Zombie Road: The Second Omnibus | Books 4-6 | Jessie+Scarlet

by Simpson, David A.

  Jimmy held the door open with an extended leg and they looked down the stairwell into pitch blackness and the distant, deep hum of some huge machine.

  “Nope.” Tony said. “No way.”

  “We can prop the door.” Jimmy said. “It’ll give us enough light, maybe it only goes down one or two more stories.”

  “What if somebody comes down the stairs?” Tony asked “They’ll know we’re down there.”

  “I know.” Jimmy said. “We should get some flashlights and come back tomorrow. That’d be the smart thing to do.”

  “Yeah, but what if it’s nothing?” Tony asked. “You go down and check it out, I’ll hold the door for light. If anyone comes, I’ll close it. When they’re gone, I’ll open it back up so just be still if it goes dark.”

  “Okay.” Jimmy agreed, eager to see what was below.

  He went down two flights but there was no door. Just more stairs leading into the blackness with the low thrumming getting louder with every step. When he leaned over the railing, he couldn’t see the bottom. It was hidden in shadows. He continued down and two sets of stairs later, there was still no door but he could feel the noise in his bones. It was like sitting in front of the big speaker at Up Jumped the Devil but without all the noise, just the feeling of the heavy thumping bass except is was constant. He could barely see his hand in front of his face and the hand rails were heavy with dust. Nobody had walked these stairs in a long time. He looked up and the light was dim and far away. No way he was going any farther. Not when there could be zombies or aliens or who knew what down below. He felt something on his hand and yelped. He jerked it off the rail and pounded back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Tony was wide eyed and holding the door for him, scared but not running away. Jimmy barreled through, shut it behind him and leaned against it, breathing hard. He’d just had the daylights scared out of him.

  “What? What was it?” Tony asked, his own heart thumping. “Was it zombies?”

  Jimmy looked at his hand, at the wispy bit of cobweb still hanging from it and laughed through his ebbing panic.

  “That’s it?” Tony asked “You got scared of a spiderweb?”

  “I can open the door back up.” Jimmy said, a little miffed. “You want to go down there? In the dark?”

  Tony shook his head.

  “No way.” he said, smiling. “Dude, I was scared just looking down there. Let’s get out of here, I’m all adventured out for the night.”

  They started back up the stairs, hearts pounding, the nearly pee-your-pants scare quickly fading away as they hurried back to their room.

  Lying in bed, still excited and unable to sleep, they started making plans for going back tomorrow night, this time with the proper equipment.

  96

  The Tower

  It had been a good day. They’d both been a little anxious, they’d never acted like teachers before and grownups always seemed to have that look when you tried to tell them something. They usually acted like they were indulging you, letting you talk but really just pretending to listen. What did a little kid know?

  This time it had been different. Captain Macon had introduced them as combatants in two of the deadliest zombie battles that had survivors, ones they’d all heard about on the radio. He told his men how they’d arranged and executed critical resupply missions without which Lakota would have fallen to the undead hordes. He told the story of their quick-thinking initiative with the Bradley that saved an entire bus load of refugees who were being overrun and then their defense of Tombstone.

  “These two young men before you,” Captain Macon said and indicated them as they stood and shuffled their feet. “Mr. James Jones and Mr. Antonio Gonzalez will be your instructors.”

  The boys were embarrassed by the attention and stared at the floor. They didn’t look like the heroes the Captain was describing. Jimmy was skinny as a rail, his afro was getting bushy again and if his dark skin could show him blushing, he’d be glowing red. He was in his old clothes that had been washed too many times and Tony had a sauce from breakfast staining the front of his shirt.

  “You may be inclined to think that children are not qualified to teach you anything, but do not let looks deceive you. They have hundreds of confirmed kills between them. Hundreds, gentlemen. They have proven themselves to be cool under pressure and deadly in battle. They can teach us a lot more than how to operate the Bradley. They have met the enemy face to face and know how he moves, how he attacks and how to kill him. Listen to them, study the manuals and let’s get up to speed as quickly as possible.”

  The rest of the day had gone great, the grownups actually listened when they told them which parts of the manual could be ignored, the best way to turn in the dirt so you don’t throw a track and the trick to reloading that was quick and easy. By dinner time, they had all ten men driving and loading ammo like old pro’s. Everyone understood the targeting system and tomorrow they were going to shoot some practice rounds.

  They had swiped some flashlights from the Bradley and were anxious to get to the bottom of the mystery stairs. Even going roller skating to kill time until the corridors were clear was a little boring. They kept speculating and wondering about the humming noise and the obvious difference in the age of the lower levels.

  “It’s got to be top secret stuff.” Tony insisted “I bet it’s an old military base and this whole tower is just a cover.”

  Jimmy wanted to believe it was something as cool as that but it was probably just some kind of generator or something. It didn’t matter, though. The fun was in the journey. The secret knowledge that they found out about something they weren’t supposed to know about. No matter what it was, they’d have a good story to tell the others in the gang.

