Tommy spoke to Duncan in a low voice. “I’m going to step ahead of you. Look to the left of my head.”
Duncan waited, looked, and then replied. “Got it.” They kept walking, keeping an eye out for not only the dead, but the living now, as well.
“What do you think it was?” Tommy asked.
Duncan shook his head. “Some kind of glass, either a scope or binoculars; somebody’s watching us.”
“Kind of wish we were moving with more force.”
“We are, it’s just not with us right here.”
“Hang on.” Tommy ducked into an alleyway and pulled out his radio. “Comm 1, this is Scout 2, over. Be advised there are eyes on us. East of the river, central downtown. Likely on a high rise. Over.”
“Roger Scout 2. Will pass the word. Rendezvous point the same? Over.”
“No. Try to stay out of sight. Any contact? Over,” Tommy asked.
“Not yet, but it’s early. Over.”
“Roger that. Stay safe. Out.” Tommy put the radio back and rejoined Duncan. Anyone observing would think he had ducked into the alley to relieve himself.
“I told them to keep an eye out, that we are being watched,” Tommy said.
“Are they going to ground?” Duncan asked.
“Just playing it safe. They’re moving more cautiously and hiding their numbers if they can,” Tommy said.
“Sounds like sound advice,” Duncan said. He looked around. “What’s that noise?”
Tommy looked around. “Sounds like a garage door opener.”
“There’s power here? I didn’t see any lights or anything last night,” Duncan said.
“On the left!” A cry came from behind the two, and they immediately ran to the source. Ten zombies were coming out of a driveway and a garage door was open where it had been closed before.
“I have a few questions once we clear this up,” Duncan said, pulling his long-handled axe into striking position.
Tommy nodded. “Same here.” He went over to the nearest zombie and slammed his weapon into its head, hitting it hard enough that an eyeball popped out and bounced along the street.
Duncan used the extra length of his axe to easily kill a young female zombie that must have died last winter since she was wearing a heavy down coat.
The other scouts easily killed the rest of the zombies since it was literally man to man.
As the last zombie fell, Duncan turned to Tommy.
“I think we need to get to our vehicles and do it quickly,” he said. “There is no way I am going to be convinced that the zombies in that house happened to discover electricity and the garage door opener all at exactly the same moment we were walking by.”
“Roger that,” Tommy said. “Scouts, let’s double time it back to the trucks. There’s something weird here, and I’d rather face it inside my ride.”
No one disagreed, and the group retreated the way they had come with Tommy calling to the other group of scouts to get back to the vehicles.
“Did they get a surprise, too?” Duncan asked, watching the homes for any more unexpected garage sale parties.
“They did. Same as ours. Walk in the park, and then suddenly there they were,” Tommy said.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Duncan said.
“Neither do I.”
Both men were silent as they thought about what that meant.
The group rounded the corner to where their trucks were waiting and skidded to a stop. Between them and their vehicles were about twenty ghouls, and at the sound of the men stopping their run, they turned and faced the newcomers. Heads tilted and mouths opened while hands turned into claws. The horde advanced as one, swaying in a near synchronous pattern. There was a short guy in the back that ruined the cadence, but Duncan was still slightly amused by the whole thing.
“Split up! Separate them!” Tommy yelled.
The six men split off and ran towards the left, following the road. Immediately eight or nine zombies trailed from the rear of the group. The rest stayed the course heading right for the remaining six. Duncan jumped ahead of the group, swinging his longer axe. The pointed end crunched through a zombie skull and dropped it to the ground. Duncan grabbed the feet of the zombie he had killed and swung the corpse over towards the feet of the main group, knocking several over, and tripping a few more.
Using the opportunity, the other men danced forward, killing what they could safely reach. No one but a soon-to-be dead-fool tried to grapple with a zombie when there were others close by. That was one thing stressed in training. Kill it quick, move on to the others. That was also why everyone carried several knives and axes. If one got stuck, pull another one.
Two of the men were using billhooks which worked really well until they got stuck. Another used a simple bat with railroad spikes through it. Didn’t have to be fancy, it just had to crack a skull.
Tommy brained one zombie then tripped another before killing it as well. The battle was brief but decisive. The zombies were all dead, and the other group that had split off came back wiping their weapons off. Before the group drove on, they quickly burned the virus off their weapons.
The men moved closer to the center of town where the buildings began to rise out of the desert. No other zombies came out to meet them which caused a conversation between the two leaders.
“I’m guessing someone was trying to get rid of us,” Duncan said.
“Do tell, Oh Obvious One,” Tommy intoned.
“Funny. There’s no way those zombies were anything but a way to deal with people someone doesn’t like. And they aren’t going to release a resource like that when we’re safe in our cars,” Duncan observed.
“Interesting defense mechanism. I wonder how they keep the released zombies from entering their safe zones? If they have any,” Tommy observed.
“Guess we’ll find out.” Duncan pointed to a web of cables and lines that all seemed to be running in the same direction. “I think if we follow the lines, we will reach the source of the defense.”
