“That’s for a rainy day. Take care of your family, sir,” the sergeant said kindly.
Matt saw the dread on his mother’s face when they drove away from the guardsmen. Pieter passed the gun and clip to Alexis, who looked at the piece glumly.
Pieter drove north when he came to an abandoned car. Another vehicle that was racing out of Phoenix struck the back of Pieter’s hybrid which tossed the hybrid over the abandoned vehicle and onto its back on the opposite side. The impact tossed Pieter halfway through the windshield. When the hybrid landed, it pinned Pieter within the frame of the windshield. He was nearly severed in half.
Alexis was jerked violently from the speeding vehicle’s impact. Matt watched her head move forward awkwardly, and he thought she might have suffered a broken neck.
The hybrid ticked after it landed, which was the only sound Matthew could hear. He looked over to see Mary was unconscious. Blood dripped from a wound on the side of her head. Matt propped himself so he could release his seatbelt. He found a cloth to hold against Mary’s wound. He didn’t want to release her from her restraints with fear he could hurt her. Matt needed help.
A car horn blared and tires screeched. Another vehicle clipped the side of hybrid with great speed that spun the small excursion vehicle slightly. Matt heard the scream of metal against metal. Next, Matt heard what appeared to be a loud thud from an impact.
Matt found the gun on the roof behind the passenger seats. He couldn’t find the extra clip after searching the vehicle. He stuck the gun into a pocket in his shorts. Within the next twenty minutes, he heard more vehicles collide outside the hybrid.
A bit later, Matt heard the sound of two vehicles slowly pass by. He was able to get his window open and he crawled out. Matt spotted the vehicles and ran for the police SUV.
“This is for a rainy day,” Matt said, recalling what the sergeant said. He took the gun from his shorts pocket.
“Where did you get that?” Evan asked.
“A soldier gave it to my dad when we were leaving Phoenix,” Matt told Evan. “I told you I had a gun back in Albuquerque.”
“I thought you were talking about your pecker,” Evan said.
“That too,” Matt said. “I didn’t know any of you yet. I needed something to protect Mary and me. I don’t need this anymore, because I have you.”
“You kept that this entire time?” Mary asked. “I thought that gun was back with our car.”
“You can hold onto it,” Evan said. “You obviously know how to handle it.”
‘’Thanks for not yelling at me about it,” Matt said.
“I understand why you kept it a secret,” Evan said. “Plus, now we both know we have each other.”
“We have each other,” Matt said.
“Edward’s up ahead,” John said on the radio.”
“All of you hang back,” said Cameron’s deep voice over the radio. “I think I may be the best person to talk to him, since you all are ready to tear him apart.”
“Thank you, Cameron,” Evan said. “Be careful.”
Evan, Matt and Mary watched as Cameron drove ahead. The bus came to a stop with the police SUV ahead of it, and Mandy’s car behind. The other members of the group joined Evan onboard the bus to discuss what to do about the judge.
Cameron watched Edward grow pale after he informed the judge of what happened. Edward had small lacerations on his face from Doug’s attack. Rain was soaking them both, but the drops were warm.
“He was so young,” Edward said of Simon’s death. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“Where were you?” Cameron asked.
“I walked down to that pileup we came across before we set up camp,” Edward replied sullenly. “I thought there was a military vehicle that may have had some weapons. It turned out to be just some redneck’s truck that was camouflaged.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going?” Cameron asked.
“I don’t know,” Edward said. “I didn’t think anyone cared. Look at my face. Doug was ready to kill me.”
“He felt he had a justifiable reason to attack you. Any father would after losing a child.”
“Why was Adam away from the camp?” Edward asked. “Why was he alone with Simon?”
“He took the three boys to place to find things like this,” Cameron said. He revealed the Arrowhead that Matt had given him. “Matt and Eliot had come back to the camp. No one thinks Adam was going to do anything to Simon. He was bitten badly, yet he tried to carry the boy back.”
Edward turned and walked a few yards away.
‘What aren’t you telling me?’ Cameron thought.
“Evan and Doug hate me, don’t they?” Edward asked.
“You may want to stay clear from them for awhile. Drive with us to Oklahoma City. I’ll have to split off and head to Nebraska to get my people.”
“Cameron, you have to understand,” Edward said. “I don’t like how we’re picking up just everybody we come across. We pick up some chick with a wild animal, and two men we don’t know anything about. What if they were rapists?”
“Don’t turn this around on them,” Cameron muttered. “John seems ok. Adam seemed fine before he was killed. Mandy has pitched in since she came along, and the coyote pup can be useful. We need to find people. Doug’s a cop, and he’s a good judge of character.”
‘He knows something about you,’ Cameron thought. ‘I’ve seen the way he acts with you. There’s something he doesn’t like.’
“I can’t go alone,” Edward whined.
“Then listen to me and give them some space,” Cameron said.
Cameron was soaking wet, and he was done talking to the man. No matter how he tried to convince himself he was imagining things, he felt something was way off with Edward. If the judge wasn’t going to tell him, then Cameron was going to have to find out the hard way. Edward wasn’t going to like it.
