Z Chronicles (Books 2 & 3)

by A. L. White

  The hood of the old GMC was cold and slippery. It was difficult to find any footing at all. In a half kneeling-half standing position, Charlie yelled, the loudest he could to be hear over the growling and moaning of the herd, at the driver in the truck. He told them to flash the lights if they could hear him.

  The lights flashed on and off twice.

  “If you can back up so that we can push that car off the road, flash twice,” Charlie yelled and then waited. When he saw no flashes he yelled it once more, loud enough to strain his vocal chords. The lights flashed twice and the sound of the engine from the pickup roared as it forced its way back. A little at first, and then enough to try to move the Chevette.

  Boo started forward, causing Charlie to slide back into the windshield with enough force to send cracks running in every direction. Charlie turned to look at Boo who shrugged and mouthed the word, “Sorry.”

  *****

  Lori saw the snow plow coming toward them from the town they were heading to. Lights were beaming from the top of the cab, as well as high beams lighting the way as it grew closer. The herd was being shoved out of the way, bodies flying in every direction. The relief she felt at the prospect of being rescued, after all this time struggling to survive wherever they went, was immense. When the plow grew close enough, it came to a sudden stop. A man climbed out of the cab window onto the hood and started yelling something at her. Lori couldn’t quite make it out over the noise from the zombies, but she also realized that her window was all the way up. Rolling it down just enough to welcome sound but keep the zombies out, the words became clearer. Flashing the headlights in response brought an excited response from the man who continued yelling to her. After a few minutes, she understood; he wanted her to back up so that they could push the little car out of the way. Lori put the truck into reverse and eased the accelerator pedal down. The engine groaned, but there was no movement. It was like backing up to a cement wall and trying to nudge it back. Easing off the pedal, Lori closed her eyes and gave it more gas on the second attempt, and was rewarded with a slight motion backwards. Once it began to move, the truck picked up little by little until she felt that there was more than enough room for the plow to move the car.

  The plow truck backed up to angle the plow toward the car and started forward. The Chevette slid out of the way, down into the ditch, opening the way into town. Not being able to help it, Lori smiled as the large truck worked its way in small bursts of forward and reverse until it was turned around, pointing back to town.

  Boo blew the horn to let her know that they were ready to proceed back down the road. Lori answered them with two blows on her horn, and was pleased to hear the same response come from the RV and bus. She let out a sigh of relief hearing both of her vehicles respond.

  The plow started back to town when Lori noticed that it was spreading salt too. Funny that someone would even think about that now in these times, she thought to herself. Perhaps they didn’t want the zombies to slide on the ice. No matter what the reason was Lori wasn’t stopping until she was safely out of the herd and into that town.

  “Looks like we will have a warm bed for the night,” Lori said to the boy she had picked up at the drive-in.

  “Looks like it,” he replied.

  Lori thought for a few minutes and then said, “You know, I don’t think I know your name.”

  “You haven’t asked,” he replied.

  “Ok, well I am asking you now.”

  “My name is Walter, not Wally, but Walter.”

  Smiling to herself Lori replied, “Glad to meet you, Walter, not Wally.”

  The boy laugh at how funny it sounded, “Just ‘Walter’ will do. Do you think I will get a bed to myself?”

  “Don’t know yet what kind of accommodations they will have, Walter, but we will sure try to get you one.”

  *****

  The RV rocked like a boat on rough seas as the herd closed in on all sides. It was as if they thought pushing hard enough would force the box open, allowing the meaty morsels inside to be had. Every few minutes, Jermaine would direct everyone with a firearm to fire out one side or the other, causing the herd to falter in its relentless push. It was after one of these volleys that Al yelled out excitedly that they would be “Moving soon!”

  Virginia made her way back to the front, having to push past the rest of the group. There she saw the plow shoving the little car out of the way with a crazy man standing precariously on the truck’s hood.

  “Do you think they came to help us?” she asked Al.

  “It sure looks like it! Doesn’t matter why they are here, we will take the help anyway,” Al said grinning from ear to ear.

  “Look, they are plowing the road clear of the herd!” Virginia said to Jermaine.

  The RV started to move, following Lori and the plow. It wasn’t as easy going as Lori was having; as the plow knocked the zombies out of the way for her, the herd closed back in around the back after she had passed. That didn’t stop Al; he pushed the pedal and kept driving straight ahead no matter what got in the way. The RV was no longer rocking from side to side, but more in an up and down motion as it went over the carcasses on the road left in Lori’s wake.

  CHAPTER 16

  The rescue had so far been a success and Boo knew it, even if he wasn’t saying much about it. Charlie thought that was odd, considering it had been Boo’s plan, but that was Boo.

  “Looks like we are going to make it after all,” Charlie stated.

  “Sure does, Charlie.”

  “You sound as if you would rather we didn’t make it,” Charlie added.

  Boo shot him a dirty look and then said, “Charlie, how many people do you think are in those three vehicles back there? Do we know what kind of people they are, or what their intentions are?”

  “I don’t have any more of a way of knowing how many are back there than you do, Boo!”

