Dead End Stories From the End of the World

by P. S. Power

  Everyone broke up then, back to work or pretending to work, whatever they did inside the house all day. That the kitchen didn't have twenty helpers already was a mystery to him. They'd need people there soon, for canning and all that, he guessed. Lois smiled at him, a bit dryly.

  “Putting them in the kitchen?”

  Jake explained, waving the women over and the kids.

  “Yeah. I know it's not fair, but really, I don't think Yvonne and Tracy are bad people. They just went down the wrong path. Punishing them for it now is a waste. The kids are solid leaders and no one will hassle them in the kitchen if there are hard feelings. Besides, I may need Sammi and Ken on guard duty soon, or running one of the wood teams. They're not afraid to go and do things outside. That makes them as valuable. Though Yvonne at least will be on outdoor stuff too sometimes.” Everyone nodded as if it actually made sense, even Yvonne and as an afterthought, looking scared still, Tracy.

  Justine sat unmoving, looking both pained and scared. She probably thought they'd go zombie hunting right then or something.

  It was an idea.

  Not then, being injured like that, but Molly really shouldn't be out in the field anymore. She was doing better, but Jake didn't trust that totally. He'd test the bigger girl out and see how she handled things later. Right now they had stuff to do.

  “Burt? A word, out back I think. Justine, if you'd join us?” Jake kept his voice conversational. Not happy, but not harsh either. The words were polite. Still Justine looked like she expected a beating.

  Like he beat people?

  Silliness for sure.

  The older man had on a great looking forest green pullover sports jersey, it had the number zero on the front and he wore yet another pair of shorts under it. This time green, if in a darker color than the top. He walked with them slowly to the back door and held out his right hand to aid Justine down the steps. She took it gratefully, then looked at Jake again, afraid. As if getting help down some steps would be an issue?

  “Right, so... I have an idea, I don't know if it's stupid or not, but maybe we can do it. I want to build the nursery under the greenhouse. Uh, a nursery for babies I mean, not plants. We need a strong enough shelter under the ground to hold several feet of dirt, to cut the noise, I... know it's a lot of digging, but I don't know what else to do. We need the cellar for food. I-”

  Without saying anything Burt turned and went to get some sharpened sticks and string from inside his shed, jogging back quickly. He looked at the house carefully and then walked to the left hand side.

  “Over here. We can use the house as one wall above ground and there shouldn't be anything running under the ground here. The septic system is roughly between the back porch and the windmill. The well is actually several hundred feet over that way, this is just a pump here, to get the water over to the house for ease of use.”

  Then the man paced out a space way larger than Jake thought they had time for. Nearly fifty feet square. It would have made a decent swimming pool, but digging that out by hand in a month or less? Not if they were going to do anything else. After a few minutes of discussion Burt relented and cut the size by three fifths. It would have a low ceiling and not be that comfortable, but zombies wouldn't hear the babies if they did it right. They'd need to be born there too. Women screamed when they gave birth, didn't they? That was in all the old television programs. Maybe their women wouldn't now, but trusting to that seemed kind of optimistic.

  Jake would have started digging right then, but his arm wouldn't let him. Instead he went back to the armory with Justine and properly signed out a weapon for her, a double barreled shotgun.

  “So, today I'm on guard duty for the wood crew, being too lazy to help with the real work, with my arm and all. You're in the same boat. This is for you, if any zombies try to eat you or anyone we're guarding, then shoot them in the head. Practical range is about fifteen feet for stopping one with a single blast. Closer is better, too close is dead. Got it?” He grinned. “And for the record, don't let the barrel point at anyone not a zombie at all. Even by accident. If you do, I'll have to shoot you first, and I won't be able to stop and ask polite questions about intent. Things are a little tense, you understand that, right?” He showed her how to carry it, and reminded her several times to control where the barrel went.

  When Carley saw the situation her eyes flew open wide, but she didn't say anything, just kept a hand near her side arm as they all walked.

  Nate helped pull the cart over and gave him a sidelong look.

