A World Apart (Part 1): 8,000 Miles

by Sean P. Thomas

  Jerry subtly moved his hand over and placed it on Alex’s forearm. Trying to stay his hand. Alex looked at him, then visibly relaxed a little bit, but Jerry wasn’t sure if he had actually stopped Alex. Just then, the man that had left returned, followed by a stern looking woman in a black pant suit with a white dress shirt underneath. She looked like she was just pulled from an important board meeting or something. She was clean and her hair was neat. The woman looked as if she was in her fifties, she was probably about the same age as Jerry. She walked in front of them and looked them over before speaking.

  “I’m sorry that you were led in under guard,” she began, “but we are a suspicious lot. Most travelers move right past the high school without a glance, but we have already had one unsavory visitor since this all started.” She explained. “My name is Principle Torres.” She introduced herself. “I am the administrator here at this high school, or at least I was, but most of the people here still look to me for leadership for some reason. We don’t have a lot of survivors here, but more than a few. Our group consists mostly of staff of the high school, but we have a hand full of students, and a couple of families who showed up, looking for their kids. We were in a summer school session when the emergency broadcast went out, so we were locked down here. We have been here ever since.” She told them. “The question now though, is what are you doing here? Why did you come to this high school, what exactly are you looking for?” She asked.

  “We have a small group of survivors ourselves.” Jerry explained. “We were trying to bypass the city, which seems to be overrun, when we came to your school. We were going to drive right past, but I saw a young man run from the side of the road and around the school. My friend and I were simply trying to find him and see if he needed help.” Jerry told her. “We aren’t looking for any trouble, I assure you. If you just let us go, we’ll be on our way. Nothing has to get ugly here, we are not bad people.”

  “The young man you saw was Hector.” She told them. “He tends to run around outside, even though I have expressly forbidden it. He is the one that alerted us to your presence. That’s when Roy and Chris here, came out to make sure you weren’t a threat. Again, I apologize for the treatment you have received, but we must be careful. Not everyone is as peaceful as your intentions seem to be. I thank you for your concern for our wayward student, and I invite you and your friends to stay the night, longer even, if you prove to be as innocent as you seem. We have plenty of room, food, and we are relatively safe here.”

  “Well to be honest, we don’t really have a firm destination in mind.” Jerry admitted. “We were just heading north and looking for other survivors. Trying to find others that might have more information about what is really going on, but mostly, looking for a safe place to wait this out. We have a three-year old with us, and it really isn’t safe out there for him, or any of us. I’d be happy to take you up on the offer to stay, but please allow me go out and discuss it with the rest of my group.”

  “Certainly. If you decide to stay, I would ask that Roy hold onto your weapons, for a little while at least.” She stipulated. “You can park your vehicles in the back parking lot. Feel free to leave your supplies and other weapons in them if you have any doubts, or you can bring them in and turn them over to Roy. I have a lot of people that I am trying to keep safe here, you understand.”

  “I get it.” Jerry assured her. “I’ll just go have a quick word with the others and we’ll decide.”

  The principle nodded, then turned and disappeared through the double doors with Chris, the man wearing the grey slacks, in tow. Roy had their rifles slung over his shoulder, as well as the knife he had taken from Alex, tucked into his belt. He led them out the way they had come in. Roy waited by the corner of the building, looking all around, as Jerry and Alex walked back to the vehicles where Angie and the others waited. Jerry explained the situation to Angie and Derek while Alex did the same with Kyle, Karen, and Grace. After a short discussion, Alex gave Jerry the thumbs up, letting him know that they all were good with staying. Jerry nodded and jumped into the truck. He turned around on the road and drove back about fifty feet, to the entrance to the parking lot, with the SUV following closely behind. They made their way to the back of the school and parked the vehicles in an area that was out of sight of the main road.

