“Generators are back here.” Harper nodded to the north side of the basement. Along the red brick wall there were two small black generators.
Damon found the cord for the pull start and gave it a yank. Nothing. He hit the primer button three times and tried again. The generator emitted a white puff of fumy smoke. It sputtered and coughed but then rhythmically drummed. “Hit that switch Marco.”
“Let there be light.” The switch flipped, and the light blinked on. Electricity buzzed in their ears. The group stared at each other blinking their own eyes waiting for them to adjust to the ghostly light. “Look what we have here.” Riley walked up to some crates shoved in the corner covered in dust. “Looks like we didn't need Keith's stash after all.” The tall marine held up a bottle of booze. “Ooo...and it's Irish whiskey.”
“Just what we need.” Damon laughed. Seriously. The mechanic motioned for him to pick up the crates while he and Harper grabbed some wood sheeting. “Let's get the windows covered so we can start relaxing. It shouldn't take too long since the windows are so small.”
The sun burned directly overhead when they finished the loud hammering of the homemade window treatments. Now it was time to figure out what to do with the bodies. Chloe wanted to go back to the cabin and complained very loudly that she couldn't. After a while, she went back out to the Silverado and got her new pet, Lucky. The orange and cream cat was her new best friend since they had to leave Boomer behind, which was another thing the teenager was vocal about. Damon was trying to convince Marco and Riley to move the bodies when the teen can back through the door hugging her feline friend and disappeared upstairs. Marco wanted to stay somewhere else, and Riley was eager to try out his new whiskey. Eventually, they decided or Damon decided that they would pull the bodies outside in the street and another day they would take them outside the safe zone perimeter and dispose of them.
The stack of zombies piled higher than Chloe stood tall. The teen returned once they were finished. She plugged her nose. “Wow, it's going to be awesome living next to that.” She said sarcastically. “Now where are we going to sleep?”
“Up in the barracks of course.” Damon said. “Eew. I don't want to sleep in the same room as you guys.” She complained.
“Typical teenager...wants her own room.” Riley teased. “Come on Harper doesn't smell that bad.” Chloe chuckled. Harper punched the skinny marine in the arm. Damon looked down at her. “It's probably best we stay together for now. Maybe in a few weeks you can have your own room.” The teen wrinkled her forehead and stomped back into the fire station. Damon raised his eyebrows at the other guys. “I might need some of that before long.” He pointed at the bottle in Riley's hands.
Night time brought the colder temps. Damon could feel that fall was coming very soon. He didn't need a calendar to prove it. He noticed the trees weren't as green anymore; some had already started to change shade. The air didn't smell like summer anymore either. The group spent a few hours before sleep going through their things. The guys brought everything in from the truck which wasn't much. They had to take care of a few curious zombies in the process, which would have been easier if Riley wasn't already tanked. The tall marine was like a kid using a BB gun for the first time. He had to fire a few rounds to finally hit the bull’s-eye. It put more holes in the side of the gift shop across the street than in the zombies. When they finished unloading and unpacking they settled down in their beds. Lucky curled up at the end of Chloe's bed by her feet. Marco attempted to make small talk with the guys, but nobody seemed interested in what he had to say. Finally, he gave up and passed out on his back with the crowbar next to his right hand. He had traded the green inmate attire for a blue T-shirt and jeans. “Tomorrow the hard work starts.” Damon said and hit the light switch on the wall.
“Oh...yay...” Riley mumbled in the dark. The next morning came before Riley wanted it to. Steely clouds blanketed the sky as far as the eye could see. Rain would definitely be a factor today. Damon thought but was undeterred. They decided to start with the wall that would run parallel with the interstate it would stretch from the apartment building to the hospital. The first wall would include the gate which posed a problem for the group. None of them had ever designed or installed anything like it before. Damon didn't think that his automatic garage door counted. After a trial and error they figured out how to rig the chain-link to open and close. They made a track out of skis they got from a local shop for the gate to slide along. During the construction of the first wall they had to deal with straggler zombies that were drawn to the noise. The Welcome Center located by the gate had half a dozen undead tourists in it, but Damon thought it would be best to leave them be for the time being. They didn't want to waste ammunition. The building was secure enough to contain the zombies, so they left them for later.
