The group got out and started the long process of the third wall. Without Harper it took them a week of digging holes and untangling chain-link. Finally they could start erecting the fence. The third ran from Keith's road behind the suburbs and along Forest Road until they came to the corner of the perimeter. It was marked by an immoveable gray boulder. Damon constructed a special fence that would allow water and small debris to flow through the river while keeping the zombies out. It would be a way to ensure that the safe zone would provide drinking water and fish to eat. Damon knew they would have to keep special watch on the area just to make sure no zombie would be able to sneak through accidentally. He hoped the speed of the rapids would make it nearly impossible for any wandering zombie to infiltrate the zone.
It seemed like it took a century to construct the third wall due to the short days. With the sun setting around seven they usually had to pack it in before more zombies came out. Damon didn’t know the reason, but he noticed that Chloe’s words rang true. With darkness came usually more zombies.
Chapter 35
“One wall left guys.” Damon said with forced optimism on the first day of constructing the last wall. He knew everyone was nearing their limit even with the little vacation he allowed them to have. Fingers bled, muscles strained and sleep was much deprived as they tried to finish the wall before the first snow. From the nipping cold that numbed his cheeks he expected to see snowflakes before long. It was planned that the final wall would extend from the river down to the hospital. Damon knew it was going to be the most dangerous with more zombie encounters. They decided it would be best if they stopped the fence a block from the hospital just as they had on the other side, and then they would finish it once the building was completely clear of threats. Harper still remained unseen, so they had to work without the bombs.
When the last fence post stuck in the earth they could see the hospital. Gray clouds rippled over the hazy sky casting long shadows down the walls of the medical plaza. They stood on the outermost area of the parking lot. Zombies milled about the various parking structures and front lawn of the building stumbling over gurneys and wheelchairs and shuffling through flying papers and fallen leaves. They wobbled around the thick trees. Damon couldn't count all of them, there were too many. He watched as one fell off the landscaped waterfall into the shallow pond below. The hospital was tall and rectangular with decorative brick down the front overlooking the parking lot. Like every other building in Vail, it was constructed strikingly.
“How are we gonna kill all of them?” Chloe inched closer to Damon.
Damon was wondering the same thing. “We'll think of something.” “We better think fast because I'm freezin’ my ass off out here, Homes.” Marco was shivering. He pulled a black beanie over his shaved head. Damon noticed that it was getting a little frosty at night, but he shook it off.
“And I think they just spotted us...” Riley pointed a skinny finger at a mess of shambling zombies heading their way. “Well shit...” Damon muttered. Now he felt the shivers. “Do you guys hear that?” Chloe put her hand on Damon's arm and crocked her head to the side. “What's that sound?”
“Hungry zombies...” Riley mused.
“What are you talking about?” Damon strained to hear but came up with nothing.
“It's music...” Now Damon could hear it. He couldn't put a finger on what it was. Definitely something from his childhood...was that Do Your Ears Hang Low? Whatever it was, he heard and so did the zombies.
“It's an ice cream truck!” Chloe exclaimed pointing down the street. Damon turned to see a box shaped van topped with a spinning clown eating an ice cream cone. He looked closer at the outlandish vehicle with washed out pink paint and saw it was being piloted by Harper. The ice cream truck skidded around the corner on wet pavement. The thing was nearly on two wheels driving straight for the herd of zombies. When he had a good sized crowd around the truck Harper took off like a bat out of hell with the zombies moaning and stumbling after the singing vehicle. Over the intercom they heard Harper ask. “Miss me?” His voice was deep and electric. He looped around the parking lot over and over flushing out as many zombies as he could. The undead poured out of the hospital lobby and ER bay doors. “Watch this.” He said through the static. Damon and the others looked on as more and more zombies spilled out. It was mosh pit of two hundred or more trying to get at the spinning clown. The marine skillfully kept them from actually touching the van. He didn’t want to get stuck.
