By the time he got to the main road, the buses had driven past him, too fast to get a hold of the last one.
Mitch could do nothing but run behind in frustration, wondering how far they’d get before they stopped and knowing the chance of finding them was nil.
Chapter Eight
As soon as the bus entered the compound and pulled up to the nearest bay door, unmolested by the zombie horde, Tosha got out and waved for the other buses to pull in on either side.
“What if they were waiting for us to enter so they could trap us?” Bernie asked.
“What if wishes were fishes,” Tosha said and laughed at her own stupid nonsensical thought. “I have it on good authority we’ll be safe inside. They’ll let us leave as well. We just have one shot to clean out this warehouse so let’s hurry. I don’t want to be out here when it gets dark. Everyone gather around.”
Tosha was glad she’d been able to not only get six school buses for this mission but eighteen able-bodied men to help load them.
“Follow me inside. I’m hoping we can drive in but we won’t know until we see, right? I’m not going to waste time trying to tell you what we’re doing. You’ll see soon enough,” she said and went to the side door near the bay, the first ramp going right up to the door. She hoped it was the one detailed in the letter from The Lich Lord.
Tosha punched a code on the side door and the light on the keypad turned green. It clicked open. She put up her hand and went inside.
When the bay door began opening a second later, Tosha couldn’t help but grin.
“Pull the buses inside, Hurry,” she yelled and turned to see what the warehouse contained now that sunlight was streaming inside.
The warehouse was open and huge, with enough room to park a hundred school buses inside. On either side were wrapped pallets of items, all clearly labeled: seeds, bottled water, canned goods, motor oil, children’s toys, generators, garbage cans, bedding and dozens more.
“Are you kidding me? How did you know this was here? Why is this here?” Bernie asked.
“The Lich Lord found it,” Tosha said. “Stop over thinking this. We can’t get the pallets onto the buses but if we break them down we should get all of this back to The Promised Land.” Tosha smiled as the buses drove in and spread out.
“Where do we start?” April asked.
“We need all of this in the buses. Now. Let’s do this,” Tosha yelled.
Everyone, with smiles on their faces, began to rip open the pallets and form lines to get the product onto the buses at a quick and orderly pace.
Tosha walked the line, making sure everything was being added to the buses. When she saw one of the drivers stuffing a pack of AA batteries in his pocket, she confronted him in front of everyone nearby.
“Empty your fucking pockets. Now,” Tosha said, one hand on the grip of her weapon at her hip. “I’ll count to three.”
The guy looked pissed but he pulled the batteries out and tossed them into the bus with a shrug. “Just a pack of batteries.”
“They’re community property. I’m sure if you asked nicely someone would let you have them. But right now they belong to everyone. Is that understood?” Tosha climbed up on the pallet of electronics and batteries the man was working. “All of this shit is a gift… for all of us. But if I see anyone stealing I will shoot you in the fucking head. Do I make myself clear? I know we’ve been without luxuries for too long but our luck has changed. For the better, for once. All of this is ours. Because you’re here with me I will make sure The Lich Lord lets us have first dibs on anything important. Yet, I cannot stress this enough: if you fill your pockets with anything before we get a chance to bring it back and sort through and inventory everything, I will have no choice but to kill you. This is not an idle threat. Again… do I make myself clear?” Tosha asked.
“Yes,” came the reply from almost everyone.
Tosha climbed down and walked to the bay doors.
The zombies were still out there, facing away from the building and not moving. A stray piece of clothing caught in the warm breeze was the only movement at all.
Tosha lost count how many were surrounding them and gave up after a few minutes, knowing they didn’t have enough ammo to make a dent in what was out there.
If you’re out there, give me a sign, Tosha thought.
Tosha sighed and turned to go back inside to help finish loading so they could get back to safety.
Five thousand still zombies isn’t enough of a fucking sign for you, bitch?
Tosha laughed out loud when the thought hit her. She turned, hoping to see the woman, but she was alone.
“Where are you? Why are you still helping us?” Tosha whispered.
You think I’m just another zombie now. As if I have my mission and forgot what it’s like to be human. I haven’t and every now and then I need to remind myself.
“I want to see you,” Tosha said.
You can’t. I’m… I need to hide from daylight now. It’s only safe for me at night but not safe for you. The zombies you see are under my control right now but I can’t hold them for much longer. Please hurry and get everything out of the warehouse. You won’t be able to come back. It will be overrun by this time tomorrow. Nothing can be left. I’ve explained it to The Lich Lord now. This will be your last shot at getting supplied but there is enough to plant crops and you have enough farm animals and machinery to go forward.
“What’s to keep the zombies from attacking us when you lose control of them? There are still too many,” Tosha said.
I will lead them away from this area. As far away as I can. It is quite the effort to keep them in place right now with humans so close. They’re trying to fight me but I’m stronger. I can control more of them at night. Just hurry.
“Thank you,” Tosha said quietly. She turned to make sure no one inside was eavesdropping on her one-sided conversation. She felt like she was talking to her sister once again. At least now she was getting responses.
Your sister is in a better place.
Tosha got excited. “You’ve seen her? Spoken to her?”
