The Feral Children [A Zombie Road Tale] Box Set | Books 1-3

by Simpson, David A.

  Swan volunteered to be the look out and held her wolves in the lobby as the rest of them disappeared into the gloomy interior. She positioned herself by a Redbox filled with DVD’s and a soda machine. It was good to be out of the weather and her wolves shook themselves vigorously, spraying everything. From there she had a good view of the parking lot and the road. The tribe was alert but not too concerned about the undead. Donny had been inside, had made some noise, and nothing came running out after him. There were smells in the air but they were old. Rotted meat and spoiled vegetables from a year ago, nothing like the stench of rotting corpses.

  Skylights let in enough light to see even with the heavy gray clouds and never-ending rain drizzling down. Everyone knew their assignments and fanned out to grab the things they needed. Medicine was the priority and Harper made a beeline for the pharmacy. She was going to fill her satchel with every kind of bug killing shampoos and soaps they had. Daisy followed Analise back to the rear of the store and the shoe department. She needed a new pair of boots, her Doc Martens were nearly worn through. The big polar bear detoured at the cereal aisle. She smelled the Cap’n Crunch from a mouse nibbled box and Analise let her go. She didn’t need help finding the right size shoes.

  A few hundred yards down a side street behind the Wal-Mart was a cluster of warehouses and small industrial buildings. One of the buildings was still full of milling people. Before the end of the world the company was a parts supplier for a defense contractor. Their production line made injection molded plastic widgets that were packaged, boxed and shipped to another little industrial building where they were assembled with other parts then were sent on to somewhere else. Nearly one hundred people had been at the company’s sixth anniversary employee breakfast early one September morning. Attendance wasn’t mandatory but bonus checks were being passed out so no one wanted to miss it. The production floor had been filled with plastic tables, a catered buffet was brought in and the CEO was making jokes and passing out their annual bonuses. Spirits were high, the checks were generous this year and the food wasn’t bad either. Everyone was having a good time until Tony the Janitor started attacking people and ripping chunks of flesh out of them with his bare teeth. Miss Candace Wilson was a vegetarian and steered clear of the bacon and sausage on the buffet. She was near the entrance and ran when the chaos started. She barely made it out of the front doors before her coworkers slammed against them, teeth gnashing at the glass and bloody hands smearing gore. She watched in horror, too petrified to scream until the barista from the coffee shop near the Wal-Mart slammed into her and tore out her throat.

  The horde had railed against the doors in their effort to get out and spread the infection that coursed through them. They had almost succeeded by the time the people of the town were either turned or had fled. With nothing to draw their attention they stopped their ceaseless struggle to escape and stood swaying side to side or wandered aimlessly around the plant. Patient and single minded they waited. Months later a winter storm toppled the shady oak through the side of the building. They could easily climb across the branches and over the tumbled blocks but none bothered. There was no need. There was nothing outside that interested them just like there was nothing inside. More time passed. More storms came and went as they milled around, their heads completely empty.

  One of the creatures lifted his nose as he shuffled past the broken wall. He still wore his steel toed work boots, his bonus check tucked into his back pocket. The once yellow safety vest was stained dark brown from the hole in his chest where the secretary had torn a chunk from him. There was a new scent carried on the breeze. The smell of fresh, untainted blood. The living were near. It had been long since he’d sensed the uninfected but time had no meaning for him or the others. Without the elements and scavengers taking their tolls, the group was still day one fresh and they hungered. Most had been denied the opportunity to spread their deadly infection.

  He let out a keening cry that was echoed by the rest and scrambled over the tumbled wall, forced his way through the opening. Damaged flesh and broken bones didn’t matter, only spreading the virus did. He tore at the blocks, shoved through the branches and spilled out onto the ground. He jumped to his feet day one fresh and ran for the scent of the living. A hundred others followed him and like a relentless line of predators they made a beeline for the front of the Walmart.

  Her wolves alerted moments before Swan heard the keening cries and wails. She slipped outside to get a better view and heard the sounds of work boots and bare feet slapping against the wet asphalt. It came from the far end of the building so she sprinted down to see what they were up against. They were coming up a side street they hadn’t investigated. They didn’t think there was any need, it was only a bunch of warehouses. There weren’t any houses, nobody had lived there. There were a lot of them running right for her and it was too late to hide, the horde knew where they were. There were far too many for her and the wolves to take out. She whistled the pack to her and raced for the Wal-Mart.

  “We’ve got company!” She yelled as soon as she was inside. “They’re fast, we can’t fight them!”

