by Joe Kelly
“He’s lucky that .50 round wasn’t three inches over or his face would have stopped it.” Chris noted.
“what about Ori and Jason” Jill asked suddenly. She knew Jared was upset and blamed himself. But Beth and Linda were upset and she had promised to bring it up to Jared.
“I’ve tried to contact them on the radio repeatedly, no reply, Gary is going to keep trying every hour on the hour.” Jared said heavily. “They’re not dead!”
“I didn’t say they were Jared.” Jill said with a glance at Chris and Ronny who shook their heads trying to get her to drop the topic. “Linda is burying herself in her work and Beth is ready to lose it and something happened with Billy that has her worked up. She didn’t say exactly what, she’s Focused on Ori at the moment.”
“I know she is, we are going to find him and Jason and bring them back. Ori’s radio might be dead, or he dropped it. Till I see their corpses, I am not giving up on them” Jared stated. “as far as Billy, did she say anything about what happened?”
“Just that he had another one of those event’s but doesn’t seem to remember it happening.” Jill replied, letting the Ori and Jason topic drop. He was worried and that was making him short tempered.
Jared gazed at her for a moment thinking about all the other events the kids had, had then shook his head, one day they would figure out what was going on, and he only hoped he liked the answer.
There had been seven hundred twenty zombies in that attack on the DFPs at least according to the body count. And that was not counting what had been milling around on the Cherokee side or on the Newfound gap road or that had hit the raiders. He suspected that there had been almost 2500 zombies all told but would never know for a fact since no one was all that interested in counting all the bodies.
The bodies inside the farm were being loaded onto dump trucks and hauled to the fires and the undead still outside the walls would be bulldozed into gruel when their time came.
He felt sick at his mistakes, but anger and determination flared in him. I screwed up this time, yes. But the kids, all of them are safe and so are many people who might not have lived otherwise. Or would they. Would the zombies have even attacked like that if the Dirty Dozen and their lost boys hadn’t come thru? Enough he told himself sternly, deal with it.
“Chris I want you to run the weapons and maneuver drills for our teams and Lloyds volunteers. Everyone is going to learn the basics.” Jared said finally forcing away the dark depression that had hovered in the wings of his mind.
He finally looked up at Logan and Jill. “First thing tomorrow morning we go find Ori and Jason. Then we go to Cherokee and check on the people there. After that, the Raiders are top of the list.” Jared said as the sun was sinking behind the mountains and snow began to fall heavily once more blanketing the world in silence and white.
✽ ✽ ✽
Mikhail walked thru the wreckage of the Raiders camp. Most of those that had escaped the undead at the wall had stopped only long enough to grab what they could shove in or hook to their vehicles in a hurry. He stood there for a moment, smiling. There were footprints and scuffmarks everywhere in the snow, but the falling snow was starting to fill them in. By tomorrow there would be no sign left behind of the undead that had passed thru the camp. He smiled and walked back to his car opening the door he looked back once more and froze.
The chapel door was open revealing a black rectangle beyond that swallowed the dim gray light of the outside world. Something stood there in the darkness, something with humped shoulders and a slightly over sized head, something that wore an old-fashioned hat. He climbed into his car; he didn’t want to know what that thing was. That it wasn’t a normal zombie was becoming clear. But exactly what it was and what it could do, was something he hoped never to find out. Never!
He started the car and drove towards Maggie’s gap. He needed better wheels, his car as cool as it was, wasn’t doing too well in the snow. He drove off, the song “evil Angel” pouring from the speakers.
Chapter 12
“The sun that brief December day
Rose cheerless over hills of gray,
And, darkly circled, gave at noon
A sadder light than waning moon.
Slow tracing down the thickening sky
Its mute and ominous prophecy,
A portent seeming less than threat”
-Greenleaf, snowbound
“I could be curled up with my wife right about now,” Jason mumbled as he rubbed his hands together trying to warm them up. It had taken hours of cautious work to get this far and it looked they were not going to go any further.
“So, could I” Ori replied just as softly. The sound of the wind was more than enough to keep their voices from being overheard from beyond a foot or two. Jason shot the other man a look then gave a small tired smile. Down below their position the knot of undead hadn’t moved in two hours.
The dead just stood there in the blowing snow, still as statues while the snow piled up around them. There was no way to go forward without passing the undead and no way back without passing through the horde on the other side of the wall of vehicles down at the tunnel.
The two men, who lay in the ice and snow, were just far enough away that they were unnoticed by the undead. But that couldn’t last and they both knew it. “Hate to be an asshole, but I can’t take laying here in the cold much longer” Jason whispered. Ori had to agree; the cold wet clothes were slowly sapping their strength soon they would have trouble moving.
“We need to go back half a mile,” Ori said. Jason nodded, moving was preferable to laying here slowly freezing his pecker off. Assuming, he thought, it wasn’t already frozen and fell off when he started moving. With that cheery thought, he inched slowly backwards hoping the blowing snow kept them hidden from the undead.
