There were three drifters approaching the intersection. Two more were fifty yards behind them heading in the same direction. All five were in bad shape. Decomposition had taken its toll leaving them struggling to walk.
John and Derek sat in silence and watched the first three drifters walk into the intersection and pass without acknowledging them.
“They’re heading North,” Derek said.
“Yep.”
The next two walked into the intersection and stopped. John looked over at Derek. Derek shrugged.
The zombies stood for a second and slowly turned to look at them.
“Creepy,” Derek said. “What do they want.”
“I don’t know.”
Finally they turned and continued on.
“Follow them,” Derek said.
“Why?”
“To see where they’re going.”
John turned left and followed. He passed the two cripples and soon caught up with and passed the other three. The street T-boned into another and ended at a three way stop. Across the street was a park with a creek on the far side. They pulled up to the sign and stopped.
“Wow,” Derek said. “Check that out.”
In a large grassy area across from them were many of the dead. Some lying on the ground face up and some wandering slowly around in circles. At first they thought the ones lying on the ground were dead, but after watching for a minute they noticed many of them moving.
John exited the SUV.
“Where are you going?” Derek asked.
“I want to understand what’s going on here.”
Derek nodded in agreement.
“Lets be careful,” Derek said getting out of the vehicle.
Both had weapons ready. They maneuvered around the bodies on the ground and walked amongst the dead still standing.
John thought of what a surreal experience this was. He felt like he was walking amongst sleeping crocodiles.
Some of the walking corpses looked at them curiously as they passed but most simply ignored them.
“Are they gomers?” John whispered.
“Could be,” Derek whispered back. “They don’t walk like gomers though.”
“Right...” John said. “Or maybe just regular zombies. It’s like their attack mode has been switched off.”
“Wierd...” Derek said.
They watched as the first three they saw walked into the park and joined the others. Soon the two crippled and slower ones made it to the park. The two searched until they found a suitable spot and collapsed to the ground.
“It’s like they’re coming here to die,” Derek said.
“Right...” John said. “I wonder if the ones in Charleston were doing the same thing.”
“Maybe,” Derek said.
They watched for a few more minutes and returned to the SUV. John started the engine and looked over at Derek.
“Do you feel bad about killing those guys?” John said as he drove slowly along the deserted street.
“Nope,” Derek answered. “I feel worse about killing the gomers. But with those guys... That’s different.”
“Yeah,” John said.
“Couldn’t be helped,” Derek said. “We tried to reason with them.”
“Right...”
“If anybody threatens any of us, they’re going down,” Derek said.
“And staying down,” John added.
“Damn right...”
At the intersection John turned and headed back toward Glassy Mountain. When they reached the turn off, the gomer woman was still standing in the middle of the road blocking their way. John pulled up close and stopped.
“What do you think she wants?” he said.
“I have no idea man,” Derek answered.
John put the SUV in park and opened the door.
“What are you doing?” Derek said.
“You asked if I wanted to see what she wants. Well... my curiosity is getting the best of me.”
John walked up to the gomer. Derek grabbed his rifle and followed. The gomer turned and headed for the small white house that sat off the street. She reached the steps and stopped to look back.
“We’re coming,” Derek said.
The gomer stepped up onto the porch and opened the door. She entered the house and disappeared into another room.
John gripped his pistol. “I’m going in,” he said. “Stand watch on the porch.”
“You sure you want to do that,” Derek said.
“Yeah,” John said.
“Be ready,” Derek said. “No telling what you’ll find.”
John entered the house and followed the gomer into the room. After not hearing anything for a few minutes Derek pulled the door open and stuck his head in.
“Hey! You ok?”
John returned to the front door and looked at Derek. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said.
“You better come see this...”
Derek followed John into the living room. It was a small room with a TV that took up half of one wall. There was a brown couch and recliner. In the middle of the room was a small padded play pen.
They walked into the bedroom. It had been decorated in pink and was obviously a nursery. The name Nicole was spelled out on the wall with white, twelve inch wooden letters.
Sitting in a rocking chair in the corner was the gomer. She rocked slowly back and forth. John pointed to the other side of the room.
“Wow...” Derek said.
Sound asleep on a the bed was a perfectly healthy baby girl.
The gomer stood up and walked over to the bed. She reached down and patted the little girl on the head and turned to John and Derek. She stared at them for a moment and looked down at the child again and grunted.
John stepped closer to the gomer woman. “You want us to take care of you child?” he said.
The gomer looked at him for a moment without changing expressions then sat back down in the rocker and turned to stare out the window. She reminded John of Susan.
“Looks like our group just got bigger,” Derek said.
He picked up the diaper bag and stuffed it with the baby formula and baby food that sat on a nearby bookshelf. He picked up a laminated birth certificate and handed it to John.
“Her name is Nicole Simmons,” John said. “She’s ten months old. Mother is Jessica Simmons, Father is David Simmons.”