  They waited until almost eleven o’clock before they peeked out of their dorm room and the hallways were finally empty. They inventoried their supplies one last time then spread them out in various pockets. They were quick this time, they knew where they were going and since they knew what kind of locks they were up against, Jimmy had fashioned a special card cut to grab the door latches. It was almost as fast as using a key. Within minutes, they were standing in the unused mystery stairwell.

  “Ready?” Jimmy smiled in nervous excitement, his teeth glowing in the dim light cast by the red-lensed flashlights.

  “Ready!” Tony answered and they made their way down. LL1 was the only markings in the whole stairwell although by their count, they went down ten flights which should mean five stories. The humming bass sound that was more felt than heard was constant and everything seemed like it had just the slightest tremor to it this deep in the ground. The stairs ended abruptly at a door that was solid, heavy and steel. There was a yellowish light shining under the bottom but it wasn’t very bright. The boys looked at each other in the dim red glow of the flashlights and nodded, drawing courage from each other. This was it. They were going to find out if it was secret ancient aliens or military experiments or maybe some scientists creating real life light sabers.

  Jimmy slowly pushed open the door and they peeked through the crack. The light was low, like a night light, but it was plenty to see by. The hum didn’t get any louder when they stepped out into to massive room but it felt more intense. The ceiling was lost in the gloom and couldn’t be seen but with the echoey feel of the place, they knew it was immense. In one direction, the cavernous basement disappeared in the distance, in the other there was a tunnel with a pipe some six feet tall going into the wall.

  Jimmy pulled the piece of rag from one of his pockets and firmly crammed it into the latch hole so they wouldn’t get locked out. You never knew when you might need a hasty retreat. He eased the door closed behind them and they took in their surroundings. The light pulsed with the thrumming and the sound felt like it was coming from a giant pipe that ran along the far wall and disappeared into the tunnel.

  “We came all this way to look at the sewer pipe?” Tony asked, a little underwhelmed that their big discovery was just
a big tube.

  “It’s gotta be more than that.” Jimmy said. “I’ve been in the basement of the Saint Sophia’s, we used to sneak cigarettes from the janitor down there, and it didn’t look anything like this.”

  “Maybe it’s the geothermal thing.” Tony said, still a little underwhelmed.

  They wandered down the tunnel a little way, being careful and stealthy at first, but it never changed and it was pretty obvious no one was around. The tunnel just kept going and going, the big steel pipes fastened together every twenty feet with nuts and bolts the size of their fists.

  “Must be something high pressure.” Tony said, placing his hand on it and feeling the faint tremor. “I bet it’s natural gas or something that heats this place.”

  Jimmy sighed. Tony was probably right. His dad had been one of those guys that fixed furnaces and air conditioners and stuff and he’d been learning how to work on them, too.

  “It goes on forever.” Jimmy said. “Let’s check out the big room, there’s nothing down here.”

  They made it back to the basement in a few minutes. It was difficult to talk over the dull noise and they didn’t want to shout. It wasn’t that it was loud, when they actually listened and tried to describe it, it was hard to hear. It was more of a feeling, something in the air that seemed to make it thick where sound just didn’t carry. Like they were hearing through cotton or something. The tube seemed to be the only thing in the basement. They followed it along and once they were in the wide-open area there was a heat haze, a shimmering in the air but it wasn’t hot. The pipe was a little warm to the touch but somehow it felt kind of chilly. Far ahead, they saw lights and structures, small sheds and things. They slowed their pace but kept going, being more careful. They could hear voices as they moved closer but they were indistinct and muddled. They kept fading in and out, almost warbling. They sounded like echoes of voices more than actual people talking.

  The boys slipped up next to a two-story building that the pipe went through and edged around it, looking for a window they could peek in. It had a shaft coming out of its roof running straight up into the darkness and Jimmy nudged Tony to point it out.

  “I betcha that’s the elevator.” he said then instantly clamped a hand over his mouth. It sounded like he had shouted the last few words because the underlaying thick, heavy, bass drone had suddenly stopped. Instantly. Thick, cottony air and a vibration you could feel in your bones one second, nothing the next.

  Both boys’ eyes got big and they froze in place. Had someone seen them? Heard them? After a few heavy heart thumps and no one shouted at them they kept going. Bright, white light was spilling from a round window that looked like it came off a ship. They rose up slowly to peer through the super thick glass and saw a door slide open on the pipe.

  “Definitely not gas or sewer then.” Tony whispered and they watched as a man in old fashioned safari clothes like they’d seen in a Tarzan movie came out with an animal in his arms. It looked sorta like a dog but had funny zebra stripes.

  “They have a zoo down here?” Jimmy wondered

  “Ewww.” Tony said as they quickly dropped back down when a man turned towards them. “What if they eat them. What if that’s their meat? Poor doggie.”

  “Naw, that’s gross. It’s probably just a secret way out of here.” Jimmy said quietly. “You heard how the guys were talking about that CEO dude that runs this place. They didn’t seem to like him very much. This might be his escape route if they ever get overrun. I betcha that elevator goes all the way to his penthouse.”

  They could hear sounds from inside the building and it suddenly occurred to them that maybe the people inside could hear them. Tony pointed back towards the unused door that hid the staircase and Jimmy nodded enthusiastically. It was time to go, the big adventure had been fun but they hadn’t discovered anything that was worth bragging about. Of course, when they retold the tale to the rest of the gang, they’d spice it up a little, make it more interesting.

