The Aftermath Trilogy (Book 3): The Aftermath [Ground Zero]

by Daniel Smith

  Dan placed his foot on the man’s forehead and pulled the dart tipped arrow out then wiped it on the man’s pants before putting it away. He looked up from the man to see Manny watching him.

  “Do you know him,” Manny asked slightly concerned.

  “No,” Dan said slightly puzzled at his question. Manny nodded.

  “Let’s check out the barn and surrounding area,” he said moving for the open door of the barn.

  The spent over an hour walking around the farm exploring the barn, looking at the destroyed livestock fences and the chickens running wild around the overgrown fields of crops. When they met, back up Manny saw the look of disappointment on Dan’s face.

  “Someone cancel Christmas,” he asked with a smile. Dan looked up confused.

  “It's not December,” he said numbly. Manny shook his head.

  “Listen when you find yourself in a position that you can find no humor in, your screwed,” Manny said calmly. Before Dan could reply he continued.

  “Look, I know you wanted to find family here. Not this,” he said sweeping his hand over the farm. Manny smiled at the dark look Dan gave him. “But the only body we found here was him,” Manny said pointing at the man on the ground.

  “And you said he was not family. They might have left for a safe area or forced to leave. But if they are alive they will come back to their home,” Manny stated.

  “I will never go back home,” He stated flatly. Manny smiled at him, which irritated Dan.

  “This place would make a good base. Set off the main road. Close to several towns, we can salvage some of the crops for food and with the wild chickens and other game we have a good food supply and water from the well,” Manny stated calmly. Dan looked blankly at him.

  “We clean out the barn and make it our base. If or when your family comes back we are here waiting for them,” Manny stated looking at Dan.

  Dan for his part stood there blankly staring at Manny for several seconds or was it minutes.

  “Alright,” was all he managed.

  They spent the rest of the day cleaning out the barn to fit the van in and disposing of the dead body. The sun was just coming up as Manny climb the ladder and saw Dan sitting by the open doors on the second floor of the barn used for hay deliveries.

  “You did not wake me for my watch,” he said calmly as he approached Dan.

  “Could not sleep,” he simply answered. Remembering spending most of the night looking at the full moon that was hanging in the night sky leaving an unreal amount of light and shadow playing about the farm.

  Him sitting on the second floor of the barn looking out the open door. “Was this his home,” he wondered. “After everything his parents went through. After everything he went through,” he thought. Unsure on how he felt where was his home anymore. His home in Arizona with his parents seemed like a dream now. He sat trying to remember his parents but for some reason he could not place how long ago they had died. Tensing at a noise bringing him out of his thoughts he looked around seeing nothing. He forced himself to relax remembering what Manny had told him earlier. This place had food, water and shelter and if his family did come back, he would be here. With his parents dead, it was just him. So did it matter where he stayed or call home.

  “Well thanks, After breakfast we will find some cache sites for our supplies. Check the house for anything useful and finish setting up the barn and then we’ll see about planning a trip into town,” Manny said moving off to the van.

  Dan nodded his head getting up to follow Manny it sounded fine to him. He did not realize would take just over a week. The burgundy minivan made good time the short distance down highway sixty-one into town. They could see standing pools of rainwater in the sunken center of the divided medium. Manny turned the van into what looked like a break in the trees and scrub brush onto the road that lead into town. The short distance on the road to the four-way intersection with stop signs. Near one stop sign sat a wrecked car doors wide open . Crossing Main Street Dan looked at the overgrown grass fields separating the road from the tree line.

  “So green,” he thought remembering the brown tones that dominated the Phoenix landscape.

  They continued their tour of the town by passing several abandon cars parked on the dirty shoulder . Some on the street moving at a slow speed as they approached some large buildings. Stopping the van in the middle of the street looking at a single story building with broken windows. Thick trees and brush growing to the other side of the road. Studying it, they drove on passing some torn down chain-link fence that once surrounded premanufactured homes. As they came to an intersection with the choice of going straight or turning left ahead of them was the two-lane road going off into the trees. Left was an open area with several buildings. Manny decided on turning left as they passed several building that were for industry and manufacturing of some kind. They followed the road straight until it ended into a cleared out dirt area with cut trees and equipment sitting around it. Manny just shrugged his shoulders before turning the van around to backtrack to the side road that took them back to Main Street. Here he made a right turn and followed main street as it dipped and rose through several small depressions.

  They passed a community multipurpose center next to a small pond before coming to a Hospital made of red brick with a metal roof. Manny slowed then stopped.

  “We will come back to that,” he told Dan before driving off.

  Further down the road they found several small building one being a gas station with small convenient store several cars were abandon at the pumps a half fallen sign saying no gas was still visible. A few tattered and dirty figures started to shamble towards the van.

  “Must be a full-service station,” Manny said amused.

  Dan looked at him blankly and when Manny noticed, his looked before driving off added.

  “Before your time.”

