GM walked away from Harvey and went around shaking hands and introducing himself to the people who had gathered around. Bob walked up to his brother and looked him in the eye.
“Hey, I’m sorry about what I said before. Maybe one day we can get past it all.”
Bob stuck out his hand and had the paper discreetly hidden in his palm. Harvey shook his brother’s hand, felt the paper, and the promptly stuck his hands in his pockets. Then he just stared at his shoes.
“I’ll see you later, Harv.”
“Yea. See ya.”
Once the armored trucks were back on their way north, GM asked to be taken to the high school. He wanted to discuss with them the new way things were going to work around here.
Bob walked in first since everyone there knew him. He was immediately struck with the smell of unwashed bodies and overflowing toilets.
“Everyone, this is GM. He is the new leader of everything going on here in town. We have killed most of the Z’s and have some very nice houses set up for you all to live in. He also made peace with the gang to the south a little bit ago.”
“That’s right. There is no government. We are the help you have been waiting for. Now is the time for you to get up off your lazy, sorry asses, leave this stinky shithole, and start living again,” GM announced to everyone.
“How do we know we can trust you?” a voice from the crowd shouted.
“Joe, you know me,” Bob said. “I’ve tried to get you all out of here for days now. You know this. We finally have the firepower and resources we need to get things going again. Please, just grab your things, and come with us.”
“Yea, all right.”
By that evening, everyone from the school had moved to the northern neighborhood Bob lived in. Bob had returned home after helping everyone settle in, and he had a surprise visitor sitting on his couch.
“Harv! What the fuck, man? You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry. I figured you were helping with the world domination, and I didn’t want to get in your way. I knew you’d be back at some point.”
“No, I was making sure everyone holed up at the high school was getting settled in ok. We finally got them to move up here now that its relatively safe to travel around town again. No thanks to you.”
“Look, Bob—”
“Don’t, just don’t. I’m fucking done with that shit. Not really, but if we’re going to survive this, we need to work together. I have a pretty good idea of what happened to you today. It almost happened to me this morning. So, unless you want more of the same, I suggest you just play along.”
“What are we going to do? Do you have a plan?” Harvey sounded defeated for the first time since they’d been kids.
“No, I don’t. But we’re not the only ones who hate these guys. Apparently, they have been making enemies wherever they go. That tells me they are so not on the up and up.
“They were telling me about a group of people in RVs who passed through their town in Kentucky. These people apparently helped some of their slaves, or whatever, escape. The Vinny guy wants revenge on them for something. I don’t know what. He wouldn’t say. Just kept saying, ’The RV gang will get what’s coming to them. Especially the fuckhead in the red SUV,’ whatever that means.”
“RV people, you say?”
“Yea, why?”
“Well, over at the jail, you know I kept the generators running. And I have my old ham radio set up. We’ve been talking to people all over what’s left of the US.”
“Really, that’s cool. But what does this have to do with the RV people.”
“I’m getting to that. Damn, you always were in a hurry, you little shit. Like I was saying, people have been seeing a group of RVs heading north. A big group of them. Some say they are a military outfit. Some think it’s preppers who had their shit together and were ready. Nobody really knows because they are on the move and don’t stay in one spot for too long.”
“Do you think it’s the same people? The ones Vinny hates.”
“I don’t know. The similarities are too close though. I heard an interesting radio call just before I came over here. Some folks along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin spotted them leaving a small town three days ago. This guy hadn’t been to town since the beginning, because some militia was running rampant, doing bad things to good people. Well, he didn’t see any movement in town for a few days and decided to go check it out just today. According to what he said, the whole militia was dead. They were holed up in the local jail. Just like me. Just dead. Left to rot where they fell. So, this fella says he went to the National Guard armory just up the road to see if he could scrounge up anything that was left.”
“Wow, so he doesn’t see anything for a few days and then finds out the bad guys are all dead? Seems like a coincidence that they died about the same time the RV people left town, doesn’t it?”
“That’s what he said. He went to the armory, and it was empty. At first, he was pissed about it. He figured the RV people were just as bad ’cause they took everything. But then he finds this note written on a whiteboard. Says something about them heading to Washington State to start a new settlement. Then he figures they can’t be all bad, killing bad guys and then taking things they probably thought nobody was left to use anymore.”
