Dead States | Year Zero | Nebraska

by Marty Brockschmidt

  “Juan do you know something?”, Crystal asked.

  “Si dere is a backup generator.”, Juan stated.

  Crystal raised an eyebrow, “You can get it running?”

  “Si”, Juan replied confidently.

  “I know Juan here is a wealth of information, but what he ain't tellin ya is that generator is down in the sub basement. You know what else is in the sub basement? The morgue that's what.”, Lup complained.

  “Do not worry my friend I have a plan”, said Juan.

  While plans were made to finish securing the town Hazel focused on issues at the high school, “Hey there honey its nice to see you waking up. My name is Hazel and I'm helping Sue Anne look after you.”

  “My arm hurts where mommy bit it. I'm going to be one of those things aren't I”, Brittany Rose cried.

  “No sweetie don't fret about that Sue Anne took care of it real quick and your going to be right as rain in no time. I have some tea here I'd like you to drink it will make you feel better too.”, Hazel soothed.

  Halfway through the cup the little girls eyelids began to droop and shortly she fell back to sleep.

  “The tea is a mild sedative and antiseptic, it will work along side the medicine you gave her Sue. I want to avoid telling her about her arm until she gets a little stronger. Kids are pretty resilient, but this is a lot to take in.”, Hazel told Sue Anne.

  The following morning Jim Staddler was seated next to Crystal in the school bus they were using for transport, “What you writing there Captain, planning your next rescue mission?”

  She replied, “Crystal is fine Pastor. No Its just a journal I try to keep a record of events.”

  Jim gave her a wan smile, “I see. You can call me Jim, Crystal. After what has happened I'm not sure I have the faith anymore to call myself a pastor.”

  Crystal patted him on the shoulder, “Jim I hope you can find it again. People need to believe in something bigger than themselves. We need people like you to help them see that.”

  Once they were close enough for radio contact Crystal raised the compound and explained the situation. It was decided that they would use the B&B at the nearby small town for the quarantine period. By the time the caravan pulled up to the B&B most of the council members were there, Joe Gant had assembled a small crew to put up a perimeter of barbed wire and to feed power to the building from a generator. Alice had came with a full patrol for security and Tobin had setup a small barbeque in the courtyard .

  “Bill, Alice seems to have things covered here. You and Jason take the men and Percy back to the compound, I'll catch up with you later on.”, directed Crystal.

  Crystal turned her attention to the Lexington survivors, “Folks bear with us just a little longer and I'll make sure we are set for you. Jim why don't we get you off and you can let us know if the accommodations are sufficient.”

  Jim chuckled, “We've been camped out in a cafeteria for weeks, anything is a step up from that.”

  Crystal had Mac and Alice join them and the four entered the B&B. Tobin came in from the back smiling, pleased to see Crystal again and relieved she was OK. Crystal silenced him with a glare and an admonishing wave of her finger.

  As soon as they were out of earshot Crystal cut loose, “Alice I understand you were trying to be helpful, but you knew we were arriving with two patrols. Right now there is barely anybody left guarding the compound. Security of the compound was your priority.”

  Mac was the next to feel the sting of her ire, “Mac I know these people haven't seen the light of day in weeks, but a picnic in the courtyard is not the message to be sending.”

  Finally Crystal delivered a warning to the Pastor, “Jim things are far from safe, your people need to stay inside. If they go out nobody goes alone, stay in sight of the guards and nobody goes past that perimeter.”

  Mac broke out in a broad smile and winked at Jim.

  “I'll make sure the message is delivered, but we've been kind of going with the flow. Can someone explain to me … well everything.”, Jim asked.

  Mac quickly explained to the Pastor what they knew about the outbreak and the history of their compound. Tobin with the help of Alice moved the meal he was working on inside. Crystal went to the bus to direct people in and found Doc Linderman checking over young Brittany.

  “Sue Anne very clean job here. Hazel I don't know what you have in that poultice, but Miss Brittany here is healing nicely. Very little sign of infection. Shame for a young girl to lose her arm, but she will live.”, said Doc.

  “You wanted to know about other medical concerns of our group Doctor?”, Sue Anne asked.

  “Yes anything your aware of, especially if it is anyone like this little ladies mother that is running short on medications.”, Doc answered.

  “No I'm not aware of anything like that. We are all malnourished and a bit dehydrated. The only other concern is Pastor Jim, being confined to a wheel chair leaves him with any number of possible problems and he is not one to complain.”

  As they finished their conversation everyone else had been taken off the bus and Tobin entered to speak to Crystal, “How are you doing Darlin?”

  Crystal hugged him close, “I couldn't be better, a bit tired and I missed you, but it went better than I could of dreamed.”

  Tobin kissed her, “I missed you something fierce too. You should know Alice really stepped up while Bill was away.”

  Crystal sighed, “I'm glad to hear that, but that is why we picked her. Our valley is so isolated that most of you don't see how dangerous things are. If I have to be queen bitch to keep people alive than that is what I will be. I promise I'll speak to Alice, lets not worry about that now. The dinner you made smells wonderful take me in and feed me and we can head back home and catch up with each other.”

