Zomblog Saga Box Set (Books 1-6) (111 page)

The moon can be quite a beacon…when it is out. Tonight, it was just stars. And that is why I did not see the steep slope until I stepped off of it and began tumbling down to the empty ri
verbed below.

I might have cried out once…briefly…in surprise, but I made enough noise to bring a few creepers out of some brush. How could I have been so stupid?

Pulling my belt knife free just as the first creeper reached me, I drove it into the crown of its skull. At this point, a lot of the skulls don’t give much more resistance than an almost ripe watermelon. I kicked the second one away just as Kai slid down the hill like she was on skis. We made short work of the remaining zombies and she even offered me her hand to help me to my feet.

Then she slapped me!

“You are young and foolish.”

I started to say something, although I doubt it was to defend against that statement; I felt pretty young and foolish at that pa
rticular moment.

“I do not answer questions because I have not been told an
ything more than to bring you back to the Confederated Lands to meet with our elders. I was told that you were to be delivered at all cost. I was told that your mother was a fierce warrior and that you should be capable of taking care of your own needs.”

“But why me?” I insisted.

“I don’t know.”

“What do these elders want?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place…or at any time during my questions?”

“Because, I think the elders are wrong, and to say so can get me exiled. I think you are nothing more than a half-breed …nothing special.”

“Don’t hold anything back,” I huffed.

“Okay.”

I guess she didn’t understand sarcasm…or maybe she was just looking for an excuse. Whatever the case, she told me what she thought about me. I was full of hate and anger. I was not m
ature enough for any real responsibility. And apparently, my eyes display nothing but sadness. Once again, apparently I lack any ability to hide feelings or emotions; even from total strangers. I decided to try another tactic.

“Okay, so you have no idea what these elders of yours want with me. But don’t you even have a guess?”

“Yes, but I will not tell you. If I do and you reveal it once we arrive, it could mean trouble for me.”

“I don’t imagine I could give you my word.”

“How much do you know about the history of my people?” Kai sat down on a rock.

“Just what I learned in school. They didn’t really cover much to be honest.”

“Then, if we survive this, perhaps you should try to find a library…some books. When you do, you will understand why I will not simply take your word.”

We made camp, and now I am standing my watch. Som
ething that Kai said has stuck with me since that little exchange. How much of our history has been wiped away? I wonder what sorts of important things are gone. If we are so intent on survival, what are we losing because our focus is so fixed on that one thing?

Saturday, June 18
th

I love my boots.

Wednesday, June 22
nd

While I would not say that Kai and I have become friends…we actually shared a fun moment today after a particularly nasty afternoon.

So, wherever we are, and I mean that I truly have no idea any more, it is brown for almost as far as the eye can see. The world looks dirty and dusty and is covered in sand. LOTS of sand. If you have ever been someplace like this, then perhaps you can commiserate. I have had sand in places where it should not be…and it is VERY uncomfortable.

So, we followed what I must assume had to have been a road. As we walked along, I honestly could not fathom what form of machinery could carve out paths through mountain in order for a road to be built. This just reiterates my thoughts from earlier about wondering what sorts of things in Old World History have been forgotten. Seriously, there are probably lots of things that people just don’t see as important now that have faded and will never be replaced simply because they will never rate high enough on anybody’s list.

I recall Meredith’s journal mentioning something about one place she visited where they played a game called baseball. I have no idea what that is and I guess I never cared enough to ask. It was a game. But if those sorts of things used to be i
mportant…is it okay that we have let them fade from our world?

Tribes along Corridor 26 adopted colors and images from schools, but did they still participate in the games that those i
mages once acted as totems for? I have so many questions. But I doubt many of them will ever be answered.

But back to today…

We were walking along like any other day; every once in a while, we might see a walker, or even a small pack. That is one thing that is very different from back when Sam or Meredith wrote their journals…zombies just are not a big deal unless you are about to die because of one…or a few thousand.

We were cresting a dune when we saw them. Of course we’d heard them for most of the day and I was not excited to discover what could create such an incredible noise—not to mention that we could feel the vibration in the ground from a
lmost a mile out!

This arroyo cut through the area and it was seething…with zombies. It should be noted that we had seen and crossed more than a dozen of those carved out trenches in the past few days. I also have to admit never having seen one before and I initially thought it was some sort of old roadway. Kai explained how th
ese things came to be and I was amazed. For one, considering how dry it is here, for that much water to come at one time with enough power to carve a trench in this hard ground is impressive.

This particular arroyo stretched on in either direction for as far as we could see; and it was wall-to-wall zombies for just as far. There had to be hundreds of thousands; maybe millions.

“So how do we get past this mess?” I admit it was a pretty stupid question.

“They weren’t here when I came, so perhaps they will pass by in a day or so.”

That didn’t really seem like a good plan. The longer we waited, the more likely General Carson went on the offensive against…

And that was when it hit me. Why us? What about our little group was so important? There were other communities and se
ttlements. Hell, if you believed the rumors, Vegas was a walled city with electric power! Of course it was also supposedly one of the most lawless and dangerous places to live, but my knowledge is based solely on rumor. I do know that we stopped seeing any traders or caravans from that area about ten years ago.