When Harper was confident there were enough following him he led the horde down the street, across the interstate and out into a field. He had to bring the speed down from drag racer to elderly Sunday driver so the zombies could keep up. The cheerful music played while the zombies marched. He parked the van in the clearing and ducked out without being seen. It took the zombies some time to show up. The zombies moaned and pawed at the truck getting as close as they could. When they all were in Harper's desired proximity and he was far enough away, he pulled a metal device from his pocket and flipped a switch.
BOOM. Damon rocked on his heels when he saw the explosion. Orange fire and rubble rocketed into the air along with bits meat. It looked like a damn a bomb went off. “Holy shit...” He mumbled. “Let's check it out...but in the truck.” Once everyone was in Damon drove the Silverado to the blast site, hoping Harper was still alive. He ran down the surviving zombies, which weren't very many. When they got to ground zero he cursed again. There was a crater the size of his truck in the cold earth. A charred clown lay in grass next to them with its arm missing, the ice cream cone gone.
“Where's Harper?” Chloe was concerned for her big friend. “He wouldn't blow himself up, so find him. He's got to be around here somewhere.” I hope. “No need to.” Harper's voice carried over the crater and to their ears. “Like the show?” He appeared from the tree line. He was whistling the same catchy tune.
“Damn right we liked the show, you crazy SOB.” Riley exclaimed and air high fived his friend.
“I think you did the job.” Damon said. Chloe ran around the crater meeting him in the middle. She wrapped her arms around his thick waist. “Don't you ever leave again.” She instructed. She punched him in the stomach a second later. “And don't do that to me again either!”
The big marine smiled and said. “I'm not leaving again.” He made eye contact with Damon for a moment. “I promise.” “What were you up to while you were gone?” Chloe inquired.
“Well killing zombies, of course.” He laughed. “Where are we at with the perimeter?”
“The last wall is almost up. We just needed to clear out the hospital before we can finish that corner.” Damon informed him. “Now we can finish it since you're back. Aren't you so excited?” Riley joked. Harper walked back to the Silverado with the guys and Chloe. “It's good to get back to work.” He knocked the dirt out of his rust colored hair.
They all squeezed into the death machine. “Tomorrow we'll finish. Tonight we’ll celebrate you coming back.” Damon said steering the truck in the direction on the fire station. The hospital could wait another day. When they got back Marco cooked them spaghetti, and they all sat at the long table in the mess hall. Marco was telling ghost stories about Limon prison. Chloe watched every action as he played it out for them with her mouth open. Damon laughed when the Latino sneaked up on her and shouted BOO over her shoulder at the climax of one story. The teen jumped ten feet. Lucky meowed loudly and sprinted from her lap. After everyone had had their fill of food and stories they went over the plan for the next day. After they cleared out the hospital, Riley would install the security cameras at different points of the perimeter. While he did his thing the rest would finish the last little bit of the fence.
“Big day tomorrow guys. Let's get some sleep.” Damon patted his stomach and excused himself from the table.
Chapter 36
Rain poured from the dark purple clouds the next morning. The sun was nowhere to be seen, and it looked like it would remain hidden fo
r the entire day. Damon could hear the large drops of rain drumming on the aluminum roof. Every now and again thunder rumbled across the sky. Damon rounded everyone up which was easier than attracting mosquitoes with sugar water because they all were in the same room. He still hadn’t allowed Chloe to get her own room. After they all had some dehydrated fruit that Chloe ate with little enthusiasm, the group packed into the Silverado to head to their next mission.
When they pulled up on the hospital the task at hand seemed daunting. They approached on foot. Damon could almost hear scary movie music with each step. The hundreds of windows were black and in some they could see shapes staring out towards them…almost daring them, anticipating the chance to eat. Rain ran down the walls of cream and yellow brick and poured like waterfalls around the lobby entrance. It only took one look for everyone to know they should stay together. Riley finally broke down and gave Marco his side arm with a stern look. “Lose it and you're dead. Me and Sebrina have been through a lot.”
“Sebrina?” Chloe snickered when the Latino questioned it. “Don't be a hater.”
