American Revenant (Book 2): Settlers and Sorrow

by Davis IV, John L.

  “Ok, then, we’ll leave it at that. Anything else?”

  “No, not really, Garret and Louis both helped on wall and garden stuff, though you can tell those boys aren’t used to hard work,” Jimmy told him.

  “Everett was doing great until after lunch, his hip was hurting him pretty badly, so I looked him over and gave him some aspirin to help with the pain and the swelling. He really should have had that hip replaced years ago.”

  “Any trouble from Rebecca,” Gordy asked.

  “Well, I can say that girl certainly has a mouth on her, but no, no trouble. She helped out anywhere it was needed, any time anyone asked, and a few times when she wasn’t asked.”

  “Really doesn’t surprise me, she’s something else, that one,” Rick said.

  “She certainly is.”

  Everyone turned to look at Dean, noticing the big smile on his face, and started laughing.

  “Oh shut up.” But he could feel the deep blush rising in his cheeks, as well as a tightness in his scar tissue.

  “Hey everyone, how’s it going?” Rebecca asked, walking up to the knot of people standing by the vehicles. “Hey there, Scarface, who lit you up? You’re turning four shades of red.”

  The entire group began to laugh as they walked away.

  ****

  Dinner went by quickly that evening, with Gordy and the others sharing what they had seen at the supermarket, as well as what Daniel Brenger had told them.

  The thought of fresh milk and meat brought a round of cheers from everyone, except for Arianna and Richard, who had once again separated themselves from the group, each finding a separate corner to hide in.

  Once the meal was finished and everything cleared away, Gordy took time to discuss life in the Camp. He stressed that everyone worked; everyone did their part to help make this place safe. He spoke at length on common courtesy, and how everyone understood how difficult life was now, how sometimes just getting along with others was often the hardest part of living together in a group.

  After his speech, Gordy began discussing options on clearing the walking dead from around the shops in New London.

  “It will take a lot of hands to make it work. Once we clear it of zombies we’ll have to take everything we need right then, nothing can be left behind. I don’t want to take the chance that when we go back it’s all gone.

  “Which brings us to the problem of transporting so much stuff at once. We have a few vehicles, but not nearly enough to move everything. So if any of you have ideas on that let us know.”

  “What about horse trailers?”

  Gordy looked at Alex, sitting with his wife and son. “Horse trailers?”

  “The trucks we have can pull ‘em, but it might be slow going when they’re all loaded down. The Richmond horse farm right down the road should have at least a couple sitting there.”

  “I think there are,” said Jimmy, “I’m pretty sure we saw some when we cleared that place.”

  “We could also use those to move the cattle,” Alex told the group.

  “Ok, so that gets quite a bit of stuff, but I don’t think a couple of horse trailers will be enough. Everyone think on it tonight, see if we can come up with something feasible. For now, Rick and Mike will explain what they see as the best plan for clearing out all the gut-suckers…”

  “Oh come on, Gordy, we just ate,” Tam said from the back of the room, eliciting laughter from everyone.

  Gordy laughed with them and sat down so that Mike and Rick would have everyone’s attention.

  For the next hour they went over every point regarding ‘Operation Supermarket Assault’, which Mike thought sounded like a bad television game show.

  They spent time explaining each move, how targets would be chosen and how people would slowly close in on each objective.

  Rick drew out a rough sketch of the complex of buildings, passing it around to everyone. He used it as a visual aid to help everyone understand how the operation would work.

  “We will go over all of this again with everyone who goes along for the operation, so don’t worry about memorizing right now,” Mike told the group, “we just want everyone to be aware of the plans so you can share any thoughts on it.”

  “This is for you newcomers to our family, are any of you familiar with firearms?”

  The only person to raise their hand was Everett.

  “Thanks Everett, for those of you that are not, get with me tomorrow morning and I’ll give you a crash course in firearm use and safety. Everyone going out there should have at least a basic knowledge of guns, and Rick and I can help you with that.”

  “Are we required to learn how to shoot a gun? I don’t like guns and I damn sure don’t want to shoot one.” These were the first words Arianna had spoken all evening.

  “No one is going to force you to shoot a gun, but I think that in today’s world not having at least the basic skills is foolish,” Rick told her.

  Arianna mumbled something from her corner.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that, Arianna,” Rick said.

  “She said ‘Fuck you and your guns’, Rick.” Rebecca glared into Arianna’s corner, looking as if she were trying to burn holes through her.

  Jimmy stood up, mouth open, ready to tell off the ungrateful woman when Tam put her hand on his arm, stopping him before he could say anything. Tam shook her head at him when he looked down at her hand, “Don’t babe, it’s not worth the argument,” she whispered to him.

  The evening ended quickly after that, with people leaving the main house quietly. Everyone was afraid to set off the powder-keg that the new-comers had brought with them.

  Chapter 22

  Jimmy and Alex went down to the horse farm the following morning, checking to be sure that there were horse trailers they could use.

  Once they found the trailers, Alex asked if Jimmy would take him across the highway to the paint plant.

  “What for, we cleared that place a while back, I don’t think there’s anything over there we can really use.”