They moved with agonizing slowness, putting foot after foot between them and the undead. Ori had noticed over the months that even if the undead heard a sound and swarmed, they would lose interest if they saw there was no living being near them.
So as far as Ori could figure from observing the undead, camouflage worked against them assuming of course that a man or woman had the stones to stay absolutely still while the undead stumbled around them. Happily, it meant Ori’s skills were still more than useful.
Finally, after almost an hour of creeping through the snow storm. they were around a bend in the road and out of sight and able to stand. “What’s the plan?” Jason asked as quietly as he could and still be heard over the wind. The cold wet clothes he wore were plastered to his skin setting his teeth to chattering.
“Two options, one we climb up there” Ori said pointing with a flick of his finger to Rattlesnake mountain. “And then work our way around to the trail on the west side, or two, we go up the road a bit and rappel down. Then take the Cove road back to the farm.”
“What if there are any zombies down there on the road?” Jason asked not happy with the idea of dropping into the middle of a bunch of undead that might be hidden by the blowing snow. Occasionally looking back, the way they had come to make sure that no zombies had appeared at the bend.
“We can stay ahead of them, even cross the road and climb up the ridge on the other side and head to the farm that way. The roads the easiest route though.” Ori said, his eyes constantly sweeping the area for any threats as he considered their options. None of them were good but the cards had been dealt and with the low visibility the snow storm imposed they wouldn’t be able to see the undead till he and Jason were within reach of the walking dead.
And if they didn’t hurry they would lose what little light they had, it had been a long strength sapping day and it wasn’t going to get any easier come nightfall.
Jason sat there for a minute his mind replaying the day before. The zombies had come up the road in drivels. The first few he was able to dispatch with an axe while Ori called in the position reports of the enemy militia unit to Jared. as time passed the numbers of undead coming up the
road had increased till there were far too many to take on with hand weapons. Ori had made his final report as Jason leaped into the truck.
Slamming the truck into reverse, Ori backed over the undead behind the truck. there had been no choice but to drive further up the parkway, one look had revealed a horde of undead sweeping around the bend, not two hundred yards away from their position. The undead were packed shoulder-to-shoulder and advancing towards them like a slow flood of rotted flesh.
With that many undead, it was impossible to take the road back to the Farm. The weight of that many bodies would slow and eventually stop the truck, so Ori had headed up the road instead, heading for the tunnel they had blocked off days ago.
They had driven back past the overlook where they had been spotting for the Farm, the undead they hadn’t put down now beat on the sides of the truck as they passed.
Jason could remember the thumping and how the truck had actually shaken a few times under the pounding. Ori hadn’t slowed, or even cussed he just stared fixedly ahead through the snow driving higher up the Blue Ridge parkway. After a minute Jason could see the dark yawning mouth of the first tunnel and the wall of stacked vehicles that they had barricaded the tunnel mouth with, to keep both the militia and the undead from pouring down the blue ridge to reach the farm.
Ori turned the truck so that he could park sideways with the passenger side of the truck almost touching the barricade. The undead were not far behind, they had to move quickly to make it up the barricade and out of reach of the undead. That at least would give them breathing room to figure out what to do next.
“I want you to keep calm, roll down the window and climb out. Once you’re outside climb up to the top of the barricade and I’ll pass the packs and gear up to you,” Ori had said then saw how nervous Jason was had added “It’s going to be okay.” Ori said sounding totally confident that the situation would turn exactly the way he wanted it.
Down below them the undead had rounded the bend in the road and were heading towards the truck. Jason had nodded numbly scared shitless. A few zombies no big deal, even ten or twenty with a guy or two at his side and no big deal, if you were careful. That mob coming at them was too much for him.
Jason had taken a deep breath and made himself calm down and had then climbed out the window. He’d had to wiggle a bit, it was a tight fit between the truck and the barricade. The cold, snow covered, metal gouged and poked at his skin as he dragged himself up to the top of the stack of cars then looked down the road, where the undead were drawing closer with every step.
Ori climbed out the sliding window in the back window of the truck and passed up the packs from the bed to Jason. A quick look showed that there were no undead on the tunnel side of the barricade, so Jason dropped the backs to the ground.
Ori was handing up coils of rope, when a zombie rose up from behind the truck, its chest and belly a shredded ruin where it had been dragged behind the truck as it hung on to the bumper. Jason had managed to draw his pistol and fire, it took three shots, but he put the bastard down. the sound of the shots echoed off the mountains.
Ori swore, hoping the wind had kept the sound from traveling to far, if there were zombies on the other side of the barricade and heard those shots, they would be heading this way. The tunnel could be full of undead in minutes.
