Below them, where the main street connected with the coastal highway, the people of the town had made their last stand. Not understanding the nature of the enemy, they blocked the main entrance to the town with their vehicles and prepared to defend their territory in a logical and organized fashion.
The dead knew nothing of logic or organization. They no doubt flowed around the little roadblock like water around a rock and attacked the defenders with no plan other than the urgent need to consume and kill. All of them, attackers and townspeople, dead and reeking, now staggered in a rotting mass at the bottom of the hill. The windmill with its constant whoosh kept them there, clawing at the smooth base.
The group instinctively ducked as soon as they caught sight of the dead. They stayed down and spoke in whispers.
“…as quietly as we can, we head to the right of the blockade. There are three cars in the front that aren’t blocked in. We just have to hope one will start. Ready?”
They moved in smoothly without attracting attention and Bea slid behind the wheel of a minivan. The engine chugged briefly then emitted nothing but clicks. They moved on to the green jeep but no keys.
Virginia kept watch on the dead during the process, keeping Anna and Daniel close. A golf club, a nine iron, lay abandoned on the ground and she picked it up, testing the swing. A dead man, very tall, stopped shuffling on his skinless feet and cocked his head, ear turned toward the cars. In a sluggish, awkward turn he began to make his way over, reaching pavement and dragging along a shovel still gripped reflexively in rotten fingers. The metal scraped along the pavement, attracting the attention of two more dead, one carrying a string of drying entrails in her hand. Both executed a graceless pirouette and fell in behind the tall corpse, teeth gnashing.
Fitz moved to stand beside her. He picked Daniel up and put him on his back while Anna jumped into Virginia’s arms. As the corpses advanced, they put the children in the bed of an ancient pick-up and waited.
Virginia swung the club hard, black liquid spraying out from the tall corpse’s shattered skull. He went down and Fitz jerked the shovel from his hand just in time to puncture the brittle skulls of the two following.
To their right, Cam, Mei, and Ian were similarly engaged against a larger group. Taking the children Fitz and Virginia wove through the parked vehicles and joined them, clubbing and slicing the attacking dead. Cam decapitated three with his cleaver. Now coming forward in waves the dead climbed onto the car hoods, reaching for their prey. A dead teen with a nose-ring gripped Virginia’s ankle and pulled her down, her head crashing into the front windshield. Stunned, she grabbed the wipers as the creature dragged her toward its ravenous mouth. She kicked, collapsing the gray face but it didn’t go down. A mouth bit down on her boot in a bruising chomp and her body slid sideways. More eager hands grasped and pulled. She lost her grip on the wipers just as an iron grip on her collar pulled her back on the car. She looked up at Cam gratefully, turned and pulled her knife from her boot and pierced the teen’s skull. He went down.
She climbed on the roof of a Subaru and scanned the area, leaning down and bashing in the skull of an elderly woman who got too close. Near the back of the car blockade she saw the boys opening the doors of an SUV with tinted windows, climbing in and closing the doors. An engine roared and the vehicle bumped into one behind it, knocking a space big enough for them to drive out and around onto the grassy median. Bouncing over the uneven terrain they skirted the blockade and stopped next to the car Bea and David were trying to start.
Bea looked up, rolled her eyes and tugged on David’s arm. They climbed into the SUV but about ten cars and a hundred zombies were between them and the rest of the group. Moshe honked the horn.
Cam grinned and tucked his cleaver into his belt. Taking a child under each arm he jumped from car to car, finally reaching the SUV and handing them over. The rest of the group followed. The dead had trouble navigating through the tightly packed vehicles and were easily left behind.
They stopped at the crest of the next hill. A few dead staggered up the hill after them but they were no threat anymore. Mei trained her binoculars on the more distant hills. The dark stain spreading across the landscape was getting closer.
The SUV’s powerful engine ate the miles easily. Mei drove, ousting a disgruntled Moshe who felt he should be allowed to drive since he had found the vehicle. Ian, Cam, and David slept.
