Chapter Six
Alissa, Nathan, and Kiera gathered around the Land Rover as Chris spread out the map on its hood. Shithead stood on the front porch, barking at Archer who curled up on the inside sill, showing a lot of bravery so long as a glass pane separated him from the cat. Chris whistled to his dog, who ignored him.
“Shithead, get over here.”
The dog took a step back, barked three more times at his nemesis, then raced over to rejoin his master. Chris bent and scratched his pet behind the ears.
“Where are we heading this time?” asked Alissa.
Chris straightened up and pointed at a location on the map north of their position. “Gorham, a few miles south of Berlin.”
“Berlin?” Nathan glanced between the two adults. “That’s where the federal prison is located.”
“Why Gorham?” asked Alissa. “Isn’t there a Lowe’s or Home Depot that’s closer?”
“Yeah,” chided Nathan. “Why go so far when you could blow up something local?”
Chris ignored his friend. “Everyone flocked to those places and now they’re swarming with deaders. Kiera checked the Internet last night—”
“Wait,” interrupted Alissa. “The Internet is still working?”
“Only parts of it,” answered Kiera. “All social media and news sites are either down or haven’t been updated since shortly after the outbreak. Search engines are offline. I happened to stumble across a few Chamber of Commerce websites for the local region. I bookmarked and saved screenshots of the sites onto the PC.”
“Getting back to the main topic.” Chris did little to hide his irritation. “Kiera found a private hardware store in Gorham that specializes in supplies for livestock.”
“Then they should have all the barbed wire we need for the perimeter defense,” said Nathan.
“Exactly.” Chris grinned. “Small town, small store, and a good chance there are only a few deaders around to take care of. I thought it was our best bet.”
“Agreed,” said Alissa. “Good job.”
Nathan seemed unconvinced. “Do you think we have enough people to handle what we might run into?”
“I’ve taken care of that.”
As if on cue, Miriam and Rebecca exited the cabin. Miriam carried her Mossberg and Rebecca a .308 R1A1 FN FAL battle rifle.
Kiera sighed. “Mom, come on.”
“Alissa asked me to go along to provide back up. I won’t even ride in the same car as you.”
“You’ll still embarrass me.”
“With whom? The deaders?”
“Okay.” Kiera added too enthusiastically. “I’m riding with Chris.”
Miriam sighed and rolled her eyes.
“See, you’re embarrassing me.”
“What did I do?”
“Enough,” said Chris. “Kiera can ride with me. Anyone else want to join us?”
No one took him up on the offer.
“Okay. I’ll lead since I know where we’re going.” Chris headed for the Ram with the caved in passenger door and patted the side of his leg. “Come on, guys.”
Shithead wagged his tail and ran alongside his master.
Kiera became indignant. “I’m not a dog.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. But you’re welcome to ride with your mother if you want.”
Kiera tightened her lips and followed Chris to the Ram.
“No offense,” Nathan said to Rebecca. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“You mean battling deaders?” asked Rebecca.
“Yeah.”
“You guys saved me from those assholes. I want to help out any way I can.”
Alissa cut in. “I asked her to join us not to fight deaders but to help find and load up what we need. I can’t say no to someone who wants to help. We can use it.”
Nathan nodded in understanding and looked to Rebecca. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I didn’t want you getting in over your head.”
“I appreciate that. As I learned back in North Conway, I can handle myself better than I thought.”
The beep of a car horn turned their attention to Chris, who raised his arm and tapped where his watch would be if he wore one. Shithead barked from the back seat. The others climbed into the Land Rover and followed Chris down to the main road.
* * *
The drive to Gorham lasted less than an hour, taking the group along back roads and through a few small towns with handfuls of deaders roaming the streets, nowhere near enough to be a threat. They stopped once outside of Carroll when they came across a red Toyota SR Tundra abandoned on the side of the road with the keys left inside. Nothing was wrong with the pick-up so, considering the group needed to eventually swap out the banged-up Ram, Alissa jumped in and commandeered it, falling in behind the others.
