He digested what I said for a moment and then motioned with the brim of his hat toward the setting sun. “It’s going to be dark soon. Very risky to travel at night nowadays. Lots of black ice still on the roads and that van could slide off in a ditch before you know it. If you can hold off a bit, I’ll help you get everything tended to here. Then, if you’d like, tomorrow I’ll go along with you two.” He looked over at Julie. “Ma’am, I’d be happy to help you get your baby brother back. I’d hate to have him suffer the same fate as my baby brother.”
Julie was perplexed. “What happened? I thought he was alive, isn’t that why you’re looking for him?” I must admit his statement perplexed me as well, and then it came to me.
I snapped my fingers in realization. “Your baby brother, would he happen to be a rather large baby brother?”
Fred stared at me quietly, somberly. “You’ve seen him then.” I explained the encounter that Julie and I had with the huge behemoth Fred referred to as his baby brother. I omitted the nakedness part and immediately afterword Julie and I engaged in perhaps the most intense act of fornication known to what was left of mankind. Fred listened quietly. When I was finished, he slowly put the rifle in a saddle holster and dismounted. “Let’s get these bodies taken care of, and then I’d like you to take me to my brother.”
We loaded them up in the van and hauled them to the sinkhole while Fred followed on his horse. I drove slowly on purpose. I needed to think of the proper words to say about the late Baby brother McCoy. The sinkhole came into view too quickly. We stopped and got out. “Mr. McCoy I…”
“Call me Fred please.” He said.
I nodded and cleared my throat. “Ah Fred, about this sinkhole. Rick and I have been using it to burn trash. And, um, we came to the conclusion the best way to dispose of infected dead was to burn them.” I was not sure how he was going to react, so I paused a moment.
“Zach, are you saying my brother is in the sinkhole?” I nodded reluctantly. He got off of his horse and walked over to the edge. The corpse was burned beyond recognition. He stared a long couple of minutes in silence.
“We have no idea if people that are infected will infect other people after they are dead. And, some of those news stories said the dead could reanimate into these zombie things. This method seemed a prudent means of containment.” I could have related a few historical anecdotes to give my logic some weight, but Fred did not seem the type of person who liked big talkers. I chose silence.
He slowly nodded in understanding and looked at me somberly. “You did what you thought was the proper thing Zach.” He pointed. “Is that another body?” I nodded. “Another zombie, or was it like one of them?”
“It was Susan Riggins. She wandered up one day. She had turned.” I said.
Fred sighed. “I knew her. I imagine Henry is dead too, or walking around somewhere, infected.” He took his hat off and wiped his forehead with his shirt sleeve. “I am going to carry my brother home and give him a Christian burial. I would appreciate the loan of your van.” He was quiet a moment. “I knew he had turned. He killed my wife and mother-in-law. I wanted to put him out of his misery.”
I looked up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. “Do you want to do it tonight?” He nodded. I withheld any derogatory reply. “Alright sir. I’ll be glad to help. If we use the backhoe on the tractor, we should be able to lift him out a lot easier.” Fred agreed and we went to work. We used some ropes and a tarp. Most of him stayed in one piece It was not fun.
When we got Fred’s brother secured, we drug the recently deceased idiots out of the van and dumped them into the sinkhole. I poured a liberal amount of kerosene on them, added a couple of old tires, and lit them up. It would be a slow burn and I would have to repeat the process a few more times to get the job completed. Fred watched in silence.
Julie stayed behind and cleaned up the mess around the bridge. I drove the van and Fred followed on his horse. Turns out he lived fairly close. It was an older, but nice two-story home. I had driven past it dozens of times but never knew who lived there. He had about a hundred acres he said. We dug the hole with the aid of the headlights on Fred’s John Deere. He buried his baby brother, also known as Franklin McCoy, next to their mother and quietly recited the Lord’s Prayer.
It was very late when I got back. I was exhausted and filthy. I stood on the front porch and stripped off my grime infested clothing. I would decide what to do with them in the morning. “It’s me.” I said as I opened the door. Julie was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. Her assault rifle was right next to her. She smiled tiredly at me.