  Tobin and Crystal left hand in hand looking very much the couple in love.

  “That young lady certainly carries a load.”, Sue Anne remarked.

  “You don't know the half of it two months ago, she was just a normal young woman preparing to head off to college. Now she has the responsibility of being the savior of human society.”, replied Doc Linderman.

  “There is no one else more experienced?”, Sue Anne asked.

  “She has help to be sure, but no one that has her clarity on the situation and her vision of what to do .”, Doc answered.

  After dinner Pastor Jim made an announcement, “Everybody your attention please. For those of you that haven't heard this is a just a way point on our journey, a sort of quarantine. Doc Linderman will be giving all of us routine physicals and our hosts will be interviewing us to understand our skills and hobbies. For now they've brought clean clothes and I am told there are hot showers. For our safety stay inside, if you have cause to venture outside do not do so alone and make sure the guards can keep an eye on you.”

  Most of the people were still a bit shell shocked, but the lure of clean clothes and showers got them moving. Crystal took the opportunity to speak with Jim and Mac, “I'm going to head back to the compound soon, but I wanted to get you thinking about the salvage from Lexington. We need to decide what our priorities are and what we are going to do with it.”

  “I'm sure we can help direct you to prime locations.”, offered Jim.

  “I'll talk with the others, you come back tomorrow and we'll wade through it”, Mac promised.

  Alice was the last person Crystal spoke with. Taking Alice out to the porch they each took a seat, “Oh that feels good just to sit for a bit”

  “Captain I'm sorry for dropping the ball on compound security.” started Alice.

  Crystal waved a hand to stop the other woman, “You were trying to be proactive I get that. It sucks having to decide between saving one or saving a hundred. The lives at the compound always have to be priority. Once folks finish their showers kick off the generator, only use it sparingly especially at night. Do you have your watch rotations worked out?”

  “You want, me, to manage things here?”, Alice asked.<
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  “Well of course, I haven't slept in two days I'm not competent right now and everyone else is back at the compound. If anything and I mean anything crops up get on the radio.”, Crystal replied.

  “You can count on me Captain.”, Alice stated.

  At breakfast Crystal was swarmed by people looking for news on the Lexington mission. Some because they had loved ones in the militia. Most were just seeking news to break up the routine of compound life. The children took great delight in Crystal's colorful description of the detonation of the trap.

  As the questions wound down Sara Parsons cleared her throat, “So your telling us we are going to have twenty six more mouths to feed now and where are we going to be cramming these people in at.”

  “Sara these people need our help. We are fully capable of giving it to them.”, Crystal replied

  “Miss Parsons we've run the numbers we have enough of everything even if its four times that number. Besides there is a trained nurse, a minister and a variety of other skills they bring in.”, added Matt.

  Sara scowled, “Yeah a minister in a wheel chair, who's gonna draw the short straw to wheel his sorry ass around?”

  “I think we are done with this conversation we were lucky that someone cared enough to rescue us. We are paying it forward and that is all there is to it.”, Crystal stated staring down Sara Parsons.

  Turning her back on Sara, Crystal turned to Matt, “Matt can you sit down with Tobin and I in a little while. We're trying to prioritize salvage and want your input. I'm headed over to the B&B to meet the rest of the council this afternoon to hammer this out.”

  Before Matt could reply Lou stepped up, “Crystal I heard you say there was a little girl that lost an arm like me. Do you mind if I tag along it might help her knowing shes not the only one.”

  Crystal beamed at him,“I think that is a wonderful idea Lou we'll head out after lunch. Matt in about a half an hour over at the security office.”

  After lunch Crystal and Tobin found Lou waiting for them. Lou nervously shifting from foot to foot. It was warm today, but Lou wore a long sleeve shirt so that he could cover the stump of his severed arm.

  “Hey there, are we all set to go. I've been trying to figure out what to say to the little girl. I've never had no kids of my own,never had a wife for that matter. After everything that's happened I feel a little foolish being afraid of a little girl.”, Lou blurted out in one breath.

  “Lou just say hello and see what happens. It is a comfort just knowing that somebody cares.”, Crystal said.

  They piled into one of the jeeps and Tobin remarked, “You said there was a car dealer in Lexington, maybe we can pick up a couple of electric or hybrid vehicles, save some gas on runs like this.”

  “I'll add it to the list, the only problem is the list is getting longer than we have space to store things.”, Crystal half joked.

  When they arrived at the B&B Crystal found Sue Anne and introduced her to Lou. Sue Anne lead Lou to the room they had setup for Brittany Rose. As a precaution Brittany was strapped to the bed and Hazel had found a book to read to her.

  “Hazel how is our patient this afternoon?”, Sue Anne inquired.

  Hazel closed the book, “Feeling much better, looks like we have a special visitor. Why don't we leave them to get acquainted Sue?”

