The moms had come up with three votes, too: stay, go, or do what the kids decide. Carol and her three friends were “gos.” Five others, naturally including Jenny, were “stays.” Three more had voted “kids.” We had thirteen definite stays, four definite gos, and eleven more (three moms and eight kids) to be determined.
After a second round, seven of the eleven were “gos” and four were “stays.” Tom laughed: “Who the hell knew we’d need a chart to figure it out?”
Stan, Marj, and Christina started to pull together weapons and packs for the eleven who had voted to leave. Each would get one firearm with at least 50 rounds, three days of food, and a gallon of water. Stan figured on 35 pounds for adults and kids 13 and over and 25 pounds for kids under 12.
Julie and Jake started setting up the confirmed “stays” with weapons and personal items. Kids under ten would be unarmed. Kids under 12 would be armed only after some serious training. Kids over 13 were issued .22 rifles. None of the moms knew how to shoot except Jenny and a woman named Marissa, who’d been a police officer. She was basically a traffic cop, but still a cop. They gave them Minis and 40 cals and the four of them started immediately training the others. Julie decided to scrounge some air guns to use for training purposes, since we could use them to train indoors and could shoot almost silently.
Tom and I conducted a meeting with the “go” crowd. I started: “We honestly don’t care if you stay or go. There’s great risk and uncertainty either way. We have decided to band together for safety. If you go, you’ll have to make the same decision. There’s plenty of food and weapons out there and you’ll probably be able to take care of yourselves if you go.”
It was already past noon, so we decided to spend the rest of that day in training and preparing. Stan and Marissa took charge of firearms training and started working with everyone on some basic firearms safety and operations. Tom and his sons ran a session on cleaning and maintaining firearms and made sure everyone had, and carried, a cleaning kit. They decided that everyone should carry a small backpack with emergency food, water, first aid, magazines, and the cleaning kit at all times.
Nancy, Li, Jenny and Christina were our medical team and gave everyone a quick exam. We were lucky, since we had a doctor, a nurse, a student nurse, and a dental technician. They also came up with a lengthy wish list of medical supplies.
Mike and Jake inventoried our weapons and ammunition. We were giving away a bunch of weapons and quite a bit of ammo so we wanted to know where we stood. They figured we were okay for awhile but that we should keep an eye out for explosives, Claymores, grenades, mounted machine guns, and shotguns. Mike wanted a scoped sniper rifle, too.
Julie and Jenny thought about how to improve the vehicles and distribute people to provide adequate defense for each. They drew up plans to mount a platform behind the bus to carry some extra gas and supplies and also for a shooting platform on the roof. They were pretty proud of it and Mike tried to claim it as his own turf, but in the end he agreed to take turns with Jake.
I sat around all day and simply thought about eradication. We had millions of zombies out there. I wanted them gone not only from my area but from surrounding areas from which they could wander into my area. My thoughts ran from explosives to fire to barriers to traps to poison. In the end, I decided to try a few approaches and see what worked best.
The next morning, we said goodbye to our nine wanderers. We gave them a couple of handheld cbs and a list of shortwave frequencies that we’d monitor as well as a portable shortwave radio. I hoped they’d be okay and keep in touch, but once we drove away my mind focused on trying to find Jim.
We never saw any of them again.
Chapter Sixteen: Jim
Brother Jim lived about thirty miles west of Jenny in a subdivision that he’d developed and built about ten years earlier. His background was in heavy equipment but he’d gotten into development and construction over the years. He was good at it, successful, and absolutely loaded. Jim owned a bunch of residential and commercial properties and every type of heavy equipment that I’d ever heard of, along with all of the adult “toys” you could ever hope for.
We picked our way west using our GPS. I was in the lead, followed by the van, the bus, the two SUVs, and Tom’s Hummer. We took our time and moved at about 20 miles per hour max. I whacked any zombies that I saw in the street.
