I was sitting on the tailgate of my truck waiting for them with a thermos of coffee. It wasn’t decaf and I’d probably stay awake all night, but I couldn’t help myself. They arrived promptly at twenty-three hundred hours in Rick’s dually truck. They’d found a camper top from somewhere that fit nicely on the back.
“How’d it go?” I asked. Blake inhaled deeply and let it out slowly.
“She knew we were going to pull guard duty here on these vehicles, but that didn’t stop her from assigning me guard duty at the school.”
“Well, that wasn’t very nice of her, but you really don’t have guard duty,” I reminded him. Blake scoffed.
“Yeah, but she didn’t know that.”
“No worries,” Brandon said. “You can sit in back and catch some shut-eye.”
“Hell, I’m too keyed up to sleep. But I got her back,” he said. “At the end of my shift, I fired off a shot and told them I spotted a zombie. All of them are awake now.” I couldn’t help but laugh. It served them right for doing that to Blake.
“Do y’all have the dually all packed up and ready to go?”
“Roger that,” Brandon replied.
“Alright, well, I guess there’s nothing left to say. If you get tired of seeing the country, this house should be empty and available.”
“We appreciate you, Zach. Are you sure you can handle those officers? They might want to come looking for us.”
“Not a problem, don’t even worry about it. You guys just promise me to take care of each other,” I said and took turns shaking hands with each of them. Without further fanfare, they loaded up and left. I went back to my tailgate and sat.
“You can stop hiding now,” I said into the dark. After a moment, a small flashlight came on and the two women emerged from the barn.
“Did you know we were back there the whole time?” Rachel asked.
“How could you not be?” I responded. “You two are a couple of busybodies. Look,” I said as I used my own flashlight to point out two cups sitting beside me. “I was so certain you two were going to spy on me, I brought extra cups.” I poured each of them some coffee and motioned toward them. “Drink up.” They each took a cup and sat down beside me.
“So, what did we just witness?” Sarah asked.
“You just watched three soldiers resigning from their military obligation and going their own way.” Sarah took a moment to digest the information.
“And you helped them,” she said with an accusatory hint in her tone.
“Yep.”
“But, why?” Rachel asked.
“They’re tired of taking orders.” I told them about the bullshit stunt Tonya had pulled on Blake. “That right there is a good example. They’re ready to be their own men.”
“But why did they sneak off in the middle of the night?”
“Because they didn’t want any officers trying to pull rank and cause problems. They already said if that happened, it was going to turn ugly. I believed them and I prevented any possibility of it happening.”
“Lieutenant Smithson is going to take it personally,” Sarah said.
“That’s why you’re going to help me explain it to him.”
We couldn’t sleep; all of us were keyed up. Instead, we talked the rest of the night. At about four, we opted to surprise everyone with breakfast.
“I know you two don’t quite understand, but your mother is buried here.” I glanced at Kelly as I said this. She was sitting across from us; it was the first time she’d come up to the mound since she helped me bury everyone.
“But Kelly is your mommy now,” I continued. She smiled quietly as she brought her camera up.
“Okay, everyone look at me,” she said and snapped a couple of photographs. When we made the decision to leave, she’d scrounged up a digital camera and took pictures of everything and everybody. I wondered if we’d ever be able to print them off once we got to Mount Weather.
I said a few more words, wiped away a tear before Kelly noticed it, and led my family down the hill to Sarah and her Humvee.
“Alright, I’ve forgotten something; let’s ride back over to Fred’s house.” Sarah glanced at me as if to say, you never forget anything, but she didn’t comment. All three of them were standing there expectantly when we drove up. Getting out, I got some carrots out of the Igloo cooler and walked over to them. Shithead was the first to walk over to me.
“Alright you guys, you’re on your own now. Take care of each other, okay?” Sate responded by bumping me with his head and sniffing me, looking for more carrots. It was a sad goodbye, almost as bad as a few minutes ago when I was up on the mound. I was tempted to load up a horse trailer at the last minute, even though we’d decided against taking them back when we planned out the trip. I gave each of them one last scratch behind the ears.
