Resource Economies

by Traverse Davies

  Her ribs cracked as her body lifted off the ground, flipped over, and landed on her back. Tamra was on her instantly, slicing her stomach open with the long knife. Her body spurted blood into the air and she convulsed. Tamra stood, her blonde hair completely covered in blood.

  "Fucking bitch."

  The woman started to stand, having turned instantly. Tamra and Tyson ran towards the main group, drawing the new zombie with them. Most of the dead villagers were turning.

  Tyson ran past the group, leaving the zombies to attack from behind. One of the villagers screamed in pain as the woman, her intestines dragging in the dirt, bit into the top of his spine.

  Chad whipped the staff around again, catching a villager in the wrist, breaking it. The man dropped his weapon, a machete. Another villager swung overhand at Chad, well into his guard, but Tamra caught the blade on the walking stick, turning it. The stick broke under the blow, but the machete didn't manage to strike flesh.

  It was chaos, the three of them now facing only five. Of course, one of the five was Clyde and Clyde counted for a lot more than a single man. He was a mythic hero in build, in stamina. The only thing that prevented him from being a hero was the evil. Maybe a monster then, something from one of the old myths. A minotaur or a Jason.

  Suddenly one of the other men fell, screaming. Then a second one. They were grabbing their ankles. Evie was there, holding a paring knife she'd acquired somewhere. She was about to stab another one in the thigh when Clyde got hold of her. He lifted her with one hand, then grabbed her with the other, twisting as hard as he could. Her neck snapped, and he dropped her lifeless body to the ground.

  Tyson screamed with rage. He hadn't known the girl for very long, but he'd grown close to her. He charged at Clyde. The big man grabbed him and threw him again, slamming his nearly decimated body into the ground. Once again everything went black for Tyson.

  Running Again

  When Tyson came running Chad wasn't prepared for it. He'd barely managed to get his breath from last time, and now they were running again. He felt himself falling behind, unable to keep up with Tyson's long legs, Tamra's endurance, Evie's limitless energy. He ran though, he had to run of course. There was no way around it. The road they ran on was cracked and broken, but relatively clear. It was obvious that it had been a major roadway once upon a time. They were able to move fast, almost completely unobstructed. Then Tyson fell, he tall body dropping like a stone, boneless. He didn't trip on anything, he legs simply stopped working. Chad caught up with him, a clearing in the tree cover lent the area they were in a peaceful feel, lazy insects flew in the cooling air, the tranquil sunshine. It was beautiful, almost perfect. The scents on the air were subtle fall smells, apples, blackberries baking in the sun. Chad said, "Come on man, get up. You can't rest now. Get your ass up."

  Tyson didn't respond, so Chad grabbed his arm, tried to pull him up. No luck Tyson was murmuring something, but it didn't seem to contain any actual words. Chad grabbed both his arms and pulled him, trying to get him off the road. Evie and Tamra came over and helped. They managed to get their friend a little way into the bushes when Clyde came striding around a bend in the road. The preacher stood there, long hair hanging down, looking for them. He spotted their trail, still clearly visible, and walked toward them. He started screaming at them. Chad had enough, he didn't have any fear left in him, not even any survival instinct. It was down to anger, and only anger. He ran forward, trying to tackle Clyde. The ground came up hard and fast, knocking the air from his body.

  What was this man? He wasn't human, that was clear. Some sort of demon, a monster. Chad stood up, realized he'd been thrown clean through a dead tree. The remains of the tree were there.

  In basic, they had drilled with staves. It seemed like a stupid idea at the time. Now though, he thanked his drill sergeant from the bottom of his heart. He took the fight back to the villagers, whirling the staff around his body as he went. It was a blur of motion, patterns drilled into him until they required no more thought than breathing. He started taking them down, the piece of wood an extension of his being, no longer a weapon. He thought about hitting someone and they shrunk back from him, injured, broken. Tamra and Tyson were there suddenly, also doing damage, also breaking people. Then Evie. He watched her tiny body twitch as the life left her. Her eyes went grey, filmed over in death. Clyde threw her aside, not even able to rise. Tyson screamed and was put down in turn. It was time to end it. There were no more villagers between him and Clyde. One was busy with Tamra and the others were other zombies or too occupied with zombies to get involved. Chad closed, maintaining enough distance that he could strike without getting into Clyde's reach. It was hard, even with the staff he was close to Clyde's reach.