Jenny had decided to drive the bus. She had Marissa and Jake to help defend and the bus was full of kids, who all wanted to hang out together. They were having a great time, actually. I guess life always goes on, no matter what.
Bill and Nancy took turns driving the van. They seemed like solid additions to the crew. I tried to stop thinking about my “crew” like a fantasy football team, but to get a plumber, a cop, and a doctor was a coup.
Nancy and Kate were becoming great friends; both were feminine and attractive, but game for anything and tough as nails. Kate always made me wonder why the hell men discriminated against women for so many years. She could do everything and do it well. She talked a lot, and worried too much, but she was my best friend and equal (at least).
Tom and Li drove in the Hummer. The other women were a bit standoffish from Li at first, because she was simply gorgeous. Tom kept a constant eye on her. Once she started to take care of everyone’s teeth, everyone relaxed a bit. She was not the least bit flirtatious and was a serious person and very helpful. She was very popular and we all started to be very protective of her. Tom lightened up a bit.
Since Li was of Asian descent, I asked her (to Kate’s absolute horror) if she know karate or judo and, instead of being insulted, she told me that she had studied “Kung Jung Mu Sul” for years. I asked her if she would demonstrate it to us. A very humbling event. She chose me as her “victim” and beat the shit out of me, albeit gently and politely, for ten minutes or so, while I gasped for air. It seemed to include elements of wrestling, judo, boxing, and karate. There was no need to worry about Li! If she didn’t want to be taken advantage of, and she didn’t, it was not going to happen.
Li’s demonstration triggered Christina’s competitive instincts. She had worked out for years as a competitive kick boxer. Christina was about five seven, one forty, and Li was about five two, one ten. We let them go at it, briefly, and Li definitely had the upper hand, although Christina was fierce and formidable. We stopped it before it got too nasty. Tom whispered to me that Li could take both George and Sumner on at the same time and win; this was no surprise to him.
Li became our martial arts instructor with Christina as her assistant. I was never very good at it, but the kids loved it and became very dangerous little people. Li focused them on quick escapes, since our primary opponent was zombies. We just wanted to get far enough away from them to shoot them in the head.
It took three or four hours to approach Jim’s house. I was not surprised to find that his neighborhood was completely barricaded with a wide and deep trench, barbed wire, and a huge earthen mound. There were guard towers or shooting positions every 100 feet or so, although most seemed empty. I beeped the horn a few times and sat and waited. Clearly, they were checking us out before they decided to speak with us. I knew they could see all of our vehicles and that we had women and children with us. I figured that would let them know we weren’t zombies or bad guys.
I ran through all of the channels on the CB to see if I could raise anyone. No answer. A second later, Mike radioed and said that he saw some movement and that we were being flanked by some guys who were sneaking through the woods on either side of us. I told everyone to be on alert and ready to run or fight. The whole setup seemed right somehow and I knew they were Jim’s guys.
I got out of the truck and walked unarmed up to the edge of the trench, yelling “Tell Jim his brother Jack is here to kick his ass.” Jenny came up, too. “And his little sister, too.”
A few minutes later Jim called out: “Took you long enough, asshole.”
“Yeah, I totally forgot about you, dipshit. Th
en I remembered what a fuck up you are and came to save you.” He laid a plank over the trench, ran over, and the family reunion of all times started.
The way in was around back; there was a path wide enough to drive behind a wall of trees that Jim’s guys moved out of the way and we drove right in and parked next to Jim’s house. He used some steel plates as a bridge over the trench; they could be removed in an attack.
Jim, his wife Daphne and his kids, and about thirty or forty others were barricaded inside the neighborhood. He had fresh running water, plenty of supplies, and lots of weapons. He had looted a local National Guard armory early on. He had a huge generator and a couple of tankers of gas and the entire place had electricity and running water. He proudly pointed out that the entire berm was mined and rimmed with Claymores and machine gun nests. His guys were even working on an M113 armored personnel carrier that they’d “found.” It wasn’t running yet, but they’d put a new motor in it and were working on the tracks.
