The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion (5 page)

“Our food supplies are diminishing much too rapidly.”
  Miles said while sitting tall in his chair,
legs crossed tightly.

“I know...that is what I’m saying.
  Now that the snow is mostly gone we need to
start foraging. Get people out there
going through buildings, hunting, and scavenging.
  Build our supplies back up.”
  A man with a full, white beard said.

“It will never be sustainable.
  Supply is going to continually be
reduced. We must reduce demand if we are
to maintain an acceptable level of comfort.”  
Miles responded in a soft tone.

The three other council members had been sitting quietly at
the long table, listening to Miles and Ron argue back
and forth. One of them, a younger man in
a torn sweatshirt, leaned forward in his chair.  
“Just what are you saying Miles?”

“We all know what I am proposing.
  Nobody wants to express it vocally.
  Cull the herd.
  Something I brought up last fall…before
winter sapped us of resources. We need
an analytical approach to determine drains on the system.”

Ron’s face reddened.  
“Then what…kill the drains? Let’s
not tap dance around what you are
proposing
.”

“Kill? How
barbaric. For the betterment of the
community as a whole we would have the few asked to leave.”

This entire conversation was making Ron sick to his
stomach. “And when they won’t?”
  He asked.

“I will present it to them in a manner that leaves…uh…little
choice.” Miles responded with a
belittling look. He looked at the others
at the table. “Shall we cast votes?”

All of them glanced around at each other, and then began
nodding their heads. Miles grabbed a
small box from the edge of the table, made a mark on a slip of paper, folded it
neatly, and dropped it in the box. Afterwards
he passed the box to Ron and said, “Standard process…checkmark for approval and
an ‘x’ for disapproval. In this case,
approval is to move forward with improving community functionality by reducing
demand on supplies.” He looked at each
council member and then added, “Disapproval is to keep status quo and deal with
dwindling supplies.”

Ron wanted to laugh out loud, but knew Miles would be
furious. On top of that, the other
members seemed on board with the plan.
As disgusting as it was, he would side with Miles, if for no other
reason than to avoid his wrath.

Less than an hour later, Ron and his fellow council members
stood behind Miles while he addressed the compound’s members.

“My fellow community members, I want to first thank
you. We have come so far together.
  None of us could have done it alone, and it
was on the backs of our neighbors, our friends, and our loved ones that we made
life better. Not just better, but a
place we can truly call home.” He had a
huge smile on his face as he looked over the gathered crowd, spending time to
look as many in the eyes as possible.  
They were all nodding their heads and looking to one another.
  Many shook hands and patted one another on
the shoulder.

He let the smile slowly fade from his face, taking on a
serious look. With a slow shake of his
head he began again, “But we deserve better…you deserve better.”
  He let them all nod their heads in
agreement. “There are some within these
walls that wish to bring us down.” Dead
silence. Everyone seemed shocked, slowly
looking from face to face and then back at Miles.
  “That’s right!
  They are killing us…killing you…killing your
loved ones.” They began mumbling to one
another. Some shook their heads.
  Others only stared ahead.

Miles let the words fester for a few long minutes.
  “Look around you.
  Does the person next to you work as hard as
you do? Do they deserve just as much as
you? Have they put into the community as
much as you have?” He waited, watching
them look around at one another. Some
began to argue, while others looked down at their own feet, hoping not to be
noticed.

After several minutes, Miles held up his hands, trying to
quiet the crowd. “The council agrees
with you. There are some that need to
move on. Some that are
not pulling their weight. Take Isaac as
an example. He killed to get what he
wanted. He was desperate.
  He was greedy.
  These people need stopped and removed from
the community before it’s too late.” He
looked back at the other council members and then turned to the crowd.
  “We will take this on.
  We will make this a better community.
  We will do what needs done.
  Thanks.”

