Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates (9 page)

Chapter 20

In the morning, I went over to the garage door and looked carefully in the windows cut by my uncle.  I knew if I didn’t and something happened, I’d hear about it forever.
Sign not big enough for you, Aaron
? Uncle Charlie was not very tolerant of fools or foolish acts.

Not seeing anything, I still drew my pistol, and with my free hand, turned the lock and pulled up the door. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but seeing an entire house turned into a tunnel wasn’t one of them.  As I passed under the garage door, familiar lettering looked down at me. CLOSE AND LOCK THE DOOR AFTER YOU PASS! Right. Guess that worked for both directions.

The house had been gutted and reinforced, keeping the gravel from collapsing the roof. I walked in front of the van after I closed the garage door behind it. We passed a section that was nothing but shelves.  Supplies were scattered around with a small, neatly lettered sign: “Please take what you need, and replace what you can.  If you don’t need something, leave it here for someone else.”  I had a sneaking suspicion Uncle Charlie hadn’t written that particular sign.

On the other side of the house another garage door was waiting.  This one didn’t look as professionally installed as the other one, since it likely wasn’t supposed to be here when the house was first built.  But I wasn’t going to argue the point, and I took the time to seriously look through the openings for any activity.  I didn’t see any, so I cranked the handle, unlocked the door, and hoisted it up.

I was less shocked than I suppose I could have been, remembering what I had seen the night before.  Strewn all around me were dozens of skeletons and corpses working on becoming skeletons.  The carnage spread out over what once was the back yard of the house and up the hill towards the road.  I looked back at the van and saw Jake and Kayla taking in the mess.  I hoped this wasn’t a sign of things to come.

I waited for the van to clear the garage door, and I swung it back down, locking it in place.  No Charlie lecture for me, I figured.  I turned back towards the van just as a zombie came around the corner of the house.  My gun was already holstered, and I acted more on reflex than any thought.

“Damn!” I yelled, ducking under the outstretched arms and leaping away to give myself some room. The zombie turned and lurched after me, one foot grinding on the gravel behind the house.  His skin was dark grey, and his eyes were extremely cloudy.  If this wasn’t an original zombie, it was pretty darn close to one.  His skin was torn and loose, and his hands were mostly claws of bone and skin. His mouth opened, and black teeth peeked through holes in his cheeks and lips.

I flipped out my ‘hawk, and using my longer reach, backhanded the spike end into the side of his head.  There was a crack, and the zombie fell to the ground, his eyes rolling up as if to see the piece of metal jammed in behind them.

I pulled out my tomahawk just in time to see the van door open. “

“You okay, Aaron?” Julia asked.

“Yeah, just surprised me.  Should have been ready, though, given what’s around us,” I said, wiping off my axe.

“Aaron!” Jake yelled suddenly.

I jumped forward, then spun around looking for threats.  Not seeing any, I turned back to the van.  “What the hell?”

“This side, please!” Jake said.

“Close the door, Julia,” I said, putting my ‘hawk back in its sheath and drawing my falchion.  I could use my gun, but since ammo was limited these days, we were just going to use it for emergencies.

I stepped around the van and shook my head.  Three of the corpses that Julia and I had seen the other night had decided to get up again this morning.  If I had to guess, I’d say they had somehow figured out that this gate was a food source, and they were patiently waiting for some idiots to come through to give them a snack.  Like now.

The three of them moved in unison towards the van, shuffling through the scattered bones of their previous victims.  Up on the slope a small zombie twisted and struggled with the gravel, having managed to bury itself up to its waist in the shale.  It was only a matter of time before the little zombie tore its torso away from its legs and crawled away looking for victims.

I moved towards the first zombie, and without so much as a good morning, I cleaved its head in two.  As the zombie fell I kicked it off my sword, knocking it into the legs of the second zombie, which fell as the really dead weight bowled its legs over. I planted a foot on its chest as I stepped  over it and stabbed down with my blade. The point sunk easily into its forehead, killing it quickly.  The third, formerly a teenage girl, twisted her head at me and snapped her jaws.  I took that as an open invitation to play, and sweeping the sword up I took her under the armpit and removed her head along with her arm and neck.  When her parts landed in two places, the one with the head came clawing back, and I drove my point home into the back of her head.