I also know that it is rumored that the military moved in and took over the place. Supposedly they built fifty foot high walls and then brought in a bunch of dignitaries that had been seque
stered in some super-secret underground complex and then closed the gates. If you believe these crazy rumors, it has also been told that the undead were drawn to the place and that they act as a defensive buffer almost a mile deep all the way around the walls. But then these are just rumors. Back to mine and Kai’s little adventure.

We decided that we would need to head south at some point anyways, so we might just as well turn that way now and try to get around the leading edge of this raging river of undead. And did I mention that a cloud of bugs hovered above this nightmare in such density that it actually provided a degree of shade?

Even from over a hundred yards out, we still had to bat away at the buzzing, stinging pests. I could not begin to fathom what the bottom of that trench must look (or smell) like.

Kai set a pace just a bit faster than a jog and after almost two hours, I was starting to think that we might never see the head of this mob. When we did, I felt my heart flutter more than just a little bit.

We were at the top of a long, gradual slope. At the bottom was a huge lake, but it was about halfway dried up. The zombies were being pushed out into this muddy, gooey, slimy mess. In the middle of the partially dried up lake was…

Even now I struggle to really describe what I saw. It was like a large town built on these big metal barges that were all lashed together. I think that the people out there had to believe they were safe. After all, zombies can’t swim.

What they can do is pile up. I have seen them make it over small walls and fences just because the ones in front start to fall and eventually become a ramp of rotten meat and bone.

There is really no way of knowing how long this procession had been on the move, or what their numbers might possibly be; however, there were enough so that the ones coming kept for
cing the leading edge into this lake. The further out they went, I imagine they began to fall. In any case, it is obvious that they began to pile up until they actually reached a point where they could climb on to the barges.

The people out there never stood a chance after that.

I guess the zombies must have just reached the point where they could start to pour onto this floating town in large numbers. As Kai and I crested the horseshoe-shaped ridge that bordered the other three sides of that lake, we heard the first of the screams.

The two of us continued to jog away. Mercifully, as we reached the bottom of the hill going away from that nightmare, the land acted as a bit of a buffer for the sound. It did not take too long before we were draped in blessed silence once more.

I guess we were both wrapped in our own thoughts as we continued along for the rest of the day. And it was probably that reason why we did not actually notice the large red dome until we were almost right on it.

It was just more of the bizarre.

Sitting beside the road, literally all by itself with nothing else—not a sign, or any means of transport to indicate how it got here—was a large, red dome. It had mesh windows on three sides, and a flap at what was the entrance. There was this contraption on the back side that hummed like some sort of engine or something and had six solar panels connected to it; that is why I am pretty sure it was a power supply of some sort. We probably walked around the thing a dozen times before I just decided “to hell with it” and climbed in.

The floor was…squishy? I don’t have a better word for it. When I tried to stand up, I think I fell four or five times before I could actually figure out how to stay on my feet. Then Kai climbed in and I fell over again.

It seemed that the more we tried to get to our feet, the worse the ground pitched and sent us falling. I made it up, and I could not resist. Just as Kai looked like she was going to be able to stand…I jumped. That caused everything to jiggle and shake.

Kai went tumbling and ended up on her stomach. By now, I was starting to get the hang of this thing. The more I jumped and bounced, the more Kai flopped around like a fish out of water.

When she kicked my feet out from under me, I had that single instance where I thought I was going to hurt myself pretty bad. Then I landed…and bounced about two or three feet off the floor.

Now it seemed it was Kai’s turn to make me do some flo
pping. I had a heck of a time, but I finally was able to direct myself into position so that I could kick her ankles when she came down.

I have no idea how much time we spent in that damned thing. Probably would have wasted most of the night if it wasn’t for the stupid zombie that wandered up and stuck its face in the open flap.

It was as if our laughing switches had been flipped to the ‘OFF’ position in an instant. Then the stupid zombie tried to climb in.

Kai and I had both scooted to the back. All of our gear was sitting right outside…yeah, careless, I know. Don’t judge me.

Just as it pulled itself in, we made our way to our feet, holding each other’s hands. She looked at me and I knew exactly what she was thinking. We both sort of bobbed a couple of times, and then went for the roof. When we landed, the floor was like a wave and it sent that stupid zombie right back outside.

The two of us hurried to the exit, my fear was that this was just the first of a bunch. Maybe that giant mob had caught us.

Nope.

Just the one.

I went over and smashed its head with a rock about the size of a cantaloupe. Unfortunately, the magic was gone. We grabbed our gear and headed on down the road. Just about three hours before sunset, we found this lazy little river to pull up beside. After a good bath, I made the fire while Kai went out looking for rabbit. She was more than a little surprised to return to camp and discover four big fish cleaned, and roasting over the flames.

Hey, in the EEF, one of the first things you learn how to do is to make a travel kit. That kit needs to be small enough to carry on your person and not in your pack. Never know when you might lose your gear.

Kai looked at me funny when she took that first bite of fish. Since I hadn’t eaten any myself, I was suddenly worried that it might be nasty tasting. I don’t really know much about fish other than you eat what you catch. I mean, I know that there are all different kinds, and that some are better than others, but I didn’t even know what I’d caught, so how could I know if it was any good…or even worth eating.