America the Dead

by Joseph Talluto

  I looked over at Charlie, who shrugged. I shook my head and said, “Well, its nice to know we have a kick-ass babysitter, although I sure won’t leave the kids alone with her.”

  “No kidding,” Charlie said. “But did you see her get protective? It’s almost like she was getting ready to attack.”

  “Yeah, I saw that,” Simon said shakily.

  I laughed and we kept walking, heading down towards the river. When we reached the edge, I pointed to the west. “Follow that trail until you get to the north/south road. Head north across the river and you’ll be in Utica. Keep going north and you’ll hit I-80. Head west and you’ll hit I-39. Take that as far north as you want. If you want to, Galena is a nice place. Head west on 20 until you hit it.”

  “Is it like this?” Simon asked, looking around again.

  I shook my head. “More remote, more hills, lots of valleys and farms.”

  Simon considered it. “Maybe I’ll head there. Look for me if you’re up that way.”

  I nodded. “We’ll be on the river if we do. Good luck.” I shook his hand and he shook Charlie’s. Shrugging his pack into a more comfortable place, Simon headed off down the trail, his long legs eating up the journey. Charlie and I watched until he rounded the bend in the river, then we turned back to the lodge. We had to get ready for a journey of our own.

  8

  We debated for a couple of days as to what we were going to do. I favored going up to Leport by myself and talking with Nate, while Charlie and Tommy thought it would be a good idea for more of us to go. Eventually it was decided that we all would take a trip to see old friends and acquaintances. Sarah and Rebecca were delighted to be heading back to Leport and I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces as well. It had been a long winter and we needed to shake off the cabin fever that always came from too much cold weather.

  As we carried our belongings down to where the boat was docked, a telltale moan wafted across the parking lot. All of us tensed as we looked for the source and Charlie finally spotted the lone Z working its way through the dense brush at the western edge of the main parking lot.

  We waited for a moment and determined that it was alone. I waved on the rest of the crew and put my supplies down. I took off my backpack and rifle and after a moment’s consideration, I put down my trusty pickaxe. Drawing just my knife, I walked quickly to the stumbling zombie. It groaned loudly and raised a hand in my direction. It was in better shape than some I had seen, making it a more recent convert to the undead. As I approached, its mouth opened in anticipation of a meal, baring dirty white, chipped teeth.

  I dodged its outstretched arm, sweeping it aside with my left hand while bringing my knife hand up to bear. The zombie stumbled and in the second it took for the Z to regain its balance, I slammed the heavy tanto blade into its skull. The ghoul stiffened and I twisted the blade, scrambling its eggs. The corpse dropped and I pulled out my knife as it fell. Walking back to my stuff, I wiped off the blade and set flame to it with a lighter, burning away the virus.

  Picking up my things, I noticed my entire crew was watching from the boat dock. Charlie was standing on a small rock, lowering his rifle as I came nearer.

  Duncan spoke first. “Nice one. You make it look almost easy.”

  I nodded ruefully. “I wish I didn’t. “

  Tommy looked at me. “Why not?”

  I tossed my gear into the boat. “Because it means I’ve been killing them for a long time. Takes something from you, you know?”

  Everyone nodded, then boarded the boat, stowing gear below decks and making sure there wasn’t anything for the kids to get into.

  We pulled away from the dock and pointed the bow north and as we passed Eagles Nest, I was reminded of the note that first brought me here, over a year ago. I was searching for my brother and we managed to figure out he was here, waiting for me. Charlie and I realized what a great home this could become so we packed up our women, our kids, and the few belongings we had and made it our home. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and as we pulled along the river, I began to think more of why we were making this journey and what the future might bring.

  I was frowning into the breeze when Tommy came up and sat down next to me. We were passing the nearby towns and making our way to the big turn which would take us past Joslin.

  “Gonna be nice to see some people again,” he stated, watching the edge of the water. His blue eyes narrowed slightly and I looked to see what had attracted his attention. We both relaxed when a squirrel leapt from a tree to the water’s edge.