  Lou stiffly shuffled up to the bed, “Uh hello there little miss, sorry to interrupt story time.”

  Brittany smiled up at the big man,“I'm not, that was a romance novel yuck. What's your name?”

  Lou nervously shuffled his feet, “I'm Lou, I guess you could say I'm Lefty Lou.”

  Brittany Rose did her best to put him at ease, “That must make me Righty Rose, put her there Lefty.”

  The young girls good nature was infectious and shortly the two were joking as if they had always known each other. After a bit Lou excused himself and asked for permission to take Brittany Rose outside. Alice was already letting folks out into the courtyard in small groups and added Lou and Brittany to the next group. Brittany slipped her right arm around Lou's neck and he scooped her up in his left. Lou found a couple of rockers under a shade tree, but Brittany preferred to stay seated in his lap. A while later Brittany Rose began to yawn and drifted off to sleep with her head nestled into the shoulder of the big man.

  An hour later Crystal found him gently rocking back and forth smiling contentedly down at the little girl, “I see you two are getting along. Lou it is going to take some while for us to plan out the salvage phase. We are going to spend the night here and if Doc gives the OK we'll all head back to the compound in the morning.”

  Not wanting to disturb the girls slumber Lou gave Crystal a thumbs up and went back to his rhythmic rocking.

  “So that's your big plan we fill up the fuel tanks”, Lup joked to Juan.

  “Si if we are lucky. Probably not so lucky and we will have to charge the battery to.”, Juan replied.

  “Then it will start?”, Lup asked.

  “Si if we are lucky.”, again Juan answered.

  “What if it don't start then?”, Lup pressed.

  Normally unflappable Juan began to become irritated at his friends badgering, “Then I will fix the problem, punta.”

  “Don't get testy I was just tryin to figure out if any part of your plan didn't depend on luck.”, Lup teased.

  Juan smiled, “Si the part where I kick your ass, if you don't stop being a punta.”

  The fuel tanks for the Hospitals generator were accessible from the street. Once the tanks were filled and the generator didn't start they made preparations to head to the subbasement from the emergency exit stairwell.

  “Senor Blade the door por favor.”, Juan requested.

  They drilled two holes through the door one to pass a light through and the second a peep hole. The noise of the drilling would certainly draw any dead that were in the stairwell.

  “Well?”, Blade asked.

  “It looks clear”, Lup answered.

  “We'll give it another minute or so, the dead don't navigate stairs to well.”, Blade answered.

  They entered the stairway using sheets of plywood cut down to make shields. They lit up the stairway from a portable generator and made sure the upper stairway was clear first and chained off the doors leading to the hospital. Heading down the stairway they came across a handful of dead trying to make their way up. They must have tumbled down the stairs in the dark breaking bones and dislocating limbs. Shooting through the cutouts in the shields they quickly dispatched them.

  “Willis bring your men down to join us we are about to head in”, radioed Blade.

  The men stepped into the corridor dimly lit by their flood lamps. Boxed themselves in with their plywood shields though none of the dead came to greet them. All they heard was a strange scratching noise like a hundred nails on a chalkboard.

  Screech … screech … screech.

  “Which way Juan?”, Blade asked.

  “This way it is not far.”, Juan directed.

  As they approached the mechanical room the strange scratching noise became louder. Soon they realized it was coming from the morgue, across the hall.

  “What do you think that is? Rats?,” suggested Willis.

  “Its the dead tryin to claw their way out of the slab”, responded Lup.

  They entered the mechanical room and as soon as it was determined the room was free of any dead, Juan set to work on the generator.

  “How long?”, Blade asked.

  “Thirty minutes minimum, more if there is a problem.”, replied Juan.

  As soon as Juan felt he let the battery charge enough he started the manual restart process on the generator and a few minutes later it sputtered to life and the lights flickered on.

  “Lets back out of here quick.”, ordered Blade.

  With the hall lit up the dead were now able to navigate their way to the sounds of activity. As the men left the mechanical room swarms of dead were closing in from both directions. They were able to slow
them up a bit by dropping the lead ones, but the exit to the stairway was already blocked. They concentrated their fire towards the exit quickly clearing a path towards the door. Nearly deafened by all the gunfire, Blade waved them forward. Blade and Willis took up positions at the door as the rest of the men filed up the stairway. The swarm following them snapping at their heels like rabid dogs. Blade the last to enter the stairway shot a Dee point blank and it crumpled into the doorway making it impossible to close the door.

  “I'll be right back”, called out Lup as he bolted up the stairs.

  Meanwhile the men turned the body sideways and strung a chain to the door and started playing tug of war with the dead that were trying to pull the door open. Lup raced back down the stairs with the chainsaw he retrieved from the back of the truck. Lup started the chainsaw as he cleared the last few steps and began cutting the body in half. The chainsaw coated Lup in blood, gore, and bone chips, but quickly separated the body in two. As Juan pulled the upper half of the body clear of the doorway, Lup ran the saw up the door frame hacking off limbs and fingers of the dead trying to get in.