He handed the birth certificate back to Derek who stuffed it in a pouch on the side of the bag.
“We’ll have to make another run to the mart soon,” Derek said. “We’re kind of short on baby supplies.”
“Right...”
John reached down for the child who woke when he picked her up. She reached out for her gomer mother and cried. The gomer didn’t turn to look but continued to stare out the window.
“Shh...” John said. “It’s ok.”
The little girl calmed down and stopped crying.
“You have the touch,” Derek said.
John handed the little girl to Derek and kneeled down beside the babies mother. She stopped rocking and turned to face him.
“We’ll take good care of her,” John said touching her on the sleeve. “I promise...”
The gomer turned back to the window and started rocking again.
They left the room with the child and went back to the SUV where they sat in silence for a minute. They were surprised at how calm the little girl was. She reached up and pulled on Derek’s chin.
“What just happened?” Derek said finally.
“She just saved her child’s life,” John said. “Even in death, her first priority was her baby.”
Derek nodded. “Gomers... they never cease to amaze.”
John started the engine and headed out again. They drove back in silence. Both realizing everything would be different now.
When they arrived back at the compound, Stephanie was out walking Spanky on the far side. Zombies followed them outside the fence, growling as they shuffled along.
Spanky barked a few times but mostly ignored them.
They entered the compound and got out of the vehicle. Derek handed the baby to John who walked into the building where Amy was napping. Jimmy looked up surprised when he entered with a child in his arms.
Shh...” John said.
John went to Amy’s bed and sat down. He put the little girl on his lap and touched Amy to wake her.
Amy opened her eyes slowly at first, then opened them wide. When she saw that John was holding a baby she sat up quickly.
“Oh my God!” she said. “Where did she come from?”
“We found her. Her name is Nicole,” John said. “I guess we’re going to be raising a child in this world after all.”
Amy took the child without saying a word and began to cry. The little girl put her arms around Amy’s neck and laid her head on her shoulder. Amy rocked her back and forth. The little girl was soon asleep.
Stephanie joined them, astonished at what she was seeing.
“Where did you find her?” Stephanie asked.
John recounted the story of the gomer Mother and her desire for someone to take care of her child.
“That’s amazing,” Stephanie said.
Amy still had not spoken. Tears streamed down her face.
“Are you ok?” Stephanie asked.
Amy smiled.
“I didn’t think I would ever hold a baby again.”
She laid her cheek on the babies head. “She’s so warm,” she whispered.
John sat down and put his arm around Amy.
Stephanie sensed she should leave them alone and left to talk to Derek.
“That’s unbelievable,” she said.
“Tell me about it...” Derek said.
“What happened to your arm?”
“We ran into some unsavory characters,” Derek said. “They won’t be bothering us.”
“Demons?”
“Yeah but the human kind,” Derek said. “Three jerk offs tried to rob us of our supplies. We got them but I took a bullet to the arm in the process.”
Stephanie checked his arm.
“I’ll clean and dress that properly,” she said and led him off by the hand.
After they were over the shock of the new addition, they made a place for the little girl in Amy and John’s room.
The day was spent playing with the baby and taking turns watching her while they went about their tasks. The little girl would primarily be the responsibility of John and Amy but would be raised by all. There was new life in the group and they went to bed excited about the future.
19
Moment Of Truth
-------------------------------------------悪魔死--------------------------Derek woke first the next morning and breathed in deeply. Something didn’t seem right. He sniffed hard at the air and sat up abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” Stephanie asked groggily.
”That smell,” Derek said still sniffing hard.
Stephanie sampled the air.
“You’re right it’s worse than yesterday.”
Derek’s eyes grew wide. He looked at Stephanie.
“Not worse,” he said. “Different. I know that smell.”
“You look spooked,” she said.
“This is not good,” he said.
Derek jumped out of bed, grabbed his rifle and woke John.
“You need to come with me,” he said.
“What’s up?” John whispered.
Derek shook his head and gestured for John to follow him. John dressed and followed Derek outside. A light haze hung over the area. The air was damp and cold.
“There,” Derek said pointing to the gate. “I thought I smelled it when I woke up.”
“How did they find us,” John asked.
“They must have followed us from town,” Derek answered.
They walked to the gate and looked down at the pile of bodies stacked five high and three deep. They were covered in zombie excrement and black, red and green goo. A large puddle of blood and other fluids surrounded the pile. The stench assaulted their nostrils causing the gag reflex to kick in. Bile rose in their throats. John coughed hard and spat. The gentle breeze wafted the odor throughout the surrounding countryside.
As they turned to head back to the others, screams broke out all around and echoed through the compound. A figure dashed from behind a nearby tree and sprinted for the fence. It launched itself up and climbed. Derek raised his rifle and fired three shots. The demon fell back and landed hard on the ground.
