by Tom Germann
The sergeant nodded. “Yeah, whatever happened here was at least a week or more. Likely more, but I don’t know what the weather was like. Really, it looks like the cleanup crews came through and just never finished.”
Wagner stood as Caisson sat down again. “Okay, everyone, are there more questions?” He looked around at everyone shaking their heads or just remaining silent. “Okay, let’s get back to work. I have a few more questions for the sergeant and then I think we need to go and collect some cars so we can drive out of here tomorrow.”
Janice glared at Wagner again. “Tomorrow?”
He sighed. “Yes, Mrs. Lagrange, we all roll out of here tomorrow. I know what the next question you have is. Why not grab a car or cars and roll out now. I can answer that. We need to grab enough vehicles to carry us ALL out of here at once. Those vehicles have been parked there for a while so batteries may be dead and there may not be oil in some.” He was speaking directly to her, but everyone else was listening.
“So we need to get a work party to go over and push a bunch of vehicles over here that look like they have potential, then we need to have the guys who know vehicles go over them. I would like to be guaranteed to be able to drive at least a hundred klicks before any of them die on us.”
Sighing again, he held out his hands. “I know no one wants to stay here and sleep on the floor another night. Everyone wants to go home. If we just grab one vehicle, who goes? What happens if the vehicle breaks down a few miles down the road and it is getting late? Do you want to keep trying to walk out? Or do you come back and we’ve lost time? You tell me what you think is a better option, Mrs. Lagrange, and we’ll try to accommodate you.”
Janice bit her lip and said nothing else, just turned away and walked toward the back of the building. Sal glared at Wagner and went with her, then Richard sighed and followed.
The warrant officer watched them walk away. The concerned look on his face faded after a second and he turned back to the sergeant. “Will six of us be enough to move the vehicles if we leave one or two of those six people on lookout?”
Caisson nodded. “Yeah, I figure after we get them moving, three guys can keep a vehicle going. I don’t know how well some of those gunboats are going to handle, though. They are BIG.”
Wagner continued, “Okay, Wiebe and Andries are going to stay behind and act as sentries up top. Me, the sergeant, the corporal, Jimmy, Sam, and Private Tocker are going to go back and grab the vehicles. We push them here and then back them into a bay. We put the two cars in the truck bay and the station wagon and pickup truck into the smaller bays. That should give us enough lift capacity with some spare to get everyone out.”
Jimmy spoke up, “Why extra lift? Three cars should be able to get us all out no problem?”
Wagner nodded at the sergeant. “From what he said, vehicles that were just sitting there for maybe a month, maybe longer or less, dumped all their engine fluids all over the ground. That’s worse than the old army trucks that we had years ago. I am going to say that there is a good chance that one of those vehicles breaks down and I want to be able to redistribute our loads for when that happens.”
Jimmy and Sam looked at each other and nodded. “That’s a pretty good idea,” Jimmy agreed.
Wagner called Steven over. “Steven, while we are gone, you are in charge. I am going to leave the radio with you. Do NOT call us unless something has gone wrong. We’ll keep our radio with the volume down just in case. Whoever was upstairs on sentry didn’t bother calling down and telling us that these guys were coming back. I need you to stick your head up there occasionally and make sure they haven’t fallen asleep in the heat. If some search and rescue party goes by, it would be nice if they could be signalled, you know what I mean?”
Steven grinned. “No problem. Stop everyone from panicking while you are gone, keep the sleepy sentries awake, and I am locking the doors after you leave so I’ll make sure I unlock them when you come back and be ready to lock them again just in case anyone is chasing you.”
“That sounds about right, Steven.” Steven went back to the office, grabbed a key ring, and walked into the garage.
Caisson watched Steven walk away and then walked up next to Wagner. He gestured for Tocker to join them. He kept his voice low. “We came back faster than I expected to. I didn’t pass everything on.”
Jimmy and Sam came closer. “Okay, why did you come back earlier? What happened?”