  Clyde swung a giant fist Chad's way. Chad whipped the staff around, catching Clyde on the back of the hand. There was a crunching sound, but the giant preacher didn't seem to care. He closed again, grabbing. Chad swung again, catching him on the inside of the wrist. No crunch, but Clyde did drop his hand, pulling it away.

  Clyde kept closing, stalking forward, a monster, unstoppable. Chad danced backwards, keeping light on his feet. It took everything he had, every ounce of will, not to let his feet fall flat, not to let his body slow down. Clyde swung again, his combat style basically coming down to a punch or a grab unless he had a weapon. Chad smacked his hand again, this time he knew he broke something, he saw one of the big man's fingers shatter, becoming a formless mass of meat. Clyde didn't even flinch. He did seem to remember his hook. He drew it from his belt, holding it in his left hand, the only thing he'd done that let Chad know he'd even noticed what was happening to him.

  Chad back up further and the hook swung just past his face, the wind of its passing blowing against him.

  Clyde swung again, going low. Chad brought his staff down, smashing Clyde's left thumb into a bloody pulp. Clyde dropped the hook, sending it clattering to the ground. He bellowed with anger and charged straight at Chad, his body accelerating much faster than Chad had thought possible. Chad saw this giant closing on him, coming toward him. He tried to backpedal, tried to get out of the way, but Clyde was coming too fast, like a freight train. Chad fell, the giant on top of him. Clyde swung a massive fist at Chad's face, pain blossomed in his nose, there was a crunching sound. Another fist came right behind that one, snapping Chad's head into the dirt behind him. Chad bucked, wild, trying to get his hips out from under the larger man, but he couldn't move him.

  Something happened inside Chad, a calm came over him. He breathed, through his mouth since his nose was filled with blood. Time slowed down, details became more precise, clearer. He moved his head to one side as Clyde swung down again. Clyde was full of power, full of fury, but not the most precise person in the world. He missed Chad's head, clipping the ground. Chad wrapped his arms around Clyde's hand, pulling him down. He bit, as hard as he could, into Clyde's cheek. As he pulled a chunk of flesh away with his teeth Clyde recoiled in pain, giving him just a moment. He scooted his hips to one side and out, pressing Clyde in between his legs. He quickly shifted his arms to behind Clyde's neck, keeping him in close.

  Clyde tried to lift away, but Chad went with him, his body lifted off the ground. Again, the training was working, he was in the classic guard position, a position excellent for minimizing the damage an opponent could inflict, and one with many options for attack. Clyde shook, jerked down, slamming Chad's back into the ground, but Chad kept his arms locked. Finally, he felt his opportunity. Clyde came up unevenly, his arms too low, one still on the ground. Chad flipped his legs around, locking his entire body around Clyde's left arm. He pushed his hips up, straightening the large man's arm. As it straightened Chad increased the pressure. It wasn't working. Something was wrong. Right, the thumb. He turned Clyde's thumb to the side and bucked again. There was a sickening crack and suddenly the resistance against his hips decreased. Clyde screamed, bellowing like a mad bull and stood up, his left arm flopping, useless.

  Clyde swung
a kick, but Chad was already rolling backwards over his shoulders. Clyde's leg hit nothing but empty air.

  They stood, facing each other. Chad was bleeding from a dozen places and Clyde had broken bones in both of his arms. Other than the natural difference in strength Chad felt he'd done remarkably well for the circumstances, but the fight wasn't over. The big man was still standing, somehow. His left arm was useless, he still had all the cuts Tamra had left on him. There was a red stain on his pants where the blood was soaking through whatever bandaging the villagers had put over his leg. He snarled and launched himself again.