He got into the cruiser and drove back to the waiting group.
Cameron joined the group after he got out of the cruiser. Evan noticed he was soaking wet and got him some dry clothes. He went into the back bedroom of the bus to change.
“Thank you, Cameron,” Mandy said.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Cameron replied. “Like this weather, I don’t see a silver lining with him.”
“He could be after Mary,” Evan said. “Others have seen him watch her closely.”
“No thank you,” Mary said. “I’m not even sixteen yet.”
“Don’t worry,” Doug told her. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t come near you.”
“We best get going,” Evan said. “We can make it to Oklahoma City before it gets dark. I’d rather not drive through there during the night.”
The others got to their vehicles so that the trip could resume. Along the way, Evan occasionally glanced at the numerous vehicles that were left behind. The caravan had to wind through traffic graveyards. Matt had pointed to a body that was stripped of everything but bones. As the bus crept closer, Evan saw a cloud of flies rise into the air after the bus disturbed them.
Matt looked at Evan with unhappiness.
“Never had a chance,” Evan said.
“I’m wondering if we’re going to find anyone else alive,” Matthew said.
“Yeah,” Evan said. “I’m beginning to wonder the same thing.”
The caravan came to other thick spots of abandoned vehicles before they got to Oklahoma City. Twice they ran into a throng of undead victims. Doug plowed through them with the Police SUV, with Evan right behind taking more down. The sounds of desperate hunger penetrated into the bus. Once they were through, Evan released the breath he was holding in.
“Is everyone ok?” Doug asked from the radio.
“We’re all here,” Cameron said.
“Oklahoma City is thirty miles up ahead, according to the sign behind us,” said John over the radio.
They drove another twenty miles until the police SUV stopped suddenly. Evan fought the bus to keep it un
der control. When Evan looked out the window to see what caused the truck to stop, Evan’s mouth dropped.
“Holy shit,” Matt muttered.
Evan told Matt and Mary to stay on the bus before he got off. He joined Doug and John and the three took in the sight of horror ahead of them.
Along each side of the road were telephone poles that were converted to crucifixes. Hanging from those crosses were soldiers. Some of them had reanimated, and the sound of their moans filled the air.
Chapter 8: Hero/Villain
August stopped when she was in the Southfield Freeway median. Ahead of her was the last stretch to the store. The lieutenant turned to look at the group of refugees that waited. She gave them a convincing smile that everything will be fine.
August turned to face the Home Depot ahead of her where Alex and his team were set. She signaled for Alex to move in toward the Walmart. Alex signaled for his team to move out. One ember of his team would stay back to cover them while the team moved ahead, then the soldier that covered would move to ahead. Another would cover when the team advanced.
‘That’s perfect guys,’ August thought. ‘You’re doing great.’
August moved down Southfield so she could keep an eye on the team. She motioned to the main group for a few more minutes. The guardsmen watching over the group translated the signals to the refugees.
“Five minutes,” August signaled.
August moved through the gap that Alex had cut into the fence earlier. Once she was at the abandoned Home Depot, she moved from pillar to pillar to get closer to the Walmart. She saw the team get into cover to get ready for August to go to the store by herself. On the roof of the Walmart store were men armed with compound bows. If those men were enemies, they would already be dead.
“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to come with you?” Alex asked.
“No, we don’t want them spooked,” August said. “I need you to watch those men on that roof.”
“There’s one person in the tower above us,” Alex said. “It looks to be a forward post. I’m not sure what kind of weapons he has, but I’m sure he’s armed.”
“Do they have military assistance?” August asked, more to herself. “They’re resilient, and they aren’t taking shit.”
“Be careful, sir,” Alex said.
“I plan on that,” August replied.
August took a few deep breaths before she went. She stood up to study the store again. It took a lot of courage to motivate August to move forward. She had gone twenty yards when something occurred to her.
‘Damn, I forgot to give Alex my Beretta,’ August thought. ‘It’s too late now.’
She continued forward with confidence. Internally, August worried about the gun.
“Incoming civilian,” Someone yelled from the roof.
‘Good, they bought it,’ August said.
She was greeted by a single woman. The woman gestured at someone inside the store.
“Hello,” the woman said. “Welcome to the safe zone. My name is Sarah Carter. Do you need refuge?”
“Yes. I’m August Daley, and I have a little over two-hundred and fifty people waiting behind me.”
A look of shock covered Sarah’s face.
The line of refugees slowly made their way into the safe zone while Sarah and Robert watched. Scott was taking the names of each person.
“There’s something else I need to tell you,” August said. “But I didn’t think it was a good idea until I knew these people were safe. I’m a lieutenant in the National Guard.”
“You’re just full of surprises,” Robert quipped. “We’re going to have fun picking your brain.”
“What do you mean?” August asked.
“Come with us,” Sarah said. “We’d like to talk to you.”
Sarah and Robert led August to a room within the safe zone maze.
“Ok, we need to know what happened out there,” Robert said. “Let’s start off by explaining why people are getting up after dying, and why they’re eating other people.”
