What Zombies Fear 3: The Gathering

by Kirk Allmond

  "I got nothing. It doesn't really work like that," Kris said.

  "When we get back on the train, I'd like to work with you a little bit. Are you okay with that?" Vic asked.

  "Not really, but whatever."

  "Okay. Let’s get to work then. Shelton, get us moving and keep it under about twenty miles per hour. We need to give Marshall about eight hours.

  "Marshall, walk with me while Leo gets geared up?"

  While the rest of the crew headed to their jobs, Marshall and Vic walked along the tracks out in front of the train.

  "Do you really think he's alive?"

  "I do, Vic. You know if anyone survived this, Dad did," said Marshall.

  "Atlanta would have been over-run so quickly. How could he have gotten away?"

  "I talked to Dad the morning of the outbreak. He was going hiking. I bet you I'll find him up at the old mountain house in Suches," said Marshall.

  "If he was up in the woods, he could have made it. He sold that house many years ago, though. I just don't know. You're going to go by the house first, then up to the old mountain property, and then meet us at McPherson? Do you think eight hours is enough?"

  "Yea," he said. "I think it is."

  "You know, there's also the chance that he headed for the Keys as soon as this all started. You know he always wanted to move down there permanently. Cell phones went down pretty quick,” Victor said.

  "I'm hoping I'll find a note or something at the house."

  The locomotive engines started. The diesels were already warmed up, so it was only a second before Shelton twisted the throttle up and started the gigantic twin motors generating electricity.

  "I think it’s worth checking out. I'd like to have Dad with us." A shadow formed just beside Marshall. "Leo's coming," Victor said.

  A second later, Leo appeared beside them. "You ready, Marshall?" she asked.

  "Oh, hey, Marshall. Where'd you get the Desert Eagle on your thigh?" his brother asked just before Leo transported them.

  "Shelton had it. He said it was impractical, but since my finger fit through the trigger guard, he gave it to me. I have another one in my bunk. I guess they always come in pairs. I thought two was too flashy. I'd rather just carry the second magazine," he said, patting the cargo pocket of his shorts.

  "You are amazing, Marshall. Be safe. See you in a little while, Leo."

  The two of them disappeared just after the train started rolling. The train was moving about five miles an hour when Victor grabbed the hand bar and swung himself up into the locomotive. He stood on the bottom step of the locomotive watching Leo and Marshall's aura blink farther and farther away.

  About an hour later, Leo was waiting at the tracks, looking as beautiful as ever.

  "We found him a brand new dump truck with a snow plow and filled the tanks with diesel. He's happy as a kid in a candy store."

  "Did you see any zombies?" Victor asked.

  "Not a single one. The whole place is like a ghost town."

  Chapter 23

  Atlanta

  Victor watched Marshall's aura moving steadily southeast. The train tracks carried the rest of them through residential neighborhoods. Renee and Kris were on top of the locomotive, John and Victor were on the roof of the caboose. John positively bristled with guns. He had six in his vest and two in thigh holsters, all Glock 17's. Magazines lined his back like body armor, covered by a backpack full of shells that looked like it weighed fifty pounds. Beside him was a black duffle bag containing assorted other handguns, two H&K assault rifles, and at least thirty magazines for each of the assault rifles.

  Victor knew he could count on John to kill at least one zombie with every bullet he fired. Tookes had Sammie; she was outfitted with a new bipod. He had three hundred rounds of ammunition and a twelve-gauge shotgun in his duffle bag. His Sig was on his right thigh, and his hatchet hung through a loop on the other side. It was just a waiting game. John had trained the train crew in the use of the mounted cannons, leaving the five of them free to dismount the train if they had to. If they came across a huge number, John was going to run up to the top cannon on the locomotive and take over there. He believed he could aim every shot out of the .50mm cannon on full auto. Those rounds would go through several zombies each before running out of energy.

  Leo was running three miles ahead of the train. As soon as she spotted anything, she was to teleport back and let the rest know. She was the key to this whole plan. If something happened to Leo or she wasn't able to give them any warning, things would get ugly.