As the convoy entered Gorham from the west, passing through the residential neighborhood, they found the town deserted. No signs of life. No deaders. Not even indications of a panic or a retreat. It seemed as if the residents had packed up and moved out, admittedly a much better fate than what had befallen almost every other city and town they had encountered.
Chris stopped when the road they were on ended at Route 16, the main road through town. After not moving for several seconds, Alissa pulled the Tundra out of line and drove up beside the Ram, lowering her window and motioning for him to do the same.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Why are we stopped?”
“My fault.” Kiera raised her hand but kept her attention focused on the map resting on her knees. “Trying to figure out if we should go right or….” She paused a moment, glanced up, and pointed. “Left.”
“You sure?” asked Chris.
“Positive.”
“You lead,” called out Alissa and rolled up her window.
Chris turned left, followed by the Land Rover and the Tundra.
After a few minutes, Alissa saw their destination on the left: Breen’s Farm Supply and Hardware. Judging by the line of tractors and oversized farm equipment parked out front, they had come to the right place.
However, Chris didn’t turn into the parking lot but continued along Route 16.
Nathan’s voice came over the radio. “What are you two doing? We just passed Breen’s.”
“I know. There’s something up ahead I want to check out first.”
A few seconds later, the Ram came to a stop and Chris and Kiera jumped out and ran ahead. The others climbed out of their respective vehicles and joined them, ready to engage a pack of deaders or another gang. Instead, Chris and Kiera were circling a military Humvee painted in a mottled-green camouflage pattern parked along the shoulder with the doors open. The others watched. The scene reminded Alissa of her elementary school niece and nephew rummaging through the presents on Christmas morning, a pleasant thought that instantly soured her mood.
“Stop acting like a kid,” called out Nathan.
Kiera starred at him blankly. “I’m only fourteen.”
“I wasn’t referring to you.”
If Chris heard, he paid no attention. After checking the tires to insure they were inflated, he scanned the interior for deaders and, seeing none, slid in behind the steering wheel and started the Humvee. The engine roared to life. From force of habit, Alissa scanned the surrounding area, relieved to see the noise attracted no deaders.
As the others approached, Chris leaned out of the cab, a Cheshire cat-like grin on his face. “It works. And it has a full tank of gas.”
“Can we keep it?” asked Kiera.
“We?” Miriam dripped with a disapproving mom tone.
Nathan shook his head. “That thing is a gas guzzler. It’ll be a monster to feed.”
“So are the Ram and the Tundra,” argued Chris. “This is impervious to deaders.”
“I hate to admit,” said Alissa. “He’s right. The Ram we stole from Dickson took a lot of punishment. I say we take it.”
Nathan turned and headed bac
k to the Land Rover. “You’re the boss.”
Chris pumped his fist. Kiera responded with, “Fucking A.”
“Kiera! Language.”
Even being chastised by her mother didn’t dull Kiera’s enthusiasm.
“Can one of you drive the Tundra?” Alissa asked.
“I will,” responded Rebecca as she headed for the pick-up.
Five minutes later, they were parked outside of Breen’s, with the Ram and Tundra backed up to the main entrance.
Alissa walked up to the doors, the Mossberg in her left hand. She tried them. They were locked.
“Now for the moment of truth.”
Clutching the Mossberg in both hands, she used the stock to smash away the glass and stepped back, waiting for a horde of deaders to rush them. Nothing appeared.
Alissa moved over to the door and peered in. “Hello. Is anyone here?”
Silence.
She cautiously stepped through the door, unlocked them, lifted the upper and lower security bolts, opened the twin doors, and pushed down on the stoppers to keep them in place. Nathan stepped forward and used his boot to clear away as much of the broken glass as possible.
Alissa handed Miriam one of the radios. “Stand guard and let us know if you see anything or anyone.”
“Gotcha.” Miriam moved to the front of the pick-ups.