  “Um, Jake?” He said, eyeing the girl meaningfully.

  “She's on our side, Nate. Worry about her missing maybe, but she won't attack us. People mess up sometimes. When we can, we help them fix it. Not always possible. This time it is.” He said this confidently, as if it were real, even as he half expected the girl to turn on them at any moment. Justine nodded though. Nervously, but a big enough motion that everyone could see it.

  Things went fine, until the third round of getting logs, deeper into the woods than they'd gone before. The zombie heard them talking, since someone had gotten a little too loud. Tipper and Dave were already there, ready to shoot the former man, who was shirtless and nearly naked below too. The stench made his stomach hurt, and the look of rot would have made him hurl Back Before.

  He'd thought that all the video games would have toughened him back then, but they didn't include the smell that came off the long dead. It made a difference. Jake already had him in his sights, a very slow shambler that couldn't even walk anymore, a crawler. He signaled the other two to hold up with a wave and smiled grimly.

  “New girl, Justine, you're up. Just like we talked about, aim carefully and try to hit the brain stem. Go ahead now, just move in behind it carefully and stay out of arms reach. This one isn't fast, but they can surprise you sometimes.” He spoke calmly, wondering if the girl would just freeze. A lot of people did. Zombies weren't people anymore, but they had been. That could make it hard.

  She started breathing, deep and rapid, nearly panicked for the second or third time that day. She glanced at Jake, and then the form on the ground. Closing her eyes she fired. A solid shot. The shut eyes were a problem, but the aim had stayed true. They could work from there.

  “Good. Next time go ahead and keep your eyes open if you can. It helps with aiming. Go ahead and reload like I showed you... Please.” He smiled at the woman, trying to reassure her. It was easier to play it all blasé than to deal with her freaking out, worried about moral implications.

  She looked pale and shaky, but got another shell in place quickly enough for the moment. Not fast enough for a cleanup job, but again, they could work on that. Practice helped with most things as long as you had the basic ability to begin with. It seemed she did.

  “Now, since everyone else has to do real work, let's you and I walk a spiral around them, just to make sure old skittles over there didn't have a buddy. Someone else gets to bury him though, because we can't right now. Yeah?” This got said to the group and surprisingly Molly answered him.

  “I'll do it. Shallow grave, take off the head first?” She sounded almost competent for a moment. Jake nodded.

  “You'll need equipment, shovel and machete, all that. You know the drill, when we go back, let's pull some of the others to come help. They can dig or get wood, whatever, but I don't think we're really doing them favors letting them hide any more. Nate, that's your call, of course. I just work here.”

  The man looked around, everyone else staring at him and then shrugged.

  “Like pulling teeth... but sure, let's see if we can get a few people out.”

  It took a while, and when they got back Jake nearly passed out. Not for real, but all the shovels were in use, digging out the new nursery Burt had just lined out. All of them. The sight was a miracle. The older man took his own turn on a shovel and so did Yvonne, who worked next to Ken. They kept going as the wood got offloaded too. No one slacking at all. Nate smiled hugely at them all and app
lauded lightly. Clapping he could have gotten away with, but the idea was a good one, monitor your sound at all times. Jake approved and nodded to himself about it while Nate spoke.

  “Wonderful everyone. Really excellent. What are you doing?” He asked softly to the older man who smiled and walked over to them, a good way away from the pit.

  “Jake's nursery. His concept at least, underground reinforced log construction, so it will take several extra logging days, but we won't have to split all the wood. The door will lead into the big cellar, so it should be fairly close to sound proof. It's a good idea. We have to hustle on it, but the babies will come anyway, so it has to be done. That or abortions all around.” Burt shrugged. “I don't know how to do that. So this looks like the best option. It really is a solid plan.”

  They chatted for a bit, Justine standing behind him waiting, holding her shotgun, the muzzle held well away from anyone else, up at the sky. Yvonne looked over wide eyed and as she traded off with a man from the house that Jake only knew vaguely, one of the homebodies, she walked over to them, a bit shy suddenly.