Derek looked over at John who stood with mouth open and eyes wide. “John,” Derek said. “You OK?”
John turned slowly to Derek.
“We’ve got trouble,” he said turning his gaze back to the service road leading up to the tower.
“Oh shit...” Derek said softly.
Marching toward the compound were hundreds if not thousands of the dead. In front was a large group of demons. They had never seen so many in one place before. Out front, leading them all in an evil grotesque version of the pied piper, was one shirtless and particularly menacing looking demon.
“He must be the leader,” Derek said.
As they watched, it stopped and turned to face the demons behind it. The zombies stopped their advance. Their dead eyes locked on the demon.
“What the hell are they doing?” Derek said.
They were mesmerized by the scene in front of them. The leader held his arm up and screamed. A group of demons split off to the right and disappeared into the tress. He waved his arm to the left and another group headed off in that direction.
“They’re flanking us,” Derek said.
The demon turned to face the compound again and glared at the survivors.
“What now?” Derek said.
The demon screamed again and the zombies behind it surged forward. They soon overtook the shirtless leader and moved past him.
“Take him out,” John said.
Derek raised his rifle to shoot but lost sight of the demon as it disappeared into the horde.
“Dammit!” Derek said. “I don’t see him.”
The mob was still several hundred yards away. Screams echoed through the compound again. The screams came from all directions. They knew they were surrounded.
Derek turned to see a demon running for the fence on the north side. He ran to the center of the compound and dispatched the demon zombie as it tried to climb over.
John sprung into action and sprinted for the buildings. Stephanie met him at the door.
“What’s going on,” she said obviously frightened.
John put both hands on her shoulders.
“Listen,” he said. “Get as much ammo as you can carry and get up in the tower now.”
“I need to get Amy and the children?” Stephanie said.
“I’ll take care of that. Just do it,” John said. “Our survival depends on it. Go!”
Derek rushed back to the building and stuffed his pockets with ammo. He and John looked at each other and nodded. Derek knew what needed to be done.
“Amy take the baby and Jimmy and go to the tower,” John said. “I’ll bring the dog.”
“What’s happening,” she asked.
John stopped for a moment and looked her in the eyes.
“We’re under attack....”
“From who,” she asked.
“The dead,” John said. “All of them...”
John gave her a little push toward the door.
“Go!” he said, “Now!”
Amy hugged the baby tight and took Jimmy by the hand. They rushed out of the building and raced across open ground to the tower. Derek stood firing at the far fence dropping two demons trying to climb over. One fell, its head exploding in a shower of blood brains and bone as it fell head first into the ground. The other fell dead, draped over the barbed wire at the top of the fence. The contents of its open skull slowly oozing out and dropping to the grass below.
Amy saw a demon jump down from the f
ence and run after her. She screamed. Derek spun around and fired. The demon tumbled to the ground. He put another round in the back of its skull.
Stephanie rushed past Derek with the shot gun, rifle and her pistol. Over her shoulder was the backpack full of ammo. She raced up the stairs to catch up with Amy who was struggling with the children. She backpedaled up the stairs covering them as they went.
John put the dog under his arm and ran for the tower. Two demons emerged from behind the building and gave chase.
Derek was at the base of the tower firing his M4. “Look out!” he screamed.
John stopped, put the dog down, dropped to a knee and raised his rifle. Derek opened fired. One demon dropped. A bullet in its face. John fired at the second demon but missed.
The demon dove behind the SUV. Derek dropped to a prone position and could see the demon on the other side of the vehicle on its stomach. Derek had a clear shot and put two rounds in the demons head.
The little dog ran off toward the other side of the compound barking furiously at a demon climbing the fence.
“Shit!,” John said.
He looked back at Derek. Derek shrugged. John knew he had to save the dog.
“Shit!” he screamed again.
John jumped up, ran the fifteen yards to the tower, laid the equipment he was carrying at Derek’s feet and took off at a sprint for the dog who was at the fence now barking up at the two demons climbing. Derek fired over John’s head as he ran. One demon dropped and fell back to the ground. The other demon reached the top, climbed over and jumped down. It ignored the dog and ran for John. Spanky gave chase, growling and barking as he went, and grabbed the demon’s pants leg and pulled hard. The demon tripped and fell to the ground. Derek could no longer get a clear shot. John was in the way.
Two shots rang out from the tower. The demon collapsed. Stephanie and Amy had finally reached the top. John turned to look up. Stephanie gave him a thumbs up. John grabbed the little dog and ran again for the tower.
As he ran John could see the gate being rocked back and forth by the zombies. Demons climbed the backs of the dead to get over the fence. Derek fired into the mob and raced up the stairs behind John.
At the top they looked around the compound to take stock of the situation. They were surrounded on all sides by the dead. Demons were climbing the fence everywhere they looked.
“Take out the ones climbing over,” John said.
The Demon Dead (Book 2): Troubled Waters Page 19
