Within the United States, Alaska was the best off. Anchorage and the southern cities had been decimated. Sitka, situated on an island, had survived with around fifteen percent of its original population still alive. The northern and interior cities, particularly the smaller ones, were somewhat intact, including Fairbanks which now had some ten thousand residents. Alaska also declared itself an autonomous zone within the United States due to Washington being unable to govern. Washington no longer existed, so that was a bit of an understatement.
The continental states did not fare as well. Cities collapsed one after another, despite the government’s efforts. Generally, the largest were the first to be overrun. Plenty of small towns, mostly rural, had made it through the early weeks, but Stone only knew about those with whom radio or personal contact was made. Martin, South Dakota had not been one of these, so it stood to reason that there were plenty more. Some enclaves in urban areas survived as well, but those were hard pressed. Once the zombies discovered one, the people within could expect thousands to lay siege.
The only major metropolitan area hanging on was Salt Lake City in Utah. Over fifty thousand people from that general area were still breathing. They had mostly abandoned the city itself and, like the Swiss, moved to the mountains, aside from a force that kept control of the Mormon Temple. A makeshift wall had been erected to keep zombies from defiling it, and this compound was resupplied by helicopter. It was also used as a staging ground to steadily clear the city of the dead.
Stone’s best guess, buoyed by analysts he’d spoken with, was that from a world population of just under seven billion at the time of the change, there were now twenty million human beings still alive. Roughly half were in organized settlements, most small. The rest were alone or in tiny groups. It was believed this number would drop substantially during the winter.
As to the sergeant’s personal story, there wasn’t much beyond what I’ve already said. His unit remained in St. Cloud for nearly a month, until the number of dead coming out of Minneapolis grew too large to handle and they were forced to relocate. At the same time, most of the soldiers assigned to them were peeled off to protect a new safe zone to which the civilians had been moved.
Stone and a few others were ordered to set up their transmission equipment in the most isolated, hard to reach spot they could find. While en route they were hit, during the night, by several hundred zombies all marching silently down the road. The sergeant was the only one to escape.
After being found and taken back to Martin, Stone hooked up and modified a transmitter they’d salvaged. He had just started work on boosting the range so he could reestablish contact with the Army when the log ended. That was the day Larry heard the call for help. The sergeant had been among the people of Martin for just three days.
The log book did indicate that some of the residents might have avoided the massacre. A small team including Tara and Dale had departed a few days earlier to scout north of town. They were to be gone for at least two weeks.
Chapter XIV
We returned to the castle late in the afternoon, only a few minutes before sunset. The drive back was rushed and tense, with everyone peering out the windows, using binoculars to scan the horizon in an effort to catch any sign of life, any indication that the raiders were nearby. Observing radio silence, we didn’t call in as was the norm, and there were plenty of surprised looks when we pulled up. I didn’t even attempt to park in the wooden enclosure, instead leaving both Jeeps right outside the gate.
“Let me grab some stuff,” said Briana. “Be nice and lend a hand.”
“I am not a nice person,” retorted Lizzy.
“Yeah, yeah, so you say, all the damn time. Get your ass over here.”
I left them behind and with Lois and Mary in tow went to gather the others and let them know what we’d found.
“You’re back,” said Cherie, her face and tone a mix of pleasure and apprehension. She met us just inside the castle’s walls.
“There’s a lot to discuss,” I said.
“That’s why I came right here when we saw you driving up the meadow. There have been some talks recently about the leadership structure.”
My eyes narrowed. “And these were held while I was gone? How nice of you.”
“That wasn’t my fault,” she protested. “They just sort of bloomed during dinner, and once it began, we went over things at length.”
I didn’t believe a word of it.
“We don’t have time for this nonsense Cherie. There are more important things that need doing.”
“The doing,” she snapped, interrupting, “is the problem.”
I watched as some people removed themselves from view. They knew, or thought they knew, what was coming and wanted no direct part. In the middle of the castle, we were essentially alone.
“A vote was held,” she continued, “and the majority, all but unanimous, was that Simon and I become the leaders of our little community. This wasn’t personal against you Jacob. Everyone likes you and appreciates the work you do scavenging and bringing back food, clothes, medicine, and everything else.”
My ass it wasn’t personal. I was getting really pissed at her and her smug attitude. From the way Lois and Mary were shifting about beside me, I could tell they felt the same.
“And we absolutely want you to keep a position of authority and lead the expeditions like you have been. You are very, very good at that.”
“Jacob’s been good in charge too,” said Mary.
“No, he hasn’t,” replied Cherie, condescendingly. “He’s almost never here. He doesn’t deal with the day to day issues and problems. He doesn’t resolve the arguments. He doesn’t smooth tempers when things get out of hand. We have to have a leader who is here, inside the castle, at least the majority of the time.”
There was a great deal of truth to that last part. I was gone pretty much always, and I did neglect the day to day running of things. But then, I was never a micromanager. I hated people like that. It was so much better to let someone else with the talent and desire take care of the little things, and these were little things. Keeping zombies away and making sure we had the supplies to get through the winter were far more important.
