‘Two rounds left’ he thought, keeping track of how many rounds he fired.
Two more Biters fell, he flipped his rifle around and pulled his pistol, firing as fast as the weapon could take. He began approaching the remaining Biters in the living room, firing with every step. When Frank cleared the room, he moved into the kitchen. The back door gave way and Biters were flowing in. Frank replaced his empty rifle magazine and continued firing. Frank saw that Steve and Anna were picking them off as they came through the door.
“You guys ok!?”
“No,” Steve yelled.
“You two hold fire!”
They both looked at him.
“The hell,” Anna screamed.
“Just do it!”
They both stopped firing. Frank continued firing, dumping his magazine and putting a fresh on in within seconds. He began moving toward the door, picking off Biter after Biter that came through. He moved directly in front of the door to be able to look out. There was still a crowd outside the door but due to their slow body movements he was dropping them before they could make it through the door. He pointed at Steve and Anna and directed them to come to him. They positioned themselves on either side of him and continued firing. Biter after Biter dropped. Soon they were weeding out their numbers. Frank noticed Tommy coming around from the side with the others. They were picking off the remaining Biters. After the last Biter fell, Frank grabbed Anna by the waist, looking her over for injuries.
“I’m ok, Frank,” Anna said.
“You sure,” Frank asked for reassurance.
“Yeah…”
She was still shaking. Frank released her. He turned to Steve.
“I’m ok. I think…” He looked himself over just in case.
“Let’s clear the house. Make sure they’re all dead,” Frank ordered.
He went over to the door. “Tommy? You guys good?”
Tommy turned to him. “Yeah. All good. You?”
“We’re good. Clear the yard. We’re clearing the house,” Frank said.
It took more than ten minutes to clear the house and the yard, making sure every Biter was dead. Frank opened the basement and called out to the rest of the group.
“You guys ok?” He could hear them crying.
“We’re ok,” Kim yelled through sobs.
“Come on up. Make sure the kids keep their eyes closed.”
They came up stairs. Kim had Isabelle in her arms. Isabelle had her eyes closed tight.
“Everyone head outside to the yard,” Frank ordered.
Once they were all outside, he turned to Anna and Steve.
“What happened?”
“We were outside on watch while the kids played. They just came pouring through the wood line. They spotted us before we could grab the kids and get inside. We never saw them coming… We were just lucky you guys got back so quick,” Steve said.
“At least everybody is ok. We were lucky,” Frank said. He put his hand on Anna’s shoulder. “That being said, I think the van needs a new suspension…”
“Why,” Steve asked.
“I may have gotten air more than once on the way back and now it’s riding rough…” Frank said.
“I think it’s safe to say that it was worth it. Those Biters were almost on us when you jumped through the window,” Steve said.
Frank looked at Anna, who was in tears, still shaking. He took her hand.
“Hey. You ok?”
She looked at him and giggled. “Yeah. Just thinking how you’re always here to save the day.”
Frank smiled. “Just wish I could have been here sooner.”
“I think it was right on time,” Anna said.
They walked outside. Bodies littered the lawn. The entire group was hugging and celebrating being alive. They noticed Frank walk out of the house.
“Alright. We know the drill. Let’s get packed up before another horde gets here…” Frank said. The word ‘disappointed’ was written all over his face.
“Do we have to,” Natalie asked.
“I love this house. I don’t really want to go,” Kathy said.
The group all started telling Frank their feelings. Everyone grew louder and louder. They were tired of moving and they all loved this home they’ve made. Frank’s head sunk. He nearly lost his patience.
Craig stepped forward and raise his hand to be heard.
“Frank is right.”
Frank’s head jerked up. ‘The hell did he say!?’
“How can you say that, Craig,” Gloria asked.
“Look guys, No one loves this house more than me. I was literally born in this house. I would love to stay here. No one feels that way more than I do. I know that if another horde shows up, we might not be so lucky. I won’t keep my family here knowing another horde is probably on its way. We have to go.”
The group started mumbling amongst themselves.
“Guys. I’ll agree with you. I really don’t want to move either, but you all know that we can’t stay here. With the house in the state it’s in, we wouldn’t be able to survive a second attack.”
Frank noticed movement in the field behind the group. He pointed to the movement.
“And I think they’ll agree.”
The group turned around and saw a dozen Biters stumbling through the hay fields. Some of them began to panic.
“Calm down. Tommy, Anna, you two are with me. Jim, grab us more ammo. Steve, keep an eye on the open window. Make sure no more come through there. The rest of you, pack up food and weapons only. We’ll keep them back. Go,” Frank ordered.
They group started to run back into the house. Frank calmly walked to the fence and started picking off the Biters in the distance. Tommy and Anna followed suit. Soon, the Biters were down. Frank scanned the horizon and saw no Biters left.
“You guys keep an eye out here. I’ll go on the other side of the house,” Frank ordered.
“Be careful, Frank. We’ve already had enough close calls today,” Anna said.
“Hey, I wrote the book on ‘careful’.”
“Yeah, then used it to prop up a table,” Tommy said.
