Inception_The Bern Project

by M James Conway

  One after the other, the blows made an impact, creating an increasingly squishy sound with each blow that landed. Blood started splashing upward and outward as the screams died down, until the man stopped moving. Sims leaned back and sat on his rear with his back against the side of the boat, trying to catch his breath. He put his thumb up, signifying he was fine.

  Russell looked out the front window and brought the throttle down. They were more or less in the middle of the lake.

  Sims came in, huffing and puffing, and sat on the couch in the galley area of the cabin.

  “You okay?” Russell asked.

  Sims took a few breaths before answering. “Yeah, I’m fine. I wish I knew what was going on, man.”

  Russell agreed with Sims. This was unheard of. “I don’t know. This is more than a riot.” He looked over at Sims. “Still feel bad about not joining the riot squad?”

  “Yes, I do. I feel bad for our guys, but…” He wiped sweat off his forehead, “…I’m glad we’re alive.”

  Russell nodded. “Yeah, but alive for what’s to come. I don’t know. The way I figure it, reality denied comes back to haunt.”

  Sims seemed to be thinking of something else. “You know. That guy I just killed. Something off about him. It was like he wasn’t himself. I’m not talking about his personality or attitude, I’m talking his…I don’t know…humanism, I guess. I’ve never seen rage like I saw in those eyes before. Sure, I remember seeing linemen on the opposing team trying to look all tough and shit, but…bloodshot eyes, a vacant look, yet full of rage.” Sims sat up straight, having caught his breath. “And that skin. Pale, almost gray. It reminded me of…I don’t know –”

  “A dead body?” Russell interrupted.

  Sims looked at Russell. “Yep. A dead body.” He shook his head. “This shit is crazy.”

  “Dad, look.” Kat was going through the cupboards. She pulled out several boxes of food and started placing them on the table. When she was done, there was an assortment of boxed snacks, chips, crackers, water bottles and even a tub of Red Vines.

  Sims stood up and went for the Red Vines. He opened the tub and grabbed a handful, then sat back down. “We need some light in here.” He got back up, holding three vines in his hand with four hanging out of his mouth. He walked to the wall by the cupboard and flicked a switch. The cabin was illuminated in a soft light.

  Several pictures adorned the walls. Sims pointed to one showing a group of young people in their twenties. “Check out these kids.”

  Russell brought the throttles to rest and hit the anchor release.

  Russell walked over to the photo and saw a clean-cut Asian man in his twenties with a blonde woman. He had a deep tan, was well built and had several facial piercings. She had had some obvious work done, showcasing a large pair of breasts and thicker than normal lips. She was also very tanned and fit: a woman you would expect to see at a club or on a beach.

  Sims shrugged. “Probably Daddy’s money. Lucky little bastard.”

  Russell had opened up a drawer just below the pictures and looked at the contents inside. “Or he’s a drug dealer.” He lifted out a sandwich bag full of white powder and threw it on the table. He dug further and found two handguns and spare nine-millimeter ammo.

  “Or that,” Sims said. “We should confiscate his boat.”

  Russell smiled.

  “We should take a break, Dad,” said Kat. “It’s getting late and I’m tired. I know Christina is tired and we’re kind of hungry. How about we sit out back and eat? Then go to bed?”

  “Sure.”

  They all grabbed boxes of various foods and walked out. Then they all stopped suddenly, staring at the dead zombie on the deck of the boat.

  “Sims, let’s move him.” They had forgotten about the man that Sims had beaten to death.

  Sims and Russell walked over, being careful not to step on the blood. Sims grabbed the legs and Russell bent down to grab the man by the shoulders. The man’s face was a puddle of blood, gray matter, bone, and hair. His left eye was dangling to the side, no doubt from the crushed orbital bone, and his nose was flattened and wide. Several teeth protruded through the skin of the man’s mouth. Sims was right. The man’s skin was grayish in color and he didn’t look human at all.

  With a little effort and some teamwork, Russell and Sims threw the body overboard. They looked over the side as the body drifted away and disappeared from sight.

