Humanity's Hope (Book 1): Camp H

by Greg P. Ferrell

  As they arrived at the garage, Benjy had nearly won his argument and nearly had Kyle convinced to allow Hope to go on a supply run with him. “I’m telling you, Kyle, she’ll be just fine. Besides, I think it would be good for me to have some one-on-one time with her and tell her some stories about her grandfather.”

  “Alright, completely against my better judgment, I will let her go out one time with you. There’s probably not another person I trust her with out there more than you.”

  The two of them entered the garage and found David still hard at work on the Devastator.

  “Ah, good,” David said. “Can one of you come over and hold this beam while I tighten it back down?”

  “What are you doing in here this late?” Kyle asked. “You should be at home with Jacob and Christi.”

  “They’ve already gone to bed, and I had to figure out what happened to the front arm today. Besides, I know you’re going to want to go check out this slab horde soon. So I had to make sure my baby was ready.”

  “Wow. You know me pretty good. I was going to ask for volunteers tomorrow to go out with me to check it out.” Kyle held the swing arm in place.

  David finished tightening the bolts and looked over to find Benjy taking a tour of the inside. He pushed Kyle to the side and yelled out to Benjy, “Hey, old man, hit the button that says front.” Benjy complied, and with a loud hiss the arm swung back to life.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m good,” said David. “Hey, count me in on the run. I’m going to spend a couple more hours in here, then get some sleep. I’ll have this baby ready to go as soon as you get your team together.”

  “Alright, but make sure you get some rest. I need my pilot sharp.”

  “Nice job you did on this,” Benjy said as he exited the vehicle. “I can’t wait ’til you let me take it out on a run sometime.”

  “Yeah, not gonna happen, old man. This is my baby, and she has only one pilot.”

  “We’ll see. Well, at least let me show you the way I went up to Columbus so you know what roads are clear.” Benjy pulled out a map. “Then I’m off for a few days back to my place. I’ll come back and take Hope off your hands for a night.”

  The three men then started plotting out a course for the run, while sharing a few laughs at the same time.

  CHAPTER 27

  EIGHT MONTHS PRIOR TO THE CAMP H INVASION

  Tovas, Eva, and Rowland

  Tovas arose from a deep slumber. He heard the distinct roar of a lion somewhere in the distance. As he looked around, he was only slightly comforted by the clay hut around him and the thin grass roof above. He noticed it was night once again, so he slowly left his bedding behind and ventured outside as he tried not to awaken his irritable bunkmate beside him. As he exited the hut, the sight of several soldiers greeted him as they rushed around the camp packing up the gear and equipment. Trucks were parked all around and the soldiers methodically stowed all the packed gear into the awaiting vehicles. He found Rowland easily amongst the soldiers and walked over to talk to his host and try to glean any information he could regarding the activity bustling all around him. “Master Rowland, how are you this evening?”

  “Quite well, my young consort, how was your rest?”

  “Very deep and invigorating, I must say. It has been some time since I have been able to rest unencumbered. What is all the commotion about? It looks as if the camp is preparing to relocate.”

  “You are correct. We will be forced to move on soon. There is a rather large group of undead heading our way, and it would be prudent to leave rather than fight them off and draw attention to ourselves. Besides, Byron and Ysaac have returned from their mission, and they report that our transportation has arrived at last. We will be heading to Dakar to catch the boat to Florida. We will be leaving tonight, thus you may want to get your counterpart up and ready to depart. I will leave it to you to inform her of our plans, as I do not know how much more of her attitude I can handle at this moment.” Rowland then flagged down one of his soldiers and proceeded to give him further directions.

  “Yes, sir, I will do as you ask,” Tovas said as he walked back to the hut, a feeling of dread hanging over him. He had been co-consort with Eva for many years under Kane’s leadership. Even so, he had never been fully able to handle her many mood swings and the sense of entitlement she so dearly clung to. On any good day she was mildly spoiled, but ever since they had been run out of their homes by the undead she had been completely insufferable.

