Julie slapped the steering wheel. “Wallet my ass, you don’t even have a wallet anymore. That little tomboy has a crush on you!” I frowned and scoffed. I started staring out of the window as well. “Zach, look at me!” I did so, but reluctantly. She was glaring at me now.
“Little teenage girls don’t go around giving out their picture to just anyone. She’s got a thing for you.” I nodded, like she was telling me something I was totally unaware of. Julie slowed the truck down to a crawl.
“Has she done anything else?” She asked. I scoffed again, but there was no use. I was had. Minimization goes hand-in-hand with lying. I knew better than to lie.
“She kissed me a couple of times.” I said quietly. Julie slammed on the brakes.
“Oh my fucking God, Zach! Were you not going to tell me about this?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I didn’t see the big deal. I didn’t do anything with her.” It sounded good in my head, but when it came out of my mouth, it sounded more like I was a two-timing weasel who had just been caught.
“Fuck me to hell.” Julie said under her breath. She started to drive again. “If you need to sow your wild oats or something, you can sleep with Macie you know. I won’t mind.”
Now my mouth dropped open. I hastened a glance back at Macie again. She was still fixated on something outside her window. “What? No! You don’t understand.”
Julie stopped the truck again. “Explain it to me Zach. Make me understand why you didn’t tell me this from the get-go.”
I gesticulated with my hands, hoping it was having a positive effect. “There is nobody else her age in their group she can relate with, and her crazy uncle is molesting her. She’s lonely and her self-esteem is probably in the toilet. If I told her I didn’t want to kiss her, or refused to accept her picture, how would she feel then?” I sighed.
“I believed, and still believe, she’ll be a good ally and source of information. But you’re right. I should have told you immediately. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I said exasperatedly and braced myself. I would have rather faced a few dozen zombies than her wrath.
Julie was staring at me quietly. It was hard to tell what she was thinking from the expression on her face. She took the photograph and looked it over. I thought she was going to tear it up, but instead she stuck it in between the windshield and the headliner. Now, Andie’s picture was prominently displayed. She looked at me again.
“If the little shit thinks she’s going to steal you away from me, she’s got another think coming.” Then she punched me in the arm. Hard. I didn’t protest.
“Guys.” Macie said from the back seat. “I don’t mean to break up this heart-to-heart, but look outside, to your right.” I looked. There was a pack of wild dogs running through the neighborhood yards. They were trailing slightly behind us, as if they were following us. They didn’t look like normal dogs. These somehow looked different, more feral, deadlier.
“Stop the truck. I want to see how they react.” I said. Julie slowed to a stop. “Okay, wait a few.”
I rolled down the window and got the assault rifle ready. The dogs approached and surrounded our truck. These weren’t your average neighborhood puppy dogs, they were hunting. They sniffed around a little, and then, as I watched, they started attacking the truck. One of the dogs attacked the mesh covering Macie’s window, sinking his fangs in the mesh and trying to rip it out. She let out a frightened yelp.
“Shoot them!” I urged, as I stuck my rifle out of the hole in the hardware cloth and shot the nearest dog. The girls were slow to react, but when I shot, they joined in. We killed five dogs before the rest of the pack ran off. As they ran off into the neighborhood, one of them stopped and looked back. I took aim and was about to shoot, but stopped. I recognized the dog. It was Moe. One of Rick’s dogs he found abandoned on the side of the road a couple of years ago. Moe was my buddy. After Rick died, every time I went foraging I took Moe with me. He was with me when I found Julie. Moe stared at me a moment longer before he disappeared behind a house.
Julie saw him as well. “Let’s get out of here.” She said quietly.
Chapter 16 - Fred
Fred reached checkpoint delta two days after leaving West Memphis. The outskirts of Oklahoma City were an apocalyptic nightmare. It seemed to Fred every street was blocked with wrecked vehicles, makeshift roadblocks and rotting zombies. There were even burned out buildings. Several had been demolished by unknown means. The rubble was scattered everywhere.
