The Week of the Dead (39 page)

Richard went to a console. He pulled out a set of notebooks with pages in page protectors. He flipped through them as he turned knobs and banged on monitors. He went through a series of doors. By this time, Raven had made it down the ladder and into the control room where he saw open manuals and antique computers from the 1970s. He shut the hatch and closed the bar down. He walked around the surprisingly clean white room.

After checking his weapons, Raven heard slapping thud noises from the other side of the door.
They’re falling down the ladder
, he thought. Richard came in the room with a screwdriver in his mouth and both arms around a metallic cylinder. “What the hell are you doing here?” Richard said to him as he set the cylinder down.

“They’re on the other side of the door! What the hell are you doing?”

“Saving our fucking asses and everyone else within five hundred miles!” he said as he went back to his console.

“What the fuck are you doing, man?” Raven asked.

“Something that needs to be done.”

“What is that thing? What’s in the cylinder? Why are you putting that in pool of shit?” Raven rambled on.

“Shut up. This could kill everyone. The vat is a gel we created so this doesn’t ignite. We’re here to finish our mission.”

He kept his sentences short as he began typing on the old keyboard. The hatch began to bang. Steadily the banging quickened. “Here they come! What’s in the next room?” Raven said as he made his way there. “No!” Richard exclaimed, pulling him back. The two men wrestled, and finally Richard got the upper hand. He held Raven in a sleeper hold until the young man went limp. “You young bastards always have to do things the hard way!” Richard said as he went back to his console.

After a few minutes of typing, Richard was ready. He helped Raven back to his feet. He handed Raven back his weapons. “We got three options, kid. We wait for what’s in the next room, we wait for these things to take us out, or we shoot ourselves now. What’s your vote?” Raven went to the window of the next room. It was dark. Richard pressed a large red button. Raven’s eyes went up as sunlight began to appear from above. Loose dirt, grass, and tombstones began to fall straight down. The fake tombstones shattered easily against something that wasn’t too far from Raven’s window. More light poured in as a cone-shaped object was beginning to take shape. “You crazy old bastard! We’re all going to die!” Raven exclaimed as he turned. Raven pointed his weapon at Richard. “Shut it down now!” Raven commanded. Richard simply didn’t listen. A bolt from the door bounced off the glass next to Raven. “Get back at it, we’ll discuss this later,” Richard said as Raven went to the door. He pointed his barrel through the hole in the door. The hot barrel began to boil white and red blood as it continued to release lead into screeching bodies on the other side. Raven didn’t know if it was doing any good, but it made him feel better about being in a dead end with that in the other room. Raven stood back from the door to reload.

The hatch broke open. Luckily for Richard, he had already set a countdown. Raven sprayed a complete magazine aiming at the door. Richard extended his middle finger to the creatures coming through the door while the other hand was firing .45 caliber rounds at them. He began to chuckle as the object in the next room began to move. The ground began to shake violently as the object came toward the window. The dome of the massive object slowly climbed the tube, long enough for Raven to read “U.S.A.F.” on the side of the object. The door clamped shut. The tube closed shutting out the sunlight. Red flames lit from the bottom of the tube. Raven held the submachine gun as a baton in his left hand and fired his handgun with his right. The room filled with light as Richard continued to give the middle finger and laugh maniacally as creatures swarmed him. Raven watched as the old colonel was devoured by the creatures, and there was a bright light behind him. He blinked and when he opened his eyes, he failed to exist anymore.

The Silence

Chapter 81

Saturday 1038 CST

Elizabethtown

T
he convoy watched as the shockwave sprayed dirt and rock on the vehicles. Windows shattered. Buildings fell. The ground shook violently. One of the hunters in the back of the dump truck took a piece of brick to the head. “Look!” William said as he pointed forward. Tripod got out of the truck and made sure everyone else was OK. William tried his cell phone. It wouldn’t turn on. Tara tried to start her engine again. It wouldn’t crank. She tried the dome light in the cab. It wouldn’t turn on either. Upon seeing Tripod get out of the truck, Devin and the Vikings got out as well. “My sight shut off,” Jamison said as he looked down his scope. He looked at the herd that was once coming toward them. They were lying motionless on the ground. “On me!” he shouted as the group dismounted to find Jamison on one knee aiming down his iron sights.