  “That’s right Charlie, you don’t know! For now, we have to be cautious once we cross the bridge. The last thing we want to do is invite trouble in the front door.”

  Charlie thought in a small way he could see what Boo was talking about—in a small way. On the other hand, those people were survivors of this messed up world just like they were. If there was a small way that they could help them, then that is what they should do.

  The rest of the ride back to the bridge was quiet, with neither of them saying anything. Once they crossed the bridge into Rivers Crossing Boo pulled off into an old, rarely used lot where a used car lot had been for a short time back in the late 80’s. He watched as the other three vehicles pulled in behind him. Climbing down out of the truck with his rifle in hand, he made his way slowly to the black truck where the young woman rolled her window down.

  “Thank you very much!” she stated. “I thought we were going to have to fight our way out of that mess back there!”

  “You’re welcome, young lady,” Boo replied as he looked her and the kid over. “How many people do you have, and how are you set for supplies?”

  Lori thought for a few minutes trying to gauge if this was a safe place to talk about what they had for supplies when she heard a voice from the other side of the truck say, “We have more than enough to pay for our stay.” Her head snapped around to see Zoe standing there with Virginia and the lads.

  Boo started over to the woman, but backed off seeing Zeus and Perseus. “Nice dogs you have there.”

  Zoe ignored the comment and replied, “My name is Zoe. This is Virginia, the lady in the truck is Lori, and these two here are Zeus and Perseus.”

  “Glad to meet you, Zoe. My name is Beau, but everyone around here just calls me ‘Boo.’ That there in the truck is Charlie. Welcome to Rivers Crossing.”

  Lori stepping out from the truck asked, “We have over sixty people with us; can you fit us in for a few days?”

  “I think we can. We turned an old school and library into a sort of keep, you could say. Plenty of room for everyone there. You will have to talk to the town
council about staying, but I am sure they will go along with it.” Boo knew that as much as he disagreed, Doc wasn’t turning anyone away from Rivers Crossing.

  Charlie had finally joined them in front of the trucks, looking agitated that Boo hadn’t called him to come out.

  “Hi, I am Charlie. Welcome to Rivers Crossing,” he stated as he trudged through the snow to meet them. He knew instantly from the dirty look he got from Boo that it was a mistake to leave his gun in the truck.

  Charlie knew that Boo worried about things that they all probably should have worried about too. In this case, it was simple to Charlie. They thought they were probably the only ones that survived, and here was proof that there were others. The more there were of them, the better chance they had to survive a little longer.

  “Well, Charlie, maybe we should lead these folks over to the school so they can meet Doc and the council. Get them fed and bedded down for the night. We can take this conversation back up in the morning,” Boo stated.

  “I think you're right, Boo. Let’s get them moving. Ladies, if you would be so kind as to follow us over to the school,” Charlie explained motioning up Main Street.

  “Zoe, why don’t you go ahead with the others and follow them over. If you would take little Walter with you, and mind you it is Walter, not Wally; Virginia and I will hang back by the bridge a little while and make sure that nothing is following us in.”

  Zoe nodded her head in agreement and smiled, motioning for Walter to come from the truck with her to the RV.

  “Charlie, why don’t you go with the ladies here,” Boo said.

  Before either of them could object, Charlie said yes and walked over by Lori. They watched as the vehicles pulled out and headed off to the school. A lone figure stood over where the RV had been parked and started coming toward them. Charlie reached for his gun and remembered he had left it in the plow cab.

  “I thought you would stay with us,” Lori stated to the large figure coming toward them.

  “I wanted to stretch my legs a little before we got wherever we are going,”

  “If you were worried about the ladies being safe out here with me, you didn’t have anything to worry about,” Charlie said.

  The man broke out in a wild sounding laugh and he was laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks.

  “Friend, if these two dogs didn’t want you near them, or thought you would harm to this little girl, you would be on the ground in a whole lot of pain. If—now if—they let you pass to get to her, and she didn’t want you there… you would wish that the dogs had taken care of you before she got to you. And that little lady there, well, I am not sure you would ever consciously know that you hit the ground, or even if your last thoughts on earth would be how you got to that point. You could say I am here to keep you safe,” Jermaine stated, laughing the whole time. Then as suddenly as he had started laughing he stopped and turned to Lori and Virginia. “You think they will follow us in?”

  “That has been the story in the past. They follow the food once they have caught the scent.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of, too,” Jermaine replied.

  “If you want to keep an eye on them, we have the perfect spot. We don’t have to stand on the bridge to do it. On the roof of the school we can see in all four directions. That’s how we saw you guys coming down the road behind that little car.”

  “If we could see everything, Lori, it would be better,” Virginia added.

  “Okay, we will go over to your school and see what we can see from up there,” Lori decided. “How far up the road is it?”

  “It’s about two blocks. Once you pass that little bend in the road there, you can see the school and library,” Charlie replied.

  “The lads and I will walk and meet you there,” Virginia stated as her and the dogs started down the street.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Charlie asked Lori and Jermaine.

  “If there are any zombies between here and the school the dogs will know it, and Virginia will take care of them. If there are any two–point–zeros here, Virginia will let us know when she gets there.”