“The rest of us, make this quick.”
Nathan and Chris were already inside the store searching for what they needed to fortify the compound: portions of chain link fence, barbed wire, a pair of post hole diggers, cement, and any tools they would need. The store had no electricity, so they had to work in the dark. Fortunately, enough sunlight flowed in from the front windows and the skylights so they could work. Alissa, Kiera, and Rebecca spread out and checked the store for any undiscovered dangers. Finding none, they returned and helped bring the supplies out to the trucks.
On their fifth trip outside, Rebecca struck up a conversation. “I didn’t expect things to be so quiet.”
“Dammit,” blurted Alissa.
“What did I say?”
“Sorry, I’m a nurse. If you use that word on a shift then usually all Hell breaks loose.”
“I didn’t know,” Rebecca apologized.
“It’s not your fault.” Alissa embraced Rebecca. “You can take the nurse out of the hospital, but you can never take the hospital out of the nurse.”
“Are we disturbing anything?” asked Chris as he and Nathan carried out two gates for the fence.
“You wish,” replied Alissa, releasing Rebecca. “Are we all set?”
Nathan placed his gate by the bed of the Ram. “Almost. Kiera’s looking for rope or ratchet straps to secure the items and we’re about to load the trucks. We should be ready in a few minutes.”
“I’d like to check in back for more barbed wire,” added Chris.
“Don’t we have enough?” asked Alissa.
“Barely. It’s always good to have extra handy in case we need to repair the fence.”
“We can do that.” Alissa motioned to Rebecca. “Come on. It’ll only take a minute.”
Alissa led the way to the backroom, pausing at the swinging double doors. She pushed one of them open a few inches and called out.
“Is anyone in there?”
No response.
Alissa raised her Mossberg and entered the storage room. Rebecca stayed close.
“I can barely see a thing,” said Rebecca. “Are there any emergency lights?”
“If there are, the power would have been drained by now.” Alissa scanned the area, noticing the three bay doors along the rear wall of the building. “See if any of them open. That’ll give us plenty of light.”
Rebecca headed over to the bay on the right, crouched, and tried the handle. The door didn’t budge. Glancing up, she spotted a closed padlock securing the runners to the frame. It was locked. The same with the middle door. The last of the three had the padlock in place but the shackle was not closed. She removed the lock, reached down, and grabbed the handle.
“Looks like we have ourselves a winner.”
Rebecca lifted the bay door. Snarls came from the other side. Three deaders stumbled out of an empty trailer parked against the bay, surrounded by a swarm of flies. Rebecca rushed backward and fired two rounds into the closest deader, a male farmer in overalls with a bite mark on its neck. The three bullets blasted into its chest, punching open wounds that oozed congealed blood, doing nothing to stop it. Raising the barrel, she fired again. Her aim was off. Two rounds missed and the third blew off the left side of its face. The farmer deader lumbered toward her, half its lower jaw dangling by ligaments attached to the right side of its skull.
Alissa reacted the moment she heard the snarling. She charged the two deaders to the rear and aimed the Mossberg at the closest, a female in jeans and a red plaid shirt, the right arm stained with blood from a bite wound. Alissa fired. The round tore its head apart, spraying the deader behind it in gore. Before it hit the floor, she switched aimed to the second one, a teenage girl in a Dunkin Donuts uniform with a bite wound on its lower arm. A second round caught it in the jaw, shattering the head. The corpse collapsed. Alissa spun around to check on Rebecca.
The farmer deader lunged at Rebecca, grabbing for her shirt. She moved backwards, trying to put distance between herself and the deader, and aimed the FAL. It grabbed the barrel as she fired, deflecting the shot, and attacked. Rebecca tripped over a pallet and toppled over, landing on the wooden structure, knocking the wind out of her. The deader fell on top of her. She held up the battle rifle, slamming it against the deader’s chest and preventing it from getting to her. She wouldn’t be able to hold it back for long.
