[HGB] Humanity Gone Bad: The Dead Chronicles

by Watkins, Charles

  “You can bet your last bottom dollar that that alarm alerted someone around here—we better work fast.” Noah stated as Christina clung to him.

  “There’s food here—it looks like whoever lives around here keeps the food fresh with a running generator.” Kira reported as she walked over to the meat section off to the left and grabbed several large bags full of fresh looking ground beef.

  Old boxes of crackers and cookies were scattered around here and there and there were coolers full of beer and wine; the produce section of the store looked like it had been freshly stocked with garden vegetables and there were an abundance of items scattered all over the floor.

  “Let’s get what we can carry and leave—I don’t like the sounds that are coming from the northeastern part of town!” Beau shouted as he stood near the front of the store next to one of the windows that looked out on the ruins of the parking lot and surrounding town.

  I grabbed the handle of a nearby empty cooler that had two wheels on the bottom and I pulled it over to the meat section and started loaded meats into it as Jennifer and Sheila helped gather other necessities such as vegetables and beverages; Billy and Kayla grabbed several carts full of beer and wine and started pushed them toward the front door. The others gathered what we could carry and we left the store pushing the carts and pulling the coolers out to the RV where my dad was waiting to open the side door—we loaded what we could inside of the RV and then we loaded the rest into the back of the transport truck; that was when Noah and Jude ran back to help Christina who was pulling a large cooler that had been packed full of bottled water and other beverages when gunfire suddenly rang out from the other side of the parking lot.

  “Shit—we’re under attack!” I shouted as I aimed my M16 around in front of me before grabbing Jennifer and Sheila and helping them behind the cover of the RV.

  I glanced over at Noah, Christina and Jude and I could tell that they were trying their best to get back to us and that was when I saw Billy and Kayla run frantically away from their SUV and roll across the pavement—Noah, Christina and Jude had no more gotten to the side of the SUV when a rocket from a RPG launcher suddenly hit the SUV causing it to explode in a fiery inferno; I watched with disbelief as the three of them were consumed in the explosion and killed.

  “No…this can’t be happening…” I shouted as I struggled with the notion that one of my longest standing friends had just been killed right before my eyes.

  Noah and Christina along with their young son Jude were dead—they lay on the pavement before us burning like paper dolls and I couldn’t help but let out an scream of animal rage as I turned and spotted one of the marauders who had attacked us; they were moving closer to us in attack formation and I quickly stood up out of cover and opened fire on them—screaming in rage the whole time. My sudden attack caught them off guard and several of the ones in the front fell dead from taking rounds in the head and chest area from my assault rifle, the rest of them dove behind nearby obstructions and fired back at me—Jennifer and Sheila pulled me back behind the safety of the RV as the enemy bullets ricocheted off the side of the RV.

  “We’re not going to survive if this keeps up—stay down, all of you!” Beau shouted as he slung his assault rifle over his shoulder and dashed toward the semi-trailer with the battle chassis.

  He dodged bullets and skillfully climbed up the side of the trailer and then up into the cockpit of the chassis before he powered it up and clanked down off the trailer turning his guns toward the enemy marauders who looked like they were lost for words at what was before them; Beau obviously feeling the same rage as I felt upon seeing Noah and his family blown to hell right before our eyes, opened fire with the Gau-8 30mm Avenger Gatlin Gun sending a hail of bullets into the enemy lines—the powerful bullets tore through everything and soon they were all dead. Beau walked around the area in the chassis searching the area for signs of the enemy and then came back to the trailer before he climbed back onto it placing the chassis back on its transport platform and climbing down to the pavement meeting up with the rest of us.

  “I can’t believe that this has happened…all this time that we have traveled together…I never would have thought that this would happen.” I stated after I used a fire extinguisher from inside of the RV to douse the burning bodies of Noah, Christina and Jude.

  “It’s never easy to lose a friend…all we can do is keep going because it’s what that friend would want us to do.” Hugo stated as he patted me on the right shoulder.

  “I know…he would want us to keep going—to find Bowman and make him pay for everything that he has done to this world…put the bodies into the transport truck…we’re going to leave it behind.” I instructed as I turned to the others.

  Billy and Richard gathered up the remains of Noah and his family and placed them in the front cab of the transport truck while a few of the others gathered the supplies that had been placed into the back and put them into the back of the RV; after we were ready to leave I drove the RV down the street a short ways and then stopped in the street—I grabbed an RPG launcher that was in the weapons cache nearby and I stepped out the side door aiming the weapon back at the lonely transport truck that sat against the smoldering ruins of the SUV and I fired. The rocket soared across the lot and hit the transport truck with the bodies of our friends inside of it causing a massive explosion that consumed the entire area, satisfied that I had seen them off, I turned and climbed back into the RV getting back into the driver’s seat.

  It didn’t take long to get out of Williston and most of the way east was quiet as the others around me were lost in deep thought, I drove on into the night and before long my eyes started to get heavy and that was when my dad offered to drive.

  “Yeah dad, just keep heading east—our route goes into Minnesota and once you get to a town called Duluth you’ll need to head northeast along the shoreline of Lake Superior.” I instructed as my mom came and sat down in the passenger seat next to him.