******

The sickening crunch of bone and wet slurping of bloody
flesh being devoured went on for what seemed like days.
  All of them sat in the darkness, afraid to
make a sound. Each of them wished they
could just fall asleep, allowing their minds to go elsewhere…anywhere but
here. Instead they all just listened,
imagined, and dreaded.

None of them trusted the outsiders.
  Tom was sure they had lied about being a
family. What kind of human would close
his wife back out with those things.  
Even being dead, it was hard for him to imagine.
  Then there was the daughter.
  She was so glad to be with others.
  Her mad rush into his arms.
  The thought of closing their eyes with that
man in the room was enough to keep them awake by itself.

The greatest sight Tom had seen in quite some time was the
sliver of light glowing at the base of the door, marking the arrival of
morning. He shifted around looking at
everyone else. Even in the dim light he
could see the glisten of eyes wide open.  
None of them had slept a wink and were just as glad to see the birth of
dawn as he was.

Bear’s boots scrapped across the wood floor as he rose to
his feet. He eased around the metal
locker and peered through the edge of the shotgun blast’s ragged opening.
  Everyone froze, breaths held, while he
continued to look out. Seconds seemed to
drag into minutes as Bear continued to peer into the unknown.
  Finally he slowly backed away from the door
as quietly as possible.

Everyone quickly stood and waited expectantly.
  Bear gave them a wave toward the back of the
building and then held a finger to his lips.  
Very quietly he led everyone to the back, tucked tightly between
shelving. Despite the faint light, the
fear and shock was evident on his face.

He whispered, “Dozens…if not more.”

Logan let out a loud grunt.  
There was a unanimous
shhhh
from the group.

“At the door?”
  Tom whispered.

Bear nodded his head.  
“Some are right outside. Made it
tough to see how many, but there are a lot.”

“What are they doing?”  
Hannah asked.

With a shrug of his shoulders Bear said, “Tough to tell, but
mostly standing or slowly shuffling…typical stasis.”

Tom began to glance around at the windows.
  Others followed his eyes, a look of worry
crossing their faces.

“Think we’re surrounded?”  
Hannah whispered.

Bear just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, making
it clear that he had no idea.

Hannah started to move toward the nearest window, but
stopped when Tom whispered, “Wait. Let’s
gather up all our gear…quietly. Get
weapons ready, then we check the windows.  
If this goes bad I want us to be fully mobile.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and began spreading
out toward their individual gear. Tom
kept an eye on the supposed father as well as the girl.
  They had nothing to gather together and
instead the man began whispering to the girl.  
She looked distraught and only nodded her head several times as he spoke
to her. Hank still had the man’s shotgun
and Tom wasn’t sure he wanted to give it back.

Tom stepped over to Hank and whispered, “Thoughts on weapons
for the newbies?”

Hank stood thinking.  
He glanced over at the pair and then back to Tom.
  “More firepower might really help…depending
on what happens.”

Nodding his head, Tom said, “Probably right.
  Keep an eye on them.”

Tom grabbed the shotgun and walked over to the two of
them. The man stopped whispering and
turned at his approach. Tom held the
shotgun out and said, “I’m Tom.”

The man took the shotgun, nodded his head, and said,
“Axel.” He looked down at the girl.
  “This is April.
  We needed help…needed in.”
  He said looking back at Tom.

The group came together in the center of the room once they
had all their gear and weapons. Bear
held a crossbow and Tom held his bow, while the rest of the group had their
rifles and standard weapons at the ready.

“Shoot sticks if possible.”  
Tom whispered. After they all
nodded their heads in agreement he said, “Let’s quietly check the windows…see
what we got.”

Hannah, Bear, Hank, and Tom all headed off to nearby
windows. Each of them carefully eased
back the coverings to see what waited for them outside.
  All of them replaced the coverings just as
fast as they had opened them. Glances
and headshakes told the group that there were infected on the sides.
  Hank eased to the back of the building,
eyeing the rear window. Everyone watched
him slowly approach the window. He
carefully lifted the bottom corner of the blanket that covered it.
  Light spilled onto his face as he looked
out. His head shifted closer and twisted
from side to side, trying to get a better look.  
Letting the blanket corner fall, he turned back to the group and gave
a thumbs up.