Stores along the highway were few and all had been looted at some point. They needed water desperately now. Anna and Daniel had cracked lips and their faces looked pinched. Water had been rationed while they were on the ship even more severely than food and dehydration was a real specter.
Virginia leaned her head against the cool window glass. The road continued to rise and her ears popped in the increasing altitude. She tried to swallow but her throat felt like sand. The countryside flew by and the day began to darken and she found that she was afraid, deathly afraid of what the night might bring. Civilization had more or less banished the terrors of a darkness that could only be alleviated by the sunrise. Electric light had driven away the fear of the unknown with the flip of a switch. But no more. Once again darkness was a terrible foe that must be survived behind the shelter of strong walls and doors. Terrible things that lurked in the dark were all too real.
As the sun sank behind cliffs to the west, Mei pulled off the road at a gas station. She had an idea that any place this remote might have a generator back-up and they could fill up. Anything was worth a try.
Wind whipped the fine grit in the parking lot and stung her eyes. The station was looted like every other place they had tried. There was no evidence of violence; the shelves had just been emptied. The cash drawer was open and full of bills. She tried the small sink behind the counter. No water. She licked chapped lips and searched under the sink for water, soda, anything that might have been overlooked.
Outside, Cam walked the property. No generator out here. The lot ended at a sloping cliff, protected by guard rails. Below that a dry valley stretched out into flatter land east. He stood watch, searching for movement. Ian and David joined him.
Two deer grazed on the sparse clumps of clover growing below. Both were females and after a few minutes two fawns emerged from the bushes and joined them to nurse. The men were very still and the animals didn’t notice them.
Fitz joined the group. “We should kill them for the meat.”
“Soon enough we’ll probably need to. Right now I don’t want the children to see me kill Bambi and Bambi’s mom,” Ian whispered.
David remarked, “Bambi would be pretty tasty right about now.”
They continued watching the deer. One of the does suddenly looked up and cocked an ear. All of the animals became very still, just barely twitching those sensitive ears. After a moment they leapt and fled in a bounding run until they were completely out of sight.
In the distance what looked like smoke or dust formed and gradually drew closer. A sound almost like the crunch of dead leaves rose from the valley. A dry, rustling sound. They soon saw bodies in the dirty, clouded air.
A herd of dead, thousands strong, swarmed across the valley. Sinewy, desiccated bodies fanned out, churning up clouds of dust in their wake. Lurching and staggering they were an abomination befouling the once peaceful landscape.
Ian heard a gasp and looked behind him. Daniel stood there, his hand over his mouth. He crouched instinctively and crept over toward the men. Ian put a finger to his lips and pulled him close.
Eventually the infected were gone, heading for whatever drew them in the first place. A few stragglers remained, either they were slower and couldn’t keep up or they were distracted by something in the valley. Their odor reached them and the men turned away.
They knew they weren’t safe here but they evaluated its potential. They had the high ground as well as a building they could make fairly secure. As they stood debating, Mei walked around the corner with two six-packs of beer held high.
“A beautiful wo
man and beer, it must be a sign from God. We have to stay here now,” Cam said.
“Don’t be sacrilegious,” said Mei.
“I wasn’t,” Cam said solemnly.
Night fell quickly. Everyone drank the warm beer with thankfulness and relief but Virginia fretted over the children drinking alcohol. She touched her belly with a small pang of guilt. What was happening to her child? This baby had already been exposed to so much. Mei had been very upbeat about the baby’s development. She knew the placenta provided a layer of protection that many toxins were unable to breach but she was still afraid. A feeling of love and protectiveness overwhelmed her.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about the beer, Virginia,” said Bea, trying to reassure her. “Children have drunk beer throughout history. They often had no choice, water supplies in cities were so contaminated. The Puritans’ children drank ‘small beer’ every morning along with their milk. The alcohol content in this stuff is pretty low.”