Damon got knocked to the ground by another zombie. He thought it was only a matter of time before one would sink its teeth into his neck. Zombies weren't the only problems they faced. Human error was another. Riley almost lost a finger to the auger when it jammed in the ground. Marco was almost crushed by a roll of chainlink when he and Harper attempted to move it. The razor wire claimed more of Marco's blood when he was volunteered to attach it to the top of the wall. After two weeks of working from sun up to sun down, a wall separated them from the interstate.
Construction of the second wall was much more eventful. The plan was for the wall to extend from the apartment building to the mouth of Keith's road. They expected trouble by the apartment building because of location. The tall building extended for two city blocks and sat across from a row of restaurants. Harper almost lost an arm in a tug-of-war match against a crowd of hungry zombies while they attempted to clear out the sandwich shop. If it hadn't been for the metal rafters in the ceiling he would have been dead...or undead he supposed. Marco's limp got better, which was good for him because he had to race a few zombies back to the trucks where Damon could put slugs in their heads.
Construction of the safe zone seemed to be taking its toll, people were making mistakes. Mistakes that could get people killed. It was hard to keep up morale even when they finished the second wall because it meant they were only halfway done. The whole thing was much harder than Damon thought it was ever going to be.
It was quiet on the night they finished the second wall at the fire station. Riley and Harper stared vacantly at their rifles. Marco flipped through a car magazine he picked up from an abandoned truck. Damon watched Chloe stroke Lucky's back while he purred with delight. The cat was the only one who seemed to be having fun in their current situation. Since they were halfway done with the safe zone as a bonus Damon decided they could take a few days off. Really he was afraid of a mutiny if he didn't allow them to rest. As much as he wanted to finish the safe zone, he didn't want anyone to get hurt because of the lack of sleep. Damon counted the tiles in the drop ceiling for the hundredth time. One hundred and fifty squares. His eyes finally closed when he got to square eighty-eight.
When the group got back to work the seasons had changed. The maple leaves were in shades of brilliant red and dark purple. Instead of silence around Vail, the sound of fallen leaves could be heard rustling through the streets. Most of the trees were located around the river and suburban area where the next wall was going to be constructed. It would extend from Keith's road, running along Forest Road, which was a residential street. The wall would end where Damon had marked the location of the perimeter corner. When Damon passed the mouth of Keith’s road he wondered about his brother. He was sure that his older brother was pissed about the theft. He thought for a second that he should go up there and apologize. Maybe one day he would, but today wasn’t the day…and tomorrow didn’t look go either.
They decided to clean out the homes before starting the build so the possible undead residents didn't sneak up on them. Damon rolled up to the corner of First and Woodlawn, and Harper took the blazer to the opposite end of the street. Before they left the fire station, they planned to
meet in the middle.
Damon, Chloe and Marco got out of the Silverado and scanned the yard of the first house. The house was fabricated from small pink brick with a large bay window next to the white front door. Tall grass enveloped the children's toys in the yard. The three made their way cautiously up the cobblestone sidewalk to the door. Damon tried the knob. It was unlocked. It opened without resistance and led into the small entry wall. It was apparent by the sleek black décor it was formerly inhabited by a young family. A poster sized portrait hung over the mantel in the adjacent living room. A man and a woman stood behind a young boy and girl staring back at Damon in black and white. The boy couldn't have been older than Michael, his own son. Smaller pictures were framed around the contemporary furniture. Marco and Chloe stood in the entry way waiting for Damon to tell them what to do. “Take the upstairs, Marco.” He finally said. Chloe could have sworn she saw him wipe his eyes. “Me and Chloe will get down here.” Marco looked like he was going to protest. “Look around Marco. Everything’s pristine. No blood. It doesn't even smell bad in here. ”
Marco let out a psst and nodded his head. “You better be right about this, Homes. If I get bit by some little kid and turn into a zombie. I'm gonna eat you.”