  As Tovas reentered the hut, he found Eva still sound asleep in her bunk. He pulled back the sheet in which she had completely entombed herself , and gently tapped her on the shoulder. “Eva, I need you to wake up, please.”

  Eva gave a disappointed groan at first, then sat up and gave Tovas an irritated glance. “What is so important for you to awaken me?”

  “They are breaking camp now and we must prepare to leave. Rowland has asked that we be fully packed and ready to go.”

  “Already? We have barely had time to recover from our travels. I will have words with him as soon as I am dressed. Now, go tell him I would like an audience with him as soon as I am presentable.” Eva quickly got out of her bunk and began to rummage through her baggage for some clean clothes.

  “I will not do that. He is a master, although he is not ours. But he is of the top rank in our Council, and we do not dictate to him. He has given us directions, and it is our duty to follow his rule. Now, I suggest you get yourself ready to move out as soon as possible. Oh, and one more thing you should consider, my dear Eva, he does not strike me as a someone you want to cross.” Tovas then turned toward the door and left while Eva soaked up what he had said.

  As he shut the door, he heard a loud crash, as she no doubt found some sort of fragile object to throw at his retreating form.

  Rowland, who had been walking near their hut at that exact moment and had heard the exchange, grinned and slapped Tovas on the shoulder. “Show her no fear, and one day you might yet win against her,” he said as he walked past.

  Tovas grinned at Rowland’s comment and then turned toward the ensuing chaos that took place in the courtyard. He watched as well-trained soldiers continued to load truck after truck with all the supplies in the camp. He spotted Byron as he stood at the periphery of light cast by the camp’s large spotlights and as he stared out into the encroaching darkness. He walked over to where Byron stood and looked out into the distance himself as he tried to find what had so captivated his attention. “Byron, what has you so transfixed?”

  “Just a precaution. I am keeping watch myself. We have a large herd of those monsters coming towards us, and I don’t want to be caught unaware.”

  “If you don’t mind, I would like to keep watch with you.” Tovas glanced anxiously toward the camp, specifically at the hut he had just vacated.

  “You are more than welcome to join me and hide from your insufferable companion,” Byron said as he gave Tovas a sly grin.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Eva has always had the reputation amongst the Council as an arrogant bitch. Most of us can’t understand why Kane tolerates her and her attitude. Rowland would never put up with that kind of behavior from either of us. She must have some redeeming quality the rest of us don’t see.”

  “She follows Kane’s orders to the letter. As for how she handles Council business, she is quite feared when she is sent on a task. I once saw her nearly bring a North Korean official to tears when she was through scolding him over his antagonizing the Americans almost to the brink of war. In fact, it was over six months later before there was anything of relevance to report from North Korea after that incident.”

  “She would do well not to provoke my master during her stay with us. Rowland can be quite hard on discipline if he is forced to act. Now, why don’t you tell me what you saw in Europe, and we will compare notes against what I have seen here in Africa.”

  As Tovas started to tell his tale, Rowland called out for him. Tovas looked to Byron and exc
used himself before he ran back toward the camp.

  As he arrived, he found Rowland as he stood with his back to Eva, all while she demanded answers from him in regards to the situation. Tovas instantly realized the moment as volatile and cautiously slipped past Eva and approached Rowland and made his presence known to the master without uttering a word.

  “My young man, Tovas, would you be so kind as to immediately escort your fellow consort out of my presence. Also, inform her that any more outbursts will be dealt with in a most unpleasant manor.” Rowland hadn’t even bothered with turning around.

  Tovas faced Eva to convince her to see reason and mind herself in the presence of the Master Rowland, yet before he could get a single word out, he was brushed aside as Eva moved past him to confront their host.

  “You dare threaten me!” Eva ranted at Rowland’s back “I am a consort of our leader and deserve the respect afforded to me by this position. I will not be treated as some minor underling, as you seem to prefer to treat your consorts. I have held audience with some of the most powerful people on this planet and had them on their knees vowing allegiance to our Council. I will have your respect.”