It was a great setup. All of the houses were occupied, most with families but a few with groups of single guys, mostly Jim’s work crews. It immediately seemed a bit tight but I figured we’d see what happened.
Jim assigned six of his guys to watch the “berm,” which was what they called their wall. The rest immediately started preparations for a bonfire and cookout that night. Steak, burgers, dogs, music, kegs of beer. It was just like old times and we had a great time, swapping war stories and telling lies as always.
It was sad as well. I explained what happened to Mom and Dad and we all wept a bit at that. Jenny told us about her experience and there was a brief moment of discomfort while we put together what had, or might have happened, to her and the kids. As I had, Jim decided that he’d wait for Jenny to get into it if she wanted. Someone changed the subject, and a few seconds later we were howling about some funny story or another. I never really found out what happened to Jenny and the kids back at their place.
Jim was impressed at our stories about the horde. They’d noticed a huge migration at that time, but it was headed east, towards us. They hadn’t faced a horde yet. I told him that even his excellent preparations might not be enough and that, if he stayed, he’d need to add to his defenses and to get out and begin to eradicate zombies in surrounding areas. He agreed and told us that he’d been drawing them in and picking them off.
Jim had already started an eradication program. Two crews would go out. One would ring a bell to draw zombies, and then the second group would make noise to draw them along. The teams leapfrogged one another until the zombies had been loaded into what Jim called the “Chute,” a two lane section of highway lined with Jersey barriers. Once enough zombies were in the Chute, Jim’s guys would send a huge Cat D-9 bulldozer in from each end. The D-9s were barricaded and each carried four shooters to nail any escapees. The exercise would end when the two D-9s were touching. He figured they netted 500 zombies per “Chute Run.” They used big dump trucks and loaders to clean up the Chute. Bodies were dumped in the old landfill and burned. I thought that was a pretty good system except that Jim was so proud of himself I almost had to whack him in the mouth.
“We have another thing we do, too. Go get the kids and I’ll show you.”
I called them over and Jim brought us up into the “Crow’s Nest,” which was a deck built between four telephone poles high above the top of the berm. We looked out and couldn’t see or hear anything.
“Nice platform,” I told him. “So what?”
“Mike, open that chest over there.”
Mike did, and whistled under his breach. “Sniper rifles with night vision scopes. Cool! Is that an M24? What caliber--.338 Lapua?”
Jim smiled. “Right on both, Mike. Each night, we station two men up here and don’t let them down until they have twenty confirmed kills.”
Mike was a huge sniper fan and spent hours watching sniper videos on YouTube and read as many books about snipers as he could. “What’s the longest shot you’ve made?
Jim loved it. “I’m the champ with the M24. I got one at 500 yards. It’s tough to find a longer shot around here. But my guy Arthur hit one from over 1000 yards with the M107 down on the highway. We have that one set up on the other side.”
“We’ve got one of those!” yelped Mike.
“Well, we’ll train you up on ours, then”
Mike looked through the scope. “Where are they?”
Jim laughed. “Well, we have about a dozen stations out there that constantly make noise and attract the Zs in. We wait until night to pick them off. Take a look at eleven o’clock.”
Mike did, and in a moment we saw him sighting in. “I see a few, but they seem to be gathered around a cage with a guy in it. Should we go out and get him?”
Jim looked stern. “You know the guys who kidnapped Aunt Jenny? That’s what we do to those types around here.”
“Dude, that is pretty hardcore. What did he do?”
“He raped a twelve year old and left her for a pack of zombies.”
“Jesus Christ, I guess he deserves to be down there. How long has he been in that cage?”
“Michael, watch your language,” snapped Kate.
Jim chuckled but ignored her. “Three days. He’s helped us get three dozen zombies. We use boom boxes and stuff when we don’t have live bait, but the live stuff works better.”
“Uncle Jim, can I take a few shots?”
