Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (28 page)

Chapter IX

We
returned to the forest on June 30 to discover a scene of frightful chaos.
Things had been bad when we left, but that was primarily related to the need to
complete the cabins, efforts at making people comfortable, and taking care of
the sick and injured. Those problems still existed, although to a lesser
degree, but the improvements were more than overshadowed by news of Salt Lake
City’s destruction. Additional details on the Utah Plague only added fuel to
the fire.

“Jacob!”
Briana hurried up to me. “I’m so glad you’re back. But first, say hello to
Asher.”

“Hello
Asher.” I gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, and he began to cry.

“He’s
been fussy,” she explained, “and he has diaper rash, again. I think I’m going
to switch to cloth diapers. Yvonne said that will probably make it go away, and
it’s only a little bit more trouble.”

That was
an understatement, but it wouldn’t be much longer before all parents were stuck
using cloth. I should probably stock up on safety pins.

“He does
look a little frustrated.” Asher’s face was all scrunched up. “So, how is
everything?” I looked around. “I take it something’s going on.”

Briana
had met us outside, near the animal pens furthest from the castle, and it seems
that following our radio call letting her know we were almost home, the
residents likewise decided to greet us. By this, I mean all of them. For real,
there were several hundred in the meadow with guards stationed to the sides and
children kept close by. That was good. I hated to think they’d slack off just
because I wasn’t there to yell at everyone.

“Things
here are fine,” she began.

“Salt
Lake City is gone!” The shout came from somewhere in the back.

“Hey!”
exclaimed Briana. “Let me do the talking, or else we’ll go inside and you won’t
get to hear what Jacob found until tomorrow.”

That
seemed to work, and everyone began to quiet down.

“Quick
rundown Jacob. Salt Lake City’s disease turned out to be worse than they let
on. Lots died, but that seems to be over. The raiders also killed a bunch of
people and drove the rest out. Once a few started to leave, it cascaded. The
city belongs to them now. Some went to Wyoming, and the ranches have them, but
most seemed to go off in other directions. Because the raiders are probably
sick too, we think we have time before they move again, maybe a month based on
how long the Utah folk were sick.”

“Okay.”

That was
all I could think to say. This was a lot to take in, but I’d wait and get the
details from Briana in private.

“We are
concerned about what the prophet is going to do next.”

“He’ll
attack Wyoming,” I replied, simply and without delay.

That
brought a lot of murmurs.

“We
already know this. He said he was coming, and he obviously wants to kill
everyone on the planet.” I let my gaze float across the nearest faces. “We’ll
be last on his list, being where we are physically. Then again, once he finds
out what we did to his people last fall, he might swing our way as soon as he’s
in position to do so. The asshole is going to want revenge.”

That
didn’t go over well either.

“And did
you find anything good?” asked Briana, loudly. Her green eyes told me that she
very much wanted to hear a yes.

“We did.
A very isolated, easily defended spot. I’ll give more information on that
tomorrow. No complaints either. I need to go over this with a few others. If
someone would be so kind as to find Marcus…”

“Over
here,” he called, from the side.

“Good.
Why don’t you join us? Laura, you too. We’re going to have a nice picnic dinner
out here with no one bothering us. Everyone else will get the details on what
we are going to do in the morning, after breakfast, but don’t worry. I have a
plan.”

I heard
Mary quietly laughing behind me, something about Jacob making plans.

*
* *

We were
reclining on lawn chairs, the cheap folding kind, eating stew and roast venison
that Steph had so kindly brought us, while I laid out my intentions. Several individuals
attempted to stroll by, hoping to hear something of our conversation, but
between Lizzy’s threats and the twins standing watch with M-16’s cradled in
their arms, this proved to be a fleeting problem.

“The
Black Hills?” asked Laura. “That’s where you’ve been for two weeks?”

“It’s
pretty there,” declared Mary.

“I’m
sure it is. I’ve never been myself.”

“I
have,” said Marcus. “It’s very rugged. This valley you found, how far from the
roads is it?”

“To
reach it you have to go through another, smaller one. That valley can be
reached by a short gravel road that’s just off one of the paved ones,” I
replied. “You can get any car or truck to within two miles of the entrance of
our valley, but getting up the slope and inside is going to take four wheel drive.
Then it’s three miles to where we want to build the citadel and town. That
stretch is mostly flat.”

“Five
miles to drag our gear.” He was shaking his head.

“Pay
attention,” snapped Lizzy. “We can use the big pickups and Jeeps and anything
else made for off road driving to move stuff from the road to wherever. Yeah,
it’s shuttling things around, but that’s not too bad. Only problem will be
getting the animals up. Those’ll have to be led one by one.”

“It will
be slower than we like, but it’s not going to be too hard,” I added. “We can
haul everything with the tractor trailer and other big trucks in just a few
trips and sort it out later. Even if we need lots of trips, it’s not that far
away.”

“We are
definitely building there then?” asked Laura. “No checking other places?”

“We’re
going there,” answered Briana, firmly. She lifted the towel she’d taken to
carrying around with her and positioned it to provide some concealment while
she unbuttoned her blouse to feed Asher. The little guy was constantly hungry.
“No sneaking peeks. That means you too Lizzy.”

“Hey,”
declared the stout woman. “You know I have no interest in you, so don’t be
getting all righteous with me.”

“That’s
because Briana is way out of your league,” chirped Mary.

“And
normal,” intoned Marcus.

“What
the fuck do you mean normal!”

“Just
making sure you haven’t had any dramatic personality changes since I last saw
you. No worries though. You’re the same sweet woman.”

Mary was
always quick with a laugh or giggles. Today was no different.

