Surviving The Dead: Heartland Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 1 (24 page)

Crystal let out a sigh of relief, “Whew I'm glad it was this simple.  I feel a little silly imagining we had a pack of feral dogs to worry about.”

“Not silly at all Captain.  This cost us nothing, ignoring a danger would cost lives.”, stated Percy.

Bill came in to let them know the lobby and hallways were clear.  They divided into their teams and using the master keys found in the managers office they began to clear the rooms.  For the most part the nine rooms that had dead were occupied by only a single person.  The one exception was an older couple it looked as if the wife had taken a bite to her arm and when she passed she ripped out her husbands throat as he slept. 

In another room there was a middle aged woman in a wedding dress.  From the note she left behind she identified herself as Maria and she was to marry Hector Espinosa.  He had been bit and died on their wedding day.  They had reserved the room in the Lexington for their wedding night.  When Hector died Maria checked into the room and swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills so she could be with Hector.

When all the rooms were clear Bill and his team set to work pulling out the bodies and setting up the hotel as their command center for the final stages of clearing the city.  Crystal took Jason and Percy across the street to the mega store to use it as a base for their salvaage operation.  Apparently before the town fell someone had the thought to setup a care center there.  Temporary fencing had been pulled in from Lexington construction.  It was more meant to control traffic than keep out the dead, but it was something.  A large tent was partially erected, but it was obvious that whatever they had planned was interrupted.

“Captain I see lights in the store”, Jason reported.

“Looks like they are headed to the back lets see if their getting in through the loading dock.”, Bill answered.

Rounding the corner they spied a loaded shopping cart at the freight door.  As they cautiously approached the door two men exited with a second shopping cart.  One Hispanic with a small revolver in his hand, the other was a lanky, freckle faced redhead pushing the cart.

Jason had his weapon drawn as well when he greeted the men, “Hold on there friends wheres the fire.”

“Hey back off this stuff ours, fair and square.”, countered the redheaded man.

The Hispanic man raised his pistol to punctuate the point causing Crystal to step forward and defuse the situation, “Stand down no need for any of that.  We just want to talk.”

Jason holstered his pistol and after a moment the other man pocketed his pistol.  The redhead decided to sneak his hand to the handle of his knife.  Quick as a cobra Crystal swung her baton onto his wrist with an audible thud.

“I said, stand down”, Crystal barked.

The man winced and rubbed his wrist, “Alright Missy no need to get your panties in a bunch.”

“You will call her Captain Innes.  The Captain just cleared this town of the dead, so you show some respect.”, Jason rankled.

The man gaped at the pretty blonde woman, “Well color me impressed.  Captain I owe you an apology.”

The man put out his hand, “Lupton Pittman.  My compadre here is Juan.  He hablas English real good, he just don't have much to say.”

Crystal shook his hand, “Lupton we don't want to take your supplies.  We're just relieved to find survivors.  That's a lot of stuff you got here.  Are there more of you?”

“There were a lot of us, but were down to twenty five uh twenty six now.  There is a little girl real sick we gots to get this medicine back to her.”, Lupton replied.

“I'll radio for a truck we'll take you and your stuff back to your group.  Where are we headed?”, Crystal requested.

Lupton smiled, “That's right nice of you.  We're over at the High School.  There are still some deadheads about around there, Juan and I had to sneak out past them.”

“I'll send a team to clear the way.”, Crystal affirmed.

“Lup leave it to you.  You go out for food and medicine and come back with an angel of mercy.”, joked the handsome man seated in a wheelchair.

Lup grinned widely, “Pastor she ain't just an angel she's the whole Got Damn, pardon my french, cavalry.”

“Crystal Innes.  Pastor?”, said Crystal stepping forward and extending her hand.

The Pastor accepted her hand, “Jim Staddler.  Yes Methodist Pastor, of course membership has dropped off a bit of late.”

“Jim if you don't mind me asking how did you all end up here?”, Crystal asked.

“No secret to it.  This thing took off so fast everything the authorities tried to do was like trying to put out a wildfire by pissing on it.  The hospital got overrun with bite victims real quick.  They decided to use the High School to hold some of the victims and folks coming in from outlying areas.  I came here to see if I could help.  Lup and Juan handled maintenance here at the school.  Sue Anne there was the school nurse.  Other folks here are either volunteers or family members of bite victims.  When we came here nobody knew that if you got bit you died and turned.”, Jim replied.

Jim paused and Crystal waited as the pain of a bad memory washed over him, “We were housed in the gym to begin with.  What supplies we had were pretty haphazardly thrown together.  Most definitely we didn't have weapons.  About half the folks in the gym were bite victims and when they started to turn we … we lost a lot of good people.”

Lup picked up the story, “If it weren't for wheels here none of us would have gotten out.  He lead a group of them dead things away so Juan and me could move those we could to the cafeteria.  We locked a lot of  folks that were bit in the gym.  I still hear the screams every time I get to close to that part of the school.”