“I’m going to miss them more than anyone at the school,” I commented after I got back in the Humvee. Sarah nodded in agreement.
“I’m telling you, man, I’ll be okay,” Jorge declared. He was sitting on his motorcycle, gripping the handlebars while his sister tried to pry his hands off. We had loaded it up in the semi’s trailer but last night he apparently got a wild hair and unloaded it. It was obvious he’d washed and waxed it, probably after everyone had gone to bed.
“It’s not safe,” Maria countered.
“I can scout ahead and I got this walkie-talkie to let you guys know if I see anything. When I get tired, I’ll load it up and ride with you.” I looked over Jorge’s motorcycle before glancing at Justin and Seth. Both of them shrugged apathetically.
“It can’t hurt, I suppose,” Justin said. Jorge grinned in triumph. When they walked off, Justin turned to me.
“Apparently, we have three men who’re AWOL. It seems like I’m the last to know about it.” I took a breath and explained it all to him. Sarah was standing off to the side. Within earshot but far enough away to be out of the conversation. When I was finished, Justin let out a long sigh.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“They know how much you believe in duty. They weren’t going to take a chance that you’d pull rank on them.”
“If I did, would they have listened?”
“Nope, and you better believe they were ready to shoot it out if they felt threatened.”
“That wouldn’t have happened,” Justin claimed.
“So, you wouldn’t have tried to stop them?” He didn’t answer.
“Yeah, you would have been pissed, and then Captain Kitchens would have felt an obligation to back you, and the next thing you know, it would have been a major cluster fuck.”
“Maybe,” he conceded.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved for them to be with us, but it was their choice, nobody else’s.”
“They took one of the M60s.”
“I gave it to them.” Justin stared at me with a frown.
“If I remember correctly, when you first spotted True, you pulled a gun on him and you’re still not convinced Mann wasn’t involved in the death of your wife.”
“I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt, just like I have with you and Ruth.” Justin snorted at this.
“Alright, what’s done is done, I suppose.” He looked around. “We’re wasting time; let’s get this goat fuck underway.”
We had the convoy of vehicles lined up in proper order almost an hour before departure time. Everything seemed to be going as expected and I hoped it stayed that way. Feeling I had to do something useful, I walked the line and checked the tires on each vehicle. They looked no different from the last time I checked them and was about have everyone check their headlights again when Tonya walked up.
“Looks like everyone’s ready to go.”
“Alright, if you decide to visit my farm, I’ve disabled all of the booby traps except for the creek. The bottom is full of sharpened stakes. Oh, and if anyone decides to move in the home, the stovepipes and chimney are full of creosote, they’ll need cleaning.”
“I’ll wa
rn everyone,” she replied and changed the subject. “I’m still surprised you decided to go.”
“And I’m surprised you decided to stay,” I replied.
“They don’t have anything I want or need.” She looked me over and actually smiled. “I bet one day I’ll see you coming back down this road. I’ll give it a year.”
“Time will tell, I suppose. If it does happen, I hope my family and I will be welcome.”
“Of course you will.” She lit her little one-hitter and offered it to me. I shook my head, which caused her to snort.
“You’re the most straight-laced kid I’ve ever met.” I chuckled as I watched Marc and Ward walking around giving everyone a farewell hug. I gestured at them.
“I kind of thought they’d go too.”
“They’re scared of the unknown,” Tonya replied. “This is their comfort zone. Same as everyone else who’s decided to stay.” I guess she was right. Marc, Ward, Gus, Rhonda, and the two nurses had decided to stay.
“I heard about the soldiers,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?”
“And you knew all about it.”
“Word travels fast around here.”
“Did they say where they were going?” she asked.
“They said they were going to hit the open road and see the world.”
“Dumbasses,” she said in contempt. I chuckled, even though I disagreed with her sentiment. I wish they were going with us, but I was happy for them. I didn’t tell her that Goober’s death was the deciding factor in their decision. True pointed out how Goober had pulled guard duty three nights in a row while others, Tonya specifically, had never pulled a single shift.
