by R. J. Spears
It took a couple moments, but the shadow of Hank appeared again and transitioned from shadow to man. Hank was a big one. He had to be six-three or six-four and had a grizzly man look going, with a full bushy beard and mustache and long, thick unkempt hair. He completed the look with a dark flannel shirt, dirty jeans, and black leather work boots. Steel-toed, I’m sure.
The other arrival to our meet-up was another man, but he wasn’t nearly as hairy as Hank. Not nearly as tall. Still, he had some size, but most of it was horizontal. You wouldn’t call him fat, but he was broad with a paunch. Unless food was plentiful with their group, I would have guessed he had a bit of a gut before the Outbreak.
He carried a rifle like Hank but also had a backpack on. It sagged down his back part way, and whatever was in it wasn’t light.
“This is Hank,” Jenelle said, motioning to Hank. “And this is Owen.” She pointed toward the other man. Both of them converged on her. Hank held his weapon tight, while Owen seemed relaxed and even wore a broad and welcoming smile. As soon as he got close, he stuck out a hand and said, “Glad to meet you, Joel. We see few live ones come through town anymore.”
What could I do but shake his hand? I retrieved my hand from my “poised to grab my gun position” and stuck it out to meet Owen’s hand. He had a firm shake. Hank didn’t offer his hand but stood stoically, reminding me of the statue of one of our country’s forefathers - sober and stern. I was never all that good in history classes, so his name escaped me.
After the handshake, I stepped aside and motioned toward the house. The tension level dropped precipitously, and I said, “Why don’t you come in?”
I only hoped I wasn’t inviting the fox into the henhouse.
Chapter 23
Best Laid Plans
“Get down!” Jones yelled as he ducked behind a tree.
Jo yanked the walkie-talkie down, sprinted out of the center of the road, and dove behind a large pine tree as the helicopter bore down on their position. Her forearm scraped along a root hidden in the shadows under the tree, and she lost about three inches of surface skin.
The helicopter had nearly come out of nowhere, buzzing over them like a giant insect. They had heard it in the distance, but it turned out that it was much closer than they had thought. Plus, with the distraction of Russell’s injury and tenuous walkie-talkie conversation with Henry, they hadn’t paid close enough attention to the skies.
Del shouted, “Did it see us?” He was just a tree away from Sergeant Jones.
“I don’t know,” Jones replied.
“What should we do?” Del asked.
“Hold our position until we know if they did see us,” Jones replied. “What do you think, Jo?”
She rubbed her abraded forearm and said, “Sounds like a plan.”
“But what if they did see us and come back?” Del asked, sounding more than a little nervous.
Once they had heard the weak broadcast from Henry, Jones had pulled the truck off the road and nudged it under a stand of tall trees. Jo grabbed the walkie-talkie and locked in on it trying to get a better signal, even standing on the side of the road, hoping that being out in the open would help. It did but not by much. Henry’s words barely made it through the static, but she was able to make out some of it.
They hadn’t made it to Athens. The damned helicopters had driven them into hiding. All the effort they had made to create a distraction hadn’t really worked.
After she had heard Ellen scream Henry’s name, Jo became almost frantic to do anything to get the signal back. Not realizing what had happened had transfixed her so much, she had ignored the chance of the helicopter catching her out in the open.
“If they saw anyone, it was me,” Jo said. “If they did and circle back, we need to get Russell out of the truck bed. I’ll take the truck and distract them away from you.”
“Don’t jump to any conclusions,” Jones said. “They might not have seen you at all.”
“We need to plan in case they did,” Jo replied as she looked up into the sky.
The helicopter was nearby but not hovering over them. Of course, it could be readying itself for a strafing run, getting ready to let loose with its fearsome firepower. If that was the case, Jo didn’t see a way any of them would survive. They all had seen the devastation the choppers could rain down. It was the sort of experience that rocked your world down to its core.
The seconds ticked away, and the helicopter seemed to be flying nearby, but its location was masked from view by the canopy of trees overhead. They had no idea if the chopper had been looking for them or not, but they knew the show they had put on with the propane tanks had drawn the attention of the eyes in the sky. That had been the intention, but with Henry and the others still trapped in no man’s land, it seemed a waste. A terrible half-measure.
The sound of the helicopter increased in intensity, and everyone in their little group tensed up, readying for what could happen next.
Del said a prayer under his breath, “Hail Mary, full of grace, save our asses from these damn choppers.”
Jones knew their weapons would have no effect on the chopper. It would be like shooting at it with slingshots, and he didn’t delude himself into thinking this could be a David and Goliath scenario. If it was, Goliath was clearly going to stomp their asses. There were no if’s, and’s, or but’s. They would be toast.
The only one of them that didn’t seem scared was Madison. When Jo glanced her way, she thought she saw excitement in the young girl’s eyes, and something about that made Jo a little scared and a little sad. The things that girl had been through seemed to be taking a toll on her psyche.
