Chatter (6 page)

Chapter 13

Hours had passed and the ride was mostly quiet. They all were mourning Keiko, especially Cade. They had bonded both emotionally and physically. He loomed in the back of the camper alone.

              Meg had kept her distance from her brother giving him space. She didn’t like to see him in pain and this was about the roughest time yet. He sat with his knees to his chest on the back cot, riding alone, deep in thought or memories. She approached him slowly.

“Hey bro, can I sit with you,” said Meg.

He glanced in her direction and nodded to the cot. She sat next to him and rubbed his shoulder. “It’s ok to cry you know.” Cade frowned and looked at her from his cradled position. “I’m not going to cry Meg. So much has happened the last few days that I think I’m immune to tears.” Even as he said this Cade was squeezing his eyes tightly to fight the tears back.

“The thing is Meg; I think I did love her. I sure as hell miss her.”

His sister moved in and gave Cade a tight bear hug and didn’t let go. “Things will get better soon. We are close to Canada now.” Meg held his cheeks and looked in Cade’s eyes. “We just have to start new lives. We mourn the past, celebrate those we lost, and try to move on.” Tears rolled down Cade’s cheeks, “You killed our parents and their friends, how are you ok?”

Meg looked down at the cot. “I just try to think that they weren’t mom and dad anymore. They would have killed me if I didn’t get them first.” She sniffled, “I put on a front because I’m a tough bitch you know?” They both chuckled and finished the hug.

“Thanks sis, I feel a little better.”

“That’s what we do,” said Meg smiling.

The camper approached a pileup on the interstate. “Guys, what do you want me to do,” asked Dwayne who had been driving. The interstate had cars, trucks, and semis scattered about in a metallic mess. The undead walked slowly between the mess as if they didn’t even realize.

“Everyone get your tools out, we got to clean this up to get through,” said Vick.

The others grabbed all the knives and blunt objects and exited the camper. By now they had done this several times and were used to the drill.

Autumn was the first out of the camper and had a large knife in each hand. She swung for the fences and attacked the three closest to her. She had picked up a little training from Vick and was holding her own well. She went low and sliced knees. She stabbed high as they fell and buried the knife hilts to the skulls of each chatterer.

Dwayne followed Autumn out the door. He had an oar they found in the boat earlier in the adventure. He swung it like a ball bat, knocked them down, and curb stomped faces.

The others followed and they cleaned up a section of the road. “Take this a little at a time guys,” said Vick. “We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew and get overwhelmed.”

The men worked on getting the cars moved to one side of the interstate. The women cleared out any straggling undead that appeared. Dwayne drove the camper up about 100 feet and stopped. The road was blocked again. The others repeated what they had done before.

Time passed slowly and everyone was getting tired. Autumn walked too far ahead of the group and found herself blocked by a truck. She turned to go back when seven undead surrounded her. She let out a yelp but fought on.

Autumn turned to her left and brought a knee up in a chatterer groin forgetting it was dead already. It looked at her blankly and she shrugged, “hate to be you ball-less boy” as she drove her knives into its stomach and upward exploding guys all over them both.

The other two had closed in during the action and one grabbed her shoulder and spun her. She screamed and the others heard her. They all came running in a hurry, quickly downing any walkers in their way.

By the time the group had reached Autumn she was soaked in guts and standing over the three lifeless undead. They were a sight to behold. She had gutted one, beheaded one, and pretty much sawed off every part of the last one.

“You ok girl,” asked Trina.

“I’m fine, sorry for screaming.” She looked down, “The one looked like my dad, it freaked me out.”

They all got back to work on moving the cars. Finally they had enough room to drive through the traffic jam without stopping again.

“Where in hell did the foreman go,” asked Cade. “He must know a quicker way to Detroit.”

“Hey Cade. Want to know what’s in my bag,” asked Vick.

Cade looked over at him and smiled, “We friends now?”

“Yeah I figure we are.”

Vick opened his bag and pulled something out. Cade moved closer, eyes widened.

“This is the NJAPW heavyweight title. That’s New Japan All Pro Wrestling. I’m the champ over there. Used to wrestle in the states and Canada but steroids got me in trouble. Japan offered me a shit ton of cash so I took it.”

He looked around and noticed the others listening in, “I go by the name Vick Michaels, but it isn’t my real name. That’s Victor Russo. Anyway, I fly back and forth from Canada to Japan about three times a year, staying a few months each time.”

“This time I happened to accept a match in Indianapolis for some extra cash so I ended up on your plane.” He chuckled, “My luck huh?”

Dwayne not being very smart asked, “Isn’t it all fake? You know rolling around with another guy in undies?”