“You kids ready?” Harper grumbled impatiently. When they both nodded he said. “Here we go.” Harper and Damon moved in first side by side followed by Chloe then Marco and Riley. Orbs of light danced wickedly over the blood covered walls. Overturned gurneys and medical machines littered the hallway along with the many bodies. Some were completely devoured to nothing more than bones. The smell was absolutely repulsive. Chloe unwrapped her scarf and pressed it to her nose and mouth to try and block it out.
It didn't take the zombies long to find them. Shots echoed down the vacant halls of the hospital. Time went by very slowly as they checked every exam room right down to the janitor's closets. In the ICU the group found multiple beds that had zombies trying to wriggle out of bonds to get to them, their mouths snapping open and closed, daring anyone to get close. Thankfully when they got to the neonatal unit they found it completely empty except for a zombie nurse that had been hiding in the nursery.
Marco had run out of ammo in Sebrina and started using his crowbar. Damon was in the same boat; even Harper had resulted to using a fire axe to deal with the constant zombie menace. More undead teetered out of doorways like some sick haunted house. Marco expected Chloe to scream at some points, and was shocked when she kept cool.
The cafeteria had a mess of them, and Damon thought for a second they were toast. If it hadn’t been for Harper’s quick thinking in pushing over a huge stack of tables that crushed a majority of them, they all would have been out of ammo and zombie chow. They moved as one out of the open space, fearing that the ear shattering noise of the tables would draw out more than they could handle at once.
Eventually, they found their way to the morgue. “Hopefully everyone's already dead.” Damon pushed through the door cautiously. The commercial sized doors squeaked eerily as the group walked across the threshold. The morgue was cold and drafty. Flashlights shined over the silver coolers. No zombies. Their footsteps seemed to echo in the metallic room.
Chloe inspected the array of utensils and then moved to the coolers. She started to pull open the square door next to her. “Chloe stop that.” Damon hissed. She continued. It was empty. She attempted to open another, and Damon caught her arm. She yanked it away and opened the next one. She shined the light in. Damon went to stop her.
“Wait Damon look.” She whispered. “She's not all gross.” Damon reluctantly looked down in the cooler half expecting to see another decomposing body. They were so popular nowadays.
“She's right.” He agreed, utterly confounded. The body they were staring at was that of a beautiful blonde woman. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five. Her plump lips were the color of a red rose and her cheeks were lightly pink. Her skin was ghostly pale, but not like the grayish hue of zombies. Damon looked closer and suddenly her eyes snapped open. He fell back onto a silver cart which toppled over with a loud crash. He scrambled to his feet.
The woman screamed and thrashed in the cooler. She tried to pull herself back in when Riley caught the edge of the cooler. “Hey! Hey! Shut the hell up before you get every last zombie in this hospital on our asses.”
She looked at Riley in sheer terror. The woman slide out of the cooler like a snake and sprinted for the door. Harper and Marco blocked the door so she couldn't escape. Harper caught her by the arm and whirled her into him. “We don't want to hurt you.” Her large breasts heaved as she gasped for air, threatening to pop out of her tight blue dress with a low v-collar. Marco uttered something totally inappropriate that got him an elbow to the gut from Chloe.
Damon held up his hands as a sign of truce. “We mean you no harm. What's your name?” When she refused to answer he tried a different question. “How did you get down here?” She didn't answer. Her blue eyes were wild with fear. She vibrated against Harper, not that he minded.
Still nothing. Chloe approached. “I'm Chloe. What's your name?” She asked sweetly. “We want to help you. Will you come with us?” She shook her head violently. “You really want to stay here in the dark with all these stinking bodies?” The woman still said nothing. “We have food...” She tempted.
That caught her attention, but she was still hesitant to go with them. “Okay Harper. Let her go.” Damon instructed. “We've wasted enough time here.”
“Wait. I don't think...” Harper mumbled.
“Me either.” Riley chimed in.
“Me three.” Marco added.
