Brent Acuff - Undead Nation 01 (16 page)

"So far, so good," Sam said.

"Yeah," added Shawn. "And just how do you know what needs to happen? It's like you've read a book about it or something." Shawn chuckled, but Alex's head snapped in his direction, eyes wide at what had just been said. "What? You mean you've actually read about this?" The laughter in Shawn's voice was now gone.

"If I tell you, you'll only think I'm crazy," Alex replied and looked down at scratched table top.

"Crazier than the dead rising form the grave and hunting us down like prey?" Sam asked and probed Alex to share.

"Okay fine, I read a book on this, okay?" Alex was frustrated at their questioning and knew that by answering them it would only make things worse.

"Really?" Liam asked. "What's the book?" His voice contained no sense of sarcasm or mocking tones. Alex looked up to see that Liam had asked the question in all seriousness and that none of the others gathered around the table were mocking him either. Everyone was serious...they wanted to know.

"It's silly, really," Alex began not believing that he was actually talking about this. "It was 'The Zombie Survival Guide' by Max Brooks, but it was only a spoof," Alex quickly admitted. "There wasn't anything serious in there, it was just a piece of fiction." Alex looked around the room pleading with anyone to believe him, to not put their trust in him.

"Sounds like an excellent piece of nonfiction now. Hell, maybe even reference material," Liam smiled at Alex and clapped him on the shoulder. "So, what's it tell us to do now?"

-----

The next five days were filled with hurried preparations and construction. A hole was cut in the roof of the farmhouse, braced and a ladder attached to allow access to the highest vantage point available to them. Sand bags were filled and arranged so as to provide a stable shooting platform more than protection from enemy fire. A backhoe loader proved to be one of the most useful pieces of equipment on the farm and it inspired Alex to create a unique defense of the farmhouse.

A six foot trench was dug around the entire perimeter of the farmhouse with the excavated dirt used to create a four foot berm just behind the trenches. One of the barns was dismantled and the corrugated metal roof and side and the beams and studs were used as scaffolding to shore up the berms. This, once completed, created a nine foot high barrier completely encircling the farmhouse. The only way through this perimeter was a four foot wide opening in the berm which was then blocked with the front loader of the backhoe. This could then be moved to allow entrance to and exit out of the farmhouse in the case of an emergency or to allow teams to go out and forage for food and supplies. Alex made clear the necessity of planning for the eventuality that they would have to venture out into the surrounding areas to replenish their food and supplies.

This work did not continue uninterrupted, however. The constant noise caused by the backhoe loader and the deconstruction of the barn drew in every zombie from the surrounding area. Several times a day the workers would have to retreat to the relative safety of the house until the threat could be neutralized. Body removal was the first real unwanted task implemented. Alex explained to everyone that while the dead bodies could just be left in the hot sun to rot away, the chances would increase of disease to arise. This piece of logic was latched onto by the resident doctor, who stood by Alex when the plans for a body detail was formed. After each battle a team of people would go out of the perimeter to set fire to the dead bodies, cremating them and destroying any trace of the virus or disease causing bacteria. This group would be watched over by two individuals on top of the roof who would use binoculars and scopes mounted on rifles to look for any stragglers. A second wave of defenders posted on top of the berms to give them additional height would also serve as protection for the body detail while they were out taking care of their duties. As imagined, no one volunteered for the body detail.

Concerns were raised about setting fire to the dead bodies. The fear was that the fire would spread unchecked through the countryside and spread to the farmhouse. Dr. Cahn explained that it was necessary to the health of the group and Alex eased concerns by reminding everyone that the ditches and berms would provide an adequate barrier until the first fires died out. Alex then explained that they only need worry about the first fire as it would consume the majority of the substances that would fuel the fire and leave little if anything left to threaten the group afterward. The defenses were put in place, duty schedules and procedures for handling contact with the walking dead were agreed upon and put in place, and everyone settled into an uneasy sense of calm. Everyone knew that something bad was coming, but no one could think of what it was.

