by Joe Kelly
Forty feet, he noted every sense alert for any change in the ultralight and air around it. Twenty feet. the trees to either side seemed a lot closer to the road now than they had when he had taken off. Ten feet. he could picture Logan being white as a sheet and praying.
The wheels touched pavement, the struts flexed. He applied brakes. Slowing, slowing… stopped. Yes… He cheered mentally. Bite me Jared.
Ronny climbed out of the cockpit pulling the memory stick from the camera that Rob and Gary the uber nerd had installed just before they had abandoned the Camp outside of Bergstown. He pulled off his cap and dragged fingers through his dark brown hair.
He had to admit he was impressed by their work, they had even set up a stud on the control stick of the ultralight so all he had to do was hold the stick and push the button with his thumb. It might not look like a professional job, but it worked and being able to study the images on a Laptop really helped them make plans.
Logan exited the cockpit looking as if he wanted to kiss the ground. he stood at just six foot. Which made the cockpit a bit cramped for him. Damn he looks young Ronny thought, not having really noticed it before. Logan was twenty-two and though Ronny was only fifteen years older, he felt much older.
Dark haired, brooding dark eyes and an olive brown skin tone courtesy of his Greek Italian heritage. Ronny had no doubt that back before the world had died, Logan had been popular with the girls on his college campus and probably some older women as well.
“I can’t feel my legs” Logan commented as he rubbed his thighs trying to get circulation back.
“Baby! I’ve had worse in my eye” Ronny said with a grin as he moved aside to let Steve and the others get started on breaking down the ultralight for storage.
“I do not want to know what you’ve had in your eyes you perv” Logan shot back.
“seriously though, you okay?” Ronny asked quietly as he and Logan stepped away from the ultralight. “I know seeing Knoxville was rough on you.”
“I’m fine. I knew it was bad when we escaped, just seeing it again was like living through the losses and the pain all over again. But I’m good now.” Logan said
“That’s why I don’t ever want to go back to Nashville, I think it would hit me just as hard.” Ronny admitted.
“I …” Logan said then paused as Rob came rushing up.
“How did it go?” Rob asked excitedly. His once fashionably styled brown hair was cut down almost to the scalp.
“Great, except for a million or so undead” Ronny replied. His normally flippant self-subdued.
“So, no going to the mall” Rob asked with a tired smile. his dark brown eyes ringed by even darker circles. he absently scratched at the beard he had grown over the last week. He was looking more like a sturdy lumber jack than the well-groomed city boy he had been just a few months ago.
In the two years and some odd months Ronny had known the man, he had never seen him look so ragged. It’s the end of the world I think we all look ragged, Ronny decided. His own hair had grown out and needed a cut. He hated long hair and his now hung a little past his collar. I am not shaving my head, he told himself then grinned, Unless Mary wanted me to.
“Not unless you don’t plan on leaving again” Ronny replied watching as Logan was greeted by the Russian girl Tatyana, Lucky guy, Ronny thought, it wasn’t jealousy he loved Mary. Appreciation for a beautiful woman and a bit of envy was something most men understood and to be honest it was more habit than anything else. Even as tired as she looked, dirty from working and no make up Tatyana was good looking.
Ronny glanced at Steve who usually had something to say. But the tall shaven headed man remained quiet as he worked on disassembling the ultra light. “you okay?” Ronny asked Steve who shrugged. Steve was easily the tallest man in the group of survivors and the biggest. Ronny had no idea when Steve found the time to keep his goatee and mustache trimmed but Steve did it.
Common opinion held that large muscle-bound men were slow, and probably stupid, Steve was damn quick on his feet and smarter than most people.
“why?” Steve asked lifting an eyebrow.
“well no smartass remark for one” Ronny commented.
“It’s been a long day already, but if you really want me to start in on you.” Steve said a smile flickering across his face.
“No that’s okay, I wouldn’t want you to strain something.” Ronny replied. “what happened while I was gone?”
“had a few bands of pus bags wander into camp, had to put them down with hand weapons. We didn’t lose any one, though Kyle almost got his ass bitten off.” Steve said as he started disassembling the wings from the cockpit.
“probably have to leave here soon” Ronny observed. Once the dead showed up, more would follow in ever greater numbers. Popular opinion around the group was the dead could sense the living. Ronny didn’t really buy that, but he also didn’t have a better idea on how they seemed to know when other zombies had found humans. Jared suspected that they followed the noise of the vehicles and once the vehicle pulled away and the sound faded they just kept heading in the same direction.
“Probably” Steve agreed. “better get into the camp and talk to Jared, I want to get this thing broken down and stored just in case more show up.”
