Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary

by Scott, Joshua Jared

  “We find an awful lot of beans,” said Briana. “For real. That’s why we gave so much of them to the pastor.”

  “True,” I said. “We’ll probably still be finding those after we run out of all the good stuff.”

  I should probably give a breakdown of the current headcount. I’ll do a simple list for simplicity, since that, quite rightly, makes sense.

  Glorious Jeep Wrangler

  Jacob

  Briana

  Inferior Jeep Grand Cherokee

  Lizzy

  Lois

  Mary

  Nice enough Ford F-150

  Cherie

  Miranda

  Nameless pickup

  Timothy

  Susan

  Three pickups & minivan

  Dean

  Larry

  Patty

  Jonda

  Montgomery (Monty)

  Scott

  Carol

  Alec

  Burton

  I know I’m not giving a lot of details on who is who or what they were like or looked like or pretty much anything, but it isn’t very important. Many of them, most, did not last past the end of the year. I’ll get to that later. For now it will suffice to say that it went from Briana and me to eighteen people total. Of these, ten, all the newbies other than Dean and possibly Susan and Timothy, were capable of jumping ship and rejoining the church group at any time. However, I thought they would stay once they understood what we were doing. Seeing zombies again, as well as some destroyed towns, would allow them to better recognize the dangers this new world presented. I wanted them to stay. I needed the labor, if not the company – Briana, Lizzy, Lois, and Mary were enough to satisfy my needs in that regard. Oh. My. God. All my close friends were now women. I just realized this. Distressing.

  I took Larry and Patty, husband and wife, in one of my pickups and Alec and Burton in the other. Dean rode with Monty, joining Lizzy, Susan, and the rest of her band. The remainder of the newcomers stayed with Cherie who put them to work digging latrines. After we brought back lumber we’d build outhouses and bolt some toilet seats to them so no one would have to sit on bare wood.

  * * *

  “What do you think sweetie?”

  Briana pulled at her hair. “I rather you be going in with Lizzy.”

  “Me too.”

  “Want me to go inside with you when we check the buildings?”

  I shook my head. “No. I want you on watch. I don’t trust them to do it. They’ve gone nearly a month without facing any real danger. They might be reckless after that and not paying attention. Besides, the zombie calls will likely bring any to us.”

  I had expanded on the earlier comments and reiterated that everyone needed to yell and make noise so the zombies would come at them. While the monsters were pretty unthinking, they would, provided they hadn’t just fed, head straight for a human voice. It was better to get them as they shambled out a door than go in after them, unsure where they might be lurking. You still had to be careful, but I thought our strategy decreased the danger significantly.

  “I can just imagine what Lizzy is going to say,” mused Briana, “when she calls for any zombies.”

  “Probably something X-rated that will have Mary laughing her ass off and Lois frowning.”

  “And I’m sure Mary will be the first to tell us about it,” completed Briana.

  It turned out that Lizzy was indeed quite creative. One time she said, “All zombies are ordered by the Lord of Darkness, our pal Satan, to come out in an orderly line so you can be sent back to Hell.” Susan did not find that funny. The second time she said, “Here zombies. Come on boys. I have tasty human treats for you. Yum Yum.” That went over little better.

  Lizzy also managed to accumulate a fair amount of lumber, enough for Dean to get started on a gate, and to get a few post holes measured and dug before it got dark. Her team brought back clothing as well, and Patti snagged some books. In the end, I expect to strip every house in the forest bare, and probably dismantle most of them as well to get the lumber and piping and anything else of value. If left alone, they’d just rot away in a few years.

  My team had similar results. We acquired planks and other fencing materials, but it was nowhere near enough to complete the project. We definitely had to raid a town if we were going to get our barricade built, and I wanted it done soon. I didn’t feel safe, even in the Jeep. Something was off, yet I couldn’t begin to say what. The absence of zombies was a big part of it though. Where had they gone?

  * * *

  On the twenty eighth day I led the entirety of our group to Hemingford, Nebraska. The negative opinions regarding the trip were greater than I’d anticipated. Quite a few were close to outright refusing, but I compromised by saying these individuals could keep watch or be on hand to drive any extra vehicles we found back. No one would be forced to engage the zombies.

  Chadron was a better choice. It was closer and much larger. There would be more supplies to recover and probably everything we needed, not only to build our fence and then buildings, but to see us through the entire winter and for several years to come. Yet, after Ray’s disastrous excursion, there was no way anyone from the pastor’s group would consider such a thing, so it was to Hemingford instead. If that went well, I was certain I’d be able to eventually convince the others to take on Chadron.

  The plan was simple. We would ride south, stopping outside the town to refuel. Afterwards we would kill any zombie we found. If their numbers were too great to make this practical, one of us would drive about to get them to follow and lead them down the highway. That should clear the place enough to make the looting easier.

  Our priorities were guns and ammo. No one knew if there was a gun store, but we’d keep an eye out. We might also find some in abandoned police cars or randomly on bodies, maybe in a holster worn by a zombie. After that, it was medicine and bottled water, then building supplies.