  “Okay, just rest and try to put what happened behind you.” My dad answered as Jennifer and Sheila gathered our kids and waited for me.

  I nodded and left heading into the bedroom in the back where Jennifer and Sheila put the kids to sleep on a cot in the corner before the three of use discarded our clothes and climbed into bed together.

  “I still can’t believe that Noah and Christina are gone…they’ve been with us since the beginning.” I stated in deep thought at I stared at the light that was coming in around the top of the closed door to our room.

  “I know baby, you don’t just forget about someone you’ve known for a decade…they’ll definitely be missed.” Jennifer stated as she kissed the side of my face.

  “I can still remember when Noah tapped me in the road with the lab truck—he spilled coffee all over the front of his shirt in the process.” Sheila stated with a little smile.

  “Yep…he thought that he had hit a deer…I’m glad that I had him as a friend for as long as I did; after all the shit that we went through—all the things that we survived.” I stated as I brought Sheila close to my right side.

  “It’s going to be strange not seeing them with us anymore…” Jennifer added in a voice that suggested she was crying.

  “Let’s get some sleep…we must move forward.” I stated as I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around both Jennifer and Sheila tighter.

  The night’s gloom passed and soon the sound of the others talking as well as the sound of crashing thunder woke us the next day, I could hear the rain pounding on the top of the RV as I got up out of bed and got dressed.

  “I wonder where we are right now…” Jennifer stated as she pulled her black lace bra on over her large breasts.

  “I’ll go check.” I answered as I kissed her and then Sheila before opening the door only a small crack and exiting.

  I strolled through the main part of the RV and exchanged greetings with the ot
hers who were sitting in various parts, I noticed that Richard was sitting at the table near the window sipping on a cup of coffee talking to Billy and Morgana was up in the front driving; I went to the front and sat down in the passenger seat as Morgana glanced over at me briefly.

  “Hey…I’m sorry about Noah—I know that he was a really good friend of yours.” She stated with a sad smile.

  “Thanks…I’ll be okay; we all just have to move forward.” I answered as Jennifer and Sheila came up from behind me and knelt down between Morgana and me.

  “Where are we?” Jennifer asked as she glanced out the windshield at the flat, barren landscape that spread all around us.

  “We’re getting close to a place called Lakota.” Morgana answered as she motioned to a nearly destroyed road sign that we were passing that said Lakota City Limits on it.

  “Damn…we’re making great progress so far—how are the others behind us?” I asked as I glanced back toward the others.

  “Hugo and the other Covenant One members are fine—they were talking about how uncomfortable they were though, all scrunched up in that semi rig.” Billy answered as he and Richard walked over and stood nearby.

  “I guess we should start looking for a spare vehicle so everyone’s not having to be packed together like sardines.” I stated in deep thought as my gaze went to the windshield in front of me.

  “Sounds good to me…I know that this RV is relatively safe but if we’re attacked again it wouldn’t be so safe.” Kira stated as she sat nearby with a worried expression.

  “What do you mean?” Melody asked as she handed a plate of food to Ella.

  “Think about it—there’s a big steel fuel tank on a trailer attached to the back of this thing and all it would take is someone to concentrate their firepower on it and anyone inside of this RV would be blown to hell.” Kira answered as she turned to face my sister briefly.

  “I’d have to agree with her…it’s nice traveling in luxury like this but we are a little bit exposed—some of the windows on the sides aren’t even shielded by anything; at least when we had the lab truck we were pretty much traveling inside of a tank.” I stated as I glanced around at the others.

  “Yeah, but we’ve pretty much exhausted every possible vehicle that we can—what else is there that we could use that would protect us?” Kayla asked as she clung to Billy.

  “She’s right—we’ve not only got the hordes of undead mutations to worry about but now those damned marauders as well; we’ve already lost Noah, Christina and their son Jude—we cannot afford to lose anyone else.” Richard stated grimly.

  “We’re getting close to what looks like an abandoned junkyard…” Morgana called from the front getting everyone’s attention.

  “Pull into the area and park—we’re going to see what we can find in a pinch to make this RV more secure.” I commanded as I briefly glanced around at the others.

  Morgana pulled into the abandoned lot and parked the RV as Hugo and the other Covenant One members pulled in behind us, they of course got out and met up with us with questioning glances.

  “What’s up?” Beau asked as he looked around the area with a confused expression.

  “In the event of us being attacked again we all figured that it would be better if we make a few modifications to the defenses of the RV concerning the exposed side windows and the unprotected front windshield.” I answered as I put the strap to my M16 around my right shoulder as Jennifer and Sheila clung to me.

  “I see…we better hurry up and do this then before this place becomes overrun by dead-heads.” Hugo answered as his gaze went to Amy.

  “Set a parameter near the gates of this place and stand guard—Beau—you get topside inside of that chassis and be ready in case anything happens.” Hugo commanded.