Vicks frowned, looked at Cade and gave a tiny smile. With that he punched Dwayne square in the jaw knocking him over the kitchen bar and onto his ass unconscious. “That feel fake?”

The rest laughed and took turns holding the belt and trying it on. Then they put Dwayne on the cot and took off towards Detroit and freedom.

Chapter 14

“Just so you all know, I want that belt buried with me if something happens,” said Vick.

As his last word is spoken, dozens of military jets fly overhead in formation. “Something’s about to happen,” said Trina. “They never fly like that so low.” Cade looked out the window as the jets flew by, “We just have to keep moving, it’ll be alright.” He paused to think over the situation, “We have a full day before the nukes come down and only a few hours to drive if all goes well.”

Hours passed and the group traveled on a smaller highway to avoid more traffic jams. It paralleled the interstate almost perfectly. The girls were all huddled in the back around Dwayne on the bed, doing girl time.

“Before this happened I was a senior in high school,” said Meg. “My only worries were boys and which one to let take me to prom.”

Autumn laughed and joined in, “I was a farm girl, and boys hadn’t noticed me yet.” Her eyes went down to her lap. “Daddy said I had to be married before I could date.”

All the girls broke into laughter. “Yeah, right” said Trina.

“I was in Japan for school, studying various things but mostly getting drunk and goofing off,” said Trina. “Guess I should have stayed a week longer huh?”

Front the front cabin they heard, “SON OF A BITCH. There they are.” It was Cade practically jumping out the windshield to something ahead.

“Guns loaded and ready, the foreman is at the gas station ahead.”

The camper screeched to a halt, no stealth this time. Cade and the other jumped out the side door shooting three of the foreman’s men dead. They all took protective cover around the station except Cade who rushed in the front doors shooting.

Two more men dropped as he checked around each aisle and room. Shotgun blasts tore the beef jerky next to him to shreds sending him to the floor dazed. The foreman had been in the rest room. He continued firing and made his way outside. Cade growled and sprang for him, knocking him down and the wind out of the older man.

He wound up on top of the foreman, throwing wild punches left and right into the man’s face and body. Then from out of the woods nearby, dozens of chatterers rambled into the parking lot.

“Cade we have to go!” screamed Vick, “There’s too many.”

“Next time we meet, you’re a dead man,” Cade growled to the foreman.

He then leapt up and sprinted to the camper getting in last after everyone was safe. Vick took off in a hurry driving as fast as the old camper could go. Out the back window the group could see the foreman and some of his men escaping in the other direction by jeep.

No one spoke for a few hours. They knew Cade was still fuming at missing his chance for vengeance. It was growing very dark and most were exhausted. Vick kept driving though his eyes had begun closing.

Finally after another hour he came to a state park. It’s better to get off the road just in case of trouble. This time of year there shouldn’t be many campers who were infected. Vick pulled off the highway and down a narrow road into the wooded park.

There were no other campers or tents in the lot Vick pulled up in. All seemed safe and sound. Vick and Cade took their blankets to the roof, where they always slept, giving everyone else room to spread out. It had been a long day and the whole group passed out quickly.

Hours passed and they all slept relatively well. Some noise from below woke Cade. One eye opened he listened and watched. He nudged Vick out of sleep and held a finger to his mouth for quiet. Together they listened to what sounded like four men approaching the camper and whispering.

“Kill them quietly and get their gear,” said one.

“Passenger door, driver’s door, and side door at once,” said another.

Enraged, Cade dove down onto them in a pile. Both knives spinning and stabbing, he ducked a punch and stabbed one in the heart. Cade spun backward and caught another in the abdomen with both knives and twisted. The final two men got the better of him with kicks and sent Cade to the ground. They were on top of him in a flash pounding his face.

That familiar guttural roar erupted and Cade sliced into the crotch of the closest one, making him an “it” for the last moments of his life. The fourth screamed as he saw his friend’s penis area shoot blood through his jeans passing out. Cade crawled on top of the man and beat him over and over with the knife handles until the man’s face was reddish goo.

All this happened in seconds as Vick was climbing down. He never had a chance to help his friend defend the camper. “Good lord man,” Vick said, “You butchered them.”

Huffing and puffing Cade turned to him, “They were going to kill us and strip us of everything. Them or us Vick.”

“Shit,” said Vick.

Cade and Vick followed their trail back to another camper. No one seemed around so they took the guns and supplies and headed back. Once at their own camper the rest of the group was outside waiting.

“Are you alright?” said Meg. “We didn’t know what happened.”

“More guns and food,” was all Cade could say as he walked by everyone and went inside the camper.

The rest stayed with Vick as Meg followed him inside.

“Did you do that?”

“Yeah,” said Cade.

“She wouldn’t want this from you bro.”

“I would want avenged if it were me,” answered Cade

“There’s a difference between vengeance and becoming an animal.”