“And you’re too autocratic,” she continued, “giving orders all the time and just expecting them to be obeyed.”
Cherie had just lost whatever goodwill she’d fostered by presenting a logical reason for the change. I was in charge, so of course I expected my orders to be obeyed. But autocratic, that was nonsense. I barely gave any orders. Like I just said, I do not micromanage. Other than seeing that the animals were cared for, watches kept, and people behaved, I didn’t demand anything.
Still, I never wanted to be in charge. I much preferred driving around seeing things, distressing though the sights tended to be, and spending time with my friends. Remaining day after day in our concrete box was simply too depressing. It was something I could not tolerate, yet there was no way I would allow Cherie to be in charge, ever. If anyone was likely to abuse power, it was her. No, that was absolutely not going to happen. I would counter with a council of five adults, something I’d considered on and off for the past month. It could have Cherie as teacher, Eric as builder and maintainer of the castle, myself as scavenger, and two others chosen at large by popular vote. The people would accept this – I was sure of it – and Cherie would find it all but impossible to argue against the proposal, not if she wanted to maintain the illusion of being reasonable.
“What about Lizzy?” asked Lois. “She is second in command.”
“Yeah,” demanded Mary. “What about her?”
“Lizzy,” said Cherie flatly, casually tossing her long, dark hair back with one hand, “will not be in a position of leadership, of any sort. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, is tired of her perpetually bad attitude and demeanor. In their words, they shouldn’t have to listen to a bitchy dyke any longer.”
Lois, in an extremely uncharacteristic display of anger, ho
pped forward and slammed her fist into Cherie’s jaw. The woman rocked back, striking the cinderblock wall she’d been standing beside. I heard her head crack against it, and for a moment I thought she might lose consciousness. No such luck. Dazed, Cherie awkwardly drew a gun from behind her back. She always carried – most of the survivors did – but used it so seldom that her action was unexpected.
Lois pulled up short, shocked at this response. Mary, however, had her 9mm out in a heartbeat and pointed it right at Cherie’s head. The older woman shifted her aim toward the short, petite thirteen year old, and Lois jumped between them.
I did not react in time to stop what happened, nor did I think of anything to say to defuse the situation. My lack of action was shameful on both counts.
While moving to shield her little sister, Lois bumped Cherie’s arm, and the weapon discharged. I don’t think it was intentional, but the bullet still pierced the center of her chest. For the briefest of moments we stood there in shocked silence, and I saw, out of the corner of my eye, people begin to appear from doors or in windows.
“They’re trying to kill me!” shrieked Cherie. She fell back, intentionally sprawled on the dirt, screaming. “Help! Someone help me!”
I grabbed Mary and pulled her through the gate. Lizzy and Briana were already running toward us.
“In the Jeeps,” I said. “Go!”
“Where’s Lois?” demanded Lizzy. Then she noticed the tears streaming down Mary’s face and splatters of blood on her shirt. “Oh, God no.”
“Take her and get out of here,” I ordered.
Lizzy set her jaw. She wasn’t going to listen.
“You have to protect Mary!”
That was enough. We were in the vehicles and pulling away just as armed people began to show up on the walls and come through the gate after us.
* * *
We spent the night in an abandoned house on the opposite side of the park. The place had been discovered a couple of months earlier during a looting run. Only the five of us were present at the time, so I doubted any of the people in the castle knew it existed. Even if they did, they were unlikely to think to search for us there. And since we kept most of our personal belongings in the Jeeps, both for the easy storage and because we’d never gotten around to truly moving into our so called townhouse, we were in good shape. Things had been left behind, but for the most part, we retained those items we cared about and the majority of our weapons, ammunition, and general survival equipment.
“Think anyone’s coming?” asked Briana.
We had covered the Jeeps, hidden behind the house, with some branches and fallen pine needles. It wasn’t perfect, but if anyone came close enough to see, they might think them abandoned vehicles. Probably not, since everyone knew what ours looked like, but it was something to do and I’d needed the time to think.
“No,” I replied. “Not yet. Probably never if they think we’ve run and are gone for good. If we wanted we could be a hundred miles away by morning, in any direction, and they all know it.”
By the time we reached our hiding place, Lizzy was incensed. I’d seen her angry plenty of times, more often than not, but this was something new and frightening. One look at her eyes was all it took to realize there would be payback. Nothing else was acceptable. For her part, Mary had been crying, body wracking sobs that hurt all of us to watch. After the loss of her family, it had been Lois whom she depended on. Lizzy, myself, Briana, we all watched out for her and kept her safe, but Lois had been the one she was emotionally bound to, the one person in the world she loved absolutely. Now she was gone.
“Inside,” I said. “We’ll lock the door and set up in the back room, farthest from the road. Single candle only with blinds pulled. I don’t want anyone noticing us while we discuss matters.”
“You shouldn’t have run,” began Lizzy, the moment we were indoors.