“Sure, Mike. Grab a clip from the box and I’ll show you how it works.”
Jim told Mike how to load the rifle with a clip, how to chamber a round, and how to aim using the night vision scope. “These Zs are 250 yards away, and we’ve sighted this scope in for that range. It will hit where you aim. Remember to squeeze the trigger, don’t pull it.”
None of us could see what was happening, so we just listened to the exchange between Jim and Mike.
“They won’t run, so don’t lead them.”
“Do they come toward the sound?”
“No, we’re too far away. They might reorient to the sound, but the live bait will overwhelm other stimuli and they’ll stay with it.”
Jim had pulled out a night vision scope and was scoping the trap.
Mike squeezed the trigger.
“Just a bit low, buddy. You got him in the chest. Finish him. Nice shot. Now get the rest.”
Mike took another three shots, finishing his first Z and bagging two more, and let Bobbie have a shot, then Sean. They all did great. They were psyched. I think it gave them a feeling of safety and control. I could tell that we would have to set our .50 up ASAP or we’d never hear the end of it.
We never spent a lot of time philosophizing about the zombies but we did that night. I guess we treated them like vermin or maybe hostile aliens from another planet. It was just something you knew when you saw them. They were not people, they were not who they used to be, and there was no chance to rehabilitate them or co-exist with them. It could jar you a bit when you recognized one but that was it. Jim had ended his old football coach and I’d ended my mechanic.
Kate, of course, being a woman, had to process it. “How can we let the kids kill them?”
“We do that, Kate, so the zombies don’t eat them,” chucked Jim.
“I know that, you tool, but what about the impact on the kids?"
"They'll just have to deal with it. That's they way it is now."
That was it for the night, and we went to bed.
Kate and I spent some time talking that night before sleep.
“Katie, what do you think about this setup?”
“He’s done a great job. I don’t think he’ll come with us, though.”
It was funny. Kate and I were always on the same page. Even though we’d just found a safe and welcoming refuge neither of us wanted to stay.
“Too tight around here, huh?”
“Yes. Living inside the wall is just a bad feel. I want more space. Also, I think it’s going to be a long time until the world comes back and we’re going t
o need to farm and ranch to survive.”
“I bet we lose of few of our folks to old Jim, though. They’ll want to stay right here.”
“You are right, babe. But I’m going to try to recruit a couple of Jim’s guys to come with us. We could use a couple more guys since we’re kind of loaded with females right now. Maybe we trade some women and kids for a couple of his guys?”
“This isn’t Fantasy Football, you ass! You can’t trade them away!”
“But we can set it up. Just watch the negotiations begin.”
“What about Jenny?”
“I don’t know. She’s been through a lot, and I bet this place is appealing to her. I won’t try to influence her either way. If she stays here, they’ll get a great nurse and Jim will be happy. If she comes with us, I’ll be delighted. Let’s see what happens.”
“Can we at least stay for a few days?”
“Sure, Babe. I definitely want to stay for a bit.”
We went to sleep.
The next day, everyone slept in, since Jim’s guys were standing guard. It was a nice, safe feeling. We got up around 8 and went and had breakfast with Jim.
He cut right to it. “Are you guys staying? We’ll set you up in a nice spot if you do.”
“I’m not. I want more space. Can you take some of my people if they’d like to stay?”
“Absolutely. I think a few romances sprang up last night.”
We left it at that for the time being. Jim offered to hold a demonstration of the Chute and Stan, Jake, Mike and I decided to tag along. The others would stay and relax for a bit.
The operation started off smoothly. Twelve of us went out in two National Guard Hummers armed with .30 cal machine guns.
Jim’s second in command was Arthur, who had been with Jim for fifteen years as a key employee. That day, Arthur and his son Artie rang the bells. We dropped Artie off at the first bell and Arthur at the second bell. Each had a mountain bike to ride from bell to bell. We had an arranged spot for them to meet us at after the operation.
Zombie Dawn Page 11
