by J. W. Vohs
Lina had just finished her update when a loud knock at the door surprised them all. After a momentary, polite pause, Avy and his mother and sisters walked in to see their relatives. The young soldier motioned Aviel to the side of the room where he quietly shared the information he’d received through the IDF that day. “I go back on duty in an hour, and from what I’ve heard conditions on the ground are changing quickly. The day-shift at the checkpoint shot three infected people who tried to attack them this morning, and they stopped dozens of vehicles trying to pass through from the north. Some headed back the way they came, but others were seen driving south through the desert. The lieutenant is certain that people who weren’t in Ein Gedi twenty-four hours ago are here now.”
Aviel looked worried. “How many people? Any of them bitten?”
His nephew just shook his head in exasperation, “Dozens, maybe a hundred slipped through. And I’d be surprised if at least a few of them weren’t bitten. Part of the reason so many refugees took to the roads last night is because a loved one was bitten and they don’t want to turn them over to the military. The main thing I want you to know is that your guards can’t just concentrate on the perimeter of the settlement; we probably have infected loose in Ein Gedi.”
Aviel just closed his eyes and finally released a long, frustrated sigh. “Lina said that a twenty-four hour curfew is in place and the military has shoot-to-kill orders.” The frustration was evident in his voice as he continued, “Why is our checkpoint letting people get around?”
Avy shrugged, “Would you want to shoot up cars full of Israeli civilians? We’ve chased some down and brought them back, but our men won’t shoot-to-kill their own people. We’ve set up a temporary refugee center just north of the checkpoint with military tents and supplies, but the situation will deteriorate quickly if we don’t get reinforcements soon. I just wanted you to know what’s going on out there. Please, keep my mother and sisters here with you while I’m on duty tonight.”
Aviel gave a reassuring nod to his nephew, “You know I’ll take care of them; you men just focus on maintaining the checkpoint. If the IDF doesn’t help you out soon, I’ll bring my own company out there and give your men a break.”
Avy chuckled when he thought about that before retorting, “I’m sure the lieutenant would be thrilled to have you with us.”
* * *
If the people of Ein Gedi had convinced themselves that they would somehow escape the horror of the infection tearing apart the rest of the world, the events of that night quickly dispelled their mistaken confidence. At ten-o-clock a three-member guard team coming off duty dropped by their small command post for a cup of coffee to find their shift commander being devoured by a huge zombie who’d apparently walked through the back door of the building and surprised the sergeant at his desk. With most of his throat missing, the guards later reported that they believed their leader had been killed before being partially eaten, but that was small consolation to the sergeant’s wife, five children, and huge extended family. The gorging zombie paid little attention to the guards as he chomped away on the bloody morsels of flesh he was tearing away with his strong teeth, and one of them was able to take careful aim and blow the monster’s brains out with a .45 automatic before anyone else was injured by the creature.
The furor over the attack on the guard commander was just dying down when the radio channel being monitored by everyone on duty was filled with a frantic call for help from a house near the center of the village. By the time Aviel and Sophie showed up at the scene, they found two partially eaten corpses in the home, and an elderly woman being treated for a terrible bite wound to the arm. Black blood was splattered on the walls in several places from where the infected had suffered non-lethal injuries; guards had fired on the two zombies but failed to hit them in the head. The creatures had charged their attackers, and the fight had spread to the back yard where the bodies of two dead zombies and one guard lay in a heap together. Two other guards had been injured in the attack and were now in the clinic. The rumor was that both of them had suffered bite wounds during the melee. One of the volunteer fighters was a Bedouin who’d been an IDF tracker in his younger days. He had already used his skills to follow the trail of the two zombies back to a vehicle parked a mile out in the desert, and Aviel assumed that it was one of the cars that had managed to get around the checkpoint.