  We set to work rummaging through old junk that littered the ground around us and after a short few minutes we were able to scrounge up enough metal that was identified shortly after as titanium to use for the windshield and side window barriers, and then we found a few more large pieces that Richard and Billy welded to the top sides of the trailer around the 500-gallon fuel tank; these pieces formed a protective barrier that would block concentrated gunfire and keep the tank from being hit, they also created a top piece that could be closed down over the top of it making it completely immune to attack. After the modifications were finished we all got back into the vehicles and left the area because swarms of zombies and other mutations were starting to charge toward the parameter fence as well as the opened gate, I took over driving and drove the rest of the day and into the night before we finally crossed into Minnesota—by that time it started to pour down rain and it got so heavy that I had to slow down and come to a complete stop because I couldn’t see the road ahead of me.

  “What’s up?” Billy asked as he poked his head up from the hide-a-bed where he and Kayla had been sleeping.

  “This damn rain is so heavy that I can’t see through it.” I answered glancing at him in the rear view mirror.

  “Want me to drive for a while?” He asked again.

  “Nah, I’ll be okay—just gotta go with it; we don’t have time to waste.” I answered as I glanced over at Jennifer and Sheila who were both sleeping in the passenger seat beside of me.

  “Hey…what the hell is that?” Richard suddenly bellowed as he pointed ahead to an area hidden just off to the right of the roadway.

  I glanced in the direction he was pointing and I immediately seen the flashing light from gunfire on what looked like the walls and in the courtyard of some sort of facility—I grabbed a nearby pair of night vision binoculars and I looked through them in the direction of the activity; seconds later I could tell that whoever the people were that were shooting were trying desperately to fend off a massive wave of undead—and by the look of things they were quickly losing.

  “There’s possible survivors over there—that or it’s more of those fucking marauders; they’re being attacked by a large mass of dead-heads and other mutations.” I reported as I turned to face the others who were now gathered behind me.

  “What are we going to do…are we going to go over there and help them or what?” Morgana asked with a confused look.

  “Hugo—there’s a battle going on over there at that structure…is there any way that you guys can tell who those people are and what sort of structure that is?” I asked into the CB receiver.

  “The battle chassis has some sort of scanning device that might work…let me get suited up and I’ll take a closer look.” Beau answered on the other end after a few seconds had passed.

  “Okay—we’ll wait here.” I answered as I took hold of both Jennifer and Sheila’s hands.

  A few minutes later the banging sound of the battle chassis with Beau inside of it could be heard as he walked past us and into the tall brush toward the structure—I glanced through the binoculars again and I couldn’t see any signs of activity so I switched the mode to inferred and looked again.

  “Nothing…there’s not a single heat signature anywhere.” I stated as I strained to see through the pouring rain.

  “The scans are saying that it’s some sort of old factory—metal working and such; from what I am seeing out in the front lot it looks like a large body shop; hang on a second I’m coming upon the first wave of dead-heads.” Beau stated over the radio of the chassis.

  It was then that we could see the gunfire from the Gau-8 Avenger light up the darkness as a mass of the same zombies and other mutations charged straight toward him; we could all hear him shouting obscenities as he cut down wave after wave until his gunfire finally ceased and he turned the bright light of the battle chassis toward us.

  “I must have killed over a thousand of those dead fuckers just now…it looks like the outside parameter is clear.” Beau reported.

  “We’re coming in.” I answered as I turned the wheel to the right and drove d
own the narrow gravel road and into the lot of the facility as Hugo and the other Covenant One members followed in the semi behind us.

  Everyone gathered their weapons and gear and I led the way out the side door of the RV with my M16 ready, Jennifer carried her AK-74 in her arms and had all of her side arm weapons ready at her side as Sheila held my AR-15 assault rifle in her arms as she had a pair of .357 Desert Eagle Magnums in holsters at her hips; everyone else followed close behind with their weapons in hand and my dad and mom as well as sister Melody stayed behind with our kids and Ella. Beau started patrolling the area in the battle chassis as I led the way to the steel shutter doors before us and that was when I noticed the corpse of one of the people who had died fighting off the dead-heads as we had arrived.

  “Well—now we know who it was that we were dealing with here.” I stated as I kicked at the body.

  “Marauders…how many of these assholes do you figure were in this place?” Billy asked raising his right eyebrow.

  “There’s no telling—let’s get inside and see what sort of a place we are dealing with and then we’ll make sure that there aren’t any more of them; Hugo—you and the rest of your group stay out here and guard the vehicles.” I instructed as I glanced at Hugo who nodded.

  I proceeded to try and open the steel shutter but after several tries and damn near throwing out my back I seen that it wasn’t going to budge.

  “It must be locked from the inside—there’s a door over here around the corner.” Richard stated as he and Morgana came around a nearby corner and motioned to the rest of us.

  Following them we found a door that was hanging ajar—as I pushed it open we were met with the corpse of another marauder who had obviously tried to flee into the building but had not been successful; Billy and Richard grabbed the corpse by the arms and dragged it out of the doorway and into the lot allowing us to fully open the door. I continued inside with Jennifer and Sheila at my side and the others close behind and we soon after came into a massive room where old assembly line machinery was sitting around as well as large toolboxes, various things that looked like vehicles were sitting around the area covered with tarps and from the look of things this was a body shop.