  “Two-point-zeros?”

  Jermaine couldn’t help laughing at Charlie again, “You guys haven’t tried to understand or deal with the zombies much here, have you?”

  “Just a few here and there, I guess. My wife was one of them,” Charlie replied, looking down at the snow remembering his Annie.

  “We will teach you everything we know before we move on.” Lori said. Then she turned to Virginia and said, “On second thought, I think I would feel more at ease with you and the dogs with me.”

  Virginia rolled her eyes and started to object, but deep down she agreed with Lori that maybe it would be best to stay together.

  Lori handed the keys to the truck to Charlie. “You know the way.”

  CHAPTER 17

  The drive to the school was a little too quiet for Virginia. The town’s streets were snow covered like earlier parts their journey had taken them through. Only she had not paid a lot of attention to the buildings passing by the window. Here it reminded her of a ghost town blanketed in white. There were no signs of life other than the lights coming from the building that the new guy called the school. It made her feel uneasy for some reason that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It may have eased her mind had she walked down the street with the lads to get a closer look, but hopefully there would be time for them to do a little exploring later.

  They slowly rolled up on a corner where two of the buildings were set considerably higher than everything else. One was lit up on all three floors, beckoning them to come inside. Charlie turned on the street between the buildings, and then into an opening in the fence to what was clearly a full parking lot. Virginia could see both the RV and the bus up close to the door.

  “Well, we are here. Welcome to what we have been calling home,” Charlie stated as he turned the key to off and exited the truck. Virginia and the lads jumped down out of the bed and waited for Lori to join them.

  “Are we sure we want to go in there?” Virginia asked. “We really don’t know what is waiting in there.”

  “We know what is out there, and it sure couldn’t be worse than that,” Lori replied.

  Charlie motioned for them to follow him and headed to the door. On the way, Lori noticed that no one closed the gate coming into the lot behind them, and there wasn’t a soul watching the door in front of them. When they reached it, there wasn’t even a lock set on it; Charlie just pulled it open. They could all feel the heat smack them in the face. It had to be at least eighty degrees Fahrenheit, and it took their breath away for a few seconds.

  “Okay, this is the main floor here,” Charlie said after they climbed the ten well-worn wooden steps just beyond the door. “Down at the end of the hallway, you will find another set of stairs that go down to the front entrance of the building. Next to that is the old school nurse’s office that is now Doc’s medical room, and another set of stairs that go down into the gymnasium/cafeteria. The kitchen and the showers are also down there. You can get a hot shower every other day in the morning.”

  “The other rooms here are the family dorms; we try to keep families together. The second floor is mixed between families and singles, with one classroom being used for classes. The third floor is where Doc has been putting the singles, like him and myself.”

  “A hot shower would be great!” Jermaine stated.

  “You may want to get up early then. The line forms quick,” Charlie replied laughing. “You can go ahead and look around if you like. Doc usually welcomes everyone new and helps find you a room.”

  From off to the left of Charlie, a thunderous noise came from the stairs going up to the second and third floor. Before they could identify if it was a threat, the largest man Virginia had ever seen was on top of them.

  “Mister, Mister, Doc says you should bring these folks up to the third floor so they can settle in first. OHHHHHH you have puppi
es!” The man shouted with glee as he fell to his knees and threw his arms around Zeus. Zeus licked his face, wagging his tail; that told Virginia that this was no threat in the lad’s mind. That made him safe to her as well.

  “This excited fella here is Todd. He is harmless, in case you haven’t figured that out yet,” Charlie stated smiling.

  “Looks like you have a room upstairs with the rest of us singles then,” said Charlie.

  “No! That lady, Miss Zoe, said you were all part of her family and needed to stay together. Doc said that only real families like me and Tressa could stay in the family rooms, but Miss Zoe wouldn’t hear it. She was like Tressa, where I think I can do something and she says ‘no way.’ Mister could see that he lost and put them all in your room. I asked Tressa if we could stay in that room too, and Mister said, ‘why not!’”

  “All right then, Todd, why don’t you show these folks to their room then,” Charlie said, laughing a little at Todd’s excitement.

  “I sure will, Mister,” Todd replied, then started to frown a little. “Can the puppies stay up there, too?”

  “Yes Todd, go ahead and take them up as well. Looks like you guys have your own personal escort now, so I have a few things I want to check out up on the roof, and I will catch up to you all later.”

  Charlie followed them up to the third floor then crossed the hall to the stairs that led to the roof. Once there, he found Boo looking through binoculars out across the river.

  “Well, that didn’t go so bad after all,” Boo said without even looking at him.

  Charlie settled in beside Boo and joined him in gazing off into the darkness. Neither man said anything for a few minutes. They were both going over what had transpired over the last hour or so in their own ways. For Charlie, it had been a great success in rescuing fellow humans in their time of need. To Boo, it was a successful mission that succeeded by luck alone. That was alright with Boo; sometimes luck was all you needed, but next time they might not be so lucky. He couldn’t shake something the younger one had said. It had him worried. He was not sure if this would be the time to bring it up; he was hesitant to take the excitement out of Charlie’s good deed.