Darlene laughed in her head. I’m not dead, bitch. I just meant she’s gone to the other side and she waits for you to someday join her. Hopefully not today. So go back inside and help load the buses. I can feel some of the older zombies stirring. You have maybe thirty minutes before you’re on your own. Got it?
Tosha didn’t want to stop talking to Darlene. She had a million questions. Even though they’d bumped heads in the past, they were still tied together thanks to the hardships they’d both endured. There was a definite respect between the women for what they’d accomplished.
I’ll see you soon. I promise.
Tosha went back inside and clapped her hands, running to the nearest pallet to help.
“We need to move, people. We might only have a few minutes until the zombies break free from their tether and attack,” Tosha yelled.
That seemed to get everyone motivated.
The buses were packed with everything formerly on pallets and even half of the pallets themselves were strapped to the roofs of the buses. Nothing could go to waste if possible.
“Let’s head out,” Tosha yelled.
Once the buses were moving, Tosha sat down behind the bus driver in the lead bus, watching as they drove out of the building.
“What if they attack?” April asked.
“Then we’re really fucked,” Tosha said. She could see a few of the zombies were shuffling their feet a few inches, coming off whatever paralysis Darlene had gripped them in. “If they get in the way of the bus, stomp on the gas and run them over.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” the driver said.
Tosha held her breath as they drove through the gate opening and past the first zombies, still lined up on either side but several inching forward.
Twenty feet down the road the bus clipped a moving zombie, a spray of dark blood and gore coating the window.
Tosha smi
led when she heard April gagging at the sight.
“It looks like we’re still moving behind us,” Bernie said from the rear of the bus.
“If they start to get too close or too many of them at once, feel free to shoot a few,” Tosha said. “But don’t waste ammo. Once you start firing every idiot on the other buses will start, too.”
They got back onto the main road without another incident but, as they turned right, Tosha could see the zombie horde disbanding in all directions like an ant hill come alive.
Thank you, Darlene, Tosha thought.
“That was fun. We should do it again,” Bernie said.
Tosha slumped in her seat and closed her eyes. She was getting a headache and the heat wasn’t helping any.
“Where do you want to meet?” the bus driver asked, trying to be quiet.
Tosha didn’t bother to open her eyes. She had no intention of blowing this guy but she didn’t want him to know it. “I’ll meet you later tonight. Near The Ocean Center.”
“I don’t like going anywhere near that place. How about if you come to my house?”
“Sure. Just give me your address,” Tosha said. There wasn’t a chance in Hell she’d meet this loser tonight or any night. What was he going to do, tell on her? If he went to The Lich Lord, he’d be laughed out of the building.
Not that he’d have the balls to rat her out anyway.
Tosha needed a good shower and sleep with the fans on her naked body. Florida weather sucked. She was happy this day would be over soon, and she didn’t have to walk several miles to get out and back in. She could be drunk before nightfall for once.
“Uh, Tosha… there’s a dude in the middle of the road aiming a gun at my head,” the bus driver said.
“Run him over,” Tosha said, standing and moving forward as the bus stopped.
She could see the red light dancing on the driver’s face, set right between his eyes, from the weapon the dude had in his hand.
The bus driver swallowed.
Tosha looked back at Bernie and April and sighed. “If he so much as shifts his weight on his feet, shoot him in the fucking head.” She looked out both side windows to see if they were about to be ambushed.
“I just want to talk to the redhead,” the dude yelled from the road. He didn’t put the gun down.
Tosha sighed. “Open the door.”
Chapter Nine
“You got balls,” Tosha said as she stepped out of the bus, glancing around to make sure no one else was aiming a weapon at her. She had her own weapon in hand but didn’t bother pointing it at the guy just yet. “What do you want?”
“I want to talk to you.”
“Then talk. We need to go. The zombies will be coming for us and, despite how slow they move, it’s a big enough horde I want to be back home in my bed by the time they reach this spot.” Tosha casually moved her hand a few inches, bringing the weapon closer to aiming at the guy. She was losing her limited patience.
“I saw you near the mall,” the guy said.
Tosha laughed and shifted her feet, casually inching the weapon higher. “You’re another loser following me around? I thought high school was over. I had this one guy, a big dumb jock, who used to stare at me in the hallway. Never said a fucking word to me. I can’t even remember his name but, if the guy is still alive out there in Harrisburg, I’m sure he jerks off thinking about me every night. Isn’t it funny how people perceive others?”
“I guess,” the guy said slowly.
Tosha raised her weapon and aimed it at his head. “I’m giving you thirty more seconds of my time to waste. There are a dozen barrels pointing at various parts of your body right now behind me, so, if I were you, I’d make a case for me not shooting you in the head.”
He lowered his gun and put up a hand. “I can help you. All of you.”
“I’m listening but growing bored. You got fifteen seconds left,” Tosha said.
“I cleared out everything from the bridge to I-95 and a mile north and south. I’ve been busy.”
“So what? We’ve been doing the same thing and there are a lot more of us than you. Besides, if that’s true, you’re the fucker who’s been cleaning out all of the supplies and things we need before we can get to them. All the more reason to kill you,” Tosha said.