By the time Avy’s twelve-hour shift ended at six in the morning he told his uncle that over three hundred refugees were crowded into the tents near the checkpoint, and the soldiers were now firing on any vehicles trying to pass them by after one of the reserve sergeants heard about his grandmother being bitten and later bleeding out at the clinic. Cars and trucks were lined up over the northern horizon on Highway 90, and the soldiers were assuming that plenty of the occupants had not yet come forward to the tents set up for them near the roadblock. Aviel’s jaw dropped with surprise when Avy explained that sixteen refugees had been discovered to be in various stages of infection from bite wounds they tried to hide from the soldiers. A tent had been set up within a barb-wire enclosure for the injured, but the guards keeping watch on the people inside had already been forced to shoot three of the infected after they apparently died, then got up and began stumbling around. Needless to say, the situation out at the checkpoint was rapidly becoming a powder-keg that could explode at any moment.
Aviel finally told Avy to go home and get some rest. The young soldier’s mother, Ruth, assured her brother that his nephew would be well fed and then promptly put to bed. Avy’s sisters echoed their mother’s sentiments, and they all promised to return when he had to report for duty again that evening.
As soon as his sister’s family left, Aviel called the remaining adults, as well as Mick and Zafir, to the kitchen table to discuss the small group’s plans in light of the most recent developments. Aviel had a company to lead, and Sophie and Mubin had to report for guard duty that would keep them away from the house till nightfall. That left home-defense duty to Lina and Mick, at least as far as armed-guards were concerned, though Zafir and Alima could certainly help keep watch. Aviel wanted both Palestinians to be trained in the use of firearms immediately, though he didn’t want any ammo being used until he could oversee the live-fire training himself. In order to stress the importance of being vigilant in protecting the home, Aviel told everyone about the attacks of the night before. After that he had no problem keeping everybody’s attention as he gave detailed instructions on what he wanted done while he was working with the security forces he’d been charged with leading. Finally, they broke up to attend to their duties, all of them unaware that this would be the last semi-normal morning of their lives.
* * *
In the afternoon, Mick and Safir were keeping an eye on the street from the front windows, bored but determined to stay at their posts and maintain an attentive watch. Throughout the day they had heard sirens, shouting, screaming, and most of all, gunshots, at irregular intervals amid the surrounding neighborhoods of Ein Gedi. Aviel had come home once, just before lunch, and told all of them that they were to stay in the house with the doors and windows locked. He had seemed both worried and distracted, and had briefly gone into the bedroom with Lina for a short, private discussion that left her looking upset as well. Just before he returned to his company, Aviel pulled Mick aside and told him, “You’re an American; you’re used to exaggeration. But you have to understand that with me and your mother on duty outside the house, the only things standing between the monsters and the people staying with us are the guns you and your grandmother are wearing. The guns, and the strength in your heart.”
Aviel looked away for a moment and then looked back at his grandson with shimmering eyes, “Every time I was in battle I was terrified. I really can’t explain to you how afraid I was.”
“Grandpa, everyone says you’re a war hero, and I believe them.”
“Mick, Israelis joke with each other like that.”
“Why?”
; “Because we are all heroes, and we are all frightened when called to battle.”
“So that just proves you’re a hero. Just like I said. Just like everyone says.” Mick looked at his grandfather, a man who had been a living legend to Mick and Gracie, with both respect and admiration in his eyes. “And I know that the IDF is the best.”
“Well, I honestly don’t know if that will be enough. But I do know that fear is very real, and that’s not a bad thing. It keeps us on our toes—right where we need to be.” Aviel’s heart physically hurt when he thought about the possibility of losing his grandson, or any another member of his family. “I’m just trying to explain that there’s no shame in being afraid.”
“Why are you telling me this, Grandpa? This isn’t a good time to tell me that you think I’m a coward,” Mick looked hurt, but there was still a youthful self-confidence in his voice, “especially when you’re asking me to protect the house from those flesh-eaters.”
“No, Mick, I’m not saying you’re a coward. The truth is you are young, and you don’t have real experience with violence or war. You should understand that at times like these, everyone is afraid, and nothing is predictable.”
“Do you think that I’ll run away, or that I’m not as tough as Israeli kids, because I’m an American?”