  I nodded, keeping my eyes to the shore. “Seems like we’ve been gone a long time, but when you seriously look back on it, it wasn’t so much.”

  “Yeah,” Tommy said. “But it’s been busy. Listen, can I ask you a question?” he queried.

  I turned to look at him. It seemed odd to me that Tommy was hesitant to talk to me. Normally he just shot his mouth off and took the consequences as they came. It was one of the things I liked about my friend. “Sure, fire away.”

  “What are we going to do after this is over?” Tommy looked intently at me and for once, I didn’t think he was goofing around.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, not understanding his question.

  “I mean, what are we going to do after we travel thousands of miles through zombie infested territory, encountering who knows what kind of survivors, heading off this ‘Major’, and rescuing the Founding Documents? What then? Assuming we survive, of course.”

  I had to admit he had me stumped. I hadn’t thought that far ahead and told him so.

  Tommy shook his head. “Not good enough, brother. You can hold off the rest with answers like that, but you and me have been through too much for me to even think you haven’t thought ahead.”

  I smiled and looked back to the passing river shoreline. “All right. You got me on that one. I did think a little about it and I do have something that resembles a plan, but we got a whole lot to do first.”

  Tommy stood up and clapped me on the shoulder. “I figured. Knowing you, it probably involves some sort of fire.”

  I laughed. “Ain’t tellin’.”

  9

  The rest of the trip was uneventful, save for a lot of zombie activity around Joslin. Dozens lined the shore, moaning and grasping. They looked to be in pretty sorry shape, although I found it grimly amusing that some were wearing what looked like gang banger clothing and jewelry. They weren’t moving too well since their pants were around their ankles. Remembering what the family we rescued from the river near here told us about what the gangs had been doing, I found it fitting that the scum had joined ranks with the Z’s.

  Passing Joslin and the groaning groupies, we made our way upriver to the dead town of Romeoville. The zombies had been cleaned out of here last winter and the streets were silent. No one had wanted to try to set up another town here, so it just sat, content in its slow walk to decay and ruin. Many towns were in the same position, I would bet.

  We moved past Freeport, throwing waves at the people who were out taking in the spring air. There were shouts of recognition and by the time we had passed, at least a hundred people had come down to wave hello. I had to admit, it felt good to be back in this area.

  Rounding the bend, I got my first look at the improvements made by Nate in the community of Leport. The hills to the north were covered in small farm plots and there was ample grazing for the herds of animals found on the slopes just slightly to the south. I could see many people working their small plots of land, turning over the soil with hand tools, getting it ready for planting. I noticed two small buildings near the animal pens that hadn’t been there before. I also noticed several guard towers on the tops of the highest hills, manned with two people each.

  Pulling up slowly through the canal, Charlie eased the boat along the waterfront. I had picked up Jake and was standing with him on the front of the boat. I saw several people stop what they were doing to stare at the unusual visitor
s. I waved at one of them and he waved back, not really sure of who we were.

  There was a shout and from a lookout tower I saw a figure running like hell towards a house. There was a small commotion, then I saw the huge form of my old friend Nate come outside, look in our direction, and even from this distance I could see him smile. He shouted back into the house, then began heading to the pier, yelling as he went. A small crowd was forming and working their way down to the docks.

  Charlie pulled the boat up alongside the dock and a group of about forty people was waiting for us. I saw many familiar faces and I couldn’t help but smile at them all. The boat was secured and we disembarked carefully one at a time.

  I gave Jake to Sarah, who handed him back to me after I had left the boat. I was immediately swamped with greetings and spent several minutes shaking hands and meeting people. Sarah and Rebecca were hugging nearly every woman there and they spent a few minutes showing off their left hands to the giggling flock. Charlie came out last and he got as much attention as the rest of us, although he seemed shy about the attention.