Frank chuckled.
Just before the packing was finished, Frank pulled a map out of his pocket and laid it out on the hood of the van.
“Craig, Steve? You guys know of anywhere else we can go,” Frank asked.
“Around here? No,” Steve said.
“I can’t think of a place either. Especially one big enough for all of us,” Craig said.
“How about on the north side of town,” Tonya asked as she passed by the men, overhearing the conversation.
The men looked at her, surprised by the question.
“My Grandpa used to live on the north side of town before he moved to Colorado,” she explained.
Frank looked at Steve. “Why didn’t I think of that? How about it, Steve?”
“Um…” Steve looked at the map. He used two fingers and pointed to two different areas a few miles north of Manhattan. “There are a few large houses in these areas. Should be plenty of room.”
“Yeah. Those are some nice houses,” Craig said.
Frank looked back at Tonya. “Good call! Thank you.”
Tonya smiled. “You’re welcome.” She went back inside to help pack.
“Ok. We’ll head up there. We’ll come back through for anything we have to leave behind. Are all the weapons and ammo loaded up?”
“Yep. We’re ready,” Steve said.
“Ok. Let’s go. We’re going to leave the van here for now. It’s not safe to drive and we already have enough problems to deal with.”
“Ok. I think we’ll be ok unless we lose another vehicle,” Steve said.
Everyone loaded up into the vehicles except for Frank. Depression was sinking in and his adrenaline high was wearing off. He didn’t want to move just as much as everyone else. He was tired of constantly having to run away. It was never his nature. If he were alone he would just board the place back up and wait for t
he next horde so he could gun them all down.
On the way north, all he could think about was how to make their next home safer. How could he reinforce the windows and doors? Frank’s thoughts were shattered when Anna took his hand from the driver seat. He looked at her, and saw that she was smiling. He knew that she was forcing it but it made him feel better anyway, if only a small bit. He looked back to Isabelle and Susan, both were already asleep. No doubt exhausted from all the excitement from the day’s events.
The convoy pulled up to a very large house on a hill. It had plenty of clear land on all sides. It was perfect.
‘What’s the catch?’ Frank thought. They all exited their vehicles and grouped by the JERRV.
“Ok guys. You all know the drill. Tommy, Jim? You’re with me. Anna? You lead out here. Let’s get to work before it gets dark.”
Hours later, the group had settled in what little they brought with them. The senior members were sitting in the kitchen discussing their next move. Frank sat there, his hands folded in front of his mouth, elbows resting on the table.
“What we brought won’t last us long. We need to either go back and get the rest of our stuff or go to town,” Steve said.
“We really need to go back and recover the rest of our stuff,” Jim said.
“I know. The main problem is fending off any Biters that come in while we’re carrying stuff out,” Tommy said.
“We can always get replacements in town. What do you think, Frank,” Anna asked, who noticed that he was being uncharacteristically quiet.
Frank breathed deep and sighed. He lowered his hands.
“I’ll tell you what I think. I’m sick and tired of feeling so vulnerable,” he growled.
“What do you mean,” Steve asked.
“We finally found us a place where we can all live in pretty comfortably. I’m not dragging the group out of another home,” Frank said.
“What are you suggesting,” Anna inquired.
“I’m suggesting that we make this place into a fortress. Jim, do you know how to weld?”
“Yeah. I can do any type of welding.”
“Here’s the idea. Instead of using two by fours for the windows, we use strips of quarter inch sheet steel and bolt them into the studs. We can also get steel reinforced doors. I want to make this place Biter proof.”
The group was silent, thinking about the idea. They could tell that Frank was frustrated, nearly to a breaking point.
“I know you’re frustrated, Frank, but this sounds a bit extreme,” Tommy said.
“Actually, I’m on board with this,” Steve said.
Everyone looked at him as if he were giving in to Frank’s madness.
“Don’t look at me like that. Listen, with everything that has happened so far, do you guys want to take the chance again that another horde will get in? We were extremely lucky last time.”
“I understand that. What I’m getting from Frank is that we stay after we take care of a horde,” Tommy said.
“Close, but not exactly. After today, I think it’s safe to say that there are plenty of others that are tired of running. They’re tired of leaving home after home. I know that I certainly am. At least we can give the fortifications a shot and see how they work if, God forbid, we get attacked again,” Frank said.
“Yeah. I feel the same but that’s a huge risk. These fortifications would need to make the house like Fort Knox,” Tommy said.
“That’s the plan. By the time we’re done, the Biters will have to tear down half the house to get to us,” Frank said.
“Well, there’s no sense in not trying. At the very least it will make us more protected in case we get attacked again. We can see how the new barricades hold up then,” Anna said.
“That’s the spirit. Now we just need to get the steel and doors,” Frank said.
Over the next few weeks, the team scoured the town, scrounging any sheet metal they could find. The house was slowly pieced together. They secured strips of sheet metal to the outside of the windows, so they could still open the windows in the summer. They found the reinforced doors and secured both entrances with them and also the entrance to the basement. Frank inspected every nook and cranny of the house, looking for weak points. Satisfied they had every weakness had been strengthened, he called it quits. The senior members sat outside the house, admiring their finished product.