Everyone else saw the group of thirty or so zombies lying motionless on the broken street in front of them. “Fire a round. See if they move,” Ethan said. Jamison figured ‘
why the hell not?
’ and pulled the trigger. The sound of the gun barrel echoed of the buildings and filled the quiet air for a microsecond. “Engines won’t start. Ground shook. Dead zombies. What the fuck is this?” Phil said thinking out loud. Reynolds looked at Ethan. Suddenly the light clicked in Ethan’s mind. “That crazy motherfucker!” Ethan exclaimed excitedly. “He actually did it!” he said. The rest of them looked puzzled.

He looked at Jenna. “Remember at Mud Island. The cowboy, junior and his dad? His dad kept talking about setting off an EMP?” Jenna didn’t follow, but Ashley’s eyes got bigger.

“Wait, the only way to set off an EMP is to either build a device or detonate a nuclear weapon,” Tara said.

“Yeah, he kept talking about some Cold War stuff with the CIA and Russia and this or that. But he did it! And it worked!”Ethan got excited. Again someone interjected.

“Yeah, but if he detonated a nuclear weapon, we’d probably get melted by the radiation.”

“Nah, Richard was too smart for that. He must have removed the plutonium or whatever. Look, I’m not a goddamn rocket scientist! He was! And it worked!” Ethan went to the zombie pile. He took out a pocketknife and slit his pinky. “Get ready!” he said as he moved the bleeding finger over the dead zombies. The rest of the group positioned their weapons ready for anything. Nothing happened. “See! The blast fried the NanoBots!” Ethan said.

He kicked a zombie in the leg. “Nothing, not a goddamn thing! They are stone-cold corpses now! How’s that feel, asshole!” Ethan shouted at the motionless body at his feet. Razor came next to him and brought a bat down on its skull. “Just to be sure.” He shrugged as he went about smashing the rest of the motionless skulls. Devin grabbed Erica in his arms. “It’s over. It’s finally over.”

“Not to be the Negative Nancy here, but we’re still fucked,” Chaz began. “We’re still alone in the middle of nowhere
without
running vehicles. How do we know these things are done? Are they taking a nap? Maybe a little
siesta
before they all turn into Alphas and rip us to shreds on the open road?” he started to hyperventilate as Redbeard handed him a bottle he took from a bag. “Take it easy, man,” Redbeard said.

“He’s right, we’re still exposed,” Reynolds said in a demanding tone.

“Look, we’re almost to the hideout. I say we go there, spend the night. Let these things rot as we all chill out at Phoenix’s,” William said.

“Aye, I’m with him,” Ferret said.

“Just because they have a hideout doesn’t mean there’s a welcoming party waiting for us. Now, let’s empty the vehicles. Clint, take some of the others, and go to that hardware store over there. I want you to grab shopping carts and wheelbarrows. Shit like that,” Devin said.

“Who the fuck put you in charge?” Ethan said.

“No fucking one! Calm your goddamn ass down. We’re on the street! Stinky over there raised a good point, what if they get back up? Do you want to make camp in this bar again? Want to wait for the rest of the military to show up? Oh wait, their vehicles don’t work, so they’re going to have to
walk
!” Devin explained.

“Easy there,
honcho
, I was just asking,” Ethan spoke as he extended his fist out of respect. Devin gave him a fist bump.

Everyone emptied the vehicles into a new convoy of wheelbarrows, shopping carts, and handcarts. Most of those from the back of the dump truck didn’t know about Phoenix. They decided to stay in Elizabethtown. Ironically, they went back into Louie’s and decided to make it their own. Phil placed Paul in a wagon and some other supplies. He knew his son couldn’t walk the whole way there. The Vikings took most of the weight. They continued to wear their armor, although all of them had taken off their helmets and replaced them with sunglasses they looted from a store. Redbeard felt fashionable in his Elvis-style sunglasses.

When the dump truck was unloaded, a couple of the hunters in camouflage were wearing matching black-leather duffel bags. No one thought anything about them until they were slung over the shoulder of two men. “What’s in the bags, man? Ammo? You don’t have to hide, man. We’re all packing,” Reynolds asked.

