Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (43 page)

“Sit
down Lizzy. I mean it. Sit down.”

She
relented, and plopped her ass back on the weathered wood bench.

“My
point is that Briana is keeping them alive and comfy, with Steph and a few
others helping big time, but you are the one fighting. You’re also the one who
found the new place. Pretty much everyone wants to go there too. The reports
about what’s happened in Wyoming weren’t kept quiet. We all know how it’s going
to end.”

“No,
Lizzy, we don’t. Oh, I’m the first to say it sucks, but it’s not over yet.”

“Yeah,
right. Wyoming is fucked. That’s why we’re getting group after group coming to
the castle. That’s why a bunch are coming here – got that from Jenny – instead
of joining their families in running. They want to make sure the raiders don’t
follow.” Her voice cracked. “You’re thinking of doing like the Alamo, aren’t
you? You want to buy time. You would be back already otherwise.”

“While I
have plenty of respect for the men at the Alamo, which is all but required
seeing how I grew up in Texas, I don’t want to be emulating them. No, I fully
plan on making it back. The only reason I’m still here is to get a better idea
of what’s going on. I am finally receiving regular updates from the planes on
what the prophet is doing. He’s still in Rawlins, but if he sends a little
group here, we’ll kill them. If everyone comes, we cause some trouble and then
run away.”

“That
better be the plan, or I fucking swear I’ll hold you down so Briana can beat
you with a rubber hose.”

This was
getting more emotional than I was comfortable with. Lizzy was a dear, dear
friend, but I thought we were more suited to killing things together than
sharing our thoughts and feelings.

“I don’t
know about that…”

The high
pitched, youthful voice approaching from around the corner was immediately
recognizable.

“Mary!
You little brat!” Lizzy was on her feet the instant the petite blonde came into
view. “And don’t you dare turn around and try to run!”

She
didn’t notice Tara and Dale move closer to Mary. Lizzy’s rage was far too
elevated for that.

“Calm
down,” I ordered.

Lizzy
took a step forward, forgetting all about me, but I grabbed her with my good
arm.

“Calm
the fuck down!”

She
pulled away roughly, and I gasped in pain as I was jerked across the bench.

“Let
me…” Her voice dropped. “Sorry Jacob. I didn’t mean to…”

“What
are you doing!” demanded Mary. She was quickly at my side. “Are you fucking
nuts!”

“Both of
you calm down.”

The
screaming started. It was more than I could take.

“Tara!
Dale! Shut both of them up!”

The
twins did as instructed. Mary had no chance against Tara. She was picked up
from behind, dropped to the sidewalk, and straddled.

“Get off
me!”

Lizzy’s
legs buckled when Dale hit her behind the knees. He guided her down, fast, and
flipped her onto her belly. Her pistol was taken, and both hands pinned behind
her back. Now, Lizzy is strong, very strong, but it happened too fast. She
lacked the leverage to get free. Both women were incapacitated.

“I’m
going to fucking…”

“Enough!”
I shouted. “No more of this!”

“What’s
going on?” asked Terrance, appearing from a side street with several others.

“A
family argument between Lizzy and Mary.” My eyes were burning. “They had to be
separated.”

“Okay.”

He
turned around. Smart man. This wasn’t something he wanted to be involved with.

“Both of
you stop it.”

“I
didn’t do anything,” protested Mary.

“I said
both of you, and I mean just that. No more fighting and no more screaming. Do
you understand?”

“Yes,”
replied the fourteen year old, sullenly.

“Lizzy?
You’re not getting up otherwise.”

“Fine.”
Her teeth were clenched, but she seemed sincere.

I
motioned for the twins to let them go. Both scrambled to their feet, and Dale
took a good look at Lizzy’s face before he handed the .45 back to her.

“I am
going to settle this once and for all, and Lizzy, you will tell Briana and
Steph and anyone else who cares that it is over with. Got that?” I didn’t wait
for her acknowledgement. “Mary’s now an adult, as far as our laws and rules go.
She killed three of the raiders in that last fight, by herself. She might look
like a cute little pixie, but she is no longer in the kid club.”

Turning
to Mary, I gave her a stern look. “Because you’re an adult you have to act the
part. No getting into screaming matches. You don’t have to take any crap from
Lizzy or anybody else, not ever, but you will listen to me when I give you an
order. You’re not a mascot or a spotter filling in because there simply isn’t
anyone else. Got that Mary?”

“You’re
one of us,” announced Tara.

Dale
nodded.

That would
put an end to the matter of Mary leaving the forest without permission. There
were no more arguments, no more threats. Lizzy might be torn up and confused
inside – Mary was the baby sister of her longtime, deceased girlfriend after
all – but the way things had been going couldn’t continue any longer.

*
* *

Lizzy
left the following day, picked up by Ronnie. Those of us remaining continued to
make preparations. Most of the ranches were loading trucks and prepositioning
these throughout the state so if they did have to flee suddenly, they could be
retrieved, guaranteeing at least some supplies were on hand. No one was openly
discussing the complete abandonment of Wyoming, but at the same time no one was
so deluded that they thought the situation anything but dire.

It was
during this lull in hostilities that a plane based near Yellowstone did a
flyover of Salt Lake City. It had been a while since anyone risked traveling
there, but with the prophet still in Rawlins, the pilot decided it was likely
safe enough and potentially useful. What he learned proved the man correct.
There was a walled compound encompassing several city blocks and a small park.
We’re not talking metal panels, bricks, or wood like the folk in Martin, South
Dakota had constructed either. No, this was concrete, probably reinforced, a
good twenty feet tall and at least three wide. No zombie was ever going to get
over or through.

