by Brown, TW
Entry Twenty—
I was just waking up from almost no sleep, when I heard the sound of a baby cry. The thing is, back in the early days, that sound probably got a lot of people killed. I think we have all heard that noise at least once and been scared into a brown streak when we happened upon the undead source.
The thing is, all these years later, you can actually tell the difference without hardly even trying. This was an actual baby crying. I had no doubt.
I didn’t even finish putting my gear into my pack. I just yanked my tomahawk free and took off. I would not say that I am much of a runner. I am like a bear crashing through the woods, only, not quite as graceful.
I was damn near killed when I reached an embankment. The ground was soaked and I made the rookie nature boy mistake of grabbing a small sapling to hold my weight as I started down. The sapling came out by the roots—something that might have just as easily happened if the ground hadn’t been saturated considering it was so small and I am so…not.
I ended up falling head over heels down the embankment and ended up in a trench about twenty feet long and a few inches deep that was full of muddy water. Of course, when I stood up, it was damn near empty. I had become the human version of SpongeBob Dirtypants. What my clothing did not soak up, I must have swallowed or snorted up my nose.
By the time I quit hacking and throwing up mud, the only sound I heard was that of my own labored breathing. I was now cold, completely soaked…and pissed. I try my best never to let my emotions get the best of me when I am out on these runs. The woman better pray that I don’t find her in the next day or two.
Of course I can’t even say for certain that it was her and the missing child. In my mind, I am at least eighty percent sure; but that does not cut it. Nor does it make me any warmer or drier.
Entry twenty-one—
I spent most of today walking in a growing circle outwards from where I found the camp this morning. I will give the woman credit, she knows what she is doing out here. She had a nice Dakota hole dug which is why I never saw a fire.
The only mistake, if it truly was one, was that she did not make any effort to hide the fact that a camp had been here. Sure, there is a chance that the place was not even her old camp, but I go off my gut. My gut says it was her.
Besides, there are not a lot of women just roaming the countryside with babies these days. Zombies aside, the wilderness is thick with outlaws and bad guys. Of course I am being general, but that is a simple fact.
No, not every single person out in the world is an evil bastard waiting to victimize others, but those numbers are much higher now percentage-wise than they were back before zombies wiped out the infrastructure. It is a fact.
And for those who might say that perhaps I am just jaded considering the types of filth that I deal with on a regular basis, I would like to point out that we as a species have always had that disposition. And when allowed to run free and unchecked by any sort of law or authority, we are downright evil. The old history books are full of horrors that are hard to imagine.
That was something that Americans really put on blinders to back in the day. The horrible things happening to the oppressed were just bits and blurbs on a newscast. We could ignore them because they were so far away. We only really took offense or became outraged when a single person would commit a horrific act and get caught. Then we acted all surprised that a person could be so base and terrible.
I maintain that it has always been there. Don’t believe me? Find a book about the Holocaust or even some of the ethnic cleansing that took places in Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
8
Geek Wife on the Edge
Catie moved down the side street. She might be a few months pregnant, but she was still surprisingly light on her feet and capable of stealth. Still, as happy as she was with her own ability, that did not hold a candle to how surprised she was at Melvin’s ability to be just as quiet.
Melvin was Marty’s “little” brother. Catie had not been all that surprised to discover that the two were, in fact, twins. Melvin had been born second; thus the whole thing about him being the little brother.
Catie raised a hand. They were at an intersection. The residential neighborhood they were currently moving through was supposedly the location of the Beastie Boys’ main hideout. They had spotted a pair of men in hooded sweatshirts walking down the middle of the street about ten minutes ago. They had stayed just about a block behind them, yet, somehow, the two had managed to disappear after rounding a corner. At no time had they given any indication that they knew they were being followed.
Melvin tapped Catie on the shoulder and pointed to the right. Catie’s gaze followed the direction the man indicated. Sure enough, the two men were on the roof of a building across the street. By the looks of it, the building had been a school. The signage had long since fallen or been ripped down, but most schools were easy to identify.
Catie spotted the second team just a block over. The man leading that group was obviously not paying attention. Of course that was not a big surprise. He had a real burr under his butt about the fact that Dean had made it clear that Catie was in charge of this mission.
Clarence Carson was the second in command for the security teams in the community of Montague Village. He was a stout man in his own right. Not the size of the Wilson twins, Marty and Melvin, but not a small man by any sense of the imagination. He had long blond hair and a baby face that, despite the man’s age, looked like it might seldom have the need for a razor. His blue eyes were hard and cruel, and Catie did not think the man capable of smiling.
Catie stifled a chuckle when the man stopped suddenly and staggered backwards. Marty gave a wave after he made a point of trying to offer the man a hand up. He did not seem the least bit bothered or offended when Clarence slapped the offered hand away.
“How do you want to do this?” Melvin whispered.