“Well, hello sailor.” She said. “Do you always walk around naked?”
I chuckled. “My clothes are pretty much beyond hope. Let me get cleaned up and I’ll join you in bed.” She readily agreed. I went to the bathroom and washed off with a bath rag and soap before crawling into bed next to her. She was wearing one of my tee shirts and socks. Good. Her feet were always ice cold. I snuggled up beside her and kissed her on the forehead. I was dead tired. No extracurricular activities for me tonight. I filled her in about the burial of the late Franklin McCoy.
“What do you think about Fred?” She asked in between a yawn. She sounded as tired as I was. Her yawn instinctively caused me to yawn as well.
“He’s quiet natured. Stoic would be a good word to describe him. When things started getting bad, he hunkered down in his house with his wife, mother-in-law, and brother. Somehow his brother had turned. He doesn’t know how. They had been isolated from the rest of the world for at least a month and he had gotten sick somehow. Fred was out tending to his cattle when Frank attacked the women. When Fred returned, Frank had already wandered off. We compared timelines, he said it happened three days before Frank had wandered over here. There is no telling what baby brother had gotten into before our encounter with him. He has a daughter who lives somewhere on the west coast. He had a business building prefabricated greenhouses. Not the big commercial sized ones, but smaller ones for yuppies to put in their back yard. Their farm was mostly a hobby.”
“Do you think he can he be trusted?” She asked.
“He seems alright. He has plenty of food and a well just like us. He’s got a couple of his greenhouses set up and although it was dark, I think I saw some solar panels on his roof. He seems to have a decent set up. We don’t have anything he wants. Maybe the pleasure of our company, but that’s it. He seems like a bit of a lone wolf, so the solitary life won’t be a major annoyance to him I’m thinking. You know the actor Josh Brolin? Fred looks like him” I stopped talking long enough to realize Julie had fallen asleep. I smiled as I stroked her hair. It had been a long day for her. Hell, it had been a long day for all of us.
Chapter 23 - A Rescue Attempt
I felt like I slept like a rock, but was still up before sunrise. When I opened the door to let the boys out, Fred was sitting in one of the rocking chairs on our front porch. He nodded at me and continued drinking some coffee out of a thermos. His Appaloosa was grazing in the field and the saddle was sitting on the porch. The horse, a mare, was freshly brushed and looked magnificent. “Good morning.” I said.
“Good morning.” He replied. He was wearing the same hat and duster, but it looked like he had on a clean pair of jeans and exchanged his cowboy boots for some Skecher brand hiking boots. He had the same rifle leaned up against the porch railing. He nodded toward the horse. “Her name’s Prancer. She’s a darn good horse.” I nodded quietly, like Fred frequently did. Julie and I must have been very exhausted, we never heard him ride up. Funny, none of the dogs had barked at him, they scampered over and sniffed him up and down. He gave each of them a pat, and then they ran off to empty their bladders.
“So young Zach, do you have a specific plan in mind for rescuing Julie’s little brother?”
“I believe I do. Julie is positive she can lead us back to the house where they are staying, and then…”
“Okay, but before we talk about it, I’d like t
o hear about what led up to you killing those men yesterday.” Fred said it plainly, matter-of-factly. I could not read what he was thinking. Was he being judgmental?
I inhaled. “Well, it all started a few months ago back in High School…” I started with my brief romance with Macie and went from there. I tried to provide all of the pertinent details. I told him how Rick had actually perceived the apocalypse was actually going to happen and had done a good job of planning for it. I recounted how we met the Friersons. I summarized our falling out and how we had evicted them. I then described the circumstances of finding Julie and how we reunited. I shyly admitted we were now more than just friends. I caught him smiling a bit when I spoke of it, but he remained silent. I then recapped the first meeting with Jason and Macie.
“I imagine it was pretty tough seeing those two together after everything that had happened.” Fred opined.
