Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Conflict (47 page)

The five
of us were sitting at a picnic table in the meadow. Mary was watching Asher,
and the twins were keeping the curious back.

“How
many more will there be?” she continued.

I
shrugged. “No idea. Alan Myers said he’s coming with us, Jenny too. We’ll see
when they arrive. But, yeah, we do need to have all the tents and food readily
accessible.”

“That’s
easy enough.” Marcus pulled off one of his Doc Martens and began to massage his
foot. “One thing you need to do, after we get to the Black Hills, is to make
Laura sit down. The people working there need a break, especially those who’ve
been there from the start.”

“A big
one,” confirmed Lizzy. “They’re about to fall over from exhaustion. We should
just let everyone relax for a day or two when we arrive, after everything is
unloaded maybe. It needs to be soon.”

“Shouldn’t
be hard to arrange,” said Briana. “Most of the work is done?”

“The
wall is finished,” replied Marcus. “It looks good, very solid. The storage cave
is done. That’s pretty nice, and they even put in real lights, bolted to the
ceiling. There’s a small generator to power them. It’s turned off most of the
time, but starting it only takes a minute.”

“Cabins
are going up fast too,” continued Lizzy. “We’ll have enough for everyone before
it starts getting cold, but a bunch will be in tents in the meantime. Laura’s
biggest problem is wood, not boards or planks – we’ve torn down some buildings
for those. Actual logs are what she needs.”

“They’ve
been using the wood from buildings to put shelves in all the cabins, and for
anything that requires two by fours and so on,” explained Marcus. “We’ll be
able to get wood floors in some of them too, but that’s low priority and only
families with babies are guaranteed to have them this year.”

Lizzy
slapped Briana on the back. “You qualify. There’s an entire road that’ll have
all the cabins with floors, so Asher’s future friends will be right there. Some
of the guys are building playgrounds too. They took a lot of slides and swings
and shit from those we’ve come across, along with even more stuff from a Home
Depot. The kids will love it, the adults too.”

“It’s
starting to sound just like a real town,” exclaimed Briana. “Wonderful. We need
that, all of us.”

“Marcus,”
I interrupted, “let’s get started on dismantling our palisade and the cabins we
built here. We’ll load the best logs on trailers and take it with us, if
there’s enough room.”

“So much
for us getting ready being easy,” he grumbled.

“Ah,
stop your bitching,” laughed Lizzy.

“You can
help Marcus with that,” said Briana. “The two of you are the only ones who’ve
actually seen the cabins Laura’s building, so you are the only ones who have
the faintest idea what she might need.”

Our
portly friend shot Briana a nasty look.

“Actually,”
she continued, smiling, “since it really is only the two of you, make that your
priority. I’ll put Steph or Jacob in charge of any light work that needs to be
done in the meantime.”

“One
last thing,” I said. “We know the raiders pulled back giving us the time to do
this last bit on our schedule. If they start moving, we run. There’s nothing
left to slow them down, and I won’t be waiting for anyone in Wyoming. Other
than the pilots and those who were in Casper with us, everyone else was told to
get out. Way more hung around than should have, and if it all goes bad, they
might be paying for that.”

*
* *

Alan
Myers showed up on the twenty eighth, late that afternoon. Nine separate groups
preceded him, guided by the messengers we’d left at the fire station. The
raiders were still sitting quietly in Rawlins, not even sending out scouting
parties. There was nothing to prevent us from departing in peace.

Marcus
would be riding in the helicopter with Ronnie, the pair leading the way north.
Afterwards, one of the planes was to return carrying the pilots so they could
recover the remainder of usable aircraft at the Chadron airport. Since we had
so many birds available, we decided to stash working craft in several airports
and isolated rural airstrips. The helicopters would be kept in the valley
itself and used to ferry pilots back and forth as necessary.

The
convoy consisted of two parts, the first and largest guided by Lizzy and
Briana. After a quick breakfast, they would head out, taking all the remaining
livestock – those animals we couldn’t move had already been set free or
butchered – and virtually all the equipment and people.

The
second group was to be led by me and Steph. The plan was to wait until Marcus
made the round trip and was taking the last of the airplanes north. We would
also collect all the lookouts, double and triple checking our lists of
positions and people to ensure no one was left behind. Only then would we
follow.

That was
our blind period. By the time I departed, the pilots would all be on their way
to the Black Hills, and there would be no one watching the roads. It was
something I did not like, and I ordered one of our guys to do a quick flyover
of the area before he headed back that second time. If any large groups were
moving, they would hopefully be spotted.

Having a
lone scout spy us was still a possibility, but we’d been looking for those
since day one. None had ever made it to the state line, much less the forest.
Still, I wanted a bit of extra security. As a result, Tara and Dale would leave
the convoy about twenty miles south of the Black Hills and hide themselves.
They’d wait and watch and kill anyone who tried to track us, if that unlikely
scenario played out. Then they would follow along on foot, arriving a day or
two later.

It’s not
possible to keep the new location a secret forever, but for the remainder of
the year only select individuals would be leaving the valley. We would continue
to scout and search the area, looting and salvaging all we could. There was the
air force base to hit too. I wanted more weapons, big ones. This was the time
to lay low and prepare, and we would be prepared before the news of where we
went became known.

Interlude – Xavier’s Story

Xavier
guided his small plane toward the runway. He didn’t like making this trip
alone, but Jacob and Briana, along with those living in Yellowstone National
Park, wanted to ensure only the barest minimum were outside their sanctuaries
at any given time. There was near unanimous opposition to anything that might
unduly increase the chance the prophet and his butchers got their hands on
someone. That was also the reason he was landing in the middle of Montana on an
isolated agricultural air strip. There weren’t even any buildings, just a long,
narrow strip of concrete.