  “Why do you have a rifle, Justine?” She said as if asking why the crazy girl was going to eat the chicken's head or something.

  The girl smiled and shook her head, “It's a shotgun ,Yvonne. I, killed a zombie, well, shot it, they're already dead, but you know what I mean. Jake made me do it. I... They're not as scary now, I don't think. It wasn't a very good zombie, it just kind of crawled, but, yeah, I'm not as afraid of them. I can protect myself. A little at least. As long as they don't run at me too fast.”

  Jake looked over at them, away from his conversation with the two older men for a moment.

  “You can handle that too. Just remember to aim and squeeze the trigger, keep your eyes open, go for the head and not to talk or scream. Fast cuts down the amount of time to aim, but it's the same thing really. You did really well earlier.”

  From inside the pit Marty spoke, he sounded meek. A little man, even if he was physically larger than Jake, he'd been just a bit heavy and weak Back Before and now was thinner, but still soft. He sounded sincere at least.

  “Maybe... I should try that? I'm sick to death of being stuck here all the time.” He didn't look up and grunted just a little as he pulled up a heavy looking half shovelful of dirt.

  “Well,” Nate said, trying not to seem excited or anything. “We do have a zombie that needs to be buried. Beheaded and then put in the ground. If you do that, I bet you won't find them nearly as frightening.”

  The man took a deep breath and nodded, “All right, I'll do it.”

  “Get with Molly. She knows what to do. She's in charge of that.” Jake said this firmly enough that everyone just accepted the idea that Suicide Molly would get things done instead of flaking out. Even Molly smiled and nodded.

  “Yeah, don't worry Marty, I've done this before.”

  True. Dozens of times even, normally with Tipper standing over her tapping her foot and wondering if it would be easier just to shoot the girl in the head and get it over with. The other woman was busy helping get wood taken care of, so couldn't snicker at her now. That meant Molly just got to seem in charge without any mocking at all. Maybe it would be good for her. Well as long as she didn't get Marty killed, it would be all right. Not that Jake cared about the guy, but if he could manage to pull out of being mostly a burden, they might be friends someday.

  The zombie burial was...

  Hilarious.

  Jake had to fight not to laugh out loud and cried, real tears rolling down his face by the end. Marty tried really hard, and the beheading went well. It took a long time to happen and the man dressed up like a mummy with safety goggles, but it was his first, so that could be forgiven. Better too careful than coming back and trying to eat the rest of them. Since that was what had happened to a lot of people in the beginning, breathing in blood and turning within the next day or two, Jake could see the value. He wore a face mask too. Justine did as well.

  The funny bit came after that, when Molly and Marty both fell into the shallow grave on top of the still grasping zombie, trying to fight its hands clear, so they didn't get scratched. The head got buried a few feet further down in the ground, so it couldn't bite anyone before it decayed. No one really knew if that would work or not, but it was a thing to do and made sense even if it was really based on guess work. He didn't want to be planting a garden in ten years and end up being bitten due to laziness. The effect was just so funny though, they panicked and wrestled desperately, until he managed to step on the arm Molly had and get her free, then did the same for Marty.

  Laughing inside or not, as he wiped his tears he smiled, and tried to look proud.

  “You didn't yell. I think that's a good sign. Very much so. For both of you. Gold stars all around so far today. Ah, Justine, they have this now, let's do a patrol and make sure there's nothing else out here.”

  The girl looked... well, ready for combat would be a bit much to ask, but she moved with him, slowly and in pain, and didn't complain about it. Maybe he could count it as two gold stars for her? Now all she needed was about a hundred more and she'd be back to where she was the day before.

  There wasn't anything near them in the woods, though they walked a spiral every wood load trip after that, in opposite directions, marking dead fall when they found it. They normally would have split up, but since Justine was new and they both were slowed down, he just kept her with him and corrected her gently the one time she pointed her shotgun at him. She nearly lost it then and started crying. But silently. Jake spoke firmly looking her right in the eyes.

