Z Plan (Book 3): Homecoming

by Lerma, Mikhail

  “I didn’t know that,” said Cale.

  “Apparently you did,” Zach chuckled.

  Cale smiled. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Who are you talking to?” asked JoLynn.

  “Uh…just myself,” he lied.

  “Oh,” she eyed him suspiciously.

  “I’ll be back,” he said as he climbed out of the drivers seat.

  The dealership had a garage attached. Luckily it was also unlocked and unoccupied by anyone living or dead. A stack of empty fuel cans lined a wall. Cale grabbed the tools he thought he’d need and a couple of gas cans, then went back into the parking lot. Even though he’d never been mechanically inclined he knew how to remove a battery. He took the little black boxes, which weighed about eighty pounds, one by one and sat them in front of their RV. Then he went back through and gathered the jumper cables.

  “Should I be doing this while it’s wet out?” he asked Zach.

  Zach shrugged.

  “Well then,” responded Cale. “Here goes.”

  He closed his eyes and attached the first cable, then the second.

  “I think I’m good,” he sounded surprised.

  Cale linked all of the batteries he’d gathered into one battery bank. He connected the cables to the battery in the RV. There was a tiny zap from one of the connecters. Cale got back into the driver’s seat and turned the key forward into the on position. The battery needle was in the green now.

  “Yes,” he said excitedly.

  Cale pushed the key further forward and the vehicle started. He could barely believe his accomplishment. Now they had a mobile camp on wheels. Other than fuel and some more supplies, it just needed one more aesthetic touch. He grabbed the sharpies he’d found and went to the back where the undead man still lay with his wallet on his chest. Cale climbed the bumper and reached up. Travis had been the artistic one in Iraq, but Cale could manage bubble letters. He wrote the words then worked to fill the letters in. JoLynn met him at the window.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “You’ll see,” he smiled.

  After the last bubble had been filled in he hopped down and looked at the whole thing together. “Freedom Runner 2.”

  Chapter 34

  TORNADO ALLEY

  “I’m hungry,” said JoLynn as she shook Cale awake.

  He finished out his night gathering fuel in the rain. In doing so he also found a couple of storage totes, three full propane tanks, and sample shampoo and soap in the “product display RV.” Cale was able to heat the rain water then give JoLynn a bath in one of the totes. She wore one of his T-shirts like a night gown. Her brown hair now bounced in curls and wasn’t matted down. She was perhaps the cleanest she’d been in a long time. After he’d tucked her in in the bedroom he cleaned himself, and put on new clothes. Before he crashed on the couch he hand washed her clothes and hung them along the curtain to dry.

  Cale stretched. “I think I unpacked some pop tarts last night. You like pop tarts?”

  She nodded. Cale got up and checked the cabinets before retrieving the small silver rectangle package. The wrapper always reminded him of a space blanket. He opened it and handed it to her.

  “I like them warm,” she scrunched her nose.

  Cale laughed. “Sorry girlie. There’s no way to warm it up.”

  She bit her lip, contemplating her choices. Cale couldn’t help but smile at her “thinking face.”

  “I don’t want it then,” she pushed it away.

  “It’s all there is. Are you sure you don’t want it?” he offered it to her again.

  She scrunched her nose and replied. “No. I don’t want it.”

  “More for me then,” he teased and took a nibble off the breakfast rectangle.

  He could see her reconsidering her decision.

  “It’s so good,” he egged her on.

  “Okay. I want it,” stated JoLynn.

  “Oh,” he made a disappointed look. “but I’ve already started it,” frowned Cale.

  She smiled. “Can we share?”

  “Here,” Cale laughed. “I was only teasing.”

  JoLynn quickly snatched the pop tart.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Cale finished the piece in his mouth and looked outside. It’d rained all night, and looked like it would start again at any moment.

  “Sh-shoot,” he refrained from swearing.

  “What?” she inquired.

  “It’s still storming,” stated Cale.

  “Oh,” she said cutely.