Wiping off the goo of zombie combat, I looked up at the struggling zombie and then at the gravel pile.  I shook my head as I went back to the van.

“Can’t get her without getting stuck, and I don’t want to take a shot and wake up the whole mountain range,” I said as I burned my blade and wiped it off again before replacing it in its sheath.

“I got this one,” Jake said.  He stepped out of the van and reached behind his seat.  Pulling out his bow he nocked an arrow, and with a quick draw he let fly, hitting the zombie square in the head. The child slumped over, her struggles finished.

Jake put the bow back.  “She can keep the arrow,” he said.

“Watch it!” I said, shoving Jake out of the way.  I knelt and swung hard, punching a little boy zombie in the forehead, flipping his feet up from under him, and sending him tumbling backwards.  He scrambled to his feet and launched himself at me, his eyes fixated on his target, arms held out to grab. 

He never got the chance. My falchion sang as I whipped it out of its sheath and sliced a silvery arc through the air.  The meaty crunch of metal hitting flesh and bone gave way to a higher pitched ping as the blade cut through the little body and freed itself. The body of the boy took a step forward purely out of momentum, and landed at the feet of Jake.  The head went the opposite direction and bounced back to the base of the gravel pile.  I walked over to it and saw it watching me as I approached.  The little mouth opened once and then went still as I stabbed deep into his temple. 

Walking back to the van, I caught Jake shaking his head.

“We forgot they always come in pairs or more,” he said, more to himself than me.

“It’s dead.  Forget about it,” I said, wiping and burning my sword.

Jake looked at the mountains ahead of us.  “Got a creepy feeling, brother.  Can’t explain, just creepy.”

I looked at Jake.  “Remember your training, remember what dad taught us. We just crossed the border into enemy territory.  They own this land.  We can get in and get out alive, but we have to do it right.  We survived Chicago, so this can’t be much different.” I looked around.  “Hell, just pretend the mountains are buildings, and we’re practically there.”

“All right then.  Let’s get going.”

Chapter 21

I climbed into the van with a calm I didn’t feel on the inside.  Jake’s feelings were usually spot on, so I wondered what was waiting for us in Enterprise.

We drove on carefully, trying to get as much speed as we could without tearing up the van.  The roads were in decent shape, but there were some washouts that required navigation.  Fortunately, we were well equipped for this sort of thing, having our fathers as guides for preparedness.  On top of the van were two long metal runners that we used as bridges to get past any part of the road that needed some help.  It took a while, but it was safer than bottoming out the van and walking the rest of the way. 

By midmorning we had reached the bottom of what I called a serious mountain and started our ascent.  Mud and gravel had covered the road in places, so Jake’s driving was put to the test.  I wanted Kayla to drive since she was actually better at it than Jake, but he would never admit it.

The views were spectacular, with large mountains looming off to the west, and to our south the land went up at a fifty degree angle.  Pine trees lined the top of the roadbed, and there were more pines on the north side.  Some places were leveled out on the north, but mostly it just dropped off.  Just when I thought I had it figured out, the reverse would happen, and the north side would be the hill and the south side would drop off.  Off in the distance was a tall upthrusting of rock and trees.  Not sure if I’d call it a mountain, but it was a damned impressive hill.

After about an hour of cautious driving, Jake brought the van to a stop beside a small pond.  The water was fed by a tiny stream that came down the mountain and flowed through a pipe to the other side of the road, trickling down a stream to what looked like a creek at the bottom of the valley.

“What’s up? You tired?” Asked Kayla.

Jake shook his head. “I will be when we’ve cleared those rocks.” 

A small landslide had covered the road, and there were two trees that had fallen as well.  The upside was we only had to clear the one side and not both, since we weren’t worried about any other traffic.

“Ugh. All right then,” I said, grabbing a coil of rope.  “I’ll get the trees dragged away if the rest of you wouldn’t mind starting on those rocks?”