“Wow, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. Headed north in Wisconsin but going to Washington state. So, if they head due west, they have to come though Montana. We both know the fastest way is I-90. But if they thought nobody was left, why leave the note?”
“True, unless they stick to Highway 2 to avoid large cities. The guy was confused about that too. Unless they plan on using it to kill Z’s. That’s my guess. Oh, and something else I just remembered. Two days ago, people in Fargo said they seen ’em pass through. Said they were hauling ass like they were running from something.”
“Or maybe to something.”
Bob got up, dug though some drawers in the kitchen, and laid out a map of the US on the table.
“I don’t want to write anything on here in case someone sees it.”
Then Bob went around and double-checked to make sure all the blinds were closed.
“Here is Fargo. Headed north like you said. The only thing above that, really, is Grand Forks and Canada.”
“There is an Air Force base in Grand Forks. A buddy from high school was stationed there several years ago.”
“Does anyone know where they started from?”
“Not that I’ve heard. We know they were in Kentucky. Here. And once folks on the ham started talking about it, one guy said he’d seen a few RVs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Here. He said it sounded a lot like them, but there were only two of them. He did say the red SUV and blue truck match the description. He said they took out a biker gang that was trying to take over.”
“Hmmm, that’s very interesting. Sounds like they are getting more people, but that doesn’t really help. Let’s get back on track with where they are going.
You also said some people think they might be military. If that is remotely true, I would bet my lunch they are going to the air base in Grand Forks. That means they either stick to Highway 2 like you said or they drop down and catch I-90. They were in Fargo two days ago? That means they could pass through here tomorrow. If we didn’t miss them already. Fuck, Harv, what if we missed them today? That’s only…an eight-hour drive.”
“If they go straight through. And don’t stop to kill more bad guys. Why today? Why not yesterday?”
“’Cause them guys were flying around yesterday. I’m sure they would have spotted them if that convoy is as big as you say it is.”
“True. Well, I know for a fact they haven’t passed though on I-90 yet. I have people posted and watching to see if anyone passes through,” said Harvey, and then he sheepishly added, “And we have the freeway blocked at one point.”
“I don’t want to know. But whatever. We need to talk to them and get them on our side. I’m going to send a couple
of guys up to Malta in the morning. But how would we know if they have gone by?”
“Oh, here’s the crazy thing. Apparently, the last RV is towing a trailer. This trailer has, like, saw blades or something welded at knee height. If the Z’s get pushed in around that, it cuts off the bottom of their legs, leaving a trail of un-walkers behind.”
“Ok, now someone is full of shit. I know when you’re lying to me, and you believe what you heard. Seriously though, how do people know that but have never talked to them? That shit sounds like an urban legend getting out of hand.”
“Now that you mention it, I can see your point. Like I said though, these guys are always on the move and never stop where anyone can see them. But people have watched them go by. And they see the aftermath. So, back to your question. If they have already passed through Malta, look for Z’s with half-legs. Or rows of legs on the ground.”
“All right, I’ll let them know. Do you still have that portable ham somewhere?”
“Yea, I’ll get it and bring it to you here in a little bit. Then I’ll stay at the jail and monitor the radio. I don’t expect GM to come back to the jail for a few days. Especially if we play nice.”
“Right, I just hope nobody else gets hurt in the meantime. So far so good on our end. Dave kinda alluded to the fact that GM doesn’t leave house much unless its needed. He leaves most of the dirty work to Vinny.”
“Yea, I hope we can hold them off too. I’ll make sure my people go along with whatever. It will be easier for them, since most of them are from the jail anyway.”
“Oh, that’s just lovely. You have all the convicts on your side. No wonder they follow you so well.”
“One more thing you need to know. Somewhere between Indiana and Wisconsin, they got a semi-truck at the front of their convoy. It has a giant cowcatcher on the front. You can’t just block the road with some cars. They will drive right though that shit.”
“Really? A cowcatcher? Now I’m for sure someone is full of shit.”
“Regardless, you need to have a good fucking plan on how to get them to stop.”
“That’s easy. We make a sign. With some info that only they would know.”
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Beginning of the New Beginning, Vol. 2 Page 17