While Steve, Rob and Warren broke down the Ultra-light in preparation for storing it on the trailer again. Ronny headed for the Camp proper, he could hear the shriek of kids playing and frowned slightly. The noise would draw more undead, and that they didn’t need. But he had to admit it was good they were able to cope as well as they did.
A chill wind set the trees and bushes to rustling. Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets Ronny crossed the old campground heading for the gate between RVs with Logan and his girlfriend following along.
The Rv’s had been a brilliant idea on Jared’s part, though he denied it had been his idea. There was plenty of room, some modern conveniences, like hot water, real beds and lights. On the down side they sucked fuel had no off-road capability and were loud, which was pretty much like ringing the dinner bell for the undead.
At least they were safer than an old home or building, and at the first sign of trouble we can just start up and leave. Leave it to Jared to develop camping tactics, He thought half smiling.
The series of walls that were set between each vehicle made their camp safer than it would have been. The walls were seven foot high, and were fitted to brackets that had been attached to the Rv’s.
The entire concept had been Jill’s idea who had gotten the idea from the Roman Legion Camps and had sat down and explained the concept to the entire group one night just after leaving Bergstown no one had spoken out against the idea, so Jared had added it to the tactics he had been working on at the time.
Collecting all the wood from lumber yards had been interesting as had finding locations to run saws and drills then assemble the walls where they wouldn’t be overrun by the dead. It had taken several days and constant moving from place to place out in the rural areas, but they had gotten it done.
.
Who would have thought that the leather clad, sword wielding, warrior goddess, would know so much about history? He smiled to himself for a moment, turned out she held three degrees though she had not really talked much about the other two degrees she held. In fact, she blew the other two degrees off acting like they had been something minor, like underwater basket weaving.
Like Steve, Ronny didn’t believe her brush offs on the topic and he was pretty sure no one else did either, but if she didn’t want to talk about it no one least of all Jared was going to push it. Who really cared anyway, what mattered was she was tough, smart and deadly and that was a hell of a combination. He thought.
As he reached the portable gate placed between two RV’s Chad and Ori swung it open to let him through. “Next time you had better bring me a bottle of whiskey when you go to town” Ori said with a crooked smile as Ronny passed him. Ori’s thick blond hair was actually neat t
oday. Ori was one of his best friends, despite the fact he couldn’t tell jokes without screwing them up. He was also the best scout and marksmen in the entire group. Short wiry and quick he could get in and out of places no one else could.
“Sure, no problem, I can bring you back some Popeye’s fried chicken too.” Ronny said.
“asshole, now my mouth is watering just thinking about Popeyes.” Ori said as he swung the gate closed once more. Ori absently lifted a hand to rake his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit he had never been able to break, then stopped himself with a grimace.
Ori had developed an obsession with the chicken place years back, it was almost but not quite as bad as Jared’s obsession with coffee. Which was exactly why Ronny had brought it up. He gave Ori a wide grin. Ori lifted a hand and gave Ronny the finger
His amusement faded as he thought about the images on the thumb drive he carried. There was no way they could enter Knoxville and survive, the sheer amount of wrecks and abandoned vehicles he had seen in the area Jared had been interested in would keep the RV’s out, oh they could use a wrecker or something but that meant getting out and hooking up vehicles and with the number of undead in the area that was just suicide and going on foot was out of the question for the same reason.
Out of the blue he remembered a conversation from years back at one of Jared’s 4th of July parties, the topic had been about some zombie movie and a guy they had known, Alex something or other had said he didn’t like them because they didn’t have normal people in them. Jared had laughed and said, “they do have normal people in them, a few billion of them trying to eat the survivors.” Well buddy you had that right, Ronny thought.
The end of the world was like the ultimate Special Forces Q course, either you had that certain something to succeed and keep going or you become one of the billions who had failed the test.
The group hall was the second largest structure in the camp, its many windows shuttered against the winter wind. Stepping inside, he felt the warmth that radiated from the large wood burning stove and wanted to do nothing more than go stand in front of that stove and bake. A few people, not on guard duty or other details lingered over a meal quietly talking. Beth had taken over half of the large room for a classroom.
Ori was one lucky man, Ronny thought as he saw Beth standing beside a dry erase board, quietly teaching the kids how to read. She was a slender woman, cute in the same way that Sandra bullock was. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders framing a lively face and deep luminous golden eyes.
She really loved Ori and Ori loved her right back. Ori didn’t say it, but Ronny knew his friend still felt guilt over not being able to find Kelly the woman he had been dating when the dead rose and more to the point Ronny was sure that he felt guilty for having moved on to another woman. With the walking dead out there, we can’t waste months or years like we used to. Mourn and move on, it’s a sad new world.
He smiled for a second as he saw Billy, the kid that spent as much time with Jared as he could. The little blond boy was practically bouncing on the picnic table bench he sat on. At some point I bet Jared adopts the kid. They are like two peas in a pod.