“Fair enough.” Damon and Chloe worked their way through the living room and into the dining room. The dining table was enormous and made of black walnut. Damon figured the people had to be loaded judging by the crystal chandelier hanging over it. They could hear Marco's footsteps overhead and then heard them coming down there stairs.
“Upstairs is clear.” Marco reported. “Good.” They left the premises after checking the backyard. The next few homes were the same. No zombies, mostly in order. Damon hoped the rest of the street would be equally empty.
The lavish Vail Hotel stood proud in the morning sun just a few blocks away from the residential area. If it weren’t for the broken windows and barricaded doors, the hotel would have looked like it did before the zombies came. Stone archways and balconies were erected in the building displaying what luxury tourists would experience on the inside. The clock tower remained frozen in time when the mechanism finally failed. When the outbreak swept through the town the hotel was completely booked. It took just one infected waiter biting the throat out of a tourist to cause Vail to fall. Nearly all the guests were still inside when the entire beautiful dining area turned into a dead zone. White draped tables were over turned and expensive china shattered. Crystal chandeliers reflected people running in terror. The slower or feeble were trampled to death and left for zombie food.
When the marines led by the Mad General came to Vail, they barricaded the doors to keep the zombie guests contained. What they didn't know was that the barricade couldn't hold the zombies forever. The particular day the group was working through the suburb was the day the wood started to splinter, and the glass started to break. The sound of gunfire and engines had the zombies pushing relentlessly against the barrier. Their dead hands beat harder against the wood and glass desperate as a rabid animal in a cage. Rotten flesh was gouged from the arms of a male tourist when he pushed through the broken glass of the hotel's rotating doors; his camera swung wildly from his neck. Zombie after zombie followed. Most of the zombies were dressed for fine dining. They stumbled towards the sounds, unable to resist the temptation of fresh meat.
Damon, Chloe and Marco made it through three more houses before they ran into any zombies. It was an old European style home with ten foot high ceilings. Amy always wanted a big home with tall ceilings. He wished in that moment he would have given that to her before she died. Damon pondered about his wife's wants, and the fact that none would ever be realized. That was when the zombie attacked. It was Chloe who fell this time. A shot rang out, and the former owner was hit in the chest. Unfazed by the wound, the zombie landed hard on Chloe covering her. Damon could only see the teen's feet sticking out from under the corpse. He rammed the zombie like a linebacker without a second thought. It hit the wall leaving a zombie sized hole in the gray drywall. A mess of picture frames fell onto the floor shattering the glass on impact. Marco jumped at the zombie and smashed its head in before it could recover.
Damon looked down at the zombie, studying it. Something wasn't right. The zombie couldn't be the former owner. It was dressed in a hotel bellboy outfit and was missing most of its intestines. How does a zombie who is alone in a house get its stomach ripped open? It doesn't. The mechanic checked the kitchen, and the back door was swinging wide open. He moved to close it just as another zombie stepped across the threshold. This one was obviously a tourist. The man had gouges in his rotten skin that ran the length of his arms. Around his skinny neckline was a new Canon camera. The black and red camera strap snapped as he went for him, shattering the camera on the linoleum. Damon leveled the shotgun, squeezing the trigger he watched the zombie's head turn into a bloody fountain. The body crumpled on the stoop. Damon heard moans...lots of moans.
“Damon look!” Chloe had peeked under Damon's shoulder. She pointed across the yard. “Holy shit...” Damon murmured as he followed the teen's finger to a crowd of zombies pushing their way through the neighbor's overgrown hedges. The zombies not caring as the branches slapped and scratched their rotting faces. “Guys we gotta move.” The mechanic closed the door. No reason to be quiet anymore. He knew they were spotted.
Chloe was already moving to the entryway when Damon and Marco joined her. Carefully, she cracked the front door open. “We gotta problem...” He could tell she was shaking. The teen closed the door and put her back to it.
