“Is there a weight limit on this thing?” I asked.
“We should be fine.” Dewey said. “Whole squads of men go down at a time.”
“That brings me to the next question.” Amanda said. “If the only lift control is up here, how are we going to use this to escape without one of us staying behind?”
“That’s easy.” Dewey said. “I’m going to lower the rest of you down.”
“No.” Fred said.
“There’s no other way.” Dewey said and smiled at his friend. “You know there’s no other way.”
“She’s planning on having you killed.” I said. Dewey nodded at me.
“She’s plans a lot of things. Maybe plans will change for me.”
“I doubt that, she wanted you dead before. What could change her mind now that you helped her husband and daughter escape again?” Amanda asked.
Dewey looked over at Brentley. “Maybe if I tell her I saved her boy toy from getting beaten to death she will be lenient on me.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it.” I said.
Dewey nodded; he knew we were most likely right. He gave a sigh and said, “time to go”.
I shook Dewey’s hand. “Good luck.” I said as I got into the cart. Amanda and Marky Mark did as well. Susie hugged the man and then she and Samantha got into the cart. Fred hugged him and told him to run and hide, to wait until she came after us before he attempted to escape. Dewey said he would then Fred was in the cart and we were slowly sliding down the side of the building towards the ground. The zombies trapped inside the building watched our progress as we escaped the tower of the evil queen.
TWELVE
“Ah, young Charles you have returned with a new batch of recruits.” Jane said.
“Yeah and I’m soon to have a pissed off Army on my heals as well.” I said.
“No, you won’t.” Fred said walking up to Jane. Sass had walked ahead to where Amanda, Susie and Samantha were. I heard him say, “I’m glad you’re back Sam. Are you okay?” Then I had to turn my focus back to Fred and Jane.
“What do you mean we won’t have an army after us?” I asked.
“Tabitha has rules. Nobody leaves the structure at night for any reason. She will not pursue us until the sun rises.” Fred answered.
“You’re sure of this?” I asked.
“Positive.”
This screwed everything up. My plan needed her to be chasing us. Everything else was going perfectly. I had expected some show of force on the roof so we wouldn’t think we were getting away too easily. I hadn’t expected it to be the maintenance man, but I had expected something. I had even expected Dewey to stay behind. I had decided he was in on it hours ago. He would be informing Tabitha of how everything had gone down as we stood here. Her waiting to pursue us was not expected. I had to decide how to modify my plan.
“Even with you all taking the kid back, she’ll just wait it out until sunrise?” Jane asked.
“Why wouldn’t she? She knows where we’re going and the route we’re most likely to take. Hell, she can watch us leave the area from the top of the med center. She still holds all of the cards here.”
“He’s right. She’s still in a good position. Plus, we look more and more evil as each hour ticks by. All of this hinges on perception.” I said.
“All of what?” Jane asked.
“We’re in the middle of something much bigger than a kidnapping.” I said, then to Jane, “Were you able to find the stuff on my list?”
“Yup, I got every bit of it. The Sasquatch and I have it ready as you asked.”
I looked back where the lift touched down and saw the logging chain hanging over the roof of the bus beside it and sticking out from under as well. Jane and I walked over and he handed me the padlock.
“What are you doing?” Fred asked.
“Insurance.” I said. And Jane helped me pull the two chains tight and loop them around the lifts support structure. Once the lift was bound to the bus I slid the padlock in place binding the two ends of chain together.
“This is nothing more than a stalling measure. I am sure Tabitha has another way out of the building. She will be able to make it down and cut the lift free, but it will take her some time. That’s time we need to get down the road.”
“What exactly is this plan of yours to get us down the road?” Fred asked.
I looked from Fred to Jane to Amanda. “The first step is to get us to the storage company on State of Franklin we saw on our way in. That is where we hold up for the night.”
“What?!” Fred said.
“Charlie, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Amanda said.
“Yes. It must be done. I have an errand I have to run tonight, and it is much too dangerous for everyone to go with me.”
“I refuse to let you use us like this.” Fred said.
“Fred, I swear to god, if you get self righteous on me right now I’ll leave you here chained to that lift. You have used us all day. The only reason I have to risk my life again tonight is because of you and what you have set in motion. You will do as I say. You will do it how I say and when I say. Because I can guarantee you one thing, if you follow my orders by the time the sun sets tomorrow you and your daughter will be free. All you have to do is trust me.”
Fred looked at me appraisingly. It was not a look that fostered any notions that he had faith in my ability to keep him safe. Samantha walked up and took his hand.
“What are you worried about dad? You know Charlie’s a good guy. He won’t hurt us.”
I smiled at Samantha, “Thank you sweetie.” I held out my hand and she slapped me five. Fred seemed to groan deep inside his body.
“Okay. I will trust you. I will do as you say. But if you’re wrong…”
“If I’m wrong we’re all dead.” I said, and Fred could see I meant it.
Sass stepped up, “Good thing we are seldom wrong when it comes to the important stuff.”