It wasn’t enough to really satisfy any of them but they made the best of it and settled in for the night. Virginia returned from outside to find Anna and Daniel already bedded down, covered with contributed jackets from the rest of the group. Fitz was telling them a bedtime story.
“…and what do you think the G.I.s did then? They’d just finished fighting that bastard Hitler and they weren’t going to put up with this crap in their own home town. When the sheriff’s deputies took those ballot boxes in for a private count the soldiers went and got their weapons and came back for a re-count.”
The story went on for some time, something about corrupt politicians of the 1940’s in a small town called Athens and brave soldiers who fought for truth, justice, and the American way. He finished with-
“…and that’s why we have the 2nd Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. Now go to sleep and remember the immortal words of General Chesty Puller.”
“What?” asked Daniel.
“Well, to paraphrase, ’They’re in front of us, behind us, and we’re outflanked by an enemy that outnumbers us millions to one. There’s no way in hell they can get away from us now.’”
He left and Virginia kissed the children goodnight. Anna whispered, “Mom, do you think Greg can see us now? If I tell him I love him will he hear it?”
Virginia nodded. She couldn’t speak.
“We’re a broken family now, aren’t we?”
She nodded again, finally managing to say, “We are, darling, but not completely. Not as long as we still have each other.”
Anna sobbed and Virginia held her for a long time before she cried herself to sleep. She placed her down gently next to Daniel and covered her with a jacket. She lay down beside them, gun at hand, keeping watch until very late when she too, finally fell asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
The Columbia River is at any time an awesome spectacle of nature. Over 1,200 miles long it has multiple hydro-electric dams once skillfully managed by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide electrical power. Snaking through Canada, Washington, and Oregon, it was one of the rivers that Lewis and Clark described in their journals as teeming with salmon and beaver.
Something far darker filled it now. The group trudged forward, hungry and thirsty, tormented by the surging water that sparkled so enticingly. They had already seen bodies, both dead and undead, bobbing by in the torrent.
Heavy rains and snowfalls in the area had already swelled the local dams well past their capacity. The McNary and Dalles dams burst several days before the group reached the banks of the roaring water, dismayed to find the bridge they expected to cross had been swept away.
According to the map their next best opportunity to find a bridge was in Alconquin, a considerable trek to the east. Low on gas and knowing they wouldn’t make it all the way, they set out along the river road, driving the SUV dry then abandoning it by the side of the road.
David convinced them to try for the Seattle area. His parents had a large property just outside the city and he knew they would have room for all. He was also eager to make sure they were okay. Somehow he couldn’t believe they wouldn’t be there, his mom out in the garden, tying up pole beans, dead-heading the roses, his dad “resting his eyes” as he napped under the grape arbor.
Daniel, riding on Fitz’s shoulders, first noticed the smoke. Gray feathers of ash drifted through the air. Not long after, they heard the crackle of burning wood and saw the first few tongues of flames licking along the ground, burning up last year’s dead leaves. They were forced to turn back, the heat and smoke burning and stinging their eyes.
They didn’t get far before they were cut-off. The fire had crept in behind them.
Retreating to the shore they waded out into the shallows, using sticks to push away the dead that floated too close. Bea screamed when a passing corpse grabbed her leg and pulled her under. David pulled her up and Cam sliced off the dead arm. The corpse, caught again in the current, floated away.
The top branches of trees on the bank had already caught fire and flames moved along the forest floor.
David looked intently at the woods. The flames moved in odd, staggering patterns. Realization dawned.
“They’re coming our way! The dead! Hurry!”
They stood back to back, weapons held ready but looking into the woods and seeing the number of burning bodies shambling their way, they knew the outcome. Still, they intended to go down fighting.
A deep, hooting whistle floated across the water. David thought he was hallucinating when he heard a bell ring as well. He looked up and saw a boat, a ferry, headed their way.
A woman shouted through a bullhorn, “I can’t come any closer without running aground! Can you swim out?”