“Take the damn rope” Ori shouted. “We are running out of time.” Ori rapidly tossed the last of the gear up at Jason. Some flew past Jason and smacked into the snow on the other side of the barricade, and then mob of undead reached the truck, Ori didn’t even look at the remaining gear he simply leaped up grasping for a handhold. Jason dropped to his belly and somehow grasped Ori’s wrist keeping the other man from falling back into the bed of the truck which would have been bad.
Undead hands were reaching up, but they couldn’t reach Ori over the sides of the truck. Then one of the undead somehow tumbled into the bed of the truck. “Son of a bitch” Ori shouted, as the Zombie below him started to get to its feet. “Now would be a good time!” Ori shouted as Jason hauled with all his strength nearly throwing Ori over the barricade.
“You, all right?” Ori asked quietly shaking Jason out of his reverie.
“Sure, yeah sorry was just thinking about our escape.” Jason said, his stomach still in knots at the close escape.
“What escape, we are still out here, in the snow and the muck. With the undead prowling around” Ori pointed out.
“What was the deal with them just standing there anyway?” Jason asked, not wanting to make a snap decision about their route. The undead acting out of character bothered him far more than he wanted to admit.
“They didn’t see us or hear us. So, they did nothing.” Ori said confidently.
“I’ve just never seen them do something like that. It was almost like they were on guard duty,” Jason said frowning unhappily. That implied intelligence and the one thing he didn’t want to see were intelligent zombies.
“Don’t read more into it than there is” Ori replied calmly as he dropped his pack. Squatting he opened the pack and removed dry clothes. They were both soaked to the skin from crawling and laying in the snow. Before Jason could ask what Ori was going to do, Ori stripped right there.
“You’d better change too, get into dry clothes now while we have the chance. Its only cold for a second.” Ori said with a smile, apparently unaffected by the cold as he slipped on thermals, then dry pants and a flannel shirt.
Jason stood and dropped his pack as well, removing dry clothes he placed them on the pack and looked at Ori who was replacing his boots after changing socks. Jason shrugged; it couldn’t be any colder out of the wet clothes than in them anyway. He thought and stripped down.
He was only partly right. “you lied, it’s still cold.” Jason grunted as he reached for dry under wear, his teeth chattering.
“Aint you a big boy.” Ori teased. “And I said it was only cold for a second. Once you go numb you don’t feel a thing”
“Shut it asshole! I’m already numb and it’s still cold.” Jason said almost laughing. He pulled on his dry clothes thankful that he had packed the good winter clothes that Jared had suggested.
Once they were both dressed again, and the wet clothes tucked away in bags and strapped to their packs. Ori looked at him “well what do you think”
“Climbing down sounds like the best option. It damn sure beats climbing up” Jason said Ori nodded in reluctant agreement. The higher elevation was too steep for the undead which meant it would be safer up there. But rappelling down, in normal conditions would be the easiest way to escape. Today however were not normal conditions, Ori knew he could do it, but Jason, that was the real question.
“Normally I would agree, but in these conditions, it’s going to be rough.” Ori replied, “then the real problem is once we get to the bottom, visibility is crap and we might not be able to see the undead till we are in the middle of them.” Ori said shouldering his pack, “but we can at least go check out the best spot to get down and see what it’s like before we make our decision.” Jason nodded in agreement, all he wanted to do was to get moving to help drive off the chill. Pulling on his own pack, Jason said “Then lead on Hoss.”
The two men trudged back up the parkway towards the tunnel. Snow, driven by a cold wind, swirled around them growing heavier by the minute
✽ ✽ ✽
“You can’t go out looking right now” Lloyd insisted. He understood that Jared was anxious to get out and look for Ori and Jason and having to wait because of the number of undead outside the camp had been hard. Then undead that had been pressing up against the barricade at the bridge since Christmas day had slowly wandered off sometime after midnight, flowing back towards Cherokee, as if summoned. That had shaken everyone, usually, as long as there were people; the undead just stayed were they were at trying to get at the living not just suddenly give up and head on their way.
“We can’t leave them out there either” Jared said angrily. “and now
that the damned undead have just wandered off, we have a chance to get out there with no real danger.”
“you think I like it?” Lloyd snapped. “Hell no! But you don’t know what it’s like around here during the winter, and this is a bad one, worse than usual. The wind cuts down into the valley here and then rushes back up the ridges, carrying loose snow with it causing white outs. you can get disoriented in that shit and drive into a wall, or right off the road. If you run into undead up there on the parkway and start shooting, you could start an avalanche and then we have to mount a second rescue attempt. No, you need to wait till tomorrow. The weather might clear off. Most times these storms only last a few hours to a day maybe two. I think Ori is smart enough to find shelter and wait it out.”
Jared settled down all too aware of the mistakes that had led him to this point and he wasn’t going to rush into making yet another one. He trusted in Ori’s skills to keep himself and Jason alive but his trust in Ori’s skill did nothing to stop the burning need to go to his friend’s rescue.
