DEAD: Confrontation (36 page)

The closer they came to done, it seemed the more conversation turned to making a run on Jonesboro. Jody and Danny tried to stay out of the conversation as much as possible, but Selina seemed to hold no such reservations. In fact, Jody noticed that she eventually took over the planning of what would be the next big operation involving the people of Cash, Arkansas.

Oddly enough—or maybe not considering—there was one person who remained silent during the
entire process except when the call came for volunteers. When it was suggested that two teams go in separately, Remar Jenks insisted that he lead one. Because it could not be disputed that he was one of the best with a composite bow, there was little that anybody could say.

Still, Jody wasn’t too worried. The consensus was that they would build wagons. They would need to be light enough for people to haul, but sturdy enough to take a load big enough worth making the trip. That would take time. For now, he just wanted to sit back and catch his breath. It looked like they would survive the winter using the supplies at hand
with a little bit of rationing, and farms would be in full swing come the spring.

Sitting on his perch in the lookout tower, he smiled as the sun began to set, painting the sky
in a myriad of reds and purples. The sounds of people calling to each other as they passed on the street gave things a sense of normal. He knew it would not last forever, but he was content enough to let it last for now.

***

“At least three days,” Major Beers hissed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Not that her speaking voice would be that much louder
, she mused bitterly. The last of the water in their canteens had been gone since early this morning. If they would have known that they would be stuck for this long, she would have been much more sparing early on.

The memory of pouring a handful of the precious liquid so she could wash her face was infuriating. She glanced at the woman who looked to be sleeping just a few feet away.
That only made her angrier.

Suzi had led her up here and insisted that they could travel across a conveyer that spanned between two buildings. From there, they would
simply have to make their way down and they could take off into the forested hills that bordered the backside of this defunct power plant. What she had failed to mention was the huge fenced lot they would need to cross in order to make that a possibility.

They had gone out to the conveyer and Major Beer
s was shocked. She had expected the undead to diffuse, but there were just so many. And now there were hundreds if not thousands of them wandering down below. Even worse, they were not drawn to the fences and so seemed content to just wander around like the mindless sacks of rotten meat that they are.

The first night had been aggravating; the second seemed worse because a terrible wind had whipped up and these buil
dings had too many openings which allowed for a draft that carried a stench so overwhelming that both women had been sick. Of course they had each rinsed their mouths out with the precious water.

Light was coming through every crack and opening now. As had been the case the past couple of days, when Major Beers looked outside, the undead remained. The horde had moved on, but there had been so many, that the ones who remained still constituted a larger group than any she had encountered.

She moved out further onto the conveyer and tried to get a better look in hopes that the situation had improved. She wasn’t surprised to discover that it had not. This meant that she might finally have met her end. The undead were everywhere, and while you could move past a few, in concentrations such as this, there was little chance that you would make it.

She was already feeling the effects of no food and very little water. She knew ver
y well that, while starvation was a good ways away, it was the lack of water that would bring her demise. And even worse, they could not get to any of the snow. She would willingly drink dirty water in sips for a few days. And, of all times, the sun took now to come out and shine.

Her hand touched the hilt of the blade at her side. If it was to end, she would have it on her terms.

“Go ahead,” a voice said from behind her.

Major Beers looked over her shoulder to see Suzi standing at the ledge beside where the conveyer ran from the building they were trapped in.

“Go ahead and what?” the major growled. She went to throw her leg over and turn around to come back.

“Ah-ah,” Suzi cautioned.

The major’s head whipped back around. The woman, Suzi McFarlane stared back at her with absolutely no emotion. However, she did hold a long steel rod in her hands.

“And what do you hope to accomplish?” Major Beers cha
llenged. “The way is blocked, two people have little chance of making it. One…well, one will find it impossible.”

“The way I showed
you
is blocked,” Suzi said, the first hint of a smile curving her lips.

“So what…did I kill one of your friends? A man?” The m
ajor gave Suzi a hard glare. “A woman?”

“Nothing quite so grand,” Suzi laughed. “I read that line in a book once…always wished I would have the chance to say it. Anyways, it really only comes down to the fact that you taught me well in our short time together.”

“Is that right?”

“You taught me that it was all about ensuring my survival first and foremost…let the others worry about what happens next.”

“Then you should have paid closer attention,” the major said as she whipped up her pistol and pulled the trigger.

Nothing.

“I paid closer attention than you realized,” Suzi said, the smile on her face gone.