  Everything inside was locked down, and they were ready for battle. Even Reggie Walton was carrying a rifle, his old M1 Garand. Victor tried to give him a newer gun, but he told him that rifle carried him through Korea and Viet Nam, and it would carry him through this. Reggie was Max's last line of defense. He swore to guard Young Master Tookes with his life, and Victor believed he would. If anything made it this far onto the train, Victor didn't think Mister Walton would be able to do much to stop it.

  Max was in their cabin playing with his LeapPad, the last Christmas gift his parents had gotten him. He was in the safest car on the train with instructions to climb into the steel-reinforced hole under the bed and pull the door closed behind him. He had three flashlights and a dozen books hidden under there, as well as four juice boxes and a box of Cheerios that was only slightly stale.

  Victor focused all his energy on looking forward. Zombies’ lack of aura left a hole, almost like a negative aura. If there was a large group ahead, he thought he could spot it pretty far up. It would be a big hole in his vision.

  The train passed house after house. As they rode by the gigantic shopping mall in Roswell, Victor wondered how many people were inside there when the outbreak hit. He made a note to stop by there on the way back. So much treasure in one place.

  They rattled down through Alpharetta. Victor saw his old high school about a mile off to the left. It was a weird sort of nostalgic homecoming. He'd never traveled the rails through here, but he recognized a lot of his old haunts. Tanners, his favorite buffalo wing spot in the whole world, and the park in Alpharetta where he stole his first kiss from Robin Jackson.

  He was thinking back on that kiss when Leo appeared in front of him. Her arm was bleeding, and she clamped her hand down on the wound as she said, “They're up ahead about four miles. They're at a park where they had the Olympics. I didn't see much except that it was totally filled, standing room only with zombies. I've never seen that many bodies in one place."

  "Please have Corbin stop the train," Victor said. "What happened to your arm?"

  "I ran into a group of about thirty just before I rounded a corner to see the main group. Victor, we can't kill this many. We have to turn around," said Leo.

  "We can, and we will. If Laura pulled all the zombies from Charlotte to here, I've been expecting close to a million. We're ready. If we're going to kill all the zombies in the world, this will be a good start. Get everyone out in the dirt. I've been planning this for the last two days."

  Leo blinked away, and John and Victor climbed down the ladder to the platform and hopped down to the ground.

  When he landed, he knelt down and put my hands in the grass, digging his fingers down into the dirt. This is our planet, he contemplated. He centered himself, focusing on the cool dirt, his dirt. Our dirt. This world belongs to the living.

  "Tookes, Leo's right, mate. You can't expect to go against half a million zombies and keep ya head, bud. The point of this trip is to get my family. If we die on the way, they die on the ground. That can't happen, mate. You're fucking crazy.”

  The rest of the crew came walking up as Victor said, "John, you've stuck with me for a long time, through a lot of crazy shit. Most of the time, we've been winging it. This time, I'm ready. I have a plan," he said.

  "Oh, so there is a plan? Well, thank Christ for that!" The sarcasm was heavy in Kris's voice. "Everything you do is making up shit as you go. Do you have any fucking clue what you'
re doing? Come on, man. Get the fuck outta here. This isn't bravery or heroics. It's your fucking ego."

  "It’s not my fucking ego," he said, lowering his voice. "It’s our fucking job. Who the fuck do you think is going to rid this planet of these things? Look around you, Kris. Do you think we have these abilities for fun? Do you think we're supposed to just sit back and try to make life easy for ourselves? We aren't here to do what is easy. We're here to do what is hard, because it’s the right thing to do. You can stay and be part of the solution, or you can go die in a hole, cold and alone. I'm asking you to be a part of something. I'm asking you to be part of the solution."

  "So it's your job to do it? It has to be your job? I didn't choose the cards I was given, and believe me, it sure as shit isn't fun. Who are you to say what's right and what's wrong? Jesus Christ, I can't believe you. Any of you... And if I could go and die in a hole, you'd better fucking believe I would."

