by J. W. Vohs
“Why do you say that?” Christy wondered.
“We all saw that the bravest ones were leading the attack right out into water they normally won’t enter, but plenty of the others hung back, almost as if they were waiting to see what happened. Then, they stood there looking at the dead floating by as if they were actually trying to figure out why the bodies were lying in the water and not moving. Now here’s where it really gets weird; those hunters that hung back when the attack started put two and two together and came up with four. Somehow they realized that their pack-mates were being slaughtered and decided to run away before it could happen to them. Aren’t you worried about what just happened back there?”
David looked up from his food and grumbled, “I’ve been worried since the night Jack called me and told me to leave Cleveland! Yeah, this latest development is a bit disconcerting, I’ll admit that, but I’m not surprised that the hunters are still evolving, not at all.”
Marcus suggested, “Maybe one or two of the leaders were the first to recognize the threat and head toward the shore. If I had to guess, I suspect that those hunters were already freaked out by being in the river in the first place, and at some level of thinking they became afraid that the water was taking down their pack-mates and they needed to get out before they went down too. I mean, you guys told me how one or two drowned at the marina and after that the rest of them stayed completely out of the water.”
Gracie put her hand on Luke’s forearm and offered, “Look, babe, they’re like wolves, and I’ve seen movies of wolves breaking off an attack on a moose after several of their pack-mates were injured.”
Luke calmed down a bit but still frowned as he continued, “It’s just not their retreat, those bastards actually ran ahead of us to where the rapids were and waded out to intercept us. They are problem solving!”
The normally quiet Bobby Crane muttered, “No doubt about that. They actually set up an ambush.”
Again, Gracie spoke up, “Wolves can do that too. I don’t think we’re even dealing with primate intelligence levels here; like I said, they have a wolf mentality. Just keep that in mind as we move forward, and make sure we describe the encounter to Jack when we get that radio set up.”
Luke finally seemed pacified, and after a minute he grinned and proudly exclaimed, “Any of you see Little Annie Oakley here plug four of those critters right between the eyes?”
Marcus chuckled, “She’s already better than Bobby!”
The quiet, powerful ex-Ranger just shook his head and smiled at the taunt as David jumped in, “Well, we have one more very long stretch of rapids to cover tonight, but after that we’ll be in deep water all the way to Maumee Bay. There’s plenty of islands for camping there, and we’ll be a day ahead of Father O’Brien so we can catch up on our sleep if we’d like.”
Gracie replied, “That’s the best news I’ve had since we left The Castle! By the way, the rice and beans are done. I say we eat and get as much rest as we can before nightfall, considering the amount of energy we’ll need for the rapids we’ll have to conquer tonight.”
Conversation ceased as everyone concentrated on satisfying his or her hunger. The physical exertion of the canoe trip coupled with the adrenaline-fueled battle earlier in the morning left the travelers ravenous, and once their bellies were filled, exhausted. Bobby and Marcus insisted on splitting the entire watch while the others slept, and no one wanted to offend them by refusing their chivalrous offer.
Just as David had predicted, the team easily reached Toledo and Maumee Bay before daylight the next morning, leaving them with a full day to rest and a night to walk along the river front simply for the sake of exploring. Fires had ravaged the city well before David and the others had passed through on their way to Indiana, but upon closer inspection they noticed that many of the buildings forming the downtown business district appeared to have survived the flames relatively unscathed. Everyone agreed that there was no good reason to search the tall, concrete and steel structures at this time, but they also believed that the buildings might come in handy at some point in the future.
They returned to their camp a few hours before dawn on an island surrounded by deep, wide stretches of river, and everyone sat around a small camp stove where they boiled water for tea. David was the first to speak, “You know, in many mid-sized cities like Toledo and Fort Wayne the populations lived in doughnut shapes.”
Gracie was intrigued, “What do you mean by that?”
“Well,” he explained, “the centers of the cities were business districts full of office buildings that housed law firms, banks, investment companies, and similar types of operations. Not many people lived downtown; most of the shopping, restaurants, movie theatres, and such had moved out to malls in the suburbs. The populations of the cities developed into concentric patterns that usually followed socioeconomic levels. In the center you had a hole where lots of people worked during the day but didn’t actually live. That area was surrounded by low-income housing and aging industrial infrastructure. Then the suburbs appeared, usually becoming more affluent the further they were from downtown. You see, doughnuts.”
Gracie nodded, “Yeah, now that I think about it your explanation makes sense. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions.”
“Sure,” David agreed, “in Fort Wayne there were a number of upscale neighborhoods made up of old, expensive homes on wide boulevards close to the downtown, but as a generalization the doughnut’s the shape a lot of cities had evolved into after World War II.”
Luke jumped in, “Can I assume that you aren’t just giving us a lesson in city planning or something?”
David chuckled, “No, I don’t think people are going to have to worry about that sort of stuff for awhile. What I was thinking is that most of what burned in many cities must have been residential areas since so many homes are made of wood. I wouldn’t be surprised if plenty of old, solid office buildings constructed of steel and concrete survived the fires with minimal damage.”