“Well, it’s not pretty but it’s secure,” Steve said.
“Being secure is rarely pretty…unless you think like me. I think it looks great. We can always paint the sheet metal if we want it to look better, but for now, I think it’s time for a break. How are we doing on supplies?” Frank said.
“Craig and I did inventory yesterday. We don’t have much,” Steve said.
“Think we need to make a run to town,” Anna asked.
“No. I think it’s time we went back to the old house. We need to get the rest of our supplies and gear,” Frank said.
“You think that’s wise, Frank,” Steve asked.
“It will need to get done sooner or later. Might as well be sooner, especially when we are running low on everything. Jim, will you be able to fix the suspension on the van?”
“Not without power tools,” Jim said.
“We will leave it then. Just need to make sure we get all of our supplies out of it too. I think after we get everything, it’ll be time for some days off.”
“That sounds good,” Steve said.
Chapter 23
Newcomers
Later that day, they held a group meeting.
“Alright guys. As you can see, the house has been finished. The time has come to go back and get the rest of our supplies from the old house. We wanted to wait to do this until the house was finished since we will need quite a few volunteers. Speaking of which, who would like to help,” Frank asked.
Everyone raised their hands, even Tonya. Frank smiled. “Sorry, Tonya. You can’t come with us quite yet.”
She lowered her hand, disappointed. “I wish I could help with something.”
“You always help me cook along with a lot of other stuff around here,” Natalie said, trying to cheer her up.
Frank chose his team. “Anna, you’ll stay here with Natalie and the kids and hold the fort down. The rest of us will head out in the morning.”
“Got it,” she said.
“Good. With that out of the way, I’m going to get a bit mushy. I want to thank everyone for their hard work and patience over the last few weeks. It has been rough lately but I am very proud to say that you all have performed admirably. After we get our supplies tomorrow and get them squared away, you will be officially on a vacation. That being said, we will look for volunteers for the night watch. I’m always happy to pull all three nights but if anyone wants it, you can have it.”
“Oh, hell yes! I’ll take tonight,” Tommy said.
“Me too...after I go throw up,” Natalie said as she jumped up from her seat and ran for the woods. Anna ran after her. She held Natalie’s hair back and rubbed her back as she vomited. Tommy followed with a napkin so she could wipe her mouth.
“Well, then. Think the excitement was too much for our new mom. Do we have anymore ginger tea for her,” Frank asked.
“Yeah. I’ll go make her some,” Gloria said. She got out of her seat and started heading inside.
“Thank you, dear. So, anyone else?”
“I can do tonight as well,” Gloria said as she entered the house.
“Guess that means me too,” Craig said.
“Ok. That takes care of tonight. We can discuss the next few days tomorrow. For now, I’m going to check and make sure Natalie is going to live,” Frank said.
The group chuckled.
Frank walked over to Anna. Natalie was dry heaving at this point. “I got Gloria making her some ginger tea. She going to be ok?”
Natalie wiped her mouth. “I’ll be ok. Just got some morning sickness. Yay for being pregnant…”
“Ok. You rea
lly shouldn’t be doing the night shift. I’ll cover for you tonight,” Frank said.
“No, it’s ok. I want to do it,” Natalie said.
“Honey, you really shouldn’t. You’re having to puke once an hour. Let Frank do it,” Tommy said.
“Natalie, you know they’re right,” Anna said.
Natalie sighed. “Getting pregnant sucks.”
Frank knelt down next to her. “Yeah, that may be true but it’ll be worth it when it’s over.”
Natalie smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Come on. Let’s go back inside so you can have some tea.”
Later that night, Frank and Tommy were sitting outside for their night watch.
“Natalie is handling this pregnancy thing like a real trooper,” Frank said.
“Yeah. She’s a tough one. She probably feels bad about not being out here tonight,” Tommy said.
“Yeah, most likely. I don’t plan on having Steve put her on anymore night shifts though. Our lives are stressful enough, can’t put any more on her.”
“Thanks, Frank. Just let her keep cooking. She loves it. It would break her heart if she couldn’t cook until she had the baby.”
“No, I would never take that away from her. I just hope she doesn’t throw up on our food.”
Tommy laughed. “Yeah, that would be pretty bad. She’ll get through it, though.”
“I’m sure she will. I’m glad her and Tonya are become close.”
“Yeah. I think everyone is. Tonya’s a good kid. Natalie loves the little girl. Like a sister she never had.”
Frank started to hear something. It sounded like static. He realized it was coming from his radio. He took his radio off his belt. The static stopped. It was an encrypted military radio so if someone was on the same frequency, it must have been military.
“Last calling station, come back,” Frank called. More static.
“If you can read me, I can’t read you.”
“This….Major….ar me?” The radio came to life. It sounded like a female.
Frank turned to Tommy. “Go wake Anna and Steve. Get them here, now.”
Life In Death (Book 1): Surviving Death (The Struggle) Page 27