Alissa ran over. She could not shoot the deader without hitting Rebecca. Spinning the shotgun around, she battered the stock against the back of its head. It ignored her, having worked itself into a frenzy. Alissa looked around for another weapon, her eyes falling on an axe mounted on the wall by the fire extinguisher. Slinging the Mossberg over her shoulder, Alissa removed the axe, rushed back to Rebecca, and drove the blade between the deader’s shoulder. That caught its attention. She attempted to remove the blade. It was imbedded two inches into its body. As the farmer deader climbed to its feet and spun around, Alissa unslung her shotgun. Before she could aim, it attacked. Alissa jumped back to get out of the way.
Three gunshots echoed through the storage room. The deader’s head exploded. Chris approached, aiming the still smoking barrel of his FAL at the corpse. Nathan rushed up to Alissa and embraced her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Alissa hugged him back, holding it for several seconds.
Chris kept the FAL raised and ready to fire. “Were you bit?”
“No.” Alissa let go of Nathan and rushed over to Rebecca. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. You saved my life.”
Alissa helped Rebecca to her feet. “Any bites or cuts?”
“I don’t think so.” Rebecca checked her arms then ran her hands across her neck and face, grateful to see there was no blood.
Chris moved off, checking the rest of the storage area for any more surprises.
“What happened?” asked Nathan.
“We couldn’t see back here, so I had Rebecca open one of the bay doors to let some light in. The only one unlocked opened onto a trailer with those things inside.”
“I should’ve been more careful,” Rebecca chastised herself.
“It’s not your fault.” Nathan patted her shoulder. “Who would have thought somebody would lock those things in there?”
“I think we found our somebody.” Chris stood in the far corner between the bay doors and the restrooms. He waved over the others.
A score of bottled water containers and boxes of food were stacked against the wall. In front of them, seven sleeping bags were spread across the floor. Piled in a cul de sac behind stacks of lumber not too far away were bags of trash and a deader corpse, the la
tter of which had numerous gunshot wounds on its body and a machete cleaved into its skull. Three bodies lay around the living area, all bearing bite marks. One had a .38 caliber wound to its head, one held a .38 caliber revolver in its mouth with the top of its head missing, and the third lay in a sleeping bag, a knife in its right hand and a deep incision along the inner left arm from the palm to the elbow, a pool of blood having soaked the bag. Insects swarmed over the bodies, feeding on the remains. Only now did Alissa notice the stench of the dead.
“What happened here?” asked Rebecca.
“My guess is they were holed up here trying to ride out everything when somehow that one got turned.” Chris lowered his battle rifle weapon and pointed it toward the corpse thrown away with the garbage. “It bit them all before they took it out. These three took their own lives rather than reanimate. The others asked to be locked in the truck so they wouldn’t hurt anyone once they became the living dead.”
Rebecca closed her eyes and mumbled a prayer. When she finished, she headed for the front store. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Not yet.” Nathan made his way through the storage area. “Let’s get what we came for.”
Rebecca crouched and removed one of the bottles from under the plastic wrapping, opening it and taking a drink. “What should we do with the food and water?”
“We have more than enough,” said Alissa. “Leave it. Hopefully, somebody who needs supplies will find it.”
Less than half an hour later, they had found five more rolls of barbed wire in the back and loaded them into the Ram and Tundra along with everything else. Alissa climbed into the Ram and started the engine.
Nathan stepped up to the driver’s side. “Should we lock up the store?”
“Why bother? We already smashed in the front door.”
Nathan nodded. “You lead.”
She flashed him a flirtatious smile. “I plan on it.”
Alissa pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Nathan fell in line behind her with the Land Rover, with Rebecca and Miriam following in the Tundra. Chris and Kiera brought up the rear in the Humvee.
Halfway home, Kiera’s excited voice came over the radio. “Oh my God! There’s a fifty-caliber machine gun in back with several crates of ammunition!”
Nurse Alissa vs. the Zombies | Book 4 | Hunters Page 3
