And This Too: A Modern Fable (13 page)

             
"And we've had very few military casualties because of this."

"I know that the brain is the control center for all the walkers everywhere, but wouldn't it be faster and easier to throw bombs at them?"

             
"We've done some of that too, but we're really not looking for an easy way out, Jeremy."

             
              "Besides, this isn't anything we've handled before. If one of our men or women is attacked by the enemy, we don't just lose them to the battle and send our condolences to the family. Every casualty will also join the other team. They'll help spread the virus that we are trying to eliminate, so we have to go about this with extreme caution."

"Valid point."

             
"This is scary. I'm not going to lie. We've been fighting a little too, and this ordeal is the thing that nightmares are made of. Sometimes if you don't shoot the right spot, they keep coming towards you."

             
              "Or if they don't die in an explosion and they're still crawling around with no legs or limping towards you, arms blown to pieces...It chills my bones just thinking about it."

             
"We're talking precision warfare here. And it's very trying on the morale of all the troops. We still have acres and acres of this sprawling country to clean up."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

             
"Anywhere from six months to two years."

"Jesus."

             
              "We need help. If you come join our troops, we will protect you in return for another pair of hands that can shoot. Hell, we might even train you. We have guns and ammo, but there are not enough hands."

             
"And if you can't join up with us, Linda and I are encouraging you to form a militia...it's hard, I know, but the more help we can get, the faster the nation can begin healing."

"It's nice to have some actual news for once; this has been the longest informational broadcast yet."

             
"We were thrilled to be invited for an interview."

             
              "Even though we're not sure if anyone's actually listening."

"That's the thing about radio, no one has to be listening and you get to talk and talk anyways."

             
"I sure hope we have listeners."

             
              "There
has
to be people listening, Bill, I know that there are survivors waiting for messages of hope to strengthen their weak spirits in this dark time."
Linda reached out a warm hand to President Abernathy as she spoke.

"Anymore thoughts before we finish up here?"

             
              "Stay strong, we're doing our best out there..."

             
"...But we still need help."

             
              "Eliminate the brain."

             
"And hopefully this will be over soon."

"Thank you President Abernathy and Vice President Marx."

             
"Thank you for having us Disc Jockey Fitzgerald."

"Hahaha, I like your sense of humor, Bill. Thank you for being two of the most honest leaders the United States has ever had."

*****

              The entire way to the woods, Dillan Mathers had been reciting the directions she had received a handful of days previous. The drive had been long, tedious and terrifying at times; but she was so close to sanctuary that she'd set out on her mission to make it to New Haven or die trying. She braced herself for the transition between the pavement and the gravel, something that her hybrid did not take very well. Following the twists and turns of the path, Dillan couldn't help but caress her swollen belly. The girl she'd spoken to over the radio seemed sincere and kind, but Dillan didn't know if there would be enough kindness for herself and the child she would never have conceived if she had known that the entire nation would become cannibalistically ill.

*****

Somewhere in Wyoming

             
Due to the fact that she had been able to empty her chamber pot without seeing a single zombie, Jamie was soundly asleep for the first time in weeks. Her nap had only lasted forty-five minutes before a foreign sound echoed through the metal structure. Jamie jolted awake and felt queasy, she couldn't handle any more surprises. She listened intently like a frightened animal.

             
"Gun shots?" She whispered in shock.

             
The sound continued throughout the trailer court. Jamie wanted to know what was going on, but didn't want to venture outside ever again.

             
"God?" She buzzed softly, "You’ve saved me from death so I don't expect any more miracles, but if this is what I think it is thank you. I know that this horrible time will pass and leave us as a stronger species. I just don't know if I will live to see it. I've been living on cat food and sitting in the same area as my own waste." Tears began to fall down Jamie's cheeks as the shooting continued and got closer. "I don't know what to do anymore God, everything I've ever known has been taken away from me. I'm lucky to be alive, but I don't know if I want to be alive anymore." Jamie began sobbing vehemently.

             
There was the faint sound of footsteps on the gravel road, urgently running through the court. Shortly after, the shooting had ceased. As Jamie sobbed and questioned the God that she had been praying to this entire time, the footsteps grew closer to the shed.

             
"I just don't want to live if there's nothing worth living for!"

             
Just then the door wrenched open and the plywood fell to the ground. Jamie was blinded by the light that poured through the opening.

             
"It's okay," a friendly male voice called gently. "You're safe now."

             
Jamie squinted to see that the military had been storming through her trailer park. The soldier reached his hand out to the crumpled form on the dirty mattress in the putrid smelling shed. Jamie weakly grabbed the outstretched hand.