  He’d have no choice other than to scavenge in the rain if it came down to it. Cale spent the morning ensuring the RV was ready to roll, while JoLynn played with Tygee. The rain had only slightly smudged the “Runner 2” he’d written on the back. He checked the gas stove for leaks, the engine belts and hoses, and then the tires.

  “Sky is looking a little green over there,” said Zach as they both looked to the east.

  “I forget what green meant,” Cale stated.

  “Hail? I think,” recalled Zach.

  “I better get a move on then,” he replied.

  Cale boarded the RV and donned his gear.

  “Where are you going?” asked JoLynn.

  “I’m going to go over to the other gas station and see if I can find anything,” he explained.

  “I’m staying here?” she inquired.

  “Yeah. I’ll only be gone for a little bit. Here.” He produced the sharpies and some loose scrap papers he’d found. “You like to draw?”

  She looked excited.

  “Draw me a picture. By the time you’re done, I’ll be back,” he speculated.

  “Okay,” she smiled.

  She sat down at the table and pondered what she’d make. Cale tousled her hair and left her to create. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. There was no need to tell her to stay inside; she already knew what dangers lurked about.

  “Shouldn’t you leave her with a weapon or something?” proposed Zach as they walked to the overpass.

  “Dude. She’s like five,” argued Cale. “What would I leave her with?”

  Zach shrugged.

  “They won’t be able to get in and she’d only hurt herself if I left her a knife or gun,” Cale pointed out.

  “I’m just saying,” began Zach. “She’s going to have to learn some time.”

  “Well not today,” snapped Cale.

  He walked down the ramp and into the water that flooded the tourist attraction. It was much deeper than he’d anticipated. Water had forced the doors in and engulfed the store. He waded in. Steadily the water level climbed until he was waist deep. Cale held his rifle up out of the water. Cautiously, he looked around for movement as he entered the doors. Nothing.

  Cale turned on his flashlight. He panned it around in the dark. The green and brown water threw the light to the ceiling, denying the beam’s penetrative ability. He kicked unseen debris on the floor. Plants had taken root in the muck below the surface. Weeds tangled around his boots. He sifted through the floating piles of debris. The truck stop’s resources had been untouched. His bag quickly filled up. He pushed farther into the building, and continued his search. He was near the food court. He could see the tops of tables and chairs just barley clearing the water’s surface. The walls were adorned with all things “Iowa.” Fields of corn and wheat, tractors, cows, a football, and an American goldfinch. Cale arrived at a lobby with stairs that went down. It was too dark to continue. End of the road.

  “See,” began Zach. “I told you it could be quick.”

  “I’m not out yet,” replied Cale. “Something could…”

  A raspy growl resonated from the darkness further inside the building.

  “…go wrong,” he finished.

  His light didn’t reveal the source of the sound. Movement against the far wall in the food court caught his eye. A waterlogged corpse was feasting on a snake. The reptile’s skin was stuck between her teeth. A dead voice called
out to him again. She was not the one beckoning to him. More voices joined the undead chorus. He shone his light back towards the darkness down the stairs. The first grotesque face made it to appearance, and was quickly joined by others. They bumped into each other and obstacles in their way. Aggressively they attacked whatever touched them, including one another. Empty sockets and glazed eyes searched for him.

  “They’re blind,” Cale whispered to himself.

  Carefully, he began to walk backwards. Something in the water moved behind him. Cale looked over his shoulder.

  “Fuck,” he said softly.

  His exit was blocked. The dead behind him were protected by CDC hazmat suits. Dried gore stuck to their white plastic suits. They headed straight for him. Cale quickly removed is pack.

  “What are you doing?” exclaimed Zach.

  Cale didn’t even know. He just knew he couldn’t outmaneuver them with it on. He placed his bag on top of one of the tables and walked to the north wall. The ones that still had functioning eyes tracked with him. Cale fired at the closest. The suppressor did its job, however, the slamming of the weapon’s bolt was loud enough to gain attention.