-----

"Contact on the southwest. Two slow movers heading this way." The call came down from roof and everyone on standby jumped into action. Alex was on duty as the backup and headed up the ladder for confirmation. Over the last couple of weeks the Beard farm had grow to include thirteen additional souls who had been lucky enough to stumble upon them. The first contact that they had with these refugees had almost been a disaster. Just days in the wake of their near deadly arrival, the same mistake had been made concerning the living, uncontaminated survivors.
 

The Cahn boys had been on lookout, a mistake that Alex had never let happen again. Thinking that they would eliminate the approaching zombies at a distance that would not require them to have to burn the bodies, each of the boys began firing on the targets without alerting anyone or getting confirmation. One of the four targets was hit, a cloud of red blood spraying out the back of the victim. The boys began celebrating, giving each other high fives and missing the fact that the three remaining targets drug the fourth to cover. Zombies do not spray red blood from gunshot wounds and certainly do not care for their fallen.
 

Liam had been on his way to the rooftop to relieve the brothers when the shots rang out. He darted up the remaining steps of the ladder to find the two whooping and carrying on as if they had won the war. Grabbing the binoculars that were hanging on the side of the ladder, Liam asked for the two to show him where the zombies were. Grinning, they pointed to the north and Liam searched for the approaching danger. His face drained of all color.
 

"Man down!" he yelled. "Man down! We got an living man down! Dammit, you two just killed a living person because you're too stupid to check." Liam raced down the ladder and was greeted by Dr. Cahn as he prepared his medical bag to go help.
 

"Don't forget the dog," he said casually as if this were just another day at the office. Alex hurried in with Shawn and Luke in tow.
 

"Shawn and Luke, you'll accompany Liam and Dr. Cahn to check on the victims. Sam and Sid will head to the roof to take over the watch. Boys!" Alex yelled up through the roof access. "You're done. Get your asses down here now!" Alex looked to Dr. Cahn, realizing that he was about to discipline the man's sons and not sure how he would react.
 

"They screwed up," Dr. Cahn told Alex. "They did not double check before pulling the trigger, and because of that, someone is dead or dying. They suffer the consequences...as you see fit, sir." Alex hated when they called him sir. Since the first night at the farm, after listening to his ideas and plans for their survival, he had been declared the leader of their group and taken to calling him 'sir' all of the time. This bothered Alex more than he would let anyone know. They were placing their survival on him simply because he had read a book.
 

The Cahn brothers skulked down the ladder, not wishing to face the punishment that was sure to await them below. They knew they had screwed up, and screwed up big and they were in for it. Their eyes locked on their father's once they had set foot on the bottom rung of the ladder awaiting his stern words of disappointment.
 

"Oh no," Dr. Cahn said to his sons. "You'll receive no such luck. You screwed the pooch, and the punishment that awaits you from Mr. Kemp here will be far worse than any I could put you through. I have to go clean up your mess if I can. You'll have to face him." Dr. Cahn shouldered his bag of medical supplies and turned towards the door. "Let's go, gentlemen. Paula," he yelled through the farm house, "We'll have wounded when we get back. Make sure everything is ready." Paula had become Dr. Cahn's right hand man ever since he had found out that she was a registered nurse with six years of emergency room experience. The two of them had made a near perfect team, taking care of any medical emergency either big or small with extreme care and precision.
 

Everyone but Sam was on duty at the perimeter exit. These procedures had been put in place in the event that some unforeseen zombies lurked just outside the entrance. Sid Beard, Liam's younger brother, started up the backhoe loader and slowly backed it out of the entrance to allow the truck with Dr. Cahn and the others to leave. Everyone tensed for a moment until the truck had cleared and the backhoe was moved back into place.

The Cahn brothers stood behind Alex with sullen expressions on their face. Alex turned to meet them stone faced and terror rose within them. "We...we're s...sorry, sir. It was an accident."

