America the Dead

by Joseph Talluto

  Preparations went well and by nightfall the big vehicle was stocked with food, filled with fuel and armed with ammo. I was bringing my faithful AR, my ever present SIG and my M1A. The latter was to be used for serious fights. Tommy, Duncan and Nate were bringing their favorite toys as well. We were going to move out in the morning, keeping to the back roads. We were hopeful in finding more people out there, but after two years in the post Upheaval world, it was anyone’s guess as to their state of mind. I had the feeling some were going to have to be brought back kicking and screaming.

  I was standing on the dock, looking downriver at where my family went, when Tommy came up to me.

  “I heard you were sending word that the towns should send up a representative, that we are going to start government again.” He pitched a rock into the river.

  “I did. Sarah got me thinking about it and I figure its time we did before too many ‘Thortons” spring up and completely ruin what’s left of this country. We need the good people to get up and fully make a stand. We need to wipe out the zombie threat and get our lives back once and for all.”

  “What’s our role in that?” Tommy asked and I realized that Tommy and Duncan were at loose ends, looking for some definitive meaning to what they were doing. I had thought about it and had come up with a solution.

  “To be honest, if we get the manpower, you, Charlie, Duncan, and I were going to lead the charge to get rid of the zombies once and for all. We’ll turn over every rock, root out every Z we can find, and obliterate this damn virus once and for all,” I said.

  Tommy mulled that one over for a minute. “You know, a year ago, I would have thought you were crazy. But given how far we’ve come, you actually manage to give me hope that it can be done.”

  “Thanks. A year ago I would have thought I was crazy also, but since then I …what’s that?” I stopped midsentence and pointed to what seemed to be flickering lights coming up from the south on the far side of the canal.

  Tommy stared for a moment then cursed. “Shit. Zombies,” he said.

  I realized he was right, the flickering lights were several pairs of bioluminescent eyeballs headed our way. Their path would take them up the hill to the overpass which would bring them down into the town. How the hell they got past the guard tower was a mystery, but irrelevant now.

  I ran back to the town, stopping at Nate’s to yell into his yard “Zombies reaching the bridge!” I bolted down the street towards the guest house where my gear was still stowed. Tommy was right on my heels and we both grabbed our favorite fighting tools.

  Running out into the street we nearly collided with Nate who was rushing our way. He was armed with a .45 and a crowbar.

  “What the fuck?” he growled, running alongside us to the intersection that would bring us to the long bridge that crossed the river.

  “Tommy and I were on the docks when we saw the little dancing lights of zombie eyes across the way. They were headed for the hill to get across the water,” I said, running at a steady pace. We passed several onlookers, who ran when Nate yelled out at them.

  “Get inside, zombies inside the perimeter! Spread the word and arm yourselves!”

  We reached the bridge and began the long run to intercept the zombies. I hoped like hell there weren’t any of the little fast ones. Fighting them during the day was bad enough, but at night it was ten times worse.

  We crossed the highest point and started down the other side. At the bottom of the hill were about ten dark shapes moving up from the shadows of the brush. I shouted to get their attention and to keep them from spreading out too far. I wanted them to come to us. I had no desire to go chasing down a zombie in the dark in the brush.

  Nate and Tommy and I spread out as we slowed down and approached the zombies. There were eight of them, not too difficult a fight for the three of us. Their glowing eyes locked on us and the group as one sounded a chorus of moaning that echoed over the hills of the town.

  Nate reached the zombies first and drew a bead with his .45. The heavy gun barked once and the nearest zombie’s head turned inside out. Nate fired again and dropped a second. I had pulled my SIG out at this point and was firing. I killed two in short order, then heard Tommy open up on his side. We all retreated a step as the remaining three zombies moved around their fallen comrades and came towards us, oblivious that they looked death in the face. We all fired as one, the crashing volley reverberating over the hillside. Three zombies dropped in their tracks, staining the road with dark fluids.