To be
fair, there had been a structure once upon a time, used for storage and
containing an office and some sub-standard restrooms, but this had been leveled
so it couldn’t be utilized as a hiding place. The odds of anyone finding this
spot in the first place, much less anticipating when the pilots would meet
there, were slim to non-existent, but Xavier understood. If anything, he was in
favor of the extreme precautions.

Kimberly
was waiting, standing beside her own Cessna. Long blonde hair whipped in the
wind, but she didn’t seem to give a damn. Xavier smiled. He’d known the woman
for years – they’d competed for many of the same jobs, generally as charter
pilots on hunting or fishing trips – and Xavier found her to be ultra-capable,
extremely confident, and no chore to look at.

He
skillfully landed and taxied up beside her, and, like Kimberly, Xavier spun the
plane around so it was facing back toward the runway. If any sort of threat
appeared, he wanted to be in position for a quick getaway. On a personal note,
I claim credit for this tactic, having used and stressed it since the very
beginning of the apocalypse, and we all know no one else could have possibly
come up with it on his or her own.

“Saw
some zombies,” she remarked, after he cut the engine and clambered out.

“Oh?
Where at?”

“Street
leading here.” She pointed vaguely, not coming close to indicating the single
dirt road that connected the airstrip with what had once been civilization.
“They’re a good three miles out. We might not even see them, unless you got a
whole lot of news for me.”

Xavier
shook his head. “Not much. You?”

With
face to face contact considered beneficial, the plan was for pilots to meet
every few days. This would allow for the regular exchange of information. Those
going were instructed not to give details about where the other base was
located, although it was decided the people in Yellowstone should be aware that
their allies were located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, just in case
they had to run. If that happened, they would at least be going in the correct
direction. Additionally, Jacob’s group already knew the others had established
themselves in the northwest corner of Wyoming. Fair is fair. These meetings
allowed the exchange of goods as well. With both bases self-sufficient, this
was largely limited to letters, reports, hard to obtain equipment, and key
medicines such as insulin.

Once the
snow started falling, the landings would come to an end, at least most of the
time, but radio communications could still be carried out, provided the planes
flew close to one another. It wasn’t as satisfying, but it was certainly
doable. Besides, getting stuck on the ground was something neither pilot
wanted. They were far removed from any sort of assistance.

“That
piece of shit has pulled most of his people out of Wyoming,” began Kimberly.

“You
sure?” Xavier hadn’t heard anything even hinting at this.

“We saw
hundreds moving, probably want to get back to Salt Lake, and we found two more
outposts in Utah as well. The first is for ranching, cattle like the other we
already knew about. The final one might be planning on growing things next
year. It’s up by some prime agricultural land. Got combines and tractors sitting
in a nice neat row too. But, there are still people in Rawlins. I flew over
that yesterday. They had some fortified buildings and a fenced in area. I
didn’t see many, but it looked like they were planning to stay.”

Kimberly
pulled a candy bar from her pocket and unwrapped it. Splitting it in two, she
gave Xavier half.

“Thanks.”

She
nodded. “I bet they keep people there all winter, to make sure they hold that
part of the state or to keep an eye on it.”

“So one
big base in Salt Lake City, three spots for food, and one spot to attack us
from again next year. Shame we can’t do anything about that, now that it’s just
a tiny crew, well, nothing except dropping firebombs on them, which has been
suggested yet again and denied.”

“Considering
the problems the last time we tried that,” replied Kimberly, “it’s going to
keep on getting denied until someone comes up with a more reliable system.
Still, it’s getting colder, and it won’t be much longer before the weather puts
an end to the raiders traveling, unless they want to trade those motorcycles
for snowmobiles. Our guys think it’s over for the year. We’re still going up
and keeping an eye on everything, but the flights are going to be cut back
soon. We need to save on fuel.”

“How are
you with that?”

She
shrugged. “No idea. No one tells me anything. They’ve been sending teams out,
hitting airports and whatever to load up. We should be good until spring. I
don’t know past that.”

“Same
here. Jacob has been identifying fuel stores. Some are left where they are, for
now anyway. Others are taken back to the places we’re based out of. I do know
we can keep going for the whole of next year, maybe more. Best of all, we might
have planes or helicopters to fight with soon, real ones.”

Her eyes
lit up.

“That’s
part of what I got to tell you. It won’t be until early next year, and we think
there will be a whole lot of work involved getting everything in working
condition, but it should be doable. Then we can take care of the raiders for
good. No more being outgunned.”

Xavier,
like all the pilots in the Black Hills, had been consulted regarding the
planned looting of the nearby air force base, along with any other military or
government installations within reach. Building and organization were taking
priority at the moment, but the focus would shift in the near future.

“The
fire still burning?” asked Kimberly, shifting the topic.

“Mostly
out, after that last bit of rain. It’s kinda sad having the forest gone. I used
to go there to hike on occasion.”

“Never
been myself. Flew over God knows how many times. That was a shame.”

After
lingering in Rawlins for several weeks, the prophet’s forces suddenly spread
out and began to scour the state. Everyone, save the tiny number of fools who
insisted on remaining in their homes, was long gone by that point. There was
little to find and next to nothing to take. One of the surveillance planes did
witness a large group enter the Nebraska National Forest. These spent a day
walking around the mass of skeletons belonging to their companions, along with
the pile of motorcycles they’d ridden. In response, the prophet’s men put the
entire forest to the torch. This spurred additional grass fires covering tens
of thousands of acres.

“They
really hate us I think, far more than at first.”

“They
hate everyone.” Kimberly tapped the holster that hung from her left shoulder.
“I didn’t want to get taken alive before, but I swear I won’t let it happen
now.”

Her
friend gave the woman a brief nod. Xavier agreed completely.