  Chad leapt backwards, staying out of range. The big man was slowing down, the myriad of injuries he'd sustained starting to take their toll. Chad wasn't in better condition, but he was a much smaller person. Clyde hit the ground, his knees driving into the hard-packed earth. Chad kicked out, catching Clyde in the head. It was a brutal kick, the preacher's head snapped back, he wobbled, but stood again, using his one working arm to lift himself off the ground.

  "What the fuck does it take to stop you?"

  "More than you have, boy. More than you'll ever have."

  Chad swung a low kick, contacting Clyde just above his knee. Clyde grunted in pain but kept walking forward. Chad kicked again, hitting the same point, and again, and again. Finally, Clyde toppled, his leg no longer supporting his weight. Chad circled around behind him and wrapped his arm under Clyde's chin, locking his other arm around his palm, hand on the back of the preacher’s head. He squeezed, putting every ounce of strength into his two arms, he wrapped his legs around Clyde's waist, locking him tight. Clyde dropped back, slamming Chad into the ground. Chad kept hold, even though he had no wind left in his body. He strained, holding the preacher tight. It felt like his right shoulder was going to dislocate, his arms were almost rubber, and then Clyde stopped, his weight went slack, his arms stopped thrashing. His head dropped to the side.

  Chad let go and took a rock, bashing the big man in the head over and over again until there was nothing left of his skull, it was deflated and flat. He finally looked around. Tamra and Tyson were standing over him. Tamra was kicking Clyde's corpse repeatedly. Tyson was just staring. His face was curled in a snarl of hatred. Nobody was stopping him, nobody wanted to take any chance that Clyde would recover, or even that he would come back. He was so huge that just his weight in a zombie would be almost impossible to deal with.

  Monopoly Teaches us Finance

  Chad started searching Clyde's pockets. He ignored the stench. The man's bowels had let go when he died, but that didn't matter. They needed things to survive the night. They might not be pursued anymore, but they were hardly safe. Battered and out of resources Chad knew they wouldn't survive until morning.

  Clyde had a stick of magnesium and a striker in his pocket, along with a wicked hunting knife. That meant fire, fire could mean life.

  Setting up their camp was easier, they knew they could take their time now. None of them wanted to talk, Evie was still lying there, Tamra took a moment to push a blade into her skull, preventing her from coming back, but they needed to honor her, to burn her body. It was less important than the warmth a fire would produce, but only barely. They built a pyre, slowly. They set her on the pyre gently, lovingly. Her small body was so light.

  As night fell they set her alight. The pyre burned into the evening, sparks floating in the night air. Evie was consumed. They hacked apart the other bodies, beating and smashing them. Let the wild animals take care of the corpses, no reason to waste good firewood on them. They stripped every single thing they could from them. Clyde's greatcoat was large enough that they could use it as a blanket.

  That night they slept in a half-ruined shack, getting up with first light and stumbling along. They found themselves walking next to a body of water that looked much calmer, much more restrained than the wild ocean. There were buildings alongside it, small places for the most part, but sheltered and relatively intact. It looked like this area was different from where they had passed before.

  That night they spent in comfort, sitting in a home with a wood stove that still worked. It was hard to know exactly how far they would have to walk, but they knew that if they followed remains of the road eventually they would reach Sydney.

  They walked day after day, the remnants of the road forming a guide post. Chad and Tamra talked all day, they began a more serious romance, sharing a sleeping bag they found in one of the cabins. It was well preserved, the owners, while living, had clearly set the place up for long absences.

  Tyson healed, better than he had hoped. One day, as they walked through the remnants of ruined roadways and buildings, he said to Chad, "You think I could sign up for the Reclamation Force?"

  "You sure you want to?"

  "Well, yeah. Seems to me that what I was doing before was just as dangerous, but now at least I would have a gun..."

  "Sure, of course. I'll put in a good word, not sure if it's worth anything. I'm a rookie, brand new. This was my first deployment."

  "Sure, but it's a new force, right?"