  Continuing down Main Street past small homes and business spaced out between trees and overgrown grass fields. Getting into an area where homes and businesses where built on small mounds and hills making the area uneven. Continuing their drive coming into an area of several gas stations and some small strip malls with a market and drugstore. Flower shop one long white building had a raised sidewalk with an awning covering it. Past a couple of large, two story red brick buildings with white trim that had an official look to them. Then onto a few more small businesses before entering a residential area.

  “Why the tour are we stopping,” Dan asked as he turned to face Manny.

  For Manny's part, he maneuvered the slow moving van around a tree with a car wrapped halfway around it and continued driving.

  “Eventually, I want an idea of what’s here and who might be here before we start walking,” He said calmly avoiding a stumbling figure holding out the stump of an arm at them.

  They made a slow arcing right turn onto the 553 from Harriston road following it past homes set behind trees with overgrown yards. The medium sized dog with black and tan fur with white legs came running at the van barking startling them both. Manny stopped the van causing the dog to run off towards the brush around a home. The homes were becoming slightly larger and nicer as they drove with the distance between them growing separated by once kept yards. Manny made a sharp U-turn onto Lehmann Avenue passing several single and doublewide trailers. Along the road was a high-end trailer park before going into a wide slightly upward angle turn after a few more turns they found them self’s back onto the 553. They passed another gas station with no cars in it as they approached the 61 highway. Stopping to look at a dollar store a car crashed through the wall. To the right on the 61 leading to the farm to the left a pile of wrecked cars mixed with several big rigs and several cars. Manny went down the sixty-one before turning back into town. They way here was higher in elevation then the way out. The road lined with trees some in thick patches some thinning allowing one to see through then to look on empty fields. Turning onto a small road ignoring the sign that told them they were going the
wrong way. Past a road leading up a small grassy incline set between trees to a red brick church with a large walled off yard around it. He looked at the windows boarded up a crude platform sat on the second floor near the church steeple. Manny stopped the van and turned to Dan.

  “First place we go for is food then gas. Then the hospital depending on how fast they left there might be some good medical supplies.”

  Putting the van into gear starting driving back down the road towards the farm. A little over a month past living at the farm. The supermarket yielding some food. The surrounding homes held more useful items and weapons. Manny found some rubber hose and a hand pump. Allowing them to siphon gas out of the gas stations in town. They had finished loading the last of the large red gas containers into the van.

  “We have 200 gallons of gas,” Dan said as he lifted the last container into the back of the van before closing the back door of the van.

  “It will keep the van going for a while,” Manny trying to smile cheerfully breaking into a coughing fit climbing into the van.

  Dan looked at him concerned it had started a couple of days ago and was getting worse. Manny saw him looking at him.

  “Just a cold I will be fine,” he said wiping sweat from his forehead as he started the van.

  After a few turns, the van crossed Main Street and followed it until it met the 61 highway. Dense tree and brush sat along one side of the small road with a gas station and convenient store. Sitting on the other side of the road separated by an overgrown grassy area with the sixty-one visible straight ahead. Several cars and trucks sat their blocking the road parked in the gas station. Dan stared at the assortment of cars and trucks all modified with metal plates with slits cut over the windows. Metal spikes welded onto the bumper. Some bumpers reinforced for ramming. Sharpen spikes, turrets for guns and other weapons cut into the roofs. Most of the cars and trucks looked like they came from a Science fiction movie Dan had seen when he was younger. Several people standing around talking or working on the cars and trucks all of them stopping seeing the van.

  Manny pulled the van as far as he could onto the dirt shoulder near the drainage ditch and slightly turned the van to make for a sharp U-turn. Before he stopped the van and studied the group. The people had not moved so Manny turned to Dan.

  “Stay sharp I want to talk to them,” Manny said calmly.

  Manny opened the door and stepped out leaving the rifle in the car. Dan for some reason felt that he should slip into the driver seat even though he had only driven in driving video games he had played at one time and once in racing go-carts. He watched as he listened to the engine idle as Manny walked up and started talking to the group. He felt the tension rise in the pit of his stomach. Something felt wrong to Dan by the way Manny started backing up slowly as he spoke. The people started spreading out slowly from the strange cars in a widening semi-circle matching Manny backing up. Feeling panic at seeing this he grabbed the gearshift lever trying to throw the van into gear. Looking around franticly when the lever failed to move suddenly he remembered that he had to push the brake down on the van.

  Relief washing over him as he watched as it dropped into gear just in time as Manny turn running towards the van. The half circle of people chasing him as Dan stepped on the gas causing the van to shoot forward. Turning the van the way they came stopping on the opposite dirt shoulder. Manny wasted no time jerking open the passenger door and jumping in before he could say anything Dan had stomped onto the gas pedal jerking as the van shot forward. Several of the running people had pulled guns starting to fire at the van a rear side window shattering on the passenger side as several more of the people jumped at the speeding van.

  He looked around franticly as the van sped forward and Manny grabbed his rifle and faced the rear window.

  “Keep going,” Manny told him as he pulled the rifle up and sighted through the scope.