  I held up a hand and walked forward, looking for further signs of more enemies. I waited at the road’s edge and listened intently. Sure enough, there was a dragging sound and the snapping of underbrush. I fished out my flashlight and shined it into the bushes. I caught a flash of grey moving behind the shrubs and I backed away, waiting for the inevitable.

  The zombie fell through the bushes with a crash, then slowly began dragging itself to its feet. I could see why it was slower than the rest, one leg had been broken and was forced into a weird angle, keeping it from its speedier brethren. I shined the light in its face and noticed its neck had been torn open, explaining why it wasn’t groaning. Its eyes were also not glowing, so this one would have been a nasty hunt in the dark if it had been whole. I lined up a shot and fired as it straightened to take a charge at me. It toppled back into the bushes, spreading out as if it had decided to lounge there all day. I turned the light off and listened again, but in the quiet I heard no movement.

  I walked back to Nate and Tommy and they were just finishing up piling all the corpses for a fire.

  “That the last of them?” Nate asked.

  “Don’t hear any more, although you might want to send out some searchers to make sure that wherever these got through, they’re aren’t any more on the way,” I said, holstering my SIG.

  “Got that, right after I kick the shit out of whatever guard let them through without warning.” Nate grumbled.

  “There is that,” I said, looking over to the dark guard tower. Whoever let this happen just opened a fresh can of whup-ass.

  We walked back over the bridge and found ourselves facing a crowd of about ten men with rifles trained on us. When they saw who we were they lowered their weapons, although there were questions in their eyes.

  Nate spoke up. “Clean-up tomorrow! Check the lists to see whose turn it is. Search team beta needs to cross the river tomorrow and do a sweep of the whole area. Search team Alpha needs to check the guard tower first thing in the morning and find the breach.”

  There were nods as people packed up their weapons and headed back to their homes. I was impressed with the efficiency of these people and told Nate so. He waved off the compliment.

  “We do what’s necessary. We’re all the fence that keeps the demons at bay. You taught us that, John,” Nate said. “You insisted everyone train for battle. If we didn’t have the barriers, we’d still have the fence of arms.”

  I was glad to hear it and very glad that this community was destined to survive. All we needed to do was to make sure the country survived so we could make up for the mistakes of the past.

  In the morning, we piled about our battle wagon and pointed it south. I sat next to Nate who drove. Tommy and Duncan sat at the little kitchen table and cleaned and sharpened weapons. Boxes of ammo were open and extra magazines were loaded.

  Nate fired up the big RV and looked over at me.

  I nodded and said, “Strap yourselves in, its gonna be a bumpy ride.”

  13

  (TWO WEEKS AGO)

  Major Thorton was bored. They had been on the road for several days and had passed several small towns. None of the towns had been inhabited and Thorton was itching for some kind of action. Any kind of action.

  The convoy had been following Route 6 out of California and had made their way to Ely, Nevada. There they picked up Route 50, which according to the maps, should take them all the way across the country. But they had to make some jogs through some more inhabited count
ry, so Thorton was confident something would happen soon.

  There had been the occasional dead walker, but the convoy chose to ignore the minor threat rather than stop moving. They had been making pretty good progress, all things considered. With most of the world dead, the road crews were not out to clear the debris from the roads that accumulated every spring from thawing hills and falling rocks. Several times the convoy would stop while men cleared the way.

  The last action the Major saw was during one of the stops, a lone zombie was working its way up the road and was nearly on the men before they spotted it. In the scramble to get away, the zombie lumbered on, focused on one lone trooper who raised his weapon to fire, only to have it knocked away by Thorton.

  “Don’t waste ammo, dumbass,” Thorton said, waiting for the zombie to get closer before he stepped up and shoved his boot in its chest. The zombie flew backwards, over the roadside and down the mountain. Before it was dashed on the rocks below, the tumble down the terrain literally knocked the zombie to pieces.