Sergeant Caisson frowned. “Nothing happened. We were in the gas station and grabbing stuff and getting freaked out by the newspapers and stuff.” He shook his head at everyone’s confused expressions. “What I mean is that doesn’t matter right now. We were standing there by the back wall at an open window getting some fresh air. There was a groaning sound in the distance.”
Vajjer spoke up, “So if it wasn’t a breeze, it was a person. Someone was injured and you didn’t go check on them?”
The sergeant glared at him. “You weren’t there. There was no breeze. When the first moan started, I thought someone was injured. Then it sounded like someone was answering and there were at least two others groaning. It was only for a second and then the sound faded away. I wasn’t sure and I’ll be honest. I had a pry bar. If I had my C7 and a full load out along with Private Tocker than maybe I would have but I didn’t, so no way.”
“You made the right choice,” Wagner said.. “It may have just been noise, no one called for you and if they had, even then the only thing you had was some mechanic gloves. I’m nervous about running up to help people when something happened here and we don’t know the cause.”
He sighed again. “This day just keeps getting longer and longer. Let’s get going and get those vehicles back. We’ll take the shotgun and revolver for the sentries. Fingers are going to stay off the triggers unless there is a target. We’re in the freaking US. I don’t want to kill a bunch of innocent civvies and be splattered all over the news.”
Vajjer said, “Not to be a downer, but I don’t want to end up on the news as a casualty from some psycho killer in the first place.”
Caisson looked at the corporal. “Didn’t you just tell me that we should have checked out the moaning groaning, not fun sex sounds?”
Corporal Vajjer shrugged. “Well, of course. But I don’t want to check out the homicidal maniacs that are causing people to moan and groan. Or even be checked out by them.”
Wagner held up his hands. “Hold on. No one said anything like that is going on. Whatever happened may have been finished weeks ago and they just evacuated the area. No one start freaking out over what could be nothing. We take the weapons with us and are cautious, that’s all. Is that clear?”
Everyone nodded.
Jimmy said, “Just to be on the safe side, let’s leave everything here except for, um, tools. We can always grab a drink when we come back then and if it’s really too hot, we can take a break back here instead of working till we pass out.”
Corporal Vajjer said, “That’s a good idea and sounds fair.”
Everyone dropped their backpacks and made sure they had their personal tools. Caisson picked up the revolver and Vajjer took the shotgun and the few extra shells for it.
Andries came down the ladder and walked to the front. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Yeah, Andries, what’s going on?”
The private walked up to them and spoke quietly. “There’s a guy coming out of the tree line. He looks weird and I think he’s covered in, I dunno, maybe blood.”
“Alright, Private Andries, head back upstairs and keep an eye out and let me know if there is anything else.”
The private turned away and headed back to the ladder.
Steven came back over with Richard, who looked nervous and spoke first. “Is everything alright? You’ve been here for a while talking and your dropping your bags and grabbing all those guns. What’s going on?”
The warrant officer smiled and looked at both of them. “Nothing is wrong. Pushing the cars over is going to be hard and it’s hot out, so we are leaving the bags behind. We can grab a drink when we come back if we need it, and we will. We’re taking the tools in case we need them, and the guns? Well, you guys can lock yourselves in and the other doors are really well secured now. There won’t be any need for them but it’s better to be on the safe side. And that dog that was eaten? If there are wolves, then we need to be able to protect ourselves.”
Richard went white at the mention of wolves. “Maybe you should leave one of the guns with us? What if some wolves get in here with us?”
Susie had come up with Tracy. Susie was the one to speak. “We are staying locked inside and wolves can’t break down a door or get through that glass. Remember, Richard? You told me that the front glass had been switched after an accident a few years ago, didn’t you?”
Richard nodded. “That’s right. Some drunk guy smashed the old windows and they put new ones in that are hardened.” He looked a little calmer as he said the words.
Susie looked at Tracy. “Well, we can’t smoke outside, so I guess we’ll have to smoke inside, like inside the garage.”