  "Yeah, but most of the guys were with the guard before. Anyway, training is hard, I'm sure you'll kick ass at it."

  Tamra said, "I'm going in too. I can't work as an actress anymore, it's not... well, it's not real. Plus, they want me to be the kind of woman I wouldn't ever want to be."

  They saw something in the distance, an overpass, huge chunks missing, the whole thing was lilting down, but it was still there. They could see the harbor in front of them. The base wasn't visible yet, and the city was anything but safe, they still had miles to travel, but they were officially in sight of Sydney. It gave them hope, allowed them to pick up their pace a little.

  The harbor was beautiful, long, and narrow. They could see the skeleton of a bridge ahead of them. It was damaged, it leaned dangerously to one side, and there were a dozen zombies along it. Of course, there was another way to go, but it was probably another day at least to walk it, maybe more. Chad said, "What do you think? Do we chance it, or do we try to make our way around?"

  "Fuck it. We can handle that many. I say over." Tyson looked stronger than he had since the day Chad met him.

  Tamra didn't answer, instead, she started walking forward, readying the long piece of wood she was using as her main weapon right now. She'd been getting Chad to show her staff techniques at every rest stop.

  The bridge still had some decking on it. Enough for the three of them to walk. Zombies started following them from the shore, with the dozen or so on the bridge trying to converge.

  The trio jogged forward, intercepting the first pair of zombies in a moment. Tyson smashed one over the head with the shaft of the gaffer hook. He'd taken Clyde's weapon as a trophy. Chad and Tamra converged on the second. Chad took its legs out from under it with a low swing, while Tamra hit it in the head, a solid blow. It was only a moment to take the two zombies. The ones behind were cutting off escape, but they had been building for a while now, more and more appearing every moment they spent in the small city.

  The next one was alone. They took it out instantly, but then thing started to get more difficult. There was a cluster of six zombies closing. No way around it, they had to take them as a ground. Chad jogged left, drawing them towards him, while Tyson and Tamra set up behind them.

  As the first zombie reached Chad he swung his staff, low and hard, hitting it in the knee. The zombie stayed up, but it was knocked slightly off course. He used the impact of the hit to redirect the other end of the staff to the nose of the next zombie, knocking it off its feet. He kept the staff bouncing and moving. It didn't stop, a whirling wall of wood. He took out his two zombies and moved for the next one, only to find that the others were gone. Tamra and Tyson had done their job.

  There was almost nothing left for them to kill. They ran across the rest of the span, a growing entourage following them.

  "We have to keep moving, we stop they catch up"

  "No stopping. Got it."

  "We s
hould try to lose them before we hit base camp."

  The next few hours were spent moving around abandoned buildings, trying to run, trying to move as fast as they could.

  No Place Like Home

  Bennet returned to the camp, a conquering hero. People cheered, they clapped. He felt sick to his stomach.

  Naomi took him aside first chance she got and said, "Hey lover, you know it needed to be done right?"

  "Did it? I mean, I know they weren't the good guys, but are we? I shot a little boy, he was running, trying to stay alive, his parents had just died. I shot him, I stared right at him and I pulled the trigger. How am I supposed to live with that?"

  "You just live with it. I know, it was hard."

  "No, it wasn't. It was easy, no effort at all. It should have been hard, I should have had to work, to strain. It should have had a cost for me. It didn't, I squeezed my finger and his life ended. Nothing to it. Hell, I got shot but I'll be fine in a few weeks, no big deal, not even the biggest injury I've sustained, but his life is just done."

  "You know why."

  "I don't know, I don't know if it's right. I was sure it was, but now... I mean, we watch everyone anyway. We have precautions in place for people turning. Would Kuru really be any harder than that?"

  "I don't know. Here's what I do know, we have a home, a city full of people who rely on us. They are able to rely on us because we do the hard things, make the hard choices. This isn't a world where mistakes are something we can recover from. Think about it, what if we'd let a community like that survive near New Hope? If we had a breach there like we had here we would be dealing with hundreds of thousands of zombies."