We retrieved our backpacks from the bus and began making our way out of the parking lot. It was full dark by this point and we were traveling accordingly. Jane and I had point, along with Big Lou. Fred, Samantha and Susie were in the middle. Sass, Amanda and Marky Mark brought up the rear.
“You have any trouble?” I asked Jane as we turned out of the parking lot and onto the access road which would take us back to State of Franklin.
“No trouble at all. Big Lou went with us. That dog is worth his weight in gold. We didn’t get within fifty yards of a zombie with him helping us.”
We made the turn at the road and I could see State of Franklin stretch away and up the hill across the intersection ahead.
“What’s this errand you have to run tonight?” Jane asked.
“I figured while we’re down here I should take Marky Mark to the beer cave.”
“Every time one of us hides information from you, young Charles, you bust the red ass on us and we have to listen to one of your ‘I’m in charge’ lectures.”
I was looking at the road so I’m not sure if Jane was looking at me or not, but I nodded in agreement before saying, “totally unfair isn’t it?”
Jane laughed his whisper laugh and said, “that’s what I was thinking.”
“Trust me Jane, if we’re still alive tomorrow, when all of this is over, I will explain everything.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Jane said.
THEN
DAY 62 OF THE INFECTION
ONE
I’m not a stranger to fighting wars. On the first day of this new world I survived the battle in Gray where my group was outnumbered at least thirty to one. I survived the failed fieldtrip during the first week of the invasion. I survived the opening skirmish with the bikers. And I survived the war with the biker gang that followed. I wasn’t scared of what Tabitha might bring to the table because I knew what my group was capable of.
Amanda and Jane were gone six days tracking down where the motorcycle guys base of operations was. Every day was a nightmare. When the morning
of day three rolled around, I knew that I had sent them both to their deaths over some stupid paranoid notion that we were important enough to be the center of the universe. Some of my paranoia wasn’t without cause. I knew we had a very sweet set up. I knew if others saw it, they would want it. I also knew if they believed that they had a large enough force to take it, that they would try. However, were we the most important thing on the eastern seaboard? Somehow, I doubted it. I had sent them out to joust some windmills while the locals slowly closed in around them. By the time the sky started growing dark on day three I was convinced I had killed them. “Throw a few more bodies on the barbie.” I had said, and my will had been done. Two of my friends were gone.
“You don’t know that.” Sass had said.
“They told you it would take a while. They said it wouldn’t be easy.” Jack said.
“Going on four days? You think they would have reported something in by now.” I said, but Jack shook his head.
“Charlie, you sent two soldiers into the field. Two soldiers who are used to doing jobs off the books. They are both accustomed to doing whatever it is they have to do to accomplish the mission. You shouldn’t be surprised that they have gone silent. They want no distractions. They are focused on the job and only the job. They are not dead. Wait and see. They will see this through.” Jack said.
“I thought you were against this whole, sending out scouts, thing.”
“To late to argue about whether or not they should have been sent Charlie. Now all we can do is hope it all turns out well, which I think it will. They are both very good soldiers and as much as it would kill Amanda to admit this, they work well together.”
The sun rose on day four to find me wanting to gear up a secondary force to go scouting for them. I guess I should be honest and say I wanted to go scout for their remains lying beside the interstate. What on earth could be wrong, I kept asking myself. Jack refused to even discuss the subject. He was not going to let me have my way on this one. When Sass chimed in and said that he thought it would serve no purpose other than put more of us at risk I knew I had lost. I would have to sit here on the roof of Wal-Mart, completely safe, while my friends were who knew where surrounded by who knew what kind of danger. Jack was quick to stick another knife in my back.
“This is what it means to be a leader Charlie. This is something you are going to have to get used to. It’s these types of decisions that separate good leaders from the people that just want to boss others around. You have to set the path that you believe in your heart to be right, and then you have to sit back and wait while hoping your decision was the right one.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but he then informed me it was time to read more Sun Tzu and discuss tactical philosophy and theories of engagement. Jack is a genius when it comes to fighting a war. He has taught me far more than I ever could have figured out on my own. I followed him over to where we had sat up the common tent and sat down at the table that had housed our computer until the power had gone out. The day had started out bad and from the looks of things it wasn’t going to get any better. I was in no mood to read from this book and discuss the long dead tactician’s beliefs on how to successfully fight a war. I wanted to grab my pack and, as Judas Priest had sung, head out to the highway.
Day five arrived and I was progressing through the stages of grief quite nicely. At the end of day two and almost the entirety of day three I had been in denial. I had spent that time telling myself that they were fine, these things just take time. I had that, often used, ostrich philosophy of burying my head in the sand. If I ignored the problem then surely it would just go away, right? On some level I knew that this method never led to anything good, however denial has a way of making the senseless stuff make perfect sense.