  The Major had glared at his men. “Use your brains. It’s the only thing that separates you from them.”

  That was four days ago. They had crossed most of Nevada and were coming up on the town of Beaver. It was thought that they might try the interstate and see how things were before continuing on side roads. Riding in from the west, Major Thorton could see the I-15 interstate as it loomed above him and the outskirts of the small town. The sign read a population of over two thousand, but in surveying the quiet streets, Thorton had his doubts.

  He signaled his driver to slow down, to take a look at things. The town didn’t seem too much the worse for wear, but Thorton knew that any town close to an interstate had a high likelihood of infection. They followed West Center street into the town and there was some evidence of problems. There was a car that had crashed into a tree and the inside was covered in old blood.

  As they travelled further into the town, there were some homes that had dirty rags hanging from the mailboxes, reminders of the futility of hoping that the disease could be contained and controlled. As they passed by, Thorton began to get a familiar feeling between his shoulder blades, a feeling that told him something was wrong about this setup.

  They turned up North Main Street and Thorton signaled a stop. He had seen the Sheriff’s office and wondered if there were any weapons to be recovered. Stepping out into the street, he adjusted his belt and signaled to the truck behind him that he wanted three men to accompany him. Lt. Tamikara got out of his vehicle and two other men came at his beckoning.

  Major Thorton walked over to the three men. “Let’s take a look at the police station, see if there is anything worth taking.” Thorton looked down the streets and back at Tamikara, who was looking at him. The other two men headed for the police station.

  “Sir?” asked Tamikara.

  “What is it?”

  “Do you feel anything strange about this place?”

  Thorton looked around. “Yeah, I do. Can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something seriously wrong here.”

  “I agree. Do we need to stay?” Tamikara, normally emotionless, actually seemed nervous. Thorton was somewhat amazed.

  “No. Something is telling me to get the hell out of here,” said the Major.

  The two men who went to the police station walked out, each holding a shotgun and what looked like some ammo. Neither was talking and they both looked shaken.

  “What’s up with you two?” snapped Tamikara, his own nervousness showing.

  The first private spoke up. “Sir, you better go look for yourself.”

  Morbidly curious, Major Thorton walked over to the station and cautiously peered in. He wasn’t scared, knowing he was more than a match for any dead thing and most, if not all, live things. But the unknown was a different factor and his warning bells were screaming at him right now.

  He looked inside and didn’t see anything seriously out of order. There were papers on the floor and an overturned chair, but nothing else. He looked down the dark hallway and could see cell doors at the end of the hall. Moving cautiously, he slowly followed the hall and stood at the end, fully taking in the grim scene before him. In the cells were about fifty people, all huddled together. Men, women, children, all tucked into little positions. Dead babies were held by their dead mothers and dead fathers wrapped their protective arms around their dead children. Curiously, all the bodies were as far away from the bars as possible. Thorton was confused about that until he looked down and saw what had happened. Around the cages were hundreds of footprints, dark and foreboding. Zombies had trapped these people here and paced outside the bars until the trapped people died from hunger and thirst.

  Ken backed away, leaving that hellish scene of torment and hopelessness. He walked back down the hall, more intent than ever to get away. He had seen some nasty things, but this was up there with the best.

  Walking out of the building, he saw many faces turned to look at him. He waved his hand dismissively, then shouted for everyone to mount up. When the trucks were rolling again, he told his driver to head north. The entrance to the interstate was up that way and he wanted to get out of this town.

  As they headed up Main Street, a though kept nagging at Thorton. What happened to the rest of the town? If those fifty people were the last of the living, this place was a couple grand zombies short of an explanation. It was possible that the remainder of the town had melted away into the countryside, but there should have been something. It was just strange and kept getting stranger.