Chloe put an arm on Harper, nonverbally saying it was okay. She knew what she was doing. “If she wants to stay, she can stay...” She looked at Damon. “Let's go.”
Harper's eyes lingered on her as everyone left the morgue. His gaze raked down her body. He reluctantly turned to follow them. Just as Harper opened the squeaking door the woman spoke. “Wawait...don't go.” The big marine hesitated. “Can you really take me where there are no zombies?”
“Yes.” Riley burst through the door. “Not before we finish all the zombies here.” He couldn't hide his excitement for the woman to be coming with them, but he was annoyed that she was interested in Harper. What did Harper have that he didn’t? Oh, muscles… and good looks. The tall marine shrugged his shoulders involuntarily.
The woman looked terrified, but Harper tried to reassure her. “Don't worry, we'll keep you safe.”
“Just don't fall behind.” Damon warned. The woman nodded her head and pressed herself against Harper, who showed no signs of displeasure. She didn't leave his side the entire time they were at the hospital. The rain had finally stopped when they finished killing every zombie that stumbled through the halls and rooms of the hospital. Damon and Harper barricaded the hospital doors so that no zombies could get into the building through the night because they still had to finish that corner of the perimeter. The moon peeked out from thick clouds when they completed the barricade. Out of ammunition and energy the group decided to go back to the fire station for the night. They had stirred up a little business in the parking lot. A few curious corpses stumbled onto the premises. Chloe shot both of them swiftly with expert skill, and then beamed at Riley. “Ha! Beat ya!”
He sniffed. “Yeah right that’s cuz I let you. My fingers are tired from killing too many.” The teen smiled faintly and scanned the parking lot. She immediately dashed for the most drowned edge free of bodies. Chloe stomped in the ocean-like mud puddles that pooled in various parts of the parking lot. The cold water splashed over her body, but the teen didn’t care. She let the gritty droplets run down her face wearing a smile. Her pants were soiled from ankle to knee. Damon raised his eyebrows at the teen’s behavior. Chloe looked up at him with mud on her face. “What? Haven't you ever heard of mud puddle stomping?”
“No. Can't say that I have.” Damon opened the door for her to get in. Riley had to sit next to her pushing the teen into the middle seat so that the woman could have a seat next to Harper in the back. Both Riley and Marco eyed Harper with jealousy. Harper glanced at them and all h
e did was smile. Smart ass.
When they got back to the fire station Chloe showed their new guest to the barracks and then the bathroom where she could get cleaned up. The woman followed Chloe into the bathroom trailed by Lucky who was curious about the new visitor. The tabby watched as the blonde woman stood over the bucket of tepid water placed next to the sink. “It's not much but it's something. It beats being dirty.”
“Thank you.” The woman rasped. Her voice was still unsteady. Chloe moved towards the door with Lucky in tow. “Is that your cat?”
The teen beamed. “Yup. This is Lucky.” She picked him up so the woman could pet him. “I love cats. I was never able to have them at home because my father was allergic.” Lucky purred as she stroked his head. The woman seemed to relax while she stroked the cat. “My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz.”
Chloe smiled. “I'm Chloe. The sour grumpy looking guy with brown hair is Damon.”
“Who was the big...one?” She blushed slightly. “Oh the one with muscles bigger than my head? That's Harper. Him and Riley are marines. He's the tall skinny one with blondish hair. The Mexican looking guy is Marco. We found him at a prison.” Liz looked a little shocked. “That's all of us. We all live here now while we build a safe zone. We're hoping that one day we can actually walk around outside without the risk of being eaten.” From Liz's expression Chloe realized that she was being a little too chatty and probably was overwhelming her so she calmed down. “I'll leave you to your business but know that you're safe here.”
When Chloe joined the group in the mess hall they all looked up. When they noticed that the new girl wasn't with her they all went back to their plates. “I see where I stand. Jeesh.” She stuffed some undistinguishable food they called supper in her mouth. “Her name is Liz, and she wanted to know your name Harper...” She joked and followed up with an ooooooo and kissed the air.
Zombie Revolution Page 22