Tommy looked up. “Nice work. I totally missed that.”
“Apology accepted,” Duncan smirked.
“Not yet. If we’ve run their zombie gauntlet, what do you think they have in store for us when we get closer to their base of operations?” Tommy asked.
Duncan thought about that one, and he didn’t like what he came up with. He grabbed the radio. “All scouts, this is Scout One. Be advised we may be hitting some harder turf in a minute. Over.”
A chorus of “Roger” came back, and Tommy decided to up the safety measures one more notch. He told Duncan to slow up, and he climbed out of the truck and got into the bed. He attached his belt to the small strap bolted to the roof of the truck, securing him in the event of a run. He brought up his rifle; the high-powered bolt action that had served him so well in the past. If anyone was thinking about shooting at them long distance, Tommy wanted to be able to reply in kind.
Duncan led the scout squad through the heart of the city, passing several blocks of devastation. Old scorch marks still decorated the walls of several buildings, and many cars were open and rusting. Several cars were burnt-out husks, and here and there the occasional bone could be seen. Businesses were broken into and debris was scattered all over the place. The squad worked their way through the wreckage, making their way into the heart of Albuquerque. The buildings got taller and taller, and presently, Tommy thumped on the roof of the truck.
“Stop here!” he called out.
Duncan complied, and the group came to a stop.
“What’s up?” Duncan called out his window.
“We’re here,” Tommy said.
Duncan looked around. They were in front of a tall hotel, and across the street from there was a convention center. “What’s here?”
“The local population,” Tommy said, jumping out of the truck bed.
“How do you know that?” Duncan looked around again and couldn’t see anything.
“Because there’
s a guy on the roof of this hotel. He and I have been staring at each other through the scopes on our rifles for the last ten minutes. I’d say they were cautious, but probably friendly to the cause,” Tommy said.
“I guess we’ll find out. What do we do now?”
“Wait a minute, I suppose, to see if they want to talk. If not, we’ll move on. They aren’t going anywhere,” Tommy said.
“Sir!”
Duncan turned around. “What is it?”
“Sir, look at that car.” The scout pointed to a vehicle on the side of the road.
Duncan looked. The car was under a light pole that had collapsed on the vehicle after it had been struck. The car was in good shape except for a window that had been smashed in.
“Huh. That’s odd. Thanks.” Duncan began to look harder at the carnage and destruction around him, and things began to take a particular shape. He pulled out his binoculars and stared down the road, taking in the scene before him. He was concentrating so hard on the street that he didn’t notice Tommy tapping on his arm.
“You done sight-seeing? Let’s go,” Tommy said.
“Where?” Duncan asked.
“Up there,” Tommy pointed.
A ladder had been lowered from the second floor of the hotel and stood waiting there like a silent guardian.
“Of course.” Duncan put the binoculars away. “Up we go.”
“What were you looking at?”
“Tell you later.”
Duncan signaled to the men. “You ten with us. The rest of you watch the vehicles.”
The group climbed the short ladder to the second floor, and they waited for their hosts to arrive. The room they were in was a small conference room, and there was a fine layer of dirt and dust from being exposed to the New Mexico elements. The ladder mechanism was a fire escape ladder that had been appropriated to this side of the building.
After five minutes of staring at each other, Duncan looked back down the ladder. “How long before we say to hell with it and move on?” he asked. “I’m not really sure I trust this set up.”
Tommy cocked his head at his friend. “How so?”
“Things aren’t really as they seem,” Duncan said.
“Again, how so?” Tommy asked.
Duncan shrugged. “Do you really think it’s taking this long to get together a welcoming committee? I’ll bet you a dollar against a toothbrush we’re being listened to right now.”
Tommy looked at the walls. “Okay, if you’re right, let’s get out of here.”
Duncan shrugged. “Works for me.” He went over to the ladder and slipped a leg over when the door suddenly opened. One man walked in, and he smiled at the scene before him.
“Good morning, and welcome to our humble home. I am Brent Lock, one of the council members here. To whom am I speaking?”
Duncan took a long look at the man before him. He was tall and lean, wearing a knit shirt tucked into khaki pants. He was unarmed except for a small knife riding on his left hip. Duncan reflected that compared to this man, he himself looked kind of crude and rough. Duncan consoled himself with the knowledge that he was better armed. Probably better looking, too.
Tommy spoke up before Duncan had a chance to open his mouth. “I’m Tommy Carter. My friend here is Duncan Fries. We’re the commanders of this group here, scouting our way through Arizona, and looking for any other survivors.” Tommy decided he wasn’t going to reveal the full strength of his position if he didn’t have to.
“Are you in charge of the other groups moving through the territory?” Brent asked, giving Tommy a small smile.
So much for the rest of the team staying hidden. “I would be, yes,” Tommy said.
“How many men do you have?” Brent asked, the small smile never leaving his face.
Duncan spoke up. “How many do you have?”
Brent took a small step back. “I believe you’re in our territory, and the polite thing to do would be to accommodate your hosts.” The smile never left his face, although his tone changed.