She held up one hand with a single bullet pinched between her finger and thumb. With a flick of the wrist, she cast the bu
llet away. The major watched as the tiny thing caught a bit of the sun and sparkled as it plummeted to earth, disappearing under the feet of the sea of undead who still wandered aimlessly below, unaware of the drama playing out above their heads.

“So go your way,” the major said with
a shrug. She tried her best to appear indifferent, but deep down, a fear was starting to grow.

“It isn’t that easy,” Suzi said after a moment of silence that was only punctuated by the cries and moans
of the living dead.

“Why not?”

“Because, you are right when you say that you can’t get through these things. But…if you have a bit of a distraction…” She let that phrase hang in the air.

Major Beers took a deep breath and considered her options. If she did try to turn around and come back, she would be at a disadvantage. That left only one alternative. She would have to cross the conveyer. Of course the other building was a problem. There was no way inside that she knew of which was why they had stayed put for the past three days. Still, she could think of something once she got across. This Suzi McFarlane did not r
ealize who she was dealing with.

Gripping the edge of the conveyer firmly, the major began to shimmy across. She scooted a few feet before looking over her shoulder. What she saw made her heart leap to her chest.

“Don’t,” was all she could say.

“Kill you?” Suzi laughed. The major didn’t like the sound of it at all.

Suzi was wearing a harness and stepping out onto the conveyer. Less than ten feet separated them. If she tried to get up, she would be knocked off. If she tried to crawl, she would not make it.

Swallowing hard, the major lunged forward and tried to put more distance between them. She knew it was futile, but made one more thrust as something solid connected hard with her side. She heard
a snap in her arm and cried out. Another blow came, this one to the back of the head. The world began to swim and go dark.

“You will have to beat me to death,” the major managed through teeth clenched against the pain.

“No I won’t.”

Something slammed into the back of Major Beers’ head, and the world went dark.

When she opened her eyes, she was hanging from the conveyer belt by a long piece of rope, spinning slowly in the open air. Below her, the undead writhed, a sea of hands reaching up for her in vain—their fingertips missing by just a few feet.

As she spun slowly, she thought she saw something moving down the side of one of the distant buildings.
Now she knew why Suzi had laughed. She was much more useful at keeping the zombies interest while alive. Simply tossing her to the crowd would have bought no time at all.

Looking down, she could see that the undead were smashed in tight. If they had the ability to climb, they would be at her in no time. Then she noticed something. At first, she thought that she was imagining it. After a while, she knew
that she was not. As some of the dead were jostled and managed to fall—as unlikely as it seemed in such a tightly packed crowd—the others were stepping on to the bodies.

Looking skyward, the major saw a distant bank of clouds moving in. She would have to fight the urge to open her mouth if they brought rain. While dying of thirst seemed like a terrible way to go, Major Wanda Beers knew that there were worse…much worse.

17

The Geek Crowns a Princess

It took over three weeks for Kevin to get comfortable with using the prosthetic. It didn’t fit all that well and hurt like crazy the first few days. He grumbled and complained, but he knew that there truly was no other choice.

When Aleah returned, they spoke at length about what had transpired in the past several days. Together, with Heather, they came to the conclusion that, while certain
ly with its share of downside, Kevin’s plan for Valarie was the best they could hope for in these times.

Of course Kevin continued to struggle with it. He could not help but feel as if history were in some way repeating itself. He could
divorce himself from those emotions, but he also realized that the world he now lived in was a much harsher, unforgiving place. Survival truly rested on a person’s ability to be able to care for themself, even if they were with a larger group. In fact, if a single person became a threat to the larger whole, it had to be dealt with in a way that the old and supposedly civilized society would certainly frown upon.

Kevi
n had plenty of time to himself to think while Heather and Aleah left to forage for supplies. After a discussion with Colonel Shipley where Kevin had convinced the woman that he would tend to Valarie and her situation if she could just give him time to get on his feet…literally, the colonel made it clear that she was granting no more than what amounted to a stay of execution. She would give Kevin one month. If he had not made the arrangements by then, she would take the matter into her own hands. Kevin was also informed that they were not exactly welcome. It seemed that there had been some issues in the field involving Aleah and a certain Sergeant Seiber.

As he was able to get around more, he sought Erin. He had expected to find her with Heather, but after several days, he asked.

“She joined some program that the soldiers have for new recruits,” Heather said.

“So is she staying here or going with us?” Kevin had asked.

“She said that she is done running. She says that these people are not trying to travel across the country for something that they can find right here.”