Now Luke got it, “Okay, so what you’re saying is that we could eventually use those buildings as forts and homes in strategic locations like here in Toledo, or the three rivers in Fort Wayne.”
David nodded, “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know how long it will be before people living in a place like this could actually produce their own food, but whoever holds Toledo in the future will control access from the Great Lakes into the rivers of Ohio, Indiana, and even further south and west. I know that Jack and Carter have been working on plans to eventually capture and hold the headwaters of the Maumee in Fort Wayne; maybe we should consider doing the same here at some point.”
Marcus yawned, “David, a few months ago we fought an army of zombies just for the right to exist on this planet. I know we all need to hold onto hope, so considering ideas like this is a good thing. But if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna hit the sack for a couple of hours, and then we need to focus on meeting up with this friend of yours and getting back to The Castle in one piece.” Bobby nodded in agreement.
David smiled in the dark, “Sure thing, guys. I’m gonna have a cup of tea with these dorks and then we’ll hit the tents too. Except Luke . . . he’s got first guard.” The small group sipped their tea in silent camaraderie, needing no words to enjoy one another’s company after all that they had endured together. Finally, Gracie drained the last of her hot drink and whispered, “I love you guys.”
Luke had slept for ten hours the day before, and he decided to let everyone else rest while he stayed on guard until the sun was well over the eastern horizon. He thought that he’d never get used to sleeping during daylight hours, and he appreciated the solitary morning listening to the birds singing and squawking. He poked his head inside his tent for a few minutes once it was light enough to see, just to watch Gracie as she slept; lying on her back, her dark hair was sticking out in every direction and her right arm was thrown casually above her head. Her breathing was deep and regular, and Luke thought that she looked like a little gir
l whose only care in the world was which imaginary friend to invite over for tea. He smiled at the thought of Gracie as a small child, at the innocence that was possible in a world untouched by the infected. His heart felt as if it would burst as he felt waves of love, and something deeper than love that had no name, flood his consciousness. If David thought that he had any intention of throwing his life away while this girl walked the earth, the usually smart attorney really didn’t understand what he and Gracie shared.
Luke’s reverie was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a woman clearing her throat, and he turned to find Christy looking at him with a bemused smile on her face. “Why don’t you go on in that tent and lay down for a while? We’re gonna have a busy day, and you could keep a better watch over Gracie from the other side of that flap.”
Luke felt a flush rise to his cheeks, “Uh, I was, umm, I’ve been keeping a good look out . . .”
“You always do—take a break, Luke. I’m up for the day. Get a little rest, cuddle up with your girl, and I promise to wake you if there’s any trouble.”
He looked back in on Gracie, who was still sound asleep. “Okay, but just for half an hour . . . I want to be waiting when Father O’Brien gets here.”
The creature’s face was only inches from his own, and the putrid stench of decay burned in Luke’s nostrils and choked him. He instinctively reached for his knife, but it wasn’t there. Luke’s mind was foggy, and he frantically looked around for some type of weapon as he backed away from the monster. Then he noticed that the bars of a cell stood between him and the hunter. The beast growled as it stared menacingly into Luke’s eyes, and Luke was filled with such an intense sensation of loathing and disgust that he roared and lunged for the creature. He crashed into the bars of the cage, but the monster was beyond his reach, standing between a row of filing cabinets and several medical monitoring devices. Luke continued to scream as he repeatedly threw himself against the metal barrier, consumed with a primeval enmity that compelled him to destroy the abomination before him. Two more hunters appeared, snarling and snapping behind the original beast. One of them picked up a clipboard and began furiously scribbling something with a ball point pen . . .
“Luke! Wake up!” Gracie voice was commanding yet full of concern. “”Luke!”
“I . . . I . . . I’m awake; it’s OK,“ he slowly muttered as he reoriented to consciousness. He pulled Gracie close and held her tight. “I just had the craziest, most awful dream . . .”
Gracie snuggled into Luke’s embrace, “You were thrashing around and making weird noises; you really scared me for a minute. What was the dream?”
“It . . . I was . . . there were hunters . . .” Luke hesitated. “And Doc Redder’s lab, at least I think it was Doc Redder’s lab. It’s pretty fuzzy now, but I think it had something to do with that time that David and I went to see the hunter they keep at The Castle—the one that used to be the sheriff.”
Gracie sat up and looked horrified as she questioned Luke, “They keep a hunter at the Castle? Someone they knew? That’s appalling! And you visited this hunter? When? Why? And why didn’t you tell me?”
Luke apologized, “I know I should have told you. I’m sorry. Jack is trying to keep it under wraps, for a lot of reasons, and he asked David and me not to tell anyone. Still, I should have told you.”
“It isn’t right, Luke. You know it isn’t right.”
“I know how you feel,” Luke explained, “but it’s not exactly what you think. The sheriff and his family wanted it—they wanted to feel like his death could help the living fight off the infected. The old ‘know your enemy’ rule really does make a difference.”
Gracie reluctantly nodded, “OK, I do understand that, but I can’t imagine why they don’t just put an end to it now that some time has passed. They should have their data, and the ethical thing to do would be to terminate the hunter and remember the man.”