Duncan smiled back. “If I knew I could trust my hosts, I might be more accommodating. But since all that destruction out there never really happened, you might want to start there with an explanation.” Duncan held Brent’s eyes, and it was the other man who looked away first.
“I see you’re an observant man. Let’s go see the rest of the council, and you’ll have your questions answered. Fair enough?” Brent asked.
“Well, as a measure of trust, I’ll let you know how many men we have,” Tommy said. “Sound off, commanders.”
Brent started a little when Tommy’s radio barked. “Comm, fifty men here. Comm, one hundred here. Comm, fifty men. Comm fifty men.” The list went on, and Tommy could see Brent doing the math as the numbers were called out. It was also obvious that Tommy had turned his radio on the second they made contact so the commanders could come to a rescue if needed or avenge as necessary.
“Five hundred men?” Brent asked. “That might be just enough.” He turned towards the door.
“Enough for what?” Duncan asked as he followed Brent.
“Enough to save us all,” Brent said. “I’ll let the council members explain.”
Tommy and Duncan shared a look as they followed the man through the door. The exit led to a flight of stairs, and as they went up flight after flight, Duncan noted the firing holes in the walls. Anyone or anything trying to get up this flight of stairs without leave of the residents were going to pay a heavy price to get to the top.
After six flights of stairs, Brent led them through a heavy door. They went down another long hallway, then he led them through a small utility door. As they walked through, they had to shield their eyes against the sunlight that brightened the scene before them.
The roof of the hotel was a series of glass panels that angled away from the top of the building creating a huge atrium effect. Rooms faced the light with doors that led out to balcony hallways. The large areas on the floor of the hotel had been converted away from shops and bars to platforms that had crops growing on them. A water system poured water from a central basin to the top tier of the platforms and small hoses poured the runoff onto the platform below.
Tommy could see several people moving around on the crops checking plants and testing the soil. Another part of the base had several people lounging in a circle reading books and having what appeared to be a lively discussion. One of the shops looked to have been converted to a classroom, and Tommy could see several children receiving instruction.
“Follow me,” Brent said. He led the way along the hallway, and as the group passed the rooms, they could see people had converted several of them to be living rooms adjoined to the bedrooms.
Brent took the men to the large central staircase that went from the top of the hotel all the way to the ground floor. They walked down the stairs and reached the ground floor. Every available space was utilized to some extent, and everything had been repurposed to help the survival of the people in the building. The men were led to a large hallway which brought them to a former convention room.
The room was bare except for a small semi-circle of tables. Behind those tables, seven men and women waited for the arrival of the newcomers. A single chair was empty, and Brent walked over to it and sat down.
Tommy motioned for the men to spread out, and Duncan placed two men outside the door with rifles drawn. Two more men stood to the side of the council, and the looks the council members shared showed they didn’t much care for that at all, but they didn’t have much to say about it.
“Welcome to our refuge,” the woman in the center spoke first, addressing Tommy. “I am Councilwoman Susan Bass. You’ve met Brent Lock. You are?” She was a stately woman with brown hair going to grey. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and she focused those eyes on Tommy.
“I’m Tommy Carter; this is my fellow commander, Duncan Fries.” Tommy was acutely aware he was guilty of doing the same thing he and Duncan had laughed at John for just that morning.<
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“And where do you call home, Mr. Carter?”
“We live in a lodge off the Illinois River, about thirty miles downriver from the capitol of the New United States,” Tommy said.
“There is a government again?” This was a question from an older man on the edge of the circle.
Tommy nodded. “There is. We’ve retaken several states and have representatives from most of them. The ones that had people living in them, anyway.”
“And have you elected a president and vice president?” the man asked.
“Sure have. We didn’t have a popular vote election, more of a representative election, but no one complained,” Tommy said.
“So if we had a representative to send north, we could have a vote in the proceedings?”
Tommy was getting impatient with this line of questioning. “Sure, you can do that if you want. The president is a really nice guy, and loves to spend as much time as he can with people who want to help him run the new country.”
Duncan snickered, and the man turned a little slightly pinkish hue.
“Are you suggesting the new president is a man who would refuse to listen to the concerns of his citizens?”
Duncan fielded that question. “Oh, he’d listen all right. Then he’d go off and kill some zombies. He’s like that.”
Tommy took the pause in conversation to ask a question of his own. “How did you all come to live here?”
Susan smiled at that. “It was mostly accident, really. We were here for a convention, and when the Upheaval struck, we realized we were as safe as we could hope for. We made this place our home and have lived here ever since.”
“Where did the kids come from?” Tommy asked.
“Families were here,” Susan said. “I would like to say it has been a great experience, but we had our troubles. Once we organized and settled our priorities, well, things just took a turn for the better.” She looked at Tommy and Duncan. “Now then, since you are here and obviously formidable, I was wondering if we could reach some kind of agreement?”
Duncan looked up. “What do you need?”
“Just like that, you’ll help us?” the man on the end spoke again.
The Zombie Wars: We All Fall Down (The White Flag series Book 9) Page 11