“We have small children! Can you launch a raft?” David shouted back.
“Someone will have to be out here to help me, I only have a skiff that I can’t launch by myself,” was the shouted response.
Cam plunged into the water and made for the boat with strong, sure strokes. A heavy plank whirled by in the current and struck his head. He went down.
“Cam!” Mei screamed, jumping in after him.
The woman on the ferry tossed a lifebuoy out. Mei’s head surfaced and she looked around, frantically searching. She dove under again.
The dead, some still in flames, reached the bank. Virginia held the children close and fired. She hit the two closest dead on. They went down in the water, drifting in the shallows. Ian shot two more.
A random spark drifted down and landed on Anna’s head. Virginia splashed water to put it out. She felt the heat now, burning their faces, sucking the oxygen from the air.
“David, you and Bea go. Take the boys, too. We’ll wait for you to launch the skiff. Hurry, please!” Virginia urged.
They swam out and climbed the netting draped over the side. Just as they boarded, Mei’s head popped up again but this time she screamed, fighting two dead pulling her down. Fitz dove in and swam out but though he searched he couldn’t find her again. Finally, exhausted, he climbed the boat’s netting.
David and Bea were already launching the skiff, securing it to a line so it didn’t drift away. Ian swam out far enough to grab the prow and pull it in. Virginia and the children climbed in and together they paddled for the ferry boat.
They never made it. A wall of water from upstream smashed into them, breaking the rope and sending the little skiff downstream in a churning maelstrom, then smashing the ferry against the far shore. Grounded but still upright, the boat was the only protection they had and they huddled on the deck, searching the water until darkness settled in. Bea screamed their names until she was hoarse but no one answered. They were gone.
~
The fire burned for most of the night before cooling rain doused the flames, finally soaking the smoldering cinders until they were sodden and harmless.
As dawn broke, the group searched the scorched wasteland for signs of survivors. Haley, the boat’s captain, came with them. She was a surprisingly small wo
man with steel-gray hair. Extremely familiar with the area, she had navigated the river for years.
The dead were present in huge numbers but most were still on the other side of the river. The ones who stumbled into the still-roaring waters were quickly swept away.
Mid-morning they came upon a body half buried in the silt and mud of the bank. Approaching warily they froze when one eye opened but the iris was bright blue and looked at them with recognition. Cam rolled over then sat up, groaning and wiping mud away. His other eye was bruised and swollen shut.
“Mei?” he croaked with difficulty.
“Not yet,” Bea said. “We’re still looking. We lost Ian and Virginia, too. ”
Brian and Moshe, farther down the bank, shouted and waved to get their attention. They were pointing at something on the opposite bank.
David trudged closer through the mud and soon he saw what they were yelling about. The skiff was on the bank, pulled up above the water line and empty. Dead stumbled along near it. Though he tried he couldn’t see any resemblance to Mei, Ian, or Virginia, nor were any of them child-sized. Whoever they were, they were burned beyond recognition.
They returned to Cam. Trying to stand, he staggered and fell in the mud then, trying again, he made it up the bank. Finding Fitz, they sat, debating their options.
“You can’t get back to the other side and even if you could, there’s no way you could evade the dead. I think your friends are gone,” Haley said. She was in despair over her boat. She had been trying to get to one of the small tributary rivers to dock when she came upon them yesterday.
“A lot of us are trying to ride this thing out on the river. The only problem is the dams are starting to burst and the water is too dangerous. I thought a tributary would be safer. I guess I’ll never know now.”
“We’re trying to get to my folks’ place just outside of Seattle. You’re welcome to come with us,” David offered.
“Thank you but no. I have family close by but farther south. They’ll be looking for me if I don’t get back soon and I don’t want them in any danger. Are you folks going to be alright? You know you’re very close to the city now? Don’t go too far in, Seattle was hit hard.”
The Living Dead Series (Book 3): Dead Coast Page 23