Within
were people, lots of them, including many with denim jackets and the
distinctive patches we’d come to know and loath. However, most appeared to be
ordinary families. There was even a large playground that was swarming with
children. Pictures had been taken with a powerful telephoto lens, and these
were being reviewed by the folk in Yellowstone.

That
wasn’t all. A second compound, smaller but still substantial, was discovered in
the mountains. This was also walled, although not as strongly, with the
barricade composed of a simple wood fence. There were several campers and RV’s
inside, being used as living quarters. Also, the nearby fields held a lot of
cattle, and it was supposed this group was tending livestock. I guess the
prophet likes his steak.

The
pilot kept looking, but he didn’t find anything beyond these two. Still, we now
had confirmation that the raiders were indeed traveling with their families,
with these kept far from the battles. The numbers were disheartening as well.
The mountain base had maybe fifty or sixty people, no big deal, but the primary
could have held as many as six thousand. Add that to the three hundred still
hanging around Lander and the thousand or so at Rawlins and we were very, very
outnumbered.

*
* *

“What do
you mean they want me to make the plans?” I couldn’t believe this. “I’m not
even one of you.”

Ernie
frowned. “But you’ll do it, right?”

“That
didn’t answer my question.”

“Jenny
suggested it. They had a big meeting last night, the leadership, and she wanted
you to propose some ideas for the entire state, overall things, not just here.”

“So,
Jenny wants Jacob to be what,” asked Mary, “an idea factory?”

“Apparently.
She said you should be in charge, but the others didn’t want that, not
formally.”

“Okay
Ernie, you’re starting to confuse me. First of all, you said the leadership.
Who is in charge exactly?”

He
shuffled his feet. “Nobody.”

“How can
nobody be in charge?” exclaimed Mary. “That doesn’t make sense, and you know it
doesn’t, not if you just said there was a meeting of the people in charge.”

With the
exception of a handful keeping watch, the entirety of Casper’s population was
present, and there was a surprising degree of silence. I got the distinct
impression that this had been discussed before they came to me.

“All of
the police officers who had been handling security are dead,” explained Ernie.
“They were either at Rawlins and didn’t make it out, or they got killed
somewhere else.”

That
meant Jenny’s brother was gone. Damn.

“Most of
the ranchers who kept everything organized went the same way. They were some of
the first to volunteer to join the defense force.”

“Then
who’s this leadership who just met?” I asked.

“They’re
the ranch owners who are left over,” replied Ernie, “a few who were too old to
go or sick or whatever, along with some bookkeepers and businessmen who are
good at organizing and managing.”

“I bet
none of them wants to be in charge either,” muttered Mary.

I think
she was hitting on a key factor. The Ranching Collective’s world was crumbling
fast, and no one knew what to do. There were good, intelligent people left, and
given time they could undoubtedly get things up and running again, but morale
was in the toilet and despair omni-present.

“Please,
Jacob.” Ernie was pleading. “Can’t you help? We know we can trust you. You got
our families out and kept them safe. We’ve talked to them too, when getting
supplies over to Nebraska. They said you and your wife know what you’re doing.
You’re also the only one who’s beaten them.”

I still
maintain that the battle in question was essentially a draw that had the few
remaining raiders run away with my entire group, save five, dead. As to being
the only one, the man who led the ranchers outside Jeffrey City, the group that
made brilliant use of spike strips, had died following a stroke. He’d been
sixty seven.

“I’ll
suggest a course of action,” I began, slowly. The people watching relaxed. “But
if you accept this, if you join up with us, you will be following my rules here
and our laws at the settlement. I’m sure the stories of what Briana did to that
piece of shit wannabe rapist have made the rounds.” I knew this for a fact.

“Hell,
Jacob, no one gives a damn about feeding trash like that to the dead heads.”
There were several nods. “We’ve hung several men for the same thing over the
past year.”

“I’ve
been thinking about the situation.”

Mary
snorted.

“As has
every other person here. We don’t know what will happen or how it’ll turn out,
but we should assume the worst and hope for the best. That’s always a good
policy to take.”

Most of
these words were to buy time as I considered what to say. It was true that I’d
been thinking about this – there was no way not to – and I knew I had to come
up with something immediately. People were stressing, and many had already
broken. I just never expected them to turn to me, and certainly not so suddenly.
What had I done to deserve this?

“Part
one is for a large group to head north.” I grabbed a map and unfolded it. I had
been going over these near constantly but didn’t feel confident that I could
remember the roads and towns off the top of my head. “They head toward Buffalo,
going all the way into Montana, then west and back south to Yellowstone. Now,
the reason for this is that there are lots of people still at the ranches who
have family and friends there. It’s best not to be separating people, and we
know Yellowstone can hold a whole lot more and keep them hidden. You can use
planes to move anyone who is sick, but most will have to go by ground. The key
is to go way out of the way to avoid the raiders. The planes will need to scout
the roads in advance too. You don’t want to be running into a horde of zombies
or getting stuck because the road is blocked.”

“As much
as I’d like to say send everyone to the castle in Nebraska, the truth is that I
don’t know how many more we can handle. We’ll take everyone if we have to, but
it will be much easier if we can spread the burden. Yellowstone National Park
is the only other choice. They have winter cabins already built and plenty of
food, not to mention all the bison and elk they can shoot and eat. It’s late
summer already. We don’t have much more time before everything is snowed in, so
that’s important.”

“We’d
talked about that already,” said Terrance.