"Shut up," Alex snapped. "This was no accident, this was carelessness and stupidity and because of it someone is most likely going to die. You little shits couldn't even bother to warn everyone else before you started blasting holes on anything that moved. There were signs that could have prevented this, but you two couldn't care less to look for them." The two boys were literally shaking as they stood facing Alex. The others who had gathered for the perimeter defense were now watching the goings on with increased interest. "Your father seems to think I have a right to punish you as I see fit. And what do you think about that?" The brothers stared at the ground, kicking imaginary rocks at their feet in a vain attempt to avoid the question.
 

"I asked you a question," Alex yelled suddenly startling the brothers and everyone else gathered around. "And a question deserves an answer! Now I'll ask it again; do you deserve to be punished for your stupidity?"

The boys looked nervously at each other, neither one wanting to be the first one to speak. "Answer me!" Alex shouted.
 

"Yes sir," the younger of the two squeaked.
 

"What?!" Alex shouted again louder than before. "Man up and speak your mind! Do you deserve it?" Both boys nodded slowly and looked at their feet. "Fine. We'll decide your punishment when we see just how bad you fucked up. Give me those rifles." Alex held out his hands for the weapons and the brothers handed them over. "Now inside both of you, and I don't want to see you until I come and get you."

The boys quickly retreated under the fury in Alex's eyes, the tears flowing freely down their cheeks.
 

-----

The rescue party returned with three survivors and one corpse. The bullet had torn a softball sized hole in the man's back, tearing out muscle, bone and part of the man's lung on its destructive path through him. The three survivors had told Dr. Cahn that he had died shortly after they had pulled him into the cover of a stand of trees. His suffering ended quickly, they said.
 

The incident was not a complete shambles. It turns out that the three survivors were actually Alex's relatives, his brother- and sister-in-laws, Hayden and Theresa, and his nephew, Bob who Morgan had called so many days ago. Their journey to the farm had taken them so long because of their decision to completely bypass the Dallas-Fort Worth area all together. The back roads that they had traveled were only slightly less congested and dangerous, but they had managed to make it this far. The gentleman who had been killed was a stranger that they had picked up along the way, someone who was following them like a lost dog more than being invited to tag along.

"The world is coming apart around us," Hayden said as his mother, Paula, rained hugs and kisses on them. "Mom, stop," he said as he tried to pull himself away from her ministrations.

"I can't believe you made it here," Morgan said holding her five year old nephew and hugging him tightly.
 

Alex had made his greetings earlier and now sat away from everyone quietly keeping to himself. The Cahn brothers had nearly killed someone from his family and he wanted their heads for their stupidity. But he knew that he had to be fair and keep the best interests of the group in mind. The punishment needed to be firm and fair, but at the same time they could not afford to remove anyone who could be useful in defending the farmhouse. Alex knew that anything he decided upon, there was going to be some anger and outrage, possibly a lot of resistance. Bur there had to be discipline, and the consequences had to be severe enough to dissuade any further instances.
 

"We need to deal with the issues at hand," Alex said interrupting the celebrations. He stepped forward from where he had been standing. "You boys," he said indicating the Cahn brothers, "come with me." Alex walked out of the farmhouse into the main open area. He headed straight for an telephone phone that used to feed electricity to the house standing in the middle of the yard. When he reached it, Alex turned to address everyone who had followed him.

"We can't afford to have mistakes such as the one that caused the death of an innocent and uncontaminated individual. Policies and procedures were ignored for the sake of laziness and bravado, something that cannot continue. You all have elected me as your leader and as such, placed me in charge of enforcing these policies that we have all agreed on." Alex crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked to the ground in front of him.

"When faced with the possible extinction of human kind, and when we struggle every minute for survival, the penalties for breaking with the policies of this stronghold must be quick and severe. We can no more afford the loss of one of our defenders either through lack of vigilance or through the consequences of their actions. Therefore, after much thought and deliberation, I have come to the punishment that will be exacted upon the accused." Alex looked up to meet the eyes of the Cahn brothers. Their father stood between them, a hand on each of their shoulders for support.