  There were several flashes of light and screams echoing from all sides of the lake. Fires could be seen on the shoreline coming from inside several houses. Some survivors ran into the lake, followed by the infected, and were devoured, turning the water around them crimson red. Loud booms and explosions could be heard in the background and the sky to the west was alight with the orange reflection of fires everywhere, like the Fourth of July on steroids.

  A woman ran into the lake due west from the boat, her arms outstretched and yelling for help, her teeth and the whites of her eyes evident in the moonlight. Several zombies followed her into the lake. Her screams were replaced by the sound of thrashing water, then nothing.

  “Maybe we should eat inside.” Kat walked back into the cabin, followed by Christina, then Sims. Russell stayed still, listening to the screams and cries for help. It was a sound that was heavy on the ears, but heavier on the heart.

  After several minutes, he walked back inside and closed the door.

  Chapter 20

  The morning sun had just started to shine through the windows when John got out of bed. He had caught a few hours of sleep after being relieved by Morgan at 2:00AM and had assumed everything had gone okay, since Morgan hadn’t woken him. Of course, Morgan liked to handle things by himself and may have decided to take care of any problem that he came across without waking anyone.

  Having put on a faded gray T-shirt and light denim jeans, John found Morgan sitting outside on his back deck, leaning back with his feet up on the table, still wearing the black kilt. Morgan had changed into his AC/DC T-shirt, one of many articles of clothing that he kept at John’s house.

  Freshly made coffee sat in the coffee maker on the counter, with two empty cups sitting next to it. John poured coffee in both, black, and walked outside.

  “Good morning!” Morgan said, without looking back.

  “Any problems last night?” John took the seat next to Morgan, both facing east toward the Cascades, not a cloud in the sky. He handed him a cup of coffee, which he took and put to his mouth.

  “Not here.” Morgan took another sip. “I’m sure those to the west of us had their fair share of problems, soon to be ours.”

  John looked around. “Where’s Frankie?”

  “At home. After I relieved you, I told Frankie to go get some sleep.”

  “It would have been nice to have that extra pair of eyes, though. You can’t be everywhere, Morgan.”

  “Unless I’m with you, I work better alone. You know that.”

  John did.

  “There were faint screams last night. They were pretty quiet, but they came from the direction of the freeway. I couldn’t really tell if it was kids playing or if there was an actual emergency, but whatever. There were sounds of a few crashes, explosions to the west.”

  John looked at Morgan and saw him sniffing his coffee, staring straight ahead. “What’s on your mind? Something wrong with the coffee?”

  Morgan shook his head. “Just makes me wonder.”

  John nodded. “Tons of things to wonder about right now.”

  “True, but I’m just thinking about Brie and Sam. They both had to work yesterday morning. Right when all this shit went down. Just wondering what happened to them.”

  John had thought of that too, but he was optimistic. “I’m sure they’re fine. You know that Sam has a crush on her and almost certainly used this whole thing as a way to protect her, show her how courageous he is.” John smiled. “Besides, they both know we have that .357 Magnum in the back with extra ammo. I’m sure they’re fine.”
>
  Morgan quickly changed the subject. “What’s the plan?”

  “We should head over there and discuss it with everyone and get some breakfast.”

  “Not yet. You and I need to discuss a plan first. We’re a team, and, yes, we’ll discuss it with everyone, but you and I need to talk about yesterday.”

  John sighed, then leaned back. “It’s a little fuzzy. I didn’t see much, except that boat.”

  “Yeah, a patrol boat. Military. Did you see the men on board?”

  John nodded. “I remember the guy behind the cannon. I can’t forget him. Won’t forget him. Flaming red hair, beady brown eyes. He had the thickest mutton chops I’ve ever seen. Another guy was thick and white. Had a bushy mustache like a motorcycle cop. Didn’t really see the other guys, though.”

  “Why didn’t you mention him to everyone yesterday?” Morgan asked.