I saw Justin giving the hand signal for everyone to mount up.
“Alright,” I said. “This is it.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” I pulled some papers out of my pocket and unfolded them.
“I made a hand-drawn map of our route and all of the waypoints, just in case anyone changes their mind. Oh, and I have a log of all of the cattle sitting in my desk at home.”
She looked at me with a sad smile, took the papers, and put her hands out.
“Give me a hug, kid.” Well, that certainly surprised me. I obliged, it was awkward as hell, but I obliged. She finished with a pat on the back.
“You take care of these people and make sure they get there in one piece. Even those two idiot brothers.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“I know you will.” She turned and walked away suddenly. I thought I caught sight of her eyes watering up, but maybe it was my imagination. I was about to jump in the truck when Marc and Ward caught me and surrounded me with a group hug. Kelly, not to be left out, jumped out of the Volvo and joined in.
“We’re going to miss all of you,” Marc said forlornly. Both of their faces were wet and puffy from all of the crying. After the hug, I looked at them sadly.
“Guys, we’ve certainly had our ups and downs, but I’ve grown quite fond of you two and I’m going to miss the hell out of you.”
“Ditto,” Kelly added with another hug. Rhonda ran up and joined in the tears and hugging. At least Gus held his emotions in check and offered a simple handshake. After a lot more hugging and snot filled well-wishes, we managed to get ourselves separated from them and the kids secured in the semi. Kelly got behind the wheel without asking.
“Do you think you can drive this thing with a trailer attached?” I asked with a grin.
“Not only can I drive it, I can drive it better than you,” she retorted with a smug wink before going through the startup procedure. I couldn’t help but laugh, while Janet, sitting in the sleeper section, grunted. The radio crackled to life
“All units check in with your status,” Justin ordered.
“Your scout is ready, man,” Jorge replied. Everyone followed suit, with either a ten-four or some kind of simplistic variation, with the exception of Cutter, of course.
“Time to kick ass and take names,” he shouted on the radio and then gave a rebel yell. You almost couldn’t hear him from the blaring of heavy metal music in the background. I groaned.
“What an idiot,” Kelly mumbled. She had put on a pair of Ray-Ban aviator style sunglasses and began checking the gauges. The combination of the glasses and her dark hair was cascading down her shoulders kind of turned me on.
“You’re a mighty sexy-looking truck driver,” I said. When she looked at me with a smile, I snapped a picture.
“You set me up,” she accused with mock indignation and self-consciously ran a hand through her hair.
“It’s getting long,” I observed.
“I need to cut it. Maybe I’ll cut it short, like Sarah’s.”
“That’s a big negative,” I replied tersely. She smiled as I took more pictures, and almost as an afterthought I took a picture of Janet sitting with the kids before setting the camera down and looking out the window at the passing scenery.
“Are you nervous?” Kelly asked.
“No,” I answered quickly. “Maybe a little,” I added after a moment.
“I’m going to miss living here,” Kelly lamented.
“Do you ever miss where you lived before?”
“Not really,” she answered. “My parents lived in the same house that I grew up in. It wasn’t that big, the only decorating they ever did was buy a new TV, and the neighborhood had gone downhill over the years.”
“That was in Birmingham, right?”
“Yeah, a working class suburb on the east side.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice. “My dad worked in a factory and mom worked at the hotel where I was working at. She got me the job.” She’d told me about them. Her mother had gotten infected and she never knew what happened to her father.
I looked back out of the window. It was a little bit sorrowful. I grew up here and it was all I’d known. Hell, with the exception of my involuntary stay at Fort Campbell, I’d never even left the state. The thoughts I had of venturing into something unknown wasn’t making me nervous though, for some reason it felt right.
“Yeah, we’ll be back one day.” I don’t know why I said it. It came out without forethought, but the moment I said it, I realized it was true.
