Jeff was genuinely upset at the treatment, she had endured. “I'm sorry, they put you through that, do you need a moment?”
“I'm okay. You all need to understand that other than the zealots, everyone else is there, because they don't have many options. If the zealots get wind of anyone trying to stray, they take quick action to stop it. Of course, there are a few weasels who would sell out there best friend, just to earn some favors, folks just don't know who to trust.”
“Okay, I think I'm running out of questions, just a few more.” Jeff acknowledged. “I did a grid count and estimate there are about 75, camped out there. Is it safe to assume, that only twenty five are zealots?”
Abigail nodded. “The zealots comprise Rachel's personal guard, she is going to keep most of them close to her.”
“Other than being really organized, do you know if there are any military or law enforcement in their group?”
“Zachary or Delilah are the ones handing out directions and while both are committed to the cause, neither has struck me as being trained.”
They interrogated Abigail for a little longer, but mostly just to rehash what they had already covered. Eventually, Miri took Abigail back to the commons and Sue, with Arianna, relieved Turk and Margo, allowing Turk to go over Jeff's profile, with the others.
Margo joined the boys and as Turk sat with the others the spotlight passed across the building and Josiah's droning sermon ended to be replaced by blaring gospel music.
Red shook her head in confusion. “Aren't they concerned that will bring every zed in the area down on this place or is that their goal?”
Tom grunted. “Maybe that was why they herded so many zeds at us, thin out the local population and try to get us to waste our ammunition. They are more exposed to zeds than we are, I'm assuming they got some trick to keep zeds from massing here.”
“Just the same, we need to make sure we keep a closer eye on these monitors and the patrols need to be extra aware.” Tim added.
“Turk, you weren't here when we were talking with Abigail, what's your take on things?” Tom queried.
“Whether or not these lights draw any zeds, they put us at a disadvantage. We're blinded, they can move up on us, pinpoint us with the lights and we may not know they are there, until the shootin starts.”
“But we still got eyes on them from the top of the coaster, we'll still be able to track their movements.” Red argued back.
“Yea that's true for now, the moon is wanin and in about ten days our eyes up top, ain't gonna be seein squat. My other concern, is the count on the zealots in this crowd. If'n its closer to twenty five, than the folks they pressed into the fight are just for show, they won't dare arm them. If'n its closer to say forty zealots, than they got enough to push em all into the fight.”
“What's your guess Turk. twenty five, or forty?” Tom pushed.
“Well, I reckon that all depends if Josiah is orchestratin things to favor us, or them. Who ever masterminded this, has been plannin things for quite a spell. All that time herdin zeds here, wearin us down. Now this crap with the noise and the lights, makin it so we can't get no sleep and worryin that zeds are gonna tear down our fences. If I were a gamblin man, I'd say whatever they been workin up to, is gonna happen in ten days. There may be stuff before that, but we got about that long to figure out if we're fightin, or runnin.”
Chapter 10 - Continuation
Clay Albright drove the ice cream truck over the same roads, they had been cruising for the past two days. When they started, a steady stream of the fallen would follow after the truck, playing the same jingle used to call out countless children, in the past.
Of course, it could be worse, he could have been placed with one of the wrangler crews that had to keep the fallen confined, at the drop off location. Over the past year, they had gotten pretty good at handling the fallen, but one thing Clay had learned, there are no sure things with the fallen. These things need to devour and if there is nothing to eat where they are, they'll move to where there is. They kept adding more and more fallen to that parking lot and pretty soon, that ring of trucks ain't gonna be enough to hold them in. Yep Clay was glad to not be a wrangler, he just hoped to be far enough away, when that wave hit.
The man, Heath, riding shotgun next to Clay was there, in case they needed to shoot there way out of predicament. However, Clay knew that Heath would not hesitate to turn that shotgun on him, if he chose to run. Clay looked down at the gas gauge and tried to talk Heath, into an early return to base. “We're down to a quarter tank Heath, things look clear, what ya say we head back and grab an early supper?”
Heath looked up from reading, the Book of Truth. “The way of a lazy man is a hedge of thorns, whilst the way of the upright is a highway. The Mother teaches us if we are lazy in our duties, so are we lazy in our faith.”
That was the way of all these zealots, they could never just say what they had on their mind, they always had to make out like it was ordained from on high, or some shit. “Right you are. Momma didn't raise no shirkers here.”
Knowing that he was stuck driving until they were nearly sucking fumes, Clay let his mind drift back to a year ago, when he first met the True Believers. With his wife Sofie, their daughter Chloe and son Seth, he had taken refuge in the basement of the towns community center. Preacher Josiah, with a seriously hot blonde, came down the road ringing a bell and leading away the fallen. Preacher Josiah asked them to join him and in return, he offered sanctuary, food and hope.