  They decided to leave their supplies for now, in case they decided to leave, but Jerry wanted to give them a good impression, so he suggested that they turn over a few more of their guns. They had pilfered quite an assortment of firearms from the cement factory. Several they had claimed from the corpses of the bandits, and others they found in the supply shed outside the factory. They left the majority of the rifles, handguns, and ammo locked in the back of the SUV, but carried a few with them as they approached the back door to the high school. Roy was waiting for them there.

  “Just hold on to your firearms for a bit,” Roy instructed them, “I can’t carry them all. I have a storage room inside the school that I use as an armory of sorts, we can sort it out once we get there.”

  They followed him through the school, back up the stairs, past the double doors Jerry had seen before and to a closet on the other side of the upper floor. Roy opened the door and stepped inside. Jerry walked up to hand over one of the guns and peeked inside. The so-called armory consisted of two rifles, a couple of aluminum baseball bats, and a field hockey stick. Jerry wasn’t impressed with their stock of weapons, but did take note that the field hockey stick had dried blood on the blade. It appeared that they had seen some action at least. They each handed over a weapon to Roy, then stepped back into the hallway to wait for the others. Roy came out, locked the door, then turned to face the group.

  “Don’t take offense,” Roy apologized, “we don’t let anyone run around here with weapons. I was campus police here before it all happened, so I kind of fill the role of security for the others. Let’s get you all to the cafeteria and get you fed.”

  Roy led the group back towards the double doors, which Jerry now guessed was the entrance to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was huge. It wasn’t unexpected, based on the size of the school, but it was still a sight to see. The ceiling was made up of paned glass, so the large room was full of light. Jerry realized when he looked around that the principle had undersold the size of their group. There were at least twenty people spread across the cafeteria. The principle, and a few other adults, were sitting together at a long table at the far end. He saw a few teenagers sitting together at another table, he recognized one of them as Hector, the teen he saw when they first approached the high school. There were a couple of families sitting together at some other tables as well.

  Over the past few weeks, Jerry and the others had become quite dirty, wearing pretty much the same clothes and not having a shower, but these people all seemed to be clean. The occupants had all stopped their conversations and were practically staring at the newcomers. Jerry’s entourage must have looked like a band of homeless people to the sheltered group. The awkward stares continued for a few minutes until Principal Torres stood up, moved over in front of Jerry’s group, and turned to face her own people.

  “Everyone,” she said loudly, “we have some new guests. They are going to join us for the night. We are going to give them some food and a safe place to sleep. Please give them a chance to eat before you bombard them with questions, but I urge you all to get to know them and make them feel welcome throughout the evening.” After she addressed the people seated in the cafeteria, she faced the smaller group. “Hello everyone, my name is Principle Patricia Torres. Please call me Patty. I welcome you here for as long as you stay. If you need anything, please let me know.” She gestured for them to follow her over to a large table and urged them to sit. “After you get something to eat, Chris will show you to the locker rooms down in the basement, so you can get cleaned up. We don’t have running water, but we were able to rig up some makeshift showers. We have a ton of gym clothes and towels down there too, so you can change and cl
ean your clothes if you want to. After you have settled in, we’ll make some time to chat, get to know one another. In the meantime, relax and enjoy your meal.”

  Some of the other adults came over then, carrying cafeteria trays with hot food on them. They placed the trays in front of the newcomers then went back to their own table. Angie looked up at Patty with an appreciative smile.

  “Thank you so much for this Patty.” Angie said.

  “It is my pleasure.” Patty replied. “Please, eat.” With that she walked away and let the group eat in peace.

  CHAPTER 25

  John and the others got back on the road early the next morning. The night had been uneventful. They had been traveling northwest for almost two hours and John knew they would reach Highway-1 soon. The road they were traveling on now, would merge into the larger highway and immediately run into the Afghan base called FOB Delaram and a village by the same name. Highway-1 ran in between the Afghan base and the village, but there were no roads that bypassed the area. The only way to drive around it would be to travel over open terrain. John wanted to stay on the highway if possible, because he didn’t want to risk the uneven terrain off the road, but he was still concerned about what they might find waiting for them.