  The drive went smoothly, and we saw our first zombie only a few miles south of the forest. It was walking in a small circle, going over its route again and again, very strange. Panicked chatter broke out on the radios – Patty seemed particularly distraught – but Lizzy yelled for everyone to shut up, that it was only a single walker. We passed it by, not taking the time to kill the thing.

  Likewise, there was no difficulty with the refueling. We actually had another plastic tube – it had been in the back of one of the new pickups – and several portable gas containers. We filled those as well as our tanks. There were more zombies here, only a mile from the outskirts of the town, and Lizzy was quick to put them down. A few of the newcomers had their guns out, but none moved to help. Mary wanted to of course, but Lois kept her on watch duty despite her pouting.

  Then it was time to go in.

  * * *

  “You said there’s a lumber yard?” I asked Dean, yet again.

  “On the other side of town. Not a real lumber yard mind you, more of a satellite for a regional company. I’ve bought stuff there, when I did some contract work at a nearby farm.”

  It turned out Dean was a native of Nebraska, living near the southern state line. He had no family in this part of the country however, and wasn’t inclined to head home.

  “Okay. It doesn’t look like there are too many around, so we’ll just move into the town and park in the middle of the street.” I looked around. “In the middle of the street, remember that. You want to have a good view in all directions. After that we get out. Those with pickups get in the beds. When the zombies come close shoot them in the head, not the body, and wait for them to get really close. Missing is a waste of bullets, and those are in limited supply.”

  “The noise is going to bring all of them right to us,” added Lizzy. “So after they stop coming, we’ll be mostly safe, but don’t get cocky.”

  Ignoring the uneasy looks, I got back in the Jeep with Briana and led the way.

  “They’re scared,” she said.

  “They’ll get ov
er it. Unless you get mobbed or caught by surprise, zombies are easy to deal with. Slow and stupid and predictable.”

  “Some may run.”

  “I hope not,” I replied. “That sort of thing will get them killed. Having them in the beds of the pickups may decrease the risk. They’ll be sorta pinned in and on higher ground. They should feel safer there, enough to stay put.”

  “Want to bet some don’t get out of their cars?”

  “If not I’ll have Lizzy pull them out. They don’t have to be shooters, but they need to be outside, other than Miranda of course.”

  She would remain with Cherie by the cars at all times. Cherie would keep up a central watch, and Miranda would work the radio so everyone knew the status of everyone else.

  “A pharmacy,” said Briana. “That’ll be useful.”

  I noted it.

  “And a store.”

  That was next to the pharmacy.

  “And that must be the lumber yard place. It’s pretty small.”

  “There’s wood stacked up. Should be more than enough to get going.”

  I stopped in a relatively open area between the store and lumber depot. It was a hundred yards to either one and not much further to everything else. The place really was tiny.

  “All out,” I yelled, as I climbed out of the Jeep.

  Briana did the same and stretched both arms over her head. Even in the denim jacket she wore – I had everyone wear long sleeved shirts and pants, at the very least – her curves were still quite evident. I was staring, and she noticed.

  “I can show you all sorts of stuff later, if we ever find a bit of privacy, but for now you might want to kill the zombies first.”

  She pointed, and I turned. How embarrassing. There was one only thirty feet away. Well, it reinforced the need to work in teams with people looking in all directions, instead of at each other. Briana was going to make fun of me later. I knew it.

  I walked toward the zombie and shot it in the head when I was five feet away. I didn’t stop and took out a second a few feet past that. Only when the area immediately about me was clear did I turn around. Most of the crew had followed instructions and were now in the beds of their trucks, although a few were still inside the cabs, Patty among them.

  “Lizzy,” I called. “Get everyone, other than Miranda who has the only excuse, out of the trucks and into the street. Now!”

  She rather gleefully pushed Larry aside – he’d been trying to persuade his wife to stop the fuss and come out – and physically grabbed the taller, though thinner, woman and jerked her from the seat, depositing her unceremoniously on the pavement.

  “Get up in the back,” snapped Lizzy, promptly pulling Patty off her ass and pushing her in the correct direction.

  Surprised at the rough treatment, she complied without a word. The other holdups all got out on their own before Lizzy reached them. It might have been her treatment of Patty, but more likely it was the fact she was holding a gun and had shot a closing zombie with barely a glance. She’d been even more nonchalant than me, and that was what I’d been trying for with the two I killed.

  “There are so many,” said Jonda, a dignified and older black woman. Like Susan and Timothy she was part of the church group, and like the pastor she prayed a great deal.

  “Not really,” corrected Mary. “We’ve had lots more attack us, a whole lot sometimes.”

  “This is an easy fight,” I confirmed. I shot another. “Lizzy, get that side. I got this one. We can probably get them all ourselves. See how they’re staggered about everyone? That means they don’t hit you all at once. They are much more dangerous when they’re close together. Even so…” Another shot. “…feel free to kill any if you want and definitely do so if they get close.”

  Mary tried to step out near Lizzy, but Lois grabbed her arm and began to berate her for not doing her job as a look out. Poor girl. Her sister never let her have any fun, but Mary was resilient and seemed to brush aside the criticism.