I shrugged. “When they drove up, the first emotion I had was contempt. After I started talking with them, I actually started feeling pity. I was happy Macie was alive, but I had no feelings one way or another about Jason. I wasn’t jealous. Any personal feelings I once had for Macie have faded. I imagine the feelings I now have for Julie had a lot to do with it. Does it make sense?” Fred slowly nodded.
I went into how the Friersons had joined up with Jason and his group. Fred interrupted at that point. “And one of those boys at the bridge is the one who tried to rape Julie?” I nodded. He looked down at his empty cup a moment. “You knew they were going to set you up.”
I nodded again. “Rick taught me to always have a contingency plan. I planned for it, but had hoped I was being overly paranoid and it would work out for the better.”
“Your suspicions were on the money it seems.” Fred said.
“I was hoping for a more peaceful outcome.” I said.
“You took a knife to one of those boys.”
I sat silently for a moment. Fred glanced over at me. “To be honest Fred, I used a knife on two of them. I shot one and finished him with a knife to the jugular. The other one was Jason. He was ultimately the one who betrayed me. As to why, well I’m not sure I can explain where it makes sense. I could have shot him, but I was very angry.” It probably sounded bad, but it was the truth. I was not going to apologize for it.
Fred grunted and refilled his plastic cup. “Alright, so on to this rescue plan. Are you planning on killing everyone or what?”
“The house is in a gated neighborhood in Brentwood. If you’re serious about helping us…” Fred confirmed his willingness with a small nod. “Good. I was thinking we could keep it simple. I’m thinking of having Julie go up and knock on the door. I’ll stay back a little bit, just in case. Since none of them know you, I’d like you to stay out of sight and provide security with your rifle, just in case it goes bad. I’m assuming you are a decent shot.” Fred nodded slightly. I guess I’d have to take his word for it.
“Okay, as far as we know, the only ones who are still there are Julie’s mother, little Tommy, Macie, and a girl named Trina.” I paused a moment before continuing. “Fred, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t want the rest of them to join us. Just Tommy. But, I’ve no desire or reason to hurt any of them. I guess I’d do whatever it takes though. It will just have to be up to how they respond. If I have to invite Macie and Janet to come live with us, so be it. Not Trina though.”
“What if they say yes? Would it work out? Especially after what Janet tried?” Fred asked quietly.
I threw my hands up and shook my head. “I’ve no idea. Julie wants her little brother back. I don’t blame her. I figure, get Tommy back and deal with the rest of it later.” Fred rocked back in his chair and sipped his coffee for a moment.
“Sounds agreeable enough. Don’t shoot anyone unless we have to. I’m good with that.”
We were on the road thirty minutes later. I returned to the location on Old Hickory Boulevard where I found Julie. She had no problem backtracking her route to the neighborhood. The house was two blocks down from the gated entrance. I stopped at the entrance and let Fred out. The gate appeared as though somebody had smashed through it with their vehicle. It made me think of Rick and I smiled. “Are you ready to do this?” I asked Julie.
“You’re damn right I’m ready. The house is down the street, first left, and third house on the left.” I repeated the information to Fred. He nodded and took off at a trot. I slowly drove toward the house.
I stopped just before turning onto the street. We got out and started walking. Since we knew they were unaware Julie was now living with me, it was agreed she’d walk up by herself and knock on the door while I hid. She’d try to coax Tommy outside and we would snatch him. If she were unsuccessful, we were going to storm the house at gunpoint. Whatever it took to get Tommy.
On the ride over, I came to a decision. I was willing to let Macie and Janet come with us, if it was going to be the only way we’d get Tommy, but Trina was going to be on her own. She was not my friend and never had been. I voiced this to the two of them and they agreed. If anything went wrong, or if we encountered violence, Fred assured us he would shoot anyone who appeared to be a threat.