Catie considered things a moment before answering. “You two,” she pointed to a pair of men she had not bothered to learn the names of, “go scout the perimeter. Do it fast, but do it quietly. Take notice of any type of roving patrols or anybody that you might see stationed on the roof. Once you do a full circuit, one of you report back here and the other report to the other team. Let them know they will be staying back in reserve if we decide to venture in.”
The two men nodded and disappeared into the darkness. Catie gave everybody the signal to stand down, but she grabbed Melvin by the sleeve and took him out of hearing range. After making certain that nobody would be able to listen in, she filled the man in on her plan. He remained silent and did not interrupt with any questions. Once she finished, she waited. If she made a mistake, then this was going to be over before it began. She hoped to God that she was not wrong in her assumptions about the twins.
“You need Marty to be in on this,” the big man finally rumbled.
Catie hid her sigh of relief and said, “Yes, but I drew you on my team, so I told you first. I will leave it to you to let him know. I don’t imagine you guys have some sort of creepy twin telepathy?”
Melvin laughed, covering his mouth with one hand. “You’re funny. You know that crap just exists in the movies, right?”
“It was worth a shot.”
“Anybody else in on this?”
“Not officially,” Catie said with a shake of her head. “We do have two others who I am pretty sure are on board.”
“The older lady and the little girl?” Melvin’s expression darkened. “You aren’t giving us much to work with here. And if this don’t work, then we are screwed nine ways to Sunday.”
“I know, but I am willing to take a chance. The question is whether you and your brother are, and if so, how likely do you think it will be for others to follow suit?"
“If me and Marty are in, all we need to do is say the word. You ain’t the first one to think of this. Just seems funny that you are the first to act. You been in Montague…what? A week?”
“I’ll go pull Marty aside and fill him in. I think it is best we do that before you put phase one of your little scheme into action.”
Catie nodded and the man vanished into the shadows. She could not help but be impressed. A man that size should not be able to disappear so readily, she thought.
She waited for him to return. He did so only a moment ahead of the patrol, nodding in affirmation that his brother was apparently on board.
“Nobody on the roof and no sign of any type of roving patrol,” the man reported.
“They are either very confident, or very stupid,” Catie muttered. She was not sure which she preferred. “Okay, bring everybody in,” Catie said after appearing to consider the situation for a moment.
The other team was signaled over and they retreated around the corner from the school just to be certain that they would not be detected. Catie scanned the faces and hoped that this next part of her plan went smoothly.
“This is where it gets dicey, ladies and gentlemen.” She let her gaze drift around to the faces staring back at her. Not surprising, Clarence was visibly scowling at her. “I need a few volunteers to join me. The plan is for me and those who step forward to go inside. They could be anywhere, so we will be conducting a room-by-room search.”
“And how does that assure that you find the leader?” Clarence challenged. “You just gonna kill everybody you encounter and hope you eventually find the right man?”
“Nope, but applying the right pressure to whoever we do find will likely yield results,” Catie answered with a smile and a wink that made Clarence bristle. “Since this will likely be the most dangerous part of the operation, I don’t want to force anybody. I will only take volunteers.” Before anybody could speak or step forward, Catie raised a finger. “Except for you, Clarence. You are coming.”
The man pressed his lips tight, but he stayed silent. Both Marty and Melvin stepped forward, along with Kalisha and a young man not much older than his late teens. Catie fought the desire to tell the young man he could not be part of the team. Yet, she could not raise any possible suspicion now that the wheels were in motion. She shot a glance at Denise, but the woman did not budge. That was a little upsetting. While she had not divulged her plan to the woman, Denise did know that Catie had something in mind. Also, she would be the lone immune with these other unknowns. It would make things complicated, but again, she could not risk things at this point.
“Okay, you all fall back to that little house.” Catie pointed. “It is directly across the street and will provide a good view. If you see anything suspicious, deal with it. If we are not out before sunrise, head back to Montague.”
There were assorted nods and sounds of confirmation. With that, Catie and her five person team slipped away into the darkness. They reached the front door of the school. Melvin gave it a tug and it opened with no problem. Once again, Catie was unsure what to think.
The hallway was a four-way intersection. Looking left and right, Catie decided to continue straight ahead when there was not a single glow that might indicate somebody was inside one of the rooms. That much was a least a little reassuring.
The next intersection yielded more of the same. They were now out of the range of any sort of ambient light and Catie popped one of the glow sticks. It seemed almost as bright as a flare compared to the relative darkness of a moment before. They only had one more intersection and then they would be forced to choose a direction. They reached it, and Catie peered around the corner.
Eureka, she thought. To the right, five doorways in a row had a soft glow coming from the tall, skinny windows. Stuffing the glow stick in her pocket, Catie stepped back and relayed the findings. She told the team that she would creep to the first window and look in to see what they might be facing. Nobody objected.
