AniZombie 2: The Refuge

by Ricky Sides

Herb glanced in the rearview mirror again and saw that the convoy behind him was maintaining their intervals well. “Jason, we need to get the patient to the clinic. Keep an eye on the vehicles behind us. I’m going to speed us up a bit. If they start falling behind, let me know.”

  “You’ve got it,” Jason promised.

  Chapter 8

  Conflict and resentment.

  The convoy of vehicles stopped outside the gate to the refuge and waited while the guards opened it to admit them. Herb had radioed ahead and most of the people of the refuge were waiting outside their homes to see the new arrivals.

  “The Doc is going to be ticked off at you,” Jason speculated. “You’re bringing him a whole lot of work today.”

  “I know, but it couldn’t be helped,” Herb replied. “He doesn’t have to process all the incoming people today. They can go into quarantine.”

  “They won’t like that,” Jason predicted.

  “That can’t be helped either,” Herb said.

  “You’ve been saying that a lot lately,” Randy said with a trace of amusement. “You used to have a better vocabulary.”

  Herb frowned at his friend and asked, “Has it occurred to you yet that we may have a problem with this many new people coming in all at once? And that several of them are armed?”

  “It has,” Randy conceded soberly. “Are you going to disarm them?”

  “That depends on how they react. I plan to play it by ear,” Herb admitted.

  “Well then, we’ll position ourselves to back your play,” Randy said.

  “Good. As I see it, Raman and his two men will be the main threat. A few of the other men are carrying weapons, but I believe they won’t do anything once Raman and his men are neutralized,” Jason said.

  Herb stopped the bus in front of the clinic. Doctor Fielding was waiting outside when they exited the vehicle. Jason and Edward carried the unconscious patient out of the bus and placed him on a stretcher that two men were holding in preparation for receiving the wounded man. The doctor followed the stretcher-bearers inside the clinic. Joanne and Steve Childers followed behind the doctor.

  Herb turned to face the growing crowd of new arrivals who were assembling in front of the clinic. He heard many comments being made about the refuge. Most were positive. Then, Raman and his two men stepped to the front of the people from Hunter. “This is a nice place you people have here,” Raman said.

  “Thank you. It’s home to us, and it will be home to your people too, if you opt to stay,” Herb replied.

  “I don’t think we have a lot of choice in the matter,” Raman observed. “After all, you did lead the zombies to our area.”

  Herb frowned in irritation. “Look, Raman, I think we both know that you and your party led the zombies back to the Childers area. In fact, I’m just guessing here, but I’d say you went to that rice mill this morning and things went bad. That was where Tommy Gunn was bitten, wasn’t it?” Herb asked. “And after you left that mill, I’m betting the zombies set out walking and following you.”

  Herb noted the guilty expression on Bernie’s face and knew that he’d gotten most of his supposition correctly. “We didn’t mean to do it,” Bernie said.

  “Shut up, Bernie,” Raman said, but it was too late. He had already confirmed that what Herb had said was the truth and everyone present now knew it.

  Herb shrugged and said, “I know it wasn’t your fault. These sorts of things happen these days. I just wanted to make it clear that we won’t accept responsibility for the zombies coming into your area. We had to rescue the Childers family because of your activity earlier in the day.”

  Raman didn’t like the way things had turned out, but there was nothing he could say about it in light of the revelation that he had played a role in the presence of the zombies.

  “Now it’s time for all of you to make a decision. You’re welcome to stay here if you want to, and if you’re willing to work to protect and feed the community here at the refuge. We don’t have a lot of rules, but we do have a few. Common sense applies here. If it was illegal before the zombies, then it won’t be permitted here. We have zero tolerance for violent crimes and theft. The first might get you killed here, and the second will get you thrown out. All newcomers have to go through a medical exam and take the nanobot injections before being admitted into the population of the refuge. You’ll be living in those FEMA trailers you see over there,” he added as he pointed to the trailer park.

  While he was talking to the people from Hunter, Herb’s team moved behind Raman and his two men surreptitiously. He nodded to Randy, giving him the signal to be ready, and then Herb said, “All new arrivals must turn over their weapons until they are processed through and assigned living quarters. That can’t happen until after you go through medical screening, and there is no way the doctor will be able to get to everyone today because of the medical emergencies we brought him.”

  “You’re not getting our guns!” Raman said adamantly.

  “In that case, you are free to get in your vehicles and leave,” Herb said. “That’s not negotiable,” he added in a firm tone of voice.

  Raman took in a deep breath in preparation for launching an argument. His right hand drifted down toward his holstered pistol, but he felt the cold muzzle of a rifle barrel touch the center of his back. He froze in place as a cold voice said, “Touch that pistol and you’re a dead man.”

  “This ain’t right!” Bernie said as Jason pulled the pistol from his holster and then took the rifle off his shoulder.

  “If you want to leave, we’ll give your weapons back to you outside the fence,” Herb promised. “But no one goes armed until they clear the medical process. So what’s it going to be, people? Do you want to stay here and become a part of our community, or do you want to move on to another location?”