  The convoy passed the last of the businesses and started the slow curve to get to the highway. On the left was Beaver Valley Hospital and even from a distance of two hundred meters, Thorton could tell it had been hard hit. Burn marks above blown out windows told the story of a fire out of control, while crashed vehicles told the tale of people rushing with their sick loved ones to the emergency room before they knew what horrors they were transporting.

  As they curved around the building, Major Thorton looked hard at the hospital. Sure enough, there was movement. About forty small shapes detached themselves from the shadows of the building and headed out across the open field which separated the hospital from the vehicles. They were moving fast, much faster than they should have been.

  “Shit. Kids, coming up on our left.” Thorton was about to radio to the vehicles behind him when something on his right caught his attention. A man and a woman were racing out from a house on side street, carrying what looked like backpacks. They were waving their arms and shouting, hoping to get a ride. Thorton looked over at the approaching horde and back at the two, mentally calculating distance and time and who might reach them first.

  He reached a decision. “Speed up.” He turned and pulled a standard AR-15 from the rack and watched the other two vehicles speed up as well, leaving the couple racing for their lives ahead of a pack of hungry zombie kids.

  “Stop here,” he ordered, getting out of the vehicle and stepping to the side. He sighted his rifle and fired once, hitting the running man in the leg. The bullet smashed into the man’s thigh, flipping him over and leaving him on the ground. His woman screamed and ran back to him, pulling on him and trying to get him to stand up to run again. The zombie children raced closer, some of them leering in anticipation.

  Thorton fired again, striking the woman just above her left knee. She and her husband fell to the ground, unable to run any more. Major Thorton lowered his rifle and watched with interest as the zombies closed the distance on the struggling pair. One hundred yards, then seventy five, then fifty.

  At thirty yards, the man proved he was down but still a fighter. He pulled a gun and giving his woman a final kiss, placed the gun against her head and pulled the trigger, surprising the hell out of the Major. Still full of fight, the man fired a dozen shots at the man who shot him, causing Thorton to duck for cover and scramble back into his vehicle as bullets whipped past him.

  As the zombies came within reach, the man fired hi
s last shot into his own mouth, blowing the back of his head off and falling lifeless at the feet of the zombies who quickly tore him and his wife apart, ravenous for fresh meat.

  Thorton threw himself into his seat as his driver pulled away, sullen that his fun hadn’t been so much fun and his men saw him scramble for cover from a man who proved to be game to the end.

  In the second vehicle, Captain Tamikara smiled to himself as they continued driving to Interstate 15.

  The interstate seemed to be a good bet as they pulled onto the main road. There were cars here and there, but nothing like the jams that clogged the streets around most cities and towns. The cars that were there were off to the side and abandoned, indicating that they had simply run out of gas. Debris and personal items were scattered around and Thorton kept an eye out for anything that might be useful. The cars they didn’t even bother checking for leftover gas.

  On the right of the convoy was Fishlake Forest and Thorton briefly thought about camping there for the night, figuring the trees would serve as a decent natural barrier, but that would require him to actually discomfort himself, which Thorton thoroughly believed beneath his dignity. The fact that his dignity had taken a serious blow just moments before was already forgotten.

  Travel went fairly swiftly and Thorton and his men started to get the notion that they would be able to take the highways most of the way across the country, saving a lot of time and trouble. The simple truth that the convoy had been on the road for a week and had not experienced any serious threats should have been a warning, but such was the arrogance of the group that they believed themselves to be possessing better luck than most.

  The joy ride came to an end after they crossed into Colorado on I-70 and came near Grand Junction. The gridlock became much worse and Thorton could see many cars that showed signs of violence. Two accidents had snarled the majority of the cars and the steep embankment showed signs of cars that had tried to get off the highway and go around the mess. Several were rolled over and upside down at the bottom. More than a few cars had active zombies in them, clawing at the windows and struggling in their seatbelts. Whole families had been turned and it was weird to see a family of four twisting in their seats, acting for all the world like they had decided to take a zombie holiday, wound up in traffic and now needed to use the bathroom.