Then there were the
other stories from Heather. She had finally come to him and told him that, while they were good enough to help and do the grunt work, there was still an obvious division between the soldiers and everybody else. Kevin didn’t have that much problem with the notion that the soldiers set themselves apart. However, he also knew that divisions of any sort could fester over time and that would never end well.

As he began to walk around the camp, he saw for himself what the girls had been telling him. The women of this all-female outfit had erected a sort of mental wall between the
mselves and “the others” of the camp.

When the day finally came, he sat down with Aleah and Heather in the RV that they shared with four others. He purpos
efully waited for the RV to be empty because, while he did not believe that there would be any actual problems with their leaving, he still possessed a streak of paranoia. He saw no reason for anybody to be aware of where they were headed or what their eventual plans might be.

They looked at a map that Heather kept and laid the course that would take them to their eventual destination:
Mitchell, South Dakota. More precisely, just outside of Mitchell, but that was their target.

“We can move parallel to the major interstates,” Kevin e
xplained. “This will allow us to forage for supplies on the move. Now, I would have thought that we would need to completely steer clear of any large cities, but the zombies have migrated to the point where I believe we may actually be able to get closer and that should give us a better selection.

“
We can follow Interstates 70, 74, 80, 29, and 90. And I will say that, while we are setting out with a destination in mind, I will keep an open mind if we come across something better.” Kevin followed the route with his finger as he spoke. “One thing I will want us to try and locate, and this might be trouble, but we are going to need protective clothing…Hazmat suits would be great. Some of these cities like Indianapolis are going to be seething with disease from the decaying bodies, rotten…well…everything.”

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Aleah asked.

Kevin knew she was not talking about the trip. She was looking away which he noticed was the norm anytime that they discussed Valarie.

“We are doing what needs to be done,” Kevin insisted. “We are doing all we can, and then we can just hope for the best.”

“I’m not worried about her,” Aleah snapped, her head came up and the tears in her eyes brimmed over. “I am worried about what this will do to you.” Kevin stared at her with obvious confusion. “I know how badly you wanted to save this girl…and I know why. But that is not your sister, Kevin.”

“I know that. I’m very aware—”

“No,” Heather interrupted. “You aren’t. You damn near killed yourself trying to help her. You went against all of your own rules. You risked everything to try and save her. Nobody is saying that you shouldn’t have tried to help, but where do you draw the line? How much more would you let that one person cost you…us?”

“And what should I have done?” Kevin asked.

“She had her life,” Heather said after looking at Aleah. She knew that Aleah wanted to say all of this, but would not because she loved Kevin so much and it was harder for her to express. Heather loved Kevin, too; but in an entirely different way. And he needed to hear this now or he might change his mind when it came down to actually executing the plan that he had laid out for her just a few weeks ago.

“When you and Shari found that girl, she was doing okay. And she had been out of her medication then, right?” Heather asked, but did not wait for an answer. “You took her away from that. You took her from the one place she was comfortable and tried to treat her like nothing was wrong. The truth is, there is something wrong with her. Valarie is not like you or me.”

“Watch what you say,” Kevin bristled.

“Oh stop it,” Heather snapped. “You know damn well what I am saying. You
cannot look me in the eye and say she is normal or fine. That doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with her as far as her being less of a person, but she has needs that you can’t meet. And if you kept trying, you would kill all of us…and probably her as well.”

“So when do we go?” Aleah asked.

“The weather is starting to turn,” Kevin said. “The snow has started to melt. I say we go as soon as we can see the roofs of the houses to our southeast.”

With that decision made, Kevin went to the colonel and told her that they would be going soon provided the weather held. The colonel seemed simultaneously relieved and reluctant.

“Are you sure that
you
won’t consider staying? I’ve talked at length with the young Bergman girl. She makes it sound as if you are a bit of a genius.”

Kevin did not miss the emphasis on the word “you” when she asked him about staying. That was reason enough for him to be leaving. He had heard enough from Heather, and he also had not missed the looks that passed between Aleah and one soldier in particular that he could only assume to be Sergeant Seiber.

If he stayed, then perhaps things could improve for Heather and Aleah, but he just did not like the idea of staying someplace that already had some sort of ‘class’ system set up. In fact, it helped him to realize something that he would need to be vigilant about from this point forward. Had he made those who joined late feel like they were at the bottom of some sort of hierarchal totem pole?

“I think we will stick to my original plan,” Kevin said.

As he turned to leave, the colonel called after him. “Be careful out there, Mr. Dreon. And as much as you might try…you can’t save everybody.”