Aviel smiled as he explained, “Not at all. In fact, knowing the blood of your parents and grandparents, I strongly doubt that you’ll ever run from a fight.”
“So what is the most important thing you can tell me right now?” Mick asked earnestly.
A dozen things rushed through Aviel’s mind at the same time, but he stuck to the lesson at hand. “Listen to me, Mick, very carefully. The people infected with this virus die and then get back up to eat other human beings. We are living in the middle of a horror film that has no end. When these black-eyed monsters come for you, moaning and gnashing their teeth, every instinct within you will be demanding that you run, that you give in to your fear. I am trying to tell you that the fear you will feel is normal. Heroes are just as scared as everyone else, but somehow they manage to do what they have to do even though they are terrified. So I want you to know that the fear is coming, but you can still function when you’re afraid. That’s the most important thing—you can still be smart when you’re scared half to death. You can be scared and still do what needs to be done.”
Mick nodded, “I expect I’ll be scared any time I see one of those creatures, but . . . I’m not trying to sound like a know-it-all, but I have a feeling that I’ll be able to stand up to the zombies if I have to.”
Aviel stiffened at the word “zombies,” but he ruffled Mick’s hair and replied. “I don’t doubt it for a second.” He uncharacteristically embraced the boy, then ventured off to tell Lina that he needed to return to work.
* * *
For several hours after Aviel left, Mick wrestled with conflicting voices in his head. He didn’t want to believe the obvious: zombies were in Ein Gedi. But that was the conclusion he kept returning to, and he doubted that there were only a few of the creatures running loose. The sounds of emergency situations had been ringing in his ears all day, and if the threat was limited to what the security teams could deal with he wouldn’t be hearing the cries of panic and fighting. For the umpteenth time he looked over at Zafir and considered discussing these fears with his new friend, but after everything the young teen had been through over the past few days Mick didn’t want to unnecessarily upset him. He thought about the night on the road and decided he couldn’t even begin to imagine what his Palestinian friend was going through. Just as Mick was about to suggest making a kitchen run, Zafir looked his way with huge brown eyes and a fearful expression on his face.
“Do you see what I see?” he asked.
Mick suddenly felt embarrassed that he hadn’t been looking out the window and immediately took a quick peek outside. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what was unmistakably a zombie lurching along on the sidewalk right in front of their house. Suddenly the creature stopped, cocked its head as if it was listening to something, and then looked across the street at the neighbor’s front porch. Mick looked up and saw what had caught the monster’s attention: a small boy standing just outside of a screen door, crying and pointing. The zombie was already on the move toward the child, who seemed frozen with fear as the flesh-eater approached. Zafir quietly whispered, “No, no, no . . . we’ve gotta do something.”
Mick stood up and racked a bullet into the chamber of his pistol. “Tell my grandma to get down here and back me up; I’m going out to protect that little kid.”
Zafir tried to protest, “No, I can help you—”
“We don’t have time to argue,” Mick interrupted. “You don’t know how to shoot yet; go get Lina, now!”
Zafir threw up his hands in frustration but ran off to follow instructions. Mick quietly opened the door and stepped out onto the front walk behind the zombie. He had only taken a couple of steps when, across the street, the little boy’s mother threw open the door. She quickly scooped up the crying child and retreated back inside, slamming the door behind her. The flesh-eater just continued in their direction, and Mick briefly wondered if the creature could break into the house. These thoughts were interrupted by another moaning sound to his right. He immediately looked in that direction to see a second zombie shuffling his way, perhaps ten meters distant, and quickly closing the gap.
The zombie that was standing in the street was even closer, and it let out an urgent moan when it saw a human being so near. Mick felt rooted to the spot, almost as if he was stuck in a nightmare where he couldn’t run no matter how hard he tried. Suddenly the spell was broken by the sound of Zafir shouting and running out of the house to help his friend any way he could. The Palestinian teen was screaming at him to run, but Mick realized that he couldn’t lead these monsters to his house. His next thought was that Zafir was in danger and only he, Mick, could save the boy. He carefully assumed a two-handed shooting position as he aimed for the zombie in the road and deliberately squeezed the trigger like his instructors had taught him to do back home. The bullet struck just below and to the outside of the creature’s left eye socket, tearing away a large chunk of flesh that included most of an ear. The flesh-eater only stumbled a bit, regained its balance, and kept moving toward its next meal.