By the time the sun rose on day four I was knee deep in anger. I was mad at myself for telling them to go. I was mad at them for going. I was mad at Jack for not stopping me. I was even mad at Sass for having my back. I asked God if he had placed me in charge just so I could order them to their deaths. They say he works in mysterious ways. Maybe I was one of his mysteries.
I spent that entire night in the bargaining stage. I prayed for them to come back. I prayed for them to be safe. I offered up everything but my soul for them to still be alive and be heading back home. None of it mattered. As the sun rose on day five they still were not back, and I found myself entering into the fourth stage. Depression.
I sat on the edge of the roof looking out across the parking lot to the where the overpass sat. That is where all of this madness had begun. If that idiot biker had only gone the other way down the interstate, then his pursuers wouldn’t have found us. The initial fight wouldn’t have taken place and the concern for the invasion of the rest of the gang would have never entered into my mind. It simply wasn’t fair that things had taken this turn. It wasn’t fair that I had been given this burden. I didn’t want it then and I didn’t want it now. Maybe Sass was right. Maybe we just needed to pack our stuff and disappear in the dead of night.
Those thoughts kept spinning in my head. I’m sure they would have set up shop and produced ill effects all day had not the church bells began to ring. I’m not trying to be metaphoric. Actual church bells began to ring. The closest church to us was the Cornerstone that sat across the interstate from Wal-Mart. However, that was the building that had exploded, braining me with pieces of its brick wall in the process. I had no clue where the next closest church was. I was a Kingsport boy. The only reason I ever came to Johnson City before the dead invasion was a used book store called Mister K’s, Hooters, and Backdoor Records. Sitting at the edge of the building, as I was, made it easy to scout the horizon in search of a church full of people who had apparently woke up this morning missing a good chunk of their better sense. Those bells were going to bring the zombies to them in waves. If they were smart they were using the bells as a diversion to get the hell outta dodge. That’s what I would have done. You would think that everybody who survived that first day would have the brain capacity to think tactically. That’s just not the case. Idiots abound in this world just as abundantly as they did in the old one. Somebody could be ringing those bells just because they wanted to hear them. It’s a very small minority that considers the consequences of actions. Most times those few are made to take charge of their group and they are able to keep the others alive. Sometimes however, the idiots get to play tour guide and the bloodbath begins.
“Where are those bells coming from?” Jack asked.
“No clue. I’m a city boy, just not this city.” I said as I stood and looked behind me. Everyone was walking towards the front of the building, drawn by the sound of the ringing bells.
“Are they trying to get themselves killed?” Sass asked.
“It would seem that way.” Jack said.
“Unless it’s a diversion to cover their escape.”
Jack looked at me for a second. “It would make a good diversion.” He said.
“What do we do?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah, we can’t just stand here. Those people are most likely needing help.” Sass said.
“First of all, we don’t know if they need help or not. Secondly we don’t even know where the church in question is.” Jack said.
He was right; the sound seemed to be coming from every direction. We should sit this one out. As I was thinking that I could hear myself saying. “If they are idiots they will need help escaping the dead. If they are using it as a diversion to draw attention away from their escape then they are going to need our help facilitating that escape. Either way they do need help.”
“Point.” Jack said. “But there still is the fact that we have no clue where they are.”
“True, but we also have a very good idea where they aren’t as well.” I said.
“What exactly are you saying?” Jack asked. I looked over to Sass and he nodded at me smiling. I heard his unspoken message to teach mister military man that we knew a thing or two.
> “Well, we know that they aren’t down the interstate towards Kingsport. The only church down that way blew up months ago. We also know that it isn’t on down State of Franklin in either direction. If you go right, it’s just businesses. If you go left the road dumps you out onto the old Bristol highway. No churches there either. This means that it has to be somewhere straight down the interstate. All we need to do is head further into Johnson City and we should be able to better pin point where the noise is coming from.”
“Makes sense to me.” Sass said.
“Yes, it does. What are you proposing we do Charlie?” Jack asked.
“Let’s load up the truck and head down the interstate. See if we can find anything out of the ordinary.”
“And if we find survivors?” Jack asked.
“We rescue them of course.” Sass said.
Jack looked at the interstate for a long minute. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” He said.
“Go check the truck and see how much gas we have Sass. Let’s make sure we can go before we start loading up any supplies.” Jack said.
“On it.” Sass said as he headed for the lift.
“Charlie, wait here with me a sec before you run off okay.” Jack said. He led me over to where we could talk privately. “I want you to be careful.” He said.
“Jack, you know the truck was made to be able to drive through crowds of those things.” I said.
“I don’t mean that. I mean…look, they set those bells ringing for one of two reasons, I agree with you on that point. However, you think that they are either idiots or they are covering their escape. In my book either way they are idiots. Whether they are ringing the bell just to hear the pretty sounds or if they mismanaged their ability to keep themselves safe, they have proven that they are idiots. If you and Sass find these guys, please keep one thing in mind.”
“And what would that be Jack?”
“Not everybody deserves to be saved.”
Samantha's Song Page 28