Briana opened several tins of beef stew and dumped them in a metal bowl, adding some spices to liven it up. I had no appetite, and I doubted any of the others did either. It was probably just something to keep her occupied while Lizzy and I held our most unpleasant conversation.
“No one was around when it happened,” I explained. “After she shot Lois and started screaming, others appeared. Our word against hers on what happened.”
“They would not have listened to her!”
“Yes, they would.” I shook my head. “She is far, far closer to the bulk of them than any of us. We are always gone – she was right on that count – but she’s always there. They may have doubted her. They may have decided she was lying in the end, but they would have listened carefully and her words would carry a whole lot of weight. Besides, everyone knows we’re shooters, and they know the two of us have killed real people. We are capable of doing this. Cherie stays out of fights whenever she can. She’s only fought zombies, what, once?”
“That’s not why I grabbed Mary though,” I continued, before she could resume arguing. “I hadn’t even thought about all the logical crap I just said, not at the time.”
“What do you mean?” asked the teenager.
Briana slid a serving of the cold stew in front of her, but Mary didn’t touch it.
“You had a gun in your hand,” I explained. “She was screaming that we were trying to kill her. If we didn’t run, I… I think she would have shot you. People were watching by that point, and you were aiming at her. If not her, someone else might have done so.”
“She could do it,” added Briana. “Even if you’re right about Cherie not intending to kill Lois, the bitch is definitely capable.”
“That’s…” Lizzy slumped in her chair. “Keeping the twerp safe was good.” Her face hardened. “I’m not letting this go. I do not give a shit if Cherie meant it or not. She drew first, and Lois didn’t even have a gun. No excuse for that. It was her fault. Oh no, she’s going to pay for what she did.”
Mary nodded.
“You sure?” asked Briana. “Lizzy is talking about killing her. We have no jails, no police.”
“I…” Mary gave a second nod.
“We won’t ever be able to go back,” I said.
“We can’t anyway,” stated Lizzy, matter-of-factly.
“Probably,” I conceded. “Running like we did makes us look guilty, my fault on that, but if we do this we can never return. Even if the planets were aligned and we talked our way back inside after dealing with Cherie, no one would trust us. We’d be having to keep an eye on everyone until somebody finally got scared or paranoid or angry and shot us all in the back.”
“We do have friends there,” said Briana. “If we don’t go after Cherie directly, we can get in touch with Dean and Eric, Steph and Alec, maybe even Larry. We can talk to them, tell em what really happened.”
“No,” countered Lizzy. “I’ll miss them, a few of them, but Cherie is going to die. I don’t care if we do have to run away for real after that.”
“Lizzy’s right,” said Mary. “No one saw what happened, not that I noticed. She’s going to lie, and they’ll probably believe her. And even if we do convince them, they’ll just say it was an accident, no one’s fault.” She started crying again.
I looked over at Briana. She took a single bite of the stew and set the spoon down. Then she nodded her assent. We were decided.
“All of you,” I said, “pick up your bowls and eat. I don’t care if you want to or not. Then we go to sleep. Tomorrow, we start planning.”
“Jacob,” said Mary, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief and trying to regain some control over her emotions, “I think Cherie maybe killed Julie too.”
“What do you mean?”
This was the first I’d heard of her as the possible murderer.
“Well, a few hours after Julie ran off, I saw Cherie with Simon. She was flirting and talking and checking on his injury, the stuff she always did, but more open. It was like she knew she didn’t have to be careful anymore or worry that Julie would find out. I kinda thought it was because Ju
lie had run off, so I didn’t say anything. Now, I think maybe Cherie killed her so she would win.”
“Just as well that you grabbed Mary and ran,” said Lizzy, after a long silence. “Bitch probably would have shot her, you too for that matter. And you need to know that when I kill her I’ll be avenging Lois, not Julie. Julie stays ant food as far as I’m concerned.”
“Fair enough,” I muttered. I didn’t particularly care about Julie. She was crazy and violent and would have been dealt with, somehow, had she survived. “You might be right Mary. Just remember that Cherie is dangerous. We can’t take chances.”
“Now may not be the best time,” I said, shifting to another topic, “and I don’t mean any sort of disrespect, but I’m not waiting anymore. I can’t wait anymore, not if someone else I care about might go away. Briana…”
I pulled a diamond ring out of my pocket. I’d taken it from a jewelry store a few weeks earlier. I knew her ring size – she’d told me at least a dozen times – and been sure to find something that matched the number she provided.
“…will you marry me?”
“Oh, Jacob.” Her green eyes, already damp from crying, began to grow misty.
“About damned time,” said Lizzy, “and there’s no disrespect. Lois would have loved to see this.” She shook her head. “Say yes already. We need something good to happen today, before I start screaming.”
“Lizzy,” I sighed, “can you for once, just this once, shut up?”
“Don’t…” She closed her mouth and gave me a curt nod.
I slid the ring onto Briana’s finger. It was huge, gaudy, according to the price tag unreasonably expensive, and absolutely beautiful.
“Yes!” she exclaimed.
Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary Page 39