They all gathered in a huddle next to the back window.
  With the blanket removed, white light washed
over them and the nearby shelves.

“If we don’t get in the main building then this trip is for
nothing, but that doesn’t mean we die trying.”  
Tom looked over each of them.  
“First priority is get to somewhere we can assess the situation.
  Let’s move straight back to the hill…get to
the other side. No hero stuff, just get
to safety. If it hits the fan meet at
the SUV.” Wide open eyes stared back at
Tom while he talked. A mixture of fear
and anticipation crossed their faces.

“Roger that.” Hank
said while the rest of the group nodded their heads.

Tom eased the window open, being as careful as possible to
avoid any unwanted noise. The neglected
metal sliders groaned with resistance, but with persistence and a bit of wiggle
Tom was able to get it open far enough for even Bear’s large frame to squeeze
through. Tom leaned his head out,
looking to both sides. He was relieved
to find no infected in sight. Untouched
white snow was the only thing lying between them and the hill.
  The flat walls of nearby barracks stuck out
to each side, partially blocking the view further down.

They stacked a few boxes up to make it easy to access the
window. Bear led the way with his
crossbow out and ready. Once on the
other side he glanced around, double checking.  
He turned around and helped Hannah out next.

“Look out, my turn.”  
Logan suddenly said as he began shoving at those next to him.

Several members of the group began quietly trying to
shhhh
him.

Tom’s heart thundered in his chest.
  The bookstore owner from months ago flashed
through his mind. The elderly ladies’
kind demeanor had turned vicious and angry in a matter of minutes.
  The onset of rage hit like a flash.
  Tom stepped over to Logan and grabbed him by
the shoulders, looking him in the eyes.  
In the light he could see the pair of red rimmed and swollen eyes
staring back at him.

“What’s your problem?”  
Logan shouted.

Before anyone had a chance to do anything Tom had his bow up
with an arrow notched. With a sharp
whistle the arrow darted the short distance, penetrating into Logan’s head with
a sickening crunch. He toppled backwards
into the shelving and slumped to the floor in an awkward sitting position.
  Hannah let out a sharp gasp from just outside
the window. Hank and April took a rapid
step back, while Axel stood there with a shocked look on his face.

Nobody had a chance to say anything.
  The infected had heard the shouting and
responded immediately. Their shrieks and
growls thundered like a coming storm.  
The building seemed to shake with their ferocity.

“Go, go, go.”
  Tom shouted while shoving April toward the
window. She resisted.
  Terror and fear had her muscles locked.
  Not slowing a bit, Tom lifted her off her
feet and pushed her head first out the opening.  
Hannah bent down to help her.   
Right behind them, Bear was clipping his crossbow to his belt in
preparation for swapping to his AR15.

Needing no encouragement, Hank quick stepped up the boxes
and piled out the window. Axel was right
on his heels.

Shadows flittered across the snow outside, marking the
approach of demented. Loud booms echoed
through the building as infected pounded on the front door, causing the massive
locker to shudder with each hit.

Tom’s heart sank when he heard the
cack...cack...cack
of
weapons firing. He knew that once the
shots started they would be in the thick of it.  
Knowing the building was a death trap he followed the others through the
window. Before his boots touched the
snow there was a loud bang from behind him as the locker tipped to the
floor. Angry shrieks rapidly followed.

Hannah and Bear stood nearly back to back, both with their
rifles raised, firing at the demented that were coming around the building’s
corners. Their rapid fire was keeping
them at bay. The rest of the group stood
in a tight circle just to the side of the window.

A quick glance back let Tom know that there were several
infected pouring into the building. He
quickly clipped his bow in and drew both MAC9s.  
“Get to the hill.” He
shouted. He raced up to Hannah and Bear,
tapping each of them in the shoulder, he said, “Go.”