  He fired a few more shots before changing positions. The infected were in an uproar. Violently, they assaulted one another. Biting, tearing, and scratching. As they splashed about, the water became a feeding frenzy. The ravenous dead cannibals still blocked his escape. But at least he’d turned them on one another.

  “There’s got to be another way out,” said Zach.

  Cale discharged another volley of shots in to the group. The blind ones nearest to him turned around. He positioned himself in front of the stairs going down, further into the building. Cale moved along a wall. Avoiding the rest of the blind group. He froze in place. They glided mere inches from him. Cale remained unnoticed as he waited for them to go by. The water got deeper as he went down the short segment of stairs. He was submerged up to his armpits.

  “There’s a light!” Zach exclaimed.

  From where he was he could see another exit, but it was all the way at the back. He’d have to cross another lobby where more infected wandered his way. Dark figures swayed back and forth as they moved. Cale plotted his course through the lobby in his head. He decided the best way was to cut along the left side. His exit would open on the north east part of the building. If he could draw them out there he could come back through and retrieve his bag.

  While keeping his rifle above water, he advanced forward. He moved into an unoccupied dark corner. Cale shut off his light and waited for them to pass. He didn’t know if it was because he was in the dark with the dead. Or if it was the water, but he felt like something was moving by him. Cale waited a few more seconds and turned the light back on. He fought his natural reaction to run.

  “I fucking hate snakes,” he whispered to himself.

  The water was teeming with them. They slithered across the surface. He watched as one was grabbed by an infected. Immediately the snake lashed out and bit its face.

  “That’s why they’re blind,” Zach deduced.

  Cale recognized the skin pattern. They were water moccasins. Most of them swam away from him, and only acted out when grabbed. He wasn’t sure if a bite from one of these was fatal, but it didn’t seem to stop the already dead people from feeding on them. Cale waited for a cluster of snakes to scatter before moving anymore. He’d always heard about how aggressive they were. And that bites could be fatal.

  The snakes distracted the undead that could see while he inched closer to the doors. The wind howled through the open door.

  “Just a bit further,” he told himself.

  Cale stepped on something soft, which moved immediately. He couldn’t help but yelp and jump. His rifle was ready when the object emerged. It was a rotted log.

  “Great,” said Cale.

  He ignored the approaching infected and scurried for the large lot of parked semis. They were uphill so the water level lowered back down to just below his waist. He pulled himself onto the hood of the closest truck. The undead wailed behind him. His presence was definitely known. Cale clamored onto the roof of the cab. His wet boots and clothes made the climb difficult. He almost slipped and slid into the hungry crowd that already surrounded the large vehicle.

  Once he was safely on top of the white box trailer he looked down. He was at a loss for words. The horde had absorbed so much swamp water that they were all puffy and bloated. Their skin split where it couldn’t expand anymore.

  “Swamp zombies,” stated Zach.

  Cale looked to see if he could spot the RV. Everything over there looked okay. Thunder rumbled above him. The wind out of the south was cold.

  “Well,” Zach began. “At least it can’t get any worse.”

  Something impacted the trailer behind him just as Zach finished his sentence.

  “What the fuck was that?” asked Cale.

  Zach shrugged. On the back edge there was a white rock a little bit bigger than a golf ball. Cale went to investigate. The window on a neighboring semi shattered loudly. Members of the dead mob broke off their siege to search for the source. He picked up the rock. It’s smooth, reflective, and cold.

  “It’s ice,” said Cale as another slammed into another trailer.

  Steadily more and more of them fell from the sky. Cale dropped to his knees and curled into a ball to protect himself. The first piece of hail crashed into his hand.

  “Fuck!” he exclaimed in pain.

  All around him ice fell at terminal velocity. Another chunk smacked his back. He shouted in pain and stopped himself from rolling over. The undead mass wasn’t fairing well either. Their heads instantly blew apart when the hard ice collided with their decomposed and weakened skulls.

  “In a way this is kind of a lucky break,” smiled Zach who was unharmed.

