“What’s wrong?” asked JoLynn.
“Nothing,” he replied.
He didn’t want her to know that this had been his intended destination. Cale gently pulled her around the rubble and into the front yard. Tristan’s car was gone. Maybe they got away.
“Maybe it was stolen,” Zach interjected.
“You’re not helping,” muttered Cale.
JoLynn made a sad face.
“Not you,” he assured her. “Zach isn’t helping.”
“Yeah, Zach,” she lectured to thin air. “You should help him.”
“You big meanie,” Cale said to the same spot JoLynn had addressed.
“He says he’s sorry,” stated JoLynn.
“No I didn’t,” scoffed Zach.
“Apology accepted,” teased Cale.
Zach shook his head and had an annoyed expression.
“We, my dear,” Cale spoke to JoLynn, “need to find a car.”
The pair looked up and down the street and didn’t see anything. Someone had to be alive and just like the Horsemen were hoarding vehicles somewhere. He remembered between the high and junior high schools was a bus barn. That’d be a good place to look for a ride.
“I’ve got an idea,” he stated. “Come on.”
He took her north up Tilden street. The high school was only three blocks away. As they advanced to Tenth Street, Cale noticed something strange up ahead. There was a wall. And from the looks of it, it wrapped around the school starting at Twelfth Street. It didn’t take long before they were standing befin front of it, looking for a way in. The wall had been erected using scrap metal and flipped vehicles.
“This way.” Cale nodded toward the east.
If the football field were included, he thought he knew a way to get in. The farther west they went the more he could hear people. They were talking and laughing. Maybe some were arguing. He didn’t care.
“Hey!” he shouted over the wall.
“Did you hear that?” he thought he could hear someone say.
“Hey!” he shouted again.
“Someone is outside the wall!” a voice called out.
There was an uproar of people shouting commands, then a head appeared over the wall. An older man in glasses beckoned them to a section fifteen feet farther. Corpses shuffled out from between houses to the south.
“Shit,” said the man to the people behind him. “Hurry up! We’ve got Georges coming out of the woodwork!”
“What did he call them?” asked Zach.
Cale didn’t care.
“They’re grabbing the rope ladder,” explained the man.
“Please hurry!” Cale called back.
Cale turned and fired at the nearest ones. JoLynn cowered behind him.
“It’s alright,” he assured her.
He went to shoot another round but the weapon jammed.
“Crap!” he said as he went through the motions of clearing it.
Slap. Pull. Observe. Release. Tap. Squeeze. The weapon didn’t fire again. JoLynn tugged on his pant leg anxiously.
“Come on!” he coached himself. “Slap mag, pull the charging handle, observe chamber, release handle, tap forward assist.”
He placed his crosshair on the man’s chest, knowing the round would lob into his face, and squeezed the trigger again. The round fired, but the bolt locked to the rear. The magazine was empty.
“Here!” shouted the man as he threw down the ladder.
It nearly hit Cale then banged against the metal wall.
“Climb up!” said Cale as he helped JoLynn on to it.
He grabbed her bag and threw it over the wall.
“I can’t,” she whined.
“You have to. The monsters are coming. Look, it’s just like on the playground, okay? Just pretend you’re on the playground,” he picked her up and started her halfway.
JoLynn didn’t argue, and climbed as fast as she could, almost missing a rung as she did.
“Thadda girl,” praised the man.
He reached down for her. Cale took off his bag and threw it over, then turned just in time to brace himself for another attack. The creature slammed him against the wall. He used his rifle to hold it back as his teeth snapped inches from his face. Cale was able to duck under one of his arms and push the reanimated corpse off-balance. Quickly, he scurried up the ladder. The plague ravaged man recovered in time to seize Cale’s boot, and sink his teeth into the heel.
“He’s been bit!” called the man at the top of the wall.
Cale kicked free of the dead creature’s clutches and finished the climb. At the top, the once friendly man tried to push him back down.
“I’m sorry,” he kept repeating.
“Stop! Stop!” pleaded Cale. “It didn’t get me!”
But still the man pushed him back. JoLynn wailed from behind the wall. Cale kicked the undead man back once more. Others were rushing to join the melée. Cale drew his 9mm and pointed it at the man’s face.
“Fucking let me in, or I swear to God I will fucking shoot you in your mother fucking face!” he threatened in a voice that scared even him.
The man was startled and jumped back. “He’s got a gun!” he cried. “Gun!”
Cale pulled himself over the wall and onto his back. He landed on a wooden platform. Their “savior” was already on the ground retreating. Men and women armed with clubs and bows surrounded him.
“It’s okay,” he held his hands up.
Aggressively, they snatched his weapons and took him to the ground.
“I wasn’t bitten!” shouted Cale.
“We’re still gonna check, if it’s all the same to you,” asserted one of the women.
They placed him face-down, with a person on each limb. A fifth person jammed their knee into his back while a sixth searched his body for bites.
“His fingers are gone! They’ve been bitten off!” declared the man holding his right arm down.
He strained Cale’s arm as he attempted to hold it up for the others to see.