Julia and Kayla nodded, grabbing their gloves from a box while Jake slipped his into his back pocket.  He grabbed his bow and quiver, giving me a ‘Just in Case’ look.  I wasn’t going to argue the point.  I didn’t mind indulging Jake’s feelings once in a while, mostly because they turned out to be right.

I looped the base of the pine tree and gave a preliminary tug.  The tree moved slightly, so I wrapped the rope around my waist and started hauling the tree away.  The tree was a pine, so I was careful not to let it roll out of control.  Pine trees will puncture you faster than any other.  The dead branches just have no give in them whatsoever.  I dragged the tree to the side of the road nearest the hill and unhooked myself.  When I pulled the rope off, the tree slipped into the small ditch, snapping branches and making a lot of noise.

I went back to the other tree, which was higher up the rockslide but had fallen over the road.  Using the same process, I wrapped up the trunk and then my waist, and started pulling.  The tree rolled off the rocks and crunched loudly on the roadbed, leaving needles and broken branches all over the place.  The other three workers looked up at me askance, then went back to pushing rocks out of the way. Some of the rocks were pretty big, so I figured I got the better end of the deal.

Dragging the tree away, I had to clear the other tree so I pulled a little further.  Rolling the tree into the ditch, the rope got caught on couple low branches and required some freeing before I could go help with the rocks.

I worked at the branches, and I had just figured out I could simply break the stupid things when I heard a noise behind me.  Looking over my shoulder, I saw five zombies moving their way across the road and over towards me.

“Heads up!” I yelled, trying to warn my family.  I stepped back away from the tree, freeing my knife and tomahawk, and suddenly I got stopped and pulled back.  I had forgotten I was still tied to the tree!

“Dammit!” I fumbled with the rope, alternating with calculating which zombie was going to reach me first and whether or not the damn rope was going to get untangled.  The more I pulled, the more the tree pulled back.  I didn’t want to cut the rope, since it was the only one we had, but it soon was going to the only two ropes we had if I didn’t get free.

The closest zombie was ten feet away and looked nasty.  He had nearly black skin with grey splotches, and it looked like fungus was growing on him.  There was no other way to explain the green fuzz that was coming out of his shirt collar.  I was about to slash the rope and then slash him when he suddenly slumped to the ground.  An arrow, which had suddenly sprouted from his left eye, killed him quite nicely.

A second arrow transfixed the next zombie in line, snapping her head back and killing her instantly.  Field points worked very well on zombie skulls.

No more arrows were needed because Julia and Kayla had arrived.  Julia swung her spear and neatly lopped the head off a smaller zombie, while Kayla jabbed the pointy end of her weapon into the eye of another.  The last one had his legs swept out from under him by Julia, and his head, which had smacked the ground in a nasty sounding way, got punctured most permanently by Kayla. Julia finished off the other head which was trying to bite a nearby rock.

The two checked the surrounding area before coming over to my aid.

“Thanks, ladies,” I said, trying not to look foolish as I renewed my efforts to untie myself.

“No problem.  Why didn’t you just cut the rope, Aaron?” Kayla asked.

“This is the only one we have,” I replied.

“No, it isn’t. There’s two more just like it in the front of the van.”

“You don’t say.” I left it at that.  There was nothing more to be said.

Chapter 22

We all went back to the rock pile, and I patted Jake on the shoulder as a thank you for his archery. After a short while, the rocks had been cleared enough to let the van pass, so we all went over to the water to wash up and clean off ourselves.  Kayla suggested a swim, but when Jake pointed out that the water came from the top of the mountain and was freezing cold, Kayla gave up the notion.

Back in the van, we drove past our handiwork, and we were all silent as we realized where we were and what was at stake.  We weren’t safe here; we couldn’t just wander off into the woods, knowing they had been cleared, re-cleared, and cleared again. There was real danger here, everywhere around here, and probably would be still long after we had gone.

Moving on, the road seemed a little closer as the trees crowded the road, and the grasses grew over the road’s shoulders.  Off in the distance, a lone mountain loomed in front of us, but we never seemed to get closer to it.