Mick was momentarily dismayed that the zombie didn’t go down, but he didn’t show his disappointment as he carefully aimed and pulled the trigger once again. This time he hit the creature just below the nose, snapping its head back and sending it to the ground where it didn’t even twitch. Now Mick switched his attention to the second monster, turning to find that it was only a few steps away from Zafir, who was shouting angrily at the creature with just a small hammer in his hand. He aimed for a point right between the zombie’s eyes, but just before he pulled the trigger the monster’s head seemed to explode in a spray of black blood and gray brain matter. More bullets struck the zombie as it fell dead to the pavement, and Mick finally turned to see Lina approaching from behind the barrel of her Jericho pistol. Keeping her eyes on the flesh-eaters, she snarled at the boys, “Get back in the house!”
Mick flinched as he heard two more shots fired while he and Zafir ran for the door, but he didn’t bother to turn around when he realized that his grandma was only making certain that the creatures were down for good. Once back inside the house, Mick made sure that the third round in his pistol had seated properly before he placed the weapon back in the holster and waited for his grandma’s wrath. But after carefully closing and locking the door behind her, Lina stepped over to Mick and wrapped him up in a fierce bear-hug. After a long moment she finally spoke, “Zafir told me about the neighbor boy; protecting the young is always a good thing. But from now on nobody goes anywhere alone, do you understand?”
Mick nodded, but Lina held him at arm’s length and stared deep into his eyes. “Promise me that you’ll never go anywhere alone until this crisis is over.”
; “I promise, Grandma. And thanks for saving us out there.”
She smiled wryly, “You didn’t need saving, Mick. You killed the first one and had the second in your sights. I’m proud of you. I just hope you learned that war is a group business. Lone wolves are actually lone sheep, who sooner or later will fall to the wolf packs hunting them.”
Mick thought for a moment, a picture of warfare and combat rapidly forming in his mind that was quite different than what was often portrayed in video games and movies. Fear was normal, even helpful, for soldiers everywhere, and going into battle with trusted comrades was more important than how good you thought you were at fighting. He slowly smiled, feeling much older and wiser than he’d been less than an hour earlier. “Soldiers need each other,” he agreed. “They fight for each other, especially when they are afraid.”
Lina looked over at Zafir. “You risked your life for my grandson, and I will never forget.” She leaned against a high-backed chair and sighed. Her voice trembled a little as she addressed both boys, “You have proven yourselves to be honorable soldiers who can trust each other with your lives. Now you need to show that you respect the chain of command—no more running off on your own.” Her eyes were brimming with tears as she walked into the kitchen and began reloading her pistol.
* * *
Aviel had no way of knowing what was happening at home, and he was confronted with his own drama as he gathered the nearly one hundred fighters assigned to his company at the northern edge of Ein Gedi. Radio contact between the force manning the checkpoint and the off-duty soldiers resting in the town indicated that something very wrong was happening near the roadblock. Aviel had selected squad leaders the day before, and now every one of them had arranged transportation for the soldiers they were responsible for. The head of the temporary Ein Gedi militia force had ordered Aviel to keep his troops in the settlement, but the veteran soldier knew that if the checkpoint collapsed the town would be overrun. Zombies were already popping up all over Ein Gedi, and the rudimentary communication and response system the militia had tried to set up the day before was proving entirely inadequate to the task of quickly locating and killing the infected. Most attempts to follow up each case had fallen apart by early afternoon, so the points of origin of many of the zombies they did kill remained unknown. In Aviel’s opinion, the systematic failure to discover how each of the creatures came to be in their village was the second biggest threat to a successful defense of the settlement. He accepted that he couldn’t fix that problem with the resources he had available, but he could reinforce the beleaguered IDF troops out at the checkpoint.