“Those were cut off,” replied the woman with her knee in his back. “Poorly I might add. But that’s still too clean to be a bite.”
“How can you tell?” asked the man.
“You don’t want to know,” she answered.
JoLynn continued bawling. He tried to look for her but the woman kept pushing his head back down.
“It’s alright JoLynn,” he started saying to her. “They’re just checking me for bites.”
“Is that your daughter?” asked the woman.
He hesitated a moment before replying. “Yes. She’s my daughter.”
“Check out this hardware!” said a young man who was holding up Cale’s rifle. “I think he’s in the army or some shit.”
“Were you in the army?” asked the woman.
She pressed her knee hard into his back.
“I am. Er…um… I was,” he confessed.
“Let him up!” barked a man standing a few feet away.
He was clearly in charge. Everyone obeyed his order. Cale waited for everyone to back away before starting to stand up. JoLynn was allowed to run to him. Cale faced the man that gave the command to let him up. He was in his mid-to-late forties with dark hair and glasses. His ACUs identified him as Major Feuerbach.
“What’s your name, soldier?” demanded the major.
Before Cale could reply their was a gasp.
“Cale!” exclaimed the woman who’d been on his back.
The major looked at her, stunned. “He’s a local?”
“Yea-yeah,” replied one of the men that held him down.
“Holy shit,” said another one of the men.
Cale recognized all three of them. The woman was Faith, an ex-girlfriend. And the other two were John and Chris, his childhood friends.
“I’m liking the beard!” Chris exclaimed.
“I thought you were in Iraq?” stated John.
“I was,” he blurted.
The major eyed him suspiciously.
Cale went to the position of attention. JoLynn continued to hug him. He offered his salute, which the major returned.
“At ease, soldier,” he nodded to Cale. “Relax.”
Cale obeyed and abandoned his rigid stance.
“Were you in Iraq, or were you at MOB to go to Iraq?” he asked.
Cale peered around for other familiar faces as he pondered how to answer.
“He was there, man,” said Chris. “He had pictures up on MySpace and Facebook.”
Major Feuerbach narrowed his eyes at Cale.
“Were you back on leave, then?” he inquired.
“Sir,” Cale paused. “No, sir. I was in Iraq when shit hit the fan, sir.”
Faith blurted. “How’d you get back?”
Cale retorted with his usual answer. “It’s a long story.”
“I’d like to hear this story,” stated Major Feuerbach.
“Could we…” Cale looked at the three familiar faces. “Do that in private?”
The major nodded. Cale and JoLynn’s gear was returned to them, then he ushered them toward the high school. Faith, John, and Chris followed. Cale spotted more familiar faces as they walked through the commons area and into the main office. Major Feuerbach had made his home in the principal’s office. A cot sat in the corner with a blanket and pillow draped over it. Cale stopped in the doorway.
“I want you to wait out here with them, okay?” he said to JoLynn.
Tears pooled in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I’m just going to talk to the major and I’ll be right out, okay?”
She reluctantly backed out into the main office. Tears streaked down her face. Cale closed the door then posted himself in front of the desk at attention.
“Relax,” ordered Major Feuerbach as he offered him a seat.
“I’m sorry, sir,” chuckled Cale. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been around an officer.”
“Well, don’t treat me like one. You can call me anything you want, just don’t call me late for dinner,” he smiled.
Cale smirked.
“As you can see by my civilian guard there, I don’t have many soldiers around. Just two squads worth actually. Things are pretty relaxed here,” the major informed him.
“I’ll do what I can, sir. But forgive me, I once received in-school suspension while sitting in this very chair,” smiled Cale.
“For what?” asked Major Feuerbach.
“Fighting,” chuckled Cale uncomfortably.
He squinted and nodded his head at Cale.
“I sense that about you,” confessed the major. “You’re a fighter. How else could you be here if you weren’t?”
The two sat in silence for a moment.
“Alright,” he began. “Let me hear this long story.”
Twenty minutes later he and Cale emerged from the office. Faith had tried to comfort JoLynn to no avail. The little girl ran to him once more.
“I know you’ve got your own priorities, but I could use a good soldier like you,” said the major. “I could always order you to, but I won’t.”
Cale was perfectly adamant with the major that he wasn’t staying, but to willfully disobey a direct and lawful order was punishable by up to death. Feuerbach couldn’t resist civilian unrest if he executed one of their own. Leadership was a political game.
“I’m sorry, sir,” apologized Cale.
“Well,” began the major. “Good luck.”
He offered Cale a handshake.
“Thank you, sir.”
He’d really only given the major the highlights of his story. They mostly discussed things back home. He inquired about his brothers, which the major didn’t know specifically. Whether there was a military presence in McCook—again no knowledge. And where he could procure supplies. Major Feuerbach informed him that he could have a few boxes of 5.56 ammunition, but other things like food, water, and a vehicle would have to be bartered with the civilians.
“She’s a daddy’s girl,” stated Faith.
“Yep,” Cale deflected the comment. “See? Told you I’d be okay,” he said to JoLynn.
