Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 01

by Outbreak

  The boys quickly retreated under the fury in Alex's eyes, the tears flowing freely down their cheeks.

  -----

  The rescue party returned with three survivors and one corpse. The bullet had torn a softball sized hole in the man's back, tearing out muscle, bone and part of the man's lung on its destructive path through him. The three survivors had told Dr. Cahn that he had died shortly after they had pulled him into the cover of a stand of trees. His suffering ended quickly, they said.

  The incident was not a complete shambles. It turns out that the three survivors were actually Alex's relatives, his brother- and sister-in-laws, Hayden and Theresa, and his nephew, Bob who Morgan had called so many days ago. Their journey to the farm had taken them so long because of their decision to completely bypass the Dallas-Fort Worth area all together. The back roads that they had traveled were only slightly less congested and dangerous, but they had managed to make it this far. The gentleman who had been killed was a stranger that they had picked up along the way, someone who was following them like a lost dog more than being invited to tag along.

  "The world is coming apart around us," Hayden said as his mother, Paula, rained hugs and kisses on them. "Mom, stop," he said as he tried to pull himself away from her ministrations.

  "I can't believe you made it here," Morgan said holding her five year old nephew and hugging him tightly.

  Alex had made his greetings earlier and now sat away from everyone quietly keeping to himself. The Cahn brothers had nearly killed someone from his family and he wanted their heads for their stupidity. But he knew that he had to be fair and keep the best interests of the group in mind. The punishment needed to be firm and fair, but at the same time they could not afford to remove anyone who could be useful in defending the farmhouse. Alex knew that anything he decided upon, there was going to be some anger and outrage, possibly a lot of resistance. Bur there had to be discipline, and the consequences had to be severe enough to dissuade any further instances.

  "We need to deal with the issues at hand," Alex said interrupting the celebrations. He stepped forward from where he had been standing. "You boys," he said indicating the Cahn brothers, "come with me." Alex walked out of the farmhouse into the main open area. He headed straight for an telephone phone that used to feed electricity to the house standing in the middle of the yard. When he reached it, Alex turned to address everyone who had followed him.

  "We can't afford to have mistakes such as the one that caused the death of an innocent and uncontaminated individual. Policies and procedures were ignored for the sake of laziness and bravado, something that cannot continue. You all have elected me as your leader and as such, placed me in charge of enforcing these policies that we have all agreed on." Alex crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked to the ground in front of him.

  "When faced with the possible extinction of human kind, and when we struggle every minute for survival, the penalties for breaking with the policies of this stronghold must be quick and severe. We can no more afford the loss of one of our defenders either through lack of vigilance or through the consequences of their actions. Therefore, after much thought and deliberation, I have come to the punishment that will be exacted upon the accused." Alex looked up to meet the eyes of the Cahn brothers. Their father stood between them, a hand on each of their shoulders for support.

  "Marcus and Perry, each of you will receive fifty lashing for your roll in causing the death of an innocent and uncontaminated citizen of humanity." A gasp spread throughout those gathered. Alex continued, "After such a time, each of you will be reassigned to active duty separate from one another, and at no time shall you be allowed to work the same detail until it has been decided by the council that you have proven your abilities to sustain this stronghold individually."

  "You can't do that," Paula gasped. Her face had gone white at the thought of the two young boys being lashed. "They are just kids..."

  "No one is just a kid anymore," Alex interrupted. "If these two are old enough to handle weapons and defend everyone here, then they are old enough to follow the policies set in place and suffer then consequences of breaking those rules." Alex was stone faced, his mind set as to what had to happen and no one was going to change it.

  "Alex," Morgan began in a soothing voice. "This isn't right. This is barbaric and you know it. Lashing? With what?" She started to approach Alex, but the look in his eyes made her stop where she was.

  "This isn't barbaric, nor is it wrong. These two caused the death of an uncontaminated individual simply because they were not following the course of action we had all agreed upon. They were careless in a time that we can not afford to be careless. If this were normal society, they would be locked up in prison for their involvement, but this isn't normal society. We cannot afford to lose anyone for the defense of this stronghold, but there has to be consequences for their actions to ensure that this never happens again. From anyone," and in saying this, Alex scanned everyone in the audience to drive home the point that no one, not even himself would escape the consequences of their actions.

  "This punishment will suffice and still allow them to return to their duties as defenders and citizens of this stronghold." Alex looked hard into Morgan's eyes, ending any further argument from her.

  "Alex," Sam spoke up. "You talk as if this is some sort of, well, new colony, for lack of a better term. What are you getting at?" The faces of the gathered crowd echoed the thoughts and questions expressed by Sam.

  "What else would you call it?" Alex responded. "The world we once knew is over, perhaps never to return. There is no government, no police force. For all we know, there isn't even a military presence available to come to our aid. We have to start thinking of ourselves and how we are going to govern and set policies. Billy and Tyfanny found us, and so will others. We have to come up with a way to prevent confusion and disarray. We have to set forth a set of rules that will be agreed upon by everyone and enforced by this group of people. In essence, we have to set up our own little nation with laws and a governing body to over see it." Alex's tirade was starting to sink in with the people. Heads started to nod and realization began to set in. There was no one else out there who was going to come and rescue them...they would have to do things for themselves.