  "Yes, it's my job. It’s my job because I have a son, and I can't leave this world to him the way it is. If one of you wants to step up and be the leader, feel free. If one of you thinks you can do a better job, feel free. If one of you wants to be responsible for the lives and well-beings of everyone we know, feel fucking free. I'm tired of fighting a defensive battle. I'm ready to start taking the fight to them. We're ready to start fighting back. We need to make a statement. And if you'll shut the fuck up and listen, I have a plan to do so."

  She stared at him blankly. "Fuck you, Vic. I was really hoping I would be better off with you than by myself. Looks like I was wrong. Again... Best of luck in your holy crusade. I'm out."

  Victor looked at John and said, "Can you make sure Kris has a couple of good guns, plenty of ammunition, and all the food she can carry?" Then to Kris he said, “Best of luck to you in your travels. I hope you find peace and happiness. There's precious little of that in this world."

  "Ever the good guy. You'd make God Himself jealous of your holiness." She shook her head, hands on her hips. As she and John walked away, he could see there were tears brimming in her eyes. He heard her say, "I can't believe that you would..." The rest of what she said was abruptly cut off. She'd erected some sort of shield around her and John that blocked the sound.

  When John returned, he looked pissed. "You fucked that up, mate. She's gone for good."

  "We're going to survive this, but I have to count on everyone to do their part. I know you, Leo, and Ren. I don't know her, and I only half trust her. I would like to have her help, but she has no real fighting ability, and she's as crazy as a loon." Victor was glad Marshall wasn't here to hear him say that. He knew she could fight; her abilities were just locked away for some reason.

  "She's only half as crazy as you," replied Leo.

  ----

  Annoyed didn't even graze the surface of how Kris felt. Who did he think he was? Kris met a lot of men that thought they had to save the world, but Tookes was a prime example of a man with a serious hero complex. How could so much arrogance reside in one man? It was baffling.

  Kris reflected on the altercation with Tookes and that no one else reacted to what she was saying. No one even batted an eye, and everyone followed that man around as if he was a saint. Kris was not wrong; she was sure of that. This "quest" was suicide, and she could not understand why Tookes would lead them directly into harm’s way. Going to get John's family made sense; saving them wasn't the issue. However, did they have to go directly through what was obviously a trap? They were outnumbered. Kris could hear all the zombies rattling around in her mind. They swirled through her subconscious, and she couldn't block it out anymore. The overcast, low-hanging clouds magnified the sound in the air. They were fucked.

  It didn't matter how many "super humans" they had. They would always be outnumbered. She wanted no part of Tookes' plan.

  “He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did,” The Voice said.

  She shifted the straps of her backpack awkwardly as she walked. John had given her enough food for her to last three weeks if she ate sparingly. It was very generous of him. She liked John; it was a damn shame they were all following a fool.

  That fucking prick, she incredulously thought. Like he can see the future... Kris shook her head again, pulling her black coat tightly around her.

  There was a light layer of snow on the ground, and it looked like it could snow again. The air was crisp and clear. Her breath came from her lips in small puffs that swirled around her. With a shiver, Kris made her way to the closest high-rise building. She needed somewhere safe, secure, and preferably warm. She also needed to get away from the open street. The silent, "empty" city was nothing short of eerie. It was Atlanta, Georgia, and it was a ghost town.

  ----

  "Leo, you're going to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but first I need you to find Laura's snipers for me. They'll most likely be on the rooftops. John, your job is to kill anything with a gun first. Then start shooting at supers. I need you to distract them while I kill them. I learned a new trick when we pulled into Charlottesville last trip; I plan to put it to good use.”

  "Great, so that takes care of the supers. What are we going to do about half a million stupid ones?" Renee asked.

  "We're going to kill them. Without supers to control them, they're easy," Victor said.

  "How? Even if it took one second to kill each zombie, that's like six days of killing," asked Leo.

  "We're going to kill all of them at once," Victor said.