For a while, that is exactly what they got. Clay actually believed they were building something there, at Brighton Academy. Then slowly, the numbers of hardcore believers of the new faith grew. They demanded sacrifices of everybody. First his daughter, then his son, finally Sofie to be closer to the children, became one of the Sisterhood. If pressed, Clay would say he was a man of faith, but he had never been a devout member of any church, especially this one.
Clay had always known the True Believers, were actively trying to increase their numbers, hell he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Preacher Josiah, going out looking for survivors. Those days are over, now the Believers have the numbers to press whole groups into the faith. If they didn't play ball, then they would just release the fallen on them.
Silas Rigby never fancied himself a hero. Lord knows he didn't look like one, with his rotund midsection and pale skin. Even with his fondness for life's comforts, he was a man of principles and he hated to be used. If nothing else. Silas was meticulous and organized, even at the end of the world a bean counter had value.
To be sure, Rachel appreciated that Silas was valuable in managing their wealth of supplies. However, after Silas had encouraged insurrection against her, letting him continue to serve her and use him to keep Josiah in line, gave proof that she was the one in charge. Of course, she did have to send Delilah and the Sisterhood to make an example of Silas, first.
The pain in his leg from a poorly set break and the constant headaches from the concussion, were reminders from that beating. For most men, that would be enough to look for some payback, but Silas had promised Abigail that he would look after Zoe. How on earth he was going to accomplish that, he had no clue. The clock was running and he needed to think of a plan.
It wasn't just the thirty, or so of the Sisterhood in the children’s dorms to get past and he was not a man built for stealth. If he was lucky, there were maybe twenty other people here who could be trusted to keep their heads down, stay out of the shit and just try to get to the next day. Silas needed an ally here, but approaching the wrong person would be a death sentence, to both he and Zoe.
Getting Zoe to safety was Silas' first priority, still, he feared the contingency plans, Rachel appeared to be making. The supplies she was requesting of late, by themselves, seemed harmless. Silas knew when put together, they meant a tragedy for everyone at the compound and a horror for those returning. Silas had known for a long time that Rachel, had an intense need to control those around her. He was beginni
ng to suspect, she was starting to believe her own lies. In her mind, she had the insane belief that she truly had divine power and could control life, death and who had attained the right to an afterlife.
“Stop your wool gathering, Mister Rigby.” Silas told himself.
Silas busied his hands, packing away supplies he would need if he was forced to go on the run, with Zoe. As usual, the mundane task freed his mind for planning and soon he had concocted the beginnings of a plan to retrieve the girl, when the time came.
A while back, he had catalogued some riot gear. The gear wasn't designed for a man of his girth, but being a lifelong bachelor, he had learned some skill with a needle and thread. It was just easier to alter his own clothes, rather than endure listening to his tailor go 'tsk, tsk, tsk', everytime he gained a couple of pounds.
In short order, Silas had a vest he could wear. Examining himself in the mirror he had to chuckle, the strap of the helmet accentuated his multiple chins and a goodly amount of his belly, lopped out from under the vest.
“Well it's safe to say, I don't have to worry about getting shot in this get up. Who ever sees me in this, will just fall down laughing.”
A knock at the warehouse door, interrupted Silas and he quickly took off the modified riot gear and went to see who was calling on him, at this hour.
Sofie Albright was raised in a strict protestant family, just like many households in this part of Kentucky. She tried to raise her children with those same values, even though her husband had a more relaxed outlook on religion. When Preacher Josiah came along preaching that the fallen, were a plague from God, inflicted on the faithless, it was not a big stretch for her to accept his words.
Clayton was more inclined to believe it was another membership ruse, but the offer of sanctuary and community, was something he couldn't refuse. For a while, the True Believer compound was a sanctuary. Overtime though, a fanatical faction grew and brutishly demanded absolute adherence to the Book of Truth. To be closer to her children Sofie had left her husband and entered the Sisterhood. Now her daughter had been sent on a covert mission and her husband, was conscripted into the True Believer army.
Regardless of what happened in the campaign in Tennessee, Rachel appeared to be making new plans for the Sisterhood. Rachel kept developing lists of supplies to be brought over from the warehouse and this evening, Sofie was tasked with picking up the latest request.
Sofie was well aware of the beating Silas had suffered from the Sisterhood, when he spoke out against the changes, happening to their community. More than a little nervous as to how he would react to her, Sofie knocked on the entrance to the warehouse.
Silas opened the door and greeted the woman, on the other side.“Good evening Sister, what brings you here at this hour?”
“Uh, good evening Mister Rigby, the Mother has asked me to pick up the items she requested.” Sofie replied.
“Come in, I wasn't expecting to need to have it ready before the morning, but it won't take me long to pull them together.
Silas recognized the woman as Sofie Albright, one of the earliest recruits to the compound, Silas had a lot of interaction with she and her family. They were good people, rolling with the punches that this upside down world kept throwing at them, doing their best to keep their family alive and together. Sofie was now in the inner circle if she was still the woman he met a year ago, she could be precisely the ally he needed.