  John shrugged. “Didn’t think it was important. Besides, we don’t really know who’s responsible yet.”

  “A future contract?” Morgan smiled.

  John nodded, but didn’t smile. “Yep. Another contract. This one will be free, though.”

  Morgan put his cup down, then stood up and stretched. “Honestly, this is a logistical nightmare. Not knowing what the hell is really going on. We have plenty of ammo, food and supplies to last us a while, but that’s assuming we’re safe here. Question is, do we tell everyone about your armory?”

  “No.”

  “I agree. I don’t mind Frankie knowing, but I don’t want those Texans to know. Not yet.”

  “Don’t trust them?”

  “I don’t trust anyone.”

  “They’re extra manpower, though. At some point, they may need to know.”

  Morgan yawned. “But ‘till then…” He walked to the door, then turned around and said, “I really hope you are right about Boogie and that we can trust him. We may need the manpower, like you say. Also, we should head up to the top of Si, see what we can to get a better idea of what is going on in the area. Fires and smoke and all that.”

  John nodded. “Good idea.”

  * * *

  They arrived at the house and saw Frankie and Boogie sitting on the porch, the aroma of marijuana in the air, a joint pressed between Frankie’s fingers as proof of the source.

  “Mornin’ gents!” Frankie raised his joint hand up and handed it to John.

  “Any problems last night?” Boogie asked.

  Morgan shook his head. “No. Though I have a feeling today will be different.”

  “Well, I’m an extra body. Just holler and I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

  Morgan nodded and sniffed the air. “Dang, that smells good. What is Helen making?”

  Frankie said, “Oh, that ain’t Helen. That’s Cindy’s cooking.”

  Boogie was nodding. “Yep. A little thank you to you guys for your hospitality. Cindy is making her Tex-Mex skillet. She’s famous for it back in Lubbock.” He pronounced it as “Lobbuck.”

  As they walked in, Helen was setting up the table with an extra set of mismatched chairs.

  They all sat down and Cindy laid a large white ceramic dish on the tabletop, its contents steaming. The aroma of spices, bacon, and melted cheese filled the air. “All right, breakfast is served!” She laid the dish down, and, before it had a chance to come to rest, four male hands reached in and started shoveling spoonfuls of food onto plates.

  Everyone spent the next five minutes eating in silence, and John, being the first to finish said, “So, were you and Boogie able to get situated?”

  “Thanks to Frankie and Helen here, we were able to sleep like babies. Especially this time of year. If this were west Texas, we would have woken up in pools of sweat. Not here though. A good eighties temp and clean air is the way to go. Of course, that kind of weather for us is seen during the fall or winter. Summer time is easily in the hundreds, with dusty air.”

  “No air conditioning?”

  “Nope. It’s a Texas thing, I s’pose. Nobody wants to admit they can’t handle the heat. That’s what we tell ourselves, at least. Boogie insisted on bringing his car, which doesn’t have AC, by the way, and we packed for a good week’s worth.”

  “What do you guys have with you?”

  “We have some snacks and our luggage and whatnot, but not much else to provide for anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  John was shaking his head. “No, not at all. I was just wondering what everyone has with them so we can plan accordingly. I know what I have and Morgan lives with me half the time anyways, so he’s got stuff up here, and Frankie and Helen have all this.” He indicated with his arms wide open. “When it all comes down to it, we’re all going to have to work together to provide for the group.” John used that to segue into another topic. “Was it your idea to come up here?”

  “No, it was mine,” Boogie said. “And count us in! Course, we’ll want to leave for back home eventually, but while we’re here, you can count on us to pitch in anyways possible. Guar-on-teed.”

  John nodded his head. “Good. First things first. Morgan and I are going to head up to Mount Si, get to the top and see what we can see as far as the region goes.”

  “Is that far from here?”

  Morgan nodded behind him. “Just right there. We live at the base of it.”

  “Oh, good,” Boogie replied, then asked, “So, what’s the layout of this place like? I mean boundary-wise. Access and routes and whatnot? Are we secluded or out in the open?”

