“Are you sure there were only three infected?” Ethan asked them when they reported in.
“That’s all we saw. Bailey and I could probably have handled them ourselves, but we figured there was no sense taking chances out there alone. It was about two miles or so, right by the turnoff to Patterson.”
“I think I’ll go out there and take a look,” Ethan said.
“You aren’t going alone,” Karen told him, checking the pistols she wore and picking up a shotgun.
“”Hell, I may as well go along too then,” Bailey exhaled noisily. “I can show you exactly where they were when we saw them.”
“Fine,” Ethan agreed after a short hesitation. “Take hand weapons though and avoid any shooting if at all possible.”
With Bailey driving, Karen sitting beside him and Ethan in the truck bed with his M4, the trio set off while Eric and his sister remained at the house. A drive of a few minutes brought them within sight of the infected, now numbering upwards of forty.
“Where did you learn to count?” Karen asked.
“I swear we only saw three of them. I don’t know where the hell the rest of them came from!”
Bailey stopped the truck and Ethan was already on the ground in front of it before either of them got their doors open. He studied the staggering, reaching mass of infected while his friends moved up beside him.
“I guess hand weapons are out,” Bailey sighed, raising his rifle.
Ethan pushed the barrel down with his hand and waved both of them back. He advanced three steps and got down on one knee, setting two spare magazines on the asphalt in front of him. The butt of the rifle firmly tucked against his shoulder, Ethan took aim and fired. Rapid, single shots took out nineteen infected before Bailey and Karen, concerned over how near they were approaching, added their firepower to finish the job.
Ethan ejected a nearly empty magazine, stuck it in his pocket, slammed home a fresh one and walked out into the scattered field of bodies. Almost a quarter of them were completely naked save for the decaying remnants of footwear and the rest wore filthy, bloody and tattered scraps of clothing. Many of them bore raw, seeping sores, scrapes, cuts and dark bruises. Two were still fully dressed, albeit in well-worn, threadbare clothing and relatively healthy looking. He searched those two and found nothing more interesting than a cheap pocketknife and butane lighter, both of which he pocketed.
“They’ve had a rough winter,” Karen commented.
“They’re dying out,” Ethan agreed. “I think this summer will be their last gasp. Look at the feet on that one; they’re raw and bloody already. She wasn’t going much farther.”
“You think it’s finally over?” Bailey’s voice was full of hope.
“It definitely looks like the beginning of the end for them. The ones that made it far enough south survived the winter, but time itself took a rough toll.”
“What do you think it’s like in places where they don’t get the cold weather like we do here?” Karen asked.
“I can’t begin to imagine. There must have been tens of thousands of them, hell, maybe millions of them that headed south either instinctively or for whatever other reason. There’s no telling what it was like for the people down there who survived the infection. I expect there aren’t many left alive.”
“Holy shit, you mean we were the lucky ones?” Bailey blurted out.
“After all we’ve been through,” answered Ethan, “and what’s yet ahead of us, maybe not.”
It took hours using two trucks to load all the corpses and transport them to an open strip mine pit, but they were too close to their home to let them lie in the field and rot. After two trips, Ethan and Eric managed to get the last of them loaded into a single bed and made a final run. Already there were nearly a dozen infected feeding on the bodies they’d dumped and more were on the way.
“Damn! What do we do about this?” Eric asked.
“For now, we do nothing,” Ethan told him. “The scent of blood is drawing them to the pit but they’re too stupid to figure out that once they’re down there, the sides are too steep to climb back out. I wouldn’t want to be here a few days from now and smell what the stench is going to be like then. Let’s just dump this last load and get the hell out of here.”
. . .
“I was really hoping we were all done with them,” Lauren said.
“They won’t be as big a threat as last year,” Ethan consoled. “They’re in bad shape. I think they’re starting to die off now. They’re out in the elements night and day, too stupid to seek shelter, build fires or even wrap a blanket around themselves when it gets cold. Even in areas where it doesn’t freeze, they’re just plain wearing themselves out. The only reason there are still any around at all is that there were so damned many of them to begin with.”
“So, we just have to wait them out?” Bailey said.
“We came through the winter in pretty good shape,” Ethan said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many hundreds of frozen corpses I saw out there in the weeks after the first good frost. Judging by the condition of those who did survive, there’s just no way they’ll make it through the rest of the summer in any kind of numbers. My opinion is that we can forget about them altogether by next spring.”
“We’re going to win then,” Eric announced.
“Yeah, we’re going to win a depopulated planet with the fragmented remnants of a society thrown a century and a half into the past. How many people are going to be able to grow their own food, make their own clothes or keep warm in the winter? How many of them are going to know where to find safe water? Once all the stores have been looted and the packaged food is gone, once our throwaway society learns there’s nothing to replace what they’ve used and discarded, how are they going to survive?”
“Enough!” Eric shouted. “What’s the use of going on then? Why don’t we all just put a bullet through our heads and be done with it? God, can you ever be optimistic; can you ever offer any hope instead of this constant doom and gloom?”