Rounding a small bend in the road, we began a descent into a valley.  Huge cliffs threatened the road, and I knew that if one of those cliffs let go, our trip is done.  There was no way we could clear the road, just the four of us.

After the cliffs, the land seemed to level out a bit. Over on our left more bare peaks reached for the sky, while on the right, a series of plateaus dominated the skyline.  Across the way, I could see a small watering hole, and at first I thought there were a bunch of white flowers surrounding the hole.  Then I looked closer and realized the white flowers were actually bones bleaching in the sun.  Someone’s cattle had been slaughtered around that water, likely by a roving band of zombies coming through the mountains from the west.

We reached our bottom and the road leveled out, then began a gradual incline.  Jake moved around most debris and washouts, but every once in a while I had to get out and move something. Each time, all of us would be on the lookout for unfriendly natives.

When the sun was at its highest, Jake called a stop.  There was a side road which led off into the woods, and it looked like there might be a house tucked away back there.  The road had a mailbox standing sentry duty, so something might be there.  If anything, it would get us off the road and into a more secure location, as zombies weren’t much good with brush and trees.

The road went back about a quarter mile from the main highway and brought us to a large metal building.  It was a simple structure, maybe forty feet in length, about twenty wide, with a single large entrance padlocked shut.

Up a slight hill stood a small house, tucked away in the trees like it was hiding from something.  The building looked to be in good shape, and the trees helped protect it from the worst of the elements.  The windows were intact, which was always a good sign, and the door was closed.  Curtains had been drawn in the windows, and the little yard looked like it once had been very tidy.

“Check out the house?” Jake asked, getting out of the van and stretching.  He rubbed his eyes, and I knew how he felt.  Driving was a strain on the senses.  You had to watch the road carefully for anything that might puncture a tire, listen for any odd sounds the vehicle might make, and keep a watch for any zombies that wanted to come and take a bite out of your car.  They did try that every once in a while. 

“Nah, leave it,” I said.  We won’t be long, and besides, this place looks like whoever lived here managed to get out intact.  They might come back one day.”

“What about the barn?” Julia asked.

“Worth a look, doubt we’ll get in,” I said, eyeballing the size of the padlock.

I pulled out some supplies while Julia and Kayla explored the barn. Jake came over and got out some water for drinking.

“Think this is a wild goose chase?” he asked, echoing Julia’s concerns from the night before.

“Someone is doing something that they are willing to kill to cover up.  They hunted us, too, remember?  If nothing else, we have a score to settle,” I said, ending the debate.  Jake nodded like he had forgotten about the little episode at the house.

“Jake! Aaron!” Kayla’s voice cut through our discussion.  I wasn’t worried about zombies, they road was a ways off. “Come here!”

We went around to the back of the barn and saw the girls were waiting by an open door.  Apparently this structure had been left open, and stepping inside, I could see why.  From one end to the other, the place was empty.  A workbench was set up in a corner, but that was it.  Whatever had been in here wasn’t any longer.

“So it’s empty, so what?” I said, shrugging.

“Look in the far corner.” Julia said.

I squinted my eyes and saw that several horse blankets had been laid out in a kind of nest.  Walking over, I saw where someone had bedded down, and by the looks of things, not in the too distant past.

“Aaron, look at this,” Jake said, pointing to the floor. 

On the concrete, scratched with a rusty horseshoe nail, were the same numbers that we found on the dead bodies.

“I’ll be damned,” I said.  One of the people who was running took shelter in this place and left another message in case someone might find it.  I wondered if there were more clues like this in this territory. 

“Looks like we’re still on the trail,” Julia said as we all went out to the van.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” I said.  I was becoming more intrigued than ever by what might be waiting for us at Enterprise. As I ate, I had an odd thought.  What if the shooter was trailing us back, waiting for a chance to finish us off before we could find out the secret to this little mystery? I looked at the surrounding hills with more than a little suspicion.

Back on the road, we continued our journey, the road seeming to stay in the valley between the surrounding peaks. There was a small rock pile we had to navigate around, and at one point two more trees needed to be moved out of the way, but it seemed better than the last time.  We didn’t see any more zombies, so I started to think this land had become safer than previously thought.