Jim made light of his actions by praising others, “We'd of been up the proverbial creek without Lup and Juan.  Any supplies we had were left in the gym.  We gorged ourselves on the perishable food in the cafeteria.  Then tried to ration the canned stuff.  We kept thinking the National Guard, FEMA, somebody was going to come.  Every time we started to run low Lup would grab Juan and somehow sneak out and find what we need.  They had to start traveling farther out and it was getting riskier.  We didn't know it, but little Brittany Rose's mother, Joan, was on anti-depressants.  She must have rationed what she had, but when they ran out she couldn't handle it anymore.  She went into a closet and slit her wrists.  Brittany found her mother, but not until she had turned.  Brittany got bit on the arm and screamed for help.  We didn't know you could kill the dead, we just tied up Joan and tossed her out.”

Once again Lup stepped in, “Folks were scared after what happened in the gym and wanted to toss little Brittany out too.  Sue Anne and the Pastor wouldn't have none of that.  Sue Anne cut off the girls arm.  That was two days ago.  We didn't have any antibiotics and Sue Anne said we needed them to keep infection from setting in.  Then we were heard all this commotion outside, shooting, horns blowing and music blaring.  All of a sudden there was a whole lot less dead about.  You kinda  know the rest.”

Crystal gave the men the condensed version of her story of the past months, “To sum it up Lexington is on the far edge of the area we're focusing on clearing.  You folks are welcome to come back with us it would be safer.”

Jim answered, “I can't speak for everyone, but I would guess after the last couple of months, away from here would be preferred.”

“We have a process.  Our Doc will check everyone out, our council will get to know you better.  I'm not sure how we handle that with a group this size, but we'll figure it out.  You talk to your people and I'll make the arrangements.”, Crystal replied.

Bill, Hazel and a handful of militia that were left at the high school to maintain security and prepare the Lexington survivors for the move.  The rest of the militia involved in the Lexington campaign had come together at the command center setup in the Lexington Hotel.  Most of the militia that weren't on guard duty chose to pick a room to get some sleep.  In a small meeting room off the lobby of the hotel, Crystal sat down with Percy, Amy, Blade and Lup and Juan.

“The streets are clean.  We took out three to four hundred around town.  Mostly, got themselves trapped here and there.  There were some just to crippled up to move very fast.  I'm not saying we won't run into a few, but the town is clear.”, Blade informed them.

“We know there are a couple of hundred trapped in the High School gym and probably a huge number in the hospital.  The hospital is our big prize, figuring a way to clean it out is priority.”, Crystal stated.

Lup was forced to comment,“You folks is nuts.  There are going to hundreds, hell maybe a thousand in that hospital.  There ain't no power you'd be feelin around in the dark”

“Maybe not so dark”, Juan allowed.

“Juan do you know something?”, Crystal asked.

“Si dere is a backup generator.”, Juan stated.

Crystal raised an eyebrow, “You can get it running?”

“Si”, Juan replied confidently.

“I know Juan here is a wealth of information, but what he ain't tellin ya is that generator is down in the sub basement.  You know what else is in the sub basement?  The morgue that's what.”, Lup complained.

“Do not worry my friend I have a plan”, said Juan.

While plans were made to finish securing the town Hazel focused on issues at the high school, “Hey there honey its nice to see you waking up.  My name is Hazel and I'm helping Sue Anne look after you.”

“My arm hurts where mommy bit it.  I'm going to be one of those things aren't I”, Brittany Rose cried.

“No sweetie don't fret about that Sue Anne took care of it real quick and your going to be right as rain in no time.  I have some tea here I'd like you to drink it will make you feel better too.”, Hazel soothed.

Halfway through the cup the little girls eyelids began to droop and shortly she fell back to sleep.

“The tea is a mild sedative and antiseptic, it will work along side the medicine you gave her Sue.  I want to avoid telling her about her arm until she gets a little stronger.  Kids are pretty resilient, but this is a lot to take in.”, Hazel told Sue Anne.

The following morning Jim Staddler was seated next to Crystal in the school bus they were using for transport, “What you writing there Captain, planning your next rescue mission?”

She replied, “Crystal is fine Pastor.  No Its just a journal I try to keep a record of events.”

Jim gave her a wan smile, “I see. You can call me Jim, Crystal.  After what has happened I'm not sure I have the faith anymore to call myself a pastor.”

Crystal patted him on the shoulder, “Jim I hope you can find it again.  People need to believe in something bigger than themselves.  We need people like you to help them see that.”

Once they were close enough for radio contact Crystal raised the compound and explained the situation.  It was decided that they would use the B&B at the nearby small town for the quarantine period.  By the time the caravan pulled up to the B&B most of the council members were there, Joe Gant had assembled a small crew to put up a perimeter of barbed wire and to feed power to the building from a generator.  Alice had came with a full patrol for security and Tobin had setup a small barbeque in the courtyard .

“Bill, Alice seems to have things covered here.  You and Jason take the men and Percy back to the compound, I'll catch up with you later on.”, directed Crystal.

Crystal turned her attention to the Lexington survivors, “Folks bear with us just a little longer and I'll make sure we are set for you.  Jim why don't we get you off and you can let us know if the accommodations are sufficient.”

Jim chuckled, “We've been camped out in a cafeteria for weeks, anything is a step up from that.”

Crystal had Mac and Alice join them and the four entered the B&B.  Tobin came in from the back smiling, pleased to see Crystal again and relieved she was OK.  Crystal silenced him with a glare and an admonishing wave of her finger.