“All the optimists are dead,” Ethan answered quietly. “If we are going to survive, we have to be realists. The reality is that those people who don’t have the skills or the desire or the moral conscience to rebuild are going to prey on those who do. They’ll rob, they’ll kill, they’ll rape and they’ll enslave anyone who’s weaker or unprepared. I’ve seen what it looks like when civilization falls apart, when the rule of law is choked out by the rule of force. I hope I’m wrong. I hope that here, of all places on earth, our society can avoid the chaos and anarchy, the violence and lawlessness that happens everywhere else in the world when civilized society collapses. I hope it doesn’t happen here, but we need to be prepared when it does.”
The room took on a deathly silence as Ethan gazed into the eyes of each of them.
“It doesn’t have to end badly for us,” he continued after a moment. “We can survive and rebuild, but we can’t do it alone. There are too few of us; we need to find more people. We have to range farther searching for others who’ve established themselves, who believe as we do that civilization is worth saving, order is worth preserving. We need a community, not just a collection of individuals. We need friends, we need neighbors, and we need people we can trust, people on whom we can rely. Planting gardens, raising our own food, keeping our home secure, that’s important right now, but we can’t depend on that to sustain us in the long run. The only way we can continue to survive and flourish is by joining forces with others.”
“How do we know who to trust?” Bailey challenged. “You say there are people out there who survive by killing and taking what they need from other people; hell, we’ve seen that with our own eyes! How do we decide which ones we can trust?”
“If they’re out there, I’ll find them.”
“You’ll find them?” Karen scoffed. “What about the rest of us; don’t we have any say in the matter?”
“Who among you has the skills necessary to scout without being seen, to stalk witho
ut being heard? Which of you can study an encampment and determine what kind of order there is, who’s in charge?”
“Okay, so you’re the only one able to do that. I still want a say in what kind of people we hook up with.”
“Of course it’s going to have to be a joint decision,” Ethan sounded exasperated. “Maybe they won’t want any part of us, either. The first thing we have to do is find them. The details can be worked out later.”
“All right,” Bailey interjected before Karen could come back. “This sounds good to me. Do you intend to go out alone; do you want someone with you?”
“It would be great to have someone to watch my back,” Ethan admitted, “but, as I said, none of you have the skill set I have. At any rate, I’d feel more at ease if all of you were here to guard the house in case another group of infected happened by, or some of those people we were just talking about. I’ll probably be gone for a while, but I’ll try to check in at least once a week.”
“When will you leave?” Karen’s voice held a trace of a quiver.
“We should be finished shoring up the fence in a day or two. I’ll leave then.”
. . .
Ethan heard the soft footsteps before Karen appeared in the doorway. He sat up on his cot and waited for her.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she whispered as she sat next to him. “I keep thinking about you out there by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine,” he tried to reassure her.
“Those nights this winter, when you didn’t come home, I died a little inside each time.”
“Karen,”
“I didn’t know if you’d come back. I didn’t know if you’d want to come back. We used to have something, Ethan. At least, I thought we did.”
“My feelings toward you haven’t changed,” he said, but Karen shook her head forcefully.
“Then why have you been so cold, so distant? You moved out of our room, you haven’t touched me in months, you even avoid talking to me or being alone with me.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt,”
“But you are hurting me, Ethan! I hate what you’ve become! I hate that we’re not together! I want you back; I want you back in my life, in my arms, in my bed!”
“I’ve had a lot to work out,” he mumbled.
“And I’ve given you time and I’ve given you your space. I can’t wait much longer. I have to know if you still want to be with me.”
“I do, Karen, you know that!”
“How can I know that? You don’t give me any reason to believe it.”
“You’re right, you’re right. After neglecting you for so long, I was afraid I’d blown it, that I ruined what we had. I couldn’t approach you because I was scared that you’d tell me it was too late and I just couldn’t bear to hear that.”
“It’s not too late,” she said, touching his cheek. “We can still have what we once had.”
She kissed him softly on the lips and he held her tightly in his arms.
“Come back to me,” she murmured into his ear. “It’s been much too long.”
. . .
Lauren wandered into the kitchen early the next morning, before the rest of the house awakened. She noticed the empty cot in the living room and figured Ethan had taken off on another of his mysterious adventures. After building a small fire in the wood-burning stove, she set a pot of water on top to boil for coffee. She became bored after a few minutes and decided to see if Karen was awake. Tapping softly at her door, she heard no answer and pushed it open just enough to peek in. Karen was nestled in Ethan’s arm, head resting on his bare chest, her hand on his stomach and both were sleeping peacefully. Lauren smiled as she closed the door and turned back toward the kitchen, content in the belief that everything was going to work out after all.
Chapter 24: The Pit
“Phil,” Jake shook the other man’s hand. “It’s not often you visit us here; usually it’s the other way around. I take it this isn’t exactly a social call?”