Damn near every morning, Billy burst in on Jared wanting Jared to teach him Karate or to read a story to him, or do something anything. At first, Billy had constantly asked to see Jared’s dog tags or to wear them. Jared had finally just let Billy keep them and the boy wore them twenty-four hours a day.
It’s funny how normal things seem sometimes, Dating, jokes, dealing with kids, working on vehicles standing F’ing guard duty even planning for the future and then I step outside and see zombies or realize that every city around the globe is dead, and that almost every human being is dead. It only goes to show that people see what they want until they have no other choice, he told himself. If it keeps us sane, then great.
He crossed the room weaving around the picnic tables, nodding to those who waved to him or said hello, opening the door on the opposite wall he stepped out onto the covered deck.
Half of the deck jutted out over the seventy foot drop to the bottom of the forested hollow. Strands of white Christmas lights and fake pine garlands had been wrapped around the railings. Five round metal tables dotted the deck, smoke curled up from the chimney of the massive smoker/BBQ against the wall. There was no way to get onto the deck from the ground not without being able to climb and even the living would have struggled to get up and over the rail.
Jared sat at one of the tables writing in a notebook, He was out here every morning since their arrival, to drink some coffee and watch the sun rise over the wooded valley and the signature forested misty mountaintops in the distance. He wore a wool cap over his red gold hair to ward off the colder weather
At least he no longer looked stressed out and worried like he had for a while back at the Cabins, he had that confident Army NCO look Ronny remembered so well. He was acting more like the NCO he had once been too and that was a good thing for the group.
“Debrief away, I want to get cleaned up and spend some time with my woman.”
“fiancée” Jill corrected.
Jared picked up the memory stick slowly spinning it, top to bottom through his fingers as he gazed out at the forest across the hollow.
“Remember that school group we guided thru the Smokies a few years ago” Jared asked abruptly as Ronny settled back in his chair enjoying the heat from the wood burning stove. “The one with that girl.” he added there had been several trips to the Smokies over the years but only one with That girl as he called her.
“Sure do, I remember that good-looking senior who was determined to get in your sleeping bag every time her daddy wasn’t looking too.” Ronny replied shaking his head in amusement and wondering why Jared was thinking about that trip. Oh please, any memory of better times was worth dwelling on, Ronny told himself.
“I ended up having to sling a hammock in the middle of camp and sleep in it for the rest of the trip just, so she couldn’t sneak into my tent and get naked again” Jared told Jill.
“She stripped in your tent,” Jill asked incredulously.
“Naked as a jay bird,” Ronny confirmed with a wide grin. “Jared was busy repairing a pack one of the kids had managed to break and asked me to get something, I don’t remember what now, out of his tent. I walked over and unzipped the tent and there she lay in all her underage, jail bait glory. Not sure which of us was more surprised, and she wasn’t happy that it was me and not Jared coming into the tent let me tell you. I still think her daddy knew exactly what was going on though.”
Jared shrugged, “I don’t know, and don’t really care. Even if she had been legal, I don’t sleep with the customers. Doesn’t work out well.” Jared said seriously, wondering if he would ever be able to think about the world before the undead without feeling the deep grief that threatened to break free every time.
“Good for you” Jill said as she gathered her wavy dark hair at the nape of her neck and bound it with a leather thong. Half expecting Ronny to comment about her using leather. He was such a dog most times.
“Now if you had been a customer…” Jared let the sentence trail off suggestively, trying to lighten his own mood, then forced a smile before turning back to Ronny. “how did our route look?” he asked leaning forward to listen. The route Ronny had checked out, was the one path that could take them around Knoxville and the dangers of a city infested with the undead.
“The route” Ronny said then shook his head. “its bad Jared, the first part seemed okay but then as it swung closer to the Gatlinburg,” Ronny said pausing looking into Jared’s Emerald green eyes. “trust me we do not want to go that way.”
Jared rested his elbows on the Table and gazed at the notebook for a moment then sighed. “I had hoped that route would be better than the last two.” He said after a moment. Jared wasn’t really surprised at the news, he had spent days now scouring his maps for a route that would take them to the Smokies while avoiding the tourist corridor where ther
e would be tens of thousands of undead in and around every town in the area not to mention the abandoned vehicles and wrecks that would be everywhere.
If it had just been the normal population number he might have risked it, but add in the tourists who had been in the area when the world died, and the area was undead central. No there had to another route but he couldn’t find it. “I just don’t see a way to get from here to there that doesn’t take us through the area.” He said aloud. “between the engine noise and size of this convoy the undead will know we are coming and swamp us. Unless.” his voice trailed off. “I think we might head back west then cut south that would put us in a more isolated area without the huge number of dead tourists.”