  “Humor me, Jimmy. Let’s ride over there really quick, I just want to look at something.”

  The VW Beetle that the group had found was their all-purpose running around vehicle. Both men squeezed back in to the small car, and headed over to the paint plant.

  Jimmy followed Alex around the large lot surrounding the factory building. He would wait as Alex peered into the big rigs parked throughout the lot.

  “Aha, there it is.”

  “There’s what?” Jimmy asked, seeing just another old diesel truck.

  “This is their lot truck, the one they would use just to move the trailers around on the lot and to the docks. It wasn’t used for long-hauling anything. I knew I had seen this thing out here a few times.”

  The truck was an older GMC General that looked as if it had been painted with rust, though a faded red color still shone through in patches.

  Alex climbed up into the cab while Jimmy waited outside the open door, looking around the lot, expecting trouble as always.

  The sound of an engine cranking startled Jimmy. He turned around to look at Alex behind the wheel of the truck.

  “What the hell, you about made me piss myself, man,” Jimmy said, scowling.

  Alex laughed, saying, “Sorry, but did you hear that? It wants to start.” He tried the key again, and again the grumbling noise sounded from the engine.

  Alex climbed back down, asking Jimmy for his help in raising the hood. Together they flipped the hood forward, and Alex did yet more climbing, getting himself far up into the engine compartment.

  “Yeah, this thing’s been sitting for a bit, needs a little attention. Jimmy; let’s run over to my Dad’s old shop, I want to get some tools.”

  They were back within thirty minutes, and Alex dove headfirst into the engine compartment. Occasionally he would ask Jimmy to hand him a tool, or swear at something under the hood.

  Eventually Alex crawled back down, covered in grease. “Well, let’s try
this again.” He jumped up into the cab, gave the key a twist and held it for a moment, head cocked as he listened to the motor.

  When the engine didn’t turn over Alex looked at Jimmy for a moment, and turned the key once more, this time the motor caught and rumbled loudly for a few seconds before dying.

  “Hot damn, Jimmy, I think we may have it.” When he turned the key again the engine caught and held. Alex let it run for several minutes, occasionally tapping the throttle, revving the big engine.

  “Get in, man, let’s take this for a run around the lot, see how she handles.” Jimmy climbed up into the passenger seat, with most of the cushion rotted out it was more like a hole than an actual seat.

  The two men spent the next ten minutes driving around the lot, testing to be sure that the big truck would stay running, as well as to see how it handled. Alex often had to grind his way through gears; he wasn’t used to driving a truck like this.

  The truck had been sitting there for months without anyone taking notice, but Alex parked it back behind the building hoping that it would continue to be overlooked.

  “It runs like crap, but it runs. I can come back later and tinker on it a little more, see if I can tune it up a bit.”

  “Good work, Alex, that’s gonna make a huge difference in getting all this loot from those stores. I think you may have just earned yourself a position as truck driver and lead mechanic.”

  Alex laughed at the suggestion. “How many hats am I going to end up wearing around here?”

  “As many as it takes, man. Let’s get back and tell everybody about this.”

  Chapter 23

  The rig and trailer were parked just outside of New London, on Highway V. Alex and Garret waited with the truck while the others went to begin the clearing out process, which they believed could take at least two hours, and possibly more. Cal and Lisa were pulling one of the cattle trailers, Jimmy and Louis had the second one.

  It would be a slow process, as much of the zombie killing work would be up to Mike and Rick, who were just now moving toward the small car lot directly across First Street from the Dollar Store.

  They came up behind the building, moving slowly, watching around them as if their heads were on swivels. Both men carried one of the suppressed .223 AR-15 rifles, along with thirteen magazines for each, twelve in the pouches on their vests, and one in the rifle.

  Placing their backs to the wall of the building, they watched behind them for a moment, making sure nothing had followed them. Mike looked to the house they had been on top of the other day, watching the zombies, and gave a thumbs-up sign. He knew that someone in the house would be watching through binoculars.

  Standing on top of the heating and cooling unit Mike pulled himself up to the roof. Once he was up he turned around and took the rifles from Rick as he handed them up, laying them to the side, then he took the two small back packs they were carrying. These carried extra food and water, while also having the intended secondary use as rifle rests.

  Laying low to the roof they slow crawled to the peak and peered over at the zombies wandering in the parking lots across the street from their position.

  “Well, let’s get to work, brother, ‘cause this is gonna take a while.” Rick gave another thumbs-up sign in the direction of the house and settled himself into position.

  Moving slowly both men took the time to set themselves up, situating their rifles and bags to give them the best possible vantage while still being somewhat comfortable.

  Mike sighted at the Dollar Store lot, looking through his scope, choosing targets. “So you want Burt Reynolds or Rosie O’Donnell?”

  Rick laughed quietly. “I liked the original Dawn of the Dead a lot more than that remake, really thought it kind of sucked, but watching zombie flicks now, after living through this crazy shit, would be like watching a goofy ass comedy.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right, but you have to admit, Romero saw this shit coming from forty-five years away.”

  “Yes, he did. You ready to get busy?”

  “Hell yes, let’s explode some gut-sucker heads,” Mike said, lowering his eye back to the rifle scope.

