Dead States | Year Zero | Nebraska

by Marty Brockschmidt

  Tobin gritted his teeth. No longer able to stand there watching this man assault his wife, he grabbed the cleaver and ran at Smiley. With an almost casual flick of his arm, Smiley flung his knife at Tobin. Crystal sat there mortified and watched the knife sink to the hilt into her husband's chest. A scream escaped Crystal's mouth as she brought up one leg and kicked Smiley away.

  In an instant she was at Tobin's side, placed his head in her lap and held his hand. Tobin's eyes had a pleading look, his mouth moved, but no words came. A trickle of blood from his punctured lung ran from the corner of his mouth. Moments later his eyes glazed over, his grip on Crystal's hand loosened and his body was still.

  Crystal bent and kissed his lips. At the same time she pulled the knife from his chest and as she sat up, she plunged it through his temple.

  Smiley adjusted his crotch. “Okay very touching. If you're all done Darlin we have business to finish.”

  Smiley turned to lead Crystal out to her room. Crystal stood up, palming the knife and followed be hind Smiley. His smile broadened as he heard her footsteps behind him.

  At the doorway, Crystal said quietly. “Smiley.”

  Smiley turned to face her and she plunged the knife up under his chin, penetrating to his brain. “You forgot your knife.”

  Smiley's body crumpled to the floor. Crystal closed her blouse around her and went to the room she had shared with Tobin ever so briefly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she waited for the retaliation that was sure to come.

  Chapter 21 – Stranglehold

  Mac, Gael and Dog left the cottage early the next morning. The remote crossing north of Hannibal, was considerably less congested than when they crossed the Missouri. In Illinois the three proceeded north east towards Chicago. They spent the night in a cornfield so large, no barn or farmhouse was visible. Dog continued to improve each day, but still could do little more than a few shambling steps.

  Near the end of the second day they reached the suburbs south of Chicago and Mac chose to spend the night in one of the houses. They turned down a cul-de-sac and surveyed it for any signs of life. They busied themselves glassing the houses. Suddenly there was the report of a rifle and a bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing Mac. Mac scooped Dog out of the sled and the two men dove over the nearest hedge.

  A boys voice called out. “Holy smoke, I'm sorry. I didn't see the dog there.”

  Mac responded. “Does that mean you're done shooting at us?”

  The boy took some time to answer back. “Come out with your hands up.”

  Mac and Gael took the time to tuck their pistols behind their backs and leaving Dog behind, stepped out past the hedge row with their hands raised. A lanky boy, no more than his early teens came out, from behind a fence on the far side of the street. He walked towards the two men, the barrel of his rifle leveled at them.

  The boy stopped when he reached the snowmobiles. “What's your business here?”

  Mac answered with a question of his own. “You all alone here Son?”

  The boy's face clouded with anger. “Ain't none of your business. I believe I asked you a question.”

  Mac and Gael chuckled at the boy's bravado. “We're just passing through. Just looking for a place to spend the night.”

  The boy's face reddened from their laughter. “Then keep on passing. There is no place for you here.”

  Mac smiled at the boy. “Son, we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over. I'm Mac and this is Gael. Our friend over there, for lack of a better name, we're calling him Dog.”

  The boy relaxed a bit, at Mac's civility, but kept the rifle trained on them. “You just roaming around or got a place to be?”

  Mac kept the smile plastered to his face. “We're headed to the Army base, Fort Custer. Have you heard of it”

  The boy's face showed his incredulity. “There ain't no Army anymore.”

  Mac nodded. “There is. Just bits and pieces. Trying to hang on like all of us. Just maybe if enough of us start working together, things will get better.”

  While the boy pondered Mac's words, Gael took the opportunity to question the boy. “Could I ask your name?”

  The boy was obviously struggling with trusting these men. “Dave, uh David Lapaas.”

  Mac extended his hand and took a half step forward. “Pleased to meet you.”

  David shifted the rifle to his left hand, placed the barrel into the crook of his right arm, took two steps forward and shook Mac's hand. Gael was quick to follow suit and shake the boys hand.

  Mac pressed David. “David we mean you no harm, but we got to know, are you alone here?”

  Gael added. “Senor, if there is any aid we can provide you, all you need to do is ask.”

  David looked over to where the dog had struggled to its feet, on the other side of the hedge. “It’s just that it is up to me to keep her safe.”

  Mac spoke quietly. “Who?”

  David breathed in deep and let the air out slow, considering his response. “My sister, Mindy. We've been through so much. Our parents tried to help people and it cost them their lives.”

  Gael answered. “The difference is we are not asking for help.”

  David nodded. “Get your dog. Wait here and I'll bring Mindy out.”

  David headed off across the street and disappeared behind the same fence he had came from. Gael got Dog settled back in the sled. Not long after David appeared with Mindy. Mindy was a slip of a girl, definitely shy of ten years old. David had taken the time to strap a pistol over his coat and Mindy was carrying a .410 nearly as long as she was tall.