Jorge initiated the procession by riding a wheelie. Captain Kitchens and Sammy were the first vehicle in the procession riding in the Stryker. They were followed by Earl, Sheila, and Raymond in the white van Julie and I had found way back when. Josue insisted on driving the work truck that Rick had brought home one evening. With it full of tools, it rattled loudly every time he hit a bump, but he’d fallen in love with that truck the first time he laid eyes on it. Maria was immediately behind him in their freshly waxed SUV. Sarah and Kyra were in the Humvee they’d brought from Oklahoma. We followed in the Volvo. Somehow, the dogs ended up with us and were being very rambunctious, despite Janet’s admonishments. Behind us were Cutter, Shooter and Kate in my Ford Raptor truck. I told Cutter in no uncertain terms I expected it to arrive in Mount Weather in one piece. Justin and Ruth brought up the rear in their Humvee.
All of the vehicles were packed, but not completely full. I had to explain to a couple of the slower-witted individuals, specifically the Butter-Pooter duo, that we had to keep room for anything we scavenged along the way or in case one or more vehicles broke down and we needed room to fit everything in.
A lone zombie was walking along the sidewalk as we turned onto Bell Road. The fact that he was on the sidewalk like a normal human instead of walking in the middle of the street seemed odd for some reason. He even stopped and watched as the convoy drove by him. His clothes were filthy, but I could see he had one of those Vietnam-era Boonie hats on his head, held in place by the strings, and he even had a small knapsack strapped on. As I watched him in the side-view mirror, Shooter hopped the curb and ran over him.
“Score one for Shooter!” Cutter cackled into the radio.
“Idiots,” Kelly muttered. He better not have damaged my truck, I thought.
Chapt
er 50 – Monterey
I’d not been past Mount Juliet since the outbreak and probably looked like a little kid as I pressed my face close to the window, getting an eyeful of everything we passed. Mostly, there was nothing but weeds and that damned kudzu growing everywhere. It was even beginning to swallow up derelict vehicles that were parked a little too close to the shoulders. As we passed through Lebanon and got close to a small community known as Gordonsville, things became a little bit more macabre.
“Holy shit, are you guys seeing this?” Jorge asked over the radio. There were corpses hanging from the overpasses, one had almost a dozen hanging from it.
“Yeah,” Seth responded. “It was like this when we first came through, but I believe I’m seeing a couple of fresh ones.”
“We’re not hanging around to investigate,” Justin said. “Maintain our speed.” I voiced my agreement.
“It looks so eerie,” Kelly remarked. “And desolate. It’s sad.”
“Yeah,” I replied. I had no idea who was operating within the Lebanon area. Nobody from the rendezvous claimed to have lived around here.
“I think they’re making a point of telling anyone travelling along the interstate this isn’t a good area to stop and look around.”
“Like they’re staking out their territory,” Janet said. I nodded in agreement. I wanted to discuss it with the others, but was mindful of our agreed upon radio discipline. It didn’t stop Shooter from commenting about it though. Justin must have read my mind and spoke up, telling everyone to change to a sideband channel.
“Yeah, I’m seeing almost every vehicle salvaged too. We got some rough players around here somewhere, but we’ll talk about it later.”
And so we kept moving. Everyone was doing a good job of maintaining the proper intervals and I saw Ruth and Rachel in the side view mirror manning their respective M60s. Our trailer was almost fully loaded, and so every bump and pothole on the road seemed to be magnified. At the scheduled check in, Seth asked how the Volvo was holding up.
“A little rough, but no problems.”
“The roadways are like this all the way to Virginia, more or less. There is one bridge that’s too dangerous to drive over, but we found a detour. I hope you’ve brought extra tires, just in case.” I had. There were multiple sets in the trailer, along with some rims and a tire changer. I was confident the truck would hold up, but I wasn’t so certain with the trailer. We’d visited a couple of truck stops and found one that looked to be in better shape than the rest, but there could always be hidden issues.
Zombie Rules (Book 4): Destiny Page 40