Luke shivered, “You’re probably right. And we owe that man, and his family, a great debt.”
After a minute, Gracie cuddled up to Luke and whispered, “What was it like?”
“They keep it in a cell, feed it, and keep track of it medically with some device the doctor implanted when it was weak. They say the creature doesn’t usually do much, but when I saw it—I don’t know how to describe it—it just went crazy. It was howling and throwing itself up against the bars of the cell, and—“ Luke stopped abruptly and his whole body stiffened.
Gracie looked up at him, “And what? What’s wrong?”
Luke seemed to be lost in thought before he replied, “I just remembered my dream.”
CHAPTER 8
During the evening radio call on the day the canoeists left for Toledo, Jack decided to quickly introduce Ted Simmons to Stephen Carlson and let Ted explain what he knew about the rail system between Utah and northern Indiana. As soon as Carlson hailed them Jack put the old railroad man on the transmitter.
“Evenin’ sir, I’m Ted Simmons, Vietnam Marine and long-time engineer.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Simmons. I understand that you and a few other men there have a lot of experience on the rails between our two groups, so what can you tell me about them?”
“Well sir, the California Zephyr is the most direct route to Salt Lake City, but I doubt that would be the safest way for us to go. Me and the other guys believe that we should take the CSX line; that goes right through Albion a few miles away from here, up to Chicago. Once there we can switch over to the old Union Pacific that will skip most of the cities and eventually take us to Ogden.”
Carlson hesitated a moment before remarking, “Well, Mr. Simmons, the team of railroad workers I have here with me tonight are all smiling and nodding their heads in agreement so it sounds as if you know your business.”
Another hesitation followed before Carlson continued, “One of my guys wants to know what your plan is for locomotion.”
Simmons smiled and explained¸ “Good question. We believe that if we can keep the flesh-eaters off of us up in Chicago long enough we can hook up a few F-40 PH’s from the Chicago Metro system to a couple of Acela class locomotives. Those F-40’s will basically serve as rolling gas stations so we wouldn’t have to worry about refueling on our way out there.”
Carlson chuckled over the air, “Now my guys are giving me thumbs up’s and high-fiving one another, so your plan must be a great one. I really appreciate your help, Mr. Simmons.”
“Happy to be of service. I’ll put Jack back on now.”
Jack took the mike back and told Carlson, “Simmons is as good a man as I’ve got here, and he vouches for the other three rail-men. They know their business.”
“I have no doubt of that, Jack. Now, the real question is when do you want to give this plan a try?”
Jack let out a sigh and explained, “Ted and the others took a little ride along the tracks today and found a locomotive about fifteen miles down the line that they’re sure would get them to Chicago. I guess they plan on dropping off the freight on the first siding they pass, and then heading into the city. They tell me that the Chicago train yards are massive, but they also have a lot of experience up there. Ted’s sure they can set up the transfer from the CSX to the Union Pacific as long as they don’t get eaten first.”
Carlson cut in, “I hope I have a bit of good news for you on that issue. There are a few small groups not too far outside of Chicago that we’ve stayed in contact with. In fact, if you don’t mind they’d like to hitch a ride out here as soon as possible. But the important thing is that they aren’t seeing any hunters these days. Still plenty of zombies shuffling around, but they seem to be heading out of the metro area. We’ve heard that from other folks around the country too. We believe that every flesh-eater able to get out of the cities is headed into the rural areas where they can find domestic and wild animals. What’s your opinion on that?”
Jack thought a moment before answering, “I think David would agree with you after his trip from Toledo. They found hunters
outside of towns and cities in numbers that surprised them. In fact, they lost a man portaging a dam well outside of the Defiance city limits. But they also found hundreds of hunters still in Fort Wayne and lost another man there. I have my own theory about that though. We used to see deer in neighborhoods right in the heart of the city. Coyotes, foxes, all kinds of critters. They followed the rivers and old rail-beds into the urban zones. Since David’s group was on the rivers too, they probably ran into the highest concentrations of hunters still in Fort Wayne. I get your point though, maybe Chicago won’t be as bad as we think. Of course, there were probably four million people living within ten miles of the rail yards so even a fraction of that number could be overwhelming.”
Carlson agreed, “Yeah, and you won’t be coming in quietly. Do you have the manpower to get through Chicago, or do you want us to try to force our way in from the west with a few hundred soldiers?”
A couple of seconds later Jack responded, “Ted Simmons is shaking his head. He thinks we should set the lines through the city and meet you somewhere to the west. He and his guys know Chicago, so we better do as he says.”
“All right,” Carlson agreed. “We’re heading east out of Ogden tomorrow on the Union Pacific. My guys seem a bit concerned about Cheyenne, but other than that they think the tracks will be set toward Chicago. Of course, there’ll be abandoned trains to clear and things like that, but I’m sending two companies of soldiers with them for security. Hyrum Anderson is my right-hand-man, and he’ll be in charge of the expedition. We’re setting up a radio unit on one of the cars so they can communicate with us, and you for that matter. What type of communication will you have with your team?”