  It wasn’t too much longer before the base was within view of the convoy. John slowed their pace, trying to discern the state of the army base and the neighboring village. The walls that surrounded the base were constructed of the same material as the walls back at John’s own base, they were at least ten feet high with strands of concertina wire on top. He could not see inside because of the high walls, so he had no way to get a feel for what was going on inside. The military base was on the left side of the highway and the village was on the right. The village was a little more visible from their distance, but consisted of multiple dwellings that were surrounded by cinderblock walls. He could see a couple of Afghan military vehicles parked on opposite sides of the highway, right where their current route would merge.

  As they got closer, he noticed forms moving around the vehicles, but suspected they were zombies. That had been the norm everywhere else they had traveled so far in Afghanistan. John’s suspicions were confirmed in a short while. They had reached the highway. John wasn’t at all concerned about the zombies he saw roaming around so far. They were few and far between. He didn’t even feel the urge to speed up and blow through them. They would have little impact on the large vehicles they were traveling in, so he just kept the same slow pace as they pulled onto the highway and drove in between the two abandoned Afghan military trucks.

  The wall continued along the left side of the highway and they still couldn’t see inside, but from this proximity, they were able to see the rooftops of some of the structures inside. On the right side, they could see into the courtyards of the dwellings of the village. It looked like most of the zombies were trapped inside the walls of each compound, though the occasional monster was walking free, either near or on the highway. John simply ignored them or drove over them as they continued up the highway. George kept watch on the right side, into the village, while John tried to see anything inside the base on the left. John could see there was a break in the wall about a hundred feet ahead of them. When he came to the break, he realized that it was the route that led to the gate and eventually inside the base. Across the entryway, the wall continued again, further up the highway. The wall wrapped around and along the sides of the entry route, all the way to the gate. He could see that the gate was closed and felt no reason to continue to investigate.

  John sighed with relief, believing they would pass Delaram without incident, until something caught his eye on top of one of the structures inside the base. He saw a man standing on one of the roofs, waving his arms wildly in their direction. It was far enough that John couldn’t discern any features of the man, but he thought he recognized the uniform the figure was wearing as the standard Afghan Army uniform.

  “There is a survivor inside there.” John told George.

  “Where?” George asked.

  “There.” John said as he pointed in the lone figure’s direction. “Looks like an Afghan soldier.”

  George pointed his rifle in the man’s direction and looked through the scope. “Yeah, he is wearing an Afghan uniform.”

  “What do you think?” John asked George. “Should we leave this guy, or try to reach him? His wild gestures would suggest that he needs help.”

  “Maybe.” George said. “Or he wants to take our shit and leave us for dead.”

  “I don’t feel good about leaving anyone alone to deal with this.” John said. “Besides, the Afghan soldiers are supposed to be our allies.”

  George nodded and said, “Whatever you decide, I got your back.”

  John called the others on the radio. “ED…SHELLY…THERE IS A SURVIVOR INSIDE THE BASE. HE IS ON TOP OF ONE OF THE BUILDINGS WAVING HIS ARMS LIKE CRAZY. I THINK HE NEEDS HELP. HE APPEARS TO BE AFGHAN MILITARY. I THINK WE SHOULD AT LEAST TRY TO GET HIM OUT OF THERE, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?”

  Ed answered first. “WOULD BE PRETTY SHITTY TO LEAVE HIM I GUESS. IT’S PROBABLY GOING TO BE PRETTY RISKY THOUGH.”

  “I THINK WE HAVE TO TRY.” John replied.

  “DAMIEN AND I ARE WITH YOU JOHN.” Shelly answered then.