  Suddenly a shout cut off conversation. “What the hell’s going on here? What’s the matter with you people? Ain’t you never seen a traveler before?” Nate strolled up, came within inches of me and growled into my face. “We got rules here, slick.”

  I was about to reply when Jake literally jumped off of me and wrapped his hands around Nate’s neck, pulling him off balance and tumbling him to the ground. Nate twisted and landed heavily on his back with Jake sitting happily on his chest.

  I laughed with the crowd and when the noise died down I said loud enough for everyone to hear, “You’d better be more polite or next time I’ll find a five-year-old to seriously kick your ass.”

  Nate laughed out loud and I helped him to his feet. He handed Jake back to me, and I shook Nate’s hand with all the enthusiasm I could muster. “It sure is good to see you again, old friend,” I said warmly.

  Nate smiled. “You too, buddy. You, too. C’mon, we’ll get you guys to our visitors lodge, then I’ll take you on a tour.”

  “Good enough,” I said, as I shouldered my gear and set Jake down. Sarah came up beside me and took Jake’s other hand. Together we walked him down the street and up the hill. We waved to a number of people and a lot of people came out to shake hands and say hello. It was nice to be back.

  On our way through the town, I noticed a lot of improvements. The homes were well-kept and there were lots of small garden plots in the lawns of many homes. A lot of homes had coops for chickens and areas for rabbits. We didn’t have chickens at Starved Rock, so I actually began to hope we might get some eggs this trip.

  One group of people caught my eye. There was a well-armed gaggle of what I assumed were teenagers sitting outside a building. They were watching us with undisguised interest and one of them, the leader, I guessed, looked over with as much insolence as he could muster. I didn’t return the favor, figuring to leave well enough alone.

  “Trouble, you think?” Charlie’s barely audible voice reached me from behind.

  “Maybe,” I said. “We’ll see what happens.”

  We reached about midpoint of the hill and Nate took us into a three-story building that looked like it once had been a business of some sort. It had been worked over and now looked like a decent place. Nate showed us our rooms and we stored our stuff. We talked for a minute and Charlie, Duncan, Tommy, and I decided to go with Nate on his tour, while the rest went to find old friends. Sarah took Jake with her and Rececca took Julia, so the kids were happy.

  We walked over to Nate’s place where he backed a large pick-up out of the garage. We climbed aboard and began our tour of the town.

  Nate took us all the way down to what used to be Archer Avenue. We passed a thriving community, with several hundred occupied homes and places that looked like actual businesses. Charlie looked askance at Nate and he laughed.

  “We trade, mostly. There’s stuff to be had if you’re willing to risk your neck getting closer to the city. But everyone gets what they need,” he said.

  I looked around and smiled to myself. This is a nice place, but I think I’ll take my lonesome lodge over fences and neighbors. I looked back at Charlie and I could tell by the look on his face he was thinking the same thing.

  We waved to a bunch of people and took in the rest of the town. The old ditch had been abandoned as a barrier and the new boundary was a highway divider fence that marked the new territories. It had the advantage of weight and portability. Six strong men could put up a fence relatively quickly.

  I saw hopeful signs of life all around and everyone seemed to get along really well. I asked Nate about any internal troubles and he told me that he was surprised at how few problems there actually were. It was like people shrugged off the old complaints and got busy trying to live.

  “We do have a new set of problems and I’m getting ready to deal with them,” Nate said as he turned the corner to another part of town.

  “What’s that?” I asked as I watched a small boy helping his mother plant seeds in a backyard garden. It reminded me of Jake helping Sarah. He tended to try and eat the seeds.

  “Well, there’s a small group of young men who are eager to test themselves and have been causing trouble here and there. Picking fights and such.”

  “That wouldn’t be a small group of well-armed kids I saw earlier?” I asked.

  “The same,” Nate said. “They’ve gotten bolder and there was a report of a possible assault, but nobody saw anything and they are sufficient in numbers and arms to intimidate any single person going after them.”