  “Yes, I should have shot you just then. I'm obviously too nice for my own good. Don't tell anyone, or they'll all start singing all night long and holding screaming contests. You won't do it again though will you? I'm almost starting to feel a connection here between us. You know, you work with me, I don't have to shoot you... A whole team-mate like vibe. What do you think?” He watched her carefully, but the girl stopped crying and nodded.

  “Sorry, I won't do it again.”

  Not twice at least. He really would kill her if she did. There were limits after all. The rest of the day went better that way, her weapon control became perfect almost instantly. Nothing like the specter of imminent and instant death to get, and keep, a person's attention.

  Jake felt a little bad about not actually doing his share of the work, but it had to happen, probably for a few days. Not waiting until his arm healed, but he had to build the blood he'd lost back up, which took longer when you were living on short rations.

  Before dinner he washed again, and changed the hasty bandage on the wound. It stuck, but soaked free eventually and only bled a little bit when he finally ripped the cloth away. They could boil the bandages and reuse them, so he put them in a bag of similar things that had to be cooked clean. Reuse everything, or do without.

  One thing the zombies had done for the world. Screw recycling, no one got rid of anything now. Even old tin cans and gum wrappers got saved. People picked up likely looking trash from the side of the road if they could, just because everything had value now. So... yeah. They reused bandages and clothes from dead people too. If they had time, the only thing they got rid of were the bodies. Zombies went in whole, because no one knew for certain how it might transmit. Bites yes, scratches sometimes, but what if it could be carried on clothing or something like that? Rare, no doubt, but enough of a threat that their group at the house didn't take the chance.

  At dinner everything changed suddenly and without warning for Jake. That morning no one had noticed him bleeding to death on the floor, but suddenly a lot of people wanted to sit with him at his normal table. The three women squeezed in tight together, taking about one and a half places between them, touching side to side for some reason. From the glares they were getting, it probably had to do with the fact that no one else wanted them yet. That would change after a while. Carley moved in beside him and Tipper, even though he really wasn't talking to her y
et. He'd back her up in a fight, but as a friend? Not worth it. The big surprise for him was Marty, the possibly not so useless guy. He moved in beside Molly across the table and cleared his throat nervously.

  “Um, could I...” He didn't finish so Tipper did it for him.

  “Come help us with the wood tomorrow again, because we have a man down? Sure. Glad to have you aboard. Good thinking really. I should have asked.” She didn't give him a chance to speak addressing Molly first. “Moll, you'll look after him until he gets his feet under him, right?”

  The formerly depressed girl that still seemed a little out of it most of the time grinned, a nearly happy thing. Like she'd gotten a new puppy to play with and named him Marty. Well, if he messed on the floor she was cleaning it up, not Jake.

  “Sure. We can be partners Marty. It'll be fun.”

  The man's eyes went wide, but he didn't shout and make Jake shoot him, which won the guy another star. A red letter day for sure. Whatever that meant. Jake looked at the man and stared for a bit.

  “That's good, Marty, glad to have you on board, but you were saying something before these two ambushed you?”

  “I wanted to know if I could help with the plans for the underground shelter? I used to be a structural engineer, once upon a time, and may be able to help a little here or there. Digging too, but what kind of plan do you have?”

  Jake smiled and suggested they get with Burt after dinner. He didn't know what a structural engineer did, but if it had anything to do with building, they could probably use the man. They'd just have to work around his other schedule, working on getting wood, too. That was all.

  After dinner Burt took the man away, since it was potentially a big deal and Jake started to go to bed. Being shot always took it out of him, and the kids had two helpers in the kitchen. But that wasn't a good enough reason to not do his share, was it?

  Groaning, if inside, he dragged himself in and moved next to Yvonne, loading the plates into the cold wash water. The grease had to be scrubbed off, which Sammi and Tracy did with a will. August it may be, but they were losing light faster each night, and that made it harder to work. They could burn a candle, but if they could help it, they wouldn't. They worked in near silence, Yvonne nervous at first, but more relaxed by the time they were done.