  Liam spoke up. "You mentioned a council earlier. What did you have in mind?"

  -----

  The punishments set out by Alex were delivered upon the Cahn brothers in front of every person in the stronghold. It was necessary, Alex insisted, that everyone witness the punishments as an example of the necessity of following the laws that were already in place and would soon be expanded. Dr. Cahn himself delivered the lashes at his own request. He knew that the two brothers had made a huge mistake and deserved the punishments that were required. Being a doctor, he explained quietly to Alex, he knew how much punishments the boys bodies could withstand and not cause them to become incapable of returning to their duty assignments. Dr. Cahn wept through the entire ordeal.

  That very evening, the terms of a governing council were set out and voted on by everyone in the stronghold, including the Cahn brothers who were still cowering from their punishments and their father who had not left their sides since he had carried out their sentence. Paula and Dr. Cahn had set immediately to tending the wounds delivered to them by the bull whip that was used as the means of delivering the lashings. Some of the wounds had been deep, but none were life threatening nor were they such that any of the gashes required stitches.

  Within the charter of the new council, the name of their enclave was set and voted upon. The Colony of New Hope was founded and would have a governing body of three individuals who would set rules, policies and procedures, as well as determine and carry out any punishments for those individuals who failed to follow the policies set out. A fourth member of the council was proposed and accepted, that being a strategic advisor who would offer expert advice, such as it was, but would not have a direct vote in council
hearings. There was some opposition to the determination that the council only would vote on matters concerning the New Hope Colony, believing that it would allow for the quick implementation of new policies that were of a major concern to everyone.

  It was Alex himself that had proposed the position of strategic advisor to the council, refusing to even be considered for a ruling position on the governing board, despite the vehement opposition to this decision. Most of the people in the colony felt that it was by Alex's leadership alone that they had been able to survive as well as they had so far. And no one was too happy to turn over their care and survival to three individuals that they felt were untested in this new world that they now occupied. Their objections were heard and immediately turned down by Alex, only giving in to the position of strategic advisor to stop any more discussion on the matter.

  The following morning, everyone gathered in the yard, minus the two lookouts on the rooftop for a vote on the governing council. It was by overwhelming vote that the three individuals who would serve on the council would be Sam Ingram, and Liam and Charles Beard. Each of these individuals would hold the office until they received a vote of no confidence by the majority of the colony members, or until circumstances presented themselves that they would no longer be able to serve. Everyone knew what this last statement meant, but no one wanted to talk about it.

  The first policy proposed by the council and unanimously passed by the three governors was that the strategic advisor, namely Alex, would be granted complete authority to command all members of the colony in the event of an emergency. The term emergency was defined as any time a zombie threatened their stronghold or another serious threat presented itself, the strategic decisions would fall to Alex.

  That was the only time Alex wished he had a vote on the council.

  -----

  The Colony of New Hope continued in this fashion for the next few weeks, following all procedures set out by the council. Since the punishment of the Cahn boys, no one had been lax in their duties. In hindsight, the punishment that had caused so much dissension in the colony members was the most effective motivational tool to keep the stronghold's defenses secure and the people inside safe. The Cahn brothers had taken a few days to get over the lashings, but now followed all policies in place with a new vigor and attention to detail. These two became the biggest enforcer of defensive procedures in the colony aside from Alex himself.

  Threats from the walking dead came and went without any serious consequence. Newcomers straggled into the colony and were welcomed once they had been screened for the zombie virus. Four very large dogs were utilized in this screening process, and each person entering the walls was allowed to become a member if they chose to sign and follow the articles that were in set in place by the governing council.

  It was not until the third week after the creation of the colony charter that the citizens of New Hope were faced with what to do if an infected person tried to enter the walls.

  "You have to let him in," cried Linda, the wife of Damion who it was found out have been infected by the zombie virus. "He'll be fine. We've treated the wound and the medic told us he would be fine."

  "You were lied too," Alex told her. "There is no cure for the infection. There are only two options available to you: we either put him down now, willingly when he can say goodbye to you, or we can leave the two of you outside the gate and wait for him to turn. Then we'll still put him down and most likely you as well when he infects you."

  Alex turned his back on the frantic woman who was being held at bay by the armed citizen guards of New Hope Colony. Two other individuals had their rifles trained on the infected man who looked to his wife with panic in his eyes. Alex spoke directly to the infected man. "Damion, you need to make this decision. You are going to die with a bullet through your skull. That can either happen now or later, but later will most likely involve the death of your wife as well when you infect her too." Alex stepped closer to Damion, putting himself in between the man and the guards ready to put a bullet through the man. Alex spoke to the man in a low voice.

  "Damion, you damn well know that there is no cure for your infection. I'm offering you a quick and painless death and the chance for your wife to survive. We will protect her, but you have to convince her this is the right thing." Alex turned away from Damion saying, "It's all up to you now," and walked away from the group. He leaned near to Sam who was overseeing the guards. "If he refuses," Alex said quietly, "kill them both."