“There
will be no discussions about my lifestyle,” continued Lizzy, angrily.

“Or
dietary habits,” I said. “Now, sit back down. You’ll be going up there again
tomorrow with Marcus.”

“What!”

“That’s
right Lizzy. I’m putting you in charge of the place, temporarily, until Briana
and I get there.”

“Everyone’s
moving?” asked Laura. “It won’t be some here and some there?”

“Correct
on that point too. We are running, and we aren’t coming back.”

“What if
someone wants to stay?” questioned Briana. “It might happen. There’s bound to
be at least one. There’s always the one, maybe a bunch in this case since so
many have families out on the ranches.”

“Then
they get the castle and a few basic supplies,” I said. “The majority is sure to
go, and anyone who stays may not be able to join us later.”

“We
aren’t telling anybody where we’re going,” explained Mary. “Only you all get to
know, and if you let it slip, I’ll tell Lizzy that you were making fun of her
shoes. Then she’ll kill you, solving the problem.” There was a particularly
smug grin on her face.

“I am
not a shoe junkie!”

“Lizzy,”
I cautioned, “you really need to calm down.”

“I do
not need to calm down! And I don’t have to put up with this!”

“Lizzy!”
Briana was starting to get angry as well. “If Asher gets scared and starts
crying, it’ll be because of your yelling.”

That did
the trick. Her face was still puffy, and the eyes smoldered, but Lizzy leaned
back in her chair, both arms crossed in front of her ample chest. If I ever
come across an anger management specialist, she’ll be enrolled in therapy
sessions whether she agrees or not. I had no idea what was going on, but Lizzy
had been on a roll lately, far worse than normal.

“I don’t
want to be in charge Jacob. That doesn’t work, and you know it.”

“Fine.
Laura can do it.”

“Why
me?”

So many
questions today.

“It has
to be someone I trust, meaning one us here.” I waved an arm, gesturing. “Well,
I trust Steph too, but she wouldn’t do, not with all the work for her here.
Marcus is going to be hauling materials back and forth so he’s out. Briana
shouldn’t be traveling just yet, especially with nowhere decent to stay. I’ll
be running around too much to do it. Mary’s too little.”

“Am
not!”

I ignored
her. “Tara and Dale are not suited for the work and would refuse anyway.”

They
nodded at this. Neither liked being responsible for others. It was one thing to
watch someone’s back in the woods or during a fight, but being in charge and
having to take care of a large group was too much for either to handle. Plus,
their organizational and managerial skills were all but non-existent.

“I don’t
know if I can get stuff ready that quick,” cautioned Marcus.

“Not a
problem. We’ll be loading the semi tonight. You drive it up. Lizzy takes her
Jeep. A bunch are going to go with you too. You unload, and the two of you come
back. No one else. They’ll stay with Laura and get to work.”

“What
gear do we need for the first run?” asked Briana.

“Weapons,”
offered Tara.

“Definitely
weapons, but you won’t need an arsenal. No one is up there, and the zombies are
light on the back roads. Oh, make sure you go around Custer. It has a bunch,
and they might try to follow if you drive through. Just make certain everyone
has a pistol and either a shotgun or rifle, preferably the hunting sort. Maybe
a handful of the big guns for whomever is on watch duty. That should be more
than enough.”

“It
should be,” agreed Lizzy. “We have to load up a lot of food. I say just take a
couple of the U-Hauls that are holding our extras. We can stick it in the caves
there, so it’s out of the way and protected from the rain. I’ll show you those
when we arrive. No way could we get the U-Hauls up that hill. We’ll have to
stick them miles off at some point, maybe in Custer or at Crazy Horse, so we
have them if they’re needed but they don’t give away our position.”

“Building
supplies too,” I said. “Tents for temporary housing and plenty of cement bags,
rebar, cinderblocks, all the left over stuff we have. You need to wall off the
entrance to the valley first thing. That is first.”

“We’re
building a sixteen foot wall, eight feet thick,” laughed Mary. “You’re going to
be tired. And don’t forget the battlements on top.”

“Eight
feet of concrete?” asked Laura. “There’s nowhere near that much here.”

“No, we
fill the inside with dirt and rubble. It’ll be like the castle. We can use what
cinderblocks we have to work up a foundation. Remember to dig deep for that.
You don’t want the wall falling over. Stones cemented together can form two
outer walls. Then you just fill in the middle.”

“I have
no idea how to do that,” said Marcus.

“Me
either,” added Laura.

“We’ll
find someone to go with you. Plenty of the new people have worked in construction
full time or did it at some point in their lives,” remarked Briana.

“True
enough.” Marcus shrugged. “Okay, so weapons, food, stuff we need to live for
the short term, and things to build a wall. I’ll likely still have room in the
rig.”

“How
about some logs or saws,” suggested Lizzy. “You can start on cabins for our
town spot once the wall is finished, or do both at the same time if there are
enough people.”

“That
would be nice,” said Laura. “We almost have the cabins here finished, and
there’s extra lumber. We can pack it up instead of using it as firewood.”

“Works
for me.” I hadn’t even glanced at the palisade since coming back. It was good
that they’d just about completed everything. It would help with the crowding,
until we got around to moving everyone. Then the entire process would have to
be repeated.

*
* *

The
following morning I announced, more formally, that we had found a well
situated, isolated, and easily defensible site. It would hold all of us, as
well as anyone else from the Wyoming ranches who chose to join in or was
eventually forced to flee. The actual placement would not be revealed at this
time. Lizzy, Marcus, and Laura would be leaving in a few hours. After getting
everyone situated, Marcus and Lizzy would return and take another batch of
people and supplies up there. Laura would remain at the new place, and she was
in charge until the transfer was completed.