“I don’t know the specifics on that,” August said. “I just know that most of the people in my camp ended up like that because of a military doctor kept some hidden somewhere, and the number grew quickly.”
“That actually answers a few questions,” Sarah said. “You were from Farmington then?”
“Yes, as are all of those refugees, and the remaining members from my unit.”
“You saved those people?” Sarah asked. “Why just them? Why didn’t you save all of them?”
“We didn’t know at the time how to put those post-deceased people down permanently,” August explained. “Everything fell apart so quickly. One of my men freaked out and started shooting wildly into a crowd of refugees who watched things fall apart like deer in a headlight. I grabbed as many people as I could before we got out.”
“Alright, so you’re willing to talk then,” Robert said. “Are you willing to tell us what happened in Warren?”
“I assume things are ok there,” August said. “Once the military clears out all of those in Farmington and Dearborn, that the people will be released.”
“In a perfect world maybe,” Robert told her. “You don’t know about the long lines we assume are mass graves?”
August looked back and forth between Sarah and Robert.
“Arthur,” August started, “Colonel Hummsfeld would never do anything like that. He would never hurt Americans.”
“We’ll be happy to take you out there and show you,” Robert said. “We haven’t checked the third camp yet. No one wants to.”
“Ok, I’ll go, because I can’t believe what you’re saying,” August said. “Wait, there’s a small squad that came to us when we were moving the refugees here. Bring in Specialist Richardson.”
Sarah nodded to Robert to get the soldier. Once he was out of the room, Sarah asked her own questions.
“What happened in Dearborn?”
“I’d like to know the same thing. The Dearborn police was supposed to bring those people in. We had one Dearborn officer show up, but he came alone. The rest of the refugees refused to let him come with us when they found out who he was. They also refused to let the doctor come with us.”
“August, please level with me,” Sarah said. “Does the military have an answer to this?”
“I don’t think so,” August said.
Robert returned with Specialist Richardson.
“Have a seat,” Robert said.
The soldier looked at the lieutenant. August nodded that he had permission.
“Specialist, as I said earlier, my name is Robert, and I’d like to ask you a few questions. Please answer them”
“I’ll do my best,” the specialist said.
“Where were you stationed before you came in contact with the refugees?” Robert asked.
“Out of the Warren Camp, under Colonel Arthur Hummsfeld,” Richardson said. He glanced at August with a look of fear.
“Why aren’t you with them now?” August asked.
Richardson hesitated.
“Answer the question, specialist,” August ordered.
“I couldn’t serve under a murderer,” Richardson muttered. “He gave an order to poison all of the civilians while they were fed. Those who didn’t eat were executed. Half the unit obeyed the orders, while the other half fought them. Our side was slaughtered along with the refugees. We deserted in order to survive.”
“Mary, mother of Jesus,” Sarah said.
“Does the colonel know about Farmington?” August asked.
“Somewhat,” Richardson said. “He thinks you’re dead. He said you fucked up and deserve to be dead, or one of those things.”
August appeared as if she was going to be sick.
“Well, she’s not dead,” Sarah said. “She saved your life, and the lives of all those people she brought. She’s ok in my book.”
“You know about Warren and Farmington. You went there?” August asked.
“Yea
h,” Robert told her. “It wasn’t pretty.”
Sarah saw that August was on the verge of crying. She asked for Robert to take the specialist to help with the refugees. After the two men left, Sarah placed a chair next to August.
“It’s ok,” Sarah said. “I know you must feel a lot of pressure to show strength to those refugees you led here, but you have to let go. It will make you sick if you don’t.”
Sarah stood up when she saw that August kept fighting her emotions. Sarah went to the door to give August privacy.
“Please stay,” August said. “I’ve shed enough tears the last few days when no one saw me. I’m not sure if I can. Maybe one of these days I can. I’m just not sure how to take what he said.”
“If they left you for dead, stay dead,” Sarah said. “It dismisses you from your duty to that military that failed us. Help us protect these people here. They are more important than the National Guard.”
“Just tell me what you need us to do,” August said.
“For starters, we need to figure out where all of us are going to live,” Sarah said. “We weren’t figuring we’d get more than two hundred people all at once.”
“I have a few ideas,” August said.
“Come with me,” Sarah said. “You can tell me those ideas on the way.”
Sarah started a tour of the quickly transforming retail space.
The first stop was the silent weapon armory. Sarah went in first to power up a small generator. When the lights inside the room came on, August was blown away.
Different kinds of racks covered each wall. One rack held thirty seven-foot long spears. Another wall had eighty compound bows hanging neatly. A third wall had large rubberized drums that were filled with arrows. The wall furthest from the door hung at least a hundred knives, machetes, mallets, and other weapons meant to take down the undead. Sam created a rack in the middle of the room for more spears.
“This was one of my ideas I was thinking of,” August said. “But you’re way ahead of me.”
“We have three like this in different sections,” Sarah told her. “Wait until you see the next room.”
Detroit Reanimated Page 17