  No one inside the building noticed them as they snuck away, they were all too busy trying to save a life.

  97

  Gunny

  They were in the camp, if you could call it that. The Raiders had killed all the undead in the town, stacked the bodies in empty parking lots and had taken over the various buildings. The husks were so dried out, they barely stank. Casey had failed twice at taking the cliff top with all it’s greenery, windmills, electricity and fresh water pumped up from deep underground and was reportedly in a foul mood.

  Personally, Gunny thought this area was too hot and dry to settle in. There were forests nearby but there was only one water supply. He was a firm believer that two is one and one is none. If anything happened to the pumping system, the whole place would shrivel up and die in a matter of weeks. Of course, being in the desert was a definite advantage when it came to the zombies. The undead that were out in the elements were withered husks and just about harmless. Probably why Casey chose it, the coward was deathly afraid of them and the cliff top was pretty much zombie proof. Even if a million of them stumbled across it, with only one road up it would be easy to defend.

  The various factions and tribes all camped together and once they got settled, Gunny and Griz were formally asked to join the Human Hunters. They had taken over a repair shop, a big five bay garage with offices and a few outbuildings and painted their mark on the door. Four vertical red lines. That evening around the campfire, there was talk of jumping them into the tribe, making them go through the same hazing ritual the rest of the members had. Giving them a beating before they were allowed to paint their faces with the four blood stipes but Gunny dropped his hand to his gun.

  “We done been through it with the Black Moon Brotherhood.” he growled. “We ain’t doing it again. We’ve raided all the way up to the Canadian border and killed thousands of zombies. We’ve pillaged, plundered and burnt a dozen strongholds. We ain’t recruits. You need us, we don’t need you and by rights, I’m War chief since ours is dead.”

  Silence hung in the air and Griz clicked the safety off his M4. It was loud and the Human Hunters knew the two new guys weren’t playing. There would be a slaughter if they pushed the issue so the man with the paint can stepped forward.

  “Welcome to the tribe.” he said and opened the lid so they could mark their faces.

  98

  Jessie + Scarlet

  Jessie pulled up to the gate at the Anselmo outpost the next morning hungry and looking forward to a breakfast plate from Fubar’s. He had to rev the engine to wake up the guard and recognized the old man from the last time he was here.

  “Hey there, Jessie.” he said as he came through the man door, rubbing his eyes. “Good to see you. I think ol’ Harry is gonna want to kiss you on the lips.”

  Scarlet arched her eyebrows at him. “You have boyfriend? Why you not tell me this?”

  “What? No.” Jessie answered “Why’s he so happy Mr. Hainey?”

  “Oops. Excuse me Miss.” he said and doffed his hat when he got close enough to see her in the car.

  He leaned over and squinted in. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

  “Why does Harry want to kiss my Jessie?” Scarlet asked him and the old man got flustered.

  “Well, not really.” he said. “He’s just real happy with the girls. Hell, the whole town is. Pardon my language, Miss, and they seem to like it here, too.”

  It took Mr. Hainey a few minutes to explain, he was still trying to wake up. They didn’t have a whole lot of people in town to pull security duties and the guard usually made the rounds once in a while then kicked back at the gate and nodded off.

  “All those foreign girls from the ship.” he finally clarified. A whole busload of ‘em turned up at the Hutterites. Too many for all the single men so the rest have kinda been on tour with the convoys. Some of them decided to stay here, call this home, and Harry couldn’t be happier.”

  They talked for a few more minutes and Jessie caught up on all the local news
. When the old man finally wound down, he waved them on through, not bothering to go through the whole process of checking for bites. That practice was slowly going away in the smaller towns and although he was glad because Scarlet would have been rejected, he knew it was dangerous. As long as there were zombies, there should be precautions. Just one of them could wipe out a whole community.

  Fubar’s was busy with the breakfast crowd, like a lot of the smaller places it was easier and more efficient to have community meals. As long as the settlements weren’t huge and had limited resources, the practice would last. There were only a few tables free and they wound up at a booth near the bathrooms. There were a lot of new faces Jessie didn’t recognize as locals, some he’d met in other towns. People were moving around, choosing where to live and could fall in with a supply convoy as they ran the established routes so it was safe to travel. The map was dotted with towns and strongholds and each had its own personality. Jessie, the retrievers and a few bold explorers had remapped middle America and most of the Northwest over the past six months.

  Some people were drawn to the quiet and isolation of places like Anselmo because there was little chance of zombie attacks. They wanted to farm and raise a little livestock and have kids that would never even see one of the undead. Others were drawn to the bigger towns where there was night life and thousands of people. For every outpost, there was a group of survivors that favored the lifestyle they offered and they were all becoming more distinctive. The Island was a steam powered fishing village, Lakota had the 1950’s charm, Blackfoot was where the young and the bold went to make a name for themselves, Tombstone had turned into a cattle town, Cascade was becoming a logging center and the list went on. The Tower was the only community that didn’t take in outsiders and as far as Jessie knew, none of the residents had ever wanted to leave.