  "What's my job then?" Renee asked.

  "I need you to sneak to the center of the park. From there, you'll be able to see all around and act as my eyes on the ground. Stay hidden. I'll find you when I need you.”

  "There's no way this is going to work, Vic," said John. "I've followed you through some pretty insane plans, but this is too much."

  "I'm not twisting anyone's arm here, but I'm going in there, and I'm killing every zombie I can. If you don't want to follow me, I'm not going to force you."

  “Fuckin' prick. If you get me killed, I'm gonna come haunt you for the rest of ya short life."

  "You can keep Candi company then, mate," Victor said. "Leo, if things go south, please get Max and John out of here. You three go get his family if I don't make it out of here. I wouldn't be going if I didn't think we'd make it through."

  They all got back on the train, and Shelton started it rolling. He pushed the engines to maximum speed as Victor sat strapped into the seat of the cannon mounted securely to the roof of the locomotive. He reached forward and lowered the TCD as they screamed along the tracks at over ninety miles per hour. The huge yellow V-shaped plow device was designed to push debris from the tracks and probably wouldn't hold up for long against this many zombies.

  Victor expanded his aura into a wedge shape directly in front of the TCD. The train tracks ran down the left side of Centennial Park proceeded by a nearly two-mile straightaway. Shelton used that to his best advantage.

  “Brace for impact!” Victor shouted to everyone on the train.

  Chapter 24

  Battle at Centennial Park

  Part 1

  "Brace for impact!"

  Kris was jogging up the inner staircase of a high-rise apartment building, breathing hard. She was on the 18th floor when Tookes' voice exploded into her brain like a bullet. It entered the wall of silence with a vengeance, and flickers of foreign sound and thought filtered through her mind like one long stream of consciousness. The dome shattered.

  She shook her head and tried to bring the shield back up again. It was unbelievable that even though she was a quarter mile away, she could still hear him. Just my luck, she thought.

  Tookes' voice was too powerful for Kris to handle, and she was having a hard time concentrating long enough to bring the dome back up. She continued to run, focused only on her heartbeat—the one constant in her life and the one thing that never changed. Finally, the dome reformed around her, and her mind was full of blissful
silence.

  Yet her ears were still buzzing. What the fuck?

  Kris hopped up the last three steps until she was standing just outside the twentieth floor. She placed her hands on the emergency door and slapped her palms against it. The sound reverberated through the door and down the hall. Listening intently, she heard how the sound bounced and shifted around the corridor and it gave her a clear "picture" of the space. She slapped her palms against the door again and focused her energy to "see" through the door and down the hall. It was getting easier to project her dome of sound. I want to see everything. Kris watched her brightly colored sphere spill through the door, down the hall, and into every room. Her mind's eye showed her the entire hall and every room in it. Each apartment had empty rooms, empty beds, and empty dreams. Kris decided that being in this city that was once so full of life was more unsettling than any other place she had ever been.

  Pushing the door open, she peered down the hall. Her ears had never betrayed her before, but this new "buzzing" sound in her ears was a distraction and hard to ignore. She figured that it was better to be safe than to be sorry. The hall, just as she thought, was deserted. Most of the doors to the apartments were hanging open. Kris tried to ignore the dead bodies that littered the floor as she jogged down the hall and picked a door on her left. “Apartment 2017. Room 217. The Shining. 'The whole place was empty. But it wasn't really empty. Because here in the Overlook things just went on and on. Here in the Overlook all times were one.' Page 339,” the Voice said.

  “Do you always need to find things so damn applicable? Jesus Christ...”

  The door was already hanging open as she walked inside and kicked the door closed. By an old habit, she turned the deadbolt, and she laughed at herself. Who was going to break in now? The idea was absurd. Her laugh continued as she dropped her backpack to the floor, unzipped the bag. She grabbed a McIntosh apple and took a bite out of it. “Sweet, tangy, delicious. The most popular apple in eastern Canada and New England. Useless fact of the day number 4,095.”