  Swan cursed the undead under her breath and started shoving rows of shopping carts in front of the shattered doorway. She had really wanted a chance to do a little shopping, to get some dry clothes. She needed new arrows and maybe they had some freeze-dried ice cream in the camping section. What they’d had a few days ago had reawakened her appetite for it. The carts wouldn’t slow those things down for long but it would buy them some time for everyone to get down to the lawn and garden part of the store. Kodiak’s meticulous, relentless planning was finally paying off. Everybody knew where to go if there was an emergency. She was pretty sure this qualified. She watched as they drew closer, picked out the fastest runner and nocked an arrow. She let it fly at the leader of the pack who was outdistancing the rest. It struck true at the base of the creature’s nose and it tumbled to the ground and caused more to trip and plow into the blacktop. She yelled the tribe’s battle cry and found her second target, an old woman in a dress. She was mad eyed and screeching, hands out stretched and hungry. Swan thought she was pretty fast for an old lady before she dropped her with a well-placed broadhead through her cheek. More stumbled and fell as they tripped over the tumbling body and she sent two more to their permanent death before she retreated into the store. She hadn’t seen the end of the line at the far end of the building, she had no idea how many there were still coming but she knew they’d be fine. They’d get them all inside the store then run out the other entrance. They’d gone over it a hundred times as they war gamed different scenarios. As long as nobody panicked, they’d be just fine and the tribe was beyond panicking at the sight of a bunch of zombies. She’d have to rub it in tonight, she officially had more in the wild battle kills than Donny now.

  The undead crashed into the barrier of shopping carts and shoved them aside. Swan saw it and swore louder. That wasn’t supposed to happen, they were supposed to jam up against them and have to crawl over the top. With so many packed so tight together, it was supposed to be like crabs trying to climb out of a bucket, the others would pull them back down.

  “They’re in!” she yelled, her voice going up an octave. “They’re in!”

  She wasn’t panicking, she was still cool, but she was a whole lot more concerned than she had been a few seconds ago. Maybe she should have been running for the safety of the lawn and garden section instead of racking up battle kills. The horde poured into the store. The scent of the uninfected was strong in the building and they raced hungrily to be the first to attack.

  Tobias was in the hardware section looking at the paracord when he heard Swan’s war cry. His head snapped around but he didn’t drop everything and run, they needed the paracord to fix some of their armor and saddles. The homemade gear wasn’t holding up very well with the hard use of everyday road travel. Tobias shoved the rope into Popsicle’s saddlebag, swung up in the saddle and unsheathed his battle axe.


  “Hey!” He shouted when he saw Swan racing for the outdoor section. “How many?”

  “Couple hundred. Too many to fight.” She replied. “We need to get the hell out of here, the shopping carts didn’t even slow them down!”

  Tobias nodded at her and put his heels to Popsicles ribs with a yell. “The others are at the other end of the store, get the gate ready, I’ll slow them down!”

  She and her wolves didn’t break stride as Tobias screamed something in Norse and gigged Popsicle into the aisle as she ran by. He raised his axe high and charged straight for the mass of keening rotting things gnashing their teeth and ready to eat.

  The giant polar bear had been careful plodding down the aisles when they came in. He hadn’t knocked anything off the shelves or blundered into any of the end cap displays. The boy scolded him and was displeased if he bumped into things when they were inside. But that was only when the stinking things weren’t around. Now the boy urged him into chaos, to smash, rend and destroy. To kill the dead and break things. Popsicle complied and barreled down the aisle scattering goods from the shelves and pulverizing bodies as a thousand pounds of pissed off bear drove them down. Hungry hands reaching for the boy high in the saddle were crushed, bodies exploded in great splashes of blackened, rotting organs that sprayed for yards in all directions.

  “Cleanup on Aisle 3!” Tobias laughed as boxes of spaghetti noodles and Hamburger Helper spilled to the floor and mixed with the glop of zombie guts.

  A glance over his shoulder showed him that Swan wasn’t being chased, his bellowing and battle cries had diverted the attack to him. A pair of women came out of the frozen food section and launched themselves at the boy. He swung his battle axe backhanded, split the skull of one and knocked the other aside. It found a grip on the saddlebag and ignored the rhythmic movements of the bears rear haunches as it screamed and climbed for the boy only a few feet away. It hungered for the fresh, pure blood and the still beating heart pumping it through his veins. Popsicle’s feet scrabbled for traction on the tile floor as he tried to make a hard turn and chase down more of the stinking creatures. The thing lost its grip but still held on with one hand and tried to pull itself back up. Tobias sliced the axe through the mottled flesh and it went sprawling into a rack of Halloween candies, black blood oozing from the severed arm.

  “See ya later, Stumpy!” he yelled, laughed like a loon and twirled the saw bladed axe over his head.

  He let out a savage yell as they tore down the next aisle, the sounds of shattering glass behind him as the horde gave chase. They jostled to be first to the uninfected flesh. Jellies, jams and syrups erupted as they hit the floor causing some of them to slip and fall, only to be trampled underfoot by those following.

  “Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers!” He roared as the thrill of battle surged through his Viking blood. “Be sure to check out our scratch and dent sale in the canned goods section!”

  Tobias saw a flash of black to his right. It was Yewan racing down the top shelf of the aisle beside him. To his left he saw Donny. The silent boy thrust his long spear down through the tops of the skulls of the undead that were dogging Tobias’s heels. Zombies had spread out in the chase and came at him from both directions. The polar bear plowed through them without slowing and Tobias reined him in when there were no more undead in front of them. Popsicle spun, sent an endcap tumbling and Donny threw signs at Tobias and pointed across the store. More were coming, lots more. Some were leaping from the tops of the shelves from one aisle to another. It was time to go before they were boxed in, it only took one lucky jumper to pull him down. Donny pointed towards the lawn and garden section where the rest of the tribe were waiting to slam the steel security gate.