***

“I am certain of it,” Heather insisted.

Kevin looked back. They were on
an unidentifiable stretch of road, but Kevin recognized a few of the landmarks. They had stayed clear of anything resembling a populated area; he still did not like the idea of just waltzing into a town of any size. Besides, while the prosthetic foot worked well enough, it would not do well to have to undergo prolonged running. His ability to maneuver was hampered.

The journey had been an arduous one. Valarie had shown less life than the zombies. When they made camp for the night, she would sit wherever somebody placed her and not move until morning. She fell asleep sitting up and didn’t even topple over during the night.

At last their destination was in sight. Part of a wooden sign remained that welcomed visitors to Sage Farms. For the past twenty minutes, Valarie seemed to be coming out of her trance. When the sign loomed ahead, it was as if somebody threw a switch.

“Kevin!” she said in a reverent whisper. “You brought me back to my kingdom.”

Heather and Aleah looked at him with eyebrows raised in question. He smiled and reached into the pouch at his side, producing a blue sash that read “Princess of Sage Farm” in gold letters.

“You found her here?” Aleah gasped. Of course they had all heard the story of Valarie’s discovery, but the fact of where they were did not dawn on her or Heather until that moment.

The place was still much like they found it. Of course, some of what had been stored here had been relocated to the camp when Kevin and Shari had brought the full truck of goods and supplies, but there was still so much that had been left behind. As always, Kevin had been anticipating the possibility that they might need to have their eggs in more than one basket.

“We will need to walk through this place and make sure that it hasn’t attracted any of the wrong sorts of attention…zombie or otherwise,” Kevin said.

Valarie had already donned her sash and wandered off to inspect her kingdom. She was ducking in and out of the barns and sheds while Kevin, Aleah, and Heather took a tour of the one street that ran down what passed for downtown and inspected the few shops.

“No looters,” Heather observed as they stepped out of the broken front window to the town’s only grocery store where Kevin had already done his part those months ago as far as clea
ring out any zombies.

“I just hate that we took so much of her stuff,” Kevin sighed.

They headed back to the enormous farm and came to a halt. What they saw was equal parts horrific and fascinating. Valarie had apparently drawn out a zombie. The creature was in terrible shape and looked to have gotten caught up in the barbed wire during its attempt to reach the girl. However, she had already wrestled or thrown it to the ground and was busy removing its legs from the knee on down with an axe that looked big enough to give Paul Bunyan some trouble. Yet she swung it cleanly and efficiently.

When she was finished, Valarie walked away, but they could hear her talking and moved closer to listen.

“…some new clothes. You can’t be around company dressed that way, little missy.”

“Is she scolding the zombie?” Heather whispered.

“I say we stay out of sight and just watch her for a day or two,” Kevin said as he nodded to Heather. “She had things going just fine before I came and
saved
her.”

Heather and Aleah noticed the dripping sarcasm in his voice as he spoke, but neither acknowledged it. They had spoken on many occasions in the past few days about what they felt would be the best way to deal with Kevin and his issues of guilt in r
egards to his sister, and now Valarie. The conclusion they came to was to ignore it and hope that it died.

The rest of the day, they took up hiding in the loft of a barn and watching Valarie. She seemed to have already forgotten them.
Occasionally she would stop and look around. During those moments, her face would go slack and she seemed to almost melt to the ground.

The first time it happened, Kevin wanted desperately to run to her, but she did not look to be in any danger or distress. In fact, it almost reminded him of a zombie after the killing blow was struck; she simply disconnected.

By nightfall she had cut the legs off of three more zombies and started clearing out an area that looked like the beginnings of a garden. However, twice, Kevin was almost certain that he caught a glimpse of something moving in the shadows. It was never in the same place, and each time he tried to focus in on where he believed that he’d seen something, there was nothing there.

That night, Valarie returned to her home. Kevin, Aleah, and Heather watched as light flickered inside and gave off a soft glow from an upstairs window. A few times, the light would fade and then reappear in another part of the house as, presum
ably, Valarie moved around. At no time did they hear any shrieks or screams.

Morning broke with a vengeance as a storm rolled in brin
ging a torrential downpour. Valarie stayed inside her home and out of sight, but late that day, as the clouds broke and the sun made an appearance, she came out and went right to work on her garden.

Kevin was embarrassed at his degree of amazement as he watched her return a few times to the Sage Farm in order to gather boxes and crates. He and the two girls followed
her as she went about the remainder of her day.