  “You know, this is the second time you’ve forced your will on us at gunpoint,” Raman observed. “We’ll do things your way, but it doesn’t make a bit of sense to me.”

  “What doesn’t make sense?” Herb asked.

  “What’s the big deal about us being armed? I mean, if you really intend to give us our weapons back once we clear your medical process, then why bother to disarm us now?”

  “That’s a protocol we established after a new arrival panicked in the clinic and took the nurse hostage. He was convinced we were going to make him leave and keep his wife and daughter with us,” Herb explained.

  “How did that turn out?” Raman asked, interested despite the fact that he’d just been disarmed.

  “Doctor Fielding was able to reason with the man. He persuaded him to surrender the pistol. After that close call, the doctor demanded we disarm new arrivals before bringing them into his clinic, and I think that’s reasonable. After all, his wife was endangered by the hostage crisis.”

  “Did you make the man leave?” asked Bernie.

  “No. He’s a productive member of the community now. In fact, he’s one of our most reliable tower guards. Nothing gets by that man,” Herb answered.

  “So we go see the doctor now, and then we get released to stay in the trailers?” asked Raman.

  “Yes, as soon as you clear the medical exams. Bear in mind that the medical staff is working an emergency at the moment, and then they’ll have to deal with Steve’s wound, so it won’t be possible to get to all of you today,” Herb pointed out. “Therefore, those who aren’t processed will need to spend the night in quarantine.”

  “Quarantine? Why? We took the shots!” Raman protested.

  “Try to look at it from our point of view,” Herb said. “We have to test everyone to make certain there are no parasites in them. The injections work, but they take time, so everyone who lives here has their blood tested first. They are also checked for any other diseases.”

  “So we’re going to be prisoners until we are cleared by your medical staff,” Raman said bitterly.

  “No. It’s like Herb said. You’re free to leave if you want,” Randy said defensive
ly. “And what he didn’t mention is the fact that we didn’t see all of your people take their shots.”

  “So you’re saying we lied about that?” demanded Raman angrily.

  “No. He’s saying it’s possible that errors were made during the inoculation process,” Herb said diplomatically. He gave his friend a warning glance.

  “What kind or errors?” Raman asked.

  “Was each individual given the full injection? That could be adversely affected by the amount of the medication ejected when the air was forced out of the syringe. Was the injection site sterilized properly prior to the person being given the shot? Since the injections weren’t given in a sterile environment, there is always a possibility that parasites from cross contamination could be a factor. The blood tests will reveal most problems I just outlined, and the doctor will give everyone a round of antibiotics to deal with potential infections.”

  “You make it all sound so reasonable,” Raman said, “but the bottom line is that we’ll be virtual prisoners until you decide to release us. And then what happens to us?”

  “You join our community. Everyone works toward the common goal of our mutual survival. Some of you will become guards. A few of you might be asked to join teams of men going outside to patrol the area, or go on missions such as the one we were on when we encountered you. Still others will help with food production and storage. Then there are the plans to build a second fence inside our perimeter to form a secondary barrier as an additional layer of protection from the zombies,” Herb explained. “In short, we welcome people prepared to work toward the survival of our group.”

  “What if some of us aren’t healthy enough to do much heavy work?” asked a man from Hunter who was standing several feet behind Raman.

  “Allowances are made for such individuals, based on the doctor’s recommendations, which is another reason we insist on the medical examinations,” Herb explained. “No one is turned away because they are too sick for heavy manual labor, but we do expect everyone to do what they can. Such people could watch over the children, leaving the able bodied men and women free to do the physical labor.”

  Herb paused and looked at the assembled group of refuges from Hunter. “I’m sure you have other questions, and I wish we had time to spend a few hours with you to help you make your decision, but the fact is we don’t have the time. We have to get you folks in the clinic for processing. Those of you who choose to stay that is. The rest of you need to head back for your vehicles and we’ll let you out at the gate. You may have noticed the empty houses near here. If you don’t want to stay with us, you can always stay there. In a couple of days, you’ll be able to return to your homes in Hunter. The zombies will have spread out enough that you should be able to clear them out without a lot of difficulty.”

  “If you want to leave and don’t have any supplies to last until you can return to Hunter, assemble over to the left and we’ll see to it you get enough supplies to get you by till you can go home.” Herb said. “Those who want to stay, turn in your weapons to my team, and move over to the door. We’ll escort you inside the clinic in a few minutes.”

  Herb could tell that Raman wasn’t happy that he had offered the people of Hunter the right to separate if they wanted to do so. His next words proved that to be the case when he said, “My people will stay together. Either we all stay, or we all leave.”

  “Okay, let’s get this cleared up right now. If you people stay here, the people of Hunter won’t owe you and your men their allegiance. They won’t be your people anymore. They’ll be residents of this refuge, and as such, you and your men will have little say in what they do or don’t do,” Herb explained. He noted that several people in the crowd behind Raman seemed pleased by that information.

  “That’s no reflection on you, Raman, but we can’t have the refuge splitting into factions. We’re all in this together,” Herb explained.

  “Okay, and just who runs the refuge? You?” asked Raman.