“Nah, man, nuthin’ you need to concern yo’self with” came out of one of the hillbillies’ mouths. Jamison and Walker noticed the confrontation as well, thinking they were stealing gear. They stepped on both sides of Reynolds in his tactical black uniform. “What’s in the bag? Don’t make me ask again,” Jamison said. The other hillbilly began to shift eyes back and forth.

“You’re making us nervous, man. Just leave us be, and be on your way,” he said.

“No. We’re together because we trust each other. I don’t trust you and your friend here. So let’s see what’s in the bag.” Redbeard and Razor heard the voices, and they appeared behind the two men.

Razor made a sound as he was tapping the knife against the chain mail of his wrist. “You’re not taking it from us! We earned it!” the shifty man said. Guns were drawn on both sides. Razor took his knife and held it against the shifty man’s neck. “I don’t want to kill you, but he’s right. You’re freaking us the fuck out about this shit,” Razor said. Redbeard came forward and threw the bag off the shoulder. He grabbed one of the duffel bags and unzipped it.

“Well I’ll be a goose chasing winter!” Redbeard said as she showed the contents of the bags to rest of the men.

“Aw, man. Now why do you have to gone’ n’ do that!” the first hillbilly said.

“Money? You were afraid to show us…money?” Reynolds said. Everyone lowered their weapons.

“Yeeeh. We thought you were gonna kill us because we stole it from a bank,” the dumb one said.

“You fucking idiot. I don’t care. I think we should all make a profit on this little adventure.” Reynolds began with a smile. “But I don’t think that bag of paper fire starter is going to be worth anything after this little campaign,” he said as he turned away. “I’d much rather invest in guns and friends with guns,” Reynolds said as he patted Jamison on the shoulder.

“Move out!” Redbeard shouted from behind his sunglasses.

The Town

Chapter 82

Saturday 1445 CST

Glasgow

A
n hour drive turned into a four-hour walk. It seemed like four when they came across a new individual on the road. He was wearing a pack and carrying a walking stick. The nonmotorized caravan came upon the man walking toward them. “Good morning!” he said in a cheerful accent.

“Is Elizabethtown that way?” he pointed at their previous direction.

“Yes.”

“Well done! Happy day to you folks!” the man briskily made his way down the highway before anyone could tell him different. Everyone had a puzzled look.

“It’s a new world, man,” Ethan said as he took the lead with his wheelbarrow full of canned food and guns. They were coming toward a sign that said “Glasgow, Kentucky. Population 14,095. United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

“Must have been a census before everyone started eating each other,” Ashley said sarcastically, keeping her cart close to Tripod.

“Why can’t you be positive like that joyful bastard back there?” Ethan said to her. She huffed at him and moved along. The sight of newcomers and their wagons brought stares from people. However, everyone marveled at the Vikings in their armor. “Hey, knight in shining armor!” someone called from a window above. Razor looked up. “Is it true? Are they dead?” Razor looked at the old lady in the third-story window. “We think so. They stopped moving!” he called back.

Not wanting to draw attention to their supplies, Devin kept the group moving. He didn’t want any more episodes with humans and their need to steal things. They came up to a man wearing polo shirt with a police insignia and a shotgun sitting on a useless vehicle. “Hey, you folks coming from the east?” Jamison spoke first.

“Yeah, from Elizabethtown.”

“What’s in the barrows?” the cop asked.

“Our vehicles broke down. We’re going to meet a friend. Have a nice day, officer,” Devin said quickly but politely. After they had passed the officer, he shouted back at them. “I am the law in this town, and I won’t have none of the bullshit!” he called out.

Horsing Around

Chapter 83

Saturday 1500 CST

Glasgow

T
hey were like a bleeding fish in the middle of a feeding frenzy of sharks. Devin wanted to get the fuck away from anyone who wasn’t with him before the blast. They took a turn on Dumont Circle and made their way to the drive-in. The city of Glasgow looked fairly clean. There were piles of burning bodies, a couple of demolished building, and a few burned vehicles, but other than that, it was really peaceful. They took the next right and made their way down Samoa Blvd. “We’re getting close,” William called out looking ahead. His wheelbarrow held the remaining content from the SWAT van.

About twenty feet in front of them came a line of tattooed thugs. They all had sparing weapons, and a few had pistols. “Yo, we’ll take that stuff. Hand it over, and you won’t get hurt,” one of them called out looking at Reynolds and Devin up front. “Go fuck yourself!” came from the group.