As it turned out, none of it mattered. Trina was sitting on the front steps. She made eye contact with us, but did not move. I was a bit confused, I expected her to give a shout of alarm or shoot at us or something. Instead, she sat there smoking a cigarette. I stopped beside a car with flattened tires. “Just use the hand signals.” I said to Julie. “We’ll start shooting if anything goes wrong.” Julie nodded. I pressed the mike on the walkie. “Fred, do you copy?”
“Roger. I’m in position.” He replied tersely. I acknowledged.
“If anything happens, get out of the line of fire. Fred and I will be shooting. If any zombies pop up, run like hell for the van.” I grabbed her hand. “If Tommy is still here, we’re not leaving without him. You have my word.” She nodded gratefully and approached Trina.
Trina watched Julie approach silently. She continued smoking, but otherwise did not move. I had not intended for her, or anyone else, to even see me. Rookie mistake. Next time we got into this type of situation I was definitely going to plan it out better. Rick probably would have pointed out we did not even conduct a recon mission first. I did not want anyone shooting at me out of the windows, so I took a knee beside the car. It suddenly occurred to me, if they were smart, they’d have someone set up in a second floor window of one of the houses across the street. I quickly started scanning the windows. It didn’t matter. After a moment Julie crossed her hands behind her back and then motioned me to come to her. “Fred, I’m going to join Julie and see what’s up.” He clicked the mike.
“Everyone is gone except Trina.” Julie said as I walked up. I frowned and gave a questioning look. “Trina said when she woke up this morning, all of them were gone. They must have left sometime during the night.”
Now that I was closer, I scrutinized her closely. She was not the same Trina that I remembered. The old Trina was rather thick, large breasts, large waist, bulbous buttocks. This Trina was saggy, droopy, and practically anorexic. And she smelled like diarrhea. I cleared my throat. “Jason said you and Janet were holding Macie at gunpoint.”
Trina scoffed. “It was all Jason’s idea.” She looked at me. “He’s a devil in disguise, but you know that already.”
“Do you know where they went?” I asked.
“Fuck that, I’m checking the house.” Julie interrupted before Trina could answer and walked off before I could say or do anything. So, I did what any manly man would do. I hurried after her.
It was a large house. There were six bedrooms and each room had its own full bathroom. It was very nice, except for all of the filth. The latest occupants were not clean people. The whole house smelled like a locker room. There was debris everywhere and the toilets were filled with trash and excrement. Very nasty.
But there was no Tommy. There was nobody at all, just like Trina said. Finished with our search, we walked back
outside. Trina had not moved. “Okay Trina, where did they go?” Trina shrugged her shoulders. Julie grabbed her by her chin. “Listen bitch! I want to know where my little brother is!” I gently grabbed Julie and eased her away from Trina. Julie glared at me. I raised my palms out.
“Just wait.” I whispered and turned back to Trina. “Trina, we don’t want any trouble, we just want to check on Tommy and make sure he’s okay. Could you help us out here?”
Trina continued staring at a vacant point in space. She was defeated, she had given up. I could see it in her face. I squatted down to where my face was level with hers. Only then did she look at me. “Where is my Uncle Tay? Where’re Darius and Jason?”
“They’re dead Trina. They came at us with the intent of killing us. They lost.”
Trina did not move. “I figured as much when they didn’t come home last night.” She looked over at Julie. “I didn’t know you hooked up with Zach.” Julie did not bother answering. She drew on her cigarette before continuing. “I don’t know where they went. Your momma said something about Nashville, but I don’t know why they’d go there. Nothing but zombies in Nashville. Thousands of them.” She seemed to lose focus, but then turned her head back to me. “We’re all gonna die.”
I almost felt sorry for her at that moment. Hell, I was very close to hauling her butt back to the van, and then the radio crackled to life. “Zach.” Fred was whispering. “We got zombies, about two dozen of them. They’re all in one group. One block over.”
They were close. Too close. I motioned to Julie. She heard Fred loud and clear. We began running toward the van. I tried talking on the radio between hurried breaths. It was a lot harder than the movies portrayed it. “Fred, can you make it back to the van or do I need to drive to you?”
Zombie Rules Page 19