  “THE GATE IS CLOSED.” John reported. “I CAN SEE IT FROM HERE. I’M GOING TO PULL IN AND GO UP TO THE GATE TO CHECK IT OUT, SEE IF WE CAN GET IN. AFTER I PULL IN, YOU GUYS PULL YOUR TRUCKS UP AND BLOCK THE LANES SO NOTHING CAN GET IN FROM THE OUTSIDE. I’LL CALL YOU BACK WHEN I KNOW MORE.”

  “ROGER.” They called back in succession.

  John pulled the MaxxPro into the entry road and headed for the gate. Ed pulled the supply truck along the left side of the road, until the front of the truck was almost touching the far wall. Shelly pulled in behind him until her truck was almost touching the supply truck. They both shut off their vehicles and waited for the call from John. John pulled all the way up to the gate. From his seat, he could see that the gate was slightly ajar, enough room for a person to slip through. He looked at George then pointed to the gap. They both got out of the truck and moved on foot to get a better look. They could hear the familiar moaning sounds of zombies inside. John moved to the opening in the gate and peered inside. He saw that the inside was full of the dead, walking around aimlessly. Most of the zombies he saw were wearing either Afghan army uniforms or various forms of the traditional garb worn by Afghan men. He looked around to the inside of the gate and saw that there was a large truck backed against it. There was no way to open the gate from where they were, they would have to go in on foot if they were to have any chance of rescuing the survivor they spotted.

  “LEAVE THE VEHICLES THERE AND COME UP ON FOOT.” John called over the radio. “BRING YOUR WEAPONS AND PLENTY OF AMMO, WE’RE GOING TO NEED THEM.”

  Several minutes later, John and George were joined by the rest of the group. Each of the soldiers in the group was armed with an M-4 and a side arm. Susan was wielding an M9 pistol, holding the grip with both hands and looking very unsure of herself. John took up point and the rest of them lined up behind him, with Damien taking the rear. John took a deep breath, then went through the opening in the gate. He tried to lead them along a path that was as free as possible of zombies, trying his best to avoid detection. He headed in the general direction of the building he had seen the man on top of. It was the largest building on the base and he could clearly recognize it as he carefully chose his footing. The building was at least a hundred yards away, and they would have to maneuver around some other structures to reach it. He kept moving, but it was only a few moments before the closest of the zombies noticed their presence.

  The monsters came on immediately. Once the first few started heading in their direction, more followed suit. In a matter of moments, they had at least a dozen zombies coming straight at them. John raised his rifle and dropped the first one. The rest of the group spread out behind him and began to fire into the throng. Several o
f the undead dropped to the ground, but with every shot, more zombies were alerted and started moving towards them. In a matter of seconds, there were creatures coming towards them from all directions except from behind. They moved slow enough, but John was afraid they would get surrounded. He knew that they had to either retreat or get moving towards that building. He fired at another one and took it down, then started moving the group forward again. They side stepped a few, knocked others down to the ground with the stocks of their rifles, and shot others as they continued to move. John picked up the pace as they zig zagged through the incoming zombies.

  After running in between a few structures, John saw that their destination was only about twenty yards away. There were quite a few zombies spread around to their front, but even more pursued them from behind. All the monsters that they had either knocked down or evaded had taken up the chase. John pushed forward, shoulder blocking one zombie, swinging his weapon like a club at another. The other members of the group were using the same tactics. As he got close to the door, John raised his rifle and shot one down that was too close. He reached the door and turned the handle to gain entry. It was locked. Zombies were coming at them from all sides. They were truly surrounded now and there was no escape if they couldn’t get inside that door. John frantically banged on the door, while the others surrounded him in a semi-circle, firing into the approaching undead. A few more seconds and they would be swallowed up by the horde of monsters. Then, right before it was too late, the door swung open and the group rushed inside.

  The Afghan man slammed the door shut, right before the first zombie reached the portal. He latched the door and started to barricade it with some furniture. Apparently that is what took so long to open the door, the man had to remove the barricade to let them in. After the door was adequately braced, he turned around and looked at his would-be rescuers.