  Cale was in too much pain to joke back as he was pelted again. The occupants of the building ventured outside. Cale smirked. Zach was right. This was a lucky break. He watched as the water splashed around them. Many of them were unfortunate enough to be showered by the natural projectiles. Soon the waters were teeming with floating bodies and ice spheres.

  “Go now!” Zach barked.

  “God damn—” Cale got up and ran back across the top of the trailer.

  He hopped down to the cab of the truck and slid down between infected. Cale sprinted the best he could for the building. He stumbled and fell, going under the cold water.

  “Shit,” he coughed as he stood up and wiped the water from his eyes.

  Before he could open his eyes, he was attacked. A corpse in a hazmat suit latched onto him. Futilely he forced his plastic facemask into Cale. He could feel the dead man’s teeth rubbing alongside the inside against his skin. Cale shoved him back and brought his rifle around front. It fired, spraying water out of the eject port with the empty brass. He hit the man’s chest. Cale pulled his trigger again, but nothing happened. Quickly, he looked for the fault.

  “Jammed,” he muttered as he re-slung it and pulled out his knife.

  He knew he didn’t have enough time to clear the jam. It was best to just keep moving. Cale brought his knife down on top of the man’s head as he recovered. He removed his blade and hurried into the store. The water’s resistance forced him to walk. Cale ignored the snakes and the dead that chased them and made it to the stairs. He noticed a change in the air pressure. Flesh and entire body parts drifted by him. The frenzy had moved outside, where nature was destroying its most lethal plague. His bag was floating near the table where he’d left it. Cale reclaimed it and continued out the southwest door.

  Throngs of the decayed were eager to greet him. Ice rained down from the sky intermittently. It was subsiding. The wind gusted from the north, strong enough to push him and topple what remained of the swarm. He utilized the opportunity to run. The breeze blasted water into his face. It felt like sand. Cale cleared the water and could move better. He glanced back at the world’s largest truck stop.

  “
Oh fuck!” he shouted.

  A large black funnel cloud descended from the sky behind it. The mammoth tornado was a mile, maybe two away. He broke into a dead sprint for the RV. His rifle battered him, but he kept running. Within minutes he flung open the door to the RV.

  “JoLynn!” he shouted.

  Already he could see she’d taken refuge under the bed.

  “Stay there!” he ordered.

  She covered her ears and took on a fetal position. Cale threw his gear down and dropped himself into the driver’s seat. Hastily he started the vehicle and put it in gear. The tires squealed and any unsecured cargo was thrown to the floor and he pulled it around. He watched through the windshield as the tornado tore into the first structure to the northeast of the truck stop. The large billboard advertising the hotel’s “Amazingly Low Rates” was tossed hundreds of feet through the air.

  “Hold on!” he yelled as he took the RV toward the I-80 East exit ramp.

  Signs informing him he was going the wrong way rattled with each gust. The large recreational vehicle pushed to the south.

  “Come on,” Cale spoke to the vehicle.

  He pushed the accelerator to the floor and sped down the exit ramp. A semi dropped out of nowhere into the east bound lanes.

  “Shit!” hollered Zach.

  The wind changed direction. Cale adjusted immediately. JoLynn bawled from the back.

  “It’s okay! It’s okay! You’re gonna be alright!” he shouted back to her.

  He could hear the tornado roar angrily as he watched it pulverize the tourist attraction. Entire tractors and trailers flew into the air like they were nothing. His windshield wipers were working overtime as they battled to clear his view. Rotted body parts bombarded the RV, bouncing off with a sickening sound. Again the wind suddenly changed direction. The vehicle stood on the two passenger side wheels. Cale steered into the roll. He bounced up out of his seat as they slammed back down. JoLynn screamed. The mattress had been thrown against the wall.

  “Don’t move!” he called to her.

  He dodged more debris as the tornado dropped it in front of them. It bellowed furiously as he navigated its deadly maze. Cale got the feeling that it was a sentient being, hell bent on his destruction. A billboard flew by and wedged itself in the median. The RV drove past just barely missing it as it fell into the eastbound lane.