  * * *

  It took a half hour to terminate ninety one zombies. The bulk was destroyed in the first ten minutes, but we stayed where we were while the outliers trickled in. This really was getting easier, and having more people helped. A few even dropped one or two on their own. Dean got several, and he seemed to have no difficulty doing so. Larry killed a single shambler but turned a nasty shade of green afterwards. Briana shot two also. I think she did so mostly to prove to herself that she could still act, if need be.

  “I don’t see any more,” observed Mary.

  She was standing on top of the Grand Cherokee. It was a shameful way to treat a Jeep, the greatest brand of motorized vehicles ever envisioned by mankind, but being a super petite waif who weighed about ninety five pounds, even though she stood five five, meant the roof was in no danger of collapsing. Now, a crappy Lexus would be dented. I don’t think they even put steel in those rolling abominations.

  “Okay,” I said. “We have a new plan. Plans are good. We should always plan. That way things can go awry and God gets to laugh at us.”

  Not too many of the church folk seemed to get my humor.

  “Cherie, Mary, Lois, you three stay here and act as a central watch. Look in all directions at all times. Miranda will work the radio for you.”

  None were shooters, although I was certain all three had it in them. However, they were proven in the capacity assigned. They would keep watch diligently and not panic. They certainly wouldn’t drive off leaving others behind.

  “Dean, take everyone and go to the lumber yard. Get whatever you need and whatever else you find that’s useful. The trucks over there, the ones that look like U-Hauls, see if you can get those working. If so, load them up. Otherwise use the pickups. You can send someone back here to get one and after it’s loaded bring it back and take another. I want the vehicles largely kept in one place. Less to guard that way.”

  I turned to Lizzy and Briana. “We three get the pharmacy and store.”

  “I think you should come with us,” said Susan.

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I know Lizzy and I are the best at this, right now, but the lumber yard is open space. There’s only that one building, and from what I can see through the broken windows, it’s pretty open inside too.”

  “Yeah, you got the easy part. You can see any coming, and there are lots of you. We get to go inside buildings that will be dark and shadowy with aisles and racks of clothes and all sorts of shit the biters can jump out from behind.” Lizzy shot Susan a nasty look.

  Zombies didn’t jump, but the point seemed to be understood. I also thought Lizzy was pissed that Susan asked for me instead of generically saying one of us. She was probably convinced it was because she was a lesbian who lived a sinful life. That might even be true. More likely it was because I was far more pleasant to work with. My attitude is vastly superior to that of my little friend.

  “I can probably get the trucks working,” said Alec.

  “You a mechanic?”

  “No, worked at Burger King, but I do, did, tinker with my own car a lot. I’m good at the basic stuff.”

  That was more, way more, than I knew. “Go for it,” I said. “See if you can get any other trucks working, pickups, vans, and Jeeps of course.”

  “Can’t forget the Jeeps,” laughed Mary.

  “I’d like to take a few extras back if we could. If nothing else we can store things in them or use them for parts when the others break down.”

  He nodded. “There are some delivery vans over there too. They’d be good for that.”

  Okay, we had a plan, and it was working out. No laughter from God yet.

  “Get to it then.”

  * * *

  Briana stared at the door to the pharmacy. “No windows,” she observed. It’ll be dark in there. You have the flashlight?”

  I held it up. “This will be lots of fun. I just know it.”

  Lizzy grunted and jerked the glass door open – it was covered with advertisements –
gun at the ready. “Hello, zombie monsters!” she shouted. “Come out and get us.”

  We waited nearly a minute. Nothing.

  “I’m going in. Hold the light over my head.”

  I complied, and Lizzy moved inside.

  “Looks empty Jacob.”

  “Let me prop the door open.” There was a rubber doorstop lying on the floor nearby. “Better, well, at least we can see a little.”

  “Looks creepy.” Briana crinkled her nose. “Smells funny too.”

  I sniffed at the air. “Yeah, it does. Bodies?”

  Lizzy shrugged her ample shoulders. “Don’t know. Stay behind us Briana. Wouldn’t want your tender parts getting eaten, unless Jacob’s the one doing it.”

  “You can’t resist, can you?”

  “Nope. I don’t work that way.”

  The banter ended as we began our search. There was a single large room with a few aisles and freestanding displays. In the rear was a stockroom and small office. All were empty, which we considered a good thing. The ladies restroom, however, had a corpse hanging from an overhead pipe. The body belonged to a man.

  “Now, why would a guy go into the girls’ bathroom to kill himself?” asked Lizzy. “Doesn’t that seem a little perverted to you?”

  “At least his pants are on.”

  “He shitted himself though. Must be what’s stinking. Rest of him looks all dried out.”

  “Better than rotting,” I suggested.

  “And he’s been shot up – look at all those bullet holes – and stuff is sticking out. Who would have done that?” asked Briana. “And why?”

  I shrugged. No clue whatsoever.

  He was disgusting, very much so, and I had no idea why he looked mummified. Maybe it had to do with the humidity or heat or something.

  “Should we cut him down? We may come back, and we would just have to see this again.”