The rotation of the helicopter’s blades beat on the night air, making that telltale whipping sound. Del hugged close to his tree, and Jones did the same. Jo stayed on the ground. The only one of their party not looking skyward was Russell, who was half out of it after being struck in the head from debris from the propane tank they had exploded. One moment, Russell seemed lucid and alert, and in the next, he was either unconscious or barely coherent. Jo feared his brain could be swelling, and she knew there wasn’t anything they could do about it. She had no idea what they would do if his condition continued to deteriorate, but she knew that, first, they had to survive the next few minutes.
The helicopter whooshed overhead and disappeared from view again, but this time, the sound of it got more and more distant.
“Do you think it’s gone?” Del asked.
“Let’s give it a minute,” Jones said, keeping his eyes skyward.
Again, they waited, but this time, it was at a decreased level of tension. Still, it wasn’t an easy wait. To Jo, it was like having the executioner pass close by, but he only glanced in your direction.
None of them looked at their watches, but after just over a minute, they all seemed to exhale loudly.
Del drifted out from behind his tree but kept a suspicious eye looking skyward. Jones came out from behind his tree, too, but stayed under the limited safety of the canopy of leaves above them.
Jo pushed herself to her feet and took a look at the blood dribbling down her arm from where she had scraped it.
“You alright?” Jones asked.
“I’m fine,” Jo replied. “It’s just a scrape.” She lifted the walkie-talkie, depressed the talk button one more time, and said, “Homebase, this is the away team. Can you hear me?” Homebase, are you there?”
“You’re going to drain the damned battery,” Del said.
Jo narrowed her eyes and stared at him, but she knew he was right. It had been an hour since they had spoken with Henry. Those had been night hours, when radio signals traveled better. Now that it was dawn and the sun was lighting up the world, the chances of getting a signal again were negligible. She dropped her arm and let the walkie-talkie dangle at her side.
“I can tell you one thing,” Del said. “I’m fucking tired of those helicopters.”
“Ditto,” Jones echoed.
Jo surrendered
and clicked off the walkie-talkie. It hurt more than she cared to admit. It was like giving up on Henry, Ellen, and the others. It also meant admitting that she thought there was a good chance they would never make it back to them. It was an absolute fluke they had heard anything at all, and the chances of it happening again were astronomical.
Jones couldn’t help but notice the way her shoulder slumped after she turned off the walkie-talkie. But what could he say? He barely knew these people. Why he stayed with them was a puzzle. Maybe it was too many years in the army. He was used to being around people. Having a mission.
He had to admit that he admired them. They were almost as tough as some of the soldiers he had served with. If they had been trained, he was sure someone like Jo would be as good as any of the men he had served with over the years. Of course, she really had something to fight for.
“So, what’s next?” Del asked.
Jo walked over to where Del stood, and Jones joined them a moment later. For more than a few moments, they stood in silence. Birds chirped away in the trees, and a cool breeze drifted in among the leaves. On another, normal day, they might just decide to go on a picnic, but with the survival of their people at stake, there were no picnics in their future.
Jo broke the stillness and said, “It’s like we’re at a stalemate for now, but that won’t last. The helicopters have Henry and the others pinned down. It’s only a matter of time before they run out of food and are forced out into the open. Or they are just outright discovered. I’m not sure if the helicopters are on a search and destroy mission or not, but I’m sure our people would not be treated kindly.”
“What the hell are our options?” Del asked. “We can keep trying to distract them, but that leaves us standing out like a sore thumb. Soon or later, our luck is going to run out, and they are going to smack that sore thumb flatter than shit.”
“We’ve got to do something big or something final,” she said, and her expression looked caught in a juxtaposition of fierceness and resignation.
“Are you thinking of having us do something really stupid?” Jones asked.
“Or something bold and unexpected,” she said.
“Which is the same damn thing,” Jones said.
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Del asked.
Jones rubbed his hand over his head as if he could wipe away the realization of what she was proposing. “She’s talking about taking the fight to them.”
“Oh, you are crazy,” Del said, his eyes going wide. “That’s insane.”
“They have our people,” Jo said, focusing in on Del, “your son and girlfriend trapped, and it’s really only a matter of time before they find them. We all know it.” She stopped and looked to the ground, as if she could draw courage from the earth itself, then looked back up. “Would you give your life to save your son?”
“Sure, I would,” he said. “But going on a suicide mission without knowing I have some guarantee that they will be safe is not what I had in mind.”
“Del, you know there are no guarantees,” she said, her voice calm and even. “And there’s no guarantee that we will get caught if we try. I make you this promise. If we go and check this out….”
Del cut her off, “And survive.”
“Yes, and survive. If we check this out and there’s no chance of doing anything other than getting ourselves killed, then we pull out and find another plan, but I tell you now, if we can’t get those helicopters out of the sky and off our asses, then I think there’s a good chance that they will die.” She stopped and shifted her focus to Jones. “What do you think Sergeant Jones?”
“They definitely won’t be expecting it,” he said.
“Listen, you don’t have to be a part of this,” she said to him. “You’ve done enough for us, and this is asking you to go against the men you served with.”
Jones fixed her in a hard stare. “I’m not shooting any of those men. I’ll help you take out a helicopter, but that’s it.”