  As they neared the men, Dog, peering over the edge of the sled, stood up and began wagging his tail. Setting his whole body into excited movement. Mindy, upon seeing the dog ran to the sled, leaned her shotgun against it and hugged Dog.

  David smiled at his sister. “She's always had a special connection to dogs. It could be the meanest thing to everyone else, but Mindy could walk right up to it and give it a hug. We lost our dog and our Mom, shortly after this thing started. It broke Mindy's heart and she hasn't talked since. It is nice to see her, more like herself.”

  Contrary to what David just said, Mindy blurted out. “Matilda says, these are good men. Sir he wants you to know that if you give him a bit more time he can walk.”

  David chuckled. “Matilda that's a girls … Hey Mindy you're talking.”

  Mindy looked at David a tad irritated. “Well of course. How else am I to let you know what Matilda has to say? And by the way, Matilda is the name he gave me, I didn't make it up.”

  Mac interrupted the siblings. “David not to be insensitive, but you said you lost your Mother, early on. Where is your Dad?”

  David's face clouded. “A few days ago, two men and a woman, came by on sleds like yours. Dad thought the woman was pregnant and brought them some food. The woman shot Dad, without so much as a hello. They killed him for a few jars of beans and some jerky. I thought you were them coming back. That's why I shot at you.”

  Mac nodded and looked at Gael. “You two should come with us. If there could be scavengers coming through again, I say we spend the night in a commercial building off the Skyway.”

  David looked to Mindy. “I'm going wherever Matilda is going.”

  David smiled. “I guess that settles it. We'll get our things together.”

  The sleds, towed by Mac and Gael, were already about full, but they managed to find room. They topped off their tanks and gas cans, took a few pounds of dog food and added to their food stores. Each of the children, pulled together a few changes of clothes and a sleeping bag. Mindy wasn't leaving without a couple of the family photo albums.

  While the children packed Mac used their radio to contact the base. “Ivan McPherson here, please respond.”

  A few moments later Boone responded. “Ivan good to hear your still out there. How are your travels going?”

  Mac chuckled before answering. “Only my Mom called me Ivan. I'm Mac to everyone else. We are in Chicago now. We sh
ould be at the rendezvous day after tomorrow, with a couple of lost lambs.”

  David scoffed at being called a lamb, as Boone replied. “Mac it is then. You'll be met by Dakota. He joined us as we we're beginning to reach out, he has a knack for this. You and your lambs will be in good hands.”

  Mac signed off, “Good to hear. Mac out.”

  Mac suddenly realized he was holding his breath and let it out in a whoosh. Gael squeezed Mac on the shoulder. “Soon my friend.”

  Mac nodded sadly. “Will they help? Will we be in time?”

  Gael shrugged. “That we will learn. Right now we are packed and the shadows are growing long.”

  Mindy squeezed in the sled with Matilda and David rode behind Gael. Mac took the lead, heading to the stretch of commercial operations near the Skyway. Mac had passed this way on family vacations and the area always seemed grimy and ignored. Being ignored is the best thing they could hope for overnight.

  On the ride over Mindy spent the time stretching and rubbing Matilda's stiff legs. At first it was painful to the dog, but he innately trusted the child. When they stopped at the shipping company, Mac selected, Matilda was able to hop out of the sled on his own and walk a short distance to the side to pee.

  Mac popped open the loading dock door and they moved their machines inside. The shipping company had most recently been a consolidation point for packages dropped off at locations all over the city, or incoming shipments to be distributed through out the city. In its early years the building was involved in the huge Chicago meat packing industry. Remnants of the hoists and tracks, used to move animal carcasses about, were still evident in the building. Mac and Gael searched the building, for other inhabitants, living or dead and came up empty handed. Mindy was tired, so Gael spread out some sheets of cardboard, on the floor of the main room, for her to place her sleeping bag on. She crawled into the bag and Matilda curled up next to her. David sat up with the two men in the office.

  “Dad had talked about finding some place to go come spring, but we didn't have a place to start. What is it like out there? You know in the world.” David asked of either man.

  Gael cleared his throat. “What strikes me is how empty the world is. Mac and I have traveled quite a distance and we have come across only you two and another three. Like you those other people had stories of scavengers, preying on people. There is no law of the land anymore, you can do whatever you can get away with. Your principals need to guide you. If you are lucky enough to find others that share those values, stick close to them.”

  David busied himself clearing books from a chair and dropping them to the floor with a thud, as he pondered Gael's comments. “Two questions. Are we all that's left and how do you know who to trust?”

  “I'm pretty sure there are pockets of people all over. As Gael and I traveled we purposefully avoided people. Each time we came to a city of any size, we found others. Knowing who to trust, is tougher. You need to trust your instincts. I knew you were no killer. You were only thirty yards away, yet you missed me clean. I'm fairly certain, you could hit a target as big as me, if you really wanted to.” Mac told the boy.