  As Eva paused to take in a breath and continue her tirade, Rowland took the opening to quell her temper tantrum. He moved quickly and grabbed the younger consort by the throat and began to march her backward as she stumbled along, startled into silence for the moment.

  “My dear misguided consort, you are most incorrect if you believe that your position holds any sway over me. I was a Master in this Council for years before you were even born. This is a lesson I suggest you learn quickly if you wish to continue to draw breath. You will never speak to me, or any of the other Masters in this most disrespectful manner again, or I will make sure Kane has no choice but to replace you. My friend, your Master, has asked me to keep you safe and return you to his side where you will continue to serve. He did not, however, state in what condition you were to be in when I delivered you. I leave the choice to you to decide how many of your limbs you arrive with or without when we reach Florida by speaking out of turn again. Now, I want you packed and ready to move out in 15-minutes or I will leave you here to greet our incoming visitors.”

  Rowland then released Eva’s throat, turned his back to her and calmly walked toward his own hut. She crashed straight to the ground, not even realizing that Rowland had completely lifted her feet off the ground and brought her up to his eye level while he laid down his rules to her.

  Tovas rushed to Eva’s side and attempted to lift her off the ground before she waved him off. He stood back and watched Eva gather herself before she pushed past him toward their hut. As she rushed past, he finally let the smile he had been holding back since Rowland first wrapped his hand around her throat, bloom on his face. After he allowed himself a few moments to inwardly gloat, he hid the smile and headed toward the hut to help with the packing.

  Within minutes, both he and Eva remerged from the hut with a few bags and handed them to a soldier to load up. Eva still hadn’t spoken a word since her lesson, and Tovas wasn’t going to ruin the blessed silence by speaking to her any time soon. He had no doubt she would shatter the peace too soon for his liking, anyhow, and he was determined to enjoy the relative peace for the time being. They took up their place in the lead vehicle, while Rowland and his own consorts got into the second vehicle. Once the last of the supplies were loaded, the caravan pulled out as they headed toward their boat.

  CHAPTER 28

  Kyle

  Kyle stood at the head of the table as he overlooked the entire gathering of Camp H’s residents. He had called them all together that morning to go over the recent discoveries and events that had occurred over the past couple of days.

  “Now that we are all here, let’s get this started,” began Kyle. “First, I want to address the visitor we brought back yesterday. He decided that he wanted to leave, so I sent him out early this morning with Benjy, who will drop him off well south of Tallahassee. As for why he didn’t want to stay, he made mention of a large horde of slabs heading south towards us and felt it wasn’t safe. We all know what happened last winter, as it got colder and the slabs started to migrate south. And we had a hell of a time dealing with that last year. We, however, have had time to fortify our wall. We also had a little fortune smile on us with weaponry we have acquired recently, starting with the overrun National Guard convoy and multiple other finds, including the haul from yesterday. So with all that, I feel good about our chances of fighting off a mindless horde, no matter the numbers. I am even more confident in our chances after seeing the way we held off the siege by those bandits in the spring, especially considering they were smarter and meaner than any group we’ve faced.” Kyle paused as the residents let out a little cheer that led him to believe they so far approved of his comments.

  “As far as food and supplies are concerned,” continued Kyle, “we are currently sitting on about four months of canned and dried goods alone. However, by Christi’s count, we also have about three to four months of meat and veggies stored in the freezers, if we limit ourselves to one serving of meat a day. As for medical, we have enough basic supplies in antibiotic ointments, aspirin, and first aid kits to get us through the winter as long as we don’t have any major illnesses. Antibiotics are almost all gone, but with Benjy’s help, we are learning to use natural herbs that will at least help with minor infections.”

  Big Poppa Don raised a hand. “About this horde that had that fella scared, any idea how big and how far away it was?”