Damon snapped the bay window curtains open and closed. “Fuck me.” He said to himself. Not only were the zombies coming through the backyard, but there was a parade of them stumbling and bumbling down the middle of the street. He could hear pounding on the back door. Shit. Both paths to the Silverado were blocked. To make matters worse he was pretty sure the ones in the street were headed their way. Damon tried to radio Riley and Harper. Nothing. Double shit. He thought frantically for a moment. “Upstairs. Now!” He snatched Chloe's arm and ran to the stairs followed by Marco who was running down a list of Spanish swears.
They were at the top of the stairs when something crashed through the window. They could hear glass rain over the wood floor. “Vamonos Chi-Ca. Pick up the pace.” Marco encouraged Chloe to move faster.
Damon's mind was frantic. He moved them down the hall to the far bedroom, scanning for anyway out. No attic. What house doesn't have an attic? “Shit.” He muttered under his breath. A flood of zombies crashed against the wall opposite the stairs. He turned and put himself in between the door and Chloe. The sprinters growled as they pushed to the front of the pack their mouths opened wide. The blast from the shotgun rang in Damon’s ears. Two zombies crumpled in half. Their top halves still crawled over the thick floral carpet at them. “Go for the roof!” He prayed there was some sort of outcropping they could get out on.
“Damon!” Chloe shouted. Another blast, then another. “Just go!” He shouted more forcefully. He heard the window open, and Marco pull the irate teen out. Damon emptied the rest of his shotgun out in the hallway. He slammed the bedroom door but didn't expect it to hold. When the door splintered he was out the open window and onto the porch roof. Marco and Chloe were peering for the edge of the roof to the ground below.
“That's a lot of zombies, Homes.” Marco announced. Most of the zombies continued down the street but a few stragglers surrounded the house. “Where'd they come from ya think?”
Damon guessed from the attire of the first zombie and the camera from the next that they came from the hotel. “Most likely they broke out of the hotel. I remember it was boarded up and shit.” That was one of the reasons why he didn’t want to include it. He tried to radio Riley and Harper again. Nothing. “Well we can't get back to the Silverado so it looks like we head for the blazer and try to beat the undead crowd.” He checked over the edge again. The zombies had gone for the time being. Seeing their only escape was off the
roof, Damon inched his way off the sloped asphalt and onto the air conditioning unit. “Come on. Hurry up.” He whispered urgently. Marco and Chloe followed. “Let's move before they find us.”
Damon led them through backyards staying off the street. They had a few more lawns to go through before their destination. A short wooden privacy fence stood in front of them. Marco went over first followed by Damon and Chloe. Marco was over the next fence on the other side of the property when Chloe stopped to look at something shiny in the grass. She picked it up to discover that it was a diamond bracelet. “Chloe.” Damon hissed. They were ready to jump over the next fence and join Marco when the back door exploded. More zombies than either of them could count poured out. Damon pulled the teenager to the ground behind the fence without a word. The troop of zombies passed near the fence. Damon's skin crawled as he watched from between the planks as their dead feet passed inches from his face. He could smell the fresh dirt under his nose. He flipped he head to the side to look at Chloe. The teenager was shaking against the ground, her emerald eyes fixed on the dead. The zombies weren't leaving. What was the problem? He tried to see their faces through the fencing but couldn't. He could sense that the dead knew they were there. Damon's arm hair stood up. He didn't have enough shells for all of them.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and flipped his head back to Chloe. She motioned for him not to make a sound and slowly pulled out her purple iPod out of her pocket. She unplugged the ear buds, scrolled the library of songs and selected one. The teen lobbed the iPod over the fence towards the woods from where she lay. She motioned for Damon to wait a second. After what seemed like an eternity, Beyoncé sang in the distance. The moans of the dead harmonized with “All the Single Ladies.” Damon watched through the fence as the zombies shuffled in the direction of the noise leaving a path across the yard open. He snatched Chloe's arm and pulled her over the fence with her feet trailing after. They didn't see Marco. He figured he was hiding somewhere. He hoped for the best but expected the worst. Chloe stumbled over a rock but Damon kept her from falling.
Zombie Revolution Page 20