“Sister Albright, is it not?” Silas queried.
“Please, call me Sofie.”
“Sofie, follow me to the office and I'll grab that list. We can catch up, as we gather things together. So how are things in the Sisterhood?”
Sofie laughed. “Well sure start with the easy ones. Mister Rigby...”
Silas interrupted her. “Silas.”
Sofie continued. “Silas, I am so confused. I just wanted a way to be closer to my kids, but all I get to do is clean their rooms and ladle food, onto their trays. If I try to connect with Seth, or Chloe, I ... I get punished.”
“I'm sorry to hear that, I've had some experience with their punishments.” Silas consoled.
Sofie replied, demurely. “Thank you, you’re...you’re very kind.”
Silas shrugged. “Kind? I don't know about that, but I do know what is right, I think you do to.”
“Don't sell yourself short Mister and yes I do know what is right, but that is getting harder to do, all the time.”
With the list in hand, Silas had Sofie push a cart as he gathered the items from the list. “Let see what we have here. Weapons, pistols, knives, rifles, ten of each. Who do you think those would be for? Powdered drink mix. Is somebody planning a party? This ones the clincher, 125 drinking glasses. By my count, and my counts are never wrong, there is 146 of you over there, so who is not invited to the party and why?”
“What are you saying Silas?” Sofie said, just above a whisper.
“I know that the combination of other supplies Rachel requested, can be used to make a potent poison. I believe Rachel, has an exit strategy. She has selected twenty to leave with her. When Clay and the others return they'll find the compound has been taken over, from the inside by the fallen. Including you and Seth.”
Sofie was horrified, at what Silas suggested. “No she wouldn't do that. ...would she?”
“For the past year, she has been teaching those children to survive this world. If she feels threatened enough, yes... yes I think she would.”
Sofie studied his face. “What do you need me to do?”
Silas grinned. “It's going to be just you and I. I'm working on some plans, but mostly, we're going to have to figure this out as we go. We keep them from the children, you take the twenty five on the left and I'll take the twenty five on the right, can you handle that?”
“For my babies, are you kidding me?” Sofie replied, as bravely as she could.
“Keep your eyes and ears open. Take this radio, it only connects to me. Just in case, lets get you a gun too.” Silas told her, as confidently as he could. Silas had his ally, but what could a fat old man and a young woman, do against so many?
They had prepared to run, they had prepared to fight, but what they hadn't prepared for was waiting. The waiting preyed on their minds, every second of every day. To sleep, they muffled a couple of rooms, with whatever they could find. A couple of evenings in, Tom and Sue were preparing to get a few hours of sleep, when Sue took the opportunity to talk to Tom alone. “Thomas.”
Whenever Sue addressed him like that, he knew she was geared up to push him in some direction. “Yes my dear?”
Sue was unwilling to be easily mollified. “Thomas, is this what we are going to do, just wait for them to decide to roll in here?”
Tom was angered, he understood her frustration, but not her short sightedness. “Susan, what are you telling me, are you looking to load up and struggle on the road again? Are you suggesting, we take a shot on a fool hardy assault? Who are you willing to sacrifice on that? This is what we are doing, either they will give up and leave, or they'll attack. If they come at us, we'll do our best to convince them, it’s not worth following after us.”
Sue became angry, she knew he was right, but didn't like being treated this way. “Thomas, I'm not suggesting we do anything rash, you know that. I just want a plan.”
“Darlin, I am open to suggestions. You see something we've missed, point it out, these are the cards we've been dealt.” Taking her hands in his. “Babe, I need you to back me up here.”
Occasionally, when they were on patrol at night, the spotlight would silhouette them. Mitch was the first to make a joke of it and use the searchlight to make hand shadow puppets. Some of the other kids picked up the habit, until Prescott caught wind of what they are doing.
“Stop that, it ain't funny, in fact it is down right stupid. You're making yourselves targets and letting them pattern us.” Prescott admonished.
From then on, Tim randomized the patrol schedules and everyone worked hard, at staying out
of sight. A couple of days passed and still, there was no activity from the True Believers, beyond the scanning search lights, regular sermons, and droning gospel music. Then one evening, just before dusk, Sue and Arianna were in the security office watching the monitors when, suddenly, they heard a muffled pop and one of the monitors went blank.
“Tom...Tom come in.” Sue radioed.
“What do you need, hon?” Tom replied.
“Something's up, there was a pop and then one of the monitors went blank. There it goes again, we lost two monitors now.” Sue replied.
“Stay put, until you hear from me.”
Tom went to get Sam to check out the surveillance system, but Turk showed up with a rifle in hand. “Tom, they're takin pot shots at us.”
“Ohh thats what it is, they’re shootin out our cameras.” Tom replied.
Red Rises (Book 2): Dead To Rights (HZA, Vol. 4) Page 24