Catie only had to hide her smile until she rounded the corner and started down the corridor. Before too long, she was at the first doorway. She crouched down and peeked inside. Her blood went cold and she suddenly felt like a fool.
The room was empty!
She spun in time to see her team coming around the corner with hands in the air and at least twenty people fanned out around them. She had been so confident. Now she felt like an idiot.
“How about you come on over and join your friends,” a man growled. It was not a request.
Catie laced her fingers behind her head and walked back up the hallway. They were marched back the way they had come in and taken back to the previous intersection and to the right. They stopped at a set of double doors and then were escorted inside.
It was the gymnasium. There were no windows, but the set of doors across the way was open. They passed a dozen or so fairly large cubicles that had men and women in them. Most were asleep, but a few were up reading or playing a board game around a card table.
They went out the other double doors to a covered area that looked like it had once been the playground. A handful of tents were here. The fence that kept this area secure was covered with heavy, dark tarp. A man was standing at the entrance of what looked like it had once been a large military tent. As soon as he saw them, he waved for Catie and her team to be escorted over and then ducked inside.
Catie was not certain, but she thought that she heard Kalisha gasp. She started to look around, but the man behind her gave Catie an unceremonious shove in the back and demanded that she keep her eyes forward and continue walking. They reached the large tent and two of their escorts ducked inside. A moment later, they emerged and motioned for everybody to enter.
“Daddy!” Kalisha breathed.
A slender, athletic looking man with dark skin stood waiting with his hands clasped in front of him. His black hair was a wild afro that bobbed just slightly when he moved. A young boy sat on the desk to the right, his head tilted to the side in curiosity as these newcomers entered. There was no doubt as to whose son he was, as well as who his sister might be. As soon as he spied Kalisha, the boy jumped from the desk and started for the girl.
“Kalisha!” the boy squealed.
“Caleb!” the man barked, and the boy skidded to a halt. He edged in front of the confused looking young lad and approached Catie’s group. “You have any idea what we do with trespassers? And is that Clarence Carson?”
Catie stepped forward. The two men who had been acting as her escort grabbed her and yanked her backwards, but she spun and swept the feet out from one and brought an elbow into the gut of the other. The sounds of blades being drawn came from everywhere, but the man that Catie had to assume to be Elliot brought everything to a halt.
“Nobody move! My daughter is with these people.” The man walked over to Catie and stopped before actually coming within striking range. “Nice moves. You want to tell me what brings you here in the middle of the night with my daughter?”
“Clear the room and we can talk,” Catie said, doing her best to sound as cool and collected as her captor.
“Not likely. You just took down two of my guys. I don’t think I want to be alone with you. You have something to say, do it. Otherwise…” He gave a nod and there was a strangled cry. Catie spun on instinct, instantly regretting that she had just given her back to this man.
The young boy who had volunteered to join them on the mission was holding his throat, but that wasn’t stopping the dark wave of crimson that trickled through his fingers. The man to his right winked at her as he slid his knife back into it place on his belt.
Catie spun back to Elliot who had no readable expression on his face. The man folded his arms across his chest and continued to stare at her, obviously waiting.
“Okay,” Catie sighed. She looked over at Marty and Melvin. Both men gave the slightest of nods. She hated playing her cards all at once, but her hand had been forced. She looked back to Elliot. “I came here to make a deal with you. I can help you take back Montague Village.”
“You bitch!” Clarence snarled. His curse ended in a
wheeze and fit of coughing as he was obviously struck in the gut.
Elliot smiled and went back to his son. He stood beside the boy and put an arm around his shoulder. “Why would you want to do something like that?”
“Because, I think it is crappy that Dean and his group of cronies are treating people who are immune like crap. When you think about it, we are the best shot that humanity has of making it. If anybody should be treated like second class citizens, it is the people who are not immune to this.”
Catie could not believe the words coming out of her mouth. At one time, they would have been unthinkable. Yet, time and again she had run into people who thought that those who were immune should be killed. Granted, sometimes they had done things that might have warranted such treatment.
The reality was that she had reached a point in her life where she needed to choose a side. That had been something that Kevin never wanted to be forced into doing. He had some small hope that maybe people could come together and try to eradicate the undead. Catie had always felt that time had passed. Now it was time to make the best of what was left.
“How do you propose we do this?” Elliot asked. “And what makes you think that I would even want to do such a thing?”
“You want to live like this forever?”
The man looked around and then back to Catie. “What is wrong with how we live?”
“Tents? An abandoned school? Are you really asking that question?”
“Okay, you have my attention.”
Catie looked around once more and then back to Elliot. “Not like this. Me and you alone.”
The man seemed to consider the offer. Finally, he nodded. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you will excuse us. Caleb, take your sister to your tent. Everybody else, I want the rest of the prisoners taken to the holding cells.” Once the room was empty, Elliot went over and sat down. He motioned for Catie to join him.