  Houses and trees flashed by as the approached Main street and started passing the supermarket when he jerked the wheel and made the van jerk right as a loud boom made his ear’s ring. Following the sound of shattering glass.

  “Hold the van still,” Manny, yelled as a coughing fit overtook him as he worked the bolt-action rifle ejecting the spent shell and chambering a fresh one.

  Dan kept driving straight as Manny fired the rifle again. Dan slammed on the brakes trying to make a sharp left turn as he maneuvered in to a lazy S shaped road passing several homes. As Dan jerked, the wheel of the van turning left again onto the paved road. The van sped forward again on the straight road as Manny fired again as he jerked to one side. When Dan took a left turn too fast as the road ended in front of a large red brick building with white stonework. The van bouncing off a sports utility vehicle parked along the curb in a metal crunching crash. The impact sending the van swerving across the street. Bouncing off another car throwing the two of them around inside. The van tearing into the driveway of a large white building with fading paint exposing red brick underneath to come crashing to a stop into a row of cars. Dan sat staring at the deflated air bag as he tried to pull himself together. Manny recovering faster regaining his rifle as he pointed it out the shattered rear window. A few seconds passed before a large red four-wheel drive truck with steel plates bolted over the side windows roared by. Dan reached up to wipe his forehead and came away with a bloody hand.

  Dan sat on the dirty hood of a black Mercedes-Benz his feet idly moving back and forth kicking the flat tires every so often. Reaching up to touch the white gauze pad on his forehead. Only to wince in pain pulling his hand away quickly.

  He turn his head in all directions looking for nothing in particular but everything in general before turning back to look at Manny who had just finished coughing into a cloth. He was standing next to the burgundy minivan one side raised up slightly off the ground by a car jack. Manny finished wiping his grease-stained hands on a dirty rag before sitting down on the bent and crumpled bumper of another car. Dan knew a few of the words he was mumbling in Spanish under his breath as he curse the car which surprised him. Manny almost never curse and seldom seemed agitated.

  “Well there's nothing more I can do it is beyond repair,” Manny said sighing.

  “I’m sorry,” Dan said looking down at the ground sounding guilty.

  “Not your fault, you got us away from them,” Manny said as the calm tones he spoke in started coming back as he wiped sweat from his head.

  “Just Murphy’s Law after finding that gasoline,” Manny sighed as if an in an afterthought.

  “Now what,” he asked pausing looking at Manny while a cool day he was sweating a lot. Manny looked up at him a dry smile forming on his lips.

  “Now we walk,” he stated.

  They were moving up towards the sixty-one along one side of the roadway they had fled on moving through overgrown yards near homes hugging the tree line. Manny was in front the rifle held in his hands, Dan was a few feet behind with an arrow notched to the bow. Their progress slow as Manny started coughing every so often. He did his best to keep it quite however Dan started worrying. They had just passed over a torn up single lane pathway and were in a strand of trees overlooking a barren field at the back of the gas station seeing no cars. The sky was starting to darken as they studied the gas station and highway.

  “Do we pick a house to stay in,” Dan asked looking at the now dark sky.

  “No, we stay here tonight,” Manny, said putting down his pack wiping his forehead again a large dark wet stain was visible on his shirt.

  “Out here in the open,” Dan said sounding slightly panicked. Manny smiled at the look on Dan’s face.

  “I did it plenty of time when I was in the military,” he said calmly.

  “Yes but their where no dead trying to kill us,” Dan retorted. Manny shook his head slightly as he pulled a ball of string from his pack.

  “No dead, just some radicals that wanted to kill us,” Manny said moving over to a tree and tying an end of the string to it.

  “N
ow watch and learn,” Manny said as he showed him how to tie the string to circle their makeshift camp at various heights before tying a bell to it. Manny tugged on the string to hear the bell ring.

  “We hear that, we know we have company. The reason we stay out here if those people are looking for us they will search homes,” Manny stated.

  “What happen, why did they come after us,” Dan asked calmly as he pulled a package of food from his pack but stopped as he looked at the odd tired look on Manny’s face.

  “They started out friendly enough,” Manny choke out.

  “But they were ghouls,” he stopped. Dan looked puzzled.

  “Ghouls,” he asked Manny looked up at him.

  “Yes, fabled creatures that live in graveyards and ate the dead,” Manny continued.

  “Like I said it started out well, but then I saw,” he paused as if remembering before he continued.

  “One of them took a bite out of a piece of meat,” Manny finished.

  “So,” Dan started but Manny cut him off.

  “It was a human hand,” he stated.

  Dan dropped the food back into the pack. Spending his time on watch and some of the time he should be sleeping wide-awake trying not to think about what Manny had said and listing to him cough in the night. Manny was getting sick this thought and everything in general made his brain unable to shut down to sleep. The next morning he was tire as he and Manny moved passed the empty gas station towards the highway. Manny turned to look at several car and big rig trucks that had wrecked up the road from the farm.