  “I know! I know!” Tobias yelled back. “Go! I’m right behind you!”

  The crashing of shelves and toasters and pots and pans was nearly lost in the cacophony of screams from the hungry undead. Donny and Yewan sprang down and sprinted for the safety of the outdoor section and Tobias saw the rest of the tribe yelling at him to hurry as his bear rose up on his hind legs, roared and took swipes at the broken undead that were close. He leaned forward to get him to drop on all fours then gigged Popsicle down another aisle, one without smashed and broken glass.

  20

  Watcher

  Steven stared out of the mirrored windows of the manager’s office overlooking the floor and watched in fascination as heavily armored children and animals ran for the lawn and garden department and pulled down the gate. They were the ones he’d heard about on Radio Lakota. He was amazed at how well-trained the animals were as a white-haired boy charged through the store running down the undead, controlling the polar bear with his knees.

  He’d been camped out in the Walmart for a few weeks and had been eating well, listening to a wind-up radio at night and playing board games against himself. It was a good hideout. He left the front of the store undisturbed except for whatever he took off the shelves. No one would suspect he was hiding out in the back if they came looking. Now all hell had broken loose and a horde of the undead was rampaging through the store, screaming their awful screams. The zoms chased after the kids but they were safe behind the gate. That left him a clear path out the back door and he’d best beat feet now while the undead were busy. He didn’t want to get trapped or be seen by the kids. If they told anyone, he’d have half the bounty hunters in the territories combing the area looking for him. He’d never heard his name on Bastille’s crime report but that didn’t mean anything. Maybe they were keeping the manhunt for him quiet, didn’t want to spook him. He was sure he’d been reported as a cold-blooded killer who had brutally murdered a young girl and hijacked a boat. There was probably a big reward. Who knows, maybe the kids would kill him for the bounty. It looked like they could use the money, they were a sopping wet bedraggled looking bunch.

  He heard a shout directly below him and leaned against to glass to look down.

  Analise ran through the sporting goods, through the hardware and paint. She heard the frantic cries of the tribe as they urged her brother and Donny to hurry. She had taken a few minutes to grab a towel to dry off and had been shoe shopping and barefoot when the horde broke through the carts. She could get to the lawn and garden by cutting across the back of the store, she had a few minutes and she wasn’t going to go without boots. She hurried but it took her a bit to find the right size. She heard the roaring and commotion, heard her idiot brother screaming battle cries that they pretended were ancient Viking curses but had no idea what the words meant. They could have been calling for a tax audit on purple dresses with extra pickles for all they knew. They didn’t even know if they were pronouncing the words right but that was okay. Her idiot brother was buying them time and what he lacked in brains, he made up for in bravery. She heard her own name, urging her to get to the lawn and garden section.

  “I’m coming!” She yelled back and hoped Daisy was already with them. She shouldn’t have let her wander off.

  Her voice was lost in the keening of the zombies and the roars of the bears. She hugged the outside wall, ran past the car batteries and mailboxes and pulled up short as she turned the last corner to dash through the paint section. The undead were leaping from aisle to aisle on the tops of the shelves scattering boxes and cartons of goods. They spotted her and screamed. She froze, she’d never seen anything like it, had forgotten how fast and vicious they could be when they were fresh. A dozen dead, black eyes locked in on her and leapt as one.

  She ran.

  They were fast, unbelievably fast and she was cut off from the rest of her tribe. They were right on her back, they were reaching for her and panic started to grip her. She knocked over an endcap filled with jugs of liquid car wax and heard them stumble and fall behind her but the others jumped the tumbling bodies and kept coming, never tiring, single minded in their desire to tear into her uninfected flesh. She angled towards the back of the store, grabbed a 4-way lug wrench from a shelf, and sprinted past the shoes and thro
ugh the electronics department towards the double swinging doors into the warehouse area. There was a door somewhere in the darkness of the warehouse area. It would be near the docks and have a sign on it saying emergency exit only, do not open, alarm will sound. She just had to reach it before the zombies reached her.

  Donny threw himself into a slide and slid beneath the rapidly closing security gate. Tobias was laughing, still pumped with adrenaline from the fight and chase as he ducked low in the saddle to clear the gate then rolled to the ground as soon as he was clear. Kodiak and Harper slammed the heavy steel closed seconds before the undead slammed into it at a full run.

  “That was badass! Did you guys see me?” He laughed.

  “More like dumbass.” Swan said but she had to admit, it had been kind of impressive watching the battle from a safe distance.

  She slapped her tomahawks against the railing to make noise and joined the others in yelling and drawing the rest of the undead towards them. Vanessa was already spying around the corner of the building, checking for any undead stragglers still making their way through the front door.

  “It’s clear.” She hollered to them over the roar of the horde.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Kodiak said. “Swan, you and Donny first. Get out of sight and we’ll be right behind you as soon as we get Bert. Vanessa, you know what to do if any of them spot us.”

  Vanessa nodded and raised her spear. She and Ziggy could run circles around them, even if they were faster than any they’d encountered. They’d lead them off.