  Without looking back, Alex strode into the farmhouse to begin making rounds of the New Hope perimeter.

  -----

  "Anything exciting?" Liam asked of the two high guards who were placed on top of the roofline.

  "Nothing. And nothing for days." The young man smiled back at Liam. "Maybe we are out of the woods?" This glorified kid had been with them for only a week and he had already declared an end to the zombie war twice...this was his third.

  "Maybe, Marshall. Maybe." Liam grinned at the young man. "Why don't you two take a break? Alex and I will take over for a while." He slapped both the young boys on the back and stepped up out of the roof hatch to allow the men to exit into the warmth of the farmhouse. "Alex," Liam called through the roof hatch, "get up here. It's our watch."

  A moment later, Alex's head popped out through the opening in the roof. "What's going on? What's out there?" Alex scrambled through the hatch and grabbed the binoculars looking everywhere for what was threatening the farmhouse.

  "Would you relax?" Liam chided Alex. "Just because you are called doesn't mean that the world is coming to an end." Liam chuckled at his own joke. "Well, again."

  "So what's going on?" Alex asked, unsure to the motives that Liam had called him up to the roof for.

  Liam chuckled and shook his head. "Just want to talk, man. Just want to talk." Alex's shoulder's and body visibly relaxed and the two men sat down behind the sandbags in the lookout positions, each facing opposite directions. "So," Liam began and Alex could hear the sarcasm rising in his voice. "How are things?"

  Alex's body sagged at Liam's carefree banter. "Liam," Alex sighed, "is this just going to be a waste of time?"

  "You used to enjoy wasting time, Alex. You really should relax a little." Alex put the binoculars down and turned around to face Liam.

  "Are you serious?," Alex asked. "With everything going on you think that it's time to relax and goof off? Take a look around here and tell me it's a good thing. Think about what happened to Damion and his wife, huh? Tell me again we should be having a good time." Alex huffed. He couldn't believe the balls of his friend to actually suggest that they goof around and not take things seriously. Liam did not respond and Alex eventually returned his attention to the area in front of him.

  "We could be out there," Liam said quietly and still with a little lilt in his voice. "And what happened with Damion and Linda was their own doing. They had choices and they chose their own fate. Don't you dare demean their decision to stay together by making it anything other than a choice they took together." Liam's voice lost some of its frivolity and took on a harsher tone.

  "We could all still be out there, Alex, but we're not. We have our families and we have our friends. We have a safe place to be and smart people who are working to keep it that way. We have more than most people do right now so yes, I say let's celebrate that fact." This time it was Liam who turned to stare at Alex. "Every single person within these walls has survived history's most devastating plague. We should all be dead, but somehow we've made it, and I for one can appreciate that fact."

  "So we should all just let down our guard and throw a big party? Forget everything that has actually kept us alive and 'celebrate life'? Is that what you're saying?" It was now Alex's turn to inject sarcasm into the conversation, but Alex's words were also full of spite unlike Liam's.

  "Fuck no, man," Liam cursed. "We still do everything that we've been doing, but we have got to do something to break up the tedium and tension.
If we don't do something, then we are going to wind up turning on each other. We've got to celebrate being alive." Liam stopped talking and turned his back on his friend. Liam was right and he knew it...and so did Alex.

  Both men sat in silence for a long time, the sound of their breathing and the voices carrying up from below were the only thing that accompanied the two men in the lookout. Alex listened to the voices coming from below. Not the words necessarily, but the tone. Everyone was just getting by and no one was living. Everyone had spent so much time and energy trying to survive that they had all forgotten to actually live. But the thought that struck Alex the most, the realization that chilled this heart, was the fact that he had not spent any time with his daughter in days. Not one single minute, instead, sleeping at his work station and spending his entire waking hours checking and double checking the security measures that were in place. In his effort to save his family, Alex had completely forgotten them.

  "Liam," Alex began slowly. "Liam, your right. We need..."

  "Contact. Northwest corner," Liam said, his voice flat and hurried. "What the hell is going on?"

  Alex swung around to see what had gotten Liam concerned. Through the binoculars, each man could see a truck without lights speeding towards them, then quickly change its direction to angle across the road leading to the farmhouse. Two men jumped out of the back of the truck and hurried around to the back where at least ten more men waited. But something was wrong about the men in back.

  Grabbing the scoped rifle, Alex adjusted the magnification until he could make out the scene a little more clearly. He cursed.

  In the back of the truck, bound, gagged and blindfolded, were at least ten zombies. The two men grabbed ahold of a leading rope each and pulled hard, directing the zombies to exit the truck single file. The creatures shambled along as their captors pulled on the ropes and directed them to face the New Hope stronghold. Now dropping the guide ropes, the men hurried again back to the truck, this time removing another man who was also bound and gagged, but not blindfolded. They brought this person to the front of the line of zombies and forced him to face them. One of the men leaned next to the man and spoke in his ear. The man turned to look towards New Hope and nodded his head slowly.