“I’ll let you have them. I have more than enough to keep me going. I just… I’d like to stay with you and your people for a short time. Have some human contact. Conversation. I’ve been out here for too long by myself,” he said.
“How much stuff do you think you have?” Tosha asked. It wasn’t her choice to say if he could come with them but she wasn’t going to tell this guy, especially if he wasn’t lying and had a ton of supplies. He didn’t look like he’d missed a meal. He was wearing clean clothes and looked to be carrying ammo and weapons galore. She was sure he had a bag or two stashed somewhere nearby.
“I’ve been collecting it in this area for weeks.”
“Then give me your shit and I’ll take you to our Ellis Island,” Tosha said.
He looked confused. “I can’t just get on the bus?”
Tosha shook her head. “We can give you a ride to the school but you can’t cross over the bridge until The Lich Lord has looked you in the eye.”
“Who or what is The Lich Lord?”
Tosha laughed. “He’s our token smart zombie. Runs the show. He keeps us safe and destroys the other smart zombies who try to sneak in or harass us. It’s a good deal we have. Better than living on the streets.”
“You’re joking, I hope,” the guy said.
“You’ve never had a nice, long chat with a smart zombie?”
“I’ve heard rumors they existed,” he said.
Tosha narrowed her eyes. “How long have you been out here?”
“Since the beginning. Obviously. I’ve moved a lot. Been a loner, even when I was in the military. A couple of people I ran with swore they’d faced a zombie that could talk but I thought they were going nuts. They did go nuts, I guess, but for other reasons. I gotta be honest… the thought of going over the bridge now, with a zombie so close, is frightening,” he said.
Tosha shrugged. “Suit yourself. Good luck.” She turned to get back on the bus, knowing he’d stop her or if he did something really stupid someone would put a bullet in his head.
That would be a shame because he was a nice-looking guy.
“Wait,” he said.
Tosha grinned and turned back to him. “Yes?”
“Why do I have to go to a school?”
“Everyone does now. It’s just so the doctors can make sure you don’t have any obvious mental or physical problems. You also fill out a few forms. Get an ID so we can all know who is who. Figure out what your skills are so, when you join the community, we can put you in the best spot. It’s all for the betterment of The Promised Land,” Tosha said.
“You make it sound like a cult.”
“Again… nobody is forcing you to come, buddy. Go back to the mall and jerk off for all I care. I just know I’m going home to electricity, a warm meal and a clean bed tonight. Enjoy sleeping with your mannequin friends,” Tosha said.
The man laughed. “I’m Mitch.”
“I’m Tosha.”
“I think I’ll take that ride to the school and see what’s going on. I like the sound of a hot meal and a clean bed,” Mitch said. “How long until I get to cross the bridge once I’m there?”
Mitch ran to the side of the road and grabbed his backpacks. Tosha led Mitch to the bus.
“It depends. They usually bring a few smaller groups over each night. Sometimes there aren’t a ton of survivors waiting and you go the same night as you got there. I know some people who had to stay a week because of so many groups coming in. Word travels quickly that there is a safe haven. The Lich Lord travels around in the middle of the night and either invites survivors to join us or he tells me where they are and I do the inviting,” Tosha said.
“We’re wasting time,” the bus dr
iver said.
Tosha looked at the man and smiled; although, she was anything but amused by the guy. “What’s your hurry?”
“We need to get all of these supplies to safety,” he said.
“What’s your name again?” Tosha asked.
“Robbie. Why?” the driver asked.
“I just want to know your name in case The Lich Lord asks me if anyone annoyed the shit out of me today,” Tosha said.
Robbie mumbled something under his breath but Tosha didn’t catch what he said and wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of asking.
Mitch got on the bus and said hello to everyone else, getting proper introductions in.
“There’s really a zombie running the show?” Mitch asked Bernie and April.
“He’s a lot better than any other smombie I’ve ever run into,” Bernie said.
“I told you to stop saying that. It sounds stupid,” Tosha said but she was smiling. Bernie had sworn half a dozen times she wasn’t going to say smombie again, and yet…
Mitch looked confused.
“She says it means smart zombie,” April said.
“It sounds really cheesy,” Mitch said and laughed.
Tosha sat up front and let the girls flirt with Mitch while she stared out the front window and glanced at Robbie every now and then. The guy was a little off to her. He had an attitude, which she didn’t like. She couldn’t put her finger on it but he was going to be trouble for her.
Maybe I’ll give him that blowjob and then put a knife in his balls, Tosha thought. Or just tell The Lich Lord he was a problem and let him deal with Robbie.
When they arrived at the bridge to go east to The Promised Land, she had Robbie stop so she could get out and tell the other drivers to head back to base and start to unload.
Robbie, rolling his eyes but wisely not saying anything, drove them to the school on this side of the river where the refugees were initially housed.
Tosha walked Mitch inside after taking his weapons and bags, explaining to him it would make it easier if he went in without anything. “Stuff has a tendency to get lost in transit at times. There are a couple of people with sticky fingers.”
Dying Days 7 Page 5