Richard looked startled as they walked away and he chased after them calling, “Hey, you can’t do that! There are rules!”
Caisson snorted.
Wagner looked at him, Vajjer, and Jimmy. “We are going for a walk. Corporal Vajjer, I want you to bring your fire extinguisher. Does everyone else have their tools? Because you are going to need them. Oh, and grab a pair of mechanic gloves”
Everyone looked at him blankly for a minute and then it clicked..
Walking toward the door, Wagner called over his shoulder, “Sam, can you lock up after us? I want to do a quick walk-through before we go through with this. We’ll be back in a minute.”
They filed out the front door with Sam closing and locking it behind them.
As they walked slowly along the side of the building, Wagner pulled on his gloves. The other soldiers picked up on it immediately and Jimmy caught on last.
Jimmy asked first, “So why are we putting on latex gloves and carrying tools to walk around the building, Mr. Wagner?”
Caisson answered, “You heard the private. There’s a guy heading toward the building that looks ‘weird.’. We are going to meet up with him and see what’s going on. It would be nice to actually meet someone in the area.”
Jimmy continued, “So why are we putting gloves on and carrying tools instead of guns?”
Wagner answered as they rounded the building. “Because firearms make a very loud noise, and I would have us in full biological and chemical protection if we had it. Something isn’t right here and it just does not feel like someone went nuts. It’s more like a horror movie…”
All four men stopped and stared. Moving toward the building and heading for the other side was a man.
He was dressed in a suit that had seen better days. From the side, it sort of looked like a light blue business suit except that it appeared to have been partly dipped in brown dye.
The man was slowly walking along and hadn’t noticed the group yet. Walking was the wrong word, limping and shuffling were better. It looked like his one leg wasn’t working that well, likely because the pant leg had been torn off and the leg chewed on. He also had a problem with his suit jacket as a sleeve was mostly torn off along with the bottom part of his arm. Only a jagged stump stuck out from the right elbow down.
“Shit. That is messed up.” Sergeant Caisson’s voice was loud in the silence.
The shuffling guy stopped and then staggered around so he faced the four men standing there.
It looked like someone had bitten his face and torn a big chunk from his cheek. As he took the first staggering step toward them, they could see he was missing his left ear.
His tie was still there, plastered against what would have been a white shirt if not for all the blood stains. His mouth was barely open and a barely audible, hissing moan came from him, or it.
The slow walk was over and it started moving faster toward them. It looked like it was getting agitated and the hissing moan grew louder, turning into a groaning noise. The slow staggering shuffle was almost immediately a lurching speed-walk. Both arms raised toward the men, who stood there with clenching fists.
Jimmy moved forward on the man’s left side while Caisson just watched, saying, “This isn’t supposed to be happening. Man, what a crappy day.”
Jimmy brought the crowbar up to his shoulder and as the injured man reached for him, he swung hard and caught the man in the upper arm. The crack could be clearly heard and the man fell over, scrabbling around to get up again. His left arm swung loosely while he was moving, and. he started leveraging himself up on his stump when Corporal Vajjer stepped close and brought the fire extinguisher down on the back of his head.
He smashed repeatedly until the man was motionless.
Vajjer carefully put down the fire extinguisher and turned to Wagner. “Did I get any spray on my face? I felt something.”
“Corporal Vajjer, you smashed his head into paste. Do you think that was overreacting just a little?”
“Mmm, no, sir. He’s a fricking zombie! This isn’t a stupid horror movie! I mean, come on. We try to wrestle him down to the ground, one or two of us get bitten, and we all run around freaking out. Then the poor sucker who is bitten turns and attacks everyone else. That’s a loser option. We all know it. The guy was a ZOMBIE!” Vajjer pointed at the body on the ground. “I mean, normally if you get your leg halfway bitten off and an arm all the way off, along with the other wounds, you’re going to die from blood loss and shock. Look at him! He’s been out in the rain and is pretty rotted!”