             
"We're going to take you someplace safe."

             
Jamie's eyes were still adjusting to the sunlight. She squinted at the soldier curiously.

             
"Are you okay, ma’am?"

             
Jamie collapsed into the soldier's arms and began sobbing again, mumbling religiously into the soldier's Kevlar vest.

             
The soldier consolingly patted Jamie on the back until she ceased crying for a moment to ask, "Where are you taking me?”

             
"We need to make sure that you're not infected or ill," he informed her calmly, "so we'll be taking you to a doctor first."

             
Jamie nodded as more tears streamed down her face.

             
"But once we determine that you're okay, you'll be going to a safe place."

             
"Where?"

             
"A church. The Thorned Crown, I think. It’s way out in the middle of nowhere. We've already secured the area; it's virus free."

             
"Can I bring my things? My books and notebooks?"

             
"Of course you can."

             
Jamie looked at the metal shed and felt her stomach churn as she realized that there were greasy, blackened handprints all over the outside of it.

             
"What happened here?" The soldier asked, gently breaking away from the girl.

             
"God was testing my strength."

             
"Oh?"

             
"And I passed with flying colors."

             
The soldier was uncomfortable at the talk of God, but he assumed that the girl they had rescued had been through a lot, so he let her ramble as they transported her and her belongings to the doctor who was stationed a mile away from the Thorned Crown.

*****

              It had been a few weeks since the news of the nationwide clean-up when Harley and Christian were making breakfast for their section of New Haven. The small group of people had nearly doubled in size, and the newcomers had set up at the site of the old farmhouse. Christian was stir-frying roots they had scavenged and rabbit meat as Harley scrambled duck eggs.

             
Christian cocked his head to the side in an attempt to determine what he was hearing. "Baby, do you hear that?"

             
Harley stopped stirring the eggs with her stick and listened. After a few moments she stated, "Helicopters."

             
"Helicopters?" He asked skeptically.

             
"They must have made it to Oregon."

             
"I wonder how they determine that, throw darts at a map and say, 'Okay, we go here now'."

             
Harley couldn't help but giggle.

             
"Well seriously, it's so sporadic."

             
"I bet they have platoons or whatever that have different sections to clean up. So platoon 76 is in charge of the north-western front and cleans up faster than platoon 80 which is in charge of the north-eastern cluster-fuck."

             
"Platoons?"

             
"That's not right is it?" Harley asked, turning her eggs.

             
Christian laughed and replied, "I'm not sure, I know as much about the military as you do."

             
"Hey guys! Do you hear that?" Trevor called from across the way.

             
"The helicopters?"

             
"Yeah," Tsgumi replied, "We heard them down by the river when we were taking a shower."

             
"I wonder what they're here for," Christian pondered, tending to his stir fry.

             
"Is there a clearing where they can land?" Harley asked.

             
"The closest one would be by the river, but I don't know if that's enough space for a helicopter. There's probably a space at the entrance to the woods, and it'll take days for them to find us," Trevor replied.

             
"It gives me chills," Tsgumi giggled excitedly; "this is probably a really good sign."

*****

Somewhere in Texas

             
A loud, uneven hum woke Lucy up. The harsh Texas sun was already beating on her skin as she sat up in her sleeping bag and tried to listen to the whirly-birds. It only took a few minutes before she realized what helicopters could mean.

             
"Wake up!" She cried excitedly, "Everybody wake up! We need to go outside."

             
Very few of the Pump'n'Gulp refugees actually woke up before Lucy ran outside and began yelling around while jumping up and down in the parking lot.

             
"What is she doing?" quirked Jennie, a plump middle-aged woman who had stumbled upon the Pump'n'Gulp with her three sons shortly after the nationwide collapse.

             
"Mom," Tyler, Jennie's oldest gasped excitedly, "she's waving at helicopters!"

             
The word ‘helicopters’ startled some more people to the realization that something big was happening, and more refugees rushed outside and began jumping up and down in the parking lot.

             
A couple of the birds were able to land in the ridiculously large parking lot. Tears streamed down Lucy's cheeks as she sprinted to the military grade chopper. Men and women dressed in full combat gear poured out of the craft. A few people were following Lucy but mostly they wanted to watch what was about to conspire, no one really had anything to say at this point.

             
Lucy stopped when she was an arm's length away from the commander. It took her a moment to catch her breath before she asked the question that had been boiling in the back of her mind since the conversation she'd had with her now possibly dead friend Shannon.

             
"What the hell's going on out there?"

             
"Ma'am, we're the military. We've come to assess this area."