“Just get some sleep Meg, I love you.”

Chapter 15

Time was getting short. Less than a day before the United States becomes a wasteland. After the incident at the camp ground no one had spoken much. The jets flew over at an increasing rate. This group of airline passengers had endured much over the last few days; a plane crash, the undead, losing members, human attacks. Detroit loomed ahead, their escape point, their refuge.

              Cade wandered over to his sister and sat. The words were slow to come out, “I don’t know what is happening to me.” His eyes welled up, “I think part of me enjoys this place; this anarchy.”

              “The last several days have been awful Cade. Everyone we knew is dead. Just hold on a little longer and we will be safe.”

              “But is Canada safe?” Cade looked at her, “What if we aren’t welcome there?”

              “You said the President told everyone to go there,” said Meg.

              “Yeah, we’ll see.”

              Everyone remained still as they passed the welcome to Detroit sign on the highway. They had been waiting days to get to this point. As they came over a small hill on the highway the camper slammed to a halt. Hundreds or thousands of undead wandered around the highway and the city below. Dwayne now driving weaved through a barrage of zombies to the exit ramp. The camper careened through the undead throwing limbs left and right. Goo splattered the windshield, but nothing the wipers couldn’t handle.

              The bottom of the ramp was another story. It was shoulder to shoulder undead with nowhere to drive. Running into them would stop the truck dead in its tracks and the group would be surrounded instantly.

              Vick sized up the situation, “We go on foot now. Grab whatever you need but don’t weigh yourselves down too much.”

              Everyone geared up with weapons and water, leaving behind the rest of the supplies. It was only a few miles to safety now and little was needed.

              “From our spot its seven blocks this way to the Windsor Bridge and tunnel,” said Vick. “If we move back to back to back and don’t stop we should be ok.”

              Gunshots rang through the air as the group started pressing eastward. Blocks ahead they could see another group on foot using firearms to move forward. The packs of zombies ignored Cade and the others and they ambled toward the sounds ahead.

              “I think we lucked out,” said Trina.

              “Yeah but those guys didn’t,” replied Autumn.

              The group pressed on without a fight. They cut over one block to avoid the firefight. Finally the bridge and tunnel were in sight. “Let’s take the tunnel, it might be less crowded,” said Dwayne.

              “It’s sure as hell darker,” replied Cade. “But we can try it.”

              As they approached the tunnel entrance Cade and the others saw that it was in shambles. Cars and trucks were flipped and crushed across the lanes. Chatterers walked among the cars in the hundreds.

              “There’s no way we can get through there, especially in the dark,” said Vick. “We have to make our way over the damn bridge and it won’t look any better I’d bet.”

              Circling up to the bridge way they found out that Vick was correct. It looked much the same as the tunnel except that they could see. Together in a tight circle they began the trek across the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Ontario.

              As they fought through the first onslaught of chatterers Dwayne spotted the group from before just ahead. They had climbed a ladder up the side and avoided some of the undead. As Cade eyed them he saw a familiar face, the foreman.

              “Son of a bitch,” he said. “The guys ahead of us still.”

              He aimed down his rifle getting a bead on the foreman. Bam! A bullet ricocheted off the car next to the man’s face. “Dammit!”

              With the rival group alerted they abandoned the undead and turned to the group of airline survivors, firing all their weapons.

              They dove behind cars returning fire and pushing forward whenever the shooting stopped. Every now and again some undead would get in the crossfire and get cut to ribbons.

              Autumn shot three men easily and returned to cover. Trina wasn’t a good shot and succeeded in missing all her marks. Meg had only a pistol and shot undead as they crept behind her friends.

              Cade had been moving forward quickly. He wanted the foreman’s blood so bad he could taste it. Vick was right behind with Dwayne, shooting four of the foreman’s men. This left only one man plus the leader in the group’s way.

              As Vick popped up from behind cover to aim the last man got lucky and fired. The impact took Vick to his knees, and then fell backwards onto his back. Dwayne yelled for help and the others came as quickly as possible to see what the commotion was about.

              Blood was pouring out of Vicks stomach. “God dammit we have to get across now!” yelled Cade. “Hold on man we got you.”

              The women pressed on his wound with Cade’s removed shirt to ease the bleeding. “Dwayne you’re my damn cover, we’re going now.”

              With that he jumped into action and sprinted towards the foreman and his man. The savage had come out again. Dwayne tried to keep up but found it impossible. Cade threw his gun down and slid over the hood of a car landing on the other man. He swiveled and kneeled cutting the man’s Achilles tendons, then behind the knees, finally twist stabbing his stomach.

              Cade looked up in fury, blood covering his body at the foreman, “It’s just you and me. NOW!”