  I said nothing, but nodded.

  Nate continued. “It’s just a matter of time before someone gets killed and I was hoping to avoid those kinds of problems right now. We don’t have a legal system here, everyone has been pretty much following the laws as we remember them, but we’re thankfully short on lawyers.”

  “Want some advice?” I asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Set up an official security team, made up of all able bodied persons in the community. Make a rotating schedule so everyone participates and above all, with a community this size, you need formal rules and regulations.”

  “Seems like a lot of work.”

  “Considering we’ve been shoved back a thousand years developmentally, I’d say you have little choice.” I was hardly sympathetic.

  “Thanks.” Nate barely contained his sarcasm.

  “My pleasure. Now you see why I’m on the frontier.”

  “Speaking of which, you never told me why you guys came back.” Nate arched an eyebrow at me.

  I shook my head. “I hate repeating myself, so I’ll save it for later. We’ll need to have everyone assembled for what I need to tell them.”

  Nate pulled the truck into his driveway. “Fair enough. I’ll get the grapevine going. You all can relax for a while.”

  10

  We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in Nate’s house catching up and hearing about all the improvements the community had made. I was impressed with the aggressive moves to root out the zombies in the neighboring areas and to secure more and more zones. It felt like we had been just vacationing in our own little world compared to what was happening here. Nate assured me that we had earned the rest.

  I did relent and told Nate about what we had learned about Major Thorton and his band of merry marauders. Nate cursed more eloquently than I had ever heard from him before and managed to stun even Tommy and Duncan into silence.

  When he had finished, he looked pointedly at me and said in a deceptively calm voice. “So what are we going to do about it?”

  I shrugged. “What choice do we have? We try to get there first. If we succeed, great. If he beats us to it, we make sure no one knows he destroyed it. The idea can remain alive, even if the document is not. We will use force if pushed.”

  Nate snorted. “I’ve seen you when you’ve been pushed. This should be interesting.” He stood u
p and stretched, the rest of us doing the same. “I’m going to make sure the meeting gets rolling. We are meeting now at the old school gymnasium. We’ll see you there in what, thirty minutes?”

  “Deal. We’ll be there. Let Sarah know where I am if you see her,” I said, trying to work out a kink in my back.

  Half an hour later, we stepped out into the growing darkness. The sun had set, but there was still a decent amount of light. We couldn’t make out small details unless we were right on top of something, but we could still see fairly well. We walked two by two, Charlie and I in front with Duncan and Tommy bringing up the rear. We moved down the center of the road, heads moving to every sound, hands straying near pistols. We passed a few people on their way to the meeting and it was interesting to see how alert we were and how casual they had become. If I had to guess, I would bet most people within town limits were no longer arming themselves as a regular part of their day. I wondered if I would have given up my guns had I stayed here.

  My wonderings were interrupted by a voice to my left. “Well, well. The big hero everyone’s been talking about.”

  I looked over and saw the same kid I had seen earlier in the day. He was casually sitting on a porch swing, his hands in his lap. He was about six feet, maybe less, and had a wiry, lanky build, with slightly stooped shoulders. His long brown hair was held back by his ears and his aquiline features were accented by deep-set eyes. With his head down, his eyes were just pits of black.

  I gave a hand signal to my friends and they kept walking, Tommy saying they’ll see me at the meeting. I watched them walk to the end of the street, then they turned out of sight. I turned my attention back to the guy on the porch.

  “You seem to know who I am, but I don’t know you,” I said, hooking my right thumb in my belt near my SIG. “Got a name or do I make one up for you?”

  “Name’s Dan Winters, not that it matters. I just wanted to see for myself who the big hero was. Our savior!” Winters said sarcastically, waving his hands in the air. He stood up and walked to the end of the porch. “I heard a lot about what you did and how you got the people to stick together. I even heard some interesting stories about what you may or may not have done south of here.”