite direction and bounced back to the base of the gravel pile. I walked over to it and saw it watching me as I approached. The little mouth opened once and then went still as I stabbed deep into his temple.
Walking back to the van, I caught Jake shaking his head.
“We forgot they always come in pairs or more,” he said, more to himself than me.
“It’s dead. Forget about it,” I said, wiping and burning my sword.
Jake looked at the mountains ahead of us. “Got a creepy feeling, brother. Can’t explain, just creepy.”
I looked at Jake. “Remember your training, remember what dad taught us. We just crossed the border into enemy territory. They own this land. We can get in and get out alive, but we have to do it right. We survived Chicago, so this can’t be much different.” I looked around. “Hell, just pretend the mountains are buildings, and we’re practically there.”
“All right then. Let’s get going.”
Chapter 21
I climbed into the van with a calm I didn’t feel on the inside. Jake’s feelings were usually spot on, so I wondered what was waiting for us in Enterprise.
We drove on carefully, trying to get as much speed as we could without tearing up the van. The roads were in decent shape, but there were some washouts that required navigation. Fortunately, we were well equipped for this sort of thing, having our fathers as guides for preparedness. On top of the van were two long metal runners that we used as bridges to get past any part of the road that needed some help. It took a while, but it was safer than bottoming out the van and walking the rest of the way.
Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates Page 8