It surprised Jones that he was even willing to take it that far, but there was something about Jo’s passion that moved him to make a commitment. In a way, she had a lot of the same charisma that Colonel Kilgore displayed before he went off the rails.
“What about Russell and Madison?” Del asked, looking back to the truck. “He’s knocked half-silly, and she’s just a kid.”
“We keep them at a safe distance while we check things out. If Russell recovers enough to get into action with us, he can make the decision for himself. As far as Madison is concerned, we keep her out of it.”
“So what’s your plan,” Jones asked, crossing his arms and locking in on Jo.
“Well, I don’t really have much of one,” she said, “but I was hoping with your distinctive insight and skills, you might want to help come up with one.”
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Jones replied, not looking happy about it.
“So, the three of us are going to take out well-armed and deadly helicopters all by ourselves?” Del asked.
“It looks that way,” Jo said. “Besides, we’ll attack them when they are on the ground.”
“Well, shit,” Del said.
Chapter 24
Making Friends and Influencing People
If our meetup got any better, we might just start a hug-fest so intense that we would just start singing Barry Manilow songs while holding hands. Owen would end up singing lead. I’m sure of that. Hank would even warmed up enough to bring the back-up vocals, but maybe I overstated that.
“It sounds like you’ve seen a lot of heavy shit,” Jenelle said, leaning against a wall in the living room where we had convened in our little Kumbaya session. “We’ve been through some tough times, but it seems like trouble has followed you wherever you’ve gone.”
“We certainly didn’t give it an open invitation,” I said. “It was more like the world’s worst party crasher.”
“To me, it seems more than a coincidence that you’ve had all the trouble you’ve had,” Hank said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. He sat across from me on a chair we had brought in from the dining room.
“Maybe it isn’t a coincidence,” Kara said from an overstuffed chair in the corner of our crowded living room. Her face was pinched tightly and I could tell that she was doing her best to hide the pain she was feeling.
But I also knew where she was going, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to open that can of worms. I had decided not to mention we were on a holy mission, mostly because anyone I said it to laughed in my face. Also, not to mention, they thought we were crazier than a shithouse rat.
Of course, there was no closing that door once it was open, and all eyes went to her.
Hank asked, “What do you mean?”
“What Joel hasn’t mentioned is the reason trouble seems to find us is that we are on a mission from God,” Kara said.
Jenelle stifled a laugh. See what I mean? I knew we were on a mission from God, but outsiders just didn’t get it. Unless they were cued-in, like Donovan’s group with Billy Jean. I had no sense from Jenelle’s crew they had any clues about the divine. They were just surviving day-by-day, like so many still left alive in our little planet Earth.
Hank, to his credit, kept a straight face and said, “What are you trying to say?”
Kara eyes narrowed to slits and she said. “First, you shouldn’t scoff at what I said. We are on a holy mission, and we have to get to Columbus.”
“What’s in Columbus?” Hank asked.
“We may have hope for humanity with us, and we need to get it to Columbus.”
“You’re being awfully cryptic,” Hank replied, and I could sense his suspicions rising. I was usually the one to misstep by putting my foot in my mouth, so it was a surprise that Kara brought it up. Maybe she was trying to feel them out.
Brother Ed shifted in his seat across from me, and his brows furrowed as he locked in on Hank. Things were getting hot in here, and I felt the need to do something before things combusted.
&
nbsp; “Hey, hey, hey,” I said, “what Kara is trying to say is that we think we may have some information and resources towards a cure for the zombie virus.”
There was no way I was letting them know it was Jason. These people seemed nice enough, but there was no use putting that information out there. Too bad Hank was the suspicious type. The truth be told, I don’t think I made it any better.
“Wait a minute,” Jenelle said, stepping away from the wall. “You think you might have a cure for turning all these dead shitheads back into living and breathing people?”
“No, I think I misspoke,” I said, backtracking so quickly it was a miracle I didn’t fall over backward, and I was sitting down. “We really don’t know what we have. It’s not really a cure. It’s more like a vaccine that might have the potential to stop someone who has been bitten from turning. Like I said, it’s just information, not really any proven thing.”
I knew better. Jason was immune. We had used his blood to hold back the zombie virus on one of our people after they were bitten. It had worked. Well, until it didn’t, but the person had been bitten, and that probably meant we were too late. Still, we knew it had great potential. We just didn’t have the science to do anything with it. Ergo, why we were heading to Columbus and to the research labs we had seen in our visions.
Hank turned from me and looked at Brent. “Brent, right?”
Brent nodded his head in the affirmative. He was sitting in a folding chair next to the doorway, and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Linda was standing behind him, and she put a hand on his shoulder.
“You’re a doctor. What do you have to say about this?”
Brent stammered for a moment or two then said, “I don’t know much really. I’ve only been with Joel and his people for a short time. I have no direct knowledge about what they are talking about, but I do trust them. You need to know I’m a staunch atheist, but I know there is something to what Joel says about this...this...divine intervention. Joel has these visions, and he used one to help us escape from the biker gang that held us hostage.”