Fred was convinced there may have been groups of survivors here and there, as evidenced by the roadblocks, but they seemed to be gone now.
He parked his VW at one of the entry gates to Tinker Air Force Base and got out. He was almost immediately approached by soldiers.
“Identify yourself! A young soldier challenged while brandishing an assault rifle. He could not have been much older than Zach and as skinny as Zach used to be. He and his comrades were all armed, and the military insignia indicated they were Air Force.
“My name is Fred McCoy. I’m not looking for trouble, I only need a few provisions and I’ll be on my way.” He asked.
“We’re a little short on everything Mister McCoy. What specifically are you looking for?”
“Food, water, maybe some gas, whatever you have to spare.” Fred replied.
Sergeant Fandis glanced at his fellow soldiers. “We can spare some water, maybe some MREs. I don’t know about fuel. Fuel access is above my pay grade.”
“I’d be most grateful to take whatever you can offer and I’ll be on my way.”
“Where are you going?” One of the soldiers asked.
“Los Angeles.” Fred replied.
“What? There’s no way dude! You’ll never make it.”
“There are others who would agree with you.” Fred said plainly.
“Dude, you’re fucking crazy.” He said.
“Could be.” Fred said and looked around. “Are you guys the only ones around here?”
“We’ve got about a platoon sized unit. We had more, but we’ve had multiple firefights over the past year. We’ve lost a lot of soldiers and civilians.” His face clouded over.
“There were thousands of them man.” The other soldier said. His fellow soldiers nodded in agreement. All of them looked no older than teenagers.
“You can only imagine. We had defensive positions set up at strategic parts of the city, but there were too many of them, and they don’t die when you shoot them. Almost everyone died, or got infected and turned into one of those things.” The one who appeared in charge gestured around. “We are the only ones left. We were in the command bunker with General Shoemaker. It took a couple of weeks to shoot enough to regain control, but we haven’t got them all.” He gestured toward downtown Oklahoma City. “There are thousands more down there man. You go through there, you’re going to be eaten alive.”
Fred looked at his nametag. “Sergeant Fandis?” The young man nodded. “You seem awfully young to be a sergeant.”
“General Shoemaker gave me a battlefield promotion. Don’t know what good it does, but anyway, I’m a staff sergeant.”
Fred looked around. “Anybody here left alive who can fly one of these planes?” He asked.
Sergeant Fandis frowned. “Yeah, Major Fowkes.”
“She’s a grade-A bitch.” The other soldier added, and his comrades quickly voiced their agreement.
Sergeant Fandis pointed. “She lives in an apartment over in the Officer’s quarters. Are you sure you want to talk to her?” He asked.
Fred nodded. Sergeant Fandis sighed.
“I was afraid of that.”
Chapter 17 – The Loss of Moe
It was the time of morning just before dawn, which I’d grown to love. The sky was still dark, but getting lighter. It was called BMNT in military terms, Before Morning Nautical Time. There was enough of a hint of light in the room where I could see Julie’s face as she slept. The mixture of light and shadows only enhanced her beauty. I tho
ught about what she had said yesterday in the truck on the way home. I had mixed emotions. There was no way I was going to risk losing her, but I was concerned she was going to tell me to have no further contact with Andie, even though this was probably the best course of action.
I slid out of bed, put some jeans and a tee shirt on, and got a pot of coffee started. I was startled briefly when I felt something nudging my calf. Turning, I was greeted by Curly looking at me sleepily and wagging his tail.
“I bet someone needs to go outside.” I whispered as I petted him. His tail thumped the floor in agreement. I shut the door quietly behind us and waited on the porch while Curly sniffed around in the yard, looking for an appropriate spot. Suddenly, the hair stood up on his back. He ran back up on the porch and let out a soft whimper.
“What is it boy?” I asked as I pulled my handgun out of my waistband. I peered intently into the morning fog. Was it a zombie? I sniffed the morning air, trying to see if I could catch a whiff of distinctive odors. And then I saw it, a coyote. Only, it wasn’t a coyote, it was Moe. He was leaner now. His once well brushed coat was dirty and matted. There were fresh scars on his face. I whistled softly.