“Christ, Chris. Take a breath. I can understand that that thing was a zombie. But you didn’t even say anything before smashing his head to paste. Oh, and no there’s no splash on your face.” Wagner walked around the body. “You really did a job on his head alright.”
Jimmy turned away and threw up.
Caisson walked around the body. “Don’t get too close. Some different types of movie zombies are tougher and come back from that.” He took a knee about four feet away from it. “Look at the blood. It’s not really gushing, and it’s a lot darker, but it’s still coming out of the body. I thought zombies after they dried out didn’t have any blood left.”
Wagner looked at both of them. “I’ve never actually met any zombies. They could fly for all that we know. Let’s work like you can be bitten and infected. Same we don’t trust any water supplies that the infected are in. Otherwise, if it’s airborne? We are screwed. When we pick up the cars, we take rags and wipe down the surfaces.
Vajjer lit a cigarette. Jimmy was standing upright, looking ashen. The corporal handed him a smoke, which he took and lit up.
After a few puffs, Jimmy was hacking. When everyone looked at him questioningly, he shrugged. “It gets the taste out of my mouth.” He looked at the body. “We killed someone.”
“No, man.” Vajjer shook his head. “I put a zombie down. I saw the face, the eyes and all those bites out of him as well as the whole body falling apart. There was no human left in there. I’m going to sleep fine over this. I just don’t know how many more there are out there or how they move.” He kicked a pebble at the body. “He was going pretty slow and then started picking up speed when he saw someone.”
Caisson stood up. “Crap. There have to be hundreds or thousands of zombies in that subdivision then. We could be surrounded.”
Wagner and Vajjer shook their heads. Wagner looked at the corporal, who waved his hand and then took a drag on his smoke. Wagner spoke, “No way. As the dead started walking around, people would leave. Some would be overrun, but let’s be realistic. The officials would have set up centralized collection points for refugees. The military would be deployed. The
basis for the end of the world zombie apocalypse is zombies are really fast and tough. Or everyone in charge and anyone involved is so dumb they couldn’t find their ass with both hands. An eight-foot chain-link fence would stop that cold. Then you just have guy’s pop rounds into their head at a distance.” He paused. “Look, you guys wait here, okay, and keep an eye out. I’m going to grab a tarp so we can cover that and put some rocks to hold it.”
Jimmy held up his hands. “Alright boys I know that things have been weird so far but come on, zombies? It that realistic?”
Vajjer spoke first. “I agree it isn’t realistic. Neither is passing out in one location and waking up in what may be another part of the country. Nothing we have seen so far is realistic. So, maybe zombie. What else do you want to call that dead guy that I brained?”
Jimmy was at a loss for words and after a second Wagner walked off
Everyone else stood there until he came back with a small tarp which he was ripping out of its clear plastic cover. They covered the body and then secured it with rocks so the wind wouldn’t blow it off.
When they were finished and started walking back to the building, Vajjer left the fire extinguisher behind. When they asked why, he shrugged. “The bottom is contaminated. There are, like, five more inside. I’ll grab another.”
When they got to the front door, Wagner looked at them all. “Don’t freak everyone else out, okay? Leave this quiet. We go around the other side of the building, it’s closer to the road anyway.”
A chorus of ‘okay’ and ‘yes’ came back to him.
They walked back inside, stopping just inside the door. “Corporal Vajjer, could you grab some rags?
Susie was already bringing some forward and Vajjer smiled at her as he took them. “Thanks, Susie.” She smiled and headed back.
Wagner called Sam and Tocker over. “Okay, guys, we are going to move out. Go long around the service centre and then head straight for the road. We walk quickly and quietly, and start pushing vehicles back here. Everyone we can spare pushes so it’s easier for us. We keep a minimum of one person on watch with the shotgun. That would be Sergeant Caisson, and you can switch with Corporal Vajjer so we don’t collapse from the heat and workload.”