  John said, “We have Mount Si to our north and the Snoqualmie River to our south. The only way to our property is over the bridge and onto Mount Si Road. That’s the only way to get here on foot. Of course, if someone was so inclined, they could traverse the mountains or get a boat and try to cross the river. From the road, there’s only one path in and you saw the gate –”

  “And Morgan’s flares!” Boogie interrupted.

  “– right, and the flares. That gate is attached to a steel fence that surrounds both mine and Frankie’s properties. So, in terms of safety, we’re pretty secluded. North Bend has about six thousand people, mom and pop shops, post office, grocery store and all that. Pretty typical. Nearest town to the west is Issaquah, where we passed before I woke up. That’s about twenty miles away. We do have some housing communities in Snoqualmie in between that, and Cle Elum is the nearest town to the east at the bottom of the pass.”

  Boogie stopped pacing. “A quick observation. First, you said you have a bridge. I’m assuming it’s the steel-girded one that we crossed?” John nodded, so Boogie continued, “I also noticed that Frankie has a bunch of hay bales.” Of Frankie, Boogie asked, “Do you need them bales? ‘Cause if not, I have an idea.”

  Frankie shook his head. “No, I don’t need them. I mean, the three cows I have could make do with the grass we have in the field. I got those bales for just-in-case type situations and for winter.”

  “Well, this might be a just-in-case situation. I was thinking, we could load up that trailer out there with the bales and create a Thermopylae moment, you know?”

  “Not following,” Frankie said.

  “Sparta!” Boogie looked around, realized no one got the reference, so he continued. “You know, a fatal tunnel? We line the sides of the bridge with those hay bales, stacking up rows and columns, and narrow the access across the bridge. That way, anyone or anything that tries to get through, regardless of numbers, is only going to get so many people or things through. I would hate to see hundreds of zombies at a time walking across that bridge when we could make it so that only about five or ten can walk across it at a time. Like an hourglass.”

  John and Morgan looked at each other. Morgan said, “I like your thinking. We will do that. Tell you what. John and I will head up Mount Si, and, while we do that, you and Frankie could load up that trailer. When we get back, we’ll drive the trailer over and stack it. That good with you, Frankie?”

  “Sure is. John’s Tahoe has a trailer hitch, so we’ll hook it up
to that. Also, I doubt the power is going to last. I do have the three generators, but not that much fuel. We’ll need diesel and unleaded. Also, Helen and Cindy here could do a food supply check, see what we have and what we need. The outdoor freezer is half full and is attached to the generators. I think we should be good. Regardless of how long this goes on, we have the garden and the greenhouse, and John and Morgan are big hunters. Also, the three cows can provide milk,” Frankie said.

  John faked sharing in the enthusiasm. He knew it was much more complicated than that. It was a matter of days, hours, or even minutes before the bulk of the chaos reached North Bend. Morgan hearing the screams and explosions last night meant it was already here, in some respect. They were going to have to be careful and that meant arming up. His armory had more than enough food stores, equipment, tools and weapons to last them a long time, but that information would be divulged at a time of his choosing. He did have the smaller safe next to the closet in his den that had four AR-15s, a couple of hunting rifles, and a smattering of handguns and ammo. That would be community-friendly and would almost have to do anyway, if they were going to survive this.

  “So, what, about two hours, then? Won’t take Morgan and me long to get up there, look around and head back down. Meantime, you guys get to work on your end, and, when we get back, we’ll dump the hay and go get fuel for the generators,” John said.

  Everyone nodded in agreement and they got to work.

  Chapter 21

  Russell was the first to wake up, though he had barely slept. The combination of a rocking boat, distant screams and the unknown had forced him to keep one eye open.

  Fortunately, the cabin was large enough so that all four of them were able to sleep comfortably. Kat and Christina had taken the bed and Russell and Sims had opted to utilize the two couches, one on each side of the cabin. They wanted Kat and Christina to be safe, and the room was as close to safety as they could provide.