“Here Moe, come here buddy.” I tried to coax him, but he only responded with a soft growl. He gave me the look he gave me yesterday, and then disappeared into the morning fog. I got some dog food and waited for thirty minutes, but he never reappeared. Curly sat close and leaned against me for comfort. I could feel him shaking. He was scared of his brother for some reason. It was a sad moment. Curly and I went back inside.
“Zach?” Julie called out.
“Down here. I’ll be up in a sec.” I said. After the encounter with Moe, I started in on the first task for the day, which began in the cellar. It took me another ten minutes before I was finished. I went upstairs to the kitchen and added the wares in the cabinets to my list while the girls prepared breakfast.
“Next time you go foraging, you better find yourself some more notepads.” Julie said. Macie giggled. “What are you doing anyway?”
“Updating our food inventory.” I said and sat down at the kitchen table. Julie sat a fresh steaming mug of coffee down in front of me. I nodded gratefully.
“Why?” She asked.
“I wanted to get confirmation of what I suspected.” They looked at me, waiting for me to explain.
“We’re running out of food.” I said. The two of them looked at me in confusion and I explained. “If it were only the three of us, we’d be fine. Especially with the gardens, the rabbits and chickens, cows, etcetera. But we’ve been contributing food to the Allen family, and are about to start feeding the Eason family. Ten people total. Bottom line, we can’t do it. We’ll run out of our canned goods before spring.” Julie gasped.
We discussed the dilemma as we ate breakfast.
“Alright, I think we have to agree at this point. We can’t continue giving away food. At least, not right now.” I stood and stretched. “I’m terribly behind on my chores, so I’ll be busy with them most of the day. What are you two going to do?”
“I’m going to ride Prancer, so I thought I’d ride the fence lines and go check on Fred’s house.” Julie said.
“I’ll clean up the house.” Macie said.
“It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. Why don’t you get outside? You can work in the gardens. The sunshine will do you some good.” I said.
“Yeah girl, you definitely need some sun.” Julie added. “I can teach you how to ride Prancer if you like.”
“I think I’ll stick with the gardening for now.” Macie said quietly. Julie and I looked at each other but did not say anything. I got up and kissed Julie. She stood and hugged me.
“Give Macie a kiss, she needs it.” She whispered in my ear.
I looked at her questioningly. She motioned with her head. As I walked out I gave Macie a quick kiss on the top of her head.
It came to me as I finished planting a crop of winter wheat. It was a viable plan, but I needed to meet with the Captain. My watch read eleven. Perfect. I was going to eat a quick lunch and then I’d call the Captain on the radio at noon. I parked the tractor beside the barn and headed toward the house. Macie was sitting on the porch reading a book. She had shorts on and was sunning her freshly shaven legs. She smiled as I walked up.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Pretty good actually. I fed the chickens and rabbits. We had seven eggs, and I’ve tended the plants in the greenhouse. I think we’ll be able to harvest the basil and mint leaves any day now.” She said and sighed. “I’m worn out. I’m getting my strength back but I’m definitely not one hundred percent yet.”
I nodded. “It’ll come back to you.” I sat in the rocking chair beside her. “Nice weather today.” I said.
Macie nodded. “Yeah, I wonder what kind of winter we’re going to have.”
“It’s hard to say. If I were to speculate, I’d guess it’ll be colder than usual. Mankind’s carbon footprint has been significantly reduced, so there should be a noticeable difference.”
“Zach, what do you think you would have done for a career, if all of this had not happened?” She asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. My options were limited. I would have liked to have gone to college to be an engineer. What about you?”
“I wanted to be a nurse.” She said, and closed the book. “You know something Zach, this apocalypse thing was probably the best thing to ever happen to you.” I arched my eyebrows. She chuckled. “You’ve thrived Zach. Most people, the ones who have survived, are having a hard time. I guess a good example would be Jason and his friends. They were on top of the world before, and after, we were hungry most of the time, and miserable.” She shook her head. “I was stupid, wasn’t I?”
“Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.” I said and grinned at Macie. “I saw that quote on one of those inspirational posters once.”
“Julie and I are two very lucky girls to have a man like you around.” She said, smiling. “And, I’m betting that brain of yours is figuring out a way to sustain ten or more people through the winter.”
I smiled. “In fact, I am. I think I have an idea, but it’s going to require meeting up with the Captain and getting him on board.” I thought for a minute. “What do you think is lacking around here?”
She thought for a minute. “It would be nice to have friendly neighbors, like the Allens for example. I think we need to talk them into moving into one of the vacant houses nearby.” She tilted her head. “I miss the little things we once took for granted. Cheese, deserts, oh, and let’s not forget an occasional glass of wine.” I chuckled.
“I believe we’ve discovered what will be your new responsibility.” I said. “The grape vines we have didn’t produce this year. Perhaps they need some TLC from a pretty blonde girl.” She smiled. I held up a finger as an idea came to me. “It seems like all of the liquor stores have been looted, but I’m betting if we go salvaging in some of the rich neighborhoods we’ll find a wine cellar or two.”
“That would be so cool.” She said. She then reached over, grabbed my hand, and we shared a quiet moment together.
“Have you seen Julie lately?” I asked.
“She hasn’t come back yet.” She said.
“Oh. I guess she’s having a good time.” I looked at my watch. “Hey, it’s right at noon. Let’s see if we can make contact with Fred.” We walked inside and Macie sat in front of the HAM radio. She made several attempts, but there was no response from Fred, only static. Macie looked at me with worry.
“Do you think he’s dead?” She asked.
“I don’t know. He’s a tough man, but I don’t know. Okay move over, I’m going to try calling the Captain.” She changed the radio frequency and we swapped seats.
“You don’t want me talking to them?” Macie asked.
“Hell no. Neither you nor Julie.” I said. I tried calling several times before I received a response.
“Hi, Zach!” Andie’s voice came through the radio loud and clear. Macie goosed me.
“She certainly sounds happy to hear your voice.” She whispered. I goosed her back and she let out a yelp.
“Hello, Andie. Would you ask the Captain if he would be receptive to a friendly meeting? I have some ideas I want to talk to him about.”
“Okay, standby.” She said. After a minute, the Captain’s voice came over the radio.
“Hello, Zach, it’s been a while.” He said.
“Yes sir. I’ve been extremely busy. I’m sure you have as well.”
“Indeed I have. What’s on your mind?” He asked.
“I’d like to meet with you. I have a few ideas I’ve been mulling over and I’d like to discuss them with you. I think they could be beneficial for both of us.”
There was a long minute of silence. “Okay, Zach.” He finally said. We worked out the details and signed off.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Macie asked.
“You never know with him. It may be a friendly meeting, or he may be planning on killing me as soon as he sees me.” I stood. “I’m going to grab a snack and get back to the chores.”
I was only in the kitchen ten minutes before I was back at it. I worked the rest of the afternoon, lost in my own thoughts. Macie walked up while I was weeding the garden.
“Zach, Julie hasn’t shown up yet. I think something may be wrong.” Damn, I had been so absorbed in my own thoughts I had forgotten about her. I looked at my watch.
“Shit, you’re right. Go grab a rifle and meet me in the barn.” She hurried inside. I got our ATV started. Macie came in a moment later carrying an AR-15.
“Great, thanks. You might want to wait inside, just in case.” I said.
Macie shook her head. “I want to go with you.” Without waiting for me to respond, she jumped on. I hit the throttle. She instinctively grabbed me around the torso and held on.
We found Julie at the far end of the farm sitting under a tree. Prancer was nearby, grazing contentedly. The saddle had flipped and was hanging under her belly.
Z14 (Zombie Rules) Page 11