  “I’m responsible for the defense of the refuge and the military aspects such as rescue missions, but we are governed by a committee of six people. I’m one of the six. Randy is another,” Herb explained. Then he frowned and said, “Now that’s all the time we have for this discussion. Those wanting to leave, step over to the left. Those of you who intend to stay, please turn in your weapons and go stand near the door of the clinic. You’ll be processed through as soon as possible, but it won’t all be accomplished today. Some of you will spend the night in quarantine.”

  Most of the people moved to comply with Herb’s instructions. He was pleased to see that they were opting to head for the clinic and would be staying. If they were armed, they stopped beside various members of Herb’s team and turned in their weapons. The weapons were a mixed batch of pistols and revolvers of various calibers. The team members tucked the firearms in various pockets on their gear.

  A few of the people waited to see what Raman and his men would do before making their decision. “I want you to understand that I think this could have been handled better,” Raman said in protest. “You didn’t have to be so heavy handed about this.”

  “Yes, he did,” Randy countered. “Twice today, we were forced to abort our rescue mission because of what was happening in Hunter. Now we’ll be lucky if we get to leave this afternoon, and that could make us late to try to rescue the other eight survivors who need our help. We don’t have time to try to be diplomatic with you when innocent lives are hanging in the balance. You people are safe here. We’re worried about people surrounded by thousands of zombies.”

  Raman wisely kept silent and headed toward the clinic where he fell in line behind the people already assembled there. The rest of the people from Hunter followed him and his men, leaving Herb and his team

  Herb nodded his appreciation to Randy. “Thanks, buddy.”

  “No problem,” Rand responded.

  “Get a couple more men to serve as guards to make certain no one gets out of hand with the medical staff. If we’re going to leave today, we need to leave soon.”

  “So we’re still going today?” Randy asked.

  “I don’t like it any more than you do, but yes, I think we need to leave today. I’m not expecting the road to be blocked by the zombies we saw earlier. I believe they’ll disperse and follow the scent left by the people of Hunter. If I’m right, then they’ll be spread all over that community looking for the people who left the scent trails. We should be able to drive past them easily enough.”

  “Okay, I’ll go get some guards,” Randy replied.

  Herb and the rest of his men went to the clinic. They opened the door and herded the newcomers inside. The waiting room was crowded and there weren’t enough chairs to accommodate all of the people. Herb got them settled down and handed out forms for the people to fill out.

  “You’re kidding, right?” one man said as he took his form.

  “I’m afraid not,” Herb replied. “Not even a zombie apocalypse does away with the need for such forms. The doctor has to match test results with the right patient. He’ll use the information you supply to help keep straight whose tests are whose.” Then he grinned and added, “You’ll note that there are no questions about insurance and payment method. That’s because our services here are free.”

  Herb was handing out pens when Erma and Amy entered the clinic. His wife came straight to him and said, “Randy told us what was going on here. We came to help with the processing.”

  “Good. The doctor is probably going to be tied up for a while helping the patients we brought in this trip. They are all supposed to have been injected with the cure, but we only witnessed a few of them take their shots.”

  “The blood tests checking for the parasites will also reveal whether or not there are active nanobots in their system,” Erma explained.

  “Good. We need to leave soon, but Randy is bringing some men to provide security in here. I already explained that they will have to remain in quarantine until the doctor clears t
hem, and that that won’t happen for all of them today.”

  “I expect they didn’t like that,” Erma commented discretely.

  “Not one bit,” Herb replied, keeping his own voice low. “Well, their leader didn’t,” he amended.

  “You’re going to be their leader if they stay here,” she said pointedly.

  “We’re ruled by committee,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “Yes, we are, but we both know that’s just a formality. Have you ever seen us argue with your plans?” Erma asked. Then she said, “Never mind that. Randy says you men are going back out today. Do you think that’s wise?”

  “I’d rather not, but yes, I do believe it would be best. Those people are counting on us, and as we’ve already seen today, just getting to them is turning into a major issue.”

  “All right then, you should go, but I want you to take the dogs. Ox is worth three men around zombies.”

  “Okay, I can understand you wanting me to take him, but why the new female?”

  “Good luck getting him away from her. They’ve bonded, and he won’t leave her side.”

  “She’s still an unknown,” Herb argued.

  “I tested her today and her blood tests clean,” Erma countered.

  “You did? You drew her blood?” Herb asked, remembering how nervous he had felt the previous day as he had given her the shot.

  “Sure. She didn’t give me any trouble at all. She seems to like being handled.”

  “Okay, if it will make you feel better, then we’ll take the dogs,” Herb promised.

  Erma kissed him and said, “You’d better get going. It’s getting late. Don’t worry. We can get the processing started.”

  After the guards arrived, Herb left Erma and Amy doing the preliminary processing of the survivors from Hunter. He stopped by the kennel and was greeted by Ox, who made it clear that he was ready to be released. The big Pit Bull wasn’t accustomed to being locked up in the small enclosure. He normally had his run of Herb’s land. Sheba also appeared pleased to see Herb, as if she remembered him.