“Well, yes and no,” Phil looked tired and his voice reflected it.
“Well, come on in. Hannah has a pot of coffee on, or I still have some of that Jack left if you’d rather.”
“I could use the coffee more right now. Hello, Hannah.”
“Good morning, Phil. Sit down and I’ll bring you both a cup.”
By this time, everyone knew of Phil’s arrival and most of them crowded into the kitchen to find out what he had to say.
“Excellent coffee, as usual Hannah,” Phil smiled after the first sip.
“The guys tell me it’s getting harder to find. Luckily we stocked up early.”
“Well, I can see you’re all waiting patiently to hear the news.” Looking at Jake, he continued. “There’s been a lot of shouting, a lot of yelling, and a lot of accusations thrown around in the conference room the past week. Ron and Richard are still steadfastly opposed to elections and they have a number of supporters within the community. Olivia’s been pushing for open elections for some time now and most of the committee agrees with her. Polling among the residents indicates three out of four people support elections.
“The bottom line is this; the committee will expand to nine members, including the chairman; open elections for committee members will be held in three months, but the chairman will be selected by the members themselves. Wyckoff will remain in that position for the next two years, after which there will be another election and the elected members will be free to choose another chairman if they so desire.”
“This is great news,” Vickie said gleefully. “This is everything we wanted!”
“Let’s wait for the other shoe to drop before we start the celebration, Vickie,” Jake cautioned.
Phil took another sip of coffee and briefly paused before continuing.
“The chairman will retain veto power over any measures passed by the committee and it will take five of the remaining eight members to override. The chairman will also have the power of executive order which, again, will take five votes to override.”
“It’s still going to be a dictatorship,” Kim angrily charged. “It will have the appearance of a democracy, but Wyckoff will still be able to call the shots!”
“It’s not that bad,” Phil insisted. “The committee will always have the right to override any order issued by the chairman and it will be made up of delegates elected by the people. Look, this is a radical change. We’ve always been ruled by the committee without any say in its makeup. Now we have a real voice. With the sentiment among the community, Jake, and the votes of your own group, you’d be guaranteed a seat on the committee.”
“No, not me,” Jake declared. “I’ve never wanted to lead. All I’ve ever wanted is a normal life. All I want now is to be an ordinary working guy who takes care of his family,” here he looked at Vickie and she smiled back. “Out there, I led because I had a talent for staying alive and keeping the people around me alive. I wasn’t always successful, but most of the people who started out with me are still around. I don’t know anything about politics, at least as far as being able to run a community of this size. If any of us should run for the committee, I’d choose Hannah or maybe Pete or Tom.”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Phil agreed. “I think of the three, Hannah has made the most positive impression and would have the most community support. Come by tomorrow and we’ll iron out all the details. Now, I think I will have a little of that Jack, if you’ll join me.”
Kim continued to fume but, remarkably, held both her temper and her voice.
. . .
Martin still didn’t know where he stood. The members of his original group no longer trusted or respected him. Chloe quite obviously couldn’t stand the sight of him while Jerry, for some reason, seemed to be the most forgiving of them all. Jessie, after that last drunken night together, wanted nothing more to do with him. It was such a shame, he thought, because she really was incredible in the sack.
Jake’s people were outwardly cordia
l, but leery. Except for Kim, Kim terrified him. The top of her head didn’t reach his chin, but her eyes were cold and cruel whenever he looked her way and something in her manner told him she could kill him as easily and with as little remorse as swatting a fly. He avoided her whenever possible and always tried to keep other people between them when he couldn’t.
For his part, he kept his mouth shut unless spoken to, performed all the work assigned to him plus a little extra and stayed out of everyone’s way, hoping to one day wheedle his way back into their good graces.
As luck would have it, he was assigned a reconnaissance run with Tom, Alan, and Carolyn and of all people, Kim. For the last two days, lookouts from the Hollington guard towers had been seeing a large flock of birds circling far to the south, beyond sight without binoculars. Alan volunteered to check it out and luck of the draw chose the others to accompany him. Martin would rather have been anywhere else on earth than on that detail. Fortunately, he rode with Tom and Alan while Carolyn and Kim took a separate truck. Later that afternoon they were still nearly a mile away from the pit when the smell started to become noticeable.
“There’s definitely something dead up ahead,” Alan stated the obvious.
“There’s a whole lot of something dead,” Tom came back. “Be on your toes.” The last remark was pointedly directed at Martin.
The smell didn’t improve the nearer they came. Besides the ones soaring overhead, hundreds of black birds hopped and fluttered all around the pit. Hordes of flies whirled everywhere swooping down amongst the birds, chased off by their squawking and flapping only to be replaced by yet others that also swarmed around the scattering of infected making their way toward the crater.. The trucks stopped near a high mound of excavated dirt and, bandannas over their faces, the group exited, climbed to the top and were able to look down into the pit.
The Complete Lethal Infection Trilogy Page 66