  “These may be suppressed, but they still make enough noise. Let’s keep it to one shot every two minutes, firing at the same time. That should keep them from finding our location if any of them hear it.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ve got soccer mom, red shirt, black pants.”

  Rick took a moment to search the lot, “”I’ve got striped T-shirt, camo shorts.”

  “Ready on one.”

  “Three…two…one.” Both rifles popped, and two zombies fell as gouts of blood, bone and brain matter erupted from their heads.

  They took the two minute wait time to choose their next targets.

  “Blonde ponytail, green apron, left of front door.”

  “Right side, far end of lot, black shirt with half his face gone.”

  “Ready on one.”

  They went on like this for over twenty minutes, systematically taking every zombie in the parking lot.

  ****

  “Did you hear that?” Rebecca asked.

  “I heard it, but just barely” Dean said, standing next to Rebecca at the window. He was watching the two men on the far roof, looking for the hand signs they were giving.

  “First shots fired?” Gordy asked.

  “Yeah, they’ve started. So now we hurry up and wait.”

  “That just gives us more time to hang out together, Scarface,” Rebecca said, bumping Dean’s arm with her shoulder.

  “If I have to listen to you two going on the entire time we’re waiting in here I’m going to go out and get bitten on purpose.”

  “Poor Lynnie, you need a hug? When we get back I can ask Richard for you.” Rebecca was grinning hugely.

  “Oh good grief, Becca, don’t say that, you’re making my skin crawl. Besides, I would hate to take your secret lover from you.”

  Rebecca and Lynn looked at each other and started laughing.

  “Hey, Dad, I think we can take these bite-guards off while we’re waiting, don’t you? These things chafe like a bitch.”

  “No, leave them on, Dean; we may have to move in a hurry. Since you two brought up the subject of Richard, what’s his deal Becca?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he sits out in the yard watching Lynn teach the kids at school every day. He refuses to work, and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him say anything. Is he, uh, mentally challenged?”

  “Mentally challenged? Gordy, do we still have to be all ‘P.C.’ in our nice new ZomWorld? I hope not, because that would suck.

  “Seriously though, I can’t say if he’s not right in the head, but my guess would be a resounding Hell Yes. Living in that house with him, through the winter, was like living with a ghost. The kind of creepy-ass ghost you catch trying to watch you change clothes or wash yourself.”

  “You serious, Becca?”

  “Yeah, sorry Lynn, but he really is a creeper sometimes.”

  “Third round of shots; should be six down,” Dean said from the window. “Do I need to pull Richard aside and have a little “discussion” with him about how to treat women?”

  “No, you don’t, but I think I will,” Gordy told him.

  “Girls, if he ever makes you feel uncomfortable, does something inappropriate, you let me know immediately. I’m not putting up with that shit from anyone.”

  “You know I will, Dad.”

  “Sure thing, Dad,” Rebecca said, grinning.

  “Hey, did I say I’d share my Dad with you?”

  “Don’t be jealous, Lynn. I’ll only take your place if you get eaten.” Both girls laughed.

  “Oh, good grief you two,” Gordy said shaking his head.

  “Five-Five sign, Dad. Dollar Store lot is clear; they’re starting on the gas station lot now.”

  ****

  “Longer shots and we need to be careful that we don’t hit any of the gas pumps,” Rick said, repo
sitioning himself for the new angle.

  “Yep,” Mike said as he returned his canteen to its belt pouch.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, shoot,” Mike said with a grin.

  “We’re laying here calling off shots on reanimated things that used to be people. Does it bother you at all?”

  Mike pushed himself up on his elbow, leaning so that he could look at Rick. “I’m doing my best not to think about it. I have to look at it like it’s one of our competitions at the range, when we’re always trying to out-shoot each other. If I don’t see it like that, then yes it’s going to fuck with my head, and I can’t afford that. None of us can.”

  Rick nodded, thinking for a moment. “You know I’ve seen combat, but that was a lot of years ago. I tried to bury all those bodies a long time ago, but I won’t lie, laying here sniping these things is forcing some of that shit to come to the surface.”

  “I’m sorry, brother, really. I won’t pretend to understand the kind of hell you guys go through out there, but you’ve got a big family here, and you know that. You don’t have to handle any of it alone.”

  “Thanks, Mike, I appreciate it.”

  “Now let me ask you something.”

  Rick nodded at the big man.

  “Do you need a hug? If you need a hug before we get back to work, then I guess I can give you one.”

  Rick looked at the big toothy grin of his friend and said, “You’ve been taking pointers from Jimmy on how to be a dick, haven’t you?”

  The men shared a quiet laugh, and settled back in for another long round of zombie sniping.

  Forty minutes later the men gave the ‘Move’ signal to let those waiting in the house know that they were moving forward.

  Although the men had cleared most of the lot, the Health Department building and a Semi-trailer blocked their view of Ruba’s lot. They would have to move forward, climb to the top of the trailer, and finish their work from there.

  Mike and Rick moved slowly, heads swiveling, keeping the landscape and vehicles between them and the zombies wandering the far lot, blocking their view. They made it safely to the trailer, climbing up quickly.