  “I was going to save that for last, but since you asked, let’s go ahead and get it out of the way. I am asking for four volunteers to go out with David and me on a recon to see if we can get an idea of what we will be up against. I figured this would be the perfect mission for the Devastator, as we have named it. After yesterday’s trial run, I think we will be as safe as can be taking it out. So who’s up for it?”

  “I’m in. I need to get out of here for a change and see how bad it is out there,” Big Poppa Don chimed back.

  “Me, too,” Ron volunteered from the back. “Besides I gotta make sure you come back. I’m not taking in any more kids,” he added with a chuckle.

  “You got the two of us, also,” Tim yelled out as he slapped Billy on the back.

  “Then we will take off in an hour,” Kyle said. “So go get your gear and meet at the garage. We will update the rest of you as soon as we get back. If there are no more questions or issues, we will call it for today.”

  No one spoke out. Kyle slapped his hand on the table at the same moment that a loud clap of thunder boomed across the camp. Kyle had been watching the clouds roll in all morning, but even he was a little startled by the ferocity of the thunder.

  “Well, I guess we will be doing this in the rain,” observed Kyle. “So ya’ll know what to do while we are gone. Secure the fire pits, and make sure we get the rain collectors out to replenish our raw-water supply.” Kyle then headed toward his house to get his own place ready for the storm.

  When Kyle arrived home, he found his girls already at work putting out the rain collectors and securing the backyard garden, as well. He smiled as he walked into the house and saw them working as a team. He guessed that even with all the fighting they had been doing lately, it was just part of having teenaged girls. At least they seemed to be able to put their differences aside and at least pretend to get along, long enough to get the work done when needed. As Kyle entered the house, his little man Patch ambushed him.

  “Daddy! Hope said Uncle Benjy came by last night. Why didn’t you wake me up?” Patch asked as he climbed up on his dad’s back.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you. Besides he was only stopping by for a little bit, and we needed to talk about some grown up stuff. Anyway, I think he’s coming back in a day or so, and I will make sure you get to see him then.”

  “Good. I want to show him I’ve been practicing with the bow and arrow he gave me last time,” Patch replie
d. With his mission complete he disembarked from his father and headed toward his room.

  “Okay, little dude. Listen, I’ve got to go out for a while, so I need you to be in charge while I’m gone, but you can’t tell your sisters. I just want you to be my secret spy and tell me everything that happens while I’m gone. Can you do that for me?”

  “Oh, yeah, I can do that,” Patch answered as he ran back out of his room with a pad of paper and a pencil. “I’m going to write it all down for you. Aunt Christi has been teaching me how to write.”

  Kyle smiled in agreement. He forgot at times just how much Patch was missing out on without a normal school routine to teach him the basics they’d all taken for granted before the slabs came.

  “Alright, I’m going to go then, but remember, you’re secretly in charge. I’ll be back later tonight or in the morning, so please be good. Love you, little dude.” Kyle winked down at his son, then kissed him on the head on his way out the door.

  Kyle stopped and gave the girls their pep talk as he passed them on his way by. After a couple minutes of arguing about who was responsible for Patch, he made his way to the garage to begin prepping for the mission.

  CHAPTER 29

  Hutch

  On paper the plan had been solid, however, the plan had definitely not gone accordingly. Hutch was on the floor with his feet braced against the door holding back at least a dozen slabs eager to get to him. He could still hear and feel the continuous gunfire of his automatic motion-detecting guns outside in the stadium. Unfortunately for him, it was looking like the only clear path out of his current predicament was to run past his own trap of guns.

  Hutch weighed all his options and decided it was time to go. As he prepared to release his hold against the door, he heard the rogue gun that had caused his current predicament coming back around again. As the gun steadily walked the rounds back across the floor he was on, he could hear the glass shattering in the adjoining press boxes, and one by one he knew the rounds were getting closer. He threw his arms over his head and face in a futile attempt to keep the flying debris in the room from injuring him, and waited for the shots to come.