“How old is she?” questioned Faith. “I heard you had a daughter, but I didn’t think it was that long ago.”
“She’s five,” answered Cale.
He knew she was doing the math in her head. It didn’t add up. They’d graduated high school three years ago. He’d have still been with her when JoLynn was born.
“Oh.” She eyed him suspiciously.
“How’ve ya been, man?” asked Chris.
“Did he really just ask you that?” inquired Zach.
“He did,” muttered Cale.
Cale ignored Chris’s question and posed one of his own.
“Are Tristan and Jacob here?” he asked the three of them.
All of them shook their heads.
“I haven’t seen them since the army guys came in. And that was like, what?” he asked Chris and Faith. “Two weeks after things went to shit here?”
“Yeah,” confirmed Faith. “Your house is burned down.”
It wasn’t his house anymore.
“So, no one has seen them in a year and a half,” stated Zach.
“Shi-shoot,” whispered Cale because JoLynn was listening to him.
“I’m really sorry, Cale,” offered Faith. “If you want to talk or anything—”
“I’m fine,” he cut her off. “We’re just passing through. We need supplies. Who do I talk to for that?”
Faith’s expressions hadn’t changed a bit. Cale immediately knew he’d hurt her feelings. Unfortunately, hurt feelings weren’t at the top of his list. He felt awkward being around them. Not just Faith, but Chris and John also. It was different now. He was different now.
“What ya got to trade?” asked John.
“The major told me my pistol ammo would be a sufficient bartering tool,” he stated.
“You actually have handgun bullets?” Chris sounded flabbergasted. “You could buy a shit ton! How many you got?”
“Just a few,” he responded.
“Fuck man. You could buy us all alcohol! I say we get drunk and party tonight!” exclaimed Chris.
It was amazing how three years had gone by and Chris acted like he was still in high school.
“Shut up!” John elbowed Chris. “You should be able to get whatever you need, Cale. Five will get you food and water. Seven will get you all that and a car with fuel. No one travels anymore,” he smirked.
Cale followed John to the gymnasium. It was lit by lanterns, candles, and flashlights. The large bleachers were all stowed and tables were lined up all around the gym. It almost reminded Cale of the college night four years ago, when Chris convinced him to accompany him to talk to the army recruiter. If the power had been out, that is.
“I’ll go ask around and see what you can get,” said John before walking away.
Chris followed, but Faith stayed.
“You trust him to be your ambassador?” asked Zach.
Cale shrugged. It was loud in the gym. People shouted back and forth over one another.
“I can’t believe you’re back,” Faith whispered to him.
“Me either,” he said.
“I’m sorry about your brothers,” she offered. “And your aunt.”
“Thanks,” replied Cale.
He felt anxious standing in such a congested place. Cale felt trapped.
“Let’s go stand out here,” he said to JoLynn as he lead her back into the commons.
“Are you okay?” asked Faith.
“Yeah,” nodded Cale.
“Cale, come on,” she said. “I know you. And you’re not alright.”
He delayed a moment. “It’s just weird being back.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” she tried to comfort him. “We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
Cale didn’t answer.
“You said you wanted to stay friends,” she lectured. “I thought we were.”
Cale looked at Zach
. How he wished he were really there.
“Did you really say that to her?” laughed Zach.
“Of course I said it,” began Cale. “All dumb nice guys say that.”
Faith looked offended. “You’re not dumb.”
“She thinks you’re playing pity party,” Zach scoffed.
Cale ignored her and waited for Chris and John to return.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned.
“How many of those things have you killed?” he asked her.
He was hoping to unsettle her and drive her off. It looked like his plan worked initially, but she quickly recovered.
“Um, none,” she answered. “I’ve been here since the beginning. How many Georges have you killed?”
“Georges?” he inquired.
“That’s what everyone here calls them. They named them after George Romeo or something,” Faith explained.
“Romero,” corrected Cale.
“What?”
“George Romero. As in George A. Romero, the father of modern zombies,” he educated her. “They named them after him. That’s pretty clever.”
“Whatever,” she retorted. “How many have you killed?”
“I lost count,” he said sternly.
“Oh,” she said surprised. “What happened to your hand?”
This was his chance to make her feel uncomfortable. He covered JoLynn’s ears so she wouldn’t hear.
“Four men who fancied themselves the Riders of the Apocalypse cut them off after I shot two of them. So I broke the third ones neck,” he confessed as he stared straight ahead at Zach. “I don’t know where the fourth one is, but I have a bullet for him, if he turns up.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “That’s horrible. Is that true?”
“Yep,” he stated. “And that was just here in America.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” she stated.
“Then don’t say anything,” he offered. “Unless you can rewind time and make it all different.”
“What happened to you?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Cale replied vacantly.
John returned without Chris to give Cale the news.
“I found a guy who’ll get you everything you want for eight bullets and one of your guns,” he stated.
“And what’s your take away?” asked Cale.
John was never charitable. Everything came with a price. Telling from his uneasy expression, he hadn’t changed a bit.
Z Plan (Book 3): Homecoming Page 35