  David nodded, picked up a yardstick from the corner and tapped on the track running across the ceiling. “What's this?”

  Mac laughed. “You ask a lot of questions.”

  David smiled back. “I got a lot to learn. So what is that track used for?”

  “Okay. Back in the day, Chicago was the hub of the meat packing industry. Trains would bring cows and hogs in and then they would leave on another train, as steaks, chops and roasts. Once the animal was killed, they would put a big hook into it. That hook had wheels that fit into the track. The workers could move the body around. One spot to skin it, another probably in the basement, where the temperature would be more constant, to hang and cure. Then back up to here to be broken down. The track had to support a lot of weight. It was easier just to build around the track then take it down.” Mac explained.

  The creature that had found itself in the basement, began to stir when the books thudded on the floor above its head. When the creature first spawned to find itself in the basement, the building was already quiet. Decades of curing animal carcasses had steeped every nook and cranny of the basement with the smell of death, that layers of industrial coatings failed to eliminate. Occasionally, the creature would hear the honking of horns or yells and screams, but then as the weather became colder all became quiet.

  The creature with no options just sat and waited. When one of the rats, that chewed up and nested, in the boxes stored here, came close it would grab hold and devour the animal. The temperature in the basement stayed relatively static until a recent cold snap dropped the temperature. Freezing off the creature's ears and nose and causing it eyes to shatter like two frozen bottles of beer.

  The books slamming on the floor got the creature to its feet, but it was the tapping on the metal track that gave it a direction to move. Shuffling blindly forward it came to the stairway. One shoulder propped against the wall it stumbled slowly up the steps, until further movement was impeded by the closed door.

  The creature began to paw at the door like an animal, causing the door to slowly slide open, its wheels making the faintest of squeaks. Matilda curled up next to Mindy, with Mindy's head on his side, bolted upright at the faint sound, dislodging the little girl. As the door opened, the creature moved forward toppling over the boxes piled in front of the sign painted on the door, 'DO NOT BLOCK DOORWAY'.

  The tumbling of the boxes put Matilda on full alert and he moved, putting himself between the sound and Mindy. Mindy picked up her flashlight and panned the light ahead of the dog. “What is it Mattie?”

  The creature came into the light causing Mindy to scream. Matilda faced the creature without fear, anger causing his lip to curl up revealing his teeth. A low growl began to come from Matilda, growing into a menacing primal sound, practically bred out of dogs. It was a warning to the creature, 'Not again. You want this child you gotta go through me'. Drawn in by the sound, the creature took a couple of stumbling steps forward.

  Ignoring the pain and stiffness in his legs, Matilda launched himself at the creature, smashing into it's chest. The creature fell back, its head hitting the concrete floor first. The force of the blow so severe, it cracked the creature's head like an egg and its brains splattered on the floor. Matilda was still standing on the motionless creatures chest, when Mac, Gael and David burst into the room, guns drawn and flashlight beams, bouncing around the room.

  Mindy turned toward the three. “It's okay, Mattie saved me.”

  David went over to his sister, as Mac and Gael found and sealed the door leading to the basement. Choosing to move Mindy to the office with them was easier said than done, as Matilda was resistant to leave the creature. Mac and even Gael were greeted with growls and bared teeth, as they tried to move the dog off.

  Finally Mindy walked up. “Oh for Heaven's sake. Mattie, come.”

  Contact with Fort Custer, had fueled the General's imagination in fulfilling his expansion plans. It also presented him with a logistical challenge. Who did he leave behind to keep this base in order? Who did he take with him to establish a chain of command at Fort Custer? Until then Sergeant Redding was his right hand and there were plenty of other preparations to be made.

  Stu Redding arrived at the club late, after another marathon meeting with the General as they weighed the options of travel to Michigan, go by a southerly route or head directly east. The quiet was the first thing that struck Stu, but it was the smell of blood that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. With pistol drawn, Stu entered the Club and immediately saw Smiley's body crumpled on the floor. Moments later when he saw Tobin's body and the buttons from Crystal's blouse, Stu had a fair idea of what had happened. He picked up the cleaver, hacked it into Smiley's neck and closed the doors of the Club.

  “Sir we've had an issue at the Club.” Stu reported to General Mayhue.

  The General made a guttural no
ise, expressing his irritation. “Did one of the ladies have a problem with her duties?”

  Stu shook his head. “Corporal Smeils and your chef, had an altercation over Miss Grey. Both of those men are dead.”

  The General's irritation turned to anger. “Son of a bitch. Who knows about this?”

  “Just you and I.” Stu answered.

  “Get some townspeople to clean up the mess and someone to take over the cook's duties. The men are not to know about Mister Smeils death at the hands of a townie. Mister Smeils was under specific orders to leave the Grey's be. I will not tolerate this insubordination in my chain of command. I will be correcting that in short order Sergeant.” General Mayhue finished glaring fiercely at his Sergeant Major.

  Sergeant Redding snapped a crisp salute, “Yes Sir.